A Lady of England 64
‘The Mission Miss Sahiba in dress must be plain;
The Mission Miss Sahibas must furnish their brain,--
Of two or three languages knowledge obtain,--
When weary and puzzled, must try, try again;
We cannot learn grammar by _leger de main_.
‘The Mission Miss Sahiba must know every lane,
Climb ladder-like stairs, without fearing a sprain;
The Mission Miss Sahibas must speak very plain,
Must rebuke and encourage, must teach and explain;
The Mission Miss Sahibas must grasp well the rein;
The Mission Miss Sahibas must not look for gain,
Though doctoring sick folk, like Jenner or Quain.
‘Let Mission Miss Sahibas from late hours refrain,
For they must rise early, and bear a hard strain,
Like vigorous cart-horses, drawing a wain,
That pull well together, when yoked twain and twain.
The Mission Miss Sahibas must work might and main,
And therefore good nourishment should not disdain,--
Or danger is great of their going insane.
‘The Mission Miss Sahibas must topis[92] retain,
Must guard against sunstroke, to health such a bane;
And midst frogs and mosquitoes must patient remain,
Yes, e’en when tormented, must smile through their pain;
And, with courage like that of the knights of Charlemagne,
By Mission Miss Sahibas snakes should be slain.
‘The Mission Miss Sahibas should sow well the grain,
Dark babies should fondle, dark women should train,
And Bibis and Begums at times entertain;
Should smile and should soothe, but not flatter or feign;
And to usefulness thus they may hope to attain.
‘_N.B._--Let all Mission Miss Sahibas single remain,--
If they don’t, they step out of their proper domain,--
And can never be Mission Miss Sahibas again!’
CHAPTER IX
A.D. 1879
THE CHURCH AT BATALA
The annals of 1879 are as usual very abundant, and space can only
be found for a limited selection of extracts. Miss Tucker was much
distressed about the Afghan war; not because of any possible peril or
discomfort to herself, but because her judgment disapproved of it as a
whole, and also because of the sufferings which she knew it must entail
upon the soldiers.
While the larger number of extracts given are, throughout her Indian
career, in reference to the work going on round about her, it must not
be supposed that her love for relatives and old friends, or her interest
in all that concerned them, ever for a moment waned. The letters teem
with loving words and messages; and every item of news from England is
received with delight. Her affections seem to have grown stronger rather
than weaker, through long separation.
‘BATALA, _Jan. 16, 1879_.--Mine own Laura, how could you write
regarding the little meeting, at which you and sweet Margaret
were, “Would you not like to be in my shoes at the time, and
hold your darling friend in your arms?” I would much rather
have been in _Margaret’s shoes_, and have held some one else
in my arms,--only for the wrench that would have followed! But
O love, we are travelling in the same train, only in different
carriages; and I am thankful that though we cannot see each
other, we can as it were talk to each other out of the windows.
What a blessing the Post is!’
TO MISS ‘LEILA’ HAMILTON.
_‘Jan. 20, 1879._
‘Ours is not to be a village church, dear, but one in a city of
more than 25,000 inhabitants, where there are graceful mosques,
a large idol-temple, etc. A mere mud shed would be quite out of
character; our present room in a schoolhouse would be better
than that. There is considerable difficulty and expense in
buying a site. It ought to be _in_ the city. I have written to
dear ---- about one which Mr. Baring has seen, but it is very
doubtful whether the place can be purchased.
‘My nephew and I are both economical, and I think that you
and dear Fred may depend on money not being wasted in useless
decorations. But the sacred edifice ought to be of brick, and
pretty strong, not only to endure for years, but also to keep
out the heat. A tiny church would not cost much; one so small
that beams could reach from side to side. But if our Church
is to go on growing, as we hope and pray that it may, what
would be the advantage of having a tiny chapel, which would
not comfortably accommodate ourselves in a fiery climate, and
in which there would be no room at all for heathen spectators?
We should be wanting a _second_; and how could we procure a
second clergyman? Please thank dear Fred very, very much for
his kindness in collecting, and assure him that we wish to make
the money go as far as possible.’
TO MRS. HAMILTON.
‘_Jan. 31._--I sometimes think that it is well for me that I
have no one to carry cushions after me,--as the dear A----s
made the boys do in George Square,--or to watch my face to see
if I look pale. I have been enabled to make efforts, for which
I might not have thought my frame capable, and have kept my
health wonderfully.
‘This is the eighth day that I have not seen an English person!
Mera Bhatija has been away on duty; but I hope to have him
back to-morrow. I shall not be sorry to see him again; we are
becoming more and more like _real_ Aunt and Nephew. He wanted
me to go to Amritsar during his needful absence; but there were
strong reasons against that....
‘As regards health, we are between Scylla and Charybdis. People
in India cannot help thinking a great deal about it, because
five minutes’ carelessness may wreck health for life; yet it is
a great matter for us, if possible, to keep from sinking to the
languid “cannot-do-anything” point. To rest there is something
like letting the head go under water. I often think of dear
Uncle Tom’s __EXPRESSION__,--“Never say die!”’
TO MRS. E----
‘_Feb. 4, 1879._
‘My nephew, the Rev. F. Baring, has organised little relief
works; for, owing to drought, and partly to the war, there is
much distress in Batala. If you were here, dear Aunt, it would
interest you to walk about, leaning on my arm, and see poor men
in their rags, women and children, carrying baskets of earth on
their heads, to fill up that part of the tank which is nearest
to the house. It is a good thing for us, but a better thing
for the poor folk, who are thankful to earn their pice. Mr.
Baring intends also to give poor women in the city employment
in spinning, and to get a Christian native weaver to make the
cotton into towels or napkins....
‘Both my nephews, Mr. Bateman and Mr. Baring, are very clever
in finding ways to start the Converts in life, giving them
means of earning an honest livelihood. One fine lad has a
place in the Woods and Forests Department; another is learning
work in the Press; a third is to be employed in a religious
book-shop; a fourth convert is doing profitable business as a
small wood-merchant. Another, who has a little money of his
own, intends to set up a small shop in his own village. This is
rather brave, as, only a month or two ago, he was driven forth
by his own family with threats and curses. It seems to me that
a very important part of a Missionary’s work is to watch over
converts after Baptism, both as regards body and soul. In the
Church, in the time of the Apostles, converts were not left to
starve. They must not be idle, but they must have the means of
earning their bread. We also greatly wish that every Native
convert should feel it to be his or her work to bring in others
to Christ....
‘We intend to have a Fancy Fair in April, for the Church
which we hope to build; but the great puzzle will be to find
buyers,--Mr. Baring and myself being the only white folk in
Batala, and Natives generally disliking to spend money, except
on marriages, funerals, jewels, and sweetmeats.’
TO MRS. HAMILTON.
‘_March 3._--I have another dear letter, to-day received, to
thank you for. You need take no thought, love, about where I
sit. We have benches in chapel; and as for my duli--to sit on
its flat floor does not hurt me in the least. I dare say that
dear E. never got into the way of it; but I take to it as a
duck to the water. The only difficulty is the scrambling out of
the box; but this does me no harm; it is wholesome exercise. As
for a carriage, it would be useless in Batala. I was regularly
blocked in to-day, even in my tiny duli. The streets are so
narrow and so crowded....’
TO W. F. T. HAMILTON.
‘_March 17._
‘Our saintly Bishop, Dr. French, is now our guest.... We are
having such an interesting time, a heart-warming time! There
is to be a Confirmation to-morrow; and oh, through what fiery
trials some of the dear candidates have come! There is B--n,
... the first man who dared to be baptized in bigoted Batala.
His Baptism cost him wife and child. There is the thin, worn
B. D., with his hair turning grey; the only Christian in his
village, he whom his own mother has reviled.... There is the aged
Faqir and his stalwart sons,--but I need not enumerate all. I
have told you enough to show what peculiar features of interest
may attend a Confirmation in India,--especially perhaps in
so thoroughly Oriental a place as this, where there are no
Europeans at all but my nephew and myself.
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