There were many matters to be attended to before she left Akpap, and
she went down to Duke Town to hand over the business of the native
Court, and buy material for the buildings in the Creek. It was the
first time for many years that she had been on Mission Hill, and she
greatly enjoyed her stay with the Wilkies, in whose home she was able
to find quietness and comfort. The old people who knew the early
pioneers of the Mission flocked to see her, and her sojourn was one
long reception. A "command" invitation also came from the Commissioner,
but this she had the temerity to decline, saying that she was not
visiting. It is doubtful whether she had the attire fit for the
occasion. He, however, came to see her, and was charmed with her
personality.
It was on this visit that she brought another of the younger
missionaries under her spell--the Rev. J. K. Macgregor, B.D., Principal
of the Hope Waddell Institute. After his first meeting he wrote: "A
slim figure, of middle height, fine eyes full of power, she is no
ordinary woman. It was wonderful to sit and listen to her talking, for
she is most fascinating, and besides being a humorist is a mine of
information on mission history and Efik custom." Mr. and Mrs. Macgregor
grew into intimate friends, and their home, like that of the Wilkies',
thereafter became a haven of healing and rest.
She reached her base, Itu, with her family, in July, her health still
enfeebled, but her spirit burning like a pure fire, and established
herself in a house that was still unfinished. "What a picture it
presented," writes a Government doctor who visited her then. "A native
hut with a few of the barest necessities of furniture. She was sitting
on a chair rocking a tiny baby, while five others were quietly sleeping
wrapped up in bits of brown paper and newspapers in other parts of the
room. How she managed to look after all these children, and to do the
colossal work she did my comprehension." The joy of the people at her
advent boundless. Her bairns had done wonders; the congregation
numbered 350, all devout, intelligent people. "To-day," she wrote, "as
the custom is after the lesson, the bairns each took a part in prayer,
and before we rose a boy started 'Come, Holy Spirit, come.' We sang it
through on our knees."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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