THE MUSSULMAN MOHARAM GLIMPSES OF INDIA AND OF MISSION LIFE. BY MRS.^UTCHEOX. AUTHOR OF ‘ LIGHT AMID THE SHADOWS,’ &C. ^onhn : TUBLISHED FOR THE AUTHOR AT THE WESLEYAN CONFERENCE OFFICE, 2, CASTLE-STREET, CITY-ROAD; AND 66, PATERNOSTER-ROW. 1S78. HAYMAN BROTHERS AND LILLY, PRINTERS, HATTON HOUSE, FARRINGDON ROAD, LONDON, E.C. ct^l PEIHCETOIT ‘^THEOLOGICAL/ PREFACE. No one who has felt the burden of India’s salvation can ever cast off that burden. The writer of Glimpses has had a deep sense of this responsibility. For many years, hard and practical Mission work was the joy and inspiration of her life. Ever since loss of health drove her from the field itself, and prevented much personal labour, she has felt that she still owed a debt to India. This book is part of the payment of that debt. There is a large amount of personal narrative in this Missionary book. But this is not to glorify self. The writer’s natural modesty would lead her to shrink from publicity. Her grand motive has been to awaken and feed an intelligent interest in Mission work, and to call out more effort and self-denial in behalf of the perishing millions of India. This she has tried to do by describing such facts, and by giving such correct and lifelike pictures, as could only be the result of personal observation and experience. The morning has dawned; the light is spreading. 17 PREFACE. The future of India is as bright as prophecy and promise, and as sure as the Father’s gift to His Son. But before the perfect day of India’s salvation has come, the Church must continue the work of faith, the labour of love, and submit to the patience of hope. Many of her best sons must be sent to India and buried there. Much more wealth must be expended there. The spirit of the Cross must be more deeply felt, and its grand law of self-denial be more fully exercised. We commend this little book to the friends of Missions, and invoke upon its story the blessing of Jesus, the world’s great Missionary. JOHN HUTCHEON. The Manse, Green Lanes, London. November 8th, 1878 . CONTENTS. Chapter I. FIRST IMPRESSIONS. The Sea — First Indian Home — The Old Munshi — Scenes at the Moharam — Our Cook’s Holiday — My First Pupil — Timothy’s Story — First View of Idolatry — The Dasari Feast — Caste of India — Our Native Students — Atlia- sheshalu — His Death Pages 1 — 22 Chapter II. MYSORE— THE BATTLE AND THE VICTORY OF FEMALE EDUCATION. Proverbs about Female Education — First Pariah Pupils — A Bitter Disappointment — The Priest’s Anger — Little Lingi — First Girls’ School in the Pettali — Early Lessons — The Sick Scholar and the Charm — An Unnecessary Burden — English Dolls — Timmi’s Conversion — Encour- agements — The Runaway — The Mother’s Vow — The False Alarm — A School in the Palace — Farewell to Girls’ Schools 23 — 43 Chapter III. A TOUR IN THE REGIONS BEYOND. Among Thieves — Preparations for Tour — The Midnight Attack — Shravana Balagola — The Missionary Caught — The Jaina Swami — Scenes at Hassan — The Dying Brahman’s wish — A Hindu’s Idea of Happiness — A Novel Highway — The Halabede Temple — A Noble Banyan — The Village Festival — Measuring Swords — An Elfin Nook — The Benkipoor Tiger . . . 44 — 68 VI CONTENTS. Chapter IV. THE NUGGAR JUNGLES AND FALLS OF GAIRSAPPA. Loveliness of the Forest — A Strange Night — First Glimpse of Sheravutty — Crossing the River — Leeches — The Falls — Descent to the Bottom — A Providential Escape — The Falls of Gairsappa 69 — 80 Chapter V. FIRST FRUITS GATHERED IN MYSORE. Our New Station— Its Labourers — Yeeranageny — Blighted Hopes — Our First Converts — Devadetta Slippered by his Father — Stephen’s Noble Confession — Persecution — A Wonderful Trophy — Shanta’s Fiery Ordeal — The Pan- chayat — A Ludicrous Incident — Jivawashanu — His Death and F uneral — Effects produced in the Village 81 — 98 Chapter VI. THE BLUE MOUNTAINS. Tipacardu Jungle— Midnight Ride through the Forest — The Mountain Pass — Glories of the Mountain Land — A Soldiers’ Love-feast — Our Nest among the Hills — Botany of the Nielgherries — The Todas — Their Mar- riage Ceremony — A Severe Trial — Reunion — The Forest Warblers 99 — 113 Chapter VII. SMALLER TENANTS OF THE MISSION COMPOUND. Mosquitoes — Insect Gems— Black, Red, and White Ants — Missionary driven from his Room — Soap-nut Tree — A Thief Caught — Musk Rats — Snakes — Cobra’s Fangs Extracted — A Memorable Evening — Tricks of the Monkeys 114 — 127 Chapter VIII. DARK DAYS IN MISSION LIFE. The Swinging Feast — The Great Tank — Days of Drought — The Rain-maker — Feeding the Hungry — A Breathing Skeleton — Days of Terror — The Widow’s only Son — Setting in of the Monsoon 128 — 140 CONTENTS. vii Chapter IX. THE NATIVE COURT OF MYSORE. Four Palaces — The Rajah — Our First Visit — Royal Captives — Indian Procession — Durbar — A Dazzling Scene — Pre- sentation of Gifts from Queen Victoria — A Silver Shower — Last Visit to the Rajah — Dying Days — His Death — The Funeral Procession — Burning. . 141 — 154 Chapter X. THE SACRED SHRINE. Nunjingode — A Brahmani Lady — Hindu Widow — The Temple — Scene in the Courtyard — The Pilgrims — Their Penances — Child’s First Lesson in Idol Worship — Scene by the River — A Touching Incident — Lost on Mount Wellington 155 — 1C7 Chapter XI. A SANCTUARY TO THE CHRISTIANS’ GOD. The Street Preacher — The Cruel Taunt — Jubilee Festival — Old John’s Offering — A Sad Disappointment — Christmas Morning — Laying Foundation Stone — The Entertain- ment — Erection of Chapel — Remarks of the Heathen — Opening Services — Old John’s Legacy — Ten Years’ Prayer Answered 168 — 177 Chapter XII. PEEPS INTO HINDU HOMES. Invitation to Zenana — Interior of Native House — Hindu Ladies — Dress and Jewels — Another Hindu Home — A Baby dressed in Jewels — A Holy Man — A Rare Com- pliment — The Young Widow — Native Family Festival — Two Little Brides — Curiosities of Native Etiquette — Cruel Treatment of Females — Occupation of Hindu Ladies — Woman’s Power — Simple Faith — Three Noble Sisters — St. Helena’s Two Graves . . . 178 — 200 LIST OF ILLUSTRATION'S. The Mussulman Moharam (Fron ti * j ) iece ). Shravana Balagola . 44 The Falls of Gaibsappa . 69 The Nielgherry Tribes . . 99 Snake Chaemees . 114 The Eajah of Mysore . . 141 The Nunjingode Temple . 155 The Native Chapel, Mysore . 168 THE SEA. T HE sea, the sea, the beautiful sea, Bounding along in its gladness free ; Never at rest, for it cannot stay, Laughing and dancing in joyous play ; Catching each tint of the sunset sky, Its purple crimson and azure dye ; Each wavelet crowned with a golden gleam, Fading away like a blissful dream. A thing of transcendent purity, Art thou, 0 beautiful sunlit sea. The sea, the sea, the all-circling sea, Stretching its billows so mightily ; Clasping together with silver band Earth’s severed races, each zone and land, From ice-bound shores of eternal snow To sunny climes where the palm trees grow, Wreathing full many an island gem Around thy brow like a diadem ; Chanting thy chorus through coral halls With fluted pillars and rainbow walls ; Laving sad realms of disease and death, Fanning hot brows with thy healing breath, Yet bearing no taint away on thee, Thou world-encircling, kingly sea. The sea, the sea, the tempest-tossed sea, So fearful yet full of majesty ; Rearing its billows like mountains high, Seething and gurgling with hollow cry ; Digging a yawning, mysterious grave Within its depths for the seaman brave ; And hiding the young, the loved, the fair, ’Mong its shells and pearls and treasures rare B THE SEA. Prancing along like a war-horse proud, Snorting defiance to wind and cloud, Shaking the earth with its revelry, A thing of dread is the storm-tossed sea ! The sea, the sea, the fathomless sea, Teeming with life though thy waters be ; Vast and unmeted by human hand, Obedient thou to thy God's command. He set the bounds which thy proud waves know, And rules thy tides in their ebb and flow. In that grand new earth we hope to see, Where to live is immortality, God’s love like a mighty ocean wide Shall leave no room for thy swelling tide. No people of diverse tongue and race Inhabit that holy dwelling-place ; Their castes they leave with the flesh behind, And, all united in heart and mind, They speak one language and breathe one air, In that holy region pure and fair ; One song shall sing through the endless years, When hushed the music of yonder spheres ; And heard no more shall the thunders be Of thy grand anthem, tremendous sea ! GLIMPSES OF INDIA AND MISSION LIFE. CHAPTER I. PART I— FIRST IMPRESSIONS. NDIA at last ! All faces gather brightness, for the swellings and calms of old ocean are now to be numbered among memories of the past. At daybreak, June 5th, 1860, the oft-pictured shore, with its palm trees, minarets, and pagodas, stretches full in view. One other brief ordeal in crossing the wild-roaring Madras surf, then a journey of two days and two nights, amid strange scenes and new experiences, and our destination is reached. Ban- galore, that sounding name, which had echoed even in our dreams, is at length a reality. Yes ; but very different from all the Bangalores seen in dreamland. Our first Indian home was a neat little bungalow in the large Mission compound, at the end of which stood our Anglo- Vernacular Institution for native youths, and also the printing-press. On either side were the residences of Missionaries, our nearest neighbours being our dear friends, Mr. aud Mrs. Sanderson. It B 2 4 FIRST IMPRESSIONS. was a bright and cheerful beginning to our Missionary career ; for Bangalore is by no means a purely native station such as Mysore, our next more trying but deeply interesting one, was. Here we could enjoy blessed communion with other Christians, and de- lightful religious services in our own tongue. I arrived in India at a happy time. The mutiny was crushed, the tumultuous throbbings of the great pulse of the nation had subsided, and peace reigned in our borders. Bangalore is an important military station, and it was then our privilege to meet with not a few British officers, of whom any country might well be proud. Heroes they were in every sense of the word, good soldiers, not only of our beloved Queen, but also of the Lord Jesus. It was refreshing indeed, to hear their mighty prayers and soul-stirring appeals at our weekly meetings. But even in this favoured spot, most of our surroundings reminded us that we were dwellers in a foreign land, and, sadder still, a land wholly given to idolatry. Just outside the Mission compound lay the entrance to the pettah, or native town. All along the crowded streets, over the flat-roofed, mud-walled houses, waved rows of the stately cocoa-nut tree. Leaping among these, and on every house-top, wall, and verandah, a crowd of chattering, grinning, defiant monkeys ever held themselves in readiness to pounce on the first prize, which their daring or cunning could manage to secure. That they were a terror and trouble to every house- holder, the natives would freely own ; but then, the monkey is one of their gods, so these wrongs could find no redress. With what interest did we watch the dark faces TIIE OLD MTJNSHT. 5 around us. There were the women in their long, bright sheeres, or flowing’ cloth, with their babies mounted on their sides, and their baskets or waterpots nicely poised on their heads. We loved to study the intelligent coun- tenances of the turbaned figures, too, — men so shrewd and clever in all their undertakings, that it was hard to believe that such could ever bow down to gods of wood and stone. But what mark is that on every fore- head ? On some there is a white and yellow trident, and on others long horizontal stripes, with a circular spot in the centre. Alas ! they tell us that these are the worshippers of Vishnu and of Shiva. But my heart yearned with peculiar tenderness over the dark-eyed women, who came shyly peeping through the glass door and open windows of our bungalow, to catch a glimpse of the ‘ new dhori-sani.’ They were our native Christians, and I longed, oh so much, to talk with them ; but I could only acknowledge their greetings by returning their polite salaams and by smiling upon them. As yet there yawned a great chasm between us : I knew not their language, and they knew nothing of mine. The old munshi, of whom so correct a likeness is given in Mr. Hodson's interesting memoir of Old Daniel, was one of our first native visitors. Through his pre- cious spectacles, the much valued gift of his former talented pupil, the Rev. William Arthur, the old man scanned me closely from head to foot. What his pri- vate conclusion might be he prudently kept to himself, but noticing the deep blush that rose under his scruti- nising gaze, he politely turned it off — as a Hindu knows so well how to do — by saying, ‘As the new moon, when she arises is the desire of all eyes, so is the young G FIRST IMPRESSIONS. English dhori-sani, who has but newly appeared among us/ That munshi was a general favourite in the Mis- sion. He knew no English whatever, but he was a clever man, and an able Canarese teacher. He had a happy, genial disposition, with a vein of ready wit and sparkling humour. Though on his brow he wore the badge of idolatry, yet in the quiet of the study he repeatedly owned his entire belief in the great truths of Christianity. When, a few years after, we visited Bangalore again, and I was able to converse with him in Canarese, he would speak so feelingly of the Lord Jesus, that we felt sure he was not far from the kingdom of God. Once we were reading together the touching story of the Saviour’s condescension and love in washing the disciples’ feet. The face of the old munshi manifested unusual emotion, and he asked, f Why did Peter exclaim, “ Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head ” ? ’ I replied, that, e if submission to this act were necessary in order that the disciples should have a part with Christ, warm-hearted Peter must have the very fullest share.’ ( No,’ said the aged idolater; ‘I think it was this : to wash the feet only, is the work of the lowest servant in the house, but the father and the mother will pour water on the hands and on the head. Peter loved his Master so much, that he could not be satisfied if Jesus were less to him than his father, his mother, his all.’ It was an Eastern’s familiar ren- dering of this beautiful narrative, which in its sublime significance had deeply touched the old man’s heart. . I had been but a few weeks in India, when I had such a view of the power of fanaticism and superstition over its votaries, as long years that have rolled away THE MOHARAM FEAST. 7 since then have not yet effaced. It was the great Mahomedan yearly festival, the Moharam. My hus- band, who had already been four years in the country, wished me to form a correct estimate at the beginning of my Missionary career, of the various foes with which we have to measure swords on that trying battlefield. So, early one afternoon, we drove through the pettali, ■while that degrading feast was in full play. In many places light booths had been erected for the occasion, festooned by the pale-green, giant leaves of the banana. Inside them were placed exquisite little models of Mahomedan mosques and minarets, all sparkling with gold and imitation gems. Though these were chiefly formed of rice-paper, muslin, and other flimsy materials, the effect was exceedingly good, and the workmanship most ingenious. Every available house-top, nook, and corner of the principal thorough- fares were crowded by an eager, excited mass of spectators. Hindus were there in thousands as well as Mussulmans, all in their brightest holiday dress. The women and children were gaily adorned with flowers and jewels. But on entering the main street of the pettali, the scene of mad revelry which burst upon us baffles all description. Men wearing the skins of tigers, bears, leopards, and other wild animals, some representing fierce birds of prey, and many hideous figures with masks and horns dressed up as devils, closed round our conveyance on every side. They howled, yelled, and tumbled in the dust, rolling over and over. Then they would leap, dance, fight, and drag each other about, till we were fain to close both eyes and ears. The people seemed quite mad with excitement and folly, 8 FIB ST IMPRESSIONS. and almost crawled among our horse’s feet. All seemed bent on trying who could most completely deface the noble image in which God created man. A few bold fellows held up large birds close to our faces in their wild merriment ; and thankful indeed was I to escape away to the quiet of gTeen fields again. There one could at least shut out such sights and sounds, though the pain- ful impress of them will ever remain in our hearts. But this was not all. The Moharam lasts for ten days and ten nights, and during the whole of this time, intense excitement prevails. The men dig pits in the roads, and at nightfall great fires are kindled in them. Through these they madly leap and dance in large groups. They then repair to the various mosques, where they sit listening to pathetic tales of the two hero-brothers, Hassan and Hoosein. When they come to the tragic account of their sufferings and death, the Mussulmans weep and. beat their heads and breasts, till, towards morning, many of them sink on the ground in sheer exhaustion. Once at the commencement of this degrading feast, our cook presented himself with a profound salaam, and said, ‘ Missus, please give leave for two days ? ’ ‘ Why, Poonoswammy ? what do you want a holiday for ? ’ ‘ Little sick, ma’am; just now medicine never drink- ing, then plenty sick soon coming.’ ‘ Very well, you may rest for two days.’ However, before the sick man returned, a Christian servant came and asked, ‘ Does Missus know that Poo- noswammy is playing tiger at the Moharam ? ’ So in future we took care that our tiger should be chained at such times, whether well or ill. FIB ST PUPIL. 9 Many of our friends at home will be surprised to learn that there are nearly twice as many Maliomedans in India alone, as there are in all the Turkish empire. While in the latter they number fifteen or sixteen millions, in Hindustan they are estimated at thirty millions. The higher classes of these are descendants of the officials and great men, who in the days of Mahomedan ascendency received large government pensions. They never became landed proprietors, and their children have gradually been sinking down into poverty and obscurity. The Hindus have far out- stripped them in the march of education, for out of the twenty-one millions in Bengal only twenty-eight thousand Mahomedans attended government schools, according to recent statistics. As yet little has been done for these by Christian Missions. But if we have seen it needful to despoil them of political power, aud to take the sword from the oppressing hand of the Moslem, can it be less the duty of our nation now to offer them freely the blessed Gospel of peace ? By whom are the pure and holy precepts of the religion of Jesus more urgently needed, than by the cruel and fanatical followers of the false prophet ? Comparatively few as their opportunities have been to those of the Hindu, yet, strange to say, my first pupil in India was a young Mahomedan. His baptism was the first of a native convert I ever witnessed in India. One day, a few weeks after the Moharam, while seated at work in the study, the door opened, and Daniel, our catechist, with a respectable young Mussul- man, entered. After a few words of introduction and welcome, the stranger told his simple tale in a voice 10 FIRST IMPRESSIONS. tremulous with emotion. Zoolfakar Hoosein, was the only and beloved son of a Mahomedan doctor in Madras. He had often heard the name of Jesus, and though he knew but imperfectly the story of His love, it had haunted his spirit. Secretly he already felt something of its sweetness and strange power. In the month of July, 1860, cholera broke out in Madras, and raged with terrible severity all around Triplicene, the Mahomedan quarter. Zoolfakar was himself smitten, and appeared to be dying. Conscience, partially aroused before, now awoke him fully to the dread reality of his position. In the anguish of his soul, he felt that the faith of his people had no anchorage that would hold good in such an hour. He now turned his despairiug eye to the Christian’s refuge, and vowed that, if God would in pity hear his cry and spare his life, he would become a true follower of the Lord Jesus. His prayer was heard, and he at once began to recover. His anxiety next was, how his vow could best be performed. Zoolfakar knew well that his father, a proud and bigoted Mahomedan, would violently oppose, and if possible prevent, the solemn step from being taken. He therefore expressed a strong desire to visit Bangalore, where several of his relatives resided. Thinking that the health of her son needed change, his mother readily gave her consent, little dreaming of all that was to follow ; and he at once proceeded thither. The young inquirer soon found out our catechist, Daniel, and to him he unburdened his full heart. At the same time, he eagerly asked for further instruction in the great truths and duties of Christianity, to all of which he listened most earnestly. It was at this stage TIMOTHY'S STORY. 11 that he was first brought to the Missionary, and many an interesting interview they had together. At length when Zoolfakar’s sincerity had been fully tested, my husband one day asked him : ‘ Why are you so wishful to be baptized at once ? ’ ‘ Oh, Sir,’ replied the youth, ‘my brother-in-law found me reading a g'ospel a few days ago, and in his rage he compelled me to accompany him to the mosque, where I was beaten. I fear he will lay violent hands upon me, and I want to be baptized before I die.’ ‘ Have you no other reason for desiring baptism ? ’ he was asked. ‘ No, Sir/ earnestly answered Zoolfakar ; ‘ I only want to save my soul, and confess Christ, then they may do what they will with my body/ Sabbath morning came, when, with his countenance beaming with holy joy, he knelt, and in the presence of our native Church received the name of Timothy Zoolfakar. The storm of persecution now burst upon the young convert in all its fury. He was pointed at, mocked, spit upon, and openly reviled by his relatives and friends in Bangalore. Tidings soon reached Madras, and his infuriated father at once publicly disowned his son. He at the same time thrust the mother out of doors, because she had first consented to the youth’s visiting his sister. Poor Timothy felt this to be a bitter cup indeed. He loved his mother, and the thoug’ht that she must suffer for his sake was a painful trial. But he had long since counted the cost, and now patiently strove to endure all for the sake of Jesus. One day, about this time, he received a letter from his father, threatening him with persoual violence when they met. 12 FIRST IMPRESSIONS. Tlie old man went on to say, that as he could no longer show his face in public on account of the disgrace brought upon him by his son, he was about to proceed to Mecca on pilgrimage. As Timothy appeared to be intelligent, and was most anxious to pursue his studies, we took him under our protection, and he was admitted as a Christian student into our English institution. In order to help him to surmount his first difficulties there, I taught him privately for an hour each day, and he seemed deeply grateful for this little kindness. Often with a kindling eye he would say, f There are many Mission- aries to the Canarese and Tamul people, but who preaches of Jesus to mine ? If I live, by God’s help, I must teach my own people.’ One day in the month of November, Timothy came to us trembling exceedingly. He held in his hand an open letter, which he had just received, professedly, from his mother. It informed him that his father was now dead, that she wept day and night with longing to see the face of her son again, and that he must hasten to her immediately. If he remained away, and refused to grant her request, then the distress and ruiu which he had already brought upon the family would be complete. As he read all this to us, poor Timothy shook from head to foot, and wept bitterly. It was hard indeed for an only son to break his mother’s heart. But we had strong reasons for believing this letter to be but a wicked stratagem to lead the youth to place himself in the power of his cruel father. So we persuaded him on no account to regard it. At the Christmas holidays, however, his desire to see and to cheer the heart of the poor mother who TIMOTHY'S STOJR Y. 13 still fondly loved him, became so intense, that we could no longer restrain Timothy from taking the journey. ‘ I will comfort her, tell her everything, and at once return/ he said. ‘Was it not by my own deliberate choice and conviction that I left all and became a Christian ? What motive could now induce me to waver or turn back V We trembled when, like another warm-hearted but weak disciple, we heard him say, ‘ Though all should forsake Christ, yet will I never.' We warned him of his frailty, and of the danger to which he was exposing himself ; and commending him to the special protection of God, we sorrowfully said good-bye for a time. Long we watched and hoped for his return, but, alas ! we saw his face no more. What the fate of poor Timothy was, whether he fell a victim to the cruel and fanatical zeal of his people, or whether, like Peter, he denied his Lord, we shall probably never know till the dawn of that day, when the secrets of all hearts shall be revealed. PART II.— FIRST VIEW OF IDOLATRY. O UR hearts had just been gladdened by the bap- tism of Timothy Zoolfakar, aud the hopes that had centred in our first Mahomedan convert were yet high, when, in one day, I had such a view of popular idolatry as might well have sufficed for a lifetime. We have seen it in most of its aspects and phases since then, from the rude and disgusting mud image of the simple village idolater, to the proud idol procession, surrounded by all the eclat and pageantry of a lavish H FIRST VIEW OF IDOLATRY Eastern court. But never, perhaps, was I so stunned and distressed as by that first great view of idolatry on the wide meidan, or plain, just outside Bangalore. It was the most important of all the Hindu yearly festivals, the Dassara, which, like the Moharam of the Mahomedans, continues for ten days. At the conclusion of this feast, every implement of use and industry is brought out, and worshipped by its owner. The writer prostrates himself before his pen, the scholar his book, the farmer his plough, the tailor bis needle, and the carpenter his tools. The sacred animals, too, come in for their share in the general adoration. Then, after mid-day, all the prin- cipal temple and household gods are broug-ht out, and paraded with great pomp on the high, open ground before named. I seem to see it all before me now, as the sad exhibition burst upon us eighteen years ago. The excited tens of thousands were there again. Old men with stooping gait and silvery locks, men in the glory of their prime, laughing youths, and wondering little children; grandmothers, too, and comely, jewelled matrons, with their pretty infants and graceful daugh- ters, vied with each other in worshipping the gods fashioned by human hands. These idols were of every conceivable size, shape, and device. This will excite no surprise if we remember that India can boast of her three hundred and thirty millions of gods ! What a collection of deities met our eye on every side ! Idols of gold and idols of silver, of brass also, of wood, and of stone. Some were hideous and dis- gusting, some grotesque, more altogether meaningless; but each and all had their adoring votaries. The BASS Alt A FEAST. 1 5 larger and heavier idols were borne along on plat- forms, richly festooned with flowers, and hung with crimson drapery. Over the heads of the gods, rain- bow-coloured canopies, or umbrellas with gold fringe, were held. Many gaily decorated idols were slowly carried about in showy, gilded palanquins. Bands of native musicians marched before the pidncipal gods, and bearers waved in one hand their flaming torches, while in the other each held his long-necked cruse of oil, with which, from time to time, he fed the flame. White clouds of incense rose to the sky from the censers of many priests; and dancing girls, loaded with jewels — -without whom no temple or procession in India would be deemed complete, — sang, gestured, and made rapid evolutions around the idols. As the various pageants passed through the admiring multi- tudes, they shouted, clasped their hands, and made lowly obeisance to the gods. The numerous and constantly recurring Hindu feasts form the very life of popular idolatry. The sympathy of vast numbers, and the intense excitement of so many religious holidays, alone save it from becoming tame and wear’isome to the masses. As sad at heart, we gazed on this wonderful exhi- bition of a nation’s folly and sin, we marked the rapid gathering of a black and threatening cloud overhead. Now it began to shoot forth its lurid, angry lightnings, while the rain descended in perfect torrents. Great was the confusion and chagrin that at once ensued. The priests and their attendants, seizing their precious but impotent deities, fled in the utmost disorder to the nearest places of shelter. The glittering, showy trap- pings, which before had such charms to the Eastern 16 FIRST VIEW OF IDOLATRY. eye, already hung drenched, ungraceful, and disfigured all around, presenting a pitiable, if not a ludicrous, spectacle. We thought on that text : ‘ He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh : the Lord shall have them in derision/ (Psalm ii. 4.) We drove rapidly away to the quiet of the sanctuary, there to humble ourselves before the Most High, and to plead for those who feel not the need of His mercy. Such as have always dwelt in a Christian land, can- not fully realise the effects of a scene like that we have just attempted to describe. It almost paralyzes the heart and tongue of the ardent and devoted missionary. What can his feeble voice do to arrest the progress of these infatuated idolaters ? How unheeded falls the story of the Cross upon such deaf and unwilling ears ! Yes, this is the human side; and were that his only help, he would at once give up in despair. But the Missionary stands strong in a strength not his own. He is there at the command of a Saviour, who ‘is able to save even to the uttermost/ and who left no sinner out of His wondrous plan of salvation. So when his heart is overwhelmed, the messenger of mercy stays himself upon the sure word of promise : ‘ The gods that bave not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens/ (Jeremiah x. 11.) ‘And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him/ (Daniel vii. 27.) At the end of the Mission grounds stood the native printing-press. There, God’s precious Word was just HINDU CASTE. 17 then being printed, in the beautiful, improved Canarese type, which owes so much to the united labours of Rev. T. Hodson and Rev. D. Sanderson. Beside the printing- press was the handsome Anglo-Vernacular Institution, one of the finest buildings at that time in Bangalore. Of this, my husband had been Principal for nearly four years ; and it was one of my greatest pleasures to visit it occasionally. Before landing in India, I was pre- pared to find the Hindu race very bright and intelligent. Yet it was with mingled admiration and surprise that I listened to the students of the first class, as they went over the evidences of Christianity with a readiness which would put to shame many educated youths, I fear, in our own land. The ease and rapidity, too, with which they would fill the blackboard with a difficult problem in algebra, was not less remarkable. Who has not heard of the caste of India ? In no other land does this mighty barrier to all national progress exist. The Hindus believe it to be of Divine origin, and they are separated by it into four great divisions. Far above the others stand the proud and dignified Brahmans, strong in their uncontested rights from time immemorial. Sprung as the shastras declai’e, from the mouth of Brahma the creator, they claim to possess a monopoly of all goodness. They are the priests and teachers of the people, and the various inferior castes must honour them, and freely offer gifts to them on every festive occasion. Just below the Brahmans come the Kshetriyas, or military caste; next the Vaisyas,or merchant caste; and last, the Shudras, or labouring classes. The members of the different castes can neither enter each other’s houses, eat together, nor intermarry. A Brahman may not even touch the C 18 FIRST VIEW OF IDOLATRY clothes of a low caste man without defilement. Bat beneath and outside the sacred line altogether, comes a class abhorred and shunned by all his countrymen, and everywhere regarded by them as the dregs of humanity. Their very presence is pollution. This is the poor, degraded pariah, or outcast. To be put out of caste is esteemed the last of all evils by a Hindu. By far the greater number of the students in our Institution were Brahmans, but within its walls all such distinctions were unknown. Here, if never befoi’e or again, the down-trodden pariah stood on equal ground with the wealthy Brahman. They studied side by side, and enjoyed the same rights and privileges. The students understood this, and seldom indeed did they offer any opposition to this rule. On one occasion two high-caste youths were competing for the first place in their class. J ust as they were nearly equal, a relative of one of them died. When the last rites were per- formed, the young man returned as usual to school, though ceremonially unclean. His rival indignantly protested against this unheard of innovation. But the Brahman smiled, and quietly remarked, ‘ There is no caste in the Mission Institution .’ The Missionary watched the progress of all the pupils in the various classes with great interest, but on the lads who had climbed up step by step to his own class, he bestowed a wealth of love. I soon found that to know them was to love them too ; and oh, how our hearts coveted these noble looking young men for the Lord Jesus! One of these native gentlemen rises before me now, just as he so often used to stand, erect and tall, leaning with one arm on the top of the study table, gazing into BAXGALOBE INSTITUTIOX. 19 the face of his beloved teacher. How often did the large tear-drop gather in his soft, dark eye, as they talked together on the duty of confessing Christ ! Athasheshalu was, by birth, a high-caste Brahman ; though being a Tamulian, his complexion was darker than that of many of his Canarese class-mates. His crimson and gold turban, long white tunic, and snowy muslin scarf falling gracefully over the shoulder, set off to advantage his well-formed, manly figure. When Athasheshalu first entered the Institution, some years before, he was by no means a general favourite. Proud, selfish, and exceedingly superstitious, he appeared to be a most unamiable lad. But as he gradually advanced to the first class, he became thoughtful, regular in his attendance, and he manifested an increasing love for study. The first hour of every morning was given to Bible instruction; and the youth had not been long under my husband’s care, when he rejoiced to notice the marked earnestness with which Athasheshalu listened to these saving truths. His mind was now fully awake, he thirsted for knowledge, and he began to throw aside the fetters with which superstition had formerly bound him. The heathen festivals, which he was wont to observe so faithfully, no longer attracted him ; and he ceased to perform the various ceremonies connected with the morning worship of their house- hold gods. His father, a bigoted and proud idolater, marked the gradual change in his son with a jealous eye. He stormed and remonstrated, but to no purpose. The young man continued to escape away to a distant garden, at sunrise, there to study and to meditate without molestation. The rage of the old man now knew no c 2 20 FIRST VIEW OF IDOLATRY. bounds. He beat and abused his son, and at length thrust him out of doors. Poor Athasheshalu, for a time, struggled bravely and in silence to continue his studies, though his only sustenance was now one meal of rice a day, which he was compelled to receive in charity at a Brahman choultry. But his strength soon gave way under this semi-starvation . He felt quite unable to grapple longer with the difficult subjects which he so longed to master. In sore distress he went one day to his trusted teacher and friend, telling him that the parting time had come, as he must now take a situation at once. Greatly moved by the tale of the young man's noble endurance, my husband gladly offered him a small private scholar- ship, which was just sufficient to supply his wants. It was about this time that I first came to know Atha- sheshalu. Again and again he declared his belief that there was salvation in no other name save that of Jesus; but he shrank from being the first to take up the heavy cross of confessing Christ publicly among his people. The long-continued pressure of overwork, at length compelled Mr. Hutcheon to resign his interesting duties in connection with the English Institution, and in the beginning of 1861 he was appointed to take charge of the Mysore Circuit. Never can I forget the part- ing scene between the Missionary and his own class. They gathered round him for a time in silence. Tears stood in many a dark eye, but words could not at first be spoken. Then Athasheshalu came forward, and with irrepressible emotion exclaimed, as he grasped his teacher's hand, ‘0 Sir ! we are losing our one friend!' ‘ Nay, Athasheshalu; you have a better and an abiding A TIIASHESHALU. 21 Friend in the Lord Jesus, to whose care I commend you all/ with a full heart he responded. We had been but a short time in our new station, when we received a painfully interesting letter from one of the students, informing us that his beloved companion, Athasheshalu, was dead. He had been received again into his father’s house, but no threats or persuasions could induce him to worship idols as before. The old man’s fury burst forth afresh, and he beat and persecuted his noble son till his health altogether gave way. Burning with fever, away in a little inner room, the poor youth suffered alone, with little care and less sympathy; and his constitution, already enfeebled by privation and ill treatment, soon succumbed to the disease. All intercourse between him and his school friends was strictly forbidden by his unfeeling and mortified father. Yet they came to know that their companion died praying to the Lord Jesus, and that his precious English Bible lay under his dying pillow. Athasheshalu cannot be ranked among Christ’s noble confessors ; but may we not hope to find him acknow- leged as one of the secret disciples of the great Master in the day of His appearing ? Memory recalls several others of these intelligent youths, who were ‘ almost persuaded to be Christians.’ There was beautiful S , who, like another Nicodemus, came to the Mission house under cover of night, to beg for a continued interest in the prayers of his teacher. He had just seen his heathen brother launch away into the darkness, with no ray of a blissful immortality breaking on his vision, no safe anchorage when the swellings rose high. There was bright, intelligent G , also, who came to the Missionary weeping, 22 FIB ST VIEW OF IB OLA TR Y. because be felt that he ought to confess Christ, and yet feared the shame and reproach that would follow. And these are but types of many more. Oh ! who can estimate by mere numbers all the results of this department of Mission toil ? The very rudiments of a sound English education, convince the lads of the absurdity of many of the teachings in their own shastras. Their faith in these being once shaken, they are led to inquire whether they be right on more vital subjects. Ere long, many of these fine young men become convinced of the sin and folly of idolatry also. One of our own students, who had reached this stage said, one day, ‘ Sir, we cannot worship idols now; that is impossible. For the present we are taking refuge in the Brahma Somaj, as a sort of half-way house. ’ Yes; and many more of the very flower of India’s youth are standing there. They believe in their inmost souls that the Bible is the only safe guide to immortality, and that Jesus is the one Saviour for the whole world. But the cross is so heavy; can we wonder that they too often falter as they approach the decisive step ? ’ Let those who so lightly speak of ‘ lost labour ’ and of ‘wasted money’ ask themselves in the sight of God: Should I have dared publicly to own Christ if that confession involved, as it does to a Hindu, the loss of all things? Should I myself have had courage to take up the cross which certainly brings to them shame, contempt, and, it may be, even death itself ? CHAPTER IT. MYSORE— THE BATTLE AND THE VICTORY OF FEMALE EDUCATION. ‘ TGNORANCE is woman’s jewel.’ ‘Educate a -L woman, and you put a knife into the hands of a monkey.’ ‘ Teach a girl to read and write, and you are giving milk to a serpent.’ Such were some of the favourite proverbs that met our ears on entering upon the duties of our new station, Mysore, in 1861. At that time there were no girls’ schools in or near the city. Female education had made but little progress then in India. In a few great centres of European influence, such as Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay, some considerable impression had already been made. But Mysore being the native capital of the province, and the seat of a bigoted heathen court, the idea of an educated woman could not be tolerated. From H.H. the Rajah downwards, all classes regarded girls’ schools as a dangerous innovation. As early as 1838, Mrs. Hodson, and afterwards her strong and energetic Missionary sister, Mrs. Male, commenced a day and boarding school for East Indian and native children. But failure of health was common then as now, and work hopefully commenced had to be given up before any lasting impression was made. A few years later, Mrs. Hardey arrived on the field. She zealously recommenced the work, by striving to establish 24 MYSORE— THE BATTLE AND THE a school among the caste girls of the pettah. In these days, female education was looked upon as the accom- plishment of vice, and the pupils, when examined, proved to be chiefly dancing girls. Suddenly, while it was yet noon, in the midst of many plans and hopes, God, in His mysterious providence, said to the willing worker, Rest. Thus the work scarcely begun was again relinquished. In much conscious weakness, three years after, we anxiously surveyed this unpromising soil. Our first home in Mysore was situated at a short distance from the petfali. My earliest efforts were therefore directed to some neglected children close beside us. Yet it was with extreme difficulty that we at length collected seven pariah girls, whom I did my best to elevate. What wild little creatures these dark pupils looked ! Clad in rags, with faces all unwashed, and tangled, uncombed hair, but with glorious shining eyes that spoke of a soul within, they were ready for all kinds of mischief and petty thefts. They would slyly steal round the compound to our wood-apple tree, and collect a nice heap of the round, ball-like fruit, to be carried off and eaten at a convenient season. My beautiful jasmine shrubs, too, were regularly stripped of their fragrant buds and blossoms, to adorn their rough little black heads, like native ladies ! Yes, they were very pro- voking ; but as the little culprits cleverly managed to steal a good share of my heart as well as my flowers and fruit, they had to be forgiven, and gradually they learnt better habits. Our first schoolroom was in keeping with the humble group of scholars. It was a small dressing-room in our own house, and my only assistant was the timid young VICTORY OF FEMALE EDUCATION. 25 wife of our Christian servant Paul. Elizabeth used to be sent for, and would kindly haste to the rescue, when I came to a stand still ; for I had been but nine months in India, and my slender stock of Canarese was soon exhausted. Like a school-girl I had, at first, to learn every lesson before I taught it; but I found that my husband’s theory was correct, to use the little I had was the surest and shortest way to acquire more. Week by week the difficulty became less, and it was surprising how soon my little pupils and I quite under- stood each other. All unaccustomed to the least mental effort or discipline, these poor children scarcely had a single idea beyond what they should eat and what they should drink. When asked : ‘ How many eyes have you ? * they would answer, ‘ one,’ ‘ three,’ or ‘ four,’ quite as often as two ! When I gave them their first lesson in the Canarese alphabet, how they did g’rin at each other on hearing each letter called by a different name, which, with many a suppressed titter, they tried to repeat after me ! Our first attempts at sewing, too, were most amusing. Many a prick did the little black hands get, and it was no small effort to remember which tiny finger-tip had to be adorned with a thimble. But the dark understandings slowly woke from their lethargy, and ere long the girls began to listen with eagerness to the short Bible stories, which I tried to tell them in the very simplest words. At the end of six months a young Missionary sister, who had just landed in India, joined us in Mysore. We were fortunate enough to secure, at the same time, the services of an intelligent native Christian woman. So we transferred my school to the little chapel in the 26 MYSORE— THE BATTLE AND TIIE lower Mission compound, where it could be taught by Christiana under Mrs. Sykes'* eye. This set me at liberty to try what could be done among the caste girls of th e pettah. We rented a back room in the Market Street, and engaged a Brahman teacher, and also a peon to collect the children ; for no respectable native family will allow their daughters to go out alone. We suc- ceeded in making a beginning, when the teacher proved so unsuitable, that we had to dismiss him at once. He then did everything he possibly could to injure the newly-formed school, by going from house to house along that neighbourhood, circulating false and wicked reports. A few pretty little girls, however, refused to leave us ; and they were learning so much more rapidly than our first dull pariah scholars, that I felt quite encouraged. But a bitter disappointment was in store for us. A native gentleman, who had become much attached to my husband, came to him, and asked if we knew that most of our nice, sprightly pupils were being educated for dancing girls ! India has many cruel customs, but one of the saddest is that of parents deliberately dedicating some of their brightest and prettiest young daughters for temple service. This, alas ! is of a very different kind from that to which the devout and gentle Hannah lent her little prophet. These hapless ones are only taught to read, that they may become proficient in learning the abominable and immoral songs contained in their own books. While by their gestures and dances the poor girls gratify the eyes of licentious throngs at the public festivals, they at the same time delight their ears by chanting these vile odes in the presence of their gods. Need we wonder, then, that the very name of female VICTORY OF FEMALE EDUCATION. 27 education was an offence in virtuous families ? That the dear little ones in whom we felt so deeply interested were doomed to a fate worse than death, we were most unwilling to believe. The master had studiously con- cealed the fact from us, and persistently denied all knowledge of it. Even after our suspicions were fully aroused, he so artfully connived with the parents and friends of the children to mislead us, that we could not discover, with any certainty, who were, and who were not, dedicated to temple service. Sad at heart, our only alternative was to dismiss all the dear little girls, whom our utmost endeavours were powerless to save. Under such unfavourable circumstances, we deemed it wiser to begin afresh, with greater precautions than before, in another part of the city altogether. Short as her stay in a heathen land had been, Mrs. Sykes, like her lamented predecessor, Mrs. Hardey, already slept in death. Young, hopeful, and apparently the most vigorous of all the Mission band, cholera, that swift-winged messenger, bore her away in a few short hours from our midst. So while we looked about for a suitable place in the pettah in which to make a new start, I again took charge of my first school. We in- sisted on the regular attendance now of the few Christian children in Mysore. A number of nice little Roman Catholic girls also began to gather round us. Ours was the only female school in the city, so we refused none ; and things were assuming 1 quite a cheering aspect when another trial came. The husband of our assistant was leaving the station, and we were most reluctantly obliged to give her up. Only one other Christian woman in the place could read, and we persuaded her to help us. But after one day, her friends compelled her to return home. 28 MYSORE— THE BATTLE AMD THE Then I engaged one of our recent converts, a man who knew nothing about teaching, to collect the scholars and assist me as well as he could. ‘ Where are my girls to-day ? ’ I asked one morn- ing, on seeing’ the places of all the little Catholics empty. ‘ 0 Ma’am, the priest is very angry. He has for months been watching the progress of your school, and he has gone among all his people telling them that, if they send their daughters to you any more they shall be denied Christian burial when they die/ replied the man. It did not end in mere words. The priest wrote off at once to Bangalore, and shortly after some nuns appeared on the scene. In a few weeks more they opened an opposition school. We were much pleased with the attachment mani- fested about this time by a little heathen girl called Lingi. She used to hover about me, watching every glance, and ready to do anything she possibly could to serve us. It was the great Nunjingode festival. Her parents and all her relatives were going, and they wished the child to accompany them. Lingi was an ardent and impulsive child, and the temptation was very strong. But she loved school, and she would not disappoint me, so she came as usual. As soon as the children were dismissed, Lingi, who liked the feast only less than her teacher, darted off to her home as swiftly as her feet could run. Finding that her friends had already started on their journey some hours before, she would not stay to break her fast, but at once set out after them. Nunjingode, a famous sacred shrine, is thirteen VICTORY OF FEMALE EDUCATION. 29 miles distant from Mysore ; but away went tbe child, hungry and alone, under the scorching noonday sun, till she joined her parents there. The extreme poverty of the children was the chief drawback to the progress of this school. One scanty cloth generally comprised the entire wardrobe of many a light-hearted little girl; and when it became so ragged and dirty as to be no longer wearable at school, the child would be kept away until another could be bought. The partially awakened mind would then too often return to its old lethargy, and love for school was soon lost. Two years more of mingled light and shade passed over us. During these I had often been prostrated by my relentless enemy, Indian fever, but the efficiency of our school was still sustained. We now resided in the lower Mission house, close to the chapel and pettah, so all the children daily were present at our morning family worship. Immediately the clock struck ten, a large bell was rung, followed by the light patter of many naked feet in the verandah. Then the scholars and servants all sat down on the clean, nice bamboo mat, and any of our native Christians who happened to be passing about the time were sure to join us also, till we had quite an interesting gathering. We first sang a Canarese hymn, in which all united heartily, and the Missionary generally questioned the girls, and explained the chapter we had just read. Many of the heathen children in this way became so interested, that they regularly attended our Canarese service in the chapel every Sabbath morning. As yet we had found no opening whatever for a girls’ school in the inhospitable pettah. During these two long years we had searched in vain for a suitable 30 MYSORE— THE BATTLE AND THE place. Almost incredible difficulties met us at every step. Had we wanted more schools for boys we should have found rooms in abundance. But no sooner did the owner know for what purpose the house was required, than he positively refused to let us have it on any terms. The people were evidently resolved that so long as they could prevent it, female educa- tion should find no footing among them. We were equally resolute, for we had God on our side. As- sured of success in the end, we never for a moment thought of giving up the effort, so we looked about and prayed on. At leng'th Providence smiled upon us, and made our way plain. We had opened a small depository in the Market Street for the sale of Bibles, tracts, and school books. Just over this was a nice, upper room, with a side entrance, and to our great joy we succeeded in renting it. The furnishing of our new school pre- mises was neither elaborate nor costly. We needed only one small wooden bench, a large box in which to lock slates and books when lessons were done, and a few clean bamboo mats for the children to sit upon. In one corner we spread a quantity of fine sand, in which the little ones learn to form the letters with the finger or a small bit of cane. Round the walls we hung alphabet and picture cards, as well as a map of the world and of Hindustan. Then we were ready to begin work at once. On a lovely July morning in 1864, after earnest prayer for its success, we opened our new school with one scholar, a respectable caste girl, named Lakshmi. Thank God ! it is still in active operation. Though from such a small beginning, that was the parent of VICTORY OF FEMALE EDUCATION. SI the prosperous girls’ schools which have taken root and are now flourishing in the city of Mysore. The fathers and mothers in the neighbourhood were very unwilling and slow to send their daughters. But securing a good Brahman teacher and peon to entreat them to come, we wearied them by our loving impor- tunity, and one after another was induced to attend. Taking with me a tempting bunch of plantains — of which children in India are very fond — I gave our new pupils their first religious lesson. Holding the fruit up in my hand, I asked, ‘Who made these V ‘ Dhori- sani’ (the lady), said one; ‘The bazaar man/ ex- claimed another; and one tall girl named her idol. I told them that they were all wrong, for neither the idol, the bazaar man, nor I could make a single plan- tain, nor could we cause it to grow. Then pointing to the blue sky, I told them of the one great and good God who made us, and who, because He loves to make us happy, gives to us the delicious fruit and beautiful flowers. That was the first of many happy talks we had together. It was all wonderful and new to them. They listened well, but, like our poorer scholars, the dear girls had never been taught to think. Even the simplest truths had at first to be repeated over and over again before they could fully grasp them. You would have smiled, young reader, had you been present at our first singing lesson. What the various discordant sounds most resembled I shall not venture to say. Their teacher, I know, had hard work to retain her gravity. But practice and perseverance overcame that difficulty, as well as many a more serious one. The ‘Happy Land/ which in the days of my girl- hood we loved to sing, has been very sweetly trans- MYSORE— TIIE BATTLE AMD THE fitted into Canarese. This was our favourite, and the children soon learnt it perfectly, with many others. The end of 1864 found us with twenty-three girls in the compound school, and fifteen in the pettah. Our trials and difficulties were by no means ended yet. Constantly recurring feast days and fast days, wed- dings or sickness in the families and family connec- tions, which in India seem endless, greatly interfered with our progress at first. Then the woman who col- lected the girls became so careless that we had to employ another instead. As on a former occasion, a teacher, when dismissed, had done all he could to injure us, so this peon in every way tried to keep the children back, and to make the school unpopular. But we rose above this also. One morning, while teaching the higher class, a heathen mother came in leading her little daughter, who was very sick, by the hand. Making a low salaam, she said, ‘ Dhori-sani must show me favour by curing my child.’’ I knew that the case was beyond my skill or the simple medicines we could give, so I begged her to take the little girl at once to the dispensary, where she would be properly treated. As she seemed quite alarmed at the idea of going there, I promised to give her a note to the kind English doctor, who was a personal friend. But in a few days the master told me that the mother had taken the child to an astrologer instead, who had tied a charm round her wrist. This he assured her would be much more effi- cacious than any medicine. We pitied the ignorance and superstition of the poor woman, yet the incident encouraged us. It was one evidence that our love to VICTORY OF FEMALE EDUCATION. 33 their children had already begun to win the confidence of the parents. In addition to the care of two schools and a Bible- class, a serious anxiety of another kind now pressed heavily upon me. District Meeting could allow but a trifling’ grant towards meeting the necessary expenses, and for all the rest we were personally responsible. I mention this, not to plead my own cause, but for the sake of others still toiling on that distant and depress- ing field. I feel sure that the dear Christian ladies of our native land who have time or means at their disposal, would never willingly lay this unnecessary burden on the Missionary’s wife. With little encour- agement, and no reward save the smile of Jesus, she is striving in an uncongenial clime to raise the down- trodden heathen women around her. It is enough that she has to grapple with a difficult foreign language, and give what she can of her time and strength to the people, without the harassing care of providing funds also. We rejoice to know that a new era has already dawned upon female education in India ; in most cases government grants for half the necessary expenditure have been secured. But our duty and responsibility are by no means lessened. The remaining half has still to be found, and God has just committed to our trust a solemn charge. Hundreds of destitute orphans, whose sunken features and skeleton forms plead for them as no words could do, have been admitted to our boarding-schools through the terrible famine that has lately wasted the land. These must be supported for years to come, and wide doors are opening and in- viting us to extend our labours on every side. ‘If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not ; doth not He that 34 MYSORE— THE BATTLE AM) THE pondereth the heart consider it ? and He that keepeth thy soul, doth not He know it ? and shall not He render to every man according to his works ? ’ (Pro- verbs xxiv. 12.) Oh how much real mission work might be done by our sisters and daughters at home did they but lay this cause to heart ! Will not they insure for themselves a share in the triumph at the end of the day, by at once linking themselves in some way or other with this glorious cause ? As from the Lord Himself, in our time of need we unexpectedly received two boxes of fancy articles from England. The sale of these realised £22, besides leaving a supply of beautiful prizes for our first public examination day, and we went forward with renewed strength. Soon after this, one morning we assembled the children of both schools in the verandah of the Mission house. After singing and asking them ques- tions on various simple subjects, the rewards were temptingly displayed. Of all the prizes, the pretty English dolls were by far the most coveted. Oh what longing glances were cast at them ! Holding up a beauty, I asked, ‘ What is this ? ’ ‘ Bombigarlu/ they answered; which might either mean idols or dolls. ‘ Must we worship them ? ’ ‘Yes, yes; we must/ exclaimed our pettah girls with glistening eyes, quite forgetting themselves in their excitement; but, ‘No, no; we must not/ as loudly answered the scholars of our older school. Promising rewards at Midsummer to the most regular and deserving pupils, the Missionary prayed, and we separated much cheered and encouraged. VICTORY OF FEMALE EDUCATION 35 Another sister had, ere this, joined our little mis- sion band in Mysore. When she had mastered the first difficulties of the Canarese language, dear Mrs. Cummings entered heartily into the woi’k, and, with some trials and fluctuations, but steady progress on the whole, we laboured together till the end of 1866. My husband had now been in India nearly eleven years, and failing health necessitated an immediate change to our native land. During our absence, the girls' schools were well sustained by Mrs. Cummings, till Mr. Cum- mings also became ill, and they were compelled to return home. They were then cared for by Mrs. Green- wood, a gentle and devoted missionary sister, who has since joined many kindred spirits in the realms of light. We resumed our beloved work in 1869. By this time, God had permitted us to reap the first fruits from our compound school. Timmi, my earliest heathen scholar there, was now a Christian. She had long been one in heart, and she had already endured persecution for Christ's sake. Seeing her unusual perseverance and intelligence, we had made her a pupil-teacher, in which capacity she did us good service. Through deep poverty and privation the noble girl had struggled silently, but with fixed purpose, to rise above the igno- rance and immorality amid which her sad lot had been cast. For years her wicked and superstitious relatives had vaiuly striven to win Timmi back to her idols again. At length, while we were in England, they resolved to entrap her by compelling her to marry a heathen husband. Timmi at once boldly confessed her faith in the Lord Jesus, by taking upon herself the Christian name, and she was forthwith appointed as our first Bible-womau in the city of Mysore. In n 2 36 MYSORE— THE BATTLE AND THE tliat blessed work Sanjivi is still engaged. During these years of humble, patient labour, how much pre- cious living seed has been prayerfully sown in many dark hearts and homes, which our voices could never otherwise have reached ! Oh, who shall tell what, or when the reaping may be ? Before our return to India, an opening had been found for a second school in the pettah of Mysore. Great indeed was our joy to find both in a prosperous condition, and to recognise many well-remembered faces still among the scholars who welcomed us back. The first class of our oldest pettah school was now a deeply interesting one. It consisted of some eight fine, intelligent girls, who had been with us almost from the commencement. Love to their teacher, as well as to the lessons taught, had led them to continue with us much longer than we can usually keep our senior scholars. Seldom, indeed, were they absent even on feast days. They could read and write like munshis and their knowledge of the Scriptures was truly en- couraging. It was to them I devoted most of my time, while the master was engaged with the younger chil- dren. On entering, they would gather round me, with bright, happy faces, and I used to say, f Now, you shall choose our first lesson.’ Almost without a single exception, the dear girls were sure to select one from the Old or New Testament. Their dark eyes sparkled with interest, as they listened to these glorious truths familiarly explained, and often did they affirm that ‘ there is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.’ (1 Timothy ii. 5.) Pour days every week we had a sewing class in the verandah of the Mission house. Margaret, the Victory of female education. 37 graceful and pious young wife of one of our theo- logical students, kindly assisted me in this. Her father was a converted Brahman, and Margaret was a very superior, intelligent, and gentle creature. Her influence and example among our native Christian women were invaluable. Alas ! like so many others, her constitution was soon undermined by the insidious fever which infests Mysore. She gradually faded, and early passed from those who loved her, into the land where there are no sunsets and no disappointed hopes. While busy with their needle and crochet work, the girls used to sing hymns at short intervals, and to us all, that hour always went rapidly and pleasantly away. In the end of 1870, the oldest scholar in the Market Street school was married, and went to reside with her husband. When about to part, never in all probability to meet again, she assured me that she believed only in the one true God, and daily prayed to Him through Jesus Christ. Among these dear girls there was another in whom we felt a special interest. She was the only child of her mother, and she was a widow. On her return home from school, Taiaka was wont to talk so much of the truths she learnt there, that the sad, widowed heart began to love these blessed teachings. So every evening, while the mother prepared their simple meal, she made her daughter sit down beside her and read from that wonderful Book, which alone can soothe the trouble and unrest of the unsatisfied, weary spirit. During the trying hot season of 1871, cholera, which so often hovered about Mysore, again, like a destroying angel, entered the city. Fear was on all faces, and the voice of weeping was heard in many dwellings. Two of our little scholars were carried away ere we had heard 38 MYSORE— T1IE BATTLE AND TITE of their illness. One of these was a sweet, Christian child, nine years of age, named Deborah. Her death was most triumphant. Claiming as her own that glori- ous promise, ‘ To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His throne ’ (Revela- tion iii. 21), the little Hindu girl passed through the swellings, to reign with Jesus. The increasing numbers of both our pettah schools, now necessitated our removing them to larger and better ventilated premises. The days had been, when we should have sought in vain for such. But the bitter prejudices of the people were gradually softening down, and suitable places were found in the same neighbour- hood. Mauy, however, were the adverse influences against which we had still to contend. The ignorance and superstition of the parents of many a bright child, were almost beyond belief. Missing one of the most promising scholars from the first class of the Mundi Street school, I was informed that she could on no account be permitted to attend again. Her father, a lazy and bigoted heathen, had suddenly deserted his wife and children, and wandered away no one knew whither. His helpless family, left quite unprovided for, might have starved, but the kindness of a relative saved them from absolute want. After three years’ absence, the man had just returned, in the garb of a sanyasi, or religious devotee, his body covered with ashes. Gazing upon the runaway with awe and rever- ence, his former friends went out to meet him with clasped hands and lowly obeisance. Regarding him now as little short of a divinity, they escorted him to a temple, in which, for the future, he would mostly VICTORY OF FEMALE EDO CATION. 39 remain. Of course the daughter of such a saint, could no longer attend the Mission school. ‘ Who is this ? ’ I asked in astonishment one day, on seeing a wild, savage looking woman crouching near my little girls. She wore a scanty, miserable, native cloth wrapped tightly round her emaciated form. Her hair fell in long, tangled cables over her shoulders. Hair like this, I venture to say, few English ladies have ever seen. Only that it hung from her head, it could not have been recognised as such, for it looked much more like dusty, knotted ropes. I was not accustomed to be over fastidious, or to keep the native women at a distance, but I confess the filthy condition of this wretched creature made me shrink back at first. I soon found that she was the mother of one of my dear young scholars ! About a year before, the poor woman had been in sore trouble. The Hindu mother has no sympathising Saviour on whose bosom she can forget her sorrow, or on whose arm she can lean in her hour of distress. So in her extremity, the sufferer vowed that she would neither wash, comb, nor smooth her hair for a given time, when she would go on pilgrimage and offer it at the sacred shrine of her favourite idol. Poor creature ! I pitied equally the mother and the child. ‘ Where are all the gills ? 3 I inquired, in some sur- prise, one morning, on seeing but a small group of the younger scholars seated in the Mundi Street school. The master turned his face away and seemed unwilling to reply. I begged him to tell me the cause of the absence of so many, and at length he said : ‘ Madam, there is a report abroad in the pettnh that you have given the names and addresses of your best scholars to government. They say that these are about to be seized 40 MYSORE— THE BATTLE AND THE and sent by ship to England; so none of the girls are allowed to stir from their homes.’ This really seemed so perfectly ridiculous, that I smiled, and assured him that there was no lack of ladies in Eugland, so that government was not likely to take the trouble of exporting Hindu girls. But the teacher looked grave, and said, ‘ The people are very much alarmed.’ He then called one of the little scholars up, and asked her whether she had not been kept at home for the same reason, till he had become personally re- sponsible for her safety ? The child replied, ‘ Yes,’ and hid her face. It was my turn now to look disconcerted, for I could not understand this new phase of things. The rumour continued to reach us from various sources during the day, and at length we were able to solve the problem. The new government census was then beiug taken. In former years, there had been no girls’ schools in the city of Mysore, so there were few, if any, females who could read. But now the question was for the first time introduced, f How many of your daughters attend school? and are they able to read ? ’ This had sufficed to create the panic, which soon died a natural death, I am happy to say. With rare exceptions such as this, our work now became more encouraging, and our progress was steady. Girls, representing all the castes, from Brahmans down- wards, were among our regular scholars. Much fostering care and watchful supervision were and are still needed, but the schools were no longer subject to the extreme fluctuations which had for years tried faith and patience so severely. The prime minister at the court of Mysore had heard of the increasing prosperity of our girls’ schools in the city, and he expressed a wish to visit VICTORY OF FEMALE EDUCATION. 41 them with my husband. Surprised and greatly pleased by what he saw and listened to, he at once entertained the idea of establishing a select school in the palace itself. We gladly did what we could to further so important a step, and Mr. Gordon, the accomplished guardian of H.H. the young Rajah, warmly took the matter up. Without loss of time a class was begun for the young princesses, and is still going on under the charge of an English lady teacher. Ere we left Mysore, the guardian kindly invited me to visit it, though it was kept strictly private. Much as I longed to do so, it was impossible, for I was too ill. My old enemy, Indian fever, had again attacked me in a more dangerous form than before, and it soon became evident that my life and work were likely to end speedily, if we remained longer at our beloved post. But I could not go without a last word and look at our own girls’ schools. At my request the children all assembled in the fine, large Mundi Street room, and the joy of that morning made us for the time forget past trial and present weakness. On driving up to the well-known gate, what was our surprise to find the school premises gaily and beau- tifully decorated, to do honour to our farewell visit. Festoons of flowers adorned the hall. The floor was mcely carpeted, coloured glass balls and lamps hung suspended from the roof, and chairs were placed for us at the farther end. A graceful arch was form 'd at the entrance, composed entirely of garlands and chains of flowers, arranged so as to fall to the ground at each side and rising high in the centre. The prime minis- ter was there, waiting our arrival, with some fifty parents and 135 scholars, all dressed in their gayest *2 MYSOBE—THE BATTLE AND THE cloths and jewels. My husband examined the girls on several subjects, and the company seemed quite aston- ished at their knowledge and intelligence. ‘ Why must this dhori and dhori-sani leave us ? 3 asked one and another. ‘ Stay/ they said, ‘ and we promise to en- courage you by sending our daughters more regularly than we have done.’ At a given signal from the teachers, the dear little girls came forward and hung garlands around our necks, till we were fain to bend beneath the flowery weight, and held out our arms to be wreathed instead. Many trays of fruit were then piled round our feet, and kind, encouraging words were spoken. After urging the children to persevere in their studies, and, above all, prepare to meet us in the happy land of which they often sang, my husband prayed, and with tearful eyes and overflowing hearts, we parted. This was, perhaps, the greatest present reward we were permitted to see in all our Mission toil. Seven years before, we had, after countless disappointments, commenced work in the pettah with one girl. Yet through prejudice and opposition of every kind the feeble plant had taken root, and is still growing, thank God, in the idolatrous city of Mysore. This was indeed the doing of the Lord. Our faith had not ventured to expect such visible results in so short a time, yet the work is but begun. It must be patiently sustained by years of self-denying labour, ere we can hope to see the highest results attained. Already another zealous and gifted young sister, Mrs. Hocken, has fallen at her post in Mysore, and it may be many tears shall yet be shed ere the ripe, golden fruit appear. But the ingathering will abundantly repay all the money, the toil, and the precious lives that have been spent in VICTORY OF FEMALE EDUCATION. 43 hastening the glad day. Then the sowers who have passed into the heavens and the reapers upon earth will share one common joy, as they lay the increase at the feet of Jesus, without whose help and blessing they had surely ‘ laboured in vain, and spent their strength for nought/ CHAPTER III. A TOUR IN THE REGIONS BEYOND. T was between eight and nine o’clock one calm. beautiful Christmas Eve, and we were on our way to Bangalore. Leaving Mysore the previous day at sun- set, we had rested during the hot hours at the Mudoor travellers’ bungalow, and had started for our second night’s ride. How well I can remember that journey ! Dreaming of no danger, we were enjoying a happy talk of other days over the sea, when our conversation was abruptly interrupted by a confused storm of curses, shouts, and screams. At the same time, our bullocks were being goaded forward with such fury, that we expected the coach to be upset every moment. Presently we came to a dead stand, and we found that we were surrounded by robbers. We had reached a very lonely part of the road, neither town nor village was near. The moon had not yet risen, but by the clear starlight we could see five or six native men, two or three of whom were holding the heads of the bullocks. The others were beating our servant and the coach-driver with a stick, and attempt- ing to drag them down from their seats. Despite my earnest entreaties, in an instant my husband, all un- armed, had sprung out into their midst. That was a fearful moment, so fearful, that I became perfectly calm and collected ; for I fully comprehended our extreme danger. We could not tell what weapons these men SHRAVANA BALAGOLA. AMONG THIEVES. 4i carried, and Mr. Hutcheon had not even a walking stick in his hand. I had only time to breathe an agonising prayer to the Friend who is never far away, and always nearest when we need Him most, when my husband bad seized the nearest ruffian and thrown him into the nullah, or ditch, by the side of the road. Another quickly followed, and a third eluded his iron grasp — for that night he seemed strong as a lion — by casting off his garment. The others fled into the thicket. Our terrified servant and coachman, who like cowards as they were stood trembling behind the conveyance, leaving their master to fight alone, now remounted, and we drove off. But scarcely had we started, when the men, reinforced by two others, again seized our conveyance, and seemed prepared for a more stubborn attack than before. Once more my husband was on the ground, and springing upon the nearest robber, quick as thought he wrenched the heavy stick from the fellow’s uplifted hand. Then, with a voice and gesture before which these dastardly men quailed, he rushed into their midst, exclaiming that unless they immediately desisted, he should use the weapon he now held to some purpose. Sudden terror fell upon them all ; and the ringleaders threw them- selves in the dust, at the Missionary’s feet, imploring his forgiveness. Thankful indeed were we once more to resume our journey, and to leave that memorable spot far behind us. Never had we such a rapid ride before or since by bullock-coach, for neither our servant nor driver were overcome by sleep that night. Had we been attacked by men armed as professional robbers generally are, humanlv speaking, we could have had no chance of 4G A TOUR IN THE REGIONS BEYOND. escape. Even as it was, one shudders to think what might have happened, if I had been travelling alone, with only a native servant, as it is sometimes necessary to do. They continued to infest the road between Bangalore and the Nielgherries, till several of the gang were secured and brought to justice. This was our first serious Indian adventure, though it was not connected with the Mission tour now to be described. At its commencement, we again fell among thieves, and fared worse. A journey through a caste-bound and therefore inhospitable country like India, is very different indeed from one of as many miles iu a Christian land. Pro- ceeding by short stages, so that the Word of life might be preached and circulated in each town and village through which we passed, our preparations had to be made on rather an extensive scale. Because of the extreme difficulty of procuring either shelter or pro- visions by the way, government has built travellers’ bungalows, or rest houses, at intervals of about twelve miles, along the principal roads. These are provided with strong rattan chairs, small tables, and wooden bedsteads; while the chunam floors are covered with bamboo mats. Three servants are attached to each bungalow: a maty, to attend to the rooms; a cutwal, to procure, if possible, milk, eggs, and fowls, the only articles of food which Europeans can obtain in purely native towns; and a man to supply water for the bath- rooms. The Mission tour on which we were now starting was to be of many hundred miles, and we expected to be away some three or four months. As no washing could be done for several weeks, and frequent changes of linen PREPARATIONS FOR TOUR. 47 are required in all tropical countries, our wardrobe, simple as it was, occupied au important space. Then there were the various kinds of provisions to be pur- chased and stowed safely away. Curry ingredients to be pounded, rice cleaned, coffee roasted and ground, biscuits baked, and a large supply of bread toasted — something like rusks, &c., &c. Next a medicine chest had to be fitted out; without which no one should think of starting on a long Indian journey. Besides these, cooking utensils, crockery, knives, forks, and spoons had to be taken, as well as blankets, pillows, and mat- tresses. Last, but most important of all, a very large stock of Bibles, Testaments, portions of Scripture, and tracts were carefully assorted ; and a pious young colporteur accompanied us on the journey. I name these minor details, because I wish our young readers to form as correct an idea as possible of the experiences of wayfarers in a land like India. Our retinue consisted of one servant, a horsekeeper, and two bullock drivers; and we were provided with a travelling coach, a luggage cart, and a riding horse. Now we were ready, and followed by many loving salaams and prayers for the success of our Mission and our personal safety, we started soon after sunrise, on the morning of July 30th, 1865. We spent a happy and profitable Sabbath with our kind friend Mr. Groves, at Palhully. The cannon- balls which did such deadly service during the famous siege of Seringapatam, were just then being actually beaten into ploughshares at his iron factory. Besuming our journey on Monday, we soon passed the vine- wreathed houses and almost impregnable walls of the once proud capital of Hyder Ali and Tqipo. A 48 A TOUR IN THE REGIONS BEYOND. deadly fever now lingers continually in the place, rendering it dangerous for Europeans even to pass a single night there. The hand of desolation has passed over all. Crowds of paraquets are now the occupants of its royal palace. On the entrance of a visitor, they fly, screaming, in flocks, along the lofty corridors, gal- leries, and pillared halls — once thronged with ambitious Moslem and servile attendants. Remnants of gilding and brilliant colours, yet lingei’ing among the rich carving of the crumbling arches, told of its former magnificence. There was the sacred Cavery, too, flowing full and strong among its pillared alcoves and prettily sculptured shrines and bathing-places of snowy white. Behind was a fine grove of lofty cocoa-nut trees, while all around waved plantations of sugar-cane and rice fields dressed in living green. Pink clusters of the fragrant oleander fringed all the water courses, and the land- scape was charming, as well as full of historic interest. Yet from Seringapatam the glory has departed. At sunset we reached the little village of Chiracooli, and stopped at the travellers’ bungalow for the night. As there were but a few inhabitants in the place, we left our luggage-cart packed in the court-yard, close to the open door of the ‘ go-down/ or out-house, where our people were to sleep, intending to leave very early in the morning. Towards midnight we were disturbed by the sound of distant knocking, which continued for some time. We wondered what branch of industry could keep the villagers busy so far into the night; but little did we guess the true state of things. Suddenly, between two and three o’clock, we were roused from our slumbers by a great clamour and outcry among the TIIE MID XI GIIT ATTACK. 4 9 servants. What could it all mean ? A moment after our horse-keeper knocked violently at the bungalow door, shouting, in great excitement : ‘Ayah, ayah, the thieves have come; they have taken everything ; the cart is empty ! 3 Hastily dressing, my husband ran out to see what could be done. Lanterns were at once procured, and they soon discovered two of our strong, zinc-lined boxes, dashed open by stones, lying at a short distance from the compound. All the contents had been rifled, and a few articles of clothing, with about a thousand books, lay scattered on the dewy ground. A large box of provisions lay near, quite empty; and following traces of a hasty flight, our people came to a small tope, or grove, where the thieves had evidently sat down to examine their booty. All that they considered worth taking they had appropriated ; but heaps of linen lay scattered in confusion around. That night we can never forget. All this time I was left quite alone in the deserted bungalow, not knowing what might happen to the searchers, or who might be lurking near, waiting for plunder from within as well as from outside. Thank- ful indeed was I when my husband and servants at length returned, their arms filled with the linen, all damp and crushed, which I had packed so carefully only a few days before. The rest of that strange night was spent in making out a lisf and description of our stolen property, which at daybreak we sent to the nearest official. About 7 a.m. the amildar arrived in his palanquin, with a crowd of attendants. For more than four hours they examined our servant? and others about the place, but none of our missing articles were ever forthcoming, nor could any trace of E 50 A TOUR IN THE REGIONS BEY ORB. tlie robbers be found. Our loss on that occasion was about £20. It seemed, at first, as if we must of necessity return home to replenish our stores. This, doubtless, would have pleased the great enemy of all Mission work ; but if ever we defeated his design, it was now. To go back would involve the loss of much precious time, and we feared that other obstacles might prevent our starting a second time on this tour, from which we hoped so much, and upon which Mr. Hutcheon’s heart had been set for years. So finding that we had sufficient changes of linen still left, we resolved to content ourselves with what native provisions we could purchase by the way till we reached Hassan, the nearest European station. Our privations were small indeed when compared with those of the great apostle, who knew well what it was to be On hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness/ Truth, however, compels me to own that never did nice fresh bread, potatoes, and other English fare taste so deliciously as they did on our completing the first part of the journey. We remained two days at the next stage, as the people seemed ready to listen to the message of salva- tion. Another brought us within reach of Shravana Balagola, the principal seat of worship for the Jainas. We were astir before dawn, and procuring a second horse, we rode across the country to this celebrated shrine. The morning was cool and shady. Now our bridle-path lay through a grove of aloes and palms; then leaving- a wide, open plain, we skirted a shining lake, on whose margin a water-snake lay basking in the sun asleep, and a pretty kingfisher sat watching to secure his breakfast. We noticed with much interest, SIIRA VAN A BALAGOLA. 61 the ingeniously-wrought nests of the weaver-bird, which hung suspended from the tips of the branches of many trees. The little town of Shravana Balagola is romantically situated, and almost hidden between two hills, or rather gigantic piles of granite boulders. Both of these are covered with temples, shrines, and ornamental pillars. Long before we reached the place, we could see the colossal head and shoulders of Jineshwara, the chief god of the Jainas, towering far above the great stone enclosure on the summit of the higher hill. The streets of the town, as well as its beautiful tank, are fringed by tall cocoa-nut trees. Granite steps descend on all sides to the water’s edge, and at one end stands a handsome pillared portico, while a gateway, surmounted by a tower, adorns the other. Leaving our servant to prepare breakfast where best he could, our first work was to visit the stupen- dous image, which is the great wonder of the place. Hewn out of the solid rock at the top of the mountain, Jineshwara stands in the form of a man, seventy feet high, and twenty-five feet across the shoulders. The lower limbs are attached to the hill behind, though this is skilfully concealed. A gigantic lotus flower is his footstool, and a beautifully carved creeper winds up to his shoulders. Though at least five hundred years old, even the hair, fingers, 'and nails of this remarkable idol are in perfect preservation. The ascent of the mountain was no easy task ; for the smooth, rounded face of the rock was so slippery, that only naked feet accustomed to such places could find safe footing. But accepting the eagerly proffered help of two native guides, we soon found ourselves e 2 52 A TOUR IN THE REGIONS BEYOND. near the top, hot and panting. We next ascended several flights of granite steps, in the crevices of which small ferns grew in great variety. Passing several pillars and shrines, we came to the open temple, or granite wall, twenty feet high, by which the idol is enclosed. The space within is filled with niches con- taining many deities made of wood, marble, and other material. The massive gateway is cut through a giant boulder; and here we were peremptoi’ily ordered to take off our shoes, for the ground was holy. We re- fused to do this, and were then more civilly informed that we might still enter by giving a handsome gratuity to cleanse their god on our departure. We politely declined this proposal also; and, finding us resolute, the men yielded and invited us to go in. They immediately prostrated themselves before the idol; and I confess it was much less wonderful to us that they should pay homage to such an image, than to the hideous and insignificant deities at whose feet we have so often seen the Hindus bow. The priests now offered us limes and flowers, and as we had desecrated the sacred enclosure by entering without uncovering our feet or offering them a present of any kind, they had rather a clever revenge. One of them had been giving us the history of Jineshwara rising from a cave inside the rock in a single night ; and with the utmost gravity he assured us that the cavern was still there, and could be seen by any one. Pointing to a grating in front of the image, he said that was the opening to it. Wishing to know what it really w'as, Mr. Hutcheon stooped down to look, but of course could see nothing. Ho sooner, however, had he bent low to examine it, than I saw at a glance that for once my cautious TIIE MISSIONARY CAUGHT. 63 husband had been cunningly caught by these wily priests ; for unwittingly they had made him bow down in front of their idol ! But during all the rest of that interesting day he in turn had his revenge. To crowds of the town’s people and to their great swdmi, or lord, in his own matha, Jesus Christ and Him cruci- fied was exalted as 'the Way, the Truth, and the Life.’ The sun was now blazing overhead, and we had not yet breakfasted ; so on descending we gladly availed ourselves of the shelter of a little verandah, which a merchant kindly offered us. We sat down to eat ; but the street was immediately thronged by curious spec- tators. Our servant, finding remonstrance vain, hung up a horse-rug to screen us a little from so many inquisitive eyes. My husband soon went out to look through the place, followed by all the men and boys, while I remained to rest a while. A native policeman tried hard to send the women away, but he found himself unequal to the task. ' Why must we go ; are we not women as well as the dhori-sani ? ’ demanded one courageous old lady. ' I have a little business to do at this shop, so I am not going yet,’ exclaimed another. At this juncture they peered round the rug, and seeing me greatly amused, they became quite resolute, and the poor peon left us together. I was arranging some ferns that I had gathered on the rock between sheets of paper to preserve them, and the native women watched me with wondering eyes. I smiled, and told them why I loved these, and that one day I should send them across the great sea to England. They looked at each other in mute amazement to hear me A TOUR IN HIE REGIONS BEYOND. 54 tpeak their own language. The chief talker then asked : ‘Has the dliori-sani been up the mountain to see the god ? Does she know what great gifts he bestows upon us ? ’ I said I did not, when she eagerly continued : * He gives us the blessing of children, of health, of riches, and of happiness/ I assured her that I had not gone up to obtain these, or any favour from the image there, knowing a better way. to secure true riches and eternal happiness. But just then our short interview was put a stop to by the arrival of a messenger from the swdmi, inviting us to visit him at his matha, or priestly residence. Thither we at once proceeded, and at the entrance were politely asked to take off our shoes. We explained that Europeans show respect by un- covering the head instead of the feet, so we were permitted to enter. A stone verandah, supported by twelve carved pillars, enclosed a square courtyard. The inner walls were covered with gay paintings, chiefly representing Jaina mythology. The corners were surmounted by four small spires, and between each of the twelve pillars were niches richly sculptured, containing deities adorned with mock jewels. On the right were the rooms of the great guru, or high priest, and his disciples, of whom he had twelve or more. He is himself regarded as a most holy personage, being supposed to have renounced all the pleasures of the world. The courtyard was quickly thronged by a crowd, which refused to leave us, go where we would, all the day ; and we seated ourselves in the verandah to await THE JAINA SWA MI. 55 the pleasure of our host. A great bell kept clanging in our ears, and we asked what it meant. ‘ The swami is eating, and this is always rung - at such times, as it is unlawful for him to be disturbed by the sound of any human voice while he dines/ they replied. Pre- sently a door was opened just behind us, and the great man approached at almost a running pace. He was a spare, common-looking person, and wore only a scanty red scarf. This he had thrown around him in honour of his visitors, for on account of his superior sanctity, he needed almost no clothing. In his hand he held a bunch of peacock’s feathers in a silver handle. With this he is supposed carefully to brush every insect from the path he treads ; as to the Jaina, even more than to the Hindu, all life is sacred. Seating himself on a chair in front of us, the guru drew his legs up under him, and a long conversation began. For more than an hour the Missionary had a grand opportunity of unfolding to him, to his disciples, and to the throng - in the court, the blessed truths of the Christian religion. A very elegant Bible, bound in rich crimson velvet, was now produced. We knew it well, for it had rather a sad history. Three years before it had been carefully prepared as a gift to the Rajah of Mysore from our Missionaries. But how great was their disappointment when the English resi- dent then in office positively declined the responsibility of introducing the Word of God into the heathen palace ! There was no other way of presenting - it, so it was given to the swami of Shravana Balagola instead. To our surprise, we were courteously invited to remain ■at the matha for the night. This honour we could not avail ourselves of, and we prepared to leave, when o6 A TOUR IN THE REGIONS BEYOND. by the guru’s orders, a brazen door in the centre of the building was thrown open, that we might see the shrine of his god. It was a small room, the walls and roof of which were covered with plates of shining brass, richly carved. On a pedestal at the end sat the marble idol, with a lamp burning before it. Preceded by a servant carrying young cocoa-nuts, surrounded by the guru’s chief men, and followed closely by the persevering crowd, we returned to our verandah, after visiting some of the brass-founders’ shops, for which the place is celebrated. The clang of their busy hammers resounds on every side, and can be heard outside the town. A hastily prepared luncheon of boiled rice, pepper-water, and a kind of native pudding, was brought to us from the matha, and afterwards the Missionary offered the true Bread and the living Water to the men, women, and children of Shravana Balagola. They followed us right outside the gate, when, mounting our horses, we rode away to the bungalow, eight miles distant. The track of country through which our route next lay was little better than a desert. Yet in the midst of it we found a spot of painful interest. It was a village where, in all probability, the feet of the Missionary had never trodden, and the name of Jesus was altogether unknown. At the appear- ance of a white dhori in their street, the villagers fled in alarm. ‘Will he seize us?’ they anxiously inquired of the colporteur. When reassured by kind words and looks, they gathered timidly round, and listened to ‘the old, old story,’ so new to their ears. Ere long we reached Hassan, a town of some import- ance, being the head of the district. It has lately, SCENES AT II ASS AN. 57 we rejoice to say, been added to our list of Mission stations, and here an important famine orphanage is now established. My husband's first sad work was to bury the wife of an East Indian overseer, who had just died of jungle fever. On visiting the bereaved family a touching picture presented itself. The poor, desolate father sat nursing - a moaning infant, and three other children lay or crouched near him, shivering or burning with ague and fever. An aged grandfather tossed restlessly on a bed of pain, and altogether the state of the distressed family was heartrending. Wayfarers as we were, we could do little to soothe their sorrow beyond pointing them to the Healer of broken hearts as well as of fainting frames. At the travellers' bungalow where we stayed, we found a soldier lying dangerously ill, also of jungle fever. He was a deserter from the army, and this being his second offence, he had a dark prospect before him should he recover. The poor fellow seemed deeply grateful for kind words, and for a few trifling comforts such as we had it in our power to offer. As we spent several days in Hassan, the Mission- ary had many opportunities of preaching to Europeans and natives, as well as of conversing with all who came to us for books. Among these there was one visitor of unusual interest, one of my husband's old students, now occupying a government situation. The meeting was very affectionate, and the tidings he brought cheered us for many days. The young man told us that his father, an influential Brahman, on his death- bed called his sons around him, and said, f It is my dying wish that you should carefully read your English 58 A TO UR IK TIIE REG I OKS BE YOKE. Bible. The only pure morality in the world is to be found in its pages.* A respectable native butler came to request bap- tism for himself and family. He assured us that for years he had been in heart a Christian, and that he was accustomed to read the Scriptures and to pray with his wife and children. One evening, just as the last gleams of the setting sun were falling on the noble casuarina trees around the bungalow, we went to visit a large village beyond the great tank. We were soon surrounded by nearly all the inhabitants of the place, for the presence of a ‘ white dhori-sani * never failed to secure a congrega- tion. A good woman kindly ran for a small, flat board, which she placed on the ground, never imagining that I should find any difficulty in squatting down as they do. Thanking her, I said that I should prefer to stand. A njot, or farmer, however, drew a common bandy towards us, on the pole of which I sat, while the Missionary began thus : ‘I have come a long distance on purpose to tell you the one and only way to obtain true happiness. Do you want to be happy?* ‘Baku, belm ! * (We want, we want!) exclaimed many voices. ‘ In what does true happiness consist ?’ Significant looks and whispers are exchanged, then one wise man answers for all: ‘To have a full stomach and nothing to do, that is mokxha ’ or supreme happiness ! Ere we left the village, day had long faded, and the silvery moonbeams were lighting up the dark faces and mud-walled cottages around us. Our hearts were A NOVEL HIGHWAY. 59 very sad as we thought on the deeper darkness brood- ing over the hearts of the people, whose ideas seem to rise so little above the level of the beasts that perish. Two stages more brought us within sight of Bailoor. For some time we wound along the margin of a large tank surrounded by brilliant green paddy-fields. Then we came to a dead stand, for our road lay right through the lake. Our servant went to fathom its depth, and found that the water reached to his thigh. This was scarcely pleasant, but placing boxes and parcels of clothing* on the seat of the travelling coach, we boldly entered. Our bullocks did not relish this novel high- way, for after floundering about for a minute or two, they refused to move. By the help of some natives, the wheels were set in motion, when down sank one so deeply in the mud that our coach was almost upset. By dint of much effort, we emerged safely, and pro- ceeded on through rice-fields again. Suddenly we stopped once more, for our way next lay through a small river. We got four men to assist us in fording it, and soon after were thankful indeed to draw up at the door of the Bailoor bungalow. The servant in attendance there was a very dig’- nified personage indeed. He could neither touch our boots nor handle a chicken, lest his caste purity should be defiled. This was the most inhospitable town we visited during the whole of our tour. It was with extreme difficulty that we could procure provisions while we remained, and the people seemed much more anxious to hear and talk about this world than the next. In the evening we went to see the fort, and just over the gateway we saw an image so vile and CO A TOUR IN THE REGIONS BEYOND. disgusting, that we no longer wondered at the recep- tion offered to the Missionary. The famous temple at Bailoor was built by a Rajah named Vishnu Verdona, about six hundred years ago. He is said to have been converted from the Jaina religion to the Hindu faith by means of a great gum, called Rama Anuja. The temple is dedicated to the lion-incarnation of the god Vishnu, and it has still an endowment. We could not fail to notice the fatness of the lands around it, on which these proud and insolent Brahmans thrive so well. I spent one very lonely day at the bungalow there, being the only European for many miles, while my husband went to visit and preach in Chickmagloor. We were not sorry to resume our journey, though we sincerely pitied the apathetic and degraded heathen we were leaving behind us. Halabede, celebrated for its wonderful temple, was our next halting-place. It is beautifully situated in an amphitheatre of hills, and a rich belt of j angle surrounds it on every side. At an earlier period this was a place of great importance. A city named Dora- samudra stood here, which was the residence of the Belalla Rajahs. These were princes of the Jaina religion, who then ruled over a large part of India. The great tank, which yet remains, is said to have once been near the centre of the town. It was evening when we arrived, and as there is no travellers’ bungalow, our servants kindled a fire by the road-side, and prepared tea for us, and rice for them- • selves. Then drawing our coach up under a group of cocoa-nut trees, we prepared to spend the night there. Indian coaches have this advantage, they can be so TIIE IIALABEDE TEMPLE. G1 arranged as to form a seat by day, and a coucb when we would woo f tired nature’s sweet restorer.’ Our people wrapped themselves up like mummies in their white cloths, and threw themselves down on the grass, and an ass, on whose quarters we were evidently trespassing, came and lay alongside. The sleepless eye of Israel’s Keeper watched over us that calm, starry night, and we slept in peace and safety. In the morning, our first work was to view the magnificent temple, which we found from an inscrip- tion on its walls had been built about 1281. As a work of art, perhaps it stands unrivalled in Southern India. The basement, five feet high, is of an irregular polygon form. Above this run rows of the most exquisitely sculptured flowers, figures, and scroll-work in endless variety. So delicately chiseled is the stone drapery, that in many cases it resembles beautiful lace. Higher still are representations of both Jaina and Hindu mythology, the whole standing out in bold re- lief. Most of the temples we had before seen in India were almost uniform in design and shape, though varying exceedingly in size and elegance. The most imposing part of these always is the lofty pagoda, often crowned by gilded Tcalashas, or horns. But the temple of Halabede is unique both in shape and sculp- ture. Its extreme length is twenty-seven yards, and the interior is filled with richly-carved pillars and niches containing deities. As the place is but little frequented now, we met with none of the proud arro- gance of the Bailoor Brahmans. The people were simple, and willing to listen to the story of a Saviour’s love. While proceeding on our next stage, a noble speci- men of a banyan tree lured us from our conveyance to G2 A TOUR IN THE REGIONS BEYOND. measure it, fiercely liot though the noontide sun was shining. The parent trunk at the base was sixteen yards in circumference. From its giant arms it had sent out pendants, twelve clusters in all, which had taken root, and each appeared like a great tree in itself. The whole formed one grand, leafy arbour, measuring fifty yards from one end of the foliage to the other. We rested for a few hours in a jungle of date palms, as our servants, and our bullocks, too, were hot and weary. We soon perceived by the waving of flags and the beating of tom-toms, that it was a holiday in the village on the neighbouring height. The people came out dressed in their gayest attire, with music and dancing. This feast was held in honour of Mariamma, the goddess of disease, whose favour is eagerly sought by all classes. To give eclat to the occasion, the vil- lagers had borrowed other two idols from the adjacent hamlets, and they were carrying them about in palan- quins with great animation. The Missionary went up to meet them, and began to tell them kindly that these dumb images were no gods, and that their worship was an insult to the great God of creation and salva- tion. The simple people listened with wonder and interest. They laid down the palanquins containing their idols, and looked into each other's faces as if half ashamed of what they had been doing. How much more likely did these babes seem to enter the kingdom than the proud, self-righteous pharisees of the next town, Banawar, which presented a striking contrast in every respect! The sun was just setting as we entered the place, dusty and fatigued, for that stage had been unusually long. MEASURING SWORDS. G3 In the days of Hyder Ali, Banawar was a large and rather important town, though it now contains only 1,500 inhabitants. The walls of a ruined palace are still to be seen within the fort. On our errand becom- ing known in the pettali, a crowd of three-marked or Vishnuite Brahmans, came to meet us, and with a look of unutterable contempt, pointed to the pariali end of the town. There, they said, we should find suitable people, ready to hear what we had to teach them. My husband politely thanked them, but said he preferred to remain where we were for the time being, as his message was for the learned as well as the unlearned. Several of these haughty and impudent men now did all they possibly could to prevent the crowd from hear- ing. They walked in and out shouting, sneering, and talking loudly to each other, and trying hard to irritate or discourage the Missionary. But he was no raw recruit. Often had he measured swords with the enemy in a greater stronghold of the prince of darkness even than Banawar, so he neither lost his temper nor left the ground till he had unburdened his full heart. As he proceeded a pantheist shouts : ‘ If God is a spirit, has Jesus Christ a body ? ’ ‘ If He has a body, then who is He ? How can He arid God be one ? ’ exclaims another. f What blasphemy! It is not lawful to listen longer. Shiva ! Shiva l 3 groans a third, turning on his heel, and walking quickly away. ‘ It is all false ! Rama ! Rama ! 3 echoes his friend. f Who is Mary ? 3 asks a conceited young Mussul- man, who, in common with all his people, made the circumstances of our Lord’s incarnation a rock of offence. 64 A TOUR IX THE REGIONS BEYOND. Oh ! never before did I realise so deeply the amazing difficulties of the Missionary in dealing with a Hindu audience. What wisdom, what patience, and what grace does he need ! The natural apathy, which is such a prominent trait in them, chills the fervour of his glowing spirit. The arrogance and pride of position and learning in the Brahmans, with the subtilty of their questions and arguments, form an array against which only a man clad in the whole armour of God can successfully combat. Oh, why are his hands — weary, ready to drop, as they sometimes are — so little held up by believing prayer in the Churches at home ? We spent the Sabbath in this town, when the Mis- sionary preached three times in different places. Little as it was likely, the congregation in the fort was most earnest and attentive. Some of them confessed the unsatisfactory character of their own religion, and owned that a Saviour like Jesus best met their needs and the longings of the heart. I should weary our readers did I ask them to accompany us to all the towns and villages we visited on this long Mission tour. We shall pass over several stages, and pause now to admire the scenery around us. Our x’oad had for some time led us through miles of rich, velvet-like green-sward, soft as an English lawn, and beautifully studded with shrubs and trees. Higher and closer they rose as we proceeded, while masses of lovely creepers twined in many cases to their lofty summits, and then fell in graceful festoons of flower and leaf almost to the ground. On our left three ranges of hills towered one above the other. The greater and most distant presented a succession of smooth, green, sunny undulations, while the nearer AN ELFIN NOOK. 65 were wooded to the top. Thicker and more luxuriant grew the foliage, till we were surrounded by beautiful jungle. But how unlike the solemn shade and awful gloom of the Tipacardu Jungle ! Here we found none of its tangled labyrinths and dim, leafy corridors. We remarked, too, the absence of the rank underwood which there engenders such deadly malaria. All around us was brightness and beauty. Suddenly we came upon an elfin nook, which charmed us out of our coach, hot and sultry though it was. Enclosed by forests on every side, a silvery lake lay mirroring on its bosom the tall reeds and long, drooping tassels of bamboo, which fringed its margin. Two monkeys were sporting on its open strand, and a group of Indian gipsies, or Brinjari women, were resting by the cool, rippling water. These women live in the jungle, and earn their livelihood by carrying large bundles of firewood into the adjacent towns for sale. In dress and appearance they are quite unlike any of the other races we have seen in India. They seem strong and independent, while their ornaments are barbarous in kind, and in absurd profusion. They wear a sort of plaid skirt, with a printed scarf thrown over their heads and shoulders. Strings of shells, bone, and fragments of metal adorn their necks and waists. Tassels of beads and shells, several inches long, are fastened to their hair, three or four at least hanging like ringlets on each side of the face. Large rings were inserted in the noses of some, and a string of ornaments bound the forehead, in one case hanging down in small pen- dants all over it. Their arms, from shoulder to wrist, as well as ankles, fingers, and toes, wore heavy metal F CG A TOUR IN THE REGIONS BEYOND. rings or bone bracelets. Nor did these satisfy their rapacious taste for finery. Some bad cut a round hole in their scarves, and sewn them all over with beads and shells. On this journey I saw for the first time the beau- tiful lotus plant, so celebrated in Hindu poetry, and the most sacred of India’s flowers. Like fairy cups, white, pink, crimson, and mauve, those exquisite blossoms, with their delicate buds and round, bright leaves, bespangled many of the lakes by the wayside as we passed along. It is late on a sultry afternoon when we drive up to the door of the Benkipoor bungalow, charmingly situated on the margin of the river Budra. From its home in the far-off mountains it winds in shining links away till lost amid the overhanging verdure of the jungle beyond. We had travelled two long stages that day, for cholera was raging in Turikerry, where we should have stopped, and we pressed forward to the next town. We knew that man and beast would be very weary, so we did not expect our servants and cart to reach Benkipoor for at least an hour after our arrival there. We sat down in the verandah to watch the pretty green paraquets as they flitted hither and thither among the trees. The cooing of the wild dove all around was reminding us of another land, when our people suddenly entered the yard of the bungalow. ‘ What, here already ! ’ exclaimed my husband, in surprise at their unwonted activity. ‘ Yes; too much ’fraid. Sir; Benkipoor tiger eating plenty men, Sir.’ This explained all ; and their fears were not with- T1IE BEE KIP 0 OR TIG EE. 67 out cause. That tiger was so famous for his exploits iu this neighbourhood, that a reward of five hundred rupees had been lately offered by government for his head. Many shooting parties had gone in quest of him, but in vain. He was a cunning fellow, and would lurk closely concealed till some defenceless person or animal passed within reach, when they at once became his prey. A story was told us, that when the reward first was offered, the headman of a neighbouring vil- lage convened a meeting' of the inhabitants. Just at its entrance they sat down, and were deliberating about the best method for killing or capturing this dreaded animal, in the dusk of the evening. In an instant the tiger crept stealthily from the jungle behind them, seized the principal man, and rushing into the thicket, feasted on him that night ! Two mornings after this, we received a loving* welcome from our dear friend Mr. Banks, who came out several miles to welcome us to his new station, Shemoga. After resting for a few days, he, with my husband, started on an important exploring Mission tour across the country. As there were no proper roads nor rest-houses, excepting open native choultries, I could not accompany them, but remained with my old voyage companion, Mrs. Banks, in her home. The experiences of the two Missionaries during the seven weeks they itinerated together would astonish some of our critics at home, who are wont to comment on the luxuriousness of Indian labourers. If they did not return covered with actual scars, yet their pale and haggard faces, rather than their lips, answered for them, that as good soldiers they had rejoiced to endure hardness in their Master’s service. But they had a p 2 68 A TO UR IN THE REGIONS BEYOND. glorious campaign of it together, each preaching two and often three times daily. When we should have seen our wanderers again, I dare not venture to guess, had not both become so ill that to go forward, as they eagerly longed to do, was impossible. CHAPTER IV. THE NUGGAR JUNGLES, AND FALLS OF GAIRSAPPA. IVE days after tlie return of our husbands from their trying campaign together, we are way- farers again. This time Mr. and Mrs. Banks with their two children accompany us, and we start in high spirits, for this part of our tour promises exquisite enjoyment as well as usefulness. We are now en rotite for the celebrated Falls of Gairsappa, and most of our way lies through the lovely Nuggar Jungles. See how the blue convolvulus twines about the hedgerows as we approach the villages. Notice, too, how these cool, gleaming little tanks are gemmed by the crimson, white, or blue lotus flowers. The man who stands almost up to the waist in water gathering the very finest of these will presently lay them on the shrine of his favourite idol, as his morning offering. The birds that flit past us on noiseless wing are strange to our eye, and their plumage is of more gorgeous dye than we are wont to see. Yet we miss the matin songs, that ring with echoed swell through our native woods. Nature is more equal in the distribution of her favours than at first sight we are apt to suppose. The birds of gayest feather are generally destitute of the gift of song. Larger and more brilliantly painted though the many flowering trees and shrubs of India 70 THE NUGGAR JUNGLES, Sfc. are, as compared witli those in our own dear land, yet the varied and delicate perfume is wanting. The modest wild flowers which our childhood loved, and whose fragrance lingers still when childhood’s days are past, they are not here. Among this wealth of radiant blossom we miss the tiny chalices that from meadow and green wood and sunny bank were wont to pour their little offering of sweetest incense into the great censer of rejoicing morn. Our first halting place in the jungle was at the Coomsie bungalow. We remarked that all the paddy- fields there were studded with small watch-towers, consisting of a miniature platform and hut, placed on the top of long bamboo posts, which were driven firmly into the ground. The occupant ascends by a slight ladder, which he draws up after him. As evening closed in, great blazing fires were kindled on every side, and a succession of the most dismal yells during the livelong night scared sleep from our pillows. On inquiring the cause of the unwonted uproar, a native answered, ‘Ayah, the place is infested by tigers. Neither we, our children, our cattle, nor our crops are safe a single hour.’ It was the shouts and whoops of the lonely tenants of the little watch-towers, as they answered each other, in order to drive off the denizens of the forest, that had so disturbed our rest. We saw a fine young tiger that had just been caught alive, and was being conveyed in a cage to Shemoga. This rather damped Mrs. Banks’ ardour and mine, as we longed to explore the beauties around us, while the Mission- aries were preaching in the village. Under such cir- cumstances, it was not difficult to conjure up a pair of glaring eyes and a dark, crouching form behind many LOVELINESS OF THE FOREST. 71 a tangled knot of bushes, as the last slanting rays of the setting sun fell in broken gleams through the leaves. I nearly trampled on a snake concealed in a rut of the road as we hastily retraced our steps to the bungalow. It is almost six o'clock a few mornings later. The sun has but lately risen, yet we have been astir for at least an hour and a half. We cannot sit in the travelling coach as we pass through those magnificent gardens of nature’s own planting and arrangement. Come, and let us revel amid the wild luxuriance around us, while our hearts send up a hymn of adoration and love to nature’s God. I do not fear exaggeration in attempt- ing to describe the loveliness of these Nuggar Jungles, for no language of mine can do them justice. They are now to be seen in their utmost perfection, for the monsoon is just over. Mark how many of the trees here are covered with flowers, scarlet, white, and yellow. How strikingly do they contrast with their plainer but more majestic neighbours ! Some of these are said to be not less than 200 feet in height, and such variety of foliage ! See how these masses of gorgeous crimson, lavender, and blue creepers aspire to their very sum- mits, and in unrestrained profusion and grace link them together by long flowery chains. Some resemble fir cones of scarlet, tipped with gold, their buds like bunches of coral berries ; and how exquisite are those delicate clusters of pale-green blossoms that hang drooping by their side ! A few months later, on some of these creepers will be found immense seed-pods from three to four feet in length. Each seed is said to be large enough to be hollowed out and used as a snuff-box by the natives. How curiously that crooked, gnarled, old tree is covered all over with moss and small 72 THE NUGGAR JUNGLES, Ac. ferns ! And tliere are the ‘ Bogini maragarlu / or hang- ingpalms, with their great, bead-like tassels more than a yard long. Now the forest recedes, and we look down on an open glade to the left, where a peaceful hamlet nestles among its verdant rice-fields. Tall, feathery bamboos are waving gently in the softest of breezes, and the slim areca palms, with their straight, silvery trunks and small, tufted heads, lend further variety to the picture. At Anantapoor, the only available place of shelter we could find was an old, dilapidated bungalow, con- sisting of one room. The new one was only in course of erection. Lack of ventilation there was none, for the thatched roof, uncovered in many places, freely admitted both light and air. At night the gentlemen betook themselves to their travelling coaches, leaving us in occupation, but by no means in undisputed possession of the small, crazy tenement. Far into the midnight hours, a company of bats kept up a series of animated chases through the room, their shrill screeches and chirrups adding to the general excitement. The eccentric circles they from time to time described were in much too close proximity to our faces to be quite agreeable. Some rats, also, big, hearty fellows, evi- dently much more at home there than we felt, mounted the table, and leisurely helped themselves to the bis- cuits we had laid out for early breakfast the next morning. It was indeed a strange night, and the cold, damp wind of the jungle moaned and whistled through the crevices, till we were quite chilled. Eight gladly did we leave our unquiet pillow, long before break of day, to press forward on our journey. On through a few more stages, one of which is Sau- THE SUER A VUTTY. 73 gur, famous for its sandal- wood carving, and now, listen ! the thunders of the waterfalls sound already in our ears. As we wound slowly along the side of that mountain, with the forests above and far beneath us, we caught a charming glimpse of the river Sheravutty through the fluttering leafy curtain. Another bend of the road, and we draw up at the door of the Canara bungalow. Here we shall rest for a few days, that we may fully enjoy a sight, such as, for majesty and gran- deur, we may never gaze upon in this lower world again. But how shall my pen describe those stupendous works of the Almighty ? The visitors’ book — quite a large volume on the bungalow table — exhausts language in attempting to convey some idea of the impressions pro- duced by the wonderful scene on the various writers. One — the Lord Bishop of Madras, I believe — has said, f To attempt a description of the indescribable is vain.’ Yet I must tell my story as well as I can, and let the reader rest assured, that when I have finished much yet remains to be told. Down through a deep gorge enclosed on all sides by mountains, draped to their crests with the richest jungle, winds the Sheravutty in its progress to the sea. Here its bed, which is about two hundred and fifty yards wide, consists of immense masses of rock, worn by the force of the stream into every conceivable shape. Among and around these the river hisses, rushes, gur- gles, and foams. Suddenly, it plunges, in four magni- ficent volumes of water, over a frowning precipice into a fearful abyss, nearly a thousand feet below. The gloom of the perpendicular, overhanging sides is here and there relieved by solitary plants and shrubs, which nestle in the dark cliffs. 74 TIIE NUGGAR JUNGLES, $c. Accompanied by a native guide, we lost no time in viewing those matchless falls from the different stand- points. First e Silver’s Platform ’ was visited, from which only two are visible. We next proceeded to gaze upon them from the ‘ Rajah’s Rock.’ Laying our- selves at full length upon its smooth face, we gradually approached the edge, and looked over the projecting ledge. At first, the head becomes giddy, and the heart grows faint, as the eye measures the immense distance to the yawning depths beneath. The sight became more sublimely grand at each successive visit, for we were better able then calmly to survey the whole. As the finest view can be obtained from ‘ Wat- kin’s Platform,’ on the opposite side of the river, we started very early one afternoon, to cross over by the rocks. The wider chasms between these are spanned by rude bridges, composed of the trunks of trees tied together. We did not feel quite comfortable as we listened to the roar of the torrent beneath our feet, or cast a glance at its rushing, boiling waters. But we gained the other shore without difficulty. The day was excessively hot, and we gladly entered the shade of the jungle. Spices of different kinds were growing wild all around, and never had we seen foliage so varied and so exquisitely tinted before. From deep olive, it paled down to the lightest pea-green, and from a dark claret to a delicate pink. Here we saw an unusually fine monkey, very large and powerful, with a white face and thick black ruff round it. Rather an unlooked for trouble now met us. The sunbeams can- not penetrate the thick, leafy canopy overhead, and consequently the path is muddy and infested by leeches! Each of us contributed somethingtowardsfeastingthese THE JUNGLE LEECHES. bloodthirsty tormentors, but I was evidently a special favourite, for one rolled helplessly off my neck, as if quite intoxicated. Our guides, however, were prepared for this emergency, and applied chunam to arrest the bleeding of the wound. This they told us they always carried about with them on purpose. We had now gained the desired standpoint, from which the scene burst upon us in its fullest magnificence. The first and nearest of the four falls is ‘ La Dame Blanche.’ Descending gently along a sloping ledge, it glides with easy grace, in airy folds, like floating drapery when stirred by the passing breeze, into the depths below. By its side ‘ The Rochet ’ hurries through a narrow aperture above, and plunges in snowy vapour, from which a thousand tiny jets of foam shoot out into the sullen pool, behind a gigantic ledge of rock. Next ‘ The Roarer,’ through a slanting gorge, comes thunder- ing down, till just below its cup, which is three hundred and fifteen feet from the top, it leaps precipitously into, and loses itself in, the last of the four, ‘ The Rajah’s Fall.’ This, which is also called the ‘ Grand Fall,’ clears the precipice at one bound, and descends in a majestic volume of water, till the eye can hardly follow it, into the depths, eight hundred and twenty-nine feet below. As this cascade does not strike the rock, it is not dispersed and broken into light spray like the others. It appeared like great fluted pillars of crystal, from and around which myriads of sparkling drops fall incessantly, like a shower of brilliants. Behind this there yawns a dark, retreating cavern. Hundreds of rock pigeons, whose nests are in the cliffs, joyously disport themselves through the dread abyss, appearing from above, as they fearlessly skim the spray, but as a cloud 76 THE NUGGAR JUNGLES, $c. of insects. And we felt little, too, oh how little ! amid such stupendous heights and depths. Well might our heai'ts throb, as they did, when looking up from things created to the Creator, we remembered that ‘ He calls a worm His friend, He calls Himself my God.’ In the afternoon, when the sun in his westward course shines full on the waters, an ever changing succession of the most brilliant rainbows are formed on the spray. Now it spans the four falls, from ‘La Lame Blanche ’ to f The Rajah ’ with one magnificent arch ; and as the sun sinks lower on the horizon, the rainbow gradually changes its position, till it appears like a fall of living light. We were not satisfied till we had descended to the very bottom of the abyss, a feat not many ladies have attempted. But we knew that our friend Mrs. Sander- son had done it, so we accomplished it too, and the glorious view from beneath seemed to banish all thoughts of fatigue and aching limbs, for the time being at least. The spray ascends in clouds, like steam from a huge boiling caldron, and the Missionaries, who insisted on going as near as possible to the falls, did so at the expense of a thorough drenching. But amid a wealth of loveliness in that and other lands, on which our eye has been privileged to gaze since then, that scene and that day will ever occupy the first place among sunny memories. Once, in the loneliness of mid ocean, a dense misty curtain suddenly rolled away, and the regal Peak of Teneriffe loomed up on our delighted vision, piercing the very clouds. So near were we, though it had been TIIE FALLS OF GAIRSAPPA. 77 quite concealed from us, till we passed right in front, that we could plainly discern the houses, trees, and inhabitants of the island, without the aid of a telescope. Yet grand as that sight was, it has not left an impression so vivid or so lasting as did the magnificent Falls of Gairsappa. The next morning, from the summit of a moun- tain we looked down on the blue waves of the Indian Ocean, breaking on the yellow sands some thirty miles distant. Once again ere we left this region of beauty we visited the falls by torch and moon-light. The dark woods and mountains were all around us, and Luna’s silvery beams shone full on the restless, gleam- ing waters, whose deeper anthem mingled with our voices as we sang the doxology and regretfully said adieu to Gairsappa. We had not proceeded far on our homeward journey when we were strikingly reminded that ‘ there is but a step between us and death.’ At the first stage, our coach had - to be drawn by coolies, and at the second, Eravutty, the villagers could or would only supply one pair of bullocks. These we gave to Mrs. Banks and her children, and we were obliged to accept buffaloes for our coach. Very wild and untrained animals indeed they looked, but we had no other alternative but to try them. Long strings of bark were tied to the outer horn of each, and these were held by two men, who ran alongside to guide them. On coming to a very steep declivity, the buffaloes became restive, and began to gallop down at full speed. First we saw one man let go his rope, then the other ; and in another instant the driver fell or leaped from his seat, leaving the terrified animals, now mad with excitement, to plunge on, neck or nought, as they pleased. 78 TIIE NUGGAR JUNGLES,