The Mission

by Frederick Marryat

  CHAPTER II.

  The conversation which he had had with his grand-uncle made a veryforcible impression upon Alexander Wilmot; it occasioned him to pass avery sleepless night, and he remained till nearly four o'clock turningit over in his mind. The loss of the _Grosvenor_ Indiaman had occurredlong before he was born; he was acquainted with the outline of what hadtaken place, and had been told, when a child, that a relation of hisfamily had perished; but although the narrative had, at the time, madesome impression upon his young mind, he had seldom, if ever, heard itspoken of since, and may have been said to have almost forgotten it. Hewas therefore not a little surprised when he found how great aninfluence it had upon his grand-uncle, who had never mentioned it to himbefore; indeed it had escaped Alexander's memory that it was hisgrand-uncle's only surviving daughter who had been lost in the vessel.

  Alexander Wilmot was warmly attached to the old gentleman; indeed hewould have been very ungrateful if he had not been, for it wasimpossible that any one could have been treated with more kindness andliberality than he was by Sir Charles. It was but the week before, thathe had expressed a wish to travel on the continent, and Sir Charles hadimmediately given his consent that he should remain abroad, if hepleased, for two years. When he approved, however, of Alexander's plans,he had made a remark as to his own age and infirmity, and the probablechance that they might not meet again in this world; and this remark ofhis grand-uncle left such an impression upon Alexander, that he almostrepented having made the request, and had been ever since in a state ofindecision as to whether he should avail himself of his grand-uncle'skindness and disregard of self shown toward him in thus having grantedhis permission.

  The conversation with Sir Charles had brought up a new idea in his mind;he had witnessed the anxiety and longing which his good old relation hadshown about the fate of his daughter; he had heard from his own lips howlong the ignorance of her fate had preyed upon his mind, and that to besatisfied on this point was the one thing wanting to enable the old manto die happy,--to permit him to say with sincerity, "Lord, now lettestThou thy servant depart in peace." Why, then, should he not go todiscover the truth? It would not, perhaps, occupy him so long as the twoyears of traveling on the continent, which had been consented to by hisgrand-uncle, and, instead of traveling for his own pleasure, he might bethe means of satisfying the mind and quieting the anxiety of one who hadbeen so kind to him. Indeed, he should actually prefer a journey intothe interior of Africa to a mere sojourn of some time on the continent;the very peril and danger, the anticipation of distress and hardship,were pleasing to his high and courageous mind, and before he fell asleepAlexander had made up his mind that he would propose the expedition, andif he could obtain his uncle's permission would proceed upon itforthwith. Having come to this resolution, he fell fast asleep anddreamed away, till eight o'clock in the morning, that he was huntingelephants and having hand-to-hand conflicts with every variety of beastwith which he had peopled Africa in his fancy. When he was called up inthe morning, he found his determination of the night before ratherstrengthened than otherwise, and accordingly, after breakfast was over,he opened the subject.

  "My dear sir," said he to Sir Charles, "you were kind enough to give meyour permission to travel on the continent for two years."

  "I did do so, Alexander; it is natural at your age that you should wishto see the world, and you have my full permission. When do you think ofstarting?"

  "That depends upon circumstances, sir, and I must be altogether guidedby you; to tell you the truth, I do not think that one sees much of theworld by following in the beaten track made by so many of ourcountrymen."

  "There I agree with you; in the present high state of civilization therewill be found little or no difference in the manners and customs ofpeople; in the courts, none; very little in the best society, in whichyou will of course mix; and not so very much as people may imagine amongthe mass of population; but the scenery of the countries and the remainsof ancient times are still interesting, and will afford pleasure; itmust be your own reflections and comments upon what you see which mustmake it profitable; most people, however, travel from the love of changeadded to the love of excitement."

  "I grant it, sir, and I do not mean to say but that I should receivemuch pleasure from a continental tour; perhaps I may add that I shouldderive more profit if I were to delay it till I am a little older and alittle wiser; do you not think so?"

  "I certainly do, Alexander. What then? do you propose remaining inEngland for the present?--if so, I am sure it is on my account, and I amvery grateful to you for your sacrifice."

  "If you wish it, sir, I will undoubtedly remain in England; at allevents, if I do not go elsewhere. I have abandoned my continental tourfor the present; but I have another proposal to make, which I hope willmeet with your approbation."

  "Why, my dear Alexander, on what expedition would you now proceed? Doyou wish to visit the United States or South America?"

  "No, sir; I wish to make a voyage of still more interest--I wish to goto Africa,--that is, to embark for the Cape of Good Hope, and fromthence proceed to the northward, to ascertain, if possible, what now isa source of sad disquiet to you, the actual fate of those who werewrecked in the _Grosvenor_, and have not since been heard of with anydegree of certainty."

  Sir Charles was for a time silent. He pressed his hands to his forehead;at last he removed them, and said,--"I can not, much as I wish it,no,--I can not consent, my dear boy; the danger will be too great. Youmust not risk your life. It is very kind of you--very kind; but no, itmust not be."

  "Indeed, sir, I think, on reflection, you will alter your mind. As fordanger--what danger can there be when missionaries are permitted to formtheir stations, and reside uninjured among the very savages who were sohostile when the _Grosvenor_ was lost? The country, which was then adesert, is now inhabited by Europeans, within 200 miles of the very spotwhere the _Grosvenor_ was wrecked. The continual emigration since theCape has fallen under British government, and the zeal of those who havebraved all dangers to make known the Word of God to the heathen andidolater, have in forty years made such an alteration, that I see nomore danger in the mission which I propose than I do in a visit toNaples; and as for time, I have every reason to expect that I shall beback sooner than in the two years which you have proposed for my stay onthe continent."

  "But if some accident were to happen to you, I should never forgivemyself for having given my consent, and the few days that are left to mewould be rendered miserable."

  "My dear sir, we are in the hands of God; and (short-sighted as we are)in running away from danger, as often run into it. What we call anaccident, the fall of a brick or a stone, the upsetting of a vehicle,any thing trivial or seemingly improbable, may summon us away when weleast expect it: 'In the midst of life we are in death,' and that deathI may meet by staying in this country, which I might have avoided bygoing on this expedition. Difficulties may arise, and some danger theremay be, I admit; but when prepared to encounter both, we are more safethan when, in fancied security, we are taken unawares. Do not, I entreatyou, sir, refuse me this favor; I have considered well, and shall bemost unhappy if I am not permitted to obtain the information for youwhich you have so much at heart. Let my travels be of some advantage toyou as well as to myself. Do not refuse, I entreat you."

  "You are a good boy, Alexander, and your kindness makes me still moreunwilling to part with you. I hardly know what to say. Let us drop thesubject for the present; we will talk of it to-morrow or next day. Imust have time for reflection."

  Alexander Wilmot did not fail to renew his entreaties on the followingday, but could not gain Sir Charles's consent. He was not, however,discouraged. He had taken from the library all the works he could findrelative to Southern Africa, and continually enforcing his arguments byquotations from various authors, all tending to prove that he mighttravel through the country without much risk, if he took properprecautions, his grand-uncle's objections grew daily more feeble, and atlast Sir Charle
s gave his unwilling consent. In the meantime, the bookswhich Alexander had read had produced a great effect upon him. When hefirst proposed the mission, it was more from a feeling of gratitudetoward his old relative than any other, but now he was most anxious togo on his own account. The narratives of combats with wild beasts, thequantity and variety of game to be found, and the continual excitementwhich would be kept up, inflamed his imagination and his love of fieldsports, and he earnestly requested to be permitted to departimmediately, pointing out to Sir Charles that the sooner he went away,the sooner he would be back again. This last argument was not withoutits weight, and Alexander was allowed to make every preparation for hisjourney. Inquiries were made, and a passage secured on board of afree-trader, which was to touch at the Cape, and in six weeks from thetime that the subject had been brought up, Alexander Wilmot took leaveof his grand-uncle.

  "May God bless you, sir, and keep you well till my return," saidAlexander, pressing his hand.

  "May the Lord protect you, my dear boy, and allow you to return andclose my eyes," replied Sir Charles, with much emotion.

  Before night Alexander Wilmot was in London, from thence he hasteneddown to Portsmouth to embark. The next day, the _Surprise_ weighedanchor and ran through the Needles, and before the night closed in waswell down the Channel, standing before the wind, with studding sailsbelow and aloft.