File 1: Hassall family, correspondence, volume 2, pp. 1-297, 1794-ca. 1823

44) New South Wales he was very attentive to mall orders and made himself so useful He was not allowed to proceed with the [?] but kept as cook to the family & from his industry & attention to all visitore he became a general favourite - yet alas he knew nothing of true religion - He believed there was a God - yet he did not hesitate if offended to take His holy name in vain & to curse & swear. It was on some trivial occasion when his passions had been roused that I heard him use those expressions I should not like to repeat & although I knew but little of real Religion myself I knew that it was injurious to his own soul & others especially to children who might hear & learn to swear also. I pointed out to him the impoopriety of such language with its consequent effects & finding that he could not read I offered to instruct

45 9 New South Wales Parramatta Aug 22 1800

My Dear Madam

I now sit down to return you thanks for your kind letter a [indecipherable] - also for the books you sent. My daughter who was in England about the time the ship sailed that they came in - I heard [indecipherable] express other [indecipherable] it calls me in Greetings from her, & my anxiety until I heard of her safe arrival - You ask how [indecipherable] can sympathise with me - but I think it fair [indecipherable] good this is such a bad place for children & indeed I may say for people of every age. Some good [indecipherable] I [indecipherable] for the rising generation, the orphan home is open for 30 girls, & [indecipherable] for 30 more in a short time. Mr Marsden has sent the preceeding home a sermon he finished the [indecipherable] Sunday, the children attended - the Governor gives it every support. Mrs King & Mrs Paterson attend every day that it may be properly managed. Before this, you [indecipherable] had the pleasure of seeing our dr friends Mr & Mrs Johnson & their daughter; I feel great regret at them leaving the colony, their kind attention to us will always

46 enclose them to me. I hope Mr Johnson's return to his native country will [indecipherable] to the [indecipherable] of his health. The [indecipherable] before us is rather unpleasant, we are upon short allowance of meat, & grain, from the public store, & it wants 3 months to the [indecipherable] . Many of the inhabitants have not a grain of wheat [indecipherable] in their [indecipherable] know is it to be bought. I [indecipherable] fed [indecipherable] in the [indecipherable] let us feel the dreadful calamity of famine. The harvest failed last year. The settlers in general [indecipherable] not [indecipherable] enough to [indecipherable] against the latter end of the year. Mr Pal[indecipherable] had a great light both for himself, & the colony, he had a large stock of wheat [indecipherable] - calculated at six thousand bushels. The [indecipherable] had sent the [indecipherable] to otaheite, & the other Islands to [indecipherable] ; he doesnt discountto establish a communication between [indecipherable] , & Otaheite,

47 [3 lines are crossed out at the top of this page] Being much ingaged [engaged] during the day to 9 0Clock at night was afforded the only convenient opportunity for that purpose. There were then no Sunday Schools & if there had been He wd [would] not have attended on account of his peculiar situation. His progress was rapid beyond expectation for in a short time he could read his Testament with ease. These evening lessons were naturally interspersed with enquiry & explanation & not infrequently we sat up until a late hour regarding[?] to the useful & I trust profitable conversation. I soon found he was a Roman Catholic & better taught in the forms & ceremonies of yr [your] [indecipherable] Church than might have been supposed at his early age. In fact the questions he frequently asked were above my comprehension & I had to read & pray that God would assist & give me clearer views of his own word that I might be enabled to answer them "defend the truth as it in Les

48 Sabbath urged him to go to Church & to Chapel. He replied that when he went into a Protestant Chapel in Liverpool he was beaten for it so he thought he would never go again. This is a striking feature of the bigotry & ignorance of that [indecipherable] Church. But as we had a RC Chapel in the Colony at that time he was easily persuaded to attend & returned home delighted with the Services of our Church. To my surprise he [indecipherable]. He gave part of the sermon & asked me a number of questions I could not answer for want of greater attention to the ministry. He now at any opportunity became a constant attendant on the means of grace & as he read the New Test his mind evidently improved - his conversations generally turned upon the errors of the Romish Church & as he though young was tolerably well versed