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 HISTORICAL SKETCH 
 
 CEYLON MISSION, 
 
 REV. WILLIAM W. ROWLAND, 
 
 AND OF THE 
 
 MADURA AND MADRAS MISSIONS. 
 
 REV. JAMES HERRICK. 
 
 BV 
 3265 
 .H68 
 1865 
 
 PI- B J. T S II E D BY THE 
 
 \ AMERICAN BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS FOR FOREIGN MISSIONS. 
 
 : I860. 
 
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 Rowland, William W. 1817- 
 
 1892. 
 Historical sketch of the 
 
HISTORICAL SKETCH 
 
 CEYLON MISSION, 
 
 BY 
 
 KEY. WILLIAM W. HOWLAND, 
 
 AND OF THE 
 
 MADURA AND MADRAS iMISSIONS, 
 
 REV. JAMES HERRICK. 
 
 PUBLISHED BY THE 
 
 AMEEJCAN BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS FOR FOREIGN MISSIONS. 
 
 1865. 
 
SKETCH OF THE CEYLON MISSION. 
 
 THE FIEIilD- 
 
 That portion of the population of India which speaks the Tamil language 
 numbers about ten millions, occupying the southern part of the peninsula, as 
 far north as Madras, and the northern portion of the Island of Ceylon. The 
 fii-st mission of the American Board among this people was estabhshed in 1816, 
 on the island ; as the government of Ceylon was at that time friendly to mis- 
 sions, while that of the British East India Company, on the peninsula, was 
 hostile. The southern and central portions of Ceylon are inhabited by the 
 Cingalese — a people of different language and religion. The religion of the 
 Tamil people is Brahminism — the same which now prevails mostly through- 
 out Hindostan ; that of the Cingalese is Buddhism. The Tamil inhabitants 
 of the island were originally invaders from the southern part of the peninsula. 
 They dispossessed the other race, and now occupy the northern province, 
 extending down as far as Chilaw on the west and Batticaloa on the east. They 
 number about thi-ee hundred thousand, besides a transient population of about 
 one hundred thbusand, who have come over within a few years to labor, as 
 coolies, on the coffee plantations in the southern central district. 
 
 The mission was established in Jaffna, an island, or rather a cluster of 
 islands, at the northern extremity of Ceylon, separated from each other by 
 narrow creeks, and rising but little above the level of the sea. The district is 
 forty miles long and fifteen broad, containing a population of two hundred and 
 thirteen thousand. Besides the Tamil people, there are five or six hundred 
 Europeans, principally the descendants of the Dutch and Portuguese, who for- 
 merly governed the island. There are also a few called Moormen, who are Mo- 
 hammedans in religion, and are principally engaged in trade. Intercourse is 
 frequent between the Tamil people of the island and those of the peninsula. 
 There being very few large temples on the island, the people often visit those 
 on the peninsula; and the island and peninsula are mutually dependent on 
 each other for various products of the soil. 
 
 CHARACTER OF THE PEOPLE. 
 
 In estimating the nature of the work to be done by the missionaries among 
 the Tamil people, it is necessary to understand something of their character. 
 It should be borne in mind that the Hindoos, though heathen and idolaters, 
 
4 THE CEYLON MISSION. 
 
 are not sunk to that depth of degradation found in Africa and the islands of 
 the Pacific. Their dress, their houses, and their manner of life are such as not 
 to require a material change on their becoming Christians. The dress of the 
 higher class is comfortable, neat, and appropriate for the climate, that of the 
 men resembling somewhat the ancient lloman costume. A native, seeing a 
 representation of one of the kings of England, with the flowing robes common 
 in statuary, asked why he was dressed Hke a Hindoo. Their houses are built 
 in a style fitted to the climate and the habits of the people, and when well 
 built, are comfortable and pleasant. Their principal food is rice, with the 
 fruits, vegetables, and spices of the country. The higher castes are very neat 
 in their habits of cooking and eating, using, it is true, their fingers in eating, 
 but after careful washing ; and they are particular never to use the right hand, 
 or rice hand, as it is called, for any unclean purpose. Their household and 
 other utensils would, many of them, seem rude to strangers ; but they are 
 better fitted for their purposes than they would at first appear to be. The 
 same may be said of their implements of agriculture, and their method of cul- 
 tivating the soil. In the mechanical arts they show much ingenuity and skill 
 in imitation, but have little power of invention. The architecture of some of 
 their great temples justifies the remark of Bishop Heber, that they " built like 
 giants, and finished their work like jewelers." 
 
 LITEEATUKE. 
 
 In striking contrast with those tribes which have not even a written language, 
 their literature is immense. The four Vedas, their most sacred books, when 
 collected, form eleven huge octavo volumes, while the Paranas extend to about 
 two millions of lines. The Ramayana, another of then- sacred books, has a 
 hundred thousand lines. Well might Sir William Jones say, " Wherever we 
 direct our attention to Hindoo literature, the notion of infinity presents itself; 
 and sure the longest life would not suffice for a single perusal of works that 
 rise and swell, protuberant like the Himalayas, above the bulkiest composi- 
 tions of every land beyond the confines of India." In these books there is 
 much truth which deserves admiration, but more that is folse and corrupt. 
 
 In science as well as in literature, with much that is false and absurd, they 
 have some true principles. They have made considerable progress in mathe- 
 matics, and have treatises on arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and trigonome- 
 try. The ripe scholar and learned Orientalist, Colebrooke, has instituted a 
 comparison between the Hindoo system of algebra and that of the ancient 
 Greeks, and finds reason to conclude that in several most important respects 
 the latter is very far behind the former. In astronomy, many of the elements 
 of their calculations, especially for remote ages, are verified by an astonishing 
 coincidence with the tables of the modern astronomy of Europe, when im- 
 proved by the latest and most nice deductions from the theory of gravitation. 
 The Brahmins, who annually circulate a kind of almanac, containing astro- 
 nomical predictions of the more remarkable phenomena in the heavens, — such 
 as the new and full moons, and eclipses of the sun and moon; — are in posses- 
 sion of certain methods of calculation, which, upon examination, are found to 
 involve a very extensive system of astronomical knowledge. But though 
 
MORAL CONDITION — BONDAGE TO SUPERSTITION. 5 
 
 skilled in the use of the rules contained in his treatise, the Brahmin has no 
 acquaintance with the mode of theu- structure. In their ideas of geography, 
 chronology, and medicine, there is but little truth, and much that is extrava- 
 gant, and even ridiculous. 
 
 MORAL CONDITION. 
 
 It is the moral condition of the Hindoos which creates a demand for mission- 
 ary labor. Though in their habits of life, their employments, their literature, 
 and their science, they are not sunk so low as some other nations, in moral 
 feeling and conduct they are extremely degraded. This moral degradation is 
 the natural result of their religion. Worshiping gods and goddesses into whose 
 history almost no element of virtue enters, who are represented as false to their 
 word, thievish, licentious, ambitious, murderous, — all indeed that is repulsive, 
 malignant, and vile, — it is not surprising that the people should be no better 
 than their deities. Bishop Heber, who was distinguished alike for his learn- 
 ing and accurate observation, and for an amiability of character which led him 
 to view the Hindoos with great charity and kindness of feeling, thus speaks 
 of them : " I really have never met with a race of men whose standard of 
 morality is so low, who feel so little apparent shame on being detected in a 
 falsehood, or so little interest in the sufferings of a neighbor, not being of their 
 own caste or family ; whose ordinary and familiar conversation is so licentious, 
 or, in the wilder and more lawless districts, who shed blood with so little 
 repugnance. The good qualities which there are among them are in no instance, 
 that I am aware of, connected with, or arising out of, their religion ; since it 
 is in no instance to good deeds, or virtuous habits in life, that the future re- 
 wards in which they believe are promised. Their bravery, their fidelity to their 
 employers, their temperance, and, wherever they are found, then- humanity 
 and gentleness of disposition, appear to arise exclusively from a natural happy 
 temperament, from an honorable pride in their own renown and the renown of 
 their ancestors, and from the goodness of God, who seems unwilling that his 
 image should be entirely effaced, even in the midst of the gi'ossest error." 
 
 BONDAGE TO SUPERSTITION. 
 
 Connected with their religion there is an almost incredible amount of super- 
 stition, which enters into all the details of daily life, and binds them in chains 
 which nothing but divine power can break. They are entangled in its fetters 
 at theu" very bii-th, and every day of their life strengthens the bonds, from 
 which they are only delivered by death. At the birth of every child, an as- 
 trologer is called to cast its nativity and tell its fortune. While the child is 
 still an unconscious infant, propitious days and omens are constantly con- 
 sulted for the regulation of all matters of importance in its case ; and as it 
 awakes to consciousness, it awakes to the same hopeless slavery which has 
 bound its parents. If a man is to build a house, the astrologer is consulted as 
 to its position, the exact place for the door, and the exact moment for laying 
 the foundation, which often comes in the night. When the frame is raised, a 
 piece of white cloth, like a flag, is fastened to the ridge, to frighten away birds 
 of ill omen which might light upon it ; and with the same superstition is the 
 
6 THE CEYLON MISSION. 
 
 building carried on to its completion. The same regard to times and places is 
 had in digging a well, startmg on a journey, commencing plowing or harvest- 
 ing ; in short, it enters into almost everything done in the house or in the field. 
 There is also a great attention to signs and omens. If a man, going out of 
 his house to proceed any distance, hears a lizard chirp, or is called by another 
 person, he will return and wait a more favorable moment ; so also if he meet 
 near his door one carrying fire, wood, or brown earthen ware. They are in 
 great fear when a child, or one of their cattle, or a garden of vegetables, or 
 anything dear to them, is praised. This will, they suppose, be followed by 
 what is called the blast of the tongue ; and if anything is even looked upon 
 with desire, it will be exposed to the blast of the eye, and thus the object of 
 theii- regard will perish. It is usual, therefore, to place some object in a 
 flourishing garden to divert the attention of the passer-by ; and to avoid these 
 and many other evils, and the supposed mfluence of malignant sj)irits, they 
 resort to the use of a variety of charms, in which they repose great confidence. 
 The belief in witchcraft, also, is nearly universal. They are much afraid of pro- 
 voking any one who will be likely to employ the evil spirits against them, and 
 tremble greatly when cursed by any wandering beggar who may not get from 
 them all he asks for. These are only a few of the many superstitions to which 
 they are in cruel bondage. 
 
 PREVALENT OPINIONS. 
 
 There are certain opinions prevalent among the people which are great 
 obstacles to then- conversion to the truth. Among these might be mentioned 
 their ideas of holiness and sin. Their highest conception of holiness is that of 
 their supreme deity, who is represented as without love or hate ; above all 
 sense of pleasure or sorrow ; in short, destitute of all moral aff'ections. And 
 whoever would be fitted for absorption into this " infinite nothing" must, by a 
 variety of self-inflicted tortures, gradually subdue ■nithin himself all feeling and 
 desire. Sin is to break the laws of caste, or to omit some of the numerous 
 rites and ceremonies prescribed by theii- religion ; while to lie, cheat, steal, 
 commit adultery, and wallow like swine in moral pollution, are ofienses hardly 
 w'orth naming. They are only what their gods did before them. All natural evil 
 is the consequence of sin in a previous birth, and must be endured as a pen- 
 alty. Sin is to be atoned for by works of merit, such as giving water to cows 
 or to travelers, giving rice to Brahmins or to beggars, digging wells or build- 
 ing rest houses for travelers, building and supporting temples. 
 
 This idea of justification by works of merit produces among them, as every- 
 where else, hatred to Christ and the free salvation which he oiTers. They often 
 say to the missionary, " Preach to us about the one true God ; we are willing to 
 hear that ; but don't talk to us about Christ." Then- ideas of the future life 
 and of fate, their belief that a man is safe in any religion if he is only sincere, 
 and their system of caste, dividing the people into clans hating and scowling 
 defiance at each other, make efl'orts for their salvation peculiarly discouraging. 
 
 Their religion also has a strong hold upon their afl'ections and associations. 
 Their holidays are their religious festivals. Young and old look forward to 
 these days with joyful anticipations. The pomp and splendor, the decorations 
 of the temple and of the car cf the idol, the processions and music, the display 
 
PORTUGUESE AND DUTCH CHlilSTIANITY. 7 
 
 of fu-eworks, and the meeting of a multitude, render tliem occasions of great 
 attraction. To the child, especially, they arc the great days, around which 
 pleasant memories cluster long after ; and when he meets his companions, they 
 together make a little mimic car, and placing in it an idol of clay, act over the 
 scenes of the festival. Thus is their religion entwined in their afl'ections. It 
 is the religion of their fathers and ancestors, rendered venerable and sacred by 
 its antiquity. Lilie the lofty towers of one of their own temples, its moss- 
 covered turrets are associated with all the delightsome di'cams of childhood, 
 and all the pleasant remembrances of age ; and it is not surprising that they 
 consider it heaven-daring sacrilege to attempt to destroy it. 
 
 PORTUGUESE AND DUTCH CHRISTIANITT. 
 
 The experience which the people of Jaffna had already had of Christianity 
 was not calculated to impress them in its favor. In 1544, Francis Xavier first 
 visited North Ceylon, and baptized from six to seven hundred converts. The 
 Portuguese had akeady established theii' power in the southern part of the 
 island, and not long after all Jaffna was brought by them under the power of the 
 church. It was divided into thirty-two parishes, each of which was provided 
 with a chapel and school-house, and, where requu'ed, a house for the residence 
 of the Franciscan priest, who Avas to officiate. The policy of the Jesuits i:r In- 
 dia was to adopt, almost without qualification, the practices of the idolatry of 
 the country ; the old rites and ceremonies, festivals, religious processions, and 
 superstitions ; only giving Christian names and titles to the idols which are 
 the objects of -worship; and by the aid of government influence, in a few years, 
 almost the entire population of Jaffna, including even the Brahmins them- 
 selves, had nominally abjured their religion, and submitted to the ceremony of 
 baptism. There are still some thousands of Romanists in the province, whose 
 worship scarcely differs from that of the heathen, except in the names of the 
 gods and festivals. In moral character they are in some respects lower than 
 their countrymen, especially as they are more addicted to intemperance. 
 
 About a century later, the Dutch obtained control of the island. They took 
 possession of the Papal churches in Jaffna, established a school in connection 
 with each, and by a complete union of church and state — making assent to 
 the Helvetic confession of faith necessary to the holding of any office of profit 
 or trust under government — secured a large number of nominal converts. It is 
 represented, that in 1688 the number of Christians in Jaffna amounted to one 
 hundred and eighty thousand. But they were at heart idolaters ; and when 
 the English took possession of the island, in 1796, and allowed the natives the 
 free exercise of their own superstitions, the churches were immediately deserted 
 and left to decay, the heathen temples were rebuilt, and almost every vestige 
 of Christianity was soon lost. There is still, now and then, an old man to be 
 found who was baptized by the Dutch, but with no knowledge of Christianity, 
 except, perhaps,. an imperfect recollection of the Dutch Catechism. 
 
8 THE CEYLON MISSION. 
 
 THE A.TS^T=3B,ICA.lSr TS/CTeSTCTtT. 
 
 ITS COMMENCEMENT. 
 
 The first company of missionaries of the American Board to Ceylon con- 
 sisted of Messrs. Meigs, Poor, and Richards, with their -wives, and Mr. Warren. 
 They arrived in Jaffna during the latter part of 1816. The old Dutch 
 churches, and the houses and premises connected with them, were gi'anted by 
 the government for the use of the mission, and Messrs. Poor and Warren 
 commenced operations at Tillipally, and Messrs. Meigs and Richards at Batti- 
 cotta. The ruins were rebuilt, and a new system of operations was com- 
 menced ; not, this time, in reliance upon government influence, or upon any 
 compromise with heathenism, but upon the truth — the truth as it is in Jesus. 
 The missionaries sought to bring the Word of God — the Spirit's own weapon — 
 in contact with the hearts of the people, trusting in divine power to make it 
 eff"ectual to their salvation. To hope for success among such a people, with 
 such associations, required a firm faith in the promises of God. Henry Martyn 
 once said, " If ever I see a Hindoo a real believer in Jesus, I shall see some- 
 thing more approaching the resurrection of a dead body than anything I have 
 yet seen." The difficulty of even gaining access to the people for the purpose 
 of bringing them under the infiuence of the gospel, and the greater difficulty in 
 finding a lodgment for the truth in minds already filled with so much rubbish 
 as were those of the adult heathen, naturally led the missionaries to direct 
 some of their earlier eff'orts to the childi'en and youth. There was reason to 
 hope that the ti-uth might be sown in their hearts before they were filled with 
 the tares of the adversary, and that, through them, their parents might per- 
 haps be reached. A few teachers of the heathen schools were found willing to 
 enter the employ of the missionaries, and teach Christian lessons in place of 
 the vile stories of heathenism. The parents of the children consented to the 
 change, as they were thereby relieved from the support of their teacher. 
 These heathen teachers would not, of course, feel much interest in teaching the 
 truths of the Bible, nor make much eff"ort to impress them upon the hearts of 
 their pupils. It would not be strange if they should even endeavor to pre- 
 vent all good impressions ; but they were the best that could be obtained at 
 first, and it was considered a great thing to have the Bible taught to heathen 
 children even by teachers really unfit for such a work. The schools were fre- 
 quently visited by the missionary, and the pupils were called together at the 
 church once every week for religious instruction, besides attending, with their 
 teachers, the services on the Sabbath. A large proportion of their study was 
 Scripture truth, either directly from portions of the Bible, or Catechisms im- 
 bodying Scripture history and doctrine. Moreover, the school was a valuable 
 means of access to the people of the village where it was located. It was the 
 place for village meetings — a place in the village where the missionary was on 
 his own ground, and could go and remain through the day, to see those who 
 should call, or for whom he should send, and, if at a distance, where he could 
 make a resting-place for the night. The habits of the people are such that he 
 could come more dii-ectlv in contact with them there than at their own houses. 
 
VILLAGE SCHOOLS — EDUCATION OF GIRLS. 
 
 VILLAGE SCHOOLS. 
 
 These mission village schools are so different from schools in this country 
 that some description of them may be necessary. The building, or school 
 bungalow, as it is called, is a mere roof, raised upon posts, and covered with the 
 fan-like leaves of the palmyra palm, with a floor, raised a foot or more above 
 the ground, made of earth beaten down very hai*d. Sometimes it is surrounded 
 with a .ow mud wall, one or two feet high, and at one side there is usually a 
 raised seat of the same material, for the teacher and for the missionary when he 
 visits the school. The children sit, with legs crossed, on narrow mats, spread 
 on the floor. All study aloud, and there is consequently noise, and confusion 
 in proportion to the diligence of the pupils. When the missionary is seen 
 coming, the noise increases. Every boy seems to be trying to drown the voices 
 of all the rest, that he may be heard above them all. This continues till the 
 snissionary enters the bungalow, when their books are laid aside, and then* 
 attention is directed to him. Nor is it the children alone that are attracted by 
 his approach. The people in the vicinity, and the passers-by, drop in one by 
 one, and sit down. The women steal around on the outside, where they can 
 Bee and hear, and stiU be concealed, entirely or in part, by the trees or a 
 hedge. Thus quite an audience is gathered to hear the religious instruction 
 given. 
 
 The regular meetings in the villages are usually held in these bungalows in 
 the evening, as the people are industrious, and can not be gathered so easily or 
 in so large numbers in the daytime. 
 
 It was considered very desirable to increase the number and efiiciency of 
 these schools. After a time some of the teachers became convinced of the 
 truth of what they taught and were apparently subjects of divine grace, and 
 thus better fitted for their work. Many of the schools were supported by 
 missionary associations or Sabbath schools in this country, and thus, undoubt- 
 edly, much earnest prayer was secured for particular schools. 
 
 EDUCATION OF GIRLS. 
 
 The schools were at first composed only of boys. "When the missionaries 
 arrived in Jaffna there could hardly be found in the whole district a woman 
 who knew the native alphabet. It was thought quite improper for a female to 
 learn to read. There was to the native mind no conceivable object for it, and 
 it was supposed it would spoil her modesty, endanger her chastity, and render 
 her insubordinate to the other sex. To superintend the affaks of her house, 
 and to minister to the wants of her family, were thought to be not only her 
 fii"st, but her sole duties. It was not till after the mission had been established 
 three or four years, that a few little girls, the daughters or near relatives of the 
 teachers, and a few others whose parents were very poor, could be induced, 
 by the present of a cloth, or some other Uttle reward, to attend the school. 
 When first brought in they could hardly overcome their sense of shame so as 
 to go on with their studies ; and those who gave up their daughters for in- 
 struction were subjected to no small degree of reproach and ridicule for this 
 2 
 
10 THE CEYLON MISSION. 
 
 departure from national and immemorial custom. Afterward Mr. Poor suc- 
 ceeded in obtaining three or four girls to live upon the premises at Tillipally, 
 and receive instruction. One of them was named Mary Poor, after his excel- 
 lent mother. After she had learned to read and write, the head-man of the 
 parish came one day to the house to get her signature to a deed transferring 
 some land belonging to the family. The custom is for females to make their 
 mark, or cross, on the deed, when some other person writes the name. When 
 the deed was handed to Mary, instead of making her mark, she wrote, in a fair 
 hand, her name in full. The head-man looked on amazed. lie had never seen 
 such a thing before. " "Well," said he, " this is good. Now I will send my daugh- 
 ter to school, to learn to read and write." lie did so, and others soon followed 
 his example. 
 
 RETRENCHMENT — SCHOOLS DISBANDED. 
 
 Thus from small beginnings the schools increased and prospered, till, in 1837, 
 there were more than five thousand boys and one thousand girls under Chris- 
 tian instruction in connection with the mission. That year brought a financial 
 crisis in this country, which created a necessity for retrenchment in the missions 
 of the Board. There was no alternative but to disband the schools ; and it 
 was done. The views and feelings of the missionaries in reference to the sad 
 necessity thus forced upon them, was thus represented by one of their number : 
 "After my usual lessons with the readers in the schools yesterday, I gave 
 each a portion of the Bible as a present. I told them the reason, exhorted 
 them to read it, not to enter into temptation, and to keep the Sabbath holy — 
 prayed with them, commending them to the Friend of little children, and sent 
 them away — from me, from the Bible class, from the Sabbath school, from 
 the house of prayer — to feed on the mountains of heathenism, with the idols 
 under the green trees ; a prey to the roaring lion, to evil demons, and to a 
 people more ignorant than they, even to their blind, deluded and deluding 
 guides; and when I looked after them, as they went out, my .heart failed me. 
 O, what an offering to Swamy ! — Jive thousand children ! " A portion of 
 these schools were afterward gathered again, though they have never, at any 
 time since, amounted to more than two thirds of the previous number. 
 
 It is estimated that more than thirty thousand children have, since the 
 commencement of the mission, received instruction in these schools. As the 
 children leave them at an early age, it could hardly be expected that the num- 
 ber of those converted while members of the schools would be large. Still 
 there have been some such cases ; and many who have been educated in the 
 seminary and boarding school, and others not educated, who afterward joined 
 the church, received their first impressions while members of these schools. 
 Sometimes cases have come to the knowledge of the missionaries where these 
 children seemed, in a dying hour, to ti'ust in Jesus. 
 
 BOARDING SCHOOLS. 
 
 Two or three years after the commencement of the mission, a few pupils 
 were gathered into boarding schools at the different stations, where the com- 
 mon branches of Tamil and English were taught, and tiie more advanced pupils 
 
BOARDIiNG SCHOOLS — BATTICOTTA SEMINARY. 11 
 
 prepared to enter upon a higher course of study. Upon this foundation the 
 Batticotta Seminary for boys was commenced in 1823, and the following year, 
 the Oodooville Female Boarding School for the girls. There was at first a 
 great aversion among the people to allowing theii' childi-en to eat on the 
 premises of the missionaries ; but this was gradually overcome. At Oodooville, 
 two little girls, who had been induced by little presents to come in as day 
 scholars, were prevented from going home one night by a very severe storm. 
 One of them was induced to take food ; the other would eat nothing. Some 
 weeks afterward, the father of the giii who had eaten on the premises brought 
 her to Mr. and Mrs. Winslow, and said, " You have been like a father and 
 mother to her, so you may now take her ; but tell me what you will do for 
 her. You must find her a husband." They told him that if she continued a 
 good girl, they would take care of her, and he must not come in a few months 
 and take her away. The man had evidently been induced to give up the child 
 by her own entreaties. After this there was less difficulty in inducing others 
 to come, or their parents to give them up. At Batticotta, as the boys were at 
 first unwilling to eat on the mission premises, a cook-house was built for them 
 on an adjoining piece of land which belonged to a heathen, where they were 
 permitted to take their food for more than a year. The establishment was 
 then removed within the mission inclosure, when several boys left the school ; 
 but most of them soon returned. Objecting to use the water from wells that 
 had been in common use by the mission families, they decided to clean out 
 a well and reserve it for their own use. As it was during the rainy season, 
 when the springs were full, they found it a harder iask than they expected ; 
 and they were glad to give up the attempt after one day's hard work, comfort- 
 ing themselves with the conclusion that they had drawn out as much water as 
 there was in the well when they began, and it might, therefore, be considered 
 fit for their use. No further difficulty was experienced from this source, and 
 other prejudices of a similar character were overcome by pursuing a straight- 
 forward course for the welfare of the school, without reference to the super- 
 stitious notions of the heathen. It has never been the intention of the 
 missionaries to swerve from what they deemed right, out of deference to caste 
 or any other native prejudice. 
 
 BATTICOTTA SEMINARY. 
 
 The Batticotta Seminary was established for the purpose of raising efficient 
 native laborers, to aid in the work of evangelizing their countrjTnen. The 
 views of the mission in regard to the school may be understood by the follow- 
 ing extract from the prospectus issued at the time of its commencement : 
 " It is the moral influence which the projectors of the present seminary wish 
 to keep primarily and most distinctly in view. Should it even appear singu- 
 lar, they ai-e not ashamed of the singularity of attempting to found a college 
 not so much literary as religious ; and indeed literary no further than learning 
 can be made auxiliai-y to religion. In a word, their design is to teach the 
 knowledge of God, developing all the important relations of the creature to the 
 Creator, for time and eternity." In the second Annual Report, after mention- 
 ing the special blessings received in connection with the efiusion of the Holy 
 
12 THE CEYLON MISSION. 
 
 Spirit at two different times during the year, and that thereby almost every 
 individual had been " aroused to a solemn consideration of those subjects 
 •which relate to his present state and future destinies," they said, " We have 
 often i)rayed, and invited our friends and patrons to unite with us in praying, 
 that God would bless this infant Seminary, that it may be made a blessing. 
 We have labored for the conversion of those instructed in it, that they may 
 become instrumental in converting others. Our hearts are affected by the 
 evidence before us that the Lord has listened to the voice of our united suppli- 
 cations, and crowned our feeble efforts with a larger measure o£ success than 
 we had dared confidently to expect. By these precious tokens of divine favor 
 we have already received a hundi'ed fold rewai-d, and are greatly encouraged to 
 persevere in our labors." 
 
 It was to be expected that a school established from such motives, and under 
 such influences, would be the means of great good. The blessing of God 
 seemed to rest upon it, and its influence was not only seen in the character of 
 the young men thus prepared to labor for the salvation of their benighted 
 countrymen, but in its infiuence on the whole heathen community ; in waking 
 up the native mind, in shaking the confidence of the community in their false 
 svstems of science, philosophy, and religion, and in commanding at least a 
 respect for the Bible and its doctrines, the morality it inculcates, and its power 
 to elevate the human mind and character. The whole number of students now 
 living who have been educated in the Seminary is upwards of five hundred. 
 About thi-ee hundred and fifty of those who have been connected with it have 
 become members of the church. About one hundred of these are now engaged 
 (1861) directly in mission service, in Ceylon and other parts of India, as 
 native pastors, catechists, teachers, and translators, exerting a great infiuence 
 in hastening the day of India's salvation. A large number are in government 
 and other employment, where they are exposed to great temptations, but some 
 of them let their light shine in the midst of deep darkness. They have gone as 
 far as Burmah and the Mauritius. One, writing from Pegu to the missionary, 
 stated that he was cut off from all religious privileges, and that his Bible and 
 his closet were his only comfort. Another, who died there, was near the 
 American Baptist missionai-ies, who testified to his remaining faithful to the 
 end ; but others have joined with the heathen, and done much injury. 
 
 The Seminary was suspended by the mission in 1855, to prepare the way for 
 a modification of its regulations and course of instruction, so as to secure more 
 directly the object for which it was instituted. There is now (1861) in its 
 place a school called the " Theological and Training Institution," containing 
 about twenty pupils, selected from the most promising candidates for native 
 pastors, catechists, and teachers. Their education is in the vernacular, and free 
 of chaa'ge. It is more exclusively biblical than before. Recently there has 
 been a precious revival in the institution, nearly every member having shared 
 in the blessing. 
 
 The demand for an English education among the people gave rise, after the 
 suspension of the Seminary, to the establishment of a number of English 
 schools, supported by the people, and taught by natives who had been educated 
 in the Seminary. The most prominent among these is called the " Batticotta 
 High School." It has a Board of five Trustees, two chosen from among the 
 
OODOOVILLE FEMALE BOARDING SCHOOL. 13 
 
 American missionaries, two native Christians, and the principal. There are 
 from one hundred and thirty to one hundred and fifty pupils, and six teachers, 
 all natives. The principal was formerly a teacher in the Batticotta Seminary, 
 and seems to labor earnestly for the salvation of the pupils. The school is 
 supported by natives, with some assistance received from the Ceylon govern- 
 ment. The majority of the pupils are the children of heathen parents ; yet it is 
 a Christian school, under very decided Christian influence. This influence, 
 too, seems more natural and healthful, as there is no pecuniary relation to the 
 mission. In the first Biennial lleport of the principal is the following state- 
 ment : " It is a remarkable fact that the more a student shapes his mind for 
 the reception of Bible truths, the more he makes progress in all branches of 
 study." This was lately pronounced, by the government inspector of schools 
 in Ceylon, to be the best school in the whole island, though English mission- 
 aries and the government have several flouiishing institutions. 
 
 OODOOVILLE FEMALE BOARDING SCHOOL. 
 
 The OodooviUe Female Boarding School was designed to impart a careful 
 Christain education to a select number of female pupils, under circumstances 
 that would seclude them from heathen influences, and be most promising for 
 their moral and intellectual improvement. It was hoped that by this means 
 there would be provided more suitable companions for the young men educated 
 in the mission Seminary. Before this school was commenced, female education 
 had been carried on, to some extent, by the reception of a few girls under the 
 care of the missionary ladies at the difi"erent stations ; but the superior advan- 
 tages of a central institution for female pupils being apparent, it was decided 
 to open one at OodooviUe, and to receive into it as many of the pupils then 
 under instruction as were willing to go. Twenty-nine were thus received at 
 the outset, in 1824. In 1833 the number had increased to fifty; in 1836 to 
 seventy-five ; and in 1837 to one hundred. This is the largest number at one 
 time, and since 1855, when the Batticotta Seminary was suspended, it has 
 been deemed expedient to limit the number of pupils to forty. Nearly three 
 hundred have been educated in the school from its commencement, of whom 
 about four fifths became members of the church, and few have dishonored 
 their profession.* On the other hand, many a church member, weak in the 
 faith, and ready to go back to heathenism, has been reproved and sustained by 
 the wife whom he married from the OodooviUe school. 
 
 The influence of this institution has been most excellent and far-reaching. 
 The many Christian families scattered over the province, the island, and the 
 continent, exerting a silent but important influence, testify to its usefulness. 
 Many tokens of God's special blessing have been granted, in the frequent 
 revivals which have been enjoyed, and in the uniform prosperity that has 
 attended the institution. There are no results which at the present moment 
 
 * A table, recently funiished (1865) by Mr. Spaulding:, shows that from 1824 to 18&1 there 
 were received to the school, from the several mission stations, three hundred and ninety- 
 four pupils. Of these, two hundred and eighty-one have been members of the church, flfty- 
 three have died in good standing, and four under censure ; twenty-two were excommuni- 
 cated, and there are now in good standing in the church, two hundred and two. 
 
14 THE CEYLON MISSION. 
 
 are telling with more power upon the evangelization of the land than those 
 connected, with the Oodooville school. 
 
 THE PRESS. 
 
 For the few first years of the mission, tracts were written upon the leaves of 
 the palmyra, but in 1821, in accordance with the request of the mission for a 
 printer, Mr. J. Garrett arrived with a press. The government of the island 
 being at that time hostile to the operations of the mission, he was peremptorily 
 ordered to leave within six weeks, and the request that he might be allowed to 
 remain longer in a private capacity, on account of the difficulty of leaving 
 during the monsoon, was denied. He accordingly went over to the continent, 
 and the press was taken by the English Church mission. It was thus made 
 available for printing the necessary tracts and books for common use, until 
 1834, when, the restrictions of government having been removed, the press was 
 transferred to the American mission, and set up at Manepy. It was an occa- 
 sion of great interest when the first product of their own press was sent around 
 the mission circle, in the" form of a small handbill, with the words " First 
 Fruits" in English, and the words signifying "Brotherly Love" in Tamil. 
 Printing was commenced on a very limited scale ; but the importance of this 
 auxiliary so rose in the estimation of the mission, especially in connection with 
 the occupation of the Madura field, that the establishment was greatly enlarged. 
 This continued till 1855, when the press and type were sold to two native 
 Christians, Avho carry on printing in English and Tamil. During the twenty 
 years in which the press was under the control of the mission, there were 
 printed an average of more than eight millions of pages a year, a large propor- 
 tion of which were religious tracts and portions of Scripture. Nearly one 
 third of the whole were pages of the Word of God. In 1841 a periodical was 
 commenced, printed semi-monthly, in English and Tamil, which is believed to 
 be the means of much good. It is called " The Morning Star." Since 1855 
 it has been printed entirely in Tamil. It is taken by heathen subscribers as 
 well as by native Christians. Some years since a child's paper was com- 
 menced, called " The Children's Friend." 
 
 REVIVALS. 
 
 In all their labors for the salvation of the people, the missionaries have ever 
 felt that their only dependence for success was upon the influences of God's 
 Spirit. Two or three years after the commencement of the mission, the ear- 
 nestness of their desires for the outpouring of the Spirit became intense; and 
 they seem to have felt a remarkable assurance that their prayers would be 
 answered. There was also much united prayer among them. The first Mon- 
 day of the month was spent together, by all the missionaries of the district, 
 
REVIVALS. 15 
 
 (English Church, Wesleyan, and American missionaries), in prayer and con- 
 ference. These prayers were answered in the conversion of individuals, and 
 at the commencement of 1824 there was a general revival at all the stations. 
 Tills was preceded by a day set apart by the missionaries of the district as a 
 season of humiliation, fasting and prayer. During the month of January, 
 interest began to be manifest at several of the stations. At Tillipally, the boys 
 in the school began to inquire what they should do to be saved. In their 
 meetings, every countenance seemed to say, " God is here." At Oodoovillc, 
 " the Spirit of the Lord seemed to rest on the Sabbath assembly, and many 
 were in tears." At the monthly prayer meeting in February, it is related by 
 one, " The Holy Spiiit came down with power, such as probably none of us 
 ever felt or witnessed before, and filled all the house where we were sitting. 
 The brother who first led in prayer in the afternoon, was so much overcome as 
 to be unable to proceed. For some time he had scarcely strength to rise fi-om 
 liis knees. The afternoon was spent in prayer, interrupted only by singing, 
 and occasionally reading or repeating a verse from the Bible. It was not 
 common prayer, but wrestling with the angel of the covenant, with strong cry- 
 ing and tears." A week or two afterward the awakening extended to Pandi- 
 teripo, and almost every individual connected with the school there seemed to 
 be " roused at once, and forced to pray, and even cry for mercy." "V\Tien the 
 missionary. Dr. Scudder, returned from a prayer meeting at Batticotta, late in 
 the evening, he heard, on entering the yard, the boys who were scattered in 
 the garden under the cocoa-nut trees, some alone, and others in little compa- 
 nies, crying, " Come, Holy Spirit," and " God, have mercy." He immediately 
 rang the bell, and they came in with streaming eyes, confessing their guilt and 
 danger. Thus the work went on, extending to all the stations, and every- 
 where attended with remarkable power, continuing for nearly six months. As 
 the fruit of this revival, between sixty and seventy gave evidence of a change 
 of heart ; and eai'ly in November of the same year, the Lord granted another 
 refreshing season. 
 
 In January of the next year (1825), the fruits of the first revival were gath- 
 ered into the church. As it was to be a special occasion, arrangements were 
 made to receive them all together, from the different stations. A temporary 
 building was erected for the meeting, in a village central and easy of access to 
 all. The bungalow was one hundred feet long and seventy wide, the top and 
 sides covered with the braided leaves of the cocoa-nut, and lined with white 
 cotton cloth, to give it a light and pleasant aspect. It was erected in a grove 
 of palm trees, in a heathen village which had never before echoed to the songs 
 of Christian worship. Although cholera was raging at the time, there were 
 twelve or fifteen hundred present. It was an occasion of great interest to see 
 forty-one candidates come forward, and profess before the heathen the name 
 of Jesus. Old and young, the gray-haired man of seventy, and the little girl 
 of twelve, stood up together, and, renouncing idolatry, consecrated themselves 
 to the love and service of the one only living and true God. These revivals 
 ■were types of others,, enjoyed at varied intervals, some of them of remarkable 
 power. 
 
16 THE CEYLON MISSION. 
 
 NATIVE CUURCH. 
 
 There are now (1865) four hundred and seventy-seven members of the native 
 churches. It is an interesting sight to see these Christians, at the occasional 
 gatherings which are held for religious meetings, coming from everj- part of 
 the field, — Christian parents with their baptised children ; Christian young men 
 and women from the schools ; Christian teachers with their pupils ; catechists, 
 intelligent, earnest laborers in the cause of Christ ; native pastors with theii 
 flocks, — sitting down together with the missionaries, and celebrating the death 
 of their common Saviour. It is a scene worth crossing the ocean to witness, 
 and must be especially cheering to those who commenced laboring there when 
 all was darkness and the very shadow of death. There is an amount of intel- 
 ligence among the native Christians unusual in the earlier stages of a mission. 
 A large proportion of them have received a thorough education in the Semi- 
 nary and boarding school, and are, in this respect, remarkably fitted for training 
 their children, and laying deep the foundations for the Christianity which is to 
 prevail in the land. In some instances, there are already so many of a circle of 
 relatives connected with the church, as to turn the current which has before 
 swept toward the dark gulf of heathenism, and the influence of the family is 
 on the side of Christ ; and a large proportion of the family circles in the com- 
 munity have been broken in upon by at least one of their number having 
 become a Christian. These Christian families are scattered here and there 
 in the villages, — lights amid the darkness, witnesses for the true God among 
 the worshipers of devils, — their dwellings oases in the desert of heathenism, 
 where the blessing of God descends, where God himself abides. Wherever 
 God's people are, there he is, fulfilling his promises and building up his king- 
 dom ; and this fact is a pledge that it shall be established in Ceylon. 
 
 Many of those who have been called away by death have remained faithful 
 to the end, and have died in hope of a glorious immortality. In some cases, 
 great joy and triumph over death have been manifested, such as to awaken 
 wonder and admiration even among the heathen around. It is an interesting 
 fact, that many Christians, whose unsteady walk had given their pastors great 
 solicitude, have in the hour of death manifested a steadfast attachment to the 
 Christian faith, and an apparent reliance on Christ, which have encouraged the 
 hope that many of these little ones, even the weak and wayward, will be found 
 at last gathered into the kingdom of God. 
 
 CHURCHES WITH NATIVE PASTORS. 
 
 Though there were able and faithful men connected with the mission, who 
 held the office of native preachers and of catechists, yet the way did not seem 
 open for ordaining any one as pastor of a native church tiU 1855. In May of 
 that year, the members of the Batticotta church living on the island of Cara- 
 dive were organized into a separate church, and Mr. Cornelius, who had 
 labored there faithfully and successfully as a catechist, was ordained as their 
 pastor. The occasion was one of great interest. Caradive is an island con- 
 taining nearly six thousand inhabitants. When Mr. Cornelius fiirst went there 
 to labor, there was not a Cluistian in the island, excepting one man, who had 
 
NATIVE MISSIONARY EFFORT. 17 
 
 been educated in the Seminary, was a suspended member of the church, and 
 has since been excommunicated. Now the missionaries were gathered there to 
 organize a church and ordain the first native pastor. Interest was added to 
 the occasion by the presence of Dr. Anderson, the senior secretarj' of the 
 American Board, and Dr. Thompson, who accompanied him as a member of the 
 deputation to India. They both took part in the exercises of the occasion, as 
 did also Mr. Meigs, one of the first company of missionaries, and Mr. Spaul- 
 ding, who joined the mission in 1821. Mr. Cornelius received his education 
 and training on the continent of India, principally in connection with EngUsh 
 missionaries. His wife is one of the pupils of the Oodooville schooL The Lord 
 has blessed their labors there, and it is hoped they may long be a blessing to 
 the flock under their charge, and to the whole island. 
 
 Three others have since been ordained — Thomas P. Hunt at Chavagacheriy, 
 David Stickney at Valany, and Francis Asbury at Navaly. Valany is the 
 station of the Native Evangelical Society — an organization of native Chris- 
 tians for the purpose of extending the blessings of the gospel to their country- 
 men. Mr. Slicknej' is their missionary ; and it is an interesting fact that he is 
 the son of Mary Poor, one of the first among the females who had the courage 
 to break over the bonds of custom, and learn to read and write. She still lives, 
 to see her son a native pastor, and a missionary sent out and supported by 
 her own people. 
 
 More recently another church has been organized at Navaly, a village in 
 Manepy ; and there are other places where the way seems to be preparing 
 for the formation of churches over whom native pastors may be ordained, and 
 there are promising candidates for the office. 
 
 >fATIVE MISSIONARY EFFORT. 
 
 " Let him that heareth say, Come." It is the first impulse of the soul which 
 has tasted of the water of life to turn to those who are still perishing with 
 thirst, and say, " Come." It was gratifying to the missionaries to see the germ 
 of this instinct of the new-born soul early developing itself in Ceylon, not only 
 in anxiety for near and dear friends, but for all the heathen around. Espe- 
 cially, when laid aside from labor by sickness, was it gratifying to see the 
 natives taking up the missionary work. Mr. Woodward, writing from Calcutta 
 in December, 1821, where he had gone for health and medical advice, says, 
 " When my thoughts recur to Ceylon, I long to be there to witness the salva- 
 tion of God, with which I believe the people are visited. My heart has been 
 greatly rejoiced to learn, by a letter from Mrs. Woodward, that two girls in our 
 school at Tillipally, who for some time have given evidence of piety, are actively 
 engaged in the blessed work, going from house to house, with the good news 
 in their hands, reading to and instructing the poor degraded females, and tes- 
 tifying repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ." 
 A few months later the mission mentions, as an interesting fact, " The females 
 who have joined our church seem to take a lively interest in the cause, often 
 seek opportunities, by going to different houses, of communicating truth to 
 their own sex, and are sometimes successful in persuading a few to break away 
 from their former customs, to go to the house of worship, and to listen to a 
 3 
 
18 THE CEYLON MISSION. 
 
 preached gospel." Such efforts were not confined to the females ; but in Buch 
 a country as that, where women are accustomed so to seclude themselves from 
 publicity, and where they are so inaccessible, it was peculiarly encouraging 
 to see Christian females, constrained by the love of Christ, so break over the 
 bonds of custom as to engage in active efforts for the salvation of others. 
 Such voluntary efforts have been continued to the present time, as well by the 
 youth in the schools as by others, and at times with precious results. 
 
 In 1832, a society of native Christians, called the Evangelical Society, was 
 formed, for making known the gospel by the support of catechists and teach- 
 ers, and the distribution of tracts. This society is still in active operation, and 
 IS to the Chi-istians of Jaffna what the American Board is to Christians in New 
 England. At first they contributed to the support of one or more catechists, 
 under the direction of the mission ; but subsequently they undertook the entire 
 direction of their own agents. The island of Valany, which contains about 
 three thousand inhabitants, was selected as their field of labor, and they were 
 allowed to choose their missionary from any among the men in the employ of 
 the mission who would be willing to be candidates. At that time there was 
 not a native Christian in that island ; but the blessing of the Lord seemed to 
 rest upon their labors, and now there is a native church organized, over whom 
 their present missionary, David Stickney, is ordained as pastor. Much inter- 
 est is manifested by the members of the native churches in sustaining this 
 society, and often much self-denial is exercised by those who contribute for its 
 support. Some give to the amount of one twentieth, one twelfth, and one 
 tenth of their income, and some even more. There, as elsewhere, the poor 
 often deny themselves most to give to the Lord. AVhen a poor girl 
 brings a quart or more of rice, which she has picked up kernel by kernel in 
 the fields, after harvest, it seems a precious gift, and must indeed be precious 
 to Him who sits over against the treasury. The pupils of the boarding school 
 are accustomed to give the value of one meal of food a week, which they vol- 
 untarily go without, besides contributing the avails of their earnings by sewing, 
 crochet-Avork, &c. The contributions to the society now amount to about five 
 hundred dollars a year, or an average of one dollar and twenty-five cents to 
 each church member. The Christians also contribute to other occasional and 
 permanent objects of Christian charity. During the year 1860 they contrib- 
 uted about five hundred dollars as a jubilee bfl'cring to the American Board. 
 The members of the churches which have native pastors do what they can 
 toward their support. 
 
 The missionary spirit has also been developed by the call for candidates to 
 go abroad, and labor on the islands or on the peninsula. The self-denial neces- 
 sary for this, especially on the part of a native female, is not readily under- 
 stood in this country. The difficulties in connection with their doinestic 
 system are real and great. They marry very young, generally among their 
 own relatives, and the wife, still a mere child, remains in the house of her 
 mother, or her husband's mother, in a dwelling erected within the yard, or in 
 the adjoining inclosure. If she is sick, her mother, sisters, and cousins are at 
 hand to sympathize with her, to wait upon her, and cook for her family. 
 From others than relatives she would expect neither sympathy nor aid, for in 
 the language of a heathen, who remarked on the care a missionary and his 
 
INFLUENCE UPON THE HEATHEN. 19 
 
 mfe had bestowed on a sick native, " The people -would as soon tread upon a 
 sick man, who was not a relative, as assist him." This and other circum- 
 stances combine to create a very strong feeling in the mind of everj' native 
 against removing from his or her own little village. If they make the experi- 
 ment, they seem almost never to think another village tolerable. Each one 
 finds in every other place worse water a hotter sun, and fever more prevalent 
 than in his own. So that when men, and more especially when women, are 
 ready to go abroad to labor for Christ, even upon a neighboring island, it is 
 often as much as for a female in this country to go to foreign lands. The female 
 who leaves America has a long voyage before her ; yet other women have 
 traveled for other purposes ; but to the female in India, and to all her friends, 
 the thought is a new one, except when women have gone, whole villages in 
 company, to worship at a distant temple. The American female must leave 
 her home and live among strangers ; but she knows how to take care of herself, 
 and the step is a common one among her friends. But the Hindoo female, in 
 her own feelings and those of her friends, and to a degree in fact, is an infant, 
 straying out on the wide waste without path, or precedent, or aid. The former 
 is urged on by the plaudits of admiring friends, and often of strangers ; but the 
 very mother of the latter will sometimes even threaten sincerely to destroy 
 herself, and the relatives, to work on the holiest, strongest of a daughter's 
 natural feelings, and to express their spite in the most effectual manner, 
 actually withhold needed aid from that mother in distress. Yet there have 
 been those who, in the face of all this opposition, have consented to go abroad 
 to labor for Christ ; and though their trials are unknown, and often unappre- 
 ciated when known, they will be accepted by the Lord of the harvest. The 
 idea of going abroad to labor is becoming more familiar to the native Chris- 
 tians, and there is encouragement to hope that more and more of a missionary 
 spirit will be developed, and more of those who have been educated will be 
 missionaries to their countrymen in various parts of the island, and on the 
 continent. 
 
 INFLUENCE UPON THE HEATHEN. 
 
 There has as yet been no general turning to the Lord among the heathen 
 in Jaffna. There is no movement even toward a nominal profession of Chris- 
 tianity, as in Southern India. This may arise, in part, from their different 
 circumstances, making the people of Ceylon more independent, and less in 
 need of protection and assistance from foreigners. Any one going to Jaffna 
 from the continent of India, must be struck -with the comparatively indepen- 
 dent bearing of the natives there. This is probably owing much to the more 
 efficient protection which government has afforded them, and to their position 
 in society as a sort of middle class, there being fewer of the very high and of the 
 low castes. Other circumstances, as the more equal distribution of property, 
 and the abolition of slavery, have probably contributed to the same result. 
 WhUe such characteristics seem in some respects unfavorable, yet, when sanc- 
 tified, the people will have more Christian enterprise and energy of character, 
 and be better fitted for active service in the work of the Lord. 
 
 But, although comparatively very few from among the uneducated heathen 
 have been converted, the result of missionary labor is very appsirent in the 
 
20 THE CEYLON MISSION. 
 
 community. There is now an extensive admission, on the part of the heathen, 
 that Chi-istianity is true, and a good relii^ion, and that it will eventuaUy prevail 
 in the land. It is not uncommon for such old men as are favorably disposed, 
 to say, " Do not urge me to change ; I am too old ; I must go in the way of 
 my fathers. But here are my children ; if they wish, let them become Chris- 
 tians." And some say, " Yes, Chi'istianity will prevail in our children's days." 
 There is also a frequent admission that their OAvn religion is false, though not 
 so common as the admission of the truth of Christianity. They still cling to 
 the idea that their religion will do for them, if they walk according to it iaith- 
 fuUy. There is, again, some advance in moral sentiment, especially among 
 those more immediately about the mission stations. Moral character is more 
 highly esteemed. Natives will still lie and steal, when they are tempted to do 
 BO ; but they are more wary about it, and feel more shame when detected. 
 Heathen parents seem to value the care taken by the mission to protect the 
 morals of pupils in the boarding schools, and approve of the discipline main- 
 tained there. 
 
 The increased desire for education, especially for female education, is also 
 a result of missionary labor. Whereas, at first, females could hardly be per- 
 suaded to attend school, and none came but the children of poor parents, there 
 is now no difficulty in obtaining any desirable number of candidates for admis- 
 sion to the Oodooville school, and they often come from the higher classes. 
 There are, even now, many families of high standing who consider it disrepu- 
 table for their girls to attend school ; but the number of this class is smaller 
 every year. The great eagerness for an English education for boys, indicates 
 a surprising change in the state of the community. This desire for English, 
 on account of the worldly advantage it gives, is undoubtedly excessive ; it will 
 prove, in some respects, an injury to the people ; and it seems to be a hin- 
 drance to other forms of missionary labor. It can not now be controlled, but 
 must in time, like other evils, work its own cure. 
 
 Another feature in the community is an increasing disregard of Brahmins 
 and gooroos (or religious teachers), who once received almost divine honors, 
 but now are treated much like other men. The very form which opposition now 
 takes seems to indicate the progress of the influence of truth. The opposers 
 of Christianity no longer look upon it with haughty contempt, as unworthy 
 even of notice ; but their learning and talent are brought into requisition to meet 
 it by argument. One of the most noticeable efforts in this direction is the 
 publication of a book of considerable size, which attempts to support the 
 religion of the country by an elaborate argument, going to prove that it is iden- 
 tical with the Mosaic ritual, as recorded in the Bible ; and as that was repeat- 
 edly declared to be given to be a " statute forever," " to all generations," 
 and even Christ and the apostles conformed to it, therefore the Hindoos are 
 right, and Christians are apostates from the true religion. 
 
 The state of pul)lic feeling is also shown by the fact that when a heathen 
 school was established, a few years since, in opposition to mission schools, 
 because in the latter distinctions of caste were not tolerated, there was influ- 
 ence enough among some of the supporters and teachers of the school, to 
 render it necessary that the Bible should be introduced to make the school 
 successful. 
 
TRIALS AND DANGERS OF NATIVE CHRISTIANS. 21 
 
 But the most important result of missionaiT labor among the heathen, and 
 the one which affords the most reason for encouragement, is the general 
 diffusion of the truths of the gospel. Those who are now men and women, 
 forty and fifty years of age, were once pupils in mission schools, read and 
 studied the Bible and Scripture Catechisms, which ai'c not entirely forgotten. 
 The Word of God — " the sword of the Spirit" — is in their minds, ready for 
 the Spirit's work. The way is prepared, as it rarely is among a heathen 
 people, for the establishment of Christ's kingdom. The Lord hasten it in his 
 time. 
 
 TRIALS AND DANGERS OF NATIVE CHRISTIANS. 
 
 It IS difficult for those living in Christian lands to understand the peculiar 
 trials and temptations of Christians among the heathen. Sometimes they are 
 exposed to violent opposition from their heathen relatives. A young man, 
 named Supyan, became interested in the truth early in the history of the mis- 
 sion. He was aa intelligent lad of nineteen, whose father was wealthy, and 
 connected with one of the temples near the town of Jaffna ; but he allowed his 
 son to attend the school at Tillipally. Having there professed his behef in the 
 Bible, the father was much alarmed, and when he returned home, caused him 
 to be confined, and kept for a time without food. He then ordered him to 
 perform certain heathen ceremonies. Supyan refused, and when shut up in a 
 dark room, made his escape, and fled to Tillipally, where he told Mr. Poor 
 what had befallen him. He took a Testament, and pointing to the tenth chap- 
 ter of ^latthew, from the thirty-fourth to the thirty-ninth verses, said, with 
 tears, " Tliat very good" His father, hearing where he was, sent for liim, and 
 as he did not return immediately, came himself, and took him away. They 
 were no sooner out of sight, than his father stripped him of his good cloth, put 
 on him one so poor as to be disgraceful, placed a burden on his head, as though 
 he was a slave, and beat him frequently with a shoe — which is very disgrace- 
 ful among the Hindoos — until he reached home. Every art was then used 
 to make him renounce Christianity. His relatives said the missionaries had 
 given him some medicine to make him a Christian, and asked what it was. 
 He rephed, " The gospel of Jesus Christ." A great variety of drugs were put 
 into his food, to turn him back to idolatry ; and an idol feast being made by 
 some of liis young fi'iends, he was ordered by his parents to make the custom- 
 ary offerings to the idol. When the time came, he entered the little room 
 where the idol was enthroned, pulled off its ornaments, and kneeled down to 
 pi-ay to the true God. One of his companions, looking through the cm-tain, 
 saw what was done, and told his father, who punished him severely, and sent 
 him for a time to Kandy, in the interior of the island. Afterward his father 
 changed his conduct, and lavished caresses upon him, showed him his various 
 possessions, and told him he should have all if he would give up the idea of be- 
 coming a Christian, but if not, he should be an outcast forever. Supyan chose 
 banishment from his father's house, saying, " I do not need house or land if I 
 have an interest in heaven." He attempted to go to Tillipally, but was fol- 
 lowed and taken home by force. They then tried to bring him under engage- 
 ments to marry a heathen gii'l ; but he would not consent, and even tore the 
 
22 THE CEYLON MISSION. 
 
 contract when offered to him. In short, they put his feet in the stocks, beat 
 liim, caused him to be conveyed to the neighboring continent, and at length 
 wearied him out, so that he signed a recantation of Christianity, and ever after 
 seemed settled in heathenism. There have been other cases of similar perse- 
 cution, though none, perhaps, so severe, or so long continued. 
 
 This opposition often comes in just at the time when a person has be- 
 come interested, and seems on the point of deciding for Christ, and turns him 
 back. Sometimes the mother will threaten to throw herself into the well — a 
 thing not unfrequently done by females in distress. In one case, a son was 
 turned back by the mother throwing herself down in the doorway, and telling 
 the son that if he insisted on going to the church, he should only do it by 
 waDiing over his own mother. In another case, of a woman among the higher 
 classes, after other forms of persecution failed, the relatives, not willing to give 
 up, and as if in the last struggles of despairing hope, cut down a tree, and pre- 
 pared the funeral pile to burn the mother alive, in case the woman refused to 
 return to her heathenism, " for this" said they, " will atone for the disgrace 
 brought upon us by her becoming a Christian." This had the desired effect. 
 She was overcome, and though dragged unwillingly to the temple at first, after- 
 ward went frequently. When exhorted still to trust in Jesus, to take courage, 
 and refuse to yield to temptations, she said, " I know it is my duty, I see that 
 these things are true, and that the customs of the heathen are all folly and 
 against God ; but when I feel the blows of my husband, and see the funeral pile 
 of my mother, how can I be bold — how can I trust in Jesus ? " She said to 
 Mrs. Spaulding, " If the tree had been cut down to burn me, I should not feel 
 it so much ; but the thought that my poor old mother must thus suffer for my 
 sake is insupportable." But it is often easier for the native Christians to meet 
 open persecution than to resist the temptations which come in other forms. 
 There is the temptation to yield to their heathen relatives in things which they 
 may consider as of little importance. A heathen mother, perhaps, is going to a 
 festival, and the Christian daughter is tempted to yield to her requests for aid 
 by way of furnishing her with clothing and jewels. A loved and loving mother, 
 a member of the family, observes heathen ceremonies in the house, before the 
 childi'en of Christian parents, and in her love and pity for her grandchildren, 
 will take every opportunity she can to rub upon their foreheads the sacred 
 ashes, or prejudice their minds in favor of her gods ; and the parents can not 
 easily prevent it, Avithout casting out thcu' own mother from house and home. 
 A child is perhaps sick : the grandmother and other relatives, after the failure 
 of other means, urge the resort to some charm, or to call some celebrated 
 heathen doctor, who gives medicine with incantations ; and in the distress and 
 anxiety of the mother, she yields. She herself has been educated, from her 
 cnrliest infancy, to have confidence in such things, and it is difficult to free her 
 mind from the influence of such education. She will almost involuntarily start 
 as the lizard chirps, or some other unfavorable omen suddenly surprises her ; 
 and when sickness or death comes into the family, and loved friends attribute 
 it to the neglect of the gods, it needs a firm faith to stand unfaltering till the 
 storm has blown past. Again, there is a wedding in the family, conducted, of 
 course, with heathen ceremooies. The Christian brother or sister must either 
 
TRIALS AND DANGERS OF NATIVE CHRISTIANS. 23 
 
 be present, and thus give sanction indirectly to idolatry, or be cut off from all 
 B\ mpathy with family friends. A neighbor comes in on the Sabbath, knowing 
 it to be a day of leisure with the Christian, to avail himself of his superior 
 education, to get some writing done, a deed or a petition drawn, and it is hard 
 to refuse. For purposes of irrigation, it is usual for several neighbors to 
 own a well together ; and as it takes three persons to draw water for watering 
 the fields, they assist one another. When one is a Christian, the others will 
 refuse to assist him at all, if he will not help them on the Sabbath. In like 
 manner they are dependent on one another for bullocks in plowing, and assist- 
 ance in harvest ; and the heathen are on the watch to catch the Christian in 
 matters of his religion, and are sure to make demands which will interfere 
 with it. 
 
 The most common device is to entangle a young Christian in a heathen 
 marriage. The heathen father of a Christian young man wiU perhaps pledge 
 to another man, under a severe penalty, which can not be incurred without 
 great loss and sacrifice, that his son shall marry the man's daughter ; and the 
 son, in love and pity for his father, is tempted to yield, flattering himself with 
 the usually vain hope that he can succeed in making his wife a Christian. A 
 very frequent temptation to a heathen marriage is the large dowry which many 
 of the heathen are now willing to offer with their daughters, to an educated 
 young man, who is consequently called to choose between a Christian wife 
 with little or no dowry, and poor relatives, and a heathen wife with a large 
 dowry, and connected with a wealthy family. He has seen neither of them, and 
 can not till he is married. The relatives of both are heathen, and in that coun- 
 try a man weds, with his wife, the whole circle of relatives. The temptation is 
 strong — the most common and the most successfuh Not a few have fallen 
 into this pit, and have been lost, at least for a time. Some have returned, and 
 a few have brought their wives with them. 
 
 To meet these trials of their faith, the native Christians have little strength 
 of moral character. Born of heathen parents ; inheriting the debasing influ- 
 ence of heathenism, which has been accumulating and concentrating for so 
 many generations ; educated in an atmosphere of idolati-y and sin, where truth 
 is literally fallen and trampled upon in the streets, — where lying, stealing, and 
 adultery are no disgrace ; it is no light thing for them to " stand up for Jesus " 
 at all times and under all circumstances. 
 
 Again : if Christians in this land, with all the overwhelming evidence they 
 have of the truth of their religion, do sometimes have the doubt come into their 
 minds for a moment, whether it is true, after all, much more may those where 
 the W'hole community, comprising the wealth and talent of the land, is against 
 them, whose religion boasts of an antiquity which runs back for ages beyond 
 the Mosaic history, and who affect to despise the few foreigners who have 
 come in, and are attempting to introduce a new religion of so recent a date, 
 and which has nothing grand or imposing connected with its history or its 
 worship. It is not surprising that faith sometimes falters. One of the mis- 
 sionaries, after giving the native Christians an account of the confirmation of 
 Scripture by the discoveries in Nineveh, remarked that to them these things 
 were not of so much importance in confirming Scripture, as they did not need 
 
24 THE CEYLON MISSION. 
 
 ihem. A native preacher immediately replied, " To us these tilings are like 
 eyes to the blind." Similar were the remarks made concerning a wandering 
 Jew, who came along a few years ago. They had never seen a Jew before, 
 and as they heard him chant the Hebrew Scriptures, they seemed to have a 
 new realization of the truth of the Bible. Here was one of the very people 
 whose history occupies so prominent a place in its pages. 
 
 And when these Christians do yield to their doubts and temptations, and fall 
 away, it is a more serious matter than an apostasy in this country. The mir- 
 acle of a renewed heart acting upon the life, is the standing miracle which 
 testifies to the truth of Chiistianity before the world ; and he who professes to 
 have been renewed needs to be very free from faults to have any influence in 
 favor of the truth. The position of the catechists and native pastors is often 
 very trying, on account of the little confidence the people have in their sincer- 
 ity. A heathen will sometimes say to them, " Yes, I will listen to what you 
 have to say as a personal favor to you. It is your work to talk to us, for which 
 you are paid. It is therefore my duty, as your friend, to listen to you, to 
 encourage you in your business." 
 
 These Christians should therefore be sustained and strengthened by the 
 prayers of those more favored and less tempted in this land. Let them be 
 especially remembered in the monthly concert ; let them not be forgotten in 
 the church prayer meeting ; and let them at least be remembered by one peti- 
 tion in the daily family and private devotions of Christians. 
 
 A word may properly be said here, also, respecting the need of prayer for 
 the children in schools. 
 
 The Hindoos have a proverb, " The father and mother are the first god the 
 child knows." There is an important truth in this saying. The Creator evi- 
 dently designed that the child should follow the steps of its parents, and be 
 by them trained in piety and righteousness. It is an unnatural state of things 
 when a child has parents unfitted for tliis work, and must be taught by others 
 that they are wrong, and that he should forsake their instruction and their ways. 
 These children are objects of compassion and sympathy. The missionaries tell 
 them one thing, and their own beloved father and mother the reverse. Which 
 ■will they naturally believe ? With the child, also, the wonderful miracles said 
 to be performed by the heathen gods have much influence. The miracles of 
 the Bible are stories of past ages. Their own sacred books have not only more 
 wonderful stories of the past, but their religion boasts of its present miracles. 
 The child is really perplexed. A little girl in Manepy, who was told that one 
 of their gods, at a temple a few miles distant, caused men's tongues, which 
 had been cut off, to grow out again, went away, and prayed, " O God, if the 
 god which makes the tongue grow is God, tell me ; if Jesus Christ is God, 
 tell me." 
 
PERSONS CONNECTED WITH THE MISSION. 
 
 25 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 The waj' seems to be remarkably prepared in Jaffna for an outpouring of the 
 Spirit upon the whole community. The thirty thousand who have studied the 
 Bible in the village schools are scattered all through the land. What an 
 encouragement for Christians to pray that God will bless his own Word! 
 Revivals heretofore have been confined principally to the boarding schools ; 
 but there seems reason to hope for an awakening among the masses. This 
 is the great want of the mission. It has come to a point in its history where 
 it seems as though it could hardly continue without it. 
 
 Much labor has been bestowed, for many years, and much prayer has been 
 offered by the faithful laborers. Some of those who have gone forth weeping, 
 bearing precious seed, have gone to their reward. Thek sacred dust conse- 
 crates the soil on which they labored. Theu* names will not soon be forgotten 
 in Jaffna. Others are still spared — may it not be hoped to rejoice over a 
 rich and abundant harvest ? But this blessing depends much upon the prayers 
 of Christians in the United States. In former revivals in Ceylon, the mission- 
 aries used to say they knew when Christians were praying at home before the 
 news came by mail. 
 
 The following persons have been connected, with the Ceylon mission : — 
 
 Rev. James Richards, . . . 
 Mrs. Sarah Richards, . • . 
 Rev. Edward Warren, . . . 
 Rev. Benjamin C. Meigs, . . 
 Mrs. Sarah M. Meigs, . . . 
 Rev. Daniel Poor, .... 
 
 Mrs. Susan Poor 
 
 Mrs. Ann K. Poor, .... 
 Rev. Miron Winslow,* , . 
 Mrs. Harriet W. Winslow, . 
 Rev. John Scudder, M. D.,* . 
 Mrs. Harriet Scudder, , . . 
 Rev. Levi Spaulding, . . . 
 Mrs. Mary C. Spaulding, . . 
 Rev. Henry Woodward, . . 
 Mrs. Lydia Woodward, . . 
 Mrs. Clarissa Woodward, . . 
 Rev. Geo. H. Apthorpe, . . 
 Mrs. Mary R. Apthorpe, , . 
 Rev. Henry R. Hoisington, . 
 Mrs. Nancy L. Hoisington, . 
 Rev. Samuel Hutchings, . . 
 Mrs. Elizabeth C. Hutchings, 
 Rev. James R. Eckard, . 
 Mrs. Margaret E. Eckard, . 
 Nathan Ward, M. D.,t . . 
 
 Joined the 
 Mission. 
 
 Left. 
 
 Died. 
 
 1816 
 
 
 1822 
 
 1816 
 
 1823 
 
 
 1816 
 
 
 1818 
 
 1816 
 
 1858 
 
 1862 
 
 1816 
 
 1840 
 
 
 1816 
 
 
 1855 
 
 1816 
 
 
 1821 
 
 1823 
 
 1855 
 
 
 1819 
 
 
 1864 
 
 1819 
 
 
 1833 
 
 1819 
 
 
 1855 
 
 1819 
 
 
 1849 
 
 1819 
 
 
 
 1819 
 
 
 
 1820 
 
 
 1834 
 
 1820 
 
 
 1825 
 
 1826 
 
 1836 
 
 
 1833 
 
 
 1844 
 
 1833 
 
 
 1849 
 
 1833 
 
 1850 
 
 
 1833 
 
 1850 
 
 
 1833 
 
 1842 
 
 
 1833 
 
 1843 
 
 
 1834 
 
 1843 
 
 
 1834 
 
 1843 
 
 
 1833 
 
 1847 
 
 
 * Kemoved to Madras, 1836. 
 
 t Mr. and Mrs. W.nrd sailed again, to rejoin the mission, in 1860. 
 passage. Mrs. Ward left for the United States in 1865. 
 4 
 
 Mr. Ward died on the 
 
26 
 
 THE CEYLON MISSION. 
 
 Mrs. Hannah W. Ward, . . 
 Mr. Eastman S. Minor, . , 
 Mrs. Lucy B. Minor, . . . 
 ;Mrs. Judith M. Elinor, . . 
 Rev. John M. S. Perry, . . 
 Mrs. Harriet J. Perry, . . , 
 Miss Eliza Agnew, . . . 
 Miss Sarah F. Brown, . . , 
 Rev. Edward Cope, . . . , 
 Mrs. Emily K. Cope, . . 
 Rev. S. G. Whittelsey, . 
 Mrs. Anna C. Whittelsey, 
 Rev. Robert Wyman, . . 
 Mrs. Martha Wyman, . . 
 Rev. John C. Smith, . . 
 Mrs. Eunice P. Smith, . . 
 Mrs. Mary Smith, ... 
 Rev. Adin H. Fletcher, . 
 Mrs. Elizabeth W. Fletcher, 
 Rev. Wm. W. Howland, . , 
 Mrs. Susan R. Howland, . 
 Rev. W. W. Scudder,* . 
 Mrs. Catharine E. Scudder, , 
 Rev. Eurotus P. Hastings, . 
 Mrs. Anna Hastings, . . . 
 Samuel F. Green, M. D., , , 
 Mrs. Margaretta W. Green, , 
 Rev. Joseph T. Noyes,t . . 
 Mrs. Elizabeth A. Noyes,t . 
 Rev. Cyrus T. Mills, . , . 
 Mrs. Susan L. Mills, . . , 
 Mr. Thomas S. Burnell.t . , 
 Mrs. Martha Burnell,t 
 Rev. Marshall D. Sanders, , 
 Mrs. Georgiana K. Sanders, 
 Rev. Nathan L., Lord,t . . 
 Mrs. Laura M. Lord,t • ^ 
 Rev. Milan H. Hitchcock, 
 Mrs. Lucy A. Hitchcock, . , 
 Rev. James Quick, . . . 
 Mrs. Maria E. Quick, . . , 
 Rev. James A. Bates, . . , 
 Mrs. Sarah A. Bates, . . , 
 
 Joined the 
 
 ].eft. 
 
 Died. 
 
 Mission. 
 1833 
 
 
 
 
 
 1834 
 
 1851 
 
 
 1834 
 
 
 1837 
 
 1839 
 
 1851 
 
 
 1835 
 
 
 1837 
 
 1835 
 
 
 1837 
 
 1839 
 
 
 
 1839 
 
 1841 
 
 
 1840 
 
 1848 
 
 
 1840 
 
 1848 
 
 
 1842 
 
 
 1847 
 
 1842 
 
 1848 
 
 
 1842 
 
 
 1845 
 
 1842 
 
 1845 
 
 
 1842 
 
 
 
 1842 
 
 
 1842 
 
 1843 
 
 
 
 1846 
 
 1850 
 
 
 1846 
 
 1850 
 
 
 1846 
 
 
 
 1846 
 
 
 
 1846 
 
 1852 
 
 
 1846 
 
 
 1849 
 
 1846 
 
 
 
 1853 
 
 
 
 1846 
 
 
 
 1862 
 
 
 
 1849 
 
 1852 
 
 
 1849 
 
 1852 
 
 
 1849 
 
 1853 
 
 
 1849 
 
 1853 
 
 
 1849 
 
 1855 
 
 
 1849 
 
 1855 
 
 
 1852 
 
 
 
 1852 
 
 
 
 1853 
 
 1860 
 
 
 1853 
 
 1860 
 
 
 1858 
 
 1860 
 
 
 1858 
 
 1860 
 
 
 1858 
 
 
 
 1858 
 
 
 
 1861 
 
 1864 
 
 
 1861 
 
 1864 
 
 
 * Transferred to Arcot. 
 
 t Transferred to Madura. 
 
SKETCH OF THE MADURA MISSION. 
 
 THE FIEIjID. 
 
 The field of the Madura mission is the Madura Collectorate, in Southern 
 India. It has between the ninth and eleventh parallels of north latitude, and 
 between the Gulf of Manaar on the east and the district of Travancore on the 
 west. It has a surface of ten thousand square miles, and a population of 
 nearly two millions. 
 
 The face of the country in the eastern part is level. In the western part, 
 mountains are often found rising abruptly from level plains. A range, 
 seven thousand feet in height, extends along nearly the whole of the western 
 border, adding much not only to the beauty of the scenery, but to the fertility 
 and heaithfulness of the district. 
 
 SOIL AND PKODUCTIONS — CLIMATE. 
 
 The soil is generally rich, and when rain falls plentifully, in its season, 
 is highly productive. The most valuable productions are cotton, castor-beans, 
 tobacco, rice, and several kinds of grain and pulse unknown in this country. 
 Many varieties of tropical fruits are found, of which the most abundant are 
 cocoa-nuts, tamarinds, and plantains. 
 
 The climate is hot and dry. For many successive days, in the hot season, 
 the thermometer in the house ranges from 96° to 100° in the afternoon, and 
 the nights are but little cooler. In the coolest part of the year, the thermome- 
 ter in the open air never indicates a lower degree of temperatm'e than 69° 
 or 70°. 
 
 The climate is, however, free from great and sudden changes, and compara- 
 tively healthy. For twenty years previous to 1865, during which time there 
 I.a^e been, on an average, from fifteen to twenty adults in the mission, only 
 twj have died there, (besides one who was drowned,) and one of these was an 
 invalid before leaving America. 
 
 Of the present and former missionaries, nearly twenty, including persons of 
 both sexes, have spent from fifteen to twenty years in the mission, without 
 leaving it. 
 
 The health of the mission is greatly promoted by the Sanitarium on the 
 Pulney Mountains, in the Madura district. The location is about seven 
 thousand feet above the plains, and the air is cool and bracing. In the cool 
 season, the climate is much like that of Xew England in the clear days of 
 October. Even in the hottest part of the year, when, upon the plains, the 
 lightest garments are burdensome, thick clothing and a little fire are needed 
 
 ^2!) 
 
28 THE MADURA MISSION. 
 
 for comfort. No one who has not experienced the heat of India, can imagine 
 how much a person is refreshed by a change, for a little time, from the burn- 
 ing plains to the top of these mountains, and how great reason the members 
 of the Madura mission, and other forc'ii,niers in that part of India, have to be 
 grateful for the delightful retreat afforded by them. 
 
 TUE PEOPLK — TKIIPLES AND FESTIVALS. 
 
 The gi'eat mass of the people in this district are heathen, though Moham- 
 medans are numerous in the large towns, and there are many Roman Cath- 
 olics. All speak the Tamil language, and several, who came originally from 
 regions further north, also speak Teluga. 
 
 There are many ancient temples in the Madura district, which have been 
 much resorted to by one generation after another, for hundreds of years. 
 Several of these are large, and were built at enormous expense. The largest 
 and most celebrated is the temple in the city of Madura, devoted to Minachy, 
 the tutelar goddess of that place. She is supposed to be the deified daughter 
 of one of the Pandian kings, by whom this part of India was ruled for several 
 centuries, both before and after the commencement of the Christian era. This 
 temple was begun by one of the earlier kings, and enlarged and beautified by 
 his successors, who expended vast sums of money upon it, and gave lands of 
 great value for its support. It covers several acres of ground, and has four 
 high pagodas, or towers. Two or three elephants are always kept in it, which 
 are used in processions on great occasions. Four or five images of horses and 
 bullocks, made of wood, and covered with plates of gold and silver, belong to 
 the temple, upon which the image of the goddess is sometimes placed, and 
 carried through the streets of the city. 
 
 A large number of " dancing girls " are connected with this temple, who 
 were devoted to it by their parents, or born of those previously thus devoted. 
 A part of their duty is to sing and dance in the temple. They are as corrupt 
 in character as many of the women in Corinth were in the days of the apostle 
 Paul. Several men are also connected with it, who play upon drums, and other 
 instruments, the sound of which may be heard all over the city, every morning, 
 befdre the dawn of day. 
 
 In passing the wide gates of the temple at night, one is astonished at the 
 number of lamps kept burning. They are so arranged as to present a very 
 striking appearance, the object of them being to make a show rather than to 
 give light. An annual festival is observed in honor of this goddess, attended 
 by thousands of people from all parts of Southern India, and from the island 
 of Ceylon. 
 
 There are many choultries, or rest-houses, in and around Madura, built for 
 the accommodation of people who attend this festival. One within the walls 
 of the temple is called " the thousand pillared choultry," from the number of 
 stone pillars by which the roof is supported. During this festival, the image 
 of the goddess is brought out, covered with ornaments of precious stones set 
 in gold, placed upon a large and highly decorated car, and drawn round the 
 city, attended by the beating of drums, the blowing of horns, and the shouts 
 of the great mukilude. 
 
ORIGIN AND MEMBERS OP THE MISSION. 
 
 29 
 
 The last thing that takes place, from year to year, is the marriage of 
 Minachy to Sokalingam, another name of Siva. Alagar, the beautiful one, 
 a name given to Vishnu, is annually brought down from his temple at the foot 
 of Alagar Mountain, twelve miles from Madura, to take part in the marriage 
 ceremony. His temple is large and richly endowed. 
 
 The following temples also are much celebrated : One devoted to Suprima- 
 nian, at Secunder Molie, four miles from Madura, at which there is a monthly 
 as well as an annual festival; another devoted to the same deity atPulney ; and 
 one for the worship of Siva, on the island of Ramesuram, near the eastern 
 coast. Pilgrims resort to this temple in great numbers, on account of the sup- 
 posed efficacy of the water there in cleansing from moral pollution. 
 
 ORIGIN AND MEMBERS OF THE MISSION. 
 
 Rev. Levi Spaulding, of the American mission in Ceylon, visited the conti- 
 nent in January, 1834, and selected Madura as the site of a new mission among 
 the Tamil people. 
 
 In July, 1834, Messrs. Hoisington and Todd, of the Ceylon mission, made a 
 visit to Madura. Mr. Hoisington returned after two months, and Mr. Todd 
 remained. He buried his wife in September, 1835, and subsequently married 
 Mrs. Woodard, who died in June, 1837. His own health failed, and he left 
 for America in January, 1839. 
 
 Rev. Daniel Poor, who had labored in Ceylon nearly twenty years, visited 
 Madura in October, 1835, and removed there with his family the following 
 March. He remained in this mission, laboring with great earnestness, till July, 
 1841, when he returned to Ceylon. His name is still remembered with great 
 respect among the natives in Madura. Rev. Messrs. A. C. Hall and J. J. 
 LawTence arrived in Madura with Mr. Poor. " This reenforcement," it is said, 
 " together with the preaching of Mr. Poor, and the books brought by him, excited 
 great attention among the natives." 
 
 The names of those who are or have been members of this mission, with the 
 year of their arrival in the field, and the year of the leaving or death of those 
 who are no longer members, are presented in the following table. Of those 
 who left early, Messrs. Echard and Poor, with their wives, returned to Ceylon, 
 where they were laboring before going to Madura. Mr. and Mrs. Cope also 
 joined the Ceylon mission, and Mr. and Mrs. Ward, and also Mrs. Dwight, (as 
 Mrs. Winslow,) went to Madras. 
 
 Rev. Wm. Todd, . . 
 Mrs. L. B. Todd, . . 
 Mrs. C. E. Todd, . . 
 Rev. James R. Eckard, 
 Mrs. M. E. Eckai-d, . 
 Rev. Alanson C. Hall, . 
 Mrs. Frances A. Hall, . 
 Rev. J. J. Lawrence, . 
 Mrs. M. H. Lawrence, 
 Rev. Daniel Poor, . . 
 Mrs. A. K. Poor, . . 
 
 Joined the 
 Mission. 
 
 Left. 
 
 1834 
 
 1839 
 
 1834 
 
 
 1836 
 
 
 1835 
 
 1836 
 
 1835 
 
 1836 
 
 1835 
 
 1836 
 
 1835 
 
 
 1835 
 
 
 1835 
 
 1847 
 
 1836 
 
 1841 
 
 1836 
 
 1841 
 
 Died. 
 
 1835 
 1837 
 
 1836 
 1846 
 
30 
 
 THE MADURA MISSION. 
 
 Rev. Robert O. Dwight, . . 
 Mrs. M. B. Dwight, . . . 
 Rev. Henry Cherry, . . . 
 Mrs. C. H. Cherry, . . . . 
 Mrs. Jane E. Cherry, . . . 
 Mrs. Henrietta Cherry, . . 
 Rev. Edward Cope, . . . 
 Mrs. E. K. Cope, .... 
 Rev. Nathaniel M. Crane, 
 Mrs. Julia A. J. Crane, . . 
 Rev. C. F. Muzzy, .... 
 Mrs. S. B. Muzzy, . . . . 
 Mrs. M. A. Muzzy, . . . . 
 Rev. Wm. Tracy, . . . . 
 Mrs. E. F. Tracy, .... 
 Rev. F. D. W. Ward, . . . 
 Mrs. Jane S. Ward, . . . 
 John Steele, M. D., . . . . 
 Mrs. Mary S. Steele, . . . 
 Alfred North, ...... 
 
 Mrs. North, 
 
 Rev. H. S. Taylor 
 
 Mrs. M. E. Taylor, .... 
 Rev. James Herrick, . . . 
 Mrs. E. H. Herrick, . . . 
 Rev. John Rendall, . , . 
 Mrs. J. B. Rendall, . . . 
 Rev. Edward Webb, . . . 
 Mrs. Nancy A. Webb, . . . 
 Rev. George W. McMillan, . 
 Mrs. R. N. McMillan, . . . 
 Rev. John E. Chandler, . . 
 Mrs. C. H. Chandler, . . . 
 Rev. George Ford, .... 
 Mrs. Ann J. Ford, .... 
 Rev. Charles Little, .... 
 Mrs. Amelia M. Little, . . 
 Mrs. Susan R. Little, . . . 
 
 C. S. Shelton, M. D 
 
 Mrs. H. M. Shelton, . . . 
 Rev. J. T. Noyes, .... 
 Mrs. E. A. Noyes, .... 
 Rev. T. S. Burnell, .... 
 Mrs. Martha Burnell, . . . 
 Rev. W. B. Capron, . . . 
 
 Mrs. S. B. Capron 
 
 Rev. Charles T. White, . . 
 Mrs, Anna M. White, . . . 
 Rev. Edward Chester, . . . 
 Mrs. Sophia Chester, . . . 
 Miss Sarah W. Ashley, . . 
 Rev. George T. Washburn, . 
 Mrs. Eliza E. Washburn, . . 
 Rev. David C. Scudder, . . 
 Mrs. Harriet L. Scudder, . . 
 Rev. Nathan L. Lord, M. D., 
 Mrs. Laura W. Lord, . . . 
 
 Joined the 
 Missioa. 
 
 Left. 
 
 Died. 
 
 1836 
 
 
 1844 
 
 1836 
 
 1845 
 
 
 1837 
 
 1849 
 
 
 1837 
 
 
 1837 
 
 1839 
 
 
 1844 
 
 1844 
 
 1849 
 
 
 1837 
 
 1839 
 
 
 1837 
 
 1839 
 
 
 1837 
 
 1844 
 
 
 1837 
 
 1844 
 
 
 1837 
 
 1857 
 
 
 1837 
 
 
 1846 
 
 1848 
 
 1857 
 
 
 1837 
 
 
 
 1837 
 
 
 
 1837 
 
 1843 
 
 
 1837 
 
 1843 
 
 
 1837 
 
 
 1842 
 
 1837 
 
 1843 
 
 
 1843 
 
 1847 
 
 
 1843 • 
 
 
 1844 
 
 1844 
 
 
 
 1844 
 
 
 
 1846 
 
 
 
 1846 
 
 
 
 1846 
 
 
 
 1846 
 
 
 
 1846 
 
 1864 
 
 
 1846 
 
 1864 
 
 
 1846 
 
 1854 
 
 
 1846 
 
 1854 
 
 
 1847 
 
 
 
 1847 
 
 
 
 1847 
 
 1853 
 
 
 1847 
 
 1853 
 
 
 1848 
 
 1858 
 
 
 1848 
 
 
 1848 
 
 1854 
 
 1858 
 
 
 1849 
 
 1855 
 
 
 1849 
 
 1855 
 
 
 1853 
 
 
 
 1853 
 
 
 
 1855 
 
 
 
 1855 
 
 
 
 1857 
 
 
 
 1857 
 
 
 
 1857 
 
 
 
 1857 
 
 
 
 1859 
 
 
 
 1859 
 
 
 
 1859 
 
 1864 
 
 
 1860 
 
 
 
 1860 
 
 
 
 1861 
 
 
 1862 
 
 1861 
 
 1863 
 
 
 1863 
 
 
 
 1863 
 
 
 
EDUCATION. 31 
 
 Rev. J. Scudder, M. D., labored two years in this field, from April, 1847, 
 without becoming a member of the mission. 
 
 Previous to the establishment of the American mission in Madura, no 
 Protestant missionary had ever resided in the district. Subsequently, the 
 " Gospel Propagation Society " supported two or three missionaries, with 
 a few catechists and schoolmasters, in the district, for several years. But in 
 1859 the agents of this society were withdrawn ; and by a mutual agreement, 
 the whole of the Madura district, except a part of Ramnad, was committed to 
 the American mission. 
 
 The whole number of ordained missionaries, who have been connected with 
 the mission, is twenty-eight, four of whom united with other missions on leav- 
 ing this. The mission has been in existence thirty-one years, and the average 
 number of its resident members has been between eight and nine. It has 
 enjoyed the services of a mission physician just half the time from its com- 
 mencement. Leaving out of the account those who joined other missions on 
 going from this, the average time thus far spent in actual service, by the 
 present and former members, has been ten and a half years. 
 
 MISSIONARY OPERATIONS AND THEIR RESULTS — EDUCATION. 
 
 1. Tamil Free Schools and English Schools for the Heathen. 
 
 During the early years of the mission, great importance was attached to 
 education as a means of evangelizing the people. Free schools for heathen 
 children, and taught by heathen masters, were for a time supported in large 
 numbers. Two were established at once, and several more the following year. 
 In two years from the commencement of the mission, there were thirty-five 
 schools, and the next year sixty, containing twenty-two hundred and eighty- 
 four pupils. In 1840 the number had increased to ninety-nine, and in 1844 
 there were one hundred and fourteen schools, containing thirty-three hundred 
 and fifty-three pupils, of whom one hundred and fifteen were girls. There 
 were also four called select schools, containing one hundred and fourteen pupils, 
 somewhat more advanced than those in the free schools generally. This was 
 the largest number of free schools for heathen childi-en supported at any one 
 time. They began to decline soon after, and five years later there were only 
 thirteen. In 1850 there were ten, six of which were taught by Christian 
 teachers. Four years later there were no schools exclusively for heathen chil- 
 dren, and since that time none have been employed as teachers, who were not, 
 nominally at least. Christians. In the mean time several schools had sprung 
 up, most of them more remote from the station centres, different in character, 
 and established for a different purpose. These will be spoken of hereafter. 
 
 What has been the result of the labor and expense bestowed upon the sys- 
 tem of education described above can not be definitely told. There can be no 
 doubt that those schools served, to some extent, to conciliate the people, and 
 that a vast number of children learned to read who would not have learned 
 without them, is certain. It is also certain that the teachers generally, thou- 
 sands of their pupils, and many other persons, gained considerable knowledge 
 of the principles of Christianity by means of the schools. Lessons were 
 
32 THE MADURA MISSION. 
 
 regularly learned from the "Rible and Catecliisms, both by teachers and pupils, 
 and recited to the superintending missionary. In the Annual Report for 1841 
 it was said, " About a thousand of the pupils in the native free schools are 
 able to read, and nearly the whole number " (upward of three thousand,) 
 " have committed to memory the ten commandments, the Lord's Prayer, and 
 a small Catechism." Teachers and pupils were required to attend meetings on 
 the Sabbath. Each school was fi-equently visited by the missionary as well as 
 by catechists, and made a place of preaching and giving religious instruction ; 
 yet very few of the teachers or pupils have thus far become Christians, and 
 many of them have died without leaving any evidence that they were benefited, 
 spiritually, by the truths made known to them. Many of these remarks apply 
 equally to English schools, two of which were early established, and one con- 
 tinued for twenty years. 
 
 2. Station and Village Schools. 
 
 At each station under the care of a resident missionary, there is a vernacu- 
 lar school, taught by a Christian, and generally superintended by the mission- 
 ar}''s wife. All other free schools are in village congregations, having been 
 established with direct reference to the children of people who have embraced 
 Christianity. Heathen children, however, are usually allowed and encouraged 
 to attend. The teachers are all Christians, and the same lessons are taught to 
 both Christian and heathen children. The number of station and village 
 schools, at the end of 1864, was sixty-four, and of pupils in them, eleven 
 hundred and eighty-six. 
 
 It is the aim of the mission to secure the attendance of all Christian children 
 of proper age ; but such is the poverty of many of the parents, and their inabil- 
 ity to appreciate the worth of education, that they cannot be induced to send 
 children regularly to school who are able to work. 
 
 3. Boarding Schools. 
 
 Within five years of the origin of the mission, six boarding schools were 
 established ; four for boys and two for girls. One of the latter was supported 
 for a short time by individuals in the country. Those for boys were estab- 
 lished chiefly for the purpose of furnishing the mission with weU-educated 
 native assistants, while a secondary object was the general diffusion of Chris- 
 tian knowledge. The object of the schools for girls was twofold — to promote 
 female education, and to furnish suitable companions for catechists and teach- 
 ers. These schools Mere at first all open to heathen children, but were taught 
 by Christian teachers. For several years the English language was taught in 
 them all, and pupils were received before even learning to read in their own 
 language ; but rules were at length adopted requiring at least an ability to 
 read the vernacular, as a condition of being received to a boarding school. At 
 a later period, heathen children, and cliildren from without the ]\Iadura dis- 
 trict, were excluded. The study of Englifih was early dropped in the female 
 boarding schools, and afterward in the schools for boys. 
 
 The boys' boarding schools have all been discontinued. One reason for this 
 
EDUCATION, 83 
 
 was their expense; another, the impression that, by drawing from the Mi..igc 
 schools the sons of catechists, teachers, and others of the more promising boys, 
 their influence was prejudicial to those schools ; and the hope was entertained 
 that the seminary, in connection with the village schools, would be able to meet 
 the demand for the education of native assistants. Many pupils were hopefully 
 converted while in the boarding schools, and others after going from them to 
 the seminary. 
 
 In 1840, the two female boarding schools were united in the school at Ma- 
 dura, which has been prosperous and very useful until the present time. The 
 average number of pupils for the past ten years has been forty-six. All were 
 nominally Christians when admitted, and many have since been received to the 
 church. Many of the graduates are wives of native pastors, catechists, and 
 teachers, and several have been themselves employed as teachers. 
 
 4. The Seminary. 
 
 The mission at first relied principally upon the Batticotta Seminary, in Cey- 
 lon, to furnish the native assistants needed ; but it was found that the requisite 
 number could not be obtained from that source. It was thought, too, that 
 those who came from there were less useful than if they had been born and 
 educated upon the continent. A representation was made to the Prudential 
 Committee, and leave was obtained to establish an institution within the mis- 
 sion for the express purpose of supplying it with native helpers. 
 
 In September, 1842, a seminary was opened at Tu'umangalam, by Mr. 
 Tracy as principal, with thirty-four students, all received from the four board- 
 ing schools. Ten were members of the church. At fii'st, the seminary, like 
 \he boarding schools, was open to the heathen and Roman Catholics as well 
 as to Protestant Christians. Some were received from places without the 
 limits of the mission, and several, who were heathen or Catholics when they 
 entered, were afterward converted. 
 
 For several years the English language held a prominent place in this insti- 
 tution, as in the boarding schools, and all the pupils spent much of their time 
 in this study. There was then a great scarcity of books in the Tamil, suitable 
 to be used as text books, or to be consulted for general knowledge and im- 
 provement. There was also then, as now, a great desii"e on the part of the 
 natives to learn English. 
 
 In 1845 the seminary was removed from Tirumangalam to Pasumalie, the 
 requisite buildings having been erected. The location at Tirumangalam was in 
 some respects unfavorable, and there were not suitable buildings there. The 
 present location is in all respects a desirable one. 
 
 The year 1847 was an important one to the Madura mission, on account of 
 the action then taken upon the subject of caste, which had a special influence 
 upon the seminary. The case is thus stated, in a report of the mission 
 relative to the seminary, in 1855 : " The year 1847 formed an era in the history 
 of this institution. The mission took action on the subject of caste in July, 
 having direct reference to the catechists and church members ; and it was the 
 occasion of some excitement in the seminary, from the fact that many of the 
 catechists, and others affected by the caste movement, had sons in the institu- 
 5 
 
34 THK MADURA MISSION. 
 
 tion at the time. The object of the seminary being to raise up helpers for the 
 mission, it seemed inconsistent to admit, or even to retain in the institution, 
 those who, by observing the rules of caste, would be unqualified to enter the 
 service of the mission as catechists, after having completed their course of 
 study. In consequence of the action of the mission in October, 1847, the sem- 
 inary was nearly disl>anded, only one of the teachers and nine of the students 
 having complied with the requisition of the mission. Some of the scholars, and 
 one of the teachers, afterward returned. A few months later, a class of twelve, 
 mostly Christians from our own district, and of low caste, were received." 
 Since that time very few students have been received from abroad, and nearly 
 all have come from Christian families. 
 
 In 1 849 the course of study was so modified as to diminish the study of Eng- 
 lish, except in the case of a comparatively small number of the most promising 
 students. Three years later a class was received, consisting of fifteen young 
 men from the different stations, who had been instructed, more or less privately, 
 by catechists and missionaries. They knew nothing of English, studied only 
 Tamil in the seminary, and left the institution after two years, and engaged in 
 mission service. From that time onward, a similar class has generally been 
 connected with the institution. 
 
 The English language received less and less attention, until, in 1859, it was ' 
 discontinued as a regular study. The missionaries have generally regarded 
 this as an important change. One strong reason formerly existing for the 
 study of English has been removed by the great increase, in later years, of 
 good books in the vernacular. The expense of education is thus diminished, 
 while young men, having a knowledge of their own tongue alone, are subject to 
 fewer temptations than those understanding English, and are retained in 
 mission service on lower pay. 
 
 In 1857, two catechists, previously accepted by the mission as candidates for 
 the pastoral office, Avere sent to the seminary for a year, that they might be- 
 come better fitted for their future duties. They made good improvement, and 
 were afterward ordained. Since then there have usually been a few catechists 
 engaged in study at the seminary, some to increase their qualifications for the 
 work of catechists, and some to fit themselves for pastors. Most have highly 
 appreciated the advantages enjoyed there, and have been much benefited 
 by them. 
 
 The principal of the seminary has occupied the place he now fills ever since 
 the institution was started, excepting about three and a half years, spent in 
 visiting this country. He is assisted by four native teachers, all well fitted for 
 their responsible work. 
 
 The whole number who have regularly left the institution is two hundred and 
 sixty-one. Of these, one hundred and seventy-five have been employed in the 
 mission, and one hundred and twenty-two were thus employed at the end of 
 1863. Some are in the service of other missions ; some are in the employment 
 of the government ; and a few are overseers on cofi"ee plantations in Ceylon. 
 It is pleasant to know that some of these, at least, are not insensible of their 
 obligations to the mission, nor indifferent in regard to its welfare. One 
 recently sent a donation, amounting to one hundred dollars ; and smaller sums 
 have been given, not unfrequently, by others. 
 
DISPENSARY — LITKRARY LABORS — PREACHING. 35 
 
 DISPENSARY. 
 
 A dispensary has been connected with the mission from its earlier stages. 
 In the absence of a physician, it has been under the superintendence of a mis- 
 sionary, assisted by a competent native. Many have resorted to it almost 
 daily, the number amounting, generally, to two or three thousand a year, em- 
 bracing people of all classes and all religions known hi the district. To all 
 who have thus come, the truths of the gospel have been proclaimed, often 
 under circumstances peculiarly favorable, and many have heard repeatedly. 
 May it be found in the last day, that those truths have been made " the power 
 of God unto salvation," to great numbers. 
 
 LITERARY LABORS. 
 
 Though there has never been a printing establishment in the mission, con- 
 siderable labor connected with the press has been performed. One member 
 of the mission was for several years associated with men selected from four or 
 five other missions, in revising the Tamil New Testament; a work which 
 required much time and careful study. The revision was completed in 1863. 
 
 The same missionary translated and prepared for the press a book of four 
 hundred pages on theology, which has since been used as a text book in the 
 seminary. One of the teachers in the seminary translated the abridgment of 
 Wayland's Moral Science, another produced a small book, in Tamil, on the 
 Life of Luther, and another a book entitled A Description of Madura. 
 These three works were published by the " Christian Vernacular Education 
 Society." 
 
 In 1853 the mission published a book of three hundred and sixty-two pages, 
 containing a collection of Tamil hymns in English metre, a selection of chants, 
 and a selection of " Sacred Lyrics, or Religious Odes, in Tamil Metre." The 
 selections were made and the book prepai-ed for the press by a member of the 
 mission. The same person afterward made another collection of IjTrics, form- 
 ing a book of four hundred and seventy-five pages, which was published by 
 the society mentioned above. 
 
 In 1854 the mission commenced publishing a Quarterly, in the Tamil lan- 
 guage, under the supervision of the missionary just referred to, undertaken 
 chiefly to furnish native assistants and other Christians with the means of 
 mental improvement. This was continued four or five years, and translations 
 of several useful works on science, church history, &c., were published in it, 
 besides much original matter. Two or three other small books, and a few 
 tracts, prepared by members of the mission, have also been published. 
 
 PREACHING. 
 
 Though great reliance was placed upon schools in the first years of the 
 mission, preaching and the distribution of tracts were not neglected. Mr. 
 Poor, who had a good knowledge of the Tamil language before going to Ma- 
 dura, was accustomed to preach daily, in school-houses and other places in 
 
36 THE MADURA MISSION. 
 
 Madura city. Others began to preach in the vernacular as soon as they were 
 able ; but on account of the labors demanded by the numerous schools, the 
 work of preaching at that time must have been confined, in great measure, to 
 the villages in which the schools were located, and other villages in the imme- 
 diate vicinity of the mission houses. As the schools began to diminish, tours 
 for preaching in the more distant villages became more frequent. " Village 
 congregations " sprung up, presenting additional inducements for laborers in 
 the villages. It has long been the custom of most missionaries not only to 
 preach, when at home, in the streets and lanes of the villages near, but to make 
 fi'equent tours for carrying the gospel to villages more remote. Much labor 
 of this kind is also done by native assistants. 
 
 The work of preaching has been constantly increasing for several years past. 
 Excepting one or two, necessarily employed in other labors, the great work of 
 all the members of the mission — the work in which they spend parts of almost 
 every day — is oral preaching in the language of the people. 
 
 ITINEKATING. 
 
 The subject of extending the gospel message to the more remote and desti- 
 tute parts of the district has attracted special attention during the last three or 
 four years. After careful deliberation, the conclusion was reached, that not 
 only are additional men needed to be engaged exclusively in itinerant labors, 
 but that those already on the ground should give still more prominence to this 
 kind of work ; and arrangements have been made for the regular and system- 
 atic performance of such labors in different parts of the district. 
 
 The following is from the report of the mission for 1863 : " A plan of 
 itinerant labors was drawn up, embracing all the missionaries, so far as their 
 circumstances would admit of their engaging in the work. Two missionaries, 
 and as many catechists as they saw fit to employ, were associated together. 
 The tents were first pitched June 1, and labor was continued till August 21, 
 when the sickness of one and the medical duties of another caused a cessa- 
 tion of the work ; and the rains coming on prevented its renewal by others 
 who had arranged to take it up. * * * fhg gospel has been preached in 
 three hundred and thirty-six villages and hamlets, to audiences which, in the 
 aggregate, have amounted to twenty thousand persons ; and a large number 
 of tracts and Scripture portions have been left behind, to continue the work 
 begun. This has been done in a region where there had been before little or 
 no preaching of the truth." 
 
 The work of this kind done in 1864 was much more than that of the pre- 
 vious year, and it was commenced again in January of the present year, (1865.) 
 
 DISTRIBUTION OF TRACTS. 
 
 The distribution of tracts and parts of the Bible has been practiced from the 
 first. They have been given to persons calling for them at the mission houses, 
 and to those met in the highways ; have been carried on preaching tours, and 
 to fares and festivals, both by missionaries and native helpers, and distributed 
 in great numbers, care being always taken to give only to those having 
 
VILLAGE CONGREGATIONS. 37 
 
 the ability and expressing a wish to read them. The practice of selling has 
 been introduced, to some extent, within a few years. This is important, both 
 from the fact that a person paying even a small price for a book, will be the 
 more likely to value it, and from the tendency of the practice to form the habit 
 among the people of depending upon themselves, rather than expecting that 
 everything will be done for them. 
 
 VILLAGE CONGREGATIONS. 
 
 A " village congregation " is one composed of several persons in a village, or 
 in two or more adjacent villages, who have embraced Christianity, and are 
 watched over and instructed by a catechist or teacher in the employment of 
 the mission. Such congregations are always under the general superintendence 
 of a missionary. When the head of a family belongs to a congregation, most or 
 all of its members usually belong to it also. The first congregation of this kind 
 was foi-med in the mission in 1843, in a village seventy-five mUes south of Din- 
 digul, where a man of influence had long been regai'ded as a Christian, and thir- 
 teen families, embracing sixty or seventy individuals, had requested Cluistian 
 instruction. Many such congregations had before this sprung up in one or 
 two of the neighboring missions. In 1846 the number of congregations in 
 the Madura mission had increased to forty, and in 1850 there were seventy- 
 one, containing twenty-four hundred and seventy-one people. Five years later 
 the number of congregations was one hundi-ed and twenty, and of the people 
 connected with them, five thousand and ninety-one. At the end of 1863 there 
 Mere one hundred and fifty-two congregations, which contained sixty-three 
 hundred and ninety-one people, representing more than twenty difi"erent castes, 
 and living in more than two hundred villages and hamlets. Most of the people 
 were originally heathen, but a lai-ge number were Roman Catholics. Persons 
 proposing to form a new congregation, or to unite with one already existing, 
 have ever been accustomed to profess a renunciation of their former religion, 
 and to promise to observe the Sabbath, attend meetings for divine worship, 
 and study the Word of God. As a general thing, a catechist or schoolmaster 
 has been placed in each congregation, to instruct its members and conduct 
 meetings. The larger and more important congregations have often had the 
 services of both a catechist and schoolmaster. A catechist has sometimes had 
 charge of more than one congi'egation, and in many instances the same man 
 has performed the duties of both catechist and schoolmaster. A large majority 
 of the catechists now in the mission have charge of village congi-egations, 
 though it is made the duty of each to labor as circumstances will permit, to 
 make known the gospel to the heathen. Most of the church members are mem- 
 bej-s of village congregations. Most of the chui'ches — all indeed but one — 
 now under the care of native pastors, had theii- origin in such congregations. 
 
 The increase in this department has for a few years been less rapid in 
 respect to numbers than formerly. For this there are several reasons. In 
 the earlier stages of the work, the people often had mistaken ideas as to the 
 advantages to be derived from embracing Christianity, and the missionaries 
 were more liable than now to misunderst£md the motives by which people were 
 led to seek Clu'istian instruction. Many made application from the impression 
 
38 THE MADURA MISSION. 
 
 that the relation into which they would thus be brought to the missionary, 
 would tend to free them from oppression, or assist them in some case of liti- 
 gation in which they were interested. Some, too, in the hope of being em- 
 ployed as teachers, prevailed upon others to join them in their ajjplication. 
 But the people have learned that the missionary has the ability to do very 
 little to shield them from injustice and oppression, and that the great object 
 of his appearance among them is to promote their spiritual rather than their 
 secular interests. They have learned, too, that no one can hope for employ- 
 ment until he has proved himself worthy. 
 
 Again, members of these congregations are now required to do much more 
 for themselves than formerly ; and this has doubtless had an influence upon 
 the rate of increase. At first they not only expected the mission to pay their 
 catechists and teachers, but to build school-houses and churches for them, and 
 keep them in repair. Now, all are required at least to assist in the erection 
 of necessary buildings, and the whole expense of repairs is in many cases 
 borne by the people. Those who enjoy the labors of a native pastor are 
 required to assist in his support, and some contribute toward the support of 
 their catechists. 
 
 But though the numerical increase is slower than formerly, there are some 
 things decidedly favorable. A much larger proportion than formerly are 
 influenced, in coming, by a knowledge of the gospel, and a conviction of its 
 truth. A greater proportion, too, are men of intelligence and property, and 
 belong to the middle or higher castes. Men who have counted the cost will 
 be likely to stand firm in the time of difficulty, and ultimately to exert an 
 influence. 
 
 It is the usual custom for missionaries having village congregations under 
 their care, to visit them each month, or as often as other duties will allow. 
 " confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the 
 faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of 
 God." These visits, in connection with which many opportunities are gener- 
 ally enjoyed for addressing the heathen, though laborious, often serve greatly 
 to strengthen the faith of the missionary and to refresh his spii-it. None of 
 liis labors are more interesting, none more important. 
 
 NATIVE CHTJRCII. 
 
 In one of their late reports, the missionaries say, " It is one of the princi- 
 ples of the mission to organize local churches as soon as congregations have 
 become firmly established, and persons of approved piety have so far increased 
 An numbers and intelligence as to make such an organization possible and use- 
 »ful. It is, further, the aim of the mission to place such churches in the hands 
 of native pastors, as rapidly as men judged suitable, according to the apostolic 
 direction, can be found to take the office." 
 
 The first church organized in the mission was at Madura, in October, 1836. 
 It contained nine members, who had all been members of churches in Ceylon, 
 and had come to Madura to be employed as catechists and teachers. A church 
 was formed at Dindigul in 1837, and at each of the other stations soon after 
 they were occupied. But they were composed almost wholly of native assist- 
 
THE ACTION ON CASTE. 39 
 
 anta, and persons belonging to their families who came from Ceylon, Tanjore, 
 and other places without the district. For several years a large majority of 
 the church members were of this class. In September, 1839, a church was 
 organized at Tirumangalam, and a native convert received to it on profession. 
 In 1840 there were twelve additions to the four churches, making the whole 
 number of members, exclusive of native helpers, fifteen, of whom all but -one 
 were males. 
 
 In February, 1841, a church was formed at Sivagunga, with twelve mem- 
 bers, three of whom were admitted on profession of their faith. One was a 
 teacher of a free school. The same year, three boys in the boarding school at 
 Tirumangalam were admitted to the church, and five adults, all heads of fam- 
 ilies, were received at Dindigul. In 1844 forty-three were added to the difler- 
 ent churches, on profession — a greater number than had been thus received 
 during all the previous years. In 1845, all the churches but one received 
 additions, the whole number admitted on profession being twenty-four. 
 
 THK ACTION ON CASTE. 
 
 Allusion was made, when speaking of the seminary, to action taken by the 
 mission, in 1847, on the subject of caste. The nature of that action, in its 
 application to native helpers and other church members, and also the reasons 
 for it, are explained in the following quotation from a report of the mission 
 on this subject. " At first it was deemed sufficient evidence that converts 
 had renounced caste, when they were willing to come out from among their 
 friends, join themselves with foreigners, attend church, sit down by the side 
 of persons of a lower caste, go to the communion table and partake of bread 
 from the same plate and wine from the same cup. But after a time Christians 
 could do all this without losing their caste, or being at all reproached for it by 
 the heathen. What was at fii-st a test became no test at all. High caste 
 Christians would do all tliis, and more, without the least hesitation, or a 
 thought of renouncing their caste. They did this while in the social relations 
 of life caste distinctions were scrupulously observed. Even Christians would 
 sooner go hungry than eat food cooked by a person of lower caste. Another 
 test was therefore necessary." It was on this account that the following reso- 
 lutions were adopted in July, 1847, viz. : — 
 
 " That the mission regard caste as an essential part of Hindooism, and its 
 full and j,ractical renunciation, after proper instruction, as essential to satis- 
 factory evidence of piety ; and that renunciation of caste implies at least a 
 readiness to eat, under proper circumstances, with Christians of any caste, and 
 to treat them, in respect to hospitality and other acts of kindness, as if there 
 had never been any distinctions of caste. 
 
 " That we consider it to be the duty of all those who are members of our 
 churches, after receiving proper instruction, to give us some satisfactory test 
 of their having forsaken the evil, before we can, thereafter, administer the 
 sacrament to them. 
 
 " That we will not hereafter receive into our service, as catechist, any one 
 who does not give evidence of having renounced caste." 
 
40 THE MADURA MISSION. 
 
 A large number of church members, including many catechists, refused to 
 comply with the wishes of the mission, and were suspended from the church. 
 But with the exception of nearly aU the catechists from abroad, who left the 
 mission, most of the suspended members subsequently complied, and were 
 restored. 
 
 CHURCHES IN VILLAGES — NATIVE PASTOES. 
 
 In 1849 a church was organized in Mankulam, a village twelve miles from 
 Madura. This was the first church established away from a station centre. 
 
 In March, 1855, a church of eighteen members was formed in Mallankinaru, 
 connected with the Tirumangalam station, and a native pastor ordained over 
 it. Drs. Anderson and Thompson, then in India as a deputation from the 
 Prudential Committee of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign 
 Missions, were present, and took part in the exercises. This was the first 
 ordination of a native pastor, not only in Madura, but in any of the American 
 missions among the Tamil people. Five churches were organized the same 
 year, in villages of the Mandapasalie station, and nine the following year, in 
 villages of the different stations. The number of churches now in the mission 
 is twenty-nine, of which eighteen are in the villages, and eight under the care 
 of native pastors. 
 
 In their report for 1863 the mission said, " All the churches work har- 
 moniously with their pastors, and, with one or two exceptions, much to be 
 regretted, the church members, as a body, are harmonious among themselves. 
 "WTaile we see deficiencies and imperfections, as a general thing it may be said, 
 that our native churches and pastors are our hope and our crown of rejoicing. 
 The number of church members at the close of the year, under the care of the 
 native pastorate, is three hundred and forty-three, or, on an average, forty- 
 three members to a church." 
 
 The whole number received to the church on profession, from the commence- 
 ment of the mission to the end of 1864, is sixteen hundred and twenty-six, 
 nearly four fifths of whom have been received since the year 1850. In 1853 
 one hundred and twenty-two persons were thus added, in 1854 one hundred 
 and thirty-five, in 1855 one hundred and forty-four, and in 1856 one hundred 
 and seventy-one. This is the largest number ever added in a single year. 
 About two hundred church members have died in the hope of salvation, and 
 one hundred and one have been excommunicated. Some have left the dis- 
 trict; and at the end of 1864 there were eleven hundi-ed and seventy-three 
 resident members in good standing. 
 
 Upwards of thirteen hundred children have been baptized, and more than 
 five hundred Chiistiau marriages have been solemnized. 
 
 NATIVE ASSISTANTS. 
 
 The first natives employed in the mission were graduates of the Batticotta 
 Seminary in Ceylon. Others were introduced from Tanjore a little later, and 
 a few from Tinnevelly. Most of these left the mission, as before stated, soon 
 after its action on the subject of caste, in 1847, or before that time. A great 
 majority of those now employed have been raised up within the limits of the 
 
NATIVE CONTRIBUTIONS. 41 
 
 mission. Some have pursued a regular course of study in the seminary, and 
 others a partial course. Some, employed first as schoolmasters, having pre- 
 viously had few advantages for education, received private instruction, and 
 became readers or catechists. Not a few of this class have, in late years, 
 enjoyed the advantages of the seminary for one year. 
 
 Nine native pastors have been ordained, one of whom has been dismissed at 
 bis own request, that he might remove to Madras. 
 
 The following list comprises the whole number of natives employed at the 
 close of 1863 : Native pastors, eight ; catechists, ninety-two ; readers, whose 
 duties are similar to those of catechists, seventeen ; teachers in the seminary 
 and female boarding school, seven ; schoolmasters, fifty-two ; schoolmistresses, 
 nine. Total, one hundred and eighty-five. 
 
 In 1851 systematic arrangements were made by the mission for the improve- 
 ment of the natives employed, which, with some modifications, have continued 
 till the present time. According to tliis plan, the helpers are brought to- 
 gether from all the stations once a year, for a meeting of three or four days, 
 attended by all the missionaries. A sermon is always preached by a mission- 
 ary, and the Lord's supper administered; and considerable time is spent 
 each day in devotional exercises. Essays aie read by natives, and addresses 
 delivered by both natives and missionaries, on subjects of practical interest, 
 previously given out. The helpers are also examined upon subjects previously 
 assigned them for investigation and study. Once a year a meeting is held for 
 similar purposes, in three or four difierent localities, by the missionaries and 
 native agents of stations adjacent to each other, while each missionary holds a 
 monthly, and in some instances a weekly meeting with the helpers under his 
 particular superintendence, during which some time is devoted to their instruc- 
 tion. These meetings require much expenditure of time and strength ; but con- 
 sidering their influence upon the natives, the number of persons employed, and 
 the importance of this agency, the labor could not be more wisely bestowed. 
 
 NATIVE CONTRIBUTIONS. 
 
 As the number of Christians increased, the duty of contributing to the sup- 
 port of the gospel was urged upon them. From an imperfect understanding 
 of their duty, and the poverty of many, the amount given was for some time 
 very small, and is not large now ; but the increase has been such as to afford 
 encouragement. The sums mentioned below do not include the amount 
 expended by Christians, in labor and money, upon theii- chuixh buildings and 
 school-houses. 
 
 In 1844 the amount given was sixty rupees, (a rupee is about half a dollar.) 
 In 1850 two hundred and twelve rupees were contributed, and in 1853 eight 
 hundred and thirty-six rupees, eleven annas, and five pice. The amount given 
 in 1860 was a fraction less than eleven hundred and twelve rupees, and in 1863 
 it was sixteen hundred and four rupees. 
 
 A part of the sum contributed in 1860 was intended as a "jubilee offering," 
 toward which a former graduate of the seminary gave one hundred and twen- 
 ty rupees, another thirty, and one man gave a cow. 
 
 In 1853 the " Madura Native Evangelical Society " was formed, the object 
 6 
 
42 THE MADURA MISSION. 
 
 of which was, at first, to support catechists and teachers in thoTOore destitute 
 parts of the Madura district. Since the ordination of native pastors, the soci- 
 ety has devoted its income to the assistance of churches in their support. It is 
 virtually a Home Missionary Society, and is accomplishing great good ; not so 
 much, however, at present, from the amount of money raised, as from its influ- 
 ence in awakening among the people a disposition to contribute to the support 
 of their own Christian institutions. The annual income of this society is 
 included in the sums mentioned above. 
 
 A great increase in the spirit of benevolence was experienced in 1861. This 
 was particularly manifest during the meeting held simultaneously with the 
 annual meeting of the American Board. A meeting appointed for prayer, one 
 morning, was continued nearly four hours. In the words of the mission report 
 for that year, " Many rose, one after another, each speaking a few earnest 
 words, and laying down his offering. The giving was frequently interrupted 
 by prayers. Some gave jewelry, some articles of clothing, and some pledged 
 cattle, sheep, or fowls." About three hundred and fifty dollars were given and 
 pledged at this meeting, and at a meeting held a day or two later, the sum was 
 raised to five hundred dollars. A similar spirit was afterward manifested in 
 some of the villages. 
 
 REVIVALS OF RELIGION. 
 
 Revivals — using the word in the sense in which it is generally understood in 
 America — have not been often witnessed in Madura ; but seasons of unusual 
 spii-itual interest have been frequently enjoyed, especially in the seminary and 
 female boarding school. 
 
 The week of prayer has been annually observed since it was first proposed 
 by the missionaries of Lodiana. For several years, additions have been made 
 yearly to most of the churches in the mission. It has more than once occurred, 
 that almost all the students of the seminary at a given time wei"e members of 
 the church. 
 
 In 1S60 an interesting work of grace was enjoyed at some of the stations in 
 Tinnevelly, particularly at the station nearest to Madura. Early in 1861, marks 
 of a similar work began to appear at Mallankinaru, a village of the Tiruman- 
 galam station, in our own mission. Several persons were deeply distressed, at 
 times, on account of their sins. Divisions in the church were healed, and 
 church members became more prayerful and active. These manifestations 
 continued for several months, and in addition to the results just mentioned, 
 eight or ten individuals were hopefully converted, and professed their faith in 
 Christ by uniting with his church. A little later in the year, similar seasons 
 were enjoyed in the seminary, in several of the congregations of the Kambam 
 valley, and in a few other places. 
 
 Of the work in the seminary, the principal spoke as follows, in his report for 
 that year : " During the early part of the year, the religious condition of the 
 seminary was very unsatisfactory, and caused me much anxiety. A few seemed 
 to desire a better state of things, and were praying that God would pour out 
 his Spirit. The week of prayer in January had been observed, but with less 
 apparent interest than the year before ; and altogether the prospect of a bless- 
 ing from on high was very dark. This state of things continued till within 
 
STATISTICS OF THE MISSION. 
 
 43 
 
 four days of the close of the term in March, when, on the evening of the Sab- 
 bath, the Lord was pleased to pour out his Spirit in a most remarkable manner. 
 One of the smaller boys Avas brought to me, in deep distress on account of his 
 sins, and in an hour from that time four fifths of the students, including many 
 who were members of the church, were in great agony from a sense of their 
 sinfulness. This state of feeling continued during the remaining days of the 
 term ; some, from time to time, finding peace in an assurance of pardoning 
 mercy, while others were cast down with a sense of their guilt and ingratitude 
 to the Saviour. All ordinary study was necessarily suspended, and the time 
 was spent in religious exercises and in imparting such instruction as was suited 
 to their peculiar circumstances. Subsequent experience has left no room to 
 doubt that the work was of the Lord." 
 
 The following table presents some of the more important statistics of the 
 mission at the end of the year 1864 : — 
 
 
 "S 
 
 a 
 
 •a 
 
 
 
 a 
 
 
 
 
 ja 
 
 
 
 o 
 
 3 
 
 p 
 
 a a 
 
 
 <0 m 
 
 boo 
 
 — .2 
 
 ii 
 
 
 
 
 
 STATIONS. 
 
 a 
 o 
 
 p 
 
 ,s 
 
 o 
 d 
 
 mT3 
 
 1. a 
 
 MS 
 
 3 
 
 
 O be 
 
 d§ 
 
 si 
 
 bo 
 
 g 
 
 a 
 
 o 
 
 a 
 
 a 
 u> 
 
 2 
 
 '3 
 
 o 
 
 ■'■a 
 
 Madura, 
 
 1834 
 
 2 
 
 148 
 
 202 
 
 19 
 
 181 
 
 165 
 
 241 
 
 587 
 
 538 
 
 Dindigul, . . 
 
 
 
 183G 
 
 2 
 
 77 
 
 167 
 
 12 
 
 144 
 
 107 
 
 200 
 
 451 
 
 331 
 
 Sivagunga, . . 
 
 
 
 1837 
 
 1 
 
 15 
 
 80 
 
 2 
 
 12 
 
 15 
 
 26 
 
 53 
 
 28 
 
 Tirumangalam, 
 
 
 
 1837 
 
 2 
 
 138 
 
 154 
 
 15 
 
 265 
 
 225 
 
 309 
 
 799 
 
 490 
 
 Tirupuvanam, . 
 
 
 
 1837 
 
 
 9 
 
 10 
 
 4 
 
 19 
 
 21 
 
 43 
 
 83 
 
 65 
 
 Pasumalie, . . 
 
 
 
 1845 
 
 
 59 
 
 160 
 
 1 
 
 30 
 
 6 
 
 24 
 
 60 
 
 112 
 
 Periaculam, 
 
 
 
 1848 
 
 
 40 
 
 16 
 
 6 
 
 77 
 
 86 
 
 159 
 
 322 
 
 151 
 
 Mandapasahe, . 
 
 
 
 1850 
 
 
 362 
 
 522 
 
 44 
 
 552 
 
 524 
 
 719 
 
 1795 
 
 959 
 
 Usulampatty, . 
 
 
 
 1856 
 
 
 k — 
 
 — 
 
 6 
 
 41 
 
 32 
 
 49 
 
 122 
 
 88 
 
 Battalagundu, . 
 
 
 
 1856 
 
 
 104 
 
 73 
 
 10 
 
 98 
 
 110 
 
 176 
 
 384 
 
 174 
 
 Malur, . . . 
 
 
 
 1856 
 
 
 25 
 
 21 
 
 8 
 
 49 
 
 64 
 
 116 
 
 229 
 
 118 
 
 Pulney, . . . 
 
 
 
 1858 
 
 
 39 
 
 35 
 
 6 
 
 71 
 
 53 
 
 99 
 
 223 
 
 138 
 
 Mana Madura, . 
 
 
 
 1858 
 
 
 11 
 
 — 
 
 2 
 
 14 
 
 12 
 
 17 
 
 43 
 
 35 
 
 Kambam, . . 
 
 
 
 1862 
 
 6 
 
 146 
 
 186 
 
 19 
 
 335 
 
 346 
 
 542 
 
 1223 
 
 565 
 
 
 
 31 
 
 1173 
 
 1626 
 
 154 
 
 1888 
 
 1766 
 
 2720 
 
 6374 
 
 3792 
 
 I may be permitted to close this sketch with the exhortation, "Finally, 
 brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course and be 
 glorified, even as it is with you." 
 
SKETCH OF THE MADRAS MISSION. 
 
 The Madras mission was commenced in August, 1836, by Rev. Miron 
 Winslow, who was joined, the following month, by Rev. John Scudder, M. D. 
 Both Mr. Winslow and Dr. Scudder had been members of the Ceylon missioa 
 between sixteen and seventeen years. 
 
 Mr. Winslow visited America in 1855, and returned in 1858. He left 
 again in August, 1864, on account of ill health, and died at Cape Town, South 
 Africa, October 22, two days after reaching that place. 
 
 Dr. Scudder left for America in April, 1842, with the hope of improving 
 his impaired health. He returned to India early in 1847, spent two years in 
 the Madura mission, and resumed his labors in Madras in March, 1849. He 
 left again for the Cape of Good Hope, on account of ill health, in August, 1854, 
 and died the following January. 
 
 Mr. P. R. Hunt, who went out as printer, reached Madras in March, 1840, 
 and is still a member of the mission. 
 
 Rev. Samuel Hutchings joined this mission, from Ceylon, in April, 1842, and 
 left for America, on account of ill health, in October, 1843. 
 
 Rev. F. D. W. Ward was transferred to Madras from Madura early in 1843, 
 and left for America in January, 1846. 
 
 Rev. H. M. Scudder became a member of this mission in September, 1844, 
 and removed to Arcot in 1851. 
 
 Rev. J. W. Dulles arrived in Madras in March, 1849, but was constrained, 
 by the state of his own health and that of Mrs. Dulles, to return to America 
 in 1852. 
 
 Rev. J. N. Hurd labored in this mission from July, 1852, until 1858. 
 
 THE PRESS. 
 
 The mission was established " for the especial purpose of printing the 
 Scriptures and religious tracts in the Tamil language." As a printing press 
 could not at once be sent from this country, " the church mission i)ress was 
 bought, in 1838, and from time to time enlarged, until it reached a state of 
 great efficiency for printing, type founding, and binding." The establishment 
 has not been restricted, as was at first designed, to *' printing the Scriptures 
 and religious tracts in the Tamil language ; " but, as is said in a recent report, 
 it is now " principally occupied in printing and binding the Scriptures, school 
 books, tracts, and other religious and educational works in Tamil, Telugu, and 
 Hindustani." 
 
 A vast amount has been done in this line, though the printing and binding 
 of books is by no means all that has been accomplished. From a report, pub- 
 
 (44) 
 
OTHER LABORS. 45 
 
 Hshed by the mission in 1864, it appears that four Imndred and twenty millions 
 of pages have been printed, more than half of which were of the sacred Scrip- 
 tures. For the purpose of making the press as far as possible self-supporting, 
 job work, not inconsistent with its objects, has at times been received. One 
 of the works published is the large Dictionary, upon which Dr. Winslow 
 expended much of his time and strength for many years. After some delay, 
 from want of funds, this work was completed in August, 1862. It is a Tamil 
 and English Dictionary of the High and Low Tamil, having nine hundred and 
 seventy-six quarto pages, with three columns on a page, and contains sixty- 
 seven thousand words, or thirty thousand more than any similar work. It has 
 been highly commended, both by the press and by individuals, and is of special 
 value to missionaries among the Tamil people, to whom it was dedicated by 
 the author. In a communication addressed to Dr. Winslow by the Madras 
 Missionary Conference, just before he left India, they say, among other things, 
 " We can not let this opportunity pass without acknowledging, also, the great 
 debt of gratitude we, as Tamil missionaries, owe you, for the excellent and 
 elaborate Dictionary of the Tamil Language which it has been one of the labors 
 of your life to compile." 
 
 But the character and large number of books that have issued from the 
 American mission press at Madras do not indicate the whole value of its ser- 
 vices. It has made great improvement in the typography of the Tamil, and 
 some other languages of Southern India. The cummittee of the Madi-as 
 Auxiliary Bible Society, in a late report, spoke thus upon this point : " Your 
 committee desire to bear testimony to the important services rendered by the 
 American mission press to the cause of Bible ciixulation, in the improvement 
 it has effected in the tj-pography of the vernacular Scriptures — a result entirely 
 attributable to the exertions of Mr. Hunt, its zealous and indefatigable super- 
 intendent." 
 
 A few years jince, a valuable gold watch and chain were presented to Mr. 
 Hunt, by native Chiistians and missionaries of different denominations, as an 
 acknowledgment of the important work done by him in improving the print- 
 ing of the Tamil language. In the accompanying addi-ess the following lan- 
 guage was used : " Every person who feels an interest in Tamil literature, in the 
 well-being of the Tamil people, or in the progress of Christian enlightenment 
 and civilization in a heathen land, must entertain a deep sense of the benefits 
 which have been conferred upon the native community of Southern India, by 
 the elegant editions of Tamil classical and grammatical works which have pro- 
 ceeded from your press, and which may be said to have raised printing to a 
 place among the fine arts ; and especially by your clear, correct, and beautiful 
 editions of the Tamil Bible, — each edition excelling the previous one, — which 
 have called forth the admiration and merited the gratitude of all native 
 Christians." 
 
 OTHER LABORS. 
 
 While the Madras mission has done so much by means of the press, it has 
 also done much more. During most of the time he lived in Madras, Dr. 
 Winslow was an active member of a Committee of the Madras Auxiliary Bible 
 Society, whose duties were of high importance, and demanded much time and 
 
46 THE MADRAS MISSION. 
 
 careful study. Mr. Hunt has for a long time been agent in financial matters, 
 as Dr. Winslow previously was, for all the Tamil missions of the Board, trans- 
 acting for them much important business. The assistance rendered to new 
 missionaries on their amval in that strange country, and to others Mhen 
 obliged to leave, has been of the greatest value. Many who are now, or have 
 been missionaries in India and Ceylon, will ever remember, with sincere grati- 
 tude, aid received from these mission families at Madras. 
 
 The mission has also done not a little in the woi'k of education among the 
 natives. From ten to fifteen vernacular schools for boys and girls, and one 
 or two exclusively for females, have been in operation most of the time. In 
 addition to these, an English high school was supported for sixteen years, 
 much of the expense being borne by English residents. This school was 
 brought to a close in 1861, (on account of the war.) when Dr. Winslow made 
 the following remarks respecting it : " It has just passed its fifteenth examina- 
 tion. There were two hundred pupils of all classes, including many Brahmins. 
 The school has done good. Several, by its agency, have been turned from 
 dumb idols to serve the living God, and large numbers have been fitted for 
 usefulness, and prepared to take respectable positions. Several are teaching 
 in connection with government, or in various private schools, and five or six 
 are in mission service as catechists or preachers." A report, published in 
 1864, says of this and other schools, " There have been several hopeful conver- 
 sions of pupils while at school, and of others after leaving ; in some instances 
 when they were far away from the place where they were taught. The con- 
 verts from the English high school, and vernacular schools for boys and girls, 
 can not be less than eighteen or twenty in all, and though this is a small num- 
 ber, it is a great reward for the efi'orts made." 
 
 The preaching of the gospel has held a prominent place in the operations of 
 this mission. Almost the whole time of Dr. Scudder, while living in Madras, 
 was given to preaching and the distribution of tracts and books, both in the 
 city and the surrounding country. For some time, he and his son, Rev. H. M. 
 Scudder, made this their daily business, preaching regularly morning and even- 
 ing, in different places of concourse, in the streets of Madras, and in the neigh- 
 borhood of the city. Mr. Hunt, also, in addition to his work in connection with 
 the press, has labored much among the people, with native assistants, holding 
 meetings regularly on the Sabbath and the evenings of other days, in several 
 places in the vicinity of his residence. Dr. Winslow was accustomed to preach 
 to a large audience every Sabbath morning, and to preach or conduct a Sab- 
 bath school in the afternoon. The English high school under his care was 
 opened with reading the Scriptures and prayer each morning, and religious 
 meetings were held during the week. 
 
 A native church was early established, and since its organization about one 
 hundred and eighty persons have been admitted to it, and one hundred children 
 have been baptized. In a late report, Dr. AVinslow said, ' All our baptized 
 children, on coming to years of discretion, have cast in their lot with the 
 people of God. None have turned back to heathenism." 
 
PROGRESS OP MISSIONS IN INDIA. 47 
 
 PROGRESS OF xMISSIONS IN INDIA. 
 
 The Annual Report of the (English) Church Missionary Society for 1862-3, 
 at the close of its review of the missions of that Society in India, not including 
 Ceylon, presents the following " general view of the progress and success of 
 Protestant Christian missions " in that land : — 
 
 " Ten years ago, tables were published by the Rev. Dr. Mullens, a mission- 
 ary in Calcutta, of the London Missionary Society, exhibiting the statistics of 
 all the Protestant Missionary Societies in India. Similar returns have been 
 published this year, thus exhibiting the progress of missions during the last 
 ten years. The enemies of Protestant missions have lately attempted to dis- 
 credit their success, by presenting a collection of the many partial disappoint- 
 ments and failures inseparable from every great conflict between good and 
 evil. The Committee regard Dr. Mullens' published ' Statistical Tables of 
 Missions ' as an incontrovertible and sufficient answer to the alleged failure. 
 These tables contain the name of every Protestant missionary in India, where 
 he labors, and what is his work, with true Protestant fidelity and distinctness. 
 Taking the statistics of the three Presidencies of India, we find, that besides 
 hundreds of thousands of listeners to the gospel message, there were, ten years 
 ago, ninety-four thousand one hundred and forty-five registered Christians, 
 and that there are now one hundred and thirty-eight thousand five hundred 
 and forty-three. The addition of forty-four thousand four hundred registered 
 native Christians in ten years may seem to some sanguine friends a small visi- 
 ble result, amidst the millions of heathen and Mohammedans in India; but those 
 who take their estimate from apostolic times, and from the Lord's parable 
 comparing the kingdom of God to a mustard-seed cast into the ground, will 
 thank God for this result, and take courage. They will perceive, moreover, 
 from these tables, that if the gospel plant has not yet shot up so high as to 
 attract the world's attention, it has, nevertheless, spread wide and struck deep ; 
 for whereas, ten years ago, there were twenty-two Societies laboring to evan- 
 gelize India, there are now thirty-one, and the witness for the truth has been, 
 thus far, more widely spread. The work also has deepened. "Whereas, ten 
 years ago, the converts were mostly scattered listeners, and only three hun- 
 dred and thirty-one congregations of native converts meeting together regu- 
 larly for Christian worsliip could be counted, there are now one thousand one 
 hundred and ninety ; and these congregations contribute annually, out of their 
 slender means, between forty thousand and fifty thousand rupees — that is, 
 between four thousand and five thousand pounds sterling — for the support of 
 their native ministrations, and for the relief of their own poor : whereas there 
 were only thirty natives ordained to the Christian ministry, there are now 
 ninety-eight : whereas there Mere eighteen thousand four hundred and ten 
 communicants, these have risen in ten years to thirty-one thousand two hun- 
 dred and forty-nine. Here are sure and blessed marks of a deepening work. 
 
 " The proof of success docs not, however, rest merely upon the reports and 
 
 (47) 
 
48 
 
 PROGRESS OP MISSIONS IN INDIA. 
 
 statistics furnished by missionaries. Men of the highest authority and position 
 in India, who dwell among the people, and who are responsible for their social 
 prosperity and for public order, frequently come forward to bear their public 
 testimony to the beneficial influences of missionary labor upon the well-being 
 of India. Such men testify, also, their high appreciation of missions, by their 
 large pecuniary contributions to the cause. 
 
 " The Statistical Tables of Dr. Mullens show that about fifty thousand pounds 
 sterling (two hundred and fifty thousand dollars) are actually contributed by 
 Europeans in India to the different Missionary Societies carrying on their 
 operations in that country. Let it be borne in mind, that these fifty thousand 
 pounds sterling a year are contributed out of their official incomes, in the midst 
 of their official labors, by men who are looking forward to their return to 
 England to enjoy the fruits of thek savings ; and the fact of such an amount 
 of contributions, under such circumstances, will appear to be equally honorable 
 to the men, and decisive of the reality and hopefulness of the blessed work for 
 which they make such sacrifices." 
 
 The Friend of India presented a synopsis of the informatian collected by 
 Dr. Mullens, respecting missions in India, Burmah, and Ceylon, a part of 
 which will be given here. The tables were recast " to, obtain comparative 
 results," and to present a view of the " progress in each Presidency and 
 Province." The progress, however, it will be seen, is not brought to view in 
 Burmah, as the statistics of missions there, in 1851, are not given. 
 
 Bengal 
 
 N.W. Provinces 
 ond Punjab, 
 
 Bombay 
 
 Madroa 
 
 Burmah 
 
 Ceylon 
 
 1 
 
 
 ■■5§ 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 1861 
 
 1881 
 
 1851 
 
 1861 
 
 103 
 
 113 
 
 130 
 
 206 
 
 ^6G 
 
 119 
 
 49 
 
 129 
 
 35 
 
 40 
 
 16 
 
 63 
 
 179 
 
 210 
 
 405 
 
 973 
 
 - 
 
 22 
 
 - 
 
 454 
 
 60 
 
 37 
 
 98 
 
 144 
 
 443 
 
 541 
 
 698 
 
 1959 
 
 ȣ 
 
 1851 1861 
 
 14,778 20,774 
 
 2,a32 5,301 
 
 744 2,231 
 
 76,691 110,237 
 
 69,366 
 
 18,046 
 
 15,273 
 
 
 3,600 
 678 
 
 10,662 
 3,281 
 
 4,719 
 1,488 
 905 
 20,218 
 18,4.'59 
 3,859 
 
 1S61 
 
 1,798 
 75,370 
 87,504 
 37,150 
 
 1959 112,191 213,182 18,410 49,688 218,092 64,480 75,511 14^ 21,063 78,778 96,574 
 
 13,265 
 6,652 
 4,645 
 
 29,896 
 
 11,022 
 
 12,634 
 10,940 
 
 4,006 
 3'3,082 
 
 4,802 
 10,047 
 
 1,490 
 
 417 
 
 1,323 
 
 8,109 
 
 2,960 
 
 1,970 
 1,698 
 1,420 
 U,007 
 1,066 
 8,989 
 
 I.Sol 
 
 14,764 
 6,0G9 
 5,968 
 
 38,005 
 
 13,972 
 
 1861 
 
 14,611 
 12,538 
 
 6,432 
 44,089 
 
 6,803 
 14,036 
 
PAM PHLET BINDER 
 
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