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the life of william carey-第106章

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rom Calcutta to Jabez:〃I came down this morning to attend Lord W。 Bentinck's first lev閑。  It was numerously attended; and I had the pleasure of seeing there a great number of gentlemen who had formerly studied under me; and for whom I felt a very sincere regard。  I hear Lady Bentinck is a pious woman; but have not yet seen her。  I have a card to attend at her drawing…room this evening; but I shall not go; as I must be at home for the Sabbath; which is to…morrow。〃  It soon fell to Lord William Bentinck to meet the financial consequences of his weak predecessor's administration。 The College of Fort William had to be sacrificed。  Metcalfe and Bayley; Carey's old students whom he had permanently influenced in the higher life; were the members of council; and he appealed to them。  They sent him to the good Governor…General; to whose sympathy he laid bare all the past and present of the mission's finance。  He was told to have no fear; and indeed the Council held a long sitting on this one matter。  But from June 1830 the college ceased to be a teaching; and became an examining body。  When the salary was reduced one…half; from Rs。 1000 a month; the Brotherhood met to pray for light and strength。  Mr。 Robinson; the Java missionary who had attached himself to Serampore; and whose son long did good service as a Bengali scholar and preacher; gives us this glimpse of its inner life at this time:

〃The two old men were dissolved in tears while they were engaged in prayer; and Dr。 Marshman in particular could not give expressions to his feelings。  It was indeed affecting to see these good old men; the fathers of the mission; entreating with tears that God would not forsake them now grey hairs were come upon them; but that He would silence the tongue of calumny; and furnish them with the means of carrying on His own cause。〃

They sent home an appeal to England; and Carey himself published what is perhaps the most chivalrous; just; and weighty of all his utterances on the disagreeable subjectThoughts upon the Discussions which have arisen from the Separation between the Baptist Missionary Society and the Serampore Missions。 〃From our age and other circumstances our contributions may soon cease。  We have seen a great work wrought in India; and much of it; either directly or indirectly; has been done by ourselves。  I cannot; I ought not to be indifferent about the permanency of this work; and cannot therefore view the exultation expressed at the prospect of our resources being crippled otherwise than being of a character too satanic to be long persisted in by any man who has the love of God in his heart。〃

The appeal to all Christians for 〃a few hundred pounds per annum〃 for the mission station closed thus: 〃But a few years have passed away since the Protestant world was awakened to missionary effort。 Since that time the annual revenues collected for this object have grown to the then unthought…of sum of ?00;000。  And is it unreasonable to expect that some unnoticeable portion of this should be intrusted to him who was amongst the first to move in this enterprise and to his colleagues?〃  The Brotherhood had hardly despatched this appeal to England with the sentence; 〃Our present incomes even are uncertain;〃 when the shears of financial reduction cut off Dr。 Carey's office of Bengali translator to Government; which for eight years had yielded him Rs。 300 a month。  But such was his faith this final stroke called forth only an expression of regret that he must reduce his contributions to the missionary cause by so much。  He was a wonder to his colleagues; who wrote of him: 〃Though thus reduced in his circumstances the good man; about to enter on his seventieth year; is as cheerful and as happy as the day is long。  He rides out four or five miles every morning; returning home by sunrise; goes on with the work of translation day by day; gives two lectures on divinity and one on natural history every week in the college; and takes his turn of preaching both in Bengali and in English。〃

When the Christian public responded heartily to his appeal Carey was loud and frequent in his expressions of gratitude to God; who; 〃in the time of our great extremity; appeared and stirred up His people thus willingly to offer their substance for His cause。〃  With respect to myself; I consider my race as nearly run。  The days of our years are three score years and ten; and I am now only three months short of that age; and repeated bilious attacks have weakened my constitution。  But I do not look forward to death with any painful anticipations。  I cast myself on and plead the efficacy of that atonement which will not fail me when I need it。〃

Dr。 Marshman gives us a brighter picture of him。 〃I met with very few friends in England in their seventieth year so lively; as free from the infirmities of age; so interesting in the pulpit; so completely conversible as he is now。〃  The reason is found in the fact that he was still useful; still busy at the work he loved most of all。  He completed his last revision of the entire Bible in Bengalithe fifth edition of the Old Testament and the eighth edition of the Newin June 1832。  Immediately thereafter; when presiding at the ordination of Mr。 Mack as co…pastor with Dr。 Marshman and himself over the church at Serampore; he took with him into the pulpit the first copy of the sacred volume which came from the binder's hands; and addressed the converts and their children from the words of Simeon〃Lord now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace; for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation。〃  As the months went on he carried through the press still another and improved edition of the New Testament; and only then he felt and often said that the work of his heart was done。

He had other sources of saintly pleasure as he lay meditating on the Word; and praising God for His goodness to the college and the mission stations increased to nineteen by young Sir Henry Havelock; who founded the church at Agra。 Lord William Bentinck; having begun his reign with the abolition of the crime of suttee; was; with the help of Carey's old students; steadily carrying out the other reforms for which in all his Indian career the missionary had prayed and preached and published。  The judicial service was reorganised so as to include native judges。  The uncovenanted civil service was opened to all British subjects of every creed。  The first act of justice to native Christians was thus done; so that he wrote of the college:〃The students are now eligible to every legal appointment in India which a native can hold; those who may possess no love for the Christian ministry have the prospect of a profitable profession as advocates in the judicial courts; and the hope of rising to posts of honourable distinction in their native land。〃  The Hindoo law of inheritance which the Regulating Act of Parliament had so covered that it was used to deprive converts to Christianity of all civil rights; was dealt with so far as a local regulation could do so; and Carey; advised by such an authority as Harington; laid it on his successor in the apostolate; the young Alexander Duff; to carry the act of justice out fully; which was done under the Marquis of Dalhousie。  The order
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