Letters and Sketches from the New Hebrides

M. Whitecross Paton was the wife of John G. Paton and accompanied her husband to the New Hebrides (now Vanuatu) in the Pacific Ocean. This is a collection of her letters. My thanks to Redcliffe College for providing me with a copy of the book to scan. This title is in the Public Domain.

M. Whitecross Paton & James Paton [1824-1907], ed., Letters and Sketches from the New Hebrides, 4th edn. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1896. Hbk. pp.382. [Click to download complete book in PDF]

Contents

1. Bound for the Islands (To Her Beloved Sister at Edinburgh)
2. First Impressions of the New Hebrides (To a Friend in Stirling)
3. Settling Down on Aniwa (To Her Beloved Sister at Edinburgh)
4. Glimpses of the Aniwans (To the Family Circle)
5. Early Mission Days (To the Rev. Dr. Macdonald, South Melbourne)
6. The Church of God on Aniwa (To a Lady in Australia)
7. Fragments:-Death and the “Dayspring” (I. To A Lady In Edinburgh) (II. To the Children of the “Dayspring”)
8. A Trip to the Colonies (To The Family Circle)
9. Family Life and Church Life (To The Family Circle)
10. The Shipwreck and The Angel-Child (To the Family Circle)
11. Home, Sweet Home, On Aniwa (To the Family Circle)
12. The Mission Forces at Work (To the Family Circle)
13. The Year of The Hurricane (To The Family Circle)
14. The Madness of Mungaw (To the Family Circle)
15. Slavers and Friends (To the Family Circle); Appendix to XV (To Her Dear Sister-In-Law)
16. Days of Sunlight and of Shadow (To the Family Circle)
17. A Tour Round the Islands in 1889 (To the Family Circle)

Appendix: Note by Rev. William Watt, Missionary

Chapter 1: Bound For the Islands (To Her Beloved Sister at Edinburgh)

Sydney, January 17th, 1865

My Own Dearest Elizabeth, – My heart always fills, when I think of the great distance there is now between us, and how long it may be before we meet again! I began first actually to realize it, when being towed out, on the Sabbath morning we left Liverpool. I could only bury my face in the pillow, and almost groan your name over and over. By the time we got up, we were out of sight of land, until in the afternoon we sighted the Welsh coast. It was a lovely day, and the villages near the shore shone so pretty and clean, though the land itself looked rocky and barren

….I think I described to you, ere leaving, our dear little cabin. We found it very comfortable indeed; the more so, as for convenience Captain Ellis allowed us to get on deck by the” companion” that led up from the bath-room, communicating with his room and ours. He is a fine specimen of the thorough English gentleman, and has been exceedingly kind to us during all the voyage. [Continue reading]