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 01

 
 WILLIAM AND LOUISA 
 ANDERSON 
 
 A RECORD OF THEIR LIFE AND WORK IN 
 JAMAICA AND OLD CALABAR 
 
 BY 
 
 WILLIAM MARWICK 
 
 WITH PORTRAITS AND MAPS 
 
 EDINBURGH 
 ANDREW ELLIOT, 17 PRINCES STREET 
 
 1897 
 
 All Rights Reserved
 
 "The missionary is undoubtedly the highest type of human excellence 
 in the nineteenth century. He has the enterprise of the merchant, with- 
 out the narrow desire of gain ; the dauntlessness of the soldier, without the 
 occasion for shedding blood ; the zeal of the geographical explorer, but 
 for higher motive than the advancement of human knowledge."— R. N. 
 Cusr, I.L.D., Author of "Modern Languages of Africa," etc.
 
 PREFACE 
 
 The materials for the record of the life and work 
 of William Anderson were widely scattered, and had 
 to be gathered by degrees. For most periods the 
 material has been copious. The greatest difficulty I ex- 
 perienced was in regard to the collection of material for 
 the " Jamaica Period," as the periodicals of the Scottish 
 Missionary Society were scarce. So far as I am aware, 
 this is the first time that the life of a missionary to 
 Jamaica, who began as catechist and teacher, pursued 
 his theological studies there, was licensed and ordained 
 as pastor of a congregation which he was instrumental 
 in forming, has been written. 
 
 The autobiographical reminiscences of his early 
 days are not a mere reprint of the papers that 
 appeared in the United Presbyterian Magazine during 
 1890, but are taken from Mr. Anderson's MS. Auto- 
 biography and MS. Journal ; and these and the letters 
 and journals from Jamaica show him in unconscious 
 training for his great work in Old Calabar. 
 
 The " Calabar Period " contains, not only a record of 
 Mr. and Mrs. Anderson's work, but also the annals of 
 Duke Town. In these pages it will be possible to trace 
 the social changes that have taken place during the 
 last fifty years — the decline of the power of the "king" 
 and the chiefs, and of the authority of the Egbo insti-
 
 iv Preface 
 
 tution, on the one hand ; and, on the other, the growth of 
 Consular jurisdiction, culminating in the establishment 
 of the British Protectorate, which has its headquarters 
 at Duke Town. The relations of the missionary and 
 the trading communities are touched on. The Consular 
 staff is now another factor. It is desirable that the 
 relations of these three chief European factors that make 
 for the welfare or otherwise of Calabar should be friendly 
 — that they should understand one another's aims, and 
 should co-operate as far as possible for common ends, 
 as was done at certain crises in Mr. Anderson's time. 
 In spite of "the talk of the Coast," which is too often 
 reproduced as reliable fact in books of travel, there 
 is, I think, a growing understanding of one another 
 among the various classes, when a missionary wins the 
 respect of all as Mr. Beedie did, and criticism of one 
 another is more discriminating and therefore useful. 
 
 The true story of Calabar, however, is not the record 
 of European civilisation and of Christianity in a Pres- 
 byterian dress introduced among the people, but the 
 emergence of the native tribes from the night of super- 
 stition and barbarism into a civilisation in which they 
 shall remain Africans and not become pseudo-Europeans- 
 There is undoubtedly a danger of trade and British 
 protection fostering a pseudo - civilisation. Despite 
 what critics say, Christian missions do this only in a 
 minor degree and indirectly, and the tendency of 
 missionaries is rather to discourage than to encourage 
 the aping of a foreign civilisation. The native tendency 
 is to go from one extreme to another — from "fig-leaves" 
 to " swallow-tails " ! When the ancient system of domestic 
 slavery of which some account is given) has merged
 
 Preface v 
 
 into the free population of the future, a native Christian 
 Commonwealth and Church will grow and flourish. 
 
 Mr. Anderson's distinctive work was done in the early 
 days of the Mission. It was a work of liberation of body 
 and mind. It is to be valued, not only for the sake of the 
 number of scholars in the schools and of converts added 
 to the Church, but also because of the dawning of better 
 days for the whole population, in the decay of many evil 
 customs, and in the creation of a public opinion and of a 
 moral standard, which will make it less difficult for the 
 generations to come to be men and Christians, than it 
 was for their fathers and mothers whether free or slave. 
 
 I have not attempted either a character sketch of 
 Mr. Anderson or an estimate of his work. " Deas 
 Cromarty's" Miniature in the British Weekly of Nov. 5, 
 1 89 1, and a sketch by me in the U. P. Magazine, March 
 1896, supply to a certain extent what is lacking here. 
 My aim has been to let the man reveal himself, and his 
 work speak for itself. My task has been simply to gather, 
 arrange, and edit the materials of what is really an auto- 
 biographical record of William Anderson's career. 
 
 It is to be regretted that the material for an account 
 of Mrs. Anderson's life and work is so scanty ; never- 
 theless, her name deserves to be placed beside that of 
 her husband in this Memoir. 
 
 Mr. Anderson requested me to prepare this Memoir, 
 and supplied material. I have to thank the relatives 
 and friends who have kindly allowed me the use of 
 letters quoted in the following pages, and others whose 
 contributions I have been unable to insert. I have to 
 thank especially Mr. John Cochrane, College Buildings, 
 for access to and use of literature.
 
 vi Preface 
 
 My wife has copied most of the Calabar journals 
 from the U. P. Missionary Record and many letters, has 
 given much helpful assistance and advice, and has read 
 the book both in MS. and in proof. 
 
 The late Rev. R. M. Beedie read the first 500 pages 
 in proof and a chapter in MS., and to him I am indebted 
 for various valuable corrections. The book was delayed 
 in part to get the benefit of his revision, and the last 
 few weeks of his life were spent in this work, which he 
 did con a more. The later portion, which touches on 
 his own association with Mr. Anderson at Duke Town, 
 he did not see, and it has since been amplified. It is 
 too soon to estimate the greatness of the loss which 
 Old Calabar, and especially Duke Town, has suffered 
 in the death of Mr. Beedie. It was a great sorrow to 
 me that I was not permitted to return to Calabar along 
 with Mr. Anderson in September 1895 ! ft was a s ^'" 
 greater grief that I was not permitted to go in Septem- 
 ber 1896 to the relief of Mr. Beedie, whose colleague I 
 was for a short time in 1892. 
 
 "To be baptized for the dead" has become a mode 
 of appeal at the death of a missionary; to be baptized 
 for the help of the few who remain in Calabar seemed 
 to me then, and seems to me still, a more necessary form 
 of appeal ; although it is to be hoped that in the following 
 pages the careers of those— both men and women — 
 who being dead yet speak, will inspire self-consecration 
 t<> Mission work in Old Calabar. 
 
 WILLIAM MARWICK. 
 
 10 W. Mayfield, Edinburgh, 
 
 Febru try 27. 1897.
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Preface iii 
 
 PART I 
 
 Early Days in Scotland, 1812-1839 1 
 
 PART II 
 
 Jamaica Feriod, 1839-1848 Si 
 
 PART III 
 
 Old Calabar Period, 1849-18S9, and 191 
 
 Closing Years, 1889-1895 621
 
 I ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 Portrait of Mr. Anderson, taken about 1876 . . Frontispiece 
 Portrait of Mrs. Anderson „ ,, • facing 128 
 
 Portrait of King Duke IX 5 8 3 
 
 Portrait of Mr. Beedie (1892) 6 57 
 
 Mission Map of Jamaica [at beginning of Jamaica Period] 
 
 Old Calabar [at beginning of Calabar Period]
 
 PART I 
 
 EARLY DAYS IN SCOTLAND, 1812-1839
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 The autobiographical reminiscences of his early days, 
 and a MS. journal extending from 1831 to 1840, which 
 Mr. Anderson left behind him, contain a full record of the 
 formative years of his life. The key to the understanding 
 of his marked individuality is supplied by these records. 
 In Jamaica and in Calabar he remained what the hard 
 discipline of orphanhood, poverty and toil, the efforts at 
 self-culture, and the influences of nature and early friend- 
 ships, helped to make him. What he owed to heredity it 
 is impossible to say. I have heard it stated that he came 
 of Covenanting ancestors. Although both his parents 
 were delicate, he must have descended from a hardy stock. 
 A youth of weak vitality could hardly have survived un- 
 scathed the experiences through which William Anderson 
 passed after his father's death — long hours of monotonous 
 toil sustained by insufficient nourishment. 
 
 He told me that in form and feature he resembled his 
 mother. He seems to have derived his intellect chiefly 
 from his father. At any rate, his intellectual and moral 
 life was shaped by his father ; and his father's teaching, 
 example, and prayers remained amongst the most power- 
 ful influences of his life. At a later date he owed much 
 to the Rev. A. Elliot of Ford, and in a less degree to 
 
 the Rev. Messrs. Law and Sandy, whose names are often 
 
 3
 
 1 \ 'PRODUCTION 
 
 mentioned by him with affectionate respect. The scenes 
 amid which his early days were passed — Ford, Gorebridge, 
 Fala, .mil Dalkeith— imprinted themselves indelibly on 
 his memory, and formed the permanent background of his 
 whole subsequent career. They were the home of his 
 spirit, and in Jamaica and in Calabar he ever and anon 
 
 tiled them in imagination ; while in his various visits 
 
 Scotland, and during the last six years of his life, 
 he embraced every opportunity of revisiting the old 
 familiar haunts and the surviving friends of his youth. 
 
 Mr. Anderson's long life links a bygone age to our 
 own. And so these records of his early days have a value 
 
 i transcript of the religious and social life of Dalkeith 
 and the surrounding villages of Midlothian during the 
 first half of this century. We learn something of the day 
 and the Sabbath schools, of the village libraries, of the 
 " tent " preachings at the Communion seasons, of the social 
 
 herings called "soirees," of the movements of the time 
 
 —political and temperance reform, etc. — as we read the 
 
 jottings of the youthful William Anderson, with his ob- 
 
 . ant eye and keen interest in all that was going on 
 
 •und him and in the wider world beyond.
 
 CHAPTER I 
 1812-1817 
 
 Parentage — Buckholmside — Dalkeith — Ford — 
 Newbattle Tollhouse 
 
 I WAS born at Buckholmside, a suburb of Galashiels, on 
 the 15th of April 181 2. 
 
 My father's name was William Anderson, my mother's 
 was Mary Lang. He was a native of Hawick ; she be- 
 longed to Galashiels. My father's parents died when he 
 was but young, leaving himself and a sister named Ellen, 
 who was older than he, to struggle with the ills of 
 orphanage. Before my birth my father had lived re- 
 spectively at Hawick, Newcastleton in Liddisdale, and 
 Galashiels — or perhaps Buckholmside. 
 
 In his youth my father learned the hosier trade. He 
 seems to have followed alternately the business of hosier, 
 teacher, and merchant. He had been an elder in the then 
 Burgher congregations of Hawick, Selkirk, Newcastleton, 
 and Galashiels. At Newcastleton he had a chief hand in 
 the erection of the place of worship now occupied by the 
 U.P. congregation there ; and at Galashiels he was the 
 chief instrument under Providence in setting afoot the 
 cause of the Secession Church. Before the formation of 
 the Galashiels congregation he attended the ministry and 
 was a member of the session of the well-known late Rev. 
 Dr. Lawson. 1 
 
 1 A copy of Dr. Law son's Helps to a Devout Life, presented to Mr. 
 Anderson by the Rev. John Lawson, Selkirk, has inscribed on it an " Extract 
 from Minutes of Session of First United Presbyterian Church, Selkirk," of 
 date 14th October 1S04, referring to Mr. Anderson's father: "It being 
 intimated to the congregation that William Anderson is in providence come 
 to reside in this congregation, — that if any had objections to his taking his
 
 Early Days in Scotland 
 
 My father was twice married — first, in 1792, to Margaret 
 Graham, who died in the early part of 1809 ; and second, 
 in 1810, to my mother. His first wife had no children; 
 my mother had three, namely — myself; Elizabeth, who 
 was a year and a half older ; and Agnes, who is a year and 
 a half younger than I. Elizabeth died in February 1813, 
 when a little more than two years old. Her remains 
 slumber in Galashiels Churchyard. 
 
 My mother appears to have been in a delicate state of 
 health from the time when my eldest sister was born. 
 Chiefly, if not solely, on this account, my father removed 
 from Galashiels to Dalkeith at Whitsunday 181 3. At 
 Whitsunday 1S14, still for the benefit of her health, and 
 partly that she might be near her sister, Mrs. Potts, whose 
 husband was a manufacturer of woollen fabrics, he 
 removed from Dalkeith to Ford (Pathhead). There my 
 mother died in the month of November the same year. 
 Her remains were consigned to the dust in Cranston Old 
 ( Churchyard. 
 
 While resident at Ford my father attended the ministry 
 of the Rev. George Sandy, Gorebridge. He did not leave 
 Ford, however, before setting afloat the Secession interest 
 there. 
 
 The share which Mr. Anderson's father had in the 
 I' rmation of a Secession church at Ford is described in 
 an address which the Rev. G. Sandy gave at the first con- 
 ational soiree in Ford Church, on the evening of 
 Tuesday, June 28th, [837. William Anderson was a 
 delighted listener to the tribute paid to his father's 
 memory, and transcribed the address from memory into 
 his Journal. As it is the only clear glimpse we get from a 
 source other than the son's fond recollections of his father, 
 of the manner of man William Anderson senior was, 
 it may be worth quoting. Mr. Sandy said — 
 
 1 elder, they might bring them forward. Intimation being made this 
 that if any had objections they might appear. None appearing, he is 
 therefore entered on the list of the eldershi]
 
 Formation of Secession Church at Ford 7 
 
 " Let me call your attention to a few facts connected 
 with your history as a congregation. Twenty years ago 
 the congregation assembling in this place of worship 
 was in connection with the Relief Synod. From various 
 causes, however, the Relief minister, Mr. Strang, found 
 it necessary to resign his charge. People wondered what 
 the Relief congregation would do; but they did nothing, 
 and a dead stillness spread all around. In a short time, 
 however, it began to be rumoured that several individuals 
 were designing to make application for supply of sermon 
 to the Associate Presbytery of Edinburgh. I had at the 
 time a friend, a member of my congregation, who lived 
 not more than twenty [Mr. S. should have said sixty 
 (W.A.)] yards from the place where I now stand. That 
 friend had experienced a great many of life's vicissitudes, 
 if changes of circumstances and places of abode may be 
 so called. He had a fine turn for ecclesiastical business, 
 and had been chosen by several congregations to rule over 
 them in the eldership. He had been instrumental in form- 
 ing a congregation and building a church at Galashiels ; 
 he was the means of much good in the congregation of 
 Mr. Henderson at Hawick ; and with him originated the 
 church at Liddisdale, of which our friend Mr. Law was 
 many years minister. I remember his telling me, shortly 
 after he came to reside in the locality in which Providence 
 has cast my lot, that the people in Liddisdale were very 
 backward in subscribing for the building of their place of 
 worship. At one period he was in a state of deep de- 
 pression on this account, and was considering whether he 
 ought not to abandon his project, when these words came 
 forcibly into his mind : ' The silver and the gold are 
 Mine ; arise and build the house.' He then took courage, 
 feeling that duty is ours, and that results are God's ; he 
 went again among the people collecting contributions, and 
 the results were satisfactory. 
 
 " But, sir, to return to your own congregation, I knew 
 that my friend would not allow the fine opportunity 
 which now presented itself for the furtherance of the in- 
 terests of the Christian denomination to which he belonged 
 to pass unimproved. He was well acquainted with the 
 forms of procedure in our Church courts ; and he drew up
 
 8 Early Days in Scotland 
 
 a petition for supply of sermon from the Associate Presby- 
 tia . Supply was granted, and a congregation was soon 
 anised in connection with our Synod. The late Dr. 
 if Slateford dispensed the Lord's Supper for the 
 first time to the congregation in its present connection. 
 The name of the individual to whom 1 have referred was 
 William Anderson — on whose history I have dwelt so 
 long because it is intimately connected with your history 
 as a congregation, and indeed forms part of it. He was 
 a man of whom our venerated tutor, the late Dr. Lawson, 
 used to say that 'he had done very much for the cause of 
 Christ in the world.' He gave .striking evidence as to 
 how much good may be accomplished by an active 
 Christian even in humble life; and his praise is still 
 in the churches of Galashiels, Selkirk, Hawick, and 
 F< »rd." 
 
 Some time after my mother's death — probably at Whit- 
 sunday l8l 5 — my father returned to Dalkeith. His sister 
 Ellen, who had never been married, came from Hawick to 
 keep his house. 
 
 There are just two things connected with our stay in 
 Ikeith at that time of which I have a recollection. The 
 first is my aunt's arrival from the South ; the second is, 
 that being out one day at play, and passing a girl just my 
 own size, who was standing with her back to a wall, I went 
 forward to her, looked her in the face, and, in all prob- 
 ability partly out of sport and partly out of mischief, I 
 brought my brow, which was certain])' the harder of the 
 two, into collision with hers. The moment I did so, poor 
 girl, her nostrils streamed with blood! Home I fled as 
 fast as 1 could run. I imagined I was pursued, but in 
 this I was mistaken. I never learned that an} 7 report of 
 the matter reached my father's cars, but conscience tor- 
 ivatly for my misdeed. I was long anxious 
 die poor injured girl again, that I might be sure I 
 had not killed her, but was always afraid to go near the 
   >f my misconduct. The remembrance of that blow, 
 or butt, has cost me many a pang of remorse. How often 
 - tland, in Jamaica, and in Old Calabar, 
 tted that action, and wished to ascertain who
 
 Newbattle Tollhouse 9 
 
 it was I injured, that I might make some reparation for 
 the wrong ! 
 
 It must have been at Whitsunday 18 16 that we went 
 to Newbattle Tollhouse. I do not remember the time 
 when I could not read ; but, as I presume I must have 
 been taught somewhere and at some time, I have always 
 supposed that it must have been in that small cottage — 
 the Tollhouse — where 1 acquired that key of knowledge, 
 ability to read. I well remember that one day while there 
 my father brought me from Dalkeith what appeared to me to 
 be a very pretty thin box of some kind. On endeavouring 
 to open the lid, behold it was a book — a very good book, 
 entitled The Proverbs of Solomon. This book I know I 
 read — perhaps I should say I was made to read — over and 
 over again during the twelve months we lived at the Toll- 
 bar. 
 
 In the autumn of that year I remember that a number 
 of gentlemen in black paid my father a visit one day. I 
 recognised only one — the Rev. Mr. Sandy. I soon learned 
 that the gentlemen were ministers on their way to the 
 meeting of Synod, and that one of them was my father's 
 old friend and pastor, the Rev. Dr. Lawson of Selkirk. 
 
 While here my father carried on the hosier business. 
 He attended the ministry of the late Rev. Dr. Thomas 
 Brown of Dalkeith, to whose place of worship I accom- 
 panied him each Sabbath. We occupied the ground pew 
 immediately on the left of the pulpit. It was while 
 staying here that I began to preach. I used to mount a 
 stool and imitate Dr. (then Mr.) Brown to the best of my 
 power. 
 
 I spent a melancholy week or ten days here on one 
 occasion. My father was on a visit to his Hawick friends 
 during that time. It was the first time he had been 
 absent from me, and the period appeared so long that I 
 thought he would never return. To my great joy, how- 
 ever, one day after I had begun to despair of ever seeing 
 him again, I espied him coming up the Path. I ran to 
 meet him. He received me very tenderly, and listened 
 with emotion to the rehearsal of the gloomy forebodings 
 which had wrung my childish heart during his lone- 
 absence.
 
 I" \ui.y Days i\ Seen land 
 
 The Tollhouse stands, or stood, in a lonely position 
 
 Newbattle churchyard. 1 used to attend all the 
 
 funerals. It is probable thai I heard some ghost stories 
 
 wh lived there. At all events, it was while here 
 
 that I felt first afraid to go out alone in the dark. 
 
 It was here, too, I first saw Death. It was, indeed, only 
 the death of a common //<•//, but it took a powerful hold 
 of my imagination. The poor creature had been ill of 
 what Aunt Ellen called box or riax, I have forgot which. 
 At her end -he put her bill in the ground) whirled round 
 two or three times, then dropped down dead. The con- 
 ion to which I was led by this occurrence was, that 
 death being a common event to all animals, it must come 
 ill in a uniform way ; that all mortal creatures — man 
 among the rest — on death's approach must whirl round 
 and round, and then expire'
 
 CHAPTER II 
 1817-1819 
 
 Clayhouses — Preaching — Ideas of Ministers and their Office— 
 "Diet of Visitation"-— "Seeking the Lord" 
 
 It must have been at Whitsunday 1817 that we moved 
 from Nevvbattle Tollhouse to Clayhouses, a hamlet near 
 Gorebridge. I remember that the flitting-day was one of 
 great rain. Being now five years old, I was able to walk, 
 but poor old auntie had to carry my sister Agnes the 
 greater part of the way. 
 
 On arriving at Clayhouses I mourned the absence of 
 the Marquess's Gate, 1 with its fine green and pretty gowans, 
 but this was soon compensated by having the burn to 
 wash and wade in. At first I used to go and wash my 
 hands and face in it I suppose twenty times a day. From 
 this course I was soon deterred, however, by being 
 gravely assured by a young man, William Dobie by 
 name, that if I did not give it up I would soon wash my 
 face off altogether. 
 
 At Clayhouses I was kept pretty strictly at my books. 
 Proverbs was by this time sorely tattered. I had now 
 to read a chapter or two in the Bible daily, and by and by 
 my task was increased by having to commit to memory 
 daily one of the answers to the Shorter Catechism. This 
 I felt to be sore labour indeed. 
 
 I used to carry on the preaching here also, having my 
 sister sit before me on her little chair as precentor. I also 
 made many little churches below some large trees that 
 grew in the neighbourhood and in retired places by the 
 burn-side. A number of little stones represented the 
 people attending church. I had generally four churches 
 
 1 The entrance gate of Newbattle, a residence of the Marquis of Lothian. 
 
 11
 
 i2 Early Days in Scotland 
 
 or congregations which I kept in order, representing those 
 of Gorebridge, Ford, Dalkeith, and Liddisdale. I had 
 also wooden or stone representatives of the four pastors 
 of these congregations, the Rev. Messrs. Sandy, Elliot, 
 Brown, and Law. 
 
 While here we attended the ministry of the Rev. Mr. 
 Sandy, Gorebridge. At this period I had the profoundest 
 reverence for ministers of the gospel and their high office. 
 I had not yet been informed, and it never entered my 
 mind, that they wrote or even studied their sermons. I 
 did not suppose that they themselves knew their texts or 
 a single word that they had to say till they were in the 
 pulpit. I thought that the Holy Spirit then and there 
 taught them what to preach. I looked on them as an 
 almost superhuman order of beings. I was quite aston- 
 ished and not a little distressed when I learned that their 
 sermons were all prepared before going to the pulpit. I 
 had been a firm believer in their "plenary inspiration." 
 
 I well remember a " Diet of Visitation" held by Mr. 
 Sandy at Clayhouses. He intimated on the previous 
 Sabbath that on a certain day he would visit at Clay- 
 houses " and down near the water." When the morning 
 of the great day came my father was in high spirits, but I 
 felt much depressed. The awful hour at length came, 
 and "the minister" arrived! To my astonishment, and 
 not a little to my relief, he talked with my father a 
 little about common things, just "like other folk." He 
 en made >ome observation about the state of "the 
 weather " ! I had always thought that he had no more to do 
 with the weather than his fellow-servant the angel Gabriel. 
 At length he actually smiled\ I was lost in wonderment. 
 I had imagined that he would enter the house as solemnly 
 as he was wont to enter the pulpit — deliver some message 
 direct from God to each of us— and then, Elijah-like, take 
 his departure in an equally solemn manner, without 
 deigning to shake hands with anyone or to utter a 
 syllable about common things. Although now convinced 
 that the minister was after all only a man, it was not 
 without a considerable fluttering of the heart that I 
 could answer him a few of the simple questions contained 
 in Brown's Short Catccliism for Children, as, Who made
 
 "Diet of Visitation' 13 
 
 you ? Who redeems you ? Who sanctifies you ? etc., and 
 repeat the favourite psalm of youth and age — 
 
 "The Lord's my Shepherd, I'll not want." 
 
 While penning these remembrances of childish impres- 
 sions, it is perhaps but right to add that I have not now — 
 and never had — any other feelings than those of the 
 highest respect and esteem for the excellent, faithful, 
 sore-tried Rev.- George Sandy of Gorebridge. I may also 
 add that I have oftentimes felt when recalling these early 
 impressions during the course of my own career as a 
 preacher of the glorious gospel of Christ, that it would 
 add immensely to ministerial usefulness were all parents 
 to speak of their ministers with affectionate respect. I 
 have frequently thought, also, that any pastor of a church 
 may easily ascertain from the demeanour of the children 
 towards him how his labours are appreciated by their 
 parents. 
 
 While at Clayhouses I had a very mistaken view of the 
 meaning of the exhortation to " seek the Lord." I always 
 considered that God lived above, and concluded that the 
 way to seek Him was to try to get to the highest locality 
 within my reach. There were some beautiful large trees 
 at no great distance from my father's house. Often did 
 I make the attempt to climb these trees (though I as 
 often failed), childishly supposing that in making such 
 attempts I was most truly " seeking the Lord."
 
 CHAPTER III 
 i 819—1823 
 
 Reading— Sports— Schoolboy Days -Death of Aunt — 
 Death of Father 
 
 I 1 must have been at Whitsunday 1819 that we went 
 from Clayhouses to Gorebridge. I remember that I was 
 in great glee when we became denizens of a " toon." I 
 felt quite elevated on being associated in play with " big 
 callants." My sister had hitherto been my only com- 
 panion. 
 
 About the time of our removal to Gorebridge I began 
 to write copy-books. My father ruled and set them, and I 
 scrawled away as I best could. 
 
 From the first Sabbath of our stay at Gorebridge I 
 attended Mr. Sandy's Sabbath evening school. My father 
 was put in charge of a class into which I, along with other 
 boys, was put. I liked the Sabbath school exceedingly. 
 1 used to look forward with great interest to the annual 
 distribution of premiums in the month of October. The 
 first prize book I ed was entitled Jesus showing 
 
 M, Children. 1 read and re-read that little book 
 
 till it was in tatters. How frequently and fervently did 
 1 pray that, like the Jemima spoken of in the book, I 
 might be one of Christ's lambs indeed, and that my death 
 might be a- peaceful as her-! 
 
 1 now began to devour every little book that came in 
 my way, but I felt none so interesting as the premiums 
 
 n out at the Sabbath school. I well remember one 
 
 -bath morning at the end of my father's house. I was 
 showing some of my tracts and tickets to the children of 
 a collier, who with his large household were very careless, 
 
 if not openly irreligious. I began to speak earnestly to 
 
 11
 
 Book Reading 15 
 
 the children, some of whom were older than myself, about 
 the Bible and God and hell and heaven. I felt quite en- 
 raptured while speaking about the happiness of believers — 
 more so, I think, than I have ever done since. I remem- 
 ber nothing of my address but its conclusion, which was 
 more immediately addressed to the biggest boy in the 
 group in these terms : " Oh, Geordie ! it's a grand thing to 
 be gude." I believe that the effect of my exhortation was 
 that for some weeks my hearers attended both church and 
 Sabbath school. 
 
 While here I read with great delight Hervey's Medita- 
 tions and Contemplations. I read also T heron and Astasia, 
 but did not understand this work thoroughly. I used also 
 to read with great interest portions of the Select Remains 
 of Brown of Haddington, and his Christian Journal. I 
 perused also some of Boston's works. My geographical 
 tutor was an old infirm copy of Salmon's Gazetteer. 
 
 I can recall some sacred Sabbath evenings in my 
 father's humble dwelling both at Clayhouses and at 
 Gorebridge. I have now (in 1854) before me a little old 
 withered-looking hymn-book which I got at Newbattle 
 Toll in 1 8 17, and which I frequently read to my father in 
 the stillness of the Sabbath evening just before retiring 
 to rest. The little book is entitled The Glory of Christ 
 Displayed and Improved, being "A Selection of Hymns for 
 Children, by E. B." On my father's authority I state that 
 these initials stand for Ebenezer Brown, who was long 
 minister at Inverkeithing. If I have ever enjoyed fore- 
 tastes of heaven's bliss, it was, I think, in reading these 
 hymns to my father and old Aunt Ellen at Clayhouses 
 and Gorebridge by the light of the fire or of a dim 
 little lamp. All the hymns in that selection have been 
 favourites with me ever since. . . . 
 
 It was, I think, in April or May 1820 that I involun- 
 tarily made my debut in the week-day school at Gore- 
 bridge, then taught by Mr. Thomas Howatson. My father 
 had long wished me to attend school, but I had heard so 
 much about the scholars getting palmies that I was quite 
 afraid to venture. I got a hint one morning that if I 
 would not walk to school I would be carried. And sure 
 enough, about nine o'clock, I saw a few of the biggest
 
 ,6 Early Days in Scotland 
 
 iming my way. I at once took to my heels and 
 
 suburb called the Castle Hill, but alas for 
 
 my ingenuity!— 1 landed in the midst of an ambuscade. 
 
 1 was of oansc seized, and, notwithstanding my bawling, 
 
 itching, biting, and kicking, was safely placed on a 
 
 h in' the schoolroom. If I had hitherto looked on 
 
 die minister as a kind of angel, I had looked on the 
 
 schoolmaster as a kind of devil, whose chief amusement 
 
 flog poor wretches of boys. To my astonishment, 
 
 all the children in school seemed quite happy, and 
 
 th.it azu/u' man - the maister " turned out very different 
 
 from what I expected. He entered school a few minutes 
 
 md, after a short prayer, which I thought was 
 
 rather irreverently uttered, proceeded to hear the children 
 
 read their lessons. He was quite merry and jocular that 
 
 noon, and as there were no palmies going — not even 
 
 a wi >rd i if so tiding — 1 soon felt quite at home. I expected 
 
 a drubbing i »f s< ime si »rt f< >r having to be carried to school ; 
 
 however, there was no allusion to the matter beyond a 
 
 general kind of question about the noise which "some 
 
 person" had been making on the way to school. It did 
 
 not seem to me that a reply was either needed or wished, 
 
 and no one answered. 
 
 After the classes had finished their exercises, Mr. H. 
 
 called me up to him. Taking a small Primer (of which 
 
 he the author) from his desk, he tried me on the 
 
 alphabet, my know ledge of which he pronounced perfect. 
 
 He then turned to the last page of the book, which I read 
 
 the A B C. He then tried me on Barrie's 
 
 That 1 could also read with the greatest ease. 
 
 1 fit i little proud when he pronounced me "fit 
 
 i the highest clavs in school." When the time of the re- 
 
 . it was with a light heart I ran home to 
 
 diii' :. On my father's return home in the evening, I ran 
 
 to meet him with the news that I had been at school. He 
 
 had al rd, however, hozv I had been conveyed to 
 
 "th< and he treated me rather coldly. 
 
 From the first day of my school-life to the last I loved 
 it i lingly. 
 
 In a few month-, .Mr. I [owatson wished to form a Latin 
 cla - ime of the oldest boys entered it. I volunteered
 
 Schoolboy Days 17 
 
 to join them. I was but a "new scholar," and some of 
 my seniors were disposed to think that I should not be so 
 soon raised to a level with them. One of them even 
 hinted that he thought my head was too thick for learning 
 Latin. Mr. H. overruled objections, however, and I soon 
 made what was considered rapid progress in acquiring a 
 knowledge of the language of old Rome. 
 
 While at Gorebridge I carried on the preaching in so 
 far as I could do so unseen and unheard. It must have 
 been in the winter of 182 1-2 that I wrote ray first sermon. 
 It was on 2 Tim. i. 12. My father knew what I was 
 about, and gave me some " heads " for my discourse. I 
 had my sermon half written when I heard my father 
 telling a neighbour what I was busy with. This I disliked 
 exceedingly, and never showed him my MS. again. I 
 kept that MS. for many years. Indeed, I did not destroy 
 it till all hope that I should ever be what, by the kindness 
 of God, I now am, was taken away. I then thought it 
 would be as well to destroy all memorials of my earliest 
 and most ardent aspirations. 
 
 One of my chief amusements at this time was keeping 
 a churchyard. To this I was led in part by reading the 
 Spectator's (Addison's) account of a visit paid by him to 
 Westminster Abbey. I made graves and tomb-stichs in 
 abundance, and for corpses interred all the bones I could 
 get hold of. I was often grievously annoyed by resurrec- 
 tionists in the shape of dogs, which in a few minutes 
 would turn all topsy-turvy. This I always supposed they 
 did out of pure spite, for I verily believe that I never 
 buried anything that they could eat. 
 
 Aunt Ellen died on a Sabbath afternoon in the end of 
 August or beginning of September 1821. On the follow- 
 ing Tuesday her remains were consigned to the dust in 
 the churchyard of Borthwick. That being our "Examina- 
 tion Day " in school, and Mr. H. having specially requested 
 my father to allow me to attend school on that occasion, 
 I was not at the funeral. As I sat at my desk in the 
 schoolroom, I observed the humble procession moving 
 down the village, and that was the last I saw of kind old 
 Aunt Ellen. 
 
 She and I never agreed very well while we were at
 
 i8 Early Days in ScotlAx\d 
 
 Newbattle. 1 have now no doubt that the fault was 
 chiefly, if not wholly, on my side. But from the time we 
 left the Tollbar to the day of her death she was always 
 as kind to my sister and me as it was perhaps possible for 
 any woman to be who had never been herself a mother. 
 Much, indeed, did my sister and I miss Aunt Ellen. 
 
 During the greater part of the time we lived at Gore- 
 bridge my father followed the humble occupation of peddler, 
 alias cadger. Saturday was the only week-day which he 
 used to spend at home, and he was frequently late in reach- 
 ing home from his daily rounds on other days. After Aunt 
 Ellen's death my sister and I spent many a lonely evening 
 hour awaiting his return. We used to remain in the house 
 till dark, when we were afraid to remain any longer. The 
 remembrance of the white-sheeted bed, the gloomy coffin, 
 Ided to our belief in ghost stories, induced us to sit 
 on the threshold of the door, or on the window- 
 sill, till my father came home. On his return, fear and cold 
 and hunger were all forgotten. 
 
 I remember that on the evening of my aunt's death, 
 after all the neighbours had left the house, I ventured to 
 sound my father on a point of some delicacy. I knew 
 that he had but little money in his possession, and I hinted 
 that I feared the expenses of the funeral, etc., would be 
 rather heavy. My words were: "Oh, faither, this'll cost 
 lot o' siller ! " The rejoinder was, " But do ye no' ken 
 'at our God can gie us siller?" When I have been rather 
 hard up myself I have often remembered this question 
 with comfort. In all my intercourse with some of the 
 excellent ones of the earth I have never met with any, 
 te Rev. Win. Jameson, who seemed to have that 
 simple, childlike, unshakable confidence in God which my 
 father always displayed. 
 
 On my visit to Scotland in 1848, I was informed by 
 
 the Mr. Sandy that, on visiting my father not long 
 
 his death, he Mr. S.) had asked him if he had 
 
 nxiety about my sister and myself, should we be left 
 My father replied that he had no distressing 
 
 citude in regard to us— that as God had provided for 
 im, even so would He provide for us. He then stated 
 
 dr. S. that he was very young when his father died
 
 Village Sports 19 
 
 — "he was the only son of his mother, and she was a 
 widow," a poor widow. She managed to keep him at 
 school, however, and matters moved on without much 
 anxiety on his part, till one clay the teacher told him that 
 on returning to school he must bring a few pence (I do 
 not know the exact sum) for the purchase of a copy-book. 
 This was more than his mother could afford — she had not 
 so much in her possession. With a heavy heart my father 
 trudged off to school, but on his way thither he found a 
 sixpence. No one claiming the unexpected prize, he was 
 enabled to purchase the needed copy-book. The recollec- 
 tion of this circumstance had often encouraged his heart 
 amid the struggles of his later years. It probably recurred 
 to him when 1 gave the hint respecting the expenses of 
 his sister's funeral. And it appears to have cheered him 
 on his dying bed in reference to those whom he was soon 
 to leave on the care and protection of God. I can now, 
 upwards of thirty years after his decease, certify that his 
 confidence in God was not misplaced. 
 
 After the school vacation of 1821 we got a new teacher, 
 Mr. Pringle Keddie. He was a very different man from 
 his predecessor. Mr. Howatson was often as full of fun 
 and glee as ever we, his pupils, could wish, but then he 
 was at other times — at least ive thought so — a perfect fury. 
 Mr. Keddie was remarkably equable in temper. He was, 
 moreover, a man of decided piety. Both gentlemen were 
 in our estimation capita/ teachers. Our estimate might 
 possibly be founded on our high opinion of ourselves. We 
 were, doubtless, capital scholars ! 
 
 Time would fail me to speak of the sports of the village 
 during my schoolboy days. For aught I know, the same 
 round of games is carried on still, — "the bools"; "the ba'"; 
 " the gudie goat " (?); " hunt the tod"; " hide and seek," on 
 the moonlight nights by and in the old castle ; the " tum- 
 bling," after some display of horsemanship by some band 
 of itinerant actors ; the " processions," at which I used to 
 figure sometimes as " My Lord," sometimes as " Farrier," 
 and sometimes as Drummer or Fifer, in imitation of Middle- 
 ton and Carrington " Carters' Plays"; the " Races," etc. etc., 
 — all, all, in so far as they were harmless, are pleasant to 
 the recollection.
 
 20 Early Days in Scotland 
 
 In recalling some of our neighbours at that time, I 
 remember with great interest a good old widow, who lived 
 .m the other side of the street from us, by name Peggy 
 Pringle. She had three favourite old volumes — her Bible, 
 [saai Ambrose's Looking unto Jesus ; and a Life of Chris/ 
 I forget by whom). I think she had also an old copy of 
 lite Scots Worthies, She frequently got me to read for 
 her from these volumes, and in return for my services she 
 used t" favour me with many a good exhortation. 
 
 During the greater part of [822 my father was in deli- 
 health. During his illness he had an allowance from a 
 Friendly Society in Hawick. This was, I believe, our chief 
 support during 1X22. For some months during the sum- 
 mer of this year I was kept from school to take care of 
 my father's companion in his travels — an old bay mare. 
 This animal I used to herd by the roadsides. I felt it a 
 sore trial to be kept from school. To reconcile me to 
 my herding, I got a little book from Mrs. Abercrombie 
 mother of the late celebrated Edinburgh physician of that 
 name). I valued the book very highly. It was Mason's 
 Believers rocket Companion. I disliked the herding very 
 much, however, and was glad when the poor beast was 
 sold. I returned to school with a happy heart, but found 
 that I had lost ground by four or five chapters of Cornelius 
 Nepos. 
 
 The bright sunny days of schoolboy life were for me 
 < hawing to a close. Dark clouds were gathering around 
 my path. After the usual autumnal vacation of 1822, I 
 was at school each day till my father's death. 
 
 1 le became feebler and feebler as the year approached 
 its termination. 1 le was still able to conduct family wor- 
 ship morning and evening. On these occasions he gener- 
 ally prayed fervently for " the two little ones so soon to be 
 left orphans." Morning and evening at the family altar 
 it was his wont I ote us both, and especially me, "to 
 
 the of God in the Church and the world." He used 
 
 duct family worship three times on the Sabbath 
 during that period of the year when there was no interval 
 f public worship; but that was discontinued, I think, from 
 the autumn of LS22. His failing strength prevented him 
 bein; fervent in spirit" as he had formerly been.
 
 Death of his Father 2 1 
 
 At the commencement of 1823 it was evident to many, but 
 not to me, that the end was at hand. We had at that time 
 living with us a person called Nelly Welsh, whose business 
 was to nurse him and take care of my sister and me. For 
 a few days he had been confined to bed, and morning and 
 evening I had read the chapter at family worship, and he 
 had prayed, and, if I rightly remember, raised the psalm 
 tune, in his bed. 
 
 On Saturday, January 4th (1823), however, he made no 
 proposal about worship. This seemed strange to my sister 
 and me. I feared I knew not why or what. On that 
 evening, from dusk till about eight o'clock, all three of us 
 — Nelly, my sister, and I — kept our stations around the 
 fireplace, and as my father seemed drowsy, we kept very 
 still, lest we should disturb him. About six o'clock he 
 inquired if I was not thinking about going to bed yet. 
 He was answered that it was rather early. He spoke not 
 again. About eight o'clock, my usual time for going to 
 bed in those days, I had stripped, and was just stepping 
 into my usual quarters beside him, when it appeared to 
 me that he was very still. I put my ear to his face, but 
 heard nothing, felt nothing. I returned hastily to the fire- 
 place, and said, " Nelly, I dinna hear my. father breathing." 
 She immediately lit a candle, and with my sister and myself 
 approached the bedside. We were just in time to see and 
 hear the fatal rattle in the throat. Twice or thrice did its 
 hollow sound fall on our ears — and all was still. He 
 gently and with placid countenance fell asleep in Jesus. 
 The silence of the scene was interrupted by Nelly exclaim- 
 ing, " Oh, bairns, your faither's gane ! " She immediately 
 ran out to call in some of the neighbours ; while my sister 
 and I, nigh petrified with grief and fear, stood weeping, 
 trembling, and clinging to each other, till her return. 
 That was to us a dismal night indeed. We felt very lonely 
 and desolate. 
 
 Next morning (Sabbath, January 5th) both of us went 
 over to Ford to communicate to our few relatives there — 
 who were indeed our only surviving relatives anywhere 
 — the tidings of our bereavement. My aunt, Mrs. Potts, a 
 sister of my mother, accompanied us back to Gorebridge. 
 My uncle came in the evening. On Monday they made
 
 22 Early Days in Scotland 
 
 arrangements for the funeral. During that Sabbath and 
 Monday I could not realise the fact of my father's death. 
 I could not bring myself to believe that he was really gone. 
 As I looked on the white sheet which covered him, 1 could 
 not help thinking that I perceived him in motion. 
 
 Monday evening brought the "chesting" or coffining, 
 and that was to me the most painful spectacle I have ever 
 witnessed. 
 
 On Tuesday my father's remains were interred in 
 Cranston Old Churchyard. His grave was close to that 
 of my mother, who had already tenanted hers for eight 
 years and two months. From the churchyard I was taken 
 to the house of my Aunt Potts at Ford. Gorebridge, the 
 scene of several happy years and of some painful hours, 
 was no more to be home to my sister and me.
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 1823-1828 
 
 Sorrows — " Summer Sacrament" — Sabbath School — Reading — Ideal 
 World — Journey to Haddington — Departure from Ford — Net- 
 tlingflat — Engagement to go to Fala Mains 
 
 FROM the day of my father's funeral my condition and 
 prospects were entirely changed. I was introduced into 
 new society and a very different manner of life from that 
 I had been accustomed to lead. No going to school now — 
 no Saturday afternoon's holiday now. It was "work, 
 work, work," for twelve hours a-day in the carding mill, 
 without any relaxation from the beginning of the year to 
 the end of it, save a few hours on Pathhead " Carters' Play " 
 day. No instructions now of a domestic character worth 
 the name. No morning and evening sacrifice; never called 
 to surround the family altar now, except on Sabbath 
 evenings. Oh ! how unlike Gorebridge, and my father's 
 house ! . . . The remembrance of our morning and even- 
 ing worship, and of the stillness and solemnity of the 
 Sabbath in my father's house, often throws a hallowed 
 influence over my mind where I now write, even in dark, 
 heathen Old Calabar. 
 
 My father laboured indefatigably to pour into our 
 minds the sacred truths of the gospel. He had, to the 
 best of my recollection, a clear conception of the gospel 
 plan of salvation, a large amount of general knowledge, 
 and a wonderful faculty for making things plain. He 
 appeared to me to understand everything. No question 
 in regard to any subject which I might be poring over, 
 whether divinity, grammar, geography, or history, did I 
 ever put to him which did not receive an immediate and 
 satisfactory reply. 
 
 23
 
 _\| Early Days in Scotland 
 
 At Ford no one gave me any encouragement to read 
 or study much. I had none to aid me in any of my 
 
 the il, historical, or literary difficulties. In fact, 
 
 I p ,1 more knowledge, both religious and secular, 
 
 than any of my relatives, and was indeed looked up to by 
 them as p ing at once "great talents and a grand 
 
 education." This was rather a dangerous position for a 
 between ten and eleven years of age to occupy. But 
 I   an truly say that the eulogies of my friends never filled 
 me with anything like vanity. I was generally led rather 
 to pity them, and to sigh and to cry over my lost — but, 
 thanks he to God, not wholly unimproved — privileges. 
 
 ides the supposition that 1 was learned enough already, 
 
 there were to be seen the pinchings i »f penury in my aunt's 
 
 that she, poor body, could not have maintained 
 
 either my sister or myself at school, had she even wished 
 
 to do so. 
 
 Sad, sad were my first weeks and months at Ford, 
 veral evenings I slipped out unseen, and amid the 
 drifting snows concealed myself among some wild goose- 
 berry bushes which grew at the end and at the back of 
 my aunt's house, and there found relief in floods of tears. 
 1 managed at the same time to conceal my grief so much 
 that some thought I was feeling my father's death very 
 lightly. Ah ! little knew they what a load of woe I 
 endeavoured to conceal under a smile! My heart was 
 blighted. I was seized with severe sickness a week 
   after my father's death, for some time it was 
 thought that I was fast following him to the grave. It 
 was not very long, however, ere I recovered. 
 
 My father's corpse was not allowed to repose in the 
 tomb. It was stolen by resurrectionists the first or second 
 night after interment. This violation of the sepulchre 
 added greatly to my affliction. I felt as if it would have 
 
 >ded i T to go to the grave to weep there ; 
 
 but when I learned that the body had been removed, I 
 felt but little inclination to see the tomb which it had for 
 hort time i iccupied. 
 
 I well remember being sent over to Gorebridge one 
 
 urday after I was pretty well recovered. My heart 
 sore, sore. Mr. and Mrs. Sandy were very kind,
 
 Ford "Summer Sacrament" 25 
 
 and gave me two little books, which I still retain in my 
 possession. I called at only two places on that visit — Mr. 
 Sandy's, and what was once " our house," which was 
 occupied from the time of my father's death till the 
 ensuing Whitsunday by Nelly. When on my solitary 
 way back to Ford, somewhere between the Magazine 1 and 
 Mossend, I turned to take a last look of Gorebridge. The 
 day was cold, cold, and the whole ground was covered 
 with snow. While I stood musing the fire burned within, 
 however. My former days — my schoolboy life — the 
 precious Sabbath school — the circumstances of my father's 
 death and funeral — and the gloomy prospects before 
 me — formed the themes of my contemplations, till I 
 fell into a state of unconsciousness. When I recovered 
 myself I felt as if riveted to the spot, and it was some 
 time before I could recall what brought me there, and 
 whether I was on my way from Ford to Gorebridge or 
 from Gorebridge to Ford. I felt an almost overpowering 
 impulse to return to Gorebridge to live there, and die 
 there, rather than leave it. It was not without a pain- 
 ful struggle that I moved my sorely benumbed limbs 
 towards Ford. I felt very melancholy indeed during the 
 first six months of 1823. My imagination carried me 
 day after day into Gorebridge school. Oh ! I would have 
 done or suffered anything to have been permitted to go 
 to school. 
 
 I did not get at all reconciled to Ford till the approach 
 of the " Summer Sacrament." As it drew near I began to 
 recall to mind that my father had enjoyed some blessed 
 days at Ford. I remembered, too, how r happily I had 
 trotted over with him, my hand in his, to hear the precious 
 words of life from the "tent" 2 at Ford. In those days, 
 the Rev. Mr. Law, then of Liddisdale, was always one of 
 Mr. Elliot's assistants at the July Communion. My father 
 had a peculiar regard for Mr. Law, occasioned in part, 
 perhaps, by the connection which subsisted between Mr. 
 Law and the scene of a former part of his life — Liddisdale. 
 This regard, I may say, I inherited. My heart has often 
 
 1 A powder-mill and magazine which formerly existed at Gorebridge. 
 
 2 Open-air preaching. The "tent" was a wooden erection, a sort of 
 pulpit for the minister.
 
 Early Days in Scotland 
 
 burned within me while listening to Mr. Law. His great 
 plainness of speech— his winning manner— his anecdotes 
 an d ially his kind words in most of his sermons 
 
 to his "young friends," frequently produced impressions 
 on my young mind which I believe death itself shall not 
 
 effa< 
 
 ( >h the buoyancy and elasticity of youth ! 1823 had not 
 terminated till I had learned to look upon Ford as my 
 fiome. I never relished the work at which I was engaged, 
 but 1 loved the place very much. I had formed friend- 
 ships- -none of them on the retrospect very profitable 
 to me -with some of the young people; a number of 
 the old people had also treated me with much kind- 
 ness; and in addition to this, the village had once been 
 the place of my father's abode— I had lived there in 
 childhood — and I was occupying the very house in 
 which my mother died — her grave in Cranston Old 
 Churchyard was not far distant; in Ford "meeting 
 house," and at its "tent," my father and I had wor- 
 shipped together; it was the scene, too, of my bitterest 
 sorrows on account of his death, — all these things, as 
 well as the burns and braes around, endeared Ford to 
 my heart. 
 
 While here I attended the ministry of the Rev. 
 Andrew Elliot and the Sabbath school in connection 
 with his congregation. 1 was under three teachers during 
 my Sabbath scholarship here. 
 
 The first was Mr. George Rough, a canny man, whose 
 nature utterly belied his name. George allowed the 
 scholars in his class to take their own way in everything. 
 The}- ran out and in, fidgeted or sat still, just as they felt 
 inclined. Some of them said the same thing over and 
 over every Sabbath, and the good man received all 
 and commended all. 
 
 My second teacher was Mr. David Brown. He was 
 
 rather sharper with us than George, but was an excellent 
 
 in, and a good teacher. It was in May 1.X25 or 1826 
 
 that I entered his class. There had been a long vacation 
 
 "! the Sabbath school, and it was then reorganised. I had 
 
 e repeatedly through Brown's Explication of the 
 r Catechism, and wished something new, so I took
 
 "A Complete Genius!" 27 
 
 nothing with me to school that evening save my Bible. 
 Mr. B. was rather displeased at this, and called in no 
 very pleasant tone to another teacher who was standing 
 near the book-box, " Bring me a Catechism ; here's a big 
 chap says he has nane." Brown's Catechism was again 
 forthcoming for me, when I stated that I had been 
 " through and through that one already." He then de- 
 manded my name. On being informed, his manner 
 instantly changed. " Ay," said he, " are you William 
 Anderson's son? He was a man of grand judgment. If 
 you only be like him "— Mr. B. and I were warm friends 
 ever after. He then gave me, what I have now lying 
 before me, Scripture Exercises on the Beatitudes (Glasgow : 
 Chalmers & Collins ; Edinburgh : W. Oliphant, 1823). On 
 the following Sabbath I repeated to him above sixty of 
 the texts of Scripture referred to in those exercises, 
 besides large portions of the Psalms of David in metre. 
 The good man was quite delighted, and pronounced me 
 " a complete genius ! " My memory was exceedingly < 
 retentive at that period, but yet it was not without 
 much labour that I could prepare for such recitations. 
 I had to work in the mill twelve hours a day, from 
 6 A.M. to 8 P.M. — being off work two hours for 
 breakfast and dinner — so that my only time for learning 
 was during my meal hours and in the evening after eight 
 o'clock. 
 
 In so far as I loved, read, and studied my Bible in 
 those days, the remembrance of them is sweet. Many a 
 happy season had I among the packages and fleeces of 
 wool, reading or committing to memory Psalms and 
 passages of Scripture, while my neighbours were all 
 at play. I never felt happy if I had not a Bible, or some 
 fragment of a Bible, in my breast or in my pocket. I 
 often committed to memory a text of Scripture or a verse 
 of a Psalm when going to and returning from the mill- 
 dam, to which I had to run six or eight times a day to lift 
 or let down the sluice. I saw some vestiges of the sluice 
 in 1848. The space it occupied is now overlooked by 
 Ford Manse. 
 
 After having gone through the Exercises on the 
 Beatitudes, I committed to memory Fisher's — or, as we
 
 2.S Kaki.n Days in Scotland 
 
 called it, the Synod's — Catechism. Mr. Brown was glad 
 me begin it. When I had finished my first 
 evening's lesson from it to his satisfaction, he said to me, 
 "Ah! if you had that book all in your head you might 
 preach." 
 
 My third and last Sabbath school teacher was Mr. 
 Deans, afterwards the Rev. George Deans of Portobello. 
 1 had left my first love, however, before I came under his 
 re, and had become somewhat lazy. 
 
 I rom my earliest days it had always been my most 
 ardent wish to be a minister. My father encouraged me 
 to look forward to the time when I would be a preacher of 
 the gospel. His death, however, blighted all my expect- 
 ations of being able to obtain the education requisite for 
 that high office. Often did 1 try to advance in my Latin 
 studies, but, having no one to pilot me through my diffi- 
 culties, I generally, after a few faint struggles, gave up the 
 attempt. My passion for preaching still clung to me, and 
 many a sermon did I deliver under the din of the 
 machinery. Indeed, for some years at Ford I moved in 
 an ideal world of my own. My mind craved something 
 on which to exert its energies, and, nothing else being 
 
 ented, it turned in on itself and revelled in its own 
 creations. By the aid of an old Edinburgh almanac I was 
 enabled to constitute an empire of my own, with all its 
 officers of State, army, navy, etc. This empire I ruled 
 with despotic sway, dismissing cabinet ministers, creating 
 peers, disarming generals and admirals, etc. etc., at 
 pleasure. My greatest enjoyment, however, consisted in 
 preaching and in hearing imaginary sermons. Many a time 
 have I made Rev, Messrs. Sandy, Elliot, Law, and others, 
 preach to me sermons which they never studied from 
 texts which they never selected. For a considerable 
 time I used to deliver on the Sabbath evenings, below 
 a tree near the mill-dam, — but only to vegetable auditor. 
 —the sermon which Mr. Elliot had preached during 
 the day. 
 
 I remember of being sent to Haddington to a founder 
 there on some mill business one day in the summer of 
 1S25 or 1826. I had a breakfast on brose before setting 
 out on my journey, and my aunt gave me a penny where-
 
 Journey to Haddington 29 
 
 with to purchase a roll or whatever else I might choose 
 for dinner. This I knew to be nearly the only penny at 
 that time in my aunt's possession, and I felt in regard to 
 it in such a way as David felt in reference to the water 
 brought to him from the well of Bethlehem. The distance 
 between Ford and Haddington is, I suppose, about twelve 
 miles. Ere I reached my destination I felt very hungry, 
 and would fain have eaten, but I could not think of 
 expending my aunt's penny. I formed the resolution that 
 if the founder gave me even a crust of bread after my long 
 walk, that I would save the coin in my pocket and return 
 it to my aunt. I walked on somewhat sadly and slowly, 
 meditating, as was my wont, of past days, and fortifying 
 my heart against the time to come by repeating to myself, 
 as was also my wont, passages of Scripture and of the 
 Psalms in metre. My meditations were somewhat rudely 
 interrupted by a company of coal carters whom I over- 
 took on their way to Haddington. I would have passed 
 them quickly had I suspected that they meant to harm 
 me. They did me no great harm, it is true ; they began 
 to throw stones at me in sport, I suppose, though it was 
 no sport to me, especially as several of the stones struck 
 me, and one in particular gave me a pretty sharp rap on 
 the back. But I have no doubt, had they known that 
 the thought of their unkindness to a stranger wounded 
 his heart far more than the stones which they threw hurt 
 his body, they would not have meddled with me. On 
 reaching the house of the founder, and delivering my 
 message, he ordered a fair daughter to bring for my 
 refreshment a glass of whisky. The glass was brought. 
 I abhorred the liquor, but had not courage to refuse it 
 altogether, so I took about a third of it, wishing " health " 
 in my best style, but inwardly lamenting the non-appear- 
 ance of anything solid. Having bowed myself out of 
 the founder's house, and having a large portion of the day 
 before me, I walked up and down the town of Haddington 
 for a little, anxious to see all of it that was to be seen. 
 I then set out Ford-ward. The burning whisky removed 
 for a season the pangs of hunger, but they soon returned 
 with increased force. However, I managed to deny 
 myself what I was frequently sore tempted to indulge in,
 
 $o K\ki.\ Days in Scotland 
 
 the luxury of a penny roll. I brought the penny care- 
 fully home, and slipped it into my aunt's hand, with the 
 remark that I had got on without it. I then cheerfully 
 took my supper, which was a second edition of my break- 
 fast, and retired to rest with a light heart. From that 
 day to this I never repented of the self-denial which I 
 then exercised. 
 
 I began to dislike the carding-mill work more and 
 more. Indeed, I abhorred it from the first. When all 
 hope of attaining anything like- education was taken away, 
 I formed many schemes of devoting myself to a sea- 
 faring life. At a later period I had resolved to enlist 
 as a soldier. 
 
 I had a dispute with my uncle in January 1828, and 
 spent a few days in idleness. This was the first relaxa- 
 tion from continuous labour from January 1823. I liked 
 the relaxation well enough, but it was accompanied 
 with starvation. I returned to my aunt's house and 
 employ on the Tuesday evening after the Auld Handsel 
 M< »nday. 
 
 As tin- summer approached, trade became dull, and, 
 having got a hint from my uncle that I had better seek 
 support elsewhere, in the month of Ala}' 1828 I left my 
 aunt's house and her employ. My first engagement after- 
 wards was keeping cattle for a week or two at a farm 
 called Nettlingflat, at the head of Gala Water. Never 
 having spent an hour previously in compulsory solitude, 
 I felt very melancholy and miserable among the heather. 
 Glad was I when relieved from this engagement by the 
 return of the boy whose substitute I had been during his 
 sickness. I spent two Sabbaths with my herd on the 
 moors at Nettlingflat, during the greater part of which 
 days I alternately cried and sang or repeated the 42nd 
 Psalm. From the top of a hillock— probably on Cake- 
 muir ground-- I could see Chesterhill and other places 
 which I well knew. I earnestly longed to be at Ford 
 i in. 
 
 After leaving Nettlingflat I wrought at " out-work " — 
 common farm labour — for about two months on Oxenfoord 
 
 tie grounds. When work slackened there, I became 
 a carter at the new road which was then in progress
 
 Engaged at Fala South Mains 31 
 
 between Blackshiels and Crichtondean. This being an 
 occupation which did not promise to be permanent, I 
 engaged (or was engaged through my uncle and aunt) 
 to serve Mr. Peter Burton of Fala South Mains from 
 August till the ensuing Martinmas. 

 
 CHAPTER V 
 [828-1831 
 
 Fala South Mains— Avocations — Reading- — Preaching 
 
 IT was on a beautiful morning of August 1828 that I 
 bent my way to Fala South Mains. The sun shone 
 gloriously. In some places the cornfields had assumed a 
 yellow tint, while in ethers they still retained the deepest 
 verdure. My first employment at Fala Mains was to 
 assist in loading hay. I was out in the field all day, and 
 had no dinner sent me. On going to my supper after 
 the labours of the day, the old lady, Mr. Burton's mother, 
 expressed great regret at my having been overlooked at 
 dinner-time, but she encouraged me to expect that " a 
 bad beginnin as she reckoned the want of my dinner) 
 "would lead to a good ending." I liked Fala Mains very 
 much from the fust day I spent there. Both Mr. Burton* 
 and his mother, as well as my fellow-servants, treated me 
 with much kindness. I me great cause of my happiness 
 and comfort was doubtless that I was now supplied with 
 fulness of bread, whereas for some years previously I 
 had scarcely known what a full stomach was. Ah! little 
 know those in "comfortable circumstances" what their 
 unfavoured neighbours have often to endure from the 
 pinching hand of penury ! 
 
 At Fala Main- I spent three years and three months. 
 During the first half of that period 1 had charge of the 
 cattle. During the last portion of my sojourn there I 
 was ploughman. I enjoyed many happy hours beside my 
 cows on the moors among the heather and the peats in 
 the summer of 1S29. During that year I read the whole 
 l'.ible three times over. I suppose I had read the whole 
 of it before repeatedly, but I wished to be able to say
 
 Ashamed to go to Church 33 
 
 with certainty, " I have read the Bible, every word of it." 
 This wish led me to read it the first time, and I believe 
 I read it a second and a third time that year just because 
 I had got into the habit of reading it. I very much fear 
 my motives for the perusal of the sacred volume will not 
 bear the light, but I feel assured that the reading of it 
 benefited me greatly nevertheless. 
 
 In 1828-9 the nature of my avocations kept me as 
 much confined on Sabbath as on any other day of the 
 week. This was to me, at first, a great affliction. Many 
 a bitter tear did I shed as I listened to the tinkling of the 
 church bell on the sacred mornings, and saw bands of 
 worshippers flocking over the hills to the sanctuary of 
 God. At such times I often repeated, read, and sang 
 Psalms 42nd and 63rd. By and by, however, I became 
 quite indifferent to the matter, and when, in May 1830, 
 I was promoted to the plough, and had the Sabbath at 
 my disposal, I felt ashamed to go to church, / had been so 
 long out of it. Thus does Satan deceive men to their 
 ruin. While at Fala Mains I never was at church save 
 three or four times at Ford on sacramental occasions. 
 When attacked by my friends on the subject of my non- 
 attendance at church, I frequently professed Unitarian 
 and sometimes infidel sentiments in order to get rid of 
 their importunities. Want of decent clothing sometimes 
 kept me from church when I had opportunities of going ; 
 but after I had a suit of Sabbath clothes my basJifulness 
 alone prevented me from attending the sanctuary. This 
 I ought to have acknowledged to my friends, or else 
 remained silent, instead of rebuffing or silencing them 
 by arguments against the worship of the Three-One 
 Jehovah drawn from a Unitarian pamphlet, or pretending 
 that I could worship the Creator as acceptably in solitude 
 under the open canopy of heaven, with His word in my 
 hand and in my heart, as they could do in temples made 
 with hands, etc., etc. Oh, the long-suffering and patience 
 of God ! Of Thy mercy — of Thy rich mercy, O Lord, 
 will I sing. 
 
 In the winter of 1829-30 I perused a good many 
 volumes belonging to Fala Library. Among other 
 works, I read Rollin's Ancient History, Sir W. Scott's 
 
 3
 
 j4 I . \ki.\ Days in Scotland 
 
 Tales of a Grandfather, all the Voyages Round the World, 
 several Lives of Napoleon, Park's Travels, Paley's Works, 
 
 arton 0« ///<■ Prophecies, Keith's Evidences of Chris- 
 tianity, and Pollok's Course of Time. The two last- 
 mentioned works were particular favourites with me. 
 But from all the volumes mentioned I received a great 
 amount of information. They opened up new fields to 
 ray mental view. I was both delighted and amazed by 
 the information communicated in Dick's Christian Philo- 
 sopher. I thought I could unweariedly study astronomy 
 for ever. Great was my joy when I could name Venus 
 and Jupiter and Mars at sight, and great became my 
 fame for lair among my simple companions. I could not 
 only " name the .stars " to them, but also tell them wonder- 
 ful things about the air we breathe and the water we 
 drink. From the time of my father's death till now, it 
 appeared to me as if my mind had been confined in a 
 dark dungeon. Now, books supplied his place, and 
 greatly I rejoiced in the light which blazed around me. 
 
 I well remember my first introduction to Pollok. On 
 a placid Sabbath afternoon in the summer of 1830, my 
 friend Mr. William Peter brought to the spot where I was 
 then herding the horses a book of poetry with which he 
 said he had been much delighted, and told me that I 
 might have it for a day or two if I liked. When he left 
 me, I opened the book, saw it to be blank verse (of which 
 I had never been very fond), looked at it suspiciously, 
 thought it to be too long to be good, read a few lines, got 
 interested, then delighted, then entranced, and could 
 hardly work, eat, drink, or sleep, till I got to the end of 
 the volume, which was The Course of Time. 
 
 I had not then read Milton's Paradise Lost, but got a 
 perusal of it soon after from my warm friend, Mr. James 
 Hope. 1 
 
 1 The Following story has been told me in this connection. Anderson 
 wasanxii ad Paradise Lost, and Mr. Hope said he would lend it to 
 
 f William would promise to attend church. This Anderson was unwill- 
 ing to do. One day .Mr. Hope had brought the volume with him, and, in 
 lift an animal which had been drowned in a pond, the volume fell 
 out <.f his pocket. Anderson picked it up, and thus got possession of the 
 coveted volume without having to give the desired promise.
 
 Teaching the Catechism 35 
 
 While at Fala Mains I took a deeper interest in 
 political matters than I had ever taken previously, or 
 have ever taken since. 1 Mr. Burton read the Scotsman 
 newspaper, and he kindly allowed me to peruse it. I 
 greedily imbibed the politics of that paper, advocated 
 what was called " Catholic Emancipation," and even wrote 
 a poem expressive of sympathy with the French Revolu- 
 tion of 1830. . . . 
 
 I did not abandon preaching at this place, and in addi- 
 tion to it I tried my hand at speechifying. Many a religious 
 discourse did I deliver on Sabbath, as well as many a 
 political harangue during the week, to the cows, the sheep, 
 the peesweeps, and the whaups by the upper mill-dam, 
 the " North Plantin'," the " Lang Cleuch," and near Fala 
 Flow. In addition to this, however, I went over the 
 Shorter Catechism to the two young men who slept in 
 the stable beside me in the half-year commencing at 
 Whitsunday 1829. My custom was to repeat a question 
 with its answer just when we had all laid ourselves down 
 for the night, and then to explain the answer at some 
 length. One of my companions — David Crooks by name 
 — declared himself benefited and instructed by the simple 
 exercise. My acquaintance with Fisher's Catechism while 
 at Ford Sabbath school was of much service to me during 
 the delivery of this my first series of discourses to an 
 audience of two. At the Martinmas term of that year 
 one of my companions — William Pringle — left us. On 
 the Sabbath before the term all three went in company to 
 the Flow, where I read a portion of Scripture, and we all 
 joined in singing the 2nd Paraphrase. 
 
 I had not been very long at Fala Mains ere my book- 
 ishness was pretty well known in the neighbourhood, and 
 I was dubbed " the minister," which sobriquet had died 
 out, however, before I left the place. Many a time while 
 here did I implore the great King and Head of the 
 Church to take me into His service. These prayers He 
 has graciously answered. They were presented with 
 strong desire yet feeble expectation of being answered. 
 
 I began to keep a Journal on January 1st, 1831. 
 
 1 But after his retirement in 1889 he became a keen politician, and con- 
 tributed letters signed " Octogenarian" to the newspapers.
 
 3 
 
 6 Early Days in Scotland 
 
 The following extracts illustrate the social customs of 
 the time : — 
 
 Saturday, Jan. i. — Complied with old custom last 
 night and this morning. Remained in company with 
 my friend, Mr. John Symington, in the Tollhouse till it 
 struck twelve midnight, then we went a " first-footing" the 
 length of Mr. Win. Peter's, where we remained above four 
 hours. 
 
 The next extract gives a glimpse of the severity of the 
 weather, and narrates the "heroic" method of clearing the 
 
 "lade":— 
 
 Tuesday, Feb. 8. — We have had an awful week. When 
 we separated on the morning of the 1st, the snow was 
 about a foot deep, and falling heavily. It fell with un- 
 abated rapidity all the day. On Wednesday it drifted 
 greatly. All that night, and Thursday, and Thursday 
 night, the fall and drift were most appalling. On Sab- 
 bath we had to take hay on horseback to the hill for the 
 poor sheep. Yesterday it was fresh. We wished to have 
 the threshing-mill set agoing, but the water would not 
 leave the water-wheel, owing to the arched run (or lade) 
 being filled with drifted snow. I adopted a somewhat 
 desperate measure to get it cleared. I stripped nearly 
 naked, and crept through the snow and slush, and thus 
 cleared the passage for the water. I was quite benumbed 
 when I got through, and certainly had a taste of starva- 
 tion. Mr. Burton was evidently glad of the result, but he 
 did not approve of the means. 
 
 Considerable excitement in the parish just now, as 
 "the schoolmaster is abroad" dispensing troublesome 
 blessings in the form of militia schedules. Being now 
 above eighteen years of age, I have been constrained to 
 join our parochial club. 
 
 At Martinmas 1831 I left Fala Mains. While there I 
 did my best to promote my master's interest. With all 
 m)- bookishness, I was neither indolent nor inattentive to 
 my work. But I never could plough well — indeed, I was
 
 Leaves Fala Mains 37 
 
 a very bad ploughman, and, as was but just and reason- 
 able, Mr. Burton wanted one who could produce better 
 furrows than I could ever make. 
 
 My recollections of Fala Mains are, on the whole, of 
 an interesting and agreeable kind. I left it with a heart 
 rather sad on the morning of November 24th. I went to 
 Dalkeith market the same day, rigged myself out for 
 Sabbath as well as my £5 of wages would allow. Among 
 other things, I bought a pocket Bible for church, for I 
 had long determined to recommence churchgoing when- 
 ever I should leave Fala Mains, and wherever my lot might 
 be cast. I returned to my aunt's house on that Thursday 
 evening, uncertain as Lo my future procedure and provi- 
 sion, but casting myself once more on the care of Him 
 who feeds ravens and sparrows. To Him I could pre- 
 sent the prayer which my two companions and I had 
 sung at Fala Flow two years before — 
 
 " Through each perplexing path of life 
 My wandering footsteps guide ; 
 Give me each day my daily bread, 
 And raiment fit provide. 
 
 O spread Thy covering wings around, 
 
 Till all my wanderings cease, 
 And at my Father's loved abode 
 
 My soul arrives in peace."
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 1831-1834 
 
 F or d _ Chesterhill — Blackdub — Reading — Preparation for Com- 
 munion— Admission to the Church — Sabbath School Teaching 
 
 THE necessity which had kept me from the house of God 
 during the first portion of my residence at Fala Mains, 
 and tiie bashfulness which had kept me from it during the 
 latter period of my stay there, had cost me many a sad 
 hour, and, according to my resolution, I at once recom- 
 menced the churchgoing habit. Bless the Lord, O my 
 -'>ul, that He put it into my heart to do so! When I 
 began once more in the end of 1 S3 1 and beginning 
 of 1832 to "seek the Lord" in another way than that 
 attempted at Clayhouses, I found little difficulty in over- 
 coming the attempts of the Wicked One to lure me into 
 the whirlpool of atheism ; but it required a considerable 
 struggle to regain belief that Me whom men are called on 
 to believe in for salvation is " God over all — blessed for 
 ever." If I remember rightly, I first fell in with an account 
 <>f the Unitarian views in a book which I read from Fala 
 Library, which professed to give an account of " All 
 Religions." I had also read a tract which I fell in with in 
 the house of my friend John Symington, which seemed to 
 me, at the time, to demonstrate the essential i)iferiority of 
 the Son to the Father. 
 
 Shortly after my return to Ford I obtained employment 
 from Messrs. M'Donald & M'Kcnzie, road contractors. 
 My first occupation in their service was to assist in the 
 levelling down of an old quarry, called Haughilin, on the 
 old road between Pathhead and Oxenfoord Castle. I 
 commenced work there on. December 6. While toiling at 
 the old quarry, I had the happiness of being associated 
 
 38
 
 Reads Scott's Essays 39 
 
 with a kind old friend, Mr. George Steven, long an elder 
 in Ford Church. I was much profited by my intercourse 
 with him. I stated to him many (if not all) of my religious 
 difficulties, and particularly the difficulty I felt in believing 
 the Son and the Holy Spirit to be Divine Persons equal 
 with God the Father. He did what he could to clear up 
 my difficulties, and, among other things, he recommended 
 as likely to be useful to me a perusal of Scott's Essays?- 
 which are generally bound together with his Force of 
 Truth. I immediately subscribed to Pathhead Library, 
 and read the book. It greatly benefited me. I carefully 
 read and studied the whole of the Essays. A year or 
 two afterwards my good friend bought for me a copy of 
 the book, which I have now before me. 2 Essays VI. 
 (The Deity of Jesus Christ) and VII. (The Doctrine of 
 Christ's Deity shown to be essential to Christianity, and 
 some Objections to the Doctrine briefly answered) set my 
 mind completely at rest in regard to the Divinity of Jesus ; 
 indeed, they led me to wonder that I had ever doubted on 
 the subject. Essay XIII. (The Personality and Deity 
 of the Holy Spirit ; with some Thoughts on the Doctrine 
 of the Sacred Trinity) was also of much service to me. 
 While studying theology in Jamaica, I was delighted with 
 the light thrown on this all-important subject in Dick's 
 Lectures on TJteology, Nos. xxx.-xxxii. (The Divinity of 
 Christ), vol. ii., 3 and Hill's Lectures in Divinity, book iii. 
 vol. i. (4th edition). 
 
 A Temperance Society had been formed at Ford on 
 the 2 1st of October. I signed the pledge on the 28th of 
 December. I have never wondered more at anything I 
 
 1 Essays on the Most Important Subjects in Religion and The Force of Truth, 
 an autobiography in three parts, detailing his state of mind and conscience 
 before and after conversion, by Rev. Thos. Scott, author of a Commentary 
 on the Bible. 
 
 - The book remained a favourite with Mr. Anderson to the end, and was 
 frequently re-read. Henry Martyn's opinion of the Essays may be worth 
 quoting : " Began Scott's Essays, and was surprised indeed at the originality 
 and vigour of the sentiments and language." 
 
 3 Lectures on Theology, by the late Rev. J. Dick, D.D., Trofessor of 
 Theology to the United Secession Church. 4 vols. Edinburgh : W. Oliphant 
 & Son (1st ed.), 1834.
 
 40 Early Days in Scotland 
 
 have ever seen than I did at the coldness, and even 
 antipathy, with which the Christian part of the people of 
 Scotland at first treated the Temperance reformation. I 
 was completely puzzled by it. 
 
 My mind was intensely occupied with religious 
 matters at the commencement and during the early part 
 of 1832. I felt that the salvation of the soul was the one 
 thing needful, and I laboured hard to work out a right- 
 eousness of my own. At the approach of the spring 
 Communion I had many anxious thoughts about offering 
 myself as a candidate for Communion with the Church at 
 Ford, and to qualify myself for examination I committed 
 to memory the Summary of Principles of the United 
 Secession Church ; but I deferred application, fearing I was 
 not yet good enough. 
 
 " Wednesday ', Feb. 1. — Was deputed by my fellow- 
 workmen to go to Edinburgh yesterday, to receive sure 
 information concerning assistance to be rendered by 
 Government to emigrants for Australia. "Went accord- 
 ingly, and reported my procedure to-day. My neighbours 
 thanked me for the information I was able to communicate 
 to them, but none seemed disposed to start for Australia 
 as yet." — Journal. 
 
 On the 20th of March 1832, Messrs. M'Donald & 
 M'Kenzie took me from the quarry to drive two of their 
 carts at the Cut at Fordell. By this arrangement I had 
 to leave Ford and take up my residence with Mr. M'Kenzie 
 at Chesterhill. I did not at first relish the change ; but 
 the remembrances of the fifteen months I spent in that 
 village are very pleasant. Here I used to try my hand 
 frequently at rhyme — poetry I cannot call it. 1 
 
 My removal from Haughilin deprived me of sweet 
 intercourse with my friend G. Steven, but it brought me 
 
 1 In a MS. collection of verses I find the following were written at the 
 period referred to: "Lines on reading Pollok's Course of Time," dated 
 Sabbath, Sept. 25th ; "The March of Reform," a stirring ballad of sixteen 
 stanzas, "written," says Mr. Anderson, "on the corn-box in the stable 
 beside the horses of my employer, on Oct. 12, 1832. shortly after the passing 
 of the First Reform Rill (of my day). The village politicians (Chesterhill) 
 thought this a grand poem ! ! " Other verses are: "The Poet's Night," and 
 "The Day of Doom."
 
 Chesterhill and Blackdub 41 
 
 into acquaintance with another excellent man, also an 
 elder in Ford Church, Mr. Wm. Miller. His wife was one 
 of the excellent of the earth. I had much profitable 
 intercourse with the worthy pair. 
 
 While here I had also some pleasant hours with Wm. 
 Kinghorn, forester to Sir J. H. Dalrymple (afterwards 
 eighth Earl of Stair). He had a good deal of poetry in 
 him, and he tried hard to get me to believe that I also 
 possessed some poetic genius. Mr. K. was keeper 
 of Cranston Parish Library, from which I read a number 
 of small books, and, in particular, Dr. John Brown's On 
 Religion and the Means of its Attainment, and a Memoir 
 of Pliny Fish (an American missionary). The reading of 
 these volumes has often been of service to me since. 
 
 Under date of Sabbath, June 10th, 1832, I find the 
 following entry in my Journal : — 
 
 " I have been for some time thinking of essaying to join 
 myself to the Church, and to sit down at the Lord's table 
 on the third Sabbath of next month. I would therefore 
 examine myself whether I be in the faith. I remember 
 that the Rev. Mr. Law, when he ' fenced the tables ' in the 
 tent last year, proposed the four questions : ' 1. What is 
 thy knowledge! 2. What is thy profession ? 3. What are 
 fay principles'* 4. What is thy practice ? ' Enable me to 
 answer each of these questions as in Thy sight, O Thou 
 Searcher of hearts ! " 
 
 About the end of this year I read from Pathhead 
 Library, Johnson's Lives of the Poets, in 4 vols.; The 
 Remains of H. K. White, second perusal ; and The Course 
 of Time, third perusal. In the beginning of 1833 I 
 read Scott's Letters on Demonology and Witchcraft, and 
 M'Gavin's Protestant. In Jan. 1833 I began to read The 
 United Secession Magazine. I have now in possession all 
 the volumes of the U.S. and its successor the UP. for 
 twenty-one years, from 1833 to 1853 inclusive. 
 
 At Whitsunday 1833 I removed along with Mr. 
 M'Kenzie and his family from Chesterhill to a place 
 called Blackdub. As usual, I disliked the change very 
 much at first, and as usual, too, I soon became reconciled 
 to my new abode. 
 
 Notwithstanding the purpose referred to in my
 
 42 E v.rly Days in Scotland 
 
 quotation from my Journal of June ioth, 1832, namely, of 
 offering myself as a candidate for Church fellowship, the 
 middle of 1833 found me still a non-professor. I had 
 read much, heard much, thought much, prayed much, 
 striven hard to conquer sin, laboured hard to become 
 religii »us, but, alas ! I felt I was becoming worse and worse. 
 Sometimes, too, when I could have wished to converse 
 with the excellent servant of Christ whose ministry I 
 attended, my excessive bashfulness always overcame me. 
 1 do not think that I had as yet come to the Saviour. 
 I had laboured with all my might for a year and a half for 
 the attainment of that peace which comes only by 
 believing. 1 felt that one duty remained neglected while 
 I disobeyed — most certainly I never disregarded — the 
 Saviour's command, " This do in remembrance of Me." 
 
 Some of the exercises of my mind at this important 
 and critical period of my history may be brought into view 
 by a few quotations from my Journal : — 
 
 " Am I a Christian ? I cannot tell ; but one thing I 
 can say, I am not what I once was. Once I was an 
 avowed — I do not think I was ever a real — enemy to 
 religious ordinances ; for a considerable period I scarcely 
 ever entered the house of God, and when I did go I was 
 not ashamed to profess that I went simply to hear the 
 orator — not fat. preacher ; I was for a time rather addicted 
 to swearing ; my Sabbaths were spent in reading news- 
 papers, studying politics, idle speculations, indolence, or 
 composing doggerel rhymes on trifles; for a time prayer 
 was a burden, and sometimes never thought of. ... I believe 
 I have been considered a quiet, good neighbour, an honest, 
 diligent, and faithful servant ; but probably self-interest 
 and pride have been the foundation of my relative virtues. 
 But I trust I can say that old things have passed away. 
 For eighteen months I have not been absent for a single 
 Sabbath from the sanctuary ; and though far from spend- 
 ing the Sabbath's sacred hours as I ought and wish to 
 
 :nd them, yet I can say in truth that I call the blessed 
 day ' a delight ' ; I long for its return, not that I may have 
 leisure to read and write on politics, but that I may go 
 with joy to the house of prayer, and that I may withdraw 
 myself from tine world to meditate on things unseen and
 
 Wish to join the Church 43 
 
 eternal. I fear an oath, and desire to keep myself in all 
 things free from sin. I sigh for the spirit of prayer, and 
 earnestly wish for an outpouring from on high of the 
 spirit of grace and supplication. But oh ! notwithstanding 
 favourable appearances, I forget not that there may be 
 reformation of life where there is no renovation of heart, — 
 another heart, and not a neiv heart. 
 
 " Sabbath, July 7. — ' This do in remembrance of Me.' 
 On this day fortnight the congregation with which I 
 usually worship is, in obedience to Christ's dying com- 
 mandment, to observe the ordinance of the Lord's Supper. 
 I have frequently had serious, yea, most anxious thoughts 
 of essaying to join myself to the Church. I have some- 
 times expressed my desires to elders and others, but when 
 the hour has arrived in which I should have gone to con- 
 verse with the worthy servant of Christ who ministers tfe 
 us in the Lord, my fortitude has failed me ; and from one 
 cause and another I have not yet gone to offer myself as 
 a candidate for Church fellowship. 
 
 " The question has sometimes occurred to me, Should 
 I join the United Secession Church ? After thinking a 
 good deal of different creeds and forms adopted by the 
 different sects into which the Church militant is so 
 unhappily divided, I cannot avoid the conclusion that 
 all those denominations worthy of being styled ' Evan- 
 gelical ' are built on the true — on the one foundation ; that 
 their differences are only about the circumstantials of 
 rule or rite, that in the great essentials ' they are all one.' " 
 
 On Sabbath, July 14th — the Sabbath immediately pre- 
 ceding that of the Communion — the Rev. Mr. Elliot gave 
 the final opportunity for that occasion for young people 
 wishing to join the Church to converse with him. My 
 heart was touched when he invited those who wished to 
 honour the Lord Jesus by showing forth His dying love 
 to embrace the opportunity. He appointed five o'clock 
 as the hour of waiting upon him. After earnest prayer 
 for guidance from above, I went at five o'clock, with 
 palpitating heart, to Mr. E.'s residence. I had, in 
 1832, got as far as the garden gate on the same errand, 
 but had turned back. I verily believe I would have 
 slipped off again had not Mrs. Elliot accidentally, or
 
 44 Early Days in Scotland 
 
 providentially, come to the door as I was hesitating about 
 knocking. My retreat was thus cut off. I had a most 
 pleasant and profitable conversation with my beloved 
 pastor. The only thing I regretted in regard to the 
 interview was its shortness. But this was compensated 
 for by Mr. E. intimating to me that he would be glad 
 if I would call on him during the ensuing week, as he had 
 some books which he thought I would like to read. 
 
 I here make another quotation from my Journal : — 
 
 " Saturday evenings July 20. — This afternoon I was 
 solemnly admitted by Rev. Mr. Elliot as a member of 
 the visible Church of" Christ. I have therefore publicly 
 renounced the service of the devil, the world, and the 
 flesh — avowed the Lord to be my God — and engaged in 
 the strength of divine grace to live soberly, righteously, 
 and godly in this present world, looking for the blessed 
 hope and the glorious appearing of my God and Saviour, 
 
 is ( Ihrist" 
 
 On the Sabbath, July 21st, I sat down for the first time 
 at the Lord's table. A painful sense of unworthiness 
 depressed me all the day. I neglected to look to Him in 
 whom alone we are complete. The occasion was deeply 
 interesting to me. I shall not record the texts which 
 were preached from on the Saturday, the Sabbath, and 
 the Monday. It would be out of place to give an outline 
 of the discourses here. Some of them I have in later life, 
 and in so far as I could make them my own, repeatedly 
 preached to others, both in Jamaica and in Old Calabar. 
 
 I have notes and outlines of many of the sermons 
 which I heard in Scotland between 1831 and 1839, but 
 of none of them did I ever remember or write so much as 
 that oi Mr. Law on 2 Cor. xii. 2. That discourse was 
 subsequently published in the United Secession Magazine. 
 
 During the year spent at Blackdub I was as busy with 
 my pen as I had been at Chesterhill. I cither did not 
 know that there was such a book as a Concordance to the 
 Bible, or I feared that it would be long ere I would be able 
 purchase one. It must have been one of these consider- 
 ations — I rather think the former — that led me to commence 
 a concordance for myself. On this new work I spent 
 some precious Sabbath hours at Blackdub. I soon dis-
 
 Desire to become a Minister 45 
 
 covered, however, that many years would be requisite to 
 finish it, so I gave it up, resolved to do all I could to put 
 my Bible into my head. 
 
 In compliance with Mr. Elliot's kind invitation, I 
 called on him during the week after the Communion, and 
 received from him a loan of Rev. C. S. Stewart's Visit to 
 the South Seas in 1829-30. This was the commencement 
 of a series of visits on my part, and lending of books 
 on his, which continued till I left Scotland in 1839. 
 
 While at Fala Mains I had often prayed with tears 
 that God would make me a Christian and a minister. 
 My desire to attain to the high office of the ministry 
 burned in me with great intensity at Blackdub. I 
 remember that one Sabbath while there I wrote a very 
 earnest prayer to God on the subject, accompanied with 
 a solemn dedication of myself to God in the gospel of His 
 Son. This paper I, with an aching heart, destroyed some 
 years afterwards, when all hope that I would be what 1 
 now am was taken away. 
 
 In October of . that year (1833), my master, Mr. 
 M'Kenzie, kindly offered to board me gratuitously during 
 the ensuing winter and spring, if I would attend any of 
 the neighbouring schools. 1 He properly suggested that I 
 should consult Mr. Elliot on the subject. Here seemed to 
 be presented to me the very thing after which my whole 
 soul had been yearning for years, but several consider- 
 ations prevented me from taking advantage of the 
 benevolent offer. There was the old distressing bash- 
 fulness, which I struggled in vain to overcome. I go and 
 tell Mr. Elliot that I wished to be a preacher! I believe 
 it would have cost me a less effort to cut off my right 
 hand. Then, had I gone to school I did not see how 
 I would be able to assist my poor old aunt in a pecuniary 
 manner. Then further, I had serious doubts respecting 
 the piety of the offerer. Had any minister or elder in the 
 
 1 " Oct. 19. — Engaged to stay other six months with Mr. M'Kenzie. 
 He kindly offers to support me at school for a time; but I cannot think of 
 being his debtor, much as I daily feel my want of education. 
 
 " Oct. 21. — Mr. C. Stewart wishes me to go to America with him in the 
 spring ; but I can hardly engage to do so. My aunt and my sister wish me to 
 remain at home."— Journal.
 
 46 E \rlv 1 >ays in Scotland 
 
 Church made inc such an offer I would have at once 
 embraced it, provided that the offerer himself would have 
 laid the matter before my pastor — would have seen that 
 my aunt was cared for — and that I would be permitted to 
 repay whatever it might have been necessary to advance 
 on my account. I abhorred the idea of being a burden — 
 or even a dependent — on Mr. M'Kenzie or anyone else. 
 
 A few extracts from the Journal follow : — 
 
 /(?;/. 27, 1834. — Heard Mr. Elliot preach and moderate 
 in a call in the U.S. Church, Fala, this afternoon. The 
 call was in favour of Rev. John Cooper from India. 
 
 Tuesday \ Jan. 28. — Heard George Thompson, Esq., 
 deliver a most eloquent lecture on Slavery in the United 
 States this evening in Mr. King's Church, Dalkeith. 
 
 Saturday, Feb. 1. — Owing to wet weather, we have 
 been all nearly idle since the 9th ult. Again the first 
 day of spring. If winter be over, it has been very mild. 
 
 On Sabbath, March 30th, Ford Sabbath school was 
 resumed, after a long vacation. I rejoiced in the prospect 
 dI" its recommencement, for I was as willing to become a 
 Sabbath scholar now as ever I had been. I had some 
 expectation that the pastor would form an advanced 
 class which I might be able to join without any appear- 
 ance of singularity. Instead of being enrolled as a scholar, 
 I was constituted a teacher, and a class of boys was 
 committed to my care. 1 
 
 In reviewing the past, I am decidedly of opinion that, 
 hail I not been enlisted at or about that time as a Sabbath- 
 school teacher, I would never have been either where or 
 what 1 am now. It was in the Sabbath school that I 
 was impelled by a sense of duty to overcome my natural 
 
 1 In Ynsjournal of that date hi wrote: "Ifeel deeply my inadequacy to 
 the task of communicating to them the instructions they require. . . . 
 Lord, enable me to perform the duties incumbent on me as a Sabbath-school 
 teacher in a proper maimer, with a single eye to Thy glory and the good of 
 souls. Do Thou instruct me, that I may be able to instruct my young charge, 
 and through eternity may their profiting and mine from our present connec- 
 tion appear ! "
 
 Rev. John Cooper of Fala 47 
 
 bashfulness so far as to conduct devotional services in a 
 public manner. This I felt for a considerable time to be 
 a hard trial. I used for a considerable time to write and 
 commit to memory every prayer I offered in school ; but, 
 notwithstanding this, I have felt much greater quaking of 
 both heart and knees in commencing or concluding the 
 exercises of Ford Sabbath school than I have ever felt in 
 any public service — save, perhaps, once or twice — since I 
 began to preach the gospel. 
 
 I can even now call to mind the boyish countenances 
 of some who were members of my class — in particular, 
 those of Messrs. Ralph, John, and Andrew Elliot ; my 
 (now) brethren in the mission field, George Hall, 1 and 
 William Dickson. 2 ... I spent many a happy hour with 
 them. 
 
 On the 2nd of April this year the Rev. John Cooper 
 was inducted to the pastoral charge of the congregation 
 at Fala. 3 I used to feel much interested in his statements 
 about Hindostan, and was both delighted and benefited 
 by his occasional ministrations at Ford. Several of his 
 discourses made a deep impression on my mind, especially 
 those on Heb. v. 4-6; 1 Pet. iv. 18; Rom. viii. 33, 34; 
 and Heb. xii. 23 — " the spirits of just men made perfect." 
 
 Having been recommended to Messrs. John Gray & 
 Sons in Dalkeith by Mrs. Elliot, 4 and having entered into 
 engagement with them in the month of April, I left 
 
 1 Missionary to Madras, India. 
 
 - Missionary to Canada, 1852. 
 
 3 " Sabbath, April 6. — Went to Fala to be present at the induction (intro- 
 ductory) of the Rev. John Cooper. Rev. Dr. Brown, Broughton Place, 
 Edinburgh, officiated a.m. He read 2 Cor. iii. 4, 5, and preached from 
 2 Cor. vi. 1. Mr. Cooper preached (most impressively) in the p.m. from 
 1 Cor. ii. 2." 
 
 4 Nee Isabella Gray, youngest daughter of John Gray, Esq., sen., 
 Dalkeith. 
 
 5 " Tuesday, Ajvi/29. — Engaged this evening to serve for a twelvemonth, 
 from the ensuing term, Messrs. John Gray & Son, Dalkeith. I owe my 
 prospect of a new situation to Mrs. Elliot, who kindly recommended me to 
 her brother. 
 
 " May 7. — I cannot help shrinking at times from the thought of my 
 approaching change of situation. The idea of being employed thirteen or 
 fourteen hours a-day in lofts or cellars is somewhat awful. How can I bid
 
 48 Early Days ix Scotland 
 
 Blackdub 1 on "the Auld Term day" — May 26th — and 
 entered their service on the 27th. 
 
 farewell to the outdoor amusements of the fine summer evenings of Ford and 
 Chesterhill ? And the sweet fellowship of friends and neighbours around the 
 blazing lire when winter's tempests roar? And my pleasant autumnal walks 
 in the newly -reaped fields; and the hallowed moonlight musings, and 
 aspirations, and adorations, in which I loved so well to indulge ? 
 
 " But I am soothed by the reflection that if ever I implicitly obeyed a 
 call of Providence in my life, it has been in my engaging to go to Dalkeith ; if 
 ever blind man was led in a way he knew not, his case has been mine in this 
 instance. Lord ! pity, strengthen, uphold, guide, and make all Thy 
 providential dealings towards me be for Thy glory and my permanent good." 
 —Journal. A prayer fully answered. 
 
 1 " May 26. — Left Blackdub this day, and bade adieu to Mr. M 'Kenzie and 
 family. Went to Edinburgh — my first journey by railway — during the day. 
 Purchased at the 'Old Book Depository,' Candlemaker Row, a small 
 volume 1 >f Sacred Poetry, Young's Night Thoughts and Thomson's Seasons. 
 Bought elsewhere Joel Ilawes's Lectures to Young Men on the Formation of 
 C/iara,: —Journal. Characteristic purchases with which to start his 
 library ! In the last years in Edinburgh he was wont to frequent the book- 
 stalls and buy second-hand copies of his old favourites.
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 1834-1838 
 
 Residence in Dalkeith — Death of Friends — First Speech— -Engage- 
 ment to go to Jamaica under the Scottish Missionary Society 
 
 I FOUND my time for reading, study, and writing very 
 much curtailed in my new sphere. My Journal for a con- 
 siderable period between the years indicated at the top of 
 the page consists chiefly of private meditations and 
 prayers, notes of sermons, and reflections written on 15 th 
 April (my birthday), and Communion Sabbath mornings. 
 
 "June 4. — May jot down that I visited Broomhill on 
 the evening of the 15th ult. At the request of Mrs. B., I 
 conducted family worship. It was the first time I had 
 ever conducted social service of any kind, and I felt much 
 perturbed all the while. 
 
 " Was at Ford Church last Sabbath, and mean to 
 attend regularly there on Sabbaths. Old associations, my 
 aunt's house, my Sabbath -school class, as well as Mr. 
 Elliot's desire, all draw me to Ford. 
 
 " I write at present in great haste. No time here for 
 reading, writing, or thinking. 
 
 'What time my heart is overwhelmed, and in perplexity, 
 Do Thou me lead unto the Rock that higher is than I.' 
 
 "July 9. — Purchased lately H. K. White's Remains, 
 and Job Orton's Lijc and Writings oj Dr. Doddridge. 
 
 " Acting on the advice of Mr. Robert Hamilton, I have 
 been doing a little these few days back in revising my Latin. 
 
 " Friday, Aug. I.— A new era now commences in the 
 history of the British Empire. This is the birthday of 
 Libert}' in all the British West India Islands. Eight 
 hundred thousand human beings — our fellow-subjects — 
 
 4
 
 =o Early Days in Scotland 
 
 are this day emancipated 1 from the most cruel and 
 degrading bondage. Oh, h< >w their bosoms will be heaving 
 with joy at this moment ! And where is the man in our 
 own happy land whose heart glows not with a sympa- 
 thetic response to the feelings of those who shall this day 
 be able b > say for the first time, ' We are free ' ? " 2 
 
 While at Dalkeith I became acquainted with three 
 very dear friends — Mr. Robert Hamilton, teacher ; Mr. 
 James Porteous, teacher; and Mr. A. Millar. 3 Mr. James 
 rod and I were very particular friends, and are so still 
 after the lapse of twenty-one years, during which period 
 we have maintained a constant correspondence. 
 
 It is but right that I should here record the name of 
 Mr. David Watson. Many a long conversation passed 
 between him and me about our becoming students. I 
 cherish a grateful remembrance of his offering me (in, I 
 think, 1K36) all the money he had, some £50 or £60, if 
 I would only attend college the ensuing winter. He 
 generously pledged himself never to ask repayment, 
 though he might perhaps accept of the amount should I 
 at any time be able conveniently to refund it, and should 
 he be in need of it. Had any rich Christian made me 
 such an offer I might probably have accepted it, but I 
 could not for one moment entertain the idea of depriving 
 a mere youth of his little stock. 
 
 I may here note a few particulars under the years to 
 which they respectively belong. 
 
 " 1835. — Sabbath, Feb. 8.— The Missionary Prayer 
 Meeting was held in the evening. 1'recentcd for the first 
 time before grown-up people." 
 
 'The Act passed in August 1S33 " provided that, from 1st August 1834, 
 all children under six should be free, while the rest of the slaves should 
 enter on a six-years' apprenticeship." See Dr. G. Robson's Story of Jamaica 
 Mission, p. 41. 
 
 ' J In July 1833, in anticipation of the passing of the Emancipation Act, he 
 had written some stanzas, entitled "The Negro Jubilee." 
 
 :! The Rev. Alexander Millar, A.M., retired U.P. minister. 
 
 Shortly before his return to Calabar in 1895, Mr. Anderson introduced 
 Mr. Millar to me as the man who gave him his first lessons in Greek, when he 
 was studying with a view to going to Jamaica. Mr. Millar modestly disclaims 
 having done more than teach Mr. Anderson the Greek alphabet, but Mr. 
 Anderson ever retained a grateful remembrance of the help given.
 
 Precentor at Ford 51 
 
 I had so far overcome my bashfulness as to be pre- 
 centor at Ford on Sabbath, April 26th. I occasionally 
 conducted the psalmody afterwards ; but my musical 
 talents were not of a very high order, and besides, I always 
 felt a choking sensation when called to sing in public. 
 
 " Sabbath morning, May 24. — Have now resided in 
 Dalkeith for nearly a year. On taking a retrospect of the 
 past year, I see much occasion for deep humility before God 
 on account of my innumerable sins and shortcomings, and 
 also much cause of gratitude to Him who has led me and fed 
 me upwards of twenty-three years. He has made ample 
 provision for my temporal wants, and He has also be- 
 stowed on me many spiritual blessings. During the 
 period more immediately under review, I have not been 
 detained a single Sabbath from the public services of the 
 sanctuary. But, alas ! how ungrateful have I been to the 
 best of friends and kindest of benefactors ! I have called the 
 Sabbath a delight, but how seldom indeed have I kept it 
 altogether holy to the Lord ! Lord, enable me to sanctify 
 Thy Sabbaths in all time coming ! . . . 
 
 "Sabbath, May 31. — Confined to a sickbed all day. 
 My first Sabbath's sickness since I had measles about 
 eleven years ago. Under bilious fever. 
 
 " Sabbath, June 7. — Mr. Robert Hamilton spent the 
 night with me at my lodgings, and wc walked up to loved 
 Ford this morning in company. Have been pretty well 
 since Thursday. We often thank God for the comforts of 
 life, but I think that we ought to be equally thankful for its 
 afflictions, inasmuch as they show us that nothing can 
 satisfy the soul but God, that nothing can yield so much 
 peace and comfort as the hope and anticipation of heaven, 
 and that nothing can pacify conscience but the peace- 
 speaking blood of Jesus. 
 
 " Sabbath, Sept. 20. — Finished last night the reading of 
 the Life of Sir Walter Raleigh. Have been much affected 
 by the account given of the sufferings of that excellent 
 man — more so, I am afraid, than I have ever been by the 
 simple narratives given by the four evangelists of the 
 sufferings endured in Gethsemane and on Calvary by the 
 Son of God. I fear that I have been more affected by 
 Esau's tears of unavailing regret, and by the fate of
 
 -2 Early Dans tx Scotland 
 
 [ephthah's daughter, than by the sufferings of the Lamb 
 rod ! ( ) hard heart! I detest such men as Cecil and 
 Stokely, and the successor of Queen Elizabeth, on account 
 of their cruel and unjust treatment of Raleigh. I con- 
 demn fudas and Pilate and the Jews for compassing the 
 death of Jesus- and often forget that 1 was one of His 
 murderers. Blessed Redeemer! soften this heart of 
 stone. Cause it to melt on contemplating what Thou 
 hast suffered on my account. 
 
 "Sabbath, Nov. I. — At Broughton Place Church, 
 Edinburgh, in the morning. Saw the Lord's Supper 
 dispensed by Dr. Brown on the new plan of all the congre- 
 gation communicating at once. The system is certainly 
 a :_rood one. What order and solemnity throughout the 
 
 service ! 
 
 " Friday, Nov. 27.— Visited, along with Mr. RJHamilton, 
 the Surgical Hall Museum, Edinburgh. I had never seen 
 a skeleton before. Saw many strange and interesting 
 sights— many of them well fitted to lead the mind to 
 serious and humiliating reflections. 
 
 " 1836.— Friday, Jan. 15.— My uncle, Wm. Lang, 
 came over from Fife to Ford in a very poor state of 
 health. 1 
 
 " Sabbath, Jan. 31.— -Uncle told me to-day that he did 
 not think that he would recover; but, said he, 'for life or 
 for death I place full reliance upon Christ.' 
 
 " Tuesday, Feb. 23.— Uncle died at 3 P.M. to-day. 
 When 1 saw him on Sabbath last he seemed very feeble, 
 but I had no idea that death was so near. My sister and 
 her husband came to see him on that day. When my 
 sister got her first glance at him she burst into tears. He 
 kindly said, ' O my lassie, dinna greet.' He regretted 
 much that she had not brought her little daughter, as he 
 was anxious to see her — probably for my mother's sake. 
 He spoke to us with calmness of his approaching dis- 
 
 ii i. hi, declaring that he placed all his dependence for 
 salvation on the atonement of Christ. He told me that 
 all the money he possessed was thirty shillings — ' which 
 will, I hope, be sufficient to bury me.' When I had finished 
 
 1 He, his wife, and their children, had left Ford on Feb. nth, 1835, for 
 Sinclairtown, Fife.
 
 Interest in Jamaica aroused 53 
 
 the exercises of the Sabbath school at Chesterhill, I 
 returned to and remained with him till he went to bed. 
 I read to him a portion of Dr. Watt's discourse on the 
 text, ' Neither shall there be any more pain,' Rev. xxi. 4, 
 with which he appeared much gratified. 
 
 " Thursday, 25. — My widowed aunt and her fatherless 
 children arrived from Fife this morning. I hired a cart 
 for their conveyance to Ford. Walked up to Ford after 
 the labours of the day. 
 
 " Saturday, 27. — We took the mortal remains to 
 Crichton Churchyard, where they were interred in the 
 grave of his son, George Lang, who died Jan. 22, 1828, 
 aged nineteen. There, their rest together is in the dust. 
 
 " Sabbath, 28. — Communion — but how distracted were 
 my thoughts ! 
 
 " Wednesday, March 10. — Aunt Bell and my cousins 
 left for Fife to day. We all felt much on parting. 
 
 " Sabbath, April 23. — Heard with great delight Rev. 
 Mr. Watson from Jamaica this evening at Ford. I felt 
 deeply interested in his account of Jamaica, slavery, 
 freedom, etc. What an encouraging account he gave of 
 the progress of the gospel in Jamaica ! My heart burned 
 within me, and I could not help saying, Lord, here am 
 I, send me ! " — Journal. 
 
 Had any person told me that evening that in less than 
 four years I would be employed in the great work on 
 the mountains of that island, I would have been both 
 astonished and incredulous. But so it was. How 
 wondrous are Thy ways, Lord God Almighty ! 
 
 " Sabbath, May 15. — The Lord's Supper dispensed at 
 Ford to-day; but the splendid Annular Eclipse distracted 
 my mind a good deal, and I am afraid that of many 
 others." 
 
 Though now a member of the Church, I was far from 
 supposing that therefore all must be safe for eternity. I 
 was during this year, as well as long afterwards, perplexed 
 with many doubts and fears in regard to my state and 
 character before God. 
 
 " Sabbath, June 12. — Began some time ago to re-read 
 an old favourite — Booth's Reign of Grace. This morning 
 read c. 5, which treats of Grace reigning in our Pardon.
 
 54 E \ki.y Days in Scotland 
 
 •• Sabbath, July 17.— Our Session have agreed that the 
 Communion be dispensed henceforth on the first Sabbath 
 of August, instead of the third Sabbath of July. The new 
 arrangement is no doubt right and wise, but to an 
 'observer of days' like myself it causes something like 
 ret. Three years to-day since I first took my place at the 
 
 d's table. In one thing I rejoice, namely, the assurance 
 that Christ can manifest Himself as graciously to us on 
 first Sabbaths of August as on third Sabbaths of July : He 
 is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. 
 
 -Sabbath, 24.— Have finished Booth's Reign of Grace, 
 and have been much benefited by the perusal. 
 
 "Monday, Aug. 1.— Resolved this morning to spend 
 an hour each evening of this week in prayer and self- 
 examination, in view of the Communion on Sabbath. Oh 
 to be enabled to wash the heart from wickedness! 
 
 " Sabbath, 7.— Have been reading Hawcs On the 
 Sacrament every evening during the past week, and felt 
 considerably benefited thereby. 
 
 "Sabbath, Oct. 10— Received from Mr. Elliot last 
 Sabbath evening, Narrative of 1 "isit to American Churches, 
 by Messrs. Reed and Matheson. I have found it to be a 
 most fascinating volume. Splendid descriptions of splendid 
 scenery, and most interesting accounts of revivals. Lord, 
 revive Thy work in the midst of us. 
 
 " Sabbath, 30, p.m.- Astonished and delighted to-day 
 when Mr. Elliot announced as his text, Rom. vii. 24,25. 
 The subject was most appropriate for me. It has been 
 occupying my attention for some time. If I be a saint at 
 all, I am surely less than the least of all saints. . . . 
 
 "Mr. Robert Hamilton very ill indeed. Read with 
 him to-night, Hcb. xii.; sang Par. xlix. 13, 14, and prayed 
 with him. 
 
 " Tuesday, Nov. 22. — Changed lodgings to-day. . . . 
 Have now a bedroom mate, John Robson, a gardener, who 
 seems a very pious lad. 
 
 " Last Tuesday evening 1 ;th inst.) a few of my com- 
 panions in employ of John (day & Son, and I, agreed to 
 form ourselves into a fellowship meeting. Last night we 
 
 1 for the first time in Alex. Kerr's house. The theme 
 of conversation was the first question of the Shorter
 
 Death of Robert Hamilton 55 
 
 Catechism. We agreed to take a Question of the Cate- 
 chism, and a text or passage of Scripture, in alternate 
 weeks, as the subject of conversation. 1 
 
 "Friday, Dec. 16. — Heard to-day of the death of my 
 dear friend, Robert Hamilton. He departed this life, at 
 Lauder, yesterday at 2 A.M. My mind has been wander- 
 ing over our past days of sweet fellowship all afternoon. 
 I became first acquainted with Mr. H. in April or May 
 1834, when he came to be teacher in Pathhead. I first 
 saw him in the Sabbath school at Ford, and the favourable 
 impressions I formed of him then were confirmed by 
 further intercourse. I do not think we had any conversation 
 with each other — both of us being somewhat shy — till the 
 fourth Sabbath of June, when we walked home together 
 from Fala Sacrament. Then our hearts were knit to- 
 gether, and that friendship formed which has not till now 
 been interrupted. I trust that the interruption is only 
 temporary. Our position as Sabbath-school teachers 
 brought us into contact each Sabbath evening. He had, 
 like myself, been early left an orphan, and this was a 
 ground of mutual interest and sympathy. I have often 
 been delighted with his short touching addresses to our 
 scholars. His large dark, expressive eyes sparkling with 
 intense earnestness, added much to the influence of his 
 words. His sweet and earnest prayers will not soon be 
 forgotten by those who heard them. . . . 
 
 " I saw him for the last time on Sabbath, 27th November. 
 I called about 3 P.M., and told him that I had three hours 
 to spend with him, and he expressed his gratification at 
 the prospect of such a lengthened visit. Before I had sat 
 with him many minutes, I was unexpectedly summoned to 
 attend the Sabbath School at Pathhead, as no male teacher 
 had appeared to conduct the devotional services. When 
 I returned, his first words were : ' Why have you been so 
 long in coming? I'll never see you again.' I had our 
 prayer meeting to attend from six to seven. After that 
 meeting I returned to his bedside, when we held our last 
 earthly intercourse. 
 
 1 " The exercises," says Mr. Anderson in his MS. Autobiography, 
 "which I prepared for our weekly meeting in Mr. A. Kerr's house, have 
 sometimes served me as the groundwork of discourses."
 
 56 Early Days in Scotland 
 
 "< )n the following Saturday (3rd inst.) he was taken in 
 a post-chaise to Lauder, to the house of a relative there. 
 His excellent and amiable assistant and successor, Mr. 
 James Porteous, accompanied him on the journey. He 
 grew feebler and feebler till yesterday A.M., when his 
 spirit took its wing to that happy world where no inhabit- 
 ant shall ever say, ' I am sick.' 
 
 "Sabbath, iS. — The remains of my beloved friend were 
 interred yesterday in Channelkirk 1 Churchyard. I could 
 not attend the funeral. Farewell, beloved brother, for a 
 little. We meet again ! " 
 
 1S37. — Matters moved on this year as they had done 
 previously. I forgot not on the 15th of April that I had 
 been allowed to sojourn among men for a quarter of a 
 century. 
 
 On the fourth Sabbath of June I started early from 
 Dalkeith, and spent an hour beside Mr. Hamilton's grave 
 in Channelkirk Churchyard. 
 
 ' I ame through the heather to Fala, and heard a good 
 de.al <»f the Communion service--. Mr. Cooper preached (in 
 the tent from 2 Cor. ix. 15 : ' Thanks be unto God for His 
 unspeakable gift.' Mr. Elliot preached the evening sermon 
 also in the tent from Eph. iii. 15 : 'The one family.' De- 
 lighted when he closed the services of the day by singing 
 the three last verses of the 53rd Paraphrase. 
 
 " Tuesday, June 28. — The first congregational soiree at 
 Ford took place this evening. It has been a delightful 
 festival. Mr. Elliot was in the chair, and made a capital 
 introductory speech. Mr. Cooper was humorous and 
 
 ctive. I was deeply interested in Mr. Sandy's speech. 2 
 The other speakers were Messrs. Harper, Robson, and 
 
 ins. . . . The soiree, which was attended by about three 
 hundred, went well off. All the guests, as well as the 
 speakers, seemed delighted. 
 
 " Sabbath, August 20. — Walked up to Ford last night 
 
 after shop-shutting ten o'clock). A most delightful walk. 
 
 The full-orbed harvest moon shone softly and sweetly on 
 
 the whitening fields. Had an interesting conversation this 
 
 1 Near Oxton, Berwickshire. 
 
 - The part of the speech relating to Mr. Anderson's father is given at 
 
     :•
 
 First Public Address 57 
 
 evening with James Porteous and William Wood concern- 
 ing the last hours of our friend, Robert Hamilton. I have 
 always been under the impression that he died under a 
 cloud, but it seems that he breathed his last — to all human 
 appearance — a victim of despair. 1 He lived a Christian 
 life, and there can be no doubt his mind was affected by 
 his disease. But certainly the want of a simple, childlike 
 faith in Christ — and he must have been somewhat deficient 
 in this — makes even a Christian's death terrible. O to be 
 making daily preparation for death ! When the solemn 
 hour comes to me, if I cannot die triumphing, may I at 
 least die trusting ! 
 
 "Monday, Sept. 11. — Had several hours of delightful 
 fellowship with my beloved friend, Alexander Millar, 
 Huntly. He spent last night with me. His converse I 
 have found to be both pleasant and profitable. 
 
 " Tuesday, October 3. — The various Fellowship Meetings 
 in Dalkeith held a joint soiree this evening in the Masons' 
 Lodge. Mr. George Wilson was in the chair. Upwards of 
 one hundred and seventy were present. A most delightful 
 and interesting meeting. I delivered what I may call my 
 first public address. My theme was ' The Unity of 
 Christians.' 
 
 " Tuesday, 17. — How different now is Dalkeith Fair in 
 anticipation, in enjoyment, and in retrospect, from what it 
 was fourteen or fifteen years ago ! Purchased this evening, 
 for my ' fair,' Marshall On Sanctification — a book strongly 
 recommended to me by a late master, Mr. John Macdonald. 
 Fearful toothache for days past. How numerous and 
 painful the lessons required to make us humble and holy! 
 
 "Friday, Dec. 1. — Was at the marriage 2 of my dear 
 friend, Mr. James Porteous, teacher, Pathhead. Mr. Par- 
 lane was the officiating minister. The bride is Ellen Blair, 
 Tranent. 
 
 "Sabbath, 31. — Another year going. ' Oh, to grace how 
 great a debtor ! ' What reason for thankfulness for all the 
 multiplied mercies of the year! . . . Grant grace to enable 
 
 1 Cf. Mr. Anderson's own deathbed experiences and his sermon on the 
 death of Zerub Baillie. 
 
 2 "The only marriage I have ever (up to 1S54) witnessed in Scotland." 
 — \V. A.
 
 58 E \i:i.y I )ays in Scotland 
 
 me to live more devoted to Thy service in the future than 
 I have [peeri doing in the past. 
 
 •• 1 838. — Sabbath,Feb. 4. — Acted this morning for the first 
 time as a tract distributor. 1 Langland, with Chesterhill (east 
 side , is my district. May the silent preacher be blessed ! 
 
 " Sabbath, March 28. — Went round by Newbattle this 
 morning. Had my little niece on one knee and my littler 
 nephew on the other. How delighted our father would 
 have been to see them ! Lord, bless the little lambs ; gather 
 them in Thine arms, carry them in Thy bosom ! 
 
 " Sabbath, April 15, evening, at Ford '.— - . . . How are 
 all things changed within the past few years ! That same 
 beech tree, which at this moment groans to the passing 
 blast, cast its shadow over me in infancy, and then in boy- 
 hood — but it seems changed. Can the change be in it or 
 in myself? O to be but a little child again ! And yet — 
 I would not wish to be younger — but I wish I had been 
 In tier. What have 1 done for the glory of God during 
 these bygone years ? What for the good of my fellow-men ? 
 What a cumberer of the ground ! . . . 
 
 " Tuesday, April 17. — Was this morning through the 
 principal apartments of Dalkeith Palace. Was much 
 -ratified on seeing (for the first time in my life) such a 
 collection of pictures and statues. The dead of former 
 days seem to gaze curiously on the living who intrude 
 into their dreary halls. V nly, we have yonder a cloud 
 of witnesses to the fact that one generation goetli and 
 another cometh. Such a scene is enough to make one 
 
 tical ! . . . 
 
 " Friday, jo. — Received from Edinburgh to-day a copy 
 of Todd's Sunday School Teacher. Am quite delighted 
 therewith, and hope to find it exceedingly useful." 
 
 One of the principal things impressed on my memory 
 during this year was the illness and death of a dear friend's 
 wife, .Mrs. George Blair. She fell asleep in Jesus on the 
 1 2th of May, at Tranent. 1 saw her on the evening of the 
 
 ' To the end of his life Mr. Anderson acted as a tract distributor. He 
 
 had always leaflets, text -cards, etc., with him, and not only on his journeys 
 
 by sea and land, but on the street and in the house, he distributed silent 
 
 hers. I have seen him give leaflets to the policeman on his beat and the 
 
 servant-girl at the door.
 
 Death of Christian Blair 59 
 
 26th of April, reaching Tranent about midnight. . . . 
 When I entered she was sitting speechless in bed. Ah ! 
 how changed ! Her husband asked her if she had any- 
 thing to say to me. Her answer (to me inaudible) was, 
 " Tell him that Christ is a precious Saviour — altogether 
 lovely." I sat by her bedside, with little intermission, till 
 about four o'clock. . . . Her last words to me were, " I 
 shall not see you again till we meet before the throne on 
 high. Live to Christ — live to Christ — and He will support 
 you on a dying bed, as He is doing me just now." Precious 
 sentence ! I shall never forget it. Oh, words like hers have 
 an eloquence, an energy, a pathos, compared with which 
 all other oratory is dumb. How painful must it be for her 
 husband to contemplate the long separation from one so 
 young, so lovely, so good ! Lord, support him. She goes 
 to be with Thyself, which is far better ; but he will be left 
 desolate. 
 
 " Sabbath, 29. — Yielding to a strong impulse, went to 
 Ford this morning via Tranent. Mrs. B. still lingers by 
 the side of Jordan. When I left her, I asked her if she was 
 still perfectly happy. Her reply was, ' Yes, yes ! ' Called 
 on Mr. Elliot this evening, and told him how matters stood 
 with our dying friend. 
 
 "Saturday, May 12. — 'All is well' with Christian 
 Blair now — oh, how well ! She fell asleep this morning 
 about four o'clock. She has made a happy change. The 
 pale cheek and the languid eye, and the faltering tongue 
 and the parched lip, and the wasted lungs and the cold 
 sweat of the last agony, have all been exchanged for the 
 welcoming angels and the smiling Saviour — for the 
 crown, the robe, the harp, the palm, the throne ! . . . 
 
 "Dalkeith, between 2 and 3 p.m., Tuesday, May 15. — 
 In spirit I am this moment at Tranent. Much I could 
 have wished to be there just now to have paid the last 
 tribute of respect to departed worth. All is over. The 
 turf has received its last adjustment, the rattling of 
 spades and shovels has ceased, all stand for a moment 
 uncovered, and then each seeks his way home. The 
 grace that supported the dying will prove sufficient 
 for the living, and doubtless my bereaved friend will 
 be a partaker of those blessed consolations which can
 
 60 Early Days in Scotland 
 
 support and cheer under the heaviest afflictions and 
 bereavements. 
 
 " Wednesday, June 13.— Was at Fala in the evening, 
 as one of a deputation from the Dalkeith Total Abstin- 
 ence Society. Was glad to see so many of my old 
 friends present. We had not a numerous but a respect- 
 able and attentive audience. At the close of the meeting 
 thirteen subscribed the abstinence pledge. 
 
 " Sabbath, 24. — At Fala at the Communion. Visited 
 the grave of Robert Hamilton in the morning. 
 
 " Thursday, 28. — The Coronation of our Queen Vic- 
 toria ! A day of rejoicing throughout the kingdom. Was 
 at a very pleasant social meeting 1 in the Dalkeith Coffee 
 Room in the evening. A beautiful display of fireworks 
 from the steeple. 
 
 " Sabbath, July 1 5. — Assisted this evening in conducting 
 a prayer meeting at a village called Claybarns. I 
 addressed from Rev. xiv. 1-3, 13. 
 
 " Saturday, Aug. 4. — Walked up to Ford after ten 
 o'clock to-night. Stepped into the tent at midnight's 
 calm hour. The moon was nearing the western horizon, 
 and her beams could scarcely struggle through the thick 
 foliage that overshadowed the much-loved hollow where 
 the tent stands. 
 
 " Sabbath, a.m., Aug. 5. — Early at the tent all alone — 
 yet not alone. A morning more lovely and glorious 
 than this has surely never dawned upon our world since 
 the sun of earth's first Sabbath rose! How many 
 hallowed recollections linger around this sacred spot! 
 The dewdrops sparkle on every leaf and on every blade 
 of grass. ' Sweet morn, so cool, so calm, so bright ! ' 
 Five hours hence and another scene will be presented 
 here. The greensward will be full of life, and a solemn 
 assembly of worshippers will be seated all around. Lord, 
 rend the heavens and descend to-day with such an abund- 
 ance of blessing as will satisfy every longing soul which may 
 this day come to this place thirsting for Thee as the hart 
 panteth for the water-brooks. O for a foretaste of the 
 blessedness to be enjoyed when we shall sit down at the 
 Marriage Supper of the Lamb ! 
 
 J Given by the Total Abstinence Society.
 
 Toothache 6i 
 
 11 Sabbath, 12. — Heard 'the great, the gifted, and the 
 good ' George Thompson, the Anti-Slavery orator, preach a 
 very excellent sermon from I Cor. xiii. 13, this evening, in 
 Rev. Jos. Brown's church, Dalkeith. 
 
 " Wednesday, Oct. 3. — The second annual soiree of the 
 Dalkeith Fellowship Meeting was held to-night in the 
 Masons' Lodge. The subject of my address was ' The 
 Christian's Triumph over Death.' I gave a few sentences 
 concerning the deathbed experiences of one who was 
 peculiarly happy and active among us on this night 
 twelvemonths, namely, Mrs. George Blair. My friends Mr. 
 Blair and Mr. T. Darling had addresses of peculiar 
 excellence — the former on ' The Pleasures of Religion,' 
 and the latter on ' Missions.' Our chairman this year, as 
 last year, was our good friend, Mr. George Wilson. . . . 
 
 " Sabbath, Nov. 4. — Lord's Supper at Ford to-day. 
 Mr. Elliot preached from 1 John iii. 1. He was assisted 
 by Mr. Johnston of Limekilns. Very languid all day — 
 having been deprived of rest for several nights by tooth- 
 ache. To ease the pain, I walked and ran at 2 F A.M. 
 between the two tollbars of Gallowshall and Cowbridge. 
 
 " Wednesday, 7. — Mr. James Tod being about to leave 
 the establishment of John Gray & Son for a situation in 
 Edinburgh, our Fellowship Meeting gave him a soiree 
 this evening in my lodgings. I had the honour of being 
 chairman, and addressed our dear friend in the name of 
 the meeting. I shall miss him greatly. 
 
 " Tuesday, 27. — Have had a poor time of it for several 
 weeks. Have suffered intensely from toothache ; little 
 sleep during the night ; heavy work during the day. I 
 feel quite feeble in body and depressed in mind. Had a 
 tooth extracted to-day. The operation was very painful. 
 The 39th Psalm has been my appropriate song in the 
 night for weeks — I may say for months past. Some- 
 times, when running about in torture at 1 and 2 A.M., I have 
 tried to soothe myself by saying or singing — 
 
 ' When languor and disease invade 
 This trembling house of clay,' etc." 
 
 During the course of this year, George Gray, Esq., and 
 Mr- John Chisholm interested themselves a good deal in
 
 62 Early Days in Scotland 
 
 my favour; and, after ascertaining my views on the 
 subject of going abroad as a catechist or teacher, the 
 former I am not sure whether he was joined by Mr. C. in 
 this) recommended me to the Committee of the London 
 Missionary Society as ;i suitable person to go abroad under 
 their auspices. Their reply was that they were not then 
 sending catechists into the mission field. Mr. Gray's 
 letter, however, and a copy of an address on Total Abstin- 
 
 e which I had written some time before (and which 
 had been printed by the Dalkeith Total Abstinence 
 Society), were, in the arrangements of Providence, brought 
 under the notice of the Rev. Dr. William Brown, who 
 forthwith wrote to Mr. Gray, requesting him to call my 
 attention to an advertisement issued by the Scottish 
 Missionary Society for teachers and catechists. 1 
 
 " Friday, 30.— My kind friends, Messrs. John Chisholm 
 and George Gray, have been interesting themselves lately 
 on my behalf, and through their kindly interposition the 
 Rev. Dr. Win. Brown, Secretary to the Scottish Missionary 
 Society, has been desirous of seeing me with the view of 
 my going out to Jamaica as teacher and catechist. The 
 prospect delights me. 1 had an interview with the Rev. 
 Dr. Brown, Queen Street, Edinburgh, this afternoon on 
 the subject, and formally offered myself to go to Jamaica 
 in connection with the Scottish Missionary Society. 
 
 " Mr. G. Blair, Mr. Wm. Steven, and I, delivered 
 addresses on Teetotalism this evening in one of the 
 Congregational chapels, Musselburgh. 
 
 "Tuesday, Dec. 4. — Delivered my address on ' The 
 Unity of Christians ' at a Fellowship Meeting soiree at 
 Gilmerton this evening." 
 
 The following letter from the Rev. A. Elliot may be 
 quoted in connection with \Ym. Anderson's offer of his 
 services to the Scottish Missionary Society : — 
 
 Ford, 6lh Dec. 1838. 
 
 DEAR WILLIAM, -- When I came home on Sabbath 
 night, your letter communicated to me news, but not 
 news that surprised me — at least, the surprise was not of 
 1 Autobiography, U. P. Magazine, 1890, p. 499.
 
 Offer to go to Jamaica 63 
 
 long continuance. I think you have done right ; and for 
 a considerable time back I have been of opinion that you 
 are fitted for something else than your present situation, 
 and wishing that God in His providence would open up 
 some way in which you might devote yourself more fully 
 and directly to His service. I have no doubt that before 
 you took the step which you have done, you have 
 often and earnestly sought direction at a throne of 
 grace ; and having done so, and having willingly offered 
 yourself, your duty now is to wait calmly, and 
 endeavour to learn and abide by the will of our Master. 
 I had a letter from Dr. Brown yesternight, and have just 
 written an answer to it. The Committee, it appears, will 
 meet to-morrow. My greatest fear is that your extreme — 
 I had almost said sinful — bashfulness will make you 
 appear to very great disadvantage before them, and 
 militate against your acceptance. Try and guard against 
 it. Look up for support and courage, and let not the 
 fear of man prove a snare. Though I shall be very sorry 
 to part with you and be deprived of your co-operation 
 here, I am very anxious that you may succeed, persuaded 
 that our Divine Master has qualified you for greater 
 usefulness than your present sphere admits of. You will 
 let me know on Sabbath how you come on, and in the 
 meantime you have my sincere wishes and earnest prayers 
 that you may find favour with the Committee. — I am yours 
 very sincerely, ANDREW ELLIOT. 
 
 " Friday, 7. — Was examined this afternoon by a Com- 
 mittee of the Scottish Missionary Society, said Committee 
 consisting of Rev. Dr. Brown, Rev. Dr. Dickson, and Rev. 
 Mr. Mackenzie. The examination was very simple. All the 
 members of Committee spoke very kindly and encourag- 
 ingly. I went to Edinburgh with fear and trembling, but 
 a gracious God gave me much favour in the sight of His 
 servants. This Committee must, of course, report to the 
 full Board of Directors. If it shall please the Head of 
 the Church to signify to me through the Directors of the 
 Scottish Missionary Society that He accepts of my services, 
 I shall be grateful, and feel it to be my duty to devote 
 myself wholly and unreservedly to His service.
 
 64 Early Days in Scotland 
 
 " Sabbath, 9. — Aunt Potts not at all pleased at my offer 
 of myself for mission service. I trust she will concur, 
 however, should my offer be accepted. Mr. Elliot 
 preached a most suitable sermon for her and me to-day 
 from 2 Cor. v. 7 : ' We walk by faith, and not by sight.' 
 Some of my friends seem to think I should remain at 
 home ; but the most of them approve of the step which I 
 have taken. Very few as yet, however, know about the 
 matter. 
 
 " Thursday \ 13. — Gratified to-day by receiving a letter 
 from Rev. Dr. Wm. Brown intimating acceptance by the 
 Scottish Missionary Society for service in Jamaica. So 
 now it seems that the desires, the prayers, the aspirations 
 of years are to be at length realised. Strange — passing 
 strange ! that a poor, weak, ignorant, sinful worm such 
 as I should be honoured with a call to go far hence to tell 
 the Gentiles of a Saviour's love. O for grace to enable 
 me to be faithful in the discharge of the important duties 
 to which I am called — faithful to the Directors of the 
 Scottish Missionary Society — faithful to those who shall 
 wait on my instructions — faithful to my own soul, seeing 
 that a man may even preach to others and be himself a 
 castaway ! 
 
 " 1 must never forget the kindly interest shown me 
 in this matter by Messrs. Chisholm and Gray. The 
 Lord grant that the Lord may have mercy on them on 
 that day!"
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 1839 
 
 Leaving Dalkeith — Attendance at Sessional School, Edinburgh — 
 Last Communion at Ford — Glasgow — Galashiels — Farewell 
 Meetings 
 
 The remaining portion of the Autobiography is simply a 
 transcript of his Journal. 
 
 Tuesday, Jan. 1. — Contrary to my usual custom, 
 retired to rest last night before the year expired. My 
 slumbers did not hinder Old Time from moving onwards 
 with his usual speed, and already one day of the New 
 Year is almost gone. This is probably the last New 
 Year's Day that I shall see in my native land. This year 
 will probably be the opening up of the most important 
 period of my life. May the Lord be with me in all places 
 whithersoever I go to bless me and to do me good ! 
 May His presence go with me to the far distant land ! 
 May His grace make me instrumental in advancing His 
 glory, and in promoting the temporal and eternal advan- 
 tage of my fellow-men ! 
 
 Saturday, 5. — Sixteen years have now passed away since 
 I stood by my father's deathbed and beheld him yield up 
 his latest breath. Could I have an interview with him 
 to-night, I would be disposed to say with Cowper — 
 
 " Time has passed 
 But hardly with me since I saw thee last." 1 
 
 1 Adapted. Cowper writes— 
 
 ' ' Life has passed 
 With me but roughly since I heard thee last." 
 
 — " On the Receipt of my Mother's Picture." 
 
 5
 
 66 Early Days in Scotland 
 
 Were lie alive, how happy would he be to learn that I 
 have dedicated myself to the very service to which he so 
 frequently and so fervently devoted me ! The day of my 
 leaving my native land would have been to him one of 
 the happiest in his life. May I ever prove myself worthy 
 of such a father! 
 
 1 have just penned a few stanzas on his death. 
 
 Sabbath^ Feb. 3. — No sermon at Ford. Went to Edin- 
 burgh to St. Paul's Chapel a.m. The first time I have 
 ever worshipped in an Episcopal chapel. Was accom- 
 panied by Mr. James Tod. Was delighted with the 
 music. Heard a very good sermon by a young clergyman 
 from " Now is the accepted time." Went to Bristo Street 
 P.M., where the Lord's Supper was dispensed. How 
 cold, how very cold, appeared the organ and choir of the 
 forenoon, when in the P.M. about 1400 or 1500 voices 
 were lifted up in the service of song! The contrast 
 almost moved me to tears. 
 
 Sabbath, 24. — I owe a thousand thanks to an un- 
 known friend, " W. P.," for a pamphlet entitled "Observa- 
 tions on the Motives and Encouragements to Active 
 Missionary Exertions." I read it this morning on my 
 way to Kord. My spirits had almost begun to droop of 
 late, but thanks be unto God for putting it into the 
 heart of " W. P." to send me that book yesterday. I feel 
 quite revived. I feel happy — unspeakably happy — that I 
 have offered myself to, and have been accepted by, the 
 Scottish Missionary Society. 
 
 Midnight, Saturday, March 16. — Have just been 
 perusing the Memoir of Mrs. Judson. 1 What anxiety to 
 benefit the souls of those around her! What energy! 
 What privations ! What sufferings ! What prayerfulness ! 
 W hat faith ! Bright is her crown now and loud her 
 anthem of praise. What a sweet character, too, was 
 Harriet Newell! May I not be slothful, but a follower 
 of them who through faith and patience are now inherit- 
 ing the promises ! 
 
 Sabbath, 17.— Have had a pleasant Sabbath. My old 
 
 l Mrs. Ann II. Judson, first wife of Dr. A. Judson. "Memoirs," by 
 J. I>. Knowles.
 
 Leaves Dalkeith for Edinburgh 67 
 
 favourite, Mr. Law, assisted Mr. Brown in the dispensation 
 of the Lord's Supper. I sat at the second table with my 
 friend John Scott, who has also offered himself to go as 
 teacher and catechist to Jamaica. 
 
 Saturday evening, April 6. — Released this evening 
 from my service in the establishment of John Gray & 
 Son, by negotiation between Dr. Wm. Brown and the 
 Messrs. Gray, as I require to spend a few months at the 
 Normal School previous to my departure for Jamaica. 
 Friends all very kind — and many a little present has 
 been handed to me during the last few days. I have 
 been in the employ of Messrs. Gray since Whitsunday 
 
 1834. 
 
 Monday, 8. — Rejoicing in what I feel to be a sort of 
 emancipation. Spent yesterday and last night at Ford. 
 Visited Mr. Porteous's school, Pathhead, this A.M., and 
 in the evening attended a soiree given me by my friends 
 in the establishment of Messrs. Gray. Mr. John Tod, in 
 his own name and in that of his colleagues, presented 
 me with a copy of Dick's Lectures on Theology, in 
 four handsome volumes. Mr. Tod's address, and also 
 some of the others, were exceedingly interesting and 
 encouraging. 
 
 Saturday evening, 1 3. — This has been a strange kind 
 of a week to me. On Tuesday went to Edinburgh. 
 Sauntered about the city gazing on its wonders till 
 7 P.M., then (by mistake) embarked on a luggage boat on 
 the Canal. Was on thd Canal in no pleasant company till 
 4 A.M. Wednesday, when I disembarked at Redding 
 Bridge, and reached my sister's house at Shielhill shortly 
 after five. With my brother-in-law visited Falkirk on 
 Wednesday r.M. Spent a good while in the Secession 
 Church and its burial-ground. Spent the night at my 
 sister's. Left Shielhill on Thursday A.M. Walked to 
 Linlithgow. Visited its Town House, Church, and Royal 
 ruins. Left at 2 P.M. in canal boat for Edinburgh, and 
 came to Ford in the evening. On Friday tried my hand 
 at an old occupation — almost forgotten — and delved in 
 my aunt's garden in the A.M. 
 
 Saturday, 20. — Enrolled to-day as a pupil in Mr.
 
 68 Early Days in Scotland 
 
 Wood's 1 Normal Class, Sessional School. 2 Deeply in- 
 terested in the procedure of the school. Delighted to 
 see that the catechetical system, in which Mr. Wood 
 excels, is the very plan which I have been following 
 out for years, in my own poor way, in Ford Sabbath 
 school. 
 
 Sabbath evening, 21. — My first Sabbath's residence in 
 Edinburgh is now near a close. It has been a busy day, 
 and I trust not an unprofitable one. At 9 A.M. attended 
 Mr. Wood's Sabbath morning class. At 11 went to 
 Nicolson Street Church, heard an eloquent lecture by 
 Mr. Johnston on John ii. 18-end. Went to Broughton 
 Place P.M., and heard Dr. John Brown on Isa. lxv. 
 21-end. Have just returned from Mr. Wood's Sabbath 
 evening class. I have drawn water with joy to-day from 
 the wells of salvation. 
 
 Tuesday, 30. — Attended this P.M. the Annual Meeting 
 of the Scottish Missionary Society. The report and 
 addresses were very interesting, and bore chiefly on the 
 work of the Society's agents in Jamaica. Feel stimu- 
 
 1 In a letter from Old Calabar, of date Nov. 9, 1885, to Mrs. James 
 Duncan, Edinburgh, Mr. Anderson makes a reference and pays a tribute to his 
 honoured teacher, Sheriff John Wood. The account of the later life of John 
 I, under his assumed name of "John Wallace," after his mysterious 
 disappearance from Edinburgh in April 1840, is entitled " The Mystery of 
 Easthampton," and is embedded in an article, "A New England Colony in 
 New York," by A. A. Hayes, in Harper's Magazine, August 1885. Mr. 
 Anderson writes : " My heart was moved to its depths a few weeks ago by 
 reading an article in Harper s Monthly about a man who figured greatly in 
 Edinburgh fifty years ago as a paragon of teachers. ... In these days he was 
 John Wood, Esq., Sheriff of Peeblesshire, amateur teacher of the Edinburgh 
 Sessional School. He left Edinburgh after I went to Jamaica. . . . There 
 was a mystery connected with his disappearance from Edinburgh, and I 
 often longed to know what had become of him. The article in Harper 
 explains all. I for one owe a debt of deep gratitude to John Wood, If I 
 have had any success in teaching, I owe it very much under Providence to 
 him. Had I known when I was in America in 1876, and again in 1877, 
 where his grave is, I would certainly have visited it." 
 
 -The Edinburgh Sessional Daily School was opened on 29th April 1S13, 
 laving been instituted for the instruction of the children of the lower classes 
 
 society in the arts of reading, writing, and arithmetic. See Account of 
 •■ Edinburgh Sessional School, by John Wood, Esq. Edinburgh : John 
 Wardlaw, 1st ed., 1828. The school was situated near the Mound.
 
 Attendance at Sessional School 69 
 
 lated to increased diligence in preparing" myself for 
 usefulness there. 
 
 How highly favoured am I now ! I cannot be suf- 
 ficiently thankful for my present opportunity of acquiring 
 knowledge both sacred and secular. My chief business 
 at present is to receive instruction and learn how to com- 
 municate it. More and more delighted with Mr. Wood 
 and his method of teaching. 
 
 Wednesday, May 1. — Glad that my friend Mr. John 
 Scott * has been accepted by the Society for Jamaica. He 
 has come to Edinburgh to attend with me the Sessional 
 School. He is to be my fellow-lodger in West Richmond 
 Street. I thank God for such an associate. 
 
 Sabbath, 26. — Mr. Scott and I have received an 
 addition to our number — Mr. Buchanan, son of a deceased 
 minister in Canada, having been accepted to go out with 
 us to Jamaica. After serious consideration, all of us have 
 agreed to unite ourselves to Broughton Place congregation 
 and to wait on Dr. Brown's ministry while we remain in 
 Edinburgh. 
 
 Saturday, June 8. — Have attended the meetings of the 
 United Associate Synod each evening this week. My 
 general feeling that of disappointment. My early 
 imaginings of Church Court procedure, founded more 
 on Rev. iv., v., than on Acts xv., have been anything but 
 realised. 
 
 Monday, 10. — Walked to Ford on Saturday afternoon. 
 Left it yesterday morning at five o'clock. Felt very 
 much on leaving it. Many a time did I turn round and 
 gaze through bedimmed eyes on my aunt's humble 
 dwelling. Anticipated the time when I must take my 
 farewell survey of the lovely village of woods and waters. 
 Sorry to leave, yet feel satisfied that I am doing so in a 
 good cause. 
 
 Went to Albany Street Chapel yesterday A.M. Heard 
 Mr. Freeman from Madagascar. At the close of the 
 sermon (from Zech. iii. 2, last clause) a native of that 
 island ascended the pulpit, and Mr. Freeman put a few 
 questions to him (in his own tongue) in reference to the 
 grand truths of the gospel, which — at least through the 
 1 Formerly a gamekeeper under the Duke of Buccleuch.
 
 E \i:i.v Days in Scotland 
 
 interpreter were admirably answered. 1 1 is last question 
 was " How do you feel in regard to the present state of 
 your country?" The youth's reply was, "This over- 
 whelms me," and he burst into tears. Many of the audience 
 were much affected. I rejoiced in my prospect of going 
 to famaica, but wished yesterday that Madagascar had 
 been my destination. Lord, pity 'Thy poor suffering rem- 
 nant there. Let Thy people be edified and multiplied in 
 that distracted island. 
 
 Tuesday, i i . — " Be ye also ready." Mr. Henry Elston — 
 an amiable young man from England — stood beside me 
 in the Normal class on Saturday. He was at the Sabbath 
 .lass in the evening of Sabbath — forty-eight hours ago — 
 and now he is in the eternal world. I have not heard what 
 the malady was which has done death's work so speedily. 
 
 Saturday, 15.— At Mr. Elston's funeral this P.M. He 
 was interred in Greyfriars Churchyard. " H. E., 21," 
 on the coffin lid. His girlish widow followed his corpse 
 to its last resting-place. Her heart seemed nigh burst- 
 ing. May the widow's God be her comforter and strong 
 tower ! 
 
 Monday, July 1. — On Saturday at 2 P.M. took boat at 
 New haven for Eife. Debarked at Charlestown, where I 
 was kindly received and lodged by Mr. Wm. Addison, to 
 whom I had a letter of introduction from his sister Jane, 1 
 who is in the service of the Messrs. Gray. Had a pleasant 
 saunter in the evening in the neighbourhood of Charles- 
 town. Walked to Dunfermline yesterday morning, 
 accompanied by Mr. W. Addison, to hear once more 
 my old favourite, Mr. Law. It was the sacramental 
 
 some time, while he was in Dalkeith, there had existed an attach- 
 ment between Wm. Anderson and Jane Addison. He desired to take her to 
 Jamaica as his wife; but her relatives, being afraid of the Jamaica climate, 
 which had then a very bad reputation, refused to allow her to go. Whether 
 this visit of Mr. Anderson's to Charlestown had anything to do with the 
 question of marriage between him and Miss Addison, I cannot say. Although 
 the idea of a union was abandoned, friendly intercourse was kept up by Mr. 
 Anderson with Miss Addison, who never married, and who died in 1869, and 
 with her family to the end of Mr. Anderson's life. When Mr. Anderson 
 ed me to write this Memoir, he referred with emotion to this attachment 
 and what it cost him to give it up. lie added that he told Mrs. Anderson of 
 it, and that she thought none the less of him for having loved another.
 
 In the Tent at Ford 71 
 
 Sabbath of the district. . . . We came down in the p.m. 
 to Limekilns — heard three table services there, and also 
 Mr. Johnston's concluding address, and the evening sermon 
 by Mr. Johnston of Nicolson Street, Edinburgh. . . . 
 
 Saturday, 27. — We — i.e. Messrs. Scott, Buchanan, and I 
 — were at tea the other evening at James Marshall, Esq.'s. 
 Mr. Lillie, catechist designate from Broughton Place 
 Congregation to New Broughton, Jamaica, boards at Mr. 
 Marshall's. We met Rev. Mr. Scott from Demerara and 
 Mrs. Scott (who has not yet been abroad). From Mr. 
 Marshall's remarks (he is one of the Directors of the 
 Scottish Missionary Society) we infer that we may leave 
 this country earlier than was once intended. Feeling 
 says, " Stay as long here as you can " ; but if called on to 
 leave all dear to us on earth at an earlier period than once 
 contemplated, I trust we shall be able to say heartily, 
 " The will of the Lord be done." 
 
 Thursday, Aug. 1. — How quickly the time flies on! 
 But not an hour is lost. We attend morning classes, 
 forenoon classes, afternoon classes, and evening classes. 
 This is doubtless a glorious day in Jamaica. How gladly 
 will her sable sons and daughters be celebrating their 
 first anniversary of freedom ! I expect to be rejoicing 
 with them on this day twelvemonths. 
 
 Attended an interesting meeting last evening in 
 Nicolson Street Church. Messrs. Leitch and Glen were 
 designated as missionaries to India. . . . Mr. Alexander 
 preached an animating discourse from Neh. vi. 3 : " I am 
 doing a great work, so that I cannot come down." Mr. 
 Cooper addressed the young missionaries at great length, 
 and Mr. Johnston afterwards addressed the congregation. 
 The Lord of the harvest go forth with these youthful 
 labourers ! And may the lesson impressed on them be 
 also impressed on my mind, that in answer to friend or 
 to foe who may endeavour to lead me to relax exertion 
 for the Master's sake, I may be ready to say, " I am 
 doing a great work," etc. 
 
 Monday, Aug. 5. — Went to Ford on Saturday P.M. 
 Slept but little. Got up early yesterday morning and 
 walked to the tent. Earth's sweetest spot is that to me. 
 In tent pencilled as follows: —
 
 - 2 E vrly I )ays ix Scotland 
 
 Holy and delightful morning! I have long looked 
 forward to this day with feelings of deep and solemn 
 interest. This is in all human probability my last earthly 
 I mmunion Sabbath with beloved friends here. Oh, on 
 future third Sabbaths of July and first Sabbaths of August 
 — should I be spared to see any more of them — my heart 
 shall often be here, though my bodily presence be far 
 away. If I ever occupy this tent again — but no ! all 
 dreams away ! I feel that I am bidding my native land 
 a last farewell. But Christ is in Jamaica as well as here. 
 May the joy of the Lord be my strength there, and may 
 I be instrumental in bringing some of the sons and 
 daughters of that island to the feet of Jesus ! 
 
 Saturday, Aug. 24. — Left the Edinburgh Sessional 
 School to-day, after four months' diligent attendance on 
 Mr. Wood's able instructions. There is much in the 
 system but more in the man worthy of our admiration and 
 imitation. My brethren and I have also had some oppor- 
 tunity of seeing Niddry Street School, which is under the 
 able superintendence of Mr. A. Young, author of " There 
 is a Happy Land " and some other pieces. 
 
 Glasgow, Saturday, Aug. 31. — Spent Wednesday night 
 at my sister's at Shielhill. Came to this city on Thursday 
 expecting to attend the Normal Seminary here for a kw 
 weeks. There is some misunderstanding, however, as the 
 gentlemen in management tell us that they do not receive 
 pupils for a shorter period than six months. 
 
 Sabbath, Sept. 1. — Heard Dr. Heugh this forenoon 
 -fine sermon from Luke xi. 13 with Matt, xviii. 19, 20. 
 I [eard Mr. King in the afternoon on Ps. lxxxv. 6. Heard 
 Dr. Wardlaw versus l'resbyterianism in the evening. 
 
 Wednesday^ 4. — Mr. Scott and I visit the Seminary on 
 public days and ramble about at other times. . . . We 
 have been at Paisley to-day. What a contrast between 
 the quiet of Edinburgh and Dalkeith, and the turmoil and 
 burn- of Glasgow and Paisley! We went to Walkinshaw 
 visit Mrs. and Miss Denniston. Miss D. has the 
 management of a box of clothing to be sent to Mrs. 
 Waddell at Cornwall, Jamaica — the station to which Mr. 
 Scott is destined. 
 
 Monday, 9. — Left Glasgow on Saturday, and came to
 
 Farewells at Dalkeith and Gorebridge j$ 
 
 my sister's at Shielhill. Heard Mr. Rutherford yesterday 
 A.M. and P.M., and entered on public Sabbath service by 
 delivering a missionary address in the evening. Spent 
 last night at Mr. Rutherford's. He and Mrs. R. have 
 been exceedingly kind to me. 
 
 Wednesday, 18. — Well, one trial is past — I felt it to be 
 a trial. Our Dalkeith friends gave Mr. Scott and me a 
 farewell soiree last evening in the White Hart Inn. It 
 was to me a trying and solemn occasion. Mr. Cuthbert- 
 son from Dunfermline asked the Divine blessing on the 
 meeting. George Gray, Esq., occupied the chair. Mr. 
 Elliot addressed Mr. Scott and me in reference to our 
 duties in Jamaica. His address was very impressive, 
 instructive, and affectionate. Mr. Scott replied first, and 
 I followed. Mr. Scott spoke fluently and impressively — I 
 could hardly get on at all. Mr. Sandy in a very fervent 
 prayer commended us both to the Divine guidance and 
 protection. Mr. Alexander (Congregational), Edinburgh, 
 delivered a most eloquent address. Mr. Robson, Lass- 
 wade, and Messrs. Brown (Secession) and Waldie (Relief), 
 Dalkeith, followed. The Assembly Room was filled with 
 a deeply sympathetic audience. 
 
 Tuesday, 24. — Delivered my address on Missions in 
 Mr. Sandy's church, Gorebridge, this evening — after which 
 Mr. S. presented me with a copy of Matthew Henry's 
 Commentary on the Bible in six volumes, subscribed for 
 by several of my old schoolfellows and friends in the 
 neighbourhood. 
 
 Sabbath, 29. — At Gorebridge all day. Delivered an 
 address on Total Abstinence to a large assemblage in 
 Mr. S.'s church in the evening. 
 
 Monday, 30. — Left Gorebridge in the morning, accom- 
 panied by Master George Sandy. 1 Walked to Killoch- 
 yett, the residence of my old schoolmaster, Mr. Keddie. 
 Dined at Craigend with Mr. and Mrs. Peak. The object 
 of my journey was chiefly to see my birthplace, Buck- 
 holmside, and the church at Galashiels which my father 
 had a hand in erecting. Was kindly received by Dr. 
 Henderson, Mrs. H., and Miss Hay. Got the keys of the 
 church, and went through it with great interest. My 
 1 Afterward Rev. G. Sandy, Gourock.
 
 - 1 Early Days in Scotland 
 
 young friend and I sang part of the 2nd Paraphrase in it. 
 Spent the night in Dr. Henderson's. 
 
 Tuesday, Oct. i. — On Dr. H.'s recommendation, went 
 to see Melrose Abbey. Mad a note of introduction to 
 Rev. Thomas Williamson. We took Abbotsford on the 
 way, and gazed with interest on its wonders. Were kindly 
 received by Mr. and Miss Williamson. Returned to 
 Galashiels in the evening. 
 
 In the morning Dr. H. took me to the house in which 
 I first saw the light. It was with strange feelings that I 
 entered it and gazed around. Strange feelings came over 
 
 too, when I entered the church yesterday. I had been 
 familiar with the ground-plan from boyhood, as it — as well 
 as that of Liddisdale— had been in my father's possession 
 from the time the church was built. I felt, when in such 
 a sanctuary, as if I were surrounded by the spirits of 
 departed friends. Dr. H. took me to the churchyard, but 
 the sexton could give no information as to the resting- 
 place of my maternal grandfather and grandmother, and 
 uncles and aunts, and sister Elizabeth, who died at 
 Buckhohnside. 
 
 Wednesday, 2. — Left Galashiels with the purpose of 
 visiting three sisters of Mrs. Cowan, Carron Hall, as it seems 
 I am appointed to that station. We dined and had tea 
 at the house of Mrs. Lee, Ferniehirst — one of Mrs. C.'s 
 sisters. Came to Nethertown to Mrs. Stewart's to spend 
 the night — Mrs. S. being another sister of Mrs. C. 
 
 Thursday, 3. — After breakfast at Nethertown went to 
 Middletown, Mr. Darling's, to dinner — Mrs. D. being 
 another sister of Mrs. C. Mr. D. kindly made provision 
 for giving us a drive to Herviston Lodge, near Gore- 
 bridge. We were in time for tea at Mr. Sandy's. I came 
 to Ford in the evening very much delighted with this my 
 first pleasure excursion. 
 
 Tuesday, 8. — Was present at an exceedingly interest- 
 ing meeting of the United Associate Presbytery of Edin- 
 biii The theme of converse was "A Revival of 
 
 Religion and the Best .Means of its Attainment." Was 
 introduced at the meeting by Mr. Elliot to Rev. John 
 Simpson from Jamaica. 
 
 Wednesday, 9. — Breakfasted with Mr. Simpson, who
 
 Valedictory Meeting at Ford j$ 
 
 kindly gave Mr. Scott and myself much interesting 
 information about Jamaica and about the stations which 
 we are to occupy. 
 
 Sabbath, 13. — Gave a farewell address in the P.M. 
 to my beloved Sabbath scholars at Ford, Pathhead. A 
 trying hour to them, to my fellow-teachers, and to my- 
 self. My last Sabbath at Ford nearly gone. Oh, what 
 privileges I have to account for ! 
 
 Thursday, 17. — This evening has been one of the most 
 solemn and interesting of my life. A valedictory meet- 
 ing has just been held in the church, Mr. Elliot in the 
 chair. After his introductory address, I bade farewell 
 to pastor and friends, amid the tears of many. Mr. Scott 
 followed me. Mr. Simpson then gave a good deal of 
 interesting information about Jamaica. Messrs. Cooper 
 and Sandy also addressed the meeting. At the close 
 Mr. Elliot presented me with nine excellent and useful 
 volumes 1 as a parting gift from the Sabbath scholars. 
 
 Saturday, 19. — At Henton visiting two dear old 
 fellow-servants now residing here — James Knowles and 
 his wife Agnes Taylor.' 2 Lived over our Fala Mains 
 winter evenings again — 
 
 " When with our whole young happy hearts 
 We loved and laughed away the time, 
 Nor thought how quickly all departs 
 So cherished in life's early prime, 
 Long, long ago ! " 
 
 1 These were Home's Introduction, 4 vols., Dick's Christian Philosopher, 
 Buck's Theological Dictionary, Foster's Essays, Hall's Sermons, and 
 Cowper's Letters. 
 
 2 Mr. Anderson kept up acquaintance and occasional correspondence with 
 these early friends as long as they lived. In a letter to Mr. Knowles 
 written from Calabar in August 1867, he says : "It sometimes seems to me 
 but yesterday since she was blooming Nancy Taylor — the object of warm 
 attachment on the part of Fala Mains herd laddie ! Do you and she remember 
 any of that callant's tricks? the pulling out of the nails by him? etc. etc. 
 He was really sorry when he saw you both take that matter so much to heart. 
 
 " I should have enjoyed an evening by your fireside exceedingly — when 
 we might have lived our youth over again. Never mind — let us hold on in 
 the right path, and we shall yet meet where all the nonsense of the past shall 
 be forgotten, and where all that was pure and holy shall be revived." 
 
 I am indebted for this and other letters to Mr. W Robertson, Edinburgh.
 
 76 Early Days in Scotland 
 
 Sabbath, 20. — At Haddington a.m. Heard Mr. Hogg 
 (but pushing Edinburgh-wards did not hear all the sermon). 
 At Tranent P.M. Heard Mr. Parlane there. Delivered my 
 missionary address in his church in the evening. 
 
 Monday, 21. — Paid my last visit to Ford. Sad to 
 part with poor old aunt. I did not say that this was 
 my last visit, but I felt it and she felt it. She came to 
 the end of her house — not far from my loved beech tree — 
 and said when we shook hands, "If we never meet in this 
 world again, it will be no matter if we meet in a better!" 
 She gazed after me up the brae till I was out of sight, 
 and I need not say that I turned round many a time 
 to look at her and Ford — feeling it to be the last time, 
 but also feeling that I was in the path of duty. 
 
 FAREWELL To FORD. 
 
 Written \j\//i October 1839. 
 
 1. 
 Farewell to Ford, dear lovely spot, 
 Sweet village of the vale ; 
 Whate'er may be my future lot, 
 Thy scene shall never be forgot ; 
 Though wafted by the swelling gale 
 To distant lands, my thoughts shall dwell 
 Full oft in the sequestered dell. 
 
 I!. 
 
 The beechen tree that casts its shade 
 Around my former home, 
 The green where I in childhood played, 
 The glen, the riverside, the glade, 
 Where 1 in boyhood used to roam, 
 The tree on which I carved my name, 
 Ah ! simple pathway thus to fame ! 
 
 ill. 
 The stream that turned my water-mill, 
 The ground where playmates met, 
 I bear in mind, and ever will. 
 And oft Fll muse upon you still. 
 .My heart dwells fondly on you yet. 
 Strong in this heart is memory's power, 
 O'erwhelming is the parting hour.
 
 ''Farewell to Ford" yj 
 
 IV. 
 
 Farewell, my pastor and my friend ; 
 
 Thy memory I'll revere. 
 
 May Heaven's best gifts on thee descend 
 
 In rich effusion, and attend 
 
 Thee through thy varied duties here ! 
 
 And mayst thou wear in endless day 
 
 The crown which fadeth not away ! 
 
 V. 
 Friends of my youth, a long adieu, 
 Friends dearest to my heart, 
 I find it hard to part with you. 
 Affectionate remembrance true 
 Shall never from my soul depart ; 
 Nor would I wish to be forgot. 
 Pardon the wish, — " Forget me not." 
 
 Friday, 25. — At Gorebridge saying good-bye to friends 
 there. At Dalkeith in the evening, when Mr. Scott and 
 I l were presented with ten useful volumes each in Mr. 
 Brown's Session-house. Mr. Chisholm was chairman on 
 the occasion^ and delivered a fine friendly address, to 
 which we replied as best we could. 
 
 Sabbath, 27. — Heard Mr. Simpson in Mr. Brown's A.M. 
 Heard Mr. Robson at Lasswade P.M. Took tea at Mr. 
 Robson's, and was introduced to the two Misses Paterson, 
 who are about to join their father, the Rev. James 
 Paterson, at Cocoa Walk, Jamaica. Accompanied by 
 both young ladies, went to Bonnyrigg evening, and 
 delivered an address on Total Abstinence there. 
 
 Monday, 29. — Bade farewell to Dalkeith and loved 
 friends there. Came to Edinburgh by ten o'clock railway 
 coach. 
 
 Tuesday, 30. — Took farewell of Edinburgh, and came 
 to Glasgow per Canal. Drowsy, having been up packing 
 all my little property during the night. 
 
 Sabbath, Nov. 3. — -Have been at the Normal School for 
 a few days. Attended Greyfriars Church. Heard our old 
 
 1 Mr. Anderson received Fuller's Works, 5 vols., Mosheim's Church 
 History, 2 vols., Mammon, by Harris, Cruden's Concordance, and Williams' 
 Account of Missionary Enterprise in the South Seas.
 
 ;S I. vrly Days in S< otLand . 
 
 townsman from Dalkeith (Rev. David King; A.M. — a 
 beautiful lecture on part of John xxi. . . . 
 
 Monday, 4. — Went to Greenock to see the Christian, in 
 which we are to embark next week for Jamaica. Met 
 Captain M'Nielage, who seems to be a very pleasant 
 gentleman. On leaving Greenock, got into the wrong 
 boat, and got a gratis trip to Helensburgh. 
 
 Tuesday, $.- — A busy day receiving, reading,and writing 
 farewell letters. 1 
 
 Wednesday, 6. — Mr. Scott and I took what we suppose 
 to be our last rural walk in our native land. I have felt 
 greatly depressed all day. 
 
 •■ What time my heart is overwhelmed, 
 And in perplexity, 
 Do Thou me lead unto the Rock 
 That higher is than I." 
 
 Saturday, 9. — Came to Greenock yesterday, and slept 
 on board the Christian. Messrs. Scott and Buchanan and 
 I feel that we shall have a responsible part to act during 
 the voyage in reference to "those that are without." I 
 fear that a number of our fellow-passengers are of that 
 class. Cleared out this P.M., and anchored at " the Tail of 
 the Bank," near Greenock. Annoyed a good deal at the 
 absence of my luggage, by mistake of some of our Dal- 
 keith friends. 
 
 Sabbath, 10. — The most melancholy Sabbath I have 
 ever spent — unless, perhaps, one among Nettlingflat 
 heather in 1828. We did not get to church, and were 
 
 1 One of these was to Mr-. Elliot of Ford, to whom he had written on zS\h 
 October, before leaving Edinburgh, excusing himself for not calling to take a 
 
 ite farewell, and thanking her and her husband for all their kindne 
 him. In his letter of 5th November, after acknowledging receipt of a kind 
 letter from her, he says : " I feel wearying a little to get fully away. My 
 heart is at Carron Hall amongst the little negroes. I long to be among them. 
 I think now that I have no desire for fame, wealth, nor anything on earth, 
 
 pt that I may do some good before I leave it. Taking climate and all 
 
 things into consideration, it will be my wisdom to have my loins always girt 
 
 and my lamp burning — to lie ready for an early grave ; but I would not like 
 
 to die till I shall have lived to some purpose. Oh, how much of life have I 
 
 What diligence is necessary to make up for what I have lost ! "
 
 Last Sabbath in Scotland 79 
 
 informed that the captain might come on board at any 
 minute, in which case we should sail at once. However, 
 no captain appeared all day, and it was melancholy to 
 hear the church bells ringing and see the churchgoers on 
 their way to the sanctuary, while we were prisoners. I 
 felt it a work of necessity to write a note in the morning 
 to Mr. Chisholm, begging him to look after the forwarding 
 of my luggage, for really I have little now in the way of 
 clothing besides what I have on me. My heart was with 
 my friends in Dalkeith and Ford the whole day. Every 
 blessing rest on them all ! Mr. Scott and I conducted 
 social worship in the cabin in the evening. I sang verses 
 4 and 5 of 2nd Paraphrase, and read the 42nd Psalm. 
 In private, concluded my first Sabbath on board by 
 singing the 2nd Paraphrase, reading part of Gen. xxviii., 
 reading Paraphrase 23 and singing the three last verses, 
 reading Matt, xxviii. 18-20, singing Paraphrase 54, read- 
 ing 1st hymn, " When all Thy mercies, O my God," etc., 
 and singing the three last verses. 
 
 Here ends the story of Mr. Anderson's early days in 
 Scotland.
 
 PART II 
 
 JAMAICA PERIOD, 1 839-1 848
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 Voyage to Jamaica — Arrival — First Impressions and 
 Beginning of Work 
 
 On Monday, Nov. nth, 1839, Mr. Anderson and his com- 
 panions, Messrs. Scott and Buchanan, set sail in the 
 Christian. Contrary winds prevailed, and on the 14th the 
 vessel was driven back into Lamlash Bay. Cn the 15th, 
 Mr. Anderson was very happy to be on terra firma again, 
 and, accompanied by Mr. Scott, took a pretty long walk 
 on Arran. Peats and hills reminded him of old days at 
 Fala— Soutra Hill and the Red Brae. On the 30th, Mr. 
 Anderson wrote in his Journal : — - 
 
 We left Lamlash on the morning of the 18th. Since 
 then I have been sea-sick both night and day. A year 
 to-day I offered myself to the Scottish Missionary 
 Society. 
 
 He employed himself chiefly in reading, and remarked 
 that for many years he had not had so much time for 
 reading. While lying sick, he read the greater part of 
 Williams' Narrative of South Sea Islands Mission. A 
 few extracts from his Journal may be given. 
 
 On December 8th he preached for the first time on 
 board : — 
 
 Delightful day. Awning up for the first time. 
 Preached on deck from Acts xvi. 30, 31. Seamen very 
 
 83
 
 S| [amaica Period 
 
 attentive. Distributed tracts after sermon. They were 
 eagerly received. . . . 
 
 The want of my luggage putting me to inconveni- 
 ence, < laptain M'Nielage kindly gave me a light coat, 
 which is more suitable for our present temperature 
 than my own. I may jot down here that Captain M'.N. 
 has been very kind to me during my protracted sea- 
 sickness. Frequently he slipped into our berth with a 
 bottle of ginger beer, which generally relieved me for a 
 short time. . . . 
 
 Monday, <j. — Began to read an old acquaintance — Dick's 
 Christian Philosopher, and a new acquaintance — Harris's 
 Great Teacher. Feel as much delighted with Dick as 
 when I read him nine years ago by " the farmer's ingle." 
 On reading Harris, feel ashamed and confounded for 
 having heretofore paid so little attention to the gracious 
 words which proceeded out of the Saviour's mouth, though 
 I have read them so frequently ; and have resolved to 
 make them the subject of special study for the future. . . . 
 
 Saturday, 21. — Finished the reading of Harris's Great 
 Teacher. As a whole, it scarcely comes up to my expect- 
 ations. . . . 
 
 7 r /-/Way, 27. — Captain M'X. captured a dolphin yester- 
 day. The change of colours in a dying dolphin is really 
 wonderful. 
 
 Saturday, 28. — I am beginning to enjoy sea-life. Have 
 much reason for gratitude. 
 
 Sabbath, Dec. 29. — Mr. Buchanan was to have preached 
 to-day, but was not prepared. I would have taken his 
 place, but was feeling squeamish. The captain desired 
 service, and at his request I conducted worship in the 
 cabin in the evening. . . . 
 
 Monday, 30. — By way of recreation, engaged to-day 
 with several fellow-passengers in a rather novel employ- 
 ment, namely, the manufacture of ginger beer! The 
 1 aptain kindly supplied us with material, and we managed 
 to brew something drinkable. He also kindly added a 
 jacket to my scanty wardrobe. 
 
 Mr. Anderson spent the closing hours of the year in 
 fond recollection of old friends at Ford, and on New
 
 New Year's Day, [840 85 
 
 Year's Day 1840 re-dedicated himself to the service of 
 God. He wrote in his Journal : — 
 
 Tuesday, 31. — Between 6 and 7 P.M. in Scotland. I 
 can imagine that I see the stars shining brightly over the 
 lovely vale where flows the little river Tyne. A hard 
 frost has probably taken the ground. My aunt — poor 
 body — has by this time got her house " redd up for the 
 New Year," and is enjoying her pipe by her wee fireside, 
 probably wondering where her laddie is and what he is 
 doing. Nearly four thousand miles of ocean roll between 
 her and me. Old George Miller may have taken his seat 
 at the other side of the fire, and the two may be enjoying 
 a laugh at the guizards. But there is a sort of hurry 
 to-night — Lizzie and young George have still to go to 
 Pathhead for some commodities yet awanting. Miss 
 Herdman looks in, but has no time to sit down. Bell 
 (Mrs. Elliot's servant) has been at Pathhead, and can only 
 look in and speak a kindly word in passing. 
 
 Peace be with all the loved ones in my native land ! 
 
 1840. — New Years Day — on Atlantic Ocean — about 16 
 N. Lat. and 66 W. Long. — My father's God and my own ! 
 Anew I dedicate myself to Thee ! On Thine ocean would 
 I subscribe with my hand unto the Lord. I am Thine —   
 save me. Let Thy gracious presence accompany me in 
 all my journey ings by land and by sea. May I enjoy 
 much of Thy presence and blessing during the year 
 which has just commenced ! Direct me in all my ways, 
 and make me instrumental in advancing Thy glory, and 
 in promoting the best interests of those whom Thou art 
 sending me to instruct. I claim Thee as my only and 
 all-sufficient portion. Whom have I in the heavens but 
 Thee? and there is none on earth that I desire beside 
 Thee. 
 
 Had a social hour in the cabin in the evening. We 
 have formed a goodly and an agreeable company at table 
 when weather has permitted us to take our meals in com- 
 pany, and we formed a very pleasant party to-night. 
 There are seven passengers, besides Mr. Scott, Mr. 
 Buchanan, and myself — namely, Mr. and Mrs. Bryce, Miss 
 Gordon, Miss Small, and three young men going out to
 
 Jamaica PERIOD 
 
 be planters. We joined in singing Auld Lang Syne, 
 which brought back the memory of other days and distant 
 
 scenes. 
 
 Thursday, Jan. 2. — At 1. 30 Captain M'Nielage re- 
 marked to me that "we must soon see land now." The 
 words had hardly escaped him when the cry was heard, 
 " Land ahead." Mr. Bryce had sighted Antigua from 
 the forecastle. On my return from the forecastle, my one 
 straw hat, which I had put on for the first time, was 
 blown overboard, and when I got my last sight of it it 
 seemed on the way home again. Our course being altered 
 a Ww points to the south — for Antigua was right ahead of 
 us — we saw Guadeloupe away to our left. Montserrat 
 and Redonda 1 soon lifted up their summits right ahead 
 of us. With Montserrat — so called by its discoverers 
 from its resemblance to a mountain of that name in Bar- 
 
 •na in Spain — in front of us and Antigua to the right, 
 I was strongly reminded of the view from Langlaw Brae 
 of Arthur's Seat and Fife. Had a Scotsman been the 
 discoverer of the island, he would certainly have dubbed 
 il Arthur's Seat. Saba and St. Eustatius were visible 
 in the evening. We regretted that it was dark before we 
 neared Antigua. We should have had a capital view of 
 it had it been daylight. We saw the trees distinctly 
 before dark, and felt it refreshing to see land again after 
 six weeks' absence. Saw the flash and heard the report 
 of the 8 o'clock gun fired in English Harbour. 
 
 Friday, 3. — Went on deck at eight bells this morning. 
 Stars brilliant. Observed Nevis a short distance to the 
 north. Beautiful morning a little after six. The sun, pre- 
 led by the crescent moon, rose majestically beyond 
 < Guadeloupe. On the north appeared Nevis and St. Kitts, 
 and west of them Saba and St. Eustatius. Montserrat is 
 almost lost in the distance behind us. 
 
 Sabbath, 5.— Expect this to be our last Sabbath at 
 
 ... P.M., Mr. Buchanan delivered an excellent 
 
 discourse to us from 1 Cor. vii. 2j : "The time is short." 
 
 lie had to preach in the cabin, the weather not being 
 
 favourable for service on deck. 
 
 Seventeen years ago — on January 5, 1823 — my father 
 1 Cf. Memoir of Rev. William Jameson, y. 27.
 
 San Domingo 87 
 
 left me. The Father of the fatherless has, however, cared 
 for me, and here, on the waves of the Caribbean Sea, I 
 would this afternoon erect another Ebenezer, and say, 
 " Hitherto hath the Lord helped me." . . . 
 
 Two bells (5 P.M.) just struck. About 9.30 in Scotland. 
 Often remembering loved friends there — but not unhappy 
 here. I think I can already testify that Jesus is a good 
 Master, for I am beginning to enjoy life now as much as 
 I did at home. I am learning that 
 
 '&> 
 
 " True happiness has no localities, 
 No tones provincial, no peculiar garb." 
 
 There is much that is pleasant as well as awe-inspiring 
 in viewing and contemplating the mighty ocean. How 
 forcible the reasoning of Jer. v. 22. . . . 
 
 Monday, Jan. 6. — San Domingo in view at 4.30 P.M. 
 
 Wednesday, 8. — Off Cape Tiburon. Almost a dead 
 calm. Heat intense and oppressive. San Domingo (or 
 Hayti) is a large island. To appearance it is a very 
 beautiful country. Its mountains are lofty and finely 
 intersected by valleys. Its cliffs are bold, rugged, romantic. 
 It is melancholy to reflect, while gliding along its shores, 
 that its inhabitants are sitting in the region and shadow 
 of death. O that those hills, on which my eye rests with 
 pleasure, on whose summits the clouds of heaven are 
 reposing, on whose sides other clouds are moving majes- 
 tically, " like angel chariots by heavenly coursers drawn," 
 and which bear the verdure of perennial summer, were 
 reverberating the praises of the High and Holy One of 
 Israel, as has often been done by the heath-covered moun- 
 tains of mv native land ! Not that I wish the sword of 
 persecution to be unsheathed in this lovely region, and 
 the followers of the Lamb compelled to wander to worship 
 in glens or on hills ; but in such a serene climate how 
 sweet would it be for a congregation of saints to assemble 
 among- the clouds, which love to linger amid such luxuriant 
 verdure and delightful scenery ! Would not such a sub- 
 lime spectacle savour more of heaven than of earth ? 
 Would not something like the scene of Tabor be re- 
 enacted? That the time is on the wing when the vision 
 shall be realised, I doubt not. The harvest of the earth
 
 88 Jamaica Period 
 
 is surely ripe. May the great Lord of the harvest thrust 
 more labourers into His field! Soon may the physical 
 grandeur of Mayti be surpassed and eclipsed by the moral 
 grandeur of missionary enterprise, and the majesty of 
 [ehovah's grace be exhibited in the illumination and con- 
 version of this benighted land ! 
 
 *&* 
 
 The young missionary's vision of a Christianised Hayti, 
 or Haiti, is still, alas ! unrealised. 
 
 On Thursday the 9th of January 1840, Mr. Anderson 
 and his companion, Mr. Buchanan, landed at Tort Maria, 
 on the north-east side of Jamaica. The interesting event 
 i-- fully recorded in Mr. Anderson's Journal: — 
 
 About 4 P.M. Mr. B. and I bade farewell to the cap- 
 tain and officers of the Christian, as also to our fellow- 
 passengers. Mr. Scott and Mr. B. and I held a prayer 
 meeting before parting. Mr. B. had but little luggage, 
 and I had still less ; but we had several large cases 
 of books for our schools. The captain and Mr. Bryce 
 (both about my own size) kindly supplied me with 
 several articles of apparel, so that I can better afford 
 to await the arrival of my luggage from Dalkeith. Mr. 
 Campbell brought us and our boxes to the wharf in two 
 boats. ( )n arriving at the wharf, a number of black fellows, 
 rather disreputable in appearance, seized our cases as soon 
 a- landed and hurried them off to the custom-house. 
 We sooii bade good-bye to the mate and the seamen who 
 manned our boats. 
 
 A boy waited on us as soon as we landed, with a kind 
 invitation to us to go to Miss Hume's. We found that 
 Miss 11. is one of Mr. Simpson's devoted adherents, and 
 we received a heart}- welcome from her and a few other 
 friends, and she soon treated us to a capital tea. On 
 passing Galina Point, the Christian gave us a farewell 
 salute by firing a gun, the report of which fell on my ear 
 somewhat sadly. 
 
 While in Miss 1 [ume's we had a number of visitors, all 
 inquiring very kindly after Mr. Simpson, and all express- 
 ing earnest desire for his speedy return.
 
 Arrival at Carron Hall 89 
 
 Friday, 10. — xAfter thanking God for the past, and 
 committing ourselves to Him for the future, Mr. B. and I 
 were introduced to Miss Prosser, at whose house we slept, 
 or rather lay ; for the difference between land and sea, 
 especially the night-long rustling of the wind among the 
 leaves of the cocoanut trees, scarcely permitted us to 
 sleep. 
 
 Visited Port Maria Church and the school on the hill- 
 top. Stood by the graves of Mr. Chamberlain and Mrs. 
 Simpson. Rode up to Galina P.M. to Mrs. M'Dowall's, 
 where we met with a very kind reception. Fine garden 
 here, and fruits and flowers which are new to us. 
 
 Saturday, 11. — Returned to Port Maria A.M. Put 
 about somewhat by having no official document to show 
 to the custom-house officer about our luggage. 
 
 Mr. B. got a loan of a horse and went off to Carron 
 Hall, leaving me to conduct service at Port Maria, pro- 
 vided Mr. Cowan do not send horses for us. Mr. C. sent, 
 however, in the P.M., and I did not feel at liberty to 
 remain at Port Maria. Mr. C. sent a very kind letter of 
 welcome — and, how delightful ! also a letter from my 
 warm friend Mr. Chisholm, about my left luggage, assuring 
 me that it is now on the way. I accordingly accompanied 
 my sable guide to my new abode, which I reached between 
 eight and nine in the evening, heartily tired of Jamaica 
 roads, and thoroughly bespattered with Jamaica mud. 
 The rascal of a beast which I rode, Mulgrave by name, 
 took me into the middle of a deep puddle in the centre of 
 the highway, and there lay down with me. Received the 
 kindest welcome from Mr. and Mrs. Cowan. Mr. B. 
 arrived about an hour after me, but not so bemudded. 
 
 Sabbath, Jan. 12. — Enjoyed once more the privilege 
 of worshipping God " in the assembly of His saints." My 
 mind too much at home, however. What a contrast 
 between a January Sabbath at home and a January Sab- 
 bath here ! There all close, muffled up, stoves, etc., and 
 probably the ground covered with snow. Here the day 
 warm, church quite open, a rosebush in full bloom a few 
 yards from the pew occupied by me, the trees and the 
 ground everywhere covered with verdure. When the sable 
 congregation struck up St. Bridget's to the 39th Para-
 
 go Jamaica Period 
 
 phrase, the remembrance of Ford lent and the third 
 Sabbath of July of bygone years was overpowering. Mr. 
 Cowan preached from Eph. ii. 21. The Jamaica Presby- 
 tery being to meet at Lucea on Wednesday, Mr. C. and 
 his Presbytery elder, James Anderson, left in the P.M. 
 to go the length of Mr. Jameson's, Goshen. Took part in 
 the evening meeting held in the schoolhouse, addressed 
 shortly from Luke xiii. 6-9. Have been delighted with 
 the appearance of both congregation and Sabbath school. 
 
 The next entry in Mr. Anderson's Journal contains the 
 first reference to the lady who was afterwards to become 
 his wife : — 
 
 Monday, 13. — Attended school both A.M. and P.M. 
 Delighted with the way in which it is conducted by its 
 excellent teacher, Miss L. Peterswald. Glad to meet Mr. 
 Moir [catechist] from Goshen, who has been very sick, 
 and has come hither for a few days' change. 
 
 Friday \ 14. — Beginning to think that with such a teacher 
 as Miss L. it was hardly worth my while to come here to 
 engage in school-work. The work is doubtless rather 
 heavy for a female, — about 160 in attendance just now, — but 
 really the school is better conducted than some of the far- 
 famed seminaries in the Scottish metropolis. 
 
 By I'ebruary 14th, however, when he had gained a 
 er acquaintance with school-work, and the need of 
 
 teachers in the district, he writes to his sister and her 
 
 husband as follows: — 
 
 The school here is in a very nourishing condition. 
 It has been taught by a Miss Louisa Peterswald in a 
 manner which reflects great credit on her. Indeed, I had 
 begun to think that with such an able teacher as she is 
 there was no use for me here. I have since changed my 
 opinion on this point, for I am beginning to feel that we 
 have both as much work as we can put our hands (or 
 heads, or both to, and that we could find ample employ-
 
 Visit to Goshen 91 
 
 ment for several more teachers. In good weather we have 
 about 170 scholars, and as the season advances we expect 
 to have an increase of numbers. 
 
 Sabbath, 19. — Mr. Cowan being absent, no regular ser- 
 mon. Day wet, yet a goodly number of people assembled 
 in the schoolroom, where I conducted a prayer meeting, 
 and addressed shortly from Josh. xxiv. 15 ("Choose you 
 this day whom ye will serve"). 1 Had an unexpected duty 
 to discharge, namely, to publish " purpose of marriage " 
 between four couples. 
 
 Saturday, Jan.2$. — Rainy weather all week. Rode down 
 to Lucky Hill Pen with Mr. Moir. Bad roads, but much 
 delighted with the scenery. Had a fine feast of oranges 
 in the evening from loaded trees by the wayside. Went 
 out to have a solitary walk and a quiet feast on the oranges ; 
 but Mr. Moir soon captured me, and cautioned me against 
 over-feasting on fruit. . . . 
 
 Sabbath, 26. — Went with Mr. Jameson and Mr. Moir to 
 Goshen Church. Felt deeply interested in both persons 
 and places, from remembrance of letters and journals 
 which Rose Street friends had kindly lent me to read. 
 Messrs. J. and M. began work at 9 A.M. — Mr. J. in church, 
 Mr. M. in school alias shed. Public service commenced 
 about 11. Mr. J. preached from Rom. xii. 11. In the 
 P.M. he introduced me to his congregation, and I delivered 
 a brief address. On returning to the Pen, Mr. J. was seized 
 with fever. 
 
 Saturday, Feb. 1. — Returned from Goshen on Monday, 
 and Mr. Cowan went thither to attend Mr. J. while fever 
 should continue. Mr. C. returned yesterday, with request 
 that I should supply Goshen to-morrow. Rode down to 
 the Pen this P.M. Found Mr. J. improving. Notwith- 
 standing Mr. Moir's friendly warnings, renewed my visit 
 to the orange trees, and feasted beside them anew. 
 
 Sabbath, 2. — Mr. Moir and I began work at church and 
 school at Goshen at 9.30, and finished about 3.30. We 
 felt a good deal worn-out. We calculated that there must 
 have been 700 people.present at the services. On returning 
 
 1 This was a favourite text of Mr. Anderson's, from which lie frequently 
 preached. Several sermon outlines on the text, all substantially identical, 
 save in the illustrative anecdotes quoted by him, are in existence.
 
 92 Jamaica Period 
 
 t< i the Pen, found Mr. J. still improving, and had a long and 
 interesting conversation with him. 
 
 The next entry in Mr. Anderson's Journal mentions 
 his first visit to Rose Hill, where he was soon to find his 
 principal sphere of labour, and where he was to be instru- 
 mental in forming a congregation, of which he became the 
 first minister. 
 
 Sabbath, Feb. 9. — Guided by one of our advanced 
 scholars, Maurice Gordon Mitchell by name, 1 had a plea- 
 sant ride to Mr. Cowan's out-station at Rose Hill. What 
 lovely, magnificent scenery at and around Rose Hill! 1 
 addressed the people A.M. from Acts xvi. 30, 31, and P.M. 
 from 2 Pet. i. 5-7. The audience was small, compared 
 with that at Carron Hall or that at Goshen, but it was 
 considerable, — I suppose above 100, — and all were very 
 attentive. 
 
 In a letter to his sister he gives additional parti- 
 culars : — 
 
 The temporary chapel stands very high. When I 
 turned the corner of the hill, where it is first seen, I saw a 
 number of the people looking for me very earnestly. 1 he 
 bell immediately began to toll, and I soon found myself 
 in the midst of my sable congregation. ... in the afternoon 
 1 was told there were more people outside than within 
 the chapel, which was nevertheless well filled. 
 
 The following entries in the Journal refer to Unity, a 
 place in which Mr. Anderson became deeply interested on 
 his own and on Mis^ Louisa PetersWald's account : — 
 
 Tuesday, Feb. 1 1. — Rode with Mr. Cowan in the evening 
 to Unity, where he holds an evening meeting weekly. The 
 locality is populous and destitute. The old great house is 
 in capital order — is about half-way between Carron Hall 
 and Port Maria. It is supposed that there is a population 
 1 Afterwards the Rev. M. G. Mitchell of Cedar Valley, 1862-S6.
 
 Opens a School at Unity 93 
 
 of 1000 within a mile and a half of it. I addressed the 
 meeting briefly. The people seem anxious to have a 
 teacher among them. 
 
 Tuesday, 18. — Went to conduct service at Unity, but 
 lost myself — I cannot well tell where. It was near nine 
 o'clock before I reached my destination, but I found the 
 people still waiting, and was very happy when I got among 
 them. 
 
 Saturday, 29. — Rode down to Port Maria last evening, 
 and spent the night with Brother Buchanan. Came up to 
 Unity A.M., and opened a day school there. Had 25 
 scholars, of whom 17 were in alphabet. It is intended 
 that Miss L. P. be stationed there for a time. The field 
 seems to be important. I feel it an honour to have formally 
 begun the work of the day school here, and I trust that 
 the Master Himself will take charge of the seminary. 
 May the work of instruction there be blessed in promoting 
 the present and eternal well-being of many ! Wonder 
 what the station will be like, and if I shall be spared to 
 see it on Feb. 29, 1844. 
 
 On February 17th Mr. Anderson wrote to his sister: — 
 
 Preached yesterday at Rose Hill. Mr. Cowan has 
 committed the charge of that station principally to me. I 
 find it hard enough work to be a teacher five days in the 
 week, and a preacher one. 
 
 A few items from the Journal may be of interest : — 
 
 Sabbath, March 1. — Remained at Carron Hall to-day, 
 and officiated as precentor. 
 
 Tuesday, 3. — School examined to-day by a Presbyterial 
 Committee. Held meeting at Unity in the evening. 
 
 Monday, 9. — A very interesting Anti-Slavery meeting 
 held in the schoolroom in the evening. Interesting 
 addresses were delivered by Captain Stuart, Rev. Mr. 
 Renshaw from United States, and Rev. Mr. Whitehorn of 
 this island. 
 
 Wednesday, 11. — A fine Total Abstinence meeting this 
 evening, addressed by the three gentlemen above named.
 
 94 Jamaica Period 
 
 From a letter to the Rev. Andrew Elliot of Ford, dated 
 1 6th March 1840, the following extracts may be given. 
 After briefly describing the voyage, he goes on to give his 
 first impressions of Jamaica: — 
 
 During the week [after arrival] I attended the school, 
 mine, however, as a scholar than a teacher. I was much 
 pleased with the excellent manner in which it was con- 
 ducted by Miss Louisa Peterswald, who is, I believe, to 
 proceed to a station called Unity, to remain there till a 
 catechist comes to take charge of that station. Are there 
 any more in your congregation ready to say, concerning 
 this interesting field, " Here am I, send me"? Here is a 
 parish of 35,000 inhabitants, about 30,000 of whom are 
 destitute of the means of instruction. I blush for my 
 countrymen when I reflect that for upwards of a twelve- 
 month the Scottish Missionary Society has been advertising 
 for teachers and catechists and that so few have responded 
 to the call. There are several stations in this parish ripe 
 for the reception of married catechists — indeed, none 
 should come out unmarried but those who are, like myself, 
 to reside in the mission family of the head station. 
 
 Mr. Cowan (being something like patron of the parish) 
 has appointed me to the interim pastorate of Rose Hill, 
 a station about five miles from this [Carron Hall]. The 
 people w ere not consulted in the matter, and I do not think 
 the Veto Act extends this length, so that I have entered 
 upon nn- labours there without opposition. I never liked 
 pluralities in theory, and I do not like them in practice. 
 I wish a teacher and catechist were located there. The 
 
 1 -residence of ^parson (by which dignified appellation 
 the Rose Hill people call me) is a great drawback on his 
 usefulness. The people arc exceedingly anxious for in- 
 struction. If you could only sec the intensity of interest 
 which is manifested by them when addressed on the 
 things belonging to salvation, and listen to the fervent 
 Amen" with which they respond to the prayers which 
 are presented for them at a throne of grace, I think, my 
 revered friend, that you would be almost tempted yourself 
 
 ome out to dispense among them that bread of life for
 
 Jamaica Scenery 95 
 
 which they are hungering so much, and those refreshing 
 waters for which they thirst so eagerly. Oh ! I often think 
 it says little for our students and preachers and ministers 
 at home that one so weak and worthless and illiterate as 
 I should feel myself laid under the necessity of preaching 
 among the poor negroes the unsearchable riches of Christ. 
 
 But I am resolved to persevere in my work till I am 
 unable to do so any longer, or till better qualified teachers 
 and preachers come to take the work out of my hands, and 
 to them I shall willingly resign my charge. 
 
 This is a land of beautiful scenery, delightful climate, 
 and delicious fruits. Mr. Edwards, in his History of the 
 West Indies, says that " when Columbus first discovered 
 Jamaica, he approached it on the north side, and, beholding 
 that part of the country which now constitutes the parish of 
 St. Ann's (next parish to St. Mary's), he was filled with 
 delight and admiration at the novelty, variety, and beauty 
 of the prospect. The whole of the scenery is indeed super- 
 latively fine, nor can words alone convey a just idea of it. 
 The country, at a small distance from the shore, rises into 
 hills which are more remarkable for beauty than for bold- 
 ness, being all of gentle acclivity, and commonly separated 
 from each other by spacious vales and romantic inequal- 
 ities ; but they are seldom craggy, nor is the transition from 
 the hills to the valleys oftentimes abrupt. In general, the 
 hand of Nature has rounded every hill to the top with 
 singular felicity. . . . To enliven the scene, and add per- 
 fection to beauty, the bounty of Nature has copiously 
 watered the whole district. No part of the West Indies 
 which I have seen abounds with so many delicious streams. 
 Every valley has its rivulet, and every hill its cascade. 
 In one point of view, where the rocks overhang the ocean, 
 no less than eight transparent waterfalls are beheld in the 
 same moment. Those only who have been long at sea can 
 judge of the emotion which is felt by the voyager at so 
 enchanting a prospect. ' 
 
 I must say, however, from what I hear of some districts 
 of the island, especially on the south side, that water is 
 scarce and the climate exceedingly hot and unhealthy ; 
 such, however, is not the case where the bounds of my 
 habitation have been fixed, among the mountains of St.
 
 96 I V.MAK \ Period 
 
 Mary's. You arc perhaps aware that a drawing of Carron 
 I [all lias been sent home to be lithographed, and that if any 
 
 of my friends in your neighbourhood wish to possess them- 
 selves of copies, you can procure them from Mr. Marshall, 
 Leith. Any profit which may be derived from the sale of 
 the drawing is to go to the fund for building a new church 
 at this station, and on this account I would like to hear of 
 
 iod number being disposed of. Mrs. Cowan will write 
 to the ladies after we receive the cask of clothing, etc., 
 which they so kindly entrusted to me. The proceeds of 
 it will assist in liquidating the debt which still lies on the 
 school. I think it would form an additional bond of union 
 betwixt the churches of Ford and Carron Hall if the young 
 people or the ladies of the former would send out a strongly- 
 bound Bible and two strongly-bound (gilt and ornament no 
 object) psalm-books for the pulpit and desk of the new 
 church of the latter. They need not be in a hurry, only I 
 thought I would give them the hint. If spared, I may 
 perhaps give the people here the hint to send you some- 
 thing which might be of service at a soiree. 
 
 Unity > Tuesday evenings March 17. — I had dismissed the 
 school and was about to sit down to finish my letter at 
 ( arron Hall, when I received a message from Mr. Cowan, 
 requesting me to go to Unity for him to-night ; so at Unity 
 I find myself, all alone in an old barrack-room, tired enough, 
 —for I assure you my office is no sinecure, — but having re- 
 ceived two newspapers (or rather two copies of the same 
 newspaper), I find that if I do not send to post to-morrow 
 I cannot be in time for next packet, I must fill my sheet 
 to-night. Before leaving Carron Hall, I got word that my 
 stray luggage is at the Bay, i.e. Port Maria. I should have 
 said before that Unity is half-way betwixt Carron Hall and 
 Port Maria. On my way down I met the mules going 
 loaded to Carron Hall, and with what do you think one of 
 them was loaded? Why, with part of the contents of the 
 Ford ladies' cask of clothes. There is scarcely such a 
 thing as carting here. Traffic is carried on chiefly by 
 mules and hampers. I have several times seen twelve 
 oxen drawing a cart about the size of a double-horse cart 
 in Scotland. The heaviest load that I have ever seen is 
 two hogsheads of sugar. It is very inconvenient that every-
 
 Visit to Middlesex 97 
 
 thing except small packages must be unpacked before they 
 can be conveyed to the hill country. 
 
 We now return to his Journal : — 
 
 Wednesday, 18. — Rode down to Port Maria in the A.M. 
 Unpacked my chest of clothing and books. Felt in 
 doing so as if I were again at home. Pocketed some little 
 mementoes — books and profiles. Returned to Carron Hall 
 in the evening. 
 
 Tuesday, 24. — Visited to-day by Mr. Moir from Goshen 
 and Mr. Black from Golden Grove, both of whom addressed 
 the scholars. We had a few happy hours together. Mr. 
 Black is about to return home. 
 
 Sabbath, 29. — A very interesting day to me. Mr. Moir 
 and I exchanged for the day. He went to Rose Hill and 
 I went to Middlesex, the seat of a Scotch colony about 
 ten or twelve miles from Carron Hall. Felt quite at home 
 among my country people, albeit they are nearly all Aber- 
 deenshire folk and have not the Lothian accent. Preached 
 in the P.M. from Heb. xi. 16. Delighted with the Sab- 
 bath school, and the old familiar Psalms repeated by the 
 children in very much the old familiar tone — " That man 
 hath perfect blessedness," "The Lord's my Shepherd, I'll 
 not want," etc. My precentor — who had a braid blue bonnet 
 lying beside him — started "Bangor" to the plaintive strains 
 of the 137th Psalm. 1 
 
 Monday, April 6. — My predecessor here (Carron Hall) 
 begins school operations to-day at Unity. The Lord bless 
 her and smile on her labour there as He has done here. 
 
 Wednesday, 15. — My first birthday spent out of my 
 native land. Feel myself here — as when far distant — to 
 be but a cumberer of the ground, and marvel that He bears 
 with me so long. 
 
 Friday, ij. — Have had a meeting for the practice of 
 sacred music on the Friday evenings for several weeks. 
 A very large meeting this evening — school crowded — it 
 being the evening of a day a good deal observed here, 
 
 1 Cf. Memoir of Rev. Wm. Jameson, pp. 72-73. "Bangor" seems to 
 have been the favourite tune of the old Highland precentor, who sang it on 
 the occasion of Mr. Jameson's visit in April 1838. 
 
 7
 
 oS Jamaica Period 
 
 namely, Good Friday. Mrs. C. and I (Mr. C. being 
 absent thought it a pity to allow such a congregation to 
 disperse without "a few wends," so I addressed briefly from 
 John xiv. 1-3. 
 
 Sabbath^ 19. — At Rose Hill as usual. In the interval of 
 u ( ii ship was told of an old man who was sick in the village, 
 and that I was requested to visit him and give him "a 
 mouthful of prayer." This reminded me of a sable brother 
 at Goshen who concluded his prayer with a petition " that 
 these few remarks might be accepted for the Saviour's sake." 
 The account of the visit is given in the Report for 1840. 1 
 
 Saturday ', May 16. — At the first funeral I have seen in 
 this country. It was that of an old woman at Hazard. 
 Was much struck with the simplicity of the arrangements. 
 The coffin lid not nailed or screwed down, but tied on with 
 four pieces of tape, one at each end, one at each side. No 
 handspokes as at home, but the coffin swung on three pieces 
 of cloth — seemed to be towels tied together — borne by six 
 men from house to grave. Sang part of Psalm 90. Read 
 part of 1 Cor. xv. Addressed on Death, Resurrection, 
 and Judgment, and prayed, after which the dead was 
 laid in her last bed. I did not know till I came here — I 
 believe that few at home do know — that the poorest of the 
 people here are in one respect at least on a par with the 
 nobility of Britain, for nearly every family has its own 
 private burying-ground on its own territory. It must 
 strengthen the attachment of the people to their own 
 settlements, to reflect that the dust of their kindred lies 
 there. 
 
 Sabbath, 24. — My first Communion season in Jamaica. 
 Felt a strange mixture of gladness and sadness during the 
 service. Recalling Communion Sabbaths at Ford, Gore- 
 bridge, Fala, Dalkeith, and Edinburgh. Have much 
 reason to say with the Psalmist, " My soul to dust cleaves 
 — quicken me." My thoughts have been more on things 
 earthly to-day than on things heavenly. 
 
 Sabbath, 31. — Formed a class of catechumens to-day at 
 Rose Hill. Twelve gave me their names- as anxious to 
 receive regular instruction, with a view of being received 
 into Church membership. 
 
 1 See post, p. 119.
 
 Miss Peterswald's School at Unity 99 
 
 Tuesday \ June 23. — At Unity with Mr. Cowan, examin- 
 ing the school taught there by Miss L. P., who was my 
 predecessor at Carron Hall. We were greatly pleased 
 with the rapid progress made by the children during the 
 short time they have been under the tuition of Miss P. 
 There is a great advance since I (in a way) opened the 
 school on Feb. 29. The Great Teacher seems to counten- 
 ance and bless in no ordinary degree the labours of His 
 handmaid employed here. 
 
 Sabbath, 28. — No sermon at Carron Hall to-day, which 
 caused a large assembly at Rose Hill. The schoolhouse 
 being too small, worship was conducted under two of the 
 large mango trees in the neighbourhood.
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 Catechist and Teacher at Carron Hall and Evangelist at Rose Hill 
 -Engagement to Miss Louisa Peterswald 
 
 WE have now seen Mr. Anderson initiated into his duties 
 at Carron Hall and at Rose Hill. The frequent references 
 to his predecessor in the school at Carron Hall will have 
 prepared the reader for the announcement of their engage- 
 ment. It appears to have been a case of love almost at 
 fust sight on Mr. Anderson's part. Of the growth of Miss 
 Peterswald's regard for Mr. Anderson there is no record, 
 though Mrs. Cowan was doubtless her confidante, and her 
 interest in the welfare and happiness of both was very 
 deep. Her presence at Unity in July 1840 probably 
 smoothed the way for frequent meetings. The engage- 
 ment took place on the 1 8th of July. 
 
 In a letter dated Unity, July 1st, 1840, from Mrs. Cowan 
 to Mrs. Elliot of Ford, returning thanks for the box of 
 children's clothes *8ent with Mr. Anderson, we get an 
 interesting account of the young Scottish catechist and 
 the young Jamaica lady teacher, each in their respective 
 spheres of labour, and just on the eve of their becoming 
 engaged to each other: — 
 
 Your friend Mr. Anderson is well. He has enjoyed 
 
 excellent health, except two severe touches of toothache. 
 
 Mr. Cowan finds him a most useful assistant in all his 
 
 work, both among old and young. We all esteem him as 
 
 100
 
 Engagement to Miss Peterswald ioi 
 
 a most valuable friend. His whole heart is in his work, 
 and he has gained the affections of all the children. We 
 thought the school was in good order when he came, but 
 it has improved greatly under him. 
 
 Our former teacher is now teaching a school at Unity, 
 about six miles from Carron Hall, and is getting on most 
 successfully. She has a happy art of interesting the 
 children in Scripture narrative, and storing their minds 
 with the Bible. I have brought down the children to stay 
 with her a few weeks while Mr. Cowan is at the Presbytery, 
 that I may assist her in the school, as her health is not 
 very good. There are about sixty children daily at the 
 school, and every evening a few adults come to learn to 
 read. They have never had sermons on the Sabbath, but 
 it would make a most interesting missionary station. Last 
 Sabbath we had a Sabbath school among them for the 
 first time; 60 children attended and about 100 adults, who 
 sat with all the docility of children to learn the Catechism, 
 hymns, etc. When we see how eager they are to profit 
 by the smallest means of instruction, we long for more 
 teachers and missionaries. 
 
 On the 14th of July, Mr. Anderson had a narrow escape 
 in school. It is described in his Journal : — 
 
 Had just stepped down from the platform when a 
 gust of wind blew in a heavy dead light which fills up a 
 circular opening in the gable wall of the school. It went 
 crash through the table over which my head was bending 
 about half a minute before it fell. I feel grateful for 
 preservation. 
 
 The date of his engagement, July iSth, is recorded 
 along with the dates of other outstanding events in his 
 and his wife's life, in a copy of Daily Bible Readings, by 
 the Rev. Jas. Smith, presented by him to his wife at a 
 much later date. In his Journal, although the fact is not 
 mentioned, there is a significant sentence : — 
 
 Had a pleasant walk round by Carron Hall negro
 
 102 Jamaica Period 
 
 houses, the rivulet, the cottage, Newlands, and I'etersfield. 
 May remember this day in after years — Lord, lift upon us 
 the light of Thy countenance and bless us ! 
 
 In a Utter "To the Young Persons now and lately 
 attending the Sabbath School, Ford," dated 25th July, 
 Mr. Anderson writes about his scholars: — 
 
 Would you like to come into Carron Hall school 
 some day and see me busily employed among 130 
 or 140 blacks? I have about 200 scholars altogether, 
 but there are always a great many absent. One reason 
 of this is that a great number of them have to work 
 a week in the month or so, that they may procure 
 food and raiment and be able to pay their school fees. 
 They are kept at school, not by their parents as you 
 are, but by themselves. With few exceptions they are 
 diligent and anxious to get on with their learning. 
 Some of them were in the piccaninny gang} I must 
 explain this. Piccaninny signifies anything that is 
 young. Thus a boy came running to inform me one 
 day that " two piccaninny birds fall from nest." A man 
 came to me the other day to ask my leave to " pick 
 up " one of the piccaninny cats that were running about. 
 Whenever children were able to do anything in the field, 
 or rather before they could work in the field, they were 
 brought in companies to the buckra's (white man's) cattle- 
 Yard to begin their course of slavery by feeding rabbits 
 and hogs. These little creatures were in many places 
 very badly used ; and these companies of infant slaves 
 were called " piccaninny gangs." But, blessed be God, 
 the days of slavery are over; and when I look around 
 among my scholars and see them all clothed, and the 
 smile of joy beaming upon their countenances, and reflect 
 on what some of them were, and on what all of them 
 might have been, and would have been, had it not been 
 for freedom — that instead of being the happy children of 
 
 1 Cf. Memoir of Rev. Wm. fameson, p. 71. The hoys and girls were sent 
 to \v<>rk under a female driver. The Act of Emancipation provided that these 
 children should be allowed to attend school.
 
 Carron Hall Scholars 103 
 
 Carron Hall school, they would have been the naked, 
 ignorant, oppressed, broken-hearted children of the 
 piccaninny gang, my heart is rilled with gratitude to 
 Jehovah for His kindness to the sable sons and daughters 
 of Africa ; I feel happy that I came to Jamaica, and more 
 and more willing to spend and be spent in the service of 
 Jesus amongst its inhabitants. Pray for me that I may 
 have grace given to me to be faithful. 
 
 My scholars have no friends to instruct them in the 
 way that they should go ; their parents cannot do it — 
 indeed, in almost every case the children are better able to 
 instruct the parents than the parents the children. This 
 makes the duties of a teacher more arduous than at home. 
 And how overwhelming his responsibility ! Again I 
 solicit your prayers and the prayers of all who may hear 
 this letter read. 
 
 On Thursday last I gave the school the vacation for 
 the August holidays. We have two vacations in the year 
 in this country — one at the 1st of August, and one at 
 Christmas. You know that the 1st of August is held as 
 the Anniversary of Freedom. . . . 
 
 I do not know how the Sabbath school is conducted, 
 for I have seen it only once. There is no male teacher 
 in it. I believe about two hundred children attend it. 
 It meets about ten o'clock, and dismisses about eleven. 
 It is held in the church. Mr. Cowan or whoever supplies 
 his place holds a meeting in the school at the same hour 
 with the catechumens — that is, those who wish to become 
 members of the Church. The Sabbath-school teachers 
 meet with me on Friday evenings, when we go over the 
 Scripture lesson for the Sabbath. 
 
 When I first came here I thought that all the faces 
 were alike, as they were all black ; but I now perceive that 
 although there be less difference of complexion amongst 
 them than amongst you, yet there is the same diversity 
 of features. I have one little jet black creature with 
 cheeks so plump and forehead so intellectual and eyes so 
 expressive. . . . The girl's name is Penelope Wibley. 
 
 In a letter to Rev. A. Elliot enclosing the above letter, 
 Mr. Anderson says : —
 
 104 J \m.\ioa Period 
 
 We are all busy here preparing for the celebration of 
 the ist of August I am looking forward to it with 
 feelings of deep interest. I should like to have spent it 
 with the friends at Carron Hall ; but duty calls me to 
 Rose Hill. The Governor's proclamation is that "all 
 churches, chapels, and other places of divine worship are 
 tn be open on that day." We are to have our first soiree 
 on Friday evening, August 7th. 
 
 Both in his Journal and in a letter which appeared 
 in the Scottish Missionary Chronicle for Jan. 1 841, Mr. 
 Anderson gives a graphic account of the Commemoration 
 of the ist of August, and of the meetings on the two days 
 
 following: — 
 
 I had for some time been looking forward to the 
 celebration of the ist of August with deep interest, and 
 it was with emotions of no ordinary kind that I awoke on 
 the morning of the memorable day to the pealing of the 
 church bell, while, as yet, the only indications of the 
 approach of the great luminary of heaven were a few faint 
 streaks of brightness in the eastern sky. The people in 
 the neighbourhood had been invited to attend a prayer 
 meeting, which was to be held in the school at sunrise. 
 When Mr. Cowan and I entered, a few minutes before the 
 time appointed, there were about two hundred people 
 assembled. At Mr. C.'s request, I began the exercises 
 of the day with praise and prayer. It was not without 
 considerable effort that I maintained command of my 
 feelings. We sang the following hymn, prepared for the 
 occasion : — 
 
 " We hail the blissful dawn 
 
 1 >f I 'reedom's sacred day, 
 And call to mind the joyful morn 
 
 When Slavery pass'd away. 
 Praise to our God we sing, 
 
 And bless His holy name ; 
 We glory give unto our King, 
 
 From whom deliverance came.
 
 Commemoration Hymn 105 
 
 Long, long had Slavery's night 
 
 Hung darkly o'er our Isle ; 
 But we beheld, with sweet delight, 
 
 The Sun of Freedom smile. 
 Husband and wife are free ! 
 
 Our children, too, can roam, 
 In all the sweets of liberty, 
 
 Around their happy home. 
 
 To-day we gladly sing 
 
 New songs of joy and praise, 
 Our hills and valleys echoing 
 
 The heartfelt, thankful lays. 
 Ye breezes — waft our song 
 
 Up to the throne of God ; 
 Angels — the sacred notes prolong 
 
 Within your bless'd abode. 
 
 Jehovah broke our thrall, 
 
 And set the bondmen free ; 
 Our liberty — our life — our all, 
 
 O God, we owe to Thee. 
 To Thee, O Lord, alone, 
 
 Our hymn of thanks we raise ; 
 Seated upon Thy glorious throne, 
 
 Accept our humble praise." 1 
 
 While we were singing, the first beams of the morning 
 sun darted through the eastern windows. After prayer, 
 Mr. Cowan read in a very impressive manner the fifty-first 
 chapter of Isaiah, making a few appropriate observations 
 as he went along. Several of the negroes were then called 
 upon to pray. Their prayers were short and simple, but 
 full of feeling and fervour. Mr. Cowan then prayed, and 
 our morning service was concluded by singing — 
 
 " Hark ! the song of newborn gladness 
 Rolls along the western sea," etc. 
 
 The day was observed as a Sabbath. At the usual 
 hour of public worship both church and school were 
 filled. Mr. C. preached in the church, and Mrs. 
 
 1 This hymn was written by Mr. Anderson for the occasion.
 
 io6 Jam \i< a Period 
 
 C. and Miss P. were engaged in the school. I was 
 at Rose Hill. Our chapel there was crowded. I 
 addressed the people from Ex. xii. 40-42, and Ileb. 
 ii. 3. From the former passage, I spoke of the great 
 temporal deliverance which had been wrought by God for 
 the negroes of Jamaica; and from the latter, of a more 
 important deliverance than that, even the "GREAT SALVA- 
 1 [1 >.\." All seemed much interested — all seemed deeply- 
 devout. The universal gladness, the delightful excitement, 
 and many a hearty shake of the hand, reminded me some- 
 what of the customary congratulations at home on New 
 Year's Day, with this pleasant exception, that there was 
 nothing that in the remotest degree approximated to 
 boisterous merriment. Joy beamed in every countenance, 
 but it was joy chastened and softened by a thousand 
 interesting associations and recollections, — it was a feeling 
 of the soul which found expression better in the deep- 
 drawn sigh and the silent tear than in words. When 
 evening drew her mantle around us, I felt deeply grateful 
 to God that I had been privileged to see at least one 1st 
 of August in Jamaica. 
 
 Sabbath, Aug: 2. — Another delightfully interesting 
 daw Mr. C. went to Rose Hill, where he had an 
 overflowing audience. I remained at Carron Hall. Both 
 church and school were again crowded. From 1000 to 
 1 100 must have been present. I delivered the same 
 addresses or discourses which I delivered at Rose Hill 
 yesterday. 
 
 On Monday the 3rd I w r ent to a place called Cedar 
 Valley, to hold a meeting with the people there. While 
 at breakfast, Mr. and Mrs. C. raised my expectations 
 very high in regard to the scenery through which I was to 
 pass ; and I was not disappointed. Some places of the 
 road reminded me of the plains of East Lothian and the 
 banks of the Gala and the Tweed. One dark but 
 beautiful spot is worthy of notice. But it would require 
 a poet or a painter to convey any adequate idea of it — 
 at least, to the minds of many of my friends who have 
 received their loftiest impressions of nature's grandeur 
 and loveliness at Roslin Castle or Habbie's How. On 
 the right lies a large mountain, whose majestic ribs of
 
 Cedar Valley 107 
 
 rock frown over the pathway. At one point it is 
 surpassingly grand. An immense ledge of rock projects 
 over the whole breadth of the road, forming a semi-arch 
 over the traveller's head. Half-a-dozen of men on horse- 
 back could shun a shower below it. I believe it is often 
 used for that purpose. The arch is almost completed by 
 the pendent branches of the trees which luxuriate on its 
 surface. A few yards to the left, a sweet little rivulet 
 meanders along the base of one of the most picturesque 
 hills I ever beheld. It stretches away, almost perpen- 
 dicularly, to the clouds, apparently about three times the 
 height of Arthur's Seat, but clothed to the very summit 
 with trees of every form and of every size, arrayed in rich 
 verdure of every shade. Nature appears to conduct all 
 her operations on a much more magnificent scale within 
 the tropics than in the temperate zones. 
 
 Cedar Valley is, in some respects, much more beautiful 
 than either Carron Hall or Rose Hill ; but it is much 
 hotter than either of them. It is, however, a necessitous 
 place. It is eight miles from this, and in the midst of a 
 great and rapidly increasing population. I met a number 
 of the people below a large tree, beneath which Mr. Cowan 
 has often preached. I addressed them from John iii. 16. 
 The people are hungering for the bread of life. O ye 
 youthful soldiers of the cross in Caledonia, think of the 
 perishing thousands of Jamaica, and" come over and help 
 us " ! Several of our fellow-labourers have lost their 
 health, and have been obliged to leave the field ; oh, do 
 come and recruit our shattered ranks ! The proprietor, a 
 Brown man of the name of M'Gregor, is willing to give 
 an acre of land, and as much timber as may be required, 
 for the erection of a school or chapel, without charge. Is 
 not this a loud call to your Society to go up and take 
 possession of the land ? But while I write, the question 
 forces itself upon me, " Where is the missionary, or the 
 catechist, who is to occupy it, although we had a chapel 
 built to-morrow? " Surely some others have come to you 
 before this time and said, " Here are we, send us." 1 
 could not leave the people without engaging that either 
 Mr. C. or myself would be with them on the last 
 Sabbath of the month. They seemed very thankful when
 
 ioS Jamaica Period 
 
 I made that engagement. Some, however, looked sad, 
 and said, " It is too long." 
 
 Jamaica is far from being satisfied with what she has 
 already received. Her cry still is, "Give, give, give!" 
 A ii.l this will be her cry for some time to come. Our 
 daily prayer is that the Lord of the harvest would send 
 forth more labourers into this portion of His vineyard. 
 Such, too, I doubt not, is the prayer of thousands at 
 home. But it is to be feared that many use the prayer 
 who ought to be otherwise engaged ; that there are many 
 who are saying with Moses, "Lord, send, I pray Thee, 
 by the hand of whom Thou wilt send," who ought to be 
 saying with Isaiah, " Here am I, send me" 
 
 Meanwhile Mr. Anderson was not forgotten by his 
 friends in Scotland, as a letter from the Rev. A. Elliot of 
 Ford, of date nth Aug. 1840, testifies. In acknowledging 
 Mr. Anderson's letter announcing his arrival in Jamaica, 
 Mr. Elliot says : — 
 
 . . . The young folks laughed loud and long at the 
 idea of ytfur being so soon transformed into a minister 
 and preaching so frequently, and the negroes young and 
 old turning up their black faces, and opening wide their 
 eyes, listening with eager and rapt attention to your 
 discourses. Nor could I remain unmoved by the pictures 
 thus presented to my mind, though I sat in grave contem- 
 plation, and, instead of laughing, was rather disposed to 
 ask whether you were not doing too much — whether you 
 were not working yourself beyond your strength, and 
 whether you were not running too fast to run long. And 
 1 still have my doubts about this, though I am glad to 
 learn from the subsequent letters which I have seen, that 
 you are keeping your health excellently. I would not 
 counsel indolence or lukewarmness, or too much care 
 about yourself; but I would say, " Do thyself no harm." 
 Festina lente. Remember you are in Jamaica ; and while 
 you strive to do good and to promote the good cause to 
 the utmost of your powers, take care that you do not, by 
 over-exertion, lay yourself aside, and incapacitate your-
 
 Catechists' Hours of Labour Restricted 109 
 
 self for your Master's work. Your strength, your health, 
 your life, your all are His, and are to be devoted to Him ; 
 but you must study so to use them that He may have 
 His own with most usury — most may be done for His 
 glory and the good of those among whom you labour. 
 
 This caution was not unneeded, especially in the case 
 of a strong, eager, zealous young man like Mr. Anderson. 
 It is the temptation to which all young missionaries, male 
 and female, whose hearts are in their work, are subjected on 
 arrival in the mission field. They see so much to be done, 
 and there are so few to do the work, that necessity seems 
 laid upon them to do exactly as they would do at home, in 
 defiance of, though partly owing to inexperience regarding, 
 the changed climatic conditions amid which they labour. 
 
 That Mr. Elliot's counsels were not untimely may be 
 judged from the fact that the Jamaica Missionary Pres- 
 bytery, at its ninth sederunt, on the 7th of July, had come 
 to a resolution to restrict the hours of labour of the 
 catechists. The experience of men who have long been 
 on the mission field is, in matters of this sort, of great 
 weight and worth attending to, in these days when 
 increasing attention is being given to the health of 
 mission agents. I therefore give the resolution in full : — 
 
 As the health of several catechists is endangered by 
 their teaching too many hours (one of them, Mr. Moir, 
 being about to return to Scotland with his health im- 
 paired), and as this zeal, though in itself highly com- 
 mendable, is calculated to abridge their usefulness and 
 produce unfavourable impressions as to the healthiness 
 of the climate, thus preventing many young men 
 from coming to the island, the Presbytery resolved, 
 through the District Committee, to call the serious attention 
 of the teachers and catechists to this subject. They con- 
 sider that in this country no school should be taught
 
 i io Jamaica Period 
 
 longer than five hours, and that regularity of diet should 
 be studied, and exposure to the night air avoided. 1 
 
 As we shall see later on, Mr. Anderson himself, after 
 larger experience of the country and its climate, was able 
 to give his own testimony to health conditions in the 
 tropics, a subject to which he paid a good deal of attention 
 both in Jamaica and in Calabar. 
 
 The closing portion of Mr. Elliot's letter contained 
 intelligence of substantial remembrance on the part of the 
 people of Ford, which must have been encouraging to the 
 young missionary. Mr. Elliot says : — 
 
 We had our Missionary Anniversary here as usual on the 
 evening of our Fast Day, and in distributing our funds we 
 recollected Jamaica and you, and assigned £$ to assist in 
 building the new church at Carron Hall. I also took 
 occasion to mention the hint you had given of presenting 
 a new Bible and Psalm-book to the Carron Hall congre- 
 gation. The suggestion took ; the call was cheerfully and 
 warmly responded to, and I learn that the necessary 
 funds are already nearly provided. We shall have the 
 books ready by the time Mr. Simpson returns to Fort 
 Maria, who, as you will have heard, is reponed by the 
 Committee, and who speaks of sailing for Jamaica in 
 October or November. Fie will take charge of our present, 
 and convey it to its destination. 
 
 Friends here are all well — and all speak of you with 
 warm affection, and sincerely desire and pray for your 
 success. None, however, feels a deeper interest in you 
 than your aunt, nor is more rejoiced when a letter comes 
 from you, to whomsoever addressed. She has enjoyed 
 good health ever since you left — that is, comparatively 
 good — ill with her breath at times, but not so ill as I have 
 often seen her. She bids me say that she has no par- 
 ticular word to send you, except that she is in her ordinary, 
 and is always best when she hears from you. A letter 
 from you is her best medicine. 
 
 1 Secession Missionary Record, No. xiii., Jan. 1841, p. 55.
 
 A Glimpse of Life at Carron Hall i i i 
 
 As Mr. Anderson's MS. Journal ends abruptly with 
 the entry of the date, Tuesday, Aug. 4t/i, private letters 
 and letters and reports in the Scottish Missionary Society's 
 publications are the only sources of information regarding 
 the rest of his career in Jamaica. But in the extracts 
 from his Journal and his letters, given up to that date, a 
 sufficiently detailed account has been given of his manner 
 of life and work as catechist, teacher, and preacher. The 
 extracts from letters which follow will give glimpses of his 
 private and public life, while his annnal reports will show 
 the progress of the work in which he was engaged. 
 
 The first letter which takes up the thread of his life- 
 story is one dated Carron Hall, 3rd Nov. 1840, addressed 
 to the Rev. Andrew Elliot, Ford, in reply to his of nth 
 August. It contains a veiled reference to his engagement, 
 and refers Mr. Elliot to Mr. James Tod for information. 
 Unfortunately, the letter to Mr. Tod, which presumably 
 told the story of his engagement to Miss Peterswald, and 
 explained why he was suspended (surely not a very 
 happily chosen word, as literal suspension in the ecclesiast- 
 ical sense is not intended; from the exercise of sacerdotal 
 or catechetical duties at Unity, has not come into my 
 possession, and is probably no longer in existence. 
 
 Letter to Rev. A. Elliot, Ford. 
 
 You kindly assure me that I must think nothing too 
 little or too trifling to write about. Well, here I sit almost in 
 solitude on the summit of a lofty mountain, far far away 
 from the home and the friends of my youth. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Cowan went to Unity yesterday, so that, with the 
 exception of a white girl who boards here, my attendants 
 are all of the sable race. What did I say? A noise from 
 another apartment reminds me that there are no fewer
 
 i i 2 [amaica Period 
 
 than five little Creoles — all white — whose proximity I had 
 almost overlooked. Catherine Jameson 1 is laughing heartily 
 in that apartment, while the little twins are fretting for 
 their supper. Mary'- and Jane Cowan have just been 
 singing a Freedom Hymn along with their black play- 
 mates. We have just had coffee, and in writing home I 
 can hardly divest myself of a feeling of loneliness. No 
 winter fireside companionships and pleasures here. 
 
 We had some very warm days, or rather hours, last 
 month ; but the weather is somewhat altered. Indeed, I 
 have heard some people complaining of cold to-day. 
 I have not felt Jamaica heat to be at all oppressive, and 
 I doubt not I shall stand its cold exceedingly well. I 
 had two days of very slight sickness last week. Carron 
 Hall is a very salubrious place. We sometimes call it the 
 missionary hospital. The teacher at Unity and the teacher 
 at Goshen have been here for the last fortnight recruiting 
 their exhausted energies. 
 
 You and your congregation were much on my mind 
 on Sabbath. 1 presume it would be your Sacrament day, 
 as it was ours. We had a very interesting and happy day 
 at Carron Hall. Mr. Cowan preached an excellent 
 sermon from John xv. 19: "As the Father hath loved Me, 
 even so have I loved you: continue ye in My love." No 
 other minister was present to assist. I officiated as 
 precentor, and delivered the concluding address in the 
 evening. In the morning I had the catechumens and 
 most of the members for about an hour in the school. 
 I made them repeat the 84th metrical Psalm, made a few 
 explanatory remarks, and catechised upon it. 
 
 Nov. 7. — The rainy seasons have set in, so that I have 
 not so many scholars as I had formerly. I have still 
 upwards of a hundred, and I find that that number is 
 
 1 See Memoir of Rev. W. Jameson, p. 130. The motherless daughter of 
 the Rev. Wm. Jameson of Goshen. She was only eight months old at her 
 mother's death. But Mrs. Cowan, who was just recovering from the birth 
 of two children (mentioned above) sent for the child, and tended her with all 
 a mother's care, till Miss Jameson joined her widowed brother in 1840. She 
 is the wife of Rev. Alex. Robb, D.D. 
 
 - Afterwards the wife of the Rev. Zerub Baillie, Ikorofiong, Old Calabar. 
 She and her little Willie "sleep" in the cemetery there.
 
 The Lover under Interdict! 113 
 
 sufficient for the exercise of all my energies. I expect to 
 have a communication ere long from my young friends at 
 Ford to my young friends here. My youthful charge 
 here were quite delighted by Mr. Jas. Tod's message to 
 them. They look always quite happy and expectant 
 when I get any packet letters. They love well to receive 
 and send messages. 
 
 I still conduct the services of the Sabbath at Rose 
 Hill. I and the people there are getting acquainted and 
 attached. I am ready to resign my charge there, how- 
 ever, whenever a missionary or catechist arrives to take 
 charge of the station ; but I must confess I would feel 
 more willing and more gratified to resign into the hands 
 of one of my friends from Ford or Dalkeith than to any 
 stranger. May the Great Shepherd of the sheep soon 
 send one who shall be of more benefit to the interesting 
 people there than I have been, or can be, considering that 
 I have my school duties to attend to here. There has 
 been a change of teacher there. The present teacher is 
 much superior in every respect (if we except what the 
 former teacher was so proud of— whiteness of skin) to her 
 predecessor. The change has added much to the pro- 
 sperity of the station. 
 
 The school which I had the pleasure of opening at 
 Unity on Feb. 29th has flourished very much under the 
 superintendence of my predecessor at Carron Hall. It is 
 expected that her labours there will terminate at Christmas, 
 as it is the intention of Mr. and Mrs. Cowan to send her for 
 six months to a boarding-school at Kingston, preparatory 
 to an anticipated change in her residence and circum- 
 stances. Mr. Cowan holds a meeting with the people at 
 Unity on Tuesday evenings. On my coming to the 
 country I had frequently the pleasure of holding that 
 meeting, but since the school was set on foot I have been 
 seldom there, and latterly I have been entirely suspended 
 from the exercise of sacerdotal or catechetical duties there. 
 Jas. Tod can tell you why — -to him I refer you for 
 information. 
 
 The letter to Mr. Elliot was enclosed in one to Mrs. 
 Elliot, in which Mr. Anderson says : —
 
 ii4 I wiak \ Period 
 
 Thinking that Mr. Elliot may be in Ireland when this 
 reaches Ford, I shall take the liberty of putting your name 
 on the back of the letter, so that it may be in your power 
 to read what 1 have written to Mr. Elliot without breaking 
 the seal of anyone's letter but your own, for I must pro- 
 fess or confess ignorance of the laws, customs, or etiquette 
 observed by husbands and wives regarding each other's 
 letters. Please cut off the above scrap for my aunt. . . . 
 
 Your Bible and Psalm-books shall be much valued at 
 Carron Hall. I shall feel much gratified when called to 
 officiate from them in either desk or pulpit by the re- 
 flection that the}- were sent from Ford. I almost wish 
 they had been hanselled by a day's service at Ford. It 
 would have made them even more dear to me. I feel 
 much obliged by your kind wishes for my welfare. I some- 
 times think that I owe much of my present happiness to 
 the prayers of my friends at home. I often think of Ford 
 Manse and the happy seasons I have enjoyed there, and, 
 in spirit, I am often in the midst of your family circle. I 
 feel very happy here, however. 
 
 The following letter to his brother-in-law and his sister, 
 Mr. and Mrs. Clohan, of date Nov. 24th, 1840, conveys to 
 them the announcement of his engagement, which he had 
 already made to his aunt in the "scrap" attached to his 
 letter to Mrs. Elliot. But when he writes to them he is in 
 doubts whether his letters to the Elliots and to Mr. 
 J as. Tod will ever reach their destination. His old 
 bashfulness seems to overcome him in broaching his love 
 affair, and he beats about the bush till he comes to the 
 point in the second page of his sheet. 
 
 Letter to Mr. and Mrs. Clou an. 
 
 My very dear Brother and Sister, — I wish you 
 'glide New Year, and man}- returns of the season." I had 
 no intention of writing to you at present till within half an 
 hour ago. Mr. and Mrs. Cowan are both from home, and 
 I am left somewhat lonely, so I thought that I could not do
 
 "Something of Great Importance" 115 
 
 better than sit down and hold a little conversation with 
 you about family affairs. It is very customary to begin a 
 letter with " I have nothing of importance to communi- 
 cate," or some kindred expression ; but I cannot begin 
 this epistle in that manner, for I have at present something 
 of great importance to communicate. 
 
 I may set out by stating that I still continue, by 
 the blessing of God, to enjoy excellent health. I still feel 
 happy that I came here. I continue to love the country 
 and to love my work. I have not so many scholars as 
 I had during the summer, but I have just as many as I 
 can manage properly alone. My congregation at Rose Hill 
 continues to increase. I frequently supply Mr. Cowan's 
 pulpit on the Sabbath when he is in other parts of the 
 island. Sometimes he and I exchange places. We did 
 so last Lord's Day. The Carron Hall congregation 
 averages about 800. I have supplied Mr. Jameson's 
 pulpit at Goshen several Sabbaths. I have been one 
 Sabbath at Port Maria, one Sabbath at Middlesex, and 
 one at Cedar Valley. I have heard only about four ser- 
 mons since my arrival in Jamaica — except I dignify my 
 own exhortations with the title of sermons. Altogether I 
 have a very busy and a very happy life — oh that I could 
 add with any degree of confidence — a useful one ! 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Cowan are just like brother and sister 
 to me. They are exceedingly kind. I would suggest 
 that you remember them kindly in your letters to me, for 
 I am sure that any kindness which any show to me must 
 be regarded by you as done to yourselves. Remember 
 me very kindly to my dear little relatives, Mary, William, 
 and Agnes. Poor little things, I cannot tell you how 
 strongly I feel oftentimes for them. May they be early 
 brought into the fold of Jesus ! May they be amongst the 
 lambs which He gathers in His arms and carries in His 
 bosom ! Kiss them for me. 
 
 I sent a note to my aunt about a fortnight ago. If she 
 has received it (it was enclosed in a letter to Mrs. Elliot) 
 you will have heard of my intended union to my very 
 excellent and much-esteemed predecessor, Miss Louisa 
 Peterswald. When I wrote to Mrs. Elliot I also wrote to 
 Mr. Jas. Tod, but from a message which I received from both
 
 i [6 Jamaica Period 
 
 Pear Tree Grove and Kingston post-offices, I fear that 
 both letters must have been miscarried. Now, I earnestly 
 wish vou to ascertain whether this be the case or not. . . . 
 
 I trust, my dear friends, that you will write me im- 
 mediately when you receive this, and that you will tell me 
 what you think about my matrimonial intentions. Send 
 kind regards to your intended relative. She is a very 
 superior lady — much my superior every way. She has 
 several times expressed a fear lest my relations should 
 be displeased at me for marrying a stranger. A kind 
 message from you and my aunt will remove that impres- 
 sion. She is no stranger or alien from the covenant of 
 promise. You may recognise her as a sister in Christ 
 Jesus, and you may be proud to acknowledge her as your 
 friend and relative. I showed her the salt dishes I got 
 from Mary before I left home. She seemed much pleased. 
 She is not a beauty, but she is beautiful and handsome. 
 She is twenty-two years of age. 
 
 I receive the newspapers regularly, for which accept 
 best thanks, and convey them also to Mr. Rutherford. If 
 you have no time to write when you receive this, you can 
 give me a hint on a newspaper the old way. From the 
 long address you still put on the papers I perceive that 
 y> hi have not received my letter by Mr. Moir. 
 
 My Louisa has gone to a boarding-school to study 
 French, drawing, and music, so I shall not see her from 
 this time till May. Distance between us seventy miles, but 
 the roads are such that a journey will be impracticable. It 
 would take a week to go and come, and I have no time to 
 spare. But you may be sure we write frequently. 
 
 I am busy at present studying Greek and Church 
 1 [istory. I am half inclined to offer myself as a candidate 
 for the ministry. I think, if all be well, our marriage will 
 be in July, but you shall hear from me before that takes 
 place. May the blessing of God rest upon you! — I am, 
 dear brother and sister, ever yours, W. ANDERSON. 
 
 In a letter to the Secretary of the Scottish Missionary 
 S< iciety, dated Carron Hall, Dec. 16th, 1840, he renders some 
 account of his stewardship since his arrival in Jamaica: —
 
 Carron Hall School and Out-Stations 117 
 
 Report for 1 840. 1 
 
 My engagements may be comprehended under the 
 following divisions : — 
 
 I. Carron Hall School. — There have been at school 
 this year 252 children in all. The average attendance 
 in good weather has been 140. Besides reading and 
 writing, a few of the advanced boys are in proportion, 
 simple and compound ; of the more advanced girls, a few 
 are in compound subtraction ; the others are only in the 
 simple rules. The children are very fond of geography, 
 and are now familiar with the names and positions of the 
 countries, capitals, mountains, seas, gulfs, and rivers of 
 Europe ; the tribes of Palestine under the Old Testament, 
 and its provinces under the New ; and the countries of 
 America. At first a great number of the children used to 
 come without wages on the day appointed for paying 
 them. For some time I contented myself with telling 
 them not to forget them — an exhortation which was 
 but seldom regarded. Feeling it needful to take higher 
 ground, I intimated, previous to the August holidays, that 
 in future there would be no admission without wages. I 
 gave effect to this regulation at our first day's school in 
 August, by turning out about thirty who had come without 
 them. The most of them came back next day with wages. 
 If the measure has had any effect in diminishing the 
 attendance, it is only to a trifling extent. To anticipate 
 and obviate any charge of oppressiveness connected with 
 this measure, I may state that those children who have 
 no parents, or whose parents are very poor, are supplied 
 with wages on application to Mr. Cowan. 
 
 II. Out-Stations. — I continue to conduct the Sabbath 
 services at Rose Hill. From eleven to about one is spent 
 in devotional exercises, and reading and explaining a 
 portion of the Word of God. Deeming it important to 
 encourage (what is by no means fashionable here) attend- 
 ance on the afternoon's service, I then generally deliver 
 a short address on some particular point of Christian 
 doctrine or duty. Scarcely any go away in the interval 
 now. A class of catechumens was formed in May. It 
 
 1 Scottish Missionary Chronicle, May 1841, pp. 13-16.
 
 i is Jamaica Period 
 
 consisted at first of twelve persons ; but at present it con- 
 tains fifty-three. These are all, so far as can be ascertained, 
 of good moral character, and are looking forward to 
 admission as members of the Church of Christ. A number 
 of them, who previously lived in sin, have been married 
 during the year. After the more public services are over, 
 the catechumens remain for catechetical exercises. Of 
 many of them I cherish the fond hope that they will yet 
 prove intelligent and consistent members of the Church. 
 One of them came to me one Sabbath lately for advice 
 as to the disposal of a mule which had got its leg broken 
 some months before. He said that it was only punishing 
 it to keep it alive, and he wished to know if it would be a 
 sin to shoot it. I need hardly say that I told him it 
 would be none. I was much pleased to see such tender- 
 ness of conscience. In some respects the Rose Hill 
 people carry matters perhaps too far. Mr. Cowan had 
 told them to use the bell for assembling the workmen 
 engaged in building the new schoolhouse. It was so used 
 several times ; but they soon discovered that their bell 
 would be desecrated if applied to a secular purpose, and 
 I understand that the first thing now done on Monday 
 morning is to remove it from the tree on which it hangs 
 and take it to some place of safety, where it may remain in 
 silence till the hallowed morning requires its vibrations as 
 a summons to the worship of God. The new school- 
 house is not yet erected ; the old one has been re-seated — 
 accommodates about 130, and is packed every Sabbath. 
 We have had to meet sometimes beneath two large mango 
 tre< 
 
 I have been at Cedar Valley only once since I wrote 
 you in August. I had a large audience below a tree. 
 1 he people there are exceedingly anxious for the means of 
 instruction. One negro is ready to give £4 to assist in 
 building a church there. "Come over and help us! No 
 man careth for our souls ! " such is the message which 
 almost every week brings from Cedar Valley to Carron 
 Hall. The state of the weather prevents our assembling 
 below the tree at present. The people are either erecting, 
 or are about to erect, a temporary place of worship, 
 with a roof, which will render us more independent of the
 
 Visiting an Old African 119 
 
 weather, and consequently able to have meetings more 
 frequently at this place than heretofore. Are you not 
 about to send us a reinforcement from home ? How 
 much it is needed ! 
 
 III. Visiting the Sick. — I have had but little to do 
 in this department, but enough to testify, in a striking 
 manner, the depravity of the human heart ; the deplorable 
 ignorance which prevails amongst the negroes ; and, at the 
 same time, the power of the Redeemer's grace. I was 
 sent for, one week-day evening, to visit an old man in the 
 neighbourhood of Rose Hill, who was very sick. He was 
 unable to speak much. Indeed, the only words I could 
 hear were, "Parson, how d'ye?" He died just as I left 
 the house ; and — melancholy thought ! the neighbours 
 imagined that his soul would be safe because I was with 
 him and prayed with him in his dying hour. I was re- 
 quested to visit an old African at Rose Hill one Sabbath 
 evening. I found him in a very miserable state both 
 of body and of mind. His mind seemed to be enveloped 
 in worse than Egyptian darkness. He knew nothing about 
 God, or heaven, or hell, or the soul, or sin, or a Saviour. 
 I tried to convince him that he was a sinner, and that he 
 needed salvation ; but in vain. He assured me that he 
 was no sinner, for he had never harmed a dog or a cat, 
 or any person. He seemed somewhat annoyed when I 
 pressed matters upon him, and said, " Too sick ; not able 
 to speak buckra ; tongue too heavy " ; and after that I 
 could get him to say nothing but African. If I remember 
 rightly, he was a native of Congo. An old woman who 
 had some knowledge of the gospel interpreted a few 
 sentences, and to her care I had to leave him. Very 
 different were the circumstances of a woman, one of the 
 Rose Hill congregation, whom I was called on to visit 
 a few Sabbaths afterwards. I found her very low in body ; 
 but her mind was calm and happy, reposing upon Jesus 
 for salvation. Among other things, I asked her if she loved 
 the Saviour. Her eyes filled with tears, and she said, 
 " Oh, massa, why me no love the Saviour, who has done so 
 much for we?" Ere another Sabbath came round, she 
 was, I had no reason to doubt, with Him whom her soul 
 loved— and in whom, when I saw her, she was rejoicing
 
 120 Jamaica Period 
 
 with joy unspeakable. I felt it to be animating and com- 
 forting to see a deathbed like hers. One of the last sick 
 persons whom 1 visited was a woman who was drawing 
 
 h to the gates of death. On asking- her where she 
 thought her soul would go if she were now to die, her 
 reply was, " To hell." I endeavoured to point her to that 
 blood which cleanseth from all sin ; but 1 have no means 
 of knowing with what effect. She died a day or two 
 afterwards. 
 
 IV. Evening Meetings. — The Carron Hall and Peters- 
 field people meet in the school on Sabbath and Friday 
 evenings. They are chiefly taught reading and Scripture 
 history. I, of course, assist Mr. Cowan at these meetings. 
 I meet with the Sabbath-school teachers on Friday even- 
 ing, before the general meeting is held, and go over the 
 Bible lesson for the Sabbath. We have two meetings in 
 the month, during the moonlight, for the practice of sacred 
 music. These meetings have been exceedingly well 
 attended. The people are very fond of music. 
 
 On the retrospect, the closing year appears to me to 
 have been the busiest, the happiest, and the fleetest I 
 have ever spent. I well remember the tremor and the 
 strong sensation of awe with which I was filled on the 
 9th of January, as we approached the shores of Jamaica, 
 and beheld its serrated mountains, like so many gigantic 
 graves, its houses, and its trees, becoming more and more 
 visible. A thousand interesting but painful recollections 
 of what I had heard at home of the horrors of slavery 
 rushed upon my mind, and for a time I could contemplate 
 the island only as a theatre which had been the scene 
 of many fearful exhibitions of African wrong, European 
 guilt, and Heaven's vengeful retribution. When the fare- 
 well gun was fired from the Christian, I felt as if the last 
 tie that bound me to the land of my nativity had been 
 demolished with the explosion. It was with feelings, to 
 say the least, akin to melancholy that I reflected that I 
 was not only far, far from my country and my kindred, 
 but that I was in the land which has been designated 
 " the grave of Europeans," and inhaling its (supposed) 
 tainted and pestilential atmosphere. 
 
 I find myself still alive, however, and, I suppose, as
 
 The Present of a Saddle 121 
 
 living like as ever I was. I never enjoyed better health 
 at home than I have enjoyed, as yet, in this country. 
 Twice or thrice, I think, after more than usual exertion, I 
 have had a slight sickness ; but a little medicine and a 
 day's rest have fully restored me. I enjoy the climate 
 exceedingly. I have hardly ever found the heat to be 
 oppressive. The people are warm-hearted and kind. My 
 saddle and bridle were stolen some months ago. The 
 people here were both indignant and ashamed that such a 
 thing should have been done among them. They set a 
 subscription on foot among themselves for the reparation of 
 my loss ; and the other Saturday (how simply things are 
 done here ! no pompous deputation — no speech-making), a 
 boy came into school bearing an excellent new saddle, — 
 " Here's a saddle, sir." " What are you going to do 
 with it?" "It be to you, sir." "Where is it from?" 
 " Me can't tell, sir." " Well." So that was all that passed 
 at the presentation of the saddle, and I suppose I shall 
 hear no more about it. You may be sure that I value 
 it very highly.
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 The 1'roposcd Mission to Africa — Mr. Anderson's Marriage to Miss 
 Louisa Peterswald — Prevailing Mortality in Jamaica — 1841 
 
 THE outstanding event of the year 1841 in Mr. Anderson's 
 history is his marriage on August 12th to Miss Louisa 
 Peterswald. But in the same year another event took 
 place, which was the formal initiation of a movement that 
 was destined to sweep into its current not a few of those 
 then labouring in Jamaica, and to bear them eastward to 
 the original home of the negro in Western Africa. 
 
 ' The meeting of the Jamaica Missionary Presbytery, 
 in July 1 84 1, at Mr. Jameson's place, Goshen, was," says Mr. 
 Waddell, 1 " perhaps the most important of all its meetings." 
 The question of a mission to Africa had engaged the 
 attention of the Presbytery in 1839. At a meeting in 
 1 840 it was resolved to come to the next meeting prepared 
 to decide the grave question of a mission to Africa from 
 the congregations in Jamaica. Sir T. F. Buxton's book, 
 The Slave Trade and its Remedy, had been sent to Mr. 
 Waddell on publication, and opened up the whole subject. 
 And so, when the Presbytery met, "the conviction was 
 produced in all our minds," writes Mr. Waddell, " that the 
 way was ready for our going forward. We felt bound to 
 take some decided step ; yet, seeing that the gravest 
 
 'Waddell's Twenty-Nine Yean in the West Indies and Central Africa, 
 
 pp. 184, 206-7. See 'i' s o Blyth's Reminiscences of Missionary Life, Goldie's 
 
 Calabar and its Mission, p. 70. and Dickie's Story, p. 1. 
 
 122
 
 The Proposed Mission to Africa 12 
 
 o 
 
 consequences would result to ourselves and our congrega- 
 tions from our decision, we suspended business, and, under 
 an inexpressible solemnity of mind, devoted the rest of 
 the day to prayer for divine direction." 1 
 
 " When the subject was resumed next morning, a deep 
 feeling of awe was on the minds of all present, as each 
 gave his opinion in favour of the new mission, and 
 expressed his readiness to go forth on it, if called thereto 
 by his brethren, and approved of by the Church at home. 
 It was a renewed and unreserved self-consecration to the 
 cause of our Lord and Saviour among the heathen ; and 
 some who were present on that solemn occasion, not 
 members of the court, have said that they could never 
 forget the impressive and affecting scene, nor could they 
 restrain their tears of joy that God had inclined the 
 hearts of His servants to offer themselves so willingly for 
 the new and arduous service. 
 
 " The resolutions of the Presbytery on the subject 
 expressed its conviction, that the time was favourable for 
 renewed efforts on behalf of the evangelisation of Central 
 Africa ; that it had strong claims on the Church of God, 
 and especially on the Christians of Great Britain ; that the 
 best agents for the purpose might be found in West Indian 
 Churches, and among missionaries acclimated and ex- 
 perienced ; that our congregations and ourselves felt the 
 deepest interest in it ; and that we offered ourselves to 
 the mother Churches of our native land to undertake the 
 service." 2 
 
 1 "An express messenger was sent off that evening to Kingston for a dozen 
 copies of Buxton's work, which we learned had just arrived there for sale, 
 that all our congregations might be fully instructed on the subject." — Waddell's 
 Twenty-Nine Years in tlie West Indies and Central Africa, f.n. p. 206. 
 
 - The resolutions are given in full in M'Kerrow's History of the Foreign
 
 i 24 J \m ah \ Period 
 
 " At the time this self-dedication was made," the eight 
 brethren, Messrs. Blyth, Waddell, P. Anderson of Bellevue, 
 Niven, Scott, Simpson, Cowan, and Jameson, "had in view 
 no particular part of the Guinea Coast. They only 
 desired to put themselves at the disposal of the Lord, who 
 seemed at that particular time to be asking, ' Whom shall 
 we send, and who will go for us ? ' The Spirit of God 
 moved them all to say, ' Here are we, choose Thy 
 messenger. By Thy grace we arc all ready to be offered 
 for Thy cause in wretched Ethiopia.' That vow was 
 heard in heaven. Two of that band were sent," viz. 
 Messrs. Waddell and Jameson, and the latter laid his 
 bones in the dust of Africa. 
 
 Whether any of the three catechists, Samuel Edgerley 
 senior), Hugh Goldie, and William Anderson, who were 
 also in time to be called to go to Africa, were present on 
 this memorable occasion, I cannot say. William Ander- 
 son, as the nearest to Goshen, would likely be the first to 
 hear of the resolutions come to by the Presbytery, and as 
 Mr. Cowan was one of those who dedicated themselves to 
 the new mission, would learn all about it from him. 
 Doubtless Mr. Anderson would be much impressed, and 
 the possibility of Mr. Cowan being called to go to Africa 
 would of course give rise to reflections as to how that call, 
 should it come, would affect his own work. Had his MS. 
 Journal of this time been preserved, we might have had 
 glimpses of his state of mind ; but in the few private and 
 public letters and published extracts from his Journal I 
 find no reference to the resolutions of Presbytery. The 
 same is the case with regard to a published letter of Mr. 
 
 Missions of the Secession and United Presbyterian Church, pp. 368-9, and in 
 Goldie's Calabar and its Mission (taken from preceding work), pp. 70-72.
 
 A Sabbath Morning 125 
 
 Goldie's, dated September 1841, which gives an interesting- 
 account of his routine work. 1 Each was absorbed in and 
 devoted to his work in Jamaica. 
 
 A few extracts from Mr. Anderson's Journal, published 
 in the Scottish Missionary Chronicle for Dec. 1 841 , form 
 the only extant record of his life in the earl)- part of this 
 year : — 
 
 Jan. 1, 1841. — No first -footing, no rum or whisky 
 drinking, no boisterous merriment, has marked the close 
 or the commencement of the year. There is a calmness, 
 a seriousness, a propriety, in the deportment of the 
 people here, unknown in Scotland at this season of the 
 year. 
 
 Feb. 21. — Sabbath morning. A most delightful morn- 
 ing. The sun is majestically climbing the blue mountains. 
 Earth's first Sabbath, when Jehovah rested from His 
 creating work and smiled with complacence upon our 
 globe, could scarcely have been more lovely or more 
 grand. What a silence ! Not a leaf quivers. All is still, 
 save a few of the feathered tribe. Their music is 
 generally in this country neither loud nor sweet, but at 
 present it is both. Every leaf and every blade of grass is 
 heavy with silvery dew. Above, all is the blue serene of 
 heaven — not a cloud, not a dark speck is to be seen. In 
 the valleys beneath, the morning mists are still reposing. 
 What a happy scene would this be, were Jamaica a land 
 of Bibles, and of knowledge, and of religion ; but here, 
 amidst the fairest of nature's scenery, and on this blessed 
 and hallowed morning, how heart-sinking is the reflection 
 that the moral condition of thousands of her inhabitants is 
 that of darkness, desolation, and death, — that ignorance, 
 superstition, and vice hold from ten to twenty thousand 
 of the inhabitants of this parish under their dark 
 dominion ! May the Sun of Righteousness soon arise and 
 chase away the darkness of Jamaica's dreary, long-con- 
 tinued moral night ! 
 
 April 9. — Good Friday. The people being all idle at 
 
 1 United Secession Magazine — Quarterly Missionary Record, Jan, 1S42, 
 P- 55-
 
 126 Jamaica Period 
 
 any rate to-day, it was judged expedient to have public 
 worship here and at Rose Hill. While at the latter place 
 [ was invited to dinner by one of the Carron Hall elders 
 — an invitation with which, prompted in some degree by 
 curiosity, I gladly complied. It is the first time I have 
 dined in a negro's house. The table was pretty well 
 supplied with yams, fish, pork, butter, and beverage made 
 of honey and juice of lemons mixed with water. The 
 wife waited table. She would on no account sit down 
 with her husband and myself. I urged her several times 
 to do so, but in vain. The husband joined her several 
 times in begging teacher "just to excuse him" i.e. her\ 
 for the feminine personal pronoun is but little used among 
 the negroes, he and him being applied to anyone, be it 
 man, woman, boy, or girl. 
 
 On leaving, I assured them that I would not 
 visit them again unless the mistress would promise to 
 take her proper place at her own table. She said some- 
 thing which I understood to be a promise to the effect 
 that she would do so when I shall call again. 
 
 ^ i 
 
 In a letter of date Aug. ioth, 1841, 1 Mr. Anderson 
 mentions that "on Saturday, the ioth July, the foundation 
 'if a new church was laid at Carron Hall. The day 
 proved exceedingly unfavourable ; but at one time about 
 3000 persons were supposed to be present." On that 
 occasion the collection amounted to about £83 sterling, 
 " though the rain has dispersed a great part of the people 
 before it was made." As a further proof of the interest 
 which the people took in the work, Mr. Anderson records 
 the following statistics, the compilation of which bear 
 witness to his own interest in the work: — 
 
 1 have been out taking the number and the names of 
 those who have turned out to contribute a week's work to 
 
 ] Scottish Mis ionary Chr March 1842, p. 4, and Report of the 
 
 Scottish Missionary Society, 1842. p. 24,
 
 Gratuitous Labour 
 
 127 
 
 the making of a lime kiln, preparatory to building the new 
 church. The numbers are as follows : — 
 
 Breaking stones ..... 
 
 42 
 
 Carrying stones ..... 
 
 121 
 
 On the kiln ...... 
 
 32 
 
 Hewing and carrying wood 
 
 109 
 
 Cooks roasting yams, plantains, etc. . 
 
 4 
 
 Elders overlooking .... 
 
 2 
 
 310 
 
 It would do your heart good to see them. A fine, happy 
 spirit prevails among them. They are all working cheer- 
 fully, gratuitously, and, with scarcely an exception, dili- 
 gently. And these, forsooth, are the men and women who 
 would not do a hand's turn except under the terror of the 
 lash ! When or where was there ever such a sight to be 
 seen in Scotland in connection with the building of a 
 church? Is it on record that from three hundred to four 
 hundred people (some who were not at hand, and others 
 who are still going to the scene of action, are not included 
 in the above list) ever turned out there simultaneously, of 
 their own accord, to labour for a week gratuitously at the 
 erection of a place of worship? Our hearts are gladdened 
 by the willingness of the people, and we would take it as 
 a token of good from the Lord. But we would also be 
 humble. " Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto 
 Thy name be glory. Thou alone hast put it into the 
 hearts of Thy people to serve Thee willingly, as at this day. 
 Praise the Lord— Hallelujah ! Amen." 
 
 With reference to his approaching marriage, Mr. Ander- 
 son, on 1st May 1841, wrote to Miss Eliza R. Watson as 
 follows : — 
 
 You tell me my aunt says something about my coming 
 home for a wife. She, nor anyone else, had any reason to 
 expect that ; for I am sure I often protested, both pretty 
 publicly and privately, that I would never return home on 
 any such errand. I must confess, however, that I little 
 expected to find one (at least so soon) in Jamaica.
 
 i 28 J \m Ai< \ Period 
 
 In a letter of date 30th Sept. 1 841, to Mr. and .Mrs. 
 Clohan, Mr. Anderson writes: — 
 
 My i\ ik beloved Brother and Sister, — We— that 
 is to say, my dear, dear Louisa and myself —were exceed- 
 ingly gratified on the 20th inst. by the arrival of your long 
 and interesting epistle of 15th Jul}-. We are glad to 
 learn that yourselves and the little ones are all well. . . . 
 You need not trouble yourself, nor put yourself to any 
 expense, about a newspaper for me. I frequently 'not 
 very regularly) get the Edinburgh Evening Courant from, 
 at least through, Mr. Tod. We have not generally a great 
 ileal of time to spare for the perusal of newspapers. 
 
 Monday, Oct. 4. — Mv DEAR NANCY, — I was remem- 
 bering you yesterday. I have no doubt you also re- 
 membered that it was your birthday — your twenty-eighth 
 birthday. Dear me, but you and I are getting very old 
 now. I hope we are becoming wiser and better as we 
 journey on through life, drawing nearer and nearer the 
 eternal world. . . . 
 
 I continue to enjoy pretty good health. I have still 
 plenty to do. We have upwards of 130 children in 
 attendance at school just now. These furnish plenty 
 of work for us both. On Sabbath the 26th inst. I con- 
 ducted divine service for the first time in the new 
 chapel, Rose Hill. My congregation there is increasing. 
 I am becoming much attached to them. Yesterday 
 afternoon I held the first missionary prayer meeting. It 
 was a solemn and deeply interesting season. The prayers 
 were simple but fervent, and the addresses (by the negroes 
 themselves) were very touching indeed. Join with me in 
 prayer that they and I may through eternity bless the day 
 we ever met together. . . . 
 
 I know not what to think of the controversy about the 
 extent of the Atonement. It is surely a war more 
 about words than anything else. I should like much 
 to have all the pamphlets published on both sides of the 
 question. . . . 
 
 In the course of a long letter to the Rev. A. Elliot, 
 dated 17th Oct. [841, Mr. Anderson writes as follows: —
 
 MRS. ANDERSON
 
 Memories oe Dalkeith Fair 129 
 
 It was on the third Sabbath of July 1833 that I sat for 
 the first time at the Lord's table. Your text that day in the 
 tent was Ps. li. 12. On the third Sabbath of July this year 
 I addressed at Rose Hill from the same text. I told the 
 people why I had taken it — it was with faltering voice I 
 could do so. They seemed deeply interested. I trust 
 that you have no objections to my frequent use of notes 
 which I used to take of your sermons. I suppose you 
 little thought, when mounting the pulpit at Ford, " Now, 
 the discourse which I am to deliver to-day is not to be 
 confined to my own congregation. In preaching here 
 to-day I am preaching also to inhabitants of other climes 
 thousands of miles distant." . . . 
 
 I have just remembered that to-morrow is Dalkeith Fair. 
 I remember of leaving Ford for it one year in great glee 
 with only twopence in my pocket. I would have been happy, 
 happy if I had possessed a groat ; sixpence would have 
 made me the happiest boy in the fair ; had I been able to 
 exhibit a macaroni, alias a shilling, verily I had hardly 
 acknowledged the Duke as my superior. I feel a deep 
 interest in some of the dealers in old books who used to 
 frequent Dalkeith fairs and markets. I feel half inclined 
 to send my kind regards to them. Many a pleasant feast 
 have I stolen from them in turning over the pages of books 
 and pamphlets which I had the will — and the will only — 
 to purchase, reading as much as possible without seeming 
 to read. Well, I wish there may be no accidents and no 
 intemperance at the fair to-morrow, but a great deal of 
 business transacted at the old book stands. 
 
 You have heard of the death of the Rev. Mr. Scott, 1 
 and of Dr. Aitken. I have now to inform you of the death 
 of another of our fellow-labourers, Mr. Wm. Kay, teacher 
 and catechist at Mount Horeb. He died, I think, after a 
 week's illness, on the 2nd inst, and was buried on the 3rd. 
 So Dr. Aitken has not been long without a companion to 
 rest with him among the lonely mountains. It was in Mr. 
 Kay's house that Dr. Aitken died. What adds to the 
 distress in Mr. Kay's case is that his wife had a child about 
 
 1 Rev. Win. Scott, Hillside, on 14th August. See Minutes of Jamaica 
 Presbytery regarding him and Dr. Aitken, and Mr. Kay in United Secession 
 Magazine, July 1842, p. 389. 
 
 9
 
 i ;o Jamaica Period 
 
 a fortnight previous to his death, and was in a very poor 
 state of health. She was, at the date of our last informa- 
 tion from that quarter, in a state of mental derangement, 
 ignorant of her husband's death. She and seven children 
 arc left to deplore their heavy loss. Mr. Kay's life in 
 lamaica, so far as regards temporal circumstances, must 
 have been one of privation and discomfort. A numerous 
 family — located at an out-station — an insufficient salary — 
 but, I doubt not, all is well with him now. My heart 
 bleeds for his poor children. May the Father of the 
 fatherless take them under His care! . . . 
 
 Death has been doing" awful havoc among us : our 
 ranks are enfeebled and shattered. Loud and solemn are 
 the calls which are addressed to us. ... I may say that 
 I am reminded of death every time I leave my house or 
 enter it. There are six or seven graves within a few yards 
 of it, the nearest being within two feet of the doorsteps. 
 The tenant of one of these graves is, I am informed, a 
 European of the name of Anderson. None has been 
 buried here these ten or twelve years, and we are busy 
 just now transforming the place of skulls into a flower 
 garden. 
 
 I do not think that in any of my letters hitherto I have 
 taken notice of the most prominent feature of Carron Hall 
 scenery, namely, a beautiful cabbage tree, which faces the 
 eastern window of my habitation, distant from the house 
 betwixt thirty and fort}- yards. I took its height a few 
 mornings ago by the shadow, and found it to be ninety-five 
 feet. Its circumference two feet from the ground is five feet 
 five and a half inches. It appears to be nearly the same 
 thickness till within a few feet of the top. It is naked for 
 about ninety feet. It has just eleven leaves upon it. You 
 can form an idea of its tallness from the height of Ford 
 Bridge. I think I have heard it said to be ninety (?) feet 
 high. . . . 
 
 Miss Watson sent me a parcel of bags, etc. I suppose 
 she intended them for rewards. I sold them, however, for 
 about sixteen shillings sterling. I wish this fact to be 
 known, for it may show little girls how much they may 
 help missions even in a pecuniar)- way. I gave the money 
 to the school fund of one of our out-stations, Philipsburg
 
 Prices in Jamaica 131 
 
 (late Cedar Valley), where one of my scholars (M. G. 
 Mitchell) has commenced operations as a teacher. 
 
 I am flattering myself that I have just two more home 
 letters to write this year — one to Mr. Chisholm,and one to 
 Dr. Brown ; perhaps one to my worthy agent, Mr. Jas. 
 Tod. I cannot sufficiently thank him for his kindness. 
 Getting articles from Britain is attended with considerable 
 trouble and expense to ourselves and trouble and anxiety 
 to our home friends, but charges here are so exorbitant that 
 we could hardly live otherwise. I may give you an example 
 or two : Buxton's work On the Slave Trade sells at home 
 for 5s. ; its price here is 16s. I purchased a hat lately 
 for £1, 9s. ; I could have got it for from 12s. to 15s. at 
 home. Sugar sells here at is. per lb., salt butter at 2s. 
 per lb. Coffee and rum are quite cheap. The above is 
 all sterling money. Currency (as distinguished from ster- 
 ling) was abolished on 1st January 1841. 
 
 The Jamaica Divinity Hall, under Professor Jameson, 
 opens, I believe, on the second Wednesday of December. 
 Four students : Messrs. Aird, Elmslie, Buchanan, and 
 Goldie. I intend to be down for a week or two. 1 We 
 have two weeks' vacation at Christmas. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Cowan and family are all well at present, 
 and, with Mrs. Anderson, unite with me in love and sym- 
 pathy with you and yours. My love to my aunt. Tell 
 her I am quite well and happy in my new life, happier 
 than ever I expected to be in Jamaica. I find Mrs. A. an 
 invaluable assistant in school, and in all respects a great 
 comfort. — I am, Rev. and very Dear Sir, ever yours afftly., 
 
 W. Anderson. 
 
 In connection with appeals by the Directors of the 
 Scottish Missionary Society for missionaries and teachers, 
 there was published in the Chronicle for July 1842 the 
 following letter from Mr. Anderson, dated Carron Hall, 
 Dec. nth, 1 84 1, and entitled Prevailing Mortality: —   
 
 1 It was probably on this occasion that Messrs. Anderson and Goldie met 
 personally for the first time, and began their lifelong friendship.
 
 i 52 Jamaica Period 
 
 1 believe that a letter at this time from Jamaica would 
 be considered somewhat deficient were it to pass unnoticed 
 the prevailing mortality. . . . The negroes, at least those 
 who live in the country, appear to be enjoying a com- 
 parative exemption from the visits of the King of Terrors. 
 White people, and people of colour, are falling in all 
 directions. . . . 
 
 Within these few months five connected with the Pres- 
 byterian Missions have been called from their labours. 
 . . . All connected with the Mission here are at present 
 in the enjoyment of good health. But we know not what 
 a day may bring forth. . . . 
 
 I remember of a gentleman saying to me, before I left 
 Scotland, that "to go to Jamaica" and "to die" had long 
 been in his mind synonymous terms. Our large obituary 
 this year will, I doubt not, confirm and deepen this im- 
 pression in many, and extend it to others. I do not know 
 what may be the sentiments of others on this point, but 
 from what I know of the circumstances attending the 
 deaths of many, my impression is, that to attribute all the 
 mortality of Europeans in Jamaica exclusively to the 
 climate is unjustly and ignorantly to accuse the God of 
 the climate. 1 There are some very sickly seasons here, 
 but there are sickly seasons in Scotland too. That disease 
 is more rapid in its progress here is admitted, but it does 
 not follow that the climate alone is the cause of this. 
 Many causes exclusive of climate may and do operate 
 here to superinduce and to aggravate disease. I shall 
 mention three of the most prominent. 
 
 1. That there is a difference betwixt the climate of 
 Scotland and that of Jamaica, and that exposure which 
 
 1 The same remarks are applicable to Calabar. There is much ignorant 
 accusation of the God of the climate. Conditions of life and work (which can 
 be improved), rather than the climate itself, have been and still continue to 
 be responsible for much of the sickness and invaliding .and death in Old 
 Calabar. So long as any ordained agent, for example, has to do the work of 
 two or three men, there are bound to be failures of health and breaks in the 
 continuity of work. The Deputies who visited Calabar in 1893 proposed, to 
 meet the inevitable furloughs, and to prevent, if possible, breaks in the con- 
 tinuity of the work, that there should be three men on the staff for two men 
 actually required.
 
 "The Victim of Imprudence" 133 
 
 might be attended and followed by no inconvenience in 
 Scotland would probably be succeeded by disease or 
 death in this country, is unquestionable. This to a new- 
 comer, however, must be rather a matter of faith than of 
 sense. If he arrives in any of your winter months (I 
 speak from experience), he is delighted with the universal 
 verdure, and the delight is heightened by the contrast 
 which he cannot fail to make in his own mind betwixt 
 the bare bleak hill which he has left behind and the lux- 
 uriant scenes before him. He feels the sun a little hotter, 
 perhaps, than he used to feel it in July at home, but, 
 having had his system purified by sea-sickness, he feels 
 strong in body and elastic in spirit ; and, conscious of 
 strength, he rushes like the horse into the battle, meeting 
 every idea of danger with the smile of contempt. If he 
 is so happy as to meet with kind and faithful friends, who 
 warn and entreat him against over-exertion and undue 
 exposure of himself, he feels amused or annoyed. He 
 steels himself against all remonstrance, and to demon- 
 strate his superior prowess he takes a walk of six or eight 
 miles ; he becomes fatigued, sits down to rest, probably 
 falls asleep, lies an hour or two beside a bush, awakes, 
 walks home amid the evening dews ; or he fasts, day 
 after day, for nearly the whole twenty-four hours ; or he 
 braves a dash of rain, and allows his clothes to dry 
 upon his back ; or he exposes himself too much to the 
 rays of the burning sun ; or he refuses the strong 
 medicines which experience prescribes ; or he does a 
 hundred other things of this nature, which not one 
 European constitution in twenty can stand, and which 
 the natives in general are too wise to try. A week's 
 hot fever succeeded by debility, or probably by death, 
 is the consequence. This is no imaginary picture. 
 Such I would call the victim (not of the climate but) 
 of imprudence. 
 
 2. I might describe an individual of another class, with 
 mind harassed by " fightings without and fears within," 
 who, humanly speaking, might have lived to see many 
 days amidst the tranquillity and society of home ; but 
 opposition, or unkindness, or loneliness, or discomfort, or 
 disappointment, or oppressive care, preys upon his spirit,
 
 134 I wiak a Period 
 
 and at length drives it from the body. Such may be 
 designated the victim of circumstances} 
 
 3. There is another ; but the title is so significant 
 that I need only mention it — the victim of intemperance. 
 
 My firm conviction is, that if the climate has slain its 
 thousands of Europeans, imprudence, circumstances, and 
 intemperance have slain their tens of thousands. 
 
 While I have penned these observations from a feel- 
 ing that it is a sacred duty, incumbent upon us who 
 remain, to do what we can to remove erroneous impres- 
 sions regarding the deadliness of the climate of this land, 
 I am far, very far, from accusing all who have died here of 
 doing anything which tended to shorten their days, and 
 equally far from saying that their lives would have been 
 prolonged had they remained at home. He who hath 
 been made Head over all things to the Church hath the 
 keys of the unseen world and of death, and we may rest 
 assured that none of His servants have entered that 
 world without His consent. They have gone to their 
 rest, and are now enjoying their reward. It is soothing 
 to reflect that, though the servants die, the Master liveth, 
 and is " alive for evermore." Our prayer to Him is, " Lord, 
 supply the places of those whom Thou hast taken away." 
 And our prayer and the prayer of hundreds to the Chris- 
 tians of Scotland is still, " Come over and help us." This 
 has been our loud, our repeated, our reiterated cry. A 
 great Scottish poet, in describing an engagement of the 
 olden time, speaks of 
 
 "Each stepping where his comrade stood 
 The instant that he fell." 
 
 Soldiers of Christ in Scotland! can ye do less? If for 
 earthly riches or honours men willingly brave dangers 
 and deaths, how much more ought you to be ready to 
 sacrifice all for the honour of your Lord and the advance- 
 
 1 " Hundreds of book-keepers have died from mere neglect. They had no 
 company — no one that cared anything about their meals, or comforts, or to 
 give them medicines when sick. Sunk in spirit and diseased in body, they 
 died the victims of circumstances." For a description of the monotonous 
 routine of a book-keeper's (or overseer's assistant) life, see the early chapters 
 of Marly ; or, The Life of a Planter in Jamaica, 2nd ed., Glasgow, 1828.
 
 "Come over and Help Us" 135 
 
 ment of His cause ! " Come over and help us ! " Behold 
 our shattered ranks ! See the number of the slain ! See 
 only a small handful of your friends and brethren in the 
 field where hundreds might be fully engaged. Hasten to 
 our support. All of you can sympathise with us, all of 
 you can pray for us ; but many of you can do more — you 
 can "come over and help us." If you wish another 
 motive, lift up your eyes again, and behold thousands in 
 this land stretching forth their hands for the bread of life, 
 crying, " Give, give." See thousands more, wandering as 
 sheep without a shepherd, no man caring for their souls. 
 View this scene and " come over and help us." If you wish 
 still another motive to assist you in self-devotement to 
 the Saviour, go to Calvary. Who agonises on that centre 
 cross? Contemplate Him a little. His countenance is 
 more marred than that of any man ; yet beneath that 
 cloud of anguish and those blood-drops which trickle 
 down His face ineffable benignity beams forth. But think 
 especially of the feelings of that heart for you. You 
 know not the intensity of that love with which it throbs 
 for you. Look at Him for a little. Christian soldier, 
 what are thy feelings now? What can they be, or what 
 language can express them but this : " The love of Christ 
 constraineth me thus to judge, that if He died for me, I 
 ought to live to Him — to do whatever He pleases — to go 
 to the farthest verge of the green earth if He wills"? . . . 
 
 This appeal is as applicable to the needs of Calabar 
 to-day as to those of Jamaica in 184,1.
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 1842 
 
 I urination of a Congregation at Rose Hill— -Mr. Anderson's 
 ( )rdination as an Elder 
 
 THE principal events of the year 1842 were the death, on 
 March 3rd, of Mr. David Pratt Buchanan of Port Maria, 
 who had gone out to Jamaica along with Mr. Anderson ; 
 the formation of a congregation at Rose Hill ; and the 
 ordination of Mr. Anderson as a ruling elder on the 20th 
 of May. 
 
 In a letter to Dr. Brown, dated Carron Hall, March 8th, 
 Mr. Anderson writes of Mr. Buchanan's last days of work, 
 death, and funeral : — 
 
 In closing my letter to you this day week, I mentioned 
 to you that Mr. Buchanan was ill of scarlet fever, and 
 " not out of danger." I was much struck when, on the 
 evening of Thursday the 3rd, I received a second note 
 from Mr. Simpson, informing me that Mr. B. was no more. 
 He had died at noon. On the Thursday previous he was 
 in school, though poorly, — just a week in descending from 
 his work to his grave. He was much stronger and better 
 looking a few weeks ago than ever I saw him either in 
 Scotland or here. On the first Sabbath of February, Mr. 
 Simpson being from home, I went to Port Maria, and Mr. 
 Buchanan came to Rose Hill. His text that day was, 
 1 hen shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the 
 kingdom of their Father." On the third Sabbath he was 
 at Unity. . . . That was his last public work in the Church 
 below. 
 
 136
 
 A Comrade Fallen 137 
 
 On Friday morning I rode down to his funeral. At a 
 little after twelve the solemn procession left the school- 
 house for the church. The coffin was followed by Mr 
 B.'s scholars, and some other young people, arm in arm. 
 It was placed in the middle of the church. I took my 
 station beside it, and addressed the young people, many 
 of whom were deeply affected, and shed many tears. Mr. 
 Simpson addressed the old people from the desk. After 
 devotional exercises, the remains of our brother were 
 deposited in their resting-place, just beside those of Mrs. 
 Simpson, who was laid there three months before. . . . 
 
 On Sabbath I had to address the congregations at 
 Carron Hall and Rose Hill. I went to Rose Hill early, 
 and returned to Carron Hall between one and two o'clock. 
 The congregations at both places were large and deeply 
 attentive. All seemed deeply affected when mention was 
 made of Mr. B. Many of Carron Hall congregation had 
 heard him at Unity. 
 
 The only extant early letter of Mr. Anderson to Mr. 
 Goldie, and probably the first written after their meeting 
 at " the Hall " at Goshen, is a brief note informing him of 
 the death of Mr. Buchanan. It begins and ends, " My 
 dear brother," which continued to be their fraternal style 
 of address in their lifelong correspondence, which unfor- 
 tunately has been almost wholly destroyed. 
 
 Mr. Anderson goes on to mention how the work con- 
 sequent on an illness of Mr. Cowan's and the prevailing 
 sickness had affected his own health : — 
 
 Mr. Cowan was very ill about the beginning of February. 
 Having had more than usual work to do in consequence 
 of Mr. C.'s sickness, and that work being, on account of 
 the prevailing sickness and death, of a very exciting kind, 
 I felt myself at the end of March considerably worn out. 
 For a week or two I was I can hardly say sick, but sickly. 
 I was ill enough a few days, having been salivated. I 
 have got over my weakness now, however, and feel my 
 health as good as ever it was. The epidemic which has
 
 i ; v s Jamaica Period 
 
 hurried so many hundreds into eternity lias not yet ceased 
 its ravages, but it is nothing now to what it was from 
 August to March. 
 
 A description of Mr. Anderson's first experience of a 
 shock of earthquake follows: — 
 
 On the afternoon of Saturday the 7th curt, the shock 
 of an earthquake was felt in this island. It was so slight 
 that few felt it. It is the first in my experience. I was 
 sitting alone on the sofa reading (I think) The Life and 
 Times of Jolui Campbell, when I felt the whole house 
 shake under me. It was an undulating motion, like that 
 of a ship over a wave. I looked out and saw several 
 people busy at different things, but no one seemed to feel 
 anything strange. Without saying anything, I resumed 
 my reading, but thought, " This is surely an earthquake." 
 On mentioning it to several persons afterward, it appeared 
 that all who were sitting within doors in quiet felt it, and 
 those out of doors or busy did not feel it. 
 
 In a letter 1 dated Carron Hall, May 25th, the Rev. 
 John Cowan writes regarding the formation of a congre- 
 gation at Rose Hill : — 
 
 Since I last wrote you a considerable part of my time 
 lias been occupied at Rose Hill examining candidates, in 
 order to the formation of a church and the dispensation 
 of the Lord's Supper among them. This, in my present 
 rather weakly state, has been a somewhat laborious 
 though a very interesting work. I conversed with them 
 individually during the da)-, and had meetings with them 
 in the evenings. On this and on former occasions I 
 examined upwards of fifty of them several times, and out 
 of this number have admitted thirteen, who seemed to be 
 the choice portion of the Rose Hill congregation. It was 
 
 itifying to see the excellent spirit manifested by those 
 
 who were delayed. Some of them would have been 
 
 happy if I had encouraged them to come forward ; but 
 
 none of them expressed any undue anxiety to be admitted, 
 
 1 Published in Scottish Missionary Chronicle, Jan. 1843.
 
 Formation of Rose Hill Congregation 139 
 
 and they manifested the very best feeling towards those 
 who had got before them. 
 
 With those admitted I have had great satisfaction in 
 observing their correct knowledge of the leading truths of 
 the gospel, and have often been greatly cheered by the 
 influence which these appeared to exert over their con- 
 sciences and hearts, manifesting itself, in some instances, 
 in the tears they shed while conversing of the love of 
 Christ in dying for our sins ; and in others, in their 
 undisguised sorrow for the hardness of their hearts, in 
 preventing them from making a more hearty surrender of 
 themselves to Him. They belong, I trust, to the fold of 
 the Good Shepherd. They have given evidence that they 
 are walking in the footsteps of the flock. . . . 
 
 We met for the formation of the church on Friday 
 the 20th inst. We enjoyed on that occasion the minis- 
 trations of Mr. Simpson of Port Maria, and two American 
 missionaries, Messrs. Beardslie and Hovey. Mr. Simpson 
 commenced the services by praise and prayer. Mr. Hovey 
 preached from Acts ii. 47 : " The Lord added to the 
 Church daily such as should be saved." Afterwards, the 
 candidates who had been approved of were formed into a 
 church by making a confession of their faith, and a pro- 
 fession that they gave themselves to the service of the 
 Lord, etc., — the care of them devolving jointly on Mr. 
 Anderson and me. Mr. Anderson was ordained at the 
 same time to the office of ruling elder. Mr. Simpson 
 offered up the ordination prayer, and concluded the ser- 
 vices by an address to the church. . . . The influence, I 
 trust, of the services of this day will be salutary and 
 abiding. The schoolhouse, although not floored, was 
 seated throughout, and nearly full. Several of the mem- 
 bers of Mr. Beardslie's church and of Carron Hall were 
 present. 
 
 The Lord's Supper was observed at Rose Hill on the 
 22nd inst. The day on this occasion was no less interest- 
 ing than the day when the church was formed. There 
 was a large assembly — more than could be accommo- 
 dated. Mr. Beardslie preached an excellent discourse 
 from John x. 14, and several of the members of his 
 church came and united with the members of the Rose
 
 140 I \m \i' \ Period 
 
 1 1 ill and Carron Hall churches in fellowship at the Lord's 
 table. 
 
 Having thus noticed the formation of a church at 
 Rose I [ill, let me remind you that the gospel began to be 
 preached there about five years ago, at first on the coffee 
 terraces, and afterwards in a temporary building erected 
 by the people themselves. This building, though of a 
 very humble description, cost much of the time and 
 labour of the people, and has served both as a school- 
 house and place of worship. It was built in the month of 
 August 1838, the first month of freedom, some of the 
 people remarking that they wished to give the first of 
 their labour to God. For the first three years I was able 
 to give them only an occasional sermon ; but since the 
 arrival of Mr. Anderson in 1840, his labours on the Sab- 
 bath have been almost exclusively devoted to Rose Hill, 
 and the attainments of the people are peculiarly the fruit 
 of his labours among them. His deep interest in them 
 has been abundantly manifested, and it must be very 
 gratifying to him to see, in the formation of a church 
 among them, the first-fruits of his anxieties and labours 
 and prayers on their behalf. 
 
 In his letter to Mr. Elliot, Mr. Anderson gives an 
 account of the formation of the congregation, etc., similar 
 to that of Mr. Cowan, and, commenting on the small 
 number admitted to membership (which he gives as twelve), 
 writes ; — 
 
 Others might have been admitted, but it is deemed 
 best both for safety and comfort to begin with few at a 
 new station. When Mr. Chamberlain formed a church at 
 Port Maria, he admitted only fourteen, although he had 
 been preaching there for three years. I must confess, how- 
 ever, that I was not altogether satisfied that so few seemed 
 lave received much benefit from the Sabbath instruc- 
 tions of upwards of two years. But I expect that the 
 umber will soon be doubled. I have upwards of seventy 
 catechumens, besides the twelve members who are, with
 
 Studies for the Ministry 141 
 
 the exception of a few superannuated individuals, making 
 advances in knowledge. . . . 
 
 He goes on to speak of his studies : — 
 
 The North District Committee, under which I am 
 studying, meets on this day week. I have to read a few 
 chapters in " Hebrews" in Greek, the 4th of "Genesis " in 
 Hebrew, and am to be examined on vol. 4th of Dick's Lec- 
 tures. By the way, does not Dr. Dick show in his 100th Lec- 
 ture that to catechists belongs the title of Doctor ■? (p. 376). 
 
 I compiled an Introduction to English Grammar a 
 few months ago. If Dr. (William) Brown be getting it 
 printed, you may have a copy from him. I wrote both to 
 Dr. Brown and Mr. Chisholm of my want of a Hebrew 
 Bible, Lexicon, and Grammar. I trust one of them will 
 send said books. I wish also TJie Testimony of the Seces- 
 sion Church. I have been studying the 2nd volume of 
 Home's Introduction for some time. It is one of the Ford 
 books. 
 
 The Jamaica Presbytery meets in June. I believe 
 that Mr. Aird and Mr. Elmslie will deliver trials for license. 
 One question to be settled is, What powers are to be 
 conferred along with license to preach? The catechists 
 are looking forward with deep interest to this meeting. 
 I regret that the place of meeting is so distant that I 
 cannot attend it. 
 
 In a note to Mrs. Elliot, written across the letter to 
 Mr. Elliot, Mr. Anderson returns thanks for what was 
 evidently a marriage present. He says : — 
 
 My dear Madam, — Accept of best thanks from Mrs. 
 Anderson and myself, and, I may add, Mr. Cowan too, for 
 The Life and Times of folin Campbell. It formed a rich 
 treat to us all. In an out-of-the-way place like this the 
 reception of a new book, especially of one so full of interest 
 as that you sent, forms an era. For my part, I devoured 
 the work without one unnecessary interruption. I could 
 not leave it till I finished it. 
 
 Since I last parted with you, you have been called to
 
 142 Jamaica Period 
 
 drink of the bitter cup of sorrow. I doubt not you feel 
 the death of your children to be a new connection betwixt 
 you and the eternal world. I feel the death of my 
 scholars to be so to me. 
 
 My wife and I are exceedingly obliged to yourself and 
 Mr. Klliot for your kind regards and wishes. Must I say 
 it ? During your long silence I often thought, " Well, Mr. 
 and Mrs. E. do not approve of my marriage." That 
 thought was always a damper, for since I was a boy I 
 always looked up to you with confidence and affection, 
 and I could not bear the thought that perhaps you did 
 not approve of that step. I cannot tell you how happy 
 the assurance of your approval would have made me ; but I 
 have myself to blame, I should have asked it. I have it 
 now, and am much gratified by it. 
 
 A brief note to Mr. Elliot, of date July 22nd, 1842, 
 may also be given : — 
 
 In my last to you I mentioned some Hebrew books 
 of which I was in need. On Saturday last, out of a 
 box which came to Mr. Cowan, I got an excellent new 
 copy of Gesenius' Hebrew Lexicon, and do. do. 
 do. of Mr. Stuart's Hebrew Grammar, a present 
 
 (I see worth £2, 5s. 6d.) from Rev. Dr. John Brown. I 
 was confounded when I saw them. I was in expectation of 
 getting a Hebrew Bible in Kingston, but have hitherto 
 been disappointed. Mr. Cowan's, of which I have the 
 loan, is hardly legible. It is the edition of Doederlein and 
 Meissner, Lipsiae, 1793. If you can secure a good copy 
 for me, please send it. Mark the price on it. Mention 
 the price also of The Testimony of the Un. Sec. C/i. If a 
 "Discourse by a Jamaica Catechist" would be of any 
 service for your magazine, I shall forward a short one. 
 How presumptuous I have become! — Love to all, from 
 your ever affectionate W. ANDERSON. 
 
 Mr. Elliot's reply to these letters, though bearing the 
 date 3rd Jan. KS43, will most fitly be given here: — 
 
 I rejoice that you have enjoyed such uninterrupted good
 
 Mr. Elliot's Interest in his Work 143 
 
 health — that you have been so wisely guided in forming 
 the most endearing and important relation in life, and 
 find in Mrs. Anderson one so capable of sympathising 
 with you and aiding you in your missionary enterprises — 
 and above all, that you take so much delight, and are 
 favoured with so much success, in the blessed work to 
 which you have devoted yourself. I hope you will con- 
 tinue to meet with increasing encouragement, and that 
 you will be made the happy instrument of enlightening 
 many of our brethren of the negro race, and turning them 
 from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto 
 God, and especially of bringing many of the young among 
 them to the knowledge and belief of the truth that they 
 may be saved, and perhaps of preparing many of them 
 for being future missionaries and preachers. I am very 
 glad that you are enrolled as a student at the Theological 
 Seminary, and expect to hear ere long of your being 
 licensed as a preacher, and advanced to the status of 
 minister and missionary. I am even indulging the pleas- 
 ing thought of your revisiting Ford, at some time or other, 
 in that character, and perhaps assisting me in dispensing 
 the Lord's Supper to my people, so many of whom are 
 acquainted with you, and all of whom take a lively 
 interest in your welfare, and are delighted with every 
 piece of good news that is received from you. 
 
 Mr. Elliot's letter refers to the health of old Mrs. Potts, 
 Mr. Anderson's aunt, and to the illness of his cousin 
 William, who was dying of consumption in Dalkeith. 
 Mr. Elliot writes : — 
 
 You must have heard that your aunt had, several 
 months ago, a stroke of paralysis. It was a very slight 
 one, and she is enjoying at present good health. Her 
 mind has suffered more than her body, and is much more 
 weakened. But though reduced to a kind of second 
 childhood, she is cheerful and sufficiently happy. She 
 resides with your aunt at Dalkeith. Though, however, at 
 some distance from us, we frequently see her, and she is 
 always delighted to see us.
 
 Jam \i< \ Period 
 
 A brief reference to the neighbouring ministers known 
 to Mr. Anderson may also be quoted: — 
 
 Our neighbours, Messrs. Cooper, Sandy, and Brown, 
 are well ; and their congregations, as well as my own, arc 
 not, I think, decreasing (bad as are the times, and severely 
 as all classes are suffering), but rather improving and 
 advancing in numbers. 
 
 A present of a bound volume of The United Secession 
 Magazine for 1842, and the favourable response to Mr. 
 Anderson's offer of a contribution for the pages of the 
 magazine, must have greatly delighted Mr. Anderson:— 
 
 The editor of the Secession Magazine, while begging 
 your acceptance of the last year's volume, as a small token 
 of his respect, has not forgotten your offer, and will receive 
 and insert with pleasure a sermon from a Jamaica 
 Catechist. He sends you also the two numbers of this 
 year — the only ones that have yet been published, and 
 will send you the others as they appear, or as opportunity 
 occurs. 
 
 A few extracts from Mr. Anderson's Journal will lead 
 up to his and Mr. Cowan's reports on the work for the 
 year : — 
 
 May 12. — Showed my scholars a sample of Scottish 
 wheat, barley, and oats, all on the straw. We have 
 nothing resembling them here except grass. They viewed 
 them with much interest. Several passages of Scripture 
 were pointed out where mention is made of wheat, barley, 
 and corn. We feel much obliged to our Ford friend who 
 sent them. How delighted would scholars in Scotland 
 feel could their teachers show them a bunch of bananas 
 or a cluster of mangoes ! 
 
 Oct. 19. — A heavy rain this afternoon. Dismissed 
 school a little earlier than usual, during an interval of
 
 African "Customs" 145 
 
 rain, as a heavier storm seemed to be gathering. In a 
 short time one of the girls came running to tell me that 
 one of her little companions had been carried down the 
 river. Mr. Cowan and I immediately set off to see if we 
 could render any assistance. When we got down, the 
 girl's father had dragged the body out of the water, and, 
 assisted by a neighbour, was carrying it home. We used 
 all the means we could think of, aided by a Medical 
 Guide, to restore animation, but were unsuccessful. 
 Death had secured its victim. 
 
 Dec. 11. — Talked to a few old people to-day about 
 African affairs — about the murders called customs, of which 
 I had been reading in the November number of the Scottish 
 Missionary Register. No surprise was expressed by any 
 of them at the rehearsal of the dark deeds. None of them 
 are Ashantees, and they have never seen people beheaded 
 on the death of their chiefs. But they have seen what is, 
 in some respects, worse. They have seen many persons 
 placed on or in the graves of men of rank, having both 
 arms and legs previously broken, and left to die there 
 from agony and starvation. An old woman told me 
 that she narrowly escaped being eaten. A neighbouring 
 tribe used to come down and steal her countrypeople, 
 and keep and fatten them like so many hogs. When 
 quite fat, two were regularly killed and eaten every morn- 
 ing. She was once captured, and would have been eaten 
 like her companions, but she became sick, and in con- 
 sequence did not become fat. Another old woman told 
 me that she remembered of being sent when a girl into a 
 hut to get fire. A large fire was on the floor, and around 
 it were hung hands, limbs, and different parts of human 
 bodies, that they might be dried and eaten like hams. 
 The fat sometimes dropped into the fire and made it 
 blaze more brightly. She had seen men scraping human 
 sculls into powder, which they put upon the palms of their 
 hands and licked off like sugar. On asking this group of 
 aged Ethiopians if they would not like to go back to Africa, 
 a general shudder accompanied the unanimous and 
 evidently heartfelt reply, " No, massa ! " Verily, " the 
 dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of 
 cruelty." 
 10
 
 i.j<> Jamaica Period 
 
 Little did Mr. Anderson dream, as he eagerly listened 
 to and recorded these stories of African " customs," that 
 in a few years he would himself be grappling with similar 
 " customs " in Old Calabar. 
 
 In a letter dated Dec. 12th, 1842, Mr. Anderson gives 
 a report on Carron Hall school for the year. He 
 writes : — 
 
 The attendance has been considerably better this year 
 than last. The total number of scholars last year was 
 244, and the average attendance 127. The total number 
 this year is 264, and the average attendance 143. In 
 good weather we have frequently had 160 present. 
 
 For some time back I have made the advancement 
 from one division to another elective by the scholars 
 themselves. Once in three or four months, I name a day 
 about four weeks distant, on which the choice is to be 
 made. When the time comes, all in the first division are 
 allowed to name anyone in the second whom they think 
 fit to join them. Those who have been named are then 
 called up for trial. The Old Testament is opened at 
 random, and three verses pointed out, which are immedi- 
 ately read aloud by one of them, when a show of hands is 
 taken whether he is to be received or sent back to his old 
 class. And so on with the rest. Those who read well 
 are promoted ; those who blunder are sent back to their 
 old seats, with a counsel to be diligent against the next 
 election day. Those in the second division proceed in the 
 same way to choose the best readers out of the third. 
 The trial with them is to read two or three verses in the 
 Testament. This plan, as a stimulus to diligence, far 
 exceeds my expectations. Formerly there used to be 
 a reluctance shown by many of the scholars to go to a 
 higher class, but by making it a point of honour they all 
 strive to attain it. A more difficult book is not now an 
 object of dread, but of ambition. If anyone become care- 
 less, or fall back in his lessons on account of absence, he 
 is, on the vote of his class, put down to the next lower. 
 Two of the girls have this year become members of the 
 church.
 
 Estimate of Work at Rose Hill 147 
 
 In regard to Mr. Anderson's work at Rose Hill, Mr. 
 Cowan, in his report, says : — 
 
 He has been indefatigable. A complete system of 
 instruction is in operation at Rose Hill on the Sabbath. 
 There as well as here (Carron Hall), we have to combat 
 with old errors, with which the people's minds have been 
 occupied in former years. Even some of the school chil- 
 dren have been led away by the leaders, and put through 
 a course of dreaming. 1 Notwithstanding this, however, 
 the prospects of the station there are highly encouraging. 
 
 The number of scholars on the list at the station is 
 88, and the daily attendance is about 60. Eighteen of 
 these are learning arithmetic, grammar, and geography ; 
 and 24 are writing. The schoolhouse there is all 
 finished now, except the flooring and seating. The 
 boards for the former have been provided, and the 
 carpenters are now employed upon it. 
 
 1 For an account of the superstition regarding the religious value of 
 dreaming, see Jameson's Memoir, pp. 34 and 198.
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 In charge at Carron Hall, 1843-44— License and Call 
 to Rose Hill, 1844 
 
 THE principal events of the year 1843 were the visit of 
 the Rev. John Robson, A.M., Wellington Street Church, 
 Glasgow, to Carron Hall, and the departure of the Rev. 
 John Cowan, with his wife and part of his family, to 
 Scotland on sick leave. 
 
 In the course of a speech at the Annual Meeting of the 
 Scottish Missionary Society, held in Edinburgh on April 
 1 6th, 1844, Mr. (afterwards Dr.) Robson gave an account 
 of his visit to the stations of the Society. His visit to 
 Carron Hall was paid in the beginning of April 1843. 
 He said : — 
 
 On Thursday I left (Port Maria) for Carron Hall, 
 where the Rev. J. Cowan is stationed. Here a new 
 church was in process of erection. The walls were 
 finished, and the workmen were engaged with the roof. 
 When finished, it will be a substantial and commodious 
 building. The old place of meeting, although it had been 
 enlarged once and again, was far too small, and very 
 inconvenient in many respects. The schoolhouse is a 
 large edifice, well adapted for the purpose to which it is 
 applied. The pupils attending it are about 200, and are 
 under the able superintendence of Mr. and Mrs. Anderson. 
 I was frequently in it while the process of instruction was 
 going on, and the whole state and management of the 
 seminary reflect the highest credit on both teachers and 
 taught. On the Friday evening there was a numerously 
 
 14S
 
 Rev. John Robson on Work at Rose Hill 149 
 
 attended meeting in the schoolhouse for the practice of 
 sacred music. In this the negroes take great delight, and 
 at the various mission stations have made very consider- 
 able proficiency. On Saturday I accompanied Mr. Cowan 
 to one of his out-stations named Rose Hill. It is, I believe, 
 about six miles distant. A large audience assembled in 
 the wooden church erected there. Messrs. Beardslie and 
 Preston of the American Mission were also present, and 
 took part in the religious services in which we engaged. 
 It was a time of refreshing from the presence of the Lord. 
 On Sabbath the classes met in the morning as at all your 
 other stations, and the public services of the day were 
 conducted in the usual form. The place of meeting was 
 crowded. On Monday afternoon I had a long and 
 interesting meeting with the elders, and conversed with 
 them on a variety of subjects, such as their ancient 
 superstitions — the changes that had taken place in the 
 island — its present religious state — and the need for more 
 missionaries. They displayed great intelligence and 
 Christian simplicity, and appeared to be very anxious to 
 do what they could to help onward the cause of God. In 
 the evening we held a large missionary meeting. I 
 addressed them at some length, urging them to devoted- 
 ness and liberality — telling them what the Christians at 
 home had done, and what they expected them to do — 
 showing them the propriety of getting their new church 
 finished as speedily as possible, and then trying what they 
 could do for others who were yet sitting in darkness. 
 Various speeches were made by the people. I give the 
 following as a specimen, premising that, although I am 
 not sure about the correctness of the negro-English, I am 
 quite sure that they were the precise sentiments of the 
 speaker. He was one of the elders : — 
 
 We much pleasure, massa, in hearing what cle minister from de 
 far country say. We quite glad that he come to tell we dese tings. 
 He give we great privilege. He write dese tings on our eyes and on 
 our hearts. We must go on and read de lesson — we must read it. 
 He come over de great ocean. We not know what it is, but our fathers 
 and mothers know it when dey come in de slave-ship, and de ministers 
 know it ; and since minister come so much far to speak to we, we must 
 take care to read de lesson which minister hab written. We must
 
 150 Jamaica Period 
 
 go on building God's house — no, not for God, for God need no house 
 on earth to dwell in — but de house for we to worship God in, and that 
 our souls may get good in it. Let us all put our hands together to 
 de work. Like de horses or de cattle in de waggon, we must all 
 draw together, and den we soon get our load to de place, and den we 
 throw it off, and come back empty, and quite fresh to begin again. 
 
 We must go on. One man plant provision, — if hungry man 
 come past, you must give him provision. Well, we got knowledge, 
 then we must give knowledge. Our brothers and sisters in de far 
 country, whom we do not know, deliver we from our ignorances. 
 Before we know de gospel we do many tings wrong. On Sabbat we 
 work our grounds, burn de grass, go village ; and when candles 
 lighted like this, busha him come and flog two or three of we. Now 
 we no do dese tings. Well, if we stand stock still in de same place and 
 not go on, den brothers and sisters in de far country say, "All our 
 labour in vain," and dey be sad. Just as if a child on de mother's 
 breast, trained up, and him become worse and worse, de mother sad 
 and say, "All my labour in vain." But how blessed — how glad she 
 when de child grow up in de grace of God. So with we. We must 
 not stand still — we must go on — we must support our minister —and 
 we must try and support other ministers, and thus remove the 
 ignorance of others. 
 
 The word we have been hearing is not like de rain that fall and 
 come again, when de clouds return after de rain. It must abide. 
 The minister dat speak de word, him go away to de far country. 
 We see his face no more. Him speak to we no more. Therefore 
 we must keep de good rain which he has caused to fall on our hearts, 
 that it ma) - make we grow. 1 
 
 This address gives a good idea of Mr. Anderson's 
 fellow-elders and of the people among whom he and Mr. 
 Cowan were labouring at Carron Hall. 
 
 There are no letters in existence from or to Mr. 
 Anderson during this time. After the departure of Mr. 
 Cowan for Scotland his time seems to have been very 
 fully occupied. An interesting account of his and Mrs. 
 Anderson's labours at this period is, however, supplied in 
 a letter of reminiscences from Miss Mary Stuart, now of 
 
 - Annual Report of the Scottish Missionary Society for 1844, pp. 37-38.
 
 Miss Mary Stuart's Reminiscences 151 
 
 South Haven, Mich., U.S.A., who was adopted by Mr. and 
 Mrs. Anderson. She writes : — 
 
 My acquaintance with Mr. and Mrs. Anderson began 
 in July 1843. My father went to Carron Hall to do 
 carpenter work on the new church, and took his family 
 with him for the advantages of church and school. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Cowan had gone to Scotland to take their two 
 eldest children to school, and also for the benefit of Mr. 
 Cowan's health, which had given way under his manifold 
 labours, and needed recruiting. Mr. Anderson was left in 
 charge of the church at Carron Hall in addition to the 
 school, also the church at Rose Hill. He did not supply 
 the pulpit at Carron Hall, but, with the exception of the 
 preaching service on Sunday and marriages and baptisms, 
 he attended to all the other work of the station in Mr. 
 Cowan's absence — no light task, I assure you. As Mr. 
 Anderson had to preach at Rose Hill every Sabbath, the 
 other ministers took turns in preaching at Carron Hall. 
 
 The school was large at that time, and both Mr. and 
 Mrs. Anderson were engaged in teaching every school- 
 day. I wish I could take you back with me into that 
 school for one day, and show you the eager, happy faces 
 of the children, and the loving, cheerful, hope-inspiring 
 faces of the teachers. 
 
 We were all in our places at 9 A.M. The school 
 commenced with singing a hymn or psalm and with 
 prayer. Then came our Bible lesson — to me always the 
 best lesson of the day, though I loved the others also. 
 The whole class stood up while we read, verse about, the 
 lesson which we had studied beforehand. Then our 
 Bibles were closed, and we had to answer questions on the 
 lesson, and Mr. Anderson explained it to us. While this 
 lesson was in progress, the rest of the scholars kept very 
 quiet, either getting up their lessons or listening to our 
 lesson. After this lesson we had recess for a few minutes. 
 Then Mrs. Anderson came in, and both she and Mr. 
 Anderson went on teaching the other classes, while we of 
 the Bible class went on with our sums in arithmetic. 
 And so the teaching went on till noon, every child in 
 school receiving due attention, and every one knowing
 
 152 Jamaica Period 
 
 that they were loved and cared for. In the afternoon we 
 had geography and grammar, writing, spelling, etc., also 
 reading in our school text-books. Friday was our day 
 for letter-writing and other compositions. 
 
 Mrs. Anderson also taught the girls to sew and make 
 their own clothes. We had an hour for sewing every 
 afternoon, and very often Mrs. A. had the girls bring their 
 work and finish it at her house on Saturday afternoon, 
 while she showed them how. It has always been a 
 mystery to me how Mrs. A. and a good many other ladies 
 in the Mission could do so much work and teaching at 
 the same time. 
 
 Besides his teaching at Carron Hall and preaching at 
 Rose Hill, Mr. A. had to attend to all the week-day meet- 
 ings at Carron Hall — the prayer meeting, the two 
 catechumen classes — one for old and the other for young 
 people ; and also to visit the sick and the dying, who were 
 never neglected. He had charge also of seeing to the 
 collecting the subscriptions for the various funds for 
 church matters. Of course there were elders, etc., to 
 help, but he had to see that everything was done in time 
 and in order. 
 
 The people agreed to keep the pastures clean from 
 bushes, which grew very fast and needed cutting very 
 often. He had to sec that that was done. I remember 
 a little incident in connection with pasture cleaning. It 
 was getting near the time when "Minister" and Mrs. 
 Cowan were expected home, and the people had been 
 rather backward in paying up their subscriptions. Mr. 
 Anderson had tried hard to have them do their duty, and 
 at the same time had endeavoured to excuse them to Mr. 
 Cowan as best he could ; but the pastures were nearly all 
 grown over with guava bushes and other brush. Now, the 
 wood of the guava is very hard and tough, and I suppose 
 they dreaded the job, so kept putting it off. But one day 
 .Mr. Anderson called a meeting and asked what he should 
 write to their minister about it. He said : " I have made 
 all the excuses about the money I can. I wrote ' Minister ' 
 that the times were hard and the prices for yams and 
 plantains very small, so you had not much money to 
 give. But what shall I say about clearing the pasture?
 
 Women as Bush Cutters 153 
 
 Shall I write that your cutlasses are all lost, or that your 
 right arms are all broken?" Next day there was a big 
 turnout of men, women, and some children, all ready to 
 work, some at cutting bush, others at bringing water 
 from the spring to the thirsty workers. About 3 P.M. 
 they had one pasture cleared — that is, the bushes were all 
 cut and on the ground ; but there was still another 
 pasture (about ten or twelve acres) covered very thickly 
 with large guava bushes. The men were hot and tired, 
 for it is hard work " billing bush," and they concluded that 
 they would not begin on that pasture till some other day, 
 when, to their surprise, they saw the bushes begin to 
 tumble over as of their own accord. On looking nearer, 
 they saw all the women (who had also been working all 
 day), led by a little girl, 1 hacking away with their 
 cutlasses with all their might, and bringing down the 
 guava bushes at a great rate. In less than five minutes 
 every man of them had forgotten his tiredness and was in 
 line with the women. Before six o'clock every bush in 
 that pasture was down except a few old guava trees left 
 for the fruit. Next day they gathered the bushes in heaps 
 to be burnt. Then they had their names written in the 
 book kept for that purpose. Mr. Anderson praised the 
 work very much, and congratulated them on having 
 finished it so quickly. When Mr. Cowan came soon after, 
 they were very happy to see that he was well pleased 
 with them and their work. 
 
 When Mr. and Mrs. Cowan went home, they took 
 three of their children with them, namely, the two eldest and 
 the baby, and they left three at Carron Hall with their 
 faithful nurse and friend, Miss Walker, who had taken care 
 of all the children, and loved them very much. She was 
 very good and kind to the children, and they loved her 
 also. No one was like "Nana" (that was their pet name 
 for nurse). While nurse had charge of the children, she 
 knew full well that Mr. and Mrs. Anderson were ever 
 ready to help her when she needed it. It was arranged 
 before Mr. and Mrs. C. left that the two families were to 
 unite in family worship both night and morning. Mr. 
 Anderson and household always went to Mr. Cowan's 
 
 1 Was this little girl Miss Mary Stuart herself?
 
 154 Jamaica Period 
 
 house and had evening worship with the family, and the 
 nurse and the children went over to Mr. A.'s house in the 
 morning. It was very beautiful to see the three little 
 girls go up to Mr. Anderson with such loving confidence 
 to repeat their verse or say their Catechism in the morning. 
 They always went up first, and always knew their lessons. 
 Their nurse saw to that. How she did love those dear chil- 
 dren ! and so did Mr. and Mrs. Anderson. Their parents 
 found them well and happy when they returned. 
 
 On the 3rd of September 1 843 my father died, leaving 
 my mother a widow among strangers (for we had been 
 there only two months), with five fatherless little girls. It 
 was in our time of deep affliction that my dear father 
 Anderson came to our rescue. Father was sick only one 
 short week, and we never thought of his leaving us so soon. 
 Mr. Anderson was very kind to us. He visited my father 
 as often as he could, praying with him, and comforting 
 mother and us as best lie could. The last night father 
 was alive he stayed with us till near midnight, expecting 
 every moment to be the last. Then he went home to get 
 some rest, and came again in the morning. Father went 
 home in the morning, leaving us, as he said himself with his 
 last breath, to a good God. We will always remember the 
 tender kindness of Mrs. and Mr. A. at that time. He took 
 charge of everything, and helped mother in many ways. 
 After father's death we joined the morning and evening 
 devotions in Mr. Anderson's house, and derived very much 
 comfort as well as instruction from them. 
 
 1844. — In Feb. 1844, Mr. Anderson and Mr. Goldie 
 were licensed to preach by the Jamaica Missionary Pres- 
 bytery, having completed their theological studies under 
 the Rev. Wm. Jameson of Goshen. Mr. Goldie gives the 
 following account of their " Hall " studies. He says : — 
 
 Mr. Jameson was well qualified for superintending 
 their studies, as he had himself enjoyed the opportunity of 
 receiving a thorough education, and had evidently well im- 
 proved it. At the time of the vacation of our schools we 
 went up for a month to Goshen, and were domiciled with
 
 Messrs. Goldie and Anderson at the Hall 155 
 
 him. While he and we did our best to improve our short 
 session, the studies to which we chiefly gave our attention 
 were New Testament Greek, Hebrew, and Divinity. In 
 this last he did not prepare any lectures, so as to give a 
 system of his own, but adopted Dr. Dick's work as a text- 
 book, and taught by examination. I do not recollect that 
 there were ever more than six in the class, so that he was 
 able to give all necessary attention to each of his students ; 
 and he and we had full opportunity of becoming acquainted 
 with each other, and with the subjects to which our atten- 
 tion was directed. Some of the parts of Home's Introduc- 
 tion were also regularly brought under review ; and short 
 essays and discourses were prepared on topics and texts 
 named by Mr. Jameson. He was in the custom also of 
 giving to each of us a somewhat extensive subject, on 
 which an essay was to be prepared and brought up next 
 year. 
 
 Mr. Anderson describes how a day during the Hall 
 season was passed : — 
 
 We meet at 6 A.M. to read Greek, and dismiss at half- 
 past 8. Then we have worship and breakfast. We meet 
 again at 10, read Hebrew, are examined on a portion of 
 Dick's Lectures, and one of us reads an essay. This occu- 
 pies till 3 p.m. We then dismiss for dinner, and have the 
 afternoon for study. At both meetings we receive a great 
 deal of instruction from Mr. Jameson. 1 
 
 That Messrs. Goldie and Anderson profited from their 
 studies under that able, devoted, and saintly missionary, 
 their subsequent careers amply testified. 
 
 On 5th April 1844, Mr. Anderson was unanimously 
 " called " by the Rose Hill congregation to be their minis- 
 ter. In a letter to Mr. and Mrs. Clohan, of date Saturday, 
 6th April, he announces the fact : — 
 
 Mr. Simpson and Mr. Jameson were both there. Mr. 
 Simpson preached from Ps. ii. 6, and moderated the call. 
 1 JamesotCs Memoir, pp. 157—158,
 
 156 Jamaica Period 
 
 I was unanimously chosen. The meeting was a fine, very 
 fine one. In the evening the Presbyterial Committee 
 appointed me subjects of trial for ordination. I will not 
 deliver these trials till the beginning of the year (1845). 
 My dear friends, I am not proud of having got a call. I am 
 rather ready to shrink from the responsibilities and obli- 
 gations of the sacred office of the ministry in a land like this. 
 
 In a letter to the Rev. And. Elliot, of date 20th August, 
 1844, Mr. Anderson refers to his call and his attachment 
 to Rose Hill in these terms: — 
 
 You will have already heard of my being licensed as a 
 preacher, and of my subsequent call to Rose Hill. From 
 the connection which has so long existed between Rose 
 Hill and me, nothing but the strongest conviction of duty 
 could lead me to go anywhere else. I do feel, however, that 
 there are more necessitous districts in Jamaica, and places 
 where a much larger congregation could be gathered in a 
 short time, so that I resolve in this matter what I resolved 
 many years ago, just to follow where Providence leads. 
 
 When I began to go to Rose Hill, in Feb. 1840, my 
 congregation numbered, I think, from 70 to 90. Of these, 
 however, a number were connected with other churches, 
 and came merely for a week or two to hear the new 
 teacher. I formed my first class of catechumens in May 
 1S40. Twelve individuals joined on that day. Just now 
 there are 70 communicants and nearly 60 catechumens, 
 and the congregation generally numbers, I think, about 
 180. We ( Presbyterians) have a name among the people 
 for being very strict, and this prevents man)- from casting 
 in their lot with us. I do not suppose that we are stricter 
 than the Bible warrants. Purity of communion is surely 
 enforced in its sacred pages. But many people — and not 
 those in Jamaica alone — seem to be determined to get to 
 heaven as easily as possible. The inquiry seems to be — 
 not, " How shall I get safely to glory ? " but, " How shall I 
 most easily attain it ? " 
 
 In an earlier portion of the same letter Mr. Anderson 
 says : —
 
 "Trials" for Ordination 157 
 
 During last year and what part of this year is gone, I 
 have examined upwards of 100 candidates for the Lord's 
 table. Whenever I meet with a timid young man or 
 woman, I am reminded of my own timidity eleven years 
 ago. The people have an opinion that we Presbyterians 
 are too strict. That is my character in Rose Hill quarter. 
 It frightens many away ; but I can't help that. Strict I 
 am determined to be. I do not so much wish for a numer- 
 ous church as a holy church. For this I labour in visiting, 
 catechising, teaching, praying, study, and preaching. May 
 I have grace given me to be faithful ! 
 
 He mentions the subjects of his " Trials " for ordination, 
 which it may be interesting to note : — 
 
 My Ordination Trials (to be delivered in Feb. 1845) are : 
 I.Latin — Caesar and Virgil; 2. Greek — New Testament, 
 ad aper. lib. ; 3. Hebrew— Genesis ; 4. Crit. Exercise — 
 — Heb. vi. 4-6; 5. Lecture — Heb. iv. 11-13; 6. Sermon 
 — 1 John v. 4, last clause; 7. Church History — From 
 Reformation till the present time ; 8. Theology in all its 
 departments. 
 
 These, in addition to his absorbing and exhausting work 
 as teacher and preacher, were sufficiently manifold "trials" 
 to undergo for ordination in a mission field like Jamaica. 
 " Theology in all its branches " seems rather formidable in 
 its present-day aspect ; but the term as used by Mr. Ander- 
 son must be understood in the sense of Professor Dick's 
 four volumes of Lectures on Theology, which, however, 
 deserve to be spoken of with respect as representing the 
 best theological thought in Scotland at the time of their 
 publication in 1834. In this connection it may be worthy 
 of note that Dr. Dick, in a sermon on the qualifications 
 and the call of missionaries, preached in 1801 before the 
 Edinburgh Missionary Society, animadverted upon some 
 existing faults, and maintained various positions respect-
 
 1 5 s * [amaica Period 
 
 ing church order, with a view to check whatever tendency 
 might exist to the error of committing the office of the holy 
 ministry to unqualified aspirants, and the exercise of its 
 duties by persons not clothed with the office. 1 It cannot 
 be said that the Jamaica Missionary Presbytery leaned to 
 laxity in this matter, but, on the other hand, endeavoured 
 to give the best theological and classical training to the 
 teachers and catechists who aspired to the ministry in the 
 mission field, and who by their character and labours 
 proved themselves worthy of being advanced to the higher 
 office. 
 
 In the letter of 6th April to the Clohans there is refer- 
 ence to the death of his aunt, Mrs. Potts, and also of a 
 daughter of the Clohans, who had been named after Mrs. 
 Anderson. lie writes: — 
 
 My ever dear Brother and Sister,— On Monday 
 morning I received a letter from Mr. Chisholm, Dal- 
 keith, announcing the death of good old auntie. The 
 news filled me with deep sorrow. Yesterday morning 
 (Good Friday — an idle day with us, and we frequently im- 
 prove it by holding public meetings, etc.) when I reached 
 Rose Hill Church your letter was awaiting me. It had 
 been delayed by being mis-sent to a neighbouring post- 
 office, else 1 would have got it on Monday, and would 
 have sent a letter by the packet which sails to-day. When 
 1 saw your letter, with its black seal, I thought that it 
 must be a bearer of the same melancholy tidings which 
 I had already received. But lo ! it was like one of Job's 
 messengers — its intelligence was heavier than that of its 
 predecessor. I hardly believed my eyes when I read of 
 your little Louisa being no more. My Louisa was with 
 me. I handed your note to her, and again her heart also 
 was filled with sorrow. We have frequently expressed a 
 hope that we might see you and all your little ones even 
 in this world, and, in this case, we intended to lay claim 
 1 Memoir prefixed to vol. i. of Dick's Lectures, p. xxiv.
 
 Death of Two Relations 159 
 
 to your Louisa on account of the name she bore. But 
 ah ! her lock of lovely hair — a thousand thanks to you for 
 sending it — is all that v/e shall ever see of her in this 
 world. He who had a higher claim to her than we had — 
 who had a higher claim to her than you yourselves had — He 
 has seen it right to take her away, and what can we say ? 
 — what can you say in regard to the dispensation save this : 
 " Good is the will of the Lord. The Lord gave, and the 
 Lord hath taken away ; blessed be His name"? 
 
 But my heart bleeds for you, my brother, and especially 
 for you, my sister — my sister ! At thought of you, dear 
 sister, my mind goes back to Ford — back to Gorebridge 
 to our beloved father's dwelling. We were children to- 
 gether around one parent knee. He has long gone. Our 
 good aunt — for on looking back on our connection with 
 her, I daresay you as well as I see that she was good to 
 us, nothing but good — she too has entered her rest. You 
 must have felt her death to be a heavy trial, coming, as 
 the stroke did, unexpectedly, and while you were watching 
 with a mother's anxiety by the couch of your dying child. 
 God has made "breach upon breach." In (nearly) one day 
 have we been deprived of two of our very few relations. 
 But He had a full right to take them, and He has a full 
 right to take us when it pleases Him. 
 
 I employed the former part of this day in preparing a 
 funeral sermon for aunt and Louisa, on 1 Cor. xv. 26, the 
 correct reading of which seems to be, " Death, the last 
 enemy, shall be destroyed." 
 
 Six weeks to-morrow since our aunt died. At the very 
 time she was dying I was preaching here from Mark xv. 3 1 : 
 " He saved others, Himself He cannot save." . . . 
 
 I trust and pray that God will sanctify to you the 
 afflictive dispensations of His providence. Parents' hearts 
 are in clanger of being too much set on their children. 
 You perhaps remember, sister, of our aunt telling us once 
 what our father said when our little sister Elizabeth died : 
 he said that he saw that God would allow no idols to 
 remain in his house. And thus God often deals with His 
 people — He takes away their idols that they may love 
 Him with their whole heart. Oh yes, brother and sister, 
 give God your whole heart, and let no idol usurp His
 
 160 Jamaica Period 
 
 throne. While you mourn, as parents, endure as Christians ; 
 show to the world around you that you have meat to eat 
 of which it knows nothing, that you have consolations of 
 which it is ignorant. I think you ought both to regard it 
 as a high honour that you have a child in heaven. . . . 
 
 In his letter to Mr. Elliot of 20th August, Mr. Ander- 
 son refers to his aunt's death, and thanks Mr. Elliot for 
 having taken his place at the funeral : — • 
 
 I felt gratified indeed to hear that you laid her head 
 in its last resting-place. It almost reconciles one to the 
 thought of death, and of dying too, to reflect that we are 
 going home to many of our kindred and to many of our 
 early friends. When I came to Jamaica I never expected 
 to live five years, but lo ! here I am still, while Scottish 
 friends have passed away.
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 Pastor at Rose Hill, 1845 
 
 THE year 1845 witnessed Mr. Anderson's ordination 
 to the office of the ministry, and his and Mrs. Anderson's 
 removal from Carron Hall to Rose Hill. 
 
 Before Mr. Anderson's ordination at Rose Hill took 
 place, an examination of Carron Hall school was held, 
 and the following report 1 was drawn up and published in 
 the Jamaica Guardian newspaper. It speaks of Mr. 
 Anderson as " the able and indefatigable teacher," and 
 says : — 
 
 It is pleasing to record, at the expiry of his 
 labours as a teacher, the highly satisfactory manner in 
 which he has acquitted himself in that capacity. This 
 appeared from the complete state of discipline to which 
 he has brought the school under his charge, the work- 
 manlike style in which the business of the school was 
 carried on, and the consequent proficiency of the scholars 
 in the different branches taught, namely, reading, writing, 
 grammar, arithmetic, and geography. 
 
 The earnestness of the scholars in the business of the 
 school, and their eagerness to perform the tasks assigned 
 them, were very apparent, and formed a pleasing counter- 
 part to the animation and enthusiasm of their teacher, 
 reminding us of the proceedings of such a day in some 
 well-conducted school in a more favoured land. 2 . . . 
 
 Mr. Cowan, in a letter 3 dated 1st Aug., added his 
 
 1 Scottish Missionary Register, Nov. 1845, pp. 162-3. 
 - Ibid. p. 162. s Ibid. p. 162. 
 
 I I
 
 [62 Jamaica Period 
 
 testimony to Mr. Anderson's "valuable and successful 
 labours " : — 
 
 If the Directors had been present, they would have 
 been greatly delighted and encouraged, and would have 
 felt that even now they had a joyful recompense for the 
 many hours they have spent in attending to the interests 
 of the Mission here. The regular scholars present were 
 134. All the classes acquitted themselves exceedingly 
 well. The most striking feature in the school was the 
 intellectual progress of the children. They are not only 
 acquainted with the facts mentioned in the Bible, but Mr. 
 Anderson had instructed them in several important points 
 in Biblical literature, in which chronology and some 
 knowledge of astronomy are necessary, and they under- 
 stood them perfectly. 
 
 Mr. Anderson, in a letter ' dated Aug. 2nd, gives his 
 retrospect of and farewell to the work in Carron Hall 
 school : — 
 
 Since the beinning of the year the average attendance 
 has been from 90 to 100. Latterly it has been greater. 
 The District Committee of Presbytery examined the 
 school on the 3rd ult. The progress of the scholars was 
 considered satisfactory. A feeling of sadness comes over 
 me when I reflect that my busy and happy days in Carron 
 Hall school are now numbered with the past. It adds 
 to my regret that I know of no one to supply my place. 
 In coming to this place, and in leaving it, I have just 
 followed the leadings of Providence ; and with respect to 
 the school, while my heart aches at the thought of leav- 
 ing it shepherdless, yet I feel satisfied that it is God who 
 is sending me to Rose Hill, and I have confidence that 
 "the Lord will provide" for carrying on His work at 
 Carron Hall school. Mr. Cowan has so much other work 
 on hand that it would be impossible for him to teach 
 constantly. May the Great Shepherd send him speedy 
 aid, and sanctify to him the present trial of his faith! 
 Since I came here in January 1840, five and a half years 
 1 Scottish Missionary Register, Nov. 1S45, p. 163,
 
 Ordination at Rose Hilt 163 
 
 ago, there have been at school, in all, 480 children. Of 
 these, eleven are now married, and six are dead. Fare- 
 well, my beloved scholars (as such) at Carron Hall ! We 
 shall meet again, when the toils of life are over. Oh, may it 
 be with joy ! I humbly trust that " the day will declare " 
 that my efforts for your present and eternal well-being 
 have not been in vain. 
 
 In a letter 1 to Dr. Wm. Brown, dated Aug. 2nd, and 
 in letters to Mr. Elliot and to the Clohans, dated Oct. 3rd, 
 Mr. Anderson refers to the ordination and induction 
 services. As the letters supplement one another, they 
 will be pieced together: — 
 
 I was ordained pastor of the congregation of Rose Hill, 
 by the Jamaica Missionary Presbytery, on Friday, nth 
 July. Mr. Hogg delivered a sweet discourse from the 
 text, " I have fought a good fight," etc. On the following 
 Sabbath, Mr. Jameson, our theological tutor, introduced 2 
 me to my charge. He preached an excellent and suitable 
 discourse from Matt, xxviii. 19, 20. In the afternoon I 
 began my ministry by preaching from the very solemn 
 question, 2 Cor. ii. 16 : " Who is sufficient for these things ? " 
 I felt completely overpowered by a sense of my utter 
 insufficiency to discharge the duties, overcome the 
 difficulties, and meet the responsibilities connected with 
 the ministerial office. When I had closed, Mr. Jameson 
 took the pulpit, and answered the question of my text, by 
 giving some affectionate and encouraging exhortations 
 both to the congregation and myself from chap. xii. 9: 
 " My grace is sufficient for thee." 
 
 Mr. Cowan, in a letter dated Aug. 1st, says: — 
 
 Mr. Anderson was ordained as the minister of the 
 Rose Hill church on the nth of July, and he intends to 
 leave this place in the beginning of next week. His 
 
 1 Scottish Missionary Register, Nov. 1845, p. 163. 
 
 2 In the private letters it is written thus, " introduced (!)," the idea of 
 introduction to the congregation he had gathered together amusing him.
 
 164 Jamaica Period 
 
 ordination among this people, and his introduction to 
 them on the following Sabbath, were occasions of deep 
 and solemn interest — delightful to us all; and the pro- 
 spects of the church there, from their having so faithful 
 and zealous a minister placed among them, are very cheer- 
 ing and encouraging. All good must come from the one 
 great Shepherd, but much depends on those who are 
 shepherds under Him. Mr. Blyth, Mr. Simpson, Mr. 
 Jameson, Mr. Aird, Mr. Hogg, and Mr. Beardslie, one 
 of our American brethren, were present and took part in 
 the ordination. 
 
 The day following Mr. Anderson's ordination, the new 
 church at Carron Hall was dedicated, so that it was a 
 season of rejoicing at Carron Hall as well as at Rose Hill. 
 
 The first celebration of the 1st of August at Rose Hill 
 under Mr. Anderson's ministry was a memorable one to 
 the congregation. Mr. Anderson wrote: — 
 
 After service, we held a congregational meeting, James 
 Nayler, Esq. (a communicant) in the chair, at which I 
 presented to the congregation a very handsome gift, sent 
 to them by the scholars attending the United Secession 
 and Relief Church Sabbath schools in Dalkeith and Ford. 
 The present consisted of a complete Communion service — 
 two bread platters, two flagons, four cups, and 200 tokens 
 — and a very beautiful baptismal font. The congregation 
 were delighted with the present. 1 In presenting the gift, 
 the remembrance of other days, and other scenes, and 
 other countenances than those before me, was too vivid to 
 allow me to say much. Our chairman said that he felt so 
 happy that he could not get a word to say. Many, many, 
 
 1 In his letter of Oct. 3rd to Mr. Elliot, Mr. Anderson says: "I 
 cannot tell you how much we are obliged to the Sabbath scholars for their 
 present of a Communion service. I trust they have got Mr. Nayler's letter 
 of acknowledgment. I wondered why the people seemed so duntfoundered at 
 the sight of the gift on Aug. 1st. The reason, I lately discovered, was that they 
 all imagined the whole service — cups, flagons, plates, and baptismal font — to 
 be solid silver ! Now they have been told that they are not, they consider 
 them quite as good as if they were silver."
 
 Removal to Rose Hill 165 
 
 many thanks were given to the youthful donors for their 
 valuable, beautiful, and suitable gift ; and many a blessing 
 was craved (what though in bad English when in good 
 Christian language?) from heaven on their behalf. The 
 chairman was requested to write a letter to my beloved 
 young friends in Dalkeith and Ford, which he engaged to 
 do. The usual congregation is about 200. 
 
 On Monday, Aug. 4th, Mr. Anderson to Dr. Wm. 
 Brown wrote : — 
 
 We removed from Carron Hall to Rose Hill. The 
 people here were exceedingly kind. Upwards of sixty of 
 them were at Carron Hall at an early hour, several of 
 them with mules and asses, to carry over our furniture, 
 books, etc., all of which got a safe and speedy transport 
 to Rose Hill. Nothing was broken, injured, or missing. 
 The people all seemed grateful for the prospect of the 
 stated supply of the gospel and its ordinances, and for 
 the provision made by God for the instruction of their 
 children. 1 
 
 With reference to the school at Rose Hill, Mr. 
 Anderson wrote : — 
 
 I cannot say much just now about the school. Miss 
 Northover left it at the end of the year. Since that time 
 the children have been under the care of one of my oldest 
 Carron Hall scholars. The parents were justly afraid 
 that if their children were allowed to run wild till such 
 time as I could come to them, they would forget what 
 they had already learned. With my concurrence, they 
 entered into an arrangement with the young man referred 
 to. He was not recognised as a teacher ; and what was 
 expected chiefly of him was that he would keep the chil- 
 dren in remembrance of what they had been taught. He 
 has done more than this. From 50 to 60 have attended 
 him. 
 
 At a later date, Jan. 2nd, 1846, Mr. Anderson wrote: — 
 
 1 Scottish Missionary Register, Oct. 1846.
 
 1 66 Jamaica Period 
 
 Airs. A. and I began school on Monday, Aug. nth. 
 I believe that she was the first teacher at this place. 
 While teacher at Carron Hall, she kept school here for a 
 time on Friday and Saturday. Since August we have 
 had at school 56 boys and 45 girls — in all, 101. Rose Hill 
 estate being a coffee property, and the latter months of 
 the year being the season of coffee crop, many of the 
 oldest scholars have frequently had to exchange the 
 school for the field. Most of those who have been read- 
 ing in the Bible were taught by Miss Northover, and it is 
 but justice to her to say that she has taught them well. 
 Some of her oldest scholars have left school, so that we 
 do not see all the eood effects of her labours here. 
 
 t> v 
 
 Present State of Rose Hill Congregation. 
 
 In full communion ... 92 
 
 Under suspension ... 2 
 
 Catechumens .... 44 
 
 Total adults 
 Baptized children 
 
 138 
 100 
 
 238 
 
 Two ordained elders, two assistant elders, eight managers, 
 and four prayer meetings. 
 
 This was the condition of the congregation when, on 
 the first Sabbath of September, Mr. Anderson dispensed 
 the sacrament of the Lord's Supper for the first time. In 
 his letters to the Clohans and to Mr. Elliot he referred to 
 the interesting occasion : — 
 
 Mr. Beardslie, a sterling man of God, a Congrega- 
 tionalist from America, preached a preparatory discourse 
 on the Friday evening. Mr. Cowan and I being teachers 
 during the week, made the Saturday a Sabbath — a day of 
 rest and of preparation for the morrow. Mr C. preached 
 the (action ?) sermon, and delivered the closing address in 
 the evening; I dispensed the ordinance and delivered the 
 Communion addresses. I addressed from words which
 
 Public Admission to the Church 167 
 
 formed the basis of one of your [Mr. Elliot's] table 
 services some ten years ago — " Who loved me, and gave 
 Himself for me." 
 
 To the Clohans he said : — 
 
 It was a delightful day to me, and I trust to many. 
 We had a delightful season of holy fellowship with one 
 another, and also, I trust, with the Father and His Son 
 Jesus Christ. 
 
 To Mr. Elliot he continued as follows : — 
 
 On the day of the Lord's Supper I had the pleasure of 
 admitting fourteen individuals to the fellowship of the 
 Church. We prefer admitting members before the whole 
 congregation to the practice which prevails at home, of 
 making admissions in presence of the elders and a few 
 who may happen to stay. We do so — at least, / do so — 
 for the following reasons: — 1. It is, I conceive, one of the 
 most solemn and interesting parts of a minister's work to 
 admit, as representative of church or session, those who 
 were lately servants of Satan, into the outward fellowship 
 and to the privileges of friends of Jesus and children of 
 God. 2. A public admission is more likely to have a 
 solemnising effect on the candidate's mind than a com- 
 paratively private one. 3. The congregation have the 
 best possible opportunity of seeing who are received as 
 communicants. 4. The admission of new members fur- 
 nishes a first-rate opportunity for throwing in counsels, 
 cautions, reproofs, etc., to old members, stating the duties 
 and privileges of church members ; and (what is much 
 required here) an exhibition of the scriptural grounds and 
 practical working of our form of church government, etc. 
 etc. 
 
 Mr. Anderson's visitation of the people in his neigh- 
 bourhood brought him into contact with those belong- 
 ing to other denominations, in which laxer ideas 
 regarding church membership and discipline and the 
 dispensing of ordinances prevailed. The need for the
 
 r68 [amaica Period 
 
 strictness of the Presbyterian missionaries generally, and 
 of Mr. Anderson in his own district especially, is sufficiently 
 proved by the facts stated in his letter to Mr. Elliot:— 
 
 I have visited the most of the people in the neighbour- 
 hood, including Church of England people and Native 
 Baptists, of whom we have great abundance. All the 
 careless people in the neighbourhood plead that they 
 belong to the Church of England. This is the sum-total 
 of the religion of many around me: they were confirmed 
 by the Bishop ; they go now and then to the parish 
 church ; when they have children (no matter whether 
 they be married or unmarried), "parson christen dem " ; 
 they take the sacrament once or twice a year ; and they 
 bow and curtsey when they hear pronounced the word 
 Jcsns. On such a flimsy foundation as this arc hundreds 
 and thousands in Jamaica building their hopes for eternity. 
 
 Here I may mention a difficult)' which has sometimes 
 occurred to my mind. The great majority — perhaps nine- 
 tenths of the present population of Jamaica — were born 
 while their parents were living in fornication ; but all have 
 been christened, as they call it — i.e. the priest came occa- 
 sionally to the buckra's (overseer's) house, when all the 
 unbaptized were assembled on the barbeques, or, in some 
 cases, in the house, and, without further ceremony, the 
 water was sprinkled upon them, sometimes individually 
 at 2S. 6d. a head for blacks, and at 3s. or 4s. for free 
 people's children, and sometimes collectively, parson pro- 
 nouncing the words of institution. 
 
 Would you count this baptism? I have difficulties on 
 the subject. When parties were married and made some 
 profession of religion, I feel satisfied as to the validity 
 of the ordinance ; but where no profession of religion was 
 made at all, and where parents were living in open trans- 
 gression, I question very much if the application of water, 
 even by an episcopally ordained functionary, and though 
 professedly done in the name of the Sacred Three-One, 
 
 ;ht to be regarded as Christian baptism. I shall be 
 
 ] of your advice on this point. Had you still occupied 
 the editorial throne, I should have requested you to draw 
 attention to the subject in the Secession Magazine. Per-
 
 Native Baptists 169 
 
 haps you can direct me to some book where some similar 
 point is discussed. 
 
 Perhaps you may see something occasionally about the 
 Native Baptists of this island. There are three — indeed 
 four— of their churches in my immediate neighbourhood. 
 Who are their ministers? Leaders who have quarrelled 
 with their ministers, and gone off with a number of ad- 
 herents, and who have, without education or training, or 
 examination or ordination of any kind (except, in days 
 of slavery, license from a magistrate), taken upon them to 
 preach and dispense the ordinances of religion. They 
 cannot teach the people, yet it is amazing how they blind- 
 fold them and retain them under their influence. Two 
 young men, once scholars at this school, now members of 
 neighbouring Native Baptist churches, have within these 
 few days declared to me that they learn nothing at their 
 churches — that any little knowledge of religion which 
 they have was received by them in Rose Hill church and at 
 Rose Hill school. I have occasionally put a few questions 
 to communicants of both the Established and the Native 
 Baptist churches, and I must say that, with the exception 
 of those who have been more or less under Presbyterian 
 instruction, the great mass of the people around me are 
 utterly ignorant of the very first principles of Christian 
 knowledge. I have a great work to do here, and the work 
 is just so much the more difficult that the mass of the 
 people are nominally Church members. I have been re- 
 peatedly assured that if I would only be somewhat less 
 strict, I would soon have an immense congregation. Of 
 that I am quite certain ; but God forbid that, in order 
 to gain popularity, an immense congregation, and perhaps 
 an immense income to boot, I should ever lower by a 
 single hair's breadth the standard of intelligence and 
 purity to which we have already attained. 
 
 With reference to the same subject, Mr. Anderson 
 wrote to Dr. Wm. Brown on Jan. 2nd, 1846 : — 
 
 Rose Hill, you are already aware, is in the parish of 
 Metcalfe — so called in honour of our last Governor — in 
 the county of Surrey. It is the only station connected
 
 i ;o Jamaica Period 
 
 with the Scottish Missionary Society, or with the Jamaica 
 Presbytery, in the county. It is well surrounded by 
 churches, or houses and companies of people called 
 churches. Within a range of seven miles there are no fewer 
 than twelve churches, not including Cedar Valley station, 
 which is at present in connection with Rose Hill. But, 
 alas ! with all its churches, I cannot imagine that there is 
 in the island any district where pure gospel doctrine and 
 pure gospel church discipline are more needed than in 
 this. Man)- of the so-called churches in Jamaica do no 
 good — they do much harm. A very small amount of 
 religious attainment amply satisfies the slothful carnal 
 mind ; and it is a task of immense difficulty to get the 
 grossly ignorant to become learners, and the irreligious 
 to repent and change their mode of life, when they call 
 themselves members of a church. We have got some most 
 accommodating churches — churches which, if not at this 
 moment, yet the other day, would give baptism to an 
 adult for a good dram and half a dollar ; churches which, 
 at this hour, administer the ordinance of baptism to the 
 children of parents not only grossly ignorant, but living in 
 open fornication ; churches which sell the Lord's Supper for 
 a shilling a head ! It is, I should think, less difficult to 
 bring the truths of the gospel to bear on the minds of 
 downright heathens than to obtain an entrance for it into 
 the minds of those who have embraced a mere perversion 
 of Christianity — who, being partakers of the external 
 symbols of Christianity, and apparently resting on these 
 for salvation, have it in their power to say in reply to 
 faithful warning and exhortation, " I am a member of 
 — church." . . . Of the twelve churches referred to as 
 being within seven miles of Rose Hill, nine may be struck 
 off the list as being lamentably defective either in afford- 
 ing instruction or in administering discipline, or in both. 
 The other three stations referred to are— Carron Hall, 
 seven miles N.W, ; Elliot, six miles N.E. ; Brainerd, six 
 or seven miles S.E. ; and I may perhaps add Cedar Valley, 
 six miles S.W. 
 
 In regard to his own and Mrs. Anderson's labours 
 he wrote : —
 
 In Labours Abundant 171 
 
 My partner and I have abundance of labour here. On 
 Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, we have a school 
 of about ninety children. Wednesday evening I go to any 
 neighbouring settlement and preach or catechise. Friday 
 forenoon I visit. On Friday afternoon we have an adult 
 school and singing meeting. On Saturday A.M. I prepare 
 for Sabbath. Saturday P.M. I meet candidates for Com- 
 munion. Saturday evening and Sabbath morning I pre- 
 pare for public worship. 
 
 To his sister he wrote : " I have not much time, you 
 perceive, for writing discourses;" and, continuing on a 
 Saturday evening, after the labours of the day were over, 
 he described what the " anxious toil " of the following day 
 would be : — 
 
 To-morrow is to you a day of rest — to your distant 
 brother it is a day of anxious toil. I rise at six, run over my 
 discourses in church ; family worship and breakfast from 
 half-past eight to a quarter past nine. At ten Mrs. A. has 
 Sabbath school in church of about seventy children, and I 
 have an advanced class in the house. From eleven till 
 half-past twelve public worship. From one till about 
 three public worship, and after this a Sabbath school of the 
 whole congregation. By this time I am sufficiently tired, 
 though sometimes able to preach an evening sermon at 
 any neighbouring place. The mere labour I do not feel 
 oppressive, but the thought that my message is to every 
 hearer either " a savour of life unto life, or a savour of death 
 unto death," is a source of anxiety which I cannot de- 
 scribe. Another source of uneasiness is, that when I begin 
 to catechise the sons and daughters of Africa on the 
 message which they have heard, I often find that they 
 have not understood " massa's buckra" at all. 
 
 With reference to Mr. and Mrs. Anderson's life and 
 work at Rose Hill, Miss Mary Stuart says :— 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Anderson were very much beloved by the 
 people ; and they loved their people, and gave themselves 
 wholly to them and to Christ's work among them.
 
 \-2 Jamaica Period 
 
 Soon after they were settled at Rose Hill I was taken 
 into the family as a daughter, and became Mr. Anderson's 
 assistant in school, 1 for Mr. Anderson continued to teach 
 school as long as he remained there. Mrs. Anderson had 
 a great many duties to attend to. She had several girls 
 in training in the house, but always assisted with the 
 sewing in school, and took Mr. Anderson's place in school 
 whenever he was called away by other duties. Besides, 
 she had all the cares and the many, many things a mis- 
 sionary's wife has to do. One who has not been in the 
 mission field and seen for oneself can scarcely conceive 
 of it. How they ever did so much was always a mystery 
 to me. 
 
 Besides the school teaching and all the other meetings, 
 at all of which there was teaching, there were several 
 advanced scholars who had left school to work, but who 
 came to Mr. Anderson once or twice a week to recite their 
 lessons in preparation for the Academy. 2 Mrs. Anderson 
 assisted him in all these duties. In addition, she had 
 meetings with the women and girls, assisting them and 
 teaching them. 
 
 There were many calls on their hospitality. Travellers 
 stopped for a night's rest and refreshment. Sometimes 
 they entertained "angels unawares." A missionary from 
 India stayed two days with us, and gave us a glimpse of 
 the work in India. Those were busy, happy days at 
 Rose Hill, but they passed all too quickly. 
 
 In 1845, Mr. and Mrs. Clohan were evidently thinking 
 of emigrating to America, which they afterwards did; for 
 in a letter to them, of date Oct. 3rd, Mr. Anderson 
 asked : — 
 
 What of Maryland? I cannot engage to go there, 
 even were you there, lest I should be lynched ; but 
 you could come to Jamaica and return for about £\o 
 sterling. 
 
 1 In 1851 Miss Mary Stuart was placed in charge of the school at 
 Friendship. 
 
 - The Montego Bay Academy.
 
 First Illness 173 
 
 Mr. Anderson lived to visit the United States, on more 
 than one occasion, when all danger of lynching was 
 over. 
 
 In the same letter Mr. Anderson referred to his first 
 illness in Jamaica : — 
 
 I had a smart attack of fever a few weeks ago, which 
 kept me in bed on Sabbath, and left me for two Sabbaths 
 unable for more than half the usual amount of my labours. 
 I must try, however, to do full duty to-morrow. Late — so, 
 Good-night. 
 
 Monday, Oct. 5. — Got through yesterday's labours, but 
 not without difficulty. Have a sore throat this morning. 
 On the day I got better from my late fever, Mrs. A. was 
 knocked down by a similar attack. She also is getting 
 better. But we are both very feeble. I was in bed exactly 
 eight days — lay down on Wednesday evening, 9th Sept., 
 could not get up till the evening of Wednesday, 16th. 
 It was the first fever worth speaking of that I have ever 
 had, and oh, how gently did our Heavenly Father deal 
 with me ! 
 
 In reviewing a year of peculiar interest to him and 
 Mrs. Anderson, Mr. Anderson wrote to Dr. Brown, on 
 Jan. 2nd, 1846: — 
 
 The past year has been to me one of deep interest. 
 During its course I have been led by Providence from 
 one field of labour, and have been introduced to another, 
 there to discharge the high but awfully solemn duties 
 of the gospel ministry. When my mind reverts to the 
 past, I find much occasion for deep humility and ardent 
 gratitude: when I contemplate the future, I feel that 
 I ought to labour more for God — to depend more on 
 Him — -and to expect more from Him than I have ever 
 yet done. 
 
 My labours here, since August, have been divided 
 between the church and the school. Latterly, I have had 
 to attend also to Cedar Valley people.
 
 i;4 Jamaica Period 
 
 The Sabbath congregation increases slowly but steadily. 
 There has been but one death in the congregation during 
 the year. It was that of Mr. Greenwood, a much-respected 
 elderly English gentleman. . . . He gave good evidence 
 that, being justified by faith, he had obtained peace with 
 God through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died on Saturday, 
 August <jth. On the Sabbath evening I preached at his 
 funeral (Sabbath funerals are often works of necessity in 
 this climate) concerning the "judgment to come," to a large 
 and attentive audience. The deceased had been admitted 
 to full communion with the Church in the month of April. 
 He is the first communicant belonging to Rose Hill church 
 who has gone to give in his account, and. I hope I may 
 add, gone to the enjoyment of heavenly bliss. 
 
 The congregation have raised during the year, in- 
 cluding school fees, about £80 in money. For the new- 
 dwelling-house which they intend to erect they have 
 given 320 days' labour, the value of which amounts to 
 about £24. 
 
 Since Mr. Preston left Cedar Valley the people have 
 been like sheep without a shepherd, sometimes going to 
 Carron Hall, sometimes coming here, and most frequently 
 remaining at home and attending a meeting held by the 
 teacher. By Mr. Cowan's advice, they have connected 
 themselves with the church here, as this is nearer to them 
 than Carron Hall. I consider their connection with this 
 church merely as a temporary arrangement. Whenever a 
 catechist arrives among them — and I trust that God will 
 soon provide one for them — they will, of course, cease to 
 come here. The strong are well able to attend here in 
 good weather, but it is too far for the old and the weak. 
 
 Cedar Valley people have raised during the year, ^40, 
 1 os. 10UI. There are belonging to that station — 
 
 In full communion 57 
 
 Catechumens (I suppose about) ... 20 
 
 A 1 school, about ....... 60 
 
 These, added to the 276 at Rose Hill, will make 413, 
 more or less, connected at present with the church here.
 
 Visitation 175 
 
 Since the adhesion of Cedar Valley people (indeed, it 
 took place only last month) the weather has been wet, 
 and the roads very bad. For a few weeks back the 
 Sabbath congregation has ranged between 200 and 300. 
 
 The people are not working this week, and I am em- 
 bracing the opportunity of visiting all in the district, and 
 talking with them in their own dwellings.
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 Appointment to Old Calabar, 1846 — Transference of the Agents of 
 the Scottish Missionary Society to Board of Missions of United 
 Presbyterian Church, 1847 — Call to succeed late Rev. W. Jame- 
 son-— Departure from Rose Hill, 1848 
 
 IN a letter of date 29th January 1846, the Rev. A. Elliot 
 refers to the new mission to Old Calabar, Western Africa, 
 of which the Rev. Hope Masterton Waddell, of Mount 
 Zion, Jamaica, was the pioneer: — 
 
 The African Mission is taking prodigiously. It 
 approves itself to every friend of the gospel, and has 
 excited the utmost enthusiasm. Who is to be sent to 
 join Mr. Waddell? Whoever it is, let us hear by him of 
 your doings and welfare, and of Mrs. Anderson's. 
 
 The next letter from Mr. Anderson, dated 19th Novem- 
 ber 1846, informs Mr. Elliot that the former has been 
 appointed to join Mr. Waddell: — 
 
 About this time you will probably be hearing that I 
 have been appointed by the Missionary Board in this 
 island to follow Messrs. Waddell and Jameson to Africa. 
 I feel as if you bad a right to all the information I can 
 give (ai this subject ; but as I have not time to write to 
 you at length, I take the liberty of enclosing a letter for 
 Mr. Somerville, 1 which I beg you to forward immediately, 
 that he may by all means fif requisite) write to Mr. Blyth 2 
 or me on the subject by the first Jamaica packet. You 
 
 1 Rev. Andrew Somerville, Mission Secretary of the United Secession, 
 
 hortly after (May 1847) the United Presbyterian Church. 
 
 - The Rev. George Blyth of Hampden, Jamaica. 
 
 170
 
 Appointment to Old Calabar 177 
 
 will gather from that letter — which peruse and please 
 seal — all that I can at present say on the subject. I wish 
 earnestly that all uncertainty were removed from the 
 matter, and that the Master would say speedily either 
 " Go " or " Stay." But we must let patience have her 
 perfect work. (The "personal objection" referred to in 
 Mr. S.'s letter is, what you are aware of, my dental 
 defects.) Mr. Blyth thinks that all objections will be 
 overruled, and that no obstacle lies in the way of my 
 going " far hence." He thinks I should leave Dr. Brown 
 and the Scottish Missionary Society nolens volcns. I have 
 written him that I do not at all like the nolens. You may 
 know, sooner than I perhaps, from Dr. Brown or Mr. 
 Somerville whether the Directors have consented to my 
 removal or not. If they have, and if intimation of it be 
 on the way, then you may henceforth look on me as a 
 Ford missionary to Africa. I am so selfish that I half 
 regret, in the prospect of leaving Rose Hill, that I did not 
 retain the Communion service, etc., sent me by Ford and 
 Dalkeith Sabbath scholars, as personal property, that I 
 might have them to take to Africa ; but I feel consoled by 
 the thought that your young people will surely renew their 
 liberality should I require such articles in Africa. 
 
 We had, with you, I presume, our Communion Sabbath 
 on Sabbath the 1st inst. I concluded the table services 
 from the words — " I will not henceforth drink of the fruit 
 of the vine," etc. I felt that it might be my last Com- 
 munion Sabbath in this place. When I look forward to 
 the dark future — to my last Sabbath among my little 
 flock, the farewell sermon, etc. etc. — I feel oppressed. I 
 doubt not but this note will lead you to sympathy and 
 prayer with me in the present crisis. 
 
 Mr. Waddell has written for me to join him in Africa. 
 I may state that Mr. Blyth's letter to me conveying notice 
 of my nomination to Africa was a surprise to me. I had 
 no more thought of being sent to Africa than of being 
 sent to the moon. I never considered myself as the man 
 for such high and important work. The treasure being in 
 such a weak, frail earthen vessel as I, O may the excel- 
 lence of the power be of God, that He may be glorified by 
 me in life or in death, in America or Africa ! . • . 
 
 \2
 
 i ;S Jamaica Period 
 
 We are moving on here the old way. Good school — 
 church increasing slowly. Now 1 50 communicants here, 
 and about 70 at Cedar Valley. I dispense the Communion 
 at Cedar Valley always that day four weeks after the 
 Communion here. 
 
 Mrs. Anderson fights nobly by my side, but is never 
 very strong. She injured herself by over-exertion before 
 I came here. She taught Carron Hall school on Sabbath, 
 Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and here 
 on Friday and Saturday. This was far too much for any 
 person to do. I know of no one who does nearly so much 
 in Jamaica. She narrowly escaped consumption the year 
 before I came here. If we go to Africa, we hope that the 
 voyage will benefit us both. I felt very poorly a month 
 or two ago, but feel quite vigorous again. 
 
 If you ascertain from Dr. Brown or Mr. Somerville 
 that we shall not go to Africa, at least for the present, 
 will you be kind enough to instruct James Tod to forward 
 the articles I sent for some time ago, as speedily as 
 possible ? 
 
 I hardly expect that Mrs. Watson (of Lucea) will be 
 alive when you receive this. How is George Hall getting 
 on ? I asked him to come out to Cedar Valley ; I wish 
 you would back me. But we don't like to let good mem- 
 bers leave our congregations here — you, no doubt, feel as 
 we do. 
 
 The Board propose to send Mr. Caldwell or Mr. 
 Gregory here in my place. 
 
 Mr. Waddell arrived at Port Maria in the Warree on 
 24th December 1 846, after his pioneer expedition to Old 
 Calabar, and was cordially welcomed by his brother-in- 
 law, the Rev. John Simpson, and the brethren in the 
 north-eastern part of the island. Mr. and Mrs. Anderson 
 would probably have accompanied Mr. Waddell on his 
 return to Calabar, but for the circumstance mentioned in 
 the letter quoted below. The Warree set sail from Lucea 
 harbour on the 15th of March 1847, taking with her, i
 
 Ordination of Rev. Hugh Goldie 179 
 
 addition to Mr. Waddell, the Rev. Hugh Goldie, who, 
 after six years' labours as a teacher and catechist at 
 Stirling and Negril, had been ordained for the African 
 Mission by the Falmouth Presbytery on July 17, 1846, 
 and Mrs. Goldie, Mr. H. B. and Mrs. Newhall, Mr. Henry 
 Hamilton, a brown man, mission carpenter, and Mary 
 Brown, who afterwards became his wife — parents of the 
 Rev. H. Hope Hamilton, Jamaica — and Samuel Duncan 
 and his wife, and Sarah Brown, a black girl, and two 
 assistant carpenters. 
 
 Mr. Anderson writes to Mr. Chisholm, Dalkeith, under 
 date 4th Oct. 1847: — 
 
 I do not know what to say about my going to Africa. 
 I referred it to the Committees at home to decide on the 
 matter. You are aware that in the end the Directors of 
 the Scottish Missionary Society agreed to transfer me to 
 the (Secession) Synod's Board of Missions. Intelligence 
 of this reached Jamaica only a day or two before the 
 Warree sailed for Africa. I wrote Mr. Somerville after- 
 wards on the subject, expressing my willingness to go to 
 Africa or wherever the hand of Providence may lead me. 
 He replied, giving me to understand that the Synod's 
 Committee look on me as their pledged agent for Africa, — 
 that they regard favourably my request to be sent to 
 Africa via Scotland, if at all, — but that they do not judge 
 it advisable to order me home immediately, till they hear 
 from Africa, and be able to send a reinforcement to 
 Jamaica. Thus the matter stands. I know not the day 
 or the hour when I may be called on to leave this sphere 
 and proceed to the distant land. 
 
 One thing I may say about the matter. It is this. 
 My consenting to go to Africa at all has been purely out 
 of deference to the opinions of others and the will of 
 Providence as indicated by those opinions. I know that 
 some who have gone to Africa have felt as if their day of 
 usefulness in this land were over, and that others would 
 carry on their work here better. Now, my feeling is that
 
 180 Jamaica Period 
 
 I am just in my proper sphere — that I cannot be more 
 useful anywhere than where I am at present. However, 
 1 shall consider the will of the Church as an indication of 
 the will of the Master; and if the Committee here and the 
 Committee at home persist in saying to me, " Thou art the 
 man for Africa," I must, of course, submit to their decision. 
 ( )ne thing, however, I feel that I ought not to do — leave 
 this station till a successor be on the spot. Were I to 
 consult my own wishes and feelings, and, I believe, those 
 of all this neighbourhood, the conclusion would be — "Here 
 let me live, labour, die, and be buried." But I trust I have 
 learned to say from the heart, " Not my will, but Thine be 
 done." 
 
 The origin of the movement that led to the formation 
 of a Synod of the Presbyterian Mission Churches in 
 Jamaica is described in this letter: 1 — 
 
 At a late meeting of the Eastern District Committee 
 of Presbytery (consisting of Messrs. Cowan, Simpson, 
 Campbell, and Anderson), it was agreed to overture the 
 Presbytery at its meeting in January to form itself into a 
 Synod, and to give the four District Committees Presby- 
 terial powers — i.e. to constitute them Presbyteries. It is 
 impossible for all the ministers to attend each meeting of 
 Presbytery at present. Presbytery generally meets at 
 Montego Bay. I am the farthest from that town, and to 
 go there costs me about £2 sterling, and to return, as much, 
 besides being completely knocked up for a week after 1 
 get home. In the event of the division of Presbytery, we 
 propose that Synod shall meet annually at Falmouth or 
 Montego Bay one year, in Kingston or Spanish Town the 
 next, etc. This would require from none of the brethren 
 more than one long journey in two years. 
 
 We of the l^astern Committee have been very anxious 
 to commence a station in Kingston. The United Presby- 
 terian Church has no station in any of the principal sea- 
 
 1 In January 1S4S it was agreed to form the Synod of the Presbyterian 
 Church of Jamaica, and the first meeting was held at Falmouth on 9th 
 January 1848. — See Mdverrow's Foreig7i Missions, p. 321.
 
 A Station in Kingston 181 
 
 port towns of Jamaica. These are Kingston, Montego 
 Bay, and Falmouth. At the latter two places the Free 
 Church has stations. While we were planning about 
 commencing operations in Kingston, Mr. Goldie of the 
 Scottish Establishment there died. The session applied 
 to one of the Presbytery's preachers, Mr. Callender, to 
 supply their church with sermon. A pro re nata meeting 
 of Presbytery was held at Montego Bay, at which Mr. 
 Callender was ordained. He immediately proceeded to 
 Kingston, and is now labouring there with much accept- 
 ance. We have thus been enabled to begin work in that 
 city in a very providential way. Kingston Kirk is, I 
 believe, or was, under the Established Presbytery of 
 Edinburgh. Should said Presbytery send out another 
 minister, I believe there will be a split in the congregation. 
 Ninety-nine-hundredths of the people will follow Mr. 
 Callender. Should no minister be sent out, the Kingston 
 congregation will quietly put themselves under our Pres- 
 bytery. There is abundant room for other three or four 
 ministers in Kingston. 1 
 
 I am one of a Committee to meet with the American 
 Congregational brethren on this day week to have a con- 
 ference with a view to their union with the Presbytery. 
 They are five in number, and are of the excellent ones of 
 the earth. Their accession would make a strong Eastern 
 Presbytery. . . . Perhaps you have heard from Mr. Jas. 
 Tod that our beloved sister, Mrs. Beardslie (of the 
 American Mission), left this world for a better at the 
 beginning of August. Since that time her husband's 
 health has been rather delicate. He spent last Friday 
 with us here. He is now superintendent of the Mico 
 Institution, Kingston. It is a sort of Normal Seminary. . . . 
 
 I would not grudge is. 6d. postage for The Lambs of 
 the Flock, by Mr. Brown. I have been much helped by 
 his Dwellings of Jacob, a copy of which Mr. Tod sent 
 to Mrs. A. I see that Mr. Brown is one of the Mission 
 Board. — With affectionate regards to Mrs. Chisholm and 
 the young folks, in which Mrs. A. joins, I am, my very 
 dear friend, ever yours, Wm. Anderson. 
 
 1 Cf. account in U.P. Missionary Record, Fel/iuary 1848; and M'Kerrow's 
 Foreign Missions, p. 328 ft.
 
 1 82 Jamaica Period 
 
 " After the union took place between the United 
 Secession and the Relief Churches in May 1847, an arrange- 
 ment was made," says Dr. M'Kerrow, 1 " by means of which 
 the missionaries in Jamaica that were connected with the 
 Scottish Missionary Society were placed under the super- 
 intendence of the Board of Missions connected with the 
 United Presbyterian Church. This arrangement was 
 accomplished in a most amicable manner, and gave great 
 satisfaction to all parties concerned." Intimation of the 
 transference of the Jamaica Mission of the Scottish 
 Missionary Society, and of the Kaffrarian Mission of the 
 Glasgow Missionary Society, to the care and the support 
 of the United Presbyterian Church, was made in the 
 Missionary Record for October 1847. The missionaries 
 themselves cordially agreed to the transfer of their services 
 to the Board of Missions of the United Presbyterian 
 Church, and the Report of the Scottish Missionary Society 
 for 1848 contains excerpts from letters received by the 
 Secretary, Dr. \Ym. Brown, from the missionaries. Mr. 
 .Anderson wrote as follows : — 
 
 I regret that matters have come to the present pass, in 
 regard to the Society. The intelligence is not, however, 
 wholly unexpected. Before I left home, it was the opinion 
 of several of the Secession ministers with whom I con- 
 versed, that in a short time the agents in Jamaica of the 
 Scottish Missionary Society would become the Synod's. 
 Looking at the aspect of affairs in Scotland, contrasting 
 things now with what they must have been when the 
 Scottish Missionary Society was formed (1796) — con- 
 sidering the numerous demands made, especially in a 
 year like the present, on the liberality of the Scottish 
 public, and seeing how strenuously each section of the 
 Church labours to support and extend its own particular 
 mission or missions — however much we regret, we can 
 
 1 Foreign Missions, p. 319.
 
 Call to succeed Mr. Jameson in Africa 183 
 
 hardly wonder that a catholic Society like the Scottish 
 Missionary should be overlooked by the mass. I think 
 the arrangement proposed, namely, that of transferring us 
 and our stations to the Synod's Board of Missions, is the 
 very best that could be made. In so far as I am con- 
 cerned, I cordially concur in it, though I feel deeply 
 grieved that it should be necessary. Some of my earliest 
 recollections are interestingly associated with the Society. 
 In the days of my boyhood it was long the only Missionary 
 Society of which I ever heard ; its monthly Registers and 
 Quarterly Papers were the only periodicals that, so far 
 back as I remember, ever entered my father's dwelling. 
 But perhaps the purposes of God with the Society have 
 been accomplished ; it has finished the work for which He 
 designed it, and He is now calling on it to leave the field 
 to others. If such be the case, it becomes us humbly to 
 say, " Not our will, O Father, but Thine be done." Yet, 
 when the announcement goes forth to the public that the 
 Scottish Missionary Society has given up its Jamaica 
 Missions, there will be sadness in the souls of those who 
 have been its faithful and constant supporters ; and I 
 should think, too, that there are many, many to whom the 
 announcement will cause a pang of deep regret, because 
 they have not done what they could for its support. 
 
 In the missionary Record for August 1848 appeared 
 the following statement regarding the choice of Mr. 
 Anderson to supply the place of the late Rev. William 
 Jameson at Old Calabar : — 
 
 The Rev. William Anderson, who for eight years has 
 been labouring very assiduously and successfully at Rose 
 Hill, was chosen by the brethren in Jamaica as one of the 
 agents that were last year to accompany Mr. Waddell to 
 Africa ; but circumstances occurred which, to his great 
 disappointment, prevented him from going at that time. 
 The Mission Board, cordially approving of his appoint- 
 ment, intimated that they would look to him as the next 
 brother that would be called upon, when a proper oppor- 
 tunity should present itself, to join the devoted band at
 
 i S4 |am.\i< \ Period 
 
 OKI Calabar. This opportunity was afforded by the 
 lamented death of the Rev. William Jameson (at Creek 
 Town on Aug. 5th, 1847). The following extract from a 
 letter of Mr. Anderson, written when he received tidings 
 of Mr. Jameson's death, shows that he is a person of 
 kindred spirit, and that he is well fitted to succeed that 
 most excellent and beloved servant of God :— 
 
 " On reaching home, 1 found a letter lying for me from 
 Mr. Goldie. After mentioning the sore bereavement, Mr. 
 G. asks me, ' Are you ready to come out and fill his 
 place? We surely cannot consent to lose the favourable 
 footing we have gained in this land ; and of all the 
 brethren in Jamaica, I know of none who can so con- 
 veniently come as yourself.' I know that to go to 
 Africa, and ' to fill his place', are very different things. 
 But should the Mission Board wish it, 1 stand ready to 
 do the one and to attempt the other. I suppose it is not 
 needful that I say more on the subject than I have said 
 to you in my former letters. 1 look on myself as not 
 my own, as the property of God, and, in some respects, 
 of the Church; and my wish is just to be what and to be 
 where He wills. I regard the decision of such a body of 
 men as your Mission Board as a broad intimation of what 
 He would have me to do. To the difficulties and the 
 dangers connected with the mission to Old Calabar I 
 cannot shut my eyes ; but if the Board wish another 
 
 nt from Jamaica to proceed thither, ' here am I, send 
 me.' In view of toil, dangers, difficulties, disease, and 
 early death, I think I can say, ' None of these things move 
 me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, that I may 
 finish my course with joy, and the ministry which I have 
 received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the 
 grace of God.' " 
 
 These are the words of a man who lived, as the sub- 
 sequent extract proves, in the affections of his flock, and 
 who occupied a station, in reference to which he says in 
 the same letter, " for the encouragement of anyone, 
 either in Scotland or in Jamaica, who may at any time 
 wish to come to Rose Hill, you can assure him that there 
 is not a prettier nor a healthier locality in Jamaica than 
 this" ; and yet he is prepared to give up all his comforts,
 
 Parting Scenes at Rose Hill 185 
 
 and to expose himself to the perils of Central Africa, in 
 obedience to the call of duty, and for the sake of the 
 perishing heathen at Old Calabar. Surely this is the 
 spirit that ought to animate the missionary of the Cross ! 
 
 A letter inviting him home was on its way across 
 the Atlantic at the very time when Mr. Anderson was 
 penning the words which we have quoted. He at once 
 complied with the request which it contained ; and the 
 following very interesting communication, dated Montego 
 Bay, 25th May 1848, describes the intense sorrow which 
 his leaving caused to his attached people : — 
 
 " In compliance with the directions of the Mission 
 Board, transmitted to us through you, we have bidden 
 farewell to our lovely mountain home, and are thus far 
 on our way to dark Africa. On the morning of the 1 8th, 
 with heavy hearts, and amidst the tears and lamenta- 
 tions of many, we tore ourselves away from the scenes 
 of many laborious, many happy, some sad, and also, 
 we trust, some useful days. The people amongst whom 
 we had laboured, more or less, for upwards of eight 
 years, showed us all possible kindness. They plentifully 
 supplied us with ground provisions and fowls for the 
 voyage, and carried them and our luggage to Port Maria, 
 a distance of fourteen miles. A goodly number of both 
 old and young accompanied us during our journey. When 
 we reached Port Maria, the boat which was to carry us 
 to this place had not arrived. It did not reach Port 
 Maria till Friday evening the 19th. We embarked about 
 9 A.M. of Saturday. Upwards of twenty of those who 
 had come with us on the Thursday had remained till that 
 time, to guard our provisions, and ' to see the last of us.' 
 With them we had a sorrowful parting at the wharf. The 
 Lord reward their kindness to us, His unworthy servants. 
 ' I had a laborious, painful, and exciting season for a 
 week or two before we left Rose Hill. I may look over 
 my Journal for the last few weeks : — 
 
 '" Sabbath, April 16. — A solemn day. Preached, as I 
 suppose, my last sermon to the young here (Rose Hill), 
 from Joseph's words to Benjamin, " God be gracious unto 
 thee, my son." 
 
 Monday, 17. — At Kingston looking after a ship. 
 
 '"j,
 
 1 86 Jamaica Period 
 
 " ' Tuesday, 1 8. — On board several ships. Did not get 
 a passage. Reached home about midnight. 
 
 Ui Friday t 2i. — Fast Day. Good congregation. Preached 
 from Isa. lviii. I. 
 
 "' Tuesday, 25. — Attended a juvenile missionary meet- 
 ing at Carron Hall a.m. Attended meetingof Presbytery p.m. 
 Demitted charge of Rose Hill congregation to Presbytery. 
 
 "' Monday, May 1. — Visiting" families at Facey for the 
 last time. Oh, how sad were many ! 
 
 " ' Friday, 5. — Fast Day at Carron Hall. Preached 
 there for the last time to a large congregation. 
 
 " ' Saturday, 6. — A day of tranquillity. Preparing for 
 to-morrow. 
 
 "' Sabbath^ 7. — A deeply interesting day. My last 
 Communion at Rose Hill. Much weeping among many. 
 Air. Cowan came p.m. to deliver the closing address. 
 \ number of Carron Hall people were over. About 200 
 sat around the table of the Lord. A day much to be 
 remembered. 
 
 " ' Monday, 8. — Visiting a number of families for the 
 last time. Good meeting in the evening. 
 
 " ' Tuesday, 9. — Visiting more families. Preached and 
 baptized at Braemar. Went to Carron Hall in the evening. 
 
 "' Wednesday, 10. — Addressed and took farewell of 
 Goshen congregation. They are deeply interested in Old 
 Calabar, where their late pastor's mortal remains repose, 
 and seem interested in me as his successor. 
 
 " ' Friday) 1 2. — Visiting from house to house all day. 
 Good meeting in the evening. Session meeting till mid- 
 night. 
 
 " ' Saturday, 1 3. — Worn out. Under medicine — unable 
 to study. What for the morrow, it being my last Sabbath 
 here ? 
 
 "What time my heart is overwhelmed, and in perplexity, 
 Do Thou me lead unto the Rock that higher is than I." 
 
 "'Sabbath, 14. — A trying, solemn, and deeply interest- 
 ing day. My last Sabbath where I have spent almost 
 every Sabbath for eight years and three months! The Lord 
 sent to my aid, somewhat unexpectedly, Mr. J. Rodgers, 
 teacher, Port Maria. He delivered an excellent discourse
 
 Last Addresses at Rose Hill 187 
 
 in the forenoon from 1 Pet. i. 13. I read in the after- 
 noon, and founded my farewell discourse (which I regret 
 I have been unable to study) on Paul's farewell address 
 to the elders of Ephesus. Gave to each one in my 
 Sabbath morning class, and to each of the Sabbath-school 
 teachers, a copy of Rev. Dr. William Brown's Selection of 
 Passages of Scripture, and to each one present who could 
 read, one of Rev. Joseph Brown's Lambs of the Flock. 
 
 "'Monday, 15. — Good meeting in the evening. 
 
 "' Tuesday, 16. — Putting things in order. An evening 
 meeting, at which I delivered my last address at Rose Hill, 
 from Heb. xii. 2 : " Looking unto Jesus." 
 
 "' Wednesday, 17. — Rev. Messrs. Cowan, Simpson, 
 Campbell, Day, and Teal met with the congregation and 
 delivered suitable and excellent addresses. Held our last 
 sessional prayer meeting in the evening. It was a long, 
 interesting, and refreshing one. I never heard men pour 
 out their whole souls to God more fervently. We wept 
 and prayed, yet rejoiced and praised together. The elders 
 prayed in rotation. They made supplication with strong 
 crying and tears for the bereaved congregation, my 
 partner, and myself. 
 
 "' Thursday ; 18. — A day never to be forgotten by us. 
 But to this day I have referred at the beginning of my 
 letter, and the remembrance of it is so overpowering 
 that I cannot enlarge in regard to it. 
 
 "'Friday, 19.— At Port Maria. Took farewell of the 
 congregation there in the evening. A good number of 
 my ozvn people were present. The Copse's boat came for 
 us in the afternoon. 
 
 " ' Saturday, 20. — The breeze springing up about 9 A.M., 
 we embarked in the boat. We were out all day, and quite 
 sea-sick. We reached this place (Montego Bay) in safety, 
 and had just stepped on board the Copse when the town- 
 clock struck twelve — the midnight hour. 
 
 " ' Sabbath, 21. — Before I got up, an elder of the church 
 here was on board to get me to preach — no supply having 
 been provided by the Presbytery for this day. I was 
 enabled to go through the services of the day with 
 comfort to myself, and fondly trust that they were not 
 altogether unprofitable to others."'
 
 i88 Jamak \ Period 
 
 The Cornwall Chronicle slated that Mr. Anderson 
 preached in Montego Bay also on the last Sabbath of 
 May, and after the evening service "delivered an interest- 
 ing account of how he came to be selected as one of 
 the Society's agents for that Mission. From the sin- 
 cerity and simplicity of manner in which Mr. Anderson 
 gave utterance to his thoughts and feelings, the attentive 
 congregation seemed deeply affected. We commend 
 him and his esteemed partner to the care of Him 
 who rules the winds and waves, and trust that they 
 may be made instruments of mercy to many of the 
 benighted inhabitants of long-degraded, long-neglected 
 Africa." 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Anderson arrived safely at Leith on the 
 i 7th July [848. 
 
 The Rev. John Cowan, in a letter of 5th June, when 
 adverting- to the sorrow which the removal of Mr. 
 Anderson has caused to the people of Rose Hill congrega- 
 tion, mentions the following beautiful incident: — 
 
 I was at Philipsburg last week. There are some very 
 _;M<>d people there. We had a good meeting. Karly next 
 morning, I heard four of the families who reside there 
 engaged in singing their morning song of praise. One of 
 them was so near, that on going to the window during 
 the time of prayer, I could hear with some distinctness. 
 1 heard the husband pray for Mr. Anderson and the 
 African Mission, which he did with fulness, fervour, and 
 intelligence. 
 
 •to 
 
 The Rev. George Blyth, in his Reminiscences of Mis- 
 sionary Life. (185 1), writing of Rose Hill, says: "The 
 removal of Mr. Anderson to Calabar has been very 
 injurious to this congregation. The Rev. James Caldwell 
 of Mount Horeb, who had been appointed Mr. Ander-
 
 Rose Hill after Mr. Anderson's Departure 189 
 
 son's successor, died suddenly of yellow fever on 27th 
 September 1848, before he had been able to remove to 
 Rose Hill." The Rev. Archibald Muir, formerly of Largo, 
 who had gone out to Jamaica for the benefit of his health, 
 took charge of Rose Hill for nine months during 1849-50, 
 but the progress of his disease compelled him to abandon 
 work in which he had become deeply interested and which 
 had endeared him to the people, and return to Scotland, 
 where he died on 9th December 1850. Before leaving 
 Jamaica, he sent home on behalf of Rose Hill a fervent 
 appeal, which was published in the Missionary Record 
 for July 1850. In it he said: "I do trust and pray that 
 this needful, healthful, and extensive field of usefulness 
 shall not be lost sight of by the Mission Board, and that 
 some true-hearted, healthy, earnest man will speedily again 
 be set apart to cultivate it." But both church and school 
 remained vacant for a considerable time. In July 185 1 
 the Rev. John Campbell of Goshen wrote, that in Mr. 
 Anderson's time the school was a very flourishing one, 
 but that after he left there was no proper teacher for it, 
 and there having been no minister at the station since 
 he left, with the exception of the brief term of Mr. Muir's 
 occupancy, both church and school had fallen far behind. 
 A teacher trained at the Mico Institution had, however, 
 been located there for twelve months, and under him, 
 wrote Mr. Campbell, the school had considerably revived ; 
 but he added, " we greatly require a minister for Rose 
 Hill, and the Mission Board is under peculiar obligations 
 to send one." At length, in November 1851, the Rev. 
 Wm. S. Heddle, previously of City Road Church, Brechin, 
 took temporary charge of Rose Hill. In the Record for 
 July 1852 he wrote regarding the injury which a state of
 
 190 Jamaica Period 
 
 vacancy does to a Jamaica congregation, and in the Record 
 for February 1853 he described the reorganisation of the 
 church, which was necessary owing to the lapsed condition 
 into which the congregation had fallen during the pro- 
 longed vacancy. But, unfortunately, Mr. Heddle had to 
 leave Rose Hill in May 1854. The Rev. Alexander Robb 
 of Goshen wrote that his labours were a priceless blessing 
 to the people. Mr. Heddle returned to Scotland, and, at 
 the request of Dr. Somerville, the Foreign Mission Secre- 
 tary, wrote a plea for a missionary for Rose Hill, which was 
 published in the Record for November 1855. It was not, 
 however, till 19th May 1857 that the Rev. Thomas Boyd, 
 who had volunteered for Jamaica, was inducted to the 
 pastoral charge of Rose Hill congregation. Nine years 
 thus elapsed from the time Mr. and Mrs. Anderson left 
 Rose Hill before a permanent pastor was obtained for the 
 infant congregation. Mr. Anderson's worst forebodings 
 regarding the future of the station, if he had to leave it 
 before his successor was on the spot, were unfortunately 
 realised, and he was entirely right in his feeling that he 
 ought not to quit the station until he could leave it in the 
 hands of another agent. However, his judgment in this 
 matter was overruled, and, while Duke Town gained by 
 his accession to the staff of the Calabar Mission, Rose 
 Hill suffered severely by his removal from Jamaica. 
 Much of the results of his labours at Rose Hill were lost, 
 and many of the converts and members who had hardly 
 been set free from legal and moral slavery lapsed into 
 bondage to sin and superstition for want of their faithful, 
 sympathetic spiritual guides, who had been prematurely 
 taken from them,
 
 PART III 
 
 OLD CALABAR PERIOD, 1 849-1 889, and 
 CLOSING YEARS, 1 889-1 895 
 
 m
 
 MISSION MAP OF OLD CALABAR 
 
 - -.-... ., fa itiAute 
 
 dm "Bniiio.cimfw" &■ C f > 
 
 *
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Anderson spent only a few months in 
 Scotland before leaving for Old Calabar. Mr. Anderson 
 was busily employed along with Mr. Waddell in pleading 
 the claims of the African Mission, and had very little 
 time to spend with his old friends, or to revisit the scenes 
 of his youth. 
 
 He and Mrs. Anderson were now about to enter on the 
 most important period of their career. Mrs. Anderson 
 was spared to labour for thirty-three years in connection 
 with the Calabar Mission. Though known as " the silent 
 woman," her recorded deeds are eloquent of self-sacrifice 
 on behalf of native and European without distinction, and, 
 like the ointment of spikenard poured forth, their sweet 
 odour reveals their character to all. But the best portion 
 of a good woman's as of a good man's life are " the little 
 nameless unremembered acts of kindness and of love " 
 done so that the left hand knows not what the right 
 has done. The records of her work are scanty and frag- 
 mentary, but there remains enough to show the manner 
 of woman she was. 
 
 Mr. Anderson for forty years did yeoman service in 
 Calabar. The following pages tell the story almost wholly 
 in his own words, and reveal his character and describe 
 his labours better than any other pen could do. Further 
 introduction is needless.
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 Voyage and Arrival at old Calabar 
 
 MR. AND Mrs. ANDERSON left Liverpool for Old 
 Calabar in the Elizabeth Bibby, on Thursday the 
 23rd November 1848. Messrs. Wilson & Dawson, 
 the owners of the vessel, kindly granted them a free 
 passage. 
 
 The following letter, dated 17th February 1849, de- 
 scribes the voyage and the arrival : — 
 
 After a passage of eighty-one days from Liverpool, we 
 reached Duke Town on Monday the 12th inst. During 
 the early part of our voyage the weather was very stormy. 
 We were tossed up and down for about three weeks, at 
 no great distance from the south-west coast of Ireland. I 
 may give you a few items from my Journal while on the 
 deep. . . . 
 
 " Monday, 25. — This being Christmas Day, was kept as 
 a sort of holiday on board. Between two and three 
 o'clock visited a sick cooper in the forecastle. Prayed 
 with him, and talked to him about eternal things. About 
 four o'clock the surgeon of the ship tapped at our berth 
 door, and intimated that the sick man had just died. 
 About five o'clock we were called on to witness what we 
 have often heard described as a most melancholy affair — 
 ' a funeral at sea.' The body having been sewed up in a 
 -"it of bag made of canvas, with some heavy shot at the 
 heels, was laid on a board, the end of which was placed 
 so as to project a little over the bulwarks. I read a few 
 
 194
 
 Incidents of the Voyage 195 
 
 passages of Scripture, gave a few words of exhortation, 
 and prayed. At the close of prayer, the inner end of the 
 plank was elevated, and the corpse dropped into the pass- 
 ing billow. 
 
 ' There was one dull splash, and all was o'er ; 
 The sea rolled on as it rolled before.' 
 
 " Sabbath, 31. — . . . We began the year at our much- 
 loved Rose Hill, and we have been much there in spirit 
 to-day. 
 
 " Monday, Jan. 1, 1849. — In so far as externals are con- 
 cerned, this has been to us a comfortless day. We have 
 had strong head winds and head sea since Saturday. We 
 have been out thirty-eight days, and are only twelve or 
 fourteen days' usual sail from England. Surely our friends 
 at home are forgetting us in their intercessions ! 
 
 " Sabbath, 7. — -We are once more in the torrid zone. 
 In lat. N. 22° at noon. Glad to be at my work to-dav for 
 a little. Preached and distributed tracts. 
 
 "Monday, 22. — Had a touch of a squall, or rather a 
 tornado, about midnight. The scene was grand, but had 
 a mixture of the terrific. At one moment the heavens 
 seemed to be wrapt in impenetrable darkness, in the next 
 they seemed to be on fire, while, far as the eye could 
 reach, every billow of the ocean was crested with flame. 
 Loud thunders rolled, and the winds raged all around. 
 The good ship groaned and quivered at every joint ; but 
 all sail having been in in good time, she sustained no 
 injury. In an hour all was calm. 
 
 " Saturday, 27. — Off Baddu (in Liberia) this morning. 
 This is the first land we have seen since we sailed. A 
 number of fishermen came off in their canoes. They 
 bartered their newly-caught fish for biscuit, tobacco, and 
 rum. Towards evening we approached Grand Sesters, 
 from which place from fifty to sixty Krumen came off for 
 the purpose of offering themselves to go with our captain 
 to Old Calabar. All the palm-oil ships employ a number 
 of these men to do the heavy work, which the white sea- 
 men cannot do in such a climate. Many of them had 
 numerous recommendations from captains whom they
 
 196 Old Calabar Period 
 
 had previously served, and others had large ivory rings 
 on their arms, bearing sundry inscriptions. I was in- 
 troduced to them as one of the ' God-men.' They 
 appeared deeply interested in Mrs. Anderson ; and one 
 of them declared his readiness to give me ' plenty bul- 
 lock ' for her if I would dispose of her to him. Several 
 of them were much offended by the captain calling them 
 in jest ' niggers.' They stated that they had been 
 'always free — never slaves; then why call we niggers}' 
 About twenty of them were retained for the ship, the rest 
 returned to their homes. 
 
 " Sabbath, 28. — After the usual service and tract distri- 
 bution, had a conversation with some of the Krumen, 
 who understand English a little. One man said he 
 ' know there be one God who make all things ; also he 
 know that white people say that good people when them 
 dead go up to God, and that bad people when them dead 
 go down to the devil ; but his countrymen no believe all 
 this. They believe that when man buried him done.' 
 According to this man's representations, his tribe of 
 Krumen have a king, a black man called Charlie, and 
 their laws are of a very simple kind. I asked what they 
 do with a man who steals. 'They make him pay back.' 
 ' But suppose he cannot pay back ? ' ' Then say, " Oh, 
 he be but a poor fellow," and just let him go.' 'If one 
 man kill another?' ' They send him out of the country 
 a far way.' They seem to know little, and to believe 
 less, of the doctrines of the Christian religion. They are 
 strong, hardy, industrious fellows, and are frequently 
 denominated the Scotchmen of Africa. 
 
 "Monday, 29. — Off Cape Palmas during the night. 
 This evening the Krumen amused themselves and others 
 by practising their wild-looking native dances. 
 
 " Tuesday, Feb. 6. — In lat. N. 3 , long. E. 6° 3', just 
 opposite the principal estuary of the Niger. We are 
 about a hundred miles from land, and sailing on water quite 
 discoloured by the flow from the above-named river. We 
 fully expect to sight Fernando Po to-morrow. 
 
 " Wednesday, 7. — We have not got on so quickly as we 
 expected. Are now (noon; sixty miles from Fernando Po, 
 and there is hardly a breath of wind.
 
 In the Calabar River 197 
 
 " Thursday, 8. — Quite near Fernando Po this morning. 
 Fully expected to get ashore to leave letters, and obtain 
 yams, fowls, etc. ; but just as we approached the island 
 the wind came from its shores with considerable strength, 
 so that we had to face about and move towards Old 
 Calabar. 
 
 " Friday, 9. — Cast anchor near the bar of the Old Cala- 
 bar River, in six fathoms water, this morning, at half-past 
 five o'clock. The Windermere, which left Liverpool the 
 day before we sailed, was lying a mile or two distant. 
 Her boat had been sent for a pilot, so we could do 
 nothing but lie till he should arrive. 
 
 " Saturday, 10. — The pilot came to-day — was glad to 
 hear that my brethren, Messrs. Goldie and Edgerley, are 
 well. Were informed by the pilot that all the gentlemen 
 of Duke Town had gone to the country to settle a palaver 
 about palm oil. Was surprised to hear, too, that a few 
 days ago the aspect of affairs had been rather threatening 
 between Duke Town and Creek Town. (Learned after 
 coming here that some false report had been circulated in 
 Duke Town about King Eyo being about to claim some 
 degree of sovereignty over that town. The people turned 
 out armed, and brought their cannons down to the beach 
 to prevent the suspected usurpation.) 
 
 " Weighed anchor about four o'clock, and proceeded 
 onwards a few miles. 
 
 "Sabbath, 11. — Weighed anchor this morning about 
 five o'clock. Kept sounding all day. Seldom above six 
 fathoms water. Entered Old Calabar River in the after- 
 noon. The day was so misty that we could not see land 
 plainly. Anchored between seven and eight evening, 
 betwixt Parrot Island and James's Island. 
 
 " Monday, 1 2. — Weighed anchor about five A.M., but had 
 not proceeded far when the ship got aground on James's 
 flat. The Windermere was also aground, but not being 
 so deep in the water, she got more easily off. As the tide 
 was ebbing, there was no hope of getting off for ten or 
 twelve hours. The captain, accompanied by Mrs. Ander- 
 son and myself, came up to Duke Town in a boat. With- 
 out intimation of any kind being given beforehand, we 
 went direct to the mission-house. We were glad to find
 
 198 Olp Calabar Period 
 
 Mr. Goldie there. He and Mr. Edgerley were quite well, 
 but Mrs. Edgerley had been, and was, very poorly. After 
 eleven and a half weeks of sea life, we were grateful to 
 our kind Father in heaven for permitting us to set foot on 
 dry land once more."
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 First Impressions and Beginning of Work 
 
 In the letter which gives an account of the voyage and 
 the arrival at Old Calabar, Mr. Anderson records his first 
 impressions. He and Mrs. Anderson arrived at Duke 
 Town in time to accompany Messrs. Goldie and Edgerley 
 to Creek Town to be present at King Eyo II. 's weekly 
 dinner on a specially interesting occasion, and they spent 
 their first night in Calabar at the latter place :— 
 
 King Eyo had, for the first time, postponed his Sunday 
 in deference to the Lord's Day, and Messrs. Goldie and 
 Edgerley felt anxious to countenance him by being 
 present on such an occasion. In the circumstances, Mrs. 
 A. and myself, though somewhat fatigued by our journey 
 in the boat from the ship, resolved to go to the royal 
 table with them. 
 
 In going up the river we passed Old Town (Mr. E.'s 
 station), which looks exceedingly well from the river. 
 On coming to Creek Town beach, the first thing that met 
 the eye and the ear was a stake stuck in the sand at the 
 water's edge, and on the stake a poor little puppy, a few 
 days old, lashed with its head downwards, struggling and 
 whining most pitifully. In walking up the town we saw 
 indications of mourning. One of the king's aunts died 
 last week, and over the door of her house stands a 
 beautiful umbrella, and before the door a table well 
 furnished with costly and beautiful dishes, all more or 
 less injured, according to Calabar fashion. In token of 
 mourning for this old lady, the king's attendants and 
 slaves have their brows blackened with a mixture of 
 
 199
 
 200 Old Calabar Period 
 
 charcoal and oil. We proceeded to the palace, and, 
 having passed through two squares of houses, reached the 
 principal door. In approaching it, I noticed a good- 
 looking fat man — naked, as usual, with the exception of a 
 piece of blue striped cloth round the loins, and a reddish 
 handkerchief thrown over the right shoulder. Mr. Goldie 
 immediately addressed him as king. This was Eyo. He 
 seemed quite pleased to see Mrs. Anderson and myself. 
 1 presented a letter of introduction from the Chairman 
 and Secretary of the Mission Board. He looked over it, 
 then showed it to one of the captains, but said nothing. 
 Saw young Eyo, and handed him a letter from Mr. 
 Waddell. He said, " I wait for you too long ; we look for 
 you a long year." About four o'clock we sat down to 
 dinner, Mrs. A. being on the king's right hand. We had 
 the curious mixture of yam, fish, flesh, palm oil, pepper, 
 etc. etc., called, I believe, emphatically, Calabar chop ; 
 the pepper pot, the fufu, and its accompanying hot soup. 
 All was so hot with pepper that I could swallow nothing. 
 The only drink used was min Efi'k, which, to a palate 
 burning with pepper, is very grateful. 
 
 After dinner, we left the palace, the king saying to 
 Mis. A., as well as to the rest of us, " Good-night, sir." 
 
 On our way up to the mission-house we stopped for a 
 little at the grave of the beloved Jameson. Undisturbed 
 is his rest beneath a palm tree. His grave is protected 
 by a good fence from being trampled on by cattle. Many 
 interesting recollections of far distant scenes rushed on my 
 mind as 1 gazed on his sepulchre. 
 
 Tuesday, 13. — Remained at Creek Town all night. 
 Visited this morning, accompanied by Mr. Goldie, several 
 of the nobles of Creek Town — Tom Eyo, George Eyo, 
 King Cameroons, etc. Went also to see the market. 
 Went to Duke Town in the afternoon. Received a 
 number of packages from the Elizabeth Bibby. She got 
 afloat to-day, and reached Duke Town in the evening. 
 There are now ten ships lying at anchor there. 
 
 About eight o'clock this evening the Duke Town 
 gentlemen returned from their palaver up the country. 
 
 Wednesday, 14. — Looked into school — only fourteen 
 present. Went with Mr. Edgerley to visit some of the
 
 Mrs. Anderson's First Impressions 201 
 
 chiefs of the town. Was surprised to see so many of the 
 houses in such a dilapidated condition. Called on Archi- 
 bong Duke, Adam Duke, Mr. Young, etc. etc. I delivered 
 to Mr. Young the message with which I was entrusted by- 
 Rev. Dr. Young of Perth, viz. — " That there never was 
 a man of the name of Young in Scotland who at all 
 prospered unless he lived according to the word of God." 
 Mr. Young soon saw the import of the message — laughed 
 heartily, and then declared that " if any man no do as 
 God word tell him to do, he be very bad." 
 
 Went to the noisy market, but saw little business 
 going on. Visited Eyamba's iron house ; both the house 
 and its splendid furniture are going fast to wreck. 
 
 In a letter to Miss and Miss Eliza Watson, dated 
 Duke Town, 16th April 1849, Mrs. Anderson gives her 
 first impressions of Calabar: — 
 
 The first Sabbath after our arrival I cannot tell you 
 how uncomfortable I felt, seeing people going to market 
 and doing all manner of work. Poor things, they know 
 no better. I was at Creek Town the first Sabbath we 
 spent in Africa. In the evening young Eyo came to the 
 mission-house with a broken thumb, saying it was because 
 he broke the Sabbath that he broke his thumb. He said his 
 father sent him to hammer something. He told his 
 father it was God's Sunday. His father said, "Go, do it," 
 and, said he, " At the first stroke I broke my nail." 
 His father did not allow him to remain long with us. He 
 soon sent for him to finish his job. 
 
 You would be amused while you pit}- the gentlemen's 
 wives and daughters, with their brass anklets ; the poor 
 creatures can scarcely move with them, and yet, because 
 they are looked upon as the most costly ornaments, or 
 perhaps marks of dignity, they will endure them, and, 
 worst of all, the brass and the weight together make their 
 ankles very sore. I should think the weight of each 
 anklet would be 8 or 10 lbs. W 7 hat will our sex not 
 endure for the sake of" beauty and dress ! But I think the 
 man that invented those anklets meant them to keep the 
 women within doors, and of course, like many other
 
 202 Old Calabar Period 
 
 things in other countries, they became fashionable. You 
 may perhaps hear some day of me getting on a pair, so 
 Mr. Anderson sometimes threatens ; or how would you 
 like to see me with them ? 
 
 I have seen some of the females with their cheeks 
 quite sore, ornamented with curious figures, and others the 
 arms, indeed the whole body. Can you imagine how this 
 is done ? By rolling a bit of cloth small, clipping it in 
 oil, lighting it, and while it is burning applying it to the 
 place, or by cutting the skin with a razor. Even the little 
 girls endure all these tortures patiently, and sometimes do 
 it themselves. 
 
 This is truly a people sitting in the grossest darkness. 
 They have not the slightest idea of either a future state 
 of happiness or misery, and, worst of all, they have no 
 desire to learn. A few Sabbaths ago some women came 
 to see me, as they do almost every day. I got our washer- 
 woman's daughter to interpret for me, and I spoke to them 
 of the happiness of heaven and the misery of hell, and of 
 Christ as the only way to heaven. They scarcely had 
 patience to hear, and afterwards said, " That be for makara 
 (white person), no for Calabar women." 
 
 Our school is increasing a little. There were very few 
 at school when we came. I have been in it when there 
 were only 12. Now there are between 30 and 40 daily, 
 but nearly all boys. All that we can do we cannot get 
 the girls to attend. I once had a decent class of girls 
 sewing, and now only two. They attend for a few days 
 till they get frocks, and then come no more. The parents 
 do not care about the girls learning to read. At present 
 all they care about even the boys learning is for the 
 purpose of trade. Still, we are glad that they are sent, 
 whatever be their motive for sending them. They are 
 all exceedingly anxious to get clothes. As we have more 
 boys than girls, I had some trouble getting shirts enough, 
 and we have in some cases to suit out a boy in a girl's 
 frock, as there are more girls' than boys' dresses sent. 
 How proud they are of them ! — they do not know the 
 difference. 
 
 Mr. Anderson has been doing all he could to get 
 meetings with the people in this town. He goes out at
 
 "That Book no be for Woman" 203 
 
 nine o'clock on the Sabbath mornings and holds meetings 
 in the gentlemen's yards (those who are willing that he 
 should), and gets someone who understands English to 
 interpret. I assure you this is a most trying mode of 
 proceeding (yet at present there is no alternative) ; we 
 cannot speak to them in their own language, and some- 
 times the interpreter will only tell as much as he thinks 
 proper. They do not wish the slaves to know much, and 
 there are generally a great many slaves present. The 
 gentlemen do not allow their wives to come out to these 
 meetings. Mr. Anderson told Mr. Young yesterday that 
 he should let his wives come out to hear God's word, and 
 said, " The Bible make women good wives." Mr. Young 
 went away, I thought to call them, but they never came. 
 Perhaps it was only a pretence on his part. The other 
 day, after speaking to Henny Cobham about allowing his 
 women to hear God's word, he said, " That book no be for 
 woman," and was quite surprised when he heard that white 
 women could read and write. That man already had six 
 wives, and was married to the seventh a week ago. We 
 can do very little for them till we acquire the language, 
 and that I find a great difficulty. 
 
 Pray for us, dear young friends, that God would keep 
 and bless us in this dark land, and make us useful to these 
 poor heathens. . . . 
 
 Our little dog died on the passage. It was a great 
 pet — a most affectionate creature it was. It could not 
 endure the heat of this climate. 
 
 In a very interesting letter to the Rev. A. Elliot, 
 dated April 18, 1849, Mr. Anderson describes his new 
 sphere of work, and characterises the six principal men of 
 Duke Town : —   
 
 Here we are in long - neglected Africa — and in a 
 portion of it, too, which in regard to European life has 
 been pronounced the most deadly of all its deadly spots. 
 In so far as our health is concerned, my partner and I 
 have as yet had no reason to complain. Our health is 
 still excellent. There is one thing we feel not a little,
 
 204 Old Calabar Period 
 
 however, viz. the want of rest during the night. There is 
 something in the atmosphere inimical to sleep. I have a 
 good sleep only every second or third night. Yet I am 
 stouter than when at home. When there, my Jamaica 
 clothes were rather small for me — now my Scottish 
 clothes are rather too tight for me. This is reckoned a 
 very healthy season. There have been only two deaths 
 among the shipping since our arrival. . . . There are 
 about 280 whites in the ships in the river. A very few 
 years ago, when the same number were here, there were 
 deaths almost daily. We took a walk to Ilenshaw Town 
 the other evening. It is about a mile from this. Many 
 hundred white men have their last resting-place there. 
 Speaking of graves. I may remark that from our house 
 here we can see the white fence which has been erected 
 around good Mr. Jameson's at Creek Town. 
 
 Since our arrival the weather has been very hot, the 
 therm, being at 90'" during the day, and about 8o° during 
 the night. We have been visited by several tornadoes. 
 They have all come from the east, and have beat on our 
 house, as everywhere else, with great violence. They do 
 not continue long, and it is well they do not, for while they 
 last the house trembles as if seized with ague. 
 
 Mr. Waddell has so well described 1 the river, its banks, 
 and the habitations of the people, that 1 need not take up 
 time and room by any attempt on my part to describe 
 them. In regard to persons, I think Eyo II. (of Creek 
 Town) has been rather more than sufficiently magnified, 
 and that sometimes at the expense of others. From all I 
 can learn here, Eyamba [late king of Duke Town, who 
 died in May 1847] had many very amiable and excellent 
 traits of character. His generosity was bounded only by 
 his means; and those who know most of both persons 
 declare Eyamba to have been vastly kinder to his slaves 
 than King Eyo. 
 
 It may interest you and my friends in your quarter — 
 max- I not say my own quarter ? — to hear something of the 
 chief men of Duke Town. They are all, in fact, so many 
 petty princes— each a sovereign in his own house and over 
 his own slaves. Each must have several hundred slaves, 
 
 1 Missionary Record, Sept. and Oct. 1846.
 
 The Six Chief Men of Duke Town 205 
 
 but they all profess to be ignorant of the exact number 
 they have. They are bound together by Egbo law, but 
 are somewhat jealous of each other. I may say a few 
 words about each of the six principal men. 
 
 1. Mr. Young [brother of late King Eyamba]. — Those 
 who like him least acknowledge him to be a sharp, clever 
 fellow. This he undoubtedly is. Mr. Goldie [who was 
 stationed at Duke Town from June 1847 till May 1848] 
 thinks much more favourably of him than he once did. He 
 has learned that during the last slaughter here (on occa- 
 sion of the death of King Calabar 1 [in 1847]), Mr. Y. 
 exerted himself to the utmost to put a stop to the murders. 
 As yet he is very friendly to me, and acts as my inter- 
 preter on Sabbath at the meeting held in his yard. 
 
 2. Archibong Duke. — He is one of the strongest-look- 
 ing fellows I have ever seen. He is friendly, and attends 
 our Sabbath meeting in Mr. Young's yard. On my first 
 visit he dashed (gave) me a good fat goat. He has not Mr. 
 Y.'s vigour of mind. 
 
 3. Duke Ephraim. — A descendant of the great Duke 
 Ephraim [ruler of Duke Town at beginning of the cen- 
 tury, died 1834]. But for his love of drink he might have 
 been King of Duke Town and of Old Calabar. He pro- 
 fesses himself friendly to us, but will attend no meeting 
 in Mr. Young's yard, and sends none of his many children 
 to school. He allows me to hold a meeting in his yard 
 on Sabbath, is naturally amiable and good-tempered, but 
 drink threatens to be his ruin. He is very poor, but has 
 great influence in the town. 
 
 4. Henny Cobham. — A shrewd, active business man, and 
 I may say my next-door neighbour. He is sometimes 
 called King of Cobham Town— that portion of Duke Town 
 nearest to the mission-house. He has four boys constantly 
 at school. They are my best scholars. He seemed lost 
 in astonishment one day when I proposed to him to call 
 his wives to hear God's word as well as himself. He 
 
 1 The person who had charge of the Xdem Efik, or Great Calabar Juju. 
 The title "king" was a misnomer, and by 1847 the office had fallen into dis- 
 repute, and lapsed with the death of the individual referred to by .Mr. Ander- 
 son. — See Waddell's Twenty-Nine Years, p. 214, and Record, Dec. 184S, 
 p. 200.
 
 206 Old Calabar Period 
 
 would not believe that the Bible is for women as well as 
 men, but insisted that " Book no good for woman, 1 and 
 woman no fit to saby (understand) book." 
 
 5. Antika Cobham. — He is very friendly, and has a few 
 children frequently at school. He is somewhat lame — 
 cannot go out to any meeting, but is always glad to have 
 meeting in his yard. He is the only man in Duke Town 
 
 —indeed, in the country — who allows his wives to come 
 to hear iko Abasi — word of God. They are the only ladies 
 with whom I have had the honour of shaking hands. 
 The}' do not seem to be accustomed to such an operation. 
 They seize my hand between both of theirs, and hold it 
 for an instant as carefully and gently as if it were a piece 
 of glass. To each of these nobles I have given, from 
 Dalkeith and Nicolson Street (Edinburgh), mission-boxes 
 entrusted to my care, a dressing-gown and a cap. 
 
 6. Bassy Offiong.—Y\e does not seem a bright genius 
 at all --keeps a Sunday — and attends meetings in Mr. 
 Young's yard. 
 
 I might mention Iron Bar, a man of considerable 
 wealth, though a slave and unable to purchase the privileges 
 of the Kgbo institution. He has many slaves of his own. 
 
 There is another man of considerable influence — 
 Adam Duke. I have not yet seen him, he being at his 
 plantation. 
 
 Captain Lewis of the Princess Royal — a warm friend 
 of the Mission, and likely to be admitted to fellowship 
 with us at our coming Communion on the 1st Sabbath of 
 May — gave to each station a beautiful Bethel flag, which 
 is hoisted each Sabbath morning at daybreak. I am here 
 reminded that one old bond of union with Ford will still be 
 maintained. According to arrangements made before I 
 came here, the Lord's Supper is dispensed at Duke Town 
 on the 1st Sabbaths of May, Aug., Nov., and Feb. I shall 
 remember you much, if spared, on the 1st Sabbath of 
 August. Bra)* for us on that sweet day. May it be a great 
 day at Duke Town and at Ford ! 
 
 1 fear that matters will not thrive here till we get a 
 place of worship to which all may come without appearing 
 to acknowledge any other as a superior ; for to go to any 
 gentleman's yard on any business whatever, even to hear
 
 Sabbath Work 207 
 
 God's word, is considered as a sort of homage paid to that 
 gentleman. 
 
 Sabbath tuork. — I have generally two or three meetings 
 in the town — the first about 9 o'clock in Mr. Young's yard. 
 . . . After meeting at Mr. Young's, I have generally a 
 second at Duke Ephraim's, a short one at Iron Bar's, at 
 A. Cobham's, at H. Cobham's. Such is the jealousy 
 among the gentlemen, that they will not all meet in one 
 yard. I did not expect that Archibong would have been 
 so humble as to go to Mr. Young's yard, but think more 
 highly of him because he does so. At 3 P.M. I have Sab- 
 bath school, and at 4 a service in English in the mission- 
 house, which is attended by two or three friends from the 
 ships. I invited all the captains and surgeons belonging 
 to the ships by circular to this service, but very few attend. 
 In addition to this, I preached a few Sabbaths on board 
 one of the ships, but, though grieved to give it up, I found 
 it too exhausting to continue it. 
 
 School. — The attendance is improving. At first it was 
 from 12 to 16; it is now 38. Of these 38 only 4 are girls. 
 . . . Boys only are considered worthy of education here. 
 Parents use no means to constrain the attendance of their 
 children at school. Hence we have in a manner to pay 
 them for attending. We have to give them books, shirts, 
 frocks, pictures, and occasionally food. The poor things 
 are not cared for at home, and frequently come to school 
 famishing, calling for chop. 
 
 In a letter to Mrs. Elliot, also of date April 18th, there 
 
 is a graphic description of what a Sabbath was like in Old 
 
 Calabar in these early days of the Mission :— 
 
 We get up at 6 A.M. Our Bethel flag is hoisted to 
 show that we honour the day, the language of flags being 
 well understood here. There is a stillness compared with 
 other mornings — but not in the town, or among the people. 
 It is simply because the carpenters and coopers on board 
 the ships are enjoying bodily rest. At half-past 7 we 
 have family worship, in which we are always joined by 
 Captain Lewis, who takes a part in the exercise by read- 
 ing the lesson for the morning in a work given me by
 
 2o8 Old Calabar Period 
 
 your father, 1 Jay's Morning and Evening Exercises. At 8, 
 
 breakfast. Immediately afterwards I go, leaving Mrs. A. 
 to follow, to Mr. Young's, to hold a meeting. I see people 
 thronging to market as usual. I have generally to wait 
 an hour at Mr. Young's before I can begin service. And 
 that is the most wearisome hour I spend in the week. He 
 is transacting business — giving out cloth and coppers for 
 .market, measuring out rum, holding palaver with his slaves, 
 and giving them orders, etc. He has sent to let Archibong 
 and others know that I have come " to hold palaver for God's 
 word." My scholars by this time meet in Mr. Y.'s yard 
 also. When a few gentlemen — seldom more than two or 
 three — with their attendants have come, we go on with the 
 meeting. While I read out the 100th Psalm, all who do 
 not understand English smile and whisper to each other, 
 and think it very funny. When we begin to sing, some 
 laugh outright. Louder than laugh or song, Mr. Young 
 reproves the laughers, and they hang their heads, turn their 
 backs, or run out of the yard. Many laugh in prayer, too ; 
 and the first time that the children repeated their Calabar 
 prayer, Mr. Y. and all the rest laughed outright. The 
 laugh was at first very provoking — a missionary had need 
 to be a Job ; but I now see that it is often merely the 
 expression of wonder, and sometimes of admiration — not 
 always of contempt. When I begin to preach, and Mr. 
 Young to explain, if the subject be mere history or inci- 
 dent, all are attentive; if doctrinal, the fat ones soon begin 
 to nod, and Mr. Y. soon wearies. 
 
 One Sabbath my subject was the Flood. All listened 
 most attentively to the account of the falling rains and rising 
 rivers and cries of drowning men. They attended to the 
 description of Noah's big ship, and could remember some- 
 thing of its dimensions. At the close, however, I referred 
 to the destruction which awaits our world by fire, and 
 spoke of that awful day when the heavens shall pass away 
 with a great noise, etc., and the dead, small and great, 
 must stand before God. When I uttered the words, " The 
 world and all that is in it shall be burned up," they could 
 bear it no longer. Mr. Y. exclaimed, " It will be long 
 time before that " ; and the other gentlemen begged him 
 1 Mr. John Gray, sen., Dalkeith.
 
 The Duke Town Market 209 
 
 to say to me, " We've got plenty to-day — it be time for 
 stop." 
 
 After meeting in Mr. Young's, I go in pursuit of others. 
 Passing from his house to Duke Ephraim's, I go through 
 the marketplace — a large square in the middle of the 
 town. Oh, what a splendid congregation here ! — splendid 
 not in dress, for they have none, but in numbers. What 
 would I not do had I the strength of voice of Rowland 
 Hill (able to speak to people a mile distant), and were 
 master of the Calabar tongue ! But, alas ! I can do nothing 
 but look on and pass away, and breathe the silent prayer. 
 Here are, I should suppose, fifteen or eighteen hundred 
 immortal beings, ignorant as the beasts that perish of the 
 great end and realities of their existence. Market is held 
 every day. All sorts of things are sold and bartered, and 
 on week-days I look on the scene with great interest. 
 Some of the articles of traffic are combs, beads, lead bars, 
 padlocks, hinges, hammers, saws, cloth, rum, wine, cordials, 
 yams, plantains, conkies (a species of cocoa), fish, fowls, 
 ducks, goats, dried monkeys, firewood, etc. etc. etc. But 
 we pass all to-day, and go to Duke Ephraim's. After a 
 trying delay of half an hour, during which female slaves 
 are working beside us plastering a wall, about half a dozen 
 of men come in who have been sent for by the Duke. 
 We have then a little meeting. 
 
 I have generally as yet kept to the moral law, for I 
 see more and more that Christ is not valued where there 
 is no conviction of sin, and this cannot be felt where the 
 law is unknown. I always close, however, with preaching 
 Christ and Him crucified. 
 
 I hold, perhaps, other two meetings in the same way. 
 You will say, " Why not appoint an hour of meeting and 
 keep it ? " The natives know nothing of hours, and 
 nothing of the value of time — our time. I could easily 
 hold six meetings a day were there anything like punctu- 
 ality among the people. . . . 
 
 At 8 A.M., when eight bells are struck on board the ships, 
 their flags are hoisted ; but what are the captains about ? 
 They do not now, generally speaking, come on shore on 
 Sabbath mornings to transact business, but onlyon twoships 
 of the nine in the river is anything like public worship 
 
 14
 
 2io Old Calabar Period 
 
 observed. On six Sabbaths running (out of eight) the 
 Sundays of the native gentlemen are observed by the most 
 of the surgeons and captains in the river. Some of them 
 were exasperated because King Eyo has given up keeping 
 his Sunday when it falls on the Sabbath. I have spoken 
 to the five gentlemen here who keep a Sunday about the 
 Fourth Commandment, and advised them to follow King 
 Eye's example. Several are ready to do so, but state 
 that the captains say that what I teach about the Sabbath 
 be " fool thing." The Lord have mercy on them, for they 
 know not what they do. O for faith and patience ! It 
 is comforting and strengthening to reflect that so many of 
 God's people in Scotland pray for us and the benighted 
 souls in Old Calabar.
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 Early Labours — Election of King Archibong I. — 1849 
 
 When Mr. Anderson reached Duke Town, he found 
 matters in rather an unsatisfactory state. The chief 
 power was shared by three persons — Mr. Young, Archi- 
 bong Duke, and Duke Ephraim. They were all claimants 
 to the kingship. Owing to the conflicting claims, Mr. 
 Anderson, as we have already seen, found it rather difficult 
 to excite interest in the cause of the Mission. But by 
 repeatedly calling on the leading men, and holding meet- 
 ings in their yards, he conciliated their regard, and got 
 them to aid him in his work. Mr. Goldie, who was 
 watching with keen interest the work of his brother mis- 
 sionary at the station he himself had formerly occupied, 
 writes in his Journal, under date May 9th, regarding the 
 better prospects at Duke Town: "Mr. Anderson is suc- 
 ceeding much better than I anticipated with his Sabbath 
 meetings at Duke Town, and Mr. Young gives his aid to 
 the work much more than I thought he would. May 
 He whose message we bring to this people make that 
 message successful, opening the blind eyes, unstopping 
 the deaf ears, breaking the hard hearts." And at his 
 own station, Creek Town, an increased interest was being 
 shown in divine things. There was at that time a severe 
 dearth, arising from the failure of the yam crop, and it 
 
 had the effect of reducing the attendance of children at 
 
 211
 
 2 i 2 Old Calabar Period 
 
 school. The poorer classes, not having anything to eat 
 in the towns, were obliged to take to the plantations to 
 see what they could pick up there ; and on that account 
 Old Town was almost deserted for the time being. 
 
 The following extracts l from Mr. Anderson's Journal 
 show the progress of the work. The setting apart of the 
 late King Kyamba's palaver-house as a temporary place 
 of worship, and the exclusive use of the Grand Egbo bell 
 as a Sabbath bell, were hopeful signs. The election of the 
 young 2 Archibong Duke as king, and of the capable and 
 experienced Ekpenyong, or Mr. Young, as his prime minis- 
 ter, tended to do away with the friction existing between 
 them, and indirectly made for the progress of the gospel : — 
 
 Sabbath, April 22. — Had meeting in Mr. Young's 
 yard ; well attended, and very attentive. Spoke from 
 Matthew v. 7, 8, 9. About ten o'clock P.M., just after we had 
 retired to rest, I found that, notwithstanding the doctrine 
 of Matthew v. 7, some who heard it must still be classed 
 among the unmerciful. At the time above mentioned we 
 were alarmed by screams and calls of " Edem Ekpo ! 
 Edem Ekpo!" On rising and running out, we found two 
 men who had fled to seek protection for their lives. Archi- 
 bong had ordered both to be beheaded, but by some means 
 they escaped. Our premises, by Egbo law, are sacred. I 
 need hardly say that we afforded them an asylum. 
 
 How strangely constituted is the human mind! We 
 were so distressed and horrified by the circumstance just 
 related, that sleep forsook our eyes for the greater part of 
 the night. On the following day I wondered at the cold- 
 ness with which the affair was treated by those white 
 gentlemen to whom I had an opportunity of relating it ; 
 
 1 Record, Jan. 1850. 
 
 2 In the Juvenile Missionary Magazine for October 1850, p. 229, his age is 
 said to be about twenty-eight years, and his portrait is given "as he appeared 
 on the quarterdeck of H.M. SS. Rattler, wearing his crown and state sword. 
 IIi> loins were covered with a rich silk, and round his neck and ankles he 
 wore a quantity of coral beads."
 
 Fugitives 2 1 3 
 
 it appeared to them as a mere matter ot course. Now, 
 when transcribing these occurrences (August), were half a 
 dozen of men to flee to me for their lives, I would not do 
 less for their protection ; but I would not feel a tithe 
 of the painful excitement I endured in April. Oh ! let it 
 be one part of the prayers of the Church in behalf of its 
 missionaries here, that their " moral sense " may ever remain 
 acute, however much their nervous sensibilities may be blunted. 
 
 Monday, 23. — Heard the story of the fugitives. I 
 shall not here transcribe it. Both were head slaves of the 
 late King Eyamba. One of them " chopped nut " last 
 night, drank off four of the deadly nuts, vomited them, 
 and, according to Egbo law, should then have been dis- 
 missed. But instead of this, the order (as translated to me 
 in English) was given, " Take both, and chop off heads 
 one time," i.e. at this time — immediately. I learn, too, 
 what I am glad to learn, that Mr. Young not only con- 
 nived at their escape, but aided it, and gave them a hint 
 where they would be safe. From all that I have seen and 
 heard of Mr. Young since my arrival here, I see no reason 
 for supposing him to be an unmerciful man. 
 
 Saturday, 28. — Attended Mr. Young's chop to-day. 
 He proposed to come to the mission-house to-morrow 
 morning at nine o'clock to hear God's word. This is a 
 hint that he wishes no meeting in his yard to-morrow. 
 Went to Archibong's. It is very plain that he and Mr. 
 Young are at strife. That being the case, they will not 
 meet to-morrow. Intimated to both Mr. Young and 
 Archibong that the two men were in my house. Mr. 
 Young's remark was, " Let them stand, but no say I 
 tell you so." Archibong's was, " Them be tief." 
 
 Sabbath, 29. — Dull day. Heavy rain in the morning. 
 No meeting of adults. Small Sabbath school. Went to 
 one or two of the gentlemen of the town ; but no attention. 
 In the evening felt quite downcast. 
 
 Wednesday, May 2. — As an encouragement to the 
 school children to attend regularly and learn diligently, I 
 have introduced a ticket-currency among them. I give 
 them tickets for attendance and diligence, and have fixed 
 the price of school-books, etc., at so many tickets. When I 
 went into school this afternoon, I was amused by seeing
 
 2 14 Old Calabar Period 
 
 one of the bigger boys driving a small trade in boiled 
 pork t which he was selling, and the others buying with all 
 good will, for tickets. I never contemplated that my 
 tickets should be used for such a purpose, and my first 
 impression was to stop the traffic. Many of the poor 
 things are so ill fed, however, that after a little consider- 
 ation I thought better to say nothing. Indeed, I felt glad 
 to see some of them thus able to procure a little chop. 
 
 Sabbath, 6. — Our Communion at Duke Town ; my 
 first in this land. We had a pleasant season. One of the 
 captains at present lying in the river was, in the usual 
 form, received into the fellowship of the Church. 
 
 Sabbath, 13. — A solemn and interesting day for 
 Duke Town. O that it may be the commencement of 
 better days than any that have yet been seen here! In 
 consequence of the reluctance of many of the gentlemen 
 of the town to attend meeting in Mr. Young's yard, I had 
 repeatedly asked of him permission to hold meetings in an 
 excellent palaver-house which belonged to the late King 
 Eyamba. Last Sabbath he gave full consent to my pro- 
 posal, and during the week our Krumen (kindly furnished 
 for our work by Captain Lewis) cleared and levelled all 
 around the house, and Mr. Chisholm made a table for the 
 Bible to lie on, and put up a few seats. Having talked 
 privately to all the native gentlemen about the business 
 previously, we had a large attendance. Mr. Young, 
 Archibong, and Duke Ephraim, and many others of very 
 opposite views in politics, were present. For the first 
 time in Old Calabar was a house set apart for the public 
 worship of the Most High. We were favoured with the 
 presence and aid of the Rev. Mr. Merrick of Bimbia, who, 
 with Mrs. M., and other members of the Baptist Mission, 
 came up in the Dove yesterday. 
 
 Wednesday, 16. — Nine communicants of the Baptist 
 Mission being with us — some of whom are to leave us to- 
 morrow— Messrs. Goldie and Kdgerley also being present, 
 we had, according to previous arrangement, an interesting 
 valedictory Communion service in the schoolroom. Mr. 
 Newbigin preached ; Mr. Merrick, being senior brother 
 present, dispensed the Communion ; and Mr. Goldie con- 
 cluded.
 
 An Egbo Sabbath Bell 215 
 
 Sabbath, 20. — Delighted to be able to report that the 
 sweet tones of a Sabbath bell have been heard by the 
 dwellers of this dark spot. At the close of service last 
 Sabbath, when publicly thanking Mr. Young for giving 
 the palaver-house to be God's house, and stating how 
 much I rejoiced to see so many gentlemen present, I 
 added, that there was one thing more which I would like 
 very much to obtain, provided they were all agreeable, 
 and that it was not interfering too much with any of their 
 own laws — namely, to have their fine big bell in the 
 marketplace, whose tongue had been silent since my 
 arrival, rung each Sabbath morning to call all men in 
 town to come pray to God. Archibong immediately said, 
 " I will, I will." I was informed that the bell was under 
 his care ; but, to make matters sure, and prevent opposition 
 to him in time to come, I asked the gentlemen all round 
 if they were agreeable to the proposal, — " O yes, O 
 yes," was responded heartily by each. This morning, 
 about seven o'clock, an Egbo drum was sent round the 
 town, and due proclamation was made, that the grand 
 Egbo bell is henceforth to be used only on God's Day 
 to call all men to go to God's house to hear God's word. 
 The bell — a very fine one, seven feet in diameter, made 
 in Spain — was struck about eight o'clock, and by nine a 
 good congregation had assembled. At the commence- 
 ment, I gave to Mr. Young and Archibong two handsome 
 pocket Bibles, sent by members of Rev. Mr. Johnstone's 
 congregation, Nicolson Street. Both were delighted with 
 the gifts. The meeting was addressed by Rev. Mr. New- 
 bigin of the Baptist Mission. 
 
 Sabbath, 27. — A good meeting in the palaver-house. 
 Good attendance also at Sabbath school. Our English 
 service (held each Sabbath at four o'clock P.M.) was at- 
 tended by two officers of H.M. steamer Teaser, which 
 came up the river last night. 
 
 Monday 28. — Lieutenant Selwyn, commanding the 
 Teaser, in compliance with his instructions, held a meeting 
 with the missionaries and the masters of vessels in the 
 river, to ascertain who is successor to the late King 
 Eyamba. 
 
 After a good deal of talk and deliberation, it was con-
 
 2 16 ( )ld Calabar Period 
 
 sidered that, from his superior wealth, extensive trade, and 
 connection with the original royal family (Duke Ephraim's 
 line , Archibong Duke is the proper successor to Eyamba, 
 and rightful king of Duke Town. It was proposed by one 
 or two of the captains that King Eyo should be consulted 
 in the matter. This Lieutenant Selwyn instantly opposed, 
 stating that the British Government considered Duke Toivn 
 and Creek Toivn as separate States, and the kings as entirely 
 independent of each other. All the shipmasters voted 
 Archibong as king ; Mr. Edgerley and I, the only mis- 
 sionaries present, did not vote at all. From Mr. Young's 
 age, ability, and influence, it was agreed that he be re- 
 cognised as premier. The meeting was held in our 
 schoolroom ; and Lieutenant Selwyn having got all the 
 information he wanted, at his request I sent for Archibong 
 and Mr. Young. Both came attended by large retinues. 
 None were allowed to enter the schoolroom but the two 
 chiefs. Being deprived of their armed men, they evidently 
 thought some mischief was intended. They have an un- 
 speakable dread of a man-of-war ship. It was with fear 
 and trembling they took the seats provided for them. 
 They felt much relieved when Lieut. Selwyn told his 
 errand — that he had been sent by the Queen to find 
 out who is king of this country, and to pay him one of the 
 instalments of coppers promised in the treaty made with 
 Eyamba for the suppression of the slave-trade in this 
 river. After a little talk, Mr. Young gave up all claims to 
 the kingship, and accepted the premiership. Archibong 
 was then recognised by all present as king — renewed 
 Eyamba's treat)- about the slave-trade — and was told to 
 send for the coppers mentioned in the treaty as soon 
 as convenient. In the afternoon, his Majesty King Archi- 
 bong I. visited the Teaser, and was received with a royal 
 salute of twenty-one guns. There was. I understand, 
 a sort of coronation in the evening, at which I was not 
 present. 
 
 Commander Selwyn very warmly and strongly com- 
 mended the missionaries and the cause of Christ to both 
 Archibong and Mr. Young. 
 
 I send here copy of a letter from King Archibong 
 to Lieut.-Commander Selwyn : —
 
 Letter of Archibong I. 217 
 
 Duke Town, Old Calabar, 
 
 29/Vi May 1849. 
 
 Dear Sir, — I thank Queen Victoria for her good present, and 
 hope she and I be good friend, all same as she and King Eyamba. 
 
 I thank you very much for your kindness to me since you came 
 here. 
 
 I no will allow any slave-trade ; it be bad thing. I will to keep 
 treaty King Eyamba make with Queen of England, and I sign 
 yesterday. 
 
 I keep heed for what you say about the missionaries. Them and 
 me be good friends. I give them place to hold meeting, and ring 
 big bell in marketplace every God day to call all man to hear God's 
 word . 
 
 I wish all good to attend you, and am, dear sir, your friend, 
 
 Archibong I., King of Calabar. 
 Com. Selwyn, of H.B.M.'s Ship Teaser. 
 
 Thursday, 31. — Called on Mr. Young. He seems 
 scarcely satisfied with Monday's arrangement. He pro- 
 fesses to be " king for all the black man, suppose Archi- 
 bong be king for the white." Advised him to keep good 
 friends with Archibong, and to continue, as he has always, 
 to act as a father to him, and to give him always good 
 advice. This he promised to do. 
 
 Walking with Dr. Taylor past our chapel, we saw two 
 fellows fighting with big sticks. One broke the other's 
 head. We took both to his Majesty to see how he would 
 settle the palaver. The trial was very short. Only one 
 party was heard — the complainant. Having heard the 
 story, the king cut the matter short by giving his decision 
 — not a solemn-like one, certainly — which was, translated 
 into a kind of English, — "Him break your head ? Why you 
 no break his back again ? Go ! " The parties immediately 
 went off, and the king assured us that " this be proper 
 fashion for Calabar ; when one man hurt another, other 
 must hurt him back, and if another man make palaver 
 {i.e. a third party interfere), shoot him." Dr. Taylor and I 
 tried to give him some idea of his duty as a king to settle 
 disputes, etc., but he seemed to think the old way the best. 
 
 On coming home, found a little girl at the mission-
 
 2 1 8 Oli> Calabar Period • 
 
 house who had fled thither for protection. Her mistress, 
 one of the late Eyamba's wives, died on Tuesday at the 
 plantation. The corpse was brought to Duke Town for 
 interment. The little girl declares that she saw one man 
 killed and buried with the body. She, the little girl, was 
 in chains, and was to be slaughtered in a day or two. 
 The old woman who had charge of her having left her for 
 a little, she took an old axe which was lying near her and 
 broke the padlock by which the chain was fastened round 
 her neck. She was in the bush the whole of yesterday, in 
 the heavy rain, and all last night. She saw a man this 
 morning who advised her to come here. She is the third 
 individual who has saved her life by fleeing to the mission- 
 house since I came here. Is it nothing to encourage the 
 hearts of the members of the United Presbyterian Church 
 that they have erected, and are maintaining, a " city of 
 refuge " for the innocent in this land of blood ? 
 
 Saturday, June 2. — Saw at " Big Adam Duke's," for 
 the first time, an abia-idiong at work. He had four 
 strings, with a number of seeds, bones, teeth, etc., attached 
 to each at both ends. These he threw down first by one 
 end, then by the other, occasionally looking very minutely 
 at the position of seeds, bones, etc., and sometimes touch- 
 ing Adam with the same, accompanying every touch 
 he gave the big man with the sharp sound of a whistle. 
 Adam is sick, and he told me that by these manoeuvres 
 the abia-idiong could find out " what man make him sick." 
 Tried to show him that " trouble springs not from the 
 dust, nor sorrow from the ground." 
 
 Monday, 4. — There being a supernumerary large Bible 
 in the mission-house — not a very handsome one, indeed — I 
 presented it to his Majesty in the evening. I put on it the 
 following inscription : " To King Archibong I., of Duke 
 Town, Old Calabar, from the Scottish Missionaries resid- 
 ing there, 4th June 1849. Dent, xviii. 18, 19; Psa. ii. ; 
 Prov. xx. 28; Jer. xvii. 18-27; Rev. xix. 16." I read 
 and explained shortly the passages marked. He seemed 
 highly delighted with the gift. Felt sorry I had not a 
 handsomely-bound Bible like Eyo's and Eyamba's to give 
 him. I assured him it was the best I had. 
 
 Friday, 8. — A big gentleman — Henny Egbo — buried
 
 The Evil of Killing Men 219 
 
 to-night. Dr. Taylor and I went to see what was going 
 on at the funeral, but were not allowed to approach within 
 a stone-cast of the house. All the gentlemen deny that 
 any slaves have been slaughtered, but we have heard from 
 some of the slaves that thirteen persons have been killed 
 for him. Whom are we to believe ? The gentlemen have 
 some inducement to conceal, but it is of no advantage to 
 the slaves ; indeed, it is dangerous for them to reveal any- 
 thing about such murders ; so that, from the power of old 
 habit and the character of the people, I have every reason 
 to receive the darker evidence as the true. 
 
 Sabbath, 10. — A good meeting in the palaver-house. 
 Subject, " Life of Abraham." Spoke of Ishmael and the 
 Arabs. All the gentlemen are well acquainted by report 
 with such a people. They call them here Tibare. They 
 deal largely in slaves in the interior. Mr. Young says : 
 " Them be wild people, same as Bible say — fight with all 
 man, all man fight with them. They wear trousers like 
 white man. Plenty people here in palaver - house be 
 bought from them people." 
 
 Sabbath, 24. — Was surprised, on going to the palaver- 
 house to-day, to see King Archibong and all the gentle- 
 men, with their armed attendants, already assembled. 
 Found that they were deliberating respecting some of 
 their own matters. Suddenly the king and chiefs got up, 
 went away to one of Eyamba's yards. There they soon 
 finished their business, and in the most orderly manner 
 they returned, and sat down to hear God's word. My 
 subjects were (from Heb. ix. 27) " Death and Judgment." 
 Had the largest and most attentive audience I have seen 
 in Calabar. In speaking of God's appointment of death, 
 I mentioned that the time and circumstances of every 
 man's death should be left to Him. Took the opportunity 
 to speak of the evil of usurping God's place, and killing 
 men, whether free or slave, for nothing, as they do here. 
 I said : " Suppose King Archibong build a beautiful house, 
 far better than Eyamba's palace — suppose he pay for it 
 thousands, thousands of coppers — furnish it with best 
 furniture, tables, sideboards, chairs, sofas, mirrors, etc.— 
 and put in it to live some person he like very much — too 
 much — and suppose some man come and break down
 
 220 Old Calabar Period 
 
 that house, smash all the fine furniture, and drive the 
 king's friend who live in it to the bush, What would the 
 king think? say? do? I think he vexed too much, and 
 be ready to kill the man who do so." All assented, and 
 showed that it would be even so. It was easy to apply 
 the supposition. Each man's body is the house ; God 
 builds that house ; God likes man's soul very much ; He 
 puts it into the finely fitted-up and furnished house — the 
 body, to live there ; the man who kills man breaks down 
 the house, and drives its tenant into another world ; God 
 is angry with every man who spoils His work by killing 
 his brother man." All seemed struck and impressed by 
 the simile. Alas ! alas ! I well knew there was not a 
 free man in that assembly to whom I might not have 
 pointed and said, " Thou art the man!" However, as I 
 wished not to provoke, but to instruct, I avoided person- 
 alities. Mr. Young interpreted with greater length than 
 usual, and with seemingly greater interest. 
 
 Friday, July 20. 1 — While at breakfast I received a note 
 from one of the ship-captains, intimating that the neck of 
 one of Efiong Toby's wives was in danger. Went imme- 
 diately, and had a long talk with him. He has sore eyes, 
 and blames one of his women for having freemason for 
 him. He understands English pretty well. The king and 
 gentlemen had finished a palaver about the affair just as 
 I went to him. \\ r as happy to learn that the woman had 
 escaped condemnation. Told Efiong of the true cause of 
 all our troubles, but found him one of the self-righteous, 
 who has done nothing against God or man all his days, 
 though both have done plenty bad to him. Brought 
 before him the doctrines of both law and gospel. After 
 getting home, had an interesting conversation with Hen- 
 shaw Duke. He came to tell me that his heart no stand 
 good, and to entreat me to pray for him. His language 
 was in effect that of the jailer: "What must I do to be 
 saved ? " I pointed him to the Lamb of God, and prayed 
 with him. 
 
 Thursday, 26. — A sister of Mr. Young's died in Duke 
 Town to-day. 
 
 Tuesday, 31. — Another of Mr. Young's sisters, by name 
 1 Record, March 1850.
 
 "Chopping Nut" 221 
 
 " Mary Young," having been suspected of killing the one 
 who died on Thursday by freemason, was made to chop 
 nut yesterday, and is now also dead. Oh, what a land of 
 blood ! Poor Mary is represented by the ship-captains 
 who were acquainted with her as a most harmless creature. 
 She was, I am told, the only Calabar woman who could 
 speak English, and she used to traffic a little with the 
 shipping in fowls, yams, etc. 
 
 Wednesday, August 1. — In the evening called on Mr. 
 Young, and had a talk with him about Mary's chopping 
 nut. His brother, Antaro Young, seems to have had the 
 chief hand in the matter. Called on Antaro, and talked 
 with him. He tells me that Mary has killed plenty men 
 — that she make King Eyamba die — that she foretold the 
 death of her sister who died last week, having told some 
 person that she would die four days after her return from 
 plantation, and that she die for true just four days after 
 she come back, that she must have freemason for her, else 
 she no saby that. And he added, " Suppose she say she 
 no chop nut, I take my gun and shoot her dead at one 
 time." I remonstrated and reasoned with him, and 
 brought the matter to the bar of " the law and the testi- 
 mony " ; but he was determined not to give up his opinion 
 that the fallacious ordeal of the nut " be good fashion for 
 all black men." 
 
 Sabbath, 5. — Subject, "The giving of the law to Moses 
 and Israel on Mount Sinai." When explaining the Second 
 Commandment, observed more than usual interest. The 
 gentlemen had a talk and a laugh about something, I did 
 not know what, till Mr. Young rather archly said, "We 
 think white men make all them things. We see plenty 
 of them on ships." He referred to the figureheads of 
 the vessels. I showed the difference between having such 
 things as ornaments and having them as juju. It was 
 evident Mr. Y. mentioned the thing in banter ; but I am 
 glad he did so, for I have no doubt that many less intelli- 
 gent persons consider the figurehead of a ship as its deity. 
 
 On the 7th of August the mission ship— the Jane, 
 better known, through the Rev. J. (afterwards Dr.)
 
 222 Old Calabar Period 
 
 Edmond's spirited lines, as The Children's Calabar} as 
 the money that provided it was raised by the children of 
 the Church— arrived at Duke Town, and was received 
 with the greatest joy and enthusiasm. The Mission party 
 brought out by her consisted of Mr. and Mrs. Waddell 
 and their little six-year-old daughter Jessie, Miss Euphemia 
 Miller, afterwards and better known as Mrs. Sutherland, 
 and Mr. (afterwards Rev. and Dr.) William Cooper Thom- 
 son. Mr. Waddell wrote regarding the welcome to Duke 
 Town : — 
 
 While yet seven or eight miles off, when we rounded 
 Seven Fathom Point, and got the ships in sight at their 
 anchorage ground, we observed that one of them fired a 
 gun, and immediately afterwards flags were hoisted both 
 at Duke Town and Old Town mission-houses — signs of 
 recognition and welcome which were truly gratifying. 
 Soon boats were discerned coming off from the ships and 
 down the river to meet us ; and happy was I to see old 
 acquaintances coming on board and filling the deck of 
 our little vessel. . . . Our dear brother and sister, Mr. and 
 Mrs. Anderson, were not among the last to arrive: and 
 most happy and thankful was I to learn that all the 
 members of the Mission family were in good health, and 
 everything for the most part going on well at the different 
 stations. Mr. Anderson had signalled our arrival to Mr. 
 Goldie before leaving his house. . . . Soon after landing, 
 Mr. Goldie and Mr. Edgerley came down the river to see 
 us, and we all spent a blessed evening together. 
 
 Mr. Anderson wrote regarding the joyful event: — 
 
 The long-looked-for, prayed-for Calabar Mission ship 
 arrived here to-day. About two P.M. she rounded the 
 corner at Seven Fathom Point. When I saw her I 
 exclaimed, " The Calabar at length ! " but durst hardly 
 credit my own words. Twice already had we been disap- 
 pointed, and we were afraid we might be so again. Glad 
 
 1 The poem is given in the Juvenile Missionary Magazine for June 1848.
 
 A Thief's Punishment 223 
 
 were we to meet old friends and new friends, and glad, 
 too, to have letters from distant friends. 
 
 Saturday, 11. — Took my usual turn among the gentle- 
 men this evening, to remind them that to-morrow is 
 God's day. Read portions of Mr. Goldie's selections to 
 Archibong, and also to Ephraim Duke and four of his wives. 
 Mr. Young was not sure if we can have a meeting 
 to-morrow, as it is Grand Nyampe Day. 1 I mentioned 
 the subject to Archibong, who immediately said, " You 
 come, you come {i.e. come you). I no will let nothing 
 stop meeting for God's day." 
 
 Sabbath, 12. — Archibong was as good as his word. 
 At the usual time the large bell was rung, and we had a 
 very good meeting. It has been the stillest Sabbath I 
 have seen in Calabar. 
 
 Monday, 13. — Forty-seven at school to-day. The 
 largest number I have yet had in school at one time since 
 I came here. Indeed, we had fifty-seven in the afternoon, 
 but ten of these were strangers, whom we may not see 
 soon again. 
 
 Wednesday, 15. — This afternoon has been a painful 
 one. Big Adam having found one of his slaves, a boy, 
 guilty of stealing, he laid hold of him, fisted him till he 
 was weary, chained him, then cut off his right ear, then 
 kindled a fire of mats, etc., and put him into it ; and because 
 he would not be quiet in the fire, he sent for his loaded 
 gun to shoot him. Before he could do this, however, Mr. 
 Young had heard of what was going on ; and no sooner did 
 he hear of it, than he set off at full speed — which cannot 
 be very great — bareheaded, through a heavy shower, and 
 saved the boy. But for his interposition, the work of death 
 had been accomplished. Went down immediately to the 
 town, and called on both Mr. Young and Adam. Saw the 
 fire still blazing which had been deprived of its victim. 
 
 Thursday, \6. — Saw the boy this morning at Mr. 
 Young's. Both ears are cut, and his legs are considerably 
 injured by the fire. 
 
 In sending the preceding extracts from his Journal, 
 Mr. Anderson wrote on 22nd August: — 
 
 1 Nyampe is one of the highest classes in the Egbo institution.
 
 224 Old Calabar Period 
 
 You will see from my Journal that we have now a 
 king in Duke Town. Compared with Eyo (of Creek 
 Town), he is young, inexperienced, and rash. I hope he 
 will improve. Both he and Mr. Young are friendly. 
 Whoever is absent from our Sabbath meetings, they are 
 always there. The number attending our Sabbath meet- 
 ings varies from 100 to 150. Though small, yet it is a 
 beginning ; and who may despise the day of small things? 
 . . . The day-school is attended by sixty children ; but 
 of this number there are seldom above forty in actual 
 attendance. Some of them are doing very well indeed. 
 There are six or eight very fine boys among them, 
 of whom two of the best are sons of the late King 
 Eyamba. There are very few girls at school ; still, there 
 are a few, which affords some encouragement to hope 
 that others will yet come out to enjoy the blessings of 
 instruction. 
 
 Other extracts from Mr. Anderson's Journal were sent 
 home at a later date, and appeared in the Record for 
 November 1850: — 
 
 October 7. — Grand Xyampe Day. Egbo, having come 
 from the bush, had called an assembly of the gentlemen, 
 who were all with him in the town palaver-house when 
 we went for public worship to the church palaver-house. 
 Supernatural beings of Egbo's order do not, I suppose, 
 relish the sound of the " church-going bell " ; for no sooner 
 were its first tones vibrating the circumambient fluid than 
 he made a precipitate flight, and his assembly was dis- 
 persed. A goodly number of his friends came to our 
 meeting, and appeared interested while I discoursed to 
 them on the miracles of Christ. 
 
 Wednesday, 17. — Eifty-three at school to-day, of whom 
 twelve were girls. At request of Captain Taylor, went to 
 see a sick man (an Englishman) on board the Jemima. 
 Visited him at midday and about eight in the evening. 
 He was crying much to God for mercy. I spoke to him 
 from 1 Tim. i. 15, and told him about "poor Joseph." 
 The text and the story seemed to comfort him not a
 
 Biennial Purgation 225 
 
 little. 1 heard him saying at one time in a whisper, 
 " Heaven's gates are open to receive me ! " This de- 
 meanour reminded me of the question and the response, 
 " Can any good thing come out of Nazareth ? Come and 
 see." Why should not God magnify His mercy in con- 
 stituting the humble and illiterate tenant of a ship's fore- 
 castle an heir of eternal glory ? 
 
 Thursday, 18. — Went on board to see the sick man. 
 While on board, between twelve and one, he died. Just 
 before he breathed his last, I heard him praying earnestly 
 that God would take him away. We buried him in the 
 Mission ground in the evening. 
 
 Saturday, 27. — Visited Henshaw Town in the evening. 
 Read the Ten Commandments in Calabar to (King) Jemmy 
 Henshaw and his people. He promised to send all his 
 children to school, and among the rest his daughter, a 
 fine girl, ten or twelve years old, who is promised in 
 marriage to King Eyo. Any objection to the match is of 
 course met by the irrefragable argument, "It be Calabar 
 fashion." 
 
 Monday, 29. — My visit to Henshaw Town on Saturday 
 has produced thirteen new scholars. 
 
 Tuesday, 30. — Sixty-eight children at school to-day — 
 the largest number we have yet had here. Gave them a 
 little chop in the forenoon (sixty-four being present), 
 which made them all very cheerful. 
 
 Sabbath, 18. — A perfect contrast to this day twelve- 
 month. This was my last Sabbath in my native country 
 — to me an interesting, busy, solemn day. This morning 
 the biennial purgation of the country, called Ndem Ef'ik, 
 or Great Calabar Juju, was performed. At " cock-speak " — 
 i.e. cock-crow — this morning guns were fired, bells were 
 rung, and all sorts of noises, imaginable and unimaginable, 
 were made, to frighten the devils and ghosts out of the 
 town. What with Egbo runners, men in masks, etc., there 
 has been very little appearance of Sabbath here. There 
 is one change in the aspect of the town, namely, the 
 absence of the nabikim — grotesque figures of men, tigers, 
 and alligators, which have for some weeks been posted 
 as sentinels at the doors of the houses. They were all 
 thrown into the river this morning. 
 
 15
 
 226 Old Calabar Period 
 
 Monday, 26. — Received, per special messenger, the 
 following letter from one of my scholars: — 
 
 Mr. Anderson,— I shall be glat to see you quick— my father 
 want flock is slave.— I am your friend, 
 
 Eyo Henny Cobham. 
 
 Hurried down to the father's on receipt of this, and 
 found a slave strongly bound, and about to be thrown into 
 the river, because his master had strong suspicions that 
 he had broken into the store during last night's tornado 
 and stolen a quantity of tobacco. With much difficulty I 
 begged the poor fellow off. I believe he was flogged 
 after I left. 
 
 Mr. Voting told me yesterday of a trick he had lately 
 played on an abia-idiong. He (Mr. Y.) hid something, 
 and sent for an abia-idiong to discover it. This gentle- 
 man, having gone through his manoeuvres, pitched on one 
 of Mr. Young's slaves, and declared him to be the thief of 
 the article. Mr. Young said nothing, but took the honest 
 conjurer by the hand, led him to the spot where it was 
 concealed, and acknowledged that he had himself been the 
 thief 
 
 Saturday, 2(j. — As 1 was taking my usual round to 
 announce the approach of Sabbath, I witnessed a cruel, 
 and to me a novel, operation going on in Henny Cobham's 
 yard. It was an ordeal which six persons were undergoing 
 for the purpose of proving their innocence or guilt of theft, 
 of which crime they were under suspicion. The ceremony 
 was thus performed : — The suspected party sat down on 
 the ground ; the abia-idiong then came forward with a 
 number of small phials containing juices of plants or roots. 
 He first opened the suspected's right eye and poured in a 
 few drops of a green liquid, then a few drops of a pale 
 liquid ; then lifting the eyelid he slipped in a small crooked 
 bone or horn, resembling a bird's claw, which Henny Cob- 
 ham told me was a snake's tooth, and finished by adding 
 a few drops of another liquid. The slave's master then 
 pronounced some incantatory words, which were responded 
 to by the mystic scream of the abia-idiong's whistle. The 
 person under trial then rolled his eye and shook his head 
 in every possible way in order to eject the torturing bone ;
 
 The Tooth Ordeal 227 
 
 but in each of the cases which I witnessed the attempt was 
 unsuccessful. If by motion of head or eye the tooth be 
 emitted, the person is declared innocent ; if not, he is 
 guilty. I saw the operation performed in two cases. I 
 might have seen other four ; but my own eyes became 
 painfully affected, and so did my heart. I felt quite sick, 
 and was obliged to withdraw ; which 1 did not do, how- 
 ever, till I had strongly protested against such an iniquitous 
 system of trial. The want of sympathy among the whole 
 body of the people is deplorable. Each failure to get rid 
 of the tormenting bone was the signal for a hearty cheer 
 and laugh from the 1 50 or 200 who were spectators. But 
 such callousness is daily to be seen in this dark land. 
 
 Monday, 31. — Gave prizes this day to those scholars 
 who have attended school best during the year. Gave 
 each in the Bible class a copy of a work prepared by Rev. 
 Mr. Goldie, and just issued from the Old Calabar Mission 
 Press by Mr. Edgerley, entitled Ik'o nkpo oro emi ewetde ke 
 Akani Testament, an epitome of Old Testament history in 
 the Efik tongue. I consider this book as quite an acquisi- 
 tion to our schools, as well as to Calabar literature. 
 
 Tuesday, January 22. — Felt quite overjoyed to-night in 
 school on account of what thousands of good people would 
 consider a trifle. Well, it is a good thing that a small 
 matter can rejoice the heart when great matters are not 
 attainable. My cause of rejoicing was simply this : — My 
 scholars, hitherto to all appearance utterly indifferent to, 
 and utterly incapable of, any attainment in the music line, 
 actually sang the hymn beginning — 
 
 " Great God, and wilt Thou condescend 
 To be my Father and my Friend ? " 
 
 to the good old tune called "Portugal," quite correctly and 
 unaided. It is my earnest prayer that many of them — all 
 of them — be trained for " nobler songs above." 
 
 Monday, February 4. — Had an interesting conversa- 
 tion to-day with my Bible class in reference to the Lord's 
 Supper, which we observed here yesterday, and the great 
 fundamental doctrines of the Christian religion. These 
 are well understood by three of them— namely, by James 
 Carpenter, who was for some time at Creek Town school,
 
 228 Old Calabar Period 
 
 but \\h<> reads the Bible for himself, and is constantly 
 asking me for the explanation of passages in the sacred 
 volume. He tells me that he is all the same as two men. 
 lie is one man in my house and at school ; but when he 
 goes home, he is no sooner at Cobham Town than he be- 
 comes another man. When on the Mission ground he 
 feels a new man ; when he leaves it, he become the old 
 man. This is his interesting account of himself. These 
 doctrines are also well understood by Jane Archibong, who 
 was for a time under the instructions of Mrs. Goldie and 
 Mrs. Edgerley ; and also by Sarah Eshan, who can now- 
 read her Bible very well, but who, when we came here, did 
 not know the alphabet. 
 
 Mr. Anderson's letters to Mr. and Mrs. Elliot had been 
 read at the annual missionary meeting of Ford congrega- 
 tion in August, and were listened to with deep attention 
 and interest. The impression which Mr. Anderson's 
 abundant and indefatigable labours made on those at 
 home is described in a letter from the Rev. A. Elliot, 
 dated 27th Sept. 1849, and contains a needed word of 
 caution, similar to that given previously regarding Mr. 
 Anderson's exertions in Jamaica: — 
 
 Do not expose yourself unnecessarily — do not attempt 
 too much — do not labour over-much. This, I think, is the 
 danger you have to guard against. And this is the opinion 
 of all your friends in this country, and especially of the 
 Missionary Committee, who are best acquainted with what 
 you are doing and planning to do. Mr. Somerville has 
 expressed to me, in the strongest terms, his fear in this 
 respect, and his anxiety lest by over-taxing your strength 
 you render your high and honourable career a short one, 
 and soon disable yourself for the warfare. . . . Remember 
 that your place will not be easily supplied. You are ap- 
 pointed to a great work, and you must consider, not how 
 it may be soonest done, but how it may be best and most 
 
 tually done. " Thy God demands thy strength," and 
 to Him you must be unflinchingly faithful ; but He forbids
 
 An Impending Trial 229 
 
 you to throw away your life, or needlessly expose it. But 
 enough of this. 
 
 But a time of trial was coming, in which not only 
 physical endurance and courage of heart were needed, 
 but prompt decision regarding, and swift execution of, 
 action to be taken at great personal risk and almost single- 
 handed, if a great victory was to be achieved or a disas- 
 trous defeat sustained. If the work was to be done 
 "effectually," it had in this case to be done promptly or 
 not at all.
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 The First Victory — " Society for the Suppression of Human Sac- 
 rifices in Old Calabar" formed, and Law Abolishing Sacrifice 
 passed, 15th Feb. 1850. 
 
 THE ten days from 5th to 15th Feb. 1850 were crowded 
 with energetic and arduous efforts to save twelve doomed 
 men, and to secure the passing of an Egbo law which 
 >honld for ever prohibit human sacrifice for the dead. Mr. 
 Anderson was the principal agent and the initiator of the 
 proceedings which led to the formation of the "Society for 
 the Suppression of Human Sacrifices" and the passing of 
 the Egbo law. The incidents are so fully described, and 
 the significance of the victory achieved so clearly set forth, 
 in the Journal of Mr. Anderson and the letters by him and 
 Messrs. Edgerley and Waddell, that it is needless to say 
 anything by way of introduction to what follows. 
 
 One remark will suffice. The practice of sacrificing 
 human beings for the dead, although repugnant to our 
 moral sense and appreciation of the sacredness of each 
 individual life, is interwoven with the social customs 1 of 
 savage tribes, and receives the sanction of the " Nature " 
 religions. The passing of the law abolishing the sacrifices 
 at Old Calabar was the result partly of the undermining, 
 through intercourse with Europeans, of the old beliefs 
 which sanctioned the sacrifices, and partly of the awaken- 
 ing of more humane feelings and of the introduction of new 
 1 See KiriL; Eyo's account. Record, March 1849. p. 44.
 
 Slave Murder 231 
 
 ideas of human life and destiny, by the teaching and ex- 
 ample of the missionaries and the remonstrances of British 
 captains trading in the river and captains of war vessels 
 sent by Government. The visits of the French l and British 2 
 cruisers in the preceding years undoubtedly helped to pre- 
 pare the way. But the use of force, had it been employed, 
 would not have been permanently influential in securing 
 obedience to the law had it been passed at an earlier date. 
 So far as the leading men in Creek Town were concerned, 
 and in a less degree those of Duke Town, the passing of, 
 and the adherence to, the law marked a moral advance — 
 the recognition at least of a new moral idea — the sacredness 
 of human life as such. 
 
 Tuesday, February 5, 1850. 3 — Two gentlemen died in 
 town to-day, or, at all events, were brought to the town to 
 be buried. Their names are Efiong Bassy and Edem 
 Cuffey. Heard that seven of Efiong Bassy's slaves and 
 one of his wives had been murdered, and buried along with 
 him. Went down to inquire into the matter. Saw Mr. 
 Young and told him what I had heard. He declared such 
 a report to be wholly untrue. Having no evidence but 
 that of flying report, I could not — though my suspicions 
 were strong — persist in charging him, or anyone else, with 
 perpetrating or permitting the eightfold murder. In the 
 evening, a slave of Edem Cuffey, named Manam-owo (make 
 man), fled to my house, and assured me that nine of his 
 fellow-slaves had been strangled in the women's yard, for 
 the purpose of being buried with their master, and that he 
 was quite willing to show me where they were lying, and 
 where they were to be buried, the interment not being over 
 when he ran away. He also stated that as he was running 
 off a gun was discharged after him. He escaped the shot, 
 however, as well as the cord. As I was weighing the pro- 
 babilities of his story, and felt dubious what course to 
 
 1 See Record, Feb. 184S, and Waddell's Twenty -Nine Years, p. 350 f. 
 - See Waddell's Tiventy-Nine Years, chaps, xix. and xx, 
 J Record, July 1850.
 
 232 Old Calabar Period 
 
 pursue, or whether I could do anything at all, I was sent 
 for by one of the ship-captains then in the town. On 
 meeting him, he told me that lie had seen twelve or fourteen 
 men, attached to a large chain, in Edem Cuffey's yard, and 
 that he had fears that they were going to kill them. This 
 confirmed the slave's story, and determined me to instant 
 exertion. 
 
 I got a hint where I might see the men myself, by 
 pushing aside a branch of a certain bamboo fence ; but, as 
 it was getting dark, I could not avail myself of it. Went 
 immediately to King Archibong, and charged Ephraim 
 Duke — brother of the deceased Edem Cuffey — with the 
 murder of nine slaves. He heard me in silence. Suppos- 
 ing that he might be ignorant of the occurrence, I offered 
 to take him, or to get him taken, to the spot, where he 
 would see not only the nine corpses, but a dozen men in 
 chains, ready to be slaughtered. Urged him with all the 
 arguments and earnestness I could command to interpose 
 and rescue those innocent men. I thought he seemed 
 afraid to interfere ; indeed, by Egbo law, he could not 
 legally interfere in the matter, for the lives of the slaves 
 arr at the mercy of their owners. What then? I told 
 him that all white men look to him as king for Duke Town ; 
 that no man should be killed if he objected to it ; and that 
 if he be afraid to do anything himself, all the white men 
 and Krumen in the river were, I had not the slightest 
 doubt, willing to help him — not to fight, or do anything 
 bad, but to save innocent men from being murdered; but 
 that nothing could be done if he were unwilling. I also gave 
 him distinctly to understand that, being king of the town, all 
 white men would consider him now responsible for the 
 lives of these men, seeing that, according to their custom, 
 if not their law, white men have the privilege of " begging 
 ott " slaves from punishment. He seemed thoughtful, and, 
 after a pause, he told me that he would take in hand to 
 stop any more killing this night, and that I would see all 
 those now in chains alive to-morrow. I then went to Mr. 
 Young and addressed him in the same manner in which I 
 had spoken to Archibong ; accused Ephraim Duke of the 
 murder of nine, and entreated him to use his great influence 
 to stop such atrocities. At first he either did not know.
 
 Mr. Anderson's Initiative 233 
 
 or pretended ignorance of the whole affair. He sent one 
 of his people to inquire about it. On the return of the 
 messenger he told me that the slaves were in chains 
 merely to prevent their running away. This, I assured 
 him, was a mere pretence. I went on to remind him of 
 much that the Bible says, which shows the value, the 
 sacredness of human life. When I had reasoned a little, 
 he stopped me, and declared, with vastly greater energy 
 than I had ever before heard him exert in speaking, "If 
 God spare me, two years don't pass before this bad fashion 
 break off; but we can't do things all in a day." From 
 Mr. Young's I went to the house of murder, and asked to 
 see Ephraim Duke. My admission was out of the question. 
 He came out quite excited, and walked down with me to 
 his own house. When we came to it, I taxed him with the 
 murders committed and intended. He became quite 
 furious, and denied that any person had been killed, or 
 even put in chains. I told him I had plenty of proof 
 that he had strangled nine — perhaps many more — in his 
 brother's women's yard. He seemed most anxious to 
 know how I had got the information ; but I told him that 
 his part of the business was to confess the wrong which 
 he had done, and to give it up. As he was scarcely 
 sober, I saw 1 could make little of him, and I left him 
 on getting a promise that he would kill no more that 
 night. 
 
 Wednesday, February 6. — Having said all I could think 
 of to the natives last evening — as I have done in preaching 
 and in conversation at former times — -I took the round of 
 the ships to-day, rehearsing to each captain the occurrences 
 of yesterday, and closing with the question, " Can we do 
 conjunctly nothing to prevent the recurrence of such deeds 
 of blood ? " I felt that a display of united moral force, on 
 the part of all the white people in the neighbourhood, 
 whether missionaries or traders, was fully warranted, if not 
 imperatively called for, on behalf of insulted, injured, bleed- 
 ing humanity ; and, on the broad basis of our common 
 nature, I suggested a conference on the subject. I found 
 all the captains of one mind in regard to the matter, and 
 all agreed to meet at the mission-house to-morrow at 10 
 o'clock A.M.
 
 234 Old Calabar Period 
 
 Thursday, 7. — Ten captains, three surgeons, and two 
 missionaries ( Air. Edgerley and myself) met this morning 
 in Duke Town mission-house, at 10 o'clock, for the purpose 
 of considering what steps should be taken for the preven- 
 tion of human sacrifices on the deaths of persons of im- 
 portance in Old Calabar. Mr. Waddell being with the 
 mission-ship at Bonny, was, of necessity, absent from the 
 meeting. At this meeting the slave who had escaped was 
 examined ; the captain who had seen the bound slaves 
 repeated his statement ; Messrs. Anderson and Edgerley 
 delivered impressive addresses, — all felt that matters had 
 reached a crisis, and that it became them to do what they 
 could to save their fellow-men. After deliberation, it was 
 accordingly resolved that all present go in a body to King 
 Archibong ami the gentlemen of DukeTown this evening,at 
 five o'clock, to denounce the murders committed on Tues- 
 day, and to protest against the recurrence of such bar- 
 barities. To save the trouble of going from house to 
 In tuse, a letter was sent to Archibong, requesting him to 
 come, with all his gentlemen, to the church palaver- 
 house, at five o'clock, to meet with the white gentlemen 
 on very important business ; and in order that the 
 matter might be properly done, three persons were 
 appointed to conduct the conference, and to represent 
 to the chiefs the views and feelings of the white 
 gentlemen. 
 
 At five o'clock, accordingly, there was a good muster 
 at the palaver-house of both white and black gentlemen. 
 There were present ten captains (one a Dutchman), seven 
 surgeons, and two missionaries; and King Archibong and 
 all the chief men of Duke Town. Captain Rieken was 
 called to the chair. One of the captains spoke, pointing 
 out the evils of the custom ; after which Mr. Edgerley 
 delivered a very fervid address, referring to facts which 
 he knew, and showing the imperative necessity of putting 
 an end to this most sinful practice. The black gentlemen 
 seemed to be impressed, and had a talk among themselves 
 in their own language. One of them said that the slaves 
 ran to the mission-house with lying stories. Mr. Ander- 
 son instantly said, "Well, gentlemen, send to my house 
 lor that slave, and let him take all here, black gentlemen
 
 Society for Suppression of Sacrifices 235 
 
 and white, to Edem Cuffey's grave, and let us dig it up ; 
 if there be no dead man there but Edem Cuffey, then your 
 slave be liar." This was a proposal that could not be 
 objected to. Mr. Young was obliged to say, " We no deny 
 what you say; it be true this time what slave say." Thus 
 pressed, and seeing the combined and resolute bearing of 
 the white men, indignation and horror painted on every 
 countenance, the black gentlemen said that if Creek Town 
 gentlemen would meet them, and were willing to make an 
 Egbo law in order to put an end to this work for the 
 future, they were quite willing to have such a law made. 
 This was what the white gentlemen wanted; and, after 
 stating that they would meet with King Eyo and his chiefs 
 to-morrow, they shook hands with the black gentlemen 
 and parted. That evening a letter was written to King 
 Eyo, requesting him to call a meeting of his gentlemen 
 to-morrow, at 12 o'clock. 
 
 The friends of humanity now saw the way clear before 
 them, and they acted with most commendable energy. 
 Hence Mr. Anderson says : — 
 
 Friday, 8. — According to agreement yesterday, the 
 meeting' of white gentlemen was resumed at Duke Town 
 mission-house this morning at 7 o'clock, — Captain Rieken 
 again in the chair. It was resolved — "That we form our- 
 selves into a permanent Society for the suppression of 
 human sacrifices in Old Calabar, or of the destruction 
 of human life in any way, except as the penalty of 
 crime." 
 
 The members of the Society then went up to Creek 
 Town, and met with King Eyo and his gentlemen at twelve 
 o'clock, in order to state to them what had occurred at 
 Duke Town, and to urge upon them the propriety and 
 necessity of joining with the Duke Town gentlemen in 
 making an Egbo law, to put down, in all time coming, 
 the practice of killing persons for the dead. Mr. Edgerley
 
 236 Old Calabar Period 
 
 suvs that the king's house was filled ; and that Mr. 
 Anderson delivered a thrilling speech, at which King 
 Eyo's eyes sparkled with delight and approbation, and 
 which he then faithfully interpreted to his gentlemen. 
 One of the captains said that their feelings had been 
 so shocked by these atrocities, that all friendly inter- 
 course between them must cease, " unless within a month 
 they passed an Egbo law for the suppression of these 
 sacrifices," — a statement to which all the white gentlemen 
 loudly responded. King Eyo and his chiefs entered readily 
 and cordially into the proposal, and agreed to meet the 
 Duke Town gentlemen on board the Celma, the largest 
 ship in the river, on Tuesday the 12th inst, to confer 
 with them about the passing of an Egbo law — a thing 
 which could be done only by the united influence of the 
 two towns. 
 
 Tuesday, 12. — The anniversary of my arrival here. 
 Could not have suggested a better observance of the day 
 than it has had. The members of the Society for the 
 Abolition of Human Sacrifices, King Eyo and the Creek 
 Town gentlemen, and King Archibong and Duke Town 
 gentlemen, all met on board the Celma ; and, after a good 
 deal of discourse on all sides, King Eyo and King Archi- 
 bong, and twenty-six of the principal gentlemen connected 
 with both towns, signed a document, in which they promise 
 to allow no human being to be killed among their families 
 or dependents, from this date, except for crime ; and they 
 pledge themselves to exert all their influence to have an 
 Egbo law passed, within one month from this date, pro- 
 hibiting the practice of killing slaves on the death 
 of an)- person throughout the whole country of Old 
 ( lalabar. 
 
 Friday^ 15. — A good day for Calabar. This day 
 will be memorable in the annals of this land. Grand 
 Egbo came down the river in his state canoe; and the 
 usual ceremonies having been gone through in the town
 
 Law Abolishing Sacrifices for Dead 237 
 
 palaver-house, a most stringent Egbo law was enacted, 
 and forthwith proclaimed in the marketplace with the 
 customary formalities, forbidding any sacrifice of human 
 life on the death of an individual, of whatever rank or 
 station. Having performed their duties in Duke Town, 
 the Egbo party, preceded by twelve Egbo runners, passed 
 the mission-house, to repeat the proclamation at Henshaw 
 Town. The party consisted of about twenty-five or 
 thirty gentlemen, most of them from Creek Town — one of 
 King Eyo's brothers carrying the mace — who moved on 
 in a stately manner, as became an occasion of such im- 
 portance. One of them came to me in school, to tell me 
 that the law, which all " makara " beg them to make, now 
 made ; and them blowing it by Egbo. I told my inform- 
 ant that I was exceedingly glad to see them make this 
 good law so quickly — that I would hoist my flag, and 
 send word to the ships immediately. This was about 
 4 P.M. In a minute our flag was " floating on the breeze " ; 
 and in a quarter of an hour the ships' flags were all 
 unfurled. At sunset, the most of the vessels fired a gun 
 each, in honour of the day. One captain was absent, 
 being up the river, so that his ship was silent. To com- 
 pensate for delay, on coming down the river, about eight 
 o'clock, he caused two guns to be fired. Went down to 
 the town after school, to see how matters looked. All 
 the gentlemen whom I saw had happy countenances. 
 
 Saturday, 16. — Grand Egbo, accompanied by Duke 
 Town gentlemen, went up the river to-day to proclaim 
 the new law at Creek Town. It was one of the arrange- 
 ments made on Tuesday, that Creek Town gentlemen 
 shall send Egbo to Duke Town should the law be broken 
 here ; and vice versa, should the law be broken at Creek 
 Town. 
 
 Asked Archibong what would be done to any gentle- 
 man who may break this law. He assured me that it is 
 so strong a law that no man can break it. Wishing to 
 know the penalty, I asked if Egbo would kill him? The 
 reply was, "He will chop him down to nothing"; that 
 is, he will forfeit to Egbo all that he possesses. I feel 
 deeply grateful for what God has accomplished this week 
 for poor Calabar. Some fear that the law will not be
 
 238 Old C \i.\i;ai< Pkriod 
 
 carried fully "lit. 1 have no fears on that score. How- 
 ever, it will be a part of the business of the Society (of 
 white- for the Protection of Human Life, to keep a watch- 
 ful eye oil the natives, lest there should be any attempt 
 to evade the law. 
 
 Tuesday, 19. — The Society met here to-day, and 
 appointed a deputation to write and present a letter of 
 thanks to the native gentlemen for so promptly fulfilling 
 their engagement, by passing the Egbo law referred to 
 above. 
 
 Tuesday, 26. — The Society met to-day on board the 
 Celma, and resolved to adopt the name of "The Society 
 for the Abolition of Inhuman and Superstitious Customs 
 in Old Calabar, and for the Civilisation of the People of 
 this ( ountry." 
 
 Saturday, March 3. — Two slaves of Lgbo Bassey, who 
 have been at the plantation, and ignorant of the new law, 
 came to the mission-house for safety, their master's brother 
 being dead. Whenever they were informed by our watch- 
 man of the big palaver with white men and of the new 
 law, the}- departed with cheerful countenances. Saw their 
 master afterwards. He says that this is proper law ; for, 
 in past time, when gentleman die, all slaves run away, and 
 they can't get one to dig grave; but that no one slave 
 afraid, or run away (of those who know the law) ; but all 
 stop, and do work as before. He says that the new law 
 is very strong; that suppose the biggest gentleman in 
 the country break it, Egbo take him to marketplace, 
 and hang him at one time. 
 
 Mr. Anderson wrote: — 
 
 The ten days from February 5th to 15th were im- 
 portant days in the history of Calabar. In my Journal I 
 have given you an outline, and only an outline, of the 
 sayings and doings of that period. There are several 
 things in which the finger of God may be traced very 
 clearly. Besides the general preparation for the measure, 
 which had been going on for a considerable time, by 
 means of the representations and remonstrances of trading 
 captains and commanders of war vessels, and instructions
 
 How the Victory was Achieved 239 
 
 communicated, both publicly and privately, by the mission- 
 aries, who have embraced every opportunity of proclaim- 
 ing the sacredness of human life, there were four things 
 without which, humanly speaking, the Egbo law for the 
 protection of human life would not have been made at 
 that particular time. These were, the escape of the slave 
 who could testify to the murder of nine of his fellows ; 
 and in immediate conjunction with this, the discovery, by 
 a white gentleman, of a dozen of slaves chained, and ready 
 to be killed ; the circumstance of the missionary being on 
 the spot, and prepared to act on the information given ; 
 the fact that ten large vessels — a force not to be despised 
 — were then in the river ; and the unanimity of the white 
 gentlemen, all acting in this important matter as if 
 animated by one heart and soul. God smiled on our 
 united efforts. His blessing rendered them effectual. To 
 Him we ascribe the glory. O for the arrival of the time 
 when we shall see, and you shall read, of "greater things 
 than these" — even of men rising from a state of death 
 to that of life ; when men and women and children now 
 "dead in trespasses and sins shall be quickened by the 
 Spirit of the living God." 
 
 Mr. Edgerley, who took an active part in the pro- 
 ceedings, says : — 
 
 As Mr. Anderson was the principal agent in what I 
 am going to relate, I perhaps need not allude to it ; but 
 my heart has been so filled with indignation, and now 
 with such lively joy and gratitude, that I cannot refrain 
 from commending his untiring zeal and successful efforts 
 in the matter, and in which I endeavoured to sustain and 
 help him in some humble measure. Yes, the cruel and 
 bloody system of human sacrifices has at last aroused the 
 indignation of every white man in Calabar, and the)- have 
 risen in a compact body to deprecate and to sweep away 
 from the land this awful and horrid custom ; and, let us 
 bless God, they have succeeded. That which could not 
 be effected by men-of-war and remonstrances from our 
 Government, has been accomplished by a humane band of 
 captains, surgeons, and missionaries.
 
 240 Old Calabar Period 
 
 And Mr. Waddell, 1 who was at Bonny while those 
 things were being done, says : — 
 
 The first news, and joyful news they were, which 
 greeted me on my return from Bonny, were, that the 
 horrid custom of making human sacrifices for the dead 
 was at an end, abolished for ever in Old Calabar, 
 by Egbo law formally made and publicly proclaimed in 
 all its towns. The causes which more immediately led 
 to this happy result were — the death of a chief man lately 
 in Duke Town, the numerous sacrifices which were being- 
 made for him by the gentry there, with as much daring 
 recklessness and barbarity as if no remonstrances had 
 ewer been made on one side, and no promises ever 
 given on the other side, against the devilish system — 
 the righteous indignation of your missionaries in the 
 country, and of the white gentlemen trading to it, when 
 they learned what was going forward — the formation of 
 a Society by them and among themselves, for the Abolition 
 of Human Sacrifices — -the pointed and urgent dealings of 
 that Society immediately with all the native gentlemen — 
 the prompt and cordial concurrence of King Eyo 
 Honesty with the white people, and for the object they 
 sought — a general meeting of all the chiefs, black and 
 white, on board the largest ship in the river, the Celma, 
 900 tons, to consider the question — the unreserved sub- 
 mission of the old country party, who have hitherto 
 defended the old country superstitions among them- 
 selves — and finally, the formal enactment of a strong 
 and decisive law against the infernal system by Egbo 
 authority, the highest and only general authority and 
 source of law in this country to which kings and chiefs 
 alike bow. The friends of humanity and religion will 
 give thanks to God for this necessary and beneficial 
 
 1 The account given in Mr. Waddell's book is even less adequate than the 
 letter quoted above, and hardly does justice to Mr. Anderson's pluck in 
 throwing himself into the breach, and by his persistency and determination 
 securing the co-operation of otheis that was needful to secure the passing of 
 the law. But Mr. Waddell's book is chiefly a personal record of his own 
 work in Calabar. Dickie's admirable little Story of llic Mission in Old 
 Calabar, published 1804, does full justice to Mr. Anderson. See pp. 37-38.
 
 Mr. Waddell on the Victory 241 
 
 measure. Long has it been sought on our part, and 
 long evaded on theirs, but grace and truth have at length 
 won the day. You will remember the formal protest, 
 solemnly and authoritatively made by your brethren here, 
 first in King Eyamba's time, on the death of John Duke 
 (October 1846), and the year following, on the death of 
 King Eyamba himself (May 1847), when these customary 
 slaughters were so numerously perpetrated — a protest 
 delivered to the principal men of the country in person, 
 and renewed on every occasion of these barbarities. You 
 will remember the benevolent appeals of some of the 
 captains of our trading ships, and of the cruisers on the 
 coast, to the natives, against the inhuman custom. You 
 will remember also, that the efforts of both the former 
 parties have latterly been vigorously supported by repre- 
 sentations from the English Government by men-of-war 
 officers ; and that one of these, Captain Murray, of H.M.S. 
 Favourite, two years ago (March 1848), obtained a written 
 promise from King Eyo and other chiefs, that they would 
 endeavour to put an end to these atrocities. 1 The last 
 measure, I was convinced, was the fatal blow to the horrid 
 system, which might linger a while even with convulsive 
 efforts, but could never recover it. King Eyo took the 
 same view of the question. He feared the visits of men- 
 of-war every year to make palaver about it, as they had 
 done about the slave-trade, and knew that they would 
 never rest till they had gained their object. So he advised 
 the chiefs of the country to yield the point, and please 
 the white people, on whom they depended for their trade 
 and everything. By many and various means does God 
 work, and He is glorified in them all. And let His people 
 rejoice and give Him praise, that their prayers and labours 
 have not been in vain ; and that so great an exercise of 
 Satan's tyranny over hapless, ignorant heathens, so great 
 cruelty to poor slaves, so great an obstruction to the 
 
 1 See Wadd ell's Twenty-Nine Years, chap. xix. p. 374. In it he hardly 
 attaches the same importance to the engagement entered into in 1848. So 
 far as Duke Town was concerned, it was not " a fatal blow" to the system ; 
 and the conditions which made the passing of the law possible were doubtless 
 brought about chiefly by the teaching of Goldie, Edgerley, and Anderson 
 from 1848 to 1850. 
 16
 
 242 Old Calabar Period 
 
 welfare of the country, and to the reformation of the 
 people, has been swept out of the way. Let us thank 
 God and take courage, to see this breach made in the 
 strongholds of darkness, sin, and death, and foresee numer- 
 ous ether breaches consequent thereon, till the whole 
 fortress of the power of darkness be shaken and de- 
 molished in this region, and a free path be opened for 
 the spread of gospel mercy, light, and love through all 
 the countries and nations of degraded Africa.
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 Signs of Progress 
 
 AFTER Mr. Waddell's return to Calabar in August 1849, 
 Mr. Goldie took the opportunity of paying a visit to Scot- 
 land, for the purpose of taking Mrs. Goldie back to Calabar. 
 In a letter to the children of the Jamaica Churches, dated 
 Kilwinning, 4th Dec. 1849, he follows up a suggestion of 
 the Rev. G. Blyth, that they might aid in erecting a church 
 in Calabar, and says : — 
 
 In coming home at this time I wish to get a church 
 for Duke Town. Some kind friends here gave Mr. Wad- 
 dell, when he was in Scotland, a church for Creek Town, 
 and I should like to get one for the other station too. For 
 some time we could not get a regular meeting on Sabbath 
 at Duke Town, but now we have a regular meeting ; but 
 it is in a place which is not very suitable. It is an old 
 palaver-house, which King Eyamba had commenced to 
 build before his death, but which he never finished ; and 
 not being our own, we cannot take it into our own hands 
 and make it a proper place of meeting. It is but an open 
 shed, without any seats to accommodate the people, and 
 if we were to put seats into it they would soon disappear. 
 Besides, it would be better if we had a house to meet in 
 not in any way associated with the superstitions of the 
 people. 1 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Goldie left Liverpool in the Mission ship 
 on 13th July 1850, and arrived safely at Duke Town on the 
 29th of August, and were heartily welcomed by Mr. and 
 
 1 Juvenile Missionary Magazine, Jan. 1850. 
 243
 
 244 Old Calabar Period 
 
 Mrs. Anderson. Mr. Goldie, writing on 25th September 
 about the improved state of Duke Town, says: 1 — 
 
 It rejoiced me to see Duke Town school well and regu- 
 larly attended. The numbers, too, present in the Sabbath 
 meetings, show- a growing interest in the minds of the 
 people. Besides the more public meetings in the palaver- 
 house, Mr. Anderson has sometimes three, sometimes four 
 other meetings in the yards of the chiefs. I think there 
 will be 250 persons receiving divine instruction on the 
 Lord's day, . . . exclusive of the English service in the 
 schoolhouse. This shows a great change for the better 
 on the state of things, compared with what it was when 
 we first attempted to get a meeting for religious instruction 
 in the town. 
 
 Mr. Anderson, writing on September 25th, 2 to acknow- 
 ledge the receipt of mission-boxes and presents, says : — 
 
 We were favoured by the receipt of several boxes of 
 books, clothing, etc., from several congregations and Sab- 
 bath schools, who thus kindly endeavoured to strengthen 
 our hands and encourage our hearts, and who are entitled 
 to our hearty thanks for the aid they have afforded us. 
 We had a box from each of the following places : St. 
 Margaret's, Dunfermline ; St. Andrew's, Lcith ; Black- 
 burn, Lancashire; Rose Street (Sabbath schools), Edin- 
 burgh ; and several without any indication of their origin. 
 In several boxes we found presents for King Archibong, 
 Mr. Young, and others. I ought to mention particularly 
 two dressing-gowns for our king and premier from the 
 ladies of St. Margaret's congregation (Rev. Mr. Law), 
 Dunfermline. Archibong's is very beautiful and rich, and 
 it would have interested and amused the fair and kind 
 donors had they seen how well he received it. Archibong 
 is a very simple-minded man — there is perhaps not much 
 
 1 In his Calabar and Us Mission, p. 154, Mr. Goldie says : " I took part 
 with Mr. Anderson in the work at Duke Town, at the same time taking 
 Sabbath duty at Old Town an 1 Abakpa, Mr. Edgerley having gone home 
 on furlou»h." 
 
 - Record, Feb. 1 85 1,
 
 Signs of Progress 245 
 
 polish about him, but there is no pride, no affectation. 
 For my own part, I liked to see the boyish glee which he 
 manifested when he was fairly enrobed in the really beau- 
 tiful and splendid vestment. Mr. Young and others of the 
 gentlemen have been much gratified by the dashes which 
 they have received. 
 
 For the last few months the aspect of affairs at this 
 station has been much more promising than at any former 
 period since my arrival here — perhaps I might say since the 
 commencement of the Mission. Our public meeting in 
 the palaver-house is in general well attended. The house 
 itself is falling into decay, and the seats put up in it last 
 year have either fallen to pieces or been stolen. Mr. Young 
 does not interpret, so that I am left to my own resources 
 for words to express to the auditors what I wish to say. 
 I talk away as well as I can, sometimes in broken English 
 and sometimes in my best Calabar [i.e. in Efik, the language 
 of Calabar]. Mr. Goldie preached in Calabar two Sab- 
 baths after his arrival. He knows the language much 
 better than I do. The people were all astonished and 
 delighted, and the general remark was, " He speaks all the 
 same as Calabar man." For the two last Sabbaths Mr. 
 Goldie has been to Old Town and Qua. 
 
 My chief work at present on Sabbath is catechising 
 and conversation in the houses of the principal gentlemen. 
 We have just, in fact, an itinerating Sabbath school. The 
 body of my school children accompany me from house to 
 house. Our first meeting is held in Henry Cobham's yard 
 at 8 A.M. We have singing, reading, prayer, conversa- 
 tion, and catechising, all, as far as possible, in the native 
 tongue. At 9 o'clock we have " church " in the palaver- 
 house. From 10 to 12 we have generally three meetings 
 in different yards, one in the king's, and others elsewhere. 
 At these domestic meetings multitudes of women and girls 
 and slaves hear the word of life who would not be per- 
 mitted to hear it elsewhere. At 3 P.M. we have regular 
 Sabbath school, and at 4 a short service in English. This 
 work is somewhat onerous, but in this way several hun- 
 dreds of the people of Duke Town hear each Sabbath 
 the great doctrines of the gospel in a language which they 
 can understand. To aid in these domestic services, I, some
 
 246 ( >ld ( Ialabar Period 
 
 time ago, assisted by some of our young men, translated 
 into Calabar, Gall's Catechism of Scripture Doctrine for 
 Infants. This translation and Mr. Goldie's little Efik 
 Catechism are my present text-books. 
 
 I was much cheered the other Sabbath at one of our 
 meetings in Antika Cobham's. I was speaking of the 
 friendship of Jesus — Haddison interpreting — and brought 
 in as an illustration an anecdote of a man who had three 
 friends. It is well known, so that it would be out of place 
 t<> take up room with it here. It is given in the seventh 
 of Todd's Lectures to Children. At the conclusion, one of 
 Antika's wives, who had been paying marked attention to 
 what was said, declared openly, in her own language, that 
 from that time she chose Jesus for her friend. I am 
 assured that you join me in praying that she may keep 
 her wise resolution. 
 
 My young friends in Dalkeith were kind enough to 
 send me a hundred copies of a translation of the Book of 
 Jonah. I believe I could make a better translation now 
 than I was able to do in February last. But I am glad to 
 see that it is quite intelligible to those who read it or hear 
 it read. I made two of the scholars read chapters i., in., 
 and iv. to one of the native gentlemen the other Sabbath. 
 He never had heard the story before. After the reading 
 was done, I asked him a number of questions, and saw 
 from his replies that he had clear and correct ideas respect- 
 ing what had been read. And more than this, on some of 
 his wives coming into the yard, he went over the story to 
 them in Calabar. 
 
 Since the beginning of August our week-day school 
 has been very well attended. For about a month past 
 the attendance has been about 90 daily — 96 has been a 
 common number. This week we have upwards of 100 in 
 attendance — 1 30 on the list. A number who attend are 
 grown-up young men, who will probably leave school in a 
 few months to go to market. There is to all appearance 
 a mental awakening among the youths of Duke Town. 
 Oh that a spiritual awakening may ere long be produced 
 among them ! As I look round on my large company of 
 scholars, and see grown-up men toiling away at the alpha- 
 bet, longing to be able to read, thirsting for knowledge, I
 
 Sabbath Markets 247 
 
 sometimes say mentally, " Well, it is an interesting and 
 affecting, yea, a glorious sight, to see those darkened 
 minds welcoming the light, those enslaved souls struggling 
 to be free ! " One of my scholars is a brother of King 
 Archibong, apparently thirty years of age. He is most 
 humble, diligent, and anxious for instruction. 
 
 In a "circular" letter which he seems to have been in 
 the habit of writing in turn to the Revs. Messrs. Sandy, 
 Elliot, Cooper, and Joseph Brown, Dalkeith, and addressed 
 on this occasion, under date September 25th, to the last- 
 named, after detailing most of the facts contained in the 
 preceding letter, Mr. Anderson goes on to refer to a step 
 that had been taken in regard to the observance of the 
 Sabbath, and writes as follows : — 
 
 The town Sabbath markets have been dismissed from 
 the centres of the towns and banished to the suburbs. 
 We have reason to hope that ere long they will be totally 
 
 given up This is to us a subject of deep gratitude, though 
 
 it may appear a matter of little importance to friends at 
 home. 
 
 In December the Sabbath market was formally abol- 
 ished at Creek Town, and in course of time Duke Town 
 and Old Town followed the example of Creek Town. 
 
 Mr. Anderson wrote, in a letter dated 16th January 
 1851 i 1 — 
 
 Things are moving on pretty much here as when I 
 last wrote you — about the beginning of November. School 
 is attended by about 60 children. Our Sabbath meetings 
 are frequently well attended. Mr. Goldie preaches regu- 
 larly in the native tongue. Mr. G. has, I understand, 
 written you at some length, and must have communicated 
 everything of importance connected with the station. We 
 are now pretty frequently enveloped in the " smokes," but 
 
 1 Record, July 1851.
 
 248 Old Calabar Period 
 
 enjoy as good health as ever we had anywhere. It is now 
 nearly two years since Mrs. A. and I arrived here, and we 
 have never needed to leave our abode for a single day in 
 search of health. We have only been twice above seven 
 miles from Duke Town — once up the river about 25 miles, 
 and once down about 15. We have no boat of any kind 
 at Duke Town, and that is one reason why we keep so 
 closely at home. I shall look over my notebook, and see 
 if I can fill up a page from it. I have no time to polish. 
 
 " Friday, Nov. 15. — A meeting of the Society for the 
 Abolition of Inhuman and Superstitious Customs, etc., in 
 Old Calabar, was held this day. His Excellency Governor 
 Beecroft, of Fernando Po, now H.B.M.'s Consul for this 
 region, was present, expressed his approval of the objects 
 contemplated by the Society, and enrolled himself a 
 member. 
 
 " Wednesday, 20. — Accompanied by the school children, 
 went this evening to hold a meeting at Egbo Tom's 
 village. It was well attended ; and Mr. Goldie, in their 
 own language, addressed those present on the things of 
 God. 
 
 " Sabbath, 24. — Much to pain the heart to-day. Dis- 
 gusted and distressed at the palaver-house meeting by two 
 unseemly objects: first, a dead goat lying in the market- 
 place, placed there as juju, polluting the whole atmosphere 
 around us with its noisome effluvia ; second, a poor half- 
 dead cock, hung up by one foot at the end of the palaver- 
 house. It was in view of the whole meeting, and repeatedly 
 struggled convulsively during our service. The poor fellow 
 was suffering a lingering death. Mr. Goldie and I took 
 the opportunity at that and at the subsequent services of 
 the day, to show the utter inefficiency of such sacrifices as 
 an offering to God, yea, His abhorrence of them, and 
 pointed our poor deluded hearers to the One Great Sacri- 
 fice, and what is said in reference to it in Ilcb. x. 7-18. 
 We found Ps. 1. 7-15 a very suitable subject of discourse 
 to, and conversation with, our sable neighbours. 
 
 " Thursday, 28. — Mr. Goldie reported meeting held to- 
 day as follows: — 'Attended a meeting of the Calabar 
 Society, to consider a case of murder by the ordeal of the 
 nut ; two women, wives of an individual named Ekong
 
 Murder by Poison Ordeal 249 
 
 Toby, having been destroyed by it on Sabbath last. 
 Ekong has been blind of ophthalmia for more than a year 
 past, and his affliction he attributed to the witchcraft of 
 one of these women. It appeared that in beating one of 
 them he had knocked out her eye ; and she, irritated by 
 the severe injury inflicted, had said that he would soon 
 lose the sight of his eyes. This she might easily predict, 
 as the disease had then commenced ; but the words gave 
 a direction to his suspicions ; and on Sabbath last the nut 
 was administered to two of his wives in the presence of 
 the chief men, and the result was that both died. The 
 Society agreed to go in a body to the heads of the town 
 and represent to them the folly and wickedness of this 
 custom. On going down to the king, he promised to call 
 the headmen in the evening, and it was agreed to meet 
 with them then. In the evening the appointed meeting 
 was held. They heard all that we had to say, some of 
 them in no very good temper ; but refused to do anything 
 to abolish the custom, their belief in witchcraft and faith 
 in the ordeal being unshaken. King Archibong particu- 
 larised the missionaries as giving them much annoyance 
 by interfering with their customs. 
 
 " Thursday, December 19. — An alligator, or rather, I 
 believe, a crocodile, carried off a woman (one of Antika 
 Cobham's slaves) from the beach this evening. What 
 with the monsters of the river and the devourers of the 
 forest, and the ills inseparable from a state of bondage, 
 the slave population of this land claim our deepest 
 commiseration. 
 
 " Friday, 20. — Gave the children vacation for a fortnight. 
 Few of them wished any ' Christmas holidays.' 
 
 "January 6, 185 I. — Resumed school with about forty 
 scholars. All hearty and cheerful, and diligent at their 
 books. Most of them seem very anxious to get on." 
 
 Have employed myself during vacation chiefly in 
 reading and studying the language of this country. On 
 January 1st and 2nd visited all the gentlemen of the 
 town, giving to each a small present — as a knife, or a 
 nightcap, or a garment. 
 
 The old Duke (Ephraim) and I have not been on very 
 cordial terms since the " big palaver" about killing people
 
 250 Old Calabar Period 
 
 in February last ; but a dressing-gown and a nightcap pre- 
 sented to him at the New Year brought him wonderfully 
 round. He declared all "palaver" with him and the 
 missionaries to be finally "set"; and in token of his 
 resumed friendship he dashed me a snuff-box well packed 
 with native-made snuff. On Sabbath he resumed his 
 attendance at cl.unli, which had been broken off for many 
 months. 
 
 Viewing matters as they are in this town, compared 
 with what they were only eighteen months ago, we have 
 every reason, at the commencement of a new year, to 
 " thank God and take courage." Storms and tempests 
 await us still, but our Father guides the helm. May He 
 soon work wonders of mercy among the inhabitants of 
 Old Calabar ! 
 
 The following letter, dated 20th Feb. 1 85 1, describes 
 the negotiations which took place between the slaves in 
 the Qua plantations and the chiefs of Duke Town, for the 
 treatment of the former as men. The combination was, 
 says Mr. Waddell, 1 the origin of the " blood society," which 
 attained such strength as to rival and defy the Fgbo 
 association of the freemen. Mr. Anderson writes: 2 — 
 
 Since I last wrote you we have had a little stir in this 
 quarter, occasioned by a dispute between the Duke Town 
 gentlemen and the slaves who live at the plantations. 
 The latter have become a body of considerable importance 
 in the country, as the sequel will show. They resolved 
 some time ago to adopt measures for their mutual pro- 
 tection against the capricious infliction of wrong by any of 
 the freemen of the town. The most influential of them 
 are slaves who have run from the town at different times, 
 and especially on the death of their masters. They entered 
 into a covenant by Stopping blood — i.e. tasting each other's 
 blood, which is considered among Africans as the strongest 
 of bonds. The chief provision of their league seems to 
 
 1 Twenty-Nine Years, p. 476. 
 - Record, Aug. 1851.
 
 Duke Town and Plantation Slaves 251 
 
 have been, that should any of their number be put to 
 death, except for crime, the survivors should avenge it. 
 
 On Friday the 31st ult. a considerable number of the 
 plantation people came into the town around. I could 
 not make out the exact nature of their demands. The 
 ship-captains were alarmed by the demonstration, met 
 immediately, and sent off for a man-of-war vessel to come 
 for the protection of British life and property. Of this 
 proceeding we knew nothing at the mission-house till 
 Sabbath evening, when we heard of it accidentally. On 
 Wednesday the steamer Archer came up the river. She 
 arrived in the evening, and next morning her commander, 
 Captain Strange, visited us, and intimated that he had 
 been instructed by his senior officer to call on us, and 
 to offer us an asylum on board his ship if we considered 
 ourselves at all in danger on shore. We thanked him for 
 his offer, but declined acceptance of it; as we felt no 
 alarm whatever. Whatever apprehension may have been 
 felt by the gentlemen of the river on account of their lives 
 and property, it was not shared in the slightest degree by 
 any at the mission - house. On Friday the 7th inst. 
 another war steamer came up the river, having on board 
 Governor Beecroft of Fernando Po, how also Her Majesty's 
 Consul for this part of the world. Several meetings were 
 held at King Archibong's, at which were present the 
 supercargoes of the ships in the river, the Duke Town 
 gentlemen, and representatives from the plantations. Our 
 presence not being specially required at the meetings, Mr. 
 Goldie and I were not present at the settlement of the affair. 
 An arrangement was come to last Saturday, when seven 
 articles of agreement, or treaty, were signed by Duke 
 Town gentlemen and about twenty of the plantation 
 representatives. 
 
 Article 1st provides — That the ancient Egbo law of 
 the country is to be respected and adhered to. 
 
 Article 2nd — That no more bodies of armed men are 
 to come into Duke Town. 
 
 Article 3rd — That no slave who has a master alive 
 shall chop blood with other slaves without his master's 
 consent. 
 
 Article 4th — That should any slave belonging to any
 
 252 OlDv Calabar Period 
 
 pris. hi 111 town run away to the plantation, he is to be 
 given up when demanded. 
 
 Article 5th— That any combination among slaves for 
 Interfering with the correction of any domestic servant by 
 his or her master is to be considered illegal. 
 
 Article 6th — That the law (made a year ago) for the 
 abolition of human sacrifices be confirmed, and that the 
 said law is not to be interpreted so as to interfere with the 
 criminal law of the country. 
 
 Article 7th — That should any article of the present 
 treaty, or the law for abolishing human sacrifices, be in- 
 fringed, the injured party is to apply for redress to Her 
 Majesty's Consul through any British resident on the spot. 
 
 It will be seen from the above sketch of the agree- 
 ment come to, that the plantation slaves are treated as 
 nic/i, not as chattels, nor even as outlaws, but as men 
 firming an important portion of the inhabitants of the 
 country. 
 
 .Mr. Goldie, after giving a full account of the whole 
 proceedings, writes as follows regarding the importance of 
 the above treaty : — 
 
 That the plantation people have asserted their inde- 
 pendence is so far good ; but they are themselves, many of 
 them, extensive slave-holders, so that we cannot rejoice 
 over the establishment of a free community. Still, it is a 
 step in advance, and it is with truth the chiefs attribute 
 these commotions to the measures forced on them by the 
 whites. Thus it is that the measures taken by our Govern- 
 ment for the suppression of the slave-trade are the first 
 step towards the abolition of slavery in Africa itself; and 
 the gospel in those spots, few and far between, where it 
 has been introduced, by rebuking the horrid cruelties by 
 which the accursed system was applied, has rendered it 
 now much more difficult of maintenance. Oh, may a 
 spiritual emancipation, as well as a temporal freedom, 
 bless this wretched land ! 
 
 Mr. Anderson wrote on 1st November, but the Hudders-
 
 Women "Profaning" the Palaver-House 253 
 
 field, which carried his letter, was never heard of. In a 
 letter dated 15th May 1851, he says: — 
 
 During the rains which fell in the last week of Sep- 
 tember, our palaver-house, which had for some time given 
 marked symptoms of decay, broke down altogether. On 
 Sabbath, September 29th, we met in the town palaver- 
 house. For the first time its precincts were on that day 
 profaned by the feet of womankind. When Mr. Goldie 
 and I, with the boys, entered it, the schoolgirls shrank 
 back in alarm. They were afraid to enter, till King 
 Archibong sent a messenger to assure them that they 
 should not be killed for going into the sanctorum with us 
 to pray to God. We met for a number of Sabbaths in 
 that edifice ; but we found that it did not answer well 
 to look on it as our chapel. Women would not enter it if 
 not compelled to do so ; and, besides, it was so frequently 
 taken up even on Sabbaths by the celebration of Egbo 
 ceremonies, that we never knew when we would have the use 
 of it, or when it was preoccupied, till the hour of public 
 worship arrived. Our meetings now are held in the 
 yards of the different gentlemen. They will not all meet 
 together. We have excellent meetings in Archibong's 
 yard ; but the old gentlemen of the town, such as Mr. 
 Young and his party, will not attend any meeting there. 1 
 They consider it beneath their dignity to go to the 
 yard of any younger man for the trifling purpose of hear- 
 ing the word of the living God. 
 
 A chapel of our own would be an immense acquisition 
 to us. It would form, if placed on a neutral site, a place 
 where all might assemble without any dereliction of 
 dignity. I feel convinced that our operations here will be 
 considerably crippled till we obtain a suitable place of 
 worship. Creek Town has obtained a church, and our 
 necessities are as great, if not greater, than those of Creek 
 Town. Besides the native population, there are generally 
 between 200 and 300 of our countrymen on board of the 
 vessels in the river. Surely some, yea many, of these 
 would attend the services of the sanctuary in this foreign 
 land, had we a place of meeting worth the name. I have 
 
 1 Record, Oct. 1851.
 
 254 ()l -" Calabar Period 
 
 seen from time to time in the Record several small contri- 
 butions "for a church at Duke Town." It would cheer 
 our hearts, and, I doubt not, add to our usefulness, were 
 these contributions to be multiplied a hundredfold. 
 
 For some time some of the more advanced scholars 
 pressed me to draw out an anti-idolatry pledge, in imita- 
 tion of the teetotal, which they might sign. On Sabbath, 
 October 13th, I drew out a pledge of the kind. It was signed 
 by three individuals — two boys and one girl. The pledge 
 bound its subscribers thenceforth to abandon the "making 
 prayers" to any image whatever. I sent you the pledge 
 with its signatures per the Huddersficld, but fear that 
 vessel is lost. On Monday the 14th — can you credit it? — 
 the whole town was in a ferment. A meeting of chiefs 
 was held. The two boys were summoned before them — 
 were condemned — ordered to erase their names im- 
 mediately — and were fined a thousand coppers and a goat 
 each. The girl, being with us in the house, was freed 
 from annoyance, but she was a good deal frightened. In 
 the evening and next morning I went to the different 
 gentlemen in their houses, defended the boys to the best 
 of my power, and tried to show them the sin, folly, and 
 danger of fighting against God. My belief is that, up till 
 that time, the authorities here had never realised the idea 
 of any change in their religion — or rather, any departure 
 from their superstitions ; that while they had, perhaps out 
 of compliment to white men and to England, permitted 
 and attended divine worship on the Lord's day, the)* have 
 either imagined us to be wholly indifferent as to the re- 
 ception of the truths we teach, or that all we could say 
 would never produce any impression on the minds of the 
 people. I have no doubt now that the persecution of the 
 boys has been rather to the furtherance than the hindrance 
 of our cause. Before that affair I was not aware that the 
 young people of Calabar are compelled to pray or sacrifice 
 daily to their household or country gods. 
 
 We have had several severe tornadoes, accompanied as 
 usual by heavy thunder. The severest we have ever seen 
 occurred last Friday. It came on very suddenly, and 
 carried all before it. The Jane we saw sweeping down 
 the river before the tempest, dragging her anchor. One
 
 Visit to Scotland in 185 i 255 
 
 of the beautiful trees in our yard was much damaged, 
 being deprived of three of its branches. A large, beautiful 
 tree at the end of Adam Duke's palaver-house — it was an 
 ornament to the town — was torn up by the roots. Not- 
 withstanding its exposure, the mission-house weathered 
 the blast. Within the last few weeks several of the ships 
 have been struck and injured by the lightning. One 
 Kruman was killed by it on board one of the vessels. 
 Alligators, or perhaps, to speak more correctly, the croco- 
 diles of the river, have been very daring of late. Scarcely 
 a week passes in which some person is not seized on the 
 beach by them. On Saturday last one of my schoolboys — 
 and a most promising boy he was — was seized by one of 
 the monsters, as he and several other boys were amusing 
 themselves in the water, and was never seen again. 
 
 Mr. Anderson was compelled most reluctantly to come 
 to this country in order to place himself in the hands of a 
 dentist. His teeth gave way, and the consequence was 
 that he was unable to speak so as to be understood by the 
 people. In these circumstances, and while hesitating 
 what to do, Captain Calvert, of the Victoria, kindly and 
 generously offered to take him and Mrs. Anderson home 
 to England and back again free of expense. Messrs. 
 Waddell and Goldie approved of his going, and ac- 
 cordingly they left Duke Town on 15th May, and reached 
 Liverpool near the middle of August. They were accom- 
 panied by the Calabar girl — who signed the anti-idolatry 
 pledge — called Sarah Eshan or Anderson, twelve years of 
 age, who was able to read the Bible very fluently ; and by 
 a fine little Calabar boy about two years old. This child 
 they saved from destruction. His mother, a favourite 
 slave of Henry Cobham, being very unwell, was sent to 
 the mission-house to see if anything could be done for her 
 recovery. There she died when the child was only a few 
 months old ; and when the child was sent for they refused
 
 256 Old Calabar Period 
 
 to give him up, as it was understood that the intention 
 was to bury him along with the mother. At Calabar, 
 when the mother dies while the child is upon the breast, 
 both are put into the same grave; as there is none that 
 will take the trouble of nursing the child. This little boy 
 was thus rescued from death, and Mr. Anderson got 
 from Henry Cobham a paper ensuring his freedom. 1 These 
 children were objects of great interest during the short 
 time Mr. and Mrs. Anderson remained at home. They 
 sailed again with Captain Calvert on 14th Oct., 1 85 1, for 
 Old Calabar. 
 
 1 Record, Oct. 185 1.
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 Return to Calabar — Death of King Archibong I. — 1852 
 
 Mr. Anderson's return to Calabar was timely, for the 
 death of the young King Archibong gave rise to great 
 excitement, and murders were caused by the use of the 
 poison bean. Messrs. Goldie and Anderson unitedly did 
 their best to restore order and prevent the murders. 
 Writing on Feb. 12th, Mr. Anderson says: 1 — 
 
 After a very tedious voyage of nearly three months, 
 we arrived here in safety on Friday, January 9th, 1852, the 
 anniversary of my arrival in Jamaica twelve years before. 
 Mrs. A. was very unwell during the first part of the voyage, 
 but got quite well ere it terminated. The two Calabarese 
 stood the voyage well. Poor little Andrew had so fat- 
 forgot former scenes, that when, in the neighbourhood of 
 Cape Palmas, our Krumen came on board, he was quite 
 frightened by the sight of black men. On arrival here, 
 we found all our brethren and sisters in the Mission well, 
 with the exception of Mrs. Edgerley. She sank very low 
 indeed, but is now recovering. We found the good work 
 progressing. I found two new books in the Calabar 
 tongue in circulation among the young — a small hymn- 
 book by Mr. Goldie ; and a translation of the ten chapters 
 of Genesis which contain the history of Joseph, by Mr. 
 Waddell. We found that death had been at work during 
 our absence among our neighbours both in the river and 
 in the town. We had to mourn the death of Captain 
 Cookson of the Tapley, a very excellent young man. 
 He was mate in the ship in which we came hither in 
 1848-9; and, during the night-watches, he and I had then 
 
 1 Record, August 1852. 
 17
 
 258 Old Calabar Period 
 
 many pleasant and profitable conversations. He had an 
 
 excellent education, and what was better, he had the fear 
 of God before his eyes. He was a warm friend to the 
 Mission. We were sorry to find that another friend, a 
 native trader, by name Ironbar, had gone the way of all the 
 earth. He was a most useful man. He was by birth a 
 slave, and as such was excluded from Egbo privileges, 
 but, notwithstanding this, he was, next to King Archibong 
 himself, the most influential man in Duke Town. Indeed, 
 he was Archibong's right-hand man. He was, as far as a 
 heathen can be, an Jwnest man. In the affair between the 
 town gentlemen and the plantation people, a twelvemonth 
 i, it was chiefly owing to his mediation that matters were 
 amicably arranged. I cannot help wishing that we had 
 him among us now. On arriving here, we were very 
 kindly received by King Archibong and all the gentlemen 
 of the town. He seemed delighted to see the two children 
 safely back. On two Sabbath mornings at our meetings in 
 his yard for divine service, he took special notice of 
 Andrew, and said to all around him, both in Calabar and 
 English, " Suppose it no be them white people, that boy 
 dead Ion"' time for true." 
 
 ';=> 
 
 The following account by Mr. Anderson of the events 
 that took place after the death of King Archibong in- 
 cludes two extracts from a letter of Mr. Goldie:— 
 
 Passing other matters, I shall come to the principal 
 event which we have at present to record, namely, the 
 death of King Archibong. He was very unwell a year 
 ago, and I believe never fully recovered. When we arrived 
 last month, he seemed pretty well, and in good spirits. 
 On the evening of January 31st, when Mr. Goldie and I 
 took our usual round to announce the approach of 
 Sabbath, we found him very ill. He had had fever for three 
 or four days. He said that he could not be at the meeting 
 on the morrow, but that we must come down and hold it 
 as usual. When we saw him the next morning (Sabbath), 
 he was evidently worse. We then began to apprehend 
 danger. His mother had arrived from the plantation, and 
 was beside him. Her name is Obuma, but she is
 
 Sacrifices after Death of Archibong I. 259 
 
 frequently styled by the white people Mrs. Archibong. 
 She is wholly devoted to the superstitions of her country. 
 Idiong, or the carcases of sacrificed animals, were to be 
 seen in all quarters. The atmosphere was quite polluted 
 with their pestilential effluvia. Here was a goat's head, 
 there one of its legs, yonder another of them ; while 
 within two yards of his sickbed was a putrefying fowl 
 tied (probably while it was alive) to a stick. Mr. Goldie 
 on that morning, as at our subsequent visits, spoke to him 
 of the Saviour, and prayed with him and for him in the 
 Calabar tongue. On the Monday, when Mr. Goldie was 
 speaking to him of the folly of idiong y and urging him to 
 commit himself to Christ, he called on one of the gentle- 
 men, and, repeating what Mr. Goldie had just said about 
 their own foolish confidences, he declared most seriously 
 that they were " Ikemke," i.e. unfit to benefit, worthless. 
 We called on the Tuesday, and found him sinking. 
 About noon on Wednesday he died. 
 
 A work of slaughter forthwith commenced. His 
 mother, Obuma, took four of the family connections — one 
 man and three women — to Mr. Young, and charged them 
 with having killed her son by means of ifot, otherwise 
 called freemason ; in Jamaica it is called obeali ; ivitchcraft 
 is, I suppose, the nearest approach we can make to the 
 meaning of the word in English. They were subjected to 
 the ordeal of the poison bean, and all died. Mr. Goldie 
 and I having got a hint about the ordeal, took the round 
 of the town to see how matters were looking. Mr. Younsf 
 looked as innocent as an infant, and protested so strongly 
 that no ese're had been administered, that for my part I 
 thought he was speaking the truth. We are certain now, 
 however, that he was deceiving us. On the same night the 
 king's mother caused several of the wives to take esere. 
 The greater part of those who took the poison died under 
 its influence. It is reported that Mrs. Archibong broke the 
 Egbo law two years ago, by killing several slaves ; but 
 there are so many conflicting statements that we hardly 
 know what to believe and what to disbelieve. If she has 
 broken said law, I feel convinced that she has some 
 powerful enemies among the Egbo gentlemen, who would 
 rejoice to see her brought down, and that if they can con-
 
 260 Old Calabar Period 
 
 vict her of the crime laid to her charge by common 
 report, she will not escape Egbos vengeance. 
 
 On the day after Archibong's death, large bodies of 
 armed men began to pour in from the plantations. They 
 came with the avowed purpose of ascertaining who had 
 killed Archibong. We have since learned that they came 
 into the town on the invitation of the king's mother, who, 
 it appears, offered them great rewards, provided they 
 would procure the destruction of the Young family by 
 denouncing its members as the murderers of Archibong 
 by having freemasoned him, and by demanding that their 
 guilt or innocence be manifested by their submitting to 
 the ordeal of the nut. On the Friday a large meeting- 
 was held in the marketplace. All the gentlemen of the 
 town were present with their retainers — there must have 
 been from iooo to 1200 armed men from the plantations, 
 and there were 200 or 300 spectators, chiefly women. 
 There could not be fewer than 1500 on the ground, pro- 
 bably a good many more. It was one of the most sorrow- 
 inspiring spectacles I have ever seen. The professed 
 purpose of the assemblage was to ascertain who had killed 
 the king. Mr. Goldie and I went down twice to see what 
 was going on. We could do nothing more than speak a 
 few words to the gentlemen, and protest against more 
 killing. We could not arrest the progress of events, but 
 we felt it our duty to watch, and to show that we were 
 watching, the proceedings of the day. We stopped both 
 times as long as the scorching sun would allow us. We 
 saw four poor women eat the fatal nut. Three of them 
 seemed very indifferent about the matter. W 7 hile chewing 
 the poison, they were laughing and talking to those 
 around them. The fourth — she was quite young — seemed 
 very thoughtful. It would have afforded us no pleasure 
 to see the approach of death's agonies — our hearts had a 
 sufficient load to bear without that addition. We with- 
 drew from the scene. It was not long ere we were 
 informed that two of the victims were dead. The other 
 two rejected the poison. 
 
 Seeing on Saturday that Duke Town was in a state ot 
 anarchy— the king dead — the premier fled — and no ac- 
 knowledged head in the place, Mr. Goldie and I wrote to
 
 Eyo II. Restores Order 261 
 
 King Eyo requesting him to interpose, and if possible, 
 prevent the further destruction of life. He wrote us, in 
 reply, that Duke Town people had not informed him of 
 what was going on, but that he would send his brother, 
 John Eyo, to stop any more chopping nut, and to make 
 the plantation people go away. On the following day, Sab- 
 bath, John Eyo came down with the Creek Town insignia 
 of official Egbo authority ; and " Egbo " himself came 
 down from Old Town. But neither the ordinary mortal, 
 nor the mysterious personage from the dusk, could quell or 
 control the tumult. Both returned to their homes in the 
 afternoon. 
 
 On Monday, King Eyo himself came down, and to our 
 great joy succeeded in restoring order. On the Saturday 
 when we wrote to him, we wrote also to Mr. Waddell and 
 to Mr. Edgerley, proposing that they should join us here 
 on the Monday morning in a special meeting for prayer 
 on behalf of poor distracted Duke Town. They reached 
 this place at nearly the same time with King Eyo. After 
 he had taken his chair in the marketplace, all four of us 
 went down to pay our respects to him, and Mr. Goldie 
 and I thanked him for his attention to our request. 
 We intimated that if he needed us in any way, we were at 
 his service. We then left him to transact his business, and 
 we came up to hold our meeting. I believe we helped 
 him better by our prayers on his behalf, and on behalf of 
 the country, than we could have done otherwise. After 
 meeting, Mr. Waddell and I went down to see what was 
 going on, and we found that King Eyo had managed the 
 business of restoring peace and order, at least for the time 
 being, that all parties were about to chop doctor — take 
 oath — that there was to be no more nut chopping, and that 
 the plantation people were to go to their homes. King 
 Eyo must have performed his part of the business with 
 great skill and prudence. Had he not done so, his 
 presence in Duke Town would have increased rather than 
 hushed the storm. Duke Town is again without a head, 
 and I suppose that for a season every man will just do 
 what is right in his own eyes. I earnestly wish, and have 
 some small expectation, that the occurrences mentioned 
 above will lead to the total abolition of the ordeal of the
 
 262 Old Calabar Period 
 
 poison nut. I have no doubt that many thousands of 
 lives have been destroyed by it in this country. This is 
 probably the first time that the headmen have them- 
 selves been required to make trial of it. If they be wise, 
 it will be the last. The question has perhaps occurred to 
 you, seeing that women are so much undervalued in Old 
 Calabar, how has that old lady, Obuma, so much 
 influence? There are some excellent remarks on the chief 
 points involved in the question in Kitto's Daily Bible 
 Illustrations, forty-fourth week, fifth day — article, " The 
 Queen." Here, as in the lands of the Bible, the king's 
 wines may be, and are, of little importance in the 
 country, while his mother occupies a very high place. It 
 is perhaps worthy of remark at present, that what we call 
 murder by the poison nut is not considered to be such in 
 this country. To administer it here is quite legal, so that 
 no proceedings can be instituted against those who have 
 at this time employed it. In so doing, they broke no 
 Egbo law. I trust that an Egbo law will soon be passed 
 prohibiting its use in all time coming. 
 
 We are again turned adrift as to our Sabbath-day 
 meetings in Duke Town. We feel now, more than ever, 
 the necessity of our having a place of meeting of our own, 
 unconnected with any party or family in the country. 
 
 Various reports are in circulation respecting the 
 numbers who have been destroyed by the esere. It is 
 impossible to ascertain the truth on such a point. From 
 what I have learned, I should suppose the number of 
 victims to have been between twenty and twenty-five. 
 
 In a later letter, dated April 21st, Mr. Anderson stated 
 that order had been restored, and that Duke Ephraim 
 had been elected king. 
 
 Mr. Waddell had to leave Calabar on account of his 
 health in August, and Mr. Goldie took his place at Creek 
 Town, while Mr. Anderson remained at Duke Town. In 
 a letter dated Aug. 9th, 1852, Mr. Anderson gives an 
 account of the state of matters at that station :— 
 
 Matters have been going on in pretty much the same
 
 Strife among the Plantation Slaves 263 
 
 way as when I last wrote you. Our Sabbath meetings 
 have been rather falling off than improving. School has 
 been attended pretty regularly by between forty and fifty 
 children, many of whom are getting on as satisfactorily as 
 can be expected. 
 
 I resume school to-day, after a fortnight's vacation. I 
 have been very busy for some time revising for the press 
 a translation of John's Gospel into Efik. Friends in 
 Dalkeith kindly engaged to defray the expense of printing 
 the translation, and Mr. Waddeil takes it home to commit 
 it to their care. 
 
 I think you have already received intimation of a 
 deadly strife which has been going on for some time in 
 the plantations. It originated shortly after King Archi- 
 bong's death, in the first instance, I believe, about the 
 division of the coppers paid by Archibong's mother to the 
 plantation people for their services in coming into the 
 town armed, and demanding that chop nut be administered 
 to several parties whom she wished out of the way. A 
 scuffle took place at the division of the coppers, and one 
 man was killed in the affray. This party demanded 
 satisfaction from the other party — i.e. that a person of 
 equal standing be delivered to them to be put to death. 
 This was refused. For some months lives were lost daily, 
 sometimes on one side, sometimes on the other, and 
 sometimes on both. I should have mentioned above that 
 the slaves, that is, those who were the slaves of the late 
 Henshaw Duke, headed by my very peaceable-looking 
 friend, George Duke, Esq., and those who were the slaves of 
 the late John Duke, headed by one Efiong, whose acquaint- 
 ance I had the honour of making the other day, form two very 
 powerful and mutually jealous parties on the plantations. 
 These were the belligerent powers. The war, as it is 
 called, did not interfere much with the affairs of the town, 
 further than this, that it raised the price of provisions 
 considerably. You will be glad to learn that peace has 
 now been proclaimed. Mr. Goldie and I ofttimes urged the 
 Duke Town gentlemen to interfere and stop the strife. 
 They always expressed their anxiety to do so, and really 
 made some attempts at mediation, but failed. By the end 
 of last month, the warriors being quite wearied of their
 
 264 ( >ld Calabar Period 
 
 inglorious contention, agreed to a truce. I was glad one 
 day at the end of July,' to receive from the redoubtable 
 chieftain of the Henshaw Duke division the following 
 note, in reply, I suppose, to a letter I had written him a 
 month before, entreating him to lay aside the gun, and 
 resume the book and the pen. The note, as well as many 
 I have had from him formerly, shows that he can wield 
 the pen : — 
 
 Dear Friend Mr. Anderson, — I let you know now I bring them 
 palaver for town, and it will be settled. No more war live for plan- 
 tations. 1 done. T want all man to hear what them slave been do 
 we first. George Duke, Esq. 
 
 July 28///, 1852. 
 
 It is but due to my friend G. D. to say that the father 
 of one of his wives was one of the first slain by the other 
 party, and as the lex ta lion is is in full vigour here, George was 
 thus constrained to assume the war cap and the musket. 
 
 After a good deal of negotiation, all parties met in the 
 marketplace here on Friday last, the Duke Town gentle- 
 men as mediators ; the chiefs of the war parties and their 
 respective armies mustering, I should suppose from the 
 appearance of the host from our verandah, from three 
 thousand to four thousand armed men. The meeting was 
 held from 1 1 A.M. till after 5 P.M., at which hour all 
 parties chopped doctor (took oath) that they would fight 
 no more. On Saturday morning, Jemmy Henshaw 
 brought Efiong, the chief of the John Duke party, to 
 the mission-house. He was attended by a bodyguard of 
 upwards of sixty armed men. We gave him some food, 
 for which he seemed to have considerable relish, made 
 him a small present, and I proposed to visit him in the 
 plantation, and speak God's word to him and all his 
 
 •pie. He said it was too far for me to go. I assured 
 him that distance would not hinder me. He did not then 
 appear to like the idea of my visiting him ; but I saw him 
 in town in the evening, when he appeared quite glad at the 
 prospect of a white man going to see him. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Goldie left us on Friday for Creek Town, 
 so that we are again alone. Mr. Goldie and I have held 
 seven meetings between us for some time, including the
 
 The Needs of Duke Town 265 
 
 Sabbath school. I feel grieved at the thought of giving 
 up any of the meetings ; but, after conducting four in the 
 town yesterday morning, I felt that I had not strength of 
 either body or mind for a fifth, which should have been 
 held at Henshaw Town. We have Sabbath school at 
 3 P.M. and English service at 4 P.M. I find that to hold 
 six or seven meetings on Sabbath, and teach school on 
 the other six days of the week, is too much for one 
 individual. Neither the one class of duties nor the other 
 can be satisfactorily performed. There ought to be some 
 of the Academy students of Jamaica nearly ready for 
 service here by this time. I earnestly wish we had one. 
 Here is a splendid field for him. 
 
 Duke Town requires the full labours of both a 
 missionary and a well - trained schoolmaster, as much 
 as, perhaps more than, Creek Town. On the score 
 of health I do not see that anyone need be afraid to 
 come to our aid direct from Scotland. Haddison does 
 pretty well in school when under the eye and backed by 
 the influence of a superior. But the bigger boys will not 
 be ruled by him, and his literary attainments are very 
 limited. I state as my solemn, deep-grounded conviction, 
 that additional aid is essential to the prosperity of this 
 station. 
 
 Since Archibong's death, matters have not been in a 
 good state in the town. One could scarcely have sup- 
 posed that the death of one man, such as he, would have 
 changed the whole aspect of affairs in Duke Town. His 
 successor, King Duke, is little regarded by either blacks 
 or whites. I believe Archibong's devil-making, or last 
 funeral obsequies, will be observed during the ensuing 
 period of full moon. I trust that affairs will become more 
 settled then.
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 Mr. Anderson's First Severe Illness 
 
 THE dry season, or "smokes," of December 1852 to Feb- 
 ruary 1853 was one of the periodically specially unhealthy 
 seasons which seem to occur every seven or eight years 
 with fatal effects. Mr. Goldie, writing on 14th December, 
 said : — 
 
 This seems to be the year of the visit of the periodical 
 sickness, which occasionally cuts off many in the river, 
 and gives to the climate its bad name. Almost all the 
 Europeans in the river are sick. With one exception, the 
 crews of all the ships are almost entirely laid down by 
 sickness. I trust there will not be a mortality as there 
 was in the year previous to the establishment of the 
 Mission, but the greater part of the smoke season is yet 
 to be passed through. I earnestly hope that no breaches 
 will be made in our Mission band. 
 
 It was during this unhealthy season that Mr. Ander- 
 son's first great illness took place. The following "touch- 
 ing and instructive letter," as it was called in the Record, 
 dated 17th January 1853, gives particulars of his illness 
 and recovery, of a visit to Creek Town, and resumption of 
 work at Duke Town : — 
 
 When I was at Old Town a few days ago, I requested 
 Mr. Kdgerley, who was then writing to you, to state to 
 you that I was keeping better, but felt unequal to the task 
 of writing. As I see the Petrel still reposing at the foot 
 
 266
 
 First Severe Illness 267 
 
 of our hill, however, and as I feel strength fast returning, 
 I embrace the opportunity of sending you a few lines. 1 
 
 By last opportunity (in December), the brethren, Messrs. 
 Goldie and Edgerley, informed you that I was then con- 
 fined to the bed of affliction. I have been sick indeed, 
 nigh unto death. For several days I lay expecting every 
 hour, and frequently expecting every minute, to be the 
 last. God has dealt very graciously during my past 
 pilgrimage in regard to bodily health. My late illness 
 has been the first serious sickness which I have been 
 called on to endure since January 1823, exactly thirty 
 years ago, when I was left a little orphan boy. 
 
 Perhaps a few particulars respecting my sickness, 
 though from my own pen, may not be unacceptable to 
 you. I was exceedingly worn out by the services of 
 Sabbath, December 5th. While preaching on board the 
 Tapley, about 1 1 o'clock A.M. of that day — it was my 
 fourth sermon that forenoon — my voice failed me for a 
 little, and I felt for a short time as if all my mental 
 powers were going away. The surgeon of the vessel 
 ordered a boy to hand me a glass of water, which some- 
 what refreshed me, and I was able to conclude as usual. 
 At the remaining meetings of the day I spoke very 
 shortly. During the week I did not feel altogether well, 
 and took a little medicine; but I was able to be in school 
 as usual both A.M. and P.M., and on the afternoon of the 
 Saturday, December 11, took my usual rounds through 
 the town to announce the Sabbath. In the evening I felt 
 quite delighted at being much better prepared than usual 
 for the approaching Sabbath. I felt all ready for two 
 services in English (one on board ship), and four or five 
 in Efik, as opportunity might be presented. Shortly after 
 eight o'clock I went to bed. No sooner had I laid myself 
 down than I was seized with a cold shivering ; hot fever 
 soon followed, and, with the exception of a few hours' 
 respite on the following Saturday, December 18, it raged 
 and boiled till the morning of Wednesday, December 22 — 
 that is, for upwards of ten days.   During a considerable 
 portion of that time I was insensible. For some days all 
 my consciousness of life consisted in my perception of a 
 
 1 Record, May 1853.
 
 268 Old Calabar Period 
 
 dim light when I opened my eyes, and in feeling a throb 
 at the heart. That throb sometimes became a feeble 
 flutter, and, as already stated, I frequently felt as if the 
 last beat were near. After being confined to bed for two 
 full weeks, it was pleasant to be able once more to set 
 foot on the floor. I was not allowed to set foot on " the 
 green sward " till Xew Year's Day, and then — 
 
 " How sweet the first breath of the breeze 
 Around my temples played ! : ' 
 
 A few days after I began to move about a little, I 
 happened to look into a mirror. At the first glance I was 
 almost paralysed — I looked so corpse-like. My head had 
 been completely shaved, my eyes seemed so sunk, my 
 cheeks so thin, and the whole countenance so changed 
 and pallid, that I could not help ejaculating, "Well, I 
 have seen less deathlike faces in coffins." 
 
 I have great reason to bless God for the affliction — for 
 support under it — for deliverance from it. 
 
 I have just been thinking that I resemble a child, 
 whom his indulgent father permits to have much of his 
 own will and way for a long period, till he becomes so 
 wayward that his kind parent is reluctantly compelled to 
 inflict on him some severe chastisement. God has given 
 me a long period of bodily health, but, having seen some 
 "need be" for the dispensation, lie brought me down 
 almost to the dust of death. Oh, it is comforting to an 
 afflicted one to reflect that his 1 ieavenly Father is treat- 
 ing him as a son, and not as a bastard ! 
 
 I need not say that all the brethren here — Messrs. 
 Goldie, Edgerley, and Thomson — showed the utmost kind- 
 ness to Mrs. A. and myself during the season of our affliction. 
 I know that each of them has watched by me during the 
 whole night, that Mrs. A. might get a little repose ; but I 
 do not know how many nights one or other of them 
 watched beside me. Dr. Hutchinson was most inde- 
 fatigable in his attentions, coming as cheerfully when sent 
 tor at midnight, as was the case once or twice, as at mid- 
 da}-. We are also much indebted to Dr. Morgan, who 
 was residing with us during the first week of my sickness. 
 1 le spent about four weeks with us, during which time he
 
 A Visit to Creek Town 269 
 
 had a severe attack of yellow fever, which brought him to 
 the brink of the grave. All the captains in the river were 
 exceedingly kind and attentive. We had almost daily 
 visits, and kind inquiries from all. The Lord repay 
 captains, surgeons, and brethren for all the kindness they 
 have shown to us in our dark and gloomy day- — we can- 
 not. Mr. Thomson kindly conducted the meetings at 
 Duke Town two of the Sabbaths on which I was " off 
 duty" — or rather, on a very different kind of duty from 
 that' of preaching ; and Mr. Haddison, my assistant in 
 school, conducted them on the other three Sabbaths. I 
 am glad to learn that there was no falling off in the 
 attendance. 
 
 On Thursday, the 6th inst., Mrs. A and I went up to 
 Creek Town to spend a few days. Captain Baak, a 
 Dutch gentleman, kindly placed his boat at our disposal, 
 so that we might have it whenever and wherever we 
 wanted it. On the Sabbath I attended the meetings held 
 in King Eyo's yard and Young Eyo's house. Was much 
 delighted by seeing so many people at both. Spoke a 
 few words in Young Eyo's, as a man brought back from 
 the brink of the grave and the very gates of the eternal 
 world, to assure all who heard me that nothing is of any 
 avail to a man when he comes to die, except the word of 
 God and an interest in the Saviour of sinners. Young 
 Eyo interpreted fully and faithfully, and enlarged on 
 some points which I did not touch at all. One such 
 point was, the folly of people when any big man dies, as 
 if the murdered persons could do any good to a dead 
 gentleman in another world. Was much delighted with 
 an extemporary prayer offered by Young Eyo at the 
 commencement of the meeting. It was in Efik, and the 
 assemblage repeated it after him. I could not help feeling 
 that the spirit of grace and of supplication was at work in 
 that young man's heart. Was much pleased to see the 
 deep interest shown by King Eyo and others in Mr. 
 Goldie's discourse. Mr. G. preaches to them in Efik. It 
 was also pleasant to see that whenever Mr. G. announced 
 the hymn to be sung, King Eyo got on his spectacles 
 and sought out the hymn, just as I have seen some 
 worthy elders in Jamaica do. He seemed to find it
 
 270 Old Calabar Period 
 
 pretty readily, and I understand that he also sings as 
 well as he is able. He also stands up reverentially 
 during prayer. In the evening we observed the ordinance 
 of the Lord's Supper. Mrs. Edgerley's illness prevented 
 .Mr. E. from being with us. Mr. G. both preached and 
 dispensed, and afterwards Mr. Thomson addressed the 
 large number of young people present in their own tongue, 
 explaining to them what we meant by this service. Some 
 of the Duke Town gentlemen say that Mr. T. knows their 
 language better than they do themselves. 
 
 On Thursday evening we returned to Duke Town. I 
 felt much strengthened and refreshed in spirit by the 
 change. Mrs. A. also felt much benefited thereby. She 
 was very much worn out. She had a good deal of extra 
 labour, first by Captain Rieken's sickness, then by Dr. 
 Morgan's, and then by mine. She is now quite revived. 
 We have great reason to sing of the mercies of the 
 Lord. 
 
 Since I last wrote you, school has been pretty well 
 attended. Mr. Haddison has had it under his exclusive 
 management since I became sick. I scarcely expect to 
 be able for its duties for some weeks to come. 
 
 After five silent, or all but silent, Sabbaths, I felt 
 anxious to do a little yesterday and attended two 
 meetings — those at Henry Cobham's, and in the palaver- 
 house. Mr. Haddison conducted the devotional exercises, 
 and I read a Calabar discourse (which occupied just about 
 half an hour) at each. My hour's work fatigued me 
 exceedingly. Felt drowsy and giddy all day afterwards, 
 and quite unable to go over to school to say a (e\v words 
 in English at four o'clock, as I had purposed to do. 
 
 For a considerable time after Archibong's devil-making 
 was over, I had the utmost difficulty in getting any of the 
 gentlemen to attend the palaver-house meetings. I could 
 not conjecture what was the matter, till I received the 
 following letter. I interline a few words to make it 
 intelligible: — 
 
 Dear Friend Mr. Anderson, -I am let you know how all 
 
 (bar gentlemen. The(y) send this word to you, and let you know 
 
 what the all Calabar gentlemen been stop all time of God day,
 
 Reply to Request for "Dashes" 271 
 
 because (they are) vex(ed) with you. What the Creek Town God 
 man {i.e. missionary) make any Creek Town gentleman have good 
 dress for any God day, then that make we say, suppose you give we 
 fine dress, then we be glad to come for palaver-house of God day ; 
 then we say, if you cannot doing so, we done palaver of God ; then 
 Ciod no (say) we been do bad thing to Him, because we like very 
 good of God ; then we thank you to do so for we ; then suppose we 
 have any dress of God day, (we) glad to God, — I am your friend, 
 
 John Archibong, Esq. 
 
 The substance of it is this — That if I give them all fine 
 dresses, as Mr. Waddell gave to Creek Town gentlemen, 
 then they would attend the meeting to hear God's word ; 
 but if I would not give them fine dresses, they would not 
 attend, but as they say, " We done palaver for God." 
 
 I wrote a long reply, contrasting the difference of the 
 reception given to God's word by Creek Town people and 
 Duke Town people, the number of children sent to school 
 in both towns, etc. etc. I stated that all the missionaries 
 who had been at Creek Town had been able to send 
 home " plenty good news " from Creek Town, such as the 
 stopping of Sabbath-day's market, etc. ; and that, when 
 friends at home read this good news they felt glad, and 
 some sent dashes to Creek Town gentlemen, but that very 
 little good news could be sent home about Duke Town 
 gentlemen. I promised that if they all attended meeting 
 to hear God's word — send plenty children to school — 
 abolished market on God's day, etc. — I should not fail to 
 report their good deeds to friends at home ; and should 
 anyone send them presents — dressing-gowns and caps 
 are what they chiefly wish — I should faithfully deliver 
 them. I reminded them, moreover, of the fine dresses 
 sent to Archibong and Mr. Young some years ago. I 
 also protested that a begging letter like theirs was not fit 
 for any gentleman to write. I could add to the professed 
 writer of the letter — the real writer was my friend George 
 Duke — John Archibong, Esq., now chief of the Archibong 
 family, that his late brother, King Archibong, though very 
 glad when he got any dash, never yet begged me for a 
 single thing. I cannot remember all particulars ; but the 
 result was, that on the following Sabbath, as almost on 
 every Sabbath since, the whole band of those represented
 
 2j2 ( )ld Calabar Period 
 
 in the letter have attended meeting on Sabbath. Indeed, 
 the palaver-house has frequently been quite filled. It is 
 but <.\uc to the late Captain Kieken to say that, from the 
 time of his arrival here, he took a deep interest in our 
 work. Being an old and much -esteemed trader, his 
 influence with the native gentlemen was very great. He 
 spoke very sharply to King Duke, Mr. Young, and others, 
 on account of their carelessness in regard to the word of 
 God. 
 
 Feeling wearied with the exertion of writing, I must 
 
 -lop. 
 
 In a letter dated 14th April 1853, referring to Mr. 
 Anderson's illness, the Rev. A. Elliot says:— 
 
 It appears from what you say that it has been a very 
 unhealthy season at Calabar. . . . At the same time, I 
 cannot but have a deep impression that you have been 
 overworking yourself, and consequently that you have 
 been somewhat instrumental in bringing upon yourself, 
 or at least rendering yourself more liable to, the fearful 
 disease which has nearly cost you your life. I am well 
 aware that the absence of Mr. Waddell, and the whole 
 care and labour of the station devolving upon you, would 
 render it very difficult not to task yourself above your 
 strength, and that with so man)' calls to labour you would 
 scarcely feel at liberty, or have it in your power, to spare 
 yourself. Still, you ought to have remembered that you 
 had not two lives, nor two men's strength, and that you 
 were required to act only according to what you had, and 
 not according to what you had not. I trust that among 
 other good things the fever will have taught you, this 
 will be one — to husband your energies — to be careful of 
 yourself, and not to be too ambitious of a martyr's grave. 
 We should be studious not only of living as much, but as 
 long to the Lord as we can ; and to consider life, as well 
 as everything else, as a talent committed to us, which we 
 are to occupy for the advancement of His glory, neither 
 uselessly hiding it, nor thoughtlessly and imprudently 
 spending it. . . .
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 Renewed Labours — Difficulties and Discouragements 
 
 Mr. Anderson's restoration to health was the signal for 
 renewed effort to meet the difficulties and discouragements 
 of the work. At the outset he was cheered by the arrival 
 of the first mail steamer. Extracts from his Journal carry 
 on the story of his work : — 
 
 Tuesday, February r. — This was the day for the meeting 
 of Committee at Old Town. As Mr. Thomson and I were 
 on our way thither from Creek Town, we met Captain 
 Baak going up the river, who thus agreeably saluted 
 us: "You have half an hour to write for England, — the 
 Forerunner is waiting." 
 
 "Any letters for us?" "Yes." On our turning the 
 corner at the bend of the river right opposite Old Town, 
 we saw the Forerunner lying at anchor. She is the first 
 of the mail packets which has visited this river. Though 
 anxious to get on board the steamer, yet, as the tide was 
 against us, and our rowers none of the strongest, we 
 judged it best to stop at Old Town, where Messrs. Goldie 
 and Edgerley were awaiting us. A few minutes after 
 arriving there, we were gladdened by the receipt of letters, 
 Records, and newspapers, brought to us by the mail. 
 We were thankful to learn that Mr. Waddell and his 
 fellow-voyagers had reached home in safety, and that the 
 voyage had so much improved his health. Came to Duke 
 Town in the evening, much benefited in health by the 
 change of air and scene. 
 
 Saturday, 12. --We had the first tornado for the 
 season between two and four o'clock this morning. All 
 18
 
 274 ( )lh Cal \r. \k Period 
 
 nature seems refreshed with the rain. There were 
 three deaths among the townspeople to-day. One of 
 them was that of Air. Young's chief wife. On visit- 
 ing him to-night, I asked him if he knew what was 
 meant by these words, "life and immortality brought 
 to light by the gospel." He rather prides himself on 
 his knowledge of English, but confessed that he did 
 not know the meaning of these words. He listened 
 very attentively while I endeavoured to explain them, 
 and to point out the different aspects in which death 
 presents itself to an idol worshipper and to a Christian 
 worshipper, to a believer and to an unbeliever. For 
 some weeks past Mr. Y. has read a good deal in the 
 Xew Testament, and he has generally some passage 
 marked, of which he asks the explanation. The last 
 knotty subject he fell in with was Peter's denial of the 
 Saviour. He could not understand that at all till it was 
 explained to him. 
 
 Tuesday, 15. — Was engaged the greater part of the 
 forenoon in interceding with the town gentlemen on behalf 
 of three men from Fernando Po, who have been detained 
 here as prisoners for about three weeks, because detected 
 aiding a slave to make his escape to Fernando Po in a 
 boat in which they were acting as seamen. The three men 
 are all originally from Princes Island, but now resident 
 in Fernando Po. The slave whom they endeavoured to 
 take away belongs to Princes Island. He was, I believe, 
 a fisherman, and one day, while either plying his vocation 
 or purposing to visit Fernando Po, he was drifted to the 
 neighbourhood of Tom Shotts' Point at the mouth of the 
 Old Calabar River, and there seized by some of Tom 
 Shotts' men, who sold him as a slave to one of the Duke 
 Town gentlemen. This was about two months ago. 
 About a month ago, a boat with yams came over from 
 Fernando Po ; one of the boatmen discovered in the new 
 arrival from Princes Island an old acquaintance. All the 
 three Princes men joined in the attempt to conceal their 
 countryman in the boat and carry him over to a land of 
 freedom. They were detected, and are detained here as 
 prisoners till they be ransomed by a payment of 15,000 
 coppers, 5000 for each man. I urged the town gentlemen
 
 Mr. Anderson as Intercessor 275 
 
 to remit the above-named fine or ransom, and to give the 
 prisoners liberty to return to their own homes by the first 
 opportunity. I stated that they had done nothing but 
 what every man should do ; that I was sure that every 
 white man in Old Calabar, or on board the ships, would 
 do the same thing a thousand times over if he had 
 opportunity ; that I had no doubt but that, were any of 
 themselves to go to a foreign country, and to find any of 
 their friends there, unjustly made slaves, they would try 
 to bring them home. I told them to reflect on what they 
 were doing, and to consider what would be the result 
 were anyone to write to the governor of Princes Island, 
 or to the commander of any Portuguese ship of war, 
 giving information that they were holding Portuguese 
 subjects as slaves. They would not comply with my 
 request, however. The Duke (Ephraim) got quite 
 angry, and said, " It was your ship (he meant the 
 Warree) begin that bad fashion to take we people to 
 Fernando Po." 
 
 I stated that I was not here when the occurrence he 
 referred to took place, and had nothing to do with it. 
 He expressed his determination not to let the men go 
 till the fine should be paid. 
 
 There is an agreement between the governor of 
 Fernando Po and the authorities here, by which it is 
 made an offence in anyone connected with Fernando Po 
 to aid in carrying away any slave from Old Calabar ; 
 but feeling assured that Governor Beecroft is not the man 
 who will allow the common feelings of humanity to be 
 trampled upon in his name by Calabar men, or any other 
 men, I have resolved to lay before his Excellency, per 
 first conveyance to Fernando Po, the true state of the 
 case, and to recommend the prisoners to his favourable 
 consideration. 
 
 Friday, February iS. — Second tornado this morning. 
 A very severe one, but so much the better for driving the 
 smokes away. Cold this morning, sitting in room with 
 doors and windows shut, thermometer down to 73. It 
 is very seldom below 76. Its common range is from 80 
 to 90, though I have seen it at 70, and I have seen it 
 at 98.
 
 276 Old Calabar Period 
 
 Sabbath, 20. — When in palaver-house this morning 
 about to begin public worship, several of Bassey Ofiong's 
 people came with a goat, and a fowl, and an egg, and a 
 small quantity of rum, to the sacred stone which lies at 
 the entrance of the palaver-house. Bassey had been 
 suddenly attacked by illness during the night, and I 
 suppose these were to propitiate the Idem which had 
 caused the illness. The animals were devoted on the 
 sacrificial stone by a long prayer to, I do not know whom 
 or what, but were not killed there, owing, I believe, to our 
 being in the palaver-house at the time. The egg was 
 broken, and part of the rum poured out on the stone, 
 the remainder being sent over the throat of the officiating 
 functionary, who appeared to consider that the most 
 satisfactory part of the ceremony. The goat and the 
 fowl were to be carried off, perchance to be killed at once 
 near the patient, but perchance to die a lingering death, 
 the fowl hung up by one foot, the goat lashed to a stake. 
 
 for a place of worship of our own, where there would 
 be no appearance of fellowship between the service of 
 God and things sacrificed to devils ! 
 
 Sabbath, 27. — Spoke to-day in palaver-house from 
 
 1 Cor. x. 19-22. The passage afforded ample opportunity, 
 which I endeavoured to embrace, of showing the worth- 
 lessness of Idems and Iboks, and all the other objects of 
 superstitious regard which abound here — the worthless- 
 ness and wickedness of giving things in sacrifice to idols 
 — the incompatibility of God's service with that of devils, 
 demons, or Egbo — the folly and clanger of fighting against 
 God. A goodly number of gentlemen and others were 
 present, and listened to what was said on these four 
 points with great attention. 
 
 Tuesday, March 1. — At Creek Town at monthly 
 meeting of Committee. On return home, learned that 
 on the death of a freeman about three weeks ago, in one 
 of the Efut villages not far from Henshaw Town, one 
 man and two women had been murdered. The headman 
 of another village was here to-day, and admitted the 
 murders, but stated that the village in question belonged 
 to Qua, and was not under Duke Town Egbo. This 
 statement I find to be correct. The Qua people have a
 
 Henshaw and Archibong Families at Strife 277 
 
 good many towns and villages scattered here and there 
 between the strip of land belonging to Old Calabar on 
 the margin of the Calabar River, and the Qua River four or 
 five miles eastward. In all these towns and villages, 
 though the people speak a totally different language, and 
 have many customs differing from those of Calabar, they 
 practise the barbarous custom of murdering slaves and 
 women on the death of free persons, as was the custom 
 here. I immediately reported the matter to the President 
 and Secretary of the Society for the Abolition of Inhuman 
 Customs, etc., and I suppose they will call a meeting soon, 
 that we may have a palaver with the Qua gentlemen, or 
 with Queen Qua, on the matter. 
 
 Wednesday, 2. — Market prevented, and the peace of 
 the town disturbed, on account of a squabble between 
 Henshaw Duke (from whom better things might have 
 been expected) and his people on the one side, and Adam 
 Archibong and his people on the other. There was a 
 pitched battle, which was carried on in the public market- 
 place with sticks and staves. Several heads were broken, 
 but no lives lost. A band of Henshaw's men from the 
 plantation passed the mission-house in the afternoon to 
 the scene of conflict. I counted between fifty and sixty, 
 all armed with bludgeons. I understand that Egbo 
 was sent out to stop the battle, but that the belligerents 
 set him at defiance. They told him they would pay 
 what fine he might inflict, but that they must have their 
 fight out. 
 
 Thursday, 3. — Heard Egbo's voice in town early this 
 morning, and about seven o'clock saw Creek Town Egbo 
 coming down the river. A stop has been put to the war 
 between the Henshaw and Archibong families, and both 
 parties have been bound over to keep the peace. I hear 
 that a fine was inflicted for yesterday's contumacy. 
 
 In a letter dated 4th July 1853, accompanying the 
 following extracts from his Journal, Mr. Anderson wrote : — 
 
 You will observe from the extracts from my Journal 
 that the Sabbath work for a long time has been anything 
 but encouraging. Feeling that we must have a place of
 
 278 ( >ld Calabar Period 
 
 meeting of our own, I am just now bargaining with Mr. 
 1 [ogan, the pilot here, to build us a native house, 50 feet 
 long and 30 wide, on a very excellent site, granted us by 
 Mr. Young, in the centre of the town. The bargain is 
 not yet concluded ; but I suppose the edifice will cost 
 from 2DOO to 2400 coppers, or from ^20 to £24. The 
 gentlemen will not meet in each other's houses. 
 
 There are above forty children at present at school, 
 and several of them are making very satisfactory progress. 
 Five or six of the Bible class are nearly through the 
 Shorter Catechism. A manly little fellow, a son of the 
 late King Eyamba, is half through the Shorter Catechism 
 with Proofs. Sarah, whom you have seen, is now learn- 
 ing Brown's Explication of the Shorter Catechism. Little 
 Andrew, whom you also saw, is constantly at school. He 
 is nearly through Lennie's First Reading Book. The 
 Gospel by John, in Efik, seems to be highly valued by 
 those who can read it. I believe that there are now about 
 seventy copies in circulation among our Calabar readers. 
 
 " Sabbath, March 6. 1 — Enjoyed a comfortable Com- 
 munion season this afternoon. Three members of the 
 Baptist Church at Clarence, who are here just now on 
 business, commemorated along with us the death of Jesus. 
 It was a time of refreshing to us all. 
 
 " Tuesday, 8. — A violent thunderstorm and tornado. 
 The lightning killed one man on the beach. The wind 
 nearly capsized one of the ships lying in the river. The 
 tornado commenced in the twinkling of an eye, without 
 
 a moment s warning. 
 
 " Friday, 25. — Oh, the deeds of blood which are perpe- 
 trated in this land ! Jemmy George, an old scholar at the 
 Mission school here, has a very good wife, as Calabar 
 wives go, who was delivered of twins during the night. 
 The infants have disappeared, and the poor mother, well 
 known to us as a woman superior in intelligence and 
 energy to hundreds of her neighbours, was compelled to 
 walk several miles towards the plantations immediately 
 after her delivery. 
 
 " Tuesday, April 1 2. — A young man of the Young family 
 had been sick for a few days. This morning he charged 
 
 1 Record, November 1853.
 
 Egbo Runner Flogs Schoolgirl 279 
 
 his old mother with having ifot, freemason, for him. The 
 poor old woman was taken into Mr. Young's yard and 
 compelled to eat the fatal nut. An hour after and she 
 was dead. In a few hours afterwards her son followed 
 her to the eternal world. I have had sharp words with 
 Mr. Young about the business. I told him, among other 
 things, that of all the people in Calabar, he and his family 
 should have no more to do with the poison nut after what 
 took place in February last year. 
 
 "Sabbath, March 1. — Egbo in palaver-house. Held a 
 short meeting in the marketplace. 
 
 "Communion at Old Town in the afternoon. I preached. 
 Mr. Edgerley dispensed the Lord's Supper, and Mr. Goldie 
 concluded the service. Even in this desert land we are 
 privileged to ' draw water with joy from the wells of 
 salvation.' 
 
 " Wednesday, 11. — An Egbo runner flogged a school- 
 girl to-day when coming through Cobham Town. Went 
 down to Cobham Town at once to protest to Henny 
 Cobham and others against flogging children on their 
 way to school. Was referred to Mr. Young for redress 
 by Henny. As I am not visiting Mr. Young at present, 
 on account of the murder of the old woman in his yard, 
 I wrote him a pretty sharp note on the subject. I enclose 
 his reply, which I considered wonderfully satisfactory. It 
 is as follows : — 
 
 Rev. W. Anderson. 
 Sir, — I reed, your letter by the Bearer and am sorry about 
 that. I will male plenty palaver about it you Boy see what I tock 
 (talk) with them, you no see Juch (such) thing done any more 
 when I be here for this Town your Boy can tell you what I say to 
 them. 
 
 " Thursday, I2. 1 — Were favoured to-night with a visit 
 from the Rev. Mr. Jones, of the Church Mission, Sierra 
 Leone. He will sojourn with us till the arrival of the 
 next mail steamer. 
 
 " Mr. Jones' chief object in coming here is to see our 
 friend Mr. Thomson, whom Mr. Jones accompanied home 
 
 1 For account of Mr. Jones' visit to Calabar, see C. M. Intelligencer, 
 Nov. 1853, reprinted in United Presbyterian Record, March 1854.
 
 2S0 Old Calabar Period 
 
 a number of years ago, after his (Mr. T.'s) father's 
 death. 
 
 "Sabbath, 15. — Mr. Jones accompanied us to town and 
 spoke at all the meetings. He has been labouring at 
 Sierra Leone for twenty-three years, so that he can tell 
 much that is interesting about that locality. He preached 
 for me in English in the afternoon. The schoolhouse was 
 filled to overflowing. Mr. E. had printed and I had 
 circulated a number of handbills, which brought out a 
 good many hearers. 
 
 " Tuesday, 24. — Gladdened to-day by the arrival of 
 a box from Dalkeith, containing upwards of 220 copies 
 of the Gospel according to John in Efik. The mail 
 steamer Hope arrived here in the afternoon, so we had to 
 bid farewell to our excellent brother, Mr. Jones. 
 
 " Sabbath, 29. — Devil-making in three or four houses 
 to-day. Egbo in palaver-house. Of course we were shut 
 out. It is a miserable state of matters this. Some of 
 Egbds attendants gave Mrs. Lee a good deal of abuse 
 when on her way to church this afternoon. Mrs. Lee is a 
 widow, who came from America some years ago, and now 
 makes her living by washing for the shipping. 
 
 " Tuesday, 31. — Wrote to Mr. Young about Mrs. Lee's 
 affair, claiming protection for her when on her way to or 
 from my house at any time, and especially when on her 
 way to or from worship on the Lord's day. Mr. Young's 
 reply — a verbal one — was not satisfactory; so that I wrote 
 a note to each ship-captain, invoking the influence of each 
 in Mrs. Lee's behalf. 
 
 " Wednesday, Jane 1. — The captains took up Mrs. Lee's 
 case with commendable zeal. She will not be troubled 
 again while on her way to divine service, at least for a 
 long time to come. 
 
 " Sabbath, 5. — One of the saddest Sabbaths I have ever 
 spent. All Duke Town gentlemen busy with a palaver 
 brought in to them from the plantations. No time to 
 attend to the word of God. Seeing that Egbo has been 
 so frequently in the palaver-house of late on the Lord's 
 day, and that we have been excluded, and fearing lest 
 evil impressions may be produced on the minds of some 
 by our holding meetings in the palaver-house only on such
 
 A Weekly Prayer-Meeting Begun 281 
 
 Sabbaths as Egbo may be pleased to permit us, I have 
 resolved to hold no meetings in the palaver-house again. 
 Should no man receive me into his house, I shall proclaim 
 the word of God in the public marketplace each Sabbath 
 to the few who may accompany or gather around me. 
 
 "Saturday, 11. — Requested Mr. Haddison to walk 
 round among the gentlemen to ascertain where they 
 will be willing to meet to-morrow to hear God's word, 
 but on the understanding that I cannot return to the 
 palaver-house. Mr. H. reports that Mr. Young's house 
 will be the best place for meeting to-morrow. 
 
 "Sabbath, 12. — An excellent meeting in Mr. Young's 
 to-day. Very reviving after last Sabbath's depression. 
 Mr. Y. wished me to preach in English, which, he says, 
 "he likes best, and all (?) understand." I went on as 
 usual with my Calabar discourse, it was on the Creation 
 and Fall of Man. 
 
 " Tuesday, 21. — Have been very unwell and off work 
 for a week. Have not been in school since last Tuesday, 
 but was able to resume work there this afternoon. 
 
 " IVednesday, 22. — Commenced this evening a weekly 
 prayer meeting in the mission-house, to which I specially 
 invited the boys in the highest class in the school. Our 
 hall was filled. After devotional exercises, conducted by 
 Mr. Haddison and myself, and a short examination of the 
 young people on the first three questions of the Shorter 
 Catechism, I stated that if any of the young people 
 wished to ask me more fully about the things taught 
 us in the Bible and the way of salvation, I should like 
 them to come into my room. Six of them followed me, 
 and I had a long and interesting conversation with them 
 on the great truths of the gospel. All the six declared 
 that it was their strong desire to leave off all their bad 
 country fashions, and ' follow God's fashion,' but that 
 they dare not, else their lives would be sacrificed. I have 
 been repeatedly implored by some of the young men to 
 request Consul Beecroft to demand from Calabar gentle- 
 men protection for all who are willing to become members 
 of the Church. One of the boys prayed in English at 
 the conclusion of our conversation, and to me it was a 
 refreshing prayer.
 
 2X2 Old Calabar Period 
 
 " Thursday, 23. — Heard this forenoon that there was to 
 be a substitutionary execution in town to-day. Went 
 down to town at once to lift up my voice against such an 
 enormity. Learned from Mr. Young and others that 
 there would be no killing to-day ; but I have every reason 
 to fear that ere long one or two slaves will be slaughtered 
 because their master has broken Egbo law. 
 
 " Wednesday \ 29. — A boy brought us a young leopard 
 on Monday last, which led to a considerable stir in town 
 yesterday. One of the young men in town had shot its 
 mother, and brought the carcase, as in duty bound, to 
 King Calabar. Expecting probably to be better paid by 
 us than by his kingship, he sent the little living one — only 
 a few days old, still blind — to us. When King Calabar 
 heard that he had been deprived of a portion of his 
 perquisites, he became quite outrageous. It must be 
 observed that he is the high priest of Ndem Kfik, the god 
 of Calabar. One of the ship-captains told me that it was 
 most ridiculous to see him swaggering up and down the 
 town, arrayed in an old dressing-gown, and decorated 
 with all his charms, declaring to all the people his deter- 
 mination to leave Duke Town, to live henceforth at Creek 
 Town, and to bring the curse of Ndem Efik on Duke 
 Town, unless the little leopard were carried to him. The 
 people were evidently alarmed, and were surrounding him 
 trying to pacify him, and begging him not to leave the 
 town. We were totally ignorant of the matter, till King 
 Duke sent a deputation to me to beg me, as I valued the 
 peace of the town, to send him the little animal that he 
 might present it to King Calabar, and that he would get 
 the pontiff to dash it to me. I complied with the request, 
 and in a short time it was brought back to me as a dash 
 from his mightiness. He did not forget to come this 
 morning for a dash in return. 
 
 "Wednesday Evening. — Held our second prayer- 
 meeting. I had eight inquirers to-night. I think that 
 the most of them are earnestly inquiring the way to 
 Zion. At the close of our conversation one little fellow 
 prayed in the Calabar tongue. During the meeting the 
 hall was full. There were about twenty children from 
 the town.
 
 The Pytho Destroyed by Fire 283 
 
 " Thursday, 30. — King Duke did us the honour of break- 
 fasting with us to-day." 
 
 In a letter dated 28th July 1853, Mr. Anderson 
 described the commotion caused by the total destruction 
 by fire of the ship Pytho, which, he said, was probably 
 the finest and most expensively fitted up palm-oil vessel 
 which up to that date had crossed the bar of the Old 
 Calabar River. He quotes the particulars from his 
 Journal : — 
 
 Thursday, July 7. — We were awakened about one 
 o'clock A.M. by the barking of our watchdog. Heard a 
 noise of voices and feet, as of a number of people passing 
 from Duke Town to Henshaw Town. About half-past 
 one a man came running into our yard, and cried out, 
 " Ikang k'ata ubom Davies," i.e. that "fire is eating ship 
 of Davies." . . . Fire burst forth from both sides of the 
 Pytho with dreadful fury. We then learned that the 
 Duke Town people were fleeing to Henshaw Town and to 
 the bush all around, to escape danger from the anticipated 
 explosion of gunpowder, of which it was reported that 
 there were above one hundred barrels on board. W T e after- 
 wards learned that there was not half that quantity in the 
 ship. As the ill-fated ship was lying only a mile or 
 thereabouts from us, I fully expected that the mission- 
 house would be either blown or shaken to pieces by the 
 explosion. We at once roused all the young people, and 
 ran out of the house with them. We found hundreds of 
 people on their way to Henshaw Town, carrying goods of 
 all kinds. Several of the fat ladies of the town were also 
 waddling along, in a manner most piteous to behold. 
 Their brass leglets were of no aid to them in their flight. 
 We found both the white seamen and the Krumen who 
 belonged to the burning vessel hurrying along, all appre- 
 hensive that our neighbourhood was not beyond the reach 
 of danger. At my request, Mrs. A. took all the young 
 people to Henshaw Town. As I had rather more fear of 
 thieves than of injury from the powder, I remained in the
 
 284 Old Calabar Period 
 
 yard beneath one of the trees. I was soon joined by a 
 poor little girl about five or six years of age, who appears 
 to belong to no one. She kept her station near our feet 
 till day dawned. Mrs. A. soon returned from Henshaw 
 Town, and brought the news that all had escaped from 
 the vessel except the surgeon, who, it was reported by the 
 seamen, had refused to leave the vessel, and of course had 
 perished. As we were deploring his untimely end, who 
 should walk into the yard but he himself, in company 
 with the mate ? Glad were we to see them safe and 
 sound. They were the last men who had left the ship. 
 By this time it was about half-past two o'clock. In the 
 meantime the lurid flames were casting their dismal glare 
 all around. Their aspect was sometimes indeed grand, 
 but more frequently it was terrific. The matted house, 
 which had been thrown over the ship on her arrival here, 
 was soon consumed, and the flames flew rapidly up the 
 masts and rigging. I went upstairs and opened all the 
 doors and windows, with the view of lessening the effect 
 of the concussion on the house when it should take place. 
 I took down two chairs and a blanket for our comfort 
 below the tree ; and there we sat till daylight appeared, 
 between five and six o'clock, expecting every moment to 
 see firebrands and fragments of wreck flying all around 
 us, and our dwelling-place a desolation. . . . Daylight 
 came, and still there were no indications of an explosion. 
 The mizzenmast fell a little after four o'clock, the main- 
 mast shortly after five, the foremast about six, and the 
 bowsprit about seven. At our usual hour — seven o'clock — 
 we met in the schoolroom for family worship. A number 
 of stragglers joined us. Anew we committed ourselves to 
 the Divine protection, as we had previously done below 
 the tree. We felt comfort in the thought that we were in 
 the keeping of the Shepherd of Israel. We had school at 
 the usual time, though but few attended. . . . The fire 
 raged on the devoted ship. About noon there was a 
 small explosion, caused, it was supposed, by the ignition 
 of a small barrel or two of powder which had been lying 
 apart from the rest. This explosion sent a brand to the 
 neighbouring cask-house, which was immediately after- 
 wards in flames. This we considered as the prelude of a
 
 An Anxious Moment 285 
 
 still greater shock, for which we looked with intense 
 anxiety till about five P.M., when the stern of the ship 
 seemed to fall asunder. We then felt assured that the 
 water had got into the magazine, and that there would be 
 no explosion. In a few minutes more, after having burned 
 for seventeen hours, all the interior of the ship having 
 been consumed, her sides began to fall in, and in a minute 
 or two more all that remained of the beautiful PytJio 
 sank beneath the gurgling waters beneath a dense volume 
 of smoke. Several Calabar canoes were hovering near 
 the ship at the time. It is reported that one of them 
 went down or was overturned when the ship sank, and 
 that two of its occupants perished. Their desire of 
 plunder seemed stronger than their fear of death. After 
 the long suspense of sixteen or seventeen hours, it was a 
 great relief to those on board the other ships in the river, 
 to the townspeople, and to ourselves, to feel that the 
 danger was over. . . .
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 The First Converts, 1853 — Excursion up Qua River— First 
 Marriage in Duke Town, 1854 
 
 THE Mission had been at work for over seven years ere 
 the first converts openly professed Christianity. Then the 
 first-fruits appeared at all the three stations. At Creek 
 Town, on the afternoon of the Lord's day, 16th Oct. 1853, Mr. 
 Goldie publicly baptized in the king's yard a young man 
 named Esien Esien Ukpabio, who became the first native 
 teacher, and afterwards pastor, and is now the " father " of 
 the Missionary Presbytery of Biafra, and one of the few 
 links connecting heathen and Christian Calabar. He was 
 what is called half-free — that is to say, a slave born in the 
 country, who is entitled to some privileges which are not 
 possessed by the slaves introduced from another country. 
 The next convert was a freeman, the king's own son, 
 known as " Young Eyo," who became Eyo III. He was 
 baptized by Mr. Goldie on the 30th of October, and then 
 along with Ukpabio sat down at the Lord's table. Im- 
 mediately after gathering in these first-fruits, Mr. Goldie 
 had to leave Calabar for a time. He had been engaged 
 in preparing a dictionary and a grammar of the native 
 language, and had, by too close application, so injured 
 his eyesight that his brethren and his medical advisers 
 urged his departure as the only means under God of 
 preventing the total loss of sight. Mr. Waddell was in 
 
 2S0
 
 The First Converts, 1853 287 
 
 Scotland at the time, so that Mr. Goldie could ill be 
 spared ; and it was not known in Calabar that a new re- 
 cruit, in the person of Mr. Alexander Sutherland, teacher, 
 would soon join the staff. 
 
 Mr. Anderson's letter of 30th Nov. 1853 refers to the 
 first converts at Creek Town, Duke Town, and Old Town, 
 to the baptism of three of his house children, and to five 
 candidates for baptism, and to the great need of help for 
 the work of the Mission : — 
 
 You would be rejoiced to hear from Mr. Goldie of the 
 baptism of two young men at Creek Town. You will now 
 be glad to learn that two of our young women here have 
 also been " added to the Church." They are both members 
 of our household, and have been so for nearly four years 
 and a half, during the whole of which period they have 
 been under instruction. The elder of the two is called 
 Mary Taylor Anderson. She is a native of Egbo Shary 
 — was brought to market here for sale about the middle of 
 1849, and was redeemed in part by our friend Dr. Taylor 
 and in part by ourselves. She appears to be eighteen or 
 nineteen years of age. The youngest.called Sarah Anderson 
 [sister of Ukpabio], you have seen. Being weak and 
 sickly, she was committed to us by King Archibong's 
 mother, not long after we came here in 1849. We claim 
 her freedom on King Archibong's note of hand, given us 
 before we took her to Britain in 185 1. The claim was 
 lately disputed by Mrs. Archibong (as she is called), but 
 the assembled gentlemen of the town decided that it is 
 valid. Mary was baptized on the last Sabbath of October. 
 Sarah also was to have been baptized on that day, but, 
 having gone to see her mother, and having been detained 
 at Creek Town on that Sabbath, she was baptized on the 
 first Sabbath of November, on which day we had the 
 comfort of seeing both of them partaking, with hearts 
 evidently impressed, along with us of the memorials of 
 our Lord's broken body and shed blood. Considering the 
 perils by which they are surrounded in this dark land, 
 while we rejoice over them, we do so with trembling.
 
 288 Old Calabar Period 
 
 Your prayers will, I am assured, ascend with ours to 
 the Good Shepherd in behalf of these lambs of the 
 flock. He can — I trust will — keep them unspotted from 
 the world, and preserve them to His heavenly kingdom 
 and glory. 
 
 J may here mention that other two women have been 
 this year admitted into the fellowship of the Church at this 
 station. First, Mrs. Haddison, who was brought up among 
 our Baptist brethren at Fernando Po and Cameroons. 
 She was married to my assistant, Mr. J. Haddison, in the 
 earlier part of the year. The second was Mrs. Lee, origin- 
 ally from Baltimore, U.S., where she long drank of the 
 bitter cup of slavery. She has been for some years a widow, 
 and makes her living chiefly, if not solely, by washing 
 clothes for the shipping here. Eight of her little children 
 occupy graves in America, Liberia, Fernando Po, and Old 
 Calabar, and I daresay she has wept over each little 
 slumberer's coffin (as Mrs. Stowe says) "just as naturally 
 as if she had been a white woman." She was connected 
 with the Methodists in Baltimore. 
 
 On the first Sabbath of November, I embraced the 
 opportunity of Mr. Edgcrley's being with us to have our 
 three youngest adopted or redeemed children baptized. 
 The eldest of these, whom we call Agnes Tod, seems about 
 eight years old. Mrs. A. redeemed her two or three years 
 ago, when a poor, diseased, miserable-looking creature. 
 After a great deal of care and nursing by both Mrs. Goldie 
 and Mrs. A., she is now thriving well. The second is 
 Andrew Somerville. He was with us in Britain in 1851. 
 The third, whom we call Margaret Marshall (after a much- 
 valued Jamaica friend), seems about twelve or fourteen 
 months old. Her mother died in July, and as the poor 
 infant seemed likely soon to die also, her owner, by name and 
 style Egbo Tom, Esq., considerately dashed her to us on 
 the 30th of the same month. Mrs. A. and I demurred 
 about accepting fat. present, unless accompanied by a writ 
 >l manumission. This was readily granted, and we re- 
 ceived the pour outcast, or rather orphan, as a trust from 
 on high. She is thriving very well now, and will, we trust, 
 continue to do so. 
 
 On Sabbath first, Mr. Edgerley purposes baptizing a
 
 Calabar Short-handed 289 
 
 young man [Joseph Edgerley or Edungikan], who has 
 been long one of his domestics at Old Town. The first- 
 fruits of each station will then have been brought in and 
 presented to the Lord. O for a speedy and an abundant 
 harvest-time ! 
 
 I have had two very interesting conversations with 
 Young Eyo since his baptism. He met with great opposi- 
 tion in taking the important step. He needed the spirit 
 of a martyr, and he seems to possess it. Mr. Goldie has 
 probably written you the very interesting particulars. The 
 combat is now fairly begun in this battlefield between the 
 powers of heaven and hell, — the opposing forces have met 
 face to face, — the struggle may be fell, and furious, and 
 protracted. Never has the Mission been in a more interest- 
 ing state than at present — never has it more needed the 
 prayers and sympathies of the Church at home. 
 
 Before this reaches you, you will have learned that Mr. 
 Goldie has had to leave us for a season. We felt deeply 
 grieved to part with him on the 3 1 st ult. The absence of two 
 brethren at once leaves Mr. Edgerley and myself too much 
 to do, especially as we have access to two of the ships in 
 the river. I have frequently to conduct five or six meet- 
 ings on the Sabbath, and feel it very exhausting. Indeed, 
 last Sabbath evening and all Monday I felt as I did last 
 December, immediately before the attack of fever which 
 nearly sent me to the grave. But still, I have not the 
 heart to say " No," when invited to speak the words of 
 eternal life in any yard in town or on any ship in the river. 
 
 December 1. — Thus far had I proceeded last evening, 
 when the Forerunner made her appearance. I was 
 forthwith put in possession of yours of October 23, an- 
 nouncing the very pleasing intelligence that help is at 
 hand. I trust that we shall ere long be cheered by Mr. 
 Sutherland's arrival. In the meantime we "thank God 
 and take courage." 
 
 I forgot to state at the proper place that we have at 
 this station just now five candidates for baptism — four 
 young men and one girl. 
 
 The school has not been so well attended this year as 
 it was last. There have been about 100 children at school 
 in all, but the average attendance has not exceeded 45. 
 
 19
 
 290 Old Calabar Period 
 
 I shall have more opportunity for hunting out scholars 
 when Mr. S. arrives. 
 
 Mr. Thomson is looking feeble. He is much in need 
 of a change of climate. According to arrangement, I 
 supplied at Creek Town on Sabbath, Nov. 20. King Eyo 
 is as bright as ever. Had three well attended meetings. 
 
 An excursion up the Qua River was a pleasant holiday 
 at the beginning of a new year. 
 
 Monday, Jan. 9, 1854. — Accompanied by Mr. 
 Edgerley, Mr. Thomson, and Dr. Eastwood (surgeon of 
 one of the ships), went off this evening in the John 
 Robson for an excursion up the Qua River. Anchored 
 off Seven Fathom Point for the night. 
 
 Tuesday, 10. — Lifted anchor this morning and pro- 
 ceeded to the mouth of the Qua River, where we waited 
 till the commencement of flood tide. We then proceeded 
 up the river to Qua landing, where we landed and took a 
 short walk, and off which we anchored for the night. 
 
 Wednesday, 11. — Got up on the flood to a beautiful 
 anchorage, with a fine sandy beach, where we lay during 
 the ebb. About noon weighed anchor and proceeded up 
 the river. Saw only one small hut all the way. Between 
 five and six P.M. we anchored off a beach called Esuk 
 Obutong, where two or three canoes were lying. We 
 ascertained that there is a road to Old Town from this 
 beach. We took a walk into the country a mile or two, and 
 reached a small plantation village. We learnt from the 
 people there that Old Town is ten or twelve hours' journey 
 from their abode. The ground here is high compared 
 with that of Calabar ; there is much good timber ; and 
 the soil, which is clayey, seems rich and strong. We 
 left a few mango seeds with the people at the village, 
 which they promised to plant and look after. Returned 
 to the boat for the night. 
 
 Thursday, 12. — Early in the morning went up the river 
 till we could not stem the current. This was only a mile 
 or so above Esuk Obutong. We learned from the people 
 at the plantation that about a mile above the place we 
 reached the river becomes so small and the channel so full
 
 Excursion up Oua River 291 
 
 of large stones, that even canoes cannot proceed farther. 
 Had time permitted we would have hired a canoe and 
 proceeded as far as possible, but we were anxious to be home 
 by Friday evening, so we turned the boat's head and 
 retraced our course. At a small creek about a mile below 
 Esuk Obutong, we stopped a little and landed. We found 
 two new cottages, the inhabitants of which are employed 
 in clearing ground for a new plantation. The people, 
 houses, and plantation (which is to be) belong to Obuma, 
 the mother of the late King Archibong of Duke Town. 
 We then proceeded down the river, and anchored for the 
 night off the north end of Robson Island. 
 
 Friday, 13. — Started this morning with the first of the 
 ebb tide, got down to the mouth of Qua River, where we 
 lay till the tide turned, and got up to Duke Town about 
 four P.M. 
 
 We must have been at the least sixty miles up the 
 Qua River — that is, about twenty miles farther than any of 
 us have been on any previous occasion. During the 
 whole of our progress the only human habitations we 
 could see from the river were a small village at Qua 
 landing, about twenty-five or twenty-eight miles from its 
 mouth, and a small hut about twenty-five miles above 
 that. The whole region looks desolate — mangroves 
 abundant — river very shallow in many places. We had 
 morning and evening worship on board the boat, and at 
 the hallowed hour of prayer I for one could not survey the 
 dreary scene around without at the same time looking 
 forward to a " good time coming," when the river shall 
 become one of the byways of commerce, if not one of its 
 highways — v/hen its banks shall be studded with towns 
 and villages, churches and schools — when old men leaning 
 on their staves shall be seen surveying the ebb and flow of 
 the waters — and when the ears of passers-by, such as we 
 were, shall be greeted by the mirthful sound of children at 
 play, or arrested by the cadence of the morning or evening 
 song of praise. 
 
 Thursday, Feb. 2. — Her Majesty's steamer Antelope, 
 with Consul Beecroft on board, came up the river yester- 
 day. To-day King Eyo and King Duke received the last 
 instalment of goods promised to Kings Eyamba and Eyo,
 
 292 Old Calabar Period 
 
 when they signed the treaty for the abolition of the slave- 
 trade in, or rather from, this river. 
 
 Friday^ 3. — A large meeting in schoolroom to-day, 
 called by Consul Beecroft, for the settlement of sundry 
 palavers betwixt himself, on behalf of several British and 
 Spanish subjects on the one part, and the Duke Town 
 gentlemen on the other part. He lectured them well on 
 their barbarous treatment of the three Fernando Po men 
 whom they made prisoners last year, because they at- 
 tempted to convey one of their own countrymen from his 
 house of bondage. The Consul took a noble stand also on 
 the side of humanity in regard to some of the prevailing- 
 habits here, and strongly and justly condemned the ordeal 
 of the esire and the destruction of twin children. He also 
 urged on them the importance of their giving attention to 
 the instructions of the missionaries, men whom they sent 
 for to instruct themselves and their children. This led him 
 to condemn the practice, long since abandoned at Creek 
 Town, but still kept up here, of having Egbo runners out 
 on the Sabbath, and thereby preventing all except a few 
 of the free people from attending either meetings or 
 Sabbath school. He also claimed liberty of conscience 
 for all who wish to join the Church. I have no doubt that 
 this visit of the Consul will be remembered, and prove 
 productive of much good at this station. 
 
 On Feb. 8th, Willie Tom Robins, the superstitious 
 old chief of Old Town, died. His death was concealed 
 from the white people as long as possible, and in the 
 meantime blood was profusely shed. Mr. Edgerley, un- 
 happily, was laid down with fever at the time, and could 
 do nothing to arrest the work of death ; but Mrs. Edgerley 
 and Mr. Thomson did what they could. The number 
 killed could not be fully ascertained ; but the chief's two 
 eldest sons, five or six of his wives, and a considerable 
 number of slaves, were poisoned, shot, or hanged. Mr. 
 Anderson, in his Journal, refers to the BrcacJi of the Egbo 
 Law against Human Sacrifices that had taken place :—
 
 First Native Marriage at Duke Town 293 
 
 Feb. 11. — Reported to the Duke Town authorities 
 a breach of Egbo law committed at Old Town on oc- 
 casion of the death of King Willie Tom. . . . Handed 
 them the names of eighteen persons who have been 
 slaughtered. Of these five perished by ese're, the adminis- 
 tration of which is no breach of Egbo law ; but the 
 remainder were otherwise butchered, in defiance of Egbo 
 law. The Duke Town gentlemen seem resolved to take 
 up the case with some vigour. But I have long suspected 
 that Egbo law too much resembles cobwebs — it entangles 
 the weak, but the strong back through with impunity. 1 
 
 Friday, 17. — Needful of a day's recreation, went to 
 Creek Town with Mrs. A. Attended King Eyo's dinner. 
 Glad to see that he is anxious to deal with the Old Town 
 murderers. A severe thunderstorm in the evening. On 
 our return home, found that the electric fluid had shivered 
 our flagstaff to pieces, and killed two of our goats. We 
 felt grateful that all the people in the yard, young and 
 old, were safe. 
 
 Wednesday, 22. — This evening had the pleasure of 
 solemnising a marriage ceremony for the first time in 
 this country. 2 The happy couple are David King and 
 Abasi Ekong. I may state why the bridegroom is so 
 named. Some years ago, when he and other schoolboys 
 were selecting English names for themselves, he pitched 
 on " King David." I represented to him that this was 
 scarcely a suitable appellation for him, but that I knew 
 a great and good man in my country called David King, 
 and that I thought this would be a better name for him 
 than King David. As it was a matter of no importance to 
 him in what order the words were placed, he adopted the 
 suggestion. He is a grandson of the late King Eyamba ; 
 and as the grandfather used to designate himself " king 
 of all black men," so has the grandson for some years 
 written himself " David — king of all black boys." The 
 bride is a daughter of Jemmy Henshaw's. They are the first 
 free natives of the country who have been married after 
 "white man's fashion." Mrs. A. had some difficulty in 
 
 1 Record, July 1854. 
 
 2 The first marriage of Calabar natives according to Christian custom 
 was celebrated at Creek Town on April 15, 1850.
 
 294 Old Calabar Period 
 
 getting a dress capacious enough for the bride, and she is 
 not nearly so corpulent as the most of her countrywomen ; 
 but, after being arrayed in a gown (for the first time in her 
 life), and neatly turbaned, her appearance was very becom- 
 ing. She seemed fully alive to the importance of the step 
 she was taking. The ceremony was celebrated in the school- 
 room in the presence of a goodly number of interested 
 spectators. 1 look on this marriage as an event of great 
 importance. Here is one of the most influential young 
 men in the country bidding a public farewell to polygamy, 
 lie has had a plurality of wives, but now stands strongly 
 pledged to keep by one only. I have reason to hope that 
 others of our young men will ere long follow his example. 
 
 Thursday ', 23. — The Golden Age hove in sight between 
 five and six o'clock this evening. Went down to meet 
 her, and on reaching her was glad to find Captain Davies, 
 Mrs. D., their fine little boy about eight months old, and 
 Miss Miller [returning after furlough], all well. 
 
 Sabbath, 26. — Among the pleasant sights of this day 
 deserves to be noticed the unexpected one of the newly- 
 married pair at our English service in the evening. The 
 bride was rather better dressed than on Wednesday even- 
 ing, having got on a very neat straw bonnet. They 
 walked arm in arm both to church and from it, which is 
 quite a new thing among the Calabarese. This is the first 
 time that we have ever seen a Calabar man treat his wife 
 as an equal. At the close of the service, I was glad to see 
 the ship-captains and surgeons, who had been worshipping 
 with us, shake hands kindly and respectfully with the 
 young couple. 
 
 Thursday, March 2. — Met at Creek Town to-day a 
 very interesting class of five boys, all desirous of being 
 baptized. In so far as I examined them, I was much 
 pleased with the extent of their knowledge of Scripture 
 history, doctrine, and precept. Their attainments reflect 
 much credit on Mr. Thomson's diligence and perseverance. 
 I believe that they have received most of their instruction 
 from him. Only one is a native of Calabar ; the others 
 have been imported from neighbouring countries. On 
 inquiring at them as to their family connections, the touch- 
 ing reply of four was, being interpreted, " Our fathers and
 
 A New Place of Worship 295 
 
 mothers are not ; we are slaves." I trust that they are 
 under the teaching of the Holy One, and that they all are, 
 or shall be, of the number of those whom the truth makes 
 free. They all wish immediate admission to the Church, 
 but I have seen so much discomfort and mischief arise 
 in churches elsewhere from precipitous admissions to 
 Communion, that I do not feel at liberty to assume the 
 responsibility of their immediate baptism, and especially 
 after only one examination and one day's acquaintance- 
 ship. I have had cause to reject several applications for 
 im mediate baptism here, and in each case I have had 
 cause of thankfulness that I rejected the application. 
 
 Tuesday, 7. — The Duke Town gentlemen being rather 
 reluctant that we should have a place of worship in the 
 immediate vicinity of their palaver- house, lest we and 
 Egbo should come into collision, and having expressed 
 their willingness that I should take possession of a very 
 excellent site occupied by a decayed house belonging to 
 the supercargoes in the river, provided they (the river 
 .gentlemen) did not mean to repair their house and retain 
 it as a place of rendezvous, I put myself in communication 
 with the white gentlemen on the subject, and feel glad that 
 all the four proprietors of the house now in the country, 
 viz. Captains Calvert, Davies, Lewis, and Cuthbertson, 
 very readily gave up their right and title to both site and 
 remains of the old house in my favour, or rather, in favour 
 of the Mission. It only remains now, I believe, that Duke 
 Antaro get a dash for the use of the land, which is on his 
 family property, and then Mr. Hogan will go on with his 
 work. He is now ready to proceed. 
 
 Wednesday, 8. — By arrival of the mail packet we are 
 all glad to learn that Mr. and Mrs. Goldie had got safely 
 home on 20th Jan. Our prayer shall be for their speedy 
 return. The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers 
 are few — oh, how few ! May it speedily please the Lord 
 of the harvest to send forth more labourers into this por- 
 tion of the field !
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 The Beginnings of the Native Church 
 
 6 
 
 THE arrival of Mr. Alexander Sutherland on March 26, 
 1854, in the first of the monthly steamers, was a welcome 
 addition to the staff. He relieved Mr. Anderson of the 
 charge of the day-school, and thus left him more time to 
 devote to other duties. As Calabar children can obey only 
 one master, a divided authority in the school would have 
 been inexpedient, and Mr. Anderson showed his wisdom 
 and brotherly spirit in at once giving Mr. Sutherland . 
 entire charge after initiating him into his duties. 
 
 Viewed in relation to home, the monthly arrival of the 
 mail steamers has wonderfully altered the aspect of affairs 
 in this country. In former days, two, three, and even four 
 months have sometimes passed away without any European 
 newspaper or letter reaching us, to let us know what was 
 going on in the world. Then we sometimes felt as if we 
 were in an out-of-the-world place. Now we have at least 
 monthly means of communicating with distant friends ; 
 and it is no small comfort for us to feel that we are only a 
 month's distance from England. It is to us a great cause 
 of thankfulness, and it should afford much relief to our 
 personal friends, and to all the friends of the Mission, to 
 know that, should any of us be necessitated to seek a 
 change of air for sake of health, we have such frequent 
 opportunities of taking a trip to sea, or, if need be, to Eng- 
 land itself, and that, too, at a far less expense than the 
 keeping up of a Mission ship and crew would necessarily 
 involve. 
 
 During the week after Mr. Sutherland's arrival I went 
 
 296
 
 Dispenses Communion at Creek Town 297 
 
 with him round the town, and introduced him to the native 
 gentlemen, by all of whom he was kindly received. We 
 also visited the Mission families at Creek Town and Old 
 Town, as well as King Eyo, who also gave Mr. S. a 
 cordial welcome to Old Calabar. On the following Sab- 
 bath, April 2nd, we, as usual on the first Sabbath of the 
 month, observed the ordinance of the Lord's Supper in the 
 schoolroom in the P.M. A large company of worshippers 
 were present, both from the shipping and from the town. 
 We remembered in our prayers at the table of the Lord 
 the congregation at Whitburn, to which Mr. S. belonged 
 in former days, as he informed us that that Sabbath was 
 their Communion also. 
 
 On Monday, April 3rd, I resigned charge of the school 
 into Mr. Sutherland's hands. He had seen my plan of 
 operation for several days, and I felt it but due to him to 
 show the young people as soon as possible that he was now 
 to be " king for school." Having been constantly engaged 
 in school labours in Jamaica and here together for upwards 
 of fifteen years, I felt somewhat "out of my element" for 
 a few days after giving up school, but I find that other 
 equally important duties will demand all the time and 
 labour I can devote to them. 
 
 No Communion service having been observed at Creek 
 Town since Mr. Goldie left us, in accordance with the 
 wishes of Church members there, I went up on the P.M. of 
 Sabbath, April 9th, preached, baptized a child of one of 
 the members, and dispensed the Lord's Supper. Mrs. 
 Anderson, Mr. Sutherland, Dr. Eastwood (our present 
 medical attendant), and a goodly band of Duke Town 
 young people, accompanied me. On that occasion six 
 young men communicated for the first time, viz. five 
 youths who had been baptized a {e\v weeks previously, 
 and George B. Waddell, an emancipado from a slave-ship, 
 and subsequently a domestic in the family of Rev. Mr. 
 Waddell. Having made application for admission to 
 the Lord's table some months before — having been repeat- 
 edly examined as to his knowledge of divine things, and 
 having given much satisfaction at each examination — 
 and having (in the absence of a session) been approved 
 by all the members of the Church at the station, I felt that
 
 298 Old Calabar Period 
 
 it was but duty to him, to the Church, and to the Head of 
 the Church, to admit him to the table of the Lord. 
 
 Including some from Duke Town and some from Old 
 Town, twenty-two communicants united in showing forth 
 the death of their Lord, in the presence of a large number 
 of deeply interested spectators. It was to myself — I think 
 I may say to all of us — a season of refreshing. We found 
 " the communion of saints " to be both pleasant and pro- 
 fitable. Mr. Thomson delivered the concluding address in 
 Calabar language. I was glad to learn from Mr. T. that 
 other young men at Creek Town, among whom is King 
 Eyo's second son, are very anxious to be received into 
 the fellowship of the Church. 
 
 On the following Friday (April 14th) King Eyo and 
 his gentlemen took to task the young men who had joined 
 the Church. As Mr. Thomson has written you an interest- 
 ing account of the important and deeply interesting pro- 
 cedure of that day, I shall not here enter into particulars. 
 I shall only remark, what I stated to our young people here 
 at the prayer meeting last Wednesday evening, that the 
 demeanour of the young men at Creek Town on the occa- 
 sion referred to is an illustration and evidence of the truth 
 of the text, " The word of God is quick and powerful " ; 
 the ever-living and life-giving word ; the ever-strong and 
 strength-giving word ; producing similar effects in all who 
 cordially embrace it in every age and in every land. We 
 see its life and power in the case of Joshua and Caleb ; in 
 the case of Shadrach, Meshech, and Abednego, etc. ; in 
 the case of martyrs in former years in Britain itself, and 
 more recently in Madagascar, and in the case of these 
 five young men in Old Calabar. 
 
 May r. — About two months ago I intimated to you 
 the marriage of the young man who calls himself David 
 King. I am happy to be able now to announce some- 
 thing of far greater importance respecting him, namely, 
 his baptism. I think I formerly stated to you (it was on 
 his own authority) that he is a grandson of the late King 
 Eyamba. He did not stand exactly in that relationship to 
 Eyamba. His mother's mother was King Eyamba's queen, 
 or head wife, but Eyamba was not his mother's father. Her 
 father was the " big Duke Ephrairn," who reigned before
 
 Baptism of "David King" 299 
 
 Eyamba's accession to regal power. David has long been 
 wishful of being admitted into the Church, but two con- 
 siderations induced me to delay his reception: first, I wished 
 him to understand " the way of the Lord more perfectly " 
 than he did when he first applied for baptism ; and second, 
 I felt somewhat at a loss how to act in regard to him from 
 his position as a slave-holder. 1 In order to clear the way 
 of future difficulties on this point, I drew up a declaration 2 
 on the treatment of servants, which, having read and ex- 
 plained to him, I asked him if he was willing to subscribe. 
 This he cheerfully consented to, and attached his signature 
 in presence of Mrs. Edgerley, Mr. Sutherland, and myself. 
 The path of duty seeming clear, this young man was 
 yesterday received into the fellowship of the Church by 
 being baptized " into the name of the Father, and of the 
 Son, and of the Holy Ghost." He is the first native man 
 who has made a profession of religion at this station. 
 And I need hardly add that he, as well as the other con- 
 verts, has a claim on the sympathies and prayers of the 
 parent Church. Young Eyo and the most of the native 
 members were present at our P.M. service yesterday when 
 D. K. was baptized. At my request, Young Eyo addressed 
 the Duke Town young men, many of whom were present, 
 on their duty in regard to the gospel of Christ. After I had 
 finished the English portion of the service, he delivered a 
 long and powerful address on the subject assigned to him. 
 He spoke in Efik, and was listened to with deep attention. 
 A considerable portion of his address was taken up in 
 replies to some statements which it appears some white 
 men are in the habit of making to the natives of Calabar 
 against the Bible, and against their joining the Church. 
 He handled their sophistries in a very masterly manner ; 
 he brought them at once " to the law and to the testimony " 
 as the grand test of truth, and exposed their utter worth- 
 lessness. I have every reason to expect that his address 
 will be productive of good. 
 
 Monday, May 8. — Other two members were added 
 yesterday to the Church at this station. Their names are 
 
 1 For the history of Mr. Anderson's dealing with the case of slave-holders 
 seeking Admission to the Church, see Chapter XII. 
 
 2 The declaration is given in full in Chapter XII. p. 323.
 
 300 Old Calabar Period 
 
 Louisa Goldic and Antika Angwan. Both have been in 
 the mission-house since 1849. The former is a native of 
 the country of Ekoi, said to be about a month's journey 
 distant from Old Calabar. She appears to be about sixteen 
 or seventeen years of age. The latter is a native of the 
 neighbouring country of I bo, and seems a year younger 
 than the other. They have both, for some months, been 
 anxious for admission to the Church, and, after undergoing 
 many examinations in regard to their knowledge, and 
 their walk and conversation being such as the other mem- 
 bers of the Church approve, they were yesterday afternoon 
 baptized and admitted to the table of the Lord. Six of 
 the young men from Creek Town observed along with us 
 the ordinance of the Lord's Supper. In regard to the two 
 girls just named, I regret to say that they are still starts. 
 One belongs to Henry Cobham, the other to Antika Cob- 
 ham. They thus "stand in jeopardy every hour." They 
 may be demanded from us by their masters at any time, 
 and we have no ground on which to resist the demand. 
 They are not only liable every hour to be withdrawn from 
 our instructions and our protection, but to be sold into 
 hopeless slavery in some distant land. May the Good 
 Shepherd be their Guide and Guardian ! They have joined 
 the Church with open eyes — fully expecting to be called 
 upon to suffer persecution for the sake of Christ and the 
 gospel. O that they may be found faithful, and endure 
 even to the end ! 
 
 I do not know if it has ever been mentioned to you 
 that the Calabarese have an apt illustration of the ordin- 
 ance of baptism in a custom of their own which much 
 resembles it. When a slave is purchased from any other 
 country, the first thing done after the completion of the 
 bargain is to observe the ceremony called Udnok Mong — 
 i.e. the affusion of water. The newly-purchased is made to 
 stand below the eaves of his new master's house, when his 
 eld proprietor, or his representative, takes a vessel contain- 
 ing water, which he empties by heaving the water on the 
 roof in such a manner that a considerable portion of it will 
 drop down on the person of the newly-arrived. This is 
 generally accompanied with an exhortation to the person 
 affused to conduct himself (or herself as the case may be)
 
 A Mother (Detects to her Son's Baptism 301 
 
 .V 
 
 properly as an inhabitant of Old Calabar. By this cere- 
 mony all bonds connecting him with his former master and 
 his former country are dissolved, and his connection with 
 Old Calabar begun. 
 
 Some of the natives themselves imagine they can trace 
 a resemblance between the Lord's Supper and their own 
 Egbo festivals. For, say they, no one dare go to the 
 palaver-house to an Egbo feast except those who have pur- 
 chased the privilege of that particular grade of Egbo which 
 is engaged in keeping a feast ; so no one save those who 
 truly belong to Christ and His people ought to sit at the 
 Lord's table. For my own part, I should not like to illus- 
 trate the sacred ordinance of the Lord's Supper by any of 
 their Egbo observances, — at least till I know a great deal 
 more about them, — but I felt a good deal of interest in the 
 above view of the matter, coming as it did spontaneously 
 from some of the young men themselves. 
 
 Thursday, June 8. — Thomas Eyamba's mother is in great 
 wrath about her son having been baptized. Her strongest 
 objection to the measure is that her son will be allowed to 
 marry only one wife \ A big gentleman like her son to be 
 without twenty or thirty wives !— the very thought of it is 
 enough to break the poor woman's heart. She is also 
 annoyed because he has come under obligations not to 
 maltreat his slaves. She thinks, no doubt, that a little 
 scorching now and then is necessary to keep the wretches 
 in subjection, and that without cutting off of ears, extrac- 
 tion of sound teeth, etc., it will be impossible to manage 
 them. Thomas keeps cool and calm amid the storms by 
 which he is assailed from various points. 
 
 Our Sabbath meetings have improved lately both in 
 regard to numbers and attention. We have generally 
 four or five meetings in town during the A.M. of Sabbath. 
 After these meetings I used to preach on board one of the 
 ships, but the last two Sabbaths on which I did so I felt 
 so faint that I was compelled to give up that interesting 
 department of labour, at least for the present. The 
 Sabbath school, held from 3 to 4 P.M., is attended by 
 about eighty. Of those, ten or twelve are adults. Our 
 little schoolroom has been greatly overcrowded at the 
 4 P.M. English service for several months past.
 
 ^02 Old Calabar Period 
 
 -i 
 
 Our Wednesday evening prayer meeting is attended 
 by from forty to fifty persons, many of whom seem to 
 take much interest in the exercises. Besides singing and 
 prayer, I read a passage of Scripture, explaining as I go 
 along, sometimes in English, sometimes in Efik ; I then 
 catechise on the passage ; and after that I generally re- 
 quest one of the most intelligent young men present to 
 read the passage, with its explanation in Efik, that all may 
 understand. After prayer, we take a question in" the 
 Shorter Catechism and discuss it in the same manner. 
 I ,ast evening the question under consideration was the very 
 interesting and, in our circumstances, peculiarly important 
 one, "What is required to the worthy receiving of the Lord's 
 Supper?" The passage of Scripture which came more 
 immediately under review last evening was also most 
 suitable for the present time — Luke ix. 23-27. 
 
 Our friend Egbo Tom made us another dash a few 
 months ago, said dash being a little sickly boy about two 
 years of age. We have got his writ of manumission. He 
 is thriving very well now. We have named him John Gray, 
 after my venerable friend the Dalkeith patriarch of that 
 name. Mrs. A. redeemed a fine little girl some time ago. 
 We call her Isabella Elliot. We mean to have both 
 baptized on some early day.
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 Bombardment and Destruction of Old Town — Destruction by Fire 
 of Duke Town Mission-House 
 
 In the beginning of 1855 two events happened, both of a 
 disastrous nature, which affected the fortunes of Mr. and 
 Mrs. Edgerley at Old Town, and Mr. and Mrs. Anderson 
 at Duke Town. The first was the bombardment and 
 destruction of Old Town by the British war steamer, on 
 the 19th of January, and the second the accidental destruc- 
 tion by fire of the mission-house at Duke Towji on the 9th 
 of February. 
 
 To understand what led up to the destruction of Old 
 Town, we have to go back a year. " The gross violation 
 of the law against human sacrifices committed at Old 
 Town, at the death of the chief Willie Tom Robins, in 
 Feb. 1854, required," says Mr. Waddell, 1 "to be promptly 
 and severely dealt with. When, therefore, it was formally 
 made known by the missionaries to the native authorities, 
 an Egbo interdict was laid on the guilty place, forbidding 
 the funeral rites for the deceased till the breach of law was 
 atoned for. In the native estimation that was decisive. 
 The obsequies could not be indefinitely postponed, as a 
 successor required to be chosen after they were concluded, 
 and other important matters, both of business and of 
 
 pleasure, depended on their regular performance. Sooner 
 
 1 Twenty -Nine Years, p. 551. 
 303
 
 304 Old Calabar Period 
 
 or later, therefore, the heads of the town would be obliged 
 to succumb and pay the penalty. . . . King Eyo said that 
 everything was in a fair train for finding and punishing 
 the guilty." Had the native law and procedure — slow, but 
 in this case sure — been allowed to take its course, all would 
 have been well. 
 
 But the white traders, who were simply temporary 
 residents, and imperfectly acquainted with native customs, 
 and unwilling to wait the execution of Egbo law, " desired 
 a more vigorous mode of procedure. In Jan. 1855, 'the 
 gentlemen of the shipping,' ' continues Mr. Waddell, 
 "called a meeting to determine the fate of Old Town. 
 From that meeting the missionaries were excluded ; and, in 
 their absence and contrary to the wishes of the rulers of 
 Duke Town and Creek Town, it was resolved that the 
 town should be destroyed and some of its chief men 
 banished. A boat was then despatched to Fernando Po 
 for the Consul and the man-of-war ; and in a week more, 
 H.M. ss. Antelope, Commander Young, arrived with the 
 .Acting Consul, Mr. Lynslager, on board. This gentleman, 
 a merchant of Clarence, who had been temporarily appointed 
 by the late Consul Beecroft, . . . immediately on his ar- 
 rival summoned a general meeting on board the Queen's 
 ship, and desired all complaints to be brought before him." 
 In spite of the protests of Mr. Edgerley, the missionary at 
 Old Town, and contrary to the wishes of the other mission- 
 aries, he ordered the destruction of the town. 
 
 Mr. Edgerley was subsequently blamed in Parliament 
 and in the press J for its destruction. 
 
 1 As an example of the distortion of facts in the press, the following 
 sentence from a book on European Settlements on I he West Coast of Africa, 
 published in 1862, by a Captain and F.R.G.S., whose ignorance of the real 
 nature of missionary work is only equalled by his bias against missions,
 
 Memorial to Government 305 
 
 The bombardment and destruction of Old Town formed 
 the subject of a Memorial to Government from the Foreign 
 Mission Board, dated Oct. 2nd, 1855, and also of a Depu- 
 tation, consisting of Messrs. John Henderson of Park, and 
 David Anderson, Glasgow, accompanied by the Hon. 
 A. F. Kinnaird, M.P., which had an interview with Lord 
 Clarendon at the Foreign Office on the 2nd of November, 
 and presented the Memorial. The Memorial is given in full 
 in the Record for Dec. 1855. It will be sufficient to sum- 
 marise the views of the Board : — 
 
 They complained of the Consul's proceeding— 
 (1) Because it was illegal. — -There was no treaty existing 
 between Old Town and the British Government which 
 gave the Consul authority or right to interfere in the 
 matter. This is the testimony of all the missionaries who 
 have for eight years been resident there, and are tho- 
 roughly acquainted with all the transactions which have 
 taken place. The treaty of 15th February 1851, which, it 
 was alleged, had been violated, had no reference whatever 
 to Old Town. None of the chiefs or representatives of 
 Old Town was present at the making of that treaty, and 
 could not therefore be bound by it. It was a treaty 
 framed between the chiefs of Duke Town and the slaves 
 of the Qua plantation. The error of the Consul and 
 others lies in supposing that a treaty made with one town 
 in Calabar binds all the others, whereas the fact is that 
 each town has its own separate civil rulers. 
 
 will suffice. After speaking of the "schismatic emissaries" of "rival sects 
 of dissenters," "professed harbingers of Christianity and peace," as being 
 "pestilent fomenters of strife between tribes" (!), the writer goes on to say, 
 " The missionaries are in fact the most warlike men on the coast," and illus- 
 trates it by various cases, concluding with the following reference to the 
 bombardment of Old Town, which he erroneously supposes to be the chief 
 town of Old Calabar: "As said Sir C. Wood [in Parliament], it was at the 
 request (!) of the missionaries the town of Old Calabar {sic) was destroyed by 
 the fleet (sic), though what' wrong the natives had committed has not to this 
 day transpired." Had the writer read the Blue-Book on the subject, he 
 could not have penned that sentence. 
 20
 
 306 Old Calabar Period 
 
 (2) Because it was done in opposition to the wishes and 
 protests of the missionary agents, who are British subjects, 
 resident in the locality. — The language of the Consul's 
 letter of 19th January (as given in Blue-Book, Class A, 
 p. 162) conveyed the idea that the missionaries united 
 with the supercargoes in calling upon the Consul to grant 
 " redress " for the murders at Old Town. This was not 
 the case. A letter of the Rev. W. Anderson, dated 15th 
 January, is given in the Blue-Book, p. 163, and it makes 
 no allusion to Old Town. A letter of the Rev. S. 
 Edgerley is also given, p. 164. It pointed out certain 
 dangers to which he was exposed, and claimed in regard 
 to these, not " redress," but "protection" The Memorial 
 proceeds: — -The missionaries deeply lamented the murders 
 at Old Town, strongly desired that the native Egbo law, 
 passed in 1.S50, should be vindicated, and were very 
 anxious that the Consul should use his moral influence, as 
 his predecessor, Mr. Beecroft, had often done, in persuading 
 the natives to carry into effect their own law ; but they 
 unanimously disapproved of, and, as has been already 
 stated, protested against the proposal to destroy Old 
 Town. The Consul, however, disregarded their protests — 
 the protests of the only British subjects resident in the 
 town of Old Calabar, and deeply interested in the welfare 
 of the people, and, in compliance with the suggestion and 
 request of the majority of the masters and supercargoes, 
 who are only temporary visitors, extinguished a native 
 town and destroyed a mission station. This is a proceeding 
 which imperils our other mission stations, and all the other 
 missions along the Coast; for if a Consul, in defiance of 
 the protest of the British residents, and at the suggestion 
 of mere strangers, shall destroy a town and blot out a 
 mission, it is obvious that it needs but the combination of 
 men who may not like the existence of missionaries in a 
 given locality, to secure their expulsion, the ruin of then- 
 work, and the perpetuation of the reign of darkness, 
 cruelty, and death. 
 
 (3) Because it is fitted to have an injurious effect on our 
 Mission. — In the joint narrative of the missionaries (drawn 
 up by Air. Waddell), it is said: — 
 
 " Injurious suspicions are spread abroad against us, as,
 
 The True Method of Reform 307 
 
 at the bottom, the cause of this outrage, because we have 
 rebuked and exposed the practices which have apparently 
 brought it about. Now, nothing could be more injurious 
 to our efforts among the people than the idea that we were 
 backed by a man-of-war. We come as men of peace. . . . 
 If they imagine that our entreaties are a cunning device 
 to ensnare them into promises which shall be enforced by 
 the thunder of war-guns, it is easy to see how vain will be 
 our best endeavours for their instruction and conversion." 
 
 (4) Because it tends to weaken the beneficial influence of 
 the white man upon the native mind. — The missionaries 
 say: "Native instrumentality and co-operation are indis- 
 pensable to native reformation, and certainly much better 
 than external compulsion." 
 
 [Would that in all dealings with native races that prin- 
 ciple were acted on ! External force is no remedy ; nor 
 will " the fear of the Consul," or of the coercive powers of 
 civilisation represented by him, avail to work permanent 
 reforms in any native State. Native instrumentality — 
 Egbo law, for example, and the willing co-operation of 
 even an enlightened minority only of chiefs and people — 
 will do more for native reformation than civilised com- 
 pulsion in any shape or form. It may be a slower, but it 
 is a far surer process. Moral and spiritual influence, not 
 force nor even law, is the true reformer and civiliser of 
 heathen and barbarous tribes. — W. M.] 
 
 (5) Because the Consul has prohibited the town from 
 being rebuilt. — It is the oldest town in the district, and its 
 annihilation is calculated to produce, among a people who 
 cling to tradition, very hostile feelings towards Europeans. 
 . . . The destruction of the town is illegal, but to forbid 
 its ever being rebuilt is the highest injustice. And what 
 aggravates this arbitrary act of power is the conduct of the 
 Consul in taking the people of Duke Town bound, under 
 the penalty of the displeasure of H.M.'s Government, to 
 keep Old Town a ruin. It is a subversion of all the ideas
 
 308 Old Calabar Period 
 
 of the people of Calabar, as well as of natural rights, to 
 hold the people of one town, with a distinct civil govern- 
 ment, responsible for the doings of the people of another 
 town, with a separate civil authority. 
 
 In a letter of 30th Jan. 1S56, which it may be best to 
 give here, Mr. Anderson communicates the intelligence 
 that T. J. Hutchinson, Esq. (author of an interesting 
 Narrative of the Niger, Tshadda, and Binnc Exploration, 
 etc., 1885), formerly a medical man, the then newly- 
 appointed Consul for the Bight of Biafra, had visited 
 ( alabar, and convened a meeting at Old Town, where, in 
 accordance with instructions from Lord Clarendon, he 
 made a treaty with the people of Old Town, giving them 
 liberty, on certain conditions, to rebuild their town. The 
 Government thus lost no time in carrying into effect the 
 promise which, on the 2nd of November, Lord Clarendon 
 made to the Deputation from the Mission Board. The 
 friendly relations between the Consul and the missionaries, 
 that enabled them to work cordially together in their dis- 
 tinctive spheres for the best interests of the natives, afford 
 an example worthy of imitation in every British sphere 
 where consular jurisdiction and missionary influence 
 coexist : — 
 
 Consul Hutchinson arrived on his first official visit to 
 this river in H.M.S. Bloodhound on the 16th curt, and 
 left us on the 22nd. The natives were delighted to meet 
 an old friend in a new capacity. On the Friday or Satur- 
 day they presented a very kind address to Consul H., 
 congratulating him on his appointment, expressing their 
 conviction that he will do what is just and right between 
 white men and black, etc. He wrote a very suitable 
 address in reply, which he entrusted to me to deliver and 
 interpret. The reply furnished me with good themes for 
 some of my meetings. I found the following statement,
 
 Consular Treaty with Old Town 309 
 
 in particular, to be a capital text, seeing that the Efik 
 country is nourished by the Queen's country : " Queen 
 Victoria and her gentlemen wish commerce and Chris- 
 tianity to flourish wherever the English flag waves." 
 
 Sabbath, Jan. 20th, was Grand Egbo day, so that we 
 had hardly any meetings in town. About 1 1 A.M., as all 
 on board the Bloodhound were met for and engaged in 
 divine service, a noisy Egbo canoe procession was coming 
 up the river, bringing Egbo from the bush. Perhaps there 
 was a little more showing off than usual, from the idea 
 that the white strangers on the man-of-war vessel would 
 be deeply interested in the affair. 
 
 From its being generally known that the Consul 
 would be at church at the afternoon English service, a good 
 many of the native gentlemen forsook,/;^ tem. y their Egbo 
 affairs, and came to worship with us. It was pleasant to 
 see our Consul, Commander Williams, and several of the 
 Bloodhound's officers setting a good example to the natives 
 of Old Calabar in regard to church-going. Would that 
 all our countrymen who come here would " go and do 
 likewise " ! 
 
 On Monday, Jan. 21st, an important meeting was held 
 at Old Town. Of Europeans, there were present Consul 
 H., Commander Williams, the Consul's secretary, the four 
 ordained missionaries, Messrs. Sutherland and Wylie, and 
 Dr. Hevvan. Of the natives there were present, besides 
 the chiefs of Old Town, King Eyo and a band of Creek 
 Town gentlemen, and Duke Ephraim with a band of Duke 
 Town gentlemen. Old Town gentlemen received per- 
 mission to rebuild Old Town, on their signing a treaty, of 
 which the following are the provisions, which bear most on 
 our Mission work : — 
 
 1. The abolition of human sacrifices for the dead. — The 
 gentlemen were quite willing to accede to this demand. 
 
 2. Saving the lives of twin children. — There was 
 some demur here, but at length it was agreed that their 
 lives should be saved, but that they are on no account to 
 come or be brought into town. 
 
 3. Infants whose mothers die are not to be buried 
 alive, but committed to the care of the United Presby- 
 terian missionaries. — This also was at once agreed to.
 
 310 Old Calabar Period 
 
 4. In regard to the ordeal of the escre (poison bean), 
 the Consul and missionaries strove to get it abolished, but 
 could not prevail. Its mode of administration was, how- 
 ever, so regulated and modified that the system is 
 deprived of most of its power of doing mischief. No one 
 is to be compelled to take the ordeal at Old Town without 
 the consent of King Eyo and Uuke Ephraim. 
 
 5. The protection of missionaries.- — This also was at 
 once agreed to. While on this point, I was much gratified 
 on hearing the Consul give a good word of counsel and 
 reproof to my Duke Town friends. He told them plainly 
 that he had no power to make laws for them on such 
 subjects, but that as a friend he would advise them to 
 abolish Egbo processions, devil-makings, and markets on 
 the Sabbath day, seeing that on account of such things as 
 he himself had witnessed on the previous day, many who 
 would like to attend school and meetings for instruction 
 were prevented. He expressed his gratification at having 
 seen so many Duke Town gentlemen at church on the 
 Sabbath afternoon, and his sorrow on account of the Egbo 
 procession on the Sabbath morning. 
 
 Such good advice from such a quarter, and given in 
 such a kindly manner, will, I trust, be followed with bene- 
 ficial results ; though I must needs confess that I see 
 little prospect of reformation among the adult population 
 of Duke Town. To many of them, I fear, may be 
 addressed the awful words of Acts xxviii. 26-27. 
 
 With reference to the destruction by fire, on 9th 
 
 February, of Duke Town mission-house, Mr. Edgerley 
 
 wrote in his Journal and in a letter: — 
 
 Between twelve and one o'clock noon a fire broke out 
 in the Duke Town mission-house, the first mission-house 
 erected in Calabar. It originated by a spark being 
 carried by a strong breeze from an adjacent spot where 
 the bush was being burnt off, and lighting upon the roof, 
 covered with matting and asphalte felt, which were of a 
 friable and combustible nature, owing to the extreme 
 drought prevailing. Hundreds of persons were on the 
 spot immediately — white people from the ships, Kruboys
 
 Duke Town Mission-House Burned 311 
 
 and natives ; but though many mounted the roof, and the 
 most strenuous efforts were made to extinguish the flames, 
 in one hour the house was reduced to a heap of ruins, 
 and we are left to wonder at the inscrutable ways of 
 Providence, that within the space of twenty short days 
 two of our Mission stations should be rendered useless. 
 
 Mr. Anderson himself wrote to Mr. Somerville on 
 February 1 3 : 1 — 
 
 You will regret to learn that the roof of Duke Town 
 mission-house accidentally caught fire on Friday last, the 
 9th inst., and in little more than an hour the whole was 
 burnt down to the ground, with the exception of a few of 
 the mangrove posts on which the house was supported. 
 Most of the ship-captains and surgeons, with a large 
 number of native gentlemen, with drawn swords in hand, 
 came to our aid as soon as possible, and, under their 
 direction, a portion of the household furniture and 
 about the half of my books were saved from the flames. 
 We are occupying two small apartments which escaped 
 destruction. 
 
 Mr. Anderson wrote more fully on 28th March: 2 — 
 
 We are quite busy at present preparing a temporary 
 residence, in expectation that another mission-house will 
 be forthcoming in due time. 3 Our present premises would 
 
 1 Record, May 1855. 
 
 -Record, July 1855. 
 
 3 In the Record for May 1855, after referring to the fact that Mr. and 
 Mrs. Anderson had had to take up their abode in two small out-houses, and 
 that Mr. and Mrs. Edgerley were residing in a small house erected by one of 
 the ship-captains, which the Board had purchased, it is stated that "the 
 Committee on Foreign Missions are accordingly taking steps to have houses 
 made and sent out by the May steamer, in order that our esteemed agents 
 may, as speedily as it is practicable for us, be furnished with the means of 
 healthful accommodation." Would that the same policy had prevailed in 
 recent years in replacing the temporary houses, which have had so much to 
 do with the ill-health, the invaliding, and the permanent withdrawal from 
 Calabar of several of the agents at the new up-river stations of Ungwdna and 
 Emuremura, by suitable permanent houses. The delay in providing them
 
 312 Old Calabar Period 
 
 not, we fear, afford us sufficient protection from wind and 
 wet during the approaching rainy season. You will be 
 glad to learn that a number of our river friends have 
 contributed liberally to the purchase of another house for 
 us. 1 We are indebted to several of the gentlemen in the 
 river for more than their pecuniary contributions ; in 
 particular to Captain Baak, for several articles of provision 
 and important repairs to our boat. 
 
 I send you a list of the more important and useful of 
 my books which were destroyed by the fire of the 9th 
 ult. Perhaps some friends may have some of the volumes 
 to spare. Mrs. A. made strong efforts to save them all, 
 but it was impossible. She continued throwing them 
 down from the shelves when no one could £r near her to 
 receive them, owing to the smoke which filled the room, 
 and the burning timbers which were falling around her 
 and on her. So intent was she on her purpose of saving, 
 that she perceived not her danger. A river friend, 
 however, providentially saw her when she was on the 
 point of falling down suffocated, and on the instant he 
 snatched her up in his arms and placed her in safety in 
 the open air. 
 
 On the day of the fire, and when the house was almost 
 consumed, I happened to be going into the yard with 
 Cobbin's Condensed Commentary under my arm. " A 
 great woman " — one of the native ladies — was standing at 
 the gate. On my approach, she thus addressed me, with 
 much appearance of feeling, " Mbom ! mbom ! '' — "Pity! 
 pity!" equal to "I condole with you on your loss." I 
 told her that it was true that I felt sorry about the house 
 and other things which had been burned ; but, pointing to 
 my Bible, I said to her (translating the Efik literally), 
 " Something live here make my heart very strong in time 
 
 has been most injurious to the work at these stations, and has again and 
 again broken the continuity of the work, which is so essential to success. 
 Now that a new house has been provided for Emuremura, there is no 
 ordained missionary to occupy it ! 
 
 'Captain Baak contributed ^"30, and friends in the ship Lady Head 
 over ^100, in token of sympathy for the calamity, "which many of us the 
 more deeply deplore, in consideration of the kind attention and hospitality 
 received [in the mission-house] during sickness.''
 
 Deaths of Duke Town Chiefs 313 
 
 of this big trouble." On hearing this, the good woman 
 shrank back, and looked with a good deal of alarm at my 
 book. She doubtless thought that it must be my bigjuju, 
 and that, though it might protect me, it might injure her. 
 This led me to explain to her briefly what the Bible is, 
 and what it does. She listened with much interest, and 
 afterwards went on her way. This, thought I, may be 
 one design of this painful dispensation, that we may have 
 an opportunity of glorifying God in the fires, by showing 
 to the poor benighted ones around us that our religion 
 affords — what theirs does not — something to support and 
 cheer in the hour of severe trial. 
 
 Death has been busy among the chiefs of this town 
 since the year began. In January, Egbo Jack, an old 
 man of considerable influence, was called away. He had 
 frequently spurned the word of God and mocked the 
 message of the Most High.. He mocks no more ! 
 
 In February, Mr. Young, whose name has figured 
 largely, if not very brightly, in Efik history for many 
 years, was called on to stand before the Judge of all. 
 He died on Sabbath the 11th. On the previous Sabbath 
 I addressed him on the great subject, founding my 
 remarks on the story of Naaman the Syrian. He listened 
 with deep attention. I saw him but once after that. 
 He was very ill. I prayed with him, and pointed him to 
 the Saviour. After this, he sent for Mr. Haddison to read 
 to him from the word of God and to pray with him. 
 I am not altogether destitute of confidence that he prayed 
 for himself — that he looked to the Saviour of sinners for 
 mercy. And " who can tell ? " But I proceed no further. 
 " The day will declare it." 
 
 On Friday the 9th inst, Antika Cobham entered the 
 eternal world. For years the word of God was spoken 
 Sabbath after Sabbath in his yard. He never did pay 
 much attention to it, however, and for some Sabbaths 
 before his death he would not listen to it at all. 
 
 These repeated inroads of the King of Terrors call 
 loudly on those who are entrusted with the message of 
 mercy to be diligent in their endeavours to save souls 
 from death. They call loudly on all to prepare for 
 another world.
 
 314 Old Calabar Period 
 
 In a letter 1 dated 24th May, Mr. Anderson intimated 
 that he had succeeded in erecting a temporary house: — 
 
 A little experience of the accommodation afforded by 
 the schoolroom and a small out-house, after the con 
 flagration of the mission-house, convinced us that without 
 some better lodging we could not expect either comfort 
 or health during the rainy season, which usually begins 
 in May. We set about the erection of a temporary abode, 
 to be made partly in European and partly in native style. 
 This edifice, 36 by 15 inside the walls, was so far finished 
 that we were able to enter it as occupants on Friday last, 
 the 1 8th inst., which da}-, we well remembered, was the 
 seventh anniversary of our departure from Rose Hill. 
 The walls are made of native material, wattle plastered 
 with mud ; the floor is four feet from the ground, and is 
 made of boards which Dr. Ferguson sent us most oppor- 
 tunely from Liverpool ; the doors are made of the same 
 timber, and the windows were saved from the late mission- 
 house. We find a vast addition to our comfort in our 
 new abode, as compared with our circumstances during 
 the last three months. I may mention that during that 
 period we have had showers and tornadoes, which have put 
 us frequently to no small inconvenience and discomfort; 
 but, with feelings of gratitude to Him who rules the 
 elements, I record it, the first heavy and continuous rain 
 of the season did not descend till the afternoon of Friday 
 last, immediately after we were, in a manner, settled down 
 in our new residence. Then the heavens became quite 
 black, and heavy rain poured down without intermission 
 from three till twelve P.M. 
 
 I had rather a severe attack of fever last month. I 
 was seized on the evening of Saturday the 7th, and the 
 fever continued till midnight of the 13th. It left me 
 very low. At one time, I understand, my recovery was 
 despaired of. 
 
 On Friday the 20th, went as on a former occasion) to 
 ("reek Town for a change of air. Spent about a week very 
 pleasantly with Mr. and Mrs. Waddell, whose kindness 
 and hospitality demand my grateful remembrance. On 
 
 1 Record, Sept. 1855.
 
 Visit to Ikoneto 315 
 
 the Sabbath I was able to say a few words in King Eyo's 
 yard, and also to preach a short sermon in the schoolroom 
 in the evening. The contrast between a Creek Town 
 Sabbath and a Duke Town Sabbath is very great. There, 
 " a Sabbath stillness reigns around " ; here, except in one 
 portion of the town, and among those connected with the 
 Church, there is very little difference between Sabbath 
 day and week day. Was glad to see King Eyo as much 
 interested as ever in the statements of Divine truth 
 which he hears from time to time. King Duke has 
 not attended a religious meeting for above a year, and 
 gives no countenance to either Sabbath meeting or 
 week-day school, yet declares that he " keeps Sunday 
 very proper." 
 
 On Tuesday, April 24th, I accompanied Mr. Waddell 
 to Ekrikok [Ikoneto]. We were very kindly received by 
 the people, and we spoke to them the word of the Lord. 
 I quite enjoyed the trip, though it was rather fatiguing 
 for an invalid. . . . 
 
 On Monday, April 30th, I was able to resume the 
 teaching of the school, which work has again devolved on 
 me since Mr. Sutherland went to Old Town in the end 
 of February. 
 
 You will be glad to learn that another of our young men 
 has been added to the fellowship of the Church. His name 
 is Ephraim John Duke. He is one of those whose marriage 
 to one wife I intimated to you last year. He was baptized 
 in the afternoon of Sabbath the 6th inst. I would com- 
 mend him, and all who, like him, " have named the name 
 of Christ " in this land, to your prayers, to the prayers of 
 the Church. 
 
 Monday, June 4. — Other three of the Sierra Leone 
 immigrants have been added to the Church here, and sat 
 with us yesterday at the table of the Lord. 1 . . . 
 
 Mr. Anderson wrote on Aug. 29th : — 
 
 I had but little time to write you on the arrival of the 
 Candace, with a new house for us on board, on July 
 14th. We felt, and feel, grateful to the Mission Board for 
 
 1 Record, Nov. 1855.
 
 3 16 Old Calabar Period 
 
 their kind consideration in sending us a new house, even 
 before they received any request on the subject from us. 
 The rains having been much more continuous this year 
 than usual, we have not yet got much done in the way of 
 preparation for erecting the new house. By the kindness 
 of one of the supercargoes, we have had a number of Kru- 
 men cutting and carrying posts for the edifice. The rains, 
 however, have interfered a good deal with their operations. 
 Having been kept a good deal in the house for some time 
 past by the rains, I have applied myself a good deal to 
 the translating into Efik of the books of Psalms and 
 Proverbs. I am now at the 85th Psalm and the 19th 
 chapter of Proverbs. In so far as I have gone, I have 
 found the exercise to be both pleasant and profitable. 
 
 One of my former assistants in the work of translation, 
 James Carpenter by name, died on the 31st ult. He was 
 one of the most intelligent young men belonging to Old 
 Calabar. He possessed fine talents, and I often fondly 
 hoped that the}' would be turned to good account in 
 advancing the cause of Christianity among his country- 
 men. My hopes have not been realised. James embarked 
 in trade, and, to all appearance, other influences " choked 
 the word." Well knew he his duties in regard to religious 
 matters, but — he procrastinated. Had he enjoyed only 
 one week more of health, the last of the obstacles which 
 interposed between him and Church fellowship would have 
 been removed, and it was — so I am informed by his most 
 intimate companion — his full resolution to be married, and 
 to apply for baptism the week after that. But the oppor- 
 tunity of publicly avowing himself to be "on the Lord's 
 side," by union with the Church below, had already passed 
 away for ever. He read with me the whole of John's 
 Gospel, and also various other portions of Scripture, while 
 I was employed in translating them into Efik. Frequently, 
 at the close of our lessons, I have said to him, "Now, 
 James, remember Noah's carpenters" in allusion to a re- 
 ligious handbill so headed, which interested him much, 
 and in which those who aid in religious matters, without 
 being themselves religious, are compared to Noah's car- 
 penters, who indeed helped to build the ark for the salva- 
 tion of others, and yet perished themselves. He well
 
 Death of Mr. Sutherland 317 
 
 understood the hint, and frequently expressed his purpose 
 not to imitate them. 
 
 I saw him several times at the commencement of his 
 illness, while he was yet in Duke Town. He was rather 
 taciturn, but declared that he was looking to Christ for the 
 pardon of all his sins, and acceptance with God. By and 
 by his father had him taken away to a celebrated (I rather 
 suppose, juju) doctor at Ekri Mimbo, where he lingered 
 some weeks, and then died. While at this last-named 
 place no human friend was near him who could point him 
 to the Lamb of God, but he had enlarged knowledge of 
 gospel truth, and perhaps He manifested Himself to the 
 parting spirit amid that mass of gloomy superstition by 
 which the sufferer was surrounded. 
 
 The death of another of Mr. Anderson's former 
 assistants, Mr. Alexander Sutherland of Old Town, may 
 be recorded here. On June 4, 1855, Mr. Anderson wrote: 
 " Sorry to have to intimate that Mr. Sutherland's health 
 has not been in a satisfactory state for some time." In 
 the beginning of the year Mr. Sutherland took temporary 
 charge at Old Town after the bombardment, and in Sep- 
 tember he was appointed to the superintendence of the 
 station. He began to have repeated attacks of illness. 
 Dr. Hewan and the rest of the brethren strongly advised 
 him, with the view of recruiting his strength, either to go 
 home for a time or to remove to a milder region. But he 
 persisted in remaining. His chief reason for this was the 
 prospect of his being married to Miss Miller, and of taking 
 charge of Old Town as his own station ; and as the 
 brethren hoped that these changes might operate for his 
 benefit, they did not urge his departure. He removed to 
 Old Town on Nov. 8, and was married at Creek Town 
 on Nov. 29. With reference to Mrs. Sutherland, Mr. 
 Waddell wrote: "For myself, it is a matter of the
 
 3i 8 Old Calabar Period 
 
 highest satisfaction that, having brought Miss Miller to 
 this country six years ago, then an experiment, I am now 
 able to hand her over, a well-qualified missionary wife, to 
 her own husband. Henceforth let no one magnify the 
 dangers of the Calabar climate as a bar to their serving 
 God in the gospel of His dear Son in this part of the 
 mission field. What a young woman has done, young- 
 men should not be afraid to undertake." For a time Mr. 
 Sutherland greatly improved in health and spirits. Dr. 
 Ilewan wrote: "I had much pleasure in living in the 
 house with the happy couple, both of whom seemed 
 strenuously exerting themselves to promote the grand 
 object before them — the saving health of the surrounding 
 tribes." Mr. Sutherland was seized with diarrhoea in the 
 beginning of April 1856, and died on the 20th. "On the 
 [6th," wrote Mr. Anderson, who frequently visited him, 
 " he gave me special charges to look after his widow — 
 ' my lassie,' as he called her — when he should be gone." 
 On the 2 1st, "at the earnest request of Mrs. Sutherland, 
 he was interred at Creek Town," by the side of Mr. 
 Jameson. Mr. Anderson wrote regarding the death : — 
 
 Whilst this event fills the heart with sadness — whilst 
 we mourn that Mr. Sutherland was removed in comparat- 
 ive youth, being only twenty-seven years of age, and 
 when favourable prospects of usefulness were opening 
 before him, still there is nothing about it that should 
 discourage us, or that should make us regard the foreign 
 mission field as peculiarly dangerous. . . . Let us bear in 
 mind that there have been only two deaths in Calabar in 
 ten years. Those who are in the mission field occupy a 
 conspicuous position ; the eyes of many, happily, are on 
 them ; and when they fall, the event is noticed, and 
 1 >e< >ple are apt to say that foreign service is connected 
 with special perils. But let these persons, before they
 
 Mortality in Mission Field and at Home 319 
 
 draw such a conclusion, look at home. During the three 
 years, in which we have had no deaths among- our numerous 
 missionaries abroad, no fewer than twenty-eight ministers 
 of the home Church were removed by death, eleven of whom 
 were either young men or persons in the prime of life ; and 
 yet no one made the remark that the home ministry is 
 perilous to human life. ..." Blessed are the dead that die 
 in the Lord ; " and pre-eminently blessed are those that 
 fall in the high places of the Foreign Mission field ; for 
 they honoured the Lord, and He will specially honour 
 them. 
 
 Mr. Anderson's commonsense method of looking the 
 facts in the face, and comparing the comparative mortality 
 in the home and the foreign field, may be commended 
 to those who look only at the mortality in the foreign 
 field.
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 Calabar Slavery and Slave-holding in relation to Membership 
 
 in the Church 
 
 MR. Anderson appears to have been the first of the 
 missionaries to realise the difficulties that lay in the way 
 of the admission to Church membership of those who by 
 their position in Calabar society were slave-holders, and 
 by Calabar law could not divest themselves of that char- 
 acter. At any rate, he was the first to move in the matter, 
 and he and Mr. Somerville had to bear the brunt of the 
 controversy which agitated the home Church. 
 
 The case of David King, a young freeman of Duke 
 Town, whose baptism had already been recorded, and 
 that of other applicants, led to the question of their 
 admission being referred by the Calabar Committee to 
 the Board of Missions or to the Synod. The Committee 
 on Foreign Missions remitted the matter to a Sub-Com- 
 mittee, and a Report prepared by Mr. Somerville, the 
 Foreign Secretary, was unanimously adopted by the 
 Committee on 2nd Jan. 1855, and ordered to be pub- 
 lished in the Record. Its publication "led," says Dr. 
 Somerville in his Autobiography, " to intense excitement 
 in the Church." A full treatment of the subject belongs 
 properly to a history of the Mission ; but Mr. Anderson's 
 name and the case of the Duke Town converts came so 
 prominently before the Church, that his share in the
 
 The Question of Domestic Slavery 321 
 
 proceedings must get due recognition. Besides, the 
 question of domestic slavery, not only in relation to 
 Church life, but in relation to the future of Calabar in its 
 new political condition as a portion of the Niger Coast 
 Protectorate, is one of present-day importance in East 
 as well as in West Africa, as the recently issued very 
 interesting Correspondence respecting Slavery in the Zanzi- 
 bar Dominions (Africa, No. 7, 1896), where the total 
 abolition of domestic slavery is imminent, bears witness. 
 
 A few sentences from Dr. Somerville's Autobiography 
 will most fitly introduce Mr. Anderson's communications 
 to the Mission Board : — " When the gospel began to take 
 effect in Calabar, and when those who had slaves applied 
 for baptism, the missionaries very properly asked the 
 Committee what they were to do in such a case, seeing 
 that the Synod [in 1849] had declared, in its remon- 
 strances sent to America, that it could hold no fellowship 
 with Churches that countenanced or connived at slavery. 
 In answer to this question I wrote a long and elaborate 
 paper, which filled nearly the whole of the Record for 
 February 1855. This document stated the circumstances 
 which gave rise to the question ; the laws of Old Calabar 
 with regard to slavery, according to which it was shown 
 that slaves cannot be set free ; the principles applicable to 
 slavery as existing in a Christian nation, and as existing 
 in a heathen country, and the views which the Scrip- 
 tures throw on these two states; and suggested a 
 declaration or engagement, virtually liberating the slaves, 
 which, if the converts accepted, they might be admitted 
 to the fellowship of the Church" (p. 190). 
 
 Extracts from the paper, showing the part taken by 
 
 Mr. Anderson, and also a summary of a later paper 
 2 1
 
 322 Old Calabar Period 
 
 explaining and justifying the course he had adopted of 
 admitting three young men to membership, anticipating 
 the decision by Board and Synod, will now be given : — 
 
 I. Documents sent to the Sub-Committee 
 
 The first was an extract from the minutes of the Old 
 
 Calabar Committee: — 
 
 Creek Town, Dec. 6, 1853. — Inter alia, Mr. Anderson 
 reported that several young men who are proprietors of 
 slaves have given in their names as candidates for 
 admission into the Church, and expressed his doubts as 
 to the propriety of admitting them while they continued 
 such. The slave question in this country is involved in 
 difficulties, and the Committee would earnestly implore 
 either from the Board of Missions or the Synod of the 
 United Presbyterian Church, the settlement of this 
 question — Should slave-holders be received into Church 
 fellowship? 
 
 The second communication was an extract from a letter 
 of Mr. Anderson, dated Duke Town, March 6, 1854: — 
 
 I feel anxious for a reply to the question proposed by 
 the Committee here, in their minute of Dec. 6, to Board 
 or Synod — " Should slave-holders be received into the 
 fellowship of the Church?" We have several candidates 
 for baptism here, amiable, intelligent, and apparently 
 sincere in their desire to embrace and profess Christianity, 
 but they are slave-holders. I do not feel at all free to admit 
 them into the Church whilst they sustain that relation. 
 The question is one of difficulty and delicacy. Every 
 free person here must cither hold slaves or do his work 
 with his own hands. We have no free labouring popula- 
 tion. Even our manumitted domestics are not considered 
 free. Calabar law recognises them not, save as our slaves. 
 Now that the foundations of the Church are being laid in 
 this land, it is of importance that everything connected 
 with the work be sound. I think I foresee that, if slave- 
 holders be now admitted into the Church without some 
 distinct provisions such as those I am about to suggest,
 
 Declaration drawn up by Mr. Anderson 323 
 
 the discussion of the slave question at a future day . . . 
 may not only convulse the Church here, but agitate the 
 U.P. Church at home. I have been thinking that a 
 compromise of this kind might be entered into with 
 slave-holders applying for Communion. Let a promise be 
 exacted from each: — 1. That he will pay his people 
 properly for the work they perform. 2. That he will 
 permit them to enjoy religious instruction. 3. That, should 
 any of them wish to leave his service, he will employ no 
 coercive means to retain them. 4. That he will sell none 
 of his people unl^s incorrigible offenders — such as 
 desperate thieves and burglars. Perhaps another demand 
 might be that he will on no account whatever maim, 
 mutilate, scorch, etc., any of his people. Cutting off ears, 
 extracting teeth, half-roasting hands and feet, are getting 
 quite common now. I think the question too momentous 
 to be left to the judgment of each individual missionary. 
 
 The Sub-Committee had also before it a copy of the 
 subjoined declaration drawn up by Mr. Anderson, and 
 signed by three young men whom he admitted into the 
 fellowship of the Church : — 
 
 Believing that there is neither male nor female, bond nor 
 free, in Christ Jesus, I hereby promise, in the presence of 
 the great God who rules all things, that I shall give all 
 my servants what is just and equal for their work ; that I 
 shall consider them in the light of servants, not as pro- 
 perty ; that I shall permit and encourage them to attend 
 on such means of religious instruction as the Church may 
 be able to afford them ; that I shall on no account maim 
 them, pull out their teeth or cut off their ears, or allow 
 any other to do such things to them ; that I shall never 
 sell any of them, except incorrigible offenders whose lives 
 would be endangered by their remaining in Old Calabar ; 
 and that I shall ever act towards them as in the sight of 
 my great Master in heaven, who, I know, shall render to 
 every man according to his works. It shall be my con- 
 stant endeavour to act towards my inferiors and my 
 equals on the principle embodied by our Lord and 
 Saviour in the Golden Rule.
 
 324 Old Calabar Period 
 
 II. Paper by the Rev. Hugh Goldie on the Nature 
 of Calabar Slavery, the Laws relating to it, and 
 the Conduct of the Missionaries. 
 
 Mr. Goldie was in Scotland at the time, and drew up 
 the paper for the Sub-Committee. It is an extremely 
 valuable statement, regarding (1) the condition of slavery 
 in Calabar ; (2) the laws affecting slavery ; and (3) the 
 position of the Mission Church with respect to it. 
 
 There is, however, a communication from Mr. 
 Anderson, dated 27th Jan. 1855, and published in the May 
 Record, which must be given here. The paper consists of 
 four parts : — 
 
 I. GENERAL REMARKS 
 
 He premises — 1. That he had wished the question 
 decided long before, whether, in the existing state of 
 society in Old Calabar, persons possessing slaves must, on 
 that ground alone, be prevented from making a profession 
 of Christianity. 
 
 2. That the question now presented a different aspect 
 to him than it did when he proposed it as a subject of 
 discussion at home. From the time he learned that the 
 young men were willing to drop the character of slave- 
 holders, in so far as the circumstances in which they were 
 placed rendered it possible for them to do so, he saw no 
 necessity for his waiting for instructions from home respect- 
 ing them. It never occurred to him that they would be 
 required to do what was to them an impossibility, namely, 
 free their slaves. 
 
 3. That though his name had been brought more pro- 
 minently before the public in Scotland than that of any 
 of his brethren, yet he and the}- were essentially at one in 
 principle and practice in regard to it. He required a 
 written declaration, they were satisfied with a verbal one ; 
 and he reported more fully in regard to admissions than 
 they did.
 
 Calabar essentially a Slave Country 325 
 
 ii. nature of calabar slavery 
 
 1. Calabar is essentially a slave country. Slavery is 
 engrained in the very heart of society. It pervades all 
 its ramifications. Every person free-born is a slave- 
 holder, and has been so from birth, for whenever a free 
 child is brought into the world it is presented with a slave. 
 A male child is presented with a boy, and a female child 
 with a girl. But not only is every free-born native a slave- 
 holder, the greater proportion of the slaves are themselves 
 slave-holders. He is a very poor slave indeed who has 
 not at least two or three slaves whom he can call his 
 own. The power of the master over the bought slave is 
 of the most absolute kind, extending to " limb and life." 
 But there are in fact no really free people in the country, 
 save the heads of the Egbo grades, who are, as it were, the 
 heads of clans ; and even they are in bondage to one 
 another. Those who are called free-born are only com- 
 paratively so. There is no word in the Efik tongue to 
 express, in an English sense, the import of the word 
 free. A free-born child is with them simply " Eyen 
 isong," a child of the soil, a native; or, more emphatically, 
 " Otuk ntan eyen isong," one who has been rubbed at 
 his birth with Calabar earth. Egbo privileges have to be 
 bought for or by the sons of the greatest gentlemen and 
 most powerful kings in the country. Indeed, on Egbo 
 days, if (so-called) free boys be found abroad — walking 
 through the town, for instance — who have not bought, or 
 have had bought for them, that particular grade of Egbo 
 whose representative is in possession of the town, they are 
 more severely flogged than even the slaves. This is done 
 with the view of compelling their friends to buy Egbo 
 privileges for them. The highest in the land must say of 
 his privileges, what Claudius Lysias had to say of his 
 (Acts xxii. 28), "With a great sum obtained I this 
 freedom." Not one of them can say in the sense in which 
 Paul uttered the language, " But I was free-born." 
 
 2. Slavery in Old Calabar, and in many of the neigh- 
 bouring countries too, I believe, differs greatly from 
 slavery under civilised Governments. In America, for 
 instance, slavery and colour are closely associated. There,
 
 o 
 
 26 Old Calabar Period 
 
 generally speaking, a sable hue is sufficient to debar a man 
 from the enjoyment of freedom. ... In Old Calabar the 
 aristocracy of the fair skin is unacknowledged — unknown. 
 Well-behaved British subjects of the darkest complexion 
 are considered white people here, and treated as such. . . . 
 There is no impassable gulf between the depths of 
 bondage and the heights of gentlemanship, such as it is, 
 in this country. All slaves born in Old Calabar are termed 
 half-free ; the children of the half-free are sometimes termed 
 three-quarters free, but more frequently, I think, whole free. 
 The half-free cannot, in ordinary circumstances, be sold 
 out of the country. More than this, they are allowed to 
 purchase four or five of the nine different grades of Egbo. 
 Their children may buy all the grades save one or two, 
 which are reserved by the " proper free" for themselves. 
 
 Two of the most influential men in Duke Town, since 
 I have become a resident here, have been men who were 
 bought as slaves from other countries. . . . Both were 
 permitted to buy four or five of the Egbo grades. 
 
 I would specially call attention to the following most 
 important point of difference between slavery in the 
 United States and slavery in Old Calabar: — In America a 
 man may emancipate his slaves by a writ of manumission, 
 or he may allow them to emancipate themselves by 
 emigration to a free State ; he can do so, at all events, by 
 aiding their emigration to a free country. In Calabar 
 neither of these things can be done, as yet. There are no 
 laws respecting free labourers ; there is no such class of 
 persons in the country, with the exception of a few people 
 who have lately come hither from Sierra Leone, and who 
 are British subjects. They, as well as a few emancipadoes 
 about some of the mission-houses, are viewed by the laws 
 of Calabar as white people, and not amenable to Egbo law. 
 Those whom I have mentioned as having been brought 
 from other countries, and who, notwithstanding, have 
 obtained many Egbo privileges, were stewards or con- 
 fidential servants to their masters while they lived ; and 
 on their masters' deaths, such was their standing in society 
 and their weight of character, and such their influence 
 arising from their wealth in slaves, that the gentlemen 
 of the country at once received them into fellowship.
 
 Master Responsible for Slave's Conduct 327 
 
 But no living master can emancipate a slave. The utmost 
 he can do for him is to purchase for him some Egbo 
 privileges. Were a master to attempt to emancipate his 
 slave to-day — in the English sense of the word emancipate 
 — he would only be turning him adrift a poor, houseless, 
 defenceless thing. The first freeman, or even slave, if 
 physically stronger, who might fall in with him, might 
 appropriate him ; and none among the unenlightened 
 natives would consider him a wronged man. 
 
 But there is another important element in the case — 
 the master is held responsible for the slave's conduct. 
 In free countries an ill-behaved servant can be summarily 
 dismissed by his master. Not so here. Were a master 
 here to manumit a restless, turbulent, wicked slave, and 
 were that slave to commit murder, robbery, or any other 
 crime, and were he not apprehended, the Egbo authorities 
 would come on the master for damages, and might not 
 only fine him severely, but, in the case of murder, demand 
 that one of his innocent slaves be put to death in room of 
 the culprit. The only thing that would relieve a quondam 
 master of responsibility in the case supposed, would be com- 
 plete evidence that he had sold the culprit to someone else, 
 either in Old Calabar or any of the surrounding countries. 
 
 It is quite a supposable case that a master who has 
 a turbulent, reckless, violent, incorrigible slave, may have 
 it put to his choice by the Egbo authorities, either to 
 sell or destroy that slave, or to deliver him up to Egbo, 
 to be put to death. 
 
 The most interesting part of the paper, from a per- 
 sonal point of view, and as giving an insight into Mr. 
 Anderson's clear-sighted, wise, and straightforward method 
 of dealing with a question the difficulties of which could 
 not be appreciated save by those on the spot, is : — 
 
 III. EXPLANATION OF THE CLAUSE ABOUT SELLING 
 INCORRIGIBLE OFFENDERS 
 
 In my simplicity, I imagined that that clause would be 
 the most easily understood and accounted for in the
 
 328 Oi.i' Calabar Period 
 
 whole declaration. As that document has obtained a 
 celebrity far beyond what was anticipated for it when 
 it was prepared, I may here briefly sketch its history. 
 
 When the young men requested admission to the 
 Church, I felt in a somewhat difficult position. ... In 
 offering themselves for Church membership, they were only 
 complying with the requirements of the gospel and the 
 counsels which had been often addressed to them. I 
 felt that I would be incurring a heavy responsibility were 
 I to reject their application. But, on the other hand, I 
 considered their social position. They, as well as all 
 their equals in the country, owned slaves. I well knew 
 the intense anti-slavery feeling of the United Presbyterian 
 Church. In that feeling I participate as much as any 
 man in Scotland. I frankly explained to them the state of 
 matters, brought before them the difficulties which beset 
 me in regard to their admission, and told them that I 
 could not admit them unless they were willing to cease 
 to be slave-holders in so far as Calabar law rendered this 
 possible, and become simply masters ; that thenceforth 
 the>- must regard their slaves as servants, not as money 
 ox property, etc., explaining to them the relative duties 
 of masters and servants. To my proposal they agreed. 
 To talk of any formal emancipation of their slaves was, 
 I well knew, out of the question. 
 
 The Church here has as yet but little influence over 
 the minds of the legislators of Old Calabar. The country 
 is in an unsettled, a transition state. The agents of the 
 Church must move warily and gently. It would be quite 
 an easy matter for your missionaries to make such a 
 strong anti-slavery demonstration in any given week as 
 would ruin all their usefulness as preachers of the ever- 
 lasting gospel for many years to come. Difficulties meet 
 us at every step. One difficulty was started when 
 on the subject of " neither buying nor selling human 
 beings as slaves," namely, What is to be done with a 
 bad slave? If the gentlemen in Egbo say to us, " Either 
 sell that slave out of the country, or give him up to die," 
 what are we to do? My reply was, In that case, I think 
 it were better for you to use the power which the country 
 law puts into your hands in the saving of life than in its
 
 A Personal Explanation 329 
 
 destruction. Sell, if that will save life. Hence originated 
 the clause which — I think without reason — has been con- 
 demned as vitiating all the rest of the declaration. 
 
 I may here state that the idea of a written declaration 
 did not present itself to my mind with much force till 
 the Sabbath on which D. King was received into fellow- 
 ship. It appeared to me that such a thing might be 
 satisfactory to the Mission Board, and that the young 
 men themselves might feel the obligations under which 
 they came to be the more solemn and binding. It was 
 drawn up under the exhaustion consequent on conducting 
 four meetings on that day, and with a fifth in prospect. . . . 
 If the Mission Board or the Synod will prepare a more 
 satisfactory one, I think we shall be able to prevail on 
 all the present members of the Church to adopt it, and 
 it can be rendered imperative on members to be admitted 
 in future to subscribe it. . . . 
 
 At the time the young men were admitted, all my 
 brethren were absent from the country in search of health, 
 so that I had not the benefit of their counsel. I did 
 believe, and do believe, that over their accession to the 
 Church angels rejoiced, however much some members 
 of the Church on earth may have been pained by their 
 admission. On the retrospect I see nothing to repent of. 
 I feel cheered by the testimony of a good conscience. 
 Even should the Mission Board or the Supreme Court 
 of our Church be of opinion that I have erred in judgment 
 in the matter, I shall still be able to look up and to say, 
 " Thou knowest that in the integrity of my heart, and 
 innocency of my hands, have I done this." 
 
 Bond and free are treated alike by your agents in 
 church matters and in school matters. Were you to 
 enter any of our places of worship on the Sabbath, you 
 would be unable to distinguish bond from free among 
 the worshippers. They sit on the same benches, and 
 intermingle with each other freely. On Communion 
 Sabbath they partake together of the "one bread" and 
 of the same cup. The principle of equality is strictly 
 carried out in school also among the young people. ... I 
 consider it as an important means of training both classes 
 for a new era in the history of their country. For I
 
 jy 
 
 Old Calabar Period 
 
 cannot doubt that the day is approaching — though I may 
 not see it — when, by the blessing of the Divine Spirit, 
 the influence of the gospel working its way, it may be, 
 silently and gently, yet most effectually, shall revolutionise 
 and elevate the whole of this at present distracted and 
 degraded region of the world, and lead each man to look 
 on every other man as a brother. In the meantime, your 
 missionaries shrink not from preaching the gospel to the 
 poor ; they are not afraid " to preach deliverance to the 
 captive, and the opening of the prison to them that are 
 bound " ; — 
 
 "to blow 
 The trump of freedom in the despot's ear. 
 To tell the bruted slave his manhood high, 
 His birthright liberty, and in his hand 
 To put the writ of manumission, signed 
 By God's own signature." 
 
 IV. THE RESOLUTIONS OF SYNOD IN 1 849 
 
 P.S. — Feb. 8, 1855. — My attention has just been drawn 
 to Appendix No. II. attached to Minutes of Synod of 
 May 1849. . . . To apply these resolutions to Calabar 
 in its present condition would, I think, be marvellously 
 like an attempt to array an infant in the dress of a full- 
 grown man. . . . We cannot banish at once the native 
 nomenclature for the various classes of society. The 
 same persons may still be called slaves (////) in the Efi'k 
 tongue, whom we call servants in the English. But if 
 properly treated as servants, I do not see that, in the 
 circumstances, more can be demanded. ... If the letter 
 of the Synodical resolutions must, at all hazards, in all 
 places, and in all circumstances, be adhered to, I do not 
 see what can be done, save that our operations here be 
 suspended sine die, and that the United Presbyterian 
 Church limit her missionary operations, henceforth, to 
 lands where slavery does not exist. There is, indeed, 
 another course which might be adopted — that is, to separate 
 what the Master has joined in the great commission, and 
 to instruct the missionaries here to educate and disciple 
 as many of the natives of Old Calabar as possible, but 
 on no account to " baptize " any " in the name of Father,
 
 Mr. Goldie on the Synod's Finding 331 
 
 Son, and Holy Ghost," till the evil of slavery shall have 
 disappeared from the country. Whether such a course 
 would accelerate or retard the cause of freedom, I leave 
 to wiser men to determine. It might also be a question 
 whether your missionaries would consider it their duty 
 to comply with any such direction. 
 
 To conclude. It is my earnest desire that both the 
 Synod and the Mission Board may be guided to a wise 
 and righteous decision on this most important question. 
 I shall propose to my brethren here that we all be 
 "instant in prayer" during the session of Synod in May 
 next, if spared till then, for our fathers and brethren in 
 council assembled in the distant land, that all their 
 deliberations be guided by infinite wisdom, and that all 
 their decisions may be much blessed for the advancement 
 of the glory of God and the best interests of man. 
 
 When the question was brought before the Synod on 
 Thursday, May 10th, 1855, the Rev. Andrew Somerville, 
 the Secretary of the Mission Board, read an admirable 
 " Paper explanatory of the Conditions on which those that 
 held Slaves before their conversion have been admitted 
 into the Church at Calabar." " It is enough to state," says 
 Dr. Graham, 1 " that owing to his moderate and wise plead- 
 ings, the Synod, somewhat in danger of being seriously 
 divided, came to a satisfactory and scriptural finding, 
 which affirmed every great principle, and solved the tem- 
 porary complication." 
 
 The finding 2 is practically a restatement of the declara- 
 tion drawn up by Mr. Anderson, and exacted by him at 
 the baptism of converts. Mr. Goldie remarks : " It may 
 be doubted whether exacting these promises from the 
 slave-holders by this [Synodical] pledge would make them 
 
 1 Andrew Somerville, D.D. : an Autobiography, edited by the Rev. W. 
 Graham, D.D. , p. 191. 
 
 2 Given in full in G oldie's Calabar, p. 179 ; and Dickie's Story, p. 51.
 
 332 Old Calabar Pkriod 
 
 more binding than when in substance embodied in the 
 baptismal vows of the convert, as had been done by us, 
 and thus solemnly made in the face of the whole con- 
 gregation." Mr. Waddell x gives the rules the missionaries 
 had drawn up prior to the Synod's decision, for the 
 guidance of Christian masters and always inculcated, 
 viz.: — "(i) Christians must take no part in reducing any 
 man to slavery, nor trade in slaves. (2) Those who have 
 slaves must treat them with justice and mercy, in the fear 
 of God, seeking their welfare ; must give them Christian 
 instruction, and their children school education. They 
 must allow them to be married, and regard their marriage 
 as sacred beyond any rights of ownership. They must 
 not sell them except as punishment for crime, and to save 
 their lives; must admit their right to acquire, hold, and 
 bequeath property; and favour the making of general 
 laws for promoting freedom in the country." And he goes 
 on to remark : " If all slave-owners acted on these prin- 
 ciples, which pertain essentially to Christianity and to 
 justice, slavery would everywhere soon die out, extin- 
 guished more safely, beneficially, and perfectly than could 
 be effected by an ecclesiastical or parliamentary enactment 
 for enforcing immediate emancipation." 
 
 In the Report on the Administration of the Niger Coast 
 Protectorate, 1894-95, Sir Claude M. Macdonald, the then 
 Commissioner and Consul-General, after referring to his 
 four years' experience of domestic slavery, and to the 
 Consular and Native Courts now established (in the former 
 of which master and slave appear as equals, and mention- 
 ing that the distinction between free-born and slave is more 
 marked in Calabar than in Bonny, Opobo, and Brass), 
 1 Twenty-Nine Wars, p. 558.
 
 Mr. Anderson on the Synodical Decision t>33 
 
 says : " I hope and believe that slavery, domestic and 
 otherwise, will in time die a natural death in these terri- 
 tories " (p. 21). But as long as slaves continue to be bought 
 in from the interior markets, the system will continue. 
 Slavery will die a " natural " death only when all the slave- 
 holders have become Christians, and the first principle laid 
 down by the missionaries becomes the law of the land. 
 
 With reference to the Synodical decision, Mr. Anderson 
 wrote on August 29th : — 
 
 We were all grateful to the Head of the Church 
 for the decision to which (we trust) His Spirit has 
 guided His servants in Synod assembled, in reference 
 to the state of matters here. On Saturday, July 14th, 
 I received the Record for June, containing the Resolu- 
 tion of the Synod and the Declaration to be sub- 
 scribed by parties here on or before their admission to 
 Church fellowship. As I embrace every legitimate oppor- 
 tunity of aiming a blow at slavery, I took the earliest 
 opportunity, viz. the Sabbath immediately following, of 
 reading the Declaration and other portions of the Record, 
 making comments as I went along. The Declaration 
 requires nothing of those in connection with the Church 
 to which they were not previously pledged. I have not 
 yet asked them to sign the new (the Synod's) Declaration, 
 but intend to do so, for sake of uniformity, on the very 
 first occasion when new members are to be admitted. It 
 will be a happy day for Old Calabar when the majority of 
 its legislators shall adhere to the Declaration sanctioned 
 by Synod, for then the curse of slavery will be banished 
 from the country. 
 
 It may satisfy some of our friends at home to be 
 assured that should any member of the Church at this 
 station, in my day, ever, to my knowledge, sell any of his 
 (or her) servants, I shall not fail to communicate full 
 information respecting the case to the Mission Board. 
 
 In his station Report for 1856, 1 Mr. Anderson mentions 
 
 1 Record, June 1857.
 
 334 Old Calabar Period 
 
 two additions he made to the Declaration sanctioned by 
 Synod : — 
 
 At our last Communion I required each member of 
 the Church, not a British subject, to sign the Declaration 
 sanctioned by Synod in May 1855, as a prerequisite to 
 Communion. In copying the Declaration into the Church 
 book, I made two slight additions to it, which I should 
 suppose will be condemned by none and approved by 
 some. After the words, " formerly held by me as slaves," 
 I have added, " and all others who may hereafter stand to 
 me in the same relation " ; that is added for the purpose 
 of including all slaves who may, according to country law, 
 be left as an inheritance to any Church member, or such as 
 may be awarded to him by the supreme power of the 
 country in payment of debt, or who ma}- in any other way 
 be placed under his control after joining the Church. 
 After "just and equal for their work," I have inserted, " I 
 shall afford them every facility for entering into the 
 marriage relation." Very few slaves of my acquaintance 
 have as yet entered into this relation. Those members 
 who were not present at last Communion, and all new 
 members, not British subjects, shall be required to sign 
 the Declaration before Communion. 
 
 As our little Church here now numbers twenty resident 
 members in full communion, I felt it but right, some time 
 ago, to explain to them the principles of Church govern- 
 ment, as laid down in the New Testament and adopted 
 by Presbyterians. As the model requires " elders in every 
 church," we held a meeting on the last Wednesday evening 
 of June for the election of two individuals to the office of 
 the eldership. The harmonious choice of the Church fell 
 on Mr. Alexander Sutherland, teacher at this station, and 
 Mr. Peter Nicoll, merchant from Sierra Leone, who has 
 long been a leader in the Wesleyan body there. Mr. 
 Nicoll is a native of Egbo Shary — the mother country of 
 Efik — and retains a considerable knowledge of his native 
 tongue, which enables him to communicate with many 
 here \\ r ho do not understand English. Mr. Edgerley 
 kindly agreed to act as a member of session while he 
 remains at this station.
 
 First Church on the Mission Hill 335 
 
 I do not think I have yet reported to you another dash 
 in the infant line, which was made to us a year ago. The 
 mother was a slave belonging to Mr. Hogan, the pilot. 
 She died when her little boy was a few months old, so, 
 to save him from following her to the grave, Mr. Hogan 
 brought him to Mrs. A. as a present, and he was duly 
 installed as a member of our household. We call him 
 Thomas Hogan, after the pilot, as it was owing to him 
 that the child's life was preserved. He is one of the 
 sprightliest little fellows I have ever seen. 
 
 I believe I have not yet intimated to you that we have 
 now a church built of native material, on the top of the 
 Mission Hill. It being ready for use, Mr. Edgerley and I 
 conducted public worship in it, for the first time, on 
 Sabbath, 25th February. We have met in it on Sabbath 
 afternoons ever since, and find it much more comfortable 
 than the schoolroom, which had been for some time too 
 small for the congregation. 
 
 August 29, evening. — The Retriever, Mr. and Mrs. 
 Goldie and friends [Miss E. Johnstone, Miss Barty, and 
 Mr. Archibald Hewan, surgeon] on board, all well. 
 Thanks to Ruler of winds and waves. 
 
 In his Report * of the Duke Town station for the year 
 1855, Mr. Anderson wrote: — 
 
 Assisted by Mr. Sutherland for seven or eight months 
 during the year, by Mr. Goldie during the last four months 
 of the year, and by Mr. J. Haddison during eleven months, 
 we have been enabled to keep up, on an average, seven 
 meetings in town each Sabbath morning, at which the 
 gospel has been preached, prayers have been offered to God, 
 and frequently hymns of praise sung in the Efik tongue. 
 Several hundreds of the inhabitants of Duke Town and 
 Cobham Town have thus heard, from Sabbath to Sabbath, 
 what they must do to be saved. It is to be hoped that the 
 seed sown will not be lost. At a quarter-past four o'clock, 
 we have, on the afternoon of each Sabbath, a service in 
 English. A few of the gentlemen from the ships in the 
 river have attended this meeting with exemplary regularity 
 1 Record, June and July 1856.
 
 336 Old Calabar Period 
 
 during the year. For some months at the beginning- of 
 the year Mr. Edgerley took his turn in this service, and 
 during the last four months Mr. Goldie has taken a part 
 in it. A number of the native young men attend this 
 service regularly, as also a goodly band of children. Our 
 little schoolroom was too small for the congregation at 
 this service, so that we had to get a new meeting-place 
 erected. This we got done in the native style, and since 
 February we have occupied this new place of worship, 
 which, though of humble pretensions as to outward show, 
 we have found to be very comfortable. The Sabbath school, 
 which is held from 3 to 4 P.M., is attended by about sixty. 
 The teachers have been Mr. Sutherland, Mrs. Anderson, and 
 Mr. Haddison ; for four mouths past Mrs. Goldie and Miss 
 Barty have also aided in this department of labour. For 
 some time Mrs. A. has had an interesting class of Krumen in 
 the Sabbath school. During the hour of school I have an 
 advanced class in the mission-house, attended by all the 
 native Church members and candidates who can read the 
 English Bible. These repeat to me the Shorter Catechism, 
 psalms, hymns, texts, etc., in English. Some of the mem- 
 bers of my class are very diligent in their preparations, 
 and seem anxious to grow in knowledge. About half a 
 dozen of the more intelligent of them have been studying 
 the Companion to the Bible for some months. 
 
 The prayer meeting, on Wednesday evening, is kept up 
 as formerly. I have a class of candidates every Monday 
 evening. The exercises are chiefly catechetical and devo- 
 tional. While only candidates are required to attend this 
 meeting, it is pleasing to see a number of the communicants 
 regularly present, and always ready to take part in the 
 exercise. Mrs. A. has a class of females every Thursday 
 evening, for their special instruction. 
 
 During the year eleven persons have been received into 
 Church fellowship at this station ; but of these seven are 
 among those who have returned to their native land from 
 Sierra Leone. The other four are properly Calabarese. 
 The baptism of three of these has already been reported. 
 The fourth was admitted on Sabbath the 23rd Decem- 
 ber. His name is Egbo Bassy. He is one of those who 
 came to us for protection from King Archibong in March
 
 The Difficulties of Converts 337 
 
 1849. From that time to this he has been considered by 
 the native gentlemen as a ward of the Mission. He built 
 a small house on the Mission ground some years ago, does 
 a little trade with the shipping, married a wife last year, 
 and no one in town has tried to molest him. He frequently 
 states that he is under special obligations to God for sending 
 the missionaries here ; for to them, under God, he owes house, 
 wife, life, everything. . . . At present two of the young men 
 are under suspension — one for Sabbath-breaking, and the 
 other for a violation of the Seventh Commandment. Friends 
 at home cannot — T frequently think that even we, who 
 are spectators of, and, indeed, actors in the conflict between 
 darkness and light in a heathen land — cannot fully realise 
 the immense difficulties with which our young friends have 
 to contend, the dangers which surround them, the snares 
 which are ready to entrap them at every turn and every 
 step, and " the depths of Satan " in his machinations for 
 their disgrace and destruction. There is One, however, 
 who knows all, can overrule all, and baffle all; and it were 
 well that the Church at home would carry the case of all 
 converts from heathenism to His throne of grace. 
 
 The day-school has suffered considerably from the 
 events and fluctuations of the year. For some months at 
 the commencement of the year, when Mr. Sutherland went 
 to take temporary charge of Old Town, and since Sep- 
 tember, when the Committee appointed him to the super- 
 intendence of that station, the school has been under my 
 charge. During the latter period I have been assisted, for 
 some time by Mrs. Goldie, for some time by Miss Johnstone, 
 and for some time by Miss Barty. I confess, however, 
 that I have not been able to conduct the school so efficiently 
 as I could have wished. I had two slight attacks of fever 
 before the burning of the mission-house, and a severe attack 
 afterwards, which left me very feeble. I have not yet re- 
 gained the vigour of body which is so useful in — indeed, 
 essential to — the comfortable and successful management 
 of a school. There have been in all about ninety children 
 at school during the year. The average attendance while 
 I have had it has been fifty. . . . 
 
 The new house sent from Leith was put up on the 1st 
 Dec. (1855), and we have occupied it during the most of 
 22
 
 338 Old Calabar Period 
 
 the m >nth. It is a very neat little edifice; but we would 
 h ive found it much too small had we had no other habit- 
 able apartments prepared. 
 
 I have not heard either of the birth or death of any 
 twin children. I do not think that the poison bean has 
 been administered during the year by any of the gentlemen 
 in this quarter, but I know of two cases in which parties 
 took it of their own accord, in order to show that they 
 were free from the influence of if'ot. Both cases were, 
 happily, reported by the friends interested, and the means 
 used by us were successful in saving the lives of the persons 
 affected. 
 
 In the month of December I was invited, for the first 
 time, to attend a native funeral. The deceased was an 
 influential lady at Henshaw Town, aunt to one of the 
 young men belonging to the church, and mother-in-law to 
 another. I attended along with Mr. Goldie. We found 
 a great number of people, chiefly women, making a dread- 
 ful howling, which they called mourning. The grave was 
 dug pretty deep, some fourteen or fifteen feet, in one of the 
 apartments of her house. The coffin was brought to the 
 grave's mouth, and all the men listened to a short funeral 
 service, conducted by Mr. Goldie and myself; but the 
 women would not stop their howling. The coffin was then 
 lowered, and we left.
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 Another Victory — Right of Sanctuary for the Innocent Vindicated 
 — Egbo Blown upon the Mission — Consular Intervention 
 
 THE events which led up to the important victory gained 
 in June 1856 took place in the end of 1854, and were duly- 
 chronicled by Mr. Anderson at the time. Writing on 
 28th November 1854, Mr. Anderson mentioned that three 
 persons had been killed by the poison nut at Henshaw 
 Town : — 
 
 Sad doings here again. On Friday last a boy died at 
 Henshaw Town. The boy's father, who is one of the 
 blood -covenant men, declared that someone had killed 
 his son with freemason (ifot); a number of the plantation 
 people were called in, and these, joined by a number of 
 Duke Town gentlemen, went on Saturday to Henshaw 
 Town to find out who had killed the boy. On their 
 return to Duke Town on Saturday evening, Mr. Suther- 
 land counted them as they passed our gate, and their 
 number was 548 men, armed with guns, swords, sticks, 
 etc. We then learned that the abia-idiong had charged 
 a poor harmless old man with having ifot for the boy 
 who had died. He and his family were kept under 
 guard all night. I spoke to several of the Duke Town 
 gentlemen about the matter, as also to Henshaw Town 
 people, condemning the ordeal by the esere (poison bean), 
 but 1 could not learn whether they really intended to 
 administer it. On Sabbath morning we went to the 
 town at our usual hour, seven o'clock, and held four 
 meetings. At the close of the meetings, and just as I was 
 
 about to go on board the Lady Head to preach, I learned 
 
 339
 
 340 ( >ld Calabaf Period 
 
 that while we had been at our meetings the plantation 
 people, accompanied by a number of Duke Town gentle- 
 men, had gone to Henshaw Town and administered the nut 
 to the old man, one of his sons, and one of his daughters. 
 Mrs. A., accompanied by Mr. Sutherland, the Sierra Leone 
 people, and a number of the school children, hurried off to 
 Henshaw Town, Mrs. A. carrying with her a supply of 
 tartar emetic. As the boat did not immediately appear, 
 I followed them, and, like Ezekiel (iii. 14), " 1 went in 
 bitterness, in the heat of my spirit," fully expecting to 
 have to cope with the 548 armed murderers ; but to my 
 surprise, on entering the town, all was still. We were too 
 late — the father and the son were dead ; they would not 
 show us their bodies. After some search, we discovered 
 the poor female, attended only by her weeping daughter ; 
 she was in death's agonies. We could do nothing for either 
 body or soul. The murderers had previously dispersed, all 
 save five or six, who gazed on us sulkily as they leaned on 
 their muskets. 
 
 On Monday morning I went round among the Calabar 
 gentlemen, protesting against the murders of the previous 
 day, and remonstrating as strongly as I could against the 
 ordeal of the poison bean. The most of them listened 
 patiently to my reproofs and exhortations, and I thought 
 I could see that some of them, for their own safety's sake, 
 would hail the abolition of the horrid practice. I feel 
 assured that a stern remonstrance in the Queen's name, 
 through any of the man-of-war captains on the coast, 
 would be of immensely beneficial influence at present for 
 the abolition of the poison ordeal here. 
 
 The crisis which arose in the end of May and be- 
 ginning of June 1856 is fully described in a letter of 
 Mr. Anderson's of date 30th June : — 
 
 We have had rather stirring times at this station since 
 I last wrote you. The occurrences which have taken place 
 are of considerable interest and importance, and will pro- 
 bably exercise no small influence on the future of the 
 Mission, and also of the country. I proceed to give you 
 some of the details.
 
 The Case of the Three Refugees 341 
 
 After referring to the poisonings that took place in 
 November 1854, he goes on to say : — 
 
 In November last year, 1855, the Pale Horse and his 
 rider Death revisited the household of Oko Odiong, and 
 another of his sons then sickened and died. As usual 
 here, several persons were suspected of having killed him, 
 also, by freemason, and were doomed to take the ordeal of 
 the esere. Three persons in particular were thus suspected, 
 and thus doomed. These were — ( I ) Okunya, a half-brother 
 of Oko Odiong, a young man of about twenty-four or 
 twenty-five years of age ; (2) a half-sister of Okunya, 
 named Iquaya, a comely damsel of eighteen or twenty 
 years of age ; (3) a decent-looking matronly lady of from 
 forty to fifty years of age. The two young people call 
 her " mother," but I believe she is their aunt. 
 
 These three persons, dreading the too frequently fatal 
 ordeal of the esere, fled to the mission-house for protection. 
 As I was confident that they had committed no crime, 
 protection was at once afforded them. Time passed on ; 
 it was well known that they were on the mission premises, 
 but they were never demanded from me, in any manner, 
 by the gentlemen of the town. A band of the " blood- 
 people " did indeed come to Henshaw Town one morning, 
 and took off as prisoners several of the relatives of the 
 refugees, in the expectation that either they would deliver 
 themselves up, or that I should give them up, to take the 
 esere. I went, accompanied, if I remember rightly, by Mr. 
 Goldie, both to the headman of Henshaw Town, and to 
 the Duke, about the matter, as we had strong grounds ot 
 suspicion that both of them not only connived at, but 
 encouraged, the blood-people in their violent proceedings. 
 
 I went repeatedly to the Duke, requesting him to allow 
 the refugees to return to their home, under his protection ; 
 to cause Oko Odiong to restore their property, of which he 
 had unjustly taken possession ; and to have done with the 
 freemason nonsense at once and for ever. The Duke, both 
 when drunk and when sober, was very surly when spoken 
 to on the subject, and represented that, as Oko Odiong was 
 a headman among the blood-people, he could do nothing 
 to protect the three refugees from these people ; and
 
 342 < >ld Calabar Period 
 
 finally, on my last application, he got very insolent, and 
 charged me never to mention the thing again in his 
 hearing. 
 
 When Mr. Consul Hutchinson visited this river offici- 
 ally in January last, I reported the matter to him, and re- 
 quested his good offices on behalf of the refugees, whom I 
 presented to him. He approved of my having afforded 
 them an asylum, and wrote a letter to the Duke, intimating 
 that, as they had been guilty of no crime, and had sought 
 protection under the British flag, he (Consul H.) took them 
 under his protection, and that they were not to be molested 
 till he should return to the river. 
 
 After this the refugees remained undisturbed for a 
 time. They were afraid to leave the mission premises, 
 but wrought industriously at any work which was going 
 on at the station, and were thus entitled to their food. 
 But a storm was impending. 
 
 In the end of April or beginning of May, Oko Odiong 
 himself died in the plantation, between 10 and 20 miles 
 from the mission premises. For five months the deceased 
 and the refugees had not been within several miles of 
 each other ; yet, strange to say, they were pitched on as 
 having killed Oko Odiong by if'ot or witchcraft. It began 
 to be rumoured that the Duke and the blood-people 
 between them were resolved to administer the esere to the 
 refugees. They were greatly affrighted, but I endeavoured 
 to assure them, by representing to them that they were 
 fully under the protection of the white people, and that 
 they should not be given up. I could scarcely bring 
 myself to believe that the Duke would be either so rash 
 or so ill-advised as to molest them. In this, however, I 
 was disappointed. 
 
 Tuesday, May 27. — Yesterday and to-day a number of 
 " blood-men " are coming into the town armed, to demand 
 the supposed murderers of Oko Odiong, that they may 
 take the esere. 
 
 Wednesday, 28. — At Old Town during the greater part 
 of the day. On my return, was informed that the Duke 
 had sent for me three times. I could not conjecture for 
 what, for up till this time I never imagined that they 
 would trouble our refugees.
 
 The Demand for the Refugees 343 
 
 Thursday, 29. — -Was sent for by the Duke early this 
 morning, and immediately went off to see what were his 
 demands. I found him with all his gentlemen in council 
 assembled. After the usual compliments, there was an 
 ominous silence for two or three minutes, during which 
 several of the more intelligent of the gentlemen seemed 
 sitting on thorns, and then the Duke stated that "Them 
 blood-men and all we gentlemen wait for you to bring 
 down them man and woman to chop nut in market, for 
 they kill Oko Odiong for freemason." I at once replied 
 that if they would convince me that the man and the two 
 women whom they wanted had killed Oko Odiong with 
 sword, or gun, or poison, or with a stick, or in any other 
 way by their hands, I would at once give them up, but 
 that I knew it was an utter impossibility for them to have 
 killed that man, as they had been in my yard for five 
 mouths, and he had died only four or five weeks ago, a 
 long way from them. I had then to listen to a lecture 
 from the Duke explanatory of ifbt, which, it appears, is far 
 superior as an instrument of death to all other " long 
 ranges " ever heard of, seeing that it enables its possessor 
 to kill at any distance. This led to a rejoinder in refer- 
 ence to the folly of representing any human being as 
 invested with the attributes of Deity. 
 
 I then reminded the gentlemen assembled that H.B.M.'s 
 Consul had taken the people under his protection, and 
 that I should be incurring the displeasure of my country 
 if I gave up people " to die for nothing," and that they 
 had better allow the matter to lie over till the Consul 
 should return, seeing he had been daily looked for for some 
 time past. They were inexorable — did not want " talk " 
 about the matter — they must have the refugees. The 
 Duke swore most lustily that the Consul had never sent 
 him a " book " about them — a declaration which some of 
 the gentlemen present knew to be untrue, but they wisely, 
 said nothing. 
 
 I told them that, come what might, I could not give 
 up innocent people to die ; but, I added, " This is a big 
 matter — you must give me a little time to call the white 
 gentlemen together, and then we can hear what they all 
 say about it." This was opposed by them ; however, I
 
 344 Old Calabar Period 
 
 left the meeting under promise to be back in a little, to 
 give them my ultimatum on the subject. There were, to 
 all appearance, several hundreds of "blood-men" lounging 
 about in all directions. I had every reason to suppose 
 that the Duke had brought them into the town, and was, 
 indeed, at the bottom of all the mischief. I was not sure, 
 however, but that they might get excited beyond \ the 
 Duke's control, and perhaps attempt to capture the re- 
 fugees by force. To place them utterly out of the reach 
 of the bloodthirsty rabble who were longing for their 
 destruction, I gave Mr. Haddison a hint as to what he 
 might do, and in a few minutes he had them safely on 
 board one of the ships. 
 
 1 wrote a short circular to the river gentlemen, request- 
 ing them to meet immediately and take measures to 
 ensure the safety of the refugees, sent it off, and, accom- 
 panied by Mr. Edgerley, went off to attend the meeting. I 
 could now breathe freely, knowing that the refugees were 
 safe. The rain was falling heavily, but we did not mind 
 it. We observed the palaver-house full of the blood-men, 
 some of them looking ferociously enough on us. We met 
 Captain Davies in the marketplace. We all three went 
 to the Duke's, and had a long talk with him about the 
 matter. Captain Davies took a noble stand on the side 
 of humanity, and joined us in condemning the abominable 
 " chop nut." He attempted to show the Duke that it was 
 simply impossible for any white man to give up any person 
 who had gone to him for protection, on such a foolish 
 charge as that of freemason. The Duke would listen to 
 no argument, however. He said that he had just one 
 word more to say. "What is that?" (Fixing his eyes 
 on me) "I ask you last time if you will to make them 
 man chop nut?" My response was, " No." He shook 
 his head in quite a threatening manner, and uttered, "Very 
 well." 
 
 We left him, and went off to the ship Africa, where all 
 the supercargoes save one, who was not very well (who 
 also had the refugees on board his ship, under his pro- 
 tection , soon met. After consultation, it was considered 
 that the best way to deal with the Duke was to impress 
 
 his mind the fact that a British magistrate had taken
 
 Egbo Blown on the Mission 345 
 
 the refugees under his protection, and that he might 
 expect " big palaver " ere long if he should trouble them. 
 A copy of the letter sent him lies before me, and I may as 
 well transcribe it for you as report its substance : — 
 
 {Copy.) 
 
 Ship Africa, 
 29th May 1856. 
 King Duke, 
 Sir, — We whose names are at the end of this letter, hold meeting 
 here this da)', and unite in giving you our best advice about them 
 three people who live at the mission-house, that you better let them 
 alone till Consul Hutchinson come back to the river. 
 
 You know very well that the Consul see them people that time he 
 live here, and he say no man must trouble them. He send you book 
 say they can't take esere. You be king for town, and we know very 
 well that them blood-people no fit to do anything if you no will. 
 Also we hear it be you send for them blood-men to come into town. 
 We want to know if that be true. So if any thing trouble them men 
 it be your palaver. Better wait till Consul comes, then that palaver 
 can be set. 
 
 This no be mission — also it be no palaver for ship captain. It be 
 Consul's palaver, so you better take care what you do. — We are, sir, 
 your friends, 
 
 Signed EDWARD DAVIES. JOSEPH CUTHBERTSON. 
 
 James Shaw. William Hearn. 
 
 Jon. Baak. Wm. Anderson. 
 
 Saml. Edgerley. Saml. Macmillan. 
 J. A. Allcroft. 
 
 I was deputed to carry this letter to the Duke, which 
 I did. I also read it, and explained it to him. He would 
 not take it into his hands, however, so I pocketed it, and 
 left him, after having a few words with him in reference to 
 Egbo. 
 
 While we were holding our meeting on board the Africa, 
 the Duke had sent out his Egbo messengers and drums 
 to put the Mission under ban. The first sound that Mr. 
 Edgerley and I heard when we landed was that of the 
 Egbo drums and messengers issuing some proclamation, 
 we knew not what ; but we were soon informed. We 
 learnt first from Henry Cobham, and I afterwards learned 
 from the Duke himself (when I took the above letter to
 
 346 Old Calabar Period 
 
 him), as well as from Mrs. A., and others on the Mission 
 11 ill; for the proclamation was made very loudly on the 
 public road, within a few yards of the mission-house, that 
 on account of my refusal to give up the refugees to take 
 the esere — 
 
 i. No person is to go to any of the Mission premises 
 with provisions of any kind whatever, for sale or dash. 
 
 2. All gentlemen who have children or slaves living on 
 the Mission premises must take them away to the town 
 at once. 
 
 3. No Calabar person must go to visit the missionaries. 
 
 4. No child must be sent or allowed to go to school. 
 
 5. No gentleman must allow meeting in his yard on 
 Sabbath for the hearing of God's word ; and no one 
 belonging to the town must go to church on Sabbath, or 
 to meetings of any kind, with the Mission people. 
 
 Some declare that there was a sixth article, forbidding 
 all who live on the Mission Hill from going to the town 
 market to obtain provisions. The Duke declares, how- 
 ever, that he did not blow to stop our people from going 
 to market, so that I have not inserted that item among 
 the things acknowledged to have been blown. The result 
 of the proclamation was that our people were excluded 
 from market. It was verging on the market hour when 
 it was made ; and our young people, who were on their 
 way to exchange coppers and buy country provisions, as 
 well as those belonging to Mrs. Goldie, Mr. Edgerley, Mr. 
 Haddison, and the Sierra Leone people, were all turned 
 back by the town people, and not allowed to go near the 
 market. The case of the Sierra Leone people is one of 
 peculiar hardship. We in the Mission can manage to get 
 on for a time without country provisions (Vegetables, 
 yams, fowls, etc.), but they cannot do so as yet. To 
 prohibit their access to market is to sentence them to 
 starvation. 
 
 Friday, 30. — Our market people again prevented from 
 buying or selling. They are told that they may buy for 
 black coppers, but that they must not sell anything. It is 
 only by selling European goods that the black coppers 
 can be obtained. 
 
 Saturday, 3 1 . — Sierra Leone women driven back from
 
 Mr. Anderson and King Duke 347 
 
 market to-day, and not allowed to purchase supplies, even 
 though they have black coppers. 
 
 Having an opportunity of sending to Fernando Po, I 
 took the opportunity of forwarding the substance of the 
 above statement to Mr. Consul Hutchinson. 
 
 Went round the town in the evening to announce the 
 Sabbath as usual. No prospect of meeting anywhere in 
 town, except in Henry Cobham's. Henry seems inclined 
 to let the Duke see that he " be king for Cobham Town." 
 Went to the Duke's. I found a number of native gentle- 
 men assembled in his house. Some of them were very 
 sulky, others very saucy, and others very silent. The 
 Duke very furious, and gave me a good deal of insulting 
 language. He and one or two others asked me how 
 many coppers the Mission had paid for the Mission 
 ground — stated that Eyamba had only lent the ground, 
 and that I had broken country law and Egbo law, and that 
 by and by they would want their ground, and that the 
 Mission must leave the country, etc. I stated to them 
 that the Mission had plenty of books to show how the 
 case stands about the ground we occupy, that we can 
 attend to that by and by — that I had broken no country 
 fashion or Egbo law in protecting the refugees. I reminded 
 them that on King Archibong's death, the late Mr. Young 
 and his brother (sitting among them !), and also Eyamba's 
 daughter, all fled to Creek Town to escape the esere, and 
 were protected there till the palaver was set ; that King 
 Eyo had told me I had done " quite right " in refusing to 
 give up the people ; and that they themselves had broken 
 country fashion and their own Egbo law in troubling 
 people who run to the mission-house, and in blowing 
 Egbo on me, and trying to stop me from speaking God's 
 word in the town. I concluded by giving the Duke a 
 formal invitation to come to me for lodging and protec- 
 tion, should the day come when he himself might wish to 
 escape the " chop nut." 
 
 The more intelligent people of Duke Town admit that 
 I have only done what is right, and in accordance with 
 their own customs, in protecting the refugees, and seem 
 glad at the stand I have taken on the subject. At this 
 very time the Duke himself has a refugee from one of the
 
 5 (K ( )i i) Calabar Perk >d 
 
 Efut villages. He is charged with having killed one of 
 the Efut with ifot. His neighbours wished to subject 
 him to the ordeal of the bean ; he fled to the Duke for 
 protection, and he (the Duke) very properly refuses to 
 give him up. 
 
 Wishing to suggest suitable subjects of meditation to 
 the young people who can read, and who will be afraid to 
 \uiture out to church or Sabbath school, I cut a number 
 of slips of paper and jotted down a few texts on each. 
 These I distributed as I had opportunity. I give you a 
 c< >py : — 
 
 Read Dan. iii.; Matt. x. 28; Luke x. 16; Acts iv. 18, 19; Acts v. 
 
 28, 29, 38, 39. 
 
 Sabbath, June I. — Went my usual Sabbath rounds. 
 Had a pretty good meeting in Henry Cobham's. Read 
 and commented (in Efik) on Dan. iii. Afterwards I 
 called at other five houses, where meetings are frequently 
 held. Three of the gentlemen were "not at home" ; the 
 other two were at home, but seemed as much afraid as if 
 the)' had seen a spectre when I made my appearance. 
 One of them vanished into his inner yard, after having 
 begged of me not to bring him into trouble ; and the 
 other set a jar of mimbo and a tumbler on the table 
 before me, which seemed all he durst do in the way of 
 showing me his friendly regards, and then bolted, leaving 
 me in undisturbed possession of his yard and the mimbo. 
 I learned afterwards that on leaving me he hurried towards 
 the Duke's, with the view, I suppose, of showing that he 
 was observing the recent Egbo proclamation. 
 
 Having plenty of time before me, I walked the length 
 of Qua. The headman was absent; but I ?ot a small 
 meeting in the house of one of the gentlemen (who was 
 a refugee in my house for several weeks about two years 
 ago), and repeated the discourse on Dan. iii. 
 
 On return home, I found that Mrs. Goldie, Mrs. Ander- 
 son, and Miss Barty had attempted their usual meetings 
 in the women's yards ; but — except at H. Cobham's — the 
 ladies were all as afraid of them as the gentlemen were 
 of me. 
 
 Mr. Edgcrley preached the English sermon at four P.M.
 
 Mr. Anderson on the Crisis 349 
 
 in the church. At the close of the service I made the 
 following statement : — 
 
 " Present circumstances seem to require a few words 
 from me ere we separate. The war is still going on 
 between the seed of the woman and the seed of the ser- 
 pent, according to the ancient oracle, Gen. iii. 15. The 
 same spirit which animated the chief priests and rulers 
 when they apprehended the apostles and cast them into 
 prison, actuates many in authority around us. We cannot 
 be too grateful for our privileges as British subjects. The 
 authorities here would cast the apostles into the inner 
 prison (if there were one) if they dared ; but, situated as 
 we are, they find it easier to put their whole country 
 under interdict than to use violence towards any one of 
 us. For this we should be grateful to the King of nations. 
 Those of us who suffer most from the proclamation made 
 the other day have this consolation, that we suffer in a 
 good cause. I trust that every member of the church — 
 tliat everyone present — would be willing to suffer any- 
 thing and everything rather than be accessory to the 
 shedding of innocent blood. We must observe the laws 
 of hospitality at whatever expense. 
 
 " Considering what has occurred as a manifestation ot 
 hostility to the progress of religion and civilisation, I 
 think we should feel encouraged to prosecute our work 
 with increased vigour ; for the opposition shows that Satan 
 is beginning to feel alarmed about this portion of his 
 dominions, and is struggling hard to retain possession of 
 it. I have every confidence that the things which seem 
 to be against us shall soon be found to have tended rather 
 to the furtherance of the gospel than to its obstruction. 
 We have the 2nd Psalm to cheer us : ' Why do the 
 heathen rage ? ' etc. We can say, if we will, as well as 
 Luther: 'Come, and in spite of the devil and all his 
 children we shall sing the 46th Psalm.' In respect to 
 the poor deluded ones all around us, what can we do 
 but pray for them that they may be rescued from the 
 destroyer? We can adopt this prayer in reference to 
 them : ' Father, forgive them, for they know not what 
 they do.' They allow us not to speak to them about 
 God ; let us earnestly and constantly speak to God about
 
 350 Old Calabar Period 
 
 them. Let us now, brethren, before parting, pray for 
 them." 
 
 All the young men who have joined the Church, except 
 one, arc and have been for some weeks absent from town, 
 being at the distant oil markets, so that I do not know 
 how they would have stood the trial had they been within 
 reach of the church to-day. The one at present in town 
 did not show face. He has been for some time suspended 
 from Communion. Not one belonging to the town attended 
 Sabbath school or service in English. The attendance 
 was between fort}- and fifty notwithstanding. We had a 
 comfortable meeting. Mr. Edgerley preached a season- 
 able and encouraging discourse from 2 Thess. i. io. 
 
 Monday 2 till Saturday 7. — A quiet week on the Mis- 
 sion Hill. No scholars from town. From the mission- 
 houses and Sierra Leone people's settlements, however, 
 we muster a school of fourteen or fifteen. Market opera- 
 tions not interfered with this week. Took usual rounds 
 on Saturday evening to announce the Sabbath. 
 
 Sabbath, 8. — Good meeting in Henry Cobham's. 
 Could not manage to get a meeting elsewhere. Scattered 
 a few handfuls of the good seed by the wayside among 
 passers-by as opportunity presented. Preached in the 
 evening to our usual English congregation from Ps. 
 cxxvi. 5. Two young lads not connected with the church 
 braved the Egbo ban, and attended both Sabbath school 
 and church. 
 
 Thursday, 12. — Not being able to do much in town at 
 present, I have for the past ten days been busy transcrib- 
 ing for the press a translation into Efik of Paul's Epistle 
 to the Romans, and chapters 8,9, and 15 of 1st Corin- 
 thians. Finished this work to-day. May the Master 
 accept of the feeble attempt to serve Him, and bless the 
 translation, in making it instrumental in advancing His 
 glory ! 
 
 Friday, 13. — About noon, H.M.S. Scourge made her 
 appearance. Mr. Edgerley and I went on board to pay 
 our respects to Mr. Consul Hutchinson and Commodore 
 Adams. The Consul summoned a meeting of the native 
 gentlemen on board to-morrow, that he may learn why 
 ;bo has been blown on the Mission.
 
 Meeting on Board H.M.S. Scourge 351 
 
 Saturday, 14. — An important meeting held on board 
 H.M.S. Scourge. Being called on by the Consul, I 
 narrated as above the circumstances which led to the 
 " blowing of Egbo," intimating my conviction that by 
 thus acting the native gentlemen had broken the arrange- 
 ments entered into at the commencement of the Mission, 
 both in the attempt to stop the work of the Mission and 
 in trying to do away with the right of sanctuary on the 
 Mission premises for runaways who are guilty of no crime. 
 I could appeal to all present that the right of sanctuary had 
 never been abused by me ; that while 1 had often sheltered 
 the innocent, I had never protected any really guilty 
 person further than this, that before giving up a criminal 
 I always stipulate that he is not to be killed, and, if a 
 slave, beg his master not to flog him "too much." I 
 referred the Consul to Rev. Mr. Waddell for information 
 as to the grant of land to, and arrangements made with, 
 the Mission at the commencement of operations here. 
 Mr. Waddell, having been called on for this information, 
 showed most satisfactorily that while it was true (as Duke 
 Town people had been saying) that the land had not been 
 sold to the Mission, nevertheless it had been made over to 
 the Mission Board for mission purposes "for ever" by 
 King Eyamba and all his gentlemen, and that the present 
 procedure of King Duke and his gentlemen was a viola- 
 tion of the stipulation entered into with the missionaries 
 on their arrival, as well as of the promises made to them 
 before they came. The Duke Town people being asked 
 for their statement of the case, had nothing new to add to 
 my version of the matter. Mr. Hogan, who had to act as 
 their chief speaker, seemed ashamed to refer to the root 
 of the matter, freemason, but confined himself chiefly to 
 the declaration that the Egbo ban was never meant to 
 prevent the Mission people or the Sierra Leone people 
 from buying and selling in the market as they had been 
 accustomed to do, etc. The Duke, however, was dis- 
 satisfied with the line of argument pursued, and stated 
 that " when man kill other man with freemason, he must 
 chop nut." To the questions, Why does the Duke himself 
 protect at this moment an Efut gentleman from the esere 
 ordeal ? and why did he disregard the letter of the Consul
 
 352 Old Calabar Period 
 
 in reference? I do not think that there was any answer 
 
 given. 
 
 Both the Consul and the Commodore strongly con- 
 demned their present procedure, and, to cut matters short, 
 I need only add that in a very few minutes after the 
 Duke and gentlemen reached the beach, Egbo messengers, 
 with their drums, were traversing the town, publishing to 
 all that the proclamation of May 29 was reversed, and 
 that liberty to visit the missionaries, to attend school, to 
 go to church, to carry provisions to the mission-houses, 
 etc. etc., was fully granted. 
 
 Sabbath, 15. — Usual meetings held in both Cobham 
 Town and Duke Town to-day. The Consul, the Commo- 
 dore, and a number of the officers of the Scourge set a 
 good example to our countrymen in the river, by attending 
 divine service in the evening. 
 
 Monday, 16. — Some "trade palavers" on board the 
 man-of-war with which I had nothing to do. But, looking 
 at the religious state of the country (rather its irreligious 
 state), I could not help remarking to the Consul at the 
 tea-table this evening, that I feel convinced that till there 
 be more of the fear of God, both in the country and in 
 the river, Calabar will never be a prosperous country ; its 
 trade regulations and other laws may be drawn up by a 
 legislator as wise as Solomon, but so long as the Almighty 
 is defied, the Bible unread, the Sabbath unsanctified, the 
 house of God unattended, His blessing, which maketh 
 rich and addeth no sorrow, cannot be expected to rest on 
 the country. 
 
 Tuesday, 17. — Last public meeting on the Scourge. 
 The Duke, I have since learned, had no idea that he was 
 required to go on board again, so that, when the Kru- 
 boys went with a boat for him, he declined to go on board 
 without some formal notice. The Consul, considering 
 that he had given due notice of the meeting, thought, as 
 was very natural, that the Duke was getting contumacious, 
 and a little warlike demonstration was made in the way 
 of pointing guns towards the town, etc., to bring him to 
 his senses. The demonstration referred to seemed some- 
 what to alarm King Eyo and others who were on board. 
 The supercargoes and some others present entered into
 
 Consul Hutchinson's Decision 353 
 
 the spirit of the feint, and urged King Eyo to despatch 
 some of his brothers at once to hurry off the Duke. This 
 he did in double-quick time, and speedily the Duke and 
 his people were on deck of the Scourge, and were severely 
 rebuked for their trifling. Ignorance, and not obstinacy 
 (as I have since learned), was the cause of the delay. 
 
 At this meeting the Consul reprobated strongly and 
 justly the pernicious practice of private persons, whether 
 black or white, taking law into their own hands 
 when they consider themselves aggrieved. All such 
 matters should be brought before some lawful authority. 
 He gave the natives to understand that they had full 
 right and liberty to complain to him should any British 
 subject injure them, just as British subjects have a right 
 to appeal to him for redress when they feel aggrieved ; 
 and he obtained a written declaration from the native 
 authorities that for the future " British subjects coming to, 
 trading at, or residing in the Old Calabar territory, shall 
 not be maltreated," etc. etc. It was explained to the 
 natives that should any missionary do what they dislike, 
 they must report the matter to him, but no more blowing 
 of Egbo must be resorted to. 
 
 In reference to the three refugees, the Consul stated to 
 King Eyo, King Duke, and Henry Cobham, that they 
 were under his (the Consul's) protection, and that they 
 must not be further molested. The decision in this case 
 appears to me to be almost, if not altogether, the death- 
 blow to the esere ordeal in Duke Town. 
 
 I may add that the man and the elder lady are with 
 us here. The young woman has been with Mrs. Suther- 
 land since Mr. S.'s death, and gives great satisfaction. 
 
 We have gained three points by the prompt interfer- 
 ence of the Consul in this matter: — 1st, There will, I 
 should suppose, be no more misunderstanding on the 
 minds of the present generation of Calabar gentlemen as 
 to the validity of the tenure by which the Mission Board 
 holds the ground occupied by the Mission premises, and a 
 small tract of land around them. 2nd, The Mission 
 premises and mission work will no more be put under 
 Egbo ban, during the present reign at all events. The 
 anti-progress party were evidently determined to try their 
 
 2 3
 
 354 Old Calabar Period 
 
 strength, but they find that they have gone a little too far. 
 They have been made to feel that they are somewhat 
 under check, and cannot cany all before them. And 3rd, 
 The Mission premises have been more publicly than at any 
 former time recognised as a sanctuary for refugees who 
 arc guilty of no crime. What has taken place is in fact 
 equivalent to a public proclamation that anyone doomed 
 to the ordeal of the esere on the charge of ifdt ox free- 
 mason, will be protected from it if he can only reach the 
 mission-house. 
 
 I have information that a great number of the so-called 
 blood-men are quite glad that the refugees were not given 
 up. Doubtless some of them are looking forward to their 
 own day of danger, and inwardly rejoicing that a city of 
 refuge is open to them. I regret to be obliged to add, 
 however, that some of the headmen among them, on their 
 return to the plantations, seized on the wife of Okunya 
 the male refugee with us), and compelled her to take the 
 fatal bean, under the influence of which she died. 
 
 Oh ! how much innocent blood cries to heaven for 
 vengeance from Old Calabar ! " When He maketh in- 
 quisition for blood," who of its guilty inhabitants shall 
 stand ? Oh that they would attend to the message of 
 mercy, and apply to that blood which cleanseth from all- 
 even from scarlet and crimson-dyed — sin, ere their day of 
 grace shall for ever pass away ! 
 
 The consular intervention did good, for on 24th July 
 
 Mr. Anderson wrote of the better feeling among the chief 
 
 men : — 
 
 You will be glad to learn that no bad feeling appears 
 to be cherished among the natives on account of the " man- 
 of-war palaver," which I reported last month. The Duke 
 never seemed so cordial to the missionaries as at present ; 
 he was telling Mr. Baillic and me the other day that he is 
 brother for all God men now, and cannot make any more 
 palaver with them. About three weeks ago, a fellow who 
 appeared to have been somewhat deranged, took it into 
 his head to stab two of his neighbours with a knife. When 
 brought to the Duke for judgment, the first step taken
 
 Death-Blow to Poison Ordeal 555 
 
 was to ascertain from the missionaries what God's law or 
 English law would say about the matter. Neither of the 
 parties being then dead, I sent word to the Duke that the 
 man ought to be kept in confinement till the result of the 
 wounds should make it appear whether he was a murderer 
 or not. The poor wretch had, however, stabbed himself 
 also (in the abdomen), and fearing lest he should escape 
 punishment by dying, my objections to his execution 
 were overruled. One of his victims died the day after, so 
 that I was obliged to admit to the Duke Town gentlemen 
 that, in this case, " Calabar had not killed a man for 
 nothing.'' 
 
 I was convinced in my own mind, and I expressed the 
 conviction to Mr. Consul Hutchinson, when he was here, 
 that the course he had taken in reference to the three 
 refugees from Henshaw Town would prove the death-blow 
 to the poison -bean ordeal in the whole of this portion of 
 Old Calabar. And I am glad to be able to report that, on 
 the death of a person of some standing in Henshaw Town, 
 about a fortnight ago, and when several of the relatives 
 went, as usual, with a charge of freemason against some of 
 their neighbours to the Duke, he would not hear their 
 story, scolded them for bringing such a story to him, and 
 then, like Gallio of the olden time (Acts xviii. 16), "he 
 drave them from the judgment-seat."
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 Arrival of Rev. Zerub Baillie Native Affairs — Consular Intervention 
 —Death of Rev. Samuel Edgerley, senior — Furlough of Mr. and 
 Mrs. Anderson -Address at Missionary Meeting of Synod 
 
 THE arrival of the Rev. Zerub Baillie on June 22, 1856, 
 was a valuable addition to the staff, and lightened Mr. 
 Anderson's work considerably. Shortly after his advent 
 Mr. Anderson wrote: — 
 
 Mr. Baillie is getting on exceedingly well. He is just 
 the man for Old Calabar — strong-bodied, sober-minded, 
 energetic, contented, and cheerful. He is quite a favourite 
 with the Duke Town people, both old and young, bond 
 and free. Hundreds of the people, ladies as well as 
 gentlemen, have visited him, to see his chemical apparatus 
 and operations, many of which have filled them with 
 astonishment. His medical knowledge, experience, and 
 skill recommend him powerfully to the people. He 
 promises fair to be a great blessing both to the Mission 
 and to the country. 
 
 Mr. Baillie relieved Mr. Anderson of the burden of 
 the afternoon work at school, and he wrote regarding the 
 Mission family at Duke Town : — 
 
 I am exceedingly comfortable here with Mr. and Mrs. 
 Anderson. Mrs. A. anticipates my every want, and is 
 a most agreeable, pleasant person. They have a large 
 family (I think about twelve or thirteen) of native children, 
 who have no other home. They are trained up to habits 
 of industry and cleanliness, and it is a pleasant thing to 
 
 356
 
 Rev. Zerub Baillie 357 
 
 hear them, morning and evening, repeating passages and 
 praying in their own tongue. On the Sabbath evening 
 all give an account of what they have heard at the various 
 meetings during the day. Some of them have memories 
 which would put to the blush many children in Scotland 
 of a similar age. 
 
 In his station Report for 1856, Mr. Anderson mentions 
 that Mr. Baillie, since his arrival, had been actively and 
 zealously engaged along with himself in carrying on the 
 work, and that the Rev. Samuel Edgerley, who also re- 
 sided at Duke Town, had been engaged with the Mission 
 press. The following details are taken from the Report : — 
 
 Mr. Baillie, Mr. Haddison, and I have held on an 
 average three meetings each on the morning of the Lord's 
 day. Mrs. Anderson and Miss Barty have also together 
 held meetings with the women in several yards. I should 
 suppose that the word is spoken to about three hundred 
 souls. . . . 
 
 The English service at two P.M., conducted by Mr. 
 Edgerley, Mr. Baillie, and myself, has been attended by 
 upwards of one hundred, including children. A few from 
 the ships in the river have been present with great 
 regularity. The psalmody has been admirably conducted 
 by Dr. Hewan. 
 
 The Sabbath school, which is held from three to four, 
 has been attended by from sixty to eighty. All the agents 
 take a part in conducting these classes ; and whilst they 
 are being taught in the church I have an advanced class 
 in my own house. 
 
 The Wednesday evening prayer meeting, conducted 
 chiefly by Mr. Edgerley, Mr. Baillie, and myself, has been 
 well attended. The exercises are devotional, expository, 
 and catechetical. At this meeting we have gone over the 
 history of the Apostle Paul, Acts xvii.-xxviii., the whole 
 of our Lord's Parables, and the questions of the Shorter 
 Catechism, from 91st to 107th, and 1st to 22nd. 
 
 On Thursday evening Mrs. Anderson has a class of
 
 358 ( >i i> ( )alabae Period 
 
 women, whom she has been instructing in the elementary 
 doctrines of the gospel. The only constant attendants 
 have been the few Sierra Leone people who reside on the 
 Mission i [ill. 
 
 The attendance at the week-day school during the first 
 six months ranged from twenty to forty, and during the 
 second six months from sixty to seventy ; but eighty have 
 been frequently present. The most of these have been 
 moving on satisfactorily. Miss Barty, J. Haddison, and I 
 have shared in the labours of the school during the whole 
 year ; and Mr. Baillie, who is a great accession to the 
 Mission, since his arrival has well done his part in it. 
 
 The story of the work is carried on by the following 
 extracts from Mr. .Anderson's Journal: — 
 
 Jan. 6, [857. — Heard to-day of several murders having 
 been committed at Old Town on account of the death of 
 Otu George. This is a direct violation of the treaty made 
 with Mr. Hutchinson about a year ago. 
 
 8. — An opportunity offering, and having full proof 
 that several persons have been put to death at Old Town, 
 I communicated information respecting the same to 
 H.B.M.'s Consul at Fernando Po. 
 
 30. — Saw a barbarous flogging inflicted on an un- 
 offending young woman near Henshaw Town. Protested 
 strongly against the practice of Egbo runners flogging 
 those who are guilt} - of no crime. I felt the more at 
 liberty to speak to all parties concerned, as the chief 
 actor in the bloody (for it was bloody) transaction was 
 one of my old scholars. Though I felt bound some 
 months ago to state formally to the native gentlemen 
 that 1 did not write about their Egbo affairs to Queen 
 Victoria, I now felt it needful to say that people of all 
 countries and of all colours, who should hear of such 
 occurrences, would cry "Shame!" on account of some oi 
 their foolish and cruel' customs. 1 1. M.S. Merlin arrived in 
 the evening. 
 
 Feb. I, Sabbath. —One of our little adopted and 
 baptized daughters left us this evening after a brief ill-
 
 Youncx Antika Cobham's End 359 
 
 ness. Poor little sufferer ! But she is now in far better 
 keeping than ours. " Of such is the kingdom of 
 God." 
 
 Not long after she " fell asleep " the soul of another 
 was driven from Old Calabar into the world of spirits ; 
 but what a contrast in life and in death between the help- 
 less infant and the hardened murderer! The murderer 
 referred to was called Young Antika. He was the eldest 
 son of the late Antika Cobham. One of the numerous 
 cold-blooded murders perpetrated by him is reported in 
 the United Presbyterian Missionary Record for March 
 1847, p. 43. How many atrocities in the way of murder- 
 ing and mutilating he has committed between 1846 and 
 1856, I cannot tell. On a Sabbath evening in September 
 last, he killed one of his wives at one blow. On my 
 representing to his uncle, H. Cobham, now head of the 
 Cobham family, that such a monster ought not to be 
 allowed to walk at large, the reply was, " It only be wife 
 he kill; no palaver live for that." Henry's views of 
 matters were afterwards changed, however, when the same 
 pest went about with a loaded musket watching his 
 opportunity to shoot him. The blood - people in the 
 plantations had also got information of the murder of 
 the wife, who, it appears, had been a connection of some 
 of the leaders of that fraternity, and they were clamorous 
 in their demands that the murderer should be delivered 
 into their hands, to be by them put to death. The 
 Cobham family declined to do this, so that the blood- 
 people put their plantations under ban — would allow no 
 Cobham Town person to go to the plantations — would 
 allow no produce to be brought to Cobham Town. A 
 deputation of blood-men came to Cobham Town last 
 night or this morning, and in order to make " palaver set," 
 it was agreed by both parties that the murderer should 
 undergo the esere ordeal, with (I believe) a tacit under- 
 standing that, should it fail, other measures should be 
 taken to ensure death. The esere took effect, but ere it 
 had time to cause death — all parties concurring — a rope 
 was adjusted round the dying man's neck, and, being hung 
 up thereby to the roof-tree of the palaver-house, which 
 is at once the hall of judgment and the place of execution,
 
 J 
 
 60 Old Calabar Period 
 
 the soul was hurried into the presence of the Righteous 
 Judge. 
 
 Monday, 2. — It may be right here to jot clown that 
 I heard nothing of the execution of Young Antika till 
 to-day, though we are so near Cobham Town. I may 
 also state that I do not journalise on the Sabbath, though 
 events occurring on that day are frequently, in my merit., 
 entered under date of " Sabbath." This I do, considering 
 that it adds to the perspicuousness of a journal to have 
 the events of the day recorded under the date of the 
 occurrence, whatever be the time of their entry. On 
 expressing to H. Cobham my regret that his nephew had 
 been condemned and executed on the Sabbath, he ex- 
 cused himself on the ground that the day was far spent 
 ere their judicial procedure was begun, and had he not 
 heard God's word in the morning? 
 
 The Consul held a meeting this morning in Old Town 
 mission-house, in presence of Mrs. Sutherland, Dr. Hewan, 
 Mr. Baillie, and myself, with the headmen of Old Town. 
 The individual chiefly implicated in the murders professed 
 ignorance as to the nature of the treaty made with the 
 Consul a year ago, and pleaded that he had not killed any 
 person, seeing that it was under the ordeal of the esere 
 that the persons had died. As it appeared that Efium 
 Cobham, the acknowledged head of the town, had had no 
 hand whatever in the administration of the esere, and as 
 he and all parties pledged themselves not to allow such a 
 thing again, the Consul judged it best to allow the matter 
 to drop. He felt — we all felt — that were he to make any 
 violent demonstration in regard to the matter, serious 
 though it was, the Old Town people would probably be 
 afraid to rebuild their town, and be led to feel and act 
 like a band of outlawed murderers ; whereas, were they to 
 rebuild and reoccupy their town, they would be more 
 accessible than at present to the influences of civilisation 
 and Christianity. 
 
 Feb. 2j. — -This day finished a translation into Efik of 
 Paul's Epistle to the Hebrews. Have found the exercise 
 of translating this important portion of Hoi)- Writ both 
 pleasant and profitable. 
 
 March 17. — Witnessed a good many of the funeral rites
 
 Sacrifice of an Albino Girl 361 
 
 of the natives this afternoon. The deceased had been 
 nurse to Antaro Young. The coffin, a large chest, 7 
 feet long, 3 or 4 broad, and 3 or 4 deep, was placed 
 under a sort of canopy, and around it marched, and 
 sometimes danced, a band of women, for about an hour 
 at a time. Native instruments of music (or rather of 
 noise) were being played all the time, while the hired 
 mourners played their parts most vigorously. Thinking, 
 I suppose, that it would vary the entertainment somewhat, 
 Antaro requested me to " read burial service in English." 
 I expressed my readiness to conduct a service in Efik, 
 provided he would command quiet and attention. This 
 did not suit his taste, however, and he would not consent 
 to my " speaking without a book." Finally he agreed to 
 send a boy for my Bible, and I agreed to say or read a 
 few words both in English and Efik. I accordingly spoke 
 a few words on the all-important concerns of eternity in 
 both languages ; but, from the strong drink which had 
 been freely circulated, I soon began to fear that I was 
 breaking the rule laid down in Matthew vii. 6. 
 
 2S. — It is with deep sorrow that I am constrained 
 to record that the greater portion of Duke Town 
 gentlemen went this afternoon to the neighbourhood of 
 Parrot Island, and there sacrificed a poor albino girl. 
 Some say that such sacrifice is made to Ndem Efik, to 
 make him bring plenty ships to the country, while others 
 say that the rite is intended to keep away sickness from 
 the town. How Satan does manage to deceive men ! I 
 suppose that some have faith that the observance will 
 lead to the former result, and others that it will lead to 
 the latter. Have not heard of any sacrifice of the kind 
 being made since 185 1. I am glad to be informed that 
 Cobham Town, Henshaw Town, and Creek Town have 
 had nothing whatever to do with the matter. 
 
 30. — A Duke Town gentleman, Edem Oku by name, 
 who took an active part in the murderous ceremonial 
 of the 28th, was this day summoned, without a moment's 
 warning, to his final account. Without any apparent 
 cause, he suddenly dropped down dead. A few of his 
 former companions seem to be a good deal impressed by 
 the solemn dispensation. Mr. Baillie and I are taking
 
 J 
 
 62 < )ld Calabar Period 
 
 advantage of the event, and improving it as we best can, 
 as a lesson to survivors to stand in readiness to meet 
 their God. 
 
 March 3.— In company with all the brethren I visited 
 [korofiong, or Upper Ekrikok. I had never been up the 
 river farther than Ikoneto, so that the scenery was new to 
 me. We had a very hearty reception from the people of 
 the town, who expressed themselves as quite willing to 
 have a missionary to reside among them. There are 
 several excellent sites for missionary premises in the 
 immediate vicinity of the town, or rather towns. A 
 station here would form a fine stepping-stone to the Egbo 
 Shary country, on the confines of which, I believe, the town 
 we visited stands. Probably the agricultural population 
 of that region would be more read)- to receive the word 
 of truth, having less to distract their minds than their 
 commercial brethren in Old Calabar. 
 
 April 10. — The eleventh anniversary of the commence- 
 ment of the Mission was celebrated at Creek Town. This 
 was the second time there had been public services, the 
 first being at Duke Town the previous year. Mr. Waddell 
 says : " The services were conducted by myself, with a few- 
 words explanatory, and a hymn. Mr. Edgerley followed 
 with a prayer in English. Mr. Anderson prayed both in 
 English and in Efik, and preached the anniversary sermon 
 in English, a very appropriate and excellent discourse, from 
 Acts xxvi. 22, 2\. Mr. Goldie followed with an address 
 in Efik; and Mr. Hail lie concluded with prayer, a hymn 
 in Efik, and the benediction." 
 
 The following are from Mr. Anderson's Journal: 
 
 April (4. — Went towards Efut in the P.M. Found 
 Efut itself to be too far for me, but had two cheering 
 little meetings of a family kind at settlements about 
 midway between this and Efut. Little Andrew Somerville, 
 who accompanied me, read in our little Efik Catechism, 
 with great fluency, to both parties, which appeared to 
 astonish them not a little. At one of the places I told 
 the family who he was, and how he had come under 
 my care. It turned out that several of the wives of the
 
 Death of Samuel Edgerley, Senior 363 
 
 household had been intimate with his mother, — they had 
 never till to-day heard of her child's preservation, visit 
 to England, etc., so that they smote upon their breasts 
 in great wonderment and pleasure. They then sub- 
 jected his face to a complete investigation, tracing, as I 
 understood, the lineaments of their departed friend in his 
 features. 
 
 Sabbath, 26. — H.M.S. Firefly came up the river 
 shortly after midday. When she first appeared, she was 
 mistaken for the mail steamer. In the P.M. we were very 
 happy to have our Consul, Captain Davies, and a number 
 of the officers of the Firefly worshipping with us in our 
 humble sanctuary. By acting thus, gentlemen bearing 
 Her Majesty's commission can cheaply and greatly for- 
 ward the good cause at the different mission stations 
 which they visit. 
 
 28. — At a meeting this afternoon, called by the 
 Consul at the Duke's house, for the discussion of sundry 
 matters, I was delighted to see the high ground taken by 
 the Consul, in protesting to the Duke and his superstitious 
 fraternity, against some of their barbarous practices — 
 especially against the sacrifice of the albino girl, near 
 Parrot Island, on the 28th ult. I trust that his remon- 
 strances will do good. 
 
 Mrs. Edgerley returned to Calabar, accompanied by 
 her son, Mr., afterwards the Rev. Samuel H. Edgerley, 
 arriving on 30th July 1856. Mr. Edgerley, senior, died 
 at Duke Town on the 28th May 1857. Mr. Anderson 
 
 wrote regarding his illness and death as follows : — 
 
 • 
 
 Mr. Edgerley had a rather severe attack of illness 
 about the beginning of May, but he had got pretty well 
 over it by the middle of the month. So well was he as to 
 be able to step over and spend the greater portion of 
 a day at our house. About the 22nd of the month his 
 illness returned. By the 25th it was evident that it 
 might terminate in death. ... I visited Mr. E. daily, 
 sometimes twice or thrice a day, during his illness. I 
 frequently prayed with him, and repeated to him promises
 
 364 Old Calabar Period 
 
 of Scripture and verses of hymns. . . . He gradually sank 
 till the evening of the 28th. On that evening was held 
 our weekly prayer meeting. The questions of the Shorter 
 Catechism under consideration that evening (in usual 
 course) were, " What benefits do believers receive from 
 Christ at death?" and "What at the resurrection?" I 
 had just finished catechising on these questions when Mr. 
 Baillie was sent for by Dr. Hewan. I feared that Mr. E. 
 was worse. I had already read out to be sung the 
 Christian's dying song — 
 
 "My race is run, my warfare's o'er," etc. 
 
 We had sung two verses when Mr. Baillie came and 
 whispered to me, " You had better finish ; Mr. Edgerley 
 is at his last." I intimated this to the meeting, and we 
 joined in earnest prayer for the departing spirit. Accom- 
 panied by others, I proceeded to the chamber of death. 
 Mrs. E. requested me to pray. I prayed — for what else 
 could one pray at such a season ? — that our friend might 
 have a speedy and safe passage across the Jordan, and 
 a glorious entrance into the heavenly Canaan. The 
 breathing became shorter and shorter, and somewhere 
 about eight o'clock of that Thursday evening all became 
 still. . . . There were standing around that bed the widow 
 and the two children of the departed, Mrs. Anderson, 
 Miss Barty, Mr. Baillie, Dr. Hewan, and myself. . . . 
 
 On Friday, May 29th, in compliance with a wish 
 which the deceased had expressed while yet with us, his 
 remains were committed to the dust near the spot where 
 two other brethren " rest in their beds." And there repose 
 in dreamless sleep till the resurrection morning, all the 
 three — Jameson, Sutherland, and Edgerley. 
 
 The Rev. John Edmond, Glasgow, wrote an ode to 
 their memory, entitled " The First Three," from which 
 a stanza or two may be quoted : 
 
 " We have buried our dead, dear to Christ, in thy sand, 
 The redemption of Afric believing to see ! 
 For we bought our Machpelah, a pledge for the land, 
 \\ hen we laid in thv bosom the first of the three.
 
 "The First Three" 365 
 
 Now the bond we had fastened in love and in trust 
 
 Death lias riveted thrice — who would sunder the chain ? 
 The voice of the fallen ones even from their dust 
 
 Cries Onward, still onward, Messiah must reign. 
 These three, these the first ! Who will step where they lie ? 
 
 Close not up jour thinned ranks yet, ye warriors afield ! 
 Who will go? shall be answered with, Lord, here am I ; 
 
 And the breach in your phalanx anon shall be healed. 
 Who will follow to death? Who will follow to glory? 
 
 Who will spend to win souls in the wars of the Lamb ? 
 Their names shall be woven in the lines of the story 
 
 That shall tell how He conquered the kingdoms of Ham. 
 With your shields, or upon them ! cried matrons of Greece, 
 
 As they sent forth their sons for their country's defence : 
 Shall the patriot dare more than the preacher of peace ? 
 
 Shall our faith be called coward ? our love a pretence ? 
 To the rescue, young men ! ye are brave, ye are strong ! 
 
 With the Cross for your ensign, the word for your sword ! 
 Till from Niger to Nile burst the dark lands to song, 
 
 When the sons of the Ethiop are sons of the Lord ! " 
 
 That is the spirit in which to point the moral of the 
 deaths of missionaries. Let the appeal be to the heroism 
 of the youth of the Church and to the spirit of self- 
 sacrifice in the parents ; but let it not be chilled by a 
 policy of fear of climatic risks, commercialism, and ex- 
 pediency on the part of those who are charged with 
 finding spheres for those who give themselves to the 
 work, and with the duty of encouraging them in the 
 midst of their toils and trials, sicknesses and sorrows, 
 until they pass beyond praise or blame into the presence 
 of Him who sees not as man sees, and accepts service 
 willed to be given as well as work done. 
 
 Mr. Edgerley left behind him a widow who devotedly 
 carried on the work as long as she was able, and who 
 died in 1874; a son, who has written his name in the 
 annals of Calabar and in the hearts of the natives, not
 
 366 Old Calabar Period 
 
 only at the stations in which lie laboured, but of the tribes 
 he was among the first to visit; and a daughter, who, 
 after forty-two years' loving labour among the women 
 and children of Calabar, has recently retired from active 
 service amid the regrets of fellow-workers and of natives 
 alike. The connection of the Kdgerley family with 
 Calabar thus covers the first fifty years of its history. 
 
 In a letter dated Liverpool, 14th Jul}- 1857, Mr. 
 Anderson says : — 
 
 In compliance with the advice of all my brethren in 
 Old Calabar, and with the urgent and oft-repeated in-, 
 junctions, cautions, and remonstrances of our esteemed 
 medical attendant, Dr. I lev an, Mrs. A. and I embarked 
 in the mail steamer Candace on the 31st of May, and 
 after a very pleasant passage we reached this place on 
 the 9th instant. It was judged by the brethren, and felt 
 by ourselves, that we needed a change of clime for a 
 season, for the recruiting of health and the prolongation 
 of life. We have both been greatly invigorated by the 
 voyage, although, while on the deep, Mrs. A. had a very 
 sharp attack of fever, and I had several touches of 
 ague. 
 
 At the Annual Missionary Meeting of the Synod on 
 May 5th, [858, Mr. Anderson gave an address in which 
 he pleaded the claims of Old Calabar and the twenty 
 or thirty millions on the West Coast of Africa. Only the 
 summary, which appeared in the June number of the 
 United Presbyterian Magazine, can be given here. He 
 began by saying that he would not detract from the 
 claims of India or other fields, — " The field is the world,"— 
 and proceeded : — 
 
 While one human being remains uninstructed in-divine 
 things, the missionary work is unaccomplished. The 
 Church might do more, should do more, shall do more.
 
 Synod Missionary Address, 1858 367 
 
 for her Lord, than she has ever yet done. In behalf of 
 Old Calabar and the adjacent countries, he urged — 
 
 1. Their necessities. The region is one of the darkness 
 and shadow of death. The darkness is like that of Egypt 
 of old — it may be felt. The inhabitants know nothing of 
 the way of salvation. But the inhabitants of that country, 
 as of other heathen lands, are not merely a band of 
 unfortunates, but a company of criminals — an army of 
 rebels, of mutineers ; and these rebels against the best 
 Sovereign trample under foot all His laws. Would that 
 the Church were as patriotic as the world ! Down with 
 the mutiny ! And, blessed be God, the weapons of our 
 warfare are not carnal, though mighty for the pulling 
 down of strongholds. Remember the curse of Meroz : 
 " Curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof, because they 
 came not to the help of the Lord against the mighty." 
 
 He urged — 2. Their wrongs. How many cargoes of 
 slaves have been carried down from the Old Calabar River, 
 in British ships, to British colonies, there to toil on, on, on. 
 — no rest in prospect but the grave, — for the enriching of 
 British subjects ? "Britain's guilt and Afric's wrongs" — 
 neither the one nor the other can be cancelled till, in 
 return for the injuries inflicted on poor Africa, she be 
 put, by Britons, in possession of the best of blessings. 
 
 He urged in behalf of Old Calabar — 3. Its importance. 
 It is the key of a large and densely populated region. 
 From Calabar access would be had to Kororofa, Adamawa, 
 Bautshi, and Hamarua (Muri), and other regions, where 
 teeming millions await from our hands the bread of 
 life. 
 
 He urged — 4. The encouragements received during the 
 past twelve years. We have now the confidence of the 
 people. We have prevailed on them to abandon some 
 of their most horrid and barbarous rites and customs, 
 such as human sacrifices on the death of free persons. 
 The murder of twin children is now forbidden among his 
 own people by the most influential chief in the country, 
 King Eyo Honesty. Infanticide has been checked. The 
 ordeal of the eserc (poison bean) has been greatly modified. 
 The barbarities which in former times were wont to be 
 practised on slaves, such as cutting off ears, pulling teeth.
 
 368 Old Calabar Period 
 
 scorching hands and feet, etc., have been in great measure 
 abandoned. We have now comirfand of the language of 
 the people. Four of the missionaries, besides several of 
 the ladies of the Mission, are able to communicate instruc- 
 tion to the people without the aid of interpreters. Several 
 very useful books have been printed in the Efik tongue. 
 The whole of the New Testament has been translated 
 into that tongue, though not yet printed. The only 
 literature in the country is a Christian literature. Thirty- 
 six individuals have been received into Church fellowship. 
 Nearly all arc giving evidence of having passed from 
 death unto life. There is very little inducement yonder 
 to make any hypocritical profession of religion. We have 
 three chapels and four schools, all in active operation. 
 A goodly band of native youths can read in their own 
 tongue (and in English too) the Scriptures of truth. When 
 the members of our churches go, as they frequently do, 
 for months at a time, to the district plantations and 
 palm-oil markets, they carry with them their books, cease 
 from labour and from merchandise on the Sabbaths, hold 
 prayer meetings among themselves, invite others to join 
 them in their service ; and are thus becoming pioneers 
 of truth, heralds of mercy to the surrounding places. 
 Another claim for Calabar is, a few graves yonder. The 
 requiem of three of the sleepers has been sung by your 
 own poet, Edmond — Jameson, Sutherland, Edgerley. We 
 have taken possession of the country by having secured 
 therein a burial-place. " The kingdom of heaven is like 
 unto leaven." " No," say some of the servants ; " mission- 
 aries and the Scriptures should operate like the lightning 
 — shake old-established systems of superstition as by 
 earthquake — carry off every evil, political and social, from 
 the face of the earth, as by the sweep of the tornado and 
 the hurricane ; yea, they should be as the firebrand cast 
 into the powder magazine." " No," says the Master; "1 
 will be as the dew unto Israel, working majestically, but 
 calmly and silently." " The remnant of Jacob shall be 
 in the midst of many people as a dew from the Lord, 
 as the showers upon the grass," softly, gently diffusing 
 their hallowed and hallowing influences. " The kingdom 
 of heaven is like unto leaven," working slowly, gradually,
 
 The Rev. Alexander Robb 369 
 
 surely. Let the watchword of the Church be, Onwards ! 
 To proceed swiftly, with comfort and honour, 'we must 
 proceed surely. Our work is one of faith, of patience, 
 of labour, of perseverance — only begun. The Master sees 
 and notes every honest effort made for the advancement 
 of His glory ; and, labouring for Him here or elsewhere, 
 we may rest assured that He will prosper these efforts, 
 and that in " that day " they shall be neither forgotten 
 nor unacknowledged. 
 
 Dr. Adam of Liverpool says: "Mr. Anderson's speech 
 was allowed on all hands to be the speech of the evening. 
 I remember reading it in the Scotsman. ... I perfectly 
 remember being thrilled by some fine passages." 
 
 While Mr. and Mrs. Anderson were at home, the 
 Rev. Alexander Robb, M.A., who had laboured for four 
 years at Goshen, Jamaica, was appointed to Calabar 
 for the purpose of translating the Old Testament, and 
 revising all existing translations, of superintending the 
 work of translation, and of training any promising 
 young men who might be found suitable for the work 
 of the Mission. He and his wife (the daughter of the 
 late Rev. Wm. Jameson) sailed from Liverpool on 
 January 21, 1858, and arrived in Old Calabar on Febru- 
 ary 26. A teacher for Creek Town was also found in 
 the person of Mr. Wm. Timson, who, with his wife and 
 child, sailed on March 20 ; and W. C. Thomson, who had 
 been ordained at home, left with his wife and arrived 
 at Duke Town on May 25, in time to witness the final 
 departure from Calabar of the Rev. Hope Masterton 
 Waddell and his wife, the pioneer missionaries, who were 
 retiring after sixteen years' labours in Jamaica and twelve 
 in Calabar. Mr. Waddell has graphically described his 
 labours in these fields in his fascinating volume entitled 
 24
 
 370 Old Calabar Period 
 
 Twenty-Nine Years in the West Indies and in Central 
 Africa. His name is associated with the Training Institute 
 at Duke Town. His wife survived till 1894, and he him- 
 self lived till the Mission had entered on its jubilee year, 
 dying on April 18, 1895. Mr. Goldie's last letter to me, 
 dated Creek Town, May 30, 1895, contains the following 
 reference to Mr. Waddell's labours and death: "He has 
 been blessed with a long, devoted, and successful life in 
 the mission field, and he has now got the call for which 
 he was waiting. Calabar Mission will be his monument."
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 Return to Calabar and Renewed Labours — Election and 
 Coronation of Archibong II., etc. 
 
 Mr. AND Mrs. Anderson sailed for Old Calabar on May 
 20, 1858. The following extracts are from a letter dated 
 July 1858. Of his voyage he says that he had a capital 
 ship, a comfortable berth, an attentive and agreeable 
 captain, most excellent officers, a pleasant set of fellow- 
 passengers, and propitious weather :— 
 
 Early on the morning of June 2nd we reached Tene- 
 riffe. Landed, and went to the Cathedral and elsewhere. 
 The dismal gloom of Popish heathenism is rampant here. 
 Shortly after leaving Teneriffe, on the evening of the 
 same day, we beheld a striking spectacle. The far-famed 
 Peak reared its majestic summit right between us and the 
 setting sun, and for more than an hour there was the most 
 brilliant appearance of flame, surrounded by thin smoke, as 
 if the volcano were still in full operation. Our captain and 
 several seafaring gentlemen who were our fellow-passengers, 
 all well acquainted with the West African passage, de- 
 clared that, often as they had seen Teneriffe, they never 
 before had seen such a sublime scene as was then ex- 
 hibited before us. All on board firmly believed, for a 
 time, that what we beheld was in reality flame and 
 smoke ; but as the vision passed entirely away when 
 the sun had fully set, the greater part of us set down 
 the appearance to the account of some cause or causes to 
 us unknown. 
 
 When we reached Duke Town on June 29, we found 
 that the brethren and sisters had been enabled to earn- 
 on the work of the station during our absence with dili- 
 
 371
 
 372 Old Calabar Period 
 
 gencc and success. We found that the old schoolroom 
 erected by Mr. Newhall in 1847-8) had been laid low 
 by a tornado. The church was standing, but in a very 
 infirm condition. It also is now a total wreck, and for 
 three Sabbaths past we held our P.M. services in Mrs. 
 Edgerley's house, she having the largest apartment at 
 this station. We are getting a new church erected. It 
 is of native material, and will be somewhat in native style, 
 but will be much superior to the last. The new erection 
 will cost about £30. The old cost but ^12. I expect 
 that we shall be able to raise at this station the half of 
 the £30, if not more. One young countryman of ours, a 
 merchant resident in the country, has given £"5 to the 
 building fund. Two river friends have also given hand- 
 some donations. Besides, on the first Sabbath of this 
 month we commenced the plan of Sabbath collections. 
 A box is placed at the church door, and you would be 
 amused to sec the motley mass which it contains. Let 
 us look into it for a moment. Here are six brass rods, 
 fifty black coppers, two half-crowns, three shillings, a few 
 smaller coins, an order for money, an obligation to pay on 
 demand several articles of trade, a few LLP. Hymn-Books, 
 a knife, a razor, a comb, a snuff-box, a phial of lavender 
 water, etc. etc. 
 
 It was with no small degree of interest that I accom- 
 panied Mr. Baillie to the town on the first Sabbath of this 
 month. I found the Sabbath meetings in the different 
 yards pretty much the same as formerly. The first yard 
 we went to was that of Henny Cobham. After catechism, 
 singing, and prayer, I began my address by telling 
 Henny, in Calabar-English — -for I did not wish his people 
 to hear what I was saying — that when I live in white 
 man's country, plenty people ask me about Old Calabar, 
 if people go to church, care for God's word, etc. Then 
 I tell them about your house and your yard, and some 
 things I tell them make them laugh plenty. But I see one 
 thing to-day I never look before ; and suppose I in my 
 country this day and tell my country people, say, I go to 
 Henny Cobham's yard Sabbath morning, and he and his 
 people come hear God's word ; but all the time we sing 
 first hymn and pray first prayer for God, Henny Cobham
 
 An Election of Elders $7$ 
 
 sit in his arm-chair smoking a cigar — all man wonder ; 
 say, " This be strange thing for true." Some laugh and 
 some sorry. Henny exclaimed, " True," and the cigar 
 vanished instanter. At the other meetings all went on in 
 the old way. 
 
 Mr. Baillie left us about ten days ago for another 
 sphere of labour (Ikoneto). He carries with him the 
 best wishes of all parties here. He has fought the 
 good fight nobly during the two years he has been at 
 this station. He is admirably fitted for the post he 
 expects ere long to occupy (Ikorofiong). I trust that 
 there lies before him a wide sphere and a long extended 
 career of usefulness. . . . 
 
 My late visit home I found to be very refreshing. 
 The recollection of the interest taken in ourselves by 
 many personal friends, both old and new, and of the deep 
 interest manifested by the Church in general in the Old 
 Calabar Mission, is very cheering. It is not the less so 
 that we have with us such tangible and valuable tokens of 
 interest, both from many private friends and from several 
 congregations. We are almost daily reminded of the 
 liberality of congregations in Dalkeith, Dundee, Ford, 
 Galashiels, Gourock, Kinross, Milnathort, Musselburgh, 
 Nicolson Street, Edinburgh; Paisley, Penicuik, Perth, 
 Selkirk, and Stitchel. The very beautiful Bethel flag 
 which the young ladies connected with Misses Smith's 
 Academy, Kinross, kindly prepared for us, has for four 
 Sabbaths past " floated on the breeze," one of the most 
 prominent objects in the territory of Duke Town. 
 
 Since the death of Mr. Sutherland we have had no 
 elder at this station. Feeling the importance of having, 
 as far as possible, a fully organised church, I brought the 
 subject of the eldership before the congregation on the 
 second Sabbath of the month, and proposed that on that 
 day fortnight they should choose two of their number to 
 the office of the eldership. Accordingly, last Sabbath 
 evening the election was made, when Dr. Hewan and Mr. 
 S. H. Edgerley were unanimously and very cordially 
 chosen by the Church to be their ruling elders. I trust 
 that these brethren will see their way clear to acceptance 
 of the office to which they have been chosen, and that
 
 J/ 
 
 4 Old Calabar Period 
 
 they will be instruments of much good, in their sphere, 
 both to the congregation and to the country. 
 
 In a brief note, dated Aug. 26, Mr. Anderson intimated 
 the death of the King of Duke Town: — 
 
 King Duke of Duke Town died, after a prolonged 
 illness, on the 11th inst, about 5 o'clock P.M. I do not 
 suppose that his death will lead to much change in the 
 administration of the affairs of this town. I suppose that 
 John Archibong will, after King Duke's devil-making ; be 
 called King of Duke Town. This is the third interregnum 
 which I have seen since my first arrival here. We are 
 getting quite accustomed to such a state of matters. 
 
 Several deaths among the agents of the Mission fol- 
 lowed soon after. Mrs. Timson, who had reached Calabar 
 on April 25, died on Sept. 1 1, leaving a husband and two 
 little children — the younger a babe three months old, born 
 shortly after her arrival. Mr. Robb wrote: — 
 
 The event took us by surprise, as she was at the break- 
 fast table forty-eight hours before, and seemed to be in her 
 usual health. She had not been strong since her arrival, 
 and indeed herself and others feared that she would not 
 survive her confinement. . . . Though she was not allowed 
 to live and labour, yet she will not lose the reward of that 
 devotedness which brought her, willingly, with her husband 
 that she might share the toils and dangers of the Mission. 
 It is a comforting thought that her death was not due 
 to the climate, but to other causes, which might have 
 shortened her days in Scotland itself. She was buried on 
 the Lord's day after the first service — Mr. Anderson, Miss 
 Barty, Mr. S. II. Edgerley, Mr. Irvine, etc., having come 
 up the river to be present. 
 
 Mr. Henry Hamilton, the carpenter, a coloured man 
 from Jamaica, who accompanied Mr. Waddell to Calabar 
 in 1847, died on Sept. 23, and Mis. W. C. Thomson died
 
 Presbytery of Biafra Formed, 1858 375 
 
 on Sept. 26, four months after reaching Calabar. " From 
 Ikoneto, where she had a slow but severe attack" (of 
 fever), wrote Dr. Hewan, "she was removed to -Duke 
 Town for change of air ; and there, under the foster-care 
 of Mrs. Anderson, she got round a little." From Duke 
 Town she went to be with Mrs. Sutherland, and died 
 there, and was buried at Creek Town, which was the 
 " God's acre " of the Mission at that time. 
 
 On Sept. 1 was formed the Presbytery of Biafra, so 
 called from the Bight in which Calabar lies. The follow- 
 ing is a portion of the first minutes : — 
 
 Duke Town, Old Calabar, 
 September I, 1858. 
 
 The brethren having met here this day, and having 
 finished the business hitherto conducted by them under 
 the designation of the " Old Calabar Mission Committee," 
 then proceeded, in accordance with a resolution come to at 
 the meeting of said Committee, held at Ikoneto, 3rd Aug. 
 1 858, to form themselves into a Presbytery ; and Mr. Goldie, 
 at their request, constituted them by prayer accordingly. 
 
 The list of members follows :■ — Rev. Messrs. Anderson, 
 Goldie, Robb, Baillie, and Thomson ; and Mr. Archibald 
 Hewan, elder from Duke Town. Mr. Henry Hamilton, 
 elder from Creek Town, was absent through sickness. 
 
 The Rev. William Anderson [who was the senior 
 ordained missionary since the departure of Mr. Waddell] 
 was chosen moderator for the next twelve months, and 
 Mr. Robb was appointed Presbytery Clerk. . . . 
 
 It was resolved that the congregations and stations 
 united under the superintendence of this Presbytery be 
 designated the " Presbyterian Church in Biafra." 
 
 Mr. S. Edgerley read an essay on the subject, "What 
 should be the motives and aims of one looking forward to 
 the gospel ministry ? " The members of Presbytery ex- 
 pressed themselves gratified with the essay. At Mr. 
 Anderson's suggestion, Mr. Edgerley was then examined 
 in the Greek Grammar by Mr. Goldie, and encouraged to
 
 376 ( )u> Calabar Period 
 
 prosecute his studies ; and he was directed to prepare for 
 examination lines of the 1st ch. of John's Gospel in 
 Greek, and the first one hundred lines of the 1st book 
 of the .Kneid of Virgil- the- examination to take place 
 at the next meeting of Presbytery, to be held at Duke 
 Town. 
 
 On Dec. 3, 1858, King Eyo Honesty II. of Creek 
 Town died suddenly, and his death led to great panic 
 and excitement among his slaves. 
 
 In a letter dated Aug. 30, 1859, Air. Anderson 
 reported an increase in the school, and described the 
 election and coronation of Archibon^ II. of Duke Town: — 
 
 o 
 
 I am very glad to be able to report to you that I have 
 not so much time for writing, by the present mail, as I have 
 had for a good many months back, from the fact that my 
 work has been doubled on my hands during the last two 
 or three weeks. The daily attendance at school has 
 mounted up from thirty-five to eighty. A number of 
 these new-comers are untrained lads of about twenty years 
 of age ; and, having no assistance in school, for the present, 
 save what I can get from the more advanced scholars, my 
 strength is pretty well taxed in keeping order and en- 
 deavouring to communicate instruction. When I last 
 wrote, the town and country in general were in a very 
 unsatisfactory state, occasioned by the capture and deten- 
 tion, by one of the supercargoes in the river, of two of the 
 principal men in Duke Town as hostages for debts, real 
 or alleged. Both of these gentlemen were set at liberty 
 some weeks ago, and matters have assumed a more settled 
 aspect in the country generally. 
 
 I think I mentioned to you some time ago that John 
 Archibong was chosen king by the inhabitants of Duke 
 Town in the month of March. His elevation to the throne 
 appears to be the result of a bond fide popular election. 
 No foreign influence whatever was used with the people in 
 his favour. He does not hold his office by virtue of an 
 appointment thereto by any foreign magistrate. This is, I 
 think, as it ought to be. A great many of us here, whites
 
 Coronation of Archibong II. $jj 
 
 as well as blacks, are decidedly of opinion that no foreign 
 interference should be tolerated in the election by the 
 Calabarese of their chief magistrate. The coronation of 
 the king elect was deferred for a time, till his brother next 
 to him in rank should be able to take a part in the cere- 
 monial. The Archibong family are a royal family, inas- 
 much as the late King Archibong I. was one of them, as 
 well as because they are closely related to the family of 
 the great Duke Ephraim. But, in point of fact, royalty is 
 quite a common thing in Old Calabar. There is hardly a 
 free family in Duke Town which is not, more or less, a 
 royal family. 
 
 Our new king has assumed the style and title of King 
 Archibong II. His coronation took place on Tuesday. A 
 select company of the river gentlemen, together with Mr. 
 Edgerley and myself, were present, by invitation of the 
 town gentlemen, to witness and attest the proceedings. 
 Of these I shall give you a very brief account. When the 
 deputation waited on me with the invitation to be present 
 at the ceremony, an urgent request was made to me to pre- 
 pare the papers needful for such an occasion. When I had 
 ascertained what was to be the order of procedure, I offered 
 the church as a place of meeting, as there is not a com- 
 fortably seated palaver-house in the town. The offer was 
 gratefully accepted ; and it was arranged that blacks 
 and whites should meet, on the morning specified, at the 
 king's house about nine o'clock, and walk thence in pro- 
 cession to the church at ten o'clock. According to agree- 
 ment, we met at the king's house at nine o'clock ; but 
 heavy and continuous rains prevented us from facing the 
 road towards the Mission Hill. The streets were soon 
 well-filled watercourses. Between ten and eleven o'clock 
 the assembled company proceeded from the king's house 
 to a large new palaver - house belonging to the king. 
 Drummers had been sent round to invite the town to be 
 present at the ceremonial, and, notwithstanding the rain, 
 a large concourse speedily assembled. When all the 
 gentlemen were seated, and the crowd had become still, 
 Mr. Thomas Hogan, acting as herald on the occasion, 
 intimated to the meeting, and to us white men in parti- 
 cular, that we had been called together to witness that
 
 37S Old Calabar Perk id 
 
 Duke Town people now make Archibong king for all 
 country i.e. all the territory belonging to Duke Town; 
 and that the Calabar gentlemen begged us white men to 
 
 put our hands to book, and to send letter to Queen 
 Victoria, to let her know that Archibong II. now come 
 up to be king for country. One of the white men 
 then asked the assembly if they concurred in what Mr. 
 Hogan had said. The response was a hearty affirmative. 
 None of the other white men appearing disposed to do 
 anything in the speech-making line, I rose, congratulated 
 the king on his elevation, and, as I had purposed to do 
 from the moment I received the invitation to be present, 
 delivered a short address, in the Efik language, on the 
 solemn duty and responsibilities of elders, their duty to 
 enact good laws, etc. etc.; and I then suggested that we 
 all unite in solemn prayer to God on behalf of both king 
 and country. 1 conducted the devotional services both in 
 Efik and English. Whites and blacks then congratulated 
 the new king ; the official documents were read by the 
 part}' who had prepared them, and were duly signed. 
 The second man of the town, Antaro Young, Esq., then 
 came forward and removed the bonnet or cap which the 
 king had hitherto kept on, and completed the corona- 
 tion by placing on his Majesty's head a very substantial, 
 decent-looking black hat, with gold lace band. One of 
 the supercargoes then proposed " Three cheers for King 
 Archibong the Second," which proposal was heartily 
 responded to. Flags were waving and firearms of various 
 sorts were being discharged in various quarters nearly all 
 day. 
 
 About two P.M. about twenty gentlemen, whites and 
 blacks, sat down to dinner with the king. In the course of 
 conversation I suggested to him that he could not inaugu- 
 rate his reign better than by the immediate and total 
 abolition of the Sabbath market. My suggestion was 
 ably supported by the whites present. After a little con- 
 versation with the other gentlemen, and notwithstanding 
 the opposition of one, if not of more, Archibong, much 
 sooner than I could have expected, stated that he was 
 quite willing at once to prevent the market from being 
 held an)- more inside the town, but that he could not at
 
 A Present for the King 379 
 
 once prevent it from being held on the Qua frontier, out- 
 side the town, at the twin mother village. I felt thankful 
 that he was able and willing to do so much, and especially 
 for the prompt and cordial manner in which he agreed to 
 banish the market from the inside of the town, and ex- 
 pressed myself accordingly. The whole affair of the 
 coronation — unlike that of the late Archibong — passed 
 over most pleasantly. The utmost decorum was preserved 
 by all parties during all the proceedings. It was just 
 such an occasion as leaves pleasant reminiscences. 
 
 To encourage Archibong in his setting out on his kingly 
 course, the members of the church presented him with a 
 short address a few days after his coronation. As the ad- 
 dress is more suitable for juveniles than adults, I have sent 
 a copy of it to Mr. MacGill. 1 Perhaps it may interest his 
 readers. When at home, I received from my friend Mr. 
 Drummond, jeweller, Perth, a very handsome and richly 
 mounted snuff-mull (I think that is what the article is 
 called in Scotland), to be disposed of to the best advantage 
 here. I told Mr. D. that I should keep it till King Duke 
 should pass some good law — such as that lately made by 
 Archibong — or do some good deed, save a slave from death, 
 or something of that sort, and that then I should present 
 it to him as a token of approbation from a friend in Scot- 
 land. King Duke did nothing to merit the box ; but I 
 thought that Archibong was somewhat entitled to it, for 
 on Saturday he sent out the Egbo proclamation that 
 henceforth no market is to be held in Duke Town on 
 God's day. So, on the following Monday, I went down to 
 the town, and, in Mr. Drummond's name, presented Archi- 
 bong with the beautiful article referred to ; and I need 
 hardly add that " his Majesty was most graciously pleased 
 to accept of the same," and expressed himself highly 
 gratified therewith. Archibong is far from being vigorous 
 in regard to bodily health, and his mind is not of a very 
 bright order ; but, unlike the old Duke, he seems willing 
 to be guided by his counsellors, who have better heads 
 than he. He may be an instrument for good. As we are 
 
 J A very interesting letter, entitled "A Coronation without a Crown," 
 containing the address referred to by Mr. Anderson, appeared in the Juvenile 
 Missionary A/a^azi/w, Nov. 1859.
 
 380 Old Calabar Period 
 
 required to pray for kings and all in authority, my prayer 
 is, that He who has the hearts of all men in His hand, 
 and who sometimes works wonders through feeble in- 
 strumentality, may bless our new ruler, and make him a 
 Messing. 
 
 Three Sabbaths have now passed away since the law- 
 was made about the Sabbath market, and the change in 
 the aspect of the town is very great. After a ten-years' 
 struggle, Duke Town at length partakes, at least externally, 
 of the hallowed stillness of the sacred day. Both Mrs. 
 Anderson and Mrs. Edgerley feel the advantage of the 
 change in their Sabbath labours among the women. 
 Formerly the great body of their audiences were usually 
 impatient for the conclusion of their meeting, that they 
 might get away to market. Now, multitudes of market 
 women i and men too), who would attend market were it 
 held in the town, do not go to it at all, and have ample 
 time on hand to await patiently till their instructresses 
 feel it proper to conclude their services. Our Sabbath 
 morning congregation has also considerably increased. It 
 is a matter of great thankfulness to us to see Duke 
 Town gentlemen take even one short step in the right 
 direction. 
 
 Since writing the above I have been up at Old Town 
 with Mr. Baillie, seeing our friends there who have been 
 sick. Mrs. Sutherland has had a pretty sharp attack of 
 fever. My wonder is that she has not been utterly 
 knocked up long ago. I low she manages to hold meet- 
 ings on Sabbath, travel so much as she does among the 
 Qua towns and villages, and teach a school of eighty or 
 ninety children, is a mystery to me. I do not consider 
 myself remarkably feeble, but a fortnight of her work 
 would, I feel pretty sure, prostrate me. She much needs 
 a change of climate, but cannot bear the thought of leaving 
 her loved work. She has considerably exceeded the five 
 statute years of labour here. Mr. Baillie has been suffi- 
 ciently long here at a spell. He has been seized with fever 
 since we came down from Old Town. When one has an 
 attack of fever weekly, or thereabouts, it is high time — if 
 his life is worth preserving — that he get out of the fever 
 region for a time. ... lie will be much missed by all of us
 
 A Church in Centre of Town 381 
 
 during his absence, and his return will be greatly longed 
 for by many, both blacks and whites. 
 
 Mr. Baillie left Calabar soon after, and arrived in Edin- 
 burgh on October 15. 
 
 After long solicitation, Mr. Anderson got a piece of 
 ground in the centre of the town as a site for a church, 
 60 feet long by 20 broad. This, it was hoped, would 
 remove the excuses of those whowere unwilling to come 
 to the Mission Hill. In his Journal, Mr. Anderson wrote 
 on May 12, i860: — 
 
 Have had a busy week superintending work at new 
 church in town, between school hours. We are now get- 
 ting the seats erected. 
 
 Sabbath, 13. — Well - attended meeting in the king's 
 yard ; but, owing to the extra labours of the week, con- 
 nected with the building of the new church, I felt ill 
 prepared for the service. 
 
 Previous to this date, in the beginning of April, the 
 Rev. Mr. and Mrs. Ogden of the Corisco Mission 
 (American Presbyterian) had paid a visit to Calabar, 
 and had enjoyed the hospitality of Mr. and Mrs. Ander- 
 son. 
 
 On April ro, the fourteenth anniversary of the Mis- 
 sion, Mr. Anderson read at a meeting in the church, 
 extracts from the Missionary Record for 1846-7 in refer- 
 ence to the state of both country and people of Calabar 
 during these two years. He remarks : —   
 
 The extracts served to refresh the memories of some 
 of us in reference to God's dealings towards the Mission, 
 and were — 1 was somewhat surprised to hear — deeply 
 interesting, because altogether new to some of our 
 countrymen, members of our Church, too, who were 
 present.
 
 J 
 
 82 Old Calabar Period 
 
 On Saturday, June 2, Mr. Anderson wrote in his 
 Journal, with reference to Miss Edgerley and Dr. Hewan 
 returning from furlough, the latter accompanied by his 
 recently married wife : — 
 
 Much delighted to-day to meet on board the mail 
 steamer Dr. Hewan, Mrs. Hewan, and Miss Edgerley. 
 It is a pleasant thing to welcome a new fellow-labourer, 
 from whatever quarter he or she may come ; but it was 
 with peculiar pleasure that I welcomed an old Ford 
 acquaintance, and it added to my enjoyment to see before 
 me a daughter of my late revered and beloved friend and 
 pastor, whose ministry I enjoyed for about sixteen years — 
 the Rev. Andrew Elliot. 
 
 For several days Mr. Anderson's time was taken up 
 with a Government Commission: — 
 
 Tuesday, June 5. — On board 1 1. M.S. Archer, giving 
 evidence on various public matters before Commodore 
 Edmonstone and Captain Crawford, who are here as a 
 Commission from Government to make inquiries and 
 collect evidence on certain points connected with the 
 administration of affairs in this quarter. 
 
 Wednesday, 6. — Obliged to relinquish school duties 
 to-day, from a pressure of other matters. A young man, 
 clerk to one of the supercargoes, who came some days 
 ago to the mission-house for change, died at eight A.M. 
 Erom ten to twelve I was with the Commission. From 
 twelve to one on business of the Commission with King 
 Archibong. From two to five at Old Town, where was a 
 meeting of Presbyter}-. At six o'clock, evening, con- 
 ducted Mr. Harlow's funeral service. Usual weekly 
 prayer meeting at 6.30. 
 
 Thursday, 7. — Could not keep school twice to-day. 
 On board the Archer, as a witness, from ten to twelve, 
 and as interpreter between the Commission and the native 
 gentlemen from 3 to 6.30 P.M. 
 
 The completion and the opening of the new church
 
 The Cost of the New Church 
 
 383 
 
 are recorded in characteristic fashion. The reference to 
 Webster's Dictionary in justification of the use of the 
 word "levelling" is a curious instance of Mr. Anderson's 
 anxiety to be accurate in his choice of words : — 
 
 The chief thing that I have to report is the completion 
 and opening of our new church. The edifice is wholly of 
 native material, and in form resembles the church on the 
 Mission Hill. It is 44 feet long by 24 wide. It is at 
 present seated for about 220 ; but we can easily add seats 
 for 100 more if required. The cost of the building is as 
 follows : — 
 
 Egbo Young Itam (native contractor), including 
 
 dashes, . ...... ^35 
 
 Planks for doors and benches, . . . .10 
 
 Carpenter work, ....... 6 
 
 Labourers — cleaning and "levelling" ground, 
 
 and making fence ( Webster gives levelling), 5 
 
 o 
 
 5 
 o 
 
 o 
 o 
 o 
 
 o o 
 
 ^56 
 
 This amount has been paid as unde 
 
 James Irvine, Esq., 
 
 John Laughland, Esq., . 
 
 Samuel Cheetham, Esq., 
 
 Mrs. Sutherland, : 
 
 William Hearn, Esq., . 
 
 Officers of H.M.S. Archer, 
 
 Other donations and church-door collections, 
 
 Drawn from Dr. Ferguson, .... 
 
 £20 o 
 
 2 2 
 
 1 1 
 
 2 o 
 
 3 o 
 2 10 
 
 18 12 
 
 6 o 
 
 o 
 o 
 o 
 o 
 o 
 o 
 o 
 o 
 
 £56 
 
 N.B. — I drew on Dr. Ferguson for £12; but I have 
 received from our congregational treasurer £6, to refund 
 in part the amount drawn from Mr. Peddie ; and we fully 
 expect to be able to repay the other £6 by the end of the 
 year. 
 
 We have thus built two churches within the space of 
 two years, and we have paid for them, with the exception 
 of what I may call the loan of the £6 referred to above.
 
 384 Old Calabar Period 
 
 The new church occupies a fine commanding position in 
 the most central part of the town. Oh for an outpouring 
 of the Spirit's influences, that when God writes up the 
 people, it may be found that " this man and that man 
 were born there." 
 
 Sabbath^ 10. — This day we opened our new church in 
 the middle of the town. The church was crowded, and a 
 great number were standing in the verandahs. Mr. Robb 
 had engaged to preach the sermon, but sickness prevented 
 his attendance. There was a goodly number of river 
 friends present. Besides the captain and several officers 
 of the man-of-war and the Acting Consul for the Bight of 
 Biafra, there were several supercargoes, captains, surgeons, 
 and seamen. We began the exercises of the day by 
 singing the iooth Psalm. 1 then read Psalm lxxxiv. and 
 Hebrews x. 19—31. After prayer in English, we sang 
 Psalm lxxxiv. 8-12. I then preached shortly in Efik 
 from Luke viii. [8: "Take heed, therefore, how ye hear." 
 For the sake of our countrymen, I concluded by giving 
 "heads and particulars" in English. Knowing that a few 
 words in favour of church attendance, etc., from a " Queen's 
 captain " would go a far way with King Archibong and 
 gentlemen, I had requested Captain Crawford to give a short 
 address. He kindly complied with my request at the close 
 of the sermon. Me apologised for the Commodore's absence 
 on account of indisposition ; expressed his gratification at 
 being in Old Calabar on such an interesting occasion ; 
 and exhorted King A. and the others present to avail 
 themselves of the opportunities of attending church and 
 hearing the word of God. After prayer in Efik, and 
 singing the 210th Hymn in United Presbyterian Hymn- 
 Book, Dr. Hewan gave an excellent address, which was 
 well interpreted and somewhat enlarged by Henshaw 
 Duke. We then sang an Efik hymn, and separated. 
 
 Saturday ', 16. — According to a new arrangement, 
 announced last Sabbath, I have kept school each morning 
 this week in the new edifice in town, and in the afternoon, 
 as heretofore, in the church on the Mission Hill. 
 
 The attendance in town has been very good, though 
 very fluctuating, and often more like a rabble than any- 
 thing else.
 
 An Abecedarian Teacher 385 
 
 We keep an abecedarian teacher constantly at his post 
 by the card hanging on the pillar nearest the door, who 
 has now and then fifty or sixty pupils roaring away at 
 full pitch of the voice, " A, B, C," etc., and sometimes he 
 has only five or six. We lock the gate, however, previous 
 to Bible lesson, praise, and prayer; and from sixty to 
 seventy are present during these exercises. This is about 
 double the number in attendance for some time past on 
 the Mission Hill. 
 
 Sabbath, \J. — Good meeting in town church. The 
 centricalness of the site has its drawbacks as well as its 
 advantages. We felt one of the former a good deal 
 to-day, viz. the noisiness of passers-by. King A. was a 
 good deal annoyed thereby himself, and promised to take 
 measures to prevent noise in the neighbourhood during 
 the time of public worship.
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 Struggle against Substitutionary Punishment 
 
 Another dramatic episode in Mr. Anderson's career is 
 described in the following narrative : — 
 
 Thursday, Nov. 8, i860. — A melancholy day this. 
 Two gentlemen broke an Egbo law some time ago. The 
 chief offender was heavily fined, and a poor slave — who 
 had no more to do with the breach of Egbo law than I 
 had — was this day butchered in the upper marketplace, 
 as the substitute of his offending master. I did not know 
 what was contemplated till I saw an Egbo runner brand- 
 ishing his cutlass. On learning the state of matters, I went 
 at once to the king and solemnly protested against the 
 barbarous deed. . He defended it on the ground that a 
 slave is only money. I need not jot down all that was 
 said. My last words to him and those around him were 
 these, spoken in Efik : " I cannot fight with you, king ; I 
 have only one word more, and then I am done. If you 
 still allow that man to die — hear what I say — I call upon 
 the great God in heaven to witness that I am free from 
 the guilt of his blood. That must lie on yourself and the 
 other gentlemen of the town." He expressed his willing- 
 ness that it should be so, and I left him. I was pro- 
 ceeding to the house of Antaro Young, who is next in 
 influence to the king, in order to renew my protest to 
 him. I met him in the street, however, and at once intro- 
 duced the subject. Whenever he understood what I was 
 after, he began to vociferate that I want to spoil Egbo, to 
 break down the town, etc. etc. Argument was useless ; 
 so I barely repeated my parting statement to the king, and 
 left him on his way to shed the innocent blood. I could 
 
 386
 
 Substitutionary Punishment 387 
 
 not see the poor victim. He was already in the hands of 
 his executioners, or rather murderers. 
 
 Friday, 9. — Prepared a circular to-day, inviting my 
 countrymen in the river to co-operate with me in making" 
 a stand against the continuance of such murders as that 
 of yesterday. 
 
 Sabbath, 11. — Fourteen of the gentlemen of the river 
 responded to my circular of Friday, by attending the 
 native service this morning, and going afterwards in a 
 body, both to King Archibong's and Antaro Young's, to 
 urge the abolition of substitutionary punishments. The 
 river gentlemen spoke very strongly. Most of the native 
 gentlemen seemed disposed to give favourable attention 
 to what was said ; but the two headmen of the town seem 
 strongly conservative, and determined while they live to 
 adhere to the old fashion of the country in this as in 
 other matters. Began Sabbath - school exercises this 
 morning by teaching the young people to repeat simul- 
 taneously and vigorously, in their own language, these 
 two texts— Deut. xxiv. 16, and Ezek. xviii. 20. The 
 young people, and some oldish people too, proclaimed 
 these texts with a will. Multitudes have heard them this 
 day, and I trust that the good leaven will work efficaciously. 
 
 Tuesday, 13. — Acting on the suggestion of two friends, 
 sent another circular round the river to-day, requesting 
 our countrymen to go to-morrow morning to Creek Town, 
 to have a conversation with King Eyo and Creek Town 
 gentlemen on the question of substitutionary punish- 
 ments. 
 
 Wednesday, 14. — There was, as on Sabbath, a capital 
 turn-out of the river gentlemen at Creek Town. The 
 Creek Town gentlemen gave us all much satisfaction. 
 To all appearance, it will not be their blame if our advice 
 be not complied with. All the natives must see, that 
 whatever differences on other points exist among the 
 white men, there is full unanimity among them in reference 
 to the subject which has been under discussion. 
 
 Friday, 23. — Have learned that another substitute is 
 to be killed to-morrow. Went down to the king's chop 
 with the view of reporting to, and consulting with, my 
 countrymen who might be present in reference to the
 
 6 
 
 $>S ( )u> Calabar Perio] 
 
 projected murder. We all renewed our protest against 
 substitutionary punishment, even were it inflicted on the 
 greatest criminal in the country. Seeing that private 
 remonstrance was unavailing, our friend Mr. Laughland, 
 who is at present H.B.M.'s Acting Consul for this region, 
 interposed officially, and, in our Queen's name, forbade 
 the intended deed of blood. We saw the intended victim 
 in Antaro Young's. He drew his finger across his throat 
 very significantly, and dumbly invoked our aid. Owing 
 to Mr. L.'s interposition, there has been no execution to-day. 
 I fear that the slave will not ultimately escape, however ; 
 so, having free access to him, I began to instruct him in 
 what most concerns a doomed man to know. 
 
 Black Davis back to-day from Akuna-kuna quarter. 
 He tells me that his mission has been successful ; so that 
 palm oil, yams, fowls, etc., will be more plentiful now than 
 they have been for some years in this neighbourhood. 
 But he did not tell me that, ere the peace be ratified, 
 a freeman, who has had no connection with the palaver 
 between the two places, must be killed, cut in pieces, and 
 buried ; and that over his grave the oath of peace must 
 be sworn : — this I learned from another party. 
 
 Sabbath, 25. — Thirty communicants surrounded the 
 table of the Lord this afternoon. 
 
 Monday, 26. — Called on several of the gentlemen, 
 and reasoned on the substitution question. 
 
 Saturday, Dec. 1. — Have reason to believe that the 
 execution of that poor man is fixed for Monday. When 
 in town to-day, I did what I could to induce the gentlemen 
 to spare his life, and did what I could to prepare him for 
 his change. 
 
 Sabbath, 2.— In the forenoon service to-day I took 
 occasion to condemn the custom of substitutionary punish- 
 ment, and made the young people proclaim God's law 
 on the subject in the two texts referred to above. Mr. 
 Hogan asked leave to express his views on the matter, 
 which he did thus : " We no think it wrong for one man 
 to die for another. It just be what Jesus Christ do. He 
 come to this world, die for all we sins ; He die to save we 
 life. So when Calabar slave die for his master, it be 
 same as Jesus Christ do."
 
 A Substitutionary Victim 389 
 
 In reply I explained that, before anyone could die as 
 a substitute, there must be two things: — 1. The will; 
 2. The power, etc. etc. An addition occurs to me now 
 which did not occur to me at the moment, but which I 
 shall not lose sight of: God did not kill slaves instead of 
 His Son ; Christ asked no substitute to die for Him. 
 The Father gave His Son, the Son gave Himself to die 
 in the room of slaves. Will Calabar gentlemen act tkusl 
 
 Monday, 3. — Under severe cold. Took Dr. Hewan's 
 advice, and spent the afternoon in bed. This is the first 
 time I have been off work on account of sickness since 
 my return to Old Calabar. 
 
 Monday, 10. — The poor man already referred to was 
 executed this day. I visited him yesterday, and was with 
 him this morning till the Egbo messengers came to take 
 him away to die. He seemed quite ready to go with 
 them, and expressed himself rather anxious to get away. 
 He had some glimmerings of gospel truth before his 
 mind, and professed that he was looking to God through 
 Jesus for the pardon of all his sins. He promised to 
 observe my parting advice, which was, that when arrived 
 at the place of death he should shut his eyes on all below, 
 lift up his heart to Christ and pray, " Lord Jesus ! Son 
 of God ! have pity on me, and receive my spirit ! " 
 
 Friday, 14. — Gave my scholars the vacation usual at 
 this season of the year. 
 
 Sabbath, Jan. 6, 1861. — A very encouraging day, 
 for which I feel deeply thankful. There was a large 
 assemblage of native gentlemen and their attendants in 
 forenoon, and also a good turn-out in the evening, though 
 there were only three persons present from the shipping. 
 After sermon in afternoon, we began to take our part in 
 the general concert of prayer. Mr. Edgerley conducted 
 devotional services. 
 
 Sabbat//, 13. — The week's concert of prayer brought 
 to a close this evening, after public worship, by an address 
 from Dr. Hewan, who also led our devotions. We have 
 had very good, pleasant, and, I think, profitable meetings, 
 during the past week. It is delightful to think that 
 millions of fellow-Christians have been assembled day 
 after day during the week, whose minds have been fixed
 
 590 ( )lu Calabar Period 
 
 on one threat and important theme — the glory of God in 
 connection with the world's salvation. 
 
 Friday, 18. — The native gentlemen attended an im- 
 portant meeting to-day, called by Mr. Acting Consul 
 Laughland, on board H.M.S. Ranger. Creek Town 
 gentlemen entered into a treaty with Mr. L., as repre- 
 sentative of H.B.M.'s Government, by which they bound 
 themselves to abolish immediately, and for ever, in their 
 dominions, the horrid custom of killing one man to expiate 
 the crime of another. Duke Town gentlemen could not 
 be prevailed upon, though strongly urged, to enter into a 
 similar agreement. 
 
 Sabbath, 20. — Twenty-one years to-day since I first 
 preached to a congregation of black men. That was at 
 Carron Hall, Jamaica. So I took occasion to tell my 
 audiences to-day that I had now reached my majority as 
 a preacher to the sons and daughters of Africa. 
 
 Friday, Feb. I. — Delighted, on going on board the 
 mail steamer, to meet two friends whom I had never seen 
 before — Rev. Mr. Bushnell, from Gaboon, and Mrs. B. 
 Glad that they have come with the purpose of spending a 
 few days with us. 
 
 - 
 
 Sabbath, 3. — A good day. Mr. Bushnell addressed the 
 congregations, both Efik and English. He preached an 
 excellent sermon in the P.M. from Luke x. 42. In my 
 usual rounds yesterday afternoon had a good deal of 
 reasoning with King A. and others on the substitutionary 
 killing system. 
 
 Monday, 25. — Gave a reading this evening from Uncle 
 Tom's Cabin, which brought our weekly lectures and read- 
 ings for the season to a close. We had some good 
 meetings during the past two months, and some good 
 addresses and readings from some of the young men from 
 Sierra Leone and elsewhere. 
 
 Tuesday, March 26. — Read this day the last chapter of 
 the .MS. of Mr. Robb's translation of the Book of Genesis. 
 Mr. R. has made a capital translation. The sooner we 
 have it in print the better. 
 
 Saturday, April 13. — Heard late last evening, and 
 again this morning, that there was to be a substitutional'}' 
 killing to-day. Air. Edgerley and I set off to the king
 
 The Killing of Egbo Eyo 391 
 
 about the matter. He told us that there would be such 
 an execution, but not for a long time. He, as usual, began 
 to defend the custom ; and, as usual, we protested against 
 it. I know not whether our visit hastened the butchery ; 
 but in the evening a poor fellow was beheaded in the 
 marketplace because his master had broken some Egbo 
 law. It is something, however, to know that the execu- 
 tion, instead of being at noon, as usual, when the market- 
 people are assembled, was effected in a hidden manner in 
 the dusk of the evening. 
 
 Sabbath, 14. — At the king's desire, the town bell 
 chimed once more with the church bell in inviting Duke 
 Town people to sanctuary service. The king was present ; 
 but my heart was heavy on account of last evening's 
 bloody deed. But for this I should have congratulated 
 him on his return to church ; but I could afford nothing 
 beyond the coldest Mokom fi — / give you compliments — at 
 the close of the service. 
 
 Saturday, May 18. — On visiting King Archibong this 
 morning I found a number of the gentlemen with him, 
 evidently discussing Creek Town affairs. They professed 
 to have received information that the missionaries had in 
 some manner instigated the killing of Egbo Eyo. This I 
 at once and strongly denied. 
 
 On particular inquiry I learned that they were found- 
 ing their opinion on two things : 1st, The constant palaver 
 which the missionaries make about killing slaves for trifles, 
 or for nothing ; and 2nd, information which they had 
 that a person once in the employ of the Mission had lent 
 the Creek Town slaves the basin in which they had mixed 
 the water and the blood with which they had sealed their 
 covenant. On the latter point I could only say that the 
 person referred to had now no connection with the Mission. 
 In reference to the first point, I felt it my duty to con- 
 demn the slave-killing system, as I am in the habit of 
 doing whenever I have an opportunity. Some of the 
 gentlemen then said that they would resume the old 
 fashion of slave-killing on the death of their masters, 
 seeing that Creek Town slaves had killed Egbo Eyo/<?r 
 nothing. I stated that I did not think it would be right 
 for them to kill Duke Town slaves because Creek Town
 
 392 Old Calabak Period 
 
 slaves had done what they did not like. I felt constrained 
 to add that ("reek Town slaves had not killed Egbo Eyo 
 for nothings because he had killed plenty of them. I was 
 proceeding to narrate a particular case — that of a wife of 
 his, named Iqua, whom he had put to death, and literally 
 chopped into pieces, for no crime save that of having in 
 her possession a cloth label — when I was interrupted by 
 King A. and others jumping up and actually dancing 
 around me, demanding if I thought that the killing of 
 slaves and women by any freeman was a crime worthy 
 of death ? 
 
 King A. threatened to kill me if I should reply in the 
 affirmative ; " for," said he, " I myself kill plenty slaves, 
 then that be all same as say it no be bad thing to kill 
 me." I listened patiently to a good deal of strong 
 mouth) and then said, " King A. and gentlemen, it no use 
 to be vexed with me. I no fit to change God's word. All 
 men, free or slave, stand same same before Him ; and His 
 word speak very strong on that point. If one man kill 
 other man for nothing, that man fit to die {i.e. worthy 
 of deathj. But I no say it be proper for slaves to kill you. 
 When any man do bad thing in town, it be king's business 
 to do what be proper with that man, and then town will 
 stand quiet." 
 
 Alter a little conversation they all seemed pacified, 
 and promised to come to church to-morrow. 
 
 Monday, May 20. — Our gentlemen here cannot stomach 
 the doctrine of the American Declaration, that " All men 
 are equal." Only one of them attended church yesterday. 
 I was informed that at King A.'s chop to the white men 
 on Saturday he referred to the matter, and declared that 
 should Duke Town slaves make any disturbance he will 
 at once shoot me. Slaves equal with freemen ! Treason ! 
 Treason ! If some of our good friends, who suppose that 
 we are not sufficiently zealous in denouncing slavery, 
 were only here just now, what a glorious chance they 
 would have for the crown of martyrdom ! 
 
 Tuesday i Jlfay 21. — Went to King A., and asked him 
 how it was that he had threatened on Saturday, in the 
 presence of the river gentlemen, to shoot me. I told him 
 that 1 did not much mind what he had said to me on
 
 Court Etiquette 393 
 
 Saturday, for he was angry then, and I was present ; but 
 it was a very different thing when he used such language 
 after his head had cooled, and especially in my absence. 
 He was remarkably civil, and said that he had not told the 
 white men that he purposes now to kill me ; that what he 
 said was, that when I told him on Saturday that Creek 
 Town slaves had hanged Egbo Eyo because Egbo Eyo 
 kill plenty Creek Town slaves, he was then so vexed that 
 he was on the point of lifting his gun and shooting me. 
 L 'ourt etiquette required, it seems, that I should have con- 
 doled with the Duke Town gentlemen on the death of 
 Egbo Eyo. King A. assured me that all the river gentle- 
 men had cried plenty about it, and denounced the Creek 
 Town slaves as villains and assassins.
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 Labours, 1862- 1865 
 
 The health of Mrs. Anderson, which had been declining 
 for a considerable period, became such as to make it 
 necessary for Dr. Hewan to advise a visit to Scotland. 
 After pointing out the reasons for this step, Dr. Hewan 
 said, in a letter dated 27th June 1861 : — 
 
 Mrs. Anderson's departure is a great trial to us all. 
 She, of all others, can be least spared. She is not a mere 
 local, but a very general blessing; and it is impossible for 
 me to convey in adequate terms the admiration in which 
 she is held, not only by the members of the Mission and 
 by the natives, but by every European resident or sojourner. 
 Her good works, her deeds of Christian benevolence, her 
 laborious, self-sacrificing efforts in behalf of all classes of 
 the community who come within her reach, will never be 
 fully known. Many a poor creature's life has been saved 
 through her painstaking, unwearied efforts, with God's 
 blessing; and may we not hope that a few souls have 
 lived through the same instrumentality? From her house- 
 hold have gone forth a few well -trained young women. 
 Some of the young men at Creek Town did themselves 
 good service in seeking wives at her hands ; and even 
 as far distant as Ikoneto the heart of a youth at the 
 present moment beats joyously at the prospect of carrying 
 off one of her prizes. 
 
 And another letter from Calabar says of her:— 
 
 Were 1 so presumptuous as to write an epistle at pre- 
 sent to the United Presbyterian Church, I should be 
 
 disposed to borrow from Rom. xvi. 1, 2, and to say, " I 
 
 394
 
 Native Esteem for Mrs. Anderson 395 
 
 commend unto you Louisa, our sister, who is a servant of 
 the Church which is at Calabar ; that ye receive her in 
 the Lord, as becometh saints, and that ye assist her in 
 whatsoever business she hath need of; for she hath been a 
 succourer of many." 
 
 Mrs. Anderson reached Liverpool about the 10th of 
 August. She went to stay at Dalkeith, and was twice 
 dangerously ill. The Record remarked : — 
 
 We have deemed it right to submit to the Church 
 these notices of a most useful woman, because we are 
 persuaded that many have little idea of the benevolent and 
 self-denying labours which the wives of our missionaries 
 perform. 
 
 The following extract from Mr. Anderson's Journal 
 shows the estimation in which Mrs. Anderson was held by 
 the native Christians : — 
 
 Tuesday, November 19. — Much gratified to-day on 
 receiving a visit from one of the native members of the 
 church. When he came into my study he began a 
 lengthened statement about the importance of Christians, 
 members of the same church, loving one another and 
 helping one another in times of sickness and difficulty. I 
 was beginning to wonder what help he could be needing 
 or wishing, or what he would be begging or borrowing. 
 
 To my agreeable surprise, he wound up by laying three 
 dollars on the table before me, as a help to me to pay the 
 doctor in Scotland who is attending Mrs. Anderson, with 
 a pressing charge to " tell doctor to make her sick done 
 quick, and make her soon come back to Old Calabar." 
 
 A useful person was removed in the person of Thomas 
 Hogan : — 
 
 Wednesday, Aug. 4, 1861. — Thomas Hogan, the native 
 pilot, one of the most intelligent of the Calabar people, 
 and the most constant attender at public worship among
 
 396 ( )lu Calabar Period 
 
 the Duke Town gentlemen, died this day. I shall miss 
 him a good deal. In palavers between the natives and 
 the whites he was generally on the right side. He has 
 frequently acted the part of Nicodemus — perhaps I should 
 say, Gamaliel — in the native councils when mission matters 
 have been discussed. He was possessed of no great 
 wealth, but his superior intelligence gave him great weight 
 among his countrymen. He has been, for several weeks, 
 unable to articulate. When he and I had our last con- 
 versation — at the beginning of his illness — I asked him if 
 he believed in Jesus as his Saviour, and was able to commit 
 all matters into His hands. His reply was, " Certainly, 
 certainly." " Well," I said, " good-bye ; hold by that, and 
 you'll find all right." 
 
 Sabbath^ December 8. — Usual meetings. Was some- 
 what surprised to see King A. and a considerable number 
 of his friends in church. After service some of the young 
 men asked me if I knew what had made him come. I 
 replied that I did not. One of them told me it was some- 
 thing God had done that made him come. "What was 
 that?" "Last Sunday, that time you speak God's word, 
 all his people do work at his new house. Plenty of them 
 be in a sand pit, making plaster for the walls. Then the 
 pit fall in — cover seven men, and when they take them 
 out, two dead. Then King Archibong promise he no will 
 spoil God's Sunday no more." "Ah ! it be true; God do 
 that." 
 
 With reference to the translations that had been or 
 were being made, Mr. Anderson wrote in his annual 
 Report : — 
 
 1 have not attempted any translations into Efik during 
 the year further than has been necessary in oral instruction. 
 I have, however, in common with other brethren, carefully 
 revised the proofs of the Efik New Testament, now being 
 carried through the press by Mr. Goldie. As Mr. Goldie 
 has finished the New Testament, and as Mr. Robb has 
 
 un the Old, I feel the importance of preparing readers 
 for the books, and endeavour to act accordingly, though
 
 Death of Prince Consort 397 
 
 this may be reckoned a more humble employment than 
 preparing books for the readers. 
 
 And with reference to the readers he says :— 
 
 In looking over the school rolls of former years, and 
 at the same time taking a mental sweep of the town, I 
 think I am on the safe side when I state that I believe one 
 hundred young people have been taught to read the Bible 
 pretty fluently in Duke Town school, . . . and that there 
 are fully sixty able to read the portions of Scripture already 
 translated into Efik fluently and with the understanding. 
 
 Saturday, Jan. 18, 1862. — Stirring and solemn in- 
 telligence received yesterday per Retriever, viz., news 
 of the death of the Prince Consort, and of the outrage 
 on the mail steamer Trent. The flags in the river and at 
 the mission stations have been half-mast to-day. One 
 feeling of sadness pervades all hearts here on account 
 of the sore bereavement of our widowed Queen. From 
 Old Calabar the prayer ascends as fervently as from any 
 locality in her own dominions, " The Lord bless, preserve, 
 and comfort her and her fatherless children." 
 
 Monday, Feb. 3. — Devoured the greater part of the 
 newly published Life and Times of Dr. Law son. Felt 
 the more interested in the volume that my father was 
 an elder in Selkirk congregation when under the pastoral 
 care of the sage. In early boyhood I was accustomed 
 to hear my father speak in rapturous strains of Dr. 
 Lawson. 
 
 Wednesday, 5. — Our usual congregational meeting was 
 held this evening. The treasurer having a balance of 
 church-door collections in his hand, it was cordially re- 
 solved to testify our congregational gratitude to the 
 Mission Board by transmitting £j, 7s. to its funds. The 
 sum is small, but the congregation also is small. We find 
 that it requires a pretty considerable sum to keep our 
 two churches, fences, etc., in repair during a year. 
 
 Friday, 28. — This has been a sore month on us on 
 account of measles. A good many of the young people 
 have not been able to attend school on account of the 
 disease. A great many have died. During the past few 
 weeks nine of my house children have been prostrated
 
 398 ( )ld Calabar Period 
 
 by it. A tenth has been sick of fever for a few days. 
 Owing to Mrs. A.'s absence, I have had more doctoring, 
 cooking, and nursing to look after than ever I have had 
 in all my lifetime before. All of our young people are 
 now out of danger. 
 
 Saturday^ April 12. — Great fire in town this afternoon. 
 The premises of one of the principal native traders, Yellow 
 Duke, including an excellent European house, barely 
 finished, if indeed fully finished ; the premises of the 
 late King Duke, and adjoining tenements, were in about 
 two hours burned to the ground. 
 
 Sabbath, 1 3. — Usual meetings to-day, and usual attend- 
 ance. No gentlemen present, however. I went to the 
 king's after service, and found them all sitting condoling 
 with Yellow Duke. They appeared all very sober (in our 
 Scottish sense of the word) on account of yesterday's 
 calamity. I told them that I well knew what Yellow 
 Duke was at that moment feeling, for, as they all knew, 
 my house had at one time been consumed by fire. I 
 spoke to them brief!)' in reference to the event. The 
 substance of the remarks may be scripturally Englished 
 thus : " Hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it." 
 
 Wednesday, 16. — Great sacrifice made to Ndem Efik 
 to-day — I suppose on account of the fire of last Saturday. 
 Some say that a new high priest of the Ndem has been 
 installed. 
 
 Thursday, 17. — King A. and all the gentry spent 
 several hours this morning adorning Ndem Efik's house. 
 
 Sabbath, 20. — Spoke seriously to-day to King A. after 
 public service was over, about the wickedness and foolish- 
 ness of trusting to anything, save God Himself, as a 
 protection from fire, famine, sickness, or any other evil. 
 He pleaded that the worship of, or rather by, Ndem Efik 
 had been taught by God to the fathers of the Calabar 
 people, just as He had taught the fathers of the white 
 people to worship in Bible fashion. I endeavoured to 
 show him that there is but one Father of all, one Mediator 
 for all, and one Book, one law for all ; and that whoever 
 disregards this one Mediator and this one Book is a rebel 
 against God. 
 
 Sabbath, 27. — No gentlemen save one at church to-day,
 
 Albino Girl Sacrificed 399 
 
 all the rest being offering a great sacrifice, this being 
 Calabar Sunday. 
 
 Monday, 28. — Set out after forenoon school to take the 
 round of the town again, to remonstrate with the gentle- 
 men individually against their perpetual idolatry and 
 Sabbath - breaking. Most of them were engaged, but 
 several of them listened with attention to my remon- 
 strance and counsel. They complain of fires, and sick- 
 nesses, and palavers with white men. These, I tried to 
 show them, are just the means employed by God to 
 chastise them for their obstinate rejection of Him and 
 His word. I told them that I would not be a true friend 
 to them, or a faithful servant of God, if I did not warn 
 them that their country can have neither peace nor pro- 
 sperity till they change their course. Almost forgot to 
 state that the late great reduction in the price of palm oil 
 is one of the things which at present distresses them. This 
 also, I assured them, cometh from the Lord. 
 
 Mr. Anderson reported that on — 
 
 June 14, 1862, King A. and all the gentlemen of Duke 
 Town proper took a poor Albino girl slave down the river 
 to the neighbourhood of Parrot Island, and there murdered 
 her to Ndem Efik. Glad that neither Cobham Town 
 nor Henshaw Town have had anything to do with the 
 outrageous deed. 
 
 In July a cruel attack was made by the Duke Town 
 people, fully armed, upon the defenceless inhabitants of 
 Ekri Mimbo, and a large number of savage butcheries 
 was carried out there and among the captives brought 
 to Duke Town. The next entry in the Journal refers to 
 Mr. Anderson's protest : — 
 
 Sabbath, August 3. — Strongly protested to-day against 
 the murders of the past week, and against any coun- 
 tenance being shown to the murderers in their deeds 
 of blood. I am glad to be able to record that many
 
 4<do ( >i i' Calabar Perk >d 
 
 even of the heathens around entirely disapprove of the 
 course pursued by King A. and friends with the Ekri 
 Mimbo people. 
 
 Mrs. Anderson, after fourteen months' absence, arrived 
 at Duke Town on August 31, 1862. 
 
 Monday^ Oct. 27. — Mrs. A. got a dash to-day of a 
 poor little motherless infant. The poor creature seems 
 to have been half starved ; but we trust that a little proper 
 attendance and nourishment will effect a change on her 
 for the better. We call her Christina Duncan, after a 
 benevolent friend whose bounty enables us to adopt su h 
 a feeble, helpless object without additional pecuniary 
 burden on ourselves. 
 
 Tuesday, Dec. 30. — Called upon King A to-day, for 
 the first time for several months. The reason of my 
 declining so long to visit him has been— as he quite well 
 knew — to show my abhorrence of the murders committed 
 by him in the middle of the year. I have been repeatedly 
 advised to renew intercourse with him. Only on Saturday 
 last, one of our native young men put the case to me 
 thus : " Suppose an cdep-eyen — a nurse bought to take 
 care of an infant — find her charge very troublesome, he 
 cry, cry, cry, no will be quiet and good, she must put 
 him down and scold him a little bit ; but would it be 
 proper for her to leave child altogether, say she no will 
 lift him up again?" "X", it would not." "Ah, then, 
 you see, you be nurse for King A. and we; and suppose 
 we do bad, make palaver, but no cast we off altogether." 
 
 Thursday. Jan. 1, 1863. — Accompanied by Mrs. A., 
 went round town to give our native friends the com- 
 pliments of the season. She has not seen King A. since 
 her return till to-day. Both of us expressed to him 
 our ardent desire that nothing may occur again (in the 
 murdering line to interrupt our friendly relations with 
 him. 
 
 Sabbath, 4. — Good meetings to-day. King A. at 
 church for the first time since the 8th of June. We 
 began the concert for prayer in the evening. 
 
 Saturday, 10. — Brought to a termination the concert
 
 Mr. Waddell's " Twenty- Nine Years" 401 
 
 for prayer recommended by the Evangelical Alliance. 
 Since Tuesday evening we have felt the want of moon- 
 light a great drawback to attendance. It would be a 
 great comfort to us, and to millions of our fellow-wor- 
 shippers between the tropics, were the Committee of the 
 Alliance to appoint the week of prayer when the whole 
 week is supplied with moonlight. Christians in Europe, 
 with their artificial light from gas, etc., naturally overlook 
 such a matter as that referred to, but it is of great 
 importance. 
 
 Monday, Feb. 2. — Commenced somewhat of a new 
 scheme of operations here. Mrs. Sutherland having been, 
 to my great satisfaction, translated from Old Town to 
 this place, entered on her labours here to-day. It is 
 arranged that she teach school each forenoon, save that 
 of Saturday, and that I teach each afternoon and on 
 Saturday forenoon. This will allow me to visit from 
 house to house in the forenoon, and Mrs. S. to do so in 
 the afternoon. 
 
 Several of the river friends gave us lectures for a few 
 weeks in succession, on Benin, Memory, Music, etc. 
 
 Friday, 20. — After a long and severe drought, all nature 
 revived this evening by a gentle delightful shower of 
 about an hour's continuance. What was rather unusual 
 for the first rain of the season — a tornado. 
 
 Sabbath, March 1. — Very few at forenoon native ser- 
 vice. King A. (who now attends very regularly) was sick. 
 Went to see him after service. Found nearly all the 
 other gentlemen beside him. I proposed to them, that 
 as they " lose church " in the proper place, we should 
 " keep church " then and there. They were all agreeable ; 
 so I spoke with them a little, and conducted prayer among 
 them. 
 
 Friday, April 3. — Received this day a copy of Mr. 
 Waddell's Missionary Reminiscences} kindly transmitted 
 to me by the author. Began at once to read it, and got 
 
 1 The Presbytery of Biafra, "on the proposal of Mr. Anderson, agreed 
 to express the high gratification which the members felt on receiving the 
 goodly volume — Twenty-Nine Years in the West Indies and Central Africa — 
 prepared by their highly esteemed friend and late fellow-labourer the Rev. . 
 H. M. Waddell."— Record, Jan. 1864. 
 26
 
 402 < >ld Calabar Period 
 
 deeply interested in it. It revives my own recollections 
 of bygone days and distant scenes, of Jamaica meetings 
 and fellow-labourers there, many of whom have fallen 
 asleep. 
 
 Saturday, 4. — Ever)- spare moment of this day de- 
 voted to Mr. YV.'s goodly volume. A good deal of what is 
 said about Old Calabar strikes me with all the charm of 
 novelty. It must be pleasing to the esteemed author of 
 this excellent book to look back in the evening of his life 
 to a morning and midday so laboriously and usefully 
 spent. 
 
 Sabbath, 5. — Felt disposed this morning to blame Mr. 
 Waddell's book for any want of preparation for the ser- 
 vices of this day, but I soon found in the native services, 
 a.m., that the reading of the Twenty-Nine Years had 
 been an excellent preparative for the work of the day. It 
 enabled me to speak to them under fresh views of the 
 grandeur of my work as a missionary, the value of the 
 gospel, the high privileges which the Calabarese, and 
 especially the Duke Town people, have long neglected 
 and misimproved, and the importance of immediate atten- 
 tion to the one thing needful. 
 
 Monday, 6. — Very glad to hear from a trustworthy 
 source this morning, that when several of the minor 
 gentlemen proposed to go on with the renewal of the 
 palaver- house roof yesterday after morning service, 
 King A. peremptorily forbade it, and expressed his 
 determination to try to keep God's day henceforth better 
 than he had ever done. 
 
 Thursday, 30. — Since Mrs. Sutherland entered on the 
 discharge of her duties at this station, three months ago, 
 I have been relieved of half of the work of the school, and 
 have thus been enabled to devote more time than formerly 
 to the very important work of teaching "from house to 
 house." But a " house " here is equal in population to a 
 " village " with you ; some of our houses, with their various 
 " yards " being occupied by one hundred persons. To 
 teach here from house to house is thus to teach " pub- 
 licly." 
 
 Friday, 31. — The Rev. Win. and Mrs. Timson (Miss 
 Barty reached Calabar.
 
 Visitation Work 403 
 
 In his annual Report for 1863 Mr. Anderson wrote 
 regarding his visitation work : — 
 
 Since I was relieved (by Mrs. Sutherland) of the half 
 of the work of the school, I have devoted the forenoon to 
 going from house to house. I find that it scarcely holds 
 here as yet, that a " house-going minister makes a church- 
 going people." It seems rather otherwise, yet it is just 
 what might be expected. Such are the indolence and 
 listlessness (in regard to spiritual matters) of many, that 
 the\ r profess to consider it enough that they hear the 
 word of God in their own houses. Why should they 
 trouble themselves to go elsewhere to hear God's word ? 
 This department of duty is, however, very important. 
 Multitudes cannot get, and multitudes more will not go to 
 the public services of the sanctuary ; so the only way to 
 reach them is to go to them. One thing has struck me a 
 good deal in my visitations, namely, the knowledge of 
 several important Scripture truths among some who have 
 never attended either church or school. . . . Some old 
 people have learned Christ's name and something of His 
 work from their children. I spend some interesting and 
 happy hours in endeavouring to explain to willing learners 
 " the first principles of the oracles of God." Mrs. Anderson 
 has been unable to visit during the latter portion of the 
 year. Mrs. Sutherland, with her usual energy, devotes the 
 afternoon to visiting and instructing the women, of whom 
 a large number is to be found in every house, inaccessible 
 to any teachers but females. 
 
 Another year of unbroken health calls loudly for a 
 tribute of praise to the Giver of all good. Oh to be 
 enabled to make a suitable return ! Five years and a 
 half have now elapsed since my return to this country. 
 I believe that I have now the privilege of returning home 
 for a season ; but I have no inclination to avail myself of 
 the privilege. I cordially sympathise with the wish of my 
 yokefellow, and have no desire to leave the soil of Calabar 
 again till the resurrection morning. In so far as my inter- 
 course with the natives is concerned, this has been the 
 busiest, and, I may add, the happiest (probably because the 
 busiest) year which I have spent among them. Perhaps I
 
 404 Old Calabar Period 
 
 have erred in confining myself too much to school duties 
 during previous years, thus allowing" too little time for 
 dealing with the adult population. I must now endeavour 
 " to redeem the time " by double diligence. One thing I 
 long to see — that is, the quickening influence of Him 
 whose office it is to " breathe upon these slain that they 
 may li\ e." 
 
 Sabbath, Jan. 3, 1864. — Usual meetings. Much larger 
 attendance than usual at the English service P.M. I accept 
 this as " a token for good." King A. agreed during the week 
 to allow the large town bell to be rung for public worship 
 each Sabbath morning, beginning to-day ; but behold, 
 when the time came, " tongue no live." The bell itself was 
 taken down and concealed during " man-of-war palaver" in 
 May 1S62, and has only lately been rehung, and has not 
 yet been used. I was authorised to ring the bell in the 
 Kgbo palaver-house, but it was found King fiat on the 
 ground, and of course dumb. 
 
 Sabbath, 10. — New cases of smallpox. The large bell 
 could not be rung to-day, lest the demon of the disease 
 should be irritated, and become more severe in his opera- 
 tions. All sorts of noises, such as drum-beating, bell- 
 ringing, etc., are strictly forbidden. There is, withal, a 
 solemn feeling in the minds of the people which may prove 
 beneficial. 
 
 Tuesday, 26. — Dr. Hewan x gave us a lecture on the 
 prevalent malady, smallpox. Another medical gentleman 
 who was present pronounced a high eulogium on the 
 lecture. 
 
 Thursday, 1 1. — Mrs. Edgerley and Mrs. Sutherland both 
 
 very busy to-day — as they have been for some time past 
 
 - in vaccinating great numbers of the natives, the great 
 
 proportion of whom seem very anxious to undergo the 
 
 operation. 
 
 Saturday, 20. — Mrs. A., who is seldom able to go to 
 town, felt sufficiently vigorous to-day to warrant her to 
 share in a measure with the other ladies in the good work 
 :>f vaccination. She vaccinated King A. and others. Mrs. 
 
 1 Dr. Hewan and the Rev. John Baillie, the state of whose health obliged 
 them to leave Calabar for a time, reached Liverpool on the 111I1 of March. 
 Mr. Baillie died at Edinburgh un May 7.
 
 Mr. Robe's Translation of Pentateuch 405 
 
 E. had already had the honour of operating on his Majesty, 
 but no vesicle was produced. 
 
 Sabbath, April 10. — Eighteenth anniversary of the 
 arrival of the Mission. Took notice of this at all our 
 meetings. Had a long and interesting conversation about 
 midday with Mohammed — a native of Hausaland, now a 
 slave, or rather servant, to a gentleman from Bonny who 
 has been for several years resident here, who wishes to 
 renounce the religion of the False Prophet and profess 
 Christianity. He is pretty intelligent, but needs to be 
 further instructed in the doctrine of Christ. 
 
 Saturday, May 28. — Usual turn round town. Eyo 
 Archibong, our king's only full brother, died yesterday, 
 and I found all the gentlemen engaged in preparations 
 for the funeral. Poor prospect for to-morrow's meeting in 
 town. 
 
 Sabbath, 29. — As anticipated, but a small attendance 
 at town meeting A.M. As a preacher, Death does not yet 
 constrain the Calabarese to go to the sanctuary. Mr. 
 Edgerley and I exchanged P.M., he addressing the English 
 congregation at Duke Town, and I the Efik meeting at 
 Old Town. 
 
 Friday, July 1. — Finished perusal of Mr. Robb's MS. 
 translation of the Pentateuch. I did not begin the study 
 of Efik yesterday, and it seems but right for me to say 
 that I have read Mr. R.'s translation with both pleasure 
 and profit. I consider that he has made a capital job of 
 it. I trust we shall soon have the books of Moses in 
 print, without the comments of another African bishop 
 [Colenso]. 
 
 Sabbath, 3. — Mail arrived, P.M., bringing to us the sad 
 and unexpected intelligence of the death of Rev. J. Baillie. 
 It seems but the other day that he left us in hope of a 
 speedy return. " Frail man ! " 
 
 Sabbath, 10.— At the close of sermon this P.M., made a 
 short statement in reference to our departed friend, Rev. 
 J. Baillie, who had several times, but too seldom, pro- 
 claimed to us the words of eternal life. All here sym- 
 pathise deeply with his bereaved brothers. 
 
 Sabbath, 17. — One of our countrymen received into 
 Church fellowship. His mind was not fully made up on
 
 406 ( >i d Calabar Period 
 
 Friday evening, but was so to-day, thanks in great measure 
 i" Rev. Dr. Andrew Thomson's little work on "Early 
 Communicating." This is not the first time that that 
 valuable treatise has done good service here. Mr. Edgerley 
 was to have dispensed the Communion to-day among us, 
 but was prevented by sickness. We had a comfortable 
 season. Thirty-one sat at the table of the Lord. 
 
 Monday, 25. — Finished my fifth transcription of the 
 Book of Proverbs in Efik. I translated the book a 
 number of years ago, but for various reasons kept it in 
 hand. Some of us are of opinion that it would be well to 
 have it in circulation among our young people, and hence 
 the revision just finished. 
 
 Thursday, 28. — Our usual English prayer meeting this 
 evening. Had the happiness of receiving, by baptism, 
 into the fellowship of the Church, William Cobham, 1 a 
 young man, a slave, belonging to (how grating these 
 words!) Henry Cobham. William has been for years 
 waiting on the means of instruction, and conducting 
 himself in a very becoming way. One of his letters 
 appeared in the fuvenile Missionary Magazine some 
 time ago. 
 
 The following is the letter:— 
 
 October 1/10 63. 
 
 MY DEAR LOVED MASTER, — ] have to tell you this thing about 
 myself, that I was very sorry about trouble with myself. Sir, I was 
 very glad for joining myself for church, but the thing that make me 
 sorrow, because in Calabar here, if boy like me try to go for God's 
 iide, Calabar man, or woman, or your friend, or your father, or your 
 father's son, make you spoil and then turn back from Cod's word. 
 Suppose a boy like me, they say, How we born, here we not know 
 God's word, and poor slave like you want to know God's word past 
 we? You want to do good for God; Cod like you past we? So 
 i 'alabar he : suppose they no like Cod's word to hear, so they no like 
 their people hear and follow God's word. My dear sir, I been follow 
 that word you been ask me say : Suppose you sit for Cod's table, then 
 your father and all his sons come sec that, they no vexed with you? 
 So I see it be true. Bui ometimes m\ heart tell me say : If you will 
 for true to follow God, and cast yourself for Jesus to keep Him as 
 your Saviour, then anything that trouble you, you need to care 
 
 1 Afterwards, for many years, a native teacher at Duke Town.
 
 A Book-Stall in Duke Town 407 
 
 nothing about. So I think some time, when my heart trouble me, 
 say : This country no good for you ; but every day carefully [care- 
 fulness, anxiety] trouble my heart all time and all night still, so I try 
 to agreed for [arrange with] you to take me out of this country. If 
 you please to do so for me, God shall blessed you. If no be so, if I 
 do wrong to agreed, so please tell me again ; but I pray for God to 
 help me every morning I rise up, and every night I lie down.- -Truly 
 yours, W.M. COBHAM. 
 
 You will see from the above that poor William had no 
 hope of being able to follow Christ fully unless he were 
 taken out of this country. He is in much better spirits 
 now than when he wrote the above letter ; and I trust that 
 the day is not far distant when he shall take his place 
 among the professed followers of the Lamb. 
 
 Tuesday, August 23. — Amused and gratified in going 
 through market this morning by perceiving what I may 
 call a book-stall. The collection exposed for sale was very 
 limited, however, consisting only of a few numbers of the 
 Illustrated Loudon News, 60 coppers (= is. 6d.) per copy, 
 and of Fun at a lower rate. The seller, a boy to me un- 
 known, seemed to meet with considerable demand for his 
 wares. Oh could the surrounding hundreds read ! 
 
 Tuesday, 30. — The sixth annual meeting of the Pres- 
 bytery of Biafra was held to-day at Duke Town. Mr. 
 Goldie, the retiring moderator, preached a very solemn, 
 searching, and suitable sermon from 1 Cor. ix. 27, last 
 clause. Intimation of the sermon had been made on the 
 Sabbath, and the attendance both of Europeans and 
 natives was, considering the state of the weather, very 
 respectable. 
 
 Monday, Sept. 12. — A somewhat novel penalty inflicted 
 to-day on the eldest son of one of our late kings. Being 
 unable to pay his debts, he was publicly deprived of all 
 his Egbo privileges. There is a good deal of muttering 
 against King A. for resorting to such a step with such a 
 personage — a prince of the blood. It is said that such 
 a thing has never been done before. I rather like to see 
 a new thing of this stamp, seeing it furnishes a new argu- 
 ment against idolising old customs merely because they 
 are old.
 
 408 Old Calabar Period 
 
 Thursday, 15. — Heard good news to-day — viz., that two 
 days ago King A. called his people together and publicly 
 declared to them his disbelief in Idiong and all the old 
 superstitions of the country ; his belief in the truth of 
 God's word, seeing his own heart tells him that what the 
 missionaries teach from that word is true ; and his resolu- 
 tion to become a "good man" himself, as soon as his 
 brother's ikpo is over. He called upon all his people to 
 witness that he had done everything that could be done, 
 according to Efik fashion, for the recovery of his brother, 
 and that all had failed, because God "no will that his 
 brother get better." This sentiment was, God only was to 
 be feared and prayed to. I earnestly pray that his feelings 
 may be permanent. 
 
 Wednesday, Oct. 12. — Visited Ikorofiong for the first 
 time for several years. Stood by the graves of Mrs. 
 Baillic and her Willie. My memory went off to bygone 
 days and a far-off land. For several years she was one of 
 my brightest scholars in Jamaica. When last I saw her, 
 in Duke Town mission-house, she was nursing simul- 
 taneously her <>\vn fair child and his black foster-brother. 
 Here, in this quiet corner, all three slumber quietly. 
 What a glorious waking awaits them ! 
 
 Saturday, 29. — In going my usual rounds to-day, met 
 with two things somewhat encouraging: George Duke 
 took down a Bible, adjusted his spectacles, and read to 
 me, wry correctly, the third chapter of Genesis. Went 
 afterwards to King A.'s, and found him to be quite in an 
 inquiring mood. Had an interesting conversation with 
 him about the one thing needful. He repeated to me his 
 feelings and purposes as hinted above. I gave him what 
 encouragement 1 could to do as well as to purpose. 
 
 Sabbath, Nov. 6. — Gave notice to-day during both 
 services — English and Efik — of the week of prayer ap- 
 pointed by the Synod of our Church on behalf of its 
 Foreign Missions. Read and explained minute of Synod, 
 and tried to impress upon all who heard me that it would 
 be most shameful, while others are praying for us, if we 
 pray not for ourselves. Not to tax our countrymen's time 
 too much, I intimated that there should be only two public 
 English services during the week, one of them to be con-
 
 A New Church Needed 409 
 
 ducted by Mr. Edgerley. Recommended private and 
 social prayer on behalf of the Home Church, as well as on 
 our own behalf, and on behalf of other mission fields. 
 
 Friday, 1 1. — All the meetings have been well attended. 
 We shall now look for showers of blessings, though I can 
 hardly say that there is, as yet, here any " sound of abun- 
 dance of rain." 
 
 Tuesday, 29. — It has long been felt among us that we 
 ought to have a more suitable and commodious place of 
 worship than the present. A congregational meeting was 
 held this evening to make some definite arrangement in 
 regard to the matter. The treasurer's report was so 
 favourable and encouraging, that a committee was ap- 
 pointed to set about the work with as little delay as 
 possible. 
 
 Tuesday, Dec. 6. — Our sixth course of lectures was 
 commenced this evening. After a brief resume of the 
 previous courses, I called attention to "Daniel as a Pattern 
 to Young Men." 
 
 Tuesday, 13. — Mr. Goldie gave an excellent lecture 
 this evening on " The Advantages of being Young." 
 
 In his annual Report for 1864 Mr. Anderson wrote 
 regarding the efforts that were being made to raise funds 
 for a new church on the Mission Hill : — 
 
 The want of a more commodious place of worship has 
 long been felt by us, and measures have been adopted for 
 supplying the desideratum. Native gentlemen (not Chris- 
 tians), river gentlemen (not connected with the Church), 
 brethren of the Mission, and most of the members of the 
 Church, have entered into the scheme very heartily ; and, 
 to my mind, the list of contributions and contributors is 
 a very satisfactory and gratifying one. It is but due to 
 state that the originator of the measure was John Howard 
 Louche, Esq. His labours and liberality in the matter 
 demand our grateful consideration. 
 
 Sabbath, Jan. 15, 1865. — A quarter of a century to- 
 day since I first addressed an assembly of the sons and 
 daughters of Ethiopia. How swiftly time flies ! It seems
 
 4 1 o Old Calabar Period 
 
 but ;i few days since I began my missionary work in 
 Jamaica. 
 
 Tuesday, Feb. 28.— Mr. [Rev. X] Baillie gave the 
 closing lecture of the session. His theme, which he 
 handled in a manner at once amusing and instructive, was 
 " Electricity." 
 
 During the session the lectures have been given by 
 various gentlemen. Subjects : " Valuable Remedies for 
 various Disorders," " History of English Literature," " Bio- 
 graphy of John Locke the Philosopher," " Social Respon- 
 sibility," " Manliness." 
 
 Wednesday, April 26. — At Creek Town to-day bidding 
 friends there good-bye for a season. Accompanied by 
 Mr. Goldie, called on the principal native gentlemen and 
 had a few parting words with them. Spent an hour or 
 two at Old Town on return. 
 
 Thursday, 27. — Round Henshaw Town, engaged as 
 yesterday. 
 
 Friday, 28. — Round Cobham Town, engaged as yester- 
 day. 
 
 Saturday, 29. — Round Duke Town, engaged as above. 
 
 Sabbath, 30. — Usual services. In usual course next 
 Sabbath should be Communion Sabbath here, but Mr. 
 Edgerley kindly appointed the celebration for to-day, that 
 Mrs. A., his sister, and myself might have the pleasure of 
 uniting again, ere we leave, with our dear friends here in 
 commemorating the death of our Blessed Redeemer. Mr. 
 Baillie preached, I dispensed, Mr. Edgerley concluded. 
 
 May 1. — -Making preparations for our voyage, which 
 will be commenced to-morrow. 
 
 In a letter regarding Henny Cobham, the chief of 
 Cobham Town, who died on Nov. 9, 1865, Mr. Anderson 
 wrote : — 
 
 Mrs. Anderson appeared to have more influence over 
 him than almost anyone else. He used to admit that 
 " Mammy Anderson good past twenty Calabar women," 
 and that "she be best man for Mission," etc.; but even she 
 sometimes failed to prevail on him to let some poor victim 
 be unchained and forgiven.
 
 Henny Cobham's Farewell 411 
 
 He was very much affected on parting with Mrs. 
 Anderson and myself. He declared that he would never 
 see us again. He speechified to Mrs. Anderson to this 
 effect : " What for you go leave me ? Calabar man do 
 plenty thing missionary want him to do. We stop kill 
 man, we keep God's day, we do what you tell us to do, 
 and now you leave we. I tell you true, mammy, I go die 
 now." We told him that we expected to come back in 
 twelve moons, and that then we would see him again ; but 
 he refused to be comforted, and with the tear in his eye 
 he shook his head again, and said, " I never look you 
 again." ... In him we have lost one of the warmest- 
 hearted of our native friends. 
 
 In a letter, Mr. D. E. Lewis, who had gone out as a 
 teacher and printer, and had arrived in Calabar along with 
 the Rev. Win. C. and Mrs. Thomson in the end of Jan., 
 wrote as follows : — 
 
 I am stopping in Duke Town with Mr. Anderson, who 
 has taken a great interest in my welfare. . . . The natives 
 in Duke Town appear to have a great respect for Mr. 
 Anderson, and they do not at all relish the idea of his 
 going away, especially as the rumour has got afloat that 
 he might not return to the country. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Anderson and Miss Edgerley arrived in 
 Liverpool in June. The Rev. Zerub Baillie soon followed. 
 He arrived in Liverpool on July 15, and had to be carried 
 ashore, being very weak and seriously ill. Mrs. Anderson, 
 who was accustomed to nurse Calabar patients, Mrs. 
 Cowan of Carron Hall (his mother-in-law), and others, 1 
 
 1 It happened that Dr. E. Adam, who had been in Calabar, in whose 
 medical skill Mr. Baillie had entire confidence, was living in the same house, 
 and he at once took him under his care ; and as soon as Dr. Hewan, who 
 was in Paris, heard of his illness, he hurried to his bedside ; and these two 
 gentlemen, aided by the advice of Dr. Bruce, "an eminent and kindly phy- 
 sician of long standing in Liverpool," showed him ceaseless attention.
 
 412 Old Calabar Period 
 
 hastened to wait upon him. But he died on Aug. 4. 
 The body was brought to Edinburgh, and on Aug. 8 was 
 interred in the Grange Cemetery beside that of his brother 
 John, who died on May 7, 1864. On the afternoon of the 
 Sunday following, Mr. Anderson preached in Broughton 
 Place Church, which was densely crowded, a most appro- 
 priate and beautiful sermon a on the words, " Our friend 
 Lazarus sleepeth," and gave a brief but touching account 
 of Mr. Baillie's labours, death, and character. 
 
 At the Annual Missionary Meeting of the Synod in 
 May 1866, Mr. Anderson delivered a stirring address. 
 
 In a letter from Edinburgh to her husband's niece, 
 Miss Agnes Clohan, Wheeling, U.S.A., Mrs. Anderson 
 wrote on April 3, 1866, an interesting description of her 
 home in Calabar: — 
 
 I am so glad the time is drawing near for our return. 
 I feel like a caged bird in this country. I never liked a 
 town life at any rate, and the artificial life of this country 
 does not suit my taste. I long to be in my happy African 
 home again. 
 
 You will think I am a discontented, grumbling body ; 
 well, I will tell you that I have been grumbling very much 
 last week about your uncle. He can get no rest. Preach- 
 ing sometimes — generally three times on the Sabbaths, 
 then three meetings during the week. Last week I 
 thought he would be laid up altogether, for he had a cold, 
 and with so much speaking he was so rough that I 
 thought he would lose his voice, and yet, on he would 
 go, here and there, preachings and meetings. So I was 
 like to be rebellious. I wish for his own sake he would 
 leave in May, but those who want him to supply this and 
 that pulpit wish him to stay on till June ; and a letter 
 tin's morning came asking him for a Sabbath in July, but 
 he will not stay till July. If he does, like Mr. Waddell, 
 he will get his health shattered, I fear, ere he gets away. 
 1 Published by Mr. A. Elliot, Edinburgh.
 
 The Andersons' Calabar Home 41 
 
 j 
 
 Did I ever give you a description of our home in 
 Calabar? I do not think I have, so I will try now, and 
 that will help you to imagine how we get on. 
 
 In 1855 our house was burnt. It took fire accidentally 
 from some bush burning. So they sent out from this 
 country another wooden house of three rooms, but much 
 too small. So we kept up a mud-walled cottage that we 
 had built ere the new house arrived. Consequently, we 
 had two small houses ; the rooms of the wooden house 
 being so small, served only as bedrooms and a study. 
 We lived chiefly in the mud-walled house, as the rooms 
 were larger and more airy — a comfortable house it has 
 been, not very high, the flooring raised only 4 feet, but we 
 had the walls nicely papered. We are now getting an 
 addition to the other, which will make it larger and more 
 comfortable. It is less labour to have the house all in 
 one ; and when you come to see us, or better, to live with 
 us, we will have plenty of accommodation for you. Then, 
 we have about an acre of ground around the house, 
 enclosed by a thick hedge of limes, which is always fresh 
 and green. We have within this enclosure a flower garden 
 in front, and a number of fruit trees planted in rows by 
 your uncle, who generally takes his spade every morning 
 from 6 till 7, which is the hour for worship. Under 
 these trees, which are all large now, is a beautiful walk, 
 always cool and shaded by the trees. The fruit trees are 
 oranges and mangoes, breadfruit, soursop, custard apple, 
 cocoanuts, cashu, palms of different kinds — date palm, oil 
 palm, etc.— and a fine bamboo in the corner. Also pine- 
 apples in abundance beside the hedge growing, but not 
 yet in fruit. 
 
 I forgot to tell you that our house is built on a hill, 
 about 200 feet high, rising as it were right out of the 
 river, so that we look down on the hulks and ships ; and 
 on the top it is tableland extending far away. 
 
 The road from Duke Town to Henshaw Town and 
 other villages passes just outside our fence. Then on the 
 other side of the road opposite our gate are the church 
 and schoolhouse (a church on Sabbath, a schoolhousc 
 during the week), the printing office, Mrs. Sutherland's 
 house, and Miss Edgerley's. Then houses of some of the
 
 414 ( >ld Calabar Period 
 
 native Christians beyond them. So, you see, we are not 
 solitary. At the back of the mud-walled house we have 
 outrooms for the house-children, not near enough to be 
 disturbed with their talk, but near enough that I can see 
 what is going on. We have generally a large household- 
 some orphans that were brought to us when a few months 
 old, too young to be reared by native women. Such they 
 used to bury with their dead mothers till we took them. 
 We do not find time to weary with so many to look after. 
 When we left Calabar we had 16 children under our 
 care ; 10 entirely dependent on us — the youngest 4 years 
 old. 
 
 We rise at 5 or 6 o'clock in the morning, according to 
 the light we have, for we make the most of the mornings, 
 and there is only one hour of difference between the 
 longest and shortest day. All except the infants are 
 employed till 7, when the bell rings for worship; break- 
 fast sharp at 8 ; children off to school at 8.30. I give 
 out coppers for the marketing, for we cannot get any 
 quantity to buy at one time, and there is a daily market- 
 ing. We attend to other household duties till 1, when 
 we dine, and all who are able for work are employed 
 sewing chiefly, or knitting and crochet work. At 3 
 o'clock to school till 5. If no sick people in the house, 
 I go to the town to the gentlemen's yards and teach their 
 wives and daughters to read, and also religious instruc- 
 tion, for they are not allowed to attend public meetings. 
 Indeed they seldom go out, and, if allowed to go out, they 
 are attended by a host of servants ; and it is accounted a 
 disgrace for the wives and daughters of gentlemen to be 
 seen much abroad.
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 Labours and Conflicts, 1866- 1867 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Anderson left Liverpool on June 24, 
 and arrived at Duke Town, Aug. 1, 1866. 
 
 The Rev. S. H. Edgerley, who had been in charge at 
 Duke Town during Mr. Anderson's furlough, removed to 
 Old Town, and Mr. Lewis, who had been at Old Town, 
 returned to Duke Town. 
 
 In a letter dated Nov. 24, 1866, Mr. Anderson 
 wrote : — 
 
 • 
 
 Nearly four months have passed away since our return 
 to this country ; they have glided by very rapidly. It is 
 almost too late to revert to our arrival and the welcome 
 which we received from the people. They were right glad 
 to see old friends among them again ; and we, too, were 
 glad to find ourselves once more where we feel more at- 
 home than, perhaps, we should be able to do elsewhere on 
 the surface of the earth. . . . 
 
 I have never had better Sabbath congregations in 
 Calabar than I have had since my return, with the excep- 
 tion of a Sabbath or two in October, when the attendance 
 was but small. I had the pleasure of baptizing two of the 
 native women at our meeting, preparatory to Communion 
 last week. Both were originally slaves. ... I have 
 resumed my old work in school. We have between fifty 
 and sixty in daily attendance. 
 
 My health continues as it has been for years. Mrs. A. 
 did not like the cold of your climate at all, but she is now 
 reaping the benefit of having endured it for a vear. She 
 
 415
 
 4 16 Old Calabar Period 
 
 is more vigorous now than she has been for many years 
 past. Besides discharging her duties to a household of 
 twenty, and to a few patients who do us the honour of 
 quartering themselves on us, she is able to hold four or 
 five meetings with the native women in their own yards 
 ever)' Sabbath, and also do a little in the way of teaching 
 during the week. . . . 
 
 A very barbarous murder was committed the other 
 week by a man named Basse) - Africa. One of his wives, 
 the mother of the only two children he has, had somehow 
 displeased him, and he caused her to be flogged to death. 
 The elder of the children — a boy — was long with Mrs. 
 Sutherland. He attends school. Were I to attempt to 
 tell you all I felt for a day or two after the murder, when 
 I saw the little fellow break down time after time when he 
 attempted to read, you would be charging me with ill- 
 temper. I frankly acknowledge that such deeds do make 
 my blood boil and my brain burn, and I almost wish I were 
 a man of the sword instead of a man of the word. . . . 
 
 In December Mr. Anderson paid a visit to Ikdrdfiong. 
 On the 23rd he preached morning and evening in the 
 brick church erected by Zerub Baillie, and at midday 
 visited an Ibibio town. The following day he returned to 
 Duke Town accompanied by Mr. Timson, who came to 
 attend a meeting of Presbytery. Mr. Anderson expressed 
 himself rejoiced to see the work begun by Mr. Baillie so 
 well carried on by Mr. and Mrs. Timson. 
 
 The following extracts from Mr. Anderson's Journal 
 relate the efforts he made to save slaves condemned for 
 an unconscious breach of Egbo law: — 
 
 Saturday, Jan. 5, 1867. — Went round town as usual 
 in the P.M. Had a conversation with two prisoners, who, 
 it seems, are doomed to die for some breach of Egbo at 
 Ikpa market. The)- do not deny the breach of the law, 
 but the)- plead ignorance of the law, and that what they 
 did was in obedience to their owners.
 
 "Killing Day" 417 
 
 Sabbath, 6. — Had another conversation with the 
 prisoners. Brought their case before the English con- 
 gregation p.m., and requested our countrymen to use 
 their influence on their behalf, provided we ascertain that 
 their representations are correct. 
 
 Monday, 7.— Ascertained that an Egbo proclamation 
 had been made some weeks ago, forbidding the sale of 
 salt at Ikpa market ; that the proclamation had not been 
 made at Ikpa, where the prisoners had been located, 
 buying oil for their masters ; that their masters had sent 
 them no intimation in regard to the proclamation ; and 
 that their slaves knew nothing about it till captured on 
 the charge of breaking Egbo law. In such circumstances, 
 the only course seemed to be to do everything possible 
 for the release of the prisoners. Had an interview with 
 King A. on the matter. He was much more reasonable 
 than I expected to find him. Visited the prisoners too, 
 but could not hold out much hope to them of escape from 
 a bloody death. They are becoming more tranquil in 
 view of the dismal ordeal, and profess to look to Him 
 who hath abolished death. 
 
 Thursday, 10. — To-morrow being "killing day" here, 
 felt it needful to make a strong last effort on behalf of 
 the poor men. Went to King A. to plead their cause, 
 accompanied by two river friends. We had little hope of 
 success, seeing that the fatal Egbo sword had been drawn 
 and brandished round the town. After brief reasoning- on 
 the matter, King A., after the usual oration about the 
 bigness of Egbo, the impossibility of keeping the town 
 in order without strong law, etc. etc., asked us this plain 
 question, " What you want me to do?" I replied, " We 
 want you to release the two men, and make their masters 
 pay you as many coppers as you like to demand, for their 
 neglect in keeping their slaves in ignorance of the Egbo 
 proclamation." To our joy he at once said, " I will for 
 that;" and forthwith sent messengers with Egbo drums 
 to release the prisoners, and to put their masters under 
 ban till they pay redemption money for the " heads " of 
 their slaves. 
 
 Sabbath, 24. — W^as able to-day, through the kind 
 liberality of the Sabbath scholars of the United Pres- 
 27
 
 41 8 Old Calabar Period 
 
 byterian congregation of Princes Park, Liverpool, to put 
 into the hands of our readers here copies of a translation 
 into Efik of an excellent tract by the Rev. A. B. Grosart, 
 entitled (in English) " The Blind Beggar." I used the 
 tract as the basis of my A.M. discourse. The young people 
 began to read it with great avidity. I trust that some of 
 them will be benefited by it. 
 
 Thursday ', April 4. — Visited by our Consul [Living- 
 stone]. Went with him to King A.'s. Had an agreeable 
 conversation on matters in general. We tried to show 
 King A. the folly of devil-making, but our arguments were 
 met by the response, " It be we fashion." 
 
 Sabbath, 7. — Some of the young men came to the 
 English service evidently with the design of espying the 
 quality of the European attendance. I was glad that 
 they saw our good friend Mr. Consul Livingstone, and 
 a number of the officers of H.M.S. Oberon, among the 
 worshippers. 
 
 Wednesday, 10. — The twenty-first anniversary of the 
 arrival of the Mission. Called special attention to this 
 fact at our English prayer meeting in the evening. 
 
 Sabbath, 14. — Reminded my native auditors of this 
 day 21 years, when Mr. Waddell held the first meeting in 
 Eyamba's palace, presented him with a large Bible, and 
 preached to him and others the word of God. Very few 
 of the natives are alive who were at that day's meeting. 
 Tried to show our native friends their high privileges and 
 solemn responsibilities, choosing as my text Acts xxvi. 
 22-23. I redelivered the same discourse in English in 
 the afternoon, and embraced the opportunity of giving 
 a brief sketch of the past and the present in connection 
 with our duties in the future. 
 
 Tuesday, 16. — A severe thunderstorm this evening. 
 The hulk lying nearest the Mission Hill was struck by the 
 lightning. Happily no material damage was done. The 
 peal which accompanied that flash made the mission-house 
 shake, and caused our windows to jingle. 
 
 Tuesday, May 28. — Heard of two slaves being tied to 
 stakes, to be drowned by the rising tide. Went to King 
 Archibong, but was too late to benefit them. They were 
 already dead. From all that I could learn, they were
 
 Cheapness of Life in Calabar 419 
 
 a couple of incorrigible thieves. I spoke a little to 
 King A. of the sacredness of human life ; and he made me 
 what he considers a very fair offer — viz., that the next 
 time judgment is called for on two such rascals, he will 
 send for me ; allow me to take part in the trial ; and 
 should all the gentlemen deem them worthy of death, he 
 will dash them to me, that I may try to make good men 
 of them. On my way home, while musing on the woeful 
 cheapness of life in Calabar, it occurred to me that the 
 only execution I ever saw at home was that of a man in 
 Dalkeith, on the first day of March 1826 or 1827, for 
 robbing a farmer of a £\ note and a Scotsman newspaper ; 
 and the question occurred to me, "Were these men, who 
 have been put to death here to-day, better than that 
 William Thomson, who sang a portion of the 103rd Psalm, 
 and seemed so penitent, and prayed so fervently, and with 
 whom the sheriff and the jail chaplain, Mr. Porteous, 
 shook hands so kindly, before he took his place on the 
 fatal drop ! " Another thought occurred to me : Two 
 hundred years have not yet elapsed since the waters of 
 the Solway closed over the heads of Margaret M'Lauchlan 
 and Margaret Wilson — and for whatl The conclusion 
 seems to be, that human nature is not worse in Calabar 
 than anywhere else — in blacks than in whites. The Bible 
 is the true and the only elevator of both. Let us apply it 
 with double diligence. 
 
 Wednesday, June 5. — The steepness of the road from 
 our beach to the hill church having been so often pleaded 
 by our countrymen as an apology for their not coming to 
 church, I have devoted a few hours daily, for some days 
 past, in the laying-out and making of a much more level path 
 than any we have hitherto had. I think I have succeeded ; 
 and intimated at the meeting to-night, that even a delicate 
 lady may walk hither on the new road without being 
 much fatigued. 
 
 The annoyance felt by the worshippers in the town 
 church has for months past been almost intolerable. The 
 proprietor of the site on which it stands never fully 
 concurred in its being consigned to the Mission ; and his 
 people have taken advantage of this, and made " the void 
 place" beside the building the receptacle of everything
 
 420 Old Calabar Period 
 
 offensive. I felt impelled to make public intimation on 
 Sabbath, that unless the town authorities do something to 
 relieve us from our grievance, I would be constrained to 
 abandon the place altogether. 
 
 Sabbath, 9. — There being no improvement in our 
 "surroundings" to-day in the town church, I intimated 
 that we should not meet there again. Some looked sad, 
 but by far the greater part of the congregation seemed to 
 breathe freely on being relieved from the ordeal of further 
 attendance there. 
 
 Thursday, 20. — As usual in the middle of the year, 
 gave school vacation from this day till July 8th. Mr. 
 Lewis went to Old Town about three months ago, and I 
 have had the burden of the school-work on my shoulders. 
 The young man who assists me, William Cobham, is far 
 from being strong, and has been eight weeks out of school 
 during the half-year. I am beginning to find a little 
 relaxation needful. Including classes, evening meetings, 
 and instruction of domestics, I find I have about seven 
 hours' teaching every day in the week, except Saturday, 
 when I teach only three hours. This course, 'pursued 
 week after week and month after month, without a single 
 day's break, is, I find, somewhat exhausting in this climate. 
 I expect some relief when Mrs. Sutherland returns. Any 
 young man of energy, who has a passion for teaching, 
 would find a fine field for the exercise of his powers here. 
 I wish we had such a one. 
 
 Monday, 24. — Remembering that it is a year to-day 
 since we last left Britain, how swiftly has it passed away ! 
 How much reason have we for gratitude, on a retrospect 
 of the mercies of the year ! Oh that we may be enabled 
 to manifest our gratitude, by increased diligence in the 
 w< >rk of the best of Masters ! 
 
 Mo7iday,July 8, 1867. — Resumed school duties after a 
 fortnight's relaxation. My vacation has been variously 
 occupied — in looking after the re-roofing of our church, 
 visiting natives, etc. One day was occupied in visiting 
 ( reek Town friends ; another at meeting of Presbytery 
 at Old Town. 
 
 Saturday ', 20. — Atmosphere in a delightful state at pre- 
 sent. This has been one of the most splendid summer
 
 Neglect of Rule on "Temperature" 421 
 
 days I have ever seen anywhere ; so calm, so comfortably 
 warm, and the air redolent of the odour of the orange 
 blossom. Any stranger spending this one day here would 
 conclude'that our climate is one of the most delicious on 
 the face of the earth. 
 
 Friday, August 30. — Had a somewhat unusual experi- 
 ence this afternoon. Off duty in the afternoon on account 
 of sickness — a thing that has not occurred for many years. 
 I neglected my rule on temperature, got wet coming over 
 from school in the forenoon, did not change clothing, sat 
 reading and writing for two hours afterwards. Was seized 
 about two o'clock by an attack of what we call British 
 cholera, which continued very severe for two hours. Mrs. 
 A.'s application of simple remedies was successful in 
 checking the disorder ; but the terrible retching left me a 
 good deal exhausted. 
 
 Saturday, 31. — Able to be in school in the forenoon, 
 but not to go to town in the afternoon. A good number 
 all round attacked as I was yesterday ; indeed, the dis- 
 temper has been prevalent for a week. In the beginning 
 of the week fifteen of our household were prostrated in 
 one day ; six strangers, squatting here for various reasons, 
 have been all sick. With twenty-two patients in one 
 week Mrs. A.'s hands have been kept pretty full. 
 
 Sabbath, Sept. 1. — Durst not venture to go to town; 
 but able for the native services in church from seven till 
 nine, and for the English service in the afternoon. 
 
 Monday, 2. — Had a long meeting with the candidates' 
 class this evening. Feel grateful that I see my way pretty 
 clear to the admission of four of them to Church fellowship. 
 The more that one learns of the manners and customs of 
 a heathen population, the more must he admire the power 
 of the grace of God in snatching any of its members as 
 brands from the burning. Instead of wondering that so 
 many have fallen back, I think the true ground of wonder 
 is that any remain steadfast. I trust that our converts are 
 very specially remembered by the Church in the interces- 
 sions of the second Sabbath of the month, and also at 
 other times. 
 
 Tuesday, 3. — Learned to-day that there has been some 
 proclamation issued forbidding women to wear clothing,
 
 422 Old Calabar Period 
 
 and that, on this account, several of the native females, 
 who are in the habit of attending church, were prevented 
 from doing so last Sabbath. Sent to King A. to make 
 sure of the facts of the case. His reply was, that he and 
 the other gentlemen had forbidden their own women to 
 wear long gowns, as some of them had abused their privi- 
 lege in the matter ; but that the law had never been meant 
 to apply to women going to God's house to hear God's 
 word. 
 
 Tuesday, 17. — Considerable excitement to-day on 
 account of what King A. and some of his friends wish to 
 appear as a rebellion of a portion of his subjects. The facts 
 are these: Some time ago there was a squabble among 
 some of the people of the Guinea Company villages. A 
 young man named Eno Ukpong interfered in the strife; 
 Ekpenyong Mesembe gave this youth several blows with 
 his stick ; the young man died of his wounds a few days 
 afterwards. His mother, Ekanem Ukpong, a chief woman 
 of the village Ikoriso Ukpong, demanded the death of 
 Ekpenyong Mesembe for killing her son. As the village 
 belonged to Duke Town, the matter was brought to King 
 A. for adjudication. King A. and his friends declare that 
 two things were clearly brought out at the meeting held 
 on the occasion : 1. The palaver did not belong to Eno, 
 and he had no business whatever to interfere therein ; and 
 2. The blows inflicted by Ekpenyong were not intended by 
 him to kill anyone. He was laying about him with his 
 stick on all who were fighting on the other side, and Eno 
 should have kept out of his way. Such being the case, 
 Ekanem's demand was disregarded. She was not satis- 
 fied with this, but engaged a man named Otongo Nkpe 
 to go and shoot a brother of Ekpenyong's, in retaliation 
 for the death of her son. Otongo fulfilled his mission, 
 and shot the innocent man. When this was reported at 
 Duke Town, King A. sent off to summon Ekanem to his 
 presence. The summons was disregarded. Some say that 
 the messengers were maltreated and threatened. On 
 their return, information was sent to Creek Town, and, 
 according to the account given here, both towns agreed 
 to put the village to fire and sword. The village has 
 been burned, a number of people have been killed, and
 
 Brethren in Barbarity 423 
 
 a number of prisoners have been captured and brought 
 to Duke Town and Creek Town, to be butchered in cold 
 blood. 
 
 Wednesday, 18. — In town about two hours to-day, 
 pleading on behalf of the women and children who are 
 in chains in different yards, and who are doomed to 
 die. I can hardly say what will be the result of my 
 intercession. 
 
 Thursday, ig. — Again in town on the same errand as 
 yesterday. Heard that a Creek Town man, Hogan Bassy, 
 had sent down two of his prisoners to be sacrificed here — 
 the one to the manes of the Eyamba family, and the other 
 to the manes of the Cobham family. Both victims were 
 mere girls. In passing King Calabar's palaver-house, ob- 
 served a young man's head, very recently cut off, placed 
 at the entrance. Proceeding a little farther, I met a pro- 
 cession of Creek Town young men, one of them bearing 
 the head of a young girl, which had just been cut off in the 
 marketplace. I need not record the expressions of indig- 
 nation with which I greeted the head man of the procession, 
 a son of Hogan Bassy's, and, very lately, one of my own 
 schoolboys. I may mention, however, that I expressed 
 (ironically) my gratification that it can no longer be repre- 
 sented that Duke Town people are more bloodthirsty 
 than the people of Creek Town. " Here I see with my 
 own eyes that the barbarous fiends of Creek Town are 
 equal to their barbarous brothers at Duke Town." The 
 other poor girl was killed too ; but I saw nothing of her 
 or her butchers. Went hither and thither denouncing the 
 murders and the murderers. 
 
 Friday, 20. — Ekanem Ukpong was executed — in her 
 case I cannot say murdered — last night. I consider that 
 she deserved her doom. 
 
 Saturday, 21. — Did my best this afternoon on behalf 
 of the poor women and children who are being kept up as 
 sheep for the slaughter ; but King A. is inexorable. 
 While I was pleading with him, one of his head men 
 seemed anxious to speak. I paused to hear what he had 
 to say. He gave me the following information : " Long 
 time past, when Calabar have war with other country, we 
 no kill the women. They divide them among all men for
 
 424 Old Calabar Period 
 
 town. Then they keep in mind that Calabar kill their 
 husbands. Then one morning all Calabar find that every 
 man for town who sleep with these women all die ! These 
 women cut all their throats one night ! " 
 
 King A. himself defended the killing of the children, 
 because, when they grow up, they will fall on some scheme 
 to revenge the death of their fathers. Need hardly say 
 that I felt depressed. How earnestly was the prayer pre- 
 sented — 
 
 "Oh, let the prisoner's sighs ascend before Thy face on high : 
 Preserve those in Thy mighty power that are designed to die ! " 
 
 Sabbath, 22. — Reading Mark's Gospel in order at the 
 English service just now. The passage for this day— 
 without the slightest scheming on my part — was the 
 account of the murder of John the Baptist by Herod. I 
 took the aid of Rev. Dr. Thomson (his discourse in Chris- 
 tian Treasury — a discourse which I had the privilege of 
 hearing when in Edinburgh in depicting and improving 
 the scene. I had something, however, to stir my spirit in 
 discussing such a theme which Dr. T. had not. He had 
 not seen the gory heads of slaughtered innocents in the 
 streets of Edinburgh a day or two before he preached on 
 the subject. He, happily, could not say what I sadly did 
 say, " Such bloody scenes have been enacted daily and 
 nightly for some time past, and are likely to be enacted 
 daily and nightly for some time to come, unless we Euro- 
 peans can do something to check the lavish outpouring of 
 human blood." The river gentlemen responded cordially 
 and nobly to my appeal. Fifteen of us — i.e., thirteen river 
 gentlemen, Mr. Eewis, and myself — went in a body to the 
 king, to implore him to abstain from killing any more of 
 the prisoners, especially innocent women and children. 
 I lis demeanour and language were outrageous. He denied 
 that we had any right to interfere between him and his 
 people. As for the prisoners, he declared it to be his 
 settled purpose to kill them all. We expostulated, but in 
 vain. He became quite excited — told us that some of the 
 villagers had run away to other countries, but that he 
 should send for them, and make war upon those countries 
 if they refused to give them up. " Then, when I catch them
 
 Rescuing the Doomed 425 
 
 all, suppose it be man — I kill her ; suppose it be woman — I 
 kill him ; suppose it be little child — I kill him." The blood 
 of every European present was boiling with indignation 
 during the delivery of this speech, and I began to fear 
 there might be an explosion on the part of some. I am 
 happy to say, however, that there was not a word uttered 
 by any European present inconsistent with the sacred- 
 ness of the hour or the solemnity and seriousness of the 
 occasion. 
 
 Monday^ 23. — S. E. informed me privately, near sunset, 
 that orders had been given to kill several women and 
 children during the night. He also named one young 
 man in whose yard some of the prisoners were chained, 
 and informed me that the young man (A. C.) would be 
 very glad to allow them to escape if he dared. At that 
 moment two river gentlemen made their appearance. I 
 gave them the hint, and they went forthwith to the house 
 indicated — saw one woman strongly chained, and a little 
 girl, the woman's daughter, sitting beside her. They at 
 once broke the chain and took woman and daughter 
 on board one of the ships. We heard of other three 
 persons who were also to be killed. About eight o'clock 
 we commenced to hunt for them, but could not find them. 
 I left the party about ten o'clock. There were seven or 
 eight river friends present then. Shortly after I left them 
 they were joined by the rest of the river gentlemen, and 
 the chase was renewed. Dwelling-houses, cask-houses, 
 and hovels of all sorts were ransacked. One suspicious- 
 looking door in the house of J. B. was broken open, and 
 a woman, advanced in years, was found heavily chained. 
 The only way of capturing her was to cut through the 
 large post to which she was chained. This was done, and 
 she was at once marched to a boat — chain and all — and 
 put on board one of the ships. Three persons were thus 
 saved from a bloody death. The blood of our river friends 
 being fairly up, they resolved on going to King Archi- 
 bong's to have another talk with him. They roused him 
 up at midnight, and, I am informed, gave him such a 
 lecture as he had never heard all his life before. There 
 was no Sabbath restraint on his unwelcome and untimely 
 visitors now. They " broke fairly out on him," whatever
 
 426 Old Calabar Period 
 
 that ma)- mean. They did not, and would not, leave him 
 till he promised that there should be no more killing of 
 women and children. 
 
 Thursday, 26. — From 7 till 1 1 P.M. at a meeting of 
 Europeans on board the Lagos to consult as to the dis- 
 posal of our refugees, it was agreed to send them to 
 Fernando Po in the steamer, Captain Croft kindly agree- 
 ing to take them free of charge. A message was received 
 from King A., to the effect that when he made his promise 
 on Monday night, or Tuesday morning, he did not know 
 that the supercargoes had by strong hand taken possession 
 of some of the prisoners ; that if those rescued were sent 
 to him, pro forma, he would at once return them to the 
 white men, and would also give up the other three of whom 
 we were in search on Monday evening; but that, if those 
 already cm board were not returned to him, he would kill 
 the other three, and more. It was agreed that it would be 
 better to save six lives than three, and intimation was 
 sent to the king that his stipulation should be complied 
 with. 
 
 Friday, 27. — The three refugees were presented to the 
 king this morning, and he kept his promise, by returning 
 them at once to the deputation which waited on him, and 
 by producing and handing over the other three prisoners. 
 All the six were despatched to Fernando Po, to care of 
 Mr. Consul Livingstone. We also sent a letter to the 
 Consul, requesting the favour of an early visit, and entreat- 
 ing him to use his endeavours to put a stop to the 
 barbarities of King Archibong and his friends. 
 
 Saturday, 28. — Sounded a considerable number of the 
 freemen to-day, both old and young, in reference to 
 King A.'s dealing with the captured villagers. The 
 answers were wary, but in general satisfactory. Were the 
 question put to all the freemen of the town, " Is it right to 
 kill these prisoners?" an overwhelming majority would 
 emphatically answer, " No ! " 
 
 Monday evening, Oct. 7. — Hear that nine prisoners have 
 been butchered to-day, and that fifteen are to be killed 
 to-night. 
 
 Tuesday, 8. — Have certain information to-day of the 
 killing of only two prisoners last night, and one of these
 
 Consul Livingstone Fines the King 427 
 
 was Otongo Nkpe, the person who shot the brother of 
 Ekpenyong Mesembe. No European objects to his exe- 
 cution. 
 
 Wednesday, 9. — More killing during the night ; but I 
 cannot ascertain the exact number. A splendid summer 
 day this. 
 
 Saturday, 12. — Have been busy during the week in 
 writing and rewriting the Shorter Catechism in Efik for 
 a new edition. Have been engaged in teaching this 
 Catechism daily for twenty-eight years ; and the longer 
 I teach it and learn it, the more do I value it. 
 
 Tuesday, Nov. 5. — River gentlemen and myself called 
 by King A. to his house at S A.M. When we assembled, 
 we found nearly all the freemen of the town in attendance. 
 The king wished to hear all that white men had to say 
 against him ; and then they were to hear all that he had 
 to say against them. The whites at once retired for a few 
 minutes, and agreed to say that we had requested the 
 Consul to come over to settle all palavers, and that, in the 
 meantime, we declined entering into any discussion with 
 him on any matter whatever. This being intimated to 
 him, we at once left the company of the natives to their 
 own meditations and discussions. 
 
 Tuesday, Dec. 3. — Mr. Consul Livingstone arrived 
 yesterday in H.M.S. Oberon. He summoned a meeting 
 on board to-day — of both whites and blacks — to hear 
 what complaints they had to prefer against each other. 
 The slaughter of prisoners in cold blood by the native 
 authorities was clearly established, and was declared by 
 the Consul to be a breach of treaty with the English 
 Government. He imposed a fine of twenty puncheons of 
 palm oil as the penalty. This is the best lesson — at least 
 the most effective — that King A. has ever got, and, as a 
 precedent, is invaluable.
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 A New Church on the Mission Hill 
 
 Mr. Anderson's Journal during the early part of 1868 is 
 chiefly given to the describing of the erection of the new 
 church on the Mission Hill: — 
 
 Sabbath, Jan. 5, 1868. — The year has opened on our 
 work promisingly, though the vexation of the king and 
 several of the gentlemen about the steps taken by me for 
 the protection of life does not seem at all abated. 
 
 Monday, 6. — Glad to see the Moultan on her way up the 
 river, seeing that she brings with her our long-desired and 
 needed new church. 
 
 Thursday, 9. — Very busy day getting up new church 
 from ship to hill. All the river gentlemen exceedingly 
 kind and obliging in the loan of longboats and Krumen. 
 
 Wednesday, 29. — Laying the foundation of our new 
 church. Captain White presided at the ceremony, and 
 placed one of the corner pillars in proper position. Mr. 
 Lewis and I both engaged in prayer — I before the placing 
 of the pillar, and Mr. L. afterward. 
 
 Monday, Feb. 10. — The roof of the new church finished 
 at four p.m. Felt thankful when I saw the last carpenter 
 reach the ground in safety. 
 
 Tuesday, Feb. 11. — Glad to learn that the twenty 
 puncheons have been duly paid to the Consul by the 
 natives. This is one of the best lessons they have ever 
 got. 
 
 Saturday, 29. — The work begun on January 29th was 
 finished a week ago ; the new church was erected ; all 
 that remained was the finishing of the painting. That 
 was finished in the beginning of the week, and all is dry
 
 A New Church Opened 429 
 
 now, and all is quite ready to receive a congregation to- 
 morrow. One kind river gentleman lends us seats for 
 about 100, and we have put planks in such a way as will 
 accommodate as many more. We all feel deeply indebted 
 to river gentlemen for the loan of Krumen, carpenters, 
 and painters. We are under very special obligations to 
 Captain White for his daily superintendence and labour 
 during the whole time of the erection of the. building. 
 But for his deep interest and unceasing vigilance, the work 
 would not have been completed either so speedily or so 
 well. For all kind friends who have aided us in the work, 
 I present the prayer of Paul for Onesiphorus : " The Lord 
 grant that they may find mercy of the Lord in that 
 day." 
 
 Sabbath, March 1. — A day to be remembered by us. 
 Held the usual Efik service this morning in the old church 
 — now to be designated the schoolhouse. Went to town 
 and held usual meetings there. At 4.15 P.M. a large con- 
 gregation — that is, for Duke Town — assembled in the new 
 church. All the seats provided yesterday were occupied, 
 and it was needful to extemporise a considerable number 
 more. The floor also had its complement of squatters. 
 I had sent a verbal message to our friend Bishop Crowther, 
 at Bonny, intimating that I should be glad to have him 
 preach the opening sermon; but he did not hear of my 
 message (if he heard of it at all) till it was too late. I ex- 
 pressed to several friends my readiness to ask any brother 
 in the Mission to preach on the occasion, should it be 
 specially desired by members of the congregation ; but 
 the feeling was that I was the person on whom the service 
 seemed naturally to devolve. I spoke a few words in 
 Efik at the close. The collection, in English money, was 
 upwards of £12. It was afterwards made up to about 
 £13, 13s., besides 8 brass rods, about 100 black coppers, 
 and 2 teaspoons. 
 
 The service was altogether a happy one. I was glad 
 to learn that some of our oldest and most experienced 
 members felt it to be the happiest they had ever attended 
 in this country. Some of them felt that the Spirit of the 
 Lord was with us of a truth, and that our earnest prayer, 
 " Fill this house with Thy glory," had been heard and
 
 430 Old Calabar Period 
 
 answered. All our river friends, as well as natives, are 
 delighted with the appearance and the accommodation of 
 the edifice. The only drawback, both to appearance and 
 comfort, is the want of glass in the window-sashes. That 
 privation will not be so much felt, however, while the dry- 
 weather continues. We all feel a deep debt of gratitude 
 to the Mission Board for their great kindness in procuring 
 for us and^ forwarding to us our much-prized sanctuary. 
 
 Sabbath, 8. — Our first Communion in our new church. 
 We had a very comfortable season. Remembered that 
 John Sago was with us at our last Communion. That was 
 his last Sabbath in the sanctuary below. We have con- 
 fidence that he is now drinking new wine in the kingdom 
 of our Father. 
 
 Who can tell whether our small company of thirty-one 
 shall ever all again on earth surround the holy table! 
 
 I concluded the service by repeating most of that fine 
 production of one who went to glory at an early age — 
 Rev. Mr. Lyte — beginning: 
 
 " Abide with me ; fast falls the eventide." 
 
 Sabbath, 22. — Our fourth Sabbath in our new church. 
 Several of our great men made their first appearance in 
 it this afternoon. Adam Archibong, Yellow Duke, and 
 several of their friends were with us — I can scarcely say 
 " worshipped with us." It is so far good that they now 
 know the way to church. The attendance has hitherto 
 been larger than ever it was, or indeed could be, in the 
 old church. 
 
 Saturday, April 18. — In usual turn round town to-day, 
 found Yellow Duke in great distress on account of the 
 death of his first (his earliest) wife. She died rather 
 suddenly last Saturday, while he was at a distant market. 
 She was coffined and put into the grave on Sabbath, but 
 the grave was left unfilled till Yellow Duke should come 
 home. He arrived on Wednesday evening, sent at once 
 to one of the hulks for the magnificent brass coffin which 
 he had got prepared for himself, had the body raised and 
 transferred to the new coffin ; and the funeral rites were 
 proceeded with in the usual way. 
 
 Sabbath, 19. — After morning service in church went to
 
 No Doctor in Calabar 431 
 
 Yellow Duke's, where I found a large congregation, to 
 whom I spoke of death, judgment, and eternity. Mrs. 
 Sutherland had also large assemblies of women in Yellow 
 Duke's different yards. Public services well attended 
 to-day. 
 
 Friday, 24. — Mrs. Anderson able to be out in verandah 
 to-day for the first time since Wednesday week. She had 
 continuous fever for nearly eight days. We have no medical 
 man in Mission or river. It is matter for gratitude that 
 there has been no very urgent necessity as yet for pro- 
 fessional aid ; still, it is satisfactory to have someone 
 within reach on whom one can fall back in any case of 
 emergency. Mrs. Anderson is very much prostrated, but 
 is in fair way of recovery. 
 
 Sabbath, June 14. — Our church benches arrived last 
 week, and were brought up and fixed in their places. 
 This gave the church quite a home-appearance to-day. 
 It was an additional gratification that the benches were 
 pretty well filled. 
 
 Friday, 19. — Gave school children their midsummer 
 holidays. 
 
 Monday, July 6. — Used to devote a day once in six 
 months, during our school vacation, to a friendly call on 
 board each ship in the river. Have scarcely been on 
 board a single ship for eighteen months, finding my work 
 to be chiefly with the people of the town. Went round 
 the shipping to-day, however ; was kindly received, and 
 had a little pleasant and, I trust, profitable intercourse 
 with captains, supercargoes, and others. Distributed 
 among them a number of illuminated Scripture cards, 
 kindly supplied by Miss Hood, a Berwickshire friend. 
 
 Tuesday, 7. — Resumed school labours this morning. 
 The youngsters all as glad to resume their labours as 
 I am to be again at work among them. 
 
 Sabbath, 19. — Mr. Goldie with us to-day, and preached 
 in Efik in forenoon, and in English in afternoon. Ex- 
 cellent discourses both. Our only regret was that, owing 
 partly to Egbo being out, and partly to rain, the attendance 
 was much smaller than usual. 
 
 Sabbath, Aug. 16. — While God's work was being carried 
 on in one part of the town, Satan's was being carried on
 
 432 Old Calabar Period 
 
 In another. King Archibong had a runaway slave tied 
 to a stake in the creek during the forenoon. His death 
 by the flood-tide was slow enough, but sure. 
 
 Friday \ Sept. 4. — The house of our constant friend, 
 George Duke, was accidentally burnt down last night. 
 Visited him to-day. Finding him sitting among the 
 ruins, but very composed, and acknowledging the hand 
 of God in the matter. George's bearing under the cal- 
 amity reminds us very much of the demeanour of that 
 remarkable man, King Eyo II., under a similar affliction. 
 
 Friday, 1 1. — Conversed to-day with ten candidates for 
 Communion, and had much satisfaction in regard to all. 
 Some of them would like to acknowledge themselves as 
 on the Lord's side by being baptized, although they do 
 not consider themselves fully prepared as yet for partaking 
 of the Lord's Supper. My idea is, that the same moral 
 and spiritual conditions are requisite for both ordinances ; 
 that nothing less is required to qualify an adult for 
 baptism than faith in Christ and love to Him, and that 
 nothing more is necessary in order to qualify for the 
 Communion table. At the same time, I think that if 
 an intelligent individual feels himself impelled to crave 
 baptism, whilst he would like a little time for further 
 consideration and self-examination ere he take his place 
 at the Lord's table, his desire may be properly and safely 
 complied with.
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 
 Refugee Widows — Duke Town at War with Okoyong 
 
 The gospel was doing much directly and indirectly 
 for the elevation of the women in Calabar. It had been, 
 and still was, the custom of the country that the widows 
 of chiefs should remain in seclusion until their husband's 
 Ikpo, devil-making, or funeral rites, were finished. Some- 
 times these were delayed for years. " During this time 
 the widows were never allowed to appear in public, nor 
 to wash, and often suffered not only from want of cleanli- 
 ness, but from want of food." At length these women 
 began to recognise their grievances, and in 1868, both 
 at Duke Town and Creek Town, the revolt of the widows 
 began, of which the details are chronicled by Mr. Anderson 
 in his Journal. He also gives an amusing account of 
 King Archibong's futile expeditions against Okoyong, a 
 tribe inhabiting, in scattered villages, the country between 
 the middle reaches of the Old Calabar River and the 
 Ikorofiong farms on the Cross River. 
 
 Monday, Sept. 21, 1868. — Some six or seven years 
 have elapsed since the death of Bassy Henshaw. His 
 widows, fifteen or sixteen in number, have been kept as 
 prisoners ever since. TJiree of them could stand it no 
 longer, so they took " legbail " during the night, and came 
 up to the mission -house for protection, which was at once 
 accorded them. The path of duty in the matter seems 
 abundantly plain. Probable results must not affect us. 
 
 Wednesday, 23. — Great preparations going on in town 
 28
 
 434 ( )|1> Calabar Period 
 
 for war with the Okoyong people. The Calabarese, 
 especially the Creek Town people, have a long list of 
 grievances to lay at the door of the Okoyong people, 
 which seem to them a just cause of war; but we have 
 no means of ascertaining what charges the Okoyong 
 people can bring against them. 
 
 Thursday, 24. — Received the following letter from our 
 friend George Duke, from which it is satisfactory to learn 
 that he has discarded all dealings with the war-doctors 
 and their charms : — 
 
 Sept. 24, 1868. 
 Old Calabar, Duke Town. 
 Mr. Anderson, 
 
 Dear FRIEND, — I write to inform you that I shall be going to 
 the war with Calabar for them country they war with. Ekodi-eto 
 and all Calabar wish to go, so I write you to know something about 
 my side, because I have not the war medicine, only God is my 
 medicine. Maybe God will help me for the war, and say the same 
 with Mrs. Anderson. — I am, yours truly, GEORGE DUki:. 
 
 Monday, 28. — Most of the men having left the town, 
 or being about to leave it, it has been placed under the 
 charge of the women. Several of the amazons, in their 
 military attire as city guard— that is to say, with fathom 
 worn as men wear theirs, with cudgel or old matchet in 
 hand, or old rusty musket on shoulder, and wearing men's 
 hats or capes — came to see the runaway widows, and 
 seemed quite delighted that they had escaped. They 
 had not laid aside their womanly hearts with their female 
 attire. 
 
 Tuesday, 29. — The Eyamba family and their retainers, 
 and Ilenshaw Duke with his, all in full war uniform, came 
 up in the evening to hold a meeting for special prayer 
 ere they should embark in their canoes for the seat of 
 war. All seemed solemnised. I read a few passages, 
 gave a short exhortation, and prayed with them. Upwards 
 of 100 musketeers were present. 
 
 Saturday, Oct. 3. — The war fleet returned to-day, 
 making a great noise and a great show, as if something 
 great had been accomplished. The result seems to be 
 that Duke Town has lost about twenty men in various
 
 "What is to be done with Criminals?" 435 
 
 little engagements in the bush ; and that they have 
 brought with them, as trophies of their prowess, six or 
 seven heads of Okoyong people who had been prisoners 
 for weeks at Ikoneto, and who have been butchered in 
 cold blood ! It is only due to Duke Town to say that 
 the Archibong family alone are responsible for this 
 atrocity. Our friend George Duke thus laconically an- 
 nounces his return : — 
 
 Oct. 3, 1 868. 
 Mr. Anderson, 
 
 My dear Friend, — I to inform you that I come home from 
 war. I bring my life, which God please me. 
 
 George Duke. 
 
 Thursday, 1 5. — "What is to be done with our criminals?" 
 is a question that often obtrudes itself on the attention 
 not merely of great statesmen — I wish it were confined 
 to them. The question has often been proposed to me, 
 but seldom (if ever) more forcibly than in a letter just 
 received from big Adam Duke. He says : — 
 
 Duke Town, Old Calabar, 
 Oct. 15, 1868. 
 Rev. W. Anderson, 
 
 My dear Friend, — I have taken my little time to write this 
 lines to complain this for you. There is one of my man have done 
 very bad thing ; he been go to Cameroons with his master, and he 
 give him money for one puncheon of palm oil, and he chop half 
 puncheon of that oil, and his master bring him to me when I already 
 to go for Okoyong war. I have not time to see about that matter ; 
 I tell his master to keep him till I return, and his master send him 
 to stop for plantation until I come. But when I come back he thief 
 one other young new boy been come from Cameroons with his 
 master, and go sell the young man for seven thousand black coppers, 
 and spend that coppers in foolish way, and chop every bit of it. 
 The same time he run away, and for that place he run to, he thief 
 one goat, and some cloth from a case. I been send to seek, and 
 they find him and bring to me last night. He live here for my yard. 
 But now the man that he been thief his goat want me pay for the 
 goat ; them that have cloth want me to pay for his cloth ; and then 
 Cameroons young man I going to try if that man been buy him will 
 give the man back to me, and get other coppers. 1 not talk to the 
 man yet, if he will let me pay him to buy that young man back. I
 
 436 Old Calabar Period 
 
 have to pay double, according to our fashion, all that I lost and the 
 half puncheon oil for one bad slave, and the money that I been buy 
 him, besides other debts he owes plenty. So I like you to send 
 one man or boy, woman or girl, to ask him for all what I talk 
 against him. If I tell lie against him, you can know one time; 
 and if your man find all what I say be truth, you can tell me what 
 to do for such slave. Perhaps I go punish him according to our 
 fashion go, be hard. So you can tell me better to do. If he go 
 out from my hand again, any things he do, thief or spoil, they ask 
 me to pay ; and if he go thief other small or big man or woman, 
 they go ask me for every things he do. So I beg you send to ask 
 him what I say against him, so you may find out what 1 say if I 
 lie or I talk truth. BlC Adam DUKE. 
 
 It frequently puzzles one to say what ought to be 
 done with such a character. 
 
 Monday, Nov. 9. — How time flies ! Twenty-nine years 
 to-day since I left Greenock for Jamaica. Went to town 
 in the evening, on invitation from Thomas Eyamba to 
 attend the funeral of his grandmother. Found an immense 
 crowd present, but the greater number were so much 
 under the influence of strong drink, that any religious 
 service in their presence would have been casting pearls 
 before swine. Went with a select company to the room 
 where the corpse was lying, and engaged in devotional 
 services there. 
 
 Saturday, 14. — Another widow up to the mission-house 
 for protection. Not a slave-girl, but, as George Duke 
 describes her, " the very biggest woman in all the town." 
 She was a wife of Egbo Bassy, who died a number of years 
 ago, is the sister of David King, " full free," and closely 
 connected with all the big families of the country. Forgot 
 to say that one of Bassy Henshaw's widows, now with us, 
 is a daughter of the late King Eyamba. 
 
 Sabbath, 15. — Another of Egbo Bassy 's widows came 
 to us last evening. Our premises will soon be full, but the 
 store is emptying in proportion as the premises are being 
 filled. The path of duty seems quite plain in the matter. 
 
 Monday, 16. — A great lady — once King Archibong 
 First's queen — came to us in the evening, to beg us to 
 place David King's sister under her protection, as it would 
 do the town big shame were that madam to be in hiding
 
 Refugee Widows 437 
 
 at a white man's house. Mrs. Anderson referred the 
 matter to the refugee herself, and as she was quite secure, 
 and was also inclined to accompany her queenship, she left 
 us with thanks for the sanctuary offered her by us. This 
 dealing with the matter augurs well for the poorer ladies 
 who still cling to us. 
 
 Tuesday, 17. — Still they come! Jane Archibong, widow 
 of Thomas Hogan, who died, I think, about ten years ago, 
 and whose " devil " is not yet made, came and cast herself 
 on us for protection. 
 
 Wednesday, 26. — Mail arrived to-day, bringing to our 
 aid Mr. Robb and the Efik Old Testament, Dr. and Mrs. 
 Robertson, and Mr. Lawson. We feel grateful to Him 
 who has sent and brought them hither, and our prayer is 
 that they, both the persons and the books, may be made 
 abundant blessings to Old Calabar. 
 
 Saturday, Dec. 5.— Great preparations making for 
 another expedition to Okoyong. 
 
 Monday, 7. — George Duke and his people came up 
 to the schoolhouse in the evening, that they might 
 be commended to the care of God during the ensuing 
 campaign. 
 
 Wednesday, 9. — Had to conduct service thrice to-day 
 on behalf of our warriors. We had first Thomas Eyamba 
 and his company, then Andrew Cobham and his, then 
 Henshaw Duke and his. The zvar is not popular at all. 
 It is urged on by the king and one or two more. It 
 betokens improvement that band after band, all accoutred 
 for combat, come to the sanctuary to implore God's bless- 
 ing and protection. I told the bands in succession that I 
 could not pray that they might kill plenty of their enemies, 
 that I can only pray that the enemy might not be allowed 
 to kill them. Some of them were so honest as to tell me 
 that that was all they wanted ; that they did not want to 
 kill a single person ; all they care about is that their own 
 lives may be spared. 
 
 Saturday, 1 2. — Round town as usual afternoon. Women 
 on guard everywhere ; drumming and dancing in some 
 places. The slave girl of one of our refugee widows had 
 a few words with her mistress, and she forthwith went 
 aside and ate some of the poison bean. Nobody suspected
 
 438 Old Calabar Period 
 
 what she had done, and she concealed it till it was too 
 late to do her any good. Thus she rushed before her 
 time into the eternal world. 
 
 Sabbath^ 13. — Excellent turn-out of women to-day in 
 church, both forenoon and afternoon. Hundreds of them 
 were in church for the first time. The decorum they 
 maintained was admirable. It was a solemn thought. 
 This is the first time that multitudes of these have ever 
 heard a sermon, and this sermon may be the only one 
 that they may ever hear. 
 
 Friday, 18. — Gave the children of the school their 
 Christmas holidays. Distributed a good number of books 
 as prizes. Mrs. Sutherland was ready with her usual 
 donation of shirts and frocks, and Mrs. Anderson gave 
 fifty of the most constant attenders a very good dinner. 
 Capital bookmarks, with mottoes in Efik and in English, 
 from Auchtermuchty Sabbath scholars, were bestowed on 
 all who had books. 
 
 Sabbath, 20. — As the men are still at the war, we had 
 again large congregations of women, both forenoon and 
 afternoon. Their attentivcness and quietness of demeanour 
 in church are somewhat remarkable. Oh that the way- 
 were prepared for their regular attendance Sabbath after 
 Sabbath ! 
 
 Wednesday, 30. — Our Duke Town warriors returned 
 this morning, after a campaign of three weeks' duration, 
 from the seat of war, all jubilant, as if laden with the 
 •> spoils of victory. I believe it to be a fact that thousands 
 have fallen before their victorious swords and cutlasses — 
 I mean thousands of small bushes, with a sprinkling of 
 big trees. In so far as I am able to learn, the expedition 
 has been bloodless — except among fowls and goats. Most 
 of the young men are utterly ashamed of the whole affair, 
 and beg me to be silent when I begin to congratulate them 
 on their prowess in war, and on their safe return from the 
 scene of conflict. There were weeks of preparation of arms 
 and ammunition ; weeks of sponging the European traders 
 for the commissariat department; weeks of apprehension, 
 on the part of many, that their skulls might, ere long, 
 ornament the juju places in Okoyong ; prayers for protec- 
 tion offered both to the Lord and to Baalim ; the grand
 
 A War with the Bush ! 439 
 
 muster of army and navy ; the sad farewell, etc. etc. — and 
 all for what ? For the clearance of a few acres of brush- 
 wood ! ! And yet the question will present itself: "Could 
 the war have had a more satisfactory termination ? " I 
 feel it a matter of great thankfulness that the result is just 
 as it is. From the manifest feeling of the young men, it 
 is evident that there is no danger as yet of Archibong 
 being worshipped as a hero. Mr. Robb gave us an able 
 lecture in the evening on " The Genuineness of the Books 
 of the New Testament." The lecture was highly appre- 
 ciated by the gentlemen of the river. 
 
 Friday, Jan. 8, 1869. — Had twenty-one of our native 
 members at a tea meeting in the evening. It is the 
 first soiree we have held with them here. We made an 
 exhibition of Scripture prints, which formed a fine 
 theme for converse for a portion of the time. The 
 provision for the body pleased wonderfully well, and that 
 for the mind seemed also to be greatly enjoyed by our 
 guests. 
 
 Saturday, 9.- — One of the coldest mornings I have ever 
 felt in Old Calabar. The thermometer stood at 68° at 
 7 A.M. I have heard of its being so low, but I do not 
 remember of having seen it so. 
 
 Wednesday, 20. — Mr. Goldie gave us his contribution 
 to our present course of lectures and readings this evening, 
 by giving us an admirable lecture on " Castles in the Air." 
 The theme was very suitable for the audience, and was 
 well fitted to profit all who heard it. I learn that Creek 
 Town people have not managed matters so well in regard 
 to the Okoyong war as their Duke Town brothers did. 
 They have not limited their operations to the killing of 
 the bush. They have killed several of the enemy, and the 
 enemy has killed at least one of them. While it is matter 
 of regret that any lives have been sacrificed in the affair, 
 it is matter of thankfulness that the loss on either side has 
 been so small. I forgot to mention, under the proper 
 date, that the reason assigned by Duke Town people for 
 abandoning the field was that some of the Okoyong people 
 had come to them with the symbols of submission, and 
 begged them to " let palaver done," and that they had 
 acceded to the request.
 
 440 Old Calabar Period 
 
 January 30. — Great rejoicing to-day among our refugee 
 widows, and among their sisters in town too, on account 
 of the arrival of the gunboat Speedivcll, with Her Majesty's 
 Acting Consul on board. They have looked forward to his 
 arrival, in hopes that he would be both able and willing to 
 do something in their favour. 
 
 Tuesday, Feb. 2. — Having received no intimation, such 
 as I had reason to expect, from the Acting Consul in 
 regard to any public meeting to be held for the settlement 
 of palavers, I drew up and forwarded to him an official 
 letter representing the great hardships to which the widows 
 of the town have been, and are, subjected. Numbers of 
 them have been kept as prisoners for five, six, seven, and 
 even eight years — and that for no crime ; prohibited from 
 washing their bodies, changing their clothes, cutting or 
 combing their hair, etc. etc. ; that a number of them, who 
 have no relatives of influence and property, are half 
 starved ; that some would have been wholly starved had 
 they not been supported year after year by Mrs. A. and 
 Mrs. Sutherland ; that we had seven of them at present 
 in our yard, who had thrown themselves on us entirely 
 for protection and support ; and that I was anxious to 
 know how I was to dispose of them. 
 
 Thursday, 4. — One of the seven widows left us to-day, 
 under promise from King Archibong that she should be 
 sent back to us in a few days. " Her husband's devil- 
 making is just going on, and it is needful for her son's 
 sake, that he may be able to claim his share of his father's 
 property, that she should take a part in the concluding 
 ceremonies of the ikpo, but she will be sent back to you 
 unharmed in a few days." Of all this we believe scarcely 
 a word ; but as King A.'s messengers prevailed on the 
 lady to consent to go, we did not feel that we had any 
 right to prevent her. We told her and the messengers 
 plainly that we could not stop her if she was willing tc 
 go, and that we could not eject her from our yard if she 
 wished to stay. She went. 
 
 Friday, 5. — Specdwelfs steam up ; evidently about to 
 take her departure ; not a word of reply to my letter of 
 the 2nd. At the latest moment, in the heat of the day, the 
 Acting Consul paid us a most hurried visit to say good-
 
 Lamentation among the Widows 441 
 
 bye, and to mention to me that he had spoken privately 
 to King Archibong about the evils of devil-making, and 
 that King Archibong had charged him to say to me that 
 I might keep my mind easy about the widows, for in a 
 few weeks at farthest all the devil-making will be over, 
 and they will be all set at liberty. We shall see. 
 
 Saturday, 6. — Great lamentation to-day among all the 
 widows. They are astonished as well as distressed that 
 a messenger from Queen Victoria (herself a widow) 
 should have come and gone without uttering a syllable in 
 their behalf, though their case was brought before him. 
 In their estimation, anything said privately to King A. 
 amounts to nothing. What they expected, and what some 
 of us in the Mission expected, was that a public declara- 
 tion and protest should have been made against the 
 barbarities and superstitions connected with the devil- 
 making. Had this been done, the whole body of our 
 intelligent young men would have been greatly strength- 
 ened to urge on the work of reform ; and the widows, 
 whatever might have been the immediate result of the 
 protest, would not have been crying bitterly and wringing 
 their hands, as many of them are doing to-day, under the 
 impression that a representative of England has despised 
 and ignored their appeal to him for help. We can only 
 tell them to look to the supreme Power, and to pray Him 
 to send them help from on high. Our trust is that He 
 will send " enlargement and deliverance," and that ere 
 long. 
 
 Friday, 12. — Twenty years to-day since our first arrival 
 here. While there is much around us still that is distress- 
 ing and depressing, yet have we reason for gratitude that 
 the country is not altogether what it was when we first 
 saw it. The seed sown has not been all lost. It is great 
 matter of comfort to feel assured that there are with us in 
 this land — that there are in other parts of the world — and 
 that there are already gathered home — some who will be 
 everlasting monuments of the power of the blessed gospel, 
 as testified and as received in Old Calabar. 
 
 Thursday, 25. — Greatly honoured to-day, having no 
 fewer than two D.D.'s with us. Our good friend Bishop 
 Crowther came last evening in the Mandingo, and spent
 
 44- Old Calabar Period 
 
 the clay with us. He walked with me round town, and 
 gave a number of our gents several good counsels, which 
 it will be to their profit to remember and carry out. On 
 our return from town we found Dr. Robb at the mission- 
 house, on his first visit since receiving his degree. Long 
 may he be spared to wear his honours ! 
 
 Monday, March I. — The widow who left us on February 
 4U1, on the promise that she was to be returned to us in 
 two or three days, has sent us word that she can't come 
 back to us, as King A. has retained her as a secondary 
 wife. Thus has he fulfilled his promise in that matter; 
 and no doubt the other promise sent me through the 
 Acting Consul, in regard to all the widows, will be equally 
 well observed. 
 
 Saturday, 20. — Round town as usual in the afternoon, 
 announcing the approaching Sabbath. I find an unusual 
 number of church-goers, and also of others, to be under 
 the influence of a prevailing distemper, so that there will 
 be little necessity to-morrow for the hebdomadal sham 
 sickness which has been so common of late. 
 
 Friday, 26. — Some eight or nine years ago I opened 
 up a nearer and better way to Henshaw Town spring, 
 whence we draw our drinking water, in order to lighten 
 the toil of our water-carriers, as well as of those from Cobham 
 Town and Duke Town. The new road was considered 
 by nearly all the community as a great boon. But an old 
 superstitious gentleman at Henshaw Town discovered 
 that it was giving umbrage to the god of the spring and 
 of the hillside — Nsungko Mungko by name — so that it 
 had to be abandoned. Years have passed away, however, 
 since that old gentleman went "to his place" — the old 
 road was getting worse and worse — his godship Mungko 
 seemed to be falling out of remembrance — I longed to 
 have another turn at road-making ; so, having taken 
 counsel with all the rising young men connected with 
 I Ienshaw Town, and finding them to be on the right side, 
 1 took several of our retainers, with matchets and hoes, 
 
 lay, and we reopened the near cut, to the great joy of 
 the water-carriers. 
 
 Sabbath, April 25. — Glad of an accession to the Mission 
 in the person of Mr. Ashworth. We trust that he will be
 
 James Bassy 44^ 
 
 o 
 
 long spared, and be made an abundant blessing to Old 
 Calabar. Greatly rejoiced, too, to learn that Captain W., 
 a member of the Church, and a large consignee by steamer 
 which brought Mr. Ash worth, refused point-blank to 
 receive a particle of cargo from the mail till the Sabbath 
 should be over. And glad, too, to learn that when the 
 captain of the mail received Captain W.'s message, he 
 stated that he wished that all the supercargoes in the 
 river would act in the same way. 
 
 Monday, 26. — Three of our widows have vanished. It 
 is supposed that they had got themselves taken on board 
 the steamer during the night, and that they are off to 
 Fernando Po. We hear that one of the widows in town 
 has been killed. Sundry threats have been used in regard 
 to those who are with us, so that we cannot wonder that 
 all who can get away from the country take their departure. 
 No appearance yet of any fulfilment of the promise made 
 three months ago in regard to all the widows. 
 
 Saturday, 15. — Found Cobham Town in great com- 
 motion this afternoon. James Bassy, eldest son of the 
 late well-known Egbo Bassy, a rising trader, was on his 
 way to market in his big canoe, which had been over- 
 loaded with goods and people. The sea-breeze was some- 
 what strong, and the water was a little angry not far from 
 the junction of the Cross and Calabar Rivers. The canoe 
 gave a lurch, at once filled, and sank. James and two or 
 three more were " scarcely saved," but eleven of his people 
 were drowned. James was brought home in a very 
 exhausted state. Many were expressing great joy on 
 account of his safety and that of a few more ; but 
 great numbers of the relatives and friends of the lost 
 eleven were weeping and lamenting, " refusing to be 
 comforted." 
 
 Sabbath, 16. — When in town to-day, called on James 
 Bassy. Gave thanks, and prayed with him. He is in a 
 very subdued mood, and solemnly promises to be hence- 
 forth a new man. Of one thing in particular he declares 
 himself fully convinced, viz. that God only is the hearer of 
 prayer. His people, when sinking, cried out to Ndan 
 Efik to save them, but there was no response. He cried 
 out to the God of heaven. He heard, and saved. Oh
 
 444 Old Calabar Period 
 
 that James would adhere to his resolve, and from this time 
 forth be a true servant of the one Jehovah ! 
 
 Tuesday, 25. — Held our English prayer meeting this 
 evening, as the mail is expected to-morrow. Our good 
 friend Captain White being about to leave us, we com- 
 mended him to the special care of Providence. He has 
 been a great help to us during his sojourn here, especially 
 in the erection and painting of our new church. 
 
 Tuesday, June 8. — Received to-day a splendid pulpit 
 Bible, and a Psalm and Hymn Book to match, as a dash 
 from our kind friends the Sabbath scholars and Bible 
 class of our highly esteemed friend and brother, Rev. 
 Mr. Cairns, of Stitchel. I exhibited the volumes this 
 evening at the Efik prayer meeting, when our young men 
 were very emphatic in their expressions of admiration and 
 gratification. The Bible is by far the finest volume that 
 most of them had ever seen. It will match the new 
 church better than the faded volume which we have used 
 hitherto. 
 
 Sabbath, 13. — Another mail steamer arrived to-day. 
 Glad that our friend Captain W. again stood firm, and 
 declined removing an ounce of cargo before 12.30 A.M. 
 — that is to say, till half an hour after midnight to-night. 
 
 Tuesday, 22. — One of our female candidates heavily 
 chained to-day, for no other reason that we can discover, 
 save that she wishes to abandon the evil practices of the 
 country, and lead a quiet pious life. Glad that she is 
 enabled to endure her trials so patiently. She has given us 
 much satisfaction since she joined our catechumen class, 
 and I trust she will remain steadfast to the end. 
 
 Thursday, 24. — As we are enjoying our midsummer 
 holidays just now, Mrs. Sutherland and I went off to 
 spend a few hours at Old Town. But we received an 
 unexpected addition to our company ; for the mail came 
 in sight. Having landed Mrs. Sutherland at Old Town 
 beach, I went on board the mail, and was greatly delighted 
 to meet Dr. Robertson on board. He was so greatly 
 changed for the better that I scarcely recognised him 
 at first glance; sorry that he had to allow Mrs. R. to 
 go northwards. If her voyage benefits her as much as 
 her husband's has benefited him, it will be matter of
 
 Cuban Exiles 445 
 
 thanks to us all. We spent a pleasant afternoon at Old 
 Town. 
 
 Sabbath, 27. — A few Cuban exiles were in church with 
 us this afternoon. It was the first time some of them had 
 ever been in a Protestant place of worship. Their story is 
 very touching. How grateful should we Britons be for 
 civil and religious liberty !
 
 CHAPTER XXI 
 
 The Diffusion of the Gospel and of Ardent Spirits 
 
 An account of mission work in Old Calabar would be in- 
 complete without some reference to the drink traffic as a 
 hindrance to the progress of Christianity. Mr. Goldie 
 wrote in his Journal, under date Thursday, May 6, 1869 : — 
 
 We have now a monthly line of steamers from the Clyde, 
 in addition to the mail line, — another link connecting us 
 with the great world outside, and multiplying the channels 
 of intercourse with home. So far pleasant ! It is, how- 
 ever, sad to tell that the chief cargo of the Clyde steamers 
 for the oil rivers, as they are called, is ardent spirits, and 
 I learn that this is fast becoming the chief cargo of the 
 mail line also. The slave-trade formerly wasted poor 
 Africa, and the flood of " firewater" poured amongst her 
 tribes is now carrying on her destruction. Our nation, 
 after taking a leading part in the former traffic for many 
 years, at length awoke to a recognition of its criminality 
 and cruelty, and put an end to it ; it has yet to awake to 
 a sense of the criminality and cruelty of the latter. The 
 Hudson's Bay Company, for the protection of the Indian 
 tribes of its widespread territories, prohibits the sale of 
 ardent spirits to them. No such law has been yet enacted, 
 nor perhaps can yet be enacted, for the protection of the 
 poor negro tribes. For this we must look to the more 
 advanced principles of Christian nations. 
 
 The chief men of the Union tribe, which lies immedi- 
 ately above us, on the line of the river, when they get a 
 cask of rum into their town, do nothing but keep on daily 
 drinking till they empty it. A young man, a candidate 
 for Church fellowship, was lately at Enyong, another tribe 
 
 416
 
 Mr. Goldie on the Drink Traffic 447 
 
 up the river, making market. On his return, I asked him 
 if he read his book or spoke God's word to the people 
 while amongst them. He replied that one or two lads 
 were willing to hear ; but as for the chief men, it was of 
 no use to talk to them, for they were always drunk. I 
 have not the least doubt that there are those in the 
 membership of the Church who have a far greater capital 
 embarked in this traffic than the capital contributed by 
 the benevolence of the Church for the salvation of these 
 tribes. Our societies and congregations, in their annual 
 reports, enumerate the number of Bibles issued annually, 
 and the number of missionaries sent into the field. A 
 terrible per contra is presented by the Excise and Custom- 
 house returns of the number of gallons of spirits manu- 
 factured and issued ; and were the share which the 
 membership of the Christian Church has in this manu- 
 facture and traffic given separately, our large evangelistic 
 efforts, on which we are apt to plume ourselves, would, 
 I fear, look very small beside it. 
 
 It is sometimes alleged that modern missions meet 
 with a very limited success. I do not stop to examine 
 this allegation ; but, supposing that it is quite true, there is 
 no ground for surprise, but there is cause for redoubled 
 effort, seeing that Christian nations do more, much more, 
 by pushing, in their traffic, the diffusion of intoxicants 
 throughout the world, for the support of Satan's king- 
 dom, than they do by all their evangelistic efforts for 
 the establishment of Christ's kingdom. The Chinese 
 missionaries have frequently lifted up their testimony 
 against the opium traffic, in support of which we even 
 went to war with China. The following statement occurs 
 in a memorial signed by seventeen chaplains and 
 missionaries, a large number of European merchants and 
 influential natives of various castes, and presented to the 
 Government of Bombay some years ago: — " We believe it 
 to be a lamentable fact in the history of British India, 
 that the transfer of any new territory to the English 
 Government has generally been followed by a speedy 
 and marked increase in the number of liquor-shops, and a 
 removal of restraints to the spread of intemperance among 
 the people. If we mistake not, the revenue from this
 
 448 Old Calabar Period 
 
 source, and the prevailing intemperance, have generally soon 
 increased manifold ; and it can hardly be doubted that in 
 this respect the territories still under native rule would 
 compare most favourably with the English territories. 
 This fact, so much to the prejudice of the English 
 Government, your memorialists contemplate with pain 
 and regret. In their view, it goes far to counterbalance 
 the benefit which results to the people of this country 
 from the introduction of British rule." 
 
 Nay, so great is the evil caused by the use of the " fire- 
 water," that, as we learn from Williams' Narrative, and 
 other sources, the rulers of native tribes of various places, 
 when brought to see their true interests, have prohibited 
 traffic therein for the protection of their people. As to my 
 own field of labour, I can bear witness that the use of 
 strong drink is as great a hindrance to the evangelisation 
 of these tribes as the heathenism of the country ; and this 
 strong drink is almost entirely supplied by European 
 traders, by far the greater part of our own countrymen. 
 The importation of strong drink is as effectually working 
 against our efforts, and as effectually serving the cause of 
 the kingdom of darkness, as the idol priest, or the juju 
 man with his dark and bloody superstitions. 
 
 When the rum cask and the Bible are presented to a 
 heathen people, which is the more likely to be accepted ? 
 And when the former is accepted, what hope is there for 
 the latter? We are sent forth to overthrow the wall of 
 heathenism by the spiritual weapons furnished to us, and 
 this barrier to the spread of the gospel is recognised and 
 allowed for by those who mission us ; but there is another 
 bulwark of Satan's kingdom which is not recognised, quite 
 as difficult to overthrow as the former, namely, that of 
 strong drink. The kingdom of darkness is thus doubly 
 protected ; and let the Christian Church know the fact, and 
 calculate on this opposition. If we do so, the wonder 
 will not be that the gospel is making little way, but that 
 it is making way at all. And the sad, melancholy fact 
 remains, that this second wall of protection of Satan's 
 kingdom against the influence of the truth, this double 
 barrier to the spread of the gospel, is reared by men pro- 
 fessedly Christian, nay, some of them truly amiable and
 
 Captain Lugard's Testimony 449 
 
 Christian men. They thus not only pull down with one 
 hand what they build with the other, but the)' pull down 
 a great deal of what is built by others. 
 
 In thus asserting that those who manufacture and 
 diffuse intoxicants throughout heathendom do more — 
 even the Christian men amongst them — for Satan's than 
 for Christ's cause, I do not charge this upon them as their 
 purpose. It is in the way of traffic they pour forth this 
 river of death. They could not do so large a business 
 without it ; and they have, I daresay, never thought 
 seriously of the matter ; l and the evil wrought is far away 
 out of sight. But surely we are accountable for the 
 inevitable consequences of any course of action, whether 
 these have entered into our design or not ; and surely the 
 pleas, "It is in the way of business," " Others will do it 
 though we should not," should never be listened to at the 
 bar of Christian conscience. They will not be allowed at 
 the bar of the great Judge of all. 
 
 I feel keenly on this matter, and we have a right to 
 remonstrate strongly. We are sent here to bring these 
 tribes to the knowledge and obedience of the truth, and 
 
 1 It is pleasant to be able to record instances of merchants who, on 
 thinking seriously of the matter, have given up the traffic. Captain Lugard 
 in his work, The Rise of our East African Empire, says : " Possibly my 
 readers may not know what kind of stuff this gin is which is imported into 
 West Africa? In Nov. 1892 I was staying with a Glasgow merchant, 
 one of the class of men it does one good to meet — practical, honest, and 
 straightforward. He told me that he had been engaged, not in the 
 manufacture of the liquor, but merely in its transport ; yet, when he 
 discovered the real facts about it, he resigned all connection, however remote, 
 with its exportation, rather than soil his hands in such traffic. A Liverpool 
 merchant, trading with the West Coast of Africa, carried out a similar 
 resolve. The former one day stated to a friend, that a whole case of this 
 stuff, as it stood on the ship's deck, did not cost more than 2s. The friend 
 was incredulous. To prove the truth of his statement, he had the exact 
 details calculated. The total cost was is. cjid. This included the wood, 
 the making of the packing-case, the nails, bottles, corks, labels, transport 
 charges, and the liquor. Deducting all the extra items, what was the cost of 
 the actual spirit ? He told me it was, absolutely and literally, poison " 
 (vol. i. pp. 214-5). in tne Nat. Rev., March 1S96, Miss Kingsley gives an 
 analysis of a sample of trade gin, which shows 39-35 per cent, absolute 
 alcohol. 
 
 29
 
 450 Old Calabar Period 
 
 we have given our lives to the undertaking ; but we find 
 our efforts strongly and strangely counteracted by the 
 strong drink imported by professedly Christian men ; 
 so that not only are double means required from the 
 benevolence of the Church, but our lives are expended for 
 but half of the result which might otherwise be secured. 
 Oh for the eloquence of a Duff to go through the length 
 and breadth of the land, to awaken the Church to her 
 duty, and, shall I say it, to her sin ! When the Church is 
 awakened, she has power to arouse the nation, to bring to 
 an end the curse of Africa. 
 
 In a communication to the Record 1 Mr. Anderson 
 observes : — 
 
 I see that Mr. Goldie's remarks 2 on the rum trade are 
 exciting interest. It is a favourable symptom that 
 attention is paid to such representations. When Mr. 
 Goldie mentioned " members of the Church," I do not 
 suppose that he meant members of the United Presbyterian 
 Church or of any particular denomination, but simply 
 men making a Christian profession. I do not know 
 that the Clyde steamers are greater sinners than their 
 sisterhood from the Mersey, but there can be no doubt 
 of the grand fact, that the strong drinks imported into this 
 country from England and Scotland (with a small quantity 
 from Holland) form one of the chief, if not the chief of the 
 instruments used by the Arch-Enemy for retarding or 
 preventing the civilisation and evangelisation of the people. 
 But for the British rum trade, I feel confident that long 
 ere now the native membership of the church at Duke 
 Town would have been reckoned by hundreds instead 
 of tens. 
 
 In his Journal, under date Aug. 24, 1870, Mr. Anderson 
 gives an account of a " surprise visit " to a native yard 
 where drinking was going on. The mingled humour and 
 pathos of the scene are vividly brought before us, and 
 Mr. Anderson's readiness of resource and tact in turning 
 
 1 Record, Dec. 1S69. 2 Record, Aug. 1869.
 
 A Tipsy Congregation 45 1 
 
 the pictorial tract into a text suitable for the occasion 
 cannot but win the admiration even of those who may not 
 like the sermon : — 
 
 At Edi'be-Ed'i'be, west, in my forenoon rounds, I had 
 what I do not think I ever had before — a tipsy congregation. 
 I entered a large yard unexpectedly, and beheld fourteen 
 or fifteen men, with two or three women, all in a state of 
 great excitement, gulping down rum — I think Glasgow- 
 made rum — with great avidity. When I appeared, jar 
 and glasses vanished in a twinkling ; and the headman 
 among them, whose religious susceptibilities seem to have 
 been deeply awakened by the drink, commanded order, 
 asked me if this was God's Sunday, furnished me with 
 two stools, one to be seat, the other to be table, and 
 requested me with shaky politeness to speak to them the 
 word of God. I made no allusion to their condition or to 
 what I had seen, but drew out of my pocket a few copies 
 of a pictorial tract entitled Drink and Death. The 
 illustration presented a view of a man discovered by his 
 friends lying either dead-drunk or drunk-dead, I can 
 hardly say which, for really I have not read the tract ; 
 and having given a copy each to a few of the more sober 
 members of the company who could read the picture, it 
 served me as a text from which to enforce " the present 
 truth," viz., that the drink which God provides — water — is 
 good for body, soul, estate ; and that the man-made 
 drink — rum — is ruinous to all three. Closed as usual 
 with invitation to all to come to church to hear the gospel. 
 
 A missionary looks at the drink traffic from a stand- 
 point different from that of the trader or the administrator ; 
 but by an inductive study of all the facts connected with 
 the drink traffic, I think it might be possible for missionary, 
 trader, and administrator to find common ground for 
 arriving at a solution of this difficult problem, which 
 affects so profoundly the civilisation or social well-being 
 as well as the evangelisation of native races.
 
 452 Old Calabar Period 
 
 The recent consular reports from West and East 
 Africa supply valuable data. In his first " Report on the 
 Administration of the Niger Coast Protectorate, Aug. 
 189] to Aug. 1S94" (Africa, No. I, 1895), Sir Claude 
 Macdonald refers to the evils which, he says, are "general 
 throughout the Protectorate," — cannibalism, twin murder, 
 sacrifice of wives and slaves on the death of a chief, the 
 poison ordeal, etc., many of which, in Old Calabar at least, 
 have been virtually put a stop to wherever mission stations 
 have been established for any length of time. But Sir 
 Claude thinks that " the strong arm of the law of civilisation 
 and right " is needed to " back up " the efforts of religious 
 missions, which, he allows, "have worked persistently and 
 well," in order to put down the evils "arising from the 
 predominant native belief that might is right." It is 
 curious to observe that both Consul-General and native 
 belief, though from different standpoints, identify might 
 or " the strong arm " with right ! Civilisation and 
 heathenism have thus one point of agreement in creed ! 
 
 I quote Sir Claude's own words on the drink 
 
 traffic : — 
 
 "The evils of the liquor traffic in West Africa have 
 been much spoken of, and the fact that the revenue of 
 this Protectorate, as well as that of all the West African 
 Colonies, is to a great extent dependent upon this traffic, 
 has been considerably commented upon. There is, how- 
 ever, something to be said on the other side. In the first 
 place it must be remembered that this liquor traffic has 
 formed a very considerable part of the import trade of 
 this part, at any rate, of the West Coast for upwards of a 
 century, and that to suddenly put a complete stop to it 
 would very seriously affect the entire conditions of trade, 
 if it did not paralyse them altogether, and would certainly 
 not assist the cause of temperance to an appreciable 
 degree ; for the natives manufacture a liquor from the
 
 Sir C. Macdonald on Drink Traffic 453 
 
 palm tree which is as potent, under certain conditions, of 
 fermentation as anything that has ever been imported into 
 the Protectorate. In the present conditions of trade it 
 would be impossible to substitute any other import duty 
 without altogether ruining the trade of the Protectorate. 
 It must be remembered that at present it is the liquor 
 traffic that supplies a revenue which enables the Adminis- 
 tration to deal with the many crying evils on which I 
 have touched but too lightly, as anyone who has dwelt 
 amidst them can testify. . . . 
 
 " From my own experience I can state that the African 
 native would certainly appear to be fully aware of the 
 advantages of temperance. 1 I have seen more drunken- 
 ness in some of the larger towns of Great Britain in the 
 course of one hour than I have in the eight years I have 
 been connected with Africa, East and West 2 ; this does 
 
 1 Sir Claude must have forgotten his experience of the chiefs of Ogrugu, 
 as narrated by his private secretary, Captain Mockler-Ferryman, in his 
 interesting and valuable account of Major Claude Macdonald's mission to the 
 Niger, etc., in 1889, entitled Up the Niger. It is worth quoting. "The 
 chiefs arrived soon after daylight on the following morning to get their 
 presents, and when they had received the usual donation of cloth, the old 
 headman thanked the Commissioner profusely, but said that he had forgotten 
 to give them any gin. The Commissioner replied that it was against the 
 principles of the British Government to encourage the drinking of spirits. 
 The chief, however, was not to be denied his drink thus easily, and, after 
 much coaxing, he and his men were allowed a glass all round to drink the 
 Queen's health. Better hands at tossing off a tumbler of neat gin I have 
 seldom seen" (pp. 231-2). In a footnote (p. 231) the writer says: "The 
 importation of cheap and vile spirits into the seaboard countries of the Niger 
 Protectorate has, for the past century or more, been the utter ruin of the 
 natives. Most of the people of the Delta have become confirmed drunkards, 
 and, as a consequence of intercourse with Europeans, have gone back instead 
 of advancing in the scale of civilisation. It would be unfair while on the 
 subject not to mention the philanthropic efforts of the Royal Niger Company 
 in abolishing the liquor traffic in their territories." Sir G. Taubman Goldie, 
 the Governor of the Company, has declared that there is no hope of the 
 civilisation of the natives unless the West African liquor traffic is totally 
 abolished. 
 
 2 To compare the drunkenness to be seen in towns in Great Britain with 
 that to be seen in African native towns is misleading, because the effects of 
 drinking in Great Britain are to be seen chiefly in the streets, whereas in
 
 454 ( >LD Calabar Period 
 
 not go to prove that the liquor traffic is anything but bad, 
 but the evils thereof, I would suggest, are exaggerated; 
 they are certainly not to be compared with those which 
 are being suppressed by the help of the money raised by 
 taxing the said traffic" (pp. 7 and 8). 1 
 
 Africa it is to be seen chiefly within the yards (or compounds), though, with 
 the progress of civilisation, as evidenced by the establishment of gin-shops 
 in Duke Town, the effects of drinking may now be seen in the streets. It is 
 the missionaries, who visit the yards, and take the drinkers by surprise as 
 Mr. Anderson did, and who are acquainted with the habits of the people in a 
 way that the consular agents do not have the same opportunity of becoming 
 acquainted with them, who can give the most reliable testimony to the 
 prevalence of drunkenness and to the quantities of drink, whether European 
 or native, drunk by individuals. See Bishop Tugwell's letter in the London 
 Times, May 4, 1895, in which he gives a few specimen facts out of instances 
 '• which would fdl columns of The Times were they at my disposal." 
 Governor Carter's reply does not disprove the Bishop's statements. It is 
 impossible within brief compass to give the Bishop's and the Governor's 
 facts, and the statements of such bodies as the African Trade Section of the 
 Liverpool Chamber of Commerce, and the Native Races and Liquor Traffic 
 United Committee. I can only refer those interested to the file of that in- 
 valuable paper, The African Times, which devotes considerable space to the 
 su'.ject, and, while impartially giving the views of all parties, favours what 
 makes for the welfare of the natives. Cf. Miss Kingsley's Art., f.n., p. 449. 
 
 In a recent interview with a correspondent of the Record (quoted in 
 African Tunes, Nov. 1896), Bishop Tugwell says of the Colony of Lagos : 
 " I feel that efforts ought to be made to restrict the importation of spirits, 
 especially in view of the opening up of the country by railways. In three 
 years' time we shall have a railway from Lagos, striking northwards through 
 the interior until it eventually joins the Niger ; and unless something is done 
 to prevent it . . . the traffic in spirits will increase enormously. It is often 
 said that the evil is exaggerated; that you will see more drunkenness in 
 Liverpool or London on one Saturday night than in a whole month in Lagos, 
 and so forth. Yes, that is true ; but you don't look for drunkenness in the 
 streets of African towns, save on the occasion of some feast ; people there 
 drink in their houses, and if the critics would inspect the compounds they 
 would tell a different tale. But we want to prevent the evil. The Africans 
 arc naturally a sober people, but they are becoming more drunken ; and if the 
 natives in the interior are to be saved, something must be done, and done 
 at once." 
 
 1 In Mr. (ioldie's last letter to me, dated May 30, 1895, ne savs :— " I 
 read with much interest your articles in The Woman's Signal (Ap. u, 18, 25, 
 1895, on 'The Drink Traffic in the Niger Territories'). They tell of what is 
 done beyond Calabar : and of the words you quote condemnatory of the drink 
 traffic, those of Sir Claude's private secretary [given in the preceding footnote]
 
 Sir C. Macdonald's Second Report 455 
 
 In his second Report, that for 1894-5 (Africa, No. 9, 
 1895), Sir Claude returns to the subject, and writes in a 
 tone more favourable to the abolition of the traffic : —   
 
 " Could the liquor traffic be entirely and immediately 
 done away with, and a sufficient revenue be obtained 
 from other sources, I for one would be very glad. This 
 much-to-be desired end is at present, and so far as this 
 Protectorate is concerned, I regret to say, not feasible. . . . 
 Were this spirit traffic a thing of yesterday it could be 
 stamped out in a day ; it has, unfortunately (together 
 with firearms), formed the staple import trade of these 
 regions for upwards of a century ; to endeavour to do 
 away with it by a stroke of the pen would, I submit, do 
 more harm than good, and defeat the aims of the 
 philanthropically inclined. To do away with it gradually 
 and by slow degrees is, I think, possible and preferable. 
 I may add that the importation of trade spirits for the 
 year 1894-95 shows a decrease when compared with 
 1893-94, of 836,817 gallons, representing a loss to the 
 revenue of £41,840, 17s." (p. 13). 
 
 This decrease, however, was due to special causes — to 
 a bad oil season, combined with universal slackness of 
 trade and the low prices of African produce, which 
 brought about a falling-off in both export and import 
 trade generally. But in the preceding years there was a 
 progressive increase. Gin (geneva) and rum are the 
 liquors most largely imported. The quantity of these 
 imported in the year ending July 31, 1892, was 1,350,75! 
 
 are the most severe. What Sir Claude states in his report is true ; but he 
 shows that it is nothing to the purpose, by confessing that the custom-house 
 dues, paid chiefly by strong drink, defray the cost of the government of the 
 Protectorate, and adopts the argument of those who defend the opium trathc, 
 ' We cannot do without the revenue it yields.' 
 
 " You suggest that we might take action here. At last Presbytery it was 
 agreed that a pamphlet [in Efik] be printed and circulated, giving the opinion 
 of travellers on the evil of the traffic, and the efforts some native tribes have 
 made for their own protection."
 
 456 Old Calabar Period 
 
 gallons ; March 31, 1893 (eight months), 1,371,517 gallons ; 
 and March 31, 1894 (twelve months), 2,609,158 gallons. 
 The Missionary Record (Oct. 1895, P- 2 7°") remarks: — 
 
 "The rapid increase in the quantity of ardent spirits 
 poured into the Protectorate is the chief feature of its 
 commerce. Is this the kind of protection which a British 
 Protectorate gives to the native races?" 
 
 The views of missionaries and administrators have 
 been given. It is desirable also to give the views of 
 merchants and traders engaged in the traffic. I take 
 from the report in the African Times of October 1895 the 
 remarks of a representative merchant, Mr. Ellis Edwards, 
 who presided at a meeting of the Liverpool Chamber of 
 Commerce on September 27. He said : — 
 
 " To my mind, the West African liquor traffic is a great 
 evil, but it is a most difficult matter to deal with. If the 
 British Government were alone on the West Coast of 
 Africa, questions of quality and supply could be easily 
 dealt with ; but this is not so. We have Germans on one 
 side and French on the other, and if we stop the importa- 
 tion of liquor into British colonies the bulk of our trade 
 will pass into the hands of other nations. The business, 
 as you know, is a peculiar one. A trader from the interior 
 demands an assortment of goods in exchange for his 
 produce, and if he cannot get spirits in such an assortment 
 in one place, he will go to another where he can. In the 
 event of such action, we should lose not only the trade 
 in liquor, but the whole of the produce, which our foreign 
 neighbour would get. In such circumstances, in many 
 places on the coast, our stores might as well be closed. 
 Some have suggested increased duties as a remedy, others 
 a Government monopoly; but neither of these, in my 
 view, would cure the evil. The only way of restricting the 
 traffic would be by an international agreement as to a 
 policy, in respect to dealing with liquor, which shall in- 
 clude France, Germany, Portugal, and the Congo Free
 
 Need for Stringent Measures 457 
 
 State. . . . Every unbiassed mind must admit that the 
 importation into West Africa of alcohol in large quantities 
 is calculated to have a most deteriorating influence upon 
 the natives, and that it is most desirable to prevent ex- 
 cessive consumption. . . . The disease is of long standing, 
 and a sudden change of policy might ruin the trade." 
 
 A Memorial : from the Native Races and Liquor Traffic 
 United Committee to the Colonial Secretary, dated March 
 14, 1896, urged the pressing need of the adoption of more 
 stringent measures for the prohibition or restriction of the 
 liquor traffic, and added : — 
 
 " While strongly in favour of total prohibition as being 
 the best and wisest course in the interests of the natives of 
 Africa, we are not unaware of the difficulties at present lying 
 in the way of legislation. We would call your attention 
 to the variety of duties imposed in these colonies, which 
 appears to us anomalous and without any apparent justi- 
 fication. The minimum duty imposed under the Brussels 
 Act is 6hd. per gallon, but in the various Crown Colonies 
 and Protectorates on the West Coast this sum has been 
 increased to sums varying from is. to 3s. per gallon. In 
 Great Britain, it should be remembered, the duty is 
 10s. 6d. per gallon. We believe, and in this opinion we 
 are supported by experts, that even the highest of these 
 duties is inadequate to restrict the traffic materially. We 
 would therefore strongly urge that there should be a con- 
 stantly increasing duty, commencing at not less than 4s. 
 per gallon, and that the duty should be uniform in all the 
 Crown Colonies and Protectorates of the West Coast." 
 The memorialists further called attention to the resolution, 
 passed at the Congress of the International Law Association, 
 held in Brussels last year, appealing to the several 
 European Powers interested in Africa, to take such action 
 as would secure enforcement and adequate extension of the 
 principle established in the Brussels General Act of 1890— 
 91. The co-operation of other Powers — notably France 
 and Germany, portions of whose territories intersected the 
 1 See African Times, May 1896.
 
 458 ( >ld Calabar Period 
 
 British territories — was desirable, and the Committee there- 
 fore ventured to impress the importance of joint action for 
 the imposition of the higher duty recommended. Should all 
 efforts to obtain such co-operation prove unsuccessful, the 
 mmittee asked that II.M.'s Government should take the 
 initiative in the British Crown Colonies and Protectorates, 
 and reminded the Secretary of State that in some cases 
 the appeal for prohibition and restriction came from the 
 natives themselves. Mr. Chamberlain replied on April 17, 
 "that H.M.'s Government are quite ready to agree to the 
 imposition of higher duties, but that no satisfactory settle- 
 ment ... is possible, unless the French and German 
 Governments are also willing to increase the duties in 
 their possessions to the same extent. H.M.'s Government 
 are in communication with the French and German 
 Governments, . . . but no agreement has yet been 
 arrived at." 
 
 I shall conclude with a quotation from a remarkable 
 article on "The Liquor Trade with West African Natives," 
 in the African Times for April 1895. The Times is a 
 commercial and trading chronicle, and in no way identi- 
 fied with temperance reform, so that its testimony is all 
 the more striking: — 
 
 " '['here is no doubt in the minds of experienced and 
 practical men that the supply of intoxicating liquor to the 
 native races is equivalent to the demoralisation and de- 
 gradation of the races concerned, and that the first 
 condition of progress is to keep alcohol out of their reach. 1 
 
 1 In his interesting address on "Britain's Work in Central Africa," on 
 Dec. 8, 1896, Sir II. II. Johnston sounds a dissentient note: — "Although I 
 am almost fanatical in my advocation of the white man's abstaining from 
 alcoholic stimulants in tropical countries, I do not range myself among those 
 who assert that great harm has been done in West Africa or in South Africa by 
 the liquor traffic. ... I hold the opinion, strangely enough, that although 
 alcohol is most harmful to the white man, it is in small doses actually beneficial 
 to the negro, if he inhabits hot, low-lying districts of a malarial nature. In 
 tr>i'ical America, I believe, the negroes have almost unrestricted access to 
 alcoholic stimulants without any ill results. On the West Coast of Africa and
 
 Prohibition Necessary 459 
 
 This is not a temperance fad or a philanthropic counsel of 
 perfection. It is the judgment of unromantic men of 
 business, that an essential preliminary to successful ad- 
 ministration is to prevent the supply of spirits to the 
 natives. A century ago, Adam Smith wrote of the trade 
 in rum which the American Colonies carried on with the 
 Coast of Africa, ' whence they bring back negro slaves in 
 return.' The conscience of the world has since been so 
 far aroused that the return cargo of those days is no longer 
 possible. It is but a step further to realise the fact that to 
 sell a man to a master who has a commercial interest in 
 
 in certain parts of South Africa, I understand it is the same ; yet who can with 
 truth assert that any of these black races have been injured thereby? Where 
 can you find finer physical specimens of humanity than the Kruboys of West 
 Africa or the Kaffirs of Natal ? Strange to say, from my own experience, 
 drunkenness among the negroes along the West Coast, where we hear of 
 millions of gallons of spirits being imported, is a much less common incident 
 than in the Protectorate of British Central Africa, where we so rigidly control 
 the importation and sale of alcohol, that I may safely assert the negro inhabit- 
 ants of this Protectorate get no strong waters from the white man." The 
 Scotsman, Dec. 9, remarks: "He (Sir II. H. J.) has a large body of 
 opinion, including the opinions of African explorers and administrators, 
 adverse to his view that the liquor traffic has not been a serious source of 
 harm to the black races of West and South Africa." " F. R.G.S. Scot.," in 
 Scotsman, Dec. 12, writes: "The Krumen I know little of, but the Natal 
 Kaffirs I do know, and, admitting his fine physique, I say that it is mainly 
 due to his forced abstinence from alcoholic stimulants. ... In the malarial 
 districts of Portuguese tropical Africa I found the natives to be, almost with- 
 out exception, more weakly and less finely developed than in the southern 
 countries, and in these places the Portuguese place practically no restriction 
 on the sale of drink." With regard to the Kruboys, of whom I have some 
 personal knowledge, it is misleading to class them with the habitual dwellers 
 in "hot, low-lying districts of a malarial nature." So much of their time is 
 spent in their canoes on the water, or working cargo on board vessels trading on 
 the coast and at trading beaches, that their manner of life is entirely different 
 from those who dwell in the lagoons, or amid the mangrove swamps of the 
 delta of the Niger, or even the estuary of the Old Calabar River. Their 
 manner of life is as different from the other West African river and coast 
 tribes as that of the fishermen on our Scottish coasts from that of salmon- 
 fishers in our rivers. The Kruboys do not need drink to improve their 
 physique, which is magnificent ; and whatever be their drinking habits, which 
 depends very much on their opportunities or temptations, I have found the 
 Kruboys employed by our Mission temperate, as a rule, both in eating and 
 drinking.
 
 460 Old Calabar Period 
 
 taking care of him, and who may be even kind, is fraught 
 with consequences less terrible than to sell him to the 
 domination of his own drunkenness, which in the case of 
 the negro is surely merciless " (p. 54). 
 
 The facts and opinions which have been given form 
 only a small contribution to that inductive and historical 
 study of a difficult problem which appears to me to be 
 necessary. The missionary, the trader, the administrator, 
 the politician, and the philanthropist have all a right to be 
 heard, and, by carefully sifting the facts and opinions 
 brought forward by all, it will, I think, be possible to 
 arrive at the truth of the matter, and by and by reach a 
 satisfactory solution of the problem. There is already a con- 
 siderable consensus of opinion as to the need for restriction 
 in the interests of the natives as traders, and in the interest 
 of other trades, such as the cotton and the hardware trade. 
 A consensus of opinion in the interest of the natives as 
 human beings, and in the interest of their social, moral, and 
 spiritual welfare, is still more desirable, and is, I am 
 persuaded, on the increase.
 
 CHAPTER XXII 
 
 Customs New and Old— The Year of Losses, 1870 
 
 Old customs were dying hard, and new ones were 
 being established with difficulty. The visit of Consul 
 Livingstone in the end of 1869 helped the reform move- 
 ment of the women, but " ikpos," or devil-making, still 
 continued to be kept up, and " big days " to be engaged in. 
 
 Sabbath, July 25, 1869. — The mail steamers seem 
 destined to distract us a good deal Sabbath after Sabbath. 
 The Lagos, however, brought Mr. Lewis to us ; which we 
 felt to be a sort of compensation for the discomposure 
 caused by her arrival. 
 
 Sabbath, August 1. — Usual meetings and attendance. 
 Mr. Lewis concluded the native forenoon service, and 
 showed that he had not forgot his Efik amid his 
 multifarious studies and engagements at home. He 
 conducted the English service, and gave us a very 
 suitable discourse. 
 
 Friday, 13. — An Egbo proclamation made to-day in 
 regard to the widows of the town. The "two or three 
 weeks " specified by King Archibong in January as the 
 time after which they should all be set at liberty, have not 
 yet (it seems) elapsed. They are to be kept under more 
 restraint than ever, and are not to leave their places of 
 imprisonment under pain of death. 
 
 Friday, Sept. 10. — In my visitations to-day at what we 
 call Bassy Henshaw's Town, fell in with rather an unusual 
 spectacle among the native population, viz., a mother 
 surrounded by six of her children. She sent for her hus- 
 band soon after I entered, or rather, had seated myself 
 on a stool by the doorway, and I had a long crack with the 
 
 461
 
 462 ( )ld Calabar Period 
 
 family. I found that the couple had had eight children, 
 and that two of these had died in infancy. This led me 
 to speak of the world to which their two little ones had 
 gone, of the Great Shepherd who gathers the lambs in His 
 arms and carries them in His bosom, and of what they, 
 the parents and the other children, must do if they wished 
 to get to that " fine country." 
 
 Tuesday, Nov. 9. — Her Majesty's ship Growler ^ with 
 Her Majesty's Consul on board, arrived. We trust that 
 something will be done, or at least spoken, now in behalf 
 of our refugees, and on behalf of main- still kept as 
 prisoners in the house of the dead. 
 
 Thursday, 1 I. — Consul Livingstone called a general 
 meeting of natives, missionaries, and merchants at King 
 Archibong's this morning, for the discussion of various 
 points on which he supposed we were all interested. The 
 Consul spoke well on two very important matters closely 
 connected with the progress of the people: 1st, The evils 
 of devil-making, including the barbarity of compelling 
 widows to continue for years as prisoners, amidst dis- 
 comfort and filth ; and 2nd, the propriety of women going 
 decently dressed to market and to church. He enlarged 
 on both points very well. The great body of the natives 
 present were of one mind with the Consul on both points. 
 King Archibong got very furious with me, as he considered 
 me the instigator of .all the agitation made for changes in 
 their "country fashion." He charged me with being a 
 great harbourer of runaways, which is in a sense true ; but 
 he wished it to appear that I am in the habit of sheltering 
 bad slaves, i.e. criminals. This led me to challenge King 
 A. and all his supporters to name a single criminal whom 
 I had ever refused to give up to the authorities of the 
 country when required to do so. To this challenge there 
 was not the slightest response. As the Consul's speech 
 was not generally understood, Mr. Goldie generously 
 relieved me of a difficulty by getting up and delivering, in 
 Efik, an excellent address against devil-making, and some 
 other evils, of which the Consul's statements and counsels 
 were used only as a groundwork. 
 
 In regard to the dress-wearing, King Archibong asked 
 me rather sharply if I had ever known of him preventing
 
 Permission to Wear a Gown at Church 463 
 
 any woman from wearing a gown at church on Sunday. I 
 was thankful to be able to answer, " No, King Archibong, 
 I have never heard that you did so ; but I know that your 
 laws and customs are such that many women are afraid to 
 put on gowns lest you make palaver with them." King 
 Archibong responded, to the great joy of multitudes of 
 listeners who were deeply interested in the matter, that 
 " there is nothing to hinder any woman from wearing a 
 gown on Sunday from her house to church, and from 
 church to her own house." 
 
 This permission does not extend to the wearing of 
 dresses at all times and everywhere, but it is a permission 
 which will doubtless become expansive ; and as it is a 
 step in the right direction, we are grateful for it. Good 
 will result from this day's palaver. 
 
 Saturday, 13. — Two of the "princes," as agents for 
 King A., were early at us this morning with a message to 
 this effect : " That King A. wishes to be good friends 
 with me and all the Mission ; and that there is only 
 one thing makes him vexed with me, viz., that I do not 
 always report to him when runaways come to me, and 
 that I have allowed some of the runaway widows to get 
 to Fernando Po." 
 
 I associated Mr. Lewis with me in the negotiations 
 with the young men. The following extracts from docu- 
 ments which we exchanged will indicate the results: — 
 
 Mission House, Nov. 13, 1869. 
 
 King Archibong's word sent to us this morning by P. D. and 
 
 P. E. is very good, and we agree to it. It is the old bargain 
 
 between town and Mission. When any slave runs away and comes 
 
 to mission-house, then the missionary must tell either the slave's 
 
 master, or, if he do not know who is his master, he must tell the 
 
 king, and hear what both parties have to say ; and when palaver is 
 
 set, he must send slave back, unless the master want to punish him 
 
 for nothing. 
 
 Wm. Anderson. 
 
 D. E. Lewis. 
 
 King Archibong II. promises that, in the event of those widows 
 now in Fernando Po returning to Old Calabar, no palaver shall be 
 made with them on account of leaving their husband's house or the
 
 464 Old Calabar Period 
 
 country, hut that lie will protect them from any native whomsoever, 
 and that they shall not he prohibited or prevented from attending 
 divine service in decent apparel every Sabbath. W. Anderson and 
 I). E. Lewis promise, on behalf of the Mission, to do what they can 
 to induce the widows to return to Calabar, and to place themselves 
 under King Archibong's protection. 
 
 P. 1). w.m. Anderson. 
 
 P. E. D. E. Lewis. 
 
 Pro King Archibong II. 
 
 In the evening I called on the king for the first time 
 for many months. He was quite pleasant, but I eschewed 
 politics. 
 
 Friday, 19. — Rains now over. Roads dry and pleasant, 
 and weather not yet too hot ; so I spent above four hours 
 in the forenoon in visiting the little villages or settlements 
 on the south side of Henshaw Town. The whole district 
 is very beautiful, but I have not yet discovered anything 
 like a town in it. It occurs to me, however, that these 
 beautiful roads are not kept clear for nothing, or even for 
 a small thing. Therefore have resolved to traverse them 
 as completely as possible during the present season. 
 
 Saturday \ Dec. 4. — Usual walk round town to announce 
 the Sabbath. The cloud which has long been gathering 
 seems ready to break. The great devil-making for the 
 king's brother Eyo — who died, I think, five or six years 
 ago — is to be begun in earnest to-morrow. Saw King 
 Archibong, and expressed to him my regret that the 
 affair was to begin on a Sabbath. He seemed very 
 cordial — assured me that he was very sorry for that him- 
 self — and explained that as to-morrow is the day of the 
 Calabar week nearest the new moon, on which ikpos for 
 men must necessarily begin, he could not help it ; but he 
 gave me his promise that while the ikpo continues, what- 
 ever may be going on in town, — I understand him to 
 mean that even should Egbo be running, — nothing shall 
 be allowed to prevent any man or woman from coming 
 to church who may be disposed to do so. I expressed 
 my thankfulness for this assurance ; for, if honestly meant, 
 it will lead to a great improvement on old times, when no 
 woman dared appear on the street, and our only Sabbath 
 congregation consisted of a few men and trembling boys.
 
 A Congregation of Native Women 465 
 
 Sabbath, 5. — Aroused early by an immense firing of 
 cannon. Alas ! our British men-of-war have taught the 
 people that there is no evil in firing guns on the sacred 
 day. Brilliant flags are fluttering everywhere throughout 
 the town. We have had our usual services ; but more, we 
 have had the usual attendance, with this happy difference, 
 that the majority present to-day has been composed of 
 women — native women ! This is a great improvement on 
 bygone days. 
 
 Sabbath, 12. — Again usual services and attendance, 
 and again the majority women. Between services — from 
 9.30 till 1.30— spent over at Bassy Henshaw's Town. A 
 few boys were with me, and, aided by them, I went into 
 every accessible quarter where human beings were to be 
 found, uttered a few of the most important truths of the 
 gospel, and offered a brief prayer. Was rather surprised 
 when, at the close, my young lads informed me from their 
 jottings that we had been in twenty-one places, and that 
 our auditors, " not counting any twice over," had been 
 378. The town and suburbs are literally crammed at 
 present with people from all the surrounding quarters, 
 who have come either to make or see the ikpo. 
 
 Thursday, 16. — To-morrow being a big Egbo day, I 
 gave our young people their Christmas holidays a day 
 earlier than was purposed. Very poor this time in the 
 prize line — no books, no pictures, no toys, no dresses. I 
 made a distribution of a few of our fine new native books 
 to a number of the most deserving. Distributed also a 
 few fish-hooks and teaspoons. 
 
 Saturday, 18. — According to the days of the Calabar 
 week, one of the biggest plays of the occasion fell to be 
 held to-morrow, but feel grateful that King Archibong 
 has been prevailed on by Europeans and natives to post- 
 pone it till Monday. To show our appreciation of this 
 concession, the most of the Europeans gratified the 
 native gentlemen this evening by becoming for a while 
 spectators of their exhibition. The crowd itself, which 
 could hardly be below 8000, was to me a most interest- 
 ing and affecting spectacle. Time after time I sighed 
 out to those near me, " Oh to have all these to preach to 
 to-morrow !" 
 
 3°
 
 466 Old Calabar Period 
 
 Sabbath, 19. — Attendance not so good to-day. Symp- 
 toms of exhaustion seem visible everywhere. There has 
 been a very large amount of drinking, though I have not 
 seen a single person drunk. Drinking, dancing, whirling, 
 night-watching, and excitement, are now in the case of 
 multitudes succeeded by great languor. I have never 
 seen such a sleepy congregation in Calabar as I had this 
 morning, and I told them so. 
 
 Monday, 20. — With most of the Europeans near, went 
 this evening to see the play which was postponed 
 from yesterday. There was a splendid display of 
 silk, beads, ribbons, and large parti-coloured umbrellas. 
 We felt it but right to countenance their harmless tom- 
 foolery by looking at it for a little — on this ground : They 
 had done what they considered a great thing to please us ; 
 why should we not do what we consider a very small 
 thing in order to please them ? 
 
 Thursday, 23. — Great women's dance to-day. The 
 burden of the affair seems now to be over. Matters have 
 been more comfortable during its progress than we could 
 at one time have expected. King Archibong has in this 
 matter kept his promise, for I have not heard of either 
 man or woman being' kept from church or prayer meeting 
 since its commencement. 
 
 Friday, 31. — The great devil-making only terminated 
 two days ago. Another affair of the kind begins to-day, 
 viz., that for the king's son Efium, who was, while he 
 lived, one of the very best of our schoolboys. His ikpo, 
 however, will be but a small affair. During the late cele- 
 bration we were teased time after time by reports of 
 persons being killed for the dead. On one occasion it 
 was confidently reported that the representatives of an 
 Ibo tribe were in the town, who refused to eat any flesh 
 save human, and that King Archibong had actually given 
 them a man to eat. The river gentlemen as well as 
 myself have made all diligent inquiry into the matter, but 
 we have not discovered any foundation for the report. 
 The Duke Town gentlemen deny that the king had done 
 what was imputed to him ; but, unhappily, the humanity 
 and veracity of a number of them are pretty much on a 
 par — neither the one nor the other being absolutely
 
 Ephraim Duke a Victim of Rum 467 
 
 beyond suspicion ; so that such stories, even when they 
 cannot be proved, cause us a good deal of painful solici- 
 tude. . . . 
 
 1869 is fast passing away. Oh that to-morrow may 
 introduce the best New Year that Calabar has ever seen ! 
 Of 1870 may it be recorded in the annals of eternity, in 
 regard to every station and every preaching-place in the 
 whole land, and that in reference to multitudes, "This 
 man and that man were born then, this man and that man 
 were born there ! Amen." 
 
 The year 1870 opened hopefully. One new ordained 
 agent — the Rev. John Granger — was added to the staff, 
 and left for Calabar on March 4. But ere the end of the 
 year he and Messrs. Timson and Lewis died, and the 
 losses " created a crisis in the history of the Mission." 
 
 Monday, Jan. 3. — Resumed school to-day, after a fort- 
 night's vacation. Most of our young people here dislike 
 vacations. 
 
 Sabbath, 9. — Thirty years have passed away since I 
 first addressed a black congregation. I find that during 
 these long years I have discovered nothing more inter- 
 esting to myself, or to those who have heard me, than the 
 simple truths of the grand old gospel. I felt a favourite — - 
 " Choose ye this day whom ye will serve " — as new and 
 refreshing to my own mind to-day, and also to my 
 Calabar congregation, as it was to me, and appeared to 
 be to a Jamaica congregation, in January 1840. 
 
 Friday, 28. — Ephraim Duke, who has been one of the 
 leading men of the town for twenty years, died this 
 morning — another victim of rum. 
 
 Saturday, 29. — Round town as usual afternoon. Found 
 a number of the people solemnised on account of the death 
 of Ephraim Duke. Some of his boon companions look 
 grave, admit that drink killed him, and forthwith go to 
 the rum bottle for consolation. Many, many a Sabbath 
 has the word been preached to Ephraim in his own 
 house. In one respect he was better than his neigh-
 
 46S Oli» Calabar Period 
 
 1h mi's, for he generally summoned his wives to hear along 
 with himself; but, alas! the word never seemed to profit 
 him. 
 
 Sabbath, 30. — After forenoon service in church, went 
 to Edi'bc-Edi'be (north) and 1 Ienshaw Town. Met about 
 forty people in all, to whom I spoke of guilt and mere}'. 
 Fell in with one woman, very sick ; but, to my delight, 
 found that her mind was pretty well stored with gospel 
 truth, and that she seemed to be leaning on the one 
 Saviour as her support in the day of trouble. She had 
 been for some time, unobserved by me, an attender at our 
 town meetings, and had also learned a good deal from 
 Mrs. Sutherland. I 'could not well explain why I walked 
 out to that quarter to-day till I saw this poor sick 
 woman ; but when I left her I could say to the youth 
 who accompanied me, " It must have been the Holy 
 Spirit who moved me to come here to-day, that I might 
 do a little good to this woman, and get a little good from 
 her." I remembered that it is written, " In the morning 
 sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thy 
 hand." 
 
 Monday, Feb. 7. — Delighted to-day by a visit from 
 Bishop Crowther and Rev. Mr. Caiger from Sierra 
 Leone. 
 
 Sabbath, 13. — Mr. Caiger preached in the afternoon 
 to the English congregation. This enabled me to go 
 over the creek at midday, when I called at twenty-three 
 houses, and had a little serious talk with about 180 
 persons. 
 
 Friday, 25. — Out among the farms of Efut and Edi'be- 
 Ed'ibe about, seven hours to-day. I find no towns or even 
 villages in the district, but am glad to see that there is a 
 desire on the part of many to have a schoolroom and a 
 teacher within an easy distance from their dwellings. A 
 zvorker might do well in such a locality. To a drone it 
 would be quite an elysium. 
 
 Tuesday, MairJi 1. — At Henshaw Town forenoon. 
 Sorry to see a great devil-making being carried on for 
 our late church member, John Sago. I could assure his 
 mother, his sister, and his widow, that if John were 
 only allowed to come and speak to them he would at
 
 ( I 
 
 God says, Thou shalt not Kill" 469 
 
 once put a stop to all their nonsense. But, " It be we 
 fashion." 
 
 Sabbath, 6. — King Archibong and several of his friends 
 attended church to-day— the first time for years. It was 
 his violation of the Sixth Commandment which led to a 
 rupture of the friendly relations which had subsisted 
 between him and me. I could not help regarding it 
 as a coincidence, that, owing to his entrance while the con- 
 gregation were repeating the Moral Law, the first salutation 
 he heard from 250 voices, after taking his seat, was, " God 
 says, Thou shalt not kill." He and his friends were very 
 attentive during the whole of the services, especially 
 during the dispensing of baptism, which was a new thing 
 to them. 
 
 Tuesday, April 5. — Glad to welcome a new brother — 
 Rev. Mr. Granger — to this field of labour. 
 
 Sabbath, 10. — The twenty-fourth anniversary of the 
 arrival of the Mission. Preached in Efik, forenoon, from 
 Isaiah xxi. 10, on what I represented as the motto of 
 Christian minister or missionary : " That which I have 
 heard of the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, have I 
 declared unto you." I gave a brief account of the origin 
 and early days of the Mission. Glad that King Archibong 
 was present (for the fifth Sabbath morning, with the 
 exception of one day, when he was sick) and heard what 
 I had to say on the matter. I could ask all present, with 
 a good conscience, if we in the Mission had not made it 
 our great and constant endeavour to prevail on all in the 
 country to hear and obey the word of the Lord of hosts, 
 the God of Israel. Mr. Granger, who had newly arrived, 
 preached a capital sermon in the evening from that other 
 motto, " For me to live is Christ." Glad that we had 
 what we consider a good turn-out of Europeans. They 
 seem to share with me the opinion that in Mr. Granger 
 we have " the right man in the right place." 
 
 Tuesday, May 10. — On an exploring expedition in the 
 Efut quarter from 8.30 A.M. till 2 P.M. Fell in with 
 several settlements, the inhabitants of which seem 
 delighted by a first visit from a white man. 
 
 Thursday, 12. — Our preparatory meeting for Com- 
 munion on Sabbath. Dr. Robb and Mr. Edgerley
 
 470 Old Calabar Period 
 
 happening to be "within the bounds," kindly took part in 
 the service. 
 
 Tuesday, 17. — Somewhat amused while on a visit this 
 forenoon to Henshaw Town. I observed that our little 
 friend, who glories in the appellation of Captain Duke, 
 had procured a pair of smith's bellows and a large assort- 
 ment of blacksmith's tools, and I asked him what he meant 
 to do with them, seeing that there was no smith at hand. 
 He replied quite coolly, " Oh, I done send to Enydng to 
 buy one blacksmith " ! The artisans of our native land 
 may well be grateful that, whatever other hardships they 
 may be called on now and then to endure, they are not 
 liable to be sold or bought in any other way than by 
 voluntary, temporary contract, and that, too, only in 
 reference to their work, not in reference to body and 
 soul. 
 
 Wednesday, 18. — Must plead guilty of being "an ob- 
 server- of times." Remembering to-day that twenty-two 
 years have elapsed since we left our mountain home in 
 Jamaica. While feeling quite at home in Africa, and 
 willing to spend and be spent for the benefit of those 
 around us, we often think and speak of the Gem of the 
 Caribbean, its lofty mountains and luxuriant valleys, its 
 glorious sunrisings and sunsets, its crowded sanctuaries 
 and hallowed Sabbaths. Our last look at Rose Hill 
 church through tear-bedimmed eyes from the road on 
 Woodside Hill, and the weeping company of old and 
 young who travelled with us from our little manse to Port 
 Maria, on the 1 8th of May 1848, are still fondly remem- 
 bered by us. 
 
 On June 10 Mr. Timson died of pleurisy at Ikoneto, 
 after twelve years' service in Calabar. 
 
 Saturday, June 1 1 . — We were startled shortly after the 
 hour of noon by the intelligence of the death of Mr. Tim- 
 son. He left this place last Saturday to all appearance in 
 his usual state of health, and this afternoon he is in his 
 grave ! 
 
 Monday, 20.— Held our English prayer meeting this 
 evening, on account of Messrs. Granger and Lewis being
 
 The Year of Losses 471 
 
 about to leave this station — Mr. Granger 1 for Ikoneto, 
 Mr. Lewis 2 for Old Town. 
 
 Monday, July n. — Resumed school-work, after a fort- 
 night's vacation, under a new arrangement. At a station 
 like this, with (it is supposed) about 6000 people in our 
 immediate neighbourhood, it would be well that at least 
 one active, enterprising, well-trained European teacher, 
 willing to devote all his time and energies to school-work, 
 be permanently stationed. The missionary, when there is 
 but one, would find the other work of the station sufficient for 
 all the time and strength he can devote to it. As matters 
 are, we must just do the best we can ; and our new arrange- 
 ment is, that William Cobham take charge of the school 
 
 1 Mr. Granger died at Ikoneto of fever on December 9, 1870. 
 
 2 Mr. Lewis died on August 9. Mr. Anderson wrote of him in a letter 
 dated August 15, 1870 : " Our departed brother came to Old Calabar for the 
 first time early in 1865, and spent three years here. He then went home for 
 the double purpose of recruiting the bodily frame and prosecuting his studies 
 with a view to ordination. He returned to us in the end of July last year, 
 and was associated with me at this station till the third week of June, when 
 he left Duke Town for the purpose of occupying Old Town, left vacant of 
 Europeans by the departure for home of Dr. and Mrs. Robertson. When 
 his removal to Old Town was first mooted, I was disposed to object to the 
 measure ; but as soon as I saw that he expected ordination on going to that 
 station, and that he considered his declining to go thither would be equivalent 
 to an indefinite postponement of his ordination, I dropped all objection, and 
 did what I could to forward his views." 
 
 Mr. Goldie wrote: "He was a man of much energy and life, giving 
 himself earnestly to his duties, and at the same time diligent in his studies 
 here and during his furlough at home, with a view to ordination. Of late he 
 had an addition to all this. He expected Mrs. Lewis to join him with their 
 youngest child, and set himself industriously to repair, with the aid of a car- 
 penter, a house at Duke Town, so as to commence housekeeping when she 
 came. This he had got accomplished when Dr. Robertson's leaving for home 
 called him to Old Town, and he immediately set-to to put the house in order 
 there. I have no doubt that these labours induced sickness, which has had 
 the sad result we now lament, and which furnishes a warning. Mr. Z. Baillie 
 laboured diligently in manufacturing bricks, and in building a church and 
 dwelling-house, and when he had finished them went home to die. Mr. 
 Timson had just got into his new house at Ikoneto, in the building of which 
 ... he had necessarily much labour and harassment, when disease laid hold 
 on him, which speedily issued in death. All victims to overwork." — Record, 
 November 1870.
 
 4;2 Old Calabar Period 
 
 a.m., while I attend to household visitation and other work ; 
 and that I take the school P.M., while William officiates as 
 a Scripture reader in town and elsewhere. 
 
 Saturday, 1 6.— A long conversation with King Archi- 
 bong, during which I made a strong remonstrance in regard 
 to Egbo being abroad on Sabbath. He reiterated his 
 assurances that no Egbo runner would molest any person, 
 man or woman, on the way to or from church on God's 
 day. " But when they hear the Egbo bell, they are afraid 
 to venture out ; and how are they to know that they will 
 not be molested, unless they have your promise made to 
 them on the subject? " No reply. "The best thing you 
 can do is to stop all Egbo proceedings on God's holy 
 day." 
 
 Monday, August 8. — A sad bereavement to-day. Mr. 
 Lewis died at Creek Town about 12.30 P.M. He meant 
 to come here for a change on Friday last, but was pre- 
 vented by the delay of the boat in which he was to come 
 down the river. But for this delay, his last days would 
 have been spent — where the most of his time in Calabar 
 lias been spent — with us at Duke Town. He is greatly 
 lamented by the people here, especially by the invalids, 
 as he has done a good deal in the doctoring line lately. 
 
 Sabbath, 14. — Both a.m. and p.m. endeavoured to im- 
 prove the departure of Mr. Lewis. Intimated that I 
 looked on Mr. Lewis's death as a trumpet-call to all the 
 young men to prepare for their change. " We old men may 
 be called on to bury a number of you youngsters ere our 
 time come. European attendance good, and a great im- 
 ] irovement in the river. No work going on, though a steamer 
 here. The steamer's captain and several of his officers and 
 men worshipped with us. This is as it should be. 
 
 In a letter dated August 15, 1S70, Mr. Anderson records 
 the death of Mr. D. E. Lewis, and then goes on to say :— 
 
 The question will force itself on my attention, What 
 effect is likely to be produced on the minds of the young 
 men of the Church by our repeated bereavements ? I 
 cannot help fearing that in the case of some the effect will 
 be injurious. I do fear that the deaths of our junior
 
 Shall Losses Damp Missionary Zeal? 473 
 
 brethren will have a tendency to damp the missionary 
 zeal of some of both students and preachers, who, had our 
 clime been notably healthy, would have been disposed to 
 cast in their lot with us. But this ought not to be the 
 case. The things that have befallen us should, I think, 
 rather fire young men of holy zeal and generous aspira- 
 tions, and impel them to rush to the rescue. It would be 
 a grand triumph for Satan were the evil spirits who hover 
 around 5 Queen Street, especially during this month and 
 the next, able to report in Pandemonium that they had 
 played their cards so well that not a student or a preacher 
 of the United Presbyterian Church will venture forth to be 
 " baptized for the dead " in Old Calabar. How gratifying 
 to the Arch-Enemy to learn from his subtle emissaries that 
 they had thoroughly frightened Mr. A., who had repeatedly 
 on his knees vowed to devote himself to the work of the 
 Lord in Old Calabar as a missionary ; and Mr. B., who 
 once purposed to go there as a doctor ; and Mr. C, who 
 had once resolved to offer his services to the Mission as a 
 teacher and evangelist ! But I hope and trust that there are 
 among your young men right noble and heroic spirits, who 
 will not allow themselves to be made the laughing-stocks 
 of the devils — that there are Messrs. D. and E. and F. and 
 G., of whom the tempters will be constrained to confess 
 that they can make nothing,seeing that they are as stubborn 
 and mulish as the veteran who hailed of old from Tarsus 
 in Cilicia ; who have imbibed so much of his spirit, that 
 they are actually declaring to all who would dissuade 
 them from their purpose, " We are ready, not only to 
 suffer, but to die in Calabar, for the name of the Lord 
 Jesus." Should not this be the spirit of every soldier of 
 the cross ? 
 
 Did any of Havelock's Own falter when led on to the 
 rescue of countrymen and countrywomen in Lucknow ? 
 Did that noble man, James Braidwood, captain of the Lon- 
 don Fire Brigade, shrink from effort because firemen had 
 fallen at their post on previous occasions? Did any of the 
 Light Brigade— the immortal Six Hundred — flinch when 
 the trumpet summoned them "to the charge"? Did life- 
 boat crew ever turn a deaf ear to the strain, " Man the life- 
 boat " ?
 
 474 Old Calabar Period 
 
 And shall the cadets of the army of the Captain of 
 salvation remain unmoved, when from the graves of 
 departed comrades the cry is shouted by comrades worn 
 and \\ear\', " Come over and help us"? 
 
 Y"ears have passed away since I read with deep interest 
 the graphic account given in the newspapers of the pre- 
 sentation by the Queen in person of the Crimean medals 
 to the heroes who had returned from the scenes of conflict 
 and of victory. The question occurred to me at the time 
 — it has often occurred to me since — Did any of these 
 brave men on that great day, when — in the presence of 
 masses of the population, including princes and princesses 
 of the blood, the elite of Britain's nobles and legislators, 
 and multitudes of young soldiers who had never "seen 
 service" — they received from Her Majesty's own hand 
 their well-earned decorations, express or feel anything 
 like regret for having fought and bled for their country 
 and their Queen ? I trow not. Another scene opens 
 on the view — a greater day, a greater assemblage, a greater 
 Sovereign — and on that day, " when the King comes in 
 His glory, seated upon the throne of His glory, and all 
 the holy angels with Him," with the crown of righteous- 
 ness to bestow upon all His faithful followers, will there 
 be a single feeling of regret in the minds of any of His 
 servants, soldiers, missionaries, or martyrs, because they 
 have done too much or suffered too much for Him ? I 
 feel convinced that, if it be possible for any painful feeling 
 to enter into the hearts of any of the human inhabitants 
 of the world of glory, the only reason of its existence would 
 be that the subject of it had done so little, expended so 
 little, endured so little, for the sake of Him who sits in the 
 midst of the throne. 
 
 I borrow a sentiment from a Jamaica brother, greatly 
 beloved : " Crowns, immortal crowns, are to gained here" — 
 in Old Calabar. Let not those who might be — who should 
 be — candidates for the golden honours throw their oppor- 
 tunity lightly away. 
 
 < hir bereaved sister, Mrs. Lewis, who arrived yesterday, 
 August 23, in the mail steamer, and who considers the 
 best thing she can do is to return home by the same 
 steamer, came to spend the afternoon with us. Our
 
 Dr. MacGill on the Losses 475 
 
 evening prayer meeting was held with special reference to 
 her and her little ones. Mr. Edgerley and Mr. Burnett 
 (Primitive Wesleyan brother from Fernando Po) took 
 part in the service. 
 
 Friday, 26. — As the Mandingo did not leave till 3 P.M. 
 to-day, we have had the pleasure — though pleasure tinged 
 with sadness — of Mrs. Lewis's company for two whole 
 days. She is wonderfully supported. Partly to take up 
 her attention, and partly that she might have something 
 more of Calabar to remember than her sorrows, I took her 
 round Duke Town A.M. to-day, calling on King Archibong 
 and on several other gentlemen. All showed her the 
 deepest sympathy and the greatest kindness. 
 
 With reference to the losses, the Rev. Dr. MacGill, the 
 Foreign Mission Secretary, in the paragraphs prefatory to 
 the Report for 1870 regarding the Calabar Mission, 
 wrote :— 
 
 Of few men connected with our Church did it seem 
 more fit to say that they were indispensable, than of 
 William Timson, David Lewis, and John Granger. These 
 three missionaries have been removed in quick succession, 
 an inadequate number having been left behind ; and it is 
 one of the hardest problems given to be worked out by 
 the Mission Board, to find others to be helpers of the living, 
 or the successors of the dead. For a decade of years we 
 have been asking for ordained missionaries whom we might 
 send to Calabar. During that time we have sent one, and 
 he has died. Within that period, indeed, others have been 
 sent — a medical missionary and two teachers ; and of this 
 class of agents previously in the field, two have been 
 ordained, the one of whom [W. Timson] has been taken, 
 and the other [S. H. Edgerley] left. Of this same class, 
 whose preparatory studies for the ministry have been con- 
 ducted, not in this country, but in Calabar, there were two, 
 one of whom is hopefully advancing, and the other, having 
 finished his preparations, was on the eve of his ordination. 
 He [D. E. Lewis] has been taken, and the other [James 
 Lawson] has been left. We have other faithful agents in
 
 476 Old Calabar Period 
 
 the field, hut only four ordained missionaries [Anderson, 
 Goldie, Robb, and Edgerley], who have all been therefor 
 periods varying from fourteen to twenty-four years. This 
 remnant of four evangelistic missionaries, out of seven, is 
 all that remains of the primary agency, which the Church 
 /nns virtually bound herself to supply, in taking and keeping 
 possession of such a field, and in saying over it to the Hearer 
 of prayer, " Thy kingdom come." All missions must con- 
 tend with death as certainly as with sin ; and surely we 
 must not faint in our warfare in a time like this, when the 
 same six months which tell us of three missionaries falling 
 in our front rank in the mission field, in the service of 
 Christ, tell us of many more than three hundred thousand 
 not refusing to fight or to fall, in the battlefield, in the 
 service of an earthly nationality. In such days we are 
 not to la)- down the weapons of our warfare and to confess 
 that our courage is gone. 
 
 God tries and tests the Churches as well as the 
 nations ; and when He has smitten our most difficult 
 mission once and again and a third time . . . we are 
 called to humiliation, but not to cowardice. . . . We may 
 take occasion from these sad events to inquire whether 
 they be not rebukes, and whether the very number we 
 send, or fail to send, to Old Calabar, is not an index of the 
 lack of z.eal in the heart of the Church, and of the restraint 
 of prayer. 
 
 Are we not too prone to find the only explanation of 
 <>ur disappointments in the malignity of the climate? . . . 
 We cannot say that one of our lamented brethren would 
 have been still in life had they been ministers at home. 
 
 The Church dares not yield to these untoward events, 
 but must meet them with increased prayer and courage, as 
 well as wise precaution. Each of the brethren who has laid 
 down his life in that land has said, " None of these things 
 move me, neither count I my life dear unto me, that I 
 may finish my course with joy, and the ministry I have 
 received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the 
 grace of God." In the same spirit the surviving brethren 
 are meeting the crisis, and are calling for an addition of 
 oik- medical and four evangelistic missionaries, and the 
 question remains, Is the Church prepared, and has she
 
 The Crises in 1870 and 1897 Compared 477 
 
 men among our students, our licentiates, and our younger 
 ministers, ready to be baptized for the dead, and to obey 
 this call ? 
 
 In support of the Appeal from the Presbytery of 
 Biafra, Mr. Goldie wrote : — 
 
 In 1864 eight ordained missionaries were in the field ; 
 nor was that number in any degree beyond the require- 
 ments of the Mission. Now there are only four. . . . 
 With a wider field under cultivation, we have but one-half 
 of the labourers. Two consequences result from this : 
 the work unduly presses on those who remain, while at the 
 same time it is necessarily less efficiently discharged. 
 
 The four are all needed to supply present vacancies. 
 And we must look beyond these. Mr. Anderson and 
 myself cannot hope to be continued very much longer in 
 the field, and it will take a new-comer from one to two 
 years to gain a ready use of the language, so as to be able 
 efficiently to take charge of a station. 
 
 Mr. Anderson, who was working without male Euro- 
 pean assistance, wrote in his Report : — 
 
 Unless help be sent soon in the shape of one or two 
 vigorous, valorous young men, — if accompanied by young 
 women of kindred spirit and energy, so much the better, — 
 I fear that ground will be lost rather than gained at Duke 
 Town. 
 
 Both Mr. Goldie and Mr. Anderson survived in active 
 service those then in the field in Calabar, and, with the 
 exception of Messrs. Beedie and Cruickshank, those who 
 entered the service up to the date of their death in 1895, 
 when they left the staff of ordained men reduced as it had 
 never been since 1870. Since September 1892 there lias 
 been no addition to the ordinary staff of ordained Euro- 
 pean missionaries, when nine in active service stood on the
 
 4 7 <s Old Calabar Period 
 
 roll, and eight were in the field. Since that date, two, 
 Messrs. Mackenzie and Goldie, have been removed by 
 death; and three, Messrs. Luke, M'Donald, and Marwick, 
 no longer connected with that mission ; leaving four, Messrs. 
 Beedie, Cruickshank, Ueas, and Dean, one of whom, Mr. 
 Beedie, is on furlough, and another, Mr. Deas, at present 
 (December 1896) in charge of the Training Institute, 
 available for station work. Duke Town is at present in 
 charge of a recently-arrived medical missionary ; Creek 
 Town has an ordained and a medical missionary at it, and 
 [korofiong an ordained missionary; Ikoneto and Adiabo 
 are in charge of native pastors ; but Ikotana, Emuremura, 
 and Ungwana are vacant of any European agents at all — 
 a crisis graver than that of 1 870.
 
 CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 The Rebuilding of Henshaw Town — Illness of King Archibong II. — 
 The Blood-men in Duke Town— Interposition of the Court of 
 Equity — Death of Eyo VI. 
 
 Sabbath, Jan. i, 1871. — Usual meetings and attendance. 
 How much reason have I for gratitude on review of the 
 past year ! My strength scarcely now what it was a few 
 years ago. On Sabbath, November 27th, I was able to take 
 only a part in the services of the day ; but how many 
 brethren would be glad were they able to record to-day, 
 " Unfit for full duty only one Sabbath during the past 
 year"! But I can do more than this. I can gratefully 
 acknowledge that I have been unfit for duty only one 
 Sabbath during, I think, the past twelve or thirteen years. 
 Must recall, too, to-night the bereavements of the Mission 
 during the past year. The youngest taken — the oldest 
 left. There is a mystery here ; but to my mind the 
 mystery consists more in what has been permitted by 
 Providence to befall us, than in what has been absolutely 
 inflicted on us. How many bereaved families in Germany 
 and France to-day adoring the hand of Providence in 
 their losses, yet marvelling that the demon of war should 
 have been let loose on them for the gratification of a very 
 {c\\ individuals ! Whatever they may think of the policy 
 of William and Napoleon, they ought to be ready to say, 
 "Just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints !" 
 
 In a letter of 16th January Mr. Anderson wrote: — • 
 
 I have dated this from Duke Town Manse. We are now 
 in the new premises which, in 1866, we were authorised 
 to have erected. I still like the old house better. The 
 
 47'J
 
 480 Old Calabar Period 
 
 expense has been three times more than I could have 
 wished ; but the house is by far the best and the strongest 
 in the country, and fifty years hence (in 192 1) it may 
 prove to have been the cheapest. 
 
 At the beginning of 1871 Dr. Robb spent some time 
 
 under the roof of Mr. Andersen, where he passed through 
 
 an attack of fever — " an experience," remarks the Record, 
 
 " he has often had before, especially during the first forty 
 
 months after his arrival from Jamaica, his residence in 
 
 which did not render him proof against the malaria of 
 
 Africa, though he did not succumb to it." The Record 
 
 for June 1S71 contains the following: — 
 
 He (Dr. R. glances at the question, whether we should 
 not look again for [European] agents to Jamaica, and 
 mentions the following suggestive facts: that there have 
 been connected with the Calabar Mission nineteen persons 
 domiciled in the tropics, only three of whom have died; 
 and that of fifteen who came direct from Europe ten are 
 dead, the surviving five being females, including two 
 who with their husbands are now in Britain. 
 
 The Mission Board has never tried the experiment of 
 sending volunteers for Calabar to Jamaica for a year or 
 two as a preparation for Africa. To make the test a real 
 one, recruits would need to be sent to the low-lying 
 malarial districts, not to the healthy hill-stations. Mr. 
 Jameson suffered from fevers in Jamaica, and died of fever 
 in Calabar, and it appears to me not improbable that he 
 might have died of fever had he remained in Jamaica. 
 Both Messrs. Anderson and Goldie were several times at 
 death's door from fever in Calabar, though they seem to 
 have enjoyed good health in Jamaica; and Dr. Robb 
 himself, owing to fevers, had eventually to leave Calabar 
 and return to Jamaica. Organic soundness and good
 
 Young Calabar 481 
 
 general health, with Providence and prudence to guard 
 them, are the physical requisites for Calabar. 
 We return to Mr. Anderson's Journal. 
 
 Sabbath, Feb. 5. — A day of rather special interest. Mr. 
 Esien Ukpabio preached the morning sermon. A very 
 excellent discourse it was, and listened to with respect and 
 interest by the native audience. The caste feeling is nothing 
 here compared with what it seems to be in India, but is 
 sufficiently strong to be mischievous at times. The free- 
 men of this morning's audience did not appear to despise 
 the message or messenger, though they well knew that he 
 had once belonged to the humblest class in the community. 
 
 Friday, 17. — Present at an interesting conference 
 between the young men of Henshaw Town and our 
 esteemed friend Captain Hopkins, at present Acting 
 Consul for Her Britannic Majesty in this part of the world. 
 Henshaw Town lies about half a mile from the mission 
 premises, nearly south by west. It has been a mere 
 village ever since I came to the country, though in old 
 days it was a town of some importance. Lately, some 
 of the young men, whose forefathers dwelt there, have 
 returned to the locality, and begun " to rebuild the old 
 wastes." Whatever occurs within half a mile of the 
 mission premises must be a matter of interest to the 
 missionary and to the Mission. 
 
 King Archibong has sanctioned the rebuilding of the 
 town, but the young men fear that he would not sanction 
 several regulations which they wish to make, such as — 
 that twins shall be treated like other children ; that sub- 
 stitutionary punishment be strictly prohibited ; that 
 women shall be permitted to wear clothes at all times ; 
 that no work or marketing or Egbo procedure be per- 
 mitted on the Sabbath, etc. Hence their anxiety for the 
 moral support of Her Majesty's Consul and the European 
 residents and traders. Captain Hopkins seems to be very 
 much of my own mind in the matter, viz., that " Young- 
 Calabar " should receive every encouragement in his pro- 
 ject, ahvays provided that he abstain from doing anything 
 which might justly be construed as an act of rebellion 
 against King Archibong. 
 
 3 T
 
 j.82 Old Calabar Period 
 
 Saturday, 1 8. —Round town as usual, announcing the 
 Sabbath. Saw King Archibong for the first time for 
 several weeks. He has been very unwell. Spoke a little 
 of the importance of preparing for the great change. He 
 hears in silence, but evidently disregards what is said. 
 
 Friday, 24. — Went round town to-day to announce 
 Sabbath, that it might not be said, as hinted last Saturday, 
 that Egbo arrangements had been made in ignorance 
 that next day was Sabbath. Talked seriously, perhaps 
 severely, to King Archibong about this perpetual inter- 
 ruption to our work by Sabbath profanation by Egbo. I 
 said, " King Archibong, all men know that you are sickly. 
 Now, I know that here — and 1 think that in some places 
 at home too we Christians beg God plenty for you ; we 
 ask Him to make you well, and to spare your life for a 
 long time; but I tell you the truth, King Archibong: 
 when I hear about Egbo coming up so often on Sunday — 
 and he can't do so if you no will — the thought comes into 
 my head, Perhaps we Christians must change our prayer, 
 and say to God, 'O God! it be no use to beg any more 
 for King Archibong, for he no will to hear what Thou 
 sayest, and he no will to stop his Egbo from spoiling 
 Thy holy day. Better take him away, and give Calabar 
 another king, who will help us to do Thy work, and will 
 not allow old fashions to stop that work." Now, King 
 Archibong, do you wish me to pray so in church on 
 Sunday, and to beg all my Christian friends at home to 
 pray so ? " A most emphatic, " No, I no want that," was the 
 reply. " Then you must not let us be troubled any more 
 on God's day." " Nothing will trouble you next Sunday." 
 
 Friday, March 3. — King Archibong kept his word. 
 No Egbo annoyance last Sabbath. 
 
 Sabbath, 5. — Communion again round. A very com- 
 fortable day, save for the heat. Had the curiosity to take 
 a thermometer with me to the pulpit in the afternoon, 
 at 3.30: when about to commence Efik discourse it stood 
 at 97 , at the commencement of the English service 96 . 
 
 Saturday, 11. — King Archibong began to expatiate to 
 me to-day, on my weekly visit, about the presumption of 
 the Henshaw Town " boys " in wishing to have a king for 
 themselves. He " no will for that." " But, King Archi-
 
 The Programme of Young Calabar 483 
 
 bong, these 'boys' no ran away from Duke Town; I 
 think they tell you before they begin to build Henshaw 
 Town." " Yes, but they no tell me they want to have a 
 king for themselves." " But, King Archibong, you often 
 say that every man be king in his own house in Calabar ; 
 so, if two or three houses join in one, say they want head- 
 man for all of them, what harm in that ? " " They want to 
 do bad thing for us in Old Calabar ; we no well." I knew 
 what the hint referred to, having been informed by others. 
 King Archibong and friends fear that Henshaw Town 
 men contemplate some changes in Egbo, and that, if a 
 headman be recognised among them by Europeans, they 
 will be wanting a share of the komey (or tribute) paid by 
 the shipping. I said to King A. that I thought the 
 young men wanted to do good, and not evil, to Calabar. 
 " They tell me five things they want to do in their town : 
 they want to stop all idiong (sacrifices to idols or imaginary 
 deities). Well, you be a man for idiong ; but suppose 
 George Duke or any man in Duke Town tell you he no 
 will make idiong in his own house, will you compel him to 
 do so ? " " No." " Then (2) they want their women to 
 wear proper clothes ; do you want to stop that ? " " No, 
 but that no be we fashion." " True, but the young men 
 want to begin God's fashion, which they can't keep in 
 another man's town. And (3) they want to stop all work, 
 all play, all Egbo, on God's day, that man may have 
 nothing to do on God's day but do God's work, hear His 
 word, etc. Anything bad in that?" "No, I no want 
 anything to spoil God's Sunday." "Then (4) they no 
 want to kill or send away twins. And (5) they no want 
 to flog or to kill one man because his master or some other 
 man do wrong. I think all these five things are quite 
 right, and that you, King Archibong, no will try to make 
 them do what is wrong." " No." " Well, that is all that 
 they tell me they want to do ; they no want to have king 
 past you, or king same as you. In our country every 
 town has its headman (mayor or provost), and its own 
 particular fashions, but Queen is over all. So, suppose 
 Henshaw Town have its own fashions and its own head- 
 man, it is only one town ; you be king for country." " We 
 see what come up by and by."
 
 484 Old Calabar Period 
 
 Tuesday^ 25. — Took Mrs. Anderson 1 on board the 
 Biafra in the evening, bade her farewell for a time, and 
 bade adieu to Mr. and Mrs. Roe, who are returning by 
 same vessel to their island home, Fernando Po. 
 
 Wednesday, 26. — At Consul's court, held on board one 
 of the trading vessels. King Archibong and friends were 
 prevailed on, I am happy to say, very easily, to enter into 
 treaty for the abolition of substitutionary punishments. 
 Henshaw Town application was then taken into con- 
 sideration. The young men stated their wishes, purposes, 
 and claims in a very masterly way, but it was evident that 
 King A. suspected that they meant more than they ex- 
 pressed. He heard their statements, however, with great 
 good temper ; he seemed, indeed, to be in exceedingly 
 good humour ; but " we no will for two kings, for we be 
 all one family," was the most that could be got from him 
 and his supporters. 
 
 Sabbath, 30. — Induced by King A.'s remark, above 
 quoted, to pay particular attention to the Henshaw Town 
 part of the congregation, and I noticed that more young 
 men came to church from the small village of Henshaw 
 Town than from the large town of Duke Town ; that they 
 are much better dressed than their Duke Town cousins ; 
 and that more of them use their books during the service. 
 I am sorry to say that none of them are Church members 
 —I think all are polygamists ; yet a community under 
 such regulations as they propose to make would be a great 
 advance on such a place as Duke Town, as it has been 
 for at least a quarter of a century. I trust that they will 
 be enabled to conduct their affairs with discretion, and 
 that the}- will be successful in wresting themselves from 
 the grasp of Duke Town heathenism. 
 
 Friday \ May 5. — -Just got to Henshaw Town in time 
 to save a poor woman's life. Heard a sound of wailing in 
 one of the houses as for the dead. On stepping into the 
 yard, found a woman lying partly beside, partly over, what 
 
 1 Mrs. Anderson, who left Old Calabar for Scotland in poor health, 
 returned in September greatly benefited by her visit. "Few have done or 
 continue to do more self-denying and efficient service for Old Calabar than 
 Mrs. Anderson" {Record, Oct. 1871).
 
 "Give me back my Sister" 485 
 
 appeared to be the dead body of another woman, and 
 lamenting bitterly the death of her sister. She kept 
 hammering away with her fists on the head and chest of 
 the supposed corpse, bawling the while, " Give me back 
 my sister." Some other women were loitering about, 
 viewing the scene with utter indifference. I stood for a 
 little, overawed by the sacredness of sorrow, and marvel- 
 ling at this new way of manifesting grief for a departed 
 relative. But, lo ! when there was a lull of the tempest for 
 a few seconds, the corpse opened its eyes ! I suspected 
 something amiss, and demanded an explanation, when I 
 was informed that last evening the fellow-slave (hence 
 claimed as sister) of the screaming mourner had gone out 
 on the river in a small canoe, in company with the woman 
 whom I had looked on as dead, and that in a little while 
 the so-called " sister " had been seized and killed by a 
 crocodile, whilst her companion escaped. On her appear- 
 ance in the morning without her companion, the poor 
 woman had been seized by this frantic damsel, and beat 
 till nearly dead, every tluid being accompanied by the cry 
 which had arrested my attention, " Give me back my 
 sister." The half-murdered woman was the slave of a 
 different family from that of her assailant. She was 
 renewing her operations, but stopped on my declaring 
 that, if she laid her hands on that woman again, I should 
 use my influence to get her hanged. The poor victim was 
 speechless, and all but pulseless. A few blows more 
 would have finished her, and about half a dozen of other 
 grown-up women looking on with utter unconcern ! I 
 gave them a volley of my best Efik. I then got hold of 
 the young men, reported what I had seen and heard, 
 prescribed as I best could for the poor victim, and had 
 the satisfaction of seeing the termagant sitting fast bound 
 hand and foot to a large post when I was leaving the 
 town. I knew that she would not be too severely dealt 
 with. 
 
 Saturday, 6. — Usual turn round town afternoon. King 
 Archibong asked me if to-morrow be God's day. "Yes." 
 " I am sorry for that ; for big Egbo must live for Antaro 
 Young's devil." " Well, king, you know what God says 
 about His day." "Yes; I will try to stop him." Heat
 
 486 Old Calabar Period 
 
 once called one of his young men, and sent to the head of 
 the Young family, to say that as to-morrow is God's day, 
 he had belter put off the big Egbo till Thursday, i.e. till 
 the return of the Calabar day of the same name as to- 
 morrow. 
 
 I also went off to the same gentleman. He is one of 
 the old school. He represented to the king's messenger, 
 and also to me, that he had his goats all ready for the 
 feast ; that multitudes of visitors from other places ex- 
 pected the chop to-morrow, so that he must keep the day ; 
 but as it would be God's Sunday, he would not wish any 
 Idem (Egbo runner) to parade the streets, so that no one 
 who wishes to go to church shall be molested by the way. 
 Even this concession, when compared with former days, is 
 matter of thankfulness. 
 
 Sabbath, 7. — The young men of Henshaw Town took 
 a strong measure to-day in the right direction. They had 
 made a proclamation yesterday that they would allow no 
 water to be carried from their spring to-day. Notwith- 
 standing the proclamation, a multitude of Duke Town 
 damsels went as usual at low water for their accustomed 
 burdens, but found the spring fenced in and its gate 
 locked, so that they had to return to their homes with 
 empty jars, or else go to Duke Town spring for water, 
 which, however, is not so well liked as that from Henshaw 
 Town. 
 
 Sabbath, 21. — A day of solemn interest. Text, native 
 service, A.M., Isa. xliv. 3, 4, 5. After sermon, four of our 
 young people — two male and two female — were received 
 into Church fellowship by the ordinance of baptism. 
 
 Monday, 29. — King Archibong seriously ill. He sum- 
 moned a meeting of gentlemen to-day, at which he implored 
 them to aid him in discovering who was killing him with 
 ifot 'witchcraft). No one could tell him who was doing 
 so; but they issued a proclamation to this effect: that 
 whoever it be who is making the king sick, he must put 
 away the ifot at once ! 
 
 Tuesday, 30. — King A. sent portions of his clothes to- 
 day to his brother, Adam Archibong, for distribution 
 among the various families in town, that the mbia-idiong 
 connected with these families may try to discover who is
 
 Idiong 487 
 
 causing the sickness. It is rumoured that the "blood-men" 
 are to be appealed to. The town-people, especially those 
 belonging to the families of Queen Archibong, Prince 
 Duke, the Eyambas, Iron Bar, etc., are evidently alarmed, 
 and consider that mischief is brewing. 
 
 Friday, June 2. — Great idiong made by the Eyamba 
 family to-day. The abia-idiong hints that one of King A.'s 
 female domestics is the cause of his illness ; but, from 
 prudential considerations, it is agreed not to report her. 
 
 Saturday, 3. — The Duke family made idiong to-day, 
 which pointed to same author of illness as did yesterday's 
 operations, namely, to one of the king's female domestics. 
 This was reported to him to-day ; but when he heard it he 
 became quite furious, — declared that it could be none of 
 his own people, and named several parties whom he him- 
 self suspected of damaging him with ifot — Queen Archi- 
 bong, Ephraim Adam, Prince Duke, Prince Eyamba, and 
 Okien, and one or two more. The gentlemen hurried away 
 from the conference rather unceremoniously. The blood- 
 men belonging to King A.'s clan now pouring into town. 
 The king has named the above parties to some of his 
 underlings ; and they are declaring that, if they can lay 
 hands on any of the parties named, they will hang them 
 at once, as the Creek Town blood-men did Egbo Eyo. 
 Took my usual walk round town in the afternoon, to 
 announce Sabbath. All the town in commotion ; all pre- 
 paring weapons of war. Some carrying off their effects to 
 the plantations. I invited the blood-men, who were all 
 quite respectful in their bearing towards me, with all others 
 I saw, to come to church to-morrow. Learned at a later 
 hour, when several refugees came to spend the night on the 
 mission premises, that the blood-men had been well supplied 
 with liquor, and that they were plundering right and left, 
 and that guards were placed round the town, to prevent 
 any others from getting to the mission-house. 
 
 Retired at usual hour, but restless. While tossing about, 
 it flashed on my recollection — doubtless in answer to prayer 
 for Divine guidance and aid — that I had seen somewhere 
 in print, "No more bodies of armed men to come into Duke 
 Town." Where can I have seen that? In some Parlia- 
 mentary Blue-Book. Oh, to have the Blue-Book here ! But
 
 488 ( >ld Calabar Period 
 
 was it not in one of our own Missionary Records ? A sleepless 
 missionary may follow the example of a sleepless emperor, 
 and study " the book of the records of the chronicles " 
 (Esth. vi. i). I got up about eleven o'clock, got alight, 
 and pored over several volumes of the Record of the United 
 Presbyterian Church. After considerable search, Eureka ! 
 on page 1 19 of the Record for August 185 1, I thus read : 
 " Article 2. — That no more bodies of armed men are to 
 come into Duke Town." I went to the refugee in next 
 apartment, and assured him that he was safe. He too 
 read with joy the above clause. I felt so happy that — I 
 slept soundly. 
 
 Sabbath, 4. — Supposing King Archibong to be unfit for 
 business, and considering the work to be one of necessity 
 and mercy, I wrote as follows : — 
 
 " Sabbath, Jit tie 4, 1871. 
 
 "Duke Town Gentlemen, — My friends, I was very 
 sorry last evening to see so many of the blood-people come 
 into town. After I come to my house I begin to remember 
 that some treat}- live about that thing between you and our 
 Oueen, so I search and find that treaty. All of us white 
 men know that the blood-people cannot come into town. 
 Suppose king or gentlemen, no call them to come in. So, 
 as your friend, and to prevent palaver with Consul, I tell 
 you that there is such a treaty. Some of you may have 
 forgot about it. You may find it among the king's books. 
 It is dated February (I think the 15th; 1851, and signed 
 by gentlemen of Duke Town and about twenty chiefs of 
 the blood-men. In the second article of that treaty it is 
 agreed by you all, ' That no more bodies of armed men 
 are to come into Duke Town.' So you see this coming 
 into town of the blood-men is a breaking of treaty; and 
 the best thing you can do is to send them quietly away, so 
 that there may be no new palaver between you and the 
 Consul. 
 
 " Another thing: see that there be no giving of esere ; 
 for you are bound by treat}-, as well as God's word, not to 
 kill the innocent. 
 
 " As some of you see yesterday, my back pain me very 
 much, so that I am not able to go back to town to-day.
 
 Mr. Anderson and the "Blood-Men" 489 
 
 Better you all, like good gentlemen, come to church, hear 
 God's word, and beg Him to make King Archibong's sick- 
 ness done. — I am, gentlemen, your true friend, 
 
 "Wm. Anderson." 
 
 To this I received the following reply : — 
 
 '■'June 4, 1 87 1. 
 " Wm. Anderson, — Dear friend, King Archibong and all 
 gentlemen say when the all plantation blood-men come here, we 
 shall stop them to do any things bad for town ; because they heard 
 that king have sick, so that make they come and see king when 
 they come up here, we will not let them do any bad, and we no 
 let them stop but three days for town ; they come for see king 
 only for sick, and king self say nobody will do any bad for 
 town. 
 
 "King Archirono and Gentlemen of D. T." 
 
 This reply is very smooth and plausible, and quite 
 worth}' of a place in the annals of Calabar diplomacy, 
 but it tallies ill with the fact that a ring of sentinels 
 has been encircling the town all night to prevent anyone 
 from leaving it. I observed several of the warriors on 
 guard, not far from the church, while we were holding our 
 morning meeting. I went to them, pencil and paper in 
 hand, and told them that I should feel obliged by their 
 enlightening me on four points: "Your names? Whence 
 come ye ? Who sent you here ? For what purpose are you 
 planted here?" But I had scarcely mentioned these four 
 points when they vanished. At the close of public worship 
 in the evening I called the attention of our river friends to 
 the state of the town, informed them of the existence of 
 the treaty referred to, and requested them to use their 
 powerful influence for the preservation of the public peace. 
 My appeal to them was, as it had been on all previous 
 emergencies, very cordially responded to, and on the 
 morning of 
 
 Monday, $th, I received a note from Mr. Muir, Chairman 
 of the Court of Equity, kindly inviting me to attend a 
 meeting of the Court, which was to be held in the forenoon.
 
 490 Old Calabar Period 
 
 This Court is entrusted by the Consul, under sanction of 
 Her Majesty's Government, with the oversight of the 
 natives in regard to the observance of treaties ; so that 
 the state of the town was quite a legitimate matter for 
 their consideration. Attended the meeting ; repeated 
 my statement of last evening, and showed the Court the 
 abstract of the treaty regarding the blood-men as given in 
 our Missionary Record. With scarcely a word of discussion 
 it was agreed to suspend all trading operations immediately; 
 to keep up the suspension so long as any blood-men were 
 in the town ; and to write at once to King Archibong, in- 
 forming him of this resolution, and adding, that if the 
 blood-men be not sent out of the town by sunset this 
 evening, the members of the Court will write, by steamer 
 leaving to-morrow at sunrise, for the Consul and a man-of- 
 war, and certifying that if this step should be rendered 
 necessary, a heavy line would assuredly be inflicted on the 
 town. I am informed that King A. was very indignant 
 when this communication was made to him ; but he soon 
 felt his helplessness. The great majority of the inhabitants 
 rejoiced at the interposition of the whites, and King A. (as 
 usual; had to yield to the demand made, and a double, or 
 rather triple, proclamation was forthwith issued, to this 
 purport: "No blood-men to be brought from the planta- 
 tions; those in town must go away at once; and the person 
 who is making the king sick must desist." Rut for the 
 prompt interposition of our European friends, I believe 
 that some fearful work would have been done. This is not 
 my own opinion only. Some of the most intelligent natives 
 feel quite certain that, but for this interposition, there 
 would have been a renewal of the scenes described in the 
 Record {ox August 1852. 
 
 The people of Uda (King Archibong's mother is from 
 that locality) came to town to-day with their most power- 
 ful mbiam, and dispersed a quantity of it in the market- 
 place, in order to counteract the evil influence which is 
 causing the king's sickness. 
 
 Tuesday, 6. — The blood-men avowedly leaving the town, 
 but I suspect that numbers are only doffing their war 
 dress and assuming the appearance of civilians. But the 
 authorities have reported to the Court of Equity that the
 
 Visitors from Gaboon 491 
 
 town is evacuated by the plantation people, and I have 
 no evidence on which to found any counter statement. 
 
 Wednesday, 7. — Refreshing, amidst local disagreeables, 
 to have a visit from our excellent Gaboon friends ; some 
 faces among them well known, others new — Messrs. 
 Marshall and Murphy and partners, and Mr. Gillespie 
 and Miss Boughton. Delighted to see in Mr. Gillespie 
 a lineal descendant of the great and good Gillespie of 
 the venerable the Westminster Assembly of 1643. May 
 the descendant prove to Gaboon what the ancestor has 
 been to Britain ! Along with our foreign friends — should 
 I call them so? — we had two of our own fraternity, Dr. 
 Robertson and Mr. G. Thomson [architect] from Glasgow. 
 May each in his sphere be made a blessing! 
 
 Thursday, 8. — In town in the forenoon. The town 
 has somewhat the appearance of a camp. There seem to 
 be "breakers ahead" somewhere. No confidence is felt 
 in the king. It is not known what his next freak may be. 
 Friday, 9. — Have good information that the king's 
 retainers renewed their covenant of blood to-day, and that 
 they are ready to perform any deed of violence which he 
 may recommend. The fear of the white men alone keeps 
 him in check. Many feel grateful to me for my letter 
 of Sabbath morning. But for it, they say, mischief would 
 have been on that day. 
 
 Saturday, 10. — Another oasis in the desert, in the 
 shape of a donation of books from friends in Alloa. This 
 is not the first time that my library has been replenished 
 from that quarter. Spurgeon's two ponderous volumes on 
 the Psalms, M'Leod's Christus Consolator, and Beecher's 
 Addresses, are well worthy of grateful acknowledgment. 
 Another benefactor sends Memoir of that grand apostolic 
 man, W. C. Burns, latterly in China. 
 
 Sabbath, 11. — Usual services, and nearly the usual 
 attendance. Externally all quiet, but the minds of the 
 people are not so. 
 
 Monday, 12. — Poring over biography of Burns, and on 
 that account ashamed to speak of being Mondayish. It 
 would be well were our friends at home, when offering 
 special prayer for missions on the second Sabbath of the 
 month, or at any other time, to have in view the important
 
 492 Old Calabar Period 
 
 sentiments so well expressed on pp. 386-7 of this admir- 
 able and remarkable man. 1 How true is it that " it is 
 possible to lose the life of faith even while seeking the 
 propagation of the faith, — to leave house and home and 
 kindred for Christ's sake and the gospel's, and yet in a 
 heathen land to breathe little of either the love of Christ 
 or the grace of the gospel " ! " Brethren, pray for us." 
 
 Thursday, 15. — Ekri Tabaka people came to town to- 
 day with their biggest juju. They paraded the town, 
 drumming, dancing, and gesticulating like madmen. They 
 were accompanied by the king's family juju. Surely all 
 evil influences must be banished from the neighbourhood 
 now, and the king must forthwith recover from his illness, 
 even although the Edinburgh physician pronounces the 
 case hopeless ! If King A. would only take the advice of 
 the white doctor, and keep quiet, and be in all things 
 temperate, he might linger on for a long time to come ; 
 but he aggravates his distemper (heart disease) by fretful- 
 ness and bursts of passion. 
 
 Wednesday, 21. — Saw King A. to-day for the first time 
 for several weeks. He is much thinner than when I saw 
 him last ; but he is suffering no pain, and was in a wonder- 
 fully placid, even cheerful, mood to-day. I spoke to him 
 a little on the all-important subject, but in reference to 
 that he seems unimpressible. 
 
 Sabbath, 25. — Church more densely packed at the native 
 service this morning than I have ever seen it before. A 
 number of the great ladies were present for the first time, 
 each accompanied, of course, by a large retinue. In such 
 an' attendance as that to-day, Mrs. Sutherland sees some- 
 thing of the fruit of her house-to-house perambulations 
 and instructions. The ladies themselves a\ jre, on the 
 whole, what may be called well dressed, — thanks to Mrs. 
 Sutherland's efforts for that, — though some of them were 
 both barefooted and bareheaded \ The attendants are 
 mostly in native attire. 
 
 Wednesday, 28. — King Eyo of Creek Town died on 
 Sabbath last. He was the last survivor of the old men at 
 Creek Town, and I trust that with him the night of 
 heathenism has in great measure passed away from his 
 
 1 See October Record, p. 633.
 
 Death of King Eyo II. 493 
 
 quarter of the country. Some of our intelligent young 
 men here are already predicting " better days henceforth 
 for Creek Town." May it be so! As for Duke Town, I 
 fear that the old regime will not pass away with King 
 Archibong. There are too many freemen of the same 
 stamp for that. If Henshaw Town men prosper, however, 
 and be not over-elated by their newly-acquired influence, 
 the work may be expected to make progress here, inde- 
 pendently of Duke Town. I should like, ere I go hence, 
 to see the whole of the surrounding wilderness rejoice and 
 blossom as the rose.
 
 CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 Changes in Old Calabar— Death of Mr. Ashworth, 187 1— Mr. 
 George Thomson's Sanatorium — Ordination of Ukpabio, 1872 
 — Arrival of Rev. D. Campbell — Deaths of King Archibohg 
 11., etc. — " Young Calabar" 
 
 On Aug. 8, 1 87 1, the first anniversary of the death of 
 Mr. Lewis, Mr. George Ashworth, the European mission- 
 arv teacher at Creek Town, died from debility following a 
 slight gastric derangement, after a little over twenty- 
 seven months' service in Calabar. In his last letter to the 
 Foreign Mission Secretary, dated June 27, he wrote: — 
 
 I have cause to thank God for the excellent health 
 and strength I have enjoyed since I came to Old Calabar. 
 I have not had one day's sickness, and I prefer both the 
 climate and the country to that of my own. Of course we 
 cannot expect all constitutions to be adapted to a tropical 
 climate like this. "Some have come out here that ought 
 to have remained at home," is what some people tell us, 
 as if God's servants were not called upon to face danger, 
 and even death, that the heathen may be brought to life 
 eternal. 
 
 Dr. Robertson, writing of his death, remarked, "The 
 
 will to serve long was taken for the deed"; and Mr. 
 
 Anderson, writing on Aug. 10, said : — 
 
 To us at Duke Town the event appeared to be very 
 sudden. We never heard of his illness till he had been 
 dead eight hours ! It might be well to return to our old 
 custom of signalling from one mission-house to another, 
 though, to be sure, the progress of vegetation in some
 
 The Post of Danger the Post of Honour 495 
 
 measure prevents this. Mr. Ashworth was of an ardent 
 poetic temperament, which is, perhaps, not the best for a 
 climate like this. I have no doubt that it suits him well 
 where he is to-day. . . . 
 
 Our repeated bereavements may have a damping 
 influence on the minds of some of the young men of the 
 Church. This ought not to be the result. Surely no youth 
 belonging to the United Presbyterian Church needs to be 
 informed, though it might be well that all, both old and 
 young, were occasionally reminded that " the post of danger 
 is the post of honour." 
 
 May He, in whose hands are all hearts, incline some — 
 yea, many — of the youth of the Church to buckle on their 
 armour, and to come forth to " the help of the Lord — the 
 help of the Lord against the might)- " ! . . . 
 
 At this time appeals for four missionaries (two of them 
 ordained), besides a medical missionary for Old Calabar, 
 were appearing in the Missionary Record. 
 
 On Dec. 22, 1871, Mr. Anderson wrote a letter, 
 addressed to Rev. J. Law, George Gray, John Chisholm, 
 James Duncan, and R. Elliot : —   
 
 Friends greatly Beloved and Esteemed, — I 
 addressed you in this manner about the beginning of the 
 year, when it was judged necessary for Mrs. A. to take a 
 voyage and a change for restoration of shattered health. 
 She speaks very warmly of the reception which she met 
 from all old friends in what is in some measure to her a 
 strange land. She feels especially indebted to you for the 
 munificent donation which you subscribed for her. £10 
 in money and a quantity of goods beside was what she 
 never dreamed of receiving from you or from any other. 
 She was quite astonished when Mrs. Chisholm handed 
 her the above-named sum as a contribution from you 
 whose names are at the head of this page, and also (she 
 thinks) from one or two others. May Eskbank not suffer 
 for the liberality manifested towards us ! " Blessed be ye 
 in basket and store, in going out and coming in." 
 
 You will have heard ere now that she arrived here
 
 496 Old Calabar Period 
 
 safe and sound on Nov. 1st, having had a new experience 
 at sea, however, viz. a taste of shipwreck. The 
 Biafra was mercifully preserved, while other vessels, as 
 good and strong, foundered. The last week of October 
 was to me a very anxious one. We began to look out on 
 the 22nd, and expected the Biafra every hour, but she 
 appeared not. After an anxious watch of a week, we 
 concluded that something had gone wrong. On Oct. 
 30th a steamer rounded Seven Fathoms Point. There 
 she comes at length, yet, when she approaches, it is surely 
 not the Biafra. A telescope enables us to read Lagos, — 
 we hurry on board — what can have happened ? The 
 mind is made up for the worst, and it is a relief to hear, 
 the moment we step on board, "The Biafra disabled in 
 a gale in the Channel — put back to Falmouth for repairs 
 — will be here in a week." Letters from herself soon put 
 all right. The Lagos left A.M. Wednesday, November 1st ; 
 so we thought, Well, four or five days more and we may 
 again look out for the Biafra. In three hours, however, 
 my little people come jumping into my room to say, 
 " Ma k'edi ! Ma k'edi ! " " Mammy is coming ! Mammy 
 is coming ! " All right, though unexpectedly at the time, 
 she comes, and we have renewed reasons for grateful 
 acknowledgments to the Ruler of winds and waters. 
 Hymn 104, U.P. Hymn-Book, suitable to us. She feels 
 greatly benefited by the change, and continues active and 
 vigorous as in her earlier days. 
 
 Matters are moving on pretty smoothly with us just 
 now. King Archibong is always wonderfully civil, but 
 immersed in superstition. Would to God that it were 
 otherwise ! I often remember what Mr. Law said to me 
 when I was spending a day with him in Innerleithen in 
 1857 — "It would be a great matter to get some of your 
 kings converted. The soul of a slave is doubtless as 
 valuable as that of a king, but from his position a con- 
 verted king could do more good than a converted slave.' 
 Notwithstanding the coldness of some of our great men and 
 the opposition of others, our influence is being extended. 
 We have had larger congregations on Sabbath at Duke 
 Town this year than during any previous year. There 
 are some of whom we have good hope, even although
 
 " For Righteousness' Sake " 497 
 
 they have not become members of the Church. There is 
 a young man, of whom till lately I knew but little, a slave of 
 an apostate member of the Church, and manager of his 
 master's business. Some months ago he was sent to one 
 of the interior markets, but would on no account trade 
 on Sabbath. It came to his master's ears that he (the 
 slave; had lost some splendid opportunities of both buying 
 and selling, owing to his Sabbath-keeping. On his return 
 he was called to account, and acknowledged that he had 
 not traded on God's day, as his heart would not allow 
 him to break God's law. His master was very wroth- 
 chained him to a post on a daily allowance of a morsel of 
 yam and a glass of water, declaring that he should remain 
 there till he should promise to trade as other market-people 
 do. A week passed away, but no promise of amendment 
 could be wrung from the lad (Asuquo Etifit). His services 
 were again needed, and he went off again to market, 
 avowing to his master, as well as to others, his resolution 
 never to trade on the day of God. I knew nothing of 
 all this till weeks after it had occurred. Though not a 
 member of the Church, I wish all who are so would walk 
 as consistently as he. . . . 
 
 We are withal rather presumptuous here. We are 
 preparing a Memorial for next meeting of Synod, urging on 
 in our small way the union of the Churches. I sometimes 
 said in services at home — and we are all of the same mind 
 on the matter — " Here is a small town with, say, 3000 to 
 4000 inhabitants — and, behold, 2 Established Churches — 
 1 or 2 Free — 1 or 2 U.P. — a Baptist — a Congregationalist 
 — and a Methodist — 7 or 8 churches and ministers : 
 now, it is a downright shame to see the means of the 
 Church frittered away in that style," etc. etc. Here is 
 poor Duke Town, with its 6000 inhabitants and the 
 60,000 belonging to its plantations, with only one church 
 and one minister ! Is this rieht ? 
 
 ■t) 1 
 
 In the Annual Report for 1871, Dr. MacGill, in giving 
 details from the pen of Mr. Anderson regarding Duke 
 Town, said : — 
 
 Mr. Anderson continues to labour with unabated 
 32
 
 I.98 Old Calabar Period 
 
 vigour in preaching and teaching, and has done even 
 more in visiting from house to house than during former 
 years. He refers to another period of his own " unbroken 
 health " ; and, as an evidence of the great benefit Mrs. 
 Anderson derived from her brief visit to this country, 
 notes that in a great measure she has renewed her youth. 
 Miss Patterson, a new European agent from Jamaica, 
 after teaching for four months at Duke Town, was 
 removed to Ikoneto, where her services are much required. 
 Mrs. Sutherland, to whose indefatigable and most useful 
 labours among the women Mr. Anderson always bears 
 the most emphatic testimony, has been following out her 
 wonted winning and persistent course of usefulness in 
 visiting her own sex. She has thereby drawn many to the 
 house of God, and "has continued," says Mr. Anderson, 
 " her great work among the masses of women who are not 
 allowed to attend either church or market." ... A very 
 fine spirit, due to the influence of the Mission, has fallen 
 on the headmen of young Henshaw Town. The chiefs 
 of the town, over whom our missionary has gained a 
 pleasing and just ascendency, are desirous of " raising the 
 tone of morality among their people, and delivering both 
 themselves and their dependents from the reign of 
 superstition." To the influence of this movement, in a 
 great degree, Mr. Anderson ascribes the fact that the 
 Sabbath attendance at Duke Town during 1871 has 
 exceeded that of any other period ; and he is thankful for 
 the past and trustful for the future. 
 
 The statistics for the year are as follows: — 
 
 European Female Teacher — Mrs. Sutherland. 
 
 Native Teachers — William Cobham and James Ballantyne. 
 
 Members ......... 47 
 
 Sabbath attendance in Church 
 Candidates ...... 
 
 Sabbath-school pupils .... 
 
 I )ay-school pupils .... 
 
 Contributions— ^51, 18s. okl. 
 
 1 Hit-stations — Henshaw Towns (North and South), Efut, and 
 Edibe-Ed'ibe. 
 
 400 
 
 M 
 150 
 120
 
 Aid for Duke Town 499 
 
 With reference to the day-school, Mr. Anderson said : — 
 
 William Cobham has been nominally in charge of the 
 school ; but owing to his absence for a month at Dr. 
 Robb's Training Institution, and to repeated attacks of 
 sickness since, which have prostrated him somewhat, I 
 have had a good deal of the teaching work to attend to 
 myself. The attendance has not been encouraging. Our 
 proximity to the shipping, and especially now that we 
 have four or five steamers monthly, gives strong induce- 
 ments to our rising young men, and particularly to the 
 more energetic among them, to abandon continuous study, 
 and devote themselves to commerce. 
 
 In the general introduction to the Report of the Old 
 Calabar Mission for 1871, Dr. MacGill wrote: — 
 
 Our mission in West i\frica has proved a trying one. 
 It has cost life as well as labour and funds; but, with all 
 our regrets over those graves, to which no less than three 
 were added during the year before last, yet no labourer in 
 that insalubrious and depressing climate has ever hinted 
 at abandonment. On the contrary, all our brethren in 
 the field unite in urging its claim, and in asking addi- 
 tional labourers ; and from their near and vivid view of the 
 obduracy of the field, and of the inadequate number who 
 labour in it, repeat words which have an awful pathos 
 there, however coldly they may be uttered here : " The 
 harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few." 
 After many earnest appeals repeated for years, we have 
 succeeded in obtaining the services of one missionary, the 
 Rev. Dugald Campbell, who has completed his medical as 
 well as his theological curriculum, and has put himself at 
 the disposal of the Mission Board for Calabar. As Duke 
 Town has the strongest claim, on his services, whether 
 regard is had to the number of agents there, or to the 
 amount of the population, it has been resolved that he 
 be located at that interesting station as the colleague of 
 Mr. Anderson. 
 
 It is only justice to the Mission Board to mention 
 their cordial appreciation of the services of George
 
 500 Old Calabar Period 
 
 Thomson, Esq., architect,' who, after a long and deeply- 
 cherished interest in the Old Calabar Mission, has spon- 
 taneously devoted himself, and no small amount of time 
 and means, to the solution of a problem, in practically 
 resolving which he hopes to provide our own and other 
 missionaries on the West African coast with an asylum 
 where they may find shelter from fever and death without 
 returning to this country. Without attempting to answer 
 his own earnest questions upon this subject by corre- 
 spondence, he resolved to go and see. Accordingly, at 
 his own charges and at the risk of his life, he has gone to 
 try the country, and to find some mountain retreat for 
 the missionaries, far above the miasma of the climate. . . . 
 He has swept along its coast ; he has ascended its rivers ; 
 he has visited its mission stations far and near. He has 
 done what few attempted before ; he has climbed its 
 mountains, and has found, as he thinks, a summit 
 [Cameroons] where a debilitated missionary, by dint of 
 breathing fresh air, without returning to this country, 
 might by God's blessing obviate a fatal fever, and prolong 
 his days for future service. Though no official corre- 
 spondence has taken place between Mr. Thomson and 
 the Mission Board, yet the Board, considering the import- 
 ance of the enterprise, and the self-denial displayed in the 
 attempt to carry it into effect, has authorised their Secre- 
 tary ... to express their cordial appreciation of an 
 undertaking so disinterested and an object so important. 2 
 
 It is a matter for regret that the United Presbyterian 
 Church has never taken steps to establish a sanatorium 
 for its missionaries in Calabar, as other missionary societies 
 working on the West Coast have done. A change to 
 another station does not mean a change of climate. A 
 regular holiday change each year is even more necessary 
 
 1 Uncle of the Rev. \V. C. Thomson, who laboured in Calabar 1849-1866. 
 See Memoir of George Thomson, Cameroons Mountain, West Africa. Edin- 
 burgh : A. Elliot, 1 88 1. 
 
 '-' The following year it is intimated that the Board had given a donation 
 of £ l S° to a id Mr. Thomson's undertaking (Record, June 1873).
 
 Ordination of Ukpabio 501 
 
 in Calabar than at home ; but such change and rest are 
 impossible to be got in Calabar itself. A few days' trip 
 to Opobo in the mail steamer is all that can be got now 
 that Calabar is one of the termini of the West Coast boats, 
 and the boats for the South-West Coast no longer call at 
 Duke Town. 
 
 The Report goes on to notice the ordination of the 
 first native pastor : — 
 
 There is yet one other fact in the history of this 
 Mission which we hope will render 1872 a memorable 
 year, and that is the ordination of the first convert of the 
 Old Calabar Mission, Ukpabio, to the Christian ministry. 
 Every month goes to deepen the conviction of those who 
 think most anxiously on the subject, of the necessity of 
 developing a native ministry. While our experience in 
 Calabar has gone to prove that West Africa, and Central 
 Africa too, beyond the eastern mountains seen in clear 
 weather from our mission stations, can be converted to 
 Jesus Christ, yet that experience has also demonstrated 
 that we have no right to expect this to be done without 
 a native ministry. The first ordination, therefore, of an 
 African negro to read and to expound that Efik Bible 
 which our Mission has given them, in a language having 
 not one scrap of literature when that negro first saw our 
 missionaries, is an epoch in the history of Calabar which 
 calls for devout thanks to God. 
 
 Esien Esien Ukpabio was licensed on January 9, and 
 ordained by Mr. Goldie on April 9, the twenty-sixth 
 anniversary of the Mission. A vigorous ordination charge 
 was delivered in Efik by Mr. Anderson from 1 Tim. iv. 
 1 4- 1 6, and the congregation was addressed by Mr. Edgerley. 
 
 In anticipation of the arrival of a colleague, Mr. 
 Anderson wrote a letter, 1 in giving extracts from which 
 Dr. MacGill said :— 
 
 1 Record, Jan. 1873.
 
 5<D2 Old Calabar Period 
 
 The Rev. W. Anderson, writing under a recent date, 
 begins the following communication with allusions to his 
 abundant labours. He is entitled to do so, for his work 
 comprises constant and exhausting occupation as a school- 
 master as well as a missionary, his conviction being that 
 one of the most effectual means of exerting Christian 
 influence upon the Efik .race is in the school, upon the 
 minds and hearts of the rising generation. 
 
 Mr. Anderson wrote : — 
 
 At the risk of being considered egotistical, I feel it 
 but right to state that, owing to the sickness of one of my 
 teachers and the opening of a second school by the other, 
 the burden of the work of the day-school devolves almost 
 continuously on me. I wish the attendance were greater 
 than it is, but at the same time I find it sufficient to tax 
 all my energies, when viewed in connection with my other 
 work. I have three full services on Sabbath, besides 
 Sabbath school to attend to both forenoon and afternoon. 
 I have four evening meetings to conduct weekly, palavers 
 to settle now and then, and house-to-house visitation, in 
 so far as I can overtake it. My Saturday half-holiday is 
 devoted to preparation for Sabbath, and announcing its 
 approach to the natives. Days, weeks-, and months sweep 
 past so quickly that I have often to leave past and future 
 to take care of themselves. I am rejoicing in hope that, 
 ere many weeks more pass away, a brother possessed of 
 youth and vigour will relieve me from several of my 
 present engagements. 
 
 In glancing over my recent very brief jottings, I find 
 that deaths have been occurring at the usual rate among 
 both Europeans and natives ; that there have been several 
 bad cases of administering the escrc, which led to the 
 usual amount of remonstrance and condemnation on the 
 part of the Mission ; that there have been reported to us, 
 but without that proof which would warrant a charge of 
 breach of treaty, a number of murders of twin children ; 
 that one twin was saved and brought to the mission- 
 house, where it died in a few days ; that there have been 
 several cases of murder among the natives — one a very
 
 Henshaw Town North 503 
 
 bad case, for which a prince of the blood (a son of the late 
 King Eyamba's) was condemned to die, but he made his 
 escape to Fernando Po ; that two native women were 
 lately admitted to the fellowship of the Church. I find 
 two very pleasant entries — one in reference to a young 
 man, 1 not a member of the Church, who was put in chains 
 by his master for refusing to trade, when at the interior 
 markets, on the Sabbath. He was kept chained to a post 
 for a week, in expectation that he would give in and 
 promise to act like others in time to come ; but he was 
 firm, and was at length released unconditionally. A few 
 Sabbaths ago I observed that his master and he were 
 sitting quite near each other in church. . . . 
 
 When lately visiting Henshaw Town North— it is 
 separated from Duke Town by a small creek — I was 
 earnestly requested by several of the influential men there 
 to send over a teacher daily for the instruction of their 
 children and people. They expressed themselves quite 
 willing to build a schoolhouse, if I would ask King Archi- 
 bong's consent, and get it, to such a step. The popula- 
 tion is, I think, from 300 to 400, and there is a larger 
 proportion of children among them than among the Duke 
 Townites ; so I promised to do for them what I could. 
 On an early day thereafter I took over James Ballantyne 
 with me to begin operations. On my recommendation, 
 one of the headmen gave us the use of his yard, in order 
 that we might see whether a considerable number would 
 attend regularly, before they should be at the trouble of 
 erecting a schoolhouse. For a time James had between 
 50 and 60 pupils daily, 10 or 12 of them adults; but 
 latterly, owing to numbers having gone off to the plantation, 
 the attendance has been from 20 to 30. The population 
 of that suburb is very fluctuating. 
 
 After having considered the matter for a long period, 
 we have introduced a change in the hours of public 
 worship in the afternoon. The heat has often been so 
 great from two o'clock to four that neither natives nor 
 
 1 See ante, p. 497. Asuquo Etifit Nsa, now an elder in Duke Town 
 Church. There is an interesting letter from him in the article, ' ; Young Men 
 at Duke Town " {Record, May 1873).
 
 504 Old Calabar Period 
 
 Europeans could engage in divine service with comfort; 
 so we meet in the afternoon at the following hours: — 
 Sabbath school, three ; Efik service, four ; English, five. 
 The change has been kept up for some time, and we find 
 that it answers well. 
 
 Our friend Mr. George Thomson had held a meeting 
 with the young men connected with the Church, and had 
 given them a good deal of information about societies of 
 young men in Scotland, whose object is to use efforts for 
 the spread of the truth in destitute localities, and had 
 suggested to them that it would be well were they to go 
 and do likewise. This led them to request me to call a 
 meeting to consider the subject. When that meeting was 
 held, ten of the male members of the Church formed 
 themselves into a society for Christian work, and agreed to 
 rules and regulations which they had previously requested 
 Mr. Thomson to prepare. The work then agreed on was 
 the regular visitation of the town and surrounding settle- 
 ments. This work had been engaged in before, but in a 
 desultory manner. Their formation into a society gave 
 a fresh impulse to their efforts, and has proved very 
 beneficial. 
 
 Of the arrival of the Rev. Dugald and Mrs. Campbell 
 on July 7, Mr. Anderson wrote: — 
 
 They had been long looked for, and our rejoicing on 
 account of their arrival was proportionately great. We 
 earnestly pray that both may be long spared to each 
 other and to the important work on which they are 
 entering. 
 
 Mr. Anderson wrote as follows, on Aug. 28, 1872, 
 
 regarding the deaths of Archibong II. and David King, 
 
 and Charles Haddison: — 
 
 I embrace the earliest opportunity of intimating to you that 
 King Archibong II. died here, after a reign of thirteen years, on 
 Monday evening last, the 26th inst. This is the date given officially, 
 but many allege that he died the previous day. All agree, however, 
 in regard to the fact that he is now in his grave.
 
 Death of Archibong II. and David King 505 
 
 Mr. Anderson received, in answer to questions about 
 the king's health, the two following notes, the one signed 
 by " Big Adam," the king's secretary, and both signed 
 by George Duke : — 
 
 Aug. 26, 1872. 
 Mr. Anderson, My dear Friend, — It is not so. Except 
 yesterday king had so much strong sick, and we have not allow any 
 persons to go inside the king's house. Yesterday I been over yon 
 to doctor house. One time doctor come and give medicine, other 
 time he give me medicine to give king ; but now king very sick. 
 
 George Duke. 
 
 • 
 Duke Town, Old Calabar, 
 
 August 27, 1872. 
 Mr. Anderson, My dear Friend, — I am very much sorry 
 indeed to write you this few lines for let you know that our King 
 Archibong II. is no more here : the death has carry him away. 
 Now he is died, in truth. Just now I trusting you well. — Yours 
 very truly, 
 
 Big Adam Duke and George Duke. 
 
 From all that I can hear, I conclude that King 
 Archibong has died as he lived, without God and without 
 hope. I visited him Saturday after Saturday for many 
 years, but he avoided as much as possible anything like 
 attention to the truths of the gospel. Four Saturdays 
 bygone I have not been permitted to see him. I suppose 
 that he and his attendants knew that I would " make 
 palaver" about the idiong by which he kept himself 
 surrounded. His brother, Adam Archibong, now blind, 
 will probably be his successor as king. I do not anticipate 
 that the change will affect the operations of the Mission. 
 
 Another death took place on Sabbath morning [Aug. 
 25], viz., David King, king of Ikorofiong. David was 
 the first man who was baptized at this station, but he has 
 been neither a comfort nor an ornament to the Church. 
 He ran well — or at least appeared to do so — for a few 
 years, but fell away — alas, how sadly! In company with 
 Mr. Campbell I saw him about a week before his death. 
 Mr. Campbell warned him that his end was near ; and I
 
 506 Old Calabar Period 
 
 reminded him of past privileges and professions, and 
 entreated him to make renewed application to the blood 
 which cleanseth from all sin ; but he seemed utterly 
 callous. I prayed with him briefly, but there was nothing 
 like an Amen from him. In some respects his deathbed 
 was surrounded by a deeper gloom than that of King 
 Arehibong. Both have been men of blood, but King 
 Archibong has not to deplore apostasy from the truth. 
 
 On the 19th inst. one of our Church members, Charles 
 I Iaddison by name, entered on his rest. He has led a quiet, 
 consistent Christian life for six or seven years. What a 
 difference between his deathbed and those of the heathens at 
 no great distance ! He died in faith, committing his spirit 
 with almost his latest breath into the hands of the great 
 Mediator. These solemn dispensations call upon all of 
 us to work while it is day. The night cometh. 
 
 On Sabbath, 14th ult., three young women, natives of 
 neighbouring countries, were received into the fellowship 
 of the Church by baptism. 
 
 During this month and the last we have had no fewer than 
 six marriages, which we look upon as indicating progress. 
 
 Mr. Anderson gave in the Record for May 1873 some 
 touching sketches of Young Calabar, which revealed some- 
 thing of the heart of the minister as well as of the youths in 
 whom he was so deeply interested, one of which is sub- 
 joined : — 
 
 James Ballantyne has just been thrown on me by 
 Providence — was bought by Henry Cobham, perhaps fifteen 
 or sixteen years ago, when little more than an infant — 
 a little slave — found wonderful attraction at school 
 — do/.ed away for days and nights at the mission-house— 
 then missed by Henry, sent for, beat, cursed, tied to a 
 post — when loosed, would remain about his master's 
 premises till he saw he was forgotten — off to school and 
 the mission premises again — again missed, sent for, 
 scolded, beat, tied to a post. Up to us again — another 
 capture — another escapade (this may be amusing to read, 
 but it causes the big salt tears to course down my
 
 James Ballantyne 507 
 
 cheeks) — till at length, when I had spoken to Henry the 
 twentieth time in his behalf, he (Henry) exclaimed, to my 
 satisfaction, " That little boy too bad boy ; I no fit to keep 
 him ; he run away all time ; I no want to see him no 
 more ; let him stand for you." So he has " stood for me " 
 — is now about twenty years of age, I suppose — is a 
 member of the Church — has assisted William Cobham and 
 myself in school for three years or so — can write tolerably 
 good English — can parse any common English sentence — 
 is now at the second conjugation Latin Grammar — writes 
 very full outlines of my Sabbath discourses, both Efik 
 and English — and promises to be a useful agent of the 
 Mission. 
 
 In the Annual Report for 1872 it is noted: — 
 
 Mr. Anderson's district has in it now, its politics, 
 its incipient public opinion, its antagonisms and affinities, 
 if not its factions. The influence of the gospel has 
 stimulated any thought or enterprise it has attained above 
 mere trade in palm oil and rum. The extent of the moral 
 changes already produced consists of a thousand details, 
 difficult to be realised or numbered. It is saying much, but it 
 is after all a feeble understatement of the fact, to affirm that 
 the change produced is worth the labour of thirty years. 
 
 After referring to the arrival of Mr. and Mrs. Campbell, 
 and the death of Archibong II., Mr. Anderson says: — 
 
 A brother of King Archibong, known as yet by the 
 name of Adam Archibong, is likely to be his successor. 
 Already he executes the office of king. Adam is nearly 
 if not altogether blind ; and he will prove as a ruler very 
 much what his Cabinet will make him. One of our old 
 scholars, who now styles himself Prince Eyamba, seems 
 to be already installed as Prime Minister. 
 
 Our Henshaw Town young men have for a considerable 
 time been desirous to have a king of their own, and to be 
 an independent community. But they have damaged 
 their cause very much by precipitate action. Their best 
 friends both in the Mission and in the river advised them
 
 50S Old Calabar Period 
 
 to go on quietly building their town, drawing to it a large 
 population, clearing off all debts to the shipping, increasing 
 their trade, etc., till they should be able to command the 
 respect of all neighbours and rivals, and then to consider 
 any change in their position. But, instead of acting thus, 
 they determined some months ago that they would have 
 a king immediately. So they procured a sort of crown 
 from a Dutch supercargo, and a few weeks ago they 
 crowned their headman, calling him King Henshaw ill. 
 This aroused the hostility of Duke Town, whose grandees 
 seem determined that no one in their neighbourhood, save 
 one of themselves, shall bear the English title of "king." 
 They are quite willing that the headman of Henshaw 
 Town, like the other headmen of all the other towns in 
 the whole region, should exercise regal or even imperial 
 authority; but to call such a one by the name of "king" 
 is, they say, an infringement of their prerogative. The 
 young premier of Duke Town, with great diplomatic 
 skill, — aided, however, by some masked European, — 
 enlisted the white traders and the whole Egbo fraternity 
 on the side of Duke Town versus Henshaw Town. The 
 result of this coalition is that Henshaw Town has been 
 compelled to surrender the crown and the regal title for 
 the present. No one, so far as can be ascertained, denies 
 the abstract right of the Henshaw Town people to act as 
 they choose on their own territory, but there can be only 
 one opinion as to the inexpediency of their late movement. 
 They will be subjected to a heavy fine, not, it is said, for 
 making a king, but for a serious breach of Egbo law in 
 connection with the matter. The fine will likely be such 
 as will cripple their resources and their energies for years 
 to come. 
 
 Some time ago they requested the Presbytery to send 
 them a teacher. They named Miss Patterson, as one whom 
 they would like to have among them. The Presbytery 
 granted their request, in expectation that they would 
 contribute liberally for Miss Patterson's support. In their 
 present circumstances it is not likely that they will be 
 able to do much in the way of contribution. 
 
 In regard to the day-schools, Mr. Anderson wrote: —
 
 Rev. Dugald Campbell 509 
 
 Owing to the long-continued sickness of the senior 
 native teacher [W. Cobham], the senior missionary has had 
 to do duty as schoolmaster for ten months during the 
 year. This has been a very serious hindrance to the very 
 important work of visitation from house to house. Indeed, 
 the question has often forced itself on the missionary, 
 whether it would not be better in the circumstances to 
 keep school only once a day, for two and a half or three 
 hours, that he might be able to devote other two or three 
 hours to household visitation. . . . There is also a small 
 school of from 20 to 30 scholars, taught by one of 
 our young men at Henshaw Town (North). It is but 
 right to mention here that there are several small schools 
 in the town taught by immigrants from Accra quarter, so 
 that the 120 or 130 names on the roll-books of our mission 
 schools must not be looked on as the secular education 
 gauge of the kingdom of Duke Town. 
 
 Old Town, Walkerwood, 1 Qua, etc., will henceforth be 
 more immediately under the superintendence of our 
 vigorous young brother, Mr. Campbell, just as the Creek 
 Town out-stations are under that of the junior brother 
 there, Mr. Edgerley. Efut and Edibe-Edibe farms have 
 been visited weekly by several of the native members of 
 the Church. 
 
 The Rev. D. Campbell devotes a portion of his time 
 to medical and surgical work ; he has for about six 
 months relieved his senior brother from most of the duties 
 connected with the English services, both on Sabbath 
 days and week days ; he has been diligent in the study 
 of the Efik tongue, and has so far mastered it as to be 
 able to conduct the reading department at our Efik 
 services on Sabbath. Mrs. Sutherland's work among the 
 women has necessarily been interrupted by her quinquen- 
 nial trip to the north. It is hoped she will return with 
 renewed vigour for the prosecution of her important 
 labours. 
 
 1 A station, about two miles from Old Town, sustained by the liberality 
 of Captain J. B. Walker, F.R.S.E., a trader in the river and member of 
 Duke Town Church.
 
 CHAPTER XXV 
 
 Abolition of Sabbath Market at Duke Town, 1873 
 
 THE year in 1873 was rendered memorable by the 
 abolition of the Sabbath market at Duke Town, as the 
 result of influences long in operation there. Mr. Anderson 
 wrote a glowing narrative, "dictated by his own joy 
 and gratitude, over what had been achieved." 
 
 Old Calabar, 25/// Marc// 1873. 
 
 " Can any good thing come out of Nazareth ? Come and 
 
 see." I concluded my note to you of the 10th inst. with 
 
 the expression of a hope that even I might live to see 
 
 better days in Duke Town. I had no idea then that 
 
 the "better days" were so near. On the 15th inst. I took 
 
 my usual Saturday's walk through the town, to announce 
 
 the approach of Sabbath. It was about 10 o'clock when 
 
 I called at Adam Archibong's. I found him surrounded 
 
 by the other headmen of the town. Adam at present 
 
 exercises the regal power, and it is expected that he will 
 
 soon assume the regal title, and be styled King Archibong 
 
 III. I gave him and his councillors the usual salutation, 
 
 made the usual announcement (of Sabbath), shook hands 
 
 with Adam and two or three more, and took my departure. 
 
 On leaving the yard, one of the younger gentlemen came 
 
 and asked me very softly, " Has the king told you ? " 
 
 " Told me what ? " " That he is going to stop Sabbath 
 
 market ! " " Oh, he told me that some time ago, but he 
 
 has said nothing about it just now." " But he has already 
 
 given orders that Egbo is to be blown immediately — no 
 
 market to-morrow or on any Sabbath coming ! " I was 
 
 surprised and delighted, I cannot tell how much. " But as 
 
 he has not spoken to me on the matter, do you think it 
 
 eio
 
 Abolition of Sabbath Market 5 1 1 
 
 advisable that I go at once and thank him, or wait till I 
 hear the proclamation ? " " Better go now ; it will please 
 him well to hear what you have to say." I returned at 
 once, but I did not return thanks in the usual way, as for 
 a personal favour. I adopted a benedictory style, and, 
 while acknowledging the intense gratification which I had 
 felt on hearing such " good news," expressed my desire 
 that the God of heaven would accept of the tribute now 
 paid to His honour by the king and gentlemen of Duke 
 Town, that He would lead them to comply with all the 
 requirements of His holy Word, and bless them in all 
 their interests. All of them seemed happy on account 
 of the step they had taken ; though, doubtless, some of 
 them value the approbation of the white man as much as 
 that of God. 
 
 In a short time the Egbo drums were heard — sound 
 how often detestable ! in this matter how delectable ! 
 — and first in the crowded market - place, then at 
 other public places of the town, and afterwards on 
 the Mission Hill, the royal proclamation was made : 
 " Henceforth on God's day no market to be held 
 in any part of Duke Town territory ; no sale of strong 
 drink, either native or imported, in doorways and 
 verandahs ; no work ; no play ; no devil-making ; no 
 firing of guns ; no Egbo processions or palavers, etc. etc. 
 Any person violating the provisions of this proclamation 
 will be subjected to heavy Egbo penalties." 
 
 It will be noticed that the proclamation is strictly of 
 a negative character, but it implies much that is positive. 
 It implies rest from worldly toil ; it implies time and 
 opportunity for the great body of the population to attend 
 the public services of the sanctuary, and such other means 
 of improvement as we may be able to provide for them, 
 such as district meetings, Sabbath schools, and Bible 
 classes. It would be difficult, I think, to overestimate its 
 value. I rejoice in it " as one that hath found great spoil." 
 I consider the 15th of March 1873 as second in importance 
 only to 15th February 1850, when human sacrifices were 
 abolished by Egbo law. 
 
 On the following day, Sabbath 16th, we had a greater 
 crowd than on the previous Sabbath. Both church and
 
 512 Old ( \\i. vbar Period 
 
 schoolroom were filled to overflowing, service being 
 conducted in both places simultaneously. There must 
 have been 600 present. On Sabbath last, the 23rd inst, 
 the crowd was greater still. We think it well that so many 
 of the people are bus}- at present in the plantation. From 
 eight till nine we had services in both church and school 
 — both places packed full. At 9.15 a fresh congregation 
 filled the church, and service was resumed. On each of 
 these two Sabbath afternoons we have had 500 at the 
 services. All the audiences of both days were exceedingly 
 attentive. Many, especially of the great ladies, have 
 appeared deeply interested. 
 
 For years past Mrs. A. and I had given up all hope of 
 ever seeing such days in Duke Town. There must have 
 been an expectation of a change, however, and a good 
 deal of quiet preparation for it, though we knew nothing 
 of it. We infer this from the fact that most of the free 
 women appear in church in decent apparel. Queen 
 Archibong is the only one, however, who wears gloves. 
 
 Our Sabbath work is somewhat laborious, but the 
 pleasure of seeing such numbers and such interest almost 
 prevents any feeling of lassitude. I deeply feel the solemn 
 responsibility which the conjuncture involves. Our 
 earnest prayer is for wisdom and energy, to enable us to 
 improve it. We tremble lest anything should occur to 
 obstruct the flow of our present precious tide of oppor- 
 tunity. It is but proper to say that Mrs. A., Miss 
 Patterson, and our Jamaica friend Mrs. Fuller, as also our 
 three native teachers, do noble work in our crowded 
 Sabbath schools, and in conducting the exercises at one 
 or other of the simultaneous meetings. Mr Campbell has 
 for several Sabbaths been engaged in the very important 
 work of itinerating among the villages. 
 
 With thankful hearts, albeit in some respects " like 
 them that dream," we look around us on Sabbath, and 
 say, " What hath God wrought ! " We pray that ere long 
 we may see numbers earnestly inquiring the w r ay to Zion, 
 with their faces thitherward. In humble faith and hope, 
 we sing — 
 
 "The Lord of us hath mindful been, 
 And He will bless us still."
 
 Reinforcements 513 
 
 The Rev. Hugh Goldie, whose life had been all but 
 despaired of in the end of 1872, accompanied by Mrs. 
 Goldie, spent two months with the American missionaries 
 at Gaboon, of whose work he wrote an interesting account 
 in the Record (March 1873). The usual period of five 
 years' sojourn in Calabar being about completed, and 
 medical advice recommending a visit to Britain, he and 
 Mrs. Goldie, accompanied by Miss Diboll, arrived in Liver- 
 pool on May 23. On July 6 a welcome reinforcement for 
 the Calabar Mission set sail. Dr. Robb, Mrs. Sutherland, 
 and Mrs. Timson, returning after furlough, were accom- 
 panied by Mr. and Mrs. Robert M. Beedie, Mr. Thomas 
 Campbell, and Mr. Alexander S. Morton, appointed 
 respectively to Ikorofiong, Creek Town, and Duke Town, 
 in the capacity of teachers or catechists, going out for 
 the first time. 
 
 In a letter to John Chisholm, Esq., dated June 21, 
 1873, Mr. Anderson mentioned the death at Creek Town 
 on June 5 of Miss E. Johnstone, who had laboured long 
 and successfully in Calabar. Referring to church attend- 
 ance, he wrote : — 
 
 Church continues to be very well attended, though, 
 alas ! but few seem disposed to renounce heathenism and 
 embrace Christianity in its wholeness. 
 
 Alluding to his sermons, he said : — 
 
 In looking over all my papers the other day, I won- 
 dered a little to see that I have so few discourses written 
 out. I speak best (that is, most comfortably) from mere 
 skeletons— and I have lots of them. However, the thought 
 occurred to me some time ago that unless all my friends 
 die before me, perhaps some of them may like a memento 
 of me when I am away — so I picked out twenty of my 
 sketches for the purpose of writing out as spoken. 
 
 33
 
 514 Old Calabar Period 
 
 Writing to Mr. Chisholm on Oct. n, Mr. Ander- 
 son referred to the death of Mrs. Timson : — 
 
 On the 20th Sept. our amiable and gentle sister, Mrs. 
 Timson, was taken from us. She came here eighteen years 
 ago as Miss Barty. She was about three years a member 
 of our household. She was tall and slender — too narrow- 
 shouldered for this climate — but a most pious, modest, 
 amiable girl. She became Mrs. Timson. She had four or 
 five children — a twin-birth, however both still-born. 
 After her husband's death she went home in very feeble 
 health, and should never have returned to Africa. She 
 arrived here on Saturday, Aug. 9, with Dr. Robb and 
 others, and on that day six weeks she was taken away 
 after a week's fever. No fatal termination was looked for 
 till Friday night. On Sabbath morning her remains were 
 committed to the tomb in the lone family cemetery at 
 Ikoneto, and there she slumbers beside her husband and 
 three of her children. 
 
 I trust that Mrs. Timson's death will not frighten any- 
 one on account of our climate. I believe that she might 
 have lived a few years had she remained at home; but 
 Ur. Robertson, Mr. Goldie, and I warned the Mission 
 Board that she was not a fit subject for Africa. A hun- 
 dred others — with broad shoulders and expansive ehest — 
 might live here as well as at home, with occasional trips 
 to any cold region. 
 
 In the notice of Mrs. Timson's death in the Record 
 (Dec. 1873) it is said : — 
 
 She had returned to this country about two years 
 ago, and having, under medical advice, prolonged her stay 
 beyond the usual period, she returned to her chosen work, 
 without any medical interdict. . . . All who knew her 
 intimately attest, in the most unhesitating terms, her 
 devotedness to the work to which she had given her life. 
 Indeed, when the idea was presented to her, of relinquish- 
 ing the mission field for the sake of attending to the 
 children who were thrown on her sole parental care by 
 the death of her husband, she replied to the suggestion by
 
 Sermon on Death of Mrs. Timson 515 
 
 a flood of tears, and said that she had given herself to 
 Calabar, and had never recalled this surrender. The three 
 children, aged seventeen, fifteen, and eleven, are now cast 
 on the care of the Church ; and the trust, we doubt not, 
 will be practically realised. 
 
 In a tender funeral sermon, Mr. Anderson said of 
 Mrs. Timson : — 
 
 Her unassuming piety, her prayerfulness, and her 
 attachment to her Bible, with her simplicity of character, — 
 for she was an Israelite indeed, in whom there was no 
 guile, — secured our highest estimation. I question if 
 there was a better-thumbed Bible in Old Calabar than that 
 belonging to Margery Barty. We have known her as 
 maid, as wife and mother, and as widow, and can testify 
 to the excellency and propriety of her demeanour in each 
 relationship which she sustained. . . . 
 
 One wonders why she was permitted to return to 
 Calabar only to die. Whatever may be thought or said of 
 human arrangements, we may rest assured that He who 
 holds the keys of Hades and of death doth all things 
 wisely and well. Her corporeal vigour was never very 
 great, even when she was at her best — I refer, of course, 
 only to what she has been in this climate ; and yet it is 
 quite possible that she may have received from the Master 
 a higher commendation than that which He shall bestow 
 on some of us who possess far greater bodily strength. 
 I have no doubt that He has said of her, " She hath done 
 what she could." What could an angel expect more? 
 Let us all endeavour to merit such a plaudit. . . . 
 
 In the letter to Mr. Chisholm, Mr. Anderson referred to 
 
 the new teacher, Mr. Morton, who was connected with 
 
 Dalkeith:— 
 
 Mr. Morton is getting on exceedingly well. He is just 
 the man we need for the station here. His heart is in his 
 work — and that is the great thing. He likes the children, 
 and they like him. He promises fair to master the 
 language in a short time. He and I read together daily,
 
 5 1 6 ( >ld Calabar Period 
 
 taking Greek and Efik alternately. (The two languages 
 are not quite the same ! !) 
 
 The letter also contains reference to the progress of 
 the work : — 
 
 Matters are moving on very comfortably at present. 
 Church crowded twice each Sabbath. But friends must 
 not forget that the work to be done is very great. The 
 abolition of Sabbath market, etc., was well, but only 
 indicated the fall of one or two outposts of the enemy. 
 Polygamy and slavery are the Malakhoff and Redan 
 which will demand many a fell struggle ere they fall. 
 
 I gave great offence to the authorities lately by not 
 preventing some of those whom they claim as slaves from 
 getting away to Fernando To. I tell them that I cannot 
 act as policeman or public informer for them — that all I 
 can promise is that I shall take no active part in helping 
 their slaves to run away from the country. This, however, 
 hardly satisfies them. My path of duty in the matter 
 seems quite plain. 
 
 The following " spontaneous testimony to the Christian 
 influence of the Mission at Duke Town" from natives of 
 Sierra Leone, Cape Coast, and elsewhere, resident in Old 
 Calabar, addressed to Mr. Anderson, appeared in the 
 Record, Jan. 1874: — 
 
 . . . God has blessed your labour in a degree the 
 extent of which you are little aware. We in the town 
 have seen, and testify, how in former days one could 
 hardly know the Sabbath from any other day in the week ; 
 for nearly at every turn of the streets you saw drums 
 beating, songs singing, dancing going on, market-keeping, 
 etc. But now how great is the change ! A stop has been 
 put to all these things, through your unwearied efforts in 
 representing matters to the king and chiefs, and showing 
 them how it is against God's law for all these things to be 
 done on the Sabbath day. More also, there is now a surpris- 
 ing fondness in the whole town, among male and female, to
 
 Address to Mr. Anderson 517 
 
 attend divine service on Sunday; and as we see them 
 marching up the hill in single file, and sending their 
 servants to hurry up others who were not ready in time, 
 we cannot but wonder with open mouths, and say, " What 
 hath God wrought ! " and as we go to the service, we are 
 also greatly surprised to see that the once-neglected 
 church of Duke Town, and the unoccupied seats (to- 
 gether with the schoolroom), can hardly be sufficient to 
 contain all that go to the worship of the Lord. 
 
 Permit us then, sir, to offer our hearty congratulations 
 to you for the zeal and untiring exertions among these 
 people, for whose well-being you have already spent 
 twenty-four years of missionary labour towards the 
 advancement of Christ's gospel and the glory of God's 
 kingdom, and also for the success of the Mission of which 
 you are a member. We also hope that these people who 
 now go to church may not only be attendants, but by 
 your preaching and teaching be soon converted to true 
 followers of Christ. And may God grant you health and 
 strength, not only to labour in Duke Town, but to be a 
 blessing to all the inhabitants of Calabar ! 
 
 In the Annual Report for 1873, Mr. Anderson, refer- 
 ring to day-school work, said : — 
 
 One thing has been a bone of contention between 
 the native gentlemen and us for many years, viz., our 
 persistency in teaching as well as learning the Efik tongue. 
 They wish us to teach their children English, and English 
 only. We have never felt it to be our duty to do so. 
 This has led several of our headmen to employ some 
 of the Accras as teachers or family tutors. Three of 
 them we know to be thus employed. The competition 
 will doubtless prove beneficial in the long-run. The 
 training and teaching of our native teachers require a 
 considerable amount of evening work from Mr. Morton 
 and myself. 
 
 Referring to the out-stations, Mr. Anderson wrote : — 
 
 These are the Efut farms and the Ed'ibe-Ed'ibe 
 villages, all lying within a radius of three or four miles
 
 5 iS < )ld Calabar Period 
 
 from the Mission Hill, and the two Henshaw Towns, one 
 of which is a suburb of Duke Town on the north-east, and 
 the other a village a mile distant on the south-west. This 
 latter merits a sentence or two. It has a population of, it 
 is supposed, about 500, either in the town or belonging to it. 
 It affects to have its own king, and its own laws and 
 customs. Its headmen give us, in various ways, great 
 encouragement in our work. Fully the half of our 
 Sabbath congregation is from Henshaw Town. 
 
 Mr. Anderson wrote to Mr. Chisholm on November 13, 
 
 i«73:— 
 
 ... I think I have mentioned to you that Consul 
 Charles Livingstone came on us unexpectedly last year as 
 a boarder. He lived with us a very canny life from April 
 1872 up till the 1 8th ult., when he left us to go home to 
 enter on his retiring pension. He was troubled with a 
 bronchial complaint all the time he was with us, but other- 
 wise his general health was good ; and on the 1 8th ult. he 
 left us in good health and spirits to go home with Captain 
 Croft — one of the most vigorous men connected with the 
 African coast — with whom I have crossed the ocean three 
 times. He also was in capital health when here — quite 
 proud of his splendid new steamer Ethiopia : this was her 
 first voyage. 
 
 On the arrival of the Africa on Sabbath evening last, the 
 community here was startled by the intelligence — " Consul 
 Livingstone and Captain Croft both dead from yellow fever 
 on this side Cape Coast." I am not quite sure of dates — 
 I think Livingstone died on the 27th — was buried at sea. 
 Croft twelve hours later, and was buried on shore at Idda 
 or W'hyda — could not make out which. . . . The dispen- 
 sation will afflict Dr. Livingstone when he hears of it, if he 
 hears of it on earth. 1 
 
 Matters moving on in pretty much the old way. All 
 in the Mission well at present. Mr. Morton well, and 
 doing well. Mr. Beedie has had a sharp attack of fever, 
 
 1 Dr. Livingstone died a few months before, May 1873. Regarding Charles 
 Livingstone, see Blaikie's Personal Life of David Livingstone (1SS0), pp. 
 88-9 and passim.
 
 Sermons 519 
 
 but is getting round. My right shoulder is rheumatic. If 
 so in our comfortably warm climate, what would it be 
 in your cold climate? So I reason. 
 
 No, not intending to publish— but beginning to forget 
 what is meant by some of my [shorthand] marks on my 
 skeletons — so in order to have something to read {when un- 
 able to preach) without requiring to spell the words, I have 
 copied out twenty-five of my most important discourses, 1 
 which I can use at short notice — here or elsewhere. 
 
 1 These perished in the fire in 1882.
 
 CHAPTER XXVI 
 
 Labours, 1874- 1876 — War between Duke Town and Henshaw Town 
 
 WRITING on the 1st of May 1874, Mr. Anderson sent the 
 following extracts from his Journal : — 
 
 Thursday, Jan. 1. — No such inbringing of the year 
 here as you had in Edinburgh. ... At ten forenoon I 
 preached in King Archibong's yard to the largest 
 assembly of worshippers I have ever addressed in the 
 town. With one exception, the multitude were deeply 
 attentive. King and queen were both present. Oh for a 
 ripple of the wave of revival by which Edinburgh has been 
 blessed ! 
 
 Thursday \ 22. — Saddened somewhat to-day on receipt 
 of intelligence of departure of a right noble fellow-worker 
 when I was in Jamaica, George Millar, Esq., long Principal 
 of the Academy at Montego Bay. Many hearts in 
 Jamaica will be softened when they hear — doubtless they 
 have heard ere now — of his departure. In regard to 
 myself, I have said saddened someivhat, for really I do not 
 feel now as in earlier years when friends are taken away. 
 At my time of life I feel the death or funeral of a friend to 
 be something like bidding him good-bye as he embarks on 
 the homeward-bound mail steamer. A steamer or two 
 more, I must pack up and follow. 
 
 Thursday, Feb. 5. — Over creek to-day at what I 
 call Henshaw Town North. Have not been there for 
 several weeks. There is a large population in the town. 
 Some of the headmen are — -or profess to be — anxious for 
 a school to be opened among them for their children. 
 One or two of the native members go over on Sabbaths 
 and hold meetings in several of the houses, but this 
 scarcely satisfies our friends. 
 
 520
 
 Retrospect of Ouarter Century =;2i 
 
 Sabbath, 8. — Attendance to-day very cheering. Cob- 
 ham Town people were present in a body, the first time 
 for years. Queen Archibong, and a great number of ladies 
 in her train, also put in an appearance. An old story, 
 the Sixth Commandment, forenoon ; our Lord's Ascension, 
 afternoon. 
 
 In a paper entitled " Retrospect of a Quarter of a 
 Century" 1 Mr. Anderson reviewed in a characteristic way 
 the changes that had taken place in Duke Town during 
 the twenty-five years he and Mrs. Anderson had laboured 
 there : — 
 
 For a long time the work was of a very " uphill " kind 
 indeed. We had sometimes very interesting meetings, 
 and sometimes my hearers would favour me with their 
 remarks on what was said. One day, when I had been 
 speaking on the greatness or glory of God, Henry Cob- 
 ham observed, " I think God has no night." . . . One 
 Sabbath morning I found Henry quite out of humour, 
 and expatiating on the ingratitude of his slaves. " What 
 have they been doing now, Henry ? " " Look here, I 
 call them all at nine o'clock, give every one a glass of 
 rum to make them come when you come, to hear God's 
 word ; and see ! They drink my rum, and now they all 
 go away! I can't find one of them!" "Well, we must 
 just go on without them." . . . One Sabbath, shortly after 
 some deed of blood, I was speaking of the resurrection 
 of the dead, intimating that, at the sound of the last 
 trumpet, murderers and murdered will arise together, and 
 together stand before God. My auditors could bear no 
 more. King Archibong I. jumped up in fury : " We go 
 
 1 Record, May 1875. In a letter to Mr. Chisholm, Mr. Anderson re- 
 marks : "You would wonder to see me represented in the Record as 
 viewing twenty-six years as a quarter Of a century. That paper was written 
 on F'eb. 10, 1874, and began with a reference to 'twenty-five years ago.' 
 Dr. MacGill, however, just kept it idle for a whole twelvemonth — and then 
 changed twenty-five into twenty-six. Had it been written in Feb. last, the 
 numbers of members, etc. and several allusions would have been rather 
 different."
 
 522 Old Calabar Period, 
 
 now," and hurried off towards the doorway of the yard. 
 H. Cobham cried out: "That plenty for to-day"; and 
 Mr. Young said in his softest manner : " That do for 
 to-day, Mr. Anderson ; you come back next Sunday and 
 tell us all about it." And thus my congregation dismissed 
 me that day. . . . During the period under review, 
 seventy-nine adults have been baptized here. Of these, 
 fifteen are dead, twelve have drawn back, and several 
 have gone to other localities. Forty-one persons, includ- 
 ing several of our own countrymen, baptized elsewhere, 
 have been received into full communion here. Of these, 
 sixteen are known to be dead, six are known to have 
 drawn back, and most of the others are now elsewhere. 
 Sixty-three have been received in full communion from 
 other churches. Of these, sixteen are known to be dead, 
 and most of the others are now in other parts of the world. 
 The church has just been a temporary resting-place for 
 most of these. Eight of those baptized in infancy have 
 been admitted to the Lord's table. Of these, one has 
 died. There have thus been in connection with the church 
 at Duke Town during the quarter of a century one hundred 
 and ninety-one. Of these, forty-eight arc known to be 
 dead. Forty-seven infants have been baptized, and of 
 these nine have died. 
 
 The school has never been so well attended — perhaps 
 it has not been so well conducted — as it should have been. 
 This arises from the fact that during the greater portion 
 of the time under consideration one man has had to be 
 both minister and schoolmaster at the station, and this has 
 doubtless interfered with the effectiveness of his work in 
 both capacities. I believe that about four hundred young 
 people have been at school, the most of whom have been 
 taught to read, and also to do a little in writing and 
 arithmetic. In Mr. Morton we have a teacher whose 
 heart is in his work, and it may be expected that hence- 
 forth our educational department will flourish as it has 
 never done hitherto. 
 
 Our Church membership is but small. In all countries 
 there may be more members than Christians in a Church ; 
 but I believe that in a community like ours there may be 
 more Christians thin there are Church members. Poly-
 
 The Master Responsible for his Slaves 523 
 
 gamy, very properly I think, excludes from Church 
 fellowship ; but I have never ventured to denounce 
 perdition on all who have entered into such a state of life 
 while ignorant of New Testament law on the subject, and 
 who have not been able to see it to be their duty to 
 abandon that position. I have no hesitation in declaring 
 that all who enter into such relationships, after they know 
 the mind of Christ on the matter, do thereby ruin their 
 souls. I believe that the stringent rules of the Church in 
 regard to slavery have proved a barrier to some in regard 
 to joining the Church. They see quite well that the anti- 
 slavery declaration which they are required to subscribe 
 before being received into fellowship, if honestly carried 
 out, renders their slaves practically free. I do not wonder 
 that this appears to some as an insuperable barrier to 
 their becoming Church members. A man having twelve 
 slaves may wish to join the Church. He may not only 
 sign our declaration in regard to them, he may even give 
 each of them a sort of writ of manumission, declaring that 
 he gives up all claim to them. What more could the man 
 do? But such a document would be utterly ignored by 
 all the laws and customs of the country. The master 
 would still remain responsible to the community for the 
 misdeeds of any of the supposed twelve — as much so as if 
 he had not given up all claim to them. Not only so, but 
 each of these twelve may purchase another twelve slaves, 
 and thus the poor man, ere he is aware of it, may be 
 responsible to the public for the conduct of one hundred 
 and forty-four persons, besides his original twelve. Not 
 only so ; but there is nothing, in so far as I know, save want 
 of means, to prevent those one hundred and forty-four pur- 
 chasing other slaves to any extent, thus indefinitely increas- 
 ing the responsibilities as well as the wealth of the great 
 man whom all acknowledge as their master and owner. I 
 for one am not prepared to say that a man cannot be a 
 Christian unless he break through all entanglements under 
 this head, and subscribe the declaration as required by the 
 Church in order to membership. And then there are the 
 old, the diseased, the very poor, and the oppressed, among 
 wives, widows, and slaves, who cannot attend public service 
 anywhere, but who are instructed privately in regard to
 
 :;r>4 Old Calabar Period 
 
 the way of salvation ; some of whom we know to be 
 instant in prayer, and humbly looking for pardon and 
 salvation through the merits of the One Mediator. All 
 these things considered, I cherish the conviction that our 
 Communion roll does not contain the names of all around 
 us who are on the way to everlasting bliss. On " that 
 day " there will assuredly be found many discrepancies 
 between earth's Communion roll and the Lamb's Book of 
 Life — some of them very melancholy, and others very 
 delightful. 
 
 No one will imagine that the foregoing statements are 
 meant to indicate that Duke Town is thoroughly evan- 
 gelised. The work of the gospel is little more than begun, 
 but I think I can say that it is begun. A few hundreds 
 have been brought, more or less, under the influence of the 
 sacred word ; but the thousands still remain unimpressed, 
 uninterested, and uninstructed. Contrasting the first Sab- 
 bath I spent in Duke Town with Sabbath last, I see much 
 reason why I should thank God and take courage. . . . 
 
 But the great result of this brief retrospect of a quarter 
 of a century ought to be, I trust will be, increased effort in 
 time to come; greater earnestness in prophesying to the 
 dry bones, and saying unto them, "Live"; and greater 
 earnestness in prophesying to the wind, " Come from the 
 four winds, O breath ! and breathe upon these slain, that 
 they may live." 
 
 The Journal continues: — 
 
 Tuesday, Feb. 1 2. — Twenty-five years to-day since my 
 partner and I first set foot on Calabar soil. We have had 
 our ups and downs, our sorrows and our joys. We have 
 seen many changes in the town and among the shipping. 
 Wc feel grateful that during the greater portion of the 
 quarter of a century which has passed over us here we 
 have been so L<Jdom laid aside by sickness. We trust 
 that we have not been altogether idlers in the vineyard, 
 though we ma)- not have been able to do so much as we 
 expected to accomplish. In looking at the then and now, 
 we feel that it becomes us to erect our Ebenezer anew to- 
 day, and to proclaim with grateful hearts, " Hitherto hath
 
 Death of Black Davis 525 
 
 the Lord helped us ! " And we feel confident that He will 
 not forsake us now that the evening shades are gathering 
 around us. 
 
 Wednesday, 25. — At Creek Town, at the coronation of 
 our friend HenshawTom Foster, long a consistent member 
 and office-bearer in the Church, now transformed into King 
 Eyo Honesty VII. It has been, I trust, a good day for the 
 Church in Calabar. 
 
 Friday, 27. — Along with several other members of the 
 Mission, and at the request of our new Consul, George 
 Hartley, Esq., at a consular meeting held on one of the 
 hulks. 
 
 Sabbath) March 1. — The sixth anniversary of the open- 
 ing of our church. A great crowd forenoon ; both church 
 and schoolroom packed full. Both places respectably 
 filled in afternoon. Mrs. Anderson, Mrs. Sutherland, Mrs. 
 Fuller, and Mr. Morton all put forth their energies to meet 
 the emergency. Those who got into church had their atten- 
 tion turned to the old, old story — forenoon, Isa. xxxii. 2 ; 
 afternoon, Luke vi. 19. The school attendance was 
 divided into classes, and taught by the ladies. A laborious 
 but happy day. 
 
 Black Davis, one of the wealthiest and most influential 
 of the native traders, died on Jan. 25, and was buried on 
 Jan. 27. Mr. Anderson described in his Journal 1 the 
 funeral and the events that followed : — 
 
 Went to town at eight forenoon to see what was going 
 on. Returned again at noon, accompanied by Mrs. Suther- 
 land and Mr. Morton, and authorised by King- Archibong 
 to see everything that could be seen. We saw the grave, 
 eighteen or twenty feet deep ; the coffin, rather an imposing 
 affair ; crowds of mourners ; and piles of European goods, 
 contributed in respect for the dead, a part of which was to 
 be put in the grave, and a part to be divided among — 
 I hardly know whom. Gifts came pouring in from all 
 quarters all the time we could spare, so that we had to 
 leave before the coffin was laid in its resting-place. The 
 
 1 Record, Aug. 1874.
 
 526 Old Calabar Period 
 
 scene was diversified here and there by the sight of a 
 slaughtered bullock. Better slaughtered bullocks than 
 murdered men. 
 
 Wednesday, 28. — The departed Black Davis owned a 
 vast number of people in the plantations. The males form 
 a powerful party among the blood-men. I had information 
 from a trustworthy source that a large body of these men 
 had come into the town, and seemed bent on mischief — i.e., 
 wished to charge some person or persons with causing 
 their master's death, and to cause such person or persons 
 to eat the poison bean. I intimated this to our European 
 friends who were at the weekly prayer meeting in the 
 evening, and requested their aid in keeping the blood-men 
 in check. . . . Three volunteered to aid me in any way 1 
 thought best, namely, Mr. Morton, Captain Walker, and 
 Mr. White. All four set out at once under the splendid 
 moonlight, scoured the town, went to King Archibong's 
 and implored him not to allow any cserc to be administered. 
 lie said he would not. We went to Black Davis's, met a 
 large number of the blood-men on the premises, got chairs 
 and sat down among them, and reasoned as best we could 
 on the evil of murder and the folly of imagining that in 
 such a case as that of their late master there could be any 
 ifbt which caused death. Whether our exhortations were 
 of much avail, I know not. We felt that we had done 
 what we could. I have no doubt that it was well to let 
 the whole town see that their proceedings were watched 
 with interest by white men. 
 
 Saturday, 31. — Glad to learn that Egbo proclamation 
 was made to-day, forbidding any devil-making for Black 
 Davis to-morrow. This will ensure in great measure the 
 quiet of the town. 
 
 Monday, March 16. — A dark scene opens. Black 
 Davis's people seem determined to have some victims 
 to follow their late master into another world. Down to 
 town twice this forenoon, accompanied by Mrs. Sutherland, 
 to save one of the widows from the ordeal. We did not 
 know till too late that the esere had been administered to 
 other three of the widows, all of whom died. 
 
 Tuesday, 17. — In town both forenoon and afternoon, 
 trying to ascertain on what grounds the three women were
 
 Letter to Archibong III. 527 
 
 made to take csere yesterday. Laying together all the 
 information obtainable, I believe that two of them had 
 been unfaithful before Black Davis's death; and in regard 
 to the third, that a few days before he was seized with his 
 last illness, he had found fault with her about some food 
 she had prepared for him, when she told him very signifi- 
 cantly that in a little while he would follow his fathers, i.e. 
 die. It is alleged against one of the other two, that, when 
 she heard in the plantation of Black Davis's death, she, in 
 presence of several witnesses, expressed her joy. But the 
 victims are not here to answer for themselves. Talked 
 seriously with King Archibong about the matter. 
 
 Wednesday, 18. — The blood-men in great measure dis- 
 persed, but felt it my duty to go again to town to see how 
 matters stand, and endeavour to prevent any further evil. 
 After consideration, wrote and forwarded to King Archi- 
 bong this letter : — 
 
 "Mission House, March 18, 1874. 
 
 "Kino Archibong III., — Sir, I spent a good part of 
 yesterday trying to find out why these three women were 
 compelled to take esere on Monday. I cannot find any good 
 cause for killing them. I look on the affair as just killing; 
 for the dead— the very thing that you are bound by treaty 
 with England not to do. . . . 
 
 " This doing puts me to plenty shame. I write good 
 about Adam Archibong (now King Archibong III.), and 
 this bad fashion has come up again. I hear that no esere 
 has been given in Creek Town for twenty years. How is 
 it that Duke Town keeps up such a fashion ? 
 
 " Another thing. This puts me in trouble this way : 
 Suppose I write to Consul that Duke Town break treaty, 
 and he come and fine town heavily ; then Duke Town 
 people will say, ' Oh, Mr. Anderson is a bad man — brings 
 plenty trouble on us ! ' Suppose I no write to Consul 
 about such a thing, then what will white men say? — 'Oh, 
 Mr. Anderson is a worthless fellow, no fit to be a missionary ! 
 He see Calabar kill people for nothing, and does not report 
 it' What am I to do? — I am, Sir, your obedient servant, 
 
 " Wm. Anderson."
 
 3 
 
 28 ( )ld C vlabar Period 
 
 To the above letter King Archibong sent me a verbal 
 reply, in substance a repetition of what he said to me, to 
 the effect that he was very sorry that he did not send for 
 me or some other white man, that I might hear all the 
 evidence against the women, and also their own confession, 
 which left no doubt as to their guilt ; and that, should any 
 other case of the kind occur, he will send for me and be 
 greatly guided by my opinion in such a matter. This is 
 certainly an improvement on the style of our last king: 
 " You white men attend to your own business ; you have 
 nothing to do in town palavers." 
 
 Sabbath, 29. — Our Communion. Our brother, Dr. Robb. 
 who has been with us a short time for health's sake, took 
 part in the service. His vigour of address, both in Efik and 
 English, shows how well Duke Town air agrees with him. 
 
 Tuesday, April 7. — Roused between ten and eleven 
 forenoon by the welcome intelligence that a mother and 
 twins were at Henshaw Town beach, having just arrived 
 from a distant plantation, where the birth had taken place 
 about twenty-four hours before. Mrs. Anderson, though 
 suffering a good deal, hurried off to meet and welcome the 
 strangers, and in a short time she had them at home. She 
 declares the twins to be two of the finest and strongest- 
 looking boys she has ever seen of their age. The family 
 belongs to Henshaw Town, whose chief had no objection 
 to their being at once located in the town ; but Mrs. 
 Anderson and he agreed that it would be better for the 
 trio to be at the mission-house, till the mother be strong 
 enough to take care of the little fellows, — so that this is 
 not a case requiring an appeal to friends for aid. 
 
 Friday, 10. — Being in the Qua neighbourhood, I 
 thought I might step the length of Old Town and see 
 what was being done in the school there. Found our 
 teacher busy in school, but with only eight scholars 
 present. Catechised them a little, and found them 
 familiar with the answers of our smallest Catechism. 
 Found the King of Qua not unwilling to have a school 
 in his town. Came in by Henshaw Town North, and 
 made a few calls, announcing the approach of Sabbath. 
 " Jo-morrow Saturday, and then ? " — " Then God's day."- 
 " Well, remember Fourth Commandment."
 
 Walkerwood and Ikot-ansa 529 
 
 Wednesday, 15. — Visited Qua and Aki'm, taking with 
 me an interpreter and two large alphabet cards. Had a 
 little gospel work and school work at both places. There 
 is a fine field for an energetic worker at Qua — not so 
 sure about Aki'm. Mrs. Sutherland expended a good 
 deal of labour on both, many years ago, the results of 
 which are still visible. 
 
 Tuesday, 21. — Captain Walker has opened a new 
 school, a mile and a half or two miles from Walkerwood, 
 at a small town called Ikot-ansa. Accompanied by 
 Captain Walker, visited both schools to-day. It seems 
 that the etiquette of the region forbade the chiefs of 
 Ikot-ansa to send their children out of their territory 
 to be taught. The same teacher does duty at both 
 schools, teaching at the new place in the morning, and 
 at the old in the evening. Twenty children were at 
 the new school to-day, all neat and clean, and clothed in 
 suitable raiment, provided by Captain Walker and his 
 friends. I was struck with the fine countenances of the 
 children. . . . The king and the queen and a number of 
 ladies and gentlemen were present, and seemed interested 
 in the examination of the school. Examined Walkerwood 
 school in the afternoon, and found that progress was 
 being made there. The region in which Captain Walker 
 operates, lying between Old Town and the Qua River, 
 is one of great beaut}-. 
 
 Monday, May 4. — An attack of fever began on Friday 
 evening, and lasted thirty hours. I gratefully acknow- 
 ledge, however, that the attack was exceedingly gentle. 
 It left me yesterday morning a good deal exhausted, 
 however. 
 
 In the Annual Report for 1874 it was stated:— 
 
 The Rev. Dugald Campbell has lately returned to this 
 country in a state of broken health ; and but for a lack of 
 labourers, arising from this and other causes, Mr. Anderson 
 would have availed himself of the arrangement, by which 
 it has been customary to obviate the" dangers of the 
 climate by periodical changes at intervals of about five 
 years. 
 
 34
 
 530 Oli» Calabar Period 
 
 With reference to the English service, note is taken 
 of the changed conditions of European trading life in 
 ilabar : — 
 
 The European occupants of the hulks are few in 
 number when compared with those of the olden time 
 on board the ships. There are, however, nine European 
 trading establishments on the river, each with its super- 
 cargo, clerk, mate, etc. Out of all these only three are in 
 fellowship with the Church. These three, and I may say 
 two — or perhaps three — others, are the only Europeans 
 who have attended public worship with anything like 
 regularity during the past year. It is matter of thank- 
 fulness that European example in a matter of this sort is 
 not so potent as it was twenty years ago. 
 
 Extracts from Journal. 1 giving an account of the work 
 during the first half of 1875, follow: — 
 
 Friday, Jan. 1. — The year opens auspiciously. Very 
 good attendance at our New Year's 1 )ay service in 
 King Archibongs yard. At the close of the service the 
 king intimated to all present that he himself was very 
 -lad to have God's word, and that, if any of his people 
 wished to leave off the old fashions and join the Church, 
 they should not be molested on that account. 
 
 Tuesday, Feb. 16. Mad a long conversation to-day, 
 in his own house, with our friend George Duke. Esq. 
 lie is certainly a good deal under the power of the 
 world to come. The one barrier in his way is polygamy, 
 and he seems strongly disposed to break it down, though 
 s that it will be a difficult task to accomplish. 
 Called his attention to promised support and strength : 
 " My grace is sufficient for thee." 
 
 Thursday, 25. — Our friend George Duke has taken 
 the decided step has effected a friendly separation from 
 
 1 With reference to the sending of extracts from his Journal. Mr. And' 
 Mr. Chisholm : "Advancing years make me awfii lazy at 
 ... I can shed to put pen to paper unless impelled in some 
 
 ma 1
 
 Emancipadoes still Slaves! 531 
 
 all his wives. Nine of them are free women, and are 
 considered ladies of importance. To one of them he is to 
 be married "in Christian fashion " in a few days. 
 
 Thursday, April 20. — Slavery is indeed a curse! A 
 number of people have been living beside us for years 
 whom we looked upon as emancipadoes, most of them 
 furnished with consular free papers — said free papers 
 having been approved by Her Majesty's Government. 
 No one had troubled the persons referred to during three 
 reigns ; but soon after the accession of our present king, 
 one of the free young men presented his claim to ten or 
 twelve of them as being his slaves\ His plea is, that the 
 eldest of the party, who redeemed all the others, was once 
 his father's slave, and was given to him when he was 
 an infant ! According to Calabar law and custom, all 
 the slaves bought by a slave belong to the master or 
 mistress of the purchaser. In the present case, however, no 
 just claim can be made for either purchaser or purchased. 
 The purchaser of the others was taken under British 
 protection in 1849 by the commander of an English 
 man-of-war, and with the full concurrence of King 
 Archibong I. and all the gentlemen of Duke Town. 
 He purchased several individuals (his wife among the 
 rest), but not with the intention of their 1 being slaves 
 to him or to anyone else ; for his purchases, whom 
 he and we considered as redeemed from slavery, were 
 presented to successive consuls on their official visits to 
 the river, and received from the consuls free papers in the 
 form approved by the Foreign Office. But I find I must 
 not enter into the history of the matter here. Suffice it 
 for the present to say, that the young man who claims 
 the individuals referred to has annoyed them so much for 
 some time past, that eight of them, including/^ members 
 of the Church, embarked to-day on the mail steamer to 
 search for a habitation where they will be allowed to 
 enjoy peace. They go in the meantime to Fernando Pol 
 May they be provided for, protected, and blessed ! 
 
 Wednesday, 28. — At Henshaw Town North, arranging 
 with the householders (a School Board not being as yet 
 organised !) for the opening of a school here. At our last 
 meeting of Presbytery it was agreed to withdraw William
 
 532 Old Calabar Period 
 
 Cobham from I lenshaw Town South, that he might 
 devote his time to some more destitute locality. 
 
 Found all the heads of the houses anxious to have a 
 school and preaching station established among them — 
 the only preliminary being that I should get King A.'s 
 assent to the movement. Called on the king on my way 
 home, laid the case before him, and he at once approved 
 of the project, so that we can at once carry it into 
 execution. 
 
 Sabbath, May 9. — Another interesting and delightful 
 day. Four adults were received into Church fellowship 
 by baptism, two of the four being our long-continued 
 friend George Duke, Fsq. and his wife. After the seniors 
 had been received into communion, six of George's 
 children (one of them a girl) were also baptized. 
 
 All things considered, it has been judged proper to 
 have a larger session than we have had for years — Captain 
 Walker and I being the only members thereof. There 
 was a difficulty, however. We have no old Church 
 members whose years (as Church members) would render 
 them venerable, so we must either be content to have 
 young men associated with us, or none. We chose the 
 former alternative ; and my townsman as well as country- 
 man, Mr. A. S. Morton, and a native, Ene Antika, were 
 some time ago duly elected to the office of ruling elders, 
 and both were ordained this afternoon with the usual 
 formalities to the important office. 
 
 Sabbath, May 16. — Our Communion. A very pleasant 
 day, and, I trust, profitable to the souls of many. 
 Seventy-five communicants took their places at the sacred 
 festival. We remembered with affectionate interest the 
 five of our members who since last Communion have gone 
 to find a resting-place in Fernando Po, if the Lord will. 
 
 Tuesday, 18. — At Old Town, in company with Mr. 
 Goldie, examining the state of the mission premises there. 
 Miss Mary Johnstone, 1 in compliance with the request of 
 the Presbytery, has kindly and courageously agreed to take 
 the superintendence of that station. The headmen of 
 the town seem delighted at the prospect of another 
 
 1 Sister of Mrs. Goldie and of Miss E. Johnstone. She joined the 
 Mission in 1S74, and after twenty years' faithful service retired in 1894.
 
 Dr. R( tint's Departure 533 
 
 European being located among them, and they promise 
 fair to attend meetings, send children to school, etc. etc. 
 May they remember their promises and perform them ! 
 
 Tuesday, June 22. — Nine years to-day since I last 
 bade farewell to my native land. I have never spent nine 
 shorter years than those which have elapsed since then. 
 It " seems only a few days" since my last return to Old 
 Calabar. How different my experience of this climate 
 from that of our esteemed brother now making prepa- 
 ration for leaving us finally ! Let me not forget that, 
 where much is given, much shall be required. 
 
 Friday, 25. — Meeting of Presbytery to-day, probably 
 the last that Dr. Robb will ever attend in this land. At 
 the close of the business he gave us a very touching and 
 interesting address, which was responded to in a very 
 feeling manner, on behalf of the remanent members of 
 Presbytery, by Mr. Goldie. We are sorry to be called 
 on to part with any brother, especially such a brother 
 as Dr. Robb, but we feel thankful to the Head of the 
 Church for permitting him to live and labour with us for 
 upwards of seventeen years. We are grateful that he has 
 been able to leave such monuments of ability and industry 
 behind him as the Old Testament, Bunyan's Pilgrim's 
 Progress, and other useful books, in the native tongue ; 
 thankful for the success that has attended his preaching 
 to the people, and his tutorial labours among the young 
 men ; and we look with hopefulness towards his future, 
 believing that a wide door of usefulness will yet be opened 
 up to him, and that he will be guided into some sphere in 
 which he will be able to render important service both to 
 the Church at home and to the cause of missions. 
 
 Sabbath, 27. — A solemn day for us. Dr. Robb preached 
 to us in Efik in the morning, and in English in the evening. 
 His "last words" among us were received with deep 
 attention by both natives and Europeans. 
 
 Tuesday, 29. — Accompanied Dr. Robb to the ship, and 
 then we took leave of each other — it may be till " that 
 day." He leaves us accompanied by the best wishes of 
 us all. He has been enabled to do a great work here : 
 perhaps even a greater azvaits him e/seiuhere ! 
 
 Wednesday, 30. — One of our young men, James
 
 534 Old C vlabak Perk id 
 
 Ballantyne by name, was sent about six weeks ago to 
 take charge of the school at Old Town. I have dropped in 
 on him repeatedly, and found him on each visit working 
 away energetically among twenty young people. I hear 
 that his addresses at the meetings held on Sabbath are 
 interesting and instructive, and listened to attentively. 
 Should European agency here decrease, may native 
 agency increase ! 
 
 The following letter, dated Sept. 14, 1875, contains a 
 graphic account of the fighting that took place on mission 
 ground, between Duke Town and Henshaw Town : — 
 
 To Rev. [ohn Law, John Chisholm, Esq., and all other 
 friends besides them. 
 
 . . . You are aware that the Mission Hill lies between 
 the two towns, Duke Town and Henshaw Town. Hen- 
 shaw Town people — a fewyears ago— would have their own 
 king. Duke Town admitted that Henshaw Town people 
 were proprietors of their own territory, and possessed regal 
 — I might call it imperial — power in their own town — could 
 make what laws they chose — had the power of life and death 
 over their own subjects, etc., but would not permit them to 
 call their chief by the English title " king." Egbo, you are 
 aware, is the title of a sort of Freemason Society, with 
 which the freemen of all the towns in Calabar are 
 connected, and the decisions of the institution in regard 
 to international matters (or inter-townal matters) are 
 final. Well, Duke Town prevailed on the Egbo Institution 
 to proclaim to the people of Henshaw Town that they 
 were not to call their headman "king." Henshaw Town 
 people set the Egbo ban at defiance, and also disregarded 
 the counsel of their best friends both in the Mission and 
 in the river — which was to "sit softly till they grew 
 stronger." They had already got a crown and sceptre 
 from Europe, and they actually held their coronation 
 ceremony, with abundance of flags, firing cannon, etc. 
 For this, Egbo pounced upon them, — took their crown 
 and sceptre and destroyed them ignominiously in Duke 
 Town, — and fined them (I think at first 600 boxes of 
 brass rods, and then reduced it to) 300 boxes of brass
 
 Seizure of Prince Duke 535 
 
 rods — say, £6co to ^700. From that day to this there 
 had been no cordiality between the towns. H. T. com- 
 plained some time ago that D. T. was oppressing them 
 too much at the interior oil markets. D. T., of course, 
 denies this. But I must be brief. 
 
 On Tuesday, Aug. 10th, a young man named Prince 
 Duke (I should say styled so) connected with the leading 
 families of Duke Town, was visiting a friend in the neigh- 
 bourhood of Henshaw Town. On his way home he 
 called on one of the H. T. chiefs, and they seized him 
 as a prisoner — put him in chains — and handled him rather 
 roughly. This was a rash step. In about half an hour 
 hundreds of armed men were rushing up the hill from 
 D. T., and about 40 or 50 came round from H. T. to the 
 line of the mission ground. Mr. Morton and I hurried to 
 the line — accompanied by a few Sierra Leone men — the 
 opposite parties were then shouting and pointing their 
 rifles at each other. I drew a line across the road with 
 my staff, and proclaimed that whoever should cross that 
 line would involve themselves in war with white men. Mr. 
 Morton and I, with the Sierra Leone men, then stood on 
 the line between the parties — addressing them by turns. 
 We were relieved from our position ere long by an Egbo 
 drum being sent by King Eyo of Creek Town (then a 
 refugee here) forbidding all firing of guns, and ordering all 
 to keep quiet till the chiefs should meet and consider 
 what should be done. Our presence had been beneficial, 
 however. 
 
 King Eyo, the river gentlemen, and we in the 
 Mission did what we could in the interests of peace for three 
 weeks, during which Prince Duke was kept a prisoner. But 
 the Henshaw Town men's demands were too high. They 
 required to be put, in all things, on a level with Duke 
 Town and Creek Town. To look at this on black and 
 white seems only reasonable, but Creek Town has some 
 Egbo privileges and honours peculiar to itself. Duke Town 
 has ditto. It was not likely that either town would sur- 
 render its peatlium ? 
 
 An Egbo from Orbn appeared on August 30th, and 
 — I scarcely know how — prevailed on Henshaw Town 
 to release Prince Duke. Whenever he was released.
 
 536 ( >i d Calabar Period 
 
 Duke Town demanded that the person named or known 
 as King Henshaw in. should be put into King Archi- 
 bong's hands, to be kept in chains and treated in the 
 same way as Prince Duke had been treated — and for the 
 same period three weeks. Intimation was also given 
 that if James Henshaw (King Henshaw in.) were not 
 surrendered in a short period, Duke Town would take 
 him by force. 
 
 Both parties then prepared for war. 
 On Tuesday morning last, large masses of armed men 
 —many of them blood-men from the plantations — moved 
 up the Mission Hill. Mr. Morton was then absent, 
 having been away for change. He returned about noon. 
 Mrs. A. and I went to see what was to be done. We kept 
 for a time in the inside of our mission fence. A strong 
 party of H. T. men were stationed behind a strong 
 barricade about twenty yards from us. Hostilities began 
 by D. T. people pitching billets of wood, spiked at each 
 end, among the II. T. people. H. T. speedily returned 
 the billets. So far as I have been able to learn, only one 
 serious wound was inflicted by these missiles — one poor 
 fellow got his mouth sadly smashed. The cry from both 
 sides rang out wildly, "Top, top," "Fire, fire," neither 
 party being desirous of firing the first shot. At length a 
 shot was fired. Though so near, I cannot tell from what 
 side — the combatants were so near each other. We 
 thought it as well to move to a distance, but we 
 experienced some new sensations, as shot of various 
 kinds went whistling — whistling is not the proper term, 
 but I have no better at hand — past us, snapping off the 
 twigs and leaves of the trees around us. Mrs. A. went off 
 to get lint and bandages for the wounded. The most of 
 them, however, were carried off at once to the town. But I 
 cannot write with composure on the occurrences of the day. 
 My chief design in taking up my pen at present was to 
 allay any apprehension which you may be under (should 
 you see " Loanda's " news) as to our safety. A consider- 
 able quantity of shot fell in our yard, and one rifle ball 
 which I may yet show you) popped through one of our 
 window panes. So far as I can form an estimate, there 
 were killed, of Duke Town 8 or 10, and of Henshaw
 
 Henshaw Town Destroyed 537 
 
 Town 14 or 16; wounded, of D. T. about 20; of H. T. 
 about 25. 
 
 The firing continued the whole day. D. T. attacked 
 H. T. also from the river. 
 
 It was a most melancholy day for me ; for most of 
 the chiefs of both armies were wont to form part of my 
 Sabbath congregation, and many on both sides were my 
 old scholars. 
 
 When evening came, Mr. Goldie, Mr. Morton, and I 
 went to King Archibong's to beg him to allow us to bring 
 all the women and children from Henshaw Town to the 
 mission premises. He would not consent to our going to 
 Henshaw Town, but told us that he would send orders to 
 his people to molest no unarmed person, male or female, 
 who might wish to leave H. T. After we left King A., 
 the river men went to him. H. T. reported to them that 
 they were quite exhausted. After going between the 
 parties all night — King Henshaw having escaped to one 
 of the hulks — this bargain was concluded : James Hen- 
 shaw (ex-king) is to be handed to King A. Six hours 
 will be allowed for all the H. T. people to escape with the 
 most valuable portions of their property. 
 
 At 12 noon on Wednesday, 8th inst, the town was 
 vacated, and D. T. hordes poured in, removed the valuables 
 from the various houses, and set fire to all. 
 
 I forgot to say above, in connection with the flying 
 about of shot, that both parties paid the utmost respect to 
 the mission premises. What a mercy was it that parties 
 fired at were in little danger of being struck ! Had there 
 been only three or four trained riflemen on each side, the 
 carnage would have been vastly greater than it was. 
 
 On Sabbath A.M. I had a goodly congregation of D. T. 
 people. I called their attention to 2 Chron. xxviii. 1-16, 
 Obad. 10-15, and Luke xiii. 1-5. I palavered with some 
 of the D. T. fellows, for they seemed glad in the destruc- 
 tion of H. T. I told them that they had nothing to boast 
 of — 3000 against 150 or 160. Not more than 100 men 
 in H. T. would have been admissible (physically) into any 
 English regiment. But probably, on the other hand, not 
 1000 out of the 3000 would have satisfied a British army 
 surgeon.
 
 - v s Old C s.labar Period 
 
 I I. T. people are now D. T. prisoners, but in the hands 
 of the Europeans. It is not yet settled where their future 
 
 li .ration is to be. 
 
 Sabbath was our Communion. I was utterly knocked 
 up at its close. Was unable to leave bed yesterday. A 
 little better now. Not in trim for writing. To-morrow 
 Wednesday anniversary of formation of Presbytery. I 
 have to preach the sermon. Alas for my hearers! — 
 Yours, worn-out, ^ • A. 
 
 On Sept. 2.S Mr. Anderson wrote from the hulk 
 
 Realm : — 
 
 1 drop only a line or two from the hulk of our friend 
 Mr. Gilbertson, 1 to say that we have just left a meeting at 
 which matters have been arranged between Duke Town 
 and Henshaw Town, under the auspices of H.B.M.'s 
 Consul. The chief provision is that Henshaw Town 
 people may rebuild their town, but are to live hence- 
 forth as subjects of the king of Duke Town. They 
 are to have the same rights and privileges as the 
 freemen of Duke Town, but are not to form a separate 
 and independent kingdom. This is perhaps the best 
 arrangement that could have been made, and we are 
 all obliged to Consul Hartley for his prompt and effective 
 interposition. 
 
 The Gambia arrived last evening with Miss Edgeriey 
 and Mr. Swan. They had a very pleasant voyage, and 
 look well. I must get up the hill, as this is the evening 
 of our Enk prayer meeting. Both church and schoolroom 
 were crowded twice last Sabbath. 
 
 Dr. Robb in a letter remarked : — 
 
 Is it not pleasing to see these men modifying their old 
 barbarities, and, after a trial of their strength, arranging 
 and ending their quarrel, under civilised and Christian 
 influence, with some regard to justice and humanity ? 
 But for this influence that quarrel would have had a 
 different issue— in perhaps the extermination of a whole 
 1 Brother of Mrs. S. H. Etlgerley.
 
 Appeal by Rev. S. H. Edgerley 539 
 
 village, in which neither women nor children would have 
 been spared. The members of the church at Creek Town 
 were collecting and purchasing food to be sent to the 
 people whose homes had been burned down. Such is the 
 way in which the kingdom of God progresses, changing 
 men and their manners, softening and subduing their 
 savagery, and in the end making them humane and 
 Christian. 
 
 In the Record for Aug. 1875 there was published an 
 account of the revival associated with the name of Mr. 
 D. L. Moody, and a vigorous appeal by Mr. Edgerley 
 for men for Calabar. The whole appeal is worth reprint- 
 ing, especially at the present time. I can only give a 
 portion bearing specially on the state of the Mission 
 in 1875: — 
 
 How has our section of the Church carried out her 
 plans with regard to the Calabar Mission? She has 
 allowed us to struggle on short-handed. At one time we 
 were able to extend, and, while rejoicing in our numerical 
 strength, added Ikoneto and Ikorofiong to the list of 
 our stations — each new place being nearer the aimed-at 
 interior. It is now fourteen years since Ikorofiong was 
 reached, and during this interval our numbers have been 
 such that at one time we were able to hold our own, and 
 at present are barely able to do so. We only do so by 
 extra labour, which can seldom be given. Duke Town, 
 with its surrounding districts of Old Town and Qua, is 
 very far from being sufficiently occupied ; Ikorofiong, 
 with Ibibio before it, is in the same condition ; and 
 Ikoneto is empty — a native teacher being there alone, 
 and, being alone, is unable to strike out into the sur- 
 rounding farms and villages as we wish him to do. Creek 
 Town, with its larger staff of native teachers to assist, is 
 the only part of Calabar that can boast of a sufficient 
 number of men to face the work lying at its door. The 
 consequence of this weakness is, first, The burden of work 
 on each labourer is not small, and, from its magnitude, is
 
 ^40 ( M.i> Calabar Period 
 
 apt to be disheartening; a second, When any of us is 
 under the not altogether pleasant duty of visiting this 
 country, he comes knowing that his absence throws 
 additional work on the brethren behind; and lastly, If we 
 can hardly hold our present ground, how are we to act on 
 the aggressive and win additional tribes to our Lord ? 
 
 Brethren have come to our help at different times, and 
 for them we thanked God, while we gave them cordial 
 welcome, and applauded their kindness and courage. But 
 they have been few and far between. During that time 
 disease and death have thinned our ranks as rapidly as 
 the Church has added to them ; and instead of rising to 
 meet the emergency and keep up our staff, our loving 
 mother — the United Presbyterian Church — seems disposed 
 to leave her children who remain to work and pray, to 
 weep and die alone. I believe, and dare to say, that, 
 judging as men judge, there would have been fewer cases 
 of sickness and death in the Calabar Mission had there 
 been more labourers in it to help and cheer one another. 
 
 The climate is unhealthy. I wish I could say other- 
 wise about it, but I cannot. At the same time, it is not 
 so bad as friends at home believe it to be. The weaker 
 the constitution the more care is necessary, but there are 
 constitutions that can continue healthy in Calabar and 
 give comfort to their possessors, without the employment 
 of more care than prudence and common sense would 
 suggest anywhere. There are yet present in the Mission 
 those — ladies also — who have been in it over a quarter of 
 a century. 
 
 There are reasons why we should call loudly for help 
 at present. God is blessing this country by pouring out 
 His Spirit in pentecostal measure and winning souls to 
 life. Looking at this revival and at the vastness of 
 heathendom, it appears to me that the Lord is preparing 
 an army for an assault upon the world at large. I am 
 glad to learn that some of those who have got good to 
 their souls have offered themselves for the foreign field. 
 I hope that every new day will report additions to them. 
 Let them come ; there is room for all in the wide world ! 
 We shall be glad to see half a dozen of them come to 
 Calabar. Do not think this number large to ask for at
 
 Needed Reinforcements 541 
 
 once, unless you think that God either will not find them 
 work or cannot find them support. 
 
 Mr. Goldie, writing in his Journal l with reference to 
 the departure of Dr. Robb, said : — 
 
 His leaving makes a great subtraction from our 
 strength, being so few that we are unable even to man 
 the stations at present formed. Indeed we have never 
 been able to do more than hold the ground occupied, and 
 that for the most part inefficiently, from lack of agents. 
 . . . We were hopeful that the revival movement would 
 have inspired some of those who have offered themselves 
 for the foreign service of the Church with as much zeal 
 and devotion as would lead them to brave the danger 
 even of any field, and so we solicited six new agents. 
 Our hope has been disappointed. Either such zeal exists 
 not, or our Mission Board has not discovered it. 
 
 In reply to this, Dr. MacGill wrote: 2 — 
 
 Our agents are too few, and they feel oppressed by 
 their littleness as a band. Mr. Goldie wonders that the 
 revival has not given a greater result to Calabar. Since 
 he penned his very suggestive complaint, one fruit of the 
 revival we have obtained in a young man (Mr. James 
 Swan), the son of one of our ministers, 3 who has left 
 business and gone to join the Mission ; and we are glad 
 to assure Mr. Goldie of our hope that there are " more 
 to follow." One minister, the Rev. Alexander Ross, 
 has left his congregation in Lismore, and sailed from 
 Liverpool with his wife, along with the Rev. S. H. and 
 Mrs. Edgerley, in the end of Oct. Mr. Ross goes to 
 strengthen Mr. Anderson's hands at Duke Town. 
 
 Mr. Anderson wrote to Mr. Chisholm on Dec. 24 :— 
 
 This is my last home letter for 1875. I feel it only 
 right to let you know of our purposes in regard to a 
 
 1 Record, Nov. 1875. - Ibid. 
 
 :; Mr. Swan of Comrie.
 
 54- ( >ld Calabar Period 
 
 change of climate for a season. Mrs. A. and I had 
 •lved never to leave the station again at one time, but 
 she is far from well — indeed I have never seen her more 
 worn-out. My health remains as usual, but dental infir- 
 mity requires that I be home soon. As I have now a 
 good substitute in Air. Ross — Messrs. Goldie and Edger- 
 ley being quite willing to help Mr. Morton with the Efik 
 services, etc. etc.— we purpose leaving this some time in 
 April, and being near you, if all go well, in end of May 
 or beginning of June. . . . 
 
 Matters are moving on with us in pretty much the old 
 way now. Henshaw Town people are vigorously at work 
 rebuilding their town. Their spirits are not at all sub- 
 dued. I suspect that all of them are feeling towards 
 Duke Town pretty much as many in France feel towards 
 Germany. I am sorry for this. . . . 
 
 Mr. Morton has been a great deal the better of his trip 
 to Gaboon and his sojourn there. He is very well at 
 present, and prosecuting his studies. 
 
 With reference to the work at the station, the Annual 
 Report 1 for 1875 says: — 
 
 Sabbath school has been attended by 100 children and 
 from 60 to 70 adults. The Mission agents, with Miss 
 Patterson and several of the native members, teach the 
 different classes. We have two public services in Efik. 
 . . . For several Sabbaths we have had fully 500 at 
 each service, both church and school being filled, worship 
 in both places being held at the same time ; but the 
 aggregate attendance at the two services has generally 
 been about 400. For the last two months [Nov. and 
 Dec], however, attendance at the native services has 
 been sadly interfered with by the authorities paying up 
 long arrears of devil-making. The revelry has been 
 carried on both day and night for weeks past, and is 
 likely to be so for weeks to come. This is a sad draw- 
 back on attendance at both church and school. King 
 Archibong declares that, after this bout is over, there will 
 be no more devil-making in his day. We said amen to 
 
 1 Record, June 1876.
 
 A Term of Ten Years 543 
 
 that. King Archibong is blind, and, owing to this infir- 
 mity, he scarcely ever leaves his house, even on account 
 of secular matters. He is not so much alive to the 
 importance of divine things as to allow himself to be 
 led to the sanctuary ; so, for his sake and for the sake 
 of others also, I commenced, some months ago, a new 
 service in Efik. It is held in the king's yard each 
 Sabbath at 1 1 o'clock forenoon. The attendance is in 
 general very good. The king has never been absent, and 
 the queen (so-called) has been so very seldom. 
 
 After morning service in church, Mrs. Sutherland, — 
 who, as heretofore, is indefatigable in her labours among 
 the women, — Mr. Morton, and generally several of the 
 church members, go to the town and hold meetings 
 with the non-churchgoers. We consider that fully 600 
 hear the word of life at this station from Sabbath to 
 Sabbath. At the morning Efik service we have read and 
 commented on Ex. x. to Deut. xi. ; and in the afternoon 
 we have clone the same with the Gospel by Matthew 
 and Acts i. to xii. At both diets of worship we have a 
 discourse upon some particular text or theme. The 
 English service has been kept up as usual from 5 to 6 
 o'clock afternoon, but the attendance has not been very 
 encouraging. 
 
 The Rev. Alexander Ross is addressing himself to the 
 language with equal diligence and success, and he is not 
 seldom varying his other work by taking charge of the 
 English service. 
 
 Dr. MacGill, in presenting the Report in the Record, 
 wrote regarding Mr. Anderson : — 
 
 Mr. Anderson has lingered in his tropical station, 
 amid its heat, its smokes, and toils, twice the ordinary 
 time without a furlough. Indeed all our Calabar agents, 
 with the exception of those who' have gone out for the 
 first time, have been twice in this country since Mr. 
 Anderson was here ; but it is believed he is, with Mrs. 
 Anderson, on his way hither at the moment when this 
 report is being presented to the Synod. 
 
 Ministers and congregations, who were wont to wel-
 
 544 Oli> Calabar Period 
 
 come Mr. Anderson with peculiar satisfaction into their 
 pulpits, cannot so readily calculate on his services during 
 his present visit, as other important work awaits him 
 when he will be able for it. The Jamaica Synod has 
 asked two evangelists to visit and stir up their churches ; 
 and the Foreign Committee, knowing his stirring powers, 
 his acquaintance with the Jamaica people, and his un- 
 dying interest in them, have proposed, after he shall have 
 rested for a while, to give him this important commission 
 to Jamaica.
 
 CHAPTER XXVII 
 
 Visit as a Deputy to Jamaica, 1876-77, including Visits to Sister 
 
 in America 
 
 As early as 1870 the idea of a visit to Jamaica by Messrs. 
 
 Anderson and Goldie was mooted. In introducing the 
 
 Annual Report for 1869 of the Old Calabar Mission, Dr. 
 
 H. M. MacGill wrote in the Record for June 1870 : — 
 
 The relation of our West Indian to our West African 
 Mission is peculiarly intimate, for our churches in Calabar 
 are in some sense the offspring of our churches in Jamaica. 
 It is an indication of healthful life when one Christian 
 enterprise thus gives being to another ; and one of the 
 debts which we owe to the Jamaica Mission is, that it gave 
 birth, by irresistible suggestion, to our undertaking in West 
 Africa, and sent forth such labourers as Waddell, and 
 Jameson, and Anderson, and Goldie, and Robb. We are 
 not without hope that two of these brethren — Messrs. 
 Anderson and Goldie — may, ere long, be the means of 
 giving new strength and closeness to the tie between our 
 two missions to the warm-hearted negro race, by carrying 
 the salutation of the younger churches on the shores of 
 Africa to the thousands of their brethren in our numerous 
 churches in Jamaica. A part of the joy, and even the 
 strength of our negro congregations, is to be derived from 
 the sympathy and fellowship which such a visit might 
 diffuse. 
 
 In the Record for Sept. 1876 the following reference is 
 made to Mr. Anderson's departure on his mission : — 
 
 About the time when this Record comes into the reader's 
 hands, our friend the Rev. William Anderson, after his very 
 
 35
 
 546 Old Calabar Period 
 
 brief visit to his native land, will have left our shores with 
 the view of doing evangelistic work in Jamaica for a 
 season, before returning to his loved labour in Old Calabar. 
 Jamaica was the first scene of his ministry ; and his pre- 
 sent object is to go through our churches in that island to 
 evangelise the people, and, under God, to revive among 
 them a sense of the need of a more earnest Christian life. 
 He will tell them, of course, of their daughter mission 
 in Old Calabar ; but first and last will tell them anew the 
 " old story " of redeeming love. Let prayer abound for a 
 blessing on his visit. 1 
 
 Mr. Anderson went and returned by way of America 
 to visit his now widowed sister, Mrs. Clohan, and her family, 
 at Wheeling, W. Virginia, U.S.A. The following letter to 
 Mr. Chisholm gives a brief account of his visit to America 
 and of his arrival in Jamaica. It is dated Kingston, Oct. 
 23, 1876:— 
 
 Our voyage across the Atlantic was very shaky. Cap- 
 tain, officers, fellow - passengers, all agreeable — but 
 weather too Bay -of- Biscay ish for the comfort of some 
 stomachs, though I kept up as well as most of my 
 neighbours. 
 
 New York — Oh, such a whirl ! 
 
 Philadelphia — grand — magnificent — beautiful. I wish 
 I had had a month to spend there. Mr. Wannamaker's 
 Sabbath school is quite a wonder — worth going a hundred 
 miles to see. I missed my niece Agnes, however, though, 
 on comparing notes afterwards, we found that we had 
 spent the whole of Saturday, Sept. 23rd, under one roof, 
 at the Centennial — and that both had been at Mr. Wanna- 
 maker's Sabbath school on the 24th. 
 
 My sister and I met on Tuesday afternoon, Sept. 26th. 
 How changed, both of us ! Could not have known each 
 other. Her two sons . . . one of whom I had never 
 seen — have wives and children. Mary is the only daughter 
 married. Four daughters at home, all far bigger than their 
 
 1 In The Story of our Jamaica Mission (1894) there is no reference, save in 
 the Appendix, to Mr. Anderson's visit to Jamaica.
 
 Visit to America and Jamaica 547 
 
 mother. ... I had seen Agnes and Maggie before. Lizzie 
 and Dora were both new to me. . . . Sad to part. 
 
 A weary journey of 540 miles from Wheeling to 
 New York — twenty - three hours on the way. Cars 
 better than your carriages. Water-filter accessible to 
 all passengers, and they may walk about as much as 
 they like, and even visit friends in neighbouring cars when 
 flying forty miles an hour, which they do at many places. 
 
 Wheeling ministers very kind — I preached in three 
 pulpits the two Sabbaths I was there (I mean, one sermon 
 on one Sabbath, and two on the next). A number of the 
 people did not understand me. I am "too Scotch" for 
 even my own nephews and nieces, and they are too 
 Yankee for me. I had to ask them again and again to 
 repeat what they had been saying, and to make it more 
 plain. 
 
 We left New York in the Claribel, Oct. nth, and 
 arrived here Oct. 1 8th — exactly a week and five hours on the 
 way. Gulf Stream, which helped us so finely homewards 
 in the Copse in 1848, opposed our progress towards 
 Jamaica. This rendered some of us a little squeamish two 
 days. When we reached Kingston, we found Rev. W. 
 Smith, Grand Cayman, awaiting us. He is here for health, 
 and had supplied the pulpit for three Sabbaths. 1 
 preached at preparatory meeting on Friday evening. 
 Mr. Stoddart preached yesterday A.M. I dispensed Com- 
 munion (the whole service) p.m., and preached in the 
 evening. Complimentary newspaper paragraphs rather 
 disturb me, bring some people out expecting to hear some 
 great orator! Quai ! (so we say in Calabar). I am to 
 lecture on Calabar affairs this evening. 
 
 I am longing to get away to the hills — wearying to see 
 Rose Hill and Carron Hall. The mosquitoes here eat one 
 up sadly. I have to supply next Sabbath, then I hope to 
 get to the mountains. . . . Mr. Roxburgh took four of us 
 to his house, and we have been his guests since. . . . When 
 I arrived here, found six kind letters awaiting me from 
 brethren from all parts of the island. Felt thankful. 
 
 A full account of Mr. Anderson's visit to the churches 
 in Jamaica would occupy too much space. " The Report of
 
 g j.8 Old Calabar Period 
 
 Tour among United Presbyterian Churches, Jamaica, from 
 October 1876 to March 1877," was published in the 
 Missionary Record for June 1877. It contains references to 
 thirty-five stations, including one or two belonging to the 
 Moravian brethren, visited by him. He mentions that he 
 set out from Kingston on November 2nd, and returned on 
 March 2nd, having travelled yyS miles, only 200 of these 
 being over good roads. He delivered one hundred and 
 five sermons and addresses, the addresses never occupying 
 less than an hour and a half — in many cases exceeding two 
 hours, not a few of them extending to three hours, and in 
 two or three cases to a still greater length. The Secretary 
 of the Foreign Mission Board mentioned "that the com- 
 munications he received from the island were unanimous 
 in stating that Mr. Anderson had succeeded in holding 
 the attention of his audiences unbroken till the close of 
 his lengthened addresses, and had not only commanded 
 attention, but kindled enthusiasm wherever he went." 
 
 Room must, however, be found for an account of his 
 visit to Rose Hill, first by an eye-witness and then by 
 himself. The following is a communication to the 
 Jamaica Witness relating to Mr. Anderson's visit to Rose 
 Hill. His own deep pathos and enthusiasm in his refer- 
 ence to that lovely locality were finely reciprocated by the 
 people : — 
 
 From the time that the people of Rose Hill first heard 
 that Mr. Anderson was about to visit Jamaica, they were 
 continually inquiring, " When will Minister Anderson 
 come? when will Minister Anderson come?" But when 
 it was announced on Sabbath, 29th October, that Mr. 
 Anderson would preach at Rose Hill on the following 
 Sabbath, the people were wild with joy. On Tuesday, 
 Wednesday, Thursday, according as they variously con-
 
 Visit to Rose Hill 549 
 
 jectured or were misinformed as to what day he would 
 come, numbers of people walked distances of from two to 
 five miles to meet him. One very old man, said to be 
 nearly a hundred years of age, who moves about slowly 
 with the help of a staff, which he holds with both hands, 
 tottered out at six o'clock on Thursday morning to a 
 junction of the road which Mr. Anderson must pass on his 
 way to Rose Hill. From early morning till four o'clock in 
 the afternoon sat this aged disciple of Christ, with longing, 
 loving heart, yearning to behold once again the face of him 
 from whose lips thirty years ago he had drunk of the 
 water of life. It was with somewhat of an aching heart 
 that I told him, " Minister Anderson will not come to- 
 day." "Me no see him, den? Minister Anderson com a 
 Rose Hill an' Peter Robinson no' see him !" I could not 
 send him away without the assurance that Mr. Anderson 
 would call to see him. " Ah, well, me see him, den ; me 
 satisfy fe wait,"— so he moved slowly homewards. 
 
 On Friday afternoon, when Mr. Anderson did come, it 
 was something which might have instructed and subdued 
 the heart of an atheist or a misanthrope, to witness the 
 meeting of these humble and kind-hearted people with him 
 who had been their guide from darkness to light, their first 
 pastor, their friend, the instructor of their youth, after an 
 absence of eight-and-twenty years. The veteran Christian 
 soldier, who has stood fearlessly between contending foes 
 while bullets were hissing their death-whistle around him, 
 was not proof against the mute gaze of tear-glistened 
 eyes and the suppressed sobs of hearts too full for 
 utterance. Once and again he would hastily brush 
 from his eyes something that dimmed their sight. One 
 present, too, felt the joy of sympathy, the happiness of the 
 tears. 
 
 On Sabbath the Lord's Supper was administered. 
 Nearly all the members of the Church partook thereof, 
 and some from neighbouring congregations. The church 
 was crowded to overflowing, and I have no doubt every- 
 one that was present felt himself happy in being there. 
 To not a few it will be a bright day in their memories for 
 many a year. 
 
 This communication is already longer than I intended,
 
 550 Old Calabar Period 
 
 and therefore I cannot occupy so much more of your 
 space as would be required to give a description of Mr. 
 Anderson's levees all day long- at the mission-house on 
 Monday, Tuesday, and part of Wednesday ; of the number, 
 kind, and quality of presents brought him by the people ; 
 of the Tuesday afternoon meeting, which was scarcely less 
 enjoyable than that of Sabbath, and perhaps much more 
 interesting to some. — G. E. M. J. 
 
 Mr. Anderson himself wrote in his Report: — 
 
 It was with mingled feelings that I approached this 
 station. . . . Our leaving it at the call of duty — we would 
 have been deaf to any other call — was the sorest trial in 
 the way of parting that I have ever known. Both place 
 and people had been very dear from the day I first saw 
 them, and our mutual first love had never declined. . . . 
 As I approached the (to me) sacred locality — indeed, long 
 before I came near it — I was met by numbers of my old 
 friends, some crying, some laughing, but all in a wondrous 
 state of excitement. The first one who met me — wonder- 
 fully little changed— was the first bride whose marriage I 
 solemnised. ... On Sabbath, Nov. 5th, I preached, dis- 
 pensed both baptism and the Lord's Supper, and 
 addressed a considerable length on missions. ... I think 
 1 was fully four hours on my feet during the service, . . . 
 and at the end of the service I felt much more refreshed 
 than exhausted. On the Tuesday afternoon we had a 
 missionary meeting, at which I gave an account of Old 
 Calabar and our work there. ... I missed many of the old 
 familiar faces, but was glad to see in children and in 
 children's children a renewal of the countenances of 
 departed friends. . . . 
 
 With reference to Cedar Valley, Mr. Anderson 
 wrote : — 
 
 This is another locality associated with interesting 
 memories. We had some sweetly solemn Sabbaths here 
 in days of old under the widespreading branches of a 
 majestic tree. The huge trunk of that tree lies prostrate
 
 Visit to Carron Hall 551 
 
 now. We had a fine missionary meeting here on the 
 afternoon of Wednesday, Nov. 8th. I felt quite at home 
 under the hospitable roof of brother Mitchell and Mrs. 
 Mitchell, both of them having been my pupils in the 
 olden time. I believe that both of them received their 
 earliest lessons from my better half. 
 
 The reference to Carron Hall is both pathetic and 
 amusing : — 
 
 Many a happy hour . . . have I enjoyed under that 
 lowly roof in the domestic circle of Mr. and Mrs. Cowan 
 — names very dear to all here. I cannot forget that it was 
 here I first saw one in bloom of early womanhood. A 
 close companionship of thirty-six years has not lowered 
 her in my estimation. But it occurs to me that should 
 any crusty old bachelor honour these lines with a perusal, 
 he will be indignantly asking, " What business has a state- 
 ment like this in an official report?" I meekly reply, 
 " None at all, sir," and pass on. But other Old Calabar 
 associations besides those hinted at are connected with this 
 station. My bright and lovely and gentle pupil of 1840, 
 known then as Mary Cowan, sleeps sweetly beneath yonder 
 waving bamboos in the little cemetery at Ikorofiong. 
 When I last saw Mary — (but I had better not digress 
 further now). On Thursday evening, Nov. 9th, I addressed 
 Mr. Martin's usual weekly prayer meeting, attended by 
 about 200, I think. I preached on the Sabbath, and 
 delivered a missionary address on the Monday evening. 
 But the audiences on both Sabbath and Monday were 
 very small, on account of heavy and continuous rain. 
 
 The following extract from Report 1 from Goshen by 
 Rev. John Aird, 2 refers to Mr. Anderson's visit to Mr. 
 Jameson and Mr. Robb's old station : — 
 
 You will notice with pleasure that our contributions for 
 the Calabar Mission are double those of 1875. That is 
 
 1 Record, June 1877. 
 
 2 Mr. Aird, after many years' labour in Jamaica, died in 18S9.
 
 552 ( >ld ( ' \i. ai;ak Period 
 
 owing to a special collection, taken when our old and 
 honoured brother and friend, Mr. Anderson, was here. 
 Twenty-seven years and a half had wrought many 
 changes in the congregation ; but there were a few remain- 
 ing who well remembered the name, but could not recognise 
 the youthful minister of Rose Hill in the venerable 
 patriarch from Old Calabar, until they beheld the genial 
 smile light up the countenance and heard the ringing 
 tones of his voice. Then they whispered, " That's just 
 him!" And with what interest, pleasure, and astonish- 
 ment, too, did they hang upon his lips ! Communications 
 both old and recent in the Record, from time to time had 
 kept them well posted up. Still, to listen to his verbal 
 descriptions aroused the attention and created an interest 
 which neither written nor printed communications could. 
 He was both a living witness and actor, and his testimony 
 in both characters carried with it the greater power and 
 force. On Sabbath forenoon Mr. Anderson chose as his 
 text, Ex. xxxii. 26: " Who is on the Lord's side?" 
 And at the second service he selected Isa. xxi. 1 1 : 
 " JJ T ateh)nan, zchat of the night t" On both occasions his 
 sermons, of course, had a missionary bearing, and, although 
 lengthy, the deep interest of the people was sustained to 
 the end. The anecdotes and descriptions eould not fail, 
 and did not fail, to have this effect. A farewell meeting 
 was held on Monday morning, which was numerously 
 attended. The address of Mr. Anderson was both touch- 
 ing and appropriate. Such a season is well calculated to 
 have a good effect both upon our people and ourselves, 
 as well as the agent who visits. The question occurs to 
 me, Would it not be well — dutiful and beneficial to the 
 missions — to have such visits occasionally ? The reciprocal 
 effect, I am persuaded, would far more than compensate 
 the trouble and expense. 
 
 Mr. Anderson's own reference to Goshen is as 
 follows : — 
 
 . . . Glad to find my old fellow-student and fellow- 
 soldier, John Aird, still in harness. Both he and I feel 
 that we are not now what we were when we used to meet
 
 Interim Pastor at Kingston 553 
 
 thirty-seven years ago. We had a capital missionary 
 meeting here on Thursday, Nov. 23rd. Rejoiced to see 
 our venerable friend John Simpson able to conduct the 
 preliminary devotional services. Glad to find that an 
 address of two and three-quarter hours does not necessarily 
 weary an audience. I preached twice on the Sabbath to 
 a well-filled church, and addressed a second missionary 
 meeting on Monday, the 27th. This latter was a 
 peculiarly solemn and tender season. The most of our 
 hearts were quite full. Mr. Aird and I felt that this was 
 our last joint service in the Church below. 
 
 Mr. Anderson had hoped to leave Kingston for 
 America on April iSth, 1877. On March 7th he wrote from 
 Roxburgh House, Kingston, to Mr. Chisholm, informing 
 him that his plans had been changed by the receipt of a 
 letter from Dr. MacGill, calling upon him, in the name of 
 the Mission Board, to consider himself minister of King- 
 ston for two or three months to come : — 
 
 I feel — and have felt ever since I arrived here in 
 October — for the Kingston congregation. Had either 
 Episcopalian or Wesleyan or Baptist congregations in 
 this important city been left pastorless, one of the ablest 
 men of their respective bodies would have been sent out 
 to supply the vacancy. 
 
 I feel it to be a high honour to be called on to assume 
 the pastorate of such a congregation in such a locality ; but 
 I feel the responsibility also. However, the path of duty 
 seems plain. You would see from a hint in my last to 
 Mrs. Anderson, that Calabar authorities have not been 
 giving their promised protection to the native agents and 
 converts. I mean to take advantage of my detention 
 here to get from them a promise that no such occurrences 
 as these reported to me shall again take place. . . . 
 
 Most of my written-out sermons are, I believe, in your 
 house. I must make the most of the materials I have 
 with me.
 
 554 Old Calabar Period 
 
 Very soon Mr. Anderson received overtures from the 
 Kingston congregation, inviting him to remain per- 
 manently with them, as the following letters will show. 
 
 To his niece, Miss Agnes Clohan, Mr. Anderson 
 wrote on March 29: — 
 
 I see that it will be somewhat of a trial to leave 
 Kingston. All parties are very anxious for me to 
 remain here. Were it not that I am somewhat master of 
 the Efik language, I should certainly consider the question ; 
 but as matters stand, I can go no further than promise 
 to remain here till Dr. Robb x comes out. 
 
 When he wrote Mr. Chisholm on April 7, he saw more 
 clearly the difficulties in the way of his remaining per- 
 manently in Kingston : — 
 
 I shall now, as formerly, take you into confidence, and 
 request you to read what I havewritten Mrs. Anderson, 2 and 
 to forward when you have read. ... I do trust that Dr. 
 Robb— or some other brother — will come soon, authorised 
 to relieve me from my present charge. Were an able 
 brother here to take my place, as it were, I could afford 
 to answer all the entreaties given to me to remain here — 
 with sternness. I might repulse them ; but at present I 
 have no heart to do so. In so far as I personally am 
 concerned, I have little anxiety or perplexity about 
 futurity. I might say with all sincerity to the Mission 
 Board, Send me anywhere you like except to the Frigid 
 Zones. At my time of life it is a matter of little impor- 
 tance where my very few remaining years are spent — the 
 great thing is how. My predilections for a resting-place 
 in Africa are what they have been for years ; but were 
 the Master to appoint otherwise, I should not grow 
 rebellious. I have also to consider my partner. To 
 
 1 Dr. Robb, after his retiral from Calabar, had been appointed on 
 July 25th, 1876, to the professorship of the Theological Institution for the 
 Training of a Native Ministry in Jamaica {Record, Sept. 1876). 
 
 3 The Record for Jan. 1877 states that "Mrs. Anderson has returned to 
 her energetic toils and superintendence in Duke Town."
 
 A Threefold Sign Looked for 555 
 
 bring her here would be worse than putting an elderly- 
 squirrel in a cage. It would be confining a wild deer in a 
 trap. She was a mountain roamer and tree climber in 
 girlhood. Since 1848 she has had acres of ground in 
 which she has toiled and pleasured daily — as the only 
 thing to keep her in tolerable health. A city life would, 
 I suspect, soon end her days. . . . 
 
 I have little perplexity as to path of duty ; for that I 
 consider to be plain, as laid down in my paragraph [in 
 letter to Mrs. Anderson] about resembling a subaltern. 
 My perplexities are simply those connected with the replies 
 that I must give to those who treat me with such tender 
 affection and respect. ... I can stand bullets better than 
 tears. . . . 
 
 I have explained to Mr. James Tod that my sermons 
 and speeches here are very different from those at home. 
 There I always feel tongue-tackit (is that the word ?) before 
 so many superiors in learning and Christian experience. 
 Here, as in Old Calabar, my heart is enlarged — my tongue 
 is unloosed. I look on all as my ain bairns. . . . 
 
 I wish I had Mr. Lambert 1 here for a few weeks. I 
 think I could slip away into one of U.S. steamers under 
 his shadow without being missed. Is Mrs. Lambert not 
 yet tired of that cold, cheerless, orangeless, mangoless, 
 breadfruitless country of yours? . . . 
 
 ... I feel that I must see my sister once more. . . . 
 
 On April 24 Mr. Anderson wrote further to Mr. Chis- 
 holm : — 
 
 ... I am looking forward with some anxiety for Dr. 
 Robb's arrival on the 5th prox. If he comes with instruc- 
 tions to supply Kingston even for a short time, that will 
 be an immense relief to me. ... I have just written to 
 Dr. MacGill, and also to Mrs. Anderson, that I do not see 
 it to be my duty to remain here without a threefold " sign 
 from heaven " : — 
 
 1. That Duke Town Church and people are indifferent 
 as to whether I return to them or not. 
 
 1 Mr. Chisholm's son-in-law, missionary in Trinidad, afterwards minister 
 of Rigg of Gretna.
 
 556 Old Calabar Period 
 
 2. That Mrs. A. certify me that she would prefer 
 Kingston to Duke Town, Jamaica to Old Calabar. And 
 
 3. That the Mission Board are unanimously of opinion 
 that I should remain here. 
 
 Failing these three signs — or any one of them — I shall 
 continue to feel that the sooner I get away from this the 
 better. 
 
 I confess to be getting a little home-sick {home mean- 
 ing O. C). During my tour round the island the hope of 
 an early return to Scotland and O. C. helped to cheer me 
 on, and besides, new scenes and new faces greeted me 
 every week. Here, matters are now assuming a sameness ; 
 . . . and then these constant and earnest requests to 
 remain form a serious tax on the emotional part of my 
 nature, which I feel it hard to sustain. 
 
 The kindly notices in the Witness might have dam- 
 aged me thirty or even twenty years ago ; but, as I wrote 
 Dr. Murray (editor) a few days ago, they do not at all 
 elate me — they rather depress me ; but perhaps prove 
 beneficial in setting a high standard before me, and in 
 showing me what I ought to be. 
 
 My own personal feelings are decidedly in favour of 
 my return to O. C, but I am almost afraid to trust to my 
 own judgment in such a case. I believe it to be as simple 
 to trifle with the affections of a congregation as with those 
 of a young lady. I see that I have the affections of the 
 congregation here, — every Sabbath, every prayer meeting, 
 every day shows that, — and of course I like them that 
 like me ; but I try to speak kindly without coming under 
 any engagement, and this is difficult. I have mentioned 
 to several of the leading members my threefold sign. 
 
 The Rev. Dr. Robb, in a letter of reminiscences, says : — 
 
 When I went to Jamaica in 1877, Mr. Anderson had 
 ended his tour among the churches. He had been 
 requested by the Mission Board to remain at Kingston, 
 which was then vacant by the resignation of the Rev. 
 James Ballantyne. When I arrived, he at once put the 
 charge on me. I was taken by surprise, not expecting 
 anything but my academical work. He remained only a 
 week or two, and I had to take up the pastoral work, and
 
 Call to Kingston Declined 557 
 
 had it for twenty-two months. He was very much liked 
 by the people. Gladly would they have had him to stay 
 with or return to them and be their pastor. His ministra- 
 tions were blessed to foster and deepen impressions due 
 to the labours in Kingston of an evangelist (Mr. Tayloe) 
 from Mr. Guinness's College in London. I moderated in 
 a call to Mr. Anderson — a unanimous and hearty call. It 
 was sent to him, but it was considered better that he 
 should go to his former service. 
 
 In the Record for September 1877 it is stated that, 
 with reference to the call from Kingston, the Committee 
 did not feel at liberty, in the circumstances of Kingston 
 congregation and of Duke Town, to interfere. The result 
 is that Mr. Anderson, with a high estimate of the claims 
 of Kingston, has decided in favour of Calabar. The 
 following letters are given as bearing on two of Mr. 
 Anderson's " signs," viz., the attitude of Duke Town and 
 the wishes of Mrs. Anderson : — 
 
 Imperial Palace, Old Calabar, 
 West Coast of Africa, 
 i^th June 1877. 
 [King Archibong's Letter.'] 
 
 From His Imperial Majesty Eyamba VIII. 
 To the Rev. William Anderson. 
 
 Dear Sir, — Your order (message 1 ) from your wife I have 
 received. But as you heard then that all things are quite right here, 
 it is not quite so. 
 
 Regarding your journey, I did not understand that you was 
 entirely going. My thought was that you are but to go and visit 
 families and then return. I hereby expecting your arrival. 
 
 Otherwise, as you heard that things are disorderly here 2 respect- 
 
 1 He refers to a message from Mr. Anderson, that, as things were going 
 ou so well in his absence, it might not do harm if he would remain away 
 altogether. 
 
 2 He refers to a portion of Mr. Anderson's message, that the teachers and 
 converts must be protected from persecution if he was to be expected to 
 return to Old Calabar.
 
 558 Old Calabar Period 
 
 Lug chaining teachers and stopping people from joining Church, also 
 the reporter was not explained well to you as it was. 
 
 Therefore I wish you to come, then you will hear and observe 
 better. I will not oppose anyone from joining the Church. — Best 
 compliment, I remain, yours truly, ARCHIBONG III., KING. 
 
 Mrs. Anderson's letter to the Secretary :— 
 
 Duke Town, zZth June 1877. 
 
 My dear Dr. MacGill — Yours of nth May I 
 received. After giving the matter the most _ serious 
 attention, I feel shut up to the conclusion that it would 
 not be our duty to leave Old Calabar. 
 
 In regard to merely personal matters, I may be per- 
 mitted to say that it would be a heavy trial for us to 
 break up and leave the home of twenty-nine years,— for 
 home it has been to us, with many solemn and touching 
 associations. It has been the scene to us of many conflicts 
 and of some victories, of many toilsome days and nights, 
 and of many seasons both of sadness and gladness. 
 
 Mr. Anderson seems, I am thankful to say, to have a 
 frame adapted to any clime and to any work ; such is not 
 the case with me. I have been accustomed to country 
 life since my birth, and I feel that the confinement of a 
 town life would not suit me. Let me remain where 
 I am during the very few years which may be still 
 before me. 
 
 And then in regard to the great work of the Mission. 
 Every argument used in favour of Mr. Anderson's settle- 
 ment at Kingston applies with tenfold force here. His 
 age, his experience, his long acquaintance with the people, 
 his familiarity with their language, their ardent wish for 
 his return, the painful effects which will be produced on 
 their minds if he do not return, — all these things, and 
 others that might be mentioned, are reasons for his 
 speedy return, and in view of them I cannot agree to our 
 abandoning Old Calabar. 
 
 Although I am very anxious for Mr. Anderson's 
 return, yet I would not object to his being detained a 
 few months longer than the time originally intended for 
 his coming, for the sake. of such important work as that
 
 A Letter from Wheeling 559 
 
 in which he is engaged. I only request you to let him 
 return to us as speedily as possible. 
 
 I know his love for Jamaica, but I also know that it is, 
 and has long been, his ardent wish and mine that " our 
 rest together in the dust" be in Old Calabar. The king 
 and chiefs, the natives not connected with us, as well as 
 the members of the Church, are all anxious for Mr. 
 Anderson's return. — I remain, my dear Dr. MacGill, very 
 truly yours, L. ANDERSON. 
 
 A letter to Mr. Chisholm from Wheeling, dated June 14, 
 gives in brief a record of his movements, and shows the 
 effect his labours in Jamaica had on his health : — 
 
 I left Jamaica on 30th May, 4 P.M., reached New York 
 June 6, 6 A.M. Arrived at this place 6 P.M., June 9. Pur- 
 pose leaving for New York on the 19th, 6 p.m., and have 
 taken my passage in the Devonia (new ship), to leave New 
 York on Saturday 23rd, at 2 p.m. We may expect to 
 reach Greenock on Wednesday A.M., July 4, if all go well. 
 I mean to go right through to Edinburgh. May be there 
 Wednesday evening. Before leaving Scotland, I half pur- 
 posed to go to our friend Darling's [Hotel], but I suppose 
 his establishment will be crowded with Americans and 
 others. I do not know whether Mr. Morton or the Misses 
 Lamb can ferret out a lodging for a few days. If they 
 can't, then I shall have to throw myself on your hospi- 
 tality, leave my luggage at station, and go to Eskbank 
 last coach or train. But you too will doubtless have a 
 houseful, as I suppose our Rigg [of Gretna] friends will 
 be with you for the festive season. 
 
 I am not feeling nearly so vigorous as in former days. 
 I rather overdid the thing in Jamaica — meetings rather 
 too many and speeches too long — during my four months' 
 tour. I felt sufficiently exhausted at its termination to 
 require a voyage and repose. Then came unexpectedly 
 the call to remain at Kingston, which involved equally 
 hard work with that of the " provinces," though of a some- 
 what different kind. And while at Kingston the emotional 
 part of my nature was a good deal overtaxed. The result
 
 560 Old Calabar Period 
 
 is that I now feci — I may say for the first time — that I 
 have got a liver and spleen, or some apparatus of that 
 sort, and that said apparatus is out of order. I almost 
 feel as if I should spend a month at that liver-restoring 
 place, Crieff; but first of all I must confer with Dr. Peddie 
 M.D, not D.D.). 
 
 Mr. Anderson's niece — Miss Elizabeth Clohan — gives 
 
 in a letter the following reminiscences of his visit to 
 
 Wheeling in 1876-77: — 
 
 My mother was living when uncle visited America 
 in '76 and 'yj on his journey to and from Jamaica, 
 Mother and uncle took much comfort in each other 
 during that visit. Their happiness was marred by my 
 father's death, which had occurred in May 1874. You 
 can readily imagine how the brother and sister so long 
 separated enjoyed their reunion, how they talked of Ford 
 and Dalkeith, laughed over childish memories. 
 
 Uncle having no children of his own, took the deepest 
 interest in mother's children. You know how full of jokes 
 and fun he was ! We children had been a little afraid 
 of a minister in the family ; but how quickly we all loved 
 him, with what deep regret we parted from him ! 
 
 Uncle was much amused over our American ideas of 
 things. We used to have animated arguments with him 
 upon the subjects of monarchies and republics. When 
 uncle saw anything in our city of which he did not 
 approve, he would jokingly say, " And do you have such 
 things in a republic?" greatly to our discomfiture. He 
 was very loyal to his beloved Queen. His admiration for 
 Gladstone was unbounded. He said, " We have faith in 
 the man. He is good, and he will do right." He often 
 said in a laughing way, " Gladstone and I are the Queen's 
 representatives — he in England, I in Africa." 
 
 Uncle at once took the hearts of our Wheeling friends 
 by his preaching. His beautiful resonant voice pleased 
 everyone. Many of our friends took a renewed interest 
 in foreign missions after hearing uncle. He was so full 
 of music and poetry, that during his visit in '92 we used 
 to beg him to repeat to us " Abel entering Heaven " and
 
 Miss E. Clohan's Reminiscences 561 
 
 " The old man singing Psalms." The music of his voice 
 brought tears to our eyes. 
 
 One thing about him that was a source of amazement 
 to us was his utter indifference to money. He was so 
 generous, and yet he never seemed to miss it. His own 
 wants were so simple, and he loved to give. Every appeal 
 to him met with a generous response. His utter trust in 
 the God of Providence was simply a daily lesson to us. 
 His prayers were so touching. Every little event that 
 we never thought he noticed was remembered in his 
 prayers. He always made us feel so near to God. I 
 remember a friend of mine being so struck with the 
 beauty of the blessing that he asked at the table, that she 
 desired me to write it for her. I told her that it was a 
 different blessing every day, and each seemed more beau- 
 tiful than the one before. 
 
 36
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII 
 
 Renewed Labours in Calabar, 1877-81— The Hopkins' Treaty, 1878 
 — Deathsof Mr. A. S. Morton and King Archibong in., 1879 — 
 Mrs. Sutherland on the Effects of the Treaty— Mr. Anderson's 
 Fortieth Annual Report, 1879 
 
 Mr. Anderson left Scotland for Old Calabar on October 
 20, 1877. With reference to his arrival at Duke Town, 
 Mr. Anderson wrote to Dr. MacGill, under date March 22, 
 1878:— 
 
 I arrived here about six in the evening of Monday, 
 November 26. Mrs. A. and Mr. Ross came on board to 
 meet me. Glad to see them and others belonging to the 
 Mission looking so well. On arriving at the Mission 
 landing, we found it occupied by a large crowd, waving 
 flags and handkerchiefs, and cheering right heartily. 
 Women and children constituted the great majority of 
 the assemblage. On attempting to step on shore, I was 
 at once laid hold of, and carried along part of the way. I 
 had intended to give Mrs. A. my arm, and to walk with 
 her quietly up the hill ; but I was snatched unceremoniously 
 from her side, and did not see her again for half an hour. 
 I was almost carried all the way to the mission-house, 
 amid clapping of hands, waving of handkerchiefs, and 
 singing of hymns. On approaching the house, I was met 
 by our warm-hearted friend Miss Slessor, who had just 
 risen from a bed of sickness. On the following day I 
 visited King Archibong, by whom I was very kindly 
 received. " You be father for we." " We belong to you," 
 were two of his expressions of welcome. 
 
 On looking round our premises, I found that, in addi- 
 tion to his pastoral work, Mr. Ross had done great things 
 
 562
 
 Ordination of Mr. Beedie 563 
 
 in the way of protecting and renovating several of the 
 edifices. The erection of a capital dwelling-house for 
 himself, the complete renovation of the schoolroom, and 
 the roofing and painting of the church, represent an 
 immense amount of anxiety and toil on his part. Greatly 
 cheered by seeing such crowded audiences at both the 
 Efik services. 
 
 The warfare between light and darkness still goes on. 
 It is plain that the Egbo law, repeatedly proclaimed for 
 the saving of twin life, is very much evaded, if not 
 absolutely violated. The traders in the river and the 
 missionaries met King A. and gentlemen in the king's 
 house here, and urged on them the importance of seeing 
 that their own laws were carried out in their own territory, 
 and also endeavoured to show them that it was their duty 
 to prevent deeds of blood in the small dependent villages 
 and countries around them. A similar meeting was held 
 in the king's house at Creek Town, when the Europeans 
 urged King Eyo and gentlemen to use their influence 
 on behalf of humanity in the regions around. 
 
 We are receiving tokens for good. At our last Com- 
 munion, held last Sabbath, we had nine accessions to our 
 membership: eight of these — four men and four women — 
 were received by baptism ; the ninth was a case of restor- 
 ation. One of the newly baptized is the chief of Henshaw 
 Town. At a public prayer meeting, held some weeks 
 ago in this town, he made a public renunciation of 
 polygamy, expatiated on the sinfulness and the folly 
 of idolatry, and declared his adhesion to the religion 
 of the Bible, which he stated to be the only thing worth 
 living for, being the only way in which we can obtain 
 peace with God, and the only thing which will avail us in 
 the hour of death and at the judgment-seat. 
 
 The Presbytery of Biafra met in Duke Town Church 
 on Wednesday, March 20, and ordained Mr. Robert M. 
 Beedie to the office of the ministry. May he be blessed, 
 and made a blessing to many ! 
 
 In regard to health, I have great reason for gratitude. 
 I feel better now than I did during the latter part of 
 my stay in Jamaica, and during the whole of my sojourn 
 in Scotland. I suppose I may look on the present season
 
 564 • Old Calabar Period 
 
 as what they call in America the Indian summer. The 
 winter will doubtless be here in His good time. 
 
 I feel quite satisfied that, in returning to Old Calabar, 
 1 have simply followed the leadings of Providence, and 
 that I am just where the Master would have me to be. 
 Other places have many attractions not to be found here, 
 but their necessities are not so great. Here, truly, the 
 harvest is plenteous but the labourers are few. And we 
 arc not only few, but some of us are feeling that we are no 
 longer what we once were, and that our day of active 
 life is drawing towards evening. May we have grace 
 given us to do the work allotted to us while daylight still 
 lingers, for the night cometh when no man can work. 
 
 With best desires for your personal and relative wel- 
 fare, and with earnest prayer that every meeting of the 
 Mission Board may be blessed with the presence of Him 
 who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks, 
 and that your deliberations and desires may be guided by 
 infinite wisdom. 
 
 On Sept. 6, 1878, an important agreement between 
 David Hopkins, Esq., H.B.M.'s Consul, and the chiefs of 
 Calabar, was entered into, in presence of the resident 
 missionaries of Duke and Creek Towns and a number of 
 the European merchants and traders. The agreement, 
 which consisted of fifteen articles, related chiefly to such 
 matters as twin children and twin mothers, human 
 sacrifices, the esere bean, the stripping of women, and 
 widows, and simply put a political seal on social reforms 
 which had been carried mainly by the moral influence 
 of the Mission and European residents. "Consul Hop- 
 kins acknowledged that such an agreement would have 
 been impossible but for the long-continued residence and 
 teaching of our missionaries." 1 The text of the agree- 
 ment is given in full in the Record for May 1879. Mr. 
 
 1 Dickie's Story of the Mission in Old Calabar, p. 78, where the six 
 articles which are " the notes of triumph of our Mission " are given.
 
 Visit of Consul Hopkins 565 
 
 Anderson highly approved of the vigour and wisdom 
 of the Consul, and wrote : " Such a man as Consul 
 Hopkins merits all the commendation which the friends 
 of missions and of general progress are able to give him." 
 In the Annual Report for 1878, Mr. Anderson wrote 
 further regarding Consul Hopkins' visit : — 
 
 The Consul had a very busy time of it in this river 
 from August 20th till September 14th. His court was held 
 publicly on board the largest hulk in the river. At his 
 special request, one of the senior missionaries invoked 
 Divine direction and blessing at the opening of each 
 meeting. He settled a number of trade palavers to the 
 satisfaction of all the parties more immediately interested. 
 He embraced every opportunity of condemning several 
 remnants of oppression and injustice which still linger in 
 the country. He managed to prevail on the authorities 
 to abolish one atrocious custom connected with one of the 
 grades of Egbo — a custom which had been dead and 
 buried, and revived again, three or four times within the 
 last twenty years, namely, the licence given to the runners 
 of that grade, to strip females whom they meet in their 
 perambulations of every vestige of clothing. He did all 
 that man could do in the way of reproof, remonstrance, 
 and counsel, to lead the chiefs to prohibit the Egbo runners 
 from flogging unprivileged parties whom the}' may meet 
 in the streets, but all that he could obtain on this point 
 was a verbal promise that ample warning should be given 
 to the populace on the morning of Egbo days, by the 
 ringing of the big Egbo bell, ere the runners show face, 
 and by the runners themselves being instructed to keep 
 sounding the hand-bells attached to their persons whilst 
 they are in possession of the town. 
 
 It was evident to all of us that the law for the pre- 
 servation and protection of twin children had been evaded 
 by the Duke Town people for a considerable period. The 
 Consul prevailed on the authorities to re-enact the law, 
 and to make it more stringent than before, and also to 
 accord to the mothers of twins all the rights and privileges 
 enjoyed by other women in the country. One pleasant
 
 566 Old Calabar Period 
 
 result of this arrangement was, that on the coronation of 
 the king (Archibong III.) on Sept. 6th, several twin 
 mothers, who had been kept for years in a sort of 
 captivity in the mission premises, were stationed within 
 a few yards of the throne ; and several of our little twin- 
 fellows were actually sporting on the dais or platform on 
 which the ceremony took place. I am not quite sure 
 whether the king knows even yet of all this, but it was 
 known, and very gratifying, to many around him. 
 
 The Consul sent out to the neighbouring town of Qua, 
 and got the headmen there to enter into treaty with the 
 British Government for the abolition of human sacrifices, 
 twin murders, etc., in their territory ; and he got a promise 
 from them that they will henceforth attend divine service 
 every Sabbath, and send their children regularly to school 
 on week-days. I may add that he occupied the Duke 
 Town pulpit one Sabbath afternoon, and delivered a good 
 plain practical discourse (of course, through an interpreter) 
 to a crowded congregation of the natives. . . . Altogether 
 his visit was the most pleasant, and promises to be one of 
 the most profitable, which we have ever yet received in 
 this quarter from any representative of H.B.M.'s Govern- 
 ment. The sentiments of the missionaries were expressed 
 in an address, which they presented to him after his more 
 public work was over. I must not neglect to mention 
 that he succeeded in settling satisfactorily an old and 
 complicated series of palavers, which had long rendered 
 Duke Town and Henshaw Town mutually hostile. The 
 reconciliation promises to be lasting. 
 
 On Jan. 3, 1879, Mr. A. S. Morton, teacher, died in 
 Duke Town mission-house. He and his wife (the eldest 
 daughter of the Rev. Wm. Timson) had returned to 
 Calabar on Sept. 9th, 1878. Mr. Anderson preached a 
 touching funeral sermon in Duke Town Church on Jan. 
 5th, and on the 9th saw the youthful widow on board the 
 home-going mail steamer. On May 8, 1879, Mr. Ander- 
 son wrote regarding the death of King Archibong : —
 
 Death of Archibong III. 567 
 
 You will be concerned to learn that King Archibong 
 III. died during the night of Monday the 5th inst, or 
 early on Tuesday. Only eight months have passed away 
 since his coronation, but he has been de facto King of 
 Duke Town for nearly seven years, viz. since the death of 
 Archibong II., on August 26th, 1872. He and I have got 
 on very comfortably together. I have found him always 
 ready to listen to reason, and anxious to oblige, which is 
 more than I could say of several of his predecessors. He 
 has been long ailing. So long as he was able he attended 
 the Sabbath service conducted in his yard. He assented 
 to all that was preached in his hearing, but he never 
 seemed to be awake to its importance. It can be truly 
 said of him that he was " a quiet prince." I shall ever 
 gratefully remember him as the abolisher of Sabbath 
 markets in the territory of Duke Town. 
 
 I had not seen him for several days before his death, 
 as I knew that visitors were "not wanted." Mr. Edgerley, 
 who is becoming known among the natives as a physician, 
 was sent for on Monday afternoon. Mr. Edgerley at once 
 saw that he was near his end, and doubtless did what 
 could be done for soul as well as body. The town is very 
 quiet. Trade and work are being carried on as usual. 
 This indicates great improvement since the deaths of 
 Eyamba V. and Archibong I. 
 
 I trust that our Consul will be able to discover a good 
 successor to our late king, though I suspect that he will 
 find it a difficult task to accomplish. 
 
 In a letter to Mr. Chisholm, of date June 27, 1879, Mr. 
 Anderson wrote : — 
 
 We had another visit of our Consul last week. He 
 did some more good work among us. The African Times 
 for April contained a few notices of his procedure here 
 in September, substantially the same as in our Annual 
 Report, and from the same pen, too. . . . 
 
 Greatly grieved to see from the newspapers that Dr. 
 MacGill's health 1 is failing, and that the Record is to have 
 
 1 Dr. MacGill died in June 1880.
 
 568 ( >ld Calabar Period 
 
 a new editor. 1 Who is the bold man who will undertake 
 that eft ice so long as Dr. M. is to the fore ? 
 
 I have to dedicate our new (native made) church at 
 
 < >ua this evening. The grand new cathedral at Creek 
 
 [own is to be consecrated (?) on Saturday, Jul)' 5th ; and 
 
 at the same time we arc to ordain another native, Asuquo 
 
 Kkanem, to the work of the ministry. 
 
 .Miss Slessor went home by last week's mail, and Mr. 
 Goldie will be leaving us for a time in the middle of July. 
 
 Mrs. Sutherland, who had returned to Old Calabar on 
 Nov. 24, 1879, wrote on Dec. 16: — 
 
 I did not get to town among the people till Sabbath 
 the 30th. I did not see that moral improvement had 
 advanced so rapidly as I was led to expect, from the 
 accounts given w hile I was at home, and after the agree- 
 ments had been entered into by Consul Hopkins and the 
 natives of Old Calabar. I could see the reason so far. 
 The true and noble Consul Hopkins, King Archibong III., 
 and our dear Christian brother George Duke, all having 
 died within the year that I was away, Duke Town was 
 left without a head. All those having passed away had 
 left such sad blanks, especially at Duke Town. 
 
 However, there is much to cheer us on in our uphill 
 work. The widows — who in former days were compelled 
 to remain in their yards for years in filth and starvation 
 — are now all at liberty to leave the place of mourning a 
 few weeks after the death of their husbands, so that if any 
 remain after that it is their own wish. I was pleased to 
 see the widows of the late King Archibong moving about, 
 some dressed in a dark print or blue gauze made by 
 themselves, others pointing to their heads, that I might 
 look at their nicely-plaited hair ; from that I could see 
 how long they had been out of Ikpo house, their heads 
 having been shaved ere they left their yards ; and now 
 their hair, which I must say the}' take great pride in, had 
 grown so that they could plait it ; two or three of them 
 had about a hundred small plaits all stuck up round their 
 heads, reminding me of so many porcupines. What a 
 
 1 Rev. Dr. Jas. Hrown, Paisley.
 
 Mrs. Sutherland on Hopkins' Agreement 569 
 
 change to them for the better ! Not so many years ago, 
 a man such as the last King Archibong having died, how 
 many would have been put to death for him, and his 
 widows shut up for years ; and how many of them dying 
 ere the Ikpo for the great man was made, they were not 
 thought worthy of being put into a grave, but cast out in 
 the bush. 
 
 Another thing which cheered my heart was to see 
 twin mothers allowed to walk about in town and go to 
 market. When I came here to Mr. Ross's house, I found a 
 twin mother and child living in the yard. I saw that there 
 was no need why she should be under the protection of 
 the Mission and supported by us. . . . I told her that we 
 and she ought to take advantage of the agreement that 
 had been made for her and such as her, otherwise that 
 agreement entered into by Consul Hopkins and the chiefs 
 of Old Calabar, as also the other agreements, if not taken 
 hold of, would fall to the ground. I promised to visit her, 
 to keep my eye on her ; if she was sick or in want I would 
 see to her. She said, Yes, if I said she should go, she 
 would do so. She went off without the least fear, and 
 seemed rather pleased with my decision in the matter. 
 This, too, is a change for the better. . . . 
 
 The Sabbath-school children turn out well, and the 
 attendance at church is good, though I should like to see 
 more of the free and head men attend, and give Mr. 
 Anderson a little more of their help and countenance ; 
 he has far too much to do. Were he not blessed with 
 such a good constitution, he could never get through the 
 work that he does. The Lord give him many souls for 
 his reward ! 
 
 To few is it given in the mission field to write forty 
 Annual Reports. It was natural for Mr. Anderson in 
 writing his to indulge in retrospect. A portion of the 
 Report may be given here : — 
 
 Fortieth Annual Report. 
 
 " These forty years." — On beginning this, rny Fortieth 
 Annual Report, I cannot help recalling years long gone
 
 570 Old Calabar Period 
 
 by. It was on January 9, 1840, that I first set foot on the 
 shores of loved Jamaica ; and I entered forthwith on the 
 discharge of the same duties in which I am still engaged 
 — preaching on Sabbath, and teaching and preaching 
 during the week. On Sabbath the 18th inst. (January 
 1880) I addressed both native and English congregations 
 here from the same text from which I first preached to an 
 assemblage of sable faces on the third Sabbath of January 
 1S40: "Choose ye this day whom ye will serve," Josh, 
 xxiv. 15. I have seen a good many changes during these 
 forty years, but I find nothing new to preach. It is the 
 same "old, old story." I can cordially recommend His 
 service and His recompense to all around. I found the 
 grand old gospel to be the support of youth ; I find it 
 to be the staff of advancing years. What it was to me at 
 eighteen, 1 find it to be at sixty-eight. 
 
 But I must remember that it is not autobiography 
 which is at present wanted, but an account of the work 
 and progress of the station during the past year, so I go 
 on to my report. 
 
 The number on the roll at December 31st was 94. 
 Sixteen of these were admitted during the year — two by 
 profession and fourteen by baptism. There were nine 
 children baptized. We had, as in 1878, four deaths. Two 
 of the departed were elders, the others were members. 
 One of the departed elders was my excellent and amiable 
 townsman, A. S. Morton, whose early removal from us 
 we greatly mourned. The other was George Duke, Esq., 
 who for man)' years was one of the chief advisers of our 
 late kines. It was "about the eleventh hour" ere he 
 decided to cast in his lot with the people of God ; but 
 having once taken the step, he never resiled. He was 
 baptized in 1875 ; and from the day that he joined us, we 
 found him to be one of the best and most useful of the 
 native membership. 
 
 The native attendance on our Efik service has been on 
 the whole very good. Eor four or five months both church 
 and school were crowded during the afternoon service. 
 We are back again to our usual number, a considerable 
 portion of the people being absent from the town, this 
 being their chief planting season. We consider Noo to
 
 Fortieth Annual Report 571 
 
 850 as being the aggregate number of persons hearing 
 the word, Sabbath after Sabbath, in Duke Town and 
 neighbourhood ; but in connection with this number it 
 seems only right to notice that there are multitudes con- 
 nected with the chief towns who are frequently away at 
 markets or farms for months together. Here, or elsewhere, 
 there is a rotation of people in the town, and, of course, 
 at our Sabbath meetings ; so that, if we have a regular 
 attendance of 850, we may safely infer that double that 
 number has worshipped with us during several Sabbaths 
 of the year. But there is another conclusion here involved, 
 namely, that probably not more than two hundred either 
 can or do attend church for fifty-two Sabbaths in any 
 one year. . . . 
 
 After Miss Slessor left, in the middle of the year, I 
 had no one to put in her place, so I myself took charge 
 of the school on the Mission Hill, and have continued to 
 teach in it regularly. I like the work well enough, but 
 feel the want of the elasticity of earlier years; and, besides, 
 I can do little in the way of house-to-house visitation and 
 in superintending the other schools connected with the 
 station. The attendance is about fifty. 
 
 The Centre School is taught by Wm. Cobham in the 
 large yard of the house of the late King Archibong. 
 North Henshaw Town School has been taught by James 
 Ballantyne. The Qua School is taught by Myang Noang. 
 The authorities are not acting up to their agreement with 
 the late Consul Hopkins. They do not " all go to God's 
 house on God's day," and they do not send " all children 
 to school." 
 
 We had much to lament and much to humble us. The 
 Church is still " few and feeble," and we have every now 
 and then a fall. There are multitudes who never enter 
 the sanctuary ; and many of these are our old scholars, who 
 can read their Bibles fluently. There have been the usual 
 number of murders and other atrocities committed in this 
 region. We have had to deplore the death of our valued 
 Consul Hopkins, who promised fair to be a power for 
 good in the whole of his large consulate. We are at 
 present under a regency, which does not seem to be an 
 effective form of government here. As of old, " when
 
 572 Old Calabar Period 
 
 there was no king in Israel," every chief does very much 
 " what is right in his own eyes." Better to have one 
 acknowledged chieftain or head, though of imperfect 
 character and attainments, than none, or several. I have 
 been able to do very little evangelistic work since Mr. 
 Ross left. On his return I trust we shall be able to get 
 on with our work more vigorously and effectively. 
 
 Besides the " Lo, I am with you," and the conviction 
 that one is just where the Master has placed him, we had 
 many other things to comfort and to encourage. Another 
 year of unbroken health is a matter that calls for great 
 thankfulness. A measure of acceptability among those to 
 whom we deliver" the gospel message is not to be despised. 
 We have had a few more of the lost sheep gathered into 
 the fold. 
 
 In conclusion, whether I limit my present retrospect 
 to the year which has passed away, or extend it over the 
 four decades referred to at the commencement, I feel 
 called on to erect another Ebenezer, bearing the old in- 
 scription, " Hitherto hath the Lord helped us." 
 
 In his Annual Report for 1880, Mr. Anderson wrote: — 
 
 ... In the English service we have been tracing the 
 footprints of the great Apostle of the Gentiles for several 
 months. The contemplation of his marvellous career 
 has proved interesting, and, I trust, profitable to all who 
 have attended this service. The attendance of our Euro- 
 pean friends has generally been encouraging. I am glad 
 to hear that our friends in the Old Calabar River bear a 
 very high character all along the coast for sobriety, 
 morality, and the observance of the Sabbath, which I 
 consider to be a very important element in morality. . . . 
 
 We had a very pleasing intimation, a few weeks ago, 
 from our Wesleyan brother, the Rev. Mr. Godman, at 
 Sierra Leone. I suppose that more than half a century 
 has elapsed since a certain slave-ship left this river with 
 her freight of human live-stock. That vessel, like many 
 others, was captured by a British cruiser ; her cattle taken 
 to Sierra Leone, and there transformed into free men and 
 women. Among that vessel's cargo there was a youth
 
 King Duke IX. 573 
 
 from this quarter who subsequently took the name of 
 Peter Nicoll. Peter cherished a lively recollection of his 
 native region ; and when he heard, thirty years ago, that 
 the gospel had reached his fatherland, he took a longing 
 to revisit it. He came here as a merchant, and also as an 
 accredited member and leader in the Wesleyan Church. 
 He spent, I suppose, about two years here, doing a little 
 in the trading line, and greatly helping us as an elder 1 of 
 the Church, seeing that he had not forgotten his native 
 tongue. The supercargo began to maltreat him, to seize 
 his goods, etc. (a very different class of men from those 
 here now), so that he had to return to his store in Free 
 Town, Sierra Leone. In all our goings to and comings from 
 home, we were welcome visitants at Peter's shop. He was 
 a very fine specimen of humanity — fully six feet high, of 
 benign and intelligent countenance, and, latterly, with 
 head white as the wool. When not doing much, he might 
 be seen sitting in his store carefully studying some portion 
 of the Efik Scriptures, and generally with some philological 
 question to propose. We heard of our friend's death some 
 months ago ; and I was much affected when, a few weeks 
 ago, I received a note from Mr. Godman, intimating, as 
 one of Peter's executors, that he (Peter) had left a legacy 
 of ,£50 in favour of the Mission in Old Calabar. 
 
 We have got a new king at Duke Town during the 
 year. He was crowned, under the auspices of the British 
 Acting Consul— as was duly reported at the time 2 — on 
 the 17th of April (1880). His style is King Duke 
 Ephraim Eyamba IX. 3 [For Portrait see p. 583.] 
 
 1 See ante, p. 334. 
 
 2 It is to be regretted that " the few carefully prepared paragraphs about 
 the coronation and the state of parties in the town, etc.," which Mr. 
 Anderson sent home for publication in the Record, were not published. An 
 account from his pen appeared, however, in the African Times for July 
 1880. 
 
 :t In the newspapers of Dec. 22, 1896, it was stated that, on Nov. 
 19, " it was officially announced that King Duke ix. of Old Calabar was dead. 
 It was believed that death had taken place about six clays previously, but, in 
 accordance with native custom, earlier notice was not given. The intimation 
 was signed by 'Magnus Duke,' a distant relative, who said the chiefs and 
 the people of the late monarch intended to perform the usual native rites 
 and hold the customary 'play and devil-making.' The rites usually last for
 
 574 Old Calabar Period 
 
 As yet he has conducted himself in a very satisfactoiy 
 way ; much better than some of us expected. He has 
 repeatedly issued proclamations for the preservation of 
 twin children, and the proper observance of the Sabbath. 
 His rheumatic ailments prevent his regular attendance at 
 public worship. He is a liberal contributor to church 
 collections and to certain kinds of church work. 
 
 Mrs. Anderson has had an extra large number of twin 
 
 two or three weeks, and consist of firing guns, native dances, and other 
 revelry ; but there have been no human sacrifices since the Protectorate was 
 formed. The British here do not allow the natives to bury the dead in their 
 houses, but it was believed that in the case of King Duke it was the intention 
 to inter the body within the compound [of the] house occupied up to his death 
 by the deceased. King Duke was about sixty-five years of age, and for a 
 long time suffered from rheumatism. lie lived at Duke Town. ... It was 
 stated that with his death would cease the reign of the Old Calabar kings. 
 This was also said to be the last official 'Ju Ju' ceremony that would pro- 
 bably take place on the river." 
 
 There are several inaccuracies in the preceding statement. King Duke 
 was not king of the region known as Old Calabar, but only of Duke Town 
 and its dependencies, as the late King Eyo vn. of Creek Town was king of 
 that town and its dependencies. In consular reports, etc., Old Calabar is 
 erroneously treated as synonymous with Duke Town. It is misleading to 
 say that there have been no human sacrifices for the dead since the Pro- 
 tectorate was established. The practice was made illegal by Egbo law in 
 1850, and the Hopkins Agreement in 1878 ratified previous engagements 
 entered into between the chiefs in Calabar and II.B.M.'s Consuls, and had 
 practically died out in Duke Town and Creek Town long prior to the 
 establishment of the Protectorate in 1891. As to the burial of the dead, Sir 
 C. Macdonald states in his first Report (p. 7) : "The native law is that all 
 chiefs and their wives are buried in the houses in which they lived, whilst the 
 bodies of domestic slaves and common people are thrown into the nearest 
 bush or into the river. It would be very difficult, and lead to much bad 
 feeling, were the first part of the native law to be interfered with at present. 
 As, however, the graves are by the same law obliged to be from six to ten 
 feet deep, I have made a compromise with the native chiefs to the effect that 
 when such a burial is about to take place, notice is at once to be given to the 
 sanitary officer, and an official is to attend and see that the grave is of the 
 regulation depth." King Duke must have been buried several days before 
 the public announcement of his death was made. It is probably correct to 
 say that he is the last of the Duke Town kings. No successor has been 
 elected at Creek Town to Eyo VII., who died in March 1892, and it is pro- 
 bable that the kingship of Duke Town, which has been merely nominal 
 since the establishment of the Protectorate, will also be allowed to lapse.
 
 Mrs. Anderson and the Twin Children 575 
 
 children and their mothers to look after during the year. 
 No treaty with England, no Egbo proclamation, and no 
 publication of even the Divine law, can speedily eradicate 
 the superstitions of centuries. The bulk of the grown-up 
 generation are terrified about twin children. There is a 
 sort of agreement between the town authorities and Mrs. 
 Anderson, that when twins are born, mother and children 
 are to be brought to her, and she is to take care of them 
 a few months, and then send them to their homes. There 
 is often a difficulty in carrying the latter clause into 
 execution. Some have no home, and most of the women 
 find that the misfortune of having given birth to twins 
 makes their former dwelling to be a very cold home for 
 them. Some husbands and fathers forget to provide for 
 such women and children. Mrs. Anderson has had a 
 dozen of twin mothers with their children under her care 
 during the year. Had it not been for the great liberality 
 of our river friends, and the kindly and liberal contribu- 
 tions of Sabbath schools and friends at home, I do not 
 see how we could have made ends to meet. Verily, God 
 is good. He feedeth " the young ravens which cry," and 
 He provides for the raven-complexioned babies too. 
 
 Another year of unbroken health calls for renewed 
 expressions of gratitude on our part to the Giver of all 
 good. We feel, however, that we are " wearin' awa'," and 
 are rejoicing in the prospect of seeing among us, ere long, 
 fresh agents from both Scotland and Jamaica. By the 
 time that our expected brethren and sisters reach our time 
 of life and our period of service — say in 1920 — the Efik 
 Church should be strong and vigorous, and a centre of light 
 to all the regions around. It is so in a small way already, 
 but doubtless our assistants and successors shall see 
 greater things than we can expect to witness. Amen. 
 
 To Mr. Chisholm, Mr. Anderson wrote on Jan. 8, 
 1881:— 
 
 . . . How cold with you ! How comfortable with us ! 
 Ther. generally 74°, 7 A.M. ; 78 , noon ; 76 , 7 P.M. 
 Happy clime and happy land ! No snowstorms here — 
 no hail-blasts — no colliery explosions — no earthquakes
 
 576 Old Calabar Period 
 
 — no general elections ! Only a little confusion now and 
 then on " the Demise of the Crown " ! 
 
 My "taste and talent" for letter-writing fast evanish- 
 ing. I seldom write anything save on necessary business. 
 I have failed a good deal generally during the last two 
 years. The right hand gets more and more tremulous — 
 the right ear more and more deaf — the right eye more 
 and more dim — the hinges of the system getting more and 
 more stiff, especially in the knee region — and very little 
 brain work leaves a considerable amount of exhaustion. 
 
 The next paragraph of the letter was evidently sent 
 by Mr. Chisholm to the editor of the Record, in which it 
 was published in March 1881, preceded by the following 
 introductory sentence : — 
 
 The following extract from a letter of the Rev. W. 
 Anderson to a friend was written without any view to 
 publication, and is here given as another among many 
 proofs of how outsiders are bearing testimony to the 
 worth of our agents and the benefit of mission work : — 
 
 " On Saturday evening, the 1st Jan., about eight 
 o'clock, a Kruman came to the mission-house with a parcel 
 wrapped in grey paper. The mail had arrived three 
 hours before, and I had a letter from our friend Mr. 
 Christie, intimating that he had sent me, in a rice barrel, 
 a small package of hasps and staples. The parcel felt 
 heavy ; and when Mrs. Anderson handed it to me, I 
 conjectured, and said, ' Oh, this is the package of hard- 
 ware ; Mr. Christie must have forgotten to put it into the 
 rice barrel, and just sent it loose.' ' But ' (this was by and 
 by) ' what is the use of all this sealing-wax ? ' Lo and 
 behold, a purse containing forty-two sovereigns ! and a 
 most kindly letter from fourteen of the river gentlemen, 
 requesting my acceptance of the same. We could hardly 
 believe our eyes, and when we had assured ourselves that 
 the coins and the letter (itself worth gold) were realities 
 — not phantoms — our hearts were full. We could hardly 
 speak to each other. 
 
 " Our expenditure, especially on account of twin chil-
 
 An Illness of Mr. Anderson 577 
 
 dren and their mothers, was exceptionally heavy last 
 year. We had, I think, twelve mothers and twenty 
 infants, for different periods during the year; of course 
 twelve mothers = twenty-four infants, but in several cases 
 one child died ere the mother reached us. Our river 
 friends were very kind during the year — sending us 
 now and then a bag of rice, a quantity of preserved 
 meats, flour, etc. ; then they crowned the whole as afore- 
 said." 
 
 A letter to Mr. Chisholm, dated March 25, was written 
 after a severe illness, and tells of his recovery : — 
 
 I am just coming round from a very severe illness, and 
 am putting pen to paper to-day, in way of letter-writing, 
 for the first time for two months. I had felt out of sorts 
 for several weeks, but kept up till Sabbath, February 20, 
 when, after the English evening service, I felt quite 
 prostrated, and was afterwards kept prisoner in my room 
 for three weeks. How it gladdened me to know that 
 though to me two of the Sabbaths were what is called 
 " silent," the public work of the sanctuary went on all the 
 same as if I had been present. On Sabbath, Feb. 27, 
 Prince James Eyamba — an elder, and also superintendent 
 of the Sabbath school — conducted both the Efik services, 
 and Mr. Goldie kindly came down from Creek Town and 
 preached at the English service in the evening. On 
 Sabbath, March 6, Prince E. conducted the morning 
 service, and Mr. Goldie (Mr. Edgerley being on an ex- 
 ploring expedition) came down again to our aid, and took 
 the afternoon services, both Efik and English. 
 
 Sabbath, March 13, was our Communion Sabbath. 
 Mr. Edgerley spent the day with us, and conducted the 
 whole of the services. He was far from feeling well him- 
 self. I would fain have aided him, but felt constrained to 
 be dumb. I felt deeply grateful for being able to be 
 present at all the three diets of worship. The elders held 
 the usual prayer meetings on week-day evenings, the 
 attendance being much larger than usual. 
 
 Last Sabbath, March 20, I was able to conduct all the 
 services, the elders conducting the devotional services at 
 
 37
 
 578 Old Calabar Period 
 
 the Efik meetings, so that at these I had only to preach 
 two short sermons. At onr English meeting I took the 
 lesson which came in due course, Acts xxvi., but I felt 
 several times, while reading and commenting, as if I had 
 erred in not reserving such an exciting and thrilling 
 passage for one of my best and strongest days. 
 
 Brethren, European and natives, were all very kind 
 and sympathising during our time of trouble. I cannot 
 speak too highly of the skill and attentiveness of our 
 kind medical friend, Dr. Mackenzie. And, to conclude, 
 a new Ebenezer is requisite, with the old inscription, 
 " Hitherto hath the Lord helped us." 
 
 Mr. Anderson refers, in a letter to Mr. Chisholm of 
 June 17, to an illness of Mrs. Anderson's, and to the pub- 
 lication of the Revised Version of the New Testament : — 
 
 Mrs. Anderson had strong fever for five days lately, 
 which left her much reduced. She is getting round 
 slowly. Both Mrs. Anderson and I would be the better 
 of a little change ; and, as I wrote Mr. Williamson some 
 time ago, if I had a colleague possessed of common sense, 
 such as Mr. Beedie, I could easily leave the station in his 
 hands with comfort and confidence — but " Not now, not 
 now, my child." 
 
 I have been wondering which of my friends, if any, 
 would be remembering me on this day month — May 17. 
 I suppose you would hardly guess what I mean. The 
 Revised New Testament was to be published on that 
 day — I wonder if anybody posted me a copy on the 
 following Friday. I ordered a dozen copies of the 
 cheapest kind from Mr. Christie a good while ago. . . . 
 
 The coronation of Orok as King Duke IX. on April 17, 
 1880, seems to have given dissatisfaction, and led to dis- 
 affection on the part of the other native chiefs. On 
 June 17, Mr. Anderson wrote that Consul Hewett was 
 expected on the 19th, and that the election of a king 
 would take place the following week. On June 25, Mr, 
 Anderson again wrote to Mr. Chisholm : —
 
 Political Condition of Duke Town 579 
 
 Matters are not getting smoothed down yet. Our 
 Consul is here just now as our lodger — came on Sabbath 
 last, and goes away to-morrow (Sabbath) for three weeks 
 or so ; then he proposes coming back, staying with us 
 till October, and then goes home for a few months on 
 furlough. 
 
 He has not yet proceeded with the election of a king 
 for Duke Town — means to do so soon after his return, and 
 to go on with coronation soon after election. 
 
 Mrs. A. has pretty well got over her fever, but regains 
 strength only slowly. I keep wonderfully well, though I 
 have a good deal to do. 
 
 Mr. Anderson had (as he said in his letter of March 25 
 to Mr. Chisholm) "avoided all appearance of partisan- 
 ship " towards any of the disaffected parties in the town 
 who were aiming at the displacement of King Duke. 
 The following letter, dated August 6, 1881, explains 
 the unsettled political condition of Duke Town at this 
 period : — 
 
 . . . Our political affairs are still unsettled. The 
 Consul had arranged to come here on Tuesday last with 
 our Commodore, Sir Fred. Richards, but became very 
 unwell, and was forbidden by the surgeon of the Fleet 
 from either travelling or working. The Commodore spent 
 two hours with us on Tuesday afternoon, inquiring how 
 things stand. The Consul sent orders to our acting king 
 to get an election meeting held at once, so that he (Consul; 
 may have nothing to do but crown when he returns from 
 the South Coast (to which the Fleet doctor is taking him 
 for health) in the end of October ! I have written the 
 Consul that he is imposing too heavy a burden on our 
 young man. My impression is that ail the electors will 
 not meet if called on by him only, even though able to 
 say, " By Consul's orders " ! I believe that the Eyamba 
 faction will take a pride in refusing to receive any order 
 or instruction from the acting king. Probably both 
 election and coronation will have to await consular visit 
 three months hence ! All this I look on as " much ado
 
 ;So Old Calabar Period 
 
 about nothing." The Consul had all the freemen before 
 him when he read instructions from Foreign Office anent 
 the quashing of [Acting Consul] Easton's tomfoolery at 
 former coronation, and could have done all that was 
 requisite in two days (or in two hours) then, as well as he 
 will be able to do it three months hence. 
 
 A letter to Mr. Chisholm, of date October 14-15, 1881, 
 relates the death of Mrs. Sutherland : — 
 
 . . . Mrs. Sutherland was very poorly yesterday when 
 1 was writing, but none of us f except Mrs. A.) thought 
 that the change was at hand. She died last evening 
 between 8 and 9 o'clock. She herself did not seem to be 
 anticipating death. A call to all of us, and especially to 
 one so infirm as myself, to " be ready." 
 
 We bury the remains this afternoon beside those of 
 her husband at Creek Town. She has been a faithful 
 and energetic worker. . . . 
 
 ;-> 
 
 In the Missionary Record for November 1881 the 
 following announcement appeared : — 
 
 Special circumstances have arisen in Old Calabar 
 which have led the Foreign Committee to the conclusion 
 that a deputation should be sent to that mission field at 
 once, and they have accordingly taken the responsibility 
 of such a step. The Deputies will be able not only to 
 attend to the matters that are immediately pressing, but 
 also to do the work that would have fallen to a deputa- 
 tion going out in the ordinary course. The brethren who 
 have been selected by the Committee for this duty are the 
 Rev. David Williamson of Queensferry, and the Rev. 
 David Marshall of East Calder. The Committee and the 
 Church, we are sure, have every confidence in the peculiar 
 fitness of these two brethren for such a duty — their 
 acquaintance with our missionary operations, their sound- 
 ness of judgment, and their thorough fairness and impar- 
 tiality. The visit of the Deputies will be an event of very 
 special interest in the history of the Mission at Old 
 Calabar. . . .
 
 The Deputies and Mr. Ross 581 
 
 The Deputies sailed from Liverpool in the Corisco on 
 October 29. Mr. Anderson's next letter to Mr. Chisholm, 
 dated December 31, 1881, tells of the visit of the Deputies, 
 and of the decision at which they arrived in the questions 
 at issue between him and Mr. Ross : — 
 
 Our friends the Deputies arrived here on the 1st inst. 
 On the 6th they commenced investigation of Mr. Ross's 
 palaver with his brethren ; had many a long and weary 
 sederunt— generally 9 to 1, and then 5 to 9 or 10. On 
 one occasion the evening sederunt lasted from 5 till 1 1.30. 
 Such hours of business don't suit the intertropical part of 
 the world. They closed their investigations on the even- 
 ing of Friday the 23rd, and on Saturday 24th announced 
 their finding — the chief part of which is that Mr. Ross be 
 separated from the Old Calabar Mission and proceed 
 home without delay. 
 
 On Saturday evening, Prince James Eyamba, with a 
 number of his following who are Church members, sent in 
 to the Deputies an intimation of their withdrawal from 
 the fellowship of the U.P. Church ; and on Sabbath 
 morning Mr. Ross sent in his resignation of the office of 
 the ministry in the U.P. Church. On Sabbath, Mr. Ross 
 and his followers held meetings in James Eyamba's 
 yard. . . . 
 
 I have long been considering a suggestion of your 
 own, viz. whether I should not retire from active life. I 
 have never fully got over the ailment which brought me 
 to death's gates in February. Every little extra exertion 
 or annoyance brings a return of it. I felt that if Mr. Ross 
 carries out his present design of remaining in the country 
 and setting up a rival cause, I am not now in such vigour 
 as to be able to cope with the difficulties of the position. 
 So, to clear the way for the free action of the Presbytery 
 and of the Deputies in regard to the present emergency, 
 I have tendered my resignation of my charge. 
 
 A special meeting of Presbytery was held, and after 
 Mr. Edgerley had been appointed and had agreed to go
 
 582 Old Calabar Period 
 
 to Duke Town, Mr. Anderson practically withdrew his 
 resignation. 
 
 On January 7, 1882, Mr. Anderson wrote further to 
 Mr. Chisholm: — 
 
 On Tuesday evening a congregational meeting was 
 held, at which the Deputies published what they had done 
   — specially in regard to Mr. Ross — and why they had 
 done so. 
 
 I would rather say as little as possible on the matter, 
 and leave it to Mr. Williamson to explain all things to 
 you. He expects to see you shortly after he reaches 
 home. 1 
 
 He and Mr. Marshall have conducted the business 
 with which they were entrusted with great care and pains, 
 and have earned a good name among both blacks and 
 whites. . . . 
 
 Mrs. A. still continues very poorly. Sometimes she 
 seems as if she were passing away, but has always revived 
 hitherto. Mr. Marshall had a good New Year's sermon at 
 English service last Sabbath evening from " My times are 
 in Thy hand," but she did not hear it. 
 
 I had a touching message from one of our native 
 members on Wednesday evening, — a slave-boy who had 
 been long ailing, — viz. that he did not think he would be 
 alive after 9 o'clock that evening, and that he wished 
 very much that I would allow him to be buried in the 
 Christian graveyard. I had not seen him for some time, 
 and did not know that the end was so near. I went off 
 at once to see him, but he was unable to speak. I spoke 
 to him, and prayed with him. He lingered on till 6 AM. 
 Thursday. We buried him with all the respect accorded 
 to all Church members. Our Deputies were with us 
 during the funeral service, but the congregation was such 
 that 1 saw that it would serve nothing to ask them to 
 take any part in it. 
 
 Both Deputies have preached to both native and 
 
 1 .Mr. Williamson stayed with Mr. Anderson, and Mr. Marshall with Mr. 
 Ross. Mr. Williamson, to the regret of the Churches in Calabar and in 
 Scotland, died of fever on January 30, 1882, on the homeward voyage.
 
 Removal of Mr. Edgerley to Duke Town 583 
 
 English congregations with great acceptance. We have 
 enjoyed their company very much. Of course the enjoy- 
 ment would have been greater had not their visit been 
 especially connected with Mr. Ross's case. . . . 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Edgerley have just come from Creek 
 Town to take up their abode with us for a time. They 
 are to occupy Mrs. Sutherland's house. 
 
 In the preceding narrative of this painful case it has 
 not been my aim to give such an account of it as would 
 be proper in a critical history of the Mission. The 
 Deputies censured Mr. Anderson for certain indiscretions, 
 and recalled Mr. Ross, and behind or beyond their decision 
 it is not here needful to go. 
 
 KING DUKE IX.
 
 CHAPTER XXIX 
 
 The Death of Mrs. Anderson, 1882 
 
 When 1882 began, Mrs. Anderson's days on earth were 
 nearly numbered. The wearied worker, who had known 
 no tire in the service of others, was about to enter into 
 rest. Tender memories of early days in Jamaica filled 
 Mr. Anderson's mind as he penned the following" letter 
 regarding his dying wife to his old friend Mr. Chisholm, 
 on Thursday evening, January 12 : — 
 
 . . . This is one of my numerous anniversaries. Forty- 
 two years to-day since I first saw the companion of my 
 pilgrimage. That was in Carron Mall Church, Sabbath 12, 
 1840. Only saw her that day, however. Wondered who 
 she could be. Delighted on Monday morning when Mrs. 
 Cowan introduced me to her as "our teacher, Miss 
 Louisa." Feared some days ago that I might be taking 
 my last look of her to-day ; but there is still hope of 
 recovery, for which I feel grateful. 
 
 Captain Davies, Nubia, who credits Mrs. A. with 
 having saved his life on one occasion, has just called — has 
 not seen her, though ; tells me he leaves to-morrow at 
 noon. It must be eighteen or twenty years ago. When 
 Captain Davies arrived here he was prostrated by fever. 
 ' Up to the mission-house " was the charm in those days. 
 He was brought up helpless. Same evening steamer's 
 doctor took fever, and went to Old Town mission-house 
 for change. Mrs. A. nursed and doctored Captain D. 
 for, I think, a week. He was able to go on board — but, 
 what a surprise ! The doctor had then been -in his grave 
 two days. Captain D. has never forgotten this. . . . 
 
 584
 
 Death of Mrs. Anderson 585 
 
 Mr. Edgerley and I get on exceedingly well together. 
 His medical attainments are a great help to us. He is 
 not very strong. 
 
 Friday. — Mrs. A. nearly just as she has been for 
 weeks. Was very low about midnight, but felt somewhat 
 revived in the morning. Should I not write next week, 
 you can consider " No news, good news." 
 
 On January 26, Mrs. Anderson fell asleep. The fol- 
 lowing intimation of her death was sent out by Mr. 
 Anderson : — 
 
 Duke Town Mission-House, Old Calabar, 
 
 January 27, 1882. 
 
 Dear Friend, — I have to intimate to you that it has 
 pleased our Heavenly Father to remove from me and to 
 take home to Himself the faithful companion of my 
 pilgrimage for upwards of forty years. After a lengthened 
 illness, she peacefully " fell asleep " yesterday morning at 
 3 o'clock. With her all is well — well for ever.— Confident 
 that I shall have an interest in your sympathy and prayers, 
 I am, dear friend, your afflicted, but not forsaken, 
 
 William Anderson. 
 
 To the Clohan family Mr. Anderson wrote on February 
 6, giving full particulars of Mrs. Anderson's illness and 
 death : — 
 
 Dearly beloved Friends, — Ere this reaches you 
 you will have received a formal notice of the sore bereave- 
 ment with which I was visited on January 26. 
 
 My loved departed one was not at all strong during 
 the course of last year. I see from my church roll that 
 she was nine Sabbaths absent on account of illness, and 
 that on six or seven other Sabbaths she was able to be 
 only a " half-day hearer." From Sabbath October 9, till 
 Sabbath November 20, she enjoyed her last spell of toler- 
 able health, and was able to attend all the three services 
 during all the consecutive seven Sabbaths. . . . She was 
 in church only one Sabbath after November 20, and that
 
 586 Old Calabar Period 
 
 was on December 18, when she managed to be present at 
 all the three services. She was, indeed, in church once 
 again, viz. on Thursday, December 22, at a General Con- 
 ference of the Mission with Deputies sent out from the 
 Mission Board. She took an active part in the delibera- 
 tions of the Conference — returned to the house — had to 
 retire to her room. I do not remember that she left her 
 apartment again — till carried out. 
 
 She suffered severely for a time. . . . For a time I 
 continued to hope against hope, but from the commence- 
 ment the doctor gave no hope of permanent recovery. 
 
 Wednesday, Dec. 28. — Very low, but looks forward to 
 the end with great composure. She gave me some direc- 
 tions as to the distribution of her clothing among her 
 house girls and other faithful female friends. . . . When 
 she had told me how she wished her effects disposed of, I 
 hinted that I trusted that all arrangements were complete 
 in regard to eternity. She expressed herself on this point 
 in the full assurance of hope, and gave me to understand 
 that she had entered into covenant with the Master before 
 she saw me. 
 
 Thursday, 29. — Very low, but resigned and even 
 cheerful in prospect of the departure. Forgot to say 
 above that yesterday she gave me directions about the 
 funeral. To-day she joined her nurse and me in singing 
 several hymns — " There is a fountain " (tune in Sankey's), 
 the 48th Paraphrase, and " Shall we meet beyond the 
 river ? " 
 
 Sabbath, Jan. 1, 1 882. — A happy New Year's Day for 
 my loved sufferer, though it could hardly be called 
 a merry one. I had the aid and fellowship of Rev. 
 D. Marshall. Felt grateful for this. 
 
 There was but little change in her from Sabbath 
 Jan. 1, till Saturday Jan. 14. I had been hoping against 
 hope, and earnestly praying for her restoration ; but at 
 the latter date, January 14, the conviction forced itself 
 upon me — I may say for the first time — that she is no 
 longer mine. Very tranquil, yea, very cheerful — but — pass- 
 ing away. 
 
 Sabbath, Jan. 1 5. — Lighter and easier to-day. Oh that 
 she might live before Thee!
 
 "Lying in State" 587 
 
 Tuesday, 17. — She distributed a few last gifts to-day, 
 and gave parting charges to several of her old house 
 girls, who had come, accompanied by their husbands and 
 children, to see her. The scene was deeply solemn and 
 impressive. She was somewhat unconscious during a 
 part of the day, and gave utterance to a great many 
 pleasant things, though somewhat incoherently. This 
 showed, however, her happy frame of mind. . . . 
 
 Sabbath, 22. — The last Sabbath below. Not able to 
 say much to-day. In the evening I told her what I had 
 been preaching on to the English congregation — Gen. xlix. 
 18: "I have waited for Thy salvation, O Lord." I gave 
 her my divisions, which seemed to interest her : — 
 
 1. Salvation is wholly of God — "Thy." 
 
 2. Salvation is a personal matter — " I." 
 
 3. Salvation requires exercise of faith and patience — 
 
 " have waited." 
 
 4. Salvation is the only thing of value on the bed of 
 
 death. 
 She joined me in singing " The gates ajar," greatly 
 emphasising the refrain, " For me." This was, in so far as 
 I am aware, her last song on earth. 
 
 Wednesday, 25. — Sang portions of her favourite hymns 
 in an undertone. This seemed to soothe her. The end 
 was evidently near. Paroxysms of pain, but the mind at 
 rest, firmly leaning on the Rock. Frequently when asked, 
 " How are you feeling?" the reply was, "Weary, weary." 
 The rest was at hand. 
 
 Thursday, 26. — I was with her till after 2 A.M. The 
 breathing became so difficult that I could not stand it. 
 I stepped into my study and drew up several circulars 
 which I saw would soon be needed. Had just finished, 
 was stepping out, met Mrs. Fuller [the nurse] at the 
 door with these words on her lips, "All is over." The 
 clock then struck three. She had passed peacefully away at 
 length. I entered the chamber of death, and felt thankful 
 to see her at rest. Farewell now, my loved one, to all 
 those severe pains which have racked the frail body time 
 after time for years. 
 
 From 4 A.M. till 4 P.M. the room was never empty. It 
 was indeed a "lying in state" for twelve hours. Group
 
 588 ( )u> Calabar Period 
 
 after group came to take a last look. I never saw a 
 countenance so lovely in death. 
 
 About five in the evening we committed the mortal 
 remains to their lowly resting-place, in the sure and 
 blessed hope of a glorious resurrection. 
 
 I need hardly say that all our Mission friends, and, 
 indeed, all our European friends, have shown their deep 
 sympathy with the living and the highest respect for the 
 dead. 
 
 Mr. Edgerley wrote from Duke Town :— 
 
 I feel strange in saying to myself, "Mrs. Anderson is 
 no more." She has been so long an important and promi- 
 nent personage in connection with this field, that I can 
 hardly believe that she is no longer one of us. With all 
 her energy, she suffered much for many years from 
 internal ailments, and her continued activity, with pain 
 and disease sapping her strength, shows the vigour of 
 her mind and will. She has with indignation made men 
 quail under her reproof for wrong-doing, and she has also 
 robbed herself of rest, night after night, tending mother- 
 less native infants. A woman said truly of her the other 
 day, " She has saved many a head from being cut off, and 
 many an car too," — mutilation was a form of punishment. 
 More than once native chiefs and others were stubborn to 
 Mr. Anderson, but would yield to her with "Ma mine, I 
 can't say no to you ! " Yes ! she is gone. She died 
 yesterday morning, and was buried at half-past four in 
 the afternoon. The large turn-out of natives and Euro- 
 peans at the service in church showed the respect felt for 
 her. 
 
 W e are sure that many a prayer will be offered on 
 behalf of Mr. Anderson, that he may be cheered and 
 comforted in his loneliness. 
 
 Mrs. Cowan, late of Carron Hall, wrote from Edin- 
 burgh to Mr. Anderson a beautiful letter of sympathy, in 
 which the following reference to Mrs. Anderson's character 
 occurs : —
 
 Mrs. Hewan on Mrs. Anderson 589 
 
 She was the crown of our work at Carron Hall. We 
 never had a fault to find with her. I cannot think of any 
 more perfect character. 
 
 Edward Hyde Hevvett, Esq., H.B.M.'s Consul for the 
 Bight of Biafra, wrote to Mr. Anderson from London : — 
 
 I cannot allow a mail to leave for the Coast without 
 sending you a line in expression of my very great sorrow 
 at the loss you have sustained. ... I beg of you to 
 accept my sincere condolence and the assurance of my 
 profoundest sympathy. I had looked forward to my 
 return to the Coast with a certain amount of pleasure, 
 from the fact that I should again see you and Mrs. 
 Anderson, and I had arranged in my own mind a very 
 comfortable Consulate on the Hill at Old Calabar, intend- 
 ing to ask Mrs. Anderson to look after my household 
 affairs. With the company of her and of yourself, my dear 
 friend, I should have been perfectly happy. I shall be 
 glad to know of your movements. Will you be coming 
 home? For myself and for the good of Old Calabar, I 
 hope not. ... I pray that you may be supported in your 
 affliction by that almighty and good Father who alone 
 can afford real consolation. 
 
 Mrs. Hewan, a former fellow-worker in Old Calabar, 
 wrote an appreciative account of Mrs. Anderson's life and 
 work for Our Sisters in OtJier Lands (January and April 
 1883), from which I take the following estimate: — 
 
 Her influence at Duke Town was very great ; her self- 
 sacrificing exertions to save life, her unwearied nursing of 
 the sick, day and night, the number of poor, wretched, 
 homeless creatures whom she succoured, and the many 
 children, both boys and girls, whom she had always under 
 training, fitting them to become useful members of 
 society, rise before me as I write. No one can estimate 
 the good which she has accomplished during the thirty- 
 four years of her residence in Africa. All was done in 
 such a quiet, unobtrusive way that it was only those most
 
 590 Old Calabar Period 
 
 intimate with her, or associated with her in the work, who 
 knew the busy life she led, and that, too, in the midst of 
 much bodily suffering. 
 
 She soothed and cheered the last moments of many 
 who, far from home and friends, were taken to the Duke 
 Town mission-house that they might have the benefit of 
 her tender care and nursing, and also nursed back to life 
 many who would, humanly speaking, have died but for 
 her. In 1864 the gentlemen of the river showed their 
 high esteem for her by entertaining her at a breakfast on 
 board one of the ships, when they presented her with a 
 piece of silver plate bearing a suitable inscription, record- 
 ing their high appreciation of her many sterling Christian 
 qualities, and their gratitude for her many acts of kindness 
 and motherly attentions. The sentiment of gratitude 
 pervading the community was deep and universal. . . . 
 
 There was a deep undercurrent of piety and spiritu- 
 ality of mind, which her reserved nature in a great measure 
 concealed. 
 
 Miss Edgerley kindly wrote from Creek Town mission- 
 house, under date 30th May 1896, an interesting letter 
 of reminiscences of Mrs. Anderson : — 
 
 My first introduction to Mr. and Mrs. Anderson was 
 in 1848, on the eve of their sailing for Old Calabar. 
 Then I went with another friend to meet them on their 
 first visit home from Calabar in 1852. I then saw for the 
 first time two Calabar children brought home by Mrs. A. 
 
 Mrs. A. was a wise and sensible woman, and although 
 she never gave advice unsought, she was ever ready to 
 give it when asked. She was a real mother to many of 
 the white traders ; in sickness, many a one has she had 
 brought up to the mission-house and nursed most faith- 
 fully. Many a poor castaway sick slave has she had 
 brought in and nursed, also twins and other orphans ; 
 many a woman has she trained to wash and dress. Her 
 girls used to make the finest bread when I came to 
 Calabar, and many other useful works did the girls learn. 
 Mrs. A. did not eat the bread of idleness, for she was up
 
 Miss Edgerley on Mrs. Anderson 591 
 
 at five in the morning, and called up her household at 
 half-past five, when there was a stir upstairs and down- 
 stairs in the yard. Morning prayers were punctual at 
 seven, and breakfast was immediately after, and everyone 
 was expected to be at the table promptly, no waiting for 
 anyone who was not ready. Mrs. A. was very methodical 
 in everything. If any quarrel got up on the Hill, Mrs. 
 Anderson was the one they ran to, and she would very 
 soon settle them, and send them off laughing, or else 
 quieted, at any rate. In cases of sickness or accident she 
 was often resorted to, either for adult or infant, and the 
 people had every confidence in her skill. She was builder 
 of houses, and road surveyor, etc. In some things she 
 was dauntless, such as pursuing a thief at night, and 
 taking a cutlass out of his hand and sending him off. 
 
 She was very good to me all my time here, and the 
 last time I was privileged to be with her was when 
 the Deputies came, shortly before her death. Mrs. A. 
 has been well missed at Duke Town, where she lived and 
 laboured so long. " Truly the memory of the just is 
 blessed." 
 
 Dr. Adam of Liverpool, who saw much of Mr. and 
 Mrs. Anderson in Calabar between 1858 and 1863, writes : — 
 
 I scarcely remember whether there is any record of 
 the life and work of Mrs. Anderson ; yet no history of 
 the mission work in Calabar will be complete without 
 some prominent notice of this lady. I know not how it 
 has come to pass that so little has been said or written 
 of Mrs. Anderson. She was one who went about doing 
 good ; as nurse, as matron, friend, adviser, and hostess she 
 was unequalled. Mr. Anderson's influence was largely 
 owing to the " veiled and silent woman " who never 
 wearied in well-doing, and whose skilful, loving hand was 
 skilfully concealed. In his early years, Mr. Anderson, 
 with his strong hand and head and robust temper, was by 
 no means famous for making or keeping friends, but his 
 wife's hallowed presence atoned for all. 
 
 An old chief, Henny Cobham, who was a devoted 
 admirer of Mrs. A., summed up her good points tersely
 
 592 Old Calabar Period 
 
 and concisely: " I tell you true, them woman be best man 
 for mission." 
 
 In an interesting series of articles published in the 
 Missionary Record, the Rev. D. Marshall, who visited 
 Calabar as a Deputy from the Church, wrote as follows : 1 — 
 
 Duke Town has an estimated population of 6000. It 
 is a not over-cleanly accumulation of mud houses, closely 
 packed, with footpaths instead of streets, which are 
 rutted and cross-cut by torrents in the rainy season, so 
 that great care is required in walking on them by day ; 
 and at night, without the moon or a lantern, a serious 
 mishap is almost certain to unaccustomed feet. The 
 mission buildings are placed on the top of the Hill, the 
 proper situation, no doubt, for the dwelling-houses, as 
 being the highest and healthiest spot in the whole locality, 
 but it may be very fairly questioned whether the church 
 and school would not have been better planted down in 
 the town, in the heart of the population. The Rev. 
 William Anderson is in charge of the station here. He 
 came thirty-four years ago, and during this long period 
 he has laboured for Christ among the heathen in this 
 dark land with unflagging diligence and zeal. All along, 
 till January last, Mrs. Anderson was with him, sharing 
 ungrudgingly his work and trials. Many a sad sight 
 they have witnessed together, many a struggle they have 
 maintained together in behalf of the oppressed, many a 
 privation they have endured together; and now that 
 death has come between and parted them, we are sure 
 that in his loneliness and sorrow he has the warm 
 sympathy of the whole Church, whom he has served so 
 long and well. In Mrs. Anderson the Mission has suffered 
 a cjreat loss. 
 
 He also says : — 
 
 We must not omit to mention another institution, 
 which, though not commonly named among missionary 
 instrumentalities, is yet one of the most effective of them. 
 
 1 Record, May 1882.
 
 Missionary's House a Power for Good 593 
 
 The missionary's house, with its refined and orderly ways, 
 the motherly influence exercised by his wife over the 
 numerous household, and its ministrations to the many 
 who come to it in quest of advice, or heip, or consolation, 
 is a great power for good. The very building is an 
 exhibition of civilisation ; and, associated with the 
 character and work of the occupants, there it stands on 
 the top of the hill, a public declaration for righteousness, 
 and protest against iniquity ; while, because of the twin 
 children and refugees who have found a sanctuary there, 
 it is a plea for mercy in a cruel land. It is at once a 
 mind, a conscience, and a heart to the land. Further, the 
 orphans are trained to good habits and useful accomplish- 
 ments ; great pains are bestowed on the formation of their 
 character and principles ; twice a day they are called 
 together to family worship, in which they take a direct 
 part in reading the chapter, answering questions, and 
 repeating portions of Scripture or verses of hymns they 
 have learned ; and when they reach an age at which they 
 must leave to begin the world for themselves, they carry 
 into their new situations of life much of the spirit and 
 ideas of the house where they were brought up. There 
 are well-doing men and women in Calabar now, who 
 look back with pleasure on the days they spent in their 
 mission home, and who gratefully ascribe to that connec- 
 tion their indebtedness for what they are. Such a blessed 
 influence has been shed abroad for years in Duke Town 
 from the dwelling of Mr. and Mrs. Anderson ; and the 
 homes of Mr. and Mrs. Goldie, and of Mr. and Mrs. 
 Edgerley, have been in like manner fountains of blessing 
 in Creek Town. 
 
 In a letter to Mr. Chisholm of date April 29, 1882, 
 Mr. Anderson wrote: — 
 
 I have instructed Miss Isabella Lamb (Mrs. A.'s 
 banker) to receive no more contributions from any quarter 
 for the support of any of our household children. I feel 
 that I cannot hold myself responsible for the proper 
 outlay of such contributions. I must indeed maintain 
 those already on hand, so long as I am beside them, or 
 38
 
 594 ( )ln ( vlabar Period 
 
 they are beside me ; but I prefer to do what I can 
 without foreign aid. 
 
 Only a few days ago I had a fine-looking young 
 woman and two pretty little babies sent to my care by 
 one of our biggest gentlemen. The children were only a 
 few hours old, so I begged Mrs. Edgerley to look after 
 them for a week, which she kindly engaged to do. I do 
 not know whether she will transfer the group to me at 
 the close of the week — I would rather not. If she retain 
 them, I shall allow her something from our unexhausted 
 funds. . . . 
 
 The domestic machine still moves on under the 
 impulse it received from its departed directress. We 
 have four boys (two of them twin-brothers) who can run 
 errands, carry water, etc. The eldest house-girl — her 
 name is Julia — had a great deal of Mrs. A.'s confidence, 
 and often acted as stewardess during Mrs. A.'s sick 
 seasons. She acts very much as stewardess still. I 
 suppose she has been with us about twenty years. She 
 must be fully thirty — no beauty — but very steady and 
 anxious to please. The next girl is the cook — she is called 
 Mary Stewart — must have been with us ten or twelve 
 years — must be fully twenty. She is a little glaiket now 
 and then, but "Ah, Mary, suppose Mammy live, you no 
 bring me soup so," or "you no burn bread so," is enough 
 to bring the tear to Mary's eye. We have other four girls 
 —three of them, I think, as well as the four boys, at 
 school. The twin establishment is separate somewhat. 
 At present I have four mothers and three or four children 
 — not including the two at present with Mrs. Edgerley. . . . 
 
 Mrs. A. left a number of pet goats, pet fowls, pet dogs 
 and cats, and pet plants. I do my best with all. Her 
 most valuable dog, however, did not seem able to survive 
 her — died two or three weeks after she left me. I feel a 
 sacred pleasure in looking after her animals and plants. 
 Almost all the trees on the premises are of her planting 
 or my own. My first walk in the morning and my last in 
 the evening is to her quiet resting-place. I enjoy a great 
 deal of happiness connected with her memory, though 1 
 need hardly say that / do miss her. As I sit at my 
 study table — presented to me in 1848 by yourself and
 
 The Incident of the Coat 595 
 
 friends — I have her photo within a foot of me, a hat and 
 a gown hanging on the wall before me, a pair of her 
 boots on one of my bookshelves — but these are poor 
 substitutes for her ain seV. However, as I said to her when 
 on her deathbed, " Our separation cannot be a very long 
 one." You are aware, I think, that on the 15th inst. I 
 enter my 71st year. On Sabbath, March 12th, I felt so 
 vigorous that I said to Mr. Edgerley, " Ah ! my home 
 friends must be praying for me to-day — they will just 
 have heard of he;" death." I see from a letter of Mrs. 
 Duncan's that on that day, March 12th, Dr. Thomson 
 prayed very earnestly for me in Broughton Place Church. 
 I have no doubt that other friends were also remembering 
 me at the throne. 
 
 In a letter to Mrs. Duncan, 1 Heriot Row, Edinburgh, 
 dated June 3, 1882, Mr. Anderson relates in an amusing 
 way an incident connected with the Deputies' visit: — 
 
 Mr. Williamson was the last preacher that my beloved 
 Louisa ever heard. She did not hear his last sermon here, 
 however — which was his last in pure English. He 
 preached afterwards at Creek Town, but his English had 
 to be interpreted. His last text here on Christmas evening 
 was these words in Eph. iii. 15: "The whole family in 
 heaven and earth," — a capital discourse. 
 
 He had to leave us at sunset to go up to Creek Town 
 in a boat, and he wished to be iveel Jiappit, as he would be 
 exposed to the chill of the evening immediately after 
 preaching. I produced the never- failing coat of your 
 gudeman's which you dashed to me — a dash which T have 
 found frequently to be very useful — told him to whom it 
 had belonged, and got him all trig for the voyage. He was 
 to be sure to give me back the coat on his return from up 
 the river. He did not return for eight or nine days. I 
 had forgot all about the coat — and indeed I never re- 
 
 1 Mrs. Duncan and lier husband were old friends of Mr. Anderson. 
 They contributed liberally to the support of native children in the Duke 
 Town mission -house. Mrs. Duncan, after a long life of active Christian 
 benevolence, of unostentatious kindness to missionaries, and of help to all in 
 need, "fell asleep "' on Jan. 7, 1897.
 
 596 ( )ld Calabar Perk »d 
 
 membered it till a fortnight or so after the Deputies left. 
 I then inquired on all sides about the coat, but could 
 hear . nothing, and concluded that Mr. W. must have 
 packed it up in mistake with his own clothing. I meant 
 to write him a very lugubrious epistle on the subject, 
 lamenting the evil influences of heathenism on even a 
 Christian minister who had borne a good name for so 
 many years, on the cruelty of a robust young man 
 depriving a frail old missionary of his old coat, etc. etc. 
 But lo ! the death stroke has intervened, and that drives 
 all nonsense away. 
 
 I mentioned the matter some time after to a friendly 
 supercargo. He said nothing in reply, but went off to 
 the store of the merchant whose boat had taken Mr. W. 
 up to Creek Town, and made inquiries. " Oh yes," said 
 the merchant, " there is an old coat hanging up there 
 which no one seems to know anything about." It is 
 handed to my friend, and he reads the maker's name on 
 the back of the neck, " R. & J. Elliot, Dalkeith." "Ah, 
 this is the very article wanted ; " and so he brought it up 
 to -me in triumph the next Sabbath evening. 
 
 I have been now eighteen weeks alone. You have 
 passed through the same experience, and can full}' 
 sympathise with me. Her photo is within two feet of me, 
 her books I use daily at morning and evening worship, 
 her gown and hat hang on the wall before me, her boots 
 and shoes stand beside me on my bookcase. I have her 
 resting-place to visit every morning and evening, her 
 favourite plants to look after, her favourite goats, dogs, 
 and cats to look after, her bairns to superintend in a way, 
 but all this does not make up for the want o' her ain sell. 
 Yet I have great reason to be thankful. The domestic 
 machine still moves on in the direction and under the 
 influence of the impetus given by her. I feel that the 
 Saviour is nearer than ever — that is, I suppose, that I am 
 leaning harder on Him now than I ever did before. 
 
 Your Christina ' — I do not know well what to say 
 
 about her. I think 1 wrote you that the gentleman 
 
 whose wife she became shortly after she left us, died. 
 
 She remained mourning like the Calabar women for a 
 
 1 A native named after Mrs. Duncan.
 
 "A Pair of Acquisitions" 597 
 
 month or two, and then entered the harem of one of the 
 most influential of our young native chiefs. She lives as 
 one of his wives, but is entrusted with keys, money, and 
 goods, more than any of them. She makes herself very 
 useful as clerk and accountant. There are two things 
 noteworthy in her — (1) she is always respectably dressed ; 
 (2) she is a regular attender at church. She seems as one 
 morally blindfolded for the present. I am not altogether 
 without hope that your prayers and ours on her behalf 
 will be answered, and that she will yet see her folly and 
 repent of it. We can only pray and wait. None of our 
 other house -girls seem to mourn the death of Mammy 
 more than Christina does. Our young converts have 
 fearful influences to contend with. A miracle that any of 
 them stand steadfast. 
 
 In another letter to Mrs. Duncan, of date Nov. 4, 
 1882, Mr. Anderson wrote regarding the Rev. E. W. 
 Jarrett and his wife, who were located at Duke Town : — 
 
 . . . Thanks for all your sisterly, motherly counsels in 
 regard to self-preservation. Julia — Mrs. A.'s confidential 
 handmaid for many years — has looked after the cooking 
 department very well, though it could not be expected 
 that all things should be so nicely conducted as in the 
 days " departed never to return." 
 
 I have received a great acquisition to my household 
 lately — or a pair of acquisitions — in Mr. and Mrs. Jarrett. 
 Mr. Jarrett was ordained by one of the°Jamaica Presby- 
 teries a few months ago, and he and Mrs. J. are located 
 with me, and are for the present my boarders. They — 
 with Miss M'Phun from Glasgow, and Mr. John Morison, 
 a mechanic — arrived here on Oct. 19, which would have 
 been my Louisa's sixty-fourth birthday had she been 
 still tarrying with us — I do not know how they compute 
 time up yonder. Mrs. Jarrett has relieved me greatly; in 
 a week or two, when she has picked up a few sentences of 
 the native tongue, she will be able to relieve me altogether 
 of what is — to me — the somewhat irksome task of house- 
 keeping — though / think I have done very well during 
 these forty weeks of solitude. . . .
 
 598 ( h \> ( Malabar Period 
 
 I have been kindly invited by the Mission Board to 
 take a trip home on furlough. Brethren and M.D.s think 
 that "I should accept the invitation. I mean to do so. 
 My five years will be up in the end of this month, and 
 though I feel more vigorous at present than I have done 
 for some years, yet the slightest over-exertion of either 
 body or mind knocks me up very much. A change may- 
 confirm health for a few years to come. . . . 
 
 Our great work goes on slowly but surely. We are 
 frequently receiving tokens for good. I often feel as if 
 we had too little faith in the power of the word we preach. 
 Mr. Goldie gave us a capital sermon at our anniversary 
 meeting in September from the text, "According unto 
 your faith be it unto you." 
 
 In the Record for Dec. 1882 it is stated:— 
 
 We have the prospect of seeing Mr. Anderson home 
 on furlough at no distant date. It is now five years 
 since he returned to Calabar from his last furlough ; and 
 that furlough was rather a period of work, for he spent a 
 large portion of it in Jamaica, doing service in connection 
 with the Mission there. Besides several attacks of illness 
 during the past year or two, the sore bereavement which 
 he recently experienced in the death of Mrs. Anderson 
 has told heavily upon him ; and it cannot be wondered at 
 that one who has passed through these trials after he has 
 turned threescore and ten, is in need of rest and change. 
 The Foreign Mission Board have invited him to leave 
 his work for a time, and though with much reluctance, he 
 has consented to do so ; he only wishes to postpone his 
 coming for a few months, until Mr. and Mrs. Jarrett, who 
 are to be settled meanwhile at Duke Town, are introduced 
 somewhat into the customs of the country. In a touching 
 letter just received from Mr. Anderson, he speaks of his 
 native land as now " a land of strangers " to him. " All my 
 early companions (he says) have gone over to the majority. 
 Here I feel at home. I know everybody, and everybody 
 knows me. How different in Scotland! Another point: 
 during my 42 or 43 years of foreign service I have
 
 A Memorial Tablet 599 
 
 returned to my native land five times, but never alone. 
 Now, if go I must, it must be ' empty.' " 
 
 We are sure that, though Mr. Anderson on his arrival 
 may miss many of his contemporaries, he will yet find 
 many friends who will be ready to bid him welcome, and 
 eager to hear what he has to say about the claims of that 
 mission field where he has laboured so many years, and 
 where his name is as a household word among the 
 people. 
 
 On December 22, 1882, two of the Duke Town mission- 
 houses were burned to the ground. The one was the 
 house occupied by Mr. Anderson and Mr. and Mrs. 
 Jarrett. The other was an older house adjoining Mr. 
 Anderson's, and was occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Peebles. 
 After the fire these parties were accommodated in the 
 houses occupied by Mr. Edgerley and Miss M'Phun. 
 The Record remarked : — 
 
 It is a fortunate circumstance that the New Year Offer- 
 ing for 1883 is to be devoted to the improvement of 
 the mission property at Old Calabar. ... It is desirable 
 that the Mission Board be in a position, without any 
 delay, to restore these houses, as well as to put the other 
 mission property in a state of thorough repair. 
 
 In the Record for March 1883 it is stated :- ■•- 
 
 We have just learned that the friends in the river at 
 Duke Town have kindly furnished a beautiful brass tablet, 
 with a suitable inscription, as a memorial of the late Mrs. 
 Anderson. The tablet has been attached to the inside 
 wall of the Duke Town Church, near the place where Mrs. 
 Anderson was accustomed to sit. This is an evidence of 
 the high regard which was entertained for Mrs. Anderson, 
 not only by the native Christians, but by the European 
 traders, to whom, as was the case with Mrs. Sutherland, 
 she showed much kindness and rendered many Christian
 
 600 Old Calabar Period 
 
 services. Mr. A. has been much cheered by this mark of 
 respect for the memory of the departed. 
 
 In the Report for 1882, Mr. Anderson says: — 
 
 The past year has been to us one of tribulation. We 
 have experienced severe trials of different kinds. We 
 trust that sunshine will in due time follow storm. 
 
 There has been a decrease in the membership of the 
 Church. No fewer than six of our little band have been 
 removed by the hand of death. There has also been a 
 secession from our ranks. Sabbath services have been 
 conducted as in former years. . . . 
 
 Mr. Edgerley's services have been of immense value in 
 regard to both bodily ailments and soul sickness. He 
 and Mrs. Edgerley conduct several important classes of 
 young people, who meet from time to time in their 
 prayer-room. . . . Mrs. Edgerley has been active in her 
 exertions for the benefit of the women. 
 
 Besides the congregational weekly prayer meeting held 
 in the church, we have three meetings weekly in different 
 parts of the town. These meetings afford us the oppor- 
 tunity of proclaiming the gospel weekly to several hun- 
 dreds who do not attend sanctuary service on Sabbath. 
 
 We have been privileged during the year to hail the 
 arrival of fresh forces. Miss M'Phun seems eminently 
 qualified for the important work to which she has been 
 designated. Mr. and Mrs. Jarrett are just entering on 
 their work and their trials too. 
 
 The late destruction of our dwellings has been to Mr. 
 and Mrs. Jarrett, to Mr. and Mrs. Peebles, and to the 
 writer of these lines, a " fiery trial " indeed. We trust that 
 it will work for good, not only for ourselves personally, 
 but also for the station and for the Mission. 
 
 At the same time, Mr. Edgerley writes : — 
 
 At the request of the Deputies, the Presbytery associ- 
 ated me with Mr. Anderson, on account of his weakness 
 and ill-health. I have therefore been here since the com- 
 mencement of January. Mr. Anderson is better, but 
 although he moves about much, it is evident that his 
 strength is not what it once was.
 
 . Death of the Rev. S. H. Edgerley 6oi 
 
 The death of the Rev. S. H. Edgerley at Duke Town 
 on February 24, 1883, was a great loss to the Mission. 
 Mr. Anderson, in a letter in the Children's Magazine, June 
 1883, wrote as follows regarding Mr. Edgerley: — 
 
 He fell calmly asleep in Jesus about 9 o'clock on the 
 evening of Saturday the 24th of February. To him life's 
 Saturday night had also come, and he lay down to repose 
 till he shall be awakened by the sound of the archangel's 
 trumpet on the morning of that glorious Sabbath which 
 awaits all the people of God. His devoted wife, his 
 attached sister, and two of his missionary brethren, stood 
 around his bed during his last moments. We commended 
 the parting spirit to the care of Him who holdeth the 
 keys of Hades and of death, and, unseen by us, the 
 attending angels beckoned him away to the realms of the 
 blest. 
 
 Mr. Edgerley came to Old Calabar in 1854, and has 
 thus been among us for about twenty-nine years. He has 
 occupied different positions — teacher, printer,evangelist,ex- 
 plorer, and ordained missionary — and has ably discharged 
 the duties of each position so long as he occupied it. 
 My venerable brother, Mr. Goldie, shows in his communi- 
 cation in the Record for May how much he valued our 
 departed associate. In a letter which I have just received 
 from my esteemed brother, Mr. Beedie, of date, Ikorofiong, 
 April 10, 1883, he says: " Mr. Edgerley's death has made 
 a sad blank in our working staff. I have little hope of 
 one being got in all respects equal to him. But God is 
 able to train up labourers for His vineyard, and we must 
 never forget that the work is His." To me he has been 
 during the last thirteen months of his life as my right 
 hand. . . . 
 
 During the course of last year I read a very touching 
 biography — that of the late Dr. George Wilson [of Edin- 
 burgh]. After I had read it, I presented it to my departed 
 brother. While perusing the volume, it occurred to me 
 that there were several striking points of resemblance 
 between the two men. Both were subject to seasons of 
 great exhaustion and severe pain, but in their worst
 
 602 Old Cai \h.\k Period 
 
 seasons both were ever anxious to work, and ever ready 
 with bright flashes of playfulness and wit. 
 
 Referring to Mr. Edgerley's bodily infirmities, Mr. 
 Goldie wrote : — 
 
 .Mr. Edgerley freely spent himself in journeys [of 
 exploration], and was always attacked by sickness on his 
 return. In 1877 he was brought down to the gates of 
 death, but was graciously restored for further duty ; and 
 it was when at home at this time recruiting that he 
 further qualified himself for it by studying medicine. 
 Though regaining health to rejoin the Mission, his disease 
 had left a permanent infirmity of the internal organs, 
 which rendered him more liable to sickness, and, as it 
 proved, made him unable to make use of quinine, our 
 chief medicine preventive and curative of fever. How- 
 ever, he did not consider that to live was the chief end of 
 man, but to be obedient to duty; and considering that he 
 could most profitably expend his talents in the Mission 
 to which he had given himself, he returned to fill up 
 whatever day of labour the Master might appoint to him. 
 
 Mr. Anderson continues : — 
 
 Mr. Edgerley's last exploratory journey [to Atam, up 
 Cross River] was too much for him. Undertaken with a 
 strong desire to advance the Master's glory, and to pro- 
 mote the usefulness of our newly-arrived fellow-labourers 
 [ Messrs. Clerk and Jarrett], I considered his death as truly 
 that of a martyr. When we assembled in the church on the 
 morning of Sabbath, February 25, to perform for him the 
 last offices of earthly friendship, I could declare to the 
 large audience in all sincerity that we met not at that 
 time to bemoan the death of a victim, but to celebrate 
 the triumph of a victor ; for we could sing in full con- 
 fidence, " O death, where is thy sting ? O grave, where 
 is thy victory?" Thanks be unto God, who has given 
 our brother Edgerley the victory through our Lord Jesus 
 Christ ! 
 
 1 may mention here that our brother's remains were,
 
 The Kindness of River Friends 60 
 
 o 
 
 in agreement with his own request, borne to the grave 
 [at Creek Town] from the boat by the students whom 
 he had been teaching to preach the glorious gospel of 
 Christ. 
 
 Mr. Edgerley's age, when he left us, reminds me of 
 Lev. xxv. 8, 9, " seven times seven years," and then came 
 his glorious jubilee. 
 
 The preceding letter was written in Scotland, to which 
 Mr. Anderson had come in April, in time to be present at 
 the meeting of Synod in May. 
 
 In the Record for Jul}- 2, 1883, it is stated : — 
 
 Our missionaries at Old Calabar have been receiving 
 substantial tokens of the kindness and confidence of 
 friends outside the Mission. The gentlemen of the river 
 have presented our little congregation at Duke Town 
 with a fine American organ, which cost between ^40 and 
 £50. As the Rev. William Anderson was leaving Calabar, 
 he received a letter from Consul Hewett, enclosing a bill 
 for £40, " from some European friends in the river," who 
 wished in this way " to recoup him for the loss sustained 
 by the fire in December last." The Consul adds that he 
 and many other friends part with Mr. Anderson in the 
 hope that the change home may benefit his health, and 
 that he may soon return to Old Calabar, " to resume the 
 good work in which so many years of his life have been 
 spent."
 
 CHAPTER XXX 
 
 The Last Five Years of Active Service, 1884-1889 
 
 We have now reached Mr. Anderson's last term of active 
 service in Calabar. 
 
 Mr. Anderson addressed the Missionary Meeting of the 
 Synod in May 1884, on " Progress in Old Calabar." The 
 Record says that "the fervid and pathetic words of Mr. 
 Anderson, the veteran of Old Calabar, will long haunt the 
 memories of all who heard them." 
 
 In the Record, August 1884, it is stated : — 
 
 Notwithstanding his advanced years and his lengthened 
 services in a tropical climate, Mr. Anderson made it 
 known some time ago that he was ready to return to 
 Calabar. Since this was his strong desire, the Mission 
 Board were constrained to yield to it, and he is now on 
 his way to the land of his adoption. 
 
 A meeting, for the purpose of taking farewell with 
 Mr. Anderson, was held in the Synod Hall, Edinburgh, 
 on the evening of Sabbath, 29th June. A large audience 
 assembled, and all present seemed touched with the 
 peculiar interest and solemnity of the occasion. In his 
 opening address, the Chairman stated that " Mr. Anderson 
 was endeared to the Church, because he was identified 
 with the Church's missionary work— work on which they 
 were persuaded not only the progress but the vitality of 
 the Church largely depended." 
 
 The Rev. Dr. Thomson, in name of the meeting and 
 in name of the Mission Board and of the Church, 
 addressed some parting words to Mr. Anderson. Dr. 
 Thomson said : " My dear friend and brother, I have been 
 
 604
 
 Dr. Thomson's Farewell Address 605 
 
 requested to express, on the part of this farewell meeting, 
 our parting benedictions. We bid you farewell with 
 mingled feelings of regret and thankfulness. Of regret, 
 because at your advanced years, and with your avowed 
 intentions, we can scarcely indulge the hope of your 
 returning again from Old Calabar, so that we partake in 
 some measure of the feelings of the Ephesian elders when 
 they parted with Paul on the shore at Miletus, and 
 ' sorrowed most of all for the words that he spake that they 
 should see his face no more ' ; and yet of thankfulness, 
 because you have been spared to Old Calabar and to 
 the Church and to us so long, and have been enabled to 
 do such noble work for Christ and His kingdom. 
 
 " When we look back upon the past, and think of what 
 Old Calabar was as you found it, and of what it has 
 become through your instrumentality, and that of men 
 and women of kindred spirit and common aim, who 
 have been associated with you, we are irresistibly 
 constrained, along with you and your surviving fellow- 
 workers, to ' thank God and take courage.' You found 
 the scene of your mission work in the lowest depths of 
 heathenism, without any of the half-civilisation and the 
 arts which one meets with in India and China. It was 
 one of the darkest places of the earth, the forlorn 
 hope of Christian missions ; its people without a written 
 language, ignorant, idolatrous, superstitious, polluted, 
 deceitful, cruel ; its very laws and institutions sanctioning 
 infanticide and slavery. 
 
 " As the fruit of your labours and those of your 
 companions in Christian work, some of the worst 
 customs have been entirely abolished, others are perishing 
 before the light and influence of the gospel ; the laws 
 have been ameliorated by being made more humane and 
 just and pure ; the Scriptures have been translated into 
 the Efik tongue ; flourishing mission schools have been 
 erected, and churches have been formed, more than 
 one of them numbering hundreds of members, a 
 large proportion of whom are native converts. And the 
 missionaries are not content with occupying the ground 
 that had originally been measured out to them, but are 
 at this moment pushing forward into the regions beyond.
 
 606 ( )ld Calabar Period 
 
 Surely this may be deemed sufficient to reward and 
 crown the labours of one life. But you, my dear brother, 
 are not content to remain at home, and at the age of 
 seventy-two to seek rest in what remains of your pil- 
 grimage. Old Calabar is your home — your heart's home ; 
 there are graves there, with precious dust treasures in 
 them, which call you back to it ; and you wish to return 
 and die among the people for whose highest good you 
 have spent your life, not in vain. Like Elijah, you would 
 prefer to be found working at your post when the Master's 
 chariot comes to take you up. We believe that you are 
 right ; and that the advice you shall be able to give to 
 young missionaries from your ripe experience, and your 
 influence over the kings and chiefs, and over both the 
 Kuropean traders and the native population, may be of 
 great advantage to the Mission. And now, dear Mr. 
 Anderson, we commit you to the care of Him who is the 
 ruler of the winds and the waves, praying that you may 
 be protected on your voyage, and be welcomed back by 
 many glad and grateful hearts. Above all, we commend 
 you to God, and to the word of His grace, which is able 
 to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all 
 them that are sanctified, earnestly desiring that, when the 
 hour of your departure comes, an entrance may be 
 ministered to you abundantly into the everlasting king- 
 dom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen." 
 
 In his reply, Mr. Anderson referred to the claims of 
 Africa on British Christians, arising out of the wrongs to 
 which she had been subjected in the years that were past. 
 He spoke of the trials through which he had passed, and 
 the difficulties with which the Mission as a whole had to 
 contend. I Ie spoke also of the success which had attended 
 the work, and of the promise which this gave of greater 
 success in the future. And he closed by intimating his 
 desire to share in that success, and to sleep at last in the 
 land for which he had laboured so long. 
 
 The following poetical farewell Address was presented 
 to Mr. Anderson in Newington U.P. Church, Edinburgh, 
 on the evening of Thursday, the 3rd Jul}', 1884: —
 
 A Poetical Farewell Address 607 
 
 " The Christian toiler earns his twilight calm. 
 Where home distils for him its sacred balm, 
 And each day's history closes with a psalm. 
 
 And shall the twilight hour of thy long day 
 
 Be toil, not rest ? While love is whispering ' Stay,' 
 
 Thy willing hand and strong heart answer ' Nay.' 
 
 Thou wouldst keep sowing till the day is done, 
 Thy hand not staying till the night come down, 
 And on a sweat-marked brow receive thy crown. 
 
 On far-off fields the ripening grain is seen, 
 
 The borders, radiant in their autumn sheen, 
 
 Are beck'ning thee, thy evening sheaves to glean. 
 
 Thy last will be thy loneliest hour of reaping, 
 No tender heart for thee its vigil keeping, 
 Thy fellow-toilers in the dust are sleeping. 
 
 One tried the ploughshare for a short spring day 
 With willing hand, when on his tear-dimmcd way 
 There shone, in sudden glory, endless day. 
 
 One heard Christ whisper ' Come,' in accents sweet ; 
 His sheaves ungathered mid the noontide heat, 
 He laid his life down at the Master's feet. 
 
 One bore afar, upon the river's breast, 
 
 The words of peace, and many a dark heart blest : 
 
 He served in paths untrod, then entered rest. 
 
 Some cheered the downcast, soothed the dying brow, 
 And taught once prayerless hearts in prayer to bow : 
 They kneel together in God's presence now. 
 
 These magnified the riches of God's grace, 
 And He, who died to save the world, can trace 
 His image true on many a sable face. 
 
 In thy far home, alone on bended knee, 
 Think that in loving homes across the sea 
 The children in their prayers remember thee.
 
 608 < >ld Calabar Period 
 
 And as God hears, and sees their upturned faces, 
 And drops His dew upon their budding graces, 
 His eye may mark them for the vacant places. 
 
 And so, though late thy call to rest be gfVen, 
 A clearer light will gild thy quiet even, 
 Thy longer day will be a brighter heaven." 
 
 James Goodkellow. 
 
 A few extracts may be given from Mr. Anderson's 
 
 reply : — 
 
 Mr. Young, fathers and brethren, Christian friends, 
 I have addressed many a congregation, but I do not 
 remember ever being so much impressed by a sense of 
 my responsibility as I am now. I feel that this is like a 
 new ordination. I feel, at all events, that it is the last 
 public ordination that I shall have in this land. In these 
 circumstances I would have preferred to have remained 
 dumb ; and yet, when I see so many Christian friends 
 around me, I rejoice in the opportunity of telling them 
 how much I love and esteem them all. I cannot recount 
 all the kindnesses I have received, since my return to this 
 land, from the congregations, the ministry, the Mission 
 Board, and all the friends connected with this and other 
 churches. In thinking of these things, I have often been 
 compelled to ask, "Who am I and what is my father's 
 house, that Thou shouldst have brought me hitherto? 
 and is this the manner of man, O Lord God, and what 
 can David say more?" . . . My father made me learn the 
 Shorter Catechism, and though I did not understand much 
 of it then, I don't remember the time when I could not 
 repeat the whole of it from beginning to end. I have 
 been commended (although no commendation is merited) 
 for having a good memory, and I have no doubt whatever 
 that the learning of that Catechism was a great help to 
 the strengthening of that faculty called memory. One of 
 the first things I gave to the Calabar people in their own 
 language was the Shorter Catechism. When I ask you 
 children, " What is the chief end of man ? " you are all able 
 to answer, " Man's chief end is to glorify God and to 
 enjoy Him for ever." A great many of the little scholars
 
 Mr. Beedie as Colleague 609 
 
 out in Old Calabar — and a great many of the big ones 
 too, for we have fathers and mothers at school — could 
 answer that question in their own language just as well 
 as you can in yours. I could never get our king to learn 
 the Catechism — he was always a kind of a booby (but 
 don't tell him I said so). I am afraid that, with having 
 these kings and dukes around me learning their lessons, 
 I forget my place with regard to them, for I often find 
 myself saying, when they are proposing something I do 
 not approve of, " Come, come, my boys, this won't do " ; and 
 I have to correct myself, and say, " No ! king and gentle- 
 men of Duke Town, I would advise you to try some 
 other plan." . . . 
 
 I thank you all very much for that beautiful address ; 
 and you, my boy (turning to the reader), for reciting it so 
 well. You must be a missionary yet ! I claim you in 
 Christ's name for the mission field. And, boys and 
 girls, you must all consecrate yourselves to the foreign 
 field. It is the best work you can engage in : for my 
 part, I don't know what else is worth living for. . . } 
 
 The Board had appointed Mr. Anderson to Ikorofiong, 
 and Mr. Beedie, who had been at Ikorofiong, to Duke 
 Town. The Presbytery of Biafra proposed that Mr. 
 Beedie should go to Duke Town, and that Mr. Anderson 
 should be asked to return to Duke Town. Mr. Beedie 
 was given responsible charge of the station, and Mr. 
 Anderson took part in the work as he felt able. 
 
 In the Record, November 1884, the following account 
 was given of Mr. Anderson's arrival at Duke Town : — 
 
 The Rev. William Anderson, who sailed from Liver- 
 pool on 1 6th July, arrived in safety at Old Calabar on 
 the 1 6th of August. Though his arrival was somewhat 
 unexpected, the intelligence soon spread, and he was 
 kindly welcomed by many ere he reached the mission- 
 house. Numbers of visitors came afterwards, and he soon 
 
 1 I am indebted for the foregoing to a shorthand report by Mr. Jas, 
 Paterson, a member of Newington Church. 
 
 39
 
 610 < >i -i> Calabar Period 
 
 found himself quite at home. Mr. Anderson and Mr. 
 Beedie conducted the services at Duke Town on the 
 following Sabbath, when there was a good attendance at 
 all the diets of worship. " I have been living over the 
 past a good deal during these bygone days. I must 
 now brace myself up for the future. 'Work while it is 
 day.' I cannot expect my day to be very much pro- 
 longed. I feel grateful to the home congregations for the 
 interest shown in myself and my work ; and I feel satisfied 
 that many friends there will continue to pray for myself 
 and my fellow-labourers, that through our instrumentality 
 the word may have free course and be glorified through- 
 out this whole region." 
 
 In the Annual Report for 1884, Mr. Anderson said 
 that, as he was in Scotland during the greater part of the 
 previous year, no official report could be expected from 
 him : — 
 
 On taking a retrospect at the commencement of a new 
 year (1885), I see change upon change. I feel that I am 
 not what I once was. I see a new generation of natives, 
 and almost a new generation of mission workers. I am 
 not prepared to say, however, that " the former times were 
 better than these." I note progress in the right direction. 
 Mr. Beedie and I have divided the public services, both 
 English and Efik, pretty equally between us. Matters 
 seem hopeful in connection with our work. Last Sabbath 
 we had the best attendance I have seen since my return. 
 Our marching order seems to be " Forward." 
 
 ■t> 
 
 The Rev. James and Mrs. Luke arrived at Duke Town 
 on September 14, and were met on board the steamer by 
 Mrs. Lyall, Mr. and Mrs. Ludwig, and Miss Hogg, who 
 had themselves recently joined the Mission, and on the 
 Mission Beach by Messrs. Anderson and Beedie. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Luke were located at Creek Town. 
 
 In a letter to Mrs. and Miss Duncan, Heriot Row,
 
 Mr. Anderson Alone again 611 
 
 Edinburgh, of date November 9, 1885, Mr. Anderson 
 wrote : — 
 
 I have so many tokens of remembrance of you, that I 
 should find it hard work to try to forget you. Half of 
 my library is surrounded by the atmosphere of Heriot 
 Row. Thanks for addition of the " Revised." . . . 
 
 You will regret to learn that Mr. and Mrs. Beedie 
 embark to-day for Britain under medical orders. Mrs. B. 
 has been here only seven months for her present spell. 
 
 I am thus again left alone — with a large house, with 
 little ability and less inclination than ever to look after 
 temporal comforts and domestic arrangements. Oh, if I 
 had only one or two of Mrs. A.'s well-trained girls to act 
 by me as they did when she was taken away ! The only 
 unmarried one who acted as her stewardess about a year 
 before her death is factotum to Mrs. Ludwig, so that I 
 cannot take a step toward her return. Christina is a wife 
 in Calabar fashion, and has a stout, thumping son of seven 
 or eight months. Mrs. Fuller (who came here at first 
 with Mr. and Mrs. Robb) acts as a kind of nurse for the 
 Mission. She may be able to look after me for a little, 
 but I am not sure. 
 
 We expect your Broughton Place missionary [Mr. 
 Cruickshank] and his wife here on this day week. . . . 
 
 I spend five to six hours daily in visiting or teaching 
 or preaching. One Sabbath some months ago I was 
 seven hours on my feet at a spell, walking and preaching 
 nearly all the while. . . . 
 
 In the Report for 1885, Mr. Anderson wrote: — 
 
 My work is much the same from week to week, so 
 that I have nothing very special to report. The Sabbath 
 services are divided between me and Mr. Beedie ; while 
 during the week I have had the burden of the day-school 
 in the morning, with house-to-house visitation during the 
 day, and various classes and meetings in the evening. 
 Besides work at Duke Town, I have also visited regularly, 
 and held meetings at Qua and Akim. I think I now feel 
 a livelier interest in all departments of my work than ever
 
 6 1 2 Old Calabar Period 
 
 I did before, and trust that I shall have grace given me 
 to redeem the time, and to be faithful and diligent to the 
 end. I have great reason for gratitude for the continu- 
 ance of health. To me this is a most delightful and 
 salubrious clime, and I feel as if I have still two or three 
 irs before me. But I must not forget that it is fre- 
 quently "when one thinks not" that the Son of Man 
 cometh. I sometimes seem to hear the voice, "Work 
 while daylight lingers." The better I can fill up my 
 few remaining days or years, the pleasanter will be the 
 retrospect from the other side. 
 
 The brief Report for 18S6 has a significance of its own, 
 in that it tells of work carried on almost single-handed by 
 a man seventy-four years of age, with strength and eye- 
 sight failing: — 
 
 In the absence of Mr. Beedie on furlough, Mr. Ander- 
 son has had charge of Duke Town station during the 
 year, and has been abundant in labours. 
 
 The usual three services have been held on Sabbath, 
 two in Efik and one in English, attended by about 300. 
 The attendance at the English service has been sometimes 
 very encouraging, at other times the reverse. The Sab- 
 bath-school attendance is also good. Since February a 
 morning service has been held at Henshaw Town, attended 
 by about 70 to 120. During the week several meetings 
 are regularly held, and though the attendance has fluc- 
 tuated, it has on the whole been encouraging. 
 
 The school on the Mission Hill has been carried on 
 by Ani Eniang Ofiong, and Mr. Anderson has himself 
 taken an active part in the work, as well as in the work of 
 the Henshaw Town school. 
 
 In regard to work at the out-stations, Mr. Anderson 
 
 said 
 
 I have frequently visited Qua and Akim, places both 
 populous and necessitous, and both holding out their 
 hands to us for help ; but I am afraid that I have not
 
 Mr. Beedie's Bereavement 611 
 
 3 
 
 been able to effect much good. Both places would require 
 regular and energetic work. 
 
 I have great reason for gratitude for another year of 
 unbroken health. On reviewing the past year, and look- 
 ing forward to the future, I could give utterance to many 
 lamentations and aspirations, but I forbear. " I thank 
 God, and take courage." 
 
 Mr. Beedie, accompanied by his wife, arrived at Duke 
 Town on April 17, 1887. In October, Mrs. Beedie became 
 so ill that the doctor advised that she should at once 
 return home. Accompanied by Mr. Beedie, she left, but 
 died on Oct. 18, a few days after leaving Calabar, and was 
 buried at sea. Shortly afterwards, Mr. Beedie transferred 
 himself to an outgoing steamer, and returned to Calabar. 
 The Annual Report for 1887 is written partly by Mr. 
 Anderson and partly by Mr. Beedie. Mr. Anderson 
 wrote : — 
 
 During Mr. Beedie's absence, all the Sabbath work, 
 both Efik and English, devolved on me — as well as the 
 evening prayer meetings and the superintendence of the 
 schools. During Mr. Beedie's seven months' residence 
 here I have taken part with him in all the services, both 
 on Sabbaths and on week-days. If I have had anything 
 like a special department, it has been in teaching the 
 school at Henshaw Town and in paying an evangelistic 
 visit weekly to our two out-stations of Qua and Akim. 
 
 In a letter to Mrs. Duncan, Edinburgh, dated Jan. 30, 
 1888, Mr. Anderson acknowledges various gifts from Mrs. 
 and Miss Duncan, and refers to the death of Mrs. H. G. 
 Clerk : — 
 
 I feel deeply grateful for all your kindness — kindness 
 heaped on kindness — and I pray to Him for whose sake 
 you labour and continue year by year to cheer the hearts
 
 6 1 4 Old Calabar Period 
 
 of His servants in different parts of the world — at home 
 and abroad. Paul sets a grand example of what ought 
 to be done for generous and disinterested friends: 2 Tim. 
 
 i. 16-18. 
 
 Delighted to hear of Dr. A. Thomson's continued 
 vigour and that of Mrs. T. I can adhere to what I said 
 publicly in one of our large meetings, he is the only man 
 in Edinburgh whom I should be disposed to address as a 
 " Father." 
 
 Thanks for Dr. Lindsay Alexander's Memoir. I feel 
 it intensely interesting. I had a slight acquaintance with 
 him. I heard him twice before I went to Jamaica. 
 
 You will have seen in the papers notice of another 
 bereavement of the Mission here — in the death of Mrs. 
 Clerk, who, like Mrs. Beedie, died and was buried at sea. 
 Mrs. Clerk was a bright girl in my female class when 
 in charge of Kingston congregation in 1 877. She was 
 then Maggie Macintyre. Her husband was at the same 
 time a member of my young men's class. 
 
 My own health continues pretty much as it has done 
 for years, but sight and hearing are failing greatly. I 
 suppose you will detect the failure of the eyes in the 
 character of my writing. It must seem very shaky. 
 
 Matters are moving on in the Mission in pretty much 
 the old way. Mrs. Goldie has long been very feeble, but 
 holds out wonderfully. 
 
 Writing to Miss Duncan on April 28, to acknowledge 
 Mrs. Duncan's "usual donation" on behalf of native 
 children, Mr. Anderson says : — . 
 
 I feel almost ashamed to be so well provided for while 
 better and more diligent men are often in straits. Warmest 
 thanks to your dear mother for her unfailing kindness. I 
 know that her gifts are bestowed for His sake. May I be 
 faithful as her steward, and especially as His ! . . . 
 
 My eyesight is failing very rapidly. It is with difficulty 
 I see what I am writing. My reading and writing and 
 working days are nearly over. I have great difficulty in 
 distinguishing countenances among either whites or blacks.
 
 A Fainting Fit in Pulpit 615 
 
 Not the most stiff-laced Cameronian need be under any 
 fear of my using MS. in the pulpit now ! 
 
 On Dec. 20, 1888, Mr. Anderson wrote to his sister, 
 Mrs. Clohan, giving an account of an alarming fainting 
 fit which overtook him in the pulpit on Sept. 30th : — 
 
 I sat about five hours in great pain on Sept. 29, writing 
 to Elizabeth, to Rev. Mr. Buchanan, and others. That 
 long sitting brought matters to a sort of crisis. It irritated 
 the pain exceedingly. I got no sleep all the Saturday 
 night, and Sabbath morning found me quite exhausted. 
 It was my turn to take the morning service. Mr. Beedie 
 was willing to take my turn and give me his {i.e. the even- 
 ing service) ; but I felt, and said, " Oh, no need for that ; just 
 let me begin to speak and 1 shall soon forget all about 
 pain and everything else except my theme and my 
 audience." I went to the pulpit, and under solemn feel- 
 ings preached to a large and apparently solemnised con- 
 gregation from the very solemn text, 1 Sam. vi. 20 : " Who 
 is able to stand before the holy Lord God ? " I had got 
 the length of " Lastly," and stated that I had a few words 
 still to add, but I felt my strength failing — " So we shall 
 just sing the next hymn on the programme." I lifted the 
 hymn-book, but . . . when I opened mine eyes I found 
 Mr. Beedie and a few of our young men laying me down 
 gently and tenderly on the sofa in the vestry. I heard 
 one saying, " Bring water," and another, " Bring brandy." 
 I could not comprehend it. I asked, " What are you all 
 doing here ? What do ye want ? " I got no reply, but I 
 saw that all looked sad and anxious. In a short time the 
 true state of the matter began to dawn on me, and I asked, 
 " Did I fall down in the pulpit ? " and an affirmative reply 
 made all plain. 
 
 I learned afterwards that there was a deep and piercing 
 wail from the whole congregation when I fell down, which 
 was heard in different parts of the town. The intelligence 
 soon went through the town and among the shipping, and 
 even flew to the neighbouring towns, that Mr. Anderson 
 is dead. I heard nothing of the wailing myself, however, 
 as I was enjoying the stillness of the sepulchre. I
 
 616 Old Calabar Period 
 
 remained a few minutes in the vestry, and then walked 
 over to the mission- house, where I rested during the 
 remainder of the day. 
 
 The occurrence created a very solemn impression on 
 the minds of many. It was the first (and as yet the only) 
 occurrence of the kind in the history of the Old Calabar 
 pulpit. Some of the most intelligent of our young men 
 have declared that the remembrance of it haunted them 
 day and night for a time. ... I never knew that I had 
 such a strong hold of the hearts of the people. Their 
 hand-shaking (often hand-wringing) and expressions of 
 thankfulness for my — preservation according to some — 
 restoration according to others — were very touching. The 
 popular belief was evidently that I had been fairly removed 
 from them, and that God had sent me back to them in 
 answer to their prayers and tears. Perhaps this is the most 
 profitable view to take of the matter for both them and me. 
 
 I feel pretty well at present, but 1 cannot conceal from 
 myself that I am fast failing. I suspect that I shall soon 
 have to give up all active public work. In this case I am 
 a little in the dark as to what my future will be. Do not 
 mistake me. My future is not dark, but it is uncertain. 
 I cannot well remain here, occupying a place which should 
 be filled by some younger and stronger man. To return 
 to dear old but cold Scotland {i.e. to remain there), I shrink 
 from the prospect. 
 
 The first Sabbath of another year will soon be here. I 
 have never forgotten the first Sabbath of 1823 (sixty-five 
 years ago), when two little lonely orphans walked from 
 Gorebridge past Mossend and Newlanclrigand Dewartown 
 to tell their uncle and aunt that their father had died on the 
 previous Saturday evening. Verily, my sister, when for- 
 saken by father and mother, the Lord took us up. He has 
 been a good God to you and me hitherto, and He will not 
 forsake us now when overtaken by the infirmities of age. 
 
 If spared to see Jan. 9th, forty-nine years will have 
 passed away since I first set foot on loved Jamaica. If 
 -pared till Feb. 12th, forty years will have passed away 
 since I first landed in Old Calabar. 
 
 The Mission Board kindly invite me home for change 
 and rest. I feel that my day of service is almost over.
 
 British Protectorate Established 617 
 
 I may return to Scotland after the winter months are 
 over. My future is not dark, but it is uncertain. I look 
 up for light. 
 
 On the eve of Mr. Anderson's departure from Old 
 Calabar, a meeting was held on April 16, 1889, between 
 H.B.M.'s Special Commissioner, Major Claude Maxwell 
 Macdonald, and the kings and chiefs of Old Calabar, to 
 discuss proposals for the future government of the country. 
 H.M. Consul, Edward Hyde Hewett, Esq., C.M.G., who 
 had made a series of treaties in 1884, was also present. 
 Magnus Adam Duke, a native of Old Calabar, acted as 
 interpreter. A full account of the proceedings was given 
 in the Ungwana Ef'ik, or Light of Calabar, for April 1889, 
 the monthly paper published at the Mission Press. Two 
 suggestions were put forward : (1) that the Oil Rivers 
 should be governed by the Royal Niger Company ; (2) 
 that the Oil Rivers should be made into a Crown Colony. 
 The second suggestion was preferred. But instead of a 
 Crown Colony, a Protectorate, called at first the Oil 
 Rivers, but now known as the Niger Coast Protectorate, 
 was constituted a "local jurisdiction" under the Africa 
 Order in Council of 1889. "A consular jurisdiction, 
 primarily for British subjects, was established in those 
 districts. Administrative powers have also by sufferance 
 and consent come into being; and from August I, 1891, a 
 scale of import duties was fixed and proclaimed, 'to 
 provide for the expenses of the administration of the 
 British Protectorate of the Oil Rivers.'" 1 The head- 
 quarters of the Protectorate are at Duke Town. The 
 first Commissioner and Consul-General was Major Sir 
 
 1 A Historical Geography of t lie British Colonies, by C. P. Lucas, B.A. 
 Vol. iii., West Africa, 1894, p. 241.
 
 6iS ( )u> ( al.m'.ar Period 
 
 C. M. Macdonald, K.C.M.G., now British Minister at 
 Peking, China. The present Consul-General is R. D. 
 Moor, Esq., C.M.G. 
 
 The April number of the Ungivana Ef'ik also contains 
 accounts in English and in Efik of the departure of Mr. 
 Anderson. The account in English is as follows : — 
 
 " Our father is going away," were the words spoken by 
 many people with reference to the departure of the Rev. 
 Mr. Anderson. On Saturday the 20th inst. the Creek 
 Town friends came down to take farewell with him, when 
 prayer was offered up for his safe conduct to Scotland. 
 Very touching was the parting between the two veterans 
 [.Messrs. Anderson and Goldie] who have fought the 
 battle together for over forty years. Sabbath dawned 
 bright and clear to find the people of their own accord 
 assembling in the church to commend their father to the 
 keeping of the Heavenly Father. When Mr. Anderson 
 left the mission-house he went to the church, around the 
 door of which stood those who had been within. Entering 
 the building, he took a look round the vestry, then went 
 into the pulpit and repeated the following lines of the 
 122nd Psalm : — 
 
 " Now, for my friends' and brethren's sakes, 
 Peace be in thee, I'll say ; 
 And for the house of God our Lord, 
 111 seek Thy good alway." 
 
 As he passed through the crowd he had many hands to 
 shake, which were eagerly stretched to him. Coming to 
 the graveyard, he went over to where his wife lies, plucked 
 a flower and put it inside his hat — his favourite place for 
 earning these gifts of nature. When he came to the 
 turn of the road leading down to the beach, he saw that 
 a flagstaff had been erected, and that the flag was being 
 • lipped in his honour. How appropriate this act was, is 
 seen when it is known that the pole was placed there by 
 a man who owes his life to Mr. Anderson, his being the 
 first life saved in the early days of the Mission, and that 
 to this place he came every night to get a view of the
 
 "Our Father has Gone" 619 
 
 river. Arriving at the beach, he stepped into the James 
 Black, and was soon rowed out to the Ambriz, the people 
 bidding him farewell with tears in their eyes and voices. 
 The friends who accompanied him had only a short time 
 to stay, as the steamer was preparing to leave ; so, bidding 
 him adieu, they returned to the beach. Before they 
 reached the summit of the hill the Ambriz passed, dip- 
 ping her flag. " Our father has gone." 
 
 The following is a translation of the account in Efik : — 
 
 On April 21 the Rev. William Anderson left Calabar. 
 He is the man who has done God's work a very long 
 time in Duke Town. He does not leave the work of God 
 here because that work wearies him, but because he has 
 no longer strength, and is no longer able to see, for his 
 eyes are dim. 
 
 In another Ungwana Efik we shall give a little account 
 of his life and of the work he has done. And so we shall 
 not insert any more in this [number]. But let all remember 
 the good words of God which he has spoken, and pray 
 God that He may preserve His aged servant, and com- 
 fort him all the time he lives. He will not forget us ; let 
 us not forget him. 
 
 Mr. Goldie wrote in Efik a Sketch of the Life of Mr. 
 Anderson, which extended to eight chapters, but brought 
 the narrative only up to 1854. It appeared in the 
 Ungwana Efik between May 1889 and September 1890. 
 These chapters regarding the early history of the Mission 
 serve to inform the more intelligent natives of the 
 conflict that took place between light and darkness in 
 Calabar, and to keep green the memory of the pioneer 
 missionaries. 
 
 Mr. Anderson's fifty years' active service in the mission 
 field were now ended, and he returned to his native land 
 a solitary old man, with impaired eyesight and somewhat
 
 620 Old Calabar Period 
 
 broken health, but with the divine fire of enthusiasm for 
 missions burning- bright as in his early days. He was 
 still William Anderson of Old Calabar, and after a few- 
 years of " exile " he was to return to round off his days 
 in beloved Duke Town, and be laid to rest beside his 
 " faithful partner of forty years."
 
 CHAPTER XXXI 
 
 The Closing Years 
 
 IN the Record for July 1889, Mr. Goldie referred feelingly 
 to the departure of Mr. Anderson. He wrote: — 
 
 In his departure the personal intercourse of a long 
 and intimate friendship ceases between us. . . . Connected 
 with each other in the Jamaica Mission, we have been 
 still more closely and for a much longer period associated 
 in the Calabar Mission, helping to form each other's 
 character, as such close association must necessarily do, 
 towards that perfection, I trust, which shall be attained 
 in the perfect and inseparable union of the future. I 
 shall ever cherish the recollection of his warm-hearted 
 friendship, which I have no doubt is reciprocated. May 
 all blessing be his for support and guidance in the part of 
 his life's pilgrimage which yet lies before him ! 
 
 Mr. Anderson's last letter for some time to Calabar 
 after his return to this country, until the operation for 
 cataract, to which he refers in the letter, had taken place, 
 was fittingly addressed to Mr. Goldie, and contains the 
 following reference to Mr. Goldie's remarks : — 
 
 You are quite right in supposing your cordiality 
 towards me is fully reciprocated. Your place in my 
 esteem and affection is unique. 
 
 The letter is partly devoted to discussing matters of 
 business connected with the publication of Mr. Goldie's 
 Calabar and its Mission, which appeared in 1890. 
 
 621
 
 622 Old Calabar Period 
 
 The letter contains an account of Mr. Anderson's 
 homeward voyage, which was a very pleasant one, and of 
 his movements in Scotland after his arrival : — 
 
 We got into dock at Liverpool at midnight of Thurs- 
 day, May 16. I went direct to Dr. Adam's from the 
 steamer, and stayed with him from Friday till Tuesday, 
 when I came to Edinburgh. I stayed a fortnight in 
 Edinburgh, and then went to Crieff for a fortnight. As 
 usual, I greatly enjoyed Crieff. 
 
 I received a very cordial welcome from the Mission 
 Board at its meeting on the last Tuesday of May. . . . 
 
 I have been at the great oculist, Dr. Argyll Robert- 
 son. He gives me hope of restored vision by and by. . . . 
 He says there is growing cataract, which will not be ready 
 for removal by operation for some months. I went to 
 him the other week to inform him that my one seeing 
 eye (the left) was getting dimmer and dimmer. That 
 was just what he expected owing to the progress of the 
 cataract. " Just go on with the eye-drops, and come to 
 see me at the end of July." I take that as the warning 
 that by the end of July the eye will be altogether or 
 almost dark. . . . 
 
 After this date you need expect no more letters from 
 me for months to come. 
 
 There is in a postscript written on July 2nd a pathetic 
 reference to his inability to read Mr. Goldie's account of 
 his life in the Ungwana Ef'ik : — 
 
 My eyesight is so much failed, and Ungwana Ef'ik is 
 so dim, that I have not been able to make out one sen- 
 tence of the article headed with my name, and no one 
 here can help me ! . . . 
 
 I left Calabar in debt a few notes or letters, but I 
 think I paid all by last mail ; and now, returning ten pages 
 for your four, I consider you six pages in my debt ! 
 
 I see three sermons preached every Sabbath, but do 
 not hear one. I have spoken a few sentences to Nicolson 
 Street Sabbath scholars, Edinburgh, and to Mr. Ingles's 
 Sabbath School, Crieff; but I did not get on well', I have
 
 Rev. A. M. Porteous 623 
 
 cost Her Majesty's dentist a great deal of thought and 
 trouble, but he can't do impossibilities. Gums too much 
 wasted away. I suspect my days of public speaking are 
 over. 
 
 My sister and family very anxious for me to go to 
 them in Virginia West. But I have formed no plans for 
 the future as yet. 
 
 In the same letter there are references to the Rev. 
 A. M. Porteous, B.D., Cullen, a native of Dalkeith, who 
 resigned his charge for mission service in Old Calabar. 
 Mr. Anderson wrote in July :— 
 
 I have not yet seen Mr. Porteous, but hear the highest 
 eulogies in his favour from all quarters here. 
 
 Mr. Anderson was present at a farewell meeting held 
 in Buccleuch Street Church, Dalkeith, on the evening 
 of Sabbath, August 25, at which the Rev. James Fraser 
 minister of the congregation, presided, and delivered an 
 address. He said : — 
 
 Fifty years ago come next month, I myself stood 
 before a Dalkeith congregation and took farewell, when 
 about to engage in Foreign Mission work, telling those 
 I addressed that I would never see them in the face again. 
 A second time, years afterwards, I did the same thing ; 
 and here I am once more before you, after half a century's 
 labour in the Foreign Mission field. It was by no wish of 
 mine that I have discontinued my work in Old Calabar, 
 but because I feel unable any longer to bear the burden, 
 and think I will be doing a better work by staying at 
 home and making room for younger brothers, such as Mr. 
 Porteous. I envy Mr. Porteous the prospect before him, 
 and wonder that more young men are not willing to offer 
 themselves for the service of Christ abroad. Foreign 
 Mission work is not now the serious matter that it was 
 fifty years ago. Steam navigation has almost abolished 
 distance ; the nature of the climate of Calabar has been 
 ascertained ; the diseases of the country and their remedies
 
 624 Old Calabar Period 
 
 are known and understood ; and Europeans know what 
 to eat, drink, and avoid. Better influences are at work- 
 in social life. Calabar is to be taken under British govern- 
 ment. Captains of vessels and traders are immensely 
 superior to those who preceded them in former days. 
 Formerly Sabbath observance was unknown ; but now 
 ships' officers, as a rule, treat the Lord's Day with 
 respect, and conduct themselves with propriety towards 
 the Mission. 
 
 The congregation I address has reason to feel grateful 
 for the privilege you have enjoyed of sending out so 
 many labourers to Old Calabar and other mission fields. 
 ... I have no doubt that in future days the sending out 
 of Mr. Porteous, your young fellow-townsman, will be 
 looked to with feelings of no ordinary satisfaction. 
 
 Mr. Porteous, after less than three years' devoted ser- 
 vice, first at Creek Town with Mr. Goldie, and then alone 
 at Ikotana, Cross River, died at Ikorofiong on January 26, 
 1892, of haematuric fever. What Mr. Goldie described as 
 his last message was uttered in the prayer : " May they 
 come, more and more, and of the right kind!" When 
 will another ordained man follow his noble example? 
 Never were men of experience more needed in Calabar 
 than at the present time. 
 
 In the Record for March 1890 it was stated : — 
 
 The Foreign Mission Board in their Report last year 
 called the attention of the Synod to the fact that Mr. 
 Anderson had reached his jubilee year, and that the 
 Synod passed the following resolution : " The Synod 
 hear with much interest that the Rev. William Anderson 
 of Calabar has entered upon his jubilee year of missionary 
 service. They congratulate him on the good work which 
 during his long career he has accomplished, both in the 
 mission field and on his occasional visits to the Church at 
 home, and they express the hope that in the evening of 
 his days he may enjoy much comfort and happiness." 
 
 On his return from Old Calabar, Mr. Anderson met
 
 Jubilee Address to Mr. Anderson 625 
 
 with the Board, who communicated to him the resolution 
 of the Synod, and arranged for an address being pre- 
 sented to him on the completion of his fiftieth year. The 
 address was duly prepared and engrossed on parchment, 
 beautifully illuminated ; and advantage was taken of the 
 Workers' Meeting in connection with the Mission Week 
 in Edinburgh to present the address to Mr. Anderson. 
 The presentation was made by Mr. Duncan M'Laren, 
 Chairman of the Board ; and Mr. Anderson, on accepting 
 the address, made a most stirring and touching replv. 
 [Under the title "A Retrospect" it appeared in . 
 United Presbyterian Magazine for April 1S90.] 
 
 The following is a cop}- of the address : — 
 
 To the Rev. William Anderson, Missionary of the 
 United Presbvterian Church, Old Calabar. 
 
 Dear Mr. Anderson, — Fifty years having elapsed 
 since you first left this country for work in the mission 
 field, the Foreign Mission Board desire to congratulate 
 you, and to express our thankfulness to God that you 
 have been spared to labour so main- years. We recall 
 with no ordinary interest and satisfaction the work that 
 you have been privileged to do, first in Jamaica, and then 
 in Calabar, not only with your living voice, but also wiih 
 your pen. You can look back upon the time when the 
 darkness was unbroken in Calabar, and the people were 
 sunk in idolatry and its abominations ; you now see 
 the people enlightened, education advancing, and many 
 gathered into the fellowship of the Church ; and you 
 have the unspeakable happiness of being able to say that 
 your labours have been owned of God as one of the 
 agencies in bringing about the blessed change. We 
 recall also how much you have done on the occasion of 
 your visits to the home-land in the way of keeping alive 
 the interest of the Church in the Calabar mission field, 
 and calling forth the gifts and the prayers of the people 
 on its behalf. 
 
 We rejoice that, even after so long and trying a ser- 
 vice, you are still favoured with a remarkable measure oi~ 
 health and strength ; and we earnestly trust that, though 
 40
 
 626 Old Calabar Period 
 
 no longer labouring in the field itself, you may be spared 
 for a season to plead the claims of the people among 
 whom you have lived so long, and who are dear to you 
 by many tender tics, so that you may have the satisfac- 
 tion of knowing that you are still working on their behalf, 
 and securing for them a still larger share of the sympathy 
 and aid of the Church. We trust that your mantle may 
 fall on the younger men who are now in the field, and 
 that you may be cheered during your declining years by 
 tidings reaching you from time to time of multitudes of 
 the dark children of Africa being brought to a knowledge 
 of the truth, and of those already gathered into the 
 Church devoting themselves to the service of the Master, 
 and seeking still further to extend the gospel among their 
 benighted fellow-countrymen. — In name of the Foreign 
 Mission Board, 
 
 DUNCAN M'LAREN, Chairman. 
 
 James Buchanan, Secretary. 
 
 Edinburgh, December 1889. 
 
 During 1890, Mr. Anderson's "Autobiography" was 
 published in The United Presbyterian Magazine. The 
 daughters of the Rev. W. Morison, M.A., Rosehall U.P. 
 Church, Edinburgh, copied the MS. for the press for Mr. 
 Anderson. This is how he acknowledged his indebted- 
 ness in a letter to Miss Morison, dated 1 Gladstone Place 
 December 20, 1890: — 
 
 I forget whether it was to sister Catherine or to sister 
 Helen that I gave a small coin long ago, and when father 
 and mother remonstrated against my action, I promised — 
 as many bad boys do — that I would not do the like again. 
 But this has led me into a difficulty. I find, on balancing 
 accounts for the year in connection with the U.P. Maga- 
 zine, that I am due to yourself and sister or sisters the 
 
 sum of . Now my difficulty is, How can I keep my 
 
 promise to father and mother and remain an honest man ? 
 With your help I might get out of it in this way. Let 
 me know what book or books, or article or articles, to the
 
 An Invitation to the Menagerie 627 
 
 value of . would be useful to yourself and sisters, and 
 
 — why — leave the irst to inc. 
 
 Your father and mother, and indeed nearly all my 
 friends, frequently charge me with not visiting so fre- 
 quently as I should. In regard to your house, my 
 thoughts run in this way : — 
 
 " ' How doth the little busy bee 
 
 Improve each shining hour!' 
 Why should a lazy loon like me 
 
 Intrude into the bower 
 Of cheerful, hallowed industry — 
 Father and mother, sisters three, 
 All toiling on incessantly 
 
 For benefit of all around ; 
 
 And I — 'a cumberer of the ground'?" 
 
 £>* 
 
 Here is another delightful letter — an invitation to visit, 
 with Mr. Anderson, the Menagerie in the Grassmarket : — 
 
 Misses Morison, My dear Ladies, — I once thought 
 of coming your length this evening to inquire whether 
 you have yet seen my worthy countrymen (nicknamed 
 by some folks as Lions, Leopards, Monkeys, etc.) in the 
 Grassmarket. ... I went to see them on Christmas Day ; 
 but the exhibitors had hardly got matters in proper order 
 then, and I have not been there since, owing to the crush. 
 Well, I mean to leave this place to-morrow at 1.30 to 
 take a parting look at my friends, and it would be easier 
 for you to come round this way than for me to go round 
 your way ; and, N.B., if any or all of you — with a repre- 
 sentative Douglas or two — will kindly come here at above 
 hour, and take me under your protection to my friends' 
 cold lodgings, I shall feel myself highly favoured and 
 honoured. Leave passage money and all travelling 
 expenses for me to settle. ... If mother has not seen 
 the animals, and would like to see them, I should be proud 
 of her company. 
 
 In February 1S91, Mr. Anderson was present at the 
 farewell meeting held in the East L 1 .?. Church, Perth, for
 
 628 Old Calabar Period 
 
 Miss E. J. Ilutton (now Mrs. Marwick), held on the eve 
 of her leaving as a Zenana agent for Old Calabar. Mr. 
 Anderson took a great interest in all those in whose 
 designation for the mission field he took part. 
 
 In the Record for October 1891 it was stated : — 
 
 The name of the Rev. William Anderson, Old Calabar, 
 has been added to the list of annuitants under the Aged 
 and Infirm Ministers' and Missionaries' Scheme. The 
 long service of this brother for forty-nine years in the 
 foreign field renders him in every way worthy of the 
 regard of the Church and of its provision for the comfort 
 of his old age. As an expression of its sympathy with 
 Mr. Anderson, and its admiration of his long and faithful 
 labours, the Board appointed him as the first annuitant 
 under the " Crichton Bequest," the whole annual income 
 of which will be paid to him. 
 
 On the death of Mrs. Goldie, which took place at 
 Creek Town on August 20, 1891, Mr. Anderson wrote: — 
 
 Fifty-one years have passed away since, with her 
 husband, she joined the mission band in that gem of 
 the Caribbean Sea, Jamaica. Forty-four years ago the 
 worthy couple were selected to go to the help of the 
 Lord against the mighty in dark Calabar. During all 
 these years she has toiled nobly, faithfully, and patiently 
 in the work of the Lord. What she was to her husband 
 he only can tell ; but all her contemporaries can testify of 
 her value to the Mission. August 20th was a happy day 
 to her. Then was it said to her, " Come up hither." And 
 oh! the meetings and greetings beyond! Her sister 
 Euphemia, Mrs. Sutherland, Mrs. Anderson, Margery 
 Baity, and Mary Baillie, all awaiting to welcome her 
 home. But that same 20th of August was a day of sad- 
 ness to those left behind. 
 
 The great day alone will declare the value of her 
 labours among the large numbers of destitute children, 
 twins and orphans, and others, of whom she generally had 
 a full house. Many of these are now husbands and wives,
 
 Mr. Anderson's "Four T's." 629 
 
 fathers and mothers, grandfathers and grandmothers, 
 heads of happy Christian families. Through these the 
 holy, happy influence of Mrs. Goldie will go down to 
 unborn generations. 
 
 Mr. Anderson was present at the ordination of the 
 Rev. Ebenezer Deas, as a missionary to Old Calabar, in 
 Bristo Place U.P. Church, Edinburgh, on Tuesday evening, 
 Jan. 19, 1892, and delivered the address to the new 
 missionary. In the beginning of the address Mr. Anderson 
 referred to what he called his " four T's.," viz. Temper, 
 Temperance, Temperature, and Time (punctuality), atten- 
 tion to which he believed to be conducive to health in 
 Calabar. The address dealt with the missionary's position 
 and work: — I. As matters of vast importance. II. As of 
 high honour. III. As involving solemn responsibility, 
 (1) as a preacher; (2) in regard to prayer; (3) as regards 
 house-to-house visitation. Counsels as to how to meet 
 hours of dejection and times of opposition followed ; and 
 the address closed by calling attention, IV. To the 
 missionary's glorious reward. I regret that I cannot 
 find room for more than this brief outline of the leading 
 points of the address. 
 
 In May 1892, Mr. Anderson was present at the Free 
 Church Missionary Breakfast, Edinburgh. There I met 
 him for the first time, being introduced to him by Mr. 
 Luke, then at home on furlough. He was, as always, 
 interested in meeting a new recruit. We sat beside him, 
 and he kept the table lively with his amusing remarks. 
 The Rev. W. S. Peebles, formerly of Old Calabar, came 
 to greet him and Mr. Luke, and compliments in Efik 
 passed between them. Soon after, Mr. Anderson left on 
 a visit to his nephews and nieces in America.
 
 630 Old Calabar Period 
 
 To his friend R. A. Douglas, Esq., Edinburgh, Mr. 
 Anderson wrote from Wheeling, West Va., on June 30, 
 1 892 :— 
 
 I left Glasgow and Greenock in the State of Nevada 
 on Friday the 10th. Miss Currie and Miss Seton accom- 
 panied me to Greenock. We reached Moville on Satur- 
 day, and lingered there for some hours for Irish passengers 
 and cargo. Left Moville about 5 P.M. Sea a little angry 
 — perhaps about some Home Rule palaver. When 
 dinner-bell was rung at six, I felt it prudent to keep my 
 berth. That was my only absence from table during the 
 voyage. . . . 
 
 On morning of Tuesday, 21, we were off Sandy 
 Hook. In dock about 10. After passing Customs ... I 
 encamped at New Jersey Railway Station till 8.42, when 
 I started by train for this place. Night journey sometimes 
 pleasant, sometimes eerie. . . . 
 
 Right glad and grateful to find all my loved ones here 
 well. I indeed feel that there is a want. The only and 
 constant playmate and companion of my childhood and 
 a considerable part of my boyhood is no longer to be seen 
 here, and I am reminded of Mrs. Hemans' lines — 
 
 " O give my brother back to me ! 
 1 cannot play alone." 
 
 But all is well with her, and a voice comes to me from her 
 quiet resting - place on that hilltop, " Be ye also ready," 
 " Be not slothful." I am glad, however, to be among 
 her children and her children's children, and to see them 
 all healthy, busy, and happy. 
 
 The two Presbyterian ministers are very kind. The 
 senior, Rev. Dr. Cunningham, who with his wife called on 
 me at 1 Gladstone Hace [Edinburgh] last autumn, pre- 
 vailed on me to preach for him last Sabbath morning, 
 and he says his people were all delighted to hear a Scotch 
 sermon (Luke x. 42). Other five pulpits are open and 
 inviting me. 
 
 This is the place, Mrs. Douglas, for being duly appre- 
 ciated ! The Edinburgh newspapers never speak of me
 
 Visit to United States, 1892 631 
 
 as being a " distinguished visitor," or " the great Rev. Dr. 
 Anderson from Africa " ! 
 
 Mr. Anderson's niece, Miss Elizabeth Clohan, writes 
 regarding his visit : — 
 
 We begged him to rest, and not preach during his visit 
 of '92, but we soon found that it was impossible for him to 
 rest in our sense of the word. He loved to preach. Of 
 course, our meeting in '92 was saddened by my mother's 
 death, which occurred in '89 ; but I need not say saddened, 
 for death was never sad to uncle. Were it not for our 
 hard winters, I think uncle would have remained with us. 
 He was much pleased with Dr. and Mrs. Cunningham, 
 who were equally fond of him. He feared our very 
 changeable winters, and went away with a half promise 
 that, if we promised to keep him warm, he would return. 
 Dear as was Scotland and the loving Scotch friends, I 
 think, as he grew older, there was a longing for his own 
 kith and kin, but still stronger was his desire to die among 
 his beloved people in Africa. 
 
 Uncle talked much of those " gone before " when he 
 visited us in '92. 
 
 My sister had married and died since his visit of '76 
 and '77, so the two deaths were much in uncle's mind, 
 as in ours. My sister's child Dora lives with us, and was 
 twelve years old in '92. You know how fond uncle was of 
 children, so Dora and he became fast friends. He called 
 her his " little guide," as she went with him on his daily 
 walks. 
 
 On Sept. 8, 1892, Mr. Anderson wrote to his friend 
 Mr. Joseph Gilray, Edinburgh : — 
 
 I have been eleven Sabbaths in this country and have 
 had opportunity of hearing only two sermons. I have not 
 been altogether idle. I have delivered eighteen sermons 
 and addresses, chiefly missionary. Have not been allowed 
 to confine attention to Presbyterian churches. Have 
 preached in two Lutheran, one Methodist Episcopal, and 
 one " Disciples."
 
 6 $2 Old Calabar Period 
 
 Am at present in heart of the old Slave States (South). 
 Find a good deal of the old pro-slavery or anti-negro 
 feeling to be pretty strong among the elderly generation 
 of whites. . . . The Presbyterian Hymnal (North) has the 
 hymn intact beginning "Jesus shall reign," etc. Hymn 
 absent from Presbyterian Hymn Book (South). In the 
 Methodist Episcopal, stanza awanting — 
 
 " Blessings abound where'er He reigns, 
 The pris'ner leaps to lose his chains," etc. 
 
 For the edification of the Methodists, I stated that I 
 missed the stanza, and then recited and commended it. 
 
 I did not make any definite arrangements about 
 lodgings when I left you. I told Mrs. M'Gregor that / 
 might never return (that is quite possible yet); and that, 
 were I to return, I might find her dead, or married, or 
 flitted, or averse to being bothered with any lodger. She 
 writes me, however, that her door still stands open for me 
 if I wish to re-enter it, whether for a short period or a 
 long. Well, i Gladstone Place [now 33 Sciennes Road] 
 has been my Edinburgh home since, I think, 1865, and I 
 like the locality, so I have made up my mind to return to 
 my old quarters. Perhaps Providence may open up a 
 way of escape during winter from the rigours of your 
 Edinburgh clime. 
 
 I have mentioned eighteen addresses past. Future 
 prospect— Sabbath, 1 1, two addresses, Presbyterian church, 
 Martinsburg ; Tuesday, 13, one address, Methodist, Salem ; 
 Saturday, 17, pre-Communion sermon, Baltimore; Sab- 
 bath, 18, Communion address and Missionary address, 
 Baltimore — will bring eighteen to twenty-four; but hope 
 to hear a sermon (or see one preached) on 18th. " As thy 
 days, so shall thy strength be. Amen." . . . 
 
 This is my last letter for Europe for this season. 
 
 Mr. Anderson returned from America in the becrinnine 
 of October, and immediately resumed his mode of life- 
 preaching, attending meetings, etc. He presided occa- 
 sionally or took part at the Noon Prayer Meeting in the
 
 Mr. Anderson's Post-Cards 633 
 
 Free Assembly Hall. Here is a sample of his activity 
 taken from a post-card to Miss Duncan, Jan. 21, 1893: — 
 
 Have been very busy since Christmas. Was relieved 
 from preaching in Glasgow, New Year's Day. Busy day, 
 though. Aided Mr. Morison, Rosehall, at Communion in 
 forenoon. At second Communion, afternoon, Newington. 
 Evening, addressed show people, Waverley Market. 
 Sometimes at two prayer meetings a day during Week 
 of Prayer. Took part in several. Have taken part in 
 evening meetings at Rosehall, Newington, North Rich- 
 mond Street. . . . 
 
 In his correspondence during these last years he notes 
 all the events that transpired in Calabar as he received 
 the news. Thus, in the same post-card, he writes : — 
 
 Sad news from O. C. again. Rev. J. W. M'Kenzie, 
 who left L'pool, Aug. 24, died at Ungwana, Dec. 16 
 [1892]. Only about three months in the field! Death 
 not to be attributed to climate. So brethren say. . . . 
 How mysterious are His ways ! These young and to 
 appearance vigorous young men_ called away. Old 
 cumberers like myself linger on ! 
 
 Here is another little glimpse of the old man : — 
 
 I find that I am failing somewhat. Easily fatigued — 
 short walk makes breathless — very unwilling to move — 
 shrink from exchanging warm room for cold street. 
 Bought annual ticket for Literary Institute. Frequently 
 spend a half or a whole hour there. 
 
 Mr. Anderson became famous for his closely-written 
 post-cards initialed WA. Here is a specimen one to Miss 
 Duncan, dated " 7.4.93 " : — 
 
 E. U. Mi, 1 I have taken a dislike to letter writing and 
 become addicted to card playing. Had I waited a little 
 longer here on Wednesday, I might have had your com- 
 
 1 Edima Ufan mi, Efik for "my dear friend."
 
 634 O ld Calabar Period 
 
 pany on my visit to Miss Edgerley. She would have 
 valued a visit from you. Her address is "Mrs. Marwick, 
 
 "' I found her a little better than she had been, 
 
 though still confined to bed. ... I have never seen a 
 better conducted Exhibitory Missionary Meeting than 
 that [Congo-Balolo] of last evening. Got home (?) about 
 eleven. Mr. Guinness is one of the ablest lecturers I 
 have heard. Had a kind male guide homewards, Rev. 
 Mr. Brown, Uumbiedykes. Tho' he is a Kirk minister, 
 we did not fall out by the way. The cake ! the cake ! 
 Thanks to donors (I suppose two) for the same. Only 
 sorry for its size. A 6d. one would have been sufficient. 
 Love to mother and all friends, not forgetting the Ford 
 lassie, Agnes. — Yrs., \\A. 
 
 In response to an invitation to visit Mrs. and Miss 
 Duncan at Burntisland, Mr. Anderson wrote on August 24 
 the following post-card: — 
 
 "To go" or "not to go"? Question discussed as 
 attentively as Home Rule Bill for forty-eight hours. Dis- 
 cussion not yet finished. The demon Obstruction ! Per- 
 fectly exhausting to illustrious colleague [Gladstone] and 
 myself. We must apply the gag. A steady hour's sun- 
 shine says " Go" Opposition clouds and rain say " Don't." 
 Must apply gag. 
 
 Tuesday last week saw Messrs. Dean and Weir, with 
 Miss Edgerley, off from Waverley to Liverpool. Miss E. 
 meanwhile goes only to Grand Canary. They left on 
 Wednesday in Cameroon. Mr. Marwick arrived on Friday, 
 and is safe and sound in maternal home. Left all well in 
 Old Calabar. 
 
 I am kept pretty well agoing. Sabbath before last, 
 Greenlaw ; last Sabbath, St. Margaret's Parish Church. 
 Engaged for three Sabbaths in September. After that — 
 where ? 
 
 It was after my return from Calabar in August 1893 
 
 that I became intimately acquainted with Mr. Anderson, 
 
 1 Miss Edgerley was staying with my mother, and Mr. Anderson fre- 
 quently visited the house.
 
 A Broken Arm 635 
 
 who became a frequent visitor to, and met many Calabar 
 friends old and new at my mother's house. 
 
 The following post-card to Mrs. Duncan, dated Sep- 
 tember 13, 1893, refers to an accident which befel Mr. 
 Anderson : — 
 
 Should have thanked you a day or two ago for the 
 Jamaica Presbyterian which you so kindly forwarded to 
 me. I forwarded it to Miss Edgerley — she being a native 
 of Jamaica — to cheer her in her solitude at Grand Canary, 
 where she is for health. This is mail -day for Old Calabar, 
 but I have not written a line for it. Mrs. M'Gregor has 
 been my amanuensis for (or on) two cards. Not in trim 
 for writing just now — left arm in sling. On Monday last 
 week attempted to step on car in motion. Got foot almost 
 on step. Car jerked off quickly. I fell to street, and in 
 doing so broke one of the small bones of the arm. Went 
 to Dr. Peddie, who splintered it up in tight bandage. 
 Bandage to remain three weeks, then changed. 
 
 In spite of his accident, Mr. Anderson was able to 
 continue preaching, as the following post-card, dated Sep- 
 tember 1 8, shows : — 
 
 Dr. Peddie has just been here washing and dressing 
 arm. Progressing finely. Arm in sling, but preached 
 twice yesterday without pain or fatigue in North Rich- 
 mond Street U.P. Texts— 1 Pet. iv. 18, and Rev. xiv. 3. 
 Good audiences considering the season. 
 
 You would be laughing at my ignorance (I suspect 
 Mrs. M'Gregor was doing so). I thought that you must 
 have A'island, B'island, C'island, etc. etc., till Mrs. M'Gregor 
 ventured to suggest that B'island might be only a con- 
 tracted form of Burntisland ! I am very teachable and 
 tractable — willing to learn from anybody and everybody. 
 Calabar [mail] goes and comes fortnightly now. 
 
 On October 31, Mr. Anderson wrote to Miss Duncan : — 
 
 Cold pretty trying outside now. Just hesitating as 
 to flying off to Grand Canary for four months. Very
 
 636 ( )i.d Calabar Period 
 
 indolent — a packing up, even on a small scale, seems a 
 very formidable business. 
 
 Mr. Anderson decided to go to Canary, and left Edin- 
 burgh, Caledonian Station, at 10.15 A.M. on December 4. 
 Air. II. M. Stanley travelled by the same train. Mr. 
 Anderson had a few minutes' conversation with the 
 explorer. A small company of friends had assembled to 
 see Mr. Anderson off, and the attention of the travelling 
 public was drawn to the veteran missionary. From 
 Liverpool, Mr. Anderson wrote next day to Miss 
 Duncan : — 
 
 Dr. Adam's son dangerously ill, so he boarded me 
 with an old friend, Miss Hickson, niece of the staunch old 
 friend of the Mission, Dr. William Fergusson. 
 
 To Mr. Gilray, Edinburgh, Mr. Anderson wrote from 
 the Sailors' Institute, Port Luz, Grand Canary, on 
 December 28 : — 
 
 1 mar FRIEND Gilray, — You will have read or heard 
 ere now that the good ship Cameroon arrived here safely 
 on the morning of Thursday, 14th inst. 
 
 Our passage across the usually turbulent Bay of Bis- 
 cay was pretty rough, but that was only to be expected 
 at the season of the voyage. I have never had two more 
 pleasant days at sea than the two last days I was on 
 board. I have never seen a finer sunset, even at sea, than 
 that of the Tuesday evening. The sun neared the horizon 
 in great majesty — clouds of jasper, sardius, and emerald 
 gathering around him, till tier after tier above him and on 
 each side of him suggested the gates of Paradise and the 
 glory of the Eternal Throne as being only a few paces 
 away on the other side of them. The Royal Hotel [Fdin- 
 burgh] lit up for the reception of George and May yon 
 night was poor, poor in comparison. I am reminded of 
 Zerub Baillie's report of a sermon by Robbie Flockhart. 
 Robbie was preaching near the great confectioner's near
 
 First Visit to Grand Canary 637 
 
 the Tron Church, of beauties or bliss of heaven. After 
 using a number of other metaphors, he wound up with 
 this grand climax : " But, in fact, my freends, Fergussoris 
 shop there 's naething til't ! " 
 
 Very pleasant climate this. Thermometer as yet 
 between 66° and 68° — doors and windows open — and no 
 fires save in cooking places. Sun up shortly after 7, 
 continues shining till about 5. 
 
 " Canary Islands " — of old the " Fortunate " or " Elysian 
 Isles." Why now called Canary} Not, it seems, from the 
 little yellow songsters, of which there are multitudes in 
 the country, but they are all in cages. I have not seen a 
 single bird of any kind since I came here, except in cages ; 
 and I have not seen a single cat, nor a single specimen of 
 the tribe. I have seen one goat. Plenty of horses, asses, 
 and mules — most of them most barbarously treated. I 
 wonder if anyone feeds the poor sparrows of Gladstone 
 Place and Sciennes Hill now ! 
 
 I am not altogether idle here. Lots of ships here 
 from all nations. At an average, 100 steamers call here 
 monthly — from north, south, east, and west. Mr. Searle 
 tells me that at some seasons of the year fully 130 
 steamers call in the north. He has seen the number up 
 to 150. Mr. Searle (rhyme with pearl) and his noble wife 
 are doing a great work here among sailors, residents, and 
 visitors. I was surprised to learn that they founded and 
 maintain the Institute on their own responsibility alone, 
 and at their own charges. . . . 
 
 New Years Day, 1894. . . . We had a pleasant 
 season yesterday afternoon. We introduced something 
 new into Christian life and work in Grand Canary, viz. the 
 observance of the Lord's Supper according to our Presby- 
 terian form. Mr. Searle acted as elder on the occasion. 
 He is a Baptist, and addressed the " little band and lowly " 
 in almost the same words which I addressed to Rosehall 
 congregation on the first Sabbath of September, founded 
 on Pilate's " Ecce Homo !"—" Behold the Man!" Our 
 number was small — communicants and spectators ; but we 
 had representatives of four great denominations — Epis- 
 copal, Wesleyan, Baptist, Presbyterian. Miss Edgerley 
 and I were the representatives of Presbytery. We mean
 
 638 Old Calabar Period 
 
 to observe the ordinance monthly. . . . Preached to 
 evening congregation from Matt, xxvii. 22, Dr. Pentecost's 
 division, as you and I heard in Queen's Park. 
 
 On New Year's Day 1894, Mr. Anderson wrote to 
 Mrs. M'Gregor: — 
 
 It seems to me that it would appear very ungrateful 
 were I not to remember you on this day, and to wish you 
 " A Happy New Year and many returns," seeing that I 
 have spent the last four New Year's Days — '90, '91, '92, 
 and '93 — very comfortably in your hospitable abode. . . . 
 
 I suppose that you will miss me at the time of the 
 morning and evening sacrifice. But my place is, I trust, 
 more than supplied by Another, who appears to the spirit's 
 eye as " One like unto the Son of Man." You have still 
 your Bible — His Word beside you, and eyes to read it; 
 so that, having this precious treasure, neither you nor I 
 can be altogether solitary. The longer I read the Book 
 the more do I value it. I trust it is the same with you. 
 I am in a sense among strangers, and yet I hardly feel it 
 to be so. Miss Edgerley's presence has been one source 
 of enjoyment. She reminds me that she went to Old 
 Calabar first in 1854 (forty years ago!), so that she and I 
 have many common subjects to discuss. She looks for- 
 ward with joy to next month, when she expects to set 
 off once more for the dear old home — not in Britain or 
 in Jamaica, but in "the Dark Continent." . . . 
 
 Kindly let Miss Cameron, Miss Walker, and Lizzie 
 know that they are not forgotten by "the lad that's awa" 
 on this New Year's Day. 
 
 To his cousin, Mrs. Gordon, Dalkeith, Mr. Anderson 
 wrote on January 8, 1894: — 
 
 I managed to preach in the saloon on the Sabbath 
 during which I was on board, but had to continue sitting 
 in an arm-chair during the whole service. The chair-foot 
 was tied to the table-foot, but notwithstanding that pre- 
 caution, the captain had to catch hold both of the chair 
 and of me, once or twice, to prevent a tumble. . . .
 
 The Sailors' Institute, Port Luz 639 
 
 On arriving here I felt it a great advantage to find 
 Miss Edgerley here. Her father and brother, both 
 ordained missionaries, and also her stepmother, slumber 
 in the cemetery of Old Calabar. Miss E. and I board 
 at the Sailors' Institute, an institution founded by a 
 worthy gentleman, E. W. Searle, Esq., for the benefit of 
 the seamen who visit this port. Mr. S. acts as missionary 
 at the Institute, visits the shipping, preaches on board 
 ships, preaches and holds meetings at the Institute, etc. 
 etc. He toils hard, and is ably supported by his excellent 
 wife. She reminds me in some things of my own Louisa, 
 so energetic and so self-denying. I am glad to be able to 
 assist them somewhat in their evangelistic work. I gener- 
 ally deliver one address on a week-day and preach twice 
 on Sabbath. . . . 
 
 The population of the island is chiefly Spanish and 
 Popish. . . . Learned men tell us that the islands, when 
 first visited by Europeans, abounded in large dogs, and 
 that the islands took their name from the Latin word 
 " canis," a dog ! . . . Teneriffe is about fifty miles distant, 
 and we can see its peak to-day glittering white with snow. 
 
 On Jan. 22, Mr. Anderson wrote to Mrs. Douglas, 
 Edinburgh : — 
 
 I was greatly astonished last Thursday evening on 
 sitting down at our tea-table. I had just come in from 
 a long walk. When I sat down, Miss Edgerley said to 
 me, " Miss Hogg and Mrs. Rae [of Calabar] send you 
 their compliments." "How were they conveyed?" (I 
 meant the compliments). " Both ladies are in the port. 
 I have just seen them." I was astonished. Miss Edgerley 
 then explained that Miss Hogg had been very ill — at 
 death's door — and that the doctors had hurried her off, 
 but protested against her voyaging alone, so Mrs. Rae 
 had to accompany her thus far. ... As Miss Hogg had 
 improved greatly during the voyage hither, it was not 
 considered necessary for Mrs. Rae to accompany her to 
 L'pool, so Mrs. Rae remains at one of the Las Falmas 
 hotels, and she and Miss Edgerley have arranged to 
 return to Old Calabar by the first out-going steamer. . . .
 
 640 Old Calabar Period 
 
 I continue to enjoy the place, the climate, and the 
 people connected with the Institute very much. . . . Last 
 evening — Sabbath — we had the largest congregation I 
 have yet seen at the Institute. A Wesleyan brother, Mr. 
 Faulding, took the devotional part of the service. His 
 sister is wife of J. Hudson Taylor, head of the China 
 Inland Mission. Mr. Paulding's wife is pining away in 
 consumption. My text was 1 Pet. iv. 1 8. 
 
 Writing to Mrs. M'Gregor, Edinburgh, on Feb. 9, Mr. 
 Anderson refers to visits to the Institute of Samuel 
 Plimsoll, Esq., and others : — 
 
 I think you will remember an M.P. who made himself 
 famous some years ago as the Champion of Seamen, and 
 whose mark is, I believe, on all British trading vessels up 
 to this day. He and Mrs. P. attend one of the Sabbath 
 services and also the Bible class. ... At our last Bible 
 reading ex-M.P. Plimsoll and his wife were present. He 
 gave us a fine address on his own Christian experience. 
 Among other things, he said: "When I was travelling in 
 India long ago, I felt very anxious one Sabbath to worship 
 in some Christian church. After a weary journey, I 
 reached a mission station, and joined the audience. The 
 missionary gave out for his text, 1 Kings xix. 13: ' W'hat 
 doest thou here, Elijah?' and began to put some search- 
 ing questions, as I thought, direct to me. I began to feel 
 somewhat uncomfortable, and to wonder whether I did 
 right in going there. I was somewhat startled, sir, when 
 I came to your place of worship and heard you give out 
 the same text," etc. etc. 
 
 Miss Hdgerley and Mrs. Rae set off for O. C. in the 
 Matadi on Jan. 24. My present purpose is to leave 
 this place for L'pool in the steamer advertised to leave 
 this port on April 9. . . . Should you fall in with an 
 elderly lady with whom I was for some time a lodger — 
 her name is, or was, Mrs. M'Gregor— be so kind as to say 
 to her that if she has changed, or is about to change her 
 name, or to flit, or if she would rather live a retired life, 
 and not be bothered any more with those troublesome 
 people called lodgers, that should I be spared to reach
 
 Portrait taken at Grand Canary 64 1 
 
 Edinburgh, I can stay a week or two at Robinson's till 
 Providence makes my way clear for the future. ... In 
 regard to lodgings, I would not think any the less of you, 
 or feel less grateful for all your past kindness, were you 
 to say . . . that you would be more comfortable were you 
 relieved of all lodger responsibility. 
 
 Writing again to Mrs. Douglas on March 7, Mr. 
 Anderson said : — 
 
 I am not altogether destitute of testimony that my 
 services have been beneficial to some. A number would 
 like me to remain among them. Some would like me to 
 promise that, D.V., I will return. I avoid all engagements 
 on the ground that the future is not ours — that we know 
 not what a day may bring forth. I do not like to say to 
 them that I should like to go elsewhere [Calabar]. . . . 
 
 To oblige friends here, I have got my photo taken at 
 Las Palmas. It seems to me to be the best likeness that 
 has ever been taken of me. But this may be owing to my 
 increasing blindness. . . . 
 
 The original inhabitants of the island, or the original 
 Spanish settlers, must have been splendid engineers. The 
 roads and the water conduits are splendid in the interior 
 of the island. The scenery and the farms are enchant- 
 ing. No wonder that the ancients styled the islands, 
 Elysian. . . . 
 
 I see from papers that old friend Mrs. Waddell has 
 got home. " Be ye also ready." 
 
 To Mrs. M'Gregor and Mrs. Douglas, Mr. Anderson 
 wrote on April 7 : — 
 
 Dear Ladies, — Only time for a few words. Matadi 
 here two days before her advertised time, and overcrowded. 
 Friends, and even Mr. Jones, chief of the Shipping 
 Company, and his captain advise me not to go in her. 
 Now arranged and guaranteed to me that I go by Accra, 
 due here on 21st. Two members of the Mission on board, 
 sick — or rather on sick list — Mr. Manson, who is spending 
 
 41
 
 642 Old Calabar Period 
 
 the day at the Institute, and Miss Johnstone, who can't 
 leave ship. 
 
 Mr. Anderson arrived in Liverpool by Accra on April 
 24, and, after spending a few days with Dr. and Miss 
 Adam, went to Edinburgh on May 2, in time to be 
 present at the meetings of the United Presbyterian Synod. 
 After the meetings were over, Mr. Anderson lived a some- 
 what solitary life, as the following note to Miss Duncan, 
 dated June 8, shows: — 
 
 Laziness and love of solitude increasing rather than 
 diminishing. I lave my solitary walks daily — very pleasa'nt. 
 Walked on Tuesday evening from 33 to summit of Calton 
 Ilill to hear the music. Had I had company, I could not 
 have stopped at pleasure to look at shop windows, at 
 placards on walls, passing vehicles, etc. etc. i would have 
 required to watch lest my companion should be speaking 
 to me, and it would have been necessary for him or her to 
 scraugh out to make me hear. Alone — " I am monarch of 
 all I survey." 
 
 Had an invitation to tea last evening from one of the 
 most respected families in Rosehall Church. My reply 
 was substantially — "Thanks. Tea at 4, prayer meeting 
 at 8. That means — leave lodgings at 3.30, return at 9.30. 
 Six hours! Formidable. Remain where I am, I can 
 read half an hour, write half an hour, lie down and rest 
 half an hour, or take a nap if so disposed. Enjoy my 
 solitary cup. Renew the process at pleasure. 7.30, off 
 to meeting. back at 9.30. No feeling of exhaustion. 
 V.V. Go to tea. Keep eye on strain six hours to see 
 things clearly — ear on stretch to try to catch what is said 
 to me. Speakers have to yell out when addressing me. 
 The wean' hours go round. Get to bedroom worn out. 
 better not expect me." I did not go. Becoming quite 
 recluse, hermit, anchorite — what more? 
 
 1 lad once some thought of going for a day or two to 
 
 your Convention [Bridge of Allan], but blind, deaf, dumb, 
 
 -what good could I either receive or communicate ? 1
 
 The Mission Press 643 
 
 trust that the meeting will be profitable to all who shall 
 attend it. . . . 
 
 My engagements are not many nowadays — Edenshead 
 morning and evening, Sabbath, June 17. Sabbath, July 
 15, the old day of "Ford Summer Sacrament" (these 
 words set my heart aglow), Ford, forenoon, and Cranston 
 Parish Kirk, evening. First Sabbath, Sept., St. Mary's 
 Free, evening. I have sometimes had more continuous 
 work. 
 
 In a post-card of June 13, Mr. Anderson wrote: — 
 
 Jamaica Presbyterian for May contained a fine notice 
 of my worthy old friend George Millar, Principal of 
 Montego Bay Academy. Miss Edgerley was for some 
 years a boarder in his house. . . . Had a letter from Miss 
 E. last evening, of date May 8. . . . Wonderful changes, 
 she says, — post office, barracks, botanic garden, etc. etc. 
 
 On Sept. 19, Mr. Anderson wrote to Miss Duncan: — 
 
 Mind not yet made up as to where I should winter. 
 Three places of refuge — (1) Old Calabar, (2) Grand 
 Canary, (3) Fir Cottage Convalescent Home, near South- 
 ampton. 
 
 On Sept. 28, Mr. Anderson wrote to me : — 
 
 DEAR FRIEND Marwick, — I was delighted on the 
 1 8th inst. by receipt of your communication of 22nd ult. 
 Received at same time a note from Mr. Weir, of Aug. 6. 
 Is Creek Town favoured above Duke Town in postal 
 accommodation ? I think that yours is the only letter 
 that I have ever received from Old Calabar within a 
 month of date. . . . 
 
 I should have liked well had the way been clear for 
 my revisiting Calabar during the coming winter. . . . 
 
 Glad to see from your note that the [Mission] Press is 
 at work on important business — [Mr. Goldie's] Memoir of 
 King Eyo VII., and Ukpabio's Translation [of Dr. J. H. 
 Wilson's The Gospel and its Frnits\. Kindly let me have 
 a copy of each, and let me know price of copies and
 
 644 ^ LD Calabar Period 
 
 postages. ... I have posted Scotsman of 22nd to Mr. 
 Paton. Ask a sight of it. Leader on printers' blunders 
 will amuse you. I post for you last Evening News. I 
 enclose advertisement of The New Age. 
 
 To Miss Duncan, Mr. Anderson wrote on Nov. 15 : — 
 
 Had rich treat on Sabbath evening in Augustine 
 ( hurch, by seeing and hearing Rev. James Chalmers from 
 New Guinea. He is a man and a missionary of a right 
 royal stamp. I never heard two more thrilling missionary 
 addresses. I introduced myself to him as from Old 
 Guinea. He and I fraternised very cordially. 
 
 Letters from Old Calabar to-day. My path thither 
 not made any plainer. I think it may be considered 
 settled that, D.V., I leave Liverpool for Grand Canary on 
 Saturday, Dec. 1. . . . 
 
 I was among the crowd last evening at Literary 
 Institute, hearing (or rather seeing) Rev. S. R. Crockett. 
 
 Mr. Anderson left Edinburgh for Grand Canary on 
 Nov. 28, and spent a few days with Dr. and Miss Adam 
 in Liverpool. On Dec. 13, Mr. Anderson wrote to Miss 
 Duncan from the Sailors' Institute: — 
 
 We had the quickest and the quietest voyage I have 
 ever experienced. Dropped anchor in Port Luz about 
 6 P.M., Saturday evening, Dec. 8. Voyage seven days six 
 hours. Hardly a ripple on the ocean during the whole 
 way. And the good steamer Bonny never gave an uncom- 
 fortable plunge or jerk or roll. Captain Windham is an 
 exceptionally pleasant man, and evidently did not need to 
 be instructed by my good friend Dempster to deal kindly 
 with his old missionary passenger. 
 
 Not yet entered on regular work. In so far as I can 
 see, my visit number two will be very much a second 
 edition of number one. 
 
 Mr. Anderson records in letters to various friends my 
 brief visit to him on the afternoon of Sabbath, Dec. 16,
 
 Second Visit to Grand Canary 645 
 
 when on my way home with my wife and infant son, on 
 account of the very serious illness of the former: — 
 
 A few of us were holding our usual prayer meeting 
 in the reading-room in the afternoon, when a stranger 
 entered. Mr. Searle rose and spoke to him, and showed 
 him a seat. When service was concluded, Mr. Searle 
 asked me if I recognised the stranger. I felt obliged to 
 reply, " No, I do not." I was confounded when Mr. Searle 
 announced his name. 
 
 Although Mr. Anderson was still suffering from the 
 effects of a cold he had contracted in Liverpool, and the 
 afternoon was a bleak one, he insisted on accompanying 
 me part of the way to the landing-place. 
 
 Mr. Anderson took part in a Watch Night Service on 
 Dec. 31, and at 12.30 A.M. on Jan. 1, 1895, wrote to Mr. 
 and Mrs. Douglas, Edinburgh : — 
 
 You have my first writing for the present year. Six 
 of us have just finished our little "Watch Night Service," 
 and wished each other all seasonable blessings. 
 
 On Jan. 9, Mr. Anderson wrote to Mrs. and Miss 
 Duncan : — 
 
 I continue to aid Mr. Searle in his work, but there 
 does not seem the same life and energy in the locality as 
 there were last year. 
 
 People sometimes murmur when missionaries — even 
 missionary ladies — are not able to stay for a prolonged 
 period in the field. What would they say if some of them 
 should not be able to reach the field ? We have a case of 
 that kind here just now. . . . [Mr. V. and his wife] left 
 Liverpool in Nov., but sea life told so much on her highly- 
 strung nervous system, that the ship doctor— glad to have 
 got her so far alive — would on no account allow her to 
 proceed a single mile farther on her voyage. Her husband 
 went on to his station and his work, and she remains
 
 646 Old Calabar Period 
 
 rusticating here in a state of great perplexity and un- 
 certainty. She is a splendid musician and a high-class 
 painter. Her Christmas present to me was a beautiful 
 view of the scene of my daily walks — the Bay of Confitel. 
 She seems glad to have me to talk to and to sympathise 
 with her in what she feels to be " a fiery trial." . . . 
 
 Have been reperusing — for the first time for fifty years 
 — the life of my valiant townsman, "Mansie J Vaugk, Tailor 
 in Dalkeith, written by himself." I never read the volume 
 with more interest or amusement. You must not think 
 that I have given up all serious reading ! The Bible I got 
 from you, Isobel, is my daily — my hourly companion. 
 
 To Mrs. M'Gregor, Mr. Anderson wrote on Feb. 6 : — 
 
 1 preach sometimes on board the ships — especially on 
 those which have Scotch captains and crews. 
 
 The weather is not so invariably mild as when I was 
 last here. On the morning of Jan. 14, the sea, on both 
 sides of the Institute, rose higher than it had done for 
 twenty-two years, and flowed into and damaged a good 
 many of the houses. During the night of Tuesday last 
 there blew quite a tornado, such as has never been seen or 
 felt by the present generation. 
 
 Mr. Anderson returned from Grand Canary in time 
 for the meeting of the Synod in the beginning of May. 
 He had pleasant intercourse on the voyage with Bishop 
 Ingham of Sierra Leone, who afterwards sent him a copy 
 of his interesting volume, Sierra Leone: A Himdred 
 Years Ago and Now, and spoke of Mr. Anderson at 
 Exeter Hall. 1 He w : as present at most of the meetings, 
 sitting as a "silent" member, seeing rather than hearing 
 what was going on. At the great missionary meeting 
 
 1 On bearing that I was engaged on the Memoir, Bishop Ingham kindly 
 sent me a brief note of reminiscence, and a card of Mr. Anderson's, express- 
 ing approval of the Bishop's scheme of employing West Indians in mission 
 work in West Africa.
 
 Mr. Anderson and Rosehall Congregation 647 
 
 on the Wednesday evening, he sat in the front seat in 
 the body of the hall, facing the platform and the speakers. 
 
 During the summer his public engagements were com- 
 paratively few. On the evening of July 21 he preached 
 in Rosehall U.P. Church, Edinburgh, from John xvii. 1. 
 On July 28 he was at Edenshead taking the Communion 
 services for Mr. Lawson, formerly of Calabar. On Aug. 
 4 and 1 1 he preached in St. Leonard's Parish Church, 
 Edinburgh. On Sept. 1 he dispensed the Communion 
 for the last time in Rosehall Church, and addressed the 
 communicants from Matt. xvii. 4. 
 
 With reference to Mr. Anderson's connection with 
 Rosehall congregation, the Rev. W. Morison, M.A., 
 writes : — 
 
 Mr. Anderson joined the membership of Rosehall on 
 his return to Scotland after his retirement from the 
 mission field in 1889. While at home on furlough, five 
 or six years before his retirement, he was as good as a 
 member. He was never absent either from the Sabbath 
 services or the weekly prayer meeting without sending a 
 note to his minister mentioning the cause of absence. 
 He was always most ready to render service to the 
 congregation and the minister, whether to preach or give 
 missionary addresses, or visit the sick. 
 
 He often took part in the monthly Communion 
 service and at the Thursday evening meeting, and always 
 with evident pleasure to himself as well as to the people. 
 His devotional language was exceedingly rich. His 
 prayers for those in sorrow, and especially for the be- 
 reaved, were very tender, and moved all who heard him. 
 They were tenderest of all when he was remembering the 
 relatives and colleagues of those who had died in the 
 mission field. 
 
 It will be convenient to give the rest of Mr. Morison's 
 sketch in this place : —
 
 648 Old Calabar Period 
 
 In Mr. Anderson's intercourse with us at our fireside 
 he was always bright and cheery. He had much of the 
 spirit of the boy up to the last. On leaving our gate, after 
 saying farewell before his final return to Old Calabar, he 
 buttoned his coat tight like a boy about to run a race, set 
 off at a brisk pace — ran rather than walked for a short 
 distance, and called back, "This is how I mean to do at 
 Old Calabar." 
 
 He took great interest in the young people, liked their 
 society, and often asked them to read or sing to him. 
 He liked well a good Scotch song. He often brought 
 gifts to the children — usually some good book. 
 
 He was one of the best Radicals I ever met. He sent 
 to the papers many letters [signed " Octogenarian "], in 
 which he stated very strongly the views he held on such 
 questions as Disestablishment, Home Rule, etc. 
 
 On the evening of Sept. 8, Mr. Anderson was the prin- 
 cipal speaker at a missionary service in North Richmond 
 Street Church. I spoke briefly on the changes which 
 Mr. Anderson would find, when he returned to Calabar, 
 had taken place since his departure in 1889, and then 
 Mr. Anderson spoke of darkness and dawn in Calabar. 
 The following evening he was present at an exhibition 
 of articles for a Calabar Mission Box, when the Rev. 
 George M'Donald gave an account of his work at 
 Ungwana. The ladies of the congregation presented Mr. 
 Anderson with a dressing-gown, which he donned, and 
 then recited, by request, "The Missionary Hymn," which 
 he had found in a newspaper, and which was a favourite 
 recitation of his. I accompanied him home, and he 
 insisted on walking back to the Surgeons' Hall, a car 
 station, to save the horses stopping specially for him, and 
 he got off at Hope Park for a similar reason. 
 
 A few days after, I was at tea at his lodgings to help 
 him to pack up his books. He expected the Rev. James
 
 Mr. Anderson on Mr. Goldie 649 
 
 Robertson also, and when the bell rang, hastily donned 
 the dressing-gown that he might in the capacity of an 
 African chief in full dress receive his visitor! It was 
 that evening, after the books had been packed, and while 
 he sat talking of the past and the future, that he asked 
 me to write his Memoir, as he had little expectation of 
 returning from his visit to Old Calabar. 
 
 On Sept. 15 he paid his last visit to his friends in 
 Dalkeith, and preached in Buccleuch Street U.P. Church 
 in the forenoon from Isa. xxi. 11, and in the afternoon 
 addressed the young. 
 
 On Saturday, Sept. 21, on the eve of Mr. Anderson's 
 
 departure for Calabar, the news arrived of the death of 
 
 the Rev. Hugh Goldie at Creek Town on Aug. 18. On 
 
 receipt of Mr. Beedie's letter I hurried to 33 Sciennes 
 
 Road. Mr. Anderson came to the door himself, and I 
 
 knew whenever I saw him that he had received the news. 
 
 Mrs. Miller of Rose Hill, Jamaica, was with him. He 
 
 declared that half the pleasure of his coming visit to 
 
 Calabar had been taken away. In an interesting little 
 
 " In Memoriam " article which Mr. Anderson pencilled 
 
 while on the voyage, and which appeared in The Children s 
 
 Magazine, Nov. 1895, he wrote: — 
 
 By his departure Calabar has become to me deprived 
 of a great portion of its attractions. I had looked for- 
 ward with great delight to a revival of our youthful 
 intercourse, expecting in his fellowship to become young 
 once more, and " to fight our battles o'er again." I might 
 enlarge on his geniality, his plodding perseverance, his 
 conscientiousness, and what I may call his stubborn 
 adherence to the right. But I shall content myself 
 with saying that it will be well for myself and for all the 
 brethren in the Mission if we follow him as he followed 
 Christ.
 
 650 Old Calabar Period 
 
 The following day Mr. Anderson was present at the 
 forenoon service at Rosehall, and at the afternoon service 
 at Bristo U.P. Church, and in the evening addressed a 
 crowded meeting in Newington U.P. Church Hall. He 
 spoke of his friendship with Mr. Goldie, and then of the 
 work they and Mr. Waddell had done in Old Calabar. 
 
 The two following days were devoted to leave-taking, 
 most of his friends calling on him to say good-bye. One 
 of the few visits he paid w 7 as one in company with Mr. 
 John Cochrane to a blind lady, Miss Cameron, his old 
 friend and near neighbour. On Wednesday morning, 
 Sept. 25, he left the Caledonian Station for Liverpool. 
 A large company of friends gathered to see him off. A 
 few hymns were sung with faltering lips. " A Bristo 
 Poet " wrote : — 
 
 "A touching scene, that parting day, 
 
 Let scores the story tell, 
 Who met with tear-dimmed eyes to say, 
 
 Brave Anderson, farewell ! 
 Again, with heart so strong and true, 
 
 Though on life's journey far, 
 Our friend has bid his home adieu, 
 
 And gone to Calabar." 
 
 Mr. Anderson was very fond of my little boy, who had 
 been born in Calabar, and we took him to the station. 
 Mr. Anderson kissed the child tenderly, and wrote after- 
 wards that the faces of my wife and my child were the 
 last he caught a glimpse of as the train steamed out of 
 the station. 
 
 He spent a few days in Liverpool with Dr. and Miss 
 Adam, and on Saturday 29th embarked on the S.S. 
 Benin, along with the Rev. E. and Mrs. Deas, returning 
 after furlough. The vessel was uncomfortably crowded
 
 Mr. Beedie on Mr. Anderson's Visit 651 
 
 as far as Canary. During the rest of the voyage Mr. 
 Anderson suffered a good deal from the heat, partly due 
 to his clothing not being sufficiently light. The Benin 
 arrived at Duke Town shortly after noon on Thursday, 
 Oct. 31. " My reception," wrote Mr. Anderson to home 
 friends, " from Europeans and natives was all that my 
 warmest friends could have wished it to be." 
 
 Mr. Anderson stayed with Mr. and Mrs. Beedie during 
 the few weeks he was spared after his return to Old 
 Calabar. The narrative of the closing weeks will be best 
 given in the words of Mr. Beedie, as published in the 
 Record for April 1896, and supplemented by a letter 
 to me. In the earlier part it describes the same events as 
 Mr. Anderson did in his letters to home friends. The 
 letter will be read by many with mournful interest, as 
 Mr. Beedie himself has since passed away (on Jan. 31, 
 1897), in the midst of that fruitful ministry of which Mr. 
 Anderson wrote, and to the unspeakable loss of Old 
 Calabar. Mr. Beedie wrote : — 
 
 I need not say that we all looked forward with great 
 interest to his return here. We knew that the desire of 
 his heart was to end his days here, and be laid by the side 
 of his " beloved Louisa," and we knew that he had a very 
 strong desire to speak a few more words to his old friends, 
 to whom he had so often spoken before. 
 
 When the mail steamer came in, we hastened on board 
 to meet and welcome him, and we were struck with the 
 great change visible on him since we had last seen him — 
 over three years before. He looked hale and strong for a 
 man of eighty-four, but still it was plain that he was not 
 the same man. A very great crowd of the natives were 
 waiting, and the women began to hug him. I had to 
 keep them away by force, fearing that they would take 
 the breath from him altogether. There was a great demon- 
 stration ; school children marched before singing hymns,
 
 652 Old Calabar Period 
 
 and some hundreds crowded round the house, all anxious 
 to get a shake of his hand. We had in the end to put him 
 into the room, and explain to the people that he was not 
 so strong as to be able to stand so much fatigue. 
 
 In the cool of the evening I went along with him to the 
 cemetery, and he said he was glad that the spot he had 
 long ago fixed on as his last resting-place had not been 
 appropriated. 
 
 The first Sabbath after his return, it was arranged that 
 he should take the afternoon service ; but, as the hour 
 approached, the excitement threatened to unfit him, and 
 I proposed that he should just say a few words to the 
 people, as they were all expectant. He seemed quite 
 pleased ; and after the opening exercises I explained to 
 the people that Mr. Anderson did not feel able to take 
 the whole service, but he would say a few words to them. 
 He then stood up and preached with all his old power, and 
 finished the service. He said, afterwards, that the arrange- 
 ments we had made had taken the nervousness away, and 
 that he had felt quite comfortable. 
 
 During the few weeks we had the privilege of having 
 him with us — for privilege it was — he was as full of fun as 
 ever, and was constantly joking, in his old way ; but there 
 was a subdued tenderness about him which told of living 
 in the secret of God's presence. 
 
 At our November Communion I got him persuaded to 
 preside at the Communion and dispense both tables. He 
 was very unwilling, but finally agreed ; and that was the 
 last Communion on earth. He seemed to have a presenti- 
 ment that it would be his last. He conducted our services 
 every Sabbath day — except the last two ; but he was in 
 church at all the three services on both days. 
 
 When he had to acknowledge that he did not feel able, 
 he said he was quite aware that the " old machine " was 
 about used up. 
 
 It may be interesting to give a note of his texts. On 
 Nov. 10 he preached in the afternoon from Num. x. 29. 
 On Friday 15, at the preparatory service, he preached 
 from John xxi. 15. On Sabbath, 17, his pre-Communion
 
 The Last Week 65 
 
 'j 
 
 address in Efik was from John xix. 5, and the post- 
 Communion address in English from Ps. xlviii. 9. At the 
 English service on Nov. 24 he preached from Matt, xxvii. 
 22. On Dec. [ he preached at Henshaw Town in the 
 forenoon from Isa. xxi. 10, and has noted "as on 14.4.89." 
 On Tuesday the 3rd he addressed the prayer meeting 
 from Luke xiv. 22, and on the forenoon of Sabbath the 
 8th preached from the same text at Henshaw Town. 
 
 In a private letter to me, of date Dec. 30, 1895, ^ r - 
 Beedie told of Mr. Anderson's illness and death : — 
 
 He took ill on Saturday morning the 21st. We all 
 thought he was dying— breathless and restless and pained. 
 He thought himself dying. However, he was up early on 
 Sabbath morning and out at church at all the three 
 services. Of course he should not have been out, but he 
 told me of some man who said that he would go to 
 the house of God as long as he could walk, and when not 
 able to walk he would crawl. On Sabbath night the 
 illness returned, and at 2 A.M. I tried his temperature and 
 found it at io2°4'. I wakened Dr. Porter, and we got him 
 soothed, and he fell asleep. 
 
 Mr. Beedie said nothing of his own and Mrs. Beedie's 
 devoted attendance on Mr. Anderson ; but Miss Slessor, 
 who was at Duke Town at the time recruiting after 
 severe fever, wrote a touching account of the last days : — 
 
 I do not feel as if I could convey any idea of the ex- 
 perience of that week of suffering and helplessness, fenced 
 round by devotion and prayer and service touching to see. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Beedie have tended him as if he had indeed 
 been their very own father. Mrs. Beedie sang to him, and 
 comforted him with thoughts and words of Jesus, and day 
 and night ministered to him with all the gentle persistence 
 which characterises her. He repeatedly called for the 
 " Bishop " — his name for Mr. Beedie ; and he never called 
 but the response was ready. It was only when there was
 
 654 Old Calabar Period 
 
 mi more hope of recover)^ that Mr. Beedie permitted the 
 service to be shared by those of his native children who 
 were capable, and who hungered for the permission to 
 help. It mattered not that Mr. Anderson was uncon- 
 scious of all their efforts, sometimes of their very presence; 
 that only seemed to double their anxiety to nurse and 
 comfort and help him, and every sentence which fell from 
 his lips was watched for and treasured and passed round 
 to the waiting groups outside with affectionate eagerness. 
 1 le wished to be spared till the Jubilee, but said, " Only if 
 it be His will." He was tried sadly by doubts for a few 
 days. Satan seemed to bring all his sins to his remem- 
 brance, and tried to take away his assurance of hope ; but 
 I think that during the last two days that frame of mind 
 had passed away, and he repeatedly said when asked how- 
 he felt, " Fine and comfortable," or " quiet," or " resting." 
 He was able to speak but little for three days, and when 
 asked if he had anything to say, he replied always " No ! " 
 Once he began, " There is a fountain filled with blood." 
 I was close by his back, and picked it up, repeating line 
 after line and verse after verse slowly ; and on being asked 
 again and again whether that were it, he answered, " Ay ! 
 ay! that's it." His breathing was so laboured that I 
 always lay down and spoke over his shoulder, and one 
 day I called " Daddy, daddy, O ! " as we speak here. He 
 answered, " Ay ! the poor old man is here." I said, " The 
 poor old man? Why, all things are yours: for ye are 
 Christ's, and Christ is God's." " Ay," he replied, " that's 
 your charitable opinion." When Miss Slessor remon- 
 strated with him for mistrusting his Saviour's grace, and 
 reminded him that he must take his place as Christ's own 
 in spite of all that Satan might insinuate, he replied, 
 " Ay, there's at least the fact even for me, Behold the 
 Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world, and, 
 Come unto Me all ye that labour," etc. But, as I have 
 said, he began to be very quiet and to lose consciousness 
 at times. On Friday night, after a restless day, the 
 Government doctor came over, and Messrs. Barclay and 
 Simmers stayed all night. About half-past seven in the 
 morning he passed quietly away, after exactly one week's 
 illness.
 
 Originator of Zenana Annuity Fund 655 
 
 Mr. Anderson died on Saturday, Dec. 28, and was 
 
 buried the same afternoon. Mr. Beedie wrote : — 
 
 We have all a feeling of satisfaction that he has got 
 his desire — to be laid beside his wife and where he spent 
 the best of his davs. 
 
 Miss Slessor described the funeral : — 
 
 We laid him beside his wife, amid the tears and sobs 
 of a crowd of his children and children's children ; but 
 after we had reached the house we heard strains of thanks- 
 giving too, from the spot where they laid him, and " The 
 home over there " and the " Sweet by and by " alternated 
 with the songs of Zion in the language of the country. 
 Many thanksgivings and many prayers were offered 
 yesterday, beside the bed on which his body lay, by a 
 group of loving and mourning women, and fresh consecra- 
 tions were made there to Him who had lent so long to us 
 such fathers and mothers as the Waddells, the Goldies, 
 and the Andersons. 
 
 The Government staff paid their tribute of affectionate 
 respect by attending the funeral, notwithstanding it was a 
 day advertised as a public holiday, at which they should 
 have presided publicly. 
 
 The record of Mr. Anderson's life and work may be 
 completed by the mention of two facts which came out 
 after his death. " Seldom did any Mission Board receive 
 a letter like that which came from William Anderson, 
 complaining that his retiring allowance of £120 was much 
 too large, and asking that half of it might be divided 
 between the Aged Ministers' Fund and Foreign Missions. 
 Of course the Board declined to withdraw from himself 
 the means and the pleasure of exercising what liberality 
 he thought fit." 1 The Record for March 1893 contained 
 the following paragraph :--"' A Friend' has made a 
 generous offer of £600 to form the nucleus of a Capital 
 
 1 Record, March 1896.
 
 656 Old Calabar Period 
 
 Fund for providing annuities to Zenana missionaries who 
 may become incapacitated by old age or sickness. The 
 offer has been gratefully accepted by the Board." The 
 " Friend " was none other than the old missionary. " That 
 fund, which other donations have now raised to about 
 .£1200, will remain as a beneficent monument of the rare 
 offering which originated it." 1 
 
 In his letter to Dr. Robson of Nov. 26, 1895, Mr. 
 Anderson wrote: — 
 
 I have been quite delighted by the many marks of 
 progress which I have witnessed in the work of the Mission. 
 Crowded Sabbath congregations, a crowded Sabbath 
 school well supplied with teachers, well attended prayer 
 meetings and classes for instruction, numerous admissions 
 to Church fellowship, numerous applications for admis- 
 sion, and increased liberality in contributions for sacred 
 purposes, are substantial indications that our worthy 
 brother Beedie and his excellent helpmeet have not been 
 labouring in vain during these by-past years. There is one 
 thing in particular which forces itself on the attention 
 of every kindly spectator, viz. the desirableness, indeed 
 the necessity, for a new and larger place of assembly. 
 Sabbath after Sabbath large crowds surround the church, 
 being unable to obtain admission. Within, every inch is 
 occupied, — seats, passages, and pulpit steps all crowded. 
 . . . The present sanctuary has served its purpose well. 
 I should well like to see another monument of progress 
 at Duke Town — a capacious temple consecrated to the 
 service of the One True God. 
 
 The new church to be built at Duke Town is to be 
 called the Anderson Memorial Church. But Mr. Beedie, 
 whose ministry has done so much under God to create the 
 need for the new church, 2 and who to the last was engaged 
 
 1 Record, April 1896. 
 
 - At my request, Mr. Beedie furnished me with the following statistics. 
 which show how the congregation had recovered from the split in 1SS2, and
 
 The Memorial Church 
 
 657 
 
 in raising funds for it, has not been spared to see it 
 erected to the memory of one to whom he proved himself 
 a devoted colleague and a worthy successor. It would 
 only be fitting to associate Mr. Beedie's name with that 
 of Mr. Anderson in the new church, for the names of 
 Anderson and Beedie will be linked together for many 
 days to come in the memories of European and native in 
 Old Calabar and in the minds of not a few at home. 
 
 had entered on an era of prosperity: — "When Mr. Anderson left in April 
 1889, there were 86 on the roll. There are now on the revised roll for 
 1897, 290 native names. There are 20 European names on the roll, making 
 in all 310. Mr. Anderson's name was put on the mil at the end of 1895, 
 but is now removed." 
 
 MR. BEE1ME. 
 
 42
 
 INDEX 
 
 In Ef'ik words the vowels have the same sound as in Italian. i=i in bid ; 
 = in nor. Every syllable is sounded, n ^footnote. 
 
 Abia-idiong (witch-doctor), 218, 339, 
 
 487. 
 Adam, Dr., 41 1 «., 591, 642. 
 Addison, Jane, 70 n. 
 African Times, 454 n. , 456, 458, 567. 
 Anderson, Agnes (Mrs. Clohan, 
 
 sister), 6, II, 52, 67, 73. 
 Anderson, Ellen (aunt), 8, 11, 17. 
 Anderson, William (father), 3, 5 f. , 9, 
 
 14, I7f., 20 f., 65, 397. 
 Anderson, Rev. William — 
 Early Days. Birth, 5. 
 
 Bashfulness, ^}, 38, 45, 63. 
 
 Bible-reading, 27, 32. 
 
 Bookishness, 35. 
 
 Death of father, 21. 
 
 Doubts, 38. 
 
 Joins the Church, 43 f. 
 
 Joins Temperance Society, 39. 
 
 Journal begins, 35. 
 
 Politics, 35, 648. 
 
 Preaching, 9, 11, 17. 
 
 Sabbah school, 26 f. 
 
 Sabbath-school teacher, 46. 
 
 School-days, 1 5 f . 
 
 Sessional school, 68, 72. 
 
 Speechifying, 35. 
 
 Verse-writing, 40//., 76. 
 Jamaica, Offer to go to, 62 f. 
 
 Appointment to, 64. 
 
 Arrival in, 83. 
 
 Catechist and teacher, 102 f. 
 
 Elder, 139. 
 
 Engagement, 100, III, 114. 
 
 Leaves, 188. 
 
 Anderson, Rev. Wm. — continued. 
 Jamaica — 
 
 " Licensed," 154. 
 Marriage, 123. 
 Ordination "Trials," 157. 
 Rosehill, Evangelist at, 94, 113, 
 
 ii7, 137- 
 
 Called to, 155. 
 
 ,, Ordination at, 163. 
 
 ,, Pastor at, 166-175. 
 
 Visit as Deputy to, 547 f. 
 
 Kingston Congregation, 1S0, 
 
 553 f. 
 Call to, 557. 
 Old Calabar, Appointment to, 176. 
 Arrival, 197. 
 Call to succeed Mr. Jameson, 
 
 183. 
 Death, 655. 
 
 Departure from, 1889, 618. 
 Fainting tit, 615. 
 Farewell meetings, 604, 606 f. 
 "Fortieth Annual Report," 569. 
 Furloughs, 1851, 255 ; 
 
 1857,366; 
 
 1865,411; 
 
 1876,543; 
 
 1883, 603. 
 Illnesses, 266 f., 314, 421, 577, 
 
 .653- 
 Life threatened, 392. 
 Moderator of Bialra Presbytery, 
 
 375- 
 ' ' Retrospect of Quarter Century, " 
 
 521. 
 
 650
 
 66o 
 
 Index 
 
 Anderson, Rev. Win.— continued. 
 Old Calabar — 
 
 Right nl sanctuary for innocent 
 
 vindicated. 341-5. 
 Sermons, 513, 515, 519, 548, 
 
 553- 5*7- 
 
 Slave-holders and Church fellow- 
 ship, 299, 322, 324-30, y^. 
 
 Synod Addresses, 366 f. 
 
 Translations, 263, 2S0, 350, 360, 
 406, 427. 
 
 Victory, First, 230 f. 
 
 Visit of Deputies, 58 1 f. 
 Scotland, Closing Years in, 621 f. 
 
 Accident, 635. 
 
 Address from Mission Board, 625. 
 
 Annuitant, 628. 
 
 Failing eyesight, 622. 
 
 farewell to, 650. 
 
 Jubilee as a missionary, 624. 
 
 Postcards, 633. 
 
 Visits to America, 
 ,, Grand Canary, 636-42, 
 
 644-6. 
 Anderson, Mrs. (L. Peterswald), 90, 
 
 93, 94, 97. 101, 113, 1 1 5 f • > 
 122, 151, 171 f., 173, 178, 193, 
 196, 200, 257, 26S, 270, 283 f., 
 288, 302, 335 f., 340, 348,356, 
 
 358, 375, 400, 404, 4", 415. 
 421, 431,4371-., 484, 496,512, 
 
 525, 536, 55i, 554, 55 6 > 562, 
 
 579, 582. 
 ,, l'irst impressions of Calabar, 
 
 201 f. 
 ,, In the burning house, 312. 
 ,, Dr. Ilewan on, 304. 
 ,, Native Christians' esteem for, 
 
 395- 
 ., "Best man for Mission," 410, 
 
 50 j. 
 ,, Description of home in Calabar, 
 
 412 f. 
 ., Letter to Dr. Mad till, 558. 
 ,, And twin children, 574 f. 
 ,, Illness, 584. 
 .. Death Of, 585 f. 
 ,, Estimates of, 588 f. 
 .. Pets, 594. 
 ,, Memorial tablet, 599. 
 Arcliibong I., 205, 212, 215, 219, 223, 
 
 224, 232, 236, 251. 
 ,, Election, 216. 
 ,, Settling palaver, 217. 
 
 Arcliibong 1., On Egbo law, 237. 
 ., Dressing-gown, 244. 
 ., Deatli, 258. 
 ,, Work of slaughter after death, 
 
 259 f. 
 Archibong 11. (John), 384, 398, 407, 
 
 465, 466, 496. 
 ,, Letter from, 270. 
 ,, Election, 376. 
 ,, Coronation, 377. 
 ,, Present of snuff-mull, 379. 
 ,, And substitutionary punishment, 
 
 386 f., 391. 
 ,, Threatens to kill Mr. Anderson, 
 
 392. 
 ., In church, 396. 
 ., Adorning Ndem Efik's house, 
 
 39 8 - 
 , , Visited by Mr. Anderson, 400 f., 
 
 416, 421, 425, 482, 485, 492, 
 
 5°5- 
 ,, Releases prisoners, 415. 
 
 ,, Forbids women to wear cloth- 
 ing, 420. 
 
 ,, Defends killing of prisoners, 
 422 f. 
 
 ,, Fined by Consul Livingstone, 
 
 425- 
 ,, "God says, Thou shalt not 
 
 kill," 469. 
 ,, Egbo runner abroad on Sabbath, 
 
 472. 
 ,, Sanctions rebuilding of Ilen- 
 
 shaw Town, 481 f. 
 ,, Illness, 486. 
 ,, Calabar diplomacy, 489. 
 ,, Death, 504. 
 Archibong III. (Adam), 520, 525, 526, 
 
 53°, 532, 536, 562, 563. 
 ,, blindness, 507, 543. 
 ,, Abolition of Sabbath market, 
 
 1S73, 510 f. 
 ,, Letter from Mr: Anderson, 527. 
 ,, Reply, 52S. 
 „ Letter bom, to Mr. Anderson, 
 
 557- 
 ,, C oronation, 566. 
 ,, Death, 567. 
 Ashworth, George, 442, 494. 
 
 Baillie, Rev. John, 404;/., 405, 412. 
 Baillie, Rev. Zerub, Arrival, 1856,356. 
 ,, Work at Duke Town, 357, 360, 
 362, 364, 372.
 
 Index 
 
 661 
 
 Baillie, Rev. Zerub, Furlough, 380. 
 
 Work at Ikoneto, 373. 
 
 Lecture by, 410. 
 
 Illness, 411. 
 
 Death, 412. 
 
 Graves of Mrs. Zerub and 
 Willie, 408. 
 Ballantyne, James, 503, 506, 533 f., 
 
 571. 
 
 Baptists, Native, 169. 
 Barty, Miss (Mrs. Timson), 335 f., 
 348, 357 f., 364, 374 (Mrs. T.), 
 402, 513, 515. 
 Beecrofr, Consul, 248, 251, 275, 28 1, 
 
 291, 292, 306. 
 Beedie, Rev. R. M., 513, 518, 578, 
 610, 611, 612, 613. 
 ,, Ordination, 563. 
 ,, Appointment to Duke Town, 
 
 609. 
 ,, Letters, 651, 653, 655, 657. 
 ,, Death, 651. 
 Bloodmen, 250 f., 260, 339, 341 f . , 
 354, 359, 487, 490, 491, 526, 
 536. 
 ,, Letter regarding, 488; reply, 
 
 489. 
 ,, Questioning, 489. 
 Blyth, Rev. G., 124, 164, 177, 189. 
 Brown, Rev. John, D.D., 68, 142. 
 Brown, Rev. Wm., M.D., 62, 64, 67. 
 ,, Letters to, 117, 136, 163, 165, 
 169, 173- 
 
 Campbell, Rev. Dugald, 499, 504, 
 
 509, 529- 
 Carron Hall, 89, 97, 551. 
 
 ,, Church, 89, 106, 112, 115. 
 
 ,, New Church, 127, 148, 164. 
 
 ,, School, 90, 102 f., 117, 146, 
 151, 162. 
 Cedar Valley, 106 f., 11S, 173 f. , 550. 
 Children's Calabar, The, 12.2. 
 Chisholm, John, Letters to, 179, 513, 
 
 515, 518, 534, 541, 553, 554, 555, 
 
 559, 567, 575, 577, 57^, 579, 5^°, 
 
 581, 582, 584, 593- 
 Clohan, Miss Agnes, Letter to, 412. 
 Clohan, Miss Elizabeth, Remin- 
 iscences, 560, 631. 
 Clohan, Mr. and Mrs., Letters to, 
 
 90, 92, 114, 128, 155, 158, 166, 
 
 171 f. 
 Clohan, Mrs., Letter to, 615. 
 
 Cobliam, Antika, 206, 246, 313. 
 Cobham, Henny, 205, 226, 270, 279, 
 
 347, 372, 410. 
 Cobham, Win., Letter, 406, 420, 471, 
 
 499, 5°9, 571- 
 Cobham Town, 205, 279, 443. 
 Cooper, Rev. J., 46, 47, 56, 144. 
 Cowan, Rev. John, 89, 91, 94, 99, 
 104 f., 137, 145, 153, 166. 
 
 ,, Report, 147 ; letters, 138, 161, 
 163, 188. 
 Cowan, Mrs., 96, 98. 
 
 ,, Letters, 100, 588. 
 Creek Town, 199, 201, 235, 237, 247, 
 
 253, 262, 269 f., 276, 286 (., 293 f., 
 
 297, 362, 369, 375, 390 (., 394, 
 
 423, 472, 492 {., 494, 524, 624, 
 
 628. 
 Crowther, Bishop, 441, 468. 
 
 Dalkeith, 6, 8, 46, 49, 64, 73, 77, 
 
 129. 
 Davies, Captain (Consul), 363. 
 Deas, Rev. E., 629, 650. 
 Douglas, R. A., Letter to, 630. 
 Douglas, Mrs., Letter to, 639, 641. 
 Drink Traffic, 446-60. 
 Duke, Big Adam, 206, 218, 223; 
 
 letter, 436. 
 Duke, Ephraim, 467. 
 Duke, George, 263 f., 434 f., 530 f., 
 
 568, 570. 
 Duke IX., "Prince," 535 f., 573 f., 
 
 and/!;/., 578. 
 Duke, Yellow, 398, 430. 
 Duke Town, 197, 200, 235, 250, 
 270 f., 499, 521 f., 592. 
 
 ,, Anarchy in, 260 f. 
 
 „ Church, 243, 253, 295, 335, 
 372. 409. 
 
 ,, ,, in centre of town, 381-5. 
 
 ,, ,, on Mission Hill, 428 )., 
 
 525, 656. 
 ,, members, 29S-9, 328 f . , 
 334, 336, 421, 432, 
 522, 563, 570, 600, 
 609, 656. 
 session, 532. 
 ,, Market, 209, 277, 510 f. 
 ,, Mission house, 311, 314, 315, 
 
 337, 4i3, 479, 593, 599- 
 ,, Needs of, 265, 471, 497. 
 .. Politics, 507, 579. 
 ,. Population, 497, 592.
 
 662 
 
 Index 
 
 Duke Town, Prayer-meeting, 281-2, 
 302, 357, 470. 
 
 ,, Sabbath work, 207 f., 212, 
 214, 219, 223, 225, 245 f., 
 248, 254, 263, 267, 276, 280, 
 3°i, 309, 335. 348, 352, 357, 
 372, 387, 396 : 512, 542, 
 610 f. 
 
 ,, School, 200, 202, 207, 224 f., 
 227, 244 f., 249, 278, 289, 297, 
 
 3i5, 337, 35o, 358, 397, 5°2, 
 517, 522, 571. 
 ,, Six principal men, 205 f. 
 ., Women, 201, 438, 465, 492, 
 498, 569. 
 Duncan, Miss, Letters to, 614, 633, 
 
 635, 642-45. 
 Duncan, Mrs., Letters to, 68 _/.;/., 
 595, 597, 61 1, 613, 634, 635. 
 
 EDGERLEY, Rev. S., 124, 197, 199, 
 214, 216, 227, 234, 241/;;., 
 261, 266, 273, 279, 288 f., 
 290, 336, 344, 345, 348, 35°, 
 
 357, 362. 
 
 ,, Letters, 239, 310. 
 ,, And Old Town, 304. 
 ,, Death, 363. 
 Edgerley, Mrs S. ; 257, 270, 299, 
 
 3 6 5, 404- 
 Edgerley, Rev. S. II., 363, 365; 
 elder, 373, 389, 391, 409, 
 410, 415, 469, 501, 541 f., 
 
 567, 577, 581, 583, 585, 588, 
 
 599, 600. 
 ,, Appeal by, 539. 
 ,, Death of, 601 f. 
 Edgerley, Miss, 366, 382, 41 1, 590, 
 
 635, 638, 639, 640, 643. 
 Egbo, 224, 240, 250, 261, 276 f., 
 
 280 f., 310, 325, 345,485, 508, 
 
 534 C, 563- 
 ,, Grades, 223, 301, 326. 
 „ Law, 212 f., 232, 235, 237, 
 
 240, 251, 259, 262, 282, 292 (., 
 
 303 f., 306, 347, 391, 416. 
 ., Proclamation, 345 f., 351, 379, 
 
 417, 511- 
 ,, Runners, 225, 279 f., 292, 352, 
 
 358, 472, 565- 
 
 Elliot, Rev. A., 26, 28, 43, 45, 56, 
 64, 75, 382. 
 ., Letters from, 62, 108, 142, 228, 
 272. 
 
 Elliot, Rev. A., Letters to, 94. 103-4, 
 in, 128, 140, 142 f. , 156, 160, 
 164, 166 f., 168, 176, 203. 
 
 Elliot, Mrs., Letters to, 78;/., 113, 
 141, 207. 
 
 Equity, Court of, 489^ 
 
 Est're (poison bean or chop nut, 
 Pliysosti^nia vetunosum), 221, 248, 
 259, 263, 279, 293, 339, 342, 344 f., 
 
 348, 3*53 f-, 359 f-, 367, 502, 526 f. 
 Eyd 11. (Creek Town), 197, 199 f., 
 
 216, 261, 269, 297, 298, 304, 315, 
 
 352 f., 376, 432. 
 Eyd in. (Young Eyd), 201, 269, 286, 
 
 289, 299. 
 Eyd vi., 492. 
 Eyd VII. (Henshaw Tom Foster), 
 
 525, 535, 574"-, 643- 
 
 Fuller, Mrs., 512, 525, 611. 
 Funeral, Native. 360. 
 
 GlLRAY, Mr., Letters to, 631, 636. 
 
 Goldie, Rev. H., 137, 184, 197, 
 199 f., 211, 214, 243, 245, 
 247 f., 259 f., 268 f., 279, 286, 
 
 295, 335 f-, 338, 362, 375, 
 407, 409, 431, 439, 480, 501, 
 5!3, 533, 537, 542, 545, 568, 
 577, 593, 598, 618, 622, 643. 
 
 ,, On Mr. Jameson. 154. 
 
 ,, Ordination, 179. 
 
 ,, Translations, 227, 246, 257, 
 
 396. 
 ,, Letters, 243, 244, 252, 266, 
 
 471 "■, 477- 
 ,, Transferred to Creek Town, 
 
 262 f. 
 ,, Eyesight, 286 f. 
 ,, On Calabar Slavery, 324. 
 ,, On the Drink Traffic, 446 f., 
 
 454 "■ 
 
 ,, On Dr. Robb, 541. 
 
 ,, "Sketch of Life of Mr. Ander- 
 son," 619. 
 
 ,, "Calabar and its Mission," 621. 
 
 ,, Death, Mr. Anderson on, 649. 
 Goldie, Mrs., 336 f., 348, 614. 
 
 ,, Mr. Anderson on, 628. 
 Goshen, 91, 122, 137. 
 Granger, Rev. J., 469, 471. 
 
 Haddison, J., 246, 269 f., 281, 288, 
 335, 358, 504-
 
 Index 
 
 663 
 
 Hamilton, II., 179, 374. 
 
 Hartley, George (Consul), 525, 538. 
 
 Henshaw Town, 225, 339 f., 341, 
 
 413, 442, 468, 470, 481 (., 
 484, 486, 493, 507, 534 f., 
 537 f., 542, 612 f., 653. 
 ,, North, 503, 520, 531. 
 Hewan, Dr., 335, 364, 366, 373, 375, 
 
 3 8 4- 3 8 9, 394, 4°4. 4" "■ 
 Hewan, Mrs., 382, 589. 
 Hewett, E. H. (Consul), 578 f. ; 
 
 letter, 589, 603. 
 Hogan, Thos., 278, 295, 377 f., 395. 
 Hogg, Rev. A. G., 163 f. 
 Hopkins, David (Consul), 481 f. , 4S4, 
 567, 568, 571. 
 
 ,, Treaty made by, 564 f. 
 Hutchinson, T.J. (Consul), 268, 308 f., 
 
 342, 347, 35° f-, 358, 360, 363. 
 
 Iblfk (a wooden image), 276. 
 
 Idem (a superhuman being, object of 
 
 worship), 276. 
 Idiong (witchcraft, charm), 259, 483, 
 
 487. 
 If'ut (freemason, witchcraft : the esere 
 
 is used as a test of its possession), 
 
 220 f., 259, 279, 338, 339, 341 f., 
 
 348, 354 f- 
 Ikoneto, 315, 373, 471, 539. 
 Ikorofiong, 362, 373, 408, 416, 505, 
 
 513, 539, 609. 
 Ikpo (1. mourning for the dead), 199. 
 ,, (2. public luneral ceremonies, 
 devil-making), 265, 433, 440, 
 461 f., 464, 466, 46S, 573 ;/. 
 Ironbar, 206, 258. 
 
 Jameson, Rev. W., 155, 163, 176, 
 
 184, 204. 
 Jarrett, Rev. E. W. and Mrs., 597 f., 
 
 600, 602. 
 Johnston, Sir H. H., 458;/. 
 Johnstone, Miss E., 335, 337, 513. 
 Johnstone. Miss M., 532. 
 
 Kingsley, Miss M., 449 «. 
 Krumen, 195 f., 336, 428, 459 «. 
 
 Lewis, D. E., 411, 424, 461, 463, 
 
 467, 471 ("-, 475- 
 Livingstone, Charles (Consul), 418, 
 
 426 (., 461 f., 518. 
 Lugard, Captain, 449 ;/. 
 
   MacDonald, Sir Claude M. (Consul- 
 General), Reports, 332, 452 f. . 
 453"-, 455 and n., 617. 
 MacGill, Rev. Dr., 379, 497, 521 ;/., 
 
 54i, 553, 567 "■ 
 ,, On the losses, 1870, 475. 
 ,, On the Mission, 1871, 499; 
 
 1872, 507. 
 ,, On Mr. Anderson. 543. 
 ,, On Deputation to Jamaica, 
 
 545, 549- 
 ,, Letter from Mrs. Anderson to, 
 
 558. 
 ,, Letter from Mr. Anderson to, 
 562. 
 M'Gregor, Mrs., 632, 635. 
 
 ,, Letters to, 638, 640, 641, 
 646. 
 M'Phun, Miss (Mrs. Beedie), 597, 
 
 600. 
 Marshall, Rev. D., 580, 582. 
 
 ,, On Duke Town, 592. 
 Marwick, Rev. W., 629, 634, 644, 
 648 f. 
 ,, Letter to, 643. 
 Mico Institution, 1S1, 189. 
 Millar, George, 520, 643. 
 Miller, Miss (Mrs. Sutherland), 222, 
 294. 
 ,, Marriage, 317. 
 Mitchell, M. G., 92, 131, 551. 
 Moir, Mr., 90 f., 97, 109. 
 Morison, Rev. W., 633. 
 
 ,, On Mr. Anderson, 647 f. 
 Morison, Misses, Letters to, 626 f. 
 Morton, A. S., 513, 515, 522, 525 f., 
 532, 535 <"•> 542, 559, 566. 
 
 Nabik'im, 225. 
 
 Ndem Ef'ik (great idem or tutelary 
 deity), 205 «., 225, 282, 361, 398 (., 
 
 443- 
 Ndok (biennial purgation), 225. 
 
 Niger Coast Protectorate, 617. 
 
 Nyd/npe, 223 f. 
 
 Obiima, 258 f. , 262. 
 
 Oko Odi'dng, 341 f. 
 
 Okoyong, Expeditions against, 433 f. , 
 
 437, 439- 
 Old Town, 199, 245, 247, 261, 273, 
 279, 290, 293, 317, 380. 
 ,, Destruction of, 303 f. 
 ., Treaty with, 309 f.
 
 664 
 
 Index 
 
 Fytho, Burning of, 2S3 f. 
 
 Qua, 276, 348, 52S. 
 Qua River, 290 f. 
 
 RlEKEN, Captain, 234, 270, 272. 
 Robb, Rev. A., Arrival, 369. 
 
 „ Lecture, 439, 513, 528, 554. 
 
 ,, On Mrs. Timson, 374. 
 
 „ Translations, 390, 396, 405, 437. 
 
 ,, Made a D.D., 441. 
 
 ,, On European agents from 
 Jamaica, 480. 
 
 ,, Leaves Calabar, 533. 
 
 ,, On Mr. Anderson in Jamaica, 
 
 556. 
 Robertson, Dr., 437, 471 ;/., 491, 514. 
 
 ,, On Mr. A>liworth, 494. 
 Robson, Rev. J., on visit to Jamaica, 
 
 148 f. 
 Ross, Rev. A., 541 f., 543, 562, 581 f. 
 
 Sandy, Rev. G., 6, 9. 1 2 f . , 24, 56. 
 Scott, John, 67, 69, 71 f., 73, 78, 
 
 S3, 88. 
 Selwyn, Lieutenant, 215 f. 
 Simpson, Rev. J., 74 f. , 77, no, 
 
 136 f., 139, 155, 164, 178, 1S7, 
 
 553- 
 
 Somerville, Rev. A., D.D., 176, 
 
 ^ 178, 320 f., 331. 
 
 Stuart, Miss M., Reminiscences, 150, 
 
 I 7 I ; 
 
 Substitutionary punishment, 386 f. 
 
 Sutherland, Alex., 287, 296 f , 299, 
 
 309, 315. 317, 334, 335, 340. 
 Sutherland, Mrs., 317 f., 353, 360, 
 
 380. 
 ,, Transferred to Duke Town, 
 
 401. 
 ,, Work at Duke Town, 402 f. , 
 
 404, 438, 444, 46S, 492, 498, 
 
 525, 543- 
 
 Sutherland, Mis., on 
 Agreement, 56S. 
 ,, Death, 580. 
 
 Hopkins' 
 
 Thomson, G., 491, 500, 504. 
 Thomson, Wm. C. , 222, 268 f. , 279, 
 
 290, 292, 294, 298, 369, 375, 
 
 411. 
 Thomson, Mrs., 374. 
 
 W. 
 
 69, 402, 416, 
 
 Timson, Rev 
 
 47o, 475- 
 Timson, Mrs., 374. 
 Tugwell, Bishop, 454 n 
 
 Uduok Mongy 300. 
 
 Ukpabio, Rev. E. E., 286, 481 ; 
 
 licensed and ordained. 501. 
 Ungwana Efik, 617 f . , 622. 
 Unity, 92, 93, 96, 97; 99, 100 f. 
 
 Waddell, Rev. II. M.,122, 176, 178, 
 
 200, 222, 250, 255, 257, 261, 
 
 262 f., 271,273, 303,314,332, 
 
 351, 362, 369 f., 650. 
 
 ,, On the victory, 240 f. 
 
 ,, Narrative regarding Old Town, 
 
 306. 
 ,. On Miss Miller, 317. 
 ,, "Twenty-nine Years," 401 f. 
 Waddell, Mrs., 641. 
 Walker, Captain, 509 and ".,529, 532. 
 Widows, Refugee, 433 f. 
 White, Captain, 428 t. 
 Williamson, Rev. 1 >., 580, 582and ;/., 
 
 595- 
 Willie Tom Robins, 292. 
 Wood, John, 68 and ;/., 72. 
 
 Young, Antaro, 361, 378, 386 f. 
 
 Yottng, Mr. {Lkpenyong), 201, 203, 
 205, 207 f , 211 f., 215, 217, 220, 
 223 f., 226, 232 f., 235, 244 f., 
 259, 274, 28l f., 313. 
 
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