a, and
during the voyage he spoke much of his lately-deceased wife, and of the
many friends who had preceded him to the eternal world. On a friend
remarking that the separation would not be for long, "God grant it," he
replied; and lifting his eyes to the bright moon, which laid a shining
pathway across the heaving waters, he exclaimed with intense feeling:

Prepare me, Lord, for Thy right hand,
Then come the joyful day!

That day indeed was not far distant, for he died some nine months later,
on May 12th, 1838, and was buried in his family vault in the cemetery
at Parramatta. Seldom, surely, has it been granted to anyone to see such
a rich result of his labours before his death. The New Zealand mission,
be it remembered, was only one of the fields of his activity: the
Tahitian mission of the London Missionary Society was almost equally
indebted to his care and generosity; while his own proper work among the
convicts of New South Wales was enough to try the most ardent faith.
Yet, in every field, he lived to see enormous difficulties overcome, and
a plentiful harvest gathered in. Next to his heroic faith must be placed
his almost boundless liberality. No one ever discovered the amount of
money he provided from his own private funds for the New Zealand work,
but it was known to be very great. As to his whole career we may quote
the words of Saunders, who would not be likely to show any favour: "He
was not a great preacher, nor a great writer, nor a great actor; but he
was a good man and wrought righteousness. His patience and courage were
unbounded; his unselfish purity was brilliant; his benevolence was
universal. He obtained no title, he acquired no landed estate, no
monument was erected to his memory, his bones rest not in New Zealand
soil; but the blessing of those who were ready to perish has come upon
him; and the proud and secure position which the Maori now holds in
civilised society is mainly due to the stedfast faith and trust in his
ultimate capability, which nothing could drive from the breast of Samuel
Marsden."

[Illustration: BISHOP SELWYN.]

CHAPTER VI.

"YEARS OF THE RIGHT HAND."

(1838-1840).

The right hand of the Lord bringeth mighty things to pass.
--_Psalms._

We now approach the climax of the missionary period. The plant which had
been rooted with so much difficulty, nursed with so much care, watered
with so many tears of disappointment, was now to break into sudden a