The Life of William Carey, Shoemaker & MissionarySmith, George
Religion
The Life of William Carey, Shoemaker & Missionary
Smith, George
Carey, William, 1761-1834; Missions -- India
In the same year the approaching death of Gokool led the missionaries
to purchase the acre of ground, near the present railway station, in
which lies the dust of themselves and their converts, and of a child of
the Judsons, till the Resurrection. Often did Carey officiate at the
burial of Europeans in the Danish cemetery. Previous to his time the
only service there consisted in the Government secretary dropping a
handful of earth on the coffin. In the native God's-acre, as in the
Communion of the Lord's Table, and in the simple rites which
accompanied the burial of the dead in Christ, the heathen saw the one
lofty platform of loving self-sacrifice to which the Cross raises all
its children:--
"Oct. 7.--Our dear friend Gokool is gone: he departed at two this
morning. At twelve he called the brethren around him to sing and pray;
was perfectly sensible, resigned, and tranquil. Some of the neighbours
had been persuading him the day before to employ a native doctor; he
however refused, saying he would have no physician but Jesus Christ.
On their saying, How is it that you who have turned to Christ should be
thus afflicted? He replied, My affliction is on account of my sins; my
Lord does all things well! Observing Komal weep (who had been a most
affectionate wife), he said, Why do you weep for me? Only pray, etc.
From the beginning of his illness he had little hope of recovery; yet
he never murmured, nor appeared at all anxious for medicine. His
answer constantly was, "I am in my Lord's hands, I want no other
physician!' His patience throughout was astonishing: I never heard him
say once that his pain was great. His tranquil and happy end has made a
deep impression on our friends: they say one to another, 'May my mind
be as Gokool's was!' When we consider, too, that this very man grew shy
of us three years ago, because we opposed his notion that believers
would never die, the grace now bestowed upon him appears the more
remarkable. Knowing the horror the Hindoos have for a dead body, and
how unwilling they are to contribute any way to its interment, I had
the coffin made at our house the preceding day, by carpenters whom we
employ. They would not, however, carry it to the house. The
difficulty now was, to carry him to the grave. The usual mode of
Europeans is to hire a set of men (Portuguese), who live by it. But
besides that our friends could never constantly sustain that expense, I
wished exceedingly to convince them of the propriety of doing that last
kind office for a brother themselves. But as Krishna had been ill
again the night before, and two of our brethren were absent with
brother Ward, we could only muster three persons. I evidently saw the
only way to supply the deficiency; and brother Carey being from home, I
sounded Felix and William, and we determined to make the trial; and at
five in the afternoon repaired to the house. Thither were assembled
all our Hindoo brethren and sisters, with a crowd of natives that
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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