Miss Slessor expresses her pleasure at having met Mr Stevenson and Miss Crawford. Regarding reporting the situation in Calabar she is reluctant to say much, although happy to help him to form his own opinions. However she gives at length her opinions on the length and frequency of the missionaries’ furloughs, which she believes have no need to be as frequent as those of government officials.
Dear Mr Stevenson
I must thank you for your kind letter of good bye. It was indeed kind of you to write to me, & for this, & for *all* your kindness, I thank you very warmly. I too am glad that we have met, as I have never felt much at home with our new conditions, & feared the result of the union, *in* *its* *detail*, tho’ I most heartily approved of it in theory & in fact. Now, I shall not be afraid of you, both Miss Crawford and yourself have been a revelation to me, & I am ashamed of my former fancies & fears. I shall ever think of, & pray for the secretaries with very warm & thankful heart. God bless you both in that most important sphere.
Regarding things in general in Calabar, I am not very competent to write. I am far enough away to see with a truer perspective certain things, but I am too far apart to be able to give any very valuable opinion regarding many of the workings of the Mission. And if it were not of moment; I should be afraid to say too much on any question for fear of hurting or (thwurling?)(Note 1) any one whose judgment might be better than mine. Work like ours has so many sides, & allows of more flexible & mobile treatment than more stereotyped forms of work. However if I can help you to form an opinion on any subject, I shall be glad indeed to give what I think a just & right opinion. As regards the short terms & frequent furloughs, my opinion is not a secret, though it is hardly in good taste to give it, seeing I have been able to stay a little longer than my fellow workers. The reason given for the short term is I believe the fact that Govt. servants stay only for a year or 18 months. While this is true, it is also true, that the cases are not parallel. Govt. officers have not a Home life, we have. Their duties are much more multifarious than ours. They have a constant going about, & are exposed to long marches in the roughest surroundings, & are never sure of a day of ordinary routine. They are called to new situations on an hours notice, & they have seldom precedents, & never *necessarily* data to go upon. Hence they are kept in strain & stress as we never are. Our lives are comparatively quiet, & our ordered methodical routine allows us to have times of rest, & to have comforts such as those men never have. Our food is also regular, & as far as is possible is what is best for the climate. Our servants are trained, theirs are, any boy they can pick up, & food is very haphazard both as to its kind & its preparation. These conditions make a Govt. officials life a very strenuous, & a very wearing one, & it would be impossible for them to go on very long. But apart from all this, the motives which lie at the root of a missionarys life, are, or ought to be, so far above those which rule any wordly calling, that there must be given some proof of their reality. If they for a wordly calling can do much, we from our loftier standpoint, & our higher ideals, should surely do more. If they follow & obey, wherever, & whenever duty calls, surely we should far outstrip them, seeing ours is a service of Love & Gratitude. We can not wonder if the men of the world ask, “ What do ye more than these ? & they have a right to judge by what they see. I would have every one feel that if sickness or weakness calls them home, they will be met at home with sympathy & kindness, but I would have the laws of honour bind every one to do his & her utmost to take care of health & to work up to the measure of his or her ability. And the old law of 3 years, & five years, did not kill or over work our forefathers & mothers. Their record is not bad, & they had not the means or the foods we have, nor had they all the appliances of science we have now for getting health & comforts.
But this is of course my private opinion. If the same simple life were lived, & the early hours kept that used to obtain, I don’t think life here would be so hard for us, but late hours, & home habits, are not healthful here. Only you see, I am of the old ways, & cant put myself into the ways of the young who have been accustomed to other things. So you must discount a lot from my way of looking at it. Now this is just a line to thank you. I shall write when I know how things will go. The monies lying in Mr Slights hands need a letter to him, & so I must bid you a goodbye. We have had glorious weather. There are two lads who held service yesterday, but they are lay men, & it was very crude, & very few white men came in. It was courageous of them though, & I must speak to them. With every kind wish, I am yours very sincerely
M M Slessor
Editorial Note:
- Indecipherable: Miss Slessor appears to have written over her first word here