'< is in the dust. And pray for me also, that I may be found
« faithful. If I should survive you in life, it will be a great
*« satisfaction to me, to reflect that I once had your prayers.
*< And pray for your brother in the ministry, and for your
<« father and mother, and all your family. For when » the
" spirit of grace and supplication is poured out,' (Zech. xii.
" 10.) its objects are indefinite. When we < look upon Him
^< whom we have pierced,' we shall be anxious to bring all
** we love to behold the same glorious Redeemer. Then do
" we understand for the first time what is meant by * chari-
" ty ;' that charity whose boundless praises are set forth in
<* the 13th of the 1st of Corinthians, and which the world
•* understands not.

" My love to your brother, and to my little girls. Adieu.

" C. Buchanan."

" Kirby Hall, 16th April, 1810.

« I rejoice to hear that C. is alive and well, and that
" the Malayalim version of St. Matthew's Gospel has been
^f printtd. There are upwards of two hundred thousand
*< Christians, Catholic and Syrian, who can read it.

" I should gladly aid the — , if I could ; but the

" truth is, I have no papers by me, not even of a year's
•'* standing. When in India, I emptied my bureau every



DR. BUCHANAN. 4^7

»« year regularly, and committed papers and ietters to
"the flames. But I shall think of something for you now
<^ and then.

<' I am looking out with some solicitude to sec what may
<* be done, both in regard to England and India ; and I think
** Providence will soon open a way. In the mean time,
*• the Gospel is preached hoth at home and abroad, and
" « the kingdom' advances. It is ours to work * to-day.'
" To (Tjj/ttf^ot; f^Uet f4.ct. Christ will see to i)is own church
<« ' to-morrow.' I pray that I may do in the right spirit the
<^ portion of work assigned me, whatever it be ; if indeed 1
*• belong to the family of Christ, and have found mercy to
" be faithful.

«* I am not qualified to meet the public eye often. I am
" neither copious nor ready ; and 1 can truly say, I never
« write what pleases myself. But I will give you bones
" now and then, if you will give them flesh. And I pray
** that you and I may increase in zeal in the great work.
«^ There is no zeal without intemperance ^ as the world de-
** fines it. For what is temperance ? Ask first at the equi-
'^i noctial line, and then at Nova Zembla. For so extensive
<* are the latitudes of thinking among the servants of the
•'« Gospel ; even amongst those who are promoting most suc-
•« cessfully the interests of Christ's kingdom."

" Kirby Hall, 23(1 April.

" The ship Charlton, in which I returned from India, has
•< been carried into the Mauritius hy two French frigates.
*< Poor Limrick went down in the Calcutta, together with
** L and his heaps of paper.

" The organ for the mission church has beeT> shipped. It
•* is a noble one.

« # * ^ ^ # Hebetude and illiberality are apt to creep on
" our minds after a long retirement in a nook of the vine-
*< yard. We need to be * withstood to the face,' like St.
<« Peter, and to receive the bastinado on the soles of our feet
" once a month at least, to keep us active and operative, ac-
•• cording to * the gift that is in us.' Men who walk in and



4J38 MEMOIRS OF

" about a house for a whole life are at last afraid of people
•< who walk abroad, and begin to criticise and to despise
"them; for they really do not understand what they are
<* doing. And we must bear with such. For we should
** have been just the same had we vegetated in a corner."

It has been already observed, tljat on his first visit to the
University of Cambridge after his return to this country,
Dr. Buchanan presented to the public library several valu-
able oriental manuscripts, which he had procured during his
journey to the coast of Malabar. They were twenty-five in
number, chiefly Biblical, and written in the Hebrew, Syriac,
and Ethiopic languages. Tlie most curious and important
of these manuscripts are a copy of the Hebrew Pentateuch,
written on goat-skins, and found in one of the Black Jews'
synagogues at Cochin ; a copy of the Bible, containing the
books of the Old and New Testament with the Apocrypha,
written on large folio vellum, and in the ancient or Estran-
gelo character, wliich was a present to Dr. Buchanan from
the venerable Bishop of the Syrian churches ; and a version
of the New Testament into Hebrew, executed by a learned
Rabbi in Travancore, about one hundred and fifty years
since. This version was transcribed by Mr. Yeates, at
Cambridge, by the appointment and at the expense of Dr.
Buchanan, chiefly with a view to promote the production of
a translation of the New Testament in tlie pure style of the
Hebrew of the Old, for the benefit of the Jews, and in aid of
the laudable design for this purpose of the London Society
for the conversion of that ancient people. The same labori-
ous scholar, in the year 1813, published a collation of the In-
dian copy of the Pentateuch, which had been also made at
the expense of the munificent donor, and was printed by the
Syndics of the University Press for the. benefit of Mr.
Yeates.

On the 12th of June, Dr. Buchanan preaclied the annual
sermon before tlie Church Missionary Society, at St. Anne's,
Blackfriars. It was a grand occasion, and a collection of
nearly four hundred pounds proved the interest excited by



DR. BUCHANAN. 429

the preacher on hehalf of the j^reat objects of that important
Society. From the text, <• Ye are the light of the world,'*
Dr. Buchanan made a forcible appeal to his Christian au-
dience on the solemn duty attaelied to their profession of
gi\ ini^ lij^ht to a benighted world. After some excellent ob-
sei'vations on the sermon upon the mount, for the purpose of
pointing out the moral character of the *« children of the
light," the preacher observed, that if Christians wished to be
" the light of the world," they would draw their light from
Christ, and send forth preachers bearing the character which
he hath delineated; and that if they were instruments of the
^< true light," they would be zealous in adopting the most
effectual means of diffusing it. In discussing these two pro-
positions, Dr. Buchanan recurred to a subject he was so well
qualified to describe, the moral darkness of the Pagan world,
gave much interesting information and suggested many va-
luable hints relative to missions to the heathen.

The following observations on the Society before which
this discourse was delivered, and on the British and Foreign
Bible Society, are added for the purpose of recording some
express testimony to his warm approbation and support of
both those admirable institutions.

<* Your object and that of the Bible Society, is the same.
^i It is — to give the Bible to the world. But, as that sacred
^^ volume cannot be given to men of different nations until it
" be translated into their respective languages, it is the pro-
<« vince of your institution to send forth proper instruments
<* for this purpose. Your Society is confined to members of
" the Established Church. You do not interfere with the
<« « Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign
<< Parts,' nor with that * for promoting Christian Knowledge ;'
« for neither of these professes the precise objects to which
ii you would confine yourselves. It does not seem to be pos-
« sible to frame an objection to your establishment. When
<< the design and the proceedings of your institution shall
«< have been fully, made known, you may expect the support
«« of the episcopal body, of the two Universities, and of every
<^ zealous member of the Church of England.



430 MEMOIRS OF

*< It has been objected to that noble institution to whicli
" we have alluded, the British and Foreign Bible Society,
*< that it is in its character universal; that it embraces allf
*« and acknowledges no cast in the Christian religion : and it
*< has been insinuated, that we ought not to be zealous for
<* Christ's kingdom, if we must associate, in any degree,
« with men of all denominations. But, surely, there is an
<* error in this judgment. We seek the aid of all descrip-
•* tions of men in defending our country against the enemy.
«< We love to see men of all descriptions shewing their alle-
'< giance to the King. Was it ever said to a poor man. You
<^ are not qualified to shew your allegiance to the King ?
** You must not cast your mite into the treasury of your
" King ? My brethren, let every man who opposes these in-
<< stitutions examine his own heart, whether he be true in
" his allegiance to the King of kings.

«* For myself, I hail the present unanimity of hitherto dis-
<^ cordant bands as a great event in the Church; and as
" marking a grand character of Christ's promised kingdom ;
^i when < the leopard shall lie down with the kid ; and the
"calf, and the young lion, and the fatling together, and a
« little child shall lead them.' Isaiah xi. 6. I consider the
<< extension and unity of the Bible Society as the best pledge
" of the continuance of the Divine mercy to this land : and I
" doubt not, the time will come when the nation will reckon
" that Society a greater honour to her, as a Christian people,
« than any other institution of which she can boast.".

One scene of exertion in the life of Dr. Buchanan was
followed by another. On the 23d of June he thus wrote to
a friend.

<« I am appointed by the University of Cambridge to
•* preach before them two sermons on Commencement Sun-
" day, the 1st of July next. I am rather weak in spirit at
<« present, and not strong in bodily health : but I JJray for
« vstrength, and I trust the Lord will sustain me. My ser-
" mows will be published."



DR. BUCHANAN. 431

Of Dr. Buchanan's Commencement Sermons we shall
have occasion to speak more fully when we notice their puh-
lication. In the mean time, the following hrief account of
them by himself to one of his friends soon after they were
delivered may not be unacceptable to the reader.

"London, July Uth, 1810.

« Your letter of the 30th ult. followed me to London ; for
«« I only stayed at Cambridge two days after I preached.

« I addressed the students on the importance of the sacred
« office, in conclusion ; and intimated, that the time was now
" come, when every man, who stood on the side of religion,
" must be content to bear a name of reproach ; for it was a
" necessary evidence of his character.

«« I preached for three quarters of an hour in the morning,
*' and above an hour in the afternoon. There w as the most
solemn stillness. The church was crowded.

«* On the Tuesday following, the Bishop of Bristol came
" up to me in the Senate House, and thanked me for the dis-
« courses, and expressed a hope that they would be pub-
" lished. Others did the same. Dean Milner, who is Vice-
" Chancellor, informed me soon afterwards, that he thought
" himself authorized to grant the imprimatur of the Univer-
'' sity for their publication ; and 1 am preparing them for the
« press accordingly. I mean to publish important matter as

<•' an Appendix. Adieu.

*' C. B.?'

«•' To Colonel Sandijs,

" Scarborough, 24th Aug. 1810.

«• I thank you for your excellent letter of the 27th July.
.^ A letter from you is always worth something. Continue
'< to pray for me, and to exhort me.

*• Since my arrival here, I have been engaged in preach-
«' ing regularly on Sundays and Wednesdays at the great
<« church, to the strangers and residents at the Spa.

*< I should have published my University Sermons, and
" many other things by this time ; but the truth is, that the
*• congregations at Scarborough, and the hope of some utility.



43^ MEMOIRS OF

** have put Cambridge ami its scenes almost out of my head.
^* I preach here a fortniajht longer, and then return to Kirby
** Hall. After my return, I shall sit down to the Cambridge
<* lucubrations."

In the autumn of this year Colonel Macaulay, one of the
most valued friends of Dr. Buchanan, returned to this coun-
try. It is to this circumstance, and to the intimate associa-
tion between the name of that gentleman and the Malayalim
version of the New Testament, that the following extracts,
from letters to him, and to his brother, Z. Macaulay, Esq.
refer.

"Kirby Hall, 28t!. Sept. 1810.

'^ I rejoice to hear that your brother is soon expected, and
^« that he comes by land. That will be a proper ^iia^e to
«< his pilgrim life. I am happy to hear that two Gospels are
" finished in Malayalim. I had been informed that St. Mat-
" thew only had been printed, and that it had been distribu-
«*ted; and I said so in my sermon. But it is better now
" that the four Gospels should be distributed, bound up to-
" gether. I shall write to Mr. Woodhouse on the subject.
<< How many copies has he sent you ? If he has sent many,
<« I shall forward them to Calcutta, the fountainhead of dis-
" tribution, with instructions to Mr. Brown.

" Will you have the goodness to send a copy neatly bound
*< to the Rev. Mr. Kerrich, Librarian of the University of
*< Cambridge, for the public Library ?

" You may also send bound copies to the Bibhe Society,
" Bartlett's Buildings Society, and to the University of Ox-
" ford ; also to the Universities of Edinburgh, Glasgow, St.
" Andrew's, and Aberdeen. To save you trouble, if you
<' will put them into the hands of your bookseller, he will
*< transmit them; and I will pay his bill, with thanks to
•* you."

" 9th October.

" This is great news. And so C. is thus far through the
<» wilderness ; once more in his native land ! May he pass



DR. BUCHANAN. 433

<« through the Jordan flood at last with the voice of triumpli
'< and thanksi^iving!

" Will you have the goodness to forward the trunk to me
<« as soon as it can be rescued from the India House I It con-
<< tains some papers, I believe, which 1 wish to see before
'' what I am now preparing goes to press.

<* There is no person in tiiis country who can improve the
*^ Malayalim translation, because it is performed by men to
" whom the language is vernacular. It is not like the ver-
^< sions executed by Europeans.

** The Bible Society may assume great credit to itself by
*< patronizing this version, for the demand for copies will
<< be perpetual and inexhaustible; even until ' the mountains
*< shall be cast into the sea.' "

<* To Colonel Macaulay,

*' 7th November.

*^ I am concerned to find that Cheltenham is necessary for
'^f you. But I think you will not remain there long. A little
<< of tiie waters is enough. Pray retreat as soon as the cold
<* weather warns you. The warm town is the place for you.
*• I have been at Bath, Clifton, Cheltenham, Scarborough,
<• since my return. But there is no place like warm and
<* busy London in the winter; unless, like me, you had a
« fireside of your own, and a wife and a hissing urn and a
<^ sofa to wheel round, to read the book of four pages. Aiio-
<« ther argument for an early hejira from Cheltenham is its
<• unprofitable society. I have looked through all these
*< places, and would rather pass a month at Chetwe or Tri-
»* vandupuram with you, than be condemned to mix daily
•< with the visitors at a watering place in our own country.

<^ I find the difference of cast greater here than in India.
" I am thankful that I can aspire more, day by day, to be of
« the high cast. I wish to be a pure Namboory among Chris-
<* tians. And if the Sooders will not go off the road for me,

<* I must go off the road for them. is in this sense a

" Brahmin of high cast. He is indeed « a gift of God' to his
*< country; follow him, even as he follows Christ.

I o



4,34 MEMOIRS OF

ti \ give you twelve months complete before you settle ;
** and if you settle then, 1 shall be thankful ; though perhaps
" Providence has ordained that you should ever continue,
" like Abraham, ' a pilgrim and a sojourner in the land, in
<* which you have no inheritance, * but look forward to ano-
<« ther country,' to a city which hath foundations, whose
<i builder and maker is God.' Blessed is the man who wishes
" not to build a city in this world. This is often a ruling
" passion with Indians ; they come home to build a city and

" a tower. is building a mansion with seven tur-

" rets on his estate.

" Adieu, my dear Sir,

<< C. Buchanan."

The following passage in^ letter to another friend con-
tains the first intimation of a tendency to serious indisposi-
tion which Dr. Buchanan appears to have felt since his re-
turn from India.

"KirbyHall, 7th Nov. 1810

<* We returned lately from Scarborough, where I passed
« two months, ministering twice a week in the large church
" there. Since my return, I have been visited with an in-
<' disposition, which the faculty do not seem to understand
<< very well. It is merely a great quickness of breathing,
« and great lassitude from slight exercise, without any other
" complaint whatever. I desisted from preaching for a fort-
" night ; but mean to resume it. It is probably some illness
'' induced by a hot climate ; and it becomes me to ' work
« while it is called to-day.'

" My letters from India state that the Gospel flourishes
« in almost every quarter. The seed sown is producing
^« fruit where there has been very little cultivation ; and
<< now our attention is directed to the Malay isles ; for the
<* whole Dutch empire in the eastern ocean will probably
<* soon be ours. The word of truth, I am happy to inform
<*you, runs and is glorified in these parts" (in Yorkshire)
<*also; but the chief evil is, that it is rather /as/iiowaftie



DR. BUCHANAN. 435

»* amang the lower classes. I find the most useful preach-
*< ing is to draw aside the cloak of profession, and see what
^« is under it.'*

Dr. Buchanan was now employed in preparing his Cam-
hridge Sermons for the press. To these he was intending to
add as an Appendix a variety of new and interesting mat-
ter, connected with the great subject of his discourses, and
illustrating the progress of the Gospel in the East. Dis-
trusting, however, his own judgment upon a few points,
amongst which was the name which this appendaj^e should
assume, or willing, at least, to submit it to that of others,
he referred the whole to the revision and ultimate determi-
nation of two or three able and judicious friends. It was to
them that the following letters were addressed ; and they
will serve at once to evince the Christian simplicity and hu-
mility which adorned the w riter's character.

" Kirby Hall, 22d October, 1810.

« Tell K. that the half of my Appendix is gone up. I re-

<^ quested and to expunge any thing they thought

<• wrong : and intimated to them, that I wished not to give
« any unnecessary offence in word or manner; but that it
"was my purpose to pronounce a faithful and unequivocal
« testimony to the truth of the Gospel. I pray that God
« will overrule the evil of my work for good to the souls ef
<« men. For it hath enough of evil, although I trust the pur-
" pose is good.

<« I do not want fame, (I mean, as a carnal object,) but I
" wish to glorify Christ on eartii, as I can, the few days that
" may remain to me. I think with you, that W. had enthu-
«< siasm and many infirmities. So had Luther. JSTihilominus
*< sit mea anima cum iUo /"

The following passages were addressed to Colonel Ma-
caulay ; wliose long residence in the south of India, and inti-
mate acquaintance with the principal scene of Dr. Buchan-
an's researches, peculiarly qualified him for the friendlv
office which he was requested to undertake.



436 MEMOIRS OF

" Kirby Hall, 20th December.

« I shall be very thankful for your revision, particularly
*< of the * Syrian Christians ;' for I quote much from memory
" and imperfect notes. Only finish it in your own words;
*«for lam not very strong for study at present, and my
*< church occupies my attention. What I say to you, I say
*« to your brotiier : for you are both the friends of the tr uth
*< in an evil day.

«I expect no particular effect from the Christian Re-
«< searches, fartlier than affording some gratification to the
" advocates for Christianity, and some vigour, perhaps, to
« their hopes.

« If your alterations are important, you may just mention
** what they are, but it will not be necessary to return the
<^ manuscript; for I can rely rn your just judgment. I have
«< rather a rugged style. Be pleased to add a word, and
" qualify my abruptness when it offends you."

« 31st December.

" I concur with you in every sentiment contained in your
<< letter. My friends in India have long urged me to notice
" the exertions of the Church of England there, under the
<« name of < The Christian Institution in the East;' and I
«« was preparing to publish a list of its members at the con-
" elusion of the work. But the promotion of Christianity is
<« the grand object : and the expressi(m of your fears is suffi-
<« cient argument for me to suppress the name of the < Chris-
ty tian Institution' for the present,

*< Be pleased, therefore, to obliterate the name, and sub-
*< stitute that of « Christian Researches in Asia ;' and retain
*< as much of the introductory pages as may comport with
" your view of utility. I hsive no copy by me ; and I am in
<< poor health, and have other avocations. I desire nothing
*< but to promote the glory of the Christian dispensation. 1
*< could wish to make my work as Catholic as possible, so
*< that all may love its object. If you will make it such, you
" will make me happy. I want the work to be printed by
*< the 10th of February, for transmission to India. India is



DR. BUCHANAN. 437

*• more in my view than England, in regard to its utility,
« If you find any sarcnsnu pray expunge it : but do not sa-
'* crifiee a word of truth.

*« I shouhl write to you more particularly, but Mrs. Bu-
<< chanan's confinement has been attended with circumstan-
<* ces which endangered her life ; and I think of little at
" present but what is momentous and eternal. She is now
« better."

The conclusion of the preceding extract referred to a sea-
son of great trial which had taken place a few days before,
and which after much suffering had terminated safely. Mrs.
Buchanan recovered ; but the child, who was named Clau-
dius, survived only three days. " On the morning of the
*< first day of the new year," observed his pious father, " I
" committed the little stranger to his parent earth. Mrs.
« B. has more of joy than sorrow from these events."

Amidst the anxiety occasioned by the illness of Mrs. Bu-
chanan, and the interruption of personal indisposition. Dr.
Buchanan prepared for the press his University Sermons,
and the ^* Christian Researches in Asia." The subject of
these Sermons was similar to that of his discourse before the
Church Mission Society,— the diffusion of Christian know-
ledge throughout the world. From the words of the divine
Jiat, << Let there be light," as applied to the course of the
great " Sun of Righteousness," Dr. Buchanan noticed three
distinct eras of this heavenly illumination | that of the first
promulgj^tion of the Gospel, the Reformation from Popery,
and the present period. After an able and interesting histo-
ric view of these three eras of light, he urged a series of ar-
guments, to which a reference only can here be made, to
convince the Church of England of her obligations to exert
herself in the great work of evangelizing the world. Having
led the way by patronizing about a century since the Pro-
testant mission to India, it became her, he said, to resume
her former station, and, <^ standing as she does like a Pharos
«^ among the nations, to be herself the great instrument of
«« giving light to the world." It is, however, only doing jus-
tice to the subject of these Memoirs, to extract a few passa-



438 MEMOIRS OF

ges from the Sermons in fjuestion, which convey his senti
ments on the lnnJamental truths of Christianity.

«< That which constitutes a Christian is < faith, hope, and
<< cliarity ; these three,' Much human learning is not essen-
*<tially necessary to constitute a Christian. Indeed, a man