Robert Moffat

“ Lattakoo lay one hundred miles beyond.
At this time some uncertainty existed as to whether the Moffats would be allowed by the Colonial Government to settle at Lattakoo; thus far consent had been withheld. They had advanced trusting that the way would be opened, and after a short rest at Griqua Town, the party continued their journey, and reached Lattakoo five days after leaving the Griqua station. It was intended that Robert Moffat should take the place of Mr. Read, as an associate with Mr. Hamilton in the work of the mission. ”

“ I can help the poor a little; I shall either die young, or else remain till I am old, and be courted and flattered for my money, and not be able to make up my mind to whom to leave it. I wish I could fall in love; I wish I could like some one, as I think I liked Robert Somerford when I was a girl. Oh dear, what a beautiful world this is! Why are we not happier and more contented in it?”
And assuredly it was a lovely scene that on which Miss Moffat’s eyes rested, as she paused on her way to the Castle Farm to take in the beauty of land and sea stretching below her. ”

“ A severe drought also set in, and a rain-maker, finding all his arts to bring rain useless, laid the blame {58} upon the white strangers, who for a time were in expectation of being driven away. Probably, however, the greatest trial at this time was caused by the conduct of some of the Hottentots who had accompanied them from the Cape, and who being but new converts were weak to withstand the demands made upon them, and brought shame upon their leaders. Shortly after his arrival Moffat thoroughly purged his little community. ”

“ Moffat, Robert, African missionary, born at Ormiston, Haddingtonshire; the scene of his nearly lifelong labours was among the Bechuanas in South Africa, whom he raised from a savage to a civilised state; he was sent out in 1816 by the London Missionary Society. He married (1819) Mary Smith, a daughter of his former employer at Dunkinfield.
Mohammed, great prophet of the Arabs, and founder of Islamism, born at Mecca, the son of Abdallah, of the tribe of the Koreish; left an orphan, brought up by his uncle Abu Taleb; became steward to a rich widow Kadijah (q. v.) whom he married ”

“ Although she was of age, Grace had not yet been able to carry out her more juvenile project of spending her wealth in benefiting her country. There are practical difficulties in the way of benefiting a country impossible to guess, till a person comes face to face with the problem. One of Miss Moffat’s impediments was the spirit of the times. She was not prepared to enrol herself under the 134colours of Mr. Hanlon or any one like him. If ever she married Robert Somerford, she might then be able to help the people without compromising herself. ”

“ When captured you were a child; I have reared you to be a man."
The effect of this deliverance on the neighbouring tribes was very great. It occurred while Moffat was with Moselekatse, arranging for the settlement of the new missionaries. When he and his charge arrived at Sechele's town, on his way home, he was met by Sechele and the other chiefs of his tribe, who marched on in front, and led them to a kind of natural amphitheatre, where at least ten thousand of the people, in all their equipments of war, were assembled. Sechele commanded silence, and introduced the business of the meeting. ”

“ He was a man of gentle disposition and addicted to study. Early in March, 1866, he had started upon a tour to carry on evangelistic work among the Barolong villages along the {135} margin of the Kalahari desert. While visiting one of these, a low class trader arrived who had been guilty of atrocious conduct at Motito. The natives insisted upon the trader going to Kuruman, where his conduct could be investigated, and, upon his refusing to do so, prepared to take him by force. He intrenched himself in his waggon with all his guns loaded, and dared any one to lay hands upon him. ”

“ After journeying for several days through a desert country, they reached Sechele's mountain fastness. Moffat found that chief in great difficulties, but still holding to the faith into which he had been baptised by Livingstone. One hundred and twenty more miles of desert travelling brought the party to Shoshong, the residence of another chief and his tribe. Thence after groping their way for eighteen days in a region new to them, without guides, they reached a village containing some natives who were subject to the Matabele king. ”

“ Dillwyn would like extremely to get hold of Miss Moffat’s fortune, but—”
“I must listen to this,” exclaimed Lady Glendare. “The conversation is becoming quite interesting. Pray proceed, Robert. Do not be influenced by Mrs. Somerford’s signs of wisdom. Mr. Dillwyn is a dishonest steward. According to popular belief there has never been an honest one on the property, so that 174is nothing new; but it is new to have an agent in love. Do tell me all about it.”
“I was speaking of Miss Moffat’s fortune,” said Mr. Somerford with an impatient emphasis on the last word. ”

“ The Kuruman fountain, the source of the Kuruman river, issues from caverns in a little hill. It was the purpose of the missionaries to lead the water from the river to irrigate their gardens. For this purpose a trench was cut two miles in length. This was a work of great labour and was attended by considerable danger. It was found necessary that the men when working should have their guns with them, in case of being surprised by the robbers who roved about. Moffat says, "it was dug in troublous times." ”

“ I wonder how you could so far forget your own dignity as to insult a man who had done you the great honour of asking you to be his wife, for, whatever you may think, a man can confer no higher compliment on a woman than that.”
The girl made no reply; she only withdrew her hand from her father’s arm, and walked slowly away towards the house. That day Lady Glendare found Miss Moffat in an unusually lively mood. Never before had her ladyship heard Miss Moffat talk so much or so well.
“She really has something in her,” decided the countess, “and Robert might do worse; besides Mrs. ”

“ Once more the missionaries, after prayerful consideration, felt it necessary to flee to Griqua Town, suffering much loss of time and of property. Happily the storm passed over, and, on returning to the Kuruman, they found their houses, and such property as they had left behind, in good order, a proof of the influence they were gaining over the once thievish Bechwanas. ”

“ CRAIG, ROBERT (1730–1823) , political writer, born in 1730, was the second son of James Craig, professor of law in the university of Edinburgh. He was admitted to the Scotch bar in 1754, and about 1756 he was appointed one of the judges of the Edinburgh commissary court. This office he resigned in 1791. For many years he and his elder brother Thomas lived together, neither ever marrying. ”

“ Dikes, who gave me the envelopes to hand you,” answered Tony. “No one else knows anything about the matter.”
“And how did it all come about?” questioned Ray eagerly, seating himself on the sofa near his father. “Tell me everything. How is everybody at home? How did you come to run on here without letting me know anything about it? How did you find Dr. Drayton? And——”
“One question at a time,” interrupted Mr. Wendell good naturedly. “Let us start at the very beginning. In the first place, everybody is well at home. Your [151] mother sends her love and sympathy. ”

“ Turning half around, I saw Miss Nettie Fuller standing at the other end of the piazza. I joined her at once.
“I have been waiting for you to come out, Mr. Elder,” she said; “for I have information that I know will interest—will interest some of your friends.” She hesitated on the word “some.”
“What is it?” I asked.
“There was a faculty meeting this afternoon, and the honormen were read off,” she said in a low tone of voice.
“Yes; and Ray Wendell?” I exclaimed eagerly. “How does he stand?” ”

“ I have made my mind up to that now he is dead, as I never could to giving up the farm while he was living.”
“Amos,” said Miss Moffat, “do not let what your minister said impress you too much. God does still work miracles, or what seem miracles to us; and if he sees fit he will clear you from this.”
“And if He does not see fit, Miss Grace, I must just thole what He sends; that is all. You can say that to the wife if you have a chance. Do you happen to know, Miss, how it is with Reuben?” ”

“ In 1837 the emigration of Dutch farmers disaffected to British rule commenced, and a party of them came into collision with Mosilikatse and the Matabele. The American mission station was destroyed, and a great booty in cattle swept away. Mosilikatse and his people disappeared the following year into the unknown region south of the Zambesi, and missionary work was greatly retarded. Towards the end of 1838 Moffat went to Cape Town with his family, taking with him the complete translation of the New Testament into the Sechwana language, and, sailing for England, arrived in London in June 1839. ”

“ Moffat would know more in the next world than he knew in this.
“I have done all I could in the matter, that is certain,” he said as a finish to his reflections; and Grace being in the sick room, he went downstairs to join Drs. Murney and Connelley at breakfast.
Let death be ever so active in one place, life will be equally active in another, and the fact that the master of the house could never again welcome a guest nor issue a command did not in the smallest degree affect the appetites of the men who had come so far to strive and save him. ”

“ With such encouragement and good wishes we left Halford early Monday morning.
“Do you know,” said Tony Larcom, as our train moved away from Halford, “those fellows have treated us so nicely, that I feel half ashamed of having beaten them?”
“Well, it does seem a poor sort of return for their kindness,” said Dick Palmer; “and yet if we had lost the game I do not think that all their attention could have quite reconciled me to it. We’ll strike a marked contrast at Berkeley.”
“Yes; I don’t think that the Park men will embarrass us with their attentions,” remarked Ray dryly. ”

“ There were no
interpreters, and there was nothing for it but to grub along, patiently
picking up words as they went. The Betchuanas were willing to teach them
as far as they could, occasionally relieving the monotony of the lesson
by a little joke at the pupils' expense. Once, Dr. Moffat told his
hearers, a sentence was written down on a piece of paper, and he was
instructed to take it to an aged lady, who was to give him something he
was in need of. He found the old lady, who was scarcely handsome, and
was decidedly wrinkled, and upon presenting the paper "she blushed very
much." ”

“ A face without a line; eyes without even a passing cloud; an expression perfectly free from shadow; and yet Grace Moffat described her favourite companion accurately, when in vague language she likened her to some fair tempting fruit, inside whereof there lurked a hardness, which friend, relative, and acquaintance, tried in vain to overcome. It had been the custom at Kingslough to regard Nettie as a limpid brook, through the clean waters of which every pebble, every grain of sand was to be plainly discerned. ”

“ Spite of her money, her apparent worldliness, her determination to have no man for lover or husband who should not be able to bring as much in the way of fortune at least as she, Grace Moffat was really made of that sort of flesh and blood to whom the idea of being sold, or selling itself, is utterly and totally repugnant, impossible of achievement. She could, had reverses come, have earned her living as a governess, for she was very fond of children, loved them in the abstract, loved them practically ”

“ When a man has done what I have done, when he has failed to do what I have failed to do, he may reasonably be supposed to have no feelings left to hurt. And yet, Miss Moffat,” he went on, “I will be frank with you; just for a moment your offer cut me. It is so hard—oh! my God,” he broke out in a passion of agony, “what had I ever done that such a trouble should come upon me!”
“Hush!” said Grace. It seemed to her excited fancy as if in the darkness, his voice must travel more swiftly than in the light, to the Throne of Him whose justice and righteousness he questioned. ”

“ I did not know so much then as I do now,” thought Miss Moffat, speaking mentally, as is the habit of young ladies of small experience and limited worldly knowledge, as if she were about seventy years of age.
To this letter, after some delay, came an answer.
Nettie returned the money. She dared not keep it, she said, or she would have done so. She should never have a moment’s peace were it in the house, lest it might be discovered. Earnestly, though in few words, she thanked Grace for all her kindness; but “do not 174write to me again,” she added, “it is too great a risk to run. ”

“ Moffat.
“It is very well for ever, papa,” she replied. “How should I learn to care for any other home than this? How should I endure such a life as that the girls lead at Woodbrook. If I am fastidious, papa, remember who has made me so. It is your own fault if I am as people say I am, proud and reserved; I, who have not, to quote some of the plain-spoken Kingslough people, a desirable thing about me except my money.”
196“What does Mrs. Riley say to all this, Grace?” asked Mr. Moffat, totally ignoring his daughter’s last sentence.
“I can only imagine,” the girl replied. “Mrs. ”