THE SHADOWS LENGTHEN.
Although Schwartz was still bravely going on with his work it became
evident that he was failing fast. But he realized all the more how much
must be done to complete the work he had in hand. This guardianship of
Serfogee was on his mind constantly. During this period of the stay of
the young man in Madras, the question of the validity of Ameer Sing’s
title to the throne of Tanjore was being raised by the widows of the
late Rajah, and in doing this they had the invaluable assistance of
Schwartz. The authorities there were at great pains to test the value
of the opinion of the Hindu pundits who had been bribed to favour the
claims of Ameer Sing to his present position. Lord Cornwallis was
implored to settle this difficult question of the succession before
leaving India, because, these widows pointed out, it would not be
difficult for Ameer Sing, though at that time without any heir, to
adopt some child and thus place another obstruction in the way of
Serfogee’s lawful claim.
Meanwhile the anarchy and misery which increased in the unhappy kingdom
of Tanjore through the incapacity and profligacy of Ameer Sing and
his satellites made the position intolerable, and at last, after some
delay, the Court of Directors passed a minute under the presidency of
Lord Teignmouth, the new Governor-General, which practically settled
the title of Serfogee as the future and only ruler of the place. The
president therein expressed his entire disbelief in the pretensions of
the reigning Rajah and then proceeded to give his judgment upon the
important and reliable interposition of Schwartz upon this delicate
and complicated question. This eulogium of a venerable missionary in
a purely official document deserves preservation; certainly in modern
times such a testimony is rarely if ever adduced. These are the words
of Lord Teignmouth:
“With regard to Mr. Schwartz, whose name the president has never
heard mentioned without respect, and who is as distinguished for the
sanctity of his manners as for his ardent zeal in the promulgation of
his religion; whose years, without impairing his understanding, have
added weight to his character, and whose situation has enabled him to
be the protector of the oppressed and the comforter of the afflicted,
who, as a preacher of the Christian faith and a man without influence
except from character, was held in such estimation by the late Rajah,
a Hindu prince approaching to his dissolution, that he thought him
the fittest person he could consult concerning the management of his
country, during the minority of his adopted son, Serfogee; and who,
displaying more integrity than foresight, in the advice he gave, did
certainly not prove the enemy of Ameer Sing, since at his suggestion
he was named Regent--to the solemn assurance of such a man, the
president is compelled to declare his unqualified assent, and upon his
information he can easily reconcile the difference between the personal
declarations and the letters of the Rajah.”
In the end the Directors reversed the action of Sir Archibald Campbell
which, however, they declared, “was formed from the best and most
upright intentions,” and Lord Hobart expressed at the Madras Council
his entire concurrence in favour of Serfogee, and in due course he was
elevated to his rightful position, although not in full possession of
his rights until his aged friend and faithful protector had passed
away.
Bearing bravely his weight of years and some infirmities, Schwartz
still pursued his labours of love, encouraging the young converts,
warning the unruly and headstrong, tenderly seeking the welfare of the
children, and doing his utmost to establish on a sound basis the Church
in its sacred offices and work. While diligent in preaching the simple
truths of Christianity to the poor and the outcastes, Schwartz proved
himself a skilled debater in holding controversy on religious topics
with the learned Brahmins. They on their part were perfectly frank with
him and respected his willingness to hear any objections they thought
well to urge against Christianity. Their attitude may well be expressed
in their own words:
“Very true,” they said, “your doctrine, your religion, your instruction
is a pleasing thing, but it is inconsistent with flesh and blood,
it is repugnant to our carnal affections, it strikes at the natural
propensity to moral evil and to worldly pleasures. Moreover, we do
not see your Christian people live conformably to what they teach.
The Christians appear to be doing quite the contrary; they curse,
they sneer, they get drunk, they steal, they cheat, and deal false
with one another, nay, they blaspheme upon matters of religion and
often make a mock of those who profess to be religious. In short, you
Christians demean yourselves as badly, if not worse, than we heathens.
Now pray, of what benefit and advantage is all your instruction and
recommendation of Christ’s religion, if it does not reform the lives
of your own people? Should you not first endeavour to convert your
Christians ere you attempt to proselytize us pagans?”
It is not difficult to call up the scene, the cluster of twenty-four
grave Brahmins, watching with keen eyes to see what Schwartz would or
could say in answer to all this. Then the white-haired man, perfect in
his mastery not only of their tongue but of their literature, would
in clear persuasive tones point out to them the truth as it is in
Jesus. By a sudden consent of feeling they all draw nearer and when he
has done speaking, they thank him for his words. “Of a truth,” they
exclaim, “you are a holy man, and if all you Christians thought and
spoke and lived as you do, we would without delay undergo the change
and become Christians also.”
In the midst of this continuous and absorbing work, Schwartz was not
unmindful of his own spiritual needs. Happily he was constitutionally
free from that introspective self-condemnation which made so melancholy
the experience of others in his day. Probably his theological
standpoint was very much the same as that of Henry Martyn, but Schwartz
was less of a mystic than he and possessed a calm and restfulness
of spirit which his great successor in the field did not always
enjoy. But no man knew better the value of that intimate and Divine
communion which we know as “the practice of the presence of God.” In
the simplicity of his faith there was peace, not arising from any
self-complacency, but because his soul, hungering and thirsting after
righteousness, was so abundantly filled. This is his meditation on the
joy which a Christian should enjoy and its Divine source: “This true
union and communion with Jesus is the source of joy--the only source.
From hence will follow a willingness to love, serve, and obey, and
glorify Him as long as we live. Is it possible that we, who have found
pardon, peace, and a lively hope of a glorious eternity in Jesus; that
we, who have been made happy in Him, should not wish and endeavour to
live to His glory?
“But if instead of trusting in Jesus and His consummate atonement,
we trust and rely on our own virtue and consequently stand upon our
own foundation, we shall never enjoy a moment’s peace and unshaken
delight. Our virtue and holiness are and must remain imperfect. We
shall therefore always have reason to confess before God: ‘If Thou wilt
mark in my thoughts, designs, intentions, what is amiss, who shall
stand before Thee?’ Let us therefore seek for pardon, peace, and joy
in Jesus; and having found that let us be grateful and obedient. But
though we should be as holy as any of the apostles, let us beware lest
we put our confidence in anything but the sufferings and atoning death
of Jesus Christ.”
With all this he was ever awake to the practical side of religion,
and in offering advice to others would constantly draw upon his own
personal experience to illustrate and enforce the truths he fain would
teach. His views, for instance, about what is good for those who are
workers in the vineyard of grace will never grow old or out of date.
“A missionary,” he writes, “must guard against being cast down and
dissatisfied, for this, especially here, is a poison to the body and
highly pernicious to the soul, because thereby faith, love, and hope
decrease, nay absolutely perish, and when the people remark that such
an one is discontented, it is an impediment to the way of his labouring
on their souls; from which nevertheless our comfort ought to arise.
Whenever I meet with anything disagreeable _I go and catechize for an
hour_. This employment sweets even bitter to me. No missionary must
give way to complaining. _We must be witnesses for our Lord and not
converters merely._ One could wish indeed that, as three thousand souls
were converted by Peter’s sermon, a visible abundant blessing might
rest on our labours. Meanwhile sowing has its season, and reaping has
its season, and, moreover, it might still be a question whether, with
such great success, we should hold fast humility of heart. The best
way is to labour diligently and then to pray that God would bless our
labour.”
He had many disappointments, as all who seek the welfare of others
are bound to have, but he cherished with thankfulness the souls of
those who had been given him. And not only amongst the heathen. As
chaplain of the English troops he found a thrilling pleasure in
gathering together little groups of soldiers and instructing them in
the knowledge of God and His righteousness. He knew that a soldier’s
life is such a test of character, that anything less than faithfulness
and consistency would never be tolerated in the barrack room. A man
who wears the King’s uniform must either be a Christian in deed or a
Christian not at all. This was true then, as it is to-day. We get some
very interesting glimpses of work in the ranks and of brave good men
who fought a good fight in more senses than one in those days long ago.
On his seventieth birthday, Schwartz, in marking the date, 8th October,
1796, is full of rejoicing that for so long his life has been spared
and that goodness and mercy have indeed followed him thus far. He looks
back to the time when the call first came to him and how through a
thicket of many trials and difficulties he was brought safely by the
providence of Almighty God. We catch his song of praise in the lines of
a letter written just about this time.
“Ebenezer! Hitherto the Lord hath helped me. To-day I entered upon
my seventy-first year. O the richness of His grace, compassions, and
forbearance, which I have experienced during seventy years! Praise,
honour, and adoration are due to a gracious God, Father, Lord and Holy
Ghost for the numerous proofs of His abounding grace. Who am I, poor,
wretched sinner, that Thou hast led me till now! O, my God, forsake me
not in my old age but let me record, for the encouragement of others,
the mercy which has spared, pardoned, and comforted me, and may they be
induced to put their trust in Thee!
“I am still able to go through the labour of instructing both
young and old, without being over fatigued. This duty is so great a
refreshment to me that I heartily praise God for continued health
and strength to declare to heathens and Christians His name who has
sent Christ as a Saviour and made Him, ‘our wisdom and righteousness,
sanctification, and redemption.’ Let worldlings boast as much as they
please, my boast is in the Lord, from Whom alone cometh my salvation.”
It was with Schwartz a growing conviction that the hope of the work lay
in the children, and he made it his business to examine them in the
schools from time to time to see that they were being properly grounded
in the faith. His advancing years and increasing weakness did not
hinder him in this duty, and we find him again and again in his journal
and letters referring to the happy times he spent with the young people
of his flock. Writing to his friend, Dr. Schultze, he says:
“I have just risen from an examination of the school children,
after having previously finished catechizing. Such examinations we
have once a month, and it is in many respects an advantage to have
them frequently, but particularly because the schoolmaster is thus
encouraged to fulfil his duty faithfully. We examine their reading,
writing, and arithmetic, and hear them repeat by heart the principal
texts and a hymn.”
It must be borne in mind that Schwartz had ever before him the
future of these children, and the possibility of these being one day
catechists and schoolmasters who would be entrusted with the guidance
of other minds. In this and in other directions we recognize how
far-seeing was his policy, and that with the limited means at his
disposal, so different from the resources of to-day, he did useful work
in education and training. He tells us his plan in one of his letters:
“I have selected from the school ten lively boys, whom I daily instruct
in the doctrines of Christianity and Church history, as well as the
method of explaining the principal passages of Scripture. I allow them
each a small sum monthly to prevent the necessity of their applying
to other labour for support. Not that we expect that every one of
them will be fit to be employed in Church offices, but they are thus
previously instructed and their abilities as well as conduct are in the
way of being proved. Those of whom we entertain hopes of usefulness we
send with the catechists into the country, in order to afford them some
assistance. May God endue them with His Spirit, sanctify their hearts,
and make them useful to the benefit of the congregation and the glory
of His name.”