LIBRARY OF PRINCETON Digitized by tine Internet Arcliive in 2015 https://archive.org/details/missiontomysorewOOartli_0 MISSION TO THE MYSORE; Scenes anlj dFacts ILLUSTRATIVE OF INDIA, ITS PEOPLE, AND ITS RELIGION. BY THE REV. WILLIAM 'IrTHUR, WKSLEYAN MINISTEU. LONDON : PARTRIDGE AND OAKEY, PATERNOSTER ROW; (PUUMSIIBng TO THE EVAKGELIOAI. A AHCB ;) M'COMnE, OLASftOW ; OUll, DUIILIN, (aOENTS) ; AND SOLD IIY J. MA80N, CITY nOAD, AND PATEIINOSTER KOW. 1H47. ci.AriiAM : rlilNTKn BV C. p. MF.ADEN. TO JOHN POYNDER, ESQUIRE, WHOSE ABLE AND SUSTAINED EXERTIONS, On bei^alf of intfta, HAVE, BY THE BLESSING OF OOD, ENCOUEAGED EVERY LABOURER FOR HER ENLIGHTENMENT, REMOVED DISHONOURS FROM THE BRITISH NAME, AND FACILITATED ' THE EEGENERATION OF A GREAT CONTINENT; Tins VOLUME IS MOST RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED. PREFACE. The following pages, prepared with the hope of contributing, in some humble way, toward circu- lating information with regard to India, and pro moting an interest in its welfare, were commu- nicated to the Wesleyan Methodist Magazine. Hundreds of persons who read them in that pe- riodical have requested that they should be sepa- rately published, and a respectable New York journal has deemed them worthy of reproduction. To these encouragements, and not to any previous resolution, is due their appearance in the present foi-m. The reader should be apprized that, as the views of Hindu mind and manners he will here find, were formed through famiUar intercourse with the people of a district remote from any European station, they will probably differ, in some points, from those of writers who have resided only in the Presidencies or other centres of English in- fluence. It should also be remembered that India VI PREFACE. is SO vast a region, that a trait prominent in the character of one Hindu nation, may be faint, or even undiscoverable, in another. In extenuation of defects beyond those incident to a first attempt at authorship, all the usual pleas might be iirged, with nlore than usual truth. But apologies would neither enrich the matter nor improve the style ; and where neglect may rea- sonably be apprehended, it would be gratuitous to raise a shield against criticism. With whatever success, the Writer has desired, throughout, to avoid equally the extreme of those who from a culpable prejudice exaggerate every blemish of Hindu society, overlooking every grace, and the more tempting extreme of those who from a generous prejudice exaggerate every grace, over- looking every blemish. To give fair representa- tions, and to promote good ends, has been honestly meant, and the attempt is humbly commended to the blessing of God. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. THE VOYAGE. Dedication — ^Thc Embarkation — ^The Ship and the Company — The Sabbath Bell — The Congregation- — Madeira — ^The Burial —The mide— The Tropical Sky— The Tropical Night- Stars and Anthems — The French Frigate — The Procession — The Razor — llie Douclie Bath — Pleasure and Progress — Studies and Tos.sings — Motives — Sport — ITie Gale — -The Height of tlie Stonn — The Lesson — Ease and Money — 'ITie Calin — The Shark — The Sight of Land — ITie Coast of India — Masts and Spires Pages 1 — 30 CHAPTER n. MADRAS. The Scene and the Songster — Our Visitor — A Catamaran — Portrait of a Native — Native Penetration — Farewell to the Ship — ^Tho Surf — Blacktown — Hindu Women — A Singula- rity in Cleanliness — A City given to Idolatry — Hospitality — Hie first Prayer — The Snake Charmers — The sacred Seqicnt — The Prayer Meeting — A Palankeen — The Crowd — The Torture — 'ihe best Calling — Munro — Tiie Mount Road — Eastern Landscape — Tlic Mount — St. lliomas — The lost found— Brotherly Love— The Luiuisitiou astonished — Mis- sion Cliurches — The olden Time — The present Time — The Charter — E;irly Struggles — Tlie Siege — The Capture — Lally's Fall — llcata — Monsoon — Sea and Land Breeze — Providence in Climatcti pp. 31 — 76 viii CONTENTS. CHAPTER III. THE JOURNEY " UP COUNTRY. Bearers and Coolies — Bungalows — Bad Taste — The Landscape — Beauty and Sadness — Convict Gangs — Crime and Punish- ment— The Breakdown — The Storm — Cauvery-Pauk — As- tronomy— Geography — Inspiration — Difference of Opuiion — Tanks — Irrigation — Virtues of Water — ^Theory of the Heart — Wallajanuggur— Ai-cot— The yoimg Nabob — ^The daring Clerk— The Siege— The Onslaught —The Triumph— The Lesson — Hydur and Coote — The Village Carnage — The Revenge — Imputations — Refutations — An Alternative — Missionary Views — Native Jealousy — A Discovery — A Ser- mon once for aU — The Ascent of the Ghauts — ^The Ghauts — TTie Plateau— The Glory of Nature— The Shame of Man— The Adaptations of Providence — Diverse Tongues — Aboun- tifid Alphabet — An xmfair Description — A great Boon — A clerical Goth — Leisurely Laboius — Chunam — Hydur — His Rule — His End — Sights by the Way — Families en Route — Pensive Retrospect — The Arrival .... pp. 77 — 140 CHAPTER IV. BANGALORE. The first Sight — Martial appearances — Tamul Towns — The Metropolis of Monkeys — The wonderful Ape — The Sim in Captivity — Ail Life is the same — GocLs many — The Pettah — The Bazaar — Bankers, Drapers, Grocers, &c. — Wares — The Welcome — -Oui- Brethren — Labours and Fruits — Tlie three Tongues — Piety among the English — Hie Tamul Work — The tried Converts — The Canarese Work — The siuirise Service — The outdoor Audience — The Orphan School — The Native Book — The Boy and the Book — A strange Christian — My Moonshi — History of Bangalore — Improved Muster RoU — Corruptions — The Revolution — A good Change — Plainness and Dignity — The open Door . . pp. 141 — 179 CHAPTER V. MY CIRCUIT. Tlie pleasant Peep — The Photograjjh —The Droogs — Tlie Mis- sion House — Tlie Landscape — A noble Banyan — Mr. Hod- CONTENTS. ix son's Tour — ^The useful Umbrella — Goobbee and its People — Forts and Towns — ^The Out-castes — Mendicant Monks — Female Finery — Youthful Widows — Native Schools — The Temple — Nunj angood — Goobb ee Appa — Apotheosis — The Miracle — The daily Sacrifice — Temple Service — The Parashe — Goobbee Appa's Lameness — The Female Procession — The Muntapa — The holy Water — The Moment of Joy — Succes- sive Processions — Simple Furniture — A strange God — Yel- lama — The Honours of the Ox — Bala Rama — The Lord of Devils — The God "Collector" — Honour to Implements — ^The sacred Vulture — The Snake Temple — Death of a Deity — The Cobra — The Earth adored — Sacrifices to the Earth — Domestic difficulties of the Sun — ^The Moon, the Sea, and the Wind — Sacred Trees — A dark Soul — Our Villages — ^The lonely Tomb — Coongull — The Bigot-maker — Popiilation of our Circuit — A wide Field waste — Touching Contrasts — Opportunity, Piety, and Hope pp. 180 — 241 CHAPTER VI. OUR WORK. Literpreters — Written Sermons — Standard of Attainment — Copia Verborum — Studies — Ryot Dialect — Writing and Speaking — Native Politeness — Value of a good Pronimcia- tion — No Impossibilities — I'rogress and Pleasure — First Ser- vice— ^Tlie Sabbath-day Market — 'ITie MarkeL-place Prayer — The Temple Door — Necessity for an Idol — Air and Water — A Queer Bath — A Clean Thing brought out of an Unclean — Gods many — The luckless Priest — An amiable Bramhan ■ — Logic — Suspicions — An Enquirer — The sad Resolve — An Inconsistency on my part — Village Preaching — Ryot objec- tions— Sense of Guilt — Have they a Conscience? — Plain Words needful — Emotion in an Audience — The forsaken Shrine — ^Thc Feast unheeded — Busy Hearers — A lonely but happy Prayer — A Pilgrim and a Father — Biddiri — ITie Mar- ket Stalls — Books and Bindings — Chayloor — Purity of Heart — Christ the Puritier — The best Beginning — The Pundit Improvisatore — A bold Attack — A warm Engagement — The Shastri — The open Door — A pleasant Wrangler — An atten- tive Audience — The Feast of Yettanhully — The votive Fire — The Men who had a Vow — The Expostulation — Our Schools — Bibles and Tracts — The first Book seen, and its Fault — Our Joys — ITie Future — ITie Banyan of human So- ciety— Prospects pp. 242—316 X CONTENTS. CHAPTER VII. INDIA : WHAT IS IT ? Physical Outlines — Partly Tropical, partly Temperate — Its Productions — Its early Trade — Course and Effects of the Trade — Its Influence on our Marine- — On om- Trade — On our social Life — Arithmetic — Its ancient Science — Its Influence in Religion — Teaching Egj-pt — Converting China — Our Conquest —Its Results— "WTiere lies the World ?— The loud Call pp. 317—342 CHAPTER VIII. INDIA : ITS PEOPLE. Person and Address — Gifts and Justice — Lofty Titles — Bai-c Walls — Large Families — Seclusion — How to Eat — Grace after Meat — Animal Food — Temperance — Table Delights — Simple Furniture — Treatment of Women — The Wife's God — How to treat a Wife — Female Ignorance — Female Employ- ments— Has Woman a Soul? — A Domestic Evil — Brighter Prospects — Domestic Occurrences — Prayer to the Dead — Parental Obedience — Honours of Marriage — Qualifications of a Wife — Marr iage ^Months — A short Pilgrimage — Marriage Ceremonies — Early Marriages — Hindu Widows — Fimeral Ce- remonies— Villages and Towns — Village Government — Re- venues— Despotic Governments — Caste — Old Houses — Caste Duties — The Bramhans — Bramhanical Dignity — Bramhan Attainments — Poetry — Lucky Days — Ignorance — Absurd Notions — A pitiable Coimtry — A Fable — ^\^lat England is — Mental Condition- — ^Tlie King Caste — Arrian and Fcrishta — Hindu Bravery — Sepoy Coui-age — Merchants' Caste — Com- merce — Shudras — Agricultiu-al Usages — Inigation — Cattle keeping — Art of Clothing — Building — Mechanics — Fine Arts — Loss of Caste — Pai-iahs — Out-castes — Misery — Ameliora- tions— The Lumbardi — Savages — Moiuitain Clans — Morality — ^Truth — Honesty — Robbers — The Thugs — Hindu Benevo- lence — Cruelty — Apathy — Temper — DiiFerent Opinions — Civilization — Practical Use pp. 3-i3 — 484 CONTENTS. xl CHAPTER IX. INDIA : ITS RELIGION. No regular System — The four Vedas — Their Age — \Miere WTit- ten — Character of the Vedas— Bacchanalianism — Absiirdi- ties — Shastras and Puranas— Doctrines — Extracts from the Vedas — TTie Veda on the Clouds — The Veda on the Sun — The Veda on Water and Fire — The Veda on Moon-plant Wine — Tlie Veda on the Wind — The DawTi — Pairs and Trios of Gods — Sacred Vulture — Pantheism — Para Bramha — The Triad — The Avataras — Krishna — The Preserver a Deceiver — ITie Destroyer — Modes of making Gods — Idolatry — Pollu- tion of Divinities — God one, Gods many — Confused Ideas — The Soul divine — All Life one — PIcaven and Hell — Caste Heavens — Rites for the Dead — Effects of Metempsychosis — nio Fall — Pardon — Meditation — Penances — Self-tortures — Ablution — Methods of Salvation — Purification — The Way to Mercy — Morality — Principles and Perversions — The Priesthood — Sacerdotal Life— Ceremonial Purity — Stages of Priestly Life — Different Orders of Priests — The Guru — His Splendour — His Power — Zeal and Influence of the Priests — Men better than Gods — Ritual — DaUy Sacrifice — Various Oblations — Prayers — The Gayatri — Prayers from the Veda — 'Die sacred Omkara — Rites for all Ages — Extreme Unction — Transubstantiation — Temple Service — K arli — Sects — Foes — Romish Missions — Carey — The Danish Flag — Symptoms — Changes — Decay of Hinduism — Progress of Christianity — Agencies — Successes — A great Opening — Liberality of Con • verts — WUl Christianity prevail r . . . . pp. 435 — 626 CHAPTER X. THE RETURN. Deaths — Parting — Our Ship and our Party — Combats — Faults and Misfortunes — Marine Theology — The Night of Vigil — The Day of Burials — Begging Bread — Professional Consola- tion— Making Land — Mistake — The African Coast — Doubts and Pecrings— The Evening Bell — Wja^berg — African Om- nibus— Cape Town — Lifting Anchor — f'erils and Resolutions — Help in Time of Need — Sliort (.'omnions — Owners and Men — Large Leakage — The Denial and the Promise — The last Shot of the Locker — Hesitation — Providential Escape — The Change of Ship — The desiicd Haven . pp. 627 — 660 CHAPTER I. THE VOYAGE. Dedication — Tlio Embarkation — The Ship and the Company — Tlie fsabbath Bell — The Congref^ation — Maderia — The Burial —The Whale— The Tropical Sky— Tlie Tropical Ni-illas adjacent to English tow-ns. The city looked fair and beautiful ; but the pleasure of the prospect was repressed by the recollec- tion that it was " given to idolatry." Three missionary brethren, Messrs. Haswell, Male, and Fox, soon welcomed us to India. Having taken leave of our truly kind and gentlemanly captain, we left, with hearts full of gratitude to our gracious God, the ship where we had spent so many days and seen so many mercies. Months of preservation on the sea, the happy close of a long voyage, the presence of Christian bretlircn, the knowledge that we were again amongst sanctuaries, and the hope of shortly preaching among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, were thoughts under which the soul thrilled with no common emotion. We looked to the ship vdth. thanks, to the shore with prayer. We found ourselves seated in a large clumsy boat, with high sides of rough plank. It was manned by a crew of ten, eight men rowing with long thin sticks, having a flat piece of wood at the end, like the fluke of an anchor; and these puny oars, instead of playing freely in the rower's hand, as with us, are tied to a pin in such a way as to permit the performance of the neces- sary evolutions, and yet secure them from escape in all emergencies. They pulled with more energy than order, and sang excruciating ditties all the while. These un- gainly conveyances, called masoola boats, are rendered necessary by the peculiar character of the landing-place. Along the coast of Coromandel a surf of three succes- sive waves rolls heavily upon the strand. Even in fine weather it is loud and high ; but in a storm, terrific. 38 THE SrRF. No European boat can cross it. Its %-iolence at Madras has prevented the formation of any harbour, and com- pels ships to anchor in the open roadstead, at the in- convenient distance of a mile or upwards from the shore. The masoola boat is the only safe medixmi of communication. It is constructed of planks, which, after being bent by fire, are not nailed to timbers, as in English boats, but are fastened to one another by a monster seam. The edges of each plank being pierced with nxunerous holes, a cord of cocoa-nut fibre is em- ployed as a thread, and thus they are literally sewed together, although that term conveys an inadequate im- pression of the strength and compactness of the frame. Held together thus, they easily yield to the pressure of the wave, when it is removed resuming their natural shape, and in this way are able to dare the sm-f, in Avhich none of our boats can live, unless, indeed, the new and beautiful process of building recently intro- duced into Chatham dock-yard, in which timbers are dis- pensed with, be found to combine the requisite strength and pliancy with the elegance of a British man-of-war's boat. The morning being perfectly mild, the surf was low ; but the shock of its three waves was sufficient to accredit the accounts given of its ^dolence in stormy weather. The power of these comparatively small waves, where there is an evident progression of the water itself, strongly confirms the hydrostatic theory which regards the propagation of sea-waves, like those of a corn-field, as not consisting of any progress of the agitated body, but simply the progress of an undulating motion, while the particles affected by it vibrate in a vertical line. BLACKTOWX. 39 The dangers of those in-shore wares which, thovigh the bodv of water is small, yet carry it in a forward direc- tion, clearly show that, if the huge masses of elevated water which form the waves of the open sea had a for- ward motion of anything at all like the apparent velo- city, not only must the very first of them overwhelm a ship, but a violent storm in any part of the ocean would be attended with consequences of a most destructive character, even in remote provinces of the watery do- main. The last of the three waves cast our boat agroimd upon the beach, on which the men leaped out, and laid hold to prevent her being carried back by its retiim. Two men from the shore then ran into the water, car- rying a small arm-chair on their shoulders, which they presented, and, recei\'ing a passenger, hastened to the dry beach, where, having discharged him. they returned for another, and so on till we were all standing safely and thankfully on the soil of India ; to which many cheerful faces of various hues gave us a hearty Christian welcome. In a few minutes Mr. Fox was driving me briskly through Blacktown in his buggy. The streets are of tolerable width, and occasionally lined with rows of palm. The houses are for the most part built of mud. fiat roofed, only one story high, without windows, and t>eautifully whitewashed, thus presenting a continuous line of smooth white wall, broken only by narrow doors. Projecting about two feet from the wall, a raised seat of the same material, and similarly whitewashed, runs along the whole extent of the street, and is broken by a kind of pillow-like elevation, which di>4des unto each house its share ; thus afibrding an agreeable open-air 40 HIXDXI WOMEN. couch for the inhabitants. On these were seated a num- ber of men, some cross-legged, like tailors ; others with their black eyes peeping over the knees, which stood up dusky and meagre, supporting the chin ; others again, resting the weight of the whole body upon the heels, a position which, though less disagreeable to the eye of an European than the last named, is more dis- tressing to his feelings, as he is put in pain for the poor man's heels and toes. These arc the usual positions of the natives : the climate is so dry that no danger arises from sitting on the ground, and consequently the use of chairs would only be increasing the number of their wants without any corresponding addition to their com- forts. For, though we may think otherwise, they feel more easy in their own posture than on a chair-. I have seen a native, on taking a chair, fidget from side to side, backward and forward, and in every other way by which he could express rmeasiness, until, taking courage, he pulled up his legs, crossed them under him, adjusted himself with an air of great complacency, and so sat perched as we are wont to see eastern kings painted on their musnuds. Several women were passing along the streets : they are about the middle size, slender, symmetrical, and brown ; the hair, long, glossy, and jet black, is gathered into one heavy and ungraceful clump behind. An ele- gant flowing garment covers the person from the ^^'aist downwards ; from the right side a fold of the same piece passes across the shoulders, leaving the small of the back exposed, but covering the chest, and even tlie face, when the wearer pleases. In some cases a very small, tight bodice is added ; for without this the other A SIXGXJLAEITY IN CLEAXLIXESS. 41 robe, like the Roman toga, requires the hand to pre- serve it in position. The favourite colours are purple, white, yellow, and red ; frequently plain, but often also in stripes or cheques ; while a broad border, of some bright contrasting coloiu-, is always disposed with great taste. The dyes arc, to an English eye, very striking, as, probably from the advantages of climate, they have a vividness which we cannot give ; while the white far surpasses our finest bleach. Thus attired, with the left hand supporting a waterpot on the head, and the right carrying another, the Hindu housewife returns from her morning errand with an air of considerable grace, but defective vivacity, presenting a figure more picturesque than animated. The waterpots are exactly the shape you would obtain by taking a cabbage, cover- ing it with brass, and leaving a large aperture at the top of the form of a tulip. But no description, and no European drawing, can give so accurate a view of the natives of India as is afforded by their own drawings on talc, where you have the colours of person and costume, the shape of implements, and the air of easy listless- ness, or pompous conceit, \vith amusing exactness ; while the very defects in perspective seem to render the picture all the more instructive. Besides the ladies who had been with their waterpots to draw water, a number of others were engaged in an occupation strange to western eyes,— diligently gathering into baskets all the cow-dung they could find on the streets. This is as much a domestic duty as the former, and serves also both cleanly and culinary purposes. It is spread in broad patches on a wall for several months, to bake in the sun, and then used for fuel. Part of it is cnii)loycd, 42 A CITY GIVEX TO IDOLATRY. while fresh, to wash the floors and walls of the mud- built dwellings ; for which purpose it is highly sernce- able, Avhen plentifully diluted with water. Odd as this may sound in English ears, every one who has proved the difference between a dirty choultry and the cleanly freshness of one just washed out with this strange pre- paration, will bear testimony to its utility for that im- likely purpose. Many other females appeared at the doors sweeping their houses, or marking the ground just before the entrance with white stripes of the ashes of cow-dung, crossed into various cheques, according to taste. This is done as a kind of cleanly ornament. It is a favourite amusement with witers on India to rate at the natives for dirtiness ; but it is done in per- fect ignorance of their domestic habits. Though the whole scene was novel and interesting, one aspect rested on it all ; one thought was continually recurring, — it was a city given to idolatry. The men and women before me were wont to worship and kneel down, not 'before the Lord their Maker, but before things themselves had made ; the houses I was passing contained idols ; at that instant incense was ascending to scores of miserable stocks ; and hundreds of ac- countable immortals were in the act of prostration before man-made gods. These were thoughts to chill the heart ; to invest eternity with redoubled awe ; and to make the soul yearn for the time when God should look down upon earth and sec no rival to his claims, no wanderer from his fold. A short drive carried us through the northern gate of the city into the suburb of Royapuram, where we were most hospitably received at the house of Mr. HOSPITALITY. 43 Orme, who kindly became our host in the absence of Mr. Crowther, then at Pulicat. We immediately sat do^vn to breakfast, which differed only from a bountiful repast of the same kind in England, by the addition of several Indian fruits and such a profusion of dishes as made it resemble the French dejeuner a la fourchette. With tea and coffee, bread and butter, toast and eggs, one seemed rather more at home than suited the idea of an oriental meal ; but yet the strange fruits, the crowd of black attendants, the play of switches protect- ing you from flies, and the swing of the pimkah above, sufficiently attested a strange land. The favourite term to describe a punkah among Indian tourists is a " large fan." It is hard to imagine what idea will be formed, by a person who has never seen one, of a fan large enough to serve a whole company, and playing over- head. You have observed by the side of a country inn a sign-board suspended so as to flap about with the wind. Now just fancy one of these, instead of being nearly square, extended so as to stretch the whole length of a long dinlng-table ; you suspend it from the roof, — for ceiling there is none ; in place of the wind, you use a line which, being attached to the punkah, is carried through a doorless doorway into another room, where stands a servant, and, by slow but constant pulling, produces a refreshing motion of the air. It is said that some of the patricians at Rome had such a multitude of slaves, that one was constituted nomenclator, being charged with the duty of reciting to his master the names of the others, who were so numerous as to require an official memory. I am not aware that this ancient and reputable custom has yet 44 THE riEST PRATER. been introduced among oxir countrjTnen in India ; but certainly their retinue is such as to suggest its desira- bleness. This arises partly from a willingness to live in state, partly from the inactivity of the natives, who believe the doctrine, that many hands make light work, and partly from their habit of considering the several offices of menial service as so many different trades. The man who cooks the meat woiild as soon think of washing the plates as would a milliner of making horse- shoes ; and the man who grooms your horse would as soon think of cutting grass for him, as a hosier wovdd of making hats. All the servants find, or profess to find, their own provisions : sleep about the verandahs or outhouses, no one ever dreaming of affording them apartments ; and receive wages ranging from five to ten rupees a month, according to the dignity of their office, and the wealth of their master. After breakfast we were summoned to family wor- ship. It is always refreshing to sanctify our mercies by the word of God, and prayer ; but, on this occasion, the hjTnn seemed passing sweet, the word flowed with fresh imction ; and few can tell the feeling with which the missionary breathes his first prayer on heathen soil. The soul has no greater thoughts than those with which such a moment supply him. Separated from home and its joys, the world and its excitements, he there gives up spirit, soul, and body to be employed of God in conferring, by the Gospel, life and immor- tality on multitudes who are hopeless and unholy. The knowledge that he is doing God"s will, the hope of winning souls, and meeting them in heaved, fill his breast with a lofty happiness, which must strangely THE SXAKE CHAEMEES. 45 contrast with the feelings of those who land on such shores with no higher aim than to get a living, or make a fortune, or earn a name. During the moming we observed in the neighbour- hood a high pole, with the appearance of some ma- chinery at the top, on which sat a large bu-d, of bright brown plumage marked with white. The pole, we learned, was erected for the barbarous uses of the chettle-feast, about to be celebrated ; and the bird was that species of \'ulture which receives divine honours from the Bramhans, being that of Garurda, the steed of Vishtnu. To look on those two objects, and think of the worship the one was wont to receive, of the tor- ments the other would be used to inflict, they seemed a meet emblem of idolatry pedestaled on human woe. WTiilst walking in the verandah, some snake charm- ers approached, and forthwith began to show us their skill. They produced several bags and baskets, con- taining serpents of the most poisonous kind, — the cobra di capello ; then blew upon an instrument shaped like a cocoa-nut, with a short tube inserted, and jiroducing music closely allied to that of the bagpipe. The ani- mals were brought forth, raised themselves to the music, spread out their head, showing the spectacle- mark fully distended, and waved about with consider- able grace, and little appearance of venom. The men coquetted with them, and coiled them about their per- sons, without any sign of cither dislike or fear. This power of dealing with creatures so deadly is ascribed by the natives to magic. Europeans generally account for it by saying, that the fangs are extracted. But the most reasonable explanation seems to be, that when 46 THE SACRED SERPEXT. the snake is first caught, by a dextrous movement of the charmer the hand is slipped along the body, until it reaches the neck, which he presses so firmly, as to compel an ejection of the virus, — thus destrojTng, for a time, all power to harm ; and that this operation is repeated as often as is necessary, to prevent the danger- ous accumulation. If this be true, — and I believe it is, — ^nothing is necessary to the safe handling of these rep- tiles, but a knowledge of the laws which regulate the venomous secretion. The wonder seems to lie ia the power they possess of attracting the snakes by their rude music, and seizing them, in the first instance. But enough is kno^ra to make it e\'ident that, in what all natives and many Europeans regard as mysterious and magical, there is nothing but experience, tact, and courage. With a Hindu, the cobra is the most sacred of rep- tiles. Most of the natives pay him di^'ine honours ; in some places he has temples consecrated to his special worship ; and not even the chamiers, who seize, im- prison, and sport A\ith him, will take away his life. The grounds of this are several : Shiva makes him his chief ornament ; Vishtnu reposes on his ample folds on the sea of milk ; and the whole earth is sustained upon his head, which has consequently a flatness observable on the back part of it when distended. The native Romanists are said to account for this by saying, he wa.s the serpent that tempted Eve ; and that she, re- quiring help to reach the fruit, availed herself of the ofler of his head, which the pressure of her foot flat- tened. As illustrative at once of their astronomical system, and their rare talent for flattery, the following TALEXT FOR FLATTERY. 47 circumstance may be named : — A Bramhan desirous of a court appointment had obtained an introduction to the celebrated Bhoja Raja ; and entering into learned discussion, delighted his majesty by the display of su- perior parts. After ha^dng exhausted his store of pro- blems in the vain attempt to perplex the candidate, the king, in despair, demanded to be told why the serpent was made without ears. " Oh," said the pundit, nothing at a loss, " the reason of that is very plain. When Brumha was engaged in the work of creation, he fore- saw that, in process of time, Bhoja Raja would arise, and, by unequalled achievements, spread his fame through the fourteen worlds. Some great Rishi, in his delight, would hasten to Adi Shaysha, the serpent who 'upholds the world, and recount the wonders that were astounding the universe. Adi Shaysha, transported by the matchless rehearsal, would forget his position, and, as he does when delighted with music, would shake his head, by which the world would be cast out of equili- brium, and all things be reduced to confusion. To prevent this, otherwise unavoidable, catastrophe, the serpent was made without ears." But though they, in theory, hold serpents to be deaf, they never walk in a grassy place at night without making a noise to frighten them away. And, notwithstanding their veneration, I have known them to stand quietly by to see one killed ; and the low-caste people make curry of the flesh, which they pronounce a delicious dish. We 8])ent the night under the same hospitable roof. The beds used in India are very hard mattresses, gene- rally of cocoa-nut fibre, with pillows of the same sub- stance, so unyielding, that some one has humorously 48 THE PRAYER MEETING. compared them to petrified meal sacks. A single sheet is the covering, and mosquito curtains of thin gauze complete the equipment. It would be hard for the Madras magistrates to impose a M'orse punishment than to make a man lie (sleep if he could) on a good feather- bed, with Holland sheets, Witney blankets, Marseilles counterpane, and damask curtains. A comfortable bed in England is a warm one, in India a cool one. The next day we attended a prayer meeting, held in the school-room under our Blackto^ra chapel. The larger part of the persons present were Indo-Britons ;* and it was no small happiness to hear fervent thanks- gi\ings for our preservation, and prayers for our useful- ness, offered up to God by persons themselves the fruit of missionary labour. For a full description of this chapel, as well as for many particulars connected with the mission in Madras, and the Tamul country gene- rally, I would refer to the valuable and accurate work of Mr. Hoole ; a work full of information on the cus- toms, literature, and religion of the Hindus, and quite free from the exaggeration and incorrectness by which so many clever books on India are vitiated. At this meeting we first met with Mr. Crowther, who received us with a most affectionate welcome, and conducted us to his own house, where we were kindly entertained during the remainder of our stay. It was on this occasion I first entered a palankeen, and shall not easily forget my excessive discomfort at being car- * To this class the name " Ilalf-caste" is odiou.s, and " Coimti y-born" distastcfiJ. Tliey like '* East Indian," but that is unintelligible, for persons in Em-ope would suppose it meant natives. " Lndo-13riton," is at once acceptable, and signidcant. A PALAXKEEX. 49 ried by my fellow-creatures. But when one leams that the men are cheerful and content, have no other means of lining, and are, physically, one of the finest castes of men in the coxmtry, though he does not be- come wholly reconciled to it, he feels it would be as unreasonable to refuse to employ them, as to refuse to burn coal in England, because your fellow-creatures must live and toil underground to obtain it. To form an idea of a palankeen, look at the body of an omnibus, and you have the exact shape ; only just imagine it removed from the wheels, and reduced to about six feet long, with a corresponding decrease of the other dimensions. The entrance is on the side, which is open or close at pleasure, by means of sliding doors. From the centre of the end panel projects a thick pole, for about four feet, behind and before. The passenger having entered, has the choice of Ij'ing full-length, sitting up as in a bed, or, as the natives do, cross-legged ; but other posture he carmot adopt. Three men seize the pole in front, and raise it upon their shoulders ; three more do the same with the one behind ; the head-bearer strikes up a song, and the whole start off at a quick trot. On the Sunday morning I proceeded to lloyapetta, in order to be near St. Thome, where I had to preach at night. Here first it was my happiness to see a native Christian congregation, of which the number was small, but the appearance devout and pleasing. Mr. Haswell read the Liturgj- and preached in Tamul ; and though I could not understand a single sentence, yet the scene awakened reflections which made it a season of surpass- ing interest and profit. In the afternoon Mr. Haswell went to distribute tracts, and converse with the multi- 50 THE CBOWD. tude he knew would assemble in the immediate vicinity to celebrate the chettle feast ; and I gladly embraced the opportunity of accompanjing him. We found an immense crowd in an open place around a pole, similar to the one we had remarked at Royapuram. They received the tracts offered, and freely entered into con- versation ; but aU that passed was secret from me, except so far as looks might happen to reveal it. It is a fearful thing to see a number of men met together to do evU. But when the evil is part of a system, when it is accounted right and even religious, when it includes both dishonour to God and cruelty to man, when nations are in sympathy with the deed, and \\'hen, standing amidst them, you see them rush along the road that leadeth to destruction, and are not able so much as to say, "Turn ye, turn ye;" Oh, then there is a pressure upon the heart, the intensity of which none can tell, but he that with a Christian's feelings has looked upon the abominations of heathenism perpetrated on the Sabbath. A movement in the crowd presently called our attention towards the pole. From a shed placed near it, was led forth a man naked from the waist up, but hav'ing round it a cloth so tied that a part of it formed a kind of bag, which was filled with flowers. A little below tlie shoulder appeared two large hooks, inserted into the back, one on either side of the spine. Across the top of the upright pole was another of great length, and so affixed that it could revolve freely, and either end be lowered or raised at pleasure. A rope was attached to each extremity. One of these was seized, the end of the cross-beam was lowered nearly to the man, the rope was passed through the loop of the THE TOETUEE. 51 hooks, and tied fast. Four men began to pull upon the rope attached to the opposite end, and thus gradually raised that to which the poor victim was attached. He bent forward, was lifted from the ground, and hoisted into high air amid the plaudits of that great con- course over whom he hung quivering. The men hold- ing the rope then began to move slowly roimd, causing a corresponding motion in the other end of the trans- verse beam, by which the miserable object suspended from it was made to describe a circle in the air; where, as he writhed and shuddered, he frequently took a handful of flowers, and let them fall on the crowd below, by whom they were caught up as if an angel were scat- tering blossoms from the tree of life. After having four times traversed the circle, the poor ^•ictim was taken down, and led away. Mr. Haswell continued earnestly conversing with the people, and distributing tracts at such intervals of excitement as permitted the withdrawal of their attention from the spectacle, until four persons had submitted to this revolting penance. Disgust ren- dered a longer stay impossible ; and as we left, I could hardly prevent my desire for the ability to preach Christ to those multitudes from hea%ing into impatience. Sympathies, at once poignant and ennobling, are stirred in the breast of a missionary standing amid masses of heathen. The heart bleeds to think of their darkness ; but finds large consolation in the assurance of being an agent, however humble, in God's great plan for their regeneration. Faith opens the view of better days, when Jehovah shall be honoured and man blessed; hope exults in the prospect, and joy, unique and fervid, glows upon the heart. Then does the Gospel seem 52 THE BEST CALLING. glorious, and the commission to preach it an unspeakable gift. When standing by the death-bed of the venerable Henry Moore, I asked him, "Were you again young, would you wish to apply your life to any other purpose than that to which it has been devoted ?" The aged servant of God, raising himself in his bed, and looking me stedfastly in the face, said, warmly, "No, not at all, not at all : the best thing a man can do, the very best, is to preach the Gospel."* It is truth. To be employed as God's instrument in making men good, is the noblest, happiest, most remunerative application of our brief but momentous life. Would to God that every Christian parent and every Christian youth felt it so ! Then we should not see the offer of a cadet's commission, a merchant's partnership, or a civilian's appointment, hailed as "a good thing," and a commission to preach Christ to the Gentiles reluctantly yielded to with speeches about heroism and sacrifice. During our stay, the friends at Madras held their Centenary Meeting, having purposely delayed it till our arrival. It was numerously attended, and evinced the same spirit of holy joyfulness and gratitude which so remarkably characterized like assemblies at home. Many delightful testimonies were borne to the power of saving grace. From some of the statements it appeared that a few pious individuals had formed themselves into a society, adopted rules very similar to those of the Weslcys, and taken other measures remarkably coinci- dent with the usages of Methodism, before tliey had any • The Rev. Ilcnry Moore, the friend and biographer of John Wesley, who died at the age of niiiety-thi-cc. MXJNRO. 53 correct information of its character, and f)revious to any of our missionaries reaching their shores. During our stay, we visited St. Thomas's Mount, which, beside its religious celebrity, has a military im- portance as the depot for the Company's troops. The drive is said to be one of the finest in India, and cer- tainly is the most interesting in the neighbourhood of Madras. Leaving Blacktown, you cross the spacious esplanade which is flanked on the east by Fort St. George, with its sloping glacis and all but impregnable rampart, beyond which rises the roar of the "much-re- sounding sea." You shortly pass Chantrey's noble equestrian statue of Sir Thomas Munro, a man who, by eminent talents, imswerving rectitude, and careful atten- tion to the people's interests, in the various offices to which his merits raised him, attained a reputation among the natives of South India, far higher than that of any other European. In the remote villages the brilliant name of Clive is forgotten, that of Wellington barely known ; but Munro's is cherished and dwelt upon with the liveliest admiration. I have known a native say, with evident pride, when asked from what country he came, "I am from the country of Munro," meaning the Ceded Districts. I once heard a Bramhan bitterly com- plaining of the Madras authorities for placing his statue in the open air, as he thought exposure a mark of de- ficient respect ; and added, with as much feeling as if resenting an insult offered to his mother, " I saw an un- clean bird ])crchcd on'the head of the illustrious Munro." It is said that in the districts which were favoured so long with his judicious government, the natives fre- 54 THE MOUNT ROAD. quently call their children by his name ; and that, some- where near Gooty, a likeness of him is kept, and treated with a veneration very similar to that paid to their gods. As you proceed, the way is crowded Avdth pedestrians, steeds, and equipages. The English soldier, the brown native, and the Indo-Briton, with light garments and leisurely pace, move along in continuous and pictu- resque succession, a stream almost as constant, bxit not so impetuous, as the ton-ents of Cheapside and the Strand. Mingled with these are the light Arabian horse, the sturdy Persian, the sprightly Pegu jiony, the bullock, belled and caparisoned, and occasionally the tall, soft- i:)aced camel, bearing riders in the respective costumes of England, Persia, and Hindustan. Then you have the open carriage, with a black groom holding on by either side, and keeping pace with the horses, however fleet ; brandishing their switches the while, as a warn- ing to all musquitoes ; buggies, with the master driving and the servant pursuing on foot ; native carriages, with a dome-shajDed roof supported on four pillars, showing you the portly bust of some Hindu seated cross-legged, while the coachman, perched \ipon the pole, urges on two bullocks, each graced with a neck- lace of tinkling bells : then there are palankeens, with their troop of singing bearers ; tonjons, with pale children and black ayas, and of bandies no end. The way, thus animated, is lined by rows of trees, among which you recognise the aloe, the palmyra, yellow txilip, mango, banyan, and lime. At every few perches a neat gate opens into a cultivated enclosure with a handsome residence, while a glow of intense sun-light sheds EASTERN LAXDSCArE. 55 brightness over all the scene. The Armenian bridge of Marmalong is an interesting object, near which is a Romish church, said to stand on the spot where the Apostle Thomas had his residence, and whence he took his last flight when assailed by the heathen. The Mount, distant from Madras about eight miles, is an isolated cliff of granite, rising abruptly from a plain near the shore, and crested by a simjile but picturesque Romish church. Steps have been cut in the rock to facilitate the ascent, which they may do in the case of the infirm or timid, many of whom doubtless are to be found in the crowds of pilgrims resorting hither ; but for my own part, I would much rather clamber a hill side, however rugged, than drag up flight after flight of dull, heavy stone steps. The summit was the first place from whence we obtained any extensive prospect of the countr)'. To our east spread the wide and placid sea. fringed by the foaming surf, and agreeably spangled by the strange sails of the dhonie and catamaran. Imme- diately below us lay the cantonment, with its barracks and bazaar, the noble English church, and our own beautiful gothic chapel ; enlivened by figures in light costume, and the evolutions of the soldiery at drill. The view inland has but little interest, the land spread- ing abroad in one extended flat, with a few hills in the distance, scattered clumps of trees, and paddy-fields of rich green ; but not anything to save the landscape from an air of dulness and monotony. Persons at home are apt to look at every thing oriental through an atmo- sphere of beauty and romance, with which the books read in childhood surround them, and which those of after-years too often leave undisturbed. Lands where 56 THE MOUNT. the orange and lime, the banana and tulip-tree, the talipot and banyan, flourish ; whose soil imbeds diamonds and nomishes incense ; in Avhose forests ele- phants range and peacocks glitter ; where the tedious night never abridges the day, nor the dew-drop chills to frost, where nature never puts on the hoary covering of a barren age, but stands always dressed in the green of prolific youth ; — such lands, it is thought, must be far fairer than the common-place scenery at our own doors. But it is not so : our groves and gardens, our fields and flowers, are lovelier than theirs. Palms are graceful ; but when constantly before the eye, the branchless and scaly shaft becomes monotonous : banyans, when many- trunked, form an object of singular interest ; but their occurrence in such specimens is not so frequent as to afiect the general aspect of the scenery ; and, on the whole, though the woods of India never are leafless as ours in January, they are never equal to them in May, either as regards appearance or perfume. Those who have wandered in the woods of Bolton- Abbey, by the banks of the Dart, the Avon, or the Wye, have stood on Croagh-Patrick, or Richmond-Hill, or sailed on (he waters of Lough-Erne or Lough-Gill, need not sigh for the region of cloudless suns, nor envy " the green of its shores, or the blue of its skies." But it was not possible to stand on St. Thomas's Mount without other reflections than those suggested by the landscape. On (his spot tradition states, that the Apostle, having fled from his usual dwelling-place, before referred to, was overtaken and slain. On the strength of this tradition the cliurch now standing was erected by the Portuguese ; and time was when THE MOUNT. 67 their war-ships never sighted the sacred place without greeting it witK the honours of a royal salute. A Chris- tian missionary, then, was not likely to stand here without asking, "From that plain below did the very hand which our blessed Lord called to touch his sacred wounds, point the eye of nations to their God ? And did that hand, on this very spot, stiffen in a death in- curred for love of Him whom once he doubted .■" The authenticity of the tradition is matter of dispute.* But • Hamilton doubted not ; Bishop Hcber believed it firmly ; and Captain Swanston, in a pa])er on the " Primitive Chjistians of Malayala," in the Koyal Asiatic Society's Journal, boldly states, " ITiis is not asserted on the authority of any obscure tradition ; but unites in its favour all the* proofs which can warrant its correctness ; the accumulated testimonies of the first ap;cs of the church, of St. Jerome, of St. John, surnamed Chrysostom, Athanasius, and Eusebius." Mr. Hough, how- ever, to whose historical researches C'liristianity in India is greatly indebted, has given to the question a lengthened re^'iew, and concludes decidedly against the tradition. He docs show that in the ancient ecclesiastical histories of the "West, it has a very slender foundation ; hnt does not inform us of the records held by the native churches, or what credit he supposes duo to them ; an omission which certainly weakens the impression of his argument. His own pages, however, contain enough to show that his conclusion is no more free from historical diffi- culties than the other ; nor, indeed, so much so. The tradition exists, and has existed from a very early age : if we denv its truth, it is but reasonable that we account for its origin, 'fhis Mr. Hough endcavoiu s to do by referring to two persons of the name of Tliomas, who, having an early coimexion with the native churches, might have been confounded with the apostle, owing to the identity of name. It is not professed that either of these introduced the Gospel into India; for Mar Thomas lived in the ninth century, and ITiomas the Manichee in the latter ])art of the third ; « hereas Jlr. Hough admits the exist- ence of (Christianity in India previous to the mission of I'an- ta;nus from Alexandria, wliich occuned in the second. Now, the existence of churches in the second century being proved, it follows, they co\ild not udopt the name of aiiy labourer sub- sequent to that period, as the name of their founder : and that, if adopted at all, it must be on account of eminent influence 58 THE SIOUXT. be the decision of history what it may, it was not to be expected that Romanism shovdd exist near a place and reputation. But had any man attained such consideration amongst them that they delighted to be called hy his name, they would surely not have rejected his doctrines ; and there being no kind of proof that these churches embraced the heresy of Manes, is strong presumptive evidence, that whosoever might be the Thomas from whom they took their name, he was not a Manichee. All the information given of such a mis- sionary is, that Manes " is said to have sent one of his disciples, named Thomas, into India to propagate his heresy ;" which cei'tainly is slender ground whereon to rest a grave conclusion. As to Mar Thomas, !Mr. Hough himself scarcely goes so far as to attribute to him the origin of the name ; and that he should at all cite him in the case is not easily accounted for, when himself informs us, that in the seventh century the claims of the Patriarch of Selcucia were disputed on the grounds that " the Christians of Persia and India were Christians of St. Thomas ;" a statement sufficiently pro^-ing, that a person who lived in the ninth centiu-y coidd have nothing to do ^\-ith gi%ing them that name. Again, he notices the celebrated mission oif our o^-n Alfred the Great to the " shrine of St. Thomas in India," which, lea\-ing England, as it did, in the same century as that in which Mar Thomas flourished, proves that in the West a belief prevailed that the apostle had laboured and died in India, long before it could possibly have arisen from a con- fusion of two persons separated from each other by so many centuries. From whatever somx'c the primitive churches of India derived the name of Christians of St. Thomas, and what- ever may have been the origin of the tradition which ascribes tliat name to an apostle, it seems tolerably plain neither is to Ik; foimd in the persons fi-om whom the historian of Christianity in India supposes them to have arisen. But beside these matters of consideration furnished by Mr. Hough's oOTi pages, there are others which go strongly to cor- n)borate the tradition, ^^'e must take into account the ancient origin of those chm-ches, their own confident behef that the apostle founded them, their use of the S)Tiac language, and the assertion of their own historians, (see Swanston's Treatise a.s above,) that, up to the year 345, there had been no foreign bishop or dcrgj-man amongst them, — a fact which goes far to confirm the opinion, that the India visited by Panta^nus was, as so many good authorities supjiose, not Hindustan, but Ethi- opia. Another fact of great moment is, that the Jews on the Malabar coast have a tradition stating tliat tlieir fathers landed ST. THOMAS. 59 favoured with such a rich mine of pious marvel as that • presented by this tradition, without adopting means to develope its resources. Accordingly, after the Portu- guese had established themselves in the neighbourhood, their priests, as quaintly narrated by Hamilton, dis- in India in the year of our Lord 69, and that the Apostle Tho- mas had reached it seventeen years before, having arrived in 62. Now, as this leaves a space of nineteen years after the ascent of our Lord, and mentions a time when the intercoiu-se with India had just become greatly facilitated by the enter- prise of Ilippalus, there is about it an air of considerable pro- bability. As Parthia is named by Eusebius as the sphere of St. Tho- mas's ministry', wc should have been led naturally to expect that he would penetrate into the north of India, which lay so adjacent, to which attention had been long directed, and which iiad been made comparatively knowi by the residence of Me- gasthenes at Palibothra, which, notwithstanding the opinion of Kobertson in favour of Allehabad, appears to have stood on the site assigned by Major liennell, at the junction of the Sone with the Ganges near Patna. But the appearance of Chi-is- tianity so near the apex of the peninsvda, renders it very im- probable that it was carried thither from the north ; and points out the commerce with the west as tlie channel of its iiitro- duction. Here lies the only difficidty of believing that the labours of Thomius called Didjinus, were the first which ever brought Christ to the knowledge of Hindus. Bishop Heber states that the passage from the Persian Gulf was tlien qidte common ; a statement, however, which cannot apply to the Persian ports, as there did not then exist iiny maritime com- merce from that country, in consequence of the religious aver- sion to the sea entertained by its inhabitants ; an aversion never overcome till, when, imder Artaxerxes, they had thrown off the Parthian yoke, which event did not occur till the third century. Now, as no port was open on the Arabian Sea, or the eastern shores of the Persian Gidf, the missionary must have sailed from some port in Arabia or Egypt. To the former country the traditions of Malayala trace the apostle, so that the only difficidty is to reconcile the statement of Eusebius, that his Kjjhcrc was Parthia, — a very wide term, with the fact of his being found in Arabia some twenty veiu's after tlxe com- mencement of his labours ; which difficulty, we apprehend, will not be esteemed formidable. 60 THE MISSIONARY CHAPEL. covered the lance with which the apostle had been slain, and the cross stained with his blood, which, with other relics equally genuine, are preserved to this day, and occasionally exhibited for the edification of the pilgrims resorting to the holy place. St. Thomas's Mount is to the Romanists of India, what Croagh Patrick is to those of Ireland, or a Becket's tomb once was in England. On descending from this remarkable eminence we found a good company assembled in our elegant little chapel, where we held a missionary meeting, charac- terized by lively feeling and liberality. I cannot refer to this chapel without being reminded of a circumstance which occurred at a subsequent visit, when, after the service, a young man in artillery uniform came into the vestry. He was introduced to me by Mr. Pope, as the son of one of our ministers at home, a man of great distmction and respect. His looks indicated a full heart, and he said, " I have just heard from home. My father is dead." He wept sore, reproaching himself bitterly for conduct which he feared had shortened the days of the excellent parent he was now lamenting. After his feelings had somewhat subsided, he told ua that, had this terrible news reached him only a short time before, he feared to think what the consequences might have been ; but that God had in mercy brought him to a state of heart in which he was better able to bear his self-reproach. " For some time," he said, " I have felt the burden of my sins, and longed to become a new creature ; but in the barrack-room I had little opportunity to seek God, and was interrupted in every attempt to pray. At last my desire became so earnest, that I resolved to seek Him where I could do so m THE LOST FOUND. 61 quiet : so, retiring to a grove of cocoa-nut trees, I there knelt do^vn, poured out my soid to God, cried for mercy, and continued wrestling with him until he was pleased to reveal Christ in my soul, and to give me the sense of his pardoning love. Had it not heen for this, what should I have done now ?" There was every token of sincerity and true penitence : we rejoiced over him greatly, but with trembling ; for, knowing the temptations by which he was surrounded, it was im- possible not to have apprehensions. The event, how- ever, showed that the work was of God : he continued stedfast, left the army, and obtained a respectable situation. His health failed, he was ordered into the interior, and on the journey was attacked by cholera. His only attendant was his excellent wife, to whom he had not long been united, and who now wqtched the agonies she could not alleviate, closed his eyes in death, and committed him to a lonely grave far from any place where Christians bury. She has since been called to follow ; but survived long enough to tell of the peace and hope which comforted her husband during his last struggle, and animated her amid the gloom of her own bereavement. We doubt not that now father and son are together before the throne of God and of the Lamb, adoring his mercies, and rejoicing that he sent his servants to the far country whither the prodigal had wandered. During our stay at Madras, the missionaries of the different denominations met, to spend an evening at Mr. Crowther's : this they are in the habit of doing monthly, at one another's houses in turn, for the purpose of mutual profit, by considering subjects connected with 62 BKOTHERLY LOVE. missionary enterprise, and offering united prayer. There were present, — Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Independ- ents, and Wesleyans, being all the Protestant denomi- nations having establishments in Madras. This exhi- bition of union and love is most refreshing, and yet it is melancholy that our miserable littleness has reduced us to a condition wherein even natural co-operation assumes the aspect of an attainment, and wherein Ave are pleased with ourselves for just beginning to be something like what our religion requires. Being ignorant of the Tamul language, the vernacular at Madras, it was not possible for me, by personal obser- vation, to learn much of the state of religion among the natives. The oldest mission is that of the Romanists. It is probable the Portuguese foimd some Christians on their arrival at St. Thome, and managed to incorporate them -with their own church. At one time they had large numbers of natives who called themselves Chris- tians ; but the disputes of the clergy amongst them- selves so %-iolently agitated their congregations, and brought upon them such reproach, as greatly to di- minish their influence. When the English established themselves in Macbas, so far from taking any steps to spread the truth, they thought the importance of their place might be increased by a settlement of monks ; and, accordingly, some Capuchins were invited. One of these, not being sufficiently a Mary-worshipper to suit the Romanism of India, was cajoled beyond the English territory into St. Thome, there kidnapped, hastened off to Goa, and immured in the Inquisition. Some time after, a party of English landed in that city, and went about seeing the " lions"" of the place ; among THE IXQUISITIOX ASTONISHED. 63 others, they wished to view this far-famed tribunal of religious terror, — and were admitted ; but no sooner had they gained an entrance, than, like Glenara's ac- cusers, " Each mantle, unfolding, a dagger displayed." The gate was immediately secured ; then, rushing into the presence of the Inquisitors, they presented to that astounded tribunal the unwonted alternative of instant death or the surrender of their victim. Caught for once in their own snare, they yielded, and Father Euphrem was borne back in triumph by his deliverers. The Romish cause, thus befriended, has not languished, although the number of their adherents has never re- covered the loss occasioned by the wars of the monks. In the year 1841 there were, in Madras, St. Thome, and the neighbourhood, fourteen priests, — some Portu- guese, and some from Maynooth. These two parties, rekindling the embers of former fires, had been vigor- ously contesting their rights, and suing each other in the courts at Madras. They have several large churches. The uniform testimony of every one, lay or clerical, whom I consulted, as to the character of their converts, was, that they are not superior to their heathen neigh- bours in any point of enlightenment, civilization, or morality ; that they wear heathen marks, maintain the heathen institution of caste, and participate in heathen festivals ; while they have many processions, and such like, which are only accommodated heathen ceremonies, adopted to conciliate, and remove all idea of difficulty in passing from tlie rule of the bramhan to that of the priest. The Church of England has long had a valuable 64 MISSION CHUECHES. mission at Vepery, a suburb of Madras, where there is a noble Gothic church, a printing-press, and a con- siderable number of converts. This establishment is under the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, which also has a station at St. Thome. In Blacktown, the Church Missionarj" Society have a large chapel in an important cause ; also an institution for training natives and Indo-Britons for the work of carrying the Gospel to their countrymen. There is also a bishop, with several chaplains ; but as they re- ceive their appointment and salary from the Company, they are regarded as government officers, and confine their laboiu-s to the English, none of them preaching in the native tongues.* The London Missionjiry Society has a large chapel in Blacktown, and another in Vepery. The American brethren, besides several schools, have a large piinting establishnient, which employs a considerable number of presses, and is confen-ing incalculable benefit on the country. The Church of Scotland had also three mis- sionaries, who now belong to the Free Church. They conduct an English school, in which an excellent edu- cation is given, and every means taken to imbue the minds of their pupils vdxh Christian truth. Some re- cent successes in their labours have so alarmed the Bramhans, that steps M ere taken to agitate the whole coiuitry against mission schools. Our own missionaries have several schools, congregations, and small societies. Taking all the labourers together, they are, as com- pared with the magnitude of the work, few, very few ; • The bishop, however, takes the supervision of the mis- sionaries of the Church of England. THE OLDEX TIME. 65 but their faith is unshaken, their hope high, and their resolve steadfast to proclaim Christ to the multitudes who sun-ound them, until, moved by his attractions, they shake themselves from the dust, and rise to lay hold upon his strength. Swartz tells us, that, in his early days, he sought in vain for a pious European in India ; and I have myself heard an old raissionarj- say, that Avhen he first was in the country, he knew not one. At that time. English- men were in the habit of sapng they left their religion at the Cape of Good Hope, where they should resume it on their way home. They were faithful to the spirit of this surrender: their state-religion was Paganism, their private devotions paid at the shrine of Mammon, of Bacchus, and of ^'enus. But, by the blessing of God on the word of his grace, there is now another state of things. Profanity has grown timid, intemper- ance is awed into secresy, and the miserable coppst of Eastern voluptuousness is a rare excrescence upon Anglo-Indian society. Perhaps there is not any similar number of our countrymen, among whom may be found a larger proportion of persons truly converted to God, than the civil and militar)- servants of our Indian go- vernment. The following extract from the work of a French writer, M. De Warren, reviewed in the Church- of-England Quarterly, though designed to caricature the piety which (blessed be God) is cherished in the hearts and families of so many of our coimtrymen in India, yet affords an important testimony of its exist- ence, and so delineates some of its features, that Chris- tians at home will gratefully recognise the family like- ness. Speaking of Madras, he says, " At my last visit. 66 THE PKESENT TIME. in 1840, I was struck ■with the change that had fallen upon all social relations. The saints, as they are called in the country, have spread themselves like a leprosy over all society. A dark fanaticism, — excusable when it is sincere, but odious when it is a hypocritical mask, assumed by avarice or ambition — ^has invaded every- thing. Merchants, and civil and military fimctionaries of the highest rank, who desire to economize almost the totality of the profits of their enormous salaries, assume this mask voluntarily enough, in order to escape from the obligation of contributing to the pleasure of the community, and from the exercise of a ruinous hospitality, which was once almost exacted from them. In place of dinners and balls, which once cost them much, they now entertain you with sermons, which cost them nothing. Yoimg men who wish to advance in life also put on the same mask, (which suits them even more indifferently still,) that they may find favour with the powerful, and obtain appointments from them. Thus, at Madras, a man had need to be upon his guard : an invitation to a dinner, or even to a soiree, is nothing but a trap. Immediately after the repast, or previous to the introduction of the refreshments, the master of the house compels you to purchase or to expiate your pleasures, by keeping you at least an hour on your knees, while he gives forth a sermon, under the guise of a prayer, with all the nasal recitative of the Round- heads of the time of Cromwell. In my preceding visits to Madras, I considered that I had fairly to complain that the English seldom spoke ; but, like the father of the dumb girl in the Medecin malgre lui, I confess that I preferred their silence of former days, to their THE CHARTER. 67 rhapsodies of the present ; and I would, ■with all my heart, have rendered them as dumb as they were used to be." On the last day of the sixteenth century, that spring- time of great men and great events, — the century of Luther and Knox, GraUleo and Bacon, Tasso and Spen- ser,— the virgin Queen of England affixed her name to a deed, incorporating " the Governors and Company of the Merchants of London trading to the East Indies. " Little thought the clear-sighted Elizabeth that such a transaction was destined, in the pro\'idence of God, to give a wider sweep to the sceptre of her successors than any other of her reign. Little thought the " mer- chant adventurers" that, in the scroll then presented, they laid the first stone of a monimient to their coxm try's prowess far more colossal than any her Edwards or Henrys had reared. And little did the century that followed promise such wonders. The early days of British enterprise in the East — like the youth of Clive. who first raised it from adventure to empire — were re- markable only for a want of promise. Overawed by le Portuguese, beaten by the Dutch, circumvented by e French, and despised by the natives, our country- en maintained a precarious existence of little measures and great murmurings. The islands were their main desire ; hwt, driven by the jealous Dutch from one post after another, they sought refuge on the coast of Coro- mandcl. Here, again, pursued by their rivals, they were compelled to abandon their first settlements at Masulipatam and Pulicat. At length they found rest at Armegon ; but that settlement proved unsuitable for trade, and anotlier was desired. Thirty years after the F 2 68 EARLY STRUGGLES. signing of the first charter, powers to purchase land for a new to^^^l were granted to Mr. Day, the English agent at Armegon, by Shri Ranga, Raja of Chandrag- heri. At the place assigned was a local naik, whose father was named Chinappa ; in deference to the wishes of this officer, the new town was, after his father, called Chinappa Patam, or the city, of Chinappa ; under which name, contracted into Chinapatam, it is still knowTi among the natives. The origin of this great city, like that of others more ancient and more renowned, was sufficiently humble. " At the Company's first begin- ning to build a fort," wrote the local agency to the Presidency of Surat, " there were only the French padi'es, and about six fishermen's houses ; so, to entice the inhabitants to people the place, proclamation was made, in the Company's name, that, for the term of thirty years, no custom of anything to be eaten, drunk, or worn, should be taken of any of the town-dwellers."* But the Theseus of Coromandel, intent, like his Athenian prototype, on an aggregated popidation, did not con- fine his inducements to mere fiscal immunities, but pro- ceeded to add ecclesiastical attractions. He, as already stated, encouraged the settlement of Capuchin monks ; not, as Mr. Hough very natui-ally supposes, with the view of affording the benefit of their instructions to the members of their own community already settled in the Company's territory, but for a reason, to him, far more cogent ; namely, " in order to draw the Portu- guese from San Thome, who, being considered as Eu- ropeans, would add to the military reputation of Madras, consequently attract the resort of the natives, and with ♦ Sec Omic's Fragments, Note xxxviii. THE SIEGE. 69 them an increase of trade."* Thus, at the foundation of our oldest existing presidency, religion was made the handmaid of secular advantage, — a procedure which, however derogatory to our national character, has, un- happily, not been confined to obscure factors and strug- gling enterprise, but been too often adopted by exalted dignitaries, ruling an empire, the very magnitude of which might have made salutary impressions of respon- sibility. Fourteen years after its foundation, the new city had attained such importance, as led to its being erected into a presidency, having Bengal dependent. During the early part of its existence, the whole Carnatic was swept by the armies of Viziaporc and Golconda ; but it was too insignificant to excite their jealousy, and there- fore escaped unhurt. The first enemy who threatened its peace was Doudd Khan, one of Aurengzebe's gene- rals, who, in 1702, laid ineffectual siege to it; after which time it enjoyed forty years of peace, rapidly in- creasing in commerce and importance. In September, 1746, Labourdonnais arrived on the coast; a man who, by genius, courage, enterprise and moderation, was equally fitted to conquer or govern : and who, had his employers in France only possessed similar foresight, and had he met with a coadjutor, instead of a rival, in Duplcix, would, in all human probability, have crushed the nascent power of England in the East. He had imported to the Mauritius a number of Africans, called, in the histories of the times, " Caffres," but more likely Mosambiques ; had them trained in military discipline ; and, with an army consisting of one thousand French, • Sec Orme's Fragments, Note xxxviii. 70 THE CAPTITEE. four hundred sepoys, and four hundred Africans, aided by a fleet from which the English admiral commanding in those seas had run away, he commenced a ^dgorous investment of the place. Five days reduced the gar- rison, consisting of two hundred men, to the necessity of signing articles of capitulation, by which it was agreed that the- French should take formal possession, receive a stipulated ransom, and then deliver up the place to the English. But Dupleix, ha\"ing already formed the project of an Eastern empire, Avith France for its head, and himself for its executive, foresaw that the English would be dangerous rivals ; and, in direct opposition to the honourable remonstrances of Labour- donnais, violated the agreement, marched the Madras authorities in triumph through Pondicherry, bravely repulsed the Nabob of the Carnatic, who appeared with a large force to claim fulfilment of a promise that Madras should be his reward for services rendered to the French against the English, and retained the place for three years, imtil compelled to resign it by the treaty of Aix la Chapelle. Though these proceedings were for the time so disastrous to the British, yet to them may be traced the foundation of that pre-eminence which they shortly after began to acquire, and have since maintained. Up to this time, they were under awe of the Mogul armies, and formed their owa solely of Europeans. Dupleix defeated a Mogul force by one of very inferior numbers, and had in his ranks an ctH- cient auxiliary, formed of natives whom he had trained to the European mode of warfare. Thus he taught his opponents, as Peter the Great said Charles XII. did the Russians, the way to beat himself: the English LALLT S FALL. 71 learned the superiority of European to native valour and discipline, as also the possibility of raising from the natives a valuable force ; they were not slow to practise these lessons, and by so doing have become masters of India. The flight of ten short years brought another French armament under the walls of Fort St. George. Count de Lally was a man of great bravery and talent, whose enmity to the English was not the resvdt of national jealousy, as in the case of Labourdonnais, or of per- sonal ambition, as in that of Dupleix ; but of that fierce religious rancour which characterized the Irish Papist of his days, and is yet far from being extinguished. He landed in India with the full intention of extirpating the British from that country ; marched on Fort St. David, where they had been sheltered during the time that Madras was in the hands of the French, took it, and razed it to the ground; occupied Arcot; assailed Madras, taking Blacktown, and laying formal siege to the fort. The siege was active, the defence resolute : two months elap.sed before any decisive advantage was gained. The breach was reported practicable, the assault ordered for the hour when the moon should set ; Lally was exulting in the hope of a triumphant tomorrow, the besieged determined to repel him or die ; when Admiral Pocock appeared with an English fleet ; the besiegers broke up precipitately, and fled ; their opponents became assail- ants in turn. After several minor actions, Lally sus- tained a decisive defeat at Wandcwash, and the power which a few years before had been paramount in the Deccan and Camatic, was reduced to dependency on the Mysorean usurper. Since that time the thunders of 72 HEATS. Fort St. George have reposed ; and the place where, onlj' two centuries ago, there were " about six fishermen's huts," has for many years been the second city of Hindustan, giving a home to nearly half a million inhabitants, presiding over a territory wider than some of the great kingdoms of Europe, and boasting an army of above seventy thousand men. The climate of Madras is hot, the thermometer often rising to 100" in the shade ; sometimes being known to reach 110° ; and in the coldest night of winter not falling below 65*^. But, as the absence of marshy ground prevents those exhalations so deadly ' in the tropics, and as the wide Bay of Bengal both protects it on the east from all noxious influences, and serves to fan its inhabitants by cool, refreshing gales, it is more salubrious than many a more temperate place ; and not a few " old Indians" prefer it, Avith all its heat, to the cooler regions of the Mysore. The most unpleasant part of the year is in the month of May, when the sun is vertical; and, concurrently with this, a wind from the west brings all the heated air of the peninsula in a scorching current, like a furnace-blast, producing a dis- agreeable irritation of the skin, known by the name of "prickly heat;" so that to drink a cup of tea at that time, subjects you to a sensation like the simultaneous prick of a thousand needle-points. It is a familiar fact, that wherever two portions of atmosphere are at different temperatures, the dense air of the cooler region will press in upon the space occupied by the lighter air of the heated one ; as every one knows who has ever sat at the window of a crowded place of worship, or other warm room. Now, as this principle acts equally on the THE MONSOON. 73 large scale as on the small, its effects are very observable in the winds \vhich prevail in those regions of the earth where climate is not subject to endless ■vicissitudes, but annually exhibits its phases with little variations. Thus at Madras, when, shortly after the summer solstice, the lands to the north become greatly heated, the \vinds naturally tend in that direction, and thus the westerly gale becomes south-west, which wind brings from the Indian Ocean immense quantities of rain, the clouds carrying which break against the western Ghauts, or are expended on the table-lands of the Mysore, trans- mitting only occasional showers as far as Madras. Again, after the autumnal equinox, the regions lying southward become more heated, and the consequent rarefaction of the atmosphere in that direction demands a supply from the north. To meet this, vast currents of air rush southward, and, receiving in their course the natural trade-wind direction, blow from the north-east, and burst upon Madras, in the month of October, with terrific effect. The barometer falls half an inch, the air becomes still and oppressive, portentous clouds load the sky, and the monsoon opens with thunder, lightning, and rain, which far surpass anything witnessed beyond the tropics; while the wind beats fearfully, and the roaring of the surf makes wrathful interchange with the peals of thunder. For more than six weeks there is a succession of such storms, with bright intervals ; and then succeeds a period of dry, clear, and, for Madras, cool, weather. So accurately is the commencement of this season of tempests reckoned on, that, on the 15th of October, the flag-staff at the Fort is annually struck, as a warning to ships in the Koads, that their anchorage 74 SEA AND LAKD BREEZE. is no longer safe ; and when any are hardy enough to delay their escape for a day or two, they not unfrequently suffer shipwreck for their temerity. Besides these un- failing annual phenomena, God has made a daily pro- vision for moderating the temperature of those sun- burnt shores. The sea does not absorb heat so rapidly as the land : consequently, under the sun's rays, the atmosphere of the latter becomes warmer, and thus the denser air of the sea presses in upon the land, causing an agreeable current, known by the name of the sea- breeze, which rises before noon, and blows steadily till evening cools the land. Again : the land radiates its heat more rapidly than the sea, and thus, in the sun's absence, sinks to a lower temperature ; so that its at- mosphere, in turn, becomes cooler, consequently more dense, and so presses out upon the sea, making what is called the land-breeze, which rises about midnight, and blows from the shore till morning. These arrangements of divine Providence beautifully exemplify the truth, that God "rejoices in the habitable parts of his earth, and his delights are with the sons of men." Did he not care that the earth should be peopled, and that men should live in comfort, how differently might he have arranged the distribution of land and sea, and so ren- dered whole continents, if habitable at all, the arid nursery of a miserable and complaining population ! We find that, in traversing the surface of the globe, the equator wholly escapes the great continents of Asia and Europe, crosses Africa and America at points where the breadth of the land suddenly decreases, and touches no great island but Borneo and Sumatra. Thus by far the greater portion of the earth's surface lying within PKOVIDEXCE IX CLIMATES. 75 the tropics exposes to their torrid heats, not the habitable plains, which drought would desolate, but the pathless and homeless sea, whose waters yield to the same in- fluence those abundant evaporations which serve to fertilize the land that our Father's care has gathered beneath milder skies. By this gracious arrangement the continents are both saved from destructive heat, and provided with copious irrigation. But were it other- wise,— were the great continents spread around the torrid zone, and the oceans now so beneficially occu- pying that region transferred nearer to the poles, — then the aggregation of such masses of land beneath tropical suns would engender a heat, in all likelihood, destruc- tive to animal life ; while, on the other hand, the waters, acted on by more languid suns, would have but a slow evaporation, and consequently the supplies of rain become scanty, as the necessity for their profuseness in- creased. Under such a distribution, extreme heat and defective moisture must induce wide-spread sterility, and if not destroy, at least sorely embitter, all existence. The .same benign wisdom is also manifested in the allocation of the great ranges of the Mountains of the Moon, the Himalaya, and Andes, in those parts of the three continents where the copious rains and large rivers, which they attract and originate, are most necessary to constitute the adjacent countries " habitable parts."* In our favoured clime these reflections are not so likely to arise, as where fiery suns, "in a hot and copper sky," make one feel that if Providence had not provided means to "abundantly water tlie earth," life must shortly lan- * The same benevolent design is conspicuoiis in the elevation of immense plateaus in Asia, Africa, and South America. 76 PROVIDENCE IN CLIMATES. guish. There the eye is far more open to the records, and the ear to the voice, by which nature proclaims the mercies of her Author. The bright testimony, " God is love," is seen equally emblazoned on ocean and plain. "The trees of the field clap their hands, the floods lift up their voice," even "the mountains and hills break forth into singing," and all, creation speaks eloquently of His wisdom and grace from whom it sprang. 77 CHAPTER III. THE JOURNEY " TIP COUNTRY." Bearers and Coolies — Bungalows — Bad Taste — The Landscape — Beauty and Sadness — Convict Gangs — Crime and Punish- ment— ^Thc Breakdown — The Storm — Cauveiy-Pauk — As- tronomy— Geography — Inspiration — Difference of Opinion — Tanks — Inngation — Virtues of Water — Theory of the Heart — AVallajanuggur — Arcot — The young Nabob — The daring Clerk — The Siege — The Onslaught — The Triumph — The Lesson — Ilydur and Coote — The Village Carnage — The Revenge — Imputations — Refutations — An Alternative — Missionary Views — Native Jealousy — A Discovery — A Ser- ■ mon once for all — The Ascent of the Ghauts — The Ghauts — The Plateau — The Glory of Nature — The Shame of Man — The Adaptations of Providence — Diverse Tongues — A boun- tiful Alphabet — An luifair Description — A great Boon — A clerical Goth — Leisurely Labours — Chunam — Ilydur — His Rule — Ilis End — Sights by the Way — Famdies en Route — Pensive Retrospect — The Arrival. About suri.set on the 27th of August, on the compound, or grass-plat, in the front of Mr. Crowther's house stood four palankeens, looking like dwarf omnibuses dis- mounted. About fifty natives, with dusky skins, and drapery of tarnished white, surrounded them. These consisted of four sets of bearers, each numbering twelve ; for, though only six carry at a time, they change every seven or eight minutes, and thus require double the number actually engaged. The spare men run beside the others, and so rest. They were busy girding for the journey. A piece of coarse, half-bleaclied calico, several yards long, and about one and a half broad, is 78 BEAREILS AND COOLIES. produced ; a man stands at either end ; it is doubled to about half a yard's breadth ; then the one to be girded passes his own end about his person, and, turning round and round, while the other holds with all his might to secure its tightness, he winds it up on his waist as in factories they do on a roller. This preliminary accom- plished, they are ready at a moment's warning. Each set of bearers has a musaljee, a gentleman bearing in one hand a tin vessel, like a small gasometer, with a spout, and, in the other, an instrument which at first sight you are ready to imagine a cigar, intended for some illustrious Brobdignag. The vessel, you learn, contains oil, and the monster cigar is a flambeau, which, though looking very like tobacco, is composed of rags tightly rolled together into one hard stick of about three feet long and several inches round. On the end of this he pours a quantity of oil, ignites it, fans it by running, till it flings on the jiathway a broad and bril- liant light. He feeds it with fresh oil, as regularly as a student snuffs his candle ; while its hardness is such as to secure its lasting through the night. This cus- tom beautiftdly illustrates the parable of the Ten Virgins, as showing the folly of neglecting to take " oil in their vessels with their lamps." Then there were the Caverdi coolies, each man with two tin boxes painted green, and shaped like a wooden bee-hive, but rather larger. These contain the tra- velling wardrobe, and arc suspended from either end of a long bamboo lath, which the coolie places on his bare shoulder, and trots after the palankeen with one box swinging before and the other behind. The bearers also have coolies of their own, who carry in BUXGAI.OWS. 79 similar style a pyramid of round black earthenware pots, which constitute their itinerant kitchen. For, being particular in caste matters, they will not eat any food unless cooked in their own %'essels. Shortly after night, the flambeaux were lighted, the coolies took up their loads, the bearers stood round their palankeens, and the completion of the multiform preparations was announced. Taking leave of our fellow-voyager, Mr. Pope, who was appointed to stay in Madras, and of our other kind friends, we each repaired to his own unsocial vehicle. We were hoisted from the ground ; Bay-din, hay-din, shouted, in a loud recitative, the head bearer of the foremost palankeen ; and in a few minutes the flash of torch-light, and the song of four dozen voices, announced our progress along the " Great Western" road to Bangalore. The example of the munificent usurper Shir has not been wholly lost on our Indian Goveriunent. He was a father to travellers ; ordered that they should be en- tertained at the public expense, built caravanseras from the Bay of Bengal to the Indus, planted the road ■with trees to shade them, dug wells every two miles to refresh them, and erected splendid mosques to prompt and ac- ( ommodate their devotions.* The religious part of these princely arrangements was not likely to find imi- tators in our authorities ; but they have conferred on travellers an invaluable boon by the erection of bun- • Mill's " History of British India," by Wilson, vol. ii., p. 328. It is a remarkable proof of" the civilization of fiis :;ovcmment, that alwut the middle of the sixteenth century lie established a post system, by means of horses, " for the more rapiil iDiivcyancc of iiitclli{,'pnce to government, and for the ac('onimii(l;iti'm of trade and corTCspondcnce." 80 BAD TASTE. galows at convenient distances, along the most fre- quented roads. Bungalow is the term invariably used in India to designate a house of one story, built after the style adopted b)' Europeans. In those provided for the benefit of the wayfaring, you find a table, half a dozen chairs, and an old pensioned sepoy, who, grace- fully combining the native obeisance with our military salute, makes a profound salaam, and proffers his services to obtain any requisite articles of food. Of these he presents you with a list provided by authority, with prices affixed, to prevent imposition. You are amused to find a sheep stated at a rupee, (two shillings,) and one of an inferior order at fourteen annas, one and ninepence. The sheep of the Carnatic are small and lean, without a particle of wool, the hide being just like that of a calf ; but their mutton is tolerably good. Almost every day during a journey a deputation from the bearers, after very low salaams, present a request for seep: the gift is not near so much as would be paid to coachmen and guards at home for a night's travelling ; but it is not claimed as a right, only sought as a favour, and, when granted, they go away as pleased as school- boys with a holiday. Before daylight we were deposited in the verandah of the bungalow at Strccpcrmatoor, about twenty-seven miles from Madras. By sunrise the coolies had arrived with the changes of raiment, and culinary apparatus ; the sepoy was in attendance ; milk and eggs were pro- cured, and we lacked nothing whereby to make com- fortable the hours which the heat of the sun compelled us to pass under shade. During the day the sepoy laid on the table a small box containing books, all of THE LANDSCAPE. 8t which we found to be of a valuable and religious cha- racter. This laudable custom is frequent in the bunga- lows ; and I never saw one of those little libraries that did not bear marks of having been well read. It is true that in some places there are unseemly records of distaste for such literature. I recollect one poetical effusion complaining that they were " Too dull to read, too good to tear." But who can tell the benefit that may accrue even to a traveller of this temper, from his consenting to relieve the ennui of an idle, hot day in a lonely bungalow, by reading a chapter of Doddridge's " Rise and Progress," or of James's " Anxious Inquirer ?" The country around answered ill to the descriptions which authors delight to give of India. But it would be well for readers of travels to remember that the po- pularity of a book depends far more on eloquence than accuracy. When looking on the tame flats and patches of brown copse about Streepermatoor, it was hard to believe that this was the Ind of historj', fable, and song : — the country by whose transit-commerce the isolated Tyre rose to such fame ; and " Tadmor in the wilderness," Solomon's " city of store," into that proud Palmyra which, though sand-girt and without territory, rivalled the first capitals of earth, subdued Mesopotamia, Syria, and Egypt, won from Gallienus the right to array its prince in imperial purple, and, under a woman's leadersliip, tried well the strengtli of Rome, though directed by tlie warlike Aurelian : — the country from whose surplus treasures Alexandria, Genoa, and Venice u 82 BEAUTY AND SADXESS. derived their splendour ;* M'hence Sheabeddin is said to have carried a booty of three thousand pounds weight of diamonds ; and the monster, Thamas Kouli Khan, seventy millions sterling :f — and, above all, that this was the very Camatic from the plunder of which the eunuch Kafoor returned to his ambitious master Alia, laden with a sum which even our o^vn historians are not disposed to reduce below one hundred millions. But the tameness of one district, or the beauty of ano- ther, is never to be taken as the type of a great covmtry. We do not judge of England either from the cheerless fens through which the southern Ouse loiters toward the sea, or from the exquisite pictures that adom the progress of the Wharf. India, though, on the whole, much inferior to England in beauty of landscape, has many regions of exquisite attraction. But when looking on those pleasant spots, you cannot but remember that their beauty and their bounty are lost on those who enjoy them ; that the eyes that look on their charms, and the hands that reap their produce, lay the thank- offering of this year before an idol, and to it look for the fruits of the next. This reflection breaks in on your enjoyment like a knell among merry voices, grati- fication yields to jsensiveness, and the train of thought that began in a lively sense of the beautiful or the grand, ends in a mournful sympathy with the feeling that wrested from the dissimilar minds of the sceptic peer and the Christian bishop, when lingering on such scenes, the twin sentiments, — • Sec Robertson's " Historical Discinisition concerning the Knowledge which the Ancients had of India." t Ormc's "Military Transactions of the British in India." COXVICT GAJfGS. 83 "All, save the spirit of man, is di\'ine." " Only man is vile." When the heat of the day had passed, we started, two on horseback, and two in palankeen, two of the latter conveyances having been sent back to Madras. The road lay over a flat country, interspersed Avith groves. In these were multitudes of crows, who chat- tered and cawed ju.st as they do at home ; the sweeter voice of the dove mingled with their tuneless clamour ; flitting among the trees were numbers of those beau- tiful little parroqucts which abound in the coimtry, whose plumage of .sparkling green is a favourite simile witli native poets ; squirrels were gambolling nimbly and merrily in the boughs ; crawling on the roots of the trees, or squatting on a stone, you would see, every now and then, an humble scion of " that most ancient family of quadrupeds," as Dr. Buckland calls the li- zards ; betraying, however, no consciousness of the an- cestorial honours wherewith geological industry has enriched them from the heraldic records of " former worlds ;" and, in physical proportions, woefully degene- rated from the Megalosauri, the Iguanodons, and other distinguished founders of the "most ancient" house of Lacertae, whose escutcheons still grace their former homes in the Oolitic and Wealdcn formations. We passed a body of convicts working on the roads, guarded by peons, (native police,) and every man in chains. This is one of the most common punishments inflicted by our government for serious offences ; and, to an English eye, the poor manacled wretches look suffi- ciently miserable. Yet the natives frequently complain that our administration of criminal law is too lenient, o 2 84 CRIME AND PXTNISHMEXT. and that our judges are excessively scrupulous about convicting, unless the evidence is complete in every part. A judge, in their estimation, ought to have some such facility in detecting a c\ilprit by his very appearance, as Cuvier had in discovering, by a solitary bone, the genus to which an animal belonged. They think he ought not to wait servilely on the chain of evidence, which may be inten-upted by the absence of a witness, or entangled by his dishonesty ; but to use- his own discretion, guided by the general aspect of the case. In cases of theft, they consider this procedure impera- tive. " ^\Tio," they have often said to me, " who ever heard of a man calling witnesses when he was going to steal ? To elude observation is the very perfection of his art ; and to punish him only when he suffers him- self to be seen, or leaves traces by which he may be detected, looks very like punishing him not for being a thief, but for being a blunderer." All claims for justice to the accused they get over with great ease ; and reject as purely mischievous the principle of English law, that it is better ninety-nine guilty persons should escape, than one innocent man suffer. " And then," they will say, " suppose a thief does blunder, so that evidence is found to bring guilt home, what do you do with him r "\\Tiy, you just put him in a good house, set a guard before the door to see that nobody hurts him, give him rice twice a day, send liim home not a pin the worse ; and then call that punishing him ! Pretty punishment for rogues that is !'' They can no more sympathize with the feeling which looks on the loss of character and privation of liberty, as themselves constituting a severe punishment, (except to persons of family and repute,) THE BREAK DOAVX. 85 than a Tui-kish serf, vie\ving the comparative comfort in which Charles XII. lived in his retreat at Bender, could sympathize with the mighty dissatisfactions that stirred in the breast of the fallen hero. In cases of petty theft, their own laws award a fine as the punishment ; but in graver ones, dreadful mutilation. Halhed's Gentoo Code informs us, that " if one steal a horse, excellent in all respects," his penalty is, that " the magistrate shall cut off his hand and foot and buttock, and deprive him of life." "Whether correctly or not, they complain that petty theft increases under English rule ; as also a cer- tain domestic crime for which our code pro\'ides no commensurate punishment, and against which the exe- .cutive do not choose to administer the severities pre- scribed by Menu. The next evening we started with the intention of reaching Cauvery-Pauk ; Mr. Crowther and Mr. Gar*- rett being in palankeen, and Mr. Squarcbridge and myself on horseback. Proceeding quietly along, with Mr. Crowther a few paces in front, we heard a crash, when down came the hindmost end of his palanlieen on the road, the pole having broken off at the point of junction. The hcad-bcarcr, who was full six feet high, thin, dusky, and stooping, gazed down on the prostrate vehicle with as great consternation as a child on a broken plaything ; and, lifting up his hands, cried Rumbu hnrutn, " Plenty of weight ;" while Mr. Crow- ther scrambled out upon the road, to learn the canst of his sudden arrest. The breaking of reins or traces, the loss of a horse-shoe or linchpin, are calamities in their way ; but the breaking of a palankeen pole is to lose your axletree, and place your vehicle in utter help- 86 THE BKEAK DOWN. lessness. After several ineffectual attempts to repair the damage, the poor bearers, mounting the body of the palankeen on their shoulders, slowly proceeded to the next village. The inhabitants gathered round, and a multitude of things were said, but all unintelligible to me. At length came a venerable-looking old Mus- sulmaun, with broad turban, portly carriage, dark skin, and tlowing white beard, who seemed to give decisive information to the effect, that neither carpenter nor Avood was obtainable. Our only hope was Woocherry, a bungalow some miles in advance ; so there - was no alternative left but to carry the dismantled vehicle thither as best we could. The bearers cheerfully un- dertook this tedious task ; but first demanded a bottle of arrac, a spirit commonly drunk in the country, and obtained by distillation from rice, sugar in its raw state, or toddy, as the juice of the cocoa-nut tree is called. Mr. Crowther had been provident enough to bring with him a spare pony ; so that, in case of accidents, we might not be detained. But, on the present occasion, not apprehending any need for his services, he had been dispatched in advance. My pony was resigned to Mr. Crowther, while Mr. Squarebridge rode on to order back the other, and Mr. Garrett proceeded to the bungalow, to await our arrival. After a long walk, at the miserably slow pace made necessary by the awkward load on the bearers, the pony arrived, and I was again mounted. Throughout the day the sky had been cloudless ; its irradiated sapphire looking calmly joyous as the coim- tenance of one who had long had peace with God. But, in advancing to the west, the sun flung other THE STORM. 87 beauties round him ; and, as if conscious king of light, marched royally to his chamber, arrayed in pui'ple suf- fused with gold. For the last few minutes he shone from behind a bank of dark and watery clouds, too dense to permit of his body appearing through ; but exhibit- ing on their upper edge a fringe of thrice-burnished gold, that hung over the crags below with an effect singularly majestic. At the same time, a radiance streamed upwards from the invisible luminary, making one think of the first stream of celestial light greeting the ascending saint, ere yet the throne of presence has opened on his eye. The clouds rapidly mounted, and hung fiercely on the face of night. They grew black, dense, low, till the very air, as if fearful to stir in such a presence, hushed itself to perfect stillness. We en- tered a wood ; every leaf stood motionless with the same awe. The gloom was fearful, the silence broken only by the bearers' hum. A flash gleamed across the sky : its light was still lingering on horse's mane and bearer's turban, on leafy mango and slender palm, when a peal crashed over us, so nigh, so loud, that it seemed the united voice of a hundred storms. Then the sound of abundance of rain rustled in the trees, followed by masses of crowded and ponderous drops, dashing head- long to slake earth's greedy thirst. Amidst this deluge, flash succeeded flash, and peal after peal roared fear- fully ; each of which was followed by a thicker rain ; as if the gleam liad been struck from chains that bound up the stores of Providence, and the thunder were the crash of that rending which set them free to enrich the earth. The horses shuddered and started ; the bearers plodded on wit}i a low, broken murmur ; the branches 88 CAUVERY-PAXIK. glowed in the almost continuous light, trembled with the thunder, and stooped beneath the rain. The whole scene vividly recalled the Psalmist's words : " He bowed the heavens and came down, and darkness was under his feet. He made darkness his secret place : his pavilion round about him were dark Avaters and thick clouds of the sky." In that august pavilion sat the power of the Supreme. The scowl of its brow, the gleam of its eye, the tones of its voice, were all furious as long-pent ven- geance ; and yet its mission was not wrath, but good- ness ; not to wither, but refresh. So it is in the ways of God : amid appearances that prove our nothingness, he mildly works our weal. Well drenched and weary, we reached the bungalow at last. By the time a cup of coffee was prepared, a slumber had seized me that no persuasion could break, and from which I was released only by the broad light of day. In the mean time the palankeen had been set to rights, and we were ready to proceed. That morning we reached Cauvery-Pauk, which, though a small place, is celebrated as the scene of a night-battle, in M'hich Clive gained an important victory over the French. Among the natives it is famous as the residence of learned jotishas, or "astronomers," who annually pub- lish almanacs, that arc in great repute even as far away as the western districts of the Mysore. In these, eclipses are accurately calculated ; but they afford no other astronomical infomation of value. It is mar- vellous that, by any perversity, men can manage to combine the astuteness that distinguishes an educated Hindu, with belief in the monstrous absurdities which thoir sacred books teach respecting the heavenly bodies. ASTRONOMY. 89 Being all considered as gods, the various phenomena which they exhibit are accounted for, not by laws that a presiding mind has impressed on passive matter, but by myths which seem equally to exhaust man's wits to invent, and his credulity to receive them. The sensible founder of Anglo-Indian history, Orme, tells us of "the sun getting his teeth knocked out, and the moon having her* face beat black and blue at a feast, at which the gods quarrel and fight with the spirit of a mob. They say the sun and moon carry in their faces, to this 4ay, the marks of this broil." And thus the Galileos and Keplers of India have been saved the trouble of obser- vation or conjecture as to the solar and lunar spots. Eclipses are accounted for in a way equally satisfactory. On one occasion Vishtnu was distributing the amrita, or "food of immortality," among the gods, when, two Asuras (the Titans of Hinduism) having obtained ad- mittance in disguise, he ignorantly helped them to the precious repast. Surya and Chandra, (the sun and moon,) having discovered the fraud, apprized him of it by a wink, when he instantly beheaded the intruders : the bodies died ; but the heads, having received the death-preventing amrita, were immortal, and obtained a place as planets in the sky. There they live; and, in the form of a red and black serpent, ])criodically seize on Surya and Chandra, by whose untimely disclosures they were prevented from acquiring perfect godship. The waxing and waning of the moon, again, is readily explained by tlie happy genius of Hinduism. On a certain occasion Chandra was so unhappy as to aggrieve • lie should have said " his ;" for the moon is not a goddess, but a god, in ILadu mythology. 90 ASTROXOMY. Datsha, the son of Brumha, who vented his fury in a curse. That curse brought a rust on the silver counte- nance of Chandra, which, by alternate increase and de- crease, obscures or permits its radiance. The tides, again, which have so sorely puzzled western sages, have long been known in the East to depend on the heaving or contraction of that enormous turtle into which Vishtnu entered at the Kurma Avatara, when he descended into the sea, to recover the lost Vedas : thus showing that we have been all along mistaken in supposing that the most distinguished service in which tortoiseshell had ever been employed, Avas to cradle that illustrious renegade, Henry the Great. Nor are their notions of the permanent facts of astronomy less curious than those of its periodical phenomena. The river Ganges is considered as the earthly antityjie of a celestial origi- nal. That heavenly Ganges is the Milky Way, which is placed nearer the earth than even the sun, to whom, however, the second place is assigned, and that at the distance of just half a million of miles. The moon is exactly twice as far off ; then come the stars, and after them the planets, without any distinction between the in- ferior and superior ones, although Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn are placed in their proper order. The suspicion that Earth is a member of this family, is not once entertained. Farthest off of all is the pole- star, who, however, is distant only seven and a half millions of miles. These are not regarded as the de- ductions of vulgar science ; but as authoritative revela- tions on matters inaccessible to unaided research. It is true that they strangely contradict the results of the beautiful argument from parallax, on which we — who GEOGRAPHY. 91 are not favoured with more direct methods of computing celestial distances — are wont to look as about the choicest effort of man's reason, and which leads to the startling conclusion, that one of the " swift-Avinged ar- rows of light," though travelling in a second eight times the circumference of our globe, would spend three wearj- years on its flight to the nighest star ; while to the one first calculated by Bcssel, the journey would occupy ten. As if conscious of parsimony in their celestial mea- surements, the Hindu philosophers are munificent in terresti'ial dimensions. The earth, instead of the twenty-four thousand miles to which our astronomers reduce it, expands, under the warmth of Bramhanical fancy, to a spacious orb of one thousand and twenty- seven millions, having seven overgrown continents, each with an ocean to match. These oceans are different in composition as in dimensions from that which is familiar to our groveling researches : the first is of salt-water ; the other six consist respectively of wine, sugar-cane juice, clarified butter, curds, milk, and fresh-water. In the centre of Jambu, the first of the seven continents, and the only one which exists elsewhere than in the Puranas, stands Mount Mcru, not shaped as vulgar hills, but bearing the elegant form of a lotus. This moun- tain measures in height four hundred and twenty thou- sand miles, its circumference at the base two hundred and forty thousand, and at the top it spreads to double that extent.* To support this gigantic world, three different agencies are named, — a serpent, a turtle, and • Vwhtnu, Puruna, AVilson. In all these computations I take the ynjaiw at five miles : it may bo nine. 92 IXSPIEATIOX. eight elephants. WTiat relation those sustain to each other, which is higher or lower, how their different offices combine, I never could satisfactorily learn. The fact seems to be, that different ^^•riters have assigned the important duty of upholding the world to that ani- mal which each has happened to regard with greatest favour. WTien viewing the colossal nonsense whereby the Hindu sages have endeavoured to build up their claim tcv inspiration, it is impossible to resist a vivid impression tliat one has written of creation without being aban- doned to his own conjectures. There is a book written by one educated in the first Egyptian schools, and con- sequently versant in their system of cosmogony ; writ- ten for a people still sunk in the ignorance attendant on serfdom, and thus prepared to receive blindly any feasi- ble speculations on subjects beyond their reach ; ■vmt- ten in a desert, where there were no schools to criticise, no enlightenment to detect errors, no rivals to expose them ; written, in fine, under every imaginable tempta- tion for the author to indulge his fancy, or display his learning. Yet while the advancing stream of know- ledge has swept into the sea of fiction all other early records of creation, this one stands proudly amid the tides which fret against its borders, but bear not an atom away. The very torrents that have overwhelmed its counterfeits, flow around it an unfordable defence ; while every tributary poured in from some new-sprung source of knowledge only swells the stream that would bear down an assailant. He who believes that any man, by his unaided foresight, could have chronicled creation's birth, in times when its system was grossly DIFFEEENCE OF OPINION. 93 misconceived, without assuming principles, and hazard- ing facts, which woidd be falsified by the discoveries of subsequent ages, not only displays a capacious credence, ■ but forgets the character of all such chronicles but one. But monstrous as are the chimeras of Hindu science, I have been as much laughed at for crediting the facts of our system, as we are disposed to laugh at them for en- tertaining the follies of their own. To say that the sun, which is so warm, is further off than the moon, which is so cold ; that the world, which is so heavy, is " hung upon I nothing ;" that, though every one sees it to be flat, it is round; that, though a child may tell it is perfectly still, I it is whirling both round its own axis and the sun ; that an eclipse of the moon coijies of her getting into the earth's shadow, which no one ever saw; that an eclipse of the sun comes of the other luminary wandering be- tween him and us, when it is plainly farther off than he; and that the fixed stars arc more than nineteen billions of miles distant ; does appear an exhibition at once of boldness and imbecility not to be adequately scorned. They summarily dismiss all reasoning on our different I methods of amving at conclusions, by saying, "We trust the Shastras, which, as divine revelations, cannot err ; you trust to instruments and calculations, which may easily mistake: our ground is sure, yours falla- cious." We should entertain about the same opinion of him who should tell us he had just completed a survey i of the moons of Uranus with chains and theodolites, as docs the IJramhan of the European, who states that our astronomers can calculate the apparent size of the earth I to an eye situated at the distance of the sim. The seven seas might be thought a weak point, as requiring no- 94 DIFFERENCE OF OPINION. thing but travel to demonstrate their non-existence ; but to all my objections about circumnavigators never seeing oceans of curds, butter, or toddy, they used coolly to reply, " That only proves that they have never gone beyond the sea of salt water." Of all phenomena, an annular eclipse of the sun enabled me to perplex them most, as they could not account for it oA the serpent-seizing theory, and were constrained to admit, that its appearances were such as would naturally result from the combination of causes to which ours ascribes it. It is perfectly true, that if you teach a man science, you annihilate his faith in Hinduism. Astronomy is as dangerous to the Shastras as the Vatican once deemed it to the Bible. But it can, never be taught by desvil- tory argument : its proofs must be exhibited in series, and then conviction is inevitable. This, however, can- not be extensively afforded to the adult population. In dealing with them, my own experience utterly con- tradicts the opinion, that it is best to approach them first by exposures of the scientific blunders of the Shastras, and so destroy their confidence in these, the basis of their own religion, before advancing the truths of Avhich you require their accejitance. The Shastras are equally assailable on moral as on scientific grounds; while in the one case your appeal is to the man's con- science, which decides for you ; but in the other, is to facts he discredits, and to processes he can neither com- prehend nor trust. The shortest way to his heart is to "reason of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come," of the consequent need of pardon and sanctifi- cation, the impotcncy of his gods to bestow it, and Christ's glorious power to create anew. TAXKS. 95 But to return to Cauvery-Pauk, whence we have been beguiled by its astronomical fame : it has the advantage of a noble tank three miles broad and eight in length. Tanks are of two kinds, those which serve as public baths, and those constructed for the piirpose of irriga- tion. The former are nothing more than gigantic wells, generally sunk to a great depth, with an upward open- ing, shaped like the hopper of a corn-mill, which, being lined on four sides with stone steps, affords an easy descent to the water. These are to be foimd near most towns, and every morning the respectable inhabitants, ' Specially the Bramhans, may be seen crowding the 'eps, performing their ablutions, and the accompany- ing devotional exercises. The erection of these is con- sidered an act pre-eminently meritorious. But should the projector be unhappy enough to fail in obtaining water, or to find it of an inferior quality, he remains tor ever under the stigma of being frustrated in his at- tempts to acquire merit in the present birth, by some blot contracted in the last. They will not hear of mineral causes modifying the supply ; and, as a tri- umphant proof that it is regulated only by the merit of he party seeking it, adduce instances in which two •rsons having dug on the opposite sides of the same ad, the one obtained good water, the other bad. The lorit, however, no way depends on their virtues in the resent birth ; • for I remember a Bramhan naming a ise in proof of his point, in which the parties being a ulygar, and one of his favourite temple women, the latter was the successful candidate for " sweet water." I'his gave rise to the question. If she were superior in i.erit, how came it that the birth assigned her was not 96 IBEIGATIOX. only female, but that in disreputable circumstances : ■while the other, though less meritorious, obtained the male birth, and that in a position of honour? This Tras a difficulty -which the worthy disputant had not seen, and could not solve. The tanks constructed for agricultural purposes are xisually placed on the bed of some rivulet ; a strong embankment being run across the line of its course, at a favourable place, sometimes to the length of one or two miles. In the rainy season, when the stream swells, this dam retains the water, which forms a lake of greater or less extent, according to the nature of the groimd. Should the water over- flow, arrangements are made to conduct it to another tank, perhaps several nules below. All the groimd which the level wiU command is parcelled out into compartments of a few yards square, separated by low ridges of earth. Narrow channels run between every two rows of these compartments, having an inlet to each. These are supplied by a large duct connected with the tank. The rice, from the time of its sowing till on the point of shooting into ear, is kept in water about ankle deep. Great ingenuity is manifested in all these arrangeinents. The irrigation of gardens and smaller plats of ground is pro^■ided for by other means. Close by a well stands a high pole, on the top of which another is fixed trans- versely, so as to play up and down. From one end of this depends a long bamboo rod, reaching to the water, with a leathern bag attached. A man mounts on the transverse spar, and, starting from its junction with the upright one, proceeds towards the extremity, like a sea- man making for the yard-arm, only that he walks upon lERIGATION. 97 the spar itself; which, pressed by his whole weight, sinks do^vn, so raising the opposite end, and lifting the vessel out of the water, which, gaining the top, strikes against the edge, and empties its contents into a trough prepared to carry them over the ground. He then hastens back to the centre ; the spar, relieved from the pressure, follows the weight of the bamboo and bag, which latter becomes instantly immersed and filled : thus he proceeds backwards and forwards, adroitly balancing himself on his dizzy footing. A less fre- quent, because more expensive, method is, to place two oxen with their backs to the well : a rope connected with a large vessel is passed over a revolving axle and attached to their traces. They being backed close to the edge, the vessel is immersed and filled, on which they are driven quickly forward, thus raising the vessel to the top, where it upsets, and channels are prepared to distribute the water. As these operations vividly recall, and at the same time illustrate, much of the beau- tiful imagery of Scripture, to observe them is peculiarly pleasing. Those who live under showery skies, little think how precious is water where whole months to- gether are cloudless, and the earth is scorched by fierce red suns. Some one has truly said, " The luxuries of India are cold air and cold water, when we can get them." The people of India have only one fear, — a failure of water. Let but Providence vouchsafe that priceless essential, and all their necessities arc met, all their labours productive. I remember, when there had been no rain for some three months, and when it was apprehended that a continuance of the drought for a few days longer would be fatal to the crops, seeing a H 9S TIKirES OF WATER. rvot clap his hands at the first drops of a shower ; and as it descended richly, his satis&ction turned to joy, — " Delight o'er all his featores stole :" with the glee of a child, he cried out, "It is just as if God had sent it I " So far their estimate of water is natural and wise ; but they carry it further than we should be disposed to go. Water is everything. If they think of settling in a new place, the first question will be, " What kind of water does it enjoy : " All the benefits we attribute to a change of air. they seek in a change of water. If healthy while resident in a strange neighbourhood, they celebrate the virtues of the water : if bilious, or fever- ish, or rheumatic, they lay all the blame on the water. The most common complaint of an invalid is, " The water disagrees with me." This is not to be wondered at when, according to their physiological system, it is water which, transmuted by internal processes, forms the blood, while its more refined particles sustain the respiration. And this is but a mild specimen of their attainments in that branch of science ; flesh is formed from com and vegetables : oleaginous food supplies bones, marrow, and the faculty of speech. The various emotions and physical states are regulated by certain sylvan exercises of the soul, which dwells in the region of the heart, where it is surrounded by sixteen leaves, each possessing a distinct property : as it flits around this pericardial bower, it alights on leaf after leaf, each change of perch being attended with a corresponding change of state. On one it sins, on another sleeps, a fourth transforms it to virtue, a fifth makes it wide THEOET OF THE HEART. 99 awake, and so on. These are not all the wonders of the Hindu heart ; for out of it proceed no fewer than a hundred and one arteries, one of which, passing to the crown of the head, is of no small importance, as holy men are capable of elevating the life to that point, where it will remain during pleasure, without any aid from food.* These absurdities could not, of course, exist for a day were anatomy studied ; but that science their religious prejudices induce them to regard with about the same feelings as we entertain towards canni- balism. The consequence is, they judge of our internal 'ructure and operations on the most fanciful principles, id arrive at conclusions which, though highly serious regards the treatment of disease, are so inimitably . idiciilous, that to avoid laughter is impossible. I well remember one day my moonshi asked leave to go home sooner than usual, saying he was very bilious, and must take remedies. I asked him what medicine he used, and whether he had any confidence in its efficacy. He said, that as to its efficacy he had ample proof, but seemed rather reluctant to name it : when pressed, however, he told me it was an application he had often successfully adopted, and of admirable properties, as all skilful physicians knew ; and that it was simply to cut an onion in two, and squeeze the juice into his eye. After Cauvery-Pauk the next place of importance was Wallajanuggur, a town built by the Nabob Mo- hammed Ali Wallaja, called after him, and peopled from the neighbouring town of Laulpet. Those who have taken their impressions from certain writers, who repre- • " Second Exposure of Hinduism, by Dr, Wilson, of Bom- bay." II 2 100 WALLAJAXrGGTJB. sent every Hindu as an incarnation of idleness, would look with surprise on such a town as "Waliajanuggur. The streets are beautifully clean, the houses white as purest snow, and in many cases ornamented with streaks of red. You have everywhere symptoms of stirring commerce and various manufacture. "Well-dressed mer- chants, tidy artisans, shopmen in their bazaar, weavers dressing their warp, or plying their loom, in open air ; numbers of females assisting in the various opera- tions ; all attest an active and well-employed popula- tion. Goldsmith's Auburn, or Campbell's Wyoming, could hardly exhibit greater cleanliness, industry, and comfort. It is, however, the most busy town in that part of the Camatic ; the spirit of its merchants ha^■ing made it the entrepot for the commerce between the Pre- sidency and Mysore. The betel-nut, the produce of the beautifully tall and slender areka-palm, is a leading article of traffic, being chewed by every native. It is a powerful astringent, tasting somewhat like catechu. But Wallajanuggur contained one object far more attractive to us than any we had met with on our way. Close by the to'mi stood a neat bungalow, the residence of Mr. BUderbeck, an excellent missionarj' of the Lon- don Society. He was, vmhappily, from home, and thus we lost the pleasure of seeing him and learning his pro- gress. On this mission residence the Christian traveller from Madras to Bangalore looks with mingled joy and dissatisfaction. Joy to see one place where the God he loves has an altar, and the Saviour who bought him a herald. But dissatisfaction, deep dissatisfaction and pain, to think that, though his road lies over two hun- dred miles of populous country, through the important AKCOT. 101 towns of Axcot, Vellore, Colar, and a multitude of smaller ones ; near Ami, Amboordroog, and other places celebrated in the history of India ; though our armies have marched every step of the way many a time ; though every tillage abounds with tales of our prowess, and reposes xmder our sway ; — yet, in the whole distance, this is the only place where you can find a man sent to instruct the people in our reUgion, and lead them to our God. You are met e^•erywhere by proofs of the religious activity of the Mussulmauns during the short time that they held this part of the country, before western ambition snatched it from their hold ; but look in vain for temples to attest that the people who rule it now know or regaurd a God. Is this wise, or guiltless ? J Considerably after night we arrived at the far-famed city of Arcot. Robertson supposes this to be the place mentioned by Ptolemy as Arcati-Regia ; but the identity at least doubtful. There is reason to believe that no town existed on the present site till 1716, when the Mogids, driven from Gingee by its unhealthiness, en- camped on the banks of the Palar, and built a town which speedily rose into note, and became the capital of their possessions in the Carnatic. In 1744, it wit- nessed one of those tragedies with which Mohammedan "urts are so dreadfully familiar. The murdered nabob, bder Ali, had left a son named Scid Mahomed, whom ■ nizam placed under the guardianship of his father's iccesGor in office, promising that when of age the nabobship should be his own. His youth, parentage, misfortunes, and character, all conspired to make him a favourite with the people. He was celebrating the 102 THE TOUXG NABOB. nuptials of a relative with great pomp, and had in\-ited his guardian, Anwar Addin, to attend ; M-hen he ap- proached, the noble youth, to show all due respect, proceeded to the foot of the steps before his house, in order to receive him. Here a crowd had assembled, among whom were some patans formerly in his father's sers-ice. One of these advanced towards Seid Mahomed in an h\mible posture, as if to crave forgiveness for insolence he had lately shown, and, when sufficiently near, stabbed him to the heart. In an instant (to quote Orme) " a thousand swords and daggers were drawn ;" the assassin sank imder countless wounds, and several of his companions shared his lot. Suspicion instantly fell on Mortiz Ali, imcle to the victim, and the mur- derer of his father. The crowd rushed in search of him, determined to avenge the crime. He was found surrounded by a guard that defied attack, and proceeded to his fortress at Vellore unharmed, except by the ma- lediction of a whole city. It so happened that we were in Arcot on the anni- versary of that event which is the most important of its historj-, as well as the first that, in the words of Morari Roa, taught the natives to " believe that the English could fight." In 1751 Chanda Saheb, the na- bob supported by the French, had reduced his rival, whose pretensions our countrymen espoused, to the single post of Trichinopoly. He led an army to besiege this, lea\-ing eleven hundred men to defend his capital. The English, seeing their last hope threatened, de- spatched a force against him. They encoimtered him, but ran away from the attack, even while the natives iu their pay continued in action. Chanda Saheb pro- THE DAKIXG CLEKK. 103 ceeded triumphant, the English had become despicable, and everything portended their speedy extirpation. But on the 30th of August, the garrison of Arcot were astounded by intelligence, that a British force had been seen marching towards the city, with perfect steadiness, in the midst of a terrific thunder storm. This they took both as indicative of great courage, and as an omen favourable to their enterprise: they were awed accordingly. The next day two hundred Europeans and three hundred sepoys presented themselves before the capital of the Carnatic. The heart of the garrison failed : they quietly marched out of their stronghold ; of which that handful of men took possession amidst the mute and wondering gaze of the inhabitants. That bold band was led by a young clerk of limited education and unmanageable temper ; who, at the time, according to his contemporary Orme, "had neither read books, nor conversed with mer capable of giving him much instruction in the military art." Dupleix's perfidy at Madras turned against him and his schemes those prodigious passions which had sorely troubled Shrop- shire pedagogues and Indian merchants. Clive, dis- guised as a Mussulmaun, fled from the scene of the dis- honoured treaty, reached Fort St. David, joined the military, dis])layed matchless bravery, and, up to this juncture, had alternated between battles and book-keep- ing. By the siege of Trichinopoly, he saw assailed the last stay of his country's interests. Roused himself, he succeeded in rousing the lethargic government ; pointed out the seizure of Arcot as the only way to procure a diversion ; offered to conduct the expedition ; obtained five hundred men, under eight officers, of whom four 104 THE SIEGE. left the desk, while other two had never been in action ; marched against a fortress manned by abo^-e double his numbers, and took possession without firing a shot. Property found, to the amount of half a million sterling, he restored to the owners ; conciliated the people by moderation ; repaired the fort, and proAnsioned it for a siege ; made two successful sorties against the former garrison, which lingered in the neighbourhood; beat up their whole camp in a night attack ; and, at a time when all his men but eighty were dispatched to a dis- tance, repelled an assault made by them with, the knowledge of his weakness. Raja Saheb, the son of Chanda, led against him four thousand men, who were joined by the remains of the garrison, and also one himdred and fifty French. They took possession of the town : Clive made a sally, and drove them from the street ; but was compelled to retire to his fort. The next day, two thousand men, vmder Mortiz Ali, arrived, to reinforce Raja Saheb. They commenced a vigorous siege ; but the feeling within was indonutable : Eng- lishman and sepoy were equally inflamed by the spirit of their leader. Daring and skill so coimterbalanced paltry niunbers and wretched supplies, that it was fifty days before the beleaguering host were prepared to storm. At the end of that time, two wide breaches in- vited their advance. Raja Saheb sent to Clive a pro- posal of honourable terms and costly presents, if he would surrender, accompanied by severe threats in case of resistance. Little did he know the mind with which \/he had to deal. Danger awed Clive, just as darkness ' shrouds phosphorus ; and to bend him by threats, was as likely as to chisel from granite a drapery of gaiuc. THE OXSLAtTGHT. 105 His soul was unutterably proud, audacious, and inflam- mable ; but acute, self-possessed, and generous the while. At this junctiire, his force was eighty English- men, and one hundred and twenty sepoys : the general who challenged him led a host of ten thousand. But the answer was, that "he had a better opinion of his prudence, than to believe that he would attempt to storm till he had got better soldiers than the rabble of which his army was composed." Such a spirit within a fort, is more terrible than a thousand men. Even in times of peace, Mussulmaun breasts are stirred with mighty passions, by the anniversary of the day on which Hassein and Jassein were martjTcd. That day had come. Its memories fired the soldiery with ten- fold hatred of the infidels ; while all whom the sword iiould release from life, during its holy hours, were se- cured instant reception to the realms of houri without purgatorial delays. Bang, freely distributed, added in- toxication to bigotry. Then the fierce stream of fanati- cism and inebriety was rolled against the weak defences. The gates and both breaches were simultaneously as- sailed. A steady fire made the elephants which led the attack on the gates recoil, treading down in their retreat the crowds that pressed behind them. The party attacking the breach, which lay across the wet ditch, were foiled by the cficctive play of a gun which live himself pointed. A mass that seemed resistless, mounted the other breach ; while a multitude coolly sat down below to replace them if they should faU. Not even at Badajoz was breach more effectively counter- worked, or more bravely defended. The stormers as- cended without receiving a shot, gained the first trench 106 THE TEIUMPH. that had been raised, and then were opened on by a fire close, ceaseless, and deadly. The front ranks of the defenders fired Avithout intermission, being supplied from behind with charged muskets. Every shot slew, they fell in masses, were instantly replaced, their successors fell as they ; while shells, cast from the ramparts, were spreading ■wide destruction and wider terror among the crowd seated below. For a whole hour they passed on to certain death, as doggedly as snow-flakes to the ocean. For a whole hour every man that advanced perished in that terrible fire. At length they faltered, wavered, and withdrew. Their brave leader was left among the slain. And heroic as were the deeds at Lutzen when GustaAnis fell, none equalled that of a soldier, who returned be- neath the wall to rescue the body of his commander. Forty muskets showered danger around him ; but he flinched not, and bore away his generous burden \m- harmed. That night the siege was raised. Clive was reinforced the next day, pursued the enemy, defeated them at Ami, captured Conjeveram, and made the English arms respected ; eventually, triimiphant. Per- haps the historians of future ages may say, that the defence of Arcot bore the same relation to the Moham- medan power in the East, as the battle of Tours in the West ; and that Charles Martel and Clive were the in- struments of ProA'idence in giving the check, at those extreme points, to the restless current by which that system of lust and bloodshed had overswept the nations ; and in commencing the reflux by which we now see it falling back, with rapid subsidence, on the centre whence it originally sprang. An instructive lesson is conveyed by the fate of those IHE LESSON. 107 who conducted the struggle for an European empire in India. Dupleix rose to splendid dignity ; became arbiter of the Carnatic and Deccan; was courted by eastern kings, ennobled by his own ; and then died the \-ictim of disappointment and poverty. Labourdonnais foimd the reward of pre-eminent talents and services in the Bastile. Lally, after displajing bravery and zeal in the cause of his adopted country, was drawn through Paris in a dimg-cart, to the guillotine.* Clive rose from an obscure clerkship to be governor of Bengal, a British peer, the boast of his country, the hero of his age ; and, at the very moment when his sovereign was looking to the talents he wielded as the only hope of saving America, his life of victories, aggrandisement and fame was closed by suicide. Such is the bliss of greatness ! The love of conquest, like Moore's Prophet, wears a veil of transcendent lustre, to shroud features of ineffable disgust. On that mask, poets and historians converge the rays of glory, till it dazzles, fascinates, inflames. But, ever and anon, such events as the suicide of Clive lift the veil, and discover lineaments far fouler than those which mar the less destructive, but less capari- soned furies, Pestilence and Famine. How different is his lot who toils under the same suns to turn men to God ! His deeds rejoice the hosts who little reck of the battle's issue, but sing when a soul is saved. His name is written in letters bright as heaven's crystals, incorruptible as its light. His reward is God's approval upon earth ; and when earth is burnt up, a crown flash- • Voltaire states that he was imprisoned in the same cell of the Ba.Htile where Labouidoimaia had lain. Fragm. IIitt the bearers ground thcii- palankeen, produce some cocoa- nuts, turn aside to a small temple, and there reverently ; present them to a miserable little image, as an offering Ij to propitiate his favour on their way. The surrounding li witnesses to the Creator s glory, and the idol's impo- tence, were so numerous and so plain-spoken, that this |i act made one feel he belonged to a race degraded indeed. t The stock's nothingness wa.s inscribed on all you looked at. The mountains, swelling with a majesty it never ^ wore ; the light, glowing with a radiance it never gave; ( the vegetation, springing with a life it had long since 124 THE SHAME OF MAX. lost ; the parroquet, clad ^\-ith a loveliness it coiild neither give nor prize ; the squirrel, gamboling vdth a ^•ivacity it could not share ; the very fruit, Ijring as its offering, and rich vdth nutriment it could not impart, could not even derive ; all, all lifted up their voice, and witnessed against the madness, the vrickedness of man. To see the Almighty insulted so, amid the stupendous monument^ of his power ; and to think that, inane, loathsome, as was the deed, yet half the millions of our race would not blush to join in it ; awoke within, a strife of shame, indignation, and pity, that tore the very heart. O Lord God, holy and true, how long r How long will rational beings affront thy Godhead? How long will men, lost, contemn their Creator, and adore his creatures ? Earth and heaven answer, " How can they call on Him of whom they have not heard ? And how can they hear without a preacher ? " Oh where is the youth ^dth soul so earthy, that would rather spend his days in gathering money, than in calling the cities of heathendom to behold their God? And where is the mother who would not thankfully devote her first- bom to a work so holy ? And where is the man who would rather reserve his thousands to tempt his children when he is dead, than send them to bless his species while he lives ? At the head of the pass stands the bungalow of Naikenary, surrounded by copse and low hills, withou anything to indicate that, close by, an extensive country is spread out on a level many hundreds of feet below you. A change of temperature is at once perceptible. The sun shines just as fiercely ; but the air is not so heated, and at night has a bracing coolness, not wholly THE ADA.PTATIOXS OF PBOVIDZXCE. 125 lost even in May, at which season the night atmosphere of the Paj-een Ghaut is so languid, and sudorific, that you are not surprised the author of the Jymani (a cele- 1 brated native poem) should, in one of his fancies, put ! the question, "If the xsind shoidd grow so warm that \ he began to perspire, who would be found to fan him:'" i One is much struck to find the sheep on the top of the I Ghauts ha^-ing a covering of wool ; far short of the I luxurious garment of a Southdown or Leicester, but t qmte sufficient to afford the inhabitants material where- I with to manufacture camblies, (''camlet, ') which the cold incident to their elevated situation renders desirable, and which they weave in long pieces, like Scotch plaids, and use jjenerally as a night-covering ; but in the cold season, do not disdain its comfort even in the day. This provision is forcibly illustrative of God's paternal care, when you remember that, within two or three hours' walk, on the plains below, sheep are browsing with precisely the same kind of hide as the calf or foal beside them ; because there, even in December, woollen clothing would be only an incumbrance. The same ttcntion to our happiness which leads the All-giving to rdain, that various climates shall produce each the .ost suitable kind of sustenance, is equally manifest in the distribution of material for covering : the delicate silk, and cotton, so admirably suited to the regions of balmy airs, we find to flourish there ; the substantial wool, so well adapted to the changing heats of the tem- perate zone, is in that zone profuse ; while for the furs, that protect from extreme cold, we travel to the realms of snow. Just about the Ghauts, the language changes from 126 DIVERSE TONGUES. Tamul to Teloogoo : this latter continues to near Hooscottah, wljere the Canarese begins. These three languages haA-e a strong affinity, but are not to be regarded as dialects of tlie same tongue. The Canarese and Teloogoo use a similar alphabet, but are as distinct as Frencla and English. Only, the sensfole usage of having a letter for every elemental sound, and of writing every word as it is pronounced, greatly facilitates the acquisition of one when the other is known. The Tamul alphabet is perfectly different, not having a single letter the same, nor even the numeral signs, which in European languages are common ; while its letters in number are only between two and three hundred, whereas in the Canarese they are nearly seven. Per- sons used only to the parsimonious alphabets of the West take alarm at this host of letters, regarding it as a useless and embarrassing multiplicity. But it is the most con\-enient arrangement of which orthography admits. In Englisli the learner is deluded into the belief that there are five vowels, and then is rebuked, not five nor fifty times, for pronouncing each of them just as he had been taught to pronounce it half a minute before. Every time he meets Avith the vowel A, it has to be considered whether he will pronounce it like itself, as in "bacon ;" or like E, as in "many;" or short, as in "man or long, as in "mar ;" or broad, as in "all;" or something else : and thus tlie time lost, and the labour demanded, are incomparably greater than if, in the first instance, he had been required to learn n separate letter for every separate sound. In Canarese, the vowels are sixteen ; the consonants thirty-three. Every consontrnt adopts sixteen changes of form, each A BOUXTIFUL ALPHABET. 127 expressing its combination with a certain vowel. Thus five hundred and twenty-eight compound letters are really syllables, which, though they facilitate the writing of the language, yet, by midtiplying the forms, increase the tediousness and, consequently, the expense of print- ing. This is the only inconvenience of the extended alphabet ; and it is a serious one. But it arises not j from securing to each elemental sound a distinct sign, but from the syllabic combinations. To the natives our alphabet seems exquisitely absurd. They tliink its framers must have been of remarkably barren invention, when they could afford only two dozen signs for all the ' varieties of sound which language employs. They I complain bitterly, and no wonder, of the miserable un- I certainty entailed upon them as to whether they are j pronouncing a word right or wrong. The boys in one of our Ceylon mission-schools archly called the letter A "the lying letter," saying that it so constantly changed, they could never trust it. The Canarese alphabet affords four, to take the several posts, on all of which, and some others to boot, we compel this one \ overworked vowel to do duty. Would the chemical student deem his task lightened, if. instead of having to j learn a name for each of the fifty-four elements, he I were obliged to use the sound sodium equally for the j one it now indicates, and for zmc, azoic, and chlorine, I leaving the context to determine which was meant ? Or would the juvenile musician be assisted by having ii scmibrcvcs, minims, and quavers all expressed by one ] sign, memory or judgment deciding the particular appli- ■ cation ? Or would the master of ten workmen diminish jj his trouble were he to get three John Joneses, three 128 AJr rNFAIK DESCEIPTION. John Smiths, and three Thomas Browns, rather than learn ten separate names ? Yet such is the principle on which all the sounds of our copious tongue are com- pelled to find expression, through the stinted and im- poverished medium of the Roman alphabet. A certain lively writer gives the following description of Tamul : — " This Tamul is a fearfully ugly language ; clattering, twittering, chirping, sputtering, like a whole poultry-yard let loose upon one, and not a singing-bird, not a melodious sound, among them." This is far more likely to be read and remembered than the sober de- scriptions of those who are guilty of weighing words. It is, however, mere humorous rattle, a playful way of venting the annoyance so natural when hearing a thousand things said that you carmot understand, and when perplexed in attempts to learn what you are told is very easy. I never spoke Tamul, and understood it but very imperfectly ; but feel no hesitation in saying, that were one who knew nothing of it, or English, or French, to hear the three languages well spoken, he would at least hesitate as to whether the palm of euphony were not due to the " poultry-yard let loose.'' Teloogoo is remarkable for soft, agreeable sounds, and is popularly called " the Italian of India." Canaresc, on the other hand, abounds in rugged combinations of mutes and aspirates, which give it a character of force and harshness.* But though defective in melody, its grammatical structure has a beautiful philosophical sim- * I am aware tliat in this statement I differ from the Kcv. W. Campbell, who, in his work, " British India," &c., charac- terises Canaresc as " mollifiiious in its sounds." It is capable t)f softncBS ; but tliat is not its chaiacteiistic. A GREAT BOOX. 129 plicity ; while, as a vehicle of knowledge and emotion, it is admirable. Wealthy in native resources, and abundantly replenished frorn the exhaustless Sanscrit, it is copious, definitive, and nervous ; equally compe- tent to express the boldest passion, or the softest sjt.i- pathy ; the tale of history, the flights of song, the refinements of metaphysics, or the high and spiritual discourses of theology. For the discussion of physical science, it will requii-e a liberal invention of techni- calities. The Canarcse is spoken all over the Mysore, in the provinces of Canara, and a considerable portion of the Ceded Districts. The popxdation using it is variously estimated by Europeans at from ten to fifteen millions. The natives state it higher ; but they are poor autho- rities. Up to a quarter of a century ago, every book in this many-tongued language was a heathen one. No volume kindled the fancy of youth, or beguiled the tedium of age, but stultified the intellects with drivelling idolatry, and poUuteil the soul by foul and disgusting recitals. A dark awe comes over one, to think of a tongue sjjoken by civilized and populous nations, con- tinually uttering men"s cares, agitations, and joys; as ntinually instilling doctrines, principles, facts; but iinb, wholly and for ages dumb, as to any sanctifying uth, any saving message. Blessed be God, that, with t he Canarcse, it is so no longer ! It is eloquent now with nry truth of that religion which is rich enough in lincss to make even a Hindu pure; rich enough in love to melt the chains of centuries, and fuse all castes into brotherhood ; rich enough in consolation to heal the countless sorrows that follow strange gods. In K 130 A CLERICAL GOTH. 1820 the Rev. John Hands, of the London Missionary Society, printed the New Testament at Bellary, and, twelve years after, the Old. I cannot utter, nor yet repress, the veneration with which such a boon to man- kind inspires me. He that benefits his species is greater than he that pleases or astounds them. But to be the benefactor of millions, and that to the end of time, is a dignity conferred on few. Let others pay their honours where they will : the profoundest reverence, the liveliest thanks I may offer to creature, shall be reserved from genius, grandeur, heroism, but cheerfully rendered to him by whose godly toil a wide-spoken tongue is first made to utter the words whereby my Redeemer may be known, my fellow-sinners may be saved. The deed is too vast for the chronicles of earth, too pure for the praise of men. Every letter of its record will be a regenerated soul ; every stone of its testimonial a re- deemed family ; every note of its pa^an an angel's joy. He who can pursue the sunbeams, and trace, without one omission, every lineament of beauty they pencil on tree, and flower, and living thing, may tell the blessings that accrue when the light of life is flung on the path-, way of millions, whom the darkness bewildered and destroyed. It is strikingly characteristic of the two systems, that, while Protestantism has enriched the various tongues oi. India by versions of the holy Scriptures, and is rapidly adding the boon of a pure literature, Romanism found sacred tomes in the custody of the native churches, which would have been valuable both to the biblical critic and the ecclesiastical historian ; but she con- signed them to tlie flames by the liands of her infamous LEISURELY LABOTJIIS. 131 Archbishop Menezes ; who, with the soul both of an Inquisitor and a.Goth, was not content to inflict WTongs on the SjTian Christians which associate his memory with that of Pizzaro and Cortes, but must consummate his barbarism by burning documents, whose antiquity and sacred character, while they would have com- manded veneration everywhere else, only served him as a stronger motive to remove such undesirable impe- diments to the assumptions of his church. Of his pro- ceeding a full detail may be found in the Rev. James Hough's " History of Christianity in India;" while a succinct and interesting summary is given in the second edition of the Rev. E. Hoole's " Mission in Madras, i Mysore, and South India." i -The second stage from Naikenary was Baitmunga- \ lum, which lies within the Mysore boundary. Here I one of our horses having lost a shoe, wc had the oppor- ! tunity of seeing the operations of a native blacksmith. ! He came with ready-made horse-shoes, hammers, fuel, anvil, and bellows, all contained in one very portable bundle. The fuel was charcoal, and the anvil tiny, with a spike by which he drove it into the ground. But the bellows were the most elaborate and ingenious implement in his whole workshop. The pipe was an iron tube, about one inch in diameter; after a few j inches it branched into two, each of which terminated i in the comer of a leather bag, where it was tightly tied. These bags were open at the top. The operator, placing the pipe under the fuel, sat him quietly down, and took the top of a bag in cither hand. Thin slips of wood ran along the edges to enable him to open and I lose them more readily. Spreading his right hand to K 2 132 CHTJNAM. its full extent, and raising it at the same time, he both opened and stretched the bag held by it, which, conse- quently, filled with air. He then closed his hand firmly', and, pressing down the bag, forced the air contained in it to escape through the pipe below. The left hand then performed the same duty ; and the two plying in regular alternation, sustained a blast sufficient for his purpose. ^Vhen the shoe was heated, he shaped it on his tiny anvil, still sitting on the ground ; his easy quiet presenting a strange contrast to the sturdy mani- pulations of our Vulcans at home. This habit of sitting at work gives the Hindus an air of laziness to English eyes. The bricklayer sits to build, the stonecutter sits to chisel, the reaper sits to reap, the potter sits to turn his wheel, and, from all appearances, the ploughman Avould sit to plough, but that the erect posture is more convenient for walking. It is usual, during the growth of the rice, to rear a kind of platform to watch it against the crows ; and there you may see a poor boy squatted, for hours together, under a sun hot enough to scorch the board he sits on ; and yet he takes it as patiently as though he were a portion of the wood. Here, also, we saAv part of the process of preparing chunam. The lime, (generally made of shells,) after being slacked, is sifted again and again through thin cloth. A woman takes a quantity of this, and, sitting down with a small pot of water and two stones, ono flat, the other round, jjlacos a little lime on the flat stone, moistens it, anil then rolls it with the other till she thinks it impossible that the minutest particle can have escaped. Then it is mixed with the white of eggs, and also, I have been told, with sugar, after which the HYDUE. 133 pounding is repeated. The plaster thus produced, when carefully polished, has a surface singularly sniOf)th, and of a whiteness not so soft, hut more intense, than the finest Italian marble. Erections which have received the highest chunam finish, afibrd, in the massive purity of glistening white, a species of architectural beauty not to be found in Europe. The interior of some chm-ches at Madras look as if the plastic hand of some giant modeller had shaped the whole from one Parian rock, without vein or joining. This majestic unity is far more impressive than the agglomeration of gilding, painting, sculpture, whiie marbles, coloured marbles, balustrades, )Ionnades, angels and emperors, saints and crusaders, which decks that paragon of magnificent bad taste, the Madeleine at Paris. Our next stage led us to Colar, at the entrance of which two stately minarets, glistening in the morning -un, and gracefully contrasting witli the dark foliage of I surrounding grove, indicated the spot where the re- mains of that wonderful man, Hydur Ali, had been inteiTcd.* Of low extraction, utterly uneducated, and spending up to his twenty-seventh year in idleness, he managed to subvert the throne of Mysore, conquered 1 veral adjacent countries, maintained long contests vith "the stormy and warlike English," as Meir Hus- ein terms us, ravaged all their territory, annihilated a division of their army, eclipsed the glories of the hero of IJuxar, and dictated peace almost at the gates of Madras. Hi.s bravery, enterprise, decision, and foresight will bear comparison with those of Napoleon. His power of giving simultaneous attention to several con- • Afterwards removed to Scriiigapaiam. 134 htdur's BrLE. cerns exceeded that even of Caesar. Yet he never coiild read or write, his greatest literary attainment being the ability to shape one letter, which he appended to official documents, as his sign-manual ; and even this is called by his laudatory biographer the result of " much labour." This ignorance, doubtless, whetted the sus- piciousness that ever curses a tyrant. Never were coimtries r\iled with a more coarse and relentless des- potism, than those that fell beneath his sword. The tales of his crueltj- that circidate among the villages of Mysore chill the blood, even at this distance of time. His desires were large, and he lived for himself. The pleasures of conquest, of wealth, and of the hareem, moved his soul with resistless impulsion. In their way, the faith of treaties, the rights of property, the sanctity of homes, were but gossamer. He lived in battles and in marches. His appearance in any neighbourhood was a portent of woe to all who had aught to lose. The wealthy were commanded to produce their long- kept treasure : reluctance was ruin. Those who had beautiful daughters saw them torn away to swell his hareem, or amuse his favourites. Woe to him who murmured, no matter how deep his %vrongs ! The ears of the tyrant were everj'where ; his spies numberless, and unkno^^-n. The silence of Russia, on a topic in- hibited by the Czar, is not more perfect than was that of the dominions of Hydur on his oppressions. In ruling men he used but one instrument, — terror, pure and unmasked. The faith of his ministers, the integrity of his zemindars, the zeal of his spies, the punctuality of his horse-dealers, the very courage of his troops in HIS EXD. 135 the charge, were all secured by terror.* The faithful Meir Hussein, though asserting that " he was altogether full of kindness and generosity," quietly admits that " the backs and sides of his negligent and extortionate servants were frequently softened by stripes of the whip ;" an emollient to which he was very partial : while the author of the Ahwali Hydur hesitates not to say, that " cutting off the nose and ears of any person in his territories was the commonest thing imaginable ; and killing a man there was thought no more of than treading on an ant." The account of his death is very characteristic ; and, to those who look on a dying man with Christian eyes, very sad. " On the last day of the Mohurrun il Huram," says Meir Hussein, (page 471,) *» he asked his attendants what was the date of the month : f they replied, ' This is the last day of the month Zi Huj, and to-night is the first of the Mohur- nm.' He then directed that Avater should be made ready for him to bathe ; and although the physician objected to his bathing, they turned him out of the tent, and the nawaub bathed. Then, having put on clean clothes, he repeated some prayer or invocation on his fingers, rubbing his face, and at the same time despatched two thousand horse to plunder and ravage • "■\\Ticn, stimulated and forced on by the abuse he gave them, the horse had charged the enemy, he sent for the sanises (•grooms' or 'horse-keepers') of the cavalry, and, giving them bamlwos or shoes, he placed them in lijie, himself taking post in rear of the whole, and giAnng orders to them to strike and beat any who retreated." (Colonel Myles's Translation of the Ahwali Ilydur.) t lie knew that he was dyinp, having been suffering for some time with a cancerous affection. 136 htdite's charactee. the country of the Polygers, nortli of Ai-kat ; and five thousand horse towards Macbas for the same purpose, and to alarm the people there. He next sent for some of his officers, and gave them strict orders for the regu- lation of their departments, and afterwards swallowed a little hroth, and laid [lay] down to rest. The same night his ever-victorious spirit took its flight to pa- radise." Such were the last deeds of a man who possessed talents equal to any that the history of wars has de- veloped ; while, in character, he combined the darkest features of the tjTant, the libertine, and the lover of pelf. M^ho would ihe \mder the curses of a whole nation ? But the last moments of a hero are seldom enviable. No one woidd covet Alexander's end. Caesar had for his dying thought a biting sense of ingratitude and friendlessness. William the Conqueror died with tormenting recollections of the "many robberies" he had committed, and his corpse lay rifled and exposed on the floor for hours.* The proudest hero of our navies, when he felt himself smitten by death, cried, " AVhat yn.\\ Lady Hamilton say r" thus giving the last thought of his great s})irit to one whose disgustfid life should have made a common informer blush to name her. Happy, happy, happy he, lowly or illustrious, who in the final call can recognise the voice of Him whom he sought in his youth, and served in his prime ! Our journey was now drawing to a close. In India the incidents of travel are few. The roads are anything but crowded. You see now and then a string of bul- lock-carts ; a sepoy on furlough, Avith native complexion • See Pictorial llistory of France. SIGHTS BY THE WAT. 137 and English attire ; a peon, with sword and tiger-skin belt ; a barber sitting under a tree, and performing the monthly tonsure on the heads and chins of patient- looking victims ; a dram-seller in a shed, wilb bottle and glass of English mamifacture, and native vessels for toddy: or a religious mendicant ringing his gong, sounding his shell, or bawling out the names of his god. By a village at sunrise you are sure to meet, issuing out, a multitude of cows and buIFaloes, which are driven within the walls every night for greater se- c\irity. T'le cows are generally small and ill fed ; but the bullocks, being well cared for on account of their value as beasts (jf rbaught and burden, are fine animals, with a broad flowing dewlap, and large solid crest on the shoulder, shaped not unlike a cock's tomb, but without the scalloping. Of all animals the buffalo is least indebted to beauty. The hide is a dull, dingy blue, without ha'r ; the head long, poking, and hori- zontal ; the gait shambling and lazy ; the look ineffably stupid. You are ready to imagine it an ill-shapen cow, dothed in soiled slate, and feeling about as comfortable in mail as the " man of brass" at the lord mayor's show. Occasionally, on an ox, with decorated horns and neck- lace of sounding bells, rides by a countiy gentleman, with bright garments, rich turban, and expansive slip, pars ; v.ho looks, as coimtiy gcnilemen sometimes do, as if be were some/wdy, in his own neighbourhood. Then you meet a family, the father walking before, silent and hauglity, the mother coming behind, silent and craven, with a child slung at her back, and a bundle, containing their household goods, on her licad. They go on and on in dead silence, with as little sign 138 FAMILIES EN KOIJTE. of mutual feeling as the fore and main masts of a ship. For miles together the husband maintains his dogged silence, the wife her huftible distance. Sometimes you pony supporting a white pyramid, which, when near, is discovered to be a lady in a muslin bastile, with only a small aperture at the eye for her to peep through. Such poets as Mr. Monckton Milnes may commend the atrocities of the hareem by singing, — " Within the gay kiosk reclined, Above the scent of lemon groves, Where bubbling foimtaiiis kiss the ■wind, And birds make music to their loves, She leads a kind of faery life, In sisterhood of fruits and flowers, Unconscious of the outward strife, That wears the palpitating hours." As if a human breast were to be freed from cares by lemon-scents, fruits, flowers, and bubbles, when those very things come to her in an isolation which remind her of her own, and show in their very form that she is not allowed to wander in fields where their beauties flourish, or trace the stream whose waters are free ; but that, with Jealousy for her judge, and Contempt for her jailor, she is captured and caged, a perpetual prisoner, for the crime of being a woman ; and that, too, by the man whose children she has borne ! Let those who choose read and admire such elegant inanities. For our own part, we honestly say, that they who could look on such a monument to man's depravity and wo- man's degradation, as is afforded by a Mohammedan lady in her itinerant prison, and recollect that her hu- Mussulmaun, followed by a PENSIVE RETHOSPECT. 139 miliation and wrongs are shared by the women of many a nation, without being heart-stung, deserve, if men, such affection as t}Tanny fosters, such peace as jealousy brings ; if women, could such women be, — " If women, to Turkish serails let them speed, And be mothers of Mussulmaun slaves." Painful reflections arose in looking back on the way we had passed. It is much frequented by our country- men ; but the spiritual interests of the population lying along it are sadly overlooked. Villages, towns, cities, are slumbering in undisturbed idolatry. They worship gods of wood and stone ; no one points them to a greater. They seek purity by torture and ablution ; no one tells them of the fountain that is opened for sin. It is sad — and sad with shades of awe and sorrow not easily depicted — to pass, one after another, through places where thousands dwell, and think of their chil- dren, all imbibing errors that will vitiate their life, and curse their eternity ; of their daughters, whose birth, instead of being hailed as a father's joy, is endured as fate's decree, who learn no letters, aspire not to equal companionship, but live and die in ignorance and con- tempt; of their mothers, who never share their husband's lioiird, and seldom see his smile; of their widows, whose bereavement is looked on not as a sorrow to attract pity, but as a curse to mark them for execration ; of their orphan girls, sold to the temple and infamy ; l! and, saddest of all, of their old men, in whose eye no j hope kindles as they bow down to the grave. He that knows the heart of a missionary, knows what anguish these reflections bring ; but anguish is not all : ever 140 THE AEKIVAL. and anon will stir within him an impetuous inrlignatiou at the supineness by which fields thus opened by Pro- vidence are left untilled ; and the mind grows be- wildered Avith questions as to what shall be the final award of Christian men, Avho, aware of the world's state, prefer laj-ing up for themselves treasures on earth, to making millions rich for ever. At Hooscottah, the last stage from Bangalore, we were delighted to find Mr. Cryer and Mr. Jenkins wait- ing to receive us. After a h?ppy day spent in their society, we started early in the afternoon. About an hour after night, hedgerows skirting the broad, regular roads, English-looking gates, lights shining from be- tween clumps of trees, the white fronts of houses glistening in the brilliant moonlight, and the stir of buggies hurrying hither and thither, told us that the merciful care of our heavenly Father had conducted us to the English capital of the Mysore. 3 141 CHAPTER IV. BANGALORE. The first Sight — Martial appearances — Tamul Towns — The Metropolis of Monkeys — The wonderful Ape — The Siin in CaiJtivity — All I^ifc is the same — Gofls many — The Pettah — The Bazaar — Bankers, Drapers, Grocers, &c. — AVares — The "Welcome — Our Bretlircn — Labours and Fruits — The three Tongues — Piety among the English — The Tamul Work — The tried Converts — The Canares Work — The sunrise Service — The outdoijr Audience — The Orjjhan School — The Native Book — ^The Boy and the Book — A strange Christian — My Moonshi — History of Bangalore — Im])roved Muster Roll — CoiTuptions — The Revoluti(m — A good Change — 'Plainness and Dignity — The open Door. The first object morning presented to our view, was that whicl) is always beautifu] : but doubly so in a land of idols. Surrounded by heathen dwellings, the house I of God is welcome as a water-s])ring in the desert. Just before the mission-house at Bangalore, stands a chapel capable of accommodating about three hundred persons, substantial and neat. It is situated in the very centre of the cantonment, on a spot more eligible for the English and Tamul communities than any in the I place. A large part of the cost of its erection was de- 1 frayed by the liberal contributions of the resident Eu- || ropcan gentry, many of whom are ready witli their aid j in every good work. A native gentleman, who had acquired great wealth, and received a highly honourable title from Lonl William Bcntinck, wlicn Governor- General, handsomely forwarded £ 100 towards the ex- 142 THE FIRST SIGHT. pense of the building, accompanied by a letter to the missionaries, in which he begged their acceptance of this sum as a token of his respect, and especially of his gratitude for the benefits derived by his grandson, who had been educated in one of their schools. In front of the chapel stretches an open esplanade more than a mile long, and of considerable breadth. Each of its sides is skirted by an avenue of trees, with a fine broad road. Along the right-hand road extends a series of barracks, capable of accommodating a regi- ment of European cavalry, one of infantry, and two of sepoys. The opposite road is lined wdth compoimds, as the garden-plots in which houses stand are invariably called ; a large building for assembly-rooms terminating the row at one end, and a spacious English church adorning the other. At the head of the esplanade is seen the residence of General Cubbon, the Chief of the Commission for governing the Mysore territory, who, in connexion with his colleagues, has administered that responsible trust in a manner honourable to the English name, and advantageous to the country. Branching from this centre, roads run in every direction, pleasantly skirted by compoimds, each with its smiling bungalow, and not a few bearing marks of horticultural taste. At a short distance on one side a regiment of native cavalry is quartered, on the border of a smooth lake ; while in a different direction you come upon the post of a large body of artillcrj-. horse and foot, English and native ; each of these places forming an agreeable extension of the military lines. The martial air of the place strikes you at once. Your eye is constantly falling on a mili- tary figure. Ip. the early morning you have in one MAETIAL APPEAKA>-CES. 143 direction the brilliant mancBuvring of the hussars : in another a regiment of sepoys, like an assembly of bronze statues, in red coats, turned into a huge automaton, and performing rapid evolutions at the will of a moiinted operator : in another a squadron of brown lads in dark trousers and white jackets, doing drill at the word of a sepoy Serjeant, who is educating them in soldiership ; that, when of proper age, they may be drafted into regiments not as awkward recruits, but as veterans in tactics, if not in campaign. On the left you hear the angry artillery, practising its thunders on mock mud- forts ; and on the other hand, the volle}'ing of musketry from some sham-fight or regiment in exercise. Then, during the day, look where you will, into church, drawing-room, street, carriage, or palankeen, you are kJmost sure to see either the scarlet of the line, the blue of the artillerj', the glitter of the hussar, or the bright sky-colour of the native horse. In the evening every- (ly is abroad, most of the carriages being drawn by a air of well-conditioned bullocks. -\t this time the s])arkle of military costume, combined with the richness ; the foliage, the beauty of the sky, groups of natives, lankeens, and an occasional train of elephants, give^ romantic air to Bangalore. The faces, too, look more iglish than those that are paled or browned by the rccr heats of Madras : you often see a child looking ^y and merry, which is hardly ever the case below the auts. But the endless recurrence of war-dresse» iigs no pleasing thoughts of the struggles tlirough lich the country has toiled to its present peace, and of .le seeming distance of that day when men shall learn war no more. At the same time it is delightful to feel 144 TAMUL TOWXS. that under many a military coat, beats a heart wherein the love of Christ has implanted tliose princiides, which, when generally diffused, will make "peace to spring out of the earth, and righteousness to look down from heaven." Cli)se around this beautiful assemblage of European dwellings, the Tamul population are congregated in clusters of houses, some nf which, as Alasoor, the Chuli, and the Great Bazaar, swell into considerable towns. This is what first meets the eye as Bangalore, and what many of the residents regard as such, treating the Pettah (the real Bangalore) as a mere appendage, which they seldom see, some of them never. "A lady'' states that, on proposing to visit it, she was dissuaded from the step on the ground that it was "quite native the very reason that one would have thought would command interest. All we have been describing is jnerely the creation of the English, the clumps of Hindu dwellings interspersing the cantonment lieing tenanted by foreign- ers, who have come from the Tamu] country in quest of the trade and employment incident to the presence of a large European force. It is a singular fact, that, though the English have held the place for nearly half a cen- tury, you scarcely find a single Mysorean among their ■menial servants ; but, if employed at all, it is as gardener, bearer, or wet-nurse. The other offices are filled by Tamul people, or Mussulmauns. The Mysore having been far less accustomed to foreign intercourse, and less broken l)y foreign conquest tlian the countries on the coast, its people are more shy of domestic connexion ♦ Letters from Madras. THE METROPOLIS OF MOXKEYS, 145 \v-ith strangers, and maintain a more independent bearing. Bangalore itself lies above two miles from the mili- tar)' centre, and is, on that side, completely hidden by a dense tope, (grove,) which sti-etches round it, and is penetrated at different points by roads leading to the gates. This grove is a perfect metropolis of monkeys. They swarm in thousands, chasing each other on the roads, capering on the hedges, chattering on the boughs, and grinning hungrily at every one who passes with any eatable. They are a constant pest to every house- ;fe in the to^vn, discovering unsuspected passages to ■ir stores, forestalling the meal, and making hasty reat. A native fable, in illustrating the danger of i^chievous companions, tells of a man who took a imcy, accompanied by his monkey and his goat, king with him rice and curds for a refreshment by ij way. Arrived at a tank, he resolved to bathe and (line. Laying down the bundle with the provisions, he ! 'd the two animals to a bush, and went dovm to the Ilk. No sooner had he disappeared than the monkey look the bimdle, untied it, disposed of the good things, aijd then wiping his hands on the beard of the goat, so as to leave plenty of marks, sat down solemnly at the (jther side of the tree. The poor goat suffered the beat- ing due to her arch companion. The endless gambols the monkeys would afford amusement, but that .latry invests them with an unnatural and repulsive i])ortance. They are the representatives of a delusion 1 hat darkens countless souls. Their impunity in mis- I hicf is not granted by the indifference of those they infest; but is guaranteed by their own sacredness, a L 146 IHE WONDERFUL APE. sacredness that would entail on one who killed them all the odium of murder, and which often brings to their ridiculous presence a man performing his na- maskara, (sign of religious veneration,) or presenting his offering. All over the coimtry you find temples to Hanamimta, a monkey ; and before those ^v^etched images you see the child and the grandfather bowing. The Ramayana, one of the Puranas, gives this ac- count of the origin of monkey-worship. In the Tritha Yuga, Vishtnu, (the preserver of all Avorlds,) under disguise of her husband, succeeded in seducing the beautiful and virtuous wife of Salantankasura. On discovering her dishonour, she pronounced on him a curse to the effect, that he should become a man, have his wife stolen by giants, and rescue her Avith an army of monkeys. In consequence of this curse, a part of Vishtnu became incarnate as Rama. At the same time Anjana Davi, (wife of the wind,) had a monkey son, whom she called Hanamunta. He was an avatdra (in- carnation) of part of Shiva, the destroyer. Rama mar- ried Seeti, who had been originally born from the pure sound of the Veda. She was carried away from her husband by Ravanna, a giant king of Ceylon. Eacus, when in trouble, obtained help by ha^■ing ants elevated into armies ; but Rama was assisted in his distress by all the gods incarnating as monkeys. Hanamunta be- came his general, and, as the host was approaching Ceylon, undertook a mission to the island, discovered the prison of Seeti, cheered her by the prospect of de- liverance, received a token of her constancy to Rama, and when bearing it back was seized by the giants, and dragged before their king. They set fire to his tail as THE SUN IX CAPTIVITY. 147 a punishment ; but, dashing through meadows, corn- fields, stack-yards, and dwelling-houses, he spread ge- neral conflagration, until, chased into the tower of a temple, he threw it down on his pursuers, and then extinguishing his tail in the sea, returned triumphant. The army, interrupted by the strait which separates Ceylon from the mainland, seize on mountains, and hurl them into the sea till a bridge is formed. Ter- rible conflicts ensue. Rama"s host is nearly destroyed. A council of war is held : one sage declares that an herb is growing on the Himalaya, which, if applied before the next sunrise, will restore both dead and wounded. Hanamunta offers to procure it. Three leaps carry him over the fifteen hundred miles that intervene. After .spending hours in a vain search, he despairs of finding the herb in time ; so he shakes the mountain, starts it from its base, heaves it on his shoulders, and, with this credible burden, hastens back. On his way he sees the east reddening, and fearful lest the sun, rising before his arrival, should nullify the virtue of the herb, speeds to meet him, bows low, represents the pressure of the case, and craves half an hour's delay. The proud day- king denies him abruptly. But the captor of the Hi- malaya is not to be daunted. He moimts the car of "^urya, seizes him by the hair, drags him from his scat, . ilhers him under his arm, and, thus doubly freighted, I ompletes his journey. The specific is found, the army stored, and the giants vanquished. Sucli arc the recitals which millions of our fellow- subjects devoutly read as revelations from God ! But it is not supposable that this rhodomontade is the real "ligin of that reverence for the monkey r^cc, which L 2 148 ALL LIFE IS THE SAME. has for ages possessed the soul of whole nations. The doctrine of metempsychosis is the natural source of all the varieties of animal worship. " All life is the same,"' is the great axiom of that monstrous theory. The mo men a man assents to this dogma, nature is meta- moi-phosed, all animation equalized, and a countless brotherhood surroimds him. " All life is the same.'' To him the same soul that beams forth from the human countenance, glares in the serpent's eye, speaks in the tiger's howl, guides the march of the ant, and the trunk of the elephant ; animates the wing of the fire-fly, the beak of the vulture, the horse's limb, the scorpion's claw ; and all that crawl, or swim, or fly, or reason, diff'er only in the form under which the kindred spirits are at present housed. This amiises the Englishman as unadulterated absurdity. To the Hindu it is pon- derous and overwhelming truth. It makes every form he sees one of mystery. For aught he knows, the horse he rides, the dog he beats, the M'orm he crushes, may have been, not long ago, a poet, an orator, a priest! The parrot he teaches to chatter may be the man from whom he learned letters ; the son whose birth he hails may be the ant his own foot trampled ; the lamb that is yeaned to him to-day may be the child he buried yester- day ! He looks on the lizard that crosses his path, without any means of conjecturing which has been greater in past history, it or he, or for which the better lot is in reserve ! He may yet be a lizard, the lizard may yet be a king ! Mohammedanism, incapable of seeing indications of soul except in the gleam of the sword which woman wields not, denies it to one half of the human species. Hinduism, prodigal of that which GODS MAXr. 149 it cannot appreciate, lavishes it on every emmet. The Mohammedan despises his wife as a perishable toy ; the Hindu reveres his cow as a rightful equal. This is amusing as a theory, but calamitous as a creed. It rives from the human mind every dignity of birthright or hope, and reduces it to timid fellowship with " fowls of the air, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things." Everything that loiters in the dust, or nibbles in the pool, is its equal. " All life is the same." It fears all, worships most. Low as the curse-smitten serpent wrig- gles, man bows lower, and calls the reptile God ! It is a bitter sight to see. It is natural that those who hold this doctrine should regard the monkey tribe as embodying their forefather's ; a notion which must beget a reverence soon passing to adoration. But it is not to be supposed that the Hindus pay to animals, or even to subordinate gods, what some reasoners on worship delight to call " divine honours ;" that is, adore them as supreme. Idolatry never imagines a plurality of supremes. Its principle is that the exe- cutive of the universe is vested in the hands of " lords many," to whom we should look not as each the su- preme, but either as His deputies, each acting in a certain province, or as the friends of man possessing a certain degree of influence, and willing to exert it on his behall'. Its sin does not consist in multiplying su- premes ; but in interposing between the Supreme and his ser\'ants, beings avowedly inferior ; as if His power were too much ta.xcd to meet every claim, or His good- ness too lethargic to act without prompting. Its blas- phemy consists not in avowing a second Almighty ; but in raising many to a virtual equality as to knowledge 150 THE PETTAH. and presence, and to a superiority as to grace. The moment any being is declared a suitable object of \mi- versal prayer, he is assumed to be not only omnipresent, but omniscient ; for a million souls may be each pouring into his ear a different prayer, at the same moment. Then if he is moved by a feebler petition than woidd move the Supreme, he outdoes Him in the attribute of goodness. The true test of divinity is being to all men the legitimate object of prayer. He who holds these to be many, may, as does the Hindu, attempt to cover his sin by distinctions ; but tl^e sin is upon him. He ■who o-ttTis many objects of universal prayer, o^^'ns many gods. On the inner edge of the grove whose vivacious te- nantry have called forth these remarks, you have the mud wall of the town. Within the gate a scene opens, strongly contrasting with the broad avenues, the militarj' groups, the intermingling of la-mis, gardens and villas, which grace the adjoining cantonment. Here you have a native to'^vn in all its perfection. To conceive rightly of this, it is necessary to dismiss all the red bricks, grey stones, drab stucco, storied houses, windows, bal- conies, slates, pavements, and lamp-posts, which so naturally introduce themselves with the idea of a town, as if they were essential to it. There is none of them here. You see a long, moderately narrow street, with houses of one low story, flat-roofed, whitewashed, and windowless. Parallel with them runs a thinly-planted avenue of cocoa-nut trees. Monkeys countless are scrambling up the side-walls, playing antics on the roof, bounding from the houses to the trees, and peer- ing everywhere in search of plunder. The street is THE BAZAAK. 151 thronged with turbaned men, some fully clad in shining white, the majority bare from the waist up, some with flowing beard, some with simple moustache, and some ^^'ith every hair shaved to the very eyebrow. There are numbers of women, some bearing waterpots, some baskets of fruit ; some having a child seated on the hip with its face against the mother's side, and supported by her arm ; beautifully illustrating the prophetic ex- pression, " Daughters shall be nursed at thy side." Occasionally a widow steals through the crowd in her miserable dress of pale yellow, looking as if under the feeling that she had no right to live, or to obtrude her- self on a world from which her religion would have cast her, had not the kind hand of British Christianity interposed. On turning into the bazaar, if you have allowed your expectations to be formed by the descriptions which travellers in Persia give of the structures found in that country, your disappointment will be woeful. Instead of the grand buildings and glittering display which would suit your Eastern notions, there is the same long, narrow, low street, differing only in this, — that the houses are not built up in front, but open in the fashion of a coach-house. Indeed, you can hardly form a better idea of an Indian bazaar, than to imagine a street of small, doorless coach-houses, parted by whitewashed mud walls, and roofed with red or black tiles. The only dissimilarity is, that the floor of the shop is raised above the level of the street, and the cross-beam sus- taining the roof supported from below by two bamboos. The front is often without any protection, the owner withdrawing the goods at night into bis house, which 1 152 BA>fKERS, DRAPERS, GROCERS, ETC. communicates with the shop by a door from behind. In many cases, however, a piece of wicker-work, as large as the whole front, is hinged on the beam which supports the roof, and, being let down at night, forms a covering, which is secured by a lock of construction and workmanship far behind Chubb's detector. During the day it is lifted up, and forms a projecting shade. On the floor of one of these shops you see the banker seated, with a few small bags about him, scales to weigh coins, and a stone whereby to test gold. Of this pre- cious metal he tells you there are sixteen qualities, each of which his stone instantly detects. All he judges trustworthy may borrow at various rates of interest ; the most equitable in the esteem of the people being what they call one per cent.; that is, per month, or twelve per cent, per year. They say, if a man is not willing to give one rupee to have a hundred for a whole month, he cannot be in great need, and has no business to borrow. A great many of the merchants trade on capital entirely fictitious. Few families are found who are not in one way or other suffering under the curse of usury. The banker is money-changer also, not giving rupees for a single pagoda, or annas for a single rupee, without his deduction. Perhaps next door to him sits the draper, surrounded by a few rude shelves, covered with pieces of silk and cotton cloth. His stock offers no great variety. One set of pieces is dresses for women, another for men, another turbans, another handkerchiefs ; and these, with perhaps a piece or two of English goods, complete his store. The endless variety of articles which a cold climate and changeful fashions have introduced into Europe arc unknown WARES. 153 where the breezes are kindly, and a man is content to dress like his grandfather. Then the grocer has a host of spices, for curry-powder, piled up in rough round baskets, with sugars varj'ing from a whiteness almost equal to flour, to a dark hard substance like dirty glue. A variety of grain is also displayed. They enumerate nine kinds, several of Avhich, however, are properly pulse. Rice is generally spoken of as the universal food of India ; but in many districts it is comparatively little used. In the Mysore, raagi {cynosurus corocanus) is the general food. It is a round seed, of reddish brown colour, and much smaller than millet. It is ground, made into a sort of thick pudding, rolled up between the hands into long quids, which are dipped into a condiment formed of several spices, and swallowed by efforts that none can make who has not had the benefit of an early training. They regard it as a far more sub- stantial food than rice, speaking with no measured con- I tempt of the imbecile frames of those who cut only the 1 latter. It is as difficult of digestion as rice is easy. \ " Sir," said a youth to me one day, in extolling his s country's food, as would a Scot bamiocks, " Sir, an l| hour after a meal of rice, you feel as if you had eaten li nothing ; it is melted and gone : but, after a meal of 1' raagi, it is just as if a cannon-ball had sat down in your I stomach ; it stands by you the livelong day." Yet all who can afford it, eat rice once a day. Raagi requires j no artificial irrigation, and is capable of being prc- i served, when buried in a hole dug in the ground, for I five years or more ; I have been told, for ten. The • ' ople of Mysore say they have food enough buried in ir fields to serve Jor a year, even if the crops should 154 WARES. fail ; but that, when a scarcity occurs, the people from below the Ghauts flock to them, and " eat them up." Then you have the fruiterer, and the goldsmith, and the coppersmith, whose wares consist of pots, lamps, toys, and gods. Of these latter you may buy several for a few pence ; for the image is of no account until it has been didy transubstantiated by a priest: after that no price will win it from a really devout Hindu. It stirs one's spirit within him, to see a man buying a waterpot and a god from the same stall. The bazaars of Bangalore give ample testimony to the prevalence of idol-worship ; and, at the same time, indicate a rude state of commerce, as compared with the superb temples of traffic at home. The tradespeople themselves look active and respectable. Close by the town is the fort, containing a considerable number of inhabitants. In it Tipu's palace is still standing ; but is now used for government offices. It is difficult to ascertain the popvdation of the place. I have heard intelligent natives state it at from half a lac to two lacs ; that is, from fifty to two hundred thou- sand. The best-informed Europeans estimate it at from sixty to eighty thousand. Now, let any Christian living in a considerable town conceive the place to be suddenly changed. In the morning you walk out, and find a low building, in which is a rude image of a bull. Before that image a white-headed man, with his staff in his hand, " for very age," is casting himself prostrate. You ask him why. He replies, " It is God." A little further on, in a similar building, stands a cast of a hu- man form, not larger tlian a child's plaything : before it fathers are bowing, and teaching their children to THE WELCOME. 155 bow. You ask why. They say, " It is God." The men that meet you cany small silver boxes on their chests. You ask, " ^Vhat are these ?" They say, " It is God." Every man, woman, child you see, has a lie in his right hand. They are calling stocks, birds, beasts, reptiles, — God. Think how shame, that men should be so foolish, and horror that they should be so %vicked, would sting you to the soul ; think how you would call on the God they were forsaking, to save them from their darkness ; think how you would throw into that prayer all the pang of a calamity, all the vigour of a rescue : and then judge how the soul of a good man mourns as he threads his way through multitudes, each one of whom bears on his forehead marks that he knows not Him whom to know is life eternal ! On the morning after our arrival, we received a visit from the Rev. Messrs. Hands and Rice, of the London Missionary Society, who were about to hold their an- nual missionary meeting the same evening. They hailed with joy the arrival of more labourers in their wide, neglected field. The venerable Mr. Hands referred, with touching gratitude, to the advances made by the ( uuse of God since he landed, thirty years before. At til at time a missionary was as welcome in India as a preacher of freedom in Carolina. The government saw j)l(jts, mutinies, insurrections, all kinds of political dis- oi ders attending the man who would attempt to break long repose of superstition in Hindostan. Mr. inds' arrival caused no small stir. He was cited be- fore the authorities more than once. They cautiously resolved to remove so dangerous a visitor from shores they had taboued to idolatry, and to send him back 1.5^6 OUR BEETHREX. whither he had come. The influence of an excellent chaplain saved them from doing themselves that dis- grace. But things were altered now ; the country was wide before us : the authorities favourable, the people attentive ; and all the facilities that Pro^ndence could furnish, were inviting us to preach the Gospel to every creature. At that time an European professing religion was as rare as a white Negro ; now they were to be found in every little communitj'. " What," said Mr. Hands, " "WTiat hath God ^\TOught ! " That evening, in the beautiful chapel of the London Missionary Society, was held a numerous meeting, cha- racterized by spiritual feeling, and high confidence in the victory of the Gospel over the giant errors with which it is grappling. One most pleasing feature of the meeting was, the truly Christian co-operation of some gentlemen connected with the government, — ^men representing a class once unknown in India, but now, happily, numerous, who combine all the qualities of valuable public officers, with, piety based on a scriptural conversion, and manifested by open and consistent ac- knowledgment of God. Our brethren of the London Society have the honour of being the first Protestant missionaries who sought out the millions whose tongue is the Canarese. In 1810, Mr. Hands opened the mission at Bellar)-. It has been prosecuted with admirable zeal. Good men have fallen ; others have been forced to retire shattered : but their toils have not been in vain. At Bellary they have gathered a native church, numbering about sixty. In the surrounding districts a wide spread has been given to Christian light, and no small influence exerted LABOURS AXD FRUITS. 157 on the people, tending to the abrogation of Hinduism, and the acceptance of the holy faith. They have also translated the entire Scriptures, issued a niimber of valuable publications, and prepared a copious lexicon of the language : thus both placing the word of God within reach of the people, and providing greater faci- lities for every successor in the field. Many a time, when my heart has been " hot within me," either from impatience for the ability to preach freely, or from joy in the assurance that God would make the truth I was uttering to effect something towards the regeneration of India, have I invoked a blessing on Mr. Hands and Mr. Reeve, by whose toilsome years of ti-anslation and lexicography the difficulties of mastering the language had been so greatly liquidated. In Bangalore they h.ive a handsome and spacious chapel in the canton- ment, with a smaller one in the pettah, as the town is called.* Their native church numbers upwards of fifty. -Mr. Crisp is at the head of a seminary designed for the training of native agents. They have also day. Sabbath, and inl'ant schools. Their female schools contain above fifty girls, all the children of caste parents. In the scliools of the Wesleyan mission are above seventy trills; thus in Bangalore more than a hundred Hindu aales are under Christian instruction, — a circum- ncc both dcliglitful and surprising to those who ow the prejudices universally entertained, by the na- i s, against female education. The evil power that ired those munitions of inicjuity with which the social "ic of India everywhere abounds, contrived that edu- ' The ti'rm " pcttiih" is used with regard to every town witli lurt attiicliud, and dititinguishcB the town trom the fort. 158 THE THREE TONGUES. cation should be allowed to no female but such as would use it to grace impure attractions. For ages, female education and female infamy have been associ- ated in the mind of every Hindu. This has been a law of entail securing to every family in the land an in- alienable heritage of narrowness of mind and obdurate prejudice. Every man bom in all the nations of India has been doomed to be the son of a mother studiously consigned to unmitigated ignorance. Every breach in this system is a high joy to those who long for the day when the sons of India and her daughters shall rejoice together in light. Of the commencement of the Wesleyan mission in Bangalore, Mr. Hoole, who was one of its founders, has given a full account in his work. As our brethren had learned the Tamul, and found in Bangalore a po- pulation using that language quite sufficient to engage all their attention, and were too few to detach any of their number for a new sphere, many years passed before they were able to include the Canarese people in their labours. During the residence of Mr. England a chapel was built, which stood until shortly before our arrival, when Mr. Cryer had it taken down to make Avay for the more spacious one now occupying the same site. Two of our brethren had been appointed to Calcutta. After a short time that post was, unhappily, abandoned. Mr. Hodson, one of the withdrawn missionaries, was sent to Bangalore. He directed his attention to the Canarese ; and, by urgent representations to our home- committee, prevailed upon them to undertake opera- tions in that language. And since that time our work has proceeded in three separate departments, — English, PIETY A.MOXG THE ENGLISH. 159 Tamul, and Canarese. In each of these languages the Gospel is preached, the sacraments administered, Chris- tian publications difiused, and schools maintained. For English sers-ices we have three places, — the large chapel, a very small one close by the fort, and one ex- tremely small in the cavalrj- lines. In the last service is held one night in the week ; and in both the others once on the Sabbath, and once in the week. There axe also class and prayer meetings. The congregations are good, and highly interesting. They are composed, eJ- most exclusively, of officers and soldiers, with their families. In that far land many a prodigal, on whom warnings had been wasted at home, has come to his _'ht mind, and with astonishment found himself . ceived in his Father's mercy. Many whose souls dwelt in darkness while the day of English Christianity was glowing around them, have here, in the very shadow of death, seen a great light. It is most touching to mark the joyful wonder of a man who, amid Christian pri^'ileges. had lived as a heathen, but amidst heathen darkness finds his God. I once or twice met an English class, composed mainly of soldiers, and was delighted l)y their simple experience of the Sa^•iou^'s love, and •heir warm devotion to his service. The fruit of our aglish laboxirs has been highly encouraging; and yet lung ministers at home will, perhaps, be surprised to im that, of all departments of their work, the mis- narica are least attached to this. For though in such ; land the soul is glad to commune with those who have learned the will of God from youth, the wants of the natives are so crying, and the joy of meeting those wants so pure, that I found our brethren, without ex- 160 THE TAMUL "WORK. ception, to prefer that, above every other work. This is their great calling : the English duties they regard as extra. But they are constrained to sustain them by the conviction that it would be wrong to leave undone any- thing they can effect for the spiritual welfare of our own countrymen, and also that the labour bestowed on them tends to facilitate the conversion of the heathen by pre- senting to their view more attractive examples of Chris- tian life. The London Mission has also English services, and the garrison has two chaplains appointed by government. The effect of these agencies on the En- glish conmiunity at Bangalore has been truly blessed. In that community at present, may be found a large amount of scriptural piety. The experience of many hearts, and the life of both individuals and families, is such as to elicit the warmest gratitude to God from any who rejoices in the spread of Christ's kingdom. The Tamul department presents much interest and encouragement. Beside the large chapel, there are several preaching-places in the bazaars. The aspect of the congregation on the Sabbath is beautifully clean, and reverent. I heard many mention with delight the impression made upon their minds at the watch-night service, at the close of the year 1840, on which occa- sion Mr. Hardey assembled the members of the native church at the same time with their English brethren. During my visits to Bangalore, I was greatly pleased to see candidates for baptism coming i-egularly to the mission-house, that they might receive instruction. Nathaniel, the native assistant, was a man of decided piety, and active zeal. He had been converted from a family purely heathen ; but the blessing of God had so THE TRIED COXVEETS. 161 attended his example and his arguments, that they were, one by one, becoming partakers of like precious faith. Many instances have arisen in Avhich the converts have withstood opposition such as none have ever to encoun- ter in a Christian land. One case is mentioned by Mr. Hardey, in which a man and his wife, after baptism, were assailed by their relatives with vexatious opposi- tion. They were firm ; but, in the heat of the strife, one of their children was seized with convulsive fits, and died. The heartless relations exulted, declaring that they had influenced the devil to kill the child, as ; a punishment for their apostasy. The poor mother was overcome by grief and conflict : her reason fled. The , man lost his employment. But while stung to the soul i' by the death of his child, the frenzies of his wife, the I failure of his subsistence, and the restless assaults of his i kinsfolk, he " did not," to use Mr. Hardey's own words, " waver for a moment ;" but, standing still in his faith, he saw the salvation of God. His wife was perfectlj- ' restored, his employment recovered, and his trials ended jin peace. In another case a Christian mother had a prodigal son, who had forsaken his home. She heard I that he was at Vellore. She had other children, over I whom she watched with motherly tenderness ; but her j heart yearned after the prodigal : he was her first-born. I She determined to make the long journey, hoping that his mother's presence woiUd melt him, and that she jshould win her son. She stated her intention to Mr. Hardey, who reminded her of the claims of her other children, of how faint was the prospect of success, and of the hardships attending such a journey on foot, f' He is my son, my child still, and I must go," was '1 M 162 THE TRIED COXVEETS. the mother's reply. She went, she found the prodigal ; but her toils and her tears were vain. Weary and broken-hearted, she returned ; and shortly after, " being warned of God in a dream" that her end was nigh, she diligently put her house in order, was taken ill, and died, peacefully resting on her Redeemer. At one Sab- bath-morning's service Mr. Hardey baptized four adults, of whom three were people of caste, who declared that they fully and for ever abandoned " every i)art of that heathenish system." On one occasion Mr. Hardey met the people on the day previous to the administration of the Lord's supper. He remarked strongly on the guilt of any who, while sinning against the Lord Jesus, came to take those emblems of his soitows. The next day, thirty-seven natives celebrated the Saviour's death under an influence deeply hallowed. But one was wanting, who had been with them on the Saturday. Inquiry being made as to the cause, it was found that he had been living in secret sin. The word of rebuke had pierced his heart : he durst not go to the holy sacra- ment ; and thus was saved from continued hypocrisy, and the church from the guilt of such a member. God has given our brethren who have laboured in this field, many proofs of his approbation. Mr. Cryer was Mr. Hardcy's predecessor ; and I have seldom seen any one more affected than was he when parting from his be- loved Tamid flock. Their evidences of fervent attach- ment quite melted him ; and it was easy to see that between him and them subsisted w\rmly all the aff"ec- tions that endear pastor and people, In connexion with this branch of the mission, are five day and two Sabbath schools. THE CAXAEESE WORK. 163 The third, and most important, branch of our opera- tions in Bangalore, is the Canarese.* About three miles distant from the Tamul mission-house, and just outside one of the gates of the toym, Mr. Hodson obtained a piece of ground. At first there was no missionary to occupy it ; and, as the only measure then practicable, a school was built, with a small house for the master's residence. The education given was in English, and the attendance became considerable. Afterwards, Mr. Webber, an excellent and gifted Indo-Briton, was sent to labour on the station. In the year 1840, Mr. Jenkins and Mr. Garrett were appointed as Canarese mission- aries, with authority to build a mission-house and print- ing-office. The English gentry subscribed most libe- rally to the new erections, which in a few months were completed. The mission-family took up their abode I close by the town, and the printing-press was put into immediate operation. The coolness of the morning air, the early habits of the country, and the comparative freedom of the people from occupation about sunrise, point out that time, or shortly afterwards, as the most favourable for preaching to the natives. Having been obliged to spend some time in Bangalore under medical treatment, which was not to be obtained nearer my owji station, I had many opportunities of witnessing and sharing the labours of our brethren in the Canarese de- lartmcnt. Going into some street, they would select a avourablc place, open the Scriptures, and read. AVhile thus engaged, the people gather round. The missionary I hen selects a text, and proceeds to preach. The sub- • This word ought to be C'anarda ; but the corrupt form is unent. M 2 164 THE SrUEISE SERVICE. jects are generally of the most elementary kind. The unity of God, his spirituality and holiness, the corrupt heart and guilty life of man, the certainty that these will entaU punishment, the incompetence of penance or idols to save, and the wonderful atonement of Christ, whereby pardon is made just, and renewal of heart possible, are the truths I have often heard Mr. Jenkins proclaiming in the streets of Bangalore, and often at- tempted to proclaim. Few things are more affecting than to see a messenger of the cross take his stand in some thoroughfare of a great heathen city, and begin to set forth the truth of God. A crowd of dark faces soon suiTounds him, some sneering, some deeply at- tentive, the greater number with a look of pure curi- osity. They hear strange things ; you see on their countenances a constant play of wonder, reluctant con- currence, or resolute dissent. Sometimes the simplest truths in religion, or the plainest duties in morals, are strenuously controverted. The missionary needs to be prepared with a ready answer to an ingenious cavil, and with a placid temper, to meet biting reproach, or startling blasphemy. But in general he has the candid attention of the people, and by far the greater number admit the beautiful purity of his doctrine. They rarely assail Christianity, except on the ground of the immo- rality of Englishmen, or that of Romanism, whose dis- ciples, though Christians, are as great idolaters as they. So difficult is it to make them believe that Popery and Protestantism arc different religions, that I have very little fear of injurious effects arising from the labours of different evangelical churches, whose faith and wor- ship arc one : unless, indeed, the agents of those churches THE OUTDOOR AUDIENCE. 165 should be guilty of seeking to make their distinctions prominent, and their claims exclusive. The congrega- tions are frequently numerous. I have preached to hundreds in the busiest parts of the city. Sometimes a discourse is heard, from beginning to end, Avithout a word of interruption. The missionary never preaches without the clear con^•iction that the truth he is de- livering will, in God's hand, speed that change by which the people of a continent will rise into the glorious liberty of the children of God. Of all the combinations which, in our strange world, grief makes with hope and joy, none is more exciting than that in the breast of a Christian man looking on a city of idols, and employing for its regeneration the means appointed of God. Be- sides their labours in the city, our brethren visit the neighbouring villages, to the distance of six or seven miles, reaching them at such an hour as will permit them time to preach, and return before breakfast. They preach to the heathen every morning in the year, and frequently have evening service in addition. In the Canarcse department of our work at Banga- lore are one Sabbath and six day schools. One of the ' 1 ter receives a grant monthly from government towards support. The recent decision, by which public em- inent is opened only to those who shall have ac- red a competent education, will do much to increase efficiency of this branch of Christian operations, ny more will send their sons ; and progress will now so essential, that the attendance will not be sus- |H nded by every native holiday, which has hitherto been the case, and has proved a serious counteraction to the good received at school. These effects, I learn 166 THE OEPHAN SCHOOL. from my esteemed friend, Mr. Garratt, are even now observable. Mrs. Garratt has established a school of a character peculiarly interesting. Of aU the objects pre- sented to the eye of Christian kindness in India, there 'is scarcely one more pitiable than an orphan girl. They are sold for a trifle. Traders in iniquity buy them, teach them to read, sing, and dance, and at an earl age devote them to the service of some temple ; that is to infamy. Mrs. Garratt has undertaken a girls' orpha~ school, in which she not only educates, but entirel supports, them ; thus averting the hateful destiny which they, most likely, would have fallen, and earl imbuing them with Christiaji truth. Although this mission is of recent establishmen first-fruits have already been gathered. Mr. Jenki had not laboured upon it much above a year, Avhen ill- ness compelled him to return to England. But on th last Sabbath of his stay he had the delight of baptizin two persons, on whom he looked with joyful hope, as the promise of a rich harvest. Since his return, he hi heard that one of these has testified, in death, to th Redeemer's grace. Mr. Garrett continues on the st" tion. Under his most efficient management, the print- ing-press has effected important ser\4ces. I have my possession a variety of works issued from it, all o which are calculated to be useful. In Bangalore w have one hundred and twenty-one church members eleven schools, and five hundred and seven scholars. The operations of the missionaries are aided by Tract Society, and a School-book Society. I had th pleasure of being present at the formation of the latter which has for its object the preparation of valuabl THE NATIVE BOOK. 167 school-books in Canarese, as also to keep on sale a j stock of Tamul and English school-books, wth various articles of stationery ; thus affording the natives every facility for the pm-suit of education. This society has 'I proceeded with great vigour and success. They have i published many valuable works, and brought others into circulation. This is a field of labour eminently i important; for even where no more direct Christian ! agencies can act upon the people, their own vicious I books may be supplanted, and their youth, instead of wading through filthy mythology, receive solid informa- , tion cast in a Christian mould. This is not so difficult as might be supposed. The native books are written on the leaves of the palm)-ra-tree, which are from nine to eighteen inches long, and from two to three broad. 1 Each leaf is pierced with a round hole, through which runs a cord, serving to bind them altogether, but per- 1 mitting them to be held loosely when the book is used. They can only be multiplied by copying ; and the writing is performed by an iron style, like a large skewer, which is held upright in the hand, and scrapes marks on the soft leaf. The writer proceeds rapidly ; his letters are well formed ; and though both sides of the leaf are deeply indented, there is never a perforation. But I however you may admire the scribe, his book-making is slow and expensive ; and, when finished, it is a clumsy thing, compared with the compact and beautiful production of the printer. In elegance, portableness, and economy, the European book at once asserts its superiority. The natives are sensible of this : they ad- mire it amazingly. It is as great an advance in litera- liirt', a-! in tr;ivelling the locomotive is on the stage- 168 THE BOY AXD THE BOOK. coach. They covet a book ; and I have seen them, on receiving one, squat them down then and there, and begin to pore over those pages so mysteriously multi- plied, and yet so unaccountably correct. With ade- quate funds and agencies, it would not be difficult to introduce our school-books into almost every native school in the country. A proper system of colportage would effect it. One day a fine Bramhan boy came into my study at Goobbee, and asked for a book. I denied him ; but he repeatedly urged his request. I still de- clined ; saying, my few books must be kept for grown persons, as boys were likely to misuse them. He would not be refused. I said, " If you are so anxious to have our books, why don't you come to our school?" He replied, with vivacity, " I wish to do so, but my father won't let me." "Then to what school do you go?" He mentioned one, of which the master had always evinced the utmost bigotry, strenuously resisting all our attempts to approach either himself or his scholars. I then asked, " What are you reading at school ?" " Just at present we are reading ' Strictures on Hinduism ;' " that being a tract by Mr. Rice, of Bangalore, ably ex- posing the sins and follies of that system, of which this boy was born a priest. On another occasion I was preaching under shade of a jack-fruit tree, {artocarpvs integrifolia,) in the market-place of a town called Bid- diri. On my left arm was a pile of tracts and portions of Scripture, intended for distribution. At the close of a long discourse, I began to give away the books, when almost every hand and voice in the crowd was raised. Men and boys strained and shouted to gain a book. Low salaams, huge compliments, and right lofty titles THE BOY AND THE BOOK. 169 were lavished upon me, in hope of catching my atten- tion. " Can you read ?" I would ask one. " Yes, I can read ;" and, seizing the book I handed, he woidd begin, in a low recitative, to show his scholarship. " Can you read ?" I woidd ask another. "Yes." But when told to do so, — " No, I can't read ; but my son can." In the crowd I observed a tall country lad plying elbows and shoulders with all imaginable spirit, in the vain hope of forcing a passage. At length, despairing of success, he reached over the shoulders of a man, and cried, at the top of his voice, " Sir ! Sir ! you must keep one for me, sir ; you must keep one for me !" Amused at his earnestness, I said, " Why one for you, above all others :" " Oh, sir, we want it for our school ; we want it for our school !" This at once arrested my attention ; and he told me that he lived in a village some miles distant, in which a missionary had never been ; that 'ime of their people had got books from us during a i mer visit to Biddiri market ; that these had been in- iroduced to the school instead of those in use before; •h:it they were wonderfully pleased with their boodhi, ^onsc ;" but that they wanted some more to complete tiic set ; and the schoolmaster hearing that we had been at Chayloor, a neighbouring town, the day before, con- ( luded wc should be that day at Biddiri, and accord- iuj;ly had sent him on purpose to obtain them. These instances show how easily the Christian school-book y gain access, even where both master and pupils heathen. Could .such a society as the Bangalore liool-book Society only command funds, to send their publications through every village in the country, offer- ing them for sale at very low prices, it is most probable 170 A STEAXGE CHBISTIAX. the people would greedily receive them, and that they ■would go far towards pa^■ing the way for the advance of Christianity. yx/ The Romanists have long had a mission at Bangalore. ' The only effects of it which came under my notice were these : one day when entering the pettah, near the fort, I observed a rude erection, something like the booths built by mountebanks in fairs, and on asking what it meant, was told that it was the Christians, who where getting up a play, in connexion with some of their re- ligious feasts. From the hints I received as to the subject, it appeared to be, the holy family, or the Saviour's history. The Romish priests have carried into India the profane habit obtaining in Popish coun- tries of making the holiest themes of Scripture subjects for the drama, and the Hindus learn to judge of the purity and the dignity of our religion, from barbarous theatricals. One morning in approaching the same gate, I overtook an old man, and began my conversation ■w-ith him in a way which was very much my custom, by asking, "^Vho is your god?" He said. Nanagay An- toicnay dayraru, "Antownay is my God." I observed that, of all the gods with M'hose names I was familiar, I had never heard of that one before, and repeated my question. He simply replied, " Antownay is my god." Puzzled, but resolved to learn who this new god was, I said, "A\Tiat caste are you of?" "I am of the Roman caste," said the man ; and in a moment I saw that the strange name was Anthony, that Portuguese saint being a favourite among his fellow countrymen in India. Still, it seemed impossible that tlie man could mean what he had said ; and I asked, " Do you say that he is your MY MOONSHI. 171 god ?" " Yes," replied this Christian, Antoivmy dayvaru, "Anthony is God." I asked where he was, what made of, and what size. He said he was in the chapel, made of clay, about' as high as his breast, and painted white, yellow, black, and red. "But," I asked, "have you no other god.*" "No." "What, no other god but An- thony?" His dogged reply was, "They talk about Marj'ama ;* but Anthony is the god." This is a me- lancholy, a horrifying fact, and will completely remove the surprise that any may have felt, that Protestant missionaries in New-Zealand and elsewhere should have ■raised the question as to whether they ought to re- baptize those who, having been Romanists, seek admis- sion to their communion. Is a man baptized, by the water and the words, when he docs not know Mhere- unto he was baptized, does not so much as know " whether there be any Holy Ghost?" Is baptism, ad- ministered to a man who has no kind of Christian faith, and no knowledge to found that faith upon, a sacrament or a profanation ? Before proceeding to my station, I was detained in Bangalore for nearly a month. Ha\-ing obtained a Bram- han moonshi, I daily prosecuted the study of the lan- guage under his tuition. Feeling the importance of a correct pronunciation, and the difficulty of obtaining it, I made use of him almost exclusively for this purpose, making him read word by word, and repeating each after him, with an attempt to imitate his tones. After a while, this extended to clauses, and then to whole sentences. It soon appeared that he was no way scru- • This is the very name of the heathen goddess of disease. 172 HISTORY OF BAN'GALORE. puloiis in correcting mistakes, and urging him to be so produced nothing but large promises. To meet this, I often made a slip intentionally, and, when it was per- mitted to pass, reproved him sharply ; this produced some little amendment. But he seemed to think it was not quite respectful to expose every little blunder ; as if one Avere to be offended at his doing the very thing he was paid to do. He knew English, and liked to talk it ; so that my object being, not to improve him in English, but to learn to preach in Canarese, it became evident that the better way would be to get a man with whom it Avould not be possible to communicate except in that tongue. Through the kindness of Mr. Jenkins, I secured the services of a Bramhan living in a remote village, with some reputation both as a scholar and as an author, and who had not an English word or an En- glish idea in his head. He promised to join me at my station. The earliest historical notice of Bangalore which I have found is, that Shajee, father to Shivajee, the cele- brated founder of the Mahratta empire, had here the seat of a government which he held imder Viziapore.* The town of Mysore, distant about ninety miles, was the capital of petty rajahs, who gradually extended their territory northward, till it embraced Toomkoor and Chayloor ; and thus the possession of Bangalore became desirable. Chick Dio, who reigned towards the close of the seventeenth century, was a man of considerable enterprise. He consolidated the growing kingdom by establishing post-offices all over it, and making every * W'ilke's Historical Sketches. IMPSOVED MrSTEE EOLL. 173 postmaster a spy. To gain Bangalore, he agreed to pay three lacs of rupees, £30,000. The terms were con- cluded with Eccojee, brother to Shivajee ; but before the transfer had taken place, Kasseim Khan, one of Aureng- zebe"s generals, stepped in, took the place, accepted • e stipulated price, and handed over his capture to the lysore king. TMien the old race had fallen under that decrepitude which soon overtakes heathen and Mohammedan dynasties, Hydur seized the coimtry with lion gripe. Soon percei\-ing the importance of Banga- lore, he erected a fort, in which his son Tipu had such confidence, that in 1755, he transferred his hareem thither from Seringapatam. But when, in 1791, the Mcirquis of Comwallis approached at the head of an EngUsh army, his confidence gave way, and, instead (){ devoting himself to military preparations, he was occupied in personally superintending the removal of •he same precious charge back to the island capital. le first stroke of the British was to storm the pettah. Ueir Hussein, in his amusing Life of Tipu, says, "Colonel Moorhousc and General Meadows, with a 1 ong body of troops, attacked the town : and after the erifice of thousands of men on both sides, and after . attack of six hours, the town was, with great gal- :itry, taken, and so large a quantity of spoil, such as Id. jcwcb, 6cc., fell into the hands of the captors, it penury and want were thenceforward discharged or ruck off from the muster-roll of the English army. \iter this the tjiglish army commenced raising batte- s, and for fourteen days they battered the fort continu- iy." The rcsidt of this battering was a breach, aich Lord Comwallis stormed at night. The next 174 CORKTIPTIOXS. morning a thousand lifeless bodies showed how dili- gently both assailant and de£ender had done the work of death. The peace of the next year placed Bangalore again under the flag of Tipu, who had so completely lost his confidence in the fort, that he caused it to be dismantled. At his do-svnfall,the lineal representative of the ancient kings was restored to the throne. But oui- govenmient reserved to themselves the right to "interfere to any extent in the internal administration of the country, or even to take the unlimited management of it to them- selves;"'* stipulating, also, that the entire military force of the kingdom should be drawn from their ovra armies. For the head-quarters of this force Bangalore was marked as highly eligible, equally by its importance as a city, its position toward the realm to be protected, the salubrity of its climate, and its accessibleness from the Carnatic. On it the choice fell, a choice which greatly increased its importance, and provided the Madras army with a station whose climate furnishes a welcome relief from the fiery heats, under which they suffer at many of their posts. The new rajah was a boy. The administration fell into the hands of Bramhans, who continued to hold all real power, even after he had attained his majority. Those endless corruptions and rapacities indigenous to Hindu governments flourished among the officials, both metropolitan and provincial. The poor ryots were midcted and oppressed on every Jiand. To complain of wrong, was to incur ruin. The net of official influ- ence surrounded every village ; and woe to him who, • MUl. THE EEVOLUTIOX. 175 in the frenzy of his griefs, attempted to rend a single mesh. In a country where property is sacred and actions free, it is impossible to credit the tales which the Mysore ryots teU of the heartless cupidity with which the Bramhans were accustomed, during this period, to seize on their little possessions, and of the imperturbable vindictiveness with which they himted to beggary any "village Hampden" that ventured upon resistance. A ryot hates a Bramhan as a Negro hates ;i slave-driver. And yet he dreads him in his soul. hind his back he calls him haaruva, " a jumper ;" to ..is face, swaami, or dayvaru, "god." The name • jumper," they say, was given because a Bramhan ( ould never be caught in an offence ; no matter how clear the evidence against him, no matter how notorious liis crimes or his extortions, no matter how many the witnesses prepared to jjrove his guilt ; by bribery, by 'inning, or by interest, he always leaped over the in- isure of difficulties in which his victims thought him be inextricably bound. At length, even Hindu en- I ranee was worn out. The ryots became maddened, I hey rose, seized twenty Bramhans, and hanged them on trees. The whole country was disturbed, and every eye turned to the British Resident as the only person ssessing the power to terminate these disasters. A nimhan has told mc, such was the state of feeling, it in Nuggur, a party of herd-boys, who were in the ibit of beguiling their time with some rude drama, iching the spirit of the day, began to act the charac- is then most conspicuous in the national politics, line were ministers, some provincial officers, some ,.(jts; one was the British resident. On him the 176 A GOOD CHAXGE. clamorous ryots cast the principal blame, alleging he could end their \\Tongs but wovdd not; on him the one appointed judge declared the blame to rest, and sen- tenced him to die ; and so thoroughly had they caught the spirit of their piece, that the unfortunate boy was actually hanged. At length, the supreme government interposed. To the rajah a princely income was se- cured ; but they took into their own hands the entire administration of the country. The people say, that the rajah was much aflfected on learning this decision ; and that his principal officers, appearing before him in high excitement, urged him to take up arms, promising to spill the last drop of their blood in maintaining his rights. But he wisely answered, " The Company are my father : they gave me my kingdom, and they have a right to take it back. Besides, what king has fought with the Company and succeeded : I will not fight with the Company." He quietly submitted to ti^e change, lives in comparative retirement ; but retains all the insignia of royalty, and enjoys ample revenues. To conduct the affairs of the kingdom, a Commission was appointed, consisting of eight gentlemen, most of them mihtary men. To us, with our notions of representa- tion, liberty, and so on, it seems strange that a country which had been disturbed under its own prince should settle down into peace under eight foreigners, unprac- tised in the duties of statesmen or magistrates. But such has been the case. The people have sometimes rsaid to me, " We can hardly believe ourselves : we lie down at night, and rise up in the morning, and find our cattle safe, our crops safe, everything just as we left it, and this for year after year I Formerly it was con- PLAINNESS AND DIGNITY. 177 stantly, an army here, a foray there, and we never knew what was our own. The Company have clone a great thing." But they murmur sorely at the amount of power still left with the Haaravaru, " Bramhans," say- ing, that in spite of all possible vigilance on the part of the Commissioners, there is vast extortion in the collection of village revenues. This complaint they incessantly urge ; but, beside it, I found entire satis- faction with their new rulers, except an occasional I murmur that the land-charge was too heavy, and fre- quent expressions of dissatisfaction at the impunity '] afforded to ofiPenders against the marriage vow, and the 1 insufficient punishment, as they deem it, of theft. i General Cubbon and the other Commissioners deserve ' the highest credit for the temper, judgment, and in- tegrity with which they have discharged their onerous ii trust. i| In connexion with this change, Lord William Ben- \ tinck — the best of India's governor-generals — visited the Mysore. The country-people from the neighbour- 1 hood through which he passed have told me, in terms i of unbounded wonder, that they saw him riding in his I palankeen like a private gentleman, without escort or i| pomp. And their admiration was equal to their won- I der. One could hardly believe that this circumstance |i would have made so deep and favourable an impression I upon their minds ; but, from the language they used, ' I it was obN-ious that no amount of display could have I ) given them such views of the greatness of his own I j mind, or of our national character. Closing their tale, • j they would say, " Among us, if only a little Polygar , had to go to the next village, he must have guards, and N 178 THE CLIMATE. heralds, and all the rest of it ; but here the man that i-ules from the Himalaya to Raniisseram comes as if he were nobody at all ; abah ! abah ! yentah janaru neewu! ' wonderful, wonderful, what a people you are !' " If anything were surprising, it would sm-pass belief that a gentleman could be found to write the history of India, and bestow on Lord William Bentinck such parsimonious commendation and such liberal censure, as he has received from Mr. Thornton. But Mr. Thornton belongs to that class of historians who ad- N^mire nothing but conquests, and Lord William per- formed no great fights. Notwithstanding this, both his statesmanship and his philanthropy will be vene- rated by nations, when the censures of Mr. Thornton will be forgotten. The climate of Bangalore is a combination of the tropical and the temperate. It has the sun of India, with the airs of southern Europe. The thermometer seldom exceeds 88° in the shade, and in the cool season I have known it at 64° at noon-day. During a great part of the year, the sky is covered with clouds, which gently shade you from the burning sim — a term really significant in India. At these seasons the gales are cool and bracing ; so that those who come from Madras almost fancy that they recognise English breezes. The situation of the country secures it a share in both the south-west and the north-east monsoons, which shed down copious, but not inundating rains. The soil yields, with cheerful profusion, the various fruits of India and very many of Europe. The orange and the potato, the yam and the apple, the strawberry and the cocoa- nut, the mangoe and peach, with gooseberries and THE OPEN DOOE. 179 guavas, grapes and pineapples, are among the produc- tions of this charming climate. At the change of government, the whole Mysore became open to Christian missionaries ; and it may be fairly asserted, that there is no country on the face of the earth where their labours are more free. By the way-side or in the public street, at the temple-door or in the tradesman's shop, in the thickest of a feast or the busiest of a market, the minister of Christ may open the Bible, preach the Gospel, and offer prayer to God. In city, or town, or village, he is heard without moles- tation, and often vnih profound attention. Our mis- sionaries have already preached Jesus and the resurrec- tion, from the palace of the king do\vn to the hut of the outcast. The kingdom contains thirty-three thou- sand towns and villages. Of these, four have mission- aries I All the others are equally open ; but there is no one to enter in. The laboui'crs are few. N 2 180 CHAPTER V. MY CIRCUIT. The pleasant Peep — ^The Photograph. — ^The Droogs — The Mis- sion House— The Landscape — A noble Banyan — Mr. Hod- son's Tour — The useful Umbrella — Goobbee and its People — Forts and Towns — Tlie Out-castes — Medicant Monks — Female Finery — Youthful AVidows — Native Schools — The Temple — Ntuijangood— Goobbee Appa — Apotheosis — Tlie Miracle — The daily Sacrifice — Temple Service — Tlie Paraslie — Goobbee Appa's Lameness^ — The Female Procession — The Muntapa — ^The holy Water — The Moment of Joy — Succes- sive Processions — Simple FmTiiture — A strange God — Ycl- lama — ^The Honours of the Ox — Bala Rama — The Lord of Devils — The God "Collector" — Honour to Implements — The sacred Vultitre — The Snake Temple — Death of a Deity — The Cobra — The Eaith adored — Sacrifices to the Earth — Domestic difficulties of the Sun — The Moon, the Sea, and the AVind — Sacred Trees — A dark Soul — Om- Villages — The lonely Tomb — Coongull — The Bigot-maker — Popiilation of our Circuit — A wide Field waste — Touching Contracts — Opportunity, Piety, and Hope. The Mysore is never so lovely as in the month of October. The rains have just fallen ; the fields are all green, the tanks full, and the emerald of the trees luxu- rious. It was on a cloudless afternoon of this month, that Mr. J enkins and myself, riding along the road from Bangalore to Belgaum, approached the liill-pass of Hully Nidjgul. At this point the road intersects a chain of hills which runs across the country, offering a bold variety to its gentle imdulations ; and, at some points, jutting up to mountain height ; as in the case of Shiva- gunga, a high conical peak, not less sacred here than THE PLEASANT PEEP. 181 the scene of St. Patrick's miracle on the coast of Mayo. We dismounted, and wallced slowly up a declivity, between fields of the castor-oil plant, conversing about our mission work. When nearly entering the pass, Mr. Jenkins said, " Now in a few moments you wUl see into your circuit." The words were thrilling: joy, and hope, and prayer rose together, and went up to God. We were now at the head of the pass : on either hand rose the hills. Up their sides crowded thick woods, ^vith varied and intensely beautiful foliage; but they were capped with bald domes of dark rock, like a weather-beaten helmet surmounting holiday apparel. At the foot of the hill spread several old banyans, their branches in different places forming Gothic arches, through which the sun darted glowing beams, that, by the aid of the grey stems and green leaves, produced a novel beauty, strangely blending the effect of architec- ture with that of painting, and rare, unhackneyed landscape. Beyond, the country stretched to the western horizon, seeming at first a long bright glen, resting between two ranges of guardian hills, but, as yo\i advanced, spreading out into a verdant undulating vale. The sun was near setting, and his eye kindled to see the charms of his own pencilling. Numerous tanks sparkled among the bright green rice-fields. Water in India is not merely beautiful — it is precious. It may not be really a lovelier feature in a landscape than at home ; but it is far more effective. It touches two chords instead of one : awaking at once the joy of beauty, and the thrill of gratitude. In an English landscape it is only the complexion ; in an Indian one, the eye. Those broad sheets of water lay under the 182 THE PHOTOGKAPH. evening light, some of them blushing red, as if they had been turned to wine to rejoice in a day so fair ; some \vith a delicate radiance on their still surface, beautiful as the light of genius on a pale countenance. Not a man, not an animal was to be seen — not even the song of a bird, or the smoke of a cottage, to indicate life. All was peace and solitude. The sun might have kept the spot for himself to look on ; and if Peace wanted a temple, let her build it there. But that valley stretched within the circle where lay my sphere of happy duties ! It was this that gave to every object a mystic power, which first prepared the heart, and then transferred to it the whole scene, with the speed and the truth of a mental photograph. It is there still — there just as at first, vnth the same objects, the same lights and shadows, the same dear companion watching my emotions with a brother's eye. Descending the pass, the hiU on our left began to wear appearances that little harmonized with the feel- ing hitherto reigning over the place. In a few minutes the mouldering outline of foiiifications was distinctly visible. Then the path led close by a crowd of graves, — " in the garden there was a sepulchre ;" then by the ruins of an extensive town, where hut and mansion were crumbling among brushwood, and all as sUent as the hill ! At first sight of this spot, one was ready to feel as if it had escaped the blight of sin ; but now it was proved full sadly that death and war had found it. That noiseless hill had listened to the clash of arms. That still rock had echoed the cry of agony and danger. That gentle turf had drunk human gore. Those beau- tiful leaves were enriched by the ashes of butchered THE DEOOGS. 183 men ! Yes, of men ; for men had been there. Where were they now ? — ^\^lere were they now ? This was a sudden turn for the feelings. Such desolation on such beauty ! It was melancholy as mourning on a laughing infant. It renunded you of the fine country around, with its polished manners and dead souls. Then the heart, softened as it was, might well weep. It was as when some mighty orator has raised a tear to your eye with delight, and then brings it down with sorrow. I shall never forget the first sight of my Circuit. These fortified hills (or droogs, as they were called after the native name) once abounded in the Mysore ; and the sudden capture of several by our troops has done far more to impress the people ^vith a conviction that British valour is invincible, than all the grand bat- tles, or regular sieges. Nundydroog, and Saverndroog especially, were held to be beyond any possibility of as- sault: the latter very much answered to Sallust's de- scription of that Numidian droog which was lost to Jugurtha by a Roman soldier's taste for a dish of snails. The march against them was deemed an impudent ab- surdity. And even now the villagers talk more of some officers employed in these daring exploits than of Lord Harris who led the grand army which took Seringapa- tam, or of Sir David Baird who stormed that citadel. They say that in our set battles there is little room for the exercise of personal courage ; that the men are a machine, and the weapon is fire. But when speaking of the great droogs and their captors, they shrug their shoulders, shake their heads, cry, " abdh T' and say, " They were as bad as lions." We spent that night at Toomcoor, in the house of an 184 THE MISSION-HOUSE. intelligent Indo-Briton apothecary, in the emplojTnent of the government ; and started the next morning for Goobbee, the place of our destination. Hitherto we had travelled on a good road, lately formed under the direction of Captain Dobbs, the valuable superintendant of the Chittledroog division."^' But now leaving all traces of the English, we struck oflF to the left, by a native road. This was no more than a weU-beaten track, occasionally marked by two low fences ; but more frequently lying across the corn fields, or open plains of grass. The grass is only such as grows spon- taneously, no pains being taken to improve it, by ma- nure or irrigation ; it is, consequently, coarse and innu- tritions ; and on this the numerous cattle of the villagers are miserably pastured. When we had ridden about eleven miles, and were winding roimd a hill, we came upon a path, skirted by two hedgerows, like the road leading to a farm-house. At the head of this, distant about a furlong, a white bungalow was glistening in the sun. This was the mis- sion-house, the scene of my destined labours. Never did I approach a spot with such feelings. It was a lonely home ; but it was apostof gloiious duty. There was no Christian congregation with whom to worship ; but there was the God whom Christians adore. The people never hailed a Sabbath, nor observed a sacra- ment ; but in another generation they should. By a fault of mine, before these lieathcn, the Redeemer would be wounded in the house of his friends; but by grace * The Mysore is distributed into four pro^'inccs or diWsions, — Asta^ram, Bangalore, Chittledroog, and Nuggui-. The olKccr in charge of one of these is called " superintendant." THE LANDSCAPE. 185 ;md faithfulness his enemies would be won. It was a position in which there was only One to help ; but He was nigh. The mission-house is a cottage of one story, covered with red tiles, beautifully neat, well furnished, and situ- ated on the crest of a considerable hill. About it, Mrs. I Jenkins had arranged a tasteful garden, on the parterres of which pleasant flowers were smiling, and a beautiful \ convolvulus wandering among the shrubs of the hedge. The place had a delightful air of homely cottage com- fort, far difierent from what one would expect in so \ remote a situation. It was sweet, after six months of I wayfaring, to bow before God on the very spot to Avhich I all your journeys had been directed, and there com- memorate the mercies which had enriched the past, and ! j)ray for those that would crown the future, ij The hill on which the mission-house stands com- I mands an extensive prospect. Close round its base j spreads a large tank, — a sheet of water about two miles long, and one broad. At its opposite side lies a smaller tank, where large numbers of wild-ducks congregate. In the internal between these two, stands a grove, through the branches of which you sec the roofs of |iGoobbee, and the tower of the chief temple. On the east the view is bounded by the hills already mentioned, the woods of Toomcoor nestling at the base; whence Ithe blue outline stretches away to Nidjgul, and the sa- cred peak of Shivagunga, distant about eighteen miles, incar which at night you see the blaze of fires, lighted to keep tigers away. Just across the large tank, close by the water's edge, an old temple is shaded by a group jof decaying trees, and close by, a village lies under its 186 A NOBLE B.VXYAX. tutelage. Behind this, and to its left, you trace other villages. To its right a high hill rises with gradual swell : it is for the greater part overrun mth brush- wood ; but has a bald piece of ground towards its foot, on which stands in solitary pride the noblest banyan I saw in India. It is about two miles from the mission- house, and, at that distance, looks, as to extent, Hke a small grove ; but even there the harmony of outline gives an impression of unity. There are (as well as I remember) upwards of thirty trunks, as large as a middle-sized elm, each of them projecting branches, from which again pendant roots have struck down into the earth, and are maturing themselves into auxiliary stems. The combination of bulk and vitality is unique, and consequently impressive. This stately pile of vege- tative architecture, of which the foundations, pUlars, arches, all are direct from the hand of God, and ^"ital with his impidse, forms a shade irresistibly calling to meditation. But so far from exciting adoration to Him, amongst the heathen it attracts their worship to itself. Under it you find a rude empty altar, of which this tree is the divinity ! To the right of this stretches a plain, irrigated by the waters of the tank, and covered -with rice-fields and \allages. Toward the west the eye travels over a long valley, with groves, villages, the tower of a temple, and a few mountains peering above the horizon. The whole scene was neither tame nor savage : its com- bination of objects gave an air of peaceful civiUzation, united v.ith novelty and boldness. It was fair; but lonely, passing lonely. There were temples ; but no tower marked a sanctuary of the living God. There were men, old and young, " and boys and girls playing MB. HODSON's TOITE. 187 in the streets ;" but in town or village was not a single one who had even been baptized in the ever-blessed Name. And there were homes, not the wild wigwam, nor the miserable kraal, but "fenced toAvns," with a busy and polite people ; but you coidd not take to your heart the assurance that one of them was the dwelling of a united family. To one fresh from the land where mctuary is always near, where the fellowship of aiiits is familiar, where round many a fireside domestic love and divine hopes shed their mingled joy, these tlioughts were dreary. But the chill they brought was warmed away by the recollection, that to this spot had come at last that Gospel, by which, in time, it would be graced with every object that rejoices an angel's eye. In the year 1836 Mr. Hodson made a tour in the Mysore and Coorg, in order to acquire information as to the general facilities for missionary labours, existing in the country, and also to fix upon some station for immediate occupancy. Of that journey interesting re- cords were published at the time in the Missionary Notices, and I have reason to hope that Mr. Hodson ^limseif will give the public some further account of his nissionarj' operations. Several reasons led to the se- .ection of Goobbce. It was the centre of a large and l^cessible population. It was far from English soldiery, by whose exami)le the cause of Christianity might be prejudiced. The number of resident Bramhans was small, and their influence unimportant, ^^'^lether a orospect of feeble opposition is a good ground on which |o choose a mission station, it is not necessary here to nquirc. Perhaps the most natural line of proceeding s both the best, and most accordant with apostolic 188 THE USEFUL L'MBEELLA. example ; that is, to carry the Gospel just to those places where are the greatest number of sinners in need of it, leaving all questions about opposition and facility in the hands of God. When the selection had been made, Mr. Hodson ob- tained a piece of ground, and began to construct a mud house for temporary residence, Captain Dobbs kindly lending him a tent to live in until its completion. One day, before time was given to take any precaution, a squall, charged with a whole cloud of dust, came down upon them, overwhelmed the tent, filled all their stores with sand, and left both Mr. and Mrs. Hodson to live in their palankeens till the damage was repaired. These squalls are frequent at one season of the year ; but high winds and hurricanes are scarcely known. When the mud house was finished, they were very comfortable till the wet season came ; but then they would sometimes awake in the night with the rain pouring on them, and, no other part of the house being safer, Mr. Hodson used, as the only available shelter, to sit up in bed, holding an umbrella over them. After a while he raised the present substantial building of brick and mud, a cement which, though inferior to mortar, is not despi- cable, but used in many a goodly Indian bungalow. It has this inconvenience, that you are constantly liable to irruptions of white ants from any jjart of the walls. They will break out and spread themselves as rapidly as an army of Mahrattas, devouring everything in their way, and sometimes damaging a whole library in the course of a night. Shortly after the completion of the house, Mr. Jenkins joined the station, and Mr. Hodson went to form a new one at the city of Mysore. Mr. GOOBBEE AND ITS PEOPLE. 189 Jenkins had been there about a twelvemonth at the time of my arrival. The town of Goobbee,* situated about sixty miles north-west of Bangalore, has between six and seven thousand inhabitants. They depend principally on mer- j cantile pursuits ; having a weekly market, and carrjdng on a considerable trade in betel-nut, coffee, and grain, ' which they purchase from the people of the western I province, Nuggur, (formerly called Bednore,) and sell jin the markets of Bangalore and Wallajahnuggur. The place has long enjoyed the reputation of great wealth, being called Hurna, or " Golden Goobbee." But wealth in India must not be estimated by English standards. There a man will gladly work for three rupees (six shillings) per month, and be able to support himself. His" raagi and spices cost but little ; his rent, except in large towns, sca»cely anything ; firing he wants none, (but a few fragments of parched cow-dung to cook his two meals ; (of these one is often eaten cold ;) and if he ;)ias no spare money for clothes, it is very little matter, — Ithe climate clothes him. A man with ten rupcesf per month is in comfortable circumstances ; with twenty, respectable ; with fifty, prosperous ; and wealthy on a ikiundred. The merchant who can command a capital five thousand rupees is a sort of prince. Of course remark does not apply to large commercial cities, re the expansion of English trade dilates every- i.ug. Beside the merchants and shopkeepers, there The nearest points marked on maps arc Sera, Toomcoor, udaba. A niiicc is two shillings, consequently ten are a pound ; a ■ Ired, ten pound:*; a thousand, a hundred pounds, and so on. 190 FORTS AND TOWNS. are a few weavers ; but their work is of the coarsest kind ; all fine cloths being obtained from distant parts of the country. The market is held every Sunday, and is numerously attended. The town is, like all towns in India, surrounded by a wall. They are always of mud, varying in height and thickness according to the importance of the place. It is, generally, a mere line of wall, capable only of repelling robbers or wild beasts ; but in larger places has, at intervals, square projecting towers, intended for military defence. These mud fortifications have often proved formidable obstacles to artillery ; the sodden mass permitting the shot to sink into it, -without being materially shaken. Even small tillages, with fifty or a hundred houses, have their wall. As well as I could learn, the term " town" (oor) is applied only to a place with both wall and market ; " villagef" {hully,) to one with a wall, but not a market ; and "hamlet," {palija,) to a group of houses without either. " City" (patna) is used only of seats of government, or very large places. A village usually has one gate ; a town two, at opposite points ; a city several. The gates are of wood ; and, though ponderous, help one to conceive how the gigantic strength of Samson might wrest such from their hinges, and bear them away. The gateway is a covered passage of several yards long, with a raised seat on either side. In a country village you will often find the elders {hiriyaru) seated here in the early morning. It is a position from which they can speak to the men as they proceed to their duties in the fields, to the women as they go to draw water, or where they may be easily found by any one having to seek THE OUT-CASTES. 191 advice, or make complaint. The town of Gobbee con- sists of two main streets, intersected by several minor ones. At one side stands the fort, mud, of course, within which live most of the rich merchants ; several holding a private residence here, even though they carry on business in the pettah. On another side is that unfailing appendage to a Hindu town, the \dllage of the out-castes. This is a polluted spot. No caste man, though he be a drudge or a menial, would be found here. He will come within call, without touch- ing the accursed ground, and, bawling out his summons for the person he may happen to want, continues on his own. sacred ground till the message is conveyed. No one who has not lived familiarly among the people can conceive the weight of that curse which Hinduism has prepared for those imhappy beings who cannot claim a standing among the accredited castes. The meanest of the people loathe them as viler than swine. Caste men have followed me to the very verge of the defiled ground, begging me, by all manner of arguments, by my respectability, my regard for decency, my disap- proval of every thing disgustful, and by the utter impossibility of making them understand anything, not to degrade myself, or affront the people who had just been listening to me, by going to preach to wretches wholly incapable of being taught. Servitude is honour, slavery brotherhood, and public conviction reward, comjjared with the fathomless degradation into which the poor out-caste is plunged. Father, mother, children, down they are sujnk, all trample on them, all abuse, all revile, all execrate, all shun ; and this has been going on for generations. By this horrid proscrip- 192 THE OUT-CASTES. tion, millions of hirnian beings are held in a state of anomalous slavery. No one claims their person, — it is too vile ; but with limbs unchained, the man is denied every right of citizenship ; he and his imborn children, and his children's children, are doomed to ignorance, exclusion, and contempt. He is an exile from the human family, cut off, and cut off for ever, from affec- tion and improvement. No sum can buy his ransom ; no monarch make him free. He was born to his curse, and his offspring is jiredestinated to the same. Let him look where he will, he reads the sentence of his exile, pronounced for a crime he knows not. The earth rejects him ; he may not own a single rood : the water rejects him; his defiled vessel, or more defiled person, would pollute a whole well ; let him dig in a comer, or drink with the swine : Law rejects him ; who is he that he should complain ? Religion rejects him ; liis impure step woidd contaminate the holiest fane ; let him crouch to a goblin on his own vile groimd : aye. Charity herself rejects him ; to give him a morsel would be " to take the children's bread, and cast it unto dogs." And this bitterness is in his lot, that he is dwelling in his own land, not captiired in war, not sentenced for crime, not banished as dangerous ; but living full in the sight of all blessings, and denied every one, because he was born accursed. And will it be beheved, that an European, that a Christian missionary, that the Abbe Dubois, first accurately details their vices, and then justifies their wrongs? "If the caste of the pariahs," says the Abbe, (p. 458,) " be held in low and vile repute, it must be admitted that it deserves to be so." It is true tliey arc base, filthy, and im- THE OUT-CASTES. 193 moral ; and, after ages of such treatment, no wonder. They would have been more than human, had they not long ago sunk into everything lamentable. But whence their recklessness, their filth, their voracity ? From op- pression, from despair, from himger. They have no rights to lose ; their fathers had none ; their children will have none. If every one of them vented a fero- cious misanthrophy on every human form he could fasten upon, it would be only a natural result of the treatment that he and his have borne. The Abbe Du- bois states, that this wretched section of the Hindu community " must include, at least, a fifth of the whole population." (p. 454.) But, in another part of his work, (p. 2,) he also states that the " cidtivators amount, at least, to five-sixths of the population of India." Now, if the cultivators are five-si.xths of the population, and the pariahs one-fifth, it follows that the immense multitudes composing the Bramhan, soldier, merchant, and artisan castes, are reduced to a fraction less than nothing ; a result which one hesitates to receive, even on an authority so high as that generally conceded to the Abbe Dubois. The proportion of these victims of the caste system is certainly not so large. They flock to the places where Europeans have settled ; as the employments which they can there obtain greatly alter their circumstances, and, indeed, raise them to a kind of independence of the caste people. But throughout the country, one in ten is a nearer proportion than one in five, though I -do not pretend to say wliat the pro- portion is. But it is a fearful example of what habit may effect, that the Abbe should quietly resign a mass of people, more, according to his own calculation, than 194 MEXDICAXT MOXKS. those of his native France, to a state of degradation so directly at variance with, every principle of that religion which he professed to teach, — to contempt, to exclusion, to slavery ; (he calls them the " born slaves of the other tribes ;") yes, to slaver)% slavery imposed by custom, a tyrant the most absolute of all, who, in the foulest in- justice, is venerable because of age, and because, too, he makes his throne on the tombs of our fathers, and calls to his council the ghosts of the dead. He laughs at such limited powers as statute-books or armies ; and pours his commands through the milk of everj- mother, through the veins of every babe. The streets of Goobbee are much like those of Banga- lore, except that instead of the crowd and hurry of a large city, you have a few people moving about with the leisiirely air of a country town. Almost every person you meet bears on his breast a bright silver box, of more than two inches in length, which he tells you is " god ;" that is, it holds the linga, an idol which may not even be described. Their complexion is ob- servably fairer than that of the people at Madras, o-vving to the milder climate of the table-land. Almost every forehead is smeared with the white ashes of cow-dung, some in stripes, some having the whole surface covered, and others with, the bare chest and arms sanctified in the same way. These marks proclaim them worship- pers of Shiva. Then you are sure to meet with beg- gars in some part of the streets, almost covered with these ashes : while others of the same profession, but attached to the rival sect of Vishtnuites, have forehead, chest and arms marked over with huge, ugly tridents. Thus adorned, bearing a small brass gong and a conch- FEMALE FINERY. 195 shell, and lustily bellowing the name of Go\'inda or Eeshwara, these beggars boldly demand alms, which they receive not so much as a humane gift, as a religious debt. They are not the poor who are forced to beg, but holy monks who have abandoned worldly pursuits. Woe to the poor man who does not meet their demand promptly ! Though it were his own food, it must be given. The really poor fare ill, beside these sturdy and licentious vagabonds. It was common on market- days — Sundays — to hear an alms-giving by some rich man announced with the sound of a trumpet ; but it was always a feast to these monks. At the door of some wealthy merchant you would occasionally see his wife or daughter in full dress of costly silk, her glossy black hair graced with a round ornament of gold on the crown ; long pendants from the ears, the perforation of which had been artificially increased to the diameter of half an inch ; the edges of the ears crowded with a succession of rings up to the very tip ; a ring, large enough for a bunch of keys, in- serted into the nose,* resting on the cheek, and strung with pearls ; a heart-shaped piece of gold suspended from the centre membrane of the nose, and resting on the upper lip ; several chains of gold on the neck, sometimes a richly gemmed collar ; the arms thronged with bracelets from above the elbow ; a ring or more • That quaint ■writer Thomas Fuller was not a little puzzled with the nose-jewel of which the prophet speaks as part of the finery of the Jewish women ; conjecturing that it must have hung from the forehead between the eyes : for he thmks they would never be so foolish as to " make more nostrils than nature has given us," by boring the nose to insert it there. Vanity, like nccessit)', has no law. o 2 196 COMPLEXIONS. on every finger ; massive silver anklets loading the feet and tinkling with every motion, while each toe rejoiced in a broad ring. In fact, the first trinket graces the crown, the last decks the little toe, and between these two points no available spot is without its decoration. Then, to perfect all, the teeth are stained red, the eyelid a deep black, and the cheek painted straAv colour, with an effu- sion of saffron. This latter custom is conclusive evi- dence against some writers, who tell us that among the Hindus a dark complexion is held to be more beautiful than a fair one. Were dark brown or jet black most in esteem, the ladies woidd paint dark brown or jet black. They paint the very colour peculiar to the fairest natives, which sufficiently indicates the prevailing taste. But every one acquainted with their habits knows, that to be called kempu, " red or fair," is always deemed a compliment, while kapjm, " black or dark," is about as much so as " sallow " among ourselves. Then the statement of Bishop Heber, that there is no observable connexion between rank and complexion, is an unac- countable mistake. It is a rule to which the exceptions are very few, that good families, who can keep their children from exposure, are several shades fairer than the labouring classes. I have seen a little girl not more than five or six years of age, with all the finery just described, standing in her father's door to display it. But I have also seen a little girl of not more than that age, in one of those same houses, with every ornament gone, her hair shaved off, and other signs of widowhood. A poor girl of three, or five, or seven, may be given by her father to a husband of thirty, or fifty, or seventy. She may never YOUTHFUL AVIDOWS. 197 have set her eyes on him, except on the wedding-day ; she is still living at her father's house ; but if the man who calls her wife die, she is his widow, and his widow for life. She is stripped of all lier ornaments, her head shaved, and a widow's robe put on. Then begins a life of bitterness : she is charged with her husband's death, he has been taken from her to punish her sin in a former birth ; the younger she is, the greater sinner she must have been, to be overtaken so soon ; and her accusations are proportionably malignant ; her presence is a curse, it must never blight social festivity nor sacred ritual ; the house is cursed for her sake ; no accident or misfortune occurs but it is her fault ; she is the drudge, the butt, the sorrow, the reproach of her family. If she has the honour to be a Bramhan's widow, in addi- tion to all other inflictions, she is permitted but one meal a day. She may not marry again : it would be more disgraceful than any immorality. With us the word "widow" sounds tenderly, even on harsh tongues. In the families of India it is a term of execration. And spite can find no name so bitter as the " son of a widow." The influence which this system must exert both on individual happiness and general morality, must be ap- parent. It is a strange instance of the fact that fami- liarity with vice often changes dislike into fascination, when we learn from the Abbe Dubois that though quite aware of the " disgusting inequalities of age," and though, when fresh from Europe, he resented the " cruel usage" which dooms a girl of seven to be for life the widow of some dotard ; yet that in time he " completely changed his opinion," concluding that " in no view docs society lose anything by this restraint." Were there 198 NATIVE SCHOOLS. any truth in metempsychosis, it would be plain that the soul of Menu had been born, as an European, in the person of the Abbe Dubois, and had taken a journey to India for the purpose of vindicating his own institutions. The toAvn is enriched with two or three schools. These are, generally, like the shops, open in the front. As all reading is done in recitative, your ears are re- galed from a considerable distance, by the nasal music of a score small voices chanting the changes of the alphabet, arithmetical tables, or the disgusting legends of some purdna. Master and pupils are comfortably squatted on the earthen floor, which is strewed with fine sand. On this the younger boys are busily tracing letters with the forefinger, singing industriously all the M hile a long ditty, which with an admirable mastery of jingle describes the various changes by which each letter or syllabic form is made. This is the vestibule of the Hindu temple of knowledge ; and happy and clever is that urchin who within the first three months succeeds in mastering all the forms of the alphabet, so as to chant correctly the history of their mutations, and to trace the example as he chants. This tediousness arises not from any want of aptitude on the part of the boys ; — indeed I never knew an European to visit a native school without receiving the impression that the children were even more apt than among ourselves ; — but wholly from the complexity of the alphabet, and the utter civunsiness of the system on which it is taught. The alphabetic forms put forth by the missionaries and in use in mission-schools, reduce the labour far more than half. At a short distance outside the eastern gate, close by THE TEMPLE. 199 a thick grove, and with an open ground in front, stands the great temple of the town. It occupies the centre of a considerable area, enclosed by a high stone wall ; in which, just opposite the front of the temple, stands a high pyramidal tower, with a gateway at its base. The temple is raised some feet from the ground, and then stone pillars support the open front of a low square apartment, without window. Behind this is a low nar- row door, of which the poojari, the officiating priest, keeps the key, and in which the god is housed. No one is permitted to pass the gate without taking off his shoes ; and, not being disposed to pay such homage, I never entered. The temples are generally of this cha- racter : a square area enclosed by a wall, in the centre •a low building without any window, in the dark recess of which a holy lamp is glimmering before an image painted perhaps two or three colours, smeared with oil, and decked with garlands. WTien the temple is large, the outer wall embraces several acres, and is followed by two or three others before you reach the shrine ; each wall having perhaps four gates, and every gate its tower. The only temple of any architectural preten- sions which I had the opportunity of seeing was at Nunjangood, between Mysore and the Neilgherry hills. It is built on the ordinary model, differing only in scale. The sculpture, however, is most elaborate, the whole surface of the temple being literally thronged with my- thological groups. Up to the point of the highest tower crowds a thick succession of images in every possible form, size, and posture. There is a countless muster of shapes, colossal and pigmy, human and animal, actual and fabulous, devotional and indecent. All the rabble 200 XUNJAXGOOD. of strange beings with which Hinduism peoples its heaven, might, in the midst of their wars, frolics, and debaucheries, have been overtaken, like Lot's wife, with a statuary death, and this temple might be the agglo- meration of them all. The worst nudes even of the French school are monitors of modesty compared with these figui-es. No man who has once seen the gates can ever forget them. It is a strange and hideous sight. And then to see groups of children plajdng before this pile of sculptiured temptation, looking at it, gazing on it; and to think that thousands of the youth of both sexes go round it every year, regarding it as the shrine and embodiment of religion ! Oh, it brings a feeling of oppressive sickness. You feel as if Milton's Belial, " the dissolutest spirit that feU,"' were standing close by, and, with a hateful leer, pointing to a huge and audacious monument to the victory he had won over everything pure in man. One day in conversing with a Bramhan about China, a country of which he had only heard the name, he asked me if it were large, and had many people. A\Tien told that it had more than all India, his incredulity was perfect ; for if the Persians say that Ispahan is half the world, to a Bramhan, India is the whole world, the countries lying beyond its sacred frontiers being only some insignificant spots for " outside barbarians." At last he demanded, "Well, how many people are there ?"' " Why, from three hundred and thirty to three hundred and fifty millions." " Three hundred and thirty mil- lions !" exclaimed the astounded Bramhan : " impos- sible ! Three hundred and thirty millions ! how can that be ? Why, that is as many as there are of the GOOBBEE ABPA. 201 gods !" Such is the number of beings, various in power and functions, which the Hindu shastras recognise as constituting the beatified community of the coelicolce. Ample, however, as this number of accredited divinities might be deemed, we found that the great god of Goob- bee did not belong to the ranks of the thirty-three krores,^' but was one unknowTi to any altars save those of the place. About two centuries ago, they say, a school- master lived in their town, who, by learning, piety, and wisdom, acquired considerable fame. At his death the whole to\vn mourned for its wisest man. They buried him with ceremony, and reared a handsome tomb to mark his grave. Among his pupils was one called Burre Gourda, who entered the public service, and, rising by rapid steps, became a foiizdar, or great officer of the state. Assembling the elders of his native town, he said that all his success in life were due to the les- sons of his distinguished tutor ; and that he was fully persuaded that one so devout and wise, so virtuous, so learned, so far above ordinary men, could not be a common mortal, but must be an avatdra of Shiva. The elders agreed that he must have been an avatdra. "Then," said Burre Gourda, "if he were an avatdra, is it not right that he should have pooja, ' worship ? ' " They said, " He ought to have pooja." This point conceded, Burre Gourda at once volunteered to be at the expense of erecting a temple, and providing for the due celebra- tion pooja, in honour of the now god, who received the name of Goobhec. Appa, " the father of Goobbee." The present temple was built, a staff of priests and temple-women appointed, an endowment of land ob- • A krorc or kwortt is ten m'llions. 202 APOTHEOSIS. tained, an image made, installed, and in due form tran- substantiated. Goobbee Appa soon obtained universal honour in the neighbourhood, and all the older gods were eclipsed : they are not cast away, they receive their honours ; but before their rival they are only cUi minores. This is an illustration of the ease with which objects of worship are multiplied, when once a course of idolatry is begun. The knowledge of the true God being lost, divinity is thought so mean or so terrible, that men are ready to worship anything they respect or dread. We are shocked by the darkness which permits the inha- bitants of Goobbee to adore their schoolmaster ; and yet these simple townspeople are only manifesting the same blindness under which the refined citizens of Athens sacrificed to Theseus, and those of Rome to Romulus. The character ascribed to Goobbee Appa is more entitled to respect than anything recorded of the Latin bandit, or the Greek chastiser of banditti. It is most likely that idolatry first began by paying reverence to an image of some departed hero, various tribes adopt- ing that of their progenitor, and communities that of their founder, as those of Athens and Rome.* Popery is embarrassed in the process of apotheosis by the de- ference which it is necessary to pay to the Christian Scriptures. Hence, instead of the convenient and in- telligible position of a subordinate deity, gifted by the Supreme with a certain realm and definitive powers, she is obliged, in theory at least, to place her beatified * If Eusebius be right, {Chronicon, Lib. Prior,) the worship of Baal had a similar ori<;in, boin^ paid to llelus, the first king of Assyria, guem Ansyrii Deum nominaverunt. THE MIKACLE. 203 men in the intrusive position of a third party between God and man, effectually precluding all direct approach to the great presence. This theoretic disadvantage is no doubt fully made up to them by the utter oblivion into which it is cast in the prostrate devotion of the worshipper, who seeks, as the Bre\"iary instructs us to do in the case of " blessed Nicholas the bishop," that he may, " by his merits and prayers, be delivered from the flames of hell." Amazing reverence, confidence and zeal are mani- fested by the votaries of Goobbee Appa. I have known an old woman say, " What, pray no more to Goobbee Appa ! Why, it is he that gives me health, food, every- thing. He protects the house from robbers and evil spirits ; he keeps away sickness ; he gives strength to work ; he does everything for us. There is no god like Goobbee Appa : I must pray to Goobbee Appa." The merchants avow that when any of their transactions has been successful, they devote part of the profit to Goob- bee Appa ; " for," say they, " he gives us health and success : it is, therefore, just we should acknowledge liis favour. If we did not, we should not deserve to be favoured in a similar way again." The way to wealth, station, and domestic happiness, is constantly asserted and firmly believed to open or close at the will of Goob- iH C Appa. Helcnus did not more urgently impress on l i-; anxious friend the prime importance of propitiating the vindictive Juno, than does every father in Goobbee ( )i force upon his son the conviction that his sole pros- pect of a happy life rests in devout and liberal services to tliis great disposer. For the terror of all sceptics, they tell that on one occasion some robbers scaled the 204 THE DAILY SACRIFICE. temple-wall at night, violated the shrine, took all the valuables, bore away in their sacrilegious hands the very god, and carried him to a distance of several miles. But he was not to be kept from his favoured altar. So, by a single bound, he passed from the hands of the thieves, and replaced himself in his wonted position, to the unutterable joy of his worshippers, who, on his being missed, had spent a sorrowful morning. There are not wanting those who say, Avaggishly, that the pockets of some of the rich men know well how the miracle was performed.* The honours of Goobbee Appa are frequent, and pimctually rendered. Every day he has a morning and evening sacrifice. The holy lamp is trimmed ; libations of oil and (jJiee (" clarified butter") are poured upon the god, and before him ; offerings are presented, according to the mind of the devotee, of fruit, flowers, (jhee, pre- pared rice, or, in special cases, of clothes, jewels, or precious metals. The priest waves the offering before the idol, walks round him with it in his hand, then * This talc forcibly reminded me of or^e with which I had been loiip; familiar. ()n tlio coast of Mayo, between the town of Westport and Croagh Patrick, there is a well much resorted to by pilgrims. Rags of all colours are fixed about the .sacred spot, blcachinf; in the sun and rain, the hope beini- that as the colour loaves them, the sins of the pilgrim arc jnu-ged. In this holy well is a holy trout, (idolatry will make anything holy but the human licart,) which sometimes rejoices the penitents by coming out and eating of the crumbs they cast to it. At one time some Protestant soldiers fiom the neighbouring town seized the holy trout, and, carrying him to their barracks, were enjoying the sacrilegious thought of eating that which the de- luded Papists held sacred. Put no sooner did they place liim on a gridiron, than he bounded away to his own dear well, some mile or two distant ; where to this day he bears on one side the niai k of the gridu'on ! TEMPLE SERVICE. 205 takes a part, and gives back the rest. Ordinarily the worshipper is content with an invocation and namas- kdra, an obeisance, in which the hands are joined and raised to the forehead, which is bowed low. If, how- ever, the occasion be solemn, or his devotion great, he perfonns the lowlier sashtanga, in which the forehead, chest, shoulders, both hands and both feet must simul- taneously touch the ground. There is no united wor- ship. At the evening sacrifice it is usual to ring a bell, Avhich sounds loudly over the town : then the musicians and temple-women, assembling, play, dance, and sing before the idol. About the orgies, enacted in the temples of India, quite as much has been published as is useful ; but those who have done so have this justi- fication, that it was necessary to lay bare all the abomi- nations which riot in Hinduism, that the ties by which our authorities had bound it to them, if proof against every milder agency, might be burnt up at last by shame. In India no god is thought sufficiently honoured without a jyarashe, — a day of devotional festivity, once a year. AVith modifications from our climate and local customs, the parashe is fairly represented by the Patron, or annual feast-day of a patron-saint or tutelar god, in Ireland. The Patron is the great day of the year, a day for the exercise of all kinds of devotion, and the indulgence of all kinds of depravity, for penances and gambling, for paying vows and drunkenness, for masses and match-makings, for invoking saints and feeing showmen. Such also is a parashi, but with more pa- rade, less intemperance, and abundantly more of noc- turnal license. Goobbee Appa being far above the 206 THE TARASHE. ordinary rank of tutelar divinities, his parasite extends over a whole week. One day, as this festive season was drawing nigh, we saw a train of well-dressed na- tives make for the mission-house, led by the shei-ti and yajamdna, the two great municipal authorities. Lea-\Tng their slippers at a short distance from the house, they advanced with that graceful formality in which they excel, made low salaams, presented some limes and plantains, and proceeded to pay compliments, which, if " done into English," would sound more ludicrous than respectful. After a while, we were informed that they had^come to ask a favour, which they hoped woidd not be denied. The parashe was approaching ; but one wheel of the great car was damaged, and it was found difficult to obtain suitable timber for a new one ; for they are not made with spokes, but of solid wood, in the ancient fashion. ^Vhen Mr. Hodson was build- ing the mission-house, he had bought and felled some trees ; one of these remained ; it was the very thing for their purpose ; and now they had come to entreat that we would "be favourable, and command them this tree." In vain did we protest that we could not in any way abet idolatry. All who have been in India can bear witness to the importunity of a Hindu applicant. Re- solute as a barrister, and pertinacious as a tax-gatherer, he assails you on every side. He seems to make it a point of honour not to take a denial : it is a reflection on his power of flattery, and knowledge of character, — on both of which points they pique themselves. You are entreated, wheedled, and bepraised, until, if you persist in refusing till he is beaten off", you feel very much as if you had gained a battle. In the present GOOBBEE APPa's LAMEXESS. 207 case they did not want for numbers, for skill, or perse- verance ; they argued, they prayed, they cajoled ; but all in vain ; it was a matter of conscience, and we stood there. At length, one who was verj' familiar with me turned to me, and said, " Are you not my friend r" " Certainly." " Well, then, as you are my friend, and as you have an objection to give the tree to Goobbee Appa, you can just make a present of it to me, and I will be very thankful for it." This was a stroke of rhetoric by which they plainly thought I was fairly placed in a dilemma. " It would delight me," I re- plied, " to give you any private mark of friendship ; but, knowing that you want it for the service of an idol, it would be a sin for me to give it to you ; and one must not commit sin for any friend." This e\i- dently disconcerted them ; and I added, '* Now, does it not strike you as strange ? We came here for the very purpose of turning you from the worship of Goobbee Appa, declaring that he is only an image ; that he can do nothing for you ; that, indeed, he can do nothing for himself. We have never asked anything from Goobbee Appa since we came, yet we have everything we want ; but here comes Goobbee Appa to us, saying, ' I am a very great god, and have many worshippers ; they are going to make me a grand feast, and I want to go and see them ; but I am lame, and cannot go : won't you helj) me ?" Is it not strange that Goobbee Appa should come as a petitioner to us .^" They soon took leave, with obeisances far less dignified than those of their introduction. Before the day for commencing the feast, the top of the car was towering among the trees. The prints 208 THE FEMALE PEOCESSIOX. which every one has seen of the car of Juggernaut, give a just idea of the vehicles used for idol-processions all over the countrj-, — a ponderous structure of wood, rising through several successive stories, in the form of a tower, and resting on four giant-wheels of solid wood. On the appointed day, crowds of people flocked to the sacred spot from every direction. They had no means of shelter, and therefore selected a place under some tree where they might sleep, engaging it by pre- occupation. With the devotees was a proportionate number of jugglers, showmen, and gamblers. Those swinging-boxes popular in English fairs, (called, I be- lieve, " whirligigs,") in which four persons ride at a time, and, revolving vertically, are in turn above and below, were whirling boisterous freights of urchins. Not a few were enjoying the excitement of cock-fights and ram-fights ; the latter being a favourite pastime with the Hindus, but the former chiefly practised by the Mohammedans. Early in the evening, when en- tering the eastern gate, we were met by a stately pro- cession. A band of music led the way. Then came a train of ladies, the wives of the merchants residing in the fort, who had exhausted their own skill and their husbands' wealth to make them splendid. Their silks were costly, their jewels profuse ; they shone with gold ; and as they walked, silver music tinkled on their ankles. Their cheeks were safi'roned, their teeth ver- millioned, and their black eyes surrounded with a circle of auxiliary blackness. They marched Avith a slow and reverential grace, each lady holding up on the palms of her hands {palmas supinas) two vessels, some of polished brass, some of silver, on which were tastefully THE MUXTAPA. 209 arranged bananas, mangoes, pineapples, pomegranates, limes, oranges, and tufts of cusha-grass, or the sacred iuhsi. They were on too high an errand to walk on mlgar earth. Before them a man spread upon the ground a succession of silk cloths, such as are used by the ladies for garments ; and on these garments, thus strewed in the way, they walked the whole distance from the fort to the temple, about half mile, that they might with becoming reverence approach a presence so august as that of Goobbee Appa, the old schoolmaster ! Towards nightfall the crowd stood densely over all the ground spreading before the temple. A small mtm- tapa, or domed canopy, supported by stone pillars, and covering a small raised platform, stood about half way between the temple and the car, and was used as a sta- tion, or resting-place, for the idol. Flambeaux gleamed on the dark faces and variegated attire of the thick mass. Hosts of musicians tortm-ed the air into excru- ciating cries, as if it were in mortal pain. Groups of gaily-dressed temple-women added to the brilliancy and to the blackness of the scene. Gaudy flags hanging out from the car waved gently, and a thick rope from each side stretched far before it. Between it and the muntapa we stood preaching the gospel of Christ, to a serried crowd of listeners. Presently came a priest, bearing in one hand a small brass vessel, and in the other a bunch of cusha-grass. He walked slowly round the car, and round the muntapa, which he then as- cended ; and, dipping the bunch of grass into the holy water, carefully sprinkled the spot on which the god was about to rest. By this rite India seemed brought into present and vivid connexion with ancient and p 210 THE HOLY WATEK. modern Rome. One might have been watching a Romish priest, either of our own day or that of Virgil. Who ever witnessed the close of burial-service in a church on the Continent, without being \'ividly re- minded of the very same scene as occurring at the grave of the hapless minstrel ? — Idem ter socios pura cixcumtulit unda, Spargens rore levi, et ramo felicis oliva? : Lustra\'itque viros, dixitque novissima verba. ^Ew., lib. vi., V. 230. A moment or two after this, a hand of music issued from the temple, accompanied by a blaze of torch- light, and a troop of dancing girls. Priests and wealthy votaries followed ; then, borne on men's shoulders, a richly-caparisoned litter, on which sat the idol, covered with a graceful canopj'. On eacli side were men plying large fans, to protect him from dust and flies. The march was slow, solemn, and devotional. It might have been the ark of the Lord. On reaching the mtm- tapa, they rested the god for a few minutes ; and then, reaching the car, began to pace round it a slow circuit ; but when approaching us, the litter suddenly stopped, and the men moved back a few paces, as if dragged involuntarily. This was repeated several times, leaving us to infer that the god was offended at our presence, and would not proceed ; but not choosing to see the cause of his reluctance, we kept our ground ; and at length some of the great men, seizing on the pole of the litter, pulled it heartily forward, by which zeal the in- dignation of Goobbce Appa was appeased ; for he forthwith proceeded, and in a few minutes was u])on his lofty throne. A suite of priests surrounded him, and THE MOMENT OF JOY. 211 the fan-men fanned lustily. Immediately on seeing him seated, the people took hold of the ropes in front, forming two long lines of men, with a space of three or four yards between. In this space the musicians and temple-women took their post. At this moment the car, with its enormous height, its waving flags, and the airy figures perched on high, towered impressively in the glaring torch-light. The long aveulie of human beings in front, centred by the group of dancers, gave it a touch of new and wild sublimity, before which curiosity, wonder and weeping struggled for the mastery. The band struck up, the dance began, the men at the ropes gave a shout, and stretched to the draught. There was a moment's pause : then the ponderous vehicle trembled, creaked, shook, and rumbled forward, with a heavy crashing. At that instant rose from the centre to the utmost edge of that throng a loud, re- verent, but exulting cry, >S'jt'n>ni Sivami! "OGod! O God ! " Thousands of voices swelled that invocation ; thousands of heads bowed low. The lost race might have risen to hail the Redeemer, "travelling in the greatness of his strength, mighty to save." Then from all sides a shower of plantains rained on the car; and, as they rebounded, happy, happy did he seem who se- cured a fruit sanctified by the touch of a thing so holy. The moving tower rumbled on, and the hapless people shouted. Little did they think that that wretched idol was both the sign of their darkness, and the instrument of their undoing. Their lamentable glee, and the mag- nitude of the car, irresistibly reminded you of the Trojans rejoicing about the pompous trophy that carried, but concealed, their destruction. And these were men! p 2 212 STTCCESSIVE PROCESSIONS. And they were our fellow-subjects ! And they must die, and meet God ! And our fathers were once as dark as they ! A procession of maniacs to hail madness, or of skeletons to honour famine, or of corpses to welcome plague, could hardly touch you with a stranger or sadder thrill. After the first great day, the attendance on the feast diminished ; but, throughout the week, the ceremonies went on. Every night the idol made a procession, the vehicle being varied each time, — an elephant, a kite, a peacock, and other forms, being called into requisition. Every evening we had a large and attentive audience. We pitched our little tent close by the ground, in order to be near the people during the heat of the day, that we might have opportimities of conversing \vith them. But our house was such an object of curiosity, that the numbers coming to see it were quite sufficient to furnish us with a perpetual congregation. While we reasoned ■with them freely on religious subjects, we conciliated them by gratifpng their curiosity. It is often said, by persons who ought to know the Hindus, that they have no curiosity ; which is just as true as the favourite as- sertion that they have no gratitude. Their capability of the latter is not very often tested ; and the existence of the former is frequently concealed by their good breeding, or their pride, which does not like to look ignorant. Everything in our house was wonderful ; for the domestic inventory of a Hindu is complete when he has got four walls, a roof, a floor, a few water-pots and cooking-pots, a pestle and mortar to pound rice with,* • This must not be fancied on the scale of a chemist's shop : the pestle is a hard stick, as thick and long as a man's arm. SIMPLE FURXITURE. 213 and a hand-mill, exactly the same as is still found on the west coast of Ireland, and in some of the Scottish isles, under the name of a quern. A mat for a bed is a comfort ; a ratna cambli (just one of our hearth-rugs) is the couch of the luxurious ; carpets are for kings. The dry, clean floor is both chair and table ; the plates are made daily as the meal is cooking, by stifching to- gether a few leaves ; knives are not needed to cut rice ; practised fingers make good spoons ; a Bramhan has as much notion of a fork as had that worthy Briton Ca- ractacus ; and a Hindu lady knows as much about a china service as did King Alfred's mother. The cloth that covers a man by day, wraps him by night ; a custom plainly common in the time of Moses, from ■Exod. xxii. 26, 27 : " If thou at all take thy neighbour's raiment to pledge, thou shalt deliver it unto him by that the sun gocth down ; for that is his covering only, it is his raiment for his skin : wherein shall he sleep ?" If a man be so luxurious as to have under him a mat or rug, he is ready, at a moment's warning, to roll up his bed, put it under his arm, and walk away. He sleeps as comfortably under a tree as in a house. The houses of the rich differ from those of the poor only in being larger, furnished with better vessels, a few mats and rugs, and perhaps one or two silver drinking-cups. Those who came from remote villages stared at our rooms with pure bewilderment. The table first took their notice : " What is that ? What is it for ?" And hard it was to make them comprehend how we should need such a cumbrous thing to eat off", a matter they managed with perfect comfort from their knees. A bed was wonderful, and a chair mysterious. The books 214 A STRANGE GOD. were objects of special marvelling. One day a fine old man, with white hair, after having wondered over and over again at everything in my study, from the steel- pen to the Venetian blinds, said, pointing across the verandah to Mr. Male's study, "May I go into that house?" He had scarcely entered, when his eye fell on the Centenary volume,* which lay on the table, beautifully bound in red russia, with gilt edges. " What is that ?" he cried ; pointing to it with delight and surprise. " A book." " A book ! " exclaimed the old man; "that a book?" The printing astounded, and the portraits enraptured him. " What do you do with it?" he cried; "What do you do with it?" " WTiy, read it, to be sure." " What do you do no- thing but read it ? Oh, if we had it in our village, we would do ^oq;a (worship) to it !" Some of them had heard of a watch, and craved a sight of that strange thing. They would eye it at a distance, hearken to the ticks like a child, then eye it again, venture to take it in their hand, turn it round and round, and watch the hands, — uttering notes of high amazement. "What was it ? How did it know the time ? Where could it be got ? How long would it live ? And a flood of such interrogatories poured upon you. They would insist that it was alive. " Look at it, it moves ; listen to it, it speaks : if speech and motion are not attributes of life, what are ?" They can themselves tell the time with remarkable exactness, either by the length of their shadows, or by the position of the sun in the sky, — a hind of horography ill adapted to our cloudy regions. As the length of the days does not vary more than * "Centenary of Methodism," by Rev. T. Jackson. TELLAMA. 215 thirty minutes during the course of the year, they sup- pose it to be perfectly equable. Owing to this my watch was in danger of losing its character ; for when, in December, I happened to say it was not quite six o'clock, although the sun had set, they replied, " Who ever heard of the sun setting earlier one day than another ? No, no ; the sun always sets at -^ix ; he must be right ; the watch is WTong."'* Goobbee Appa is indisputably the most honoured god of the town and neighbourhood ; but he is by no means the only one. To worship only one god, is not in the nature of Hinduism. A secret distrust of the favou- rite deity is manifested by a search after others. The temple of Goobbee Appa stands, as has been said, out- side the eastern gate. A few yards within that gate, in the main street, an open building attracts your eye to an altar of the god Mileappa. Facing you, at the head of the same street, is a small building to the goddess Yellama. It is of mud, mean, and neglected-looking. But when the cholera was scourging the town, here centred the general hope. They did not take any me- dicine : they would say, "Medicine is for diseases ; but cholera is no disease : Yellama just determines to kill a certain number of persons, and for that purpose puts a fire in their belly. To take medicine only enrages her, and makes her kill more." Sacrifices are esteemed the only remedy, and to these they had resort. I saw the heads of the buffiiloes ranged before this disgusting idol, and the place around slippery with their blood. The • This, of course, does not apply to the Jotishas, who well under.s^and the variation in the length of the day. See Vishtnu Purilna. 216 THE HONOURS OF THE OX. priests managed to delay this sacrifice until the disease was abating ; but the day after it was offered, it broke out anew. After a fortnight had elapsed ^\'ithout a case, they repeated it ; but the next day a person was seized. This gave us a great advantage in reasoning with them. "WTiere they are within reach of English doctoi"S, the success of their treatment soon does away with the prejudice against medicine. In the same street with this temple is a large one, with an immense image of Busawa, the ox. Few idols are more honoured than he : his temples arc numerous, his worshippers everywhere. He is the vahana, or " steed," of Shiva. They say, that to honour the steed, is to honour the rider ; and if they are not worthy to approach the supreme Shiva, they may yet draw near to his steed. Two huge buUs, as fat as they could live, were constantly perambidating the streets, with a seal on the hip, which served to attest their sacredness. They seem conscious that they are free of the whole to^^'n. You see them quietly walk up to the baskets of a grain-dealer, to levy a contribution, which he tries to make as light as possible by coaxing the god away ; but woe to the profane wretch who would strike his sacred hide, no matter how heavily he may tax his stores ! It has been put to me as a deep question in ethics, whether it were lawful to drive Busawa out of a corn-field ; and if so, whether violence might be used. Once an arch ryot said, " Oh yes, it is lawful ; for if Busawa were left in the field, he might eat too much, and hurt himself." Their veneration for these animals is very deep. Sometimes, while sitting in one of the shops. BTTSAWA. . 217 a man has broken off the conversation, and run into the middle of the street, in order to worship one of them that happened to be passing. Xo crime is held so re- volting as cow-murder. Had one of us kUled a j)oor old woman of the out-castes, it woiild not have raised a himdredth part of the commotion that would have followed our getting a beef-steak, or a fillet of veal. Sometimes, when we had been preaching against sin, they would say, " You padres are certainly remarkable men ; you have only one sin, but that is as bad as aU ours : you are murderers ; we have a great many sins, but we are not murderers." In this they alluded to our eating fowls and mutton ; for with them aU life-taking is murder. This prejudice is so deep, that I sometimes felt disposed to eat only vegetables ; but was decided against that course from the consideration that it would be a concession of Scriptm-al truth, and would seem at least a recognition of the dogma, " All life is the same," out of which this prejudices arises. All that proceeds from the cow is holy. The domestic uses of her drop- pings have been already mentioned ; but they have far higher offices : made into pills, and swallowed, they are highly effectual for inward purification. The patvcha- gavya, or five products of the cow, including the nauseous with the pleasant, are, when taken by a penitent, (whose penitence, by the way, consists in taking them,) effectual, as the Abbe Dubois, quoting from a native author, in- forms us, " to the remission of all sins," even when " committed with a perfect knowledge." It is a won- derful thing to sec a man with strong sense looking you full in the face, and confidently maintaining this mis- 218 THE LOED OF DEVILS. chievous absurdity. Monday is specially sacred to Busawa, and on that day it is not lawful to put him to the yoke ; but that rule is observed only by few. In the very next street to the temple of Busawa, is one to Bala Rama,* one of the incarnations of Vishtnu. To a curse of this god the Bramhans ascribe the exclu- sion of their caste from the kingly office. He gave them the whole earth ; and then, to test their gene- rosity, asked for as much land as he could stand on, that he might perform austerities. They, with their cha- racteristic greediness, — a disposition they no more seem to think of concealing, than a soldier thinks of concealing his bayonet, — at once refused, and began to ujjbraid him with the contemptible sin of dataphdra, " snatching back a gift." Incensed at this, he cursed them, to the efiect that no Bramhan should ever hold the sovereign right of any land, and should enjoy it only by grant from a prince of inferior caste. Passing from this point through a narrow lane, you find a small mud temple, kept very clean, with an image of Mariama, the goddess of disease, in the same material. She is painted, and decked with flowers. In the fort is a temple to Hanamunta, the monkey generalissimo ; and another to Shiva the Destroyer ; or, as one of the Shas- tras calls him, " the fierce lord of devils." His images usually represent him adorned with coils of serpents, and a necklace of human skulls. The head of Brumha the Creator, which he cut ofi" with his nail, is sometimes placed in liis hand. Besides these public altars, every house has its pe- • There have been three llamas ; Parusha Rama, Bala Ruma, and Shri or Dasliarata Rama. HOUSEHOXD GODS. 219 nates, they being selected according to preference. Of these, perhaps the most important is Vignayshwara,* the god of diiRculties, of wisdom, and of gluttony. This hideous idol far outdoes Horace's fancy of a human head on a horse s neck. His form is perfectly unac- countable. An elephant's head rests stupidly on a monstrous rotundity of paunch, which a band encircles, and from behind it two little legs are poking, as if it were a boy hiding behind a hogshead, and holding on the top of it an elephant's head. The image is odious enough ; but the explanation increases the disgust. Born from the excrement of Parvati, Shiva's wife, he was her door-keeper ; having offended Kumara, he cut off his head, which loss Shiva repaired by decapitating an elephant, and giving him the severed member. He avowed an unnatural passion, and was doomed to per- petual celibacy. On a certain occasion he ate till he was in the act of bursting, when his brother Verabhudi a snatched up a snake, and wound it round him, to save hi.s life ; which explains the band now encircling his body. Man is far fallen ; yet one would think it im- possible that he could worship such an image, with such a history. But the honours of Vignayshwara are not im- peded either by his deformity or his crimes. He holds firm monarchy over the hopes of millions. It is his to give wisdom, and scatter difficulties : nothing can suc- ceed without his smile. The ceremonies attending the various stages of life ; the solemnities of marriage ; the commencement of a journey, or a book ; in fact, every important undertaking ; must be preceded by sacrifices to " the lord of difficulties." One of the finest stanzas • Called also Gancsa, and Pulliyar. 220 THE GOD " COLLECTOR."' in the opening of the Jymani is in praise of his loath- some figure, comparing his countenance to the da^raing day! Another favourite household god is Vencartaramana, the idol of the great temple at Tripati, from which our government so long derived a disreputable income, in the shape of pilgrim-tax. The image used for family devotion is a copper cast, hardly so large as one's little finger. Many a time I was told that our countrymen thought more of him than all the gods, and that his English name was "the Collector," because he brought in such handsome revenues. Krishtna, again, is a favourite family god. He is worshipped in an image not bigger than an infant's fist, which represents him as a creeping child, having both hands filled with butter, just stolen from his mother's dairy. This feat, performed at the age of nine months, you are soberly informed, was a proof of his divinity- ; as was also the fact that he had sixteen wives and six- teen thousand concubines. His history is a concrete of vices : from very infancy he rejoiced in theft, lying, libertinism, and murder. All his wives and concubines had children, every one of whom he killed. Of all the domestic idols of Goobbec, there is none for number of votaries, or depth of zeal, to be compared with the Linga, a word we may not translate. Most of the people carry it on the chest, in a shining box of silver ; but some have it bound on the arm, and some inserted in the hair. It is daily worshipped. Cf all the inventions of Hinduism, this is the most flagitious, the most loathsome, the most unaccountable. One cannot but wonder into what strange chaos of lawless HOXOrR TO IMPLEMEXIS 221 imaginings temptation has borne him who first conceived this hateful affront to the conscience of man, to the dignity of God ; or by what inspiration of satanic au- dacity he dared to utter the conception when formed, or by what diabolic pollution the heart of men was so corrupted, that it did not spurn with impetuous hostility a dogma so shameful, and scorch with the wrath of ge- neral society the wretch that ventured to propound it. Perhaps to this head of penates properly belongs the worship paid to implements of industry. A workman, before taking up any tool Ln the morning, usually raises his hand to his head by way of reverence, that it may be propitious, and cheerfully serve his purpose. On the great day of the Gauri feast, every one brings forth .his tools, the clerk his style or pen, the tailor his needles, the goldsmith his hammer, the blacksmith his bellows, the barber his razors, the carpenter his hatchet, the la- bourer his plough, the housewife her baskets, handmill, and water-pots ; each, having gathered his own articles into a heap, presents an offering of incense, flowers, fruit, and grain ; then, falling prostrate, invokes them as gods, and prays that they will continue to be propi- tious, and afford him the means of subsistence. During the deevarligay, or " feast of lamps," — and for confirmation of this almost incredible statement I am glad to refer to the work of the Abbe Dubois, — they actually go to the dunghill, place upon it a kindled lamp, with an offering of prepared rice, fruit, and per- fume, and, with acts of reverence, pray that it may be propitious, and fertilize their ground ! The heart grows sick in relating these things ; but how sick in beholding them I Yet the description is 222 THE SACKED VTJLTTJRE. far from complete. Sunday is specially sacred to Ga- rurda, the holy vulture. On that momLng I have often seen a number of Bramhans standing on the north side of a certain street, and looking intently to the sky. All the faces were intelligent, the air of some highly contemplative ; and, marking their thoughtful looks and upward gaze, you would have supposed they were spuming the ways of vulgar men, and conversing with holy things. But suddenly one gives a signal to the rest : in an instant every head turns toward the point indicated ; then the joined hands are lifted up like a child at prayer, and every lip utters the sacred invoca- tion, Sivami. And as they adored, the white breast and bright brown wing of the Garurda swept by. It was a sorrowful sight for a Sabbath morn. This bird is voracious, and useful because he preys on snakes : his sacredness makes him tame ; but he is cowardly. He is the steed of Vishtnu, and his worshippers fre- quently address him by the name Hari, which belongs to that high dignitary. One of the Shastras calls Garurda " the Lord of all things moveable and immov- able." Offerings of food are presented to him ; some- times by being placed on the ground within his sight, sometimes by being thrown up into the air, to be caught in his claws. In the early morning I have passed an ant-hill, at the base of which was a hole neatly strewn with flowers. This hole was a temple, and these flowers offerings. The being whose presence gave awe to this unlikely shrine, was the potent Adi Shaysha, the cobra di ca- pello. The utility of the cow and of the kite, the monkey's cunning and resemblance to the human figure. THE SXAKE TEMPLE. 223 have raised them to the very accessible elevation of heathen gods ; and the serpent has gained the same distinction by his terrors, as did the crocodile in ancient Egypt. His image graces most temples, and some are reared to his sole honour. The most celebrated of these in the Mysore, and, I believe, one of the largest in India, is at Soubramanya, a place considerably to the west of Goobbee. There a spacious temple is devoted to serpents, who, under a long protection, have vastly increased, and crawl about every comer. A retinue of priests is in attendance, by whom they are plentifully served with milk, butter, plantains, and other agreeable nourishment. (How must a man feel, who is conse- crated the priest of a snake ?) This temple is very po- pular ; streams of worshippers pour to its solemnities from all the surrounding districts. The serpent, great everywhere, is, on that spot, extolled as supreme. Not that they believe him to be so ; but they look on flattery as on ghee, — they love it themselves, and think the gods must love it. No man of the higher castes Avill kill the cobra, in consequence of which they abound in the country. At Goobbee I have leaped on the grass ^vithin a foot or two of one ; and we have had three killed in our ground in a day. One morning, when returning after preaching at a distant village, two men were pass- ing whom I knew, and I entered into conversation with them. My whip took their attention : they said, the thong was evidently made after the pattern of a snake. " Yes," said one, " it is exactly like the one we have just seen." This led me to inquire ; and I learned that they had just watched a cobra into a hole near the mission-house. Why did you not kill it ?" I asked. 224 DEATH OF A BEITY. "Kill him!" they said, "kill him! he is our god!" They were quite willing, however, to show me the hole, and stood quietly by while I called my horsekeeper ; when we filled the hole with water, waited to see if he would rise, and poked him with a stick, on which he jetted up his head, and was speedily despatched. Just as we set upon him, our two friends uttered some smo- thered exclamations ; but,, as soon as the danger was over, came forward, and, looking at certain marks on the neck, said, that a person would only survive his bite for three hours. This they professed to determine by the marks, saying that they indicated the age, just as those in the horns of a cow : and that the virus was more or less powerful according to age. On another occasion one was discovered in the " go down," or store- room, among bottles. Being dusk, it was difficult to find him ; but, by carefully removing the bottles, — no very pleasant task, knowing what was there, — we at last disturbed him : he hissed loud, and made a rush. Mr. Squarebridge, who happened to be with us, fastened him against the waU with the point of a stick ; but in a position so awkward, that it was impossible to get a fair blow at him ; and should he slip, some one of us must suffer. By taking short hold of the end of a whip, I managed to get at his head, and hit pat, pat, pat, till he seemed fairly stunned with the number of little blows. Then we let him free, and soon finished the contest. It is a singular illustration of the way in which depravity perverts advantages, that the low-castes kill this reptile, and the high-castes adore it. When my moonshi, a Bramhan, learned, on the morning just re- ferred to, what had been done, he quite lost his temper ; THE COBRA. 225 insisted, with, much excitement, that I had been guilty of a great crime in killing his god ; and maintained that the serpent never injured any one : if it did bite a person, and he died in consequence, it was only because his fated time had come. They give it great credit for intelligence, asserting that if any one attack it, and fail to kill it, no matter where he may flee to, it traces him out, and never rests till avenged by his death. The ryots are afraid to leave the skeleton in the fields, saj-ing young serpents rise out of every bone : they burn it. They also believe that the cobra di capella is only the female, pointing out as the male a larger snake, which is not venomous, but defends itself by lashing with its tail ; for which reason it is called the whip-snake. I have found these generally to measure from eight to nine feet, while the cobra seldom reaches seven. They add, that if any one happen to overlook these two snakes when pairing, they both give chase, and do not rest till he is destroyed. Surely this is enough ! enough for wonder, for grief, for satiety ! but not enough to exhaust the manifold idolatries of Goobbee. Inanimate nature is not over- looked in the general lavishing of worship. In spring, when the crops are rising, it is usual to hear frightful noises about the fields at night. These proceed from ryots offering sacrifices to Bhoomi, the earth, who is a goddess. The victim is usually a goat, part of which is burnt, and in the dark the ashes are carried to the fields, on the corners of which they are placed in tcsse- lated marks, to warn away evil spirits, witchcraft or blighting winds : during this ceremony they set up hor- rid yells, to scare off devils. In the Goomsoor country, Q 226 SACEIFICES TO THE EARTH. a part of India as yet but little known, this sacrifice de- mands a human victim. He is placed alive in the midst of a host of ryots, each armed with a knife. They tie him to a post, and at a given signal rush upon him; each man cuts from his person as large a piece as he can obtain in the struggle, and immediately divides it among the people of his own village, who hasten to their fields and bury in the soil the morsel of palpitating flesh. In one part of the Himalaj'a it is done by making a rope fast at the head and foot of a precipice a mile high, and forcing the victim to descend. Shoidd he alight on his feet, he is free ; but if he lose his balance, even though still holding on sufficiently to prevent his being killed by the fall, he is at once dispatched on reaching the groimd. If, as is most likely to be the case, he parts from the rope, of course he is dashed to pieces.* The sun, too, is a god, and a great one. The most sacred of all munircis, (forms of prayer,) the Gayatri, is an invocation of this luminary. Its \drtue is wonderful. "He who, seated opposite the sun, repeats it, is liberated from fear and sickness ; misfortunes cease ; and milaw- ful meats, drinks, intercourse and connexions become pure and laA^^ul.' f Of the sun's private history, the following curious passage is given in the Ilari Vamsha. His wife, the daughter of the Hindu Vulcan, found the heat of her situation so intense, that, after bearing it till amost consumed, she al last created out of her * "Wallace's " Memoir of India." t The Surija Narayaiia I'panishad, as quoted by Dr. Wilson, in the "Exposure of Hinduism." DOMESTIC DIFFICULTIES OF THE SUX. 227 own shadow a goddess, the perfect image of herself, and set off to her father's house. He refused to sanc- tion the crime of forsaking her husband, by admitting her ; on which, rather than return, she transformed herself to a mare, and betook herself to the wilder- ness as a solitary ascetic. Surya never suspected the cheat that had been played upon him until, after the lapse of years, one day Yemma, his eldest son, came to him in great trepidation, complaining that his mother had cursed him with a severe doom. Sm-ya demanded of his wife why she had pronounced such a doom on her son ; and she justified herself by saying, he had raised his foot to kick her. He then told Yemma, that the curse, being pronounced, must take effect ; but asked how he came to think of kicking his mother. He said, he was provoked by her constant partiality in dealing with the children, indulging the younger ones, but being very harsh towards him. The mother was now called to account, and in her confusion acknowledged that she was not the mother of Yemma, but a counterfeit made from her shadow. Grieved and indignant, Surya hastened to his father-in-law, and bitterly accused him of concealing his wife. This he denied ; telling him, he was so insufferably hot, she could not live with him, and that no power could in- duce her to return ; for she had refused even when driven from his door in disgrace. Plunged into the utmost sorrow, poor Surya asked if, with all his know- ledge of the arts, he could not discover means of re- ducing him to a bearable temperature ; on which the great mechanic put him on his grindstone, and ground a 2 228 THE MOOX, THE SEA, AXD THE WIXD. oflF an immense host of rays, which he then collected, and forged into that terrible and mysterious weapon, the shacfcra of Vishtnu.* The fugitive goddess was then sought out ; and, perceiA-ing the fires of Surya so greatly moderated, ^vas preyailed upon to resume her natural relation. "\Mien I first read this strange tale, it was in the presence of two Bramhans, to whom I freely expressed the incredulity and amusement to which it gaye rise. This they both resented, and %'indicated the truth of every word with what an eloquent \\'riter, speaking of Charles Simeon's preaching, has called, " a contagious intensity of faith." " It must be true,"' said they ; " it is in the Shastra ; the Shastra cannot lie. If the Shastra lied, where could truth be found : ' It is easy for those who have been educated in a land of Bibles and free thoughts to say, with regard to the absurdities of superstition, " They cannot believe them." Yes, they can, they do : men can believe any- thing. The moon is not passed by : Jie is a god ; and his functions are not confined to nightly illuminations : but when the rain has been exhaled from the earth, he re- ceives and accommodates it, till the proper time for its return. The clouds also are personated in the god Indra, who holds them chained up in eight great masses, and at his pleasure looses any one. When he angrily smites them witli his bolts, it thunders ; and the rain- bow appears when he draws his bow. The wind is a • Tlie Vishtnu Purana adds—" The trident of Shiva, the weapon of the god of wealth, the lance of Kartikeya, and the weapons of the otlicr gods ; all tlicse Vishw;ikarma fabricated from the superfluous rays of the sun." SACRED TREES. 229 god. The sea also is a god, whose waters are signally efficacious to purify, — a single bath sufficing to wash away sin. On the coast, cocoa-nuts, and other offerings, are cast upon his waves. Then the poor soul of the Hindu crouches before several members of the vegetable family. It has already been said, that the noble old banyan, before described, has beneath it an altar to its own honour. The banyan- tree is everywhere held to be divine. The ararle, or Jicus religiosa, is worshipped as an avatdra of Vishtnu, who took its shape with the same object as Jupiter had in becoming a swan. The beautiful margosa, also, is included in the pantheon. It is not unusual to see these two trees growing so closely together, tfiat their branches intermingle, and surrounded by a low wall, in token that they live in wedlock, the marriage ceremony having been performed by a priest, with all due solemnities. The herb tuldsi, which is used at almost every religious festivity, is a transformation of one of Vishtnu's unlawful wives, to whom he was so devoted, that, when metamorphosed into a plant, he resolved to abide with her, and for that purpose became the shalagrdma, a black schistous stone, which is, on this account, held to be adorable. Mora Bhatta Dandhekara, in ably defending the superstitions of his country against Dr. Wilson of Bombay, asks, " How can his (God's) honour be tarnished by saying that fire, the cow, the shalagrdma, and other things, so holy and purifying, are his very glory ?" These vege- table deities have sacrifices presented during the feast of Defevurlagay. The cocoa-nut tree is appropriately held to be an emblem of gratitude ; for man brings it water when young and weak, which, when strong, it 230 A DARK SOUL. yields him back in a delicious form. It is highly valued and frequently personated, but does not receive divine honours. I am not prepared to say that it is never worshipped : no doubt it is ; for you can hardly fix on an object, animate or inanimate, useful or noxious, but, some time or other, has the soul of a man cringing before it, and calling it god. These are the leading features in the exterior of re- ligion in Goobbee. It is a dark picture ; very dark, if considered merely as to appearances ; but how woeful does that darkness grow, when we think that it is not a bare shape, not a fugitive phenomenon, but the living representative of souls, of their thoughts, their belief, their hopes, their morals ; of the attributes they assign to God, the views they have of their own destiny, the principles on which they guide their life. What state of soul is represented by bull- worship, by monkey- wor- ship, by vulture-worship, by serpent- worship, by imple- ment-worship, by tree-worship, by the worship of the dunghill ? What state of morals is represented by the worship of Vignayshwara, and Krishtna and the Linga? What state of hope is represented by the worship of the fierce and filthy destroyer Shiva ? Who, oh who would enter into one of those craven bodies, and be a hapless soul, looking out upon a universe in which every monster is a god, and every beast an equal ; in which men are vile, and gods far viler ; and in the whole of which the weary eye cannot rest on one pure being, worthy to be loved with all the heart, and soul, and mind, and strength ? Is there any curse one should feel more dreadful than to be transformed into one of these dark souls, bereft of all knowledge of the one OUR VILLAGES. 231 holy and true God, of redemption, of the resurrection of the dead, or the life of the world to come ; haunted by a countlesss horde of vicious powers, each one demanding our dread; looked down upon and bidden to crouch by soil and sea, by tree and beast, by bird and snake ; and yet our immortality left with us : The soul shrieks at the very thought, and cries, " Make me miserable, or make me mad ; but oh do not make me a thing like that !" Yet such are the souls that dwell in Goobbee, and such are the souls that, in our wonderful realm of India, inhabit a thou- sand plains. In the vicinity of Goobbee were above twenty towns and villages, which were formed into a regular circuit, and a plan made, by which they were visited in turn. Biddiri was a considerable market-town. Chayloor, a large village, with about thirty temples. AVhussa- Hully,*Nertagoonta, Naramungala, Lekenahully, and several others, were populous villages, each with its gowrda, or head-man. The gowrda is of the same caste as the rest of the villagers, but has great honour paid him from his office : he is the umpire in disputes, and the medium of all negotiations with government. In Whussa-Hully was a shakedar, a kind of revenue and police magistrate, who holds jurisdiction over ten gowr- das. A few miles off was Cudaba, a considerable town, much under the influence of Bramhans, and the resi- dence of the amildar, who is judge and collector for a talook, a district including many shakedars. The amil- dar was a civil and intelligent Mohammedan, who had four wives, and manied the fifth while I was there. Chinchethully was a neat village, mainly inhabited by 232 OUR VILLAGES. potters, who work in the open air, shaping their ware with great dexterity on a simple wheel fixed horizon- tally, and revolving close upon the ground, so as to permit the workmen, according to custom, to sit. The pots are burnt in large open ovens. They make tiles, water-pots, and cooking pots ; but the fine wares and endless variety of articles manufactured by their Chinese and European brethren are unkno^vn. Their most cu- rious article is a large vessel for holding grain, much the shape of a Chinese jar, and capable of containing several gallons.* One hamlet was inhabited wholly by stonecutters, who are a low and ignorant caste ; and, if I remember rightly, one of the few castes that permits a second marriage to young widows. Another hamlet was occupied by shepherds, who rank far below the cowherds. They have about them none of the romance belonging, in our imaginations, to that primitive calling. Once, in the dusk of the evening, I saw a man Ainning along the road, ■with his whole flock in close pursuit, when, coming up to us, he crossed the road, and was followed by every hoof : he stood still as we passed, and they all clustered behind him. It strongly reminded me of the Saviour's words, " My sheep hear my voice, and follow me." Besides the places close about Goobbee, we included in our plan Toomcoor, a large market-to^vn, about twelve miles off. It is the residence of the superin- tendant of the Chittledroog division, and, in conse- "* quence, much resorted to from all the surrounding country by those who have any litigation, or other at- * A vessel of like size and sliapc is shown in Colchester Castle, as of the times of the llomans. THE LONELY TOMB. 233 traction to the seat of authority. It would be an im- portant post for a naissionary, could one be given to it. We also A'isited some villages in its neighbourhood. I cannot pass over this town without naming one affect- ing occurrence. Close by the travellers' bungalow, far from any place where Christians bury, stands the lonelj' tomb of a British officer. One morning, about three o'clock, Mr. Jenkins was called up by a man, who de- livered a note, dated Toomcoor, from a lady with whom he had some acquaintance, in Avhich she informed him that her husband was dead, and begged he woidd hasten to her assistance. He found that Captain had left his regiment at Hurryhur, to accompany his wife to Madras, who was obliged to go to England, by a total failure of health. Their three children were with them. On their route lay Chittledroog, where the cholera was raging. When between it and Toomcoor, Captain was seized with those symptoms, dreadful any- where ; but doubly so on a lonely march. They urged on in hopes of reaching Toomcoor ; but when seven miles from it, his sufferings became so great, that he could proceed no further. The bearers laid him do^vn on an open plain without either house or tree. He could not, for agony, remain in the palankeen: he writhed upon the sand. For hours he lay there en- during the pain of the disease, aggravated by the bare ground and burning sun. His poor wife was too feeble even to walk : she could only watch and weep. Shade, or help, or friend, slic had none. The only white faces near were those of her children, whom she felt to be already fatherless. They now came to mourn over papa, and now went off to play. There sat that weakly 234 COOXGI'LL. lady, hour after hour, watching her kind and excellent husband torn with pains, till, at last, he lay a corpse on the lone road side. She got the bearers to carry their sorrowful burden to Toomcoor, certain, at least, of all that Christian hospitality could do, in the house of the estimable Captain Dobbs. But he was from home, and the servants in charge, finding she had a dead body with her, refused admittance. The travellers' bunga- low, only just built, was incomplete, damp, and un- furnished. Thither she went, her only care being how she could place the remains of her husband in a decent grave. She could not get any one to procm^e a coffin, or aught else, fit for interment. She was ill and weak, and not able to bully the Mussulmaun attendants, who care little for a woman in sorrow. Happily, she re- membered there was an Englishman within twelve miles, ilr. Jenkins soon obtained the things necessary for burial, and committed the body to its lonely home. It was an affecting funeral ; but hope, far better than a crowd of mom-ners, was there. Captain had long been seriously disposed, but a few, months before had e^vinced a decided religious change. For some days he had seemed to be under a presentiment of death, and spoke of its coming with a Christian's confidence. The same evening the widow proceeded on her sorrowful journey. At the distance of about twenty-five miles from Goob- bee, is the town of CoonguU, with a population of about seven thousand, a considerable manufactory of silk, and a government depot of young horses intended for the army. It is situated on a noble tank, ten miles in circumference, the shores of which are variegated with THE BIGOT MAKEE. 235 groves of date and mulberry, clusters of bare rock, and, in the distance, blue mountains, among which towers Shivagunga. Morals in India are bad, very bad ; but in CoonguU they are lower than even the common level. A large proportion of the inhabitants are Mahommed- ans, and several of the horsekeepers are Roman Ca- tholics. These have a small chapel, with suitable fur- nitiU'C of idols ; and it is no injustice to them to say, that not in any one particular of knowledge or morality are they before the worst of their neighboiirs. They arc favoured with an occasional visit from a priest re- siding at Mysore, who, after the habit of the Jesuits, calls himself an European Bramhan, and maintains to- ward the people the relations implied by that caste. If his teaching were aimed to make the people wise and good, it was utterly impotent for that ; but it bore the indubitable voucher of genuine Romanism, in a talis- manic power to make bigots. The man who could not make a bigot, would be a poor agent of Popery. This priest fully authenticated his mission ; for while hea- then and Mohammedan came to hear the word of God, not one of his people dared. The curse of God and the priest, denial of absolution, penances, purgatory, and hell, are mighty things with an ignorant man, when put before him, not to check a passion, or enforce a virtue, but to aggravate a fictitious sin, or rouse a feeble pre- judice. In 1839, a piece of ground was obtained at Coongidl, on which a house of two small apartments was built for a missionary, and, close by, a similar one for an assis- tant missionary. In the opening of 1840, Mr. Square- bridge and Mr. Webber were appointed to the station. 236 POPTJLATIOX OF OUE CIECTJIT. It was considered part of the Goobbee circuit ; but, owing to the distance, the work was conducted on a separate plan. Here the villages lie even more thickly than round Goobbee, and about forty of them were embraced in a regular circuit. They were populous ; many of them, besides agricultural pursuits, rearing silkworms and spinning silk. They were every one open to our fullest labours.- Measuring from Chayloor on the north, to below CoonguU on the south, the length of our circuit was about forty miles ; from Toomcoor on the east to the most westerly point, the breadth was more than fifteen. It was not possible to bring every place within these limits under regular cultivation ; but only the most im- portant towns, and the villages near to Goobbee, and Coongull. Exclusive of villages, the towns alone of the circuit embraced a population full four times as large as that of Tahiti,"^' where a whole colony of mis- sionaries laboured for half a generation, patiently wait- ing to see fruit, and saw it at last. The popidation of the circuit was far greater than that of some whole groups in the South Seas, and certainly not less than that of New-Zealand. f Then these were not isolated from all external influence. The difference between a circuit like this, formed out of the midst of India, and one in Tahiti, or Tonga, is, that the one is an island in an ocean of salt water, and the other is an island in an ocean of human beings. In the one case every impulse given terminates at the beach, whence it is reflected back, to increase the commotion within the narrow * Tahiti has 16,000. t Computed at 100,000. A WIDE FIELD WASTE. 237 compass : in the other, when it has reached the boun- dary-line of your circuit, instead of travelling back to the centre, it goes on, and on, and on, for a thousand miles, giving a feeble, but momentous, disturbance to those cumbrous prejudices which have crushed do\VTi, for ages, inquiry and improvement. You cannot, in India, concentrate your influence under your own eye : it goes far beyond you, and spends much of its strength where you cannot follow it. This necessarily gives your results slowness ; but it gives them width. You are not so likely to convert a town in ten years, but far more likely to convert a hundred thousand towns in a century. At Goobbee we had no mission-station on the east nearer than Bangalore, sixty miles ; none on the south nearer than Mysore, ninety mUes ; none on the north nearer than Bellary, about two hundred miles ; and none on the west nearer than Mangalore, the same or a greater, distance ; and j-et every spot enclosed in these wide outlines, is just as open to the gospel as a village in Yorkshire or Cornwall. There is not a place where a single missionary might not go, and though the foot of white man, or the name of Jesus, had never reached it before, he might proclaim his entire message, not only with safety to his person, but with the cer- tainty of commanding respect for his doctrines. There never was before the church such a field. To leave it untilled, is shortsighted, and scandalous neglect. When we turned northward, the thought was appalling : it was like facing an ocean. Between us and the limit of India, the vale of Cashmere, lay about fifteen hun- dred miles of the finest and best-peopled country in the world ; but, drawing a line direct north from Goobbee, 238 TOUCHING CONTRAST. it did not touch a single missionary post, but at Bellary. Hundreds of miles to the east of this line, a few stations were lying far scattered. To its west were some at Bombay, Poonah, and Guzerat ; but, taking the city of Nagpore as a centre, we could sweep a circle of three hundred miles' radius, without touching one post, ex- cept a solitary American missionary at Jaulnah. From Nagpore to Jeypore, another cajjital, is quite five hun- dred miles, in which whole course is no missionary ; and roimd this centre, again, you can di-aw the same terrible circle of six hundred miles' diameter, including only the single station of the Church Missionary Society at Agra. Such was my circuit, and so situated : its freedom from the interruptions incident to an European settle- ment, its exclusive intercourse with the natives, its vm- equalled facilities for studying them, and its boundless opportunities for spreading the gospel, all combined to make it just such a field as a young missionary might rejoice in ; and if there were a feeling in his heart to be stirred, that field would stir it. The people are courteous and civil, subjects of our own government ; bowing to us as the most powerful, and confiding in us as the wisest of nations. They receive us with frank- ness, and treat us with respect. Their towns and vil- lages are as open to the missionary as to the Bramhan. He may come at any hour, stand in any place, handle any subject. Business will make room for him in the market, amusement will yield to him in the feast, de- votion will not hunt him from the temple, he may stand at its door and illustrate his argument by the idol they are then worshipping. Close by the idol car he may OPPOKTUyiTY, DUTY, AXD HOPE. 239 proclaim Him who sitteth on the circle of the heavens : by the fire where they are performing penance, or the altar where victims are yet reeking, he may tell of the one atonement. Everywhere, not only safety, but re- spect, awaits him. There never has been, in the his- tory of the church, a field so perfectly open in the midst of a great heathen coxmtry ; there never can be another field more open; and there never can be but one so extensive, — China. On this field meets everj' element of exciting interest : it is a field where a beautiful country is defaced with obscene idols, where gentle manners are deformed by rank depravity, and keen in- 'cUects are stultified by drivelling superstitions. The intelligence, polish, and gentleness of the people, make the darkness of their souls a thousand times more frightful. There is no savage congruity between their superstitions and their manners. You are shocked by the alliance of education and darkness, of polish and de- basement. A man makes an elegant bow, pays a grace- ful compliment, discusses metaphysics, writes poetry, calculates an eclipse, — and worships a snake! The ibruption is horrible ; the shock far greater than to see a similar act done by a savage who never wore a robe, nor saw a letter. In the one case, Satsm stalks as a marauder ; in the other, sits as a king, with literature, science and antiquity adorning his throne. This ci- vilized, lettered, accomplished idolatry, is the most startling thing on earth, man's worst curse, Satan's highest triumph. It should thrill and rouse us. To ^ee naked, tatooed savages, with fiendish yells, holding I cannibal feast on some wild island, would be horrible. 240 OPPORTUNITY, DUTY, AND HOPE. yet it would be consistent ; but who could bear to see courtly ladies, in tbe aisle of a cathedral, and to the sound of Handel's music, eating human limbs ? The darkness of the Hindus demands the gospel ; their ac- cessibleness in-vites it. It is true, that by castes and by families, they are in firmly concreted masses ; but they lay bare the surface to our operations, and already a quivering passes throughout the entire bulk which attests it, that nothing is needed but a strong and con- tinuous shock, and it wiU all rend. But to give and sustain that shock, ought not to be left to the hands of a few. The labourers are few, lamentably, shamefully few ; but they faint not. They sigh that they are few, not because they have a single fear of ultimate failure ; but because, from their fe^^Tless, tens of millions must die before they have once been reached. This makes them mourn, it bows their strength, it tears their hearts, it shortens their days, it makes them indignant with money-clutching Christians, it makes them cry to God. But as the faint labourer, with the wide field round him, kneels and lifts up his weary trembling hand, there comes upon him a kind of assurance that the day of redemption draweth nigh, such as no other can feel, and such as no doubt can encounter. The prayer of a missionary, with thick masses of benighted souls on every hand, is the most poignant, but the happiest, of prayers. A hundred griefs pierce him; but every wound makes entrance for a new balm. I am sure Mr. Jenkins will never forget the feelings wc used to have, when meeting every afternoon to plead together with God, on behalf of the poor souls that were sitting OPPORTrXITT, DUTY, AXD HOPE. 241 in the shadow of death before ovm eyes. There was heaviness and bleeding of heart ; but oh, there was with it an assurance as bright as heaven, that God's good word would accomplish its mission, and that truth and righteousness, peace and mercy, wovdd one day over- spread the land that was now so mournful. B 242 CHAPTER VI. OUE WOEK. Literprcters — Written Sermons — Standard of Attainment — Copia Verborum — Studies — Ryot Dialect — Writing and Speaking — Native Politeness — Value of a good Pronuncia- tion— No Impossibilities — Progress and Pleasure — First Ser- vice— The Sabbath-day Market — The Market-place Prayer — ^The Temple Door — Necessity for an Idol — Air and Water — A Queer Bath — A Clean Thing brought out of an Unclean — Gods many — The luckless Priest — An amiable Bramhan — Logic — Suspicions — An Enquii-er — Tlie sad Resolve — An Inconsistency on my part — Village Preaching — Ryot objec- tions— Sense of Guilt — Have they a Conscience? — Plain Words needful — Emotion in an Audience — The forsaken Shrine — -The Feast unheeded — Busy Hearers — A lonely but happy Prayer — A PilgTim and a Father — Biddiii— The Mar- ket Stalls — Books and Bindings — Chayloor — Purity of Heart — Clu'ist the Pmificr — The best Beginning — The Piuidit Improvisatorc — A bold Attack — A warm Engagement — The Shastri — The open Door — A pleasant Wrangler — An atten- tive Audience — The Feast of YettanhuUy — The votive Fii'e — The Men who had a Vow — The Expostulation- — Our Schools — Bibles and Tracts — The fii'st Book seen and its Fault — Our Joys — The Future — The Banyan of human So- ciety— Prospects. The essential preliminary to the entrance of a mission- ary on his work, is the acquisition of the language spoken by the people among whom he is called to labour. Many have adopted, as a substitute for this, the plan of preaching through an interpreter ; but that expedient has never been resorted to in our Canaresc mission, a fact which proves that it is not indispensable. Many grave objections lie against it: it is cumbrous; INTERPEETERS. 24S it leaves every truth uttered dependent, for its correct transmission, on the talent or fidelity of the interpreter ; and, by cherishing in the missionary a habit of self- distrust and reliance upon another, places him in danger of contracting an incurable embarrassment. It also removes the powerful motive to study, which would be supplied by the feeling on his part, that, till sufficiently acquainted with the language to preach, he is utterly useless ; and thus, though appearing to anticipate the time of commencing his public ministry, it really post- pones, and that indefinitely, the time of his doing so in the only way that can be either happy to himself, or eflFective for his purpose. Let two men of equal talents begin at the same time in the same language, the one by using an interpreter, the other by deferring all attempts to preach till his progress enables him to ven- ture, and it will be found that, at the end of three years, the latter has delivered far more sermons than the former ; and not only so, but acquired a freedom and command which it is doubtful whether the other will ever gain. Except to a man of genius, or of in- domitable energy, any lengthened use of an interpreter is a certain entail, for life, of hesitating and dependent incapacity. The habit of reading sermons is also unknown in our Canarese mission. Much may be said in favour of a beginner, before he has sufficiently mastered the lan- guage to speak extemporaneously, composing and then reading a discourse. By this means he may bring the truth before a congregation, when otherwise he must have been silent. On the other hand, every one knows that even in an audience accustomed all their days to B 2 2.44 ■\VEITXEN SERMONS. hear sermons read, only the thinking portion can ordi- narily keep up their attention throughout, unless the reader has the attractions of a pleasing or forceful de- livery. But none of us would ever think of expecting that a congregation of persons not accustomed either to read themselves, or to hear discourses read, should give sustained attention to a lecture composed by a German, or a Frenchman, in stiff, ungainly English, and read with the hesitancy of inexperience, and the indistinct- ness of a strong foreign accent. Such an audience could neither understand nor remember such a diatribe. Yet such, for the most part, are the congregations the missionary has to address in India ; and such, at the outset, his condition to interest them. Again : every time the preacher trusts to his manuscript, he increases within himself a di'ead of extemporaneous effort ; and, from this circumstance, many men, of passable talents, have spent more than half their lifetime, and wasted all their energy, before they dare venture to go out among the people, and, wherever they found them, call them, like heralds of God, to repentance. It is hard to conceive a position more distressing than that of a good man living amid a swarming population of heathen, and wishful to bring them to God, who yet, by a vicious training, has rendered himself incompetent to preach to any of them, but the paltry modicum that may be minded, at a stated time, to come within the Malls of a place of worship. To any Hindu audience, except such as long usage may liave trained, ten minutes of animated extemporaneous address would convey more knowledge, and make upon them a deeper impression, than a read discourse half an hour long. It should STAXDAED OF ATTAIXMEXT. 2-15 also be especially remembered, that the missionary who speaks extemporaneously for ten minutes this week, has overcome a difficulty and acquired a power, that will fit him to speak, with equal ease, for fifteen next week ; and a few such efforts, made after careful pre- paration, will introduce him to the delightful liberty of addressing the people at will, on any topic present to his mind. A young missionary, by a few well-studied and bold attempts at the first, ^vill escape many a day of vexatious inaction. Without an early and a resolute beginning, he need not hope for first-rate success. Every missionary ought at the very outset to deter- mine that, by the help of God, he will preach to the people in their own tongue as well as if he were a native. To fix an aim lower than this, is suicidal to his own respectability and influence. The attainment of it is not hopeless, if he give his life to his work, and grudge no time nor pains to complete his preparation for its calls. To preach like a native, four things are necessary, — a perfect knowledge of the grammatical and idiomatic structure of the language, a copia verborum, a power to write and speak fluently, and a correct pro- nunciation. A perfect acquaintance with the gkammar of the Canarcse is not to be obtained without close study; but will infallibly reward any one who takes that pains. The orthography is simple, the etymology compact and easily mastered ; but there is a novelty in the s)Titax, and a complexity in the prosody, which render patient application indispensable to that complete mastery of them, without which, elegance of style is an impossibi- lity. In the first stages of this department of study, 246 COPIA VEBBOBUM. the assistance of an European is most desirable, and, ^vithout that, the student must rely chiefly on himself; for, in the niceties of grammar, he -wlLI receive little aid from native moonshis. The idioms can become familiar only by extensive reading, and extensive con- versation. Respecting a copia teeborusi, it is most necessary to avoid the impression, that if a man has only acquired a great stock of words, he is therefore furnished. A copia verhonim is not merely a cro'wd of words, but a number of words in use among every class of the people, adequate to intercourse with that class ; and a number of words on every subject, adequate to the discussion of that subject. In copious languages, Hke those of South India, it requires an extended vocabulary to reach this standard ; but, generally speaking, the nimiber of primitive words in a language is not near so great as people, in their dread of study, suppose ; and when once master of the root, you easily acquire the deriva- tives. A person with five thousand roots, gained from various sources, is not despicably furnished : and who would be frightened at the prospect of learning that number of words ? After the first five thousand, the rest come as of themselves. From Mr. Pope I adopted a plan that proved of incalculable ser^■ice : everj- new word that occurred in reading was written down, with its derivation and chief meanings ; then, each evening, all acquired during the day were transferred to an alpha- betical vocabulary. Thus, at the cost, it is true, of some patience, every word once sighted was permanently housed in the mind. The natives say, that to read a word once, is worth hearing it three times, and to wTitc STUDIES. 247 it once, worth reading It seven times ; and no one can doubt but that their opinion has some foundation in fact. But the reason of this is not, as it seems to me, correctly stated either by them, or by Cobbett and other EngHsh writers, to rest in the fact, that the eye is a better remembrancer than the ear, and the hand than the eye. Eye, ear, and hand, are all equally innocent of efforts of memory. The process by which the mind is detained for the greatest length of time on a new word when presented to it, is the process that will most serve to fix it in the memory ; and the more frequently the new word is recalled Avithin a short period of its first appearance, the more certain does its ultimate re- tention become. A boy who has seen Sully's name in a short account of St. Bartholomew's massacre, may, and most likely will, forget it ; but if he read the his- tory of France, he never can ; not because he employs a different remembrancer, for it is the eye in both in- stances ; but because in the one case tlic new name was just looked at, and passed instantly, while, in the other, it was kept before the mind for a considerable time, and recalled again and again. After the failure of my sight, which rendered reading and writing equally im- possible, it proved that by getting a moonshi to read, pronouncing every new word after him, mentally re- peating it several times, then, after a short interval, recalling it, and again repeating, all mnemonic purposes were as well secured as by writing. It is very doubt- ful, however, whether this would have been the case at an earlier stage of acquaintance with the language. Fables and stories, as replete with the language of evcry-day life ; purdnas and poems, as exhibiting the 248 STUDIES. higher styles of diction ; and the Scriptures, as the grand repository of theological terms ; must be the sources whence the missionary will gather into his trea- suiy things new and old. Except the Bible, no com- position but what has come from a native author, ought to be looked at until the student, by much writing, and much speaking, has, to some extent, acquired a style of his own. But did a man read every book in the lan- guage, that alone would not replenish him for all the intercourse necessary to a successful mission. With- out conversation on all subjects, with all grades of people, daily prosecuted, and studiously varied, his "cistern" may be full, but he will lack "the wheel," whereby alone its waters can be dispensed over the land. My study door, which looked into the verandah, was always open, and whoever came was welcome. They were encouraged to talk on whatever subject happened to be uppermost in their minds, and thus led to exhibit their modes of thinking, their village and household usages, and their views on all sorts of subjects, as also their familiar idioms, and the peculiar accents of ditfer- ent localities. Frequently a dozen strangers, or more, would be thus present at a time ; and, on some occa- sions, it was easy to raise a discussion between parties belonging to different sects, by which means were obtained at the same time a valuable lesson in the lan- guage, a view of their exact shades of religious opinion, and an exercise in their method of controversy. Their conversational style ranges, according to the grades of society, from the vulgar through the passable, the respect- able, and the elegant, up to the ornate. The difference does not lie wholly in gradations of propriety, but in a EYOT DIALECT. 249 free use, among the loAver orders, of words belonging to the old Canarese, which, like our Saxon, forms the basis of the modern dialect : while the educated classes introduce a profusion of terms borrowed from the San- scrit. To express the idea of falsehood, the Bramhan uses the word abudha ; the tradesman, surlu ; the low ryot, sarte ; and in numbers of equally familiar words the same diversity is observable. Feeling that an in- timacy Avith the dialect of the ryots was essential to that familiar intercourse which is the surest way to confi- dence, I determined on acquiring it ; and, among other means, requested my moonshi to converse in it for an hour each day. To this he stoutly demxirred, saying that it was an indignity to a learned Bramhan, to be asked to speak the vulgar and broken Canarese of the ryot ; but, on being threatened with having a ryot moonshi placed by his side, he first laughed heartily at the idea of a ryot moonshi, and then said he always thought the purpose of education was to gain polish, not \nilgarity ; but that if I were not content with a Bramhan's educa- tion, without that of a ryot in addition, why then he could become a ryot, or anything else I pleased. After a while, he caught the spirit of my design, and, with con- summate tact, threw himself into the character of a ryot, personating, in turn, every class of villager, and exhausting the whole round of rural incident. The advantages of this exercise soon became apparent in conversing with the ryots. To acquire the power of fluent writing and •-PEAKixr;, it is imperative that the missionary should make a commencement in both as soon as he can put three words together. Cases have been lamentably 250 WEITIXG AND SPEAKIXG. frequent in which, after years of study, the -writing is uncouth, and the conversation insufferably foreign. In- deed, I have known those who would not converse till they cotdd do it correctly ; and the consequence was, they never did so at all. It is absurd to attribute this to the impossibility of mastering the language ; no such impossibility exists : persons not remarkable either for native genius or academical aids, are to be found in India, who, by sheer dint of hard work and common- sense plans, have gained a perfect command of the most difficult languages. It is dangerous to begin composi- tion, in a new language, by translating from a language pre-viously known. It may do well enough to teach the art of " making Latin ;" but it is not the way to gain the free, natural, and ^•igorous st)-le, which a man ought to possess in a language he must use every day, and for the most important purposes. On that method, every word you ^^Tite, instead of being the expression of one of your own thoughts, is only the equivalent of another foreign word ; and each repetition of this pro- cess, surely, and most injuriously, induces a habit of interposing a second language between your mind and the words in which it is seeking to express itself. At- tempts at communicating your sentiments through a certain medium, though at first completely imsuccessful, give the mind a tendency to act through that medium, and habit soon strengthens this tendency into a power, which will command its appropriate facilities. No man will form a correct, much less an elegant, style, without writing ; but he vnil reap tenfold the advantage from putting down sentences originated in his own mind, and such as his stock of words enables him to construct, ■V\'RITIXG AND SPEAKIXG. 251 that would accrue from an equal effort of his wits, and a greater outlay of his time, made to render into Ca- narese a sentence jjreviously cast in a mould utterly dissimilar. If he fail in attempting to express any fact or sentiment, he has two methods' of procedure : the one, to avail himself of the help of a lexicon ; the other, and by far the better, to leave his sentence ujilinished, keep the fragment in his mind, and be on the constant watch for the word or phrase he wants ; a few days, at most, will bring it : once gained in that way, it will never be lost again ; and, in the search for it, he will have foimd many others. Conversation alone must not be trusted to as the means of learning to speak with faci- lity : nothing can be worse for a missionary, than to imagine that all is right because he can converse fluently with the people in the bazaar, without being laughed at. Laugh at him they will not, even though in every sentence he perpetrate outlandish idioms, barbarous grammar, and ridiculous pronunciation , but in that case he cannot do much good ; for the uneducated have but a misty view of his meaning, and the educated re- gard his efforts with contempt. Correct structure of sentences is not more necessary to the refinement that will delight the learned, than to the lucidness that will be intelligible to the vulgar. On the other hand, if a man defer his attempts to converse till he has formed his style by composition, lie must either be of a most happy genius, or his powers of conversation will be always feeble. The two exercises must go together. As soon as a man can say, " How do you do ?" let him begin ; and then, through all the mortifications of false accent, false grammar, false idiom, false pronuncia- 2.52 XATIVE POLIIEXESS. tion, misplacements, hesitations, repetitions, blunder- ings, failures, absurdities, and impossibilities, let him flounder on, laugh at his ovra mistakes, try to do better, fail, laugh again, and combat the embarrassment till he surmount it. It-is essential to have a moonshi who does not know a word of English. Xor let this frighten the student : during the first month his temper and per- severance will be well tried ; his hope will often faint away ; but at the end of that time it wUl begin to revive, and never droop again. He need not fear being laughed at : the Hindus are too poUte. Sometimes, when striv- ing in vain to make myself imderstood, I have said, "How is it you do not laugh at me?" "Laugh at you I"' they would reply : " you are a foreigner, and have only been a short time in our country ; the wonder is to hear you speak our language at edl ; it would be rude to laugh at j ou ; but if one of our own people make a blunder, he deserves to be laughed at." On one occasion, just after I had begun to attempt conversing in public, they charged us with being murderers, be- cause we used animal food. In reply to this, I told them, that if to take away animal life were murder, that crime was chargeable upon them all ; for in walk- ing along the roads they frequently trod insects to death ; and then, forming my hand into the kind of spoon-shape in which they use it to drink wiih, I added : " In this much of your stagnant tank- water you have often a great many thousand live deer," — intending to say, " li^-ing things ;" but, by one of those lapses which will happen to a beginner, using the word jinkigurlu instead of jentugurlu. Supremely ridiculous TALt'E OF A GOOD PKOXCXCIATION'. 253 as this blunder was, they did not even smile, but po- litely corrected me. It is to be deeply regretted that in regard to peo- NtTNCiATiox, some missionaries fix their utmost attain- ment at the point of intelligibility. No one needs to be told, that the pronunciation of a foreigner may be intelligible, and yet very painful ; and it is most iinac- coimtable that any man who has even once in his life had his ears rasped by rough foreign accents, and wit- nessed the force of sensible remarks, that were perfectly understood, nullified by the amusement or impatience excited by bad pronunciation, can soberly viake up his mind to talk, and above all to preach, to a people in a stj'le of pronunciation differing from their own. Amongst those who are speaking their mother tongue, you can scarcely have a more ready passport to a man's attention, than an elegant way of enunciating words which he is accustomed to have hurled upon his ear in all the disarray of carelessness, ignorance, or bad taste. This accomplishment has a still more powerful charm in a foreigner. When a man whose complexion marks him as born to the tongues of Africa or Incha, addresses us in our own with a natural accent and conect idiom, who does not feel a lively gratification, and lend a willing ear ? The people of India are most susceptible of this impression : among them the grace of correct pronunciation is so exclusively characteristic of the Bramhans, that it is not designated by any other tcnn than " a Bramhan's mouth.*' A missionary will find "a Bramhan's mouth"' to be on all occasions a gua- rantee of respect, and over a crowd it will give him 254 NO IMPOSSIBILITIES. commanding influence. It is amusing to hear the tones of deep respect in which the less educated will say, Bramhanara hdyi buntu ! " He has a Bramhan's mouth !" Careful reading after a native, making him pronounce difficult words several times over, and fol- lowing him ; committing to memory, and daily repeat- ing verses which contain the most difficult sounds : in construing, always to read aloud ; and, above all, daily conversation with persons of different class ; will, in time, secure to any man of fair abilities a most respectable pronunciation ; and, if persevered in, will, after a few years, make him an admiration even to the natives themselves. I have been present when a missionary, in order to silence an impudent Bramhan, quoted and demanded an interpretation of some very difficult verses, composed expressly to group together all the hardest sounds in the alphabet; and as he rolled out those M'ords of " learned length and thundering sound," I 'heard some of the respectable men present saying to one another, in an under tone, with evident delight, Bdyi kairliri! hdyi kairliri! "Hearken to his mouth! hearken to his mouth !" At present the student of the Indian languages has not to contend with the same difficulties as the first missionaries, but has every facility furnished to his hand ; and no man, except those of the slowest talents, will study in the way just indicated, for a twelvemonth, without being able to preach. He is then in the fair way for gaining the standard of equality with a native ; and he will gain it if he only refuse to let people per- suade him that it is an impossibility. Impossibility! let every young missionary strike that word out of his vo- PEOGKESS AXD PLEASrEE. 255 cabulary ; there should be no impossibilities to a yovmg missionary : in this case there is no impossibility ; diffi- culty is admitted, considerable difficulty ; but no man, with the soul of a missionary, wishes to do only work that may be done by a drone. If one studies languidly, or confines himself either to books or conversation, he creates impossibilities : but if he works hard ; if he divides his time between reading and conversing ; and above all, if he lives, not among the English, but among the Hindus, he will certainly preach with ease by the end of the year ; some will do so m six months, and the very slowest in eighteen.* To a student fresh knowledge is always sweet : to a linguist a new word is always musical ; for it unites some thought of his to the mind of families of men from whom it had been previously cut off : to any man, in any pursuit, progress is buoyant, and acquisition grateful : but to a missionary, as he consciously sur- mounts the difficulties of a heathen tongue, all the pleasures of gain, of improvement, and of learning, are fused into one feeling of ardent happiness. His ac- quirements are not hailed by the noisy admiration of the crowd, nor by the stately approval of academic tribunals ; but they are hailed by the warm voice of the angel who hath the everlasting gospel to preach. In gaining every additional word, or phrase, or idiom, he grows richer ; and seems to draw nigher to the as- cending lledccmcr, that he may hear again his last • I am Rlad to refer to the remarkably sensible work of the Hev. "\V. IJuyers, — "Letters on India,"— in contirmation of the above views on the practic-ability of acquiring a perfect know- ledge of the Indian languages. 256 FIRST SERVICE. command, that command M'hich is at once the mission- ary's warrant, and the world's hope. In conquering every difficulty, he uncoils golden wires ; and, in se- curing each new word, sets another string necessary to complete the tones of the harp on which, before the heathen, he will celebrate Him who loved him, and washed him from his sins in His own blood. In this study the missionary has, also, a sense of right to seek special help from God. Most solemnly do I believe that no man, learning a language for the sake of preach- ing in it the gospel of salvation, will pray in vain for wisdom and aptitude more than are at his command for any common-place exertion. It was on the morning of Sunday, October 13th, 1839, that I first witnessed a Canarcse service in my own circuit. Before six o'clock I accompanied Mr. Jenkins and Mr. Franklin into the town. The people were stirring about, shopmen opening their shops, mer- chants preparing for the market, women going out of the gates to draw water, or sweeping and marking with white stripes the entrance of their houses, children sitting in the doors, and the devout either carrying their offerings to Goobbee Appa, or waiting for the appear- ance of Garurda to perform the accustomed worship. They knew not that it was a Sabbath, nor what a Sab- bath meant. On reaching our school-room, which, ac- cording to usage, was open in the front, we found a man sleeping on the earthern floor ; but he immediately arose, wrapped up his bed, — only a piece of cloth, — and put it under his arm. The service began by singing a Canarcse hymn, during which several persons entered, and some stood outside. Then jiraycr was offered up ; FIRST SEEVICE. 257 and though I could not follow the words, it may be easily supposed that to kneel there, in the verj' midst of idolatries, and surrounded by the people to whom I had been sent, would call forth, Avith uncommon strength, one's " heart's desire and prayer to God, that they might be saved." Repeated practice in reading one i^ortion of Scripture had made me so familiar with it, that Mr. Jenkins thought I might venture to read it in this quiet service ; and in that humble way I thank- fully made a commencement of my public duties. Mr. Franklin then preached a sermon, of which only isolated words were intelligible to me. And oh how enviable did it seem, to be able with such freedom to tell these poor idolaters of the Saviour's love ! ■ The same morning, at half-past ten o'clock, we pro- ceeded to a little building on our own ground, which we dignified with the name of chapel. It was of mud, and washed beautifully white : a small erection of the same material, and with the same covering, served for a pulpit. Seats there were none ; the people, according to their custom, using the floor. The roof was of tiles, supported by a frame-work resting on cross-beams of cocoa-nut trees. It was a lowly sanctuary ; and close by were costly buildings to the honour of imaginary and abominable deities ; but it was intensely delightful there, where, a short time before, altar or servant He had none, to worship, even with a few, the only God. Few joined in his i)raise, few responded to the prayer ; but the soul felt that all nature was in harmony with its adorations, and setting to its seal that our God is true. And yet one in such circumstances could hardly help finding fault with the lessons of astronomy, which 258 THE SABBATH-DAT MAEEET. prevented him from enjoying the delightful illusion that he was worshipping simultaneously with the millions of Christendom. Humble as was the temple, few as were the congregation, I could not but feel, as Mr, Jenkins proceeded with the service, that his work had a dignity and a joy above any duties Ij'ing within " a line of things made ready to our hand." About four o'clock we sallied out again : the mar- ket was proceeding busily ; one street especially was thronged with dealers in grain, fruit, betel-nuts, coffee, and ornaments. Here we took our stand. A portion of Scripture was first read, during which a number sufficient to form a considerable audience, leaving their various occupations, came and stood close around. They listened throughout the discourse with still atten- tion ; but at the close a few observations were made. The service concluded with solemn prayer. Let any one who loves God just bring these circumstances be- fore his \-iew. It is the Sabbath ; the peace which on that day a Christian's soul radiates on all nature, is beaming on field and sky ; but the hurrj' of a market agitates the town ; there, in the midst of barter and noise, the preacher takes his stand ; the book of grace is opened ; God's holy word sounds amongst the hxmi of unchristian voices ; then the way of salvation is pointed out to those who are indeed afar off; they hearken mutely ; the sermon is ended; and there, under that sky from which the countenance of God is shining, and surrounded by men who never raised their hearts so high, he lifts up his hands in prayer to the unseen, all-present Father ; the tones of supplication, of hope, and faith, the holy promise, the mention of the " blood THE MAEKET-PIACE PRATEE. 259 of sprinkling," and the name of Jesus Christ, — all as- cend on the sabbath air, mingled with the murmurs of adjacent traffic. It was a scene to melt any Christian heart. Devotion, in her love for the Lord's day, and Zeal, in her love for souls, both wept over the congre- gation ; but Faith bent over the preacher with an air of radiant joy, and whispered, " The sons of these men wUl keep another kind of sabbath." In the evening, few though we were, we held a service at the mission- house in our own language. Then was the promise welcome, " Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst." This was the usual routine of our sabbath duties : at six o'clock in the school-room, at half-past ten in the chapel, at four in the market, and in the evening the English service at home. Besides the labours of the Sunday, we gave to the town of Goobbee a service every Wednesday and Sa- turday morning, and one every Friday evening. The morning services were frequently devoted to the out- castes. Excluded as they are from any education, or any share in the religious attentions of the Bramhans, it was to them a matter of surprise that they should be sought out in their own polluted quarter, and taught religion at their own door. Tlie transmission, through many generations, of unmitigated ignorance, combined with oppression, outlawry, and every form of debase- ment, has left the mind of tliis hapless people in la- mentable imbecility, and their morals in friglitful dis- order. But even in them the human soul asserts itself inextinguishable : it is there still ; there, with its awe of an invisible world, and its thoughts of another life. s 2 260 THE TEMPLE DOOR. Untaught in the system of Brumha, Budhu, or Mo- hammed, it collects from the rites of those around a misty superstition of its own, and pays timid adoration to clay images of sanguinary goddesses. With these poor creatures it is necessary to abound in homely illus- tration, and to define every principle Avith line upon line ; otherwise the terms used to convey religious truth ■will either give them no idea at all, or one utterly foreign to what was intended. They usually heard us with re- spectful attention, and frequently we had the painful duty of reproving them for calling us Dayvaru, " God." Another favourite preaching-place was the door of the great temple. We always went at the time of either the moi'ning or the evening sacrifice, and, though de- nied admittance Avithin the door, took our stand close outside. The congregations here were of a kind to awaken pensive interest ; the missionary stood close by the door, and, Avhile reading the Bible, became sur- rounded by a number of respectable people. On taking his text, he wovdd see many hands holding the off'erings they Avere bearing to the " presence ;"' but the mis- sionary had arrested them on their way : others, again, had the empty vessels or cloths from which they had just presented theirs ; and sometimes his ej-e would fall on those wlio were prostrate on the ground before the idol. Here, in the midst of the votaries, and within hearing of the altar, it was a stirring thing to stand and tell them all the truth, to tell them that their god was an idol, that their services were folly, that their worship was sin, and that there was " one God, and one Mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus." It was stirring to look upon them, stirring to see them so de- NECESSITY FOR AN IDOL. 261 vout to an object so unworthy ; and oh, it made the very soul pant for their conversion, to witness their firm confidence, for this life and the future, in a mere stock ! They often attended to a whole discourse with marked interest ; but at other times made frequent en- deavours to interrupt. I have even known the poojari (officiating priest) to leave the altar, and come to assist some of his controversial brethren. They frequently took strong ground in favour of idolatry, urging that the human mind is so unstable that it cannot be fixed on any spiritual object without some appeal to the senses ; that, therefore, to worship by mere mental effort without external aid is impossible ; but that by placing an image before the eye they can fix the mind on it, say " Thou art God," and by that means form a conception, and then worship. It was easy to reply to this, that however difficult to stay the thoughts on the invisible God, and to form suitable conceptions of his glorious character, by mere contemplation, it becomes infinitely more so if you make an image of a man, or a woman, or a monkey, or an ox, or a snake, and, say- ing, " Thou art God," endeavour to raise in your mind the desired conceptions ; for by such a procedure the thoughts are wholly diverted from God, by being fixed on another and utterly dissimilar object; just as, al- though it is very difficult to form an adequate idea of the universe, it would be much more so were you to shape an image of a mustjuito, and say, " Thou art the universe." Another favourite argument of theirs was, " We have gods that we can see, we have respecting them dniHhtautd (proof to the eye) ; but you cannot see your God. How can one be safe, trusting in a 262 AIE AND WATEE. God of whom he has no drushtanta ? We are far better off than you ; for our gods are palpable, yours is im- palpable." To this we could reply, by saying, that, if we chose, there was nothing to prevent us from making as many idols as they ; but then we could not make them God ; and that to call them God when they were neither almighty nor all-wise, would do us no good : but, on the contrary, would be both foolish and wicked. Then as to being better off with gods they could see than with one they could not see, let them suppose a man Avho took it into his head to say, " This air, this air, I cannot understand this air ! If I look, I cannot see it ; if I shut my hand I cannot catch it ; I know nothing about its size, or shape, or colour, or where it comes from, or what it is made of.* Surely a man can- not be safe living in a thing it is impossible to see or understand. But there is the water, there is some un- derstanding it, — you can see it, and feel it, and know all about it : I won't stay any longer in this invisible, unintelligible, mysterious air ; but I will go and live in the water, which is tangible." " Now," we would ask, " what would be the result if he left the intangible air, because he fancied he had no drushtanta of it, and went to live in the tangible water?" "Why," they would instantly reply, laughing, " he would be drowned." The application was easy. Again, they would ask, "Is not God servarj/dpi" "all-diffused," — that being the term they employ instead of our "omnipresent;" and to which, although aware that they give it a perverted applica- * It must bo remcmbcicd that thoy have no knowUxl£;c either of chemistry or pneumatics ; and are not aware that siu'h tilings as oxygen and nitrogen arc in existence, nor that the atmosphere is bhic, nor that its extent is ascertained. A QUEEK BATH. 263 tion, you cannot take an exception, because they would at once charge you with limiting the divine existence, and reducing the Deity to a finite being. You must acknowledge that he i.s all-diffused. " Very well," they proceed, " if all-diffused, he is in everything, and con- sequently in the idol." This you admit. " Then, if he be in the idol, why should we not say, (for God is there,) ' This is God,' and worship it accordingly ?" Such an argument would be met thus : " Have you been to the tank this morning, to bathe ?" " Yes." "Is the water low?" "Very low; Ave had to walk ever so far over the mud before we could get to it." " But why should you be at the trouble of walking over the mud.^" "^Vhy? because we could not otherwise reach the Avater." " Oh that is a mistake : is not the water all-diffused through the mud?" "Yes, to be sure ; or else it would be hard and dry." " Very well ; when you get to the mud, why should you not say, ' There is no use in going further, the water is all-dif- fused through the mud : I Avill therefore say to the mud, (for water is here,) Thou art water, and thus save myself the trouble of going farther, and bathe in the mud ?' " They enter into such discussions Avith exceeding zest ; and Avhen the disputant is so unfortunate as to be over- taken by a reductio ad ahsurdum, all the croAvd, though supporting his opinions, join in a laugh at his discom- fiture. They generally argue with perfect good hu- mour ; and if such were the missionary's object, he could at any time raise a hearty laugh at the expense of the gods. It is only necessary to satirize their im- potency, their uselcssncss, their fabulous histories, or 264 A CLEAX THIXG OUT OF AX UXCLZAX. their crimes, to excite a degree of merriment wliich clearly shows that although the power of custom binds these dark people to the altars, yet the gods have no deep hold on their reverence. Sometimes, however, when any particular god is assailed, some zealous vo- tary wiU become his champion, and boldly defend him through every passage of a flagitious history. The groimds usually taken on such occasions are, that what is sin in a man, is not sin in a god ; that a god can do what he pleases ; that some of the crimes were com- mitted on a scale so grand as to be in themselves proofs of divine power ; and some will even contend, that, in the gods, the most flagrant immoralities are not only virtuous, but profitable. Their mode of putting this is well exemplified in the following passage from Mora Bhafta, and found in his Verification of the Hindu Religion,"" published with Dr. Wilson's invaluable "Ex- posure :'" — " ' Kirshna"s committing theft vnih the cow- herds, and plajnng the adulterer vrith their wives ; Shi- va's spreading death and destruction by his curses, and behaving indecently with Parwati ; Braraha"s looking on his own daughter with the eye of a paramour ; Rama's crj-ing out, ^ Sita sita/' and embracing the trees in a frenzy such abominable transactions as these, too bad to be even mentioned, — are these,' you wUl say, ' what you adduce, and place on a level with the good acts of Christ r VThaX merit will accrue to you from listening to the tale that narrates them? And as for purity of heart, not the least of it can be obtained by means of them. As by listening to love- songs, lust is inflamed ; and by hearing of the feats of Sindia and Holkar, the spirit is stirred ; so, by hearing GODS MAXT. 265 of the deeds of the gods formerly referred to, men -will only be prompted to wickedness.' Regarding this ob- jection, we maintain, agreeably to the word of God, that all these deeds are so many virtuous actions in the gods that performed them. We maintain, fiirther, that, by hearing and speaking of them, the ignorance of the imprisoned spirit, and its consequent subjection to pas- sion, are removed ; and that thus they have as much power as image-worship itself, to create in the soul pure and holy dispositions." To see a man, with ani- mated and intelligent countenance, look you right in the eye, and avow these monstrous opinions as his solemn creed, — and to hear a whole assembly concur in the declaration, — would make even an infidel thank God for Christianity ! The service on Friday evening was generally of a conversational character. Selecting a shop that seemed to promise a good auditory, we would enter, and, making our salaam, familiarly take our seat on the floor beside the shopkeeper and his customers. They received us courteously, and even when busy would desist ; not, however, without an occasional remonstrance on the inconvenience of being interrupted. But this was ge- nerally waived on our saying kindly, that we should be glad to see them whenever they would favour us with a visit ; and that, besides, religion was of so much greater importance than business, that it was quite right the latter should be set aside now and then, in order to give the other due attention. If no such remonstrance were made, we would at first spend a little time in general conversation ; but very soon turn to religion. Our most ordinary plan of introducing religious topics 266 GODS MANY. with a stranger Avas, to ask him, who was his god. To this I have seen very respectable men reply, by patting their person, and saying, Idu nanagay dayvarii whurte, " This is my god, my belly." Others would lift up their hand with some rupees, and, shaking it till the money chinked, would say, Idu nanagay dayvaru rupdyi, "This is my god, my rupees." Others, again, would look you in the face, and, with aii obeisance in which respect" rose to veneration, would say, Swdmi, neewu naimgay dayvaru, " Siuami, (God,) you are my God." It may be easily conceived how we received such declarations ; but they would coolly defend themselves in this strain ; " What is the office of God? To rule all things : and what does not the belly rule ? \Vliat is the office of God ? To rule all things : and does not money govern the world r What is the office of God ? To govern and protect : and do not you (meaning the English) " govern us all, and protect us all ? Therefore you are our God." The grand heresy of man is a vicegerent godship. This is the first and most prolific of all idola- tries ; and the state of mind indicated in the remarks just quoted is only its legitimate issue. When fairly left to work its own results, it brings the mind to regard any person, or indeed anything, from whom benefit is derived, or to whom deference is due, as so far God : the monarch to his subjects, — as we have gracefully insinuated in the Sapphics of Horace, and broadly stated in the pastorals of Virgil, — the husband to his wife, the father to his child, the priest to his disciple, all are, by virtue of their office, gods vicegerent. How completely this is the case with the husband, the following extract will sufficiently show : — " Let the wife who M'ishcs to THE LL"CKLESS PRIEST. 267 perform sacred ablution, wash the feet of her lord, and drink the water ; for a husband is to a wife greater than Shankara or Vishtnu. The husband is her god, and guru, and religion, and its services ; wherefore, abandoning everything else, she ought chiefly to wor- ship her husband."'-' The devotion is not less prostrate in the case of a disciple toward his priest. They tell a tale illustrative of the principle, that even a silly or worthless guru is, by virtue of his order, all in all to his disciple. During the rainy season, a guru and his disciple, on a journey, came to a river so swollen that there was no possibility of crossing. The disciple, however, strong in faith, cast himself into the water, and crying out, Nanna guruvina padavay gutti, " My priest's feet are salvation," he was borne safely to the other side. Seeing this, the guru became elated with a like faith in his own powers, and casting himself into the river, he cried lustily, Naiina padavay gutti, " My feet are salvation ;" but, to the consternation of the devoted follower who had just made such marvel- lous proof of his virtue, he was borne down by the stream, and lost. They add, he ought to have used the same invocation as his disciple, " My priest's feet are salvation ;" for while he was as God to his disciple, his priest was as God to him. Is not this identical with a dogma familiar in Europe, that a wicked priest can absolve a disciple, but cannot absolve himself? In our conversation we freely discussed any topic of religion or morality which might arise. Nor did I deem it right to refuse to enter, occasionally, on general sub- jects ; for to please the people by attending to their • S/iaiida rurana, quoted by Dr. Wilson. 268 AN AMIABLE ERAMHAX. inquiries with regard to England, or public events, or points of science, conciliated their kindly regards. The vidgar talk among writers on India about the people being incapable of gi'atitude, is sheer nonsense : even a little polite deference to their wishes will soon show that they are not inaccessible to that gentle virtue. '\\Tien the conversations became controversial, they were generally conducted on their part with perfect good humour ; but we often came in contact with one Bramhan of intense bigotry and explosive temper, Avith whom it was impossible to discuss without bringing on yourself cataracts of insolence. This, though no way grateful to one's feelings, was not at all dangerous to our arguments ; for the Hindus appear generally to hold, that when a disputant becomes angry, he casts the cause into the hand of his opponent, and both loses and de- serves to lose. They take lively pleasure in a discus- sion conducted with skill and good temper. The logical acumen of the Bramhans has been much extolled. No doubt they have at least an average amount of natural reasoning power, and by force of volubility, readiness at illustration, mastery of quibbles, and unscrupulousness, they are very unmanageable, if not very formidable, opponents. But of any fair logic they are perfectly innocent. As all men who reason at all must do, they frequently throw out the rough form of one kind of syllogism or another ; but it is done without any knowledge of the general laws which would enable them to refer it to its class, or to guard it against flaws ; and in five cases out of ten, a conclu- sion no way consequent on the premises is announced with a profound complacency, which a very little logic LOGIC. 269 would disturb. They have no notion of the principles of deduction, nor of any compact categorical fonnula, and as much of analyzing an intricate argument as a Brazilian-mine slave has of analyzing diamonds. They never di-eam of reasoning fairly. A sophism among Bramhans is like theft among rogues, a crime not as perpetrated, but as detected. An illustration wiU always pass for an argument ; and your only resort is to give it some turn in your own favour. They raise subtle questions, seize readily on a weak point, illustrate pro- fusely, mystify admirably, and dogmatize to perfection. But there is far more rhetoric than logic. The figures of the latter have no chance beside those of her more showy sister ; Barbara is tame in the presence of Hy- perbole ; and Gamestres insipid in comparison with Prosopopoeia. It must be acknowledged, however, that they readily catch the points of a case, and, when an argument is clearly put, do not manifest the confidence habitual to those who are incapable of being placed in a difficulty, because incapable of perceiving sequences ; but, on the contrary, they show that confusion and de- sire to shift the ground, which are the proofs of a con- scious dilemma. "SVhcn you have any important point to carry, the safest way of reasoning with them is to begin by getting their adherence to general principles, from which your conclusion may be clearly deduced. In most cases this may be done ; for general truths commend themselves to all. Few dialetic exhibitions are more amusing than the discomfiture of a pert, high- headed Bramhan, who has confidently entangled him- self in mesh after mesh of this Socratic net, when he is 270 SUSPICIONS. suddenly arrested and dragged to a conclusion the most repugnant to his feelings. We lived among the people on terms of the most perfect familiarity, making it an object to invite their approaches. Many of them were in the habit of visit- ing us, which we were careful to encourage, as it gave us the opportunity both of conciliating their good feel- ing, and of conversing at large on religious subjects. These visits also enabled us to judge of the state of feeling in the town with regard to our proceedings. Sometimes we had evidence of bitter opposition ; but it was manifest that many were no longer at ease in idolatry, and that the public sentiment, with respect to it, was passing from profound veneration to dubious re- gard. We found, also, that as the heathen cannot conceive of a person devoting himself to live in a strange country merely from benevolence towards its inhabitants, they at first regarded us as servants of the government, enjoying a handsome stipend. We were most careful to convince them that we stood wholly disconnected from the Company, without their instruc- tions, their pay, their sympathy, or other benefit from them, except that they would protect us as they would protect any parties residing in their dominions. Our vouchers were at hand, — the absence of retinue, of power, of communication with the government ; and all the intelligent classes soon became satisfied that we were simply what we professed ourselves. One day shortly after my arrival at Goobbee, and when Mr. Jenkins was from home, an intelligent young Bramhan came into the veranda, and waited till my moonshi had taken leave. He told me that he lived at AX IXQUIEEE. 271 Cudaba, a few miles distant, and had some time before made several visits to the mission-house, where Mrs. Jenkins had kindly given him lessons in English. No sooner were we alone than he began to converse on religious subjects ; and, after glancing round timidly, as if to be assured that no one overheard him, he said he wanted to know if I could teU him how to obtain forgiveness of sins, saying, he was convinced that idols were no gods, and had a strong desire to walk in our way. He then inquired, with much solicitude, whether, if he joined our caste, he must wear European costume and eat meat. I put into his hands the fourteenth chapter of Romans, and, as well as I could (for at the time my acquaintance with the language was very slight), explained the real demands of Christianity; after which he declared that he was most anxious to serve God in the Christian way, but added, that if he did so, his friends would beat him, cast him out, and leave him destitute of subsistence, and asked whether we would not, in that case, give him "rice and cloth." I declined to make any promise to that effect, assuring him that he must be willing to suffer persecution for the Lord's sake, and that if he exposed himself to want, trusting in God, no evil would befall him. The next morning, about sunrise, he came again, and declared, with increased earnestness, that he was in deep sorrow for his sins, and thirsting for forgiveness ; that he had utterly abandoned idols ; that he now prayed to the one God through Christ ; and, moreover, that he was perfectly willing to lose father, mother, brothers, and sisters, and to endure any amount of persecution, if he might only rely on having rice and cloth. This was 272 AX IXQUIEEK. the point of trial. I knew well, that to become a Christian was, to him, certain destitution, and was fully determined that, in such a case, he should not want while rice and cloth were within our reach ; but it was most desirable to prove to the utmost his disinterested- ness, and therefore I avoided making any promise, simply assuring him that, if he cast himself on the Lord, he would protect him, and that God's people Avould gladly help. To this he replied, that it was easy for me, who had a good house over my head, with food, clothes, and friends, to say this ; but what had he to fly to ? This, and the importunity which followed it, were very moving ; but I resolved not to make any promise which might prove to him a temptation to decide in favour of Christianity from M'orldly hopes, or to us, in case he joined us, to suspect his sincerity ; or which might lead others to believe that the jirofession of Christianity was the way to a temporal provision. After some time, he repeated his visit, avowing the same feelings ; but after that we could hear no more of him, and were led to fear that he had been suspected by his family, and removed to a relative residing at a very great distance, and high in office under government. One morning while Mr. Jenkins was preaching in the shop of a very respectable money-changer, I observed that the owner of the shop evinced spnptoms of strong internal emotion. Wc had not been at home more than half an hour, when he came to the mission-house, frankly acknowledging that he had been following false gods, that our word was true, and that he felt he ought to walk in our way. His whole air gave the strongest indications of a wounded conscience. But, though THE SAT) RESOLVE. 273 really earnest to enter on the way which he believed would lead to peace, he felt the power of those tender entanglements with which every man is surrounded by the family system of India. He said, that as to the mere matter of caste, he could make up his mind to part with that ; but that he lived in the house of his eldest brother, the yejumana (highest hereditary official) of the town ; that all his capital was in his brother's hand, every anna of which would be retained if he became a Christian ; that his wife and children were under his brother's roof, and would be denied him if he forsook the family faith. These considerations held him irresolute. He trembled at the spiritual conse- quences of remaining a heathen ; and yet shrank from the temporal consequences of becoming a Christian. He more than once repeated his visit, evidently under deep anxiety of mind, and apparently meditating some plan of escape ; but still he came to no decision. After the lapse of several weeks, I met him alone coming out of the gate of the town, and a.skcd him what he intended to do. With an air of melancholy and shame, he re- plied, " I have made up my mind to walk a while longer in the bad way." Though the people of Goobbee treated us with uni- form respect, they did not regard our operations with- out some alarm. Some of the elder and more influential men frequently besought me to desist from preaching, and leave tlicm to follow, undisturbed, the way of their fathers. Toward tlic latter part of my stay, these re- quests increased in frequency and earnestness, and were sometimes backed by appeals to my love of peace. The yejamdna, and a younger brother of his, pressed this T 274 AS IXCOXSISTENCT OX MY PAKT. point, on several occasions, with an anxious importunity that convinced me they were not wholly ignorant of their brother's leaning toward Christianity. They would put the matter thus : " Does not your religion teach you to promote peace r" "Certainly." " WeU, then, if you are faithful to your own religion, you will cease to preach ; for various opinions are springing up, from which serious misunderstandings follow ; and if you persist, it is hard to know what amount of division may be the result. You. — if you continue in a course that will breed con- tention, when your religion teaches you to be a peace- maker,— you are not true to your own religion." They were svirprised to leam that this statement was to me a strong encouragement to persevere. On all those mornings of the week which were not devoted to Goobbee, we visited one or other of the adjacent villages ; for we deemed it wrong for a mis- sionary to allow any sun to set without having seen him preaching the gospel. We always left home in time to reach o\ir appointed place shortly after sunrise, at which time the people are stirring, and about to pro- ceed to their duties in the fields. Leaving our horses outside, we entered, and generally found some of the elders sitting in the gates ; and there we took our stand, unless the village offered a more advantageous place, in the shape of a school, or open temple. In some villages our congregations regularly comprised a con- siderable portion of the males, and now and then several females would join them, though in the towns none ever ventured to do so, except very old women, or those of the lowest character. Wc began by reading a por- tion of God's word, and then preached. During the TILLAGE PKEACHING. 275 sermon, the people would freely express their concur- rence, dissent, or any other feeling which might be awakened. If remarks likely to lead to controversy were offered, we did not usually stop to answer them, judging it more desirable to give the people a statement of the truth, than to engage in a discussion which might consimie all our time, and oblige us to leave without having communicated any definite view of the scope of our message. After making good our exposition of the gospel, we would freely enter into the consideration of any objections they might choose to raise. When, .in the course of a sermon, we have alluded to their idols, sometimes you would see a frown on some countenances ; while others would laugh ; and others cry, " They are nothing !" and I remember cases in which they have said, " You need not talk to us any more about the images : we know they are of no use : we ^vill trust them no longer." This, coming from plain ryots in secluded villages, was a welcome, not to say wonderful, sign of slow, but resistless, conviction. On the other hand, an opponent would sometimes set himself for- ward, and contend with a confidence bearing little pro- portion to his logic. Objections coming from ryots were generally of the simplest order ; — they could not walk in another way than that in which their fathers walked ; the ancients had been far wiser than they, and it would be folly to imagine they could improve upon their customs ; they could not pray without an image, — that might do for scholars, but ignorant people must have something to look at ; it was a bad thing for a man to change his religion ; the gods would be incensed, and punish or kill them, if they did them X 2 276 ETOT OBJECTIONS. dishonoxir. But on no argument did the ryots more frequently insist, than on this : " The Company are far the wisest rulers we ever had in this coimtry, and un- derstand things well : now they support the gods by money and offerings ;" (for what our authorities would call " presents," they always regard as offerings, not made to amuse the votaries, but to propitiate the deity ;) " and if the gods were not powerful, would the Com- pany do honour to them ?" When we replied, that the Company supported the gods not at all because they trusted in them, but only because they wished to please the people, they would rejoin, " Then, if they know that the gods are no good, is it not sinful for them to make offerings ?" This we weie not prepared to deny ; and sometimes they have added, with keen point, " You ought first to teach your own people not to honour false gods, and then come and teach us." It Avas very common for them to deny that lying and libertinism were sins ; not that they are supported in such a denial by the authority of the Shastras ; but be- cause these practices are so universally allowed, that it was strange to hear them accused as criminal. Their notions of moral guilt in general are exceedingly vague. They feel that sin is punishable ; but it is rather a feeling than a conviction ; rather a conscience inde- pendent of all teaching or reflection, than a definitive conclusion of the understanding, drawn from recognised premises. Their definite ideas of moral turpitude sel- dom go farther than the blame attachable to the viola- tion of ceremonial prescriptions, or of social rights ; which blame is removed by a ceremony, or a restitu- tion, as the case may be. Hinduism has not the reve- SEXSE OF GUILT. 277 lation of a God who disapproves of everything impure, unjust, untrue, or unkind, because his own nature is of such goodness, that he cannot look upon such things but Avith disapprobation. The toils of many Hindus after pardon sufficiently show that an inward voice, which their creeds cannot translate, apprises them of an awful displeasure impending over their sins, — a dis- pleasure of which they have sufficient apprehension to deprecate it with the most painful tortures. But all thi.s is clouded and inexplicable feeling : they have no great principle of truth in view by which to account for it; no idea of a good Creator, to whom every act of evil must as necessarily be displeasing as deceitfulness in a child to a good father, or dishonesty in a subject to a good king. To give them this idea, to make them feel the eye of God on their hearts, was our first object in preaching. We believed that they were likely to be brought to Christ much sooner by a sense of their sins, than by a mere conviction that idols were only blocks. Nor is it so difficult to convey this idea as has been represented. It is utterly and unaccountably incorrect to say, as some very respectable men have said, that they have no conscience. A man without a conscience would be a demon : God would not suffer him to live. A nation without a conscience is a physical impossibi- lity ; society could not cohere. The Hindus have not the well-taught t*^i(Ier conscience of a Christian ; but they have that light from God in Christ which enables them, and enables " every man that cometli into tlic world," in spite of the preference given by his depraved affections to evil above good, to discern in good a beauty, and in evil a stain, which makes the choice of the latter 278 HAVE THEY A CONSCIEXCE. defiling. There is quite enough of common ground be- tween the conscience of the missionary and that of his hearers, to enable him, in every "accusing" of evil, or " excusing" of good, to awaken an echo in their breasts. Mr. Buyers, who thoroughly imderstands his subject, and wites with a common sense Avhich, had it always been used in the works of missionaries on India, would have done no small service, makes the following state- ment with regard to a Hindu on this very point: — "His conscience accuses or excuses ; and though he some- times has recourse to the doctrines of fatalism, or even of atheism, to defend himself against imputations of per- sonal guilt, he rarely, if ever, has a solid belief in such theories as destroy moral responsibility. He may be addressed by a preacher in nearly the same way as imgodly men amongst ourselves." One might take it for granted beforehand, that if he were to address to a heathen audience a statement of religious truth, in set order and well-translated theological terms, they would not readily sympathize with his morality, because they Avould not understand it. It is not fair to talk to Hin- dus in the Sanscrit terms which best translate your English or Greek ones ; and because they do not con- cur in your views, deny them a conscience. Many a good man in England would hesitate to say that " fur- tive acquisition" was criminal, who would at once pronounce it sinful " to steal ;" and many a worthy housewife would plumply deny that it was any duty of hers to " supervise tlic domestic economy," who M'ould at once own that she was bound to " see to the house." Let the missionary only make himself familiar with the people's modes of thinking, and he will be fully con- PLAIN WORDS XEEDFUI.. 279 vinced that if he talk to them in theological fashion, they will not com^ehend him ; but as fully convinced that it is quite possible to convey to their minds every Christian truth. The most glorious themes in the gospel are expressed by words for which their language has no proper equivalent, though furnished with etymolo- gical synonymes. Their languages (and it is a sad thing to say) have no word that conveys a true notion of atonement, intercession, justification, regeneration, or resurrection. They have terms that will translate your terms ; but that is not the thing. The heathen have not the ideas which these awaken in our minds ; and consequently a mere word, no matter how correctly it translates our word, cannot give them our ideas. But this does not close the medium of communication. A native will not understand what you mean bj "jus- tification ; " but will fully understand what you mean by a man having all his sins forgiven. He will be con- founded by the term " regeneration," but will readily comprehend when you speak of making a bad man good. Thus, by speaking of the thing, rather than harping on the term, the missionary may easily give the people his own ideas, and place himself in a posi- tion to use them in an appeal to the conscience. On the question of moral guilt, I have seen a village audience deeply affected. They have very strong views of the filial duties. The missionary, taking advantage of this, asked them, " What would you think of a son who had a very good father, and was frequently in the habit of refusing to obey him?" They instantly re- plied, " He would be very wicked." " Suppose he regularly, every day, broke some commandment of his 280 EMOTION IN AN AUDIENCE. father's?" "He ought to be turned out of doors." " But supjjose he made a practice of disregarding all his father's commands, and doing the very opposite ? " " Why, such a fellow would not be fit to live." The missionary then, applying the illustration, showed that God was our Father, — wiser, kinder, more worthy of obedience than any earthly father ; that all kinds of sinful acts were in direct disobedience to his will ; and asked, if such blame lay on a child for systematic con- tempt of his father's authority, what weight of blame was upon him who, for many years together, never spent a day without several times breaking the com- mandments of his great Father in heaven. As he pro- ceeded in this strain, they listened with the eager atten- tion of men drinking in a new and startling truth ; and presently, some of them striking their mouths with the palm of the hand, as is their habit in astonishment or grief, cried out, Ahah J ahah ! yaynu marda hayku ? (" Ah ! ah ! what must we do?") On another occasion, such was the impression made by a similar strain of remark, that some, as they would do under any urgent need, or sudden calamity, began to *' call upon the name of their gods." To a Christian minister, telling sinners of their guilt, with the intention of pointing them to the Lamb of God, it sounded liarsh to hear just before him an invocation of the abominable Shiva ; yet it satisfied him not only that his argument was under- stood, but that the people were brought to feel that their condition demanded superhuman aid. Within sight of the mission-house, but distant above a mile, stood the village of Shingona Hully, with a temple to Ilunga, on a knoll a few lunidred yards from THE rOESAKEX SIIRIXE. 281 the gate. About the time of my arrival, the inhabitants of this place declared that they had abandoned idolatry and would no more honour the temple of Runga. To test their sincerity, Mr. Jenkins one morning asked them, whether we might go to the temple. " Oh, by all means !" " Might we enter ?" " Yes, go where we liked." "Might we enter without taking off our shoes?" " Certainly ; we don't care who goes, or how : we have given up the idol." This was strong proof that their old feelings had vanished ; and, accordingly, at the temple we found no obstacle to our entrance. Shod and covered, we passed up through the outer apartment to the sanctuary, where sat the grim image of Runga, incrusted in the congealed oil and ghee of many anoint- ings, with the lightless lamp before him, faded garlands hanging round his neck, loads of dust settled on his person, and part of the roof falling in directly above. No room remained for doubt. The faith which once adored Runga had changed into contempt ; and we re- joiced over that forsaken idol, as an earnest of better days. On afterwards inquiring what induced them to withdraw the confidence they had so long reposed in Runga, they answered, " You" (meaning the mission- aries) " told us that the god did not protect us, but that we protected the god ; that if we only left him alone, we should see that he could not take care of himself ; and if he could not take care of himself, how could he take care of us? Now we thought that was a budhi mdtu, (' a word of sense,') and so we resolved to see whether he could take care of himself or not ; for we felt certain that if he could not take care of himself, it was out of the question that he could take care of us. 282 THE PEAST UXHEEOED. Accordingly, we discontinued pooja. We soon found he could not keep the lamp burning, nor the garlands fresh, nor the temple clean, nor do a single thing for himself. The lamp went out, the flowers withered, the temple became dirty ; and then," they added, laughing, " the roof fell in just over his head, and there he sat soommanay ('tamely') imder it; so we saw very well he could not take care of himself." Notwithstanding all this, we had some fears that the return of their annual feast-day would re'S'ive their love for heathenish merry-makings, with a force too strong for their new convictions. The day came, and we watched the village narrowly. There was no car, no procession, no music ; and, when night came, no tomtom was beaten, no rocket sent up, nor any other sign that it was the day of Runga. One morning, when preach- ing in the village, I observed that the old man who used to conduct the services of the temple was not in the congregation ; and feeling, for the moment, a suspicion lest he should have returned to his former occupation, I asked, ""\Miere is the ptijdri?" A young man in- stantly replied, smiling, and patting his person, "Oh he is gone to the fields with the cattle : now that the temple is given up, he must do something for his sto- mach." Their abandonment of idol-worship seemed complete, and not a few of them averred that they now oflTercd prayer to the one true God ; yet they evinced no disposition to embrace the profession of Christianity. This they accounted for by saying, " Were we to do so now, we should be persecuted ; we should lose our lands and our village : but if we wait a while longer, all the people will be of the same mind, and then we can all BUST HEARERS. 283 become Christians together, ■without the risk that would attend such a step at present." This answer I, at first, regarded simply as one of those adroit subterfuges in which a Hindu never fails ; but when I heard it repeated 'in different neighbourhoods, and by persons between whom collusion was impossible, it satisfied me that, though they had not those poignant convictions of sin which would impel them to decision at all risks, a per- suasion Avas growing upon their minds that the day drew nigh when our doctrines must prevail. I well re- member one old man in Shingona Hully, who was very seldom in our congregations, and show-ed a remarkable unwillingness to hear us preach. Yet that man, with his wife and three sons, has been the first to come out, and, in the face of considerable opposition, to embrace the gospel of Christ. This took place about two years ago ; and of his present character the missionaries on the spot give this account : — " Daniel, the father of the family, is really an interesting man. He is in the con- stant habit of collecting the people of his village, to read and to pray with them. Although he cannot him- self read, he has, through his sons, obtained such a knowledge of the gospel, and of many parts of the Old Testament, as makes him an efficient man in discussion with his countr}Tnen." It sometimes happened, in visiting a village, that the people were either so busy or so careless, that a con- gregation could not be obtained. At such times we would look round for some person who happened to be so employed that he need not be interrupted by our con- versation ; and, attaching ourselves to him, would enter at once on religious topics. In this way we have often 284 A LO'ELT BXJI HAPPY PKATER. spent an hour with a knot of weavers, plying their art under the open air, and on simple machines with which their European brethren would deem it almost impossi- ble to produce any fabric ; or by the wheel of the potter w'ho, maintaining the whirl, and dextrously shaping* his wares, gave, at the same time, attention, and perhaps freqent response, to our discourse. "With the shepherd watching his fold, the ryot measuring his corn, the pedagogue surrounded by his pupils, the tax-gatherer collecting his dues, the old woman spinning her cotton, the housewife grinding at her mill, we have familiarly talked about the things of God. It was pleasant work : we were constantly rejoiced with the conviction that we were doing good in the name of the Lord, and laying the foundation of an imperishable edifice. No heart need wish for a happier feeling than that of a lonely missionary, who has just been talking about Jesus to the simple people of a heathen village ; and, in offering up the prayer in which no one joins, feels a divine as- surance that the work he is so feebly beginning will be advanced by the power of the highest, till the whole scene around is created anew. At that moment, far above any other, his feelings approach to the rapt an- ticipations of Isaiah. One morning, on entering a village a little to the west of Goobbee, we discovered a man in the act of rising from the floor of a choultry, where he had been resting for the night. We found that he had come from a long distance to the westward, and was on a pilgrim- age to the temple of Venkartaramana, at Tripati. In the mean time his wife had risen from the floor, with an infant on her side. She looked weak and ill ; and, A PILGRIM AND A FATHEE. 285 persuaded that she was not fit to undertake a journey of more than two hundred miles, I asked her if she were not unwell. The husband sulkily reminded me that I ought to speak to him, and not to his wdfe : for a married woman is expected not to converse with any man but her own husband ; unless, indeed, he be a very near relative, and then but sparingly. Turning to him, I insisted that his wife seemed utterly unfit for the journey they had before them ; but he was not in the least disposed to hear such representations. At length the poor woman, unable to restrain herself longer, ex- claimed, in a piteous way, "Indeed, sir, I am very ill; this child was born only last night upon the road, and I am not fit to go on." The fellow seemed much pro- voked that his wife had dared to speak. I kindly urged him, as he valued her life, and that of his child, to rest for at least a day or two. But, no ; he muttered, " I am going to make the sight of the great god, and the season is far advanced ;" and so saying, he sullenly walked away, casting a look of angry command to his poor wife, who with slow and fainting step began to follow him, supporting her infant on her side. I thought, "And this is the pilgrimage to Tripati, from which a Christian government derives large revenues!" Thank God, that such gold no longer pollutes the treasures of Britain ! One morning, in proceeding to a pretty sequestered village, called Oodaloor, we were suprised to meet numbers of the Goobbec people returning from it. On inquiring what had taken them to Oodaloor so early, we were informed that they liad spent the night there, at a feast in honour of Mariama, the goddess of disease. 286 BIDDIKI. Outside the gate vre foimd large numbers of persons, who informed us that the solemnity had been one in which several individuals lately restored from dangerous illness, by the clemency of Mariama, passed two or three times through a fire, in fulfilment of a vow to that efiect made during their sufierings. Just inside the gate was placed a wooden image of the goddess, before which lay offerings of plantains and flowers, with a small censer burning. ^Ir. Webber, who was with me, addressed the people at length on the subject of these %vretched penances. A large audience closed round him, and heard with deep attention. A gaily-dressed temple- girl, with a retinue of fantastically-painted musicians, came just by, and danced her most enticing dance, while her suite exhausted all the powers of instrumental dis- cord ; but they did not succeed either in interrupting the preacher, or distracting his congregation. In India it is not \\'ise to be exposed to the heat of the sun later than eight o'clock in the morning, or sooner than from half-past four to five in the afternoon. In visiting towns too distant to admit of our returning in good time, we took with us a little tent, Eind returned in the cool of the evening, or in some cases stayed all night, and went to another place the next day. At Biddiri, where a large market ofiered an advantageous opportunity of preaching, we frequently spent a day. We had a school in the town ; and, on arriving, our first duty was to examine the boys in the Scriptures, and in our Catechisms. During the examination, several respectable men would come in and sit down, while a still larger number gathered round the open front of the school. Immediately on concluding with the boys, wc THE MAEKET STALLS. 287 preached to those assembled. Outside the wall of the town was a miserable group of huts, inhabited by the out-castes. Hither we proceeded from the school ; and, in perhaps two or three places, gathering a few of these degraded beings round us, would in a famihar way ex- plain to them the salvation of the gospel. By this time our tent would be pitched, whither we gladly retired for shade and refreshment. On one occasion, while at breakfast, we heard a Bramhan outside reading, to a circle of natives, a tract he had just received. After breakfast, we found the people assembling, and arrang- ing their wares. The most weighty commodities were grains, such as rice, raagi, and gram, fphaseolus radi- atusj a valuable legumen used by the English to feed their horses, but by the natives as an article of dieU These were carried to market in sacks, slung over the back of a bullock, one hanging on each side, and ba- lancing each other. Coffee, also, was becoming an article of some traffic, and they were anxious to ascer- tain its use, (for they do not drink either coffee or tea,) inquiring whether we used it because it intoxicated ? or was it good for the stomach ? or good for the blood ? or did it cool the body ? or did it warm it ? And they seemed puzzled to judge why we should lay out money for a beverage not distinguished by any of these proper- ties. The other articles on sale were spices, plantains, cocoa-nuts, unripe, (for the sake of their milk, which is good only at that stage,) ripe, (for the nut as an article of food,) and dried, (for the manufacture of oil,) tobac- co, onions, various fruits and vegetables, with sweet- meats, earthenware, cloths, ornaments, and idols. The stalls consisted of a piece of cloth spread on the ground, 288 THE MARKET STAllS. on which the goods were displayed, the vendor sitting by. "SVomen frequently had charge, especially of fruit- stalls, and those devoted to ornaments for the person. These latter were various, — rings, necklaces, and brace- lets, with many minor decorations ; but none of them appeared so much in request as a bracelet formed of a ring of coloured glass, large enough for the arm. A village-damsel, after a due length of time spent in se- lecting, would negotiate a tedious bargain, and then, sitting down, hold out her hand to the seller, and, with inimitable patience, submit to the torture of having the ring forced over her hand. The process took several minutes, and required no little adroitness in the lady performing it, to avoid breaking the fragile decoration. Some have a dozen or more of these glass bracelets on an arm, both above and below the elbow, coloured red, green, or yellow, according to taste ; and, if possible, interspersed with a few of silver. The commerce of a Hindu market is not so urgent as to prevent a missionary from gaining attention. The shade of some trees standing in the market-place en- abled \is to preach in the open air at any hour of the day. When only a small group assembled, we gave a short address ; when a large congregation, we discoursed at length. The anxiety manifested for our books sug- gested a plan for gaining patient attention. "When preaching in the busiest part of the day, I placed a pile of books on my left arm. However lengthened the discourse, this chained the auditory ; for every one hoped to secure a book at the close, No sooner was the sermon concluded, tliau an amusing contest began, every one striving to distinguish himself by forcible BOOKS AXD BIXDINGS. 289 appeals, or lofty compliments. The strength of their desire for books was forcibly manifested by one circum- stance. According to Hindu law, contact with a dead animal is polluting. Leather is part of a dead animal; and, consequently, unclean. It may not be touched without defilement; hence it is that none work in leather but the dregs of the out-castes ; that all shoes are made with the heel down, cajiable of being slipped on and off without touching them with the hand ; that they must be left outside a temple or a friend's door, — to carry them in, being in the one case an irreverence, in the other an insult ; and that no indignity is so outrageous as to be struck with a shoe. Owing to this, when books bound in leather Avcre first offered for distribution, many regarded it as an attempt upon their caste, and indig- nantly refused. It was consequently found necessary to have the greater part done up in cloth. Notwith- standing this, toward the latter part of my stay it was frequently demanded, Charmada jmsiaka bai/ku, " We must have a leather book." " Why a leather book?" I would reply : " is it not contrary to your caste ?" Hoxvadaya adaray baharla huttu iiihittdday, "Yes, sir; but it stands a long time." And to obtain a book that would stand a long time, they were willing to contract a little defilement. In the intervals of preaching, we frequently walked round the market, entering freely into conversation with groups or individuals ; thus both winning their confidence, and familiarly explaining the truths they had heard us announce. When in our tent, the door was open, and a tempting pile of books lying on the table. We were seldom without a visitor ; and thus, u 290 CHATLOOE. in one way or other, almost every moment of the day was turned to account. A few miles from Biddiri, on a commanding hill, and overlooking a rich landscape, stood Chayloor. Persons from this town asked us to establish a school there, before we had ever visited it. This was done ; and shortly afterwards we left home one morning, long be- fore daylight, and arrived before the town about sun- rise. When entering the gate, we met several women carrying their water-pots, to draw water. Most pro- bably they had never seen white men before ; and either terrified, or doubtful what the apparition might signify, they drew their garments over their faces, turned round, and hiuried back into the to\vn. Some men soon made their appearance, who gave us a polite welcome, and led us to the school. In a town where a Christian had never dwelt, it was no unwelcome thing to find a number of fine boys, with a Bramhan for their master, reading our Lord's Sermon on the Mount. Our ap- pearance soon attracted a concourse : the Bramhans, and more respectable men, came into the school-room, and sat down ; the others stood in front. We examined the boys in the Scriptures, and the Conference Cate- chism. This excited marked interest among the by- standers. At its close, selecting from the chapter they had read the words, " Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God," and referring to their constant demand to be shown our God, I insisted that to take part of a tree or stone, give it a certain shape, and call it " god," no more enabled us to see God, than to take another part of the same tree or stone, give it a different shape, and call it " soul," would enable us to sec the PURITY OF HEAET. 291 soul ; and then described that sijiritual communion with God in this life, and that vision of his glory hereafter, which alone can be rationally viewed as seeing God. This opened the way to show that persons of impure heart could have no such blessedness ; that our nature was deeply tainted ; that it was impossible for such a nature to maintain friendship with a Being wholly good ; that we are unable to effect its renewal ; and, finally, to declare, that through Christ that renewal might be obtained, the vilest mind be sanctified, and the soul, where before no goodness had existed, be replenished with every virtue. They heard these novel doctrines with profound attention, and appeared favourably im- pressed. When I concluded, a Bramhan said, " This is a good word ; no doubt it is true ; what you say about obtaining purity is good. For you, it is a good way to obtain purity through Christ ; but it is not the only way ; there are other ways for us. You find pu- rity through praying to Jesus Christ ; but wc find purity by other means, such as pooja, bathing, penance, con- templation, and pilgrimage." To this we replied, " You are a man of yea'rs, and doubtless of observation. You are quite aware, that when the heart is pure, the life is pure : now, will you say whether a case ever came under your notice, in which, by any of the means you have named, a man who had long been known as a bad man was changed into a good man ; say, a cheat into a man of integrity, or a liar into a man of truth, or a miser into a man of benevolence ?" He stared in pure amaze- ment; and the others stared at him, to see how he would answer so strange a question. Aware how ut- terly novel must be the idea of such a transformation, u 2 292 CHEIST THE rUKIFIEE. I said, " Perhaps you are thinking of the Shloka,'' (text of the Shastras,) " which declares that ' a confirmed sinner cannot be reformed, even though he were to wash in the Ganges.' " " Yes," he replied, evidently relieved ; " and how could you, knowing that ShldTca ask such a question ? " "I do ask the question : Did you ever know a case of the kind ?" " Of course I did not : how could I ? It would be contrary to the scrip- tures." " I knew what you must say. You never knew a case in which the means you have named succeeded in purifying the life ; which abundantly proves that they do not purify the heart. Now, mark what I say : I have known many cases in which, by faith in that Jesus whom I preach to you, the worst of men have been suddenly changed into the best of men." This called forth looks of surprise from all. The Bramhan observed, " You do not mean that you kneio such cases : you heard of them." " No, no ; I have known the thing to occur again and again ; known the persons and their character, both before and after the change. And, what is more, I am willing to stake all my repu- tation among you — to stake my name for truth, and my character as a padre — on this, that if there is amongst you any one who in his soul is sorry for his sins, and anxious to be cleansed from them, if he will this day trust with his whole heart in Jesus, though he were the worst man in Chayloor, Jesus will this day change him into a good man!" This declaration, made with the air which sincerity always gives, evidently produced a deep impression. The Bramhans were here confronted with a power before unthouglit of, — a power to purify the human soul ; not by occult washings, that leave all THE BEST BEGINNIXG. 293 appreciable defilement untouched ; but by an actual change of corrupt into holy affections, attested by an appropriate change of life. This real, ob\dous, demon- strable regeneration was to them a terra incognita ; they had no sophism prepared to meet it, no hereditary dictum whereby it coidd be touched. It Avas a simple fact stated on credible evidence ; and they could only hear the testimony with undisguised astonishment. Some would gravely question the discretion of thus at once unfolding to the heathen the peculiar charac- teristics of the gospel. They would judge it more prudent first to shake their confidence in pretended re- velations, and then advance the claims of the true ; to make them ashamed of the idol, before you turn their eye to the cross. There is something feasible in such a view ; but perhaps only feasible. It is more easy to expel an old sentiment by the introduction of a new one, than by a simple assault. We might be wTong ; but it did not strike us that the plan which would post- pone the cross to the demonstration was suggested either by wisdom or faith. We did not deem it more desirable simply to make the impression that we dis- approved of their customs, than to tell them of that salvation which they would recognise as above all things desirable ; which their system had not to offer ; and the knowledge of which, with the mode of its attain- ment, was the most precious deposit we could leave in their minds, — a deposit which, even though they should never see us again, might prove to them an incorruptible treasure. Our little tent was pitched just outside the gate. Here we spent the heat of the day, receiving visitors. 294 THE PUNDIT IMPROYISATORE. One of these showed himself well acquainted with a tract which he had received at a distant place. In the afternoon we again entered the town ; but not a Bram- han was to be seen, and the labouring men were all out. Numbers of women stood in the doors, watching us with lively curiosity ; but to attempt a conversation would have been imprudent ; for while Hinduism, less severe than Mohammedanism, permits them to be at large, it makes all their respectability to depend on the most punctilious reserve. After having nearly made the circuit of the town, we came to the shakedars choultry, (police magistrate's office,) and foimd there seated a group of Bramhans, numbering not less than thirty. In front of the group, and a short distance from each other, sat two Bramhans, face to face. The junior of the two had a book open on his lap ; the other was expatiating, in rapid eloquence, to the assembled Bramhans, who hearkened to his oratory with coim- tenance attent. Thus to hear one of their number, who has adopted the profession of improvisatore, enlarge in extemporaneous (though not, like his Italian brother, poetical) comment on some celebrated work, is one of the most popular entertainments of the Bramhans. A junior attends the pundit to read, when he pauses, a portion to furnish him with matter for additional ha- rangue. They were at present thus engaged ; and their assembly gladdened us, as forming an admirable con- grcgation. Advancing to the front of the choultry, we made a low salaam, and politely inquired after their health. They returned our salaam in silence, grace- fxdly intimating that they must attend to the learned man. We made several attempts to engage them in A BOLD ATTACK. 295 conversation ; but no, they signified that they must not be interrupted. At length the pundit paused, and his junior began to read. We had ah-eady observed that the book was the Puncliatuntara^' the most po- pular of their non-sacred writings. An acquaintance with it is essential to a foreigner who learns their lan- guage. Repeated readings had made me familiar with it ; and while the Bramhan was reading, I resolved, rather than lose such a congregation, to venture upon a temerity. When the reader had ceased, and while the pundit was drawing himself up to re-commence with due stateliness, I tried to look unconscious of a breach of manners, and struck in before him, attempt- ing, to the best of my power, to give an account of that portion of the work. The pundit stared, and the others stared with him ; and it must be confessed that their looks expressed no compliment to my modesty. Re- solved, however, not to be aware either of my own im- pudence or their surprise, I proceeded ; till, having given a summary of the tale hinted at in the passage read, I added, with the design to engage them in con- versation, " What a thing it is, to see thirty Bramhans, thirty learned men, studying a book which, in my coun- try, we should hand over to school-boys !" " What !" they cried, " hand the PunchatunUtra over to school- boys? Why, it is one of the wisest books in the world !" Their attention was gained, and at any risk it must be fi.xed. " Yes," was the reply, " we should consign the Punchatuntaru to school-boys ; and, what is more, there • Bettor known in England as the Ilitopadha, a collection of fables, tianslatecl from Sanscrit into English by Sir tViUiam Jones. 296 A "WARM ENGAGEMENT. are the Shastras which you deem so holy, some of which you Bramhans would not repeat in my hearing, they are so sacred ; now, I am come to tell you that those Shastras are false." At these words, amazement, indig- nation, and horror played with vivid expression on those thirty countenances. It is hard to conceive a more striking display of the passions. They all opened upon us at once, with varied and impetuous utterance of the feelings roused by our astounding words. It was im- possible, in the vehement strife of voices, to distinguish the sentences of any one ; but the language of a Bram- han on a like occasion I well remember. " What !" he .screamed, at the top of his voice, " the Shastras false ! the four Vaydas, the six Shastras, the eighteen Puranas, false ! Then you are false, and I am false, the sun is false, the moon false, heaven false, earth false, the whole universe false ! The Shastras false ! then there is no- thing true in th^ universe." Amid the surges of wath, the pundit alone appeared self-possessed, evidently pe- netrating our design to rob him of his auditory. He lifted up his hands, and endeavoured to calm them down ; saying, that they had better never mind us ; we were only foreign padres, with whom they had nothing to do : let them just attend to him. " But," they im- patiently replied, " they have attacked the Shastras, and we must defend them : we should not be Bramhans, if we did not defend the Shastras." " Yes," I added, " the Shastras are false." Again the full tide of con- troversial choler rolled upon us, imi-estrained by the looks of the disappointed pundit. A discussion now began in good earnest, — they endeavouiing to drive us from the bold stand just assumed, we endeavouring to THE SHASTRI. 297 make it good. The pundit made several attempts to regain his lost audience ; but they had become too deeply engaged with us. Unable to sit by and see us in possession, he folded up his book, took it under his arm, and walked away, with a look at us neither com- plimentary nor thankful. After some time, the argu- ment on their side fell into two or three hands, and eventually they all became silent. Mr. Male and I spoke, for a short time, alternately ; and thus were able to sustain the discussion with less fatigue and greater vivacity. A crowd had gathered round, who watched, ■with obvious wonder, the progress of this assault on Bramhanic faith. "WTien the Bramhans had all become silent, we were left at liberty to enlarge on the nature of Christianity, expounding its doctrines and its blessings. During one of the turns when the subject happened to be in my hands, the shakedar, (a Bramhan,) who had been sitting in silence, suddenly raised himself, and beckoning towards the crowd, cried out, Sivdmi! " God !" the term by which a Bramhan wishes always to be ad- dressed, " come in, come in : they are ruining us, and nothing at all comes to our mouth to say to them." Turning round, I perceived, by the bare head, the triple cord, and other appearances, that the person addressed was a Bramhan of the viydyeeka, or sacred class ; and the title " shastri," on many lips, told that he was the " wise man," the astrologer of the town. I bowed low to the shastri, pointed to a place among the Bramhans, waited till he was seated, and then addressed him per- sonally, stating what had transpired, recapitulating the points already discussed, and proceeding with the one then in liand. Tlie looks of the Bramhans told that 298 THE SHASTEI. they awaited a reply from the shastri with interest and confidence. In expectation of this, I paused. No reply came. Mr. Male took up the thread of the dis- course. There sat the Bramhans, silent as the dumb, with their eyes on the shastri, who sat in the midst as silent as they. Whether, in the words of the sliakedar, " nothing came to his mouth to say to us," we could not tell ; but certain it was, that nothing came out of it. That strange silence continued : it was almost in- credible ; we could hardly believe that thirty Bramhans were sitting before us without replying a Avord, while we endeavoured to establish doctrines which would de- stroy all that attached their affections, or subserved their designs. It was so: we wondered, we rejoiced, we hoped. Our hearts felt glad when, as we gave them our blessing, and turned away full of prayers that grace would attend the seed just sown, we heard the people exclaiming, Abah ! ahah ! idu yaynu hiinhi ? Bram- hanara bdyi mutsi hoeeytu ! " Wonderful ! wonderful ! What is this that has come to pass ? The Bramhan's mouth is closed !"* This fact illustrates the opening placed before us in the interior of India. Here, some days' march from a British garrison, is a town where the gospel has never been preached, full of idolatry, (having about thirty temples,) with an influential community of Bramhans ; and yet here two missionaries impeach the reigning superstition in the most public way, and enforce the • A memorandum, discovered since the greater part of the above was written, shows that I have confounded the seiTicee of two days ; the preacliing in the school-room narrated hiiving taken place on a different day from the argument at the choultry. AX OPEN DOOR. 299 claims of Christianity without the slightest molestation. Nor let any one give us credit for courage. We knew perfectly well that, however the people might oppose our doctrines, they would never dream of carrying that opposition farther than words ; and that we ran no more risk of personal violence than by discussing ethics in a college, or politics in a drawing-room. At our next visit to Chayloor, we had in the morning a good con- gregation in our school, nearly the whole of which fol- lowed to the shakedar's choultry, where we preached again : during the day many visited us in our tent, and in the evening we preached first at the school, then to the out-castes, and lastly in a ryot hamlet outside the wall, in all which places we were attended by a con- siderable audience. Thou.sands of towns, yes, tens of thousands, as idolatrous as Chayloor, are equally open ; towns within long, long miles of which the messenger hath never come " that bringcth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation." In visiting Toomcoor, we usually chose the market- day, and stayed for the night, preaching to the people of the town before the market began, again in the mar- ket, and in one of the adjacent villages the next morn- ing. Once, in company with Mr. Sullivan, our assistant missionary, I took my stand at the corner of a street, where the Bramhans were passing to their morning ab- lutions. We soon had a numerous congregation, which several Bramhans joined. They put questions with a view of provoking discus.sion ; but not choosing to lose such an opportunity of setting forth the gospel, I sig- nified that they should be answered afterwards, and proceeded with the discourse. They made several fresh 300 A PLEASANT WKAXGIEE. attempts, which, as the people gave unbroken attention, it seemed wiser to pass without notice. At length two or three left, as if on an emind, and soon returned, ac- companied by another Bramhan. He pushed in among the crowd, till he stood right before me. His air Avas not to be mistaken : he came to play the champion. He was of middle age, and of a coimtenance which un- equivocally marked him as belonging to that class of clever persons who, with effervescent intellect and aqua- fortis temper, spend their whole life-time on the selvage of insanity. He heard a few sentences with a keen look of derision that augured little good ; and then com- menced a discharge of words hard as grape-shot and thick as hail. I tried to speak on, as I had done with the others ; but he raised the pitch of his voice like the opening of a fresh battery, and, heating his shot, poured it out in fiery showers. I waited till, having rim him- self out of breath, he paused, and then attempted to resume without any allusion to him. But the mere act of pausing had refreshed him : forth burst his ire more turbulent than ever. He was innocent of argument as a bomb-shell of etiquette ; yet his magnificent passion carried away the crowd. At the next pause, I made another attempt, and had got a few words uttered, when, fiercer than before, his thunder-and-lightning invectives came pealing about our ears. It was quite obvious that it would be impossible to preach in the presence of this Nabal, " such a son of Belial that a man could not speak to him !" And knowing that a congregation could be obtained in the pettah, I resolved to lose no time. Feeling, however, that to leave while he was speaking would seem as if we had taken offence, AX ATTEXTIVE AUDIEXCE. 301 w c waited for a pause, and then said, in their own phrase, " We will go and come again," an expression which implies no promise to return, but is only a mild annoimcement of your intention to take leave. He now lost all bounds, and opened a tirade of personal abuse. Waiting tiU this was past, I said, " God bless you, we must go now ; but I hope God will give you grace, and that we shall meet in heaven." Passing through the crowd, we heard them say, in an under-tone, Geddaru, i/'ddaru, kdpa haralilla, " They have won, they have won, they did not become angry;" an observation which convinced us that the object of the Bramhans had been to provoke us into a bad temper, and use that as a proof that our teaching was not to be heeded. Tne same afternoon, in the market, we had one of the largest congregations I had seen. In the very centre of the traffic a long discourse was heard by hun- dreds, with scarcely an attempt to interrupt, which, whenever made, the people themselves put down. After the sermon, some arguments were started in defence of the Puranas, into which we entered at fidl. The whole audience remained, nor did they evince the least im- patience, though the entire service lasted nearly two hours. I was much struck to see present during the whole time, and with a countenance deeply attentive, the very Bramhan whose expression has been quoted above to the effect, that if the Shastras were false, sun, moon, heaven, earth, and all things must be false. He took no part in the discussion, except once or twice to say a word in our favour; but he came afterwards, bringing with him a friend from the same neighbour- hood, and asked for books, saying, he had read attcn- 302 THE FEAST OF YETTANnULLY. tively those he previously received, and was much impressed with the goodness of our religion. We started early one morning to attend a great feast at Yettanhully, a secluded village about seven miles distant. We found before the village a spacious green skirted with trees, and having on one side a small, open temple of Mariama, the goddess of disease, in whose honour the festivities of the day were to be celebrated. Opposite this, distant perhaps a hundred yards, was a car as tall as any of the trees, which several men were decking with gay-coloured cotton flags. Several loit- erers who stood by stared with genuine amazement at an arrival so unlooked for as ours. We at once joined them, and, by preaching to them, commenced the la- bours of the day. We next entered the village, where our appearance excited as great a commotion as would that of a pair of Namacquas in a midland hamlet, where an outlandish costume or a black face had never been seen. Men, women and children hastened to the spec- tacle. The men and boys closed us round, the women stood in the distance, the elder girls clung to their mothers, and the younger ones came a pace or two nearer. We opened to them the fundamental truths of the gospel, which they heard with a wondering atten- tion. Early in the forenoon, the green began, from the constant arrival of small parties, to wear an animated aspect. Sometimes they came in procession, the woman bearing, in brasen vessels, oflferings of fruits for the goddess, and all waving bunches of the sacred cusha grass. They proceeded directly to the temple ; which having no door, we could see all that occurred. The worship consisted merely in the performance of the EASTERN GREETING. 303 inaskdra, (a low bow with the joined hands touching e forehead,) at the same time handing the offering to uie priest, who waved it before the idol, took a part as liis own due, placed amid the remainder a light from the iioly lamp, and returned it to the party by whom it was [)resented. During the morning, we witnessed an Eastern greet- ing of more than usual interest. A young man, who had evidently come from a considerable distance, was crossing the green, when he suddenly hastened towards an old man, who proved to be his father. On reaching liim, he kneeled down on the ground with an air of strong affection, placed both his hands tenderly on the f eet of the old man, bowed his head low, and, lifting his hands, rested the forehead upon them for a moment. The father's countenance beamed with joy to see this filial reverence. In every part of the ground we freely conversed with the people, and preached as often as our strength would ])ennit. We were not debarred from any place : with- 1 out hindrance, we proclaimed Jesus, now at the very ' front of the temple, and now leaning against the mas- sive wheels of the car. No attempt was made to restrain us, no murmur at our intrusion on their festivi- ties. Objections we had ; but we had more expressions of assent. About the middle of the green, near the car, and directly opposite the temple, a shallow hole, of about three feet wide and six or seven long, had been dug. In the centre of this was a large pile of wood and leaves. About noon the priest left the temple, preceded by musical instruments, and bearing in his hand a light from the altar-lamp. Witli slow and rcve- 304 THE VOTIVE FIKE. rential formality, the music still before him, he several times ■walked round the pile, and then, uttering a muntra, applied the light. The dry leaves shrivelled up, emit- ting a faint smoke ; but no flame was \4sible in the light of the glorious sim. "When satisfied that the pile was ignited, he marched back to his position at the altar. The intention of this ceremony was, that those who had been restored from illness, on vowing to Mariama that they would " tread the fire," might now have the opportunity of discharging their vow. By this time every few mmutes brought in a fresh group of villagers. We were standing close by the temple when a numerous procession entered. Almost immediately, soimds of angry contention arose within. Turning round, we found priest and people, men and women, in a violent broil, scolding, clamouring, pushing, and dragging one another with hearty rage. So high did the dudgeon of some rise, that they even left the tem- ple vnth. their offerings, without haAing them presented. The dispute rose from the priest demanding a larger portion of the offerings than they judged to be his due. As the day advanced, several men appeared, naked from the waist up, having the body painted with a chequer of light blue, and each carrying a branch of the sacred tuhisi. These were the parties intending to tread the fire. Forming a group, and wa\-ing their branches, they raised a loud shout, and dashed at fidl sjjeed from one end of the green to the other, the crowd everj'- where making way for them to pass. This they con- tinued to do for some time, apparently with the design of raising their spirits for the coming effort. At the THE MEN' AVHO HAD A VOW. 305 same time several cars, much smaller than the great one, but of the same construction, arrived, each at- tended by a procession and a band. Their numbers told of the power that superstition still retained ; yet their being drawn, not by the people, but by oxen, spoke of its decadence. The buzz of the crowd, the movement of the cars, the sight of the votive fire, the oft-repeated shout and coursing of the devotees, and the clangor of musical instruments, all stirred the people to a high excitement. Night was approaching, and we must leave. The moment was melancholy and roxising. There were our rational brethren celebrating with glad enthusia.sm these wretched solemnities. There were the mingled notes of mirth, fanaticism and lewdness going up to regale the car of gory Superstition, seated on her throne qf skulls, feasting on human hearts, and shrieking at each ray of light that fell on her blood- shot eye. We knew that these multitudes had no better hopes than she could give, no better model than she presented. We knew that the old men and the children whom the revellers had left in their villages, were, the one dying with her talons in their vitals, the other springing up with her venom in their blood. It is easy to advise a missionary not to overwork his strength ; but when a man with zeal for God finds himself sur- rounded by thousands of heathen, there is a woe in their condition, and a fire in his soul, before which no personal considerations can stand. The sinners are before him ; life is uncertain ; before another opportu- nity he may be dead, or they may be dead. He must warn them while lie has time. It is true, the effort may close his life ; but that he must leave with God. 306 THE EXPOSirLATIOX. Under such feelings many a missionary hastes to an early grave. It must be so, while the proportion be- tween the harvest and the labourers continues such as it is at present. Hoarse and weary, I again took my stand close by the fire. A large audience closed round me. The train of painted men rushed by with an ex- ulting shout. I turned and addressed them particularly. Several stood to hear. Entreating them to consider whether a being who could delight to see them tread the fire, were worthy of worship or of execration ; and whether the ascription of such dispositions to God were not most sinful ; I urged them, with bold earnestness, to abandon a design so foolish, — a design which could only make them more than ever obnoxious to the dis- pleasure of the Almighty. They uttered not a word ; but stood like men com-inced and ashamed, ^^^len called upon to justify their conduct, they only said, that they had made the vow, and it must be fulfilled. Night was falling ; they had not trodden the fire ; but we M ere obliged to leave. Preaching the gospel to the heathen we regarded as our great work ; but viewed the establishment of schools as an auxiliary not only legitimate, but important. We deemed it neither expedient nor lawful to merge the evangelist in the schoolmaster ; and deemed a public announcement of the gospel both the most apostolic and the most direct way of bringing it to act ujion the public mind. At the same time wc could not sympa- thize with those who think that a missionary has no- thing to do with scliools, who expect no good from them, and who (provoked, it must be admitted, by assumptions neither reasonable nor modest) decry the OUR SCHOOLS. 307 labours of those who judge themselves called to that and to no higher sphere. We felt that, however de- fective, if standing alone, a system of mere school- keeping, and however inconsiderate the way in which it had been advocated, yet that, viewed in connexion with other existing agencies, those excellent men who devoted themselves to that work Avere performing a service of prime importance to Christianity in India. To rescue youth from the deleterious education given in Hindu schools, and to store their mind with scrip- tural truth, is indubitably a benefit to their country, and a work acceptable to God. Situated as we were, among a population exclusively heathen, the alternative lay between very unsatisfactory schools, and no schools at all. We deemed it well to bring the youth under ovar influence, to the extent of which our circiunstances admitted. Accordingly, at a small monthly salary, we retained a master, stipulating, that no instruction should be given but such "as we approved ; that the Scriptures should be read daily ; that the Catechisms, with Scrip- ture proofs, should be committed to memory ; that we should visit and examine the school at pleasure ; and that all the boys above a certain age should, once a month, be brought to the mission-house, to be examined with tliose of the other schools. One such school we established in every village, offering encouragement. Many of the masters, and also the pupils, were Bram- hans ; and, though occasional difficulties arose from admixing the castes, matters proceeded more satisfac- torily, in the main, than might be anticipated. Many of our monthly examinations were highly interesting, the boys of various castes vying with each other in 308 BIBLES AND XEACTS. their knowledge of tlie Scriptures, and of the invalu- able digest of truth contained in the Catechisms. We felt that the perfect committal to memory in boyhood of these manuals, vdih. the frequent examinations, in which the grand truths of religion, with their proofs, were enlarged, must, at least, so tatoo the things most essential to be known upon the memory, that they could not be effaced by any after-process. Another important branch of operations was, the dis- tribution of books. The Madi-as Bible Society liberally supplied us with the Gospels, Acts, Psalms, Genesis, and other portions of Scripture, bound separately ; for, as the entire Bible occupies four large volumes, it may be supposed that it is not possible to distribute it gra- tuitously to any great extent. The Bangalore Tract Society readily answered our calls for tracts. For both classes of books we met with a reception not only ready, but joyful. Many a stranger left our house bearing with him, to some distant town, the first record it ever received of God's love to sinners. We were publicly employed three evenings out of the seven, besides the services every morning. On the other evenings, I was in the habit of walking on the highway, and entering into conversation with the first passenger. This led to many most interesting oppor- tunities of explaining Christianity to persons from va- rious districts, and of aU classes : now a merchant re- turning from a distant market ; now a family removing ; now a religious mendicant hasting to some new harvest ; now a pair of itinerant Bramhans, coming to regale the imagination, and try the liberality, of their brethren ; now an old woman, whose age made conversation with THE FIRST BOOK SEEX, AXD ITS FAITLT. 309 her permissible ; now the milkman, leading home his kine ; now a group of plaj-ful boys ; now a pilgrim on his weary march ; — in fact, every order in turn received familiar instructions in the way to God. One evening, on accosting a fine old man, he said, with much vivacity, " I never before was spoken to by an Englishman in my own language : this is a pleasure ! When we go to the sirdars, (government officers,) they say, Kone hi y Now, that is not our language, it is the Turks' lan- guage ;* and we do not like to be talked to as if we ! were Turks." He went on to say, that he knew I must I be the Goobbee padre ; and that he was a gowrda from Mukanaikanakworte, a place many miles distant. After some conversation on religion, he said, " Some time ago, one of our people went to your house : you took him into your room, and said a great deal of sense to him, and gave him a book. He brought it home. It was the first bookf that had ever been in our town, and we were all delighted. We assembled, and read it together. It was certainly a very wise book, but had one fault that much surprised us all." Of course, I requested to know what the fault was. " Oh, I must not tell you ; for you would be angry." A Hindu wiU trust to anything about an Englishman sooner than his temper. They readily confide in his courage, or justice, or truth ; but his patience is in sad discredit. It is much to be doubted whether this opinion has arisen from an excess of amiability on the part of our country- * Ilindostani, spoken by the Mussulmans. t That means, the first printed book, to describe whicli, as distinj^uislicd from their own manuscript works, they have adopted our word. 310 om JOTS. men. Having repeatedly assured the good man that he need not fear, he at length said, but not ■without a look askance, to see if my countenance grew stormy, " The fault was this : it would not allow of any God but one I Now, what do you say to that ?" He evi- dently regarded this, the first truth of all truths, as a grave blemish in a book otherwise distinguished by wisdom. Thus we pursued our work, every morning and three evenings in the week preaching to the heathen, visiting them in their shops and at their doors, receiving them into our studies, mingling in their markets and feasts, walking -with them on the highway, teaching their chil- dren the truths of grace, and circulating those truths in a printed form. The servants of God find many happy duties, but none to equal those. Years have passed since I preached my last Canarese sermon. I was on route to embark for England, with the sentence of the doctors over me, that, on pain of blindness, I must never again enter the tropics. The feeling that I had "then, returns now, — the feeling that God removed me from the most blessed office that man can hold, because I was \mworthy. Those parents who consign their sons, who have the heart for a higher calling, to a life spent in making bargains, or plodding lawsuits, or swa)'ing with gentlemanly satisfaction the small sceptre of some decent neighbourhood, little know the treasures of grand emotion from which they shut them out, — treasures to be found only in preaching Jesus to the heathen, and for one year s enjoyment of which any man with faith to look to heaven would cast to all the winds the most grateful respectabilities of private life, the THE rUTUHE. 311 most pompous commercial success, or the most flatter- ing professional distinctions. He whose heart once heaved with the desire to live and die preaching Christ, but who, by a preference on his own part, or that of his parents, for the things precious in this life, has been withheld from the work, may sit him down and weep. He has lost what he will never regain. He -lives a poorer man, (for wealth consists not in what a man has, but in what he is,) he will die -with, an imdergrown soul, and to all eternity wiU lack joys and honours that others, mayhap less fitted to win them, will wear with glorious triumph. In immortality there vnll be no secrets. Every man will know the whole of his history, and the causes whereby its complexion was decided. Full many a Christian father may take to his soul the assurance, •that the son of his doting love will know, that he is for ever and ever abridged in rewards in consequence of the influence under which he preferred, to the toil of Jesu's ministry, comforts the very names of which have pe- rished, pomp that has been swept from the universe of God, and pelf that was burnt up with vulgar clay. He will know that to this influence he owes it that he is behind others, behind what he might have been ; and owes it, that he dwells in heaven as a refugee, when he might have marched among the princes of God ; that he glimmers in nebulous distance, when he might have shone "as the sun in the kingdom of his Father." Many a lofty mother will be. well humbled when she sees her peerless boy, who was too good to resign to God, too precious to be spent for Christ, too tender to toil for souls, placed, and that irrecoverably, far behind the son of a lowly neighbour ; when she sees hardsliips, and 312 THE FUTURE. studies, and torrid heats, the lonely dwelling, the \m- shared anxiety, the vmtended sickness, all transmuted into illustrious forms of ornament and joy, enhancing the bliss of him who suffered them, and of her who, for Jesu's sake, jielded him up to suffer ; w^hUe station and revenues, mansions and equipage, the stare of the vulgar and the smiles of the elite, have long, long ago, ceased to give either satisfaction or excitement. Let every mother, to ■whom the Lord has given a son with a mind capable of a better life than one of barter, know that she can take no step that will so certainly im- poverish and abase him, as to pervert his aspirations from pursuits that lead straight to " glory, honour-, and immortality," into those which are competent to the most vulgar intellect or the most selfish heart. Next to the hour that brought me to the love of Christ, I shall ever most bless that hour when she who loved me most said, " From the Lord I received thee, and to the Lord I give thee up." I wept at that parting ; but I Avept far more when parting from the work that had become dearer than all earthly things. My missionary race was short. God made it so. But, looking back this day, I Mould not for the universe have that brief space blotted from my existence. The people of India resemble their own banyan. Viewing their distinctions of nation, language, and manners, you would deem them (like the stems of that noble tree) standing clearly apart; but you find that, as those stems have sprung from the same root, and are pervaded by the same sap, so a common literature, a common religion, and, above all, the institution of caste, give to those several nations a remarkable unity, THE BAXTAX OF HITMAN SOCIETY. 313 — a unity -which serves to transmit through the whole some effect of an impression produced on any part. Imperceptibly, but infallibly, every blow dealt on one point of the Hindu structure affects the entire pile, i The impulse given in Tinnevelly vibrates to the Hima- I laya ; the shock felt in Bengal thrills to Travancore. I The whole population is cemented. No individuality I exists. Each family and each caste is impacted in '. itself, and concreted with all the others, each person ! forming but a particle of the mass. A man's mind con- I gists of the traditions of the ancients, the usages of his I caste, and the dogmas of his sect : independent prin- ciples, independent convictions, independent habits, he ' has none. He is neither more nor less than an atom I of the public mind, bearing the type impressed by those i with whom he is in contact. Such he is, and such he I deems it wise to be. He is an integral part of a mental system, vast by the sweep of nations, solid by the action I of ages, and ponderous by countless accretions. You ; cannot move him without disintegrating the mass. It [ is no light work. A Hindu mind is not dissevered from the system, but by the application of vast forces. Slowly and painfidly it disengages itself, it halts, and heaves, and writhes before finally parting : — and many (even some missionaries) treat this as an obstacle to the spread of Christianity in India. Is it so ? Most indu- bitably, if the object of Christianity be to gain, in a few years, a given number of converts. But if her ! object be to pervade all the regions of Hindustan, to imbue with her truths the people of every hamlet on those oceanic plains ; then the social bonds which at first retard individual conversions, so far from being ob- 314 THE BAXYAX OF HUMAN SOCIETY. stacles to a universal revolution, are but agencies which infallibly conduct to the remotest depths of the country the impression made by the missionary at the surface. He may be impatiently thinking that the solidity caused by these bonds has reflected into vacant space the impulse he had applied ; while, in fact, by that very means it is transmitted through many a region unseen by him, and is even then vibrating at the core of the mass. It does seem clear, that when you have a moral force equal to effect the change designed, the more close the mutual dependency of those to be acted upon, the more Avide the influence exerted by every application of that force. Where the population is limited, and the relations of society are loose, it is, humanly speaking, comparatively easy to convert a man to Christianity. His conversion is of unspeakable importance ; it saves a soul from death. But what relation has this event to the stabi- lity of Satan's empire in the continents that contain more than half the hiiman family ? Scarcely any. A jewel has been snatched from destruction, but no stone struck from the foundation of the citadel of evil. Not so with the conversion of one forming part of a system which embraces a continent. His escape rends a link in a chain whereby millions upon millions were bound. Every individual who, overcoming the restraints of Hinduism, embraces Christianity, effects, however un- consciously, an achievement by which Asiatic supersti- tion is one degree weakened, and the way to grace made, for the people of nations, one degree easier. Little undertakings have speedy issues. Great under- takings are of slower consummation ; but a large soul would rather effect the feeblest service toward the ran- peAspects. 815 som of multitudinous people, than reap the hasty de- lights of a small achievement, begun and ended in a lifetime, but, when ended, leaving the great interests of the human kingdom as they were before. To one who thinks for the present only, the peculiar features of Hindu society will appear most formidable obstacles ; to one who thinks for a century, they will appear ihe^ most certain instruments of universality in the ultimate triumph. It would be an undertaking of appalling magnitude to attempt the conversion by units of two hundred millions of souls. The ties that bind them together more increase the hope of universal regenera- tion, than they diminish the facilities of partial change. All that we lose in velocity, we gain in power. In no country will individual conversions, in a given locality, be slower at first than in India ; in no country will the abruption of masses from the " great mountain" be so vast or so rapidly successive. Some time ago, this would have been called " speculation." The events of the last seven years prove these views to be just. The thousands who have lately embraced Christianity in neighbourhoods long under missionary culture, are so many witnesses in their favour ; witnesses, also, that the impatience that would decry a great continental mission, if its conversions be not so rapid as in little islands of savages, is the result, in some cases, of un- belief, and in others of ignorance as to the character of the enterprise ; an ignorance which frequently consists, even in its highest degree, with what is called " intel- ligence." Around (ioobbce appeared many signs of that gradual change of public o[)inion which must precede every re- 316 peospeCts. volution. Things ancient and venerable were losing their influence ; startling questions were broached in private circles ; the gods were not dreaded or trusted as before ; and, above all, the whole people avowed a belief that their religion would pass away. Several times, when I have said, to persons declaring them- selves resolved to die in the paths of the ancients, " All the idols shall perish, and every knee shall bow to the Lord Jesus ;" they have replied, in a tone of pensive assent, Ideetu, " It will be so." 317 CHAPTER VII. INDIA : WHAT IS IT ? Physical Outlines — Partly Tropical, partly Temperate — Its Pro- ductions-— Its early Trade — Course and Effects of the Trade — Its Influence on our Marine — On our Trade— On our social Life — Arithmetic — Its ancient Science — Its Influence in Re- ligion— ^Teaching Egypt — -Converting China — Our Conquest —Its Results— ^V^lere lies the World?— The loud Call. India is a region more than twenty times as large as England and Wales, and equal to the united extent of France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, Turkey in Europe, Austria, Prussia, Bavaria, all the minor Ger- man States, with Belgium, Holland, and Denmark. Its people are di\'ided into thirty-five difiFerent states, speak- ing thirty different languages.* They number two hundred millions ; a population equal to that of the whole continent of Europe, and comprising at least one-sixth, probably one-fifth, of the entire human race.f ♦ These lanfjuages, though, like the tongues of Europe, lun-ing close affinity one with Another, are quite as widely se- p!irat(^d as they, and in some cases more so. t In a Lecture on the "Extent, &c. of the British Empire," I have said, " For proof that this, and not the common esti- mate of 1150,000,000, and such like, is correct, see the works of the Count lijornstjenia and Montgomery Martin. The latter Bhows that the population of 422,990 square miley, the only por- ti(m of India for which there are correct returns, is 89,577,206 ; hut the entire area of India is 1,128,800 square miles, conse- quently these 89,000,000 are the population of little more than a third of the country, which must therefore contain consider- ably above 200,000,000. 318 PHYSICAL OriLIXES. China excepted, India is the most populous country in the world. Its physical outlines deserve a word. That magni- ficent mountain-chain which runs eastward from the Caspian Sea, traversing Asia, is interrupted as it ap- proaches the vale of Cashmere by an opening which parts the Hindu Coosh on the west from the Himalaya on the east. Through this opening the Indus descends from the plains of Thibet, and, separating India from Afighanistan and Beloochistan, forms its western boimd- ary.* On the north, for a length of fifteen hundred nules, an uninterrupted barrier is formed by the gigantic Himalaya ; while the Brumhapootra, rounding the fur- ther extremity of that chain, marks the eastern frontier. The two sides of the triangular peninsula which consti- tutes its southern termination rest respectively on the Arabian Sea, and the Bay of Bengal. Starting from the Indus, and proceeding eastward, every stream encountered for about four himdred mUes takes the direction of that great river, and runs south- erly towards the Arabian Sea. The whole tract covered by this geological level is called the Plain of the Indus, and includes the Punjaub, Scinde, and neighbouring states. Further eastward than the above limit, all the streams are found to take the same direction as the Ganges, flov.ing toward the Bay of Bengal. The tract covered by this level, although extending over a length of about one thousand two hvmdred miles, with a breadth of six hundred, is called the Plain of the Gan- ges, and includes most of the Bengal provinces. On • This river is said to discharge in the dry season eighty thousand cubic feet per second. PHYSICAL OrXLIXES. 319 the southern limit of the Plain of the Ganges, or six hundred miles south of the Himalaya, you encounter a lofty range called the Yindhya Mountains ; and south of these a great river (the Xerbudda) flows to the west, having a second range of moimtains (the Sautpoora) on its southern bank ; beyond these you find a second noble river (the Tapty), flowing also to the west, while southward of it rises a third chain of mountains. But having ascended these, instead of finding a ready de- scent to carry you down on the other side, you discover a plain, level with the summit of the hills, and stretch- ing in gentle undulations beyond the southern horizon. Proceeding in that direction to discover a descent from this wide-topped mountain, you travel eight hundred miles before passing from the elevation to the same level as that from which you started. This elevated tract, varying in breadth from one hundred to five hundred miles, forms a third geological level, inclining strongly from west to east, as is indicated by the course of all its rivers : it includes the Mysore, Ceded Dis- tricts, Hydrabad, Berar, and Mahratta territories. A person will form a tolerable conception of the relation which the countries lying on this plateau occupy to the rest of India, if he just think, — The island of Great Britain stands up from the sea at a certain elevation : now, suppose that elevation increased till everj- cliff round the coast were as high £is Snowdon, the whole surface of the country being proportionally raised, then our fields would hold the same position toward the beach, as the kingdoms just named do to those l3'ing at the foot of the Ghauts ; while the mountainous height*; up which one ascending from the beach must climb. 320 PAETLT TROPICAL, PAETLT TEMPERATE. would exactly represent the Gkauts themselves. A tract of table-land is in fact the very same natural phe- nomenon as an island, only that the one is surrounded , by land, the other by the sea. The Plain of the Indus, the Plain of the Ganges, the central mountainous district, and the grand plateau, are the leading physical divisions of India. It is an error to take India as a whole for a tropical country. It is true that part of it lies within eight degrees of the equator : but then such is its magnitude that another part lies more northerly than Jerusalem, and little more than a degree south of Gibraltar. So far from being all a tropical coimtry, in starting from the northern limit of Cashmere you travel nearly seven hundred nules before entering the tropics. Lahore, the most northerly capital, and Trinchinopoly, the most southerly, are two cities as far apart as Stockholm and Naples, and with climates equally diverse. Thus, while in some of the kingdoms of India snow has never been known, in others it comes with every \\-inter ; and the name of that matchless chain which embattles its northern frontier signifies " the dwelling-place of snow.'"* Again, from the circumstance that so large a • Him-ulaya. It has been thought that all land above ten thousand feet high was perpetually covered with snow : but this opinion ii completely contradicted by our knowledge of the Himalaya. It is observed aL«o that on the northern side of this range the line of perpetual snow Ues at a much greater height than on the southern or more simny side, a resiilt just the reverse of what might be anticipated. The Coiuit Bjom- stjema remarks, that " the cause of this must be the greater purity of the atmosphere" on the northern face of the chain. It would be much more natural to a.scribe it to the fact that the land of Thibet on the north of the chain lies at an immense elevation above Hindustan on its south, conseq.uently its heat affects the mountains to a point corresponding tfl its own height. ITS PBODUCTIOXS. 321 portion of tropical India is table-land, a climate is se- cured many degrees milder than if it lay at the natural level. This diversity of climate gives rise to a great diversity of produce : India rears crops of rice and of wheat,* of maize and barley, vdth. equal variety in fruits and vegetables. Let it, then, be remembered that India is not one state, but thirty states ; not a coimtry of one language, but of thirty languages ; not a tract of uniform heat, but a region of various climates ; not the residence of one tribe, but of a sixth of all the men that live. These things must not merely be read as statements. They must be viewed, dwelt upon, felt, as facts. Much de- pends on this : the share of your benevolence given to India will be ruled by yoiir conception of what it is. Your heart will never kindle with an interest appro- priate to its claims, imtil you carefully and clearly set it out before your mind, as a large family of populous nations, which comprises one-sixth of all the hearts that are now throbbing. The productions of India nearly exhaust the catalogue of things precious in the mineral, vegetable, and animal kingdoms. The trader looks at the mercantile worth of its spices, jewels, grains, sugars, cotton, silk, indigo, tobacco, woods, ivory, drugs, and perfumes. The na- turalist pores enamoured over its Fauna, its Flora, and its mineralogy. But no eye looks so wondering on those productions as that of the philosophic or the Christian historian, who traces the power they have in • It Ls not generally known that Indian wheat is an article of import in England, being used principally for glaire in manu- facture8. T 322 PEODtrCTIONS OF INDIA. all ages swayed over the social state of the world ; the ways innumerable in which that power is now per- vading all civilized life ; and the certainty, every day growing clearer, that hence will spring changes which, for the magnitude of the spheres affected, the value of the benefits conferred, and the splendour of the con- sequent career, will shine without parallel in the annals of man. This, though perfectly intelligible to those versed in the history of the connexion between the West and the East, requires, for others, some explanation. The strongest tie used by Providence to preserve the relation of people to people, is the craving of men for productions not indigenous to their own climate. Had all nations found at home everything necessary and agreeable, it is impossible to conceive to what extent their mutual alienation might have proceeded. China and Japan help us to an idea of that which, in such a case, would have constituted nationality. But while God gave to all men the capacity to enjoy every good thing the earth yielded, he mercifully appointed its productions so that each individual shoidd receive many of his gratifications at the hand of his brother who bore a foreign tint and spoke a foreign tongue. Each was constituted co-heir of all the riches of the family estate : but he could inherit only by virtue of a family compact. Hence arose international commerce ; and, as its necessary result, intercourse between distant people, the knowledge of each other's tongues, and the formation of mutual interests. The productions natural to India excited from the earliest times the desires of all nations lying to the ITS EAHLY TEADE. 323 west ; while their portability facilitated transport even before the existence of those means of carriage required by the iinwieldy commerce of the present day. Spices, jewels, perfumes, and silk, while the very articles cer- tain to be craved for, were yet such that a camel-load formed a considerable investment. Persia and Arabia first received these luxuries, and communicated the tastg for them to their western I neighbours. The Phoenicians, when no longer content ! to receive this commerce at second-band, launched upon the Red Sea, brought their merchandise direct from the ports of India, and, conveying it across the Isthmus of Suez, re-shipped it at Rhinocalura on the Mediter- ' ranean ; hence they carried it to Tyre. The wealth I which they derived from this traffic so impressed Alexander when he became their captor, that, in order to divert it into another channel, he founded a city at the mouth of the Nile, to which cargoes could be easily conveyed from the Red Sea, and from which they could again be distributed round the European ports. He had calculated justly : the new city soon became the entrepot of the Indian trade, and, deriving from it the same advantages as Tyre, won eminent wealth and power. Throughout the revolutions of many ages, Alexandria preserved, by its position, the regular flow of this traffic, vvith all its lucrative results ; nor did j this cease till the Mohammedan conquest cut it off from the intercourse of Europe. In the mean time another branch of the same trade had raised up in the I Syrian desert PalmjTa, which, growing upon the wealth that trade ever conferred, reached great magnificence and political power ; but after a long struggle fell under Y 2 324 COURSE AND EFFECTS OF THE TRADE. the all-liumbling arms of Rome. When the Mussul- mauns had conquered Persia, observing the advantages which this trade brought with it, they founded Bosrah with the same views as had dictated the building of Alexandria ; and the new city rose into note with a rapidity little less remarkable than that of its Egyptian predecessor. At this point we first observe a religious reaction upon the East from those whom its produce had led to its shores. The Mohammedans, urging their way to the eastward of India, where neither the Tyi'ians, the Egj'ptians, nor the Romans had penetrated, founded settlements on the shores of the great Archi- pelago, whence arose the extensive dififusion of their doctrines, now observable in those regions. A day was to come when the same material channel should convey to those shores a spiritual power both milder and more potent. The wars of Islam for a time closed Alexandria to the nations of Europe ; but so unconquerable was the desire for the commodities they had hitherto received through that port, that, notwithstanding the difficulties of overland carriage, such was found. The merchan- dise of India was now borne across the rugged countries lying between the Indus and the Oxus, and forwarded from the latter river to the Black Sea. Constantinople thus became the emporium of the Indian trade ; and thence acquired an affluence by which she was enabled to maintain her political existence much longer than she could otherwise have done. The tendency of tliis trade to aggrandize whatever people happened to possess it, was forcibly illustrated when the inconsider- able republic of Venice, gaining the traffic between COURSE A>'D EFFECTS OF THE TRADE. 325 Constantinople and the rest of Europe, rapidly attained to splendid opulence and fornaidable power. Genoa also, for a time supplanting Venice at Constantinople, gained an eminence very surprising for its limited ex- tent and unsettled government. The Crusades carried to the Levant some of the inhabitants of every con- siderable country in Europe. There they became acquainted with the productions of India : many now saw sugar, cotton, silk, and various kinds of spice, for the first time. The warriors returning home carried back a relish for these commodities, and inflamed the desire for them in the minds of their countrymen. Hence the Indian trade increased beyond all precedent, and raised Venice to a height of power and magnificence that moved the envy of all Europe. Every eye turned covetx)usly toward the region whence flowed these streams of wealth. Attempts to share the advantages were made, but rendered abortive either by the power of Venice, or by the unfriendliness of the Mussulmauns, who held every path of access to India. At the same time the descriptions of that region given by Marco Paulo inflamed to feverish excitement the desire to reach its shores. Amid the general devising of projects to arrive at India, Columbus, arguing from the earth's sphericity, concluded that country might be found by sailing to the west. He made the attempt ; and, in failing, dis- covered a new world. At the same time the Portuguese were led to coast along the African continent, in hope of discovering a passage to the land of so many real treasures, and so many fabled wonders. They found it. With these two discoveries a new era opened on 326 COURSE AND EFFECTS OF THE TRADE. Europe, affecting with the most important changes her politics, her commerce, her manufactures, and even her social manners ; while revolutions not less signal hast- ened in every other region of the world. As we look at those revolutions in their past developments and future promise, and ask, A\Tiat was their cause ? the answer is, Under Pro\idence, the productions of India. Portugal possessed for nearly a century a monopoly of the commerce with India, reaping the wealth that had ever been its fruit. In the mean time England, searching in the north-west for a passage to the same region which the Portuguese had reached by the south- east, formed relations with North America, from which important effects have flowed both in our own history and that of the new continent. As if destined, by elevating inconsiderable states, to demonstrate the real magnitude of its influence, the eastern commerce passed from the Portuguese to the Dutch, then a people in feeble infancy. It raised them to the head of the mari- time powers ; but the stream, turning from them to our own shore, has steadily flowed thither during the last century, swelling our affluence to a height never before seen in the tide of human affairs.* During that period has arisen the most wonderful of all the phenomena resulting from the influence of India's produce. At- traded to her shores, and contending for her treasures, the nations of Europe gradually became mixed up with Indian politics. Hence it has followed that an Eu- • The best accoimt of this interesting brancli of history is in Robei-tson on India, in ^\ liich the course and the effects of this trade are most ably traced. livery man wlio wishes to luider- stand the history of commerce ought to read tliat bool^. COUESE AXD EFFECXS OF THE TRADE. 327 ropean empire is established over two hundred millions of Asiatics, that they have been trained in the European art of war, that their institutions have been ameliorated by the spirit of British law, that scriptural Christianity has commenced her action upon their mind, and that a boundless prospect is opened of grand regenerative changes. A moment's reflection on this hasty summary of facts will show how deeply universal history has been affected by the productions of India. They gave TyTe its fame, and made its merchants princes. They raised Solo- mon's "Tadmor in the wilderness" to the Palmyra of stately palaces and potent armaments. They created Alexandria, and filled its port for ages with the mer- chants of Greece and Rome. They sustained the sinking empire of the East, enriching and adorning its capital long after her western sister had fallen. They, during the middle ages, enabled petty Italian republics to outshine even great kingdoms. They stirred the genius of European enterprise to fret against the limits that had caged her so long, until at last, breaking forth, she made the circuit of the world, and brought back to her children wealth gathered from every land. No people on earth have been wholly free from the effects of this influence. The few hapless Carribbs that linger in the West Indies, when they think of the wrongs their fathers sank under, and see the invader rejoicing over all their isles, may ask, " "What first brought our destroyers here ?" The reply must be, " India." The Red Man, as he sees the forests of his tribe turned into a garden for the stranger, may ask, " What brought them first across the great waters ?" " India," The 328 ITS iXFLrEXCE ox orR maeixe. Esquimaux, seeing our sailors sliiver in their snows, or the Indian of Labrador selling us his furs, may ask, " What first led them to lands so chilly :"' and he must be told, " The search for India." The Negro seized for slavery, the Hottentot staring at civilizsd industrj-, the Kafir ravaging the white man's homestead, the Xe«' Zealander fighting for his field, or hearkening to the gospel, all may put the same question, " "\^^lat first led white men to our shores r" And to all the reply must be, "India." That country has been the means of most powerfully afiecting the state of all this world. Her productions have been the most influential physical cause in modern histor}\ To make more palpable the part India has taken in the history of modern nations, let us consider for a mo- ment her influence on England. Take our shipping. The vessel that first brought the produce of the East direct to England, that in which Drake had circum- navigated the world, was of one hundred tons' burden ! The length of the voyages which the new discoveries made necessary, the magnitude of the demand for the foreign productions, the necessity in times of war to join defence to carriage, all led the conductors of the Indian trade to a style of ship-building hitherto un- known ; and from the example of their magnificent fleets the whole marine of the country enlarged its pro- portions. In our COLOXIES, again, we have a system by which our own condition has been materially affected, and new states created on other shores. This system wholly issued from the discoveries made in seeking various paths to India. To reach India we went west- ward, and found the "West Indies and America. To INFLUENCE ON OUK TRADE. 329 reach India we went northward, and found Labrador, To reach India we rounded the termination of South America, and found the South Seas, Avhere lie Australia and New Zealand.* To reach India, the coast of Africa was explored. To enable them to command the trade with India, the Dutch colonized the Cape of Good Hope ; and for the very same reason we drove them from that possession. Our TRADE, not less than our shipping or colonies, testifies to the power of India. Those articles which strike all as the most lucrative are either such as origi- nally came from India, or to which that country first introduced us. Tea, for instance, though the produc- tion of China, became known to us only through our Indian trade ; and perhaps those who are ready to imagine that without that beverage daily comfort would be impossible, will be surprised to learn that no men- tion of it occurs in the records of the East India Com- pany till sixty-seven years after it had been chartered. Only then was their factor at Bantam instructed to pro- cure " 100ft. weight of the best tay he could gett." The sugar-cane, again, had been transplanted from India to western Asia, where it was unknown in earlier times ; there it was seen by Europeans during the Crusades, thence brought to different parts of the Mediterranean, thence introduced to Madeira and the Canaries, finally to the West Indies and Brazil.f Hence arose the ex- * These various routes were sought, because the Portuguese claimed an cxchisive right to that w hich they had discovered ; and had their chiim forfeited by the Pope's authority. t Some tliiiik that tlie sugar-cane was indigenous to South America ; but I believe all are agreed that for the manufacture of sugar froni the cane we arc wholly indebted to India, 330 INFITJEXCE OX OUR TRADE. tensive use of that tempting luxury, hence the slave- trade, hence our missions to the West, hence the noblest strife of philanthropy, hence the sublimest record of colonial legislation. Cotton also originally came to us from India.* By the trade which the Romans main- tained ■vvith that region through Alexandi'ia, this light and agreeable fabric was first made known to Europeans, and became valued among the luxiiries of the imperial city. During the middle ages the Venetians supplied enough to create a desire for more. The Moors intro- duced the plant itself into Europe, and thus the way was prepared for its general reception. When a direct commerce was opened \vith India, cotton was imported from Calicut ; and hence the name " calico." Silk was first introduced" to India from China ; (as cotton was introduced to China from India ;) but for many ages it was supplied to Europe wholly through India. With these facts before us, it is altogether unnecessary to remark that our manufactui-es have not less felt the influence of India, than the other branches of our na- tional activity. To estimate the influence which, through all these channels, India has exerted on our national character and domestic habits, is a sheer impossibility. The changes that have passed upon our homes by the intro- duction of silk, cotton, tea, sugar, and spices, are now too distant and too many to permit accurate enumera- tion. Strike these articles from our imports for a single year, and you will produce a revolution that wovdd help to illustrate the magnitude of their influence ; but yet • Baiiics's History of the Cotton Manufactory. IXFLUEXCE OX OCB SOCIAL LIFE. 331 even that would not conduct us back to the same man- ners, the same modes of thought, and the same phy- sical condition which began to depart when these new comforts entered, and have since been gradually yield- ing to softer and more luxurious habitudes. These articles have metamorphosed both our persons and our tables : we neither dress nor eat as did our ancestors. They have entered not only the highways, but everj" bye-path of society, which marches not a step but in their companionship. Take our remotest homestead ; r and though the inhabitants have no knowledge of foreign parts, and never considered themselves debtors to India, yet on every male and female you will find articles of clothing, and at almost every meal either food, beverage, ' or condiment, which were imknown in their hamlet be- fore the way to India was opened. The debt to India is universal ; no man in the communitj- is free from it ; it contributes to the comforts of all. Everj-thing we look upon testifies to the grateful influence of its pro- ductions,— the luxuries of the most refined, the comforts of the most economical, the garments of all. We do not survey a room, we do not enter a shop, we do not take a meal, we do not look upon the dress of a child, without encountering some memento of the universal debt to India. In the saloons of our nobles, the man- sions of our gentrj-, the houses of our tradesmen, the cottages of our workmen, and the chambers of our sick, we find India contributing helps to comfort or amelio- rations of pain. Who then can look with a well-instructed eye on the present state of the British nation, without being amazed at the influence that has been exerted upon us by a 332 ARITHMETIC. country so far away ; and a country the people of which never meddled with our concerns ? India never sent an expedition to our shores, and yet it has diffused its influence through every vein of our national life. We see it in our refined clothing and our sumptuous boards, in the stir of our ship-yards, in the magnitude of our marine, in the splendid heritage of our colonial posses- sions, in the manifold issue of our factories, and in the ubiquitous commerce with which we are pervading the world. Nor have we been alone : changes have passed over the condition of man from Italy to Scandina\'ia, while newly-discovered tribes have shared in the uni- versal impulse. Let no one, then, regard the produc- tions which form the chief articles of commerce as created to gratify foibles, or make fortunes. They are the ties by which the All-wise has held together the most distant races of men, provided for the general dif- fusion of local blessings, and finally called forth the nations on whom his truth shone, to enlighten their brethren who sat in darkness. The influence of India has scarcely presided less over man's intellectual than over his material history. To take a very obvious proof : every one feels the prodi- gious benefit of being able to express the endlessly- diversified records of arithmetic by only ten ciphers. Into what consternation would all the counting-houses and all the observatories of Europe be thrown, were a decree to reach them that their accounts must be kept, and their calculations made, according to the Roman model, in the letters of the alphabet ! Yet, only a few centuries ago, this was their method ; for no language of Europe, or of Western Asia, furnished a more com- ITS AXCIEXT SCIENCE. 333 pendious arithmetical notation. The Hindus had in- vented, in very early times, the system now in universal use ; from them it had been adopted by the Persians and Arabs ; and it is matter of dispute whether it reached Europe before Leonardo of Pisa,* in the thirteenth cen- tury ; but it seems more probable that it was brought to Spain by the Moors. Its progress among men of business was very slow. Had it not been for this in- vention, the rapidity with, which the largest commercial transactions are now executed would have been impos- sible ; and if the calculations of astronomy could have been conducted at all, it would have been with immense difficulty.! It must be felt that the nation who took the lead in astronomical science would gain immense influence over the mind of other ancient jicople. Though the contro- versy on this subject cannot be fairly said to have yet led to a conclusive decision, yet it has established the fact that Chaldea, Egypt and China are to be set aside, and that the whole of what deserv es the name of science lies betwen Greece and India. With them only has been discovered knowledge that could serve as a basis • He made known the system of ints are falsehood, duplicity, apathy, selfishness, ava- ce, sensiiality, and dishonesty. In point of gratitude, (xnd a capability of becoming attached to their masters, the Hindus have been much belied. Considering their religious and moral instructions they are not below pther nations in these particulars. The Hindu mind is patient, fertile, and astute ; close in application, prolific in fancy, and keen in discern- ment. It lacks breadth and fire. Its education nar- ;rows while it refines ; its religion holds up to the heart no grand pure object ; and its domestic affections are, jlike the feet of a Chinese lady, cased in iron from child- hood, and ever retain a fixed and feeble stiffness. As la result, fervour and tenderness are not there. But igive the Hindu an education large as known truth ; a •religion calling up his emotions to a stainless blessed God ; a home where mutual love wants no chill pro- tections ; and then that mind of his will spread a broad wing, and take a bold flight in the upper ways of in - tellect. It is not likely that in any material enterprise ithey will ever disjilay the rough energy of our harder iclime. But in works of the mind, they will toil as hard, and build as high, as we. Mr. Mill learnedly and elaborately argues that the Hindus are " a rude people." Professor Wilson repels the accusation. Bishop Heber pronounces them civi- lized. And Sir Thomas Munro avers that, " If civiliza- ition is to become an article of trade between the two i countries, I am persuaded that this country will gain by the import cargo." Nothing can be plainer than this, that, if M. Guizot's principle be correct, that the .main element of civilization is progress, then for many 432 CITILIZATIOX. ages the Hindus have been barbarians. But the Ro- mans were more civilized under Nero, than under Numa, though making far less progress ; and the New Zea- landers are not so civilized as the Austrians, though at this moment advancing much faster. And though the Hindus, for several generations, have been either sta- tionary or retrograding, they have not lost their cixili- zation. Civilization supposes the order, the arts, and the enlightenment, necessary to the maintenance of civil life ; of life in large and settled communities, as distinguished from wandering tribes, or ill-regulated clans.* These have from time immemorial been enjoyed by the Hin- dus, and produced their natural fruits, — elegance of ap- pearance, polish of manners, and respect for learning. So far as perfect municipal order, regular agriculture, well-conducted commerce, ingenious manufactures, ge- neral arts, refined address, literary taste, high attain- ments in poetry, and respectable progress in science, constitute civilization, the people of India claim a place among the civilized. But in one essential they fail. Civilization is the art of social life. At the basis of all social organization lies the family. Civilization ought to begin by justly fixing family relations, and Avisely forming family manners. Here Hinduism is at fault, but at fault only in common with every system on earth, except one. The Hindu is a civilized man in the street, the market, the shop, the office, the court of law ; but the moment he enters his own door he is a barbarian. We ought not to study even a stone merely for the sake of knowing what sort of a stone it is. We ought • " Ci\-ilized, polite, urbane," all, from their derivation, con- vey the idea of city lite. PRACTICAL USE. 433 to make its composition and its uses disclose to us j somewhat of its Maker's wisdom, and teach us, like [ Him, to do our works that they may be useful. But to t study men, merely for the sake of knowing what sort of men they are, is " a grand impertinence." It is heart- less to inform ourselves of the customs of other races just vnth the view that, they when are spoken of by the travelled, or the well-read, we may be able to join in the conversation, instead of looking out of the window. Some labour much, as they say, for " a know- ledge of human nature." To gain this, what jungles of fiction do they explore ! But of the " knowledge of human nature" so won, we find small fruit, either in ^ the increased wisdom or the increased philanthropy of I those who, for the sake of this precious light, have en- dured such worlds of nonsense. All your knowledge of human nature is not worth a straw, unless it prompt I you to benefit human nature. You may as well study bats as men, unless your knowledge lead you to do them good. To read of such a people as the Hindus, I to be interested in their history, to admire their polish, to be entertained with their customs, to laugh at their absurdities, is all perfectly right. To wish, when they are spoken of, to be able to take an intelligent part in the conversation, is natural and wise. Do this : but do not stop there. Human homes and human hearts are not mere curiosities. They are sacred things. From the moment you become acquainted with them, a new duty opens before you, — the duty of doing all your cir- cumstances permit to bless those homes and to cheer those hearts. Regarding Indian society, think not the selfish 2 ¥ 434 PEACTICAL USE. thought, ^Vhat can I remember that is most interest- ing? Think the Christian thought, What can I re- member that most needs amelioration ? Think of the eight millions of wild men who haunt the woods and hills ; think of the twenty millions of out-castes whose lot is vile and bitter ; think of the two, or three, or four millions of widows, browbeaten and friendless ; think of the homes of thirty nations where no common board is spread, and no fond circle twined. 435 CHAPTER IX. INDIA : ITS RELIGIOIT. No recpilar System — Tlic foiir Yedas — Tlieir Age — ^Miere ^^Tit- ten — Character of the Vedas^ — ^Bacchanalianism — Absurdi- ties— Shastras and Puranas — Doctrines — Extracts from the Vedas — llie Veda on the Clonds — The Veda on the Sun — The Veda on Water and F';e — The Veda on Moon-phmt Wine — The Veda on the ^Vind — The Da^\^l — Pairs and Trios of (iods — Sacred Vulture — Pantheism — Para Eramha — The Triad — The Avataras — Krishna — 'l"hc Preserver a Deceiver — The Destroyer — Modes of making Gods — Idolatry — Pollu- tion of Divinities — God one, Gods many— Confused Ideas — The Soul divine — All Life one — Heaven and Hell — Caste Heavens — Rites for the Dead — Effects of Metempsychosis — The Fall- — Pardon — Meditation — Penances— Self-tortures — Ablution — Methods of Salvation — Purification — The Way to Mercy — Morality — Principles and Perversions — The Priesthood — Sacerdotal Life — Ceremonial Pmity — Stages of Priestly Life — Different Orders of I'riests — 'llie Guru — His Splendour — His Power — Zeal and Influence of the Priests — Men better than Gods — Ritual — Daily Sacrifice — Various Oblations — Prayers — The Gayatri — Prayers from the Veda — The sacred Omkara — Rites for all Ages — Extrn"? Unction — Transubstantiation — Temjilc Service — K*' 1 '. — Scots — Foes — Romish Missions — Carey — The Daiu.-.h Hag — .S_\ luptoms — Changes — Decay of Hinduism — Progress of Christianity — - Agencies — Successes — A great Opening — Liberality of Con- verts— Will Christianity prevail ? No one, acquainted with the religion of India, will ilempt to reduce it to an harmonious system. Its sa- cred books advocate many conflicting doctrines ; and its current opinions are varied by the local superstitions of ten thousand neighbourhoods. All, therefore, we shall attempt, is, to give a general idea of religion as actually existing, particularly on the points most pro- 2 F 2 436 NO REGULAR SYSTEM. minent in every religion that has any pretension to be called a system ; namely, its standards, its doctrines, its morals, its ministry, and its ritual. The Standards of Hinduism are popularly stated to consist in four Vedas, six Shastras, and eighteen Puranas ; but the term " Shastra" is also employed to denote all the sacred books taken collectively. This division differs from that of the Vishnu Purana, and also from that generally furnished by the most learned. They speak of four Vcdas, four Upavedas, or sub- Vedas, six Angas, and the Upangas, or sub-Angas, including theology, logic, law, and the Puranas. But in our remarks the popular division will be followed, as the more simple. Of all these writings, the Vedas are the most ancient and sacred. To elucidate the sub- lime mysteries taught in these, the Shastras have been written by a second inspiration, and by a third, the Puranas, further to unfold the revelation. All these books have never been collected, nor is it probable that such a collection can now be made. If it could, we have every reason to believe that no lifetime, however protracted, would suffice to read all the tomes. They are written in the Sanscrit, a tongue grammatically per- fect beyond every other, and held by the natives to be the vernacular of heaven, never spoken on earth, nor per- mitted to descend, but to give mortals celestial teach- ing. The Vedas, and, I believe, also the Shastras, re- main covered from vulgar eyes in the sacred tongue ; but the Puranas are translated into the various Hindu languages, and circulated freely. The names of the four Vedas are the Rig Veda, the Yajur Veda, the Sama Veda, and the Atharva Veda. THE FOUH VEDAS. 437 The Vishnu Purana states that, " originally there was but one Yajur Veda," and that now " the branches of the great tree of the Vedas are so numerous, that it is impossible to describe them at length." The Vedas are considered not merely as a revelation from God, but are mystically identified with the Supreme Being himself. " He, composed of the Rig, Sama, and Yajur Vedas, is at the same time their essence, as he is the soul of all embodied spirits. He, distinguished as con- sisting of the Vedas, creates the Vedas, and divides them by many subdivisions into branches. He is the author of those Vedas : he is those aggregated branches : for he, the eternal Lord, is the essence of true know- ledge." (Vishnu Purana.) With such a theory, none but the most extravagant veneration would comjjort ; accordingly, the Vedas are extolled above the gods, and the perusal of them is strictly forbidden to all mortals, but a priest in the line of direct succession from the creator's mouth. Those of the Rajah caste are permitted to hear them read ; but the Bramhan who would utter a yllable of them in the hearing of a Shudra or of a European, or who would allow a line of them to fall into such hands, would commit a heinous sin. I shall never forget the horror of some Bramhans, upon seeing in our impure hands the transcendental syllables of the Gayatri, a prayer from the Vedas. But, in the present degenerate condition of Bramhanism, most, if not all, of these immaculate texts have come into the hands of our scholars. Only the Sama Veda, translated by Dr. Stephenson of Bombay, has yet appeared in our lan- guage. It will, no doubt, be eventually followed by 438 AGE or THE VEDA5. the others ; and, in the mean time, affords much insight into the character of these books. The antiquity of the Vedas is a point of much inte- rest. Placed by the natives at a date antecedent to Adam, they were held, by our own earlier writers, to be at least five thousand years old. The Sama Yeda was evidently written by persons kijowing something of literature and arts, but leading a pastoral life. Fre- quent reference is made in the work to war and to cha- riots, showing the previous establishment of separate states, as also the cultivation of military art. The men- tion of poets as a class, of a golden cup, of habitual bathing, and of the preparation of intoxicating drinks, are all evidence of some degree of advancement. It is also evident that a sacrificial ritual had already been fixed, that mythological legends abounded, and that Bramhans were known ; but the use of that appellation does not warrant the inference that it referred to per- sons closely resembling the hierarchy whom it now de- signates. The composition of the book being Ln several kinds of verse, further indicates a state of society some- what cultivated. At the same time all the allusions to actual life are those of a pastoral people. The book never was written by persons who had been bom in a city ; for cows, milk, butter, hories, calves, and the like, are the ordinary materials for similes. Pure rus- ticity and some refinement are strangely combined. '•Oh, worthy of all praise!" (Indra,) "let our encha- ristic songs fix thee as firmly as the charioteer is fixed in his seat, and let their symphony sound before thee like the lowing of newly-calved cows for their calves." The chariot and the symphony relish of civilization; WHERE WKITTEy. 439 but a keeper of cattle was he, who for music found a likeness in the " lowing of herds." Dr. Stephenson draws attention to one passage, in which wealth is made to consist in " horses, cows, and barley," remarking that buffaloes, rice, and wheat, now so common in India, are not mentioned ; and leading us to the inference that I the Vedas were not composed in India, but in some more northern country, whence the Bramhans migrated at a period so remote as to lie beyond all discovered records. But the possession of rice and wheat would suppose an agricult\iral rather than a pastoral life ; and in another passage, to express eminence, it is said, "As the buffalo is among homed cattle," so that the proper inference from the omission of that animal in an enu- meration of treasures is, not that the enimierator wrote in a country where the buffalo was unknown, but that he wrote before it had been domesticated. Throughout the Tolume we find no reference to the sheep. Now, in all temperate countries, the wool of that animal makes it invaluable ; and pastoral life never exists without it. Its absence from the Sama Veda affords, therefore, a strong presumption that the book was produced in India. The ocean also is referred to and invoked, clearly proving the writer to have inhabited a maritime coimtry. Except the shores of the Caspian, none of the various regions to which scholars have pointed, as the probable birthplace of the Bramhans, would ac- coimt for the maritime characteristics of the Sama Veda. Nor is it very probable that phenomena less grand than those of the Indian Ocean would lead to the exaltation of the sea into the same divine rank as the sun and the winds. The Rig Veda has an expression 440 TVHEEE WEITTEX. which proves not only a maritime coimtry, but marine commerce, " as merchants greedy of wealth approach the sea to embark."* Nothing is more e'v'ident than that, to the mind of the authors, rain was the chief want. Indra, " the personified clouds," is worshipped with copious devotions, as are also the other agents in regulating the supply of rain, — the sun, wind, and sea. This is rather in favour of an Indian origia, especially taken in connexion with the deification and worship of rivers. In this latter respect the Rig Veda is more ex- plicit than the Sama, having the words, " I invoke the goddess, the waters, whence our cows drink : sacrifice is due to rivers. "f Frost and snow are not alluded to; a circumstance strongly against any of the temperate countries north of India. Perhaps, also, a feather is cast into the scale in favour of the latter, by the mention of peacocks. But whether composed in India, or in some trans- Indian country, the Vedas are plainly the production of an early age, in which life was pastoral, with scarcely any arts but poetry and war. Professor Wilson gives his high authority to the supposition, that they may date about thirteen centuries before the Christian era ; a term which further investigation will more probably abridge than extend. But if it be nearly accurate, the antiquity of the A'edas is brought within rational • Oceanum veluti, prqficiscendi caussa, mercatores divUiarum ctipidi adeant. — Rosen's Latin txanslation of the Rig Veda. t Affnas deas invoco, unde vacctE bibunt nostree : Jluminibut faciendum est sacrijicium. — Rosex. The words which follow show that the present notions of the natives on the medical value of water are not of recent origin : " In Aquit nectar, in Aquii medicamen : Aquarum etiam ad laudem, sacerdotes ! ettott impigri." CHAEACTEE OF THE TEDAS. 441 bounds ; and yet they remain the most ancient poems in existence, except the book of Job, which now appears to be proved with tolerable certainty to date higher.* The translation of the Sama Veda is a happy circum- ; stance. Not only apocryphal authorities, like Maurice, ' but many trustworthy writers, have ascribed to theVedas much purity, sublimity, and wisdom. From this and other reasons, I took up the Sama Veda in strong hope of finding that those distant generations enjoyed, at least, the fading beams of patriarchal light. But that hope soon passed away, and I laid down the volume with sorrow. It is only a heap of hymns without co- herency or sense, and woefully devoid of pure theolog}' OT morals. In fact, it is not conceivable that its authors ever intended it to assume the place of a revelation from God. It makes no such claim, nor does it declare the virtue to attend its persual ascribed by the Puranas to that of their legends. Comparing it with the Vishnu Purana, you find that the latter has the air and the claims of a revelation, while the former has nothing of the kind. At the same time, no notice is found in the Veda of image-worship ; but nearly all the myths which are elaborated in the Puranas, respecting the gods, are here referred to as accepted facts in religion. The book, we have said, consists of hymns, which are those chanted at the moon-plant sacrifice. This plant (a species of asclepias) is full of acrid, milky juice, which, when expressed and allowed to ferment, becomes strongly intoxicating. This liquor is offered in libation to the gods ; and such offering is the occasion on which these far-famed anthems are chanted. Dr. Stephenson • See a recent volume entitled " Sacred Annals." I 442 BACCHANAIIANISM. states that the sacrifice is accompanied with the death of a ram ; but the Veda itself declares, " 0 ye gods! we slaughter no victim, we use no sacrificial stake, we wor- ship by the repetition of sacred verse ;" and Dubois, in his very detailed account of the sacrifice of the ram, makes no mention whatever of the moon-plant. It may therefore admit of doubt whether the Bramhans who communicated with Dr. Stejihenson did not confound two distinct sacrifices. "Were the Sama Veda discovered by a European who knew nothing of its pretensions, he would take it for the efi"usion of some jovial bard, who, to honour his cups, had formed nature into a bacchanalian pantheon, and had sung his wassails on oriental plains covered with herds of kine. "Thou, OSoma!" addressing his po- tion, "art the embroiler of all things in thy drunken frolics. 0 moon-plant ! those drenched with thy spark- ling juice, in their inebriating cups slew the Rakshasa band." Again: " The supporter of the heavens about to become a liquid ! the strengthener of the mighty gods, the intoxicator, the green, fugacious herb is not prepared in vain by holy men." Again : "O priests ! we praise all day long that renowned foe-destroying Indra of yours, who gets muzzy on the sacrificial beve- rage placed in the sacred vessels." Again : " "N^Hien in his cups, Indra siezes his adorable, easily-handled bow." And finally : " O Soma ! purify for Indra the most sweet and richly-prepared spirituous liquors, the mighty, light-diffusing liquor. O lord of food, increase our pro- visions and our mighty renown ! 0 god, mix the mid- day bowl beloved by the gods ! praise and sprinkle on all sides, as you would do to a horse, the sacrificial ABSURDITIES. 443 noon-plant juice, which procures salvation, runs 1 rough the world, is diffused through water, and puri- ,.ed by mixture with other liquids." Poets, no doubt, [have often loved and honoured their cups ; but neither Bums nor Horace extolled the potions yielded by his I native hills, as does the author of these verses the "most inebriating juice," which "performs its frolics like the waves of the sea." Besides its bacchanalian character, the Sama Veda [has a fair amount of absurdities. We are told that " the ■ancient sages once trod the soil on which men now walk, and produced the sun for the purpose of giving light." I Also, that Agni (fire) has "green mustachios ;" and that 'the "heavenly cows, beloved of Indra, hurl the destruc- tive thunderbolt." Then: "It is Soma, (moon-plant wine,) that yokes the horses of the sun, when he is about to move through the heavens over the abode of men." "Soma is my master," says the sun, "and yokes his gold-coloured horses to the chariot, for the purpose of ; departing." Nor does the following specimen of phi- I losophy stand alone: — "This all-moving radiance pro- ceeds from the east, and takes its seat in mother earth. I Afterwards, the ever-moving body proceeds to father [heaven. Its rays move within man, and from the higher vital air, extract and carry down the lower vital air, and the same mighty God enlightens the firmament. The manifestations of the sun in day and night, by their radiance, enlighten the thirty horal mansions, and the voice (of our chanters) sustains the solar manifesta- tions." On laying down the Sama Veda, instead of feeling, IS I had hoped, assured that the trufn Noah taught had 444 ABSURDITIES. survived amongst the wiser and better portion of men at least to the date of the Vedas, I felt bitterly, that, were I to teach a Dyak or a Feejean to read, and put that book into his hand, I could not assure myself that it would give him one truth of theology, or one princi- ple of virtue. B;it it would not be fair to judge the other three Yedas by the Sama : they may contain the wisdom and the sublimity of which we have heard ; yet after such a disappointment, our expectation is naturally low. A considerable part of the Rig Veda has been translated into Latin by the late Dr. Rosen. It is also a series of hymns to the sun, fire, the soma-juice, the clouds, and the sea ; the dawn also has more worship than she receives in the Sama; while the same refer- ences to cows and horses, with the same prayers foi wealth and victory, abound. In some respects it is superior to the Sama ; but in others it is more gross ; and, on the whole, does not alter our estimate of the Vedas. The Atharva Veda is, on all hands, acknow- ledged to contain much that is of a magical character, intended to teach the method of destroying foes by in- cantation. The Bramhans who follow this Veda often conceal their knowledge of it from dread of the universal hatred against the " art that none may name." It then remains alone for the Yajur Veda to display the cha- racteristics so confidently ascribed to these ancient writings, by authors of all schools. Awaiting its trans- lation, I must confess, that the following testimony has now great weight, though before reading the two Vedas translated it seemed unaccountable : — " They have no- thing but their antiquity to recommend them. They include all the absurdities of Hindu paganism, not only SHASTRAS AXD PUEAXAS. 445 ;sucli as it has originally been, but also the pitiful details of fables which are at present current in the country, relating to the fantastical austerities of the hermits, to the metamorphoses of Vishnu, or the abominations of the Lingam. I could easily prove my assertion by many passages extracted from these books, if my limits jallowed me. The fourth of them, called Antharva Veda, .18 the most dangerous of all for a people so entirely sunk in superstition, because it teaches the art of magic, or the method of injuring men by the use of witchcraft, and incantation." (Dubois.) It is a matter of much |importance, that every missionary going to India should possess and read the two published Vedas. They will, at a small expense of time, put him in possession of the real character of Hindu theology, and completely eman- cipate him from all impression that some bright deposit of truth may, after all, lie hidden in those much-vene- rated tomes. The six Angas, or Shastrils, are thus described in the ; Vishnu Pur ana : — " S/ii/cs/ta, the rules of reciting the prayers ; the accents and tones to be observed ; Kalpu, ritual ; Vyaknrna, grammar ; NiruJda, glossorial com- ment ; C/tatidas, metre ; and Jotisch, astronomy." The same authority subjoins theology, logic, law, the art of , government, medical science, archery, and the use of I arms, with the arts of music, dancing, and the drama. These works, though some of them on subjects so little religious, are all invested with the authority of inspira- tion. ^ The eighteen Puranas, which alone arc in general , circulation, more fully express the actual faith of the I Hindu than either the Vedas or Shastras. They con- 446 DOCTRINES. sist of cosmogony, mythology, and speculation, with attempts at history, which, however, are no more than genealogies and legends. No harmony of doctrine is pretended ; for they openly advocate the rival claims of the gods Vishnu and Shiva, and on many other ques- tions differ, yet all have a oneness in leading points of faith. Professor Wilson is of opinion, that none of the Pu- ranas " assumed their present state earlier than the time of Sankara Acharya, the great Saiva reformer, who flourished, in all likelihood, in the eighth or ninth cen- tury." From that period he traces the dates of several Puranas to the twelfth, fourteenth, and fifteenth centu- ries, saying that no portion of the Padma Purana is probably older than the twelfth century, and that the last parts may be as recent as the fifteenth or sixteenth. Of the Vamana Purana he says : — " It has not the air of antiquity, and its composition may have amused the leisui'e of some Bramhans at Benares, three or four cen- turies ago." Taking all the sacred witings together, the quantity is prodigious. The Puranas alone are stated to contain one million, six hundred thousand lines, and some statements raise the amount to ten, or even to a thousand, millions. Of DocTKiNES, all systems of religion have three great sections : those respcctli.j; God, those respecting man, and those which, treating of the relations of the two, describe the way of salvation. Respecting God, it is plain, from the Hindu scrip- tures, that the primeval doctrine of the divine unity ha.<< never been wholly lost. It is, however, equally plain, that even as early as the epoch of the Vcdas, that truth DOCTRIJrZS. 447 I had ceased to possess the slightest value. With God's unity is coupled his infinity. These truths blend, and suggest each the other. Infinity, again, involves omni- presence, and omnipresence forbids the idea of any place where God is not. He cannot, therefore, be ex- cluded from the space occupied by material bodies ; but is as much in that which a mountain occupies, as in that above its head. To be omnipresent, then, he must be " all-pervasive." This word appears to be that by which the Hindu, from the earliest times, designated omnipresence. To persons untaught in physical science, it is hard to conceive of two things or two agents oc- cupying the same space at the same time. Many a good man in England thinks he accepts a great myster}', when he believes that the space occupied by creatures should at the same time be filled by the Creator. But he forgets that even of sensible objects or agents, such as light, sound, odour, heat, and magnetism, four or five may pervade tlic same space, and each act, without in any way disturbing one another. Forgetfulness of this fact appears to have been the point whence the fathers of Hinduism commenced their fatal wanderings from the one true God. They belie ved him to be evely- where ; if everywhere, he must be in everything ; if in everj thing, how could he and the thing in which he was be distinct ? they must be regarded as one. Thus God became everything, and everything became God. This is the very process of reasoning by which the Hindus now support their pantheism, and is probably that from which it originated. Once admit the doctrine that God is cvcrj thing, and you may select any object whatever, and call it Uod. Such a selection would, at 448 EXTRACTS FEOM THE TEDAS. first, naturally fall on objects presenting in the^lselve^ forcible displays of God's power and glory. Thus wi find in the Vedas that the sun,moon, wind, clouds, ocean and fire, are all identified with the Supreme Spirit, and all adored. And though the principle had not then, so far as we can learn from these books, received its last degradation by being applied to images; yet it had already descended far, when it could deify the intoxi- cating moon-plant juice. We could not make so fidly imderstood the views oi the DiA-ine Being contained in the Vedas, by any de- scription, as by the follo^\ing extracts. We first give a series of passages, addressed to, or referring to, Indra, that is, " the clouds :" — " O Indra ! there is no god thy superior, none more powerful than thou art : nor, indeed, 0 slayer of Uritra, is there one that can be put on a level with thee ! ' ' (Pages 36, 37.) " O, thunderbolt- wielding Indra ! were there a hun- dred heavens, and a hundred earths, and in addition to them a thousand suns, and any other supposable crea- tures, they could not contain thee ; for thou encirclest heaven and earth." (Page 51.) " Come close to us, O Indra ! bringing with thee the aids resulting from sacrifices to the spirits of the de- parted. Come, O most felicitous diA-inity, with those most happy beings to whom we, in a special manner, ofier oblations ! Come, O great Father, along with the spirits of our fathers !" (Page 52.) " We worship Indra, who ever slays his foes, and ever subdues them like a mighty hero, (Indra,) the great, the imcqualled, the supreme.'' (Page. 64.) THE VEDA OX THE CLOUDS. 449 Tliis I am determined to execute through thy aid." i'age 64 ) •' Indra the supreme, who is but one, and whom no one dares speak against, bestows wealth on the man I who offers sacrifice." (Page 204.) " " 0, my friends ! praise no other being than Indra ; why would you draw on yourselves destruction r " Page 207.) '• Thy internal vigour is great, thy prowess is all- powerful, and thy intellect sharpens thy illustrious Vajra. Heaven, 0 Indra, extols thy heroism, the earth publishes thy fame ! thee the waters and mountains serve as their Lord. The mighty, all-preserving Vishnu, and Mitra, and Varuna, praise thee ; thee also the pow- erful bands of Maruts delight." (Page 250.) Did this stand alone v, e should deem it to contain a clear proof of the knowledge and worship of one only ( God ; but how far this is the case we shall presently ' gee. The reader will observ^e that Vishnu is here made I inferior to Indra ; a position directly contradictory to I the now prevailing doctrine. The next series of quotations is addressed to the sun, whose names arc Mitra, Aditya, Savita, and Surya. " Truly thou art mighty, O Sun : truly thou art mighty, descendant of Aditi, we adore the splendour of I thy essence, tliy majesty, and thy glory : for mighty art thou, O divine (sun) !" (Page 51.) " I worship the god Savita, parent of heaven and earth, who superintends the sacrifices of the wise, who makes sacred rites to prosper, who bestows gifts, is j altogether lovely by the possession of intelligence, and whose radiance from on high, through the words of the 2 G 450 THE VEDA ON THE SUN. wise, shines around the place of sacrifice, whilst the golden-handed performer of merit-conferring deeds pro- ceeds to the heaven of mercy." (Page 88.) " Let the glorious (solar) luminary drink the power- ful spirit of the moon-plant liquor, and bestow upon the institutor of this sacrifice a life free from adversity. The luminary that is moved round by the aerial vortex, that preserves the world by its own might, and that nourishes all its inhabitants, and pours forth floods of light ; the glorious, mighty, all-embracing, food-pro- ducing, unfading luminary, placed on the ground of the heaven-sustaining circle, the destroyer of the unfriendly slayer of foes, the exterminator of the injurious, the destroyer of the Asurs, and the slayer of our envious kindred, has been manifested. The all-surpassing, most excellent light of lights, all-conquering, and wealth-producing, is termed the mighty radiance. The glorious, radiant, mighty sun, sheds abroad his attend- ant, mighty, indestructible influence, to give light to the world." (Page 231.) " Truly, 0 Surya. thou art mighty ! Truly, O Aditya, thou art mighty ! And the might of thee, the mighty, (God,) is above all praise. O glorious divinity, thou art mighty through thy inherent might. Truly thou art mighty, O Surya, through thy fame ! Thou art in- deed mighty, O brilliant god I Thou, by thy might art the destroyer of Asurs, and the instructor of the gods, whose radiance is all-expansive and indestructible." (Page 269.) The honoiirs of the ocean, imder the name Varuna, are represented in the following extracts : — *' We, desirous of wis^cs, and desirous of sons, ever THE VEDA OX TVATEE AND FIEE. 451 first to move the sacrifice, the givers of distinguished gifts, invoke (Saraswan) the god Oceanus. Also let (Saraswati) the river goddess, beloved above beloveds by the sevenfold sisterhood, the much-extolled goddess, be praised by us." (Page 222.) " 0 Varuna ! hear this my invitation and have mercy on me : for I, desu-ous of thy aid, especially address thee. O rainer of felicity ! what is thy persevering march with which thou comest to make us joyful ? and what is that with which thou comest, bringing gifts to him who chants thy praise ?" (Page 241.) " 0 ye waters, be to us promoters of happiness, and stand on our side to procure for us provisions and highly felicitous foresight. Let your most prospering juices be ministered to us in this world with the readiness that affectionate mothers supply their infants. We cast you on (our bodies) with celerity, you who delight us by the destruction of our sins. Ye waters, also pro- cure for us an (illustrious) progeny." (Page 277.) Now follow the more exalted adorations of fire, Agni : — " 0 Agni, thou art to us the chief of the gods, our saviour, the confcrrer of bliss, the subject of our higher praises." (Page 85.) " 0 divine Agni, we light up thee, the shining, in- destructible divinity. In whatever part of the heavens tliy flame, worthy of all praise, emits its radiance, from thence do thou bring food for those that celebrate thy praise. O Agni, lord of light ! the sacrifice, accom- ])anicd with sacred hj-mns, is being offered up to thee, the radiant god. O possessor of all joy, destroyer (of foes), lord of men, bearer away of the oblation, it is 2 o 2 452 THE VEDA ON FIRE. being offered to thee ! bring food to those who celebrate th)- praise. 0 possessor of all joy, lord of men, thou receivest the oblation-presenting S2300n and its cover both into thy mouth ! O lord of strength, during the singing of the hymns, grant our desire, and bring food to those who celebrate thy praise !" (Page 164.) " O Agni ! I, Vatsa, wish to bring down thy spirit from the lofty, shining heavens. I wish to bring thee hither by a soul-delighting song. Thy eye is steadily fixed on many regions, and thou art the lord of all those regions ; therefore we call on thee in all our conflicts. Desirous of food, we in all our conflicts call to our aid Agni, who possesses treasures accumulated in his wars." (Page 182.) " O ye gods ! cause your brilliant Agni, who is served by all the other fires, and is worthy of oblations, to as- sume his form of messenger in this faultless sacrifice : for he takes up his abode among men, is the receiver of oblations ; whose brilliance is scorching, who is fed with clarified butter, and is our purifier. Uttering a noise like a horse when satisfied with grass, the mighty divinity, breaking over his bonds, fixes himself in some suitable place ; and thou, O Agni, thy brilliance, follow- ing the course of the wind, moves along, and the road thou followest is darkness." (Page 188.) " We worship the deity who, even among the gods, is worthy of admiration, the invilcr of the gods, the im- mortal, the carrier on of the sacrifice to perfection ; the preserver of liquids, possessor of brilliant treasui'cs, the all-resplendent Agni, encompassed with surpassing ra- diance." (Page 21.5.) " O Agni, thou art the head of the gods, overtopping THE TEDA OX MOOX-PLAXT TTIXE. 453 the heavens, resembling the eminence on a buIlock"s -houlders ; the lord of earth, the inspirer of delight into all animate and inanimate beings. O Agni, lord I of heaven! thou art the lord of wealth, worthy of being f praised and of being bestowed. It is thou that bestowest happiness ; let me, then, be the celebrator of thy praise. 0 Agni ! thy pure, white, shining rays urge onwards thy brilliant flames." (Page 233.) Possibly it may interest geologists to learn that Agni is, according to the Rig Veda, caput cttli, umbilicus terra, — " the head of heaven, and navel of earth." Can this be an allusion to central fires ? The next strange deity is Soma, the moon-plant wine. " 0, mighty Soma, father of the gods, all-diffusive as the sea, do thou come to this holy place !" (Page 82.) " That saving moon-plant, by its stream of pressed sacrificial viands, makes us pure. That saving moon- plant makes us pure." (Page 84.) " Soma is being purified : he is the father of intelli- gences, the father of heaven, the father of fire, the father of the sun, the father of Indra, the father even of Vish- nu." (Page 98.) " O Soma, rainer of blessings, thou art glorious ! O raincr of blessings, brilliant deity, thou art the producer of rain, thou art the supporter of religious rites ! O raincr of blessings, thy might causes rain, thy juice causes rain ! and, O rainer of blessings, thy person causes rain ! Thou, O rainer of blessings, makest a noise like that of a horse ! O Soma, send us cows, send us horses ; open to us the door of wealth." (Page 129.) " (0 Soma), lord of incantations, thy holy essence in 454 THE VEDA OX THE "WIND. everywhere shed abroad ! O author of being, thou en- compassest every member all around ! It was through his wisdom that the wisdom-possessing gods performed the act of creation, and the men-surveying patriarchs established the race of man." (Page 142.) " Soma is flowing down pure ; he is the creator of intellect, the creator of heaven, the creator of earth, the creator of the sun, the creator of fire, the creator of Indra. Soma, when he goes sounding to the holy place, is Bramha among the gods, the fixer of their respective merits among the poets, the Rishi among the Bramhans, the buffalo among the horned animals, the hawk among the vulture tribe, the sword among cutting instruments. Soma, the pacifier, with vibratory motion, inspires us with songs and soul-moving hymns, sending forth as rivers a flood of sound. Soma, who was the inward soul, and is the rainer of felicity, sits down among us, with his unmatched strength, and is well skilled in the matter of cows." (Page 162.) Here we perceive, that though both Indra and Agni had been honoured with the assurance of their being supreme among the gods, the same distinction is con- ferred on " the juicy god," as the poet calls his beloved Soma. The wind also, under the name Vayu and Maruts, has his praises and his prayers. " Confer on us for our preservation, an intellect for obtaining cows, horses, food, and heroes." " O (Maruts), heroes possessed of substantial might, grant his desire to the hymning, sweating, moving chanter." (Page 243.) O Vayu ! I, rendered glorious by the performance of sacred rites, and desirous of heaven, come to thee the THE DAWX. 455 first with the sweet moon-plant juice. O god ! worthy of all regard, come to our moon-plant banquet, drawn by thy million of horses ! O Indra and Vayu ! ye are worthy to drink of that expressed moon-plant juice ; for the streams of liquid flow together naturally unto you as waters into a pit. O Vayu and Indra ! mighty, and the lords of might, do ye come to the moon-plant banquet for our protection, in your chariot drawn by a milhon of horses." (Page 248.) " 0 wind, let thy soothing, delicious medicine enter our breasts, and do thou greatly extend our term of life ! 0 wind, thou art to us even as a father, even as a brother, to us even as an intimate friend. Do thou work with us for the preservation of the life-preserving sacri- fice. O wind ! bestow on us, to afford us a living, a portion of that unfailing (wealth) which is in thy house carefully stored up." (Page 279.) Nor is the dawn overlooked in the general lavishing of worship. "The goddess Aurora, in the form of tlie dawn, comes from the distant regions of the mcon to this nether world, and diffuses her splendour all around." (Page 39.) " 0 brilliant Aurora ! enlighten our minds as thou hast enlightened us in times ])ast, that thi.s day we may obtain much wealth. O tliou of glorious origin, by whose aid we obtain horses, (favour me,) Satyasvaras, son of Vajya ! 0 recipient of praise, bringer of brilliant desires, destroyer of darkness, daughter of heaven, powerful goddess ! give us a place of abode." (Page 262.) " These intelligence-giving rays of morn spread light over tlie eastern aerial region ; and the morning, crea- 456 THE DAWN. tive, generative, warming rays, march fortli like strong men arrayed in armour. The resplendent rays proceed forward with freedom, and, self-yoked, the glorious beams unite themselves (to the chariot). All intelli- gences awake with the morning, and the before-men- tioned rays of the brilliant (goddess) pay their respects to the radiant sun. The sacrifice-receiving Aurora is worshipped by one effort, even from afar, and brings food without fail to the pious, bountiful master of the moon-plant banquet." (Page 265.) After these quotations, it will be obvious that, at the time when this book was composed, the doctrine of God's unity, with the cognate truths of his infinity, omniscience, and omnipresence, had become so cor- rupted as to have lost their identity. A source of being is mistily conceived ; but the personality of that source is so completely lost, that any object may be honoured with the supreme name. We have here no clear idea of a Being whose nature so differs from that of all created things, as to forbid the thought of his fusion or identification with any, — a Being who, in his essential personality, pervades all, sustains all, directs all, yet re- mains distinct, as the vital air from the animal frame, or as the magnetic principle from the metal where it could not be discovered a day ago, but which it is per- vading now. On the surface of these quotations, it Avould seem as if several supreme beings M'ere recognized; but the meaning probably is, that each adorable object is de- clared supreme, because identified with the First Cause, and therefore with the other objects of worship ; as, for example, " Agni is radiance, and radiance is Agni ; PAIRS AND TEIOS OF GODS. 437 Indra is radiance, and radiance is Indra ; the sun is ra- I diance. and radiance is the sun." The deities are also * invoked by couples or trios : — " Let me have all the glorious, irresistible aids of the I mighty trio, — Mitra, Aryama, and Varuna. (Page 33.) I " 0 ye priests, celebrate Mitra and Varuna in songs at the height of your voice, and do you both, possessed of great strength, come to the long-continuing sacrifice. Ye who are the universal lords, the womb of the waters, yourselves divinities, and mighty among the gods." (Page 179.) Even in these extracts proofs appear, which are abundantly increased on reading the entire volume, that those by whom it was composed received a system of mythology comprising gods and goddesses, celestial broils, and celestial excesses. Nor is even pantheism consistently preserved, for some of the divinities are less distinctly pronounced supreme than others ; whereas were each one equally the Eternal, no gradations could exist. Though image-worship is not sanctioned, ani- mal-worship is so very clearly, in this prayer to Garuda, the sacred vulture : — " 0 Garuda, the men whose breasts are filled with : devotional feeling see thee while moving thy w-ings gracefully in the heavens, as thou art radiant like gold, and the messenger of Varuna, art the bird that pro- ducest in the womb of Yama the all-enthralling (Agni), and art the nourisher (of men). The water-preserving. I aloft-going Garuda takes his station before us in the heavens, lays hold of his variegated armour, and cover- ing himself with his own glorious plumage, like the sun, to await our reverential view, he gives to tlie 458 SACEED TULTTTEE. adorable, beloved (showers of rain). Covered with watery drops in the heavens, and shining with the Hght of the water-collecting sun, he goes to the fluid-receiv- ing (cloud) ; and the sun, shinmg with his white radi- ance, produces through the three worlds the delightful (rain.)" (Page 278.) Upon the subject of the Di'vine nature the Puranas do not materially diverge from the Vedas ; except that according to the sect of the authors, now Vishnu and now Shiva is declared to be supreme. In the Vishnu Purana, the one lesson inculcated is, that all the \mi- verse is not one existence save Vishnu alone. " Thou art sacrifice, thou art oblation, thou art the mystic Om- kara, thou art the sacrificial fires ; thou art the Vedaa, and their dependent sciences ; thou art, Hari, the object of all worship. The sim, the stars, the planets, the whole world ; aU that is formless or that has form ; all that is visible or invisible ; all, Purishottama, that I have said, or left unsaid : all this, supreme, thou art." (Page 29.) In another page we read, " Gods, men, animals, birds, reptiles — all are but forms of one eternal Vishnu, existing, as it were, apart from himself." In another passage Bramha addresses Vishnu thus : " 0 thou who art distinct from holy vrrit, whose double nature is twofold wisdom, superior and inferior, and who art the essential end of both ; who, alike devoid and possessed of form, art the twofold Bramha, smallest of the least, and largest of the large ; all, and knowing all things ; that spirit which is language ; that spirit which is supreme ; that which is Bramha, and of which Bramha is composed ! Thou art the Rig, the Yajur, the Sama, and the Atharva Vedas. Thou art accele- PANTHEISM. 459 i ration, ritual, signification, metre, and astronomy ; his- tory, tradition, grammar, theology, logic, and law. Thou art inscrutible. Thou art the doctrine that investigates the distinction between soul and life and body, and matter endowed with qualities ; and that doctrine is nothing but thy nature inherent in and presiding over ^it. Thou art imperceptible, indescribable, inconceiv- I able, without name, or colour, or hands, or feet ; pure, ' eternal, and infinite. Thou hearest without ears, and seest without eyes. Thou art one and multiform. Thou movest without feet, and seizest without hands. Thou knowest all, but art not by all to be known. He who beholds thee as the most subtle of atoms, not substan- tially existent, puts an end to ignorance ; and final emancipation is the reward of that wise man whose understanding cherishes nothing other than thee in the form of supreme delight." It is here manifest how consistently the doctrine of pantheism is pushed to all its consequences, however revolting or absurd ; and even among the most ignorant of the people, similar views prevail, thou vaguely conceived, and held with a thousand inconsistencies. The common statement, that the Hindus have neither temple nor worship for Para Bramha, the great First Cause, is correct ; and yet it conveys an impression beyond the truth. Para Bramha is a virtual nonentity, existing for ever in profound sleep, unaware even of his own existence. The expression of the last-quoted ])as- ■ sage, " the most subtle of all atoms, not substantially ' existent," hints at this view of his nature ; a view not well consisting with pantheism. To this inconceivable abstraction it is impossible that worship should be rcn- 460 PAEA BRAMHA. dered. But the Shiva worshipper holds Shiva to be supreme, and the Vishnu worshipper holds Vishnu to be supreme, each regarding the homage paid to these gods as paid to Him who is all and all.* The panthe- istic principle, first employed to deify the great agents of nature, is thus secondly applied to imaginary celestial beings, and finally subserves the vilest idolatry. He who believes that birds and reptiles are only forms of the Supreme, may readily adore the vulture or the snake. With all their folly, it will be observed that some of the pasages cited nobly express the divine glory. In what follows this is still more conspicious. " We how to him whose glory is the perpetual theme of every speech ; him first, him last ; the supreme Lord of the boundless world ; who is primeval light ; who is without his like ; indivisible and infinite ; the origin of all e.\- istent things moveable or stationary." How readily and happily should we conclude that the writer of this really knew the truth of one glorious eternal Spirit! But the very next sentence is to this effect : — " To that supreme being who is one with time, whose first forms, though he be without form, are day and evening, and night, be adoration." This (and countless citations more humbling still might be made) shows that terms which to lis convey large and glorious conceptions of i * Voltaire, with his usual acuteness and spite, replies to the accusation of not worshipping the Supreme, which had been made against the Hindus by Romish priests : " Whiit could Chinese, Tartars, Arabs, Persians, Turks, think, if they saw so {, many churches dedicated to St. January, St. Antliony, St. I Francis, St. Fiacre, &e., and not one to the lord of natiue, the I supreme essence by whom we live r" — Fragm. sur I' Inde. PARA BEAMHA. 461 what God is, are used by the Hindu without any cor- responding idea. Perhaps Mr. Mill errs in ascribing le origin of such terms to the love of flattery ; and -Ttainly his opponents err in arguing that the use of , the terms implies the existence of their appropriate ' ideas. The terms are proof that at one time true ideas of God sought and received true expression; but the use of those terms now does not prove that the primi- tive ideas are preserved ; it only proves that those who employ the terms have an impression that they are laudatory and acceptable. My own observation would • lead mc to say, that among the people (and even the t few passages of the sacred books cited, will show that tin them also) these lofty appellations much resemble I the title " Maha Rajah," on a letter to a Mahratta ac- I countant or tailor. The coiTcspondent has no idea of ' asserting that the accountant or the tailor is a great I king ; but he wishes to be polite, and therefore uses i the royal title, witliout for one moment thinking what i it means. So, in sounding epithets in praise of Vishnu |l or Saivh, the Hindu means to be as laudatory as pos- Isible ; but as to the words, they are words of air. One of the many points in wliich Hinduism is incon- {sistent with the fundamental dogma of Pantheism, is the 1 ' cognition of a triad, — Bramha, the creator ; Vishnu, preserver; and Shiva, the destroyer, — who rule I heaven and earth, men and gods. Respecting this triad many tlieories exist. One declares them to be only ' Para Bramha manifesting himself now in creation, now in preservation, and now in destruction. Another pro- j claims Shiva head and source of the triad and of all things, Bramha and Vishnu being only his subordi- 462 THE TRIAD. nates. A third claims the reversal of this order in fa- vour of Vishnu ; and a fourth declares that the whole triad are only the first created and highest of creature- gods, who are charged with the care of the miiverse while the First Cause enjoys his sleep. Beamha, the creator, has a vile and disastrous history. The only references to him which I remember in the Sama Veda are the following, in which the epithet "first-born" seems to designate him, rather than Para Bramha : — "The first-born glorious Bramha has, from of old, shed abroad his brilliant rays to the utmost bounds of space, and now sheds them abroad to the re- gents of all the ditferent points in the heavens, which are the reducers to form of this world, and everywhere residing in the wombs of truth and falsehood." (Pp. 60, 61.) In another place, "Bramha among the gods," is a mark of eminence. His office is not only creative but also rectoral, he guards the holy Vedas without which neither heaven nor earth could stand ; and as each child is born, he predestinates all its acts of piety or crime, with its portion of sorrow or happiness, writing the whole upon its forehead. For an unpardonable domestic ofience against Shiva, one of his heads was cut ofi", and for another stiU viler, he was cursed so heavily that he has not been since honoured with the temples or the worship, according to the other gods. Yet on certain occasions sacrifices are offered to him ; and in some neighbom-hoods he lias temples. Vishnu is honoured even in the Sama Veda, with the title "All-preserving," and in one passage is referred to in a way that places him above Indra. Yet the latter THE AVATAKAS. 463 receives, throughout the work, a thousandfold more ihonour than Vishnu, who is declared worthy of respect, ^because he is "the intimate friend and companion of !lndra." But in Hinduism as now existing, Indra is a 'second-rate god, while Vishnu shines in the Triad. As ! preserver, it has frequently become his duty to suffer •incarnation. The first was the Matsya (fish) Avatdra, or incarnation. In a drowsy fit Bramha had let the Vedas escape. On their flight they were siezed by a 'giant, who, to retain his prize, dived to the bottom of the ' sea. To repair the fatal loss, Vishnu became a fish, ' ha.sted to the depths where the giant lay, penetrated into his body, and thence bore away the celestial trea- sure. The second was the Kurma, or turtle, Avafara. ' The gods, desirous of maritime discoveries, embarked on a craft such as Lloyds never registered, namely Mun- dara Parvata, a huge mountain. Their bark began to sink ; they, at the point of dro^vning, cried to the great Preserver, and he, to rescue the immortals, became a turtle, dived into the sea, placed himself under the mountain, and heaved it up with his back. The Varaha, or boar, Avatdra, followed. A giant had become so dangerous that his destruction was ne- ' cessarj'. But he was ensconced in the lowest of the ' seven lower worlds. Vishnu, to reach him, became a boar, and with his snout scooped a passage through the irth, and right down to the infernal regions, where he slew the giant. The Vishnu Parana differently relates this Avatdra, saying that its object was to raise the I earth out of the waters. "The mighty boar, whose vcs were like the lotus, and whose body, vast as the ^ ila mountain, was of the dark colour of the lotus leaves, 464 THE AVATARAS. uplifted upon his ample tusks the earth from the lowest regions." We are further informed that the sages " sought for shelter among the bristles on the scriptural body of the boar, trembling as he rose up supporting the earth, and dripping with moisture." This boar was not made in good jiroportion, for we are told in another Purana, that he was ten yojanas in breadth, and a thou- sand thousand high ; that is fifty miles, by five thou- sand. The fourth was the man-lion, Avatdra. A devout servant of Vishnu had a father opposed to his worship; and who, one day contending with his son, denied the omnijiresence of Vishnu, and striking a pillar declared he was not there. The preserver issued from the pillar as half a man, half a lion ; tore open the infidel's body, sucked his blood, and made necklaces of his intestines. Then came the dwarf-Bramhan, or Vamana, Avatdra, Bali, a giant to w^hose depredations the Rig Veda oftea refers, had reduced the gods to great straits. Vishnu appeared before him as a pigmy Bramhan, soliciting as much ground as he could cover with three prints of his tiny foot. The giant, amused at the request, granted it. Vishnu instantly dilated to vast proportions, with the first step covered all the earth, with the second all the space between earth and heaven, and, having no place for the third, he Md it on the head of Bali, crush- ing him ^through the earth to hell. This Avatdra is plainly referred to in the Sama Veda. " This Vishnu, when he made his tour of the world, put down his feet but three times, and covered all the earth with the dusty sole of his foot. Vishnu, the preserver, the in- KRISHNA. 465 defatigable, made the journey in three steps, and thus upheld the performance of sacred rites." The sixth Avatdra was Parusha Rama, a heroic man, victor in dreadful wars. The seventh was Rama Chan- dra, whose conquest of Ceylon, by an army of monkeys, was sketched in a former chapter. These two Avatdras were contemporary, and being mutually ignorant that each was the great Vishnu, went to war the one with the other. The eighth Avatara was Bala Rama, who with a mighty snake destroyed hosts of giants. The ninth Avatdra was into the Arali tree, and was assumed for the same purpose as the golden shower. The tenth, which has not yet occurred, is to be in the form of a horse. Besides these nine Avaturas, that of Krishna is cele- brated at great length in some of the Puranas ; and all India resounds with ballads commemorating his mirth, his might, and his licentiousness. I have remarked, at least, three instances, in which the Rig Veda mentions Krishna ; but they are obscure, leaving it very doubtful whether the same personage is intended. At page 205, Indra is commended for having " killed the women pregnant by Krishna, the Asura, or giant."* This looks verj' like an allusion to the husband of sixteen thousand mves. But this being placed among the giants some- what obscures it ; though at pages 246 and 248, the Asvini are praised for having restored a lost son, Vish- napvan, to his father, a son of Krishna. Thus, while in the one case merit attended the destruction of his offspring, on the other it attended their preservation. • Muliercs, a Krishna, Asura gravidas, necavit. — Rosen. 2 H 466 THE PRESEKVER A DECEIVER. One trait in the cliaracter of the Preserver is verj- remarkable. Hinduism carries the doctrine of super- errogation to such length, that ascetics may gain merit, not only sufficient to cover their own sins, and to benefit other mortals ; but sufficient also to give them fearful powers, which, at discretion, may be turned against the gods. When one of these holy men threatens the ce- lestials, nothing can rescue them, but to deprive him of his merit by leading him into sin. Thus, in order to seduce men of transcendant piety, the Preserver has several times become a teacher of error. Of these abo- minable missions, the Purana wholly devoted to the praise of Vishnu supplies the following example. The gods after a severe defeat pitiously appealed to Vishnu, saying : " Have compassion on us, 0 Lord, and protect us who have come to thee for succour, from the Daityas. They have seized upon the three worlds, and appro- priated to themselves the offerings which are our por- tion, taking care not to transgress the precepts of the Vedas Engaged in the duties of their respec- tive orders, and following the paths prescribed by holy writ, practising also religious penance, it is impossible for us to destroy them. Do thou instruct us in some device whereby we may exterminate the enemies of the gods." When the mighty Vishnu heard their request he emitted from his body an illusory form which he gave to the gods, and thus spake : " This deceptive vision shall wholly beguile the Daityas, so that, being led astray from the path of the Vedas, they may be put to death ; for all gods, demons, or others Avho shall be opposed to the Veda, shall perish by my miglit, whilst exercised for the preservation of the world. Go then, THE DESTROYER. 467 -nd fear not: let this delusive vision precede you; it aall this day be of great service to you, O gods ! " In the case of Dcvodasa, given by Dr. Wilson, of Bombay, Vishnu is at much pains to corrupt the holiest of mor- tals ; and at length succeeds. Of Shiva, the Destroyer, it is not possible to say much without citing impurities better avoided. Wrath, lust, and filth, are the sum of his character. In one of his wars, Mandara Purvata (the mountain on which the gods embarked) was his bow, a vast serpent the string, Vishnu his arrow, and for a shield, having split the earth asunder, he took one half. His repeated crimes brought upon him curses manifold, and, some of them, unmentionable. His dwelling was among the ashes of the dead, his avocation begging, his robe a tiger's skin, his alms-box a human skull, and his rosary a string of skuUs. Among his names arc the " Furious."' the " Hide-clad," the " Ugly-eyed," and the " Devil-king." Upon his character all the vices have exhausted their imagination ; and yet, overflowing with impurities as that character is, his worship is the most ancient of the -cctarian divisions in India, and perhaps even yet, the most numerous. His office is to destroy all things ; an event frequently occurring, according to Hinduism ; oc- curring, indeed, whenever Bramha takes a sleep.* He ^eems to be fully recognized in his character of De- troyer in the Rig Veda. " Slay not, O Rudra. (Shiva.) our old, nor our young, our unborn, {generans.^ nor our newly-born, our father, nor our mother ; nor afflict t ie • I do not attempt to give ii view of Hindu cosmoi;ony, a.s it woidd reiiiiirc mueli space, and is not a iicees>uiy part of their reli-^ion ; though ncccssaiily involving the credit of the Shiistras. o II 2 468 MODES OF MAKIXG GOUS. bodies we love ! In son, in grandson, in kinsman, in cows, or in horses, chastise us not ; nor in anger smite our men, 0 Rudra ! Far from us be thy weapon which slays cows,* and slays men, O Destroyer of men ! Be felicity accorded to us of thee ; favour us, and un- dertake our cause, O god ! O give us salvation ! " Each of the Triad has a heaven of his own ; India too, has a heaven, and several heavens beside are men- tioned. These abodes are thronged by three hundred and thirty millions of gods ; in whose character is neither grandeur nor worth. They luxuriate in crime, and are frequently worsted in battle. Krishna called them " the \-ile and contemptible denizens of heaven," and also "the evil-minded and unprincipled gods terms admirably characteristic. These gods are considered immortal ; but not properly divine ; except, indeed, as any object may be identified with the supreme spirit, and so be called di\'ine. In the Canarese, and some other Indian tongues, though not in all, they are not called Dna, the name " God" as applied to the Triad and a few others ; but Devtta, " little gods," dii minores. You cannot, however, find two Bramhans who agree as to the number of celestials entitled to be called Dcva. Of course it is not attempted to give a catalogue of the Devita ; and only a few, comparatively, receive separate worship. At certain ceremonies, and in urgent distress, they are invoked in mass. Perhaps it may admit of doubt whether any of the gods recei\ing separate worship belong properly to the class of Devita, and whether they are not all of other • " Vaccans necans i" this I take to be a nusprint for vaceai, and render it accordingly. IDOLATRY. 469 orders ; being cither deified natural agents, deified men, deified animals ; or else imaginary regents governing certain provinces, as Kumara, " God of war," and Vig- nayshvara, " God of difficulties." If this be correct, then the three hundred and thirty millions come from a corruption of the patriarchal doctrine of angels ; and to furnish the pantheon of divinities separately adored, three processes have been employed ; — Personifica- tion', applied at will to any inanimate object, even so low as moon-plant wine, but especially to the nobler ones, as the sun, moon, ocean, kc. : Apotheosis, ex- ercised not only on men, but also on beasts, birds, and reptiles ; and Invention, resorted to when any class of facts had been observed, and it was deemed neces- sary to assign them a director. Such conceptions as Virgil's Fame, or Ovid's Envy, if put forth, in India, by good authority, would be generally accepted as models of goddesses. From conceptions similar, if not in poetry, at least in principle, have sprung the host of official gods ; a class which includes even the Triad. The debased and polluting idolatry to which these doctrines naturally lead, has been illustrated at length in former pages. It is now, therefore, only necessary to recall the fact, that the fair and spacious continent of Hindustan is inundated with idols — idols of from the size of an elephant to that of a bee ; of every material, from gold to clay ; and of every form, from monster to reptile — idols in which all decency is outraged, and all modesty decried — idols which meet you at every turn, until you are ready to repeat the old satire on Athens, that it is more easy to find a god than a man. Then, with these loathsome claimants of divine honours ore I 470 POLLrXIOX OF DIVINITIES. associated trees, hills, waters, kings, husbands, priests, and patrons, cows, birds, snakes, and monkeys, and even implements of handicraft. Nor are these debasements confined to the ignorant and low. In the Vishnu Pu- 1 ana we are told, that Krishna utters the following sen- timents : — " Practical science is agriculture, commerce, and tending of cattle Thus the knowledge of the means of support is threefold. The object that is cul- tivated by any one should be to him as his chief diTi- nity ; that should be venerated and worshipped as it is his benefactor We then'' (he was a cowherd) " are bound to worship the mountains and to offer sacri- fices to cattle. What have we to do with Indra ? Cattle and mountains are oui- gods. Bramhans offer worship with prayer ; cultivators of the earth adore their land- marks ; but we, who tend our herds in the forests and mountains, should worship them and our kine." (Page 524.) Painful as is the darkness of the Hindu on the natural attributes of God, it is more painful still respecting His moral glories. Whether Ave take one god or another, celestial life or terrestrial incarnations, the primitive Veda or the modern Purana, in all we find the revolting alliance of divinity and pollution. It is safe to say that in the Purana legends of the amours, envies, and errors of the gods, we have, from the creator down, a record of turpitude far exceeding that of any prison in exist- ence. Deeds we should blush to name, are sung in lofty verse, and as the performance of glorious godhead. To excuse these monstrosities we are told that as to God "no actions affect him." Were it not that our eyes have light from above, this answer might blind GOD OXE, GODS MANY. 471 US, as it does the astute Hindu, and like him we might forget that it is not the action which affects the agent ; but the agent who affects the action, displaying his own character in the character he gives to his deeds. Laboriously and painfully does the Hindu set himself to prove that actions which in himself would be cul- ! pable, are in his god, wise and pure. This one fact ', forcibly illustrates two Scriptural declarations ; namely., that the heathen know not God ; and that they have a law written on their heart. In their ignorance of God, they forget that principles too vile for man, cannot be those of the Eternal ; and by the law written on their hearts, they feel that to copy the supposed divine ex- ample would involve guilt. The truth that a clean thing cannot be brought out of an unclean, has a sor- rowful evidence in the fact that every effort of the hu- man soul to evolve, independent of revelation, an idea of God, has only produced a huge being of eccentric power, and blemished morals. The idea of God as taught in the Shastras, is lament- ably entangled and obscure ; but as existing In the po- pular mind is even more so. They say, " God is one ;" but when asked Who? or. Of what character? some will reply, " the god at Shivagunga ;" some, " Hana- mtmta;" gome, " Goobbee Appa ;" some, " Runga," and 80 on. With the more intelligent the proposition, " God is one," is only the first of a series of propositions of which the last is, " There are gods many and lords many." One class, if they could analyse their reason- ing, would state it thus : " God is one : this one Being is supreme ; the Supreme must be perfectly happy ; to be perfectly happy, he must be free from all care ; to 472 COyPCSED IDEAS. be free from all care, he must be unconscious : there- fore God is free from consciousness, that is, he is for ever asleep. A being who is a.sleep does not govern the universe ; but the universe is governed ; and must be governed by some divine being ; thus there must be some divine being who ia not asleep, and consequently who is not the supreme." And then, it is easy to prove from the Shastras that the government of the univerw is not in one hand, but in many, therefore the gods are many. Another class arrives at the same conclusion, thus : " God is one ; from him sprang all things ; He is in all things ; so that on whatever we look we \ooik on God. It is false to say of anything it is not God, for nothing exists without God ; therefore God is every- thing, and everything is God." Their views of God's omnipresence, though thus adequate as to extent, are wretchedly gross. Of omniscience they have scarce a thought ; Para Bramha being ignorant that he is even asleep, and all the Shastras describing the highest gods &s often in difficulties from ignorance, it is not wonderful that the people insist on the necessity of several gods; because, say they, no king could attend to a whole king- dom without provincial officers ; so God cannot attend to all affairs without assistant deities. They sometimes worthily express omnipotence ; but a moment after show that they have not any true conception on the subject ; and indeed, even in the Shastras, halts, obstacles, and embarrassments retard every movement of alleged om- nipotence, and impede even the work of creation. When, even in the Shastras, the acts of deity constantly flow from, or are mingled with, what they themselvet term, " foulness, passion, and darkness," we could THE SOUL DIVIXE. 473 only expect, what we find sadly realized, that in the j thoughts of the people the deity stands apart from all idea of justice, fidelity, and truth. Yet they have universally the conviction, that sin will be punished ; a conviction, however, taught chiefly by a voice quoting the sanctions of a law written on their heart. I never could discover in a Hindu mind, the idea of one great Being, holy and good, who is distinct from all He upholds as His o\vn light from all it beautifies. Others beside theological observers, have been struck vnth. the absence in Hindu piety of any sentiment like the love of God. Colonel Kennedy has said respecting the Shastras, that, " It is singular that such expressions as the love and fear of God, never occur in those sacred books."* The doctrines concerning man, are next in impor- tance to those concerning God. It is affirmed on all hands that the Hindus have always taught the immor- tahty of the soul. But in this statement immortality is confounded with future existence. The Hindus hold that the soul exists after death ; but, in our sense, or in any true sense, they do not hold it to be immortal. To the idea of life, especially of spiritual life, both personality and consciousness are essential. By the immortality of the soul, we understand, that to all eternity the soul will exist as a real being; and therefore will for ever think, feel, and act. This the Hindus do not hold. Their doctrine is not the immortality, but the divinity, of the soul. The soul, according to them, is not a creature of God, which it is not His will ever to annihilate ; but it is a part of God, which he has de- luded into the belief that it is a separate being. In • Quoted by Dr. Wilson. 474 ALL LIFE OXE. consequence of this delusion it suffers, on quitting the present body it will enter another, there it will suffer also, and so on until, recovering from its error, it will recognize itself as God, whereupon its suffering and its consciousness will terminate, by re-absorption into the Supreme. To a soul, the termination of conscious ex- istence is not only death, but annihilation ; it would, therefore, be more correct to say that the Hindus be- lieve in the divinity of the soul, than that they believe in its immortality. The soul is, according to Hinduism, ever and only a part of God ; and yet its condition after death depends on its merit in life. If virtuous it may be born a goat or even a cow ; if pious, a man ; if saintly, a Bramhan; if immortal, a cat, a tiger, a crow, or a bug. Its pro-' gress in holiness is followed by a progressive elevation of birth, till absorption cro^vns its reward. Thus, upon the whole earth, only one kind of living being exists ; " all life is one." "A man, a woman, a cow, a goat, a horse, an elephant, a bird, a tree," (for some include vegetables with animals,) "are names" says the Vishnu Purana, " assigned to various bodies which are the con- sequences of acts. Man is neither a god, nor a man, nor a brute, nor a tree : these are mere varieties of shape, the effects of acts." This occurs in a passage often quoted by Bramhans in conversation with myself. The same Purana recites the history of a prince, who after death was born a dog, then a jackal, then a wolf, then a \'ulture, then a crow, then a peacock, and finally a prince again. It wiU be observed that in this doctrine heaven and hell have no place. Sin is punished by repeated gifts HEiVEN AXD HELL. 475 of existence, and piety rexvarded by privation of exist- tance for ever. Had these views prevailed from the beginning, no such idea as that of heaven or hell would have existed. Yet allusions to those places of punish- ment and reward are of constant occurrence, nor do the rOEALITY. having shared his weakness, might pity his danger. This man was past middle age ; he was a priest ; his son was sitting by, and some of the inferior people were there to hear his answer to the grand question. He gave the hopeless humbling answer just recorded, with an air of good fciith and complacency. And how many of our fellow-subjects, when their conscience forces upon them the question, What can I do to be saved ? can give no better reply ! On minor points of doctrine, however interesting, we cannot pause. On the Morals of Hinduism we need not speak at large. In the Shastras are foimd dispersed many precepts of admirable morality ; but taking those books as a whole, no works of our most shameless authors, are so unblushing, or so deleterious. The Sama Veda treats drunkenness as a celestial pastime ; and yet of all vices this is the most repugnant to the genius of modern Hinduism. Again, aU the gods are re- presented as playing at will with truth, honour, chastity, natural affection, and every virtue ; running, for sport, into the \'ilest excess, and consecrating by their ex- amjjle all hateful deeds. Falsehood, if with a pious motive, has direct sanction. Menu declares that, " A giver of false evidence from a pious motive, even though he know the truth, shaU not lose a seat in heaven : such evidence men call divine speech." Shortly after he supplies us with a list of the occasions in which such pious motive may be claimed : " In the case of courte- zans, of marriages, of food eaten by cows, of fuel for a sacrifice, or a benefit or protection accruing to a Bram- han, there is no sin in an oath." Vishnu has often preserved the gods, by the most wicked impostures. MORALITY. 480 Lies flow familiarly from divine lips, and thus lose all disrepute in mortal eyes. The amours of the gods are so detailed as inevitably to corrupt all who read and admire them ; while they argue, on the part of the writers, a homble familiarity with every variety of de- bauch. In the lofty poetry of the sacred books are musically sung expressions of a coarseness that would be spumed from the vilest ballad.* Part of the retinue of every temple consists of priestesses, who are the only educated women in the country, and whose profession it is to corrupt the public morals. Of the secret wor- ship of the Shakties, or procreative energies, which takes place under Bramhanical sanction, it would be wrong to say a word beyond this, that on such occasions the prejudices of caste are equally disregarded with the laws of God. In some of the temples, excesses are, at certain times, openly committed, which would be con- cealed even in our lowest dens of vice. It is very easy for those who are not too sensible on such points, to say that missionaries are ; but it is not so easy to an- swer the question of Ward : " Is there such a strong bias in human nature to virtue, that a man will be pure in spite of the example of his gods, and when the very ser\'ices of his temple present the most fasci- nating temptations to impurity r" No parent watchful of tlie morality of his children, would allow them to read the tomes, to which our brctliren in the East devoutly resort for heavenly instruction. • It may be judged what will be the character of the his- tories, when, even in a hymn of the comparatively i)iire Kig Veda, we have such language as this : Mulier obtinel mnritum, excitant rjenitale semen; concipiendo tirilem humorem uxor cx- trahit. — IIosen. 490 PRINCIPLES AND PEPvTEESIONS. We may give an illustration of the fact, that it is im- possible to judge of the real sentiments of the Hindus, merely by detached sentences of the sacred books. That the true character of an action is fixed, not by its outward appearance, but by the heart of him who performs it, is a principle lying deep at the basis of all morality. We find that principle announced by the Hindus. Carrying to the words our own ideas, we should hail them as proof of clear light on morals. But should we meet with a little book of popular tales, we find one designed to illustrate this principle : it runs thus : — In a certain town lived two merchants, bosom friends, who met daily, after business, to enjoy each other's society. On parting, one of the friends, being devout, went to the temple : the other, being licentious, went to the home of the priestesses. Thus matters proceeded till they both died, when the devotee was sent to hell, and the libertine was received to heaven. A sage, surprised at this, went to Bramha and demanded the reason why a devout man was consigned to torment, and a wicked man exalted to bliss. Bramha replied, " "WTien they daily parted, he who went among the priestesses often thought of his devout friend, and reflected how much better it would have been, had he gone with him to worship in the temple. Thus, though outwardly com- mitting sin, his heart was occupied with pious thoughts. The other, while in the temple, often thought of his voluptuous friend, and of the manner in Avhich he was engaged. Thus, though actually performing a holy work, his heart was revolving impure subjects : and you are aware," added Bramha, " that the character of actions depends on the state of the heart ; therefore I THE PRIESTHOOD. 491 have received to heaven him whose heart was piously disposed, and sent to hell him whose heart was licen- I tious." We should have deemed it impossible so ^ exactly to pervert a good principle, or at least, impos- sible that any man should accept the perversion. But this story, with its hateful moral, has been zealously defended, against my censures, by learned and sincere Bramhans. There is a fearful art in error, to transmute into noxious vapour truths the most luminous and solid. Perhaps the most natural place in which to consider the MiNiSTEY of a religious system is after its doctrines and its morals, but before its ritual. The ministry of Hinduism is well defined. It is a priesthood holding the functions of teachers in addition to those which are purely sacerdotal. This office can be held only in a line of inviolable succession. No power can introduoD to it one whom the gods did not predestinate to its honours, by giving him a Bramhan birth. But birth alone does not constitute the priest. " By birth," says the Shastras, " his caste is that of a Shudra ; by the initiatory sacrament, his caste is that of the twice-born." This initiatory sacrament is performed when the boy has 1 reached the age of seven or nine years. An assembly of the Bramhans being convoked, and solemn sacrifices offered, the boy is shaved, washed, and girded ; when the father, placing him with his face to the east, re- peats in his car some portion of the holy Veda, of which, up to that hour, he has not been permitted to hear a word. Three fine cords, in the shape of a skein of thread, are then passed under one arm, and over the opposite shoulder, so as to hang across the chest ; and 492 SACEEDOTAL LITE. this triple cord is the sign of his actual admisssion to the priestly office. It is made of cotton which Bram- hanical hands alone have plucked from the bush, pre- pared, spun, and twisted ; for no mortal of lower birth is worthy to touch the sacred fibre destined to form the badge of a terrestrial god. From the moment of this investiture, the Bramhan is declared dvi-jana, " bom again ;" so that the doctrine of regeneration by an initial right is not confined to Europe. The priesthood, thus conferred, cannot be lost, ex- cept by some infamy that drives the Bramhan from his caste. His ignorance may be great, his calling secular, and his character disreputable ; but the sacerdotium abides intact. From the day of investiture he possesses six rights : that of reading the Vedas, and that of getting them read ; that of making the sacrifice of yajna, and that of causing it to be made ; that of recei\-ing alms, ajid that of giving alms to the Bramhans. Of these privileges, reading the Vedas, and making or causing the ynjna, are exclusively confined to the sacred caste. The king caste are permitted to hear the Vedas, though not to read them ; and in the privilege of giving alms to the Bramhans, they graciously permit even a Shudra to participate ; but I believe no out-caste dare aspire to that honour. Among the ci\'il immunities accorded to the priestly office are, exemption from house-tax, from local duties on goods, and from corporal punishment. They divide sacerdotal life into four stages ; on the first of which, that of Bramhachari, or " student," the youth enters at his initiation. He must now daily bathe, and twice a day offer the sacrifice of the homam. He at once begins to study, first learning to read and write, CEKEIIOXIAL PCEITT. 49o :;en proceeding to the sacred books, and adding lan- .guages and sciences according to his talents or his mds. The number of Bramhans who understand the edas is very limited. They will repeat muntras all their lives without vmderstanding a word of them. A I Romish missionary has aptly said, " They may be com- pared to the peasantry in the Catholic countries of Europe, who learn to read Latin, that they may be able to chant the psalms on Sundays at church." A friend of mine once, hearing schoolboys reciting San- scrit verses, demanded to know the meaning. The poor urchins referred him to their master, and the master frankly owned he did not know. Even the Bramhan least addicted to study is careful to maintain that ceremonial purity, by which they hold themselves above all other mortals. They bathe at least once a day, generally twice, and if rigid thrice : this is persevered in through the coldest weather, and is matter of much spiritual pride. Never did Pharisee more complacently regard his superiority to other men, than does a Bramhan the unmatched sanctity of his ablutions. When he returns from intercourse with the world, to his own house, the clothes he wore are left in an outer room, and the stains which the touch or the breath of less holy beings may have left on his person are carefully washed away. Some physicians, when feeling the pulse of a Shudra, will place their silk be- tween their finger and his skin. In walking or sitting, must carefully avoid the touch of bones, rags, saliva, , and countless things beside ; to avoid that of a dog he would run far ; that of a Pariah would set him frantic. N or is that of a European much more welcome ; but 494 STAGES OF PRIESTLY LIFE. interest checks the expression of disgust. Upon the vessels he uses in cooking no eye may fall but one of the sacred caste ; should any less holy glance, by mis- fortune, meet one of these illustrious pots, it is for ever polluted and must be destroyed. In ^rawing water, should his A'essel touch one belonging to a man of dif- ferent caste, his, if earthenware, must be broken ; if brass, long and laboriously scoured, ^^^lenever it is possible, they have wells reserved for their own use; and hard indeed is their lot, when necessity compels them to draw from a well where even an out-caste may come. Once, in showing a Bramhan a simple experi- ment, I accidentally threw water upon him from a glass. Had it been aquafortis, he could not have more vigor- ooisly leaped and screamed. It was a severe misfor- tune ; he soberly declared that he almost doubted whether he were any longer a Bramhan ; and many a bathing, at least, that stain from clear water would cost him. Fasting is among the essential duties of a Bramhan. From all animal food he constantly abstains, as also from all intoxicating di-inks, and all bulbous roots.* In addition to which, he is obliged to keep a fast day at the change and full of the moon, on the eleventh day of each moon, and at the solstices, equinoxes, and eclipses. Their fast is not absolute, for though they do not take any meal till after sunset, they may freely use milk and fruit, which are at all times chief artlcleB of their diet. The Abbe Dubois thus estimates the re- ligious value of their abstinence ; — " These fasts have • On these points the northern Bramhans have grown very lax. DIFFEKEXT OEDEES OF PEIESTS. 495 I for their objects two purposes, which would do credit to a religion more pure than that of the Bramhans. The first is to obtain by this act of penitence the forgiveness \ of their sins ; and the second, to avert the malign in- tfluence of the stars." It would seem, then, that the worthy priest concurred in the view of God's govern- ment, which supposes that offences against law are com- pensated by bodily pain ; and that our lot is affected for good or ill by the mute stars ! Upon marriage, the Bramhan becomes a householder, or Geihasta ; thus entering upon the second stage of ■ his priestly career. His conduct is now regulated by i multifarious rules referring to ablution, recitation of prayers, gi'^'ing alms to the Bramhans, the practising hospitality, and the study of sacred books ; but many of these points will be more naturally reviewed, when we examine Hindu ritual. The third stage of priestly life is that of Vattap- BASHTA, or ascetic, in which the Bramhan abandons ail society but that of his wife, and with her resides in a forest, wholly given up to devotions. In ancient times, many Bramhans practised this mode of life ; but now it is chiefly left to men of inferior caste, who, as Orme remarks, " seek to obtain, by severities, the reli- gious veneration accorded to the Bramhans on account of birth alone." It would appear that, even in the days of Alexander, the Bramhans did not monopolize ascetic life ; for Arrian, in noting the fact that the Indians were " not allowed to exercise two vocations, nor to change from one to another," adds, " except to that of the Gymnosopliists, wliich is of all professions the most austere." The Gymnosophists he had previously de- 496 DIFFERENT ORDERS OF PRIESTS. scribed as being the highest class of Hindus, and as the priests, adding, that not even a private sacrifice was considered " pleasing to the gods," unless presented by them. He states, also, that " they practised divination, went naked, and lived on fruits." The fourth, and highest stage of priestly life is that o£ Sannyasi, or hermit, in which the Bramhan re. nounces wife, family, caste, goods, and all earthly things, devoting himself wholly to contemplation, and to such voluntary torments as we have already described. This division of the Bramhans into four stages is now little more than nominal ; for the Vanaprashta and Sannyasi are very rare, and the Bramhachari are only boys. The Grihasia, or householder Bramhans may, tlierefore, be said to include nearly all the adults of the caste. Their real divisions are into the two classes, sacred and secular ; into the four classes, each of whom foUows one of the four Vedas ; and into Vishnuite, Shivaite, or Neutrals, according to their sectarian creed. Each sect has, among the Bramhans of its sacred class, two different ordei-s of Priests. Of these the lower is the PxjKOHiTA, who ranks above the ordinary Bramhan ; and the higher is the Gurxt, who ranks above Bramhan, Purohita, and all beings not divine. The duties of the Purohita are ceremonial. He is not a teacher, unless one choose to consider as teaching the annual publication of the almanac, which devolves upon him, as does, also, the duty of announcing, on the first day of the year, who is to be, for the year, king of the gods, which star is to be lord of the stars, what deity will have charge of the crops, how much rain will fall, how the harvest will turn out, what amount of TBE GVSr. 497 vermin will disturb good people in their slumbers, and other matters equally important to be known, and equally in his power to reveal. His substantial duties are to calculate nativities, to choose names for children, to bless, by his muntras, houses, tanks, and wells, at their opening ; to consecrate new temples, and to transub- stantiate new idols. He also celebrates all marriages and funerals ; no other Bramhan being instructed in all the motions, flexions, repetitions, and particularities ne- cessary to the due performance of these rites. The Purohita is looked up to by all classes, even including the Bramhans. Every prince keeps one at court, with- out whose sanction he will not set out to hunt, under- take a war, or embark in any concern of moment. All Purohitas must be married, and, if left widowers, must re-marry before they can again perform their most im- portant duties. They are careful to train only their own sons in the ceremonial minutiae, by which caution the honours and gains of office are preserved in the family. The Guru is more a teacher and ruler than an offici- ating priest. Did I give a faithful account of this hierarchy, it would be impossible to escape the suspicion of designedly insinuating resemblances between them ind their European brethren. All, therefore, which I y respecting them shall be in the words of a Roman I ttholic priest, altering, for sake of clearness, the ar- langement : — " Each caste has its particular Guru ; but all of them arc not invested with an equal degree of authority. There is a gradation among the Gurus tlicmselves, according to the dignity of the castes they l)elong to ; and a kind of hierarchy has grown up among them, which preserves the subordination of one to 2 K 498 THE GTTRU'S SPLENDOUR. another. In short, there is an inferior clergy, very nu- merous in every quarter ; while every sect has its par- ticular high priests, who are but few in number. The place of residence of the Hindu pontiffs is commonly called Singhasana, which signifies ' a throne.' .' Those who are elevated to this great dignity, receive in most cases marks of reverence, or rather of adoration, which are not rendered even to the gods themselves . . Some of the Gurus are married ; but in general they live in celibacy Except during their visita- tions, the Gurus live in retirement. They commonly reside in a kind of monasteries, or insulated hermitages. The Gurus generally make a tour, from time to time, among their disciples, perhaps in a circle of two him- dred miles from their place of residence. During this visitation, their principal, and, I may say, their only object, is to amass money. Besides the fines which they le\^ from persons guilty of offences, or any breach of the ceremonies of the caste or sect, they often exact from their adherents a tribute to the utmost extent of their means The great Gurus never appear in public without the utmost degree of pomp ; but it is wlien they proceed to a \-isitation of their district that they are surrounded with their whole splendour. They commonly make the procession on the back of an ele- phant, or seated in a rich palankeen. Some of them have a guard of horse, and are surrounded with nume- rous troops, both cavalry and infantry. Several bands of musicians precede them. Flags, in all the varieties of colour, wave round them, adorned with the pictures of their gods. Some of their officers take the lead, singing odes in their praise, or admonishing the specta- HIS PO"WEB. 499 tors to be prepared to pay the mighty Guru, as he comes up, the honour and reverence which are due to him. Incense and other perfumes are burnt in profusion ; new clothes are spread before him on the road ; boughs of trees, forming triumphal arches, are expanded in many places on the way through which he passes. Bands of young women, or the dancing-girls of the temples, relieve each other, and keep up with the pro- cession, enlivening it with lewd songs and lascivious dances. This pompous show attracts a crowd of peo- ple, who throng to prostrate themselves before the Guru." The Guru is by this author stated to have temporal power, " which consists chiefly in a superintendance over the different castes, by enforcing the due observance of their general and particular customs, and punishing the refractory. They have also the power of expelling from the tribe, and of restoring those who had been ex- pelled They possess an equal extent of spiritual jurisdiction. The Sashtangam, or prostration of the eight members, is made before them ; and when fol- lowed by their benediction, or asirvadam, is effectual for the remission of all sins. The look even of a Guru has the same efficacy But if the benediction of the Gurus and tlie other little tokens of their favour, which they bestow on their disciples, have so wonderful an influence in attracting the respect and reverence of the silly populace, their curse, which is not less power- ful, fills them with terror and awe. The Hindu is per- suaded that it never fails to take effect, whether justly or unjustly incurred Sometimes they tell of a person struck dead on the spot by the curse of the 2 K 2 500 7F.\T AXD lyjLrzycz or the pbizsts. Guru ; sometiines of one suddenlv seized with a shiver- ing through every joint, which goes on. and will never cease until the malediction is staved. At other times, it is a pregnant woman whom they describe as miscar> ryins by it ; or a labourer, perhaps, who was doomed to see all his cattle perish in a moment. Xay, I have heard from these men stories still more ridiculous, and given with the utmost gravity : of a man, for example, being changed into a stone, and of another converted into a hog by their Guru's malediction.''* The ministry of Hinduism, then, includes all the best- educated men of the country, whom honours, rights, and education enlist to defend it manfully. Large num- bers of them carry their influence into the various walks of secular life. Many, also, are supported in leisure, partly by presents, partly by temple revenues, and partly by landed endowments given by the devout of other times, who thereby earned the reputation of piety, and hoped to make peace for their souls. The pectdiar honours of this numerous caste depend on their religion; by it, also, the pecuniary interests of all are advanced, and upon it the livelihood of many wholly depends. These considerations, added to natural prepossessions, make them almost universally zealous defenders of their system. It is an error, incident to those who judge others by their own light, to deem it impossible that men of keen intellect, like the Bramhans, can believe the absurdities of the Shastras. The human mind has not a more difficult work than to emancipate itself from views inculcated in childhood, identified with every in- • " Description of the People of India," &c., pp. 64, et sk:. MEX BETTEK THAX GOPS. 501 tcrcst. and sweetened by gifting ourselves with flattering distinctions.* From detached portions of the Shastras a few Branihans have extracted a philosophical system, holding which they despise the grosser superstitions as only for the mass. Perhaps an equal niunber believe all religion to be a grand imposture. But the great bulk of them sincerely believe and uphold the reigning system. On points of religion, their clear intellects are completely and woefully benighted. Of the morals of the Bnuiihans, and, indeed, of the people in general, it may be said that, though deplorably low, they are not near so bad as the gods they serve. Had their system of religion been suffered by Provi- dence to produce all its legitimate effects, Hindustan would have been a Sodom, in which even an angel might dread to pass a day. But while man's bad heart has been allowed to exhibit its own shame, by the abo- minations it has brought forth under guise of religion, Divine Mercy has restrained the practical workings of its corruption within limits which permitted the exist- ence of society. Perhaps, in general morality, the • Voltaire, in his zeal to prove hcathenwm immaculate, rejects as imiwssible, sui>crstitions tlint, had he lived a little longer, he must have ri'coiiuised as e-xistiii;;. Uesjxxtui!; the alleged worship of the devil, he says : " One must have nnich hardihood, and little reason, in order to believe it ptissihle to take for a god a beinc; supposed to be condemned of (iod to punishment .and shame etenud, an abominable and ridiciUoua phantom, occupied in thn>win!; us into the abyss of his tor- ments." Alas for huni.m nature! Many a m;ui, of natural intellect perhaps not behind that of Voltaire himself, is this day the mel.incholy proof that " one must have mm h hiudihood ancl little reason" to a.-isort, L'idtc d'nil'^rri- /<■ iliiibU' n'est jamaU tombit dans la tite d'uncuii homing. Had Voltaire Ixvu bom in a Ccvlonese villaiie, instead of in Christendom, he might him- self have " adored the devil." 502 CHAEACTEK OF THE BEAMHANS, Bramhans are rather above than below the rest of the people. Their avarice, however, and excessive eating are proverbial, their pride excessive ; and in all public offices they oppress and exact without mercy. They are consequently more di'eaded than venerated. In their absence, the lower classes bitingly express hatred^ but no sooner does one appear, than his influ- ence is manifest. At all grand ceremonies their pre- sence is essential ; and this, with their fasts, their ablutions, the power ascribed to their muntras, and, perhaps more than all, their great superiority in edu- cation and manners, gives them a high command over the whole people. Their bearing is always proud, sometimes really noble. Many carry all the marks of high intellectualism. To our eye, the brown com- plexion is less favourable to the expression of mind than the white ; but I have seen some Bramhans on whom it was impossible to look without an impression of the kind received from those elite faces among our- selves, where, at a glance, you see history, classics, and poetry, researches, arguments, and meditations, all bound in the clear vellum of the brow, and lettered in lines of thought. It may be fairly doubted, whether this remarkable priesthood would not present as large a proportion of persons capable of high mental effort, as any other class of men in the world ; and sure it is that, when the day of India's regeneration has come, it \vill yield choice examples of those rare and lovely mortals in whom the gentleman, the genius, and the Christian combine. The Ritual of Hinduism is h)'per-redundant. Taking the Bramhan at the moment of rising, it directs KITUAL. 503 him in the most private acts, with a minuteness we may not copy. The method of cleaning his teeth follows, with the tree off which he must break a twig for a brush, the prayer he must offer to the tree for leave, and the kind of place where he may throw away his twig-brush when he has done. Then follows the rubric of the bath, how he is to perform it, what prayers he is to say while in it, and what on emerging out of it. Dubois says : " It would be tedious to describe the variety of gestures and movements which the Bramhan exhibits in such cases. But we may select one in par- ticular, namely, the sign of the cross, which he dis- tinctly makes as a salutation to his head, his belly, his right and left shoulders." He is also instructed how to sacrifice to the s\m, to adorn his forehead, to hold his breath, and to pray to the true Ravi. Then are carefully ijrescribed his acts on returning home, his pre- paratory sacrifice before meals, his offering of part of f the food to the dead, and his mode of eating. But, as I necessary to give even the faintest idea of the overload i of ceremony laid on the poor Bramhan, we give Cole- i brooke's description of the rites by which those who I have an earthly calling are permitted to escape the more cumbrous duties binding on a Bramhan not so limited for time, "\^^len about to partake of his morning meal, " sitting down in a place free from all impurities, and setting a vessel containing fire on his right hand, the worshipper hallows the ground by throwing away a lighted piece of cusa-grass, while he recites the appro- priate text, and then places his fire on the consecrated spot, repeating the prayer which is used, when the household and sacrificial fires are kindled by the attri 504 DAILY SACRIFICE. tion of wood. He next lays cusa-grass on the easten side of the fire, with its tips pointed towards the north, exclaiming, 'I praise divine fire, primevally consecrated, the efficient performer of a solemn ceremony, the chiei agent of a sacrifice, the most liberal giver of gems.' He spreads it on the southern side, with its points towards the east, repeating the commencement of the Yajur Veda. 1. 'I gather thee for the sake of rain.' 2. ' I pluck thee' (at this he is supposed to break oS the branch of a tree) ' for the sake of strength.' 3. ' Ye are' (he touches calves with the branch he has pulled off) 'like unto air. May the liberal generator of worlds make you' (here he touches, or is supposed to touch, milch cows with the same branch) ' happily reach this most excellent sacrifice.' In like manner he lays grass on the two other sides of the fire, on the western side with the tips to the north, crying, ' Fire ! approach to taste my offering ; thou who art praised for the gift of oblations ; sit down on this grass, thou who art the complete performer of the solemn sacrifices.' And on the northern side, with the tips pointed to the east, saj-ing, ' May divine waters be auspicious to us,' ke. "When all these ceremonies are completed, he stirs the • fire, and sprinkles water upon it ; after which, having his hands smeared with clarified butter, he offers food three several times, repeating, ' Earth ! sky ! heaven ! ' Five similar oblations are then performed : one to the regent of fire ; one to the god of medicine ; one to the assembled deities ; one to the lord of created beings ; and one to the creator of the universe. Six more oblations are then offered with six prayers, each obla- tion having its separate prayer. 1. ' Fire ! thou dost VAEIOUS OBLATIONS. 505 expiate a sin against the gods ; may this ohlation be eflBcacious I ' 2. ' Thou dost expiate a sin against man.' ' Thou dost expiate a sin against the manes.' 4. ■ Thou dost expiate repeated sins.' 5. ' Thou dost ex- piate ever)' sin I have committed, whether willingly or luiintentionally : may this oblation be efficacious ! ' He next worships the fire, making an oblation with the following prayer : — ' Fire ! seven are thy fuels ; seven thy tongues ; seven thy holy sages ; seven thy beloved abodes ; seven ways do seven sacrifices worship thee ; thy sources are seven ; be content with this clarified butter ; may this oblation be efficacious ! ' As the sacre