The Story of John G. Paton; Or, Thirty Years Among South Sea CannibalsPaton, John Gibson
Religion
The Story of John G. Paton; Or, Thirty Years Among South Sea Cannibals
Paton, John Gibson
Missions -- Vanuatu; Paton, John Gibson, 1824-1907
In the circumstances of our baby Lena's death, every form of
heartrending tenderness seemed to meet. On Friday, 28th March, at 3 A.M.
she came from God, and seemed to both of us the Angel-child of all our
flock. Alas, on Saturday I was seized with sciatica, so dreadful and
agonizing, that I had to be borne to my bed, and could not stir a limb
any more than if my back had been broken. My dear wife struggled to
attend to the baby, with such help as Native girls could give; and I
directed the Teachers about the Services in Church next Sunday, the
first time as yet that I had been unable to appear and lead them. From
the beds where we lay, my wife and I could hear each other's voices, and
tried to console one another in our sorrowful and helpless state. On
Tuesday, 1st April, the child was bright and vigorous; but the mother's
strength had been overtaxed, and she fell back, fainting in her bed,
when helping to dress the baby. Next morning, to our dismay, there were
symptoms of wheezing and feverishness in the little darling. All due
measures were at once taken to check these; and Williag, an experienced
Native, now having charge, kept everything warm and cozy. Before tea,
when receiving a little food, Lena opened her dark blue eyes, and gazed
up peacefully and gladly in her mother's face. But, immediately after
tea, within less than an hour, when the nurse brought her and placed her
in the mother's arms, the Angel-Soul fled away. Poor Williag, seeing the
mother's pathetic look, and as if she herself had been guilty, fell on
her knees and cried,--"I knew it, Missi, I knew it! She gave two big
sighs, and went! Awai, Missi, Awai!" When the mother called to me
something about the child having "fainted," I was talking with Koris,
but my heart guessed the worst. Alas, all means were seen to be vain! I
could not rise, could not move, nor could the mother, but we prayed, in
each other's hearing, and in the hearing of our blessed Lord, and He did
not leave us without consolation. In such cases, the Heathen usually fly
away in terror, but our Teachers were faithful and obedient; and our
little boys, Bob and Fred, six and four respectively, followed all our
tearful directions. One of their small toy-boxes was readily given up to
make the baby's coffin. Yawaci brought calico, and dressed the precious
body at the mother's instructions. I then offered a prayer to the clear
Lord, whilst the mother clasped the coffin in her arms. The little
grave, dug by the Teachers in the Mission plot, was within earshot of
where we lay, and there Bob and Fred, kneeling in their snow-white
dresses, sang "There is a Happy Land," as their sister's dust was laid
in the Earth and in the arms of Jesus who is the Resurrection and the
Life. God only can ever know how our hearts were torn by the pathos of
that event, as we lay helpless, almost dying, and listened to our
children's trembling voices! Johna, the Teacher, then prayed; while the
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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