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 Social Sciences & Humanities Library 
 
 University of California, San Diego 
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 31822025263138 
 
 THE LIFE OF 
 FATHER AUGUSTUS HENRY LAW.
 
 ROEHAMPTON : 
 PRINTED BY JAMES STANLBT. 
 
 QUARTERLY SERIES. VOLUME EIGHTY-FOUR.
 
 THE LIFE OF 
 AUGUSTUS HENRY LAW, 
 
 -PRIEST OF THE SOCIETY ''OF JESUS. 
 
 BY 
 
 ELLIS SCHREIBER. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 BURNS AND GATES, LIMITED. 
 
 1893,
 
 [All rights reserved.]
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 ' CHAPTER j>age 
 
 I. Birth and Early Years ... . . i 
 
 II. Choice of a Profession. First Voyage . ., 16 
 
 III. Second Voyage 36 
 
 ' IV. Conversion . .... . . -52 
 
 V. Vocation 70 
 
 VI. First Years in the Society 87 
 
 VII. Preparation for the Priesthood . . . .105 
 
 VIII. Ordination. Work in Demerara . . . 123 
 
 IX. Tertianship. Mission Work in Scotland . . 144 
 
 X. Mission Work in Scotland . . . .158 
 
 XI. Life at Grahamstown . . . . .174 
 
 XII. The Commencement of the Zambesi Mission . 192 
 
 XIII. The First Stage of the Journey . . . 203 
 
 XIV. Second Stage of the Journey .... 216 
 
 XV. Disappointed Hopes 236 
 
 XVI. The Station in Matabeleland .... 254 
 
 XVII. A Fresh Enterprise 273 
 
 XVIII. Arrival at Umzila's Kraal . . . 295 
 
 XIX. Sickness and Death 313 
 
 XX. The End of the Story 333 
 
 APPENDIX 347
 
 BIRTH AND EARLY YEARS. 
 
 uniform and assume the habit of the Society of Jesus. 
 He tells us himself what was the direct cause of his 
 resolution. There was a young lady, the Hon. Augusta 
 Graves, a daughter of the second Lord Graves, to 
 whom he had become much attached, and the only 
 obstacle to his marriage was the limited amount of his 
 income. Now he had an uncle, a wealthy Protestant 
 Bishop, whose wish it had always been, previous to his 
 choice of the army as a profession, that he should 
 become a clergyman. In that case this uncle announced 
 that he would provide liberally for him, in order to 
 evince his gratitude to Mr. Law's father, through whose 
 influence with George IV., when Prince Regent, he 
 had obtained the bishopric of Bath and Wells. Hence 
 by retiring from the army, Mr. Law gratified his uncle's 
 wish, secured his own worldly prospects, and was 
 enabled to contract the alliance on which he had set 
 his heart. Shortly after the birth of Augustus, in 1833, 
 he took his M.A. degree, a privilege then granted to 
 the sons of peers at the end of two and a half 
 years' residence, and was ordained a minister of the 
 Established Church. 
 
 Although Mr. Law's object in seeking the pastoral 
 office did not exactly correspond with the aspirations 
 that candidates for ordination are usually credited with, 
 namely (as the Protestant service quaintly expresses 
 it), that of " seeking Christ's sheep in this naughty 
 world," he was too conscientious to enter upon this 
 fresh course of life without a full and genuine deter- 
 mination to perform with exactitude all the duties it 
 involved. As Rector of a country parish he was very 
 popular among his parishioners ; he endeared himself 
 to them by his kindness and his exertions to promote 
 their temporal and spiritual welfare. In this he was
 
 BIRTH AND EARLY YEARS. 
 
 greatly assisted by Mrs. Law, who was a singularly 
 charming woman, gifted equally in person and in 
 character. She possessed a cultivated mind, sound 
 judgment, a sweet affectionate disposition, and was 
 besides sincerely religious. Although not more than 
 nineteen years of age at the time of her marriage, she 
 became, as far as this can be said of a non-Catholic, 
 a model wife and mother, and her union with Mr. Law 
 proved an exceptionally happy one. When the ex- 
 officer of the Guards applied himself to the study of 
 divinity at Cambridge, an occupation not a little foreign 
 to his former habits and manner of life, her warmest 
 wish was that he might become a good clergyman. To 
 this end she counselled him : " Read your Bible, but 
 first offer a little prayer to understand it, and think 
 a good deal upon our sinfulness, and what the Saviour 
 has done for us. The earnest and constant wish of my 
 heart is that we may both become not only Christians 
 in name, but in heart and in hope, and that with the 
 same interests, the same feelings, we may journey on 
 with our dearest children on the road to Heaven." 
 
 When, after Mr. Law's ordination, he was presented 
 to the living of Yeovilton, Somersetshire, by his uncle 
 the Bishop, and settled down to a country life, Mrs. Law 
 devoted herself to the careful training of her children, 
 the government of her household, and the work of the 
 parish. In these she found her interest and her 
 happiness. " We never see company or go out, except 
 to dinner, and that rarely," she writes. " We lead the 
 same quiet, monotonous lives day by day. I am never 
 so happy as when with my dear children. I walk with 
 Helen (the eldest) every day, and when papa is away, 
 dine with the children at one o'clock. I have got 
 positively to like dining early." The entries in her
 
 BIRTH AND EARLY YEARS. 
 
 diary testify to the simplicity of her tastes, and the 
 useful nature of her occupations. One morning we 
 read : " Assisted William (her husband) in writing a 
 sermon;" the next, "Very busy braiding pinafores for 
 little boy who crawls about till he makes himself unfit 
 to be seen." This is almost the first mention of the 
 subject of this memoir, who made his entry into the 
 world on October 21, 1833. He was a fine, healthy 
 child. " Little Boy (or Boykey, as he was called until 
 his brother Frank appeared upon the scene) is broader 
 than he is long, and is like no one in particular," is the 
 account his mother gives of his outer man. Of his 
 character she says, writing to his father when he was 
 little more than a year old : " I am afraid many battles 
 are in store for us with Mr. Augustus. Yesterday 
 evening he was in an awful passion. It was fearful to 
 witness. On being taken out of his bath he screamed, 
 and then held his breath for more than a minute with 
 the violence of his emotion ; at last his mouth and 
 nails turning quite black, I took him in my arms to 
 divert him, and found he was in a strong convulsion, 
 his limbs quite stiff. When he recovered he was 
 nearhy lifeless from the struggle. Poor child, how 
 I pitied him, and how strongly I felt the imperative 
 obligation I am under to endeavour to subdue his 
 violence of temper. He is his naughty papa's own 
 child. Ask your mother if you ever turned black from 
 rage." 
 
 Augustus was about eighteen months old when 
 a terrible accident occurred to him. Just able to run 
 alone, he toddled into the dressing-room of a gentleman 
 who was staying in the house, and seeing on the lower 
 shelf of the wash-stand a jug or can of boiling water,, 
 peeped into it, curious to discover whence the steam
 
 BIRTH AND EARLY YEARS. 
 
 came. In doing so he probably laid hold of the edge 
 of the jug and tilted it, for the whole contents poured 
 over his chest as he fell backwards, and lodged in the 
 bosom of his frock, which according to the fashion of 
 those days, was very loose in front. Before his cries 
 could summon any one to his assistance, the boiling 
 water had done its work ; at first it was feared that 
 the scalds were too large and too deep to heal. Fever 
 set in, and the poor child's strength was reduced to 
 a fearfully low ebb. For weeks he lay day and night 
 on his mother's lap, his sufferings being greatly 
 aggravated by the rough treatment of the country 
 doctor, and the unskilful manner in which he dressed 
 the wounds. But a healthy skin and a good constitution 
 were in his favour, and he was able to pull through, 
 though the nature of the malady rendered recovery 
 a slow and tedious process. The sores gradually closed, 
 but the scars were deep-rooted and remained very red 
 and swollen. In rather more than three months' time 
 the boy was pronounced quite well, and was able to 
 wear a frock again ; but he bore the marks of this 
 accident throughout his life, and felt its effects also, for 
 in after-years, when grown up, he attributed to it 
 a weakness of the chest from which he occasionally 
 suffered. One of Mrs. Law's sisters, who happened 
 to be staying in the house when the accident occurred, 
 spent much of her time with the little suffering child, 
 helping to amuse and nurse him. He was ever grateful 
 to her for this, and frequently referred to her kindness 
 when speaking of his childish days. 
 
 One might imagine that the indulgence naturally 
 accorded to a sick child would have tended to render 
 Augustus more self-willed and passionate. It seems 
 to have had a contrary effect ; at any rate, under the
 
 BIRTH AND EARLY YEARS. 
 
 careful training of his wise and loving mother, though 
 he retained his high spirit, his character seems to have 
 developed in the most satisfactory manner. In her 
 letters to her sisters she often mentions the gentle, 
 docile disposition of her " soft-eyed darling boy." 
 " Dustus," as he called himself in his infantile language, 
 warmly reciprocated his mother's fond affection. " He 
 was very obedient and devoted to mamma," his sister 
 Helen says, " always the first to run to her on her 
 appearance in the nursery, or in the garden where we 
 were at play, and from her he imbibed the deep faith 
 and tender piety that distinguished him throughout his 
 whole life." 
 
 Mrs. Law used to set apart two or three hours 
 every morning to teach her children. But parental 
 tuition is subject to many interruptions : Mrs. Law's 
 health was not strong, and the babies came in quick 
 succession, so that it was necessary to provide for the 
 elder ones more regular instruction. " I have got a 
 very nice amiable governess for my ' chicks,'" she tells 
 her sister. " I think they are improved since her 
 arrival ; they had been running riot sadly before. 
 Augustus is the little genius. He and Frank are called 
 pretty. Graves (the fourth child) is as round as a 
 ball, with a riante face, crowned with fiery ringlets." 
 Augustus had his mother's brown hair, and clear, soft 
 eyes. A small coloured sketch of him when four and 
 a half years old, taken by his aunt, Lady Colville, 
 represents him as a remarkably attractive child, with 
 a most winning expression of countenance, a delicate 
 complexion, and bright colour. He was very engaging 
 in his ways too. One day he surprised and delighted 
 his mother by giving her a little drawing of his own, 
 which the children's governess had ingeniously con-
 
 BIRTH AND EARLY YEARS. 
 
 verted into a needle-case, together with a note in his 
 own handwriting, begging her to accept it. 
 
 In the winter of 1841, Augustus and Frank were 
 placed with their father's curate, for a few months, to 
 be under his tuition and care during Mr. Law's, and 
 subsequently also Mrs. Law's, absence from home. 
 East Brent was now their home ; they had removed 
 thither two years previously, on the living being offered 
 to Mr. Law by the Bishop, The boys got on very well 
 with their tutor ; their mother, on her return home, 
 gives the following account of them : "I was enchanted 
 to get home to my dear boys, who were equally pleased 
 to see me. Augustus is grown, and I think improved 
 in looks. Frank is much the same, but both are more 
 boyish than they were. Mr. Simpson speaks very 
 highly of them, but to my sorrow wants to be relieved 
 of them, on account of the noise being too much for his 
 old mother, and we are now on the look-out for a 
 regular school for them. The thought of this breaks 
 my heart, for they are too young to encounter the rough 
 ways and contamination of older boys. Miss them, 
 too, I shall painfully ; their merry laugh and cheerful 
 faces form my chief comfort." 
 
 It was decided to send Augustus and Frank at 
 midsummer to school at Somerton. Mr. Law was 
 determined in this choice by the advice of an intimate 
 friend, the Rev. W.R. Newbolt, then Vicar of Somerton, 
 who sent his own sons to the school, which was 
 admirably conducted. It was too at an easy distance, 
 Somerton being not more than seventeen miles distant 
 from East Brent. The dreaded moment of separation 
 once over, Mrs. Law did not regret the boys' departure. 
 Time softened the pain of losing them, and such good 
 reports were received of them, that their parents felt
 
 BIRTH AND EARLY YEARS. 
 
 they had more reason to be thankful than otherwise. 
 Mrs. Newbolt wrote that Augustus was such a dear 
 boy that there was only a fear of his being spoilt. His 
 mother gave the same account of him when he came 
 home for the holidays. " Augustus' disposition is so 
 sweet that I fear making an idol of him. He is very 
 quick, and is already in fractions. Frank is a regular 
 scamp ; both boys are well grown. They have passed 
 a dull Christmas as yet, because I am not strong 
 enough to bear much noise, but we mean to attempt 
 some fun on January gth, Frank's birthday." On the 
 conclusion of the holidays, the boys left home with 
 smiling faces and apparently with little regret. This 
 was perhaps not exactly flattering to their parents, but 
 at any rate it was a satisfaction to know that the 
 youngsters were happy at school, and that the master 
 to whose care they were entrusted knew how to com- 
 mand their respect and affection. Of this master, 
 Mr. Noon, Augustus often spoke in later years in terms 
 of the highest esteem. There was every reason to be 
 contented with the moral and intellectual progress of 
 the boys, the only exception to be taken was at the 
 companionship into which they were thrown. Some 
 of their schoolfellows were wanting in refinement and 
 good breeding ; and the vigilant, anxious mother appre- 
 hended the influence that contact with them might 
 have on her sons' manners. " I could wish," she 
 wrote, " that the other pupils were more of their own 
 state in life, as any provincialisms in speech or manner 
 attaching to them in after-life would much preclude 
 their getting on." In commenting on their letters she 
 counsels more attention to spelling, and expresses the 
 hope that they are very good and gentlemanlike at their 
 meals.
 
 BIRTH AND EARLY YEARS. 
 
 The acceptance of the living of East Brent had 
 been contrary to Mrs. Law's wish, and Mr. Law himself 
 afterwards regretted it. The situation was lonely in 
 the extreme. In Dorsetshire they thought they had no 
 society, but at Brent it was not a fag on de parler. They 
 saw no one, unless a stray curate from a neighbouring 
 parish, who chanced to call. Such perfect seclusion 
 was not desirable, and would have proved intolerable, 
 but for the constant coming and going of visitors, the 
 majority of whom were near relatives, and frequent 
 visits to friends in London and elsewhere. In September, 
 1843, scarlet-fever broke out in the village, and until 
 the end of the year the Vicarage was a hospital, every 
 one in the house being more or less ill. Mrs. Heneage, 
 Mrs. Law's favourite sister, the same who endeared 
 herself to Augustus by her kindness when he met with 
 his a'ccident, was twice at death's door with low fever, 
 and on the ist of January was only just well enough 
 to travel, accompanied by Mrs. Law, to London, and 
 thence the next day to her own home in Brighton. 
 Thus the boys' home-coming at Christmas was again 
 not a very merry one. It was, however, bright in 
 comparison with that which awaited them at the close 
 of the year at that time just opening. They joined 
 their mother at Brighton, and spent the greater part of 
 the holidays there, Augustus winning golden opinions 
 from all his relatives on account of his quick intelli- 
 gence, warm heart, and pleasing manners. 
 
 No event of any importance to the family occurred 
 until the i6th of October, when the angel of death 
 visited the quiet Vicarage of East Brent, and a sorrow 
 great and real descended upon that happy household. 
 
 The brightness of Mrs. Law's path through life had 
 only been obscured by those passing troubles from
 
 BIRTH AND EARLY YEARS. 
 
 which no lot is entirely exempt, and yet she had not 
 allowed herself to be dazzled by worldly joys, or 
 permitted her heart to cling too closely to the earthly 
 objects of her affection. Some time previous to the 
 period at which we have now arrived, writing to her 
 sister, she says : " We must not live as if this world 
 was our lasting home. We must be daily preparing 
 for our eternal habitation, and that cannot be done in 
 the midst of worldly amusements and worldly thoughts. 
 Our spiritual interests are our first consideration, and 
 therefore every other interest should be subservient to 
 them. Let us press forward to the heavenly country, 
 living above this world and its petty cares and deceiving 
 vanities, deceiving because cheating us into forget- 
 ting our high calling as Christians, and that we are 
 candidates for a better state. Let us always remember 
 that the world is enmity with God." When the hour 
 of trial came, and the reality of the sentiments she 
 expressed were put to the proof, she stood the test 
 bravely. They were not idle words, but the deep 
 conviction of her soul. On the 5th October, 1844, her 
 eighth child, Augusta, was born, and at first all seemed 
 to go well with both mother and infant. So little cause 
 was there for anxiety, that a few days later, Mr. Law 
 went to Portsmouth to meet his brother, Lord Ellen- 
 borough, who was returning to England. The recall of 
 this nobleman from the high office of Governor General 
 of India was a striking exercise of power on the part 
 of the East India Company, but the English Govern- 
 ment showed their sense of his services by raising him 
 to an earldom, and conferring on him the Grand Cross 
 of the Bath. Mr. Law was anticipating a pleasant 
 stay in London, when on the morning of the i4th he 
 received a letter by mail train (the electric telegraph
 
 BIRTH AND EARLY YEARS. 
 
 was not established in those days) begging him to come 
 home instantly on account of his wife's alarming illness. 
 The next day a further change for the worse in her 
 condition took place, and the doctor said plainly all 
 hope of saving her life was past, it was but a question 
 of hours. 
 
 True to the principles she had professed, and acting 
 up to the light that had been vouchsafed to her, this 
 generous woman received with fortitude the announce- 
 ment of her approaching end. She resigned herself 
 to the will of God, and prepared herself to make the 
 sacrifice of a life that had been most enjoyable to 
 herself, and the prolongation of which appeared most 
 desirable for the sake of her eight young children. Not 
 a murmur escaped her lips, not a word that could 
 increase the agitation of her grief- stricken husband. 
 She gave directions on all matters respecting which 
 her wishes were asked, and repeatedly entreated that 
 her children might never be allowed to forget her. 
 Towards evening, Augustus and Frank, hastily sum- 
 moned from school by their father, arrived at the 
 Vicarage. As they stood sorrowing by their mother's 
 bedside, she took Augustus' hand, and solemnly bade 
 him throughout his whole life remember, Thou, God, seest 
 me. The deep impression these words made on the 
 boy, and the fidelity with which he obeyed the injunc- 
 tion, will be abundantly shown in the course of the 
 present biography. 
 
 Shortly before her death, Victor, the two-years-old 
 baby, all the more precious to his mother through his 
 having recently passed through a long and serious 
 illness, was carried into her room by his father. Too 
 young to understand the dread solemnity of the scene, 
 he cried out in his cheeriest tones: "Bye, mamma!
 
 12 BIRTH AND EARLY YEARS. 
 
 bye, mamma ! " She warmly embraced him, calling 
 him by his pet name, " My Dindin, my Dindin." Then, 
 at her request, her sister who was present, read to her 
 a favourite hymn by Mrs. Hemans, the motto of which 
 is, " God is Love," and the io2nd Psalm, Bemdic anima 
 mea Dominum. Thus with the words of praise and 
 thanksgiving on her lips, she passed into v the presence 
 of the Lord Who had satisfied her desire with good 
 things, and in the way of Whose commandments, 
 though not enlightened by the true faith in all its 
 fulness, it had been her constant endeavour to walk. 
 
 We have dwelt somewhat at length on this final 
 scene of Mrs. Law's life, in order that the loss Augustus 
 sustained by the early death of his excellent and virtuous 
 mother may be better appreciated. After the funeral, 
 at which he and his brother Frank, one on each side 
 of their bereaved father, followed her as chief mourners 
 to the grave, the whole family was dispersed, one or 
 other of the children being taken charge of for a time 
 by various relatives. Augustus and Frank returned 
 to school at Somerton, and with them went Graves, 
 the third boy, then scarcely eight years old. Mr. Law 
 also left East Brent for several months, as he found 
 life there too melancholy under such altered circum- 
 stances. 
 
 At the commencement of Lent in the following 
 year, he went into residence at Wells, to perform in 
 person his duties as Chancellor of the diocese, an office 
 which had been conferred on him by the Bishop shortly 
 after his ordination, and which he continued to hold 
 until his conversion in 1851. As Somerton was not 
 more than fourteen miles from Wells, the three school- 
 boys had frequent intercourse with their sisters and 
 younger brothers, and the whole of their midsummer
 
 BIRTH AND EARLY YEARS. 13 
 
 holidays were spent at their father's house. Some of 
 Augustus' letters from school during this year have 
 been preserved. They are ordinary schoolboy pro- 
 ductions, untidily written, consisting of short disjointed 
 sentences about his progress in his studies, and the 
 minor events of school life, ending with affectionate 
 messages to his brothers and sisters. In the first that 
 he wrote after his mother's death, he tells his father 
 that he has counted up all the letters in his possession 
 written by her hand, and finds that he has thirty-seven. 
 Most of these dear letters, he says, have some words 
 of good instruction at the . end. The first had been 
 written to him when he was only six years old, a long 
 time back, as it seemed to the boy of eleven, and had 
 been treasured up ever since. Now and again he 
 indulges in moral reflections, as when he states as the 
 result of his experience, that " not many things in this 
 world go as we like, but as God likes." 
 
 The following meditation, written by him before he 
 was twelve years old, is hardly what one would expect 
 from a boy of his age, for it was quite original, not a 
 recollection of any sermon or instruction he had heard, 
 nor was it intended for any eye but his own. It 
 shows him to have had a firm grasp of the truths early 
 instilled into his mind by his pious mother, and to 
 have learnt, even at the very outset of his life, to look 
 to the end, and consider the importance of the last 
 things. 
 
 "2 Cor. v. 10. 'We must all appear before the 
 judgment-seat of Christ.' That day will be an awful 
 one, when our Blessed Lord comes down to judge us. 
 Every one will have to give an account of his deeds, 
 whether they were good or evil ; some will be doomed 
 to eternal destruction and go with the devil and his
 
 I 4 BIRTH AND EARLY YEARS. 
 
 wicked angels to Hell, others will go with our Blessed 
 Saviour to Heaven, where they will live in eternal life 
 for ever and ever. Every one will receive his due. 
 That day the Son of Man will come in His glory and 
 all His holy angels with Him. Then shall He sit upon 
 the throne of His glory, and before Him shall be 
 gathered all nations. Some would then have wished 
 that they had served their Lord when they had time. 
 So suddenly will that day come to pass, that not even 
 the angels in Heaven know when it will come to pass, 
 only the Lord. Watch therefore, for ye know not what 
 hour your Lord shall come. In such an hour as you 
 think not the Son of Man cometh. The wicked shall 
 go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous 
 into life eternal. People cannot think too much of 
 that awful day. Some profligate people pass their time 
 on earth in dissipation and folly, forgetting that in that 
 day they will have to give an account of all things done 
 in the body, whether good or evil. On the other 
 hand, others always bear in mind that they have to 
 give an account of themselves on the Judgment Day, 
 and have set their affections on things above and not 
 on things of the earth, always calling upon the name of 
 the Lord, and following His blessed steps. Then, oh 
 try, you who wish to live in Heaven with our Blessed 
 Lord, to follow Christ's example, and then you may be 
 sure you will live in Heaven in bliss and happiness ; 
 and recollect above all things that we must all appear 
 before the judgment-seat of Christ, that every one may 
 receive the things done in his body, according to that 
 he hath done, whether it be good or bad. Finis." 
 
 Augustus' piety was united with a very cheery and 
 playful disposition. There was not a merrier boy in 
 the school, nor one more ready for innocent fun and
 
 BIRTH AND EARLY YEARS. 15 
 
 enjoyment. One of his letters displays not a little 
 malicious triumph in having on one occasion " done " 
 an obnoxious usher. This individual had officiously 
 interfered when the boys were jumping and dancing in 
 the exuberance of their youthful spirits to the fiddling 
 of one of their comrades, and denounced their harmless 
 merriment as the commencement of rebellion ; but the 
 head master when appealed to, took a more sensible 
 view of the matter. Augustus was quick-tempered and 
 knew it ; there was something very characteristic in the 
 way he used to warn his brothers or playmates who 
 were trying his temper too much, by saying : " Please 
 don't, or I know I shall get into a rage soon." With 
 his studies he seem to have got on fairly well. The half- 
 yearly report of his master at the close of the year 
 announces satisfactory progress. He was reading 
 Caesar and Virgil, had begun Greek, and made some 
 acquaintance with Euclid and Algebra ; besides this, 
 he was tolerably proficient in Arithmetic, in English 
 and Roman history, and was learning the elements 
 of French grammar. He himself says he had been 
 working pretty hard, but he did not get sufficient marks 
 to obtain a prize.
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 CHOICE OF A PROFESSION. FIRST VOYAGE. 
 
 IN the autumn of the year 1845, at the close of 
 which we have now arrived, Mr. Law, unable to make 
 up his mind to return to East Brent, and again reside 
 in the desolate Vicarage, peopled as it was with sorrow- 
 ful associations, had resigned his benefice, and accepted 
 the living of Harborne, near Birmingham, which had 
 been vacated expressly on his behalf by the kindness 
 of a relative. Thus the Christmas holidays were spent 
 by the boys in entirely new surroundings. These 
 holidays were memorable for two other reasons. Before 
 they were ended, an event took place which affected 
 the future of all the children ; their father married again. 
 His choice was no less felicitous this time than it 
 had been on a former occasion. His second wife, a 
 daughter of Sir Henry Montgomery, Bart., of Donegal, 
 proved a kind and tender mother to her step-children, 
 and was sincerely loved by all of them. Many a time 
 in after-years Augustus spoke with affectionate and 
 heartfelt gratitude of all they owed to " dearest May," 
 as he fondly called her. The other cause which rendered 
 these holidays noteworthy was that they marked the 
 conclusion of Augustus' school life. On their way back 
 to Somerton, the three boys remained a short time 
 in London, when they paid a visit to their uncle, 
 Lord Ellenborough, who was then First Lord of 
 the Admiralty. He received them very kindly and
 
 CHOICE OF A PROFESSION. 17 
 
 tipped them handsomely. With Augustus he appears to 
 have been much taken ; almost directly after the boys' 
 departure, he wrote to their father, suggesting that he 
 should make "that fine eldest boy of his" a midship- 
 man. He was old enough, he said, and there were a 
 good many to be appointed at once, so that he could 
 go to sea immediately. This proposal on the part of 
 his brother commended itself to Mr. Law as an excellent 
 opening for his eldest son. He lost no time in informing 
 Augustus of it, leaving him free, however, to fall in 
 with it or not as he pleased. " What do you say," he 
 wrote to him, " to enter Her Majesty's service at once, 
 under the patronage of the First Lord of the Admiralty, 
 instead of remaining six months more at Mr. Noon's, 
 and then going to King Edward's school at Birmingham? 
 No one could enter the navy under better auspices than 
 you would. To secure, however, a continuance of my 
 brother's patronage, it would be necessary for you 
 really to devote yourself to the profession, that you 
 should be a brave, gallant sailor, very obedient to the 
 oro\ers of all your superiors, and very diligent in your 
 studies. Of course I should be very sorry to see so 
 much less of you than I should if you remained in 
 England, but I must not let my own feelings stand in 
 the way of your advancement." He ends by bidding 
 him go round after church (the letter was written on 
 Saturday afternoon) to the Vicar, Mr. Newbolt, and 
 talk the matter over with him, and let his father know 
 by return of post what decision he had come to. 
 
 Augustus was a little startled at the abruptness of 
 the change proposed in his future. Hitherto he had 
 entertained, and his parents had entertained for him, 
 the idea of becoming a clergyman ; but as his uncle's 
 offer was considered to be the best for him, and one not 
 c
 
 i8 CHOICE OF A PROFESSION. 
 
 lightly to be declined, he offered no opposition to its 
 acceptance. As a matter of fact, he was scarcely of an 
 age to have made definite choice of a calling in life, and 
 although it was not without some reluctance that he 
 relinquished the prospect of taking Orders, his docile 
 tractable nature readily conformed itself to the wishes 
 and counsels of others. He was a brave, manly lad 
 too, likely to take delight in a seafaring life. His 
 answer to his father's letter ran as follows : 
 
 My dearest Papa, I received your letter this 
 morning, and I think I should like to be a sailor. I 
 hope you will get a ship which is bound for the 
 Mediterranean. I should like to go there better than 
 anywhere. I should not like to go quite as soon as you 
 say, for if I could, I should like to see my dear sisters 
 and brothers and all, so very much, before I start. 
 Will you tell me in your next letter when I am to go to 
 London, because I should like to speak to you about 
 it, and will you find out the name of the ship, the 
 name of the captain ? I hope it will be bound to the 
 Mediterranean. 
 
 Will you thank Lord Ellenborough for me, for 
 having given me such a jolly chance ? Give my very 
 best love to all. Will you tell me also how many guns 
 the ship has got ? Recollect I can't swim. 
 
 Lord Ellenborough was greatly pleased at the boy's 
 readiness to serve afloat. He promised to consult his 
 colleagues as to what would be the best debut for him ; 
 two years' schooling in the Excellent, a training-ship 
 for cadets, or actual service either abroad or on the 
 home station. He was inclined to the latter, as the 
 boy was too young for science, but of an age to begin 
 practice.
 
 CHOICE OF A PROFESSION. 19 
 
 In less than a week's time Augustus, who notes 
 with delight, as a good augury for his future career, 
 that his birthday is the anniversary of the Battle 
 of Trafalgar, had left Somerton, and received an 
 official announcement of his appointment by the Lords 
 Commissioners of the Admiralty as a naval cadet 
 of H.M.S. Carysfort, with directions to repair imme- 
 diately to Portsmouth to the Commander-in-Chief for 
 examination. This appointment was all the more 
 welcome, because his cousin, the son of the first Mrs. 
 Law's favourite sister, was going out on the same 
 vessel. The Carysfort was commanded by Captain 
 Sej'mour, a very good officer, and was bound for the 
 Cape. 
 
 To Portsmouth Augustus accordingly proceeded, 
 accompanied by his father. The examination presented 
 no difficulties ; the only requirements in the way of 
 scholarship being a sufficient knowledge of his own 
 language to write from dictation, beside acquaintance 
 with the first four rules of arithmetic, and the rule of 
 three. He remained at Portsmouth while his outfit 
 was being ordered ; this included a sword, which 
 replaced the dirk formerly worn by naval cadets. Then 
 Mr. Law returned home, and left his boy to enter upon 
 a sailor's life. 
 
 The excitement of preparation had kept up his 
 spirits till then, so that he did not feel the parting as 
 much as one might have expected, and when he went 
 on board the Carysfort, at the outset everything wore 
 the charm of novelty. The first day he dined in the 
 gun-room with the lieutenants. Writing home, he says 
 he likes the ship very well, and his hammock too, and 
 tells with not a little importance, how he had eight 
 men to row him the lad of twelve and a half years
 
 FIRST VOYAGE. 
 
 old to the dockyard, where he had to go on duty. 
 Then he begs his father to go to Spithead, where the 
 vessel was to touch before her departure from England, 
 as he wants to ask him about many things. 
 
 At length the final leave-taking was over, and the 
 brave little boy was fairly under way, going from all 
 his kind and loving friends, to be tossed about for an 
 indefinite period on the homeless waves. He kept up 
 his heart stoutly, or made a show of doing so, for in 
 writing to his father all he will confess to is : "I must 
 say I was rather sorry at parting from you, but I am 
 happy to say I soon got over it, and now I am as jolly as 
 ever." And he ends : " Hurrah ! Please God we shall 
 meet again all happy together. God bless you all." 
 
 The vessel was delayed by contrary gales in the 
 bay ; this made rather a rough beginning for Augustus, 
 but he soon got over his sickness, and was as merry as 
 need be. The Captain gives a most satisfactory report 
 of him. " He is a very nice and very good boy, and 
 has made himself several friends on board. He is 
 considerably ahead of the rest of his companions as 
 far as books go, and I have no doubt of his doing well 
 in the practical part of his profession, as he appears to 
 take a great liking to it." About two months later the 
 chaplain and acting instructor on board the Carysfort 
 says of him : " Mr. Augustus Law promises to be an 
 ornament to his profession. He has evinced even in 
 this short time a great desire to obtain a perfect know- 
 ledge of the nautical part of his education, and by his 
 amiable and affectionate disposition has won the esteem 
 and regard of all the officers in the frigate. I can add 
 my testimony to the great progress he has made in his 
 studies while under my charge. The sea seems to agree 
 very well with him."
 
 FIRST VOYAGE. 
 
 On account of bad weather, the voyage from Spit- 
 head to Madeira lasted nearly four weeks. Augustus 
 writes from the latter place in the most happy and con- 
 tented spirit : " If you ask me how I like the profession, 
 I can tell you I could like nothing better than a sea- 
 faring life. As to there being hardships in life at sea, 
 I don't see that there are any, without you call drinking 
 black water one, which is nothing." With the Portu- 
 guese residents on the island he was not very favourably 
 impressed ; he says they are hideous animals and very 
 savage. Whilst off Madeira he spent five days on 
 shore with an aunt who resided there ; she was delighted 
 with the little fellow and thought him the nicest boy 
 she ever knew. 
 
 The following letter was written at sea and sent 
 home from the Cape of Good Hope. As it contains a 
 description of his life on board, it shall be given in 
 extenso : 
 
 H.M.S. Carysfort, at sea, lat. 13 55', long. 29 45'. 
 Friday, May 8th, 1846. 
 
 My dearest Papa, I am going to begin the letter 
 now which I am going to send you from the Cape, 
 and I am thinking that you and all my brothers and 
 sisters would like nothing better than my giving you 
 an account of the sort of way that I pass a day on 
 board ship (at least how a day is spent on board). 
 First of all you must know the watches on board ship 
 are seven. The first night watch begins at eight and 
 ends at twelve ; the second begins at twelve and ends 
 at four (called the middle watch) ; and the third from 
 four to eight, called the morning watch. Then comes 
 the watch from eight in the morning till twelve, the 
 forenoon watch, then from twelve to four in the after- 
 noon, called the afternoon watch, then from four to six,
 
 22 FIRST VOYAGE. 
 
 called the first dog-watch. You must also know we are 
 in four watches, so that if my watch is from four in the 
 morning till eight, I have not to watch again until six 
 in the evening. 
 
 Now I will tell you what the employment of each 
 day is. First of all our hammocks are piped up at 
 6.30 a.m., and we are all obliged to turn out, without 
 it is our watch, and then of course we are on deck. 
 Then we have breakfast at eight, then at nine it is 
 quarters, i.e., all the officers and men go to their 
 quarters wherever they are stationed. Some are 
 stationed, or have quarters, on the quarter-deck, some 
 on the forecastle, some forward on the main-deck, and 
 some aft. Each man is stationed to a gun; my 
 quarters are forward on the main-deck, and every 
 time when the drum beats to quarters I go there and 
 muster the men, to see that they are all present 
 belonging to those quarters. Then about 9.30, after 
 quarters, we all go in the Captain's cabin to lessons, 
 and there we stay till half-past eleven, when we go 
 with our quadrants to take the sun and see what 
 longitude we are in. At twelve o'clock we have our 
 dinner; on certain days, twice a week, we have duff 
 (pudding) and plug (cheese), and we are precious glad 
 when those days come. Then we can do anything we 
 like the rest of the day. At six o'clock we have tea, 
 and then at a quarter-past seven all hammocks are 
 piped down, and then we turn in if we like, without it 
 is our watch. About three weeks ago, just a day or 
 two after we left Madeira, a man fell overboard; we 
 put the ship about, let go the life-buoy, and did every- 
 thing we could to save him ; we let down both quarter 
 boats and looked about for him, but the man was 
 drowned. He fell overboard from the foreyard as we
 
 FIRST VOYAGE. 23 
 
 were exercising in making and shortening sail. It was 
 the first man ever yet drowned in this ship since 
 we left England. It certainly is a very melancholy 
 thing for a man to be lost in that way. Since that, 
 one day just after the drum had beaten a retreat from 
 quarters, I heard the shrill boatswain's whistle, followed 
 by the words, " Hands reef topsails" just as I heard 
 that, there was " A man overboard ! " The truth was, 
 he wanted to go to his station aloft as quick as ever he 
 could, but he missed his footing and fell overboard ; 
 but the fellow was a very smart man, and he caught 
 hold of a rope which by accident was hanging over the 
 stern, and by this means he was hauled up on board 
 again, so he was saved. 
 
 The next thing I shall tell you is about a man being 
 flogged. This man had insulted one of the officers, so 
 he was put in chains and sentenced to three dozen 
 lashes. So the next morning about half-past seven 
 all hands were piped up. Then the Captain, lieutenants 
 and midshipmen, in full dress, with their swords, came 
 on deck, together with all the other officers and men ; 
 and the man was lashed on some gratings, and then 
 the Captain read the article of war by which he was 
 punished, and the order was given : " Boatswain's mate, 
 do your duty," and then he received three dozen lashes 
 on his naked back, and that was the end of it. So all 
 hands were piped down, and all went down below. 
 
 The next thing I must tell you is about crossing the 
 line. I dare say you have read about that amusement in 
 many books, all about the shaving, &c. The night 
 before we cross the line I suppose you know there is 
 a sort of ceremony, for old Neptune hails the ship and 
 yells out : " Ship ahoy ! " and then the officer of the 
 watch yells out, " Her Majesty's ship Carysfort," and
 
 24 FIRST VOYAGE. 
 
 they fling a tar barrel lighted overboard. Then the 
 next morning we triced up one of the stunsails to 
 the beams on the main deck and filled it with water, 
 and then we began. The officers who had not crossed 
 the line were shaved and ducked first, and then the 
 men. They let me off very easy. Then we had good 
 fun all the morning flinging buckets of water at each 
 other. It was splendid fun. Hip, hip, hurrah ! 
 
 May 25th. We are only six hundred miles from 
 the Cape now, and I hope we shall be at anchor in 
 St. Simon's Bay before the end of the week. The first 
 lieutenant has been giving away the boats, and he has 
 appointed me to the jolly-boat ; it is a four-oared boat. 
 So now I have the charge of that boat, and shall always 
 go in her when she goes ashore at the Cape of Good 
 Hope to fetch anything. I have been three months 
 now in Her Majesty's service, and I must say I like 
 the navy very much. I don't think there is any one 
 in the ship happier than me ; and I hope some day 
 (D. V.) in about three or four years' time, I may be safe 
 on old England's shores again. The other day we 
 practised firing with the great guns at a target (a 
 grating with a flag stuck on it) and all the guns firing 
 one after another made such a stunning row ; one could 
 fancy himself in an engagement already. 
 
 This letter, at the writer's own request, was sent to 
 several of his immediate relatives and friends, who 
 were desirous to hear of his goings on, since he could 
 not write to each one singly. The same was done with 
 subsequent letters, provided they contained anything 
 of special interest. No member of his family could 
 imagine themselves forgotten, for he rarely, if ever, 
 writes without mentioning by name every one of his
 
 FIRST VOYAGE. 25 
 
 brothers and sisters, sending messages to each indi- 
 vidually, as well as to other relatives and friends at a 
 distance from his home. Lord Ellenborough, having 
 read the long letter from the Cape, which was illus- 
 trated by a good many pen-and-ink drawings of the 
 Cavysfort at anchor, under double reefed topsails, and 
 under various amounts of canvas, sincerely congratu- 
 lated his brother upon it. It was as agreeable a letter, 
 he said, as a father could wish to receive, the sort of 
 letter the Duke of Wellington would have written at 
 thirteen years of age, and as good a one as Nelson 
 could have written at any time. 
 
 Augustus' letters home, still more the pages of his 
 diary, display a pronounced taste for drawing. The 
 earlier volumes of the diary more especially, are largely 
 embellished with sketches, chiefly of a humorous des- 
 cription. Comic figures and grotesque groups of men 
 and animals, in the style of the title-page of Punch, 
 invariably mark the commencement of a fresh month. 
 For instance, a band of soldiers is represented as 
 storming a fort under the banner of the new month, 
 or a civic procession heralds its arrival. Again, the 
 departed month is symbolized by a figure in hasty 
 flight, an officer resigning his command, a ship founder- 
 ing at sea, or some fanciful device of the kind. Later 
 on we meet with attempts at landscape-drawing, rocks 
 and islands descried at sea, and carefully executed 
 drawings of vessels of various descriptions, from the 
 stately man-of-war or merchant-ship to the picturesque 
 junks and humbler craft that ply in foreign harbours. 
 A large proportion of the illustrations refer to occur- 
 rences recorded or commented on in the diary; to 
 these a comic turn is usually given. 
 
 Before Augustus' thirteenth birthday he was at
 
 26 FIRST VOYAGE. 
 
 Valparaiso, which did not strike him as " much of a 
 place, not half so good as Sydney or Madeira." He 
 was destined, however, to see a good deal of it, for 
 not until fifteen months had passed did the Carysfort 
 prepare to start on the homeward voyage. But in the 
 interim she went cruising about in the Pacific, and 
 Augustus, among new scenes and surroundings,, found 
 the time pass very quickly. Whether it is that trifles 
 are of great importance to men at sea, or the law of 
 compensation provides that small events should occur 
 more frequently on the ocean than on land, in order to 
 relieve the tedium of an otherwise monotonous exist- 
 ence, it appears to the reader in turning over the leaves 
 of Augustus' diary, as well of the long letters he was 
 in the habit of writing home, that on most days there 
 has been some incident to record. Almost every page 
 presents something that arrests the attention, and we 
 are tempted to quote from them more largely than our 
 limits will warrant. We must confine ourselves to a 
 few selections. 
 
 Whilst at anchor in Valparaiso Bay, Augustus felt 
 for the first time the shock of an earthquake. " It was 
 in the forenoon," he writes, "we were all doing our 
 lessons in the Captain's cabin at the time. It seemed 
 to us as if they were running the heavy guns about on 
 the upper deck, the sensation was most strange. The 
 ship trembled and shook like a leaf. We saw all the 
 people on shore running out of their houses to get clear 
 of them in case they should fall ; they knelt down on 
 the ground and sang out : Misericordia I Misericordia ! I 
 heard afterwards that some villages were destroyed by 
 the earthquake, but fortunately Valparaiso was not hurt 
 at all, with the exception of some of the houses being: 
 almost shaken down."
 
 FIRST VOYAGE. 27 
 
 The first death and burial that occurred on board 
 was naturally an impressive occasion. Augustus had 
 only once been to a funeral before, and that was his 
 mother's. The entry in his diary is as follows : 
 
 " August gth, 1847. Walter Simpson, the band- 
 master, who has been very ill for the last two months, 
 departed this life. Poor man ! his disease was con- 
 sumption, through playing a wind instrument. He 
 was very much lamented by all who knew him. On 
 the following day his body was committed to the deep. 
 At one o'clock the bell was tolled, and every one was 
 sent on deck, the officers in full dress, wearing their 
 swords. The poor man was sewed up in a hammock, 
 put on a grating and covered with a Union Jack. Then 
 he was carried up to the lee gangway, his shipmates 
 and all the principal petty officers standing on each side 
 of the gangway, ready to launch him into the sea. 
 When all was ready, Mr. Onslow (the Chaplain) came 
 on deck in his surplice and read the Burial Service in 
 a very impressive tone. When he said the words : We 
 therefore commit his body to the deep, the grating and all 
 was launched overboard ; but there was a rope's end 
 made fast to the grating and the Union Jack, so that 
 they were hauled on board again. How solemn a 
 spectacle is a burial at sea ! I had never witnessed 
 one before : the splash of the hammock and grating, 
 amidst the silence that prevailed, made one shudder. 
 It was almost a calm too." 
 
 We must turn to some entries of a more cheerful 
 character. When occasion offered, the cadets had 
 permission given them to go ashore very frequently, 
 and as Augustus was a favourite with the ship's officers, 
 they often took him with them for an excursion. At 
 Mazatlan about six of them went for a day's shooting
 
 28 FIRST VOYAGE. 
 
 in the lagoons, which was quite a novel experience for 
 Augustus. The party rowed ashore at an early hour 
 in the morning, and on arriving, engaged the services 
 of a native boy, whose costume was the simplest 
 imaginable, to wade into the water for them after the 
 game. The principal game was wild duck, snipe, coot, 
 plover, &c. The lakes were said to abound with 
 alligators, but they only came across one, and that a 
 small one. By g a.m. the sportsmen had walked seven 
 miles out of Mazatlan, and having reached a hut, they 
 lit a fire and boiled some tea in a portable stove which 
 they had brought, and broiled the coot they had shot. 
 They made a pretty fair breakfast, Augustus says, 
 and during the remainder of the day had very good 
 fun but not much sport. He was allowed to have one 
 shot, and nearly succeeded in hitting a bird. About 
 6 p.m. they " steered their course " for Mazatlan, and 
 after a jolly good supper, went on board again, and 
 thus closed a very pleasant but rather fatiguing day. 
 
 Another time, when the Cavysfort was at anchor in 
 Conception Bay, the Captain sent for Augustus and 
 asked him if he would like to go with him for a cruise 
 to the town of Penco. Of course there could be but one 
 answer to such a question. The party started about 
 ten o'clock, and after rather a difficult sail, owing to 
 the extreme shallowness of the water, landed at Penco. 
 The boat's crew were told to get their dinners, whilst 
 the officers went up to inspect the old fortress. Wander- 
 ing about the town, they met with a priest who told 
 them where the smelting-houses were. " As they were 
 a good way off," Augustus writes, " we thought it best 
 to go in the pinnace, so we had to disturb the men at 
 their dinners, and get the boat under weigh again. 
 When we got opposite to the houses, we anchored, and
 
 FIRST VOYAGE. 29 
 
 leaving the crew to finish their dinner, we walked up 
 to the houses. We found the overseer there, he was 
 a Chilian. He showed us all over the place, and 
 explained the process of purifying the copper. It has 
 to be melted three times before it is quite pure. I was 
 much interested in seeing the men taking off the scum 
 with a long iron hoe. After they have got off all the 
 scum, they make a small opening and out runs the 
 beautiful vermillion-coloured copper ; it is a grand 
 sight and well worth seeing. When the stream of 
 melted copper comes in contact with damp ground, it 
 begins to fizz like fun. It did so once while we were 
 looking on, and we had to run out of its way. The 
 heat was tremendous. In different places there were 
 large heaps of copper ore. I took some pieces which I 
 intend to bring home with me. The overseer told us 
 that no less than 8,000 tons were exported from that 
 place every year. The houses have only been built 
 two years. When he had shown us everything that 
 there was to be seen, he took us into his house, and 
 gave us some very fine strawberries. They were 
 delicious, and formed a most acceptable refreshment 
 after the heat of the furnaces. Then we walked 
 through the fields till we came to where the pinnace 
 men were, and we had our dinner under the shade of 
 a high hedge. We had a capital dinner, with plenty 
 of wine, ale, brandy, and rum. We gave a bottle of 
 rum to the boat's crew, and then went down to the 
 boat and shoved off. On the way back we ran upon 
 a rock, but managed to get off without much trouble. 
 The coast is a very unsafe one for ships, if they stand 
 at all close in." 
 
 While returning to Valparaiso, an accident occurred 
 which afforded Augustus considerable amusement ; at
 
 30 FIRST VOYAGE. 
 
 least he gives a humorous account of it. The crew 
 happened to descry a turtle, and the Captain ordered 
 the jolly-boat to be lowered in view of capturing the 
 prize. " Perceval (one of the cadets) got into the boat 
 with the crew, but directly she touched the water she 
 capsized. The crew escaped with a wetting, but 
 Perceval fell into the water, floundering about, and 
 turning over and over. At last he came up, puffing 
 and blowing like a porpoise, and yelled out at the top 
 of his voice for help, when he was as safe as could be, 
 for he was holding on like grim death to about three or 
 four oars, masts, &c. Finally he managed to scramble 
 into the boat, and was hauled on board by a rope's end 
 under his shoulders, looking like a drowned rat. In the 
 meanwhile they had lowered the cutter to pick up the 
 coxswain, who was far astern, and the gear of the boat, 
 which had drifted some hundred yards astern. The only 
 things lost were the sails, so there was not much harm 
 done, but we saw nothing more of the turtle." 
 
 Another time the whole ship's company had a very 
 narrow escape. For a whole night, unknown to any 
 one on board, the Carysfori was in danger of catching 
 fire. Augustus gives a brief account of what might 
 have been a terrible catastrophe. " The first thing in 
 the morning, one of the men going into the boatswain's 
 store-room, found half the foreign ensigns completely 
 burnt. The evening before, two or three farces had 
 been acted on board, and a pantomime. It appears 
 that the managers of the play, being in a great hurry 
 to get the things put away after they had finished, had 
 been so careless as to wrap a match, which they did not 
 see was ignited, in the ensigns. The consequence was 
 they smouldered away ; it is a lucky thing that they 
 were made of linen instead of bunting."
 
 FIRST VOYAGE. 31 
 
 On the 25th of November, 1847, he hears the 
 " jolly news " that they are to take in freight at once, 
 and on December ist to sail for England. The next 
 day he writes to his father in the highest spirits. " I 
 cannot express my joy, you will hardly believe what 
 I say. The Carysfort is homeward bound ! ! ! Hurrah, 
 hurrah! I am not going to write a long letter, for 
 about three or four weeks after you get this I hope I 
 shall see you. It makes me very happy to think of 
 going home. May God preserve me in health and 
 safety till I get home to see you, dearest papa." 
 
 His account of the Christmas Day which followed, 
 when they had been three weeks at sea, shows that in 
 heart he was already in England. 
 
 " I dined in the cabin with Captain Seymour, 
 Mr. Onslow, and six of the officers. We had a very 
 good dinner, notwithstanding I think that a Christmas 
 dinner on board a ship at sea is rather dull than 
 otherwise. After the Captain's dinner was finished, 
 some of the men dressed up like clowns, and were 
 singing songs, dancing, &c., until three bells in the 
 last dog-watch. It was tolerably good fun. There was 
 also a magic-lantern on the lower deck which was 
 conducted pretty well. A good many men were very 
 drunk. I often thought during the day of the contrast 
 between a Christmas at home and on board ship." 
 The festivities on New Year's Day seem to have 
 awakened a similar longing for home. " A whole lot 
 of the men dressed up as before on Christmas Day. 
 They acted ' King Charles defeating the Moorish 
 knight,' which I remember having been acted at 
 Mr. Newbolt's at Somerton in the year 1845. / wish 
 I was there now. What jolly times those were ! " 
 
 In another place he enumerates the presents he has
 
 32 FIRST VOYAGE. 
 
 collected for his " dearest brothers and sisters," con- 
 sisting of beautiful and rare shells, baskets made of 
 hair by the Mexicans, a stick made out of a whale's jaw, 
 some ponchos, one of the caps worn in Madeira, and 
 various other curiosities which he has picked up in the 
 places he has visited ; anticipating with childish delight 
 the pleasure they will give to the destined recipients. 
 Before he reached England he was made a midship- 
 man, when but fourteen years old, having passed the 
 examinations and received his certificates on the 
 homeward voyage. 
 
 While the Carysfort lay in Bahia Bay, Augustus 
 had a pleasant excursion on shore. He went with 
 Mr. Onslow to call on an English merchant residing 
 there, whose brother Mr. Onslow had known at College, 
 and who kindly invited them to his house. " We went," 
 he says, " for a long and very beautiful walk, and had 
 a splendid view. The neighbourhood of Bahia is most 
 beautiful, it cuts Valparaiso out and out, excepting as 
 to the climate, which is exceedingly hot from about 
 ii a.m. to 5 p.m., although it is pleasant in the 
 morning and evening. We saw lots of fruit-trees, 
 cocoanut-trees, jack-fruit, a kind of date, bananas, 
 palm-trees, &c. A large proportion of the population 
 are blacks. There is an extensive trade carried on 
 here in slaves. I am glad to say they are treated here 
 on the whole a good deal better than in the West 
 Indies. A number of them get their living by carrying 
 sedan chairs. When they are carrying any heavy 
 weight they make a horrid row. The next day we 
 hired a boat and pulled round to a point near Bomfim 
 Church, about six miles from the town, and walked 
 up to the church. The first thing we saw when we 
 got near it was a tremendous show of a kind of painted
 
 FIRST VOYAGE. 33 
 
 scenery, more befitting a theatre than a church. The 
 choir is beautifully fitted up, and the altar is a most 
 splendid piece of workmanship, with a great deal of 
 gilding about it. After we had seen the choir, we went 
 up into the tower, and saw the machinery of the clock, 
 which is very curious and elaborate : it was made by a 
 Brazilian. After that we went into a side chapel, 
 where were a quantity of pictures offered by persons 
 who had been saved (as they pretended) by the inter- 
 position of the Saint Bomfim. Bomfim l means good 
 end ; he is the patron of sailors, and whenever they are 
 in danger they call upon the Saint. If they are saved 
 from destruction, they offer a picture representing the 
 dangerous situation they were in. Thus there was a 
 painting of an English ship running down a Brazilian 
 whale-boat (here he gives a good sketch of a British 
 man-of-war at full sail, with a rowing boat under her 
 bows, while the figure of the Saint appears above in 
 an aureole of light). The men called on ' Bomfim,' 
 and were saved. The picture was painted to com- 
 memorate their deliverance. After we had seen all 
 there was to be seen, we went away." This was perhaps 
 the little Protestant's first visit to a Catholic church, 
 and his first introduction to devotion to the saints ; 
 those saints of whom he was to become not very long 
 after, a close and fervent follower. 
 
 The principal charm in the details Augustus Law 
 gives of his life on board ship, or when ashore in distant 
 climes ; of his duties, his studies, his pleasures ; of his 
 impressions of places and people during his first two 
 years at sea, consists in the insight they afford into his 
 
 1 It is clear that Augustus is wrong in thinking that this was the name 
 of a Saint. The devotion, perhaps at a shrine of our Lady, is for a happy 
 death. 
 
 D
 
 34 FIRST VOYAGE. 
 
 character. What a cheerful, contented disposition the 
 pages exhibit ! What wise determination to make the 
 best of hardships, for hardships there must necessarily 
 have been many in a sea-faring life for a young boy, 
 accustomed to the comforts of a well-appointed house- 
 hold ; one who had, moreover, never evinced any predilec- 
 tion or received any previous preparation for the career 
 on which he was suddenly launched. N^ever does one 
 meet with a single complaint, either of his companions, 
 his work, or the treatment he receives from his superiors. 
 It is only by the pleasure and relief he expresses at 
 some change that has been effected, or some fresh 
 arrangement that has been made, that one gathers that 
 any disagreeables existed. Nor is it only a cheerful 
 spirit that he manifests, but an affectionate heart, a 
 decided character, and high religious principle. When 
 it is remembered at what an early age he was taken 
 from home and country, and launched on the wide seas 
 in the company of strangers, exposed to see and hear 
 much that it was, to say the least, most undesirable for 
 so young a boy to see and hear, it seems wonderful 
 that he should preserve his innocence unsullied, and 
 have the courage to adhere conscientiously to the 
 Christian principles and pious practices taught him in 
 his childhood. The testimony of the chaplain on this 
 point, as well as to his progress in seamanship and 
 nautical astronomy, must have been very gratifying to 
 his father. " Augustus is going on in the same steady 
 way," he Avrites from Valparaiso, " as ever, not only in 
 his studies and duties as an officer, but especially in 
 those things which are of more value than all, and 
 which will in the end tend to carry him through the 
 world as an honourable, just, and good officer. He very 
 often comes into my cabin in the evening and reads
 
 FIRST VOYAGE. 35 
 
 the Psalms and Lessons appointed for the day by our 
 Church. He did this of his own accord, which indeed 
 says much for him." 
 
 And at the end of the voyage, he speaks in still 
 more emphatic terms : "I hasten with real pleasure 
 to give you a few lines touching your dear little son, 
 in whose welfare I shall ever be warmly interested. 
 You will receive him as he left you, pure in prin- 
 ciple, and uncontaminated by the vices that he 
 may have seen during the last two years. I cannot 
 say too much for his Christian character, which has 
 been witnessed by all. Evidently by nature and dis- 
 position he was intended for a holier and a higher 
 calling, and he has sometimes expressed a wish to me 
 on that head. Still he can shine forth well in his 
 present profession, and guided by his early training 
 will be an honour and an ornament to it. His mathe- 
 matical abilities are very good, and he is gifted with 
 the power of finding out many things which those much 
 older than himself cannot manage ; I mean especially 
 geometry, algebraic and trigonometrical problems." 
 
 As the good chaplain surmised, Augustus was 
 indeed destined by God for a higher and holier calling, 
 although a very different one to that which he would 
 have marked out for him. 
 
 During the detention of the Carysfort at Portsmouth, 
 Augustus had the honour of being invited by the 
 Admiral to dinner, in acknowledgment of the excellent 
 place he had taken in the examinations on board, and 
 of the high character for general good conduct he bore 
 among the officers of the ship. Under such circum- 
 stances, how joyous was the newly-made midshipman's 
 first home-coming.
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 SECOND VOYAGE. 
 
 AT the close of his first voyage, Augustus Law went 
 home for a holiday of six or eight weeks. It was spent 
 in free and happy intercourse with the members of his 
 family, his affection for whom had suffered no diminu- 
 tion during his two years' absence. Of course he found 
 that some changes had taken place ; his eldest sister 
 Helen was no longer a little girl, his brother Frank 
 was preparing for the military academy at Woolwich ; 
 " old " Graves, as he was familiarly called, had been 
 removed from Somerton school, and the future calling 
 of his younger brothers was already matter of discussion. 
 Besides this, a baby-boy and girl whom he had not yet 
 seen were installed in the nursery of Harborne Vicarage ; 
 with these he quickly made friends, and became a great 
 favourite, as he was at all times with little children. 
 But however pleasant it was to have his son at home 
 again, Mr. Law wisely lost no time in obtaining another 
 appointment for him. The result of his application 
 at the Admiralty was that Augustus and his cousin 
 Algernon (now Admiral Sir A. C. F. Heneage) were 
 appointed to H.M.S. Hastings, which was to sail for the 
 East Indies on July ist. 
 
 This fresh parting, when the time came, proved 
 more painful for Augustus than the first. He had not
 
 SECOND VOYAGE. 
 
 37 
 
 acquired that love of the blue water which makes the 
 true salt restless on shore even amid the happiest 
 surroundings. He confesses to having been rather 
 down in the mouth after bidding his father good-bye 
 at Portsmouth, but he turns it off with a laugh, telling 
 him as a good joke that some of the fellows had 
 mistaken their relationship to one another, and had 
 asked him whether that young fellow with the red 
 whiskers was not his brother. 
 
 Unfortunately when the Hastings had only left 
 Portsmouth a few days, small-pox broke out on 
 board. Consequently the yellow flag had to be hoisted, 
 and when she reached Madeira, no one could go 
 ashore, much to Augustus' annoyance. It was so 
 tantalizing, he writes, to look at that beautiful Madeira, 
 and not be able to leave the ship. He, with a number 
 of others, was vaccinated, and so escaped the disease ; 
 but about twenty-five men had it, and rather badly 
 too. 
 
 Thrown as he now was among a fresh set of 
 associates, Augustus naturally made new friends. One 
 of the ship's officers, Lieutenant Hancock, took a great 
 liking to the bright, intelligent boy, and made a com- 
 panion of him. He encouraged and helped him in his 
 religious practices, and allowed him to make use of 
 his cabin. " He is a very nice man," Augustus says, 
 " quite like a father to me, and I like him all the more 
 because he is such a good Christian. He has given me 
 leave to go into his cabin ; I go there of an evening to 
 read the Lessons for the day, and to say my prayers. 
 He is the best friend I have, or ever shall have, in the 
 navy." Mr. Hancock had a good many volumes of 
 sermons, which he used to lend to his little friend, or 
 read with him. Amongst these were some of Manning's ;
 
 38 SECOND VOYAGE. 
 
 Augustus mentions one, on Holiness in Childhood, 
 which they both thought very beautiful. They often 
 had long talks (we ought rather to say yarns] together. 
 "One day," Augustus writes in his diary, "whilst I 
 was reading in Mr. Hancock's cabin, he happened to 
 ask me how long my mother had been dead, and I 
 could not refrain from tears. But directly he saw his 
 question had brought back to my mind* painful recol- 
 lections, he was so sorry for it, and consoled me as 
 much as he could. The most singular thing was that 
 he selected to read to me the io3rd Psalm [in our 
 version io2nd] the very one that my dearest mother 
 desired to be read to her when she was on her death- 
 bed. This shows what a good kind man he is. I cannot 
 thank him too much for his kindness to me." This 
 incident also shows how tender was the love wherewith 
 Augustus cherished his mother's memory. He seldom 
 failed to chronicle October i6th in his diary as "the 
 anniversary of my dear mother's death," and to inscribe 
 on the same page the words which on her death-bed 
 she bade him ever remember: "Thou, God, seest me." 
 The Commander, too, noticed Augustus, and expressed 
 his approval of his attention to religion. One day he 
 spoke to him on the main-deck, and told him he would 
 give him all the assistance in his power with regard 
 to explaining anything he might read in the Bible. 
 " This was very kind of him," Augustus adds gratefully. 
 "I do not think there are many Commanders in the 
 service who would trouble their heads about a midship- 
 man." Perhaps the officer would have said there were 
 not many midshipmen who would care that he should 
 trouble his head about them, or at any rate who would 
 repay a few kind words, as Augustus Law did, with 
 gratitude and affectionate respect.
 
 SECOND VOYAGE. 39 
 
 Nothing particular occurred on the voyage out to 
 Hong Kong, which was reached on the i4th December. 
 During the months spent there life seems to have been 
 easy and agreeable ; in the forenoon there was school, 
 mathematics, nautical astronomy, and navigation being 
 the subjects of study ; in the afternoon there were 
 entertainments on board, and plenty of leave to go 
 ashore, where the club, cricket, bathing, shooting 
 expeditions, &c., offered attractions to suit all tastes. 
 But although Augustus took part in all these amuse- 
 ments, when Christmas Day comes, he thinks a good 
 deal about how his dearest father, May (Mrs. Law), and 
 all his dear brothers and sisters are enjoying themselves 
 at the happy home from which he is an exile ; at Easter 
 he says : " How different was my last Easter Day, 
 spent at Harborne with you, my dearest father." 
 
 On her way to Singapore, the Hastings touched at 
 Manilla. Manilla Bay is a very beautiful bay, thirty 
 to forty miles long. Augustus says there was nothing 
 to see in the town ; he does not appear to have visited 
 the rope and cigar manufactories, the latter of which 
 is said to give employment to eight thousand women 
 and girls between the ages of eleven and sixty. 
 
 Like many religious Protestants, Augustus had strict 
 ideas with regard to the obligation of abstaining from 
 servile work on Sundays, and he did not at all approve 
 of the manner in which that day was observed on board 
 the Hastings. Soon after she left England, an order 
 came down from the Captain to send the day's work in 
 on Sundays just the same as on other days ; at this 
 Augustus expresses himself as much surprised, since he 
 thought that avoidable work should not be imposed on 
 any one on Sundays, as it is, or ought to be, a day of 
 rest. Sometimes, to his great disgust, they actually
 
 4 o SECOND VOYAGE. 
 
 washed decks about ten -o'clock on Sunday morning. 
 On the first Sunday after their arrival at Trincomalee, 
 Augustus was employed in taking some one to another 
 vessel in the bay, and in conveying some of the Admiral's 
 luggage ashore. When he got back, the church pendant 
 was hoisted, and he found to his chagrin, that the 
 service was half over. In the afternoon he went twice 
 more to the Admiral's house with his "traps," and 
 once with the officers ashore. " Altogether," he writes 
 in his diary, " I spent a most unsatisfactory Sunday. 
 It was certainly worthy of the Hastings." Another time 
 he says how he dislikes the way naval officers have of 
 asking a number of people to dine on Sundays. 
 
 The Admiral (Sir Francis Collier) had a very large 
 house at Trincomalee, and frequently invited Augustus, 
 whose fine qualities he appreciated, to dine and sleep. 
 During the voyage, he had taken a good deal of notice of 
 him, singling him out for many little attentions. Once he 
 spoke of him as being the flower of his flock. However 
 Augustus, although by no means insensible to the kind- 
 ness shown him, did not hold the Admiral in particularly 
 high esteem. His sense of right and wrong was shocked 
 by the language he made use of when addressing the 
 officers ; moreover, the Admiral had a dislike to sermons, 
 and frequently sent to request the chaplain to omit his 
 customary discourse at the Sunday morning service. 
 Sometimes for as many as four consecutive Sundays 
 he allowed no sermon. This seems a strange thing 
 for a lad of fifteen to take exception at, but Augustus 
 really enjoyed sermons, and was sorry to be deprived 
 of them. He listened most attentively, and made an 
 invariable practice of entering in his diary the text 
 from which the chaplain preached, adding a short 
 summary of the instruction, with his impression of it.
 
 SECOND VOYAGE. 41 
 
 The following extract will serve as an example. 
 " Onslow never preached, in my humble opinion, a 
 better sermon than he did to-day, as it was so very 
 plain and easy for the men, and in fact, I was very 
 glad to see several men listening very attentively to it. 
 May the good seed not be sown in vain. It was from 
 St. Matt. xxi. 28 30. Onslow showed how very well 
 the case of the second son (who said, ' I go, sir, but 
 went not ') might be applied to ourselves, inasmuch as 
 we too often vainly imagine that we can do good deeds, 
 &c., which, when the time comes, we shrink from. He 
 then went on to show how you may have faith, but if 
 it is without the fruits of faith, the works whereby faith 
 is manifested, what would it profit ? " Very often, 
 when the ship was anchored off any large town, he 
 would go ashore after dinner on Sundays, with one of 
 his friends, to attend the afternoon service, and hear 
 another sermon; failing this, he applied himself to a 
 volume of printed sermons. The entries in his journal 
 during the year 1850, while he was in Chinese waters, 
 show how truly religious was his mind, and what good 
 use he made of the graces within his reach. " Read 
 the fourth, fifth, and sixth of Moberly's sermons at 
 Winchester. I am quite delighted with them. Let 
 people who laugh at religion say what they will ; but 
 if they knew what happiness I have whilst I am 
 reading these sermons, I am sure they would try to get 
 it too by reading them. May I by God's grace be 
 enabled to perform what is enjoined and avoid what is 
 condemned by His commandments." And again : " On 
 reading a sermon on the words, ' Agree with thine 
 adversary quickly,' I asked myself what was my own 
 conduct in this respect. My heart condemned me when 
 I thought of the second master leaving the ship. He
 
 42 SECOND VOYAGE. 
 
 certainly was my enemy, and although I said good- 
 bye to him, I did not perfectly part with him in 
 peace." 
 
 The entry on his seventeenth birthday, which 
 occurred in this year, shall be given in full. 
 
 " October 2ist. Begun taking charge of the main- 
 deck. May God give me grace to begin this eighteenth 
 year of my existence, go through it, and end it, in His 
 fear. May I constantly remember that God's all-seeing 
 eye is on me at all times. May I keep my heart with 
 all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life. May 
 I in all things acknowledge Him, for He shall direct 
 my paths, and may the Holy Spirit's sacred fire burn 
 everything contrary to itself out of my impure heart ; 
 and may God, of His infinite goodness and mercy, 
 forgive me all my sins, and give me true repentance 
 for all my wicked and sinful deeds, through my blessed 
 and merciful Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen." 
 
 Keeping constantly in mind, as it will be observed 
 that he did, his mother's dying admonition, no wonder 
 that his conduct exemplified the saying of St. Thomas 
 of Aquin : " He that shall walk faithfully in God's 
 sight, always ready to render to Him an account of 
 His actions, shall not be separated from Him by con- 
 senting to sin." Throughout his life at sea we do not 
 hear of Augustus being guilty of any serious offence, 
 although, as may be imagined, he occasionally merited 
 punishment for some slight neglect of duty or breach 
 of discipline. He was rather careless in leaving his 
 things about, and often got a " rowing" for not having 
 put them in their proper places. On one occasion he 
 records that he received a severe reproof from the Com- 
 mander for "sky-larking" during his watch. Another 
 time he had his leave to go ashore stopped for a week
 
 SECOND VOYAGE. 43 
 
 on account of some misdemeanour. Once he was left 
 standing in "the bitts," 1 even when the Admiral came 
 on board to inspect the ship, for having, in a fit of 
 temper, flung a book at a brother midshipman. Again, 
 for neglecting to take his log to the cabin according to 
 rule, he was sentenced to be kept on deck for six hours ; 
 but he tells us, after he had been on the poop about an 
 hour, the Captain called him up, and after lecturing 
 him on the necessity of obedience, the soul of discipline, 
 he told him he might go below. 
 
 Another day the Captain had gone on shore, and 
 Augustus, who was on watch at the time he was 
 expected to return, not anticipating that he would 
 come off in the rain that was falling heavily, was 
 not keeping as sharp a look-out as he ought to 
 have kept. The first he knew of his being alongside 
 was that the coxswain came up the ladder and said 
 the Captain was waiting alongside for man-ropes. 
 When he came up on deck, there was naturally " a 
 row in the house." Augustus was punished (most 
 naturally, as he acknowledges) for his remissness in 
 attention to duty with "watch and watch till further 
 orders." But from this he was released on the next 
 day but one, at which he says, " I was not at all dis- 
 pleased." Instances of this sort might be multiplied; 
 every one is aware how perfect is the order and how 
 strict the discipline maintained on board a man-of-war. 
 For this reason the naval service was for Augustus, as 
 it has been in the case of several other Jesuits, an 
 excellent preparation for the religious novitiate. From 
 the outset of his career the finger of God is discernible, 
 leading him through many shifts and channels to the 
 
 1 An ordinary punishment on board ship. The bitts are strong posts of 
 wood or iron to which cables are made fast.
 
 44 SECOND VOYAGE. 
 
 peaceful haven where at a later period he cast anchor 
 with a willing and joyful heart. 
 
 As it was for the most part on account of forget- 
 fulness that Augustus got " rowings," he determined 
 to correct this fault. " I wish I had a better memory," 
 he writes, " I am now trying to improve it, by learning 
 by heart." And what, it may be asked, does he select 
 to be learnt by heart ? "I think," he continues, " that 
 to commit to memory some of the psalms might be of 
 infinite value to me. I learnt one of those appointed 
 for to-day, ' Whoso dwelleth under the defence of the 
 Most High ' " (Psalm 90. Qui habitat]. Thus, while pacing 
 the lonely deck during the silent watches of the night, 
 this young sailor occupied his thoughts, not with the 
 frivolities on which we too often allow our minds to 
 dwell during the hours of solitude, but with the recollec- 
 tion of the protection of his God extended over him, 
 of the guardianship of the angels to whose charge he 
 was committed. And shortly after, he experienced the 
 truth of the gracious promise that no evil should happen 
 unto him, in his preservation from what might have 
 been a terrible accident, or more likely, sudden death. 
 He chronicles the occurrence in the following brief 
 manner : " I had quite a providential escape during the 
 exercising, viz., a block very nearly struck me on the 
 head, it in fact just fell at my feet. It fell out of 
 the mizzen-top. If I had been only two inches further 
 forward, the chances are that it would have killed me 
 on the spot. How thankful ought I to be to God for 
 all His mercies to me ! " 
 
 While the Hastings was in Trincomalee Bay, Augustus 
 had a pleasant little holiday. The Admiral asked him 
 if he would like to go to Madras, to pay a visit to Sir 
 Henry Montgomery (brother to Mrs. Law). Of course
 
 SECOND VOYAGE. 45 
 
 he said yes ; so it was arranged that he should take his 
 passage in the Fury, and stay a few days at his house. 
 This visit he thoroughly enjoyed, and when writing 
 home, spoke in the warmest terms of the kindness 
 shown him. " I was never so sorry to leave a place," 
 he says. His host and hostess on their part expressed 
 the pleasure it had given them to have the boy with 
 them : " Such a fine fellow, so well disposed, and 
 possessed of such good feeling and high principle." 
 
 On his return to Hong Kong, the appearance of 
 some pirates caused considerable excitement. The 
 account of their capture may be given in Augustus' 
 own words. 
 
 " A new steamer has arrived with the news that 
 the Columbine yesterday gave chase to a lot of pirate 
 junks, and that as they were taking one of them, the 
 Chinese blew their junk up rather than be taken. In 
 the explosion poor Goddard (a midshipman) and three 
 or four men were killed, besides six or seven badly 
 wounded and burnt. The first thing that was done 
 was to signal to the Fury to get her steam up with 
 all possible speed, and start in pursuit of the pirates. 
 So she hoisted her Blue Peter at the fore, and fired 
 guns continually to bring her men who were on leave 
 on board. Our barge was manned, and besides her 
 own crew were the launch's crew and also her marines. 
 About dusk the Fury got under weigh with the barge 
 in tow. I was employed most of the afternoon and 
 evening in taking the wounded men on board the 
 Alligator. Some of the poor fellows looked very dreadful. 
 Two were in cots. After information of the arrange- 
 ments for the burial of poor Goddard, I went on board 
 the Canton, and he was put into the coffin and taken 
 ashore, and some of my boat's crew went up to Happy
 
 4 6 SECOND VOYAGE. 
 
 Valley with the hearse, to take the coffin out when they 
 got there. I did not get on board till eleven ; I was 
 very tired. When the steamer left the Columbine, she had 
 hemmed in nine junks in three different bays. I hope 
 our fellows will be all right." 
 
 The next day but one intelligence arrived that all 
 the piratical junks had been taken, and some three or 
 four hundred Chinese had been killed. Qn the following 
 day the Fury steamed into harbour with the Columbine, 
 and the men and officers belonging to the Hastings 
 came on board. Their description of the action was 
 this : " They arrived at the place about midnight, 
 and when daylight dawned commenced firing with 
 the great guns. Some of the larger junks (there was 
 one 150 feet long) returned the fire with great vigour, 
 but after five or six discharges of grape and canister 
 from the Fury's 84-pounders, they fired little or not at 
 all, and then the Fury went on firing without stopping 
 for four or five hours. The rest of the time they were 
 up there, they were employed in setting fire to and 
 destroying the junks, and also their guns. The pirates 
 had a regular dockyard full of stores, and a most 
 beautiful junk building on the stocks, which was of 
 course also destroyed. The pirates were not at all 
 afraid of the Columbine, for they gave out they were 
 coming in to clean their bottoms before going out again, 
 and were in fact doing so when the Fury arrived. 
 There was only one man slightly wounded on the Fury 
 in his leg. Very few shots struck her." 
 
 But they had not done with the pirates yet. Two 
 or three weeks later a fresh expedition was made 
 against them by the Fury, in which fifty of the Hastings 
 marines joined, with some of the officers. Amongst 
 the latter was Lieutenant Hancock, who distinguished
 
 SECOND VOYAGE. 47 
 
 himself greatly by his gallant conduct. Augustus Law 
 would much have liked to have been one of the party 
 and accompanied his friend. During their absence 
 a little adventure came in his way. He was sent out 
 with two of the ship's boats to the succour of five 
 Chinese sailors, who were supposed to have been 
 capsized. The men were picked up, but the truth of 
 the matter turned out to be that they had been up to 
 no good ; and having had a scuffle with the master 
 of the junk on which they were employed, he had, with 
 Chinese disregard of life, intentionally pitched them 
 overboard. Their rescuers, therefore, had little thanks 
 for saving them from a watery grave. 
 
 The termination of the encounter with the pirates 
 is related in the following words by one of the officers 
 engaged in it. " We had been cruising about in the 
 Gulf of Tonquin for some days, when groups of piratical 
 junks came in sight, which seemed to be as great 
 strangers in the labyrinth of creeks as ourselves. 
 Before night twenty-four of these were totally destroyed 
 and their people killed, drowned, or in the hands of 
 the Cochin-Chinese, who were hunting them down 
 with bamboo-spears, or they perished in the swamps 
 which for miles round bound the waters we were in. 
 A gallant affair took place the next day. Lieutenant 
 Hancock, of the Hastings, in the paddle-box boat of the 
 Fury, attacked nine large junks, who tried their best to 
 beat him off, and although they maintained a well- 
 directed fire for two hours, were at last, by the beautiful 
 practice from his 24-pound howitzers, forced, after 
 terrific slaughter, to give in, and their junks met the 
 common fate. Nothing but the exceedingly good 
 management of his boat saved his people. Not a soul' 
 was wounded or hurt, although grape in showers fell
 
 48 SECOND VOYAGE. 
 
 around, and his ammunition was reduced to seven 
 rounds." Augustus adds : " I was very glad to find 
 they were all right, especially dear Hancock." 
 
 The Admiral was so well pleased with the result of 
 the expedition against the pirates, that he wrote a letter 
 to the Captain of the Hastings, which was read after 
 church on the upper-deck on Sunday, to the whole 
 ship's company, complimenting him on the behaviour 
 of his men. This must have been one of the last letters 
 the Admiral (Sir Francis Collier) wrote, for in three 
 weeks from that day tidings came off from shore of his 
 death. This Sunday Augustus was not defrauded of 
 a sermon. On the contrary, he had the opportunity of 
 hearing two, as we learn from his diary. " Mr. Onslow 
 preached from the twentieth chapter of the First Book 
 of Samuel (ist Kings), part of the twentieth verse. 
 'Truly as the Lord liveth, and thy soul liveth, there 
 is but a step between me and death.' It was a very 
 nice sermon on the uncertainty of life. At one o'clock 
 I took Onslow on board the Alligator to preach." It 
 is needless to add that the pious middy formed part 
 of the chaplain's audience. On the morrow the funeral 
 'took place in the Hong Kong burial-ground. " At 
 a quarter to three all the boats were manned. The 
 marines went in the launch, the petty officers in the 
 pinnace, the gun-room officers in the barge, and some 
 of the ward-room officers in the first cutter. The 
 Commander in the second gig was superintending. 
 While we were going ashore the Hastings was firing 
 minute-guns, and when we were on shore the fort fired 
 minute-guns. The procession was formed at the bottom 
 of the hill. The 95th band went first, Onslow and 
 two officers second, then the two surgeons. The 
 Admiral's coxswain carried the flag half-mast high on
 
 SECOND VOYAGE. 49 
 
 a staff before the coffin, and the galleys and bargemen 
 pulled the coffin on a field-piece. The whole way was 
 lined by the 95th, g6th, and Rifles on each side of the 
 road. Altogether the ceremony was performed very 
 well. There were a good many civilians there. When 
 the service was over we all went down to the boats, 
 and at sunset the Admiral's flag was hauled down." 
 
 Amongst the changes ensuing upon the death of 
 Sir Francis Collier was the promotion of Lieutenant 
 Hancock to the rank of Commander, in consequence 
 of which he left the Hastings and returned to England. 
 Augustus expresses himself as very, very sorry to lose 
 this friend, from whom he had received great kindness, 
 "so much more than I deserve," as he modestly adds. 
 He regretted also being no longer able to go to his 
 cabin whenever he wanted a quiet hour to himself, but 
 he did not on that account give up his daily habit of 
 reading and prayer, for in that he found real happiness. 
 He availed himself of the opportunity offered by the 
 return of Lieutenant Hancock to England, to send 
 home a set of carved chessmen and a few Chinese 
 curiosities for his father and sisters. When forwarding 
 these little gifts to Harborne Vicarage, Lieutenant 
 Hancock wrote to Mr. Law, speaking of his son in 
 terms of real affection, saying what a fine character he 
 was, and how universally beloved on board ship. 
 
 The departure of his friend made Augustus more 
 anxious than ever to get away from Hong Kong. The 
 Hastings had been a long time in the harbour, and he 
 was getting very tired of the place, although the 
 surrounding scenery is extremely beautiful, and he 
 enjoyed many delightful walks and excursions on shore. 
 " The country is hilly," he says, " abounding in deep 
 ravines, with streams rushing among the rocks. Looking 
 
 E
 
 50 SECOND VOYAGE. 
 
 across the green plains, or walking in the woods, one 
 might fancy oneself in one of old England's parks." 
 But a sailor loves to be out at sea, and Augustus was 
 heartily glad when the Amazon came from Singapore to 
 relieve them, and orders were given to prepare for 
 a cruise. On the way to Penang they touched at 
 Malacca, where new scenes presented themselves, in 
 which he found fresh sources of interest. .. 
 
 " Malacca is a very inconvenient place to land at, 
 for at low water our cutter cannot approach within 
 seven hundred yards or so of the shore. We had to 
 get into a canoe, and were dragged through the mud to 
 the land. As we were walking about the town we came 
 to a mosque. We were standing at the steps looking 
 at the Mahommedans praying, when a Malay came 
 to worship, and seeing us waiting there, he patted 
 Mr. Ewan (my companion) familiarly on the back, and 
 said : ' My good fellow, take off your shoes and wash 
 your feet and come in.' We told him we would rather 
 not, we could see enough where we were. We then 
 saw him go to a large round basin of water, and he 
 took off everything except his trousers, and then washed 
 his hands, face, and feet, and rinsed his mouth out. 
 There were several others besides him doing the same 
 thing ; when he had finished his ablutions he put on his 
 outer garments and went in to pray. The altar was at 
 the west end of the mosque, and all the worshippers 
 were facing it ; they seemed to be very devout, and the 
 mosque looked clean and orderly. Just as we were 
 leaving, the man who had already spoken to us came 
 back, he made us go into his house, which was close by, 
 and sit down. He had a very long yarn with us. He 
 told us that the Malays here disliked the English very 
 much, as they drew their conclusions as to their general
 
 SECOND VOYAGE. 51 
 
 character from the behaviour of the drunken sailors 
 they saw. He also told us that he kept a school at 
 Singapore, and had come to his native place for a 
 month. This was his fasting month ; he said he had 
 to attend prayers at the mosque five times a day. 
 What an example to us Christians ! Passing a Roman 
 Catholic church on our way, we stopped and went in. 
 It is certainly a very good church for this place, a better 
 one than I ever expected to see. There were three 
 recesses in the north side of the building. The one 
 nearest the west end contained images of St. Peter 
 (with the keys) and St. Paul (with a sword in one hand 
 and a book in the other). In the next recess was a 
 figure lying down, stretched at full length, of our Most 
 Blessed Saviour Jesus Christ. The holes in the hands 
 and feet were plainly visible, the blood was flowing 
 from them. It made me quite shudder when I first 
 saw it. The recess at the east end was the vestry; 
 there we saw the Latin prayer-books. I looked for the 
 Collect, Gospel, and Epistle for this week, and found it 
 was the same as in our prayer-book." 
 
 Not many lads of his age would have cared to turn 
 over the pages of a Catholic missal, and fewer still 
 perhaps would have known or cared to know, whether 
 the Gospel and Epistle were identical with those that 
 had been read in the Anglican service on the previous 
 Sunday. The compassion excited in his mind by the 
 representation of the dead Christ is also characteristic. 
 Later on in his life, as we shall see, a profound devo- 
 tion to the mysteries of our Lord's Passion was one of 
 the distinctive features of his piety.
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 CONVERSION. 
 
 THE Amazon, whose arrival at Hong Kong the Hastings 
 had awaited before putting out to sea, was a fine 
 corvette of twenty-six guns. As soon as she hove in 
 sight Augustus took a fancy to her, and whilst absent 
 on the cruise conceived a strong desire to join her. 
 He was getting very tired of being in a flag-ship, as 
 there was always a family on board, which makes a ship 
 very un-man-of-war-like, and at the best he disliked a 
 line of battle ship. There had been changes too on 
 board the Hastings since the Admiral's death, and it is 
 always disagreeable to persons who have grown accus- 
 tomed to a certain system to be required to fall into 
 a new one, as is generally the case when the senior 
 officers of a ship are changed. The disagreeables 
 under these circumstances mostly fall to the lot of the 
 subordinate officers. But the principal reason that 
 made Augustus desirous of joining the Amazon was that 
 in October of the next year her time would be up, and 
 she would probably be back in England about the 
 following February. In that month Augustus would 
 have been six years in the service, and be ready to pass 
 as mate, although he would have to postpone passing 
 until October, when he would attain the required age, 
 nineteen years. Accordingly, on the return of the 
 Hastings to Hong Kong some six months later, he
 
 CONVERSION. 53 
 
 asked the Captain for permission to change ships. 
 He said he would think about it ; but a few days 
 later, when Augustus repeated his request, he refused 
 to let him go. This was a sore disappointment for 
 Augustus. He had been over the Amazon, and every- 
 thing he saw confirmed his wish to make the exchange. 
 The surgeon promised him the run of his cabin, 
 which would be a great boon, as it would ensure 
 privacy for the performance of his devotions. But 
 though he had to see the Amazon leave the harbour 
 without him, Augustus could not give up all hope 
 of obtaining his object. He writes in his diary: 
 "I do not know what I shall do, if I do not join 
 the Amazon. I have set my heart upon it." Writing 
 to his father he says : " If you approve of the exchange, 
 you had better get me appointed from the Admiralty, 
 which will ensure my joining her, in case Captain Austen 
 should refuse me again at Singapore. I intend asking 
 him again. How jolly it would be if I could manage 
 it. I should then be home in a year from the time you 
 receive this letter." 
 
 Augustus did ask again, when, in the early part of 
 1851, he was again at Singapore. There, as he antici- 
 pated, he found the Amazon. This time he was allowed 
 to go, and he did so the next day, to his great satisfac- 
 tion. The following letter to his father is written in 
 the best of good spirits. 
 
 H.M.S. Amazon, 
 Penang, February 23rd, 1851. 
 
 Dearest Father, Here I am, you see, in the 
 Amazon at last. I am appointed "supernumerary to 
 await a vacancy," so the first vacancy that occurs I 
 shall pop in. I hope you will be satisfied with what
 
 54 CONVERSION. 
 
 I have done. I shall be home, God willing, in a year 
 from the present time. I like the ship very much 
 indeed. All my mess-mates are very good fellows, 
 especially the first lieutenant, who is a very smart 
 officer and first-rate seaman. He has been twenty- 
 two years in the service and always afloat. Our berth 
 is a much larger and better one than the one on the 
 Carysfmt. We sailed from Singapore oh the gth and 
 arrived here on the i4th. To-morrow we sail for 
 Acheen, where you know I have been before in the 
 old Hastings, thence we shall go back to Singapore, 
 touching perhaps at some places on our way. The 
 night we arrived here a ship caught fire, and was burnt 
 down nearly to the water's edge. Had she rung her 
 fire-bell in time we might have saved her. The 
 Captain, who unluckily for him was the owner, was 
 on shore at the time, and the mate (selfish man) did 
 not seem to care about any one's things but his own. 
 If you remember, when we were here on the Hastings 
 a ship was burnt ; since that and before this last, 
 another met with a like fate, so Penang seems to be 
 a regular place for fires, at least nautical ones. 
 
 How jolly it will be to meet again after nearly four 
 years' absence ! as I expect we shall arrive in England 
 about February. I intend to buy you two thousand 
 Manilla cheroots ; I hope you will like them. I shall 
 try and get them as old as I can. I smoke a little now. 
 
 The following letter was written to his father on 
 his return to Singapore after a short cruise. 
 
 H.M.S. Amazon, 
 Singapore, May 3ist, 1851. 
 
 Here we are again at Singapore. I hope by the 
 English mail, which is expected soon, that I shall get
 
 CONVERSION. 55 
 
 my letters regularly again and directed to the Amazon. 
 I hope my uncle Ellenborough will not be annoyed at 
 my having exchanged, as I see he would rather I had 
 shared the fortunes of the Hastings. One good thing in 
 this ship is that the Captain never stays in harbour 
 long together, but about once a month takes a few 
 days' cruise. Out of the one hundred and twelve days 
 I have been in her we have been forty at sea. Now I 
 will tell you what we have been doing since I last 
 wrote. On the 4th the English mail arrived with the 
 intelligence that she had passed a ship on shore on 
 the Pyramid shoal. Directly we heard that we bent 
 sails, hoisted the boats in, and away we went. The 
 Pyramid shoal is about one hundred and fifty miles 
 from here on the way to Penang. The name of the 
 vessel was the Charles Forbes, she was a fine ship of 
 nine hundred tons. She ran on it on the morning 
 of the 2nd in a thick fog and then a heavy squall. 
 The next day we met her two boats. The Captain 
 with his mates and crew had given up the ship for a 
 bad job, and were making for Singapore. They had as 
 much opium stowed away in the boats as they could 
 hold. We took the Captain on board of us, and pro- 
 ceeded on our way. The Charles Forbes was laden with 
 four thousand bales of cotton and about thirty cases 
 of opium. The next day at daybreak we sighted the 
 wreck, and about i p.m. anchored close to her, and 
 sent our two cutters to get the opium. They brought 
 it off, and about eight the same evening we sent a 
 party of men to break the cotton out it is stowed 
 very thick together and put it on the upper deck 
 ready for removal in the morning. But just at mid- 
 night it began to blow very hard from the S.W., so we 
 sent the boats for our men and brought them off the
 
 56 CONVERSION. 
 
 wreck. In the morning we saw the unfortunate vessel 
 breaking up very fast ; by 9 a.m. it was completely 
 broken up, and as far as we could see, there was one 
 uninterrupted line to leeward of bales of cotton, planks, 
 spars, &c. So there was an end of the Charles Forbes. 
 The poor Captain was on the poop watching her break 
 up ; he looked very much down in the mouth. We 
 were rather sorry, as we expected to have got her off 
 the shoal, and to get lots of salvage money by her. The 
 Captain of her said he was a poorer man now than 
 when he arrived out here some fourteen years ago, 
 without a sixpence ; now he is in the same condition 
 plus a wife and children. We weighed anchor and 
 sailed for Singapore. The salvage money is in court 
 now, because the agent offered us a fifth of the value 
 of the opium, but the Captain would not take that, 
 and put in our claim for half. If we get the half, it 
 will be about four dollars a share, and as midshipmen 
 have seven shares, I shall get twenty-eight dollars. 
 But on the whole, I do not think men-of-war ought 
 to get salvage, for what is their duty if not to look 
 after their ' own merchantmen ? While we were at 
 anchor off the shoal, we saved a merchant-ship from 
 being wrecked, by signalling to her : " You are running 
 into danger," and by firing three guns to attract her 
 attention to the signal. So at any rate, if one ship was 
 lost, we saved another. 
 
 Of Augustus' attachment to his father and home 
 circle, and his ever present thought of them, these 
 simple unaffected letters afford abundant proof. The 
 affectionate messages invariably sent to his brothers 
 and sisters, mentioning each one by name, evince the 
 deep interest he constantly took in all that concerned
 
 CONVERSION. 57 
 
 them, notwithstanding his having been separated from 
 them at so early an age, and his long absences at sea. 
 During the short intervals he spent a,t home, too, it 
 generally happened that some of his elder brothers and 
 sisters were away at school, so that in reality he saw 
 very little of them. Their birthdays he never forgot, 
 as his journal bears witness, for each anniversary as 
 it recurs is duly noted, and seldom without the addition 
 of some pious remark or good wish. In one place he 
 writes : " How thankful I ought to be to God for all 
 His blessings, in having given me such a dear father, 
 step-mother, brothers, and sisters. May my constant 
 prayer be that I may be more thankful for His mercies, 
 and also show it by following His blessed will in all 
 things that I do." To one so fond of home, the 
 prospect of returning to England in a few months' 
 time afforded intense delight. " I am very anxious," 
 he writes, " to see you all again. God grant us a 
 happy meeting soon. Oh, how I wish we were off 
 now ! Tell them all how happy, happy I shall be to see 
 all their dear faces again." 
 
 Before the time for the earnestly desired meeting 
 arrived, an event took place, of which a passing 
 mention has already been made, and which not only 
 materially affected Augustus' future, but, as will be 
 seen, was the means of directing the whole current of 
 his life into a totally different channel. We refer to 
 Mr. Law's reception into the Church. In order briefly 
 to trace the path whereby he was led thither, it will be 
 necessary to recur to the period when he assumed the 
 charge of a parish and first began to direct his attention 
 to religious questions. The country clergy were then 
 divided into two classes, those who claimed the title 
 of "orthodox," and those who called themselves
 
 5 8 CONVERSION. 
 
 "evangelicals." With the latter party Mr. Law's 
 inclinations led him at the outset to ally himself, and 
 when the Oxford tracts subsequently found their way 
 into the hands of every country parson, although 
 impressed by the arguments they contained, he did 
 not accept the doctrinal views set forth in them. As 
 time went on, however, his opinions underwent an 
 entire change; by degrees he came 4o regard the 
 Anglican Church as the purest branch of the Catholic 
 Church, and to look upon those who forsook her com- 
 munion much as he would, when in the army, have 
 looked upon deserters from his regiment. The occa- 
 sional misgivings that arose in his mind were easily 
 silenced, until the judgment in the Gorham case, when 
 the highest tribunal in the Church of England decreed 
 that belief in the regenerating power of baptism might 
 be asserted or denied at the option of her members, 
 opened his eyes to the true character of the Establish- 
 ment. He was not long in arriving at the conviction 
 that in the Catholic Church alone were to be found 
 the abiding signs of the Holy Spirit's unchangeable 
 presence. Feeling that under the circumstances he 
 was no longer justified in officiating as a clergyman, 
 he communicated his difficulties to the Bishop, and 
 obtained from him six months' leave of absence for 
 the purpose of studying at leisure some books recom- 
 mended by Dr. Pusey as likely to bring him back to 
 his former allegiance. 
 
 At this juncture Mr. Law thought it right to 
 acquaint his eldest son with his doubts and mental 
 anxieties. Hitherto topics of this nature had never 
 been alluded to between them, hence Augustus was 
 not a little surprised at the contents of his father's 
 letter. The subject of the Gorham controversy had
 
 CONVERSION. 59 
 
 indeed already attracted his attention, for in a letter 
 to a friend, he had asked to be told the truth of the 
 matter, remarking that he was very sorry to hear of 
 the disagreement, and wondered such a case should 
 be brought before the Council, not before the Bishops. 
 But he was far from suspecting the influence which the 
 decision would have upon his father. All, however, he 
 could say in reply to the unexpected intelligence was 
 that he hoped with all his heart that God would direct 
 his father to the truth, adding that he would try to be 
 what he wished him in his letter to be, instant in prayer 
 to God to guide them all into the truth, and striving to 
 serve God better than he had done of late. And when 
 Mr. Law, referring to temporal considerations, speaks 
 of the pain that it will cause him to entail upon his 
 wife and children the sacrifices which the resignation 
 of his living and Chancellorship, and the consequent 
 serious reduction of his income will involve, Augustus 
 begs that his father will have no regret on this score 
 in as far as he is concerned. To give practical proof 
 of his willingness to bear his part in the sacrifices his 
 father predicts, he adds that since every unnecessary 
 expense, however small, ought to be avoided, he does 
 not care to have the Illustrated London Nezvs sent out to 
 him any longer, as the Captain was always kind enough 
 to lend him the papers. " I shall look forward anxiously 
 to your next letter," he says, " in which you say you 
 will write more fully, as I wish to know all your 
 reasons. May God bless and preserve you, and guide 
 us all to the truth through Jesus Christ." 
 
 The perusal of the books recommended by Dr. 
 Pusey produced no change in Mr. Law's sentiments, 
 except that of strengthening his conviction of the 
 truth of Catholicism. The fact of Archdeacon, after-
 
 6o CONVERSION. 
 
 wards Cardinal, Manning having joined the Catholic 
 Church had a great effect on him, and thus before the 
 expiration of the allotted term, he resigned his benefices, 
 and made his abjuration at Oscott, on September igth, 
 1851. At the same time he resigned all the prospects 
 of high position and rich emolument which his family 
 connections would not have failed to secure for him 
 amongst the Anglicans. 
 
 Having become a Catholic himself, he was naturally 
 desirous that his children should embrace the same 
 saving faith. Shortly before writing to Augustus to 
 announce that the final step had been taken, he sent 
 out a parcel of books and pamphlets on controversial 
 subjects which he wished him to read with prayerful 
 attention. After despatching this parcel to Singapore, 
 he heard that an order had been sent out some six 
 weeks previously for the immediate return of the 
 Amazon. He therefore feared that neither letter nor 
 books would reach his son before his departure, and 
 that he would arrive in England in ignorance of the 
 changes that had taken place. However, through what 
 Mr. Law regarded as a merciful interposition of Provi- 
 dence, not only did considerable delay occur in the 
 transmission of the Admiralty despatches, but when 
 the Captain of the Amazon at length received the order 
 to set sail for England, he was unable to comply with 
 it at once, on account of some repairs being required 
 before the ship entered upon so long a voyage. Thus 
 Augustus, whose own good sense suggested to him that 
 if such a step was right and necessary on his father's 
 part, it must be equally so on his own, had ample time 
 to investigate the claims of the Catholic Church on his 
 allegiance, and acquaint himself with her teaching. 
 
 On the day following the receipt of the tidings of
 
 CONVERSION. 61 
 
 his father's reception into the Church, he wrote : "I 
 have read some of that Catechism already that you 
 sent me. I am very glad, dearest father, that you are 
 so happy. May God bless you for ever and ever." 
 Then his dutiful, affectionate heart prompts him to 
 add : "If ever a son ought to feel grateful to a dear 
 father for his kindness and trouble about him, it is I." 
 The books he appears to have read with great eager- 
 ness, devoting a considerable portion of each day to 
 the study of them. They were chiefly Cardinal 
 Wiseman's Lectures of the Catholic Religion, Keenan's 
 Controversial Catechism, Orsini's Life of the Blessed Virgin, 
 and The See of Peter, by Allies. Soon after receiving 
 these volumes he asked a shipmate, Quartermaster 
 Grant, who was a Catholic, whether he was allowed 
 to read the Bible. He said certainly, whereupon 
 Augustus began to think the Roman Catholic Church 
 was not so black as it is painted. He expresses his 
 amazement too at the arguments put forward in the 
 books ; they appeared to him quite irresistible. 
 
 Naturally enough Augustus, who was but eighteen 
 years old, felt the need of oral instruction, and looked 
 anxiously for some one to aid him in his course of 
 inquiry, and answer the difficulties that arose in his 
 mind. He owns that he feels quite in a state of doubt 
 about the two Churches, and wishes he could obtain 
 enlightenment on the points that perplexed him. He 
 took Mr. Waldron, the chaplain and naval instructor 
 of the Amazon, into his confidence, and told him about 
 the books he had received and was studying. On his 
 mentioning the Life of the Blessed Virgin, Mr. Waldron 
 burst into a fit of derisive laughter. After that no 
 assistance could be expected from him in the search 
 for truth, but still Augustus discussed theological
 
 62 CONVERSION. 
 
 questions with him now and again. He was not long 
 left without the guide he needed. One Sunday after- 
 noon he went ashore with Mr. Waldron. Before church 
 they both went to call on Father Barbe, a French 
 missioner, with whom they had a " yarn." He invited 
 them to return after the service and have tea with 
 him ; this Augustus did, while Mr. Waldron spent the 
 evening elsewhere. We give the account^ of his visit in 
 his own simple words : 
 
 " After leaving the English church, I went towards 
 M. Barbe's house, but spent about half an hour cruising 
 about the Roman Catholic church before I found it. 
 M. Barbe is a very good kind of old fellow. On my 
 asking about St. Francis Xavier, he told me the church 
 in ruins at the top of the hill at Malacca was dedicated 
 to him, and that it was the church he used to preach 
 in. He told me also that St. Francis Xavier had 
 performed several miracles there ; among others, that 
 he raised from the dead a girl who had been dead three 
 days. He also told me about the Roman Catholic 
 missions in China. The Catholic church here cost 
 ^"18,000. The subscriptions were raised by the residents. 
 I left his house about ten o'clock, and he would walk 
 part of the way down to the landing-place. He has 
 asked me to witness the baptism of twenty-one Chinese 
 on Wednesday at 6 a.m. I am getting a better opinion 
 of the Catholic Church every day. M. Barbe lent me 
 a small book, written by Manning, proving the truth 
 of the Catholic Church, and I asked him to lend me 
 an English missal, which he very kindly did." 
 
 On reading the foregoing extract from his diary, one 
 cannot fail to be struck by the singular coincidence 
 that the first Saint in whom Augustus Law took an 
 interest, should have been not only a Jesuit and a
 
 CONVERSION. 63 
 
 missioner, as he himself subsequently became, but also 
 the very one of all others whom he was most closely to 
 resemble in the circumstances of his death. 
 
 A few days later, he went to return the books, and 
 had another conversation with M. Barbe, about the 
 benefits of confession, among other things. This good 
 priest was instrumental in removing many of his 
 prejudices ; he liked him much, and felt the reality of 
 the religion he professed. On leaving Singapore, he 
 says : " Upon my word, what I have seen of the 
 Catholic clergy here at least has given me a high 
 opinion of these men. I shall find out if there are any 
 at Trincomalee, and if so, shall go and see them." 
 
 How quickly a conversion is made where there is 
 a man of good-will ! Augustus' prejudices and mis- 
 apprehensions vanished as smoke before the wind, or the 
 shades of night before the rising sun. His receptive 
 and docile mind drank in eagerly all the teaching of 
 the Church ; the posture of his soul seems to have 
 resembled that of the man in the Gospel who had been 
 born blind, who said: "Who is He, Lord, that I 
 may believe on Him ? " And when the great Teacher 
 of mankind revealed Himself to him, he said : " I 
 believe, Lord. And falling down, he adored Him." 
 Augustus had no sooner received the gift of faith than 
 he was desirous of acting up to it. His interviews with 
 the French priest at Singapore nearly resulted in his 
 being received before he quitted the East, despite the 
 reiterated assurances of the chaplain that nothing a 
 Roman Catholic says about his creed is to be believed. 
 On reflection, however, he thought it better for the sake 
 of avoiding all appearance of precipitation, to take 
 more time for the consideration of so important a matter, 
 and wait until he could talk it over with his father.
 
 64 CONVERSION. 
 
 The Amazon set sail from Singapore on January 5, 
 1852. The homeward voyage, a remarkably favourable 
 one, was accomplished in three months ; it offers no 
 features of special interest as far as external events 
 are concerned. It is on Augustus' inner life that our 
 interest centres at present. The record of the books 
 he was reading : Ecclesiastical biographies, Cardinal 
 Wiseman's lectures, Manning's sermons, Law's Seriotis 
 Call, and others of a similar nature, the extracts copied 
 into his journal, and passing notes of the impressions 
 he received, give an insight into his thoughts and 
 feelings at this period, the period of transition from 
 the bondage of error into the liberty of the children of 
 God. He was now more than ever in earnest about 
 religion. To him it had ever been a matter of primary 
 importance, and his example had been a fruitful source 
 of edification to others. When first he went on board 
 the Hastings as a midshipman, he found his companions 
 of the gun-room given to ridicule religion. Augustus 
 was accustomed never to omit saying his prayers on 
 going to bed, accordingly the first night he knelt down 
 as usual to repeat his prayers. This was the occasion 
 of a good deal of rough joking and banter on the part 
 of his fellow-midshipmen, but no amount of scoffing 
 had any effect on him. He continued to kneel down 
 every night without heeding his companions, and very 
 soon one and another of the lads began to follow his 
 example, until at last the custom of saying night 
 prayers became quite general among them. Admiral 
 Beamish, who was one of Augustus' comrades on board 
 the Hastings, has often said that Augustus was quite 
 the most conscientious and pure-minded midshipman 
 he ever met with. He was as full of fun as any one, 
 but a joke lost its point with him if it savoured in the
 
 CONVERSION. 65 
 
 least of impurity, and all his mates were so fond of 
 him that they would not by word or action wound his 
 sensibility in this respect. If this was true of him as 
 a Protestant, how much more when his mind had 
 opened to receive Catholic truth. As he draws nearer 
 to the Church, one may observe a growing desire to 
 be watchful over himself, to resist temptation, to be 
 exact in the performance of duty, to direct his whole 
 life according to the will of God. His constant prayer 
 is that he may be kept at peace, that God would grant 
 him a quiet mind, and resolve his remaining doubts. 
 On February i8th, the day when he had served his 
 time for mate, he writes: "One of my most besetting 
 sins is pride. What a mischievous sin is that ! it 
 destroys every Christian grace. How truly St. James 
 writes when he says that he who commits one sin is 
 guilty of all. I have had one or two rows with the 
 First Lieutenant through the instrumentality of that 
 sin. May God grant me His saving grace through 
 Jesus Christ to get rid of this unchristian spirit." Again 
 on Ash Wednesday he says : " May I observe the day 
 in proper manner, by repenting deeply of my sins 
 and in keeping it as Holy Church directs. Let me 
 remember St. Benedict's rules, and try to act up to 
 them, and also think particularly of Christ's Death on 
 the Cross for us miserable sinners." 
 
 On April 2gth, the Amazon cast anchor in Spithead 
 harbour, and Augustus gave thanks to God for having 
 brought him safely home, and protected him from 
 dangers and sickness during the voyage. His father 
 met him the same day, and he was allowed to go on 
 shore until 8 a.m. on the morrow. He records his 
 delight at being once more with his father. They dined
 
 66 CONVERSION. 
 
 at an hotel and sat together till past midnight, " as 
 happy as two kings." 
 
 Augustus' wish was to obtain leave to spend six 
 weeks at least with his family, no unreasonable request, 
 one would think, after four years' absence at sea. His 
 principal object was, not to amuse himself and enjoy 
 life, but to make up his mind about religion, since, as 
 he said, he did not like being in doubt -.on that matter. 
 When pay-day came, he received ^"67. It was seldom, 
 the clerk observed, that a midshipman received as 
 much at the pay-table. This testified to his careful 
 habits. Unfortunately his pleasure was damped by 
 getting, only a few hours' before, an appointment to the 
 Encounter, with orders to join her immediately. This 
 he feared would interfere with the desired leave, but it 
 was not so, and he was able to proceed to London, 
 where his father was then residing. On May i6th, 
 scarcely more than a fortnight after his return, he was 
 received into the Church by the Bishop of Southwark 
 (Dr. Grant). Two or three hours' conversation with 
 that Prelate on the preceding day had thoroughly 
 convinced him of the supremacy of the See of Peter, 
 the only subject on which any remnant of doubt 
 lingered in his mind. Mr. Law was naturally much 
 delighted at this speedy answer to his prayers on behalf 
 of his eldest son. He never anticipated that Augustus 
 would make so little difficulty about embracing the true 
 faith, and had arranged that shortly after his return 
 to England, novenas for his conversion should be offered 
 by various religious communities at home and abroad. 
 But in this instance God's gracious promise to the 
 Prophet, " Before they call, I will hear," 1 was signally 
 fulfilled. On the day preceding that fixed for the conv 
 1 Isaias Ixv. 24.
 
 CONVERSION. 67 
 
 mencement of the novenas, he was received into the 
 Church. Thus the voice of supplication was changed 
 into the voice of thanksgiving. 
 
 A week later, Augustus made his First Communion, 
 and chose St. Aloysius Gonzaga for his patron saint. 
 The reason he gave for this choice was that the virtues 
 that specially distinguished St. Aloysius were those 
 whereof he himself stood most in need. The persons 
 who knew him best would hardly have been of the 
 same opinion. On the contrary, they would have said 
 that he already in some measure resembled the Saint. 
 His innocence and purity of heart were of no common 
 order; he had a most lowly opinion of himself; he 
 spoke in terms which might have appeared exaggerated 
 of the sins of his past life ; and worldly pleasures, even 
 in their most harmless form, had little more attraction 
 for the pious midshipman than they had for the saintly 
 youth whom he proposed to himself as his model. 
 Almost all his time and thoughts were devoted to the 
 study of holy things and attendance at religious services. 
 Visits to his relatives, a large number of whom were 
 then living in or near town, and to the various Catholic 
 churches of the metropolis, seemed to have been his 
 principal diversion during the period of his leave. 
 
 When this time had expired, and he had rejoined 
 his ship, Augustus Law was for three weeks so unwell 
 as to be hardly able to leave his hammock. As long as 
 a member of the ship's company is on the sick-list, he 
 is not required to attend Divine worship ; thus it was 
 not until his third Sunday on board the Encounter, that 
 .the moment came for Augustus to declare himself a 
 Catholic, and ask exemption from attendance at the 
 Protestant service. The refusal to join in any religious 
 exercises with those who are outside the pale of the
 
 68 CONVERSION? 
 
 Church is an ordeal from which every recent convert 
 shrinks, and for many it proves a painful duty. In this 
 case, however, no difficulty was experienced. While the 
 preparations for the service were being made, Augustus 
 sent to inquire whether he could speak to the Captain. 
 The answer was in the affirmative. As soon as he 
 entered the cabin, the Captain asked in a very kind 
 manner, " Well, Mr. Law, what is it?" "Can you 
 excuse me from attending service ? I am a Catholic," 
 was Augustus' rejoinder. " Oh, certainly, certainly," 
 the Captain replied ; " you can do just as you like 
 about that." For this permission, given so pleasantly, 
 Augustus was not a little thankful ; while the others 
 were at their service, he got down the Golden Manual 
 from his shelf, and read the prayers for Mass in 
 undisturbed solitude. 
 
 On the following day the vessel cast anchor in the 
 Tagus, and Augustus, who had quite recovered from 
 his indisposition, rejoiced in the prospect of being able 
 to approach the sacraments, and go to Mass and 
 Vespers on the next Sunday at the English College in 
 Lisbon. At the earliest opportunity he went on shore 
 with one of his messmates, and leaving him to make 
 purchases in the town, made his way to the College. 
 "That alone," he said, "had any attraction for me." 
 He made acquaintance with some of the students, who 
 were very civil and friendly, and with the Superior, 
 who showed him over the College, and treated him 
 with great kindness. Another day he got leave to go 
 ashore at 5 a.m. After going to Confession and 
 Communion, he breakfasted at the College and stayed 
 until eleven, talking with the Superior. The latter, 
 writing to Mr. Law, told him that the childlike docility 
 and guileless confidence of the young middy won for
 
 CONVERSION. 69 
 
 him the favour and affection of all the inmates of the 
 College. 
 
 His stay in the Tagus was a very short one. The 
 Encountev joined the Admiral's squadron, then cruising 
 in the Mediterranean. Augustus was stationed in the 
 signals, which means that he had to keep a sharp look- 
 out on the flagship's movements and signals, and repeat 
 them. This duty kept him on deck all day, so that he 
 really had no time to himself, and complained that he 
 could scarcely find leisure to say his morning prayers. 
 But the mano3uvres the squadron went through were 
 often a beautiful sight, and he acknowledges that they 
 were a compensation for having come out there. On 
 September ist he was again at Spithead, with the 
 prospect of being soon paid off. When pay-day came, 
 he was reappointed to the Encounter, but permission 
 was subsequently given for him to join the Excellent at 
 Portsmouth until further orders, for the purpose of 
 studying for the examination he would have to pass in 
 October. We are now approaching a turning-point 
 in Augustus Law's career. A question more important 
 than that of the rank he was to hold in Her Majesty's 
 navy presented itself for decision.
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 VOCATION. 
 
 As the result of the examination Augustus Law passed 
 in the autumn of 1852, he obtained a first-class certi- 
 ficate in seamanship, but in the other subjects his 
 papers were unfortunately not quite up to the mark. 
 Consequently he failed to get his commission as Lieu- 
 tenant, as would have been the case had he passed 
 with full numbers for navigation and gunnery and a 
 first-class certificate for seamanship. He now held 
 the rank of mate, or, as it is at present called, of 
 Second Lieutenant. Mr. Law, solicitous for his son's 
 promotion, endeavoured to get him recommended for 
 a lieutenancy, through the influence of one of the 
 Admiralty Lords. But Lord Ellenborough was no 
 longer the First Lord, and the Duke who had succeeded 
 him in that office did not see fit to promote his pre- 
 decessor's nephew. This caused more disappointment 
 to Mr. Law than to Augustus. To him the failure 
 seemed a matter of small moment. God destined him 
 for a higher service ; already he heard the voice bidding 
 him leave all and follow Christ, and the ardour that 
 filled his soul quelled all desire for fame and promotion. 
 It will be remembered that in his school-boy days, 
 previous to his receiving from his uncle the offer of a 
 cadetship, Augustus had cherished the idea of becom- 
 ing a minister. This project he relinquished, chiefly
 
 VOCATION. 71 
 
 in deference to his father's wishes, certainly not without 
 a considerable measure of regret on his own part. 
 Although he got on well in the navy, and by his warm- 
 heartedness and strict attention to duty won golden 
 opinions from both his comrades and superior officers, 
 oftentimes while serving afloat, as he acknowledged 
 later, the conviction forced itself upon him that a sea- 
 faring life was not the one that really suited his inclina- 
 tions, nor for which he was best fitted. More than once 
 he seriously thought of asking his father to take him out 
 of the navy and educate him for the clerical profession. 
 Fear lest his father, who had a large family to provide 
 for, should find difficulty in meeting the expenses he 
 would incur at the University, alone deterred him from 
 urging this request. Thus we see that even while a 
 Protestant, the idea of embracing a calling which would 
 give a religious colouring to his outward life and occu- 
 pations, continued to attract him. How much the 
 more, when he had been some months a Catholic, did 
 his thoughts turn with earnest longing towards the 
 highest calling of man upon earth, and the desire to 
 consecrate himself to God in the sacerdotal state, take 
 possession of his heart. When he visited the College 
 at Lisbon, where English students were preparing for 
 the priesthood, and he contrasted the life they led with 
 his own on board a man-of-war, he felt how infinitely 
 preferable theirs was, how far more in accordance with 
 his truest inclinations, his inmost convictions and 
 aspirations. This thought was constantly before his 
 mind, and he earnestly entreated the Holy Spirit to 
 enlighten him, that he might perceive and follow the 
 will of God in his regard. 
 
 On his return from the Mediterranean, he informed" 
 his father of his wish to become a priest. Mr. Law
 
 72 VOCATION. 
 
 did not discourage the project, or place any obstacle 
 in the way of its accomplishment. He merely insisted 
 that Augustus should wait a year, in order to test the 
 reality of his vocation before applying to the Board of 
 Admiralty for his discharge. Meanwhile, he desired 
 him to prosecute his studies on board the gunnery-ship 
 at Portsmouth, to which he had been appointed. 
 
 According to the regular order of things, after 
 passing his examination, Augustus ought to have re- 
 joined the Encounter, which was to sail from England 
 in November. But Mr. Law, who was extremely 
 adverse to his son's going to sea again, had, by apply- 
 ing at head-quarters, obtained his permanent appoint- 
 ment to the Excellent. At this, the Captain of the 
 Encounter was somewhat aggrieved. He had been 
 asked as a favour to lend Augustus to the Excellent in 
 order that he might prepare for the examination, 
 and when that was over, he expected him to return 
 to his own ship. Instead of this, without a word of 
 explanation, Augustus joined the Excellent, and an order 
 to discharge him was sent to the Captain of the 
 Encounter, who thus found himself, on the eve of going 
 to sea, compelled to seek another officer to fill the 
 place left vacant by his departure. He naturally con- 
 sidered that the course of procedure on the part of 
 those interested in the young man had not been either 
 fair or courteous, and expressed this opinion in a letter 
 to Mr. Law. The latter hastened to offer apologies 
 and explanations, which the Captain accepted as satis- 
 factory. Augustus himself would have much preferred 
 to go to sea. He thought besides that it would be better 
 for his health, as the Excellent was by no means a 
 comfortable ship, and while on board of her he was 
 scarcely ever without a cold. He was, however,
 
 VOCATION. 73 
 
 obliged to make up his mind to remain there, for 
 when he wrote to tell his father he would much rather 
 go to sea, the answer he received was a long extract 
 from St. Jerome on the necessity of mortifying our own 
 will. 
 
 In the following March, Augustus obtained leave of 
 absence, a portion of which he employed in making a 
 retreat with the Redemptorists at Clapham. A rule 
 of life to be observed on board the Excellent that he 
 drew up for himself whilst there, will serve as a model 
 to persons in the world who wish to live for the greater 
 glory of God, and who cherish the hope of embracing 
 at a future period the religious life. 
 
 A SHORT RULE OF LIFE FOR THE " EXCELLENT." 
 
 6.30. Rise and dress, not forgetting to make the 
 sign of the Cross directly I awake, and to let the first 
 words uttered be Jesus, Mary. Offer myself and all 
 that belongs to me to God, and make acts of faith, 
 hope, charity, contrition, and thanksgiving. Whilst 
 washing and dressing, repeat the De profundis, Miserere, 
 Gloria in Excelsis, or any other psalms or prayers I 
 know. After being dressed, let me go up into the 
 study, or into as retired a place as I can, and say my 
 prayers ; let them be from the heart. Let the Litany 
 of the Holy Name, or some other litanj 7 , be said 
 amongst them. A little before 7.30, let me make a 
 spiritual Communion, and then make my meditation, 
 as Father Coffin used to make it with me. 
 
 At 8, breakfast. On fasting and abstinence-days, 
 no butter. Let me be as temperate as I can, and 
 always offer up something to Jesus. 
 
 After breakfast, meditate again on the same subject,
 
 74 VOCATION. 
 
 or some other devotions. After Divisions 1 at 8.30, repeat 
 a Pater noster and Ave Maria, and offer up my duty to 
 God. Make an act of contrition and love of God, and 
 say a Hail Mary every time the bell strikes, as I find 
 I can, without detriment to the duty I am engaged in. 
 
 At noon, examination of conscience, acts of faith, 
 prayers for the dead, offerings of the Precious Blood, 
 with hymn. When that is finished, spiritual reading, 
 or Lives of the Saints. At i p.m., as after Divisions 
 (see above). From 3.45 to 4.30, meditate for ten 
 minutes on the same subject as the morning, then 
 spiritual reading or Lives of the Saints. 
 
 After dinner till 6, free time ; 6 to 7, Latin ; 7 to 8, 
 free time, letters, &c. ; 8 to 8.30, tea ; 8.30 to 9.30, 
 Euclid, gunnery, logarithms, &c. ; 9.30 to 10, Rosary ; 
 10 to 10.30, spiritual reading, night prayers, and bed. 
 
 On Tuesdays, instead of the offerings to the Precious 
 Blood, the Rosary of the Sacred Heart. On Thursdays, 
 Devotions to the Blessed Sacrament. On Fridays, 
 the Seven Words on the Cross. On Saturdays, the 
 Seven Dolours of Mary. 
 
 On resuming his duties at Portsmouth, he wrote to 
 his father that his desire to become a priest was just 
 the same as ever, and he wished the time was come 
 when he could leave the navy. Earnestly desirous as 
 he was for the conversion of his brother Frank (then 
 Second . Lieutenant R.A.), the only member of the 
 family who had not become a Catholic, he suggests 
 that during the approaching month of May a special 
 
 1 Divisions, i.e., setting apart a portion of the ship's company for 
 a certain service. The master's division steer the ship and work the sails, 
 the engineer's division manage the engines, the powder division provide 
 the guns with ammunition, &c., and so forth.
 
 VOCATION. 75 
 
 effort might be made to obtain this grace for him. 
 " Every one of us might write to the Catholics we 
 know, and get them to say the Memorare, and some 
 other little prayer or hymn, such as the Salve Regina, 
 or to repeat a certain number of times, ' Our Lady of 
 Victories, pray for him,' daily throughout the month 
 of May. If each of us were to ask even ten to join, 
 there would be a good many praying to our Blessed 
 Lady. And what may we not hope for in the month 
 of May ! " We are not told whether this suggestion 
 was acted upon, but we know that it was in May two 
 years later, that the brother for whom so many prayers 
 were offered was received into the Church, on the eve 
 of his embarkation with a detachment of his regiment 
 for the Crimea. 
 
 About this time Augustus thought it his duty to 
 acquaint Lord Ellenborough with the resolution he had 
 formed to enter the priesthood. He was aware that 
 this announcement would be most displeasing to his 
 uncle, who from the outset had taken the kindest 
 interest in him, and who looked forward to his dis- 
 tinguishing himself greatly in the service. With the 
 utmost candour and simplicity he laid before him the 
 state of his mind, and his conviction that to become a 
 priest would be more conducive to his spiritual interests, 
 to which all earthly interests must be sacrificed. His 
 only regret therefore, he said, in leaving the navy was 
 that he would incur the disapproval of his uncle, and 
 other dear relations, to whom he was indebted for so 
 much kindness. Lord Ellenborough's answer was as 
 follows : 
 
 My dear Augustus, I certainly am very sorry to hear 
 that you think of leaving the navy to become a priest.
 
 76 VOCATION. 
 
 A man may be good and do good to others by his advice 
 and example in whatever situation he may be placed, 
 and the more he is brought into communication with 
 large numbers of persons exposed to great temptations, 
 the more good he may do, by showing that they can 
 be effectually resisted. I doubt whether any priest was 
 ever a better man than Lord Collingwood, and you 
 will not easily find one better than Captain Chads. 
 Solitude and celibacy, though they may diminish in 
 some cases the number of bad actions, may not impose 
 restraint upon bad thoughts, and God knows men's 
 thoughts and will judge them by those, as well as by 
 their actions. You are making a great mistake as to 
 happiness here, without at all improving your chance 
 of happiness hereafter. 
 
 The remark Augustus makes upon this letter is that 
 it is kind enough, and free from bigotry. It is, in fact, 
 just what one might expect from a sensible Protestant 
 and prudent man of the world. The writer of it did not 
 perceive, as we do, that the zeal of the Lord was 
 consuming the young man's heart ; and when that flame 
 is kindled no one may quench it, or prevent it from 
 burning up like chaff worldly calculations and interests, 
 turning into glowing ardour past languor and delaying 
 doubts, elevating the powers* and affections of the soul 
 until they rise like incense on the altar of God. About 
 this time we find a long meditation written by Augustus, 
 on the certainty of being saved or lost ; of this we give 
 the concluding portion. 
 
 St. Philip Neri used to say, Heaven is not made 
 for the slothful, let me take care that I do not come 
 under that head. If I have been slothful and idle,
 
 VOCATION. 77 
 
 seldom exerting myself to do anything for the glory of 
 God, let me arouse myself. Stir thyself up, O my soul ! 
 Lament thy defects. Beseech God to pardon them, and 
 endeavour for the future to lead a better life. And as, 
 
 Lord, following the vocation that Thou hast marked 
 out for me is necessary for my salvation, show me Thy 
 will ; I will do it. If I have made a mistake in believing 
 
 1 am called to the priesthood, let it not be too late. 
 Call me back before it is too late, O Lord. But if it is 
 Thy blessed will that I should be a priest, let me devote 
 myself to Thee more and more, and try to make Thee 
 loved by every one. Give me the graces necessary for 
 such an awful office ; and then, O Lord, Thy will be done 
 with regard to whether I shall be a regular or a secular. 
 And if I am to be a regular, Thy will be done again with 
 regard to what Order, whether Jesuits, Redemptorists, 
 or Passionists. Let Thy will be alwa)'s beloved and 
 sought after by me. Lord, hear my prayer. St. Teresa 
 said to her religious : " One soul, my daughters, one 
 eternity." If one only considered in his heart these 
 words, One soul, one eternity. What volumes they express ! 
 Yes, I have only one soul, and if that is lost, all is lost, 
 and for ever too. How precious then ought this soul to 
 be to me. How careful I am for my body, that nothing 
 hurts it, that it never wants for anything ; but how 
 differently I behave in regard to my soul. I do not 
 mind my poor soul going through all sorts of dangers, 
 and if it wants food (prayer or meditation), it must wait 
 until it is convenient to the body. How long is it to be 
 this way? One soul, one eternity. Think on these 
 words, and you will say it shall be so no longer. O my 
 Blessed Saviour, forgive my many treasons and infi- 
 delities. Come Thyself and feed my soul spiritually 
 with the Bread of Life. Grant that I may never be
 
 78 VOCATION. 
 
 separated from Thee. Mary, my dear Mother, intercede 
 for me, and obtain for me final perseverance. St.Joseph, 
 St. Aloysius, St. Francis Xavier, obtain for me the love 
 of God. 
 
 From this outpouring of Augustus' inmost heart it 
 will be seen that the question of his vocation to the 
 priesthood was not the only one to be decided. Another 
 had presented itself: Was he called to enter a Religious 
 Order ? During his retreat at Clapham he had read 
 St. Alphonsus Liguori on the Religious State, and ever 
 since had felt a strong attraction to the religious life. 
 In how many Christian souls has not the perusal of 
 that little work awakened a desire to follow the counsels 
 of perfection ? The reason he gave to his father for 
 his preference of the religious life was that he did 
 not consider himself to possess sufficient decision of 
 character and self-reliance for a secular priest, and 
 that he should work much better under obedience than 
 as his own master, or placed in a position of authority 
 over others. In reality, though he was perhaps hardly 
 conscious of it himself, the charity of Christ was urging 
 him to make a complete holocaust of himself. Ontnia 
 pvo Christo was the motto he adopted, and to which he 
 endeavoured to conform himself. He knew well that, 
 in the words of the Imitation, 1 to obtain all it was 
 necessary to forsake all, to resign himself always and 
 at all times, as in great things, so also in little. 
 With this object he wished to leave off smoking, 
 which had become a fixed habit with him, almost a 
 necessity. The difficulty he found in making this daily 
 sacrifice was almost insurmountable. Again and again 
 he resolved to break through the habit, and took 
 
 1 Bk. iii. ch. 37.
 
 VOCATION. 79 
 
 himself to task for not putting his resolution into 
 practice. " How long/' he asks himself, " am I to be held 
 in bondage by the devil in regard to smoking?" Again 
 and again he enumerates the reasons for and against 
 the use of tobacco, and tells himself how vastly the 
 latter preponderate over the former. By giving up his 
 pipe, he argued, he would gain time, at least an hour a 
 day, and money, a trifling sum certainly, but one that 
 might be better spent. By denying himself in a spirit 
 of penance and for the love of God, he would also gain 
 merit ; and since he must give it up eventually, better 
 sooner than later. Smoking was a pleasure of the 
 senses, and he had read in St. Alphonsus, that indul- 
 gence of the pleasures of the senses was incompatible 
 with a holy life. On the other hand, his natural man 
 urged that it was a great luxury at very small cost ; 
 that it was useful in preserving him from infection ; 
 that there was no harm in smoking while he was in the 
 navy, and that it in no wise interfered with his devo- 
 tions. Finally, to put an end to his hesitation, he 
 consulted Father Coffin, who had given him his retreat 
 at Clapham, on the matter, and was advised by him not 
 to attempt too much at first, but to restrict himself for 
 the present to a limited number of pipes, three or four 
 only, perhaps, in the course of the day. Whether or 
 no Augustus followed this advice, at any rate he did 
 not entirely give up smoking until he became a reli- 
 gious. The habit proved easier to overcome than he 
 had anticipated. On being asked by a friend, some 
 six months after he entered the Novitiate, whether he 
 did not feel the want of his pipe, he replied that he 
 must own that just at the outset he used to miss it 
 very much, especially after dinner, but that after thre 
 first week or two he scarcely ever thought of it.
 
 8o VOCATION. 
 
 The autumn of 1853, when the fixed time of proba- 
 tion was ended, found Augustus unwavering in his 
 determination to offer himself for the priesthood. 
 Cardinal Wiseman kindly volunteered to send him to 
 the English College in Rome, and the only reason 
 apparently why this offer was not accepted was that 
 Augustus feared lest he should not be free to enter a 
 Religious Order if, after two or three years, of study, he 
 should feel called to do so. He wished to apply for his 
 discharge from the service at once, but to this Mr. Law 
 would not consent. The plan he proposed was that 
 Augustus should obtain leave to remain twelve months 
 on shore, his name being still retained on the Nav)' 
 List, and he meanwhile pursuing his studies either at 
 home, or in some school or college. This plan did not 
 commend itself at all to Augustus. He felt he could 
 never again take any real interest in the service ; that 
 to prosecute his studies with undivided attention and 
 application would be impossible amid the distractions 
 and interruptions which would beset him whilst living 
 under his father's roof, and he could not hope to obtain 
 admission into any seminary or college free of charge 
 under the proposed conditions. Moreover, as no reason 
 of a satisfactory nature could be given to the naval 
 authorities for the desired permission for a twelve 
 months' absence from his ship, without altogether 
 leaving the service, the petition was not favourably 
 received by the Admiralty. While the matter was 
 pending, Augustus caught scarlet-fever, and was sent 
 to Haslar, the naval hospital near Portsmouth. The 
 attack appears to have been a very slight one. for in 
 three or four weeks' time he had completely recovered. 
 
 Immediately upon leaving the hospital he went to 
 make a retreat. This time it was to Hodder House,
 
 VOCATION. 81 
 
 near Stonyhurst, that he went, where the Jesuit 
 Noviceship then was. Whilst there he came to a 
 final decision in regard to his state of life, electing 
 the religious in preference to any other, as that in 
 which he considered he would be best able to serve 
 God. The next thing to be done was to make 
 choice of an Order. The Society of Jesus and the 
 Order of the Most Holy Redeemer were the only 
 two he knew much about, except the Cistercian, and 
 of that he feared that he could not bear the severity of 
 the Rule. Before he went to Hodder, his inclinations 
 led him in the direction of the Redemptorists. All that 
 he saw while in their house at Clapham, pleased and 
 attracted him. The constant cheerfulness of its inmates 
 in particular impressed him most favourably. Father 
 Coffin, C.SS.R., too, who was his director, had told him 
 that from what he knew of him, he considered him well 
 suited for the life of a Redemptorist. With the writings 
 of the Founder of the Order, St. Alphonsus Liguori, 
 he had already made himself acquainted, and was 
 much delighted with them. Besides the treatise on the 
 Religious State, of which mention has been made, the 
 little book of meditations entitled The Way of Salvation, 
 was an especial favourite. He had used it daily for 
 several months past ; speaking of it, he says : "I 
 spent many a happy half-hour with it on board the 
 Excellent, the half-hour before breakfast ; and I found it 
 a pleasant companion when left to myself for twenty- 
 one days in Haslar Hospital." But it was not for 
 nought that he had placed himself under the special 
 patronage of St. Aloysius, that he daily commended 
 himself to the Saints of the Society, and invoked their 
 intercession on his behalf. The principal reason why 
 he did not at first think much of becoming a Jesuit was 
 G
 
 82 VOCATION. 
 
 because he imagined he should have to pass some very 
 difficult examination before admission into the Society, 
 and for that his scanty knowledge of Latin disqualified 
 him. When once this apprehension was removed, and 
 he found no preparation was required, but that he 
 could be admitted at once, and pursue his study of 
 Latin during the two years' novitiate, the scale quickly 
 turned in favour of the Society. 
 
 The admirable organization of the Society, the 
 perfect discipline maintained among its members, 
 naturally commended themselves to one trained as he 
 had been in the naval service. And when he acquainted 
 himself more fully with the history of the Society, its 
 work, its triumphs, its reverses, its persecutions, its 
 suppression, its resurrection not to another and a new 
 life but to the self-same life it had ever led, all hesitation 
 vanished ; and now he determined to enrol himself 
 under the banner of St. Ignatius, thenceforward to 
 follow him as he had followed Christ. 
 
 Meanwhile Mr. Law was still carrying on negoti- 
 ations at the Admiralty in the hope of obtaining his 
 object, and getting his son's name retained on the 
 Navy List, in case he should not adhere to his purpose 
 of taking Orders, and wish to resume the sword and 
 epaulettes of a lieutenant R.N. The protracted dis- 
 cussions and letters to and fro worried and agitated 
 Augustus. He longed once for all to put an end to the 
 harassing suspense, to cast aside the considerations 
 of worldly prudence, and without further delay and 
 hesitation retire from the navy. He had counted the 
 cost, and was prepared to make whatever sacrifice 
 might be required of him. At length his father withdrew 
 his opposition, and Augustus, delighted to find himself 
 free to obey the impulses of grace, applied at once for
 
 VOCATION. 83 
 
 his discharge. This he did with the full approval of the 
 Captain of the Excellent, who behaved with the utmost 
 kindness, and made no objection to Augustus leaving 
 the ship, although he did not pretend to understand 
 the motives that actuated him. The order for his 
 discharge arrived on the 8th of December, and on the 
 1 5th of the following January he entered the Novitiate 
 of the Society of Jesus. 
 
 Of the intervening six weeks scarcely any record 
 exists. His diary, which, ever since he first went to 
 sea, had been the faithful chronicle of all his thoughts 
 and actions, is a blank. Letters to his father there are 
 none, for the time was spent under his roof. Only from 
 letters addressed to Augustus, speaking of the step he 
 had taken, do we gather in what light his friends 
 regarded it. Most of these were written in a kindly 
 spirit, but few exhibit the complete absence of preju- 
 dice, or attempt at remonstrance, which characterizes 
 the subjoined note, penned by one of his uncles, the 
 Hon. Henry Law. 
 
 I only heard on Saturday last of your determination 
 to leave the navy and become a priest. I do not write 
 in the hope of dissuading you from that course, but 
 simply lest my total silence should imply indifference 
 as to what became of you. This I can never feel. I 
 lay no blame upon you for following the course you 
 conscientiously believe to be the right one, and only 
 hope that should you hereafter feel any misgiving, you 
 will not be deterred by false shame from acknowledging 
 your change of mind, before you have bound yourself. 
 by an irrevocable vow. You will have my sincerest 
 prayers for your happiness here and hereafter.
 
 84 VOCATION. 
 
 Of the vexation and disappointment experienced by 
 his uncle and kind patron, Lord Ellenborough, mention 
 has already been made. One can hardly wonder that 
 similar sentiments were entertained by many other 
 Protestant relatives and friends of the family. All 
 who were connected with the navy, more especially 
 Augustus' former shipmates and fellow-officers, greatly 
 regretted his retirement, on account of-, the loss he 
 would be to the service as an officer. They all had but 
 one opinion of him, that as a sailor his main idea had 
 been attention to duty and forgetfulness of self. The 
 moral influence exercised on those around him by a 
 man of such character is an element of strength in a 
 mess or on board ship. There appeared besides every 
 prospect that he would distinguish himself, and rise to 
 the head of his profession, when a wider sphere would 
 be open to him, and his power to influence for good 
 the men under his command would be incalculable. 
 
 Of his final parting from the immediate members of 
 his family nothing is told us. It may be imagined that 
 the severance of the endearing ties that bound so 
 affectionate a son and brother to his home must have 
 been most painful to nature. The following story 
 appears to have afforded consolation both to Augustus 
 and to his relatives under these circumstances. It is, 
 moreover, interesting in itself, so that we have a double 
 plea for inserting it here. The Jesuit concerned in the 
 narrative was living when it was related to Augustus. 
 
 A young man entered the Society of Jesus in 
 France. About the same time his father and brother, 
 both of whom had given up their religion, sailed for 
 some distant port. The vessel was wrecked, and all on 
 board were supposed to have been lost. When the
 
 VOCATION. 85 
 
 news reached the Jesuit in question, he naturally feared 
 much for the souls of his father and brother. Many 
 years later, after he had become a priest, he was one 
 day visiting a hospital, when he was called to the 
 bedside of a soldier; who was dangerously ill. He found 
 the poor fellow to be as sick in soul as in body. After 
 doing his utmost to awaken him to contrition, and 
 induce him to make his peace with God, he put a few 
 questions to him, by means of which he discovered that 
 the man was his brother. Fearing to overtax the 
 strength of the sick man, he did not make himself known 
 to him, but went straight home, and told his Superior 
 what had occurred. After a moment's reflection, the 
 Superior bade him not to return to the hospital, but 
 leave his brother to the mercy of God, and trouble 
 himself no more about him. The Jesuit Father was 
 astonished at this answer ; a strong temptation assailed 
 him, which, after a severe struggle, he generously 
 repelled. Two or three days after he was removed to 
 another place. 
 
 Four years passed away, and the Jesuit Father 
 happened to be giving a mission in the town where he 
 had met with his brother. One day a woman came 
 into the sacristy, and said to him : " I have not come 
 to ask you to hear my confession, Father, but to give 
 you a message from the Cure. He has ordered me to 
 tell you from our Blessed Lady, that your father, who 
 was shipwrecked fifteen years ago, before he sank 
 below the waters made a good act of contrition, and 
 saved his soul." The Jesuit, who had never seen the 
 woman before, and whom she too now saw for the first 
 time, was amazed at what she said. She seemed a 
 poor, simple woman, but was far advanced in the 
 knowledge of God. After a moment's pause, she
 
 86 VOCATION. 
 
 continued : " Your brother, whom you recognized here 
 four years ago, saved himself by clinging to a plank, 
 but he narrowly escaped death. He enlisted in the 
 army, and lived in neglect of God. His salvation was 
 the reward of the act of obedience you performed on 
 his account ; two days after you saw him, he died in 
 excellent dispositions. I am also charged to tell you 
 that our Blessed Lady desires you should know that 
 scarcely any souls who have relatives in religion are 
 lost ; for Almighty God is so pleased with the sacrifices 
 made by a good religious, that in virtue of them, He 
 gives great graces to their relations to enable them 
 to save their souls. Thus very few of them are lost 
 eternally." 
 
 Before Augustus Law takes leave of his friends in 
 the world, we must add a few words respecting his 
 personal appearance. He was at that time twenty 
 years of age, of about an average height, rather broad- 
 shouldered, but not otherwise of a robust build. He 
 had lost the good looks of his boyhood, but his brown 
 eyes still had the soft, gentle expression his mother 
 loved so well, and a somewhat wide mouth gave a 
 good-humoured look to his frank, open countenance. 
 As a boy he was slight in figure, and looked well in his 
 midshipman's uniform ; and when he exchanged the 
 gold-laced cap for a cocked hat and epaulettes, every 
 one pronounced him to be a smart-looking young officer. 
 When we next see him he will have assumed the habit 
 of the sons of St. Ignatius, and this he will still be 
 wearing when he is laid in his lonely grave on the 
 African plains.
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 FIRST YEARS IN THE SOCIETY. 
 
 A TRULY simple and hidden life, such as was really led 
 in the Holy House of Nazareth, cannot be written 
 about, and hence it is not described in the Gospels. 
 The life of a novice in a religious house is likewise a 
 hidden life ; a life of prayer, of obedience, of self-denial. 
 Consequently we shall have little to relate concerning 
 Augustus during his two years' novitiate, except such 
 information as can be gleaned from his letters, and 
 from the recollections of his fellow-novices. The latter 
 all formed a high opinion of him ; let us listen to one 
 of them while he recalls his impression of the whilom 
 sailor. 
 
 " What I chiefly remarked about Augustus Law, 
 when I knew him in the Novitiate, was the charming 
 simplicity of his character. I never knew him do 
 anything that I should have thought of recording, nor 
 did I ever hear him say anything that was striking. 
 He was an unpretending, unconscious, happy youth, 
 who took the world as he found it, and never thought 
 that the weather, or the food, or his professors, were 
 not up to the mark. He had the great gift of living 
 the ' common life,' and probably with St. John Berch- 
 mans, he found his ' greatest mortification ' in it. He 
 had the spirit of sanctity about him, and differed, as 
 far as I can judge, from so many others merely in this,
 
 FIRST YEARS IN THE SOCIETY. 
 
 that he never lost it." The speaker of these words 
 was already a priest when he began his novitiate. He 
 remembers that Augustus, ever anxious to learn some- 
 thing connected with his future calling, used when 
 walking out with him, to "pick his companion's brains," 
 asking him questions of theology, and endeavouring to 
 gain from him some knowledge of the duties and 
 privileges of the priesthood. 
 
 But we must hear what Augustus has to say for 
 himself concerning the new life upon which he has 
 entered. About a month after he had left home, he 
 wrote to his father : " I am very, very happy here, and 
 by the assistance of God's grace, I hope to live and die 
 in the Society of Jesus. It seemed rather strange to 
 me at first when people whom I had never seen before 
 called me Brother Law. There are, I think, altogether 
 twenty novices. I have learnt how to serve Mass, to 
 serve at table, &c., and am learning to bind books, so 
 that I shall be quite accomplished soon. It is such a 
 capital thing here that we never have an idle moment ; 
 besides, Latin takes up most of my ad libitum time. 
 I am going through Caesar. Give my very best love 
 to all." And concluding the same letter a week later, 
 he adds: " I am getting happier every day. Best love 
 to all again. You cannot think what beautiful exhor- 
 tations Father Clarke (the novice-master) gives us." 
 
 During the first month of his residence at Hodder, 
 Augustus employed his spare time in filling a little 
 book with long and minute counsels addressed to his 
 younger brother Frederick (now retired Commander 
 R.N.), who was just about to enter upon the career he 
 himself had abandoned, and in whom he took a peculiar 
 interest. These counsels are very edifying. We give 
 a few extracts from the closely-written pages.
 
 FIRST YEARS IN THE SOCIETY. 89 
 
 ON ATTENDING TO THE DUTIES OF RELIGION. 
 
 Heretofore you have always gone to Mass, prayers, 
 confession, and other religious duties almost as a matter 
 of course. For even if you had not felt disposed to 
 perform these essential duties, you would have done 
 so either from force of example, or from being obliged 
 by the rules of the school. But when you enter the 
 navy you cannot lean upon these safeguards. It will 
 be all optional with you. You will have to look after 
 yourself and no one will say, Come to Mass, or, You 
 should be going to confession, or, Are you going 
 to receive the Blessed Sacrament to-morrow ? None 
 of this ; on the contrary, you will be told that going to 
 confession so often is all nonsense, as I remember being 
 told, when one of my messmates asked me how often 
 I went to confession, and I told him: Once a week 
 when I could, and if that could not be done, as often 
 as I had opportunity. And surely in the navy you 
 will want strength, light, and grace from our Lord to 
 carry you through so many dangers, difficulties, and 
 temptations which you will experience. Then for the 
 love of Jesus and Mary, go to confession as often as 
 you can, and let it be the first thing you do when you 
 go on shore. Even if you could only get one day's 
 leave, because the ship was only going to stop a day 
 or two, I do not think there is any question what you 
 should do. For the thing is, Shall I go to confession 
 and thus make myself at peace with God, and be at 
 ease the rest of the voyage ? Or shall I go and amuse 
 myself and then not feel exactly comfortable when I 
 get to sea again, for I had my opportunity of going to . 
 confession, and never went ? You know a little of 
 Latin and a little of French. I should certainly advise
 
 go FIRST YEARS IN THE SOCIETY. 
 
 you to perfect yourself in one of them at least. Perhaps 
 French would be best, although, if you can manage to 
 understand Latin sufficiently to make your confession 
 in it, it would be of more universal use. 
 
 And now a few words on meditation. All Catholics 
 are earnestly recommended to practise meditation once 
 a day, and that for at the very least a quarter of an hour. 
 You will find lots of time for this holy exercise, I am 
 certain of that. The best time I should think would be 
 before breakfast, which is nearly always at 8, and you are 
 turned out of your hammock at about 6.30. So if you 
 take half an hour for dressing, you can have a full hour 
 for anything you like. What better time than this for 
 going into your berth, or mess-room, and saying your 
 prayers offering up all your actions, thoughts, and 
 words of the day to God, and making half an hour's 
 meditation. Supposing with all your endeavours to 
 get half an hour's quiet during the day for meditation 
 you cannot get it, well, there are the night-watches to 
 fall back upon, in which you will generally find plenty 
 of time for reflection and thought. Of course you must 
 never neglect your duty in order to meditate. That 
 obviously would be wrong, but there are so man)* 
 portions of the watch in which you have nothing to 
 do but to walk up and down the deck. Then is the 
 time for you to meditate, say the Rosary, &c. When 
 you have got into the ways of a ship, you will find 
 you will have plenty of time for prayer without inter- 
 fering with your duty. St. Alphonsus Liguori says of 
 mental prayer : Without this it will be difficult for the 
 soul to continue long in the grace of God. 
 
 Although when at sea, you of course cannot attend 
 Mass personally, yet you can unite your intention with 
 the priests who are offering up the Holy Sacrifice
 
 FIRST YEARS IN THE SOCIETY. 91 
 
 throughout the world. It is a pleasant thing to think 
 of, that whatever time of the day it is, the Holy Sacrifice 
 is being offered up somewhere. ... So at any time in 
 the day or night, you can be in spirit at Mass. In that 
 beautiful book of meditations by St. Alphonsus which 
 I have given you, you will find everything that you 
 could want for guiding you through difficulties and 
 temptations. I hope you will make use of it often. 
 When in danger of the body at sea in any way, or 
 anywhere else, make a fervent act of contrition and 
 love of God, and then trust in God whatever happens. 
 
 I suppose it is almost superfluous to tell you that you 
 should respect and obey your superior officers. You 
 must see that where there is no discipline there will not 
 be much peace and comfort, whether it be a monastery, 
 a regiment of soldiers, or a ship. I just mention this to 
 warn you never to speak badly of your superior or 
 senior officers, down in your berth or elsewhere. You 
 will hear a good many do this though, and call them 
 all the names they can think of, because they do some- 
 thing or say something they do not like. There are 
 many reasons why you should refrain from doing this. 
 First your duty as a Christian and a Catholic tells you 
 to speak evil of no man. Moreover, it is expressly 
 against the rules of the service, and may get you into 
 scrapes from being overheard. Then after all, what 
 good do you get by it ? It makes no one happier 
 to abuse another. So do not join with others in 
 speaking evil of superior officers. If you can say 
 something good of the man talked about, say it. With 
 regard to addressing superior officers, always speak 
 respectfully, whoever and whatever they may be, for 
 bear in mind, it is not the man as he is you pay respect 
 to, but the office as captain, commander, lieutenant, &c.
 
 ga FIRST YEARS IN THE SOCIETY. 
 
 After several other pages filled with wise and 
 judicious counsels on various other points, he concludes 
 with these words : 
 
 Make yourself as good an officer and sailor as you 
 can, all for the glory of God. Give a good example 
 to all your shipmates. You must not be surprised at 
 being bothered about your religion. I advise you never 
 to let them put you out of temper on account of it, 
 for if you do, they will only go on the more. First 
 endeavour when any one speaks to you about our holy 
 religion in public, to turn off the conversation. I am 
 almost glad they tease you about it, for I hope it will 
 make you prize your faith (the greatest blessing God 
 bestows) all the more, and also make you keep closer 
 than ever to Jesus and Mary. Jesus never forgets those 
 who are persecuted for the holy faith. 
 
 Later on, writing to his father about this same 
 sailor-brother, he says : " We must pray hard for him, 
 for sailors do not get many advantages in the religious 
 way. However, God no doubt will give him great 
 graces. Captain Jerningham told me he was a much 
 better Catholic on board a ship, amongst all the cursing, 
 swearing, &c., than when living quietly on shore with 
 all the advantages of hearing Mass, &c. The fact is, 
 that on board a ship in the Royal Navy, one is often 
 the only Catholic officer, so all eyes are turned on him 
 to see how ' the Catholic ' behaves, and I fancy this is 
 a great incentive to leading a good life." 
 
 We may conclude that Mrs. Law was somewhat 
 alarmed in regard to the ascetic practices of Hodder, 
 for Augustus continues : "I hope Father Clarke gave 
 May a full description of the ' frightful ' austerities we
 
 FIRST YEARS IN THE SOCIETY. 93 
 
 poor novices undergo. Fred will soon be amongst the 
 real austerities walking for four hours in the middle of 
 the night, wet through sometimes, and with a very cold 
 piercing wind, not to forget living upon ' salt-junk and 
 maggoty biscuit ' for about sixty days, at the same time 
 being on short allowance of water. Tell May that 
 directly that I find our austerities get up to that I 
 will write in all haste to her. I am very jolly and 
 happy." 
 
 Another time he writes : " I little thought two years 
 ago what blessings God had in store for me. How 
 good He has been to us all ! Tell Helen and all, I 
 would write to them individually, but since every one 
 sees my letter, it would be no good, besides every 
 minute at Hodder is precious. No time is thrown 
 away, and really the time I have been here seems to 
 have passed away so very quickly." 
 
 The following notes, jotted down for his own instruc- 
 tion and encouragement at the commencement of the 
 first retreat he made as a religious, may be of some 
 interest to the reader. 
 
 THE ADVANTAGES OF A RETREAT. 
 
 i. I merit. There is some difficulty about it. We 
 praise the three Kings for the long journey they took 
 to see the Infant Jesus ; to many persons an eight 
 days' retreat is a thing of greater difficulty than a long 
 journey. Let us endeavour to be looking for Him as 
 they did. Ubi est qiii natus est ? 
 
 We bless Cleophas and his friend because our Lord 
 found them talking about Himself. We shall be like 
 them for these eight days. Daniel was told : " From 
 the beginning of thy prayers the word went forth and
 
 94 FIRST YEARS IN THE SOCIETY. 
 
 I am come to show it thee, because thou art a man of 
 desires." 1 Later on, the Angel gives him the same 
 name, adding : " Peace be to thee, take courage and 
 be strong." What an encouragement ! Let the same 
 be said to us. God seemed pleased at seeing Job 
 serving Him so faithfully. Numquid considerasti servum 
 meum Job? He appears glad to find some one who 
 will serve Him sincerely. He says now : Have you 
 seen that Brother, how he is meditating, how he is 
 visiting Me ? He was grateful to the woman who 
 anointed His feet, so that He said no one should ever 
 preach Him without that being preached that she 
 did. 
 
 2. The memory, imagination, intellect, and will 
 being concentrated on one thing, they are used with 
 more effect. Pluribus intentus minor est ad singula sensus. 
 Hence guard of the eyes, silence are recommended. 
 The thoughts are to be confined to congruous subjects. 
 This helps a good deal, and makes the work much easier 
 and lighter. 
 
 3. The more we are removed from men and external 
 work the nearer we come to God and His angels, and 
 the more readily do we hear God. Hence God often 
 spoke to men in their sleep, as to Jacob and to St. 
 Joseph. In retirement we see heavenly things with a 
 keener sight : hence, vacate et videte qmim ego sum Dens. 
 And accedite ad eum et illuminamini. We are perhaps 
 blind, and want to see. We see the difficulties and do 
 not see what there is to help us. In retirement we 
 learn how to make God sweeter to us than creatures : 
 delectare in Domino. Here we have plenty of time. To 
 run a few steps may not make you warm ; if you walk 
 for an hour, you will get heat. 
 
 1 Daniel ix. 23.
 
 FIRST YEARS IN THE SOCIETY. 95 
 
 In September, 1854, the happy monotony of the life 
 in the Jesuit Novitiate was broken by an unusual rmd 
 exciting event. This was none other than the transfer 
 of the Novitiate from the north to the south of England. 
 " Wonderful to relate," Augustus writes to his father, 
 " I actually have news, news from Hodder ! Hodder is 
 no longer the Jesuit Novitiate. ' Business is removed' 
 to Beaumont Lodge, Old Windsor. Fancy the Jesuits 
 in sight of Windsor Castle, for I believe we are only two 
 miles away from it." This removal of the Novitiate from 
 Hodder, where it had been for more than fifty years, 
 took almost every one by surprise. No one except the 
 solicitors who transacted the business knew for whom 
 the property was purchased. One fine day the work- 
 men who had been engaged in making alterations and 
 doing repairs disappeared, and were replaced by a 
 number of active young students, some of whom set to 
 work plastering and painting the interior of the house, 
 whilst others lent a helping hand at fixing and arranging 
 things. On this occasion Augustus Law could turn his 
 former experience as a sailor to good account. A priest 
 who had charge of the novices at that time remembers 
 that he was remarkably helpful in making everything 
 ship-shape, and displayed wonderful ingenuity in stow- 
 ing the baggage away in the smallest possible space. 
 It was some time before it was generally known who 
 the new-comers were. The Novice Master, Father 
 Thomas Clarke, was supposed to be the Principal of 
 an Academy for gentlemen's sons. When the truth 
 leaked out, a considerable outcry was made. Even the 
 friends of the Society deemed it somewhat imprudent 
 to place the Novitiate under the walls, so to speak, of 
 Windsor Castle. The Jesuits had however no cause 
 to regret the move ; the advantages derived from being
 
 96 FIRST YEARS IN THE SOCIETY. 
 
 within easy reach of London, at least every one will 
 understand. 
 
 Augustus for one was well pleased with the change. 
 He thought Beaumont a very healthy place, and 
 rejoiced in the facilities now afforded him for seeing his 
 father occasionally. His fervour as a novice did not 
 diminish the warmth of natural affection, but that 
 affection was supernaturalized, and his., first thought 
 was of the eternal good of those he loved. 
 
 " If I have been negligent in writing lately," he says 
 at the commencement of 1855, " I have not forgotten 
 you and my dear brothers and sisters at Mass every 
 day. I have now been a year and more out of the 
 navy. You must imagine my name has been on the 
 Navy List all this time, viz., for the year you wished 
 it to be, for if it had, it would now be all the same. 
 On the 1 5th I have been the year in the Noviceship. 
 Thanks to God, I am still of the same mind, only much 
 more strengthened in it than when I first joined, and I 
 hope by the grace of Jesus Who mercifully brought me 
 here, to live and die in this same dear Society of 
 His." 
 
 In January of the next year, Augustus pronounced 
 his first vows. Even those who know him only from 
 these pages will be able to conjecture the fervour 
 wherewith he made this entire dedication of himself to 
 the service of God. Let us listen to his own words at 
 the time. 
 
 "One object, one mark to be looked at and aimed at, 
 one straight path which leads to God's praise and glory 
 to be walked along. And all things around me to be 
 used for that one object, that one mark. Otherwise I 
 have missed my road, I have failed in life, I am ruined. 
 Nothing to be aimed at for its own sake, only God."
 
 FIRST YEARS IN THE SOCIETY. 97 
 
 At the close of his novitiate, his Superiors, desirous 
 that he should improve his knowledge of French, sent 
 him to St. Acheul, near Amiens, for his rhetoric. On 
 the way thither he was allowed, at Mr. Law's request t 
 to spend a couple of days with his family, who were 
 then residing at Boulogne. He gave much edification 
 by his religious obedience on that occasion, gently but 
 firmly adhering to what he believed to be his Superior's 
 intentions even in the most trivial matters, notwith- 
 standing the efforts made to persuade him to the 
 contrary. A few months later, he wrote the following 
 letter to his brother Graves, who after a short time 
 spent at Addiscombe, had renounced his intention of 
 entering the army for the sake of joining the Oratory of 
 St. Philip. In familiar letters such as this, and others 
 that have been quoted, the writer unconsciously paints 
 himself, and gives an insight into his amiable, affec- 
 tionate character, his simple, earnest piety. 
 
 A.M.D.G. 
 
 Pentecost, May n, 1856. 
 
 College of St. Acheul, Amiens. 
 
 I must commence my letter by wishing you all the 
 gifts of the Holy Ghost and of Mary, since to-day it is 
 Pentecost, and the month of Mary is not ended. You 
 will have heard that papa, May, and Maud came over 
 here to see me. We went over the Cathedral and over 
 a hospital kept by the Sisters of Charity. I think they 
 were very well pleased with their day. You know also 
 that they are about to live at Hampton Court, close 
 to Beaumont Lodge. 1 I hope papa will be able to do 
 
 1 The apartments in Hampton Court Palace occupied by Mr. Law's 
 family were originally given to Lady Montgomery and her two then ' 
 unmarried daughters. The elder of these married, as we have seen, 
 Mr. Law. Some years after Lady Montgomery's death, the other daughter,. 
 H
 
 98 FIRST YEARS IN THE SOCIETY. 
 
 something for the mission at Sunbury, which is about 
 three miles from Hampton Court. Our novices catechize 
 there. You will be glad to hear, if you do not know 
 it already, that All for Jesus has been translated into 
 French. Walking from the railway-station to our 
 College, I saw it in a shop window. Do you remember 
 the Jesuit Captain Wood, R.N. ? He is dead. He 
 died of consumption at Malta ; we are extremely sorry 
 to lose him. He was so good, I saw him at Ryde, 
 and he was two or three months with me at Beaumont. 
 The state of his health prevented him from finishing 
 his course of theology. I beg your prayers for his 
 soul. I have taken him for my patron, since I think 
 he is bound to hear a brother sailor-Jesuit. 
 
 May 1 7th. You would like, I dare say, to hear what 
 I am studying. Well, now I can understand my French 
 Brothers, provided they do not talk very fast, and I 
 can speak a little ; as to reading a French book, that 
 is easy compared with speaking. I hope by September 
 to know French very tolerably. As to Latin, I re"ad 
 Cicero, Virgil, &c., and write themes and verses occa- 
 sionally. Greek I am just beginning to look up again. 
 I follow the class I am in quoad fieri potest, but 1 bestow 
 my principal pains on French and Latin. I was 
 thinking of threatening you with the bother of reading 
 a badly-written Latin letter, but I will spare you the 
 penance this time. I get up at 4 a.m. ; meditation 
 from 4.30 to 5.30; then Mass; 6, study; 7, breakfast, 
 study, &c. ; 8 to 10, class; 10 to 10.15, manual work; 
 10.15 to 11.15, study; examen ; 12, dinner and recrea- 
 
 on her marriage with Sir Thomas Whichcote, made over to Mrs. Law her 
 right to the apartments in the Palace. The family, who had been living 
 first in London, then at Boulogne, since Mr. Law's resignation of his 
 living of Harborne, removed thither, and they have resided there ever since.
 
 FIRST YEARS IN THE SOCIETY. 99 
 
 tion till 1.15 ; study; 2.30 to 4.30, class ; 7, supper and 
 recreation; 8.15, litanies; 8.30, preparation for medita- 
 tion ; 8.45, examen ; 9, bed. The after-dinner recrea- 
 tion is in French ; after supper, Latin. On Tuesdays 
 and Thursdays we have a walk in the gatden and no 
 class. Every alternate Tuesday we spend at our country 
 house and have games, &c., no study. Such is my 
 day, dearest Graves, and I suppose yours is much the 
 same. How much happier we are, working away for 
 God's glory, than we were while working for our own 
 amusement in the world. One of your old schoolmates 
 is here, he begs to be remembered most kindly to you. 
 We are in the same class in rhetoric. He was delighted 
 to hear that you were at the Oratory. I shall be most 
 happy to get a line from you, when you can spare the 
 time. And I beg your prayers, dearest brother, most 
 heartily. We three, Helen, you, and I, ought to pray 
 well for one another. I shall never forget that happy 
 meeting at the Convent in Blandford Square. There 
 we were all three, after being knocked about in the 
 world for a long time, enlisted at length in Jesus Christ's 
 service ; one an Oratorian, one a Sister of Mercy, one 
 a Jesuit. Jesus and Mary be praised ! 
 
 To this little group of religious, a fourth was shortly 
 after added, when Mr. Law's second daughter, Matilda, 
 became a nun in the Convent of the Visitation at 
 Westbury-on-Trym. She was Augustus' favourite 
 sister ; on hearing of her vocation and entrance upon 
 the religious life, he gave thanks to God, and said, 
 in his humility, that he wished he could imitate her 
 fervour and her love. 
 
 In the course of the year 1857 it Avas found that the 
 -climate at Amiens did not agree with Augustus. The
 
 FIRST YEARS IN THE SOCIETY. 
 
 state of his health became very unsatisfactory, so- 
 much so that the Provincial was informed of it. He 
 was consequently recalled to England, and sent to 
 pursue his studies at the Seminary at Stonyhurst. 
 There he remained for two years. During this period 
 we are told that he was noted for three characteristics : 
 the first of these being a deep interest in and close 
 application to the study of philosophy, in which his 
 health obliged him to be rather a careful thinker than 
 an extensive reader. During walks, or strolls in the 
 garden at the time of recreation, he was always anxious 
 to discuss some philosophical question with his com- 
 panion. The second point in his character, which 
 manifested itself so strongly afterwards, was an intense 
 zeal for missionary work. He was ever studying how 
 he might best put plain truths in a simple and practical 
 way before the young and before the poor and ill- 
 instructed, and was glad of every opportunity of prac- 
 tising himself in the catechisms given by the scholastics 
 in the villages at a short distance from the Seminary. 
 To the third point remarked in him he was also faithful 
 through life, and this was his devoted admiration of 
 the writings of St. John Chrysostom. While his fellow- 
 students were humorously called by the names of the 
 authors for whom they had a special predilection, 
 Brother Law was in his turn denominated " St. Chry- 
 sostom." He devoted a quarter of an hour every day 
 to reading his favourite Father in the original text. 
 And though he was not familiar with the language, at 
 any rate not at all proficient in it, the Greek seemed to 
 explain itself to him by some spiritual process in a 
 wonderful manner. " If one reads St. Chr}'sostom's 
 writings with a pen in one's hand," he writes in his 
 note-book, "it is hard work, for you might write nearly
 
 FIRST YEARS IN THE SOCIETY. 
 
 every word down ; everything is so lucid, so eloquent, 
 so pious." Some years later, writing to his father from 
 Berbice, he says he would give anything for a volume 
 of St. Chrysostom in Greek, and asks him whether he 
 could pick up an odd volume in some second-hand 
 book-shop. And in his sermons and written medita- 
 tions, we find him continually quoting this favourite 
 writer. 
 
 At Stonyhurst, as in the Novitiate, Brother Law 
 was much liked by his Superiors on account of his 
 diligent and intelligent observance of the Rule, and 
 by his companions, a large proportion of whom were 
 old friends, having been his fellow-novices, on account 
 of his entire unselfishness, and the almost unvarying 
 brightness of his disposition. The former trait was 
 one which had distinguished him from his boyhood, 
 and he practised it with so much freedom and ease that 
 it wore the semblance of a natural gift rather than of 
 an acquired virtue. Even in the nursery he was 
 always ready to leave his games to render a service to 
 any one, and he was just the same now, ingenious in 
 finding occasions for exercising his charity. Towards 
 the sick he was kindness itself. At every free moment 
 he would visit their rooms on some pretext or another, 
 to tell them any scrap of news, or amusing intelligence 
 that he had heard ; sometimes only to stir the fire, and 
 see if anything was wanted. 
 
 One may judge of the spirit in which he lived 
 from the following remarks on prayer and hints for 
 the practice of self-denial which he wrote during his 
 first year at Stonyhurst, and which were intended 
 to guide him in his intercourse with God and with his 
 neighbour.
 
 FIRST YEARS IN THE SOCIETY. 
 
 ON PRAYER. 
 
 1. It is good to persevere calmly when in desolation, 
 and it is also well : 
 
 2. To be simple in prayer. 
 
 3. To persuade oneself that the prayer of St. Ignatius 
 consists in applying the memory, understanding, and 
 will to some truth, aided by the light "of the Holy 
 Ghost, and that one can make an excellent meditation 
 without the least bit of sensible consolation, for this is 
 wholly in God's gift. We must pray as well as think. 
 
 4. It requires an effort sometimes even to start it. 
 Nothing in this world can be done without some labour. 
 
 5. I should not go to prayer expecting consolation, 
 but I ought to prepare myself to plod along as well as 
 I can, and leave the rest to God. For consolation, 
 unction, clear lights, &c., are a pure gift. (Vide 
 remark 3.) 
 
 6. It appears to me that to well prepare two points 
 suffices ; for, de facto, I seldom use more than one. 
 
 7. Take the truth or fact to be meditated upon, and 
 exercise your memory, understanding, and will upon it, 
 not hampering yourself with too many divisions of the 
 subject. It is well, however, to know them so as to 
 have them at hand, but going through each division 
 hampers the mind. 
 
 8. There is a mean to be observed. I must not 
 pass all the time in reflection. I must use the collo- 
 quies to God and the saints. I must expose my doubts, 
 wants, necessities, troubles, anxieties ; I must ask, beg, 
 implore, &c. Reflection will help prayer, and prayer 
 reflection. 
 
 9. Results of some examinations after meditation, 
 (i) Humility is very necessary; perhaps for want of it
 
 FIRST YEARS IN THE SOCIETY. 
 
 103 
 
 I do not have good meditations. (2) I ought to say to 
 myself, What fruit do you wish to get from this 
 meditation ? 
 
 A.M.D.G. 
 
 Acts of self-denial for the love of God, which can 
 easily be practised, no one seeing them. 
 
 In honour of B.V.M. 
 St. Ignatius. 
 St. F. Xavier. 
 
 St. Aloysius. 
 V. Berchmans. 
 St. F. Borgia. 
 St. Aloysius. 
 St. Aloysius. 
 St. Ignatius. 
 St. Ignatius. 
 
 V. P. Claver. 
 
 1. To serve tea at breakfast. 
 
 2. Not to look at the newspaper. 
 
 3. To give way to every one in 
 
 the house in passages, &c. 
 
 4. To resist a desire to say such 
 
 and such a thing of self. 
 
 5. To leave the choice of the 
 
 walk to another. 
 
 6. Not to excuse myself if 
 
 accused or scolded. 
 
 7. To keep custody of the eyes 
 
 during meals. 
 
 8. To do the same a short 
 
 distance in walking. 
 
 9. Not to sit during meditation,. 
 
 nor to walk up and down. 
 
 10. Not to talk disparagingly 
 
 of, or comment upon, the 
 arrangements of Superiors. 
 It is against obedience and 
 does no good to any one. 
 
 11. The same as to the Pro- 
 
 fessors. 
 
 12. To resist the inclination to 
 
 speak disparagingly of the 
 sayings and doings of 
 another an equal and
 
 FIRST YEARS IN THE SOCIETY. 
 
 to seek reasons as far 
 as possible for defending 
 them. 
 
 V. P. Claver. 13. If an unkind thing should be 
 
 said to me, to return a 
 kind word ; if I should 
 have a repugnance to the 
 person, a still -.kinder. 
 
 V. P. Claver. 14. If an uncivil thing is done to 
 
 me, to return a civil. 
 
 On the conclusion of the two years, Augustus Law 
 -went to the preparatory school at Hodder, to teach a 
 class of little boys. He writes thence: "I am very 
 happy, have lots to do always, and like my occupation 
 nrery much. I thank God for the happiness I find here." 
 This arrangement was but a temporary one. After a 
 .few weeks his first regular term of external work was 
 to begin at Glasgow, whither, in the next chapter, we 
 shall follow him.
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 PREPARATION FOR THE PRIESTHOOD. 
 
 IN the summer of 1859, the time when Augustus Law 
 went to Glasgow, the College of St. Aloysius had not 
 long been opened. The number of pupils was between 
 fifty and sixty ; the staff of teachers, on which Augustus 
 was placed, consisted of two Jesuit Fathers and two 
 members of the Society who were not yet ordained. 
 There were besides three other Fathers in the town, in 
 charge of the flourishing mission church of St. Joseph, 
 where one of the younger masters of the school used 
 to go every Sunday to help in the catechizing. 
 Augustus threw himself into this new work with the 
 utmost zeal and energy. As a teacher he was careful 
 and painstaking, but it was not to this that the great 
 popularity he speedily acquired amongst the boys was 
 owing. He knew that it is out of the class-room that 
 children's hearts must be won ; the master who holds 
 himself aloof from his^ pupils in the hour of recreation 
 may be respected and feared, but will not be loved. 
 Therefore he entered into all their sports with a hearty 
 good-will, to all appearance enjoying himself in the 
 playground as much as the lads for whose sake he was 
 there. His great object was to make every one happy, 
 and all who went to him with the little troubles of 
 school-life, found him as ready to help them in their 
 difficulties and to conjure away their griefs, as to join
 
 io6 PREPARATION FOR THE PRIESTHOOD. 
 
 in a game of football, or make up the number wanted 
 in the cricket-field. There was a fund of humour about 
 him, too, which delighted the boys. Many a time he 
 would keep a whole roomful amused and merry by 
 drawing good-natured caricatures, and sketching droll 
 figures a talent we have seen him to possess while 
 turning over the pages of his diary. When the boys 
 went out for a country walk, his company was eagerly 
 sought after, for he would entertain the little group 
 which pressed around him the discipline observed in 
 the town being relaxed by relating incidents that had 
 occurred during his voyages. One story that he was 
 fond of telling was how one day while walking in 
 Singapore, he met a crowd of natives running down a 
 street and round a corner at full speed, as if they were 
 escaping for their lives. On looking about to discover 
 the cause of their terror and precipitate flight, he 
 descried a rollicking British tar, more than " half seas 
 over," who held a stone jar containing liquor in each 
 hand, pursuing the swarthy crowd as well as his 
 unsteady steps would allow, uttering noisy but harm- 
 less imprecations. " I must confess that I felt a certain 
 pride in my fellow-countryman," he used to conclude, 
 with a laugh that lighted up his countenance and gave 
 a merry twinkle to his eye. He willingly recalled his 
 seafaring life, for his love for the navy was second only 
 to his love for the Society, and he was accustomed to 
 say it was the finest service in the world. His conversa- 
 tion often savoured of the salt water, and the expressions 
 he had learnt to make use of when he wore the blue 
 jacket, sometimes rose to his lips after the habit and 
 biretta had become his garb. When asked one day by 
 the Superior whether the boys were assembled in the 
 chapel, his reply, given with perfect gravity, called a
 
 107 
 
 smile to the countenance of his interrogator: "All 
 hands on their knees, sir." This habit of employing 
 nautical terms he never completely lost. Years after 
 the time of which we are speaking, when a missioner 
 in Demerara, he went a long ride to baptize a child 
 "up country." The horse returned to its stable rider- 
 less, and considerable anxiety was felt as to its rider's 
 fate. He presently made his appearance on foot, saying 
 in explanation: "I moored my mare to the garden 
 gate, but while I was gone, she drifted away. However, 
 as she steered straight for the harbour, there was no 
 harm done." 
 
 Augustus did not content himself with providing 
 amusement for the boys under his charge, his thoughts 
 were ever bent on promoting their edification. In his 
 free time he planned many a scheme for their moral or 
 spiritual improvement. Religious dramas for acting in 
 school were then not common ; he undertook to write 
 a short play for performance at St. Aloysius'. The 
 subject he chose was the martyrdom of St. Hermene- 
 gild, at the period of the Arian persecution. A library 
 for the use of the boys was much wanted, but the 
 school at its commencement was poor, and the required 
 sum, inconsiderable though it was, was not forthcoming. 
 Augustus exerted himself to obtain the funds ; with a 
 donation from his father, and the help of a few friends, 
 the library was soon started, and placed on a firm 
 footing. 
 
 But the strain of teaching proved too much for his 
 health ; on the commencement of the summer holidays 
 in July, 1862, he quitted Glasgow, and returned to 
 Roehampton to recruit his strength. We cannot do 
 better than close the period of his connection with the 
 College of St. Aloysius by transcribing a portion of a
 
 io8 PREPARATION FOR THE PRIESTHOOD. 
 
 letter written by one of his former pupils, after the 
 news of his death had reached England. It was 
 addressed to Augustus' father, to whom the writer was 
 a complete stranger. 
 
 " It is now twenty-three years since I had the good 
 fortune of becoming acquainted with your saintly son. 
 I was then a mere child in his class in the Jesuit College 
 at Glasgow, during his first years of teaching, but the 
 impression he then made upon me by his pure, self- 
 denying life, has never been effaced. There was no 
 one who did not love Mr. Law, as we called him ; but 
 on account of his special kindness to me, I am sure no 
 one loved him more dearly than I did. He it was who 
 prepared me for my First Communion, and I still 
 preserve in my breviary the little picture he gave me 
 on that occasion. This picture, and some of his letters, 
 written to me in after-years, are my most precious 
 treasures. To the deep impression he made upon me 
 by his genuine piety, and to the great interest he took 
 in me, I owe under God my call to the Society of 
 which he was so exemplary a member. The highest 
 ambition of my religious life has ever been to be like 
 him. I never knew any man so devoted and self- 
 sacrificing as he." 
 
 After a few days spent in retreat at Roehampton, 
 Augustus went to Beaumont Lodge, where he remained 
 more than two months. His health improved very 
 slowly ; the least extra exertion threw him back, and 
 desirous as he was to begin work again, he was forced 
 to admit that he did not feel equal to it. For some 
 time it was a question whether it would not be advisable 
 to send him out of England to some warmer climate, 
 but in October, 1862, he had recovered his strength 
 sufficiently to commence his course of theology at
 
 PREPARATION FOR THE PRIESTHOOD. 109 
 
 St. Beuno's, although he had to keep on the sick-list 
 for several months longer. 
 
 The College of St. Beuno stands upon a terraced 
 height in the vale of the Clwydd, amid the most 
 romantic scenery of North Wales, and commands an 
 extensive view of the surrounding country. The situa- 
 tion is beautiful indeed in summer, although in winter 
 it is somewhat bleak, being exposed to the storms that 
 sweep across the ocean, and to the rough winds that 
 howl around the mountain tops. In this remote and 
 lonely spot Augustus spent what he was wont to 
 call the four happiest years of his life. The absolute 
 quietude and seclusion was grateful to him in his 
 impaired state of health ; his silent communings with 
 Nature were soothing after the bustle and activity of 
 school-life in a large and noisy town. The study of 
 theology, moreover, was one in which he took intense 
 delight, while among his fellow-students and the Pro- 
 fessors of the College he found agreeable and congenial 
 companionship. 
 
 Augustus applied himself to his studies with the 
 same energy and oneness of purpose that he had dis- 
 played when he filled the post of teacher instead of 
 learner. He was considered one of the best and most 
 solid theological students of his time; certainly there 
 was not one more anxious to profit by the instructions 
 of his Professors, more desirous of drawing the spiritual 
 honey from the rocks where it was stored. The Holy 
 Scriptures, for which from his childhood he had a 
 profound veneration, and which when a sailor, he was 
 accustomed to read and reflect upon, were to him a 
 source of infinite pleasure and profit. Among the notes 
 written at this time for no eye but his own, the follow- 
 ing passage occurs :
 
 no PREPARATION FOR THE PRIESTHOOD. 
 
 There is the saying : Timeo Iwminem unhis libri. Now 
 for a priest, for instance, if he takes the Holy Scriptures. 
 In addition to the wonderful things that are always 
 said about them, as being God's written Word : (i) It 
 is the best book to know well for ordinary controversies, 
 for few Protestants care a rush for the Fathers. (2) No- 
 where can you find better illustrations for sermons than 
 in Bible history. Apart from Chrysostom, being a Saint, 
 how well he uses for illustrations the persons and events 
 of Holy Scripture. (3) However tired you are, you can 
 always read the Holy Scriptures, and take delight in 
 them, for they speak more to the heart than to the 
 head. (4) Here we must not pass by how much they 
 help to our individual instruction and exhortation ; it is 
 on this account that our Rev. Father General com- 
 mends the constant reading of the Scriptures so much 
 to our Fathers, saying that is what we Jesuits should 
 read and study, rather than periodicals and newspapers. 
 The holy Cure d'Ars gave the fondness for reading 
 newspapers as one of the causes why priests did not 
 become saints. St. Augustine says of the Scriptures : 
 Sint casta delicite mea scripture tu&, Domine. 
 
 The frequency and remarkable appositeness with 
 which Augustus quoted the Scriptures is sufficient proof 
 how thorough a knowledge and how clear an under- 
 standing he had acquired of the truths contained in 
 them. He might almost be said to have been himself 
 "a man of one book" had there not been another, 
 second only to Holy Scripture, of which indeed it forms 
 the supplement, viz., the Catechism of the Council of 
 Trent. The esteem he entertained for it is expressed 
 on another page of his note-book.
 
 PREPARATION FOR THE PRIESTHOOD. in 
 
 What can be said too much of the great Catechism ? 
 We might say to it, as the Church says to the Blessed 
 Virgin : Gaude, Catechisme Cone. Trid., tu solus cnnctas 
 haveses interemisti in toto mundo. One might well venture 
 to say that all that great controversy which has agitated 
 France and Germany these late years, about the rela- 
 tion between faith and reason, might have been avoided, 
 if what the Catechism says upon faith and reason had 
 been studied or even read. It is a wonderful book. 
 And each time you read it you see something new. 
 Perhaps some think that having studied theology 
 they have no more need of it. But it is after having 
 studied theology that it is most useful, (i) It recalls 
 all your theology to mind as you read it. (2) From 
 knowing theology you can see and appreciate its 
 beauties more fully. (3) There is such an unction in 
 it that it puts you in love with the Catholic Church 
 and her doctrines; I mean rather, it increases your 
 love and renders it more tender and enraptured. 
 
 The invigorating air of the Welsh mountains did 
 not have the beneficial effect that was anticipated in 
 restoring Augustus' strength. The condition of his 
 health continued to be far from satisfactory, though he 
 made the best of it in his letters, in which some allusion 
 to it is occasionally made. " Thanks to St. Joseph, my 
 health improves gradually." Or again: "My health 
 seems improving little by little ; I can walk fairly now ; 
 one day I accomplished ten miles without very great 
 difficulty." But although he wrote hopefully about 
 himself, there is no doubt that he felt weak and ill, and 
 sometimes even feared lest his strength should not hold 
 out until the conclusion of the ordinary term of prepara- 
 tion for the priesthood. It was this fear that prompted
 
 H2 PREPARATION FOR THE PRIESTHOOD. 
 
 him at the end of his second year at St. Beuno's, to beg 
 Father Seed, who was then Provincial, that he might 
 be put into the short course of theology, in order that 
 he might be ordained as soon as possible, and fulfil his 
 ardent desire to work for the good of souls. His request 
 was complied with. But when Father Bottalla, who 
 was the Professor of Theology, heard of it, he very much 
 disapproved of the change, and endeavo'tired by every 
 means in his power to persuade Father Seed to revoke 
 the permission he had given, and put Augustus back 
 into the long course. The principal reasons he urged 
 were that in the first place Augustus was naturally so 
 clever that he could pass all the examinations without 
 any severe application on his part being required, and 
 in the second place, he considered him possessed of 
 such excellent qualities, prudence, mildness, and firm- 
 ness, that later on, no better man could be found to 
 rule the Province. Father Seed saw the justice of 
 these arguments, and at once reversed his decision. 
 Augustus' name was accordingly struck out from the 
 list of the short course. This he at first very much 
 regretted, but in the end he saw that it was for the 
 best, and expressed his gratitude to Father Bottalla for 
 what he had done. 
 
 Father Bottalla was not singular in the opinion he 
 had formed as to Augustus Law's suitability for a ruler. 
 Another Jesuit Father, speaking of him after his death, 
 said the same: "What an excellent Provincial he 
 would have made ! He had so thoroughly the spirit of 
 St. Ignatius. What confidence we should have had in 
 him. Vere Jesuita es tit, must be the conviction of every 
 one who had been associated with him in the Colleges 
 or in community life, or who studies the meditations 
 and notes of retreats in which the secrets of his soul
 
 PREPARATION FOR THE PRIESTHOOD. 113, 
 
 are revealed." The estimate Augustus formed of him- 
 self was a very different one. " I am but half a Jesuit," 
 he says. " I have been ten years in the Society, and 
 am miles off being a true Jesuit." And again : " What 
 ought a priest and a Jesuit to be in thoughts, words, 
 and actions, and what am I as God sees me ? A 
 whited sepulchre, fair without, foul within." This 
 lowly opinion of himself was no morbid feeling engen- 
 dered by bad health, but the firm conviction of his 
 heart, a prevailing sentiment which distinguished him, 
 as will be seen, throughout his life. 
 
 His physical weakness rarely affected his spirits at 
 this time. The joyousness of his disposition mastered 
 the depression that often arises from bodily infirmity- 
 There was not a trace of gloom or melancholy about 
 him, and he was ever ready to sympathize with the 
 difficulties and troubles of his companions. Amongst 
 the latter the foreigners especially appreciated the 
 power he displayed of entering into their feelings in> 
 regard to trifling matters which were trying to them 
 as strangers, and " the Captain," as he was familiarly 
 called, was long held in affectionate remembrance by 
 many a foreign Father who had been his fellow-student 
 at St. Beuno's, as one who was far more warm-hearted 
 and sympathetic than the English are usually con- 
 sidered to be by men of other nationalities. 
 
 Amongst the scholastics at that time studying 
 theology at St. Beuno's were four French students, 
 who were learning English in view of going out to 
 the Indian missions. Whether it was association with 
 them that fired Augustus' enthusiastic temperament, 
 or whether his old love of activity and movement 
 awoke within him, we cannot tell ; at any rate he 
 conceived an ardent desire to devote himself to the
 
 u 4 PREPARATION FOR THE PRIESTHOOD. 
 
 work of foreign missions. Perhaps the fact had some- 
 thing to do with it that the first Catholics with whom 
 he had become acquainted, who had instructed him in 
 the faith, and edified him by their manner of life, were 
 the good Fathers who were labouring on the distant 
 shores of China, and in the seaports of India and 
 Ceylon. However this may be, the desire within him 
 grew more intense, until it was brought to a climax by 
 the arrival in England of Father St. Cyr, one of the 
 Fathers of the Madura Mission. 
 
 This zealous and experienced missioner came over 
 on a begging expedition, as funds were greatly needed 
 for his large and flourishing mission. There were in 
 his district about 142,500 Catholics ; in the year pre- 
 ceding his departure, no less than 1,000 adults had been 
 converted to the faith. His proposal was not only to 
 appeal to the charity of the faithful to help this impor- 
 tant work, but to endeavour to obtain assistance from 
 the English Government. During the time of the 
 Mutiny, one of the Jesuit Fathers had offered the 
 services of some thousand Indians, whose fidelity could 
 thoroughly be relied upon, to the Government, to 
 suppress the insurrection should it break out in 
 Southern India. Father St. Cyr thought that facts 
 such as this, proving so undeniably that the influence 
 of the missioners tended to strengthen and uphold 
 British rule in India, would have weight with the 
 Government, and procure a hearing for him at the 
 India Office. He was not entirely unknown there, 
 as he had made the acquaintance of Sir Henry Mont- 
 gomery during the residence of the latter in India, and 
 he hoped that he would support his petition. Sir Henry 
 Montgomery was Augustus' uncle, a fact of which he, 
 anxious to introduce himself to the notice of one whom
 
 PREPARATION FOR THE PRIESTHOOD. 115 
 
 he already regarded in the light of his future Superior, 
 hastened to inform the good missioner when he came 
 to St. Beuno's. It soon transpired that Augustus' sister 
 and brother-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Cary-Elwes, had 
 returned from India in the same steamer that had 
 brought Father St. Cyr to England ; that he had made 
 friends with them, and that the impression on both 
 sides had been of the most agreeable description. This 
 was a fresh bond, on the strength of which Augustus 
 opened his heart to his new friend, and confided to him 
 his hopes and aspirations. Father St. Cyr, who had 
 come to Europe in quest of subjects as well as of 
 money, did not discourage the project ; he recom- 
 mended him to seek in prayer to learn the will of God 
 in regard to his destination. Soon after, Augustus, 
 hearing that an English Jesuit was much wanted at 
 Negapatam, offered himself to his Superiors for the 
 college there. We are not told what was the nature 
 of the answer he received : but thenceforth no more 
 mention is made of the Madura Mission. Father 
 Bottalla was strongly opposed to the idea of Augustus, 
 one of his dearest pupils, in whom he took a warm 
 interest, going on the foreign missions. He was very 
 sorry when, about a year after his ordination, Augustus 
 was sent to Demerara, and later on to Africa, for he 
 considered that thus a man of great promise, whose 
 career might have been one of eminent usefulness to 
 the Society, was lost to the English Province. 
 
 But Augustus is as yet only a scholastic ; we will 
 now listen to what another Father tells us about him 
 during the period of his preparation for the priesthood. 
 
 " I made his acquaintance," Father Wynne writes, 
 *' when he came to St. Beuno's as a scholastic. He 
 had learned the ropes of religious life in our Novitiate,
 
 n6 PREPARATION FOR THE PRIESTHOOD. 
 
 and was studying the navigation of the bark of Peter. 
 We were at that time building a church and forming a 
 congregation at Rhyl, and Rhyl became a centre of 
 furious attacks from the ' Protestant Alliance ' and all 
 the fanatics of the neighbourhood. Scurrilous pamphlets 
 and articles in the local newspapers appeared, in which 
 the old bugbear of the ' blind obedience of the Jesuits ' 
 was much insisted on. Father Law, al-though he was 
 only a student, not yet a priest, came down to Rhyl, 
 and gave three lectures in my school which were well 
 attended by both Catholics and Protestants, on ' The 
 blind obedience of the Jesuits compared with the 
 discipline in Her Majesty's navy.' The lectures were 
 very amusing, full of sailors' yarns and jokes, inter- 
 spersed with a little sound theology and a great deal of 
 common sense. The lecturer showed very satisfactorily 
 that the obedience required by Her Most Gracious 
 Majesty of her officers in the naval service was much 
 ' blinder ' in its character than that demanded of Jesuits 
 by their Superiors." 
 
 Augustus was always desirous to turn to account 
 his nautical experience and knowledge of sailors' ways. 
 On the occasion of being sent, during one Holy Week, 
 to assist the Father in charge of the mission at Rhyl, 
 he used to go down of a morning as early as he could 
 to the beach, in the hope of meeting with a sailor or 
 fisherman whom he could draw into conversation about 
 God and his spiritual state. For this his acquaintance 
 with a seafaring life, and the good companionship he 
 was always ready to claim with all who followed it, 
 afforded him many facilities. 
 
 It was on this account that he wrote to his brother 
 Frederick, who was rapidly rising in the profession he 
 had himself abandoned, more frequently than to any
 
 PREPARATION FOR THE PRIESTHOOD. 117 
 
 other of his brothers or sisters. He felt that counsels 
 and admonitions from the lips of one who had passed 
 through the same training and knew all his circum- 
 stances, would have with his sailor-brother a weight 
 which no others could possess. We will give an 
 extract or two from the letters he wrote to him from 
 St. Beuno's. 
 
 " I got your letter about three or four weeks ago, 
 and thank you very much for it, and for the news you 
 gave about yourself. I was amused at your row about 
 the insertion of Roman Catholics in the log, and perhaps 
 you did right in remaining firm after once rubbing it 
 out on the slate. But I do not think in general it would 
 be prudent to kick up a shindy about those kinds of 
 things. It is true Protestants give us the name of 
 Roman Catholics in their sense wrongly. But on the 
 other hand, it is one of our greatest glories to call 
 ourselves Roman Catholics in our sense, i.e., meaning 
 thereby that there can be no true Catholics who are not 
 united with the Head of the Church, the Bishop of 
 Rome. They call us ' Papists,' too, meaning it for a 
 reproach. But what does it mean ? ' Papista ' means 
 a follower or adherent of ' Papa,' the Pope. And we 
 Catholics are glad to be Papists in this sense. Of 
 course when they call us Papists they do not mean to 
 compliment us, and hence the sting. So, old fellow, 
 though I admire your zeal for your religion, still, if I 
 were you, I would not have a row if not called for 
 especially, as you will lose friends by it. Of course 
 I do not mean that you should hide your religion, or be 
 ashamed of it, or not defend it, or even not have a row 
 if necessary. No, I only mean in such a case as the 
 last, I would look before I leapt. I hope you will write 
 soon again, and tell me how you are getting on, and
 
 n8 PREPARATION FOR THE PRIESTHOOD. 
 
 whether there are any new rows. Go to confession, 
 dear old boy, if you have an opportunity. Pray for 
 me. If ever your ship comes round to Liverpool, you 
 must give me a hail here." 
 
 " You cannot think how interesting your letters are 
 to me. Graves tells me you were very much disgusted 
 at the state of religion in Madeira, and from all accounts 
 very justly. Well, all we can do is to remember what 
 our Lord said : Necesse est ut sint scandala, and to pity 
 the miserable state of the scandal-givers. However, it 
 is to be hoped that you will see some brighter examples 
 where you are now. I hope you will be able to go to 
 Madagascar or Mauritius or Bourbon. I think the 
 priests there are all French Jesuits, and zealous, holy 
 men. I dare say some of them can speak English, and 
 I am sure they will receive you kindly. If you happen 
 to go to any of those places, tell me how you get on, &c.,. 
 and whenever you learn anything interesting about the 
 Catholic foreign missions, or anything laughable or 
 absurd about the Protestant ones, tell me, as it is both 
 interesting and useful to know them. There are four 
 different stations of Jesuits in Bourbon and about 
 twenty-three priests, three in Mauritius, nine in Mada- 
 gascar. I was delighted to hear you had been to your 
 duties before leaving England. God will bless you, old 
 fellow, if you stick to your spirituals, and when you say 
 your prayers, remember me in them." 
 
 The year before his ordination he wrote thus : 
 " In September next year, please God, I shall be 
 ordained priest. What a happiness it will be for me 
 you can well imagine, and for you too ; you will 
 have another priest amongst your brothers, however 
 unworthy, to say Holy Mass every day at God's altar ; 
 where of course it is not likely you will be forgotten..
 
 PREPARATION FOR THE PRIESTHOOD. 119 
 
 Now you must pray away during the interval to 
 prepare me for saying Mass well for you. I suppose 
 you will scarcely be at home as soon as September 
 next year ; but if you are, you shall be dragged up here 
 if possible, to be present at the ordination. The news 
 I heard of you gave me great joy from what it indirectly 
 hinted, which was that my dear old Fred does not 
 forget God and does not neglect holy confession. God 
 loves you very much, dear old fellow, and takes great 
 care of you. My health is improving, thank God, little 
 by little, and I can now take pretty long walks, if I 
 may call five miles and back a long walk. You must 
 ask St. Joseph to give me perfect health, that I may be 
 able to work hard for God's glory." 
 
 It was not only to his sailor-brother that Augustus 
 could give good advice. The following letter to his 
 sister, a nun in the Monastery of the Visitation, contains 
 admirable counsels for the spiritual life, and shows that 
 he was fast becoming a master in the science of the 
 saints. It is dated from St. Beuno's, on the eve of 
 Corpus Christi, 1865 : 
 
 I take advantage of my writing to wish dear papa 
 many happy returns of his birthday, to send you a few 
 lines in answer to your last welcome letter. You must 
 excuse a rather short letter, as I have my hands pretty 
 full. Now I shall begin to " blow you up " if you make 
 too much of difficulties. Difficulties we must have,, 
 and especially from vainglory, because we all think 
 we are such great people. But you remember how 
 St. Gertrude was taught to manage these things. She 
 was taught by our Lord to look on the bright side of, 
 everything. At least as far as I remember, all our 
 Blessed Lord's instructions to her tended that
 
 U20 PREPARATION FOR THE PRIESTHOOD. 
 
 You know there is such a thing as wishing to be too 
 .perfect. You understand in what sense I mean. So 
 do not fret. I am sure people who lead a religious life 
 and who are anxious to please God in all things often 
 think too much about themselves. They fret and tease 
 themselves. I remember hearing read in the refectory 
 of a Father Cortez, S.J., who was much troubled with 
 scruples. Well, the Blessed Virgin appeared to him 
 and told him to pray for the souls in Purgatory. I 
 thought to myself, Now what is the philosophy of that ? 
 There must have been some reason why the Blessed 
 Virgin gave that particular remedy for that particular 
 disease. And I came to the conclusion that the reason 
 was that thinking of others takes our thoughts off 
 ourselves. Do not you think that must have been the 
 reason ? You understand, dearest sister, what I mean, 
 and that I do not accuse you of being scrupulous. 
 Besides, if you were, scrupulousness may come from 
 no fault of ours, and may be also very useful. But 
 what I mean is that we must keep moderation in all 
 things. Ne quid minis. 
 
 As to confession. If you were only allowed to hear 
 Mass once a week, still obedience is better than sacri- 
 fice, and therefore also better than confession twice 
 .a week. Now I hope again, dearest sister, nothing too 
 harsh has been said. But I have had all these bothers 
 .myself and shall have them to the end of my life. But 
 we will both make a good act of hope, and go on our 
 way rejoicing. 
 
 In this hopeful spirit he looked forward to his 
 approaching ordination. A little anecdote copied into 
 his note-book gives an indication of the feelings 
 with which he regarded this great epoch of his life.
 
 PREPARATION FOR THE PRIESTHOOD. 121 
 
 " St. Francis of Assisi, when a deacon and thinking 
 of becoming a priest, had a vision, wherein an angel 
 showed him a vase of water as clear as crystal, to 
 represent the purity which becomes a priest. The 
 Saint was so struck with this, that he would never be 
 a priest." Deeply as Augustus felt his own unworthi- 
 ness to stand at the altar of God, he yet anticipated 
 joyfully the time when he should receive the Divine 
 commission to go and work in the Lord's vineyard, 
 strong in the assurance : omnia possum in eo qui me confortat. 
 His meditations at this period were frequently, as may 
 be supposed, on the dignity and responsibilities of the 
 priesthood. With one of these we may fittingly conclude 
 the present chapter. 
 
 Of what use is a priest if he does not live for God 
 alone, Whose priest he is ? His life is useless, frivolous, 
 if not spent for God. Ut quid occupat terrain ? Think 
 over what is expected of you by the Church, the 
 Society, your flock, even by Protestants. If not for 
 God and for the salvation of souls, of what use are you ? 
 
 What is it that will make me what I ought to be ? 
 For I am weak, and careless in the use of means. It 
 is the love of God. Can I then ever cease praying 
 for it ? 
 
 How strong is the force of example ! It is far 
 stronger than words. And what an example is expected 
 from priests, who are the Forma gregis. St. Paul said, 
 " Be ye imitators of me, as I am of Christ." A priest 
 ought to be able to say that. St. Paul told Timothy, 
 and in telling him, he spoke to all priests, " Be thou 
 an example of the faithful, in conversation, in charity, 
 in faith, in chastity;" and then he tells him not to 
 neglect the grace that is in him, and that his profiting
 
 122 PREPARATION FOR THE PRIESTHOOD. 
 
 should be manifest to all. 1 As profiting comes from 
 self-denial (tantum proficies, quantum tibi ipsi vim intulens), 
 I see what I must pray for. Let me delight the Church 
 of God by becoming a holy priest, like Simon the High 
 Priest, who " shone in his days as a morning star in 
 the midst of a cloud, and as the moon at the full. And 
 as the sun when it shineth, so did he shine in the 
 Temple of God. And as the rainbow giving light in 
 the bright clouds, and as the flower of roses in the days 
 of the spring, and as the lilies that are on the brink 
 of the water, and as the sweet-smelling frankincense 
 in the time of summer. As a bright fire and frank- 
 incense burning in the fire. As a massy vessel of gold 
 adorned with every precious stone. As an olive-tree 
 budding forth and a cypress-tree rearing itself on high. 
 When he put on the robe of glory and was clothed 
 with the perfection of power." 2 See how many similes 
 the Holy Ghost employs to describe a holy priest. 
 He compares him to all that is most brilliant and 
 beautiful and fragrant in the heavens and the earth 
 that God made. Let me stud}' these things, that I 
 may be what the Holy Ghost would have me to be. 
 
 1 i Timothy iv. 12. 2 Ecclus. 1. 6 u.
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 ORDINATION. WORK IN DEMERARA. 
 
 ON the day after his ordination, which took place on 
 September 24, 1865, Father Law said his first Mass 
 at St. Asaph, and immediately afterwards left for 
 Hampton Court, in company with his father, who had 
 of course been present at his ordination, and had also 
 been privileged to serve his Mass. At the Palace he 
 met many of the friends of his earlier days, and was 
 most cordially welcomed by them by none more so 
 than by Sir George and Lady Seymour, and their son, 
 Admiral Seymour. Sir George had been the Admiral 
 commanding on the Pacific station, when Augustus, a 
 boy of twelve, joined the squadron as naval cadet on 
 board the Carysfort, of which his son was then Captain. 
 It will be remembered that Augustus met with much 
 kindness from the Captain, and that the report the latter 
 gave of him to his parents was most laudatory. On 
 the following Sunday Father Law preached his first 
 sermon at Kingston-on-Thames. As it was Rosary 
 Sunday, he chose for the subject of his discourse the 
 Rosary ; the most efficacious, as has been well said, of 
 all modes of prayer after the Holy Sacrifice and the 
 Divine Office, and not restricted to the use of the few, 
 but within the reach of every Christian, from the 
 highest to the lowest. After giving a short history of 
 the institution of the Rosary, Father Law proceeded
 
 124 ORDINATION. 
 
 to explain, in earnest and simple language, the nature 
 and value of this beautiful devotion one very dear to 
 his own heart. The following notes form a kind of 
 synopsis of the latter part of his sermon : 
 
 There is no devotion in the Church sweeter than 
 the Rosary, and none more powerful. Why this is we 
 will now consider. First, it breathes nothirfg but Jesus 
 and Mary, than which nothing can be sweeter. Its 
 fifteen mysteries place them before us and put us in their 
 blessed presence. Saying the Rosary is holding sweet 
 converse with Mary, and speaking to her about her 
 Divine Son, and about herself. And what can be more 
 powerful to keep us from sin, and to plant virtue in us, 
 than to live with Jesus and Mary, to talk with them, to 
 accustom ourselves to their ways of thinking, speaking, 
 and acting, which we do by being much in their com- 
 pany at one moment being present at the manger, at 
 another at the foot of the Cross, at another contem- 
 plating our Lord and His Blessed Mother in Heaven. 
 But then we are reminded in the Rosary that this 
 meditation and contemplation of our Lord's life is not 
 to be a mere speculation, but is to bear its own proper 
 fruit. That fruit is expressed in the petitions of the 
 Our Father and the Hail Mary. We look at our Lord 
 and our Blessed Lady, and our hearts get warmed and 
 seek an outlet in words. At once there are the ardent 
 petitions of the Our Father and Hail Mary, which will 
 express the most fervent desires that any saint ever 
 had. In a word, there is nothing like the mysteries of 
 the Rosary to excite us to pray ; nothing like the two 
 prayers, the Pater and Ave, to express what we would 
 pray for. For whether you are in joy or in sorrow, in 
 hope or in fear, near God or far away from God, still
 
 ORDINATION. 125 
 
 those two prayers will always fall in with your desires, 
 and exactly suit your particular circumstances. But 
 all this and much more is better understood by using 
 the Rosary than by talking about its use. 
 
 St. Bernard says : Totum nos Jiabere voluit per Mariam 
 "God desires that we should receive all through 
 Mary." This is just what is admirably done in the 
 Rosary ; all the fruit of our Blessed Lord's Infancy, 
 Passion, Resurrection, Ascension, is given to us through 
 Mary's hands. And who can walk with us hand in 
 hand through our Lord's life and Passion and glorified 
 life better than Mary ? Who can teach us to meditate 
 upon these mysteries better than she who "kept all 
 these things, pondering them in her heart " ? 
 
 An anecdote, of which the preacher made use to 
 illustrate the importance of the daily recitation of the 
 Rosary, finds no place in these notes. It is, however, 
 too interesting to be altogether omitted. 
 
 A young French officer, whose life was far from 
 being a model one, and who was careless as to the 
 practice of his religion, had bound himself by a promise 
 to say the Rosary every day. To whom, or under what 
 circumstances, the promise was made, we are not told. 
 One thing, however, is certain, that it was faithfully 
 kept for a considerable number of years. 
 
 But for every one who pledges himself to any rule, 
 the occasion must come when the rule grows irksome, 
 and so it was with the officer in question. One day, 
 during the Crimean War, he returned at nightfall to his 
 tent so utterly worn out with fatigue that he threw 
 himself at once on his bed, and instantly dropped into 
 a sound sleep. Before midnight he awoke, or rather
 
 126 ORDINATION. 
 
 his Guardian Angel woke him, and he remembered that 
 he had not said his Rosary. As may be imagined, he 
 felt not a little disinclined to get up and recite it. For 
 a while he lay still, debating what he should do. At 
 last he said to himself: " I never broke my word 
 to any man, and I will not do so to our Blessed Lady." 
 He sprang up, and as one after another he told his 
 beads, feelings of contrition for his past skis began to 
 steal into his heart. By the time the Rosary was 
 finished he was conscious of an intense desire to go 
 to confession. Kneeling down, he made a solemn 
 promise to do so, saying aloud, " I will go to confession 
 to-morrow morning." "And why not now?" asked a 
 familiar voice out of the darkness. It was that of the 
 army chaplain, Father Damas, S.J., who through the 
 providence of God happened to be passing at that 
 moment, and overheard the officer's words. Impressed 
 by the coincidence, he readily consented, and made his 
 confession. Early on the following day he heard Father 
 Damas' Mass, and received Holy Communion. 
 
 A few hours later the troops were called out to 
 attack the Russians. Almost the first shot fired by the 
 enemy struck the young officer and killed him on the 
 spot. The Rosary had done its work. 
 
 What would have been Mr. Law's feelings, on that 
 Rosary Sunday, as he looked with fatherly pride and 
 pleasure at his eldest son, had he known under what 
 circumstances that son would spend his last Rosary 
 Sunday upon earth. It is said that the foreknowledge 
 of the cruel sufferings and ignominious death awaiting 
 her Divine Son was the sharpest sword that pierced 
 our Lady's heart. And had it been told to the fond 
 father that, exactly fifteen years later, Augustus
 
 ORDINATION. 127 
 
 would be dying of hunger and privation in a remote 
 and savage country, surely the joy of his heart would 
 have been largely mingled with sorrow. But the future 
 is mercifully hidden from us ; nothing occurred to 
 cast a shade of gloom over the happy days the newly- 
 ordained priest spent under his father's roof. And 
 when his week's leave was at an end, it was in good 
 health and cheerful spirits that he left Hampton Court 
 to return to St. Beuno's, in order to complete the 
 prescribed course of his theological studies. 
 
 Four years may perhaps seem a long time to be 
 devoted to the study of theology alone, but it is none 
 too much, as Father Law himself was fain to acknow- 
 ledge, despite his impatient desire to engage in active 
 work. This desire grew stronger within him as the 
 time approached for him to commence his apostolic 
 labours. The devotion of his days to meditation, to 
 study, to occasional preaching, did not satisfy the 
 craving of his ardent nature. It was his ambition to 
 offer himself as a holocaust on the altar of sacrifice. 
 Every day in the Mass, as he elevated the chalice, he 
 prayed that the grace of martyrdom might be granted 
 him. One may almost say that it was painful to his 
 generous soul to receive so much, and give nothing 
 in return. 
 
 The notes of his meditations at this time express 
 these sentiments ; they are in strong contrast to the 
 self-seeking egotism of the present day, which too often 
 makes itself felt even in regard to the things of God. 
 
 When asking God for things, we should be ready to 
 give too. This way is of common use in the Holy 
 Scriptures ; we have instances of it in the example of 
 Jacob after the vision of angels. " He made a vow,
 
 128 ORDINATION. 
 
 saying : If God shall be with me, and shall keep me in 
 the way by which I walk, &c., the Lord shall be my 
 God." 1 Jephte, too, makes a promise to God, that if 
 he should gain the victory over the Ammonites against 
 whom he was going to fight, he would offer as a holo- 
 caust whoever should first meet him on his return. 2 
 And in Anna's prayer for a son : " She made a vow, 
 saying, O Lord of hosts, if Thou wilt Took down on 
 the affliction of Thy servant, and wilt be mindful of 
 me, and wilt give Thy servant a man-child, I will give 
 him to the Lord all the days of his life." 3 This practice 
 is common also in Catholic countries, as we see from 
 the custom of the Portuguese, who, when they wish 
 much for anything, invariably make their promessas. 
 Making such promises shows that a man is in earnest, 
 and ready to give something for what he desires and 
 expects. How God appreciates, if we may so speak, 
 the little things we do for Him, the services we render 
 Him, the little efforts we make to show our love to 
 Him, in return for what He has done for us. 
 
 Jesus Christ went freely to His Passion. Obtains est 
 quid ipse voluit. If I compassionate Him, plunged into all 
 these waves of suffering and sorrow for my sins, should 
 not I on my part say, Voluntarie sacrificabo tibi ? When 
 He has so freely and willingly sacrificed Himself for 
 me, when He has done such great things as He has 
 done for me, am I to haggle about what and how much 
 I will do for Him ? Am I to measure out to Him with 
 a niggardly hand, and go only so far as is necessary to 
 avoid mortal or venial sin ? Lex non est posita justis. 
 The really just measure by the law of love written in 
 their hearts by the Holy Ghost. To give everything is 
 little to them when they think Whom they are giving 
 
 i Genesis xxviii. 20, 21. " Judges xi. 30, 31. 3 i Kings i. n.
 
 WORK IN DEMERARA. 129 
 
 to. " I am giving to God," they say; "to God Who 
 has suffered for me and died for me, so do not speak to 
 me of measures, and how much." " If a man should 
 give all the substance of his house for love, he shall 
 despise it as nothing." 1 " My God, when shall I love 
 Thee?" says St. Bonaventure. It is impossible, if I 
 have a heart at all, not to feel myself obliged to refuse 
 nothing to Jesus Christ. He spares nothing for me, 
 and He is God. Can I, who have been and am the 
 " Achan " of the Church, refuse anything to Him ? If 
 Jesus Christ has shown in so many ways His tender 
 love for me, such as I am ; if He has been so prodigal 
 in His generosity, what can I say but charitas Christi 
 uvget nos ? What can I say but that I am driven and 
 forced to love Him, and do all that He asks of me ? to 
 devote my life and my whole self to His service ? 
 
 It will be remembered that Augustus Law, about 
 a year before his ordination, had asked that he might 
 be chosen for the foreign missions. He had refrained 
 from again urging this request, although his heart was 
 as much set on it as ever, for he considered it more in 
 accordance with the spirit of obedience to leave the 
 decision entirely to the judgment of his Superiors. Not 
 until the time came for him to leave St. Beuno's was he 
 informed that they saw fit to accede to his wishes. He 
 was not however destined to follow, as he had hoped, 
 on the footsteps of St. Francis Xavier. India was not 
 to be the sphere of his missionary labours. Each 
 Province of the Society of Jesus has some foreign 
 mission especially confided to its charge. England has 
 the West Indies. To the West Indies consequently 
 
 1 Cant. viii. 7.
 
 1 30 WORK IN DEMERARA. 
 
 Father Law was to be sent. " I am bound for Jamaica," 
 he writes, " and I like the idea very well. It is a 
 happiness to me to think that obedience sends me 
 there." 
 
 In the interim he went to Edinburgh for about three 
 months, to "supply" in the absence of one of the 
 resident Fathers. Demerara was ultimately chosen for 
 his destination. In the last week of October, Mr. Law, 
 who was then at Boulogne, received a telegram from 
 Augustus announcing his immediate departure. He 
 crossed over to Folkestone by the next boat, in order to 
 meet him at Southampton, whence the steamer was 
 to start. Whilst the father and son were walking up and 
 down on deck an hour or two before the final farewell, 
 an incident occurred which at the time afforded them 
 much amusement. Augustus, who had left his father 
 for a few minutes to see about the bestowal of his 
 luggage, on returning to him, exclaimed with the 
 greatest glee, " Fancy my good fortune ! Among my 
 fellow-passengers to Demerara there is a brother- 
 priest ! " When interrogated as to how he had become 
 aware of the fact, he answered emphatically that he 
 had seen him. 
 
 Presently the supposed priest came in sight, and 
 was pointed out to Mr. Law, who, being better 
 acquainted than his son with the " get-up " of Anglican 
 clergymen, expressed his doubts as to whether the indi- 
 vidual in question really was a Catholic priest. But 
 Augustus' hopes so far predominated over everything 
 his father said, that nothing would satisfy him but to 
 address the gentleman, and express the pleasure it gave 
 him to think that he would have the company during 
 the voyage of one who was like himself, a priest. The 
 person he addressed drew himself up, and replied
 
 WORK IN DEMERARA. 131 
 
 stiffly : "I certainly consider myself to be a priest, 
 sir, but I almost doubt whether you would be willing 
 
 to accord me that title ; I am the Archdeacon of .' ; 
 
 Augustus' countenance fell, and he was at a loss what 
 to answer ; but Mr. Law, who had been standing by, 
 stepped up, and saying, " I told you, Augustus, that 
 you were mistaken," endeavoured to enter into con- 
 versation with the Anglican dignitary on the subject 
 of a religious question then engaging the attention of 
 the High Church party. The Archdeacon, however, 
 refused to be drawn into any discussion, and politely 
 explained that he had not taken his passage in the 
 steamer, but had only come on board to see a friend 
 off. 
 
 The tidings that Augustus was to go out to the 
 West Indies was most unwelcome to Mr. Law. He 
 had much desired that his son should remain in 
 England, and he feared besides lest, as his health 
 was still far from robust, the yellow fever, which proves 
 fatal to so many Europeans, should carry him off. He 
 acquiesced, however, in the separation with a cheerful- 
 ness that delighted Augustus, who had feared to 
 encounter considerable opposition from him. In his 
 first letter from sea he alludes to his father's dread of 
 the fever. " Even should I fall a victim to ' Yellow 
 Jack," as the sailors call it, I could not die a better 
 death, after martyrdom ; and I hope that in such a 
 case God in His mercy might overlook all my short- 
 comings. However, by the help of your prayers, I 
 trust God may spare me many years to labour for His 
 glory, and if it be His will, to see you again, my dear, 
 dear father." He continues: "I shall be so delighted' 
 when Friday morning comes, for I shall, I hope, be 
 able then to say Mass at St. Thomas'. It will almost
 
 132 WORK IN DEMERARA. 
 
 appear to me like a first Mass. Before this voyage, I 
 had only missed saying Mass one day since my ordina- 
 tion." 
 
 Father Law was not disappointed in his hope of 
 being able to say Mass at St. Thomas'. He also had 
 an opportunity of which he gladly availed himself when 
 the ship touched at Santa Lucia and at Barbadoes. 
 The voyage passed pleasantly. The Sunday after they 
 left St. Thomas' a man on board got the yellow fever. 
 He was a Protestant, and there was a parson on board ; 
 but either because he did not know of the man being 
 ill, or because of apprehension for his own safety, he 
 did not visit him. So Father Law went to him, and 
 did what he could for him, although, as he confessed, 
 he felt " a little funky." 1 The patient was the ship's 
 baker, the fifth baker, as the doctor informed Father 
 Law, who had been attacked by the fever. The 
 coincidence is curious, and would lead one to imagine 
 that there was something in the work of bread-making 
 that predisposes a man to take the infection. The four 
 others had all died, and this poor fellow was landed at 
 Barbadoes, with little chance of recovery. 
 
 The tropical climate, which he compares to that of 
 Singapore, suited Father Law admirably. A few 
 months after his arrival he reported himself to be in 
 capital health. He had one attack of fever, but only 
 a very slight one, and he never experienced a touch 
 of it afterwards. This he attributed to the care of 
 St. Peter Claver, for he always carried on his person a 
 relic of that Saint. His time on the way out had been 
 devoted to learning Portuguese, which to any one 
 
 1 The yellow fever is now believed not to be contagious, but Father 
 Law, like the majority of persons at that time, was under the impression 
 that it was so in a high degree.
 
 WORK IN DEMERARA. 133 
 
 possessing a knowledge of Latin and French offers no 
 great difficulty. By the end of the voyage he could 
 read the New Testament with facility, and could speak 
 a little ; in a year's time he had mastered the language 
 sufficiently to carry on a conversation, and even to 
 preach in it. 
 
 It was at Berbice, seventy or eighty miles from 
 Demerara, that Father Law was stationed. He liked 
 the place extremely, and said that he felt more energy 
 for everything he undertook than he had felt for years 
 past. This was doubtless owing to the improvement 
 in his health, which continued to be much better than 
 it was in England. It was well that he did feel up to 
 the mark, for a wide field for exertion was open before 
 him. He found a heterogeneous medley of nationalities 
 congregated at Berbice ; Portuguese, English, Chinese, 
 Dutch, French, with the Creole modifications of each. 
 His letters indicate that he was very happy in their 
 midst. Gradually he won the confidence and affection 
 of these various characters, and laboured successfully 
 amongst them, converting many to the faith. As long 
 distances had often to be traversed in answering sick- 
 calls to the outlying hamlets and scattered homesteads, 
 and in visiting the hospital, which, formerly within a 
 stone's throw of the church, had been moved to a 
 fresh site outside the town, the Catholics subscribed 
 to purchase a horse for him. By this means he was 
 spared a great deal of fatigue. The first time he 
 mounted his horse, an accident happened that might 
 have been a sad catastrophe. As the country is per- 
 fectly flat, the land is drained by ditches in every 
 direction, so that one cannot get up to any house- 
 without crossing a wooden bridge, generally unpro- 
 tected by a railing. Father Law had just returned
 
 I 3 4 WORK IN DEMERARA. 
 
 from his first ride when he stopped on the bridge lead- 
 ing into the garden of his house to speak to some one 
 who had come to say that his services were required 
 in another direction. Forgetting how narrow was the 
 bridge on which he was standing, Father Law at once 
 turned the horse's head round, and down went the 
 animal's hind legs into the ditch. Fortunately it did 
 not go head over heels immediately, so .Father Law 
 had time to jump off before it rolled over. The ditch 
 was rather deep, so that the horse could not regain its 
 footing, but floundered about until it was pulled out with 
 ropes. It sustained no injury, but from that time forth 
 Father Law was very cautious about executing any 
 manoeuvres while crossing the bridges. 
 
 He had not been long in Berbice before he went out 
 to the Chinese settlement, about a mile and a half from 
 New Amsterdam, to see the Catholics there. On his 
 first visit he experienced great difficulty in getting the 
 aid of the interpreter for the plantation. The man 
 was somewhat unwell, had been roused out of sleep, 
 and gave his services very grudgingly. On going there 
 a second time Father Law found him in a better 
 humour, and by dint of dexterous handling, got all he 
 wanted out of him. At last the man delighted, him by 
 saying that he was thinking of becoming a Catholic. 
 " God grant it ! " exclaims the zealous missionary. 
 " What a blessing it would be. He speaks English 
 well and fluently, and might be the instrument in God's 
 hands of converting the whole Chinese village." Father 
 Law began to take a special interest in the Chinese 
 settlers. One result of his visits was that he succeeded 
 in getting four boys to his school. He describes one 
 of them as a jolly little fellow, and says that if the boy 
 continues to promise well, he means to take special
 
 WORK IN DEMERARA. 135 
 
 care of him, so that in time, if God should so will, he 
 might become a priest and labour out there amongst 
 his countrymen. This seems looking rather far into 
 the future, but we know Father Law's sanguine 
 temperament, and after all, a beginning must be made 
 betimes if anything satisfactory is to be accomplished. 
 
 He soon found it would be necessary for him to 
 learn a little of the Chinese language. His account of 
 his first attempts is amusing. He found a number of 
 poor coolies, or Chinamen, in the hospital where he 
 attended the sick Portuguese. Seeing the consolation 
 that his ministrations afforded to their Catholic neigh- 
 bours, the dying Chinese made signs for him to come 
 to their bed-sides. Father Law was in despair at being 
 utterly unable to make himself intelligible to them. So 
 he got hold of a Protestant Bible-reader, and gave him 
 half-a-crown to put into Chinese some simple sentences 
 and teach him how to pronounce them. With the help 
 of the Chinese themselves he soon got to know a few 
 of the most necessary words and phrases, and made a 
 sort of dictionary for himself. He baptized a number 
 of these coolies before he had seen a single printed 
 book to help him with the language. As soon as he 
 had attained tolerable proficiency in Portuguese, he 
 applied himself vigorously to the study of Chinese. 
 " I have not much time to give to it," he says, " not 
 more than half an hour every day, but little as that is 
 I shall get on. A knowledge of the language would be 
 of immense use to me, and besides, learning these 
 languages keeps one occupied in every spare five 
 minutes." 
 
 Whilst attending the hospital, Father Law tried to 
 make friends with all the sick, as far as he could. 
 Amongst them he met with a Swedish sailor, a
 
 136 WORK IN DEMERARA. 
 
 Protestant, and a nice old fellow. His calling gave 
 him a special claim on the attention of the ex-lieutenant 
 R.N., who gave him a call every day when he went to 
 the hospital, and lent him a Catholic story-book. The 
 man was delighted with the book, and told Father Law 
 that it made him think of times long gone by, when, a 
 little boy at school, he used to contradict his master at 
 catechism, and tell him the Roman Catholic Church 
 must be the true one because it was the old one. Some 
 arguments employed in the books made a great impres- 
 sion on the man, whose mind appeared already pre- 
 pared for the reception of the truth. After his discharge 
 from the hospital he called on Father Law, and asked 
 to be put into the way of becoming a Catholic. 
 
 There was a good deal to be done in the colony in 
 the way of converting Protestants. Father Law used 
 to preach every Sunday on some Catholic dogma or 
 some doctrine that was disputed or misapprehended by 
 heretics. Many Protestants used to go to hear these 
 sermons. But far more efficacious than lectures or 
 controversial topics in bringing souls to the Church 
 was the edification afforded by the untiring zeal and 
 devotion of such men as Father Law and the other 
 Jesuits of the mission. The Protestants could not 
 understand the affection manifested everywhere by the 
 Catholics for their priest whenever he visited a town. 
 Father Ragazzini, Father Law's colleague at New 
 Amsterdam, gave an account of his reception at 
 Albion, a place about seventeen miles distant, where 
 he met with a perfect ovation. The parson was so 
 much surprised at witnessing this that he asked Father 
 Ragazzini how often he came up there. " I was once 
 up here for a day," was the reply. "Strange," said 
 the parson. Then Father Ragazzini got about forty
 
 WORK IN DEMERARA. 137 
 
 Portuguese to clean out a large unused warehouse 
 ready for Mass. As many hands make light work, and 
 all worked with a good-will, it was soon done. " How 
 much did you pay those men ? " the parson inquired. 
 " Nothing at all," said Father Ragazzini. " Strange," 
 said the parson. " You speak English fairly," he further 
 remarked, " how long have you been learning it ? " 
 41 1 have been working at it about five months." 
 " Strange," once more ejaculated the parson, eyeing, 
 as he took his departure, the wonder-working Jesuit 
 with no little curiosity, and perhaps some degree of 
 envy. 
 
 Augustus much preferred the free life of a missioner 
 to the civilization of towns. During his residence in 
 Demerara, he had once to give a mission to a number 
 of people who were camping out in the fields (for what 
 reason it is not stated). He discarded the tent pitched 
 for his accommodation, climbed up a tree with the agility 
 of a cat, and fixed up a hammock aloft, so that he 
 could keep his congregation well under his eye. There 
 was no need of a bell to announce Mass in the morning. 
 The people saw their padre at his toilet in the tree, and 
 assembled in readiness accordingly. 
 
 Plenty of exercise on horseback and on foot he 
 thoroughly enjoyed, and it suited him excellently. The 
 heat was never too much for him. Although the 
 thermometer was 80 to 84 in the shade, it did not 
 cause him the slightest inconvenience. " I am quite in 
 love with this colony," he wrote. *' If it was better 
 known at home, many people would come out for the 
 sake of their health, especially persons suffering from 
 weakness in the chest. I never in my life had such- 
 health as in this much-abused country. I keep so well 
 that I need no change, and am ready to live and die
 
 138 WORK IN DEMERARA. 
 
 out here. I have now pretty well attained to the proper 
 voice of a ' Law.' You remember what poor Father 
 Faber used to say, ' Now do speak with a voice as 
 much resembling a zephyr as any son of William Law 
 can.' " 
 
 Even in Demerara, of which he speaks so enthusi- 
 astically, if any extra exertion had been required of 
 him, Father Law's chest grew weak, -.and he was 
 compelled to rest his voice for a time. He soon 
 recovered from these "tires, not sickness," as he used 
 to call them, and was ready for hard work again. The 
 reader will understand that he had scant leisure for 
 letter-writing. Still, he contrived to write home fre- 
 quently, if not lengthily. His letters contained interest- 
 ing details of his life in the colony. Several of these 
 have been preserved by his father's care, but the 
 greater number were mislaid or lost in transmission 
 from hand to hand, for it was Mr. Law's habit to pass 
 them on to other near relatives. We will transcribe 
 one which was written during the third year of his 
 residence in British Guiana. 
 
 I have quite lately returned from the Essequibo 
 coast, where I made my retreat. I had never been 
 there before. It is a finer coast than this, and far more 
 active and lively. Father Swift, who met me at the 
 steamer, and drove me to his house, about seven miles, 
 began apologizing for the roads being so bad, as there 
 had been such heavy rain, at which I was quite 
 surprised, for their worst roads are almost equal to the 
 streets in our town. His house was only about twenty 
 3 r ards from the sea at high water, where there is a nice 
 sand}' beach and a breeze, a strong trade wind, coming 
 straight from the Atlantic. As I had one day free each
 
 WORK IN DEMERARA. 139 
 
 side of the eight days of retreat, I was taken along the 
 coast by Father Swift. We went on about seventeen 
 miles further from his house, and that, with the seven 
 on the steamer, gave me a sight of twenty-four miles of 
 that coast. Father Swift has under his care the western 
 extremity of British Guiana, and I have the eastern, so 
 we guard the outposts. The furthest village I reached 
 was called what do you think ? Hampton Court ! 
 There Father Swift found a dying Portuguese woman. 
 He gave her Extreme Unction, whilst I catechized the 
 Portuguese children. I returned here last Wednesday, 
 all the better for my trip. I was a little in want of a 
 change of air, as I was tired, and am now, thanks 
 to God, set up again. But it is quite strange that 
 I never get fever, so few escape having occasional 
 touches of it. Father Meyer, the consumptive Father 
 who was with me, died on May 28th. I wrote to his 
 father on his death, and also to the Provincial a still 
 further account, begging him to send it on to his father. 
 He died in a way that was all that could be wished, 
 resigned and pious. I was present and gave him the 
 last absolutions, which he asked for by signs, as he 
 could not speak. I was a novice with him at Beaumont 
 Lodge. It was a very touching thing to see him finish 
 his last few lines to his father, a week before he died. 1 
 When he had finished and given the paper to me, as 
 if they were the last parting words to his father, as 
 indeed they turned out to be, he burst into tears. I 
 did not like to mention this little fact to his father, 
 because I thought his death would be sufficiently affect- 
 ing, but he will come to know it. 
 
 1 Father Law might have seen in this act a forecast of what he himself 
 would do, twelve years later, in another clime, under still sadder circum- 
 stances.
 
 1 40 WORK IN DEMERARA. 
 
 Chinese gets on slowly, but surely, I hope. I have 
 so many other things to attend to. Pray that I may 
 sanctify my own soul and gain many others. Get 
 prayers too, for the same object, and do not forget, 
 dear father, that prayers are for missioners and for 
 missions, what money and ammunition and the com- 
 missariat are for armies. You cannot do without them. 
 Thank dear old Fred for his letter. He asks for one all 
 for himself. How greedy of him ! But I will try on 
 another occasion. In the meantime he must look upon 
 my letters as circulars, or general " orders," I was 
 going to say, to keep to the naval expression. By the 
 way, some great astronomical swell has been frighten- 
 ing people in this colony by saying we are to be treated 
 to a tidal wave of thirty feet in height out here on the 
 5th October. Now as ordinary spring-tides sometimes 
 trickle across our roads here, and we are quite flat, 
 without a hill for forty miles into the interior, you see 
 where we should be with his wave. Our Bishop goes 
 to the Council in a week or two, and if the wave comes, 
 he will find himself minus his diocese. However, I 
 believe the wave is not specially for British Guiana, 
 but for somewhere in the West Indies. Whether 
 scientific men can foresee tidal waves I do not know, 
 and so I do not really know whether to treat the thing 
 seriously or not. 
 
 Leaving the wave to God's providence, I must now 
 shorten sail and bring ship to anchor. Let us remember 
 each other before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. I 
 like that way the Portuguese and Italians have of 
 saying "Jesus sacramented" Jesu sacramentado. If I 
 had my way I would make it English. Best love to all 
 at home.
 
 WORK IN DEMERARA. 141 
 
 In connection with the Vatican Council, he writes : 
 " What a glorious event the Council will be ! Even 
 here it is in the mouths of Protestants as well as 
 Catholics. Last Sunday evening the Methodist 
 ministers, &c., begged their people to pray for the 
 Council, to enlighten the Pope and the Bishops, and 
 make them read their Bibles ! It was, I dare say, very well 
 meant." 
 
 About a year later he wrote the following letter to 
 his brother, Captain Victor Law, Madras Cavalry, 
 whose wife had died. 
 
 I have just received a letter from father in which he 
 tells me of your sad loss, and I cannot do otherwise 
 than write a few lines to you, dear old fellow, to 
 condole with you in it. And the first consolation you 
 must have is what is found in the words you wrote in 
 your letter to father, not long before her death. " God's 
 holy will be done." Yes, dear Vic, that is the consola- 
 tion. God measures out things for our souls and for 
 eternity, and when we think a little on this, and then 
 on His infinite power, and then on His infinite wisdom, 
 and then on His infinite goodness, and all three seeking 
 out the good of our souls for all eternity, we can at 
 least come with resignation to say : " God's holy will 
 be done." But for all that we feel such heavy blows ; 
 we must feel them, and so I beg our dear Lord and our 
 Lady to help you well in your affliction. I have no 
 doubt dear papa and your own devout heart will do 
 much to help you through. I thank God for my part, 
 for lending you such a holy soul, as your wife seems to 
 have been, even for a short time. I will not forget her- 
 in my poor prayers, and in my mementoes at Mass, 
 where she shall always be in every Mass I say. Also
 
 I 4 2 WORK IN DEMERARA. 
 
 I will pray that God may support you through your 
 affliction. I am very well, thank God, and have 
 plenty of work, and little time to do it in. Pray for me 
 that, while I preach to others, I myself do not become 
 a castaway. There is some talk of my going home 
 about autumn to make what is called my tertianship, 
 which is a kind of second noviceship and lasts a year. 
 Time will show whether I shall go or not. In the 
 meantime I must prepare myself to profit by that 
 precious year. There are all sorts of nations here to 
 work amongst. As for my Chinese, I get on little by 
 little. It is leisure I want for studying it, not incli- 
 nation, for it is interesting enough, especially when 
 you know a few words. I must now finish, again con- 
 doling with you, and promising prayers both for you 
 and your wife. I remain your most affectionate brother. 
 
 Another letter of good advice to his brother Frederick 
 (Commander Law) is dated from Berbice. 
 
 I must write you a line in answer to your last. I 
 heartily condole with you on being put into a Guardo 
 about the most stupid existence for a true naval officer 
 that can well be imagined, I should think. However, 
 out of evil may come good. You may find time for 
 study, either in your own profession, or in matters that 
 would come in useful by-and-by, such as languages. 
 And of course, dear old boy, all the more time to think 
 of your soul. This last is my way of consoling those 
 who are kept long in hospital or in prison. You will 
 probably put yourself among the last. You might 
 perfect your French, for I suppose you know something 
 of it already. Or you might make yourself learned in 
 controversy. At any rate do not lose your time, but
 
 WORK IN DEMERARA. 143 
 
 do something useful ad majovem Dei gloriam. If you 
 want to know something about myself, I am very well, 
 except that for the last three weeks I have had severe 
 attacks of lumbago and rheumatism, which I am glad 
 to say are just about saying good-bye. It is the first 
 taste of anything like sickness I have ever had out 
 here n0 w for more than four and a half years. 
 Good-bye, dear old boy ; don't forget prayers and the 
 sacraments, nor me in them.
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 TERTIANSHIP. MISSION WORK IN SCOTLAND. 
 
 NOTWITHSTANDING his eloquent defence of what he 
 called the healthiest of Britannia's colonies, Father 
 Law was not destined to spend the remainder of his 
 life in the West Indies, as he had expressed himself 
 willing to do. In the autumn of 1871 he was recalled 
 to England for the year of tertianship or second novice- 
 ship, which the Rule requires of every Jesuit ordained 
 in the Society. Although the call of authority found 
 him ready to obey with cheerfulness and promptitude, 
 it was impossible for him not to feel sorrow at leaving 
 Berbice. The climate seemed, as he said, made for 
 him and he for it, and his work, in spite of difficulties, 
 was exactly what, had the option been given him, he 
 would have chosen for himself. Yet it is doubtful 
 whether he would have been left much longer in the 
 West Indies if his presence had not been required in 
 Europe on account of making his tertianship. Five 
 years in such a mission as Berbice is a fair term of 
 service, and many a stronger man than he would have 
 been unable to remain there half as long, or accomplish 
 half as much as he had done. In fact, the immense 
 amount of work he joyfully undertook, and of which he 
 made so light, had begun to tell on him to some extent, 
 although he would not allow this, nor could he be 
 persuaded to relax his exertions. The change, he said,
 
 TERTIANSHIP. 145 
 
 was clearly for the good of his soul, not of his body, 
 and he did not disguise the fact that he should only be 
 too delighted to return to the scene of his labours if 
 his Superiors should see fit for him to do so. 
 
 If it was not without heartfelt regret that Father Law 
 bade farewell to Berbice, how much greater was the 
 grief of the inhabitants of the district under his charge 
 when they heard of the approaching separation. They 
 thankfully acknowledged the benefit his ministrations 
 had been to them, and the profit they had derived from 
 his instructions. The kindness and fatherly solicitude 
 he had shown in each individual member of his flock, 
 the interest he took in their concerns, had not been 
 unappreciated. His tender charity also to those outside 
 the fold, his devotion to their welfare, his unwearied 
 zeal for their salvation, had not failed to evoke feelings 
 of affection and confidence. He had besides enlarged 
 and beautified the church, established confraternities 
 and sodalities, increased the congregation by the con- 
 version of many unbelievers and the reclaim of many 
 careless and indifferent Catholics. The deep gratitude 
 of all the inhabitants for the good he had effected 
 amongst them, and their sorrow at parting from one 
 from whom they had received so much sympathy and 
 kindness, was expressed in an address, signed by about 
 three hundred persons of different nationalities, the 
 presentation of which was no mere formality, but 
 prompted by the sincere and genuine feeling of their 
 hearts. 
 
 Father Law himself was fain to acknowledge with 
 thankfulness that an abundant blessing had attended 
 his first experience of missionary work. Not only 
 had his efforts for the good of souls been wonderfully 
 successful, but strength and energy in an unusual 
 K
 
 146 TERTIANSHIP. 
 
 measure had been granted to him. He had been 
 enabled to carry on his apostolic labours for a longer 
 period than any of his predecessors in the mission had 
 done. And now he was not returning to his native land 
 like so many of them, utterly broken down in health 
 and incapacitated, at least temporarily, for active work. 
 True, he had been of late somewhat indisposed, suffer- 
 ing from ague and rheumatism, but he was still full of 
 vigour and in good spirits, anticipating with gladness 
 the time when, after an interval of rest and refreshment 
 to his soul, he should again go forth to teach and to 
 preach. On his arrival in England, Father Law spent 
 a week with his relatives at Hampton Court, permission 
 for this having been obtained by Mr. Law from the 
 Father Provincial. At the end of the week he went to 
 Roehampton to begin his tertianship. 
 
 The English climate towards the close of the year 
 is not calculated to dispel ague, nor is the pale sunshine 
 of the brief November da}' likely to prove exhilarating 
 to one who can bear without inconvenience the heat 
 of the tropics. The grounds of Manresa House, too, 
 shady and pleasant in summer, do not appear to 
 advantage when a chill mist clings to the face of the 
 earth, and the sere and yellow leaves float " each to 
 its rest beneath the parent shade." In spite of these 
 surroundings, Father Law's buoyant spirits kept him 
 up for a time. Writing to his father early in January, 
 he gives a good report of his health. After expressing 
 the pious hope that all at home may receive from the 
 Infant Jesus and His Holy Mother good New Year's 
 gifts, such as the world cannot give, he begs for prayers 
 that they may be merciful to him, and enable him to 
 make a devout tertianship. He had been out a little, 
 he said, to Westminster for a few days at Christmas,
 
 TERTIANSHIP. 147 
 
 to Sydenham for a day or two ; and when he wrote, 
 he was giving a retreat to a gentleman in the house. 
 So he had not given up all active work. In February, 
 he went to Commercial Road, Woolwich, to assist the 
 Fathers who were giving a mission there. " I began 
 unwell," he said, " but returned much better. Hard 
 work agrees with me." The mission was very successful, 
 and Father Law was so much liked that he went again 
 to Woolwich for Holy Week and Low Week, during 
 both of which he gave two instructions daily. 
 
 Hard work may have suited his inclinations, but it 
 did not suit his strength. Two or three weeks later, 
 he gives a very different account of himself. He writes 
 from Blackpool, for it was found impossible for him to 
 remain any longer at Roehampton. " I am here now 
 for change of air, as what with ague in winter in this 
 barbarous country, then jaundice, then some six weeks 
 of hard work giving missions, I was ready for a rest. 
 So I was ordered to come here, and do nothing for a 
 month." The month prescribed for his sojourn at 
 Blackpool was prolonged to nearly three. Although 
 he called himself very lazy, he was content to rest 
 a while, nay, glad of the enforced idleness for his own 
 soul's sake. He spent his time in prayer, in study 
 of the Holy Scripture, and in learning the Chinese 
 language. 
 
 The fact that he pursued his study of Chinese, and 
 devoted a good deal of his leisure to it, is in itself 
 sufficient proof that he quite expected to return to 
 Demerara, for of course it would be useless to him in 
 England. At any rate he was most desirous to return, 
 and was not very well pleased when he heard that 
 Father Swift, who was out with him in Demerara, had, 
 while discussing the subject with the Provincial, put
 
 148 TERTIANSHIP. 
 
 a spoke in his wheel. The Provincial talked of sending 
 Father Law back in a month or two, whereupon Father 
 Swift had said that he thought it would be un- 
 advisable that either he, or the other Father who would 
 accompany him, should go out at that time of year, and 
 thus come in for the greatest heat at Demerara. With 
 regard to the other Father, w r hoever he might be, 
 Augustus agreed that it might not be g9od for him, 
 but as for himself he did not think that the heat would 
 do him any harm, since he had so recently come from 
 the West Indies, and had been so well whilst there. 
 However, as the weather was now getting warm in 
 England, he was not sorry to stay at home during the 
 summer months, in order to get up his health and 
 strength. 
 
 His next move was to Bournemouth for a few weeks, 
 to supply the place of a Father who was absent. Then 
 he went to Roehampton, to make the usual retreat 
 prior to taking the last vows. The notes made by 
 Father Law during this retreat have been preserved. 
 They were put down on paper without the slightest 
 thought of their ever falling into the hands of others, 
 and are an unconscious revelation of his own beautiful 
 character. We have from time to time inserted one 
 or other of his private meditations in the pages of this 
 memoir, not only because the writer is himself reflected 
 in them as in a mirror, but in order that others reading 
 them, may profit by the lights granted by God to a 
 spiritual man. 
 
 It is indeed a privilege and a pleasure to be afforded 
 a glimpse into the secrets of a soul so humble and so 
 detached. The list he makes of the dona particularia, 
 the special mercies which stand out prominently in the 
 past, and for which special thanks are to be rendered
 
 TERTIANSHIP. 149 
 
 to the God Who has led him thus far on his journey, 
 is most edifying. The persons and incidents referred 
 to will almost all be familiar to the reader. 
 
 DONA PARTICULARIA. 
 
 (i) Having had a good and pious mother. Her 
 recommending me at her death-bed to remember, " Thou, 
 God, seest me" (I once behaved rudely and disobediently 
 to her). (2) Having a pious and generous father. (3) 
 Being brought up in Puseyite principles, learning to 
 " believe what the Church teaches." (4) Having a 
 good schoolmaster in Noon (the head of the school at 
 Somerton), who was God-fearing and just. A good 
 example in Digby Newbolt (a fellow-pupil at the same 
 school). Remember my unkindness to the poor Russian 
 boy L. (5) A kind and good stepmother. (6) Onslow, 
 the chaplain, a good and pious man, gave me excellent 
 advice. (7) Digan (an officer on board the Hastings) 
 encouraged me to read the Scriptures. (8) The sermon 
 Blomfield preached at my Confirmation impressed me. 
 (9) All the good I received from dear Hancock's 
 acquaintance (I often did not heed him). (10) Dr. Scot's 
 saying, " If God is not very merciful, it will go hard 
 with some of us." (n) Beamish and Haverfield's 
 example, and that of Pike the gunner. (12) That 
 sudden light "about Heaven." (13) Being saved from 
 the marling-spike falling on me. 1 (14) The example 
 of Lieutenant Mould, on board the Amazon. (15) 
 Waldron taking me to the Abbe Barbe at Singapore. 
 (16) The grace given me not to give up reading pious 
 books. (17) My father's conversion. (18) All Dr. Grant 
 
 1 A marling-spike is a ponderous iron implement shaped like n pin, 
 used on shipboard to separate the strands of a rope in splicing. Father 
 Law probably refers to the narrow escape from death mentioned on p. 44.
 
 150 TERTIANSHIP. 
 
 did for me. My own conversion. (19) The retreat 
 at Clapham ; Father Coffin's instructions. (20) The 
 attack of scarlatina, and removal to Haslar Hospital, 
 which gave me time for meditation. (21) Retreat at 
 Hodder. My vocation. (22) Father Clarke's kindness 
 to me during my novitiate. 
 
 Who is there who estimates at its full value the 
 importance and force of example ? Many souls might 
 be stimulated to nobler actions did they think of the 
 effect their conduct had on others. And where can 
 the man be found who, looking back over nearly forty 
 years of life, can say as Augustus Law could, that he 
 had always followed the good example and avoided 
 the evil ? 
 
 Few indeed are the sins that even his sensitive 
 conscience recalls to mind whilst he thus enumerates, 
 ad obtinendum amovem Dei, the mercies he has received. 
 Happy he who has nothing more serious whereof to 
 accuse himself! From this retrospect of the past, 
 Father Law proceeds to review the present, to consider 
 what it is he urges in preaching to others, and ask 
 himself whether his practice is in accordance with his 
 precept. 
 
 1. I recommend much the living with God's eye 
 upon us, and looking for His praise, as God's judgment 
 is the only one worth caring for. 
 
 2. I enlarge much upon the advantage of prayer, 
 and speak of how we ought to have great confidence, 
 looking upon it as an immense power. 
 
 3. I remind people how they should look upon 
 themselves as ulcus et apostema, as brands rescued 
 from Hell, if they have committed even one mortal
 
 TERTIANSHIP. 151 
 
 sin ; and how they ought to live in a penitential 
 spirit. 
 
 4. I speak much about the immense graces promised 
 to a forgiving and merciful spirit, and say that people 
 should be delighted to get an opportunity of forgiving, 
 since the reward is so unspeakable. 
 
 5. I exhort much to often recalling to mind the 
 memory of Jesus Christ, and say this is a beginning 
 of devotion to the Sacred Heart ; and I repeat often 
 those words, " Do this in memory of Me." 
 
 6. I exhort people always to look upon God as 
 their Father, and I urge them to say the petitions of 
 the Our Father with all fervour. I recommend them 
 strongly to prepare their minds before beginning 
 prayer, according to the admonition of St. Ignatius. 
 
 7. I am accustomed, in fact, to say that everything 
 depends upon how we pray. The above are some of 
 the things I most frequently preach upon. Do I 
 practise them ? " Thou therefore that teachest another 
 teachest not thyself." 
 
 How many seculars shame me to very confusion by 
 their faith, fervour, piety, devotion, and love. Yet I 
 say the Breviary, offer up the Holy Mass, and receive 
 our Lord every day ! When I think of my light and 
 knowledge and then of my actions, of my office as a 
 priest and how I perform it, I am terrified. Da te ad 
 compnnctionem et invenies devotionem. 
 
 The compunction he felt was without any element 
 of discouragement. " I feel great confidence," he 
 writes, " in asking for the gift of contrition, because I 
 am sure God will be ready to grant a thing He loves 
 so much and that He can ' never despise.' I like to go 
 over in thought the definition of penance given by the
 
 152 MISSION WORK IN SCOTLAND. 
 
 Catechism of Trent. Interior penance is to turn with 
 all one's soul to God, to hate and forsake one's sins, 
 and to resolve to amend one's corrupt ways and habits ; 
 all this with hope of pardon from God's mercy." 
 
 Up to the time of taking his final vows (August 15, 
 1872), and indeed for two or three weeks after, 
 Father Law was left in ignorance as to what his 
 future movements were to be. That he was tolerably 
 confident of being sent back to Demerara there is 
 little doubt ; that he was extremely anxious to return 
 thither is quite certain. It could not be denied that 
 he was better qualified for work there than in 
 England. He had written from Blackpool to the 
 Father Provincial, to say how well he was feeling, in 
 the hope that this might influence his decision, and 
 turn the scale in favour of the West Indies. In every 
 letter to his relatives he mentions the subject. " I do 
 not know my destination as yet," he writes from Mount 
 St. Mary's, where in the commencement of September 
 he went to give the community retreat. " I hear I am 
 to return to Demerara, but up till now the Provincial 
 has not written. I shall not be sure about the matter 
 until I am on board the steamer at Southampton." 
 When he was informed that not Demerara but 
 Dalkeith was to be the sphere of his ministerial 
 labours, not a word of disappointment or annoyance 
 escaped him. On the contrary, he accepted the 
 decision of his Superiors gladly and willingly. He 
 did not altogether abandon the hope that his wishes 
 might yet be fulfilled, and comforted himself with the 
 thought that with " plenty of fresh air" he might get 
 his strength back fully, and so be ready to go back to 
 Demerara the next autumn " quite refitted." 
 
 He entered upon his work at Dalkeith, which is
 
 MISSION WORK IN SCOTLAND. 153 
 
 near Edinburgh, with the greatest zest and vigour. 
 The little outlying village of Pathhead was committed 
 to his charge and he took immense interest in it. Lady 
 Lothian, who had built the chapel of the little mission, 
 half-amused and much edified at the zeal he manifested, 
 called the place New Berbice. Wherever Father Law 
 found souls to be benefited, sinners to be reclaimed, he 
 cared not what trouble he put himself to. The Pro- 
 testant inhabitants of Pathhead were not ill-disposed 
 towards Catholics, and he found great favour with 
 them. His cheerful, friendly manner and ready 
 sympathy made its way to the hearts even of the 
 reserved and cautious Scotch. Before he had been 
 there many months he had received several persons 
 into the Church. He made himself one with the 
 people, with their interests and their wants. From 
 his own lips we learn the secret of the influence he 
 exercised and the success he achieved. Personal 
 kindness to individuals, and extreme charity to his 
 public opponents, were the weapons wherewith he 
 broke down prejudices and won hearts. " To-day," 
 he says, " I married my former schoolmistress of Path- 
 head to a Catholic of Peebles. The old father was 
 present. A few months ago, he had turned his 
 daughter out of doors for becoming a Catholic. 
 To-day he was present when the bride and bride- 
 groom went to Communion, and at the marriage 
 ceremony. We, that is the father and I, made great 
 friends at the marriage-breakfast, to which I was 
 invited, and at which I said grace, &c. When I was 
 going to take my leave, one of the friends of the family, 
 a Protestant, got up and made me a very complimentary 
 speech, saying that he had never been in a Catholic 
 church before, but that he had been much pleased with
 
 154 MISSION WORK IN SCOTLAND. 
 
 all he had seen, &c. So all went off beautifully. Last 
 Sunday night I preached on the Notes of the Church. 
 Half the audience were Protestants. I hope you will 
 pray for the conversion of these poor Scotch. They 
 are awfully ignorant of the Catholic Church. A certain 
 Dr. Wylie spoke at a Protestant institution meeting in 
 Edinburgh lately. He said he " considered Catholicism 
 and heathenism as one and the same thing." This was 
 received with applause. Did not I give it him and his 
 applauders on Sunday ! Only I spoke kindly of them. 
 I said that if Dr. Wylie had read the Life of St. 
 Stanislaus, and would not believe the miracles, nor 
 even half the rest, if he would only believe one quarter 
 of what was related of him, he would, like St. Peter, 
 weep for the remainder of his life tears of contrition 
 for having vilified a Saint of God, and considered him 
 to be the offspring of a body which was one and the 
 same thing with heathenism." 
 
 During the winter spent at Dalkeith, Father Law 
 wrote occasionally for the Messenger of the Sacred Heart. 
 His contributions are for the most part signed Lexfidelis, 
 a fanciful pseudonym devised by the late Father 
 William Maher, who was then editor of the Messenger, 
 because of the writer's name being Law, and because 
 he proved faithful to a promise given some time 
 previously that if he had time he would try and send 
 a few articles for publication. Sometimes, however, 
 they are signed A. L. This again, Father Law 
 explains to his father, was Father Maher's doing, not 
 his own, " although," he adds, " it is true I am in the 
 
 habit of leaving out the H , not I hope at the 
 
 beginning of words, but in the middle of my initials." 
 In the Messenger for March, 1873, Father Law contri- 
 butes some very beautiful principles and practices
 
 MISSION WORK IN SCOTLAND. 155. 
 
 concerning prayer, gathered from the Life of B. Peter 
 Fabre, one of the first companions of St. Ignatius. In 
 the following numbers there runs a dialogue, in which 
 Augustus' old love of the sea comes again to the fore, 
 in union with his admiration of St. Chrysostom's 
 writings. The scene is on board a vessel at sea, and 
 the speakers, contemporaries of St. Chrysostom, 
 converse about his sermons. The Captain of the 
 ship relates to a merchant, one of the passengers, his 
 recollections of what he has heard from the lips of the 
 holy Patriarch at Constantinople. Speaking of the 
 uses of sorrow, the pious Captain quotes the following 
 words of the Saint, which, in the absence of books, he 
 has stored in his retentive memory. 
 
 "God has given us the power of sorrowing; why, 
 and to what end ? For no other end but that you may 
 use it to wash away your sins. Let an example show 
 how true this is. Medicines were made for those 
 diseases only which they can cure, and are useful for 
 those alone. For instance, if a medicine has been 
 tried for many diseases and has failed in curing any of 
 them, but when applied in the case of one disease has 
 removed it at once, we conclude directly that that 
 medicine was made for that disease and that alone. 
 Now sorrow is a medicine ; apply it then in the case of 
 all the miseries of this life, and see which it heals, and 
 learn from that for what it was made, and why the 
 power of sorrowing was implanted in our hearts by 
 God. You have lost all your property and are reduced 
 to beggary ; add sorrow, does it give you back your 
 riches ? No ; then it was not made for loss of riches. 
 You are annoyed and insulted and injured by your 
 neighbour ; add sorrow, and what do you gain by the 
 addition ? Does it lessen the annoyance, remove the
 
 156 MISSION WORK IN SCOTLAND. 
 
 insult, or compensate for the injury ? No ; it was not 
 then made for annoyances or insults or injuries. You 
 have lost a dear wife or child ; you grieve, lament, 
 sorrow. Does this recall your wife or child to life ? 
 No ; such grief is natural, but it heals nothing here. 
 It was not then made for loss of wife or children. You 
 are on a sick-bed, you lose patience, you sorrow. Does 
 this help you ? No ; it only increases your sickness. 
 It was not then made for sickness. But you have 
 sinned, and you sorrow for your sin, and at once the 
 sin is forgiven. Sorrow was then made for sin, and for 
 sin alone. For it was used as a medicine for other 
 miseries, and failed to cure them. Applied to sin it 
 cures it at once. ' Blessed are they that mourn, for 
 they shall be comforted.' " 
 
 Father Law's style was not particularly striking or 
 fluent or graceful, but it was clear and easy, and brought 
 out his meaning well. He did not continue long to 
 write for the Messenger, as the calls upon his time 
 became too numerous and engrossing to allow of 
 literary work, which, it must be owned, was not much 
 to his taste. Later on, when he was in Edinburgh, he 
 was asked by Father Christie to write something for 
 Catholic Progress, a little periodical he was then 
 managing. Father Law declined on the plea that 
 what with parish work, and occasional retreats or 
 missions given elsewhere, his hands were too full to 
 undertake anything more. Besides he was at that 
 time engaged in revising the old translation (1688) of 
 the Catechism of the Council of Trent. But in order 
 that Father Christie might not lose a hoped-for contri- 
 bution, Augustus wrote to his father, suggesting that 
 he should send a paper or two to Catholic Progress in his 
 stead.
 
 MISSION WORK IN SCOTLAND. 157 
 
 When he had been about a year at Dalkeith, the 
 Provincial sent him to a consulting physician to be 
 examined, to see if he were fit to return to the West 
 Indies. The report was that he was still suffering 
 from nervous depression the effect of his five years' 
 work in Demerara so that his immediate return 
 thither could not be recommended, he had better 
 remain another winter in Europe. This was a fresh 
 disappointment for Father Law, especially as the 
 medical verdict, like that of the practitioner he was in 
 the habit of consulting, pronounced his chest to be 
 quite sound. " So you see," he writes to his father, 
 " I must remain content for another year at least. I 
 dare say you will be quite satisfied with the doctor's 
 decision. Whether I shall stay here I do not know. 
 The fine air of the hills about here, and the amount of 
 walking I have, have done me a great deal of good.
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 MISSION WORK IN SCOTLAND. 
 
 THE autumn of 1873 brought a change of place for 
 Father Law, although not the one he wished for. He 
 was moved to Galashiels, close to the Tweed, where 
 again he found plenty to be done. There was a good 
 deal of drunkenness in the place, and he entered with 
 great ardour into a crusade against it. He had just 
 returned from a mission in a parish where the 
 " Crusade " had been established, and much good done 
 thereby. Whilst there he learnt how it worked, and 
 came back stored with new ideas and projects. A little 
 band of teetotallers was formed in Galashiels, and 
 named " Crusaders." When the members had fought 
 bravely for six months, they were entitled to wear a 
 cross. Thus the crusade obtained a firm footing, and 
 acquired an esprit de corps which always accompanies 
 societies when properly established and rightly con- 
 ducted. Father Law found the good it effected in 
 reclaiming men and making them attend to their duties 
 was wonderful. 
 
 There were also a good many Protestants at 
 Galashiels whom he desired and hoped to bring into 
 the Church. He wrote to his sister at Westbury to 
 ask her prayers and those of the community for these 
 persons. " Human respect is very strong here, as it is 
 everywhere, and it keeps many from entering God's
 
 MISSION WORK IN SCOTLAND. 159 
 
 Church. Some Protestants have even let that out 
 themselves. So do ask our Blessed Lady to give 
 us some good conversions, real, fervent conversions. 
 Especially pray for those who are like Mary Magdalene 
 at the tomb, seeking Jesus Christ, and who see Him in 
 the Catholic Church and ' know not that it is Jesus.' 
 It only wants a little word from our Lord to show them 
 that He is to be found in the Catholic Church, as it 
 only wanted one word from our Lord to show Mary 
 Magdalene Who it was she was taking for the gardener. 
 And indeed it is often the same word that our Lord 
 said then that is wanted now Mary especially in this 
 month. I must end by begging you to recommend me 
 much to Mary, I will do the same for you." 
 
 O si scires donum Dei! was a frequent expression 
 on Father Law's lips in regard to non-Catholics. 
 His efforts for the conversion of the Protestants in 
 Galashiels were very successful, as much so perhaps 
 on the whole as his exertions for the suppression of 
 drunkenness. In no place where he was for so short 
 a time did he leave a more lasting proof of his labours. 
 His whole soul was in his work. His plain-spoken, 
 yet thoughtful and stirring sermons pleased the blunt, 
 straightforward Scotch, and went with force and 
 efficacy to their hearts. There was the same honest 
 unpretentiousness about his sermons that there was 
 about himself. His brother Graves tells us that a 
 friend of his one day informed him that a stranger, 
 a Jesuit, had preached at the chapel of the town 
 where he lived, and from the likeness he thought it 
 must have been his brother. The sermon had two 
 or three sea-stories in it, and what particularly struck 
 the hearer, was that after expounding two reasons for a 
 General Judgment, the preacher went on : " The third
 
 160 MISSION WORK IN SCOTLAND. 
 
 reason is well, I forget the third reason now, but I 
 dare say I shall remember it before my sermon is done." 
 And sure enough, after a few minutes he suddenly 
 exclaimed, " Ah, I remember it now. The third reason 
 is so and so." On hearing this, Mr. Graves Law said 
 to his friend with a smile, " That was undoubtedly my 
 brother ; " and so it turned out to be. 
 
 Father Law never cared much about his personal 
 appearance. When a boy, it was with difficulty that 
 he could be persuaded to take pains with his dress. 
 After he became a religious, he took no thought about 
 his outer man as far as his clothes were concerned* 
 He did not mind how shabby he was ; the battered old 
 head-gear in which he sometimes, when a priest, 
 presented himself on his visits to his relatives, was 
 a standing joke against him. One of his brothers 
 remembers one particular hat in the last stage of 
 decrepitude which he persuaded Augustus to leave 
 with him as a curiosity. It was a nondescript sort of 
 wide-awake, which had served him apparently for years 
 at Demerara. It had had a new crown and a new 
 brim, and at last there was scarcely a thread of the 
 original hat left. It could not be tolerated in London, 
 so Augustus had, not without considerable regret, to 
 consent that it should be discarded. Although he was 
 most scrupulous as to cleanliness and neatness, he 
 could not be made to see that his clothes were too 
 shabby to wear, it was only in deference to the 
 opinion of others that he provided himself with new 
 ones. 
 
 Later on, when at the Cape, he thought himself at 
 liberty to indulge his love of holy poverty to the full. 
 One who knew him out there, says the first thought on 
 seeing him was : " At any rate as regards the vow of
 
 MISSION WORK IN SCOTLAND. i6r 
 
 poverty he is a good religious ! " His coat was rusty 
 and threadbare, and as for his hat, it had weathered 
 storm and sunshine for so long a period that no one 
 could possibly conjecture what had been its original 
 form. But this peculiarity (if we may thus term it) 
 was far from making an unpleasant impression, there 
 was, on the contrary, something attractive about it. 
 His voice and bearing and manner were so out of 
 keeping with his poverty-stricken appearance, that it 
 gave him more weight, especially with the poorer 
 members of his flock. They felt that for their sakes, 
 like his Divine Master, he had made himself poor, and 
 they respected him for it. The poor had indeed every 
 reason to rejoice in their pastor's mortifications in this 
 as well as in other matters, since they benefited largely 
 by them. 
 
 In Scotland, Father Law's indifference in regard to 
 apparel, together with his kindness to the poor, was a 
 sore trial to his housekeeper. She complained that her 
 master, in whom she took the greatest pride, never had 
 anything fit to wear, and that if he had he never kept 
 it. One day she was bewailing herself that he had 
 scarcely a pocket-handkerchief left, when a lady offered 
 to provide him with these and other articles. " You 
 must give him the commonest-looking, coarsest hand- 
 kerchiefs you can find, or he will give them away the 
 next day," the housekeeper replied. He was accordingly 
 presented with a quantity of rough blue cotton hand- 
 kerchiefs with large round spots, and of these he was 
 particularly proud. Shirts and socks were surreptitiously 
 placed in his drawers, but unless the old tattered things 
 were taken away, he would pick out all the best of his 
 new stock as soon as he saw them, and give them away, 
 keeping the worn-out ones for his own use as before. 
 
 L
 
 i&2 MISSION WORK IN SCOTLAND. 
 
 It is needless to say that a man of this stamp was 
 much beloved by the poorer members of his flock. 
 From his youth up he always had a great love of the 
 poor. This was due in a great measure to the training 
 of his excellent mother, who was ever thoughtful of the 
 needs and troubles of the poor in her husband's parish. 
 She used also to interest her children in their welfare, 
 taking them with her when she visited the- sick or aged, 
 and allowing them to accompany the servants whom 
 she sent to the cottagers with gifts of nourishment or 
 clothing, and even themselves to carry some portion 
 of her bounties. When he was at home from sea, 
 Augustus was never asked in vain for an alms, in 
 fact, with a sailor's liberality, he used to give away all 
 he had in his pocket. The last time he was on leave, 
 before he quitted the navy, he went with his eldest 
 sister to the Little Sisters of the Poor, and saw all the 
 old people under their charge. They could not say 
 enough in his praise ; one old woman was so touched 
 by his kindness to her that the tears ran down her 
 wrinkled cheeks. He took her by the hand, and told her 
 she must not cry, for he would surely come to see her 
 again. So he did, but the poor old woman was then 
 beyond the need of his consolation ; in the interval the 
 hand of death had removed her from this valley of tears. 
 
 As we have already said, Father Law delighted in 
 children. They were very fond of him too, and used 
 to run to meet him when they saw him coming. Almost 
 every day he went to the schools, if only just to see 
 what was going on. He made much of their hymn- 
 singing, and was very impatient with the Scotch habit 
 of drawling out the tunes in a solemn fashion. " Come, 
 give us some more jolly tunes," he would say, "and 
 faster, faster. I like a good noise."
 
 MISSION WORK IN SCOTLAND. 163 
 
 Two of his favourite hymns were the hymn to the 
 Blessed Sacrament, "Jesus, my Lord, my God, my all," 
 and " Faith of our Fathers." When the children were 
 singing them, he could not refrain from joining in 
 himself, right heartily. He often said that he considered 
 singing hymns in the vernacular a great means of 
 engrafting the faith deeply in the hearts of the children, 
 since they seldom forgot them in after-life. Many a 
 time a Catholic who had for years never entered a 
 church, or who had become neglectful of religion 
 through living out of reach of the means of grace, has 
 been touched, and awakened to a sense of his duty by 
 hearing once more the familiar strains of some simple 
 hymn, learnt at school and sung in church in the days 
 of his childhood. Father Law made the singing of 
 hymns a feature in the public retreats he gave. The 
 instructions and meditations were invariably closed by 
 some appropriate hymn. One which he himself wrote 
 when he was in charge of the mission at Berbice, and 
 which has been set to music, may be suitably intro- 
 duced here. 
 
 THE CHURCH is ONE. 
 
 The Church is One ; her Faith is One, 
 
 For Truth is One alone ; 
 She has one Head in Peter's Chair, 
 
 Placed there by God the Son. 
 
 I know the marks, I see the signs 
 
 Of Christ's own Church so fair ; 
 Oh, may her beauty and her truth 
 
 Spread widely everywhere. 
 
 She brings forth saints of wondrous life, 
 
 'Tis done by her alone ; 
 And Christ works wonders through their hands 
 
 Thus stamping them His own. 
 
 I know the marks, &c.
 
 164 MISSION WORK IN SCOTLAND. 
 
 From pole to pole, from east to west 
 
 The Holy Church is spread ; 
 The rich, the poor, all nations, tribes 
 
 Into her fold are led. 
 
 I know the marks, &c. 
 
 In one long line, from Peter down 
 
 Her ministers descend ; 
 They teach till now what Peter taught 
 
 And will unto the end. 
 
 I know the marks, &c. 
 
 While at Galashiels, Father Law wrote the following 
 letter to his sister in the Convent of the Visitation at 
 Westbury. We insert it here, because it gives an 
 insight into his own spiritual life. 
 
 Reall}- it is too bad of me not writing for so long a 
 time, but I think I can say I have had very little time. 
 But that was not a good excuse. I could, if I had 
 tried, have found time to write to a dear sister who 
 prays so much for me. 
 
 I am very glad that you take to the Spiritual 
 Exercises pure. Father Gallwey recommended me to 
 write my own meditations from the Gospels, and I 
 have done this now for nearly two years. 1 And I find 
 it of great service. It is very hard to get meditations 
 that will suit every one. It is almost impossible. The 
 Gospels are like the manna, " having in them the 
 sweetness of every taste.'' " Serving every man's will, it 
 was turned to what every man liked." 2 There is another 
 thing that writing one's own meditations does. It 
 makes one take such an interest in the Gospels. I 
 
 1 A few of Fnther Law's meditations will be given as an Appendix to 
 this memoir. The reflections they contain are simple, practical, and 
 suggestive. 
 
 2 Wisdom xvi. 20, 21.
 
 MISSION WORK IN SCOTLAND. 165 
 
 never felt the same interest in them till I began to 
 write my own meditations. There is besides another 
 advantage, one that St. Ignatius mentions in the second 
 or third annotation : " we take more interest in what we 
 have found out ourselves with our own labour." This 
 is another instance of how our holy Founder always 
 used nature to build grace upon. I read something in 
 St. John of the Cross the other day which delighted me 
 very much. He was speaking to people who seek after 
 revelations, visions, &c. " You have everything in the 
 Gospels. Jesus Christ the Eternal Word is your revela- 
 tion. Him you may gaze upon as depicted in the 
 Gospels. If you would have ' locutions,' &c., there 
 you have His words. What do you want more?" It 
 was something like this and it consoled me, because it 
 shows the dignity of meditating upon the Gospel. Now 
 I must finish for the present, for I have my hands very 
 full with the charge of this mission. Do pray for your 
 poor brother. I enclose what I promised. They are 
 simply notes for my own use, and I only send them at 
 your request. 
 
 OFFICE. 
 
 1 . Before beginning, a Pater. Then Quo vado ? Ad 
 quid ? Comm quo ? 
 
 2. Leave the earth. Ascend to Heaven. Cum 
 Angelis et archangelis, dominationibns et omni militia ccelestis 
 fxercitus, hymnum gloria canimus, &>c. 
 
 3. Sed ilia sedes ccelitum 
 Semper exultat laudibus, 
 Illi canentes jungimur 
 
 A lines Sionis amidi. 
 
 (Laud. Ded. Eccles.)
 
 i66 MISSION WORK IN SCOTLAND. 
 
 But that sweet heavenly choir 
 Ever exults in praise. 
 We too, with Sion join 
 A rival song to raise. 
 
 4. You are praying in the name of the whole 
 Church. You are an ambassador. It is your " office" 
 as a priest. 
 
 5. It is the best way of benefiting your flock. 
 Prayer does more than talking. 
 
 6. " The sacrifice of praise shall glorify me ; and 
 there is the way by which I will show him the salvation 
 of God." 1 
 
 7. God Himself has drawn up the petition, so you 
 may be sure of being heard. " My words that I have 
 put in thy mouth." 2 
 
 8. Do not hurry. You can be doing nothing better 
 for yourself or mankind. 
 
 9. Say it as your last Office, as though everything 
 depended upon this Office. 
 
 10. St. Mary Magdalen de' Pazzi was filled with 
 joy when she heard the bells for Office. 
 
 n. Say the Pater, Ave, and Credo, slowly, as St. 
 Francis of Assisi used to do. Turn your prayers into 
 Mary's bythe^t^; make an act of adoration and of 
 love out of the Gloria. 
 
 12. " Si psalmus orat, orate; si gemit, gemite ; si sperat, 
 sperate.'' (St. Aug. in Psalm xxx.) 
 
 13. More reverence when speaking to God or the 
 saints. (St. Ignatius.) 
 
 14. The Office is our consolation in this place of 
 exile. 
 
 15. Make the Office a real prayer. (Father Weld.) 
 
 1 Psalm xlix. 23. " Isaias lix. 21.
 
 MISSION WORK IN SCOTLAND. 167 
 
 1 6. Psallite sapienter. What a man repeats with 
 his mouth, let him feel in his soul. (St. Edmund 
 Cant.) 
 
 17. Non vox, sed votum ; non chordula musica,sed cor; 
 non cantans sed amans cantat in aure Dei. (St. Aug. ex 
 Corn, a Lap.) 
 
 1 8. For the praises and blessings we offer to God, 
 He bestows His blessings on us. What we present 
 to Him returns to ourselves with an increase which 
 becomes His liberality and greatness. (St. Stephen of 
 Grandmont.) 
 
 About Father Law's piety there was nothing at all 
 rigid or severe. On the contrary, it was characterized 
 by a cheerfulness, hopefulness, and general charity 
 which served to inspire in those who knew him a 
 greater love for the holy faith which was the mighty 
 and constant power directing his daily life. He speaks 
 of himself in the lowliest terms, calling himself only a 
 half-formed Jesuit ; but this only shows how high a 
 standard he placed before his eyes. In the same spirit 
 of humility he prayed God to send him trials, because 
 he was so cowardly in inflicting penances on himself. 
 Whatever were the austerities he practised (of these 
 no mention is of course made), he never imposed them 
 on others. Whatever tended to depression he invariably 
 reprehended. For instance, he expostulated with his 
 father, who was an inveterate smoker, because on going 
 to make a retreat he proposed to try and do without 
 his pipe. " I always thought you too strict in your 
 ideas about a retreat," he wrote. " In your case I 
 think no director would counsel you to give up smoking, 
 as the privation would only cause distraction and 
 prevent the good of the retreat."
 
 168 MISSION WORK IN SCOTLAND. 
 
 Although Father Law seemed to be doing so much 
 good in Galashiels, after a year's residence at the 
 mission he was again moved. In the autumn of 1874 he 
 acquainted his father with the fresh change. " Here I 
 am now, stationed in Edinburgh, as I was eight years 
 ago when beginning mission life. I have got very little 
 to tell you, but I have plenty to do here, and shall 
 have more and more, as I get better acquainted with 
 the place. I was very sorry to leave Galashiels, but 
 then we are soldiers and must go where we are sent." 
 Somewhat later he says he likes Edinburgh very much. 
 The wider sphere of activity pleased him, he spent 
 whole days looking up the worst cases in the Westport 
 and Grassmarket, on his return home relating with 
 the greatest glee the adventures he had met with. He 
 loved to seek out wanderers and with persuasions and 
 entreaties to bring them to the feet of Christ. Patiently 
 and eagerly he went again and again, waiting for the 
 opportune moment when the soul seemed disposed to 
 receive the words of exhortation. First he would do 
 his utmost to relieve the most pressing temporal wants 
 of the indigent poor, before seeking to awaken them 
 to. a sense of their spiritual destitution. One day he 
 found a poor woman in an apparently dying state, 
 laying on the floor in a miserable little room, with no 
 one to look after her, and nothing to eat. She had 
 strayed from the Church for more than fifteen years. 
 Father Law took her his own dinner that same day, 
 got a charitable lady to provide for her immediate 
 necessities, and saw her comfortably sheltered in the 
 hospital. She recovered, and became a fervent Christian. 
 During the remainder of her life she daily offered an 
 act of thanksgiving for her rescue from apostacy, and 
 a prayer for the zealous priest who had been instru-
 
 MISSION WORK IN SCOTLAND. 169 
 
 mental in effecting it. He had a special love for great 
 sinners. Perhaps it was the innocency of his own past 
 life which made him feel a peculiar pity and tenderness 
 for transgressors. He could not rest until he got 
 the sinner to confession, and then he could not console 
 and notice and encourage them enough. Some one 
 once said to him, " I really think you like great sinners 
 better than good people," and he said promptly, "Well, 
 I do. I have found that the)^ are almost always 
 peculiarly nice characters." Then he proceeded to 
 explain how often people were led into sin by yielding 
 to warm feelings and even generous impulses, which 
 more correct people were not capable of experiencing ; 
 moreover, great sin often prepares the soul for great 
 contrition, and even for great sanctity. Sometimes it 
 must be confessed, Father Law's warm-hearted and 
 confiding nature led him into what looked like impru- 
 dence, but it was not easy to restrain him in his zeal for 
 souls. 
 
 As had been the case before, Father Law now again 
 found that hard work in a crowded city, although it 
 satisfied the craving of his heart, did not agree with 
 his health. It did not compensate for the loss of the 
 fresh air of Galashiels. He broke down, and was 
 compelled to go for a week to Oban to recruit his 
 strength. It was impossible to deny that he could not 
 stand the work of a missionary priest in a large town. 
 At the close of Holy Week he was generally more or 
 less invalided. This was not solely on account of the 
 physical fatigue occasioned by the greater number of 
 services and the long hours in the confessional, but 
 also because of the emotion produced by the con- 
 templation of the events commemorated at that holy 
 season. His power of realization was so great that
 
 170 MISSION WORK IN SCOTLAND. 
 
 he seemed to witness the cruel scenes of our Lord's 
 Passion enacted anew before his eyes. He has been 
 seen to shudder and turn pale when meditating upon 
 the Crucifixion, and has been heard to say that he 
 could hear the blows of the hammer almost as dis- 
 tinctly as if the nails were then really being driven into 
 the sacred hands of the Redeemer. This he said quite 
 simply, as if he thought everybody did the same. He 
 had a great devotion to our Lord's Passion, and the 
 remembrance of it seemed ever present to his mind. 
 Those who have been privileged to hear him speak on 
 this subject, will doubtless recollect how he loved to 
 repeat the words of St. Bernard: " Nothing touches 
 me more deeply, affects me more forcibly, kindles me 
 more warmly, makes Thee appear more lovely in my 
 eyes, O good Jesu, than the chalice Thou didst drink, 
 the work of our redemption Thou didst accomplish." 
 "How intense," he would continue, "is the pain our 
 Lord endures ! There is no comfort, no ease for Him 
 either of body or of soul. And He suffers ail so 
 willingly, so devotedly; suffers it, too, for my sake. 
 Omnia hzc pro me. And I am so cold, so insensible ! 
 What shall I do, what shall I say ? Go, wretch, and 
 hide yourself; or rather go to the Mother of Sorrows, 
 and ask her to enable you to share in those sufferings ; 
 by her transfixed heart entreat her, Sancta Mater, istud 
 agas, Cnicifixi fige plagas cordi meo valide." 
 
 When speaking of the infinite virtue of our Lord's 
 Passion for the conversion of sinners, even of those 
 who crucified Him afresh by mortal sin, Father Law 
 sometimes related the following anecdote. His fondness 
 for it, as well as its own interest, will be sufficient 
 excuse for its insertion here.
 
 MISSION WORK IN SCOTLAND. 171 
 
 There was a Christian living in Beyrout, who when 
 he removed to another town, happened to leave behind 
 him an image of Jesus Christ in the rooms he had 
 occupied. A Jew took the lodging the man left, but 
 did not notice the image. A few days later he asked 
 another Jew to dine with him, and this man, seeing the 
 image, was very angry and informed against his friend. 
 Next morning the priests of the synagogue came in a 
 body to the house, and finding the image there as they 
 had been told, turned the Jew in whose room they 
 found it out of the synagogue. Then they took down 
 the image, and said : " As our fathers mocked the 
 Nazarene, so let us now mock Him." Then they spat 
 upon the figure of our Lord, struck it, pierced and cut 
 it, and uttered all manner of insults against Him Whom 
 it represented. Finally they said: "We have heard 
 that nails were driven into His hands and feet, let us 
 do the same." Thus they imitated as far as possible 
 all that was done to our Lord in His Passion ; and 
 when they had gone through it all, at last they got a 
 sharp stiletto, and pierced the side of the defaced 
 and disfigured image, as the side of the Redeemer 
 was pierced by the lance. But when they did this, 
 immediately blood and water flowed from it. When 
 they saw this, they exclaimed : " The Christians say 
 the Nazarene healed the sick. Let us take this blood 
 and water to the synagogue, and call the sick, and 
 anoint them with it, and see if what they say is true. 
 Thereupon they collected the blood and water in a 
 vessel, took it to the synagogue, and in mockery 
 invited all who were sick to come and be cured. A 
 paralytic came, and a man blind from his birth ; both 
 were cured. Other sick persons came. All were healed 
 of whatever diseases and infirmities they had. The
 
 MISSION WORK IN SCOTLAND. 
 
 synagogue could not contain the multitudes that flocked 
 thither. Then the priests of the synagogue and all the 
 congregation of the Jews believed on Jesus Christ, 
 saying : " Glory to Thee, O Christ." They went in a 
 body to the Bishop Adeodatus to be baptized. And 
 their synagogue was converted into a church. 
 
 Perhaps it was a presentiment that the time was 
 approaching when he would be called upon to follow in 
 the footsteps of our Lord which caused Father Law to 
 dwell more frequently upon the sufferings and labours 
 of the Redeemer. He was acting upon the counsels 
 St. Bernard gives in a passage from his sermons, which 
 was no less a favourite with him than that we have 
 just quoted. " Do you, dearest brethren, collect for 
 yourself a precious bundle made up of the anxieties 
 and bitternesses of our Lord and put it into the centre 
 of your hearts, so that it may abide between your 
 breasts. For if you only keep before your eyes Him 
 Whom you carry, be sure that seeing the sufferings of 
 your Lord, you will bear your own more lightly." " In 
 that bundle then " (thus Father Law concludes one of 
 his meditations), " I will put the prayer of Agony in the 
 Garden, the bloody sweat, the weariness and sadness 
 of His Sacred Humanity, the kiss of Judas, the flight 
 of the disciples, the scourges, the crown of thorns, the 
 Cross, the desolation of His blessed Soul. And when 
 I sign myself with the Cross, I should imagine myself 
 by that action, as it were, placing that fasciculus myrrhcz 
 between my breasts." 
 
 In the beginning of September, 1875, he was told that 
 he was shortly to sail for Grahamstown, Cape of Good 
 Hope. Bishop Ricards (of the Eastern District of the
 
 MISSION WORK IN SCOTLAND. 173 
 
 Cape Colony) was going out with several priests and 
 a numerous body of Catholics, and Father Law was 
 to join this party. It was not as one of the staff of 
 missionaries that he was going out, of this the state 
 of his health would not permit ; he was sent to teach 
 philosophy and theology to the more advanced pupils 
 in the College recently founded at Grahamstown by 
 Bishop Ricards. As this College had not been opened 
 long, the number of students in the higher classes 
 would be small and the work light. 
 
 Having received orders to go to Grahamstown, 
 Father Law turned his face towards Africa, where he 
 was destined if not actually to shed his blood, yet to 
 lay down his life for the cause of the Gospel, and thus 
 to earn the crown of martyrdom which he had so often 
 prayed to obtain. In the interval before leaving 
 England he had to make his retreat of eight days ; 
 the remainder of the time was devoted to taking leave 
 of his relatives. He went over to Boulogne, to say 
 good-bye to his sister, Mrs. Cary-Elwes, who was then 
 residing there with her family, and paid hurried visits 
 to other relatives and friends. On the 2ist September 
 the last farewells were spoken. His father was much 
 grieved at parting from his son ; his grief would have 
 been still greater had he known that the farewell was a 
 final one, and he should see his face no more.
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 LIFE AT GRAHAMSTOWN. 
 
 WE must resume our history of Father Law some 
 eight months after his departure from England, since, 
 unfortunately for his biographer, the letters he wrote 
 in the interval, giving an account of the voyage out to 
 the Cape, of his fellow-passengers, of the hearty recep- 
 tion the Bishop met with, have been lost. Almost all, 
 too, of those which the members of his family received 
 from him during the four years of his residence at 
 St. Aidan's College have shared the same fate. Thus we 
 are almost exclusively dependent upon the reminiscences 
 of those who knew him at Grahamstown 1 for details of 
 his life whilst there. 
 
 His first impressions of the new countr)- seem to 
 have been favourable, at any rate as far as externals 
 are concerned. With the climate he was much pleased ; 
 he said it was the finest he had ever known. After 
 he had been there a few weeks he felt that he was 
 getting stronger. But with regard to his work dis- 
 appointment awaited him. The labours of an apostle 
 and evangelist were those wherein his soul delighted. 
 Life in the College was of too uniform a nature, and 
 the scope afforded for his activity too limited to suit 
 either his inclinations or his health. Besides, he felt 
 himself to be comparatively useless. On arriving he 
 
 1 Grahamstown is one of the principal towns of the Cape Colony. It 
 has a population of over twenty thousand, and is about three hundred and 
 eighty miles west of Capetown.
 
 LIFE AT GRAHAMSTOWN. 175 
 
 found that there were no pupils actually ready to learn 
 philosophy and theology, to teach which he had been 
 sent out, and only two in prospect. So he had to help 
 in the ordinary school work, and this soon proved too 
 much for him. He tried first one class, then another, 
 hoping to find one which was not beyond his powers. 
 But the exertion was much the same in all, he was 
 obliged to give it up and confine himself to teaching 
 three little boys, who . required individual instruction 
 for a time. Later on the two theological students who 
 were preparing for the priesthood were placed under 
 his charge, and he also filled the post of Spiritual 
 Father to the boys. In this capacity he was a tender 
 and loving guide, and most judicious also, for he under- 
 stood boys well, and could enter into their difficulties 
 and temptations. He spared no pains to ground them 
 well in Christian doctrine, and make religious instruc- 
 tion interesting to them. His lectures on the Catechism 
 were most carefully prepared beforehand, and enriched 
 with illustrations and anecdotes which he had collected 
 from the Bible, the lives of saints, and other sources, 
 for the purpose of elucidating the various points and 
 impressing them on the memory. He used to say it 
 was a great mistake to think that little or no previous 
 preparation was necessary for catechetical instruction. 
 He considered just as much to be needed as for a 
 sermon to adults, since the work of the catechist did 
 not yield in importance to that of the preacher. Of 
 the two it was even more important, for the doctrines 
 and commands of the Church once deeply impressed 
 on the receptive mind of the young would never be 
 forgotten, and in after-life be a guide to the obedient 
 or a monitor to the erring. Thus it was that his 
 instructions were eagerly listened to, and what has
 
 176 LIFE AT GRAHAMSTOWN. 
 
 often been regarded as a tedious half-hour by boys r 
 was looked forward to with interest and pleasure. 
 
 Out of school hours, too, his watchful eye was 
 always over the boys, and he embraced every oppor- 
 tunity of teaching them to overcome themselves, and 
 practise acts of virtue. At one time he suggested that 
 whenever one of them felt himself tempted to yield to 
 passion, or to carry out his own will at all costs, he 
 should make a sacrifice of his own inclinations to our 
 Blessed Lady and offer it up as a fragrant rose on her 
 altar. Thus it became no uncommon thing when some 
 dispute arose amongst the boys, and an open quarrel 
 seemed imminent, to hear the cry: "A rose for Father 
 Law! a rose for our Lady !" and in a few moments the 
 disturbance was quelled and all strife was at an end. 
 
 In dealing with some of the pupils no small measure 
 of patience and forbearance was needed, for many of 
 them were imperfectly instructed, or had been subjected 
 to bad influences. Three of the boys especially gave 
 Father Law a great deal of trouble. The}- were 
 brothers, and in the absence of any Catholic boarding- 
 school, before St. Aidan's was opened, they had been 
 placed by their parents in an Anglican school, with the 
 proviso that no attempt should be made to turn them 
 from their faith. But far from this condition being 
 observed by the authorities, the boys were compelled 
 to attend sermons and instructions in which the Catholic 
 Church was defamed and vilified, and the usual Pro- 
 testant arguments urged against her teaching. The 
 boys who were very young, and owing to the negligence 
 of their parents, Catholics in little more than name, 
 drank in all these untruths, and abandoned every 
 endeavour to practise the religion in which they had 
 been brought up. \Yhen their father removed them
 
 LIFE AT GRAPIAMSTOWN. 177 
 
 from the Protestant College and placed them at 
 St. Aidan's, they at first proved very rebellious, refusing 
 to make the sign of the Cross, or to attend Mass with 
 their fellow-pupils. Moreover, they persisted in repeat- 
 ing the slanders and accusations they had heard against 
 priests, and even ventured to speak with contempt of 
 the Vicar of Jesus Christ. The Rector of the College, 
 fearful lest these unruly subjects might spread insub- 
 ordination amongst his flock, or even lessen the loyal 
 devotion of their companions to the Church, and 
 diminish their respect for their teachers, at last wrote 
 to request their father to remove them from St. Aidan's. 
 Meanwhile Father Law determined to take them in 
 hand, and try what he could do to reform them. 
 He began his mission by contriving, whenever he went 
 for a walk, to choose the eldest of the brothers as his 
 companion, and laying himself out to make an impres- 
 sion on him. With many an amusing tale of life on 
 board ship, of adventure in distant climes did he beguile 
 the way, until the boy forgot his prejudices, and asked 
 nothing better than the society of so entertaining a 
 talker. Flattered by the attention shown him by one 
 who was in the position of a master, and finding 
 himself on that account an object of envy to his school- 
 fellows, he readily yielded to Father Law's influence, 
 and gave him his entire confidence. It was then no 
 difficult task to win him back to the faith. Judicious 
 kindness, coupled with the example of their elder 
 brother, accomplished as much with the two younger 
 boys, who from the outset had shown themselves far 
 less stubborn and aggressive than the eldest, and thus 
 Father Law's triumph was complete. No more was 
 said about expelling the boys ; of their own accord they 
 expressed the wish to go to confession and receive 
 M
 
 I 7 8 LIFE AT GRAHAMSTOWN. 
 
 Holy Communion. This they did in the happiest 
 dispositions, the younger ones in their fervour asking 
 permission to remain in chapel for a second Mass in 
 thanksgiving. Many a hearty Deo gyatias arose from 
 Father Law's heart on the day that witnessed the 
 return of these poor children to the fold whence they 
 had been seduced by the craft of the tempter. 
 
 The following letter, addressed to a little nephew of 
 eleven years of age who had just begun his school life, 
 was written by Father Law shortly before he started 
 for the Zambesi Mission. It is very characteristic of 
 him, and may fitly be introduced here in connection 
 with the subject of which we have been speaking, his 
 tact in the management of boys. 
 
 Thank you for your long letter which I received 
 some time ago. I suppose I was very busy at the 
 time, and afterwards forgot to answer it. 
 
 I am so glad that you want to be a priest and a 
 Jesuit. And you must begin at once to train yourself 
 for it. Your best way will be to be very fond of your 
 prayers. For if you grow up to be a lover of prayer, 
 you are sure to make a good priest and Jesuit. Look 
 forward to your morning and evening prayers, and to 
 Mass and to Communion as to a feast. And before you 
 begin your prayers always think for the space of an 
 Our Father what )'ou are going to do, and in Whose 
 presence you are going to be whilst you are praying. 
 
 I hope you will pray for me, as the Mission we are 
 going on will have difficulties and the devil will not be 
 pleased at his kingdom being interfered with. 
 
 Give my love to all your brothers and sisters. 
 Your most affectionate uncle, 
 
 A. LAW, S.J.
 
 LIFE AT GRAHAMSTOWN. 179 
 
 In consequence of his being incapacitated by the 
 weakness of his chest from undertaking regular teach- 
 ing in the College, Father Law had leisure for work 
 of a more strictly ministerial nature. His assistance 
 was not required in the parish, for it was in the charge 
 of two able priests, but his services were greatly in 
 request for retreats and missions in towns more or 
 less distant from Grahamstown. It was while he was 
 giving a retreat at Capetown, about a year after he 
 landed in Africa, that an unexpected pleasure presented 
 itself, in the arrival at the Cape of his brother, Colonel 
 Frank Law, who had been appointed to the command 
 of the Royal Artillery at the commencement of the 
 Kafir War. The two brothers had seen each other 
 but rarely and for a short time since the days when 
 they were at school together, but their mutual affection 
 had remained unchanged. This brief period of inter- 
 course was very welcome to both ; many happy 
 memories of bygone days were revived, many a half- 
 forgotten incident was called to mind, many a con- 
 fidence exchanged between them while they sat and 
 smoked together, or walked out during the intervals 
 when Augustus' duties left him free. Colonel Law 
 was hospitably entertained by the Bishop and clergy, 
 and Augustus had the opportunity of making friends 
 with the officers of his brother's regiment, with some 
 of whom he was not altogether unacquainted. Before 
 they parted, the soldier proceeding to the seat of war, 
 the priest returning to the scene of his labours, Augustus 
 did not fail to do his utmost to strengthen his brother's 
 faith, and to urge him to more assiduity in the per- 
 formance of his religious duties. This was their last 
 meeting on earth. 
 
 At the time of which we are speaking, the roads
 
 i8o LIFE AT GRAHAMSTOWN. 
 
 about Grahamstown were very rough and unfinished ; 
 the only means of transit from one town to another 
 was the mail-cart, which was drawn by four horses. 
 Father Law often travelled in it when going backwards 
 and forwards to Port Elizabeth 1 and other towns to 
 give missions and retreats. These carts were driven 
 by colonial-born men ; one of the drivers, a fine, sturdy 
 fellow, caught cold ; and the cold being neglected, rapid 
 consumption set in. He was taken to the hospital, and 
 feeling his end drawing near, he requested one of the 
 Sisters to send for Father Law, as he desired to die a 
 Catholic. On being asked his reason, he replied that 
 he had often driven Father Law to and from Port 
 Elizabeth, and he had been so much impressed by his 
 holiness and by several conversations which he had 
 with him on the subject of religion, that he wanted to 
 see him again, and be received into the Church before 
 he died. Father Law baptized the man, administered 
 the sacraments to him, and had the satisfaction of 
 knowing that he made a pious and edifying end. 
 Shortly after his wife with her two children became 
 Catholics. Nor was this the only instance in which 
 the seed Father Law cast upon the wayside was known 
 to spring up and bear fruit. Another case, somewhat 
 similar to the one just related, occurred after he had 
 left Grahamstown. A half-caste man, also a mail-cart 
 driver, who had led a very irregular life, fell ill ; on the 
 approach of death he asked to see a priest, saying that 
 through the conversations he had had with Father Law 
 he was thoroughly convinced of the truth of the Catholic 
 religion, and was desirous of confessing his sins and 
 making his peace with God in the appointed way before 
 his departure from this world. 
 
 1 Port Elizabeth is seventy-five miles distant from Grahamstown.
 
 LIFE AT GRAHAMSTOWN. 181 
 
 As in Scotland and in Demerara, so in Africa Father 
 Law was ever in quest of sinners to be reclaimed, 
 heretics to be converted. In one of his rambles he 
 accidentally met with an old man, infirm and ill, in a 
 state of great destitution, sitting helplessly by an empty 
 hearth. The hovel in which he was living was too far 
 distant from Grahamstown to admit of frequent visits 
 on foot, so Father Law borrowed a horse, and every 
 day, even sometimes twice a day, he might be seen on 
 his way thither, carrying with him a little nourishing 
 soup that he had procured, or some food that he had 
 saved from his own meals to tempt the sick man's 
 appetite. Whilst ministering thus attentively to his 
 corporal wants, he inquired into the old man's spiritual 
 state. Alas! he had no religion, and did not feel the 
 need of any ; his past life presented a sad record of sin 
 and crime. Perceiving that he had not much longer 
 to live, Father Law exerted himself to the utmost 
 to rouse him from his apathy, and awaken him to a 
 sense of his danger. His persevering efforts were not 
 in vain ; the old man consented to be baptized ; he 
 listened attentively to the instructions Father Law 
 gave him, he was prepared for death, and departed this 
 life in contrite and peaceful dispositions. 
 
 Although in general Father Law's labours for the 
 salvation of souls were eminently successful, it must not 
 be supposed that failure and disappointment never fell 
 to his lot. Had it been so, his experience would have 
 differed from that of every other priest who works in the 
 vineyard of the Lord. During one of his walks he had 
 occasion to address a few questions to a man whom 
 he discovered to be a German Catholic living with a 
 Hottentot woman in the outskirts of the town. He 
 visited the house, and found there a coloured woman
 
 182 LIFE AT GRAHAMSTOIVN. 
 
 who could not speak a word of English, surrounded by a 
 crowd of half-caste, unbaptized children, growing up like 
 heathens. He baptized the children, and persuaded 
 the man to be married to the woman, but he could do 
 no more. The father could not be prevailed upon to 
 return to the practice of his religion ; nor, so degraded 
 had he become through constant contact with the 
 coloured races, could he be induced to take steps for 
 the proper education of his numerous and neglected 
 offspring. 
 
 It was not alone among the poorer classes that 
 Father Law's influence for good made itself felt. Many 
 of the residents in Grahamstown were much attached 
 to him, and found his ever-ready sympathy and counsel 
 their greatest help in times of trial. He was so cheerful 
 and encouraging that his very presence seemed to dispel 
 gloom and despondency, and lead one to take a brighter 
 and more hopeful view of things. One lady in parti- 
 cular, who was married to a Protestant, and had 
 encountered many difficulties and troubles, speaks of 
 him with the warmest gratitude. " He never came to 
 see me," she writes, " without saying a word or two to 
 help me on, and make my burden lighter. Although 
 his attempts to reclaim from his evil ways one who 
 caused me much trouble and anxiety were unavailing, 
 his patient efforts were the means of saving the soul of 
 my father, an old military man who had spent the 
 greater part of his life in India, and for thirty years 
 had utterly neglected religion. He was an object of 
 great solicitude to Father Law ; many an hour he 
 spent chatting with him, watching for the opportune 
 moment when he might turn his thoughts to spiritual 
 things, and draw his soul to God. Shortly before he 
 started on the Zambesi Mission, he said to me : ' The
 
 LIFE AT GRAHAMSTOWN. 183 
 
 old Major is breaking up fast ; these old men who have 
 roughed it in India often die very suddenly. I must 
 not go away before I get him to his duties.' His earnest 
 persuasions and entreaties had not, however, the desired 
 effect ; my father grew irritable when pressed, saying 
 he would approach the sacraments, but must have 
 time. When Father Law was obliged to leave, his 
 last thought and prayer was for the old Major, that his. 
 heart might be touched by grace. Nor was this prayer 
 fruitless. Soon after his departure my father of his 
 own accord made a full confession of his whole life, 
 and received the sacraments with contrition and fervour, 
 to the great joy of myself and my children. A few days 
 later he had a stroke of apoplexy; after a few weeks, 
 during a considerable portion of which he was insen- 
 sible, he died, fortified with the last rites of the Church, 
 and blessing Father Law for having induced him to 
 make his peace with God ere it was too late." 
 
 Father Law's unbounded joy at rescuing a sinner was 
 sometimes almost amusing to witness. His countenance 
 literally beamed with happiness and delight. On one 
 occasion he was sitting on the hill-side near St. Aidan's, 
 amid a group of students, with whom he was having 
 a debate on some question of theology, when a man 
 came up and asked whether they could tell him 
 where to find Father Law. " I am Father Law," he 
 answered, springing to his feet with alacrity. The man 
 appeared somewhat taken by surprise, but recovering 
 himself, he led Father Law aside, and told him that he 
 was a Catholic, and for many years had not approached 
 the sacraments. Now his conscience left him no rest, 
 and he was resolved to lay down his burden of guilt 
 and misery. Father Law's face was radiant with 
 delight ; he grasped the penitent by the hand and led
 
 184 LIFE AT GRAHAMSTOWN. 
 
 him to the confessional. In the space of about half an 
 hour he returned, overcome with emotion, yet full of joy. 
 
 The ways of God towards sinners in the Sacrament 
 of Penance was a subject on which he delighted to 
 dwell. He frequently made it the topic of his discourses 
 when addressing the young students at the College. 
 " When we see," he would say, " how sweetly and 
 kindly God deals with the sinner, it should teach us 
 never to condemn any one even in our thoughts. We 
 may condemn others for faults which our Lord has 
 long ago forgiven and forgotten. Even those who have 
 wearied themselves in the way of iniquity He is ready 
 to forgive at the first acknowledgment of their guilt. 
 No one hated sin like Jesus Christ, and no one dealt 
 more lovingly with the sinner. I always feel this when 
 meditating on the stor)' of the woman taken in adultery. 
 ' Bowing Himself down, He wrote with His finger on 
 the ground.' Mark His Divine consideration for the 
 sinner. He bows down that He may appear not to see 
 her, and thus spare her shame. And what does He 
 write upon the ground ? Her sins, that they may be 
 obliterated, and no trace of them may remain. ' Go, 
 and sin no more.' " 
 
 It might be imagined that so zealous a seeker of 
 souls would be regarded with no good-will by the 
 Protestant ministers of the town. This, however, was 
 far from being the case. He was on most friendly 
 terms with them. One, the Rev. Mr. Packman, spoke 
 of him after his death with affectionate gratitude, saying 
 he should never forget the kindness he received from 
 him when laid up with fever. Father Law used to 
 visit him, sit up with him at night, and show him 
 every attention. 
 
 During the last two years of his residence at
 
 LIFE AT GRAHAMSTOWN. 185 
 
 Grahamstown, Father Law acted as confessor to the 
 Convent of Our Lady of Good Hope. He was much 
 beloved there, not only as a valued spiritual guide, but 
 on account of his many acts of thoughtful kindness 
 towards the Sisters and the children under their charge, 
 and the practical help he was always ready to afford 
 them. Almost every day he would run in to see how 
 they were getting on in the school. On one occasion, 
 seeing a young Sister poring over some maps with 
 a very puzzled expression of countenance, he asked her 
 if she were in any difficulty ? She replied, yes ; that in 
 teaching Scripture history to the children she found it 
 impossible to point out the places mentioned, as on no 
 map that they had were they marked. Father Law 
 only smiled, but in a few days he brought her a large 
 map of Palestine which he had drawn and coloured 
 himself, with all the principal towns and districts 
 marked in large letters, suitable for a class of children. 
 This emboldened the Sister to ask for a map of Greece 
 on the same scale ; her request was most willingly 
 granted, and the two maps still decorate the walls of 
 one of the class-rooms of the school. The Sisters also 
 possess many memorials of Father Law in the form of 
 verses composed for various festivals and special occa- 
 sions. His readiness to write these verses procured for 
 him the playful title of "our Poet Laureate." Other 
 carefully preserved treasures are notes of Father Law's 
 retreats. Whenever he gave a retreat to a religious 
 community, he made it his aim to produce some per- 
 manent fruit. For this end he would write out instruc- 
 tions for the guidance of each individual Sister. These 
 he called "schemes." There was a " scheme " for the 
 reciting of the Divine Office; a "scheme" for the 
 particular examen, a " scheme " for the meditation, and
 
 1 86 LIFE AT GRAHAMSTOWN. 
 
 so on. It will readily be conceived that he was long 
 and lovingly remembered at the convent after he had 
 left Grahamstown. 
 
 An extract from a letter written by a lady who 
 was brought into close contact with Father Law 
 during his residence at Grahamstown, and with whom 
 he kept up a correspondence for some months after 
 he started on his last fatal journey, will afford us 
 a clear and interesting view of his energetic and 
 unselfish character. It was addressed to Mr. Law, to 
 whom the writer was a complete stranger, soon after 
 his son's death, and contains many warm expressions 
 of affection and veneration for him, as well as of 
 profound grief at his loss. Father Law had been 
 instrumental in the conversion of this lady, who had 
 been born in Basutoland, being the daughter of a 
 French Protestant missionary. He also received her 
 children into the Church. Her husband, a Government 
 employe, was, owing to his professional duties calling 
 him to a distance, soon removed from Father Law's 
 influence ; yet he too eventually became a Catholic, 
 under circumstances which left little room for doubt 
 that it was to the prayers of the zealous missioner that 
 his obedience to the promptings of grace was due. 
 
 I had three Kafir girls in my service whom Father 
 Law, always on the outlook for souls to be won for 
 God, instructed and received into the Church. He 
 had already endeared himself to them by the cheerful, 
 kindly notice he took of them ; hardly ever did he come 
 to my house and he was a frequent visitor there 
 without going into the kitchen to say a word to his 
 children, as he called them. The circumstances con- 
 nected with the baptism of one of these servants,.
 
 LIFE AT GRAHAMSTOWN. 187 
 
 Betsey by name, have impressed themselves deeply on 
 my memory, and they may perhaps interest you, as 
 being highly characteristic of your dear son. 
 
 The day fixed for Betsey to be baptized was one 
 which was a little family festival with us, and it had 
 been arranged that the school-children should come 
 to my house that afternoon to give a simple kind of 
 musical entertainment, which they dignified by the 
 name of a " concert." At this concert Father Law 
 had promised to be present, but he did not put in an 
 appearance until it was almost over. Then he only 
 came to the door seemingly much agitated, and asked 
 for the Superior of the school, who had come with the 
 children. When she returned from speaking to him, 
 she whispered to me, " Father Law begs you will 
 excuse him, he is not able to come." Although she 
 said no more at the time, I perceived from her altered 
 countenance that something disastrous had happened. 
 Afterwards she told me that one of the boys belonging 
 to St. Aidan's had been drowned, whilst bathing in 
 a pond situated in a thickly-wooded valley near the 
 College. Father Law had desired her not to say a 
 word of this before the entertainment was over, for fear 
 of spoiling the children's pleasure. On hearing of the 
 accident he had hastened to the spot, and had been 
 a long time in the water endeavouring to recover the 
 body. Finding himself unable to do so, he had returned 
 in order to obtain assistance. Notwithstanding his 
 anxiety and grief, he had not forgotten our little 
 entertainment, and had been so thoughtful as to come 
 round to explain his non-appearance. 
 
 I had made an appointment with him that afternoon 
 to go to the College with Betsey, who was to make her' 
 confession and be baptized, but on hearing the sad
 
 1 88 LIFE AT GRAHAMSTOWN. 
 
 intelligence, I hesitated whether to go, as I thought 
 Father Law would probably be otherwise engaged. 
 Finally, however, I decided to take the girl to the 
 chapel, in case he might be there. Just as we reached 
 the College, one of the other Fathers came up on 
 horseback, and told me that Father Law had at last 
 succeeded in recovering the body, and was bringing it 
 home. We went into the chapel to pray for the poor 
 boy who had thus suddenly been taken from our midst, 
 and presently Father Law came to us, pale and cold 
 and wet. He had not even waited to change his clothes, 
 and the water was still dripping from his hair. He 
 would not hear of our going away, but asked us to wait 
 a little while, as the boys were coming into the chapel 
 to say the Rosary. I listened to his voice as in clear, 
 calm tones He recited the prayers, and wondered that 
 he could so far control his emotion, the more so as the 
 responses were broken by the sobs of the boys, who 
 were overcome with grief at the death of their comrade. 
 When the Rosary was ended, he said a few words to 
 them, and dismissed them. Then he called me to 
 make my confession, as it was my usual day. I wished 
 to postpone it to another occasion, but he would not 
 allow me to do so. Afterwards he summoned Betsey, 
 and when he had heard her confession, he baptized 
 her. He was perfectly collected, but he looked very 
 ill, and his hands were so cold that he let fall the glass 
 basin that contained the water. In his joy at witness- 
 ing the new birth of a soul to the life of grace, he 
 seemed to forget all else ; laying his hand on the girl's 
 shoulder, he said smilingly, " Now you are a true 
 Christian, a real Catholic, just as real a one as the 
 Pope himself!" Turning to me, he added, "Now 
 mind, she is your sister in Jesus Christ."
 
 LIFE AT GRAHAMSTOWN. 189 
 
 This poor girl had before she entered my service, 
 been led astray by an unprincipled man. Of this fact 
 I was not aware when I engaged her. Father Law, 
 with her consent, told me her secret ; he did so most 
 tenderly, begging me to make no change in my treat- 
 ment of her in consequence of her fault, but to be very 
 kind and loving towards her. He also sought out the 
 man, and persuaded him to marry her, he himself 
 performing the ceremony in the Cathedral. Very 
 probably the man would have been converted had 
 Father Law not left Grahamstown ; as it was he took 
 to bad ways and deserted his wife, and presently dis- 
 appeared altogether. The girl was compelled to go to 
 service again ; she has remained true to her religion, 
 and cherishes the memory of Father Law with much 
 affectionate remembrance. I wish I could tell you 
 how much he was loved and respected here, and what 
 a void his departure caused amongst us. The poor 
 especially miss him. Many who were beyond the 
 reach of ordinary parish care he constantly visited, 
 cheered, and helped, and many who might never have 
 repented in their lives were brought back to God 
 through him, and now live to bless his memory. 
 Whenever we found a bad Catholic our first thought 
 was to get Father Law to visit him ; he always went 
 at once, and never failed to leave some blessing behind 
 from his holy words and influence. He sought out 
 good souls amongst the poor coloured people, and made 
 them fervent and devout Catholics. I have no doubt 
 that had he stayed longer in Grahamstown, he would 
 have made many converts amongst the Kafirs ; they 
 were attracted by his pleasant genial manner, and the 
 simple, plain way in which he placed before them the 
 great truths of Christianity. One day when talking
 
 igo LIFE AT GRAHAMSTOWN. 
 
 to me about his intention of learning Zulu, and the 
 difficulty of finding any intelligent person who could 
 teach it to him properly, he said, " Well, I shall not 
 require as many words as most men, very few will do 
 for me, and those short and simple ones. I shall never 
 want to call a house a residence or a habitation." 
 Then he laughed heartily. His teacher was an old 
 man of no education, most incapable, but possessed 
 of an excellent opinion of himself. Father Law liked 
 to call him by his unwieldy native name, Umtakababa 
 (son of my father), whereas he was commonly known 
 amongst our people under the familiar appellation 
 "Jim." The patronizing manner that this old man 
 assumed towards his pupil amused the latter immensely. 
 One day he asked him what was the word for priest. 
 " Umfundisi" (teacher), he replied, adding with an absurd 
 affectation of dignity, " You are Umfundisi, I also am 
 Umfundisi." When Father Lav/ was appointed to the 
 Zambesi Mission, he wanted Jim to go with him ; but 
 the old man, elated by his promotion to the post of 
 Professor of Zulu, refused to go unless a salary of 8 
 a month was promised to him. This demand was 
 exorbitant, and could not be acceded to, so Jim was 
 left behind. He informed his friends that he was 
 extremely sorry Father Law should be deprived of his 
 assistance, yet he could not be spared to accompany 
 him, as the Bishop wished him to remain in Grahams- 
 town to take care of the Sisters at the convent. 
 
 I cannot close this letter without mentioning our 
 beloved Father Law's wonderful humility. This was, 
 I think, the most prominent trait in his character. He 
 used frequently to say to me, " My child, do not be 
 satisfied until you love to be humbled ! " This precept 
 was certainly carried out most fully in his own practice.
 
 LIFE AT GRAHAMSTOWN. 191 
 
 He did not simply bear insults with patience, he courted 
 them and rejoiced in them. In all his letters to me 
 there breathes this same spirit of genuine, heartfelt 
 humility. He spoke of himself in the lowliest terms ; 
 I have even heard him call himself, in accents of sorrow 
 and shame, " a disgrace to the priesthood." 
 
 The incidents related above testify better than any 
 mere words could do, how just is the character for 
 earnest, unaffected piety, self-sacrificing zeal and tender 
 consideration for others which we have described as 
 distinguishing him throughout his career as a Jesuit. 
 " As he applied himself in Demerara to the study of the 
 Chinese language, that he might be able to instruct 
 the coolies, so largely employed in that colony, so in 
 his post at Grahamstown, the same true missionary 
 spirit incited him to begin to learn the Zulu tongue, 
 in order that he might teach the Kafirs, even before he 
 heard that he was chosen to form part of the little band 
 who were to start for the Zambesi about Easter, 1879. 
 
 We now stand on the threshold of the final stage 
 in Father Law's career. It is the shortest, if we reckon 
 by time ; the longest, if it is regarded in the light of 
 eternity. The interest of his whole life centres in the 
 history of a few eventful months, and they cast a halo 
 of glory and grandeur over the years of which we have 
 already traced the course.
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE ZAMBESI MISSION. 
 
 BEFORE entering upon the last and most important 
 stage of Father Law's career, it will be well briefly to 
 relate the circumstances under which the enterprise 
 whereof he was one of the earliest pioneers and the 
 first martyr, was planned and prepared. 
 
 In 1875, Bishop Ricards, the Vicar-Apostolic of the 
 Eastern District of the Cape Colony, went to Rome, 
 in order to lay before the Holy See the spiritual needs 
 of South Central Africa. During his sojourn there, he 
 proposed that a Jesuit College should be erected at 
 Grahamstown for the purpose of training young men 
 for the work of evangelization. This offer was accepted 
 with gladness by the General of the Society ; for it was 
 seen that such a foundation might lead to very great 
 results at no distant date. It would serve as a basis 
 for missionary operations in the interior of Southern 
 Africa beyond the English colonies. The hour long 
 prepared in the secret counsels of God for the conquest 
 of the Gospel in the southern portion of the vast 
 continent seemed at length to have dawned. 
 
 The College of St. Aidan was opened in 1876, 
 and in the following year the arrangements for the 
 mission to the Zambesi began to take definite shape. 
 Not until the very end of the year did it receive the 
 formal sanction of Cardinal Franchi, the Prefect of the
 
 COMMENCEMENT OF THE ZAMBESI MISSION. 193 
 
 Propaganda, at the time when Mr. Stanley was engaged 
 in his adventurous passage of the Congo. The territory 
 assigned to the Society of Jesus extends from the 
 Limpopo, or Crocodile River, the northern boundary 
 of the Transvaal, to the tenth degree of south latitude, 
 and from the Portuguese possessions on the east coast 
 to the twenty-second meridian of east longitude. It 
 embraces the enormous area of nine hundred thousand 
 English square miles, and includes the powerful 
 kingdom of the Zambesi, as well as four hundred 
 miles of unexplored country to the north of that 
 river, the lands of the fierce Zulu tribes, the Matabele 
 and the Abagasi, Lake Nyassa, the great Kalahari 
 desert, the semi-civilized kingdom of the Khame, and 
 the lands of other scattered tribes. 1 
 
 The General of the Jesuits confided the charge of 
 this Mission to Father Weld, of the English Province ; 
 he chose for the organizer and Superior of the expe- 
 dition Father Depelchin, a Belgian, who had passed 
 eighteen years in the Indian Mission. It was proposed 
 to establish the head-quarters of the Mission in the 
 neighbourhood of the Victoria Falls on the Zambesi 
 River. This spot could be reached by three different 
 routes. The most obvious of these was to follow the 
 course of the great river itself from its mouth upwards 
 through Portuguese territory to the interior. Another, 
 starting from Zanzibar, led in a south-easterly direction 
 by Lake Nyassa, through a country desolated by the 
 slave-trade, and a third and longer one, from Grahams- 
 town through Kimberley and the Transvaal. Of the 
 
 1 Since the treaty with Lo Bengula, in 1891, the whole of the vast 
 territory assigned by the Propaganda to the missioners of the Society of 
 Jesi^ lias passed under the British flag, and is subject to the rule of the 
 British South African Company. 
 
 N
 
 194 COMMENCEMENT OF THE ZAMBESI MISSION, 
 
 latter route, which lay through British territory, choice 
 was made, since its greater length is compensated for 
 by preponderating advantages. In the first place, the 
 road passes through a healthy country, exempt from 
 the swamp-fevers of the coast. Secondly, its freedom 
 from the terrible tsetse-fly admits of the use of 
 ox-wagons, thus rendering comparatively easy the 
 chief difficulty of African travel, that of transport. 
 Thirdly, it offers facilities for keeping up communi- 
 cation with the towns, by establishing intermediate 
 stations among friendly tribes, which the state of the 
 country in other directions renders impossible. Com- 
 mercial enterprise has since opened up the regions of 
 South Central Africa, and the country beyond the 
 Zambesi is no longer a trackless desert. At the time 
 that our missionaries started on their expedition, the 
 votaries of trade had unconsciously prepared a highway 
 for the Gospel, for the route they were about to follow 
 was the one already marked out by the footsteps of the 
 trader. 
 
 It will be understood that for the expenses of an 
 expedition on so large a scale a considerable sum was 
 requisite. The question of raising funds was the next 
 to be considered. The Society for the Propagation 
 of the Faith in Lyons contributed liberally towards 
 providing the means of conveyance for the mission- 
 aries ; for the remainder the}' were dependent on the 
 charity of the faithful. Father Depelchin devoted a 
 whole year to collecting money ; he and two of the 
 Fathers he had chosen to accompany him on the 
 Mission visited all the principal towns of Germany, 
 Holland, and Belgium in quest of alms. The appeal 
 was generously responded to, and much interest was 
 awakened in the projected enterprise.
 
 COMMENCEMENT OF THE ZAMBESI MISSION. 195 
 
 On January 3, 1879, Father Depelchin and nine 
 companions (Fathers Terorde, Blanca, Croonenberghs, 
 and Fuchs, Brothers Nigg, Paravicini, Hedley, de 
 Vylder, and de Sadeleer) sailed from England. Their 
 voyage was signalized by an interesting occurrence. 
 The vessel met with an accident to her machinery, 
 which compelled her to make for Ascension. There 
 were on the island fourteen Catholics, who had not 
 seen a priest for nine years, and there Father Fuchs 
 was able to receive into the Church an English 
 Protestant, formerly a Freemason, who, having been 
 converted by his Catholic wife, had been waiting for 
 three years to make his abjuration. During the ten 
 days of the Fathers' compulsory sojourn there, a 
 man-of-war came into the harbour for coaling ; and 
 on Sunday Father Fuchs, hearing that there were 
 Catholics among the soldiers on board, obtained per- 
 mission from the Commander for them to go ashore to 
 .hear Mass in the little chapel of the hospital. 
 
 On the 1 3th of March the niissioners reached 
 'Grahamstown. The outbreak of hostilities in Zulu- 
 land, and the recent disaster the British forces had met 
 with in the war with Cetewayo, seemed to menace the 
 safety of the routes into the interior. It was therefore 
 deemed advisable to postpone the journey for a short 
 time, until the English flag should have recovered its 
 prestige. The delay was but a brief one, and it proved 
 of service to the missioners, since 'it gave time to 
 complete their preparations, and afforded them an 
 opportunity to acquire some knowledge of the 
 languages of the tribes with whom they would have 
 intercourse. Their departure was fixed for the i6th 
 of April. 
 
 It has already been mentioned that Father Law
 
 1 96 COMMENCEMENT OF THE ZAMBESI MISSION. 
 
 was appointed to the Mission of the Zambesi. 
 Missionary work had ever been the chief object of his 
 desires, and he counted it as the greatest privilege to 
 have been chosen for it. One of the Fathers at 
 St. Aidan's said, " New life seemed to have been given 
 him when he received the tidings of his appointment." 
 In view of this he had, for the last two years, as has 
 been said, been studying the Zulu language, and was 
 now able to constitute himself the teacher of his 
 colleagues. They all began to learn Zulu, with the 
 exception of Father Terorde, who applied himself to 
 the study of the Betchuana dialect, as he was destined 
 to labour amongst that tribe. With the assistance of 
 an intelligent young native he succeeded in translating 
 Deharbe's short catechism into that language. Father 
 Law had alread3 7 compiled a vocabulary of the Zulu 
 tongue, and had commenced writing a short manual 
 containing the rudiments of Christian doctrine. Zulu 
 has no affinity w r ith any European language. Like the 
 other Kafir tongues, it is only spoken, not written, and 
 like them, is governed by clear and precise rules which 
 greatly facilitate its acquisition. He had besides been 
 diligently practising the flageolet and concertina, in the 
 hope that music, which we are told " hath charms to 
 soothe the savage breast," might attract the natives, 
 and lead them to assemble for religious instruction. A 
 zealous convert of Grahamstown, who was much 
 attached to Father Law, had also painted a large 
 picture of the Crucifixion, introducing a group of 
 Zulus kneeling in reverent devotion at the foot of 
 the Cross. This painting, in which by a pardonable 
 historical inaccuracy a spiritual truth was conveyed, 
 was to be rolled up and taken with the missioners, to 
 be displayed on suitable occasions. Thus art was made
 
 COMMENCEMENT OF THE ZAMBESI MISSION. 197 
 
 to play her part as the handmaid of religion ; and the 
 sign of our redemption was to prove, as it has done in 
 all countries and at all times, the book of the unlearned, 
 the book which was to teach them the lesson necessary 
 for their eternal salvation. 
 
 By Easter every preparation for the journey was 
 completed. Easter Tuesday, April iGth, the eve of the 
 departure of the expedition, was kept as a solemn 
 festival by all the inhabitants of Graham st own. 
 Father Depelchin sang High Mass in the Cathedral, 
 coram episcopo, to ask the blessing of God on the Mission, 
 the six Fathers, with the five lay-brothers, being all 
 gathered round the altar and taking part in the 
 ceremony. The church was decorated as if for a 
 great feast, and was crowded in every part. All eyes 
 were fixed on the little band of Christian heroes, who 
 at the voice of the Vicar of Jesus Christ, had left home 
 and friends and country in the hope of evangelizing, at 
 the hazard of their own lives, the savage tribes of the 
 Zambesi. After the Gospel the Bishop, crozier in hand, 
 preached an eloquent sermon, in which he dwelt 
 especially on the spirit of charity that has ever 
 prompted the missioners of the Catholic Church to 
 sacrifice themselves for the salvation of souls. It was 
 this same patient charity, this spirit of self-sacrifice, 
 that nerved the band of missioners now about to start 
 for the region of the Upper Zambesi, to make a settle- 
 ment, if possible, perhaps in the midst of enemies, at 
 any rate among beings suspicious, crafty, treacherous, 
 incapable of appreciating the motives of unselfish devo- 
 tion, ready in obedience to the first irrational impulse 
 to persecute or massacre their benefactors. 
 
 After the Mass, Father Depelchin, kneeling at the 
 foot of the altar, recited the prayers of the Itineraritcm,
 
 ig8 COMMENCEMENT OF THE ZAMBESI MISSION. 
 
 the same that were to be said daily by the missioners- 
 before proceeding on their journey. The Bishop and 
 all in the sanctuary responded, and the ceremony ended 
 with the Laudate Dominum omnes gentes, which was sung 
 with great fervour and enthusiasm. On the clergy 
 leaving the sanctuary a banner of the Sacred Heart, 
 the gift of some ladies of Bruges, blessed and indul- 
 genced by the Holy Father, was borne aloft at the 
 head of the procession. Many of the people remained 
 in the church, insisting upon receiving a last blessing 
 from the Fathers. Pressing round them, they threw 
 themselves on the ground, and wept as they kissed 
 their hands, and also their feet, remembering the 
 words : " How beautiful are the feet of them that 
 preach the Gospel of peace, of them that bring glad 
 tidings of good things." 1 The scene was a touching 
 one, recalling the farewell of St. Paul to the elders of 
 Ephesus, as Father Depelchin addressed a few words 
 to those gathered around him, thanking them for the 
 kind sympathy they had shown in the undertaking, and 
 exhorting them to pray for its success. 
 
 On the evening of the day fixed for starting, a large 
 crowd assembled in the plain stretching in front of the 
 College of St. Aidan, to witness the preparations for 
 the departure. The four wagons were already packed,, 
 and just as night cast her shadow on the scene, the 
 fifty-eight magnificent oxen which made up the four 
 teams were inspanned. To these wagons, for some of 
 them their only home for nearly twelve months to come, 
 the Superior led the Fathers and Brothers ; the Bishop 
 was awaiting them to give his blessing to the caravan 
 according to the form prescribed by the Roman ritual. 
 The prayers were read by the fitful light of a lantern 
 
 1 Romans x. 15.
 
 COMMENCEMENT OF THE ZAMBESI MISSION. 199 
 
 held by one of the Fathers, and then the last heartfelt 
 God-speed was given to this band of apostolic men, 
 who were to be the pioneers of the Gospel in the 
 remote interior. 
 
 The good Catholics of Grahamstown had rendered 
 much assistance to the missioners in their preparations 
 for the journey. In fact the reverence and sympathy 
 manifested by all the inhabitants for the Fathers 
 during their short sojourn amongst them, was almost 
 incredible. A wagon was needed to carry away all 
 the things that had been prepared at the convent by 
 the Sisters and their pupils for the Zambesi Mission ; 
 and the Sisters had taken much pains to instruct the 
 Brothers and initiate them in many little arts and 
 accomplishments likely to prove useful to them when 
 they found themselves in the interior of Africa. At 
 the hour of parting many a tear was shed, especially 
 in taking leave of Father Law, whose departure was a 
 real grief to his friends. The lady of whom mention 
 has already been made, who painted for him the picture 
 of the Crucifixion, writing shortly after the expedition 
 had started, says : " The day of his going was one of 
 great mourning, and will long be remembered here. 
 Father Law himself felt leaving very much ; how 
 indeed could he do otherwise ? Yet he never changed 
 in his bright cheerfulness to the last, thinking of each 
 one he had known, and addressing some words of 
 consolation to each. Our only comfort was to know 
 that he was called to a larger and higher sphere of 
 usefulness, and we could not help even catching some 
 of his pleasure and delight at the thought of all the 
 hardships and sacrifices before him, which he was so 
 willing, so anxious to meet for God's sake." 
 
 For the first stage of the journey, to Kimberley, the
 
 200 COMMENCEMENT OF THE ZAMBESI MISSION. 
 
 capital of the Diamond Fields, which would be reached 
 in about five weeks, Father Depelchin was not going 
 to accompany the expedition. He purposed leaving 
 Graham stown a few days later, and proceeding by 
 mail-cart to Kimberley, where he hoped to meet Sir 
 Bartle Frere, the Governor. He had known him in 
 India, and counted on obtaining from him valuable 
 information and assistance, especially recommenda- 
 tions to the chiefs of the country, which would be of 
 great service to the Mission. During his absence, 
 Father Law was to act as Superior. He had already 
 been appointed Minister, and in this capacity had 
 exhibited great skill and thoughtfulness in foreseeing 
 the wants of those for whom he was to provide. His 
 early training was of use to him here ; in fact, the post 
 of head of the caravan was no unsuitable one for the 
 whilom naval lieutenant. If the camel is the ship 
 of the desert, says the German explorer Mohr, so 
 assuredly the w r agon is the ship of South Africa. A 
 cumbrous and roomy vehicle, it serves, like a vessel 
 at sea, all the purposes of dwelling-place, conveyance, 
 and store-house. Father Law's knowledge of nautical 
 astronomy also stood him in good stead on this expedi- 
 tion, as it enabled him to take observations of latitude 
 and longitude, and to make useful charts of the country 
 passed through. But before following our travellers on 
 their long journey, we will say a few words about their 
 equipment. 
 
 The caravan was organized on the model of trading 
 expeditions to the interior. Four huge, firmly-built 
 wagons, on wheels six feet in height, had been pur- 
 chased at the cost of /"no each. They were painted 
 in brilliant colours, and placed severally under the 
 patronage of a Saint of the Society. They were to be
 
 COMMENCEMENT OF THE ZAMBESI MISSION. 201 
 
 the domicile of the missioners during the succeed- 
 ing months. Each one was to accommodate three 
 passengers, and to carry two and a half tons of weight 
 in addition, the body of the vehicle being packed with 
 stores to the height of four and a half feet, and the 
 whole covered with a canvas roof. Fifty- eight oxen 
 were also purchased at the price of 12 per head; a 
 high price, cattle being very dear at that time. A 
 conductor was engaged for the journey, who was to 
 receive 10 a month; and for every conveyance a 
 driver and a leader were hired, to be paid at the rate 
 of 303. a month. A stock of provisions for six months 
 was laid in, besides a supply of goods available for 
 barter with the natives on the way. In all, the 
 expenses of the expedition amounted to ^4,000. 
 Father Depelchin thus describes the start of the 
 missioners : 
 
 " At length they depart ; the four wagons drawn 
 each by a team of fourteen or sixteen oxen, moved 
 down in a trot into the valley, soon to ascend the slope 
 of the little hill opposite, overlooking the town, and 
 begin their journey. The wagon Claver, loaded with 
 provisions, is at the head of the caravan ; on the top 
 of the baggage are lodged Father Law, the guide, and 
 Brother Hedley (chosen probably to accompany Father 
 Law because he was the only other Englishman in the 
 company, and had also formerly been a sailor). Next 
 follows the wagon of de Britto^ with the two German 
 Fathers and Brother Nigg, who was to act as cook. 
 The third wagon is dedicated to St. Francis Xavier, 
 and under the cegis of this great apostle are sheltered 
 Father Croonenberghs and Brother de Sadeleer. Lastly, 
 the wagon of St. Ignatius, drawn by fourteen splendid 
 1 Blessed John de Britto was a Jesuit missioner, martyred in Japan.
 
 202 COMMENCEMENT OF THE ZAMBESI MISSION. 
 
 bullocks as black as ebony, brings up the rear of the 
 caravan, and wheels off in a cloud of dust Father 
 Blanca and the two remaining Brothers. 
 
 " In nomine Domini, the Mission of Zambesi is 
 started. Who is to stop it ? In five weeks' time our 
 little band of fearless missionaries is to meet me at 
 Kimberley, to enter together the territory where the 
 great fight is to begin. Gloria in excelsis Deo."
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 THE FIRST STAGE OF THE JOURNEY. 
 
 IN the course of this biography we have seen Augustus 
 Law under very different aspects and amid very different 
 surroundings. From the time when a schoolboy he stood 
 sobbing by his dying mother's side, and was told by 
 her to remember continually the ever-watchful eye of 
 God upon him, we have followed him in his voyages to 
 every quarter of the world : India, China, Australia, 
 New Zealand, South America, the islands of the 
 Pacific. We have seen him handling the ropes of a 
 ship of war, sweeping the corridors at Manresa, study- 
 ing theology at St. Beuno's, preaching at Edinburgh, 
 teaching coolies in Demerara. Everywhere and always 
 he is the same : simple, pure, courageous, unselfish. 
 We now ask the reader to accompany him on his last 
 journey, one from which there will be no return, for it 
 will lead to his eternal home. 
 
 The journal which Father Depelchin requested 
 Father Law to keep during this first portion of the 
 journey, while he acted as Superior, has unfortunately 
 been lost ; we are consequently dependent on the letters 
 of the travellers for details of their perilous and 
 adventurous life. These letters, while they mention 
 the trials and privations which belong to missionary 
 life in general, contain a great deal that is peculiar to 
 Africa : they reveal the hopes and fears of the apostolic
 
 204 THE FIRST STAGE OF THE JOURNEY. 
 
 labourers themselves, who might be too sanguine or too 
 desponding, but were always full of devotedness to the 
 great cause for which they had offered themselves. 
 
 A description of the first day's journey, from the 
 journal of Father Terorde, will give an idea of the 
 country at the outset. " At half-past seven, the wagons 
 were brought together and the oxen outspanned, to 
 feed in the best of pastures. On our left was a large 
 farm, serving at the same time for hotel and post-office. 
 On our right was the bed of a stream with a slender 
 thread of water, on the opposite bank of which rose a 
 hill a thousand feet in height. Within half an hour 
 three altars were erected at the foot of this hill, and in 
 this solitude of Nature three priests offered the Holy 
 Sacrifice. Turtle-doves and other birds composed the 
 choir. At four o'clock we started again, some on foot. 
 After leaving the neighbourhood of the farm we found 
 ourselves alone w r ith the beauties of Nature. The way 
 led b}' the side of a winding river. The solitude was 
 extreme ; there was not a house, not a hut, not a 
 human being, nothing but birds, countless birds, gave 
 life to the scene. Cactus and mimosa clothed the 
 slopes, and under their shade thousands of the most 
 varied and beautiful flowers and grasses were blooming- 
 The wild geranium was conspicuous for its beauty ; 
 but, what seems to be a characteristic of South Africa, 
 not a tree, not a twig was without thorns. In compari- 
 son with other parts, the earth here does indeed bring 
 forth thorns and thistles." During the following night 
 the wagons passed the ridge of hills leading up to the 
 first plateau under circumstances which the travellers 
 would not easily forget. The significant name Helleport, 
 given to the pass by the old Dutch settlers, suggests an 
 idea of the difficulty of the passage for heavily-laden
 
 THE FIRST STAGE OF THE JOURNEY. 205 
 
 vehicles. Through the darkness they have to force 
 their way over what we should call impassable roads, 
 inflicting on the unaccustomed traveller a jolting which, 
 to say the least, renders sleep impossible. It is not 
 surprising that one wagon became so embedded in the 
 mire as to require all resources at hand to extricate it ; 
 and to add to the difficulty, a violent storm of thunder 
 and lightning, which had long been gathering, broke 
 out just when this untoward accident occurred. The 
 reader may conceive the situation, the fury of the 
 storm, the shouts of the Kafirs, the darkness of the 
 night broken only by the lightning, the torrents of 
 rain. All this with a wagon embedded on the brink 
 of a yawning abyss, showed these inexperienced travel- 
 lers something of the dangers they had undertaken to 
 encounter. " It was too dangerous," writes one of 
 them, "to remain in the wagons, but scarcely less so 
 to venture on foot ; we rejoiced when the lightning 
 came, as it showed where we could place our feet in 
 safety." 1 
 
 On the following day the party crossed the Great 
 Fish River. The track led up its course for a period 
 of five days, during which they journeyed through an 
 almost uninhabited country to a little place called 
 Goba, consisting of five houses, the largest settlement 
 in the first fifty miles of their journey. They then 
 passed through the deep gorge which the river has 
 cut for itself in the central range of mountains. The 
 scenery here is described as magnificent. Enormous 
 masses of rock, piled one above another, rise up to the 
 height of several thousand feet above the road, whilst 
 
 1 The chief cause for alarm during a thunder-storm in South African 
 travelling is lest the lightning should ignite the store of powder always 
 carried in one of the wagons, and the whole caravan be blown up.
 
 206 THE FIRST STAGE OF THE JOURNEY. 
 
 the slender stream flows in a deep chasm more than a 
 hundred feet below it. 
 
 The work of inspanning or yoking the oxen was 
 difficult at the outset. It usually is so with these 
 uncouth beasts when first they are brought together. 
 But when they have become accustomed to their work, 
 and to each other, all goes on smoothly and they 
 range themselves in rows each in its proper place, 
 and are yoked in without much trouble. They feed 
 only during the day ; for this reason when a night halt 
 is made they are not outspanned, but are allowed to lie 
 down to rest at their posts, like soldiers ready for battle. 
 
 On Father Law, as the Superior, the duty of 
 reporting the progress of the expedition devolved. 
 About a week after the departure from Grahamstown 
 he wrote to Father Weld as follows : 
 
 We go about fifteen miles a day in the wagon, 
 which is the ordinary day's work for bullocks on a 
 long journey. Our order of life is on the whole pretty 
 regular. This is it more or less : 4 p.m. inspan and 
 go on until about 9 p.m., when we outspan and have 
 supper. Then the Litanies of the Blessed Virgin are 
 sung; examen ; then inspan again about 2 or 3 a.m., 
 and go on until sunrise ; outspan, and all say Mass, 
 those of us at least who are able ; then breakfast, 
 various occupations, &c., until 1.30, when we say 
 Litanies of the Saints and the Itinerarium all together, 
 and make our examen. Dinner at 2. At 4 p.m. we 
 start again, some of the Fathers walk on ahead of the 
 wagons and get in about an hour later. Then you 
 might hear in the twilight sounds of music from the 
 wagon of Brother Nigg his concertina ; and from the 
 back wagon sounds, but alas ! only broken sounds,
 
 THE FIRST STAGE OF THE JOURNEY. 207 
 
 from the flageolet of Father Law. After supper we go 
 to bed. 
 
 You will be anxious to hear how we get on with 
 our guide. Well, we are delighted with him. He is 
 a perfect gentleman ; he points out nice quiet places to 
 say Mass in all of his own accord. He knows his 
 business perfectly, and gets on well with the drivers. 
 Even they are very nice and civil. We are all getting 
 fearful appetites with this gipsy life, and the health of 
 all is very good. Wagon life is a continual picnic ; 
 but not only are the meals picnic, but also the washing 
 and sleeping and everything else. As for myself, I like 
 it immensely; my appetite is shockingly great, and I 
 am getting stronger every day. 
 
 " For the spiritual exercises," another of the 
 travellers tells us, " signals are given with whistles, and 
 the whole party forms a perfect travelling community. 
 Father Fuchs, our musical director, is practising 
 hymns for May. The devotions of the Month of Mary 
 are to be kept up as in every well-ordered house of 
 our Society, in order to obtain the protection of our 
 Immaculate Mother on this expedition." 
 
 It was well for the travellers that their health and 
 spirits were good, for even at the early stages of their 
 progress they had many hardships to endure. The 
 cold upon the high plateaus was often intense, so much 
 so that the Fathers could not sleep, and were not 
 unfrequently forced to leave the wagons. Father 
 Terorde writes that he never suffered so much from 
 cold while saying Mass, as on this journey. Sometimes 
 the icy wind was accompanied by still more icy rain, 
 which penetrated the tent-like covering of the wagons, 
 and rendered it impossible to light fires for comfort or
 
 zo8 THE FIRST STAGE OF THE JOURNEY. 
 
 for the purposes of cooking at the end of a weary 
 march. They had frequently to content themselves 
 with the most meagre fare. What their bread was 
 may be supposed when we are told that it was hastily 
 kneaded and baked in an oven extemporized by one 
 not too well acquainted with the art. For meat they 
 were principally dependent upon the guns of some of 
 the party, and it often happened that the hunters 
 returned from a foraging expedition with an empty 
 bag. On such occasions the meals were not of a very 
 substantial character. Sometimes, however, a watchful 
 Providence sent them assistance when it could be least 
 expected. One miserable day, when a pitiless rain 
 was beating down, and the chase had been singularly 
 unproductive, a Protestant farmer appeared upon the 
 scene, bringing with him a supply of bread, fresh meat, 
 and milk. He had made acquaintance with one of the 
 party at Grahamstown, where his daughter was at 
 school, and had come five miles to meet the travellers, 
 and wish them God-speed. Indeed the man}' acts of 
 kindness they met with from all classes were most 
 cheering for the missioners. 
 
 At the little town of Cradock they found much 
 to console them. Amongst a population of about two 
 thousand, there were thirty Catholics, without either 
 priest or church. Having been told by the Bishop that 
 the missioners would pass through the town, this little 
 flock awaited their coming in glad expectation. On 
 their arrival a Protestant presented himself, offering a 
 room in his house for a chapel. The offer was thank- 
 fully accepted. The Fathers had got faculties for the 
 two vicariates through which their route lay, in order 
 that they might be able to do some good to the 
 Catholics the}' might meet with on their way. The
 
 THE FIRST STAGE OF THE JOURNEY. 209. 
 
 remainder of the day was spent in finding out the 
 Catholics and inviting them to approach the sacra- 
 ments. Father Law visited all the English ; he found 
 to his sorrow that many had fallen away for want of 
 instruction. Father Terorde sought out the German 
 families ; in the evening he employed himself in con- 
 verting the room which had been placed at their 
 disposal into a temporary chapel. The banner of the 
 Sacred Heart served for an altar-piece, and the decora- 
 tions were such as the simple character of their portable 
 wardrobe could afford. The poor people had never 
 seen an altar so beautifully adorned. On the following 
 morning almost every one of the Catholics attended 
 Mass ; two-thirds of the congregation went to the 
 sacraments, three of them, between the ages of fifteen 
 and twenty-five, made their First Communion. Father 
 Law gave a short instruction in English. On the 
 missioners, before taking their departure, going to thank 
 their host for his kindness, they received from him a 
 fresh mark of good-will, a gift of about five pounds in 
 English money and a sack of potatoes for the journey. 
 And yet Cradock is a most Protestant place, where to 
 declare oneself a Catholic is to expose oneself to obloquy 
 and derision in the streets. The finger of scorn was 
 in fact pointed at the Fathers. May God reward 
 liberally those who did not fear to show kindness to- 
 His servants ! On the evening of the same da)'', one of 
 the Fathers had occasion to purchase some medica- 
 ments for his medicine-chest, an antidote for the bite of 
 serpents, &c. On his laying the money on the counter, 
 the druggist returned it to him, saying that although 
 he was himself a Protestant, he would not think of 
 taking payment from a missionary. 
 
 At Colesberg, another small town of about a thousand
 
 210 THE FIRST STAGE OF THE JOURNEY. 
 
 inhabitants, there were three churches for the Protestant 
 sects, Calvinist Boers, Anglicans, and Methodists. Our 
 missioners found eight or nine Catholics, who had not 
 seen a priest for six years. Father Law baptized a 
 child, and while the other Fathers set forward on the 
 march, he remained behind with Father Croonenberghs, 
 in order that these forsaken Catholics might have the 
 happiness of assisting at the Holy Sacrifice. Two 
 children received their First Communion from his 
 hands. Father Croonenberghs said Mass in the prison, 
 the jailor and two of the prisoners being Catholics. At 
 another settlement on the toute there was one Catholic, 
 who was overjoyed at seeing so many priests. After 
 this there was not much scope for the exercise of their 
 .zeal, as they soon entered within the sphere of the 
 Kimberley mission. 
 
 Whilst speaking of the assistance rendered to the 
 missioners by the thoughtful kindness of their fellow- 
 men, we must not omit to mention their heavenly 
 protectors. The favour and help extended to them 
 by St. Anthony was strikingly apparent on several 
 occasions. " What have we not to thank this great 
 Saint for ! " writes Father Terorde ; " there is not one 
 amongst us who has not experienced his friendly aid. 
 It was indeed not in vain that for two months before 
 we left Brussels, we kept a taper burning continually 
 upon his altar." Before the expedition started, Father 
 Law was in consternation at finding he had mislaid his 
 pocket-book, the loss of which, especially at such a 
 moment, would have been irreparable. After looking 
 for it in every place where it appeared possible that 
 he might have left it, he appealed to St. Anthony, and 
 almost immediately it was found in one of the wagons, 
 -where so small and inconspicuous an object stood
 
 THE FIRST STAGE OF THE JOURNEY. 211 
 
 every chance of slipping out of sight. One of the many 
 instances in which the Saint befriended the missioners 
 on their journey is related by Father Terorde. At the 
 halt one day Brother Nigg's keys could nowhere be 
 discovered. This was a matter that affected the whole 
 party, for several of the keys belonged to the kitchen 
 department. The Brother was urged to pray to 
 St. Anthony, but at first he could not be prevailed 
 upon to do so. . He could not, he said, venture to ask 
 the Saint to do so much for him, and he knew that 
 he would have to go back a great distance to recover 
 the keys. Presently, however, as search proved 
 unavailing, and the hungry travellers were waiting for 
 their supper, he yielded to their persuasions. No 
 sooner was his prayer ended than a native came 
 running up, asking whether they had not lost a bunch 
 of keys ? He had found them five miles off, and had 
 hastened after the caravan to restore them. 
 
 "After passing Cradock," writes Father Weld in 
 his interesting pamphlet on the Zambesi Mission, 
 " the country becomes dreary and barren in the 
 extreme. For a fortnight our travellers journeyed 
 over dusty plains, showing no vegetation whatever, 
 except a scanty covering of parched grass, affording 
 poor fodder for the cattle : no trees and no water 
 except in the deeply-cut bed of a few streams, or 
 where a natural ravine had made a reservoir. In such 
 spots the industry of the Dutch settlers had made a 
 centre of richness and beauty. Every fruit of temperate 
 and semi-tropical climes is found there in abundance. 
 Great herds of cattle and sheep are attached to these 
 farms, and find pasture on the plains. On most 
 occasions the new-comer is interested b}' the sight of 
 a large flock of ostriches. At Fish River the Fathers
 
 212 THE FIRST STAGE OF THE JOURNEY. 
 
 were disturbed while offering the Holy Sacrifice in the 
 open air by a flock of these creatures poking their long 
 curious necks about the altar. In every halt, as will 
 be understood, the first things sought for were wood 
 and water, but in crossing these plains firewood was- 
 nowhere to be had, the only fuel available being the 
 dung of the animals, carefully collected at the outspans. 
 Throughout this district, which becomes more stony 
 and barren when the Orange Free State is entered, the 
 presence of water alone determines the possibility of 
 human life and cultivation. This is sufficiently indicated 
 by the names of Adam's-fontein, Macassa-fontein, &c. r 
 which we find recorded as halting-places on the road. 
 
 " On the 3rd of May the travellers reached the 
 Orange River, which is described as being just there 
 about as wide as the Rhine at Cologne, and some three 
 feet deep. As this is one of the principal fords of the 
 river over which the traffic between the Colony and 
 the interior is carried, there are few spots whereat the 
 characteristic features of African travel can be seen to- 
 more advantage. It frequently happens that a hundred 
 of these huge wagons pass the river here in a single 
 day, laden with wool, hides, and ivory for the coast, or 
 with European goods for the interior. At the time the 
 missioners reached the ford there were twenty-five 
 other wagons awaiting their turn to pass. It is difficult 
 to form a true conception of the scene ; the assembly 
 of so many of these unwieldy vehicles, each with its 
 team of fourteen to eighteen oxen, the wild-looking 
 Kafirs, representing all the types of South Africa, with 
 their repulsive features, their broad hats, their strangely,, 
 or rather slightly-clad forms, the bellowing of five 
 hundred or more oxen, the cries of the drivers, the 
 cracking of whips, all this amid the placid beauty of a
 
 THE FIRST STAGE OF THE JOURNEY. 
 
 fine river gently flowing between banks clothed with 
 the richest foliage, must have left an impression upon 
 the mind not easily to be effaced. But all this will 
 soon pass, for civilization has invaded the land. A 
 large iron bridge is by this time constructed, and 
 passengers are whirled over the river with as little 
 emotion as over the Thames at Richmond." 
 
 In the early part of May, Father Terorde tells us, 
 the caravan journeyed for several days over a dreary 
 wilderness of sand and stones. Happily the lay-brothers 
 had, in the last town passed through, laid in a store of 
 wood, otherwise they would not have had so much as a 
 cup of coffee. The jolting of the wagons was at times 
 so violent that the Fathers could not rest at night, and 
 were fain to rise and proceed a while on foot in the 
 darkness, rather than any longer be tossed about on 
 the hard boards. At such times they would beguile 
 the way by reciting litanies, or awaken the echoes with 
 the sweet strains of the O Sanctissima. On the evening 
 of the gth they reached the Modder, a river which has 
 cut a way for itself through a deep bed of clay, and 
 on this account is most difficult of passage. It is 
 approached by a steep and dangerous descent. On 
 reaching the ford, our travellers found that a wagon 
 belonging to another caravan which had preceded them 
 was stuck fast in the mud in the middle of the stream. 
 Though the Kafirs shrieked and yelled, and used their 
 long whips unmercifully, and the oxen leapt and 
 struggled, it was impossible to move the vehicle, which 
 was embedded up to the axle-trees in the slimy bed of 
 the river. It was ten o'clock at night, the missioners 
 had alighted, and it was proposed to take supper on 
 the spot where they were. To this the guide would not 
 consent. The prospect of further waiting must have
 
 214 THE FIRST STAGE OF THE JOURNEY. 
 
 been unpleasant enough. The following amusing extract 
 from a letter informs us how the difficulty was over- 
 come. " It was necessary to search for a more 
 practicable ford, and this Brother Nigg, borne on the 
 back of a tall and powerful native, proceeded to do. 
 carrying aloft a huge coffee-pot and some sticks of 
 wood. He was speedily followed by another Brother, 
 mounted on another Basuto, bearing a load of bread 
 and bacon. Then our four equipages, like a flying 
 battery, entered the stream at a gallop, crossed without 
 obstacle, and ascended the further bank in full view 
 of our unfortunate friends fast mired in the stream. 
 Brother Xigg had meanwhile filled his coffee-pot and 
 lighted a fire, and prepared supper on the summit of a 
 little slope, so. like the disciples on the shores of 
 Genezareth, we found a warm meal awaiting us.'' 
 Meanwhile a second team of oxen had been yoked to 
 the wagon in distress, and it was at length extricated, 
 though not without first breaking the chains. 
 
 Notwithstanding all these hardships, Father Law* 
 when writing to Father Depelchin to announce their 
 near approach to Kimberley, was able to report : " We 
 are all in capital spirits, and we have met with no 
 mishap whatever on the road. On the contrary, we 
 have been gifted with great appetites, and I think you 
 will find us all looking quite robust." 
 
 It will be remembered that in our account of 
 Augustus Law's youthful days, it was remarked that 
 one of the most prominent features in his character 
 was his contented and cheerful disposition. As a naval 
 cadet he bore without a word of complaint the many 
 disagreeables and hardships inseparable from what was 
 then, even more than it is now, an undeniably hard 
 life. The happy gift of looking at the bright side, and
 
 THE FIRST STAGE OF THE JOURNEY. 215 
 
 always making the best of things, did not forsake him 
 as years went on. On the contrary, his sanguine 
 temperament was strengthened, and his natural cheer- 
 fulness enhanced by the joy of the Holy Ghost and 
 the anticipation of eternal glory. As Superior of the 
 missionary expedition he was invariably ready to help 
 and encourage his fellow-travellers under adverse circum- 
 stances, and communicate to them his own buoyant 
 spirits and genial good-humour. " I have not yet suffered 
 as much on this journey," he often said, " as I did when 
 serving Her Majesty in the navy." Thus the hearts of 
 the missioners were light, and they could look forward 
 with hopefulness to the great work before them, as they 
 sat in the wagons studying the native languages, and 
 regarding all things as light, provided only they were 
 enabled to plant the Cross in the vast region before 
 them. It was this that led them on, and to support 
 them, they daily partook of that Heavenly Manna 
 which gives courage to martyrs, solace to the afflicted, 
 and makes suffering desirable and attractive. 
 
 On Sunday, nth of May, a day on which the Society 
 of Jesus commemorates one of its most remarkable 
 Saints, Francis di Geronimo, the caravan reached Kim- 
 berley, the capital of Griqualand. In 1879, the town 
 was still chiefly known under the name of " the Rush,' r 
 on account of the haste wherewith the people flocked 
 thither in 1870, on the discovery of diamonds in the 
 immediate vicinity. Father Depelchin, who had been 
 there since April 3oth, came out to an outlying hamlet 
 to meet his brethren, in order that the little band, half- 
 smothered as they were with the dust of the arid plains 
 they were traversing, bronzed by the sun of Africa, 
 weather-beaten through exposure to wind and storm,, 
 might under his auspices make their entry into the town.
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 SECOND STAGE OF THE JOURNEY. 
 
 IT was during the journey from Grahamstown to 
 Kimberley, of which some details were given in the 
 preceding chapter, that Father Law received intelli- 
 gence from home of an event which could not be 
 regarded by the members of his family otherwise than 
 as a great calamity, and was a source of the greatest 
 grief to himself. One of his brothers unhappily threw 
 off his allegiance to the Church. The letter that 
 Augustus wrote to his father shows how he felt for him 
 under this sad affliction. 
 
 I received a letter from you a few days ago in which 
 you tell me you had received mine about Frank's safety 
 after the Tsanhlana massacre. I do not think I answered 
 that letter, so I must give you a line or two now. I 
 am afraid poor Graves' apostasy has beaten you down 
 much, judging from your letter, dearest father, and no 
 "wonder indeed. Still, keep up your spirits for our sake. 
 All of us want you still, dearest father, and to see you 
 alive yet for many years, to encourage us and help us 
 on. For you are not only an earthly father to us. 
 Under God we all owe the faith to you. And we do 
 not want to lose our father in the faith. When God's 
 will calls you, we shall bow to it. But do not hasten 
 your death by sorrow, for our sakes we beg this.
 
 SECOND STAGE OF THE JOURNEY. 217 
 
 Comfort yourself by the thought that not only all of 
 our family who are Catholics are praying for him, but 
 also many good and holy souls in many parts of the 
 world. 
 
 Please pray for our Mission. It is prayer that 
 converts souls. And will you get prayers from any 
 Catholics you meet as well ? God bless you, dearest 
 father. Every little suffering I get in our Mission shall 
 be offered up for my dear brother's conversion. I am 
 .glad that nolens volens I shall have to suffer some little 
 trials in our Mission, as I am such a miserable fellow 
 .at doing anything of that kind voluntarily. And let us 
 pray that beautiful consoling prayer of David : Mirifica 
 misericordias tuas, Domine, qui salvos fads sperantes in te 
 " Make wonderful Thy mercies, O Lord, Thou Who 
 savest those who hope in Thee." Think over these 
 words, dearest father, and they will help you much. 
 I shall always pray that before you leave this world 
 you may see poor Graves again a good Catholic. 
 Your most affectionate son, 
 
 A. H. LAW, S.J. 
 
 Again somewhat later, referring to the same brother 
 in a letter to his sister, he says, " I read with sad 
 interest your account of the poor dear fellow. Oh, 
 dear Maude, cannot we force the Sacred Heart to lead 
 him back ? Let us persevere in prayer and never 
 despair. I think one way is for us all to love God 
 .more intensely than ever, and be very generous to 
 Him. And when one is generous to God, is God ever 
 niggardly in return ? " From this time forth the 
 spiritual interests of this brother were continually 
 present to his mind. Scarcely did he write a letter 
 to friends in Grahamstown or elsewhere, without
 
 2i 8 SECOND STAGE OF THE JOURNEY. 
 
 earnestly soliciting prayers on his brother's behalf. 
 Sorrow and anxiety on his account seem to have cast 
 a shadow over the remaining portion of Augustus' life ; 
 in most of the letters he subsequently wrote a strain 
 of melancholy is perceptible which formerly was absent 
 from them. For him he offered up all the sufferings 
 and they were greater than his generous heart antici- 
 pated that fell to his lot during the last eighteen 
 months he spent on earth ; for him he made the sacri- 
 fice of his life ; to him he turned, as will be seen, when 
 standing on the threshold of another world, to utter one 
 last entreaty that he would come back to the faith he 
 had forsaken. 
 
 We must now revert to the band of missioners, whom 
 we left at the gates of Kimberley. The reception they 
 met with from the Catholics of the town was of the 
 warmest description. The two priests, Oblates of Man- 
 Immaculate, went to meet them, and insisted that 
 Father Depelchin should take up his quarters in their 
 house. Father Law also accepted the hospitality 
 offered him by one of the inhabitants for the sake of 
 convenience, as he was a sort of adjutant to Father 
 Depelchin, as well as procurator to the community. 
 For the rest, on account of the scantiness of the fodder 
 in the immediate vicinity of the town, it was necessary 
 to make the encampment about six miles further in a 
 northerly direction, where pasture was good and water 
 abundant. But before we speak of Kimberley, and 
 of the good people who in this remote part of Africa 
 opened their arms in welcome to the servants of Jesus 
 Christ, a few words must be said about the diamond- 
 mines, which give importance to this locality. 
 
 Father Depelchin calls Kimberley a town of iron 
 and diamonds ; for the houses, churches, schools, public
 
 SECOND STAGE OF THE JOURNEY. 219 
 
 buildings are all of iron or zinc, the walls being lined 
 with bricks or felt, as a protection against heat in 
 summer and cold in winter, while mats or carpets are 
 spread on the clay soil. These houses are quickly 
 erected, and were therefore best adapted to shelter 
 the thousands who swarmed to Kimberley when it was 
 first known that diamonds in plenty were to be found 
 there. The discovery of these gems, Father Weld 
 tells us, on the banks of the Vaal is not new. A 
 missionary map published in 1750 has the words, 
 " Here be diamonds," in large letters on the very spot 
 where are now the diamond-fields ; and certain stone 
 instruments left behind by the ancient bushmen are 
 considered as proofs that those ingenious savages knew 
 the use of the diamond for boring purposes. But like 
 so many other things, diamonds had to be rediscovered 
 in our own day. It was only in 1868 that the eyes of 
 practical men were opened to the fact that untold 
 treasures of wealth were being trodden under foot in 
 the near neighbourhood of the confluence of the Vaal 
 and the Orange River. Diamonds were picked out of 
 the mud with which a Boer's cottage was plastered. 
 A Dutch housewife having shown a passing traveller 
 some stones she had picked up, it was found there were 
 fifteen diamonds among them. The great diamond 
 known as the star of South Africa was in the hands 
 of a native medicine-man, who used it in his incanta- 
 tions. No sooner did the truth begin to gain credit, 
 than a Boer, who had seen the stone, imitating the 
 man in the Gospel, went and gave almost all he 
 possessed, including five hundred sheep and oxen, and 
 bought the gem. He sold it again for ^11,000. Within 
 two years of that time thousands of people were 
 encamped in tents on the banks of the Vaal for a
 
 220 SECOND STAGE OF THE JOURNEY. 
 
 distance of twenty-five miles engaged in digging and 
 washing, often making prodigious fortunes in a single 
 day. The Kimberley mine, which is said to be the 
 most productive area of ground on the globe, is a shaft 
 about a thousand feet in diameter cut out of the barren 
 rock and filled up to the level of the ground with 
 different strata, in which the precious gems are richly 
 distributed. Such it was up to 1871 : now it is a crater 
 three hundred feet deep divided into lots or claims. 
 The black men are chiefly employed in digging out 
 this deposit ; thousands of them may now be seen, 
 like ants in an ant-hill, at work at the bottom of this 
 crater, whilst others are employed on the bank or reef, 
 washing, sifting, and cutting the gems out of the hard 
 bluish clay, while a thousand baskets are being lowered ' 
 or hauled up with windlasses along wire ropes that 
 stretch like a spider's web from the different " claims " 
 to a corresponding platform on the reef. Around this 
 centre of activity a town of thirty thousand inhabitants 
 has sprung up, with shops in which everything imagin- 
 able may be purchased, but at enormously high prices. 
 In 1871 the English annexed this territory, giving a 
 small indemnity to the Orange Free State, which 
 asserted a claim to it. The annual value of the export 
 of diamonds is three millions sterling, the produce of 
 a plot of ground not exceeding nine acres in superficies. 
 
 But enough, to quote Father Depelchin's words, 
 has been said about the little piece of carbon called 
 a diamond, for all the diamonds in the world cannot 
 in our eyes compare in value with the infinite worth 
 of a single soul, which cost the Blood of an Incarnate 
 God to redeem. 
 
 The kindness shown to the Fathers by the Catholics 
 of Kimberley, who numbered somewhat under one
 
 SECOND STAGE OF THE JOURNEY. 221 
 
 thousand, knew no bounds. From the good priests 
 down to the humblest of their flock, there seemed to be 
 but one feeling, that of a desire to make the missioners 
 welcome, and assist them in all they could need for 
 their further journey. One brought an offering of a 
 dozen broad-brimmed hats, another a hundred Martini 
 cartridges, a third a box of shoes, a fourth a dozen pair 
 of socks, another 5 in gold, while provision merchants 
 contributed all manner of stores. 
 
 One Sunday afternoon, the collection after a sermon 
 by Father Law being made in behalf of the Mission, 
 a sum exceeding 30 was collected, although no 
 previous notice of it had been given ; and, what was 
 yet more unexpected, on the eve of their departure 
 a deputation of Catholics waited on the Fathers at the 
 priests' residence and presented them with a purse 
 containing ^100, and a short address expressing their 
 sympathy with the great and glorious work to which 
 they had devoted themselves, and their hopes that their 
 efforts to propagate the faith might meet with all the 
 success so noble a mission merited. " How glad we 
 should have been to repay them in spiritual things," 
 Father Law writes, " and to give them a retreat. The 
 people wished it ; indeed we heard on all sides, ' Why 
 do you not give us a mission ? The people would be 
 so glad to get a mission ! ' ' For this, however, there 
 was no time ; the delay at Kimberley was not long, and 
 much had to be done before a fresh start could be 
 made. Their guide, who had only been engaged for the 
 first portion of the journey, had left them on their 
 arrival at the town, and the drivers had all gone off to 
 the diggings. The missioners were assured that the 
 services of a conductor would not be needed any more, 
 but they had hoped to keep the natives with them, and
 
 222 SECOND STAGE OF THE JOURNEY. 
 
 it was no easy matter to replace them. The lay-brothers 
 had to take charge of the cattle during the time of their 
 sojourn at Kimberley, and the Fathers took turns with 
 them in keeping watch over the encampment at night. 
 One evening a party of soldiers on their way to the seat 
 of war were encamped in the immediate vicinity. The 
 shouts and songs proceeding from their wagon warned 
 the Fathers that these heroes were paying homage to 
 Bacchus, and a strict guard must be kept. We will let 
 Father Croonenberghs tell the experiences of the night 
 in his own words. 
 
 " Hardly had I drawn my blankets over me, when I 
 heard Brother de Sadeleer, who had taken my post as 
 sentinel, parleying with two strangers. The conversa- 
 tion became more and more animated and the dogs 
 began to bark. Raising my head a little, I demanded 
 silence, and ten minutes after I repeated the same request 
 in a louder tone. Then our Basuto, the only native who 
 remained with us, thinking the occasion favourable for 
 the display of his courage, jumped up from under his 
 wagon, and drawing himself up before the white 
 soldiers, shook his fists at them, and shouted: ' Depart 
 this instant, or I will kill you.' A quarrel ensued, and 
 although I ordered the man to leave the soldiers alone, 
 he renewed his menaces, and received in answer a 
 fisticuff which sent him some paces to the rear. Seizing 
 a firebrand, he made show of striking his antagonists, 
 but when they attempted to take him, he threw it down 
 and ran away. The whole camp was now in commotion, 
 and all the soldiers were bent on slaughtering the black 
 man. I stopped them by threatening to appeal to their 
 officers. ' John ' was already at a safe distance : the 
 next day he too left our service." 
 
 Ten days after the arrival of the caravan, the party
 
 SECOND STAGE OF THE JOURNEY. 223 
 
 set out once more. The Surveyor General, Father 
 Law's kind entertainer, gave the Fathers a detailed 
 map of the road to Gubulawayo, besides letters of 
 introduction to Lo Bengula, the chief of the Matabele 
 country, with whom he had had personal intercourse 
 and by whom he was regarded with great favour, and 
 to Khame, the chief of the Bamanguatos. He predicted 
 however that the missioners would have great difficulty 
 in obtaining permission to settle in the territory of the 
 last mentioned chief, as the Protestant missioners had 
 made good their footing there and would exert every 
 effort to oppose the Catholics. Sir Bartle Frere, with 
 the kind interest he always shows in missions to the 
 heathen, gave the Fathers a general passport, in which 
 they were recommended to the good offices of all 
 Government officials and friends of the British Govern- 
 ment in the Transvaal or adjoining country. This he 
 did lest they should be suspected of being agents of the 
 Colonial Government. 
 
 Thus provided with credentials, the missioners bade 
 adieu to the hospitable inhabitants of Kimberley, many 
 of whom came out to the camp to take a final farewell 
 of them, and on the morning of the 2ist of May, 1879, 
 they resumed their journey. They were now leaving 
 civilization behind them, and the future was full of 
 anxious hopes and fears. Their destination was Sho- 
 shong, but would they be received there ? And if not, 
 would they be more successful further on? In the 
 present, too, they found themselves surrounded with 
 difficulties and dangers. " At the moment of starting" 
 (we quote Father Depelchin's words) "two of our black 
 drivers were missing. What was to be done ? Father 
 Fuchs took the reins, whilst Brother Nigg, grasping the 
 huge whip with its lash thirty-five feet long, constituted
 
 224 SECOND STAGE OF THE JOURNEY. 
 
 himself conductor. They both filled their posts admir- 
 ably; but the state of the road was such that the 
 wheels got buried to the axles in sand, and every 
 quarter of an hour one or other of the wagons stuck 
 fast, so that we were unable to reach our destined 
 halting-place. It is an amusing sight to see our camp 
 fire lit. Everybody helps of course ; as soon as the 
 vans are drawn up and our tents pitched, a log is half 
 buried in the sand, and a pyramid of sticks piled up to 
 a good height. This is soon blazing, and we have a 
 fire hot enough to roast all our oxen. The evening 
 meal is soon ready; the menu is simple, one dish, ummr 
 necessarittm, is the general rule. After supper we sit 
 round the fire chatting, talking over the day's adven- 
 tures, forecasting the future, then after singing the 
 litanies, all but the sentinel betake themselves to repose. 
 Our bivouac is guarded by four dogs ; the largest one, 
 Prince, was given to Father Law at Kimberley, he is 
 almost like an African lion in size and appearance." 
 
 The difficulties inseparable from such a journey 
 were enhanced by the inexperience of the travellers. 
 It is usual for caravans coming from Grahamstown to 
 change their oxen at Kimberley, so as to start anew 
 with fresh teams. Our missionaries had not thought 
 this necessary, and their progress was much retarded in 
 consequence. Now and again one of the animals, 
 weary and footsore, lay down and refused to advance 
 further. It had to be left behind, and by the next day 
 a skeleton only remained on the spot, the bones being 
 picked clean by innumerable vultures, almost before 
 the animal had expired. Through the loss of some, 
 more work fell to the share of the remaining oxen, and 
 the substitution of a few fresh ones at intervals along 
 the road did little to remedy the evil. One night, at
 
 SECOND STAGE OF THE JOURNEY. 225 
 
 the moment of inspanning, sixteen oxen were found to 
 be missing. Through the neglect of one of the drivers 
 they had escaped and roamed to a distance in search of 
 better forage, and only after a wearisome pursuit were 
 they recaptured. These and other minor incidents, 
 such as the sinking of the wheels into the sand, so as to 
 necessitate vigorous work with the spades to extricate 
 the wagons ; the having to unload one vehicle in order 
 to get it out of the mud in the midst of a stream ; the 
 breaking of the traces, which had to be repaired by 
 the skill of the old tar, Brother Hedley, had no worse 
 effect than that of occasioning short but vexatious 
 delays. One day the heavy and continuous rain rendered 
 it impossible for them to prosecute their journey ; 
 another day the violence of the wind nearly carried 
 away the tents they were attempting to pitch. Once a 
 more serious danger threatened to put an end to the 
 expedition. It was midnight, and the camp was 
 hushed in silence. Suddenly the terrible cry of " Fire" 
 was raised by one of the Kafirs. The Fathers sprung 
 from the wagons, to find that a box slung under one of 
 them, containing some things they had made use of 
 during the day, was already in flames. Happily it was 
 detached in time to prevent the conflagration spreading 
 to the wagon above it, for therein was a barrel of 
 gunpowder, sufficient to blow the whole of its contents 
 into the air. Some pieces of wood imperfectly extin- 
 guished from the evening camp-fire had been thrown 
 into the box by the Kafirs, and these logs smouldering 
 had set fire to the receptacle that enclosed them. Had 
 the party known of the terrible catastrophe that befell 
 a traveller (Mr. Burgess) while hunting in the Zambesi 
 country, when he himself, his wagon, and horses were 
 destroyed through a spark falling from his pipe, they
 
 226 SECOND STAGE OF THE JOURNEY. 
 
 would have been even more grateful than they were to 
 Divine Providence for their narrow escape. " This 
 barrel of gunpowder," Father Depelchin adds when 
 relating the incident, " is a dangerous companion, but 
 it is an indispensable adjunct to our baggage. Without 
 it we should be deprived of the means of obtaining 
 animal food, and should incur the risk of falling a prey 
 to the wild beasts that prowl about our caravan by 
 night. It does however expose us to great peril when 
 a storm overtakes us on the open plain. I remember 
 one night when a frightful storm burst over our heads. 
 The flashes of lightning seemed to furrow the clouds 
 and form rivers of fire. Peal followed peal, the thunder 
 seemed to make the earth tremble, and it looked as 
 if wagons, men, and oxen would be swept away by 
 the fury of the tempest. All the while I could not 
 forget that we were lying on the top of a powder 
 magazine. If the lightning had struck my wagon 
 all would have been blown up, like some warship 
 whose magazine explodes in mid-ocean. Yet night 
 after night we rest quietly beside our powder barrel, 
 knowing very well that our friends in Europe and 
 Africa are praying for us, and God's angels are 
 faithfully watching over us. In pace in idipsum dormiam 
 et requiescam" 
 
 The towns and settlements the missioners passed 
 were few and far between. Nevertheless in this second 
 portion of the journey, as in the first, some oppor- 
 tunities of exercising their apostolic zeal offered 
 themselves. One evening a man came up to the 
 encampment. He was a German, a native of Treves, 
 and a Catholic. He was delighted to see a priest, and 
 entreated one of the Fathers to hear his confession, 
 and to baptize an infant that had been born to him.
 
 SECOND STAGE GF THE JOUSNEY. 227 
 
 An old soldier, he led a nomad life, wandering from 
 farm to farm in a house on wheels, finding ample 
 employment amongst the Boers as a carpenter and 
 wheelwright. 
 
 Another time a well-to-do farmer, professing himself 
 a Lutheran, came to ask one of the priests to baptize 
 his two daughters, as he wished to bring them up as 
 Catholics. At the conclusion of the ceremony, the 
 mother, touched by grace, begged that she too might 
 be admitted into the Church ; and a short conversation 
 with the father led him to abjure his errors, and with 
 his son, a boy of six, also to receive Baptism. Nor 
 was this all ; a young Kafir, a servant to the family, 
 expressed his earnest desire to become a Christian and 
 .a Catholic. After an hour's instruction from Father 
 Terorde, he too was washed in the regenerating waters. 
 The next day was Trinity Sunday, and before pro- 
 ceeding on their way, the Fathers said Mass in the 
 dwelling-house of the family, and administered the 
 Bread of Life to the newly-baptized. Truly to them 
 it might have been said as to Zaccheus : hodie salus 
 domui huic facia est. By a singular coincidence, on the 
 eve of Trinity Sunday three adults and three children 
 were thus baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, 
 and the Holy Ghost. Besides this incident, the 
 instruction and baptism of a poor Zulu, who had been 
 abandoned by his companions and left to die of typhus 
 fever ; and the meeting with an Irishman, who on the 
 first sight of a Catholic priest, fell on his knees to ask 
 his blessing, and with tears of joy took advantage of 
 the presence of the Fathers in the solitude where he 
 lived, in order to perform his religious duties, were 
 consolations afforded to the missioners on their journey. 
 For each one of them desired that it should be said of
 
 228 SECOND STAGE OF THE JOURNEY. 
 
 him as it was said of his Divine Master: pertransiit 
 benefaciendo. 
 
 At Bloemhof a halt of three days was made to rest 
 both men and animals. About this little town, which 
 consisted at that time but of eighteen houses, there 
 was nothing to account for its name, which signifies 
 flower-garden. The soil was stony and unproductive. 
 Three Catholic families were found there, to whom the 
 coming of the Fathers was a source of great joy. 
 Father Law said Mass in an extempore chapel 
 arranged in one of the houses, two sermons were 
 preached, and all the good people approached the 
 sacraments with much fervour. The inhabitants of 
 Bloemhof did not know how to make enough of the 
 Fathers. They thought it a privilege to wash their 
 linen, to provide them with bread, butter, meat, and 
 vegetables, and they presented them with a fine 
 carpet of skins for use when Mass was said in the 
 tent. Even after they had got an hour's journey from 
 the place some persons came after them with biscuits 
 and milk. 
 
 Whilst in the proximity of the town the drivers 
 proved rather troublesome. After a visit to the taverns 
 on the first evening there was a quarrel which would 
 have ended in a regular fight but for the interference of 
 the Fathers. The next evening Brother Nigg was 
 instructed to devise a means of keeping them in the 
 camp. Seated aloft upon a wagon, the little Brother 
 played stirring strains upon his concertina. The Kafirs 
 soon began to dance. The louder he played, the wilder 
 grew their antics, to the infinite amusement of the 
 missioners. " For the first time in my life," said 
 Brother Nigg, when the performance was ended, " I 
 have played dance-music ad majorem Dei gloriam."
 
 SECOND STAGE OF THE JOURNEY. 229 
 
 The following letters were written by Father Law 
 while at Bloemhof. The first is addressed to his father. 
 
 Here I am, all safe and sound, as far as this a 
 place in about 27^ S. latitude. We start for Zeerust, 
 and then along the Marico River for Shoshong, which 
 is in about 23^ S. latitude, on Tuesday or Wednesday. 
 We hope to get to Zeerust in about a fortnight or three 
 weeks. I like the wagon-life well enough. It is at 
 least very healthy. I have not enjoyed such health 
 for some years. I am glad to say there is a regular 
 post to and from Shoshong, so that we can write and 
 receive letters, as easily as if I was at Grahamstown. 
 
 The people have been very kind to us all along. I 
 was mentioning this to some Protestants three or four 
 days ago, and they answered, " And you deserve it." 
 I believe you have received the paper giving an account 
 of the Bishop's sermon on our departure from Grahams- 
 town. It was a beautiful sermon, and I wish I was 
 even a little worthy of the great things he said about 
 the missionaries. Pray that I may at least profit by 
 the great favour God has given me in choosing me for 
 such a mission, and you will help me in thanking God 
 for it. 
 
 The other is to the Superior of the Convent at 
 Grahamstown. 
 
 I am so much obliged to you for your kind letter 
 and the things you sent with it. We all of us feel we 
 can never repay your kindness and that of the Sisters 
 in all you and they did for us at Grahamstown. Father 
 Depelchin said the other day you were " a true mother 
 to our Mission," a feeling we all share. And then your
 
 230 SECOND STAGE OF THE JOURNEY. 
 
 kindness did not end with our stay there, but followed 
 us, or rather went before us like a good angel, wherever 
 we went and you knew any people. May God reward 
 you and bless you and your dear Sisters. The Catholics 
 at Kimberley were so very kind. Father Lenoir, too, 
 amd his confrere kindness itself. Perhaps some find the 
 wagon-life a little rough, but they thrive on it. I 
 scarcely know myself, I am so stout and well. I enjoy 
 the life ; the only thing is one has little time to study. 
 However, all the boys speak Zulu, and I pick up a 
 good deal from them. The Governor gave us a capital 
 passport, telling all who wished to be friends of the 
 British Government to befriend and aid us. Mr. Bailie 
 wrote a letter to Lo Bengula, and his brother-in-law 
 one to Khame. Besides we carry for them presents to 
 these two chiefs. We start this evening or to-morrow^ 
 There are here two excellent Catholics, Mr. and Mrs. 
 Quin. Mrs. Quin keeps the only school here ; she 
 teaches the little Dutch Protestants, eleven in number,. 
 to say Catholic prayers, to make the sign of the Cross, 
 and instructs them in the Catechism. She is doing 
 great good. I gave her a lot of pictures as prizes 
 for her children. I am getting on very well with my 
 flute, but I put away the concertina for the present on 
 account of the great amount of dust. 
 
 I hope all the Sisters are well. We shall remember 
 them always in our prayers. Thanks so much for your 
 prayers for my brothers. Please continue them. 
 
 The next letter we have from him is dated from the 
 Limpopo River, which was reached in the second week 
 of July. The journey to Zeerust had lasted ten days ; 
 it is a beautiful spot, situated in a fertile valley, with 
 the stream of the Marico running through it. The
 
 SECOND STAGE OF THE JOURNEY. 231 
 
 travellers, who even in June had been compelled to wear 
 their warmest garments on account of the severity of 
 the cold, might now fancy themselves in southern Italy. 
 The vegetation was luxuriant, and in the gardens were 
 trees laden with oranges. Passing by a succession of 
 farms, they stopped at one whose owner happened to 
 be a Catholic. He was of Irish origin, and for thirty- 
 four years had not seen a priest. Nevertheless he had 
 not lost the faith ; he was overjoyed at the opportunity 
 of having his children baptized and himself performing 
 his religious duties. Father Law was no less rejoiced 
 to administer the sacraments to these good people ; 
 finding the mother of the family in good dispositions, 
 he received her, too, into the Church. 
 
 The sight of the Limpopo River excited in the 
 breast of the travellers no ordinary emotion. They 
 had long known of it as a river of the far interior, but 
 none of them had ever thought of looking down upon 
 its waters, and it seemed like a dream to find them- 
 selves standing on its banks. Writing thence, Father 
 Law says : 
 
 Three years and a half ago Mr. Wilmot made a 
 very fine speech, at Port Elizabeth, on the return of 
 Dr. Ricards with the priests and the staff of St. Aidan's 
 College. He spoke of Catholic missions extending 
 from St. Aidan's to the Limpopo. And often after- 
 wards we joked about this speech, thinking the allusion 
 to the Limpopo nothing more than a mere flight of 
 eloquence and a flow of words. Yet here we are all 
 safe and sound on the banks of the Limpopo, and have 
 been quite well on the way. We are now within a few 
 miles of the limits of our desired Mission.
 
 232 SECOND STAGE OF THE JOURNEY. 
 
 Some days later, on July i8th, he writes to the Rev. 
 Mother : 
 
 A wagon is just passing down to Zeerust, so I take 
 the opportunity of writing just a line to Grahamstown 
 to say we are all well so far. On Saturday Brother 
 Nigg shot a crocodile. We hope to be in Shoshong 
 in a few days. We have had a little rain, which 
 will well supply us with water from the Limpopo to 
 Shoshong, where sometimes there is scarcity. Fancy 
 from Saturday week till yesterday (a period of nine 
 days) we did not meet a single human being. We have 
 heard panthers, and jackals and hyenas at night, but 
 no lions. One of our oxen, which was too weak to 
 return to the camp with the rest, being left where it 
 was, was found in the morning with half of its body 
 gone, devoured by jackals, although we had kindled a 
 large fire to keep off beasts of prey. 
 
 The missioners had been warned, after leaving 
 Zeerust, to be very careful to keep up their watch- 
 fires at night, as there was danger to be apprehended 
 from wild beasts. They took all precautions and met 
 with no accident but the one mentioned above. The 
 rivers in this region abound with crocodiles, which are 
 very dangerous. "To bathe in the Limpopo," says 
 the traveller Mohr, " is simply suicide." The monster 
 lies still at the bottom of the pool, or floats motion- 
 less, only the upper part of the head, which greatly 
 resembles a piece of floating bark, being visible above 
 the surface of the water, and seizes in an instant 
 whoever unwarily approaches too near the stream. 
 Our travellers had to be extremely careful lest their 
 dogs should meet their death in this manner, especially
 
 SECOND STAGE OF THE JOURNEY. 233 
 
 " Prince," who was most valuable as a watch-dog, 
 besides exciting the admiration of all who saw him, 
 on account of his size and handsome appearance. One 
 day he nearly got his owner, Father Law, into trouble. 
 Seeing some wagons on in front Father Law went to 
 see whose they were. They proved to be those of a 
 Protestant missionary, the Rev. W. Sykes, who was 
 bound for the same destination as the Fathers. He 
 took " Prince" with him, and as there happened to be 
 a large and pugnacious dog at the Protestant camp, a 
 fierce battle ensued, and the respective owners of the 
 dogs had difficulty in separating the combatants. 
 
 On leaving the Limpopo, the travellers journeyed 
 for six days through a dreary waste, dusty and dry, 
 without game, and almost without water. " Whilst 
 traversing the African plains we learnt," says Father 
 Depelchin, " how important a place a good water 
 supply holds among the necessaries of life. Many a 
 time we suffered much from scarcity, having barely 
 a glassful for washing purposes. More than once our 
 oxen had to trot on their way for forty-eight hours 
 without a drop to drink. We wondered how the poor 
 animals performed their task so well. How grateful to 
 us was the sight of a stream or a spring where we 
 could, after a long march, quench our thirst and wash 
 our face and hands ! " The scarcity at times of animal 
 food was also one of the troubles of the journey, as the 
 native drivers became recalcitrant if no meat was forth- 
 coming. This was generally to be obtained at the 
 farms. On one occasion, when the provision of game 
 consisted of one water-hen, two Boers, huntsmen, 
 unexpectedly rode into the camp, with four fine gazelles 
 across their saddle-bow. They were willing to dispose 
 of two of these to the missioners for the sum of six
 
 234 SECOND STAGE OF THE JOURNEY. 
 
 shillings; for a few percussion caps another was pur- 
 chased, while the fourth was given them into the 
 bargain. 
 
 On the 2oth of July our missioners crossed the 
 tropic of Capricorn, and entered within the boundaries 
 of the domain of their Mission. The next morning the 
 Holy Sacrifice was offered beneath a tree upon which 
 a large cross was cut to mark the spot where the first 
 Mass was said within the limits of their jurisdiction. 
 They were now approaching Shoshong, but they first 
 had to cross a shallow depression, formerly the bed of 
 a lake, which in the rainy season is covered with pools 
 of briny water, at other times with a crystallized saline 
 deposit. It is now known by the name of the Saltpan. 
 
 Before accompanying the caravan to the capital of 
 the Bamanguato territory, which they reached on the 
 23rd, we cannot refrain from inserting an extract from 
 a letter of Father Croonenberghs, describing a scene 
 which they witnessed as they drew near to the town. It 
 would have delighted an artist. " Two Betchuana 
 cavaliers approach our camp at full speed. They are 
 mounted on oxen with immense horns ; a string 
 attached to the nostrils serves as a bridle ; a couple 
 of trusses of hay make the saddle. These warriors 
 wear the uniform of nature ; black, with a ruddy tinge. 
 A feather in the hair, a girdle round the loins, and 
 sandals on the feet, make up their costume. They 
 carry for weapons only the assegai, or iron-shod club. 
 But these warriors of Shoshong are on a peaceful 
 mission. They have come to exchange the milk of 
 their goats for our tobacco from the Transvaal. Then 
 a troop of little black children came into our camp to 
 sell us sheep and goats. As they stood and leant, this 
 one on a sheep, this one on a goat, these little dusky
 
 SECOND STAGE OF THE JOURNEY. 235 
 
 angels reminded us of the St. John Baptist of Italian 
 painters. Father Superior gave them some warm slices 
 of bacon. The use they made of it made us laugh 
 heartily. In the twinkling of an eye, they rubbed 
 themselves all over with it, and then looked as if they 
 were surprised to see each other so brilliant and 
 handsome-looking. One might, indeed, have taken 
 them for angels carved in old brown oak, like those 
 with which our great artists adorned the churches of 
 St. Jacques and Notre Dame at Antwerp."
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 DISAPPOINTED HOPES. 
 
 THE missioners (we quote Father Weld's words) 
 approached Shoshong with beating hearts. Great 
 interests were hanging in the balance, the eternal 
 salvation of many souls, the success or failure of the 
 expedition. The possibility of finding themselves with- 
 out shelter and without resources in the inhospitable 
 regions that lay to the north, or being perhaps over- 
 taken amidst the marshes of the Zambesi by the floods 
 of the rainy season, at which period fever is rife and 
 it is doubtful whether it is more dangerous to advance 
 or to remain stationary, presented itself to their minds. 
 If we add to these considerations the thought of the sad 
 discouragement it would be to those who sought to 
 follow in their footsteps if ill-success should cause it to 
 be said that much money and many lives had been 
 rashly and foolishly sacrificed, we can understand that 
 they must have had brave hearts indeed if they did not 
 feel deeply anxious as to the issue so soon to be tried. 
 They had not, it is true, burned their ships, but they 
 had left them a thousand miles behind them, and 
 had no thought of ever seeing them again. 
 
 They had been warned before leaving Kimberley 
 that disappointment was in store for them, as it would 
 be difficult, if not impossible, to obtain permission from 
 the King to settle in his country. Shoshong was the
 
 DISAPPOINTED HOPES. 237 
 
 first town within the limits of the territory assigned to 
 them by the Holy See as the sphere of their labours ; 
 their hope was to establish a station there which 
 would be a basis of operations for future missionary 
 enterprise, where recruits from Europe could reside 
 for a time, to become acclimatized and acquire a 
 knowledge of the languages of the aborigines. Although 
 the capital of the country, and the royal residence, 
 Shoshong is described as a poor sort of place, its 
 former population of thirty thousand having dwindled 
 to a third of that number. It is surrounded by a 
 rampart of rocky hills ; the miserable huts of the 
 natives are grouped round an open space, and divided 
 from one another by mimosa hedges. Standing apart 
 are some fourteen houses, whose English inhabitants 
 are provided with all the comforts of their native 
 country. Here the London Missionary Society has 
 established its head-quarters. 
 
 The Bamanguatos are a tribe of the great Betchuana 
 race. The first missionaries who penetrated to these 
 regions were Germans ; they made a few converts, 
 amongst them the two eldest sons of the King Sekhome. 
 But in 1860 they were ousted by the emissaries of the 
 London Missionary Society, who have since ruled there 
 supreme, instruction in the English language being pre- 
 ferred to German. When our missioners arrived, Khame 
 was sole occupant of the throne, which he had wrested 
 from his father some eight years previously. His kingdom 
 presented the singular example of an African community 
 under the dominion of a Christian ruler, for he had 
 remained steadfast to the beliefs he had learnt in his 
 early youth. He had even suffered some persecution 
 on this account, having refused to comply when his. 
 father urged him to take a plurality of wives. He is
 
 238 DISAPPOINTED HOPES. 
 
 stern in his repression of wrong-doing, and has pro- 
 hibited the introduction of intoxicating liquors into his 
 kingdom. On Sundays he always attends Divine 
 Service, joins in the psalms and hymns, and inflicts 
 condign punishment on any of his subjects whose 
 conduct is reprehensible. Unfortunately the Wesleyan 
 missionaries enjoy great favour and influence over this 
 excellent monarch. Such being the case, it will be 
 understood that it was a matter of vital importance to 
 them to prevent one who was their protector, and to 
 some extent their tool, from falling into the hands of 
 the Jesuits. It was to avert so great a calamity, to 
 circumvent the designs of the wily intruders, that we 
 have seen the Rev. Mr. and Mrs. Sykes passing the 
 caravan of our travellers on the road to Shoshong, 
 hastening forward by forced marches to give the alarm 
 and prepare the defence. Their efforts were only too 
 successful. 
 
 We cannot do better than allow Father Croonen- 
 berghs to give an account of the interview with Khame, 
 which was granted to Father Depelchin, Father Law, 
 and himself, on the day after their arrival. " In the 
 middle of the enclosure," he says, " a number of the 
 subjects of the King were ranged in a semicircle sitting 
 on their heels. Khame himself sat on the ground in the 
 midst of them, like the least of his subjects. He wore 
 no mark of his royal dignity, except an enormous feather 
 fixed in his soft felt hat of English manufacture. His 
 whole dress was like that of some townsman of one of 
 our prominent towns in Belgium ; unpolished leather 
 boots, brown trousers, a flannel shirt, and coat of 
 light-coloured English cloth. (Only a few of the prin- 
 cipal inhabitants are dressed in European style ; the 
 great majority are clad in the scantiest fashion.)
 
 DISAPPOINTED HOPES. 239 
 
 Khame, who is surnamed 'the Gentleman of South 
 Africa,' appears about forty years old; he is tall, his 
 skin is of a dark olive colour, his hair and beard thin. 
 He has an intelligent and kindly expression ; he says 
 very little, and all around preserve a respectful silence." 
 
 Beside the King sat two missionaries, Mr. Sykes 
 and Mr. Hepburn. The exultant expression of their 
 countenances showed the Fathers that they had little 
 to hope for ; these gentlemen had taken care to make 
 their own footing secure. However, Khame received 
 the Fathers with civility, and offered a chair to each. 
 
 Father Croonenberghs continues : " The conversa- 
 tion was carried on through an interpreter. Father 
 Depelchin began by taking out the letter of recom- 
 mendation which had been given to him, but Khame 
 would not read it or even touch it. Father Depelchin 
 then presented to him a letter from one of his friends at 
 Kimberley ; the King took it, but would not open it. 
 He then asked Khame to authorize him and his com- 
 panions to teach his people the religion of Jesus Christ, 
 as well as the letters, arts, and sciences of Europe. 
 The request was coldly received ; the King said he 
 already had teachers. At length Father Depelchin 
 asked him for a place where we could camp. The 
 King replied that he did not know of one. He then 
 offered the King a present of a Martini-Henry rifle. 
 All the people seemed full of wonder at the sight of 
 this weapon, but Khame looked at it with an air of 
 indifference. He took it in his hand, examined it for a 
 moment, then gave it back with thanks ; he added that 
 he would come to the camp to receive it on the follow- 
 ing day. 
 
 "We felt somewhat disheartened at the result of the 
 interview, but the Europeans in the place bade us not
 
 24 o DISAPPOINTED HOPES. 
 
 despair, for Khame never gave any decisive answer in 
 his royal residence." 
 
 Meanwhile the large picture of the Crucifixion 
 which had been painted for Father Law by a lady in 
 Grahamstown, was exhibited on one of the wagons. 
 Crowds came to gaze upon it, and for several hours 
 Father Terorde, who, it may be remembered, had 
 made the Betchuana dialect his special study, stood 
 beside it, catechism in hand, endeavouring to explain 
 its meaning to the people. He found many of these 
 had been baptized, but they were, almost to a man, 
 utterly ignorant of the doctrine of the Incarnation. 
 The presence of the group of Africans at the foot of the 
 Cross proved a sad puzzle to the native mind ; the idea 
 that their ancestors had been spectators of the scene 
 upon Calvary was contrary to all their religious tradi- 
 tions, and the mystical signification it was intended to 
 convey, the vocation of all nations to the Faith of 
 Christ, was far beyond their comprehension. This 
 painting was still ' on view ' when, on the following 
 day, the King's brother, also a Christian, and apparently 
 better instructed than the common people, visited the 
 camp. He is described as the very image of his brother ; 
 he seemed touched at the sight of the picture, and even 
 more so on hearing who the missionaries were, whence 
 they came, and with what object they had penetrated 
 so far. " At half-past twelve," Father Croonenberghs 
 relates, " the ' Gentleman of South Africa ' approached 
 us with quiet dignity, followed by all his councillors. 
 He is a head above all his suite. He contemplated the 
 picture for a moment with a sardonic smile, and then 
 entered our tent. We renewed as before, through an 
 interpreter, the requests made to him yesterday. He 
 put a number of questions about religion to us, and
 
 DISAPPOINTED HOPES. 241 
 
 expressed his surprise that there could be two religions- 
 in one religion. At last he said that he was resolved 
 to take no more teachers for his people besides those he 
 had already ; adding : That if the two religions, the 
 Catholic and the Protestant, are the same, there is 
 clearly no need of having more than one of them ; and 
 if they are different, there would be constant conflict 
 between them, and they would cause division among 
 his subjects." The Fathers could say nothing more. 
 They felt that the enemy had forestalled them, and 
 could only resign themselves to God's will, and trust 
 that this first failure might be followed by better 
 success in another quarter. Khame, despite his firm 
 refusal to admit them, continued courteous and kind, 
 and showed great displeasure on hearing that they had 
 been annoyed by some of the natives. The Protestant 
 missionaries, too, having achieved their triumph, pre- 
 served an external friendliness. On Father Law calling 
 upon Mr. Hepburn, he was most polite, and his wife,, 
 won perhaps by Father Law's pleasing manner, so 
 far overcame her prejudices, that she insisted on. 
 sending him some pastry and other dainties of her 
 own preparing. 
 
 Before leaving Shoshong Father Law wrote to his 
 father : " Just one line to say we arrived here six days 
 ago ; but the chief would not let us stay here, as he 
 said he had other missionaries already, i.e., London 
 Missionary Society. These missionaries will be the 
 greatest obstacle we shall have. Otherwise he was 
 extremely civil. We are just starting for the Matabele 
 country, where I hope Lo Bengula will receive us. 
 Otherwise we shall have to push on to the Zambesi. I 
 have not been so well as I now am for a long time.. 
 Pray for me, and give my best love to all. Being a 
 Q
 
 242 DISAPPOINTED HOPES. 
 
 kind of adjutant to Father Depelchin, I have very 
 little leisure, but hope to write more next time." 
 
 To his friend in Grahamstown he also wrote as 
 follows : " Excuse me for not having written more at 
 length. But I have little time and many interruptions. 
 Being ' Minister ' as it is called, nearly all my time is 
 taken up whenever we get to a town. Your picture 
 was exhibited here yesterday at the back of one of the 
 wagons, and there was a large crowd looking at it all 
 day. What a pity they could not be instructed in the 
 full meaning of the picture. But Khame unhappily 
 declined having us amongst his people, influenced no 
 doubt by the Protestant missionaries. Well! you 
 cannot blame him,*nor them either, for we must always 
 suppose they are sincere, and if so, of course they 
 would do their utmost to prevent what they in their 
 ignorance suppose to be a false religion from entering 
 the country. But it is a great pity, for what a fine 
 Catholic town Bamanguato 1 would make; and they 
 seem to be very nice people. As for Khame himself, he 
 has quite the manners of a gentleman. We now go 
 to the Matabele. Pray that we may be allowed to have 
 a station there. I shall work harder than ever at Zulu 
 now. 
 
 "You little know how unworthy I feel to be a 
 member of such a mission. Do obtain for me by your 
 prayers from our Lord a very ardent and tender love 
 for Him, and especially for Him crucified. I see all 
 the saints were so devout to the Passion. I always 
 remember you in my Mass ; we will pray for one 
 another, that our dear Lord may give us great graces, 
 and grant us one happy day to see each other again 
 before His throne and that of His Blessed Mother." 
 
 1 This is the natives' name for Shoshong.
 
 DISAPPOINTED HOPES. 243 
 
 We hope that we are not doing the Protestant 
 missionaries injustice when we express the opinion 
 that the motives by which they were actuated in their 
 opposition to the Jesuits were not quite as unworldly 
 as those with which Father Law in his charity credits 
 them. The King appears truly to be, according to his 
 lights, a pious and conscientious Christian ; the religious 
 guidance as well as the secular government of his people 
 is entirely in his hands. The position held by the Rev- 
 Mr. Hepburn was lucrative and honourable, but it was 
 a mere sinecure. Although the Bamanguatos were 
 called Christians, scarcely any had a definite notion 
 of the true God, and they were all slaves to super- 
 stition. One day one of the Fathers was reciting his 
 Breviary when a woman passed near him. Suddenly 
 she stopped short, and stood motionless, fixing on him 
 a horrified stare, until he had ended his prayers and 
 closed the book. She imagined him to be occupied 
 with the black art, and awaited with trembling appre- 
 hension the result of his incantations. Father Law, 
 too, became an object of suspicion at Shoshong. He 
 was engaged with his sextant, taking the latitude, when 
 some natives, perceiving him kneeling before the mirror 
 (the artificial horizon) were filled with terror. They 
 took him for a sorcerer about to cast some maleficent 
 enchantment over the town. An angry crowd collected. 
 His nationality preserved him from violence ; had he 
 been a coloured man, he would have been very roughly 
 handled, if not torn to pieces, by the populace. 
 
 At an earlier stage of the journey, a very different, 
 though an equally ignorant interpretation was given to 
 his scientific operations. He says, " I was one day 
 taking observations in the Transvaal at an outspan, 
 close to a Dutch Boer's farm. Whilst I was busily
 
 244 DISAPPOINTED HOPES. 
 
 engaged looking down at the mirror with the sextant, 
 two young Boers came up to me, and said : Well, 
 old man, what are you doing ? Looking for gold, 
 eh?"' 
 
 It was with heavy hearts that our missioners took 
 leave of Khame and his subjects in order to seek a 
 resting-place elsewhere. They had hoped against hope 
 that an opening would be made for them to labour 
 amongst the Betchuana tribes ; now this hope was at 
 an end, and there was nothing left for them but to 
 proceed onward at once to the land of the Matabele 
 Zulus, and endeavour to obtain a footing there. 
 Gubulawayo, the residence of the King of that 
 powerful tribe, the neighbours and foes of the 
 Bamanguato, was the goal of their journey. It lay 
 before them at a distance of two hundred and fifty 
 miles to the north-east. 
 
 They were entering now upon the most difficult part 
 of their journey. The country they had to traverse 
 was inhospitable and barren, and at the season at 
 which they were travelling, great scarcity of water 
 prevailed. Many a time the caravan was compelled to 
 push on with hardly any halt, or they would have died 
 of thirst ; many a time the only means of obtaining 
 water was by digging in the dry and sandy bed of a 
 river. Occasionally, despite arduous labour with the 
 spade and pickaxe, even this resource failed them. 
 Once they went on for two days without meeting with 
 any supply of water. On the 3ist of July the pilgrims 
 kept the feast of their holy Founder in the midst of the 
 desert. The Holy Sacrifice was offered in a little tent 
 affording shelter only to the celebrant and the server ; 
 the Blessed Sacrament was exposed during Mass, and 
 the little band of sons of St. Ignatius supplied by the
 
 DISAPPOINTED HOPES. 245 
 
 fervour of their prayers and praises whatever was 
 wanting in outward solemnity and splendour, " Our 
 festive dinner on the occasion," says Father Depelchin, 
 " consisted of one dish, and not a very toothsome one ; 
 a fillet cut from the carcase of a patriarchal goat, with 
 a preparation of Indian corn or millet less resembling 
 bread than a block of granite in colour and consistency. 
 The toast of the day was drunk in the best Makalapsi ; 
 and if it be asked whence came this choice beverage in 
 the interior of Africa, we answer that there was a river 
 of it flowing at our feet." 
 
 The missioners entered the Matabele territory at 
 Tati, on the iyth of August, exactly four months since 
 their departure from Grahamstown. There they found 
 themselves once more among human beings, and the 
 post, passing through with letters from Gubulawayo, 
 gave them the opportunity of communication with the 
 civilized world. Tati is a central point whence routes 
 diverge to Shoshong, the Zambesi, and Gubulawayo. 
 The only interest attaching to this little settlement 
 arises from the gold-fields. Some years back a 
 numerous company of Europeans, having heard that 
 the country was rich in gold, gathered together to 
 search for the precious metal. No alluvial gold was 
 found, but strata of auriferous quartz abounded, which 
 yielded from one to four ounces of gold per ton. A 
 shaft was sunk in the idea that a centre of wealth had 
 been discovered, but after a while the mines were 
 abandoned, and the gold-seekers directed their steps 
 to the diamond-fields of Kimberley. Our Fathers 
 found there a community of about a score of Kafirs, 
 and about as many Boers, who gained a subsistence by 
 the chase of the giraffe, buffalo, ostrich, and antelope.' 
 As the rainy season was approaching, and it might
 
 246 DISAPPOINTED HOPES. 
 
 consequently be imprudent to advance in the direction 
 of the Zambesi River, the Superior thought it advisable 
 to leave the greater portion of the community at Tati, 
 and himself to proceed with one wagon, accompanied 
 by Father Law and Brother de Sadeleer, to Gubula- 
 wayo, to see how the land lay, and if possible, obtain 
 permission from the King, Lo Bengula, to establish a 
 mission in his territory. 
 
 On the day preceding his departure, Father 
 Depelchin, during the Mass of the community, 
 received the vows of Brother de Vylder, an old 
 Pontifical Zouave, who had fought at Mentana. He 
 was still a novice when sent out to Africa, and the 
 time for pronouncing his religious vows had now 
 arrived. The Fathers decorated the little altar, 
 erected under the spreading branches of a tree by 
 the riverside, to the best of their ability for the simple 
 ceremony, and Mass was followed by Benediction of 
 the Blessed Sacrament. There is something of peculiar 
 interest attaching to the vows of poverty, chastity, and 
 obedience, thus pronounced in the wilds of Southern 
 Africa by one who had already left the world far behind 
 him before he pledged himself to forsake it, and had 
 gone to the extremity of the earth at the voice of 
 obedience before he had taken upon himself its yoke. 
 
 The next day, after taking an affectionate leave of 
 their brethren in religion, the two Fathers commenced 
 their journey. They had previously sent forward a 
 letter to the King asking permission to approach his 
 capital, a most necessary precaution, without which 
 they would probably have been expelled from the 
 country. They had been warned to avoid this danger 
 by the fate which befell a French Protestant missionary 
 whom our Fathers had met on their journey through
 
 DISAPPOINTED HOPES. 247 
 
 the Transvaal, returning home from an unsuccessful 
 expedition to Matabeleland. 
 
 Amid these new scenes and this changed manner of 
 life, Father Law was far from forgetting his friends and 
 spiritual children at Grahamstown. At different stages 
 of the journey he wrote to the Superioress of the 
 convent and to other good Catholics, who assisted him 
 with their prayers. With the lady who had been his 
 chief friend in the town he kept up a regular corres- 
 pondence, as she still relied on him to a great extent for 
 spiritual advice and guidance. It will be remembered 
 that soon after his arrival he had received her, with her 
 children, and later on some of her servants, into the 
 Church. He was very anxious for her husband's con- 
 version; he also took a deep interest in one of her 
 sons, a boy of fourteen, who wished to be a Jesuit, and 
 was going to be placed in one of the Colleges of the 
 Society in England. Whilst at Tati, he wrote a long 
 letter to this lady, from which we give some extracts : 
 
 We arrived here two days ago, and Father Depel- 
 chin and myself start for Gubulawayo to-morrow. We 
 hope much to succeed in getting a station there. What 
 joy I shall have to get to a place I have been thinking 
 of for so many months ! I am getting on with the 
 language, and should do more if I had more time. But 
 being Minister and Procurator, I have my time much 
 taken up. I often think of you, especially at Mass and 
 at Communion. It is more true to say I never forget 
 you by name at Mass. For you are, as you know, to 
 be perpetually in my Memento at Mass. I am sure I 
 have the same privilege from you. I am myself trying 
 to do what I urged you so much to do, that is, to 
 live in a spirit of contrition, of love and devotion to
 
 248 DISAPPOINTED HOPES. 
 
 the Passion. Cultivate contrition, the " abiding sorrow 
 for sin " Father Faber speaks of, with an immense hope 
 and confidence in our dear Lord. I thank God for 
 letting me see your soul striving after this treasure of 
 contrition. Keep to it, keep down in the dust, and God 
 will exalt you, and love you, and never forsake you. 
 And do not forget in your prayers at the feet of our 
 Lord a poor sinner who taught others the way of 
 gaining God's heart, and did but little practise what he 
 taught. I really want your prayers. Offer up all you 
 suffer for the conversion of your dear husband. What 
 a happiness it would be for you to have him in the one 
 true Church. I have very strong hopes that he will 
 some day enter. God bless you, and give you grace to 
 advance every day in contrition and hope and love of 
 our crucified Lord. The devotion to the Passion that 
 God has given you is a very precious grace ; try to 
 value it more and more. 
 
 On the loth of September, writing to the same lady 
 from a place about seven or eight miles distant from 
 Gubulawayo, he says : 
 
 I must give you one line to say Father Depelchin 
 and myself have arrived here. We have seen the King, 
 Lo Bengula, and he received us very kindly and 
 cordially. But he has not yet given us an answer as to 
 whether he will give us a place in his kingdom to settle 
 in. I fancy his answer will be favourable, but we may 
 have to wait another month, or even more, before we 
 get his final answer. If we get permission to settle in 
 his domain, I am to remain there, although I may 
 perhaps accompany Father Depelchin to the Zambesi.
 
 DISAPPOINTED HOPES. 249 
 
 It will require great grace to convert the Amandabele, 1 
 so please pray often for their conversion. I am looking 
 out anxiously for a letter from you, and shall be so 
 glad to hear how you are getting on. I am writing 
 under great difficulties, sitting beside the wagon with a 
 strong wind blowing, and clouds of dust. If our friends 
 (here he mentions by name some residents at Grahams- 
 town) could only travel for four months in a wagon, 
 how strong they would become. Father Depelchin 
 declares no one would know me now. 
 
 To his father Augustus writes from Gubulawayo 
 thus : 
 
 Your letter of July iyth arrived here on the igth 
 (September), so I get letters about as quickly as I used 
 to when at Hong Kong, which is not so bad. The 
 Europeans in these parts organize a post of their own, 
 by means of runners ; and it is so well arranged that 
 ordinarily we get letters as easily as if we were living 
 in Europe, and not amongst the Amandabele. ... I 
 have kept a journal since Bloemhof. I send it regularly 
 to Father Weld ; I expect it will appear in pamphlets 
 regarding the Mission. We left Shoshong on the 28th 
 of July, and got to Tati on the iyth of August. Three 
 of our drivers ran away and left us in the lurch two 
 days after leaving Shoshong, so two of our Brothers 
 had to turn drivers during the journey, and hard work 
 it was for them, poor fellows. However, we got through 
 all right, thank God. And for that matter we could all, 
 I think, now manage to drive the bullocks, and yoke 
 them in as well, if there was necessity. After a few 
 
 1 The name of this tribe is usually written Matabele. In quoting 
 Father Law's words, however, his manner of spelling it has been retained.
 
 250 DISAPPOINTED HOPES. 
 
 days at Tati to rest the oxen, Father Depelchin and 
 myself and a lay-brother came on here to see Lo 
 Bengula, and get leave to establish a mission in his 
 country. We are still waiting for an answer, but hope 
 in a day or two to get one. He is going to be married 
 (he has sixteen wives already) to a daughter of Umzila, 
 the chief of another great Zulu tribe, just due east of 
 this, about three hundred miles, and the marriage is 
 not yet over. When about eight miles from here we 
 visited the marriage expedition kraal from Umzila, and 
 saw the future Queen. We were received with the 
 greatest cordiality ; we both agreed that Umzila's 
 people seemed a nicer people than Lo Bengula's. We 
 hope to send some missionaries to their country before 
 long. I only wish I could go thither with the marriage 
 expedition when it returns, for I was charmed with the 
 people. However, I like the Amandabele very welL 
 They are a fine people, and would make splendid 
 Christians, if once they made up their minds to become 
 Christian. But to become a Christian means in this 
 country, so far as I can see, to be ready to die at any 
 moment. If any person of note dies here, the general 
 opinion is that he must have been bewitched by some 
 one. So the witch-doctors " smell out " (according to 
 the expression of the country) some person or persons 
 who are obnoxious and unpopular for some reason or 
 other, and put them down as the cause of the death. 
 These persons, with their families, are then put to 
 death, and their huts burnt. The King's sister was 
 sick the other day; I was told that if she died, her 
 death would be the cause of at least three hundred 
 others. If any one should become a Christian, he would 
 surely be set down as the bewitcher on the occasion of 
 the next death that occurred, and made a victim of.
 
 DISAPPOINTED HOPES. 25 
 
 Possibly there is a little exaggeration here, but it is 
 what we are told. I hope all this superstition may 
 gradually be got rid of. The King does not believe in 
 it, but he pretends to do so in public. 
 
 When the excitement of the long journey was over, 
 and the interest and curiosity awakened by the arrival 
 in a new and strange country had subsided, and the 
 Fathers, awaiting the long-delayed decision of the 
 King, found themselves alone with the exception of a 
 few European traders amongst degraded and brutish 
 aborigines, the slaves of a gross fetichism, it is evident 
 that Father Law felt the isolation of his position 
 keenly. The buoyant tone disappears from his letters, 
 and somewhat of discouragement may be read between 
 the lines. One may almost fancy he is thinking of his 
 own needs when he addresses these words of exhorta- 
 tion to his friend : " Do you remember how I was 
 always speaking to you about hope ? I repeat it now to 
 you again. Make frequent acts of hope. I think that 
 is the greatest honour we can pay to God, to hope in 
 Him. And when we see our own weakness and misery, 
 the more we honour Him by still hoping in Him. How 
 often does holy David calls the man blessed who hopes 
 in God ! In fact there are none made more of by the 
 inspired singer than those who hope. We little think 
 how our despondencies displease our Lord. He likes 
 to be looked upon as a kind and merciful Father." 
 And then, after acknowledging how much the separa- 
 tion from his friends at Grahamstown and elsewhere 
 cost him, he adds : "Be glad that you and I are able 
 to make to God such a sacrifice as this separation is to 
 both of us. The harder the sacrifice, the better the' 
 gift and the greater the reward. I feel it as much as
 
 2 5 2 DISAPPOINTED HOPES. 
 
 you. There will probably be another great sacrifice for 
 me up here. It may be God's will that I pass the rest 
 of my life here without any consolations of conversions, 
 &c., although we must hope that conversions will come 
 even in the Amandabele country. I suppose I shall 
 stay here. I envy those who cross the Zambesi. I am 
 beginning to learn better that in this world it is to do 
 God's will, not brilliant or great things, that God 
 requires of us. Yet you can fancy how hard it will be 
 for me to labour here without any tangible results. So 
 pray that at least I may at length take my soul seri- 
 ously in hand. I am too much given to occupy myself 
 in external work, and to neglect my spiritual duties. 
 This has always been my sin. And perhaps God has 
 punished me by sending me to a place where there are 
 at present scarcely any hopes of actually converting the 
 souls of others, that I may look more to my own soul. 
 ' Physician, heal thyself,' I fancy our Lord says to me." 
 
 Excepting just at the outset, when his sanguine 
 temperament rendered him apt to view men and things 
 invested with rainbow tints, " hues of his own, fresh 
 borrowed from the heart," Father Law seems to have 
 had no very good opinion of the natives amongst whom 
 his abode was temporarily fixed, and to have early come 
 to the conclusion that the obstacles in the way of their 
 conversion were insuperable. Some people of another 
 tribe, present at the Court, impressed him more favour- 
 ably, and he indulged most enthusiastic hopes in their 
 regard. In fact, he set his heart on carrying the light of 
 the Gospel into their country. 
 
 But we are anticipating the course of our narrative, 
 for we must now lay before the reader a brief account 
 of the reception our missioners met with at Gubula- 
 wayo. Before doing so, however, some portions may
 
 DISAPPOINTED HOPES. 253 
 
 be quoted of a letter addressed to Mr. Law, which 
 testifies that if Father Law was mindful of his friends 
 in Grahamstown, they on their part did not forget or 
 cease to regret him. And no wonder, for short as had 
 been his sojourn amongst them, he had left behind him 
 the good odour of Christ : 
 
 With regard to dear Father Law, I have just heard 
 of him in a note received from Father Croonenberghs, 
 that " he is well, and kindly gay, as always." I can 
 only repeat here what I said in my former letter, his 
 loss is one that can never be repaired, and we feel the 
 grief of his absence acutely. His pure and saintly 
 life, his wonderful simplicity and humility, his holy 
 conversation, his great kindness and self-devotion, 
 never stopping at any trouble if he could help or 
 benefit others, his happy, cheery voice and manner, his 
 warm good heart, his earnest and beautiful sermons, 
 his instructions and guidance in the confessional, all 
 these and a thousand other virtues, made him dear to 
 us, and he has left a great void behind. But no, his 
 spirit is still doing good here in many hearts, and his 
 prayers are winning many blessings for us. Seldom do 
 I go out without being met with the anxious inquiry, 
 "Have you any news of dear Father Law?" I am 
 sure it must be a great consolation to you to have such 
 a son ; I never knew a soul more wholly given to God, 
 and I shall never cease to be thankful for the time 
 during which it was my privilege to be directed by him. 
 I was his first convert here ; he took a most kind 
 interest in me, and his advice is still the guide of my 
 life, and will remain in my memory until death.
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 THE STATION IN MATABELELAND. 
 
 AFTER travelling for eight days through a well-watered 
 and picturesque country, Father Law and Father 
 Depelchin reached a village about two days' journey 
 from Gubulawayo, which forms a kind of outpost, 
 beyond which no stranger is allowed to advance 
 without permission from the King. Here they first 
 came into contact with the natives whom they hoped 
 to evangelize. Father Law's journal thus describes 
 the meeting with them: "About 8 a.m., on the 26th 
 of August, a black man, perfectly naked except his 
 waist-cloth made of skins, took his seat on a rock near 
 the wagon, accompanied by two others with guns. We 
 found he was the Induna (chief man) of the place ; 
 soon after several other natives arrived, either to beg, 
 sell, or look on. They all stayed till 1.30 p.m. The 
 next day two orderlies brought us a message from the 
 Induna, requesting us to bring the wagon somewhat 
 nearer to the village. It was accordingly driven on for 
 a couple of miles ; the two orderlies stayed with us 
 until we outspanned about four hundred yards from 
 the village, under one of the koppies, or isolated 
 granite rocks, whose fantastic forms constitute a 
 striking feature in the landscape. They were fine, 
 civil, quite gentlemanlike young fellows, full of cheer- 
 fulness and fun. One of them went through the assegai
 
 THE STATION IN MATABELELAND. 255 
 
 exercise for us, and explained well how the steel was 
 made from ironstone found somewhere up the country." 
 A day or two later he writes : " The natives have been 
 swarming round us all the day, crying out, tusa, make 
 a present, tengela, buy. They brought milk in abund- 
 ance, and other comestibles. We bought a native 
 axe amongst other things. One of them, a fine 
 strapping fellow, was most eloquent in begging me 
 to purchase a milk-pail of carved wood. He 
 exhausted every argument to induce me to buy it. 
 * Here are mere boys,' he said, looking round scorn- 
 fully, ' whose things are bought ; I am a man, and my 
 things are not bought. Ah ! you do not love me, you 
 hate me.' At last I told him I was beaten by him, 
 and gave him a gaudy handkerchief, which was the 
 thing he was coveting all the while. He looked at it, 
 turning it over and over, then with a short ' good-bye ' 
 twisted it round his head, and ran as hard as he could 
 to the village, singing and shouting for joy as he went. 
 If what we saw to-day is a specimen of the Amanda- 
 bele, either they have changed much for the better of 
 late, or they have been greatly calumniated. Certainly 
 they weary one terribly with their tusa and tengela, but 
 there is nothing rude or rough about them, and for my 
 part I was charmed with the poor simple creatures. 
 God grant that we may be allowed to make them 
 Christians ! " 
 
 On the arrival of a letter from Mr. Fairbairn, an 
 English resident at Gubulawayo, saying that the King 
 would be glad to see them, and the road was open to 
 them, the Fathers moved forward. By a kind dispo- 
 sition of Providence, this gentleman, for whom the 
 missioners had received letters of introduction, was 
 with the King when their request for authorization to
 
 256 THE STATION IN MATABELELAND. 
 
 enter the country was brought in, and by him it was 
 interpreted to the monarch. Had it been delivered by 
 any one who was ill-disposed to Catholic missions the 
 permission would probably have been withheld. In 
 the afternoon two young men arrived, appointed to- 
 serve as an escort to conduct the travellers to the royal 
 kraal. "On the road," Father Law writes, "two 
 more young men from the village we had just left, 
 dressed in their best, came up with us, having 
 evidently seized the occasion to get their meals 
 provided for them. It was cool, but they do these 
 things in such a simple way, and are so jolly, that you 
 cannot be angry with them." Everywhere as they 
 approached the town the inhabitants showed the same 
 friendly spirit and absence of distrust. On the ist of 
 September the crowd about the tent during the celebra- 
 tion of Mass was so great, that the next morning they 
 had to say it at 3.30 a.m. in order not to be disturbed. 
 All day long the wagon was surrounded by an impor- 
 tunate crowd eagerly asking for gifts, amongst whom 
 the sisters of the King and other important personages 
 were mingled. These individuals were not easily 
 satisfied ; in fact it was no small trial to patience to 
 listen to the perpetual cry for presents with which the 
 Fathers were beset from sunrise to sunset. 
 
 Lo Bengula lost no time in receiving the new- 
 comers. After offering their presents, a rifle, a 
 musical-box, some rugs and blankets, which the 
 monarch eyed with no small satisfaction, the Fathers 
 withdrew, for he was too busily engaged in devouring 
 his dinner some large pieces of meat which he held 
 in his hands and tore with his teeth to attend to 
 business or make a minute inspection of his treasures. 
 The next day they were admitted to a formal audience.
 
 THE STATION IN MATABELELAND. 257 
 
 How little of royal state was discernible in the King's 
 surroundings may be gathered from Father Law's 
 description : " We crawled through the entrance into 
 the hut, which like all the others is of a circular form, 
 and there was Lo Bengula lying on the ground with 
 eight or nine of his wives sitting opposite. Fairbairn, 
 who had accompanied us, explained our mission briefly, 
 and read the passport the Governor had given us. Lo 
 Bengula said there were many teachers there already 
 and they had done nothing, but he did not give a final 
 answer, and then went on to chat with Fairbairn, who 
 seems on intimate terms with him. Plenty of Kafir 
 beer was handed round, and afterwards meat was 
 brought in ; the King pressed us to eat." This 
 interview concluded with a performance by two 
 magicians, whose mode of procedure was not unlike 
 that of the spiritualists of our own country. These 
 mediums professed to answer questions put to them 
 by means of a mysterious little calabash, dressed as a 
 doll, which they held hidden under their cloaks, and of 
 whose revelations they pretended to be the mouth- 
 piece. The exhibition, rather an embarrassing one for 
 the Fathers, was cut short by the King, at Mr. Fair- 
 bairn's suggestion, and at length the missioners 
 withdrew, with good hopes of a favourable reply to 
 their request. 
 
 On the King returning the visit he showed himself 
 friendly and even familiar in his manner. Catching 
 hold of Father Depelchin's beard more than once, he 
 compared it to the mane of a lion. He partook of 
 lemonade and biscuits, but gave the same answer as 
 before about the mission, " that he did not want more 
 teachers, that his boys did not want to learn, and it 
 was better for them to work." Father Law describes
 
 258 THE STATION IN MATABELELAND. 
 
 Lo Bengula as a man of gigantic stature and excep- 
 tionally dark colour, even among his swarthy race. He 
 affects none of the refinements of European dress, his 
 only article of costume being a waist-cloth. As he 
 returned to his hut, he was followed by a herald 
 singing the praises of His Majesty. 
 
 The period at which the Fathers arrived at the 
 Court was not propitious for the prompt settlement 
 of the business for which they came, as all was bustle 
 and excitement in preparation for the King's marriage 
 with some new wives, the most important of whom was 
 the daughter of a neighbouring potentate, Umzila. 
 The missioners were present at some of the festive 
 scenes. Being attached to the Court, they were 
 expected to follow the King's movements ; it was 
 his custom when travelling from one residence to 
 another to be followed by a long procession, in which 
 European residents took part. Father Law writes in 
 his journal : 
 
 September i4th. Just after breakfast we got a 
 message from the King that he was on the move, so 
 we inspanned and followed his three wagons and 
 Fairbairn's till we got to a halting-place. We passed 
 the new Queen and the new wives on the road. They 
 were decently draped in blue cloth. The next day off 
 again about 10 a.m. back to Amatze. We are much 
 amused at having to run about the Veldt after the King. 
 However, we understood he wishes us to follow him. 
 At 5 p.m. we walked to the camp where the men of 
 Umzila were ; we found them dancing and stood looking 
 on for three-quarters of an hour. It was a sight well 
 worth seeing. There were about a hundred and fifty 
 men and sixty or seventy women, forming an ellipse,
 
 THE STATION IN MATABELELAND. 259 
 
 the women opposite the men. They danced while 
 singing, and beat time with their feet to the song, all 
 holding sticks in their hands, sometimes advancing, 
 sometimes retreating, at times pointing their 'sticks on 
 high, now to the right, now to the left. The tunes were 
 very good and spirited, and were sung in beautiful time 
 and good harmony. I was perfectly delighted ; such 
 dances must be a great recreation to the people. 
 Afterwards we went to call upon the Induna at the 
 head of the expedition. He was a fine, open-faced, 
 manly fellow. He shook hands with us heartily ; this 
 was remarkable, as the natives never shake hands 
 unless they have learned the practice from Europeans. 
 We also saw the future Queen, who said, as did the 
 Induna, that their people would gladly receive us. To 
 intimate that we were not Protestants, we said we were 
 Abafundisi (teachers), who did not marry, and we showed 
 them the crucifix, as the book from which we taught. 
 Another day we took some presents to the new Queen 
 and the Indunas. We were received with the same 
 hearty kindness as before and brought into a hut. 
 One of the Indunas made a speech, explaining what 
 we had come for ; the Queen thanked us ; then the 
 other Induna made a speech. All was done with 
 great order and decorum. The same night four or 
 five boys came up and sat down by our fire. After 
 a little while one of them snatched Brother de 
 Sadeleer's cap from his head and ran off with it 
 to the kraal. It was too dark to pursue him. On 
 the King hearing of the theft, he said, " Why 
 did you not shoot him ? When any one is found 
 prowling about the camp at night he is counted as a 
 wolf." Death appears to be the punishment of every' 
 crime in this country.
 
 z6o THE STATION IN MATABELELAND. 
 
 Gubulawayo has advantages of situation not often 
 found in an African town. It stands on an elevated 
 plateau, four thousand feet above the level of the sea, 
 and commands an extensive view over the country. 
 The air is exhilarating, and it is considered healthy for 
 Europeans. A few merchants, chiefly English, reside 
 in the neighbourhood ; the scale of their commercial 
 operations may be judged of by the fact that when one 
 of them gave up his holding and started for the coast, 
 he did so with a train of wagons containing ten thousand 
 pounds of ivory and four hundred of ostrich feathers. 
 The long delay in obtaining an answer from the King 
 gave the Fathers an opportunity of cultivating friendly 
 relations with the white men established in the town 
 and its vicinity. They were all very kind, with the 
 exception of one, who at first took part with the 
 Protestant missionaries in the endeavour to deter Lo 
 Bengula from granting the Fathers permission to make 
 a station there. Fortunately, however, this merchant 
 (the one alluded to above) was desirous of leaving the 
 country, and it occurred to him, that if the Fathers 
 remained, he might profitably dispose of his premises 
 to them. Immediately his demeanour changed ; and 
 on Father Depelchin agreeing to purchase his holding 
 should the King's consent be obtained, he employed his 
 influence with the monarch to that effect. But it was 
 a trivial incident that determined Lo Bengula to grant 
 the desired authorization. He happened one day, after 
 the marriage ceremonies were all over, to go to the 
 Father's camp. He had fixed his eye on their wagon, 
 and wanted to buy it, as his own was greatly out of 
 repair, and unfit for the gala-carriage of his new 
 consort. His offer was declined, but he was assured 
 that if he would allow the missioners to remain perma-
 
 THE STATION IN MATABELELAND. 261 
 
 nently he should have it for nothing, or his own royal 
 equipage should be thoroughly renovated and decorated. 
 Consequently the long delayed sanction was given on 
 1 8th October, and immediately after Father Depelchin, 
 accompanied by the lay-brother, started for Tati, to 
 bring up an additional wagon, and some members of 
 the little company that had been left there. Father 
 Law remained alone at Gubulawayo to keep the King 
 in good humour and hold the position they had gained. 
 There is no doubt that in giving his sanction to the 
 Fathers to remain at the kraal, Lo Bengula was princi- 
 pally, if not exclusively, actuated by the conviction 
 that their presence there would be advantageous to 
 himself, in so much as they would render material 
 services both to him and to his subjects. The skill he 
 had observed in them for various mechanical arts 
 biassed him in their favour, and Mr. Fairbairn had 
 represented to him how well it would be for him if he 
 could have his gun and his wagon repaired in his own 
 capital and under his own eye. The missionaries, he 
 assured him, would do all such things for him, and 
 what was more, would teach these arts to his subjects. 
 The Fathers had, since their arrival, daily paid a visit 
 of courtesy to the royal hut, and day by day the savage 
 monarch had appeared more pleased with his visitors, 
 and gave signs of increasing confidence in them. For 
 instance, a venomous snake had hidden itself among 
 the rocks, and defied the attempts of the natives to 
 destroy it. The King applied to the missioners ; on 
 the next appearance of the reptile it was despatched by 
 a well-directed shot from a pistol. On another occasion 
 a messenger came from a distance of about eighteen 
 miles to report that a boy had been bitten by a snake. 
 Father Law was sent for. The King lent him a horse,
 
 262 THE STATION IN MATABELELAND. 
 
 and accompanied by the messenger, who ran all the 
 way by the side of the rider, he proceeded to the place 
 where the sufferer was. " Luckily for me and my 
 medical reputation," he says, " there was not much the 
 matter with him. I was afraid I should find him in 
 extremis, as he had been bitten about five hours. But 
 the bite was not much. I administered some medicine 
 to the boy, of which a third part was taken at once ; 
 the second dose I ordered to be taken when the sun 
 was half-way down the heavens, and the remainder at 
 sunset. The snake was a kind of cobra ; at some 
 seasons the bites are less dangerous than at others." 
 The boy recovered, and we can easily believe that the 
 angels guardian of the poor natives had a share in the 
 cure, on account of the confidence it seemed to inspire 
 in the missioners. In all the villages Father Law 
 passed through he was welcomed and regaled with 
 curdled milk. Some of the people came to him with 
 their mouths open, pointing to the teeth that gave them 
 pain, but he was hardly prepared to practise dental 
 surgery even of the simplest kind. However, he was- 
 always ready to make himself all things to all men, and 
 he soon became a favourite with the savages around 
 him. We have seen him in Scotland, in Demerara, at 
 Grahamstown, attracting men to himself in order that 
 he might lead them to God, and the same principle 
 actuated him now. He saw the aborigines enslaved by 
 degrading superstitions, apparently inaccessible to the 
 higher ideas of religion, and he felt the deepest compas- 
 sion for them. Misereor super turbam, he said with His 
 Divine Master ; he hoped by gaining their affection to 
 obtain influence over them, and induce them to listen 
 to his instructions. He would allow a crowd of Kafirs 
 to collect around him and remain for hours while he
 
 THE STATION IN MATABELELAND. 263 
 
 played on the flute for their amusement, although, as 
 is well known, the offensive odour of the black men is 
 almost insupportable for any length of time. One day 
 while the little party were at dinner in their tent, a man 
 stalked in and rudely proclaimed that he was hungry. 
 The others bade him go away, but Father Law rose 
 from his seat in the kindest manner and emptied the 
 contents of his plate, as yet almost untasted, into 
 the hands of the intruder. During the absence of the 
 other missioners he lived in the house of one of the 
 traders, and pursued his study of the language, a 
 dialect of Zulu, so vigorously, as soon to be able to 
 converse in it sufficiently well to dispense with the 
 services of an interpreter. 
 
 Meanwhile, Father Depelchin had journeyed with 
 all possible speed back to Tati, taking with him all 
 manner of supplies, including a flock of sheep and 
 goats, for the re-victualling of the camp that had been 
 established there. These provisions were most welcome 
 to the missioners who had been left there. For the 
 first four or five weeks of their sojourn in the region of 
 the gold-fields they had wanted for nothing, the Boer- 
 hunters having furnished them with game of all kinds 
 and eggs in abundance. But their best friends had 
 gone to a distance, and they had been reduced to sore 
 straits before the return of Father Depelchin. The 
 relations between the missioners and the members of 
 this little settlement in the wilderness had been most 
 cordial. The suspicion entertained by Boers for Catholic 
 priests is very great, and their ignorance of our religion 
 well-nigh indescribable. This feeling at first prevailed 
 over the pleasure the settlers experienced at seeing 
 European faces, and hearing news of the remote world. 
 But this state of things did not last long. One of the
 
 264 THE STATION IN MATABELELAND. 
 
 Boers ventured to ask whether the Fathers worshipped 
 a woman instead of God. This question opened the 
 way to the removal of the distrust, and the commence- 
 ment of friendship and confidence. The men listened 
 with attention day after day to instructions on the 
 truths of religion. Every Sunday they assisted at Mass, 
 and heard sermons delivered in their own language by 
 one of the Fathers ; and if unfortunate circumstances 
 had not obliged some of them to depart elsewhere, it 
 was hoped they would have enrolled themselves in the 
 ranks of the faithful. 
 
 They had, moreover, an opportunity of showing in 
 a practical manner their kind feelings towards the 
 missioners, for no sooner had Father Croonenberghs 
 arrived in Tati, than he was laid up by a severe attack 
 of rheumatic fever, which deprived him of the use of his 
 limbs, so that for three weeks he could not leave his 
 bed. It was most providential that this illness had 
 not overtaken the good missioner during the long and 
 fatiguing journey that was just ended, amid the vicissi- 
 tudes of heat and cold, of weariness and thirst to which 
 he had been exposed in traversing mountain and plain, 
 forest and desert. The hunters were assiduous in their 
 attentions to the sick man. Day after day one or 
 other would come and sit by the bed that had been 
 made up for him in the tent, in order to cheer the long 
 hours by their conversation or listen to him while he 
 expounded to them the dogmas of the faith. Never 
 did they come home laden with the spoils of the chase 
 without bringing what was most delicate to tempt the 
 appetite of the invalid. The other members of the 
 mission shared also in the kindness of these strangers, so 
 as to enable one of them to write: "Giraffe and buffalo, 
 antelope and wild ostrich are now our daily food."
 
 THE STATION IN MATABELELAND. 265 
 
 Father Croonenberghs was sufficiently recovered by 
 the time that Father Depelchin arrived to accompany 
 him on his return to Gubulawayo. He was chosen for 
 the Mission on account of his talent for painting ; Brother 
 Hedley and Brother Nigg were also selected because 
 of their skill in various handicrafts. It may perhaps 
 at first sight appear as if these considerations were of 
 secondary importance in comparison to the great work 
 which it is the object of the missioner to accomplish. 
 But those who look below the surface of things will 
 perceive that it is necessary to find something the 
 savages can understand and appreciate, something 
 by which they will recognize the missioner's superior 
 knowledge and ability, and the material benefits he is 
 able to confer on them, before introducing to their 
 notice those supernatural truths which at first would 
 prove empty and even unpleasant sounds to their ears. 
 The true artist despises nothing that leads even 
 remotely to the perfection of his work, and knows that 
 the lower he lays the foundation, the more secure will 
 be the edifice he hopes to raise on it. 
 
 Accordingly, Brother Hedley, an old ship's carpenter 
 and sail-maker, at once set to work to repair the King's 
 wagon, under the direction and with the assistance of 
 Father Law. The work was done to perfection. 
 The wagon, covered entirely afresh, looked like 
 new. When it had been painted and decorated by 
 Father Croonenberghs it excited universal and ecstatic 
 admiration. The King himself was so delighted that 
 he stood contemplating it for hours together. And 
 when, as the finishing stroke, an heraldic device was 
 added to this royal chariot, consisting of an assegai 
 and battle-axe surmounted by a crown, as the Imperial 
 arms of the Matabele monarch, his gratitude and joy
 
 266 THE STATION IN MATABELELAND. 
 
 knew no bounds. In general, Father Croonenberghs' 
 talents gave the King great satisfaction. He received 
 permission to go into every part of the kraal, even into 
 the sacred burial-place of the kings, where it was death 
 to enter. Moreover he received a commission to make 
 a picture of the " great dance," representing the King 
 at the head of his whole army all arrayed in their war 
 costume of ostrich feathers. This dance is to celebrate a 
 great solemnity, the feast of the first-fruits, kept soon 
 after the New Year, before which no one is allowed to 
 touch the fruits of the season. It is interesting to see 
 here a rite of the Mosaic law represented by the customs 
 of this savage tribe. Father Law, who witnessed the 
 dance, tells us the sight was very fine. " Four thousand 
 men in full war costume, with shields and assegais, and 
 imposing head-dresses of black ostrich plumes, danced 
 and sang for about an hour. Afterwards they formed 
 into squares, and filed in good order back into the 
 kraal. As we stood just outside the entrance we had 
 a good view of the flower of the Matabele warriors, for 
 they passed us as it were in review. A finer set of men 
 I never saw. Amongst the dancers we noticed about 
 ten men whose head-dress struck us as being of a 
 peculiar and novel description. It consisted of a good- 
 sized book, which they wore spread open, fastened on 
 the head so that the pages fluttered in the wind at 
 every movement of the dancer. We discovered that 
 the volumes put to so original a use were Protestant 
 Bibles." 
 
 The answer given by the King before Father 
 Depelchin's journey to Tati was not conclusive. How- 
 ever, on the return of the missioners he confirmed the 
 permission granted them to establish themselves per- 
 manently in his kingdom. He furthermore sanctioned
 
 THE STATION IN MATABELELAND. 267 
 
 their purchase of the premises of Mr. Greite, the trader 
 who wished to leave the country. An agreement for 
 the transfer of the property was consequently drawn 
 up. Two cottages of stone for a dwelling-house, another 
 of iron to be employed as a storehouse, besides a stable, 
 all of which were surrounded by a fence, were handed 
 over to Father Depelchin. The missioners proposed to 
 start a farm on a piece of land attached to the property, 
 situated about eighteen miles from the town, in a 
 fertile and well-watered valley. They hoped, as soon 
 as circumstances would permit, to build a house there 
 and raise vegetables and maize, which, dressed in 
 various ways, formed the staple of their diet. This 
 first station in Central Africa was dedicated to the 
 Sacred Heart. Pending the evacuation of the premises 
 by the trader's family, the wagons were drawn into the 
 enclosure, and the missioners continued to live in them, 
 while they made use of the stable as a chapel. There 
 it was that Christmas found them, and again a stable 
 served for all that was most holy upon earth. Thus 
 the Mass of the Nativity was celebrated amid surround- 
 ings that vividly recalled those of the great event it 
 commemorated. The altar was decked as well as it 
 could be in the most decent part of the building. Not 
 far off on one side was a flock of sheep, on the other 
 a horse. The little community and two or three 
 white men and as many blacks took the place of the 
 shepherds, and the angels certainly were present 
 there, when at midnight the Victim Whose conde- 
 scension and love know no end was offered up for 
 the unhappy Africans. 
 
 The Society of Jesus had now obtained the imme- 
 diate object of its desires, a footing in the capital of 
 this powerful tribe, and the real work of the Mission
 
 268 THE STATION IN MATABELELAND. 
 
 was about to begin. The first endeavour of the Fathers 
 was to become better acquainted with the language of 
 the people, and to gain their confidence more and more. 
 This did not prove a difficult task. The medical skill 
 of the Fathers was frequently called into requisition by 
 the natives. The King sought their aid in a severe 
 attack of rheumatism, and they earned the gratitude of 
 the Induna of a village three days' journey from the 
 town, by curing him of opthalmia, a malady very 
 prevalent among the people. When they refused pay- 
 ment for this service, saying it was done for the love of 
 "the King above," the man's astonishment and delight 
 was unbounded, and he promised them abundance of 
 flocks and herds if they would settle in the country 
 under his jurisdiction. Somewhat later he brought to 
 them his daughter, .who had been ill for two years, 
 imploring them to cure her. For her, too, they pre- 
 scribed with success. One of their earliest patients 
 was a poor Hottentot leper, who presented himself at 
 the house of Mr. Martin, a trader with whom Father 
 Croonenberghs, on account of his recent illness, took 
 up his abode on his arrival at Gubulawayo. The 
 loathsome disease was gradually eating away his flesh, 
 the first and second joints of several fingers being 
 entirely gone. His family had thrust him out from 
 amongst them ; naked and alone, the miserable outcast 
 wandered about seeking shelter among the rocks, only 
 venturing amongst men in order to obtain wherewithal 
 to support life, often only to be repulsed by them with 
 scorn. Mr. Martin charitably took compassion on him; 
 he was clothed and fed, and the Fathers erected a small 
 hut for him near their enclosure. There one or other 
 of them visited him from time to time, to instruct him 
 in the truths of Christianity. Each day he dragged
 
 THE STATION IN MATABELELAND. 269 
 
 himself to the door of the mission, and laid down his 
 porringer to be filled with meat and vegetables from 
 the Father's table. This poor Hottentot was their first 
 convert. It is to be hoped that when his soul was 
 released from its horrible prison, it was carried by the 
 angels to the presence of God. 
 
 These and other tangible benefits were enough to 
 establish the reputation of the missioners with Lo 
 Bengula and his people. But the crowning triumph 
 was achieved by what appears to us a simple thing. 
 In one of his visits to the mission, the King chanced 
 to hear Brother Nigg, who, it appears, fulfilled the 
 duties of tailor as well as cook, at work with his 
 sewing-machine. Nothing would content him but 
 that the Brother should go to the royal hut, for the 
 purpose of exhibiting before the Court the manner of 
 working this marvel of mechanical ingenuity. The 
 King had seen a great many wonders, but a machine 
 that could sew was too much. It was more than he 
 could believe. Accordingly a solemn exhibition was 
 arranged. The principal Queens and Indunas were 
 invited to attend. The Brother carried the machine 
 upon his shoulder into the hut and placed it in the 
 centre ; some skins were produced, and operations 
 commenced. Lo Bengula watched every motion 
 intently ; in a few minutes three neatly finished powder 
 bags were displayed to his wondering eyes. In his 
 delight he ordered an ample repast to be placed before 
 the Brother, the viands coming from his own royal 
 table. The comments of this King were above those 
 of a savage. "What people these English are" (he 
 gave this name to all Europeans), he exclaimed in the 
 Zulu tongue ; " how clever and skilful they are ! They 
 can do almost everything, and yet they must die like
 
 270 THE STATION IN MATABELELAND. 
 
 ourselves ! " One might almost imagine that he had 
 read the words: "You are gods, and all of you the 
 sons of the Most High. But you like men shall die, 
 and shall fall like one of the princes." l 
 
 The Fathers did not need to be reminded by a 
 heathen potentate that they too were mortal. Each 
 one felt that more than most men he held his life by an 
 uncertain tenure. The reckless indifference wherewith 
 this swarthy despot condemned his subjects to death, 
 warned them that should they have the misfortune 
 to lose his favour or excite his wrath, a similar fate 
 would probably be theirs. Besides their resources 
 might fail, and no further supplies be forthcoming ; or 
 more likely still, they might fall victims to one of the 
 maladies which abound in Africa and prove fatal to 
 many Europeans. Bishop Ricards remarked to one 
 of the Jesuit Fathers in Grahamstown, that he had 
 felt convinced, on seeing the caravan depart, that each 
 one of the band of missioners had- made the sacrifice 
 of his life in the cause for which he was to labour. 
 This had indeed soon to prove the case with one of the 
 party who had been left at Tati. Father Fuchs, whose 
 delicate constitution unfitted him to bear the fatigues 
 of the journey, had rapidly lost the little strength he 
 possessed. In January of the following year he suc- 
 cumbed to an attack of fever. He died peacefully, 
 calm and resigned, with a smile upon his lips, after 
 having received the last rites of the Church at the 
 hands of Father Blanca, who at that time with one 
 lay-brother, himself sick, was his only companion. He 
 was followed to the grave by two white men, one a 
 Protestant, the other a Catholic ; and there in that 
 desert spot rest the remains of this first offering of the 
 
 1 Psalm Ixxxi. 6.
 
 THE STATION IN MATABELELAND. 271 
 
 Mission, an example of devotion, and now an inter- 
 cessor for the souls he sought to save. 
 
 There is little doubt that not one amongst our band 
 of missionaries expected ever to see their native land 
 again. Father Law plainly expresses his conviction 
 that they will never meet again on earth in a letter he 
 wrote to his father at the close of the year. In fact 
 the persuasion that he was going forth to return no 
 more appears to have taken possession of his mind 
 before he left Grahamstown, since one of the last 
 meditations he wrote before his departure is headed 
 by these words of holy Job, which foreshadow the 
 destiny that awaited him : " Behold short years pass 
 away, and I am walking in a path by which I shall not 
 return. My spirit shall be wasted, my days shall be 
 shortened, and only the grave remaineth . for me." 1 
 What more suitable words could he have chosen, had 
 he foreseen the disappointment and apparent failure 
 that would weigh down his spirits, the fatigue and 
 privations that would cut short his days while yet in 
 the prime of life, the lonely grave that awaited him 
 in the sands of an African desert before the year now 
 opening should reach its close. The letter to which 
 reference has been made runs as follows : "I cannot 
 expect to see any of my dear relations again in this 
 world, but the separation is for Jesus Christ, and He 
 will know how to manage that we shall be no losers by 
 it in eternity. I beg dearest May and you, dear Father, 
 and all my brothers and sisters to help me by their 
 prayers, and to think that as I am here, the Amanda- 
 bele country is specially confided to their prayers. So 
 in their visits to the Blessed Sacrament, let them 
 sometimes repair the want of devotion to the Blessed 
 1 Job xvi. 23 ; xvii. i.
 
 272 THE STATION IN MATABELELAND. 
 
 Sacrament which there is here through ignorance of the 
 faith. In their acts of contrition let them grieve for 
 the sins of the Amandabele, who do not understand 
 sin or sorrow for it. In their acts of adoration let 
 them give God some homage for the poor Amandabele, 
 who do nothing for God. And when praying to the 
 Blessed Virgin Mary let them pray to her for them, 
 and she will be moved when she looks at such great 
 misery as is here." 
 
 And in the commencement of the year (1880) he 
 wrote to his friend at Grahamstown in a somewhat 
 similar strain : " I write one line to wish you a happy 
 new year, and the same to all my friends at Grahams- 
 town. I wish you abundant graces this new year, and 
 much progress in contrition, in the love of God, in the 
 love of prayer. May I beg you to ask the same for me ? 
 We are hastening on to eternity. May we more and 
 more often ask ourselves, like St. Stanislaus Kostka, 
 ' What is this to eternity ? ' Let us think of what 
 the Roman Catechism says of Heaven, ' that the 
 thought of it should make the hardest things we have 
 to bear easy and even pleasant.' I recommend myself 
 anew to your prayers. May God bless you and give 
 you plenty of hope. May He grant us both a happy 
 death, that we may be together for ever in a blissful 
 eternity."
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 A FRESH ENTERPRISE. 
 
 IT may perhaps be asked why the Fathers of the 
 Society were so desirous of making a permanent 
 settlement in the capital of the Matabele kingdom, 
 instead of pressing forward to the river from which the 
 Mission took its name. For this there were several 
 reasons, (i) The distance from the Colony rendered 
 it necessary to establish their head-quarters at an 
 accessible spot in the interior which could serve as 
 a basis of operations, and a means of keeping open 
 their communication with the civilized world. (2) To 
 have entered the valley of the Zambesi during the hot, 
 rainy season, lasting from November to March, would 
 have been to expose the whole party to almost certain 
 death. During that period violent storms follow each 
 other in rapid succession, the clouds deliver perfect 
 salvoes of electrical discharges, accompanied by deluges 
 of rain, which fill the ravines with rushing torrents, 
 and render travelling impossible. (3) Since the authority 
 of Lo Bengula was paramount throughout the whole 
 region consigned to the Jesuit Fathers, it was indispen- 
 sable for them to secure his protection and friendship, 
 as no stranger is permitted to pass through the country 
 without obtaining his sanction. But as far as the 
 evangelization of the people amongst whom they had 
 pitched their tent was concerned, a few months' 
 s
 
 274 A FRESH ENTERPRISE. 
 
 residence in their midst was sufficient to convince 
 the missioners that this was a task, if not altogether 
 Jiopeless, at any rate of immense difficulty. Although 
 the monarch and his subjects showed great eagerness 
 to avail themselves of the medical and mechanical skill 
 of the new-comers, they were more than indifferent to 
 their spiritual teaching. Bred to war, slaves to 
 -witchcraft, with polygamy an institution among them, 
 the hearts of Matabele seemed to offer only a sterile 
 and stony soil wherein to sow the seeds of Christianity. 
 A recent traveller speaking of them says : " The people 
 .are truly far from God. If there is such a state as 
 unpreparedness of mind for the Gospel, then are the 
 Matabele unprepared. No people could need it more ; 
 none could be less prepared or inclined to receive it. 
 To preach the Gospel, in point of fact, was to condemn 
 their whole social system from its very roots." 1 Utterly 
 unable to comprehend any supernatural motive, they 
 recognized a power of evil, whom they sought to 
 appease by magical ceremonies, and had of a Supreme 
 Being only the vaguest idea, for they paid Him no 
 worship nor associated Him with any rites. Induratum 
 .est cor eorum, the missionaries were compelled to 
 acknowledge ; only a miracle of grace could change 
 these stones of Gubulawayo into sons of Abraham. 
 Even the Protestant missionaries, who had been 
 among them for twenty years, and had engaged in 
 .commercial transactions, did not profess to have made 
 .a single convert. In fact the adoption of Christianity 
 was forbidden in the kingdom, and the people were so 
 -enslaved to their absolute monarch that no man would 
 dare, were he so inclined, to become a Christian 
 without his consent. " Lo Bengula," writes Father 
 1 Mackenzie, Ten Years North of the Orange River, p. 332.
 
 A FRESH ENTERPRISE. 275 
 
 Law, " is very friendly, and is naturally of a good 
 heart. Personally I like him very much, and he is well 
 disposed towards white people. But the detestable 
 Zulu system, which gives unlimited and irresponsible 
 power to a chief, is enough to spoil the best nature. I 
 am afraid it will be very hard to make Christians of 
 men so utterly dependent on their chief. Only if the 
 King's heart were touched by grace could the con- 
 version of his subjects become possible, so complete is 
 their subservience to this sovereign arbiter of life and 
 death." 
 
 It will perhaps be remembered that the new Queen, 
 whose espousals with Lo Bengula were the great event 
 of the day when our missioners arrived at the royal resi- 
 dence, was the daughter of Umzila, chief of the Abagasi, 
 another powerful tribe of the Zulu race. This Princess 
 was accompanied to her future home by a large escort 
 of her father's subjects, and with this party Father 
 Law had some intercourse while the missioners were 
 in attendance upon Lo Bengula, " running about the 
 Veldt," as he expressed it, " after the King." The 
 courtesy with which they received him, and the interest 
 with which they listened to him while he expounded 
 the object that led the missioners to penetrate into the 
 interior of Africa, awakened in his breast an ardent 
 desire to carry the tidings of salvation into their 
 country. Both the Princess and her attendants assured 
 him that he might count upon a kind reception from 
 the chief and the people, who would gladly welcome 
 the teachers of religion. Father Law regarded his 
 meeting with this embassy, or rather its presence at 
 the Court of the Matabele King at this juncture, as a 
 providential dispensation to indicate to him the field 
 of apostolic labour wherein he was called to work. He
 
 276 A FRESH ENTERPRISE. 
 
 writes : " The people of Umzila seem a far nicer 
 people than the Amandabele. They appeared delighted 
 at the thought of some of us going there. The 
 Protestant missionaries are not yet in their country. 
 They say Umzila would receive us very kindly ; of this 
 I have no doubt. I should be intensely delighted if I 
 were sent there, which is not impossible. When I 
 showed them a picture of the Crucifixion, one of the 
 Indunas, pointing to the figure upon the Cross, said, 
 That is true. I was much struck with the remark. 
 They appear to me a peaceful, well-disposed people, 
 who already show signs of the beginning of faith. There 
 is here a soil which if cultivated would yield a rich 
 harvest." 
 
 Another incident, trivial in itself, that occurred at 
 this time served to strengthen the good opinion which the 
 interviews with the daughter of Umzila and the men in 
 attendance on her had led Father Law to form of this 
 people. One morning he had gone out, as his frequent 
 custom was, to wash some linen in a little stream that 
 ran through the brushwood about twenty minutes' 
 walk from the place where the wagon was drawn up. 
 About two hours after his return, just as he was sitting 
 down to dinner, he discovered that his pocket-knife 
 was missing ; he must have left it by the side of the 
 stream. This loss disconcerted him greatly, but he 
 thought it hardly worth while to revisit the spot where 
 he had been in the morning, as the Kafirs were 
 encamped all about by the water-side, and they would 
 doubtless have long since espied the knife and picked 
 it up. So he resigned himself to bid farewell to his 
 knife. Not long after, three or four of the chief men 
 of the embassy were descried approaching ; the Fathers 
 wondered what errand of importance led them thither ;
 
 A FRESH ENTERPRISE. 277 
 
 it was to bring back the missing article which they had 
 found and were desirous of restoring to its owner. 
 Father Law was very pleased at recovering his knife, 
 which he had despaired of ever seeing again, and no 
 less pleased and surprised at the honesty of the 
 strangers, for honesty is a virtue foreign to the Kafir 
 nature, and the missioners had constantly to be on their 
 guard against the thievish propensities of the Matabele. 
 This proof of the superiority of Umzila's people 
 increased Father Law's desire to become their apostle, 
 but no thought could be entertained of executing his 
 design until the spring was well advanced, and the 
 cessation of the rains rendered travelling practicable. 
 Thus all further missionary explorations were of neces- 
 sity deferred until April or May, when it was expected 
 that some recruits from Europe, sent out by the Father 
 General of the Society to strengthen the hands of the 
 Fathers, would have arrived at Gubulawayo. Father 
 Depelchin then proposed to lead a little band of 
 labourers to the ultimate goal of the Mission, the 
 country about the Zambesi River ; and it was resolved 
 that somewhat later, Father Law should start on the 
 desired expedition to Umzila's dominions, the promised 
 land of his radiant hopes. 
 
 Meanwhile preparations for the journey were entered 
 upon, and information sought from all who were 
 qualified to give it as to the character of the country 
 to be traversed, and the best means of transport. The 
 accounts given did not afford much encouragement to 
 the intending travellers. The traders and hunters who 
 were acquainted with the land agreed in affirming that 
 it was fertile, and abounded in game ; that the inhabi- 
 tants were intelligent and, for the most part, fairly 
 peaceable. But the route was said to be of the most
 
 278 A FRESH ENTERPRISE. 
 
 difficult description; through high jungle and along 
 roads almost impassable for wagons up to the Sabi 
 River, while beyond that point all attempts to proceed 
 otherwise than on foot would be utterly vain. One 
 merchant, narrating his own experiences as leader of a 
 caravan consisting of five wagons and seventeen men, 
 said that he had been compelled to abandon his design 
 of penetrating further, and to return to Gubulawayo. 
 The journey back had only been accomplished with 
 extreme difficulty, and with diminished numbers, four 
 of the party having fallen victims to the African fever. 
 
 Reports such as these might have disheartened any 
 man less- sanguine and enthusiastic than Father Law. 
 On him they had no such effect. He considered himself 
 inspired by God to undertake this enterprise, and could 
 not rest without obeying the Divine command. It was 
 useless to attempt to dissuade him from the project.. 
 At one time it was rumoured that the new Queen would 
 be returning to her own country on a visit to her royal 
 father, and it was suggested that Father Law should 
 travel in her suite, but the plan came to nothing. All 
 that remained was to obtain the authorization of Lo 
 Bengula, and determine upon the means of transport. 
 In regard to the latter, the option lay between the 
 wagon and Kafir porters ; the wagon was chosen, as 
 being less expensive and more trustworthy. 
 
 When Father Law spoke of asking Lo Bengula for 
 permission to go and found a mission in Umzila's land,. 
 a merchant who had been acquainted with the King 
 for many years told him that there was no likelihood 
 of his obtaining it. Father Law only smiled, and said, 
 " We shall see." Then he asked the merchant to go 
 with him the next morning to the royal hut, and help 
 him plead his cause. The man was evidently flattered ;
 
 A FRESH ENTERPRISE. 279 
 
 he assented willingly. On the morrow accordingly 
 they asked an audience of the King. On the way to 
 the kraal, the merchant reiterated his assurances that 
 they might just as well have remained at home, for any 
 chance they had of gaining their object. Again Father 
 Law said, " We shall see," adding, " I mean to ask 
 him to let me go, to ask a hundred times over, if needs 
 be." They were admitted at once to the presence of 
 the King, who liked to receive the visits of white 
 men. Father Law told him wherefore he had come.. 
 The King inquired for what purpose did he wish to 
 take this journey ? " To teach the people the way of 
 salvation, not to pursue the chase or carry on com- 
 mercial transactions," was the answer. After two or 
 three inquiries respecting the arrangements of the 
 expedition, the King said : " Very well, you may go, I 
 give my consent." Then unable to restrain an outburst 
 of genuine admiration for the humble religious standing 
 before him, he exclaimed : " That is what I call a true 
 man, for he has but one mouth ; his heart speaks the 
 same as his mouth, and his heart is good. Yes, the 
 heart of the ttmfundisi (teacher) is very good." The 
 merchant sitting by was not a little surprised at 
 the result of the interview being so very different to 
 what he had anticipated. Perhaps had his services as 
 interpreter been employed, the reception might have 
 been less favourable, and the royal consent less easily 
 obtained. Fortunately Father Law was able to proffer 
 his request and explain his plans in the Zulu tongue. 
 Finding Lo Bengula so graciously inclined, he ventured 
 to ask him to supply the guides he would require, 
 offering, if he would do so, to leave with him the large 
 handsome dog, Prince, which was a gift from the 
 people at Kimberley. The monarch had often cast
 
 a8o A FRESH ENTERPRISE. 
 
 wistful eyes on the fine animal ; he gladly agreed 
 to these conditions, and the bargain was forthwith 
 made. 
 
 Writing to his father on April 8th, Augustus Law 
 announced his approximate departure. 
 
 Father Depelchin, our Superior, left yesterday en 
 route for Zambesi. It was an affecting parting, for he 
 is old, and going of course to a place very dangerous 
 to one's health. Then I too start in May for Umzila's 
 country, so that it may be that we never see each 
 other again in this life. There are some wagons coming 
 up with some more Fathers. Father Depelchin will 
 first meet them and then go up to Zambesi, taking 
 those he wants with him. Some will come here, and 
 directly they arrive, I start. The King has promised 
 to send me four or five men, as guides. That will be a 
 good thing for this reason also, it will be a kind of 
 introduction for me from Lo Bengula to Umzila. The 
 two chiefs are on good terms. The people have never 
 yet been taught anything about the Christian religion, 
 so we hope much for their conversion. They are said 
 to be a more tractable people than the Amandabele, 
 though they too are Zulus. The knowledge of the 
 language is now more indispensable to me than ever, 
 as the same is spoken by both the tribes, with the 
 exception of a few words. I trust you will pray for our 
 expedition, and will you get all the prayers you can for 
 the same object ? For it belongs to God to give the 
 precious gift of faith. As Father Depelchin reminded 
 us yesterday, " Unless the Lord build the city, in vain 
 they labour who build it." You can think of my joy on 
 going on such a mission.
 
 A FRESH ENTERPRISE. 281 
 
 Then he turns from the pagans of Africa to one who 
 had wandered from the faith at home. " Next month 
 I hope to write a kind letter to poor dear Graves. I 
 always hope about him. God will hear us if we per- 
 severe in prayer." 
 
 On May the soth, he penned the last letter (except 
 one brief note) which his father ever received from 
 him. It dates from a village about nine miles from 
 Gubulawayo, when he had already started upon the 
 journey that was to cost him his life. 
 
 You see I am off for Umzila's. I arrived here on 
 Friday, and am only waiting now for the King to give 
 me his two guides, and then we start in earnest on our 
 journey. I hope to send a letter again from Ingati, as 
 there is a regular post from there. The direction in 
 which I go is this: first N.E. by E. two hundred and 
 twenty miles, till we get not far from Umtigesa. We 
 cross the Sabi and then go down about S.S.E., until we 
 get to Umzila's kraal. This last bit will be about one 
 hundred and thirty miles. Umzila's is not so far as the 
 crow flies, but we cannot go straight, as there would 
 be at least sixty miles of tsetse-fly to pass through. 1 
 And as we have a wagon, we cannot pass through that 
 way as we should lose all our oxen. Even by the route 
 we take, we may not escape the fly altogether, but we 
 hope the patches where the fly is found will not be so 
 wide that we cannot run through them during the 
 night, when the fly is torpid and does not bite. If we 
 
 1 The tsetse-fly, glossina morsitans, is about half an inch in length, of 
 a brown colour, striped with yellow. Comparatively harmless to man, its 
 poisonous bite is fatal to horses, oxen, dogs, and asses. The bite is 
 scarcely perceptible at the time ; after two or three days the effect begins 
 to be apparent, and death speedily ensues.
 
 282 A FRESH ENTERPRISE. 
 
 succeed in getting our wagon to Umzila's, we shall 
 have the honour of being the first wagon that ever 
 made the journey. We shall have plenty of game on 
 the road, and shall have to look out well for the lions. 
 Some tell us that we shall be lucky if we lose no oxen 
 by the lions. However, we say the Itinerarium every 
 day, and so shall have God's protection. I hope you 
 will pray much that the hearts of Umzila and his 
 people may be disposed to receive the faith. Father 
 Wehl, an Austrian Father, one who has just arrived 
 from Europe, Brother Sadeleer, a Belgian lay-brother, 
 and Brother Hedley, an English one, formerly a sailor, 
 like myself, are my companions. It is most likely that 
 letters will come and go more quickly between Europe 
 and Umzila's country than between Europe and here, 
 for Umzila's kraal is only one hundred and thirty-eight 
 miles from the sea. There are two English traders 
 who trade in Umzila's from Natal, and many Portuguese. 
 So at last my knowledge of Portuguese will come in 
 useful again. Messengers only take ten days from here 
 to Umzila's. But we shall probably be over a month, 
 for what with reconnoitring for the tsetse-fly, and what 
 with making roads for ourselves in many places, and 
 what with every now and then sticking in the mud, 
 and having to unload the wagon, we may have many 
 a delay. However I hope to be not more than six 
 weeks. Good-bye for the present, dearest father. I 
 hope you have gone through this winter all right, and 
 that you may live for many years to encourage and 
 bless us all. 
 
 The dominions of Umzila, to whose kraal the 
 travellers were bound, occupy all the coast land
 
 A FRESH ENTERPRISE. 283 
 
 between the Zambesi River in the north, and the 
 Limpopo in the south, and in the west are bounded 
 by the Matabele territory. If, as is generally surmised, 
 this wide tract of land formed a part of the great native 
 kingdom of Monomotapa, in former times, it is perhaps 
 hardly correct to assert, as we did on a past page, that 
 Father Law was the earliest pioneer of Christianity, 
 the first to lay down his life for the salvation of the 
 heathen in this remote and savage country. More than 
 three centuries before it had been the scene of the 
 martyrdom of another member of the Society of Jesus. 
 It is recorded that the Venerable Gonzalez Silveira, a 
 Portuguese Jesuit, while engaged in missionary work 
 on the East Coast of Africa, was seized with the desire 
 to explore and evangelize the vast Monomotapa 
 kingdom, lying some hundreds of miles inland from 
 the territory of Portugal. After an arduous journey of 
 many months, made entirely on foot, carrying the altar 
 furniture on his shoulders, wading through many rivers, 
 transported over others on native rafts, he reached the 
 capital on St. Stephen's day, 1560. The King received 
 him favourably, and was much struck by his dis- 
 interestedness in refusing the presents offered him, 
 amongst which gold is specified. A statue of the 
 Madonna seen in his house was taken for a real woman 
 by the natives, who repeated to the King that the 
 stranger had brought a wife with him. The King on 
 seeing the statue, requested that it should be left with 
 him, to which the Father gladly consented. For five 
 nights in succession the monarch had a dream, in 
 which a similar figure appeared to him, and addressed 
 him in an unknown language; and so great was the 
 impression made on him that he desired to become a 
 Christian. He was baptized with three hundred of
 
 A FRESH ENTERPRISE. 
 
 his subjects, about thirty days after Father Silveira's 
 arrival. 
 
 But the missioner's rapid success alarmed the 
 jealousy of the Mahommedan residents. They plotted 
 his destruction, accusing him to the King of being a 
 Portuguese spy, come to subvert his kingdom. Their 
 machinations were successful ; the King ordered his 
 execution. Eight assassins, stealing into his hut at 
 night, strangled him with a cord and threw his body 
 into the river, on the i5th of March, 1561. His 
 death was followed by a partial massacre of his 
 converts, but led to reprisals on the part of the 
 Portuguese, who invaded the kingdom and expelled 
 the Mahommedan settlers. The early annals of the 
 Jesuit missions in Africa record that the disruption 
 of the kingdom took place shortly after ; at any rate 
 it is heard of no more in history. Those who are 
 acquainted with this region think that a considerable 
 portion of Matabeleland and the whole of Umzila's 
 kingdom were included in it. If this be so, the Jesuits 
 were led back, through the zeal and devotion of Father 
 Law, to the very spot hallowed by the labours and 
 death of one of their Order, and he may be said to 
 have entered upon this mission as the heir of the 
 Portuguese martyr. Is it not perhaps possible that 
 the recognition of the sign of our redemption by the 
 Indunas when it was shown them by Father Law, may 
 have been owing to a remnant of Catholic tradition, 
 left behind by the first apostle of the land ? 
 
 However this may be, our brave missioner set forth, 
 as will have been seen from the extracts of his letters, 
 upon this dangerous journey, full of confidence and 
 courage. He felt extremely happy when appointed 
 by his Superior to lead this expedition to Umzila's
 
 A FRESH ENTERPRISE. 285 
 
 country. He had already had experience of the trials 
 and difficulties of African travel, and he did not fear 
 to encounter the same or greater ones in order to 
 accomplish the object on which his heart was set. All 
 the time he stayed in the Matabele country he was 
 constantly reading, writing, talking with natives and 
 with others who might assist him to acquire a thorough 
 practical knowledge of the Zulu tongue, which differs 
 little amongst the various tribes. This knowledge was 
 of the greatest service to him now. His practical 
 acquaintance with astronomy too would enable him 
 to steer his course in the desired direction by taking 
 observations of the sun where landmarks failed to 
 guide him, and he would besides be able to make 
 charts of the wild and then almost unknown country 
 for the guidance of those of his brethren who should 
 follow after him. For a portion of the way his little 
 caravan would travel in the company of the wagons of 
 three Englishmen, two of whom, practical huntsmen, 
 were going to shoot elephants in the Mashona valleys, 
 while the third, a doctor, was desirous of exploring 
 the country in the interests of natural science. The 
 escort of these gentlemen, a thrifty Belgian Father 
 remarked, would be an immense advantage to our 
 missioners as far as providing for their table is con- 
 cerned, but not in regard to their cellar, since we all 
 know how thirsty is the hunter after the exertions of 
 the chase. 
 
 The missionary band consisted only of Father Law 
 and Father Charles Wehl, with two lay-brothers. 
 Father Wehl was a pious and devoted missioner, and 
 a great lover of solitude and prayer, as will be seen 
 later on, when the perilous adventure he met with is 
 narrated. Of the Brothers, one, Brother Hedley, who
 
 2 86 A FRESH ENTERPRISE. 
 
 was afterwards to be the sole companion of Father 
 Law's last hours, was a simple, unaffected man. A 
 sailor in the merchant service previously to his entrance 
 into religion, his way had lain rather on the stormy 
 than on the smooth side of life. Early inured to 
 hardships, it was no matter for surprise to find him 
 volunteering, shortly after he took his vows, for the 
 African Mission. He was much attached to Father 
 Law, with whom he had been associated when the first 
 band of missioners left the Cape Colony for the interior, 
 and so was his comrade, Brother de Sadeleer. This was 
 the Brother who had been chosen to accompany Father 
 Depelchin and Father Law when they separated from 
 their colleagues at Tati, and went onward to seek the 
 favour of Lo Bengula. Brother de Sadeleer was greatly 
 edified by many little secret acts of self-denial and 
 charity on the part of Father Law, which did not 
 escape his quick observation. One night, when the tem- 
 perature had fallen very low, and the Kafir attendants, 
 never over-burdened with clothing, lay shivering on the 
 damp ground, their teeth chattering with cold, the 
 Brother saw him fetch his thickest blanket and offer 
 it to them. Now every one who has had to do with 
 savages knows that anything lent to them is spoilt for 
 the use of a European, for it comes back peopled with 
 a colony of vermin. " I reminded him of this," the 
 Brother says, " but he only laughed and told me it did 
 not matter. I thought it would be a lesson to him, but 
 no such thing; he did the same again and again, 
 although I know the consequences were most un- 
 pleasant. More than once I saw him give his dinner 
 away to one of the blacks whose appetite was not fully 
 satisfied by his own ration. His liberality in giving 
 presents, and the indulgence he showed in condoning
 
 A FRESH ENTERPRISE. 287 
 
 offences, gained for him amongst our ' boys ' the title 
 of 'the very kind teacher.' And indeed he deserved 
 it." 
 
 Two natives, besides a Hottentot called by the 
 singular name Cape Corps, had been engaged for the 
 expedition. Tom, the driver, was to receive about 
 ^ per month ; Zambesi, the leader, was to have a 
 gun given him at the end of the journey. The guides 
 promised by the King were not in the missioners' pay. 
 They were, however, to receive a blanket and some 
 beads in remuneration for their services. These guides, 
 for whom Father Law was waiting, did not make their 
 appearance until June 3rd. And when they arrived, 
 he found to his astonishment that not only had they 
 never been to Umzila's, but that they knew nothing 
 of the way. However, with his happy facility for 
 making the best of things, he said he was not sorry 
 for their ignorance, as at least they would let the 
 missioners take their own way, and not lead them 
 astray by " a little knowledge." 
 
 The following letter, dated from the First Mashona 
 kraal, about thirty miles from the Sabi River, was sent 
 from Father Law to Father de Wit, who was then 
 stationed at Gubulawayo, by some Matabele hunters 
 who were returning thither. It narrates the incidents 
 of the first part of the journey. 
 
 Here we are, and thanks to God, all safe and sound. 
 We have crossed since leaving Umganini twenty-two 
 rivers, not counting spruits and sluits, some of them 
 difficult enough. No one should ever attempt this 
 journey without a good driver, which Tom is. We 
 arrived at the Poort between the mountains on the 
 2oth June, and rested there for one day. There is a
 
 288 A FRESH ENTERPRISE. 
 
 kraal close to the Poort, from which we got a very 
 good guide as far as here. We gave him a red soldier's 
 coat and a shirt. You should have seen him dance 
 for joy when he got them. 
 
 On June 22nd, the gentlemen hunters left us. They 
 have been very kind and civil to us. It has been a 
 great advantage to us to travel in company with them. 
 One day the doctor's wagon stuck fast in the bed of a 
 river, and we lent him our span to pull it across. 
 When we were crossing the Sebakwe River we had 
 to have one of their spans to help us up the other side. 
 They always shared with us the proceeds of the chase. 
 The day after they left, Brother de Sadeleer shot a fine 
 bless-buck (antelope). This was a great acquisition, as 
 we have twelve mouths to fill. Our men have lived on 
 it ever since. Nothing more has been shot, but game 
 seems plentiful, and I hope we shall soon be well 
 provided. We still have two bucks which we bought, 
 and plenty of other provisions. Besides we are amongst 
 the kraals again now. 
 
 I got some fever about a week after leaving, and it 
 stuck to me three or four days. I took St. Ignatius' 
 water, but of course did not neglect natural remedies. 
 Every one else has been quite well. The weather has 
 been very cloudy lately, so I have not been able to 
 take a lunar observation, which I am sorry for. I shall 
 take one the first opportunity. 
 
 All our boys, driver, Hottentot leader, King's two 
 boys, give great satisfaction. We could not have 
 wished for better. The oxen are in fair condition. It 
 is well we took a spare one, as one of the hinder oxen 
 is lame from a stone bruising or cutting his feet. We 
 have only had one regular stick, and that was three 
 days ago, in a kind of half river, half swamp. At last
 
 A FRESH ENTERPRISE. 
 
 \ve had to unload the wagon, and then we got out. It 
 is well that our wagon is comparatively light. Every 
 now and then the bush is very thick, and then it is we 
 are thankful we have a good driver. The leader's duty 
 too is no sinecure, and I think Zambesi (one of the 
 natives) will deserve the gun that was promised him 
 before his ten months are out. 
 
 The whole kraal I should think must be sitting- 
 round us. The people here seem a nice, simple, civil 
 people. 
 
 Rain prevented the travellers from proceeding on 
 their way until the ist July, and then they only covered 
 six miles, for in crossing one of the many rivers which 
 intersected the country through which their route lay,, 
 the wagon stuck fast for nearly two hours, and again 
 later on it got imbedded in a marsh and had to be half 
 unloaded before it could be dragged out, a work of 
 great labour. The journal kept by Father Law at this 
 time shows that his spirits and courage enabled him 
 to catch a favourable view of his surroundings. The 
 following extracts are taken from it : 
 
 July 2, 1880. Fine day after n a.m., after very 
 cold damp weather now for three or four days. After 
 two miles we got to a small kraal of Amaholi. They 
 too seemed to be nice, simple people. What a happiness 
 if we may soon get among them. They did not seem 
 to have any cattle except goats. Perhaps they may 
 have found poverty the best security against their 
 neighbours. Got to the river Sebundo about 3 p.m., 
 which we crossed without difficulty, as time was taken 
 to choose a good place. We crossed a stream also 
 near the kraal without difficulty. Our outspan this 
 
 T
 
 290 A FRESH ENTERPRISE. 
 
 morning was in quite a romantic spot. We are just 
 under a beautifully wooded koppie on the river. On 
 our left, about a hundred yards across the road (we 
 have just come up from the river) is another similar 
 koppie. All through this country the scenery is often 
 very beautiful. 
 
 July 3. Brother Sadeleer and Cape Corps got on 
 the spoor of an eland and followed it, but soon found 
 two lions wanted the eland, and were following it. 
 Somehow or other nothing has been shot since Brother 
 Sadeleer's antelope on the 23rd of June. 
 
 July 4. Crossed at about nine a river that runs across 
 a sandy and rocky bottom. Started again at i p.m., 
 but stuck fast through the rashness of our good driver, 
 who though he heard there was a better place to cross 
 the stream running between us and the kraal, went 
 straight over a very bad place, and down went the 
 wheels axle deep. Our dissel-boom, sprung last night, 
 was finished in fording this stream. The people of 
 these kraals are very civil and respectful. During the 
 unloading and loading of the wagon, instead of crowding 
 round to see all we had as the Amandabele would have 
 done, looking for an occasion of stealing, they all stood 
 at some distance off. The Induna here made us a 
 present of a goat, and we gave him a good present of 
 beads and cakes. It is amusing to see how soon the 
 people turn anything into an ornament. We opened 
 some sardine boxes, and amongst the crowd we now 
 see two or three with a sardine box tied on the top 
 of their heads. 
 
 July 5. The kraal here is pitched upon the rocks, 
 and in passing these rocky hills we could see every now 
 and then a hut half hidden amongst rocks, and the 
 Kafir corn stored here and there on the heights. I
 
 A FRESH ENTERPRISE. 291 
 
 suppose this is done for safety's sake. Soon after our 
 arrival, the Induna, a venerable old man, came up and 
 made us a present of a buck. We also made him 
 a present. He was accompanied by his musician, who 
 danced and sang in our honour until he was tired. 
 Whenever he wished to show particular honour to any 
 one, he danced up to the person and drummed in 
 his ears. 
 
 The next day, in spite of the rain, a good many 
 were about the wagon nearly all day. The Mahatela 
 band was in attendance, and gave- out more agreeable 
 music than the musician of yesterday. The women, 
 seeing the band was rewarded, set off singing, but we 
 had to draw the line somewhere. The rain kept us 
 from going on. We got new guides here. 
 
 July 7. What with cutting down trees, and 
 avoiding big stones, and crossing the most difficult 
 river we have met with on the journey, we had not got 
 far when the time for outspanning arrived. In crossing 
 the river, the wagon ought by all rules of equilibrium 
 to have capsized, by taking too sharp a turn. I really 
 believe our Angel Guardian held it up. At least we 
 all agreed we ought to sing a Te Deum, which we did. 
 
 July 9. Since about June afth, on an average 
 we had to cross either a river or a stream or a marsh 
 at least every mile. To-day I was astonished to hear 
 the familiar words tusa mnali (give a present), the true 
 mark of the Amandabele, and sure enough there were 
 two of them. Apparently they are up here to act as spies 
 or police. We got most important information from 
 them, to wit, that we were on the wrong road, going 
 direct for the district infested by the fly. Indeed I 
 have been perplexed as to why we are going so much 
 to the S. of E., but I was always assured we were on
 
 292 A FRESH ENTERPRISE. 
 
 the road to Sehumhum. These men pointed out where 
 that place was, behind some hills bearing about N.E., 
 instead of S.E. as we were heading. This afternoon 
 two women, to welcome us, kept up with the wagon for 
 about half an hour, dressing themselves with branches 
 of trees, running here and there and occasionally 
 prostrating themselves before the wagon, crying out, 
 " Wee, wee, wee." Poor things ! may this be an 
 earnest of what their people will do for the holy faith 
 before long. One good thing comes from our missing 
 the road. It is that we have, as it were, explored the 
 people through whom we passed, and a nicer, simpler 
 people you could not find. The Induna of a kraal close 
 by brought a present of a goat and an immense pot of 
 Kafir beer. I mention the kraal, because if we ask 
 Lo Bengula to let us have a mission here, it might be 
 well to live near the kraal. No better place for a 
 mission than here, there are plenty of kraals all round, 
 filled with nice people. 
 
 Father Law was too hopeful as to Lo Bengula 's 
 permission to found stations in this district. He did 
 not care to have his own people taught, and it was not 
 likely that he would have these Mashona tribes, his 
 subjects and tributaries, better instructed than those 
 immediately about him. 
 
 Day by day we read the record of slow progress, and 
 of endless rivers to be crossed. Of one of these Father 
 Law writes : " We got to a river magnificent to look 
 at, but not to cross in a wagon. I have seldom seen 
 anything grander. When I first saw it the wild 
 confusion of masses of rock piled upon one another in 
 every kind of fantastic way, the large surface of table- 
 like rock washed clear of all once upon it put me in
 
 A FRESH ENTERPRISE. 293 
 
 mind of the floes described by Kane and others in the 
 Arctic regions. If the scene was grand now in the dry 
 season, what would it be in the wet season, with 
 torrents of water rushing along these rocks ? We 
 looked at one place that was spoken of as a ford, but 
 it was thought better to wait till the next day and then 
 look well for a crossing-place. It was curious to see 
 the people perched on rocks some one hundred and 
 twenty feet high, by the side of their huts, that looked 
 like bee-hives at that distance." The shooting of a 
 zebra by Brother Sadeleer two successive days was 
 regarded as a happy event, as it provided the party 
 with a stock of fresh meat. It may be asked what 
 could be done with so large a quantity, but one must 
 remember that the numbers were increased by the 
 addition of fresh guides, those supplied by the King 
 having confessed their inability to find the way, and 
 also by several blacks whose assistance was required in 
 clearing the road. The voracity of these Kafirs too is 
 astonishing ; their capacity for eating meat, which they 
 devour in a raw state, being apparently unlimited. 
 And if there was any meat to spare, the missioners 
 were glad to exchange it for Kafir corn, ground by the 
 women between two large stones. 
 
 Every day the difficulties of the journey increased, 
 and the progress became slower. This we learn from 
 the record made by Brother Sadeleer, who did not see 
 men and things invested with the same roseate hues 
 as Father Law did. Let it not be supposed that the 
 worthy Brother ever complained of the trials that were 
 encountered ; no, he only took a more prosy view of 
 matters. Where his Superior saw beautifully wooded 
 country, he saw thick bush and jungle through which' 
 a way had laboriously to be cut. The constant
 
 294 A FRESH ENTERPRISE. 
 
 unloading and reloading of the wagon, that Father Law 
 took so calmly, was to the Brother's eyes a vexatious 
 expenditure of time and strength, one too which care on 
 the part of the leader might often have avoided. On the 
 i6th July the caravan reached the first branch of the 
 Sabi River. " We went over all right," Father Law 
 says, " with no hitch, so, thank God, we are now on the 
 other side of the Sabi, and we have just got there on 
 a feast of Mary. May she bless us in the new country 
 into which we have just entered ! " A few hours later, 
 however, he records that they got into a dreadful sluit, 
 the hole being so deep that only the heads of the oxen 
 were visible, and the oft-repeated process of unloading 
 had to be gone through again. 
 
 A few days more took the caravan to the Sabi 
 proper, and this important boundary was passed 
 without any accident except a slight breakage that 
 was easily repaired. The entrance into the territory 
 of another chief marks a stage in the journey ; after 
 which new difficulties and dangers presented themselves, 
 in comparison to which those that had gone before were 
 but the beginnings of sorrows.
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 ARRIVAL AT UMZILA'S KRAAL. 
 
 UP to the 25th July, made memorable by the passage 
 of the Sabi River, our travellers' journey had been 
 tolerably prosperous. The difficulties of the way had, 
 it is true, been numerous and immense, their progress 
 slow and tedious, and their guides had proved incom- 
 petent, but no serious misfortune had befallen the little 
 party, no insurmountable obstacle had been encoun- 
 tered. The missioners' health had, on the whole, been 
 excellent ; the inhabitants of the country through which 
 they passed had. shown themselves quiet and .friendly ; 
 and thanks to Brother Sadeleer's gun, the commissariat 
 supplies had not run short. Two or three weeks' more 
 patient travelling would take them to Umzila's kraal. 
 
 But alas ! when once they had set their feet within 
 the territory of the tribes that nominally, at least, 
 acknowledged Umzila's sway, the face of affairs 
 entirely changed. The attitude of the people was 
 hostile, even menacing, and apprehensions, hitherto 
 unfelt, filled the hearts of the missioners. Their 
 guides insisted on making a slight detour to a village 
 called Isilambeyo, alleging that it was necessary to 
 obtain the permission of the local chieftain before 
 proceeding further. On the 3ist July, no happy feast 
 for them, they arrived near the kraal of the petty 
 potentate, which was situated on the top of a
 
 296 ARRIVAL AT UMZILA'S KRAAL. 
 
 mountain, and halted there. A message was sent, 
 bidding them bring the wagon nearer. So they went 
 on about a quarter of a mile, but the only approach 
 to the kraal was by a tortuous path up the hill-side, 
 bristling with crags and interrupted by ravines, which 
 it was impossible for the oxen to climb. Brother 
 Sadeleer felt convinced that treachery was intended, 
 and intimated as much to his unsuspecting Superior. 
 Father Law accordingly determined to press onward 
 as soon as guides were procured. His journal gives an 
 account of the chieftain's visit. 
 
 August i st. I heard that Amalanga's people had 
 said we should come nearer still, so I told Lo Bengula's 
 boy to let them know the wagon could not go nearer, 
 and even if it could, we had done enough to show him 
 respect, that we were on our way from Lo Bengula to 
 Umzila, and were anxious to get on. About nine he 
 sent down a sheep .ana some utjwala (Kafir beer). 
 About twelve he came in person, (i) We thanked him 
 for the sheep and utjwala. (2) We made him a present 
 of a black blanket, and a quarter of the zebra shot 
 yesterday. (3) We said we were afraid it was too 
 much to take the sheep from him, as we could get 
 plenty of game on the road. He said it would make 
 his heart sore if we did not keep it. (4) We asked for 
 guides for the road. Here he said we had not made 
 him a large enough present, although we really had, so 
 we gave him another black blanket and a little gun- 
 powder which he asked for. He promised to have the 
 guid'es ready for to-morrow. 
 
 But the third day came, and the travellers were 
 still waiting for their guides. Father Law grew
 
 ARRIVAL AT UMZILA'S KRAAL. 297 
 
 anxious, and resolved to start that evening, with 
 guides or without them. Presently the chief came 
 again, and asked if Umzila knew they were coming, 
 and when assured that this was the case, he appointed 
 three men to accompany them, to each of whom a 
 blanket was paid before starting. Well it was that 
 the caravan moved off that evening, for they learnt 
 by means of one of the " boys " who understood the 
 language of the Amaholi (the tribe amongst whom 
 they then were), that the people proposed killing the 
 travellers and taking all their goods, and were only 
 restrained by one of the head men, who feared reprisals 
 on the part of the sovereign chief. As it was, a quarrel 
 nearly arose in the camp when the next halt was made, 
 for the Hottentot leader, overhearing Amalanga's guides 
 discussing the conspiracy, began to dispute with one 
 of them, and was only just prevented from shooting 
 him by Brother Sadeleer's prompt interference. 
 
 For the next two or three days the wagon was 
 followed or surrounded by groups of natives, whose 
 fierce aspect and threatening gestures were anything 
 but reassuring. Some of them occupied the denies so 
 as to impede the march, and lead the travellers to fear 
 that an attack would be made on the wagon. " In the 
 course of the second day," Father Law says, " an 
 Induna came up, purporting to be the envoy of another 
 petty chief, Hambehusuku, saying we ought to go to 
 him too. As I found this would take us far out of the 
 road, I said it was impossible, as we were going to 
 Umzila's. The Induna replied: 'That concerns us 
 very little; we are masters here, and King Umzila 
 lives far away from our kraal.' In fact Umzila's 
 authority seems little regarded here. We went oh 
 our way, Hambehusuku's people always hovering
 
 298 ARRIVAL AT UMZILA'S KRAAL. 
 
 about us. I had heard he was the chief who killed 
 white people ; and as far as we could make out, he was 
 in league with Amalanga, who had informed him of our 
 arrival and intimated to him that our wagon would be 
 a prize well worth capturing. I felt here was the 
 difficulty, and I always dreaded a collision with the 
 natives." 
 
 On August 6th an event occurred which sadly 
 disconcerted the missioners, .and rendered their 
 position still more painful. In the morning the 
 Brothers had gone to Communion, and offered special 
 prayer for direction as to the wisest course to be 
 pursued. After consultation, it was agreed they 
 should make what haste they could to go forward. 
 Father Law felt it would be weakness to do otherwise, 
 nor would it avoid danger, so he gave orders to proceed 
 in nomine Domini. 
 
 That day one of the most difficult passes had been 
 reached. After clearing a way through thick jungle 
 with the hatchet, it became necessary to cut away the 
 rock, to smooth in some measure a way for the oxen. 
 It was a long and arduous piece of work, in which the 
 Fathers took part, with their Matabele guides ; mean- 
 while they were surrounded by a crowd of savages, 
 whose demeanour was more insolent and aggressive 
 than ever. "Now," writes Father Law, "oh, the 
 dreadful thing I have to tell ! At 5 p.m., just towards 
 the end of the outspan, Father Wehl was missed. I 
 had seen him about two o'clock, walking a little too far, 
 but still in sight of the wagon, and Brother de Sadeleer, 
 who was with me sitting in front, said : ' Father Wehl 
 goes too far.' I said, ' Yes, I will tell him to keep 
 nearer when he comes back.' Alas ! he never came 
 back. He was very fond of solitude apparently, and
 
 ARRIVAL AT UMZILA'S KRAAL. 299 
 
 often laughed at anything like risk at being far from 
 the wagon, when cautioned against walking at a 
 dangerous distance from the rest of the party. We 
 were too much occupied in clearing the road, cutting 
 down trees, &c., to observe his absence until 5 p.m., 
 when some one said : ' Where is Father Wehl ? ' We 
 at once fired five shots, the rallying signal of the 
 caravan, which would have told him where we were, 
 had he been still alive. Whenever we outspanned, he 
 had the habit of going to some retired place to study 
 or pray, and we often had to shout aloud to bring him 
 when the meals were ready, and even then sometimes 
 he was too far to hear. When we found he did not 
 reappear, Brother Sadeleer remarked, ' I do not believe 
 he is alive ! ' Brother Hedley said the last he had seen 
 of him was when he was walking at some distance, 
 followed by a lot of Amaholi. I myself did not know 
 of this. I am sorry he did not tell me. An hour 
 passed and there was no sign of him ; we were really 
 alarmed. I sent out all the natives in search of him, 
 promising them great rewards if they found him. They 
 returned without having seen him. What a night we 
 passed ! " 
 
 For three days days of cruel anxiety and constant 
 dread Father Law waited, whilst his Matabele 
 servants scoured the surrounding country without 
 finding a trace of the lost missioner. What conclusion 
 could be come to but that he had been carried off and 
 murdered by the savages ? Meanwhile Father Law 
 was assured that the wagon sooner or later would 
 certainly be attacked, and that all outlets by which it 
 could pass onward were being watched. The crowd 
 of Mashonas went on increasing round the little camp, 
 and their attitude became more and more hostile. It
 
 3 oo ARRIVAL AT UMZILA'S KRAAL. 
 
 appeared as if all would soon be over with the lives of 
 the missioners, and the hopes of future work be extin- 
 guished. Consequently on the second day Father Law 
 wrote in his journal : " I came to the resolution to-day, 
 in case we cannot find the dear Father, to leave the 
 wagon and walk to Umzila's. My reason is this. If 
 we go on, all of us, even our Hottentot, who is not at 
 all afraid, says we are certain to be attacked. Rather 
 than have this conflict, where first we should have to 
 use fire-arms with the natives, and secondly, the proba- 
 bility is we should all be killed, and the wagon of 
 course plundered, I prefer to save the lives of the 
 people committed to my care, and to sacrifice the 
 wagon. If I were not a religious I would go on, for 
 then I should be sure of an out-and-out defence." 
 
 It was plain that since Catholic missioners could 
 not think of saving their life by force of arms, the 
 only means to escape death was to take flight, and 
 that immediately. On the third day, a council having 
 been held, it was decided to abandon the wagon, which 
 retarded the march, and which moreover must soon be 
 left behind on account of the tsetse-fly. The vestments 
 and sacred vessels, together with the arms, should be 
 taken out, as well as the most indispensable articles, 
 and the party proceed on foot by forced marches in the 
 direction of Umzila's kraal. 
 
 The wisdom of Father Law's conduct in thus aban- 
 doning the wagon seems by some persons to have been 
 called in question. It must be remembered that (i) he 
 alone knew all the circumstances, and therefore he 
 alone could judge securely what was to be done. 
 (2) He clearly took the best course for forming his 
 judgment ; prayer, deliberation, consultation with his 
 fellow-travellers. (3) The question had reduced itself
 
 ARRIVAL AT UMZILA'S KRAAL. 301 
 
 apparently to a balance between saving the goods or 
 the lives of his little band. There could be no question 
 as to which it was his duty to prefer. One must 
 admire the virtue which led him to decide in a manner 
 that was contrary to the leanings that he as an old 
 naval officer must naturally have felt. Had it not 
 been for his sacred calling, he would have defended 
 himself to the last. " God knows," he said later, when 
 writing to Father de Wit, " I acted to the best of my 
 judgment. Brother de Sadeleer told me too he thought 
 I did the right thing." 
 
 On the loth August, therefore, at nightfall, under 
 cover of the thick darkness, the three missioners, 
 accompanied by their four faithful servitors, the two 
 Matabeles and two other blacks, set out under the 
 protection of Almighty God. On the preceding day 
 bundles containing necessaries had been made up for 
 each one, and the gunpowder all poured into a keg, 
 that it might not fall into the hands of the natives. All 
 was left in perfect order in the wagon, and the team 
 of oxen attached to it, to become the prey of thieves 
 or wild beasts. Then when the natives were asleep by 
 the fire, they dropped silently into the bush, taking the 
 road by which they had come, because knowing it 
 better than any other, they could get on quicker. They 
 started in single file, groping their way in the obscurity; 
 the deep holes dug to entrap wild beasts, some of them 
 with spikes at the bottom, requiring a careful look-out 
 on the part of the leader. They had not gone far when 
 the old horse on which Father Law was mounted, 
 stumbled and fell on its side. It rose with difficulty, 
 only to fall again a few steps further, this time into a 
 hole, whence it could not be got out. It was therefore 
 abandoned to its fate. " I was by no means sorry for
 
 302 ARRIVAL AT UMZILA'S KRAAL. 
 
 this," Father Law says, " as I found travelling on 
 horseback very inconvenient, for what with branches 
 of trees coming in one's face and breast, I was nearly 
 knocked off several times." The greatest possible 
 haste was made, and ten miles were accomplished 
 before sun-rise ; as the day dawned, they found to 
 their relief that they were on the right track. After 
 an hour's rest, ten more miles were got over, so that 
 towards the middle of the next day they were safe, far 
 from the hostile Mashonas. The burdens carried by 
 all were heavy, for the " boys," although given new 
 blankets in place of their old ones, would not be 
 induced to leave the latter behind, and thus were 
 overburdened. One of the Kafirs, Zambesi, insisted 
 on carrying a quantity of blankets ; he could not in 
 consequence keep up with the others, and though they 
 waited for him at intervals, at last he dropped behind 
 altogether. The rest of the party felt no anxiety on 
 his account, as they thought he would doubtless find 
 his way back to Gubulawayo. 
 
 Deploring the loss of their fellow- missioner, the 
 little troop painfully made their way along the banks 
 of the River Sabi. By day they hid in the jungle, and 
 by night pursued their journey until the first few days 
 were past. Walking in the darkness, they constantly 
 stumbled, owing to the roughness of the road. Many a 
 time, Brother Sadeleer relates, he heard the weary 
 voice of Father Law, who was the weakest of the 
 band, exclaim : " Thanks be to God ! I have only got 
 my feet wet," or again : " I have escaped with a bruise 
 on my knee," " I have only hurt my arm by that fall." 
 Fortunately the produce of the chase was good, or 
 they would all have perished from hunger and fatigue. 
 Besides smaller game, a rhinoceros was shot, which
 
 ARRIVAL AT UMZILA'S KRAAL. 303 
 
 furnished a supply of meat for several days. On the 
 eve of the Assumption, however, they were reduced to 
 great straits, the people in the kraals through which 
 they passed either could not or would not sell them 
 any corn. All the provisions they had left was a small 
 piece of Australian damper, utterly insufficient for a 
 single meal. The next day Father Law said Mass on 
 a rock in the bed of the river, and promised his 
 companions that our Lady would help them, and 
 not let them fast altogether on her great feast. 
 Scarcely had they gone any distance when they fell 
 in with some Kafirs, who sold them meal and beans, 
 and a little salt, which they had extracted from the 
 saline deposits in the river's bed. Later on in the day 
 two red deer were shot. " How grateful we felt ! " 
 exclaims Father Law, " we thought it was the Blessed 
 Virgin who sent them. How heartily one says grace 
 after meals, when living as we do." 
 
 That feast of the Assumption was marked by 
 another favour that was granted to Father Law's 
 prayers, besides the daily bread for which he petitioned. 
 There is no doubt that when he offered the Holy 
 Sacrifice in that wild and lonesome spot, he specially 
 commended to God and our Blessed Lady his friends 
 in Grahamstown. For on that very day an event 
 occurred which had he known of it, would have filled 
 his heart with joy and thanksgiving. The father of 
 the family with whom he had been on terms of most 
 intimate friendship, a man who, though not opposed 
 to the truth, had resisted every argument to induce 
 him to embrace the saving faith to which Father Law 
 had converted his wife and children, urged by an 
 impulse unaccountable to himself, on the morning of 
 the 1 5th, drove a considerable distance into Grahams-
 
 304 ARRIVAL AT UMZILA'S KRAAL. 
 
 town, for the purpose of attending an early Mass. 
 During that Mass grace touched his heart ; he hastened 
 to become a Catholic also. 
 
 After four days more of toilsome and harassing 
 march, the windings of the road and the frequent 
 ascents and descents rendering the distance covered 
 but short, the weary travellers arrived, to their great 
 joy, at an outlying kraal of Umzila's. It was music to- 
 their ears to hear the Zulu tongue again ; the head 
 man was very kind to them, and' promised to give 
 them boys to carry their loads and to show them the 
 road. He gave them some meal too, and would not 
 take anything in payment. When Father Law told 
 him how much obliged he was to him for his great 
 kindness, he answered : " Oh, we are men of the chief,'" 
 and told him that a wagon with white men and two 
 of Lo Bengula's people had been expected, in fact 
 emissaries had been sent to look out for it. The 
 people were all very indignant when they heard the 
 story of the missioners' wrongs, and said that Umzila 
 would surely take vengeance on the chiefs, and perhaps 
 make the Amaholi bring the wagon over. " Our mis- 
 fortunes," says Father Law, " may make Umzila our 
 friend, as by the same acts by what we have been 
 injured his authority has been insulted." The narrative 
 was told with great solemnity in the next village in 
 presence of the Induna and other magnates of the 
 place. " Do not be uneasy about the loss of your 
 wagon." was the comforting assurance they gave, 
 "you will be sure to get it again ; but the loss of your 
 comrade is much to be regretted, for we fear it is 
 irreparable." Finally, on the last day of August, the 
 missioners, exhausted by fatigue and exposure, emerged 
 on the large plain in which Umzila's kraal is situated-
 
 ARRIVAL AT UMZILA'S KRAAL. 305 
 
 They had walked one hundred and seventy miles since 
 they left the wagon, and well it was that their journey 
 was at an end, for it could not be denied that it was 
 telling sadly on them all. Brother Sadeleer was the 
 only one in good health, and even he was very tired. 
 The sturdy Fleming had carried a prodigious weight 
 nearly all the way, and had in addition, been the 
 principal huntsman of the party. Thus the goal of all 
 their hopes was finally reached. Let us read the entry 
 in Father Law's diary: "We changed our Itineranum 
 to-day for a Te Deum. God has indeed been good to us- 
 on the road. We all felt very grateful to Him for 
 leading us into port, so to speak, after such rough, 
 weather." Alas ! brave mariner, you think that you. 
 have at length cast anchor in a tranquil harbour,, 
 whereas in reality your bark is resting on a shifting; 
 sand, in whose treacherous depths itfis doomed erelong 
 to disappear. 
 
 All through this tedious and distressing journey 
 Father Law had kept up his courage, all through he 
 had shown the same cheerful, hopeful nature, the same 
 generosity to all about him, the same readiness to be 
 grateful to any one who treated him with kindness^ 
 But all his bright hopefulness could not render his 
 situation at Umzila's camp otherwise than pitiable,, 
 or the prospect before him otherwise than dark and 
 unpromising. He had not been a day in the place 
 before he found out how grossly its aspect belied 
 the representations that had been made to hiiru 
 Contrary to what he had been led to expect, there 
 was not a single Portuguese or any other European 
 in the country. No merchandize of any description,, 
 not even the necessaries of life could be had there. 
 At rare intervals a Portuguese trader went thither 
 u
 
 ARRIVAL AT UMZILA'S KRAAL. 
 
 from Sofala, a town on the coast, distant about two 
 and a half days' journey, otherwise white men were 
 never seen there, as was plain from the curiosity they 
 excited. It was evident that they would have to open 
 communication with that town, as it was the only place 
 where things could be obtained, but how was that 
 practicable under present circumstances ? Moreover, 
 Father Law complains that he has to forego the 
 privilege of saying Mass. " We pray God," he says, 
 " to give us the daily bread, the supersubstantial bread 
 of Holy Mass. It is impossible at present, as we have 
 not a hut to ourselves, the Induna and others inhabit 
 it as well." In addition to this, the desired interview 
 with the King, whereon so much depended, was post- 
 poned on one pretext or another, from day to day. 
 " We have not seen the King as yet," Father Law 
 writes in his journal. And on the morrow: " Still we 
 do not see the King. I am very anxious to see him, 
 as I want to arrange to send off news to Father de 
 Wit (who was then at Gubulawayo), and to Europe. 
 I spend my time in listening to people talking, and 
 talking myself, to learn the language, and in meditating 
 the Roman Catechism. This, together with A'Kempis 
 and Hora Diurna, constitutes my whole library at 
 present." 
 
 Although the missioners were not admitted to an 
 audience by the King, he did not ignore their presence 
 in his kraal. He had been apprised, as has been said, 
 of the coming of abufundisi (teachers) by Lo Bengula's 
 ambassadors, who, travelling without the encumbrance 
 of baggage, had taken a shorter route. He placed a 
 small Kafir hut at their disposal, and ordered that they 
 should be supplied with the food they required. He 
 himself sent them two hundred and fifty pounds of
 
 ARRIVAL AT UMZILA'S KRAAL. 307 
 
 Kafir corn and a young ox. This supply, ample as it 
 appeared, did not last many days. The ox was 
 slaughtered at once, and a feast prepared, to which, 
 besides the missioners, their Kafir attendants and the 
 Induna, a newly-married couple from Matabeleland, 
 with a large party of friends sat down. Father Law, 
 listening to the dictates of good nature rather than of 
 prudence, made no objection to the presence at the 
 table of these unbidden guests, who, it need hardly be 
 said, did full justice to the viands before them. This 
 he did much to the chagrin of Brother Sadeleer, who, 
 when recording the fact, remarks that he thought this 
 extravagance would displease the King, and dispose 
 him less favourably towards the missioners. There is 
 no doubt this surmise was correct. The gift was a 
 handsome one, for Umzila was not rich, like Lo 
 Bengula ; his cattle were small and poor compared 
 with those of the Matabele country, and he had not 
 many near his kraal. On account of the ravages of 
 the tsetse-fly, his herds and flocks were enclosed in 
 pastures on the mountain, and no beasts were brought 
 thence except such as were required for immediate use 
 by himself and his Court. No one besides the monarch 
 owned any oxen. Thus meat was considered a luxury in 
 those regions, the principal food of the people being 
 a kind of corn. 
 
 On the 5th of September the missioners were con- 
 ducted to the King's presence. There seemed to be 
 much more ceremony in approaching him than Lo 
 Bengula, and the head men appeared to stand greatly 
 in awe of him, though his surroundings were anything 
 but regal. In his journal Father Law describes him 
 as a quiet, sedate-looking man, of fifty or fifty-five 
 years of age. He received the missioners graciously,
 
 308 ARRIVAL AT UMZILA'S KRAAL. 
 
 and showed them every mark of regard. He expressed 
 his pleasure at seeing them, and listened with interest 
 to the tale of their trials. They must indeed have 
 presented a deplorable appearance, with their haggard 
 looks, their tattered garments, and their worn-out 
 boots. Umzila wanted them all to go back at once 
 to their wagon and bring it up to his kraal. He 
 appointed six of his people, four of whom were Indunas, 
 to accompany them. The Mashona chiefs were to be 
 punished, and compelled to restore all the things that 
 had been given to them by the missioners. Father 
 Law and Brother Hedley, who were both suffering 
 from the fever of the country, were in far too weak 
 a state to attempt another journey, especially as the 
 natives would travel at the rate of some twenty miles 
 a day. Besides this, they had no shoes to replace 
 those which they had been wearing, and which were 
 now useless. They therefore told the King that they 
 were unfit to go. So it was agreed that Brother 
 Sadeleer, with Tom the driver and the Hottentot 
 " Cape Corps," should go in search of the wagon, the 
 others meanwhile should remain under the King's pro- 
 tection and await their return. The party started that 
 same afternoon. " They will be five days walking 
 there," we read in Father Law's journal, " and we 
 hope to see the wagon here in three weeks. We wanted 
 to send some letters to Gubulawayo, as a Matabele 
 who is here promised to take them for us, but Umzila 
 will not let us write until the wagon is here, and the 
 honour of his country vindicated. In the meantime it 
 makes us feel like prisoners." 
 
 Umzila's willingness to send a party in search of 
 the wagon, the speedy bringing up of which was of 
 such vital importance to the newly-arrived strangers,
 
 ARRIVAL AT UMZILA'S KRAAL. 309 
 
 standing as they did in urgent need of the medicines 
 and stores it contained, was not altogether disinterested. 
 The description given of it had excited his curiosity, 
 and made him desirous to see it ; still more was he 
 desirous of obtaining a share of its contents, the calico 
 and other valuables which had been liberally distributed 
 among the neighbouring tribes. He appears to have 
 been far less intelligent and open-minded than his son- 
 in-law Lo Bengula, and his conduct towards the 
 missioners was far from justifying the flattering hopes 
 that Father Law had formed in regard to the reception 
 they would meet with at his Court. Before entering 
 upon the sorrowful story that remains to be told of the 
 things that befell this zealous apostle and his com- 
 panion during the three months they spent at Umzila's 
 kraal, we will briefly relate the result of the expedition 
 sent for the recovery of the wagon. 
 
 When Brother Sadeleer and his Abagasi escort 
 had made their way, not without meeting with a good 
 proportion of accidents and misadventures, to the 
 territory of Amalanga, they fell in with that chief, 
 attended by two hundred of his warriors. Far from 
 attempting to intimidate the little band, he showed 
 craven fear at the sight of Umzila's messengers, and 
 consented at once to restore all the goods he had 
 extorted from the missioners, as well as to pay the fine 
 imposed on him. The wagon was found intact, for the 
 Mashonas, discovering that the white men had escaped 
 them, and knowing that they had taken refuge with 
 Umzila, dreaded the vengeance of that King if they 
 pillaged it. With the wagon was found the Kafir 
 Zambesi, who had been too heavily laden to keep up, 
 with the rest of the party on the night of their flight. 
 He had returned to the spot lately quitted, and resumed
 
 310 ARRIVAL AT UMZILA'S KRAAL. 
 
 his former duties, the charge of the oxen. A high 
 palisade had been erected round the wagon to protect it 
 from the wolves, and the Zambesi, with an honesty that 
 does credit to the Kafir nature, had carefully replaced 
 all the things that had been entrusted to him to carry. 
 Brother Sadeleer hastened to array himself in fresh 
 clothes ; then after two days' rest, he begged to start 
 on the return journey, for the relief of his suffering 
 colleagues. But this was far from the intention of the 
 Indunas in command. Their errand would be but 
 half performed if they did not visit Hambehusuku, the 
 other chieftain whose people had threatened to attack 
 the caravan, and inflict punishment on him in their 
 master's name. They therefore set about building 
 huts for the shelter of those that remained with the 
 wagon while they proceeded to his kraal. To this 
 vexatious delay Brother Sadeleer was compelled to 
 submit. Meanwhile intelligence reached him of the 
 missing Father Wehl. Three Kafirs came up, carrying 
 a stick, in the top of which was fixed a letter addressed 
 by him to Father Law. Unfortunately, this letter was 
 written in Latin, so that the Brother could not under- 
 stand it, but he learnt from the men that Father Wehl 
 was in safety at a place some sixty miles distant. 
 
 That unfortunate Father had, on the memorable 
 6th of August, whilst walking on in advance of the 
 wagon, wrapt in his own thoughts, forgotten that the 
 path he was pursuing, comparatively easy for a 
 pedestrian, presented difficulties almost insuperable to 
 the passage of the wagon, and that in consequence 
 the progress made by his fellow-travellers would be 
 extremely slow. He got too far ahead, and mistaking 
 the direction to be followed, took a wrong track which 
 led to the left of a range of hills instead of to the right.
 
 ARRIVAL AT UMZILA'S KRAAL. 3 n 
 
 In this manner he put between himself and the rest of 
 his party high crags which effectually prevented him 
 from hearing the guns fired for his recall. After a 
 hopeless search, he abandoned all attempt to regain the 
 wagon, and determined to go southward, in the direction 
 of Gubulawayo. For twenty-six days he wandered in 
 the bush, in great distress, enduring incredible fatigues 
 and privations, subsisting on a few handfuls of meal 
 begged from the natives, whenever he passed a group 
 of huts. Thrice he was without food for forty-eight 
 hours. For the first ten nights he slept in trees, but 
 unable to bear the cold, he afterwards slept in the grass 
 of the plain, trusting in God to preserve him from lions 
 and other beasts of prey. It seemed indeed nothing 
 short of a miracle that he escaped being devoured by 
 them. At length exhausted with hunger and weariness, 
 with bleeding feet and clothes torn to rags, he was 
 picked up by some Kafirs who took him to the kraal 
 of a Mashona chief called Guda, subject to the Matabele 
 King. There he stayed three weeks, at first being 
 kindly treated. Presently, however, his captors, after 
 holding a council as to the fate of their prisoner, 
 decided to put him to death. Providentially, he was 
 rescued by the opportune arrival of Mr. Roxby, an 
 Englishman who, passing near the place, heard of his 
 captivity, and came with four servants to release him. 
 This gentleman, an inhabitant of the Transvaal, who 
 had gone northward in search of gold, veins of the 
 precious metal having been discovered in the rocks 
 near the Sabi River, generously took the priest to his 
 encampment, and provided him with food and clothing. 
 They then went on to Sehumhum, which Father Wehl, 
 with the other missioners, had passed a couple of 
 months before. Hearing that Brother Sadeleer was
 
 3 iz ARRIVAL AT UMZILA'S KRAAL. 
 
 with the wagon at Amalanga's village, Mr. Roxby gave 
 him guides who conducted him thither. He reached 
 the spot on the 28th of October, and found the Brother 
 <lown with fever. Nevertheless, he insisted on starting 
 at once for Umzila's kraal, as he was anxious to rejoin 
 his colleagues with the least possible delay, no tidings 
 having been received from them. A somewhat circuitous 
 route had however to be taken, in order to avoid the 
 regions infested by the tsetse-fly, as well as the high 
 mountains which barred the direct way. Owing to 
 the state of the roads, they only travelled about ninety 
 miles in six weeks, reaching Umgan, the first village 
 in the territory immediately subject to Umzila, on the 
 and of December. There they were obliged to stop, on 
 account of the rainy season having set in, and render- 
 ing further advance impossible. 
 
 Father Wehl was never the same, either in mind 
 or body, after this terrible adventure. He only lived 
 for about six months subsequently, and during that 
 time was subject to feverish attacks, accompanied by 
 -mental aberration, and followed by complete physical 
 prostration. We will now leave him and his companion 
 at Umgan, while we retrace our steps, and in the next 
 chapter inquire how the two sojourners at Umzila's 
 Scraal had fared in the interim.
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 SICKNESS AND DEATH. 
 
 WHEN Father Law and Brother Hedley saw their 
 fellow-missioner depart, accompanied by an armed 
 escort, for the recovery of the wagon, it was with the 
 anticipation that he would speedily return, bringing 
 with him the stores on which they depended for the 
 maintenance of their health, if not for the preservation 
 of their very existence. Supported by this hope of 
 succour, they determined to await its arrival, in a 
 month, as they imagined, at the latest, continuing 
 meanwhile to live in the little hut given them by the 
 King near his kraal. The quarters thus assigned them 
 were certainly not luxurious. Fancy a round native 
 house made of clay, and thatched with grass, in 
 diameter some thirteen feet, height twelve feet, entirely 
 destitute of furniture, with one entrance three feet 
 high, serving at the same time as door, window, and 
 chimney. This Kafir hut was not only small, but ill- 
 constructed, ill-ventilated, and ill-situated, a veritable 
 oven, exposed to the burning rays of a tropical sun, 
 and admitting in many places the torrents of rain that 
 fell at this season. To complete the discomfort of the 
 missioners, the two Matabele guides whom Lo Bengula 
 had given to attend them, remained with them, and 
 lived in the same hut, so that altogether they were 
 four in number, suffocating in a close and stifling
 
 3 i4 SICKNESS AND DEATH. 
 
 atmosphere, and constantly subject to the visits of the 
 friends of the two Matabeles. 
 
 For the first two or three weeks Father Law seems 
 to have kept fairly well, sufficiently so at any rate to 
 walk about, and find amusement in what he saw around 
 him. In his journal he describes a dance at which he 
 was present. " I went to see the dancing at the kraal. 
 Umzila was there, he seemed to take great interest in 
 it, as he danced himself, but apart from the rest, and 
 supported on each side by an Induna. Once he went 
 to the dancers himself to correct something in the 
 dance. Their singing and dancing here beats that of 
 the Amandabele hollow. It is a thing impossible to 
 describe, the beautiful time which one hundred and 
 fifty men in a semicircle keep with their feet, hands, 
 heads, and sticks, the spirit of the melody, the good 
 voices of the men keeping so well together that they 
 sound like one voice, and the delight they evidently 
 take in it all ; the women standing in the centre, facing 
 the men, and singing as well, and often keeping up 
 a running clapping of the hands. All this is unique, 
 and it would move any one who witnessed it." 
 
 At another time he was a spectator of the manner 
 in which justice was administered amongst these savage 
 tribes. " I called on Amakityana (the head man in 
 command) to-day, and gave him a knife which he had 
 asked for. I stayed there while he was hearing a 
 cause brought before him for judgment. It put me in 
 mind of a case of conscience at St. Beuno's. First one 
 and then the other made a statement of the case, which 
 was one of oxen-stealing. Then the head Induna spoke, 
 and two or three leading men. Then Amakityana 
 spoke, and asked if any one else had anything to 
 say ; finally, he gave his verdict, and there was some
 
 SICKNESS AND DEATH. 
 
 desultory talk. I still find it very difficult to catch 
 what is said by others, for here the pronunciation is 
 somewhat different from that of the Amandabele. 
 They change the 1 into y here ; thus, instead of umlilo 
 (fire) they say nmyiyo, and besides, some words are 
 different." 
 
 The aborigines amongst whom they now found 
 themselves were by no means unfriendly to the mis- 
 sioners. They appear on the whole to have been a 
 simple, pacific people, too indolent or too ignorant to 
 cultivate the soil except in so far as it was necessary 
 to raise the corn which was their principal, almost 
 their sole sustenance. The country was, however, 
 beautifully fertile, and could have been made most 
 productive, since almost anything might have been 
 grown there. Father Law wondered the people did 
 not cultivate more fruit and vegetables. Of course 
 there were bananas, and plenty of tobacco. This latter 
 was a great boon to him, for his pipe was now his only 
 solace. The Induna gave it to him liberally, refusing 
 payment, and telling him to come again when he 
 wanted more. But the people were complete savages. 
 Their favourite recreation consisted in drinking the 
 fermented liquor of the country, distilled from grain. 
 In large potations of this beer they frequently indulged, 
 often inviting the white men to drink with them. Of 
 this they were glad, as the want of any stimulant made 
 itself severely felt. The only article of dress worn by 
 the people was a square lappet of skin, hanging from 
 the waist before and behind, unless an elaborate head- 
 dress of feathers, worn on gala -days, be excepted. 
 Father Law mentions seeing one of the King's sons 
 decked out for some grand occasion in skins and 
 feathers, so as to resemble a huge bird rather than
 
 316 SICKNESS AND DEATH. 
 
 a human being. Indeed, at a short distance he might 
 have easily been mistaken for a rare ornithological 
 specimen. 
 
 The missioners were regarded by the Abagasi as 
 objects of great curiosity. They did not trouble them 
 by importunate begging or unscrupulous thieving, as 
 did the Matabele, but they annoyed them considerably 
 at first by standing at the door of the hut gazing at 
 them, thus blocking up the little light and air that 
 came through the single aperture of the dwelling, or 
 even coming inside. This disagreeable was increased 
 when some strangers from a distance came to attend a 
 wedding that was to be celebrated, and set up their 
 huts close by. " We felt," Father Law says, " much 
 as the lions must do at the Zoological Gardens. The 
 whole day they were crowding round our hut to stare 
 at the white men. More and more are arriving, we 
 have a continual crowd at our door." The absence of 
 all privacy was very hard to bear, the more so as the 
 constant presence of intruders precluded the possibility 
 of saying Mass. On Sunday, September 12, however, 
 he records that he had this consolation, after a fort- 
 night's privation. On the next Sunday it was impos- 
 sible. He writes : " Alas ! no Mass. God grant this 
 may be the last Sunday without it. People still throng 
 our hut more and more. They wonder especially at 
 books, and when they observe me reading, ask what 
 I see there. Sometimes I exhibit the burning-glass, 
 which fills them with astonishment. I often see a 
 crowd watching me when I am walking up and down 
 meditating. Some one passed me to-day, and said : 
 ' He is divining.' I always tell them that I am speaking 
 to the Chief above, this satisfies but amazes them." 
 It was no small relief when the inquisitive visitors, who
 
 SICKNESS AND DEATH. 317 
 
 had been encamped ne"ar, took their departure on the 
 conclusion of the marriage festivities, and " delightful 
 quiet reigned." 
 
 But as the weeks went by, the prospect before the 
 missioners grew more and more dark. What a position 
 was theirs, alone in an unknown country, entirely cut 
 off from communication not only with their fellow- 
 countrymen and their brethren in religion, but with all 
 civilization ; at the mercy of a savage chief, without 
 calico, beads, or blankets to barter with the natives, 
 without a change of clothes, without medicines, without 
 necessaries of any kind. The record of their life at 
 Umzila's kraal is indeed a pitiful tale of disappoint- 
 ment, sickness, want, starvation ; yet it is one which 
 affords a bright example of Christian fortitude and 
 patience, of heroic endurance, of sublime resignation to 
 the will of God under the most trying and adverse 
 circumstances. 
 
 The provisions sent by the King in the first instance, 
 soon came to an end, and for three weeks they had 
 been subsisting on meal of Kafir corn, with occasionally 
 a little meat. Kafir corn is at the best ill-suited to the 
 European stomach, and even with this they were 
 scantily supplied. Brother Hedley's sturdy frame could 
 not stand this meagre fare, and Father Law, whose 
 constitution, never robust, was enfeebled by the priva- 
 tions he had endured, suffered terribly for want of 
 proper food. Having during the journey through the 
 bush lived chiefly on animal food, he felt the want 
 of it all the more, and how was it possible for him 
 to recruit his strength on a few handfuls of coarse 
 unappetizing meal, mixed with water? On the 24th- 
 September, we are told, fever attacked them both, and 
 even one of the Matabele guides fell sick. No regular
 
 3 i8 SICKNESS AND DEATH. 
 
 rations were supplied to them, and Father Law had to 
 appeal to the authorities continually, for the wherewithal 
 to support life. Many a time he was dependent on the 
 compassion of the natives. We read in his journal : 
 " The wife of a man living in a hut close to us kindly 
 brought us a sort of soup made out of Kafir corn. She 
 took pity, she said, on the white people so much in 
 want." And some days later : " The good woman next 
 door, Kuhlisa, is always bringing us something. God 
 reward her kindness." This charitable woman seems 
 to have been the only individual who made any 
 inquiries about religion. " The daughter of Kuhlisa," 
 Father Law continues, " asked me some questions 
 when I was saying my Breviary, and I said I was 
 talking to the Chief above. - I told her what I was able 
 to, and she immediately ran to her mother and told her. 
 The mother then came and asked : ' Is there really a 
 Lord above ? ' Then I spoke to her still more. They 
 were much struck on hearing that we had no wives, 
 and the reason why that we might give our whole 
 selves to the Lord above. Another day Kuhlisa came 
 and asked more questions, and I explained as well 
 as I could, the Judgment, Heaven and Hell, the 
 immortality of the soul, the crucifix, &c." 
 
 On the 25th September he reports Brother Hedley 
 fo have recovered, while he himself continued very 
 unwell. How he must have longed for the medicine- 
 chest left behind in the wagon ! " We have now no 
 natural means," he says, "so like Josaphat, we must 
 turn our eyes to God." On the morrow, feeling a 
 little better, he contrived to say Mass. " I had the 
 happiness of saying Mass," he writes. " It was a 
 struggle. Yet what a consolation to get the Blessed 
 Sacrament once more." From the confession that it
 
 SICKNESS AND DEATH. 319 
 
 eost him a great effort to offer the Holy Sacrifice, we 
 gather how weak he had become. The reader may 
 perhaps recollect that the preceding day, the 25th, was 
 the anniversary of Father Law's first Mass, and may 
 wonder that he who even as a boy, was so observant 
 of every anniversary, and invariably noted in his 
 diary the recurrence of birthdays, or any days rendered 
 memorable by an event of importance to himself or one 
 of his family, should fail to mention this. Although he 
 passes the anniversary by in silence, preferring to look 
 forward to the things that are before him, than back- 
 ward to those that are behind, we cannot help our 
 thoughts reverting to the quiet chapel in the little 
 Welsh town, where fifteen years before, with his dear 
 father as server, and a brother-Jesuit as assistant, the 
 newly-ordained priest held in his hands for the first 
 time the Divine Victim, of Whom he humbly asked 
 that the grace of martyrdom might be his. " That was 
 a day of joy for all our hearts," his sister wrote. What 
 a different scene now meets the eye ! In a bare and 
 miserable Kafir hut, the Holy Sacrifice is offered by a 
 lonely missioner, worn with fatigue, emaciated with 
 hunger, exhausted by repeated attacks of fever. He 
 is now tasting the bitterness of the chalice of which he 
 then desired to drink. 
 
 After this some of the entries in his diary simply 
 describe the efforts he made to procure food when 
 they had but a few handfuls of meal left. Yet 
 there is no complaint of any kind, but excuses for 
 every one, and expressions of heartfelt gratitude for 
 every little gift, every act of kindness. One day, 
 one of the ambassadors from Matabeleland went over' 
 and called him to go with him to his hut to drink 
 ntjwala (beer). Father Law found out that the man,
 
 320 SICKNESS AND DEATH. 
 
 with an amount of good feeling remarkable in a savage,, 
 had asked him and the Brother on purpose that the 
 Queen (in whose suite he had come) might see that 
 Lo Bengula and his people thought much of the mis- 
 sioners, and wished attentions to be paid them. She 
 would probably mention this to Umzila, who might 
 thereby be instigated to take better care of the strangers. 
 " How thoughtful and kind of these two ambassadors," 
 Father Law exclaims. " May God reward them ! " 
 
 In respect to the quality of the food supplied to the 
 missioners, distasteful and innutritious as it was to 
 Europeans, one must not accuse the natives of inhu- 
 manity. It was their habitual food, and they naturally 
 considered that in giving these strangers what was to 
 them the staff of life, they did all that hospitality 
 required of them. But concerning Umzila's conduct 
 in leaving them without supplies, there is some mystery. 
 The indifference he subsequently displayed with regard 
 to their welfare, ill accords with the kind and gracious 
 reception he gave to the homeless wanderers who 
 claimed his protection. He appears to have held aloof 
 from them as much as possible, but whether this was 
 owing to his sense of regal dignity, or whether his 
 underlings purposely kept the missioners from having 
 access to the King, in order that they might have 
 the management of affairs in their own hands, it is 
 impossible to decide. Perchance his fondness for the 
 beer of the country, and other more potent liquors 
 obtained from traders, may have partly accounted for 
 his unapproachableness. For days together he was in 
 a state of intoxication, or else sleeping off the effect of 
 his cups. Father Law, speaking of him, says: "I 
 cannot make out Umzila. I was led from the reports I 
 had heard, to think at first so favourably of him. We
 
 SICKNESS AND DEATH. 321 
 
 expected to find every kindness from him, and indeed 
 he did send Kafir corn and a calf at first. But since 
 then he has sent nothing but utjwala twice. He has 
 never sent to inquire how we were getting on. 
 However, he may have given us over to the care of 
 Amakityana, who has neglected us. Of course the 
 marriage and the preparations for it would have taken 
 up their thoughts ; that is a great excuse. I have not 
 been to ask Umzila for more corn, firstly because I felt 
 too unwell ; and secondly because the Induna of the 
 marriage party has been kind and sent us some meat, 
 so we have been able to make a little soup. It was 
 said that the Portuguese were here during the good 
 season ; we thoroughly expected to find them here, and 
 get a few things from them. We have not seen one. 
 Fairbairn told me brandy and wine could be got here 
 for a shilling a bottle. As there are no Portuguese to 
 sell it, I cannot answer that, but I do not believe any is 
 ever brought in except for the King." 
 
 Another point upon which he felt he had been 
 grossly deceived was the nature of the climate. He 
 had been told that the country was very healthy. It 
 proved to be the very reverse. The King's kraal and a 
 large proportion of the native kraals were situated on a 
 long stretch of low-lying, flat land, filled with marshes 
 and swamps. About two miles off there were hills, 
 but they were frequently covered with mist, the exhala- 
 tions from the marshes below. Writing to Father de 
 Wit, Father Law says : " Strong constitutions will be 
 wanted for this country, I expect. I think, too, the 
 Fathers who should ever come on this mission should 
 learn the language well beforehand. The country seems 
 so unhealthy that I am afraid many would die before 
 they learnt the language. Brother Hedley is continually
 
 322 SICKNESS AND DEATH. 
 
 ailing. For myself I hardly expect to get through the 
 first unhealthy season. The greater number of the 
 Matabele sent with the ambassadors are prostrated 
 with fever, and one of them has died. And yet this is 
 considered the healthy season of the year ! " 
 
 The lack not only of good food, but of sufficient food, 
 was at this time the most serious trouble and pressing 
 necessity. The missioners were being subjected to a 
 process of gradual starvation. Want, the last and 
 sharpest dart of adversity (ultimum ac maximum telum est 
 necessitas), made itself keenly felt. On September 28th 
 Father Law writes : " My fever is gone, but I suffer 
 much from want of food. God's holy will be done ! 
 Amakityana has evidently been very careless about us, 
 or has been afraid to speak to the King about us, so I 
 must go myself." In the afternoon accordingly, though 
 very weak, he set out, accompanied by Brother Hedley, 
 to try to obtain an interview with the King, and lay his 
 needs before him in person. There seems to have been 
 considerable difficulty in approaching the great man. 
 On reaching the kraal, they looked about in search of 
 some one who would help them, and show them the 
 way to the King's hut. Presently they came upon a 
 jovial party engaged in singing songs and drinking beer. 
 They were invited to join them. " Was it good for us," 
 Father Law asks, " both weakened by fever, to drink 
 utjwala? Well, we were too hungry and too much in 
 need of something to think much about that. So we 
 drank, and I was very glad I did. Then we asked our 
 way to the King's hut. To my surprise every one 
 readily showed us the way, till at last we got to his hut. 
 I asked at the door if the Chief was in. I was told to 
 wait, and in two minutes Umzila himself came out. I 
 was able to tell him that our corn was out, and that we
 
 SICKNESS AND DEATH. 323 
 
 were much in want of meat, as we had been sick. He 
 was extremely affable, and sent for the shoulder of a 
 young ox that had just been killed, and sent it to our 
 hut. He told us the happy but surprising news that 
 Father Wehl was still alive." 
 
 The supply thus obtained was but a temporary 
 relief. Three days later Father Law found himself 
 obliged to set out again on a similar quest. This time 
 he was received with scant civility. The monarch 
 appeared irritated at his importunity, and sent out 
 word that he might go to Amakityana. " Luckily," 
 Father Law says, " this individual was close at hand, 
 but I feared a good deal that he might treat my request 
 as he had done two or three times before make 
 promises, but do nothing. So I put it to him that we 
 had nothing to eat but one or two handfuls of meal, 
 and that we should die if left without food. He 
 answered more in earnest than usual, and told me to 
 wait while he went to the King. He soon returned 
 with five small bags of meal, a little more than half a 
 sack. I went back glad and thankful to get this, but 
 sad at heart at being received less kindly by the King. 
 But he may have been occupied." 
 
 Increasing anxiety at the non-arrival of the wagon, 
 and solicitude on behalf of his companion, weighed 
 sorely on Father Law's mind. He writes : " I feel so 
 sad when I look at Brother Hedley. He looks haggard 
 and going down the hill. Dear Lord, look upon us ! " 
 And again : " How I entreat our dear Lord that He 
 would send His angels to bring on the wagon quick ! 
 I am so afraid for Brother Hedley ! He is so down- 
 spirited. He says he cannot bear Kafir corn, and there" 
 is nothing else to eat." A few days later he writes : 
 ' Both Brother Hedley and myself are getting weaker
 
 324 SICKNESS AND DEATH. 
 
 and weaker, and I am afraid if the wagon does not 
 arrive soon, we shall both die. When it comes, I 
 intend to ask the King for leave to reside in the 
 country, which I fancy he will grant readily. Then I 
 must go at once to Sofala and get stores, and black and 
 white beads (which are the ones which sell best here), 
 and calico ; nearly all we had went in paying the guides 
 and men to fell trees to make a road for the wagon. 
 If the King does not allow communication with Sofala, 
 there will be no means of keeping up this mission, for 
 I see no other way. Oh, what anxieties ! " 
 
 On Sunday, October loth, the entry in his diary is 
 as follows : 
 
 Slept beautifully last night, a thing I have not done 
 for a long time. Brother Hedley keeps well. I managed 
 to say Mass. What a consolation ! I begged our dear 
 Lord, at receiving Holy Communion, that He would 
 absolve me and give me Extreme Unction. 
 
 On the same day he wrote the subjoined letter to 
 Father Weld on the back of one of the pieces of paper 
 on which the chart of the route is drawn. 
 
 Dear Father Weld, Pray for me. So many thanks 
 or all your kindness to me. I can't expect to live, 
 unless the wagon arrives very soon. The fever has 
 weakened me so much, and there is only Kafir corn to 
 bring my strength back, not even salt to put with it. 
 But all these troubles help my hope that God would 
 not send them unless in His mercy to prepare me for 
 Heaven. When you hear of my death, write a good 
 consoling letter to my father. May my poor brother 
 return to the dear Faith ! I hope you will receive my 
 journal all right.
 
 SICKNESS AND DEATH. 325 
 
 The entries on the three succeeding days are most 
 pathetic. All hope was now at an end, and the writer 
 evidently feels that he is entering into the valley of the 
 shadow of death. 
 
 Monday, October nth. Bad all to-day; delirious 
 in the evening. Brother Hedley so kind. God bless 
 him and take care of him when I die. 
 
 Tuesday, October I2th. Very weak. Jesus, I cannot 
 pray much, but my heart is with Thee, and rests in 
 Thy infinite mercy. 
 
 On the i3th, the two faithful Matabeles who had 
 been their companions ever since they started upon 
 this expedition, left them to return to their own country. 
 Father Law does not comment upon their departure, 
 but it must have been painful to take leave of these 
 men, the last friends left to them in this unknown 
 land. 
 
 Wednesday, October i3th. Rain last night and 
 to-day. Water came into the hut. Brother Hedley is 
 keeping fairly well. Father, into Thy hands I commend 
 my spirit. Lord Jesus, receive my soul. Love to all 
 the Fathers and Brothers. The two King's boys leave 
 us, and God is our only protection. 
 
 Before laying aside his pen for ever, Augustus Law 
 wrote a few lines to bid a last farewell to his father. 
 They were forwarded to him on July i5th, 1881, when 
 nine months after their date had elapsed. 
 
 Umzila's, October i2th [1880]. 
 
 Dearest Father, I am not far off my end. I trust in 
 the infinite mercy of God. God bless you you were the
 
 326 SICKNESS AND DEATH. 
 
 means of giving me the holy Faith. Tell dear, dear 
 Graves to listen to my last words, and to return to the 
 dear holy Catholic Faith. 
 
 Best love to all. 
 
 I die of fever but if I could have had proper 
 nourishment I think I could easily have got right. But 
 God's will is sweetest. 
 
 Jesus! Mary! 
 
 Your most affectionate son, 
 
 A. H. LAW, S.J. 
 
 On the same day he also wrote a letter addressed 
 to Father Wehl and Brother Sadeleer, containing 
 directions which show wise thoughtfulness about the 
 future of the Mission for which he was giving up his 
 life. He begins by saying that he is not far off his 
 end, and begging pardon of them with all humility 
 for the scandal he may have caused them by his bad 
 temper. He then continues, supposing them to have 
 arrived at the kraal after his death : 
 
 I think the best to be done is to go in the wagon to 
 Sofala, and either to stay there till you get an answer 
 from Father Weld, or go round at once, after selling 
 wagon and oxen, to Port Elizabeth. You cannot stay 
 here. You have not enough to keep you alive, and you 
 will only die, so endeavour to go to Sofala. If you 
 cannot persuade the King to let you go to Sofala but 
 try hard, even by offering him the oxen and wagon 
 when you have got to Sofala. But if he will not, then 
 I should try, if I were you, to go towards Gubulawayo, 
 beyond the fly, and then send an express messenger for 
 Father de Wit to send a wagon. He could borrow
 
 SICKNESS AND DEATH. 327 
 
 one. Perhaps you will find dear Brother Hedley dead 
 too. The things will be left in charge of the good 
 woman here. I have written to Father de Wit about 
 the payments. 
 
 Yours in Christ, 
 
 A. LAW, S.J. 
 
 Brother Hedley begs pardon of all, he wishes me to 
 say. 
 
 On the reverse side of the paper in pencil, scarcely 
 legible, these words are traced : 
 
 The good woman will not take share [probably 
 charge ?] of dead men's things, so these will go to those 
 who like. 
 
 And in ink, written below the words in pencil, are 
 these : 
 
 I give my blanket to the good woman when I die. 
 
 And Brother Hedley, his when he dies. 
 
 A. LAW. 
 
 The woman referred to here is doubtless the kind 
 neighbour, by name Kuhlisa, who has already been 
 mentioned as having ministered to his needs. May 
 God reward the charity this poor savage showed to 
 His servant ! 
 
 After the I3th of October the entries in his journal 
 altogether cease. But the end was not yet. For six 
 weeks more this lingering martyrdom was to continue 
 before his soul, purified by sufferings, was to leave het 
 earthly prison, to receive the crown which was to be 
 their reward.
 
 328 SICKNESS AND DEATH. 
 
 " Silver and gold are tried in the fire," the Scripture 
 says, " but acceptable men in the furnace of humilia- 
 tion." 1 Augustus Law was now forty-seven years of 
 age ; his life, up to a recent period, had been a peaceful 
 and happy one. His naturally cheerful temperament 
 had brightened much that might otherwise have worn 
 a dreary aspect. No very grave trouble or grievous 
 affliction had darkened his path, until his brother's 
 sad change cast a permanent shadow across it. He had 
 been successful in his work, everywhere he had been 
 loved and esteemed. Now his hour of trial had come. 
 His joyous spirits had at last given way. The expe- 
 dition of which he was in charge was a failure. His 
 cherished wish to found a mission in Umzila's land 
 could not be accomplished. The project on which he 
 had set his heart, and to which he had devoted his life, 
 must be abandoned. For him " all bright hopes and 
 hues of day, had faded into twilight gray," and the 
 night, in which no man can work, was fast closing in. 
 One can almost imagine him applying to himself the 
 words of the Prophet : " I have laboured in vain, and 
 spent my strength without cause, and in vain," 2 when 
 deceived, disappointed, dejected, he lay dying of starva- 
 tion, an exile amongst the heathen who turned a deaf 
 ear to his teaching. 
 
 But Father Law's happiness had rested throughout 
 on a better basis than his natural cheerfulness and 
 contented disposition. He was the servant of God, 
 employed exclusively in the work of his Heavenly 
 Master. The will of God was the law of his life, and 
 his one aim was the perfect fulfilment of that law. 
 An Angel has assigned to him the charge of a human 
 life, and whether the soul entrusted to his care benefits 
 1 Eccles. ii. 5. s Jsaias xlix. 4.
 
 SICKNESS AND DEATH. 329 
 
 by his Guardian's ministrations, or refuses to do so, 
 that Angel is equally well pleasing to God. Success 
 God keeps in His own hands, and for that no man is 
 responsible. If God sees in our heart that His will is 
 our only care, and if we sacrifice ourselves for its 
 fulfilment, then the want of success can only make 
 that sacrifice more heroic. 
 
 On October i5th, St. Teresa's day, Father Law said 
 Mass for the last time. During the journey and since 
 his arrival at the kraal, he had never missed a single 
 opportunity of offering the Holy Sacrifice, and had often 
 done so under great difficulties. Now he gathered 
 together his remaining strength for one supreme effort, 
 although he was so weak that he could not have stood 
 upright whilst celebrating, had not Brother Hedley 
 fastened a rope across the hut to serve as a support for 
 him. A large stone that the natives had used as a 
 corn-grinder, formed the altar ; everything necessary 
 for the Holy Sacrifice, with the exception of candles, 
 was at hand, having been carried from the wagon. 
 That Mass was Father Law's Viaticum. Thence- 
 forward he was to be deprived not only of all human 
 consolation, but of all sacramental sustenance. In the 
 strength of that Food, received on the feast of the great 
 Carmelite Saint, he had to walk, like St. Elias, the 
 holy Prophet of Carmel, forty days and forty nights, 
 unto the mount of God. 
 
 After the middle of October, Father Law's strength 
 rapidly declined. He could scarcely crawl upon his 
 hands and knees to the door of the hut. Soon he fell 
 into a sort of lethargy, succeeded by delirium. In his 
 lucid intervals he used to ask Brother Hedley to speak 
 to him of our Lord's Passion and Death, in order to 
 encourage him in his suffering and prepare him for his
 
 330 SICKNESS AND DEATH. 
 
 last hour. On the 3ist he seems to have rallied a little, 
 sufficiently at any rate to be able to add a few words 
 the last he ever wrote to the letter he had already 
 written to his Superior. They were these : 
 
 No wagon arrived yet. God's will be done. I am 
 still between life and death. Brother Hedley quite 
 well. Kindest regards to Father Croonenberghs and 
 to the Brother. I am so anxious about the wagon. 
 Please God, directly it gets here, I go to Sofala to re-fit 
 and get provisions and limbo, beads, &c., and perhaps 
 I shall have to wait till after the rainy reason but I 
 don't know if I shall live. 
 
 Pray for me, 
 
 Your son in Christ, 
 
 A. LAW. 
 
 From that day forth, his forces entirely failed him. 
 Dysentery, from which he was suffering, took a most 
 dangerous form, and his fever, which had been inter- 
 mittent, never left him. Then there were clear 
 symptoms of yellow fever, and after that no hope 
 existed of his recovery. Brother Hedley rendered him 
 all the services within his power, but he too was soon 
 prostrated by fever, and reduced to a state of extreme 
 weakness. An immense abscess formed on his knee, 
 so that he was unable to leave the couch on which he 
 lay to fetch anything to eat. Thus these two brave 
 missioners lay perfectly helpless together on the same 
 bed if indeed a skin laid on the top of a few planks 
 can be called a bed left entirely to the mercy of one 
 of the natives in whose charge they had been placed, 
 and who sometimes allowed them to remain without a 
 meal for twenty-four hours.
 
 SICKNESS AND DEATH. 331 
 
 It would be difficult to imagine a condition more 
 forlorn than that of these poor missioners, surrounded 
 by savages, destitute of all help, the one dying, the 
 other dangerously ill. Some vague reports of their 
 distress had reached the Fathers at Gubulawayo, and 
 early in November a wagon had been provisioned for 
 their relief. A trader undertook to convey it to the 
 borders of Matabeleland, whence the provisions should 
 be brought on by carriers to Umzila's kraal. But the 
 rainy season checked his journey. He was unable to 
 cross the swollen rivers, and consequently compelled 
 to return. 
 
 Brother Hedley tells us that Father Law's calm 
 confidence in the mercy of God continued unshaken 
 throughout this terrible time. He counted his sufferings 
 as nothing ; no shade of impatience ever marred the 
 perfection of his peace and resignation to the Divine 
 will. During the last five weeks of his life he was 
 frequently unconscious, but was in full possession of 
 his senses when the end came. When he felt he had 
 not many hours to live, he asked the Brother to beg 
 pardon in his name of all for the scandal he had given. 
 Death had for him no terrors. The last words he was 
 heard to utter were these : " I do not think I could 
 despair even if I tried." Towards evening on the 
 25th November, Brother Hedley, who was lying by his 
 side, perceived that he was dying. He began to recite 
 the prayers for the departing, to which Father Law 
 responded by signs. Soon after sunset, he calmly 
 expired; and the angels carried his soul from that 
 miserable hut to receive the reward of his labours and 
 of his heroic patience. 
 
 This dreadful blow overwhelmed the poor Brother, 
 who was now left quite alone, himself in a pitiable
 
 332 SICKNESS AND DEATH. 
 
 state of illness. Unable to move his limbs on account 
 of extreme weakness, and the ulcers with which he was 
 covered, he remained throughout the night where he 
 lay, by the side of the dear Father's remains, thinking 
 of him, and praying for him. When the morning 
 dawned, and he removed the handkerchief he had laid 
 over the face of the dead, he was shocked to find that 
 the rats had already begun to gnaw it. Despite all his 
 efforts, he could not succeed in keeping them off. 
 Calling the Kafirs, he bade them inter the remains of 
 his companion. But the superstitious natives shrank 
 from touching the corpse of a white man. They 
 refused to remove it until the Brother had fastened a 
 rope around it ; then it was dragged out of the hut and 
 buried, after what manner and in what place Brother 
 Hedley was never able to discover. Thus the grave 
 wherein Father Law rests is unknown to man, but it 
 is known to God and His good angels. They will watch 
 over it until the day of his glorious resurrection.
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 THE END OF THE STORY. 
 
 THE reader who has followed our story thus far, will 
 doubtless be desirous to know what befell the faithful 
 Brother who, after Father Law's death, was left alone 
 amongst the Abagasi to mourn his loss. Terrible as 
 had been the first night he spent in the hut after he 
 had closed the eyes of his beloved companion and 
 Superior, the next night, after the body had been 
 removed for burial, was yet more terrible. For the 
 rats, having once tasted human flesh, would be content 
 with nothing else. Instead of devouring the grain, as 
 was their wont, they sprang upon the pallet where 
 Brother Hedley lay, and not finding the dead, they 
 attacked the living occupant of the couch. All night 
 long he had a continual struggle to hold these voracious 
 animals at bay. The hut was perfectly dark, for he 
 had no means of procuring artificial light. Sometimes 
 they gnawed his feet, sometimes they would leap upon 
 his chest and try to bite his face. It was all he could 
 possibly do to ward them off with a stick. What made 
 matters worse, was that he was so utterly worn out 
 with fatigue of body and anguish of mind, that he 
 could not help dropping asleep, despite his tormentors, 
 only to be awaked the next minute by a fresh attack. 
 For about three weeks longer he remained in this 
 dismal abode. Somewhat alarmed perhaps at the
 
 334 THE END OF THE STORY. 
 
 death of one of the white men in consequence of the 
 cruel neglect of his subordinates, the King went to visit 
 Brother Hedley, and showed him great kindness. The 
 Brother begged that he might be assisted to rejoin his 
 fellow-missioners who were with the wagon. His 
 request was granted. As the poor Brother was utterly 
 unable to walk more than a few steps, Umzila had him 
 carried in a kind of litter or basket, made of branches 
 and bamboo-sticks, by sixteen of his Kafirs, who relieved 
 each other in relays of four, and sang lustily as they 
 went. Contrary to the King's orders, the Brother was 
 roughly treated by these men, who conveyed him from 
 place to place with the utmost reluctance, and more 
 than once rifled his pockets and the package containing 
 his few possessions with the hope of discovering some 
 money that he had taken charge of after Father Law's 
 death. 
 
 All this time Father Wehl had been in the greatest 
 anxiety concerning his colleagues at Umzila's kraal. 
 On finding, in the beginning of December, that all idea 
 of proceeding further with the wagon must be relin- 
 quished, he could not rest without making another 
 attempt to succour them. Taking with him a few 
 necessaries in a parcel, he set out on foot, accompanied 
 by two sturdy natives to act as guides. This effort 
 proved fruitless. At the end of a week he returned, 
 soaked to the skin by the torrents of rain, having been 
 compelled to desist from his enterprise. 
 
 Two days later, three natives arrived from Umzila 
 with a message to the effect that the King wanted the 
 wagon. At the bottom of a calabash they brought the 
 letter addressed by Father Law to Father Wehl and 
 Brother Sadeleer, given on page 326. On being 
 interrogated as to the missioners' health, they acknow-
 
 THE END OF THE STORY. 335 
 
 ledged, with much hesitation, that the great teacher 
 was dead. These sad tidings were confirmed a short 
 time after, when two other Kafirs made their appear- 
 ance in the camp. They came from Sebenal, a village 
 about forty miles distant, where they said there was a 
 white man who was sick. For the hospitality shown 
 to him their chief claimed twenty yards of calico. They 
 brought a letter from Brother Hedley pressing Father 
 Wehl for the love of God to go at once to his assistance. 
 " I am alone and very ill," he wrote; " Father Law is 
 dead. The Kafirs have carried me thus far on their 
 shoulders ; they will take me no further." Father 
 Wehl started immediately with the Hottentot to his 
 relief; and about the nth January, 1881, brought him 
 to the camp. 
 
 The poor Brother was in the most deplorable 
 condition, and presented a most pitiable sight. When 
 Brother Sadeleer first beheld him he burst into tears, 
 so dreadful was his appearance. " Never in my whole 
 life," he says, " did I see any sick person in so wretched 
 a state ; his entire body was covered with sores and 
 ulcers, and the wounds were filled with vermin. He 
 appeared stupefied by the excess of his sufferings both 
 physical and mental. It is a wonder that he did not 
 succumb as Father Law did. He must have had an 
 iron constitution. For five months he had not changed 
 his clothes, which were all in shreds and tatters. The 
 moment he reached our wagon I set about doing all I 
 could to alleviate his condition. I laid him on our 
 blankets and washed him from head to foot. I dressed 
 his sores with oil and balsam, and put on him clean 
 linen and new clothes. He soon appeared to gain - 
 strength, and at the end of a few days, with good care 
 and nourishment, was in a fair way of recovery."
 
 336 THE END OF THE STORY. 
 
 It may be imagined that as soon as the poor 
 Brother's strength enabled him to answer questions, 
 his companions made the minutest inquiries respecting 
 Father Law's last moments. They heard from his lips 
 the same edifying tale of heroic fortitude and faith 
 that never wavered which has already been related in 
 these pages, besides some additional particulars con- 
 cerning the three months passed in Umzila's kraal 
 which will not be without interest for the reader. 
 
 Almost up to the very last all the spiritual duties 
 customary in the Society were adhered to with the 
 greatest exactness by these two faithful sons of 
 St. Ignatius. The morning's meditation, the mid-day 
 examination of conscience, the recital of the Rosary and 
 the Litanies, were all performed as regularly as though 
 they had been enjoying the advantages of community 
 life and perfect health. The only book of spiritual 
 reading that they possessed was a Latin edition of the 
 Catechism of the Council of Trent. Of this book 
 Father Law had always been very fond, and he had 
 studied it carefully. He was in the habit of reading it 
 daily for a short time, translating it into English as he 
 went on for the benefit of the lay-brother ; after this 
 they would spend many an hour discussing the 
 various points of their reading. This regularity in the 
 observance of religious duties under circumstances 
 such as those in which these two Jesuits were placed 
 is far more meritorious than can easily be realized. It 
 implies very solid virtue. Those who are in religion 
 know perhaps better than those who are in the world 
 how difficult it is to be regular and constant in prayer 
 and in the performance of the religious duties prescribed 
 by the Rule when one is even in a slight degree out of 
 health. If then love of prayer, fidelity to the Rule,
 
 THE END OF THE STORY. 337 
 
 patience, and many other virtues are specially tried 
 and tested in seasons of sickness and affliction, surely 
 Father Law's constancy to his religious exercises 
 during those last terrible months is a testimony to his 
 holiness of no slight weight. 
 
 Father Law took great delight in reciting the 
 Breviary. Excepting the celebration of Holy Mass, 
 it was his greatest pleasure during the day. He used 
 to look forward to the time for saying it as to a 
 spiritual feast. Never upon his last fatal journey did 
 he display as much concern as once when he had 
 mislaid his Breviary. He could not rest for a single 
 moment until he had found it. Brother Hedley said 
 the temporary loss of that book was the greatest of all 
 the troubles he met with. And when he was stretched 
 on his bed of suffering in the hut at Umzila's kraal, 
 be did not discontinue the recital of his Breviary until 
 the fever had exhausted him so much that he had not 
 the strength to say it any longer. Even then he could 
 not make up his mind to lay it aside altogether, until 
 one day he asked the Brother what he thought about 
 it. On receiving the answer that if saying his Breviary 
 caused him pain in his state of health, it was sufficient 
 reason for him to give it up, he appeared quite satisfied, 
 and accepted the decision in all simplicity as if it had 
 come from the lips of his Superior. From that day 
 forth he made no further attempt to say it, but asked 
 Brother Hedley to recite the Rosary instead. He was 
 too feeble to join in it himself, but he followed every 
 word attentively, and said it sounded like music in his 
 ears. 
 
 He was never a friend to private devotions, for he 
 considered that in the prayers of the Breviary and the 
 liturgy of the Church all could be found which was 
 w
 
 338 THE END OF THE STORY. 
 
 needed to supply the wants of the Christian. Brother 
 Hedley once showed him a form of morning prayer 
 which he thought very beautiful, and he expected 
 Father Law to say the same. But he only, remarked: 
 " This is very nice, but where are the beautiful prayers 
 of the Church, are not they preferable ?." 
 
 One might imagine that as Brother Hedley had 
 himself been a sailor, Father Law would often have 
 talked to him about his early life in the navy, and would 
 have had many little anecdotes to relate. But it was 
 not so. The Brother said he had never heard him talk 
 about his former life, in fact he only spoke of himself 
 when necessity required. One day after their arrival in 
 the hut, he gave proof of his humility by showing the 
 Brother a letter which he had just written giving an 
 account of their journey, asking him in the simplest 
 manner whether he did not think he had put himself 
 into too great prominence in that letter. Everything 
 that tended to honour and exalt him, or distinguish 
 him from his brethren in religion, was highly distasteful 
 to him. Whenever the choice rested with him, his 
 clothes were the oldest, his rosary the commonest, his 
 pipe indispensable to him in that climate the cheapest 
 that could be procured. The presents showered upon 
 him when he left Grahamstown were promptly deposited 
 in the common stock, nothing that could be of service 
 to others being reserved for his own special use. Not 
 a word of complaint ever escaped his lips. Even the 
 last and greatest trial, that of being cabled to meet 
 death without having been fortified by the last rites of 
 the Church, was borne without a murmur. It was 
 God's sweet will that he should thus suffer ; and that 
 was enough. We may conclude from his MSS. that 
 he was not altogether unprepared for this privation.
 
 THE END OF THE STORY. 339 
 
 Whilst still at Grahamstown, before he was appointed 
 to this Mission, he contemplated the possibility of being 
 thus denied the consolations of religion in his last 
 moments. As if with a spirit of foreknowledge he wrote 
 the following passage in one of his meditations: " My 
 death may be without the help of the sacraments. So 
 let me listen to our Lord when He says to us, Sint lumbi 
 vestri pmcincti" &C. 1 Who can doubt that he received 
 abundant grace in his hour of need ; that God, to. 
 Whom he had given himself with such generosity, 
 vouchsafed to him a special blessing in his last: 
 moments, and made him an ample return for all that 
 he had left for His sake. 
 
 Not merely during his last sad weeks of suffering 
 and desolation, but throughout the whole of the time 
 that he was with him on the journey into the interior. 
 Brother Hedley said he never observed Father' Law 
 show any sign of impatience or irritability, whatever 
 the provocation. This is no small praise when we 
 remember that in his youth his temper was quick 
 and hasty. So complete was the conquest he had 
 obtained over himself, that no trace was left of this 
 passionate disposition. What is more, the very marks 
 of the struggle and it must have been a hard one 
 were obliterated, so that every one who knew him in 
 Africa believed him to be gifted by nature with a 
 remarkably gentle and placid temperament. The 
 patience he displayed in bearing the minor disagree- 
 ables which beset Europeans travelling in Africa, and 
 constitute a perpetual source of worry and annoyance 
 to them, greatly edified his companions. Amongst 
 these disagreeables Brother Hedley mentioned the 
 plague of flies. In some regions they were so numerous 
 
 1 St. Luke xii. 35.
 
 340 THE END OF THE STORY. 
 
 that he said one might have thought a black cloth had 
 been thrown over the wagon, so entirely was it covered 
 by them. Few men could help being somewhat ruffled 
 by the presence of swarms of these pests, incessantly 
 buzzing about their heads, ready to alight with their 
 exasperating prick on any unprotected spot. But 
 Father Law endured this torment, one to which his 
 skin was peculiarly sensitive, with apparent indifference, 
 treating it as a matter of no consequence. 
 
 It may perhaps, at first sight, appear as if the 
 mission upon which Father Law entered with so 
 much courage and devotion had been a failure. The 
 reader may feel inclined to regret that so great an 
 expenditure of time, strength, money, and the sacrifice 
 of so valuable a life should have been made in pursuit 
 of a scheme which proved abortive. It is true that 
 from the time he left Grahamstown until his death, 
 a period of about eighteen months, not a single con- 
 version cheered his heart. He did not even succeed in 
 obtaining a footing in the country he had hoped to 
 evangelize he only found there an untimely grave. 
 Yet in a short space of time he laboured much for the 
 Mission. The other missionary Fathers felt that his 
 death was a very great loss to them. Of them all he 
 was the one who could best understand and speak the 
 Zulu language, who was most conversant with the 
 habits and customs of the people. The Matabele 
 vocabulary that he had compiled was of incalculable 
 service to his fellow-labourers. He had also begun to 
 write a catechism of the first rudiments of Christian 
 doctrine in the native tongue, and whilst journeying 
 to Umzila's land, he traced no less than seven charts 
 of the country through which he passed. These maps 
 were accompanied by instructions how to avoid the
 
 THE END OF THE STORY. 341 
 
 dangers and difficulties the route presented. But more 
 valuable by far are the merits and graces he earned on 
 behalf of the apostolic work which his zeal commenced. 
 If in the sight of some the life of this just man may be 
 esteemed madness and his end without honour, to those 
 who view it in the light of faith it wears a very different 
 aspect. The Master Whom we serve will not judge 
 of our work or reward us according to our success, but 
 according to the faithfulness and diligence we have 
 displayed in His service. It is related of St. James 
 that after several years spent in Spain, he returned to 
 Jerusalem without having converted more than seven 
 persons by his preaching; and that his body having 
 been carried back to Spain by his disciples after his 
 martyrdom, the place of its interment remained unknown 
 for seven centuries. Meanwhile the whole nation was 
 converted to the faith of Christ, and ever since it has 
 preserved that faith in all its integrity. May it not 
 be hoped that the remains of Father Law, resting in 
 their unknown grave in the plains of Africa, may call 
 down a blessing upon the country he desired to conquer 
 for Christ, so that those who follow after him may 
 enter into his labours and reap a rich harvest of souls 
 for the greater glory of God ? 
 
 Father Law's last recommendation was that the 
 mission to Umzila's land should be given up as im- 
 practicable. Father Wehl did not share this opinion. 
 He thought that a station might be made on a higher 
 level, where the climate would be less fatal to Europeans, 
 within easy distance of the King's kraal, and in com- 
 munication with Sofala, on the coast. He did not 
 live to carry out this scheme. In the middle of April,' 
 their stores being well-nigh exhausted, he went on foot 
 together with Brother Sadeleer to Sofala to buy
 
 THE. END OF THE STORY. 
 
 provisions and goods for barter. Brother Hedley was 
 left in charge of the wagon. The journey was very 
 fatiguing, and the Father became seriously ill. On 
 reaching their destination, the missioners were most 
 kindly received. The Captain of the small Portuguese 
 garrison took them into the fort, and showed them 
 truly Christian hospitality and friendship. Father 
 Wehl's condition soon gave cause for grave alarm. 
 There happened to be in Sofala at that time a 
 Portuguese priest from the nearest seaport, who 
 hastened to offer his services to the dying missioner. 
 He found him unconscious, gave him absolution and 
 Extreme Unction, and remained with him to the last. 
 On May i2th, he yielded up his soul to God. Eight 
 Portuguese soldiers carried this soldier of Christ to 
 his grave in the little cemetery where he received 
 solemn burial. May he rest in peace ! When the 
 Brother wished afterwards to defray the expenses, he 
 was not allowed to do so ; no one would accept 
 payment. 
 
 When Brother Sadeleer had completed his purchases, 
 he made his way back to the wagon ; and before the 
 end of June he and Brother Hedley started on the 
 return journey to Gubulawayo. It was no easy under- 
 taking to go back by the way they had made for 
 themselves in the preceding autumn, as the luxurious 
 growth of grass and shrubs had rendered it undis- 
 cernible. Of all their former companions, only one 
 Kafir driver and the Hottentot leader of the oxen 
 remained to accompany them. Their route lay through 
 hostile tribes and a country infested with wild animals, 
 but the watchful care of Providence, extended over 
 them, amply compensated for the lack of human 
 protection. With the aid of the heavenly help in
 
 THE END OF THE STORY. 343 
 
 which they trusted they arrived safe and unmolested 
 at Gubulawayo on the ist October. 
 
 Out of the little band of missioners whom we saw 
 starting from Grahamstown in 1879, four priests had 
 now gone to receive their eternal reward ; Father 
 Terorde having succumbed to fever on the banks of the 
 Zambesi shortly before Father Law breathed his last 
 at Umzila's kraal. Father Depelchin, deeply as he 
 deplored the loss of his fellow-labourers the loss of 
 Father Law affecting him more keenly than that of all 
 the others yet felt hopeful as to the ultimate success 
 of the Mission. But although other brave men came 
 to replace the warriors who had fallen in the outset of 
 the fight, no headway was made in the succeeding 
 years. The stations north of Matabeleland had to be 
 virtually abandoned, since even there, the despotic rule 
 of the Chief proved an insuperable bar to the progress 
 of Christianity. Of late a fresh impulse has been given to 
 missionary enterprise in Central Africa. The operations 
 of the British South African Company have smoothed 
 the way for the ingress of the missioner in the territory 
 assigned to the Society of Jesus, and the sons of 
 St. Ignatius have been prompt to avail themselves of 
 the greater facilities thus afforded them. A central 
 station is now established among the bloodthirsty 
 Mashonas, and the European may pitch his tent at 
 Umzila's kraal without fearing to die of starvation. 
 
 The reader of this biography will doubtless share 
 the regret felt by the writer that a letter of some length 
 written by Father Law during his last illness has been 
 lost. It was destroyed by Father Wehl, at a time 
 when his mental state was such as to render him 
 irresponsible for his actions. This document is said
 
 344 THE END OF THE STORY. 
 
 to have contained most edifying expressions of abandon- 
 ment to the Divine will, of trust in God's mercy, of 
 willingness to offer his life for the salvation of the 
 heathen. In it, too, Father Law begged the prayers of 
 the Bishop of Grahamstown, of his clergy, and of his 
 flock. He also sent touching messages of humble 
 gratitude to his Superiors and each one of the priests 
 of the Society in Africa, and mentioned by name 
 several of the Catholics of Grahamstown as well as 
 friends and relatives at home. He did not forget any 
 one, but entreated pardon and prayers from all. 
 
 The first intimation of his death reached England 
 in May, 1881. The tidings were an unexpected and 
 a severe blow, especially to his father. When the 
 pious old man learnt the harrowing details of the 
 closing sufferings of his eldest and favourite son, and 
 the soiled scrap of paper on which the last words of 
 affectionate farewell were traced was placed in his 
 hands, he needed all the consolations faith can give to 
 support him under the heavy trial. But he felt, as one 
 of the Jesuit Fathers reminded him, that it is a great 
 thing to have a good son, a greater to have a son an 
 apostle, and greatest of all to have given to God a 
 martyr ; and this thought comforted him in his anguish. 
 The late Cardinal Newman, writing to him on this 
 occasion, says : 
 
 " You have indeed great troubles on you, but you 
 know better than I can say that they are sure in God's 
 good time to turn to blessings, and that prayers which 
 seem thrown away will be found in time to have a 
 fulfilment in the event. For the son whose death may 
 be called a martyrdom you cannot grieve long, and he 
 will be nearer to you in Heaven than he could ever be 
 on earth. As to his brother, we know not what he may
 
 THE END OF THE STORY. 345 
 
 do for him ; and this, I dare say, has already been 
 a comforting thought to yon." 
 
 Father Law's holy, devoted life and heroic death 
 will not have been in vain, if the remembrance of them 
 encourages those who follow in his wake to fight the 
 battle of life no less bravely than he did, and win the 
 crown of eternal glory no less nobly. Defunctus adhuc 
 loquitur. 
 
 A marble tablet was erected to his memory by his 
 father in the Church of St. Mary Magdalen, Mortlake. 
 The inscription upon it reads thus : 
 
 In Memoriam. 
 
 The REV. AUGUSTUS HENRY LAW, S.J., 
 Received, when an Officer of the Royal Navy, 
 
 Into the One Fold of Christ, by Dr. Grant, 
 
 Bishop of Southwark, in this Church, on May i6th, 1852, 
 
 Died of Fever, a Missionary Priest, 
 
 On the Zambesi Mission, 
 
 At Umzila's Kraal, South Africa, 
 
 In the 48th year of his age, on November 25th, 1880. 
 
 R. I. P.
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 THE subjoined letter, in which the late Father Weld 
 communicated the tidings of Father Augustus Law's 
 death to his father, gives testimony to the high esteem 
 and affection entertained for him by his Superiors in 
 the Society. 
 
 May 3, 1881. 
 
 San Girolamo, Fiesole. 
 
 My dear Mr. Law, I have a very sad duty to 
 accomplish. It is that of announcing to you that God 
 has accepted the sacrifice which your dear son made 
 of his life, when he offered himself for the Zambesi 
 Mission. Our dear Lord took him to Himself on 
 November 25. Worn out with fever and fatigue, he 
 peacefully gave his soul to God on that day, at the 
 kraal of Umzila, where he had so ardently desired to 
 found a mission, and where I feel that he has really 
 laid the foundation of a future mission, as the character 
 of the people and the kindness of the King give good 
 hopes of future success, when the difficulties of 
 communication can be overcome. He had only a 
 lay-brother with him at his death, so I have as yet 
 no details of his last hours, but I know what they 
 must have been ; so fervent a soul as his, one so simple 
 and ingenuous, who had all through his religious life 
 given himself with such generosity to God, and, in all 
 that regarded this Mission, had made such a heroic
 
 348 APPENDIX. 
 
 sacrifice of himself, could not but receive abundant 
 grace at the moment of need ; and I cannot doubt that 
 our Lord will have given a special blessing to him in 
 those moments, and made him ample return for all 
 he had left for His sake. There is something so like 
 St. Francis Xavier in his death, that it is impossible 
 not to dwell upon it with consolation. Alone, with a 
 faithful Kafir probably by his side, in a little hut, at 
 the entrance of the Mission for which he had given his 
 life. God was satisfied and took him to his reward. 
 
 I knew him so intimately, and esteemed so much 
 his fervent religious devotedness, that he has always 
 been particularly dear to me ; but remembering what 
 life is, and what it is for, it is impossible not to look on 
 the close of his as a blessed one for himself, and a 
 triumph of God's .grace; the sorrow we feel will pass, 
 but the consolation will last for ever. 
 
 I shall not write any more now. Father Provincial 
 will, I am sure, communicate to you the letter when it 
 has been translated. It will show you what a missioner 
 in Africa must be ready for, and what a sacrifice they 
 make to God who give themselves for such work. 
 
 I need not say that I shall pray fervently for one 
 whom I have always loved. 
 
 Believe me, 
 My dear Mr. Law, 
 
 With sincere condolence, 
 
 Yours sincerely, 
 
 A. WELD.
 
 FATHER LAW'S MEDITATIONS. 349 
 
 The meditations written by Father Law hardly 
 deserve this name in the strict sense of the word. 
 They consist of thoughts which struck him in his 
 meditations, and which he briefly jotted down, in order 
 to recall them to his memory. They are often sugges- 
 tive, always pious and holy, and frequently pregnant 
 with spiritual meaning. They are, moreover, the 
 genuine expression of his own feelings ; they breathe 
 his spirit in every line, and are revelations of his 
 inner life. It is this that gives them their chief value. 
 For the hidden life with God is the important 
 element in the spiritual life of every man, and we 
 know that in comparison with it, external work is 
 of little moment. For those therefore who, having 
 seen the beauty of holiness in the apostolical career 
 of Father Augustus Law, desire to look below the 
 surface, and observe the virtues of whicn his actions 
 were the fruit, a few selections from his MS. books are 
 added to this biography. 
 
 ON THE ANNUNCIATION OF OUR LADY. 
 
 ist Point. The Angel Gabriel, saluting our Lady, 
 announced to her the conception of Christ our Lord. 
 The Angel entering in unto her, said, " Hail, full of 
 grace ; thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring 
 forth a Son." 
 
 Mary has much to do then in bringing forth Christ 
 in our hearts. He came to the world through Mary ; 
 He comes to me through Mary. And it is suggested to 
 me that saluting Mary as the Angel did. has much to 
 do with the conception of Jesus in my heart. How 
 good then often to get Jesus conceived in my heart 
 through the Hail Mary! How Mary must delight
 
 3So APPENDIX: 
 
 in hearing it repeated, and then how she must wish 
 to bring Jesus to our hearts ! I will try to say it over 
 and over again with the same burning desires and 
 affections as Gabriel did, hoping to derive much profit 
 from my salutation because God framed it and put it 
 into the mouth of His ambassador. 
 
 No wonder the Rosary is so powerful a prayer, 
 since Mary is so often saluted in it, and her salutation 
 is the prelude to the Incarnation. And when I stand 
 in need of some great grace for myself or others, 
 why do I not use this great power, "the cannon- 
 balls of our Blessed Lady," as that holy woman 
 Margaret Hallahan called them. Certainly if any 
 one were to salute Mary once, she would repay it ; 
 what then if over and over again as is done in 
 the Rosary? The words, "Hail, full of grace," &c., 
 are the first words of the news of our coming ransom 
 and freedom. And to repeat them is an act of thanks- 
 giving to God. How glad Jesus was when one at 
 least of the lepers returned to give thanks ! Let 
 me gladden the Heart of Jesus by giving thanks for 
 the mercy of the Incarnation. " Announced." This 
 is the news that should interest me, that God has 
 become Man. Other news dissipates, this news 
 strengthens and sanctifies. Think what the Cure 
 d'Ars said about news and gossip in connection with 
 the sanctification of priests. " What does all the 
 harm," he says, " is this news of the world, these 
 conversations, this interest in politics, these news- 
 papers. A man fills his head with these things and 
 then proceeds to say Holy Mass, or the Breviary." 
 Father Clarke in the Novitiate used to say that 
 want of guard of the ears from curiosity was what 
 hindered perfection in the present day.
 
 FATHER LAW'S MEDITATIONS. 351 
 
 2nd Point. The Angel confirms what he had said 
 to our Lady by announcing the conception of St. John 
 Baptist, saying to her: " Behold Elizabeth, thy cousin, 
 she also has conceived a son in her old age." God is 
 liberal and magnificent in His . dealings with us and 
 does not just show us enough to make us believe, but 
 he confirms our faith by many things, e.g., He does not 
 just give us faith enough and no more to believe that 
 the Catholic Church is the true Church, but He confirms 
 our belief in her truth in many ways, by her sanctity, 
 her miracles, her firmness in teaching the truth, her 
 uncompromising opposition to error, &c., Vera incessu 
 patuit Dea. And so He was liberal and magnificent 
 with our Blessed Lady too. Nor was it any reason 
 that she should be deprived of these confirmations of 
 the truth because her faith was strong. " To him 
 that hath, it shall be given to him," our Lord said. 
 And so to the strong in faith He gives sweet and strong 
 confirmations of their faith as a reward. And to the 
 weak in faith, if they pray : " Lord, I believe, help 
 Thou mine unbelief," He mercifully gives confirmations 
 to strengthen and encourage their faith. 
 
 Let me thank God for the many confirmations of the 
 true faith He has mercifully given me, ever since I have 
 been a Catholic, and ask Him for many more ; espe- 
 cially for confirmations of truths of which I practically 
 think so little, e.g., That nothing happens to me without 
 God knowing and permitting it. That God always 
 sees me. That God loves me more than I can imagine. 
 That sin is the only evil, &c. Above all, I must in this 
 meditation ask for more and more light to confirm mq 
 in the faith of the power, wisdom, justice, and goodness 
 of my God as shown in the Incarnation. 
 
 Again, God is accustomed to make known His
 
 352 APPENDIX. 
 
 secrets to His friends, as He did to Abraham : " Can I 
 hide from Abraham what I am about to do?" 1 So 
 He reveals His secrets to Mary, and for a like reason : 
 " Seeing he shall become a great and mighty nation 
 and in him all the nations of the earth shall be 
 blessed." 2 
 
 Notice too that the confirmation of Mary's faith 
 was not, as it has to be with those of little faith, by 
 means of things that can be seen, but by means of faith 
 in another miracle. This shows the greatness of her 
 faith. O Jesus, grant that I may take the Creed and 
 confirm my faith in one article by faith in the other 
 articles, seeing the beauteous and glorious harmony of 
 Thy truth, " comparing spiritual things with spiritual." 3 
 
 3. Our Lady answered the Angel, " Behold the 
 handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me according to 
 thy word." 
 
 How perfect a picture is here presented of what 
 every one should be, the handmaid or servant of the 
 Lord. Now is that the position that I take ? In the 
 different arrangements of God's providence, is that 
 what I think and say: "Behold the servant of the 
 Lord " ? Do I say : I am not my own master, I am a 
 servant, and a servant of no one on this earth, but 
 a servant of the Lord ? What He wants, I want ; what 
 pleases Him, pleases me, for I want to be a faithful 
 servant. Are these my thoughts ? What perfection is 
 contained in the words that Mary said, how far they 
 reach. They are the very foundation of everything, 
 And what conclusion can we come to after thinking 
 over the " End of Man " but the very words Mary 
 said ? Oh, how fervently we must pray : Fiat voluntas 
 tua. Our will is crooked and turned away. How we 
 
 1 Genesis xviii. 17. - Genesis xviii. 18. 3 i Cor. ii. 13.
 
 FATHER LAW'S MEDITATIONS. 353 
 
 must pray to force it straight ! "In thy mercy force 
 even our rebellious wills to thee." 
 
 Did Mary see what was involved in being the 
 Mother of God? But she "cast all her care upon 
 Him, for He cared for her." She was the handmaid 
 of the Lord, and she knew well Who that Lord was. 
 She "knew in Whom she believed" Scio cut credidi. 
 She would have said with David : Tuns sum ego, salvum 
 me fac. And again, Deus, Deus meus. What then shall 
 I say to our Blessed Lady ? She is now the Mother 
 of God. Let me put myself at once under her care. 
 I will ask her to celebrate her dignity by giving me, so 
 wretched, some gift, some token of mercy. 
 
 For she is now the true Ark of the Covenant. For 
 Mercy is incarnate within her. What devout Aves I 
 ought to say to her now that she is not to be, but is, 
 the Mother of God. She contains infinite Purity. 
 She is the Mother most pure. She contains infinite 
 Wisdom. She is the Seat of Wisdom. She contains 
 Him Who has come to call sinners to repentance. 
 She is the Refuge of Sinners. Oh, how many presents 
 I may expect from her who is rich in every point where 
 I am poor and naked and miserable. O sweetest 
 Mother ! 
 
 ON THE EPIPHANY. 
 
 (I.) St. Matt. ii. 10. Seeing the star they rejoiced with exceeding 
 great joy. 
 
 i. I ought to think what caused this "rejoicing 
 with exceeding great joy," that I may be able to excite 
 in my heart the same great joy. The cause was the 
 being near Jesus Christ. Now I do not know whether 
 the Wise Men fully understood that they were near the 
 Saviour of the world and their God. But I do know
 
 354 APPENDIX. 
 
 that I know Him to be my Saviour and my God ; and 
 I am so near Him when I stand before Him at the 
 altar, when I am saying Mass. Is there in me this 
 " exceeding great joy " ? If they felt it, I ought to feel 
 it much more. Am I then asleep ? What shall I do 
 to bring home to my life the blessed truths of faith ? 
 
 2. Let me notice, they had not seen Jesus Christ 
 when they rejoiced so heartily ; they had only seen 
 what could lead them to Him. So anything that can 
 lead me to Him should cause this exceeding great joy. 
 Humiliations, troubles, annoyances, should be hailed 
 because they lead me to Him. Prayer should be loved 
 and diligently practised because it leads me to Him, 
 and shows Him to me. And I am apt to shirk all these 
 things, I, who am a priest of God and a Jesuit. Should 
 not whatever tends to lead me away from Him be hated 
 with exceeding great hatred ? Are such things so hated? 
 
 (II.) St. Matt. ii. ii. They found the Child with Mary His Mother. 
 
 1. If it was exceeding great joy to see the star, what 
 must it have been to find Jesus ? What joy is there 
 worthy of the name where Jesus is not found ? " Thou 
 hast made our hearts for Thyself, and the}' are restless 
 till they repose in Thee." Where do I seek my joy ? 
 "Why weepest thou ? Whom seekest thou ? " said 
 Jesus to Mary Magdalen, and He says the same to me. 
 Let me ask myself this question, and obtain an answer. 
 
 2. " They found the Child." Seek and you shall 
 find. What were their thoughts, affections, desires, 
 when they cast their eyes now on Jesus, now on His 
 Mother ? Jesus is to be found on the altar, in Com- 
 munion, in thanksgiving ; in meditation and the 
 Breviary ; in holy pictures and images. Do I seek 
 Him in these things ? These are so many stars to
 
 FATHER LAW'S MEDITATIONS. 355 
 
 lead me to Him, to enable me to find Him. Do I 
 follow them ? 
 
 3. " With Mary, His Mother." You will not find 
 Jesus without Mary. Mary will show Him to you. 
 It is the part of a mother to show her child. She will 
 speak for Him, she will speak of Him, and tell you 
 about Him. Ask her to do these offices for you both 
 now, and after this our exile. 
 
 (III.) Falling doum, they adored Him. 
 
 1. To find Him, to adore Him, was what they made 
 their long journey for, and went through so many 
 difficulties. They were well rewarded now. And so 
 I have the same Lord upon the altar to adore, and 
 the thought of being able every day to renew my youth 
 at God's altar ought to carry me through all difficulties. 
 I should look forward to Holy Mass as a time of reward, 
 for it is truly Heaven upon earth. How do I prepare 
 myself for adoring Him ? With what faith, hope, love, 
 humility, reverence, contrition, I ought to do this. 
 
 2. The Wise Men offered gold, frankincense, and 
 myrrh. These gifts were spontaneous. God loves a 
 cheerful giver. God is generous, and He loves generosity. 
 Out of my treasures what shall I offer Him ? I have 
 long ago offered Him my property, my body, my will, 
 by the three vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. 
 God is the Lord Who hates robbery in a holocaust. 1 
 Have I robbed from the holocaust I made of myself, 
 and made myself unfit for the Kingdom of Heaven? 
 If so, let me do penance, and do the first works. 
 
 3. What the Magi did has ever been repeated by 
 Tioble souls in God's Church. Some have offered up 
 property and riches ; others position and rank ; others 
 
 i Isaias l.v. P.
 
 356 APPENDIX. 
 
 have sacrificed friends and companions ; others their 
 country, their health, even life itself. There have been 
 men like St. Francis in their poverty. Others have 
 imitated St. Ignatius and St. Francis Xavier in their 
 zeal ; Blessed Peter Faber in his love of prayer ; 
 St. Aloysius and St. Francis Borgia in their renunciation 
 of rank and riches ; St. Laurence, Father Campion, and 
 thousands of others in shedding their blood. They 
 were led to Jesus, and immediately they adored Him ; 
 then, captivated by His love, they could not help 
 opening their treasures, and offering Him the best they 
 had. Cannot I be kindled with the same fire of love ? 
 Why is not the sight of Jesus as inspiring to me as it 
 was to them ? The star has led me. I have come to 
 adore. But when the star would guide me close to 
 Jesus, would bring me into His presence, stingy, narrow 
 feelings enter my heart. I adore coldly, I keep my 
 treasures shut. I do not offer Him freely all that 
 I have. And yet Jesus is as amiable to me as He was 
 to them ; He has done as much for me as for them. 
 Cannot this coldness be cured ? "In my meditation 
 a fire shall flame out." 1 Is this the case with me? 
 If not, do I not understand whence comes my coldness ? 
 
 ON THE PRESENCE OF GOD. 
 
 Holy David says : " I have kept thy commandments 
 and thy testimonies, because all my ways are in Thy 
 sight." 2 I say these words everyday at None. Why 
 did he keep God's commandments, and why ought 
 I to do so too ? The answer is given : " Because all 
 my ways are in Thy sight." It is the simple truth we 
 learnt as children, that God knows and sees all things, 
 1 Psalm xxxviii. 4. 2 Psalm cxviii. 168.
 
 FATHER LAW'S MEDITATIONS. 357 
 
 even our most secret thoughts, and if I would act 
 up to this most simple truth, there would soon be a 
 happy change in me. " All my ways." These words 
 suggest to me a method of meditating this truth, viz., 
 to go through all the actions of the day, and then to 
 remember that each one is done in the sight of God. My 
 rising, meditation, Mass, meals, reading, studies, visits, 
 sermons, conversations, breviary, examens these are 
 " my ways," and God's eye is on them all. God's eye 
 is on them all, and the conclusion ought to be, " I have 
 kept Thy commandments." Is it so with me ? How 
 I forget that unsleeping eye that St. Chrysostom speaks 
 so much of. 
 
 2. If then I want to purify my ways, God must be 
 kept always in sight. Mother Margaret Hallahan was 
 much helped to live with God's eye upon her, from 
 having seen, when a child, an eye painted to represent 
 God's unsleeping eye. I ought to be helped by what 
 my mother said to me on her death-bed : " Remember, 
 Thou God seest me." How shall I now begin to 
 live with that eye upon me ? Let me say with the 
 devout David : " I set the Lord always in my sight," 
 and then I shall be able to add with him, " He is at my 
 right hand, that I be not moved. Therefore my heart 
 hath been glad, and my tongue hath rejoiced." 1 
 
 3. "He endured as seeing Him that is invisible." 2 
 In these words St. Paul shows us why Moses did not 
 fear Pharao, but was ready to endure and suffer. 
 Little things of small account put me out, and I get 
 impatient and angry. This is because I do not see the 
 invisible God. When I speak to a person whom I do 
 not see, I yet see him in one sense, because I know he 
 is there. I know God is in every place, beholding the 
 
 i Psalm xv. 8, 9. 2 Hebrews iL 27.
 
 358 APPENDIX. 
 
 evil and the good. If I would only see Him, then I 
 should also endure and be patient. " He endured as 
 seeing Him that is invisible." I should therefore act, 
 speak, think, as though not alone. God is there seeing 
 my actions, hearing my words, reading my thoughts. 
 What then are my actions, my words, my thoughts ? 
 They will not be forgotten by God. They will all be 
 judged by a God Who is fortis et zelotes. What reverence, 
 then, especially, I ought to show to that unsleeping 
 eye, to that eye that sees me as I am. Why do I love 
 vanity and seek after lying ? I look for approbation 
 to those who know me not as I am, and that is " seeking 
 after lying." Let me then, as it were, see the invisible 
 God, and I shall be patient, I shall be reverent, I shall 
 love truth. 
 
 THE RAISING OF LAZARUS. 
 (I.) St. John ii. 3. Ecce quern amas infirmatur. 
 
 1. What a good thing when one is sick in the soul 
 to have some friends who are also friends of Jesus ! 
 These friends for me will be the saints who have done 
 many good offices to Jesus Christ. Let me therefore 
 apply to the saints, and beg them to carry the news : 
 " Behold he whom Thou lovest is sick," to Jesus, and 
 this to Him Who is the lover of souls, will be the same 
 as a prayer. 
 
 I ought to be one who, when souls are sick, would 
 be able to go with confidence to our Lord and say : 
 " Behold, he whom Thou lovest is sick." It is for 
 the priest to be constantly interceding for the people 
 and telling our Lord of those who are sick. 
 
 2. How Mary and Martha understood the Heart 
 of Jesus ! They knew it was sufficient to mention the
 
 FATHER LAW'S MEDITATIONS. 359 
 
 necessity of one whom He loved without further 
 petition. And He loves all and each one of us. It is 
 said of Joseph, who was a type of Jesus Christ, that 
 he " kissed all his brethren, and wept over every one 
 of them." 1 
 
 Each one of us is bound to say with St. Paul: 
 " Who loved me, and delivered Himself for me." 2 
 
 Each one is bound to make acts of hope, and those 
 acts of hope are founded on the truth that God loves 
 him individually. 
 
 Each one is bound to say, Deus, Deus metis, and to 
 call God, Father. 
 
 The prayer of Thais : Qui plasmasti me, miserere mei t 
 was founded on the fact that God loves His handiwork. 
 And we are all, each one of us, His handiwork. 
 
 See how tenderly St. Paul speaks on this subject. 
 "Destroy not him with thy meat for whom Christ died." 
 " Destroy not the work of God for meat." 3 Each one 
 of us is him "for whom Christ died," is the "work 
 of God." So I, bad and wretched as I am, may make 
 bold to say, not only ecce infinnatur, but also ecce quern 
 amas infinnatur. Here let me renew my confidence in 
 the Heart of Jesus, and say myself, and ask St. Aloysius, 
 St. Mary Magdalen, St. Mary of Egypt, St. Margaret of 
 Cortona, St. Augustine, St. Ignatius, St. Francis Xavier, 
 St. Joseph, and our Lady to say: Ecce quern amas infir- 
 matur. Let me present all my miseries to them to report 
 to our dear Lord. May He say : This sickness is not 
 unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of 
 God may be glorified by it. 
 
 3. How glad and grateful the poor souls in Purgatory 
 would be if I were often to say : Ecce quern amas infir- 
 matur for them at Mass and in prayer. I am not 
 Genesis xlv. 15. 3 Galat. ii. 20. 3 Romans xiv. 15, 20.
 
 360 APPENDIX. 
 
 sufficiently devout to these poor souls, or rather not at 
 all devout ; what have I not lost by lack of this truly 
 Catholic devotion. Blessed Peter Faber looked upon 
 himself as their priest, and no doubt they rewarded 
 him for it. I ought to be particularly observant of 
 these distinctively Catholic devotions. By God's grace, 
 henceforth I will. I will give myself more to inter- 
 cession. There is far too much natural activity in me 
 and not enough love of prayer. Far more real good 
 would be done for God's glory and the salvation of 
 souls if more time was spent in prayer. 
 
 (II.) St. John xi. 4. This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory 
 of God, that the Son of God may be glorified by it. 
 
 i. The way to look at all troubles is here taught 
 us by Jesus ; how God may be glorified by them. How 
 easily I should ride over them if I looked simply to 
 the glory and honour of God ! This trouble, this 
 annoyance, this worry, this difficulty is sent that God 
 may get glory out of it. And I, whose desire ought to 
 be, sanctificetur nomen tuum, should see that God does 
 get glory out of it by my patience, or sweetness, or 
 constancy, or if I have failed in these, by my contrition. 
 Let me listen to Jesus speaking to me about my troubles, 
 and showing me how they may not be unto death (so 
 to speak), but for the glory of God. And for this let 
 me beg grace of Him. 
 
 2. " When He had heard that he was sick, He still 
 remained in the same place two days." And yet we 
 have just been told that He loved the sick man, and 
 the two who sent the message : " Behold, he whom 
 Thou lovest is sick." What do I learn from this? No 
 doubt some would have rashly judged our Lord for not
 
 FATHER LAW'S MEDITATIONS. 361 
 
 going at once to cure him whom He loved. But God's 
 love is infinitely more far-seeing than man's love. 
 Why then am I not more content with God's wise 
 and loving arrangements ? 
 
 3. "Jesus said to them plainly, Lazarus is dead. 
 And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that 
 you may believe." In so many troubles and anxieties 
 and miseries I think our Lord has forgotten me, and 
 all the time He is thinking of me, and " is glad for my 
 sake," that I may learn to believe, to hope, to love. 
 Let me count up my troubles, and hear our Lord 
 saying, " I am glad for your sake." And just as He 
 had not forgotten Lazarus, so He has not forgotten me. 
 May I not take courage from this ? Let me listen to 
 St. Peter telling me what to learn from this passage : 
 " Be you humbled, therefore, under the mighty hand of 
 God, that He may exalt you in the day of visitation, 
 casting all your care upon Him, for He careth for 
 you." 1 
 
 JESUS BEING WEARIED, SITS ON JACOB S WELL. 
 
 (I.) St. John iv. 6. Jesus therefore, being wearied with His journey, 
 sat thus on the well. 
 
 i. How is it that God has come to be wearied? 
 Ask Him why He is wearied ; what were His thoughts 
 and desires and affections as He thus sat weary ? Did 
 they concern me ? Notice His posture while sitting 
 down to rest. What is mine when I am weary ? How 
 do I occupy myself when I am weary? The saints 
 found rest in prayer, in reading the Holy Scriptures. 
 
 Do I weary Jesus Christ in making Him take long 
 journeys in search of me ? Has He not been wearied 
 
 i I St. Peter v. 6.
 
 362 APPENDIX. 
 
 in trying to win me to love Him ? Quarens me sedisti 
 lassus, Redemisti, crucem passm. It was a long journey 
 from His throne in Heaven to the Cross. It was for 
 me that He took it. How ought I to love Him in 
 return ! What weariness I ought to be willing to endure 
 for Him, what self-denial and self-conquest ! How ready 
 I ought to he to do all He asks of me ; why am I so 
 niggardly, so cowardly in responding. Let me remember 
 the words of St. Augustine : It is for thee that Jesus is 
 wearied with His journey. " Tibi fatigatus ab itinere 
 Jesus. Invenimus fortem Jesum et invenimus infir- 
 mum Jesum. Fortitude Christi te creavit : infirmitas 
 Christi te recreavit. Fortitude Christi fecit ut quod 
 non erat, esset ; infirmitas Christi fecit ut quod erat non 
 periret." What wondrous love and mercy are described 
 in these few lines ! Should they not animate me to do 
 something for God Who has done so much for me ? 
 
 2. " There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw 
 water. Jesus saith to her : Give Me to drink." Little 
 did that woman think what was to happen to her that 
 day, Whom she would meet, and what would be said to 
 her. Let this warn me to be always on the watch by 
 holy recollection for meeting with Jesus, hearing His 
 words, obtaining from Him His graces. Custody of 
 the eyes is a great help to this holy recollection of 
 mind. " Turn away my eyes that they may not behold 
 vanity." 1 It was whilst pursuing an ordinary occupa- 
 tion that she met Jesus. I might often meet Him in 
 such occupations. Most of my occupations are in 
 themselves holy, so that there is the less excuse for 
 not finding Him in them. Yet alas ! do I always find 
 Him ? Jesus is waiting at the well, ready to speak to 
 me. But I do not come to draw water, or I come late, 
 
 1 Psalm cxviii. 37.
 
 FATHER LAW'S MEDITATIONS. 365 
 
 or I leave too soon. Thus Jesus cannot speak to me, or 
 He cannot say all He would say at those special times 
 when He is to be found at the well, such as the times 
 of meditation or examen. Let me be more punctual at 
 the well in future. 
 
 (II.) St. John iv. 7. Give Me to drink. 
 
 1. See how Jesus employs His hours of weari- 
 ness. He is always intent on the conversion of souls, 
 wherever He is, whatever He is doing, however great 
 His weariness or His suffering, even when expiring on 
 the Cross. Here, too, he seeks the conversion of this 
 Samaritan woman. He begins by asking her to give 
 Him to drink, with the intention of leading the conver- 
 sation gradually to the affairs of her soul. For, as He 
 told His disciples when they pressed Him to eat, that 
 He had a food they knew not of, the food of doing His 
 Father's will and converting souls, so now all His thirst 
 was for souls, and their salvation. All this teaches me, 
 who call myself a follower of this Divine Master and a 
 member of the Society of Jesus, that I should always 
 be thinking of the conversion of souls, that this should 
 be my meat and drink, for which I hunger and thirst. 
 This zeal for souls, did I possess it, would ennoble my 
 life, destroy selfishness, and give me an ardent desire 
 for my own sanctification. 
 
 2. " Give Me to drink," He says also to me. He asks 
 something of me. What does He ask, and what does 
 He thirst for from me ? "I have an intense thirst to 
 be honoured by men in the Blessed Sacrament, and I 
 find few who will slake my thirst." Such are His 
 words to Blessed Margaret Mary Alacoque. What 
 else does He thirst for from me ? " Give Me to drink,*"
 
 364 APPENDIX. 
 
 He only asks of us what we can give. The woman 
 could give water, and He asked that of her. He asks 
 of me what I can give. What is it that I can give ? 
 My time, my memory, my imagination, my liberty, &c. 
 " Give Me to drink." He speaks as though we could 
 give Him something, whereas the earth is the Lord's 
 and the fulness thereof. What can I give to Him 
 Whose all things are ? Inasmuch as I give to the least 
 of His brethren, I give to Him. There are many souls 
 for whom He died, who are crying out to me, " Give 
 me to drink." Let me discover what they are in need 
 of, what I can give to them. For in giving to them, in 
 ministering to their needs, I shall be giving to Him, 
 doing something to slake His Divine thirst. 
 
 3. When the woman expressed astonishment that 
 He Who was a Jew, should ask of her, a Samaritan, to 
 drink, Jesus answered : " If thou didst know the gifts 
 of God, and Who He is that saith to thee, Give Me to 
 drink : thou perhaps would have asked of Him, and 
 He would have given thee living water." l Ignorance 
 of the gift of God, ignorance of Jesus Christ, this is the 
 reason why there is no prayer, this is the reason why 
 no living water is obtained. How true are these words 
 of our Lord in their application to myself ! O my soul, 
 you complain of want of grace. But how have you 
 asked of God ? Does the manner in which you pray, 
 in which you make your meditations and examens, in 
 which you say the Divine Office and celebrate Holy 
 Mass, show great fervour in asking of Him that living 
 water ? And the reason why your prayers do not 
 deserve to be called prayers is because you do not 
 estimate the gift of God aright. You do not value the 
 grace of God, purity of heart, courage, and generosity 
 1 St. John iv. 10.
 
 FATHER LAW'S MEDITATIONS. 365 
 
 in His service at their true price. You have not a real 
 horror of sin. 
 
 Again, it is certain that you do not know who it is 
 that says to you, " Give Me to drink," else you would 
 not behave in the manner you do. If it were some 
 earthly prince who said, " Give me to drink," perhaps 
 you would willingly give him what he asks. But now 
 it is your First beginning and Last end, your Creator, 
 your Lord and Redeemer, that asks something of you. 
 And you are deaf to His request, or you are mean and 
 stingy in giving. 
 
 I will end with a fervent prayer to Jesus Christ that 
 by His grace I may begin at last to give something to 
 Him, and not something only, but my entire self. 
 
 (III.) St. John iv. 15. Give me this water . 
 
 1. The woman does not understand what water our 
 Lord is speaking about. The mind running on earthly 
 things does not easily grasp heavenly things. All 
 things in creation are intended to raise my mind to 
 Heaven. But my thoughts are engrossed with other 
 things, so they have no voice for me. If I am 
 delighted with the beauty of earthly things, let me 
 know " how much the Lord of them is more beautiful 
 than they. For the first author of beauty made all 
 those things." 1 For this recollection is wanted, and 
 careful custody of the eyes. 
 
 2. But let me listen to Jesus. " Whosoever drinketh 
 of this water shall thirst again ; but he that shall drink 
 of the water that I will give him, shall not thirst for 
 ever. But the water that I will give him shall become 
 in him a fountain of water springing up into life ever- 
 lasting." 2 With what an earnest desire for her salvation 
 
 1 Wisdom xiii. 3. 2 St. John iv. 13, 14.
 
 366 APPENDIX. 
 
 our Lord said these words to the woman ! And He 
 says them to me now with an equal love. He tells 
 me that I cannot quench my thirst except in His grace 
 and His love. I must love something, but I shall not 
 rest till I repose in Him, for my heart was made for 
 Him. Shall I then weary myself in the pursuit of any 
 other pleasure than that of belonging to Him ? Shall I 
 not from henceforth give up all false pleasures and seek 
 only the real ? 
 
 3. Let me, pauperculus, come and pray like this 
 woman : Give me this water. Let me ask for it with 
 great fervour, for / know well Whom I am speaking 
 with ; I know well what this water is. And / know 
 well how much I need it. This water makes me a 
 partaker of the Divine nature. 1 " It makes bitter sweet, 
 and sweet bitter ; it makes the unknown known, and 
 the known forgotten." 2 It changes our views, and 
 makes them altogether heavenly. It brings tears of 
 contrition to our eyes, and awakens humility and truth 
 in our souls. It teaches me that I can do nothing of 
 myself, and that the beginning of good in me will be 
 my acknowledgment that I shall fall into every sin, if 
 not assisted by our Lord. Hence the necessity of 
 continually crying out to Him, Domine, da mihi hanc 
 aquam. St. Teresa says that we shall do nothing till we 
 are persuaded that we are powerless to do anything 
 good without God's merciful grace. Let us learn to 
 have complete diffidence in ourselves, complete confi- 
 dence in God. 
 
 1 z St. Peter i. 4. - St. Augustine.
 
 FATHER LAW'S MEDITATIONS. 367 
 
 THE CANAANITE WOMAN. 
 St. Matt. xv. 22. 
 
 Here is a most finished picture of how I ought to 
 act in prayer, and therefore it must be examined most 
 thoroughly. On other occasions our Lord had always 
 shown Himself so easy in granting petitions. One 
 cry, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me," was 
 often enough. Sometimes a hint was sufficient, as 
 when it was said to Him in regard to Lazarus: 
 " Behold he whom Thou lovest is sick." Again, at the 
 marriage-feast, the mere statement of a fact was enough, 
 even though the hour was not come, when the Blessed 
 Virgin said : " They have no wine." Sometimes a wish 
 outwardly unexpressed prevailed, as was the case with 
 the woman with the issue of blood. Examples such as 
 these show the rule, here is the exception. From it we 
 see more clearly than ever how Jesus Christ cannot 
 refuse. 
 
 1. When the woman said, " Have mercy on me, 
 O Lord, Thou Son of David ; my daughter is grievously 
 troubled by a devil," Jesus answered her not a word. 
 He appeared as if He did not listen to her. But it was 
 only appearance. He listened with great tenderness, 
 as He does to me even though He may not appear to 
 be doing so sometimes. So when everything appears 
 dark, when the heavens seem as brass, let me call to 
 mind the Canaanite woman, and take courage. 
 
 2. Then worse things happen. His disciples came 
 and besought Him, saying, " Send her away." So it 
 may be with me sometimes. Not only our Lord, but . 
 His friends may be, or seem to be against me. Our 
 Lord seems to take part with the disciples, for when 
 He speaks, instead of giving her encouragement, He
 
 368 APPENDIX. 
 
 gives reasons why He should refuse her request. " I 
 was not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of 
 Israel." What will she do now ? Give up ? Oh no ! 
 She came and adored Him, saying, " Lord, help me." 
 What blessed perseverance ! What pleasure our Lord 
 must have taken in it. He would take a like pleasure, 
 were He to find the same courageous perseverance in 
 me. But again He seems to refuse. " It is not good 
 to take the bread of the children, and to cast it to 
 dogs." As if He would say : " You are no child of 
 Mine, My gifts are too precious to be thrown away on 
 such a one as you." Now at least the woman will be 
 repulsed, and withdraw. But no. She is humble, she 
 acknowledges that she is a dog, that she has no right to 
 the Divine gifts, but she skilfully makes use of our 
 Lord's objection as a plea for gaining her petition. 
 She says : " Yea Lord, but the whelps also eat of the 
 crumbs that fall from the table of their masters." Our 
 Lord wished to draw her out. This He did with Philip 
 and the loaves, with the disciples going to Emmaus, &c. 
 So He often does with me. He does not grant at once ; 
 He waits to see what I will do. He wishes us to urge 
 our requests, to use ingenious persuasions in our 
 prayers. 
 
 3. Then Jesus answering said : " O woman, great is 
 thy faith: be it done to thee as thou wilt." And her 
 daughter was cured from that hour. So if I courageously 
 persevere in asking for what I need, for devotion to the 
 Sacred Heart, for self-denial, for a dying life, He cannot 
 refuse it me. As He acted in His life as we have it in 
 the Gospels, so He acts now in His Church ; the Gospel 
 is His programme. What He did for those who came 
 to Him in the Gospel, He will do for me most certainly. 
 Most things recorded there were done for the body, now
 
 FATHER LAW'S MEDITATIONS 369 
 
 we pray for the soul. The only thing to be feared is 
 our will, not His. There was no obstacle in the bodily 
 cures, for the will was there. In the case of the soul, 
 the will is often the obstacle. How necessary to pray : 
 Nostras etiam rebelles propitius ad te compelle voluntates. 
 
 HOW JESUS SPENT THE NIGHT AFTER THE FEAST OF 
 
 TABERNACLES. 
 St. John viii. i. Jesus went unto Mount Olivet. 
 
 i. The last words of the seventh chapter of St. John 
 are: "And every man returned to his own house." 
 The next words are : " And Jesus went unto Mount 
 Olivet." Observe, all these people had their own 
 houses ; the Son of Man had nowhere to lay His Head. 
 No doubt as, " for fear of the Jews," no one spoke 
 openly of Him, so also, "for fear of the Jews," all 
 shunned Him and looked upon Him as one to Whom no 
 hospitality was to be extended. " Jesus went to Mount 
 Olivet." See Him going, not received by any one, 
 friendless, homeless, suspected, hated by some. "Jesus 
 went to Mount Olivet," with what resignation, patience, 
 with what tender feelings in His Heart for His enemies; 
 praying for them as He went along, no angry feelings 
 rankling in His breast, no resentment only compassion 
 and love for those who treated Him so ill. " Father, 
 forgive them, for they know not what they do," was 
 very likely His prayer as He crossed the valley to 
 Mount Olivet. 
 
 People do not treat me as badly as they did Him, 
 and yet I should really deserve it. But perhaps they 
 get in my way, or they do not think as I do, or they 
 oppose me and give me trouble then I get angry. 
 Let me look again at the Blessed Jesus, my God, 
 Y
 
 370 APPENDIX. 
 
 walking along to Mount Olivet, after the cruel day 
 when He had been the object of so much hostile 
 discussion, and let me learn something profitable for 
 my soul from it. Let me be the pauperculus and beg 
 leave to accompany Him on His solitary way. What 
 shall I say or do to comfort Him ? What will He say 
 to me ? What counsels will He give ? What will He 
 complain of in my conduct to Him ? Have I not 
 turned Him out of my heart ? He would fain find a 
 resting-place there, but often He cannot get it. Do I 
 shun Him too, then ? O dear Lord, who can be my 
 friend, if not you ? 
 
 I see our Lord unable to get a shelter in the city, 
 and I reflect how differently I am treated. I go to 
 visit my flock, and they are glad to see the priest. 
 Jesus came to visit His flock, and they would not 
 receive Him. " He would not walk in Judea, because 
 the Jews sought to kill Him." This is how God was 
 treated by His creatures, by His own favoured people 
 on His own earth. Such was the position of our 
 Blessed Lord amongst the people who ought to have 
 welcomed and loved Him. Let me think of this when 
 I go to visit people. 
 
 In connection with this point in our Lord's life, let 
 me remember that St. Teresa said that she got most 
 profit from the contemplation of those mysteries in 
 which she saw our Lord most abandoned. She thought 
 that when He was thus alone and in sorrow and 
 forsaken, He would for that very reason admit her 
 more readily into His presence. 
 
 2. Notice once more the contrast. Those men who 
 had been pouring out their malice upon our Lord, go to 
 their comfortable homes, He, the Creator of all things,
 
 FATHER LAW'S MEDITATIONS. 371 
 
 spent the night in the open air, friendless, homeless, 
 supperless. The more one ponders over this night, the 
 more one wonders, when one remembers that it is God 
 Who is thus lodged. "He was in the world and the 
 world was made by Him, and the world knew Him 
 not." 1 What should I think of comforts when I see 
 our Lord treated thus ? See how He passed that 
 night ; how much of it did He give to prayer ? All of 
 it. The saints have learned from this example to toil 
 often without reward, even with insults, for souls during 
 the day, and to watch during the night in prayer. Let 
 me pass the night with Jesus, let me watch His actions, 
 listen to His words, and myself speak to Him. He will 
 be pleased to see one disciple trying to console Him. 
 I will ask of Him grace to despise and hate what is 
 " comfortable," that I may bear the mortification of 
 Jesus in my body, that the life of Jesus may be made 
 manifest in my body. What will He say to me about 
 this? 
 
 Were any of the Apostles with our Lord that 
 night ? If they had been, what a lesson of fervent 
 prayer they would have learnt ! How edifying a sight 
 it would have been to see our Lord in prayer ! What 
 recollection, what profound reverence, what fervour ! 
 In that night, and in those many other nights which 
 He spent in prayer to God, He merited for His saints 
 the grace of imitating Him by spending whole nights 
 in prayer. It must have been some consolation for 
 Him to see so many heroic souls who would profit 
 from His example, such as St. Antony, and others of 
 active Orders as well ; e.g., St. Francis Xavier, Blessed 
 Peter Claver, St. John Francis Regis, &c. He wishes 
 me to learn this love of prayer. 
 
 1 St. John i. 10.
 
 372 APPENDIX. 
 
 JESUS MERCY AND SWEETNESS SHOWN IN THE CASE OF 
 
 THE WOMAN TAKEN IN ADULTERY. 
 
 St. John viii. 3. 
 
 1. How hard it is to treat sweetly and kindly those 
 who would ensnare you ! But see how our most sweet 
 Lord meets those most malicious Pharisees. They call 
 Him Master. They quote Moses : Moses said thus 
 what sayest Thou ? Jesus for His only answer, " bowing 
 Himself down, wrote with His finger upon the ground." 
 When pressed to give a direct answer, He said : " He 
 that is without sin among you, let him first cast a 
 stone at her." What a kind answer to such malicious 
 questions ! He defeats their purpose without uttering 
 a harsh word. Let me learn to be sweet and gentle 
 in my answer to any one who would wish to say hard 
 words to me. 
 
 2. There is much of the Pharisee in me. I may 
 therefore well meditate those words, and think what it 
 was that our Lord wrote upon the ground. Some say 
 it was their sins that He wrote down. Oh, what a 
 catalogue He might write of mine ! Are they blotted 
 out ? What penance has been done for them ? Have 
 I tried to make reparation for them ? If our Lord is 
 writing my sins upon the ground, perhaps He is 
 repeating the words: "They that depart from Thee 
 shall be written in the earth, because they have 
 forsaken the Lord." 1 What shall I say to Jesus? 
 How shall I persuade Him to take pity on me, and 
 write my name, not on the earth, but in Heaven ? 
 
 3. " He that is without sin amongst you, let him 
 first cast a stone at her." Stones are cast by unkind 
 criticism. When I am without sin then, not before, 
 
 1 Jerem. xvii. 13.
 
 FATHER LAW'S MEDITATIONS. 373 
 
 let me presume to criticize others. Perhaps it is from 
 my vile habit of criticizing and condemning, a sure 
 mark of pride, that God, Who resists the proud, 
 resists me. Let me then pray fervently that I may 
 for ever rid myself of such a disastrous habit, that 
 so God, Who gives grace to the humble, may give 
 grace to me, a poor sinner, at last made humble. Thus 
 I shall obtain the grace of dying to myself, and Jesus 
 will begin to live in me. Fiat, fiat ! 
 
 ON DEATH. 
 Job xvi. 23 ; xvii. i. 
 
 1. At death the world ends as far as I am con- 
 cerned. Persons, places, occupations, whether they 
 give pleasure or pain, are at an end ; so is the influence 
 I had upon them or they upon me. I am then really 
 dead to the world. Praise or blame will be nothing 
 to me. All in the world will be like what is seen 
 in a dream. Like the wake of a ship now lost in the 
 waters, or the path of a bird through the air, so will 
 be a life not spent for God. Hence I must look on 
 the world as passing and myself passing with it. I 
 must live as a pilgrim not yet in patria, but in via. 
 And in all my plans the thought of death must enter. 
 " They that use this world as if they used it not. For 
 the fashion of this world passeth away." 1 Those who 
 act otherwise God calls fools. And at the end they 
 will call themselves fools. 2 " Behold short years pass 
 away, and I am walking in a path by which I shall not 
 return.'' 3 
 
 2. Eternity opens. The trial is over; with what 
 
 1 i Cor. vii. 31. 3 Wisdom v. 4. * Job xvi. 23.
 
 374 APPENDIX. 
 
 result ? I was born for eternity and now I am 
 launched into eternity. How infinitely small this 
 world looks, a mere nothing ! Everything is now 
 valued according to the measure of eternity. The 
 opinion and judgment of men go for nothing; only 
 God's judgment is cared for. And throughout eternity 
 nothing else will be cared for ! " My days are 
 shortened," the stewardship is ended now, an account 
 has to be given. Now it is understood that my 
 stewardship had an eternal import. Here at death I 
 am alone in eternity with all my thoughts, words, and 
 actions before an all-holy, just, and mighty God. He 
 has seen all, remembered all. He will decide my 
 eternity, and from His sentence there will be no appeal. 
 God will be all in all to me then. Let Him be so to 
 me now. Let me live for Him, live for eternity. In 
 eternity nothing will be worth anything but what was 
 found to be done for God. As when gold ore is found, 
 the ore is thrown away as useless and only the gold 
 remains, so only those things that are done for God 
 remain. What if my hands are empty ! 
 
 3. The moment of this world's ending and of 
 eternity beginning is most uncertain. What if it were 
 to find one in mortal sin ! And if ever I fall into 
 mortal sin, is God bound to wait until I have repented 
 before He takes me out of this life ? My death may 
 be sudden. Most deaths are comparatively sudden. 
 Great fervour is seldom seen on a sick-bed, especially 
 in those who showed no great fervour when well. My 
 death may be without the help of the sacraments. Let me 
 therefore listen to our Lord when He says : " Let your 
 loins be girt and lamps burning in your hands, and you 
 yourselves like to men who wait for their lord." 1 This 
 1 St. Luke xii. 35.
 
 FATHER LAW'S MEDITATIONS. 375 
 
 we find in the Gospel for Confessors : Sint lumbi vestri 
 pracincti, &c., as if to indicate to us that this watchful- 
 ness was a special mark of the saints. 
 
 FATHER LAW'S PRAYER TO OUR LADY. 
 
 O Immaculate Virgin Mary, my Lady and my dear 
 Mother ! I wish to belong entirely to Jesus and to 
 you. 
 
 For this I give you my eyes, my ears, my tongue, 
 my whole self. Do you take care of me, but above all 
 things preserve me from every sin, especially sins 
 against purity which is so dear to you. 
 
 Bless me, O Daughter of the Eternal Father, and 
 do not permit me ever to offend my good God in 
 thought. 
 
 Bless me, O Mother of the Eternal Son, and do 
 not permit me ever to offend my good God in word. 
 
 Bless me, O Spouse of the Holy Spirit, and do 
 not permit me ever to offend my good God in deed 
 or omission. But make me always to love Him with 
 my whole heart, and to cause Him to be loved by 
 others ! 
 
 So be it, O sweet, O pious, O loving Virgin Mary ! 
 
 The following verses were written by Father Law 
 for the feast of St. Gertrude (November 15), the name-day 
 of the Mother Superior of the Convent of Our Lady of 
 Good Hope, Grahamstown. In the Collect for the day, 
 God is said to have "prepared for Himself a pleasant 
 dwelling in the heart of St. Gertrude " Dcus, qui in 
 corde beata Gertmdis virginis jucundam tibi mansionem pra- 
 parasti. This is the key-note of the hymn, which 
 evidently was composed to suit some particular tune.
 
 376 APPENDIX. 
 
 The Sacred Heart is full of joy : 
 
 And wherefore, Angels say ! 
 Ah, joyously you answering sing, 
 It is St. Gertrude's day. 
 O Lover of the Sacred Heart ! 
 
 St. Gertrude, hear our prayer, 
 And make us love what thou didst love, 
 Grant us this treasure rare. 
 
 O blessed Gertrude, in thy heart 
 
 Our Jesus found His rest, 
 Made there His happy dwelling-place 
 . How truly thou wert blest ! 
 
 O Lover of the Sacred Heart, &c. 
 
 blessed Gertrude, tell me why 
 He chose thy heart for this ; 
 
 And tell me how my sinful heart 
 May share in part such bliss. 
 O Lover of the Sacred Heart, &c. 
 
 1 loved to dwell in that dear Heart ; 
 
 He loved to dwell in mine. 
 If thou dost love the Sacred Heart 
 He'll love to dwell in thine. 
 
 O Lover of the Sacred Heart, &c. 
 
 As friend to friend, as spouse to bride, 
 
 Did Jesus speak to thee ; 
 What wonder then, that pleasant place 
 
 He found, dear Saint, in thee ! 
 O Lover of the Sacred Heart, &c. 
 
 Then love for love, and gratitude, 
 
 And reparation due, 
 This is what Jesus asks of us, 
 
 And meets response from few. 
 O Lover of the Sacred Heart, &c.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 A. 
 
 ABAGASI, curiosity of the 316 ; 
 Father Law's first meeting with 
 the 275. 
 
 ACHEUL, ST., College of 97. 
 
 ADMONITION, mother's dying n, 
 38, 42. 
 
 AFRICAN TRAVEL, dangers and 
 difficulties of 205, 207, 224 seq., 
 244, 289, 293, 298, 302. 
 
 AIDAN, ST., College of, founded 
 192; life at 174. 
 
 ALOYSIUS, ST., chosen as patron 
 67 ; College of 103. 
 
 AMAHOLI, hostile attitude of 297. 
 
 AMAZON, exchange to the 53. 
 
 ANGLICAN ARCHDEACON, anec- 
 dote of an 130. 
 
 ANNUNCIATION, meditation on the 
 
 349- 
 
 ANTHONY, ST., devotion to 210. 
 APPAREL, indifference in regard to 
 
 1 60. 
 
 B. 
 
 BEAMISH, ADMIRAL, testimony of 
 
 64. 
 BEAUMONT, removal of Novitiate 
 
 1095. 
 BERBICE, life at 133; farewell to 
 
 145. 
 
 BEUNO, ST., College of 109, 127. 
 BITTS, punishment of the 43. 
 
 BOER HUNTERS, kindness of 261. 
 
 BOTTALLA, FATHER 112. 
 
 BOYS, Father Law's influence over 
 
 105, 176. 
 BREVIARY, Father Law's delight 
 
 in the 337. 
 BURIAL at sea described 27. 
 
 C. 
 
 CANAANITE WOMAN, meditation 
 
 on the 367. 
 
 CARAVAN, description of 200. 
 " CARYSFORT," the 19 ; alarm of 
 
 fire on board 30. 
 CATECHISM of Trent in, 336. 
 CATHOLIC CHURCH, first visit to a 
 
 33- 
 
 CHAPLAIN of the Carysfort, testi- 
 mony of the 20, 34. 
 CHEERFULNESS of Father Law 
 
 113, 182, 214, 305. 
 CHINESE, interest in the 134 ; 
 
 language, study of the 135, 147. 
 CHRISTMAS festivities at sea 31 ; 
 
 at Gubulawayo 267. 
 CHRYSOSTOM, ST., admiration for 
 
 ICO; quotations from 155. 
 CHURCH, the, is One 163. 
 COLLIER, ADMIRAL SIR FRANCIS 
 
 40 ; death of 48. 
 CONTENTED SPIRIT, Father Law's, 
 
 34, 214. 
 CONTRITION, value of 151.
 
 378 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 CONVENT at Grahamstown, kind- 
 ness to Sisters at the 185 ; letters 
 to Superior of the 229, 332. 
 
 COPPER smelting at Penco 28. 
 
 CRADOCK, reception of missioners 
 at 208. 
 
 CROONENBERGHS, FATHER, illness 
 of 264 ; paints the King's wagon 
 265. 
 
 CROSSING the line 23. 
 
 CRUCIFIXION, picture of the 96; 
 exhibited 240. 
 
 D. 
 
 DALKEITH, work at 152. 
 DANCE of the natives 266, 316. 
 DEATH, meditation on 373. 
 DEMERARA, mission in 137 ; 
 
 healthiness of 137. 
 DEPELCHIN, FATHER, 193, 201, 
 
 217. 233, 239, 246, 257, 263, 
 
 280. 
 
 DIAMOND FIELDS, 219. 
 DONA PARTICULARS 149. 
 DRAWING, Father Law's talent for 
 
 25, 106. 
 
 E. 
 
 EARTHQUAKE at sea described 26. 
 EAST BRENT, seclusion of 9. 
 EDINBURGH, work at 168. 
 ELLENBOROUGH, LORD, 16, 18, 
 
 75- 
 "ENCOUNTER," appointment to 
 
 the 66. 
 
 EPIPHANY, meditation on the 353. 
 EXACTITUDE in religious duties 336. 
 " EXCELLENT," transfer to the 72. 
 
 F. 
 
 FAILURE, the apparent, of Father 
 
 Law's mission 328, 340. 
 FAREWELL to England 173. 
 FAVOURS of our Lady, 303. 
 
 FEVER, yellow 131, 132. 
 
 FINAL Vows 152. 
 
 FIRE, danger of, at sea 30; on the 
 
 journey 225. 
 FIRST MASS 123 ; anniversary of 
 
 3i9- 
 
 FIRST Vows 96. 
 FOREIGN MISSIONS, desire for 113, 
 
 129. 
 FUCHS, FATHER, death of 270. 
 
 G. 
 
 GALASHIELS, work at 158. 
 
 GENEROSITY in God's service 127. 
 
 GERTRUDE, ST., hymn to 375. 
 
 GLASGOW, life at 105. 
 
 GORHAM CONTROVERSY 59. 
 
 GRAHAMSTOWN 174; start of ex- 
 pedition from 198. 
 
 GUBULAWAYO, arrival at 254 ; des- 
 cription of 260. 
 
 H. 
 
 HANCOCK, LIEUT., friendship with 
 37 ; promotion of 49. 
 
 HARBORNE VICARAGE, removal to 
 16. 
 
 HARDSHIPS of missioners 207, 208. 
 
 HASLAR HOSPITAL 80. 
 
 " HASTINGS," appointment to the 
 36. 
 
 HEDLEY, BROTHER 201, 265 ; 
 accompanies Father Law 285 ; 
 his illness, 330 ; rejoins his 
 fellow-missioners 334 ; his con- 
 dition 335 ; account of Father 
 Law 336 seq. ; return to Gubu- 
 lawayo 342. 
 
 HODDER, retreat at 80. 
 
 HOLY SCRIPTURE, love of 109. 
 
 HONG-KONG, description of 39, 49. 
 
 HOTTENTOT LEPER, 208. 
 
 HUMILITY of Father Law 113, 167, 
 190, 248, 338. 
 
 HYMNS, 163, 376.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 379 
 
 I. 
 
 IGNATIUS, feast of St. 244. 
 IMPORTUNITY of the Matabele 255. 
 IMPRESSIONS of the natives 242, 
 
 255, 256, 276, 289. 
 INDIFFERENCE to religion 274. 
 
 J. 
 
 JESUIT FATHER, anecdote of 81. 
 
 JESUIT SAINTS, devotion to 84. 
 
 JESUS at Jacob's Well, meditation 
 on 361 ; on Mount Olivet, medi- 
 tation on 369 ; His mercy to 
 sinners, meditation on 372. 
 
 K. 
 
 KAFIR, baptism of a 227 ; corn 317 ; 
 
 hut 313; magicians 257 ; servants 
 
 converted 186. 
 KAFIRS, voracity of 293. 
 KIMBERLEY, arrival of missioners 
 
 at 21 5; diamond fields at 219; 
 
 generosity of inhabitants 221 
 
 223. 
 KING KHAME 237 241. 
 
 L. 
 
 LAW, AUGUSTUS, birth 4 ; scalds 
 his chest 4, 5 ; affectionate dis- 
 position 6, 57 ; sent to school 7 ; 
 hot temper 15; accepts cadet- 
 ship 18 ; sails for the Cape 19; 
 voyage to the East Indies 37 ; 
 return home 65 ; reception into 
 the Church 66 ; joins the 
 Excellent 72 ; enters Novitiate 
 83 ; removed to St. Acheul 97 ; 
 Stonyhurst 101 ; Glasgow 105 ; 
 St. Beuno's 109 ; Ordination 
 123; sent to Demerara 130; 
 returns to England for tertian- 
 ship 146; Dalkeithi52; Gala- 
 
 shiels 158 ; Edinburgh 1 68 ; 
 Grahamstown 172 ; starts on 
 Zambesi Mission 200 ; dis- 
 appointment 251 ; proceeds to 
 Gubulawayo 255 ; starts for 
 Umzila's land 281 ; abandons 
 the wagon 300 ; reaches the 
 kraal 304 ; finds himself deceived 
 303, 321 ; insufficiency of nourish- 
 ment 317, 322; advice to col- 
 leagues 326 ; last Mass 329 ; 
 death 331 ; faithful performance 
 of spiritual duties 336 ; patience 
 and resignation 339. 
 
 LAW, AUGUSTA, birth of 10. 
 
 LAW, COLONEL FRANK 37, 74, 
 
 379- 
 LAW, COMMANDER FREDERICK, 
 
 counsels to 89. 
 LAW, GRAVES 6, 97, 159, 217, 
 
 326. 
 
 LAW, HON. HENRY, letter from 83. 
 LAW, MRS. 2 ; her character 3 ; 
 
 care for her children 6 ; piety 
 
 10; illness and death u, 12. 
 LAW, SISTER JANE MARGARET, 
 
 99- 
 
 LAW, HON. WILLIAM TOWRY, 
 takes Anglican Orders 2 ; accepts 
 the living of East Brent 9 ; 
 second marriage 16 ; conversion 
 57 ; seeks to obtain his son's 
 promotion 70 ; serves his first 
 Mass 123 ; bids him farewell 
 173 ; receives tidings of his 
 death 344. 
 
 LAW, CAPTAIN VICTOR n, 141. 
 
 LETTERS, to his father 18, 21, 
 53. 54, 138, 216, 229, 249, 
 325 ; to his brother Frederick 
 117, 142 ; to his brother Graves 
 97 ; to his brother Victor 141 ; 
 to his sister 119, 164; to a lady 
 in Grahamstown 242, 247, 251 ; 
 to Father Weld 324. 
 
 LIFE on board ship 21. 
 
 LIMPOPO RIVER 230. 
 
 LISBON, visit to 68. 
 
 Lo BENGULA, interviews with 255 
 seq. 278 ; description of 258 ; 
 authority of 275.
 
 3 8o 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 M. 
 
 MALACCA 50. 
 
 MANILLA 30, 39. 
 
 MARY IMMACULATE, prayer to 
 
 375- 
 
 MARTYRDOM, desire for 375. 
 MASHONA CHIEFS 308. 
 MEDICAL skill of the missioners 
 
 sought 261, 268. 
 
 MEDITERRANEAN, cruise in the 69. 
 MEDITATION, first 13. 
 MEDITATIONS 76, 349 375. 
 MESSENGER OF THE SACRED 
 
 HEART, contributions to the 154. 
 MEYER, FATHER, death of 139. 
 MONTGOMERY, SIR HENRY 16, 
 
 44, 114. 
 MOSQUE, visit to a 50. 
 
 N. 
 
 NATIVES, kindness of Father Law 
 to the 262, 286, 307 ; superstitions 
 of the 243, 250, 274. 
 
 NAUTICAL TERMS, use of 106. 
 
 NAVY, love for the 106. 
 
 NEPHEW, letter to a 178. 
 
 O. 
 
 OBEDIENCE, blind, lecture on 116. 
 OFFICE, notes upon the 165. 
 ORDINATION 123. 
 
 P. 
 
 PASSION, devotion to the 170 172, 
 
 329- 
 
 PATIENCE of Father Law 176, 339. 
 
 PENANCE, remarks on 184. 
 
 PERSONAL appearance 6, 86, 160. 
 
 PIETY, early 34, 37, 44, 64. 
 
 PIRATES, capture of 45. 
 
 POOR, kindness to 162, 168, 180. 
 
 PORTUGUESE mission in the six- 
 teenth century 283. 
 
 POVERTY, love of 160, 338. 
 
 PRAYER, remarks on 102. 
 PRAYERS, night, on board the 
 
 Hastings 64. 
 PRESENCE OF GOD 44 ; meditation 
 
 on the 356. 
 PRIESTHOOD, dignity of the 121, 
 
 136. 
 PROTESTANTS, zeal for conversion 
 
 of 153, 158, 186. 
 PUNISHMENTS on board ship 42. 
 
 R. 
 
 RAISING OF LAZARUS, meditation 
 
 on the 358. 
 
 RELIC of St. Peter Claver 132. 
 REDEMPTORIST ORDER, admiration 
 
 for 81. 
 
 RELIGIOUS LIFE, attraction to 78. 
 RELIGIOUS ORDER, choice of a 82. 
 RETREAT, advantages of a 93 ; at 
 
 Clapham 73 ; at Hodder 80. 
 RICARDS, BISHOP 192, 197, 270. 
 ROEHAMPTON 146. 
 ROSARY, anecdote about the 125 ; 
 
 sermon upon the 124. 
 RULE OF LIFE for the Excellent 73. 
 
 S. 
 
 SADELEER, BROTHER DE, 259, 286, 
 293, 305 ; returns in search of 
 the wagon 308 seq.; accompanies 
 Father Wehl to Sofala 341. 
 
 SELF-DENIAL, acts of, to be prac- 
 tised 103. 
 
 SERMON, first 124. 
 
 SERMONS, Father Law's 159. 
 
 SEWING-MACHINE exhibited 269. 
 
 SEYMOUR, CAPTAIN 19, 123. 
 
 SILVEIRA, VEN. GONZALEZ 283. 
 
 SINGAPORE, visit to a French priest 
 at 62 ; wreck of a vessel at 55. 
 
 SINNERS, Father Law's love for 
 great 169. 
 
 SMOKING, arguments for and against 
 78 ; advice to his father about 
 167. 
 
 SORROW, uses of 155.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 SOULS, zeal for 134, 168, 181 
 
 183, 209, 231, 271. 
 ST. CYR, FATHER 114. 
 SUNDAY on board the Hastings 39. 
 
 T. 
 
 TATI, gold fields at 245 ; mission 
 
 station at 263. 
 TERESA, ST., last Mass on her day 
 
 329- 
 TERORDE, FATHER, studies Bech- 
 
 uana 196; describes journey 204, 
 
 209, 213; instructs Kafirs 227; 
 
 his death 343. 
 TERTIANSHIP 146. 
 TRADE between the interior and 
 
 the coast 212, 260. 
 TSETSE-FLY 194, 281. 
 
 U. 
 
 UMZILA, description of 307 ; his 
 subjects 275, 315 ; his dominions 
 282 ; kind reception of missioners 
 306 ; subsequent neglect 320 ; 
 he assists Brother Hedley 334. 
 
 UNHEALTHY situation of the kraal 
 321. 
 
 V. 
 
 VOCATION to the priesthood 70, 78. 
 VYLDER, BROTHER DE, takes his 
 vows 246. 
 
 \V. 
 
 WATCH on board ship 21. 
 WATER, sufferings from scarcity of 
 
 233. 244- 
 
 WEHL, FATHER, 285 ; lost 298 ; 
 his sufferings and rescue 310 ; 
 he endeavours to rejoin his col- 
 leagues 334 ; death at Sofala 342. 
 
 WELD, FATHER, describes the 
 country 211; his letter to Mr. 
 Law 347. 
 
 WYNNE, FATHER, his account of 
 Augustus Law 115. 
 
 Z. 
 
 ZAMBESI MISSION, origin of 192 ; 
 
 territory assigned to the 193. 
 ZAMBESI RIVER, Father Depelchin 
 
 starts for 280. 
 ZULU, baptism of a 227 ; language 
 
 196; studied by Father Law 190, 
 
 263, 285 ; professor of 190.

 
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