[Illustration: _Stanford’s Geog. Estab^t., London._]
CHAPTER V. _THE NEW HEBRIDES._
License and Ordination.—At Sea.—From Melbourne to Aneityum.—Settlement on Tanna.—Our Mission Stations.—Diplomatic Chiefs.—Painful First Impressions.—Bloody Scenes.—The Widow’s Doom.
On the first of December, 1857, the other Missionary-designate and I were “licensed” as preachers of the Gospel. Thereafter we spent four months in visiting and addressing nearly every congregation and Sabbath school in the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Scotland, that the people might see us and know us, and thereby take a personal interest in our work. That idea was certainly excellent, and might well be adapted to the larger Churches, by allocating one Missionary to each province or to so many presbyteries, sending him to address these, and training them to regard him as their Missionary and his work as theirs. On the 23rd March, 1858, in Dr. Symington’s church, Glasgow, in presence of a mighty crowd, and after a magnificent sermon on “Come over and help us,” we were solemnly ordained as Ministers of the Gospel, and set apart as Missionaries to the New Hebrides. On the 16th April, 1858, we left the Tail of the Bank at Greenock, and set sail in the _Clutha_ for the Foreign Mission field.
Our voyage to Melbourne was rather tedious, but ended prosperously, under Captain Broadfoot, a kindly, brave-hearted Scot, who did everything that was possible for our comfort. He himself led the singing on board at worship, which was always charming to me, and was always regularly conducted—on deck when the weather was fair, below when it was rough. I was also permitted to conduct Bible classes amongst the crew and amongst the passengers, at times and places approved of by the Captain—in which there was great joy. Nearly thirty years after, when I returned the second time to Scotland, a gentleman of good position, and the father of a large family in the West, saluted me warmly at the close of one of my meetings, and reminded me that he was my precentor in the Bible class on board the _Clutha_! He was kind enough to say that he had never forgotten the scene and the lessons there.
Arriving at Melbourne, we were welcomed by Rev. Mr. Moor, Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Wilson, and Mr. Wright, all Reformed Presbyterians from Geelong. Mr. Wilson’s two children, Jessie and Donald, had been under our care during the voyage; and my young wife and I went with them for a few days on a visit to Geelong, while Mr. Copeland remained on board the _Clutha_ to look after our boxes and to watch for any opportunity of reaching our destination on the Islands. He heard that an American ship, the _Francis P. Sage_, was sailing from Melbourne to Penang; and the Captain agreed to land us on Aneityum, New Hebrides, with our two boats and fifty boxes, for £100. We got on board on the 12th August, but such a gale blew that we did not sail till the 17th. On the _Clutha_ all was quiet, and good order prevailed; in the _F. P. Sage_ all was noise and profanity. The Captain said he kept his second mate for the purpose of swearing at the men and knocking them about. The voyage was most disagreeable to all of us, but fortunately it lasted only twelve days. On the 29th we were close up to Aneityum; but the Captain refused to land us, even in his boats; some of us suspecting that his men were so badly used, that had they got on shore they would never have returned to him! In any case he had beforehand secured his £100.
He lay off the island till a trader’s boat came off to see what we wanted, and by it we sent a note to Dr. Geddie, one of the Missionaries there. Early next morning, Monday, he came off to us in his boat, accompanied by Mr. Mathieson, a newly-arrived Missionary from Nova Scotia; bringing also Captain Anderson in the small mission schooner, the _John Knox_, and a large mission boat called the _Columbia_, well manned with crews of able and willing Natives. Our fifty boxes were soon on board the _John Knox_, the _Columbia_, and our own boats—all being heavily loaded and built up, except those that had to be used in pulling the others ashore. Dr. Geddie, Mr. Mathieson, Mrs. Paton, and I, were perched among the boxes on the _John Knox_, and had to hold on as best we could. On sheering off from the _F. P. Sage_, one of her davits caught and broke the mainmast of the little _John Knox_ by the deck, and I saved my wife from being crushed to death by its fall through managing to swing her instantaneously aside in an apparently impossible manner. It did graze Mr. Mathieson, but he was not hurt. The _John Knox_, already overloaded, was thus quite disabled; we were about ten miles at sea, and in imminent danger; but the Captain of the _F. P. Sage_ heartlessly sailed away and left us to struggle with our fate.