W\t She otogiaii 
 
 PRINCETON, N. J. 
 
 £ 
 
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 Purchased by the Hammill Missionary Fund. 
 
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 .P 82 . 
 
 Number 
 


 
 
DEALERS IN PRAYER-WHEELS ; DARJEELING. 
 
THE 
 
 LAND OF IDOLS 
 
 OP, 
 
 TALKS WITH YOUNG PEOPLE ABOUT INDIA. 
 
 BY / 
 
 HEY. JOHN J. POOL 
 
 ( Late of Calcutta), 
 
 AUTHOR OF 
 
 “woman’s influence in the east,” "studies in 
 MOHAMMEDANISM,” ETC., ETC. 
 
 WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 WARD, LOCK, & BOWDEN, Ltd., 
 
 LONDON: WARWICK HOUSE, SALISBURY SQUARE, E.C. 
 
 NEW YORK, AND MELBOURNE. 
 
 1894. 
 
 [All rights reserved .] 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2016 
 
 https://archive.org/details/landofidolsortalOOpool 
 
THIS VOLUME 
 
 is 
 
 AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED 
 
 TO MY 
 
 FATHER. 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
PREFATORY NOTE. 
 
 HESE talks about India are designed to help the 
 
 Missionary Forward Movement by drawing out 
 the interest and sympathies of the young towards our 
 great Eastern dependency. 
 
 India has exercised a remarkable fascination over 
 many devout and ardent souls in the past; and I trust 
 that the rising generation will be second to none in 
 responding to the Missionary calls which come con- 
 tinually from the Land of Idols. 
 
 I have dealt in these pages with a variety of topics 
 — racial, political, social, and religious — indeed, with 
 any and every subject that 1 thought would throw 
 light on life in India, and be attractive to youthful 
 minds. 
 
 I send the book forth with a prayer for the Divine 
 blessing to rest upon it. 
 
 JOHN J. POOL. 
 
 The Manse, Reims, France. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PART 1. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 PREFATORY NOTE V 
 
 CHAP. 
 
 I. CONJURING TRICKS 1 
 
 II. THE BLACK HOLE OF CALCUTTA . . .17 
 
 — III. IDOLS, IDOLS EVERYWHERE . . . .30 
 
 IV. BUTTOO, THE FAMOUS ARCHER . . .49 
 
 V. HOLY TANKS AND WELLS . . . .61 
 
 VI. THE WORSHIP OF JUGGERNAUT . . .79 
 
 VII. SACRED MONKEYS 106 
 
 — VIII. THE STORY OF KRISHNA 125 
 
 IX. SNAKES AND SNAKE- WORSHIP . . . .142 
 
 PART II. 
 
 I. MANNERS AND CUSTOMS 1 
 
 II. FAKIRS OR SAINTS 27 
 
viii CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAP. PAGE 
 
 III. SACRED COWS AND BULLS . . . .47 
 
 IV. BUDDHIST PRAYER-MACHINES . . . .60 
 
 V. EASTERN PROVERBS 86 
 
 VI. THE PEACOCK THRONE OF DELHI . . .105 
 
 VII. STORIES OF CASTE . . . . . .121 
 
 VIII. SACRED TREES AND PLANTS .... 138 
 
 PART III. 
 
 I. TALES OF THE MUTINY ..... 1 
 
 II. SACRED BIRDS ...... 27 
 
 III. GIRL LIFE 40 
 
 IV. FIRE WORSHIPPERS 64 
 
 V. HOUSEHOLD AND OTHER PESTS . . .84 
 
 VI. SACRED FOOTPRINTS 100 
 
 VII. BHEESTIES, OR WATER-CARRIERS . . .119 
 
 VIII. BRAVE YOUNG CONVERTS . . . .135 
 
THE HAKU O-TREE TRICK. 
 
 I. 
 
 CONJURING TRICKS. 
 
 HE East is tlie home of conjurers and jugglers, 
 and both young and old amongst Hindus and 
 Mohammedans take intense delight in wit- 
 nessing the performances of the men and women 
 whose whole business in life it seems to be to astonish 
 and amuse their fellow-creatures. And I have thought 
 
 l 
 
2 
 
 HALF HOURS WITH THE HINDUS. 
 
 that the young people of the West would like to read 
 of some of the tricks of legerdemain practised by the 
 conjurers of the East. 
 
 My first experience of conjurers was on board the 
 Dacca, the noble vessel on which I went out to India 
 some years ago. At Port Said, where we stopped for 
 a few hours to coal, a celebrated magician came on 
 board to show the passengers his tricks, and to make 
 a little money. He had a rabbit with him which he 
 pretended assisted him in his clever feats. 
 
 Bidding us make a circle round him, the man began 
 operations by borrowing a florin from a young gentle- 
 man who was watching the proceedings with rather a 
 sceptical look on his face. Having received the coin 
 the conjurer passed it on to a young lady whom he 
 requested to look at the silver, and to hold it so that 
 we all might see it. The next command was for the 
 young lady to close her hand and immediately open 
 it again ; when lo ! the florin had disappeared, and a 
 worn halfpenny was fonnd in its place. 
 
 Then the conjurer borrowed a ring from a lady, 
 which he gave to a gentleman, who showed it to the 
 company on the palm of his hand. To the gentleman 
 now came the command to close and open his hand ; 
 and when he had done so, lo the ring was no more to 
 be seen, and nothing had appeared in its place ! A 
 laugh went round the circle, and a general whisper to 
 the effect that neither the florin nor the ring would be 
 found again. However, the suspicion was unjust, for 
 the conjurer, turning to his rabbit, said, “ Now, rabbit, 
 find the silver and the ring.” Whereupon the well- 
 trained animal opened its month, and to our astonish- 
 
CONJURING TRICKS. 
 
 3 
 
 ment out dropped the missing articles on to the deck, 
 and were at once picked up by their respective owners. 
 
 The conjurer then took off his turban or head-dress, 
 which was a piece of muslin perhaps three yards in 
 length, and giving one end to one person and the 
 other to another, he requested a third party to cut 
 the material right through the middle. This we saw 
 ■carefully and thoroughly done, and yet when the two 
 pieces were screwed up in the hands of the performer 
 and spread out again for our inspection, not a trace of 
 a cut could be found, but the turban was as entire as 
 it had been at the beginning. 
 
 Next a quantity of string was cut up into little 
 pieces and set fire to. This burning mass the conjurer 
 put into his mouth and pretended to swallow, all the 
 time sending out volumes of smoke. Suddenly the 
 smoke stopped, and the man, putting his haud to his 
 mouth, began to pull out, in place of the string, a host 
 of things, such as ribbons and beads, ending at last 
 with a long sword. How such a stock of goods had 
 been stowed away in his mouth passes comprehension. 
 The conjurer then proceeded to hide a hen’s egg in 
 a hat lent him by one of the passengers ; but when 
 the hat was lifted the egg had disappeared. Again 
 the rabbit was appealed to to find the missing 
 article ; and amidst roars of laughter the quaint little 
 animal immediately kicked the egg out from between 
 its hind legs. 
 
 The concluding trick was perhaps the most singular 
 of all. The conjurer put his hands behind his back, 
 and kept them there. Then he shook his head, and 
 money fell out of his eyes. Again he shook his head, 
 
4 
 
 HALF HOURS WITH THE HINDUS. 
 
 and apples came out of bis mouth. Again he shook 
 his head, and round heavy pieces of lead fell out of his 
 nostrils. Aud he kept on shakiug his sagacious old 
 cranium until the deck around him was simply littered 
 with goods like the counter of a draper’s shop in 
 England when some young ladies are shopping. Of 
 course, at the conclusion of the performance a hat 
 was passed round, and the clever conjurer was well 
 rewarded for his pains. 
 
 At Madras, in Calcutta, and in other places in 
 India, on subsequent occasions, I saw the same tricks 
 performed with sometimes a little variation. I have 
 seen more than one juggler insert a blunt sword into 
 the mouth and pass it a long way down the throat 
 even into the stomach ; but it was a repulsive sight, 
 and I did what I could to discourage the performance, 
 feeling sure that it was injurious to the operators. 
 
 Once I remember a conjurer showed us six different 
 coloured powders, which he poured into a tin of water, 
 and after mixing the compounds well together he 
 drank off the .whole. Then, askiug us if we would 
 like to see the powders again, he opened his mouth 
 and blew out vigorously one colour after another until 
 we had once more the six powders in the dry state in 
 which they were at the beginning. 
 
 Miss Eden, who lived some time in Madras, writing 
 of a clever conjurer she knew, says : “ He did all the 
 ordinary tricks with balls aud balancing, and then 
 he spit fire in large flames, and put a little rice into 
 the top of a basket or small tray and shook it, and 
 before our eyes a tiny handful of rice turned into a 
 large quantity of cowrie shells. Then he made a little 
 
CONJURING TRICKS. 
 
 5 
 
 boy, one of my servants, sit down, and he put a small 
 black pebble into his hand, and apparently did nothing 
 but wave a little switch round his head, aud forty 
 rupees came tumbling out ot the boy’s little hands. 
 He made him put them up again, and hold them as 
 tight as he could ; but in an instant the rupees were 
 all gone, and a large live frog jumped out.” We can 
 imagine the dismay and disappointment of the little 
 fellow. 
 
 In a book entitled the “ Good Old Days of Honour- 
 able John Company,” a few very good stories are told 
 of conjurers. It is a book well worth reading. Let 
 me give one or two extracts. 
 
 “ The conjurer was seated on a white cloth. He 
 asked some one present to produce a rupee, and to 
 lay it down at the remote edge of the cloth. He then 
 asked for a signet-ring. Several were offered him, 
 and he chose out one which had a very large oval seal, 
 projecting well beyond the gold hoop on both sides. 
 This ring he tossed and tumbled several times in his 
 hands, now throwing it into the air and catching it, 
 then shaking it between his clasped hands, all the 
 time mumbling half-articulate words in Hindustanee. 
 Then setting the ring down on the cloth at about half 
 arm’s length in front of him, he said, slowly and 
 distinctly, ‘ Ring, rise up and go to the rupee.’ 
 
 “ The ring rose with the seal uppermost and, resting 
 on the hoop, slowly, with a kind of dancing or jerking 
 motion, it passed over the cloth until it came to where 
 the rupee lay on the remote edge ; then it lay down on 
 the coin. The conjurer thereupon said, ‘ Ring, lay hold 
 of the rupee aud bring it to me.’ The projecting edge 
 
6 
 
 HALF HOURS WITH THE HINDUS. 
 
 of the seal seemed to grapple the edge of the coin; 
 the ring and the rupee rose into a kind of wrestling 
 attitude, and, with the same dancing and jerking 
 motion, the two returned to within reach of the 
 juggler’s hand.” 
 
 Another tale is still more extraordinary. It runs : 
 “ The juggler gave me a coin to hold, and then seated 
 himself about five yards from me, on a small rug, 
 from which he never attempted to move during the 
 whole performance. I showed the coin to several 
 persons who were close beside me on a form in front 
 of the juggler. At a sign from him I not only 
 grasped the coin I held firmly in my right hand, but 
 crossing that hand with equal tightness with my left, 
 I enclosed them both as firmly as I could between my 
 knees. Of course I was positively certain that the 
 small coin was within my double fists. 
 
 “ The conjurer then began a sort of incantation, 
 accompanied by a monotonous and discordant kind 
 of recitative, and repeating the words, 1 Ram, Sammu,’ 
 during some minutes. He then suddenly stopped, and 
 still keeping his seat, made a quick motion with his 
 right hand, as if throwing something at me, giving at 
 the same time a puff with his mouth. At that instant 
 I felt my hands suddenly distend, and become partly 
 open, while I experienced a sensation as if a cold ball 
 of dough or something equally soft, nasty, and dis- 
 agreeable was now between my palms. I started to 
 my feet in astonishment, also to the astonishment of 
 others, and opening my hands found there no coin, 
 but to my horror and alarm I saw a young snake, 
 all alive-oh ! and of all snakes in the world a cobra, 
 
IK i) I AN JUUGLKUS, 
 
CONJURING TRICKS. 
 
 9 
 
 folded or rather coiled roundly up. I threw it in- 
 stantly to the ground, trembling with rage and fear 
 as if already bitten by the deadly reptile, which began 
 immediately to crawl along the ground, to the alarm 
 and amazement of every one present. 
 
 “ The juggler now got up for the first time since 
 he had sat down, and catching hold of the snake 
 displayed its length, which was nearly two feet. He 
 then took it cautiously by the tail, and opening his 
 mouth to its widest extent, let the head of the snake 
 drop into it, and deliberately commenced to swallow 
 the reptile, till the end of the tail only was visible, 
 then making a sudden gulp the whole disappeared. 
 After that he came up to the spectators, and, opening 
 his mouth wide, permitted us to look into his throat, 
 hut no snake or snake’s tail was visible, and it was 
 seemingly down his throat altogether. During the 
 remainder of the performance we never saw the snake 
 again, nor did the man profess his ability to make it 
 reappear.” 
 
 One of the cleverest of the conjuring feats of India 
 is, I think, that known as the “ mango trick.” Mango 
 is a most delicious fruit peculiar to the East. The 
 conjurer will take the stone of this fruit and say, 
 “ Now, watch me, and see if I do not cause this stone 
 to take root in the earth, and grow into a tree which 
 shall bring forth fruit.” We watch accordingly. The 
 conjurer produces a quantity of soil, which he forms 
 into a little hillock, and into this soil he places, with 
 many a flourish of the hand and many an incantation, 
 the stone of the mango. 
 
 The whole is then covered over with a cloth, under 
 
10 
 
 HALF HOURS WITH THE HINDUS. 
 
 which the man places his hands. “ Grow ! grow ! ” 
 he exclaims, and then uncovers the earth suddenly, 
 when we see on examination that a little shoot is 
 pushing its way through the soil. Again the cloth 
 is spread, and the conjurer blows over it, and mutters 
 unintelligibly ; and when we look once more we find 
 that the little shoot has grown into a plant a few 
 inches high. And gradually the plant becomes 
 larger and larger, until it stands nearly a yard above 
 the mound. 
 
 So much I have seen with my own eyes, and very 
 wonderful it appeared to me, but I never saw a con- 
 jurer’s tree bear fruit, as some have declared they have 
 done. Sir Edwin Arnold, in his book “ India Re- 
 visited,” for instance, says, “ The Maharajah of 
 Benares was kind enough to send the entire company 
 of his palace-jugglers for our entertainment. They 
 performed with much adroitness the usual series of 
 Hindu tricks. They made the mango-tree grow and 
 bear fruit.” I wish I had been there to witness it ! 
 
 Another famous juggler’s artifice is the one known 
 as the “ basket trick.” On several occasions I saw 
 this entertainment carried out to perfection. The 
 conjurer had a wickerwork basket, in size and shape 
 resembling a large old-fashioned beehive. This he 
 showed to the company. Then he spoke to a hand- 
 some young girl standing by, whom he called his 
 daughter, and bade her sit down on the floor in the 
 centre of the room. The graceful girl obeyed after 
 making a salaam to the company. 
 
 The man then covered her with the basket, so that 
 she was hidden entirely from public view. Thereupon 
 
CONJURING TRICKS. 
 
 11 
 
 he pretended to be angry with her for being a wilful 
 and disobedient child, and reproached her with her 
 undutiful behaviour. The girl replied, indignantly 
 denying the charges ; but the man only got more and 
 more excited, anil held forth threats, at which the 
 frightened girl remonstrated, and finally asked for 
 pardon. The juggler, however, was by this time in a 
 towering rage, and suddenly drawing his sword he ran 
 it through and through the basket in every direction. 
 Shrieks of fright and pain proceeded from the girl, 
 but the man took no heed. Wild with anger he 
 proceeded with his deadly work, and blood was seen 
 to trickle out from under the wickerwork, and at 
 length a suffocating groan seemed to proclaim that 
 the girl was at the point of death. 
 
 Nowise sobered by this, the conjurer imprecated 
 evil on his murdered child, and coolly wiped his sword 
 and returned it to the scabbard. Then advancing 
 towards the basket, he kicked it over and exposed to 
 view — the floor of the room. The girl had dis- 
 appeared completely. The whole thing had been a 
 farce. And in answer to a call from the juggler 
 his daughter came from behind us all smiles and 
 salaams, as scathless as any of our party, and much 
 amused at our astonishment and surprise. At what 
 stage of the entertainment the girl had succeeded 
 in slipping out of the basket we could not tell. As 
 there were no trap-doors and no curtains, the trick 
 must be considered an exceptionally clever one. 
 
 Miss C. F. Gordon-Cumming, in her book entitled 
 “ In the Himalayas and on the Indian Plains,” mentions 
 a few conjuring tricks which she either saw or heard 
 
12 
 
 IT A L F HOURS WITH THE HINDUS. 
 
 of. She writes : “ Another curious feat is to throw 
 a cocoanut into the air and catch it on the head, 
 when the nut shivers to atoms instead of breaking 
 the head as might be expected. Of course this is all 
 knack, just like breaking a poker ‘across your arm. 
 After this the juggler took a large earthen vessel 
 with wide mouth, filled it with water, and turned 
 it upside down, when all the water of course ran out. 
 He then reversed the jar, which all present perceived 
 to be quite full, and all the earth around was perfectly 
 dry. He then emptied the jar and handed it round for 
 general inspection. He bade one of the company fill 
 it to the brim ; after which he upset it, but not a drop 
 of water flowed, nevertheless to the astonishment of all 
 it was quite empty. This trick was shown repeatedly, 
 and at last he broke the jar to prove that it really was 
 nothing but the ordinary earthenware that it appeared. 
 
 “ Next, a large basket was produced, and on lifting 
 it a pariah dog lay crouching on the ground. The 
 basket cover was replaced, and the second peep showed 
 a litter of seven puppies with their interesting mother. 
 A goat, a pig, and other animals successively appeared 
 from this magic receptacle, although the exhibitor 
 stood quite alone, in full view of all spectators.” 
 
 Another trick which it is very difficult to under- 
 stand is the one that consists in a man, with his feet 
 doubled up under him, ascending, to the sound of 
 music, into the air, and maintaining himself there with 
 the aid of nothing but a light pole ; and while in 
 that strange position the juggler will count his beads 
 many times over. A still more marvellous variation of 
 this performance is related by Ibu Batuta, who says, “ I 
 

 INDIAN CONJURING TRICK. 
 
CONJURING TRICKS 
 
 15 
 
 was once in the presence of the Emperor of Hindustan 
 when two jogis entered wrapt up in cloaks with their 
 heads covered. The Emperor caressed them, and said, 
 pointing to me, ‘ This is a stranger ; show him what 
 he has never yet seen.’ They answered, ‘We will.’ 
 One of them then assumed the form of a cube, and rose 
 from the earth, and in this cubic shape he occupied 
 a place in the air over our heads. His companion 
 then took a sandal belonging to one of those who had 
 come out with him, and struck it upon the ground, as 
 if he had been angry. The sandal thereupon ascended 
 until it came opposite to the cube. It then struck the 
 latter upon the neck, and the jogi descended gradually 
 to the earth, and at last rested in the place which he 
 had left. The Emperor told me that the man who took 
 the form of a cube was a disciple to the owner of the 
 sandal ; and, continued he, ‘ Had I not entertained fears 
 for the safety of thy intellect I should have ordered 
 them to show thee greater things than these.’ On this, 
 however, I took a palpitation of the heart, until the 
 Emperor ordered me a medicine, which restored me.” 
 
 A well-known character in Calcutta many years 
 ago was the famous conjurer Hassan Khan, who gave 
 many private and some public performances. With 
 a short account ot this wizard’s wonderful deeds I shall 
 close this chapter. The stories are culled from “ The 
 Good Old Days of Honourable John Company,” the 
 author of which in turn took them from the columns of 
 the Calcutta paper, The Englishman. 
 
 “ One of Hassan Khan’s tricks was to borrow a 
 watch and transport it to some unthought-of place,- 
 and send the owner to find it. Being present at a 
 
16 
 
 HALF HOURS WITH THE HINDUS. 
 
 select party at the house of a European gentleman 
 then residing in Upper Circular Boad, he politely aslced 
 a lady to lend him her watch. Then after the usual 
 by-play, in the view of all present he flung the watch 
 with force from an upper verandah into a tank in 
 front of the house. Every one saw the watch with 
 the chain dangling whisk through the air and fall 
 into the water. A short time after, the fair owner 
 waxing impatient, he requested her to go into the 
 next room and hold out her hand for it. She did so, 
 and behold ! the watch and chain, both dripping wet, 
 came into her hand. 
 
 u At another time Hassan Khan took a watch and 
 a ring belonging to different owners, and tied up the 
 two in a handkerchief. After a while he pointed to 
 a press, and enquired if it was locked aud who had 
 the key. The owner produced the key from his 
 pocket, the press was opened, and ring, watch, and 
 handkerchief found inside it.” 
 
 But Hassan Khan could, it appears, do still more 
 wonderful things — things passing our poor human 
 understanding. The Englishman gravely tells us, 
 that this great conjurer “ could, without any regard to 
 time, place, or circumstances, produce at will a bag 
 of sandwiches and cakes, or wine of any mark and 
 quality required.” In every case the material supplied 
 was the best of its kind. “ Who or what this man 
 was has never been satisfactorily explained. He went 
 about freely, was to be seen everywhere, and mixed 
 with all sorts of people ; but he was always enshrouded 
 in an impenetrable mystery.” Surely he was what 
 the Theosophists call a Mahatma ! 
 
GENERAL VIEW OF CALCUTTA. 
 
 II. 
 
 THE BLACK HOLE OF CALCUTTA. 
 
 [ALCUTTA, the capital of British India, and 
 the seat of the supreme government, is 
 situated on the Hugli river, one of the mouths 
 of the sacred Ganges, about eighty miles from the 
 sea. It is at the present day a fine city of nearly a 
 million inhabitants, and contains perhaps more Euro- 
 peans than any other Eastern city. 
 
 It is not, however, of the present I wish to speak 
 but of the past, and of an incident which has given 
 an unenviable notoriety to the capital of our great 
 
 17 2 
 
18 
 
 HALF HOURS 'WITH THE HINDUS. 
 
 Eastern dependency. Every schoolboy and girl has 
 surely heard of the Black Hole of Calcutta. At any 
 rate the story of the Black Hole is one that each 
 succeeding generation of the young people of Great 
 Britain ought to be familiar with, as it is one of the 
 great landmarks of our English history. 
 
 Our story takes us back to the year 1756, when 
 Calcutta was a small town with a European popula- 
 tion merely of a few hundreds. The English were 
 merchants under the East India Company, and were 
 living in Calcutta altogether for purposes of trade 
 with the natives of the land. The East India Com- 
 pany provided the little band of traders with soldiers 
 for their protection : but the force was so small that in 
 the hour of need it was practically useless. The hour 
 of need arose when Surajah Dowlah, a youth of twenty, 
 who was cruel and profligate, became Viceroy of Bengal 
 in the room of his grandfather Nawab Nazim, a wise 
 ruler, who had been friendly towards the English, and 
 had granted them permission to live and trade in 
 Calcutta. 
 
 For some unknown reason the new Viceroy hated 
 the English with a deadly hatred, and, in the month 
 of June 1756, he marched from his capital, Moorsheda- 
 bad, against Calcutta with an army of fifty thousand 
 men. The English were totally unprepared to resist, 
 with any hope of success, such a great force. Owing 
 to culpable negligence, the fortifications of the town 
 were altogether out of repair, the troops had hardly 
 any arms, the powder was insufficient for the few 
 guns they had, and what there was of it was not 
 good. And the whole fighting force of the little 
 
THE BLACK HOLE OF CALCUTTA. 
 
 19 
 
 community only amounted to one hundred and seventy 
 British. Just think of one hundred and seventy 
 against fifty thousand ! Were not the odds awful ! 
 And yet these few English, aided by a mere handful 
 of native allies, kept the great army at bay for four 
 days and four nights by sheer courage and daring. 
 The very thought of it should make us proud of our 
 nationality. 
 
 At midday on Jime 15th, 1756, the army of the 
 young Nabob was within the bounds of the East India 
 Company, and in a few minutes the firing commenced 
 and was continued till nightfall. On the 16th 
 hostilities were resumed ; but it was not till the 19th 
 that the yelling hordes of the Viceroy’s army stormed 
 the outer trenches and breastworks and reached the 
 gates of Fort William, within which the English had 
 taken refuge. But the fort, owing to its dilapidated 
 condition, was not tenable, and as soon as darkness 
 fell the European women, who would go, v we safely 
 conveyed out and embarked on a little vessel which 
 lay in the river, which took them to a place of safety. 
 
 At midnight the besiegers advanced to the assault 
 of the fort, but the mere sound of our drums drove 
 them back, and they waited for the light of day ere 
 making a more determined effort. On the 20th the 
 final attack was made ; and the English, seeing the 
 hopelessness of further resistance, resolved to abandon 
 Calcutta. Something like a panic then seems to have 
 set in, and men, women, and children rushed to the 
 water’s edge with piteous cries. The few boats there 
 were became overcrowded and soon upset, and most 
 of the occupants miserably perished. Some few 
 
20 HALF HOURS WITH THE HINDUS. 
 
 escaped, among whom were Mr. Drake, the governor, 
 Minchin, the commandant, and a Captain Grant. 
 
 The soldiers, however, and some of the civilians had 
 not joined in that shameful scramble for life, so that 
 there were left about one hundred and forty-six 
 English in the fort, who chose as their leader a certain 
 Mr. Holwell, one of the Company’s surgeons, as brave 
 
 CALCUTTA FROM THE HUGLI RIVER. 
 
 a man as ever lived. Seeing no hope of escape, the 
 gallant little band resolved to sell their lives as dearly 
 as possible ; and such is the valour sometimes born 
 of despair that during the morning of the 20th and 
 until two o’clock in the afternoon the enemy was kept 
 at bay. At that hour, however, the besieged, wearied 
 out, threw down their arms, and prayed for mercy from 
 their savage foes. 
 
THE BLACK HOLE OF CALCUTTA. 
 
 21 
 
 At five o’clock the young Nabob, Snrajah Dowlah, 
 a tyrant and a coward, entered the fort with the air of 
 a conqueror, though he had kept at a safe distance 
 during the fighting. The first thing the Prince did 
 was to seat himself in the principal hall of the fort, 
 and call Mr. Holwell into his presence. The gallant 
 Englishman obeyed the summons with some anxiety, 
 knowing the character of the young ruler. However, 
 Snrajah Dowlah for the moment contented himself 
 with strong language, fiercely upbraiding the British 
 for defending the fort, and complaining bitterly of the 
 small amount of treasure, only £5000, which he had 
 been able to get hold of. Two or three times the 
 angry Prince dismissed and recalled Mr. Holwell, 
 each time asking him “ if there were no more money.” 
 The sturdy Briton invariably answered, “ No ” ; and 
 was finally dismissed for the night, the Nabob giving 
 him his word as a soldier that he should suffer no 
 harm. What the promise was worth, and how it was 
 kept, we shall see. 
 
 When Mr. Holwell, the leader of the English, returned 
 to his comrades, he found them surrounded by a 
 strong guard. Then, without having a suspicion of 
 the awful fate that awaited them, the prisoners asked 
 where they were to be lodged for the night. In reply, 
 the officer of the guard pointed to a room near which 
 they stood, called the Black Hole Prison ; and before 
 the poor prisoners had even time to think they were 
 driven at the point of the sword into the little room, 
 the door of which was instantly shut and locked upon 
 them. 
 
 The dungeon into which the unfortunate people had 
 
22 
 
 HALF HOURS WITH THE HINDUS. 
 
 been entrapped was only intended for an occasional 
 military defaulter, and bad never contained before 
 more than two or three prisoners at a time, and none 
 at all in the hot season of the year. The Black Hole 
 was just twenty feet by twenty, and had only two 
 small windows in it, and these were partly deprived 
 of, or obstructed from air, by two projecting verandahs. 
 And in this little dungeon, in the summer solstice, 
 when the tierce heat of Bengal is scarcely endurable 
 in the largest houses, one hundred and forty-six 
 prisoners were huddled together like sheep in a 
 penfold. 
 
 “ Nothing in history or fiction approaches the 
 horrors that were recounted by the few survivors of 
 that night. They cried for mercy. They strove to 
 burst the door. Holwell, who even in that extremity 
 retained some presence of mind, offered large bribes 
 to the gaolers. But the answer was that nothing 
 could be done without the Nabob’s orders ; that the 
 Nabob was asleep, and that he would be angry if any 
 one awoke him. Then the prisoners went mad with 
 despair. They trampled each other down, fought for 
 places at the windows, fought for the pittance of water 
 with which the cruel mercy of the murderers mocked 
 their agonies, raved, prayed, and implored the guards 
 to fire upon them. The gaolers in the meantime held 
 lights to the bars, and shouted with laughter at the 
 frantic struggles of their victims. At length the 
 tumult died away in low gaspings and moanings.” * 
 
 So passed that awful night of June 2Uth, 1756, 
 a night which amongst Englishmen will be held in 
 
 * Lord Macaulay. 
 
THE BLACK HOLE OF CALCUTTA. 
 
 23 
 
 everlasting remembrance. The morning dawned, and 
 the Nabob, having slept off his debauch, permitted the 
 door of the Black Hole to be opened, and then a sight 
 was witnessed which will scarcely bear to be told. 
 Only twenty-three of the prisoners had survived the 
 horrors of that night. There were one hundred and 
 twenty-three dead bodies in the charnel-house, and the 
 corpses had to be piled up on each side in heaps ere 
 the living could crawl out. And the twenty-three 
 survivors, it is said, were so emaciated and changed 
 with their sufferings that their mothers would not 
 have known them. A pit was at once dug, and the 
 dead were flung into it with all speed and covered up. 
 
 Surely we should have thought that even the cruel 
 Nabob would have been softened by such a sight of 
 woe as the dead and the living presented. But 
 neither remorse nor pity seems to have been stirred 
 in the breast of the young savage. As soon as the 
 dead had been buried, Surajah Dowlah called the 
 living into his presence. The brave ITolwell was 
 amongst the number. Mrs. Carey, a lady who had 
 refused to leave her husband when the other ladies 
 escaped in the ship, also appeared. It was marvellous 
 how she had lived through the night in the dungeon, 
 when her husband and other strong men had perished. 
 
 To these two and the rest of the poor suffering 
 creatures, the Nabob showed no tenderness or pity. 
 Holwell, weak as he was, was loaded with irons and 
 sent up the country, the young Prince threatening to 
 blow him from a gun unless he revealed the hiding- 
 place of the East India Company’s treasures. Mrs. 
 Carey was taken into the zenana of the Nabob, and 
 
24 
 
 HALF HOURS WITH THE HINDUS , 
 
 kept a prisoner for six years. The others were lodged 
 in miserable sheds, and fed only with grain and water. 
 However, eventually, they all regained their freedom. 
 
 And what became of the Nabob ? Surely such 
 iniquity as his would not go unpunished ? No ! an 
 awful fate befell him. News of the terrible tragedy 
 of the Black Hole travelled in course of time to 
 Madras, where there were many British, and great 
 was the grief, and fierce the resentment, of all who 
 heard the horrible story. So great was the excite- 
 ment, and so warm the ardour of the English 
 community, that within forty-eight hours of the 
 arrival of the news an expedition up the Hugli, to 
 succour their fellow-countrymen and to punish the 
 tyrant, had been decided upon. 
 
 And Clive, “the daring in war,” quite a young 
 soldier, was chosen to lead the rescue army of 2400 
 men. And bravely and successfully did he do his 
 work. Early in 1757 the English and a few native 
 allies fought a great battle — great in its results — with 
 Surajah Dowlah, on the famous field of Plassey, and 
 defeated his immense host. Even some of his own 
 troops, instigated by one of his generals named Meer 
 Jaflfir, turned against the Prince, and assisted in 
 his ruin. 
 
 The fact is that the profligacy of the young Nabob, 
 his savage cruelty, and his wretched administration 
 of the aflairs of his government, had roused a deep 
 feeling of animosity against him in every quarter. 
 No one seemed sorry at his defeat at Plassey, and 
 when he fled ignominiously to Moorshedabad, his 
 capital, he felt he had no friends left, and none whom 
 
THE BLACK HOLE OF CALCUTTA. 
 
 25 
 
 he could trust. The same evening, therefore, giving- 
 way to craven fear, he disguised himself in a mean 
 habit; and with a castet of jewels in his hand, he 
 let himself down in the' darkness from a window of 
 his palace, and embarking on a little boat on the 
 
 LORD CLIVE. 
 
 river, fled for his life. The Prince was not to escape, 
 however, out of the clutches of his enemies. Two 
 nights after his flight, he took refuge in the hut of 
 a poor fakir, or holy man, who recognised him at 
 once, even through his disguise. And strange to say, 
 the solitary hermit was a man whom the young 
 
26 
 
 HALF HOURS WITH THE HINDUS. 
 
 Nabob had treated with great cruelty only thirteen 
 months before by depriving him of his ears. 
 
 Now the Prince was to reap what he had sown. 
 He had sown hatred, and he was to reap hatred — he 
 had sown cruelty, and he was to experience it — he had 
 refused mercy to others, and now it was to be denied 
 to himself. Notwithstanding his piteous pleadings 
 the fakir kept him a prisoner, and sent word to his 
 enemies of his whereabouts. The next morning troops 
 sent by Meer Jaffir, who had usurped the vacant 
 throne, captured the guilty and terrified Nabob, who 
 after being subjected to every possible indignity, was 
 carried back as a felon to his own palace, and dragged 
 before the usurper. 
 
 It is said that Meer Jaffir, moved with pity, was 
 inclined to spare the life of the wretched Prince, but 
 a son of the new ruler would not hear of such a thing, 
 saying that the throne of Bengal would not be safe 
 while Surajah Dowlah lived. So sentence of death 
 was passed. But it was in plain words a murder ; 
 and Meeran, the son of Meer Jaffir, was the murderer. 
 Meeran was only seventeen years of age when he did 
 the horrid deed. At midnight he entered the chamber 
 where his Prince was confined. The unfortunate 
 Surajah Dowlah saw the purpose of his visitor in his 
 eye, and begged for a few minutes’ respite for prayer ; 
 but even that was denied him. Meeran sprang upon 
 his victim with a cry of hate, and with a few stabs of 
 his dagger slew him. 
 
 In the morning the bloody remains of the Nabob 
 were exposed through the city of Moorshedabad on 
 an elephant, after which they were thrown into a 
 
THE BLACK HOLE OF CALCUTTA. 
 
 27 
 
 dishonoured grave. Thus was the tragedy of the 
 Black Hole of Calcutta terribly avenged, and the 
 deed was the work of the young Prince’s own country- 
 men ! The gallant Clive would never have committed 
 such a crime, and Meer Jaffir knew it, and sent to the 
 English commander a letter of apology for the fierce 
 conduct of his son and heir. Wicked and cruel as 
 Surajah Dowlah was, we cannot but regret his violent 
 death. Yet he had no pity on the hundred and twenty- 
 three victims that perished in the Black Hole. The 
 infamy of the Prince was very great, and his awful 
 death had all the appearance of a judgment, and 
 brought into clear relief the truth of the saying, “ The 
 way of transgressors is hard.” 
 
 With regard to the survivors of the Black Hole 
 tragedy, I think my young readers would like to know 
 that Mr. Hoi well lived until 1798, a period of over 
 forty years after the dreadful event. This gentleman 
 erected at Calcutta an obelisk fifty feet high, to the 
 memory of his martyred comrades, which stood for 
 years in the north-west corner of Tank Square, but 
 was at length pulled down in 1840 by the order of the 
 Marquis of Hastings. It is believed to have been 
 erected on the very spot where the bodies of the slain 
 were buried. 
 
 Mrs. Carey, the only lady mentioned in history in 
 connection with the tragedy, was the last of the sur- 
 vivors. She outlived the twenty-two by many years, 
 and died in Calcutta on March 28th, 1801. What a 
 life hers was of suffering and sorrow ! 
 
 And what of the famous Black Hole itself? Well, 
 it is supposed to have been demolished soon after the 
 
28 
 
 HALF HOURS WITH THE HINDUS. 
 
 day of the awful tragedy that was enacted therein, and 
 for generations its very site was a matter of doubt. 
 However, in the year 1883 some old papers were 
 found in the Record Office which threw light on the 
 subject, and the spot indicated by the papers was 
 
 MONUMENT ONCE ON THE SITE OF THE BLACK HOLE. 
 
 excavated, with the result that the underground walls 
 of the dungeon were discovered. I had just reached 
 Calcutta when the discovery was made, and one of 
 my first visits was to the spot which must ever be 
 sacred to the memory of our gallant forefathers who 
 
THE BLACK HOLE OF CALCUTTA. 
 
 29 
 
 there so miserably perished. The walls were then 
 bare, though they have been covered since with earth ; 
 and I walked along them, and measured them, and 
 found the building to have been barely twenty feet 
 square. 
 
 I stayed there some time, thinking of the past, 
 thinking of the dead, thinking of the savage young 
 Prince, Surajah Dowlah, and of his poor victims, my 
 own fellow-countrymen. And visitors to Calcutta to- 
 day, if they will enter a wide gateway on one side of 
 the General Post Office, will find a square carefully 
 marked out in white stones, which indicates the exact 
 spot and dimensions of the Black Hole of sad memory. 
 The whole incident should speak to us on the one 
 hand of the hideousness of war, and of the awful 
 consequences of human passions uncontrolled and 
 unrestrained ; and on the other of splendid courage, 
 daring, and endurance. 
 
A GHAUT AT BENARES, WITH RECESSES FOR DEVOTEES. 
 
 III. 
 
 IDOLS , IDOLS EVERYWHERE. 
 
 F one were asked to describe India, I think 
 the first remark that would spring from one’s 
 lips would be— “ It is a land of idols ! There 
 are idols, idols everywhere ! ” I can well remember as 
 a boy that at a certain missionary meeting in England, 
 when the missionary held up two or three idols for 
 our inspection, I greatly marvelled at the sight, and 
 wondered whether I should ever visit India and see 
 idolatry for myself in all its power and degradation. 
 
 30 
 
IDOLS, IDOLS EVERYWHERE. 
 
 31 
 
 And now that I have been in the East my astonish- 
 ment is no whit lessened at the fact that so many 
 millions of boys and girls, young men and maidens, 
 and older people, human beings like ourselves, can 
 bow down before gods of wood and stone and brass. 
 Idolatry seems to have a fascination for the Hindus ; 
 it is the very air they breathe ; it is the food of their 
 souls. They are the willing slaves of custom in this 
 respect, for the common people of India, it is easy to 
 be seen, are passionately interested in and devoted to 
 the worship and service of idols. 
 
 The late Rev. M. A. Sherring, of Benares, in his 
 well-known book entitled “ The Sacred City of the 
 Hindus,” says : “ Indeed the love for idolatry is so 
 deep-seated and intense in the breasts of the people, 
 that it is a common thing for both men and women 
 to amuse themselves with manufacturing little gods 
 from mud and clay, and after paying divine honours 
 to them, and that too with the same profound rever- 
 ence which they display in their devotions before the 
 well-known deities of the temples, to throw them 
 away.” 
 
 Mr. Sherring then gives a striking instance in 
 proof of his assertion. He says : “ One day on entering 
 the courtyard of the temple of Annpiirna, the Goddess 
 of Plenty, my attention was arrested by an aged woman 
 seated on the ground in front of a small clay figure, 
 which, I ascertained, she had with her own hands 
 manufactured that morning, and to which she was 
 solemnly paying homage. Close by was a brazen 
 vessel containing water, into which every now and 
 then she dipped a small spoon, and then gently poured 
 
32 HALF HOURS WITH THE HINDUS. 
 
 a few drops upon the head of the image. She then 
 reverently folded her hands, and muttered words of 
 prayer, occasionally moving one hand to her face, 
 and with finger and thumb compressing her two 
 nostrils, in order that, holding her breath as long as 
 possible, she might increase the merit of her worship 
 and the efficacy of her prayer. Having completed her 
 devotions she rose, took the image which she had 
 worshipped in her hands, and threw it away as of 
 no further use.” 
 
 So strong in fact in the Hindus is this passion for 
 worshipping something they can see and handle, that 
 they will almost use anything for an idol. I have 
 heard of a Hindu gentleman in South India who 
 wanted to get possession of an English doll for pur- 
 poses of worship. The doll had been given by a 
 missionary lady to a native Christian girl as a prize 
 for good conduct at school. The little girl had carried 
 it home, of course, and shown it to her friends with 
 great glee, little thinking any one would wish to 
 deprive her of it. A neighbour, an acquaintance of 
 her father, however, having seen the doll, took a 
 fancy to it, thinking it would make a capital idol, and 
 tried to bribe the little girl into parting with it. The 
 child refused, though offered the equivalent of ten 
 shillings for it ; and had the courage to tell the man 
 that he was foolish to worship idols at all, and that he 
 would show wisdom by putting his trust in Jesus 
 Christ the Saviour of the world. The Hindu sharply 
 replied, “ I don’t want your Christ, but only that 
 pretty image, if yon will sell it to me.” 
 
 It would be impossible to compute the number of 
 
IDOLS , IDOLS EVERYWHERE. 
 
 33 
 
 BRAHMIN WORSHIPPING IDOLS IN THE GANGES. 
 
 idols that there mast he at the present time in India. 
 The Hindus pretend to have 333,000,000 gods, and 
 
 3 
 
34 
 
 HALF HOURS WITH THE HINDUS. 
 
 these are represented by innumerable idols, so that 
 we are quite bewildered with the thought of taking 
 the census of the idols of India. The population of 
 the whole Indian Empire is now about 300,000,000, 
 and probably the country contains ten times as many 
 idols as people. The world is therefore a long way 
 off the fulfilment of that Bible prophecy which says, 
 “ And the idols shall He utterly abolish.” 
 
 Benares is the great centre of the idol-making 
 business, though in all parts of India the trade 
 flourishes. Potters the day through may be seen in 
 the sacred city moulding images of clay for temporary 
 use. Sculptors also may be found producing repre- 
 sentations of the gods in stone or marble. Carpenters, 
 moreover, make great wooden idols for the temples ; 
 and workers in metal — goldsmiths, coppersmiths, and 
 brassworkers — turn out more or less highly-finished 
 specimens in their respective metals. 
 
 “ Special value,” one writer says, “ attaches to 
 golden images of certain gods and goddesses, while 
 for others, copper or brass, or an amalgam of mercury 
 and tin, is preferred. Sitala, the goddess of Small-pox, 
 is always represented in silver ; but the most sacred 
 of all materials for the manufacture of gods is a 
 perfect alloy produced by mixing eight metals — viz., 
 gold, silver, brass, lead, iron, tin, mercury, and 
 copper.” 
 
 I have heard it whispered in more than one quarter, 
 that many of the idols that are worshipped in India 
 are manufactured in England; but I would fain believe 
 that the report is not correct, for I do not like to 
 think ill of my fellow-countrymen. Miss Camming, 
 
IDOLS, IDOLS EVERYWHERE. 
 
 35 
 
 iu her book entitled “ In the Himalayas ana on the 
 Indian Plains,” speaking of some images offered to 
 her by a vendor of idols in Benares, says, “ I strongly 
 suspect that every little idol in his basket was pure 
 ‘ Brummagem,’ and not without reason, for it is 
 currently reported that Birmingham exports an im- 
 mensely large proportion of the idols of Hindustan, 
 and finds them a very profitable speculation.” Again 
 1 would remark that I hope the report is incorrect. 
 If the people of India will have idols to worship, it is 
 certainly not for Christian England to supply them. 
 
 When speaking of idols it should be borne in mind 
 that the images turned out by the potter, sculptor, 
 carver, or manufacturer, are not considered sacred or 
 fit to be worshipped, until certain mystic words have 
 been uttered over them by a priest. The ceremony of 
 “the giving of life,” as it is called, to the image, is 
 a very solemn affair, and when it is done the idol 
 is regarded as holy, and must ever afterwards be 
 approached and treated with the utmost reverence. 
 
 Out of the many millions of so-called gods in India, 
 all of whom are counted worthy of worship, three are 
 regarded as specially sacred, and form the Hindu 
 Triad or Trinity. They are respectively Brahma, 
 Vishnu, and Siva. Of these, it is stated, the second 
 person of the Trinity only has been represented on 
 this earth by human incarnations. Through one or 
 all of these gods the Hindus believe they may obtain 
 salvation. Brahma represents the way of salvation by 
 wisdom, Vishnu by faith, and Siva by works. It is 
 immaterial which method is adopted, as they all lead 
 to the same goal. 
 
36 
 
 HALF HOURS WITH THE HINDUS. 
 
 And from what do the Hindus wish or hope to he 
 saved ? Well, I can say, once for all, that it is not, 
 generally speaking, from sin. “ The idols are not 
 worshipped for spiritual blessings, holiness, and aids 
 to moral culture, but to obtain exemption from the 
 physical evils of life — relief from sickness, victory over 
 enemies, healthy children, wealth, good luck, worldly 
 gain, temporal prosperity. According to the philo- 
 sophical system of Hinduism, only temporal benefits 
 are to be obtained from worshipping idols.” The 
 Hindus have not yet realised that “ God is a spirit, 
 and they that worship Him must worship Him in 
 spirit and in truth.” 
 
 Soon after I landed on Indian soil it was my lot to 
 obtain possession of an idol, under most interesting- 
 circumstances. It was at Madras, where I had gone 
 on shore to visit a college friend who had preceded 
 me to India by a year or so. My friend told me how 
 his heart had been cheered by a Hindu, whom he 
 knew, forsaking idolatry, and becoming a follower of 
 Christ. I rejoiced with him, and in course of conver- 
 sation asked what the new convert would do with his 
 old household idols. For reply I was asked if I would 
 like to possess one of them, as a memento of the 
 event, and of my visit to Madras. I promptly 
 answered “Yes”: and my friend brought from another 
 room a tiny brass idol, and, placing it in my hand, 
 said, “ Take it, and welcome. It was given to me by 
 the new convert, but I am sure he will not mind my 
 giving it to you.” 
 
 The idol that I thus obtained possession of, and 
 have yet, represents Ganesha, the god of Wisdom. 
 
IDOLS, IDOLS EVERYWHERE. 
 
 37 
 
 Ganesha is said to have been a son of Siva. He sits 
 cross-legged, and has many arms ; but the strangest 
 thing about him is that he has the head and trunk of 
 an elephant. The story told concerning this god is, 
 that he was originally born with a human head, but 
 having been deprived of it by his father, in a fit of 
 anger, his mother vowed to supply its place with the 
 head of the first living creature she met. This proved 
 to be an elephant ; and with the head of the elephant, 
 Ganesha is credited with receiving the wisdom of this 
 ungainly but sagacious animal. Ganesha is very 
 popular in India, and his shrine may be found in 
 every village throughout the length and breadth of 
 the land. He is worshipped by every schoolboy, for 
 is he not the god of wisdom, the master of caligraphy, 
 and the patron of literature ? 
 
 The second idol that came into my possession, and 
 this time by purchase, represents even a more popular 
 god than Ganesha. His name is Krishna, and he is 
 the favourite idol of all the women, as well as the 
 boys and girls, of Hindustan. And yet from all 
 accounts the character of this god is not of the best. 
 The image that I own represents him as quite dark in 
 colour — it has been suggested to me that he is painted 
 black on account of his sins. Of this god, and 
 especially of his escapades in the days of childhood 
 and youth, a pretty full account will be found in a 
 later chapter in this book. 
 
 The idols of India, it will already have been noticed, 
 are not confined to the male sex. There are quite a 
 number of goddesses as well as gods in the Hindu 
 Pantheon. Perhaps the principal may be said to be 
 
38 
 
 HALF HOURS WITH THE HINDUS. 
 
 Sarasvati the wife of Brahma, Lakshmi the wife of 
 Vishnu, and Kali the wife of Siva. The first is the 
 goddess of Knowledge, the second of Love and Pros- 
 perity, and the third — well, it is difficult to say what 
 she is the goddess of, for though she is familiarly 
 called Mother Kali, she delights in blood, and revels in 
 the sacrifice of goats and buffaloes. Kali is generally 
 represented as standing on the body of her husband. 
 
 with her tongue protruding from her mouth, her hair 
 hanging far down her back, and with a wreath of 
 skulls round her neck. Truly this notorious idol is 
 horrible to look upon, and to think about. To speak 
 of her as ‘‘Mother” seems blasphemy. The Hindu 
 scriptures tell some dreadful tales of her wicked 
 doings ; and if space permitted I might relate some 
 sad stories of the infamous deeds of numbers of her 
 worshippers, who have been robbers and murderers. 
 
IDOLS, IDOLS EVERYWHERE. 
 
 39 
 
 At one time it is said even little children were offered 
 np in sacrifice to this bloodthirsty idol. 
 
 Idols are of course worshipped both privately and 
 publicly. And both in the house and the temple they 
 are treated with the greatest respect and the pro- 
 foundest reverence. It would be amusing, if it were 
 not so sad, to notice with what care the make-believe 
 gods and goddesses of India are looked after both by 
 day and night. Mr. B. Chunder, in his book entitled 
 “ The Travels ol a Hindu,” tells of the princely 
 magnificence with which an image of Krishna was 
 treated in a temple called Kundu in Bengal. 
 
 The writer says : “ Of all the shrines the one at 
 Kundu is maintained with the greatest liberality. The 
 god here seems to live in the style of the Great 
 Moghul. His throne and pillows are of the best 
 velvet and damask, richly embroidered. Before him 
 are placed gold and silver salvers, cups, tumblers, and 
 jugs of various size and pattern. He is fed every 
 morning with fifty kinds of curries, and ten kinds 
 of pudding. His breakfast over, gold hookahs are 
 brought to him to smoke the most aromatic tobacco. 
 He then retires for his noonday nap. In the after- 
 noon he tiffs and lunches, and at night before he goes 
 to bed he sups upon the choicest and richest viands.” 
 The Brahmins, of course, get all these good things, 
 though the farce is kept up of the idols having 
 excellent appetites, so that the foolish worshippers may 
 not be slack in finding the money for their support. 
 When will such a mockery of religion come to an end ? 
 
 The mention of the Brahmins or priests reminds me 
 of the fact that even these gentlemen come in for a 
 
40 
 
 HALF HOURS WITH THE HINDUS. 
 
 share of worship themselves, for the common people 
 of India look upon the members of the highest caste 
 as veritable gods. The Brahmins are living idols, 
 whom the lower classes are degraded enough to 
 
 o o 
 
 worship. The Hindu Scriptures say, 
 
 “ Before the Brahmins bow with awe. 
 
 Esteem their every word as law, 
 
 For they shall prosper all, who treat 
 The Priests with filial reverence meet. 
 
 “ Tea, though they servile tasks pursue, 
 
 To Brahmins high esteem is due. 
 
 For be he stolid as a clod 
 A Brahmin is a mighty god.” 
 
 Mr. Minturn, in his book “ From New York to 
 Delhi,” relates how he met a Brahmin who actually 
 laid claim to divine attributes. “ One day,” says the 
 traveller, “ while we were eating under a grove, 
 a great dirty fellow, smeared with cow-dung and 
 wearing the sacred Brahminical thread over his 
 shoulder, with no clothing but a rag six inches wide, 
 marched boldly up to us and asked for money. I, being 
 paymaster, wanted to know ‘ What for ? ’ when he 
 answered as coolly as possible, ‘ Because I am a god 
 and am hungry.’ If I could have mastered Hindu- 
 stanee enough I*would have told him that if his divine 
 character could not protect him from hunger it 
 certainly should not secure him unmerited charity.” 
 
 The Hindus have a syllogism in honour of Brahmins 
 which runs thus : 
 
 “ The whole world is under the power of the gods, 
 
 The gods are under the power of the mantras, 
 
 The mantras are under the power of the Brahmin, 
 
 The Brahmin is therefore our God.” 
 
IDOLS, IDOLS EVERYWHERE. 
 
 41 
 
 The Rev. W. Ward, in his “ History of the Hindus,” 
 says, “ When the claims of the Brahmins to deity 
 have been disputed by any one, I have seen the 
 
 BRAHMINS, THE HIGHEST CASTE AMONG THE INDIANS. 
 
 poor besotted Sudra prostrate himself at the feet of 
 the nearest Brahmin, and raising his head and closing 
 his hands, say, ‘You are my god.’ At the same 
 
 / 
 
42 
 
 HALF HOURS WITH THE HINDUS. 
 
 time the character of the Brahmin has perhaps been 
 notorious for every vice.” 
 
 Leaving the animate idol, the Brahmin, let us now 
 return for a little space to the further consideration of 
 inanimate idols. The Hindus have descended even to 
 the worship of mud. Ponder over an incident related 
 by the Rev. J. D. Bate, a Baptist missionary in 
 India. He says : “ A while ago I was making my way 
 to a village called Lokipore, about twenty miles to the 
 west of Allahabad, for the purpose of preaching. On 
 emerging from a field I saw a little way in front of me 
 what I took at first to be the dry trunk of a very tall 
 tree that had been denuded of leaves and branches. 
 Going a few steps nearer I thought I detected high 
 up what had the appearance of the rude outline of a 
 human face, but very large ; and on coming close to the 
 object I saw what it really was. It was a huge round 
 pile of mud, dug up from a ditch near by, and dried in 
 the sun. It was an idol. On the top of the pile the 
 eyes and nose had been scratched by the finger when the 
 mud was soft, and for a month there was a broad, deep 
 gash, right across the face from one side to the other. 
 For ears, a couple of pieces of broken pitcher had been 
 stuck in so as to project on either side of the head and 
 curve forwards. 
 
 “ Legs there were none : it was merely a trunk built 
 up from the ground. For arms, a couple of long pieces 
 of bamboo had been stuck into the sides so as to pro- 
 ject at right angles, and at the end of each of these 
 primitive-looking limbs there was another pile of mud 
 much smaller in its proportions : the arms were sup- 
 ported by these piles.” The missionary stood in 
 
IDOLS , IDOLS EVERYWHERE. 
 
 43 
 
 amazement and sorrow before this scarecrow, thinking 
 of the sin and shame of such idolatry, when a loud 
 voice came from among the trees of a neighbouring 
 flower-gardeu asking him why he gazed so intently 
 upon the god. It was a Brahmin priest who spoke. 
 
 Mr. Bate answered, “ A god ! You call this a 
 god ? ” “ Yes,” said the priest, “ it is a god ; it is 
 
 holy ; it has stood where it is for seven years, and it 
 is an object of adoration to those who are looking to 
 me for instruction and guidance in the path of salva- 
 tion.” Was there ever such folly ? We may well 
 say that the Hindus are given up altogether to 
 idolatry, when they will worship anything, from a 
 man to the mud upon the roadside. 
 
 It has been questioned whether the Hindus really 
 regard idols as gods and goddesses. Sir Edwin 
 Arnold, who looks through rose-coloured spectacles 
 at everything Eastern, says that they do not. In his 
 “ India Revisited ” he remarks : “ All these various 
 sacred objects are for the educated Indians mere 
 ‘ aids to faith,’ manifestations, more or less appropriate 
 and elevated, of the all-pervading and undivided Para- 
 Brahm. Even the poor peasant of the fields, and 
 the gentle Hindu wife, perambulating a peepul-tree 
 smeared with red, will tell you that the symbol they 
 reverence is only a symbol. There is hardly one of 
 them so ignorant as not to know that commonplace 
 of Yedantism, ‘Every prayer which is uttered finds 
 its way to the ears of Kashava.’ ” 
 
 I think that Sir Edwin Arnold is wrong, and that 
 the common people of India are more ignorant and 
 superstitious than he realises. Most of the lower 
 
44 
 
 HALF HOURS WITH THE HINDUS. 
 
 classes of Hindus, I am convinced, believe that when 
 they worship idols they worship gods and goddesses, 
 not merely as represented by the idols, but as actually 
 dwelling in the idols. Doubtless the educated know 
 better, and regard the idols merely as symbols, but 
 still even they outwardly worship the symbols. 
 Some English-speaking natives I have talked with 
 on the subject have tried to justify their idolatry by 
 saying, “ We must have symbols to represent God 
 to us.” 
 
 The Rev. James Kennedy, in his book entitled 
 “ Life and Work in Benares,” commenting on this 
 subject, says : “ Hindus who know English have quoted 
 Cowper’s address to his mother on getting her picture, 
 
 ‘ Oh that those lips had language ! ’ and have then 
 asked, ‘ Was not Cowper helped in realising his 
 mother when looking at her picture ? ’ To which 
 there is the obvious reply, ‘ Cowper’s mother was 
 truly represented by her picture. Is God truly and 
 fittingly represented by the idols the Hindus wor- 
 ship ? ’ ” Surely not ! What is there in the ugly, 
 grotesque idols of Hindustan to help any man, woman, 
 or child in understanding God, or in worshipping God ? 
 If men will have symbols of God as aids to faith, then 
 let the symbols be such as will iuspire lofty thoughts. 
 In my opinion, however, we do not need symbols of 
 gold, or silver, or wood, or stone, or mud. These 
 material substances, experience has taught us, always 
 foster low and materialistic views of the Divine Father. 
 Idolatry is folly ! 
 
 “ Men cannot know from whence they came, 
 
 E!se they would never call the sun 
 
IDOLS, IDOLS EVERYWHERE . 
 
 45 
 
 Or moon their God. They would not bow 
 To idols made of clay, or mud 
 Baked in the fire. No image made 
 Of stone or wood, no linga stump, 
 
 Built up of earth and made by hand, 
 
 Could ever seem Divine to one, 
 
 Who knew he came from God.” 
 
 “ How mad are they who offer praise 
 To carven stones ! As if such things 
 Could fitly image God Most High.” 
 
 The great work before Christian labourers in India 
 is, then, to educate the people, especially the young- 
 people of the land, and to turn their thoughts to 
 Christ, who is “the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” 
 There cannot be a doubt that the spread of Western 
 knowledge in the East is undermining the faith of 
 Hindus in idolatry. The education given to young 
 men in government and missionary schools and colleges 
 inspires in the breasts of the more thoughtful among 
 them a thorough distaste for idolatry, and a latent 
 desire to be free from it. A great reformer is needed. 
 There are, I believe, tens of thousands of young 
 Hindus ready for a wonderful change, if only a mighty 
 leader would appear from their own race to inspire 
 them with courage and daring. 
 
 While idolatry is still almost universal in India, 
 we are safe, I think, in saying that in all classes of 
 society, amongst both the rich and the poor, the 
 learned and the unlearned, there is less reverence for 
 idols than of yore. A Hindu gentleman in South India 
 said lately to a missionary, “ Upwards of twenty or 
 thirty years ago, we, both men and women, had a great 
 reverence for idols, but that reverence is failing even 
 
46 
 
 HALF HOURS WITH THE HINDUS. 
 
 when we see them in temples, because we know now 
 that they are nothing more than the material with 
 which they are made — that is, wood, stone, copper, or 
 gold. The foolishness of bygone days is gradually 
 giving way, and things are viewed now as they actually 
 exist. You ask, How have we come to this ? I 
 will tell you. It is through the influence of the 
 Gospel of Christ which is being regularly preached 
 amongst us.” 
 
 Then in North India the Rev. E. Greaves, writing 
 not very long ago of a tour he had made in the 
 Benares district, said : “ During the last year we 
 visited many villages, where we had been in previous 
 years, and also went over much that was, to us, fresh 
 ground. On some few occasions we were met by 
 opposition and rudeness ; this, however, was quite 
 exceptional. It was inspiring now and again to hear 
 a village group giving their assent to all that was 
 said, and confessing that it was God alone who could 
 save them. In one village some men said, ‘ This is 
 quite new to us, and very good ; we will not worship 
 idols any more.’ On another occasion I put my 
 hearers’ genuineness to the test, by asking them to 
 grant me permission to fling their idols into a pond 
 close by. Superstition was too strong, however, and 
 they begged me not to touch them. ‘ What ! ’ said 
 I, ‘ could they not protect themselves if they were 
 o-ods ? ’ The people did not dispute my logic, but 
 declined to give me the coveted permission. God 
 grant that the day may soon come when they will 
 themselves break down their idols, and worship, in 
 spirit and in truth, the great God and Saviour.” 
 
IDOLS, IDOLS EVERYWHERE. 
 
 47 
 
 Even from the purely native state of Hyderabad a 
 story comes of the growing lack of faith in idols. 
 Some lads who had been 
 taught to read and write in 
 a mission school, when sent 
 out into the fields by their 
 parents to tend cattle, tested 
 the power of certain gods and 
 goddesses they found by the 
 road side, by asking them to 
 take charge of the animals for 
 an hour or two, while they 
 themselves engaged in play. 
 
 The little fellows found, how- 
 ever, to their dismay, that 
 while tbeir backs had been 
 turned the cattle had wandered 
 into forbidden ground, and 
 had eaten up some standing 
 corn. Conscious of their own 
 negligence, and yet vexed 
 with their idols for not being- 
 more watchful, the lads re- 
 moved the images from their 
 places ; and becoming still 
 more bold, they banged one 
 idol against another, and left 
 the two lying ignominiously 
 on the ground. 
 
 When asked by their parents 
 the cause of such an outrage, the bold little fellows 
 exclaimed with one voice, “ Because the gods did not 
 
 FIGURE OF HINDU PRAYING. 
 From Temple at Madura 
 
48 
 
 HALF HOURS WITH THE HINDUS. 
 
 mind the cattle while we were at play ! ” The elder 
 people waited a few days with trembling anxiety to 
 see what disasters the gods would call down upon 
 their households for such iniquity, but as nothing 
 happened, a suspicion was generated all round that 
 perhaps after all the children were right, and that 
 the idols were powerless to do either good or harm. 
 
 Idolatry in India is doomed, for it cannot stand 
 before the light of education spreading in the land, 
 before the truth, “ as the truth is in Jesus.” Reforms 
 move slowly in the East, however. Christian workers 
 must not be over-sanguine of immediate success on a 
 large scale, but must labour on diligently, wisely, and 
 lovingly, believing that in due season they shall reap 
 if they faint not. It will be a glorious day for India, 
 when the Hindus as one man shall cast their idols 
 all away 1 
 
IY. 
 
 BUTTOO , THE FAMOUS ARCTIER. 
 
 HE Land of Idols has a history going back 
 thousands of years, and of that past we read 
 in such Hindu works as the Mahabharata, 
 the Ramayana, and the Vedas, which are religious 
 books of considerable merit, though containing a great 
 mass of superstitious and strange, grotesque stories ot 
 the doings of gods and men. 
 
 Amongst other stories dealing with life in ancient 
 India, I have been particularly struck with one very 
 beautiful and human one, which I am sure my young- 
 readers will peruse with interest and delight. It is 
 the pathetic story of Buttoo, the famous archer. I 
 
 49 4 
 
50 
 
 HALF HOURS WITH THE HINDUS. 
 
 tell the tale now to show something of the manners 
 and customs of the people of India in years long gone 
 by, and also to serve as an illustration of three very 
 desirable virtues which all young people should possess 
 — viz., self-help, truth, and modesty. 
 
 Buttoo was born many centuries ago, and belonged 
 to the lowest of the mixed orders of humankind in 
 India. Then as now existed the hateful system of 
 caste, which legally separates the different classes of 
 Hindu society. Originally there were four great castes, 
 which can be described briefly, as (1) the priestly, 
 (2) the soldier, (3) the merchant, and (4) the servant 
 castes. These four classes, the law says, cannot eat or 
 drink together, cannot intermarry, and cannot even 
 touch each other accidentally without defilement. 
 Caste has been the curse of India, the cause of many 
 of its bitterest woes. It has dried up the wells of 
 human sympathy, separated man from man, and 
 opposed itself to everything approaching wide bro- 
 therly love, leading men to say one to another : 
 “ Between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, 
 so that they which would pass from hence to you 
 cannot, neither can they pass to us that would come 
 from thence.” 
 
 Poor Buttoo, the hero of our story, was of the lowest 
 caste, and consequently to all who were not of the 
 same caste he was an object to be looked upon with 
 not a little scorn, a being to be crushed and trampled 
 upon by proud Brahmins. From his earliest years, 
 according to the chronicles, Buttoo had been thought- 
 ful and rather reserved, and seemed very different 
 from the majority of the boys who were his playmates. 
 
BUTTOO, THE FAMOUS ARCHER. 
 
 51 
 
 And when he had passed the age of fourteen the 
 difference became more marked. His friends could 
 see that he was a boy who thought much, who had 
 within him a noble soul, and who was evidently 
 seeking earnestly to be good and great. 
 
 The grand ambition of youth at the time Buttoo 
 lived was to be skilful in all warlike pursuits. The 
 state of the country was very unsettled, and men were 
 suspicious of their neighbours, and safety for life and 
 property lay in being able to defend them. And the 
 road to wealth and fame was the trade of w'ar. Now 
 Buttoo, though different from many youths in the 
 majority of things, was at one with them in desiring 
 to be a mighty warrior, whose name should be known 
 far and wide. Only he desired that his path to glory 
 might not be sullied with any cruelty or any crime. 
 As a hunter’s son, of course, he was early trained in 
 the use of various weapons, and especially in the use 
 of the bow, with which he became exceedingly skilful. 
 Amongst his companions few could equal him in skill 
 in archery, and none could beat him. 
 
 But skilful as the young man became he was not 
 satisfied, for stories reached him of still more mar- 
 vellous skill to w 7 hich many youths of the higher 
 castes had attained. From one quarter, in particular, 
 news came which set his heart on fire and which 
 made him long to leave his home that he might see, 
 and if possible imitate, the exploits of others. 
 
 Of all the great teachers of archery of whom Buttoo 
 could hear anything, the mighty Drona was the 
 acknowledged head and chief. And Drona was the 
 teacher of the Bharata princes, whose - capital city 
 
52 
 
 HALF HOURS WITH THE HINDUS. 
 
 was Hastinapore. For years Drona had been giving 
 lessons to the royal youths, and had brought them 
 to a wonderful state of proficiency. But though all 
 the princes were skilful, one, Arjuna by name, far 
 eclipsed his brethren, and was the joy of his old 
 teacher’s heart. Let ns take, by way of example, 
 one occasion when Arjuna’s superiority was shown. 
 Di’ona one day gathered his pupils together, and 
 declared that he wanted to test their abilities. Fixing 
 an artificial vulture on the top of a neighbouring tree, 
 he said, “ Children, take up your bows quickly, and 
 stand here aiming at that bird on the tree, with 
 arrows fixed on your bow-strings ; shoot and cut off 
 the bird’s head as soon as I give the order. I shall 
 give each of you a turn, one by one.” 
 
 Yudhisthira, the eldest, was the first to step 
 forward, and stood aiming at the bird as his preceptor 
 directed. Then came the question : “ Dost thou 
 behold, 0 Prince, that bird on the top of the tree ? ” 
 “ I do,” was the answer. But when asked again, 
 “ What dost thou now see ? seest thou the tree, 
 myself, or thy brothers ? ” Yudhisthira replied, “ I 
 see the tree, thyself, my brothers, and the bird.” 
 And no matter how often the question was asked, 
 the same answer was given by the prince, until the 
 preceptor was annoyed, and said sharply, “ Stand thou 
 aside, thou canst not hit the bird.” Then the other 
 princes, except Arjuna, were called forward, but in 
 every case the same words were uttered : “ We behold 
 the tree, thyself, our fellow-pupils, and the bird.” At 
 last came the turn of Arjuna, and Drona looking upon 
 him smilingly said, “ By thee the bird must be hit — 
 
BUT TOO, THE FAMOUS ARCHER. 
 
 53 
 
 get ready ; but first tell me, seest thou the bird there, 
 the tree, and myself? ” 
 
 And Arjuna replied, “ I see the bird only, but not 
 the tree or thyself.” Then the preceptor laughed, and 
 pleasantly asked again, “ If thou seest the vulture, 
 then describe it to me.” And Arjuna answered, “I 
 only see the head of the vulture, which thou hast 
 commanded me to hit, and not its body.” At these 
 words Drona was beside himself with pride in his 
 pupil’s skill. “ Shoot ! ” he cried, “ Shoot ! ” and 
 the sharpened shaft from the young man’s bow went 
 straight to its mark, and down upon the ground fell 
 the head of the vulture ; and Arjuna was declared the 
 prince of archers. Then Drona, the preceptor, vowed, 
 earnestly and solemnly, that no living being should 
 surpass Arjuna in skill. 
 
 Wonderful deeds of the kind just mentioned reached 
 the ears of the low-caste Buttoo, and he said to 
 himself that what man had done man could do ; and 
 one day he left his home and his father and his 
 friends, and went forth to visit Hastinapore, to pray 
 the mighty Drona to become his instructor also. See 
 our hero then, his journey over, in the presence of the 
 great preceptor as he sat surrounded by the princes. 
 And marching boldly forward, he declared, in reverent 
 yet manly words, that hearing of the fame of Drona 
 and his pupils, he had come to seek his guidance also 
 in the use of the bow. 
 
 “ And who art thou ? ” the teacher said. “ My 
 name is Buttoo,” replied the youth, “ a himter’s son.” 
 And then a laugh of scorn broke on his ears. The 
 great teacher was laughing, and the princes were 
 
54 
 
 HALF HOURS WITH THE HINDUS. 
 
 laughing ; all were laughing together, to think that 
 such a low-born hoy should come into their city and 
 presence with such a request. And with words of 
 bitter reproach they bade him be gone, and not show 
 his face to them again. And the lad made reverent 
 obeisance to the preceptor, and turned with flushed 
 cheeks yet with calm dignity away : — 
 
 “ And lo, — a single, single tear 
 
 Dropped from his eyelash as he past ; 
 
 ‘ My place, I gather, is not here : 
 
 No matter, — what is rank or caste 1 
 In us is honour, or disgrace, 
 
 Not out of us,’ — twas thus he mused. 
 
 ‘ The question is, — not wealth or place, 
 
 But gifts well used, or gifts abused. 
 
 And I shall do my best to gain 
 The science that man will not teach, 
 
 For life is as a shadow vain, 
 
 Until the utmost goal we reach 
 To which the soul points.’ ” 
 
 Were these not brave and noble words, and who 
 could doubt that such a youth would become famous ! 
 And famous Buttoo did become, though not just in 
 the way that one might have expected. From the 
 presence of Drona and the scoffing princes the low- 
 born but high-souled Buttoo passed into the forest. 
 Of home he did not think for a moment, for he had 
 resolved that he would not return thither until his 
 name was honoured even by the great ones of the earth. 
 In the forest he built himself a little hut in which to 
 dwell, and near the hut he carved out for himself an 
 image of the great teacher who had cast him off’, yet 
 whom he still reverenced. 
 
INDIAN WEAPONS OF WAR. 
 
BUTTOO, THE FAMOUS ARCHER. 
 
 57 
 
 And the image was so skilfully worked that auy one 
 seeing it might have thought for a moment that the 
 teacher in his flesh was there. And when Buttoo had 
 completed his task he knelt down before the figure, 
 and in his zeal hailed it as his master. And from 
 that hour he devoted himself to archery, and archery 
 alone. Day by day he practised with his bow at 
 marks set up by himself, and at birds and animals in 
 the forest ; and with such enthusiasm, perseverance, 
 and patience did he labour, that in the course of time 
 he attained unheard-of and almost undreamt-of skill. 
 Even high-caste Arjuna could not now hope to hold 
 his own in archery against low-born Buttoo. And 
 thus did Buttoo show clearly to the youths of his own 
 time, and to the youths of all time, that by self-help 
 even those in a lowly station in life and placed in 
 adverse circumstances may yet win for themselves 
 an honourable position in the world, and the respect 
 and admiration of their fellows. 
 
 But the story of Buttoo’s life is not yet ended. 
 There came a day when the princes from Hastinapore 
 went into the wood, where Buttoo dwelt, on a hunting 
 expedition. With them they took a beautiful and 
 favourite dog ; and ere the day declined this dog had 
 found out the presence of Buttoo, and thereupon set 
 up a most terrific barking. It may be that even the 
 aristocratic dog, learning evil from its masters, was 
 offended at the sight of a low-caste boy like Buttoo. 
 Be that as it may, it barked so loudly and so fiercely 
 that Buttoo was well-nigh distracted ; and the princes 
 just then appearing on the scene, he resolved to show 
 his skill and to obtain quiet by shooting an arrow 
 
58 HALF HOURS WITH THE HINDUS. 
 
 from Lis bow into the mouth of the clog. In a 
 moment the deed was done, and before the dog 
 could close its mouth, six other arrows were sent with 
 such speed that they also entered. And the tongue of 
 the dog was fastened to its jaw : and, the story adds, 
 though the seven arrows remained in its mouth, no 
 pain was felt, but perfect silence was obtained. 
 
 Strnck with astonishment at such marvellous shoot- 
 ing, the princes were speechless, and turned away with 
 haste and dismay. All felt that Buttoo was their 
 superior, and they were angry and envious. Arjuna, 
 in particular, was white with rage, and hurried home 
 to find his teacher, that he might tell him what had 
 happened, and reproach him with breaking the promise 
 he had once made, that no one living should excel the 
 young prince in skill with the bow. 
 
 Drona quieted the envious and enraged Arjuna 
 with the words, “ What I said still stands good : let 
 us go and see this wonderful youth in the forest.” 
 And soon they stood before the statue which adjoined 
 the hut ; and from the lowly dwelling-place stepped 
 forth Buttoo, still noble-looking, still respectful, and 
 with a smile of welcome on his face. “ What means 
 this statue ? ” said the teacher. And the youth ex- 
 plained that not being permitted to have the living- 
 person as his master, he had carved out his image, 
 that by looking at it he might obtain inspiration. 
 
 Drona listened well pleased, for the homage was 
 flattering, but yet he was troubled, as he thought 
 of Buttoo’s skill and his own promise to Arjuna. 
 Meditating for some time, he saw only one way, and 
 a very painful way, out of the difficulty. Turning to 
 
BUTTOO, THE FAMOUS ARCHER. 
 
 59 
 
 Buttoo the teacher said, “ If I am thy master, now 
 thou hast finished thy course, give me my fee, and let 
 all the past be dead and passed, and henceforth let 
 us form fresh ties.” 
 
 And the youth answered — 
 
 “ ‘ All that I have, O master mine, 
 
 All I shall conquer by my skill, 
 
 Gladly shall I to thee resign, 
 
 Let me but know thy gracious will.’ ” 
 
 “ Beware ! beware ! ” exclaimed the teacher, “ rash 
 promises often end in strife.” 
 
 But Buttoo in his great generosity protested his 
 sincerity, and his willingness to do anything : — 
 
 “ ‘ Thou art my master — ask ! oh, ask ! 
 
 From thee my inspiration came, 
 
 Thou canst not set too hard a task, 
 
 Nor ought refuse I free from blame.’ ” 
 
 “Then listen,” said Drona ; “thou seest this prince 
 Arjuna. I promised him once that no other archer 
 should be as great as he. Thou art already greater 
 than he, and only by thine own act can thy shill be 
 spoiled. Thou hast promised to give me as my fee 
 anything I choose to ask. I ask then, 0 Buttoo ! for 
 thy right-hand thumb, that thumb whose light touch 
 enabled thee to shoot so wonderfully. Canst thou 
 now keep thy word ? What sayest thou ? ” 
 
 Buttoo answered not by words but by deeds — 
 
 “ Glanced the sharp knife one moment high, 
 
 The severed thumb was on the sod ; 
 
 There was no tear in Buttoo’s eye, 
 
 He left the matter with his God.” 
 
60 
 
 HALF HOURS WITH THE HINDUS. 
 
 And thus the story ends. Doubtless the poor lad 
 went hack to his home and to his father and kindred, 
 but he went not hack a great archer, for “ his right 
 baud had lost its cunning.” However, “ greater is 
 he that ruleth his spirit, than he that taketh a city.” 
 While the world lasts, 0 Buttoo ! thou shalt be 
 remembered : — 
 
 “ Fame 
 
 Shall sound thy praise from sea to sea, 
 
 And men shall ever link thy name 
 With self-help, truth, and modesty.” 
 
THE GYAN KUP, BENAUbS. 
 
 V. 
 
 HOLY TANKS AND WELLS. 
 
 VERY attractive feature of social life in India 
 is the daily practice of going to the tank or 
 well for the supply of water needed for drink- 
 ing and other household purposes. Except in a few 
 of the large cities there are no water-pipes and taps 
 in the houses of the people. Water-supply companies 
 are a luxury of Western lands, and are as yet almost 
 unknown in the East. As a consequence, of course, 
 all the water that is used in the home must be brought 
 
 61 
 
62 
 
 HALF HOURS WITH THE HINDUS. 
 
 from the river, if there happen to be one at hand, or 
 from the wells or tanks that are to be found in the 
 neighbourhood of all towns and villages ; for the 
 Hindus are a water-loving people. 
 
 It is a sight to be remembered to have stood any- 
 where near a tank or well in India, at any hour of the 
 day, but more especially at the outgoings of morning 
 and evening, and to have watched the boys and girls, 
 the young men and maidens, and older people, either 
 bathing in the tank or drawing water from the well. 
 The wells are the general meeting-places of village 
 life, where the older women gossip, and where the 
 young ones show off their finery and chatter about 
 acquaintances aud friends, and about the delights of 
 the previous day, or the anticipated joys of the 
 morrow. 
 
 All foreign residents in India, or strangers who 
 have travelled through the country, speak in glowing 
 terms of the tanks and wells around which they saw 
 gathered the common people of the land dressed in 
 bright apparel, and usually with faces beaming with 
 smiles of recognition and welcome. Mr. Minturn, in 
 his book, describing his travels “ From New York 
 to Delhi,” says : “ The public wells are among the 
 prettiest objects in the towns and villages of Hindustan. 
 They are generally octagonal stone platforms, raised 
 four or five feet from the ground, and approached by 
 four flights of steps. Four stone columns over the 
 well’s mouth support cross-pieces, from which the 
 pulley is suspended. In Bengal no pulley is used. 
 In the North of India generally, the women draw and 
 carry the water.” 
 
THE SACRED POOLS, TRICHINOPOLY. 
 
HOLY TANKS AND WELLS. 
 
 65 
 
 Miss Cumming, in her book on India, says : “ I was 
 particularly attracted by some very fine wells in 
 Allahabad, to which the people descend by a broad 
 flight of steps into a world of cool shadow, so pleasant 
 after the glaring sunlight that one feels tempted to 
 linger a while with those groups of water-carriers who 
 are filling their buffalo skins from the deep well far 
 below, for the use of ordinary mortals. The higher 
 castes, however, would be defiled by water that had 
 been drawn in a leathern bucket, which being an animal 
 substance is unclean ; therefore each man and woman 
 of the higher castes brings his or her own brightly 
 polished brazen lota or jug, which by means of a long 
 cord is lowered to the well. The whole scene is fresh 
 and clean and pleasant.” 
 
 Many of the finest wells of India are presented to 
 a town or village by some wealthy citizen, for the use 
 of the wayfarer and the poor. It is considered a 
 meritorious thing so to do, and the religion of the 
 Hindus promises untold joys hereafter to the man 
 or woman who shall be charitable enough to provide 
 facilities on earth for the poor to obtain copious 
 supplies of water for social and religious require- 
 ments. 
 
 Wells in India are usually made in the same way 
 as wells in country places in England, by digging in 
 the ground till water is found, and then supporting the 
 sides of the excavation with stones from the bottom 
 to the top. Bishop Heber, however, in the Diary 
 of his Travels in the East, tells of a very strange 
 way of making wells that he saw in Rajputana, where 
 the ground is very sandy and yielding. He says : 
 
 5 
 
66 
 
 HALF HOURS WITH THE HINDUS. 
 
 “ The people build a tower of masonry of the diameter 
 required, and twenty or thirty feet high from the surface 
 of the ground. This they allow to stand a year or 
 more till its masonry is rendered firm and compact 
 by time ; then they gradually undermine it, and pro- 
 mote its sinking into the sandy soil, which it does 
 without any difficulty, and all together. When level 
 with the surface, the workmen raise the wall higher, 
 and so go on, throwing out the sand and raising the 
 wall till they have reached the water. If they adopted 
 our method the soil is so light that it would fall in 
 on them before they could possibly raise the wall from 
 the bottom ; nor without the wall could they sink to 
 i ny considerable depth.” 
 
 Is it not a very singular thing to think of a tower 
 that has been built above the ground, gradually 
 sinking underground and becoming a well ? Really, 
 according to our Western way of looking at things, 
 all seems to be turned topsyturvy in the East. I 
 know some boys and girls who would dearly love to 
 watch the process of making wells in Rajputana on 
 the wall-sin king -in principle. What shouts of delight 
 would go up from their young throats as the tower 
 gradually disappeared underground ! 
 
 Tanks and wells are used in India for special re- 
 ligious purposes as well as for household purposes 
 It should be borne in mind that Hindus must worship 
 before daring to break their morning fast, and they 
 cannot worship until they have washed themselves 
 and their scanty raiment. Yea, washing, either in 
 the river, the tank, or the well, is a part of Hindu 
 worship ; it is an outward ceremonial cleansing that 
 
HOLY TANKS AND WELLS. 
 
 G7 
 
 must be gone through the first thing every morning. 
 Of course we iu Europe wash ourselves directly we 
 arise from bed ; but it is not binding upon us as a 
 religious duty, as it is upon the Hindus. We wash 
 ourselves for cleanliness, and for the health and vigour 
 
 the people of 
 
 India, however, are not so particular about cleanliness, 
 for I have seen them wash themselves in very filthy 
 water. With many of the Hindus the main idea of 
 visiting the tank for washing purposes seems to be 
 
68 
 
 HALF HOURS WITH THE HINDUS. 
 
 jnst to fulfil the law which says, “ He that will not 
 wash, neither shall he eat.” 
 
 While all the wells and tanks of India are regarded 
 by the people with a considerable degree of reverence, 
 there are some -which are actually counted holy or 
 sacred, and that are visited to obtain special blessings 
 and favours from the gods. One of the oldest of these 
 holy tanks is to be found in that part of India called 
 the Punjab, or the Land of the Five Rivers. The 
 tank is known by the name of Rinmochan, which 
 means “debt-freeing.” Now the Hindus are all too 
 prone to buy things which they have not enough 
 ready money to pay for, and thus they run into debt. 
 It is a very bad practice, and a very foolish one, 
 for it always means disaster and trouble in the long 
 run. And the so-called “ debt-freeing ” tank has 
 been originated by the wily priests of India to draw 
 visitors and worshippers on the vain pretext that 
 by immersion in the sacred waters the pilgrims will 
 somehow or other be freed from the payment of all 
 their debts. 
 
 The tank, Rinmochan, is a square of nearly five 
 hundred yards, and the north and west banks are faced 
 with stone steps. It is said that hundreds gather 
 around it daily from all parts of India, and after bath- 
 ing in its holy waters, and paying a fee to the priests, 
 go back to their homes with light hearts, perfectly 
 sure that the gods will pay their debts for them. 
 However, in course of time their eyes are opened to 
 the folly of their pilgrimage, for their debts are uot 
 paid, and their creditors proceed to law against them, 
 and there is trouble upon trouble. The priests are 
 
HOLY TANKS AND WELLS. 
 
 69 
 
 the only people who profit by the debt-freeing holy 
 tank in the Land of the Five Rivers. 
 
 There is another very holy and famous tank in the 
 Punjab, called the “ Honey Tank ” ; though why it has 
 received the title of Honey, no man knoweth. It is 
 •anything but a sweet place, according to all accounts. 
 It is described as a shallow and stagnant pool, and in 
 the hot weather the stench from it is quite over- 
 powering. Perhaps it was a wag, disgusted with the 
 bad odour of the water, that christened it in mockery 
 the “ Honey Tank.” However, tens of thousands of 
 people visit it, and bathe in its waters ; some even 
 have been known to drink the noxious fluid, and pre- 
 tend that it was sweeter than honey and the hone)’- 
 comb. The water is said to be a cure for all kinds of 
 diseases. 
 
 Brahmin priests are of course in charge of this tank 
 also, to fleece the credulous pilgrims out of their 
 money. They do not always succeed, however, as the 
 following tale will show. In 1876 a great man, a 
 Raja or Prince, resolved to bathe in the holy and 
 sacred “ Honey Tank,” and made great preparations 
 for his journey, taking with him a considerable sum 
 of money to give to the priests at the close of the 
 pilgrimage. As it happened, however, the tank, owing 
 to the intense heat that year, was quite dry. The 
 Raja knowing nothing of the lack of water, and the 
 priests not wishing to lose the anticipated treasure, it 
 was resolved to draw water to supply the lack from 
 a neighbouring well. Setting to work with feverish 
 haste, the priests were not as careful as usual to notice 
 what utensils were used for the conveyance of the 
 
70 
 
 HALF HOURS WITH THE HINDUS. 
 
 water ; and when the work was completed, it was 
 actually found that a workman had been carrying the 
 precious fluid in a leathern vessel. 
 
 By this deed of course the water was polluted ; but 
 as there was no time to change the contaminated and 
 defiled liquid for some that was fresh and pure, 
 the priests resolved to keep their own counsel, and let 
 the Raja bathe in it, and drink it. However, the 
 secret leaked out somehow, and news was carried to 
 the Prince by some busybody of what the Brahmins 
 had been doing. We can better imagine than 
 describe the dismay, the horror, and the anger of the 
 Raja at the receipt of the tidings. He was beside 
 himself with rage : but he dared do nothing to the 
 sacred persons of the Brahmins, and so he had to 
 content himself with returning to his own territories 
 with the ceremony unperformed. 
 
 However, that was enough punishment for the 
 avaricious priests, for the thought of the money they 
 had lost was gall and wormwood to them, and it was 
 many a long day before they recovered their spirits. 
 Moreover, to make matters worse, the whole district 
 got to know the joke, and the Brahmins became the 
 laughing-stock of the community. Let us hope that 
 the exposure helped to open the eyes of the people to 
 the folly of the whole business of visiting the “ Honey 
 Tank ” for purposes of worship. 
 
 At Delhi, the ancient capital of India, there are many 
 sacred tanks and wells. I remember one in particular 
 that I saw when I visited that city, called Nizam- 
 u-din’s Well, which was excavated in the year 1321. 
 It is a reservoir of water of oblong shape, about sixty 
 
HOLY TANKS AND WELLS. 
 
 71 
 
 feet loug by thirty broad, and very deep. The well is 
 said to have miraculous powers of healing. Whether 
 useful for medicinal purposes or not, the saint’s tank — 
 for Nizam-u-din was a famous Moslem saint — was a 
 capital place to witness some splendid diving on the 
 part of lads and young men. 
 
 On our arrival at the tank we found half a dozen 
 young fellows standing in a row on a high wall, from 
 sixty to seventy feet above the surface of the water, 
 waiting for a signal to spring into the tank. “ Hab 
 a dive, sir ? ” was the cry they greeted us with ; by 
 which they meant, “ We will dive if you will promise 
 us a liberal backsheesh.” The money was promised, 
 and in a moment one young fellow, joining his hands 
 over his head, and opening wide his legs, made a leap. 
 It seemed a risky thing to do, but the diver was abso- 
 lutely fearless, and accomplished the feat in gallant 
 style. Just before touching the water, he brought his 
 legs sharply together, and throwing up his hands, he 
 disappeared with a splash into the dark cold tank. 
 
 Then another youth sprang off the wall, and another, 
 and another, UDtil all the six were immersed in the 
 waters of the sacred well. With considerable curiosity 
 and admiration we looked for their reappearance, and 
 we had not long to wait. In a few minutes the young- 
 acrobats had clambered out of the well, and stood 
 before us dripping from head to foot, and with teeth 
 chattering at a fearful rate. The next moment they 
 departed well satisfied to resume their clothing. 
 
 At Allahabad also there is a holy well, which was 
 made sacred by a Mussulman saint. This famous 
 well is commonly called The Well of the Magic 
 
72 
 
 HALF HOURS WITH THE HINDUS. 
 
 Carpet,” and is to be found adjoining the noisy public 
 market of the town. It is a very deep well, and from 
 the bottom to the top its sides are built up with strong 
 masonry. It was during the sad days of the Indian 
 Mutiny, of which I shall speak in a later chapter, that 
 this well became famous. It was on this wise. 
 
 One day there came to Allahabad a so-called saintly 
 man of the Moslem religion, who aspired to be a 
 leader in the rebellion against the English. He set 
 up his standard in the town, and declared a holy war 
 agaiust “the Infidels.” Very few people took any 
 notice of the stranger, and those who did asked him 
 mockingly what proofs of ability to lead men to 
 victory he could show. Thereupon the saint walked 
 calmly to the chief well of the town, threw his prayer- 
 carpet across the mouth of the well, and then deliber- 
 ately stepped on to it, and sat down cross-legged. 
 Like wildiire the news spread through the streets of 
 Allahabad that a saint who could work miracles had 
 visited the city, and at that moment was sitting on 
 the mouth of the well, without falling in. The whole 
 populace turned out to see the wonderful sight, and 
 being convinced that the stranger was a holy man 
 indeed, many people joined his standard, but only to 
 share in the destruction which came upon all who 
 took up the sword of rebellion. 
 
 How the saint managed to deceive the people in the 
 matter of the carpet over the mouth of the well we 
 cannot say, but it was doubtless by some conjuring 
 trick. However, the people of Allahabad had faith 
 in the man, and ever afterwards referred to the event 
 as a miracvdous one ; and to this day the well is 
 
HOLY TANKS AND WELLS. 
 
 73 
 
 called “ The AY ell of the Magic Carpet,” and it is 
 resorted to, and its waters drnnk by thousands, with 
 the conviction that in so doing they will obtain the 
 blessing of the departed saint. 
 
 From Allahabad, the Moslem “ City of Allah,” let 
 ns go to Benares, the sacred city of the Hindus, and 
 in the latter place there are to be found innumerable 
 wells and tanks of wonderful renown. I would refer, 
 
74 
 
 HALF HOURS WITH THE HINDUS. 
 
 however, only to two of them. First and foremost is 
 a tank with a long name. It is called Manikarnika 
 Kund, or the Tank of the Bar-ring. The Hindus speak 
 of Benares as the Crown of the World, and this tank 
 as its brightest jewel. It got its name, so the story 
 goes, in a very remarkable way. 
 
 The god Vishnu, to oblige mankind, is said to have 
 dug the tank, and to have filled it with perspiration 
 from his own body. Then while he was sittiug on 
 the tank, looking with pleasure at his handiwork, 
 another god, named Siva, appeared, and promised his 
 friend any boon he might ask. Vishnu replied that 
 he could not think of, or desire, any greater blessing 
 than to enjoy the constant companionship of Siva 
 himself. So gratified was Siva with this answer that 
 his body shook with delight, and an ear-ring called 
 Manikarnika dropped from his ear into the well. 
 Thus came the well to be called “ The Tank of the 
 Ear-ring.' 5 It is a foolish story, but then nearly all 
 Hindu stories are foolish. 
 
 So famous is Manikarnika Kund that it is said five 
 or six hundred persons bathe in it daily, and at the 
 time of eclipses of the sun or moon, and on other 
 special occasions, the crowds that throng it are 
 enormous. Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims bathe 
 in its waters yearly, and vainly imagine that by so 
 doing all their sins are washed away. The late Rev. 
 John Hewlett, M.A., of Benares, who has written a 
 most interesting account of this famous well of Hindu 
 mythology, tells how one day, when he happened to 
 visit the tank with some English friends, a sad- 
 looking native came up to him with clasped hands, in 
 
HOLY TANKS AND WELLS. 
 
 75 
 
 a suppliant posture, entreating him to interfere on his 
 behalf, adding that he had travelled six hundred 
 miles to bathe in the sacred waters, but that the 
 Brahmins would not allow him to do so. 
 
 Mr. Hewlett spoke to one of the priests who stood 
 by, and asked why the man was denied the privilege 
 he coveted. The angry reply was, “ Because he wants 
 to bathe in the tank without giving a suitable offer- 
 ing.” This afforded the missionary an opportunity, 
 which he gladly embraced, of telling the disappointed 
 pilgrim, and the crowd that soon gathered round, of 
 Jesus Christ, the Fountain opened for sin and unclean- 
 ness, through whom all could obtain the washing of 
 regeneration without money and without price, and 
 become holy and blessed for ever. 
 
 From the Tank of the Ear-ring it is not a long 
 walk to another very famous well of Benares, called 
 Cyan Kup, or the Well of Knowledge. This well is 
 very different from Manikarnika Kund. The latter 
 is in the form of an oblong, with steps down to the 
 water on two sides, whereas the former is circular in 
 shape, and altogether without steps. Gyan Kup is 
 also a small well, being only about seven feet across; 
 while the Tank of the Ear-ring is a large well, being 
 twenty-two feet in length, and eight in breadth. 
 What the Well of Knowledge lacks in length and 
 breadth it makes up, however, in depth. It is also 
 attractive-looking, being surrounded by a handsome, 
 low-roofed colonnade, the stone pillars of which are 
 in four rows, and are upwards of forty in number. 
 This colonnade is of recent date, having been erected 
 in 1828, by the widow of a Raja of Gwalior. 
 
76 
 
 HALF HOURS WITH THE HINDUS. 
 
 The well itself is said to be of fabulous age, and 
 it is renowned because it is believed to contain the 
 remains of an idol of Siva, which was taken from the 
 Golden Temple adjoining, and thrown into the water 
 by that bigoted Mohammedan Emperor, Airrungzebe, 
 whose delight was to destroy the idols of his Hindu 
 subjects. 
 
 Gyan Kup is the favourite well of the young people 
 of India, for they believe that a draught of its waters 
 will make them learned and wise. Therefore it is 
 called “ The Well of Knowledge.” On special festival 
 occasions Gyan Kup, like Manikarnika Kund, is lite- 
 rally besieged with worshippers, who have difficulty in 
 presenting their offerings, and obtaining a little of the 
 water ; and even at ordinary times there is quite a 
 large gathering of people. 
 
 The usual offerings that are thrown into the well 
 as a sacrifice to the deity who is supposed to dwell 
 below, are Ganges water, flowers, and fruits. At one 
 time, and not very long ago, all the things thrown in 
 reached the water, and from the compound mixture, 
 which was of course in a constant state of putrefaction, 
 there arose a most sickening smell. Now, however, a 
 net is stretched across the top of the well to catch the 
 offerings of the worshippers ; and I noticed that only 
 small flowers could drop through, and very few of 
 those did actually fall to the water while I remained 
 watching. 
 
 By the side of the well on a raised seat sat a 
 Brahmin, quite a youth, and to him my attention was 
 called, as he was evidently the master of the cere- 
 monies for one day at least. He was an intelligent- 
 
nOLY TANKS AND WELLS. 
 
 77 
 
 looking lad, and had a smile and a word for everybody. 
 I should think he was not more than fifteen years 
 of age, and yet he was attending to his duties in a 
 methodical and business-like way which called out 
 one’s admiration. And what were his duties ? Just 
 glance at the utensils around him and you will speedily 
 know. Behind him was a bucket with a long chain 
 attached to it. In front of him was a cask filled with 
 water, and iu his hands was a big ladle. Watch the 
 people after they have been to the well and thrown 
 in their offerings, and you will see that they march 
 round to where this young man sits in priestly state. 
 
 Worshippers of all ages, both male and female, 
 draw near to the youth, and passing in single file hold 
 out the right hand, which is immediately supplied 
 with water from the big ladle. This is drunk without 
 hesitation, whether it be clear or dirty, and the hand 
 is held out again, and being again supplied with the 
 holy water of the well, the head is now sprinkled; 
 and the worshipper hugs to his heart the false assur- 
 ance that he is thereby made wise unto salvation. 
 Oh the folly of such absolution from sin ! and yet 
 the people I saw at the Well of Knowledge seemed 
 content with it. Ere the worshipper leaves he is 
 expected to give money — either copper, or silver, or 
 gold — to the priest; and to the boy-priest this part of 
 the proceedings seemed of the utmost importance. His 
 bright eyes got brighter as his gains got larger, and 
 as the people crowded around him he flourished his 
 ladle with increasing alacrity aud vigour. 
 
 But how sad it is to think of priests, whether boys 
 or men, ladling out wisdom and salvation ! Is not 
 
78 
 
 HALF HOURS WITH THE HINDUS. 
 
 our Christian conception of Divine truth grander and 
 more ennobling than the Hindu notion ? Our Well of 
 Knowledge is the Holy Bible. Our only hope is in 
 Jesus, the Water of Life, who has said, “If any man 
 thirst let him come unto Me and drink.” If Christ 
 sat in the flesh to-day beside Gyan Kup at Benares 
 as He once sat on the Well of Jacob at Samaria, He 
 would say to the Hindus as He said to the woman of 
 Samaria, “ Whosoever drinketh of this water shall 
 thirst again ; but whosoever drinketh of the water 
 that I shall give him shall never thirst : but the 
 water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of 
 water springing np into everlasting life.” 
 
 Our missionaries in India need our sympathy, our 
 prayers, and our generous help, in their laborious 
 work of persuading the people of India to turn away 
 their faith from holy tanks and wells, to the Sacred 
 Person of Christ, the Word of God, who alone is able 
 to make men wise unto salvation. 
 
FESTIVAL OF JUGGERNAUT. 
 
 VI. 
 
 THE WORSHIP OF JUGGERNAUT. 
 
 [TUATED on the sandy shores of Orissa, 
 washed by the wild waves of the Bay of 
 Bengal, stands the well-known Temple of 
 Juggernaut, containing the god who is called, by the 
 people of India, the Lord of the World. 
 
 This Temple of Juggernaut at Pnri is one of the 
 79 
 
80 
 
 HALF HOURS WITH THE HINDUS. 
 
 largest and most famous temples of the East. It 
 is within a sacred enclosure, and is protected from 
 prying eyes by a massive stone wall 20 feet high, 
 652 feet long, and 630 feet broad. There are many 
 other temples all around, but the great pagoda of 
 the Lord of the World stands towering over the rest. 
 “ Its conical tower rises like an elaborately carved 
 sugar loaf, 192 feet high, black with time, and sur- 
 mounted by the mystic wheel and flag of Vishnu.” 
 
 The temple consists of four large chambers, open- 
 ing one into the other. The first is called the Hall 
 of Offerings, where the worshippers deposit the 
 presents they have brought in honour of the idol. 
 The second is called the Pillared Hall, and is devoted 
 to the musicians and the dancing-girls who frequent 
 the temple. The third is the Hall of Audience, in 
 which the pilgrims assemble to gaze upon the face 
 of the god. And the fourth is the Holy Sanctuary 
 itself, the room in which Juggernaut sits in great 
 state to receive his worshippers. 
 
 It should be mentioned, perhaps, at this stage, that 
 the famous idol is never alone, but has the constant 
 companionship of a brother and sister. All three 
 images are nothing but huge logs of wood coarsely 
 fashioned into human shape, but without arms or legs. 
 The priests say, when questioned about the absence 
 of such useful members of the body, that the Lord 
 of the World does not need them for his purposes 
 amongst men. Such appendages would have improved 
 the appearance of the images, however. As it is, the 
 mighty Juggernaut and his relatives are about as ugly, 
 senseless-looking idols as could possibly be imagined. 
 
UNION CHAPEL PARSONAGE, CALCUTTA. 
 The Author s Indian Howe 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
THE WORSHIP OF JUGGERNAUT. 
 
 81 
 
 The worship of Juggernaut dates back, it would 
 appear, nearly two thousand years, and Orissa has 
 been the Holy Land of the Hindus from that time 
 till the present day. Sir William Hunter says, “ On 
 the inhospitable sands of Puri, a place of swamps and 
 inundations, the Hindu religion and Hindu supersti- 
 tion have stood at bay for eighteen centuries against 
 the world. Here is the national temple whither the 
 people flock to worship from every province of India. 
 Here is the gate of heaven, whither thousands of 
 pilgrims come to die, lulled to their last sleep by the 
 roar of the eternal ocean.” 
 
 Now what is there about this god Juggernaut that 
 should lead the people of India to yearn after a sight 
 of him with such intense solicitude ? Let us get to 
 know all we can of his history and reputed character. 
 Juggernaut, we are told, is just Vishnu, the second 
 person of the Hindu Trinity, in one of his earthly 
 forms. The story goes that ages ago a good king 
 who lived in Malwa sent out priests to the east, and 
 to the west, and to the north, and to the south in 
 search of Vishnu, who, it was commonly reported, had 
 come to this earth to dwell amongst men. The 
 priests who went to the west and to the north and 
 to the south returned, but he who went to the east 
 returned not. 
 
 And why not ? The fact is the priest had been 
 kept a prisoner in Orissa, in the house of a certain 
 man named Basu, who was a fowler of the wilderness. 
 Basu had taken a fancy to the stranger, and was 
 determined to marry him to his daughter. For a 
 time the priest refused his consent, but at last, pleased 
 
 6 
 
82 
 
 HALF nouns WITH THE niNDUS. 
 
 witli his intended wife, if not with her father, he 
 resigned himself to his fate and married her. Now 
 Basil was the possessor of the very idol which the 
 good king had sent the priest to find. The latter 
 noticed that his father-in-law went every morning 
 into the jungle to worship, taking with him fruits 
 and flowers, hut he could not tell where exactly he 
 went, or what it was precisely that he worshipped. 
 So one morning, prompted by curiosity, he expressed 
 his willingness to accompany Biisu, and the latter 
 consented on condition that he went blindfold, which 
 he agreed to. 
 
 After a long walk the two men reached their 
 destination, and the eyes of the priest having been 
 unbound he beheld Vishnu in the form of a blue 
 stone image, propped up against a fig-tree. Presently 
 the old man left his son-in-law alone, whereupon the 
 Brahmin prayed to the Lord of the World and 
 worshipped him. The legend says further : And 
 
 as he poured out his heart a crow that sat rocking 
 herself upon a branch above, fell down before the god, 
 and suddenly taking a glorious form soared into the 
 heavens. The Brahmin seeing how easy the path to 
 eternal bliss appeared to be from that holy spot, 
 climbed into the tree, and would have thrown himself 
 down, but a voice from heaven cried, “ Hold, Brahmin ! 
 First carry to thy king the good news that thou hast 
 found the Lord of the World.” At the same moment 
 Basn came back with his newly-gathered fruits and 
 flowers, and spread them out before the image. But, 
 alas ! the god came not, according to his wont, to 
 partake of the offering. Only a voice was heard 
 
THE WORSHIP OF JUGGERNAUT. 
 
 83 
 
 saving, “ Oh, faithful servant, I am wearied of thy 
 jungle fruits and flowers, and crave for cooked rice 
 and sweetmeats. No longer shalt thou see me in the 
 form of thy blue god. Hereafter I shall be known as 
 Juggernaut, the Lord of the World ! ” 
 
 After these strange events, the story says, the two 
 men wended their way homewards, and the Brahmin 
 was permitted to return to his king to tell the glad 
 tidings that the Lord of the World had been found. 
 Then the King of Malwa rejoiced exceedingly, and 
 with a great army and an immense retinne of followers, 
 made his way to Orissa to see Juggernaut. As he 
 drew near the place where the idol was to be found 
 his heart swelled within him with pride, and he cried 
 aloud, “ Who is like unto me, whom the Lord of the 
 World has chosen to build his temple, and to teach 
 men in this age of darkness to call upon his name ? ” 
 Such proud words displeased the idol, however, and 
 a voice was heard from the clouds saying, “ Oh, King ! 
 thou shalt indeed build my temple, but me thou shalt 
 not behold. When the building is finished then thou 
 shalt seek anew for thy god.” And lo, when the 
 priest led the monarch to the fig-tree, the blue idol 
 was not to be found. It had vanished into space. 
 
 The King, obedient to the heavenly voice, we are told, 
 built a magnificent temple at Puri, and when it was 
 finished, sent forth Brahmins once more in every 
 direction in the land to search for the lost idol, but 
 years upon years passed by, and Juggernaut still was 
 not found. At length, however, the god, when he had 
 sufficiently humbled the proud king, appeared to him 
 in a vision of the night, and said to him, “ To-morrow, 
 
84 
 
 HALF HOURS WITH THE HINDUS. 
 
 cast thine eyes on the sea-shore, when there will 
 arise from the water a piece of wood fifty-two inches 
 long and eighteen inches broad. That is my true 
 form. Take me np and keep me in hiding twenty-one 
 days, and in whatever shape I shall then appear, place 
 me in the temple thou hast built and worship me.” 
 
 On the morrow the King went down to the sea- 
 shore in hot haste, and there sure enough was a great 
 block of wood which the waves had cast up. This 
 he took home with him. It proved to be as hard as 
 stone ; and when some of his carpenters put their 
 chisels on the wood the iron lost its edge, and when 
 they struck it with their mallets they only bruised 
 their own hands. So the King had the uushapen 
 block placed in a room of his palace, and he issued 
 a decree that no human being should see it until the 
 stipulated twenty-one days had expired. However, 
 the curiosity of the Queen, who had heard the story, 
 was aroused, and she somehow managed to open the 
 door of the strong room ; and, lo ! when she looked in 
 she found the great block of wood had become three 
 blocks, and that the three blocks represented three 
 images, carved however only from the waist upwards. 
 One was Juggernaut, and the other two his brother 
 and sister. 
 
 Thus the curiosity of a woman, the Hindus say, led 
 to the Lord of the World having no proper arms, only 
 stnmps, and no legs at all. If the Queen had only 
 restrained her inquisitiveness until the end of the 
 twenty-one days, it is believed that J uggernaut would 
 have appeared to the world in a form of exquisite 
 grace and beauty, instead of in his present very 
 
THE IVORS TIT P OF JUGGERNAUT. 
 
 85 
 
 imperfect and uncouth condition. However, the King 
 made the best of his idol-god, and had him placed 
 along with his relatives in the holy chamber at Puri, 
 where he is to be found at the present day, by all true 
 believers, on payment of the customary fees to the 
 priests. Such is the mythological origin and history 
 of Juggernaut, the Lord of the World. 
 
 The present temple was built in the year 1198. 
 The present idol, moreover, it might be noted, is 
 believed to contain within it some mysterious sub- 
 stance, which has been variously described as the 
 bones of Krishna, a box of quicksilver, and small 
 pieces of the original idol. What the truth is only 
 the priests can say, and they keep their own counsel. 
 With regard to the title, “ Lord of the World,” the 
 worshippers of Juggernaut declare that it is well 
 deserved, because all classes and conditions of men 
 are welcomed to Puri to look upon the face of the 
 renowned idol. Juggernaut is a public god, and an 
 immensely popular one ; and it certainly is a remark- 
 able fact that people of all castes visit the idol, and 
 eat the food that is prepared in his temple, a thing 
 that is not done in any other temple throughout the 
 length and breadth of India. 
 
 Sir William Hunter makes the following remark- 
 able statements on this point. He says, in his valuable 
 book on Orissa : “ The true source of Juggernaut’s 
 undying hold upon the Hindu race consists in the 
 fact that he is the god of the people. As long as 
 his towers rise upon the Puri sands, so long will 
 there be in India a perpetual and visible protest of 
 the equality ot men before God. His apostles pene- 
 
86 
 
 HALF HOURS WITH THE HINDUS. 
 
 trate to every hamlet of Hindustan, preaching the 
 sacrament of the holy food. The poor outcast learns 
 from Juggernaut’s priests that there is a city on the 
 far eastern shore in which high and low eat together. 
 In his own village, if the outcast man accidentally 
 touches the clothes of a man of good caste, he has 
 committed a crime, and his outraged superior has to 
 wash away the pollution before he can partake of food 
 or approach his god. 
 
 “ In some parts of the country the lowest castes are 
 not even permitted to build within the towns, and 
 their miserable hovels cluster amid heaps of broken 
 potsherds and dunghills on the outskirts. And 
 throughout the southern part of the continent it used 
 to be a law, that no men of these degraded castes 
 might enter the village before nine in the morning or 
 after four in the evening, lest the slanting rays of the 
 sun should cast his shadow across the path of a 
 Brahmin. But at Puri, in the presence of the Lord 
 of rhe World, priest and peasant are equal. The rice 
 that has once been placed before the god can never 
 cease to be pure, or lose its reflected sanctity. The 
 lowest may demand it from, or give it to, the highest. 
 Its sanctity overleaps all barriers, not only of caste, 
 but of race and hostile faiths ; and a Puri priest will 
 stand the test of receiving the food from a Christian s 
 hand.” This is truly very wonderful in a country like 
 India, where caste feelings are strong and bitter ; and 
 thus Juggernaut may in a sense be called the Lord of 
 the World, though he remains an idol all the same. 
 
 There is a legend, related in connection with the 
 “holy food” and the “equality of castes” at Puri, 
 
THE WORSHIP OF JUGGERNAUT. 
 
 87 
 
 that is worth repeating. A certain young man, of 
 high standing in society, it is said, puffed up with the 
 shameful pride of caste, made a vow that he would 
 visit Puri and see Juggernaut, but that he would eat 
 no leavings of any mortal being. The proud young 
 fellow drew near the sacred city, but when just about 
 to pass within the gates he was stopped by the power 
 of the Lord of the World and stricken with illness, 
 so that his arms and legs fell off, and there remained 
 of him only a miserable body which lay by the road- 
 side. For two long months the crippled object was 
 absolutely dependent on the charity of passers-by, but 
 at length it chanced that a dog came that way with 
 a mouthful of the “holy food” of Juggernaut, and let 
 a few grains of rice fall on the ground. 
 
 The poor, humbled youth, noticing the food, 
 managed to roll himself forward so that with his lips 
 he might gather up the precious grain, the leavings 
 of a dog, whose mere shadow falling on ordinary food 
 would have defiled it. And, wondrous to relate, imme- 
 diately the food had passed the young man's lips the 
 mercy of Juggernaut was extended to him, and his 
 health was restored, and he was suffered to enter 
 Puri, and to approach in lowliest penitence the shrine 
 of the Lord of the World. And ever after the youth 
 was humble-minded and modest to a degree. 
 
 In writing of this doctrine of human brotherhood 
 at the Temple of Puri, it is only fair to say, however, 
 that at the present day it is in a great measure ignored 
 by the priests, who keep out some people of the lowest 
 castes. They have no right to do so, and thereby 
 violate their own religious laws, but they are a 
 
88 
 
 HALF HOURS WFT1I THE HINDUS. 
 
 degenerate race of men and do not care. Generali)' 
 speaking, admission to the temple is now refused to 
 those who handle unclean substances, and to all who 
 have to do with the destruction of animals, birds or 
 fishes, and to Christians, Moslems, and the aboriginal 
 tribes of India. Thus the one good thing about the 
 Temple of Juggernaut- — its theory of the universal 
 brotherhood of mankind — is being gradually encroached 
 upon, and made of none effect. 
 
 It has been already said that devotees come to 
 worship the Lord of the World at Puri from all parts 
 of India. While images of Juggernaut are to be 
 found all over the country — and there is a very famous 
 one at Serampore, not far from Calcutta — the greatest 
 merit is obtained, so it is believed, by seeing the 
 original idol, or what passes for the original idol, in 
 the Black Pagoda of Orissa. So thither the people 
 journey day and night throughout every month of 
 the year. There is, indeed, a constant pilgrimage .of 
 Hindus to Puri ; a vaster concourse of human beings 
 than ever journeyed on pilgrimage to Jerusalem to 
 the tomb of Christ, or to Mecca the birthplace of 
 Mohammed. It is said that for three hundred miles 
 along the great Orissa road, every village has its 
 pilgrim encampment slowly making its way to 
 Juggernaut. 
 
 The encampments consist of from twenty to four 
 hundred persons, and at the time of the great festivals 
 they tread so closely on each other’s heels as almost 
 to touch each other, and a continuous train of pilgrims 
 many miles long may often be seen on the Puri high 
 road. They march in orderly procession, each party 
 
THE WORSHIP OF JUGGERNAUT. 
 
 89 
 
 under its own leader. Often nine-tenths of them are 
 women and children. Some of the pilgrims, in all 
 probability, have come a thousand or even fourteen 
 hundred miles, from the very farthest extremities of 
 the empire. In these days of railways many of the 
 travellers journey parts of the way by train, but some 
 cover the whole distance on foot. 
 
 Sir William Hunter says : “ Those who keep to the 
 road have spent their strength long before the holy 
 city is reached. The sturdy women of the north 
 brave it out, and sing songs till they drop ; but the 
 weaker females of Bengal limp piteously along with 
 bleeding feet in silence, broken only by deep sighs 
 and an occasional sob. The pilgrim-guide tries to 
 keep up their spirits, and insist on their doing a full 
 day’s journey every day, in order that they may arrive 
 in time for the festival. 
 
 “ Many a sickly girl dies upon the road ; and by 
 the time they reach Puri, the whole party have their 
 feet bound up in rags, plastered with dirt and blood. 
 But once within sight of the holy city the pains and 
 miseries of the journey are forgotten. They hurry 
 across the ancient Mahratta bridge with songs and 
 ejaculations, and rushing towards one of the great 
 artificial lakes plunge beneath its sacred waters in 
 a transport of religious emotion. The dirty bundles 
 now yield their inner treasures of spotless cotton, and 
 the pilgrims, refreshed and robed in clean garments, 
 proceed to the temple.” 
 
 The great object of the worshippers is to see 
 Juggernaut, as it is declared that a sight of the idol 
 will destroy sin in the observer, and bring him untold 
 
90 
 
 HALF HOURS WITH THE HINDUS. 
 
 bliss in eternity. Unfortunately, however, the sanctum 
 in which the god is kept is so dark that scarcely any- 
 thing is visible within, even at midday. The pilgrims 
 usually enter the pagoda grounds by the east gate, 
 and are then conducted round the outside of the 
 building once, twice, and even seven times. Then 
 they are shown into the Dancing Hall, through which 
 they pass into the Audience Chamber. Now they are 
 directed to look towards the Holy Sanctuary. Obey- 
 ing the command with all eagerness, a cry of dis- 
 appointment arises from their lips, for they are utterly 
 unable to see a single object. 
 
 The fact is, the glare of the sun from the buildings 
 they perambulated just before they entered the 
 temple has for the moment dazed their vision. The 
 priests, however, explain the matter by saying that 
 the effect of sin renders carnal eyes unfit to behold 
 the divine Juggernaut. Gradually as the people con- 
 tinue before the sanctum and get used to the dark- 
 ness, a faint ajipearance of the idol is noticed. There 
 is Juggernaut indeed, with his face painted black ; 
 and there is his brother with a white face ; and there 
 also is his sister with a golden-coloured complexion. 
 At this sight the pilgrims raise a cry of rapture, and 
 pass out of the temple with glad and joyous hearts, 
 apparently amply repaid for their expense and suffer- 
 ings by the road. Truly a very little satisfies the 
 heart of the Hindu worshipper ! 
 
 But wliat of those unfortunate creatures who, owing 
 to the great throng at special festival times, cannot 
 stand long enough in front of the holy sanctuary for 
 their eyes to adjust themselves to the gloom ? This 
 
THE WORSHIP OF JUGGERNAUT. 
 
 9 : 
 
 happens in the case of countless thousands. These 
 are, from their own point of view, unfortunate indeed, 
 and depart with cries of depair ; at which, however, 
 the hard-hearted priests only laugh, and tell them to 
 come another year, when perhaps their vision will be 
 sufficiently cleansed from sin to behold the face of 
 the Lord of the World. It must be terribly painful 
 and humiliating to have to go back home, and confess 
 that the journey was made almost altogether in vain, 
 that, at any rate, though they had worshipped in 
 Juggernaut’s temple, the crowning mercy had not 
 been granted of beholding the famous and precious 
 idol — the god himself. 
 
 Some idea of the immense popularity of Juggernaut 
 may be gained from the statement made by a Hindu 
 gentleman who had spent his life at Puri, that the 
 number that flocks in and out of the holy city never 
 falls short of fifty thousand a year, and sometimes 
 amounts to three hundred thousand. Some visitors 
 say that even these high figures are below the mark, 
 and that it would be nearer the truth to say that quite 
 a million human beings every year worship the Lord 
 of the World in his black pagoda on the shores of the 
 Bay of Bengal. 
 
 The revenues of the famous temple are of course 
 enormous. The Mohammedans in past days, when 
 supreme rulers in India, are said to have raised a sum 
 equivalent to £100,000 per annum, merely by putting 
 a tax on pilgrims. The British Government con- 
 tinued the tax, but somehow only managed to raise 
 a little over £6000 by the unholy traffic. In 1840 
 the English had the good sense and the courage to 
 
94 
 
 HALF HOURS WITH TIIK HINDUS. 
 
 give up entirely an income derived from idolatry ; and 
 now all the taxes and fees which pilgrims pay are 
 imposed and received by the raja of the district and 
 the priests of the temple. It is believed one way and 
 another the income at present will certainly be not 
 less than £50,000 per annum. “ The richer pilgrims 
 heap gold and silver and jewels at the feet of the god, 
 or spread before him charters and title-deeds conveying 
 rich lands in distant provinces. Every one, from the 
 richest to the poorest, gives beyond his ability ; many 
 cripple their fortunes for the rest of their lives in 
 a frenzy of liberality ; and hundreds die on the way 
 home from not having kept enough to support them 
 on the journey.” 
 
 The number of priests of high and low degree in 
 charge of the temple at Puri is estimated at nearly 
 seven hundred, and then there are the musicians and 
 the dancing-girls in constant attendance on the idol. 
 From a return prepared for the House of Lords some 
 years ago, the following interesting items of informa- 
 tion have been gathered. There are about sixty 
 officers to dress and ornament the idol, and three 
 hundred watchmen day and night to provide for his 
 safety. There are twenty keepers of the wardrobe, 
 forty servants to ornament and perfume the image, 
 three to paint the eyebrows of the god, and three 
 more to see that the several general officers attend to 
 their duties. Then further there are three hundred 
 cooks to prepare rice and sweetmeats and the like, ten 
 persons to supply water whenever required, and ten 
 to look after the ceremonial vessels of the temple. 
 A servant is provided also to keep watch at the closed 
 
THE WORSHIP OF JUGGERNAUT. 
 
 95 
 
 door of the holy sanctuary while the Lord of the 
 World sleeps, and another to witness the opening of 
 the door when the idol awakes. Thus the number 
 of attendants is added up ; and it is said that at least 
 six hundred and forty-one have definite duties assigned 
 to them, which they must attend to every day on pain 
 of the heavy displeasure of the god. However, to all 
 who attend to their duties faithfully rich rewards are 
 given in the substantial coins of the realm. 
 
 The wealth of Juggernaut has often attracted the 
 cupidity of thieves ; and I read a dreadful story a 
 while hack in the Times of India of a young English- 
 man an officer in the Madras Army, in financial 
 difficulties, who conceived the mad enterprise of rob- 
 bing the Lord of the World of some jewels of fabulous 
 worth, which are commonly reported to hang round 
 the neck of the idol. Let the rest of the story be told 
 in the words of the original narrator, a friend of the 
 would-be thief, who was staying with him at the 
 Traveller’s Bungalow at Puri, but who had no idea 
 of his companion’s wicked resolve. 
 
 The narrator says : “ When my friend went to bed, 
 I took my pipe and sat smoking in the verandah. 
 The moon was just rising, when 1 thought I saAV the 
 figure of a European stealing along the wall of the 
 compound. Strange, I thought, and wondered what 
 other European there could be here at the same time. 
 An idea struck me, and I went across to my com- 
 panion’s room. There was nobody in it, the bed was 
 undisturbed. I threw down my pipe and rushed out 
 into the moonlight. A few seconds later I was in the 
 road, and turned instinctively in the direction of the 
 
96 
 
 HALF TTOUJiS WITH THE HINDUS. 
 
 town. Running down the road I soon came to a sandy 
 lane, which went outside the village walls in the 
 direction of the temples, their pinnacles standing out 
 clear and distinct in the moonlight. In the distance 
 I thought I saw the figure of my poor lad ; but soon 
 the turnings and twistings of the lane, with its thick 
 cactus hedges on each side, shut him out from my 
 view. 
 
 “ In a few minutes I was close by the big temple 
 compound. Running up to the wall I looked over, 
 and this is what I saw. An enormous courtyard of 
 paved stone, on which were lying a number of priests, 
 their white garments wrapped round their heads and 
 bodies ; in the background was placed temple upon 
 temple, but in the very centre stood one solitary 
 shrine, raised on three separate flights of steps, and 
 inside I could see the great black god raised on three 
 other smaller flights of coloured marble steps. The 
 moonbeams shone directly on the god and lit up the 
 emerald eyes and ruby lips, while the pearl necklace 
 glowed on his huge black bosom. 
 
 “ Not a sound was to be heard, except some distant 
 tomtoming at the further end of the town. The 
 festival was over, and Puri had lapsed into solemn 
 silence. To my unutterable horror I saw my com- 
 panion walking right across the courtyard. Not a 
 living creature moved, until a pariah dog rose up from 
 uear the wall, gave one howl, and then slunk away, 
 and crouched down again. Still no one stirred. My 
 tongue clave to the roof of my mouth. I dared not 
 shout even if I could have raised my voice. A ghastly 
 horror took hold of me, as the idea struck me that 
 
THE WORSHIP OF JUGGERNAUT. 
 
 97 
 
 iu his madness my poor friend intended to save his 
 honour by the greater dishonour of robbing the idol. 
 
 “ Speechless I saw him mount step after step, and 
 the next moment I saw him enter the sacred shrine, 
 across the threshold of which no other foot but that 
 of the Brahmin has ever passed. Nine steps led up 
 to the god — one, two, three, four, five, six. He paused ; 
 I tried to shout, but no sound would come. He raised 
 his hand as if to tear off the pearl necklace. It was 
 still above his reach ; his foot then touched the 
 seventh. Oh ! can I ever forget the sight ? In the 
 moonlight flashed out two arms covered with one 
 hundred — nay, two hundred — daggers, and clasped the 
 daring youth to the black god’s breast. At the same 
 moment the sound of a gong broke the stillness of 
 the night, and in one moment the priests had cast off 
 their coverings, and were rushing to the shrine. Two 
 minutes later, I saw the amazed and horrified priests 
 carrying out the lifeless body of the dishonoured 
 Englishman, and I turned and fled.” 
 
 We may indulge the charitable hope that this 
 horrible and improbable story is an invention, yet its 
 truth is vouched for by the correspondent who con- 
 tributed it to the Times of India , who says, “ To this 
 day, by the pilgrim camp-fires of Orissa, is told with 
 bated breath, and listened to with rapt attention, 
 the terrible tale of the Jewels of Juggernaut, and of 
 the vengeance of the great god.” 
 
 There are three famous festivals in connection with 
 the worship of Juggernaut, of which mention ought to 
 be made. The first is called the Bathing Festival , 
 which occurs in June or July, when the god is taken 
 
98 
 
 HALF HOURS WITH THE HINDUS. 
 
 from his place in the holy sanctuary, and brought 
 into full public view, and bathed by the priests in 
 the presence of tens of thousands of spectators, who 
 at a given signal unite in one loud thunder-cry of 
 “ Victory ! victory to Juggernaut ! ” The god then 
 retires to the privacy of his own room. Next, a 
 fortnight later, comes the Car Festival , when the 
 Lord of the World, who is supposed to have caught 
 a cold from his bath, is tahen out for a change of air, 
 for the good of his health. His brother and sister, 
 from tender solicitude for his welfare, insist on ac- 
 companying him. 
 
 Witness, then, the three ugly idols placed on three 
 mighty cars, ready to start for their drive. Jugger- 
 naut’s conveyance stands forty-one feet high, and has 
 fourteen enormous wheels; while the upper parts of it 
 are covered with green, blue, red, and yellow, and 
 other coloured cloths, hung in strips fantastically 
 arranged, and adorned with various devices. The 
 tower of the car is surmounted by a globe and a flag, 
 conveying to all whom it may concern that Juggernaut, 
 the Lord of the World, is there in royal state. 
 
 And now comes the most exciting part of the pro- 
 ceedings. The great cars have to be dragged a certain 
 distance — half a mile or more — from the temple ; aud 
 the god will not allow horses or elephants to under- 
 take this work, but calls upon his faithful worshippers 
 to do it themselves. Immense ropes, or rather cables, 
 are manufactured and attached to the cars, and at 
 the word of command from the priests thousands of 
 men, and even women and children, rush forward and 
 seize the ropes, aud range themselves in' order, and 
 
CAR OF JUGGERNAUT AT PURI, ORISSA. 
 

THE worn II IP OF JUGGERNAUT. 
 
 101 
 
 the next moment are straining and pulling at the 
 cumbersome conveyances, which at length move with 
 a heavy, creaking noise. 
 
 On one occasion, at a village near Serampore, I 
 witnessed this extraordinary spectacle of the dragging 
 of Juggernaut’s car, and the cars of his brother and 
 sister. Never shall I forget the sight. The road 
 was filled with tens of thousands of lookers-on, all 
 wild with excitement; and the poor fanatics who held 
 the ropes were dragging the cars along with frenzied 
 zeal. Every now and then there would be a stop, 
 that the men might rest, I supposed ; but instead of 
 resting they took to jumping in the air, and to whirl- 
 ing themselves round like dancing dervishes, and 
 shouting at the top of their breath, “ Victory ! victory 
 to Juggernaut ! ” At length the vehicles reached their 
 destination. All of a sudden a noise of firearms was 
 heard — a signal from the priests — and in a moment 
 the great ropes were thrown down, and the cars 
 stopped in the middle of the road. Then once more 
 the dense throng of worshippers raised a mighty cry 
 of victory to the Lord of the World, that could be 
 heard miles away. 
 
 In connection with the car festival there is asso- 
 ciated, in European minds, sad tales of infatuated 
 human beings who have thrown themselves under the 
 wheels of Juggernaut’s conveyance, and have been 
 crushed to death. Such deeds have certainly happened, 
 but they have not been anything like so frequent as 
 many people have supposed ; and they are not in 
 harmony with the teaching of the priests with respect 
 to Juggernaut, who is described as a merciful god, 
 
102 
 
 HALF HOURS WITH THE HINDUS. 
 
 desiring the good of men, and wishing harm to befall 
 no one. Self-immolation is altogether opposed to the 
 will of the idol, so the Hindus say ; and yet it remains 
 a fact that some worshippers have deliberately sacri- 
 ficed their lives under the wheels of Juggernaut’s car. 
 This is accounted for, and probably correctly, by the 
 statement that such suicides are for the most part 
 cases of diseased and miserable people, utterly tired 
 of life, and who falsely imagined that the Lord of the 
 World would be pleased with their violent death. 
 
 In July 1826, the Rev. Mr. Lacey, a missionary 
 in Orissa, witnessed a sad case of self-immolation in 
 connection with the Car Festival, of which he thus 
 wrote : “ This afternoon I had an awful subject for 
 my discourse — the body of a poor man crushed to 
 pieces by the car of Juggernaut. The massy wheel 
 had passed over his loins, and he presented a shocking 
 sight to look upon. While standing by the dead 
 body, I became quite ill with sickness, and every limb 
 shivered with horror. The wheels of the car are 
 made for this work of death most effectually, as the 
 spokes project three or four inches beyond the felloe. 
 The poor wretch had thrown himself from the front 
 of the car, and so was a voluntary sacrifice. He 
 seemed a respectable man, apparently a Brahmin. 
 I felt I ought not to lose such an opportunity of 
 witnessing against a system that produced such 
 effects ; so I took my stand over the body, and spoke 
 with some feeling of the nature of the Hindu religion, 
 and compared it with Christianity ; and perhaps I 
 never had a more serious congregation. Some 
 hardened wretches standing by said, ‘ See, sir, the 
 
THE WORSHIP OF JUGGERNAUT. 
 
 103 
 
 glory of Juggernaut,’ pointing to the mangled body. 
 I concluded by rebuking them, and recommending 
 them to look to Jesus Christ for mercy and salvation, 
 which Juggernaut could never give.” 
 
 At the present time such deeds are almost unknown, 
 but then the British Government takes great pre- 
 cautions against either accidents or suicides at the 
 famous Car Festival. I remember when I witnessed 
 the ceremony near Serampore, that more than one 
 European policeman was near the car on the watch, 
 and that numbers of native police were on both sides 
 holding long ladders, with which they kept the people 
 away from the ponderous wheels while the car was in 
 motion. It is doubtless due to such forethought and 
 care on the part of a parental government, more than 
 to a very decided change of public feeling on the 
 matter, that we owe the present immunity from 
 horrible deaths under the wheels of the car of the 
 Lord of the World. 
 
 Juggernaut and his brother and sister extend their 
 visit to the country for a fortnight, and during that 
 time they remain by the roadside the observed of all 
 observers. Pilgrims who failed to see the renowned 
 god when they visited him in his temple, may now, 
 if they have stayed for the car festival, have a 
 splendid opportunity of making up their loss. It 
 was really pitiful to see with what eagerness the 
 Hindus rushed forward to get a near view of 
 Juggernaut, that day I was present at the festival. 
 Directly the car stopped and the ropes were thrown 
 down there was a scramble for first places. 
 
 The men, however, were soon satisfied, and after 
 
104 
 
 HALF HOURS WITH THE HINDUS. 
 
 gazing a moment and giving donations to the priests 
 of money and fruits, they quickly withdrew and went 
 their way. The women lingered longer, and seemed 
 to be more truly in earnest in their worship, and more 
 deeply impressed by the vision of the god. And 
 young people and even children too were there. It 
 was pathetic to see mothers with little ones in their 
 arms pointing the babies solemnly to Juggernaut, 
 and teaching children a little older, whom they led by 
 the hand, to bend their heads reverently until their 
 foreheads touched the car. I watched many such 
 parties come and go, and in every case the parents 
 and children departed with beaming faces, evidently 
 convinced that their devotions had been accepted by 
 the great deity whom they had been privileged to see 
 in all the glory of his holiday paint and apparel. 
 
 But I must close this chapter, which has extended 
 to a greater length than I at first intended, by stating 
 that after fourteen days The Festival of the Return 
 takes place ; and Juggernaut and his brother and 
 sister are dragged back to Puri, and the idols are 
 reseated on their thrones in the holy sanctuary of 
 the black pagoda. And there they remain the great 
 centre of attraction for millions of human beings. 
 “ The sad sea waves ” are heard within the courts of 
 the temple of Juggernaut, though not it is said in 
 the inner chamber where the Lord of the World 
 dwells. But sadder still are the sounds of woe that 
 come from every corner of India after the great 
 festivals are over, for of the thousands upon thousands 
 of pilgrims who journey from far to see Juggernaut, 
 thousands never see again their distant homes, or the 
 
THE WORSHIP OF JUGGERNAUT. 
 
 105 
 
 faces of loved friends. In innumerable households 
 sorrowful relatives are mourning the loss of fathers, 
 mothers, sisters, brothers or children, who have perished 
 either from the privations of the journey, or from 
 the epidemics of cholera and other diseases which 
 break out every year during the special seasons of 
 pilgrimage. 
 
 Truly Juggernaut, the Lord of the World, brings 
 sorrow rather than joy to his worshippers ; and it will 
 be a glad day for the East when India’s sons and 
 daughters turn from their favourite idol with disdain, 
 and look upon the dear face of Jesus, the com- 
 passionate Lord, the true Brother of mankind, the 
 only Saviour of the human race from sin and sorrow 
 and death. 
 
 EMBLEM OF DHAEMA, TEMPLE OF 
 JUGGERNAUT. 
 

 SACKED MONKEYS OE THE HINDOOS. 
 
 VII. 
 
 SACRED MONKEYS. 
 
 LL monkeys are sacred in the eyes of a devout 
 Hindu ; so that my young readers must under- 
 stand, when I speak about sacred monkeys, 
 I am not speaking of some monkeys in particular, but 
 of monkeys in general. But bow comes it, some may 
 ask, that the Hindu regards all monkeys as sacred ? 
 To understand this we must take our thoughts back 
 
 106 
 
SACRED MONKEYS. 
 
 107 
 
 many ages, and dive into the literature of the Hindus. 
 Iu the sacred book called Ramayana, which gives an 
 account of the wonderful adventures of the god Rama, 
 we read that Sita, his wife, was captured by a demon- 
 king, Ravana by name, and carried off a prisoner to 
 Ceylon, where she was detained. 
 
 Rama, distressed on account of the loss of his beau- 
 tiful Sita, planned an expedition to Ceylon to rescue 
 her from the demon. Not feeling equal to the enter- 
 prise alone, he made friends with a powerful tribe of 
 aborigines, scornfully called monkeys, in the south 
 of India, and enlisted their services, which seem to 
 have been readily given. The king of the monkeys 
 was called Sugriva, hut the real hero of the tribe 
 was one Hanuman, who occupied the post of prime 
 minister. Of Hanuman let me give a few particulars. 
 
 Hanuman was the son of Vayu, the god of wind, 
 and Yanar, a female monkey. Of his childhood many 
 wonderful stories are told. It is said that on one 
 occasion, seeing the sun rising, he thought it to be 
 the fruit of a tree, and being anxious to have a taste 
 of what promised from appearances to be rather a 
 delicious morsel, he sprang up three hundred leagues 
 to clutch it. We may he sure he fell back to the 
 earth again a little wiser. On another occasion, for 
 some boyish indiscretion, the god Indra let a thunder- 
 bolt fly at him, which caused him to fall violently on a 
 rock. The fall shattered his cheek, and hence the name 
 Hanuman, the “ long-jawed one,” was given to him. 
 
 When ten years of age this monkey-god is said to 
 have lifted a stone of fabulous size, and to have played 
 a curious prank with it on a number of fakirs or holy 
 
108 
 
 HALF HOURS WITH THE HINDUS. 
 
 men, whom he found worshipping by the waters of a 
 sacred tank. When the saints had closed their eyes 
 in devotion, Hauuman dropped the immense stone into 
 the tank ; and, lo ! the worshippers were surrounded 
 by water, and had to swim a great distance before they 
 could reach dry laud. At the water’s edge they again 
 closed their eyes and resumed their prayers. At that 
 moment, however, the monkey-god took out the gigantic 
 stone, and the waters retired, so that when the holy 
 men opened their eyes they found they were quite 
 a distance from the tank. Thus they were tricked 
 again and again, until they found out that Hanuman 
 was the source of all their annoyance, when they 
 punished him by taking from him, so the story says, 
 half his strength. 
 
 The mischievous monkey even now, however, was 
 stronger than the strongest human being, if we may 
 judge by an anecdote which relates that he one day 
 spread out his long tail right across a road along 
 which a giant named Bheema was walking. When 
 the giant reached the tail, he stopped, and asked the 
 monkey courteously to remove it, for a Hindu will not 
 stride across a person’s body, or even the shadow of 
 any one. Hanuman laughed, and told him to remove 
 it himself. At last Bheema stooped to do so, thinking 
 he had an easy task to perform. To his intense 
 astonishment, however, he found that the tail was 
 heavier than the heaviest iron, and that even when 
 he put forth his whole strength to lift it, he could 
 not move it a single inch. Overcome with his exer- 
 tions, he acknowledged the superior powers of the 
 monkey, and swore eternal friendship with him. 
 
SACRED MONKEYS. 
 
 109 
 
 Such was the ally Hama sought to help him in 
 war against the King of Ceylon. And so well did 
 Hanuman conduct himself in that famous enterprise, 
 and such was the renown he gained by his daring 
 exploits and remarkable feats of strength, that Rama 
 and his people looked upon the monkey-general as 
 an incarnation of a deity, and rendered him divine 
 honours. And ever since that time the people of 
 India have regarded Hanuman as the prince of 
 monkeys, as the monkey-god, and have worshipped 
 his image in their temples. 
 
 I remember when in Allahabad seeing an immense 
 idol-monkey which was meant to represent Hanuman. 
 The monster image was kept in a dry tank, flat on its 
 back, and there was a covering to keep off the rays of 
 the sun. This idol, the priests in charge said, was 
 made of stone, but it looked as if made of some kind 
 of composition. Anyway, it was painted a brilliant 
 red from head to foot. I went down to the lowest 
 step to view the image. It was covered except the 
 head with a sheet, and on this covering there were 
 coins here and there, evidently the offerings of wor- 
 shippers. The cloth was removed so that I might 
 have a good view. Truly the monkey-god was a 
 frightful -looking fellow, and the sight of him gave 
 me the most vivid idea I ever received of the hideous- 
 ness of idol-worship. 
 
 The priests, in answer to the question, “ When was 
 this idol made?” remarked that it was self-created, 
 and appeared a number of years ago in the twinkling 
 of an eye in the very place in which I saw it. I 
 imagined as I turned to go away that I detected a 
 
110 
 
 HALF HOURS WITH THE HINDUS. 
 
 twinkle in tlie eye of one of the speakers, grave 
 Brahmin though he appeared to be. The priests 
 evidently thought that I was ready to believe any tale 
 they saw fit to palm upon me. 
 
 Passing from image-monkeys to living monkeys, it 
 has to he said that the Hindus regard them with equal 
 or greater reverence. As the representatives in the 
 flesh of their great forefather Hanuman, all monkeys 
 are now considered holy. It is deemed by the Hindus 
 a very dreadful thing to injure or even attempt to 
 injure a monkey, for by doing so yon would be casting 
 an indignity upon the god Hanuman, who would be 
 sure to resent and punish it. 
 
 It is a matter of history that two Englishmen lost 
 their lives in Muttra, the sacred city of Krishna, 
 where monkeys abound, through striking a sacred 
 animal. The gentlemen were walking through the 
 streets of the town, and being pestered by some 
 monkeys that followed them, they turned and struck 
 one of them rather a severe blow on the head. In a 
 moment there was a commotion in the streets, for the 
 people who had witnessed the sacrilegious act were 
 wild with indignation and rushed at the delinquents. 
 The two unfortunate Europeans, thoroughly alive then 
 to the mistake they had made, defended themselves 
 as best they could ; but it was in vain they fought 
 against the thousands of infuriated priests and pilgrims 
 who surrounded them. In a few minutes the struggle 
 was over. The Englishmen paid with their lives for 
 their error. 
 
 Even the Hindus themselves dare not publicly strike 
 a monkey, no matter what mischief the animal may 
 
SACRED MONKEYS. 
 
 Ill 
 
 be doing. The Rev. J. Ewan, of Benares, in his book 
 entitled “ Sketches and Stories of Native Life,” tells 
 a tale which illustrates this point. He visited Muttra 
 on one occasion, and saw the spot where the English- 
 men had been done to death. He just mentions the 
 incident, and then says : “ Near the place where the 
 tragedy happened I witnessed a sight I shall never 
 forget — a fight between a large male monkey and a 
 portly Brahmin ! It was about the possession of a 
 brass sroblet. The Brahmin had set it down with 
 something in it, and as soon as he turned his back 
 the monkey came down, put his hand in, grasped part 
 of the contents, and of course could not get his fist 
 out. 
 
 “ The Brahmin returned, and at first tried endearing 
 expressions to get it to give up the vessel, but to no 
 purpose. Then he tried something a little stronger, 
 and emphasised it with the exhibition of a loaded cane. 
 To this the monkey replied by threatening him with 
 its teeth and armed fist. As I passed, the Brahmin 
 stood with his stick at the ‘ present,’ and the monkey 
 with his brass goblet high over head as if it would 
 pitch it the instant he dared move. Yet the Brahmin 
 who could be abusive to men, who could rob the poor 
 pilgrims of their all, would not venture to touch the 
 hateful brute.” Thus the monkey won in the contest. 
 
 Mr. Ewan tells another good story of the monkeys 
 of Muttra. He writes, “ We had a school in this town 
 some years ago, at a place near which the monkeys 
 used to congregate in very large numbers. One 
 morning I was examining the pupils, but found it 
 difficult to keep their attention. Something seemed 
 
112 
 
 HALF HOURS WITH THE HINDUS. 
 
 to be amusing them. It was evidently over my head ; 
 but as I had kept my sun hat on to protect me from 
 the heat, I could not see what it was. Their amuse- 
 ment went on increasing, till I could no longer resist 
 the temptation to follow the direction of their gaze. 
 Looking up I saw a monkey stretched out on the 
 trellis roof like a man over a grating, its arm stretched 
 out to the full, in a frantic effort to seize my hat. 
 When I looked up and stopped the fun, it grinned and 
 chattered at me as if I had been its greatest enemy.” 
 
 Monkeys are said to be very affectionate towards 
 each other as a rule, and are generally found to gather 
 in large numbers. In times of scarcity of food the 
 strong will exercise mastery over the weak, but in a 
 general way they are peaceably and lovingly inclined 
 to one another. The attachment of the mother- 
 monkey towards her offspring is remarkable, and has 
 become proverbial in India. When a young monkey 
 has died the mother has been observed to keep it 
 closely encircled in her arms, moaning piteously the 
 while, and only parting with the dead body at the 
 urgent supplication of companions. And even when 
 the little one has been carried away and thrown into 
 a waste place, the mother has followed, and has lain 
 down on the ground at no great distance and watched 
 with intense anxiety for hours to see if there was any 
 sign of returning life. So we perceive that even 
 troublesome monkeys have their good points. 
 
 It is regarded as a very meritorious act to feed a 
 monkey ; and here and there in India, troops of these 
 sacred animals are to be found in temples, where the 
 priests see to their comfort. Perhaps the most famous 
 

SACRED MONKEYS. 
 
 115 
 
 of these temples is the one at Benares called the 
 Durga Kund, but more commonly “ the Monkey- 
 Temple.” When I visited the spot there were 
 thousands of the monkeys to he seen, of all ages, sizes, 
 tempers, and peculiarities. At a signal from one of 
 the priests a troop of the agile, mischievous creatures 
 surrounded us, and I began to fear somewhat for our 
 safety. However, the animals behaved themselves 
 well, apart from a little teasing, and were rewarded 
 with handfuls of grain. 
 
 Many visitors were there besides myself, but they 
 were Hindus, and I was pained to see that they 
 actually worshipped the chattering, comical creatures 
 as living gods and goddesses. Saturday is the great 
 day for worshipping monkeys. Birthdays are also 
 considered propitious occasions, and the boon then 
 asked for is length of days. Hanuman is considered 
 immortal, and it is believed that he will add to the 
 years of those who are devout in the worship of his 
 living representatives upon earth. 
 
 There is a story told in Benares of a gentleman who 
 brought a pet monkey of a rare species from the 
 Himalayas to the plains. Such a beautiful specimen 
 of the monkey tribe had never been seen in the sacred 
 city, and he was the seven days’ wonder of the 
 inhabitants. At length a deputation of priests from 
 the monkey-temple waited on the fortunate owner, 
 craving permission to conduct the pet to the temple 
 with all honour, as it was incumbent on them to 
 worship it. So the monkey had a holiday granted to 
 him, and he was carried off in triumph by the priests 
 and a concourse of people to the sacred shrine, where 
 
116 
 
 HALF HOURS WITH THE HINDUS. 
 
 he was duly worshipped with choice offerings, and the 
 next day was restored to his master with many thanks 
 for the loan. Of late the number of the monkeys has 
 so increased in Benares that they are felt to he a 
 public nuisance. “ What to do with our monkeys ? ” is 
 the burning question of the day in the sacred city of 
 the Hindus. There has been talk of exporting them, 
 but two difficulties lie iu the way — the refusal of the 
 railway company to carry them, and the want of a 
 place to receive them. 
 
 While in India, when I was visiting in the neigh- 
 bourhood of Mirzapore, I made a journey of some 
 miles to a temple to see a family gathering of 
 monkeys about whom I had been told an amusing- 
 tale. In the neighbourhood of the temple, almost 
 whenever you go, you will see a priest sitting on the 
 ground with his legs crossed under him. There he 
 sits very solemnly reading something, probably one 
 of the sacred volumes in his possession, and every 
 now and then he will take off his spectacles and 
 replace them with great care. 
 
 On one occasion the monkeys, who had formed a 
 circle round this venerable man, and were watching 
 his proceedings with uncommon interest, made up 
 their minds to clear up the mystery of the spectacles. 
 So when the priest took off his glasses for the fourth 
 time and held them at arm’s length, one of the most 
 daring of the little company clutched them out of his 
 hand, and placed them deliberately across his own 
 nose. The result seemed to please him immensely, 
 if his grimaces and antics and cries meant anything. 
 Probably his eyesight was failing him, and he found 
 
SACRED MONKEYS. 
 
 117 
 
 out that the spectacles just suited his impaired vision. 
 But the fun did not end there. The priest, when 
 he recovered somewhat from his surprise, saw his 
 spectacles going the round of the delighted company 
 of monkeys, some of whom they fitted and suited, 
 and some of whom they did not fit or suit. And 
 to make the whole alfair still more enjoyable, the 
 spectacles were coolly handed back to the patient 
 priest when curiosity had been completely satisfied ; 
 and, strange to say, they were no worse for the hand- 
 ling they had received and the examination they had 
 undergone. 
 
 Monkeys and dogs seem to have a strong antipathy 
 to each other, and it is impossible for them to meet 
 without quarrelling. Miss Gumming tells about a 
 magnificent hill dog that was presented to her, 
 called Ramnee, who was as gentle as a lamb with 
 human beings, but a perfect tartar with monkeys. 
 She writes : “ This antipathy to the monkey-tribe 
 came near to causing me trouble on our return to 
 the plains, for as we neared the Nerbudda river, 
 he suddenly espied a great encampment of devotees 
 accompanied by a regiment of monkeys. He was 
 sitting beside me in an open dak-gharry, and ere I 
 could possibly check him he sprang out and made 
 for them. In an instant the whole camp was routed, 
 and men and monkeys put to flight. The general 
 confusion was diverting, but I was heartily glad when, 
 tardily obeying my call, the great, big, gentle puppy 
 returned, like a gentleman, to his seat in the carriage. 
 
 “ Then the obnoxious-looking company plucked up 
 courage to approach and claim backsheesh for their 
 
118 
 
 HALF HOURS WITH THE HINDUS. 
 
 insulted monkeys, when happily it occurred to me to 
 turn the tables and claim backsheesh for my beautiful 
 dog, who was sitting gravely at my side. Whether 
 they were dumfounded by the exquisite absurdity 
 of the demand, or simply considered that a white 
 woman who would sit beside a dog was altogether 
 impracticable, I cannot say, but they laughed and 
 departed. That was poor Ramnee’s last scamper 
 in India.” 
 
 A friend of mine, the Rev. W. G. Wilkins, late 
 of Calcutta, had an encounter on one occasion with 
 monkeys when he had a little dog with him. He 
 relates the adventure in his interesting book, “ Daily 
 Life and Work in India.” He writes : “ I once 
 received rather too much attention from a number 
 of these four-handed animals. Having with me a 
 little dog that evidently had not been often in the 
 presence of monkeys, and who expressed his surprise 
 at their appearance in a manner that irritated them, 
 about twenty of them made an attack upon the little 
 terrier. I knew that if once they caught him he 
 would be carried to a tree and there torn to pieces ; 
 and as I had nothing but an umbrella to defend 
 myself with, the odds were rather against me for 
 a time. I confess I was rather annoyed to see the 
 villagers standing as mere spectators of the game, 
 evidently wishing to see fair play, for not one of them 
 raised a finger to help me. With my open umbrella 
 I managed to shelter the dog, whilst I marched 
 backwards as quickly as possible, until I was near 
 enough to call to my companions for help. I have 
 no wish for another encounter with monkeys.” 
 
SACRED MONKEYS. 
 
 119 
 
 I have heard of another terrier named Fury, be- 
 longing to Lady Barker, which had no gallant 
 defender in the hour of need, and which consequently 
 came to an untimely end through its hatred of 
 monkeys. Simla, the pleasant hill-station of the Im- 
 perial Government, was the scene of the catastrophe. 
 Miss Camming tells the story. In Simla there is a 
 hill named Jakko, the woods on which are infested 
 with monkeys, both the common brown ones, and the 
 great big grey ones with black face and paws, and 
 fringe of white hair round the forehead. 
 
 From Jakko it appears the monkeys were in the 
 habit of wandering to the different houses in the 
 neighbourhood intent on “ picking and stealing,” and 
 in the course of their wanderings they often came 
 across the little terrier, which never lost a chance of 
 barking at them and frightening them off the premises. 
 The disappointed monkeys bore the matter in mind, 
 and bided their time for a terrible revenge. One day, 
 as little Fury was accompanying his mistress through a 
 dark thicket of rhododendrons, she saw the skinny arm 
 of a monkey suddenly dart out from amid the scarlet 
 blossoms, and quick as thought the poor terrier was 
 seized by his long, silky hair, and in a second had 
 disappeared in the thicket. Vain were all attempts 
 at rescue ; vainly and piteously the doggie yelped and 
 howled, while a shaking of the branches and sound of 
 scuffling were all that betrayed his unwilling ascent 
 to the top of a high tree, where a monkey-jury had 
 assembled to try the criminal. Once there his un- 
 happy mistress beheld her little favourite passed 
 from one to another, that each in turn might have 
 
120 
 
 HALF nOURS WITH THE HINDUS. 
 
 the satisfaction of pinching, and tweaking, and pull- 
 ing out his hair till his particular grudge was 
 revenged. Then, when all were tired of this amuse- 
 ment, they took him to the extreme end of a branch, 
 and dropped him down a precipice. And so ended 
 poor Fury’s quarrel with the monkeys ! 
 
 Lady Barker had another troublesome experience 
 with the monkeys on the occasion of the first dinner- 
 party she gave in Simla. “ Being anxious to have an 
 unusually pretty table, she had herself expended much 
 care and trouble in its adornment d la Russe ; and 
 having just received from Europe certain dainty china 
 figures and ornamental dishes, she had arranged such 
 a show of sweetmeats, flowers, and fruit as should 
 have filled all beholders with admiration. When 
 dressing-time came, she charged her servants on no 
 account to leave the room till her return ; but hardly 
 was her back turned, when the temptation of hubble- 
 bubble prevailed, and they slipped out for a quiet 
 smoke, quite forgetting the open window, and the 
 great tree just outside, where sat certain watchful 
 monkeys vastly interested in the proceedings. 
 
 “ Judge of the feelings of the hostess when, coming 
 down to receive her guests, she just looked into the 
 dining-room to make sure that her work was perfect, 
 and there found a busy company of monkeys hard at 
 work, grinning and jabberiug, their cheeks and arms 
 crammed with expensive sweetmeats, while the table 
 presented a scene of frightful devastation — broken 
 glass and china, fair linen soiled — everything tossed 
 about in hopeless confusion ! From this wreck she 
 had to turn aside, and try to look pleasant and quite 
 
SACRED MONKEYS. 
 
 121 
 
 at ease while entertaining the hungry guests, who 
 had to wait patiently till something like order could 
 be restored, and a dinner served shorn of all frivolous 
 adornments.” 
 
 The temerity and audacity of monkeys is really 
 something wonderful. Monsieur Henri Mouhot, the 
 lamented French naturalist who fell a victim to fever 
 in the wilds of Indo-China, relates a remarkable story 
 in the first volume of his “ Travels,” of monkeys daring 
 even to tease that dangerous creature the crocodile. 
 The writer says : “ Close to the bank lies the crocodile, 
 his body in the water, and only his capacious mouth 
 above the surface, ready to seize anything that may 
 come within reach. A troop of apes catch sight of 
 him, seem to consult together, approach little by little, 
 and commence their frolics, by turns actors and 
 spectators. One of the most active or most impudent 
 jumps from branch to branch till within a respectful 
 distance of the crocodile, when hanging by one claw, 
 and with the dexterity peculiar to these animals, he 
 advances and retires, now giving his enemy a blow 
 with his paw, at another time only pretending to do 
 so. The other apes, enjoying the fun, evidently wish 
 to take part in it ; but the other branches being too 
 high, they form a sort of chain by laying hold of each 
 other’s paws, and thus swing backwards and forwards, 
 while any one of them who comes within reach of the 
 crocodile torments him to the best of his ability. 
 Sometimes the terrible jaws suddenly close, but not 
 upon the audacious ape, who just escapes ; then there 
 are cries of exultation from the tormentors, who gambol 
 about joyfully. Occasionally, however, the claw is 
 
122 
 
 HALF HOURS WITH THE HINDUS. 
 
 entrapped, and the victim dragged with the rapidity 
 of lightning beneath the water, when the whole troop 
 disperse, groaning and shrieking. The misadventure 
 does not, however, prevent their recommencing the 
 game a few days afterwards.” 
 
 In the “Statesman and Friend of India,” a still more 
 remarkable anecdote appeared some time back of an 
 adventure a monkey had with a tiger. It appears 
 that the village of Mahabpore, in the district of 
 Rajshahji, was greatly troubled by a man-eating tiger, 
 which had taken up its quarters in a jungle hard by. 
 The inhabitants did their best to destroy or drive away 
 the brute, but without avail. At last a monkey came 
 to the rescue. The tale runs that when the tiger was 
 lying down in a shady place, a monkey, espying it, 
 took it into its head to poke the savage animal with 
 a stick, and seemed to relish the joke very much. 
 And whenever the tiger tried to attack its malicious 
 assailant the latter sprang up a tree out of the way. 
 
 Thus the fun went on at intervals for a few days, 
 when the monkey thought a ride would be a pleasant 
 variety, and in a moment placed itself on the back of 
 the tiger and seized its ears with its fore paws, while 
 it twisted its hind paws under its body. The insulted 
 and enraged animal needed neither spur nor whip, but 
 at once began to race across the country with terrific 
 leaps and bounds, the monkey holding on bravely all 
 the time. In sheer disgust and despair the tiger at 
 last dashed towards the village as if to supplicate the 
 inhabitants to rid it of its tormentor. The people 
 of course refused to interfere; and so the distressed 
 animal sought again the seclusion of the jungle, and 
 
SACRED MONKEYS. 
 
 123 
 
 there, when it was thoroughly knocked up, the monkey 
 took advantage of an overhanging branch, and imme- 
 diately climbed to the top of a tree. The next day 
 the tiger left the district, and was at last killed in a 
 neighbouring village. Thus did a monkey do a good 
 turn to human beings. 
 
 There is a famous village in Bengal called Gooptee- 
 parah, which is noted for its pundits, or learned men, 
 and its monkeys. This curious double notoriety has 
 led to much satire, and it is now a common saying in 
 India to ask whether a man comes from Goopteeparah, 
 when the speaker means to insinuate that he is nothing 
 better than a monkey. It was from this celebrated 
 village that Raja Krishna Chunder Roy procured 
 some monkeys, which he took to Krishnugger, and 
 there caused to be married, with all the usual for- 
 malities, as if they had been human beings. The 
 expenses of the nuptials came to a small fortune. 
 
 Some years ago the Raja of Nuddea did the same 
 mad trick. He is said to have spent one hundred 
 thousand rupees in marrying two monkeys. In the 
 procession were seen elephants, camels, horses richly 
 caparisoned, palanquins, lamps and torches. The 
 male monkey was fastened in a fine carriage, having 
 a crown upon his head, with men by his side to fan 
 him. Then followed musicians and dancing-girls in 
 carriages, and a great concourse of people. For twelve 
 days the rejoicings were continued in the palace and 
 in the town. All Nuddea seemed to have gone crazy 
 over the extraordinary event. At the close of the 
 ceremonies the bride and bridegroom were given their 
 liberty, but they remained in the neighbourhood, and 
 
124 
 
 HALF HOURS WITH THE HINDUS. 
 
 their descendants are there to this day. Indeed, 
 Nuddea is now overrun with the troublesome creatures. 
 
 Nothing more, I am sure, is needed to show the 
 utter folly of the Hindus with regard to the so-called 
 Sacred Monkeys of the East. An intellectual race 
 has fallen low indeed when it can worship such a 
 silly, comical, and mischievous animal as a monkey I 
 
THE KRISHNA AVATARA. (FROM A NATIVE FICTURE.) 
 
 VIII. 
 
 THE STORY OF KRISHNA. 
 
 RISHNA, or to give him his full name, Shree 
 Krishnu Chund, is one of the most popular of 
 the gods of India, and is the special favourite 
 of the women and children of India. The story of the 
 life of this god is most curious and interesting, and 
 reminds us in some respects of the life of our Lord 
 
 125 
 
126 
 
 HALF HOURS WITH THE HINDUS. 
 
 Jesus Christ. The very name Krishna, as pronounced 
 in the East, suggests to us the name of our Saviour. 
 But my young readers will see, as they peruse this 
 chapter, that Krishna was a poor character when 
 placed in contrast with Christ ; for while our Lord 
 appealed to the nobler side of human nature, Krishna 
 appealed to the baser. 
 
 A Zenana Missionary in Calcutta, in a report of her 
 work, once said : “ There is a strong belief among 
 Hindu women that our Christ and their Krishna are 
 one and the same person. This opinion, while it is 
 perhaps the means of gaining us a hearing, is to my 
 mind one of the greatest stumbling-blocks, for it is 
 extremely difficult for them to see or acknowledge 
 the difference between Christ’s character and that of 
 Krishna : that the one was pure, self-denying, and 
 loving ; the other licentious, self-pleasing, and loving 
 only in a lower and bad sense.” 
 
 But now to give some details of the life of this 
 popular god. Krishna, it is said, was born at Muttra, 
 a city in the neighbourhood of Agra in Northern 
 India. He is represented to have been an incarnation 
 of Vishnu, the second person of the Hindu Trinity 
 —not a complete incarnation, but “ a portion of a 
 portion ” of the divine essence of Vishnu, the preserver 
 of all created things. The first appearance of Krishna 
 in this world is fabled to have been on this wise : 
 At midnight on a Wednesday he was born, and 
 appeared at once before his father and mother “ the 
 colour of a cloud, with a face like the moon, and with 
 eyes like a water-lily.” He had on his head a crown 
 of gold, and round his neck was hung a necklace 
 
THE STORY OF KRISHNA. 
 
 127 
 
 composed of jewels, and — would you believe it ? — 
 round his body there was a yellow vest. 
 
 What a curious little fellow this new-born babe 
 would look, being unlike, I am sure, any baby that 
 you or I have yet been privileged to see. This 
 wonderful appearance of the boy was all illusory, 
 however, for, as the story tells us, no sooner had his 
 parents shouted out at the sight of him, “ Great is 
 our good fortune,” than he became like other children, 
 and began to cry in a hearty and vigorous fashion. 
 Just as we are told in the Bible that Herod sought 
 to destroy the child Jesus, so the Hindus in their 
 sacred scriptures say that a wicked king or demon, 
 called Kausa, sought to slay the babe Krishna. But 
 Prince Basoodeo, the father of Krishna, fled by night 
 with the child to carry him to a place of safety. 
 
 The story relates how that Krishna was placed in 
 a basket and carried out into the darkness on his 
 father’s head. The night was wild, the rain came 
 down in torrents, the winds blew a hurricane, and the 
 beasts of the field roared with terror ; but the new- 
 born babe was as happy as possible, and crowed with 
 delight. At length the river Jumna, which flows by 
 Muttra, was reached, and the anxious and distressed 
 father paused in dismay, for there seemed no possible 
 way of crossing the swollen stream. Plunging in, 
 however, he resolved to essay the task ; but the depth 
 of the river increased as he advanced, and soon the 
 water reached his mouth. It seemed as if father and 
 child must perish, but in a most unexpected way 
 deliverance was wrought. The babe in the basket, 
 the Hindus say, worked a miracle. Seeing the danger, 
 
128 HALF HOURS WITH THE HINDUS. 
 
 he stretched out a chubby little foot and touched the 
 water ; when lo, the river became shallow, and the 
 other side was speedily reached in safety ! 
 
 Through the raging storm Basoodeo pressed on 
 with his precious burden until he reached the village 
 of Gokool, where he found for the babe a home in the 
 
 KRISHNA. 
 
 house of a poor shepherd called Nund, whose little 
 daughter, born the same evening, was taken away in 
 exchange. Thus Krishna was delivered from the 
 power of the wicked king. What became of the 
 prince and princess, the father and mother of Krishna, 
 we are not told— they drop out of the story altogether ; 
 and Krishna, for some years at any rate, was led to 
 
THE STORY OF KRISHNA. 
 
 129 
 
 think that his foster-parents Nund and Jasodha, the 
 poor peasants, were his real parents. With these 
 lowly but kind-hearted people, who treated him with 
 much affection, the child henceforward passed his 
 days. 
 
 And very happy the days of Krishna’s childhood 
 and youth seem to have been. He had a foster- 
 brother named Bulram, who loved him dearly, and 
 was his inseparable companion as they both grew in 
 years. The two boys are represented as being of a 
 very merry and somewhat mischievous disposition. 
 One favourite pastime of these youngsters was to lay 
 hold of cows’ tails and hang on, while the animals ran 
 hither and thither, evidently enjoying the fun as much 
 as their little masters. But while we may smile at 
 such escapades of youth, we have quite different 
 feelings when we are told in the Hindu writings that 
 Krishna developed into a very clever thief. Is it not 
 strange that any people can worship a thief? But 
 the Hindus, I am afraid, think that it does not matter 
 what their gods do. Divinity seems to be regarded 
 as an excuse for any wickedness. Though Krishna 
 is generally acknowledged to have been an immoral 
 character, yet he is almost universally adored and 
 loved in India. 
 
 And, not content with being a thief himself, we are 
 told that Krishna sought to train his companion Bulram 
 and his other playmates in the same craft. There is 
 a story told about his taking a number of cowherds’ 
 children to a place called Bruj, and encouraging them 
 to steal butter. They searched for this tempting 
 article of diet in houses which were left for a few 
 
 9 
 
130 
 
 HALF HOURS WITH THE If IX DUS. 
 
 liours by their owners, and stole all they found. They 
 also carried away the milk pails belonging to people 
 they found asleep in their houses. 
 
 One day, however, Krishna w T as caught in the very 
 act of thieving, and taken before his foster-mother, 
 who, instead of scolding him, or punishing him, or 
 pointing out to him the sinfulness of his conduct, 
 simply said, “ Sou, do not go to any one’s house ; 
 whatever you wish to eat, eat at home.” Upon this, 
 Krishna told a lie to cover his theft. Let me quote 
 the very words of the Hindu book from which I have 
 learned these things. Creeping up to his foster- 
 mother, the boy said in whining tones, “ Do not, 
 mother, place any reliance on what they say. These 
 false shepherdesses have spoken falsely, and have 
 come roaring in pursuit of me. Sometimes they make 
 me lay hold of milk-pails and calves ; sometimes 
 they make me perform the drudgery of their houses, 
 and having placed me at the door to watch, they go 
 about their business, and then come and tell you 
 stories.” Thus the youth very meanly excused 
 himself. 
 
 Even in his own house Krishna gave trouble at 
 times, for he was far from being an obedient boy. 
 Take one story as an example. It was a special 
 churning day, and Jasodha was very busy. But right 
 in the middle of her churning, Krishna, who had been 
 asleep, must needs awake, and call out crossly for 
 something to eat. “ Mother ! mother ! ” he shouted, 
 “ how often have I to call you, and you will not attend 
 to me ? ” Kot satisfied with the promise that he would 
 receive something to eat directly, the peevish boy 
 
THE STORY OF KRISHNA. 
 
 131 
 
 grumbled and threatened mischief. Before his foster- 
 mother was aware of his purpose, he had seized the 
 churn-staff from a large dish, and putting both Ids 
 hands in had taken out the butter, and began throwing 
 it about, and besmearing his body with it. Thereupon 
 Jasodha, hoping to pacify him, stopped her work and 
 said, “ Come along with me, and I will give you food, 
 you naughty boy ! ” But the perverse young man was 
 not to be so easily quieted down, for he answered, “ I 
 will not take it now : why did you not give it me at 
 first ? ” At length with coaxing and kissing he was 
 prevailed upon to eat, and the wearied woman went 
 back to her churning. 
 
 Jasodha had scarcely resumed her occupation, how- 
 ever, when Master Krishna threw over and smashed 
 some pottery, and ran into the yard with a dish of 
 butter in his hand to divide amongst his companions. 
 Captured and led back to the house, the naughty lad 
 was told that he must submit to being tied to the 
 wooden mortar, so that he might be kept out of 
 mischief. He agreed ; but every string with which 
 his foster-mother sought to secure him proved on 
 trial to be too short, for, according to the story, the 
 young prince by his supernatural powers shortened 
 them. At length, however, perceiving that Jasodha 
 was on the point of bursting into tears, the exasper- 
 ating youth opposed no longer, and suffered himself 
 to be tied up, and was on his best behaviour for the 
 rest of the day. 
 
 "W hen Krishna was a little older, he was permitted 
 by his foster-parents to go out with other boys to 
 graze the cattle at some distance from home. On one 
 
132 
 
 HALF HOURS WITH THE HINDUS. 
 
 such expedition, a carious and comical event is re- 
 ported to have happened. The tale goes that while 
 Krishna was tending the cattle out in the open fields, 
 his old enemy, Ivansa, sent a demon in the form of a 
 big crane to gobble the lad up. Krishna, it appears, 
 knew well enough what the crane was after ; and when 
 he saw it approaching he assumed an attitude of in- 
 difference, and without a struggle allowed himself 
 to be seized by the enormous bill, and swallowed 
 wholesale. 
 
 From the inside of the crane, Krishna gathered 
 from the loud screams he heard that his companions 
 were terribly upset with what had happened. “ Alas, 
 alas ! ” they cried ; “ let us go and tell his mother 1 ” 
 Ere they could start, however, the young prince or 
 god carried out a little scheme he had been revolving 
 in his mind. All of a sudden he made himself hot, 
 and he grew hotter and hotter, until the crane became 
 uncomfortable ; and then he grew hotter still until the 
 bird could bear it no longer, and ejected him from its 
 mouth. Once again at liberty Krishna turned on the 
 disguised demon, and seizing the beak of the crane, 
 pressed the bird under his feet, and tore it to pieces, 
 thus inflicting death on his enemy. Collecting the 
 calves, the victorious youngster then returned home 
 with his companions, laughing and playing. 
 
 But a still more wonderful tale is told of Krishna 
 and his friends, the cowherds’ children. It is said 
 that one day when they were all out in the fields 
 together, they allowed the cattle to stray a little 
 while during the dinner hour. The god Brahma, 
 noticing from heaven their carelessness, collected and 
 
THE STORY OF KRISHNA. 
 
 133 
 
 took away the calves as a punishment. The children, 
 knowing nothing of this mishap, went gaily on with 
 their repast, until quite suddenly one of them said 
 to Krishna, “ We are sitting here at our ease and 
 eating ; who knows where the calves may have 
 strayed ? ” Whereupon Krishna jumped up, and 
 exclaimed, “ Do you all remain feasting, let no one 
 be anxious ; I will collect the calves anc> bring them 
 here.” And away the lad went in his search for the 
 animals, but of course found them not. Then it was 
 revealed to him that the god Brahma had spirited 
 them away. 
 
 However, Krishna, the legend says, was equal to 
 the occasion, for, using his divine powers he made 
 other calves, exactly like the lost ones, and drove 
 them before him. Imagine his dismay when, on his 
 return, he found that Brahma had meanwhile abstracted 
 the children. But Krishna, not to be outdone in 
 cleverness, created other children, exactly like those 
 that had been taken away. And the newly-created 
 cattle and children went to their homes, and no one 
 discovered the secret. 
 
 And wdiere, meanwhile, were the original children 
 and cattle ? Brahma had shut them up in a mountain 
 cave, and blocked up the entrance with a stone, 
 intending only to keep them his prisoners for a day 
 or two. However, the god fell into a state of forget- 
 fulness regarding the circumstance, for the space of 
 twelve months, but then recollecting what he had 
 done he said to himself, “ One of my moments has 
 not passed, but a year of mortals has elapsed ; I will 
 go and see what has been the state of things in Bruj 
 
134 
 
 HALF HOURS WITH THE HINDUS. 
 
 without the cowherds’ children and the calves.” 
 Thinking thus Brahma rose, and went to the cave, 
 and having raised the stone saw the children and the 
 calves were fast asleep. Leaving them there, the 
 god passed on to Bruj, and to his intense astonish- 
 ment found Krishna and the children playing in the 
 street, while the calves were in the stalls. Then was 
 it revealed* to Brahma that it was the miraculous 
 power of Krishna that had caused the illusion, where- 
 upon he Lowed to the superior wisdom and greatness 
 of the shepherd-god, and worshipped him. The 
 children and the calves were of course released from 
 the cave. 
 
 As Krishna grew in years and became a young 
 man, we are informed that he was a general favourite 
 amongst the fair sex of the district. Many a strange 
 story is told of his escapades with the pretty milk- 
 maids of Muttra and Brindahan. The chief delight 
 of the forward youth was to watch when the girls 
 went to bathe in the Jarnna, for then he would steal 
 their clothes, aud hang them all over the branches of 
 a great tree, while he sat on a convenient bough, 
 calmly waiting for the damsels to approach to suppli- 
 cate for their garments. When I was on a visit to 
 Muttra, the identical tree was pointed out to me. I 
 noticed that the branches were literally covered with 
 many-coloured rags ; and when I asked the meaning 
 of such a strange display, the priests, who were in 
 attendance, told me, that the pieces of cloth were 
 affixed to the tree as votive offerings by pilgrims from 
 all parts of India, in memory of the merry deeds of 
 the god Krishna in the days of old. Thus you see 
 
THE STORY OF KRISHNA. 
 
 135 
 
 the people of India are proud of actions which we 
 think unseemly and wrong. 
 
 Krishna sometimes, however, was helpful to those 
 maidens of Brindaban, for there was pointed out to me 
 near the bathing-ghaut, a spot where a terrible conflict 
 took place between the young god and a poisonous 
 serpent of monstrous size and strength, which had 
 been a terror to the bathers. Krishna, after an awful 
 struggle, succeeded in obtaining the mastery over 
 the reptile, and thus earned the thanks of all the 
 country side for ridding the river banks of such an 
 enemy. 
 
 I have in my collection of Indian curiosities an idol 
 which represents Krishna as a young and handsome 
 lad, joyful and triumphant, holding up a great serpent, 
 whose head he has crushed beneath his feet. Speak- 
 ing of images of Krishna, I might say that he is 
 represented in many forms, the most popular being 
 those which picture him as a babe in his mother’s 
 arms ; as a boy resting on one knee with his right 
 hand extended begging for sweetmeats ; as a youth 
 playing a flute or standing on the head of a serpent, 
 and as a man fully armed for battle. 
 
 Ko Indian god seems to have so taken the fancy 
 of the common people as Krishna. The women and 
 children are never tired of talking of his strange 
 actions and marvellous exploits, and they sing his 
 praises all the year round. They call him the 
 pleasant, the cheerful, the merry god, their darling, 
 and seem to see nothing wrong in his character 
 or life. 
 
 The miracles which Krishna is said to have wrought 
 
136 
 
 HALF HOURS WITH THE HINDUS. 
 
 are legion. In addition to those I have related I 
 might mention that the Hindus assert that at the 
 sound of Krishna’s flute, stones and trees became 
 animated, and the wild beasts of the field became as 
 tame as turtle-doves. It is said also that he cured 
 many sick people of their diseases by a word. And 
 as a crowning proof of his mighty power, it is declared 
 that on one occasion when the god Indra was angry 
 with the people of Gokul, and tried to destroy them 
 with torrents of rain, Krishna saved their lives by 
 holding a great mountain over their village, balanced 
 on his little finger, just as easily as any ordinary 
 person could have held an umbrella. 
 
 There is no need to follow Krishna very closely 
 through the remainder of his eventful history. When 
 he became a mau and had gathered round him a 
 number of followers he attacked Kansa, the wicked 
 King of Muttra, who had persecuted his parents, and 
 destroyed him. Thus he became famous as a soldier 
 and a warrior, and his services were in request in 
 every part of India. Finally, he took part in the 
 great wars between the Kauravas and the Pandavas, 
 fighting on the side of the latter, who were victors in 
 the long struggle. It is said that Krishna, who thus 
 survived many enemies and innumerable dangers on 
 fields of battle, was at length accidentally slain while 
 resting in a forest against a tree, by a hunter who 
 mistook him for a tree. If the story be true it was an 
 untimely end to which to come. His foster-brother 
 and life-long companion Bnlram, it is said, also 
 perished in the same forest from exhaustion, so that 
 in their death the two friends were not divided, 
 

 T 
 
 EJIPLE OF KRISHNA, 
 
 XEPAEL. 
 
 
 
THE STORY OF KRISHNA. 139 
 
 Now who can say how much of this strange story 
 of Krishna’s life and doings is truth, and how much is 
 fiction ? It almost seems as if somebody of this name 
 did once live in India, and passed through very 
 wonderful experiences, especially in the days of youth 
 and early manhood. To make a god of such a man, 
 aud to exaggerate his deeds, would not be unlike the 
 impressible and imaginative people of India. 
 
 Some students of Indian history think, however, 
 that the whole tale of Krishna’s life is a mere inven- 
 tion, probably founded on imperfect accounts of the 
 life of Christ, which early Christian emigrants would 
 carry to India from Palestine. It really does not 
 matter much which view we hold. Krishna of the 
 Hindus when contrasted with Christ cuts a sorry 
 figure; and this is the point I want my young readers 
 specially to notice. Think of the disobedience of 
 Krishna to his parents ; think of the immoral char- 
 acter of the god — of his thievish propensities, and 
 impure actions ; think of the silly and childish miracles 
 with which he is credited ; think of his days passed 
 in strife and bloodshed. And thinking of these things 
 remember that Christ — God manifest in the flesh— 
 was subject to His parents in all reverence and love ; 
 that He grew up an innocent, dutiful child ; that as 
 a man He was truthful, and candid, and holy in all 
 His ways ; that He was of a peaceful disposition ; 
 that He exhorted His friends, neighbours, and 
 fellow-countrymen to love God their heavenly Father, 
 and also to love one another ; and that He went 
 about daily doing good to friends and enemies 
 alike, until, in the fulness of time, He died upon the 
 

 140 HALF HOURS WITH THE HINDUS. 
 
 Cross, a sacrifice for the sins of the world. Thus of 
 Christ, hut not of Krishna, we can say — 
 
 “And so the Word had breath, and wrought, 
 
 With human hands, the creed of creeds, 
 
 In loveliness of perfect deeds, 
 
 More strong than all poetic thought.” 
 
 The anniversary of Krishna’s birth is kept in India 
 on the eighth Sravana, whicli occurs either in July or 
 August. On that day images of the infant Krishna 
 are adorned with sacred leaves, and the idol is fervently 
 worshipped. Then, on the festival called the Huli, 
 the great saturnalia of the vernal equinox in India, 
 Krishna is worshipped with special honours, which 
 too often degenerate into midnight orgies. 
 
 Worshippers of Krishna are assured that in this 
 life they will obtain innumerable pleasures, and in the 
 world to come such joys as the heart of man never 
 conceived. The heaven promised to all who call 
 Krishna their god is a vast golden city, containing a 
 multitude of beautifully furnished palaces, mansions, 
 and halls. “ Rivers of crystal flow through the city, 
 and broad, beautiful lakes are overshadowed by fair, 
 fruit-bearing trees. These lakes are covered with 
 water-lilies, red, blue, and white, each blossom having 
 a thousand petals ; and on the most beautiful of all 
 these calm lakes floats a throne, glorious as the sun, 
 whereon Krishna the beautiful reposes.” 
 
 And, sad to say, it is not considered necessary, 
 according to Hindu teaching, that the followers of 
 Krishna should live holy and righteous lives, either for 
 their own comfort and happiness, in this world or the 
 next. All that is considered necessary for salvation 
 
THE STORY OF KRISTINA. 
 
 141 
 
 is, that believers should mention the name of Krishna. 
 Then, no matter what may be the character of the 
 worshippers, an abundant entrance into heaven is 
 assured them. 
 
 To illustrate the efficacy of the mere name of 
 Krishna, the Hindu gurus, or religious teachers, are 
 fond of relating a story of a wicked woman who daily 
 amused herself by teaching her parrot to repeat the 
 name of Krishna. When the woman died, although 
 she felt no sorrow for her sins, her spirit, it is asserted, 
 went at once to heaven, where she was received with 
 acclamations, and entered upon untold bliss. And all 
 because, in teaching her parrot to talk, she had re- 
 peatedly mentioned the name of Krishna. 
 
 How different all this is from the teaching of Christ, 
 who deprecated vain repetitions of the name of God, 
 and laid such stress upon holy living as well as 
 trustful faith, saying, “ Not every one that saith unto 
 Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of 
 heaven ; but he that doeth the will of My Father 
 which is in heaven.” The best wish w r e can express 
 for the welfare of the people of India is, that in the 
 religious life of the people Christ may take the place 
 of Krishna. 
 
IX. 
 
 SNAKES AND SNA ICE WORSHIP. 
 
 HE very term snake has an objectionable 
 sound with it, and we doubtless find it diffi- 
 cult to understand that the people of India 
 can worship such a reptile. However, the fact remains 
 that many of them do, for they fear them — especially 
 the poisonous snakes — and worship them to escape 
 the venom of their bite. 
 
 In Cashmere years ago, there were said to be seven 
 
 142 
 
SNAKES AND SNAKE WORSHIP. 
 
 143 
 
 hundred temples for snake worship, but nearly all 
 have been demolished. However, in the neighbour- 
 hood of Nagpore, or the city of the Naga or Snake, 
 the old worship is still more or less practised. And 
 in South India snake worship very generally prevails 
 amongst the lower classes of the people. In the town 
 of Trevandrum the other day, while a Christian colpor- 
 teur was reading the Scriptures to some people in the 
 courtyard of a house, a serpent passed by him. He 
 wished to kill it, but was forbidden by his audience, 
 who shouted, “ Do uot touch it — it is our god.” What 
 a god ! Just think of falling down and worshipping 
 a snake ! To our Western feelings it is shocking 
 in the extreme, but in the East it is an everyday 
 occurrence. 
 
 A native gentleman, Sir Madava How, speaking on 
 this subject in a lecture, once remarked : “ Though 
 people die from their venomous bites, serpents are 
 worshipped as living deities by many of my fellow- 
 countrymen. Respectable citizens deem it a duty to 
 set apart a cool patch in their gardens for the com- 
 fortable residence of snakes. Occasionally the reptiles 
 creep out into the house itself, just by way of a little 
 change. I have seen many title-deeds of estates in 
 which the snakes are conveyed along with other rights 
 to the purchaser. Cobras wander about freely and in 
 broad daylight in certain of the famous pagodas. 
 There is a temple dedicated to Krishna which is parti- 
 cularly sacred to cobras. Every time I have visited the 
 temple I have been greeted by one or more of these 
 reptiles. Once I saw a huge cobra quietly passing a 
 lew yards off, followed by a train of worshippers with 
 
144 
 
 HALF HOURS WITH THE HINDUS. 
 
 clasped hands. Suddenly it turned and began to 
 wriggle on towards me, when I instantly recollected 
 that I had some urgent business elsewhere and 
 hurriedly left the sacred precincts.” 
 
 There are more snakes in India than in any other part 
 of the world, and a learned writer on the subject, Sir 
 Joseph Fayrer, asserts that there are at least twenty- 
 one distinct varieties of snakes in the East. Out 
 of this number fortunately only four varieties are 
 venomous, hut then there are millions belonging to 
 each variety or order. The snake in India that is 
 most feared is of course the cobra, or to give it its 
 full name, which is derived from the Portuguese, the 
 Cobra di Capello. This deadly reptile is found all 
 over Hindustan, and is remarkable for the faculty of 
 dilating the hack and sides of the neck, when excited, 
 into the form of a hood. 
 
 The cobra is usually three or four feet long, of a pale, 
 rusty brown colour above, and a bluish or yellowish 
 white below. On the back of the neck there is a 
 singular mark, always more or less clear, which bears 
 such a close resemblance to an old-fashioned pair of 
 spectacles that the reptile has from some people 
 received the name of the “ spectacles snake.” Its 
 ordinary food is lizards, flies, grasshoppers, and other 
 small insects and animals. 
 
 There are many sad and thrilling stories told of 
 adventures with snakes on the part of human beings, 
 and every year a very great number of deaths occur, 
 both amongst cattle and mankind, through the bite 
 of snakes, and particularly through the bite of the 
 cobra. It is estimated that 20,U00 human beings 
 
SNAKES AND SNAKE WORSHIP. 
 
 145 
 
 every year perish in India alone through this cause. 
 While I was living in Calcutta I remember the case 
 of a boy of ten years of age who was walking along a 
 road in the suburbs and was bitten in the foot by a 
 snake, and though every effort was made to save his 
 life the poor little fellow died after two days of 
 suffering. I remember also the case of a girl of 
 thirteen who was bitten in the arm while she was 
 asleep, and who died within a few hours. And such 
 cases are occurring daily, for the snake is no respecter 
 of persons, putting his venom into the form of a little 
 child as readily as into the form of a grown-up man. 
 
 It is not often we hear of Europeans being bitten 
 by snakes in India, though occasionally they have 
 very narrow escapes. Bishop Heber, in his “ Diary,” 
 tells a story or two on this subject. Writing on 
 September 18th, 1823, while sailing on the Gauges, 
 he says : “ This morning, as I was at breakfast, the 
 alarm was given of a great snake in the after-cabin, 
 which had found its way into a basket containing 
 two caps, presents for my wife and myself from 
 Dacca. The reptile was immediately and without 
 examination pronounced to be a cobra, and caused 
 great alarm amongst my servants. 
 
 “ However, on dislodging it from its retreat it 
 proved to be only a water-snake. It appeared to 
 have been coiled up very neatly round the fur of 
 the cap, and though its bite would not have been 
 venomous, it would certainly have inflicted a severe 
 wound on anybody who had incautiously opened the 
 basket. I had once or twice fancied I heard a gentle 
 hissing,' bat the idea of a snake in the boat seemed 
 
 10 
 
146 
 
 HALF HOURS WI1H THE HINDUS. 
 
 so impossible that I attributed the noise to different 
 causes or to fancy. Much wonder was expressed at 
 finding it in such a place, but as 1 have seen one of 
 the same kind climb a tree, it is probable that it had 
 ascended one of the ropes by which the boat is moored 
 at night, and so got amongst us.” 
 
 Bishop Heber then remarks : “ I had heard of an 
 English lady at Patna who once lay a whole night 
 with a cobra under her pillow. She repeatedly 
 thought during the night that something moved, and 
 in the morning, when she snatched her pillow away, 
 she found the thick black throat, the square head, 
 and green diamond-like eye advanced within two 
 inches of her neck. The snake fortunately was 
 without malice, his hood was uninflated, and he was 
 merely enjoying the warmth of his nest : but alas for 
 her, if she had during the night pressed the reptile a 
 little too roughly ! ” 
 
 Sir Edwin Arnold, in his “ India Revisited,” tells 
 of a gentleman who lived at Malabar Hill, Bombay, 
 and who, when sitting in his verandah one day, heard 
 a rustling beneath his chair, which he took for the 
 sound of his little dog’s movements. Thereupon he 
 snapped his fingers under the seat, calling the animal 
 by name. Nothing answering, he looked beneath, 
 and to his horror, saw two cobras there dallying with 
 his suspended palm. In another moment he might 
 all unconsciously have received his death wound. 
 Then I have heard of a lady who when about to enter 
 her bedroom one evening to get her bonnet was 
 advised by her husband to take a light ; and, fortu- 
 nately for herself she did so, for she discovered a 
 
FESTIVAL OF TIIE SERPENTS, BOMBAY, 
 

Snakes and snake worship. 
 
 149 
 
 cobra coiled up comfortably in the crown of the 
 bonnet. 
 
 Snakes as a rule tlo not chase human beings, or 
 seek to attack them, but rather try to escape out of 
 the way. Knowing this characteristic of the reptile 
 some people always go about with a stout walking- 
 stick or umbrella, not so much with the idea of 
 striking any snake they may meet as to give the 
 reptile warning of their approach by the vibration of 
 the ground, with the result that the snake usually 
 glides rapidly away as the traveller approaches it. 
 
 Sometimes, however, vicious snakes are met which 
 boldly attack a stranger, and seem determined to cause 
 mischief. The Rev. J. Ewan, of Benares, in his 
 “ Sketches and Stories of Native Life,” tells a re- 
 markable tale of a vicious snake. He writes : “ In 
 the rainy season of 1880, I had the narrowest escape 
 I have ever had. I was returning to Delhi about 
 9 a.m. one day, along the Agra road, when I saw a 
 bright yellowish snake glide out from among the 
 tombs and come on to the road. I apprehended no 
 danger, and drove on, feeling confident it would get 
 out of my way as I went forward. In this I was 
 mistaken, for it stopped short in front of my horse. 
 The poor brute was paralysed with fright and stood 
 still. The snake was then by the footboard, and 
 before I could take in the situation, it deliberately 
 sprang at me. I instinctively dropped the reins, and 
 the horrible thing flashed past, striking me on the 
 tips of the fingers and the knees as it passed. The 
 spriug carried it over the conveyance ; but it turned 
 and renewed the attack, and I could distinctly hear 
 
150 HALF HOURS WITH THE HINDUS. 
 
 it beating against the bottom. Fortunately the horse, 
 feeling the reins loose, dashed off and broke the spell. 
 "When I drew him up and looked back, the snake was 
 still on the road as defiant as ever.” 
 
 In the charming “ Story of Coopooswamey,” the 
 author, a native Christian of South India, relates a 
 snake tale about himself when a baby, which his 
 mother had told him. Let me give the story just as 
 it appears in the book, as it throws light on the 
 feelings and sentiments of the Hindus with regard to 
 snake worship. Coopooswamey’s mother, it should be 
 noted, was not a Christian. Speaking to her son on 
 one occasion, this lady said : “ Once when you were 
 about two years old, you gave me a horrible fright. 
 I left you playing by the side of the hedge in front of 
 the house, and when I went to call you, I saw to my 
 horror a large cobra winding itself round your body 
 and under your legs. You were laughing and crowing 
 and touching its glistening skin with your chubby 
 hands. The serpent seemed pleased with your warmth, 
 and with your gentle, childish way of touching. By 
 a terrible effort I kept from screaming. I knew that 
 if I made a noise or any sudden movement the snake 
 would probably fix its fangs in you, and you would 
 be dead in a few hours. 
 
 “ I kej)t quite still, and at length the cobra, observing 
 me, quickly glided into the hedge. Then my screams 
 broke forth as I rushed and caught you in my arms, 
 and pressed you to my bosom. The people came 
 running to know what was the matter. "When I 
 told them they raised their hands in wonder.” At 
 this stage of the narrative, Coopooswamey exclaimed, 
 
SNAKES AND SNAKE WORSHIP. 
 
 151 
 
 “ Did you kill tlie snake ? ” but his mother replied 
 with horror, “ Kill the suake ! we could not do that. 
 It was a god that had come to bless you. Even the 
 shadow of a cobra falling on any one is a good omen. 
 How lucky, then, did we consider you, that the god 
 had even embraced and fondled you.” 
 
 Then the lad remarked, “ Is that why you so often 
 go to the snake hole near the house with offerings of 
 eggs, camphor, and other things ? ” “ Yes,” replied 
 
 his mother, “ I have hardly missed a day in visiting 
 the place where I saw the serpent disappear. Some- 
 times I break a cocoanut there, and sacrifice a fowl in 
 honour of the god that was so gracious to you.” 
 
 It would appear that poisonous snakes, dangerous 
 though they are, have actually been made pets of by 
 human beings, who have handled them freely. I 
 have heard of a European gentleman at Rangoon, 
 who kept cobras in his house, and who, when he 
 wanted to show one, put his hand boldly into a 
 narrow-mouthed basket, containing quite a number, 
 and pulled out the one he had chosen. Mr. Edward 
 Moor, in his book entitled “ Oriental Fragments,” 
 relates that when he was a boy in India he took a 
 great fancy to a little cobra which he found on the 
 road. It was at first no larger than an ordinary 
 penholder, and the lad kept it for some time in a 
 bottle, feeding it with flies and crumbs of bread. As 
 it got older and larger he put it into a larger bottle, 
 and every now and then took it out for the amuse- 
 ment of himself and a playmate who whistled to the 
 dancing of the pet. 
 
 In a while the snake was big enough almost to 
 
152 
 
 HALF HOURS WITH THE HINDUS. 
 
 fill a gallon bottle, and then it developed restive 
 tendencies, and a neighbour calling at the house, 
 might perhaps find the reptile coiled up on the 
 sofa. One cold morning, Mr. Moor says, the strange 
 creature crawled up into his bedroom, and nestled in 
 the bed beside him, and from that day he became 
 much attached to it. However, in the course of time, 
 when the snake had grown to be more than a yard in 
 length, though it had done no one any mischief, it 
 was decided, in solemn family conclave, that it would 
 be as well to part with it, for fear of future trouble. 
 Accordingly the curious pet was carried to a rocky, 
 sunny place, two or three miles away, and given its 
 liberty ; and thus the friendship between the snake 
 and the boy was broken off, much to the distress of 
 the latter, who mourned many days for the loss of his 
 favourite. 
 
 In “ Old Deccan Days,” a book written by Miss 
 Frere, a daughter of Sir Bartle Frere, a story is told 
 of a Brahmin boy in the country west of Poona, who 
 could, as he sat out of doors, by the charms of his 
 voice, attract to himself and handle without fear all 
 the snakes which might be within hearing in any 
 thicket or dry stone wall, such as in that country 
 is their favourite refuge. So great was the popular 
 excitement among the Hindus regarding this boy, 
 that thousands and tens of thousands of people flocked 
 to see him ; and as they witnessed the remarkable 
 power he had over snakes, they regarded him also as 
 a god, and proceeded to worship him. The poor lad, 
 however, was at last bitten by one of the reptiles and 
 died, and the wonder ceased. 
 
SNAKES AND SNAKE WORSHIP. 153 
 
 It has often been a debated point as to whether 
 snakes can kill each other — as to whether their poison 
 is deadly when injected into each other’s bodies, just 
 as it is when injected into the bodies of animals and 
 human beings. Dr. Vincent Richards, in his book 
 entitled “ Landmarks of Snake Poison Literature,” 
 says : “ I have kept sixty to seventy cobras in a 
 pit together, and they very often, on the slightest 
 provocation, began to fight in a most savage and 
 curious fashion. On being provoked, several com- 
 menced to hiss fiercely, and some would raise them- 
 selves up, expand their hoods, and begin a vigorous 
 attack in all directions ; and after making several 
 ineffectual darts, two would catch each other by the 
 mouth, rapidly entwine themselves, and after wriggling 
 and struggling about in this state for some time, 
 relax their hold. Then one would be seen gliding 
 away vanquished to the corner of the cage, while the 
 triumphant one, raised to its full balancing height, 
 hissed out its challenge for a renewal of the combat. 
 In what consisted the getting the worst of it, I could 
 never discover, as neither of the combatants ever 
 seemed any the worse for the fight ; nor can I under- 
 stand why one snake dreads another if no danger is 
 involved.” However, in a footnote to this paragraph, 
 Dr. Richards announces that after other and numerous 
 experiments he at last came to the conclusion that 
 one species of snake could kill another by the injection 
 of poison. 
 
 A paragraph which I saw in a Bombay paper a 
 year or two ago, headed “ A Duel between Snakes,” 
 should aid in settling the disputed point. A corre- 
 
154 
 
 HALF HOURS WITH THE HINDUS. 
 
 spondent writes : “ Last Tuesday, wlieu taking an 
 afternoon stroll in my garden, I was surprised to 
 see a cobra and a rock-snake in the road before me, 
 moving in a circle and apparently following each 
 other. This cautious manoeuvre was pursued for a 
 time, the circle closing at each round, until when 
 within a few feet, I observed the cobra to stop, coil, 
 and place itself in an attitude to strike. The rock- 
 snake then passed round its antagonist several times, 
 lessening the distance at each round, when it also 
 stopped and began to coil. But before it was ready 
 to strike, the cobra suddenly darted upon it. The 
 evolutions were too rapid to be detected ; and then 
 again I distinctly observed both the snakes stretch 
 out at full length. The rock-snake was enveloped 
 in the folds of the cobra, which had also seized the 
 rock-snake at the back of the head, and held him 
 there. After a short interval the cobra gradually 
 unfolded itself, loosened its grip with its mouth from 
 the rock-snake’s head, and moved away. I called to 
 my gardener, who was working a few paces off, but 
 before he could come up to the spot the victor of the 
 duel disappeared in a neighbouring bush. On ex- 
 amination I found the rock-snake to be dead.” 
 
 In his “ Three Years of a Wanderer’s Life,” Mr. 
 Keene tells the story of a snake and a mouse that 
 is worth repeating. He writes : “ I was visiting at 
 a friend’s house in Calcutta, and was on a certain 
 evening sitting at dinner alone. I had finished and 
 was still lingering at the table when a little mouse 
 ran up on the top of a bowl with a sort of basket 
 cover on it. I should not have thought that of itself 
 
SNA KES AND SNAKE WORSHIP. 155 
 
 very singular, for the 1 tribes on the frontier ’ make 
 most unexpected incursions. But this mouse, when 
 he got perched on the. cover of the bowl, rose up on 
 his hind legs, with his hands before him, and began 
 to entertain me with the funniest little song you can 
 imagine. Chit — chit, chup — chup — chit, he whistled, 
 and kept it up before me in a most unembarrassed 
 and self-possessed little way. I must have been a 
 trying audience, for I leaned back in my chair and 
 roared with laughter. 
 
 l ’ However, as I looked at the little performer I 
 gradually became aware of a shadow, a something 
 strange gliding out from behind a dish toward the 
 mouse. Silently and slowly it drew near : in another 
 minute a beady snake’s eye glittered i'n the lamplight. 
 My hand stole softly for the carving-knife. The snake 
 reared his head level with the mouse, and the poor 
 little fellow’s song, which had never ceased, became 
 piercingly shrill, though he sat up rigidly erect and 
 motionless. The head of the snake drew back a little 
 to strike : and out flashed my carving-knife. 
 
 u The spell was broken instantly, for the mouse 
 dropped and scampered. The snake was evidently 
 wounded, for there were spots of blood on the table- 
 cloth, and it was writhing about among the dishes and 
 plates. I would not have believed, until I had seen it, 
 how much of himself a snake can stow away under 
 the edge of a plate. At last I saw the end of his tail 
 projecting out from under the dish. A snake held by 
 the tail and swung round rapidly cannot turn and bite. 
 I grabbed the tail with my left thumb and finger, and 
 drew him out until I judged the middle of his body to 
 
156 
 
 HALF HOURS WITH THE HINDUS. 
 
 be under the knife : then I came down and cut him in 
 two.” Thus was the little singing mouse saved from 
 the jaws of death. 
 
 Everywhere in India are to be found wandering 
 samp-wallahs, or snake-charmers, who for a trifling 
 sum will favour you with an exhibition of snakes 
 which they carry about in a basket or upon their 
 persons. When in Calcutta I often called in these 
 entertaining gentlemen with their snakes, more 
 especially when visitors were in the house from 
 England or Australia. I remember well one enter- 
 tainment. Two dark fellows came in and squatted 
 on the verandah, with some earthen pots which 
 contained the snakes. The latter were taken out one 
 by one, and made to dance to the noise of a tubri, a 
 curious instrument from which the snake-charmers 
 bring out some weird music. The dancing of half a 
 dozen snakes all in a line was very peculiar and 
 somewhat awe-inspiring, for it seemed as if at any 
 moment they might turn on us, the spectators. 
 
 However, the men had the snakes well in hand, and 
 made them go through many manoeuvres in the dancing 
 line. Then one of the men seized the nearest snake, 
 and immediately twined it round his waist ; the next 
 he threw over his shoulders ; the next round his 
 throat ; and the others round his head and his legs. 
 And not satisfied with this startling display, he irritated 
 the reptiles until they erected their heads and hissed 
 with rage. 
 
 The snakes round the man's neck and head actually 
 put out their forked tongues and struck him fiercely 
 on the face, until the blood flowed down pretty freely. 
 
SERPENT-CHARMERS IN INDIA, 
 
SNAKES AND SNAKE WORSHIP. 
 
 159 
 
 The man did not seem to care, but only laughed. And 
 no harm seemed to result from the wounds, which 
 were probably only skin deep. So freely do snake- 
 charmers usually handle their reptiles that some 
 people have supposed that the poisonous fangs must 
 have been previously extracted from the snakes. 
 However, this is not the case. 
 
 When Sir Edwin Arnold paid his last visit to 
 India he tells us that he put the matter to the test. 
 A snake-charmer who exhibited before him was 
 questioned as to the presence or absence of poison iu 
 his snakes, and replied, “ If the gentlefolk would 
 supply a sheep or goat, they might quickly see 
 whether he spoke a true word.” “ Eventually a white 
 chicken was produced, and seizing his cobra by the 
 neck the juggler pinched its tail and made it bite the 
 poor fowl, which uttered a little cry when the sharp 
 tooth punctured its thigh. But being replaced on the 
 ground the chicken began to pick up rice with un- 
 concern, apparently uninjured. In about four minutes 
 however it ceased moving about, and began to look 
 sick. In two minutes more it had dropped its beak 
 upon the ground, and was evidently paralysed and 
 unable to breathe freely. In another minute it fell 
 over upon its side, and was dead with convulsions 
 within ten minutes after the infliction of the wound.” 
 
 Seeing that snakes are so common in India, and 
 the bite of many of them so deadly, we can quite 
 understand that great anxiety is shown to find out, 
 if possible, something that will act as an antidote, 
 that life may be saved. The poison of the cobra is 
 secreted in a large gland in the head, and when the 
 
1G0 IIALF HOURS WITH THE HINDUS. 
 
 serpent compresses its mouth upon any object the 
 liquid flows through a cavity of a tooth, which is 
 sharp as a needle, into the wound, and quickly runs 
 through the system. Unfortunately nothing has yet 
 been discovered which can, in a genuine case of 
 poisoning, be looked upon as a certain cure,. 
 
 Dr. Vincent Richards, the specialist already referred 
 to, has examined one by one the so-called antidotes, 
 such as ammonia, arsenic, mercury, nitrate of silver, 
 oil and opium, and declares that all of them when 
 weighed in the balances are found wanting. The 
 man, it would appear, has yet to come forward, who 
 will confer upon his fellow mortals the inestimable 
 boon of a sure antidote to the bite of a venomous 
 serpent. 
 
 Amongst other antidotes that have been tried in 
 past years, and found of no use whatever, is the one 
 which bears the name of “ snake-stone.” I have one 
 in my possession which I bought at Benares from a 
 snake-charmer. It was believed for many years, even 
 by intelligent men, that there was a secretion in the 
 head of a cobra, which, as the snake advanced in 
 years, grew hard like a stone, and that this stone 
 when extracted, as it was often supposed to be by 
 snake-charmers, and applied to the wound inflicted 
 by a snake bite, would immediately cause it to heal. 
 
 These “ stones ” are usually of a dark hue, and are 
 flat like a tamarind stone, and about the same size ; 
 that is, say, the size of a threepenny bit. If put into 
 a glass of water they sink, and emit small bubbles 
 every half-score seconds. A snake stone was once 
 sent to Professor Faraday to analyse, and he believed 
 
SNAKES AND SNAKE-WORSHIP. 
 
 161 
 
 it to be “ a piece of charred bone, which had been 
 filled with blood several times, and then carefully 
 charred again. It consisted almost entirely of 
 phosphate of lime, and if broken showed an organic 
 structure with cells and tubes.” Probably the fullest 
 and most reliable account of snake stones is to be 
 found in Moor’s “ Oriental Fragments,” to which I 
 would refer any of my readers who may be specially 
 interested in the subject. Mr. Moor, in a clever 
 fashion, convicted a snake-charmer of deceit, and the 
 man confessed that he was a rogue, and that snake 
 stones were all an invention of the snake-charming 
 fraternity, to impress the public with their cleverness 
 and to add to their gains. 
 
 In the native almanacs the fifth day of Srawan (July- 
 August) is noted as the birthday of the King of 
 the Snakes, and on that day worship is very generally 
 in India offered to snakes. In Benares Hindus of all 
 ranks and of both sexes go to the famous Serpent’s 
 Wells in that city, and after bathing therein return 
 quietly to their homes. Elsewhere the practice is for 
 the people to draw a serpentine figure on their houses 
 and do homage thereto. Then they adjourn to the 
 nearest rocks or trees where serpents are known to 
 live, and finding their holes, plant sticks near them, 
 and winding cotton round the sticks hang up festoons 
 of fragrant flowers. 
 
 After that is done, offerings of frnit, sugar, ghee and 
 flour are placed round the holes, into which milk is 
 very often poured. The women-folk and children then 
 joining hands, circle five times round the snake’s 
 dwelling, and then lie down and watch anxiously to 
 
 11 
 
162 
 
 HALF-HOURS WITH THE HINDUS. 
 
 see if the reptiles will come out of their holes and 
 partake of the things presented to them. If the 
 snakes do, which is usually the case, the foolish people 
 are delighted, and go hack to their homes believing 
 that the snake-king has heard their prayers, and will 
 give them his blessing. 
 
 When will the people of India learn that the only 
 Being to be worshipped is God, and that the only 
 thing to be feared is sin ? It is sin that “ biteth like 
 a serpent and stingeth like an adder.” And the only 
 remedy for sin-stricken souls is faith in Christ, of 
 whom the Bible speaks when it says, “ As Moses 
 lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must 
 the Son of man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth 
 in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.” 
 
» 
 
 PART II. 
 

 
 
FESTIVAL AT BENARES: WASHING IN THE HOLY RIVER GANGES. 
 
 I. 
 
 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 
 
 HE maimers and customs of the people of 
 India are an endless source ot interest to 
 visitors from Europe. All is so very different 
 from what we are accustomed to at home, that we 
 cannot but notice and comment on what we see and 
 hear of the character of the people, their way of life, 
 and general appearance. 
 
 1 
 
2 
 
 THE LAND OF IDOLS. 
 
 Everything seems to be turned topsy-turvy, and it 
 takes new arrivals in the East some time to get used 
 to the remarkable change. “The Oriental has an 
 odd way of doing everything backwards, as it seems 
 to us, though from his point it is we who turn every- 
 thing upside down. Their saw, for example, has the 
 teeth set towards the handle, and the carpenter pulls 
 it towards him ; their screws turn the wrong way ; 
 their writing begins at the wrong end ; they take off 
 their shoes and keep on their hats, while we take off 
 our hats and keep on our shoes ; they beckon with 
 the finger held downwards ; and, strangest of all, if 
 a man wishes to spite his enemy he occasionally does 
 so by hurting himself.” 
 
 Thus in both thought and action the people of the 
 East differ radically from the people of the West, and 
 these facts have to be taken into consideration when 
 we desire to form an estimate of the character of the 
 natives of India. We must take care that we do 
 not condemn others simply because they differ from 
 ourselves, for it does not necessarily follow that our 
 ways of thinking and acting are the only true and 
 right ways. 
 
 The morning bath is a favourite custom of the East, 
 and it would be well if it were as widely followed 
 in the West. It is a remarkable sight, in the early 
 morning in India, to observe the natives of all ages 
 and of both sexes going down to the river or the 
 tank, and there performing their ablutions with great 
 care and every appearance of enjoyment. Of course 
 the hot climate favours the practice, for no one is 
 afraid of cold water or of a chill. The boys and girls 
 
MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 3 
 
 of India have not to be driven or coaxed to the river 
 for their bath, as they are always delighted when the 
 hour comes round, for it is one of the enjoyments of 
 their life. 
 
 WORSHIPPING THE GANGES. 
 
 The custom of bathing is associated with religion. 
 I do not know that the Hindus believe that “ cleanli- 
 ness is next to godliness,” but they certainly affirm 
 that their gods are pleased with them if they attend 
 
4 
 
 THE LAND OF IDOLS. 
 
 regularly and punctiliously to their ablutions. If 
 you watch the bathers closely you will observe that 
 their lips move as if in prayer. They are in reality 
 dedicating themselves to their idols, and praying that 
 they may be cleansed from all defilement, incurred 
 by touch, taste, deed, word or thought, known or 
 unknown. 
 
 Unfortunately the people are not as particular as 
 they ought to be with regard to the purity of the 
 water in which they bathe. The river, of course, is 
 all right, but sometimes the tanks in which they wash 
 themselves are stagnant pools of filth and corruption, 
 and are dangerous to health. It would be a great 
 gain for India if the Imperial Government appointed 
 inspectors of the tanks, whose duty it would be to see 
 that all places of public ablution were kept in proper 
 repair and free from all injurious matter. As it is, 
 the universal custom of bathing in the East, which 
 ought to be a great public blessing, is very often a 
 means of propagating numerous diseases. 
 
 Amongst both Hindus and Moslems morning 
 salutations are freely exchanged. Not only will 
 friend greet friend, but neighbours will greet neigh- 
 bours, and even strangers greet strangers. In the 
 West we content ourselves usually, if we address 
 people at all, with a brief “ Good morning ! ” but in 
 the East the salutation is invariably in the name of 
 the Deity. Two Mohammedans meeting or passing 
 one another, will commend each other to Allah ; while 
 two Hindus will commend each other to Rama or 
 some other god. It seems to me a very pleasing 
 custom. 
 
MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 
 
 5 
 
 The Hindus have a curious custom of marking the 
 forehead, and rubbing other parts of the body with 
 ashes, in the early morning, and these caste or sectarian 
 marks are retained throughout the day. It is a 
 disfiguring custom, and serves no good end, while at 
 times it leads to strife. There • are about seventy 
 distinguishing marks in all, most of which are placed 
 on the arms and breast. The face marks are the 
 fewest, but they are the most striking. These marks 
 consist of spots, circles, triangles, straight lines, 
 curved lines, crescents, simple or in combination, 
 and of varied colours. Thus a simple spot on the 
 forehead symbolises Brahma the Supreme Being, 
 while a spot in the centre of a circle inclosed in 
 a triangle, symbolises the Hindu Trinity — Brahma, 
 Vishnu, and Siva. Some sects adopt a mark like an 
 eccentric cross with the four points bent. Some are 
 simply marked with three white lines, while others 
 have perpendicular stripes. A small horizontal line 
 on the forehead denotes having bathed — in fact, being 
 ready for society. 
 
 The Hindus spend a lot of thought and time every 
 morning over these sectarian marks, time which would 
 be better spent in quiet meditation and prayer. I 
 dislike the custom chiefly, however, because it makes 
 a public display of differences in religious opinions, 
 and thus helps to perpetuate feelings of class hatred. 
 
 In association with the morning bath, and at other 
 times during the day, the people of India pay great 
 attention to their teeth. It is a fact that Eastern 
 people do not suffer anything like as much from 
 decayed teeth as Western people, and one reason 
 
6 ' 
 
 THE LAND OF IDOLS. 
 
 probably is because they clean their teeth daily with 
 great care. Tooth brushes are not used. Indeed the 
 Hindus think our custom of using tooth brushes to be 
 a most unclean and disgusting one, inasmuch as we 
 do not have new ones daily, for the touch of saliva 
 is deemed utterly polluting. The people of India 
 simply use a piece of stick, usually the wood of a 
 tamarind or nim tree, for purposes of teeth cleansing. 
 
 Miss Cumming, writing on this custom in her work 
 on India, says : “ Every Hindu bestows infinite care on 
 his teeth, which he polishes vigorously with a soft 
 flat stick, about the width of a finger. This is an 
 important religious action, and must be preceded by 
 ceremonially rinsing the mouth on awakening. As 
 you pass through a native town in the early morning 
 it seems as if the whole poprrlation had turned out of 
 their houses to perform this part of their toilet in 
 public, and such an amount of scraping and polishing 
 goes on that you marvel how any enamel is left.” 
 The result is exceedingly satisfactory, however, for 
 almost every mouth displays rows of dazzling ivory, 
 and dentists are almost without occupation. In the 
 matter of thorough attention to their teeth, English 
 boys and girls might do well to imitate the people of 
 India. Sound teeth, it should be borne in mind, are 
 not only pleasant to look at, but are conducive to good 
 health and good temper. 
 
 Dress is not a matter which very much exercises 
 the attention of the millions of India. Some of the 
 rich people put on beautiful and even costly clothing, 
 but the common people are if anything too careless 
 with regard to their apparel. Of course in a hot 
 
MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 
 
 7 
 
 climate very little clothing is needed, but decency 
 requires that some should be used. Commonly* 
 children go about quite naked, unless a string round 
 the waist, with a key or coin attached to it, can be 
 called a garment. The key is worn as a charm to 
 keep away evil influences from the little ones. When 
 boys and girls reach the age of five or six clothing is 
 worn, but it is even then very scanty, consisting only 
 of a cloth round the loins. And with the poor all 
 through life very little more is worn even in the 
 rainy or cold weather. Sometimes at night a sheet 
 is wrapped round the body for warmth. Among 
 well-to-do people the ordinary female dress is the 
 saree — a piece of cloth, between nine and ten cubits 
 long, and two or two-and-a-half cubits broad, which 
 is worn round the waist with one end covering the 
 shoulders and the head. Of men the ordinary dress 
 everywhere is the dhoti , which is wrapped round the 
 middle of the body, and tucked up between the legs, 
 while a part of it hangs down in front a good deal 
 below the knees. A chadur is also used by people 
 who can afford to have one, and is worn over the 
 shoulders. 
 
 Of late years in the cities some of the native 
 gentlemen have taken to imitating Europeans in their 
 dress. It is surely a mistake. The native garments 
 when ample and of good material look very picturesque, 
 and are more suitable for an Eastern climate than 
 European clothing. I do not suppose that the people 
 generally will ever be foolish enough to discard their 
 national costume, though it is to be hoped that the 
 poorer classes will be led to be more particular with 
 
8 
 
 THE LAND OF IDOLS. 
 
 respect to the decency of their personal appearance. 
 Neatness and cleanliness in dress, both in the West 
 and the East, are greatly to be desired on the part 
 both of young people and adults, and in all classes 
 of society. 
 
 Stockings are very seldom used by the natives of 
 India ; nor, indeed, are they needed. Shoes also are 
 not common amongst the Hindus, though the Moham- 
 medans wear them. The poorer classes, both male 
 and female, especially in Bengal, go barefoot, and 
 experience no inconvenience from the custom. Even 
 amongst Mohammedans it is considered only reverent 
 to take off their shoes when entering the courtyards 
 of their mosques, and only respectful to leave them at 
 the door when entering the dwelling house of a friend 
 or stranger. Bare feet have always been regarded as 
 signs of politeness in the East, just as a bare head 
 has been in the West. Eastern people keep the head 
 covered on all occasions both indoors and out, as a 
 general rnle, though recently in the large cities custom 
 has been varying on this matter and also on the shoe 
 question. The fact is, the presence of Europeans in 
 India is slowly but surely working a change in some 
 of the manners and customs of the people, and has 
 certainly affected this time-honoured practice of taking 
 off the shoes as a mark of respect. However, the 
 change as yet is chiefly confined to the educated 
 classes of society and to cities. The people as a 
 whole still keep the head covered and the feet bare 
 in the presence of those whom they regard as their 
 social superiors. 
 
 Both Hindus and Mohammedans are apt to carry 
 
MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 
 
 0 
 
 their civility to the verge of senility and beyond it 
 on occasion. The people of India lack what we might 
 call a proper feeling of respect, what the French 
 designate amour propre. A little more manliness 
 and independence of character would be beneficial 
 to the whole country. V ery few of the people seem 
 to have a mind or a will of their own in the presence 
 of superiors. Indeed, the manners of the natives of 
 India may be represented as cringing. In addressing 
 a superior they will use such terms as “ Lord,” 
 “ Provider for the poor,” “ Representative of God,” 
 “ Your worship,” and so on ; while they speak of 
 themselves with the utmost humility as “ Your slave.” 
 There is a, story told of a Lieutenant Governor of 
 the Yorth-west Provinces entering a public school 
 on one occasion to question the lads as to their pro- 
 gress in knowledge. The pupils were overpowered by 
 the honour done them, and seemed scarcely to know 
 whether they were standing on their feet or their 
 heads. Matters came to a climax, and the gravity of 
 the great man was completely upset when, in answer 
 to a question he had put as to what makes the earth 
 go round the sun, the head scholar of the school 
 exclaimed solemnly and earnestly, “ Sir, the earth 
 revolves by favour of your highness.” Is not such 
 servility disgraceful ? Yet amongst men as well as 
 boys in the East it is all too common. Why, I have 
 known a servant in my own house in Calcutta, when 
 I was displeased with him, fall down on the floor, and 
 attempt to put one of my feet upon his neck as a sign 
 of the most complete self-abasement and submission 
 ■to my will. Such conduct was always a trial to me. 
 
10 
 
 THE LAND OF IDOLS. 
 
 I like manliness, and thoroughly despise such servility. 
 The people of India greatly need to be taught “ self- 
 respect,” without which no people can be honoured 
 and no nation can be great. 
 
 Yet, strange to say, while true self-respect is lacking 
 in the Hindus and Mohammedans they are not troubled 
 as a rule with diffidence , and they cannot be regarded 
 as modest in their estimate of themselves. The Rev. 
 F. H. Blackett, late of the Cambridge Mission, Delhi, 
 writing on this point, says, “ There is in all of these a 
 serene self-complacency which is not easily disturbed, 
 and is a source of great weakness and a great obstacle 
 to their moral improvement, its root being obviously 
 in the absence of any high external standard. Natives 
 of India are not troubled with any excessive reserve 
 on their own merits ; if these are not readily apparent 
 to others they are always willing to supply the 
 deficiency.” Thus conceit flourishes though self-respect 
 does not. 
 
 Inquisitiveness is another failing of the people of 
 India. They think that everybody’s business is their 
 business, aud they do all they can to find out what 
 salary you get, what failings or virtues you may have, 
 and other matters of private interest. For instance, 
 the servants in the house of a European will obtain 
 keys to open drawers and desks when the master’s 
 back is turned, and will count money, and read any 
 correspondence they find, if they can. I have known 
 a packet of love-letters disappear for a few days, and 
 then be brought back again. In all probability the 
 precious parcel was placed for a while in the hands 
 of some one who could read English, and who for a • 
 
MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 
 
 11 
 
 consideration would tell the inquisitive servant what 
 the contents were. Such meddlesomeness seems un- 
 bearable, but English people in India get used to it 
 in time, and put up with it simply because they cannot 
 mend matters. As education spreads in the land, and 
 the laws of morality are taught even to the servants, 
 we may hope for a change for the better. “ Paul 
 Prys ” are not pleasant people to have to deal with. 
 
 Even amongst the more respectable classes in India 
 the inquisitorial spirit is very strongly developed, and 
 it does not do to be too sensitive at the questions that 
 may be asked by acquaintances or by entire strangers. 
 Let me quote some remarks on this point which occur 
 iu the book called “ Everyday Life in South India.” 
 Coopooswamey, the author of the work, says: “ It was 
 now about four o’clock in the afternoon, and as we 
 slowly jogged along we passed many people returning 
 to their villages from the market. One man took 
 hold of the back of our cart to help him along. My 
 father entered into conversation with him, and asked 
 many questions regarding his business at the market 
 and other private matters. I have observed there is 
 a great difference between Hindus and Europeans in 
 this respect. An Englishman is offended if you ask 
 him where he is going, where he has come from, his 
 object in coming, his profession, the amount of his 
 salary and the like ; whereas a Hindu regards such 
 inquiries as an indication of polite and kindly interest 
 in him. He will answer freely, though not always 
 truthfully, all your queries, and will, by magnifying 
 his salary, and in other ways, seek to give you a high 
 opinion of his importance.” 
 
12 
 
 THE LAND OF IDOLS. 
 
 Coopooswamey in the foregoing- quotation seems to 
 imply that the Hindu custom of communicativeness 
 is better than the English one of reserve. It may be 
 that English people are too reserved ; but I incline to 
 the conviction that less inquisitiveness on the part of 
 the people of India would be better for all parties 
 concerned, especially as so much asking of questions 
 inevitably leads to much telling of lies. It is a good 
 thing to study to be quiet and to mind our own 
 business. 
 
 Except amongst the well-to-do in India the houses 
 of the people have very little furniture in them. 
 Chairs and tables are almost unknown. The people 
 usually sit or recline on a mat on the ground, and sleep 
 on a little framework of bamboo called a charpoy. 
 At any moment in India a man could easily take up 
 his bed and walk. Our custom of sitting on chairs 
 seems very comical to the natives who live in country 
 places, if they happen to enter a European house. I 
 well remember the perplexity of a young man who 
 was brought by an evangelist to see me in Calcutta, 
 when I offered him a chair and asked him to sit down. 
 He stared at the chair in amazement, and then, feeling 
 that he ought to do something, he first stood upon it, 
 and then doubling up his feet under him sat on it in 
 true Eastern fashion like a tailor on his bench. 
 
 The habit the natives have of sitting on the ground 
 poised on the soles of their feet is a very peculiar one 
 also. It is a position in which a European would 
 have difficulty in retaining his balance, and yet the 
 Hindus adopt it as an attitude of rest. A coachman, 
 for instance, will get off his comfortable box directly 
 
AN INDIAN HAREEM, 
 
MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 
 
 1 5 
 
 the carriage stops anywhere, and will squat in the 
 dust and poise himself on the soles of his feet with his 
 shoulders almost between his knees, and enjoy himself 
 resting thus by the hour together, while waiting for 
 his master and mistress. 
 
 It is a custom in India to dismiss a visitor who may 
 have called upon you when you think he has stayed 
 long enough. Of course in England it would be con- 
 sidered the height of rudeness to do such a thing, but 
 in the East it is a right course to take. Mr. Minturn, 
 in his book entitled “From New York to Delhi,” 
 relates an experience he had with a visitor in his 
 travels, who bored him greatly, owing to his ignorance 
 of this Eastern custom. When in the neighbourhood 
 of Benares, he wrote : “ On my return to the Dak 
 Bungalow, I was accosted by the Zemindar of the 
 village, a mild-looking young Mussulman, who asked 
 permission to come in and see me. This being 
 granted he sat down while I breakfasted. It soon 
 came out that his object was to practise his English 
 upon me. He presented me with his card in Persian, 
 and I gave him mine in English, and we kept up 
 quite a conversation on the propriety of Mussulmans 
 eating with Christians, which they refuse to do in 
 India. He afterwards began begging for books, 
 paper, and other things, and offered to sell me his 
 ring, when I became disgusted and dismissed him. 
 His visit was longer than he intended it to be, from 
 my ignorance of the Indian usage which forbids a 
 visitor to depart until he has received permission from 
 his host. I had been hoping he would go ; and when 
 he began begging, expressed my wishes to my servant, 
 
1G 
 
 THE LAND OF IDOLS. 
 
 who advised me to say, ‘ There is permission to depart,’ 
 when he looked very grateful, put on his shoes, 
 salaamed, and quickly left.” 
 
 Untrutk/ulness and dishonesty are bad traits of 
 Eastern character. To tell a lie seems, I am afraid, 
 to many Hindus and Mohammedans, as natural as to 
 tell the truth. Missionaries, in their dealings with 
 young people in the colleges and schools, have great 
 difficulty in getting them to understand that it is 
 wrong to deceive, wrong to tell lies, and wrong to 
 purloin articles that belong to others. 
 
 Europeans, in association with native servants, find 
 the same absence of truthfulness and honesty. Taking 
 them altogether, servants in India are useful and 
 faithful ; but it seems almost impossible for them to 
 be straightforward and upright in all their conduct. 
 The fact is, there is no religious teaching on these 
 questions of morality, and the example of the so-called 
 gods of the land, particularly Krishna and Siva, is 
 very injurious, for they are credited with doing all 
 kinds of wicked things. I was fortunate in my 
 servants while in India ; but still every now and then 
 something would disappear from the house. I would 
 miss money out of my pockets, and writing paper out 
 of my desk, and various ornaments and curiosities I 
 had collected would vanish from the walls and no 
 more be seen or heard of. 
 
 One night I missed a new silk umbrella on which I 
 had just turned my back for a moment. As I felt 
 sure it could not have been taken away, but must be 
 hidden somewhere in the house, I called the servants 
 together and asked them to assist me in finding it. 
 
MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 
 
 17 
 
 Oar search was in vain. However, at midnight I 
 ransacked the house again on my own account, and 
 at last came across the missing article stowed away 
 behind the sideboard in the dining-room. Foolishly, 
 I resolved to leave it there till morning, and then 
 show it to the servants, and try to convict one of 
 them of hiding it with felonious intent. After break- 
 fast I marshalled the whole household and led them 
 to the sideboard ; but the thief had been too sharp for 
 me, for the umbrella was no longer there. Words 
 fail me to describe my chagrin at the discovery. As 
 for the servants, not a muscle of their countenances 
 moved, though I could see from the sparkle in their 
 eyes that they were enjoying my discomfiture. I had 
 to buy another umbrella. 
 
 Another bad custom of Eastern people is that of 
 running into debt. It is noticeable in all classes of 
 society, and even amongst native Christians, who 
 ought to know better, and who ought to set a better 
 example to their non-Christian countrymen. Debt 
 incurred chiefly in connection with marriage ceremonies, 
 which are celebrated on a grand scale ; and once in 
 debt it is almost impossible for the poorer classes to 
 get free, as the money-lenders charge high interest, 
 and it is all the people can do to meet the payments 
 as they fall due. Thus many of the people are kept 
 for life under the yoke of debt. 
 
 The Rev. F. H. Blackett, in his “Two Years in an 
 Indian Mission,” says : “ The native of India is always 
 in debt. There was a village near Delhi where the 
 people were poor, but free from debt. A canal was 
 made, and the value of the land thereby much in- 
 
 2 
 
18 
 
 THE LAND OF IDOLS. 
 
 creased : the people became prosperous, and also got 
 into debt. The reason why they were not in debt 
 before was that tbeir land was too poor to serve as a 
 security, but as soon as that was improved they could 
 raise money on the security of tbeir crops, and 
 promptly did so. If a native is not in debt it is 
 generally because no one will lend him anything.” 
 Truly it is a sad state of things, and there is great 
 need for a reformation in the matter of debt. This 
 bad practice is one of the curses of India, and is the 
 source of endless trouble and sorrow. It is a subject 
 on which missionaries often speak to the people, 
 quoting to them the Apostolic injunction, “ Owe no 
 man anything, but to love one another.” 
 
 One of the sights of India, and one which my 
 young readers would be sure to notice if they travelled 
 in the East, is the barbers plying their razors in the 
 streets and the market-places. The Hindus never 
 shave themselves, though it is a general custom to 
 be shaved. The Mohammedans seldom shave, as the 
 beard is sacred, being a passport to Mecca and to 
 Paradise. Amongst the Hindus the people called 
 Rajputs and some others allow the beard to grow, but 
 the general practice is to have the face and part of 
 the head shaved. I have often stood in the street 
 and watched with curiosity and amusement the skilful 
 operations of the barber, who, with a miserable 
 apology for a razor, would industriously scrape away at 
 the chins and craniums of his customers. I noticed that 
 a small tuft was always left on the top of the head; 
 and this, I was told, rightly or wrongly, was left for the 
 convenience of celestial messengers, who would thus 
 
Manners and customs 
 
 19 
 
 be able, after death, to clutch the Hindus struggling 
 in “ the sea of sin,” and drag them through to the 
 shores of the Better Land. Religion, you see, in 
 India, even plays a part in the shaving of the head. 
 Is it not a foolish and superstitious custom ? 
 
 The women-folk amongst the Hindus do not have 
 the head shaved except when they become widows. 
 The belief is that “ the glory of the woman is her 
 
 STREET BARBER. 
 
 hair,” and they encourage it to grow long, and will 
 not, as a rule, voluntarily sacrifice a single hair. An 
 exception is made, however, when they go on pilgrim- 
 age to Allahabad to bathe in the sacred confluence of 
 the Ganges and Jumna, which takes place near that 
 city. “ Once a year, there, at the junction of the holy 
 river, it is deemed the honourable privilege of a good 
 wife, with her husband’s sanction, to offer the tips of 
 
20 
 
 THE LAND OF IDOLS. 
 
 her long' hair, which are most solemnly cut off by 
 the priests with golden scissors, while reciting prayers 
 and verses from the sacred books. The hair thus 
 sacrificed is laid on a metal dish, with a gift of coin 
 from the husband. The priest takes the coin, and the 
 holy river receives the hair.” The deed is regarded 
 as a meritorious oue, sure to secure the favour and 
 blessing of the gods. 
 
 Smoking is indulged in by young and old in India. 
 I have seen mere children pulling away at the native 
 pipe. Boys, however, never smoke in the presence of 
 their parents, nor do students in the company of their 
 tutors. It is not considered respectable for women to 
 smoke, though many of them are known to do so 
 and to like it. There seems indeed in India to be 
 a perfect passion for the use of tobacco. That less 
 harm results from the custom of smoking in the 
 East than in the West is doubtless due to the fact 
 that the smoke passes through water ere it reaches 
 the mouth, and is thus greatly purified of the injurious 
 nicotine, which is the bane of all smokers. 
 
 The ordinary Hindu pipe is a cocoanut shell filled 
 with water. To this are fixed two tubes, the longer 
 of which goes to the bottom of the water, while the 
 other, which just enters the nut, has a clay cup 
 attached to it to hold the weed. The tobacco mixed 
 with molasses is so damp that it will not burn 
 without the addition of a little charcoal. When the 
 long tube is put to the mouth, and a vigorous breath 
 is drawn, the smoky air coming through the water 
 makes a gurgling sound, which has led to the ex- 
 pressive name of Hubble-Bubble being given to the 
 
MANNERS AND CUSTOMS 
 
 21 
 
 pipe. Many smokers dispense with the long tube, 
 and put the month to the little hole in the cocoanut. 
 
 From morning till night the Hubble-Bubble is 
 sucked as opportunity presents ; and sometimes a circle 
 of friends may be observed having a good time to- 
 gether with just one pipe amongst them, which passes 
 round the circle regularly if somewhat slowly. How- 
 ever, as time is no object in India, smokers patiently 
 wait for their turn in the common pipe. For my part, 
 I think it is a pity that the habit of smoking is 
 indulged in so freely both in the West and the East. 
 Boys, at any rate, would be better without it. 
 
 The food of the people of India is worthy of notice, 
 as it differs from our own in the matter of meat. 
 The Hindus are vegetarians. Ordinarily the diet is 
 exceedingly simple and light— the solid food consisting 
 mainly of rice, wheat or other grains, and of vegetables 
 and fish ; and the drink of water and milk. The 
 prejudice against butchers’ meat is very strong, though 
 occasionally a Hindu will eat a little goat’s flesh or 
 venison, if it has been sacrificed before an idol. 
 Fruits are plentiful and cheap in the country and are 
 largely eaten. 
 
 Knives and forks are not used at meals, nor even 
 spoons. Plates also amongst the poorer classes are 
 unknown, and the food is eaten off palm leaves or 
 any other convenient leaf. It is surprising with what 
 dexterity the Hindus can eat, and still more surprising 
 to notice the (quantity that disappears down their 
 capacious throats. Of course it must be borne in mind 
 that rice is not a very satisfying food, and quantity 
 has to make up for quality. 
 
22 
 
 THE LAND OF IDOLS. 
 
 Just after a meal, and at other times during the 
 day, the natives of India may be observed chewing 
 what is called pan. And what is pan ? It is a 
 tonic ingredient composed of betel-nut, lime, cinnamon, 
 cardamus, and other spices, wrapped in a pan leaf 
 and fastened with a clove. This concoction is put 
 bodily into the mouth and vigorously chewed. The 
 taste is aromatic and slightly astringent, and is said 
 to aid digestion. A peculiarity of it is that it makes 
 the saliva quite red, and thus gives a repulsive 
 appearance to the mouth. It is a national custom 
 to offer this pan or betel to guests, and it would be 
 considered the height of rudeness to refuse it. 
 
 Europeans, however, invariably decline to take it, but 
 they are excused on the ground of their nationality. 
 It is a custom that Europeans cannot get used to, and 
 generally regard with disgust. Miss Gumming tells 
 us that when in the Himalayas she tried to take pan, 
 but in vain. She writes : “ All this time I found 
 myself provided with an houorary escort, a white- 
 robed mooushee or scribe, who had taken a lift on the 
 top of my carriage, and who in return was continually 
 bringing me fruit, and insisted on teaching me to chew 
 betel-nut as the greatest delicacy he had to offer. It 
 was unspeakably nasty, and I was thankful next day 
 to find that my teeth were not permanently stained 
 red.” 
 
 Bishop Heber, however, had a better opinion of pan, 
 for he wrote in his diary, on June 28th, 1824: “I tried 
 chewing the betel to-day, and thought it not un- 
 pleasant ; at least, I can easily believe that where it is 
 fashionable people may soon grow fond of it. It is 
 
MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 
 
 23 
 
 warm and pungent. My servants fancy it is good for 
 the teeth ; bat they do not all take it. I see about 
 half the crew without the stain on their lips ; but I do 
 not think the teeth of the others are better.” 
 
 What a noisy people the Hindus are, and the 
 Mohammedans likewise ! They seem unable to talk 
 without shouting, and they are ready at a moment’s 
 notice to have a wrangle over a few coppers. It used 
 to be a grief to me to hear my servants loudly 
 quarrelling over the veriest trifle ; and it was a 
 distraction also, for the strife would usually continue 
 for half an hour or more, and while it lasted it was 
 impossible to study or to write with any comfort. 
 
 And what dreadful language was used ! It is said 
 that no race on the face of the earth has so large a 
 vocabulary of oaths as the Hindu. To call another 
 “ The child of an owl,” “ The son of a chicken,” or 
 “Toorn gudha i.e., “You donkey!” is, compara- 
 tively speaking, to utter pleasant words. Much more 
 dreadful execrations are used, and the people curse one 
 another unto the third and fourth generation. 
 
 Yet while the natives of India are so free with 
 abusive words, they seldom proceed to blows. Their 
 swords are curses. If they do under great provocation 
 proceed to violence, it is generally nothing worse than 
 the knocking off of a turban or head-dress, or a re- 
 sounding smack with the open hand, or a blow with 
 slipper. No great harm is done. And once blows 
 have been struck the people seem frightened with 
 what has occurred, and the tumult immediately 
 subsides. 
 
 In this matter Eastern people differ greatly from 
 
24 
 
 THE LAND OF IDOLS. 
 
 Western, for with the latter one blow generally leads 
 to another, and the strife grows fiercer and more 
 deadly, and confusion becomes worse confounded. It 
 is a pity that everywhere hnman beings have not more 
 control over their angry passions. The Eastern saying 
 is very true — “ Greater is he that ruleth his spirit 
 than he that taketh a city.” It is wise to “ leave otf 
 strife before it be meddled with.” 
 
 There are two words often used in the East to 
 which I would call the special attention of my young 
 readers. They are pukka and cutcka. Pukka is used 
 to express everything that is good, solid, and enduring, 
 while cutcha represents the opposite characteristics. 
 For example, if a man is erecting a building of stone 
 or bricks, and is putting good cement and plaster on 
 the structure, then he is making what is called “ a 
 pukka job of it,” but if he uses inferior materials it 
 is called “cutcha work.” In architecture, the public 
 buildings of Lucknow compared with those of Delhi 
 are cutcha ; for though they have a good appearance 
 to the outside view, they are not solid and enduring 
 as well as beautiful like the latter. 
 
 Then, too, the people of the East speak of a cutcha 
 or pukka appointment, of a cutcha or pukka road, and 
 of cutcha or pukka characters. The words are com- 
 prehensive and expressive, and might with advantage 
 be taken over into our English vocabulary. Anyway, 
 I hope that all who read this account of the manners 
 and customs of the people of India will discriminate 
 between the good and the bad, the temporary and 
 the lasting, the cutcha and the pukka, and judge 
 accordingly. 
 
THE AUTHOR’S NATIVE SERVANTS ; CALCUTTA. 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 
 
 25 
 
 I would conclude this chapter with a brief reference 
 to the Eastern methods of the disposal of the dead. 
 All the world over the day of death as well as the day 
 of birth comes to every child of Adam. Methods of 
 disposal of the dead, however, vary with different 
 nationalities and races. The Parsees, about whom I 
 shall give many particulars in a later chapter, expose 
 their dead bodies on what are called Towers of Silence, 
 until they crumble to dust. Mohammedans bury their 
 dead in the earth much as Christians do. Hindus, 
 however, burn their dead. 
 
 It is in my judgment a sad spectacle to go to a 
 Hindu burning-ghaut and watch the bodies of young 
 and old being brought to be cremated. As I stood 
 near a ghaut one day on the banks of the Ganges, a 
 dead man was carried past me, borne on four bamboos. 
 The bearers chanted “ Ham ! Ram ! Ham is the true 
 God ! ” And those who followed with the fire and 
 the sacred water answered, “ "What you say, brothers, 
 is true ! ” Then the body was laid on the wood 
 provided for it, a light was applied, and the corpse 
 was slowly consumed. I remember at the time 
 thinking that when my last hour arrived I should 
 like to be in dear old England, and be buried in 
 the graveyard of a church which I have known 
 and loved for many years, where dear ones now lie 
 at rest. 
 
 I prefer burial on the “ earth to earth ” principle to 
 cremation. Yet it matters little, except for sanitary 
 purposes, how our bodies are disposed of after death ! 
 The great concern for us all, my young readers, is to 
 live well. Then we shall find that, whether like the 
 
2G 
 
 THE LAND OF IDOLS. 
 
 Parsees we are “ exposed,” or llike the Hindus we are 
 “ cremated,” or like other races we are “ buried ” — “ to 
 die is gain.” 
 
 DANCING GIRL, HYDERABAD. 
 
INDIAN FAKIRS OR PENITENTS. 
 
 II. 
 
 FAKIRS OR SAINTS. 
 
 IN India there is a class of religions mendicants 
 called Fakirs or Saints, about whom I am 
 sure my young readers would like to have 
 some account. If we look up the word fakir, in, say 
 Webster’s Dictionary, we find it explained thus — “ An 
 
 27 
 
28 
 
 THE LAND OF IDOLS. 
 
 Oriental religious ascetic or begging monk.” I re- 
 member when in India, however, hearing a much fuller 
 definition of the term. It was given by J. G. Shome, 
 Esq., in a paper which he read before the Calcutta 
 Missionary Conference on “ Fakirism as a Mode of 
 Evangelistic Work.” Mr. Shome said : “ Fakir is an 
 Arabic word, and contains three principal letters fe , 
 caf , and re. Fe stands for a word which means 
 starvation, caf for a word which means contentment, 
 and re for a word which means austerity. A fakir 
 is a person who has these qualities.” 
 
 Though of Arabian origin, the term fakir is applied 
 in India both to Hindu and Moslem ascetics, though 
 other names are also used, such as Gosains, Bairagis 
 and Yogis. Though fakirs are generally regarded in 
 the East as holy or saintly characters, much like the 
 monks of Europe, yet in too many cases they are 
 nothing of the kind, but a dirty, idle, dissolute com- 
 munity, living by their wits, and imposing upon the 
 religious credulity and feelings of compassion of the 
 people. The more thoughtful natives of India say 
 that by far the great majority of fakirs are most 
 pitiable characters, averse to labour, and inclined to 
 take life easy by begging. 
 
 The clothing and general appearance of fakirs is 
 most grotesque. The best dressed amongst them, the 
 gentlemen of the profession, wear deep yellow or 
 saffron robes, that being a sacred colour, pleasing to 
 the gods. As a general rule, however, the clothing 
 that is worn is simply a dirty rag round the loins, and 
 a string of beads round the neck ; while under the 
 right arm may be seen a tiger’s skin, and iu the hand 
 
FAKIRS OR SAINTS. 
 
 29 
 
 a hollow gourd with which to draw water. The head 
 presents the appearance of a filthy mass of tangled 
 hair. It is difficult to imagine a more living picture 
 of squalid wretchedness than these poor creatures of 
 India called fakirs or saints. 
 
 Now and again a fakir may be seen in a country 
 place absolutely naked — “ sun-clad,” as it is called. I 
 saw one once at Gaya. To go about “ sun-clad ” was 
 some time back very popular amongst the fraternity, 
 but the British Government has very properly issued 
 a bye-law against the custom. Still, however, it is 
 practised in some places. Mr. Miuturn, in his book 
 of travels, says : “ I noticed among the crowds in North 
 India a good many fakirs, or religions mendicants. 
 They generally wear little clothing, and are daubed 
 over with streaks of mud. One of them was entirely 
 naked, his hair dressed with feathers, and covered 
 from head to foot with a yellow powder. I thought 
 he must be cold in this costume (as it was the winter 
 season) ; but I learned afterwards that it was a common 
 dodge with the fakirs to rub this powder into the skin, 
 as it occasions a slight cuticular irritation, and thus 
 yields an artificial warmth.” 
 
 In another part of his book Mr. Minturn says : 
 “ Another object of interest near Manpoor was a yogi. 
 He was a youth of about twenty years, entirely naked, 
 smeared with mud and cow-dung, and altogether one 
 of the most disgusting beings I ever set my eyes on ; 
 still, the inhabitants seemed to treat him with great 
 veneration.” In a most valuable work by Bishop 
 Thoburn, of Calcutta, entitled, “ My Missionary Ap- 
 prenticeship,” the following incident is found. At the 
 
30 
 
 THE LAND OF IDOLS. 
 
 time the author was travelling in the Himalayas. 
 “ Late at night I went out for a little walk, and had 
 made a turn up and down the little pathway by the 
 tent, when I was startled by the figure of a man, 
 perfectly nude, standing on a spur of rock which 
 jutted out over the seething river below. His matted 
 hair was bound up on the crown of his head, and he 
 stood perfectly erect and still, with his clasped hands 
 stretched towards the stars, while he seemed to be 
 gazing intently into the distant heavens. A flickering 
 camp-fire under a tree behind him threw its light 
 upon his form, so as to give him a strange ghost-like 
 appearance, and for the moment I was quite startled 
 by the seeming spectre. I watched him a short time, 
 but he did not move, and he probably remained there 
 long after I had fallen asleep.” 
 
 1 have heard of another case of a Hindu fakir, who 
 would persist in going about the city of Lucknow, 
 “ sun-clad,” at all hours of the day, to the vexation of 
 many of the inhabitants. The holy man was again 
 and again arrested, and taken before the English 
 magistrate, and warned that he would be punished if 
 he persisted in defying the laws of public decency. 
 The stupid fellow, however, refused to mend his ways, 
 and was finally imprisoned, and ordered to receive ten 
 stripes. When set at liberty he was presented with a 
 waist-cloth, and told that he must beware of offending 
 again. 
 
 The news of the punishment of the saintly fakir 
 spread like wildfire throughout the city, and greatly 
 displeased some of the people, who thought that the 
 magistrate had gone too far. Others were delighted, 
 
FAKIRS OR SAINTS. 
 
 31 
 
 however, that the yogi had been taught a lesson, more 
 especially as the flogging had frightened him, and 
 cured him of his offence. The saint was greatly 
 chaffed as he went through the streets with his bran- 
 new clothing on; and when asked how it was such a 
 holy man as he had been subjected to such indignities, 
 he gave the following explanation of events, which 
 was ingenious if not convincing. He said, “ In my 
 former birth I was a washerman, and the magistrate 
 was my donkey. I used to treat him abominably. I 
 would load him up with heavy bundles till his legs 
 were bending under him, then sit on the top and 
 whip him up. In this life things have changed. I 
 have been born a poor fakir, and he a magistrate, 
 that he may pay me back in my own coin the injury 
 I did him.” Thus the troublesome but good-humoured 
 mendicant, in true Eastern fashion, sought to turn the 
 laugh against the Englishman. 
 
 The person to whom Bishop Thoburn referred as 
 standing naked and alone on a spur of rock in the 
 Himalayan mountains was a typical Hindu saintly 
 character of the best sort. The idea of such is that 
 a man should withdraw himself from the world, and 
 in absolute quiet concentrate his thoughts on God 
 alone. And in Western lands we have the same idea 
 as illustrated by the actions of monks and nuns, who 
 have retired to desert places, or to monasteries or 
 nunneries. The idea is not, however, Scriptural; for 
 the Bible teaches us that “godliness is profitable 
 unto all things, having promise of the life that now 
 is, and of that which is to come.” We cannot but 
 regard with feelings of respectful pity the misguided 
 
32 
 
 THE LAND OF IDOLS. 
 
 people who truly believe that God is pleased with 
 their voluntary severance from their fellows, and the 
 endurance of many hardships, including the infliction 
 of austerities upon their bodies. 
 
 Very remarkable things are related of Indian fakirs 
 in the matter of austerities. Some will hang them- 
 selves up by the feet head downwards, and remain in 
 that position for a long time ; others will take a vow 
 of silence for five or ten or twenty years ; others will 
 make long pilgrimages to various shrines, painfully 
 “measuring their length ” on the ground all the way ; 
 others will hold up the right hand over the head 
 until it has become stiff and fixed ; others will clench 
 the hand till the nails grow through the palm ; others 
 will sit between four fires with the blazing sun over- 
 head, or stand up to the neck in water for hours ; and 
 others will walk round a tenrple yard wearing shoes 
 studded inside with sharp nails. In short, there seems 
 to be no folly or personal cruelty for the sake of 
 obtaining renown and merit that fakirs will not 
 commit or undergo. 
 
 In proof of the foregoing statements let me give an 
 instance or two that I have myself witnessed, and a few 
 illustrative stories that I have heard or read. At the 
 Temple of Kalighat near Calcutta, I often saw more 
 than one mendicant with feet twisted under the body 
 and with hand uplifted as in the engraving on p. 46. 
 The arm had become paralysed with disuse. Then 
 one year when I was visiting Allahabad I remember 
 seeing an aged man lying on a clay table or bed on 
 the bank of the river Jamna, with only a single sheet 
 over him to protect him from the scorching sun. 
 
FA KIRS OB SAINTS. 
 
 This fakir was quite ready to speak when spoken to, 
 and, though very feeble, was very cheerful. He stated 
 that he was over ninety years of age, and had been 
 sixty years in the same place, never moving except to 
 go down at midnight to bathe in the spot where 
 the Ganges and the Jamna meet, which is considered 
 specially sacred. 
 
 I noticed that the old man’s face was deeply pitted 
 with small-pox ; and on being questioned on this point, 
 he said that God had smitten him with disease when 
 twenty years of age, and that he was not only 
 severely marked but had lost his sight. Lifting up 
 his sightless orbs the fakir presented a sad appear- 
 ance, and my heart went out to him in sympathy. 
 When asked if the austerities of his life, exposed as 
 he was to the heat by day and the cold by night, and 
 to all the changes of the seasons, did not distress him 
 and dishearten him at times, he answered, “ Oh no, 
 I am perfectly happy ! I spend my time in thinking 
 of the gods, and I never get tired of thinking of those 
 great beings.” 
 
 His next remark startled me considerably, for it was 
 to the effect that he was without sin, and, in fact, had 
 never sinned. Some neighbours I talked with after- 
 wards about the old man told a different tale, however. 
 Their statement was that in his early days the fakir 
 had lived a wild life ; but by his austerities, and 
 especially by his bathing in the confluence of the 
 sacred rivers, his guilt had all been washed away, and 
 he was now an example of holiness to the whole 
 world. This famous saint has recently, I believe, 
 passed from time into eternity. 
 
 3 
 
34 
 
 THE LAND OF IDOLS. 
 
 Mr. Bholanath Chunder, in bis book entitled “The 
 Travels of a Hindu,” speaks of a certain fakir named 
 Mahapurush of Kidderpore, who was evidently a 
 
 curious character. 
 Let me quote the 
 passage, which 
 runs : “ This saint 
 was apparently a 
 man about forty 
 years of age, with 
 a very fair com- 
 plexion, and jet- 
 black hair. He did 
 not eat or drink 
 anything, nor speak 
 a word, but re- 
 mained in a sitting- 
 posture with his 
 legs and thighs 
 crossed, absorbed 
 in meditation. His 
 fasting, strange to 
 say, did not appear 
 to tell upon his 
 health. To awake 
 him from his medi- 
 tations smelling- 
 salt had been held 
 
 A FAKIR, BOMBAY. 
 
 to his nose, hot brands had been applied to his body, he 
 had been kept sunk in the river for hours ; but nothing 
 awoke him from his reveries, or made him utter a 
 word, Both Europeans and natives flocked to see him, 
 
FAKIRS OR SAINTS. 
 
 35 
 
 and went away wondering at the curious man. At last 
 milk was forced down his throat and more substantial 
 food, when the cravings of his senses were gradually 
 awakened ; but he died in a few days of dysentery.” 
 Bishop Heber also, in his famous “ Diary,” has much 
 to say about strange cases of austerity amongst 
 fakirs. Let me give one instance. It is taken from 
 the second volume, and is as follows : — “ As I passed 
 through the principal street of Khanwah in my 
 evening’s walk, I saw a very young man naked and 
 covered with chalk and ashes, his hair wreathed with 
 withered leaves and flowers, working with his hands 
 and a small trowel in a hole about big enough to hide 
 him if he stooped down. I asked him if he were 
 sinking a well ; but a bystander told me that he was 
 a Mussulman fakir from the celebrated shrine near 
 Ajmere, that this was his dwelling, and that he used 
 to make a fire at the bottom and cower over it. They 
 called this a suttee, but explained themselves to mean 
 that he would not actually kill, but only roast himself 
 by way of penance. I attempted as far as I could to 
 reason with him, but obtained no answer except a sort 
 of faint smile. His countenance was pretty strongly 
 marked by insanity. I gave him a few pice, which he 
 received in silence, and laid down on a stone, then 
 touched his forehead respectfully, and resumed his 
 work, scraping with his hands like a mole.” 
 
 In January 1812 the celebrated missionary, the Rev. 
 W. AVard, witnessed what he described as “ un- 
 commonly severe acts of religious austerity,” on the 
 part of fakirs in the suburbs of Calcutta. It seems 
 that a number of these saints surrounded themselves 
 
36 
 
 THE LAND OF IDOLS. 
 
 daily with scorching fires, and for three or four hours 
 rested, in front of the flames, on their shoulders with 
 their legs in the air, repeating the names of their gods, 
 and counting their beads. Crowds of people assembled 
 to witness the strange proceedings of the infatuated 
 men, who continued their austerities in the night by 
 standing up to their necks in the Ganges for two or 
 three hours, counting their beads. 
 
 In his well-known book on “ The Hindus,” Mr. 
 Ward tells of a visit he paid to Saugar Island, a 
 celebrated place of pilgrimage at the mouth of the 
 Ganges. “ At the temple of Kapila there,” he says, 
 “ we found two mendicants from the Upper Provinces, 
 one of them a young man, who had held up his left 
 arm till it was become stiff. They were both covered 
 with ashes ; their hair clotted with dirt and tied in a 
 bunch at the top of the head, and were without any 
 covering except the bark of some tree and a shred 
 of cloth drawn up betwixt their legs. At a distance 
 they could scarcely be distinguished as men, and 
 it appeared almost impossible for human beings to 
 manifest a greater disregard of tue body. 
 
 “ We asked the young man how long he had held 
 up his arm in this manner ? He said, ‘ For three 
 years.’ To the question whether it produced any 
 pain, he replied, that as far as his body was concerned 
 it did so for the first six months. The nails of this 
 hand were grown long like the claws of a bird of prey. 
 In his hut we saw two bead-rolls made of the stalk 
 of the basil, a deer’s skin, the horns of a deer, some 
 embers, and a piece of sacking. When asked why he 
 embraced this manner of life, the young fakir’s reply 
 
YOGIS (HINDU RELIGIOUS FANATICS). 
 

FA KIRS OR SAINTS. 
 
 39 
 
 implied an indifference to future rewards. He seemed 
 scarcely willing to confess that he had any connections, 
 father or mother, and reluctantly mentioned the place of 
 his birth. Respecting his food he manifested the same 
 indifference, though we discovered in one of the temples 
 a large quantity of corn, clarified butter, and spices. 
 
 “ The other fakir was less communicative but more 
 intent on his devotions : he had a separate hut, and 
 as though all desire of human society and friendship 
 was extinguished, these persons, the only human 
 beings in the district, seemed to have no connection 
 with each other. At a distance from the temple we 
 saw a wild hog, and on the sand in several places fresh 
 marks of the feet of a large tiger. The young man 
 informed us, with perfect indifference, that during the 
 three preceding months six persons had been taken 
 away by tigers ; and added, in the same tone, that 
 the human body was the natural food of the tiger, and 
 that such a death was no mark of the divine dis- 
 pleasure. We asked him whether he did not think it 
 a fortunate circumstance that while so many of his 
 companions had been devoured by tigers he was 
 spared. However, he did not appear to feel this 
 sentiment, but said that the tigers would eventually 
 take him also.” 
 
 Mr. Ward’s reference to tigers eating fakirs brings 
 to my mind a passage I read in a book I was studying 
 when preparing the chapter in the previous volume on 
 “ Snakes and Snake Worship.” Dr. Vincent Richards, 
 in his “ Landmarks of Snake Poison Literature,” 
 writes : “ It appears that before the woodcutters will go 
 into a fresh patch of jungle in the Soonderbunds they 
 
40 
 
 THE LAND OF IDOLS. 
 
 send a holy man, a Hindu, to the place to propitiate 
 the wild animals. He erects a small hut in which he 
 stops for the night, if he is not eaten in the meantime. 
 If all goes well and the yogi is untouched it is assumed 
 that the jungle may be safely worked. Occasionally 
 it happens that a hungry brute refuses to be propitiated 
 in any way but in a natural manner, and eats a yogi. 
 When the woodcutters are asked to explain why the 
 holy man has been eaten, notwithstanding his mantras 
 or charms, they say that he must either have had a very 
 indifferent character, which was probably true, or he 
 had forgotten his mantras when attacked by the tiger.” 
 
 There have been cases known of fakirs taming 
 tigers and keeping them as companions in their lone- 
 liness in desert places. When Bishop Heber was in 
 Upper India in the neighbourhood of Tighri, which is 
 surrounded by a deep jungle, he was told there were 
 many wild animals, such as hogs and deer, in the 
 district. He then asked if there were any tigers, and 
 was answered in the affirmative. His informer then 
 went on to say that there was a very wonderful thing 
 in the neighbourhood, for they had two holy men who 
 lived where the tigers most abounded, and yet neither 
 of them was ever molested by the animals, while one 
 of them actually every night had a visit from a tiger, 
 which licked his hands and fondled him for hours. 
 
 The good Bishop, interested in this tale, made further 
 enquiries about it, and was told that the fakir was a 
 very old man, with a long white beard and grey hair, 
 and that his dwelling was a little hut among the long- 
 grass, not far from the roadside, and that there were 
 people who had been there at night, and seen the holy 
 
FAKIRS OR SAINTS. 
 
 41 
 
 man autl the tiger together. The Bishop came to the 
 conclusion that the story was a true one ; for he says in 
 his “ Diary,” “ It certainly is not unlikely that a man 
 with no other occupation or amusement might very 
 thoroughly tame a tiger’s whelp so as to retain a 
 hold on its affections, and to restrain it while in his 
 presence from hurting others, even after it had arrived 
 at its full growth and fierceness.” 
 
 Fakirs differ very greatly in their characters and 
 ways of life. Not all are of the meditative, austere, 
 or self-denying temperament. The majority it is 
 considered are mere loafers, who travel about from 
 place to place simply to take life easily by living upon 
 the bounteous alms of the people, who are usually very 
 ready to give to the so-called saints, that thgy may 
 obtain their blessing and the merit which is believed 
 to accrue from almsgiving. As well as being beggars, 
 it is thought that many of these fakirs are thieves and 
 robbers and worse. 
 
 The poor people of India have a great dread of 
 these vicious fakirs, and render them assistance even 
 more from fear than from love. Coopooswamey, in 
 his account of “ Everyday Life in South India,” 
 says, in his chapter on Pilgrimages, that as he and a 
 party of friends were driving past a country market- 
 place, his aunt called out, “ ‘ See those impudent 
 fakirs, how they snatch and take by force what they 
 want from the baskets of the poor women!’ We 
 looked out and saw an ugly, dirty, half-naked beggar, 
 his face, breast and arms smeared with ashes ; his 
 long hair all matted, and tied in a knot above his 
 head ; his wallets slung on his shoulder, and an oval 
 
42 
 
 THE LAND OF IDOLS. 
 
 vessel made of half a gourd in his hand, taking some 
 fruit, vegetables, and grain from the baskets of the 
 women. Most of his victims struggled with him, 
 seized his hand, or thrust him aside, trying to prevent 
 him taking too much ; but no one hindered him 
 altogether from getting something.” 
 
 The fact is, the more ignorant amongst both Hindus 
 and Mohammedans stand in mortal fear of these 
 holy men, whose curses are supposed to be specially 
 efficacious in bringing disasters upon the unfortunate 
 people who offend them. The Rev. J. Ewen, of 
 Benares, in his “ Sketches and Stories of Native Life,” 
 tells a very good story of how he offended a fakir 
 and yet survived his curses. Mr. E wen says : “ I 
 was waging in the garden one morning when a fakir 
 entered and asked me if I would give him a few 
 flowers. ‘ Certainly/ I said, never dreaming to what 
 use he was to put them, and I never thought of 
 asking him. I supposed he wanted them for the 
 same reason as I myself would ask for a flower — 
 because of their beauty and fragrance. 
 
 “ On the following morning he called again, and 
 made a similar request. 1 Are those withered I gave 
 you yesterday ? ’ I asked. ‘ Oh, yes, I offered them 
 to the god,’ he replied. When I heard this explana- 
 tion T said, ‘ You cannot have any more. I cannot 
 give you flowers as an offering to an idol.’ He 
 seemed surprised, and began to threaten. ‘You will 
 give me no flowers ! Very well, I shall curse your 
 garden. I shall curse every plant. They will die, 
 and your garden will become a jungle.’ 1 Oh,’ I said, 
 ‘ you had better be off, if you are to use threats ! 
 
FAKIRS OR SAINTS. 
 
 43 
 
 They are of no avail. They do not frighten me, for 
 I am not a Hindu ; and certainly I will not consent 
 to take abuse. Be off ! ’ Away he went ; but as 
 he left he cursed the ground, he cursed the trees, he 
 cursed me and mine. The natives who heard him 
 looked very frightened. They expected it would all 
 take place. It happened, however, on that particular 
 morning there were quite a number of buds ready to 
 burst, and on the following morning the garden was 
 like a sea of glory. The bushes were covered with 
 flowers. The natives smiled, shrugged their shoulders, 
 and, let us hope, lost faith in fakirs’ curses.” 
 
 If these lazy mendicants consent to work at all 
 for their living, it is in a very curious fashion. I 
 remember seeing certain of the community carrying 
 a framework -which contained jars of sacred water 
 from the Ganges or the Jamna or the Nerbudda. 
 Of this precious fluid they sell a few drops at high 
 prices to rich people far inland, who sprinkle their 
 idols with it. Thus the fakirs accumulate quite a 
 store of silver coins, which they soon spend, however, 
 in questionable pleasures, and in giving feasts to their 
 less fortunate brethren. 
 
 Another way in which some of the fakirs raise 
 money is by escorting, as they travel about, some 
 sacred animal such as a monkey, a cow, or even a 
 snake. Miss Gumming, referring to this in her book 
 on India, says : “ I was much attracted one day by 
 a beautifully sleek little dwarf cow, adorned with a 
 head-dress of peacocks’ feathers and decorations of 
 crimson cloth embroidered with lucky cowry shells ; 
 she wore ornamental anklets of brass, and a brass bell 
 
44 
 
 THE LAND OF IDOLS. 
 
 hanging from her neck. Another picturesque saiut 
 was leading a very handsome white bull, similarly 
 adorned with brass bells, coloured cloth, and gay 
 worsted tassels ; but in addition to his crown of 
 peacocks’ feathers, a yak’s tail was so arranged above 
 the hump on his shoulders as to form a waving 
 plume.” The people, touched with the devotion of 
 the fakirs to their sacred animals, supply the former 
 lavishly with what they want — viz., money. 
 
 At different periods of Indian history, fakirs, who 
 are always a public nuisance, have caused serious 
 trouble in the State. In the days of the Emperor 
 Arungzebe a vast host of these mischievous vagabonds 
 formed themselves into an army, and attacked and 
 defeated the Imperial troops, and made the Great 
 Moghul tremble on his throne. Ultimately they were 
 put down, however, with a strong hand. Then, in the 
 days of Warren Hastings, the English had a terrible 
 struggle with certain fakirs who, coming from the 
 fastnesses of the Himalayas, and banding themselves 
 together in companies of two or three thousand, swept 
 like a torrent through Bengal, burning, destroying 
 the villages, and committing unnumbered horrors 
 wherever they went. Five battalions of troops were 
 sent against them, but failed to put them down. Then 
 the Governor-General took the field in person against 
 them, but he fared very little better than his generals ; 
 for the fakirs evaded the troops, and went on with 
 their plundering and murdering until they had gathered 
 together an enormous booty, when they as quickly 
 departed as they had come, and disbanded themselves, 
 much to the relief of the East India Company. 
 
FA KIBS OR SAINTS. 
 
 45 
 
 Nowadays, though occasionally fakirs may be found 
 in bands of five hundred strong in certain parts of 
 the country, they content themselves with begging, 
 or at the worst with surreptitiously appropriating the 
 goods of the people through whose towns or villages 
 they pass. The British Government rules with too 
 strong a hand for the saints to dare to proceed to 
 open violence, however much they might like to. 
 
 Strange to say, India has known women fakirs as 
 well as men, though there are comparatively few of 
 the former now. A native writer says, “ It is now 
 rare to see a woman who has renounced all pleasures, 
 all property, all society, and all domestic affections, 
 pass from city to city with a vermilion spot on her 
 forehead, a cloth of dull orange on her body, a long 
 trident in one hand, and a hollow gourd in the other. 
 Hindu female ambition is not exercised now to dis- 
 tinguish itself by a public life of abstinence, but by 
 the qualities which fit a woman to be the companion 
 of man.” Let us hope that it will always be so. 
 
 It is in vain we try to find out how many fakirs 
 there are at the present time in India. An immense 
 number, there can be no doubt. Some estimate that 
 there are probably a million or more of them. What 
 an encumbrance such a host of non-workers, of beggars, 
 must be on the land ! The public opinion of India 
 needs educating on the subject. The people need to be 
 shown the evil of promiscuous, thoughtless almsgiving, 
 and how sinful it is to encourage any class of men in 
 idleness who are well able to earn their own living. 
 
 The Gospel of Christ is needed in India, as well for 
 the bodies as the souls of the people, as well for their 
 
46 
 
 THE LAND OF IDOLS. 
 
 material as tlieir spiritual welfare, for the Gospel 
 teaches us that true saintliness lies in holy living, in 
 active living, in self-denying living, for the good of 
 others ; and that if a man will not work neither shall 
 he eat. The Gospel teaches us that health, prosperity 
 and happiness come not through a life of ease and 
 idleness, but through faithfully and diligently serving 
 our generation according to the will of God. 
 
 ASCETIC AT THE TEMPLE OF KALI, CALCUTTA. 
 
SACKED BULL MYSORE. 
 
 III. 
 
 SACRED COWS AND BULLS. 
 
 HE bull is the most sacred animal of Hindu 
 mythology. He is called Nahadeo, the little 
 god. The Hindus say that when Brahma 
 created the sacred caste of the Brahmins, he at the 
 same time created the cow to afford sustenance by its 
 milk to man, and to supply clarified butter for the 
 burnt offerings which man should present to his 
 creator. The cow is called, moreover, the mother of 
 the gods. 
 
 So sacred have cows and bulls become in the eyes 
 of Hindus that they consider their slaughter a greater 
 crime than parricide, and years ago this offence 
 
 47 
 
48 
 
 THE LAND OF TDOLS. 
 
 against the sacred animals was punished by death. 
 No orthodox Hindu will eat beef at the present day, 
 and he imagines that never in the history of his race 
 was such an unholy thing done. However, facts are 
 against such a supposition, as has been clearly shown 
 by various writers, and notably by Dr. Rajandralala 
 Mitra, a learned Bengali. 
 
 This writer, in his book entitled “ Indo- Aryans,” has 
 a long and interesting chapter on “ Beef in Ancient 
 India.” Let me just quote the opening words of the 
 chapter, which run : — “ The idea of beef as an article 
 of food is so shocking to the Hindus that thousands 
 over thousands of the more orthodox among them 
 never repeat the counterpart of the word in their 
 vernaculars, and many and dire have been the 
 sanguinary conflicts which the shedding of the blood 
 of cows has caused in this country. And yet it would 
 seem that there was a time when not only no com- 
 punctious visitings of conscience had a place in the 
 mind of the people in slaughtering cattle, when not 
 only the meat of that animal was actually esteemed a 
 valuable article of diet, when not only was it a mark 
 of generous hospitality as amongst the ancient Jews 
 to kill ‘ the fatted calf ’ in honour of respected guests, 
 but when a supply of beef was deemed an absolute 
 necessity by pious Hindus in their journey from this 
 to another world, and a cow was invariably killed to 
 be burnt with the dead.” 
 
 Dr. Mitra supports these statements by copious 
 quotations from ancient Hindu writings, and puts the 
 matter so clearly and forcibly that one would think 
 even the most bigoted would be obliged to confess 
 
SACRED COWS AND BULLS. 
 
 40 
 
 that tlie killing of cows and bulls, whatever it may be 
 considered now in India, was not at one time regarded 
 as a crime. However, superstitions die hard in the 
 East, and Dr. Mitra has failed to convince his country- 
 men as a whole of the error of their ways ; for almost 
 universally the belief is still tenaciously held, that it 
 is now, and always has been, an unpardonable sin to 
 
 BJtSAHMAN BULL AND ZEBU. 
 
 slay for any purpose one of the most sacred of 
 animals. 
 
 Many explanations have been given of the introduc- 
 tion of this curious belief into India. Dr. Mitra 
 thinks that it was the general teaching of the 
 Buddhists shortly before the birth of Christ, on the 
 sacredness of all life, that first led the Hindus to give 
 up their beef-eating tastes, and make cows and bulls 
 sacred animals, and their destruction a crime. This 
 
 4 
 
50 THE LAND OF IDOLS. 
 
 may be the true explanation of the custom ; but 1 
 incline to another which I have heard propounded by 
 thoughtful students of the question. 
 
 I have heard it stated that the frequency of terrible 
 famines in India was the real origin of the veto that 
 was put upon taking the lives of cows and bulls. It 
 is said that the wisest of the forefathers of the Hindus, 
 afraid that in times of famine the starving people 
 would eat all their cattle, and thus leave themselves 
 absolutely without those useful animals of produce 
 and labour, saw no way to prevent the disaster except 
 by investing the valuable animals with a religious 
 character, and treating their destruction as an impious, 
 sacrilegious act. So the command went forth from 
 the priests that thenceforth the life of a cow or a bull 
 was equally as precious as, or more precious, in the 
 eyes of the gods than the life of a human being. 
 
 However, be the explanation what it may, it is 
 certain that for hundreds if not thousands of years 
 the Hindus have regarded their cattle with great 
 reverence, and have treated as blasphemous the mere 
 suggestion that a cow or a bull should be killed for 
 any purpose whatever, save now and again to be 
 offered in sacrifice to such bloodthirsty goddesses as 
 Bhowani and Kali, whose divinity might excuse the 
 otherwise monstrous and unpardonable deed. 
 
 Not only are cows and bulls held in great reverence 
 in India, but they are actually worshipped as gods. 
 Especially at one season of the year, on what is 
 supposed to be the anniversary of the creation of the 
 first cow, the worship of the sacred animal is very 
 general. No image is used, but the worship is per- 
 
SACRED COWS AND BULLS. 
 
 51 
 
 formed in the cow-house before a jar of water. At 
 auother season of the year the milkmen paint the 
 horns and hoofs of their cattle yellow, and bathe 
 them in the river, after which they do pooja to them — 
 that is, worship them. Persons strict in their religion 
 actually worship the sacred animal every morning 
 immediately after performing their own religious 
 ablutions. The form of worship is to throw flowers 
 at the feet of the cow, and feed her with fresh grass, 
 all the time saying, “ 0 Bhuguvutee ! eat ! eat ! ” 
 Then the worshippers solemnly walk round the animal 
 three or seven times, and make obeisance to her. 
 
 The Rev. S. Mateer, in his valuable work entitled 
 “ Native Life in Travancore,” gives some interesting 
 information about cows and their worship by royal 
 personages. He says : “ The worship of cows, especially 
 at the time of death, is a favourite one with the 
 Hindus. Baka Bhai, widow of the last Rajah of 
 Nagpore, spent twelve hours daily in the adoration 
 of cows, the tulsi plant, the sun, and her idols. 
 When her end was at hand, five cows were introduced 
 into the room where she lay, in order to be bestowed 
 on Brahmins. The gift of the animal was accom- 
 panied by a further donation in money, and as one 
 after another the cows passed onward from the bedside, 
 they were supposed to help the dying woman forward 
 on her way to heaven. Among the last acts of her 
 life, was to call for a cow, and having fallen at its 
 feet, as far as her now fast waning strength would 
 allow her, she offered it grass to eat, and addressed 
 it by the venerated name of mother.” 
 
 It is generally understood that the Maharajahs of 
 
52 
 
 THE LAND OF IDOLS. 
 
 Travancore, though renowned princes who have de- 
 scended from an ancient line, are yet originally, and 
 therefore still, in the matter of caste, Sudras ; that 
 is, members of the lowest caste. However, that the 
 reigning princes may have due honour and respect 
 paid them even from the people of every caste in 
 their dominions, the priests, Mr. Mateer says, have 
 instituted a curious custom in association with a 
 golden cow, into the body of which each Maharajah 
 must enter, as soon as possible after his accession to 
 the throne, and when the ceremony has been performed 
 the prince is regarded as “ born again.” 
 
 This curious ceremony is as follows : — “ The golden 
 cow is partly filled with holy water, to which are 
 added the five products of the cow ; and into this His 
 Highness enters, after many preliminary observances, 
 and remains a few minutes. When he comes out 
 again he is recognised by the people as ‘ the prince 
 born of the cow,’ and is regarded as highly elevated 
 in caste, sanctity and honour, fully consecrated and 
 crowned and authorised to reign over his people. He 
 can no longer partake of food along with the members 
 of his own family, who remain in their former status, 
 and he may have the honour of being present at the 
 meals of Brahmins.” The golden cow, when broken 
 up, becomes the magnificent perquisite of the priests. 
 
 What a contemptible affair the whole thing is ! 
 Just think of a well-educated prince like the Maha- 
 rajah of Travancore submitting to such nonsense ! 
 How can any intelligent man think that the mere 
 act of passing through the body of a golden cow can 
 make one iota of difference to his sanctity or greatness ! 
 
SACRED COWS AND BULLS. 53 
 
 Mr. Mateer is certainly justified in describing the 
 prince as “ a strange mixture of Western civilisation 
 and Hindu superstition,” and we can heartily join in 
 his prayer — “ May the true enlightenment of the 
 Gospel of Jesus Christ, and the spiritual regeneration 
 of God’s Holy Spirit, speedily save and bless the 
 princes and nobles of Travancore ! ” 
 
 In the South of India in the Neilgherry Hills there 
 lives a tribe of aborigines called Todas. The most 
 striking peculiarity of this very peculiar people is, 
 the absorbing importance they attach to all duties 
 connected with the management of the cow and her 
 chief product, milk. Travellers say that so closely 
 are Todas and cows associated that it is simply im- 
 possible to think of one without the other. The 
 Todas are exceedingly kind to their cows, and treat 
 
54 
 
 THE LAND OF IDOLS. 
 
 them as really and truly sacred animals, scarcely 
 touching them with light wands when they wish to 
 guide them, and calling them by pet names which the 
 animals seem to understand and obey with intelligence. 
 
 The Todas have one cow in each herd of cattle 
 which they regard with special veneration. It is 
 called the bell-cow, because of a certain bell-idol or 
 bell-god, which is given to it. These bell-cows are 
 not selected on account of their good milking qualities, 
 their size, or beauty, but are the descendants in direct 
 female line from certain originals whose early history 
 has been lost. Colonel W. E. Marshall, in his book 
 entitled “ Travels amongst the Todas,” says that a 
 priest told him that no matter how old and worthless 
 the bell-cow might become, the bell-idol belonged to 
 her till she died, when without fail it was transferred 
 to her daughter. Strange to say, the bell-god is not 
 worn by the bell-cow except for a few days, but is 
 kept in the priest’s house, though it is clearly under- 
 stood to which cow it belongs. 
 
 The same priest gave Colonel Marshall a short 
 account of the installation of a new bell-cow. “ Twice 
 a day, morning and evening, for three successive days, 
 the priest waves the bell, with his right hand, round 
 and round the head of the bovine heiress, talking to 
 her the while much as follows : 
 
 “ ‘ What a fine cow your predecessor was ! 
 
 How well she supported us with her milk ! 
 
 Won’t you supply us in like manner 1 
 You are a god amongst us ! 
 
 Let all be well ! 
 
 Let us have plenty of calves 1 
 Let us have plenty of milk ! ’ * 
 
SACRED COWS AND BULLS. 
 
 55 
 
 So taken up are the Todas, both young and old, 
 with their cows, that they think of little else, talk 
 of little else, and care for little else. The tendance 
 of cows, and the worship of cows, have become 
 a perfect passion with them. “ Sitting apparently 
 thinking of nothing at all, a man will pick up a bit 
 of cane or forked twig from the ground, and, like the 
 typical Yankee who is supposed to whittle a stick 
 while he speculates, so the Toda will employ Himself 
 for an hour at a time, splitting his bit of cane or 
 rounding the little branches of his twig into the 
 likeness of cows’ horns, as he muses. Even children 
 may be seen coming in from cattle driving, with 
 strings of these small horns over their arms.” 
 
 The great usefulness of cows is recognised all over 
 India, and has doubtless something to do with the 
 reverence in which these animals are held. It is 
 quite surprising to learn in how many ways the pro- 
 ducts of the cow are used in India. To illustrate this 
 point I do not think I could do better than quote a 
 passage from a pleasant story written by a native 
 Christian of India, the Rev. Lai Behari Day. The 
 book is entitled “ Bengal Peasant Life.” 
 
 In the chapter on “ Household Matters ” three 
 Hindu women are brought on the scene, named 
 respectively, Alanga, Sundari, and Aduri, and we are 
 told something about how they spend their mornings 
 in household work. “ When the women got out ox 
 their beds, which they did always at crow-cawing — I 
 cannot say cock-crowing, for there was no cock, not 
 only in the house, but hardly in the village, as cocks 
 and hens are an abomination to Hindus — they went 
 
5G 
 
 THE LAND OF IDOLS. 
 
 to the side of the tank near the house. There they 
 made a solution of cow-dung and water, and sprinkled 
 the liquid by the hand on the open yard, which was 
 next swept by a broom made of the stalks of palm- 
 trees. 
 
 “ But the rooms and verandahs require to be cleaused 
 and washed in another fashion. As the flooring was 
 entirely of earth, there being not a single brick or 
 stone in the house, or a plank of wood either, every 
 inch of the floor of every room was besmeared by 
 means of a piece of rag, with the said solution of 
 cow-dung and water, and allowed to dry itself. The 
 reader may think that this is a dirty business, and 
 that the rooms must be the worse for being thus 
 besmeared. But he is mistaken. He may take our 
 word that the floor greatly improves by the process. 
 Jt becomes smooth and glossy, and no cracks are 
 visible. And as for any disagreeable smell, there 
 is nothing of the sort — the smell, if any, being 
 positively pleasant. Hindu peasants besmear their 
 cottages with a solution of cow-dung and water, 
 because cow-dung is regarded ceremonially as a 
 purifier. It is, however, a question why Hindu 
 law-givers should have pitched upon cow-dung as a 
 purifier. Has it any sanitary value ? Has it any dis- 
 infecting property ? From the universal practice of 
 the Hindus of Bengal I should be inclined to think 
 that cow-dung was a disinfectant ; but I prefer to leave 
 the matter in the hands of doctors and chemists. 
 
 “ But the women have not yet done with cow-dung. 
 There is a large heap of it lying in a corner of the 
 yard, partly obtained from the cow-house, and partly 
 
SACKED COWS AND BULLS. 57 
 
 collected the previous day by Gayaram, whose business 
 is not only to tend the cows but to collect whatever 
 cow-dung he may find in the fields, either from his 
 own cows, or from those of other people, and a 
 
 ZEBU CARRIAGE. 
 
 basketful of which valuable substance he every evening 
 brings home on his head. 
 
 “ Towards this heap of dung, Alanga, Sundari, and 
 Aduri proceeded. They put a little water on it, 
 
r,8 
 
 THE LAND OF TDOLS. 
 
 kneaded it as a baker kneads his dough ; and each 
 went with a basketful to the sunny sides of the walls 
 of their huts, and covered them with cakes made by 
 the palms of their hands. These cow- dung cakes, 
 when they become dry, are of great use ; they are the 
 only fuel of the family. From year’s end to year’s 
 end the people do not buy firewood ; for cooking, and 
 for keeping a fire in the cow-house, they use uo other 
 fuel than what is afforded by the cow.” 
 
 Thus we see to the Bengal peasant the cow is the 
 most useful of all animals as well as the most sacred. 
 Mr. Day, in summing up the advantages of this quad- 
 ruped, says : “ The cow supplies the newly -born infant 
 with food for some years ; the cow, or rather the bull, 
 tills the ground on which the raiyots’ food grows ; 
 the cow brings home on its back that food when it is 
 ready from the fields ; the cow furnishes the peasant- 
 family with the only fuel they have ; the cow provides 
 the peasant with curds, sour milk and whey ; and the 
 cow gives that ghi or clarified butter which is so 
 grateful to the palate and nostrils of Hindu gods and 
 Bengali Babus. After this, is it to be wondered at 
 that the cow should be greatly respected by the 
 Hindus ? ” The pity is, however, that gratitude 
 should degenerate into worship ! 
 
 In the Mahabharata, the great epic poem of India, 
 there is a story told ot a most wonderful cow, called 
 Nandini. As the Hindus believe the tale and hold 
 the memory of Nandini in very special regard, I will 
 relate the extraordinary incidents of her career. It is 
 said that Nandini, cow though she was, could talk 
 and reason and work all kinds of miracles. She was 
 
SACRED COWS AND BULLS. 
 
 59 
 
 tlie property of a famous rishi or saint, named 
 Vashishta, who lived in a dense forest far from the 
 dwellings of men. Now to the abode of this venerable 
 saint, there came one day a king and his suite, who 
 had been out hunting deer and wild boar in the forest, 
 and had got lost, and who, when they were almost 
 ready to sink with exhaustion, espied the dwelling- 
 place of the poor fakir. The good old man received 
 his unexpected guests with deep salutations, offered 
 them water to wash their feet, and bade them welcome 
 to his humble home. 
 
 But where was food to be obtained for such a 
 company ? The saint appealed in his perplexity to 
 his wonder-working cow, who had never yet failed 
 him in the hour of need. And, according to the 
 story, 
 
 “ The Cow, from whom all plenty flows, 
 
 Obedient to her saintly lord, 
 
 Yiands to suit each taste outpoured. 
 
 Honey she gave, and roasted grain 
 Made sweet with flowers and sugar-cane. 
 
 Each beverage of flavour rare, 
 
 And food of every sort, were there ; 
 
 Hills of hot rice, and sweetened cakes, 
 
 And curdled milk, and soup in lakes. 
 
 Vast beakers flowing to the brim 
 With sugared drink prepared for him ; 
 
 With dainty sweetmeats, deftly made, 
 
 Before the hermit’s guests were laid.” 
 
 We can quite understand that the king and his 
 courtiers were filled with astonishment at the mar- 
 vellous deeds of the saint’s cow. Indeed, nothing 
 would satisfy the king but the possession of the 
 valuable animal, so he proposed to buy it from the 
 
60 
 
 THE LAND OF TDOLS. 
 
 fakir, offering him ten thousand ordinary cows in 
 exchange for it. The saint quietly answered “ No ! ” 
 But the king still pressed the matter, saying, “ If 
 nothing less will satisfy thee, take my kingdom in 
 exchange for thy cow.” But the holy man replied 
 that he did not want a kingdom, but desired merely 
 to be left in peace with his beloved animal, Nandini. 
 
 Thereupon the monarch waxed wroth, and in his 
 anger repaid the saint’s hospitality with unkingly 
 threats, and ended by declaring, “ I will take thy cow 
 even by force.” The rishi, being of a peaceful dis- 
 position, said simply, “ As thou wilt, 0 king.” It was 
 one thing, however, to talk of taking away Nandini, 
 and another thing to do it ; for the faithful cow was 
 not disposed to leave her master, and when the 
 attendants of the king laid violent hands upon her 
 to drag her away, she showed them what mettle she 
 was of. 
 
 Breaking from her captors the fair Nandini raised 
 her head and neck high in the air, and became terrible 
 to behold. Then she ran at the king and his suite, 
 and scattered them right and left. And when they 
 attacked her with their whips, her eyes became red 
 with anger, and her whole person, as the Hindu 
 historian says, became like unto the sun in his mid- 
 day glory.” Then the enraged animal turned on her 
 tormentors again ; and from her tail, which she lashed 
 in fury, there came forth showers of burning coals 
 which effectually put the strangers to rout. The 
 whole band except the king fled ignominiously, and 
 left Nandini master of the field. Thereupon the king 
 was so surprised with the valour as well as other 
 
SACRED COWS AND BULLS. 
 
 61 
 
 virtues of the cow that he declared there was none 
 like her in the universe, and that she and all her kind 
 ought to receive the homage and worship of mankind 
 throughout all ages. The king, the story adds, gave 
 up his kingdom, remained in the forest, and became a 
 fakir or saint like the master of Nandini. 
 
 A striking peculiarity of the cows, bulls and bullocks 
 of India, is a great fleshy hump between the shoulders, 
 a part of the animal which obtains great favour with 
 Europeans in the East, as it is a close-grained and 
 very delicate meat. This hump seems to be a pro- 
 vidential arrangement, like the hump of the camel, and 
 acts as a reservoir of food ; for in times of famine it 
 has been noticed to shrivel up slowly before the rest 
 of the body showed any signs of emaciation or 
 suffering. 
 
 As cattle are very generally used in India as beasts 
 of burden, a yoke laid across the necks of a pair of 
 bullocks is kept in place by their humps. The draw- 
 back to this arrangement, however, is that as the poor 
 animals pull by the hump, and not as in other countries 
 by the head, the hump is often terribly galled. The 
 Hindus, notwithstanding their religious regard and 
 veneration for their cattle, cannot be said to treat them 
 very kindly. Though they consider it a sin to kill 
 sacred cows or bulls, they do not hesitate a moment 
 to overload them or to work them to death. 
 
 Miss Gumming, in her book on India, speaks of the 
 cruel overloading of cattle which she saw in the hill 
 station of Simla. She writes : “ One poor bullock 
 sank exhausted near our windows, and was of course 
 left to die. We would fain have had it shot, but no 
 
62 
 
 THE LAND OF IDOLS. 
 
 one dared touch the poor sacred creature. All we 
 could do was to carry water to it in a brass basin ; but 
 it was too ill to drink. Next morning it died, and 
 the first passer-by threw its carcase down the Khud. 
 Meanwhile eagles, kites and vultures had assembled 
 in a great body on the hill above us. We watched 
 them perched in a row, expectant, till apparently one 
 gave a signal, whereup' n all swooped down simul- 
 taneously. In ten minutes only the carcase remained, 
 picked quite clean, and the bones were finally polished 
 by swarms of ants. 5 ' Thus, as a rule, fare the sacred 
 cattle of India— they are literally worked to death. 
 
 But though the majority of the cows and bulls of 
 the East are treated as beasts of burden, and have 
 hard times of it, a few fare better, owing to a singular 
 custom of letting loose on special occasions, usually 
 on the death of a worshipper of Siva, one or two of 
 the sacred animals, which are given up by their 
 owners, and allowed to roam for life about the country 
 according to their own sweet will. It is believed that 
 in some way the setting free of a bull on earth secures 
 the happiness of the dead in heaven. 
 
 Bishop Heber refers to this remarkable custom in his 
 “ Diary.*’ He writes : “ A very handsome and sleek 
 young bull, branded with the emblem of Siva on his 
 haunches, was grazing in the green paddy. He crossed 
 our path quite tame and fearless, and, seeing some 
 grass in Stowe’s hand, coolly walked up to smell at 
 it. These bulls are turned out when calves by wealthy 
 Hindus on solemn occasions, as an acceptable offering 
 to Siva. It would be a mortal sin to strike or injure 
 them. They feed where they choose, and devout 
 
SACRED COWS AND BULLS. 615 
 
 persons take great delight in pampering them. They 
 are exceeding pests in villages near Calcutta, breaking 
 into the gardens, thrusting their noses into the stalls 
 of fruiterers’ and pastrycooks’ shops, and helping 
 themselves without ceremony. Like other petted 
 animals they are sometimes mischievous, and are said 
 to resent with a push of their horns any delay in 
 gratifying their wishes.” 
 
 I remember when in Benares seeing numbers of 
 these favoured animals, for they are as plentiful in 
 the North-west as in Bengal. Indeed, all over India 
 they are to be found ; and their numbers have become 
 so excessive, and their depredations so great, that the 
 municipal authorities have begun to take measures 
 to suppress them as a public nuisance. In some 
 places these sacred animals, or Brahmini Bulls, may 
 now be seen yoked in conservancy carts removing the 
 city refuse, or drawing water to irrigate the public 
 gardens. Owners may not like the new state of 
 things, but they can take no steps to prevent this 
 wise use of strong animals. By dedicating them to 
 a god their right in them has been transferred to him. 
 Should they maintain that they are still their property, 
 they may called upon to pay very heavy bills for the 
 destruction they have wrought to standing crops and 
 flower gardens. As a result of this dilemma, the 
 original owners are obliged to regard what they 
 consider the desecration of the sacred cattle in silence. 
 
 Between the Moslems and the Hindus there has 
 been a long-standing quarrel, a quarrel of centuries 
 with regard to sacred cows and bulls. While the 
 Hindus will not kill cattle or eat beef, the Moslems 
 
64 
 
 THE LAND OF IDOLS. 
 
 will. On tlie other hand, the followers of Mohammed 
 will not slay pigs or eat swine’s flesh. The slaughter- 
 houses of Moslems in Hindu towns and cities are a 
 constant source of annoyance to the Hindus, and are 
 provocative of strife. The Hindus even say that the 
 Mohammedans are not content with killing their own 
 cattle, but that they place a tempting bundle of grass 
 at the slaughter-house gates at dusk, and wait till a 
 cow or bull attacks it, when they make a rush, drive 
 it in, close the gates, kill it, and sell it next day in 
 open market. 
 
 There have been many serious riots between the 
 followers of the two religions, even of late years, on 
 this very question, and it requires a great deal of 
 watchfulness, at certain seasons of the year, on the 
 part of the authorities, to keep the peace. In the 
 past Hindus have, in times of war and victory, defiled 
 Mohammedan mosques with the blood of slain pigs, 
 and the Mohammedans have retaliated by killing 
 cows, and smearing the Hindu temples with the blood 
 of the sacred animals. And if the opportunity arose, 
 I am afraid they would do so again. It is pitiable to 
 think that a difference of opinion with regard to the 
 sacred character or otherwise of certain animals should 
 lead human beings to commit acts of violence on each 
 other and sacrilege on their respective places of 
 worship. 
 
 It just remains for me to say that the sacred bull 
 of India is found in the form of statues outside the 
 temples of Siva, it being the animal on which the god 
 is supposed to ride when he wishes to make a journey. 
 These carved bulls, of all sizes, can be bought from 
 
SACRED COWS AND BULLS. 
 
 65 
 
 the traffickers in sacred symbols, whose booths or 
 stalls are in all the chief cities of the land. I have 
 two or three carved images in my possession which I 
 obtained in Benares. 
 
 The sacred animal is also engraved on brass lotas 
 or water-vessels, and on many of the copper trays 
 used for temple offerings. And the Brahmin ostenta- 
 tiously telling his beads will be found to have the 
 holy bull embroidered on the bag which contains his 
 rosary. And I have seen paintings which represent 
 human beings as holding on to the tail of the sacred 
 animal, which is piloting them through the sea of sin, 
 and across the river of death to the golden shore. 
 Thus we see that the sacred cows and bulls of India, 
 whether in the flesh or in the form of images, are 
 held in the highest reverence. We have read in 
 history of the apis or bull which the ancient Egyptians 
 worshipped, and of the golden calf which the Israelites 
 once worshipped for a brief season in the wilderness 
 of Sinai. Is it not curious, and sad withal, to think 
 that the old idolatrous custom exists to-day amongst 
 the Hindus in the land of India ? 
 
 5 
 

 
 BUDDHIST 
 
 CONVENT IN TIBET. 
 
 IV. 
 
 B UDDHIS T PR A YER-MA CHINES. 
 
 of the most curious religious practices that 
 jffil I noticed in India was that of using prayer- 
 machines, or, to speak more correctly, praise- 
 machines, for Buddhist prayers nearly always take 
 the form of ascriptions of praise to the founder of 
 their creed, the noble-minded Prince Gautama, also 
 called Buddha or the Enlightened One. 
 
 Buddha is believed to have been born about 600 
 b.c. of the royal house of Kapilavastu, a country in 
 Northern India. His father designed him to be a 
 
 66 
 
B UDDHIS T PR A YER- MA CHINES. 
 
 G7 
 
 great warrior and conqueror, as his ancestors had been 
 before him, but the young prince shunned all warlike 
 pursuits, and even the rough sports of his companions, 
 and preferred to study religious books, and to meditate 
 on the grave and solemn aspects of human life. The 
 
 STATUE OF BUDDHA. 
 
 king, disappointed with these peaceful and retiring 
 habits of his son, sought to win him to more worldly 
 things, and a more practical career, by marrying him 
 to a beautiful and talented princess. For a time it 
 seemed as if this scheme would answer ; for Gautama 
 took his charming bride into the brightest society of 
 
68 
 
 TIJE LAND OF IDOLS. 
 
 the gay court, and gave himself up to a season of 
 pleasure, and sought in the delights of the world to 
 banish from his mind the puzzling questions of the 
 inner meanings of human life, which had so greatly 
 exercised and distressed his spirit for some years. 
 
 However, the strong cravings of the soul of the 
 young prince triumphed over the merely surface joys 
 of society life ; and one day, after his feelings had 
 been deeply stirred by the sorrowful sight of old age, 
 disease, and death, he resolved to leave his wife and 
 child, his father and friends, and all the honours of 
 his princely state, and go out into the wide world to 
 seek for knowledge of human life, and to unravel, if 
 he could, the mystery of human existence. 
 
 This resolution of the abandonment of earthly pomp 
 and power and of loved friends, was carried into 
 effect one dark and gloomy night, and Gautama 
 found himself on the road outside the royal city of 
 his forefathers a homeless beggar. The Buddhists 
 call this remarkable deed of self-sacrifice, “ The Great 
 Renunciation.” Gautama, after travelling some dis- 
 tance from home, made friends with two Hindu fakirs 
 in the Patna district, who taught him that the path 
 to knowledge and tranquillity of soul lies in the sub- 
 jection of the flesh. 
 
 So the prince became a fakir, and, retiring into a 
 desert place called Gaya, he practised all kinds of 
 cruel austerities on his person in a mountain cave. 
 Five strangers are said to have joined him, who in 
 time became his disciples and imitated all his fastings 
 and scourgings. For six years this painful life of 
 austerities continued ; but Gautama became no happier 
 
B UDD HIS T PRAYER- MA CHINES. 
 
 69 
 
 in mind, nor more contented in spirit. Torn with 
 doubts and fears as to whether, after all his sacrifices 
 and self-torture, he was not missing the secret of life, 
 his physical strength gave way, and he fell in a swoon 
 to the earth. When he again awoke to consciousness 
 he found a great change had taken place in his feelings 
 and convictions, and he felt that the path of salvation 
 lay not in fastings and other penances, but simply in 
 living a holy life. 
 
 Full of this new conviction Gautama made it known 
 to his five disciples, who, however, were grieved and 
 vexed with him for his change of views, and retired 
 from him in disgust. Thus once more the prince 
 was left alone, and the Buddhists then say that he 
 had a fearful struggle with Maya, the spirit of 
 evil, while meditating under a Bo-Tree at Gaya, in 
 which he came off conqueror, and earned for himself 
 the name by which he is known now to the whole 
 world — viz., Buddha the enlightened, the wise, the 
 one whose eyes had been opened to eternal things. 
 
 Two months after the “ new birth ” at Gaya, Buddha 
 began his public ministry at Sarauath, or the Deer 
 Forest, near Benares. His words were addressed both 
 to the rich and the poor, to the learned and the 
 unlearned, and were received by many as a divine 
 revelation. As the inspired man spoke of holiness 
 and righteousness, of self-control and self-denial, the 
 common people at any rate heard him gladly, and 
 he speedily gathered around him a band of devoted 
 followers. When he had sixty disciples, many of 
 whom were women, he started on a missionary tour 
 throughout Northern India, urging his countrymen to 
 
70 
 
 THE LAND OF IDOLS. 
 
 forsake idolatry, to give up the selfish customs of 
 caste, and to live pure and saintly lives. It is pleas- 
 ing to learn that his five early friends the fakirs, who 
 had forsaken him at Gaya, returned penitently to his 
 side, and became his most enthusiastic and devoted 
 adherents ; and it is still more pleasing to find that 
 
 BUDDHIST PRAYER-MACHINE. 
 
 eventually his father, his wife, his son, and all the 
 members of his princely family, became converts to 
 the new faith, called Buddhism. 
 
 Buddha lived to a good old age, and to the very 
 last was a preacher of righteousness to the people of 
 India. His parting words to his weeping followers 
 
B UDDHIS T mA YER-MA CHTNES. 
 
 71 
 
 were — “Work ont your salvation with diligence. Be 
 earnest, be thoughtful, be holy. Keep steadfast ; 
 watch over your hearts. He who holds fast to the 
 law and discipline, and faints not, he shall cross the 
 ocean of life, and make an end of sorrow.” After the 
 death of Buddha his religion spread over Northern 
 Iudia, and was carried thence to other countries, such 
 as Burmah, Ceylon, Siam, China, Japan, Thibet, 
 Nepaul, Mongolia, and all Central Asia, right up to 
 Siberia and Lapland, and at the present time it is the 
 faith of five hundred millions of human beings. 
 
 The secret of Buddha’s wonderful success, as Sir W. 
 W. Hunter has said, was in the fact that he brought 
 spiritual deliverance to the people. “ He preached 
 that salvation was equally open to all men, and that 
 it must be earned not by propitiating imaginary 
 deities, but by our own conduct. His doctrines thus 
 cut away the religious basis of caste, impaired the 
 efficiency of the sacrificial ritual, and assailed the 
 supremacy of the Brahmins as the mediators between 
 God and man. Buddhism taught that sin, sorrow, 
 and deliverance, the state of man in this life, in all 
 previous, and in all future lives, are the inevitable 
 results of his own acts. He thus applied the inexor- 
 able law of cause and effect to the soul. What a man 
 sows he must reap.” 
 
 This teaching is good as far as it goes ; but I would 
 ask my young readers to notice that in the Buddhist 
 religion nothing is said of God. We are not even 
 sure that Buddha believed in or taught the existence 
 of a personal God ; and it is certain that nowhere in 
 the sacred books of Buddhism is God referred to, as 
 
72 
 
 THE LAND OF IDOLS. 
 
 He is in our Bible, as the great ami loving Being to 
 whom man is accountable for his deeds, who in Christ 
 Jesus will help man to overcome his besetting sins, 
 and who will, after life here is ended, receive redeemed 
 man into the eternal felicity of heaven. What the 
 Buddhists look forward to is Nirvana, which is be- 
 lieved by many to be annihilation, the blowing out, as 
 it were, of the soul like the flame of a candle. 
 
 It is very strange that though India was the cradle 
 of Buddhism, it is one of the few countries of the East 
 where that religion does not now flourish. Hinduism, 
 with its false gods and corrupt creed, proved too 
 mighty for the godless, yet much purer, religion of 
 Buddhism ; and the followers of the latter creed were, 
 in course of time, either forcibly converted or driven 
 out of the country; and at the present day there are 
 not more than a few thousand Buddhists in Hindustan, 
 and these are to be found in the mountains on the 
 frontiers of Nepaul and Thibet. 
 
 Darjeeling, the hill sanatorium of Bengal, a day’s 
 railway journey from Calcutta, and 7167 feet above the 
 sea-level, is the uearest place where Buddhists can be 
 met. More than once I visited that charming hill resort, 
 and was delighted with the magnificent scenery of the 
 district of mighty forests and eternal snow. But I 
 found the people of Darjeeling — the Buddhists of the 
 town and neighbourhood — even a more attractive study 
 than the grand scenery; for their religious faith and 
 manner of life were so different from those of the 
 Hindus and Mohammedans of the plains. 
 
 And what specially attracted my notice were the 
 curious religious symbols, or aids to worship, referred 
 
BUDDHIST PR A YER-.UA CHINES. 
 
 73 
 
 to in tlie title of this chapter— viz., prayer-machines, 
 about which I would now write. From the sketch 
 I have given of the life and doctrines of Buddha 
 my young readers will now be able to follow with 
 intelligent interest what I have to say of the way or 
 manner in which many of the Buddhists engage in the 
 religious exercise of prayer or praise. 
 
 Strange as it may seem, it is a fact that the 
 Buddhists of Darjeeling, of Thibet, and other places, 
 employ what are called prayer-wheels, or cylinders, 
 in their religious devotions. These machines are of 
 various kinds — viz., hand-wheels, house or temple- 
 wheels, wind-wheels, water-wheels, and another variety 
 called prayer-flags, which are affixed to the top of 
 high poles, in the neighbourhood of dwelling-houses, 
 temples, or on high hills where they may be seen 
 by all. 
 
 The use of these wheels can be traced back, so the 
 Buddhists say, for at least one thousand four hundred 
 years. They are believed to have originated from the 
 notion that it is an act of merit and a cure for sin 
 
 to be for ever reading or reciting portions of the 
 
 sacred writings of Buddha. But as many people of 
 the poorer classes were unable to read, it came to be 
 considered sufficient for devotions to turn over the 
 rolled manuscripts containing the precious sayings. 
 This convenient substitute was found to save so much 
 time and trouble, that the learned as well as the 
 
 unlearned adopted it ; and instead of reading the 
 
 manuscripts which contained the writings of their 
 great teacher, the people generally were to be seen 
 contenting themselves with merely rolling and un- 
 
74 
 
 THE LAND OF IDOLS. 
 
 rolling them. And even this method of honouring 
 their teacher or prophet or lord became irksome 
 in time, and prayer- or praise-wheels were invented, 
 which simplified matters greatly. 
 
 A hand prayer-wheel is a little round box or 
 cylinder, of either brass, copper, or silver, about three 
 inches in length by two and a half in diameter. 
 Ascriptions of praise to Buddha are closely written 
 on strips of cloth or paper, and are tightly rolled 
 round a spindle about six inches long, of which one 
 half, which is left hare, forms the handle. The upper 
 half of the spindle, which is covered with the cloth 
 or paper, is enclosed in the cylinder. From the 
 middle of the cylinder hangs a chain with a small 
 lump of metal at the end, which, when the prayer- 
 wheel is twirled round on a pivot, gives the necessary 
 impetus to the little machine, so that it revolves 
 without the slightest exertion, and goes on grinding 
 any given number of prayers. 
 
 It is a very common thing to meet men in countries 
 where these prayer-wheels are used, walking along 
 the road, or going about their work, carrying and 
 incessantly spinning round and round the pretty little 
 playthings I have described. At Darjeeling I saw 
 it done every day during my visit. And the men who 
 did it thought that they were really praying to and 
 worshipping the “ Lord Buddha,” though no word 
 might move their lips, nor thought exercise their 
 minds. It is a mechanical contrivance to save trouble, 
 and it is expected that Buddha will take the will 
 for the deed. I have said that inside the little prayer- 
 wheels are strips of cloth or paper on which are 
 
THE CALL TO WORSHIP IX A BUDDHIST MONASTERY, 
 

 • I 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
B CD DU IS T PR A YER- MA CHINES. 
 
 77 
 
 written ascriptions of praise to Buddha. The same 
 words, it may be added, appear also on the outside 
 of the cylinder in embossed characters. Miss Gordon 
 Gumming speaks of a prayer-wheel in her possession 
 on which was written a short but very comprehensive 
 prayer in Thibetan, a prayer for the six classes of 
 living creatures according to Buddhism — viz., the souls 
 in heaven, the evil spirits in the air, men, animals, 
 souls in purgatory, aud souls in hell. 
 
 The wheels in my possession, and wheels in general, 
 however, contain what is known as the six-syllabled 
 charm. All worship, as a rule, begins, continues 
 and ends with the sentence, Om Mani Padmi Horn. 
 These words are raised in embossed letters, perhaps 
 a dozen times on the outside of the cylinder, and are 
 closely written, perhaps many hundred times, on strips 
 of paper inside. There is considerable diversity of 
 opinion as to the meaning of the words Om Mani 
 Padmi Horn. Dr. Rennie, in his “ Story of the Botan 
 War,” translates the sentence, “ Oh, the jewel on the 
 lotus ! ” Dr. Hooker renders the words “ Hail to 
 him of the lotus and jewel ! ” And Miss Gumming 
 gives the meaning of the sentence as follows : “ Om, 
 equivalent to the Hebrew Jah, the holiest and most 
 glorious title of the Almighty ; Mani, the jewel, one of 
 Buddha’s titles ; Padmi, the lotus ; Horn, equivalent 
 to Amen.” Accordingly, if we accept the last inter- 
 pretation, which seems likely to be the true one, the 
 people who use the prayer-wheels are addressing 
 Buddha as “ The Almighty, the Jewel on the Lotus, 
 Amen.” 
 
 And this prayer or charm is the sovereign balm for 
 
78 
 
 THE LAND OF IDOLS. 
 
 every conceivable evil. By many no other prayer 
 seems to be known or thought of. Om Mani Padmi 
 Horn is repeated thousands, and tens of thousands of 
 times, by every worshipper. Thus we can understand 
 what our Saviour meant when He said, “ When ye 
 pray, use not vain repetitions as the heathen do, for 
 they think they shall be heard for their much speak- 
 ing.” Some of the little hand prayer-wheels are very 
 pretty, and some are even inlaid with precious stones. 
 There was one I saw, made of silver and inlaid with 
 turquoise stones, which I coveted ; but it was very dear, 
 and I had to be content with two brass wheels. How- 
 ever, there was this consolation : the silver prayer- 
 wheel was evidently made for sale to travellers, while 
 the commoner brass ones were what the people had 
 used in their daily devotions. In some parts, Bud- 
 dhists have the greatest reluctance to sell even the 
 ugliest old wheels or mills. They cling to them, one 
 writer says, as we do to our dear old Bible. 
 
 When I bought my hand prayer-wheels, the man 
 who sold them showed me the right way to use them. 
 There is a right, and there is a wrong way. The right 
 way to twirl the wheels, it seems, is sun-wise, from 
 east to west ; and if even by the merest accident they 
 are turned the other way, the results will be very 
 disastrous. This belief accounts in many cases for 
 the reluctance to sell. There is not merely the charm 
 of association, but a dread lest a careless hand should 
 turn them against the sun, and so change the past 
 acts of merit into positive sin. 
 
 All Buddhists are not able to buy hand prayer- 
 wheels, cheap as the common ones are, and so for the 
 
 
BUDDHIST PRAYER-MACHINES. 
 
 79 
 
 very poor, house- or temple-wheels have been instituted. 
 These are great egg-shaped barrels, full of prayers, a 
 cord being attached to the base of the barrel, which, 
 on being pulled, sets the cylinder twirling like a child’s 
 whirligig. These are erected at the doors of dwelling- 
 houses and in temples, so that those who do not 
 possess the luxury of a hand- wheel of devotion, may 
 not lose their chance of heaping up merit. Every 
 man going in or out of the house or temple may set 
 the big wheels spinning for his own benefit and that 
 of the inmates. It is a simple contrivance, and the 
 simple people are content with it, and the prayers of 
 the head of a family seldom rise above the mechanical 
 act of twirling round an old barrel a few times a day. 
 His wife and children, as well as himself, are, he 
 believes, benefited by such a deed. It is a sad thing 
 to learn, is it not, that men can form such a low ideal 
 of prayer ; that human beings can conceive that the 
 One whom they look upon as their Divine Lord, could 
 be satisfied with His people mechanically pulling a 
 prayer-wheel, in place of offering the conscious 
 adoration of their lips and their hearts ? 
 
 In the neighbourhood of Darjeeling there are two 
 or three Buddhist temples which contain prayer- 
 wheels, and these I visited. The largest was a medium- 
 sized building, made of wood and thickly thatched, 
 and would hold perhaps fifty people. There was a 
 very low upper story inhabited by the lama or priest 
 and his servants, accessible by a stone staircase at one 
 side of the building. The main body of the temple is 
 the room in which is kept an image of Buddha. 
 This room is entered through a small transverse vesti- 
 
80 
 
 THE LAND OF IDOLS. 
 
 bule, the breadth of the temple ; and it was in this 
 vestibule I found the prayer-wheels. 
 
 On the right hand there were ten wheels or barrels, 
 about one foot in height, arranged in a row, and so 
 lightly poised that when one of the attendants ran 
 his hand along them, they were all set spinning in a 
 moment. Another attendant began to ring a big bell 
 to rouse Buddha from his forenoon sleep, while another 
 set six barrels on the other side in motion, and still 
 auother began pulling a cord attached to an enormous 
 wheel, which was the chief attraction of the temple. 
 It was about five feet high, and three feet in diameter. 
 Om Maui Padmi Horn was inscribed on the outer 
 case, and the same sentence was to be found inside 
 repeated innumerable times. As this great barrel 
 slowly revolved on its axis, a musical bell marked each 
 revolution, and the worshipper was accredited with 
 having repeated the sacred words just as often as the 
 bell rang. The big barrel was the devotion store of 
 the neighbourhood, and men from far and near came 
 every day to have a pull. 
 
 The general arrangement of a Buddhist prayer- 
 wheel temple, when you pass through the vestibule 
 into the main room, is very much like that of an 
 ordinary Roman Catholic church. “ There are divers 
 small altars, with images of saints and vases of 
 flowers, and incense burning belore each image. All 
 around the walls are mythological paintings, especially 
 one fair saint riding on a tiger, which recurs frequently. 
 On one side sits a grand gilt image of Buddha, calm 
 and contemplative, his throne, as usual, edged with 
 lotus leaves. Before him is set a low table, whereon 
 
BUDDHIST TOPE, OR SACRED MONUMENT, DARJEELING ; WITH PRAYER-FLAGS. 
 

 
 
 . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
nun n ins t pra yer- jia chines. 
 
 81 
 
 are placed many small cups of water, tea, flour, milk 
 and butter. These and wild flowers are the offerings 
 brought by worshippers, to whom animal sacrifices 
 are forbidden.” And it is to gain the favour and 
 blessing of Buddha, whose image is in every temple, 
 that the prayer-wheels in the vestibule are pulled. 
 It was a comical and yet a sad sight to see our 
 servants pulling away with untiring industry, while 
 the priest or lama showed us round the temple. We 
 were forced at last to beat a precipitate retreat ; for 
 the whole place was so dirty and had such a bad 
 smell that we could not remain. It was a relief for 
 more than one reason to get into the open air, and 
 look up into the bright heavens, where we knew 
 dwelt our Father, who desires not to be worshipped 
 by mere form and ceremony, but “ in spirit and in 
 truth.” 
 
 In addition to hand prayer-wheels, and house or 
 temple prayer-wheels, there are wind- and water- 
 wheels. The wind-wheels are so constructed as to go 
 round obedient to the action of fanlike wings, and are 
 erected usually on mountain tops, where they will 
 constantly catch the breeze. The water-wheels are 
 large cylinders placed upright in a shed built, over 
 running water. A spindle, passing through each 
 cylinder, terminates in a horizontal wheel, having the 
 cogs turned diagonally to the water. Sometimes 
 several of these water-wheels are placed in a line 
 across a stream ; and thus day and night thousands 
 and tens of thousands of prayers are offered up, 
 whereby the people obtain unlimited stores of merit 
 without any trouble or expense, except the first labour 
 
 6 
 
82 
 
 THE LAND OF IDOLS. 
 
 and cost of erecting the wheels. The device which 
 has enlisted the breeze and the mountain stream in 
 multiplying never-ceasing praises to Buddha is cer- 
 tainly an ingenious one. Then in the neighbourhood 
 of temples there are usually to be seen what are 
 called prayer-flags , which are of great length, but only 
 about a yard in width, on which are ho be found 
 ascriptions of praise offered on behalf of the dead. 
 These flags a*e affixed to lofty poles; and, as they 
 flutter in the breeze, it is believed by devout Buddhists 
 that the words of prayer or praise are wafted on the 
 wings of the wind into the ears of their lord. 
 
 Just think that for the last thousand years or more 
 this kind of folly has been perpetrated ! We cannot 
 but acknowledge the ingenuity and the poetic grace 
 of prayer-wheels, but still their use can only be 
 characterised as folly. We may be pleased and 
 amused for the moment as we see men twirling the 
 wheels round in the street, or pulling them at the 
 door of a house, or in a temple, or causing them to 
 revolve in the breeze or in the water ; but when we 
 think at length, and soberly, of what the whole thing 
 means, surely our hearts are grieved that any of our 
 fellow-creatures should be so foolish and superstitious 
 as to think that prayer offered in such ways could be 
 acceptable to the Divine Being they desire to worship ! 
 
 Thank God, Christian missionaries are labouring 
 amongst the Buddhists of many lands, and are impart- 
 ing unto them the teaching of Jesus Christ on prayer 
 as on every other duty and privilege of the Christian 
 calling. I am sure my young readers join me in the 
 earnest desire that our Buddhist brethren, instead of 
 
COLOSSAL FIGURE OF BUDDHA, CEYLON, 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
BUDDHIST PR A YER-MA CHINES. 
 
 85 
 
 twirling round in a cylinder, Om Mani Padmi Horn, 
 may ere long be beard repeating with their lips, 
 because they accept with their minds and hearts, 
 the beautiful prayer, “ Our Father, which art in heaven, 
 hallowed be Thy name ; Thy kingdom come ; Thy 
 will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this 
 day our daily bread ; and forgive us our trespasses as 
 we forgive them that trespass against us ; and lead us 
 not into temptation, but deliver us from evil : for 
 Thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for 
 ever and ever. Amen.” 
 
 BUDDHIST PRAYER WHEEL 
 
BRAHMINS AT PRAYER. 
 
 V. 
 
 EASTERN PROVERBS. 
 
 HOPE my young readers are interested in 
 proverbs ; for they are, as Lord Bacon has 
 said, “ the genius, wit, and spirit of a nation.’’ 
 In all probability a glance at the proverbs of the East 
 will help us to understand the people of India, by 
 
 86 
 
EASTERN PROVERBS. 
 
 87 
 
 throwing sidelights upon their feelings and convictions, 
 as well as upon their manners and customs. 
 
 A writer in Chambers’ Encyclopceclia remarks truly 
 that “ From the earliest historical times, proverbs 
 have been household words, not merely among the 
 people at large, but among the greatest and wisest of 
 men. The prodigious amount of wisdom and good 
 sense they contain, the spirit of justice and kindliness 
 they breathe, their prudential rules for every stage 
 and rank, their poetry, bold imagery and passion, 
 their wit and satire, and a thousand other qualities, 
 have, by universal consent, made them the most 
 favourite mode of imparting hints, counsels, and 
 warnings.” 
 
 The same writer, in speaking of the origin of proverbs, 
 is inclined to think that the majority even of our 
 European proverbs have come from the East, and 
 have been handed down from the remotest antiquity. 
 He says : “ From the East they were for the most part 
 imported into Greece, thence to Rome, and from 
 thence they were scattered all over Europe, and 
 partly brought back again, slightly altered, to the 
 East. Even certain Jewish proverbs quoted by Christ 
 and the Apostles, which hitherto did not seem to offer 
 any analogy in other languages, might be traced 
 back to India, where they had existed for many 
 long centuries before they found their way into the 
 popular speech of Palestine.” 
 
 Yes, there can be little doubt that the East is the 
 original home of the world’s proverbs ; and this thought 
 should make our study of the proverbs of India all the 
 more attractive. One of the most striking traits of 
 
88 
 
 THE LAND OF IDOLS. 
 
 Eastern life is tlie hospitality of the people, and this 
 sentiment or virtue has found expression in a very 
 worthy proverb which says, “ The tree does not with- 
 draw its shade even from the woodcutter.” By this 
 is meant that a man must show hospitality to foes as 
 well as friends if such should claim hospitality from 
 him. “ The tree does not withdraw its shade even 
 from the woodcutter.” A householder has to he “ no 
 respecter of persons,” according to the saying, “ Straw, 
 room, water, and gentle words are never to be refused 
 in good men’s houses.” An Indian poet has declared, 
 
 a Prosperity dwells on his floor 
 Who cheerfully doth tend 
 His guest, and ever proveth true 
 His liberality.” 
 
 This sentiment is like to that expressed by Solomon 
 in that proverb of his which says, “ The liberal soul 
 shall be made fat ; and he that wateretli shall be 
 watered also himself.” 
 
 The universal interest taken in marriage in India 
 is hit olf in the common proverb, “ Tell a thousand 
 lies and promote a marriage.” Every Hindu marries; 
 for the wedded state is considered essential as well for 
 personal comfort as for the general welfare of society. 
 It is considered a disgrace for a woman not to have a 
 husband ; so that parents are in a constant state o 
 anxiety and unrest until they have got their daughters 
 supplied with partners in life. Unfortunately, lying 
 is not considered a disgrace, except when it is exposed; 
 and consequently much intrigue and deception take 
 place in the preliminary marriage arrangements. The 
 people of India seem to think that “ all is fair in love 
 
EASTERN PROVERBS. 
 
 89 
 
 and war ” ; and so they say to one another, “ Tell a 
 thousand lies and promote a marriage.” It is just 
 an Eastern application of the unrighteous Western 
 proverb which asserts that “ the end justifies the 
 means.” 
 
 Friendship is a subject that has given rise to many 
 proverbs in India as in other countries. The Hindus 
 say, with rather a poor opinion of human nature, 
 “ There cannot be friendship between a poor man and 
 a rich man ” ; and again, “ Time that impaireth every- 
 thing impairetli friendship also.” The following 
 saying is more just and wise : 
 
 “ Keep clear, though in thy house they smile, 
 
 From friends who out of doors revile.” 
 
 I like also the proverb, “Adversity is the touchstone 
 of friendship ” ; and this also is a shrewd remark, 
 that “ a false friend is like a pot of poison with a 
 surface of milk ” ; but perhaps best of all is the 
 grand saying, “ There is one friend, even religion, 
 who will never forsake us.” 
 
 With regard to “ bad company,” there is a proverb 
 which declares, “ Avoid evil companions ; for a piece of 
 charcoal if it be hot burneth, and if cold it blackeneth 
 the hand.” It is ecjuivalent to the Apostolic saying — 
 “ Evil communications corrupt good manners.” Ac- 
 cording to a Hindu rhymester, 
 
 “Join the vile, and vile you’ll be 
 In the eyes of those who see.” 
 
 Or to put it another way, 
 
 “If you stand where you ought not, 
 
 Why be shocked when shame is got?” 
 
90 
 
 THE LAND OF IDOLS. 
 
 Poverty is something that the people of India, even 
 though there is so much of it in the land, perhaps 
 because there is so much, look upon with abhorrence. 
 The aims of the people, and the very dreams of the 
 people, are for wealth, without which life is considered 
 scarcely worth living. Yet how few obtain wealth ! 
 The proverb of Solomon finds expression in India from 
 countless lips, and in very nearly the same words — 
 “ The rich man’s wealth is his strong city ; the 
 destruction of the poor is their poverty.” The Hindus 
 say of poverty, 
 
 “ It brings no happiness in this, 
 
 And for the world to come no bliss.” 
 
 Is it not a dark saying ? How much better is the teach- 
 ing of Christ who bade the poor strive to be content 
 with such things as they had, and who held forth at 
 least a future recompense of reward in the beautiful 
 words, “ Blessed be ye poor, for yours is the king- 
 dom of God.” 
 
 There is much wisdom in the string of proverbs 
 which I shall now give, and they need no explanatory 
 comment : “ As rain to the parched field, so is meat 
 to one oppressed with hunger.” “ Knowledge pro- 
 duceth humility.” “ Show fortitude in adversity, and 
 moderation in prosperity.” “ The knowing man is the 
 strong man.” “ Good fortune is the offspring of our 
 endeavours.” “ Gentle lips provoke no scorner.” 
 “ When you ask for counsel, take it.” “ Alms are 
 the salt of riches.” “ Helping neighbours help them 
 truly .” “ Every door may be shut but death’s door.” 
 
 Then I have collected also a series of proverbs 
 
EASTERN PROVERBS. 
 
 91 
 
 which have been expressed in poetic form. These also 
 speak for themselves. 
 
 “Who wish their house a house to be, 
 
 Must live from idle follies free.” 
 
 “ Like elephants when arrows shower 
 The great are firm in ruin's hour.” 
 
 “When comes the fitting moment rare, 
 
 What’s hard to do, do then and there.” 
 
 “ Think, then resolve : ’tis credit none 
 To say ‘ Let’s think,’ when work’s begun.” 
 
 “ If but wisdom fill his mouth, 
 
 What concerns his age or youth ? ” 
 
 “Will the lamp become less bright 
 If an infant hold its light ! ” 
 
 “ Riches, like a woman’s charms, 
 
 Fly away like ghostly forms.” 
 
 “ If at first you fail to rule, 
 
 Do not think to rule at all.” 
 
 “ Stubborn folks are always wrong — 
 
 Can you straighten puppy’s tail ! ” 
 
 “ Wash a bear-skin every day, 
 
 Will its blackness go away ! ” 
 
 “ Talk is easy, virtue hard, 
 
 We may teach yet not regard.” 
 
 Now let me illustrate, by a story or two, some of 
 the most famous Indiau proverbs. There is one on 
 generosity , which had its rise in the lavish liberality 
 of a Mohammedan emperor. The proverb is, “ As 
 generous as Kuttub.” This prince ascended the 
 throne of Lahore, in the year 1205. He was the 
 
92 
 
 THE LAND OF IDOLS. 
 
 founder of the dynasty of the Slave Kings, and was 
 the first Moslem monarch who from choice estab- 
 lished his capital city in India. Kuttub was a born 
 soldier, and victory attended his arms from one end 
 of Hindustan to another. He was also the builder of 
 the wonderful tower of Delhi, called the Kuttub Minar, 
 which is one of the wonders of the world. Sir William 
 Sullivan, writing of this prince, says : “ Kuttub pos- 
 sessed in its greatest perfection, the Eastern virtue of 
 generosity. Long before he ascended the throne he 
 was celebrated as ‘ the bestower of lakhs,’ and for 
 centuries after his time, when a prince was marked 
 for his liberality, his subjects said, ‘ He is as generous 
 as Kuttub.’” Generosity has always been admired in 
 the East by Hindus as well as Moslems, and it is a 
 common saying amongst the former, that “ To feed 
 the hungry and the poor is a nobler deed than to 
 sacrifice to the gods.” 
 
 There is another Moslem proverb very common in 
 Northern India, which runs, “ Delhi is still far off.” 
 1 have explained the derivation of this saying at 
 considerable length in my book entitled “ Studies in 
 Mohammedanism,” in the chapter on proverbs, to 
 which I would refer all who are interested in this 
 subject. Suffice it to say here, that “ Delhi is still 
 far off” is equivalent to the English proverb, “ There's 
 many a slip ’twixt the cup and the lip.” 
 
 The wisdom of “ minding one’s own business,” or, 
 as the Hindus say, “ Meddle not, suffer not,” is very 
 often in native circles illustrated by the story of 
 “ The Washerman, the Dog, and the Donkey.” The 
 tale goes, that a certain dhobie or washerman, who 
 
STREET SCENE IN DELHI. 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
EASTERN PROVERBS. 
 
 95 
 
 made white the clothes of a large village, procured 
 a donkey to carry the clothes, and a dog to guard his 
 house. It happened, one night, that six burglars 
 attempted to break into the dhobie’s house, and 
 though the dog heard them he did not bark. There- 
 upon the donkey remarked, “ 0 dog, why are you so 
 lazy ? Robbers are come, and are lurking about to 
 rob our master’s house.” “ Let them do as they 
 please,” replied the dog, “for on former similar 
 occasions when I have barked and ai’oused our master, 
 he has not seemed particularly grateful. Anyway, it 
 is no affair of yours, my dear friend.” 
 
 But the donkey thought differently, for he stood up 
 on his legs, and, after saying, “ I will call and rouse 
 the master,” he began to bray like thunder. The 
 robbers heard and were afraid. The washerman heard 
 and was angry. But still the donkey continued his 
 braying in hopes that his master would arise and 
 chase the robbers. The washerman arose truly, but 
 it was to belabour the poor animal for his well-meant 
 but mistaken zeal. “ 0 fat donkey, take this and 
 this ! ” said the exasperated dhobie, as he brought 
 down a stout stick savagely on the animal’s back. 
 
 The donkey stopped his braying ; the washerman 
 resumed his sleeping ; and the robbers, after waiting 
 a little while, broke into the house, collected all the 
 clothes and valuables, and stole away with them. 
 The dog then spoke to the bruised and crest-fallen 
 donkey, and said, “ 0 ass, though I told you you 
 would not hear. Did the master thank yon for your 
 interference ? Your sore back is the result of meddling 
 in what does not concern you. I am the watch-dog 
 
9G 
 
 THE LAND OF IDOLS. 
 
 of this house, and if for weighty reasons I do not 
 choose to hark, it will he well for you to keep your 
 hraying to yourself, lest in the future a worse thing 
 befall thee. Meddle not, suffer not ! ” 
 
 There is another Eastern proverb similar to this, 
 which, however, carries the thought of non-interference 
 to the extreme. Is there a sadder proverb in any 
 language than the following, which is common in 
 India, though it had its origin in Egypt — viz., “ Do no 
 good, and thou shalt find no evil.” What a terrible 
 experience of the dark side of life must have prompted 
 the use of the ] lirase at the first ! It speaks of hard 
 usage, of bad treatment, of kindness unreturned, of 
 that hope deferred which makes the heart sad and 
 sometimes bitter. There is an Indian folk-tale which 
 bears on this subject, and which shows exactly what 
 the people mean by saying, “ Do no good, and thou 
 shalt find no evil.” I extract the story, not word for 
 word, but substantially, from the Rev. J. Ewen’s book 
 on India, entitled Sketches and Stories of Native 
 Life.” It is as follows : — 
 
 In the depth of an Indian winter, a Hindu on a 
 journey was passing through a forest : he was very 
 cold, and, seeing numerous twigs lying about, gathered 
 up a bundle and lit a fire. Indian fashion, he sat 
 down, brought his knees up on a level with his chin, 
 put his arms over them, and spread out his hands. 
 Just when beginning tc feel and appreciate the warmth, 
 he thought he saw 01 e of the lower twigs move. 
 Looking more intenth he found the twig was in 
 reality a snake, which, being stiff with cold, he had 
 mistaken for a branch of a tree. The snake almost 
 
EASTERN PROVERBS. 
 
 97 
 
 instantly cried out in pain, saying, “ Take me out of 
 the fire, good man, I am burning all over.” The Hindu, 
 being of a compassionate nature, obeyed the request, 
 and even went so far as to take the snake down to the 
 river-side, where he dipped it a few times in the cool 
 water, and then laid it gently on the bank. 
 
 Such an act merited a kind return ; but to the 
 surprise of the traveller, the serpent spread out its 
 hood, and, with its eyes glaring, said, “Now, my friend, 
 I am going to bite you.” “ Bite me ! ” exclaimed the 
 man in amazement. “ Bite me ! Why, I have only 
 just saved your life, and now you talk of biting me.” 
 “ Certainly,” replied the snake, “ and in so doing I am 
 only following the custom of humanity. Do you not 
 know that the world always returns evil for good ? ” 
 “ No ! no ! that is not true ! ” cried the Hindu. 
 “ Yes, but it is true ! ” retorted the snake ; “ and if 
 you doubt my word, let us ask the first animal we 
 meet.” “ Agreed ! ” said the traveller, and the man 
 and the snake journeyed together along the dry dusty 
 road. They had not gone very far, however, ere they 
 met a stranger advancing, leading a cow by a halter. 
 The cow was very old, and very weak ; so weak that 
 its legs were bending under it, and its knees rubbing 
 each other. Its hide was almost hairless, and every 
 bone could- be traced through it. Altogether, it was 
 a pitiable object. 
 
 “ Ask this cow,” said the snake. “ 0 cow,” ex- 
 claimed the Hindu, “ will you be good enough to 
 tell me whether you have found this statement true, 
 that the world always returns evil for good ? ” “ Ah, 
 
 yes ! Alas, it is only too true ! ” replied the cow. 
 
 7 
 
98 
 
 THE LAND OF IDOLS. 
 
 “ Listen I Once I was a young cow : now I am old. 
 I have had qnite a number of calves in my time. 
 They are growing np, ploughing the land, carrying 
 water and drawing carts ; indeed, they are the humble 
 slaves of men. In my time I have given a great 
 deal of milk. With it men have fed their children, 
 and made butter and ghee. Now that I am a poor 
 old cow, and can do no more for them, they forget 
 my services, refuse to feed me properly, and wish 
 me dead. Is not that returning evil for good ? ” 
 
 The Hindu, gravely impressed with what he had 
 heard, yet said he would like further proof ; so he and 
 the snake journeyed on their way, and had other 
 encounters and conversations with objects animate 
 and inanimate, who all bore the same testimony that 
 “if we do no good we shall find no evil.” Convinced 
 at last of the truth of the proverb, the traveller said, 
 “ 0 snake, thou mayest bite me, only suffer me first 
 to say farewell to my wife and children, who live 
 near by.” “ Certainly,” replied the serpent, “ but be 
 quick ! I shall stay here till you come back.” The 
 man departed with alacrity ; but when he told his 
 wife of the promise he had given the snake she wept 
 and bewailed and refused to let him go out of her 
 sio-ht. So together the husband and wife returned 
 to the snake, which was awaiting the arrival of its 
 victim with eagerness. 
 
 “ One moment, 0 snake, if you please,” said the 
 wife. “ When you have bitten my husband, and he 
 has succumbed to your poison, what shall I do with 
 all these children?” “This is somewhat embarrassing, 
 certainly,” replied the snake. “ You were not by 
 
EASTERN PROVERBS. 
 
 99 
 
 when I said I would bite your husband, and of course 
 I never thought of you nor the children. But I will 
 tell you what I will do. I have travelled a great 
 deal, and in my travels have discovered a very de- 
 structive powder : it is so powerful that if you but 
 put a very little of it on your greatest enemy, he 
 will shrivel up and crumble into dust.” “ Excellent,” 
 cried the woman. “ Give me some before you bite my 
 husband ! ” The unsuspecting snake gave the powder, 
 and as soon as she received it the woman cast it on 
 the reptile, which was reduced to dust, thereby to the 
 end returning evil for good. 
 
 This wonderful story is only a folk-tale, of course, 
 but reading between the lines we see how deep-grained 
 is their distrust of each other amongst the people of 
 the East. The cow and the snake are only made 
 to say what the human beings of India think, that 
 all too often kindness is recompensed by unkindness 
 and helpful services by ingratitude. Thus the inex- 
 pressibly sad proverb has gained general currency, 
 “ Do no good and thou shalt find no evil.” It is only 
 fair to say, however, that the people of the East are 
 not as bad as their creed ; for very often they do show 
 kindness to each other, and do good in various ways. 
 
 I have already called attention to proverbs incul- 
 cating hospitality and generous charity. Another 
 kindred saying might be mentioned, which declares 
 that “ the sandal tree perfumes the axe that fells it.” 
 Sandal wood, with its fragrant smell, is much used 
 in the East for boxes, beads, toys, and other articles, 
 and consequently the woodman does not spare the 
 tree. Yet “ the sandal tree perfumes the axe that 
 
100 
 
 THE LAND OF IDOLS. 
 
 fells it.” Conld the doctrines of the forgiveness of 
 injuries and the overcoming of evil with good be 
 more beautifully expressed ? As a set-off, and a 
 powerful set-off, against the selfish proverb, “ Do no 
 good and thou shalt find no evil,” we may place this 
 generous one, “ The sandal tree perfumes the axe 
 that fells it.” According to the Mahabharata, 
 “ Forgiveness is an ornament of the strong, and to 
 do good is the supreme peace.” 
 
 “ Pepper to Hindustan ” is a proverb that answers 
 to our English saying, “ Coals to Newcastle.” The 
 Greeks also say, or used to say, “ Owls to Athens.” 
 The Jews remark, “ Enchantments to Egypt”; the 
 Germans say, “ Deals to Norway ” ; and in the Middle 
 Ages it was a common cry, “ Indulgences to Rome ! ” 
 These variations of the same proverb show us how in 
 both the East and the West the same popular ideas 
 prevail on certain subjects, and are apt to formulate 
 themselves into proverbial sayings. 
 
 The Hindus have a shrewd saying with respect to 
 greed, avarice, and the heaping up of riches — viz., that 
 “ Nothing but dust will fill the eye of man.” The 
 following is utter folly, however — “ He who is bitten 
 by a snake may escape, but not he on whom the 
 evil eye has fallen.” There is a proverb in India 
 with respect to children which I have not met with 
 elsewhere. Coopooswamey, the author of “ Everyday 
 Life in South India,” refers to it when he says, 
 speaking of his childhood’s days, “ Sometimes in the 
 early morning, and especially in the rainy or winter 
 season, when the older people in the house draw their 
 large white sheets closely around' them, 1 used to feel 
 
EASTERN PROVERBS. 
 
 101 
 
 cold ; but no one took much notice of me. My father 
 would say, 1 Children and the legs of a stool don’t feel 
 cold ’ ; and he would send me out into the sunshine, 
 telling me that that would warm me.” 
 
 The tyranny of custom, which is strong in all lands, 
 but which is perfect slavery in India, is well shown in 
 the proverb which says, “We must walk as the village 
 walks,” and again in the proverb which declares that 
 “ If one lives in a country where all go naked, one 
 must do the same.” An orthodox Hindu would as 
 soon think of trying to fly as of daring to be singular 
 in his dress, habits, or rules of conduct. These matters 
 are all arranged by custom ; and woe be to the man 
 who asserts his freedom of thought or action. We 
 can see then what courage is required for a Hindu to 
 become a Christian. 
 
 There is a popular proverb with regard to looking 
 at all the sides of a question ere deciding on weighty 
 matters, which is specially applicable to hasty, im- 
 pulsive, or passionate people. The proverb is, “ Strike, 
 but hear.” It conveys more meaning than the saying, 
 “ Think before you speak,” though it is akin to it. 
 To an angry father, to a jealous husband, to a sus- 
 picious and wrathful king or ruler, the Hindus say, 
 “ Strike, but hear.” The hope is of course that if the 
 angry person can only be induced to hear, he will, 
 in all probability, not strike at all, or temper justice 
 with mercy. 
 
 The people of India dislike changes, and are loth to 
 undertake anything new. They “ hasten slowly ” in 
 all truth. It is amusing to notice with what evident 
 distrust and suspicion they treat any suggestion of 
 
102 
 
 THE LAND OF IDOLS. 
 
 change. And sometimes it may well be they are wise 
 in so doing ; for even our English proverb says,— 
 “ Three removes are as bad as a fire.” The way the 
 
 Hindus put the same truth 
 is by saying, “ A wise man 
 moveth one foot, but he 
 standeth fast with the 
 other.” The people of 
 India “ look before they 
 leap,” and they “ never 
 leap in the dark.” This 
 over -cautiousness, how- 
 ever, keeps back the race 
 in “ the race of life.” 
 
 Both good and bad things 
 have been said of women 
 in the proverbs of India. 
 There is a graceful compli- 
 ment in the proverb which 
 asserts, that “ women and 
 roses are the ouly beautiful 
 things in the world ” ; but 
 there is insult iu the de- 
 claration that “ a woman 
 is no more to be trusted 
 than a snake in the grass.” 
 The alleged talkativeness 
 of women is not spared; for 
 it is a common saying that “ a woman’s tongue is 
 her sword, and she does not let it rust.” Why, even 
 in the home, Easterns will not allow women to assert 
 themselves ; for there is a proverb which affirms that 
 
 SAXTAL WOMAN. 
 
EASTERN PROVERBS. 
 
 103 
 
 “ it is a sad house in which the hen crows louder 
 than the cock.” However, a poet has sought to 
 smooth ruffled feathers or feelings by stating — 
 
 “ The greatness of the married state 
 The wife is, or it is not great.” 
 
 There are two excellent proverbs which are designed 
 to encourage perseverauce and patience in any enter- 
 prise that may be taken in hand. One is, “ Small 
 rain fills a pond at last,” and the other runs, “ Al- 
 though a mountain be high it has a road to the top 
 of it.” To one who starts difficulties in a very easy 
 thing it is also customary to say, 11 To eat sweetmeats 
 requires no teeth.” A little sarcasm, moreover, is 
 latent in the following remark, “ If I do well it will 
 be ascribed to Providence : if ill, to myself.” 
 
 The proverb “ New servants are swift,” is true to 
 the life in the East, and is suggestive of our Western 
 saying, “ New brooms sweep clean.” “ Master easy, 
 servant slack,” is also a suggestive family proverb. 
 “ Trees will not grow unless you scatter seed,” is 
 meant to call forth effort, and to stimulate to deeds 
 of kindness. It is a worthy proverb, and one to be 
 kept in everlasting remembrance. But perhaps the 
 most exquisite Eastern proverb I have come across is 
 the following, “ To kiss a sleeping child,” by which 
 is meant to do a man a favour without his knowledge. 
 In this sense to one and all of my readers I would 
 say, “ Kiss a sleeping child ; go about doing good in 
 quiet, unostentatious ways, which are known only to 
 your Father who seeth in secret, who some day will 
 reward you openly.” 
 
104 
 
 THE LAND OF IDOLS. 
 
 Bat I mast close this chapter, else I shall lay 
 myself open to the charge of exhausting the patience 
 of my readers, and shall be rebuked by a proverb 
 quoted by Archbishop Trench, which says of a too 
 wordy writer — “ He leaves nothing in his inkstand.” 
 
 HINDU. 
 
THE JUMNA MUSJID, DELHI 
 
 VI. 
 
 THE PEACOCK THRONE. 
 
 | EFORE proceeding to tell the story of the 
 famous Peacock Throne of Delhi, which for 
 centuries was the symbol of the Mohammedan 
 power in India, I shall say just a word or two con- 
 cerning peacocks in general. Peacocks or peafowl are 
 natives of the East Indies, though they are now to be 
 found all the world over. These birds, of course, as 
 we all know, are remarkable for the magnificence of 
 their plumage, and especially for the splendid train, 
 
 105 
 
106 
 
 THE LAND OF IDOLS. 
 
 popularly called the tail, which is capable of being 
 erected and spread out into a great disk. “ The blue 
 of the neck, the green and black of the back and 
 wings, the brown, green, violet, and gold of the tail ; 
 the arrangement of the colours, their metallic splen- 
 dour, and the play of colour in changing lights, render 
 the peacock an object of universal admiration — a 
 sentiment in which the bird himself evidently partici- 
 pates to a degree that is amusing, as he struts about 
 to display himself to advantage, and labours to attract 
 attention, affording a familiar proverbial image of 
 ostentation and pride.” 
 
 The peahen, which is much smaller than the pea- 
 cock, has no train, and is of dull plumage, mostly 
 brownish, except that the neck is green ; but, strange 
 to say, in old age this bird has been known to grow 
 more beautiful, and to assume the plumage of the 
 male. Though born in such a hot climate as India, 
 peafowl can stand any climate; and even in winter in 
 England they have been found sitting on trees, or on 
 the tops of houses or stacks, during the keenest frosty 
 nishts. They seem to have a great dislike for the 
 confinement of a roosting-place like other fowl, and 
 prefer to pass all their time in the open air. 
 
 Sir James Emerson Tennent, in his work on Ceylon, 
 writing of the peacock, says: ‘‘As we emerge from 
 the deep shade, and approach the parklike openings 
 on the verge of the low country, quantities of pea- 
 fowl are to be found either feeding amongst the reeds 
 and rushes in the long grass, or sunning themselves 
 on the branches of the surrounding trees. Nothing 
 to be met with in demesnes in England can give an 
 
THE PEACOCK THRONE. 
 
 107 
 
 adequate idea either of the size or the magnificence of 
 this matchless bird when seen in his native solitudes. 
 Here he generally selects .some projecting branch, 
 from which his plumage may hang free of the foliage, 
 and if there be a dead and leafless bough, he is certain 
 to choose it for his resting-place, whence he droops 
 his wings and suspends his gorgeous train, or spreads 
 it in the morning sun to drive off the damps and dews 
 of the night.” 
 
 In the neighbourhood of Calcutta, and almost every- 
 where in India, peacocks can be seen every day 
 moving about in the bright sunshine ; and I remember 
 once, at Mirzapur, in the North-west, coming across 
 a score or more in one company, and the sight was 
 truly splendid. In unfrequented parts of the country 
 hundreds have been found together; and Colonel 
 Williamson, in his “Oriental Field Sports,” makes 
 the statement that once he saw a company of over a 
 thousand in one place in a jungly district. Let me 
 quote his words, which are, “ I speak within bounds 
 when I assert that there could not be less than twelve 
 or fifteen hundred peafowl, of various sizes, within 
 sight of the spot where I stood for near an hour. 
 The woods were covered with their beautiful plumage, 
 to which a rising sun imparted additional brilliancy.” 
 
 The peacock is truly an aristocratic bird, and for 
 ages in India it has been held in admiration and even 
 veneration, and has been regarded as in some way 
 specially associated with royalty. Sir Edwin Arnold, 
 in “ India Revisited,” says : “ Peacocks are great 
 favourites with the Rajputs. The bird is sacred to 
 their war god Kurnara, and its feather was often 
 
108 
 
 THE LAND OF IDOLS. 
 
 carried in the turban of the Ulwar warriors ; and the 
 reason they declare why it screams so loudly when 
 thunder is heard, is because the martial fowl takes the 
 noise for kettle-drums.” For all time the peacock will 
 be remembered as the symbol of Moslem imperial 
 power in the East ; for it was on a peacock throne in 
 Delhi that the greatest of the Moghuls sat to rule 
 over Hindustan. 
 
 Let me describe the Peacock Throne, and tell the 
 story of the rise and fall of the Moghul empire as 
 associated with it. It is a romance of thrilling 
 interest. The Mohammedans, of whom there are now 
 about fifty millions in India, entered the land as early 
 as 711 a.d., bent on plunder and conquest ; but it was 
 not till the twelfth century that they obtained a 
 permanent footing in India, by the capture of the old 
 Hindu city of Delhi. That was in the year 1193. 
 The hordes of invaders came chiefly through the 
 Afghan passes. 
 
 What is called the Moghul empire was founded in 
 the sixteenth century by Babar, a descendant of 
 Tamerlane, the famous conqueror and scourge of the 
 East. The Moghul empire was the most powerful of 
 all the Mohammedan dynasties that have ruled in 
 India, and is the one best known to Europeans. The 
 Moghuls were the paramount power in India from the 
 sixteenth century until our own time, and from them 
 the English wrested the imperial dominion of the 
 East. In January 1628, Shah Jehan ascended the 
 Moghul throne when he was thirty-six years of age, 
 and he it was who erected the present city of Delhi 
 on the ruins of other cities, and who put up most of 
 
THE PEACOCK THRONE. 
 
 109 
 
 the magnificent buildings which are now the glory of 
 Northern India. It was Shah Jehan also who caused 
 to be made the famous Peacock Throne of fabulous 
 price which has been the talk and wonder of the East 
 for ages. 
 
 The room in which the Peacock Throne was erected 
 was the most beautiful chamber of the emperor’s 
 palace. It was called the Diwan-i-kas or Hall of 
 Private Audience, and was approached through the 
 Diwan-i-A'm or Hall of Public Audience. These 
 rooms were miracles of beauty, and, according to Sir 
 Edwin Arnold, “ nothing in Imperial Rome ever 
 exceeded the magnificence of this royal retreat of 
 Shah Jehan.” Over one archway in the hall where 
 the Peacock Throne stood these proud words were 
 engraved, and may still be read : 
 
 “ If on the earth there be a bower of bliss 
 That place is this, is this, is this, is this.” 
 
 The Peacock Throne was constructed by Shah Jehan 
 as a symbol of his mighty power, and to show off the 
 immense quantity of precious stones he had accumu- 
 lated from the plunder of Hindu rajas, and from 
 presents he had received at annual festivals from 
 princes and comrades. For a description of the Pea- 
 cock Throne I do not know that we could do better 
 than quote the words of Mr. Beresford, who, in his 
 “ Guide to Delhi,” says, “ The Peacock Throne was so 
 called from its having the figures of two peacocks 
 standing behind it, their tails being expanded, and the 
 whole so inlaid with sapphires, rubies, emeralds, pearls, 
 and other precious stones of appropriate colours, as to 
 
110 
 
 THE LAND OF IDOLS. 
 
 represent life. The throne itself was six feet long by 
 fonr broad : it stood on six massive feet, which, with 
 the body, were of solid gold, inlaid with rubies, emeralds 
 and diamonds. It was surmounted by a canopy of 
 gold, supported by twelve pillars, all richly emblazoned 
 with costly gems, and a fringe of pearls ornamented 
 the borders of the canopy. Between the two peacocks 
 stood the figure of a parrot of the ordinary size, said 
 to have been carved out of a single emerald. On either 
 side of the throne stood an umbrella, one of the Oriental 
 emblems of royalty. They were formed of crimson 
 velvet richly embroidered and fringed with pearls : the 
 handles were eight feet high, of solid gold, and studded 
 with diamonds.” 
 
 This description may serve to give us some idea of 
 the magnificence of Shah Jehan. The Peacock Throne, 
 with its gold framework and ornaments of precious 
 stones, must have been a dazzling object to look upon, 
 and was a most remarkable symbol of imperial power 
 and greatness. The work was done, it is said, under 
 the supervision of a French jeweller, Austin of 
 Bordeaux ; who, after defrauding several of the princes 
 of Europe by means of false gems, which he fabricated 
 with peculiar skill, had sought refuge in India in the 
 court of Shah Jehan. The cost of the superb Peacock 
 Throne has been estimated at the vast sum of twelve 
 millions sterling. 
 
 It was on this famous throne that the emperors 
 of the East sat to receive princely visitors, and to 
 attend to great and important matters of state. Bernier, 
 a European physician, who travelled in India in the 
 time of Aurungzebe, had more than one audience with 
 
THE PEACOCK THRONE. 
 
 Ill 
 
 the Great Moghul, and wrote as follows : “ The King 
 appeared seated upon his throne, at the end of the 
 great hall, in the most magnificent attire. His vest 
 was of white and delicately flowered satin, with a silk 
 and gold embroidery of the finest texture. The turban, 
 of gold cloth, had an aigrette whose base was com- 
 posed of diamonds of an extraordinary size and value, 
 besides an Oriental topaz, which may be pronounced 
 unparalleled, exhibiting a lustre like the sun.” Thus 
 the Moghuls of India on their Peacock Throne were 
 the observed of all nations, and the envied of the whole 
 world ! 
 
 There are various anecdotes related in association 
 with the Peacock Throne, which are full of interest. 
 For instance, it was from this throne or from one in 
 the adjoining room that the Great Moghuls dispensed 
 justice as the chief magistrates of the realm. They 
 prided themselves on receiving impartially all appli- 
 cants, whether rich or poor; and in their way doubtless 
 they tried to strike an even balance in all cases, though 
 sometimes they sought to serve themselves while 
 serving others. Let me give a case in point. 
 
 It is said that on one occasion a young man appeared 
 before Shah Jehan declaring that his father was dead, 
 and that his mother had taken possession of the family 
 fortune, amounting to two hundred thousand rupees, 
 and would give no share of it to himself, though her 
 husband had instructed her to do so on his deathbed. 
 The emperor listened quietly to the tale, and, being 
 tempted by hearing of so large a sum of money, he 
 ordered the offending possessor of it to appear in “ the 
 presence,” when he instructed her to give at once fifty 
 
112 
 
 THE LAND OF IDOLS. 
 
 thousand rupees to her son, to keep fifty thousand for 
 herself, and to hand the remaining hundred thousand 
 over to the royal treasury. At a sign from the 
 emperor the surprised lady was taken from the 
 audience hall, ere she could say a word in opposition 
 to such an extraordinary judgment. 
 
 However, the determined woman was not conquered, 
 and next day she appeared before the royal throne 
 again, and coolly said, “ May it please your Majesty, 
 my son has certainly some claim to, the goods of 
 his father ; but I would like to know what relation 
 your Majesty bears to my deceased husband, that you 
 claim part of his estate.” Shah Jehan took this 
 plain speaking in good part, admiring the courage of 
 the woman, and to his credit it has to be related that 
 he withdrew his own claim, and ordered the suppliant 
 to depart in peace, and to come to terms with her 
 son by dividing the whole property equally with him. 
 And thus matters were amicably settled. 
 
 All disputes in the imperial presence, however, 
 had not such a happy ending. Colonel Sleeman, in 
 his “ Rambles,” says, “ On one of the pillars of the 
 hall of audience is shown the mark of the dagger of 
 a Hindu prince, of Cheetore, who, in the presence of 
 the emperor, stabbed to the heart one of the Moham- 
 medan ministers who made use of some disrespectful 
 language towards him.” When the prince was seized 
 by the royal guards, and asked how it was he dared 
 do such a terrible deed in front of the Peacock Throne 
 and in the very presence of his sovereign, he answered 
 proudly and sternly, almost in the words of Roderick 
 Dku — 
 
THE PEACOCK THRONE. 
 
 113 
 
 “I right my wrongs where they are given, 
 
 Though it were in the court of heaven.” 
 
 w o are not told wliat became of the infatuated man. 
 Truly those were days of lawlessness and dark deeds, 
 and many such awful tragedies were enacted in the 
 audience chamber of the Great Moghul, and on the 
 very steps of the Peacock Throne. 
 
 It was in front of the Peacock Throne that the 
 unfortunate but graceful Prince Soliman appeared 
 to receive the doom of unsuccessful plotting against 
 the State. There he stood with his hands bound in 
 gilded fetters, entreating in the most pathetic language 
 to be put to death at once rather than be sentenced to 
 die by slow poison as so many had done before him. 
 It is said that as the prince pleaded, many of the 
 courtiers were affected to tears, and the ladies of the 
 harem wept aloud from behind the marble screens, 
 where they saw and heard all that passed. 
 
 It was in front of the Peacock Throne also, in the 
 days of Aurungzebe, that Sivaji, the founder of the 
 Mahratta power of Central India, was openly insulted, 
 though he had been invited to the court in time of 
 peace, and assured of a welcome from the Moham- 
 medan emperor. Sivaji is said to have shed tears of 
 indignation and anger at the discourteous treatment 
 he received, and to have hurled words of defiance 
 and threats of vengeance at the Great Moghul. This 
 gave Aurungzebe an excuse for imprisoning his guest ; 
 but the latter was more than a match for the emperor 
 in cunning, and in a short time effected his escape, 
 and lived to do untold harm to the Moghul empire. 
 
 But now let us pass by numerous reigns during 
 
 8 
 
114 
 
 THE LAND OF IDOLS. 
 
 which, by internal misgovernmeut and external dis- 
 sensions and wars, the power of the Moghuls in India 
 perceptibly declined. We reach the period of Moham- 
 med Shah’s rule, one of the most unfortunate of the 
 emperors of the East. It was during this monarch’s 
 reign that the terrible Nadir Shah swooped down 
 upon India from Persia, like an eagle on its prey. 
 Nadir carried all before him, and was soon in posses- 
 sion of Delhi, and in the very palace of the Moghuls, 
 sitting on the celebrated Peacock Throne, by the side 
 of Mohammed Shah. It was the fortune of war. 
 
 And now notice an incident that happened. Nadir 
 Shah, though master of the imperial city, yet declared 
 his desire to be treated as a guest, and took a pleasure 
 in mocking humbled royalty, by allowing the con- 
 quered emperor to preserve an outward show of 
 authority. While the two monarchs sat on the great 
 throne discussing terms of peace, lo ! coffee was brought 
 in by an Omrah, the highest lord of the household, 
 who was uncertain to whom he should first offer the 
 fragrant beverage ; for he knew that his head would 
 be the penalty for the least apparent slight to either 
 of the monarchs whom he was serving. However, 
 risking everything, the Omrah, with good sense and 
 tact, walked straight to his royal master, and said, as 
 he presented the coffee, “ I knew that your Majesty 
 would not allow your distinguished guest to be served 
 by any but your own royal hands.” It was a worthy 
 deed, and excited not merely the gratitude of Moham- 
 med Shah, but the admiration of Nadir Shah, who, 
 turning to the emperor, said, “ If all your Majesty’s 
 servants had known their duty as well as this Omrah, 
 
THE PEACOCK THRONE. 
 
 115 
 
 and done it as faithfully, I should not now be sitting 
 here.” 
 
 This pleasant scene within the hall of the Peacock 
 Throne is worthy of record ; but while it was taking 
 place sad events were going on without. The city of 
 Delhi was given up to slaughter and plunder, and the 
 destruction wrought was terrible beyond words to 
 express. And for a month the sack of the richest 
 capital in the world continued, until the people were 
 literally beggared by the rapacity of Nadir Shah and 
 his soldiers. Nor was the palace of the Moghuls to 
 escape the general pillage. 
 
 Notwithstanding the entreaties of the emperor, 
 the signal was given to sack the palace. Even the 
 Peacock Throne was doomed. It became the prey of 
 Nadir Shah himself. What a prize ! Surely never 
 did conqueror, in any part of the world, obtain such 
 booty in one small apartment as Nadir Shah obtained 
 in that hall, where he had bandied compliments over 
 a cup of coffee with the poor, unfortunate emperor of 
 the Moghuls ! Think of twelve millions sterling in 
 the form of gold and jewels, passing thus in a moment 
 from one man to another as the spoils of war ! 
 
 There are some students of Indian history who 
 doubt the fact of the plunder of the Peacock Throne 
 by Nadir Shah. They think that it was spared out 
 of compliment to Mohammed Shah, and that it was 
 reserved for plunder at a much later date, and by 
 a different race. For example, Miss C. F. Gordon 
 Cumming writes in her book, entitled “In the Hima- 
 layas and on the Indian Plains,” as follows : “ The won- 
 derful Peacock Throne disappeared after the Mutiny 
 
116 
 
 THE LAND OF IDOLS. 
 
 (1857), and no one has ever found what became of it. 
 The miracle was, that it should have escaped the 
 wholesale plundering which Delhi and the greater 
 part of Hindostan received in 1738, when invaded 
 by Nadir Shah, with a vast army of Persians and 
 Georgians.” I think we are now in a position to say 
 decidedly, that the famous throne did not escape 
 Nadir’s clutches. I do not think there can be a 
 shadow of a doubt, that the Persian adventurer 
 marched away with it when he left Delhi, in triumph, 
 to return to his own dominions. In a work on “ Persia,” 
 by Mr. Benjamin, late United States Minister to Persia, 
 I find these words : “ Nadir Shah returned to Persia 
 from India with vast spoils, including the famous 
 Peacock Throne, now in the royal treasury at Teheran.” 
 A statement like this, by one who knows, should settle 
 all doubts. 
 
 It is exceedingly interesting to notice that in the 
 breaking up of the Peacock Throne, in order to its 
 more convenient carriage to Persia, it is generally 
 believed that the Kohinoor diamond, now in the pos- 
 session of Queen Victoria, was discovered. This precious 
 stone, the Hindus say, was ages ago found in a Golconda 
 mine; and it has, from the time of its original discovery 
 till now, been, with few exceptions, in the hands of 
 the paramount power in India. Nadir Shah, from the 
 brilliancy of the gem, is said to have given it its present 
 name of Kohinoor, which means “Mountain of Light.” 
 
 After the death of Nadir Shah, who was assassinated 
 in his tent by some of his own generals in 1747, the 
 Kohinoor passed into the possession of the Afghan 
 ruler Ahmed Shah, who plundered the dead monarch’s 
 
THE PEACOCK THRONE. 
 
 117 
 
 tents. From Ahmed Shah it descended to his son 
 Shah Sooja, and from the latter it was taken by force 
 by Runjeet Sing, the Sikh chief, familiarly called “ The 
 Lion of the Pnnjaub.” On the abdication of Maharajah 
 Dhuleep Sing, and the annexation of the Pnnjaub by 
 the British in 1849, the far-famed diamond was surren- 
 dered to Great Britain, and now, as a native of India 
 has gallantly said, “ it glitters upon the crown of the 
 queen of our empire — the first of jewels adorning the 
 person of the first of sovereigns in the world.” 
 
 When the Kohinoor came into the possession of the 
 English it was an inch and a half in length, and an 
 inch in width, and weighed 794 carats. To increase its 
 beauty it was cut and reduced to 186 carats. “ In this 
 state, rose-cut, it was shown at the Great Exhibition 
 of 1851, and was valued at about £140,000. It was 
 re-cut in 1852, and now as a regular brilliant weighs 
 a little over 106 carats.” 
 
 But to return to Delhi and the history of the 
 Moghuls ! With the destruction of the Peacock Throne 
 the glory seemed to depart from the Moslem empire 
 in India. Mohammed Shah, when the Persians had 
 left his capital, sought to cheer and reinvigorate his 
 disheartened people, and after a while even created 
 another beautiful throne in place of the one taken 
 away, and perhaps in imitation of it. However, the 
 power of the Moghuls steadily waned. In 1777 a 
 dastardly and cruel deed was perpetrated on the person 
 of the reigning emperor, Shah Alum, by Gholam Kadir, 
 a Mahratta chief, who invested and captured Delhi. 
 The conqueror marched to the palace and into the 
 Diwan-i-kas, the Hall of the Peacock Throne, and, 
 
118 
 
 THE LAND OF IDOLS. 
 
 placing himself ou the new throne, commanded that 
 the emperor should be brought into his presence, when 
 he ordered him to show where his treasures were con- 
 cealed. “ In vain Shah Alum pleaded the utter poverty 
 of himself and family. The rebel general, incensed at 
 his inability to extract the information, jumped from 
 the throne, knocked down the aged monarch, and, 
 kneeling on his breast, put out his eyes with his dagger, 
 while the poor old man could only murmur, ‘ Why 
 should I be deprived of those eyes which have been 
 incessantly employed for sixty years in studying the 
 sacred Koran ? ’ ” 
 
 In 1803 the arms of the British triumphed over 
 those of the Mahrattas, and the emperor at once threw 
 himself on the protection of Lord Lake, who cordially 
 responded to his appeal, and reinstated the aged and 
 blind monarch on the throne of his ancestors. “ Eighty- 
 three years of sorrow had passed over his head, and 
 poor, dependent, infirm, and sightless, the head of the 
 empire illustrated in his person the widespread ruin 
 which had overwhelmed the empire itself.” 
 
 For fifty years after the installation of Shah Alum 
 on the throne of the Moghuls, Delhi enjoyed uninter- 
 rupted tranquillity under the powerful protection of 
 the British. Then came the sad and terrible days 
 of the Mutiny, when the country was torn with strife 
 from end to end, and when it seemed as if the star 
 of the English , which had been in the ascendant, would 
 go down in darkness. The Moghul once more ruled 
 absolutely in the halls of his fathers, and treated the 
 few British within the walls of Delhi with horrible 
 cruelty and eventual massacre. 
 
THE PEACOCK THRONE. 
 
 119 
 
 But the English proved conquerors in the great 
 struggle, and once more the Diwan-i-kas, or Hall of 
 Private Audience, the Hall of the Peacock Throne, is 
 occupied. The last monarch of the once powerful 
 Moghul race is in the throne room of his empire. 
 His name is Mohammed Bahadur. “ He is a mean- 
 looking old man, plainly dressed, crouched upon a 
 low native bedstead, and smoking a hookah. His 
 hairs are white, and what little expression remains 
 iu his Jewish features is not pleasant to look at. 
 Before him at a table sit a row of officers in the 
 English uniform. They are judging him for treason 
 to the power to whose protection and generosity alone 
 he owed his position and ability to do mischief. After 
 the most ample and painstaking investigation they 
 convict him of treachery and murder.” 
 
 Mr. Minturn, in his hook entitled “ From New York 
 to Delhi,” has well said: “Of all the remarkable 
 events of which the Diwan-i-kas has been the theatre, 
 this last was certainly the most extraordinary and 
 the most significant. If the trial of Charles the First 
 was not merely his individual condemnation, but was 
 also the practical denial and abolition of the divine 
 right of English kings, and the adoption of the 
 democratical idea in the Government, then the judg- 
 ment pronounced upon the King of Delhi was not 
 only the decree of a British court upon a miserable 
 old man, rendered almost imbecile by age and a long 
 life of wickedness, — it was the verdict of the civilised 
 world on the whole line of which he was the last 
 representative ; it was the sentence pronounced by 
 Christendom upon the utter incapacity, the childish 
 
120 
 
 TITE LAND OF IDOLS. 
 
 
 folly, and the intolerable oppression of the effete 
 dynasties of Asia; it was the decision of humanity in 
 the grand trial between Christianity and Paganism 
 for supremacy in the East — a decision which it is not 
 presumptuous to say has been ratified by the eternal 
 justice of the King of kings.” 
 
 From the Hall of the Peacock Throne the last of 
 the Moghuls passed in disgrace in the year 1858, and 
 was transported to Rangoon as a state prisoner, and 
 there he died in 1862. The Diwan-i-kas still exists, 
 though it is now a deserted chamber ; and as I visited 
 it a few years ago, and paused within it to think of 
 the strange sights and deeds it had witnessed in the 
 past, I reflected sadly on its proud claim to be a 
 “bower of bliss.” How evanescent are human greatness 
 and human happiness ! The deserted palaces of Delhi 
 speak eloquently to us of the vanity of riches without 
 righteousness, and of power without justice. The 
 vanished Peacock Throne may also remind us of that 
 Throne, the Great White Throne which abideth for 
 ever, and before which Hindu, Moslem, and Christian 
 must at last appear to answer for the deeds done in 
 the body, whether good or evil. 
 
HINDUS. 
 
 VII. 
 
 STORIES OF CASTE. 
 
 T is not my intention in this chapter to go 
 ' very deeply into the subject of caste, bnt only 
 to relate some stories of caste which seem to 
 me of interest, and which, taken together, will give a 
 very fair idea to my young readers of this system, 
 which has been the curse of India for ages. 
 
 In the chapter entitled “ Bnttoo, the Famous 
 Archer,” it will be remembered that I said that there 
 were originally four castes — viz., the Brahmin or 
 Priestly, the Soldier, the Merchant, and the Servant 
 or Sudra caste. Of these, now, practically only the 
 first and the last exist — the Brahmin and the Sudra — 
 
 121 
 
122 
 
 THE LAND OF IDOLS. 
 
 though these are broken up into innumerable sub- 
 castes. 
 
 There are four things in which the rules of caste 
 exercise a special influence, and those are (1) that 
 individuals cannot he married except in their own 
 caste ; (2) that people of different castes must not eat 
 together, or partake of food prepared by a member of 
 another caste, save by a Brahmin, who can cook for 
 all castes ; (3) that the different castes must keep to 
 the occupations they have inherited from their fathers; 
 (4) that certain particular matters must be attended 
 to by the different castes at funerals. 
 
 It is easy to be seen from these regulations that 
 caste and rank are two very different things. A 
 native of India has forcibly said, “ Rank is accessible 
 to all, but caste is not : worth and greatness of mind 
 have raised the weaver and the ploughman in England 
 to the station of peers ; but between the Brahmins and 
 the Sudras the gulf, now at least, is impassable.” 
 Thus, in a hundred ways caste interferes with the 
 progress, the comfort, and the happiness of the people 
 of India. Bishop Heber, speaking of this system in 
 his famous “ Diary,” has said, “ The caste system 
 tends, more than anything else the devil has yet 
 invented, to destroy the feelings of general benevo- 
 lence, and to make nine-tenths of mankind the hopeless 
 slaves of the remainder.” 
 
 The pride which caste has engendered in the Brah- 
 mins of India has gone to the absurd and sinful 
 length of leading them to regard themselves as gods, 
 before whom all the rest of mankind must bow in 
 reverence and awe. To some extent, at the present 
 
S TORIES OF CASTE. 
 
 123 
 
 clay, the people of India resent these intolerant claims 
 of the men of the highest caste; but still subserviency 
 to, and even adoration of, Brahmins is all too common. 
 A true independence of spirit is sorely needed in India 
 on this vital subject, and it would be well if all 
 Hindus would say with one of their number, the poet 
 Kapila, in vigorous tones, — 
 
 “ Oh, Brahmins, list to me ! 
 
 In all this blessed land 
 There is but one great caste, 
 
 One tribe and brotherhood. 
 
 One God doth dwell above, 
 
 And He hath made us one 
 In birth and frame and tongue.” 
 
 Mr. Minturn, in an account of his travels iu India, 
 tells a story of how he inadvertently broke the caste 
 of a Brahmin. He writes : “ I had a little illustration 
 of the inconveniences of caste before reaching Benares, 
 after crossing the river Sone. The coachman had 
 left the carriage to get a fresh horse, and, as he was 
 rather long gone, I took up the bugle, which is carried 
 by all dak-coachmen, to recall him. No sooner, how- 
 ever, had my lips touched it, than all the bystanders 
 groaned in concert. I asked my servant what the 
 matter was, and heard in reply that the coachman was 
 a Brahmin, and would be unable henceforth to use the 
 bugle without loss of caste, which, as he was a Brahmin, 
 could not be regained. However, it turned out he 
 was a very low-caste Brahmin, and could be reinstated 
 by the payment of a fine, in the shape of a feast to 
 his friends ; so he finally made up his mind to blow 
 the bugle, lose caste, and restore himself by standing 
 
124 
 
 THE LAND OF IDOLS. 
 
 treat, rather than have the greater expense of buying 
 a new bugle. He would not, after all, however, put 
 his mouth to it, until he had heated the mouthpiece 
 in live coals and scoured it with mud and cowdung 
 to purify it from the pollution of my lips.” 
 
 The same writer, commenting on the subject of 
 caste in another part of his book, says: “Although the 
 Brahmins are properly priests, and the other castes 
 are generally called by the name of some trade, so 
 that they are to some extent guilds, yet a man of 
 any caste is allowed to do anything which does not 
 require him to touch substances, or engage in occupa- 
 tions, which are polluting, according to the rules of 
 his particular caste. For instance, a Brahmin will be 
 a coachman, a clerk, or an employe of Government ; 
 and perhaps their most common occupations are cook- 
 ing and begging. But no matter how menial is their 
 occupation, however poor and miserable they may be, 
 whether squatted on the mud, cooking, or begging, 
 naked in the streets, Brahmins consider themselves, 
 and are looked upon by the Hindus, as infinitely 
 superior in rank to the mightiest monarchs in Chris- 
 tendom. So also any Hindu will be a domestic 
 servant ; but he will not cook beef or take care of 
 fowls : he will make his master’s bed, and mend 
 his clothes ; but he will not sweep the room, or empty 
 the dirty water, unless he be of low caste. The 
 higher the caste generally, the fewer the occupations 
 that the subject can engage in, and the more limited 
 the number of articles he can eat. There are some 
 castes so low that scarcely anything is a pollution to 
 them, and they even eat the putrid meat of animals 
 
STORIES OF CASTE. 
 
 125 
 
 which have died a natural death. Still they are 
 very punctilious on the few points which mark their 
 caste.” 
 
 The fact mentioned by Mr. Minturn, that Hindu 
 servants will attend to some household matters and 
 not to others, is the reason why in Northern India 
 so many servants are needed in the homes of Europeans. 
 There were, if I remember aright, ten servants in my 
 own household when I was in Calcutta. 
 
 The Rev. H. F. Blackett, late of the Cambridge 
 Mission, Delhi, in his charming little book entitled 
 “Two Years in an Indian Mission,” speaking of caste 
 pecidiarities amongst servants, remarks : “ No Hindu 
 servant will ever wait at table. Cooks and table- 
 servants are always Mohammedans or Christians, as 
 the Mohammedans do not object to eating meat. My 
 bearer, who was a Hindu, would bring me the early 
 toast and cup of tea, with which every Anglo-Indian 
 refreshes himself when rising, breakfast being late ; 
 but whenever, in view of a long service before break- 
 fast, one of 9 the diminutive eggs of the country was 
 added to my repast, he would never touch it, but 
 bring in the tea and toast as usual, one of the 
 Christian or Mohammedan servants gravely following 
 with the egg ; for the boiling and eating of the egg 
 implied the premature destruction of a prospective 
 chicken, and that would be a great offence.” 
 
 In India, though innumerable animals are held in 
 great reverence, and are treated as sacred, yet there 
 are some, such as the dog, the long-tailed sheep, and 
 the donkey, which are held in great dishonour, being 
 regarded as unclean, and as defiling members of 
 
126 
 
 THE LAND OF IDOLS. 
 
 nearly all castes who may touch or be touched by 
 them. 
 
 Miss Cummin g, in her book on India, tells a story 
 of how some children’s desire to ride a donkey caused 
 a great stir amongst her dependants, who told her 
 that only the lowest castes would touch such an 
 animal. Let me quote the passage, which runs : “ We 
 had a curious proof of caste prejudice, when it was 
 proposed that the children should have a donkey 
 instead of being carried by men. The servants came 
 in a body to my sister to represent the horrors of the 
 case. Surely she could not be in earnest in wishing 
 to subject the children to such an indignity ; but if 
 indeed it were so, they must with one voice protest 
 that not one of them would touch it. So great was 
 the excitement that as she passed through the public 
 bazaars strangers came up to her in a most respectful 
 manner, to express their hope that the mem-sahib 
 would not think of such a thing, for indeed Charlie- 
 Sahib was worthy of more honour. Surely he might 
 have a pony. Charlie, however, resolutely refused to 
 ride a pony, so a goat carriage was substituted.” 
 Thus the difficulty was surmounted to the great 
 satisfaction of the Hindus, whose caste prejudices 
 would have been greatly outraged if Master Charlie 
 had taken donkey-rides. 
 
 The Rev. James Kennedy, late of Benares, tells a 
 story of caste prejudice in association with sheep, 
 which is also worth recording, as throwing light upon 
 the idiosyncrasies of Hindu faith and customs. The 
 Hindus are not a flesh-eating people, yet they will 
 eat the flesh of goats and kids offered in sacrifice, 
 
STORIES OF CASTE. 
 
 127 
 
 and also the flesh of short-tailed sheep, though long- 
 tailed ones are an abomination to them. Now for 
 the story. Mr. Kennedy says : “We saw once an 
 
 LOW CASTE WOMAN WITH WATEE-BOTTLE. 
 
 amusing instance of the notion of uncleanness attached 
 to this species of sheep. A few sheep were being 
 chosen by a purchaser from a flock. The animals 
 were scampering about, showing, according to their 
 nature, their unwillingness to be caught. Three or 
 
128 
 
 THE LAND OF IDOLS. 
 
 four men were engaged in catching them ; but one 
 every now and then started back when about to lay 
 his hand on a sheep, exclaiming, ; It is a tailed one ! 
 It is a tailed one ! ’ as if he would be hopelessly 
 defiled by touching it, while his less scrupulous 
 companions of the same caste said, £ Never mind ! 
 What does it matter ? It will do you no harm ! ’ 
 They would not have eaten its flesh ; but their caste 
 spirit was sufficiently relaxed to allow them to 
 touch it.” 
 
 In association with caste, the so-called sacred 
 thread, plays a prominent part. Though it is the 
 distinguishing mark of Brahmius, yet other castes 
 also wear it. Indeed, it is only the Sudra or lowest 
 caste which does not wear it. It is the Brahminical 
 thread, however, which is held in the greatest reverence. 
 When a Brahmin youth attains his eighth year, he is 
 invested with this simple badge of honour, of which, 
 however, it is no exaggeration to say he is as proud 
 as any earl is of his coronet. The poitra, or sacred 
 thread, is the mark in India of the aristocracy ; and a 
 Brahmin would sooner part with his life than with 
 this emblem of his power and great ne.'s. 
 
 The difference between the poitra of other castes 
 and the sacred thread of the Brahmins lies mainly 
 in the fact that it must be of cotton only. According 
 to one authority, “ It must be made of three cotton 
 threads, each composed of three other fine threads, 
 which must be twisted to a running accompaniment 
 of sacred texts, while sprinkled with holy water from 
 a sprinkler of the divine Kusa grass. The cord 
 is supposed to symbolise the three incarnations of 
 
STORIES OF CASTE. 
 
 129 
 
 Brahma, and it must, moreover, be entirely the handi- 
 work of some parental Brahmin, who must himself 
 gather the cotton from the plant, spin and twist the 
 mystic cord, which is the bearer’s patent of nobility.” 
 
 To show how caste at times stands in the way of 
 common humanity, let me recite a typical case which 
 the Rev. J. Ewen mentions in his “Sketches and 
 Stories of Native Life.” The passage reads : “ One 
 Sunday morning during the rains of 1880, we were 
 engaged in divine service, when we were startled by 
 the crash of a falling house. I happened to be sitting 
 by the door, and, turning round, saw the masonry and 
 beams of a neighbouring dwelling coming down in a 
 confused mass. Shortly before I had looked at the 
 building, but saw no reason for supposing it was in 
 danger ; and the shopman evidently had no idea the 
 walls were being undermined, for he was busy weigh- 
 ing out various commodities to several customers, who 
 were equally unconscious of danger. 
 
 “ The service was brought to a close, and those of 
 us who were present went to work to dig out the 
 seven or eight persons who were reported buried 
 under the debris. And we were left to do it alone, 
 although hundreds of natives hurried up to look on. 
 Not a man would assist. We appealed in vain, for 
 the only reply we got to our requests for assistance 
 was, ‘ We don’t know what caste they are of.’ About 
 half an hour after the collapse of the building an 
 army of labourers came up, and with their aid we dug 
 out eight men who had been buried close on an hour. 
 One poor fellow had a heavy beam resting over his 
 chest. All seemed terribly injured ; and we thought, 
 
 9 
 
130 
 
 THE LAND OF IDOLS. 
 
 as we placed them on the litters and sent them off to 
 the hospital, not one would survive. What was my 
 surprise, on inquiring after them next dav, to find 
 
 WOMEN OF VARIOUS CASTES : MADRAS. 
 
 that they had all gone home, not much the worse for 
 their experience of falling bricks and timber.” 
 
 The entombed people might have died, however, 
 but for the prompt action of the missionary and his 
 friends. The point of the story is that the Hindu 
 
STORIES OF CASTE. 
 
 131 
 
 onlookers were prevented from helping their fellow- 
 countrymen, even in the hour of deadly peril, by the 
 fear of breaking caste. When caste and humanity 
 are thus opposed are we not right in characterising 
 the custom as au accursed thing ? I am reminded of 
 a Telugu poem which says : 
 
 “If we look through all the earth, 
 
 Men we see have equal birth ; 
 
 Made in one great brotherhood, 
 
 Equal in the sight of God. 
 
 “Food or caste or place of birth 
 Cannot alter human worth. 
 
 Why let caste be so supreme ? 
 
 ’Tis but folly’s passing stream.” 
 
 It is a folly, however, which has a strong hold on the 
 people of India, even though they cannot close their 
 eyes to its evil effects. 
 
 In treating a subject like this it is only fair to say 
 that there are some Europeans who declare that the 
 Hindus are greatly maligned with respect to caste. 
 Sir George Birdwood, for instance, in an article in 
 the Indian Magazine and Review of January 1892, 
 declares that all restrictions between caste and caste, 
 and even between men of caste and outcasts, break 
 down at once under circumstances calculated to evoke 
 strong sympathy between man and man. This asser- 
 tion Sir George illustrates by a story or two. He 
 says : “ My personal servant in Bombay was of good 
 caste, — in fact, a Rajput. He dared never touch me 
 under ordinary circumstances. But once when I was 
 ill of dysentery, he would let no one else attend upon 
 me, and rendered me every service exacted under 
 
132 
 
 THE LAND OF IDOLS. 
 
 such circumstances of the most self-sacrificing; Chris- 
 tian charity. Further, one year when I was staying 
 at Matheran, I recollect the late Sir Munguldas 
 Nathoobhoy, when riding out, coming upon a Chinaman 
 in a most agonising condition of suffering and squalor, 
 apparently dying of an open ulcer of the stomach. 
 Sir Munguldas at once dismounted, and assisted the 
 man home to his own house, and there had the poor 
 fellow attended to and nursed until he most happily 
 recovered. ... I could fill a book with like anecdotes ; 
 but the round sum of them is this — that in all the 
 amenities, sympathies, charities, and other good offices 
 of affection, justice and religion, which, according to 
 Christian theologians, make up holy living, I have 
 never known man in India, Hindu or Mohammedan, 
 fall short of Christian Englishmen.” 
 
 I do not agree with Sir George Bird wood in the 
 conclusions he draws from his anecdotes. I, however, 
 admire the conduct of the caste men he refers to. 
 Thank God that there are men even in India, too tender- 
 hearted and noble-minded to let caste rules stand in 
 the way of their humanity ; but such men are choice 
 spirits, they are not the usual run of the Hindu race. 
 As far as I can form a judgment from my experience 
 of life in the East, and from my studies in the subject 
 of caste, I believe that such gracious cases of humani- 
 tarian conduct in the face of caste rules, as quoted 
 by Sir George Birdwood, are decidedly the exceptiou 
 and not the rule. It is vain for any one to seek to 
 prove that caste and humanity can go hand in hand. 
 The people of India as a whole dread caste-defilement, 
 and while they may be kindly disposed at the sight 
 
STORTES OF CASTE. 
 
 133 
 
 of human suffering, they are almost uniformly kept 
 by the fear of contamination from acting the Good 
 Samaritan. Why, some of the Hindus themselves 
 acknowledge and regret their national failing. The 
 learned author of “ India, Past and Present,” Mr. 
 Shoshee Chunder Dutt, in a thoughtful and fair article 
 on “ Caste,” has the courage and the grace to say, — 
 “ The sum total of the effects of caste is, that civilisa- 
 tion has been brought to a standstill in the country 
 by its mischievous restrictions, and there is no hope of 
 a remedy till these restrictions are removed.” 
 
 Caste sometimes interferes with even the common 
 civilities of life. The Rev. S. Mateer, in his “Native 
 Life in Travancore,” says that as a rule in that State 
 a native gentleman will shake hands with a European, 
 though afterwards he will bathe to remove the pollu- 
 tion. There are, however, certain special occasions 
 when caste rules absolutely forbid a native to touch a 
 European, or any one not of his own caste. It seems 
 on one such occasion a British military officer of rank 
 offered his hand to a young Hindu noble ; but the 
 latter drew back, exclaiming, “ I cannot touch you 
 to-day, I am holy just now. We are a religious people, 
 you know.” The officer only remarked, “ Well, you 
 will shake hands with me the next time I ask you ; ” 
 meaning, of course, that he never would ask him 
 again. The young prince, not understanding the 
 English idiom, replied, “ Oh, certainly ! ” Caste that 
 can go to such extremes is intolerable. There is a 
 pride about it, and an assumption of superior holiness 
 that is insufferable. 
 
 One of the worst things about caste is its innate 
 
134 
 
 THE LAND OF TDOLS. 
 
 selfishness. It teaches a man to think of himself 
 first and chief, and only of others as they minister to 
 his comfort or happiness in this life. Brahmins are, 
 sad to say, not ashamed to acknowledge that selfish- 
 ness is at the root of their religion, for they have a 
 curious proverbial saying, to this effect : 
 
 “Preserve your wife, preserve your pelf, 
 
 But give them both to save yourself ; 
 
 There’s other wealth, another wife, 
 
 But where is there another life ? ” 
 
 How opposed is such teaching to the spirit of Christ, 
 who exhorted all men to think of self last, saying, 
 “ If any man would be My disciple, let him deny 
 himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me ” ! 
 Brahminism is as the poles asunder from Christianity. 
 And yet we would fain hope that the work of our 
 missionaries is making some impression on the 
 selfishness of the East. 
 
 I think there can be no doubt that since the advent 
 of Europeans in India the caste system has been 
 greatly modified and changed, and in the large cities, 
 at any rate, has become less strict in its most 
 objectionable features. Still, the country as a whole 
 is ruled by it as with a rod of iron ; and he is a bold 
 man who openly dares to break caste rules. In 
 secrecy, doubtless, with many caste is very often broken 
 with impunity. I have read a story of a European 
 officer at Delhi, who told his orderly, a Brahmin, on 
 one occasion to pull off his boots for him, forgetting 
 for the moment the caste prejudice of the man. 
 However, to his great surprise his orderly at once 
 complied, though by doing so he broke his caste 
 
STORIES OF CASTE. 
 
 135 
 
 When the officer exclaimed, “ How is it that yon 
 a Brahmin do not mind touching my boots ? ” he 
 received for reply the candid confession — “ Sahib, 
 there’s no one looking.” Let us hope, however, that 
 the majority of the people are more conscientious, and 
 have a nobler reason for breaking caste, when they 
 do break it. 
 
 Caste, as may easily be understood, is a most serious 
 obstacle in the way of some Hindus becoming avowed 
 Christians, and the missionary has to act cautiously and 
 judiciously in such cases, and not to expect too much 
 from anxious inquirers all at once. Bishop Thoburn 
 of Calcutta, in his book entitled “ My Missionary 
 Apprenticeship,” tells very graphically the story of his 
 treatment of his first inquirer. He says : “ My first 
 inquirer was an elderly dovotee of high caste, who was 
 a stranger at Nynee Tal. His ears had been cruelly 
 perforated, and he wore two large, clumsy wooden 
 rings in them. He was a dull man, but avowed his 
 intention to become a Christian, and seemed to have a 
 little knowledge of the new religion. He expected 
 me to provide for him in all respects, and I was unwise 
 enough to assume the obligation. 
 
 “I took the case in hand with more .vigour than 
 common sense, and soon brought matters to a crisis. 
 Having made up my mind that caste was a great 
 iniquity, I required this simple old man to break 
 through all its restraints at a stroke ; and in order to 
 make the work more complete, I required him to show 
 his renunciation of both caste and mendicancy by 
 taking a basket and going to work among the coolies. 
 He very meekly went to work ; but when it came to 
 
136 
 
 THE LAND OF IDOLS. 
 
 the question of formally breaking his caste by eating 
 with Christians he quietly but persistently refused. 
 He remained a few days ; but finding at last that he 
 must choose between breaking his caste and leaving, 
 he quietly disappeared. I thought at the time the 
 case had been well managed, but I am not very proud 
 of it now. Young missionaries cannot be too carefnl 
 to study the prejudices and modes of thought of those 
 to whom they go, nor can they be too gentle or 
 considerate in dealing with them. To the old devotee 
 I must have seemed a harsh and exacting young man, 
 while it is to be feared that he went away with an 
 utterly distorted notion of the requirements of the 
 Christian religion.” 
 
 Missionaries in India are, however, now pretty well 
 agreed that all their converts should either at baptism 
 or soon after their admittance into the Christian 
 Church renounce all caste prejudices and customs. 
 And I think rightly so ; for are not all such dis- 
 tinctions utterly foreign to the Christian religion, 
 which declares that “ God hath made of one blood all 
 the nations of the earth,” and that “ there is neither 
 Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is 
 neither male' nor female ; for ye are all one in Christ 
 Jesus ” ? 
 
 In various churches in India, but more especially 
 in South India, native Christians have at times been 
 very wilful and stubborn in the matter of caste. Mr. 
 Hough, in his “ History of Christianity in India,” 
 speaking of the Tranquebar Mission in the time of 
 the devoted Danish missionary, Dr. John, says : “ The 
 Christians contended for distinct places at church, and 
 
STORIES OF CASTE. 
 
 137 
 
 even two cups at tlie Lord’s Supper, for the higher 
 and lower castes. The latter, however respectable for 
 wealth or moral and Christian character, were com- 
 pelled to sit apart from the rest, and to have their 
 separate cup. At last Dr. John resolved to endure 
 this anti-Christian custom no longer, and gave notice, 
 that if they would not of their own accord put an end 
 to these odious distinctions, especially at the Lord’s 
 table, he would himself abolish them. His admoni- 
 tions being obstinately resisted, he executed his threat 
 with regard to the Sacrament at least, by melting the 
 two cups into one. This effectually settled the matter. 
 The men of caste made a great outcry at first, and left 
 the church ; but finding they could not intimidate their 
 faithful pastor into a compliance with their wishes, 
 they gradually returned, and henceforth drank out of 
 one and the same cup with the pariah.” 
 
 It would be a calamity, indeed, if Hindu caste were 
 allowed to obtain a permanent foothold in Christian 
 churches. But such is not likely to be the case. The 
 tendency is rather for the whole gigantic system ot 
 caste in the East to give way before the demands of 
 civilisation and humanity. It will probably be long- 
 years before this hydra-headed monster is slain ; but 
 some day, in the mercy of God, it will come to pass. 
 
BANYAN TREE. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 SACRED TREES AND PLANTS. 
 
 NDIA is remarkable for its trees and plants, 
 which are to he found growing everywhere in 
 rich abundance. Many of the trees, as well 
 as plants, flower, and at certain seasons of the year, 
 the gardens and public promenades of Eastern cities 
 present a sight of glowing colours truly marvellous, 
 and which surpasses anything to be seen in Western 
 lands. 
 
 There are certain trees and shrubs with which we 
 are familiar in Europe, that are scarcely ever found 
 in India. For instance, the useful apple tree is not 
 cultivated, except in the North-West Provinces, and 
 there only in a few European gardens. The climate 
 
 138 
 
SACRED TREES AND PLANTS. 
 
 139 
 
 is not favourable to the tree, for its growth is too 
 luxuriant, and the apples produced are small and 
 insipid. Gooseberry and currant hushes are unknown, 
 and strawberries and raspberries are a rarity. Plum 
 and cherry trees also are not found in India as a 
 general rule. Europeans living in the East at first 
 miss the fruit trees of the West, but in time a taste 
 for native fruits is developed, which are ultimately 
 declared to be delicious. 
 
 One of the most beautiful of Indian trees is the 
 pomegranate, and the fruit also is very pleasant. 
 “ The leaves are of a rich dark green, very glossy, 
 and adorned at the same time with every variety of 
 bud, bloom, and fruit, in the several stages of vegeta- 
 tion, from the first bud to the ripe fruit in rich 
 luxuriance, and this in succession nearly throughout 
 the year. The bright scarlet colour of the buds and 
 blossoms seldom varies in its shade, but contrasted 
 with the glossy, dark green foliage the effect excites 
 wonder and admiration.” 
 
 Perhaps the most delightful Indian fruit is mango, 
 though the plantain and the custard-apple run it close 
 in popularity with the common people. The mango 
 tree is magnificent in its growth, and splendid in its 
 foliage. In some parts of India groves, or, as they 
 are called, “ topes,” of mango trees are cultivated, for 
 the splendid shade they give as well as for their 
 fruit. The season of blooming is about February and 
 March; the aromatic scent from the flowers is delight- 
 ful, and the beautiful clustering of the blossoms is 
 not very unlike the horse-chestnut in appearance, but 
 branching horizontally. 
 
140 
 
 THE LAND OF TDOLS. 
 
 It is said that originally the mango tree did not 
 flourish in India. There is a legend which declares 
 that this famous tree was first found in the garden of 
 Havana, the wicked king of Lanka or Ceylon. There 
 Hanuman, the monkey god, found it when he went 
 over with Rama to rescue Sita, as related in a previous 
 chapter. Hanuman was attracted, it would appear, 
 after the war, by the fair orchards of the enemy, and 
 regaled himself with the delicious fruit; and when 
 he left Ceylon he took care to carry some mango 
 stones back with him to India, where he planted 
 
 MAXGO. 
 
 them, with the result that the mango has become the 
 favourite national fruit of the Hindus. Of the mango 
 tree, Bishop Heber once said, “It is certainly, I 
 conceive, the largest fruit-tree in the world.” I would 
 add, Its fruit is probably the most pleasant to the 
 palate.” 
 
 The people of the East, in their craze for sacred 
 objects to revere and adore, have not overlooked the 
 vegetable creation. Quite a number of the trees and 
 plants of India are regarded as sacred. I cannot give 
 a complete list, but the following are the most famous. 
 The pipul tree is sacred to the god Brahma, and the 
 
SACRED TREES AND PLA NTS. 
 
 141 
 
 banyan or figtree to Vishnu. The bel tree, with its 
 triple leaf, is sacred to the god Siva. The golden 
 k us war Jtoiver is sacred to marriages and to battle. 
 The clithorea is sacred to the goddess Dnrga, the 
 custard-apple to the goddess Sita, while the nim 
 tree , the cedar , the bo tree and the tulsi plant are 
 also held in very general veneration. 
 
 The ficus Indica, or, as it is commonly called, the 
 banyan tree, is perhaps the most wonderful of Indian 
 trees. It assumes immense proportions, and has the 
 peculiarity of sending down roots from its branches, 
 which roots, when they touch the ground, strike in 
 and form new trunks, and these again when grown 
 make fresh branches and fresh rootlets, and so it goes 
 on until in course of time the parent tree has grown 
 into innumerable trees, which form groves, in whose 
 shade in some instances thousands of people might 
 recline. A very noble specimen of the banyan tree 
 is to be found in the Botanical Gardens, Calcutta, 
 and another very fine tree may be seen at Barrackpore. 
 
 Sir Edwin Arnold, in his “ Song Celestial,” draws 
 some moral lessons from the banyan tree, which is 
 regarded by the Hindus as an emblem of the life of 
 man. As the banyan tree grows to maturity in the 
 air and sunlight, and is ever throwing forth new roots 
 to bind itself to the earth, so it is with man, who is 
 often merely of the earth, earthy. According to Sir 
 Edwin Arnold : 
 
 “ Its branches shoot to heaven and sink to earth, 
 
 Even as the deeds of men, which take their birth 
 From qualities : its silver sprays and blooms, 
 
 And all the eager verdure of its girth, 
 
142 
 
 THE LAND OF IDOLS. 
 
 Leap to quick life at kiss of sun and air, 
 
 As men’s lives quicken to the temptings fair 
 Of wooing sense : its hanging rootlets seek 
 The soil beneath, helpless to hold it there, 
 
 As actions wrought amid this world of men 
 Bind them by ever-tightening bonds again.” 
 
 Perhaps some of my young readers find it difficult 
 to grasp the subtle meaning of the foregoing lines ; 
 but there will be no difficulty in understanding the 
 following, by Tom Moore, who uses the peculiarities 
 of the banyan tree to emphasise his love for his 
 darling mother. 
 
 The poet sweetly sings : 
 
 “ They tell me of an Indian tree 
 Which, howsoe’er the sun and sky 
 May tempt its boughs to wander free, 
 
 And shoot and blossom wide and high, 
 
 Far better loves to bend its arms 
 Dow'nwards again to that dear earth 
 From which the life that fills and warms 
 Its grateful being first had birth : 
 
 ’Tis thus, though woo’d by flattering friends 
 And fed with fame — if fame it be — 
 
 This heart, my own dear mother, bends, 
 
 With love’s true instinct, back to thee.” 
 
 In an old temple in the city of Allahabad there 
 is what is called by the natives an undecaying banyan 
 tree , which is an object of wonderful veneration. I 
 went to see it on one occasion, and found the passages 
 leading to it crowded with eager worshippers, who 
 regarded the tree as very sacred, and who counted 
 it an inestimable boon to be allowed to bow down 
 before it in reverent adoration. 
 
 As far back as the seventh century this tree was 
 
SACRED TREES AND PLANTS. 
 
 143 
 
 famous. A Chinese traveller of that date, Hiouen 
 Thsang, iu his Diary, wrote : “ In the midst of the 
 city stood a Brahminical temple, to which the pre- 
 sentation of a single piece of money procured as much 
 merit as that of one thousand pieces elsewhere. And 
 before the principal room of the temple there was 
 a large tree, with wide-spreading branches^ which 
 was said to be the abode of a man-eating demon. 
 The tree was surrounded with human bones, the 
 
 remains of pilgrims who had sacrificed their lives 
 before the temple, a practice which had been observed 
 from time immemorial.” 
 
 Deferring to this account of the Chinese traveller, 
 General Cunningham, in one of his Archaeological 
 Survey Reports of India, says : “ I think there can be 
 little doubt that the famous tree here described is 
 the well-known undecaying banyan tree, which is still, 
 in the nineteenth century, an object of worship at 
 Allahabad. But this tree is now situated under- 
 
144 
 
 THE LAND OF IDOLS. 
 
 ground, at one side of a pillared court, which would 
 appear to have been open formerly, and which is, I 
 believe, the remains of the temple described by Hiouen 
 Thsang.” 
 
 Thus we see that at Allahabad for twelve hundred 
 years a sacred tree has received the worship of devout 
 Hindus. The present so-called tree, however, is 
 nothing but a log of wood, though the priests solemnly 
 affirm that it is a genuine tree. I examined it very 
 carefully, handling it by permission in different parts, 
 and I felt satisfied that it was simply a decayed trunk 
 of a tree standing about two yards high, and forked 
 about half-way up. The whole thing is such a glaring 
 imposture that only the men who wilfully blind their 
 eyes can be deceived by it. Yet Hindus gather from 
 all parts of the laud to worship what they call the 
 undecaying banyan tree. 
 
 The pipul tree or Ficus religiosa is also very gener- 
 ally worshipped. This tree is regarded as occupied 
 by the god Brahma, the first person of the Hindu 
 Trinity. I have heard that sometimes the pipul tree 
 may be seen invested with the sacred thread of the 
 Brahmins, as if the tree were a living being. The 
 pipul is called “ the Brahmin of trees ” on account of 
 the cleanness of its leaves, which are regarded as 
 emblems of Brahminical purity. Ghosts, moreover, 
 are supposed to reside in pipul trees, and Hindus have 
 various ways of propitiating such uncanny creatures. 
 Bishop Heber says that on one occasion, when he was 
 travelling, he saw an earthen pot hanging on a branch 
 of a pipul tree ; and when he asked his servant 
 Abdullah what was intended by the placing of the 
 
SACRED TREES AND PLANTS. 
 
 145 
 
 vessel there, the reply he received was, “ Probably 
 there is water in the pot, and it has been brought 
 hither by some person whose father is dead, that the 
 ghost of the dead man may drink and be refreshed 
 and give no trouble to the living.” 
 
 Bishop Heber had another adventure in connection 
 with pipnl trees. It appears that these trees are 
 held in such veneration that they are never injured, 
 nor cut down, nor burnt by the devout. Some Hindus 
 are actually so strict that they will not allow even 
 withered branches to be used as firewood. It was not 
 for fuel, however, that the good Bishop on one occa- 
 sion wanted to gather branches of the sacred pipul, 
 but for food for the elephants and camels he took 
 with him in his travels, to carry himself, his retainers, 
 and his baggage. 
 
 In the neighbourhood of a certain village, when the 
 Bishop instructed his servants to feed the animals, 
 the inhabitants were terribly angry, and even attacked 
 and beat the men who attempted to cut boughs off 
 the sacred pipul. Such a thing had never been 
 heard of before by the villagers, and their super- 
 stitious veneration for the tree led them to oppose 
 the sacrilege. However, the Bishop by his persuasive 
 powers overcame the objections of the people, and the 
 animals were eventually fed. I imagine backsheesh 
 played a very prominent part in the negotiations, for 
 that useful commodity is the sesame that opens many 
 a locked door in the East. 
 
 Strange to say, though the people of India show 
 such veneration for the sacred pipul, they do not like 
 to have the tree in the vicinity of their places of 
 
 10 
 
146 
 
 THE LAND OF IDOLS. 
 
 business. Miss Gumming tells a story of a European 
 magistrate who, in his ignorance of Eastern customs, 
 thought he would confer a great benefit on a certain 
 town, by planting pipul trees in the market-place. 
 “ To his astonishment the buniahs or tradespeople 
 came to tell him frankly that as these trees are so 
 sacred that no Hindu dare utter a false word or do 
 an unjust act beneath their shadow, their presence in 
 the market-place would make it impossible to carry 
 on business. So these beautifully picturesque trees 
 are generally found apart from the business quarter, 
 near to wells or temples, where their truth-compelling 
 presence is less embarrassing.” 
 
 The Hindu belief is that the leaves of the pipul 
 tree whisper every word they hear to the god Brahma. 
 In business transactions, sad to say, much lying and 
 trickery are indulged in — hence the objection of the 
 people to the presence of the ever-listening tree in 
 the bazaars. What an insight this little fact gives 
 us into the weaknesses, sins and superstitions of the 
 Hindus. The people would fain serve both the gods 
 and mammon, but the latter proves stronger than 
 religion. 
 
 The tamarind tree is another of the trees of India 
 held in considerable regard, though more on account 
 of its medicinal properties than anything else. The 
 ripe fruit is soaked in salt and -water to extract the 
 juice, which, after it has been strained, is drunk as a 
 blood purifier. But though the fruit of the tamarind 
 is regarded as wholesome and beneficial to health, the 
 shade of the tree is considered for some reason to be 
 injurious both to man and beast. Vegetation also, it 
 
S ACHED TREES AND PLANTS. 
 
 147 
 
 is believed, does not thrive in the vicinity of the 
 tamarind tree. Consequently, as a rule in India, this 
 tree is planted apart from other trees, and very often 
 it is devoted to the dead ; for it may be discovered 
 sheltering the tomb of some revered or saintly 
 character. 
 
 To show how beliefs and customs may vary in the 
 East, let me say that in Ceylon a contrary opinion is 
 maintained to that held in India with regard to the 
 shade of the tamarind tree. While in India the people 
 like to live at some distance from the tree, in Ceylon 
 they like to get near it. Indeed, the Ceylonese build 
 their homes under the tamarind from the conviction 
 that of all trees its shade is the coolest. Europeans 
 who have tested both opinions, incline to the side of 
 the people of Ceylon, and think that the Hindus 
 make a mistake in shunning the grateful shade of 
 their tamarind trees. Superstitions die hard, however, 
 and it seems almost impossible to get the people of 
 India to change their views even with respect to the 
 shade of a tree. 
 
 The so-called bo tree of the East, a species of 
 banyan, really the pipul tree, is the sacred tree of the 
 Buddhists. It was under a bodhi tree, which means 
 the tree of knowledge, that Buddha became the 
 Enlightened One ; and ever since his time Buddhists 
 have regarded the tree as sacred. It was at Gaya, as 
 I have related in an earlier chapter, that Buddha sat 
 under a tree in profound abstraction, and wrestled 
 with and overcame the powers of evil within him and 
 around him. When in India I visited the famous 
 locality, explored the temple, and searched the whole 
 
148 
 
 THE LAND OF IDOLS. 
 
 place for the b6dhi tree, with no very satisfactory re- 
 sult ; for I was shown first one tree and then another, 
 and solemnly assured in each case that I was gazing 
 upon the sacred relic of the past. 
 
 The conclusion I came to was that the original 
 
 O 
 
 tree had entirely disappeared, and left no genuine 
 representative behind. However, according to Sir 
 Edwin Arnold, who visited Buddha Gaya about a 
 fortnight after I had been there, I was wrong in thus 
 thinking. In “ India Revisited ” Sir Edwin says : 
 “ South-west of the temple is a raised square platform, 
 and on one corner of this, its trunk and branches 
 adorned with leaf-gold and coloured here and there 
 with red ochre, stands the present representative of 
 the famous bodhi tree, replacing the many successors 
 of that under which the divine sage achieved the 
 Supreme All-perfect Buddhahood. The present tree 
 is a flourishing little pipnl, thick with dark, glossy, 
 pointed leaves, from which the Brahmin priest, who 
 was reciting the names of Siva to a party of pilgrims, 
 readily — too readily, indeed ! — gave me a branch. I 
 should have been better pleased it he had resented 
 my request ; but Buddha is unknown and unhonoured 
 upon his own ground by the Sivaites, although it is 
 his name which has made the place famous, and 
 which brings these countless millions.” 
 
 Whatever suspicion or doubt we may have with 
 regard to the authenticitv of the sacred bo tree at 
 Buddha Gaya, it is generally believed there can be 
 none with regard to the bo tree at Anarajapoora 
 in Ceylon. It is an historical fact that a branch was 
 taken from the tree at Gaya more than two thousand 
 
SACKED TREES AND PLANTS. 
 
 149 
 
 years ago, and planted by King Tissa at Anarajapoora, 
 where it speedily took root, and in time became a 
 great tree. 
 
 It is seriously affirmed by competent critics that 
 the present tree is the identical one planted by the 
 Buddhist monarch b.c. 288. Trees do not die of old 
 
 THE BO TREE, CEYLOX. 
 
 age in the proper sense of the term, and if uninjured 
 there is no limit to the duration of their life. The 
 one at Anarajapoora is believed to have escaped 
 destruction in times of war, and though it is known 
 to have suffered somewhat by storms, it still remains 
 an old but vigorous tree, and is amongst the Buddhists 
 an object of special veneration on account of its great 
 
150 
 
 THE LAND OF IDOLS. 
 
 age and sacred associations. Devout Buddhist pil- 
 grims travel from all parts of the East to Ceylon to 
 pay homage to their renowned bo tree ; and they are 
 happy beyond all words to express if they can hut 
 secure a few leaves which, “ severing themselves,” 
 may chance to fall from the tree, which is sacred to 
 their lord, Gautama Buddha. 
 
 Amongst 'plants in India the tulsi or basil is 
 regarded with special veneration. It is the sacred 
 plant of the god Krishna, an incarnation of Vishnu. 
 The story goes that a woman named Tulsi became a 
 saint, and engaged in such cruel religious austerities 
 that the gods were highly delighted, and asked her 
 what they could do by way of reward. Tulsi replied 
 to the effect that she would like to become the wife of 
 Vishnu ; but the god had a wife already, named 
 Lakshmi, and when the latter heard of the request 
 she cursed 'the female saint and turned her into a 
 plant. However, Vishnu by way of compensation 
 told Tulsi that he would take the form of a stone, and 
 ever remain by her side on earth. 
 
 The Hindus believe all this nonsense, and keep a 
 Shalgram, which is a black, hollow, nearly round 
 stone about the size of a watch, in their houses, with 
 one leaf of the tulsi plant under it and another upon 
 it. And the tulsi plant itself is tended with the most 
 assiduous care. Usually such a plant may be found 
 just outside the door, and it is watered daily. During 
 the two hottest months of the year a perforated vessel 
 of water is hung over the plant so that it may not be 
 a moment without moisture. 
 
 When a tulsi plant dies there is great lamentation, 
 
SACRED TREES AND PLANTS. 151 
 
 as if a human being had departed this life. As a rule 
 the dead plant is taken to the river and solemnly com- 
 mitted to the bosom of Mother Ganges. The tulsi plant 
 is on certain occasions worshipped, more especially by 
 women, who walk round and round it, bow to it, and 
 prostrate themselves before it while they repeat a form 
 of prayer or praise. Such worship is considered to 
 be very meritorious. 
 
 Kusa grass is also held to be sacred by the Hindus, 
 and forms part of the offerings made to the gods. It 
 is a sharp-edged grass ; and there is a legend that 
 once a vessel of amrita — a drink of the srods— having- 
 been placed on a patch of the grass, and a little of the 
 liquid having trickled through, some snakes proceeded 
 to lick it up. The sharp grass, it is affirmed, slit their 
 tongues, and hence serpents’ tongues are forked ; 
 and the grass, having been touched by the amrita, 
 was thenceforth holy or sacred in the eyes of gods 
 and men. 
 
 There are other famous and sacred trees and plants, 
 such as the cedar, the acacia, the palm, the cocoa- 
 nut, and the bamboo, which, however, I shall not 
 linger over, as they are not commonly worshipped. 
 
 The curious custom of giving trees in marriage is 
 perhaps worthy of passing notice. Miss Gumming 
 says in the story of her travels in India : “ From time 
 to time we noticed curious twin trees : a date palm 
 growing out of the heart of a banyan, or a pipul tree 
 from an indiarubber. These are sometimes of natural 
 growth, and sometimes grafted by devotees ; but in 
 every case such tree-wedlock is held by the Hindu in 
 deepest veneration.” 
 
152 
 
 THE LAND OF IDOLS. 
 
 The wood of sacred trees is used occasionally for 
 images. Idols are usually of stone, or brass, or mud ; 
 but now and again a wooden image is seen. Such 
 images are not found in private houses, but only in 
 temples. The nim tree, which is a great favourite in 
 India, supplies the chief part of the wood used in 
 idol-making. Images of Vishnu are made from the 
 nim tree ; also images of Siva, and images of the 
 goddesses Durga, Radha, and Lakshmee. 
 
 As trees and plants are held in such reverence in 
 India, it is of course considered a meritorious thing to 
 plant them, not only in gardens and in the neighbour- 
 hood of houses, but also on the public roads. In a hot 
 climate trees are a great boon ; and thus both utili- 
 tarian and religious motives prompt to the wholesale 
 planting of them. The person who plants a banyan 
 or a pipul, a nim or a cocoanut tree, and devotes the 
 tree and its fruit and shade to public uses, is promised 
 admittance into heaven. Trees are dedicated with the 
 same ceremonies as are common at the setting up of 
 an image of the gods ; and the person who does the 
 meritorious deed, exclaims — say in the case of a banyan 
 tree — “ Oh, Vishnu ! grant that for planting this tree I 
 may continue as many years in heaven as the banyan 
 shall remain growing on earth.” 
 
 Thus in various ways the superstitions and foolish 
 beliefs of the Hindus show themselves in association 
 with trees and plants falsely called “ sacred.” 
 

 I 
 
 PART III 
 

 
 
 

 TALES OF THE MUTINY. 
 
 (HE most momentons political event connected 
 with the British occupation of India was 
 undoubtedly the Mutiny of 1857, when our 
 very existence in the country was at peril. At that 
 date the English had just been one hundred years 
 in the land, and to many of the Hindus and Moham- 
 medans it seemed a suitable time to attempt to throw 
 off the foreign yoke. 
 
 It must not be thought that the people of India 
 generally, what we may call the common people, were 
 anxious to get rid of English rule. The rising against 
 us was not a popular movement like that which over- 
 
 1 
 
 THE TAJ MAH AL, AGUA. 
 
2 
 
 PICTURES OF LIFE IN INDIA. 
 
 threw the Bourbon dynasty in France, or like that 
 which deprived us of the colonies which have since 
 become the United States of America. The populace 
 of India have scarcely known anything else but sub- 
 jection, for they have been “ under the yoke of the 
 stranger” almost as far back as history takes us, and 
 at no time have they been better treated than since 
 the British occupation of the land. 
 
 But if it was not popular discontent that led to 
 the Indian Rebellion, what, then, was the cause of it ? 
 The Mutiny was, there can be little doubt, due partly 
 to the disaffection of the pampered native army, and 
 partly to the intrigues of the unworthy Mohammedan 
 princes whom the English had deprived of their pos- 
 sessions. The Moslems were really at the heart of 
 the Rebellion, and the whole movement may be looked 
 upon as the expiring effort of Islam to regain its lost 
 supremacy in India. 
 
 Whatever was the cause of the Mutiny it was a 
 time of unexampled peril to the English in the East, 
 and forms a never-to-be-forgotten chapter in our 
 national history. It is a subject with which my 
 young readers ought to make themselves familiar, 
 and I hope that what I have to say now, in relating 
 some tales of the Mutiny, will lead to further research 
 and study in this most interesting and important held 
 of history on the part of all. 
 
 Great events in human life often hang on little 
 things ; and it has been gravely questioned whether 
 the disaffection of the Moslems of Delhi and Oude, 
 and the vague discontent of the Sepoy troops, would 
 have culminated in a widespread rebellion against 
 
TALES OF TTTE MUTINY. 
 
 3 
 
 English rule, but for the matter of what has been 
 called “ the greased cartridges.” 
 
 The tale goes that towards the close of 1856, the 
 British Government decided to replace the old musket 
 “ Brown Bess ” with the new Enfield rifle, which 
 could not, however, be easily loaded, as it was grooved, 
 without the greasing of the cartridge, blow with 
 what was the cartridge greased ? Therein lay the 
 germ of strife. 
 
 In January 1857, when the manufacture of the new 
 cartridges was proceeding briskly at Dum Dum, a 
 military station near Calcutta, a low-caste workman 
 asked a Brahmin for a draught of water from his 
 drinking vessel, but was indignantly refused, where- 
 upon the workman sarcastically remarked, “ Do not be 
 so very touchy about your caste, for our masters the 
 English will soon make high-caste and low-caste on 
 an equality.” And when asked to explain himself, 
 the man further said that the white people had 
 resolved to abolish all caste distinctions by smearing 
 the new cartridges which the soldiers would have to 
 use with beef fat and hog’s lard. 
 
 Now beef fat was the abomination of the Hindus, 
 and hog’s lard of the Moslems, and when the news of 
 the threatened outrage spread, as it did like wildfire, 
 there was the greatest excitement, consternation, and 
 rage throughout the length and breadth of India. It 
 was in vain that the Government denied that such 
 grease had ever been thought of, for neither the 
 Hindus nor the Moslems would listen to reason, but 
 believed the tale of the workman who had first propa- 
 gated the base untruth. Thus by such an insignificant 
 
4 
 
 PICTURES OF LIFE L V INDIA. 
 
 thing as “ grease ” was the disaffection against British 
 rule deepened and fanned into a flame of war. 
 
 Though it was not known until long afterwards, it 
 seems that the Bengal Army, after this grease episode 
 at Dura Dam, arranged a plot by which on May 31st, 
 1857, the native troops all over the empire were to 
 break out into open revolt, murder their English 
 officers, possess themselves of forts and strong places, 
 and declare the British rule in India to be for ever 
 abolished. The Mohammedans of the North-West had 
 agreed to join in the uprising. 
 
 This well-laid scheme of a general rebellion was 
 frustrated, however, in a remarkable way. At the 
 military station of Meerut, about forty-two miles north- 
 east of Delhi, there was a force of about two thousand 
 European soldiers, and a still larger force of native 
 troops. It was feared that many of the natives were 
 ripe for insurrection, though no one knew for certain. 
 The 3rd Light Cavalry was under the command of 
 Col. C. Smyth, and this officer, out of what appears 
 to have been a mere whim, resolved on April 24th 
 to put his troopers to the test. He held a parade of 
 ninety skirmishers, and ordered them to load their 
 rifles with the new cartridge ; but eighty-five of the 
 men refused to comply, declaring that they would not 
 touch the unclean thing. 
 
 Here was wilful insubordination, and the malcon- 
 tents were at once brought before a court-martial aud 
 sentenced to long terms of imprisonment with hard 
 labour. On Saturday, May 9th, the sentences were 
 read out before the army on parade, and the dis- 
 honoured soldiers were put in irons and taken off to 
 
CAWNFORE. 
 
TALES OF THE MUTINY. 7 
 
 prison. The rest of the native troops could not stand 
 the sight, however, and next day, in the evening, they 
 all revolted. 
 
 The first British officer to expostulate with the 
 men was Colonel Finnis, but they would not listen to 
 him, and shot him down. The work of slaughter thus 
 commenced, the soldiers rushed with yells to the 
 gaol, and released their imprisoned comrades, with 
 whom they flew upon the European bungalows, which 
 they sacked and gave to the flames, murdering the 
 inmates — men, women, and children, in their unpitying 
 rage. 
 
 General Hewett, the commandant, was not equal to 
 the crisis ; for though he gathered together the English 
 troops as soon as possible, and stopped the work of 
 slaughter at Meerut, he allowed the rebels to make 
 good their escape to Delhi, to do further and incalcul- 
 able mischief there. 
 
 However, the forcing on, as it were, of the Mutiny 
 at Meerut before the day fixed for the general up- 
 rising, was probably the salvation of British rule in 
 India. The rebels throughout the country did not 
 know what to think, when news reached them of the 
 events at Meerut on May 10th. The agreement had 
 been broken, and now it was no longer possible to 
 work together. 
 
 As a consequence May 31st was abandoned for 
 the general insurrection, and the troops mutinied at 
 different times in different places, according to the 
 pressure of events. If the awful storm had burst on 
 one day, who can say what would have been the 
 result ? But as it was the English were able to deal 
 
8 
 
 PICTURES OF LIFE IN INDIA. 
 
 with the rebels to some extent separately, and thongh 
 the struggle was against fearful odds British valour 
 eventually prevailed. 
 
 What tales of cruelty and of bravery reach ns from 
 Delhi, the ancient capital of India, which became 
 the seat of the rebellion ! On Monday morning, 
 May 11th, 1857, the deserters from Meerut entered 
 Delhi post haste, and made their appearance before 
 the Palace of the Moghul Emperor, who was a pen- 
 sioner of the British Government, announcing to the 
 astonished monarch that they had come to make him 
 a monarch indeed, by raising him to the sovereignty 
 of all India in place of the British Raj. 
 
 The English had three regiments of native troops in 
 Delhi, but these at once mutinied and joined the rebels 
 from Meerut, and assisted in the general massacre of 
 British officers and residents which now ensued. Mr. 
 Simon Fraser, the Commissioner, was one of the first 
 to die. He was shot while driving through the 
 streets in his buggy, and his head, which was severed 
 from his body at a stroke, was carried about on a pole 
 in triumph. 
 
 Captain Douglas, the brave commander of the 
 Palace Guards, was the next to fall, and then the 
 rebels came upon the station chaplain, the Rev. W. 
 Jennings, and his daughter. Despite the tears and 
 shrieks of the latter, her father was slain before her 
 eyes, and then she also was put to death, after being 
 subjected to dreadful indignities. Miss Jennings had 
 only lately arrived from England, and was on the eve 
 of marriage. 
 
 In other parts of the city similar awful deeds were 
 
TALES OF THE MUTINY. 
 
 9 
 
 being enacted, and it seemed as if every European 
 in Delhi would he cruelly done to death. At the 
 Arsenal, however, a short but splendid resistance was 
 made by a few Englishmen. “ This magazine contained 
 three hundred pieces of cannon, twenty thousand stand 
 of muskets and bayonets, two hundred thousand rounds 
 of shot and shell, and other munitions to correspond.” 
 Lieutenants Willoughby and Forrest, and Conductors 
 Buckley and Scully, determined to hold the Arsenal 
 against all comers, as long as it could be held, and 
 when no longer tenable to blow the place to atoms. 
 
 Gallantly did the brave men fight against over- 
 whelming odds, but at length Willoughby gave the 
 signal, Buckley repeated it, and Scully fired the 
 magazine. A report like thunder followed, the city 
 of Delhi was shaken, as if in the throes of an earth- 
 quake, and the magazine with all its priceless stores 
 was a mass of ruins. Thus the rebels were balked of 
 the spoil ! Was it not an heroic deed ? 
 
 About fifty ladies who had escaped the general 
 massacre in the city, took refuge in the Palace of the 
 Emperor, on promise of protection, which promise, 
 however, was basely broken. The princes of the royal 
 house kept the unhappy ladies in seclusion for four 
 days and nights, but on the fifth day they ordered 
 them to be taken into the great courtyard and there 
 put to death. The victims cried piteously for mercy, 
 but no mercy was shown them, for the king’s body- 
 guard attacked them with the sword, stabbed them, 
 cut them down, and hewed, them to pieces. It was 
 a cowardly, dastardly affair, and was to meet, as we 
 shall see later, with a terrible retribution. 
 
10 
 
 PICTURES OF LIFE IN INDIA. 
 
 To relieve the awful gloom of this narrative, let me 
 mention here an act of a very different character. 
 Not all the Mohammedans of Delhi were given over 
 to the general spirit of hatred of the British. Instances 
 even of great kindness to Europeans were not unknown. 
 For example, there is a story told of a Mrs. Leeson, 
 who, in seeking to escape with a babe in her arms, was 
 shot at by a trooper. The bullet killed the babe, and 
 wounded the mother in the arm. Mrs. Leeson had 
 the presence of mind to fall down as if dead, and on 
 the ground she lay from seven till ten at night, not 
 daring to move. During that time several natives 
 passing by saw her, and, kicking her savagely, said, 
 “ It serves you right, you Christian pig ! May all 
 your race perish thus miserably ! ” 
 
 At length, however, one person, a respectable 
 Mohammedan gentleman, stopped near the suffering 
 woman, and said in a whisper, “ I see you are not 
 dead : but do not fear, I will not hurt you. Rise up 
 at once and come with me to my house.” Something 
 in the man’s voice gave the lady hope. She arose 
 without a word, and, after kissing tenderly her dead 
 child, she followed her protector to a house close by, 
 where she was kindly received by some native ladies. 
 For three months she remained under that hospitable 
 Moslem roof, until her new friends were afraid to keep 
 her a 113" longer. By their aid, however, she escaped 
 from the city, and reached the English camp outside, 
 for Delhi was by that time besieged by the British. 
 And there of course she was safe from pursuit ; and 
 eventually she rejoined her husband, who also had 
 escaped from the hands of the enemy. 
 
TALES OF THE MUTINY. 
 
 11 
 
 And how had events fallen out elsewhere ? A 
 fearful storm of war was raging throughout all 
 Northern India. Fortunately the native troops at 
 Madras and Bombay, though they wavered in their 
 allegiance, did not mutiny. If they had done so, 
 the case would have been desperate indeed. The 
 troubles in the North taxed to the utmost the British 
 resources. 
 
 The troops at Benares, Allahabad, Lucknow, and 
 other places, all revolted, and frightful atrocities were 
 perpetrated. A sad tale comes from Rohnee in the 
 Santhal district. Sir Norman Leslie was seated in 
 the verandah of his bungalow, conversing with two 
 friends, Dr. Grant and Major Macdonald, when three 
 soldiers crept up behind them, and suddenly attacked 
 them, all unarmed as they were. Lieutenant Leslie 
 fell pierced through the back by a sword. His dying 
 words were, “ What will become of my poor wife and 
 children ? ” Dr. Grant was seriously wounded and 
 disabled. Major Macdonald was thus left to contend 
 alone with three fierce assailants. Snatching up a 
 chair he stood on his guard, but a blow reached his 
 forehead and nearly scalped him. With the blood 
 dripping from the frightful wound, and almost 
 blinding, him, he still stood at bay however, and 
 rushing at his assailants belaboured them with the 
 chair until they lost heart and fled. It was an extra- 
 ordinary spectacle, and never perhaps was a chair 
 used in a life and death struggle to better purpose. 
 
 A few days afterwards Major Macdonald discovered 
 the three soldiers, and had them put in irons. Their 
 guilt being proved, they were publicly hanged as a 
 
12 
 
 PICTURES OF LIFE IN INDIA. 
 
 warning to the rest of the troopers, who were thoroughly 
 cowed by the determined action of the gallant major. 
 Thus at Rohnee the mutineers did not get the upper 
 hand. 
 
 At Benares, too, prompt measures saved the city from 
 being sacked. There were only two hundred European 
 troops to face two thousand native troops, when the 
 latter mutinied. However, the Europeans had three 
 pieces of cannon, and when the natives cha ged them, 
 they were received by a shower of grape-shot. Three 
 times did the Sepoys charge up to the very muzzles 
 of the cannon, but the Europeans stood firm and drove 
 them back. Darkness had now fallen, but Colonel 
 Spottiswood took a torch and set fire to the soldiers’ 
 huts, so that they might have light to fight by, and 
 thus the struggle was carried on until the native 
 troops fled in dismay. 
 
 Colonel Neill, who was in command of the Europeans, 
 acted with promptitude and decision, in having the 
 country round about scoured by his men. While this 
 was being done a telegram arrived from the Viceroy, 
 Lord Canning, commanding the Colonel to march to 
 Allahabad; but the determined man telegraphed back, 
 “ Can’t do it : wanted here.” And at Benares he re- 
 mained until he felt sure the city was safe from the 
 mutineers. 
 
 Less fortunate was Sir Hugh Wheeler at Cawnpore, 
 who also had only two hundred Europeans to oppose to 
 a large force of Natives. This officer unhappily trusted 
 to the friendship of the infamous Nana Sahib, the 
 adopted son of the late Ex-Peishwa of the Mahrattas. 
 Nana had an intense hatred for the English, though he 
 
TALES OF THE MUTINY. 
 
 13 
 
 pretended to be their best friend. However, his true 
 character was revealed on June 5th, when the whole 
 of the native troops at Cawnpore mutinied, and the 
 Prince placed himself at their head. The traitor 
 unfurled two standards : one was announced as that 
 of Mohammed, and the other of Hanuman the monkey- 
 god. Around the first the Mussulmans gathered, and 
 around the second the Hindus. 
 
 Sir Hugh Wheeler, with his two hundred soldiers, 
 had not only to hold his position, but to protect three 
 hundred and thirty women and children. He formed 
 an entrenchment at the south-east extremity of the 
 cantonment, and held his ground bravely from the 5th 
 to the 27th of June, against the hordes that attacked 
 him. The spot had been badly chosen, however, for 
 a long siege, and at length he agreed to terms of 
 surrender. 
 
 Sir Hugh promised to give up all the stores, money, 
 and guns in the entrenchment ; and Nana Sahib 
 solemnly swore not only to allow the garrison to 
 retire unmolested, but to provide means of convey- 
 ance for the women and children. On the morning 
 of the 27th the Europeans left the entrenchment and 
 went down to the riverside to embark in the boats 
 provided for their escape. They were permitted to 
 embark, and then, as Marshman says, “was perpe- 
 trated one of the most diabolical acts of treachery 
 and murder that the darkest page of human annals 
 records.” 
 
 A bugle suddenly sounded, and that was the signal 
 for two guns which had been concealed to open fire 
 with grape-shot upon the Europeans. Terrible was 
 
14 
 
 PICTURES OF LIFE IN INDIA. 
 
 the execution done. The boats were sunk, and 
 numbers perished either from the shot, or from the 
 swords of the rebels, who rode their horses into the 
 stream after them, or from drowning. Still a number 
 of both sexes reached the shore, and then the terrible 
 Nana gave the order that all the men should be killed, 
 but that the women and children should be preserved 
 alive, and taken to his residence for the time being. 
 Sir Hugh Wheeler was the first to fall. Only two 
 officers and two privates eluded the enemy. These 
 men, being magnificent swimmers, managed to get 
 across the river, and after further hair-breadth escapes 
 reached a place of safety. • 
 
 And what fate befell the helpless women and 
 children ? Ah, it is known to all the world ! There 
 were two hundred and six of them, and they were 
 placed in a small building not much larger than the 
 Black Hole of Calcutta, and there for a fortnight 
 they remained in the burning heat of an Indian 
 summer. 
 
 At the end of that time they found release : but it 
 was the release of death. They were butchered in 
 cold blood. Oh, how could the Nana order their 
 destruction ! And how could the soldiers execute the 
 commands of their fierce lord ! Thus to slay women 
 and children was to sink to the level of the brute ! 
 And when the awful deed was done, the bodies of the 
 slain were thrown into a neighbouring well — a well 
 of sacred memories henceforth. 
 
 Not far from Cawnpore is Lucknow, the capital city 
 of Oude, a stronghold of the Mohammedans, and 
 there the storm of war raged fiercely. It was on the 
 
TALES OF THE MUTINY. 15 
 
 evening of May 30th that the troops mutinied in 
 
 KulAS OF THJJ RLSIDLNCY, LUCKNOW. 
 
 Lucknow ; but the wise and gallant Sir Henry 
 Lawrence, who was in command, was ready for the 
 
1G 
 
 PICTURES OF LIFE IN INDIA 
 
 event, and did all that, man could do to nip the 
 insurrection in the bud, but without avail. When he 
 was overpowered by numbers he retired into the 
 Residency, which he had already prepared to stand 
 a siege. 
 
 The Residency was simply a large three-storied 
 house, of not more than average strength, and never 
 intended to be a place of refuge in time of war. How- 
 ever, Sir Henry Lawrence had laid in great stores of 
 provision and ammunition against the evil day which 
 he saw was sure to'come ; and when the storm broke 
 he gathered his little band of nine hundred European 
 soldiers and four hundred and fifty women and children 
 within the walls of the Residency, resolved to make a 
 brave stand against the foe. It is only fair to record 
 also that six or seven hundred native troops proved 
 faithful, and remained with the British, resisting all 
 the entreaties of their comrades, who had mutinied, 
 to desert. 
 
 The garrison by which the Residency was defended, 
 therefore, must be put down at sixteen hundred ; but 
 against this force was arrayed an army which has 
 been reckoned at not less than fifty thousand, and 
 most of them trained soldiers. The odds were fearful ; 
 but Sir Henry Lawrence was undismayed, and imparted 
 courage and resolution to the whole garrison, so that 
 the little band of noble hearts fought and held their 
 ground with almost unexampled courage, week after 
 week, and month after month, waiting for the coming 
 of a rescue party, which they firmly believed the 
 Viceroy would send when he heard of their desperate 
 condition. 
 
TALES OF THE MUTINY. 
 
 17 
 
 Sad to say, Sir Henry Lawrence was killed within 
 a few days of the commencement of the struggle. A 
 shell from the guns of the foe hurst in his room and 
 shattered his thigh. His leg was amputated, but the 
 wound proved fatal ; for after lingering two or three 
 days, during which he cheered the officers of his 
 garrison with brave Christian words, and partaking 
 of the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, “ he fell on 
 sleep.” 
 
 Almost the last words of the heroic man were, 
 “ Bury me without any fuss, and place on my tomb- 
 stone these words, ‘ Here lies Henry Lawrence, who 
 tried to do his duty. May the Lord have mercy on 
 his soul.’ ” The soldiers wept as they carried their 
 commander to his last resting-place, and, raising the 
 sheet which covered the face of the beloved dead, 
 they each stooped down, and reverently kissed him 
 on the forehead a last farewell. It was a touching- 
 sight, and would long live in the memory of those 
 who were spared to tell the tale. What an example 
 Sir Henry Lawrence has left to all Englishmen ! 
 “ England expects every man to do his duty ! ” 
 
 Before referring to the closing events of the Mutiny, 
 I should like to call attention to the conduct of the 
 native Christians throughout that terrible time. With 
 scarcely an exception they remained true to their 
 professions of faith in Christ, though greatly per- 
 secuted and sorely tried. They were not well treated 
 even by the British Government in some places ; 
 nevertheless they held fast by their baptismal 
 vows. 
 
 At Agra, when on July 3rd the Europeans were 
 
 2 
 
18 
 
 PICTURES OF LIFE IN INDIA. 
 
 gathered into the great fort for protection from the 
 revolted soldiery, the authorities refused admittance to 
 the native Christians, over eight hundred in number ; 
 but the Rev. Mr. French, the present Bishop of 
 Lahore, and other missionaries, protested, and said 
 
 SIR HENRY HAVELOCK. 
 
 that they would remain outside also if their converts 
 were thus shamefully deserted. Then the authorities 
 gave way ; and very glad they were afterwards that 
 they had done so, for the native Christians proved 
 most useful as domestic servants and soldiers for 
 the batteries. 
 
TALES OF THE MUTINY. 
 
 19 
 
 There is a story told of a native preacher named 
 Thaknr Dass, who lived in a village about twelve 
 miles from Agra. When the other Christians entered 
 the fort this good old man declined to follow them, 
 saying. “ I am an old man, and who will kill me ? I 
 will stay where I am, and trust in God.” Months 
 passed by and no one molested him ; but on October 
 10th some low characters in the neighbourhood resolved 
 to kill him. Calling at his house they made him 
 prisoner, bound him with cords, and led him out to 
 put him to death. The old mau still trusted in God, 
 and begged for a moment’s respite for prayer, which 
 being granted he prayed for his would-be murderers, 
 and then commended his spirit to his Maker, thinking 
 that his end was at hand. However, at that very 
 moment a tramp of armed men was heard, and with 
 a cry of “ The English are coming ! ” the persecutors 
 took to their heels and left the old man unhurt. It 
 was not the English at all, but a number of native 
 troops. It made no difference, however, for the aged 
 Christian quietly made his way home unmolested ; 
 and for years afterwards told with much thankfulness 
 the story of his almost miraculous deliverance from 
 the very jaws of death. 
 
 At Delhi, in the general massacre, many of the 
 native Christians perished along with the Europeans, 
 scorning to obtain safety by apostasy. Take the case 
 of Wallayat Ali, a preacher among the Baptists. This 
 man was taken before some of the leading Mussulman 
 officers, who promised that his life would be spared if 
 he would but deny Christ and confess Mohammed ; 
 but the brave and devoted Christian answered, “ No I 
 
20 
 
 PICTURES OF LIFE IN INDIA. 
 
 no ! a thousand times no ! Jesus gave His life for me, 
 and if need be I must give my life for Him.” 
 
 His trembling wife stood by while this was said, 
 and the next moment Wallayat Ali was slaiu before 
 her eyes, falling a martyr to the Name which he held 
 to be above every name. Indian Christians have a 
 right to be proud of such men, and to hold their 
 memory dear ! Verily the native Christians daring 
 the days of the Mutiny witnessed a good confession, 
 and made their calling and election sure. 
 
 "With the fall of Delhi, which was besieged for many 
 weary months by all the British troops that could be 
 gathered together for the emergency — a mere handful 
 compared with the numbers of the enemy — the terrible 
 Mutiny was checked, and the beginning of the end was 
 seen. It was in September of the year 1857 that 
 Delhi fell. With it fell the Moghul empire for 
 ever. 
 
 The dishonoured King of Delhi fled with his family 
 to the large building, the tomb of Humayun, a few 
 miles southward of the city ; but was followed there 
 by the celebrated Captain Hodson, who made him 
 prisoner, and carried him back to the palace of his 
 ancestors to be tried for his life. The two sons and a 
 grandson of the king were also made prisoners on the 
 following day by the same intrepid officer. 
 
 These were the wretches who had caused the 
 European women and children to be murdered in the 
 courtyard of the palace at Delhi. They were sent off, 
 under a guard, to the city ; but Captain Hodson seems 
 to have feared a rescue, and so he took the law into 
 his own hands, and slew his prisoners. Writing of 
 
TALES OF THE MUTINY. 
 
 21 
 
 the event he says, “ I came up just in time, as a large 
 mob had collected, and were turning on the guard. 
 I rode in among them at a gallop, and in a few words 
 I appealed to the crowd, saying that these were the 
 butchers who had murdered and brutally used helpless 
 females, and that the Government had now sent their 
 punishment ; and seizing a carbine I deliberately shot 
 them one after the other.” The dead bodies of the 
 princes were taken on to Delhi, and were exposed in 
 the public streets as a terrible warning, and even 
 the Moslems beholding the sight acknowledged the 
 righteous retribution of Allah. 
 
 From Delhi the mutineers who escaped fled to 
 Lucknow, the second great Mohammedan city of 
 Northern India, to strengthen the hands of the 
 rebels there. 
 
 For many weeks the brave General Havelock had 
 been struggling against innumerable difficulties and 
 dangers in his efforts to destroy the force of Nana 
 Sahib at Cawnpore, and relieve Lucknow. When his 
 victorious troops at last entered Cawnpore it was a 
 pitiful sight they beheld. The well was found into 
 which the victims of Nana’s cruelty had been thrown. 
 It was full to the brim of the mangled remains of 
 the dead. “ The feelings of those who witnessed the 
 spectacle it is easy to conceive, but difficult to describe. 
 Men of iron nerve, who had during the march from 
 Allahabad rushed to the cannon’s mouth, and uu- 
 appalled had seen their comrades mowed down around 
 them, now lifted up their voices and wept.” 
 
 The well was reverently covered in, and a beautiful 
 monument has since been erected over it to com- 
 
22 PICTURES OF LIFE IN INDIA. 
 
 memorate the fate of the hapless ladies and children, 
 
 MEMORIAL WELL, CAWNPOKE. 
 
 so pitilessly murdered by the infamous Nana Sahib. 
 There is no sadder spot on earth than the gardeu 
 
TALES OF THE MUTINY. 
 
 23 
 
 at Cawnpore which contains the sepulchre of the 
 Memorial Well. 
 
 With hearts almost breaking with sorrow the 
 British troops pushed on to the Residency at 
 Lucknow, which was relieved only just in time, as 
 the brave garrison was reduced to the verge of despair. 
 Still the rebels held the city, and even the united 
 forces of the British were not equal to more than 
 remaining on the defensive, until, in the month of 
 November, Sir Colin Campbell arrived with fresh 
 troops, and a retreat was effected of the whole 
 garrison. It was a brilliant episode, though a gloom 
 was cast over the escaped English by the death of the 
 noble Havelock just outside Lucknow. 
 
 The heroic general was seized with illness brought on 
 by his exertions and anxieties, and had no strength to 
 resist the attack. His last words were, “ I die happy 
 and contented. I have for forty years so ruled my 
 life, that when death came I might face it without 
 fear.” 
 
 For some time after the Relief of Lucknow the 
 Great Rebellion prolonged its existence in different 
 parts of the country, but both Hindus and Moham- 
 medans had lost all hope of ultimate victory. At 
 length the storm died away, and on July 8th, 1850, 
 the Viceroy, Lord Canning, proclaimed peace through- 
 out India. There is no prouder page in the history of 
 England than the story of the way in which a mere 
 handful of British troops triumphed over their foes 
 and put down with a strong hand the Indian Mutiny. 
 
 And to-day the people of India, both high and low, 
 rejoice in the just rule of the British Imperial Govern- 
 
24 
 
 PICTURES; OF LIFE IN INDIA. 
 
 ment, and are reaping the benefits of Western civil- 
 isation, which would, humanly speaking, never have 
 been theirs, or at any rate not for centuries to come, 
 if the Mutiny had ended otherwise than as it did. 
 
 The aim of England ought now to he to set up in 
 the East, hv peaceful means, the Kingdom of God’s 
 dear Son — a kingdom that can never be moved. 
 
 SIB COLIN CAMPBELL. 
 
II. 
 
 SACRED BIRDS. 
 
 10 one can travel much in India without being 
 struck with the beauty of the birds which fly 
 1 about so joyously in the rays of the rising or 
 the setting sun. 
 
 Almost every variety of birds known to ornithologists 
 may be found in India, either on the plains or in the 
 hill countries. The birds of the plains are perhaps 
 more beautiful in appearance, but they are lacking in 
 the gift of song ; and the power to sing sweetly is 
 after all what we like best in our feathered friends. 
 
 It is not my intention in this chapter to deal with 
 the wide subject of Indian birds in general, but only 
 to treat of those for which the people of the East have 
 special regard, and which they characterise as sacred. 
 
 25 
 
26 
 
 PICTURES OF LIFE IN INDIA. 
 
 The list is not long. Let ns commence with the not 
 very beautiful but yet substantial and useful goose. It 
 is strange that in almost every part of the world, and in 
 all ages, the goose has been held in reverence. It was 
 worshipped for ages by the Egyptians, and almost 
 worshipped by the Romans. Augustine says that the 
 respect for the goose displayed by the Romans was 
 due to their gratitude for the service the bird rendered 
 them that night when the Goths attacked Rome, and 
 would have taken the city, but for the warning cries 
 of vigilant geese who acted well the part of watch dogs. 
 In honour of the event, and the bird, the Romans 
 instituted a holy day or yearly holiday, which they 
 called “the Goose’s feast.” 
 
 According to Cmsar, the early Britons held it sinful 
 to eat the flesh of goose; but we think differently now, 
 and especially at Christmas-time, as my young readers 
 well know. The Dutch and the French in the middle 
 ages also held the goose in veneration, believing that 
 the Holy Spirit dwelt in the bird ; and therefore they 
 would not allow it to be killed, either in sport or for 
 food. At the present day all superstitious reverence 
 for the goose has died out in the West however, and 
 we have to journey to the East to find adorers of the 
 so-called sacred bird. 
 
 Amongst both Hindus and Buddhists the goose is 
 regarded with feelings of religious respect : it is indeed 
 the national emblem emblazoned on the standard of 
 Burmah. Sir Emerson Tennent, in his well-known 
 book on Ceylon, remarks : “ Taken in connection with 
 the proverbial contempt for the supposed stolidity of 
 the goose, there is something still unexplained in the 
 
SACRED BIRDS. 
 
 27 
 
 extraordinary honours paid to it by the ancients, and 
 the veneration in which it is held to-day by some of 
 the Eastern nations. The figure that occurs so fre- 
 quently on Buddhist monuments is the Brahminee 
 goose, which is not a native of Ceylon, hut from time 
 immemorial has been the object of veneration there, 
 and in all parts of India.” 
 
 In Northern India there used to be a Buddhist 
 monastery called the “ Goose’s monastery,” which 
 derived its name, so the story goes, from the self- 
 sacrifice of a goose. It happened thus. One day, when 
 taking exercise in the fields, just outside the monastery 
 gates, a monk saw a flock of geese high in the air; 
 and as he looked at them he thought what a pity it 
 was that they were out of his reach, as he and his 
 brethren were almost at the point of starvation owing 
 to the scarcity of food. As he thought of their dire 
 need, he exclaimed aloud, “ Oh, geese, to-day the monks 
 of this holy place are famishing ! Will you not have 
 compassion on our circumstances ? ” 
 
 No sooner had the monk thus spoken than the 
 geese gave a cackle, which seemed to signify assent ; 
 and lo and behold one of the fattest of the flock fell 
 dead at the feet of the suppliant ! The surprised monk 
 ran in to the monastery to tell his brethren, and they all 
 turned out to view the bird which had given its life 
 to appease their hunger. But none of the reverend 
 fathers could bring himself to eat the flesh of the bird 
 regarded as sacred to the great Lord Buddha. It 
 seemed a sacrilege even to think of such a thing, so the 
 dead goose was buried with all honour, and a stupa or 
 monument erected over its body to commemorate its 
 
28 
 
 PICTURES OF LIFE IN INDIA. 
 
 self-sacrificing deed ; and the monastery thencefor- 
 ward was called “ The Goose’s Monastery,” and the 
 sacred bird was held in greater esteem and honour 
 than ever all over the East. 
 
 There is another curious legend told of the Brah- 
 minee goose. It is to the effect that for some 
 indiscretion two young people who were lovers were 
 turned into geese, and condemned to pass their nights 
 apart from each other on the opposite banks of a 
 river. All night long each asks in turn if it shall 
 join its mate, and receives a reply in the negative. 
 The female bird calls aloud, “ Chakwa, shall I come ? ” 
 And the male answers, “ No, Chakwi.” Then the 
 male bird says, “ Chakwi, shall I come ? ” and receives 
 for reply, “ No, Chakwa.” Thus the night through 
 the forlorn lovers are heard calling to one another, 
 and will call, until time shall be no more. It is the 
 punishment of folly. 
 
 There is in India a Brahminee kite as well as a 
 Brahminee goose, which is also held in high esteem. 
 This is not the common or govind kite, but the white- 
 headed bird, sometimes called the eagle of Coromandel. 
 The Brahminee kite is considered an incarnation of 
 the goddess Durga, and is reverenced by the Hindus, 
 who bow to it with great humility every time it passes 
 them in flight. 
 
 Even the Mohammedans regard this kite with 
 respect, and believe that by whirling one of these birds 
 round the head of a child on a Tuesday or a Saturday, 
 and then letting it go, great blessings are sure to 
 descend upon the little one. Kites, like crows, are 
 great thieves, and sometimes carry off silver or gold 
 
SACRED BIRDS. 
 
 •J9 
 
 ornaments ; and Moslem women say the reason is 
 because the young kites will not open their eyes till 
 something precious is placed in the nest beside them. 
 Hence the Indian proverb, “ The philosopher’s stone 
 is in the kite’s nest.” And. truly it would he a more 
 profitable occupation searching kites’ nests for gold, 
 than seeking by alchemists’ arts to turn base metal 
 into the true thing. Of the Brahminee kite Dr. 
 Adams says, in his “ Wanderings of a Naturalist in 
 India”: “This kite is a handsome bird, of prey. 
 Although wanting the grace and rapidity of flight 
 of the govind-kite, it has the advantage as regards 
 beauty and colouring of plumage. Individuals may 
 be seen frequently swooping on fish in the river, or 
 hovering over the shallows. The head, neck, and 
 irides are white, the rest of the body chestnut.” 
 
 The peacock is also a sacred bird. In the chapter 
 headed “ The Peacock Throne,” I have already given 
 an account ot this bird, which amongst the Rajputs 
 is held to be sacred to the war-god Kumara. The 
 peacock is said to scream and dance with joy at the 
 sound of thunder, just as a Rajput warrior does at the 
 noise of the kettle drum which calls to war. This 
 bird is also sacred to the Hindu god of beauty, who 
 is generally represented as riding on the back of the 
 peacock. 
 
 The peacock, like the kite, is said to be a great 
 thief, but nevertheless it is held in high esteem and 
 regard. It is counted a great crime, as many a 
 sportsman has found in India to his cost, to shoot a 
 peacock ; and yet in some parts of the North-West 
 Provinces the bird is a great nuisance to the farmers, 
 
30 
 
 PICTURES OF LIFE IN INDIA. 
 
 who nave a saying that “ the monkey, the part rid -e 
 and the peacock rob the field of its store.” As sacred 
 birds, however, peacocks have a licence to rob as 
 much as they like. Thus does religious superstition 
 stand m the way of national prosperity in the East. 
 
 The white owl is considered sacred, though the 
 common owl is a bird of ill omen. The white owl is 
 believed to bring good luck, and it is considered great 
 
 WHITE OWL. 
 
 good fortune to see this bird in the daytime. The 
 white owl is held sacred to Lakshmi, the goddess 
 of prosperity ; and the people of India are delighted 
 if an owl or owls will condescend to build in their 
 houses. In lonely country places old houses are 
 oiten infested with these birds, who establish their 
 quarters in dark nooks and corners, and breed twice 
 a year, producing five or six young ones at a time. 
 The screeching and shrieking that goes on is of course 
 
SACRED BIRDS. 
 
 31 
 
 something wonderful to hear, but it is endured, and 
 even counted sweet music, for luck’s sake. The 
 common belief is that no evil will come nigh a house 
 where a white owl lives. Experience, however, does 
 not justify faith in the superstition. 
 
 Perhaps the most famous of Indiau sacred birds is 
 the one styled Garuda, who is called “ the King of 
 Birds.” He only exists, however, in the Hindu sacred 
 books, and in the imagination of the people. Garuda 
 is a mythical being, and is described as half man and 
 half eagle. He has the head and wings of a bird, 
 while the rest of his body is like that of a human 
 being. He is always associated with the god Vishnu, 
 being indeed the carrier of the god when he wishes to 
 move from place to place. 
 
 Garuda is worshipped at the great Hindu festivals 
 at the same time as Vishnu. His image may be 
 found also in many temples, and he is regarded as 
 the guardian deity of the strong and the brave, who 
 must repeat his name daily. Garuda is represented 
 as having done many daring and wonderful things, 
 such as carrying in his beak a huge trunk of a tree 
 on which some people were sitting, while with one 
 claw he held a tortoise and with the other an elephant. 
 Another exploit was to capture the moon and conceal 
 it under his wing. But his most marvellous deed was 
 entering the heavenly abode of the god Indra, and in 
 spite of all opposition capturing the sacred Amrita, 
 the drink of the gods. On account of these events 
 the bird is spoken of as 
 
 “King Garud blest beyond compare 
 Of birds who wing the fields of air. 
 
32 
 
 PICTURES OF LIFE IN INDIA. 
 
 Are not such tales absurd? Yet the religious boohs 
 of the Hindus relate them with all seriousness and at 
 great length. 
 
 There is one story concerning Garuda the king of 
 birds that is more sensible than the rest, and this my 
 young readers may like to hear. It is as follows : — 
 
 On a certain day Garuda, with a friendly Brahmin 
 priest, alighted on the peak of a mountain, where they 
 found a celebrated female ascetic named Candili, 
 living apart from the world, and practising all kinds 
 of bodily mortifications. Seeing this good lady, Garuda 
 and his friend saluted her reverently and received her 
 blessing. Candili then asked concerning their welfare, 
 gave them seats, and set food before them, and herself 
 waited upon them as a servant. So kind was the 
 hospitable lady, so amiable, and withal so beautiful, 
 notwithstanding her fastings and other austerities, 
 that Garuda fell in love with her, and while he should 
 have slept that night he lay awake forming the 
 wicked resolve to bear away the lovely lady by force, 
 on his strong wings, next morning. 
 
 But lo ! when the day broke, the king of birds 
 found that his wings on which he depended for flight 
 had fallen off. And a very pitiable object he presented. 
 When his companion the priest beheld the sad plight 
 of his friend he was distressed ; and after expressing 
 his sympathy, asked how it was that this evil had 
 come to pass — “ Surely thou hast been harbouring an 
 evil thought in thy mind ? ” Then Garuda confessed 
 that he had purposed the ruin of the fair lady who 
 had treated them so graciously when they alighted on 
 the mountain. 
 
SACRED BTRDS. 
 
 33 
 
 “ Confess thy fault,” said the priest, “ if haply thou 
 mayest he forgiven and regain thy proper form.” 
 Then Garuda approached their hostess Candili, ex- 
 pressed his contrition, and prayed for pardon, which 
 was freely granted. The gracious lady said, “ Fear 
 not, 0 thou of beautiful feathers ; resume thy wings 
 and cast off thy fears, and learn this lesson : that 
 purity of conduct beareth virtue as its fruit — it is 
 purity that bringeth on prosperity — it is purity that 
 driveth away all signs of evil. Go thou whithersoever 
 thou dost wish. Never more entertain low thoughts 
 of me, and take care thou dost not despise women 
 who may be truly blamable. Reverence womankind.” 
 At these words Garuda had his wings again, and they 
 became even stronger than before, and he went on his 
 way with a light and happy heart. 
 
 We may regard this story as a parable, and it 
 teaches us that we lose our wings — that is our strength, 
 and energy, and peace of mind — when we cherish 
 unholy thoughts or desires ; and that we only regain 
 them when we humbly acknowledge our transgres- 
 sions and are forgiven, and resolutely turn away 
 from evil. The Hindu Shastars beautifully say in 
 one place, “ Convert thy body into a temple, give up 
 evil thoughts, and see God with thine internal eye. 
 The source of final happiness is in the heart. Be 
 chaste. Neither sacred Scriptures, religious cere- 
 monies, pious austerities, the offering of sacrifices, nor 
 liberality, will procure felicity to a man contaminated 
 with sensuality. Virtue and vice are heaven and 
 hell.” 
 
 Garuda, the king of birds, is believed to be the 
 
 3 
 
34 
 
 PICTURES OF LIFE IN I NET A. 
 
 great enemy of snakes, and on this account, as well 
 as for the reasons already given, he is regarded with 
 favour by the Hindus. The common people of India 
 repeat the name of Garuda three times when in the 
 fields, and before going to sleep at night, as a safe- 
 guard against snakes. 
 
 Garuda is said to have left as offspring two sons, 
 half men and half bird, like himself. Their names 
 are Sampati and Jaytayus, and these mythical birds 
 also are regarded as sacred by the Hindus. Being 
 putted up with pride on account of their father’s 
 exploits, and at the thought of their own strength, 
 these two once determined to fly right into the face 
 of the sun. However, as was to have been expected, 
 they failed in the mad enterprise, and Sampati’s 
 wings were burnt off, and thus was he crippled for 
 life, showing by sad example the truth of the saying, 
 “ Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit 
 before a fall.” Jaytayus perished more nobly, being 
 killed by Havana, the demon-king of Ceylon, whom he 
 bravely but vainly sought to hinder from carrying off 
 Sita the fair wife of Kama, in the absence of the latter 
 from home. Sampati and Jaytayus are worshipped in 
 India at the festival of the sun, and also at the festival 
 of Rama and other gods. 
 
 There are other birds held in special regard in the 
 East, though I scarcely know whether they are called 
 “ sacred ” or not. There is the pretty little bird 
 designated “ the bird of the lost money,” because it 
 utters in a low tone something that sounds like “ Oh 
 that we had kept it ! ” Ever as it flies about in the 
 still evening air the plaintive cry is heard, “ Oh that 
 
SACRED BIRDS. 
 
 35 
 
 we had kept it ! ” “ Oh that we had kept it ! ” 
 
 There is a tradition that its ancestors were a man and 
 his wife, who, having lost their wealth by thoughtless 
 speculation, died broken-hearted, and were transformed 
 into these little birds, to be a constant warning to the 
 Hindus against investing their money carelessly. And 
 the warning is needed all the world over. 
 
 Pigeons are great favourites both with the Hindus 
 and the Moslems. They are kept in the house, and 
 are supposed to preserve buildings from decay. 
 Turtle-doves also are looked upon as harbingers of 
 good luck, and are treated with great kindness. They 
 are such gentle creatures that I do not know how any 
 one could hurt them. There were two always in my 
 garden in Calcutta, and I never heard their coo-coo- 
 cooing without pleasure. These gentle creatures 
 speak to us of true affection and enduring love. 
 
 Parrots also are favourite birds, and are often kept 
 in the house as pets. There is a bird called the 
 papiya, of the parrot species, which is said to cry, “ My 
 eye is going ! ” from the legend that once a man seeing 
 some wicked deeds done before his eyes, died of terror, 
 uttering the words, “ My eye is going ! ” and was trans- 
 formed into a bird. Some people are afraid, and it is 
 well that they are, to do anything wrong before a 
 papiya, lest it should betray them. If such had 
 the fear of God before their eyes it would be better 
 still. 
 
 One of my predecessors in the pastorate of Union 
 Chapel, Calcutta, Dr. Boaz, a lovable man, and a 
 most successful minister of the Gospel, had a great 
 affection for birds, and especially for parrots. Let 
 
36 
 
 PICTURES OF LIFE IN INDIA. 
 
 me quote an extract from his Memoirs edited by 
 his widow, who writes : “ Dr. Boaz had a favourite 
 parrot, whose note was harsh and discordant, but 
 when about to repeat his daily vocabulary — viz., Papa, 
 Mamma, Padri Boaz, Union Chapel, Dick, Tom, Alick, 
 he would soften his voice, and imitate his master’s in 
 a manner the most ludicrous. 
 
 TCKTEE DOVES. 
 
 “ Just as the old year of 1860 was bidding us adieu, 
 and we were waiting to greet the new year, Polly 
 walked out of his cage, mounted the table, and, with 
 wings outstretched, exhibiting his gay robes of scarlet 
 hue, as if he, too, must come out in holiday attire, 
 he promenaded with a proud bearing, as if lord of all 
 he surveyed, helping himself freely to his favourite 
 
SACRED BIRDS. 
 
 37 
 
 dishes. The general remark was that we never saw 
 Polly make himself so agreeable. The boys said, ‘ Oh, 
 but he knows papa has come home to keep a merry 
 Christmas with ns.’ Next day this beautiful creature 
 was seen lying shivering in a fit, with ruffled plumage, 
 and a look so pitiful that, had he spoken, we could not 
 have more distinctly understood that he sought for 
 sympathy. 
 
 “ Polly was removed to the fireside, and laid on the 
 hearthrug. It was distressing to witness his agony, 
 which, however, was of short duration, for his pretty 
 little head soon dropped, and there he lay dead. The 
 father’s tears were mingled with those of his sous. 
 A relative standing by remarked, ‘ Surely you don’t 
 mean to weep so for a bird ? ’ His reply was, 1 You 
 know my nature : I cannot help it. Has the parrot 
 not been with us in all our joys and sorrows, and been 
 the companion of the boys by land and sea ? I fear it 
 will not be the only death among us this year.’ ” 
 
 The last remark, alas ! proved prophetic, for in 
 October of the same year Dr. Boaz himself was 
 suddenly taken from time into eternity. 
 
 There is something very attractive about birds ; and 
 all who live in India, whether Europeans or natives, 
 seem to love the birds of the country, with perhaps 
 one or two exceptions, about which more later on 
 when I come to write of household and other pests. 
 
 It is sad, however, to think of human beings 
 worshipping birds, as the Hindus do. It is a custom 
 dishonouring to God, and degrading to man I 
 
IX THE CHRISTIAN GIRLS’ SCHOOL, AGRA. 
 
 III. 
 
 GIRL-LIFE. 
 
 HERE is a common saving in India which 
 throws a flood of light upon girl-life ; it is, 
 “ Better to be a clod than to have been born 
 a woman.” Truly the lot of females in the East is 
 hard ! 
 
 When more than one daughter is born in a family, 
 the father, in all probability, -will be heard to say, 
 
 38 
 
GIRL-LIFE. 
 
 39 
 
 “ What great sin have I committed that I should have 
 another daughter ? ” And if a man in trouble of any 
 kind is seen sitting about in a dejected mood, he is 
 nearly sure to be greeted by a neighbour with the 
 proverb, “ Why do you sit as if a girl had been born 
 at home ? ” 
 
 Girls are not counted when parents tell you how 
 many children they have. Commenting on this custom, 
 the Rev. W. J. Wilkins, in his “ Daily Life and Work 
 in India,” says : “ I was greatly surprised the first time 
 I noticed this. Calling upon a native gentleman I 
 asked him what family he had. ‘ I have two children,’ 
 he said. A little time after, seeing a little girl coming 
 to sit on his knee, while the two boys were playing 
 about, I asked who the little girl was. ‘ She is my 
 daughter,’ he said. ‘ But,’ I replied, ‘ you said you 
 had only two children. This makes a third.’ The 
 gentleman remarked, ‘ I said I had two children — 
 there they are : this is only a girl ! ’ ” 
 
 “ Only a girl ! ” Is it not too bad to speak of girls 
 in that fashion ? It must not be supposed, however, 
 that Hindu parents do not love their girls, though they 
 speak disparagingly of them. Of course they love 
 them ! How can they help loving the dear little 
 mites ? Yet it remains a fact, that, at heart, the 
 fondest father wishes that his girl had been a boy. 
 Boys are always welcome, no matter how many may 
 arrive on the scene. Indeed the Hindus have a prayer 
 to the effect, “May the gods give us seven wise sons, 
 but only two handsome daughters.” 
 
 At a very early age girls are separated from boys 
 in the better class homes of India. At seven or eight 
 
40 
 
 PICTURES OF LIFE IN INDIA. 
 
 girls find that boys will not condescend to play with 
 them for fear of being teased. Thus girls are left to 
 the companionship of their own sex until they are 
 married, but they do not seem to mind. 
 
 With regard to recreation, a native writer, Mr. 
 Shosliee Chunder Dntt, says : “ The sports and pas- 
 times of girls are dissimilar to those of boys. Now 
 and then, indeed, they are found indulging in amuse- 
 ments common to both sexes. Girls are occasionally 
 seen chasing each other ; oftener still, playing hide- 
 and-seek with bandaged eyes, and with as much 
 eagerness as boys. But these impetuous diversions 
 are not legitimately their own. The relaxations that 
 belong to girls especially are of a more sedentary 
 character, and are also more ingenious; and their toys, 
 for the most part representing men, women and 
 children, engross all their attention. The boys — 
 mischievous as they are in all parts of the world, and 
 naturally prone to play pranks — get out of the nursery 
 as soon as they are allowed. But the girls are ever 
 fond of nestling under the mother’s wings at home. 
 They are not wanting in the playful gaiety of child- 
 hood, but there is not much of active energy in them, 
 and no self-reliance. The daughter’s elbow leans ever 
 on the mother’s breast. Mothers necessarily retain 
 over their daughters the greatest authority — much 
 greater than what they retain over their sons.” 
 
 Speaking of the training of girls, Mr. Dntt says : 
 “ Dancing, riding, and singing are objected to as 
 improper accomplishments ; but sweeping the house, 
 cleaning the utensils of the family, and even assisting 
 at cookery are taught them as part of the training 
 
GIRL-LIFE. 
 
 41 
 
 necessary for fulfilling the duties they are bound to. 
 The labour thus imposed preserves girls from becoming 
 useless and indolent, and gives full exercise even to 
 the strongest, improving both appearance and health. 
 Pale cheeks and a languid aspect are rare among 
 women in India, while active habits and alertness of 
 mind are quite common among them. Clean-limbed 
 and agile, a girl of ten years may be seen daily 
 performing duties without fatigue which would almost 
 require a labourer to get through ; and there is no 
 doubt that the discharge of these callings goes far to 
 accomplish those ends which are elsewhere sought to 
 be secured by backboards aud dancing.” 
 
 With respect to education, girls have been sadly 
 neglected in India for centuries. Until within the 
 last forty years or so it was considered a sin to teach 
 girls to read and write. So strong was the prejudice 
 that no man would marry a girl who was at all 
 educated, it being believed that the knowledge of 
 the wife would shorten the life of her husband. 
 A Brahmin gentleman, who was once asked by a 
 missionary what he considered a woman ought to 
 know, replied, “ She must know two things. First, 
 she must know the way to the bazaar to buy neces- 
 saries for the house ; and, secondly, she must know 
 the nearest way from the bazaar home again.” It is 
 estimated that ninety out of every hundred girls of 
 ten years of age in India are entirely uneducated. Is 
 not such ignorance deplorable ? 
 
 Of late years there has been an effort in cities, and 
 to some extent also in country places, to improve this 
 sad state of things. Missionaries have been the chief 
 
42 
 
 PICTURES OF LIFE IN INDIA. 
 
 agents in this reform, which has been very successful, 
 though of course as yet ouly a few girls have been 
 reached out of the many millions that need to be 
 educated. 
 
 It was very difficult at first to get parents to 
 consent to send their girls to school. The older 
 women especially were opposed to it, and declared 
 that their gods would be very angry with them if 
 they allowed their girls to be educated, as ignorance 
 was the heritage of the sex. For a time only the 
 poor and low-caste would permit their daughters to 
 be taught, and these had to be paid to come to 
 school. However, as the advantages of education 
 were perceived the prejudice grew less pronounced, 
 and girls of all castes are now found in mission 
 schools. “ The schools are situated generally in a 
 quiet lane or street in the middle of a Hindu village 
 or suburb. Sometimes schools are built for the 
 purpose, sometimes rooms are rented in Hindu houses. 
 The girls attend from the time they are about six, 
 until they are eleven or twelve years of age.” 
 
 The education is, of course, only elementary in these 
 village schools, and the teachers are content if the 
 girls when they leave can read, write, and sew nicely. 
 When in India I visited many girls’ schools, and was 
 greatly pleased with the diligence of the scholars, and 
 their evident delight in their new accomplishments. 
 I found some of them reading those excellent lesson 
 books, the “ Line upon Line ” series, and all seemed 
 to have a very fair knowledge of the Bible, and 
 especially of the Gospel stories. 
 
 As an example of the religious impression made 
 
GIRL -LIFE. 
 
 43 
 
 upon the minds of these schoolgirls, I would mention 
 
 THE ZENANA. 
 
 {By permission of the British and Foreign Bible Society.) 
 
 an incident related to me by Miss Heysham, super- 
 intendent of girls’ schools in connection with the 
 
44 
 
 PICTURES OF LIFE IN INDIA. 
 
 work of the London Missionary Society in the suburbs 
 of Calcutta. “ One of my little girls,” said Miss 
 Heysham, “ who was married, and was leaving the 
 district in all probability never to return, sent for me 
 to say good-bye. I went, and in course of conversation 
 said to her, ‘ I should like to give you some little 
 token to keep in remembrance of me. What would 
 you like best ? ’ She replied, ‘ There is no need to 
 give me anything, for I shall never forget you.’ On 
 being pressed she said, ‘ Give me an English Bible, 
 and write my name in it.’ ‘ But you cannot read 
 English well enough to understand it,’ I remarked. 
 She said, ‘I will ask my husband to read and ex- 
 plain it to me.’ That girl loved the Holy Scriptures. 
 May they make her wise unto salvation ! ” 
 
 Miss Heysham has had many years of experience in 
 connection with girls’ schools, and has done a noble 
 work for Christ amongst the young, both by precept 
 and example. It is specially interesting, therefore, to 
 hear what she has to say with regard to the work to 
 which she has devoted her life. In a recent report 
 of her work Miss Heysham contrasted the present 
 position of girls’ schools and the education of girls with 
 what it was only ten years ago. She says : “ Then, 
 though a nominal fee had been started, many who 
 pleaded poverty had to be supplied with books ; now 
 such a thing as giving a book or even a slate pencil is 
 not heard of. Then, teachers had to send in search of 
 children, and found great difficulty in getting their 
 parents to consent to send them to school ; now, the 
 parents in many cases send the children with the 
 entrance fee for the month, and money for books and 
 
GIRL-LTFE. 
 
 45 
 
 slates. There used to be a superstition that if girls 
 were taught to read and write they would soon become 
 widows ; now it is just the contrary : the first question 
 put by a match-maker is, does the girl know how to 
 read and write ? If she does not the match-maker 
 leaves the house and goes off in search of one who 
 does. Only last week I heard of an interesting case. 
 A father in search of a wife for his son, heard of a girl 
 who is being educated in our Kalighat School. As is 
 the custom, the match-maker was sent to see this girl 
 and report on her, the result being that the father of 
 the boy with two other friends went to see the girl ; 
 the former said he wished to examine her and see how 
 far she was educated. After he had done so, he 
 turned to her father and said, ‘ Sir, I do not want a 
 pice from you : I only want your daughter.’ 
 
 “ It was the custom ten years ago to speak dis- 
 paragingly of parents who sent their daughters to 
 school ; now the custom is to find fault with those 
 who do not. In place of dirty faces, and still dirtier 
 dresses, we now see every child coming to school with 
 a clean face, combed hair, and pretty jacket and sari. 
 Formerly it was immaterial to parents whether their 
 children came to school with their lessons prepared 
 or not ; now in the majority of cases care is taken 
 that the children come to school with their lessons 
 prepared ; and where there is any carelessness at home, 
 a complaint is sent to me to that effect, with a request 
 that I should punish the child. It is an acknow- 
 ledged fact that girls who have been educated in our 
 schools make better wives and mothers than those 
 who have not.” 
 
4G 
 
 PICTURES OF LIFE IN INDIA. 
 
 Miss Heysham may certainly be congratulated on 
 her work, and it is but a type of what is going on all 
 over India. The scarcity of competent teachers is 
 now the only serions drawback to the rapid progress 
 of the good work. “ The harvest truly is great, but 
 the labourers are few ; pray ye therefore the Lord of 
 the harvest that He would send forth labourers into 
 His harvest.” 
 
 One of the first to engage in this enterprise of 
 educating native girls was the devoted missionary 
 lady, Mrs. Mullens, who laboured in Calcutta some 
 fifty years ago. Her efforts, however, were mostly 
 confined to the children of native Christians, but 
 amongst these she toiled lovingly, assiduously, and 
 very successfully. And through her Christian girls 
 Mrs. Mullens was able, to some extent, to reach the 
 non-Christians. 
 
 Writing of her work in May 1850, Mrs. Mullens 
 mentions a very pleasing instance that is worth 
 recording. It shows how even at that time labour 
 spent over the girls of India was well spent. The 
 passage runs : “ It was only a few weeks since that I 
 found out that one of my little girls loved the Bible, 
 and prized Christianity very much. She is, perhaps, 
 the last I should have expected to do so, for she is 
 very quiet, and not at all clever, aud I never could 
 find out what her thoughts were. But a little while 
 ago she went to spend a month with a good Christian 
 woman I know. When little Batasy came home the 
 other day I had such a nice account of her. Mary, 
 the woman with whom she lived, told me that she 
 never let a day pass without reading her Bible, and 
 
GIRL-LIFE. 
 
 47 
 
 she used often to ask her the meaning of different 
 passages. One day she reproved Mary’s master, a 
 rich native gentleman, for telling a lie in fun, saying 
 that all falsehood was hateful in the sight of God. 
 He was not offended, but patted her head and replied, 
 ‘Yes, my little girl, you are right and I am wrong ; I 
 must not do so again.’ 
 
 “ Another time an idolatrous procession passed the 
 door. Batasy exclaimed, 1 Oh ! I wish the people 
 would leave off worshipping these idols.’ A Brahmin 
 overheard the remark and said, 1 And who are you, 
 you little girl, that yon speak so disrespectfully of 
 the gods of your country ? ’ ‘I am a Christian child,’ 
 replied Batasy. ‘ My God fills heaven and earth. He 
 made everything ; but you have made your idol your- 
 self with the mud of the Ganges, and then yon have 
 bowed down to it and worshipped it, but it cannot 
 help you.’ ‘ And how do you know all that ? ’ asked 
 the Brahmin. Whereat the little girl said, ‘ I have 
 read it in the Bible, the Christian’s Shastar.’ ‘ What ! ’ 
 exclaimed the Brahmin, ‘ a child like you read the 
 Shastars ! ’ ‘ Yes ! yes ! ’ she answered, ‘ and though 
 
 I am a little child, I could tell you of a Saviour who 
 could save you from your sins.’ But the Brahmin, 
 perceiving what turn the conversation was about to 
 take, passed on, saying, ‘ No ! no ! I will not argue 
 with a child.’ ” How true is the Scripture, “ A little 
 child shall lead them ! ” 
 
 From South India there has reached me a story of 
 the good that girls’ schools are now doing. It is a 
 tale for the little ones, related by Mrs. Haines of 
 Ballary, who says : “ One little girl, named Neelammah, 
 
48 
 
 PICTURES OF LIFE IN INDIA. 
 
 who attended the Canarese school, openly confessed 
 her love to Jesus. She would not pray to idols though 
 urged to do so by her mother. She was most regular 
 in her attendance while she was able, and told Mary, 
 the Bible woman, that it was a great delight to her 
 to come. All through her last illness she was very 
 patient, and more than once expressed her faith in 
 Jesus. "When asked if she were afraid to die,' she 
 said, ‘ No, Jesus loves me, and I am going to see 
 Him.’ Not long after Neelammah’s death I was 
 questioning some of the Canarese girls on their 
 Bible lesson, which was about Christ choosing His 
 disciples. I asked them if Jesus had any disciples 
 now. They said ‘ Yes ! ’ eagerly. Then I asked, 
 ‘ Do you know any ? ’ One little girl immediately 
 replied, to my astonishment, 1 Yes, Neelammah is 
 His disciple.’ And when asked how she knew 
 this, she replied simply, ‘ Because Neelammah loved 
 Jesus.’ ” 
 
 When I was Editor of the Indian Missionary, the 
 organ of the London Missionary Society in India, 
 I received one day a communication which gave me 
 very great pleasure. It related to a wee Hindu 
 child, called Sukhiya, who lived in the neighbourhood 
 of Benares. The communication was simply signed 
 B., hut I knew who had written it. I do not think it 
 is any breach of faith to say that it was from a young 
 missionary lady of the London Missionary Society, 
 since retired from India, who wields a facile pen. 
 Let me give the story here, for I am sure my readers, 
 young and old, will be delighted with it. The com- 
 munication was as follows : — 
 
GIRL-LTFE. 
 
 49 
 
 “ My little Sukhiya ! Let me show her to you. 
 Only a tiny Hindu child, the pet of the village where 
 she lived. With a round honnv face and big eyes, 
 and close black hair over her round head, and brown 
 limbs so plump and babyish. A questioning way of 
 looking at you, which dissolved into a smile and a 
 chuckle of delight, and a display of white, even little 
 teeth, when you turned to look at her. Never still, 
 except latterly when in pain— and then, oh ! the sad 
 little face of hers ! 
 
 “ She came to school, my Hindu school, one of the 
 very first, and was so frightened that nothing would 
 induce her to stay, till the singing pleased her ; and 
 though to the end she could never talk plainly, she 
 would repeat in her baby way all the lessons that the 
 other children learned. You should have heard her, 
 standing up with joined hands, bent head, and peeping 
 eyes, saying, in her own language, ‘ Our Father who 
 art in heaven.’ All the native hymns she learned 
 easily too ; she was not to be left behind by the other 
 children. Indeed she surpassed many of them ; her 
 memory seemed very acute. I could never get her 
 to read, but she would repeat such hymns as 1 The 
 sweet story of old,’ and best of all ‘ Suffer the little 
 children to come unto Me.’ Her multiplication table 
 she could say up to five times, and many things 
 besides. 
 
 “ Poor little Sukhiva ! Now and then she would 
 get sleepy in school and say, ‘ Let me sit beside my 
 sister,’ and would go up and lay her head on her elder 
 sister’s knee, and fall sound asleep, only to wake, rub 
 her eyes, and laugh again when school was over. 
 
 4 
 
50 
 
 PICTURES OF LIFE IN INDIA. 
 
 Now aud then she was full of mischief, would come 
 and sit by me on the floor with her hook of letters, 
 and softly pull my dress, or pass her soft little fingers 
 over my feet, and then look up in my face and laugh. 
 She would sometimes come to school in her mother’s 
 big chaclar , much too long, of course, for such a wee 
 mite, and she would amuse herself with standing up 
 and winding it in the most approved method over her 
 head and round her little body, vainly trying to get 
 rid of its voluminous folds, tucking them in at the 
 waist in front after the fashion of Indian women’s 
 costiune. She had a print jacket with the rest last 
 Christmas (she will have something fairer and better 
 this year 1 know — a pure white robe — and I think I 
 see the happy smile on her sweet face as she thanks 
 the Giver), but Sukhiya soon spoiled hers, playing, and 
 it had to be washed in the village tank (none of the 
 cleanest, the plague spot of the place), and the colour 
 went out, so that the child discarded it. But in 
 general she went about only in Nature’s simplest garb, 
 guiltless of jacket or shawl. 
 
 “ She would follow me up the bazaar when I left 
 school, and only a passing cart or herd of buffaloes 
 would scare her. She used to run and touch me, and 
 away to the other side, back again, and dare me once 
 more. The other children would not have done it. 
 Sukhiya knew that I loved her, that every one loved 
 her, dear little happy soul ! Then they pierced her 
 ears : 1 It was the custom,’ they said — and the sores 
 festered. They put black stuff on them, and never 
 washed the little thing. She got fever and became 
 very weak. One Sunday afternoon she was asleep 
 
GIRL-LIFE. 
 
 51 
 
 early all service-time; her grandmother said she had 
 been awake all the night before with pain. I did 
 long to take her away and nurse 
 her in my own home ; but it 
 was impossible. 
 
 “ When, after much suffering, 
 her ears got better, and the 
 smile once more brightened 
 her sad face, she caught the 
 measles prevalent in the village; 
 she rallied from this complaint, 
 but only to catch a chill, which 
 brought on the illness from 
 which she died. I was away 
 for a time, and, returning, did 
 not tind out how ill she was; 
 and, seeking for her one day in 
 school, was told that she had 
 died just two days before. If 
 I had only known ! It seems 
 so strange without her ; the 
 school-house is altered, the 
 lessons have lost much of their 
 interest ! Dear little girl ! I 
 wonder if one day we shall 
 see you again, and you will 
 have learnt the meaning of the words you sang so 
 heartily here. The whole village wept aloud for 
 Sukhiya. ‘ Of such is the kingdom of heaven ! ’ ” 
 
 Girls in India are married very early, far too early, 
 in fact, and this is one of the crying evils of their lot. 
 Fancy being married at five or six years of age ! — and 
 
 INDIAN EAB-ORNAMENTS. 
 
52 PICTURES OF LIFE IN INDIA. 
 
 that is not at all uncommon, though girls do not go 
 to live with their husbands until they are eleven or 
 twelve. Child-marriage is, in the opinion of many, 
 the curse of India, both physically and morally. Boys 
 and girls, it must be understood, have no choice in 
 the matter of marriage. It is considered a disgrace 
 to remain single, and long before they even know 
 what marriage means, they are, as a rule, married, 
 their parents having settled things for them. The 
 consent of the parties vitally interested is never even 
 thought of, and they must take each other “ for 
 better, for worse,” just as their parents decide. As 
 for love, the rule is in India, “ Marry first and love 
 will come after,” and generally speaking it does, at 
 any rate on the side of the young wife, who is said to 
 be devotedly affectionate to her lord and master. 
 
 “Her faith is fixt and cannot move, 
 
 She darkly feels him great and wise, 
 
 She dwells on him with faithful eyes, 
 
 ‘ I cannot understand : I love.’ ” 
 
 Marriage interferes greatly with the education of a 
 girl. With her marriage, say at the latest when she 
 is twelve years of age, she must give up going to school, 
 and it is not often that the husband has either time 
 or inclination to teach his young wife at home. And 
 then the cares of family life multiply, and very often 
 all desire to learn more dies out of the breast of the 
 girl-wife and mother. Yet the knowledge they have 
 received in mission schools must be a great blessing 
 to young wives in various ways — a help to them in 
 their duties, and a comfort in their hours of depression. 
 
GIRL-LIFE. 
 
 53 
 
 A girl belonging to the middle and upper classes 
 of society at marriage is lost to the world, for she is 
 immured in her house, and not allowed thereafter to 
 look upon the face of man, other than her husband 
 and his younger brothers. This custom the Hindus 
 learned from the Moslems. It is a custom that 
 prevails almost all over India, though in some parts 
 the rules of seclusion are more strict than in others. 
 It is a custom that makes life very monotonous for 
 ladies, and especially for those who, though married, 
 are but girls. 
 
 The seclusion of women in India has given rise to 
 a special kind of missionary enterprise called Zenana 
 Missions, in which gentlemen can take no part. The 
 word Zenana simply means “ a woman,” and Zenana 
 work, therefore, is mission work as carried on amongst 
 women in the homes of Hindus and Mohammedans. 
 Mrs. Mullens, already referred to, was practically the 
 originator of this form of work, though others had 
 thought of it, and one or two, notably Miss Bird, had 
 even obtained admittance into a few homes to teach 
 privately. Mrs. Mullens, however, began Zenana work 
 on a systematic basis, with the firm resolve under 
 God’s blessing of making the work permanent, and 
 drawing other missionary ladies into it. It was 
 designed to follow up the teaching of the school in 
 the home, in the case of those girls who, at their 
 marriage, had been obliged to leave school. 
 
 The girls themselves had something to do with the 
 starting of the enterprise, for some of them had said 
 to Mrs. Mullens, “ As we cannot come to school any 
 longer, cannot you visit us ? ” “ Certainly,” was the 
 
54 
 
 PICTURES OF LIFE IN INDIA. 
 
 reply, “ if your husbands will permit me.” To obtain 
 consent was no light matter, as, apart from the ques- 
 tion of education, native gentlemen seemed afraid of 
 the consequences if they permitted Europeans, even 
 ladies, to pass within the sacred precincts of the 
 Zenana. The elder women also were stoutly opposed 
 to the scheme, and foretold all kinds of calamities if 
 the innovation was permitted. 
 
 However, a start was made by Mrs. Mullens in two 
 or three houses, and though it was anything but 
 agreeable or encouraging work, yet it was persevered 
 in, and by degrees it grew in favour, and other mis- 
 sionary ladies were drawn in, and houses began to 
 open on every side in Calcutta, and other places, until 
 to-day Zenana work is counted the most promising, 
 perhaps, of the many forms of missionary enterprise 
 in India. 
 
 The ladies connected with the London Missionary 
 Society in Calcutta alone visit in about three thousand 
 houses. Who can compute the number of Zenanas 
 visited now daily all over India by European ladies 
 and their native assistants ? Truly a good work is 
 thus being done amongst the women of India, and 
 Hinduism is being undermined in the very citadel 
 of its strength — the home. And more workers are 
 urgently needed in this special field of labour. 
 
 Miss Fletcher of Calcutta, speaking of Zenana work, 
 says that it is now almost entirely Gospel teaching, 
 as the Bible is the chief text book, and is varied by 
 readings from the “ Peep of Hay,” and kindred pub- 
 lications of a Christian character. The girls of the 
 household, the young wives who in age are but girls, 
 
GTRL-LTFE. 
 
 55 
 
 and the older women, all alike now seem eager to 
 receive instruction. 
 
 I might here give Miss Fletcher’s account of the 
 way in which the work is carried on in Calcutta. 
 “ On entering a house, after the ordinary greetings, 
 we sing a hymn, which usually draws all the women 
 of the house together. It is seldom our singing is 
 stopped, but sometimes a poor little timid wife is 
 afraid it might disturb her husband who is at home, 
 and she thinks that for that day we had better only 
 have the Bible lesson. As a rule we cannot satisfy 
 the women, for I believe they would listen to any 
 number of hymns. The other day I went to a house 
 and sang two hymns, but I was not let off so easily, 
 for the boiv (girl-wife) said, 1 "What, do you really 
 mean that that is all the singing I am to have ? I 
 want six more hymns at least ! ’ I was amused, and 
 sang two more, and told her if I did all she wished, 
 I should certainly have no voice left for anybody else. 
 Sometimes we get as many as ten or fifteen women 
 all seated round us, and then we begin the Bible 
 teaching. We seldom have fewer than three or four 
 at one time. 
 
 “ We usually have attentive listeners, but some- 
 times the babies begin to cry, and so the mothers 
 have to go away ; and sometimes two of them will 
 enter into a lively conversation, and rather hinder 
 us ; and then again sometimes they get so excited 
 defending their own religion that for that day our 
 lessons remain unfinished. The girl-wives, and the 
 older ones too, like to talk to us about themselves, 
 and we encourage them to do so, for we want them 
 
56 
 
 PICTURES OF LIFE IN INDIA. 
 
 to feel that we are their friends, and are interested 
 in all that concerns them. Sometimes the babies are 
 ill, and we are asked what is the best thing to do for 
 them ; and perhaps a relation has died, and they like 
 our sympathy ; a daughter is married, and we must 
 congratulate them ; and in many other ways like these 
 we are able to show our interest in them.” 
 
 Mrs. Hewlett, of Benares, in an account which she 
 wrote for the Indian Missionary of Zenana work in 
 the Sacred City of the Hindus, says : “ In the seclusion 
 of the Benares Zenanas there appears to be a growing 
 inclination to receive instruction ; the Zenana visitor 
 is now not only admitted but generally welcomed as 
 a friend. The Gospel message she brings is often 
 listened to with deep attention. Needlework and 
 fancy work have still the most attraction for these 
 Indian ladies, at least until they have made some 
 progress in their studies ; then the needlework 
 ceases to be so engrossing. The plan we generally 
 adopt in teaching is to give lessons in needlework 
 when the other lessons for the day are over. 
 
 “ The ladies of Benares are more secluded than 
 those in other parts of India, and the greater number 
 of Zenanas open to us are not those belonging to what 
 would be called the aristocracy, but to the poorer classes. 
 In visiting some of the houses of the principal native 
 gentlemen of the city with my husband,* I have often 
 expressed a wish to see the ladies of the families, and 
 am always told that some arrangement will shortly 
 be made for me to see them. But these promises are 
 
 * Itev. John Hewlett, M.A., a most talented and devoted 
 missionary, who died in February 1892. 
 
GIRL-LIFE. 
 
 57 
 
 rarely fulfilled — only the other day we were invited 
 to a Mohammedan wedding, and I fondly imagined 
 that I should be able to see the ladies of the house ; 
 but no, the ladies were not even to be seen. The 
 house was beautifully furnished and brilliantly lighted, 
 we were very courteously received by the father of the 
 bridegroom, and introduced to the bridegroom and all 
 his friends ; but when I expressed a wish to see the 
 girl-bride I was informed that she could not appear 
 until the ceremony was over. Very strange to our 
 English idea— is it not ? — that the bride should not be 
 present at her own wedding.” 
 
 Though it is generally speaking true that ladies of 
 the higher ranks of Indian society seldom come under 
 the influence of missionaries, yet now and again this 
 does take place. The Rev. James Kennedy, M.A., 
 who laboured so long and so faithfully in India, 
 mentions a case in his book entitled u Life and Work 
 in Benares and Kumaon.” He says, u A daughter of 
 the late Rajah of Coorg, a state prisoner at Benares, 
 was for a time under the tuition of Mrs. Kennedy. 
 She was brought daily to our house, sat with us at 
 table, and was taught with our children. The Rajah 
 wished her to be brought up as a Christian. Even- 
 tually she was brought to England, baptised by the 
 Archbishop of Canterbury, the Queen standing sponsor, 
 and was married to an English officer. However, she 
 survived her marriage only a very short time.” 
 
 The sad lot of girl-widows in India has of late 
 been much commented upon. As women are married 
 so very young, it, of course, often happens that they 
 are left widows long before they are out of their 
 
58 
 
 PICTURES OF LIFE IN INDIA. 
 
 teens. It is estimated that there are over twenty-one 
 millions of widows in India, and of these no fewer 
 than sixty thousand are under ten years of age, and 
 fifteen and a half millions are between ten and twenty 
 years of age. And these millions of girl-widows are 
 forbidden to marry again. Once a widow always a 
 widow, in India. It is true that the Indian Govern- 
 ment has passed a law legalising widow-remarriage, 
 but the people generally count it as a dead letter, 
 aud will not sanction second marriages on the part 
 of females, though a man may marry as often as he 
 pleases, and have as many wives as he likes. 
 
 And the poor girl-widows are treated badly in other 
 ways. Immediately their husbands die, “ they are 
 deprived of their ornaments — in which they so much 
 delight — and of the use of coloured garments, and of 
 their long hair. They are also reproached as un- 
 fortunate, and cruelly debarred as accursed of the 
 gods from assisting in domestic religious ceremonials.” 
 And during the rest of their life, whether it be short 
 or long, they are under a cloud. They can take no 
 part in gaieties, are allowed no ornament on the 
 person, no food may pass their lips save once a day, 
 and on the monthly fast days they are not allowed 
 food or water from sunrise to sunset. Oh, the pity 
 of it ! 
 
 Mrs. Duthie, in a report of her work amongst 
 the silk-weaver women of Nagercoil in Travancore, 
 mentions the sad case of a young widow she knew. 
 Writing of her school this missionary lady says : “ Of 
 the seventeen girls who are learning, several are 
 married, and will soon be leaving to live in their 
 
GITtL-LTFE. 
 
 59 
 
 husbands’ houses. If in the case of any one of them 
 the husband should die before the poor girl, the latter 
 will be doomed to perpetual widowhood. We have 
 one such case — a nice, thoughtful young woman. Her 
 story is touching, which is, ‘ I am a widow and an 
 orphan. According to the custom of our caste I was 
 married in my sixth year. Unhappily, a few days 
 after my husband was taken ill and died. I did not 
 know of this until my parents told me. The cruel 
 custom of our country compels me to remain a widow 
 all my life, though I do not remember to have seen 
 my husband’s face. For long I have suffered much, 
 and have been a stranger to peace of mind. How 
 glad I am now to be able to read ! My books are a 
 great comfort to me.’ ” 
 
 Ere closing this chapter I must refer, however 
 briefly, to medical work among the women of India. 
 The inmates of Zenanas, even the girl-wives, are not 
 allowed to have a male doctor in attendance ; no, not 
 even one of their own co-religionists. Sometimes the 
 doctor may speak to the patient from behind a curtain, 
 and there have been cases known of women putting 
 their tongues through a slit in the curtain, for the 
 medical man to judge as to the state of health. As a 
 rule, however, the suffering ones have to trust them- 
 selves in the hands of old women, who have gained a 
 reputation in the healing art, or they have to go 
 unattended altogether. 
 
 Christian missionaries recognising this evil have 
 had compassion on the sufferers, and now lady doctors, 
 both from Europe and America, are being introduced 
 into native homes, where they are gladly welcomed. 
 
60 
 
 PICTURES OF LTFE IN INDIA. 
 
 I know no nobler work than this. And while the 
 hod}’ is being healed the soul also may he reached by 
 a word in season. Female Medical Missions are only 
 in their infancy, hut they give promise of great 
 usefulness in the near future. 
 
 A National Association for supplying female medical 
 aid to the women of India, on unsectarian lines, has 
 also been started of late years under the highest 
 patronage. To this enterprise also I wish all success. 
 Let every method be tried that suggests itself, only 
 let something he done on a wide scale as soon as 
 possible ; for hundreds of thousands of women and 
 girls are in great need of better medical treatment 
 than they at present receive. 
 
 “ Altogether the condition of women in India is not 
 a particularly enviable one,” says Mr. Shoshee Chunder 
 Dutt in one of his books. I am sure we all agree with 
 this native writer. And there is no hope for permanent 
 improvement, it seems to me, except through the 
 spread of Christianity in the East. 
 
 May God richly bless the work of our lady 
 missionaries and their assistants in the schools and 
 homes of India, and let them see of the travail of 
 their souls that they may be satisfied ! 
 
PARSEE SUN WORSHIP. 
 
 IV. 
 
 FIRE WORSHIPPERS. 
 
 |HE Fire Worshippers of India are the Par- 
 sees, the story of whose entry into India is 
 quite a romance. They are not natives of the 
 country, but the descendants of the ancient Persians. 
 The term Parsee is just the Hindustani word for 
 
 61 
 
62 
 
 PICTURES OF LIFE IN INDIA. 
 
 Persian. The total number of Parsees in India is 
 extremely limited, being not more than one hundred 
 thousand ; bnt their influence, especially in commerce, 
 is very great, and they are known far and wide for 
 their natural genius in trade, their intelligence, and 
 their munificent charities. 
 
 Bombay is the great centre of this community, 
 though members of it are to be found residing at 
 Ahmedabad, Poona, Surah, Calcutta, and other places. 
 Mrs. E. F. Chapman, referring to the Parsees, says : 
 “ Their position in India may in many respects be said 
 to be analogous to that of the Jews in Western Europe. 
 Like the Jews, they have lived for centuries as exiles 
 and aliens in a foreign land, keeping themselves dis- 
 tinct from .the people among whom they dwelt in 
 their religion, their dress, and their social customs, 
 and seldom intermarrying with them. Like the Jews 
 they have distinguished themselves by their aptitude 
 for business, their enterprise, and their commercial 
 prosperity, as well as by their loyalty to the Govern- 
 ment, although, like the Jews, the Parsees are seldom, 
 if ever, to be found in the ranks of the army.” 
 
 To account for the presence of Parsees or Persians 
 in India we must go back to the seventh century, 
 when the Mohammedans from Arabia overran and 
 conquered Persia, in the reign of the Caliph Omar. 
 Yezdiedrd was the last monarch of the ancient Persian 
 
 O 
 
 dynasty ; and at his overthrow and death the people 
 of the country, who in religion were Zoroastriaus, or, 
 popularly, fire worshippers, were commanded to give 
 up their own religion and adopt that of the Moham- 
 medans. 
 
FIRE WORSHIPPERS. 
 
 G3 
 
 The bulk of the people of Persia, afraid of the 
 swords of the Moslems, agreed to the change of 
 religion ; but others, having the courage of their con- 
 victions, refused thus to demean themselves, and 
 preferred death or banishment. Many were slain, but 
 a few escaped and retired to desert places and bleak 
 mountains in Korasan, where, for a while, some say 
 for many T°ars, they were left in peace. 
 
 Eventually, however, the power of the Moslem 
 arms extended to Korasan, and the hunted Persians 
 fled to the island of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf, 
 where again they were unmolested for a season. 
 After fifteen years, however, the Moslems were once 
 more upon the track of the fugitives, and this time 
 with the determination to exterminate them. The 
 enemy were balked of their prey, however, for on 
 arrival at Hormuz they found the forlorn band of 
 persecuted fire worshippers had flown, and were be- 
 yond the reach of pursuit. 
 
 Like the Pilgrim Fathers of later days, the Persians 
 had taken to the sea, resolved to cross the ocean and 
 found a new home for themselves in a far country. 
 Sailing eastward they stayed for a time on an island 
 called Dir, but soon they moved on and on, and after 
 narrowly escaping shipwreck they landed at a spot 
 called Sanjan on the coast of Guzerat in India. Thus 
 did the faithful few amongst the Persians forsake 
 country, friends, and worldly possessions, in preference 
 to giving up their faith in the religion of their fore- 
 fathers ! What exactly that religion was we shall see 
 in a moment. 
 
 Having landed at Sanjan the exiles, a mere handful 
 
64 
 
 PICTURES OF LIFE IN INDIA. 
 
 of people, sent a deputation to wait upon Jado Rana, 
 the Hindu prince of the country, to ask for permission 
 to settle in the land. This prince seemed disposed to he 
 friendly, but he requested, ere replying to the entreaty, 
 to be made acquainted with the religious creed of the 
 strangers. The answer the Persians, or as we may 
 now call them the Parsees, made was as follows : — 
 
 “ Hear, 0 illustrious prince, what we relate of our 
 faith. Be not afraid of us. No evil will befall thee 
 from our arrival here. We will be inends to all in 
 Hindustan. Know for certainty that we worship the 
 god Yezdan. On account of our faith have we fled 
 from the unbelievers. We have abandoned all our 
 possessions. We have encountered difficulties in a 
 long journey. House and land and possessions we 
 have at once abandoned. We are the poor descendants 
 of Jamshid. We reverence the moon and the sun. 
 Three other things we hold in estimation — viz., the 
 cow, water, and fire. We worship fire and water, 
 also the cow, the sun, and moon. Whatever God has 
 created in the world we pray to.” 
 
 The Prince of Sanjan was satisfied with the account 
 the Parsees gave of themselves, and expressed his 
 willingness to let them stay in his dominions, and 
 to afford them protection, on certain conditions. The 
 conditions were four in number. First, the refugees 
 must give up their own language, and for the future 
 speak Guzerati, the language of the land of their 
 adoption. Secondly, their women must exchange their 
 own peculiar dress for the garment of the country. 
 Thirdly, the men must forego the use of military arms 
 and armour, and become peaceful citizens. And 
 
FIRE WORSHIPPERS. 
 
 65 
 
 fourthly, the marriage ceremony among them must he 
 celebrated at night and not by daylight. 
 
 The Parsees after a little consideration agreed to 
 these terms, and they were then, in the year 717, 
 allowed to settle in the country ; and in India they 
 have remained ever since, and, as I have already said, 
 they have grown into a prosperous if not a very large 
 community. 
 
 It may be asked, did the Parsees keep their part of 
 the agreement ? Practically they did, though not to 
 such an extent in some particulars as to lose their 
 individuality or nationality amongst their new friends 
 the Hindus. With respect to the language, the Parsees 
 only retain their old Persian dialect in the exercises 
 of religion. For general conversation in public, and 
 even amongst themselves in private, they invariably 
 speak Guzerati, and seem to have as much affection 
 for it as the natives themselves. 
 
 With respect to dress, a Parsee lady wears a sari 
 like her Hindu sisters, only the upper part of the 
 garment, instead of passing from the right waist 
 diagonally over the chest to the left shoulder, is carried 
 up the left side over the head and brought from the 
 right shoulder to be tucked under the left waist. 
 Moreover, a Parsee lady has a relic of ancient Persia 
 round her head in the form of a white handkerchief, 
 and this distinguishes her from a Hindu lady. 
 
 Sir Edwin Arnold, referring to this peculiar custom, 
 says : “ It is incumbent on Parsee ladies to wear a 
 rather ugly white band drawn tightly over the crown 
 and brows ; and this remnant of the early times has 
 resisted even the new taste for silk stockings, satin 
 
 5 
 
G6 PICTURES OF LIFE IN INDIA. 
 
 shoes, and European ornaments. But the pretty 
 
 PAESEE CHILDREN. 
 
 Zoroastnans, who possess the finest and glossiest 
 black tresses in the world, object to their concealment, 
 
FIRE WORSHIPPERS. 
 
 G7 
 
 and so the white headband is pushed farther and 
 farther back, until it threatens to disappear altogether 
 under the silk sari of violet or rose, sea-green, or 
 sapphire, drawn so coquettishly over the head.” 
 
 With respect to the agreement not to wear armour 
 or to bear arms the Parsees have kept to it more or 
 less strictly all along. In times of extreme peril, now 
 and again, they have fought in their own defence ; but 
 at the present day they are an eminently peaceable 
 people, and never follow the trade of war. 
 
 It is said that when the Parsees first gave up their 
 armour, they symbolised it by a thin muslin shirt which 
 they wear next the skin and which is called a sadaro. 
 As this garment is worn by men and women alike, 
 however, the foregoing explanation of its origin can 
 scarcely be correct. No one, not even the Parsees 
 themselves, seem to know why it is worn. 
 
 The Parsees, like the Hindus, have the investiture 
 of the sacred thread. The thread of the Parsees is 
 more like a cord, as it consists of seventy-two threads, 
 and instead of being worn over the shoulders it is used 
 as a girdle round the waist. The knot by which it is 
 tied is undone daily, and a prayer is repeated over it 
 when it is re-tied. Ladies as well as gentlemen wear 
 this sacred thread, which is supposed to preserve both 
 body and soul from the power of the evil spirit, 
 Ahriman, who is represented in the Parsee faith as 
 antagonistic to the good spirit Ormuzd. 
 
 The name fire worshippers has been given to the 
 Parsees on account of their extreme veneration for the 
 sun and for fire. There are some who say that this 
 strange people actually worship fire, and perhaps some 
 
68 
 
 PICTURES OF LIFE IN INDIA. 
 
 of the ignorant and more superstitious amongst them 
 do ; hut the majority do not, hut simply venerate fire 
 as the representation of Him who is the Eternal 
 Light. 
 
 “ God, according to the Parsees, is the embodiment 
 of glory, effulgence, and light ; and a Parsee engaged 
 in prayer is directed to stand before fire, or with face 
 to the sun, as proper symbols of the Almighty. Fire 
 is the best and noblest representative of the Divinity 
 in its brightness, activity, purity, and incorruptibility ; 
 while the sun is the best and most useful of God’s 
 creation.” The Parsees, in short, would say with the 
 Psalmist, “ The Lord God is a sun and a shield : the 
 Lord will give grace and glory : no good thing will 
 He withhold from them that walk uprightly. 0 
 Lord of Hosts, blessed is the man that trnsteth in 
 Thee.” 
 
 Though the Parsees cannot be said as a body 
 actually to worship fire, yet they appear to do so, 
 and hence are called fire worshippers. They have 
 what are called fire temples in which to perform their 
 religious ceremonies. These are small, unpretentious 
 buildings, and each temple contains an altar on which 
 is found a portion of the “ holy fire,” which is said to 
 have come down from heaven originally, and which 
 is designed to be a perpetual reminder to the faithful 
 of the Eternal Light, even God Himself. 
 
 The fire, which is called Bahram, is never allowed 
 to die out in Parsee temples, but is fed day aud 
 night by the priests, who are in constant attendance. 
 The worshippers gather round it reverently at the 
 T im e of service, though they take care not to approach 
 
FIRE WORSHIPPERS. 
 
 69 
 
 very near it. Even the priests approach it only with 
 a half mask over the face, lest their breath should 
 defile it, and never touch it with their hands, but with 
 sacred utensils. 
 
 Offerings are made to the fire as the representative 
 of God — offerings of flesh, milk, butter, and homa 
 twigs, and as these things are offered in sacrifice by 
 the priests, the people signify their approval with 
 bowed heads. Prayer and the reading of a lesson 
 from the Parsee scriptures .follow. Then the priests 
 chant the praises of Ormuzd, pour out a libation of 
 homa juice to the sacred fire, perform other religious 
 ceremonies, and finally conclude with prayer, especially 
 for kings and all in places of authority and power, 
 that righteousness may be done throughout the earth, 
 and that peace may everywhere prevail. Thus the 
 service in a fire temple seems to be a strange mixture 
 of truth and superstition, of sense and of nonsense. 
 No stranger is allowed to enter at any time within the 
 doors of a Parsee temple. It would be unpardonable 
 profanity so to do. 
 
 The Parsees are considered a very upright if a rather 
 peculiar people. They have the very highest character 
 for honesty, industry, peacefulness, intelligence, and 
 benevolence. Truthfulness is a heritage of the race. 
 The very children amongst the Parsees are taught that 
 to tell a lie is a most shameful thing, grieving to God, 
 and disastrous to man. It is believed that “ he that 
 speaketh lies shall perish little by little.” The Evil 
 Spirit Ahriman is called “ the liar of liars,” and young 
 jjeople are exhorted to beware of becoming like him. 
 
 The Parsees are an enlightened people, and have 
 
70 
 
 PICTURES OF LIFE IN INDIA. 
 
 been foremost amongst the races of India in taking 
 advantage of European education for the benefit of 
 their children, both boys and girls. Sir Edwin Arnold, 
 in his “ India Revisited,” says : “ When in Bombay 
 we visited a large school for Parsee girls, where some 
 one hundred and fifty of the Zoroastrian maidens of 
 all sizes and ages were learniug wisdom of the modern 
 sort, the little ones with black tresses flowing from 
 beneath embroidered caps, the older girls in the sari, 
 the pretty, bright choli, and the skirt. They sang for 
 me, and proudly exhibited their achievements in 
 sewing, knitting, and crochet-work.” 
 
 The same writer in the same book gives an interest- 
 ing account of a musical afternoon at which he was 
 present, given in a large house on Malabar Hill by 
 a Parsee gentleman, Mr. Kabraji. Let me quote the 
 passage as throwing light on the home life of the 
 modern Parsees. It runs : — 
 
 “ Here there were assembled in a really magnificent 
 pillared hall, paved with white and blue marble, some 
 eighty or a hundred of the leading members of Parsee, 
 Hindu, and Mohammedan society, including at least 
 forty native ladies. Sir Frederick Roberts, Mr. Ilbert, 
 Sir William Wedderburn, Mr. Justice Bird wood, and 
 a number of English residents, mingled with the 
 large native party on perfectly easy and equal grounds, 
 but no London drawing-room could have presented a 
 scene so bright in colour and character. 
 
 “ The Parsee and Hindu ladies — many of them 
 personally most charming in appearance, and all 
 gentle and graceful in demeanour— wore lovely dresses 
 of every conceivable hue, rose-colour, amber, purple, 
 
FIRE WORSHIPPERS. 
 
 71 
 
 silver, gold, azure, white, green, crimson. A Guzerati 
 girl, in red and gold, sang the ‘Last Rose of Sommer’ 
 
 FIBE TEMPLE OF PABSEES, BAKU. 
 
 with notable skill to the piano played by her sister ; 
 and then a ring of Parsee maidens, in flowing silk 
 robes, and dark glossy tresses, chanted a ‘ song-circle,’ 
 
72 
 
 PICTURES OF LIFE IN INDIA. 
 
 softly singing in chorus, and beating time with their 
 hands, while the)* moved round and round in a 
 rhythmical ring of singular grace. 
 
 “ The music ended with ‘ God save the Queen,’ 
 quite accurately sung by a number of these Indian 
 maidens in native words ; and after refreshments had 
 been handed round, chaplets of flowers and little balls 
 of rosebuds and the fragrant champa buds were 
 distributed, and the well-pleased company separated 
 by the light of innumerable oil lamps set among the 
 shrubs and trees of the compound. 
 
 “ Assuredly such a gathering is a great and signal 
 token of the increasing friendship arising between the 
 various races of India ; nor could anything be 
 calculated more to impress and gratify a fresh 
 observer coming back, after many years, to modern 
 Bombay.” Truly, in the East as elsewhere, “the old 
 order changeth, giving place to new,” and the Parsees 
 are an important factor in bringing about the change. 
 
 Commenting on the changes wrought of late years 
 iu the Parsee community, Dr. Mitra, in a lecture given 
 in Calcutta, said : “ At the beginning of this century 
 the Parsee at home differed very little from his Hindu 
 fellow-subjects. The furniture of his house was the 
 same, and he enjoyed life squatting on cushions and 
 carpets like the Hindus. His victuals consisted of 
 rice, home-made unleavened bread, kid, mutton, and 
 vegetables dressed exactly in the same way as Hindu 
 dishes are. He ate from plates of silver or bronze or 
 brass, according to circumstances, as did the Hindus ; 
 and his lady sat apart and took her meals separately 
 from the male members of the family. 
 
FIRE WORSHIPPERS. 
 
 7;5 
 
 “ Amongst the higher and middle classes of the 
 people of Bombay these customs have been entirely 
 given up. In no respectable Parsee house are the old 
 farsh and takia to be met with ; chairs and couches 
 have entirely set them aside. Metal plates have 
 made room for glass and china ; the meal is now 
 served on English tables, and tea, leavened bread, and 
 pastry figure thereon. 
 
 “ At ordinary meals the rice and curry still hold 
 their ground, and on ceremonial occasions English 
 dishes are generally eschewed. The restriction about 
 the lady of a family dining with her male relations has 
 also been to a great extent set aside. Mrs. Bomauji 
 sits at the head of the table, and distributes tea just 
 in the same way as does Mrs. Jones, Brown, or 
 Robinson. Her presence, too, serves in a great 
 measure to improve the decorum and tone of conversa- 
 tion at table.” It has to be said, however, that as a 
 rule Parsees will not invite individuals of another 
 religion or nationality to dine with them, having not 
 yet seen their way to break through all caste 
 distinctions. 
 
 Parsees are fond of active exercise, and in this they 
 differ from Hindus and Mohammedans, who love to 
 take life easily even in their play. A Parsee boy may 
 not always be the dux of his class at school, bnt he is 
 always leader in the playground. Parsees play both 
 cricket and football with considerable energy and 
 skill ; and all manly games are their delight. Con- 
 sequently in physique this race is the superior of 
 other Indian races. 
 
 Notwithstanding their general intelligence and 
 
74 
 
 PICTURES OF LIFE IN INDIA. 
 
 good sense, the Parsees display surprising superstition 
 in one direction. They have absolute faith in the 
 exploded science of astrology. “ They will do nothing 
 without consulting the stars, their conjunctions and 
 their oppositions. They rarely start on a journey 
 without being satisfied that no adverse star stands in 
 the way, and no marriage can be solemnised among 
 them without a careful scrutiny of the relative position 
 and disposition of the heavenly bodies.” They believe 
 also in lucky and unlucky days, and kindred super- 
 stitions, just like the rest of Easterns. 
 
 The religious book of the Parsees is called the 
 Zend-Avesta. It is a poor production, chiefly taken 
 up with remarks about uncleanness and the evils 
 which result therefrom. The Parsees say that at one 
 time their forefathers had a very voluminous sacred 
 book, which gave instructions to men concerning good 
 actions, which explained religious duties, and the way 
 to obtain paradise, which gave a full account of the 
 Spirit of Good and the Spirit of Evil, and of the 
 angels in heaven, and countless other matters. 
 
 However, that old book has been lost ; and of the 
 present book, the Zend-Avesta, the Rev. John Milne, 
 M.A., in his St. Giles’ lecture on the subject, says : 
 “ When it was discovered to the learned of Europe in 
 the middle of the last century, its uncommon stupidity 
 led half of its critics to pronounce it a forgery. Its 
 oldest morsels are the most spiritual ; the newer parts 
 view religion through the eyes of priests, scribes, and 
 pharisees. Ho great religion has left so poor a 
 record.” 
 
 In writing of the Parsees one remarkable custom 
 
FIRE WORSHIPPERS. 
 
 75 
 
 of theirs cannot be overlooked, as it differs so much 
 from anything that exists amongst any other race. 
 The custom I refer to is the manner in which the 
 dead amongst them are disposed of. It might be 
 thought that fire worshippers would burn their dead 
 like the Hindus, but no ! fire is considered too sacred 
 a thing to be profaned by a dead body. The earth 
 also must not be contaminated by a body from which 
 the soul has departed. 
 
 As, then, the Parsees, owing to their religious 
 scruples, can neither burn nor bury their dead, they 
 have recourse to “ exposing ” them on what are called 
 Towers of Silence. I visited some of these towers 
 when in Bombay, and witnessed the funeral of a little 
 girl. Visitors are only allowed within a certain dis- 
 tance of the towers, but I was near enough to see all 
 that passed. 
 
 The finest tower at Bombay is over ninety feet in 
 height, and has a circular inside platform of three 
 hundred feet, with a central well about a hundred and 
 fifty feet in circumference. The circular platform at 
 the top of the tower is entirely paved with large stone 
 slabs, well cemented, and divided into three rows for 
 the reception of the dead bodies of males, females, and 
 children respectively. The bodies are taken in by 
 priests dedicated for life to the Towers of Silence. 
 
 At the funeral I witnessed there were very few 
 mourners ; but the few there were walked behind the 
 bier in pairs, each couple joined hand in hand by 
 holding a white handkerchief between them, in token 
 of sympathetic grief. The bier was made of iron, and 
 was carried by the priests. As the procession drew 
 
76 
 
 PICTURES OF LIFE IN INDIA. 
 
 close to the tower it stopped, and the mourners then 
 turned back, while the priests carried the body of the 
 departed child within the gloomy edifice, up the stair- 
 case to the top of the building, where they “ exposed ” 
 it in the children’s portion. 
 
 It was an extraordinary sight, and a sad one for 
 mourners and spectators. Vultures and other birds 
 of prey were Covering round, and when the priests 
 withdrew they alighted upon the exposed body, and 
 within an hour or so, I was told, nothing would be 
 left but bones, which, when perfectly dried up by 
 atmospheric influences and the powerful heat of the 
 tropical sun, would be thrown down the central well, 
 where they would gradually crumble to dust. Thus 
 do the Parsees dispose of their dead. 
 
 What a romantic history the Parsees have ! How 
 extraordinary some of their customs are ! It is sur- 
 prising to think of their preserving their individuality 
 through all the centuries siuce they landed on the 
 shores of India; and to all appearance they seem 
 destined to remain “ a peculiar people ” for generations 
 to come. 
 
 It is very seldom indeed that a Parsee becomes a 
 Christian. Yet there are one or two notable instances. 
 The Rev. Sorabji Kharsadji, now a member of the 
 Church Missionary Society at Poona, was brought up 
 in a strict Parsee home. However, while pursuing 
 his studies, he was led to read the Bible, and the old, 
 old story of Jesus and His love laid hold upon his 
 affections. 
 
 Terrible was the wrath of the young man’s friends 
 when he declared himself to be a Christian. He was 
 

 TOWER OF SILENCE, MALABAll HILL, BOMBAY, 
 
FTRE WORSHIPPERS. 
 
 79 
 
 imprisoned and cruelly treated, but all in vain; for 
 nothing could shake his faith in Christ or his deter- 
 mination to join himself openly to a Christian com- 
 munity. As a last resort his relations placed him in 
 an oarless and rudderless boat of the flimsiest descrip- 
 tion, and left him out on the open sea, hoping he would 
 be drowned. He reached land, however, and obtained 
 the protection of the Government until he joined the 
 Church Missionary Society, when his father disinherited 
 him, and his mother died of a broken heart. 
 
 The young convert was beside himself with grief 
 at the sad turn of events; but with a still greater and 
 nobler man he could only say, “ Here I stand : I can 
 do no other.” He felt that, “No man having put his 
 hand to the plough and looking back is fit for the 
 kingdom of God.” In due time the young man was 
 ordained to the Christian ministry, and to-day the 
 Rev. Sorabji Kharsadji is a pillar of strength to the 
 native Christian Church of India. 
 
 Thus from all religions Christ our Lord is gradually 
 winning true and devoted followers. We must work 
 and pray for the speedy fulfilment of the prophetic 
 saying, “ And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will 
 draw all men unto Me.” 
 
TRAVELLERS' BUNGALOW. 
 
 y. 
 
 HOUSEHOLD AND OTHER PESTS. 
 
 N all countries there are certain household 
 pests which are more or less of a trouble aud 
 grief to housewives, and an amusement, if not 
 a terror, to children and young people ; but perhaps 
 India carries off the palm for the number of such 
 pests, and for the discomforts they cause. 
 
 In attempting to describe these minor drawbacks 
 80 
 
HOUSEHOLD AND OTHER PESTS. 81 
 
 of life in India, it is difficult to know where to begin ; 
 but it may not be amiss to mention that the common 
 flea is as prominent as any other enemy of mankind, 
 and worthy of a forward place. This little torment 
 seems to be ubiquitous, for wherever in the world you 
 go, you are sure to make his acquaintance, or, perhaps 
 more correctly, he is sure to make yours. And where 
 you would find one in England you will meet with 
 fifty in India. 
 
 I remember on one occasion seeing my wife’s white 
 dress, when we were travelling, quite black with a 
 little army of fleas, that sprang up suddenly and 
 unexpectedly from the floor of a room which we had 
 just entered. The contingent that attacked me I did 
 not see, but I felt them. Has any boy or girl reading 
 this book ever slept or attempted to sleep in a house 
 fairly swarming with fleas ? It is a daring enterprise, 
 and requires courage and patience — especially patience. 
 As some poet has said : — 
 
 “ No sleep till mom, when flesh and hunger meet.” 
 
 In large cities in India and in European houses it 
 is possible, except in times of epidemics of fleas, when 
 they come by millions, to keep this plague fairly well 
 in hand by the liberal use of kerosene oil and carbolic 
 acid ; but in country places, and when you are travel- 
 ling, you must just bear the infliction as philosophically 
 as possible. It might be worse. 
 
 Closely allied to the flea in popular fancy is the buq, 
 and India has produced a few splendid varieties of 
 this unclean creature. I suppose my young readers 
 have heard of the old lady who was desirous of going 
 
 6 
 
82 
 
 PICTURES OF LIFE IN INDIA. 
 
 with her family to a seaside resort in England, and 
 who, in looking down the advertisement columns of 
 her daily paper, came across a likely notice which con- 
 cluded thus: “ N.B. — Terms moderate.” “My dear,” 
 said the old lady to her eldest daughter who was 
 standing by, “ here is just the thing for us, ‘ N.B.’ 
 — no bugs — and 1 terms moderate.’ ” 
 
 “ N.B.” rendered in the same way could not be said 
 of a Dak bungalow or travellers’ rest I once entered 
 at Gya in Northern India. My presence in the district 
 arose from a desire to visit the celebrated Buddhist 
 temple not far away. A kind and paternal Govern- 
 ment has provided travellers with a bungalow in 
 which to abide for a day or two, as there are no hotels 
 within fifty miles. 
 
 A travellers’ rest in India is a very primitive dwell- 
 ing-house of one or two small rooms, with a bedstead 
 in a corner, a table in the centre of the floor, a chair 
 or two, and a man in charge to cook for you and wait 
 upon you. When I entered the bungalow at Gya, my 
 first duty was to inspect the bedstead, with the result 
 that I discovered an interesting colony of very fine 
 bugs arranged in a solid mass, five or six layers deep, 
 all round the woodwork. I did not take the trouble 
 to count the colony, but at a rough guess I should say 
 there would be not less than five thousand of the dark 
 creatures. I stayed there three nights, and slept, on 
 the whole, very peacefully ; but it was on the table, and 
 not on the bed. 
 
 India has a speciality in bugs which is called the 
 “ flying-bug,” and one passing through a room is 
 enough to take away the appetite of a party of hungry 
 
HOUSEHOLD AND OTHER PESTS. 
 
 83 
 
 people, owing to the unpleasant odour that is left 
 behind. Bishop Heber, in his travels up the Ganges by 
 boat, was greatly troubled by these pests. Writing in 
 his Diary on June 19th, 1824, he says : “ One of the 
 greatest plagues we have as yet met with in this 
 journey is that of the winged bugs. In shape, size, 
 and scent, with the additional faculty of flying, they 
 resemble the 1 grabbatic ’ genus, too well known in 
 England. The night of our lying off Barrackpore 
 they were very troublesome ; but when we were off 
 the Baja’s palace they came out in hundreds and 
 thousands from every bush and every heap of ruins, 
 and so filled our cabins as to make them barely endur- 
 able.” The wonder is that the good Bishop was able 
 to endure the affliction at all. 
 
 Happily bugs will not stay in clean houses or with 
 clean people, so the remedy is simple in European 
 homes in India. 
 
 Cockroaches, however, which are almost as plentiful 
 as bugs, are no respecters of persons, and are found 
 in European and native houses alike. These cock- 
 roaches, which are nearly two inches in length, love 
 darkness rather than light, and not altogether because 
 their deeds are evil, for I believe they are fairly useful 
 in clearing away odds and ends that even the best of 
 servants will sometimes leave in unwatched corners. 
 Personally, I have no dislike to cockroaches as long as 
 they are content to work in the dark ; but now and 
 again the lamp-light attracts them, and, using their 
 wings, they fly up into the drawing-room, and give 
 one the horrors by alighting on the nape of one’s neck. 
 
 Ladies, for some unexplained reason, stand greatly 
 
84 
 
 PICTURES OF LIFE IN INDIA. 
 
 in dread of cockroaches, almost as much so as of mice. 
 I have known children, however, play with them, and 
 turn them over on their backs, with great glee-. I 
 have heard that cockroaches sometimes take the 
 place of raisins in puddings, but I cannot remember 
 eating any. 
 
 CENTIPEDE. 
 
 A more serious pest is the centipede, which fortu- 
 nately is very rarely seen in houses, though now and 
 again I have killed one both in 
 bathroom and bedroom. The 
 common species is two or three 
 inches in length ; but sometimes 
 a variety is found about seven 
 inches in length and half an inch 
 thick. A nasty-looking creature 
 is a centipede, with its hundred little legs as sharp as 
 needles. 
 
 I know a lady who trod on a centipede one morning 
 with her bare foot, and in a second the vicious creature 
 had nearly buried itself in her flesh, and a heated iron 
 had to be applied before it could be induced to relax 
 its hold. The place was very much inflamed, and had 
 to be poulticed, and it was weeks before the foot could 
 be freely used again for walking. It is well never to 
 walk about the house with bare feet in India, though 
 of course the servants do, and they seldom come to 
 any harm through the practice. 
 
 Musquitoes are a perpetual pest in India, and 
 nowhere are they worse than in the city of Calcutta, 
 especially in the rainy season, when the country around 
 is a perfect swamp, and malaria is in the air. A 
 musquito is a very small, insignificant-looking insect, 
 
HOUSEHOLD AND OTHER PESTS. 
 
 85 
 
 but it makes its presence felt both by night and day. 
 Its bites are sharp and painful, and make the skin 
 very irritable, so that it is almost impossible to keep 
 from scratching ; and yet it is extremely foolish to do 
 so, for scratching usually makes matters worse. If a 
 bite is bravely borne, and judiciously let alone, pro- 
 bably the pain will soon pass away; but scratching 
 increases the irritation, and what was merely a speck 
 becomes a big sore. 
 
 Musquitoes trouble young people as much or more 
 than adults. I remember when visiting the General 
 Hospital one Thursday to have a chat with the patients, 
 I came to a bed on which a sailor-boy lay in pain. 
 His face was pitted as if with small-pox, and I asked 
 him if he was recovering from that disease. “ Ho, 
 sir,” he said, “ the marks are only musqnito bites.” 
 It was a revelation to me that the little pests could 
 do such mischief. Sailors in the harbour at Calcutta 
 suffer much from musquitoes which swarm on the river. 
 The poor lad had been driven into a feverish state by 
 the constant torment, and was in the hospital to 
 recruit. From that day I understood how it was that 
 the musquito had earned for itself the name of “ that 
 villain musquito ! ” 
 
 Europeans in India very often have fine gauze 
 curtains to cover their beds at night to protect them 
 from the common enemy. Sir Edwin Arnold, in his 
 “ India Revisited,” commenting on this custom, 
 humorously says : “Woe to the careless or too sleepy 
 traveller who has enclosed a musquito within his pro- 
 tecting curtains before seeking repose ! The crafty 
 enemy waits patiently until its victim sinks into the 
 
86 PICTURES OF LIFE IN INDIA. 
 
 first slumber, then it searches keenly for the un- 
 gnardecl portions which may present themselves, and 
 silently stings and sucks. 
 
 “ Every minute the hum of its insulting little 
 trumpet is heard, preluding a new approach, and 
 seems to sound like a fiendish mock as the sufferer 
 heats his face and arms in vain endeavours to slay the 
 minute assailant. A violent blow upon one’s own 
 nose is merely followed by a new reveillee from the 
 musquito’s horn, and it is useless to lie still and let 
 the foe have his wicked will. You wake from brief 
 and feverish slumbers to find yourself spotted all over ; 
 while the assassin, gorged and somnolent, is seen 
 taking his ill-earned rest upon the curtains ; and 
 when, yielding to a spirit of uncontrollable revenge, 
 you immolate him by a crafty stroke, that tiny speck 
 of blood which he exudes in dying has cost you more 
 philosophic calm than twenty-four hours of peace can 
 restore.” 
 
 There are a few negroes in Calcutta, chiefly con- 
 nected with the shipping of the port. A story is told 
 of one of them, a mere boy, a captain’s servant, which 
 is characteristic of the smartness of the race. The 
 captain, who unfortunately often indulged too freely 
 in strong drink, had a remarkably fiery nose, and one 
 day his servant noticed while his master was lying 
 back in his chair asleep that a musqnito hovered 
 about his face, and at last deliberately alighted on 
 his nose, from which, however, it immediately flew 
 away again as if in astonishment and fear. “ Ah ! ” 
 exclaimed the young negro, highly delighted, “ me 
 glad to see you burn your foot ! ” 
 
HOUSEHOLD AND OTHER PESTS. 
 
 87 
 
 Many preventives have been suggested in connection 
 with the mnsquito pest, and amongst the rest worm- 
 wood leaves, which it is asserted, if rubbed over the 
 face ai?.d hands, will keep the troublesome insects 
 away. Perhaps so ! 
 
 A more certain remedy, however, would be the wide 
 cultivation in India of a plant called Drosara (licho- 
 tama , or the musquito-catcher. This plant grows about 
 one foot high, and has narrow, sharp leaves, which are 
 densely covered with fine hairs, each of which is 
 coated with a bright gummy substance. Musquitoes 
 seem to be fascinated by this plant, and if one is 
 placed in a room they will gather round it, and 
 eventually alight on it in swarms. 
 
 It is most interesting to watch the method by which 
 this curious plant secures its prey. It is a genuine 
 case of “ the biter bitten.” “ Immediately the 
 mnsquito alights on the leaf, it may be that only one 
 out of its six legs will stick to the sweet substance at 
 the extremity of the hairs, but in struggling to free 
 itself the insect invariably touches with its legs or 
 wings the contiguous hairs, and is immediately fixed. 
 The hairs meanwhile are not idle ; being sensitive 
 they slowly hut surely curl round and draw their 
 victim into the very centre of the leaf, thus bringing 
 it into contact with the very short hairs, which are 
 placed there in order to facilitate the process of suck- 
 ing the life-blood from the body.” Unfortunately 
 this musquito-catching plant is difficult to cultivate, 
 as it thrives but indifferently ; otherwise what a boon 
 and blessing it would be to the human race ! 
 
 Another household pest is the lizard , which may 
 
88 
 
 PICTURES OF LIFE IN TNDTA. 
 
 be seen on tlie walls and ceilings of every house in 
 India. I scarcely think the lizard should be regarded 
 as a pest, for he is a very useful little creature, and 
 gentle and harmless. Yet most ladies and young 
 people feel afraid of lizards, and try to clear them out 
 of the house ; chiefly, I suppose, because you can never 
 be sure that one of the cold, clammy little things will 
 not fall from the ceiling on to your face, or down the 
 back of your neck. 
 
 Lizards are useful in one respect, because they 
 
 LIZABD. 
 
 delight in flies and musquitoes for food, aud spend 
 their whole time in catching and eating them. It 
 is a remarkable sight to watch a lizard stalking a 
 musquito, on the wall or the ceiling. The insect 
 may be five or six yards away, but the lizard can see 
 it ; and slowly, very slowly and cautiously, draws 
 nearer and nearer to it, until at last, when within a 
 foot or so of its prey, it will dart forward like lightning, 
 and the musquito disappears down the capacious throat 
 of the lizard, and is no more seen or felt by human 
 beings. 
 
 On my study table in Calcutta a lizard was con- 
 stantly to be seen, as tame as could be, aud I let it 
 have a drawer for a home. I have heard of a gentle- 
 man who became quite attached to two lizards, and 
 
HOUSEHOLD AND OTHER PESTS. 
 
 89 
 
 invariably carried them about with him in his coat 
 pockets, and would produce them sometimes in juvenile 
 society, much to the delight of some and the terror 
 of others — the latter chiefly being girls. 
 
 Mohammedans, strange to say, hate lizards, from 
 a silly belief that they hang their heads in mimicry 
 of the attitude of reverent Moslems at prayer. A 
 Mohammedan calls lizards “ evil things,” and will 
 kill them without the slightest compunction, though 
 of other pests, as a rule, he will take no special notice. 
 I must confess to having a partiality for lizards, and 
 I could never bear to see them needlessly disturbed. 
 
 Spiders , however, I detested. I do not mind a little 
 English spider that can be swept down and turned out 
 of doors without any trouble ; but a gigantic Indian 
 spider, sprawling over the table or running along the 
 floor or the ceiling, is enough to make one’s flesh creep. 
 The worst spiders are called Balork MuJcra, and are 
 black and hairy. Another kind not quite as large is 
 red and white, and hairy. These creatures when 
 driven into a corner will, if they have a chance, turn 
 and bite, and a nasty mark they can make, too, which 
 if not attended to at once will cause a painful swelling 
 which will last for two or three days. Beware of 
 spiders ! 
 
 Bishop Heber seems to have made the acquaintance 
 of all Indian pests, and of course he includes the 
 spider in his list. I notice an entry in his Diary ou 
 September 18th, 1824, as follows : “ Within these few 
 days all the vermin part of Noah’s household seems to 
 have taken a fancy to my little ark. To the scorpions, 
 the cockroaches, the ants, and the snake, were added 
 this morning two of the largest spiders I ever saw, 
 
90 
 
 PICTURES OF LIFE IN INDIA. 
 
 and such as I regretted afterwards I did not preserve 
 in spirits. In a bottle they would have made monsters 
 fit for the shelf of any conjurer in Christendom.” 
 
 The Bishop mentions scorpions, and truly these 
 creatures well deserve the name of pests. There are 
 not many of them in the cities of the plains in India, 
 but in the Northern Provinces they abound. I have 
 a scorpion, which I caught and bottled, and have on 
 exhibition in my museum, and I never look at it without 
 thinking what a dangerous customer it was when alive. 
 
 SCORPION, NATURAL SIZE. 
 
 A scorpion is not unlike a lobster on a small scale. 
 The claws are not the worst part of it, however — the 
 sting is in the tail, which is usually carried curled 
 over the back. Scorpions feed on beetles, and other 
 insects ; and after seizing them, pierce them with 
 the sting before eating them. They also eat the eggs 
 of spiders. They lurk under stones, and in holes and 
 crevices, but come forth to seek their prey, running 
 with great activity. When alarmed or irritated they 
 show great fierceness, evidently aware of the power of 
 their sting, which they move about in all directions as 
 if threatening an adversary. 
 
 Scorpions are universally disliked, and not a little 
 
HOUSEHOLD AND OTHER PESTS. 
 
 91 
 
 dreaded, being apt to get into houses and in shoes 
 and boots and hats, so that accidents are very frequent 
 in places where they abound. The sting of a scorpion 
 is seldom fatal, but is very painful, and is attended 
 with much sickness and constitutional derangement, 
 nor do the effects soon cease. The best remedy is 
 ammonia internally administered, and also applied 
 externally. 
 
 Miss C. F. Gordon Camming, in her book entitled 
 “ In the Himalayas and on the Indian Plains,” tells a 
 strange story of the cure of a woman who had been 
 bitten by a scorpion. The tale runs thus : “ One day 
 when we were sitting under a great tree a poor woman 
 came past, half carried by her son. She was writhing 
 in agony, having been bitten in the foot by a scorpion. 
 When my moonshee, or teacher, heard what was the 
 matter, he at once knelt down on the ground, muttering 
 prayers, and then taking up a handful of dust he 
 therewith rubbed the wound. The woman, who had 
 sunk down, almost in a convulsion, slowly came to 
 herself, and in a few minutes arose, blessed him, and 
 walked away, scarcely needing any support. We 
 asked him what he had really done to her, and he 
 declared that he had only prayed for her and then 
 touched her foot.” It must have been a prayer of 
 faith, for it cured the wound. 
 
 The industrious little creature the red ant is very 
 often a pest in India. It is impossible to keep these 
 ants out of the house, and they are usually to be found 
 just where you do not want them — in the store-room, 
 having a fine time amongst the provisions. They 
 seem to be specially fond of sweet things. 
 
92 
 
 PICTURES OF LIFE IN INDIA. 
 
 I remember when drinking my first cup of tea in 
 India — it was in Madras —noticing some little things 
 floating on the top. I asked my host what they were, 
 and he said, “ Oh, nothing, only ants ; they will be 
 after the sugar.” I began to lift them out of the cup 
 with my spoon, but was laughed at for my pains, 
 and assured that before I had been long in India 
 I would not hesitate to swallow any number of ants. 
 The prediction was not fulfilled, however, for I never 
 got over my objection to the mixture. Ants are well 
 enough out of doors attending to their multitudinous 
 duties, but they are decidedly in the way in a cup of 
 tea. I cannot say that I like them any better in jam 
 either, and they are very fond of jam. 
 
 What thieves the red and black ants are ! House- 
 holders have to watch their possessions very carefully, 
 or the ants will make serious depredations, especially 
 in the granary ; and the cunning of the little 
 creatures is marvellous. The Rev. J. Ewen of 
 Benares, in his book on India, says : — 
 
 “ On one occasion I had a small basketful of bajra, 
 a small coarse grain, on which poultry is fed, in a 
 room covered with matting made of strips of bamboo 
 interlaced. It was gradually disappearing, and I 
 could not discover how it went. One night I entered 
 the room without a light, to fetch a book I knew 
 where to find. I was startled by the noise in what 
 was an unoccupied room ; it was like the far, faint 
 march of an army. I hurried out to get a light, and 
 on returning found the floor black with ants, each 
 busy carrying off a grain. I stopped to watch their 
 mode of operations, and it was certainly cleverly 
 
HOUSEHOLD . I A7) OTHER TESTS. 
 
 93 
 
 planned. There were two parties. One was engaged 
 inside the basket. Their duty was to bring the grain 
 to the top, and from there to drop it to the carriers 
 on the floor. These picked it up and hurried it off 
 to their nest. In this way they could empty the 
 basket in a very few days.” 
 
 Red ants are held in great reverence by the Hindus, 
 who may constantly be observed searching for ants’ 
 nests, near which they will place a small quantity of 
 sugar, or some coarsely ground flour. The idea is, 
 wherever red ants colonise, prosperity is sure to follow 
 in the homes of human beings. All the same, ants, 
 both red and black, are a pest in the household. 
 
 And white ants , which are about the size of a grain 
 of rice, are a thousand times worse, for they can do as 
 much mischief in an hour as would take a man a 
 week to redeem. These depredators do not attack 
 provisions, but have a taste for millinery and ladies’ 
 finery in general. They do not object either to a suit 
 of clothes. They are partial also to furniture, and the 
 beams of houses. Books, too, seem to agree with their 
 digestive organs. Only give them a fair field in a 
 house, and they can do wonders in the destructive line 
 in a very short time. 
 
 White ants work in the dark. They cannot bear 
 the light, and if they have to cross an open space they 
 form for themselves along the wall or ceiling tunnels 
 of hard mortar in which they hide. Fortunately thus 
 they betray their presence. However, much mischief 
 is usually done before they are discovered. It is 
 surprising how they will eat a great beam to dust in 
 the inside, which outwardly appears sound. 
 
134 
 
 PICTURES OF LIFE IN INDIA. 
 
 Id the church of which I was pastor in Calcutta, 
 we had all the beams tapped at regular intervals of 
 time ; and every four years we incurred a very heavy 
 expense in renewing beams which the ants had eaten. 
 On one sad occasion a beam that had been overlooked 
 cracked during service, and a little girl was so much 
 injured by the falling debris that she had to be carried 
 to the infirmary; but she ultimately recovered, and 
 was no worse for the accident. My pulpit, also, was 
 more than once attacked, and had to be partially 
 replaced. In private houses, in shops, and in public 
 buildings the depredations of these little pests are 
 indeed very serious in India. 
 
 There are many other pests that might be referred 
 to at considerable length, but I shall simply mention 
 some of them in bringing this chapter to a close. 
 
 Frogs often hop into the house from the road or the 
 garden, and their plaintive cry at night-time is dis- 
 tressing, and their croaking is at all times objectionable. 
 Bats at dusk make free to fly through the house. 
 Quite a number every evening came to eat nuts over 
 my bed while hanging on to the ceiling. The nuts 
 they got from trees in the garden. Every morning 
 the shells had to be removed from the top of the 
 musquito curtain, which was the only protection 
 between the bats and the bed. The little insects 
 called silver fishes abound in all houses, and make sad 
 havoc of clothing. 
 
 At certain seasons of the year green flies would come 
 into the house by tens of thousands, and try hard 
 to get into the soup-tureen, and to interfere generally 
 with the comfort of the evening meal. In the morning 
 
HOUSEHOLD AND OTHER PESTS. 
 
 95 
 
 there were heaps of dead flies on the floor which had 
 to be shovelled out. 
 
 Crows , too, and flying-foxes were very anxious to 
 make my acquaintance, and did not scruple to enter 
 the house. Ob, those comical but wicked crows ! If 
 anything bright was left lying about on a table, a 
 smart crow would be sure to notice it, and hop in and 
 pick it up, and be off again, before you could expostulate 
 even in the mildest of tones. Crows are fond of eggs, 
 aud when the egg-man came these thieves would be 
 sure to be about, and sometimes would succeed in 
 making away with two or three treasures. It was 
 a sight, to be sure, to see a crow with its head on one 
 side drawing nearer and nearer to a coveted egg, and 
 at last suddenly and fiercely sticking its bill into it. 
 Occasionally the egg would fall just as the thief was 
 sailing out of the window with it, and then what an 
 uproar there was over the lost tit-bit ! 
 
 But I must stop ! Household pests make an 
 attractive and almost endless subject for a returned 
 Anglo-Indian to write about. And let not any reader 
 think that by these pests life is made unbearable in 
 the East. Far from it ! Use becomes second nature. 
 
r 
 
 ADAM'S PEAK, CEYLON. 
 
 VI. 
 
 SACRED FOOTPRINTS. 
 
 NE of the most curious customs of the East is 
 the worship of sacrecl footprints of gods and 
 o-oddesses. As I travelled about India I often 
 
 O 
 
 saw men, women and children drawing near to with 
 reverence, and bowing down in admiration before, 
 footmarks on stone, which they believed to be impres- 
 sions from the feet of Siva, Vishnu, or Buddha, or 
 some other so-called divinity or revered personage. 
 
 The worship of sacred footprints has arisen, I sup- 
 pose, from other customs of the East connected with 
 the feet of human beings. The feet of kings and holy 
 
 96 
 
SACRED FOOTPRINTS. 
 
 97 
 
 people are spoken of in preference to the other parts 
 of the body. His Majesty the ex-king of Burmah 
 was always mentioned as the “ golden feet.” Then 
 putting the feet upon the necks of fallen kings was a 
 favourite way of triumphing over foes. When people 
 are disputing, even at the present day, in India, should 
 one be a little pressed and the other begin to exult, 
 the former will say in anger, “ I will tread upon thy 
 neck, and after that beat thee.” A low-caste man 
 insulting one of a higher caste is sure to hear an 
 onlooker say to the offended individual, “ Put your 
 foot on his neck.” 
 
 I call to mind also on more than one occasion in my 
 house in Calcutta, when I have been grieved with the 
 conduct of a servant, and he has seen that I was 
 angry with him, he has come humbly into my presence, 
 and before I could stop him has thrown himself at my 
 feet, and attempted to place one of my feet upon his 
 neck as a sign of absolute submission and to appease 
 my wrath. 
 
 The idea between man and man in this humiliating 
 custom is, that one is the inferior of the other — that 
 one is the servant and slave of the other. And the 
 custom has been extended to gods and goddesses. 
 Thus a worshipper will say in his devotions, “ Truly 
 the feet of Siva are upon my head ! ” 
 
 Now I do not say that this idea of total subjection 
 when connected with God is a wrong one. It is, 
 I believe, a good thing to recognise the fact that all 
 things are under God’s feet — that heaven is His 
 throne, and the earth His footstool. Not that God 
 is trampling upon ns as a wrathful king who has 
 
 7 
 
08 
 
 PICTURES OF LIFE IN INDIA. 
 
 conquered us, but rather that we are under His feet 
 because He is all-powerful. To be under God’s feet 
 should mean to us that we are subject to God as 
 a child is subject to a kind and affectionate father. 
 The position is, so to speak, one of humility but not 
 of humiliation. 
 
 The people of India, alas ! have not confined them- 
 selves to the spiritual side of this subject, but have 
 made for themselves footmarks on stone in different 
 parts of the country, which have in course of time 
 come to be believed in by the ignorant as the actual 
 footprints of their divinities, and as such they are now 
 commonly worshipped. Thus a helpful spiritual truth 
 has been degraded into an idolatrous practice which is 
 harmful to the souls of all who indulge in it. 
 
 I remember visiting a small sacred footprint temple 
 at the corner of a bathing ghat on the banks of the 
 Ganges close to Scandal Point at Monghyr. A Hindu 
 priest, with whom walked a bright little boy, went 
 with me to show me the temple, which was dedicated 
 to Sita, the good and beautiful wife of Rama. Look- 
 ing inside I saw a footmark chiselled on stone. 
 
 The story goes that the goddess Sita, after bathing 
 in the hot springs at Sita Kund, about six miles away, 
 took one stride to the Ganges, and left her footprint 
 on a stone, then took another stride and landed on a 
 rock in the middle of the Ganges, about a mile away. 
 There there is another footprint. A Rishi, or holy man, 
 dwelt on that rock, and Sita's errand was to see him 
 and talk with him. 
 
 The priest in charge of the little temple at Scandal 
 Point, which has been built over the footprint of Sita, 
 
BUDDHA GYA BEFORE RESTORATION. 
 
 
SACRED FOOTPRINTS. 
 
 101 
 
 asserted that once a year, generally in the month of 
 October, sweet music came from the temple ; and that 
 the general belief was that Sita, even now, at intervals 
 visits the spot to gratify her faithful worshippers by 
 giving them a foretaste of the music of the blest. I 
 asked if the little boy was musical, and the priest 
 answered, “ Yes,” with some confusion. My question 
 was not what lawyers call a “ leading ” one, but it 
 nevertheless set me thinking when I saw the effect it 
 had produced, and I came to the conclusion that the 
 priest and his sharp little lad knew more about how 
 the music was produced than they would care to tell. 
 
 However, Hindu worshippers rarely raise any 
 sceptical questions, believing implicitly what the 
 priests tell them. Thousands and tens of thousands 
 of people visit that temple at Monghyr annually, and 
 when the music is heard there is a great cry of “ Sita ! 
 Sita ! ” and the worshippers bow themselves down in 
 humble adoration before the sacred footprints of their 
 favourite goddess. 
 
 When in Benares, the sacred city of the Hindus, I 
 was taken to see some footprints near Manikarnika 
 Kund, the famous well of Hindu mythology. Upon 
 the ghat or bathing place is a large round slab called 
 Charana-paduka, projecting slightly from the pave- 
 ment ; and in the middle of it stands a stone pedestal, 
 the top of which is inlaid with marble. In the centre 
 of the marble are two small flat objects representing 
 the two feet of Vishnu. 
 
 The tradition is that Vishnu selected this precise 
 spot for the performance of ascetic rites, and the 
 worship of his brother god Siva. When he left two 
 
102 
 
 PICTURES OF LIFE IN INDIA. 
 
 footmarks were seen, and these have ever since been 
 held in great veneration, and have received divine 
 honours. In the month of Kartic (October) multi- 
 tudes of people flock to the place to worship Vishnu’s 
 feet, and by that worship the priests tell them they 
 are certain of an entrance into heaven. 
 
 At the moment I was looking on only a few people 
 were gathered round the sacred footprints, but I was 
 struck with the devoutness of their worship. Again 
 and again did they bow themselves down before the 
 sacred feet, and earnestly did they seem to be invoking 
 the blessing or deprecating the anger of Vishnu. 
 And a little mite of a girl was one of the most ardent 
 and enthusiastic of the worshippers. 
 
 It is interesting to note that the Buddhists as well 
 as the Hindus have their sacred footprints to worship. 
 In 1885 I visited Buddha Gya, which is famous as 
 the locality of the holy pipul tree under which Buddha 
 sat for six years in mental abstraction, and was 
 tempted of the devil, and overcame the evil one. In 
 front of the great temple at Buddha Gya there is a 
 small open temple of four pillars, covering a large 
 circular stone, and on this stone two feet are carved, 
 which are believed by Buddhists to be the footprints 
 of their Lord. That little temple is called Buddlia- 
 pad, or the temple of Buddha’s feet. 
 
 At a place called Patali, also in Northern India, 
 there is, or was, a large stone on which were prints of 
 Buddha’s feet, each eighteen inches long and six 
 inches broad. The story in connection with these 
 sacred footmarks is that Buddha, when he reached 
 Patali on his way to Kusingara where he was to die, 
 
BUDDHA GYA AS IT IS. 
 
SACRED FOOTPRINTS. 
 
 105 
 
 turned his face to the south, and, standing on a large 
 stone, said to his faithful follower Anauda : “ To-day 
 for the last time I behold my ancestral kingdom, and 
 here I leave my footprints. One hundred years hence 
 there will be a king, named Asoka, who will reign 
 over this country, and fix his court on this spot.” 
 
 True enough a hundred years after Buddha’s death 
 Asoka took up his permanent abode at Patali, and 
 caused a temple to be erected over some footprints 
 which were believed to be Buddha’s. And for Cen- 
 turies those footprints were devoutly worshipped by 
 true believers. At length, however, a king arose who 
 had no faith in the sacred relics, and who ordered 
 them to be effaced from the stone ; but tradition says 
 the command was more easily given than obeyed, for 
 after every stroke of the chisel, the lines reappeared 
 as before. Afterwards other kings who had heard of 
 the famous stone wished to carry it off to their own 
 dominions ; but again tradition asserts the deed was 
 found to be impossible of execution, for, in spite of 
 strenuous efforts, the block could not even be lifted 
 from the ground. Thus the sacred footprints of the 
 great Lord Buddha remained in Patali for the edifica- 
 tion of the faithful. 
 
 Buddha during his lifetime had many opponents, 
 the greatest being Mahavira, the last of the twenty-four 
 patriarchs of the Jain religion ; and at Pawa there is 
 a small temple containing the footprints of Mahavira. 
 Pilgrimages are made yearly to this shrine, for the 
 footprints are counted very sacred, and their adoration 
 is believed to be a cure for various diseases. 
 
 Pawa is called “ the sinless or pure town,” and is 
 
106 
 
 PICTURES OF LIFE IN INDIA. 
 
 one of the holy places of the Jains, who in many 
 respects resemble the Buddhists, differing from the 
 latter chiefly in their ritual and objects of veneration. 
 The Jains believe that their past and future state 
 depend entirely upon their own actions. They practise 
 
 JAIX EMBLEMS. 
 
 a strict morality, but offer no sacrifices to gods. They 
 hold life, in both man and beast, to be very precious, 
 and are the chief supporters of beast hospitals in 
 India. 
 
 The Jains number about half a million, and are a 
 prosperous community like the Parsees. In Calcutta 
 
SACRED FOOTPRINTS. 
 
 107 
 
 they have a very beautiful temple which is well worth 
 a visit from all tourists, and yet it is often overlooked. 
 
 But to return to the sacred footprints of the Jain 
 patriarch at Pawa. The stone on which the impres- 
 sions appear is believed by the Jains to have been the 
 footstool of Mahhvira, who taught his followers sitting 
 out in the open air. The marks were left by constant 
 use, and when the great teacher was taken away his 
 disciples continued to meet at the old familiar place, 
 and having their master no longer to reverence they 
 adored the prints of his feet. And from those far-off 
 days until the present day, according to popular belief, 
 the custom has been kept up. Only, I think, in the 
 East could such statements be credited. 
 
 Perhaps the most striking instance of the worship 
 of sacred footprints that I saw in India was at a Hindu 
 temple in Gya, about five miles from Buddha Gya. 
 This temple is called Yishnu-pad, the temple of 
 Vishnu’s foot, and is in the heart of the old town. 
 It is a large building as temples go in Northern India, 
 and the porch in front is a very neat, airy structure, 
 and looked at from a little distance appears singularly 
 graceful. Inside the porch hangs a large brass bell, 
 which when I was there was constantly in motion. 
 The clanging of the bell, the cries of the priests, and 
 the prayers of a large gathering of worshippers in the 
 immense porchway, made a deafening noise, and yet, 
 withal, one had the feeling that Yishnu-pad was a 
 place for worship. 
 
 The centre of the shrine, the most sacred part of 
 the temple, was guarded by high folding doors plated 
 with silver, and through these doors I was not allowed 
 
108 
 
 PICTURES OF LIFE IN INDIA. 
 
 to go, nor did I indeed desire, for without doing so a 
 
 JAIN TEMPLE OF ADINATH, GWALIOR. 
 
 very fair view of the interior, which was lighted by 
 oil-lamps, could be got. In the centre of the shrine 
 
SA CRED FOO T PRINTS. 
 
 109 
 
 was an octagonal basin coated with silver, and on 
 this basin there was the impress in stone of a foot 
 sixteen inches or so in length. I have a model of 
 it hanging on my study wall which refreshes my 
 memory, and enables me to speak with considerable 
 certainty. The foot is said to be Vishnu’s. There 
 were seven worshippers, a priest, a boy assistant, and 
 a cow in the shrine on the occasion of my visit. 
 
 The priest was seated at one corner of the octagonal 
 basin, the boy was standing behind him, the seven 
 worshippers were at the other corners, and the cow 
 was walking round the sanctuary and making herself 
 very much at home. 
 
 Ganges or Soan water, flowers, and rice were thrown 
 into the basin, and the priest instructed the worshippers 
 at a given signal to bend their heads over the side 
 and touch reverently with their foreheads the sacred 
 footprints. This the devotees proceeded to do ; and 
 I was thinking that the scene was impressive, though 
 sad, when the large brown cow upset my gravity by 
 proceeding very quietly and sedately, while the 
 worshippers’ heads were bowed, to eat up all the 
 offerings. 
 
 It was a strange sight, combining the sublime and 
 the ridiculous, and I could see that the boy behind 
 the priest was highly pleased with the action of the 
 cow, though he said nothing. Sacred cows, of course, 
 are privileged creatures in India, and it is no 
 uncommon thing to see them in temples. The par- 
 ticular cow I am referring to was only doing its duty 
 in eating the offerings, only it should have waited 
 until the worshippers had finished their devotions. 
 
110 
 
 PICTURES OF LIFE IN INDIA. 
 
 As a final ceremony the priest grasped some lights, 
 and solemnly waved the flames before the faces of 
 the worshippers, who then got np and passed out 
 of the shrine to make room for others. 
 
 The story of the origin of the sacred footprints at 
 Vishnu-pad is extraordinary. It is said that Gaya, 
 a pagan monster or demon, got into the bad books of 
 the gods on account of a desire he had to save all 
 sinners from perdition. This seemed shocking to 
 Brahma, Vishnu, and others, and they determined 
 to seize Gaya, and put a stop to his designs. They 
 found the task a difficult one, however. In a Hindu 
 account of the transaction it is recorded that “all the 
 gods and goddesses sat upon him, but were unable 
 to keep him down.” 
 
 Despairing of conquering Gaya by force of arms, 
 guile was at length resorted to. Brahma in affable 
 tones asked him to sit down and rest, and while the 
 tired demon was in that position his enemies quite 
 unexpectedly and treacherously threw a heavy block 
 of stone upon his body. Even then it is thought that 
 Gaya would not have succumbed if Vishnu had not 
 hit upon the expedient of stamping upon the block 
 of stone. That stamp was too much for the monster 
 underneath, and his life was crushed out of him. 
 And ever since that day and deed the impress of 
 Vishnu’s foot has been worshipped by credulous 
 Hindus. It is estimated that probably forty thousand 
 people annually visit the temple of Vishnu-pad at 
 Gaya. 
 
 In Ceylon there is a world-renowned sacred footprint 
 on Adam’s Peak, one of the highest mountains of the 
 
SACRED FOOTPRINTS. 
 
 Ill 
 
 land. Almost all sects have claimed and do claim 
 an interest in the spot. 
 
 Portuguese Christians have been superstitious and 
 credulous enough to declare that the mark on Adam’s 
 Peak was the footprint of the Apostle Thomas, who 
 they say visited Ceylon to speak to the people of a 
 Saviour’s love. The Mohammedans declare that the 
 mark was left by Adam, who, after the Fall and the 
 expulsion from Paradise, was compelled to perform 
 penance for his sins by standing on one foot on the 
 summit of Adam’s Peak, where he remained for ages 
 until God pardoned him. The Hindus maintain that 
 the mark was made by the god Siva, who on one 
 occasion alighted on the mountain when on a journey, 
 and left behind the impression of his foot ; and, finally, 
 the Buddhists say that their great master, when on 
 a visit to Ceylon, ascended Adam’s Peak and left the 
 imprint of his foot upon a rock as a convincing proof 
 of his superhuman power, and enjoined his followers 
 ever afterwards to adore and worship the impression. 
 
 At the present day Adam’s Peak is in possession of 
 the Buddhists, who have erected a little temple over 
 the sacred footprints ; but they permit Hindus and 
 Mohammedans, and indeed adherents of any and 
 every creed, to visit the spot and worship to their 
 hearts’ content. 
 
 In the months of February, March, and April, 
 thousands of people perform the somewhat weary 
 pilgrimage, for the roads to the sacred shrine are 
 rough, and in parts near the top of the mountain 
 steep and dangerous. Many accidents have been 
 known to happen, and a few deaths have occurred 
 
112 
 
 PICTURES OF LIFE IN INDIA. 
 
 in connection with the ascent of Adam’s Peak. Iron 
 chains are fixed in the sides of the rock on which the 
 temple is built to assist the climbers. 
 
 The sacred footprint is on the very apex of the 
 mountain. It is only called a footprint by wor- 
 shippers, for any one else looking at it would declare 
 that it was just a cavity in the rock. The cavity is 
 about five feet and a half in length, and two feet five 
 inches in width. There are small raised portions 
 which are meant to delineate the form of the toes, 
 but altogether it is as clumsy an attempt at deception 
 as can well be imagined. Fancy a footprint nearly 
 six feet long ! 
 
 The form of worship is as follows : — The priest 
 stands on the sacred footprint facing the pilgrims, 
 who prostrate themselves on the ground, only raising 
 their hands above their heads in an attitude of 
 supplication. The priest then recites several articles 
 of Buddhistic faith, which the worshippers repeat 
 after him. When the priest has finished, the people 
 rise from the ground, and raise a loud and united 
 shout of thanksgiving and praise, which is echoed and 
 re-echoed from crevice to crevice and crag to crag on 
 the mighty mountain. Then turning to each other 
 the Avorshippers exchange salutations of peace and 
 goodwill ; and relatives warmly embrace each other, 
 and express kindly feelings for each other’s happiness. 
 
 Before leaving the spot, and they must leave the 
 same day, as no one is allowed to spend a night 
 on the mountain, the pilgrims make offerings to the 
 sacred footprint, according to their means and inclina- 
 tion, some presenting money, others fruits, or grain, 
 
S,l CUED FOO mil A’ TS. 
 
 113 
 
 or flowers, aucl others pieces of cloth wherewith to 
 decorate the temple. The offerings are allowed to 
 remain on the sacred footprint a short time, but they 
 are then taken away by attendants and become the 
 property of the chief priest of Adam’s Peak, who, as 
 may easily be imagined, amasses in course of time 
 great wealth. Thus the superstitions of the many 
 are made to minister to the greed of the few. 
 
 Is it not extraordinary that human beings can 
 descend so low as to worship so-called sacred foot- 
 prints ? Verily Eastern people are credulous to a 
 degree ! Oh the folly and wickedness of such 
 degrading practices ! 
 
 What the people of the East need to learn as 
 rational creatures is, that the object of their affection 
 and worship should not be the imaginary footprint 
 of a god or goddess, but the one true God Himself, 
 powerful and majestic, putting all enemies under 
 His feet without doubt, but yet merciful and gracious, 
 a God of compassion and love, as revealed to man- 
 kind in the person of Jesus Christ our Saviour, who, 
 in moral conduct, in beauty of character, in self- 
 sacrificing deeds for the good of humanity, has left 
 us an example that we should follow in His steps. 
 
 8 
 

 VYATEK-CAEEIEKS. 
 
 VII. 
 
 BH EES TIES, OR WATER-CARRIERS. 
 
 SIGHT that is sure to attract the attention of 
 a s ^ raD S er i n India is that of the bheesties or 
 — water-carriers, who are to be seen at certain 
 hours of the clay busily engaged in watering the dry 
 and dusty roads. Though water-carts are not un- 
 known in the East, yet they are not greatly favoured, 
 and water-men, or bheesties, as they are called, are 
 
 114 
 
B II EES TIES, OR WATER-CARRIERS. 115 
 
 preferred. The work, of course, proceeds very slowly, 
 but uo one grumbles at that, and water-carriers have 
 the advantage of costing little, for common labour is 
 cheap in India. The bheesti’s work is laborious. 
 I have often pitied the poor creatures as I have seen 
 them, in an almost naked condition, and usually lean 
 and lanky, toiling along under the heavy load of a 
 great water-skin called a mussuk. This curious ar- 
 rangement for carrying water is made from goats’ 
 skin, and when full looks not unlike an unwieldy pig 
 sluDg over the shoulder. The water is judiciously 
 squirted out of a small orifice in the mussuk on to 
 the thirsty road, and the quantity of liquid that the 
 vessel will hold is something wonderful. It is said 
 that the constant pressure of the wet skin on the back 
 of the bheesti-wallah is the cause of a serious sore, iu 
 which is often found a parasitic worm, which occa- 
 sionally causes death. 
 
 In the towns the bheesties, fortunately, have not 
 far to go for their water, whether they want it for the 
 roads, or the public and private gardens, or to supply 
 the empty baths in the homes of the people ; but in 
 country places, and especially in the hill stations, the 
 distance to be traversed sometimes is very great, and 
 thus adds seriously to the exhaustion of the toil. 
 
 Miss Gumming, referring in her book on India to 
 the work of bheesties in Simla, where she resided 
 for a time, says : “ Our water-carrier was considered 
 fortunate in having at first to go only about half a 
 mile down the Khad to fill his water-skin. But as 
 the season drew on, the water retired lower and 
 lower, so that he and all the other bheesties of the 
 
116 
 
 PICTURES OF LIFE IN INDIA . 
 
 neighbourhood had to go far down a deep, rocky 
 ravine, and sometimes wait long enough for their turn 
 at the well. It was no joke to have to climb that 
 rugged footpath a dozen times a day, especially with 
 a burden so heavy as a water-skin.” 
 
 The conclusion we must come to is, that the poor 
 bheesti-wallahs, while they are most useful members 
 of society, have very hard times of it. Indeed, the 
 lot of the labouring mau all the world over is hard, 
 and it is well that those who are in better circum- 
 stances in life, and more favourably situated, should 
 extend to them the hand of sympathy. 
 
 W. Trego Webb, Esq., of the Bengal Education 
 service, in a charming little book of Indian lyrics, 
 calls attention, in a few appropriate words, to the 
 work and worth of the Indian water-carriers. 
 
 The words are : — 
 
 “Like as the organ-man in public road 
 
 Beareth his music with him on his hack, 
 
 Or as the hawker bends beneath his pack, 
 
 The bheesti toileth with his watery load 
 The dusty precincts of our town abode. 
 
 The baths, which one could ill endure to lack, 
 Have oft, when pipe-fed rillet runneth slack 
 Their debt of moisture to the bheesti owed. 
 
 So, bheesti, mayst thou still at eventide 
 Subdue the dust, and, foe to all that’s dry. 
 
 Water the paths where others walk and ride. 
 Thine is, I ween, no useless destiny ; 
 
 Yet thou at length, thy goat-skin laid aside, 
 Subdued thyself, beneath that dust must lie.” 
 
 There are various tales told of water-carriers which 
 are interesting and instructive, and a few of these 
 I will relate, as they throw light on the beliefs and 
 
biieesties, on water-careters. 
 
 117 
 
 customs of tlic people of the East. Let me begin with 
 one that illustrates the superstition of the Hindu mind 
 in association with idolatry. 
 
 In ancient times, it is said, when there was a famine 
 in the land, as, alas ! often happens in India, some of 
 the gods and goddesses, as represented by stone idols, 
 did not receive their accustomed morning ablution on 
 account of the scarcity of water. There was one idol 
 in particular, the image of Siva, the third person in 
 the Hindu Trinity, in a certain district, which for 
 months had been neglected. The people of the neigh- 
 bourhood, in the hour of terrible distress, thought more 
 of their own wants than of the wants of the so-called 
 gods. Indeed, some of the men were heard to say, “Of 
 what use are our gods if they cannot provide water for 
 themselves and for us their worshippers, so that we 
 may all be preserved from death ? ” The women, dread- 
 fully shocked, exclaimed, “ Hush ! hush ! that is 
 blasphemy : the gods will be angry with us, and send 
 greater and more dreadful troubles upon us if we do 
 not speak respectfully to them and of them.” It 
 should be borne in mind that the Hindus believe that 
 all calamities are the work of the gods when they are 
 grieved with mankind. Even the women in this par- 
 ticular case, however, agreed, that out of the little 
 water that could be obtained none could be spared 
 for the ablution of the gods : the latter must be left 
 to take care of themselves. 
 
 Thus neglected, of course, many idols, owing to the 
 intense heat, cracked, and otherwise came to grief; and 
 it seemed likely that the idol in question would share 
 the same fate as the others ; and it would have done 
 
118 
 
 PICTURES OF LIFE IN INDIA. 
 
 so but for the altogether unexpected succour of a 
 water-carrier. Amongst the villagers, it appears, a 
 poor bheesti, after listening to a conversation one 
 
 evening about the god Siva, resolved that, at any cost, 
 the idol should receive, at least, his morning bath. 
 From that time, therefore, whenever the water-camei 
 drew near the village with water, which he had to 
 bring from a long distance, he stopped to sprinkle the 
 
BTJEERTTEB, OR WATER-CARRIER*. 119 
 
 idol. It was, perhaps, at the peril of his life he did 
 it, for every drop of the water was more precious than 
 gold, for the existence of many hnman beings depended 
 upon the daily supply. However, the man risked 
 something for the sake of Siva, with the firm con- 
 viction that, in the long run, the god would reward 
 him. 
 
 After the famine had passed away, and prosperity 
 had returned to the land, the bkeesti was still observed 
 going about his laborious work as poor as ever. His 
 neighbours, who had discovered what he had done, even 
 taunted him, saying, “ Behold, your attention to Siva 
 has brought vou no reward ! It would have been 
 better to have drunk the water yourself ! ” The man 
 made no reply, but performed day by day his allotted 
 task in his menial position, still holding fast his faith 
 in the merit of the act he hatl done, and in the justice 
 of his favourite god. 
 
 And at the last, the story says, his deserts were fully 
 recognised. One night, just twelve months after the 
 time he had begun to bathe the idol, he had a remark- 
 able dream. Siva came to him in his dream, radiant 
 with beauty and glory, and praised him for his atten- 
 tion during the period of scarcity of water, and 
 promised him that if he would go at midnight on 
 the following day to a certain spot, lie would find a 
 herd of buffaloes, and as many of these as he could 
 tie with ropes should be his own. 
 
 At the appointed hour the bkeesti was on the spot 
 with a quantity of rope that he had made or borrowed, 
 and there he found the buffaloes, and with nervous 
 haste he proceeded to tie up as many as he could 
 
120 
 
 PICTURES OF LIFE IN INDIA. 
 
 before daylight appeared. When at length the sun 
 rose above the horizon, he found himself the fortunate 
 possessor of over two hundred large, strong, and 
 healthy buffaloes. Passing with them from village to 
 village, he soon disposed of his stock at very good 
 
 BHEESTI, OR WATER CARRIER, 
 
 prices, and returned to his home and to his wife aud 
 children in great joy, and lived ever afterwards in ease 
 and comfort, the admired of all his friends and neigh- 
 bours. “ Thus,” the Hindu chronicler says, “ was the 
 devout worshipper rewarded for his attention to the 
 god Siva in a day of calamity and sore distress.” It 
 is a foolish tale, evidently invented by the priests of 
 
BHEESTIES, 0 7 ? WA TER-CA BRIERS. 
 
 121 
 
 Siva to increase the reverence of the people for the 
 idol. I have related it because it is associated with 
 a bheesti, and because it illustrates the superstitious 
 thought and feeling and action of the Hindus on the 
 subject of idolatry. 
 
 I have heard of another story in which a bheesti 
 figures, which powerfully illustrates the convictions of 
 the Hindus in the matter of caste. It is said that 
 after one of the battles of India, during the time of 
 the great Mutiny, a British officer, who was badly 
 wounded, was heard crying out for water. “ Water ! 
 water ! ” he exclaimed ; “ give me a drink of water, 
 or I die ! ” Many heard the sad cry, but there was 
 no water at hand : what little had been provided had 
 been consumed. Still the piteous wail was heard of 
 “ Water ! water ! for the love of God ! ” 
 
 At length a bheesti was seen coming from a distance 
 with the precious fluid in a mussuk on his back. It 
 was brackish water scarcely fit to drink, and it was 
 carried in an old skin bag ; but, poor as it was, dirty 
 as it was, oh, how gladly it was received ! The 
 wounded Englishman stretched out his hand towards 
 it, eagerly, feverishly, and took it, and put it to his 
 lips, and drank it as joyously and as freely as if it had 
 been water from the freshest and sweetest spring. 
 
 Not far away from the British officer lay a native 
 officer, a brave man of the Punjab, who had fought 
 well, but had fallen at last with his face to the foe, 
 covered with wounds. This man also longed for a 
 draught of water to assuage, if possible, the terrible 
 thirst which was upon him, and which added tenfold 
 to the agony of his dying hours. 
 
122 
 
 PICTURES OF LIFE L V IXDTA. 
 
 To the side of the native officer the water-carrier 
 was directed, but the wounded man waved him away. 
 His caste prejudices, his religion, forbade him to take 
 meat or drink from the hands of a low-caste man. It 
 was not that he objected to the water because it was 
 brackish, or dirty — the objection was that it was 
 carried in a skin, and that the bheesti was of a lower 
 caste than himself. Two or three Englishmen stand- 
 ing by remonstrated with the officer, telling him that 
 the water would assuage his sufferings, but it was all 
 to no purpose. Casting a greedy look on the life- 
 giving fluid he turned his head resolutely away, and 
 bade the water-carrier depart. The power of caste 
 was stronger than the agony of thirst which was 
 upon the brave but misguided native officer. 
 
 The Rev. H. T. Blackett, M.A., referring to caste 
 prejudices in connection with water in his book 
 entitled “ Two Years in an Indian Mission,” says : 
 “ When a Mohammedan water-carrier gives any one 
 water to drink, he pours it from the spout or neck of 
 the skin into the hand, which the thirsty man holds 
 under his mouth, as he squats on the ground, and a 
 Hindu pours it in the same way from a brass or 
 earthen vessel called a lota. At the mission school 
 at Delhi there is a Mohammedan and a Hindu to 
 provide water for those of their own religion, the 
 water being always poured into their hands ; and the 
 Christian boys receive it through the still more 
 extended medium of a bowl with a long spout, lest 
 they should defile the lota by coming too near. One 
 man drinking from another’s cup would destroy the 
 caste of both, though some of the Kulin Brahmins do 
 
A WATER -CARRIER, MADRAS. 
 
BII RES TIES, OR WATER-CARRIERS. 
 
 125 
 
 not object to other people using their lotas, as the}' 
 consider themselves so infinitely superior to every one 
 else as to be unaffected by such trifles. Water, more- 
 over, thrown over a man will impair his caste.” 
 
 In short, caste holds a demoralising sway over the 
 people of India, and is one of the greatest stumbling- 
 blocks to the prosperity of the country, and to the 
 acceptance by the people of our Lord Jesus Christ as 
 their Saviour. Yes, caste, in my judgment, more than 
 anything else stands in the way of the millions of 
 ludia receiving Him, whom the Bible speaks of as 
 “the Water of Life.” Everything, therefore, that can 
 be done to break down caste rules and restrictions 
 should be done. 
 
 Some time ago there appeared in the Christian 
 Miscellany a story concerning hhecsties, which I am 
 sure my young readers will be glad to know. It was 
 as follows : — 
 
 “ Outside a serai , or resting-place for travellers, sat 
 in the moonlight four men, smoking their hookahs, or 
 Indian pipes, and having one of those long talks 
 which natives of the East most dearly love, and which 
 they sometimes prolong far into the night. Perhaps 
 the most striking figure of the group was a venerable 
 Sikh, whose hair and beard, never touched by razor, 
 were now of silvery whiteness. The other men were 
 of various nationalities, but used Urdu as a tongue 
 common to all. 
 
 “ The first speaker, a Persian, was giving a flowery 
 account of his own country, which none of the others 
 had ever seen. Suck horses, such fruits, such cities, 
 he described, that to hear him one might think that 
 
126 
 
 PICTURES OF LIFE IN INDIA. 
 
 Persia, of all the lands of earth, was the most beautiful 
 and the most blest. 
 
 “ ‘And our men are unmatched for size and strength,’ 
 pursued the speaker, using a good deal of gesticul ation. 
 ‘ I am one of a family of ten sons, and not one of my 
 brothers but is taller and stronger than I am. What 
 would you say to our bheesti ? He is some eight feet 
 in height, and carries a mussuk made of the hide of 
 an ox, which, when full, five of your ordinary men 
 conld not lift ! ’ 
 
 “ Dominie Sampson at these statements would have 
 exclaimed, ‘ Pro-di-gi-ous ! ’ The friends of the 
 Persian merely remarked, ‘ Wah ! wah ! ’ though the 
 sage old Sikh rather incredulously shook his head, 
 and muttered in his beard, ‘ I should like to see such 
 a bheesti ! ’ 
 
 “ Then spoke a flue tall Afghan : ‘ I could tell you 
 of a bheesti compared to whom your Persian bheesti is 
 but an emmet. I know one who can carry a mussuk 
 as big as a mountain, and as white as the snows on 
 the Himalayas. This water-carrier can travel thou- 
 sands of miles without stopping or feeling weary, 
 sometimes whistling and sometimes howling as he 
 goes.’ 
 
 “ ‘ Pro-di-gi-ous ! ’ — Xo ! ‘ Wah ! wah ! ’ cried the 
 
 listeners. The Persian coloured, and angrily said, ‘ I 
 will not believe such a pack of lies ! ’ 
 
 “ ‘ Oh, brother ! ’ remarked the old Sikh, smiling, 
 ‘ there is more truth in the Afghan’s tale than in 
 thine. Look yonder,’ be continued, as a white cloud 
 passed over the face of the moon, ‘ and listen to the 
 rushing blast which is shaking the leaves of yon 
 
BHEESTIES, OR WATER-CARRIERS. 
 
 127 
 
 palms. The wind is the mighty bkcesti whom the 
 great Creator employs to bear swiftly the huge white 
 mussuhs which convey this gift of rain. The words 
 of the Afghan are not the words of folly.’ 
 
 “ ‘ Thou art wise, 0 Father ! ’ said the youngest man 
 in the group, who had hitherto spoken but little. 
 ‘ Now listen, whilst I tell of a third bheesti ; not tall 
 like the first, nor strong like the second, but bearing 
 a more wonderful mussuk than either. This mussuk 
 is not longer than my hand. It is very old, too, and 
 it is carried by a feeble man.’ 
 
 “ 1 Useless ! good for nothing ! ’ exclaimed the 
 Persian, somewhat rudely interrupting the narrative. 
 
 “ ‘ Listen before you say so,’ calmly replied the 
 speaker. ‘ In this mussulc is water of such wonderful 
 virtue, that if but a few drops fall on good soil a 
 spring of surpassing sweetness bursts forth, sometimes 
 spreading and spreading, till first a brook, then a 
 wide stream, and then a glorious river appears. The 
 most learned cannot calculate, nor ages on ages limit, 
 the effects of a few living drops from that blessed 
 mussuk.’ 
 
 “ The Persian and Afghan uttered exclamations of 
 surprise, but a thoughtful inquiring look was on the 
 face of the aged Sikh, who whispered, ‘ Where can 
 that mussuk be seen ? ’ 
 
 Here,’ replied the speaker, a Bengali, as he drew 
 a Bible from his vest. ‘ This book contains the word 
 of God ; and its contents, when received with faith, 
 are spirit and life.’ 
 
 “ ‘ It is the Christian’s Shaster ! ’ said the old Sikh, 
 raising his hand to his brow in token of respect. 
 
128 
 
 PICTURES OF LIFE IN INDIA. 
 
 “ 1 Let me pour forth some drops of the living water,’ 
 said the Bengali, who was a native Evangelist; ‘the 
 moonshine is so bright that I can by it read a little 
 from the pages which I know and love so well.’ 
 
 “ 2so one made any objection. The Persian listened 
 with curiosity, and the Afghan with some attention, 
 but it was on the old Sikh that the holy words fell 
 like the rain from heaven. This was not the first 
 time that he had drunk from the precious mussuk of 
 inspired Truth, and its water became to him as a 
 stream of life, which would never fail him till time 
 should be lost in eternity.” 
 
 And what passage of Scripture did the Evaugelist 
 read ? The Christian Miscellany , in telling the story, 
 did not say, but probably it was the seventh chapter 
 of the Gospel according to John, the chapter in 
 which we read these words : “ In the last day, that 
 great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, 
 If any man thirst, let him come unto Me and 
 drink.” 
 
 Xow is there not one great lesson we may all learn 
 from the foregoing narrative ? Just this, that we may 
 all be hheesties , yea, that God wishes us to be water- 
 carriers. Like the Bengali Evangelist, we may carry 
 about with us, wherever we go, the mussuk of Divine 
 Truth, scattering a drop here and a drop there, on the 
 dry and thirsty land of the human heart. 
 
 India needs an army of Christian hheesties , to carry 
 the precious “ water of life ” far and wide, and to cry 
 aloud as they go, “ Ho, every one that thirsteth, come 
 ye to the waters ! The Spirit and the Bride say, Come ; 
 and let him that heareth say, Come ; and let him that 
 
BFTEESTIES, OR WATER-CARRIERS. 129 
 
 is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take 
 of the water of life freely.” 
 
 I pray that my young readers may obtain for 
 themselves a copious supply from the “ pure river of 
 water of life clear as crystal, proceeding out of the 
 throne of God and of the Lamb,” and then listen to 
 the voice of the Lord Jesus Christ who has said, 
 “ Freely ye have received, freely give.” 
 
 WATER-CARRIER. 
 
 9 
 
CHRISTIAN NATIVE GIRLS. 
 
 YIII. 
 
 BRAVE YOUNG CONVERTS. 
 
 T will be clearly understood by those who have 
 read this book so far, that it must be no light 
 matter for the natives of India to give up 
 their ancestral religion and embrace Christianity. 
 And yet every year some of the people receive grace 
 
 130 
 
BRAVE YOUNG CONVERTS. 
 
 131 
 
 so to do. The labours of our missionaries and other 
 servants of Christ in India are not in vain, for the 
 word of truth finds a lodging place in many hearts ; 
 and though perhaps the majority who receive the word 
 gladly remain secret disciples, there are a few who 
 are bold enough and brave enough to declare before 
 all the world that they are Christians. And of such 
 I would now write. 
 
 These converts come from all classes of society, and 
 are of both sexes, and of all ages. My intention, 
 however, is only to deal with the young in this chapter. 
 I wish my readers in Europe to see that amongst the 
 young people of India may be found brave and noble 
 characters, who for Christ’s sake shrink from no 
 sacrifice and fear no danger. Would that both in 
 the West and the East there were more young people 
 with the courage of their convictions in things moral 
 and spiritual ! 
 
 A while ago there was in Bangalore a young 
 Brahmin who attended a mission school, first as a 
 scholar and then as a teacher. He was a clever and 
 promising youth, and his friends had hopes of his mak- 
 ing his mark in life ; but these hopes were frustrated, 
 or at least his friends thought so, by his announcement 
 one day that he was seriously thinking of becoming a 
 Christian, — yea, that he was a Christian at heart, and 
 was making up his mind to confess his faith publicly 
 by baptism. 
 
 The reading of the Bible, the teaching of the mis- 
 sionaries, and the holy, consistent lives of the latter, 
 had wrought this change in the feelings and convic- 
 tions of the young Brahmin, and led him to forsake 
 
132 
 
 PICTURES OF LIFE IN INDIA. 
 
 idolatry. It was a genuine case of conversion by 
 conviction, and when the missionaries heard thereof 
 they were glad. The youth’s friends, however, were 
 beside themselves with anger, and adopted all kinds 
 of harsh measures to turn the young man from his 
 resolve to be baptised. 
 
 Persecution, as so often happens, but deepened the 
 convictions of the convert and strengthened his re- 
 solves ; and one day he overcame all his fears, and 
 proceeding to the native Christian Church at Bangalore 
 connected with the London Missionary Society, was 
 baptised in the presence of a large congregation, after 
 answering decidedly and firmly the questions put to 
 him with regard to his abandonment of Hinduism and 
 trust in the Saviour. 
 
 Even after the baptism the relatives of this young 
 man did not cease their persecution and their efforts 
 to turn the new convert from his trust in Jesus, 
 but all was in vain. The enraged Hindus then said, 
 “ The missionaries have given you a drug to turn 
 your mind” ; but they were met with the quiet and 
 wise rejoinder, “ No ! God has given me His Spirit to 
 change my heart.” Is not such moral courage in its 
 way heroic ? 
 
 A similar story comes from Belgaum. Shiddhappa, 
 a native of Hubli, the son of a basket-maker, made 
 the acquaintance of some Christian people, while he 
 was at school, who lent him books by which he was 
 convinced of the folly of idol worship. Aspiring to 
 the study of English, the lad joined first one school 
 and then another, and finally settled at the London 
 Mission School at Belgaum. 
 
BRAVE YOUNG CONVERTS. 
 
 133 
 
 There his knowledge of Christian truth increased, 
 and his impressions of the uselessness of idolatry 
 deepened ; and his letters home to his parents 
 showed signs of the change that was taking place in 
 him, hy frequent references to Christianity, which he 
 contrasted with Hinduism to the disadvantage of the 
 latter. 
 
 Now Shiddhappa had a sister whom he tenderly 
 loved, and as she was ill, — indeed, sick unto death, 
 — the boy was called home to see her, with the hope 
 that a change to his native village- and a talk with 
 his friends would lead his thoughts away from the 
 new truths he had imbibed. However, the visit had 
 the opposite effect, for the sight of his dying sister 
 brought very vividly before his mind words he had 
 heard concerning Christ and the life hereafter. The 
 words were, “ I am the resurrection and the life : he 
 that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall 
 he live : and whosoever liveth and believeth in Me 
 shall never die. Believest thou this ? ” Shiddhappa 
 felt that it would be good for all of them if they did 
 believe the beautiful and comforting words. 
 
 Thereupon he spoke to his friends of his convictions, 
 aud intimated that on his return to Belgaum he would 
 be baptised, and would cast in his lot with the 
 followers of Christ. Great was the grief of his 
 relatives at the announcement ; and when entreaty 
 proved of no avail in altering the young man’s 
 decision, an uncle, more irascible than the rest, locked 
 him up in a room in his house, and vowed that he 
 should never leave it until he had promised to think 
 no more of Christianity. 
 
134 
 
 PICTURES OF LIFE IN INDIA. 
 
 Shiddhappa bore all this ill-treatment with patience, 
 but did not in the least waver in his resolution, and 
 when a favourable opportunity presented itself he 
 escaped from his stern relative’s custody, and fled to 
 Belgaum, where he rejoined the missionaries. 
 
 His mother, however, was soon upon his track. 
 Leaving her dying daughter she hurried to the rescue, 
 if possible, of her son, from what she conceived to 
 be worse than death — viz., Christian baptism. The 
 interview between mother and child was touching 
 in the extreme. She pleaded passionately with her 
 boy not to forsake the faith of his forefathers and 
 bring disgrace upon the family name. She promised 
 to let the lad have everything that his heart could 
 wish in every other direction, if he would only 
 renounce his intention of becoming a Christian. 
 But the faith of Shiddhappa was fixed ; and while 
 he sought to soothe and comfort his mother with 
 kind words, he yet let her know that all her argu- 
 ments and pleading were in vain. 
 
 Then the sorrowful lady turned to the missionaries 
 who were standing by and piteously exclaimed, “ There 
 are plenty of others who will join you, spare my son ! ” 
 The missionaries, of course, told her that the decision 
 lav entirely with her boy, but that they hoped he 
 would be true to his love for Christ, as the change 
 from Hinduism to Christianity could not be other 
 than great gain, and was rather a matter for rejoicing 
 than for sorrow. 
 
 To bring the painful interview to an end, Shiddhappa 
 took some water from a Christian child, and at once 
 broke caste by drinking it. “ There, mother,” he said, 
 
BRAVE YOUNG CONVERTS. 
 
 135 
 
 “ my caste is broken. You see that I am determined 
 to follow my religious convictions.” But even then 
 the determined mother did not give up hope of success 
 in her mission, for with a look of inexpressible sorrow 
 in her face she exclaimed, “ Do you think I shall leave 
 you ? No, not even for that ! ” 
 
 Eventually, however, the distressed lady saw that 
 nothing could shake the faith of her son in Christianity; 
 and then, though reluctantly, she left him with the 
 missionaries, and returned almost broken-hearted to 
 resume her care of her dying daughter. 
 
 Shiddhappa was baptised soon after. We can see, 
 however, how terribly hard it must have been to the 
 youth to run counter to the wishes of his parents, and 
 give his dear mother such sorrow of spirit. Such a 
 case helps us to understand those strange words of 
 Christ, which read, “ Think not that I am come to send 
 peace on the earth : I came not to send peace, but a 
 sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against 
 his father, and the daughter against her mother, aud 
 the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And 
 a man’s foes shall be they of his own household. He 
 that loveth father or mother more than Me is not 
 worthy of Me. And he that taketh not his cross, and 
 followeth after Me, is not worthy of Me. He that 
 findeth his life shall lose it : and he that loseth his life 
 for My sake shall find it.” 
 
 The bitter opposition of the women of India to 
 Christianity is a truth that is constantly being mani- 
 fested in such scenes as that I have just recorded. 
 Therefore the need for Zenana Missions is great. 
 Lady missionaries are constantly in demand, who 
 
136 
 
 PICTURES OF LIFE IN INDIA. 
 
 will enter the homes of the people of India, and 
 strike at the root of idolatry, the stronghold of 
 Hinduism — the ignorance and bigotry of the women 
 of the East. 
 
 Mrs. Hewlett of Benares, in an account of Zenana 
 work in the sacred city of the Hindus, says : “ A 
 Brahmin lady here, whose son was anxious to become 
 a Christian, and who is now a preacher of the Gospel, 
 once said to him, falling down at his feet, with tears 
 flowing down her cheeks, ‘ Be assured that the 
 moment you are baptised I shall shed my blood at the 
 door of the missionary who will baptise you.’ ” The 
 dreadful threat was not fulfilled, but it was meant at 
 the time it was uttered ; and there have been cases 
 known of mothers doing themselves grievous bodily 
 harm on the occasion of the baptism of a child. 
 Tender-hearted sons, we may be sure, are much 
 influenced by such threats, and it requires a great 
 deal of courage to go steadily on in the path of 
 Christian duty in the face of a mother’s tears, prayers, 
 and hysterical pleadings. 
 
 Though females as a rule in India are very slow 
 to declare themselves Christians, yet when they do so 
 they are as brave as their husbands or brothers. I 
 recall the case of a young person, who, about five 
 years ago, was greatly persecuted for her faith at 
 Kelayapnram in Quilon, South India. She was an 
 orphan, living with and looking after the house of her 
 only brother, who was a bigoted Hindu, and a hard- 
 hearted, cruel man. 
 
 Kota was the name of the young woman. She 
 made friends with some Christians living in the 
 
BRAVE YOUNG CONVERTS . 
 
 137 
 
 district, and eventually, notwithstanding the threats 
 of her brother, joined herself to a Christian Chnrch. 
 Then commenced a series of petty persecutions, which 
 reached their climax one day in personal violence. 
 Kota, on her return from service one Sunday, was 
 seized by her brother, and severely beaten. Then, 
 with a refinement of cruelty seldom witnessed, the 
 poor girl was tied to a tree, at the foot of which was 
 a flourishing colony of red ants. 
 
 In a little while Kota was completely covered with 
 the insects, which bit her, and gave her great pain. 
 When she cried out for pity, her brother only mocked 
 her, and going up to her struck her savagely. Again 
 the poor girl wept under the stings of the ants and the 
 blows of her brother, and prayed aloud in her agony. 
 “ Yes, pray ! ” said her inhuman tormentor. “ Call 
 on Jesus and the catechist to come to your help ! ” 
 
 When Kota heard the name of her Lord thus taken 
 in vain, she ceased her tears, remembering that she 
 was a Christian, and that as such she must be pre- 
 pared, in a heathen land, to suffer persecution. Not 
 another cry did she raise ; but with the courage of a 
 martyr endured her aches and pains, until even the 
 stony heart of her brother was touched, and after some 
 hours of torment she was released by him with the 
 remark that she was a brave girl, at any rate, though 
 a foolish one for becoming a Christian. 
 
 Poor Kota ! it was some time before she recovered 
 from the physical effects of that day of ill-treatment. 
 The trial, however, strengthened her faith and ennobled 
 her character. Truly she was made perfect through 
 suffering ! 
 
138 
 
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 From South India let us journey in thought to the 
 extreme North, and there, also, cases are constantly 
 being reported of victory over weakness and fears, 
 through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. In a report 
 of work, which I once received from the Rev. H. Coley, 
 now of London, but then of Almora, I find these 
 words : “ At Almora we have had the pleasure of 
 baptising several persons during the past few weeks. 
 One was an old woman, named Jasia, for many years 
 ayah in Mr. Budden’s household. She had received 
 a good deal of instruction, and prayer on her behalf 
 has been offered for many a year. Now, at last, in 
 her old age, she has found faith and courage to confess 
 Christ openly ; and our hearts are glad. 
 
 “ The next was Tulsi, a nice little maiden of about 
 twelve years of age. She, too, had beeu under influence 
 in the Bazaar Girls’ School, and in joining our little 
 Christian community followed the example of her 
 sister, who was baptised from the same school in 
 1879 . 
 
 “Another was a young man from a distant village. 
 He had been hindered by the intervention of his 
 relatives, and kept a close prisoner at home for some 
 time. But he at last regaiued his liberty, and speedily 
 made his way back to us. His mother came again in 
 search of him. But his steadfast determination to seek 
 a Saviour in Christ Jesus touched her heart. Though 
 filled with wrath and indignation against us when she 
 came, a great change took place. She quietly watched 
 the ceremony, and, it is not improbable, may herself, 
 before long, be seeking to join the same Master as her 
 son. We thank God for these signs of His mighty 
 
BRAVE YOUNG CONVERTS. 
 
 139 
 
 working, and would ask our friends to remember these 
 1 little ones ’ in their prayers.” 
 
 At Bankura in Bengal there was, two years ago, 
 a most interesting case of baptism. It was that of 
 a Brahmin youth named Kuloda. This young man 
 attended the Wesleyan Mission High School, and one 
 day during the Bible lesson the missionary found 
 occasion to make some remarks on the gods of the 
 Hindus. From what was said Kuloda was impressed 
 with the idea that it was in vain to trust in idols for 
 any good, and he began to inquire into religious 
 matters, and to investigate the teaching of the New 
 Testament with respect to Christ as the one and only 
 Saviour of the human race. 
 
 The result was that the young man renounced 
 Hinduism, and told his friends that he was about to 
 be baptised. The usual persecutions followed, but did 
 not damp the enthusiastic ardour of the young convert, 
 who fixed Christmas Day for his public admittance, 
 by the rite of baptism, into the Christian Church. 
 
 Notwithstanding the fierce opposition of friends, 
 Kuloda forced his way to the Wesleyan Chapel ; and 
 there, amidst the rejoicing of God’s people, he was 
 baptised into the name of the Father, the Sou, and 
 the Holy Ghost. When he returned home every 
 effort was made to induce the young man to recant 
 and go back to Hinduism, but he remained steadfast in 
 the faith, saying that he could never deny the Lord 
 Jesus who had died for him on the Cross of Calvary. 
 
 BafHed in their efforts to alter the decision of the 
 brave youth, his friends vented their rage on the 
 following day on the heads of the missionaries, whom 
 
140 
 
 PICTURES OF LIFE IN INDIA. 
 
 they stopped as they were driving through the town, 
 and attacked with dust and stones and brickbats. 
 However, no very great harm was done ; and the 
 missionaries have since had reason to believe that the 
 things which were done against them have turned 
 rather to the furtherance of the Gospel. 
 
 "When in Calcutta I frequently met a native Chris- 
 tian gentleman called Atul Krishna Naj. It is over 
 twenty years since he was baptised, but I refer to his 
 case now because it is worthy of special notice in 
 association with an event which happened compara- 
 tively recently. 
 
 AVhen Atul Babu decided to become a Christian, 
 he was taken into the house of that fine missionary, 
 the late Rev. S. J. Hill of Berhampore, who, after a 
 time, baptised the young man amidst a scene of great 
 excitement. The whole neighbourhood was enraged 
 at the event, for Atul was a youth of good parts. 
 The anger of the parents, however, was the most in- 
 tense, and the father banished the lad from home, and 
 vowed that he would never look upon his face again. 
 
 Atul found the Scripture true which says, “ When 
 my father and mother forsake me, then the Lord will 
 take me up.” He obtained remunerative employment 
 under Government, and made many kind friends 
 amongst the Christians, but still it was a great grief 
 to him to be at variance with his relatives, and he 
 did all he could to soften their hearts towards him. . 
 After a few years his mother could bear the separation 
 no longer, and sent for him to visit the house after 
 dark. His father at such times either left the house 
 or kept entirely out of sight. Thus for twenty long 
 
BRAVE YOUNG CONVERTS. 
 
 141 
 
 years this unnatural state of things continued ; but at 
 last, a while hack, the father’s heart relented and a 
 complete reconciliation has been effected. 
 
 Let me tell the rest of the story in the words of 
 the Rev. W. B. Phillips of Calcutta, an intimate 
 friend of Atul Babu. Mr. Phillips says : “ This 
 
 morning Atul Babu and I met. It was a treat once 
 more to shake hands, look each other in the face, and 
 talk of the many associations that we have in common. 
 A friendship spreading over fourteen years, cemented 
 by loyalty to the same Lord, and marked by long co- 
 operation in Christian work, affords many topics for 
 happy converse. 
 
 “ He was long the secretary of our Berhampore 
 Total Abstinence Society. Just recently he has become 
 secretary to a similar society started in Calcutta. He 
 is also a teacher in the Sunday School. After talking 
 freely for some time about various*things, he suddenly 
 said, ‘ I have a piece of good news for you.’ ‘ Indeed ! 
 what may that be ? ’ ‘ My father has spoken to me.’ 
 
 As these words were uttered, and the full depth of 
 their meaning grew upon him, his eyes filled with 
 tears. All other thoughts were driven from my own 
 mind, and I seemed to stand before the gathered 
 emotions of twenty years. 
 
 “ Here was one who, at the age of twenty-two, had 
 said before God and man : ‘ I will follow Christ, what- 
 ever it may cost.’ At the very threshold it had cost 
 the bitterest grief of loving, indulgent parents ; it had 
 raised a barrier which seemed to shut him off from 
 them for ever. Years came and went ; his eldest 
 child died ; others were born, grew up, and attended 
 
142 
 
 PICTURES OF LIFE IN INDIA. 
 
 school ; sickness, disappointment, and sadness blended 
 with his life ; and yet through all the changes of time 
 his father’s heart never melted — no word of sympathy 
 ever fell upon his ears. 
 
 “Twenty years ! what a long time it seems never 
 to hear a word from the lips of a father living within 
 a few hundred yards ! To have no smile of a grand- 
 father on one’s children ! No wonder that the tears 
 stood in his eyes as he was able at last, after twenty 
 years, to say : ‘ My father has spoken to me.’ My 
 own heart was much moved. I stood in the presence 
 of one to whom ‘ the Cross of Christ ’ had meant such 
 a bitterness as I had never known.” 
 
 Now let me give just another instance of youthful 
 bravery for Christ’s sake, which happened in Calcutta 
 in 1891. 
 
 Lalit Kumar Ghose, a young Hindu of a thought- 
 ful turn of mind, borrowed a copy of the Bible, about 
 which he had heard much, to see for himself what the 
 Christian Scriptures were. The Book was a revelation 
 to him, and he speedily saw how superior was its 
 teaching to anything that the Hindu Shasters con- 
 tained. Thereupon he sought the companionship of 
 Christians, and the guidance of missionaries, which 
 coming to the ears of his friends, brought upon the 
 young man much persecution. 
 
 However, grace was given to him to bear meekly 
 every trial, and on Sunday morning, August 23rd, 
 1891, he was baptised in Union Chapel — the church 
 of which I was formerly minister. The service is 
 said to have been a most impressive one, and was 
 attended by many young people, who were deeply 
 
BRAVE YOUNG CONVERTS. 
 
 143 
 
 affected by the outspokenness and bravery of the 
 new convert. 
 
 In his short statement of belief addressed to the 
 congregation, Lalit Kumar said, amongst other things: 
 “ I have implicit faith in the Christian religion. I 
 believe Jesus to be the Way, the Truth, and the Life, 
 who gave Himself for sinners. My hungry soul has 
 been satisfied, my thirst has been quenched. Now I 
 come forward to confess my Saviour publicly, by 
 taking the external sign of baptism. I accept Jesus 
 as my Saviour before everybody here, and I earnestly 
 beseech yon to pray that I may be kept in the faith 
 to the last.” 
 
 After his baptism the young man went to live with 
 the missionaries of the London Missionary Society at 
 Bhowanipore, where he carried on his studies in the 
 Society’s college, giving great satisfaction to his 
 Christian friends. It was hoped that his relatives 
 would leave him at peace, but no, they were only 
 waiting a favourable opportunity to get him again 
 into their power. 
 
 It happened one day that the new convert was out 
 alone walking, and ere he was aware of their intentions 
 his uncle and other relations seized him aud carried 
 him off, first to Gobra, and then to his home at 
 Gouhati, where every pressure was brought to bear 
 upon him to renounce Christianity. 
 
 The brave lad declined even to think of such a 
 thing, and then insults and stripes were the portion 
 of his cup, but he still held fast his integrity. He 
 was kept a close prisoner for a time, but through 
 the help of Mr. Burdett, a missionary living in the 
 
144 
 
 PICTURES OF LIFE IN INDIA. 
 
 district, he effected his escape. However, he was 
 recaptured, and persecutions began afresh, but still 
 he remained true to Christ ; and once more he effected 
 his escape, and this time succeeded in reaching his 
 friends at Bhowanipore, who received him with open 
 arms. And there the young man has remained ever 
 since, unmolested, his relatives evidently having given 
 up the struggle in despair. This case shows how 
 many and how great are the difficulties in the way 
 of a young Hindu confessing his faith in Christ. All 
 honour to such as Lalit Kumar Ghose, who have the 
 courage of their beliefs ! 
 
 Not all young men in India, however, are as brave 
 as Lalit Kumar or Atul Babu, or the others I have 
 mentioned. There are many who, though they have 
 leanings towards Christianity and are convinced of the 
 claims of Christianity upon them, yet have not the 
 courage to forsake all for Christ’s sake. More than 
 one such case have I known myself. Again and again 
 I have said to an anxious inquirer, “ I am convinced 
 that you are a Christian.” “ I am ! I am ! ” has 
 been the reply, “ but I dare not confess it to my 
 friends. I fear persecution.” 
 
 Let me plead with my young readers of the West 
 for their sympathy and prayers on behalf of the young 
 people of the East. The advent of that day is 
 earnestly to be desired when all the world over young 
 men and maidens will be able to say, “ We fear God : 
 but we have no other fear ! ” 
 
 THE EXD. 
 
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