Farewell Letters to a Few Friends in Britain and America, on Returning to Bengal in 1821.
by William Ward, D.D., of Serampore
Lexington, Kentucky: Thomas T. Skillman,
1822.
In 1819, William Ward, the printer and minister colleague of William Carey's at Serampore, returned to England to report on the missionaries' work in India and to raise financial support for the mission. During his visit, he left England and toured Holland and the United States. In the United States, he raised $10,000 for the support of educating and sending out Indian ministers from Serampore College. In 1821, he returned to India, where soon thereafter he died of cholera, March 7, 1823, at the age of fifty-three. For Ward's obituary written by William Carey in August 1823, click here.
While in England, Holland, and the United States, Ward busied himself with giving "accounts of the state of the heathen in India, and of our mission there" (p. 9 - p. 10). No doubt his accounts would have included his detailed understanding of Hindu culture as demonstrated in his A View of the History, Literature, and Religion of the Hindoos: Including a Minute Description of their Manners and Customs, and Translations of Their Principal Works, 2 vols. (Serampore, India; 1815 and 1818) and in his letters below.
In the dedication (p. 11) of his letters, Ward refers to America as "the chosen refuge of the puritans, and of many an eminently devoted christian; the land of equal privileges; of pure and heavenly light; the country to which, under God, next to may own, the eyes of every friend of God and man on earth are directed; the hope of the world."
TITLE PAGES CONTENTS |
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DEDICATION. To Divie Bethune, Esq. and Mrs. Bethune |
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LETTER I. To the Rev. Dr. Newman—Reflections on returning to England. |
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LETTER II. To John Breckinridge, Esq.—On the present spiritual state of the world; and on the causes which have led to the neglect of the command of Christ, to preach the gospel to every creature. |
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LETTER III. To the Rev. Dr. Ryland—On the future state of the heathen. |
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LETTER IV. To the Rev. Dr. Staughton—On the philosophical system of the Hindoos. |
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LETTER V. To the Rev. Dr. Chaplin—On the popular superstition of the Hindoos. |
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LETTER VI. To Miss Hope—On the state of female society in India. |
LETTER VII. To the Rev. Dr. Steadman—On the cruelties connected with the Hindoo superstition. |
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LETTER VIII. To Captain B. WICKES—On the impurities connected with the Hindoo superstition. |
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LETTER IX. To the Rev. CHRISTMAS EVANS—On the concern of many of the Hindoos respecting a future state. 92-93 94-95 96-97 98 [Click here for Evans's bio Page 611 Page 612 Page 613] |
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X.
To
RICHARD PHILLIPS, Esq.—On the necessity of a greater union in prayer for
the Divine Influence. 99 100-101 102-103 104-105 106-107 108-109 110-111 112 |
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LETTER XI. To the Rev. CHRISTOPHER ANDERSON—On the triumphs of the missionary cause in India. |
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LETTER XII. To the Rev. Dr. BALDWIN—On the success of the mission in India as it respects the number and character of the converts. |
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LETTER XIII. To the Rev. DANIEL SHARP—On the progress of the translation in India. |
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LETTER XIV. To the Rev. LUCIUS BOLLES—On the success of the Native Schools in India. |
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LETTER XV. To J. DOUGLAS, Esq.—On the late great moral changes in the East, and on the Serampore Missionary College. |
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LETTER XVI. To JOSEPH BUTTERWORTH Esq. M. P.—On the striking nature of the change wrought in the views and character of a converted Hindoo. |
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LETTER XVII. To Mrs. FULLER—On the certainty of the final triumphs of Christianity. |
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LETTER XVIII. To a MISSIONARY STUDENT—Advice on the importance and duties of the Missionary Life. |
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LETTER XIX. To Dr. CHARLES STUART—On the origin of the Mennonites. |
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LETTER XX. To the Rev. JOSEPH KINGHORN—On the manner of worship, &c. among the Mennonites. |
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LETTER XXI. To the Rev. W. H. ANGAS.—On the doctrines received by the Mennonites. |
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LETTER XXII. To the Rev. N. MESSCHAERT—On the number of churches among the Mennonites. |
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LETTER XXIII. To the Rev. J. J. ROBERTSON—On the state of religion in Holland. |
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LETTER XXIV. To the Rev. GEORGE BARCLAY—On the state of religion in Holland. |
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LETTER XXV. To Mrs. STRETTON—On the constitution and present state of the Episcopal Church in America. |
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LETTER XXVI. To the Rev. G. PIKE—On the answers to prayer, as seen in the present remarkable movements among the heathen. |
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SUBSCRIBER'S NAMES. |
Created: November 30, 2001 Updated: December 3, 2001