THE SKETCHER.

Otago Witness, Issue 1812, 13 August 1886, Page 33

THE SKETCHER.

THE HERMIT OF THE TAIERI.

By. F. A. Joseph.

It was during the summer months of 1883 that I met him at Taieri Mouth — a pleasant and respectable looking gentleman, in the prime and vigour though perhaps past the meridian of manhood. We did not know his name, though I have since ascertained it. He came as an incognito, and I have no wish to drag forth into the vulgar public gaze one whose rule of life was not to let his right hand known what was done with his left. He came, he averred in search of quite and rest ; and the open frank countenance lit up by a smile which was contagious to the beholder, readily secured for him what he requested — a few weeks lodging in a private house beside the sea, which seemed to have a charm for him. Perhaps its varying moods harmonised with his own, or its troubled waters lulled a spirit like their own which knew not how to rest. "G. de B." was all the address on his portmanteau, and as "G. de B." I will speak of him. From information subsequently gleaned from various sources, I have learned that " G. de B." was a Church of England clergyman, and at one time served as chaplain on board a man-of-war. Before leaving England he had received one of those rude shocks which too often strain to its utmost the mental equilibrum of a finely organised nature, and the shock had evidently not left him altogether unscathed. His fiancee had died suddenly, and when he found that the dream of happiness for him was over, and the star of his life fallen from his heaven, he sought

across the waters to allay, as far as possible^ the poignancy of an ever-present sorrows Eccentric he was, at times to-such a degree as to cause doubts of his sanity, but beneath*, and behind his peculiar ways there were, firm fixed in his inner nature, Borne of the' noblest elements of true manhood. That quiet which he sought he found at Taieri Mouth, and as he was a fond lover of nature,' he passed the time pleasantly, spending the long summer days fishing or exploring the forest near the shore. His religious convictions* were firm fixed principles, far removed from the cant which has too often to do duty for the genuine article, and, unlike most of the intensely religious, he practiced what he preached. To visit the sick and fatherless and any in distress, reveals the very highest order of Christian duty, and wherever there was sickness or sorrow, "Q. de B." was sure to go with words of comfort and good cheer. Religion with its outward observances, was a necessary part of his>* everyday life ; still .his was not a religion of that obnoxious kind which' obtrudes itself upon the public notice at= times— both opportune or inopportune ; and a kindly serious word from "G. de B." was almost always fully appreciated. The advent of other visitors caused him to leave his comfortable lodgings, when his hermit life began. He crossed over to the Akatore river, where, with his small, very small Bob Roy canoe he lived in seclusion, spending a good deal of his time fishing and wandering by the seashore, or in silent communion with his own thoughts. What these were he kept sealedup closely within the safe keeping of his* own inscrutable mind, and no man ever knew" from his own lips what his secrets were. If inquiries casually made,' or apparently so,' meant anything, "G. de B." appeared to' have had some dim notion when he left England of doing a little private missionary work among the Maoris in places where no regular services were conducted. Whether 1 this had been his intention or not no one will • ever know. He had moneyj the gift of a friend, I have heard, with which to build a • small vessel of some kind fit to go to Bea in. After spending some weeks at Akatore, " G. de B." went to Port Chalmers and had a nice little decked boat of about six tons built, himself modelling the craft and superintending the building. "The Blessing," as he named his little craft, was a tidy, well finished little boat, which in due time was sailed round to the Taieri, "G. de B." in command, with a crew of one. True to his rule of life; he insisted upon the crew coming to prayers before the anchor was weighed, which was somewhat reluctantly done on the part of the crew, who did not see the fitness - of the thing.

The Hermit of the Taieri now took up his abode a few miles below the Taieri ferry bridge, being sole occupant of an empty ' house not far from the river, while " The ■ Blessing" lay rusting out her cable in full view of the door. Her hermit owner paid daily devotions to her, and spent many hours aboard his much-loved craft, which, in his eyes, seemed a thing of beauty, if not a joy for ever. As months rolled by and " The ' Blessing" still lay quietly at anchor, people began to wonder what her owner ever had • her built for, and no doubt he was puzzled in his own mind what use to put her to. As for him, he was seldom visible, and always contrived to be away from home when a visitor chanced to call. How ' he passed his days none could tell, as •he chose to avoid as far as possible the presence of his fellow-beings. Even his newspaper, according to explicit instruction, was- placed over the fence, so that he needed not to see a human face, while obtaining • his only connecting link of communica- • tion with the outer world. He was sometimes seen to visit a patch of forest, • where he often remained for hours at a stretch, but his errand was known only to himself. Whether, like Sanch'o Panza, he did penance, with the trees to help him to • bear the infliction, or whether he was studying botany, rumor is silent upon. The indispensable necessities of existence alone" compelled the hermit to come forth from his seclusion ; and on such rare occasions, when supplies ran down, he might be seen in appearance, and in every respect quite a gentleman, going to Dunedin, and returning with his goods. When inquisitive minds were compelled to acknowledge themselves defeated in the attempt to fathom the life purpose of "G.de B " and when some shook their heads and gravely asserted that one of these fine days some one would have to take him to the lunatic asylnm, he suddenly and mysteriously disappeared. No one knew whither he had gone. The Blessing lay afc anchor in her usual place, and the Rob Roy canoe was carefully housed on shore; butt their owner, where was he ? When speculation was exhausted, and most people had resolved to accept the mystery as one not yefc ripe for solution, a letter came from Stewart Island, enclosing a key, wherewith to unlock the hatchway of the Blessing, and giving instructions to forward the canoe and . sundry articles packed inside of it to the hermit himself, who, impelled by the spirit of unrest which appeared to haunt him, had taken ' himself off to the wilds of that sparselypeopled island, where he hoped to enjoy unbroken seclusion. After some months, spent in true hermit fashion, during which time " Gr. de B." was living a life of complete isolation, the outside world heard of him again — at least those who had known him as the Hermit of the Taieri had no difficulty in recognising his hand. He was in constant receipt of the Christian Record, and no doubt his noble and self-denying action was prompted from an appeal which appeared in that paper. Mr Chalmers, one of the New Guinea missionaries, felt very much the hardship of pursuing his calling in an open boat, and urged those who had the cause of the mission at heart to provide a little decked craft for the convenience of the mission. From my personal knowledge of him, I am quit* satisfied that "G. de B." did not hesitate long after he saw the appeal. It is true tha* he loved his tidy little craft, and that parting with her must have cost him some pain, but if he considered it a' matter of duty private feelings and interests would each alike be subordinated to the -higher call. >

Then came the noble offer freely giving a Six-ton decked boat to the Mission Society. The public were a little puzzled at the generous donor asking for bis name to be withheld. Most men like to be known in such matters, bul not so this man ; he looked for a higher reward than the praise of men. But when ft became known that the " Blessing " was the name of the boat, we, who had known her owner, had no difficulty in discovering the noble giver of a truly noble gift; for he gave not in- the plenitude of his wealth, but like the widow of old, gave all that he had. Strangers came and took the "Blessing" away from the spot where she had long lain at anchor, and her former owner never so much as saw his pretty boat before she was despatched on her errand of mercy, to carry the good tidings to poor souls plunged in the deepest gloom of barbarism and groping in the ( gross midnight of primitive darkness, ; ' but we may rest assured that if human prayers are of any avail, never craft was launched upon the deep on such an errand with such a true prayer for her welfare as that with which "G. de B." consigned her to the service of Him whom , he delighted to serve. In due time the " Blessing " reached her destination, and in deference to the wish of her former owner, she still retains her name, with the difference only that it has been translated into the vernacular of the people who will yet come to reverence the "Hanamoa " as in every respect a blessing in very deed to them. "G. de B." was but a stranger in a strange land, and yet he has left behind him a more lasting memory than many of those who ostentatiously contribute towards the missionary cause in heathen lands, and when the names of the latter shall have returned to the oblivion from which they sprung, the " Hanamoa " will be spoken of, and men will think kindly of the good man who freely gave her to a good service. Some time after the little craft had been engaged in mission work, I chanced to see "G. de B." in Dunedin. He was then en route for England. I thought I noticed a change in his appearance ; the restless look had faded from his eyes, which were then calm and bright, and the whole bearing of the man was subdued yet dignified. He told me, in his usual frank manner, that God had been pleased to bring him through a great trial ; and I sincerely believe that he experienced what he said, and that he was about to return to his friends, clothed and in his right mind. Here we take farewell of hjm, but never can we read of mission work in New Guinea without recalling the " Blessing " and the Hermit of the Taieri.