Life of John Coleridge Patteson : Missionary Bishop of the Melanesian IslandsYonge, Charlotte M. (Charlotte Mary)
Religion
Life of John Coleridge Patteson : Missionary Bishop of the Melanesian Islands
Yonge, Charlotte M. (Charlotte Mary)
Missions -- Melanesia; Patteson, John Coleridge, 1827-1871
When the Bishop of New Zealand came to take leave, he said, half in
earnest, half in playfulness, 'Lady Patteson, will you give me Coley?'
She started, but did not say no; and when, independently of this, her
son told her that it was his greatest wish to go with the Bishop, she
replied that if he kept that wish when he grew up he should have her
blessing and consent.
But there was no further mention of the subject. The sisters knew what
had passed, but it was not spoken of to his father till long after, when
the wish had become purpose. Meantime the boy's natural development put
these visions into the background. He was going on with ordinary work
and play, enjoying the pageantry of the christening of the Prince of
Wales, and cheering himself hoarse and half-frantic when the King of
Prussia came to see the school; then on his father's birthday writing
with a 'hand quite trembling with delight' to announce what he knew
would be the most welcome of birthday presents, namely, the news that
he had been 'sent up' for a very good copy of seventy-nine verses,
'all longs, on Napoleon e Seylhia profugus, passage of Beresina, and
so forth.' His Latin verses were his strong point, and from this time
forward he was frequently sent up, in all twenty-five times, an almost
unprecedented number.
In fact he was entering on a fresh stage of life, from the little boy to
the lad, and the period was marked by his Confirmation on May 26, 1842.
Here is his account both of it and of his first Communion. The soberness
and old-fashioned simplicity of expression are worth remarking as tokens
of the quietly dutiful tone of mind, full of reverence and sincere
desire to do right, and resting in the consciousness of that desire,
while steadily advancing towards higher things than he then understood.
It was a life and character where advancement with each fresh imparting
of spiritual grace can be traced more easily than usual.
It is observable too that the boy's own earnestness and seriousness of
mind seem to have to him supplied the apparent lack of external aids to
devotional feeling, though the Confirmation was conducted in the brief,
formal, wholesale manner which some in after-life have confessed to
have been a disappointment and a drawback after their preparation and
anticipation:--
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account