I Ullllj |lllilllltllllll|llllfjjlli I Mil III I IILIIHUIIMJI'III jliiFjiiir"' irntmmm mmimiTritTrriiii nnnrnnimtimiftiiirittimfj I i ill I iitft THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES N L W YORK ST. HELENA AND THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE : OB, INCIDENTS IN THE MISSIONARY LIFE REV. JAMES M'G.REGOR BERTRAM, OF ST. HELENA. BY REV. EDWIN F. HATFIELD, D.D., PASTOR OF THE SEVENTH PBESBYTEniAN CHURCH IN THE CTTV OF NEW YORK. 2Uftj) an iJiitrotmctfoir, BY REV. GEORGE B. CHEEVER, D.D., PASTOR OF THE CHURCH OF THE PURITANS, NEW YORK. SECOND EDITION. NEW YORK: PUBLISHED BY EDWARD H. FLETCHER, L41 NASSAU STREET. 1853. Entered, according to act of Congress, in the year 1852, by EDWARD II. FLETCHER, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York. N. V. STF.JiroiiTE ASSOCIATION, 201 Willium-street. DT 67 I ■baH a* 1 TO THE FRIENDS OF MISSIONS, OF VARIOUS EVANGELICAL CHURCHES IN THE UNITED STATES, WHO HAVE SO NOBLY RESPONDED TO MR. BE R T R A m's APPEALS, AND SO GENEROUSLY CONTRIBUTED TO THE ERECTION OF CHURCHES ON "2Ti)c llocfe of tijc Ocean, THIS HUMBLE MEMOIR IS AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED BY THE AUTHOR. ; PREFACE. To those who have heard, from the lips of the Rev. James M'Gregor Ber- tram, of St. Helena, the particulars of his missionary experience at Table and Sal- danha Bays, in the South of Africa, and on the Island of St. Helena, no apology need be offered for the publication of this memoir. It has been written, in compli- ance with frequent and pressing solicita- tions on the part of many of his hearers, who regard his statements as worthy of more than the fleeting publicity of a pul- pit address, and who desire some lasting memorial of a visit, which they will ever remember with pleasure. 11 PREFACE. Mr. Bertram came to this country in the year 1850, landing at Boston on the 10th of July, and has visited numerous places in the New England States, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and else- where, in the prosecution of his work of benevolence. Six thousand dollars were wanted for the erection of two mission chapels, and the removal of a mortgage upon another, in the Island of St. Helena, in addition to what had been contributed by the friends of the Gospel on the Island, and at the Cape of Good Hope. Wher- ever he has gone, and addressed the peo- ple in this behalf, he has met with a ready response, and found a goodly company of cheerful givers. In a few more days he hopes to have received the substantia] aid, to obtain which he sought these shores, and to set sail, full of gratitude to God and Li- large-hearted friends in America, for his far-off borne in the sea-girt isle, PREFACE. Ill where the illustrious Corsican rested from his brilliant career of conquests, and end- ed his days in inglorious exile. The sketches here presented have been derived, for the most part, from the pub- lic addresses of Mr. Bertram, and from publications and statements that he has kindly put into the possession of The Editoe. New York, May 10th, 1852. N w^ INTRODUCTION. The spectacle of Divine Power in action is always sublime. It is a glorious sight when you look upon the waters of Niagara, and listen to the roar of its thunders ; or upon the fall of an Alpine avalanche, as of a mountain from the sky. It is glorious to see the sun rise and set, sublime to see the ocean in a storm, or a volcano in action ; still more, to gaze upon the planets in the firmament of heaven, and think u£ that Infinite Power that keeps them silently rolling in the depths of space, in such countless num- bers, yet in such order, harmony, and beauty. But more glorious by far is the spectacle of Divine power and grace in the regeneration of congregated souls. To see a nation, a whole nation, in a space of time only one third the span of human life, one third the span given to the development of individual charac- ter, taken from the deepest depths of heathenism, raised up from the unutterable abominations of the most despotic idolatry, from the beastliness of habits of pollution, sanctioned and enforced by the rites of superstition, and to 'see that nation so changed in that short space of time as to possess and put on all the VI INTRODUCTION. characteristics of Christian purity and refinement; this is a manifestation of Almighty power more wondrous than the creation of a world ! It is, in- deed, the standing and startling miracle of modern times — a miracle of wisdom, omnipotence, and love. It shows what the gospel of Christ and the grace of God can do. This glorious miracle of Divine power and grace has been witnessed in the Sandwich Islands ; and, adorning the same age, and fit to be set in the same record, though on a smaller scale, is the miracle of God's power and mercy, of which some account is given in this volume, wrought, or begun to be wrought, in the Island of St. Helena. Truly, the island proph- ecies in the Word of God are coming out into great light and majesty. They are as morning stars of fulfillment before the Great Sun of Righteousness pours His beams on all the nations. And these prophecies arc fulfilled in so extraordi- nary a manner, as to reveal with great clearness and power the manner in which the Lord Jesus causes His strength t<> be perfected and glorified in human weakness, when there is only a simple and strong faith in Him. These records of transactions in tin- island world, thai may have caused greater wonder and joy in heaven than all the transactions in the INTRODUCTION. Vll same space of time elsewhere evolved on our globe, show the sublimity of faith, and the important part it must ever hear, in subduing a fallen world to Christ Jesus. It is faith in God, on man's part, whereby He will accomplish His purposes; or, rather, this faith in God, and the heavenly courage produced by it, giving glory to Him, constitute the disposition, in behalf of which, and in the exercise of which, God can, with justice to Himself and lasting good to His creatures, make bare the arm of His power, and lead His children to victory. They shall have the victory when their heart is fixed on Him, and their eye sin- gle to His glory. For God will make His people and the world understand and feed that great princi- ple of holiness and glory, of victory and success, not by might nor by power, but by the S2^irit of the Lord of Hosts. When that is understood and acted upon — when God's people rely boldly and only upon Him, then one of them can chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight. Let them go forth, armed with God's Word, fervent in prayer, relying on the Holy Spirit, crying out with the good King Asa, "Lord God, this eause is not ours, but thine, and these ene- mies are not ours, but thine; let not man prevail Against Thee!" and then shall the hosts of darkness Vlll INTRODUCTION. be scattered, and the Church of God shall shine forth fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners. But let them not be afraid of God's Word, nor of the application of it, for it is by that alone that error and iniquity can be conquered ; for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but spiritual, and mighty, through God, to the pulling down of strong-holds. " Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law. Fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings. For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool ; but my righteousness shall be forever, and my salvation from generation to generation." " "Who art thou, that thou shouldst be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man, which shall be made as grass, and forgettest the Lord thy maker, that hath stretched forth the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth, and hast feared continually ever) day, because of the fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy; and where is the fury of the oppressor [ 1 am the Lord thy God, that di- vided the sea, v. hose waves roared. And I have put mj words in thy mouth, and have covered thee in the shadow of my hand, thai 1 maj plant the heav- and lay the tbundatiotis of the earth, and say INTRODUCTION. It unto Zion, Thou art my people !" Yes ! for this it is that God hath given His Word, and covers His peo- ple while they proclaim it, that che world may be con vinccd of sin, and conquered by it, and a church built up, who are the people of the living God — the reveal- ers and partakers of His righteousness. Therefore, let His people be faithful with His Word ; let them trust in it, and in God who gave it, and let them never be afraid of it. There is nothing lost by faithfulness ; there is every thing gained by boldness. We think this is strikingly manifested in this rec- ord of the work of God in St. Helena. God prepared His instrument in that work by faith ; childlike, sim- ple, unquestioning, unhesitating, God impelled him forth, and God went with him. It really reminds us — this spiritual conquest in that rocky, sea-girt isle — of the expedition — apparently wild and romantic, and the success and the victory, manifestly from God, as the impulse was from His Spirit — of Jon- athan, when he went alone to the garrison of the Philistines. " And Jonathan said to the young man that bare his armor, Come, and let us go over unto the garrison .of these uncircumcised. It may be that the Lord will work for us. For there is no restraint to the Lord, to save by many or by few." How admirable ! How worthy of all imitation X INTRODUCTION. and praise ! This was not the native courage of the warrior only, but the fearlessness of the Christian, relying on his God. It may be that the Lord ivill work for us. How humble, simple, childlike, and beautiful is his faith ! He does not pretend to cer- tainty, does not profess to have met God in a dream, or to have had any special revelation from Him, as the ground of his confidence, or any assur- ance that he should be successful in the present case. But the effort was worth making, and it might be that God would give it success ; at any rate, they were not to sit still, and venture nothing. Some- thing was worth hazarding in the cause of God, and if they never attempted any thing without being first sure of success, they never would gain any thing. Jonathan was willing to leave the event with God ; and, trusting in God, his conduct was boldness, but not rashness. Boldness in the cause of God is prudence. If the path of any enterprise be the path of duty, then dis- miss your fears, and go forward, leaving the result with God. You need ask for nothing more than this young Christian warrior's humble confidence and wil- lingness. It may be that the Lord will work for us. Suppose He should not, what then 1 Is the doubt or the fear that He will not, a good ground for relinquish- INTRODUCTION. XI ing an effort, where you may accomplish great things for God % Does the fear that God will not work for you, release you from the obligation of working for Him ? You must be willing to work on a may-be. Positive assurance of success is not to be demanded; and if men wait for that, they will do nothing, un- dertake nothing. Enterprises begun in faith are most suecessliil. It is right to count the cost, but, after all, you must throw yourself on God ; and the fear of the cost of a possible failure ought not to hold you back from a possible success. It may be. If you do not undertake it, it certainly will not be. God will not work for you, if you do not give Him opportunity ; but if you do, He may. If you hazard nothing, for fear that He will not work, you are a great coward, and it is a very selfish plan that you go upon. Jonathan committed himself to the Lord's cause, cpiite regardless of his own interests. It was truly a sublime sight to see him cast himself on God, and go forth on such a desperate undertaking, quite willing to meet all the hazard, quite forgetful of self, and ready to make any sacrifice, for the sake of ac- complishing, possibly, a great thing for his country, by God's help. It may be that God ivill work for us; we will go, at any rate. If He does work for us, we shall do a great work ; we will not let the Xll INTRODUCTION. possibility of His not working enter into our calcu- lation. Now, that was not only true courage, but true wis- dom, as genuine courage always is. It was a true missionary spirit. It was just in this way that our devoted missionaries to the Sandwich Islands and to India went forth first, against such incalculable odds, with nothing but God to rely upon. It may be that God will work for us. The supposition that He will not, shall not enter into our calculation. But even if He does not, the effort is for Him, and cannot be lost. Fruitless it may be, but lost, or disregarded, or forgotten of God, it cannot be. It will be precious in His sight, it will meet His approbation. Even supposing that we die in the midst of it, is it not a death for God ? Do we not give ourselves up to Him? The path of duty is the path of safety, though death itself stood in the way; but in a battle, the boldest are the safest, and they are the most like- ly to come off uninjured. This was a true revival spirit — an example of what may be done, even by one man, with great faith, in a time of insensibility and lukewarmness. It may he. There was no beginning of a revival of courage or of piety in the army; there were no extraordinary Bigns. The beginning of the work was in Jonathan's INTRODUCTION. Xlll own heart : all things externally looked discourag- ing. But Jonathan said, It may be. Who knows? There is this great work to be accomplished, and per- haps God will use us to accomplish it. Indeed, we are only two or three, but that is nothing against the enterprise, if God be with us. It may be that the Lord will toork for 'as, for there is no restraint to the Lord, to save by many or by few. It was a mode of argument taught by the Spirit of God ; it was a di- vine inspiration in Jonathan's soul — the inspiration of faith, a strong sense of the presence and power of God, an entire reliance upon Him, and a most sincere and fervent desire for God's glory. These are the graces that indicate and prove an appointed work from God. In moving under these impulses, Jonathan could hardly be presumptuous, or in danger of mistake as to the path of duty. In- deed, the path of duty was clear, and the only ques- tion was, would Jonathan do right to venture upon it so entirely alone, and without human assistance % But Jonathan knew that whether with or without hu- man assistance, except by the blessing of God, he could do nothing ; and he also knew that the less there was of man, the more sometimes there was of God. Just so David felt when he went against Go- liah. It was an undertaking that seemed, in the judg- 2 XIV INTRODUCTION. ment of some men, merely presumptuous and fool- hardy, not to say ridiculous, and the more so, because David refused to be girded with Saul's armor. Some- times the things that the men of the world rely upon, and by which they expect every thing to be accom- plished, and without which they think nothing can be done, are mere impediments to faith. For the illustration of these lessons, we refer to the interesting and instructive narrative in the fol- lowing pages. It is a narrative that utters in every part the anthem of brighter worlds — Glory to God and the Lamb ! It is a narrative that shows what God may at any time be pleased to do, inspiring the weakness of man ; and what man may do, trusting in the strength of God. To the Christian at home and the missionary abroad, it is a narrative full of heavenly suggestion and encouragement. The nlation of it to the churches in America has gained Mr. Bertram and his island mission a place of remembrance and affectionate prayerful interest in thousands of hearts, that otherwise would have heard of this great work of grace only by faint and far-off voices. W'liat has been given, has been given joyful- ly ; never did any appeal for any station in the wide missionary field of the world meet a mere welcome response, and prayer has gone before the offering. CONTENTS. Pago PREFACE i INTRODUCTION, BY REV. G. B. CHEEVER, D.D V CHAPTER I. LIFE AT HOME 17 CHAPTER II. LIFE AT THE CAPE 40 CHAPTER III. LABORS AT SALDANHA BAY 68 CHAPTER IV. LIFE AT ST. HELENA 113 APPENDIX. A — DECEASE OF MRS. SARAH 13. JUDSON 101 B — CASES OF HAPPY DEATHS AT ST. HELENA 196 C — MISSION TO AMERICA 213 LIFE AND LABORS, CHAPTER I. LIFE AT HOME. James M'Gregor Bertram is a native of Scotland. He was born February 24th, 1806, at Southfield, in the parish of Gladsmuir, East Lo- thian, Haddingtonshire, where, a hundred years ago, the great historian, Dr. William Robertson, ministered in the name of Christ, and where he wrote his " History of Scotland." The home of his childhood was in the western part of the par- ish, not far from the village of Tranent, and in full view of the majestic Frith of Forth, which is reached by an easy descent of land toward the North. Preston Pans, where Charles Edward Stu- art, the Pretender, having already taken Edin- burgh, met and completely routed the forces of Sir John Cope, on the morning of Saturday, the 21st of September, 1745, on which occasion the godly Colonel James Gardiner lost his life, is in the immediate neighborhood on the west. The capital is but eleven miles distant. Haddington, 18 LIFE AT HOME. where that man of God, the Rev. John Brown, of the Associate Synod, so faithfully taught and il- lustrated the Gospel, and whose fame is in all the churches, is about four miles to the east. It is a neighborhood full of interest to the lover of Scotch history, and of stirring associations. The father of Mr. Bertram, true to the faith of his noble ancestors, adhered to the Church of Scotland, and faithfully endeavored to bring up his children (deprived of their godly mother at an early age) in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. He taught them to walk in the fear of God, to reverence His name, to hallow His sab- baths, to study His word, and to offer the morn- ing and evening; sacrifice. His children were sev- erally brought to the sanctuary in their infancy, and consecrated to God. James M'Guegor was thus baptized, according to the usages of the Scot- tish Church, shortly after his birth, by the Rev. Mr. Brown, in the parish church of Gladsmuir. In the year 1809 the family removed to the southwest of Scotland, and took up their resi- dence at Mount Pleasant, about half a mile from the ancient town of Dumfries, on the eastern bank of the river Nith, and about nine miles from the Sol way Frith. Here in the midst of beautiful scenery and splendid prospects, for which Dumfries is so justly celebrated — here, among the hills and vales of bonny Nithsdalc, im- LIFE AT HOME. 19 mortalized by Scotland's favorite bard, where Burns spent the last eight years of his life, and ■where he was buried, as indicated by the noble monument in St. Michael's church-yard, over his remains — Mr. Bertram passed his youthful days, and grew to the stature of manhood. His worthy sire, shortly after his arrival at Dumfries, became connected with the Relief Church, then under the pastoral care of the venerable Andrew Fife, by whose ministrations the religious impressions, made on the youthful mind of James by parental faith- fulness, were greatly confirmed. He received the rudiments of learning at an excellent school in Dumfries, but the limited means of the family could not afford him the advantages of a finished education. The father was a tiller of the ground, on a small scale. He occupied himself principally in the cultivation of plants, and flowers, and seeds ; in which healthful and inspiring employment he was assisted by James. His boyhood thus was passed amid the beauties of nature, in close famil- iarity with some of her most delightful works. He spent his early days, not in the feculent atmo- sphere of the crowded haunts of vice and dissi- pation, but in the midst of umbrageous woods, and graceful plants, and smiling flowers, " Where the fantastic tulip strives to break In two-fold beauty, and a parted streak; 20 LIFE AT HOME. The twining jasmine and the blushing rose, With lavish grace their morning scents disclose : The smelling tuberose and jonquil declare The stronger impulse of an evening air." It is a privilege not sufficiently appreciated, to have our earliest associations formed away from the artificial habits, and dusty streets, and dingy walls of the city — away from the thousand temp- tations that there beset the minds of the youth, and lead them astray — to dwell where God is seen in all His works, and where sweet innocence, sim- plicity, and purity are found. "Oh! friendly to the best pursuits of man — Friendly to thought, to virtue, and to peace, Domestic life, in rural pleasure passed! Few know thy value, and few taste thy sweets; Though many boast thy favors, and affect To understand and choose thee for their own." An elder brother had found his way to England, and established himself, in company with Mr. Alex- ander Grierson, as a cloth merchant, in the flourish- ing town of Manchester. Thither James was sent in 1824, at the age of eighteen years, to assist his brother Thomas, and learn the art and mystery of trade. Thomas Bertram was a member of the Independent Church, worshiping in Chapel- strcet, near Gravel-lane, Salford, under the pas- toral care of the Rev. John A. Coombs. Oc- casionally the young Scotchman was found at St. LIFE AT HOME. 21 Clement's Church, Levers-street, at that time served by the Rev. William Nunn. Under the ministry of the latter, in the year 1825, his con- science appears to have been aroused, and his soul awakened to a vivid religious sensibility. The precious seed, that had so long before been sown in Nithsdale, now began to vegetate and bear fruit in Lancashire. He was led to seek the for- giveness of sin and peace with God, through faith in the blood of Jesus Christ. From this time the course of his life was changed. In his nine- teenth year he became a subject of grace, and cherished a hope of salvation. Although Mr. Bertram had thus been brought to regard himself as a believer, he was still by no means decided as to the particular church, in which he should make a profession of religion. It is not necessary to state the considerations which kept him for a length of time from the Lord's table. It was not until the twenty-seventh year of his age" that his course was made plain, and the way pre- pared for his complete separation from the world. In the year 1833, the Rev. Robert Aitken, at that time a preacher of wonderful power and pop- ularity, came to Manchester, and exerted, by the blessing of God, that influence over the mind of Mr. Bertram, which resulted in his full and en- tire consecration to the service of God. This distinguished preacher deserves more than 22 LIFE AT HOME. a passing notice. He is a native of North Brit- ain, having been horn at the close of the last cen- tury, in Roxburghshire, not far from the Tweed, in Tiviotdale. Sent, by a friend of his father's fam- ily, into England, to be educated for the Church, he was introduced into the ranks of the clergy of the Establishment about thirty years ago. Some little time after his admission to orders, he be- came the incumbent of the chapel at Douglas, a sea-port town on the eastern shore of the Isle of Ma&) and the principal place on the island, lying about sixty miles in a northwesterly direction from Liverpool. Shortly after, he was united in mar- riage to a lady of the place, of considerable prop- erty and high respectability. For a period of about ten or twelve years, Mr. Aitken continued in the performance of his official duties as a parish priest, respected and flattered by the people, but destitute of the power of godliness. Greatly at- tached to the Church of England, he held no com- munion with dissent, and scorned to be found in attendance on the ministrations of a Non-con- formist. It pleased God, however, to make use of an in- strumentality so despicable in the sight of the self-righteous clergyman, to bring him to the knowledge of the truth. He made choice, as lie 60 often docs, of " the foolish things of the world to confound the wise," and " the weak things of LIFE AT HOME. 23 the world to confound the things which are mighty, and base things of the world, and things which are despised." Some time about the year 1831, Mr. Aitken was passing a Wesleyan chapel in the Isle of Man, while the society were occupied in an evening conference. His attention was arrested, and he stopped without, to listen to the artless statements made by the brethren, in the narration of their Christian experience. He heard enough to convince him, that he was an entire stranger to such spiritual exercises, and utterly destitute of that " joy and peace in believing," which seemed to characterize these poor, despised dissenters. Aa he returned home, the conviction fastened itself upon him that he was a lost sinner. He shut himself up in his study, and began to cry for mer- cy. His prayer was heard, his pride humbled, his former righteousness renounced, and his heart renewed by Divine grace. The change thus effected in his views, feelings, desires, hopes, purposes, and plans, was most thor- ough. Filled to overflowing with the joy of a new convert, his whole countenance glowed Avith heav- enly radiance. He longed to impart the same spir- itual gift — instrumentally, at least — to his loved companion. He almost flew to find her, and com- municate to her the glad tidings ; but he seemed to her as one bereft of reason. At length, how- 24 LIFE AT HOME. ever, she too was led to seek the Lord, and be- came as happy and zealous as himself. He now entered upon the work of preaching Christ with all his heart and soul. The people soon perceived the change in their minister, and flocked from all quarters to hear from his lips the wonders of Divine grace. The sanctuary was filled to overflowing with the crowds, and great numbers of them were pricked in their hearts, and led to cry, " What shall I do to be saved V The awakening became general, not only in the town, but in other portions of the island. Taking advantage of the growing excitement, Mr. Aitkcn ■went everywhere preaching the word. As the churches were utterly insufficient to receive the multitudes, he adopted the practice of Whitcficld and Wesley, and preached under the open canopy of heaven, in the fields, in the streets, and wherever the people could be gathered together. On one of these occasions, the congregation and their preacher were surprised by a heavy shower of rain, and found shelter within a Wcslcyan chapel in the neighbor- hood, where, by the urgent invitation of the pro- prietors, Mr. Aitken continued and concluded the service. So uncanonical an act could not be over- looked by the Lord Bishop of Sodor and Man. The Right Rev. William Ward, D.D., at once decided, that the man, who could pay so little re- gard to the canons of the Church, should feel LIFE AT HOME. 25 the weight of her ordinances. Mr. Aitken was accordingly removed from his incumbency, and his name erased from the number of the clergy. Such are the tender mercies of lordly prelacy ! " From such apostles," God " preserve the Church !" But the fire thus kindled was not so easily to be quenched. The fame thereof reached Liverpool ; and soon an invitation was received from some of the dissenting people of that great commercial mart, and Mr. Aitken made them a visit. He was received with open arms, and invited to the pulpit of the Wesleyan chapel in Pitt-street. The results of his preaching soon appeared, as in the Isle of Man. He possessed a most attractive and commanding person, being fully six feet in height, and well-proportioned ; of black hair, and heavy whiskers, with a voice full, powerful, melo- dious, and perfectly at command. A well-trained mind, of far more than ordinary powers, brought into full exercise by the impulse of the new-born zeal with which his whole soul was fired, aided by vehement but graceful gesticulation, gave him a most wonderful control over the crowds and masses that flocked to hear him. He had seen so much of the deceitfulness of his own heart, that he trembled with apprehension for the vast multitude of professing Christians and others, whom he could not but regard as " having no hope, and without God in the world." He therefore deemed it to 3 26 LIFE AT HOSfE". be his duty to bring the terrors of the Lord to bear with burning weight upon the ungodly, and so to prevail upon them, if possible, to turn from the error of their Avays. He took for his motto, " The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon !" and armed himself for a crusade against all ungodli- ness. To the wounded sinner he held up a Re- deemer crucified, and bade him "Look and live."' Numerous chapels were opened to welcome him, but none were large enough to contain the crowds. Deep impressions were made by the truths that he preached, and many souls were added to the Lord. He went up to London, and preached with like results in White's Row Chapel, Spital- fields, and in other chapels in the metropolis. He visited several of the large provincial towns, and ranged through Yorkshire, where his coming was like a tornado, sweeping all before it. He laid siege particularly to Sheffield, and so mightily prevailed the word of the Lord, that no less than six thousand souls, as was thought, were awakened to seek the Lord. At Birmingham and Manches- ter also, the populace were stirred, and ran to hear this second Whitefield. A wonderful revival of religion attended his ministrations wherever he went, and his fame spread abroad through all the land. His services were in great request, and his labors almost superhuman. Measures were taken by some of the Scotch LIFE AT HOME. 27 residents of Liverpool, in 1835, to induce Mr. Aitkcn to locate himself among them. In confer- ence with him, they pledged themselves to co- operate with him in a vigorous assault on the un- godliness and hypocrisy of the town, and to furnish the means for his support, and for the erection of a suitable place of worship. A commodious hall in Cook-street, capable of seating about eight hundred persons, was rented, and immediately opened for public worship. Ground was also ob- tained in Hope-street, and the foundations of a house of worship speedily laid. About this time Mr. Bertram's acquaintance with Mr. Aitken commenced. The latter had visited Manchester on a preaching excursion, and, as usual, attracted vast multitudes. A worthy Scotch citizen, at whose house Mr. Aitken was entertained, invited Mr. Bertram to his house, and introduced him as an ardent-minded Christian, whose views and sympathies were in unison with those of the distinguished preacher. The mind of Mr. Bertram had long been turning toward the work of the ministry, and he was anxiously desirous to learn the path of duty. In Mr. Aitken he found an ardent friend and faithful counselor. A mutual attachment was formed, which led to a frequent correspondence on the return of Mr. Aitken to Liverpool. At the end of six months, Mr. Bertram concluded to listen to the pressing 28 LIFE AT HOME. invitation of his friend, to go down to Liverpool, and take up his abode in the hospitable mansion of Mr. Aitken, with a view to prepare himself for the gospel ministry. After his removal, he gave himself to the work of exhorting, instructing, and praying in the social meetings of the new society. Hope-street Chapel was completed in 1836, and dedicated to the worship of God about five months after the foundations were laid. It was of respect- able appearance, built of stone, and adapted for the accommodation of about two thousand persons. It was immediately filled, and continued to be filled to overflowing. Month after month the Spirit of God was poured upon the congregation, and great numbers were hopefully converted to God. In ten months, the society, which had been organized with only nine members, had increased to fifteen hundred, of whom twelve hundred bad been gathered out of the world, and received into the church on the relation of their experience. The work had extended into other towns. In Manchester, Burslem, Hanley, Congleton, Pres- ton, and Leigh, where Mr. Aitken had occasion- ally preached, little bands of brethren had gath- ered around him. It. was desirable that these st;it ions should be occupied. Accordingly, Mr. Bertram, with three other zealous brethren, Messrs. Campbell, Delaney, and Read, were publicly set LIFE AT HOME. 29 apart, in the summer of 183G, to the work of the ministry. At a convocation held in Hope-street Chapel, October 27th, 1830, in which the several stations were fully represented, it was resolved to form themselves into a society, to be called " The Christian Society in connection with the Rev. R. Aitken." Rules and regulations were adopted, and the policy as well as purpose of the new or- ganization defined. It was agreed that, while the word of God alone should be regarded as the only infallible standard of their faith, "Wesley's Ser- mons and Notes on the New Testament" should be considered as containing their " sentiments of doctrinal truth," and be adopted as their legal and scriptural standard of doctrine ; although the views of the body were rather more Calvinistic than this would indicate. An ecclesiastical politj^, compounded mainly of the Wesleyan and Presby- terian systems, was also adopted, and experimental piety made an indispensable prerequisite to mem- bership. They determined to be " a working, soul-saving society;" to make the salvation of souls the one great object and business of the association ; to labor and pray for revivals of re- ligion, and to seek for mighty effusions, of the Holy Spirit. Prayer meetings were to be held weekly, and oftener, u possible, and to be so multiplied as to give abundant opportunities for 80 LIFE AT HOME. every one of the members to exercise their gifts of prayer. After every evening service, penitent meetings, or, as we call them, inquiry meetings, were to be held. The sermons were to be "not neatly-composed essa) T s to amuse the intellect, hut plain, strong, pointed appeals to awaken the con- science. The lazy, useless system of talking about good things in the pulpit," was to " be to- tally discarded, and every minister" required to " throw his body, soul, and spirit into the work." At the penitent meetings, " the elders and lead- ers" were to " go from pew to pew and exhort sinners to repentance." Gayety of dress, parties of pleasure, the use of intoxicating drinks, except as medicine, and marriage with unconverted per- sons, were not to be allowed, and all were con- scientiously to observe private, family, and public worship. In the admission of members, no true Christian was to be rejected on account of any pe- culiarity of doctrinal views. Such was the frame-work of a society which, within a few years, exerted a large influence in the work of calling sinners to repentance. The doctrinal views of Mr. Aitken and the preachers in the connection, almost coincided with those of the Rev. Charles G. Finney, of Ohio, an edition of whose " Revival Lectures" he put to the press, with an Introducliun, " vindicating and enforcing LIFE AT HOME. 31 Mr. Finney's plan of conducting the wcrk of God." Immediately after the convocation, Mr. Ber- tram removed to the market-town of Hanley, near the sources of the Trent, near Newcastle-under- Lyne, in the northern part of Staffordshire, to which station he had been appointed, in connec- tion with Mr. Delaney. Here, among the pot- teries, with which the region is studded, he found ample employment for his ministerial gifts. Two churches were organized, and a number of out- stations were established. At the expiration of a year he was removed to Doncaster, an ancient and beautiful town in the southern part of York- shire, on the southeastern bank of the river Don, about eighteen miles northeast of Sheffield, and famous for its races. Here, too, his ministry was prospered, and a church of about one hundred members was gathered. In the fall of 1838 he was appointed to Stockport, a lai'ge and flourish- ing town, exceedingly picturesque, on both sides of the Mersey, and lying partly in Cheshire and partly in Lancashire, only seven miles from his former residence in Manchester, to the southeast. Here, too, he found a wide field of usefulness among the numerous workmen employed in the cotton factories, for which the town is famous. His ministry was much prospered, and a church of three hundred souls was gathered in the course 32 LIFE AT HOME. of twelve months. From Stockport he removed in the autumn of 1839 to the city of Bristol, where he labored for the two years following in connec- tion with the Rev. John Richardson, and gathered two churches, one containing about two hundred, and the other about three hundred members. During big residence in Bristol, his views on the mode of baptism were considerably modified. To this subject his attention was called by the preaching of the Rev. Thomas Matthews, of Bed- ford. After a short season of inquiry, he con- cluded to offer himself as a candidate for immer- sion ; and with his wife, the Rev. Mr. Richard- son, and several others, he was accordingly im- mersed in the year 1838, by the Rev. John Bowes, of Dundee, without forfeiting, b} 7 this proceeding, his standing in the connection. He adopted main- ly the views of the great Robert Hall, and a large portion of our Baptist brethren in England, on the subject of church fellowship. In the mean time, Mr. Aitkcn, and the other ministers in the connection, were laboring, full of zeal and energy, in the prosecution of what they deemed to lie their particular mission. .Mr. Aitkcn had procured, in 1838, the old chapel in White's Row, Spitalfields, in the east- ern pari of London, where formerly the venerable Dr. Townsend ministered. Leaving Hope-street Chapel, in Liverpool, to be supplied by others, he LIFE AT HOME. 83 removed to the metropolis, and, assisted by Mr. Delaney, conducted the services in White's Row Chapel, producing here, as elsewhere, a great sensation. In the latter part of the same year, he purchased a commodious and comfortable place of worship on the Surry side, called Zion Chapel, Waterloo Road. In both of these chapels, service was maintained twice every Sabbath day, and fre- quently on the evenings of other days in the week. Immense crowds of all classes were attracted to hear Mr. Aitken, and a great excitement was produced. Shortly after his removal to London, he was deprived of his wife by death. This excellent lady had proved her devotion to the cause of her Lord and Master by unwearied services. She was regarded by the preachers and the people as a mother in Israel. Her influence over her hus- band was highly salutary and sanctifying. As long as she lived the work prospered ; but, after her death, it was soon perceived that Mr. Aitken was disposed to make his court to the great, the fashionable, and the wealthy. A part of the service of the Church of England, hitherto en- tirely discarded, was introduced into Zion Chap- el. The solemn tones of the organ, too, swept by the fingers of his sister, accompanied the songs of praise. Great offense was given to the society by these innovations. It was soon ru- 84 LIFE AT HOME. mored that he was about to make his peace "with the Church, and abandon his late associates. An unmarried lady, of title and large fortune, the Hon. Miss G., was seen to be invariable in at- tendance on his ministry. It was not long before this lady obtained a complete ascendency over him, and urged upon him the desirableness of his en- tering the Church, in order to rouse the Estab- lishment, and promote as great a revival within, as he had for years without. It is possible, and so it was said, that the hope of a miter was held out to him. The temptation prevailed. He re- solved to conform. His obeisance was made and accepted. He was enjoined to make his con- fession, and be publicly rebuked. This humili- ating scene took place in his own chapel in Liv- erpool, which he succeeded in carrying over with him. The rebuke was administered by the Rev. Hugh M'Neile, the gifted and popular rector of St. Jude's, Liverpool. It was an occasion of great mortification to the godly men and women who had so long been associated with him in pro- moting the work of God. Thousands reproached him for his Sampson-like course, in betraying the cause of his Master for another Delilah. The Honorable Miss G. became the wife of the Rev. Robert Aitken, and introduced her husband to the gentry and nobles, among whom she herself had hitherto moved. He resumed his ministry in LIFE AT HOME. 35 Hope-street Chapel, but " he wist not that the Lord was departed from him." The people no longer thronged the house as in other days. The unction, the power, the soul, were gone. The chapel was almost deserted. Despised by the people whom he had betrayed for a woman, he soon grew wearied of Liverpool, and sought an- other place of service. A church in Leeds, the great woolen metropolis, was in want of a minis- ter, and Mr. Aitken obtained the situation. It is understood that, in conformity, he now out-Her- ods Herod, and is verging even upon Popery it- self. He is an Anglo-Catholic of the Oxford school, and quite enamored with " The Tracts for the Times." During the ten years immediate- ly succeeding his conversion, he was valiant for the truth, and reaped a rich harvest of souls. Thousands on thousands were awakened under his fervid appeals to seek the Lord, and great numbers were hopefully converted. But for the last ten years his name has seldom been heard, and never in connection with spiritual awakenings and revivals of religion. Sad and impressive is the lesson derived from his experience. It was love for " this present world," that drew a De- mas away from Paul and his Master. Like the royal lion, the Rev. Mr. Aitken made his voice to be heard, full of power, majesty, and grandeur; but " a dart strikes through his liver," and he 86 LIFE AT HOME. drops, is seized and tamed, no more to strike ter- ror into the hearts of the wicked — no more to sound an alarm in Zion. Mournful spectacle ! Alas ! that such instances are not more rare. The defection of their leader disheartened the greater part of the brethren associated with him, and they separated. Many of them became con- nected with other dissenting bodies, and continued to serve God in the ministry, carrying, in many cases, their churches with them. A small num- ber of them, however, resolved not to abandon the " soul-saving" work to which they had devoted their lives. They accordingly combined, and formed an Association, entitled, " The Ebenezer Christian Missionary Society." The object of the new organization was set forth as having spe- cial relation to the preaching of the Gospel in the large manufacturing and sea-port towns, princi- pally in the North of England. Mr. Bertram ad- hered to this missionary band, and united with them in this organization. Mr. Bertram now removed to the large and flourishing town of Newcastle, on the northern bank of the river Tyne, in Northumberland, so long renowned for its collieries. Here, and at North Shields, and South Shields— both of them at the mouth of the Tyne, about eight miles to the east of Newcastle — he labored effectively in the ministry some two or three years. He spent LIFE AT HOME. 37 about nine months, in 1842-3, on Holy Island, about six miles southeast of Berwick-upon-Tweed, lying near the coast of Northumberland, in the German Ocean, about nine miles in circumference. It is inhabited mostly by fishermen, whom he found in a very neglected state, and among whom he ob- tained about fifty seals to his ministry. He re- turned thence to Newcastle, and, after a short residence, revisited the home of his fathers in Dumfries. A period of almost nine years had now elapsed since his consecration to the work of the ministry. The whole period had been fully occupied in ar- duous and self-denying labors, principally among the poor and the destitute. He had been a mis- sionary from the beginning ; nor had he labored in vain. Hundreds of precious souls, among the thousands to whom he had ministered, had been, through his instrumentality, brought from dark- ness to light ; while to many more he had admin- istered consolation and instruction in the Lord, to their edification and growth in grace. Nor had he wearied of his work ; he delighted in it — he gloried in it. It was a source of increasing de- light to him, and a perpetual occasion for grati- tude to God. But he had come to regard himself as under a call to a field of labor still more self-denying and laborious. The thrilling appeals from foreign 4 38 LIFE AT HOME. missionaries, for more laborers, had reached his heart. As he listened occasionally to the artless and forcible statements made by some of these brethren, who had returned to their native land to recruit their exhausted health, worn down by un- ceasing exertions among the wretched, the ignor- ant, and the debased heathen, his spirit was stirred within him, and his heart panted to carry the glad tidings of the Gospel to the most be- nighted of Adam's race. At home he saw that thousands of godly ministers were ready to break the bread of life to the hungry, while millions of the heathen world had none to care for their souls. He could not rid himself of the conviction, that duty called him to labor among the heathen. In the strength of the God of Jacob, he at length re- solved to leave his native land, and the friends of his youth, and the homes of civilization, for some pagan shore. He withdrew, in consequence, from the society, under whose auspices he had latterly labored. The field of its operations was at home ; they sent no missionaries abroad. In closing their connection with him, they gave him the following testimonial : " Ebenezer Christian Missionary Society. [Official.] " This is to certify, that I have been intimately acquainted, and labored in the ministry with the LIFE AT HOME. 39 Rev. James M'Gregor Bertram for the last seven years, during which time he has maintained a character becoming the Gospel of our Lord Je- sus Christ. As it respects his ministerial quali- fications, they are of a superior order ; and when- ever he preached, there was invariably an over- flowing congregation. His zeal in the cause of God is almost unbounded; and his success in win- ning souls to Christ has been such that I believe hundreds shall be the crown of his rejoicing when the redeemed are gathered home. And I humbly pray that God may direct him to that sphere of labor where he will be most useful, and where he will be recompensed for his valuable labors. " J. D. Richardson, u Corresponding Secretary, " And Pastor of the Church, South Shields. « South Shields, October 2Gth, 1844." CHAPTER II. LIFE AT "THE CAPE." The visit of Mr. Bertram to Dumfries, in 1844, determined the course of his future life. He had formed a matrimonial connection, the result of a youthful attachment, with Mary, the daughter of Mr. Jonathan Currie, a respectable citizen of Dumfries. Three children were born to them in Hanicy, Stockport, and Manchester — a daughter and two sons. Mrs. Bertram, whose health re- quired close attention, had left her husband at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, in the spring of 1844, and, with her children, had spent the summer season among the scenes and friends of her childhood in Kithsdale. Mr. Bertram rejoined them in the following autumn. As the days were passing pleasantly along, in the midst of their kindred, and in the renewal of former friendships, Mr. Bertram very casually, as it would seem to all but reflecting minds, called one day at the counting-house, or ware-room, of Mr. James Aflcck, with whom he entered into a free conversation on the subject which had lately LIFE AT THE CAPE. 41 so interested his own mind — the work of missions among the heathen. Perceiving that the mind of Mr. Bertram was very fully set on going abroad, Mr. Afleck says to him, " Come, now, if you wish to go out to the heathen, here is a fine chance for you; the brig Luna, Capt. Carmichael, is lying down at the wharf, taking in a cargo for the Cape of Good Hope. She sails in about a fortnight, and a Major M'Kee goes out in her with his family, so that you will have good company by the way. She is owned by the house of Afleck, Turner, and Co., and, I dare say, your brother-in-law, Thomas Currie, will see my brother Samuel, one of the owners, and secure a passage for yourself and family." To this proposal he had no reply. It seemed to him, as he thought of it, that the hand of God was in it. He went away, and pondered it in his heart. The more he thought of it, the more was it impressed upon his mind, that God was calling him to embark in this vessel for the scene of his future missionary labors. The busi- ness, however, required haste. He could not keep it long in abeyance. The brig was soon to set sail, and the decision must be made without delay. But this was not the only avenue of usefulness that was opened to him. A chapel, that had been 42 LIFE AT THE CAPE. occupied by an Independent Church, in Dumfries, was now vacant. The friends of himself and wife were anxious to retain him among them. They pro- posed to him the gathering of a congregation on the banks of the Nith, and oifered to secure the vacant chapel for the enterprise. The proposition was attractive. It spread before him a beautiful vista of pleasant scenes and delightful prospects. It would have been exceedingly grateful to all the family and friends, as well as gratifying to himself. But he could not rid himself of the conviction, that this was not to be his abiding-place. He carried the matter, day by day, to the throne of grace, and seemed to hear a voice from the inner sanctuary, saying to him and his, " Arise ye, and depart ; for this is not your rest." His doubts were solved ; his purpose formed. He resolved to put himself under the guidance of the "fiery, cloudy pillar," and obey the voice divine. Immediately, therefore, he set himself to the work of arranging for his departure in the Luna. He made known his intention to his companion, who, if she did not regard him as already a victim of "Luna"-cy, thought him in great danger of it. But repeated representations of the case Becured at length her assent and cooperation. He thru sought another interview with Mr. Afleck, and told him of the result of the conversation which tiny had had together a few days before. Mr. Allcck LIFE AT THE CAPE. 43 consented to break the matter to Mr. Currie, Mr. Bertram's wife's brother, whose circumstances were such as enabled him to help the would-be voyagers on their way, if he should approve of their course. But Mr. Currie was one of your prudent, worldly-wise men, that are wont to have great faith in the old proverb, "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush." He had never approved of the roving life that his sister had led, and very plainly told her and her husband, that it was high time for them to settle down, and lead a more quiet life. Mrs. Currie, the widowed mother of Mrs. Bertram, an excellent lady, attached to the Church of Scotland, and a worthy member of the kirk, united with her son Thomas in these repre- sentations. But when they saw that the heart of Mr. Bertram was fully set in him to go to the heathen, they " ceased ; saying, The will of the Lord be done !" Through the good offices of Mr. Currie, a pass- age was secured for Mr. Bertram, his wife, and two youngest children, in the brig, for the Cape of Good Hope, the expense of which Mr. Currie paid from his own purse. He also furnished them with a very suitable outfit, valued at about one hundred pounds. Their eldest child, a son, was left with Mr. Bertram's sister, Mrs. James Ham- ilton, at Manchester, who had ever shown a great fondness for him, and desired to retain and bring 44 LIFE AT THE CAPE. him up as her own, having had the charge of him since he was eighteen months old. The Luna sailed about the first of November, 1844, with Major M'Kee, Mr. Bertram, and their families, as passengers. It might truly be said of the missionary, as it was of the Father of the faithful, that " he went out, not knowing whither he went." No missionary society had taken him under its fostering care, and given him instructions as to his future course. He went at his own charges, so far as his missionary service was concerned. He went forth without purse or scrip, assured that He who feeds the ravens and the sparrows, and clothes the lilies of the field, would give both food and raiment to him and his. Though destitute of all earthly dependence, and having not where to lay his head when he should reach the Cape, he could say, in the sweet words of one of New England's sons : " Yes, I hasten from you gladly, From the scenes I love so well ; Far away, ye billows, bear me, Lovely native load, farewell! Pleased I leave thee, Far in heathen lands to dwell." His fellow-voyagers were, by no means, such as a pious heart would have chosen for companions. The captain and crew, as is so commonly the case, had not the fear of God before their eyes. The LIFE AT THE CAPE. 45 most of them were shockingly addicted to profan- ity, and frequently their oaths and blasphemies could be heard above the bowlings of the tempest, with which, on several occasions, the vessel was furiously assailed. Major M'Kee had spent the greater part of his life in the East Indies, in the service of the Hon. East India Company. Having reared a numerous family, he had returned to Scotland, his native land, to spend his declining years in retirement and comfort. But the keen blasts of the North were too severe for a constitu- tion that had so long been tempered by the enerv- ating heat of a torrid clime, and he was compelled to seek a home in a land more congenial to health and life. The Cape of Good Hope, where he had formerly tested the proverbial mildness of the at- mosphere, offered him a pleasant home, and thither he had now turned his face. Like the most of those who are bred to arms, the major was as profane as the captain and crew. The voyagers encountered, as before intimated, a number of terrific storms, of which the last was far the most furious. While the ungodly crew were pouring forth their imprecations, and in- voking damnation in their cursings and blasphe- mies, the missionary betook himself to prayer, fervent and importunate, apprehensive that so much impiety would draw down upon them the vengeance of heaven. His prayers were heard, 46 LIFE AT THE CAPE. and, full of gratitude to God for His sparing mer- cy, he resolved to make a renewed effort for the reform and salvation of those with whom he sailed. He took the captain aside, when the storm had subsided, and remonstrated with him, kindly but faithfully, on the impropriety and wickedness of his course of life. He pursued the same treat- ment with the first mate. They listened, and were not enraged. Permission was given the missionary to hold, when the weather would per- mit, during the remainder of the voyage, a daily morning and evening service of prayer, and to preach on the Sabbath. From this time forward, every morning and evening, the word of God was read in the cabin, and the voice of prayer was heard. The cap- tain, who was by no means a hardened wretch, and whose conscience was quite alive, piped all hands that could be spared from duty, and, with considerable reverence, he and they waited upon the services of their chaplain. On the Sabbath they were no less attentive to the preaching of the word. A marked and delightful change in the deportment, of both the officers and their crew soon was manifested. Nor was the change less observable in the cabin. The old East India sol- dier, who had never, in all his life, save perhaps in childhood, bowed his knee in prayer, became an earnest seeker of the way of salvation. Ere LIFE AT THE CAPE. 47 long he might be seen gathering his wife and chil- dren around him, reading to them a lesson from the Holy Scriptures ; and then, on bended knees, pouring forth his fervent supplications to God in their behalf. The voice of profanity was hushed, and the voice of prayer and praise arose. God was with His servant, and owned his humble la- bors, while on the way to his destined haven. The concluding part of the voyage was as pleas- ant as the former part had been trying. Not a few of that company who embarked on the Luna at Dumfries, full of cursing and bitterness, will re- member, with eternal gratitude to the Almighty, their happy experience in the South Atlantic Ocean, while they were drawing nigh to the Cape of Good Hope, and beginning, some of them, to entertain a "good hope, through grace," of en- tering a haven of everlasting rest. At the expiration of the tenth or eleventh week, the wearied voyagers were greeted with the ever- welcome cry of " Land !" The elevated mount- ain-range, that commences at Table Bay, and stretches some two hundred miles in a northerly direction along the western coast of the southern extremity of Africa, was seen spreading out before their gladdened eyes. As they neared the shore, they could easily distinguish, by its peculiar for- mation, the huge mass of rock, rising more than three thousand five hundred feet almost directly 48 LIFE AT THE CAPE. out of the ocean, whose flattened top has given it the name of " Table Mountain." The " Devil's Peak," an almost conical elevation, towered a lit- tle to the left, to the height of more than three thousand three hundred feet ; while on the right, and more distant, two peculiar prominences, re- sembling a crouching lion, to which have been in consequence affixed the name of the " Lion's Head," and the " Lion's Rump," the former nearly two thousand eight hundred feet in height, and the latter more than eleven hundred, com- pleted the background of the noble picture, to which all eyes on board of the Luna were now ea- gerly directed. They were presently abreast of a beautiful cluster of white villas, bearing the name of Green Point, on their right as they entered the bay, embowered among verdure. The bay, which also derives its name from the mountain, is approached from the northwest, and is open to the winds that blow from that direc- tion. As these winds prevail most in the winter months, May, June, July, and August, the road- stead — for it can scarcely be called a harbor, for want of a breakwater — is then very insecure, and frequently becomes the scene of great distress. In the month of August, 1842, only two years and a half before Mr. Bertram's arrival, the convict ship " Waterloo," and the transport ship " Aber- crombie Robinson," had gone to pieces on the LIFE AT THE CAPE. 49 rocks in the bay, when more than a hundred of the convicts found a watery grave. At the south- ern extremity of the bay, the long line of white houses marks the site of " Cape Town," the prin- cipal settlement of the colony of the Cape of Good Hope. It lies on a gently ascending strip of ground, nearly three miles wide, that occupies the space between the mountain and the beach, and is a thriving, busy, and spacious town of more than thirty thousand inhabitants, with its Gov- ernment-house, Garrison, Forts, Parade-ground, Exchange, churches, chapels, College, school- houses, and other public buildings. The Luna had now reached her destination, and her anchor was dropped in the roadstead, among the ship ping, some distance from the beach. As Mr. Bertram and his family were leaving the brig, and were in the act of going over the gangway to enter the boat that was to carry them to the beach, the seamen came crowding around him to bid him farewell. It was hard for them to part with one, whose voice had roused them from the dreadful stupidity that was hurrying them to endless destruction, and awakened within them, by the blessing of God, an earnest desire for the salvation of their souls, through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. These hardy sons of the ocean were completely overcome ; they wept and sobbed like children. He who had been their 5 50 LIFE AT THE CAPE. ringleader in all mischief and iniquity, the most daring, hardened, and blasphemous wretch among them, John M'Donald, who had grown gray in profanity and dissipation, was now the most af- fected to tenderness. They could not consent that the missionary should leave them thus, to re- turn to them no more •, and so they entreated him to come hack to the ship : " We cannot hear of 3'our leaving us, Mr. Bertram," they cried, " un- less you promise to come hack and preach to us next Sabbath, as you have been in the habit of doing. We never read our Bibles, or thought of our poor souls, or of the Almighty himself, until you came on board the Luna. You must come and preach to us again." Mr. Bertram very readily gave his consent, and assured them that, if it pleased God, he would surely be with them the next Sabbath morning. It was literally a new world into which our voy- agers had been introduced. It seemed strange to them, that the atmosphere was so hot and almost stilling in the month of January ; and that the land before them was clothed with the rich ver- dure and vegetation of midsummer. The habita- tions also, so low, and so quaint, with their ga- bles to the streets, covered with whitewash, and adorned with green Venetians, each with its stoop or porch before it, after the manner of the old Knickerbockers, seemed exceedingly odd. Tho LIFE AT THE CAPE. 51 small window-panes, and the singular sign-boards, and the absence of shop windows, had a singular effect. They were greatly amused at the almost constant serenading of the barn- fowl, and the vast number and variety of lazy dogs, of which no two scarcely were alike. But most of all were they impressed with the strangeness of the people whom they met. At home they had seldom seen a genuine tawny son of Africa ; but here they were seen on every hand, and of all descriptions and shades of ebony. They seemed to be the most numerous portion of the population. There were the Hottentots, or " Tottics," as they are familiarly called, the aborigines of the territory, of stunted growth, and sallow skin, like " the seared and yellow leaf," not a little bedaubed with grease and filth — with their angular faces, flat noses, high cheek-bones, pouting lips, woolly heads, and small, sunken, twinkling eyes ; ar- rayed in their ragged, thread-bare jackets, leather trowsers, or " crackers," and crumpled, slouch- ing, broad-brimmed straw hats ; and their vrouws, as the Dutch call them, of corresponding repul- siveness of person, in their patched and not over- cleanly chintz gowns, and turbans made of crimson cotton handkerchiefs. There, too, was the genu- ine African negro, of the deepest dye, of woolly hair, and protruding lips, the " galley" of the Cape, the patient bearer of burdens, whose home, 52 LIFE AT THE CAPE. or that of his fathers, was Mozambique or Mada- gascar — once the slave, the property, of the colo- nist, but now free, and working for him as any- other laborers. To these must be added, the swarthy Malays, imported from the East Indies, and commonly known in the British colonies as coolies ; a patient, industrious, and useful race, that serve as mechanics, and house-servants, and fishermen. These, and their various intermix- tures, swarming everywhere, and mingled with various other African tribes, and the copper- skinned sons of China, and various nondescript specimens of humanity from the far East, of all aspects, of every variety of complexion, and hab- its of dress, formed a population most singular as well as novel to the newly-arrived. These were the laboring classes, and the lower strata of so- ciety. But hardly less remarkable was the variety among the whites. Of these, a very large propor- tion they found to be of Dutch descent ; the colony having been principally settled by the Lowlandera of Holland, just two hundred years ago (1652), under Dr. John Anthony Van Riebcck, their first governor, and having continued in their possession until the close of the last century. For the last half-century it has been under the British govern- ment. The Dutch continue to form the staple of the peasantry, and retain, to a great extent, the LIFE AT THE CAPE. 53 primitive manners and customs, as well as the language, of their ancestors of the seventeenth century. It was curious to ohserve the singular head- dress, also, to which so many were addicted ; the red handkerchiefs with which their heads were bound, in many cases, and the conical straw hats, somewhat resembling inverted funnels ; and to see eight or ten yoke of oxen harnessed to a rudely- built wagon, sometimes heavily loaded, but as often with almost nothing in it, like a huge ele- phant tugging at a mouse. Very refreshing, too, it was to see the little flower-gardens in front of the houses, with their blooming roses, and climb- ing vines, and orange trees with their golden fruit; and even hedges of roses, myrtles, aloes, and cac- tuses blooming profusely, and filling the pure at- mosphere with their delicious fragrance ; and to walk in the grateful shade of the long rows of venerable oaks, poplars, and pines that line the sides of the principal avenues. They found, also, that the town almost covered the plot of ground extending from the beach southward to the almost perpendicular sides of Table Mountain ; that the broad streets inter- sected each other at right angles ; that some of them were threaded with canals, as in Holland ; that most of them were destitute of sidewalks, and many of them without any pavements ; and 54 LIFE AT THE CAPE. that the upper part of the town, near the mount- ain, is watered by a sprightly stream that issues from the upland on the east, and finds its way into Table Bay, at Cape Town ; the banks of which are the resort of hosts of laundresses. They were gratified to find that there were nu- merous walks and drives in and around the town, of the most inviting character, and in the midst of beautiful scenery ; especially over the macad- amized road that leads eastward to Simon's Bay, amid corn-fields, orchards, gardens, and vine- yards, shadowed overhead with stately aspens, darkly-waving pines, and majestic oaks, along the base of the Devil's Peak, with its cloud-capped summit, to the little village of Rondebosch, and the charming villas of Wynberg, a spot full of beauty, and enjoying a most delightful temperature of the atmosphere, the favored resort of the citizens of Cape Town, from which it is distant about seven or eight miles ; and that gardens and pleasui-e- grounds, glittering with the graceful foliage of the Protca Argentea (silver tree), extended around the town, indicative of wealth, pleasure, and refinement. Their attention was particularly directed t<> the noble square, or parade-ground, called the " Ileerc Gracht," covering several acres of ground, in the midst of which stands the handsome structure, called the " Commcreial Rooms," and the far-famed library of the Cape. LIFE AT THE CAPE. 55 Here, under the noble avenues of pi