Chapter XII: Voyage to England

It was on the 18th of August 1814, that Mr. Corrie left Agra. On his way to Calcutta he paid visits to his friends at the different stations on the river, more especially at Chunar and Benares, the scene of his earliest ministrations in India. Whilst at the latter place, he received intelligence that Mr. Bowley and Abdool Messeeh were so discouraged by some difficulties that occurred soon after his departure from Agra, that both “were ready to desist from the work of the Lord.” This occasioned great sorrow and anxiety to Mr. C., inasmuch as he not only anticipated the breaking up of the native congregation which he had been mainly instrumental in gathering around him; but, also, that it might afford matter for triumph to the enemies of missions. With reference to this subject, Mr. C. observed in a letter

TO MR. SHERER.

“If Abdool should give up in discouragement, my plans would
be much set aside. But ‘Jehovah Jireh,’ must be my motto.
This perplexity brings me often to my knees, and therefore
I hope will work for my good. An expression of Mr. Brown,
in our last intercourse, often occurs to me:--‘Instead of
praying always and not fainting, we faint always and never
pray, till we find ourselves in a strait.’”

On reaching Calcutta, Mr. Corrie found that all his medical friends concurred in the opinion that a sea-voyage was absolutely necessary to eradicate his disorder; but as his wife’s expected confinement did not allow of his immediate embarkation, Mr. C. employed himself during his stay at Calcutta, in setting on foot a school for native christian schoolmasters. He had an opportunity too, of becoming acquainted with Bishop Middleton, who had then recently arrived in India, and of submitting to the consideration of that prelate, many circumstances connected with the state of religion in that country.

On the 1st January 1815, Mr. and Mrs. Corrie went on board the H. C. ship Europe, with the intention of proceeding, in the first instance, to the Cape of Good Hope. But on arriving at the Cape, Mr. Corrie was recommended to proceed to England for the benefit of the colder climate; and with this advice he considered it his duty to comply. In a letter to Mr. Sherer, dated from Cape Town, March 29, 1815, Mr. C. relates:--

“This morning I have written to the Adjutant General,
enclosing a medical certificate of the necessity for my
going on. Our own Surgeon N. an old practitioner here, Dr.
H. and Dr. S. the garrison-surgeon, concur in opinion, and
without hesitation on the subject. I ought, I believe, to
consider this as the voice of Providence, and to acquiesce
in it, as I hope I do. But the whole of this dispensation
has proved the greatest trial I ever met with. I cannot
see my way at all in it; and I go on, driven, as it were,
by circumstances. I foresee innumerable difficulties
before me, without one certainty of good to follow, and
utterly despair of profiting myself or others in England.
I am called to walk by faith more than ever: sense is all
opposed.”

Shortly after the date of this letter, Mr. and Mrs. Corrie sailed from the Cape for England, and after a prosperous voyage, landed at Southampton on the 22nd June. Here Mr. C. was made acquainted for the first time, with the publication of the Journal of Abdool Messeeh, and the interest excited by it. He heard also, with sorrow, of the death of Dr. Buchanan. On reaching London he was visited by several of those friends who interested themselves with the progress of the gospel among the Hindoos; and at an early day attended a meeting of the Committee of the Society for Missions to Africa and the East, to communicate to them information on missionary subjects. He was, also, invited to attend a Committee of the London Missionary Society, to answer enquiries respecting their prospects in India. On all these occasions Mr. C. endeavoured to shew, that from the co-operation of many pious individuals among the English in India; from the readiness with which children were sent to school whenever opportunity was afforded, and from the eagerness with which translations of the Scriptures were received by many among the natives, there appeared to be fair prospects of good being done among them. He pressed upon his friends at the same time, the fact, that but little or nothing had yet been effected in India, for want of a sufficiency of labourers, and that nothing would be done without them; that wherever missionaries thoroughly acquainted with the language of the country had resided, they found plenty to do, and that though few of the natives of India in comparison with the multitude, shewed any concern for religion, still the number of such as did so, exceeded the opportunities of instruction.

It was a gratifying circumstance to Mr. C. to observe, from the eagerness with which all persons with whom he conversed, enquired after the progress of missions among the heathen, that there had been a great increase of zeal for the spread of divine truth, as compared with the state of religious feeling at the time he left England in 1806. He expressed himself, also, agreeably surprised to find that the increased regard for sacred things which he observed in London, was not less visible in his native village and county; in the more orderly observance of the Sabbath, and in the attention that was given by the gentry and clergy to the education of the poor, to Sunday schools, and to the support of different religious societies. On the other hand his affectionate nature was afflicted by hearing of the death of neighbours and friends; by learning that some with whom he had formerly “walked in the house of God as friends,” had turned aside from the simplicity of the gospel; and by having to witness the many other changes which the lapse of years never fails to bring about in families and localities. Deep therefore were the emotions called forth both in preacher and hearers, when, for the first time after his return from India, Mr. Corrie occupied his father’s pulpit, and urged his surviving neighbours to use the numberless changes and trials and deaths, that had occurred since he last addressed them, as a reason for increased anxiety to secure to themselves an enduring inheritance.[91]

No sooner, however, had Mr. C. somewhat recruited his health, than he visited his friends, in different parts of England; taking occasion to plead the cause of missions, both from the pulpit and at public meetings, as opportunities occurred. Such portions of his time, also, as were not thus occupied, he devoted to a revision of the Liturgy in Hindoostanee. His purpose was, if practicable, to carry out with him to India, a reprint of that important translation, for the use of the native Christians.

In the spring of 1816, Mr. Corrie was engaged to preach the anniversary sermon for the Church Missionary Society in London. With reference to that circumstance he wrote

TO J. W. SHERER, ESQ.

“I am appointed to preach that sermon, which I would
gladly have avoided: but it was said, ‘That many would
be discouraged if I held back; for that the idea would
be, that the subject [of missions] was not considered so
important by us in India, as it has been represented here.’
I therefore consented, leaving the issue to God.”

Before preaching the sermon, however, Mr. Corrie availed himself of Mr. Simeon’s judgment and experience; and in transmitting a copy of the manuscript to that honoured friend, he observed:--

“I am deeply sensible of its defects. Being anxious to
introduce a number of facts, not, as I think, sufficiently
known, there is too little Scripture quotation; and I feel
it to be wanting in a devotional spirit, though I hope the
relation may occasion a feeling of compassion, and excite
to exertion in behalf of the heathen.”

This hope seems, in some measure, to have been realized, for the accounts given at the time, state that this sermon, which was preached on the 30th of April, and grounded on Isaiah xliv. 20, awakened peculiar interest.[92] As, also, it embodies Mr. Corrie’s convictions respecting the moral condition and responsibilities of the heathen, and developes the means which his experience led him to regard as best calculated to rescue the Hindoo from debasing superstitions; a brief abstract of the sermon cannot well be omitted. Let it be observed, then, that Mr. Corrie purposed in the first instance

“Fairly to meet the objections made against missionary
efforts, as if the present state of the heathen were
unavoidable--as if they were scarcely accountable for their
errors,--and our solicitude on their behalf were therefore
superfluous.”

To meet objections of this kind, he goes on to trace the origin of all false religion, and in this, observes that

“Intercourse with heathen nations had inclined him to the
opinion, that the original revelation made to our first
parents after their fall, is the ground of all the worship
offered up throughout the world. That the dispensations
of God to Noah and to the Church before him, must have
been known to the family of Noah, and would be remembered
by his immediate descendants; and carried by them into
the different countries, whither they were afterwards
scattered. Hence, it was, he apprehended, that the custom
proceeded, of offering sacrifices in worship, by the
heathen tribes of every description, as the only means
of pacifying the Evil Spirit; who, according to their
apprehension of him, is going about seeking whom he may
devour.

“But there are many circumstances in the state of the
idolatrous nations of the east, that discover a still later
acquaintance with Divine revelation, than the time of Noah.
Many coincidences in the fabulous histories of the Hindoos
with the writings of the Old and New Testament, indicate
that the forefathers of that race were not altogether
ignorant of the subsequent circumstances of the church of
God. Their present deplorable ignorance and error, cannot
therefore, be said to arise from any appointment of the
Almighty; but from their wilful neglect of those notices of
his will with which they were originally favoured. The sins
of the fathers are thus, in an especial manner, visited
upon their children. The neglect of parental instruction,
by a just connection between guilt and punishment,
involves their posterity in ignorance, which is the
parent of superstition, and the fruitful source of their
miseries and their crimes. This view of the subject ought,
therefore, to be kept distinctly in mind; that we may not
charge God foolishly with being, in any other way than
by the instituted order of connection between cause and
effect, the author of that blindness of mind, and hardness
of heart, which excludes the heathen from the divine
favour. The declaration of God, by the prophet Hosea,
respecting Israel, is true also of the heathen, though in a
subordinate degree: ‘_Thou hast destroyed thyself_.’

“These observations are in a particular manner applicable
to the idolatrous nations of India. In their present
circumstances, viewed by the light of revelation, they
evidently appear ‘without God and without hope in the
world;’ not only as they are without Christ, but as their
own religious views and feelings render them totally
incapable of enjoying God, or of participating in the
happiness of the heavenly state.”

Then after reciting many of the superstitious practices of the heathen, and shewing that the efficacy of any religious rite which they might perform, was not regarded by them as being, in any moral sense, dependent on the state of mind in the worshippers; whilst on the other hand their idea of sin, being connected with the neglect of ceremonial observances, and not with moral delinquencies,--they allowed themselves in all kinds of sensual indulgences, without any compunctions of conscience or feelings of shame; Mr. Corrie proceeded to observe:--

“How then can we avoid the conclusion, that the religious
views and feelings even, of these miserable men, do, in the
very nature of things, exclude them from the approbation
of God, and incapacitate them for the enjoyments of the
heavenly state? It is impossible that a sinner, going out
of this world, in expectation of any thing corresponding
with earthly honours, amusements or enjoyments, should
not be met by disappointment and shame. It is impossible,
that a soul utterly ignorant of holy, spiritual, and
intellectual enjoyments, should find any place among
‘the general assembly and church of the first-born; the
innumerable company of angels, and the spirits of just
men made perfect.’ Here, therefore, the christian takes
his firm stand against all who oppose missionary efforts.
The heathen, not only according to the unerring word of
God, but by the evidence of facts, are in a perishing
condition. Without Christ, they cannot be saved. ‘He that
hath the Son, hath life; and he that hath not the Son of
God, hath not life.’ And myriads of these immortal spirits
are passing into eternity, whose state and dispositions
prove them to be utterly alienated from the favour of God,
destitute of spiritual life, and fatally incapacitated for
the enjoyments of a better world. For without dispositions
suited to the enjoyments of the heavenly state, they could
no more comprehend the happiness arising from them, even
if admitted to a participation of heaven, than a brute can
enjoy the pleasures of reason. And unless this be kept in
mind, it can scarcely be hoped, that a due measure of zeal
for the salvation of the heathen will be maintained among
us.”

Mr. Corrie then went on to give his reasons for regarding (1st.) The distribution of the Scriptures in different heathen languages; (2nd.) The establishing of Missions; and (3rd.) The education of youth; as being among the most likely means, under the Divine favour, to further the rescue of the heathen from their perilous condition; and he concluded by earnestly exhorting his hearers to do all in their power to aid in a work so pressing, and involving such fearful responsibilities.

There seems to be no doubt but that Mr. C.’s Sermon on this, as his addresses on other occasions, whilst conveying to the religious portion of the community, a more accurate conception of the moral condition of the heathen world, served also to deepen the convictions of many, that it is a primary Christian duty to be unwearied in our efforts to bring the heathen “out of darkness into” God’s “marvellous light.” It was plain also, from his letters and communications with friends, that this awakened interest on behalf of missions, acted very beneficially on his own mind. His experience whilst in India had been such, that he had to bear up not only against the ordinary difficulties inseparable from the missionary life, but also against the hostility of the government, the indifference of his fellow-countrymen in India, and the misgivings of even good men, as to the possibility of converting the heathen. He had, moreover, in a great measure, to maintain schools and teachers, and scripture-readers, out of such resources as his own income and the occasional contributions of a few Christian friends might supply. But his residence in England had brought to his knowledge the encouraging fact, that there were thousands in his native country, who had become earnestly desirous of promoting the best interests of their fellow-subjects in India. With reference to this circumstance, Mr. Corrie had occasion to remark:--

“I was frequently favoured to witness the lively interest
expressed, by persons in all ranks of life, with regard to
the state of the heathen. The bare mention of some of the
cruelties and superstitions we daily witness, drew forth
tears of commiseration. The news of a single soul turned
from heathen darkness to the light of the gospel, drew
forth bursts of praise and thanksgiving to the God of all
grace and mercy. Nor were these empty expressions only; for
the abundant contributions throughout Britain, for carrying
on the work of Missions, proved that multitudes were
sincere in those expressions of interest in the cause.”

When, therefore, after a residence of nearly two years in England, Mr. Corrie prepared to return to his former scene of labour, he carried with him both a deeper impression of the importance of the work in which he had been so long engaged, and also, the cheering consciousness that in such difficulties as might hereafter occur in his missionary career, he would be accompanied by the prayers and sympathies of thousands. Nor could he overlook that additional encouragement to exertion, which had recently been supplied by the kind and public manner, in which his labours at Agra had been commended by the Bishop of Calcutta.[93]

It may be also here mentioned, that although the frequent public services in which Mr. Corrie engaged, had not allowed him repose sufficient to recruit his health so effectually as could have been desired, yet he was unwilling to let pass any opportunity that occurred to promote the cause of missions. Within a few days, therefore, of his departure from England, he agreed to attend a meeting of the Committee of the Church Missionary Society in London, for the purpose of addressing two missionaries who were about to proceed to India; and the next day he preached a farewell sermon at the church of St. Mary Woolnoth.

On the 14th of April 1817, Mr. Corrie embarked on board the Carnatic, Indiaman, with his wife and infant daughter, and the same day sailed from the Downs. There were on board the Carnatic, besides his own family and those of the two missionaries above mentioned, upwards of forty passengers, and a detachment of soldiers. “We have about three hundred souls on board,” observes Mr. C. in a letter to his father, “but how to set about attempting their good, it is difficult to say.” As regarded himself, Mr. C. added:--

“A solemn, but not a painful feeling, sometimes fills my
mind on recollecting my father’s house, and the distant
prospect of again beholding it; but the consideration of
the ‘house not made with hands,’ quiets every anxiety,
and the sure and certain hope of meeting there may well
reconcile us to temporary separation. I have had many
thoughts of late, about the variety of religious divisions
in England, and see clearly, that most of them arise from
excess of spiritual advantages; and thus the means intended
for their good, become to many an ‘occasion of falling.’
No view of religion but what affects the heart, temper,
and life, is of any avail for eternity. The great facts of
the Trinity in Unity, the incarnation and vicarious death
of the Son of God, the promise of the Holy Ghost, all
these remain true and certain, though all men should deny
them. The influence they have, therefore, upon my heart
and life, is the great thing I have to attend to. If I do
so understand and feel these truths, as to engage me in
private, and influence me in public, the end for which they
were revealed is effected in me; and I shall be led by them
to the issue they promise: otherwise they serve no good
purpose to me.”

On approaching Madeira he again wrote to his father:--

“You will be glad to hear that we have proceeded thus far
in safety.... Our ship is in all respects most comfortable,
so that in all things relating to our voyage, we, as yet,
have only cause for thankfulness. I hope we may be carried
to our desired haven in peace, and that you will hear of
our continued welfare in that far country; and that we
may yet again see each other in the body, to recount new
mercies, and to excite to renewed praises. My mind is kept
in perfect peace; and I am enabled to keep the object of my
calling steadily in view. Less of determination, as to what
I shall do, than on my first going to India, but I trust a
full determination to do what my hand findeth to do, in its
time and season.”

In a private memorandum, Mr. C. remarks:--

“My mind is, I think, more resolutely and deliberately
set upon the work of the ministry in India; more disposed
to spend and to be spent in that service; and to glory in
it. I am in danger from the reasonableness and propriety
that appear to me in so doing: for though it is indeed a
reasonable thing, to offer body, soul and spirit to the
Lord’s service, yet reason cannot enable me to do it. The
quickening grace of the Holy Spirit can alone keep the soul
alive to God. The experience of the Saviour’s love alone,
constrains dull nature, even when regenerated, to activity
in saving souls. O for more experience of a Saviour’s love!

“May 10th. During the past week, I have had much thought
of life, as a state of endurance, rather than enjoyment.
We endure a ship in order to go to India: a cabin, in
order to attain to a house: medicine, in order to health:
the society on board, because we cannot get away: the
inmates, in hopes of doing them good. In the view of these
circumstances, Oh! how great does the goodness of God
appear, in His long suffering and patience! May it lead me
to a more entire repentance.

“August 3rd, 1817. Came to anchor in Madras roads, at
nine o’clock A. M. Our voyage has been very favourable,
in respect to weather and speed. At sea, off the Cape,
heard by a vessel, from Bengal, of the death of Mr.
Myers:[94] this has proved a severe trial to us; but the
certainty that he died in the Lord, prevented us sorrowing
immoderately. Thus the Lord is mindful of us, and lays no
heavier burden on us than we can bear.”

The Carnatic reached Madras early in August, and remained there for ten days or a fortnight. During that period Mr. Corrie and his family were the guests of his kind friend, the Rev. Marmaduke Thompson. In a letter written to his brother from Madras, Mr. C. informs him that

“There is a growing respect for religion in this place.
Indeed, there are many instances of serious religion
throughout the Presidency, both among the Civil and
Military servants of the Company. The Chaplains have
entered into a regular communication with each other in
connection with the Committee of the Church Missionary
Society, and at some stations things seem wonderfully
prepared for them. At one station where Mr. Spring is,
[Tellicherry], he found that through a native Christian,
whom God had stirred up to read the Scriptures to his
neighbours, thirteen of the heathen were anxious to be
baptized, some of whom have accordingly been baptized. We
hear too, that near Delhi, a company of about five hundred
people had collected to converse on the subject of the
Christian Scriptures, which had been circulated among them,
and that they had resolved to be Christians; although they
professed an unwillingness to associate with the English,
on account of their eating all kinds of food. I hope they
will learn the ways of God more perfectly.”

The Carnatic sailed from Madras on the 20th of August, and arrived at Calcutta by the end of that month.

[91] Mr. Corrie’s text on the occasion alluded to, was 1
John ii. 17.

[92] See Missionary Register for 1816, p. 185.

[93] See Bishop Middleton’s Sermons and Charges, p. 197.

[94] Mrs. Corrie’s father.