15 Last Furlough
Chapter 15
LAST FURLOUGH IN the middle of September, 1906, Mr. and Mrs. Lewis were busy at Kibokolo making plans for future work, and entertaining no thought of immediate return to England. Mr. Lewis had been ill, but was well again, and was on the point of starting for a local journey. Mrs. Lewis was expecting the arrival of Nlekai, to aid her in finishing and correcting a translation of the second part of "The Pilgrim’s Progress." Yet, on November 9th, they were in the English Channel, aboard the "SS. Bruxellesville", and Mr. Lewis wrote as follows to Mr. Wilson: —
" You will be surprised to hear that Mrs. Lewis and I are nearing England. When the last Antwerp mails left Congo we had no intention of returning so soon. Our letters had scarcely been posted when I went down with bilious fever, the second attack within a month; and as I have been suffering from repeated attacks since January, we decided to leave at once. We were able to take this step when Mr. Hooper returned to Zombo from Mabaya, without seriously crippling the work at Kibokolo. He arrived ten days before we left. At Matadi I saw Dr. Sims, who said that I had been suffering from continued fever for some time, and, to my astonishment, that I was in fever at the time of his examination. I think I am getting rid of it. Indeed, after a week at sea I felt comparatively well, and am now myself again. My wife is much run down and tired. We hope to reach Southampton to-morrow (Saturday) morning, and to proceed at once to London. We shall call to see you on Monday morning." This call was duly made, and later in the same week there ensued the necessary interview with Dr. Habershon, the physician of the B.M.S. Dr. Habershon reported that the illness which had sent Mr. Lewis home was "subsiding," but felt moved by his study of both their cases to make representations to the Committee concerning the advisability of shortening the term of residence on the Congo between furloughs.
Late in December Mrs. Lewis was called upon to endure a great sorrow. Childless herself, her sister’s children had ever been dear to her, and became dearer as the years passed, and intercourse and mutual kindness strengthened the ties of nature and of spiritual affinity. Moreover, one of them, Eva, was called to the discipline of pain, lingering, long drawn out. Not more than a year or two after that radiant holiday at Penmaemawr, referred to in a previous chapter, Eva Percival, a beautiful and winsome girl, suffered from the first slight assaults of a mysterious nervous malady which defied the treatment and even baffled the diagnosis of the best physicians of the day. For ten years, with fluctuations and intervals of hopeful improvement, her trouble grew upon her, until at last, after much anguish, endured with the patience and the sweetness of a saint, it quenched her life. When Mr. and Mrs. Lewis arrived in this country Eva’s case was grave, and her aunt was continually with her. Shortly before Christmas, Mr. Lewis was sent to Edinburgh to make close personal inquiry concerning the critical illness of the Rev. George Cameron, and to convey the sympathy of the Committee. It was felt that his presence and the loving messages which he bore might be elements of help to one who lay in extreme weakness. But while Mr. Lewis was in Edinburgh there occurred a sudden change for the worse in the case of his niece, Eva, scarcely less dear to him than to his wife. He was called back to London by telegram, and she died the next day. In the presence of such facts the mystery of pain is so exigent that it compels us to assume a simple solution. The spiritual force expended, and the spiritual peace acquired, in the brave endurance of such affliction must have their mission and their future. God is not a prodigal Father Who wastes His substance in random ordinances; and what is there, in all the sum of His known belongings, more precious than such a soul as that of Eva Percival?
Despite the consolations of the Evangel, the natural grief of her mother and her sisters was very great, shared to the full by Mr. and Mrs. Lewis, whose presence and sympathy yielded the best earthly comfort. And there were those, themselves among the number, who felt that it was a kindly dispensation of Providence which had brought them home for such a time as this.
Shortly after the commencement of the new year, Mr. and Mrs. Lewis were able to undertake deputation work, and early in March, while away from London on this business, Mr. Lewis received a momentous letter from the Secretary of the B.M.S,, the Rev. C. E. Wilson, conveying the request of the Committee that he would accept the appointment of B.M.S. tutor, at the projected United Training Institute, on the Lower Congo, with the understanding that Mrs. Lewis would take the educational and general oversight of the women, wives of the students, who would reside with their husbands at the Institute during term time. Confessedly reluctant to abandon pioneering and forward work, for which he had striven specially to qualify himself, Mr. Lewis was so impressed by the importance of the new scheme that he could not decline the invitation. Meanwhile he asked for time, that he might consult his colleagues on the Congo; for gratifying as was the confidence of the Committee, he could not regard the proposed position as tenable, unless the brethren on the field approved. As the story of the remainder of Mrs. Lewis’s missionary life is so largely the story of the Kimpese Institute, it is highly desirable that the reader should have good understanding of its character and its aims. I cannot better ensure this than by quoting at length from an article subsequently written for the Missionary Herald by Mr. Lewis. At the time of writing he and Mrs. Lewis had accepted the proposals of the Committee, which had received the most cordial endorsement of the missionaries concerned. It may also be stated here that the Swedish Missionary Society, which had been party to the original scheme, stood aloof in the end, thus for the time being lessening the scope of the Institution.
" The very gratifying result which has attended our work on the Congo, and the rapid growth of the native Christian Church during the past few years, have brought the various missionary societies face to face with the problem of the better education of a native ministry. So urgent has this question become that for several years past it has occupied a prominent position in the joint Conferences of all the Protestant bodies labouring in that country.
" Fifteen months ago representatives of the American and British Baptist Missions met at Matadi to consider the possibility and advisability of establishing a United College for the training of native preachers, evangelists, and teachers, in connection with the Missions which work within the Congo-speaking area. There were some difficulties arising out of differences of dialects in use in the various Missions, but on talking over these matters we found that most, if not all, of these could be surmounted, and the feeling of the brethren was wholly and strongly in favour of a joint institution for the three principal societies working on the Lower Congo and in Portuguese Congo. Negotiations were entered into with the Swedish Missionary Society, who were also desirous of joining. This Society, as well as the Americans, have training schools already in connection with their own work; but all consider that a well-equipped United College would be an immense advantage to the cause of Christ in Congoland. Not only can the training be better and more economically done, but a combined effort of all the Missions will have the supreme merit of uniting in Christian activity all the native Churches in connection with the different societies. It is confidently hoped that this bringing together of our future native teachers and leaders will be a source of true strength to the Churches in the land, and unite them all in aggressive evangelistic work.
" The negotiations are now sufficiently advanced to issue an appeal to the readers of the Missionary Herald for their help and sympathy in this great undertaking. All the friends of our Congo Mission will join us in thanking God that the time has now come for this advance, and already I am glad to find great interest is being exhibited by friends all over the country in this new college scheme.
"The location of the Institute will be at Kimpese, a point close to the Congo Railway, at a distance of about eighty miles from Matadi. Our American brethren in the early days secured a plot of ground of about thirty acres, with the intention of establishing a Mission Station at that place, but it was not occupied. This property is now to be transferred to the United College authority.
" The Constitution provides that ’ in accord with the commonly understood position of evangelical Churches, and also in accord with the ordinance of immersion on a profession of faith, the instruction given in the Institution shall be based upon the acceptance of the Old and New Testament Scriptures as an authoritative standard of faith and practice. The importance of strict regard for Scriptural teaching in the observance of the ordinances of the Church shall be fully recognised.’
" The Institution is to be controlled by a Board of Trustees representing the three Missions.
" Three tutors have been appointed, one from each Society, to form the faculty of the College. This number is considered sufficient for the present, but as the work develops we shall require more assistance.
" It is estimated that we shall have in residence about 150 students, who will be brought in from various missions for a three years’ course of training. Provision is also made for the training of young women who are, or will become, the wives of teachers, it being of the utmost importance to have trained women teachers for work among their Congo sisters.
"For the first few years the married teachers who are now in service at sub-stations will come in for special training. Arrangements will be made for them to live in native-built houses in the College grounds — husband and wife together. Later on, when the married people have received their course of training, we hope to open a special branch for young women who will be likely to become wives of teachers and evangelists.
" In this educational work we attach great importance to the principle of a native ministry, and we shall avoid anything in the shape of an imitation ’ white man.’ Thus the life, housing, clothing, and feeding will be in accord with native ideas, only insisting on cleanliness, decency, and industry.
" The chief aim of the Institution will be to secure enlightened and intelligent teachers and evangelists, and to train them for evangelical work among their own people.
" The students will be required to do a certain amount of plantation and garden work to secure a supply of food for themselves. There will also be carpenters’ and blacksmiths’ shops, and a brickmaking department, so that they will be able, in their sphere of labour, to build their own houses and schools and chapels without monetary help from the native Churches which employ them, and be in a position to elevate the people by teaching them these crafts.
" In addition to the cost of buildings, which it is hoped will be provided for out of the Arthington Fund, we shall require furniture, fittings, and accessories for the halls and classrooms, and also tools for our various industrial workshops.
" The support of students must be provided for, and it is estimated that £8 per year will keep a single student at the College, while £14 will support a student and his wife for the same period. I feel sure that many friends will count it a privilege to contribute such a sum yearly for the training of these young men and women for the native ministry of the gospel in Congoland.
" I may say that at the request of my brethren in the field I have consented to become the B.M.S. tutor in this new college, and I have also just been appointed Principal. And as first Principal of this United Training Institute, I most earnestly and confidently appeal to all friends of the Congo Mission for their kind co-operation and liberal help." On March 20th Mrs. Lewis wrote to Mrs. Pinnock of Kibokolo: " Before now you will have heard about the Training Institute and the probability that we shall not return to Kibokolo. I know you will be sorry, and so shall we; but the Committee are so anxious that we shall undertake this work, as also are the San Salvador folk, that we do not see our way to decline. In God’s work we must do what is best for the work itself and not consider our own personal wishes, so if all goes well I suppose we shall go to Kimpese. It is a big undertaking at our time of life, but I know we shall have the prayers of you all for our guidance in all matters. I am sorry not to have the joy of gathering in when the harvest begins at Kibokolo, but none the less we shall take an interest in your work there and rejoice with you when that time comes.... To-night we go to chapel to attend our Sunday School Anniversary Tea Meeting. We had a lovely time on Sunday. Several hundred young folk occupied the galleries, all wearing daffodils and singing like larks. It was grand. I thought they would never finish. Dr. Clifford preached in the evening, and it was a rare treat to hear him."
" March 20th. (To Mrs. Hooper, of Kibokolo.)— I have written all news to Mrs. Pinnock and have asked her to let you read it, so please ask for it. I am very anxious to have news of your husband’s health. No one mentions him, so I presume he is much better. ’ It is not good for man to be alone,’ you see, and I shouldn’t be surprised if your company and care do wonders. I do trust you will both keep well, and have much blessing on your work.
" Please pet Sandy for me. I have a dear puss here, but don’t forget old Sandy. I am afraid it will be a long time before I shall be able to have him again, if ever. I don’t know how we shall be situated in this new station. I am sorry that we shall not work together again, and especially that I shall not have the joy of seeing some of those Zombo women and girls come to Christ. But I shall think of and pray for them, and I hope you may have the great joy of reaping a rich harvest from the seed sown through so many years of barrenness and discouragement.
" I hope you will write as often and as fully as you can, for I shall be very anxious to know how things go on. This work to which we are going is so important that we shall need all the help we can get, and trust we may have the prayers of all our brethren and sisters on the field, so that everything may be started on the right basis. I hear that Mr. Weeks has arrived safely, for which we are thankful. The spring flowers are out now: oh! they are so lovely. Though as yet there are not many English ones to be had: plenty of snowdrops in the country and crocuses in the gardens."
"May 7th. (To Mrs. Kirkland, of Mabaya.) — That opposition of the old chief is natural, but I should think, from what Mr. Graham writes me with regard to the action of the San Salvador Resident, that it will turn out rather for the furtherance of the gospel. Opposition is far better than indifference. In the old days at San Salvador it was just at the time when the King so fiercely opposed his people coming to our services that the work began to develop and,the nucleus of a Church was formed."
"June 5th. (To Mrs. Hooper, of Kibokolo).— I am sorry I did not write last mail, I was visiting friends and could not. This must be only a few lines as we are very busy. We leave London on Monday, 10th, and give up these lodgings until September or October. I have not seen your folks yet. I wrote the other day to say that we shall be going to Wales in September and hope to call on them if convenient.
"And now I want to tell you how greatly we rejoice with you in the baptism of Mayungululu. I am sure it will be a very great joy and encouragement to you both to feel that you have been the means of bringing the first Zombo convert to the Saviour’s feet. May that joy be greatly multiplied to you all! You may be sure that in all your successes we shall rejoice with you, and shall ever pray that you may be guided and helped in all difficulties."
June brought holidays, and holiday spirits, and I would that space permitted me to quote at length Mrs. Lewis’s letters and postcards. She is over fifty years old; she has done more than thirty years of strenuous work at home and abroad; yet she writes with the enthusiasm and abandon of a girl of eighteen, just loosed from a convent school. The beauty of the Rhine scenery intoxicates her. With her husband’s assistance she calculates how many Camden Road Chapels could be housed comfortably in the nave of Cologne Cathedral. She boasts of sleeping in a gorgeous chamber, one time occupied by the Queen of Holland, and chuckles over the deprivations of a young Anglican priest, who was evidently pining for splendid ritual, but having to officiate in a crude little church, must needs be content with " plain morning prayers and a sermon," which none the less she enjoyed exceedingly. From Stockholm she sends a message to " Prince," Mrs. Percival’s dog, saying that she has seen some distant relatives of his, lovely little Esquimaux, and is sorry that she cannot send him photographs of them also. This missive was dated June 25th. In July the postmarks are British once more, and on the 3rd she is in Peebles, N.B., enjoying gracious hospitality and the delights of long, luxurious drives among the hills. Ten days later her address is Maelgwyn, Pwllheli, where, amid familiar scenes, she is awaiting expectantly the mild discipline of an imminent " Chatauqua," meanwhile taking delight in many simple things, including the happy freedom of her neighbours — "the dear donkeys who roam at will across the common, and salute me from time to time with their melodious voices."
Late in August she is in Deal, staying with her friends the Parkinsons, and is one of a merry party, mostly young folk. Among other diversions they all get weighed and measured, and Mrs. Lewis pokes fun at her husband’s proportions and makes boast of her own. She weighed 8 st. 9 lbs. 10 oz. and measured 5 ft. 2 in. She might well boast, for I recall a Congo entry in her diary, in which her recorded weight is less by a good 20 lbs.
Early in September she is staying with her cousin, Mrs. Welch, at the Vicarage, Millington, in Yorkshire; casually mentions that she cannot be impeded by more than the lightest baggage, and is on the point of departure for Swansea. In the autumn she and her husband are occupied again by the labours and journeyings of deputation work. Yet all the while she maintains a voluminous correspondence with her sister colleagues upon the Congo, eagerly scanning their news and earnestly giving the counsel and information and sympathy which are often solicited or required. The following letter was written on November 26th to Mrs. Moon, wife of the tutor appointed by the American Society to be the colleague of Mr. Lewis at Kimpese.
" 66, HILLDROP CRESCENT, HOLLOWAY, LONDON, N.
" November 26, 1907.
" DEAR MRS. MOON, — I have not the pleasure of knowing you personally, that is yet to come, but your husband writes that you wish to hear from me with regard to the work that lies before us, i.e., the training of the women students in the new college. As I believe you already know, I have always taken a great interest in the teaching and training of the Congo women and girls. I believe there are great possibilities in them, and that up till now they have hardly received the attention they deserve. This being so I greatly rejoice in the prospect of doing something more for them, and am very glad to hear that you also are interested in this most important work.
" I suppose at first the women we have to train will be mostly wives and mothers, and that fact must necessarily influence the character and extent of their training. I do not see how we can expect those for instance who have babies to spend more than a small proportion of their time in the classroom. Then I think we shall have to arrange somehow for their children to be cared for while they are attending classes. Perhaps those without children might have extra teaching. I see no reason if it is thought desirable why the brighter ones should not attend some of the men’s classes or vice versa. Then, too, there is the question as to men with heathen wives, or wives who are not professing Christians. What do you think about them? Are they to be left in their towns, or to come in with their husbands? Or is it to be optional? Of course they could not attend all the classes; should they attend any?
"Then as to the subjects to be taught, I am writing somewhat in the dark, as I only know the teachers’ wives who belong to the San Salvador Church. But if I were arranging for them alone I should suggest the following: —
1. Old Testament.
2. New Testament.
3. The Christian Life.
4. Training of children.
5. The art of teaching.
6. Nursing of the sick.
" That course, with their farm work as exercise, is I fancy as much as we could attempt. Later on when we have a proper women’s department with unmarried students, other subjects might be added. What do you think of this? I hope you will write and let me have your views freely, so that we may be able to arrange plans which shall commend themselves to us all. The wives of the San Salvador teachers are all Christians, able to read, write, and sew, and most, if not all, engaged in teaching. How far that is the case with others I do not know; perhaps you can tell me. Details as to our various duties must of course wait until we can meet and talk over matters. It seems to me that there will have to be a school conducted by one of us for the children of teachers, and for any boys and girls employed by us in our houses. This will provide a good opportunity for teaching how to teach.
"These are merely suggestions (which my husband agrees with), and I shall look forward to hearing from you with regard to them, or any others you can make.
"With kindest regards to you and Mr. Moon, " Yours very sincerely, " GWEN E. LEWIS." The co-operation of Mrs. Moon in the work at Kimpese, to which Mrs. Lewis was looking forward, was not vouchsafed to her. In the order of Providence Mrs. Moon’s arrival was delayed until Mrs. Lewis’s work was almost done, and the shadow of death fast approaching. In December Mrs. Lewis suffered from a serious attack of influenza, and during the spring of 1908 deputation work was sometimes interrupted, and fears of delayed return to the Congo occasioned, by the illness of Mr. Lewis. Happily these fears were dispelled, and in May Mrs. Lewis writes of packing, and the hope of starting from Antwerp on June 11th, with Miss Spencer, who is going out to marry Dr. Gamble. So the last, and in some respects the happiest, of her furloughs came to its end. It began with deep sorrow, but it yielded many joys. She was happy in her deputation work, happy in her holidays, happy in her intermittent life at home, and supremely happy in her relations with the Church. During these months I saw more of her than ever before, and was privileged to hold much converse with her and her husband, of that trustful order which yields true spiritual refreshment. I may be permitted to relate a single incident of our intercourse. During one of my visits to their home in Hilldrop Crescent Mr. and Mrs. Lewis spoke of Grenfell, and of the Committee’s purpose to issue a biography. Drawn out by them, I freely expressed extemporaneous judgments as to the possibilities of the work and the manner in which it should be done. They listened with quiet interest, and in due course I went away, to return a few days later bringing with me, for their perusal, a letter from Mr. Wilson containing the Committee’s request that I would write Grenfell’s Life. Instead of sharing my amazement they broke into hearty laughter, confessed that they knew all about it, and that in our previous conversation they had been quizzing me. Their knowledge had come to them through attendance at Committee, and they felt in honour bound not to anticipate the official communication. Needless to say, after that Grenfell’s Life became a bread-and-butter topic between us, and I had the privilege of submitting certain early chapters for their criticism before they went away.
They had many missionary visitors, and among the most welcome and most frequently entertained were Mr. and Mrs. Lawson Forfeitt, whose disappointment at being forbidden to return to Congo, on the ground of Mr. Forfeitt’s broken health, elicited their warmest sympathy. They attended as many as possible of the services at Camden Road Church, and often took part in its meetings; made many new friends among those who had joined the congregation in their absence; and were delightedly received in many homes. As ever, Mrs. Lewis won her way to the children’s hearts. Two little girls of one family were specially drawn to her, and she asked them, when they said their prayers, to seek God’s blessing upon her husband, herself, and their work. The little ones gave their promise, and kept it. When they were informed of her death, they were much grieved and perplexed, and at night the younger of them prayed on this wise: "Dear God, we are very sorry that you have taken Mrs. Lewis to heaven, for we wanted her here. And please do not let Mr. Lewis be too sad." Her last farewell meeting at Camden Road will long be remembered by those who were present. A few friends in the company had loved her from girlhood, and many had loved her and her husband for long years. But during her last furlough the heart of the whole Church had gone out to them in notable degree. I mentioned this in the meeting, and in so doing expressed the common consciousness of the audience. It is a tranquil joy to those of us who are left, to realise that in all her long association with it, the Church was never dearer to Mrs. Lewis, and that she was never dearer to the Church, than when it said its last "goodbye."