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[Illustration: C. M. Tucker

from a Photograph taken at Toronto in 1875.

W. Notman Photo. Walker & Boutall, Ph.Sc.]




                            A LADY OF ENGLAND

                         _THE LIFE AND LETTERS_
                                   OF
                         CHARLOTTE MARIA TUCKER

                                   BY
                              AGNES GIBERNE

         AUTHOR OF ‘SUN, MOON, AND STARS,’ ‘RADIANT SUNS,’ ETC.

                           ‘_Nil desperandum_’

                       Motto of the Tucker Family

                                NEW YORK
                          A. C. ARMSTRONG & SON
                          51 EAST TENTH STREET
                                  1895

         Edinburgh: T. and A. CONSTABLE, Printers to Her Majesty




AUTHOR’S PREFACE


The principal mass of materials for this Biography was placed in my
hands last summer by the Rev. W. F. Tucker Hamilton, nephew of Charlotte
Maria Tucker (A. L. O. E.), and since then many other relatives or
friends, both in England and in India, have contributed their share of
help, either in the way of written recollections or of correspondence.
A paucity of materials exists as to the early part of the life; but
in later years the difficulty is of a precisely opposite description,
arising from a superabundance of details. Hundreds of letters, more or
less interesting in themselves, have had to be put ruthlessly aside, to
make room for others of greater interest. From first to last the long
series between Charlotte Tucker and her own especial sister-friend, Mrs.
Hamilton, takes precedence of all other letters in point of freedom,
naturalness, and simplicity. The perfect trust and unshadowed devotion
which subsisted between these two form a rare and beautiful picture.

It has seemed to me, and it may seem to others, that the main question in
the Life of Miss Tucker is, not so much what she _did_ here or there,
in England or in India, as what she _was_. Many a discussion has taken
place, and doubtless will again take place, as to the wisdom of her
modes of Missionary work, and as to the degree of success or non-success
which attended her labours. I have endeavoured to give fairly certain
opposite views upon this question, even while strongly impressed with the
conviction that no human being is capable of judging with respect to the
worth of work done in his own age and generation. Subtle consequences,
working below the surface, are often far more weighty, far more lasting,
than the most approved ‘results’ following immediately upon certain
efforts,--results which are, not seldom, found after a while to be of the
nature of mere froth. Nothing can be more unprofitable, usually, than
the task of endeavouring to ‘count conversions.’ It is of infinitely
greater importance to note with what absolute self-devotion Miss Tucker
entered into the toil, with what resolution she persevered in the face of
obstacles, with what eagerness she did the very utmost within her power.

In writing the story of Miss Tucker’s life at Batala, it has been
impossible not to write also, in some degree, the story of the Infant
Church at Batala. My main object has of course been simply to show what
Charlotte Maria Tucker herself was; and Mission work, Mission incidents,
Missionaries themselves, come in merely incidentally, as part of the
background to her figure. Mention of them is accidental and fragmentary;
not systematic. At the same time there is no doubt that nothing would
have gratified Miss Tucker more than that any use should have been made
of her letters likely to help forward the great work of Missions among
the Heathen. Some years before the end, when in severe illness she
thought herself to be passing away, she spoke of the possibility that
her long correspondence about Batala might be so employed, and earnestly
hoped that, if it were so, no one-sided account should be given, but that
shadow as well as sunshine, the dark as well as the bright aspect, should
be frankly presented. I have endeavoured to carry out her wishes in this
particular.

It is to be regretted that at least a few letters from Mrs. Hamilton to
Miss Tucker cannot be interspersed among the many from Miss Tucker to
Mrs. Hamilton. None, however, have come to hand. Before Miss Tucker went
to India she destroyed the bulk of her papers, after a ruthless fashion;
and it does not appear that while in India she kept any of the letters
that she received.

After some hesitation I have decided to give generally the names in full
of those Missionaries, with whom she was most closely associated. I have
also decided _not_ to give the names of Indian Christians, with very
few exceptions,--as of the Head Master of the Native Boys’ School at
Batala, whom she counted a personal friend; also of one or two Ordained
Native Clergymen, and one or two contributors of slight material towards
this _Life_. In many instances it would be very difficult to decide
wisely at so great a distance, and without a knowledge of the individuals
themselves. It is therefore best to be on the safe side. Many of the
initials are the true initials; but many are not even that,--especially
in the case of those who are still Heathen or Muhammadan.

In the spelling of Indian words and names I have endeavoured to follow
mainly the more modern plan, adopted of late years, except in the case
of a very few words which are practically Anglicised. Miss Tucker’s own
spelling of Indian words and names varies extremely; the word being often
given differently when occurring twice in a single page. The spelling has
therefore been altered throughout her correspondence. To avoid confusion
in the minds of English readers, I have also taken the same liberty with
letters from some others who have not adopted the modern mode.

In conclusion, I have only to express my sincere thanks for the most kind
trouble taken by many friends of A. L. O. E. in contributing materials
for my guidance.

                                                           AGNES GIBERNE.

WORTON HOUSE, EASTBOURNE.




PREFACE


It would scarcely be fitting that this Volume should go forth to the
Public without a few words of Preface from one of A. L. O. E.’s own
family.

Only my beloved Mother--the ‘Laura’ of these pages--could have penned the
words which should adequately tell all that my dear Aunt was to those who
knew her best and loved her most fondly. And _she_, little as she had
expected it, was the first of the two to be called Home.

It has, however, been a great satisfaction to me to intrust the
preparation of the _Life_ to Miss Giberne; and I am glad to have this
opportunity of expressing my hearty appreciation of the literary skill,
the sympathy, and the fidelity to truth with which she has accomplished
her task.

Averse as my Aunt ever was to any fuss being made about her, nothing
would have reconciled her to the publication of a Biography, save
the hope that its story might be used of God to stimulate others to
consecrate their lives to the Service of Christ, whether in the Foreign
or Home Mission Field. It is in such hope that it is now sent forth, with
the earnest prayer that HIS blessing may rest upon it.

                                                   W. F. TUCKER HAMILTON.

CHRIST CHURCH, WOKING.

NOTE.--Any profits derived by A. L. O. E.’s relatives from the
publication of this volume will be apportioned among those Missionary
Societies in which she was especially interested.




CONTENTS



                                                             PAGE
                             PART I

                        LIFE IN ENGLAND

                           CHAPTER I

    THE STORY OF HER FATHER                                     3

                           CHAPTER II

    CHILDHOOD AND GIRLHOOD                                     13

                          CHAPTER III

    EARLY WRITINGS                                             27

                           CHAPTER IV

    A ‘FARCE’ OF GIRLISH DAYS                                  39

                           CHAPTER V

    HOME LIFE                                                  62

                           CHAPTER VI

    GRAVITY AND FUN                                            71

                          CHAPTER VII

    THE FIRST GREAT SORROW, AND THE FIRST BOOK                 83

                          CHAPTER VIII

    CRIMEA, AND THE INDIAN MUTINY                             100

                           CHAPTER IX

    LIFE’S EARLY AFTERNOON                                    112

                           CHAPTER X

    A HEAVY SHADOW                                            126

                           CHAPTER XI

    GIVING COMFORT TO OTHERS                                  137

                          CHAPTER XII

    THE OLD HOME BROKEN UP                                    146

                          CHAPTER XIII

    VARIOUS CHARACTERISTICS                                   159

                          CHAPTER XIV

    AN UNEXPECTED RESOLVE                                     173

                           CHAPTER XV

    BESIDE NIAGARA                                            184

                            PART II

                         LIFE IN INDIA

                           CHAPTER I

    FIRST ARRIVAL IN INDIA                                    197

                           CHAPTER II

    A HOME IN AMRITSAR                                        209

                          CHAPTER III

    CURIOUS WAYS                                              224

                           CHAPTER IV

    A PALACE FOR A HOME                                       239

                           CHAPTER V

    DISAPPOINTMENTS AND DELAYS                                253

                           CHAPTER VI

    A BROWN AND WHITE ‘HAPPY FAMILY’                          267

                          CHAPTER VII

    PERSECUTIONS                                              282

                          CHAPTER VIII

    EARLY CHRISTIAN DAYS IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY            299

                           CHAPTER IX

    THE CHURCH AT BATALA                                      318

                           CHAPTER X

    LOYAL AND TRUE                                            331

                           CHAPTER XI

    CLOUDS AFTER SUNSHINE                                     344

                          CHAPTER XII

    THE FIRST STONE OF BATALA CHURCH                          359

                          CHAPTER XIII

    SOME OF A. L. O. E.’s POSSESSIONS                         374

                          CHAPTER XIV

    ON THE RIVER’S BRINK                                      395

                           CHAPTER XV

    IN HARNESS ONCE MORE                                      410

                          CHAPTER XVI

    A VISIT FROM BISHOP FRENCH                                427

                          CHAPTER XVII

    THE DAILY ROUND                                           445

                         CHAPTER XVIII

    IN OLD AGE                                                461

                          CHAPTER XIX

    LIGHT AT EVENTIDE                                         475

                           CHAPTER XX

    THE LAST GREAT SORROW                                     491

                          CHAPTER XXI

    THE HOME-GOING                                            503

    LIST OF PRINCIPAL BOOKS BY A. L. O. E.                    515

    LIST OF SOME SMALL BOOKLETS BY A. L. O. E.                519




PART I

LIFE IN ENGLAND


‘Constant discipline in unnoticed ways, and the hidden spirit’s silent
unselfishness, becoming the hidden habit of the life, give to it its
true saintly beauty, and this is the result of care and lowly love in
little things. Perfection is attained most readily by this constancy of
religious faithfulness in all minor details of life, in the lines of
duty which fill up what remains to complete the likeness to our LORD,
consecrating the daily efforts of self-forgetting love.’--T. T. CARTER.




CHAPTER I

A.D. 1771-1835

THE STORY OF HER FATHER


Charlotte Maria Tucker, known widely by her _nom de plume_ of A. L.
O. E.,--signifying A Lady Of England,--as the successful author of
numberless children’s books, deserves to be yet more extensively known
as the heroic Pioneer of elderly and Honorary volunteers in the broad
Mission-fields of our Church.

Her books, which were much read and appreciated in the youth of the
present middle-aged generation, may to some extent have sunk into the
background, as the works of successive story-tellers do in the majority
of cases retire, each in turn, before newer names and newer styles; but
the splendid example set by Charlotte Tucker, at a time of life when
most people are intent upon retiring from work, and taking if they may
their ease,--an example of _then_ buckling on her armour afresh, and of
entering upon the toughest toil of all her busy life, will surely never
be forgotten.

She was the sixth child and third daughter of Henry St. George Tucker,
a prominent Bengal Civilian, and, later on, Chairman of the East India
Company. All her five brothers went to India, and all five were there in
the dark days of the Mutiny. Thus by birth she had a close connection
with that great eastern branch of the British Empire, to which her last
eighteen years were entirely devoted. People in general go out early,
and retire to England for rest in old age. Miss Tucker spent fifty-four
active years in England, and then yielded her remaining powers to the
cause of our fellow-subjects in Hindustan.

It seems desirable that a slight sketch of her father’s earlier life
should precede the story of hers.

Henry St. George Tucker came into this world on the 15th of February
1771. He was born in the Bermudas, on the Isle St. George, whence his
name, and was the eldest of ten children. An interesting reference to
this event is found in a letter of Charlotte Tucker’s, written February
15, 1890: ‘As I went in my duli to villages this morning, I thought, “One
hundred and nineteen years ago a precious Baby was born in a distant
island”; and I thanked God for our beloved and honoured Father.’

Henry St. George’s father was a man of good descent, of high reputation,
and of a leading position in the islands. His mother, a Miss Bruere
before marriage,--probably the name was a corruption of _Bruyere_,--was
daughter of the then governor of the Bermudas, a gallant old soldier,
possessing fourteen children and also a particularly irascible temper.

The elder Mr. Tucker appears to have been a man of gentle temperament
and liberal views; I do not mean ‘Liberal’ in the mere party sense,
but liberal as opposed to ‘illiberal.’ Whatever his own opinions may
have been, he did not endeavour to force them upon his children; he did
not, in fact, petrify the children’s little fancies by opposition into
a lasting existence. It is amusing to read of the opposite tendencies
among his boys, one taking the loyal side and another the republican
side in the dawning struggle between England and her American Colonies.
Long after, Henry St. George spoke of himself as having then been ‘a bit
of a rebel’; adding, ‘But my republican zeal was very much cooled by
the French Revolution; and if a spark of it had remained, our own most
contemptible revolution of 1830 would have extinguished it, and have
fixed me for life a determined Conservative.’

He had on the whole a strong constitution, though counted delicate as a
child; and his early life in the Bermudas was one of abundant fresh air
and exercise. Much more time was given to riding and boating than to
books; indeed, his education seems hardly to have been begun before the
age of ten years, when he was sent to school in England. Whether such
a plan would answer with the ordinary run of boys may well be doubted.
Henry St. George Tucker was not an ordinary boy; and he showed no signs
of loss in after-life through ten years of play at the beginning of it.

One piece of advice given to him by his mother, when he was about to
start for England, cannot but cause a smile. She was at pains to assure
him that it would be unnecessary to take off his hat to every person
whom he might meet in the streets of London. Henry St. George, speaking
of this in later years, continues: ‘But habit is strong; and even now,
when I repair to the stables for my horse, I interchange bows with the
coachman and the ostlers and all the little idle urchins whom I encounter
in the mews.’ One would have been sorry indeed to see so graceful a habit
altered. It might far better be imitated. Exceeding courtesy was through
life characteristic of the man, and it descended in a marked degree upon
many of his descendants, notably so upon Charlotte Maria, the A. L. O. E.
of literature.

School education, begun at ten, ended at fourteen. The boy worked hard,
and rose in his classes quickly; though at an after period he spoke of
his own learning in those days as ‘superficial.’ He had been intended by
his father for the legal profession, and many years of hard work were
supposed to lie before him. These plans were unexpectedly broken through.
One of his aunts, who lived in England, acting impulsively and without
authority, altered the whole course of his career. She asked him, ‘Would
he like to visit India?’ A more unnecessary question could hardly have
been put. What schoolboy of fourteen would _not_ ‘like to visit India’?
Young Henry seized upon the idea; and the said aunt, under the impression
that she was kindly relieving his father of needless school expenses,
actually shipped the lad off as middy in a merchant vessel bound for
India, not waiting to write and ask his father’s permission. She merely
wrote to say that the deed was done.

Officious aunts do exist in the world; but surely few so officious as
this. The deepest displeasure was felt and shown when Henry’s father
learned what had happened. But by the time that his grieved remonstrances
reached the boy, Henry was fifteen thousand miles away, ‘hunting wild
animals on the plains of Behar.’ In the present day a boy so despatched
might be sent back again; but in those days India was separated from
England by a vast gulf of distance and of time. Any one writing from
India to England could not look for a reply in less than a year; and
his father was at Bermuda, not even at home, which made a further
complication.

The boy’s condition must at first have been forlorn enough. After a
petted and luxurious boyhood, he had to live for months together upon
salt junk; and his bed was only a hencoop. But there was ‘stuff’ in
him, and hardships of all kinds were most pluckily endured. On landing
at Calcutta he found himself in a strange country, among strange faces,
without money and without work, though happily not quite without friends.
His mother’s brother, Mr. Bruere, was one of the Government Secretaries
in Calcutta; and in the house of Mr. Bruere and of Mr. Bruere’s pretty
little sylph-like wife the young adventurer found shelter for some
months, until an opening could be secured for him.

Fifteen years followed of a hard and continuous struggle. As long after
he said of