Life had a piquancy in these days when she lived with the Andersons on
Mission Hill. "Daddy" Anderson was a veteran of the Mission, but it was
"Mammy" Anderson with whom she came into closest relation. Of strong
individuality, she ruled the town from the Mission House, and the
chiefs were fain to do her bidding. At first Mary stood somewhat in awe
of her. One of the duties assigned to her was to ring, before dawn, the
first bell for the day to call the faithful to morning prayer. There
were no alarm clocks then, and occasionally she overslept, and the
rebuke she received from Mrs. Anderson made her cheeks burn. Sometimes
she would wake with a start to find her room flooded with light. Half-
dazed with sleep and shamed at her remissness she would hurry out to
ring the bell, only to discover that it was not dawn but the light of
the moon that was making the world so bright.
At one time when doing duty in Old Town she had to walk along a narrow
native track through the bush. To let off the high spirits that had
been bottled up in the Mission House she would climb any tree that took
her fancy. She affirmed that she had climbed every tree worthy of the
name between Duke Town and Old Town. Sometimes her fun made her late
for meals, and Mrs. Anderson would warn her that if she offended again
she would go without food. She did offend, and then Mr. Anderson would
smuggle biscuits and bananas to her, with, she was confident, the
connivance of his wife. She had a warm affection for all the members of
the Mission staff, but for none more than for "Mammy" Anderson.
There was one of the humbler inmates of the Mission who watched with
affectionate interest the young missionary with the soft voice and
dancing eyes. This was Mrs. Fuller, a coloured woman who had come over
from Jamaica in 1858 with the Rev. Mr. Robb and Mrs. Robb as a nurse,
and married and remained after they left to be a help and comfort to
many. She remembered the day when the slaves were emancipated in the
West Indies. A kindly, happy, unselfish soul, she never spoke ill of
any one. Somebody said to her, "Mammy, I believe you would say a good
word about the devil himself." "Well," she replied, "at any rate he
minds his own business." "Dear old Mammy Fuller," Miss Slessor called
her, little dreaming that Mammy would live to throw flowers into her
grave.
III. IN THE UNDERWORLD
In the hush of a beautiful Sunday morning the new missionary begins
what she calls the commonplace work of the day. Looking out some
illustrated texts she sends a few with a kindly message to all the big
men, reminding them that Mr. Anderson expects them at service. Then she
sets out for the town, and few people escape her keen eye and
persuasive words.
"Why are you not going to God's House?" she asks a man who is sitting
at the door of his hut. Close by are the remains of a devil-house.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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