46 ST. HELENA 



nothing better than to make the island yield to your Honours some 

 reasonable recompense for the great expense and trouble you have 

 been at to improve this hitherto unprofitable place. 



(We do not hear again of this gold mine until 1810, in 

 Governor Beatson's time.) Pike is the Governor who in 

 1719 considered it necessary to publicly reprimand the par- 

 son in church " for making great alterations and omissions 

 in the Church service," and he writes : " Since then, to make 

 amends, he has read the prayer for the Honourable Com- 

 pany, but leaves out their being Lords Proprietors of the 

 island." "And whereas before it was used by all chaplains 

 that has been here to insert immediately after the petition 

 for those in the Company's service abroad these words, 

 ' more especially the Governor and Council of this place? and 

 since he constantly omitts that sentence and has given out 

 by his brother that ' he don't think them worth praying 

 for,' the Governor says there is an old proverb, * No penny, 

 no paternoster,' so we say ' No paternoster, no penny,' and 

 are very well contented, because we think the prayers of such 

 a fellow can do us but little good." The parson seemed to be 

 the worse for being kept without his money, for the record 

 says : 



He was locked up and confined for persisting in reading the 

 Collect for ist Sunday in Advent, after the Governor called (according 

 to his statement), in a very mild manner, " Doctor, you are wrong, 

 this is the second Sunday in Advent.' 1 A full account of this will 

 be found under the heading of " Jottings from the Records." 



The immediate charge and superintendence of the Com- 

 pany's lands and plantations were entrusted to the Governor. 

 From the produce of these a publick table was kept up, at 

 which not only the Governor and Council, with principal 

 servants and officers, but even the head artificers and ser- 

 geants of the Guard sat in the order of their ranks. This is 

 shown by the following extract, October, 1717 : 



Likewise in the Governor's absence, there shall stand a salt 

 upon the table which shall be placed below the Council and Chap- 

 lain. Those who sit above that salt shall always drink as they think 

 proper, either wine or punch, but those who sit below that salt shall 

 have to two persons, one common bowl of punch (which contains 

 about three pints) ; if but three, the same ; if four, two bowls ; if 

 five, no more ; and if six persons, three bowls of punch ; or in case 

 of wine, instead thereof, one bottle for each bowl of punch. 



