The Cruise of the Mary Rose | Page 3

heathen lands, and happy are those permitted
to fight them," he whispered, with a sigh, after a few minutes' silence.
John was less robust in health than were most of us, and it was intended
that he should devote himself to mercantile pursuits, for which I had
long suspected that he had no great taste; still, at the call, as he believed,
of duty, he had begun the task of acquiring the necessary knowledge.
"I suppose, father, that you are alluding to the labours of missionaries

in foreign lands?" I observed. "But I have heard it said, that in spite of
all the money expended, their preaching produces but meagre results.
In India, for instance, the Company will not admit them. In Africa, the
climate destroys them. The fanatical Turks and other Mohammedan
nations will not listen to their message; and it would be but time lost
and energies wasted were they to attempt to preach to the cannibals of
New Zealand and the other islands of the Pacific, or to the almost
baboons of Australia and New Guinea."
"You have not, I see, given much thought to the subject, David,"
observed my father, mildly; "God's grace is sufficient for all men. The
gospel is to be preached to all men, without distinction of race, or
colour, or nation, or rank. What says the Bible? `Go ye into all the
world, and preach the gospel to every creature.' Who is to decide then
from what depths of moral degradation the power of God's grace will
fail to lift up a human being? Certainly, we mortals, fallible, helpless,
sinful, as we must feel ourselves, are not capable of judging. All we
have to do is to receive the plain command, and obey it. Oh, there is
scope, believe me, for the exertions, not of one missionary only, but of
hundreds and thousands of the soldiers of the cross in those very
regions of which you have spoken. How can we dare to doubt how the
gospel will in the end be received? `Blessed are ye which sow beside
all waters,' `Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after
many days.' `In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold
not thine hand, for thou knowest not which shall prosper, either this or
that, or whether they both shall be alike good.' Our duty as disciples of
Christ is plain. We are to sow. `God giveth the increase.' That is not to
be our care. We are to `preach the gospel to every creature.' Some will
hear; some will turn away from the truth. With that we have nothing to
do, except to pray and work on, awaiting God's time. You have none of
you seen more than the outside of my Uncle John's journal. Indeed, I
had not myself till lately looked into it. He was, as you may have heard,
a seaman, and he made more than one voyage to the Pacific. Possessing
more education than most officers in the merchant service in those days,
he seems to have carefully noted the observations he made as he sailed
from place to place. His descriptions are graphic, and he was of an
acute and inquiring mind; his remarks, too, are of value. I think,

therefore, that we may glean from it both amusement and instruction."
We of course all expressed a wish to hear the contents of our relative's
journal, and it was agreed that the next few evenings should be devoted
to its perusal. I should observe that our father's interest in the subject of
missions to the heathen in foreign lands had lately been awakened by
the visit of an old friend, one of that band of great and good men who
were then endeavouring against contumely, ridicule, and every
opposition which the prince of this world could raise, to send the glad
tidings of salvation to the perishing millions scattered thickly on the
surface of the globe, over which midnight--the midnight of heathen
darkness--reigned.
I believe that the thought of our dear father's heart at that time was--"I
have many sons given me by God; surely not one of them have I a right
to withhold from His service; all, all, every one of them should be
freely, joyfully given if it be His will to accept their services." I do not
mean to say that he uttered these words, but that such was the language
of his heart spoken to heaven, I am certain, from conversations and
circumstances which subsequently occurred. Of all the family our
brother, John, appeared to be the most deeply impressed with the
remarks which had dropped from our father's lips, and as I watched his
expressive countenance, I observed the changes passing over it, and am
now certain