The Story of a Life Part 15

"February 19. Our first day at the hall was a very successful one. The house was crowded and the people stood at the door. Poor Brother Smith is hardly able to contain himself for joy. On Tuesday we meet to organize a church. Don't forget to send that baptizing suit.

"February 20. To-night (Tuesday) we met in a side room of the Odd Fellows' Hall and talked on the basis of union. I answered their questions, and we had a happy time. Then I asked all to hold up their hands who were in favor of taking simply the New Testament as their rule of faith and practice, and nearly every one held up his hand. Fifteen of those who had been baptized, gave me their names, pledging themselves to live by the Word of G.o.d. So you see, we have a start even in Hobart Town.

"February 27. Lord's day evening the hall was crowded; some stood, some sat on the floor. There are some candidates for baptism, but a difficulty has arisen. The three who objected to my preaching, do not want to let me have the use of the baptistry. They have called a church meeting to which I am invited to explain what I make of baptism.[15] In the morning we met at the hall to break bread, so I regard the church as begun in Hobart Town. Our collection from the 15 who have taken their stand with us, was 1-6-0 last Lord's day morning. Pretty good for a start, isn't it? I will soon be able to return that money you borrowed.

There is no communion service in Hobart Town, and I had to send to Melbourne for one.

"March 5. Our evening audiences are increasing, but only a few meet to break bread in the morning. The people are so ignorant of everything pertaining to Christianity, that I have to teach them as if they were children, sure enough. Many never heard of what I preach; and while they admit the truth of it, they stand aloof. About 500 read each week my religious page of the _Advance_. That is better than tracts. Come to Tasmania! I am sure you could do a good work here, and this climate would restore your health. We will treat you, oh so well! Let me know when to expect you, and I will go out and sit on the wharf and wait for you."

Mrs. Carr to Mr. Carr: "The _Southern Cross_ leaves Melbourne the 26th of March, the anniversary of our wedding. I wish we could be together in Hobart Town on that day. I will bring my piano. If you are on the wharf at 6:30 Thursday morning you will see your wife. But I'll not expect you there, for I remember your motto--'He who cannot rest his head upon his pillow and enjoy his forty morning winks, is up to knavery, or else he drinks!' At the tea meeting everybody asked about you, and expressed joy at your success. The brethren are delighted that you have established a church in Tasmania. No, I will not bring Sister Smith a half dozen _reams_ of cotton; paper is sold by the ream; but thread by the gross; perhaps you meant reels. It does seem strange that in less than a week, I'll see my husband! I scarcely know how I'll behave myself! An appeal was made to the Lygon street church for a.s.sistance to Collingwood, in the erection of a brick chapel. All thoughts of a wooden building have been abandoned, and harmony is prevailing. I am sure I'll get pupils on the piano and guitar when we are established at Hobart Town. President Williams' last words to me were, '_Only believe_, Mattie, and the light of his face will always s.h.i.+ne upon you.' I believe the Lord will open a way for our support, if not through my labors, in some other way. I am going to have your faith, Ollie, and I know I'll be happy. Take good care of yourself. I'm sure you work too hard. Remember your work and your wife, and _take care of your health_!"

The reader who has followed the preceding pages does not need to be told why the Carrs finally left Australia. The admonition which each constantly gave the other--"Take care of your health,"--could not be observed. Even on holidays, as we have seen, hard work came pressing at the door; and the climate was never favorable to the const.i.tution of the missionaries. They left, at last; but the Collingwood Church established through their efforts, remains to perpetuate their influence. At Hobart Town, success came in spite of active opposition.

When Mr. Carr was challenged with the inquiry, 'What do you think is the design of baptism?'--his reply was as follows:

"'He that believes and is baptized shall be saved.' That is what the Savior says. That is what I think."

This reply was so unsatisfactory that he was refused the use of the baptistry. The town, less scrupulous in its views, proffered the use of public baths. The public would a.s.semble upon the porch of the bathroom, and, in the salt water, the converts would be immersed. It was not in vain that Mr. Carr preached on "My sheep hear my voice." The entire Baptist Church with the exception of six came to the congregation at the rented hall. At the end of three months, Mrs. Carr joined her husband.

During the year in Tasmania, they lived with the Smiths. Mrs. Carr taught music, and she and Mrs. Smith made sailors' caps and sold them to help on with the missionary work. Whaling s.h.i.+ps came in there, and the demand for sailors' caps was unceasing.

But while Mrs. Carr thus lived in partial seclusion, sewing and teaching music lessons, her thoughts reached far beyond the straitened opportunities of the colonies. Five years from the native land had resulted so far as visible results went, in the establishment of two churches, one in Melbourne, one in Hobart Town. Such accomplishments were well worth the sacrifices they had demanded, but they were achievements aside from those definite ideals which she had formed at the beginning of her school life. Her boarding school in Melbourne had done much good, but it was not a permanent inst.i.tution; with her departure, it pa.s.sed away; and she was resolved that out of her life should come a monumental school, which, though she departed, should remain. Her plans conflicted with her husband's intense zeal for souls, hence she quietly worked away at sailors' caps, and agreed, if he thought best, to go next to New Zealand for the Cause. But at last, when it became manifest that his health demanded a rest from work too great for even a strong man, and a decided change of climate, she declared for a return to America. To go back meant not only the probable regaining of his health, but the carrying out of her educational ambitions; and in order the better to perfect herself in her chosen work, and to secure the needed rest for both, she resolved that they should spend the next year in travel, studying the countries of the Orient, and dwelling among the hills round about Jerusalem.

Mr. Carr to Mrs. Carr, from Hobart Town, January 17, 1873: "Last night we had our Tea Meeting and oh! such a Tea it was! Everybody seemed pleased with everything but one abominably long address. The speech of the evening had much about you; 'a lady of such rare abilities,' 'your condescension in coming amongst them,' 'they would never find your equal,' etc. The good you have done, your kindness to all, your talents, were dwelt upon by nearly every speaker. Poor Brother Jones could hardly restrain his feelings. He said he had never seen your like. The singing was splendid. The room was most tastefully decorated. 'Farewell to Brother and Sister Carr for a season,' and 'Welcome to Brother G. B.

Moysey,' were the letters hanging about." (Mr. Carr's successor at Hobart Town was that Moysey who had sold his calf for learning.) "After Brother Moysey's first sermon on Lord's day, there was one confession.

It was a grand sermon,--he is just the man for the place and I am sure will do a splendid work here. Everybody sends love to you. I am so excited, I'm ill. I do hate to go from here. I never knew before how much I thought of this people. I have spent three days taking Brother Moysey around to see the people in their homes. I am so sorry to hear of your illness. Take good care of your health. Love to Brothers Gore, Santo, and everybody--dear me! I can write no more."

[13] See appendix.

[14] See appendix, "My Sheep."

[15] See appendix.

CHAPTER XIII.

TRAVELS IN THE ORIENT.

An account of one's travels in lands far from the scene of one's life-work, has no proper place in biography, unless such travels reveal or develop characteristics of the traveler. No matter how wide-spread may be the interest in the countries traversed, the biographer has no right to convey his reader from land to land, simply because the feet of his subject have gone on before. We would, therefore, pa.s.s over the oriental experiences of Mr. and Mrs. Carr with but a word, if we did not have before us extensive notes on the journey, in Mrs. Carr's own hand.

The fact that she wrote of her experiences, makes them at once of biographical value, for we are enabled to observe the reaction of peoples and countries upon her own mind. While it is true that these notes were made that she might tell others what she had seen, it must be remembered that they were not intended for publication.

"On a beautiful May morning, the pet steamer of the Peninsular and Oriental Line, with all canvas spread, was skimming the smooth waters of the Indian Ocean. No albatross of ill-omen hovered round our s.h.i.+p.

The pa.s.sengers, light-hearted and joyous, were chatting under the awning,--when the man at the wheel shouted, 'Fire! fire!'

"At that awful word, every man of the crew was at his post, while pale pa.s.sengers stared at each other, fainting women fell into trembling arms, and the children caught the contagion of fear. Suddenly our Captain turned his wide-mouthed trumpet upon us and shouted:

"'Ladies and gentlemen, I beg your pardon; the crew is on a fire drill!'

Those who had fainted, never forgave him for his failure to notify them of what was to happen.

"A night of excitement succeeded. About ten o'clock, while we were on deck, enjoying the balmy air of the tropics, the sharp report of a pistol was heard, its flash gleamed for an instant on the waters,--and a suicide had cast a gloom over all. A night of watching by the dead pa.s.sed, and at the rising of the sun we witnessed a burial at sea. The body, enclosed in a canvas sack and weighted with iron, was laid upon a latticed bier close to the opened gangway. It was held in place by two guards lest, even in that calm sea, a sudden tilt of the s.h.i.+p send it into its grave before the time. The service of the Church of England was read; then the body fell heavily into the waters, there to remain until the coming of that sound which is to penetrate even the depths of old ocean.

"A few days sail brought us to the luxuriant sh.o.r.es of Ceylon. We spent several days driving over the beautiful island, through cocoanut and banana groves and cinnamon gardens, inhaling the spicy breezes, and sorrowing over the degradation of the people.

"From this beautiful but sin-cursed isle, our s.h.i.+p soon brought us through the straits of Bab-el-Mandeb, and anch.o.r.ed at Aden, on the barren sh.o.r.es of Arabia. Near Aden are situated the immense tanks holding millions of gallons of water, without which the land would be uninhabitable. Continuing our voyage up the Red Sea, we pa.s.sed Mocha, renowned for its coffee, and in due time arrived at the gate-entrance of the great Sinaitic Peninsula,--Suez.

"Suez, washed upon one side by the sea, is encircled upon the others by the barren wastes of the desert. No tree, shrub, or blade of gra.s.s, relieves the gloomy sterility of the landscape. We hasten on by rail.

Soon a long, low line of water appears, just beside the railroad track.

Behold, it is the Nile--that river cradled in the depths of mysterious caverns, forcing its way through granite ledges and mountain barriers, rus.h.i.+ng over cataracts, foaming through narrows, then flowing gently onward, singing amid perpetual suns.h.i.+ne, until it empties by its seven mouths into the great blue sea. A river which has a place in history by the side of the Euphrates and the Jordan; a river which the Egyptians wors.h.i.+ped, and the miracle of whose waters made a Pharaoh tremble; a river on whose banks perished Thebes with her hundred gates, and Memphis with her monuments; a river that has seen the coming of Ethiopian and Persian, Macedonian and Roman, Saracen and Turk, in fulfillment of the curse G.o.d spoke through Ezekiel.

"After stopping at numerous stations where we were greeted by sights, sounds, and odors peculiar to the coa.r.s.e civilization of the Orient, the minarets of Cairo and the pyramids of Gizeh looked down upon us. After a minute examination of the pyramids" (I omit a thoughtful and logical disquisition on the various problems presented by these monuments) "we drove back to Cairo under the grateful shade of the lebbekh trees, over a fine macadamized road, built in 1868 in honor of the Prince and Princess of Wales. After a pleasant and profitable talk with the American consul, who kindly came to bring us our pa.s.sports, and to invite us to dine with him, we reviewed, as usual, the scenes of the day, and rested as only weary sight-seers can rest.

"Early the next morning, we drove through the Esbekeeyah, the Corso of Cairo, on our way to Heliopolis. It is easily identified from a distance by the oldest obelisk in Egypt, bearing the name of the founder of the XXII. dynasty. In Scripture, Heliopolis is called On. Moses is said to have studied here, and Joseph's father-in-law was a priest of its renowned temple. Here Plato lived for thirteen years. It seems to have been literally a city of obelisks, for it furnished all that have been transported to Europe. Its destruction was prophesied by Ezekiel.

"The way to the magnificent palace of s...o...b..a lies along a beautiful avenue of sycamore, fig, and acacia. The s...o...b..a road is the 'Rotten Row' of Cairo. It is perhaps the most republican promenade in the world.

No vehicle or animal is excluded. The Khedive and his outriders are jostled in most unseemly fas.h.i.+on by bare-boned donkeys whipped along by ragged urchins. Ministers, consuls, bankers, money-changers, speculators, singers, actors, ballet-dancers, adventurers, and not least conspicuous, English-speaking tourists, form a curious medley. After a drive to the tombs of the Caliphs through sand that buried our carriage wheels almost to the hub, we spent a pleasant evening with the American consul and his accomplished wife in their beautiful oriental home, then slept the dreamless sleep of the weary traveler.

"In the early morning we mounted our donkeys which were ornamented gorgeously in oriental style. These donkeys, in honor of our nativity, had been christened Uncle Sam and Yankee Doodle. We expressed our appreciation of such patriotic names, when, lo! almost every donkey in Cairo, in the neighborhood of our hotel was suddenly transformed into an Uncle Sam or a Yankee Doodle. But Mr. Carr and I would not desert the first of the name.

"I wish you could have seen us flying along the Nile at the rate of the Western Lightning Express, Eli, without either bridle or mane to cling to, our English tongues crying, 'Stop! stop!'--which the Arab ears of our muleteers interpreted into, 'Faster! faster!' Our muleteers were very accommodating fellows, and their interpretation encouraged them to renewed efforts to increase the speed of our donkeys, by applying, every thirty seconds, a sharp-pointed steel instrument. Our English-speaking dragoman was too far ahead to hear our cries of distress as we rocked in the cradle of (on) the donkey.

[Ill.u.s.tration: A New Year's Reception]

"After an hour's most exciting ride, we dismounted at the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities. Here is a mummy coffin, whose hieroglyphics demonstrate that the ancient Egyptians had a conception of h.e.l.l and heaven, and a belief in the immortality of the soul. There is an inscription proving that the Sphinx existed before the time of Cheops; and that even then, the people were rich and civilized. Here are ancient knives, scissors, needles, etc., but nothing is made of iron, which they thought a bone of their evil genius. Here on exhibition are the magnificent jewels found on the mummy of Queen Aoh-Hotep, the mother of the first king of the XVIII. dynasty.

"Here can be found the confirmation of many narratives of the Old Testament. The first great event in the Kingdom of Judah, after its separation, was the invasion of s.h.i.+shak, king of Egypt. According to the sacred record, s.h.i.+shak came against Jerusalem with 1,200 chariots and 60,000 hors.e.m.e.n, took the fenced cities, and was about to invest the capital, when Rehoboam made his submission.

"On the outside of the great temple at Karnak, hieroglyphics commemorate the success of s.h.i.+shak against Judah, and records a long list of captured towns--the fenced cities of Scripture. The picture Moses gives of a Pharaoh ruling over an absolute monarchy, finds confirmation in the ancient Egyptian tombs. From vast numbers of papyri, we learn in detail of that old civilization--records which even Herodotus was not able to read.

"In these we find a counterpart of the picture of that country presented by Moses. After a slumber of 3,000 years, these records present the people prostrating themselves, the laborers storing away grain, the baker with his three baskets upon his head, the brickyards with Jewish laborers supervised by Egyptian taskmasters, etc.

"In the Museum of Antiquities are statues of kings and queens who lived in the era between Moses and Abraham. In front of them is an immense gla.s.s case in which is deposited their crown jewels, artistically executed. Among them is a ma.s.sive gold chain, more exquisitely beautiful than anything I saw in the Tower, among Victoria's crown jewels, unless I except the Kohinoor. It was more beautiful than the jeweled swordhilt, breast plate or crown of the Shah of Persia, worn at his reception at Milan, though they represented nearly half the wealth of his kingdom.

"Thus it is proved that in the era in which Joseph received the chain of gold from Pharaoh, such chains, of rare workmans.h.i.+p, were already in vogue. Less than a century ago, critics were hurling their shafts of contempt against the so-called blunders of Moses; but monumental history substantiates his credibility. Truly, Egypt is one of G.o.d's historic books. His handwriting is on temple and tablet and tomb. Here dead men speak, and stones rise up to testify. Bricks of unburnt clay, torn up from the ruins of centuries, tell of Israel's bondage and labor.

"Of course we went to the bazaars and parks, cathedrals and mosques, the missionary schools, and the College of Cairo--the princ.i.p.al University of the East. And then to Alexandria--to which the ancient city has, indeed, bequeathed nothing but its name. Though earth and sea have remained unchanged, imagination can scarcely find a place for the ancient walls. Little vestige remains of the magnificent days of the Ptolomies and the Caesars.

"One-fourth of the population is foreign; the city seethes with the sc.u.m of all the cities of the Mediterranean. Here luxury and literature, the Epicurean and the Christian, dwelt together; but now, in the Oriental part, one finds only dirty, narrow, tortuous streets, mud-colored buildings with terraced roofs, varied by fat mosques with lean minarets.

"Here once stood the renowned library of antiquity. Here the Hebrew Scriptures expanded into Greek under the hands of the Septuagint. Here Cleopatra, '_Vainquer des vainquer du monde_' reveled with the Roman conqueror; here Mark preached the truth upon which Origen attempted to refine; here Athenasius held warlike controversy; here Amer conquered, and here Abercrombie fell.

"In company with our intelligent dragoman, we sailed from Alexandria on a Russian steams.h.i.+p, and, after a voyage of a day and a half, beheld the queer stone city of Joppa, with its fort-like houses rising tier above tier on the hillside.

"I cannot describe the enthusiasm we felt at the thought that we were at last to walk upon the soil hallowed by the feet of patriarchs, prophets and apostles and to visit the scenes where they lived, labored, and communed with G.o.d. We walked through the winding, slanting streets of Joppa, and called at the house of Simon the tanner.

"So well preserved were the vats of his tannery that one would hardly have been surprised to find the distinguished guest of Simon walking on the housetop in the twilight. But we must confess that we could not identify this house by the description given in the tenth chapter of Acts.

"Leaving Joppa early in the afternoon, in a German spring-wagon, and pa.s.sing through the only gate on the land side, we set our faces toward the Holy City. Gardens and orchards, groves of orange, fig, and pomegranate, made the country delightful. Our road lay directly across the plain of Sharon.