صور الصفحة
PDF
النشر الإلكتروني

without abating aught from my sin and guilt, and moral responsibility, God would have it so. He intended good; he had thoughts of peace and not of evil towards me, a then careless creature.

"I bless and adore him for his providential dealings with me. I thank him,-oh! I do indeed thank him, this night, that he brought me on board this ship! I cannot tell what he has done for me, through your faithful and affectionate instrumentality. But he has brought me low at his footstool to exalt me in the righteousness of the holy Jesus, who is very precious to my soul; and in his dear name I can rejoice, some days, all the day long. Oh, sir, I believe that through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ you and I, and many of my dear fellow-men here, will be saved, and when we get to heaven salvation will be the subject of our praise :

Then shall we sing more sweet, more loud,
And Christ shall be our song.

"May the Lord make and keep me very humble, and make and keep me faithful unto death! I need not remind you that I have no strength to resist sin and gladly to follow my Lord, bearing his cross, but what I derive from our exalted and ever blessed Lord himself. I feel it! Oh, my soul longs to love him more;-I long to be made useful to poor sinners! Oh, that I may have the

opportunity! I can do it in one way, I know, by showing forth the Saviour's praise and power to save, in my life and walk, spirit and temper. The Lord open doors for me to speak to my fellowsinners of Jesus and his great salvation! The Lord grant me wisdom and a sound judgment, and a warm heart, and an enlightened mind!

"Oh, sir, pray for me,-I will pray for you! I cannot forget you and all your kindness, and the kindness of your and our kind friends in England, who have taken so much interest in our welfare. Oh, do tell them, to the honour of our Lord, that one poor wandering sheep has been brought to the Good Shepherd who laid down his life for the sheep, he loved them so dearly! hope to meet with you, kind sir, where Jesus is; and it will be heaven where he is.

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

I

Oh,

I feel a heaven in my soul when he dwells in me by faith, and visits me with his love; and he will never leave me :-he cannot-for he is formed in my heart the hope of glory,-I dare not doubt it! Blessed be God there are many more besides me! The Lord has his own sheep amongst us;-and now we must part! I feel the smart. Blessed be that dear uniting love that binds us together!

66

May God preserve you homewards, and restore you to your family in health and safety! I have been very much comforted by these words, as I have thought of you leaving us the precious words of Jesus, which discover his relation to his

believing people, and remind them of his neverceasing care for them,- My Father and your Father; my God and your God.' I have been reading the twentieth chapter of the Acts, and found great benefit. May you do the same!

[ocr errors]

Excuse me in taking so much liberty as I have, in addressing to you this short letter before I quit the Earl Grey. Farewell!"..

CHAPTER VIII.

Concluding statements and observations—Letter from Inspector of Schools-Summary of apparent good accomplished— Extract from a prisoner's letter to a friend in England, written after its author had been some time in the colony.

IN perusing the foregoing narrative, the reader cannot fail to have been struck with the quiet, orderly, and superior behaviour of the prisoners, the punctuality and cheerfulness with which they performed the duties involved in our daily routine, and especially with the diligence and zeal with which they attended to the great and important business of their education. It will be observed that we had no infliction of corporal punishment, a mode of dealing, at least with adult offenders, which generally tends but to debase, and harden, and to extinguish every remaining spark of virtue, self-respect, and manliness of feeling. It will be seen that the prisoners in the Earl Grey were governed by daily Christian instruction, accompanied with fervent prayer, and by uniformly kind and manly treatment,-that they were ruled by a consistent discipline, which uniformly required a close and punctual observance of all established regulations; a prompt, cheerful, and

courteous obedience, given on right principles, to every lawful command; a becoming and respectful carriage; and the habitual use of correct and irreproachable language in all their communications with each other, and with all men. Thus we have an additional illustration of the soundness of the scheme of instruction and moral discipline which had been framed during my former voyages, and which is detailed in the concluding portion of this volume.

“The entire management, as well as the medical treatment of the convicts," is very wisely, and indeed, considering that he is engaged on naval service, is necessarily, intrusted to "the surgeon superintendent," the only naval officer on board, who is also held responsible for the care and expenditure of Her Majesty's stores; is commanded" to issue such rules and regulations for the promotion of good order on the part of the convicts, as he may judge proper, inserting copies thereof in his journal;" and "to appoint from among the convicts in health, those whom he may think most fit and trustworthy to act as attendants on the sick." "As it is highly desirable to keep the minds of the convicts as constantly and usefully employed as possible, he is to exert his best endeavours to establish schools, under such regulations as circumstances will permit;" "is to read the Church Service every Sunday to the convicts and also a Sermon ;" and, finally, is required "to use every possible means to promote a religious

[ocr errors]
« السابقةمتابعة »