Bishop Selwyn of New Zealand was preaching, and the boy says of the
sermon: "It was beautiful when he talked of his going out to found a
church, and then to die neglected and forgotten".
How deep had been the influence on his mind of his mother's example
may be gathered from the letter he wrote at the time of her death in
1842, when he was fifteen years old: "It is a very dreadful loss for
us all, but we have been taught by that dear mother who has now been
taken from us that it is not fit to grieve for those who die in the
Lord, 'for they rest from their labours'.... She said once, 'I wonder
I wish to leave you, my dearest John, and the children and this sweet
place, but yet I do wish it'; so lovely was her faith."
In 1854 Bishop Selwyn returned to England. During the time that had
elapsed since his previous visit, Patteson had been ordained. The
bishop stayed with his father a few days, and during that time the
feelings which the boy of fourteen had experienced were revived in
the man of twenty-seven; and with his father's consent John Coleridge
Patteson entered upon his life work, sailing with Bishop Selwyn for
the South Seas in March, 1855.
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