THE LAST JOURNEY—BRIG "SUCCESS," FRIDAY, MAY 22, 1818.
"We have taken an affectionate leave of the clergymen, the civil officers, and the colonists of Sierra Leone. We are embarked for the United States, by way of England; and the continent of Africa recedes from our view."
This is the last entry in Mills' journal. Three months had been spent in Africa; months of unsparing toil, under a scorching sun, amid depressing pagan scenes. But the undertaking had been reasonably successful, and tired bodies had been upheld by grateful hearts.
On shipboard once more, with faces turned homeward, opportunity came for fatigue to assert itself. The strength of Mills, never great at the best, began to fail. A deep spirituality, which had possessed him through all the journey, grew stronger and stronger. And as they were wafted, day by day, nearer home, it became evident that his spirit, too, was nearing its desired haven. Fever burned his body; but at last eternal health claimed his soul. Under a glowing sunset, he was buried, to wait until the sea surrenders its dead.
The one great desire of his life, "to sit in some quiet corner and teach the perishing," was unfulfilled; but God through him had sent, and yet sends, many teachers to many far corners.
Thirty-five years, only, of mortal life was allotted him in which to accomplish so much; yet it was time enough,—not because of his uncommon gifts, but because he knew the secret of well doing. He did not attempt to be the origin—the source, but gloried in being the channel through which God poured His great thoughts. No time was lost by obstructions; the dredge that kept the channel free was prayer—private, social, public, constant prayer, not for himself, but for God's glory.