John Herring: A West of England Romance. Volume 2 (of 3)Baring-Gould, S. (Sabine)
General
John Herring: A West of England Romance. Volume 2 (of 3)
Baring-Gould, S. (Sabine)
West Country (England) -- Fiction
Hokee-Pokee-Wankee-Fum was, however, before long shaken in his
attachment to the Pure and Reformed, by the missionary insisting on his
limiting himself to one wife. This was more than he could endure, and
he opened his ears to the ministrations of the pastor of the Universal
Christians. By him also he was told that he must have but one wife, but
a concession was made that the rest might be retained under the
designation of domestics. With the Universals, the name, not the thing,
was essential. The Universal teacher set vigorously to work to strip
the mind of Wankee of all the unevangelical instructions he had received
from the Pure and Reformed, and he wrote home concerning his convert, to
the ’Universal Missionary Reporter,’ that Wankee in testimony of his
sincerity had retained but one wife out of the three score; but he
added, as wives were valuable commodities, this was much like a farmer
voluntarily abandoning his flock of sheep and limiting himself to one
ewe lamb. Under these circumstances, it became the duty of Christians
to indemnify this zealous Wankee, therefore he must solicit
subscriptions, &c. &c.
Unfortunately, this missionary was strict on the subject of temperance,
and forbade the use of spirits. Now Wankee was fond of grog, and when
he had been reprimanded and put on short commons of food, for yielding
to his passions, he grew sulky and deserted to the Particular
Christians, who allowed grog and had no sharp and defined belief or code
of morals, but a very decided disbelief in everything taught in the
other churches. Accordingly the missioner proceeded still further to
divest Wankee-Fum of his acquired faith, and he was brought to that
condition in which he protested against every thing and professed
nothing. To his bewildered mind, Christianity seemed a bird of paradise
on which the sectaries had fallen with the object of restoring it to its
primitive condition as it emerged from the egg. One pulled out the
gorgeous tail, another stripped off the coronal of plumes, a third reft
off the wing feathers, and the last, after having plucked and singed it,
held up a naked and expiring monster as typical primitive Christianity.
The Particular pastor wrote home to say that he had converted a native
prince of the name of Fum, with his entire family, consisting of one
hundred and six souls; that a great door was open for the advance of
vague and vapid Christianity. He was resolved (D.V.) to send Prince Fum
to his own island of Ho-ha, as native teacher and founder of a church.
To do this effectually, money was needed, &c. &c.
This was the glad news received by Mr. Flamank, and he hastened to
divulge it in missionary meetings of the Particular Christians in
Cornwall, and to collect money for establishing Hokee-Pokee-Wankee-Fum
in the island of Ho-ha as an evangelist.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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