Far Off; Or, Asia and Australia Described: With Anecdotes and IllustrationsMortimer, Favell Lee
Religion
Far Off; Or, Asia and Australia Described: With Anecdotes and Illustrations
Mortimer, Favell Lee
Asia -- Description and travel; Australia -- Description and travel
"Do you know," said Miss Grant to the mother, "that the children are
going to church with me?" "Yes," replied the mother, "wherever Missie
pleases to take them." Then the lady told her of the baptism, and
entreated her consent. At last the heathen mother replied, "If you wish
it, I will not oppose you." Miss Grant, afraid lest the mother should
change her mind, hastened into her palanquin, and the sisters hastened
into theirs. Looking back, the lady perceived the mother was standing
watching the palanquins. Seeing this, she stopped, saying, "Nomis, why
should not you come, and see what is done?" To the lady's surprise, the
mother immediately consented to come; and so this heathen mother was
present at the baptism of her daughters. Their teacher, (who was their
_mother in Christ_,) rejoiced with exceeding joy to see her dear girls
give themselves to the Lord, and to hear them answer in their broken
English, "All _dis_ I do steadfastly believe."
Soon after their baptism, the girls went to live in their mother's house.
To comfort them, Miss Grant promised to fetch them every Sunday, to spend
the day with her. She came for them at five o'clock in the morning,
before it was light, and took them back at nine, when it was quite dark.
If she had not fetched them herself, they would not have been allowed to
go.
After awhile, they were _not_ allowed to go. The reason was, that the
heathen mother wanted Chun to marry a heathen Chinaman. Chun refused to
commit such a sin. Then her mother was angry, mocked her, and prevented
her going to see Miss Grant. Still Chun refused. She saw her mother
embroidering her wedding-dresses, but she still persisted that she would
not marry a heathen, especially as she would have to bow down before an
idol at her marriage. Chun grew very unhappy, and looked very pale, she
wrote many letters to her kind friend, and offered up many prayers to her
merciful God. And did the Lord hear her, and did He deliver her? He did.
A Christian Chinaman, who had been brought up by a missionary, heard of
Chun, and asked permission to marry her. He had never seen her, for it is
not the custom in China for girls to be seen.
Miss Grant was delighted at the thought of her darling Chun marrying a
Christian, and she helped to prepare for the wedding. There was no bowing
down before an idol at that wedding, but an English clergymen read the
service. Chun's face, according to the custom, was covered with a thick
veil, and even her hands and feet were hidden. A few days after the
wedding, Miss Grant, according to the custom, called on the newly
married. She found the room beautifully ornamented, like all Chinese
rooms at such times, but there were two ornaments seldom seen in
China--two Bibles lying open on the table.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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