Mrs. Lewis resumed with undiminished zeal her school work and her women’s classes. Her medical and dispensary work steadily increases. There are successes which cheer and disappointments which test faith and endurance. An untoward accident interrupts the promising work at the sub-station of Etoto. Some of the “boys” become less zealous, and, like certain of their white brethren in England, yield to the seductions of worldly interest. Kivitidi resigns the office of evangelist, and occupies himself in tailoring and trading, which he finds much more remunerative. Yet he continues to live the life of a Christian man, and renders to the Mission much voluntary service. Nlekai and others involve themselves and their missionary friends in troubles and embarrassments by their matrimonial aspirations and ventures.
The marriage business is still more distracting in relation to the girls. It is not to be thought of that they should not marry; they marry when they are mere children, and their babies keep them away from school at the time when they would profit most by instruction. In some instances the grandmothers take care of the babies, and set the girl-mothers free. Mrs. Lewis observes that the grandmothers are much more devoted to the babies than the mothers, and she surmises that this is due to the fact that the mothers are mere children themselves, too immature to appreciate or discharge maternal responsibilities.
1892 was the centenary year of the Baptist Missionary Society. The little Church at San Salvador, numbering thirty-nine members, resolved to make its contribution to the Centenary Fund in the form of a Christmas collection. The conditions of native life made it desirable that the gifts should be brought in as soon as they were ready. If they were stored up in the native huts they might be used or lost, so the Christmas collection began early.
Writing on New Year’s Day, Mrs. Lewis says: “Kivitidi was the first to bring his offering. Since then the people have been constantly coming, and a strange collection you would find it. Some have brought cloth, some beads, some fowls, some baskets full of ground nuts. One woman brought a keg of gunpowder, and one man—the largest contribution of all—a pig. This last offering caused much amusement. It was so difficult to catch that it seemed doubtful whether it would be ready for Christmas Day, either dead or alive. However, on the morning of Christmas Eve, it arrived dead, borne triumphantly in a hammock, and made a capital Christmas feast for all the people on the station.[3] The people have indeed offered willingly, and have both surprised and gladdened our hearts by their generosity. On Christmas morning a large congregation met together in our chapel for a thanksgiving service, when the names of the contributors were read out, and it was announced that the total value of the collection was £33 14s. 3d. Earnest prayers were offered by some of the native Christians that God’s blessing might go with their gifts, and we closed by singing the Te Deum and the Doxology.”
In the same letter Mrs. Lewis tells of certain horrible cruelties perpetrated in the district in deference to native customs. Two runaway slaves were captured, tied to long poles firmly fixed in the earth, and left to starve. In returning from Tunduwa Mr. Phillips saw the charred bones of a woman who had been burned to death in a witch palaver. In a town near by a slave, for a threatening word, was put in irons, his neck made fast in the fork of a heavy stick six feet long. In this plight he had remained for twenty-one days when Mr. Lewis came upon him, while the death palaver was in process. Happily, in this instance, he was able to effect a rescue, and the man was taken to work on the Mission station.
On April 28th in a long letter to her niece, Miss Ethel Percival, Mrs. Lewis tells of Nlekai beginning work in Mawunza; of the hindrance to the Mission arising from the unpopularity of the present Portuguese officials and the Catholic Mission; and then gives the following account of her garden, which is yielding Mr. Lewis recompense for his labours.
“We have lots of flowers in our garden—English ones, too—verbenas, heliotropes, petunias, and roses pink and white. We have also a quantity of maize, plantains, and bananas in our kitchen garden, splendid onions and potatoes, which will be ready shortly. Yams, too, are coming on. Limes are in abundance, and the trees are laden with oranges, which I hope will ripen in due time. This is the Vegetable dispensation. Under Mr. Graham it was the Animal dispensation, and the two do not run well together. Now our live-stock is kept within bounds, and consists of one goose, which is fattening for the table, several ducks, a few goats, a lot of pigeons, and one dear rabbit, Jack, who has a spacious yard all to himself, for his tiresome wife has run away. How she went is a mystery. Mr. Phillips also possesses a monkey, who lives in a cage, poor fellow! I forgot the fowls, whose name is legion.”
“June 28th.—I don’t think I told you that since I returned this time I have started quite a midwifery practice. It came without seeking. Of course I could not do anything in this line until I could speak without an interpreter. Now I am in request at the advent of every baby. I keep a registry of births, that we may have some idea of the children’s ages. I could tell you some laughable things about habits and customs, but I cannot write them. At last, this month, we have dispensed with interpreters altogether—i.e., Tom and I. I think Mr. Phillips will also when he comes back. We have managed for some time everything except the regular services. In these we were afraid of making mistakes, which are so easy. But for three Sundays Tom has preached in the native language, and all the people say he speaks well, and that they can understand him perfectly. Last Sunday my interpreter was away, and having asked the women if they would understand me, and being reassured, I made the attempt, though I was awfully nervous. At the end one of the women kindly told me that they understood perfectly, and liked it much better. It means a lot more work, as one has to prepare the words as well as the matter of one’s sermons; and I have a Bible-class in school on Wednesday, another in the house on Thursday evening, and give an address at the women’s prayer-meeting on Saturday. Then there are the Sunday school and the women’s meeting on Sunday, and in every case the preparation must be different, as some of the audience come to all. However, we are very thankful to have got so far. It seems like beginning a new stage in our missionary work.... People in England seem to forget sometimes that I am as much interested in their work as they are in mine. It is the same work, only we are on distant service. But we do not forget the work at home, either in our thoughts or in our prayers.
“July 29th.—I do hope dear mother is not suffering very much; we so often think of her and of you all. I am thinking that perhaps to-morrow you and Mr. Hartland are setting off upon your travels. We should just like to fly over and go with you for a month to Wales. Wouldn’t it be jolly? But we are unable to get away, even for a journey here. Mr. Phillips has been away just on three months, and we are alone. We have heard nothing from Tunduwa since last mail. We suppose the carriers are afraid to come, and we cannot get away to go to him. There is a palaver proceeding in the town, and the King forbids any one to leave. One family, who are slaves of the Padres, are claiming another family as slaves of theirs, and the Padres are backing them. This same dispute was brought up and settled several times, some years ago. The whole town is in a state of commotion, and nearly every day the people assemble under the big tree. The King, got up in striking costume varied from day to day, sits on his throne with the Queen beside him. They are a pair! The disputing parties, holding their guns, are ranged opposite one another. Then the counsellors on either side sing songs, make speeches, and finish up with a dance. Of course there is also any amount of malavu drinking.
“The old road to Noki is shut up. There are other roads by which we send letters, but the carriers are all afraid to go for loads. The Portuguese talk about soldiers coming, but they are a long time on the way. The Resident told Tom the other day that they are going to make a military station half-way to keep the road open. I wish they would remove this Resident. There have been palavers ever since he came, and he does not know how to settle them. This palaver has brought many strangers to the town, and they attend our meetings, so good may come out of evil. But all these things interrupt our work. The minds of the people are unsettled, and full of other things. I have just received a new girl into the house, and she is a caution! the wildest specimen I have yet had to deal with. She is put under our protection by the Resident, and is quite grown up.”