Saturday, July 23d. At Englée.—Directly after breakfast my friends went across Canada Bay (three miles) in the boat, to make known our presence to a family on the other side, a man and wife with eleven children. They returned soon enough for the Morning Service, which was attended by most of the inhabitants. A young woman, married and a mother, was, on her own petition and profession, received into the Church, and her behaviour was very becoming and edifying. In the afternoon, when her sister, nineteen years of age, was hypothetically baptized, she was affected even to tears. They both could read, and though they had never before seen a clergyman of their Church, or been present at public worship, they appeared to have an intelligent and devout sense of the sacred nature and importance of the Service. Several others, chiefly children, were admitted; nearly all of whom had been baptized by the French priests, who accompany year by year the fishing vessels from France. They (the priests) had performed this service, without any intention, as it seemed, of bringing either children or parents into the Roman Catholic Church. In one of the families was an idiot son, whom the parents were very anxious to have baptized. He is grown up, and though harmless in other respects, uses very dreadful language. I went on shore and visited one of the houses of a family, the father and mother of which go to St. John's every fall, and while there the woman is a regular attendant at the daily Prayers in the Cathedral. It was gratifying to find the house very clean and well ordered in the absence of both father and mother, who, unfortunately, are gone to some distant fishing station for the summer. The young women who showed so much apparent good feeling at baptism, are their children. Here the people keep cows and sheep, and live in much comfort, and we obtained a small supply of milk and fresh meat: I had not tasted any meat, and only once fowl, for a fortnight. We have had no fresh meat on board, and the fish and salmon, of which we have abundance for nothing, is in my judgment better and more wholesome (not to speak of economy) than the salted and preserved meats. For the same period, or rather longer, we have had milk, and that goat's, only once; and nobody complains, of the privation.
Fifth Sunday after Trinity, July 24th. At Englée.—The fifteenth anniversary of my first Sunday in Newfoundland. Shame that this should be my first, in these fifteen years, which I have given to Englée. And what a contrast! Then I went from Government House in the Governor's carriage, with His Excellency and Lady Harvey, to preach my first sermon, and administer for the first time the Holy Communion (it was the first Sunday in July) in my Cathedral Church. The occasion, with a fine day, brought a crowded congregation. Here, on this fifteenth anniversary, I am at Englée in Canada Bay, on the French Shore, a place inhabited by four families of fishermen, several of whom never saw a clergyman or Church, very few of whom can read, not one able to follow the order of Prayer intelligently, not one confirmed, not one prepared to receive the Holy Communion, nearly half only yesterday received into the Church. To make the contrast greater and more dreary, the day is miserably wet and cold, so that several of the few who otherwise could have attended, were unable to come on board the Church-ship, on which the service was held, there being no convenient place on shore. I celebrated the Holy Communion (as on every Sunday), but no person partook of it except my own companions in the ship. The only novel, or additional service, to mark more strongly the contrast of time and place, was the conditional baptism of the poor idiot boy on shore, between the Morning and Evening Prayers. He behaved very well, knelt down and was quiet, and seemed to be quite aware that something of solemn importance was being done. At the Evening Service (the rain having abated) nearly all the inhabitants came on board. I preached as usual, morning and evening. After the Evening Service, children's books and tracts were distributed, and some Prayer-books sold. Many inquiries were made about persons and subjects connected with the Church in St John's. Such is the fifteenth anniversary of my first Sunday, and first service in my Diocese; and if the day of small things has come at the end rather than the beginning, who can tell which shall be blessed, whether this or that, or whether both shall be alike good?
Monday, St. James's Day. Englée.—I was not sorry to find this morning that the wind was still ahead, so that we could observe the holy day in harbour, and give my new disciples and children an opportunity of again attending the service. This they did very gladly, with my captain and crew, and I addressed them on the Gospel for the day. It was strange to see grown-up people directed how and where to find the places in their Prayer-books. In the afternoon the wind seemed to veer in our favour, and about four o'clock we made an attempt to leave; but the wind was unsteady and soon died away. After Evening prayers, we rowed up to visit two Englishmen, who have lived and fished together for fourteen years, without any family, or female, in their house; the one a widower, the other a bachelor. One of them comes from Southampton, the other from Ringwood. They are supposed to have saved money, and might live in comfort elsewhere, but they prefer this dreary, desolate existence, I presume, for the sake of their worldly gains. I had but little time for conversing with them, but I left them some tracts, &c. One of them has the reputation of a "fine reader."
Tuesday, July 26th. Englée.—Another day of calm and trouble, head-wind and heart-ache, for the delay is very grievous. In the morning I visited all the people on shore, and in the afternoon they all came on board to our service.
Wednesday, July 27th. Englée, at sea.—A light breeze sprung up in our favour at seven o'clock, and at eight o'clock we were under way, and cleared the Heads before ten o'clock. God be praised!
PART II.—BAY OF ISLANDS.
Seventh Sunday after Trinity, August 7th. At sea, and in Lark Harbour, Bay of Islands.—The wind continued to blow, and the sea to rage and swell all night; and the rolling and dashing of the waves against the side of the vessel were so incessant and violent that I could hardly remain in my berth. At two o'clock the vessel was put about, when I heard such a banging and thumping of the rudder, that I ran on deck to ascertain the cause. I found the wheel deserted, there being only two men on deck, and both engaged in hauling round the yards. I took the wheel, in night-shirt and night-cap only, without shoe or slipper, till the yards were round; fortunately not a long operation. I turned in again till six o'clock, when I found we had just weathered the southern entrance of the Bay of Islands; and, as there was no change in the direction or force of the wind, I was very thankful to have the prospect of a harbour, and of ministering to the poor sheep in this bay, who have not seen a shepherd for four years. We beat into Lark Harbour, against a violent head-wind, and did not get to anchor till ten o'clock. The people on shore seemed to be employed in turning their fish, and other daily labour; but on sending to them, they expressed their readiness and desire to profit by the services. We could not begin our morning service till twelve o'clock, when the people had all come on board. Three children were conditionally baptized. Evening service at half-past four o'clock, after which three couples were married; one of these (couples) had brought two children to be baptized at my first visit, ten years ago; but it was nearly ten o'clock P.M., and just as my vessel was leaving the bay. The father, I remember, had gone a great many miles to fetch his children, and showed great desire to have them duly baptized, and was now equally anxious about his own marriage. I had a good deal of conversation with some of the men, who seemed to entertain a lively and grateful recollection of my former visit and services.
Monday, August 8th. Bay of Islands.—The wind being very light I determined to visit some of the settlements in this extensive bay in my boat. Accordingly, Messrs. Johnson and Tucker, with one of the sailors and a boy, rowed me to McIvor's Cove, where reside four families, whom I have visited on each former occasion. They accomplished the distance, about ten miles, in three hours. We arrived at a quarter past one o'clock, after calling on the people, who all recognised me, and with apparent pleasure; and desiring them to prepare themselves and their children, and the best room, for a service, we took our refreshment, which we had brought with us, in a pretty green nook where a little river runs into the sea, using the fallen trunk of a large tree for our table. It would have served for a very large, or rather a very long party. We had our service in the house of old Parks, who is mentioned in my Journal of 1849, as having been visited by Archdeacon Wix. The children of three families were brought to be received into the Church. It was very sad to witness the ignorance, and almost imbecility, into which two of the three mothers, who had been born and brought up in this wilderness, were fallen. The third, who came from a distant settlement, and could read, was different, and superior in every respect. One of the women, married only five years, could not remember what her name was before marriage. It would seem, too, as if the physical constitution degenerated with the mental. Her child, which she brought to be baptized, had on one hand two fingers, on the other only one, and on each foot only three toes. I addressed them after the service; but I believe if my discourse had been in Latin, it would have been as much, perhaps more, attended to. The old woman began to talk to Mr. Johnson's little boy, interrupting her own discourse and mine by occasionally telling the dogs to "jump out," a command which from her, but her only, was always obeyed; obeyed, but soon forgotten; for presently the same dog "jumped in" again. The old man called for a match to light his pipe with, and it was only by preventing his wish being complied with, that I could engage his attention. After this painful service, and more painful separation (for nothing could be more painful than to leave Christian people in such ignorance and unconcern about their souls), we rowed over to Frenchman's Cove (about two miles and a half), a lovely spot, inhabited by two families of a better sort in knowledge and behaviour. The men, unfortunately, were gone out, but they "would not have gone, by no means, if they had known that his reverence was in the bay." The women were very anxious to have their children duty baptized, and listened with much earnestness to some words of advice and instruction, and were very thankful for the books. Since my last visit here a Nova-Scotian has built a store in this cove, and will be, I greatly fear, a cause of misery to at least one of the families. I admonished and exhorted him, and he thanked me for my advice like one who had quite made up his mind not to regard it. I visited one of the houses again, late in the evening, and heard one of the children, a girl of ten or eleven years, say her prayers and Belief. I thought I knew most of the varieties of
"Matthew, Mark, Luke and John,
God bless the bed that I lie on," &c.;