Daughters of the Cross: or Womans Mission | Page 9

bosom of the ocean, he begins to see
Divinity in its most awful forms. He realizes the insignificance of the
creature and the majesty of the almighty Maker.
So felt Mrs. Newell, as she stood upon the deck of her vessel and gazed
upon the wonders of the deep. Each wave, as it dashed against the sides
of the brig or rolled across her decks, seemed impressed by the hand of
God; and in these scenes she realized, more than ever before, the

grandeur and glory of Jehovah. She saw him mirrored out in the starry
canopy above her head, and in the liquid mountains which lifted up
their forms, and anon sunk into peaceful rest beneath her feet.
On the 17th of June the Caravan reached Calcutta and anchored in the
harbor. During the passage along the river the vessel was hailed by
boatloads of naked natives, who brought on board cocoa nuts, bananas,
and dates in great profusion; while others were seen on the banks
reposing in the sun, or bathing in the waters of the Ganges, or diving
beneath the surface for the shellfish which are found there; while
beyond, the country was seen in all the beauty of verdure and delight,
as ever and anon the Hindoo cottage and the white pagoda reared
themselves amid the trees which grew upon the shoreside.
On the arrival of the missionaries at Calcutta, they repaired to the
residence of Dr. Carey, where they found Mr. Marshman and Mr. Ward,
all of whom were connected with the English Baptist mission station at
Serampore. By invitation of Dr. Carey they visited the station, and were
treated with the greatest kindness. But their hopes of usefulness were
destined to be blasted. The East India Company was opposed to all
attempts to Christianize the natives, and threw all their influence
against the divine cause of missions. As soon as the government
became apprised of the object of Mr. Newell and his associates, orders
were issued for them to leave the country immediately. After a vast
deal of parleying with the civil powers, permission was obtained to
reside at the Isle of France; and on the 4th of August, 1812, Mr. and
Mrs. Newell took passage on board the Gillespie for that place. Sorrow
and distress now began to roll upon them in deep, sweeping waves. The
crew of the vessel were profane and irreligious, the weather boisterous
and unpleasant; while the spirits of the missionaries themselves were at
a low ebb. For some time no progress was made, and the frown of
Providence seemed to rest upon them. What purpose God had in view
in surrounding them with such trials, they knew not; but with humble
faith in all his allotments they bore submissively, but sadly, this new
trial of their devotion. The delicate state of Mrs. Newell's health
rendered their sorrows doubly annoying to her sensitive and refined
mind. She shrunk from a contact with the rude beings around her, and
in the society of her husband alone found enjoyment; and even this was
not free from interruption. The morning and evening prayer was

disturbed by the profane jest or the blasphemous ribaldry of God-hating
men, who viewed our missionaries as deluded fanatics, justly deserving
the contempt of all. Even the respect due to the weaker sex was not
wholly observed; and the pious woman was often compelled to listen to
expressions which would have brought a blush to the cheek of the
strong man. Sickness and sorrow found but little sympathy; and the
days seemed long and tedious, even to one who had not learned to
complain of the wise discipline of a Father's hand.
While on this voyage, about three weeks before their arrival at the place
of destination, she gave birth to a daughter, and became a mother. The
sweet infant lived but five days; "blushed into life and died." The day
before its death, the rite of the church, by which the little stranger into
this cold world was given to God, was performed. They called her by
the mother's name, and watched over her until she breathed her last
breath upon her mother's bosom, and then sunk the form into the cold
waters of the deep. As the corpse was lowered down over the side of
the vessel, holy voices sung the sweet and tender hymn,--
"So fades the lovely, blooming flower, Frail, smiling solace of an hour;
So soon our transient comforts fly, And pleasures only bloom to die."
Soon after the death of her babe, Mrs. Newell discovered symptoms of
the malady which soon carried her to an untimely grave. From the first,
she had no hope of recovery. Several of her friends had died of the
same disease; and when it fastened itself upon her system,