Life of William Carey by George Smith - The Jesus Army

trude, he planted with trees then rare or unknown in lower Bengal, the mahogany and deodar, the teak and
tamarind, the carob and eucalyptus. The fine American Mahogany has so thriven that the present writer was
able, seventy years after the trees had been planted, to supply Government with plentiful seed. The trees of
the park were so placed as to form a noble avenue, which long shaded the press and was known as Carey’s
Walk. The umbrageous tamarind formed a dense cover, under which more than one generation of Carey’s
successors rejoiced as they welcomed visitors to the consecrated spot from all parts of India, America, and
Great Britain. Foresters like Sir D. Brandis and Dr. Cleghorn at various times visited this arboretum, and
have referred to the trees, whose date of planting is known, for the purpose of recording the rate of growth.
For the loved garden Carey himself trained native peasants who, with the mimetic instinct of the Bengali, followed
his instructions like those of their own Brahmans, learned the Latin names, and pronounced them with
their master’s very accent up till a late date, when Hullodhur, the last of them, passed away. The garden with
its tropical glories and more modest exotics, every one of which was as a personal friend, and to him had an
individual history, was more than a place of recreation. It was his oratory, the scene of prayer and meditation,
the place where he began and ended the day of light--with God. What he wrote in his earlier journals and letters
of the sequestered spot at Mudnabati was true in a deeper and wider sense of the garden of Serampore:
“23rd September, Lord’s Day.--Arose about sunrise, and, according to my usual practice, walked into my
garden for meditation and prayer till the servants came to family worship.” We have this account from his son
Jonathan:
“In objects of nature my father was exceedingly curious. His collection of mineral ores, and other
subjects of natural history, was extensive, and obtained his particular attention in seasons of
leisure and recreation. The science of botany was his constant delight and study; and his fondness
for his garden remained to the last. No one was allowed to interfere in the arrangements of
this his favourite retreat; and it is here he enjoyed his most pleasant moments of secret devotion
and meditation. The arrangements made by him were on the Linnæan system; and to disturb
the bed or border of the garden was to touch the apple of his eye. The garden formed the best
and rarest botanical collection of plants in the East; to the extension of which, by his correspondence
with persons of eminence in Europe and other parts of the world, his attention was
constantly directed; and, in return, he supplied his correspondents with rare collections from
the East. It was painful to observe with what distress my father quitted this scene of his enjoyments,
when extreme weakness, during his last illness, prevented his going to his favourite retreat.
Often, when he was unable to walk, he was drawn into the garden in a chair placed on a
board with four wheels.
“In order to prevent irregularity in the attendance of the gardeners he was latterly particular in
paying their wages with his own hands; and on the last occasion of doing so, he was much affected
that his weakness had increased and confined him to the house. But, notwithstanding he
had closed this part of his earthly scene, he could not refrain from sending for his gardeners
into the room where he lay, and would converse with them about the plants; and near his couch,
against the wall, he placed the picture of a beautiful shrub, upon which he gazed with delight.
“On this science he frequently gave lectures, which were well attended, and never failed to prove
interesting. His publication of Roxburgh’s Flora Indica is a standard work with botanists. Of his
botanical friends he spoke with great esteem; and never failed to defend them when erroneously
assailed. He encouraged the study of the science wherever a desire to acquire it was manifested.
In this particular he would sometimes gently reprove those who had no taste for it; but he
would not spare those who attempted to undervalue it. His remark of one of his colleagues was
keen and striking. When the latter somewhat reprehended Dr. Carey, to the medical gentleman
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