I

TRACING THE VEIN

The student whose work has been to study rock formations knows very well that there is a variety of quartz forms varying in hardness, and which may be tested by the scratching with a penknife, and that the goldbearing quartz is of that hard sort that the knife cannot mark; hence he will begin his search for the gold by first discovering the right formation of quartz.

And naturally a study of human life opens up an enquiry for the quality of life "going before". Who, it may be asked, were the ancestors? Heredity it is assumed has prepared the way for the inflowing and manifestation of the life under observation. Not always has heredity been a good prophet. Considering Rahab and Ruth one would not have been prompted to look for King David, or the Saviour Jesus. Yet quartz has to be taken as we find it.

Who were my ancestors? And what preparations did they make for my advent and operations? What excellencies of heart and mind from them have survived the destructions of time and found expression in me? And above all, what did the grace of God going before and working in them predestine me to be?

I cannot avoid asking such questions, and in doing so thereby recognising myself as a debtor both to God and to a British humanity.

For years it has been a favourite family pastime to talk about our human inheritance away back to the days of King Edward the Third, and how those humans came from the continent of Europe and settled as artisans in England, to help by honest and ardent toil to build up the commercial life of Britain, and plant morals, mentality and religion in the national character. As a boy I was taught to sing:-

"Oh I'm a British boy Sir, I love to tell it you,
A Briton e'er love honor, then let me love it too;
In justice be my glory bright
Regardful of another's right;
Oh I'm a British boy Sir, and love to tell it you".

Glad we may be that the Briton has little to be ashamed of, and a great deal in his ancestral history to be thankful for.

On our wall hangs a "Coat of Arms", and there has come from it an encouragement to "go and do likewise", as from time to time I have looked at its characters and deciphered their meaning. For instance- The horse, meaning readiness for all employments for king and country; the heart, as representing a man of sincerity and charity; the gauntlets, showing a man armed for enterprises of defence; the helmet, as indicating wisdom and sure reliability; the arm, as a manifestation of a laborious and industrious person; and other items, such as color, blue indicative of loyalty and truth; silver, meaning peace and sincerity; gold, generosity and aspiring mind; then there is the Bar as an attribute of one who sets "the Bar of Conscience, Religion, and Honor against angry passions, and evil temptations". Surely these all suggest noble ideals, and are worthy of being passed on to succeeding generations as an inspiring endowment! Who would not wish to attain unto such moral qualities? And there is the Rooftree or Gable of the house, the Chevron it is technically called, which suggests Protection, and which has been given to those who have built churches, or fortresses, or other work of faithful service. What a legacy is hereby offered to every inheritor! And these lofty traditions embodied in symbols have, I am sure, helped to create a receptacle in my life for the reception of such pure gold as might be found in my character.

Yet however much I might desire it, and might find in the achievement great gratification, I am not able to trace my ancestry beyond two generations; so I have to content myself with a thankfulness for such qualities as I seem to have inherited, and for such ideals as have been set before me.

My people were married in Stepney parish church in old London, and in that parish I saw daylight. While but a few months had passed over my head my parents removed to Bristol, in which city I found growth of a good sort for twelve years; and here when but little more than a year old my mother died, and at five years of age I lost my father. Thus does my career seemingly take on a sad beginning.

But I would not write this autobiography if it were not to bear testimony to the watchcare and faithfulness of an ever-present and all-sufficient God. That which antedated my arrival in this world and which God saw to be "good", He has carried forward and endeavoured to perfect in me to will and to do of His good pleasure. If I could have foreknown! How often have I said those words! But then had I, there is no doubt in my mind but that I should have been trying to plan and build up the fabric of my life, and so spoiling what God intended, and better knew how to fulfil. I knew nothing in the beginning, and those about me were incapable of devising more than how to proceed through each day as it came; wherefore at my present time of life I am able to apply the Scripture as if it had been written for me and say without reservation:- "When my father and my mother forsake me then the Lord will take me up".