"We arrived in Cincinnati on the 18th. After our arrival I informed a Friend that the subject of visiting families had rested with great weight upon my mind; which he communicated to some of the select members, and it resulted in an opportunity with all of them. I opened the subject before them, and a sweet cementing season of divine approval was graciously afforded. They fully and feelingly united with us and encouraged us to proceed therein."
They visited nearly all the families in that region, and felt encouraged in the labor. She writes:
"I believe it is the design of the Head of the Church to pour out a rich blessing on this part of His inheritance; indeed, He seems turning His hand upon the little ones, and will, I believe, raise up valiants among the youth, who will publish with the voice of thanksgiving and tell of all His wondrous works."
Having done much work in Ohio and Indiana, they came over the Alleghany Mountains, and revisited Baltimore, forming many pleasant acquaintances with the Friends in that city, and holding meeting for public worship, as well as visiting the families for more quiet work.
They next turned toward the South, and reached North Carolina in time for the yearly meeting. There was much feeling here in regard to the separation, and an epistle from the Separatists was rejected at this yearly meeting.
In regard to the slaves, she writes:
"Vital religion is very low. Truth has fallen in the streets, and Equity cannot enter in some places. Here is a suffering seed in many portions of this land of slavery. Friends have borne in meekness a n.o.ble testimony against its iniquity, and, though they often feel disheartened at the shadowy prospect, I believe their upright example has had, and will still have, salutary influence. The Lord has inclined His gracious ear to the multiplied cries of the oppressed, and those who suffer for them as being bound with them, and will hasten the blessed day when Ethiopia shall stretch forth her hand unto G.o.d and the oppressor shall no more oppress.
"There are so many rents and divisions throughout Christendom that many are crying, Who shall show us any good? I earnestly desire that these overturnings and siftings may tend to draw the people to the living eternal Substance, to build on the ancient Foundation of all the holy prophets and apostles. There is great need of more dedication and a stirring up to greater diligence in this land."
The work and service in Carolina were carried on in great bodily weakness, and often Sybil Jones was compelled to remain at home while Eli Jones and the Friends with them attended the meetings. At the beginning of the new year they returned to their Maine home to pa.s.s a few quiet years before undertaking a still more extensive journey.
CHAPTER VI.
_VOYAGE TO LIBERIA._
"Be sure they sleep not whom G.o.d needs, nor fear Their holding light his charge, when every hour That finds that charge delayed is a new death,
So intimate a tie connects me with our G.o.d."
BROWNING.
There is wonderful harmony in G.o.d"s work in the different kingdoms and sub-kingdoms of His domain. When His method of working is resisted, there is always harsh conflicting, and finally He removes the obstacle; but wherever we look, so long as there is a submission to His plan, there is never a jar, never a halt on the road to the great end which He has in view, be it in the growth of a tree, in the motion of a world through s.p.a.ce, in the maturity of animal or human life, or in the development of spiritual being. But the first rule that must be fulfilled before He can rightly use any of His intelligent creations is that they fully submit themselves to Him to be trained and used.
Just as the brook yields strict obedience to the gentle impulse which moves it from its source on through its winding channel to its home in the great ocean of waters, so all who are to be the servants of the Most High must be _willing_ to become the instruments through which He works, and must let Him flow through unhindered. Those whom He will use He prepares just as much, and in a higher sense, as He makes the lily grow--not by any toiling and spinning on its part, but by putting a life within it which animates and builds up the whole structure; and as the lily adorns the spot in which He puts it, so His workmen should beautify the vineyard where He sets them.
It is a very marked fact in the lives of the two of whom I am writing that they not only gave themselves up to be prepared by Him who was to use them, but they also waited until He showed them where they should work. There is work everywhere which is waiting to be done, nor does any one do well who idly sits still until he is told just where to begin, but G.o.d has His chosen workmen fitted on purpose for a special place, as much as an earthly master-builder, and the time comes to every one when it is imperative for him to hear the order which he is to execute. The Lord spake unto Moses often, and He who made known His ways then has power to tell His will to whom he wishes now, and the proper messenger does not embark before the message comes.
I find in the earlier life of Eli and Sybil Jones that their great, absorbing wish was that they might be in full harmony with Him whom they served. They looked up to be taught, and He gave just the right service to enlarge and strengthen their powers, so that they might be prepared for the more difficult undertaking which now presented itself. No one who reads the journal which follows will think they went to Liberia prompted by their own feelings, but the service was evidently _laid upon them_.
To understand properly the struggle through which Sybil Jones pa.s.sed before leaving her home, it will be necessary to picture to ourselves the circ.u.mstances surrounding her nearly half a century ago. She had grown to womanhood in a little town in Maine, having exceedingly limited opportunities for obtaining a knowledge of the world and the ways of men and women; she was now the mother of five children, who needed their parents" care; she had just undergone the sorrow of seeing many dear to her pa.s.s from earth, while still others of her family were already on deathbeds: and now she was to go from all that earth held dearest to her, perhaps never to see even her own country again. To-day to travel is the ordinary course; fifty years ago it was a rare and momentous event for one to go far from home. It would seem most hazardous to a frail woman to go from Maine to Baltimore, there to embark, not in a steamer with modern conveniences, but in a sailing-packet with rough pa.s.sengers and still rougher crew, for the west coast of Africa. Let us not wonder as we read her account that she waited long and counselled earnestly with her own heart, for if she should go self-sent only perils insurmountable would be before her, but on G.o.d"s errands, sent by His command, she knew of nothing to fear.
The _Friends" Review_ for 6th mo. 28, 1851, has the following paragraph: "In the meeting of ministers and elders of New England Yearly Meeting on Seventh day, 14th, our dedicated friend Sybil Jones opened a prospect of an extensive religious visit to Great Britain, Ireland, some parts of the continent of Europe, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and some islands on the west coast of Africa and in the West Indies; and her husband, Eli Jones, informed the meeting that he believed it his duty to bear her company in this extensive and arduous engagement.
The subject obtained the weighty and feeling consideration of the meeting, and, though Friends were fully sensible to the magnitude and importance of the undertaking and of the apparently inadequate state of her health, such a current of unity with the prospect was experienced that all doubt of its propriety was taken away; and they were accordingly liberated for the service. The sympathy and prayers of their friends will unquestionably follow them."
As the most of the following year"s work was in Liberia, it may be well to speak briefly of the position and condition of that country.
Liberia is a negro republic on the west coast of Africa. Its length along the coast is about three hundred and eighty miles, and its entire area about twenty-four thousand square miles. Sierra Leone, the country to the north of Liberia, was colonized by colored men from Great Britain, a.s.sisted by such men as Grenville Sharp, Wilberforce, and Clarkson, the first settlement being made in 1787, and composed partly of negroes who had served in the British army during our Revolutionary War. This and successive colonies were terribly weakened by the death-stroke of the African fever, but they were finally successful; and American philanthropists, who were eager to help an unfortunate race, founded here in 1822 a colony of freedmen who might enjoy the political and social privileges denied to them in the United States. The town of Monrovia was founded and named after James Monroe, then President. They landed in the midst of heathendom, and the first years were years of struggle; but these colored men showed that they could govern themselves. They drew up a const.i.tution much like the American, the first article of which read, "All men are born equally free and independent, and among their natural inherent and inalienable rights are the rights of enjoying and defending life and LIBERTY;" and the fourth section, "There shall be no slavery within this republic."
The republic has a President, Senate, House of Representatives, and a judicial department, so that good laws are pa.s.sed, explained, and enforced. In 1847 the republic declared its independence, and was finally in 1861 recognized by the United States as a sovereign state.
The Methodist Church established a mission here in 1833; the Presbyterian Church followed this example, and sent J. B. Penny into the field the same year. The American Episcopal Church was at work in the republic as early as 1836, while the Baptists turned their attention there in 1845, so that it was in fact a "missionary republic." The present population of the republic comprises about 18,000 civilized negroes, chiefly of American origin, and 1,050,000 half-wild natives, who are gradually adopting a settled life and conforming to the habits of their civilized countrymen. Professor David Christy said in a lecture in 1855: "If a colony of colored men, beginning with less than a hundred, and gradually increasing to nine thousand, has in thirty years established an independent republic amidst a savage people, destroyed the slave-trade on six hundred miles of the African coast, put down the heathen temples in one of its largest districts, afforded security to all the missions within its limits, and now casts its shield over three hundred thousand native inhabitants, what may not be done in the next thirty years by colonization and missions combined were sufficient means supplied to call forth all their energies?"
It was during this visit to Liberia that Eli Jones first felt his heart fill with zeal for missionary work. One day, going to pay a visit to President Roberts, he found a large band of fierce natives a.s.sembled in the President"s room to have him arbitrate their quarrel.
The dispute being settled peacefully, the President introduced Eli Jones, asking a n.o.ble-looking chief if he would like to have this man go with them to talk about G.o.d to their tribe. The prompt and earnest answer was, "Yes, and we will build him a house if he will come and stay." At once he saw in mind the needs of these and the thousands of other human beings waiting for some one to bring to them the fuller teaching of the way to a higher Christian civilization, and from that date he was more than ever desirous to be an instrument of help.
The following poem was written by Elizabeth Lloyd[4] on the departure of Eli and Sybil Jones for Africa:
[4] Afterward Elizabeth Howell. She is the author of the beautiful lines ent.i.tled "Milton in his Blindness."
THE GOSPEL MESSENGER.
"Behold, I will send my messenger."
Dedicated to a service high and holy from above; Guided by the inward teaching of a heavenly Father"s love, Listening to the soft monitions whispered in her spirit"s ear, Answering to the call like Samuel, "Lo, my Father, I am here,"
Child-like in her meek submission, His appointing to fulfil, Trusting in His strength for safety, she went forth to do His will.
Bearing up His "ark of promise," she the weak became the strong, In her heart a hymn of praising, on her lips a triumph song; "Thou hast vanquished, O my Saviour--Thou who bore my sins for me; Sanctify with thy anointing sacrifices made for thee.
As of old Thou ledst Thy children, showing them the cloud by day And by night the fiery pillar, so lead me along my way.
"If I falter, if my heart be tempted by its doubts and fears, If my eyes, to heaven uplifted, see Thee only through their tears; If the clinging of love"s tendrils bind my thoughts to things of earth, And between me and my duty come the dreams of home and hearth,-- Oh have pity on me, Father, and if I should go astray Let Thy angels, Faith and Patience, point me to the narrow way.
"Clear before me let the shining of Thy holy light arise, Far behind me cast the shadow of my own poor sacrifice.
Can I doubt when I remember how the sea was cleft in twain, And, a wall of waters rising, left a valley in the main That Thy people might pa.s.s over on the golden-sanded path, So to sing their song of triumph, safe from the pursuer"s wrath?
"Can I fear when I remember Thou didst feed them day by day, With thy manna, that like h.o.a.rfrost round the tents of Israel lay; In the wilderness wast with them till their tarriance was o"er, Sweetened Marah"s bitter fountain, opened h.o.r.eb"s rock-bound door?
Nay, Thy power and might, as ever, all omnipotent shall be: "Rock of Ages," what can move me if I lean my soul on Thee?"
Where the palms of Afric gather up the tropic heats by day, Where the jerboa and the lion in their evening shadows play, Where the streams are coral-bedded and the mountains gemmed with gold, She is bearing forth a treasure human heart alone may hold-- Oil to pour on troubled spirits, seed to sow in barren place, Soothing balm of consolation, knowledge of anointing grace.
"Ethiopia and the islands," far away her mission lies: From the sweet New England homestead underneath her native skies, To Liberia"s dark-browed children, Sierra Leone"s struggling band, She has messages from heaven, guided by the Father"s hand.
She is pointing out salvation: "Christ has no part.i.tion-wall; We are children of one Father, and His love redeemed us all."
Oh, the fettered slave may hear it, sinking "neath his weight of woe; In the northland, in the southland, streams of gospel love may flow.
Not a partial gleam, a star-ray, gilding but a single night, Was G.o.d"s thought in His creation when He said, "Let there be light;"
Not a single soul"s redemption when that piercing cry went up, "Eloi lama sabacthani!" ere He drank death"s bitter cup.
But a world-illuminating flood of radiance was born When the angels sang rejoicing o"er the earth"s baptismal morn, And the souls of all created, and the souls of all to be, Are partakers of redemption by that death on Calvary, That divine self-abnegation of the holy Son of man-- Thought sublime in its expansion, theme beyond our finite scan.
Oh, the human heart a temple for the Saviour"s love may be In all nations, in all climates, on the land or on the sea: Sect or color bars not entrance; only Sin her watch may set, Keeping Him without the portals till with dew his locks are wet; But He ceases not from calling, "Garnish and make clean for me; Drive away the money-changers, in their place let angels be."
Through His instruments He calleth, humble tho" they be and weak, That the deaf ears may be opened and the sealed lips may speak, That the maimed may halt no longer, and the blinded eyes may see, And the lepers, healed and cleansed, glorifying G.o.d may be.
Ignorance and sin are blindness, but as morning after night Is the heart"s regeneration when G.o.d says, "Let there be light."
The following account has been selected from Sybil Jones"s journal. It was written to be published soon after their return, but publication was delayed, and now for the first time it is made public. It will show, as few other writings, the emotions and strivings of a sincere seeking soul. Her journals speak little, especially in her earlier visits, of natural surroundings and ordinary events, for her spiritual work seemed so weighty that nothing was allowed to turn her eyes from that:
SO. CHINA, _12 mo., 1850._ Painful are the baptisms that my poor trembling soul tries to endure patiently. Forgive me, most gracious G.o.d, if I dare repine. Death seems again lingering on our borders, and the remnant of a once large family must soon diminish. My worthy father seems drawing near the silent grave, but full of bright hopes of a mansion in the eternal city. Though well knowing that the "Judge of all the earth" will do right, yet sad is the thought that soon we must lose his cheerful society and instructive counsel. Oh that this deep affliction may prove a salutary cup to the soul, though very bitter to the taste! I learn many awful lessons while sitting by his bedside. It is a foretaste of heaven sweetly blended with a hope of reunion around the throne. My soul is weighed down with the prospect of more extended service in the cause of our holy Redeemer, and lingers tremblingly on Jordan"s banks. Oh, this Jordan seems awful, but I must descend to its bottom, and may the eternal G.o.d be my refuge, and underneath the everlasting arms! The billows overwhelm, and I sink in deep mire where there is no standing. My health is frail and my spirits flag. But amid all, the unchanging Rock is my support.
_1st mo., 1851._ With the unity of my friends I performed some errands of love in some portions of our own yearly meetings. I went forth in fear and much weakness, but through abounding mercy the peace of G.o.d fills my heart. In the course of this visit I had a very interesting public meeting in Nantucket. My spirit had long lingered around that little island of the sea, and sweet was our communion together in the love and power of truth. Dear father met me joyfully and expressed great thankfulness for being permitted to meet me again below. He said his soul was filled with a Saviour"s love, and he longed to go home to his heavenly rest, to join with saints and angels in singing the song of Moses and the Lamb for ever and ever. It was a time of blessed communion. My mind is deeply impressed with the language uttered frequently in my inward ear: "Go offer a sacrifice similar to my servant Abraham"s;" which causes great fearfulness to come upon me, and a sense of utter unworthiness and inability for such a momentous work, feeling the least and last of those who name the great Name.