! ^OPERT VoT^ 
 PRINCETON 
 
 THEOLGGXCftE, 
 
 J&INJfcSL 
 
 1 
 
 Division... j)3 4y2- 
 
 Section.. A .1..4-C (o 
 

 I 
 
 

FROM 
 
 DARKNESS TO LIGHT 
 
 3 £>torg of tfje Eolugu gfoakcntng. 
 
 BY 
 
 REV. J. E. v CLOUGH, 
 
 ONGOLE, INDIA. 
 
 BOSTON: 
 
 PUBLISHED BY W. G. CORTHELL, 
 
 MISSION ROOMS. 
 
 1882. 
 
Copyright, 1882, 
 
 By W. G. CORTHELL. 
 
 JFranfcltn 53rtss : 
 
 RAND, AVERY, AND COMPANY, 
 
 BOSTON. 
 
ACE. 
 
 THEQLOGIC& 
 
 little book was 
 
 tion of a highly esteemed friend of the Telugu 
 Mission, in America. The intention has been 
 to give the inside view of Telugu home and social life, 
 and thus answer the questions asked by many friends, 
 by showing how the people live, act, feel, love, perform 
 their part in life, and die ; and describing, step by 
 step, their advance from the darkness of heathenism 
 into the light of the new life in Christ Jesus. It must 
 be understood, however, that the representations of 
 Hindu life, manners, and customs herein given, refer 
 to the south-eastern part of India only ; for in other 
 parts of this vast empire many things may be very 
 different. 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
 Ongole, India, July 16, 1881. 
 
 3 
 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 
 I. Ongole and its Surroundings . . . n 
 
 II. Lukshmiah’s Home and Friends ... 23 
 
 III. Ceremonies at Lukshmiah’s Birth . . 35 
 
 IV. Lukshmiah’s Presentation to the God . 42 
 
 V. Teachings of Hinduism 49 
 
 VI. Lukshmiah’s Marriage 61 
 
 VII. Seed Sown 71 
 
 VIII. Witnessing for the Faith .... 81 
 
 IX. A Rift in the Cloud 92 
 
 X. The Pundit’s Speech 100 
 
 XI. Speech of the Mohammedan Priest . .114 
 
 XII. The Missionary’s Reply 122 
 
 XIII. A Hindu Festival 134 
 
 XIV. Doubts and Fears 149 
 
 XV. Persecuted for Righteousness’ Sake . .159 
 
 XVI. The Great Famine 171 
 
 XVII. Lukshmiah’s Conversion .... 183 
 
 XVIII. Seetama’s Death 196 
 
 XIX. A Visit to the Missionary’s Camp . . 207 
 
 5 
 
6 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 
 XX. Lukshmiah’s Return • 
 
 XXI. A New Character 
 
 XXII. In School at Ongole 
 
 XXIII. At Ramapatam 
 
 XXIV. Important Facts and Pressing Needs 
 
 Page 
 . 221 
 . 236 
 . 248 
 . 261 
 . 272 
 
|| HE following is not a fancy picture : it is 
 drawn from life. The scenes, the events, the 
 characters, are well known to us. Lukshmiah 
 and Papulama are with us daily, and we are watching 
 with eager interest their preparation for their life-work. 
 
 In the following pages, many features in the daily 
 life of the Hindus are faithfully portrayed by one who 
 for years has been an eye-witness of these things, and 
 who may emphatically be called a missionary of the 
 people. A prominent characteristic in his missionary 
 life, and doubtless one of the main elements of his 
 great success, has been close, earnest, sympathetic, 
 every-day contact with the people, in their villages far 
 and near, as well as at the mission-house, — in their 
 daily business, in their joys and sorrows, and all their 
 varied experiences. 
 
 7 
 
8 
 
 1NTR OD UC TION. 
 
 It will be a satisfaction to many readers to know 
 that the story is not a romance, a mere creature of the 
 imagination, like so many Eastern tales, the authors 
 of which never saw the East. Such representations of 
 Oriental life are about as true to the reality as those 
 of a Hindu who had never crossed the sea would be, 
 if he should attempt to describe American life and 
 manners. 
 
 It is not improbable that the ideas of some readers, 
 concerning the heathen and foreign-mission work, may 
 be somewhat modified by a perusal of this book. For 
 instance, it will appear, that, although people are 
 heathen, they are not necessarily on that account 
 degraded savages. The ancient Greeks were heathen 
 and idolaters of the most thorough sort ; for they were 
 not satisfied with altars and temples, images and sacri- 
 fices, to all the idol gods they knew, but they included 
 in their devotions “the unknown God.” And yet 
 they were the most intellectual and highly cultured 
 of the ancient nations. So, to think of the Hindus 
 as barbarians, and without mental ability or culture, is 
 to entertain a very erroneous view of them. They are 
 a remarkably intellectual people, and great numbers of 
 them are educated ; but oh, how much they need the 
 religion of Jesus Christ ! A Plato or a Seneca needs 
 
INTRO D UC T/ON. 
 
 9 
 
 the Son of God, the heavenly Deliverer. Without 
 that all-sufficient atonement, that almighty help, that 
 eternal love and life, what is -man in any nation ? This 
 is what God, through the missionary enterprise, is 
 leading the nations to lay hold of. 
 
 The attitude of the heathen of India towards Chris- 
 tianity, their attachment to their own ancient system, 
 the difficulties which the missionary has to overcome, 
 and the arguments he has to meet, may be somewhat 
 new to those who are accustomed to think of “ the 
 poor dear heathen ” with tearful eyes and outstretched 
 hands, pleading with the missionary to tell them about 
 Jesus. 
 
 Again, the qualifications needed in a missionary are 
 somewhat different from what many suppose. Con- 
 tact with such men as the Brahmin pundit, and the 
 Mohammedan priest, and with the shrewd men whom 
 we meet daily, calls for something more than mere 
 goodness. Thorough, whole-hearted love to Christ 
 and the souls of men is the main thing ; but the work 
 here needs the best men in every respect. It requires 
 whole-headed as well as whole-hearted men. 
 
 There is a general impression among us, that the day 
 is not far distant when the people of Lukshmiah’s 
 caste, the real bone and sinew of the Telugu nation, 
 
IO 
 
 INTROD UCTION’. 
 
 will, in large numbers, yield to the strong claims of 
 the gospel of Christ, and embrace the one only religion 
 which proclaims a real, living, loving, almighty Saviour. 
 That will be a day of gladness and victory ; for it will 
 witness the conversion of the great middle class, which, 
 in any nation and in any age, marks the triumph of 
 Christianity in that land. 
 
 May the faithful picture which follows deepen the 
 interest in the work that is going on here daily, and 
 lead many to give their money, their hearts, their 
 prayers, and some to dedicate even themselves, to this 
 blessed service ! 
 
 W. B. BOGGS. 
 
 Ramapatam, July 16, 1881. 
 
 
FROM 
 
 ONGOLE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 
 
 jlOME to India and to Ongole. Let us 
 go to the top of that hill, half a mile 
 west of the mission-house, and take a 
 look at the country. The hill, though nearly a 
 mile in circumference, is only about two hundred 
 and forty feet high ; yet the view from its top is 
 very fine. It is known locally as the Ongole Hill ; 
 in government records, as the Ongole Trigono- 
 metrical Hill ; and to the missionary world as 
 “ Prayer-meeting Hill.” If you are tired we will 
 call some bearers, and take you in a palanquin. 
 
 We wind our way up the south side of the 
 hill. The ascent is not steep; but there are 
 
 II 
 
12 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 many loose stones, and the bearers have to be 
 careful, or they will make a misstep. We are 
 on the top, but not at the highest point. The 
 town of Ongole, with its red-tiled roofs, lies 
 below us to the east and north ; and there 
 among the trees, directly east, is the mission- 
 house, in the garden of which is the baptist- 
 ery where thousands of Telugu converts have 
 put on Christ in baptism. Near by is the 
 spacious chapel, its white veranda-pillars show- 
 ing here and there through the branches. 
 Beyond, to the right, is the high school, and 
 the bungalow occupied by the principal. Those 
 large buildings near us are the public buildings 
 occupied by the English and native officials in 
 charge of the various government departments. 
 Nearer, on the brow of the hill, just above the 
 Hindu temples, is the spot where Dr. and Mrs. 
 Jewett, with the little band of native helpers, 
 held a prayer-meeting on that memorable New 
 Year’s Day, 1853. The hill is mostly granite, 
 but rich magnetic-iron-ore beds crop out here 
 and there. May not these symbolize the sta- 
 bility of Christianity, and the love of Him who 
 said, “ If I be lifted up from the earth, I will 
 draw all men unto me ” ? 
 

 
 
 b : .l'tY 
 
 , • ’VvjisNy- 
 
 
 St 
 
 
ONGOLE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 13 
 
 See, to the north, that margosa-tree sur- 
 rounded by a wall. It was set out by some 
 pious Mohammedans in fulfilment of a vow ; 
 and they frequently come there, and, with faces 
 turned towards Mecca, pray to Allah. These 
 large temples to the east are sacred to the 
 worship of the Hindu gods Vishnu and Siva. 
 Thus, you see, not only Christians, but Hindus 
 and Mohammedans, come here to pray. We 
 always have a service of prayer and thanksgiv- 
 ing with all visitors from America before we 
 descend the hill. 
 
 Now we are at the trigonometrical land- 
 mark, the highest part of the hill. Look 
 around ! Did you ever behold a finer sight ? 
 Close below us, to the west, in the little village 
 of Geddalagoontapalem, and near that spreading 
 banyan-tree, is a native preacher’s house. The 
 plat of level ground a little to the left, enclosed 
 by a wall and planted with trees, is the resting- 
 place where a number of Telugus who have 
 fallen asleep in Christ are already laid, among 
 them the native preacher Obulu, the first 
 Ongole convert. These, so unlike the multi- 
 tudes of their fellow-countrymen who have 
 passed away in the midst of heathen darkness, 
 
14 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 die and are laid to rest in the steadfast hope 
 of a glorious resurrection, many of them tri- 
 umphantly bearing witness, even to the end, to 
 the grace of the Lord who redeemed them. To 
 the east, beyond that dark line of palmyra- 
 trees, is a long silvery line stretching away to 
 the south, and to the north-east as far as the 
 eye can see. It is the Bay of Bengal, ten miles 
 distant ; and the village on the shore, the posi- 
 tion of which you can just make out, is Kota- 
 patam, the seaport of Ongole. Follow the line 
 of the sea to the south, until it is lost to view, 
 and there among the palm-groves is Ramapa- 
 tam, the site of the Telugu Theological Semi- 
 nary. 
 
 To the north arrd south, here and there, are 
 isolated hills like this ; but some are much 
 larger and higher. These (so tradition says, 
 and some of the people still believe) were 
 dropped by Hanuman, the monkey-god, when 
 he was conveying stones and earth from the 
 Himalaya Mountains, on the tails of his assist- 
 ants, to fill up Paumben Channel that the army 
 of Rama might pass to Ceylon, to rescue the 
 fair Sita from Ravana, and deliver her to her 
 husband, and punish the wicked Ravana. With 
 
ONGOLE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. I 5 
 
 the exception of these hills, which stand up 
 out of the plain like islands in the sea, the 
 country around us is almost level, and at a 
 distance looks not unlike the broad plains of 
 Illinois and Iowa. 
 
 The conical hill to the south-west is Tulla 
 Conda, forty miles away. At the foot of its 
 northern point is Tulla Condapaud, where 
 Pariah, the venerable native preacher whose 
 name is familiar to the readers of “ Our Gold- 
 Mine,” lives with his Anama ; and there the 
 twenty-eight believers whose conversion so 
 greatly encouraged the friends of the Telugus 
 were baptized in January, 1867. 
 
 The hill to the west of Tulla Condapaud is 
 called Doorgum. In former times it was 
 strongly fortified ; but its fortifications and 
 guns were destroyed by Hyder Ali of Mysore 
 in the eighteenth century. Most of the Hindu 
 forts were destroyed by the English after the 
 mutiny of 1857. That long, dark streak, like 
 a cloud on the western horizon, is a range of 
 hills parallel with and not far from the high 
 Nulla Mulla range, or Eastern Ghauts, which 
 extends to the north of us. These latter 
 mountains are from eighty to ninety miles 
 
i6 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 away, and about three thousand feet high : they 
 divide this part of Southern India, the plains 
 of Madras, from the table-lands of the interior. 
 Beyond the first line of hills lies a long valley 
 stretching north and south, in which is situated 
 the town of Cumbum and the great tank adja- 
 cent, an artificial lake, about twenty-two miles 
 in circumference. The embankment enclosing 
 this tank was constructed many years ago by 
 the native rulers of the place. We expect this 
 town will be occupied before long as a mission- 
 station. Among the hills are the old Golcon- 
 da diamond-mines. These were so rich that 
 the wealth of the kings of Golconda became 
 proverbial ; but the mines are not now worked, 
 the gold-mines of Wynaud district being more 
 profitable. 
 
 A few years ago the Nulla Mulla Hills and 
 that spur of the Ghauts beyond Doorgum were 
 full of tigers, some of which became so dainty 
 that they insisted on having a human being to 
 dine upon almost daily. After it was found 
 that the man-eater came regularly for his 
 victim, and could not be destroyed, whole vil- 
 lages were abandoned. But the famine of 
 1876-1878 put an end to the ravages of tigers 
 
ONGOLE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. I J 
 
 in that region, as well as to multitudes of the 
 people. Ten miles to the north, surrounded 
 by banyan-trees, is the Traveller’s Rest House, 
 at Vilumpilly ; and a quarter of a mile beyond 
 is the Goondelacumma River, in which we bap- 
 tized the converts in July, 1878. 
 
 In every direction are groves of trees, gen- 
 erally tamarind-trees, which indicate that a vil- 
 lage or town is near. People in this country 
 do not live on their farms, or isolated from 
 each other, as many do in America. All live 
 in villages or towns ; and, in whichever direction 
 you go, every three or four miles you will come 
 to a village. From the point where we now 
 stand, the view embraces not less than seven 
 hundred towns and villages. The average vil- 
 lage contains about five hundred people. In 
 the days of bad and uncertain rule, the ances- 
 tors of the Telugus lived in villages for mutual 
 aid and protection against robbers and the raids 
 of rival chiefs, as the early settlers in America 
 resorted to stockades for protection from the 
 Indians. All are safe here now, and life and 
 property are as secure as in your country ; but 
 the Hindus change and adopt reforms but 
 slowly, if at all. 
 
i8 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 The large hill to the north-west is Seema- 
 cooty, two thousand feet high. A few miles 
 beyond and to the west of it, is the valley of 
 the Mooshe River, in which is the village of 
 Ahmudala, the birthplace and home of Luksh- 
 miah. If you wish to see a genuine Indian 
 village, which has not been affected by Euro- 
 pean arts or manners, we will visit Ahmudala. 
 
 It is thirty-five miles from Ongole : we can 
 reach it in two nights, and there we can see the 
 Telugus at home. We shall have to travel by 
 night, because few Europeans can endure the 
 glare and heat of the sun by day. I will send 
 my tents on, for our use while visiting the 
 village. There is no railway to Ahmudala, no 
 stage-coach, and no horses and carriages for 
 travelling long distances, as at home. There 
 are horses here, it is true ; but it is with them 
 very much as with Europeans, — they can do 
 but little work in this climate, and are gener- 
 ally kept for riding or driving short distances 
 in and about the towns. 
 
 We must go by a bandy, or cart, drawn by 
 oxen ; but we will take a pony along, on which 
 we can ride in turn. The rate of speed is not 
 dangerous : we will drive moderately, say about 
 
THE MISSIONARY IN CAMP. 
 
 

OA'GOLE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 1 9 
 
 two miles an hour, and there will be no fear 
 lest easy springs rock you too often to sleep. 
 
 We must take with us our cook and some 
 one to help him, men to pitch the tents, also 
 food, cooking-utensils, dishes, a camp-table, 
 chairs, cots and mattresses ; for with the excep- 
 tion of rice, a few other eatables, and some 
 earthen cooking-pots, none of these things can 
 be obtained in the country. The first night we 
 will go fourteen miles, — as far as Seemacooty, 
 a village near yonder high, precipitous hill of 
 the same name ; and the tents will be pitched 
 in a tamarind-grove just west of the village. 
 Here we shall remain till the cool of the next 
 evening permits us to move on again. The 
 tents will be necessary; as the houses of na- 
 tives, however friendly the occupants may be, 
 are generally so low and so poorly ventilated 
 that they do not afford us either sufficient pro- 
 tection from the sun, or a sufficient quantity of 
 fresh air. Besides, the ideas of our best Telu- 
 gus about what real cleanliness is, and how to 
 secure it, and about insects, are quite different 
 from ours. This will not appear strange to 
 you when you remember that most Hindus 
 think the cow a sacred animal, and that with 
 
20 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 its manure, mixed as we mix whitewash, they 
 plaster the walls and floors of their houses fre- 
 quently, for the purpose of purifying them. To 
 kill a bug, or a fly, or a mosquito even, they 
 consider to be a sin, and consequently these 
 insects swarm in their houses ; while more 
 poisonous ones, with snakes and wild beasts, 
 abound in some parts of the country. About 
 twenty thousand people, it is estimated, are 
 annually killed in India by wild beasts, and as 
 many more by snakes. 
 
 You have sung and enjoyed that beautiful 
 hymn, — 
 
 “ From Greenland’s icy mountains, 
 From India’s coral strand. 
 
 What though the spicy breezes 
 Blow soft o’er Ceylon’s isle, — 
 
 Though every prospect pleases, 
 
 And only man is vile ? ” 
 
 Coral strands there are, and spicy breezes 
 that generally blow softly ; men are also vile 
 enough : but the hymn misleads matter-of-fact 
 people. It gives only one side of the picture : 
 at least, we thought so a year or two ago, when 
 
ONGOLE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 
 
 21 
 
 a cyclone knocked down thousands of houses in 
 its path. 
 
 Two years ago I was in the roadstead of 
 Columbo, Ceylon. We expected to go on 
 every day, but for four days remained on our 
 steamer. The fifth day little Ongola and 
 Warren were so impatient to see “ Ceylon’s 
 isle,” and to smell “ the spicy breezes,” that I 
 got the captain’s consent to go ashore for a few 
 hours. We visited the shops, and saw ivory 
 and tortoise-shell rings and chains, and toys 
 cunningly made. We visited- the cinnamon- 
 gardens, and were highly pleased. Then we 
 went into the museum. There were coral, 
 pearls, diamonds, coffee, tea, and cinnamon ; 
 but such a display of huge spiders and scor- 
 pions, deadly cobras, and reptiles of all kinds, 
 I never saw before. After the visit to the 
 museum, we went to a hotel, and had a lunch. 
 The coffee and plantains and mangoes and 
 pine-apples were nice. We were enjoying 
 these hugely, and looking at the flowers in the 
 open court adjoining the eating-saloon, when 
 the chief clerk came to us, and asked very 
 politely if we did not belong to the steamer 
 “ Eldorado.” “ Yes,” we replied. “ Then,” 
 
22 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 continued he, “ I beg your pardon for disturb- 
 ing you ; but it is raining, and the wind is 
 increasing, so that in an hour from now I fear 
 the south-west monsoon will set in, and you 
 cannot get to your steamer.” We were soon 
 on our way ; but when we reached the steamer 
 we were dashed back and forth and up and 
 down against its side, and it was only by the 
 skill and strength of the quartermaster we got 
 safely on board. Half an hour later, a large 
 boat that brought off a cargo of coffee-sacks 
 was broken to pieces against the iron sides of 
 our steamer, and the crew were taken on board. 
 Other boats would not venture to come off ; and 
 our captain gave the order, and we steamed 
 away, taking the crew of the broken boat with 
 us to Aden, on the Arabian coast, 2,134 miles 
 distant. By this time you are convinced that 
 India is not in some respects what many think 
 it is. An American can afford to stay here to 
 preach the gospel for Christ’s sake, but for 
 nothing else. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 lukshmiah’s home and friends. 
 
 UT, while I have been relating the inci- 
 dents of the previous chapter, please 
 consider that we have been pursuing 
 our journey, and have arrived at Ahmudala at 
 last. It has taken us nearly two nights to get 
 here. Bullock-carts are not so comfortable and 
 speedy as palace-cars and railroad-trains. Our 
 road was rough, and our bones will be a little 
 sore for a day or so ; but we can be comfortable 
 here in our tents. Yesterday our camp was in 
 a tamarind-grove, and, as the sap of that tree 
 is sour, such groves are comparatively free from 
 insects ; but to-day we are in a palmyra-grove, 
 and therefore shall have to be careful to avoid 
 being stung or bitten by something. Before 
 we are aware of it, too, myriads of white ants 
 coming up out of the earth may eat our boxes, 
 
 2 3 
 
24 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 mats, tents, and every thing which lies on the 
 ground. 
 
 The village of Ahmudala is just to the west 
 of us ; and all is quiet, save now and again the 
 howling of a jackal, the hooting of an owl, or 
 the barking of dogs. By the time we can get 
 a cup of tea the people will be up ; for the morn- 
 ing star is now above the horizon, and most 
 Telugu people are early risers. It is just be- 
 ginning to look a little light in the east. Here 
 come some Brahmins on their way to the tank 
 to bathe, and to say their prayers. -One of 
 them — the one at the head of the company — 
 is the kuraam, or town-clerk. They are repeat- 
 ing something over and over again as they 
 move along. It is a prayer in Sanscrit, their 
 sacred language. Their appearance is strange 
 to you : they are bareheaded, and their heads 
 are shaven with the exception of a tuft at the 
 back ; each man wears, over his breast and 
 right shoulder, coming around under the left 
 arm, a fine white cord, which is the “sacred 
 thread ” worn by the Brahmins and the two 
 next lower castes, as a badge of those who are 
 “twice born,” as the Hindus say. These men 
 have fine, intellectual features, and a very proud 
 
LUKSHMIAH'S HOME AND FRIENDS. 25 
 
 and dignified bearing. Their color is a dark 
 orange, somewhat lighter than the mass of the 
 Telugu people, indicating, perhaps, a purer 
 Aryan descent. How earnest they appear ! 
 They hardly notice our camp, although it must 
 look strange to them. Yes, they are in ear- 
 nest now about forms and ceremonies ; but after 
 these are over they will lie and cheat and 
 scheme all day without any compunctions of 
 conscience. 
 
 Let us take a walk through the village. We 
 shall need our canes to keep off the buffaloes 
 and dogs ; and before we get back the sun will 
 be up, therefore we must take our umbrellas 
 also. The buffaloes in this country are domes- 
 tic animals, and are kept in very large numbers 
 to work on the farms, and to give milk. They 
 are quite different from the bisons of the Ameri- 
 can prairies : they are very ugly in appearance, 
 being almost black, with scarcely any hair, and 
 very long horns, which slope back towards their 
 shoulders. They dislike white men, and will 
 sometimes charge on them, even on horse- 
 back. 
 
 The streets are narrow and crooked. The 
 houses are in groups of three or four each, 
 
26 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 facing each other ; for the Telugus live after their 
 patriarchal manner. The walls of the houses 
 are built of mud, or of stone laid in mud, with 
 thatched roofs, and are surrounded by a high 
 mud wall. Still they are comfortable, as the 
 Telugus understand comfort ; and really they 
 are not bad for this country. We have but lit- 
 tle rain here, and a mud wall without any cover 
 may stand for years. When kept well covered, 
 the mud walls of a house will stand for genera- 
 tions ; and, as clay is a non-conductor of heat, 
 the inside is cool in the hot season ; and the 
 solid walls afford good protection from the chilly 
 winds of the cold season, which is very desira- 
 ble, as fuel is scarce, and cannot be used by the 
 common people, save in the most economical 
 manner. 
 
 The different castes live separately, each 
 caste in a hamlet by itself. This is the Brah- 
 min hamlet. The men have gone to the tank 
 to bathe, and some of the women also. Some 
 of the old women and young girls are busy 
 sprinkling water and sweeping about the door 
 and yard ; while others mark, with white and red 
 clay, fantastic figures of gods and goddesses on 
 the ground before the doors. We are strangers ; 
 
LUKSHMIAH'S HOME AMD FRIENDS. 27 
 
 and they are shy, and go inside their houses as 
 vve approach. 
 
 Let us pass on to the Chetties’, or merchants’, 
 hamlet. The houses are built out to the street, 
 and have a veranda over the front door. Un- 
 der this veranda each merchant puts his goods, 
 keeping his clothing in piles, and grain, condi- 
 ments, and such articles as are commonly called 
 for, in baskets ; and taking his seat on a mat 
 he waits for buyers. They are all very busy 
 now : they expect large sales to-day, as we are 
 here, and many Christians will come from the 
 surrounding villages to see us. The women 
 and boys are pounding paddy and castor-oil 
 beans, preparing the rice for eating, and oil for 
 medicine and for the lamps of their customers. 
 The stone mortars in which they pound the 
 paddy and oil-beans are made by drilling in a 
 solid stone about eighteen inches high, a hole 
 which will hold about two quarts. The grain is 
 put in this excavation ; and a woman standing 
 on each side of the stone, with a long wooden 
 pestle shod with an iron band, throws it first 
 with one hand, then with the other, into the 
 mortar. In this way the shuck is beaten off 
 the paddy, and then separated from the rice by 
 
28 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 the wind, or by dexterously tossing it up from 
 a fan made of bamboo-splints, and shaped some- 
 thing like a scoop-shovel. The oil-seeds, after 
 being pounded, are taken out and boiled in 
 water ; and when cooled the oil is strained off. 
 
 We will now go to the Sudras’, or artisans’, 
 hamlet. The first houses belong to goldsmiths, 
 and are built like the Chetties’ houses. The 
 washermen and potters live in those houses a 
 few feet back from the street. You can al- 
 ways tell where they are by the donkeys about 
 their doors and yards, which the washermen 
 use to carry clothes to and from the place of 
 washing ; and the potters, to bring the clay for 
 the wares they make, which they frequently go 
 some distance to obtain. 
 
 Now we are at the old home of Lukshmiah. 
 His father is a leading man, and is a brother of 
 the moonsiff, or village magistrate, which is an 
 hereditary office. He is a farmer of the Kum- 
 ma caste, one of the highest of the numerous 
 subdivisions of the Sudra caste. The house, 
 or houses, — for there are four of them, — are 
 surrounded by a high mud wall, which encloses 
 them within a court. The long seat at the 
 entrance is made of mud and stone ; and here 
 
LUKSHMIAH'S HOME AND FRIENDS. 2g 
 
 the men meet their friends on pleasant even- 
 ings, and chat and smoke. Uppiah Naidu, 
 Lukshmiah’s father, sees us, and comes smil- 
 ingly to greet us. He is a tall,- fine-looking 
 man, with an open countenance, whom you like 
 at once. Had he been educated in a Christian 
 land, you would not fear to trust him in any 
 thing. He is a widower. Seetama, his wife, 
 evidently a superior woman, to whom he was 
 greatly attached, died about two years ago ; 
 and he, with his eldest son, lives in the first 
 or largest house. An older brother, Babiah 
 Naidu the moonsiff, and his wife Mungama, 
 live in the corner house. A younger brother, 
 and his wife Soobama, live in the third house ; 
 while some relatives engaged as helpers occupy 
 the other building. The court is used in com- 
 mon. 
 
 The brothers of Uppiah Naidu are good men 
 for Hindus, but with less force of character 
 and intellectual capacity than he. You can 
 see that Mungama is a kind-hearted, trusting, 
 motherly woman, and is evidently greatly hon- 
 ored by all the family. Soobama, the wife of 
 Uppiah Naidu’s younger brother, is of a very 
 different temper from her sister-in-law. Her 
 
30 
 
 FROM DARK MESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 thin, sharp nose, small, piercing eyes, and ever- 
 changing expression of countenance, indicate 
 a peculiar character, and a probability that she 
 sometimes makes her husband and all about 
 her very uncomfortable. Ramiab, the eldest 
 son of Uppiah Naidu, is somewhat lacking in 
 force of character and ability to excel. He is 
 a good-natured, hard-working man, but not fit- 
 ted for a leader, and all feel that he can never 
 take his father’s place ; which was one of the 
 chief causes of the father’s grief when his son 
 Lukshmiah became a Christian. 
 
 Let us look about. In the yard adjoining 
 the court, there are three yoke of bullocks. 
 Telugu farmers reckon their wealth by the num- 
 ber of oxen, hence Uppiah Naidu must be a 
 well-to-do man. Those pits in the ground, ten 
 or twelve feet deep, are not wells, but places 
 in which they store grain. Chaff or straw is 
 laid around the edges, and the grain poured in 
 and then buried, just as farmers in new parts 
 of America bury their potatoes to keep them 
 from freezing during the winter. It is not to 
 keep the grain from freezing, that the Telugus 
 bury it, for we never have any frost here ; but 
 grain is thought to be more wholesome after it 
 
LUKSHMIAIPS HOME AND FRIENDS. 3 I 
 
 has been buried a while, and, besides, when un- 
 der ground, it is secure from thieves. 
 
 In the court by the oxen, are ploughs, — 
 which are only crooked sticks shod with iron, 
 — seed-drills, and carts, the wheels of which 
 are made of planks, also the ropes and wheels 
 by means of which the oxen lift the water from 
 the wells to irrigate the land. There are 
 wooden pitch-forks, curiously shaped hoes and 
 axes, spinning-wheels for cotton thread, stone 
 mortars and pestles for pounding paddy and 
 castor-oil beans, cots (which are always put in 
 the sun during the day), chickens, and children. 
 Things look rather confused to us ; but Uppiah 
 Naidu and his family think every thing in per- 
 fect order. Let us go on, for the sun is get- 
 ting hot. We shall have occasion to see the 
 family again before we leave. Uppiah Naidu 
 has brought us some sweet milk, and also some 
 buttermilk : as this is considered the highest 
 family etiquette, we must take some. We will 
 then say our salaams, and go to our camp. 
 
 That is a shrine to the god Ramaswamy 
 which we just passed. Generally the shrines 
 to Ramaswamy, and to Polarumma, Ma Luk- 
 shmi, Bungaramma, and Narasimha, found in 
 
32 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 villages, are small, rude structures, eight or ten 
 feet square, and six or eight feet high, built of 
 stone and mud, and whitewashed like this one. 
 The image inside may show considerable art ; 
 but most of them are rude affairs, and fre- 
 quently only rough stones, daubed over with 
 red or white clay and saffron. 
 
 Those people in the bamboo huts are called 
 Yerukula. They wear but little clothing, and 
 are probably the remains of an aboriginal tribe. 
 They lead a wandering life, camping a few days 
 in a place, taking their huts and fowls with 
 them on the backs of donkeys, the pigs and dogs 
 following. They profess to live by making bas- 
 kets of bamboo-splints, but are great thieves. 
 They are the gypsies of India. We have a few 
 noble Christians living in the Madega hamlet, 
 away to the south, there ; but you will make 
 their acquaintance hereafter. I may say now, 
 that the Christians and Madegas and Malas 
 live in houses, and in a similar manner to the 
 Sudras whom we have just visited ; but many 
 of them are not as well off as Uppiah Naidu, 
 and hence they have smaller houses and fewer 
 comforts. 
 
 We are at our tent ; and it is yet early. 
 
LUKSHMIAH'S HOME AND FRIENDS. 33 
 
 Should we visit the village an hour from now, 
 we should not see so many people. The Sudras 
 or artisans, after partaking of a light meal of 
 rice, or some cooked grain and milk or condi- 
 ments, go to their work. The farmer goes to 
 the fields ; the washerman to the tank, to wash 
 the clothes by beating them over a long, smooth 
 flat stone in the edge of the water ; the potter 
 to his clay, to beat it out for pots ; the iron- 
 smith to his bellows ; and the goldsmith to the 
 veranda in the front of his house, where, de- 
 spite his rude tools, he produces silver-ware of 
 such clever workmanship that it commands the 
 admiration of the jewellers of the world. At 
 noon all will partake of another light meal, and 
 sit and chat, or sleep an hour or two in the 
 shade, and then go to their work again. At 
 dark they will suspend work ; and after an hour 
 or so spent in talking of the events of the 
 day, and any news from relatives and friends, 
 they will partake of the hearty meal of the day, 
 consisting of rice, or some kind of grain, and 
 curry, which is the universal accompaniment of 
 rice in India. It is composed of a variety of 
 spices, with a large proportion of red peppers. 
 This is cooked with meat, or eggs, or vegeta- 
 
34 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 bles, in the form of a thick gravy, which is 
 poured over the rice, the whole being then 
 eaten with the hand. The food of a Hindu, to 
 be palatable, must be hot. The evening meal 
 finished, all indulge in smoking cigars for a 
 little while, then retire at an early hour. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 CEREMONIES AT LUKSHMIAH S BIRTH. 
 
 NE morning, about the year 1858, there 
 was an unusual commotion in Ahmu- 
 dala. The men smiled, and made lower 
 salaams to each other than was their wont. 
 The women gathered in groups at the wells, 
 where all local gossip is heard and discussed ; 
 and even the children looked happy and ex- 
 pectant, for now that Uppiah Naidu had a 
 young son in his house, and the child was 
 strong and well, and also Seetama his mother, 
 would not the kind father give them some 
 sweetmeats ? There was room for hope ; and 
 that, even, will make a Hindu, as well as an 
 American boy, happy for one day at least. 
 
 Uppiah Naidu’s wish had been gratified. 
 Although he had one son, yet he did not prom- 
 ise to make a man of strong mind. In fact, he 
 
 35 
 
36 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 was thought to be almost idiotic ; and, having 
 been born on an unlucky day, the gods and 
 fate were against him. Uppiah Naidu and 
 Seetama had longed for another son, and had 
 often prayed to the god Ganesa, and given pres- 
 ents to him, that their desire might be grati- 
 fied ; and now it was even as they wished. 
 Another son had come ; which fact assured the 
 father that his name would be perpetuated, — a 
 thought dear to every Telugu, — and that the 
 leading position which he held among his fel- 
 low-villagers would not pass to others. Now he 
 need not dread old age, because this son would 
 care for him ; and when he should depart, as 
 had his fathers, this son would follow him to 
 the grave, and weep over it, and yearly revisit 
 it to burn incense and worship him there. 
 
 As soon as the women of Seetama’s caste 
 and a few other intimate friends, including the 
 wife of Kristna Row, the kumam, had brought 
 the day’s supply of water, and had given their 
 husbands and sons their early breakfast, they 
 hurried to the house of Uppiah Naidu to con- 
 gratulate Seetama, and to see the -new son. 
 Seetama was a general favorite, and often inter- 
 ceded with her husband when, as a leading 
 
CEREMONIES AT LUKSHMIAH'S BIRTH. 37 
 
 man, or on behalf of the moonsiff, he had repri- 
 manded them, or tried their sons for real or 
 imaginary offences against unfriendly parties. 
 
 These women in their ignorance meant well 
 when they admonished Seetama to pray to 
 Ganesa constantly, and cautioned the nurse to 
 be very careful and not leave the child in the 
 dark, and told her to be sure, after lighting the 
 lamp in the evening, to move it in a circle 
 around the child three times, and then touch 
 the ground with it, and afterwards put it in the 
 niche in the wall, and worship it. By doing 
 this, evil spirits would be kept away by night. 
 And, that evil spirits might not harm the 
 child by day, they admonished the nurse over 
 and over to be sure, after bathing the child in 
 the morning, to take some of the dust from the 
 bottom of her foot, and put it on the child’s 
 forehead. Soobama, who was now in her ele- 
 ment, assured all the friends that she should 
 see to it that nothing was left undone, and that 
 all the rules of their caste would be observed, 
 and the gods propitiated. Every visitor had 
 some advice to give ; and all, of course, declared 
 the baby to be uncommonly handsome, and the 
 very image of both father and mother. 
 
38 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 When their friends were gone, Seetama and 
 the babe were left alone in a small room. 
 True, the nurse was attentive, and occasionally, 
 notwithstanding the rules of caste, Uppiah 
 Naidu came to the door, and inquired kindly 
 about his wife. But for three days poor See- 
 tama was allowed nothing to eat, and nothing 
 to drink save tepid water. On the fourth day 
 a porridge, made of rice and some condiments, 
 was given to her ; but this was allowed only 
 once a day. When the child was nine days old 
 the women, friends of the family, came again, 
 each carrying a pot of water and some fuel. 
 Each walked into the Court before Seetama’s 
 room, made a fire, heated the water until it was 
 tepid, then in turn they poured the water over 
 the mother, meantime rubbing her with their 
 hands, chanting songs of praise to some favor- 
 ite god, and imploring blessings on Seetama 
 and her son. After this ceremony was com- 
 pleted, four stones were brought, and placed 
 before Seetama ; large leaves instead of plates, 
 on which were cooked rice and pieces of money, 
 were placed before these stone idols, which 
 Seetama worshipped : she was then considered 
 purified, and could leave her room, and mingle 
 with caste-people. 
 
CEREMONIES AT LUKSHMIAH'S BIRTH. 39 
 
 As soon as Seetama was pronounced clean 
 by the women, she rose, dressed herself in her 
 best clothes, put on her jewels, and prepared to 
 entertain all her female friends ; for according 
 to the rules of their caste, which may not be 
 broken with impunity, a feast must now be 
 served to all of them. 
 
 After this feast was over, the Brahmin astrol- 
 oger, who had been called from Podala, a large 
 town a few miles away, came to write the 
 child’s horoscope, and give it a name. He 
 carefully inquired the day and hour of the 
 child’s birth, and then professedly went into a 
 long calculation to see what planets were in 
 conjunction on that day and hour. But at 
 last, rising, he said that the day of birth was 
 unlucky, and that for fifteen days the parents 
 and friends must worship Ganesa, and give 
 presents to Brahmins, that they might feast 
 and rejoice, and, by prayers, get the unlucky 
 day changed. 
 
 Uppiah Naidu and Seetama were sad. Their 
 son, whom they had doted on for these nine days, 
 had been born at an unlucky time. They be- 
 lieved, it is true, that the astrologer and other 
 Brahmins might get the unlucky hour changed ; 
 
40 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 but then, what if they should not ? They deter- 
 mined, however, to do their best : Ganesa was 
 worshipped daily, and feasts made to his honor. 
 Presents of fine clothes and money were sent 
 to the astrologer ; and grain, clarified butter, 
 and sweetmeats were sent liberally to all the 
 Brahmins in Ahmudala, and to Kristna Row 
 a double portion. On the fifteenth day after 
 the first visit, the astrologer came again. The 
 marks on the child’s forehead, and on the palms 
 of the hand, and the skull, were examined care- 
 fully ; and again, after repeating his prayers in 
 Sanscrit, the astrologer consulted his books. 
 Uppiah and Seetama and all their friends, with 
 great anxiety, awaited the result. 
 
 At last the calculations were over, and the 
 conclusion was reached. The prayers of the 
 Brahmins and feasts to Ganesa had prevailed, 
 and the day of the child’s birth was declared 
 now to be propitious. Then he proceeded to 
 write out the horoscope of the child, which 
 told how many times he would escape a violent 
 death by snakes, tigers, and robbers ; whether 
 he would be rich or poor, lucky or unlucky ; 
 and how long he would live. Of course, now 
 that the day had been made propitious, the 
 
CEREMONIES AT LUKSHMIAH'S BIRTH. 4 1 
 
 horoscope was not lacking in predictions of 
 good. The child was to excel his father in 
 wisdom, his mother in goodness and beauty, 
 and was to be made a moonsiff in some village. 
 It also said that the fields over which he walked 
 would produce a bountiful harvest, and that he 
 would accumulate wealth, have many honorable 
 sons and fair daughters, and die at a good old 
 age, mourned by everybody. The horoscope 
 was read aloud, and then delivered to the de- 
 lighted father and mother ; and the astrologer 
 in exchange received a bag of silver rupees. 
 After this the child was consecrated to the god 
 Lukshmanaswamy by the wish of his aunt Soo- 
 bama, and was named Lukshmiah in honor 
 of his patron god. 
 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 lukshmiah’s presentation to the god. 
 
 HEN little Lukshmiah was about three 
 months old, Seetama told her husband 
 that the time had come when their son 
 should be presented before his patron god. 
 Uppiah Naidu was not lacking in zeal for his 
 religion and the customs of his ancestors ; but 
 he pleaded that he was very busy superintend- 
 ing the sowing of his fields, and assisting 
 Kristna Row and the moonsiff in collecting 
 and forwarding the taxes ; and as it would take 
 a month to go to Budrachalem, and perform 
 the ceremonies, he asked if they would not 
 better delay for a time. Seetama felt disap- 
 pointed, and urged that they should lose no 
 time in presenting their son to the god, whose 
 favor would thus be more readily gained. Up- 
 piah Naidu went away, saying that her words 
 
 4 2 
 
LUKSHMIAH'S PRESENTATION. 
 
 43 
 
 were judicious, and that he would see what 
 could be done. When the women were alone, 
 Seetama told Mungama and Soobama what 
 she had proposed to her husband. They all 
 agreed that the delay would not be well ; for 
 the god Lukshmanaswamy was more important 
 than Government, and they feared that perhaps 
 some of their village people, who were a little 
 jealous of Uppiah Naidu’s good fortune, would 
 laugh, and say that the child was not presented 
 to its god because its parents were too poor to 
 give the customary present to the priest. This 
 last might have been a strong motive for See- 
 tama’s urgency ; for, when the parents of a 
 child cannot afford the expense of going to the 
 temple, the child’s head must be shaven, and 
 the hair, tied in a cloth, must be hung to the 
 peak of the roof of the house until sufficient 
 money is obtained. But until the child’s hair 
 has been presented to the priests, the fee given, 
 and the idol worshipped, the child may not par- 
 ticipate in any festival. 
 
 In the evening, after Uppiah Naidu had fin- 
 ished his supper, — which Seetama took care 
 should be a good one, such as he liked, — and 
 the men were all seated in the court taking the 
 
44 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 usual smoke before retiring for the night, See- 
 tama asked Uppiah Naidu what he had decided 
 about presenting their son to the idol. Soo- 
 bama and Mungama were both present ; and 
 Mungama remarked, in her quiet way, that 
 there ought not to be any delay in presenting 
 the child to his patron god. Soobama asserted 
 that the brother of the moonsiff of Ahmudala 
 should not delay an hour on account of work, 
 to do according to the traditions of caste. It 
 would be a shame, and would cause remark ; 
 the good name of the family, kept honorable 
 by the sacrifices and offerings of their an- 
 cestors, and still respected by the gods, would 
 be injured; and then the patron god himself 
 might be angry with them. All remembered 
 instances when the parents had neglected their 
 duty, and the child died or turned out badly. 
 
 “At any rate,” put in Seetama, “we all 
 love our boy. He is the eyes'of his father and 
 mother, and a favorite with you all. The 
 astrologer says that he is to be a man of impor- 
 tance, and to be in favor with gods and men. 
 Shall we then, while he is a child, slam the 
 door in the face of fate ? ” 
 
 The women had gained their point ; and 
 
LUKSHMIAH'S PRESENTATION. 45 
 
 before the cigars were thrown away it was 
 decided to consult with the priest of the local 
 temple of Lukshmanaswamy, and then to act 
 as he should direct. The next morning Uppiah 
 Naidu was awakened early by his wife ; and 
 just after the morning star appeared he repaired 
 to the temple, and found that the priest, about 
 starting for his morning ablution, would not 
 stop to converse. Uppiah Naidu went away to 
 see some men who had not yet paid their taxes, 
 and after an hour returned to the temple. The 
 priest had bathed, and put three marks on his 
 forehead to show that he was a worshipper of 
 Vishnu, and that he had performed his daily 
 ablution, and said his morning prayers, and 
 therefore was ready to attend to the business 
 of the day. Uppiah Naidu told him what he 
 wanted, and added, that, as it was nearly two 
 hundred miles to Budrachalam, he would like 
 to perform the ceremony in Ahmudala, if that 
 would be acceptable to the god. After some 
 time spent in contemplation, the priest raised 
 his eyes, and said, — 
 
 “ Budrachalam was the birthplace of Luksh- 
 manaswamy, whose priest I am. The great 
 temple where he now delights to stay is there. 
 
 1 
 
46 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 The high priest is there. This is only a local 
 temple, and the like of it is in nearly every vil- 
 lage of South India. It is not proper for the 
 great ceremonies of the rich, and for the sacred 
 locks of his worshippers to lie in these local 
 places. Hence ultimately you must go to 
 Budrachalam, and take the locks of hair from 
 your child’s head there, and deliver them with 
 proper ceremonies and presents to the high 
 priest. But as the place is distant, and your 
 work urgent, my most noble master will excuse 
 you for the present, if you perform your cere- 
 monies here, and then make a feast for three 
 days to his honor, with music and dancing in 
 yonder grove.” 
 
 This meant a large expense, but Uppiah 
 Naidu knew there was no appeal. The priest 
 must be obeyed, or else his child might be 
 destroyed. He went to his house with a look 
 of sadness on his face ; for he knew not how 
 to meet the expense of the three-days’ feast. 
 Seetama was alarmed when she saw her hus- 
 band’s look, and eagerly asked what was the 
 matter. He told her all ; and, after a long talk 
 with his brothers, it was decided to commence 
 the ceremony the next day. 
 
L UKSHMIAH'S PRESENTA TION. 
 
 47 
 
 The next morning, at an early hour, the 
 family barber made his appearance with a sharp 
 razor. Little Lukshmiah’s head was to be 
 shaved. He was held by his mother; but he 
 evidently did not fancy this part of the cere- 
 mony, for he screamed fearfully. But his head 
 was at last shaven clean ; and Seetama took the 
 tiny black locks, and tied them up carefully in 
 a new white cloth. The whole family then 
 went in procession to the temple of Luksh- 
 manaswamy. The priest was called, and the 
 locks of hair were delivered to him temporarily 
 for safe keeping. At the same time Uppiah 
 Naidu gave to him a purse of money. 
 
 After this, all were led to the temple, and 
 the child was placed before the idol. The 
 palms of the child’s hands were put together, 
 and then raised to its forehead. Its body was 
 then made to bow down to the ground ; when 
 this was done, all worshipped the idol as the 
 child had been made to do. Then the priest 
 took a bell-shaped brazen cup, and placed it, 
 bottom down, first on the child’s head, and then 
 on the bare head of each of the company. All 
 then went to the grove indicated the day before 
 by the priest, and commenced the festival of 
 
48 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 music and songs and dancing, in honor of 
 Lukshmanaswamy, as directed by the priest. 
 For two days and two nights, there was but 
 little sleep and little work in Ahmudala. All 
 turned out to honor their popular fellow towns- 
 man. On the morning of the third day Luksh- 
 manaswamy was said to be satisfied with the 
 honors paid to him, and all returned to their 
 homes and work. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 TEACHINGS OF HINDUISM. 
 
 EETAMA watched over her son very 
 carefully. When it was necessary for 
 her to go to the bazaar, or to the well 
 for water, she placed little Lukshmiah in care 
 of either Mungama or Soobama; charging them 
 to be careful and not let him creep to places 
 where scorpions might sting him, or allow harm 
 to come to him in any way. She carefully 
 observed all the rites of her caste, remember- 
 ing each evening to worship the light after 
 moving it around the child’s head. Silver 
 images of Hanuman, the monkey-god, and of 
 Kristna, were tied around his body and neck, 
 that those gods might help ward off the evil 
 spirits which are the great dread of most Hin- 
 dus. If the child sneezed, Seetama or Sooba- 
 ma, or whoever heard the noise, would ejaculate 
 
 49 
 
50 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 “ Suthyam,” which, thus used, means “ May 
 good only come ! ” or “ Good will come.” If 
 the little Lukshmiah yawned, they snapped 
 their fingers, which they supposed would coun- 
 teract any harm which he might have received 
 while yawning ; for evil spirits, ever lurking 
 around, might have gained an entrance into 
 him while his mouth was open. When Luksh- 
 miah was older, and came into the house from 
 play, a cup of lime-water and saffron, in which 
 were dropped a few grains of rice, was waved 
 before him, and then thrown into the street as 
 an offering to any unknown god that might 
 have seen the child, and meditated evil against 
 him. 
 
 During the eclipses of the sun and moon, — 
 which are caused, it is supposed, by the great 
 snake trying to swallow them, — Seetama care- 
 fully fasted herself, and kept food from Luksh- 
 miah, fearing that it would turn to worms, un- 
 til the Brahmin family priest had announced 
 that the muntras of Brahmins had prevailed, 
 and that the snake had gone back to his own 
 place. Besides these minor precautions, every 
 evening after bathing her child she took him to 
 the temple, and, seating him before the image 
 
TEACHINGS OF HINDUISM. 
 
 51 
 
 of Lukshmanaswamy, caused him to worship it 
 as when he was first presented to it. As soon 
 as Lukshmiah was of sufficient age to under- 
 stand a little, the mother, or Soobama (for some- 
 times she would go instead of Seetama), after 
 setting him in a position near the idol, would 
 say, “ See our god, see our god, see how big 
 and wonderful he looks ! He is our preserver ; 
 we can do nothing without him : worship him, 
 worship him, dear ! ” 
 
 But other gods were not neglected. The 
 shrines dedicated to Ma Lukshmi the goddess of 
 cholera, and to Polarumma the goddess of small- 
 pox and other skin-diseases, and the temple 
 of Ramaswamy the brother of Lukshmanaswa- 
 my, and many others, were frequently visited ; 
 while every evening when the moon appeared 
 it was worshipped. Seetama occasionally took 
 milk and clarified butter to white-ant hills, in 
 which cobras, the most venomous of snakes, 
 frequently live ; and, after walking three times 
 around the hill, poured the milk and clarified 
 butter into clay plates, and, with her hands 
 raised to her forehead, prayed that when the 
 cobra inside partook of these, the deity Naga- 
 rapamma would be propitiated, and keep all 
 snakes from biting her child, 
 
52 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 Once a year the agricultural implements 
 used by the family were put in a heap in the 
 court, and worshipped. Once a year, also, the 
 whole family went to the place where their an- 
 cestors were buried, accompanied by the Brah- 
 min family priest, and burned incense and said 
 muntras. Afterwards a feast was made at 
 home, to which a number of the leading men 
 of the village were invited. At other times, 
 when there was a scarcity of water in the tank 
 or wells, or when the rains were withheld, or 
 when too much rain came, Gungama, the god- 
 dess of water, was worshipped. And then there 
 were Nundiswamy, and sacred bulls, and gods 
 and goddesses without number, none of which 
 could be slighted with impunity. The good 
 were, worshipped that they might be kindly 
 disposed and help the worshipper ; and the bad, 
 through fear of injury they might do if neg- 
 lected or despised. 
 
 In the evening and after the midday meal, 
 Seetama, Soobama, and their visitors would 
 gather all the children belonging to the family, 
 ten or twelve in all, and tell these stories of 
 visions, and gods and goddesses : — 
 
 “Brahmins tell us that the origin of the name 
 
TEACHINGS OF HINDUISM. 
 
 53 
 
 of Nellore district was on this wise. Once 
 there was a chief by the name of Mukkanti 
 Reddi, who had large herds of cattle. The 
 soul of a Brahmin woman entered into one of 
 the cows. The cow had a revelation that Siva 
 had appeared on earth in the form of a lingum ; 
 and she daily resorted to this stone, situated 
 under a Nelli-tree [. Philanthuz emblica ], and 
 bedewed it with her milk. The owner of the 
 cow noticed the small quantity of milk she 
 gave, and charged the herdsman with theft or 
 negligence. Afterwards the herdsman watched 
 the cow ; and, when he saw what she did, he 
 struck the stone with his sword, when blood 
 flowed from it. Thereupon the herdsman was 
 much frightened, and reported the circumstance 
 to his master, who shortly afterwards had a 
 vision in which he saw the lingum, and was 
 directed to build a temple on the spot. The 
 village, and afterwards the district, received the 
 name of Nelli-ur from the Nelli-tree.” 
 
 “You must be very careful and not offend 
 Brahmins, for their curses are terrible. Our 
 great god Vishnu has many names, and each 
 one personifies some characteristic or deed. 
 He is a type of the sun, and, like the great 
 
54 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 Brahma and Siva, represents time, past, pres- 
 ent, and future, and sometimes, in our belief, 
 the earth, the air, and space. Though so power- 
 ful, he was once cursed by the Brahmin sage 
 Bhriga, and condemned to ten mortal births. 
 He has already come nine times, and he must 
 come again in the form of a white horse.” 
 
 “When Vishnu was on earth he did many 
 good deeds. Once a gigantic demon and prince 
 of the lower world, named Hirinacheren, rolled 
 up the earth into a shapeless mass, and carried 
 it down to his abode. Vishnu followed him 
 thither in the shape of a hog, killed him with 
 his tusk, and restored the world to its original 
 place. In another incarnation, that of Krishna, 
 Vishnu lifted the great mountain Govarddhana 
 from its rocky base, and for seven days held it 
 on the tip of one of his fingers over the inhabit- 
 ants of Gokula, as an umbrella to protect them 
 from rain.” 
 
 “ Many generations ago, there were great 
 kings in India. One of these, Priyaurat, drove 
 his chariot seven times around the world, and 
 by the indentations of the wheels scooped out 
 the seven concentric oceans. The Brahmin 
 sage Agastya in three swallows drank these 
 
TEACHINGS OF HINDUISM. 
 
 55 
 
 oceans dry ; and when he spat it out again it 
 was salt water, or the sea next to this earth. 
 Nahusha, who had become a great king, one 
 day, by accident, ruffled a lock of Agastya’s 
 hair. Thereupon the sage cursed him, and 
 turned him into a snake.” 
 
 “ Our Puranas teach that there are six 
 other continents or islands in this world, be- 
 sides the one we live in. These are separated 
 from each other by as many seas of different 
 liquids. Our island, Jambu-dwipa, is in the 
 centre, and is surrounded by salt water. The 
 next continent, Plaksha-dwipa, which surrounds 
 this sea of salt water, is surrounded by a sea 
 of sugar-cane juice. Next come the conti- 
 nents of Shalmali, Krisha Krauncha, Shaka, and 
 Pushkara dwipas. Beyond this last continent, 
 is a continent of gold ; beyond this is a chain 
 of mountains called Loka-loka ; beyond the 
 mountains is a land of darkness ; and beyond 
 all is the shell of the great egg.” 
 
 “ The great Mount Meru stands in the midst 
 of the central continent, Jambu, and is shaped 
 like the seed-vessel of the red lotus. Its 
 height is one million ninety-two thousand 
 miles, and it extends twenty-eight thousand 
 
56 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 miles below the surface of the earth. The cir- 
 cumference of this mountain at the earth is 
 two hundred and eight thousand miles, and its 
 breadth at the top is four hundred and sixteen 
 thousand miles. It terminates in three most 
 beautiful peaks, the middle one of which is 
 crowned with many smaller peaks. On the 
 south side of Mount Meru stands the fragrant 
 Navel, or Jambu-tree. The juice of the luscious 
 fruit forms a vast river called Sampunata, 
 which, after encircling the wide base of Mount 
 Meru, flows toward the north. All who drink 
 of its waters have their bodies turned into gold, 
 and live thirteen thousand years.” 
 
 “ Hanuman, the monkey-god, was one night 
 gathering plants and flowers on a mountain for 
 the goddess Sita. He was afraid it would be- 
 come morning before he secured all the flowers 
 he wished : so he seized the sun, and, putting 
 the mighty orb under one arm, carried it off 
 to the camp of Rama. At another time Hanu- 
 man, when he was aiding Rama to construct 
 the mound between Rameshwar and Ceylon, 
 brought millions of cart-loads of stone each 
 trip, — a whole mountain, sometimes, on the 
 end of each hair of his body.” 
 
TEACHINGS OF HINDUISM. 
 
 57 
 
 The children were assured that whoever 
 went to Cotapaswamy, the local name for Hanu- 
 man, and worshipped him, and gave a present 
 to the priest, and afterwards put a stone on his 
 head, and went three times around the hill on 
 which the temple stands, would neither fall 
 •sick nor meet with any accident for a year. 
 And if any one, after worshipping the idol, 
 drove his bullocks, cows, and goats around the 
 hill, they would not die, but would increase 
 rapidly, and that if this was done yearly the 
 owner would soon become rich. Instances 
 were given to prove the truth of this saying, 
 and of the punishment meted out to any who 
 neglected to honor the god of the monkeys. 
 
 Besides the history of the fabled nine incar- 
 nations of Vishnu, the tricks and amours of 
 Krishna, the beauty of Sita, the gallantry and 
 valor of Rama her husband, the need of the 
 prayers of Brahmins, and the horrors that come 
 to those whom they curse, with all the won- 
 derful stories of Hindu mythology, were told 
 and listened to breathlessly for the hundredth 
 time. 
 
 The Hindu doctrine of fate and transmigra- 
 tion had warm advocates and willing believers. 
 
58 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 If a neighbor died, or ill fortune came upon 
 him, or if too much rain came, or too little, or 
 evil of any kind, Seetama and Soobama and all 
 the women unhesitatingly ascribed the cause to 
 some god, and said that all was in accordance 
 with the unalterable decrees of fate. 
 
 They believed in the transmigration of souls. 
 They thought that they had existed in some 
 form in the world before, and hoped, by doing 
 well in this life, to receive good in the next. 
 They believed, also, that men receive good or 
 evil here, according as they have acted in their 
 former existence ; and that the highest happi- 
 ness to any one is to be absorbed into and 
 become one with the supreme being.' Hell 
 was believed to consist in the soul being sent 
 into an inferior animal or a filthy creature. 
 This might be repeated once or a thousand 
 times, according to the sins committed. If a 
 man had money and servants in abundance, they 
 supposed that he was very good in the former 
 state. On the other hand, if a man was a 
 leper, or a lunatic, or blind, or suffering from 
 any hereditary disease, it was supposed to be 
 the result of his evil deeds in a former exist- 
 
 ence. 
 
TEACHINGS OF HINDUISM. 
 
 59 
 
 The children were daily taught that it was a 
 sin to kill insects or any living thing, because 
 they might kill a former friend of the family, 
 or some other human being. They were also 
 taught to be kind, and this story was told them : 
 “ Once a man wanted a ram to sacrifice to his 
 god. He went to the fields, and bought a nice 
 one of the shepherds. When he was taking it 
 away he was not kind to it, but beat it quite 
 unreasonably. At this the ram broke out in a 
 loud laugh. The owner was frightened, and 
 asked why he laughed. The ram said, ‘ Oh ! 
 never mind : it was nothing much.’ But the 
 man insisted on knowing the reason. The ram 
 then replied, ‘ I am your property, and must 
 do as you command. In the next life you are 
 to be a ram, and I am to be a man, and I shall 
 treat you as you now treat me.’ ” 
 
 Some other things were taught the children 
 by Seetama, which will also bear repeating. 
 She often said to them, “ One sacred book, — 
 which one, I do not know, for I am a woman, 
 and cannot read, — speaking of the next birth, 
 says, if any one steals a Brahmin’s property, 
 he will be a crocodile or water-snake ; if any 
 one steals fruit, he will be a monkey ; if any 
 
6o 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 one steals corn, he will be a mouse or a rat ; 
 if any one steals oil, he will be an insect ; 
 he who steals a deer will be a wolf ; he who 
 steals precious stones will grow as grass for a 
 thousand times ; he who is an angry man, and 
 takes revenge, will be a tiger or a lion or some 
 ferocious beast ; he who is licentious will be 
 an unclean bird, or a worm, or an insect ; he 
 who drinks liquor will have black teeth ; and 
 he who backbites or defames another shall 
 have foul breath.” 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 LUKSHMIAH S MARRIAGE. 
 
 3] HEN Lukshmiah was about fourteen 
 years of age, Seetama thought it was 
 time for him to be married ; for among 
 the Hindus it is customary for the marriage- 
 contract to be settled by the parents, and the 
 ceremony to be celebrated while the parties are 
 still children, though they do not live together 
 till they are grown young men and women. 
 She talked the subject over with Mungama 
 and Soobama, and understood the importance 
 of getting them to unite in, or at least not 
 to oppose, the request she wished to make of 
 her husband and his brothers. Mungama was 
 always ready to please her sister, and Soobama 
 did not oppose for various reasons. She did 
 not particularly fancy the humdrum, every-day 
 life she led, but relished something more excit- 
 
 6l 
 
62 
 
 FROM DARKKESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 ing, and she knew that the ceremonies would 
 give her a fine opportunity to display the new 
 jewelry her husband had just given her ; then 
 she was fond of music, and liked to see dan- 
 cing and fire- works, and enjoyed good things 
 to eat. Besides, she was really very fond of 
 Lukshmiah, her nephew ; and hence she readily 
 entered into Seetama’s plans. 
 
 “ But what girls are there available, from 
 whom to select a wife for our son ? ” asked 
 Mungama. “You know the rules of our caste 
 must be followed.” 
 
 “Of course they must,” said Soobama. “I 
 had not thought about that.” 
 
 “ I have carefully considered the whole sub- 
 ject,” replied Seetama. “I have three broth- 
 ers, one of whom lives in Garla. He has a 
 beautiful girl eight years old, bright and 
 comely. The gods have specially favored her. 
 Her form is like the antelope, her eyes like the 
 fawn, her disposition like the wild dove, and I 
 am pleased with her.” 
 
 “Very good,” said Mungama. “But do you 
 think they will give her in marriage to Luksh- 
 miah ? I hear they are very proud.” 
 
 “ Perhaps they may not, but we can see,” 
 answered Seetama. 
 
L UKSHMIA H'S MA RRI A GE. 
 
 63 
 
 “ I do not think there is any one too good 
 for my nephew in all Garla,” said Soobama. 
 “ Besides, is not our family equal to theirs ? ” 
 “Yes,” said Mungama ; “but they have 
 more money than we have.” 
 
 “Well, she is not the only girl,” replied 
 Seetama. “ My other brothers have daughters. 
 One is an affectionate and lovely girl of ten 
 years ; but the other is only seven, and is noted 
 for her temper and stubbornness.” 
 
 Mungama and Soobama both thought the 
 younger girl too young, but that she might do 
 if neither of the others could be had. It was 
 decided that it would be best to act at once, 
 because Lukshmiah was of such an age, that, 
 if he was not married, idols personifying him 
 and his bride must be made, and these must be 
 married ; else the gods, being slighted and an- 
 gry, would bring evil upon them, and they 
 would have to make a great feast, and incur 
 much expense to appease their wrath. 
 
 That evening after supper Seetama told 
 her husband and his brother Babiah Naidu 
 what she and Mungama and Soobama had been 
 talking about, the conclusions they had reached, 
 and all about the three girls, daughters of her 
 
64 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 
 three brothers. A long discussion followed, in 
 which Uppiah Naidu and his brothers and their 
 wives engaged : for women in this part of India, 
 except here and there a few, converse freely 
 with their husbands when at home ; and while 
 the men theoretically believe the women infe- 
 rior to themselves, and created to administer 
 to their pleasure, yet practically the women are 
 loved, and in the end, if not at first, have their 
 own way in affairs at home, perhaps quite as 
 much as their sisters in America. 
 
 It was decided that Uppiah Naidu should go 
 the next day to Garla, and talk with his wife’s 
 younger brother Ramiah ; and that, if unsuc- 
 cessful, he should next go to the second 
 brother, who lived in Saodary ; and, last of all, 
 if necessary, to Samanta, to Pulliah, Seetama’s 
 third brother. 
 
 As soon as the crows began to caw the next 
 morning, the sign that day was beginning to 
 appear, Seetama wakened her husband ; and, 
 after receiving many words of cheer for himself 
 and messages for her brothers and their fami- 
 lies, he started on his errand. His brother- 
 in-law Ramiah received him kindly, and Uppiah 
 Naidu soon made known the object of his visit. 
 
L UKSHMIA H’S MARRIAGE. 
 
 65 
 
 This was not unexpected ; and hence Ramiah 
 soon gave an answer. On account of his posi- 
 tion and wealth, and of the beauty and many 
 good qualities of Ramaka his daughter, he de- 
 manded that jewels to the value of two hundred 
 rupees should be presented to her, that marriage 
 ceremonies and feasts be made which would 
 cost a thousand rupees, and stipulated that 
 Uppiah Naidu should pay all the expense, and 
 that Ramaka should be kept as the station of 
 her father demanded. 
 
 While Uppiah Naidu could not object to the 
 demands of his brother-in-law, yet the terms 
 placed the beautiful Ramaka beyond his reach, 
 for he could not command so much money. 
 After partaking of some refreshments, Uppiah 
 Naidu started for Saodary, where Seetama’s 
 brother Pediah lived. He made known his 
 errand, but was overheard by both little Nara- 
 sama and her mother. Narasama burst into 
 tears, and flung her arms around her mother, 
 and begged her not to let her go, but to send 
 her uncle Uppiah Naidu away, as she could not 
 leave her home. The mother was not much 
 less moved than her child ; for she was an only 
 daughter, and the affection between them was 
 great. 
 
66 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 When Uppiah Naidu and Narasama’s father 
 saw what a commotion had been caused, and 
 how Narasama felt, both were too kind-hearted 
 to pursue the subject further ; for the Telugus 
 are not lacking in love for their children. They 
 assured Narasama that she should not be taken 
 away from her mother ; and a little while later, 
 after her uncle had given her some sweetmeats, 
 and talked to her kindly, she dried her tears, 
 and was happy again. 
 
 After spending a pleasant evening with his 
 relative, during which time all the affairs of 
 the two families were discussed, they retired ; 
 and early the next morning Uppiah Naidu, bid- 
 ding the family good-morning in the usual way, 
 with salaams and a few kindly words, started 
 for Samanta. His brother-in-law Pulliah gave 
 him a hearty welcome. The daughter Dilama 
 was there, and was such a girl as Seetama 
 had judged her to be : but she rather pleased 
 Uppiah Naidu ; and Dilama, who had seen her 
 uncle several times, and had often heard her 
 father and mother speak of him and her aunt 
 Seetama, was talkative. 
 
 Uppiah Naidu’s errand was made known, and 
 received favorably ; and the terms of betrothal 
 
LUKSHMIAH'S MARRIAGE. 
 
 67 
 
 were agreed to. Jewelry to the amount of 
 fifty rupees was to be given by Uppiah Naidu 
 to Dilama, and twenty rupees, for any miscel- 
 laneous expenses, to the father. If, after the 
 marriage was over, all the twenty rupees were 
 not expended, Dilama’s father was to take the 
 remainder, and buy a gold ornament for her 
 neck. In short, the whole expense of the mar- 
 riage was to be borne by Uppiah Naidu, and 
 he could expend much or little as he pleased. 
 Uppiah Naidu returned to his house, and re- 
 ported what he had done. If all were not quite 
 satisfied, they agreed that nothing better could 
 be done, and that Dilama was fated to be 
 Lukshmiah’s wife. 
 
 On the morning of the third day after Up- 
 piah Naidu returned home, he and his oldest 
 brother, Seetama, and two other friends, took 
 the betrothal presents, consisting of one neck- 
 jewel, one rich quaka (dress), five jackets, and 
 five cocoa-nuts, for Dilama, and twelve pounds 
 of betel-nuts, and one thousand of the spicy 
 leaves of the chavica betel-vine, and set out 
 for Samanta. These presents were all placed 
 on clean sheets in the court before Pulliah’s 
 house, and then the head men of the village 
 
68 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 and friends were invited to come and see them. 
 When this was over, the things designed for 
 Dilama were presented to the delighted child ; 
 and the betel-nuts and spicy leaves were count- 
 ed out, five of each in a heap. One heap was 
 put aside for Vishnu, another heap for the god 
 Parrental, and a third for the Rajah or petty 
 king who has the revenue of Samanta. Then, 
 commencing with the magistrate of the village, 
 each in turn, according to his social standing, 
 received five of the nuts and five of the leaves 
 until all were gone. Uppiah Naidu then in- 
 vited all to come to the marriage of his son 
 and his brother-in-law’s Dilama, which was to 
 take place three days later in his own village. 
 
 According to promise, early on the morning 
 of the third day after the presents had been 
 delivered, Pulliah, with little Dilama, her moth- 
 er, and a few friends, started for Ahmudala, 
 where he arrived early in the evening. When 
 just at the edge of the town, Uppiah Naidu, 
 Seetama, and some others, with music and dan- 
 cers, went out to meet them, leading a horse 
 on which little Dilama was placed and then 
 taken in procession to their house, when all 
 went into the court. 
 
L UKSHMIA H 'S MA RRIA GE. 
 
 6 9 
 
 The Brahmin family priest was in readiness, 
 and Lukshmiah and Dilama were placed side 
 by side. Dilama’s mother stood near to her, 
 and Seetama near Lukshmiah. The priest 
 stood up before them, and began saying mun- 
 tras (prayers in Sanscrit) ; while he was doing 
 this, the bridegroom took rice which had been 
 made yellow with saffron in both his hands, and 
 poured it three times on Dilama’s head, when 
 she in turn did the same to him. All had been 
 cautioned not to sneeze while this ceremony 
 was being performed ; because sneezing at such 
 a time is a sign of bad luck, and the offender 
 would be driven off in disgrace, and the cere- 
 mony postponed. 
 
 After the muntras were said, the priest tied 
 to the neck of the bride a small golden orna- 
 ment, which is always a token of marriage, and 
 a wreath of chavica betel-vine leaves around 
 the wrist of both bride and bridegroom ; after 
 which no impure person or one of a low caste 
 is allowed to touch them. After this, the priest 
 led them outside of the court ; and they wor- 
 shipped the constellation Ursa Major, the fa- 
 bled wife of the celebrated sage Vasishtha, 
 which is always pointed out as an example of 
 
70 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 chastity. If it appears plainly, the marriage is 
 thought to be auspicious, and the bride and 
 bridegroom will live long and happily together. 
 
 Next there was music and dancing : not by 
 the bride and bridegroom, but by hired dancing- 
 girls, professionally bad women ; for no chaste 
 or respectable woman in India dances. When 
 daylight came, Lukshmiah was put upon a horse, 
 the bride was placed behind him, and they were 
 led through all the streets of Ahmudala. They 
 were accompanied by the musicians with fifes, 
 flutes, tomtoms, and drums, and by the dancing- 
 girls ; the latter walking before and stopping 
 every few rods to dance, with specially loud 
 music. This ceremony lasted five days, with 
 no intermission except when actually necessary 
 to eat and sleep. Then Lukshmiah untied the 
 wreath of chavica betel-vine leaves from the 
 wrist of Dilama, who did the same for him ; and 
 the marriage was declared by Uppiah Naidu, 
 his brother Babiah, and Dilama’s father, to be 
 completed in due form, according to the rules 
 of caste and the customs of their ancestors. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 SEED SOWN. 
 
 OME two years after the events de- 
 scribed in the last chapter, the native 
 preacher Bezwarah Condiah, sometimes 
 called Paul, on his way from Ongole to his field 
 of labor, passed through Ahmudala. He went 
 to the Madega hamlet for water, and to rest for 
 an hour during the heat of the day. A number 
 of the villagers soon gathered about him to 
 learn his name, village, and occupation, where 
 he was going, and any news of interest he 
 might have. The Telugus have not, as yet, 
 daily papers : and they have to get the news of 
 the outside world from travellers who come 
 from the large towns ; it is then passed on from 
 village to village by other travellers, or by ped- 
 dlers, or by the laborers in the fields on the 
 bounds of adjoining villages. Thus every man 
 
 7 * 
 
7 2 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 is a kind of a local gazette ; and, strange as it 
 may appear, news travels quite rapidly. 
 
 Preacher Condiah, as was his custom, preached 
 Jesus. He was listened to attentively, and was 
 invited to stay over night. He accepted the 
 invitation, as it would give him a good opportu- 
 nity to preach in the evening, after the people 
 generally had come home from the fields. The 
 hamlet contained only twelve or fifteen houses ; 
 and these were of the Madega caste, or, as they 
 are not included in the four great castes accord- 
 ing to Brahminism, they are called out-castes. 
 They were all cobblers and tanners by trade, 
 but worked as coolies : some of them owned 
 small tracts of ground which they cultivated, 
 and were in reality small farmers. They are 
 now as pure Telugus as the people of the other 
 castes, but some time in the remote past their 
 ancestors were probably degraded. Some think 
 they are the descendants of the Buddhists who 
 were spared after India turned to Brahminism 
 again. Whether this is true or not, no one can 
 tell ; but in some way, no doubt, their ancestors 
 so offended the Brahmins that they were cursed, 
 and turned out from among caste people. Be 
 this as it may, the Madegas and another similar 
 
SEED SOWN. 
 
 73 
 
 caste who are woodcutters, carrying coolies, 
 and servants, constitute, in this section at least, 
 probably one-fifth of the population. Preacher 
 Condiah was formerly a Madega, and so was at 
 home with them. 
 
 In the evening, after the people had returned 
 from the fields and eaten supper, Condiah sat 
 down on the platform of the little shrine of 
 Ramaswamy, and commenced singing a Chris- 
 tian hymn. The tune was familiar ; and, although 
 the words were new and strange, nearly the 
 whole hamlet soon assembled, for the Telugus 
 are fond of the quick, nervous strains of their 
 own native airs. 
 
 Condiah read a part of the fifteenth chapter 
 of Luke, about the Prodigal Son ; and then told 
 them of the love of God, and how they had all 
 gone astray like the Prodigal Son, how Jesus 
 came to seek and to save them, and how he 
 was now calling them, through his word and the 
 speaker, to leave sin and Satan, and through 
 faith in him to be reconciled to God. 
 
 Condiah was an impressive speaker, and God 
 was with him. When he had finished, old and 
 young, men and women, crowded around him, 
 anxious to learn more of the new religion which 
 
74 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 seemed to promise so much to them. “ But,” 
 asked they, “if we embrace this new religion, 
 will not the gods whom we have always wor- 
 shipped kill us ? ” 
 
 “Idols,” said the preacher, “are the produc- 
 tion of men, and were made by them. Tell me 
 which is the greater, — the one who makes or 
 creates, or the thing created ? If a carpenter 
 and an iron-smith make a cart or a plough, 
 which is the greater, — the plough and cart, or 
 the men ? Or, if you make a pair of sandals, 
 which is to be feared and loved, — the sandals, 
 or the maker ? ” 
 
 “ Why, yes ! of course, the maker is greater 
 than the thing made, we all know,” answered 
 the villagers. 
 
 “Then,” said Condiah, “consider but a mo- 
 ment. Your idols were all made by a goldsmith 
 or a carpenter, and hence must be less than 
 these men. But you do not fear the men : 
 then, why should you fear the images they 
 make ? Men carry idols, but the idols cannot 
 move themselves. Idols are like dead bodies : 
 there is no life, or strength, or power, or intelli- 
 gence in them. Men give to idols every thing 
 they have ; and I have heard that thieves often 
 

 
 IDOLS FROM ONGOLE. 
 

SEED SOWIV. 
 
 75 
 
 steal their golden ornaments. Idols cannot do 
 either good or evil. They have no more merit 
 or sense than the gold, silver, stone, or mud of 
 which they are made.” 
 
 “ But, after Brahmins say muntras over the 
 idols, do they not have life ? ” asked the vil- 
 lagers. 
 
 “ How can Brahmins give life ? ” asked Con- 
 diah. “ God only can give life. If Brahmins 
 can give life, why do they not restore life to 
 their children when they die ? They mourn, 
 you know, as you do. Many Brahmins do not 
 worship idols. There is a sect in Calcutta and 
 Madras, called the Brahmo Somaj, who have 
 renounced all idols and caste also. Some 
 Brahmins have also become Christians, and 
 now hate idols. 
 
 “ A few years ago, one among the priests of 
 the great temple of Jaganath at Poori bought a 
 Christian tract, and read it. The tract taught 
 the folly of idolatry, and that no one could 
 gain merit by worshipping idols. It also said 
 that merit could be obtained only by believing 
 in Jesus Christ, the world’s Saviour. The 
 priest was at first very angry, and thought to 
 destroy the book, but concluded to keep it a 
 
;6 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 while. He could not efface the impression it 
 had made on his mind ; and he read the little 
 book again and again. 
 
 “ He was troubled, sometimes thinking that 
 Christianity was true, and again that it could 
 not be. Thus weeks passed ; and, no longer 
 able to endure the doubts in his mind, he de- 
 termined to know the truth about idols, even if 
 he lost his life. Accordingly he went to the 
 bazaar, and bought a piece of iron which he had 
 sharpened ; and, when night came, he crept 
 alone and unobserved into the temple. Very 
 much frightened, and trembling with excite- 
 ment, he raised the iron, which slowly de- 
 scended, piercing the body of Jaganath, who 
 said not a word ; after stabbing the idol in 
 various places with like result, he went away 
 convinced that such a god was powerless to 
 injure or benefit him. He afterward renounced 
 idolatry, and became a preacher of the gospel.” 
 
 “ What ! can you destroy idols, and live ? ” 
 asked many at once. 
 
 “ Listen, and I will tell you a true story,” 
 said Condiah. “ When I was at school in On- 
 gole, six or seven years ago, some people of the 
 Mala caste, who were vexed with the missiona- 
 
SEED SOWN. 
 
 77 
 
 ries, undertook to annoy us on Sundays during 
 service. They made a festival to the goddess 
 Polarumma, and all one Sunday made such a 
 noise with tom-toms and singing that we were 
 much disturbed. The missionary went down 
 to the little shrine, and asked the worshippers 
 to cease, for a time at least ; but they would 
 not listen to him. A day or two later, he 
 found by a close survey that the little shrine 
 to Polarumma was just inside the bounds of the 
 mission-compound ; and he wrote a petition to 
 the English magistrate, asking that the shrine 
 might be removed. The case was inquired 
 into, proved to be as represented, and an order 
 was issued by the magistrate to the thasildar 
 to remove the shrine. The thasildar ordered 
 the village moonsiff to procure coolies, and tear 
 down the shrine, and carry the stones into the 
 road. For three days the moonsiff could not 
 get men in all Ongole to do this. The mis- 
 sionaries heard of this, and sent word for him 
 to come into the compound, and draft men for 
 the work. He came, and called me and several 
 young men who are now preachers, and told us 
 what was required. We went ; but as a large 
 crowd had collected, and the missionary feared 
 
78 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 we might be assaulted, he went too. When 
 the moonsiff went up to the shrine to show us 
 where to begin, he trembled with fear, and 
 slipped off his sandals. The missionary then 
 said, — 
 
 “‘You all think that the one who first 
 touches this shrine to tear it down, if not in- 
 stantly killed, will be afflicted with the small- 
 pox, and die. I will take all the responsibility 
 myself ; for I do not wish the moonsiff or my 
 schoolboys or any of you to be killed. So, if 
 Polarumma is God, let her kill me.’ He then 
 climbed, crowbar in hand, to the top of the 
 shrine ; and while some of the people beat 
 their breasts, and others were speechless with 
 fear, expecting to see him fall dead, he made 
 the roof fall in, and we finished the rest of the 
 work. I am alive and well, as are all those 
 who helped me, and so is our missionary. I 
 formerly worshipped many idols ; but I left 
 them all years ago, and none of them have 
 ever done me any harm.” 
 
 “ Can all you say be true ? ” asked the eager 
 listeners. 
 
 “ Yes, it is true,” said Condiah ; “and let me 
 tell you, if you worship idols, you are like chil- 
 
SEED SOWN. 
 
 79 
 
 dren who in their play boil sand for rice, or like 
 the thirsty traveller who seeks water to quench 
 his thirst in a mirage lake. The soul of man is 
 from God, and can never be at peace until it 
 finds its Maker, and rests in him.” 
 
 He talked until past midnight ; and before 
 he lay down to sleep in the place where he 
 preached, — for the weather was warm and dry, 
 and he had no need of room or bed, — he had 
 promised to remain several days in Ahmudala. 
 
 The days were spent in talking to people of 
 different castes, if they would listen to him, 
 and in preparing for the evening service and 
 the long talks which followed. By the end of 
 the fourth day Rungiah, the head man of the 
 hamlet, and his wife and aunt and two cousins, 
 had professed faith in Jesus as their Saviour. 
 Two days more were spent with these con- 
 verts, instructing them in what they should do 
 as Christians. Then Condiah, telling them to 
 be brave and faithful, and to come to Ongole 
 at the next monthly meeting for baptism, made 
 his salaams, and went on his way. 
 
 At the monthly meeting, Rungiah and his 
 little company were present, and ready to tell 
 what God had done for them. Condiah was 
 
8o 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 also present ; and after due inquiry the long 
 lock of hair on the top of the head, under 
 which their god is said to dwell, was cut off, 
 and they were baptized. 
 
 Stormy times awaited them on their return 
 to Ahmudala. When it was known that Run- 
 giah and four others of his hamlet had gone 
 to Ongole, and that they had actually re- 
 nounced the gods of their ancestors, and had 
 even dared to cut off the sacred locks of hair, 
 great was the indignation of the villagers. 
 Little groups of five or six men were seen 
 seated here and there engaged in earnest con- 
 versation. The women staid long at the wells, 
 either to tell or hear the latest news con- 
 cerning the strange conduct of Rungiah and 
 his friends. The moonsiff and Uppiah Naidu 
 and Kristna Row also talked the matter over, 
 and decided that Rungiah must be called and 
 remonstrated with, and made to return to his 
 former gods and religion. Little did they then 
 realize that the living God had by his Spirit 
 been leading and teaching Rungiah, that his 
 everlasting arms were underneath him, and 
 therefore he could not be overcome, or sepa- 
 rated from the love of God which is in Christ 
 Jesus our Lord. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 WITNESSING FOR THE FAITH. 
 
 S soon as Rungiah and his little com- 
 pany reached home, Babiah Naidu and 
 Kristna Row sent for them. A large 
 crowd of men and women had assembled on 
 the common in the centre of the village, to 
 help put down the new religion. 
 
 Rungiah soon appeared, followed by the 
 other converts. When he stopped before the 
 moonsiff and kurnam, and leading men, he 
 made a low salaam, and asked what was wanted. 
 But he was excited : his voice trembled, and 
 his legs shook, which, as soon as he spoke, 
 caused a loud laugh from those standing near. 
 
 “ Why did you go to Ongole ? ” asked Krist- 
 na Row. 
 
 “ I went there to be baptized, as all are who 
 believe in Jesus Christ,” answered Rungiah. 
 
 81 
 
82 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 “ What were you baptized for ? ” asked half 
 a dozen at once. “ Is there no water in Ah- 
 mudala ? ” 
 
 “ Baptism is a sign, an ordinance, established 
 by my Saviour when on earth,” said the new 
 disciple. 
 
 “A sign of what?” asked Uppiah Naidu. 
 
 “ A sign that I believe Christ died for me, 
 and that I have left off the works of darkness 
 and sin, and am now trying to follow him.” 
 
 “ Then, are you not going to worship the 
 gods of Ahmudala any more ? ” 
 
 “ No,” said Rungiah emphatically. 
 
 “ How dare you say thus ? ” said Kristna 
 Row : “will they not kill you ? ” 
 
 “ I used to believe,” said Rungiah, “that they 
 would ; but I do not now, because I see that 
 they have no life, and hence no knowledge, 
 sense, or power. Thus the native preacher 
 Condiah told me, and the missionaries in 
 Ongole said the same thing ; and I believe 
 them. ” 
 
 “ Did you cut off the tuft of hair on the top 
 of your head, sacred to the gods, and under 
 which they delight to dwell ? ” inquired the 
 priest of the Lukshmanaswamy temple. 
 
WITNESSING FOR THE FAITII. 83 
 
 “Yes, he has,” said one standing near Run- 
 giah, as he pulled off his turban, and exposed 
 his head. 
 
 “ Shame ! shame ! ” ejaculated a hundred 
 voices at once. 
 
 “Well, tell us why you left the religion of 
 your fathers,” asked Kristna Row. “ What 
 was good enough for them, is not that good 
 enough for you? Are you better than they 
 were ? ” 
 
 Rungiah, now calm and collected, said, — 
 
 “Friends and fellow-townsmen, you know 
 that I have always been a great idolater. No 
 one of you was ever more zealous than I. 
 There is not a god within miles of Ahmudala, 
 to which I have not bowed. I have also gone 
 to Cotapa Conda, and worshipped the god of 
 the monkeys, and to many other distant places ; 
 but I have found that I felt just the same after 
 worshipping as I did before, and all beyond 
 this life was dark and dreary to me. When 
 preacher Bezwarah Condiah came to my ham- 
 let, and told about one Jesus Christ, the world’s 
 Saviour, and how sinful we were, and how we 
 might get these sins taken away, I felt con- 
 vinced in my heart that this was a message 
 
8 4 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 from the living God, and that I must believe 
 and accept it. I heeded the divine message, 
 and was happy. I was baptized as I told you. 
 I cut off the tuft of hair which I used to think 
 sacred, because I did not want any sign of 
 idolatry about me, for I have now no wish to 
 worship idols. My soul is satisfied. In this 
 religion I must remain until I die.” 
 
 No one spoke for a moment after this ad- 
 dress ; then the priest said, — 
 
 “ If you do not worship the gods of Ahmu- 
 dala, they will kill you : and hence, if you insist 
 on renouncing them, you had better leave our 
 village ; for not only will you be killed, but we 
 also shall be cursed if we consent to your 
 remaining here. Come, Rungiah, don’t be 
 stubborn and foolish. You have a family of 
 nice children : think of them, and return to 
 your fathers’ gods and to your old friends ; we 
 all will forgive the mistake you have made, and 
 love you as of old, and the gods will prosper 
 you.” 
 
 “No, I cannot: God helping me, I never 
 will leave the Christian religion, and can never 
 worship idols again,” said Rungiah. “ The 
 religion to which you wish me to return, I know 
 
WITNESSING FOR THE FAITH. 85 
 
 full well. It is Lke a great house without a 
 roof. It can offer me in this life no peace for 
 my mind, no help in trouble, and no comfort 
 in death ; and for my poor sin-sick soul there 
 is in Hinduism no Mediator and Saviour, no 
 kind, tender Father, who pities me and loves 
 me more than I do my children.” 
 
 “Then you must leave Ahmudala,” said a 
 dozen of the company at once. “ We shall 
 give you no work, and we shall not allow you 
 to come into the town. If we do, cholera or 
 small-pox will be sent upon us, and our cattle 
 will also die, and our harvests be blighted. 
 \\ hy should we suffer all this ? Leave this new 
 religion. It is the religion of Englishmen, but 
 we Hindus do not need it. Their religion is 
 for them, and ours for us.” 
 
 To these and many other angry words Run- 
 giah answered, — 
 
 “ I do not wonder that you are angry, for 
 only a little while ago I felt as you now do. 
 Your fears are all groundless, I well know. If 
 you will not give me work, I must try and find 
 it elsewhere. You must do as you think best 
 and right. What more can I say ? ” 
 
 “ Oh ! your new God will give you food with- 
 
86 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 out work perhaps,” tauntingly exclaimed some 
 one, which caused a laugh. But Rungiah 
 simply replied, — 
 
 “ God has given me strength to work, and he 
 requires me to work six days out of every 
 week, and to rest on Sundays : this I intend to 
 do, and he will, I believe, care for me.” 
 
 “ What ! are you not going to work on Sun- 
 days ? ” asked the moonsiff. 
 
 “ No,” said Rungiah. 
 
 “Why?” demanded many voices. 
 
 “ I do not know exactly, for I know only a 
 little of the Christian religion ; but I have been 
 taught that I must stop all ordinary work on 
 Sundays, and spend the day in resting and in 
 prayer and meditation.” 
 
 After this Rungiah and other Christians 
 were allowed to go to their homes. They were 
 thankful that they were not beaten, and that 
 they had been allowed to tell so much about 
 their new-found hope. When Rungiah had 
 gone, various plans were proposed and dis- 
 cussed ; but, before any thing definite had been 
 agreed upon, there appeared among the com- 
 pany a Brahmin of very dignified bearing. He 
 was a stranger to most of them, but was recog- 
 
WITNESSING FOR THE FAITH. 87 
 
 nized by Kristna Row as Buchiah, the kurnam 
 of Ruladond. Babiah Naidu asked him to be 
 seated ; and, after a few general questions, the 
 new-comer asked what was the subject under 
 consideration. 
 
 Kristna Row told him the story of Rungi- 
 ah’s conversion to Christianity, and added, “ He 
 seems to be not only willing to leave our gods, 
 but to feel himself equal to us Brahmins. We 
 can never let these low-caste dogs assume so 
 much. We must teach them to remain in the 
 place the great Brahma assigned them. What 
 do you say to this, Buchiah ? ” 
 
 “ O friends ! listen to me,” said Kurnam Bu- 
 chiah. “ This Christian religion is not new to 
 me. Some five years ago some of the Madega 
 people in Ruladond became Christians. I and 
 many others were very angry, as I see you all 
 are to-day. We determined to drive the new 
 religion away from our town, and to this end 
 we took all work away from the Christians ; we 
 refused to let them come into the village ; we 
 laughed at them, and abused them in every 
 way : but they would not leave the new faith. 
 They went to other villages, and worked ; and 
 soon in all the villages about Ruladond there 
 
88 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 were Christians. Then the missionary came 
 out there, and invited all our people to come 
 and see him in his tent ; and, after he told us 
 about his religion, we could see no evil in it, 
 and we promised to stop persecuting the Chris- 
 tians. Soon, however, the Christians began to 
 get land and property ; and some of our people 
 were envious, not liking to see these poor low- 
 caste people richer than they, and so com- 
 menced persecuting them again : but it was of 
 no use. The more you persecute Christians, 
 we have found, the closer they cling to their 
 faith, the faster they increase, and the more 
 wealthy they become. They are like the 
 prickly pear, which, if cut down, in a little while 
 every leaf becomes a stalk, and every stalk a 
 bunch, and every bunch a regular jungle. Take 
 my advice : let the Christians alone. There 
 is room enough in India for this God of the 
 Christians also. If you drive the Christians 
 from Ahmudala, who will do your work? You 
 will have to do it yourselves, or get strangers 
 who will cheat and steal from you ; and, be- 
 sides, how do you know that the God of these 
 Christians may not curse you ? Be not, there- 
 fore, envious of these poor people. Listen while 
 I tell you a story. 
 
WITNESSING FOR THE FAITH. 89 
 
 “ A certain man being restless through envy 
 at the good fortune of his neighbor, and not 
 being able to bear the sight of his prosperity, 
 went to reside in a wilderness. An ascetic, 
 meeting with this envious person, pitied him, 
 and gave him an enchanted dice. Its virtue 
 was this : that for three times when he 
 
 threw it whatever he wished would come to 
 pass. The ascetic, however, told him, ‘ Three 
 times you will obtain whatever you wish, but 
 your neighbor will have double.’ Going home, 
 and forgetting the prosperity of his neighbor 
 which would follow, he said to himself, ‘ Let 
 me have houses, corn, silver, gold, and jewels 
 in abundance.’ It was so, but his neighbor had 
 double. Recollecting himself, and desirous to 
 injure his neighbor, he said, ‘ Let me be de- 
 prived of one eye ; ’ and a second time he threw 
 the dice : on this his neighbor was deprived of 
 both eyes. ‘ Let half my house be swamped,’ 
 he said, and the last time threw the dice ; on 
 that the whole of his neighbor’s house sank 
 into the ground. At last his servants, seeing 
 him in a solitary place, with one consent beat 
 him severely, and, taking from him all his 
 riches, fled in a boat. There was no one to 
 
90 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 hear bis cries when he exclaimed, ‘ This is the 
 consequence of envy : for, if through this I had 
 not destroyed my neighbor, he had no doubt 
 assisted me in the hour of my distress ; at 
 least, through fear of him no one would have 
 dared thus to injure me.’ 
 
 “ The Christians now in Ruladond are among 
 our best men, and we do not want to be rid of 
 them ; for we all feel that w T e can trust them, 
 and therefore they are like a right hand to my 
 village.” 
 
 This speech chilled the enthusiasm of the 
 meeting, which broke up without any plan 
 having been adopted. They had been per- 
 suaded temporarily, by Buchiah’s speech, 
 against their will ; but their minds were un- 
 changed, and they went away to meditate evil 
 against the Lord’s little ones. 
 
 Weeks passed away ; and Rungiah and the 
 Christians found it very difficult to get either 
 work or food, and they were ridiculed and 
 laughed at, and harassed in a hundred ways, 
 on every side. False charges were brought 
 against them, and they were brought before 
 the moonsiff for debts and for stealing and 
 many other things. 
 
 One day, as Rungiah was going past the 
 
WITNESSING FOR THE FAITH. 
 
 91 
 
 house of Uppiah Naidu, the door into the court 
 was open, and Seetama beckoned to him to 
 come in. Rungiah was well acquainted with 
 the family, for he had made the sandals for the 
 whole household for years. The men were all 
 away from home ; and Seetama said, “ Rungiah, 
 what is this new religion of yours ? Tell me all 
 about it.” Rungiah told her all he knew, which 
 seemed to please Seetama ; but Soobama, who 
 had joined Seetama soon after Rungiah came, 
 was vexed. As Rungiah was going away, he 
 said to Seetama, that if she wished he would 
 bring a native preacher, whom he expected 
 from Ongole in a few days, to talk with her. 
 Seetama seemed pleased with this, but as Soo- 
 bama was near she made no reply. She had 
 heard that Rungiah had no work ; and she 
 asked him if he could not make a pair of 
 sandals for her, as her old ones were nearly 
 worn out, and she had need of new ones to 
 keep the dust and sand from burning her feet 
 when she went to the bazaar and other places. 
 This was added to keep Soobama quiet. Run- 
 giah went away with a lighter heart than he 
 had had for weeks ; because he felt, he knew 
 not why, that Seetama was his friend, and that 
 God would soon raise up help for him. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 A RIFT IN THE CLOUD. 
 
 '51 
 
 UNGIAH was now full of hope. He 
 believed that God would not forsake 
 him, and he was not disappointed. He 
 had humbled himself under the mighty hand 
 of God, and had cast all his burdens on him ; 
 and God cared for his trusting child. 
 
 The missionaries in Ongole had heard, by 
 letters, of the troubles in Ahmudala ; and it 
 seemed best to them to try to do something for 
 the Christians. Native preacher Obulu, then 
 a colportor of the Madras Bible Society, who 
 went home to be with Jesus a few months ago, 
 was called. His large warm heart, and knowl- 
 edge of men, and zeal for his Saviour, were 
 well known. They told him of the petty perse- 
 cutions in Ahmudala, and asked him to go up 
 that way, taking his books with him, and en- 
 
 92 
 
A RIFT IN THE CLOUD. 
 
 93 
 
 courage the Christians, and preach to all who 
 would listen, and if possible to get an inter- 
 view with the village moonsiff. If this could 
 be effected, he was to tender to him the best 
 salaams of the missionary, and request him to 
 see to it that the Christians of his village were 
 treated justly. Obulu’s heart was full; and a 
 few hours later he was on his way to Ahmudala, 
 where he arrived late the next evening. 
 
 Rungiah told Obulu all about the situation. 
 Obulu firmly believed in prayer. He felt that 
 it moved the hand that moved the world. The 
 little company prayed for guidance and help, 
 and then retired to rest. 
 
 The next morning it was arranged that Run- 
 giah should take the sandals to Seetama, and 
 that a few minutes later Obulu should pass by 
 Uppiah Naidu’s house, and that Rungiah should 
 be on the lookout, and point him out to Uppiah 
 Naidu and his brother. They trusted that God 
 would open the way for Obulu to get into the 
 court. 
 
 Rungiah found the whole family at home ; 
 and, after he had delivered the sandals, Uppiah 
 proceeded to measure out some grain to pay 
 for them, but reminded him that it was Seetama 
 
94 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 who ordered the sandals, and that she did not 
 fully understand his wishes. Just then Obu- 
 lu appeared, and, standing at the door of the 
 court, cried out in Eastern fashion what he had 
 to sell. Rungiah said, loud enough for all in 
 the court to hear, “ That is a preacher, and the 
 missionary has sent him here. Would you not 
 like to see him, and talk with him ? ” 
 
 Uppiah Naidu and his brothers hesitated ; 
 but Seetama quickly said, “ Oh ! do ask him in. 
 I am very anxious to hear what it is that has 
 made Rungiah act so strangely. Let us see 
 if there is any good in the new religion.” 
 
 Obulu was invited into the court ; and, after 
 making his salaams, he reverently opened the 
 New Testament at the fourteenth chapter of 
 the Gospel by John, and read, — 
 
 “ Let not your heart be troubled : ye believe 
 in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s 
 house are many mansions : if it were not so, I 
 would have told you. I go to prepare a place 
 for you. And if I go and prepare a place for 
 you, I will come again, and receive you unto 
 myself ; that where I am, there ye may be also. 
 And whither I go ye know, and the way ye 
 know. Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know 
 
A RIFT IN' THE CLOUD. 
 
 95 
 
 not whither thou goest ; and how can we know 
 the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the 
 way, the truth, and the life : no man cometh 
 unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known 
 me, ye should have known my Father also; and 
 from henceforth ye know him, and have seen 
 him. Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the 
 Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto 
 him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet 
 hast thou not known me, Philip ? he that hath 
 seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest 
 thou then, Show us the Father? Believest thou 
 not that I am in the Father, and the Father in 
 me ? the words that I speak unto you I speak 
 not of myself ; but the Father that dwelleth in 
 me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am 
 in the Father, and the Father in me ; or else 
 believe me for the very works’ sake. Verily, 
 verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, 
 the works that I do shall he do also ; and greater 
 works than these shall he do ; because I go unto 
 my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in 
 my name, that will I do, that the Father may 
 be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any 
 thing in my name, I will do it.” 
 
 Then closing the book, he began, as was his 
 
96 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 custom, by telling what sort of man he was 
 formerly, and afterwards gave his Christian 
 experience, which was very affecting and clear. 
 Then, commencing with the first chapter of 
 Genesis, he gave an account of the creation, 
 the Garden of Eden, the fall of man, and the 
 curse upon all the race, declaring that all are 
 sinners. He graphically described the efforts 
 of the Hindus to escape sin, and to gain merit 
 and absorption with the Deity, and how every 
 one felt that he had failed and must fail. 
 
 After this, he told of the love of God ; and 
 how his Son left heaven to seek and to save 
 the lost ; how he died, and rose again, and went 
 to heaven to prepare the mansions he had read 
 about, for all who would believe in him and 
 follow him. He closed by asking all to con- 
 sider what he had said ; begging them not 
 to discard the Creator, Ruler, Preserver, and 
 Saviour, who was now calling on them to come 
 to him, and find rest and peace and eternal 
 life. 
 
 All were moved by the discourse ; and See- 
 tama turned, and went into the house, that the 
 tears in her eyes might not be noticed by 
 others of the family. She soon returned with 
 
A RIFT IN THE CLOUD. 
 
 97 
 
 some nice milk for the preacher to drink, which 
 he received thankfully. 
 
 Obulu and Rungiah went their way, and soon 
 the others went to their work. The men said 
 nothing about the sermon, but Uppiah Naidu 
 and his son Lukshmiah were evidently much 
 impressed. In the afternoon Soobama told 
 Seetama that she thought it a disgrace to allow 
 any one to come into their yard, and talk about 
 their gods as Obulu did. Seetama felt quite 
 differently, but was too discreet to make any 
 direct answer. 
 
 That evening, when they were alone in their 
 own private room, Seetama cautiously asked 
 Uppiah Naidu what he thought of Obulu’s ser- 
 mon. He said he did not know what to think, 
 and that he was troubled. He then asked her 
 opinion. 
 
 “ Will you be angry if I tell you ? ” she 
 asked. 
 
 “No: why should I be angry?” 
 
 “ Then I must confess that I feel in my heart 
 that what he said is true, and that Rungiah, 
 whom the whole village is persecuting, is richer 
 than we all. I almost wish that I was even as 
 he is, though poor and despised.” 
 
98 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 “ I feel much the same way, Seetama,” said 
 her husband affectionately ; “ but what can we 
 do ? ” 
 
 “ I think, that, if you will not be angry, I will 
 secretly believe in the God of Rungiah and the 
 Christians. I know full well that to believe 
 openly would disgrace you and the whole fam- 
 ily, and we would soon be beggars.” 
 
 “Yes, that is wise,” said Uppiah Naidu. 
 “ Do not whisper to any one what you have said 
 to me.” 
 
 “ But,” said the wife, “ I want to make one 
 request, which, if you love me, do not refuse.” 
 “What is it?” asked Uppiah Naidu. “It 
 shall be granted if it is in my power to do so.” 
 
 “ Please talk with your brother Babiah Nai- 
 du, and with Kristna Row, and the leading 
 men of Ahmudala, and get them to stop per- 
 secuting the Christians, and to allow them to 
 return to their former work. I feel in my soul 
 that the living God will punish us if the in- 
 justice towards the Christians is allowed to go 
 on longer.” 
 
 “ Soobama has already been talking to Ba- 
 biah Naidu and to Kristna Row about Obulu’s 
 sermon this morning, and did not forget to say 
 
A RIFT IN THE CLOUD. 
 
 99 
 
 that you even, as to a great friend, gave him 
 milk to drink after he had abused our gods.” 
 Uppiah Naidu said this kindly ; for, while in 
 his heart he was glad the request had been made, 
 he feared he would have some difficulty in com- 
 plying with it, as Soobama was angry, and 
 would do all in her power to injure the Chris- 
 tians. His fears, however, were groundless. 
 He found his brother ready to second his prop- 
 osition ; and, as soon as it was known that to 
 annoy the Christians further would not be 
 pleasing to the-moonsiff and his brother, the 
 great majority ceased persecuting them. When 
 Kristna Row heard of the new turn affairs had 
 take'll, he shrugged his shoulders, and said, 
 “The fates are on the side of the Christians.” 
 From that time the Christians of Ahmudala 
 had peace. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE PUNDIT’S SPEECH. 
 
 T soon became known, not only in Ah- 
 mudala, but also in all the villages near, 
 that Babiah Naidu and his brother Up- 
 piah Naidu had become, if not friendly, at least 
 well-disposed towards the Christians ; and all 
 classes were very much surprised. Various 
 reasons were assigned and circulated for their 
 sudden change ; for the brothers were not 
 fickle people, and their conduct appeared un- 
 accountable. Some said that the governor had 
 sent an order to them to desist from persecut- 
 ing the Christians. Others thought that per- 
 haps the missionary had sent them a large 
 present. Others yet suggested that perhaps 
 the Christians’ God had appeared to them, and 
 that they were now afraid. 
 
 None divined the real cause; and Babiah 
 
 IOO 
 
THE PUNDIT'S SPEECH. 
 
 IOI 
 
 Naidu and his brother did not tell. While 
 Obulu was preaching to them, and for a little 
 while afterwards, they had felt that they would 
 like to be Christians ; but these feelings soon 
 passed away, for they had no real faith in Jesus. 
 They had about concluded that the God of 
 Rungiah and Obulu, whom Seetama was begin- 
 ning to worship, might be one of the three 
 hundred and thirty million gods they had always 
 heard about ; or he might be another additional 
 god who came to India with the English. Then 
 they reasoned that Rungiah had always been a 
 friend, and now had not only done them no 
 harm, but appeared and acted better than be- 
 fore ; and, besides, they had to confess in their 
 hearts that the religion which Obulu had told 
 them about, if true, was better than theirs. 
 But, above all, Seetama had made a request 
 which both felt was right and reasonable ; and 
 they were too kind of heart, and loved her too 
 much, to refuse it. 
 
 A few weeks after the events related in the 
 last chapter, the Ongole missionary, on an 
 evangelistic tour, camped in a village about 
 two miles from Ahmudala, which we shall call 
 Kuspa. There were quite a number of Chris- 
 
102 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 tians and some inquirers in the villages near, 
 as well as in Kuspa itself. These were to 
 assemble at his camp ; and they might remain 
 there for two or three days, going at night to 
 the villages near to sleep and to take their 
 meals. 
 
 The Brahmins and Mohammedans of Kuspa 
 and vicinity determined to do all in their power 
 to keep the people from becoming Christians. 
 They sent to Podala, and engaged a well-known 
 Brahmin pundit, who was learned in the shas- 
 tras, and had studied some in a government 
 school, to come out to Kuspa, and discuss with 
 the missionary. The Mohammedans had also 
 invited the most learned priest in all that 
 region to come to their aid. The people of all 
 castes were considerably excited, and gathered 
 in crowds from Ahmudala and other villages. 
 Among the company was Uppiah Naidu and his 
 brother, and Kristna Row. 
 
 Word was sent to the missionary that they 
 wanted to discuss with him ; but he, politely 
 declining the honor, replied, that while he 
 would not discuss, yet, if they had any thing to 
 tell, he would be glad to meet them and learn 
 what they might wish to say. The pundit and 
 
THE PUNDIT'S SPEECH. 
 
 103 
 
 the priest were disappointed ; because they 
 hoped to discuss by question and answer, and 
 if possible by subtle roundabout questions to 
 entangle their opponent, and thus, in the judg- 
 ment of Hindus, gain their point, and obtain 
 great credit. But that plan had failed, and 
 they must deliver addresses. 
 
 The missionary, accompanied by two or three 
 native preachers and a company of Christians, 
 repaired to the place of meeting, which was not 
 far from his tent, and took a seat in easy hear- 
 ing distance of the speakers. 
 
 The pundit took a book from a friend stand- 
 ing near, touched both the right and left sides 
 of his forehead with it, thus invoking Ganesa, 
 the God of Wisdom, opened it, and read some 
 verses in Sanscrit ; he then commenced his 
 discourse by saying, — 
 
 “You have called me to Kuspa to tell you 
 what our sacred shastras say about caste, and 
 about India, and the religion and traditions of 
 our fathers, who are as gods to us. 
 
 “ Europeans have invaded our country, and 
 for the present are the rulers. They are like 
 an army of monkeys : they obtained possession 
 of the country by tricks, and took for their 
 
104 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 servants out-caste people, Malas and Madegas, 
 who for a little money flocked about them ; and 
 now by a well-laid system, in which sophistry 
 and money are the principal factors, they are 
 trying to undermine the faith of our fathers, and 
 to destroy our heavenly-given caste, to pollute 
 our sacred places, and to make our beloved 
 India, once the favorite abode of the gods, the 
 home of degraded men and bad spirits. To 
 accomplish their object, a class of men called 
 missionaries are settled in all our large cities ; 
 and they travel over the country, trying to make 
 converts, for which, I hear, they have a good 
 salary, and all their travelling expenses paid by 
 government, and a bonus of two hundred rupees 
 given them for each convert made. But, as all 
 this expense is paid from the money raised by 
 taxes, we are the ones who are really paying 
 people fat incomes to destroy our own sacred 
 institutions. But we have only to remain firm. 
 They have come, as I said, like an army of 
 monkeys ; and in like manner they will go, and 
 our India will be left to us again. 
 
 “ Contemplate, my friends, the origin of our 
 caste which is assailed, and which, if we relin- 
 quish, will leave us all like filthy beasts, fit only 
 
THE PUNDIT'S SPEECH. 
 
 105 
 
 to associate with dogs. That the human race 
 might be multiplied, He (the Supreme Lord) 
 caused the Brahmin, the Kshatriya, the Vaisya, 
 and the Sudra, to proceed from his mouth, his 
 arm, his thigh, and foot. Hence we have the 
 Brahmins, who are the priests. The duty of the 
 Brahmins is to practise peace, self-restraint, 
 purity, patience, rectitude ; and they are wise, 
 learned, and divine, and therefore should be 
 worshipped by all other castes. What are the 
 words you have heard from your youth ? ‘ The 
 
 whole world is subject to the gods, and the gods 
 are subject to Mantras, the Mantras are subject 
 to the Brahmins : therefore the Brahmins are our 
 gods.’ Hear what the great Manu says : ‘ The 
 production of the Brahmin is the sure subsist- 
 ence of religion. When a Brahmin is born, it is 
 to be understood that religion is born ; and, as 
 Brahmins are born every day, therefore religion 
 becomes incarnate every day. When one gets 
 acquainted with the Brahmin, he becomes ac- 
 quainted with religion.’ Listen now to the 
 Kalki Purana : ‘ O King, the Brahmins are 
 earthly gods, they are clever in all four stages 
 of life, and are the propagators of my religion : 
 therefore we ought to speak to them pleasantly, 
 
io6 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 and worship them.’ Listen again while I read 
 from the Padma Purana : ‘ The Brahmin is the 
 spiritual guide of all castes. Alms ought to be 
 given to him devoutly and respectfully. The 
 Brahmin is the refuge of all gods. He is mani- 
 fest god on earth. He saves the donor from 
 this terrible ocean-like universe.’ The Mahaba- 
 rat says : ‘ Let the Brahmin’s conduct be good 
 or bad, let him be learned or ignorant, he ought 
 not to be despised. He is like fire mixed with 
 ashes.’ 
 
 “ The Kshatriya comprises the kings, princes, 
 and soldiers. Their natural duties are bravery, 
 glory, fortitude, rectitude, generosity, and 
 princely conduct at all times.” 
 
 “ The Vaisya, or Chetties, are the merchants ; 
 and they buy and sell and get gain, and thus 
 can build and support our temples and priests.” 
 
 “The Sudras are the mechanics and artisans 
 of every description. The natural duty of a 
 Sudra is Servitude. 
 
 “ Hear what the Rig Veda says : — 
 
 “‘i. The embodied spirit which hath a thousand 
 heads, a thousand eyes, a thousand feet, stands in the 
 human breast, while he totally pervades the earth. 
 
 “ ‘ 2. That being is this universe, and all that has 
 
THE PUNDIT'S SPEECH. 
 
 107 
 
 been, or will be ; he is that which grows by nourishment, 
 and he is the distributor of immortality. 
 
 “ ‘ 3. Such is his greatness ; and therefore is he the 
 most excellent embodied spirit ; the elements of the uni- 
 verse are one portion of him ; and three portions of him 
 are immortality in heaven. 
 
 ‘“4. That threefold being rose above this world; 
 and that, the single portion of him that remained in this 
 universe, consists of what does and what does not taste 
 the reward of good and bad actions ; again he pervaded 
 the universe. 
 
 ‘“5. From him sprung Virdj, from whom the first 
 man was produced; and he, being successively repro- 
 duced, peopled the earth. 
 
 ‘“6. From that single portion, surnamed the univer- 
 sal sacrifice, was the holy oblation of butter and curds 
 produced ; and this did frame all cattle, wild or domestic, 
 which are governed by instinct. 
 
 ‘“7. F rom that universal sacrifice were produced the 
 strains of the Rak and Sama ; from him the sacred me- 
 tres sprung ; from him did the Yajur proceed. 
 
 “‘8. From him were produced horses, and all beasts 
 that have two rows of teeth ; from him sprung cows, 
 goats, and sheep. 
 
 “‘9. Him the gods, the demi-gods named Sad'hya, 
 and the holy sages, immolated as a victim on sacred 
 grass, and thus performed a solemn act of religion. 
 
 ‘“10. Into how many portions did they divide this 
 being whom they immolated ? What did his mouth be- 
 come ? What are his arms, his thighs, his feet, now 
 called ? 
 
io8 
 
 FROM DARKNESS -TO LIGHT. 
 
 “‘ii. His mouth became a priest; his arm was 
 made a soldier ; his thigh was transformed into a hus- 
 bandman ; from his feet sprang the servile man. 
 
 “ ‘ 12. The moon was produced from his mind; the 
 sun sprang from his eye ; air and breath proceeded from 
 his ear; and fire rose from his mouth. 
 
 “‘13. The subtle element was produced from his 
 navel ; the sky from his head ; the earth from his feet ; 
 and space from his ear. Thus did he frame worlds. 
 
 ‘“14. In that solemn sacrifice which the gods per- 
 formed with him as a victim, spring was the butter, sum- 
 mer the fuel, and sultry weather the oblation. 
 
 ‘“15. Seven were the moats surrounding the altar; 
 thrice seven were the logs of holy fuel at that sacrifice 
 which the gods performed, immolating this being as the 
 victim. 
 
 16. By that sacrifice the gods worshipped this vic- 
 tim ; such were primeval duties ; and thus did they attain 
 heaven, where former gods and mighty demi-gods 
 abide.’ 
 
 “This hymn, sacred in the ceremonies in 
 honor of all our deceased ancestors, teaches 
 that the origin of caste was in the primeval 
 mode ; and of course, if that is touched, our re- 
 ligion and all else is lost. If the Malas and 
 Madegas, and other low-caste people, who are 
 not included in the four great castes of whom I 
 have told you, who formerly were our slaves, 
 
THE PUWDIT'S SPEECH. 
 
 IO9 
 
 wish to join in the English religion, let them 
 go. They will soon come back. Remember 
 the illustration I gave you about the monkeys.” 
 
 “Rama, Rama, Rama!” called out a hun- 
 dred in the congregation, thus invoking that 
 god to help them. 
 
 “ Consider again, I beseech you, the glory of 
 our ancestors. When the ancestors of our 
 English conquerors were wild savages, chasing 
 each other through the forests and over the 
 hills and mountains of Europe, ours were a 
 mighty people. Their history is lost in anti- 
 quity ; but from the magnificent remains of 
 temples and cities, and our sacred Sanscrit 
 language, we can learn much which all will 
 admit is true. 
 
 “You will not, some of you, be able to un- 
 derstand all I am about to say, for all of you are 
 not learned. I quote from an English author : 1 
 ‘A contemplative people, as the Hindus are, 
 must early have turned their thoughts to the 
 subjects denominated metaphysical : we accord- 
 ingly find that all the theories on that subject 
 formed by the Greeks or by the moderns were 
 already familiar to the sages of India. The 
 
 1 Dr. Ewart’s Descriptive Geography. 
 
1 10 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 system devised by Bishop Berkeley was known 
 in India centuries before our era.’ 
 
 “ He also admits that we had made advances 
 in education not reached in Europe until cen- 
 turies afterwards. Let me illustrate this. Our 
 ancestors knew the causes of eclipses, and had 
 constructed tables to calculate them, and the 
 diurnal motion of the earth, and its proximate 
 diameter. In our Rig Veda, it is said that the 
 pole-star changes its position. In our epic 
 poems, the fixed stars are spoken of as suns. 
 The decimal system of notation, knowledge of 
 arithmetic and algebra, and the mode of ex- 
 pressing the area of a triangle in the terms of 
 its sides, and that of expressing the proportion 
 of the radius to the diameter of a circle, were 
 known to our ancestors while all the rest of 
 the world were in ignorance. 
 
 “This same author also considers that the 
 subtleties of logic, and the niceties of grammar, 
 and all the varieties of metre known to the 
 Greeks and Latins, are to be found in our many 
 books in the sacred Sanscrit language, which in 
 beauty, copiousness, and flexibility, has no supe- 
 rior even till this day. No writings for beauty 
 of expression and imagery, and refinement of 
 
THE PUNDIT'S SPEECH. 
 
 I I I 
 
 poetical taste, surpass our own : for example, 
 the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. 
 
 “ Our forefathers were not wanting in patri- 
 otism and valor. In ancient times India was 
 not under one ruler. There were a great many 
 rajahs or kings : these evidently lived generally 
 at peace with each other, but when necessary 
 they could fight. One of these rajahs, Asoka, 
 more than two thousand years ago defeated 
 Alexander the Great when he attempted to cross 
 the Gheelum, after he had conquered the west- 
 ern world. They also contended every inch of 
 ground with the bloodthirsty, cruel, lascivious 
 Mohammedans, and for about two hundred years 
 the sword was not sheathed. We had been 
 unfaithful to our divinities, and they abandoned 
 us. But it is now time to bestir ourselves, or 
 the star of hope, which has never yet left us, 
 will forever set. 
 
 “ Our country is great. It stretches from 
 the lofty Himalaya Mountains on the north, to 
 Cape Comorin on the south ; and from the 
 mountains of Afghan on the west, to the moun- 
 tains of Arracan and the Munipur hills on the 
 east. Here in this sacred realm, given to us 
 by great Purusha, two hundred millions of peo- 
 
I 12 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 pie who sprang from him live and worship him, 
 and by prayers and fasting, and meritorious 
 deeds, seek to be absorbed in and to become 
 one with him again. Our ancestors, as I have 
 shown to you, were his favorites. True religion 
 and knowledge were first given to them. From 
 India, these spread over the world. All the 
 gods favored our ancestors. As it was, so may 
 it be again. Hear what Dr. Dresser of the 
 Society of Arts said a few days ago in London. 
 I quote from ‘ The Madras Mail.’ 
 
 “ ‘ We have derived a number of most valuable hints 
 from the East; but what have we done for them? We 
 have established schools of art in Calcutta, Bombay, and 
 certain other places ; and what is the result ? In the exhi- 
 bition of 1862 were to be seen carpets manufactured in 
 India, by those who had been taught in our art-schools, 
 which, being exhibited by the side of native manufac- 
 tures, were an utter national disgrace to us. We have 
 done a vast deal to vitiate their taste, but I deny that we 
 have done one single thing to raise them in a knowledge 
 of decorative art. Instead of spending money in estab- 
 lishing such schools, we had better spend it in studying 
 under those native artists who are the greatest ornament- 
 ists in the world.’ 
 
 “ This is all true. All true knowledge and all 
 true religion are ours, as I before told you. 
 
THE PUNDIT'S SPEECH. 
 
 ”3 
 
 Let us be faithful, then, to our ancestors, cling 
 to their customs and teachings, and the whole 
 world will soon be at our feet. What more 
 could you ask ? What more could you wish ? 
 Do not mix with the English. Submit to them 
 because you must from necessity, and make the 
 best of their rule, until the gods are appeased, 
 and remove the curse from India.” 
 
 The pundit sat down. There was much ex- 
 citement in the assembly ; some repeated 
 “ Narayana, Narayana, Narayana ! ” and others, 
 “Rama, Rama, Rama ! ” while the more devout 
 and learned said muntras. The native preach- 
 ers looked troubled. The missionary was quiet, 
 composed, and amused. 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 SPEECH OF THE MOHAMMEDAN PRIEST. 
 
 HE Mohammedan priest was consider- 
 ably annoyed by some of the remarks of 
 the pundit, though he let them pass at 
 the time ; but his friends thought that when his 
 turn came to speak he would abundantly vindi- 
 cate Islamism. 
 
 “ Allah Akbar, God is great,” said the priest, 
 rising to his feet, and looking around upon his 
 audience. “You know about the people of my 
 religion. As my learned friend the pundit has 
 told you, my ancestors invaded India about one 
 thousand years ago ; and about eight hundred 
 years ago it pleased Allah to confirm them in 
 India. About six hundred years later most 
 rajahs and zemindars, from the Himalayas to 
 Ceylon, acknowledged their power, and gave 
 willing tribute to the Great Mogul at Delhi. 
 
SPEECH OF THE MOHAMMEDAN PRIEST. I I 5 
 
 Then it was that Allah turned our glory into 
 shame, and sent these foreigners to punish us, 
 and for a time to rule over us. But my friend 
 has well said that their stay will be short ; for 
 Allah, whose ear is always open to hear the 
 prayers of the faithful, will soon turn to us 
 again. The rule of the English must be brief, 
 for they obtained possession of the country by 
 sophistry and fraud, and thus they now rule : 
 they are bad people, and their religion is bad. 
 I will prove to you what I have stated. They 
 first came as a band of traders, and asked for a 
 few acres of ground here and there, on which 
 to build houses and factories. This was given 
 to them. Then they asked for the privilege of 
 building forts on this ground, and of employing 
 a few sepoys to protect their property. They 
 then lent money to profligate zemindars and 
 other large landholders. This they knew could 
 not be paid ; but they had provided for this 
 emergency, and took the whole or parts of their 
 estates, either peaceably or otherwise. At other 
 times they sent agents to our petty kings, and 
 stirred up quarrels ; then lent money to one 
 party or the other, and furnished soldiers and 
 guns from England ; when the strife was over, 
 
Il6 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 they demanded a part of the spoils, and such 
 pay as but few rajahs could give in money. The 
 kings, unable to pay in money, paid in land ; 
 and thus they went on and on, until now they 
 have all India under their feet ; and like leeches 
 they are sucking the very life-blood of our land 
 and countrymen. 
 
 “You have all heard the fable of the Arab 
 and the camel. I will repeat it. 
 
 “ An Arab and his wife and children were in 
 their tent. The night was cold and stormy, but 
 still they were comfortable. A noise was heard 
 at the door, and the Arab saw that a camel had 
 put his head inside. He inquired, ‘ Why do you 
 come into my tent without leave ? ’ The camel 
 said, ‘ The storm is severe, and I am very cold. 
 Please do not drive me off to perish. Let my 
 head be inside. I will do you no harm.’ The 
 Arab, who was a kind-hearted man, consented, 
 and went to sleep. After a while he awoke, 
 and saw that the camel had got all its neck 
 and forefeet into the tent. He remonstrated ; 
 but the camel said, ‘ I was very cold, and I have 
 only come in a little: I will do you no harm.’ 
 The Arab permitted him to remain, and again 
 fell asleep. When he at last awoke he could 
 
SPEECH OF THE MOHAMMEDAN PRIEST. II 7 
 
 scarcely move. The camel had come into the 
 tent, and filled it. He remonstrated and 
 threatened ; but the camel replied, ‘ I have pos- 
 session, and I am much the larger : I could 
 easily trample you and your children to death. 
 If you want any one to go out in the storm, go 
 yourself.’ The English came and did by us 
 just as the camel did by the kind Arab. 
 
 “ I said that the English now rule India in 
 the same way they secured it, — by tricks and 
 sophistry. This you all know very well. 
 Heavy taxes are wrung from the people. Yes, 
 every thing you have or enjoy is taxed, except 
 air and water. But what becomes of this money ? 
 Most of it goes to the few thousand Englishmen 
 in India. All lucrative positions are held by 
 them, while the subordinates who do the work 
 have comparatively a mere pittance. 
 
 “A great army of sepoys of different lan- 
 guages and castes is kept. The Madras sepoys 
 are sent to Bengal and Bombay, and regiments 
 from those presidencies are sent here. Why ? 
 That the sepoys may be among a people of a 
 different language, that they may be the more 
 obedient servants of their masters. 
 
 “ In the police department, even here in 
 
1 18 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 Kuspa, see how they manage. When there is to 
 be a Mohammedan festival, all the Mohammedan 
 policemen are sent away to distant villages, and 
 Hindus are called in to watch ; and, when you 
 Hindus have a festival, the Mohammedans are 
 made to watch you. And thus it is with the 
 different castes, in all branches of government. 
 The Brahmin is prejudiced against the Moham- 
 medan and the Sudra, and vice versa. To-day 
 they flatter, and to-morrow upbraid. At times 
 they apparently wink at crimes which to relate 
 would make your blood almost curdle, and the 
 next day punish, wholly beyond reason and jus- 
 tice, some poor fellow who perhaps broke the 
 law through ignorance. 
 
 “ I told you that the religion of the English 
 is bad. Let me illustrate, that you may all 
 understand what I mean. Good cannot come 
 from bad, nor bad from good. Like mother, 
 like daughter. If you are travelling, and come 
 to a stream of water, and, drinking of it, find it 
 bad, you conclude at once that the spring is 
 bad at its source. Men who can take a country 
 as the English did ours, and rule it as they do, 
 must be bad. Look also at the impure lives led 
 by many whom you yourselves have known. 
 
SPEECH OF THE MOHAMMEDAN PRIEST. 119 
 
 Brandy and money and concubines are the gods 
 they worship. They are even so low, that, like 
 the dog and the hyena, they eat the meat of the 
 filthy hog. It is self-evident, that, when the 
 disciples are so bad, the religion itself is not 
 good. There was a time when Allah was 
 pleased with the Christian religion, but it was 
 not the bastard kind we have now in the world. 
 That, however, became corrupt : it was no longer 
 suited to the world ; and Allah gave, through 
 his holy prophet Mohammed, another revela- 
 tion, even our Koran and Islamism. We, the 
 people of India, therefore, have no need for 
 either the English rule or the Christian 
 religion. 
 
 “A certain rich man, who was fond of all 
 kinds of animals, one day saw for the first time 
 a pig, which was wallowing in the mud. He 
 bought it at a great price, and had it washed by 
 a servant, and taken to his palace. When the 
 master saw it, he was much pleased. But in a 
 short time the pig got out doors, and was 
 found again wallowing in the mud. When the 
 owner saw it he was sorry, and said, ‘ Alas ! 
 thou art still a pig, though in a palace. As 
 long as thou retainest the nature of a pig, it 
 
120 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 is vain to wash thee over and over again.’ So 
 saying he drove the pig out. 
 
 “ The moral of the story you can all under- 
 stand. Our rajahs and nabobs long years ago 
 saw the merchants of the East-India Company. 
 They thought them worthy of a place in their 
 fair land : they believed their smooth, false 
 words, and did all for them they could. The 
 merchants by falsehood, treachery, and robbery 
 
 * O 
 
 became very rich, and enriched all their coun- 
 trymen and nation with our products, our gold 
 and silver and precious stones. But, notwith- 
 standing all the good which they have received, 
 the English are to-day just what they were a 
 hundred years ago, — no better than robbers. 
 Their religious teachers talk well enough, but 
 their disciples do just the contrary. I think 
 they all are in league with Satan. As the 
 pig, so are they. The only way they can do 
 good to India is to leave it, and the sooner the 
 better. Let me warn you all, then : Beware 
 how you trust yourselves and your wives and 
 children to the teachers of the Christian re- 
 ligion : they all have two faces and double 
 tongues.” 
 
 When the Kazi ceased, there were many 
 
SPEECH OF THE MOHAMMEDAN PRIEST. 12 1 
 
 bitter expressions from the Mohammedans, 
 showing that his words had not been without 
 effect in stirring up their fiery hostility towards 
 the Christian religion. They moved about 
 among the crowd, twitching at their long black 
 beards, and frequently spitting on the ground 
 and stamping on it, their black eyes flashing 
 with rage ; and, though there is not much in 
 common between the Mohammedan and Hin- 
 du religions, yet the adherents of both were 
 now one, at least in their hatred of the foreign 
 rule and religion. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THE MISSIONARY S REPLY. 
 
 HE Hindu element largely predominated 
 in the assembly ; and as the Hindus 
 generally are a mild people, not vindic- 
 tive or fond of bloodshed, the missionary and 
 the few Christians, although wholly unarmed, 
 feared no personal harm. The Telugus in 
 general have an innate desire to see fair play, 
 and are naturally, and by education, a polite 
 people. In their discussions they exaggerate, 
 after the manner of most Eastern peoples, and 
 deal out heavy blows to their opponents ; but 
 in return they are willing to take hard hits, 
 politely given, and really seem to enjoy them. 
 Knowing these characteristics, the missionary 
 fully expected that some one would call on 
 him for his views, and he was not disap- 
 pointed. 
 
 122 
 
THE MISSIONARY'S REPLY. 
 
 123 
 
 Uppiah Naidu, of Ahmudala, as soon as the 
 priest sat down, rose and said, — 
 
 “Who I am, you all know. I am not a Chris- 
 tian, and none of my relatives or friends are 
 Christians. We are loyal to the religion and 
 traditions of our ancestors ; but it appears to 
 me, and I think many of you will admit, that it 
 is only polite and just to hear what this mis- 
 sionary gentleman has to say. This you will 
 be the more willing to grant, when you learn 
 that he is not an Englishman. Let us at least 
 hear from his own lips what he teaches, and 
 what he would have us do.” 
 
 A score of voices responded, “Yes, yes, we 
 will hear the missionary. Let him speak.” 
 And without further introduction the mission- 
 ary arose and said, — 
 
 “ When I came here this afternoon I did not 
 expect to speak ; but some things said by the 
 speakers have pleased and instructed me, and 
 other assertions and illustrations have made 
 me sad : hence I readily accept of the kind 
 invitation extended to me. I am a Christian 
 missionary, as you know, but I am not an Eng- 
 lishman. I am a native of America, a country 
 far distant from England, and separated from 
 
124 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 it by the great Atlantic Ocean, three thousand 
 miles wide. I am not in the employ of the 
 government of India, neither do I receive any 
 thing from it without paying full price in re- 
 turn. It is true that my ancestors came from 
 England, where now I have relatives and 
 friends. I am the friend of England, but I am 
 your friend. I am not a new man : you know 
 me, at least by report. I came to India not 
 for your money or your lands, but in obedience 
 to the word of God. Hence I can speak im- 
 partially on many of the subjects mentioned 
 this afternoon, and correct some statements 
 made, in a way that will satisfy you all. 
 
 “ I fully agree with the learned pundit in his 
 tribute to your ancestors. They were a remark- 
 able people ; and when you speak in their praise, 
 and reverence them, you do well, for the world 
 has rarely, if ever, seen their equals. The liv- 
 ing God greatly honored them with knowledge 
 and understanding. But we cannot live on the 
 fame of our ancestors, however great. They 
 played their part well, and are gone. We are 
 here now where they once trod. What about 
 the India of to-day, and the Hindus as you and 
 I know them ? When our friends were speak- 
 
THE MISSIONARY'S REPLY. 
 
 125 
 
 ing of the glories of your fathers, and I com- 
 pared them with their children, I felt in my 
 heart that India was like a great field of sweet- 
 potatoes, the best part of which is in the 
 ground. That India was, during the past few 
 hundred years, intellectually and morally in a 
 very low state, all, when they reflect, must ad- 
 mit. Your sacred -Sanscrit language, of which 
 you are justly proud, was no longer a living 
 language. Your noble cities and magnificent 
 temples had crumbled to ruins, or were left 
 standing as solitary monuments of happier 
 days. Invaded from without, and harassed by 
 constant wars among the once peaceful family 
 of kings, the plough of the farmer, the loom of 
 the skilful weaver whose fabrics were sought 
 by all Western civilized nations, and the tools 
 of the accomplished artisans whose designs we 
 yet admire, were laid aside, and the sword and 
 drum and implements of war were taken in 
 exchange. As a natural result, education gave 
 place to ignorance ; and ignorance and super- 
 stition, aided by a wild, uncultivated imagina- 
 tion, in time produced all the false theories of 
 geography, astronomy, theology, demonology, 
 and caste, which are now the curse of this 
 otherwise fair land. 
 
126 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 “This was the condition of India when the 
 English came. That they used tricks and 
 sophistry to get India from you, may be true ; 
 but, if they took unjust measures to gain India, 
 it was because of their inordinate love of money 
 and power, and the training you speedily gave 
 them. For, when the English came among 
 you, rajah was scheming against rajah, zemin- 
 dar against zemindar, and neighbor against 
 neighbor, from Delhi, the capital of the Great 
 Mogul, to the remotest hamlet. The ruins of 
 old* forts, seen every few miles ; the patriarchal 
 mode of living in families ; the clustering to- 
 gether of different castes in hamlets, and all 
 living in villages, — are facts which bear silent 
 witness to the state of the country when these 
 customs were first instituted. Public schools 
 and hospitals were then unknown. The Thugs 
 and bandits roamed over the country almost at 
 pleasure. The goddess Kali was appeased with 
 human sacrifices, widows were burned on the 
 funeral pile with the bodies of their husbands, 
 and the car of Jaganath had many victims. 
 
 “ The English by degrees stopped all this. 
 They did it by tricks and sophistry, you say. 
 Suppose they did : would it not have been 
 
THE MISSIONARY'S REPLY. 
 
 127 
 
 worse to conquer the country by war ? Would 
 you not rather be flattered than killed ? If you 
 should see two men fighting, would it not be 
 wiser for you to talk with them, and convince 
 them that it will be for their interest to stop 
 quarrelling and be friendly, and do as you tell 
 them hereafter, than to kill both, or pass on 
 and leave them fighting ? Of course, it would 
 be kind of you to get them to stop fighting 
 without bloodshed. That is what the English 
 have done and are doing for India. If they 
 use caste and different nationalities, and thus 
 save the expense of larger armies, all of which 
 you have to pay, either directly or indirectly, 
 you ought to be glad. As long as you must 
 have armies and a large police force to keep 
 India at peace, all ought to rejoice when the 
 number is small, and the expense comparatively 
 slight. 
 
 “ Again, you have heard that the English are 
 a bad people, and that, as they came like an 
 army of monkeys, so they will go. I fully 
 believe that they came because they were sent 
 by God ; and they will stay as long as they are 
 faithful in the discharge of their duties to 
 India, or until the Hindus are able and willing 
 
128 
 
 FROM DA RKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 to rule their own country in righteousness and 
 peace, with fear to God, and good-will to even 
 the lowest and the poorest subject. When 
 that happy day comes, the English will leave, 
 and not before. 
 
 “ That some of the English officials are bad, 
 I cannot deny, and it makes me both sad and 
 ashamed ; but all are not bad. There are only 
 a few, comparatively, who are very bad ; and 
 there are many good, just, noble, God-fearing 
 men among them. You all know that you 
 would much rather have these, or, in fact, almost 
 any Englishman, in preference to your own 
 countrymen, to decide your suits, and to hear 
 your petitions for redress. Why is this, but 
 because you have more faith in the justice and 
 kindness of the worst Englishman than in the 
 average Hindu ? In every shepherd’s flock, 
 there are some goats ; in every herd of cattle, 
 some buffaloes ; in every field of grain, some 
 bad heads. These bad men are bad, not be- 
 cause they are, but because they are not, Chris- 
 tians. The good and just Englishmen, whom 
 you know, are probably Christians, and pray to 
 the living God, as I do daily ; while the bad 
 pray not, but are like yourselves, without any 
 
THE MISSIONARY'S REPLY. 
 
 129 
 
 real God to guide, direct, and bless. They 
 plod along in the dark ; and, alas ! like many of 
 you, love not God, and regard not man, but 
 seek honor and wealth, and care but little how 
 they obtain them. 
 
 “Christianity is a personal religion. God 
 sent each one of us into the world separately. 
 So we probably will leave the world one by one ; 
 and one by one we shall all have to stand be- 
 fore God, and give an account of the deeds we 
 do in this life. Therefore missionaries have 
 nothing to do with the bad deeds of bad Eng- 
 lishmen. We preach to them as to you, — that 
 unless they repent, and believe in Jesus Christ, 
 the. world’s Saviour, and become pure in heart, 
 they can never see the kingdom of God. 
 
 “ Our pundit and priest both long for a return 
 of the good days gone by. But are you or they 
 certain that India really wants them ? I think 
 not. When was India in modern times ever so 
 happy and contented and wealthy as to-day? 
 What might have been in the remote past, in 
 the pre-historic ages, I cannot tell. The inhab- 
 itants might have been much less numerous 
 than now, and they may have lived near to God, 
 and obeyed him, and hence may have been very 
 
130 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 happy. But the India of historic times was 
 never so prosperous as now. Your proverb, 
 ‘ The lion and the goat quench their thirst at 
 the same brook, side by side,’ is now realized ; 
 for all classes are living in peace throughout 
 India, under the one gracious sovereign. 
 
 “The Mohammedans began their invasion of 
 India about the eighth century, and during the 
 next two hundred years made great conquests. 
 But they came not for the good of the Hindus : 
 their chief object was to propagate their own 
 religion. They forced the conquered Hindus 
 to say their prayers according to the Moham- 
 medan religion, which many did with their idols 
 under their arms. The cows, considered sacred 
 by the Hindus, were killed by the Moham- 
 medans in their temples, and pieces of the meat 
 were forced into the mouths of the Hindus. 
 Thousands of people were wantonly killed ; and 
 multitudes, how many no one can tell, were cir- 
 cumcised by force, and compelled to embrace 
 Islamism. On the other hand, if, by chance, 
 the Hindus gained a victory, they killed hogs 
 in the mosques of the Mohammedans, and be- 
 sprinkled them with the blood. Perhaps no 
 people has ever suffered so much as the Hindus 
 under Mohammedan rule. 
 
THE MISSIONARY'S REPLY. 1 3 I 
 
 “Now, do you want a repetition of this state 
 of affairs? Both Hindus and Mohammedans 
 claim India; and, should the English leave, you 
 would have wars and untold misery again. Only 
 last year, up in the Nizam’s territory, the Hin- 
 dus and Mohammedans had a quarrel, and defiled 
 each other’s sacred places, and government had 
 to send a strong force to restore order : so it 
 would be all over India. 
 
 “You call the English invaders, and so they 
 are. But were not the Hindus invaders? Did 
 they not take the country from the aborigines, 
 whose descendants are now the hill-tribes of 
 India ? and that the Mohammedans were in- 
 vaders, you all know well. Then, the country 
 did not, and does not, belong to the Hindus 
 alone, or to the Mohammedans especially. You 
 both have ruled until God took the kingdom 
 from you. It is now given to the English ; and 
 you have no reason to murmur or complain. 
 Nay, more : you ought to thank God, and pray 
 for a continuance of this happy rule. The Brit- 
 ish rulers generally do all they can to improve 
 the condition of the people, and make laudable 
 efforts for the proper administration of justice; 
 and, if they fail, it is due largely to the dishon- 
 
132 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 esty practised by native officers, and the worth- 
 lessness of the testimony of natives under oath. 
 Yes, now the poorest man, and the man of the 
 lowest caste, can secure a hearing as well as the 
 rich. I fear this is just what you don’t want : 
 but it is what God wants, and it must be ; you 
 cannot prevent what God ordains. Now, also, 
 every man lies down at night in his house, with 
 his wife and children about him, and, if he has 
 a bamboo stick at hand to drive away any stray 
 dog or snake, he feels perfectly safe. There are 
 schools now in almost every village, supported 
 in part or wholly by government, in which chil- 
 dren may learn to read ; and there are hospitals 
 in all the large towns, where the sick are treated 
 gratuitously. Roads, well kept, connect all the 
 principal towns. Policemen, well superintended, 
 patrol the highways, the towns, and the remot- 
 est hamlets. Post-offices are established every 
 few miles ; while telegraphic lines, railways, and 
 canals make the means for sending news to 
 friends, and of transporting your products to a 
 good market, comparatively easy. In religious 
 matters, every man can do as he chooses. He 
 may worship Vishnu, or Siva, or Mohammed, 
 or Jesus Christ. The English government does 
 
THE MISSIONARY'S REPLY. 
 
 133 
 
 not interfere with any man’s religion ; but all 
 may discuss different faiths, politely, as long 
 as they wish. Those that wish to hear may, 
 and those who do not can walk away. We 
 would not make Christians as the Mohammed- 
 ans made converts. We believe that we must 
 make known what the Christian religion is, and 
 that God, when he wants men to be Christians, 
 makes them such. Any other kind we do not 
 want. 
 
 “ Thus you see, my friends, that your meeting 
 to-day was unnecessary : you have been fighting 
 an imaginary evil or evils which did not exist. 
 Please go home, and think well of what I have 
 told you. In the mean time, if any of you wish 
 to inquire more about the Christian religion, 
 please come to my tent this evening or to- 
 morrow. Our native preachers and I will be 
 glad to talk with any one who is really anxious 
 to learn more about the true God.” 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 A HINDU FESTIVAL. 
 
 T the close of the missionary’s address, 
 the congregation soon scattered. Its 
 effect was evident. The Brahmins and 
 Mohammedans were angry with the missionary, 
 with those who invited him to speak, and with 
 the people for listening to him so attentively. 
 As to the common people, they hardly knew 
 what to think or say : few ventured to talk over 
 what they had heard, for they could not deny 
 the truth of what the missionary had said. Yet 
 each hesitated to admit this, since he feared he 
 would be laughed at by the other ; and ridicule 
 is something a Telugu cannot endure. This, or 
 the fear of some other mischief if he expressed 
 his honest opinion, kept Uppiah Naidu quiet 
 when Kristna Row and other Brahmins vowed 
 they would stop the spread of Christianity 
 
 >34 
 
A HINDU FESTIVAL. 
 
 135 
 
 although it cost a cart-load of rupees to gain 
 their end. 
 
 They could not single out Rungiah, and per- 
 secute him, or injure his friends in Ahmudala ; 
 because they knew that Seetama had interceded 
 for them, and that Uppiah Naidu and his 
 brother had promised them protection. But in 
 the village of Sullawar, only two miles beyond 
 Ahmudala, were some Christians ; and it was 
 decided that they should be watched, and, as 
 soon as they could be caught by any pretext, 
 should be made an example. This conversation 
 and plan did not please either Uppiah Naidu or 
 Babiah Naidu ; but they did not feel it their 
 duty to oppose any plans, however bad, which 
 could not harm either them or their friends. 
 They listened in silence, save a nasal sound 
 at the end of each sentence, which meant 
 they were listening to the talk of their Brah- 
 min villagers. 
 
 After Uppiah Naidu had reached home, and 
 had his bath and supper, Seetama, who was 
 anxious to hear the result of the meeting at 
 Kuspa, asked him what was done, or if they 
 reached any conclusion. He told her all, and 
 added, “ I cannot see where this is going to 
 
136 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 end.” Lukshmiah did not go to the meeting 
 at Kuspa. It was necessary for him to stay 
 at home, and take care of the crops ; but from 
 his father, Rungiah, Kristna Row, and others, 
 he received a very faithful report of what each 
 speaker said, and the result produced. 
 
 The time had now come when it was neces- 
 sary to prepare for the great festival held an- 
 nually about the 10th of March, at Podala, in 
 honor of Siva, called “ Siva Ratri,” or night of 
 Siva ; and this engrossed the attention of all. 
 This festival is in commemoration, some say, of 
 the distress and danger to the god Siva after 
 having swallowed the poison of the snake 
 Vasuki. Others say that many centuries ago a 
 mighty but wicked hunter went into the jungle 
 for the purpose of hunting, and in the night 
 climbed up a bael-tree (Aegle marmelos ) for 
 his safety. In order to make himself more 
 secure, he broke off the branches near him, and 
 threw them on the ground. They fell upon a 
 “lingam,” an idol emblematic of Siva, who 
 mistook this for an act of worship, and was so 
 pleased that he sent a chariot of fire to bring 
 the worshipper to the abode of the gods, there 
 to dwell forever. In commemoration of this, 
 
A HINDU FESTIVAL. 
 
 137 
 
 and in the hope that they his faithful wor- 
 shippers will receive like reward, the Hindus 
 of the Siva sect hold this great festival 
 annually, and sit up all night watching for the 
 chariot. 
 
 Besides this annual “ Siva Ratri ” festival, 
 the fourteenth night of the moon’s wane is 
 considered holy by all good Sivites. All the 
 members of the family bathe, and at night visit 
 the temple of Siva. A Brahmin pours water 
 over the idol, and decorates it with flowers. 
 He then reads over the thousand names of Siva, 
 and at each name the worshippers throw leaves 
 of the bael-tree on the lingam image. 
 
 The sect called Sivites worship Siva, or Ma- 
 hadeva, as the Supreme Being. The Vishnu- 
 vites do not give him that honor, but worship 
 Vishnu, in some of his mythical incarnations, 
 as their principal god ; and hence many at this 
 festival worship Narasimha, the fifth manifesta- 
 tion of Vishnu, according to Hindu mythology, 
 in the form of a man-lion. The story of this 
 incarnation runs thus : — 
 
 “ Two doorkeepers in the paradise of Vishnu 
 had neglected their duty, and were, in conse- 
 quence, sentenced to go down to earth, and be 
 
138 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 four times slain by Vishnu in contemporary in- 
 carnations. One of the two doorkeepers was 
 a monarch named Hiranya Casupa. He was 
 cruel, tyrannical, and unjust, and particularly 
 so towards his son Prahlada, who was meek, 
 devout, and a lover of good men. At a time 
 when this injustice had reached its climax, 
 Vishnu burst forth from one of the columns 
 in the tyrant’s palace, with the head of a man 
 and the body of a lion, and tore the tyrant in 
 pieces.” 
 
 Great preparations are made by the Telugus 
 to attend festivals. Should you inquire why 
 they go, or what good they expect to obtain 
 by going, you might receive as many different 
 answers as the number of persons you asked. 
 Some go thinking to escape sin ; others, to wor- 
 ship the idols, that they may gain their favor ; 
 others go to see the crowds who gather there, 
 to gaze at the women, and to have a good time : 
 but the great majority go because it is a cus- 
 tom which has come down from their fore- 
 fathers, and they have no inclination to break 
 away from long-established customs. 
 
 Seetama and Soobama were very busy for 
 days before the festival. All the jewelry be- 
 
A HINDU FESTIVAL. 
 
 139 
 
 longing to the family had to be cleaned, and the 
 best clothes got ready, not only for themselves, 
 but for their husbands and for all the chil- 
 dren. The day preceding the festival, food had 
 to be prepared in large quantities. This con- 
 sisted of cakes and dishes made of the flour of 
 different grains. Some kinds were made plain, 
 some were sweetened with sugar, and others 
 were mixed with spices. These were cooked 
 in clarified butter or cocoanut-oil. Such dishes 
 may be removed from the kitchen by the Hin- 
 dus, and eaten anywhere, provided no one of a 
 lower caste touches them. 
 
 The morning on which the festival began, all 
 attired themselves in their best clothes, and put 
 on all their jewelry not in common use, and, 
 with smiling, faces and apparently happy hearts, 
 started for Podala. The women and children 
 were in carts, drawn by milk-white bullocks ; 
 but the men walked, each with a substantial 
 bamboo stick in his hand. At the edge of the 
 village they were joined by fifty or more carts, 
 and hundreds of others on foot. As they 
 passed through other villages, or where other 
 roads intersected theirs, the procession was in- 
 creased to thousands. 
 
140 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 As soon as they reached the suburbs of Po- 
 dala, the procession from Ahmudala and that 
 side scattered, each caste taking under the 
 tamarind-trees a position favorable to seeing 
 and hearing. The trees protect them from the 
 heat by day, and from the dew by night. 
 About villages where festivals are held, large 
 orchards of mango and tamarind trees have 
 been set out. Under these trees thousands of 
 people in the dry, warm climate of South-east- 
 ern Hindustan may remain with considerable 
 comfort for days. 
 
 After Uppiah Naidu and his company had 
 taken up a position, and fed the bullocks, some 
 remained by the camp, while the majority pro- 
 ceeded to the tank to bathe. When bathing, 
 they repeated the name of some god. This cere- 
 mony being over, the more pious went to the 
 temple to worship the idol, and then returned 
 to their camp, when those who had remained 
 went away also to bathe and worship. Seetama, 
 who had staid at the camp, went and bathed ; 
 but, making some excuse to Mungama and 
 Soobama, she did not go to the temple to wor- 
 ship the god. She came to see, because it was 
 custom ; not to worship, as others did, and as 
 she had done in former years. 
 
A HINDU FESTIVAL. I4I 
 
 After refreshments had been served, Mun- 
 gama remained to watch the camp, and the rest 
 went off in groups to enjoy themselves. Thou- 
 sands of others were doing the same. What 
 a motley, noisy crowd ! Rich Brahmins, and 
 others in government employ, in holiday attire, 
 in palanquins, in coaches, and on foot, every 
 movement and look showing consciousness of 
 their full importance ; other castes in white 
 or dyed turbans and punchas, or long cloths 
 wrapped about their shoulders and loins, or with 
 coats and punchas according to the taste and 
 ability of the wearer, with staves or sticks in 
 their hands, some talking, some chanting or re- 
 peating the name of one of their gods, and 
 others calling as loudly as possible the name of 
 some child, or friend lost from sight, — pass to 
 and fro ; while begging fakirs, magicians, harle- 
 quins, and hawkers of sweetmeats and trinkets, 
 seem to be everywhere. 
 
 Women, also, are here in great numbers. 
 The men are fond of festivals ; but the women, 
 if possible, enjoy them more. The screening 
 of females from view by veils and close car- 
 riages, and in zenanas, is not customary in this 
 section, except by a few wealthy Mohammedans 
 
142 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 and a few Telugus here and there. The latter 
 adopted this custom during the Mohammedan 
 rule over India, on account of the bad and 
 irregular conduct of the Moslems; and it has 
 not yet been abandoned by all. The wealthy 
 and very high caste women generally remain 
 under the trees, singing, and gazing- at the 
 crowd ; but they stroll about occasionally to the 
 shops for trinkets and sweetmeats, and to see 
 the procession with the gods when it passes. 
 Most of the women are dressed in cotton, and 
 have on only a few pieces of jewelry ; but 
 others, and some of the children, are dressed in 
 fine silk of various colors, and wear belts of 
 silver around their waists, or gold chains 
 braided into their hair. Rings of the same 
 metals, sometimes set with gems, are in their 
 noses and ears, and around their wrists, ankles, 
 and toes. 
 
 Thus the first day of the festival passed 
 away. When evening came, the scene was 
 changed. Two gods, Nimiah and Nimabuk- 
 turalu, were to be married. These idols had 
 been made of clay for the occasion. The cere- 
 mony, the same as that used in marrying men 
 and women, was performed by a Brahmin 
 
A HINDU FESTIVAL. 
 
 143 
 
 priest. When this was over, the gods were put 
 in an open palanquin, and carried back and 
 forth through the streets all night : every few 
 rods the procession stopped for the display of 
 fire-works, and for the dancing-girls to dance 
 and sing, while the people worshipped the 
 images in the palanquin, and brought gifts to 
 them. 
 
 The second day the crowd increased in size ; 
 and two or three preachers came, with several 
 colportors, to talk when the preachers got 
 tired, and to sing hymns. The preachers took 
 a position in a conspicuous place, which they 
 changed occasionally ; while the colportors 
 went here and there among the crowd, offering 
 their books for sale. But little was going on, 
 as all were preparing for the coming night. 
 About seven o’clock in the evening, away in 
 the direction of the temples, there was a loud 
 sound of music, and shouts from many voices ; 
 and simultaneously the whole multitude started 
 in the direction of the noise. The priests' of 
 the god Siva, or Mahadeva, had brought him 
 out on a palanquin ; and the great night of Siva 
 Ratri began. 
 
 Siva, or Mahadeva (the great god), is said to 
 
144 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 be called by a thousand names. He is sup- 
 posed to be gigantic in size, of white or ashy 
 color, with a perpendicular eye in his forehead, - 
 which, when opened, emits destructive fire. 
 He is said to have a crescent moon on his fore- 
 head, and the goddess Gunga in his hair, which 
 is the source of the Ganges river. He wears 
 the hide of an elephant, and the skin of a tiger : 
 he bears a necklace of human skulls, and deadly 
 serpents are intwined around his arms. In his 
 hands he holds various emblems, the most con- 
 spicuous of which are the Shulamu, or trident, 
 and the strangulative cord : hence the epithet 
 “ Pasupati,” lord of life, is given to him. The 
 idol representing such a god, which was richly 
 adorned with jewelry of pure gold, caused great 
 excitement in the expectant multitude. The 
 people rushed so frantically to and fro to get a 
 sight of the god, and to worship it, that the 
 police, although out in full force, had much 
 difficulty to prevent accidents. The procession 
 at ‘last started, and was continued as was the 
 procession of the night before, except that 
 the crowd was larger, the dancing-girls more 
 numerous, the pyrotechnics grander, and the 
 worshippers, more zealous. 
 
A HINDU FESTIVAL. 
 
 145 
 
 In the early morning of the third day, the 
 idol Siva, or Mahadeva, was taken from the 
 palanquin, and placed upon the great wooden 
 car called in Telugu the Taroo, but generally 
 known in America and England as the car of 
 Jaganath, from the name the god Kristnah 
 bears at Pooree in Orissa, where the largest 
 and most holy temple to that god is located. 
 This car was now to be drawn until ten o’clock 
 in the forenoon, and then the festival for the 
 masses would be at an end : but, before it could 
 be moved, sacrifices must be made to evil 
 spirits and to rival gods ; for the people be- 
 lieved, that while Mahadeva, or Siva, was strong, 
 yet other gods could injure him. 
 
 A large lot of grain was cooked, and placed 
 in a heap near the car ; a sheep was killed, 
 and its blood poured upon the heap ; incense 
 was burnt, and muntras were said, praying the 
 other gods and evil spirits to accept the sacri- 
 fice they had made to them, and not to be jeal- 
 ous and injure them, or break the car, on 
 account of the honor they were giving to Siva. 
 
 Up to this time Uppiah Naidu, Lukshmiah, 
 and Seetama had been simply lookers-on. But 
 Uppiah Naidu and Lukshmiah were highly ex- 
 
146 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 cited ; and, forgetting all they had heard about 
 idols and the folly of worshipping them, they, 
 with the masses, were carried away, and bowed 
 down in worship to Mahadeva as he sat upon 
 the car. Not so with Seetama, who turned 
 away, and soon after, seeking an excuse, went 
 to the camp under the friendly tree. 
 
 After the incense had been burnt to the evil 
 spirits, the three Brahmin priests who minister 
 continually to Mahadeva, a carpenter to repair 
 any damages, a vestal dancing-girl to sing to 
 the god and soothe him, and a government 
 policeman to keep order, mounted the car, and 
 took their seats behind the image. 
 
 The wheels of the car, six in number, were 
 made of thick wooden planks spiked together, 
 and were perhaps eight feet in diameter. On 
 the top of these, there was a framework about 
 twenty feet long by ten feet wide. On this 
 platform was a pyramidal tower about twenty 
 feet high, the top of which was covered with 
 red and yellow cloth. A large cable rope, four 
 inches in diameter, and two or three hundred 
 feet in length, was attached to the axle-tree of 
 the car, and passed out along the road in the 
 direction they would go. 
 
A HINDU FESTIVAL. 
 
 M 7 
 
 At the appointed time the managing Brahmin 
 cried out, “ It is now time for the car of the 
 Supreme Lord to move. Draw the car of Ma- 
 hadeva.” At this’a thousand willing men, and 
 among them Uppiah Naidu and Lukshmiah, laid 
 hold of the cable ; and, each crying to Siva, 
 “ Please let the car come ! Help to make it 
 move ! If you do not give permission it will 
 not come ! ” pulled with all their strength. 
 There was a deafening noise of music, shouting, 
 and praying, a creaking of the wheels and shak- 
 ing of the frame of the old car, and it began to 
 move. During the whole time of the proces- 
 sion the car was stopped every few rods, when 
 incense was burned, and the people rushed 
 around it in crowds, and, throwing into it 
 bundles of betel-nuts, and the spicy leaves of 
 the chavica-betel, and other offerings, fell down 
 and worshipped Mahadeva, the so-called Lord 
 of the universe. 
 
 As one set of men wearied, others took their 
 places. Though the Telugus in this region are 
 generally a temperate people, those who drew 
 the car of Jaganath indulged freely for the 
 time in arrack, and smoked bhang, and ate 
 opium ; and, long before the time arrived to 
 
I48 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 return the car to its wonted place, the excite- 
 ment of the multitude was great, while many 
 were in a frenzy ; and some, no doubt, had it 
 not been for the strong police-guard always 
 near the car when it moved, would have thrown 
 themselves under the wheels, as their ancestors 
 frequently did. But I need not write more. 
 The return of the car, and the scattering of 
 the multitude to their homes, can be better 
 imagined than described. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 DOUBTS AND FEARS. 
 
 S soon as the car was in its accustomed 
 place, Uppiah Naidu and his company 
 partook of refreshments ; but, as they 
 were all much fatigued, they lay down in the 
 shade of the tamarind-tree under which they 
 had encamped, and slept soundly until four 
 o’clock in the afternoon, when they all started 
 for home, where they expected to arrive about 
 dark. Lukshmiah asked his father’s permission 
 to go on before as fast as he could, and arrange 
 for their suppers, and see if the cows, buffaloes, 
 and goats had been properly herded and cared 
 for by the servant who had been left in charge 
 of the premises during the festival. 
 
 Lukshmiah walked rapidly on ; but, before he 
 had gone far, he overtook Rungiah and one or 
 two other Christians from Sullawar who had 
 
 149 
 
150 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 been to the festival to assist the native 
 preachers. As Rungiah was of the same 
 village as Lukshmiah, they all walked on to- 
 gether; and soon the conversation turned upon 
 the festival. Rungiah was much interested in 
 Lukshmiah. He had known him ever since he 
 was a child. He had always been kind and 
 considerate, much like Seetama his mother. 
 Since his conversion Rungiah had often talked 
 to Lukshmiah about Jesus and heaven ; and 
 he felt very sad when he saw him helping 
 to draw the car during the festival, and after- 
 wards bowing down to the idol Siva. So, as 
 soon an opportunity presented itself, he said to 
 Lukshmiah, — 
 
 “ I think I saw you worshipping the god this 
 morning ; did I not ? ” 
 
 Lukshmiah felt tired and nervous, and some- 
 what troubled in conscience : hence his answer 
 was not very assuring. 
 
 “Yes, I did worship Mahadeva to-day: what 
 harm was there in that ? Is he not the Lord of 
 the universe ? Is he not the Destroyer ? If 
 we can gain his favor by worshipping him, 
 should we not do so ?.” 
 
 “ O Lukshmiah ! Lukshmiah ! why do you 
 
DOUBTS AND FEARS. I 5 I 
 
 talk thus ? I hoped that you had abandoned 
 the worship of idols. Do you not know that 
 the image you worshipped has no life or 
 knowledge or strength ?. I have often told 
 you this, Lukshmiah ; and I thought both you 
 and your mother had abandoned the worship of 
 false gods. Yes, I hoped for more, — even 
 that you were beginning to believe in Jesus.” 
 
 “ Stop, stop,” said Lukshmiah : “ I am not a 
 Christian. Did you not always worship Siva, 
 until a few months ago ? Why, then, do you 
 blame me for worshipping as I have every year 
 since I can remember ? Our ancestors wor- 
 shipped thus, and I am but a youth. What do 
 I know ? I have always been told that our 
 Mahadeva is really the great God, that his 
 three eyes indicate his three views of time, — 
 the past, the present, and the future ; that 
 the crescent on his forehead portrays the 
 measure of time by the phases of the moon ; 
 that the serpent which forms the necklace 
 denotes the measure of time by the year ; 
 that the second necklace of human skulls 
 indicates the lapse and revolution of ages, and 
 the extinction and succession of the generation 
 of mankind ; his body is decked with serpents, 
 
152 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 emblems of immortality and eternity ; the rope 
 is to bind offenders ; while the trident indicates 
 that he is the Creator, the Preserver, and the 
 Destroyer of the universe. If this is true, why 
 do we need other gods ? ” 
 
 “ I am an uneducated man, you know,” said 
 Rungiah. “ I cannot argue with you, neither 
 can I answer your questions ; but I do not think 
 that Siva has the attributes his followers ascribe 
 to him. In fact, I do not believe that there is 
 any being which corresponds with Siva in the 
 universe. I worshipped him for long years, 
 from the earliest days of my remembrance 
 until a few months ago. I am now getting old, 
 my hair is turning gray. I do not think that 
 Siva ever did me any good. He never took 
 away my sorrow when my children died. He 
 never made me feel that the sins I have com- 
 mitted had been taken away ; and he never 
 gave me peace in my mind, or real happiness, 
 such as I now enjoy.” 
 
 “Well, come, Rungiah, let us change the 
 conversation. We must hurry home,” said 
 Lukshmiah. 
 
 “But will you not promise to think of what 
 I have said, and of what preacher Obulu told 
 you a few, weeks ago?” asked Rungiah. 
 
DOUBTS AND FEARS. 
 
 153 
 
 “When Obulu preached,” replied Lukshmiah, 
 “ I did think something of your religion ; but 
 after he left I soon forgot what he said. Your 
 God has not given me the mind yet to leave our 
 old and honored religion, made sacred by a thou- 
 sand remembrances. If he does, then I may 
 believe in Jesus as you request ; but I cannot 
 now : so do not trouble me any more. Others 
 may heed you, I cannot.” 
 
 “ But, Lukshmiah, are you going to give up 
 all hope of heaven as you have heard it de- 
 scribed ? Is your mother feeling as you do ? ” 
 asked Rungiah anxiously. 
 
 “ I do not know how my mother feels,” said 
 Lukshmiah; “but I have told you I do not want 
 to talk any more on the subject, so let us stop.” 
 “Well, I will; but allow me to pray to my 
 God to give you light, and reveal himself to 
 you : will you not ? ” said Rungiah. 
 
 “Yes, you may pray for me as much as you 
 like,” said Lukshmiah, “if you will only stop 
 talking now.” 
 
 Lukshmiah’s conscience troubled him. He 
 had, in the excitement at Podala, worshipped 
 the idol with more enthusiasm than he intended. 
 He did not yet wish to forsake all idolatry, but 
 
154 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 meant to worship Mahadeva just enough to 
 keep the god, if it was a god, from being angry, 
 and enough to satisfy his villagers that he was 
 not a Christian, even if he was friendly to 
 Christians. 
 
 As the crops had all been gathered before 
 the Siva Ratri festival, there was not much 
 work to do on the farm, save to feed the stock, 
 and draw the ashes which had accumulated 
 during the year to the fields for dressing. But 
 this work, and attending the marriages which 
 usually take place between the first of April 
 and the first of July, are enough, considering 
 the extreme heat of the hot season, when the 
 thermometer often stands for weeks as high as 
 a hundred and twelve degrees in the shade at 
 noon, and sometimes at a hundred degrees at 
 midnight. 
 
 About the first of July the south-west trade- 
 winds, which usually begin about the middle of 
 May, bring rain in sufficient quantities to ena- 
 ble cultivators to commence sowing the fields. 
 But in the year 1876, of which we are writing, 
 the rains failed to come at the usual time. Days 
 and weeks passed, and yet there was no sign of 
 rain. The people of Ahmudala and thousands 
 
DOUBTS AND BEADS. 
 
 155 
 
 of other villages became alarmed. Babiah Nai- 
 du and Kristna Row called a public meeting to 
 take into consideration what should be done to 
 appease the gods, and induce them to send the 
 much-needed rain. 
 
 The meeting was largely attended. Several 
 speeches were made. Some thought that they 
 had not been devoted enough to their village 
 deities ; and that these, being angry, did not 
 allow the rains to come. Others thought the 
 fault was in allowing the Christians to remain 
 in Ahmudala, and urged that Rungiah and his 
 friends be made to return to their former gods, 
 or else to leave. But, before the meeting ended, 
 it was decided, that as Polarumma, the goddess 
 of small-pox, malignant diseases, and other evils, 
 had had no festival in her honor for two or three 
 years, probably she was doing the mischief. 
 They therefore agreed to make a special festival 
 to this goddess. Each head of a family was to 
 provide a pair of bullocks and a cart (the top to 
 be covered with red and yellow cloth), and a 
 sheep, and some grain and incense, and to be 
 ready to join in procession to Polarumma’s shrine 
 on the morning of the third day ; and the meet- 
 ing broke up. 
 
156 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 The next day the grain and sheep and incense 
 were prepared ; and at the appointed time all 
 Ahmudala, except the very old, the sick, young 
 infants, and the Christians, were ready. In the 
 carts, besides the grain and sheep which each 
 family contributed, were all the children of the 
 household ; for they hoped that when the god- 
 dess saw these she would have compassion on 
 them, and forgive more readily the neglect of 
 the parents. When the procession reached the 
 shrine, they moved in a large circle three times 
 around it. Music of various kinds preceded the 
 carts. When these circuits had been made, 
 the grain was taken out of the carts, and poured 
 in heaps about the idol. The sheep were sacri- 
 ficed before it, and incense burnt in profusion. 
 Then the children were brought, who prostrated 
 themselves before the goddess, and begged her 
 to forgive their parents, and send them rain, 
 and give them crops, that they might not die of 
 hunger. Finally the men and women fell down 
 before the idol, their foreheads touching th**- 
 ground, and prayed the goddess to cease being 
 angry and to give them rain ; and many of them 
 further promised, that, if she would give them 
 rain and good crops this year, next year they 
 
DOUBTS AND FEATS. 
 
 157 
 
 would make a two-days’ festival to her, and sac- 
 rifice two sheep and twice as much grain, and 
 burn twice as much intense, as they had that 
 day. 
 
 The people went home, and waited anxiously 
 for rain ; but alas! it did not come. Festivals 
 were made to Gungama, the goddess of water, 
 and to other gods and goddesses ; but the sun 
 continued as before to rise day by day like a 
 ball of fire, and to pour its scorching rays upon 
 the already parched and thirsty earth, and to set 
 in a cloudless sky. 
 
 Months passed. The time for the north-east 
 monsoon came, when all confidently expected 
 an abundance of rain, and good crops of some 
 kinds of grain which matured quickly. But the 
 monsoon came not. “ The living God,” said a 
 native preacher at this time to his congregation 
 in Ongole, “ has come with his chastening rod 
 to punish his idol-worshipping children, and has 
 already locked up the rain-clouds in his go- 
 downs, and has put the keys in his pocket.” 
 
 “ The brilliant lustre of the diamond lake, 
 
 The emerald greenness of the waving fields, 
 
 The shady groves, and pleasant cottage grounds, 
 And all the beauties of the happy vale, 
 

 158 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 Soon vanished imperceptibly, as if 
 Some unconsuming furnace underneath 
 Had baked the earth, and rendered it all bare, 
 
 Until its inmates wandered desolate, 
 
 With hollow cheeks, sunk eyes, and haggard faces, 
 Like walking skeletons pasted o’er with skin.” 
 
 The hearts of brave, strong men began to 
 fail them ; and some of the pious, even, began 
 to doubt the favor of God. An awful famine 
 was inevitable. 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 PERSECUTED FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS SAKE. 
 
 T will be remembered that Kristna Row 
 and other Brahmins went home from 
 the public meeting at Kuspa breathing 
 vengeance against the Christians, and that the 
 family living in Sullawar had been singled out 
 for persecution. The unregenerate Telugu can 
 wait patiently for months or even years, if 
 necessary, to carry out a scheme to thwart and 
 humble an adversary, and in the mean time can 
 smile and chat pleasantly with his victims. No 
 cat or tiger playing tenderly with the poor 
 creature which it is about to devour can excel 
 in duplicity an ordinary Brahmin. 
 
 Bodiah and his family, which consisted of 
 himself, wife, and two grown-up sons, Narasu 
 and Chinna Narasu, with their families, were 
 happy and thankful, notwithstanding the lack 
 
 »59 
 
i6o 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 of rain. Why should they not be ? God had 
 years before, through faithful native preachers, 
 showed them the way of life, and given them 
 new hearts ; and the love of sin and idolatry had 
 given place to a real living faith in Christ Jesus 
 as their Saviour, and zeal for his cause. All 
 things had indeed become new to them. They 
 owned about thirty acres of land, and as many 
 bullocks, cows, and buffaloes as they needed. 
 On the farm there was a well which supplied 
 water sufficient to irrigate several acres ; and 
 thus, by means of their bullocks and pulleys, 
 they were enabled to raise quite a crop when 
 the fields all about were dry and parched. They 
 had built a small schoolhouse, which also served 
 them for a place of worship on Sundays, and 
 supported a school-teacher at their own ex- 
 pense ; and they hoped to be able, not only to 
 live through the famine themselves by means 
 of their well, but to continue to care for the 
 teacher, and to save their stock from perish- 
 ing. 
 
 By January, 1877, the old supply of grain 
 was generally exhausted, and all kinds of labor 
 suspended. When any grain was for sale, it 
 could be had for cash only, and at famine 
 
FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS ' SAKE. l6l 
 
 prices. Bands of dacoits roamed over the 
 country, and took what they could find, using 
 force when necessary. A man in Sullawar, of 
 the shepherd caste, folded his sheep near the 
 Christians’ hamlet. He had collected about 
 thirty bushels of grain, and buried it in a pit 
 near his sheep-fold, and at night would take his 
 cot, and put it over the pit, and sleep there, 
 watching his flock and his grain at the same 
 time. The bandits heard of this deposit of 
 grain, and some thirty of them came after it. 
 They caught the poor shepherd, stuck a cloth 
 in his mouth, tied his hands behind his back, 
 threw him down, and then, placing the cot over 
 him, one of the party quietly sat down upon it, 
 while the rest unearthed the grain. Early the 
 next morning the news of this robbery was all 
 over Sullawar, and had reached Ahmudala. 
 
 “ Now is our time,” said Kristna Row to 
 some of his intimate friends. “ The gods are 
 on our side, and we shall stop the spread of 
 this unbearable religion of the English.” 
 
 He hastened to the tank, and bathed, and 
 said his muntras, then went to the temple, and 
 bowed to Ramaswamy and Lukshmanaswamy, 
 and, taking two or three other Brahmins vVith 
 him, started for Sullawar. 
 
1 62 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 “ Now is the time,” said he to the Brahmin 
 kurnam of Sullawar, “to take our revenge. We 
 can now punish the Christians in your village, 
 and teach them better than to abandon the 
 gods of their fathers ; and we shall strike fear 
 into the hearts of all who are thinking about 
 the new religion throughout all this region.” 
 
 “ It is good, it is good,” said the Sullawar 
 kurnam. “ Your suggestion pleases me. I am 
 exceedingly annoyed with the Christian Bodiah 
 and his sons. When they see me approaching, 
 because I am a Brahmin and the kurnam of 
 Sullawar, and they only tanners by caste, you 
 know they should step to the leeward side of 
 the road, and take off their sandals, then put 
 the palms of their hands together, and raise 
 them to their foreheads until I pass by. But 
 they refuse to do this, and will only make their 
 salaams to me as to an equal. They have also 
 built a schoolhouse, and have got a teacher 
 from Ongole, and some fifteen of their children 
 are going to school every day. Such conduct 
 cannot be endured much longer, and I hail any 
 plan to stop the spread of this hateful sect. 
 But what is your plan ? I had almost forgotten 
 the probable necessity of haste.” 
 
FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS' SAKE. 1 63 
 
 “ Well,” said Kristna Row, “ dacoits carried 
 off the grain of shepherd Cotiah, I hear.” 
 
 “Yes; but what has that to do with Bodiah 
 and his sons ? ” asked the kurnam. 
 
 “ Much,” replied Kristna Row. 
 
 “I don’t see that,” rejoined the other; “for 
 everybody here knows that Bodiah and his sons 
 are honest men. Even when they were of our 
 religion, they were never charged with stealing. 
 You must get some other plan.” 
 
 “ My plan is good,” said Kristna Row; “and 
 if you help me, it will work, and work nicely, 
 else I am not a Brahmin.” 
 
 “Rama! Rama!” ejaculated the kurnam of 
 Sullawar. “Tell me your plan. I will help 
 you all I can. Your words give me confi- 
 dence.” 
 
 “We will go to the shepherd Cotiah,” said 
 Kristna Row, “ and persuade him to complain 
 to the police at once, and to testify that he 
 recognized Narasu and his brother, the sons of 
 the Christian Bodiah, as among the dacoits. 
 When the sergeant and inspector of police 
 from Podala come, we shall speak to them, and 
 they will readily indorse our plan. Afterwards 
 we will quietly get the sub-Tahsildar at Podala, 
 
164 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 who will try the case, to put it off indefinitely. 
 The sub-jail at Podala is full, therefore the 
 prisoners will have to be put in stocks out 
 doors ; and there we will teach them by the 
 month not to disgrace our gods and insult 
 Brahmins.” 
 
 “ But will not the missionary at Ongole soon 
 bring this nice plan to nought, and cause us to 
 get punished ourselves ? We must be careful,” 
 said the kurnam. 
 
 “I have thought of all that,” said Kristna 
 Row. “ The missionary at Ongole is now very 
 busy, — so Bodiah told me, — and cannot leave 
 home. He has taken a large contract to dig on 
 the canal, and is collecting all the poor Chris- 
 tians and others, and giving them work. Be- 
 sides this, the sub-collector will not now try any 
 such cases as this will be. He is busy trav- 
 elling, and laying out roads for relief-works. 
 Moreover, the best part of my plan is this : 
 When the missionary hears that Bodiah’s sons 
 have been put in jail for dacoity, he will be 
 very angry. He is a very strict man ; and, if 
 any one steals or robs, he will not have them 
 about any more. When he hears that Bodiah’s 
 sons have robbed, he will cast them all off ; and 
 
FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS' SANE. 
 
 165 
 
 then we will punish them until we are satisfied. 
 When it is known that the missionary has aban- 
 doned them, they will beg and plead until we 
 intercede with the sub-Tahsildar to let them 
 go ; and that will be the end of the Christians, 
 and we shall live and be honored as were our 
 worthy sires.” 
 
 “ But, should this case be called by the sub- 
 collector, by whom can we prove that Bodiah’s 
 sons were among the dacoits ? ” asked the 
 kurnam. 
 
 “ Leave that to me,” replied Kristna Row. 
 “ The shepherd Cotiah will swear that he rec- 
 ognized them. I shall get Uppiah Naidu and 
 Lukshmiah, who last night came home from 
 Agraharum, to swear that they saw some men 
 running, and that they recognized Bodiah’s sons 
 among the others.” 
 
 “ Will they swear to this ? ” asked the 
 kurnam. 
 
 “Of course they will,” said Kristna Row. 
 “ Is it not a common cause to all good 
 Telugus ? ” 
 
 The plan thus arranged was carried out to 
 the letter. The houses of the Christians were 
 searched, and they were taken to Podala. A 
 
1 66 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 form of inquiry was gone through with by the 
 police ; and, as there was no room in the jail, 
 their feet were placed in a log of wood, hewed 
 out for the purpose in the open yard, to await 
 their trial. Here, along with a hundred others 
 who were guilty of all manner of crimes, ex- 
 posed to the heat of the sun by day and the 
 cold dews and chilling winds by night, with 
 neither bed nor blanket, with scanty garments 
 to cover their bodies, they had to bear witness 
 for Jesus as did the Apostle Paul. Right well 
 they acquitted themselves. They sang of Jesus 
 and his love ; they did not murmur, but they 
 cast their burden on Him who cared for them ; 
 and they exhorted all their fellow-prisoners to 
 repent, and believe in the one true and living 
 God. 
 
 The story of the wrong which the Brahmins 
 had done was soon known to all the prisoners 
 and to many others ; and no little pity was 
 felt for Narasu and his brother. But the 
 Brahmin’s heart knows no pity. Day by day 
 the sub-Tahsildar passed by in sight of the 
 prisoners, and yet no trial was ordered. The 
 kurnams of Ahmudala and Sullawar, and other 
 Brahmins and Mohammedans, and some Sudras, 
 
FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS' SAKE. 
 
 1 67 
 
 would tauntingly ask the Christians sitting in 
 the stocks, — 
 
 “ Well, how about your schoolhouse now ? 
 Will you now let the sacred tuft of hair grow 
 on your head ? Will you return to the gods of 
 your fathers ? Will you worship us Brah- 
 mins ? ” 
 
 To these and many other taunts and insults 
 those two noble young men for four and "a half 
 long months heroically replied, — 
 
 “ We have done no fault. We only Believe 
 in the God who created us, preserves us, and 
 died to save us. We have not yet suffered so 
 much as he did for us. You know not what 
 you are doing. Your master, the Devil, makes 
 you do very bad things. May God open your 
 eyes to see what you are doing ! As for us, 
 although you kill us, or keep us here until we 
 die, we can not, we will not, give up our religion, 
 and forsake our Lord and blessed Saviour, to 
 worship gods of wood and stone and metal as 
 you do.” 
 
 The father did all in his power for his sons. 
 He went to Ongole, and the missionary joined 
 with him in writing petitions, begging that the 
 Christians in Podala might have a trial ; but 
 
1 68 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 the Brahmins had determined that there should 
 be no trial, and they well-nigh succeeded. 
 
 At last the sub-Tahsildar of Podala was re- 
 moved. The man who came in his stead could 
 not be either bribed or flattered by ordinary 
 means. The Christians were called ; but, as 
 he did not have authority to try so serious a 
 case, they were sent to Ongole. Kristna Row 
 and the kurnam of Sullawar did their best to 
 get witnesses. Among others called, were 
 Uppiah Naidu and Lukshmiah. The witnesses 
 were all taught what they should say in court. 
 When they were instructing Lukshmiah, he 
 said to Kristna Row, — 
 
 “ What harm have Bodiah’s sons done ? I 
 know of nothing, except that they have believed 
 in the living God. Is that a crime to be pun- 
 ished ? ” 
 
 “What!” said Kristna Row, “will you also 
 join with them ? Their new religion is a vain 
 thing. It makes them proud and lazy and inso- 
 lent. They now talk as though they were our 
 equals. They despise our gods. They violate 
 the customs which our ancestors established, 
 and which are sacred. Will you allow this ? 
 Are not you angry ? ” 
 
FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS' SAKE. 
 
 169 
 
 Lukshmiah replied that Bodiah and his sons 
 had believed in the true God, and he had 
 blessed them ; and that he could not question 
 their right to feel as they did. He knew no 
 evil of them. 
 
 After this an attempt was made to keep * 
 Lukshmiah from going as a witness to Ongole, 
 but nevertheless he went. When the case was 
 called, some witnesses said that on the night of 
 the robbery they saw Narasu and his brother 
 running; and others, that they saw them with 
 grain : but the witnesses so broke down on 
 cross-examination that their testimony was 
 worthless. Uppiah Naidu said that he had 
 known the prisoners since their childhood, and 
 had never heard any evil of them. When 
 Lukshmiah was called, he told the sub-judge 
 the whole plan, and how the police-sergeant 
 and Kristna Row and others had tried to get 
 him to swear falsely ; and concluded by saying 
 that he believed the prisoners honest and good 
 men. 
 
 The evidence was all forwarded to the judge, 
 an English gentleman in Nellore ; and he dis- 
 missed the case. Afterwards Bodiah and his 
 sons brought a suit for false imprisonment and 
 
170 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 libel against the shepherd who had brought the 
 groundless charge to please the Brahmins and 
 enemies of Christianity, and obtained pay for 
 all the time they were imprisoned, and for all 
 the losses which they had sustained. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 THE GREAT FAMINE. 
 
 PPIAH NAIDU and his brothers had 
 several large wells on their farms ; 
 and, as these were only a few feet 
 deep, they could irrigate enough ground to 
 give them subsistence. Some others here and 
 there had similar wells ; but to millions in 
 South-eastern India, New Year’s, 1877, was a 
 sad day. It was made sadder to thinking men 
 from the fact that Mr. Disraeli — afterwards 
 Lord Beaconsfield — and his party had selected 
 it as the day to proclaim the Queen of England 
 Empress of India ; and preparations for Durbars 
 and parades and salutes and balls and pyrotech- 
 nics at Delhi and other large cities had been 
 made on a scale of splendor heretofore un- 
 known, even in this land of kings and nabobs. 
 Money was spent in profusion. But, while the 
 
 171 
 
172 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 few were feasting, millions were gathering roots 
 and leaves to eat, with the almost certain pros- 
 pect of death at an early day by starvation, or 
 by diseases brought on by want and improper 
 food. Better counsels soon prevailed at the 
 government-houses in Madras and Calcutta ; 
 and, by the 1st of February, relief-works on a 
 large scale were started in various parts of the 
 famine-stricken country. 
 
 Rungiah and the other Christians of Ahmu- 
 dala, and many others, heard that the mission- 
 aries at Ongole had contracted to dig a portion 
 of the Buckingham Canal, in order to give work 
 to Christians and others in need ; and they hast- 
 ened off to Ongole and Camp Razupalum, eight 
 miles beyond, nearer the sea. Before he left, 
 Rungiah went to bid Seetama and her family 
 good-by. Uppiah Naidu was glad that a way 
 had been opened for Rungiah to live, and said 
 that perhaps Lukshmiah, and some of the other 
 young men of the village, might be glad to get 
 work at Ongole after a little. 
 
 Lukshmiah was sorry to have Rungiah go. 
 He longed to go with him to the canal, — 
 though he hardly knew why, — and asked him 
 to send him word frequently how he got on, 
 and what the chances were for work. 
 
THE GREAT FAMINE. 
 
 173 
 
 “ I think your God is going to deliver you, 
 Rungiah,” said Seetama. “ Our gods have all 
 failed us. I shall never worship them again. 
 If your God does not pity us, and give us rain 
 and food, we shall die. He is our only hope. 
 May your God care for you, Rungiah ! Think 
 of us sometimes, and pity us.” 
 
 “ I believe my God will take care of me and 
 my little ones,” said Rungiah. “ Be sure that 
 I shall call upon him, and be faithful to him. 
 But O Seetama ! if you and your husband and 
 son Lukshmiah would only believe as I do, I 
 should be very happy.” 
 
 “ We may believe yet,” said Seetama. But 
 here Soobama and Babiah Naidu came within 
 hearing distance, and the conversation had to 
 stop, because of late both the moonsiff, Babiah 
 Naidu, and Soobama had become more bitter 
 against the Christian religion. Distress and 
 horrid sights and dark prospects seemed to be 
 used to lead some to renounce idols, and to 
 seek for truth and light, while the hearts of 
 others grew harder every day. 
 
 When Rungiah’s company reached the camp 
 on the canal, they were very weak, and scarcely 
 able to drag themselves along ; but a few days 
 
i/4 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 of proper, wholesome food, and the prospect of 
 abundance of work at a good price, put new life 
 into the whole company. After the work had 
 been going on a few days, the contractor called 
 Rungiah and a number of the trustworthy 
 Christians, and told them that he thought there 
 might be a great number of Christians and 
 others in their villages and among their ac- 
 quaintance who were not able to collect food 
 enough to last them while on the road to the 
 canal. 
 
 “Others also,” he said, “may not know of 
 our work here, and others yet may be afraid to 
 come to us ; for I hear that bad and foolish men 
 are spreading all kinds of reports about us and 
 the object of this kindness which you have ex- 
 perienced, and which you know to be of God. 
 I want each of you, therefore, to take some 
 money, and go back to your villages, and give 
 to all who are anxious to come here to work 
 money to pay their expenses while coming. 
 Urge all to come ; and, if there are any too old 
 or too weak to work, bring them also, and we 
 will take care of them. But first talk with the 
 preachers, who are now your overseers here, 
 and learn all about the work and the benefits of 
 
THE GREAT FAMINE. 
 
 175 
 
 coming, and the probability of death by star- 
 vation to all poor people who do not come ; and 
 then you can answer all the questions which 
 will be asked.” 
 
 In a few hours thirty or more men might 
 have been seen hurrying away to their native 
 villages. As soon as Rungiah reached Ahmu- 
 dala, he went to see Uppiah Naidu and Seetama. 
 They were glad to see him, and asked him to 
 sit down, and tell them all about the work he 
 had been doing, and what he thought of it ; 
 “ for,” said Seetama, “ we have heard awful 
 stories of what the government and the mis- 
 sionaries are going to do after a while.” 
 
 “ What stories have you heard ? ” asked Run- 
 giah. 
 
 “ Many stories,” said Seetama. “ One was, 
 that, as soon as they have enticed all the young 
 men and women they can to these works, they 
 are going to send steamers up the coast to a 
 place opposite the camps, and then send all the 
 men off to England to be soldiers, and the 
 women to be slaves.” 
 
 “ Well, that is one good story : what else have 
 you heard ? ” asked Rungiah. 
 
 “ Oh ! plenty of others,” said Seetama. “ Lis- 
 
176 FROM DARKLESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 ten, and be patient. Some say that your mis- 
 sionary is going to make all who go to the 
 canal break their caste ; and others think that 
 by some enchantment or mantras, he is going 
 to make them all Christians. We have heard 
 that the gentlemen on the canal have dug a 
 great many graves ; and that when the proper 
 time comes they will kill all the people, and 
 thus make room for Englishmen to settle in 
 India. It is also reported that the steam- 
 engine, one of the goddesses of the English, is 
 angry because she has been made to pull such 
 big loads of grain for the famine-stricken dis- 
 tricts, and that she refuses to work until some 
 little girls are sacrificed to her. They say that 
 the government has sent secret officers to hunt 
 up some pure and beautiful girls for this offer- 
 ing. Many have kept their girls locked up 
 during the night, for fear of those agents who 
 are supposed to come at night, and to give 
 stupefying drugs to the girls, and then lead 
 them away.” 
 
 “Well, well, I am astonished,” said Rungiah. 
 “ These stories are enough. Here are the 
 facts : You and our people generally cannot 
 understand our missionaries, and the motives 
 
THE GREAT FAMINE. 
 
 I 77 
 
 which actuate our rulers. Hindus, educated 
 according to their religion, cannot understand 
 Christians, who act according to our Bible, 
 which is the book of God, any more than a 
 blind man can understand about the beauties 
 of nature. They judge others according to 
 their own selfish, evil hearts. No, no ! Our 
 missionaries are not new people. They have 
 lived in Ongole for many years. Some of their 
 children are now here, and my little girl had a 
 good play with them the other day when I was 
 in Ongole. They came out here because they 
 love us. Just think, when they came back to 
 Ongole three years ago, they left their oldest 
 boy and oldest girl in America, because they 
 could not be educated here. They are doing 
 all they can to save the lives of the people, 
 because of this love. They are doing just as 
 their religion teaches them to do. Did not 
 Jesus come down to this world because he 
 loved us ? Then, why should not these mis- 
 sionaries do as their Master did ? ” 
 
 “ But what about government ? ” said Uppiah 
 Naidu. 
 
 Why, I think I have heard the preachers 
 say that government is doing just as a wise, 
 
178 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 good shepherd would do,” answered Rungiah. 
 “ He would save the lives of his flock at almost 
 any cost, because he loves them, because it is 
 his duty to do so, and because by them he gets 
 his living. If the sheep all die, he and his 
 children would starve. So, if the government 
 lets its people die, in what condition will the 
 rulers be ? And then the work they are get- 
 ting done, I have been told, will pay good in- 
 terest on the money spent in a short time. 
 Then, instead of doubting the missionaries and 
 government because they are kind and consid- 
 erate, all should thankfully accept the provision 
 they have made, and live.” 
 
 Rungiah then told in detail of the work on 
 the canal, which altogether was about one hun- 
 dred miles in length, and of the vast multitudes 
 of coolies engaged in it. Then he spoke of the 
 camp at Razupalum, established by the mis- 
 sionaries, where there were over five hundred 
 huts made of bamboo-poles and palmyra-leaves, 
 and upwards of three thousand coolies, besides 
 old men and women and small children who 
 were supported gratuitously. “ All is kept in 
 perfect order,” he said, “by the missionary and 
 the preachers, who are ai4ed by a number of 
 
THE GREAT FAMINE. 
 
 179 
 
 camp-watchers, and, if necessary, by a squad of 
 sappers and miners whose hut is not distant. 
 Oh, yes ! the great God has raised up these 
 means to save us and our little ones alive.” 
 
 Uppiah Naidu and Lukshmiah were deeply 
 interested in Rungiah’s description of the work 
 on the canal ; and Seetama could not suppress 
 the tears of joy which came unbidden to her 
 eyes. 
 
 Rungiah soon went on his way, for his errand 
 required haste. Thousands everywhere were 
 trying to live on roots and on the fruit of the 
 prickly pear, a coarse and unwholesome substi- 
 tute for food. But many fell sick of dysentery 
 and diarrhoea ; and it was well known that such 
 food even could not be expected much longer. 
 Rungiah and others who went out to call the 
 starving performed their duty faithfully, and 
 they brought hundreds to the camp on the 
 canal. But many would not listen to their 
 pleading, and said, “ If it is fated for us to die, 
 we shall die. What is the use trying to avoid 
 what has been decreed by the gods ? If we try 
 to escape punishment, will not a worse evil 
 overtake us? If we stay at home, perhaps the 
 gods will pity us. Why should we go away 
 
i8o 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 from our own village to die ? ” The agents 
 from the canal had to turn away ; and a few 
 weeks later jackals and dogs and hyenas were 
 gorging themselves on the dead bodies of many 
 believers in fate. Heart-rending were the 
 scenes witnessed by those men, as they passed 
 back and forth from the canal to the distant 
 villages. It was a common thing to see dead 
 bodies lying beside the road, with wild animals 
 and carrion-birds tearing them to pieces : many 
 were seen, who, having sunk down in utter 
 helplessness, were still gasping in the agony of 
 starvation, mothers and their famishing infants 
 perishing together. Those poor starving crea- 
 tures were left to lie there and die, and remain 
 unburied ; because not one traveller in fifty, 
 perhaps, who passed along, had strength enough 
 to raise them up, nor any food to give them if 
 he could. 
 
 Six fearful months passed, and rains came. 
 In September, Rungiah and his family, except 
 his oldest son and daughter, whom he left in 
 school in Ongole, returned to Ahmudala to 
 commence cultivating his small farm. This 
 was made ready, and sown with seed he had 
 bought with the money saved while at work on 
 
THE GREA T FAMINE. 1 8 1 
 
 the canal. But a few days later this seed, and 
 that sown at the same time by tens of thou- 
 sands of other farmers, rotted in the ground. 
 Seed, obtained with great difficulty by most 
 people, was again purchased and sown. It 
 came up, and the farmers and the whole popu- 
 lace rejoiced ; but judge how the hearts of the 
 bravest sank within them when great swarms 
 of locusts, which no one could number, swept 
 down upon all this part of the country, and ate 
 up most of the young grain before they left. 
 
 The means of Rungiah, and of multitudes 
 of other poor farmers and artisans, were ex- 
 hausted. They were in despair. It was be- 
 lieved that government could give no further 
 help ; and this, with reports of continued calami- 
 ties, was telegraphed to England by far-seeing, 
 kind-hearted men in Madras, and a few days 
 later similar messages were sent to America. 
 God put it into the hearts of Englishmen to 
 inaugurate a charity, perhaps unequalled in the 
 history of the world. 
 
 This money, and goodly sums from America 
 also, were freely given to buy seed again ; and 
 in due time a partial crop was reaped. In 
 May, 1878, money for seed-grain was again 
 
I 82 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 issued to poor and needy farmers ; and four 
 months later the famine, which had swept 
 away, either directly or indirectly, about six 
 millions of human beings, was at an end. But 
 to this day the evidences of that terrible famine 
 may be seen in the numbers of human bones 
 that lie bleaching in the fields, and beside the 
 road. This last act of kindness of the English 
 nation made a deep impression throughout the 
 famine-stricken region, and all India. Hindus 
 everywhere had to acknowledge that such 
 charity had never been heard of in India be- 
 fore. Christianity had gained a triumph. See- 
 tama, no doubt, expressed the secret thought 
 and purpose of multitudes, when she said to 
 Rungiah, “ Your God is the living God. I 
 shall believe in him only hereafter.” 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 lukshmiah’s conversion. 
 
 URING the last few months of the fam- 
 ine, Lukshmiah began to think much 
 of what he had heard about the Chris- 
 tian religion ; and occasionally he would call 
 upon God to give him wisdom, and teach him 
 what to do. Sometimes he felt that he was a 
 Christian : then for days he would be entirely 
 discouraged, and would almost give up hope of 
 ever becoming as Rungiah described himself, a 
 new creature, and happy because of peace 
 with God and the hope of heaven. He talked 
 often with Rungiah, who encouraged him, and 
 instructed him as well as his own limited 
 knowledge would allow. Lukshmiah also often 
 spoke to Seetama, his mother, about his desires 
 and feelings. Her advice, although probably 
 the best for Lukshmiah in the end, did not 
 
 , 8 3 
 
184 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 tend to strengthen his dawning faith. She 
 would say to her son, — 
 
 “You know, Lukshmiah, that I am not a 
 Christian. It is true that I have abandoned 
 the worship of idols, and I try to pray to the 
 God of Rungiah and the Christians ; but I am 
 only a woman, and I cannot leave my family. 
 I must do as well as I can, in the narrow 
 sphere in which I am placed.” 
 
 At another time, Lukshmiah would say, — 
 
 “ I shall become a Christian, and will learn 
 to read and write, and perhaps I may be a 
 preacher. Our religion is all a humbug and 
 lies, our priests are cheats, and many of our 
 caste people rascals. See what they did to 
 Bodiah’s sons, and what they tried to do to 
 Rungiah and the Christians here. If it had 
 not been for you, mother, what would have be- 
 come of the Christians of Ahmudala ? ” 
 
 “ I am inclined to think,” said Seetama, 
 “that it was not I who saved the Christians 
 from persecutions, but God. He used me as I 
 use a wooden spoon to stir up the curry when 
 it is cooking, This lesson, I think, we have 
 Teamed sine* 5 the famine began. I have not 
 heard that any real Christians have died of 
 
LUKSHMIAH'S CONVERSION. 
 
 I8 5 
 
 starvation : in fact, some of them made money 
 during the famine. Now, my son, I don’t want 
 you to make a mistake. You must obey God; 
 but be sure that it is God who is calling you, 
 before you run. Your father and uncles are 
 honorable people. They occupy prominent 
 positions ; and their caste, while not the high- 
 est, is one that is respected by all Hindus. If 
 y^m are baptized, and eat with Christians, your 
 caste will be broken, and your own village peo- 
 ple, who now would think it an honor to carry 
 your sandals, will abuse you. Your father and 
 your uncle, the moonsiff of Ahmudala, will be 
 angry, and may disown you ; and perhaps even 
 I, your mother, will have to refuse to let you 
 live in the house where you were born. Look, 
 and think well before you act ; and may the 
 Christians’ God ever guide you ! ” 
 
 During the conversation, both Seetama and 
 Lukshmiah wept freely. Both felt sad, for 
 they were much attached to each other ; and 
 Lukshmiah would go away, and pray as Run- 
 giah had taught him : “ O God ! I am a poor 
 sinner. I want to believe in Jesus Christ, and 
 go to heaven. If I am not too bad, make me 
 your child, and open the way for me to go to 
 
1 86 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 school, and afterwards tell about the true God 
 and salvation to the people of my caste, who 
 now are so ignorant and bad.” 
 
 Weeks passed, when one day Seetama, per- 
 haps feeling that she had been too cautious in 
 advising her son, said to him, — 
 
 “ Lukshmiah, somehow I feel that you and 
 your brother can never get on well together. 
 If you could get some good employment away 
 from Ahmudala, and should go away and do 
 well, I should rejoice.” 
 
 She could not advise her son to become a 
 Christian, and profess his faith openly. She 
 was not certain that his faith was deep enough. 
 He might repent and come back ; and then, if 
 it were known that she had advised him to 
 break his caste, she would be reproached by 
 all. Hence, like a wise mother, she presented 
 the bad as well as the good to Lukshmiah, 
 throwing out leading thoughts, and intimating 
 what her own feelings would be if he should 
 leave Ahmudala for some honorable occupa- 
 tion. This greatly relieved Lukshmiah ; for he 
 dreaded to leave his native village, both from 
 love for it, and from fear lest all his relatives 
 should think him a wild, heartless young man. 
 
L UKSHMIA H 'S CONVERSION. 
 
 I8 7 
 
 Americans can hardly understand the intense 
 love the Telugus have for the village where 
 they were born and bred. 
 
 An eventful period came at last. God was 
 working in the hearts of multitudes on the 
 Ongole mission field in a remarkable manner. 
 Men and women, old and young, were stirred 
 to the depths of their souls, and the questions, 
 “ What must I do to be saved ? ” and “ What 
 more must I do ? ” were discussed in hundreds 
 of villages and hamlets ; and a goodly number 
 decided that they would be Christians, profess- 
 ing Christ boldly, and following him at any 
 cost. 
 
 Lukshmiah and his brother had labored hard, 
 and, with the aid of hired servants, had thor- 
 oughly prepared their fields for the seed-drill 
 a few days before the usual time of sowing. 
 As soon as this fact was known to Seetama, 
 she asked her husband if Lukshmiah might not 
 take a few presents, and go and visit his sister 
 in date, and see how she was getting on ; and 
 added, that, as the distance was only forty 
 miles, he could be back before the time for 
 seeding came. Uppiah Naidu readily consent- 
 ed to the plan ; and, as Lukshmiah was always 
 
1 88 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 willing to go to Olate, Seetama’s preparations 
 for the journey at once commenced. Besides 
 jackets and turmeric and rouge for his sister, 
 she gave Lukshmiah food for the journey, and 
 pocket-money enough to provide him with food 
 for half a month. Seetama appeared very 
 happy as she kissed her son a hearty good-by, 
 and sent him away. 
 
 Whether Seetama saw that Lukshmiah could 
 not make up his mind to break away from his 
 old home, and took this .plan to give him the 
 opportunity, or whether, as Uppiah Naidu un- 
 derstood it, she simply wished to send the pres- 
 ents to her daughter, no one can tell ; but a 
 crisis had been reached. Lukshmiah started 
 from home, and went towards Olate, which for 
 a while he fully expected to reach. But as he 
 pursued his journey his mother’s words came to 
 him, again and again : “ If you could get some 
 good employment away from Ahmudala, and 
 should go away and do well, I should re- 
 joice.” 
 
 What did she mean ? And why had she 
 given him so much money ? He would not 
 need it, as he could reach Olate early the next 
 morning ; and the food he had with him was 
 
L UKSHMIA H 'S CONVERSION. 
 
 189 
 
 twice as much as he could eat in one day. 
 Thus thinking and walking, and occasionally 
 lifting his heart in prayer, he journeyed on till 
 he came to the main road leading from Ongole 
 to Cumbum. Just as he came to this road, a 
 large number of men and women were passing 
 toward the east. He asked them, according to 
 Telugu etiquette, where they were from, where 
 they were going, and who they were. Like 
 questions were asked him. They told him that 
 they were from the Kurnool district near Cum- 
 bum, that they were Christians going to On- 
 gole to an appointed meeting, and that some 
 of them hoped to be baptized. 
 
 Lukshmiah’s plans changed at once. Some- 
 thing seemed to say to him, “ This is the time 
 to go to Ongole ; ” and, before he was fully 
 aware of what he was doing, he had decided to 
 go and see the missionaries for himself. If 
 every thing was favorable, and they would re- 
 ceive him, he thought he would be baptized ; 
 but, if his hopes should not be realized, he 
 could take some of his money, and buy a few 
 pieces of calico for his sister, and then no one 
 would mistrust the real reason of his visit. 
 
 After he joined the Christians, he sought out 
 
190 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 the preacher, and opened his heart to him. The 
 preacher, accustomed to deal with sin-sick souls, 
 encouraged him, and said, “ God has chosen 
 you, and is leading you : follow him, and have 
 no fear.” 
 
 “ But,” added some of the Christians present, 
 “ if you become a Christian, your relatives will 
 abuse you and perhaps beat you ; and then will 
 you continue steadfast, or will you go back to 
 heathenism again ? ” 
 
 “ My uncle is the village moonsiff,” said 
 Lukshmiah ; “ and I know full well that if any 
 man breaks the law, and cheats and steals, he 
 will be punished ; but if he breaks no law the 
 moonsiff has no power over him. By becoming 
 a Christian, what law shall I break ? No one 
 will dare to punish me ; and, besides, I believe 
 that God will take care of me.” 
 
 When Lukshmiah reached Ongole he went 
 to the house of a man whose relatives lived in 
 Ahmudala, where he remained all night. This 
 man lived opposite the mission compound, and 
 had done some w’ork for the missionaries. 
 Lukshmiah gradually disclosed his plans to 
 this man, who said, — 
 
 “Do not join that religion. Many of the 
 
LUKSHMIAH'S CONVERSION. 191 
 
 low Madegas and Malas are received, and all 
 caste distinctions are ignored by the mission- 
 aries. I know them well. If you believe, your 
 family will cast you off. You will be the same 
 as a dead man to your friends. I charge you, 
 beware ! ” 
 
 “But,” said Lukshmiah, “what about the re- 
 ligion itself ? Is it good, or bad ? ” 
 
 “ Oh ! ” replied his host, “ no one can find any 
 fault with the religion.” 
 
 “ And what can you say of the missionaries ? 
 You live very close to them,” asked Luksh- 
 miah. 
 
 “ Yes : the missionaries have been here over 
 twelve years, and I know them well. They are 
 good, kind-hearted people, and love the Tel- 
 ugus ; but we are in the world, young man, — 
 remember that.” 
 
 “ I know that we are now in this world,” said 
 Lukshmiah ; “ but I believe in the true God. If 
 you die> what about the world to come ? ” 
 
 The next morning Lukshmiah cautiously ap- 
 proached the mission house, and after a while 
 introduced himself to the missionaries, and told 
 his story. They were very much interested, 
 and felt that God had sent the young man to 
 
192 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 them. Yet they explained to him all about the 
 evils that might befall him ; but, as we have 
 seen, he was quite prepared to satisfy them on 
 this point. 
 
 He was duly examined with other candidates 
 by the native preachers and leading members 
 of the church in Ongole, and was baptized that 
 evening, June 18,- 1878, just as the sun was 
 sinking behind Prayer-meeting Hill. 
 
 The following day the missionary’s wife had 
 a long talk with Lukshmiah. She urged him to 
 stay in Ongole, and go to school. At first he 
 consented ; for this had been for months in his 
 thoughts by day, and in his dreams by night. 
 But it occurred to him, that, if he did not go 
 to Olate, some would say that he had stolen his 
 sister’s presents, and run away ; and hence he 
 decided to go there first, and then to Ahmudala 
 and tell his father what he had done, returning 
 before many weeks to Ongole. The missiona- 
 ries bade him good-by with many doubts and 
 fears. They knew that his relatives would, if 
 possible, induce him to renounce his new faith, 
 and that unless he was upheld by God they 
 would succeed. When Lukshmiah reached 
 home, he told his father and mother of his visit 
 
L UKSHMIA H 'S CONVERSION. 
 
 1 93 
 
 to Ongole and his baptism, giving his reasons 
 for such a step, and speaking of his hope of 
 future usefulness as a preacher. 
 
 Uppiah Naidu was angry, and reproached him 
 bitterly ; and when the facts were known to his 
 uncle Babiah Naidu, and his caste friends, there 
 was an uproar. They called a meeting, and in- 
 quired particularly what he did in Ongole, and 
 what the missionaries had done to him. He 
 told them all. It was decided, that, while the 
 cutting-off of the lock of hair on the top of 
 his head was an insult to Lukshmanaswamy his 
 patron god, yet that by this act and by his bap- 
 tism he had not actually broken caste. If his 
 head were shaved, and a festival made to Luksh- 
 manaswamy, and if his tongue were burned 
 with a gold wire by the Brahmin priest, and 
 muntras said, they thought Lukshmiah’s guilt 
 would be removed, and he could be wholly for- 
 given, and restored to his former place and posi- 
 tion. 
 
 Lukshmiah was vexed, and said, “ I have done 
 no wrong. I am as pure as the best of you 
 outwardly ; and I believe that my blessed Lord 
 and Saviour, in whom I trust, has taken away 
 my sins, and purified my soul. May he open 
 
194 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 your eyes, and soften your hearts, as he has 
 mine ! I shall go to Ongole.” He made a low 
 salaam, and left the assembly, much to their 
 surprise. 
 
 When Uppiah Naidu saw his son leave, he 
 got up and walked away in the opposite direc- 
 tion, towards his fields, sad at heart. Luksh- 
 miah told his mother what the council had said, 
 and what he had decided to do. Seetama wept, 
 but her tears were evidently those of joy more 
 than of sorrow. She took him into the house, 
 and then put her arms about his neck, and 
 kissed him, and said, “ Go, my son, and may 
 God bless you ! I cannot be a mother to you 
 any longer.” 
 
 Quite a different reception and farewell 
 awaited Lukshmiah in the court and in the 
 street outside. The news of his speech, and 
 refusal to hear the advice of the council, spread 
 like wildfire over the village. Seetama expect- 
 ed a scene, and remained in her room. Sooba- 
 ma raised a cry of distress, and beat her breast 
 with her hands. A hundred women were soon 
 on the spot, and joined with Soobama in beg- 
 ging Lukshmiah not to be rash and throw him- 
 self away, but to do as the council had advised. 
 
Z UKSHMIA H 'S CONVERSION. 
 
 195 
 
 He kindly but firmly declined, and walked 
 away. Soobama and the other women wrung 
 their hands, and tore their hair, and beat their 
 breasts, in the most frantic manner ; they rent 
 the air with wails which must be heard to be 
 realized : “ He is lost, he is lost, he is lost ! our 
 fair son is lost, is lost ! ” 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 seetama’s death. 
 
 FTER the great famine was over, chol- 
 era and a malignant intermittent fever 
 continued to prevail for some months ; 
 the former only here and there, but the latter 
 was very common. A few weeks after Luksh- 
 miah left home, cholera broke out in Ahmudala. 
 Sacrifices were made to Ma Lukshmi and to 
 Polarumma by many of the terrified villagers, 
 but less heartily and on a smaller scale than 
 heretofore ; for some at least were much annoyed 
 at these goddesses for withholding the rain, and 
 for sending evil, while others had lost confi- 
 dence in them altogether, holding them up to 
 ridicule, and using their names as a byword. 
 
 Among those attacked by disease was the 
 kind-hearted, staid Mungama, the wife of the 
 moonsiff and the friend and adviser of Seetama. 
 
 196 
 
SEE TAMA'S DEATH. 
 
 197 
 
 Babiah Naidu and his brothers and Seetama 
 did all they could for Mungama, and mourned 
 for her as for a much-loved sister. Since 
 Lukshmiah’s departure, Soobama, instead of 
 becoming more gentle and kind and liberal, had 
 daily grown more bigoted and more devoted to 
 her idols, and less friendly to Seetama. All 
 this grieved Seetama to the heart, and she often 
 tried to win back her friend and sister ; but as 
 often she was repelled, till at last she ceased 
 her efforts. 
 
 In the autumn of 1878, after the second or 
 north-east monsoon had come, happiness, to 
 which the people in this part of India had so 
 long been strangers, was again depicted on the 
 countenances of all. They were now sure that 
 the famine was over. But this happiness was 
 to be mixed with sadness, for Uppiah Naidu 
 and the people of Ahmudala. Seetama was 
 attacked by intermittent fever, and daily grew 
 worse. She refused, as long as she was con- 
 scious, to allow any idols in her room, or to 
 have muntras said by the Brahmin priest. 
 She took such medicine as the village afforded, 
 but to no purpose. In a few days a severe 
 cough set in, and she felt that she must die. 
 
198 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 She called her husband Uppiah Naidu, and 
 said, “ God has called Lukshmiah, whom we 
 loved so much, and he has gone to Ongole. 
 Don’t disturb him. Let him be there. That 
 same God is now calling me, and I must go. I 
 feel that our oldest son Ramiah and his wife 
 will not help you much, and I may say the 
 same of Soobama. Do not grieve forme. You 
 are now an old man, I know ; but be careful and 
 courageous, and fear not. You will be lonely; 
 but trust in God, and you will soon follow me. 
 I can say no more.” Oh that Uppiah Naidu 
 had heeded this last admonition, as Seetama 
 hoped he would ! 
 
 As soon as it was noised abroad that Seetama 
 was very ill, and that she would probably not 
 live, many hearts besides Uppiah Naidu’s were 
 sad, for she had many real friends. These 
 came to the court ; and, when they heard that 
 the report of her illness was true, they wept. 
 
 Seetama, after bidding her husband farewell, 
 grew rapidly worse ; but some of her friends, 
 both men and women, thought that it might 
 not be too late to ask the favor of the god 
 Vishnu, even though Seetama herself objected. 
 They thought that she would not realize what 
 
SEE TAMA'S DEATH. 
 
 I99 
 
 they were doing. At least they could try ; and 
 several said they had known of people having 
 been restored to health, when as low as See- 
 tama, by worshipping Vishnu, and burning in- 
 cense to him. They went into Seetama’s room, 
 and made on the wall the three marks called 
 Trevane, emblematic of the three feet of Vishnu 
 in one incarnation. They then put some sugar 
 on a shelf under the image they had made, 
 sprinkled pure water on the floor in front of 
 the idol, burnt incense before it, and fell down 
 and worshipped it. They pleaded the many 
 good deeds and the kind heart and other good 
 qualities of their sick friend, and begged Vish- 
 nu would drive away the evil spirit or whatever 
 was making her ill, and would restore her to 
 health. They promised, if Vishnu would hear 
 them, to make a great festival in his honor the 
 next year. They also said that if Seetama was 
 restored, and was as well as heretofore, they 
 would set apart a bullock-calf for him, and at 
 the festival they would have this calf conse- 
 crated to him, and branded as a sacred bull ; 
 that henceforth it might range over their 
 fields at pleasure, while they should worship 
 it in honor of Nundi or the bullock-vehicle of 
 
200 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 Vishnu. They also promised that the sacred 
 bull should be married to a nice heifer, and that 
 the village Brahmin priest should solemnize the 
 marriage with a feast, procession, music, and 
 dancers, just as when their own children were 
 married. The idol heeded them not, neither 
 did Seetama. In a little while she was gone ; 
 let us hope, to be with Jesus. 
 
 As soon as it was known that Seetama was 
 dead, a hundred women and girls started for 
 the house of Uppiah Naidu ; and, when they ' 
 saw her corpse now laid in the court, they wept 
 bitterly, striking their breasts with the palms 
 of their hands, and crying loudly, “ Seetama is 
 gone ; the gods have cursed us, the fates are 
 against us, and what can we do ? She was the 
 head of the family. What will her husband do ? 
 What will the moonsiff, her brother-in-law, do ? 
 The gods have dealt unjustly. Why did they 
 not take us, and leave her here ? If the gods 
 had been good, and the fates favorable, they 
 would have taken us, and left Seetama. We 
 are like orphans. The light has gone out in 
 Uppiah Naidu’s house, and it is as though it 
 had rotted down.” 
 
 After an hour of wailing thus, all became 
 
SEETAMA'S DEATH. 
 
 201 
 
 weary, and all but a few relatives and special 
 friends went to their homes. Seetama was 
 washed, all the members of the family aiding 
 in bringing the water which was poured over 
 her profusely. She was dressed in her best 
 clothes and jewels, and then all sat down 
 around her body for a time in silent grief. 
 After about half an hour, there came a kind of 
 priest of the Sudra caste, called a Satani, who 
 can serve only at funerals. 
 
 The Brahmin family priest whom we have 
 mentioned heretofore did not come to visit 
 Seetama. Brahmins will not come nigh the 
 sick, even their own relatives, after they are 
 given up to die : nor will they touch a dead 
 body ; it would pollute them to do so. Brah- 
 minism clings to the living like a parasite ; but 
 ■* as those about to die, and the dead, cannot 
 further serve Brahmin interests, the rules of 
 the caste free them, at a convenient time, from 
 all frouble and annoyance. The Sudra priest, 
 or Satani (whom Lukshmiah suggests ought to 
 be called “ Satan ”), brought a kind of grain, 
 somewhat like pease, called “pesalu,” and caused 
 it to be cooked, and poured in a pile near the 
 corpse. After he had burned incense, all wor- 
 
202 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 shipped the heap of food, and it was then dis- 
 tributed by the priest to the relatives, who up 
 to this time had fasted. After this slight 
 repast the brothers and near relatives of Up- 
 piah Naidu, six in number, took their places, 
 three on each side of the corpse, and joining 
 their hands under it, thus forming a cradle, 
 they bore it away to the grave : for Sudras 
 generally, as well as the Madegas and Malas, 
 and all of the higher castes of Telugus of the 
 Siva sect, and the Mohammedans, bury their 
 dead ; while the Brahmins, Kshatriyas, and Vai- 
 syas, who are of the Vishnuva sect, or worship- 
 pers of Vishnu, practise cremation. 
 
 After the procession had reached the grave, 
 which was in a beautiful place in a grove near 
 the river, the jewels were carefully removed 
 from Seetama’s ears, nose, and fingers, and 
 then the body was tenderly lowered to its last 
 resting-place. 
 
 Uppiah Naidu was like a man in a stupor. 
 He felt too deeply for tears. If he could have 
 kissed, or even touched, the lifeless body of his 
 Seetama, it would have been a relief. But this 
 could not be ; for, according to the rules of his 
 caste, the husband must not touch the body of 
 his wife after she is dead. 
 
SEE TAMA'S DEATH. 
 
 203 
 
 When others wept and wailed, he looked on ; 
 and, when they took the body of Seetama away, 
 he followed silently, and remained standing at 
 the grave until his brother, the moonsiff, took 
 him gently by the arm, and led him to the river ; 
 for all had to bathe before returning to their 
 home. This was in the early evening : lamps 
 were lighted in every room of all the houses 
 of the brothers, as well as in Uppiah Naidu’s. 
 Seetama, the light of the family and of their 
 homes, was gone. But they had buried her, 
 and had bathed ; and to mourn more would 
 show that they had not submitted to fate : 
 hence it would displease the gods if the lamps, 
 emblematic of Seetama on the one hand, and 
 of their submission on the other, were not 
 lighted. 
 
 On the third day after the funeral the Satani 
 came, according to custom, and a dinner of rice 
 and curry was to be served to the relatives of 
 the deceased. While this was cooking, an im- 
 age of Perumal, another name for Vishnu, was 
 made of clay, placed over a heap of the leaves 
 of the betel, among which were placed pieces 
 of money, and worshipped. The meal was 
 then eaten ; and afterwards the leaves were dis- 
 
204 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT 
 
 tributed, the priest keeping the money as his 
 fee. 
 
 Nine days later, or the twelfth day after See- 
 tama’s death, the final ceremonies on account 
 of Uppiah Naidu and the dead were performed. 
 The priest before mentioned came to the house ; 
 and the relatives and friends took food and in- 
 cense and fire, and the idol Perumal, and went 
 in procession to the river. The idol was placed 
 near the water, and the rice near by. Uppiah 
 Naidu’s hair and beard were all shaven off. 
 He then broke off the silver belt which encir- 
 cled his body, and threw it away, and went and 
 bathed in the river. After this, incense was 
 burnt ; and then all fell down and again wor- 
 shipped the idol Perumal. The priest distrib- 
 uted the food, and then, wholly abandoning the 
 idol Perumal, all went to the grave, and poured 
 water over it ; and, after making the mound 
 into a proper shape, they planted on it a shrub 
 of the sacred Thulasi. They then whitewashed 
 the grave with lime, and went home to par- 
 take of a dinner, to which all the relatives of 
 the family and some others had been invited. 
 When this was over, and when presents of 
 clothes, money, and rice had been given to the 
 
SEE TAMA’S DEATH. 
 
 205 
 
 Brahmin priest, and other Brahmins, the cere- 
 monies were ended ; and the grave of Seetama 
 might be visited once a year thereafter. 
 
 Lukshmiah was very sad when he heard of 
 his mother’s death. He had heard of her ill- 
 ness, but had not thought her disease was of 
 so serious a nature. If he had gone to see 
 her, that privilege might have been granted to 
 him, but no more : the relatives would not have 
 allowed him to give to her who bore him a cup 
 of water even, because he had become a Chris- 
 tian. Such is caste. 
 
 Lukshmiah went away by himself, and wept. 
 His only friend among all his relatives was 
 gone. It was hard for him to see why God, if 
 he loved him, should have taken away his 
 mother, whom he loved and longed for so 
 much. But the teachers in the school con- 
 soled him as best they could. They told him 
 that they thought his mother really a Christian, 
 and that she was now with Jesus, free from 
 pain and caste and trouble ; that perhaps God 
 saw in what an unhappy place she was, and 
 took her because he loved her ; and that all 
 must be well, because our God is too good to 
 be unkind, and too wise to make mistakes. 
 
206 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 Lukshmiah was comforted ; and although even 
 now, when he speaks of his mother, tears fre- 
 quently come to his eyes, he would not recall 
 her to Ahmudala. 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 A VISIT TO THE MISSIONARY S CAMP. 
 
 FTER Seetama’s death Uppiah Naidu 
 was very lonely and sad. He attended 
 the daily council of the village as a 
 leading man in the town, and gave directions 
 to his oldest son Ramiah and to the hired men 
 about the work upon the farm ; but at other 
 times and on other subjects he was silent. 
 When any one asked him a question, he an- 
 swered in the fewest words possible, and was 
 silent again. Weeks passed, and yet Uppiah 
 Naidu continued the same ; and his friends 
 began to fear that he would lose his mind un- 
 less something could be done to cheer him up. 
 They met together ; and after much consulta- 
 tion they decided that he might be consoled by 
 seeing Lukshmiah, to whom he was still much 
 attached, and whom Seetama loved so much. 
 
 207 
 
208 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT 
 
 They all agreed to speak to Uppiah Naidu per- 
 sonally about Lukshmiah’s return, and to do all 
 in their power to help him. Their plan was 
 carried out. But, while the father appreciated 
 their kindness, he feared that Lukshmiah would 
 not return to Ahmudala, and submit to the cere- 
 monies necessary to restore him to his former 
 caste. And then had not Seetama told him in 
 her very last words, that God had called their 
 son to Ongole, and that it would not be well to 
 disturb him ? He longed for his beloved son, 
 and yet he hesitated. 
 
 Days and weeks came and went ; but one 
 morning a man from Agrarum passing through 
 Ahmudala said that an Ongole missionary re- 
 turning from a long tour would camp in his 
 village that night, a part of his camp having 
 already arrived. Soobama immediately com- 
 municated this news to her brother-in-law the 
 moonsiff, and to her husband. They went to 
 Uppiah Naidu, and told him what they had 
 heard, and urged him to get ready to go to 
 Agrarum early the next morning, and see the 
 missionary in person. “ Tell him,” said they, 
 “ all about your sorrow ; and when he knows 
 this, and sees your face, we trust he will have 
 
VISIT TO THE MISSIONARY'S CAMP. 2CK) 
 
 compassion on you, and restore your son to 
 you. At least it will do no harm to try ; for 
 the missionary, we hear, is a kind man.” 
 
 Many arguments were given to Uppiah Naidu 
 by Kristna Row and other Brahmins, to be re- 
 peated to the missionary ; and they thought 
 from what they knew of the principles of Chris- 
 tianity, and the missionary’s disposition, that 
 he would restore Lukshmiah. 
 
 Early the next morning Uppiah Naidu set 
 out for Agrarum, about five miles distant, where 
 he arrived just as the missionary was taking his 
 early breakfast, and sat down under a tamarind- 
 tree a few rods from the tent. As soon as the 
 breakfast was over, the missionary stepped out- 
 side of the tent, while the Lascars arranged the 
 furniture and mats, and rolled up the walls of 
 the tent, thus turning it into a chapel; for there 
 was to be a meeting of Christians that morning, 
 and perhaps a preaching-service. 
 
 As soon as the missionary came outside he 
 recognized Uppiah Naidu, and walked towards 
 him. Uppiah Naidu rose to his feet, and made 
 his salaam, which was returned by the mission- 
 ary, who expressed himself as very glad to see 
 him. He tried to smile as the missionary spoke 
 
210 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 so kindly ; but it was only the brightening of 
 the eyes and a few twitches of the facial nerves, 
 and then the same melancholy again settled 
 down upon him. The missionary asked Uppiah 
 Naidu what was the matter, for he had not 
 heard of the death of Seetama. 
 
 Uppiah Naidu replied, “ Before the famine I 
 was, if not wealthy, at least well-to-do and 
 happy. I had lands and cattle and servants, 
 and two sons and three daughters, and many 
 friends, not only in Ahmudala but in other vil- 
 lages. By the famine I lost many bullocks and 
 cows and buffaloes ; and it took all the money 
 we had saved to keep my large family from 
 starving during that long, dreadful period, and to 
 set up again after it was over. So far, however, 
 only my money had gone, and I was happy. 
 But my second son, whom I and his mother 
 loved much, became discontented with the reli- 
 gion of his ancestors, and went away to Ongole. 
 About him you well know. Notwithstanding 
 this I was happy and contented. But a few 
 weeks ago my wife, Lukshmiah’s mother Seeta- 
 ma, who was the joy of my life, and like the 
 household goddess Parrental to me, said that 
 God was calling her, and soon went away ; and 
 
VISIT TO THE MISSIONARY'S CAMP. 21 I 
 
 I am left alone. I am getting old. My oldest 
 son is no help to me. My daughters are all 
 married, and live in distant villages. Dilama, 
 Lukshmiah’s wife, and her parents, abuse me 
 because he has become a Christian, and urge 
 me to try to get him to return to his wife, who 
 is pining away, looking and watching for him. 
 
 0 sir ! will not you have compassion on me, 
 and restore my son to me, that I may not go 
 sorrowing all my days, and finally die, and have 
 no one to weep for me, and follow me to the 
 grave, and bury me ? ” 
 
 “You tell a sad story, Uppiah Naidu,” said 
 the missionary ; “ but you ask perhaps more than 
 is in my power to grant. Your son did not come 
 to Ongole because I called. The living God, 
 
 1 believe, sent him to us ; and, when he goes, 
 the same one should send him away, I think. 
 But Lukshmiah has broken his caste ; and even 
 if I should send him back to Ahmudala, and if 
 he would go, you and your caste people would 
 not receive him. I cannot see why you want 
 him back. Please tell me the whole truth, Up- 
 piah Naidu, and hide nothing. What is under- 
 neath all your plans ? I don’t like men with 
 double tongues and two faces. Tell me, what 
 
212 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 do you propose to do with Lukshmiah, should 
 he wish to return to Ahmudala to live ? ” 
 
 Uppiah Naidu hesitated for a time ; but after 
 a little more urging he said, “ Our caste is an 
 honorable one : but our people all loved my son, 
 and they and Kristna Row, the kurnam, say 
 that they will not be severe with Lukshmiah ; 
 that if I will make a small festival to Luksh- 
 manaswamy, his patron god, and then if the 
 priest burns his tongue a little, not severely, 
 with a gold wire, they will forgive all that he 
 has done against them, and his ancestors, and 
 patron god, and Brahminism. Oh ! I pray you, 
 sir, restore my son to me, and to his weeping 
 wife and many friends, and we shall live and 
 bless you.” 
 
 “ Well,” said the missionary, “ I hardly think 
 that Lukshmiah will submit to have his tongue 
 burned, and to worship idols, in order to be fit 
 to live with you ; although you are his father, 
 and I know that he loves you much. But, if you 
 will write a letter to him to-day, I will take it 
 to him ; and then I shall let him do as he wishes. 
 But I want you to sit down near the tent now, 
 and listen while I preach to these Christians and 
 others, and tell them about the true God and 
 our religion.” 
 
VISIT TO THE MISSIONARY'S CAMP. 213 
 
 Uppiah Naidu came into the tent, and sat 
 down. The Christians had assembled in goodly 
 numbers ; and after saluting the missionary in 
 the usual way, and answering a few kindly in- 
 quiries, all sat down on the mats. The mission- 
 ary then gave out a hymn ; which was sung by 
 the native preachers and teachers and school- 
 children, who had come, not only from Agra- 
 rum, but also from several other villages. A 
 native preacher led in prayer for God’s blessing 
 upon the meeting and all the services of the 
 day. After another hymn, the missionary rose, 
 and taking the Bible, which he explained to the 
 congregation was the word of God, he read the 
 nineteenth chapter of the Gospel by Luke, 
 about Zacchaeus and his zeal, and how the Son 
 of man came to seek and to save that which 
 was lost. After reading and explaining briefly, 
 he turned to the forty-eighth Psalm, and read 
 the fourteenth verse, — “ This God is our God 
 for ever and ever : he will be our guide even 
 unto death.” 
 
 After the sermon, which lasted perhaps forty 
 minutes, this service was ended, and the mis- 
 sionary held a kind of conversational meeting 
 with all for an hour ; and then the candidates 
 
214 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 for baptism were presented, and were requested 
 to meet the members of the church and their 
 preachers in an inquiry-meeting in the grove a 
 little distant from the tent, as the missionary 
 said he was tired. 
 
 Uppiah Naidu remained until four o’clock, 
 as had been requested, and then, after having 
 been assured that his request and letter would 
 be delivered to his son, started for home. 
 
 That evening the kurnam of Ahmudala, the 
 leading men, and many women, met at Uppiah 
 Naidu’s house, to learn the result of his visit 
 to the missionary. He soon told them all. 
 After this they inquired about the camp of the 
 missionary, what he had said and done, and 
 what the villagers did. To all these questions 
 Uppiah Naidu answered, — 
 
 “The ‘camp consists of three tents, — one 
 large and two small ones. The smallest one is 
 used by the cook for a kitchen. The missionary 
 has three carts, and as many pairs of bullocks, 
 and a pony, and Lascars to pitch the tents and 
 care for them. He seems to travel in fair style, 
 not as a rich man, but as a man in comfortable 
 circumstances. The colportor, Obulu, whom 
 you have all seen, is with him, and two or three 
 
VISIT TO THE MISSIONARY'S CAMP. 2 I 5 
 
 other preachers. The Christians of Agrarum 
 and many other villagers came to see him, and 
 he preached to them.” 
 
 “What did he say?” asked two or three at 
 once. 
 
 “Oh!” replied Uppiah Naidu, “he first read 
 in their sacred book about a short man who 
 climbed up a tree to see Jesus as he passed; 
 and Jesus called him, and dined with him ; and 
 the people were angry, because the short man 
 was of a low caste, like the Malas and Madegas. 
 Then he read how Jesus came to seek and to 
 save that which was lost ; and he said we are 
 all lost, and Jesus so loved us that he came and 
 died for us. After this, he preached from 
 another part of the sacred book. 
 
 “ He said that a few weeks ago he was 
 travelling early one morning, thinking of all 
 the lovely sights he saw in the fields and 
 everywhere, and then he thought that his God 
 made all these beautiful things. But away on 
 the hills in sight were some temples, and the 
 people were drumming to idols in them, and he 
 was sad. Just then he had to cross a creek, 
 which appeared dry ; but it was all quicksand, 
 and his pony came near sinking. After he got 
 
2l6 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 out, be said he thought that quicksand creek 
 was like Hinduism. It looks all fair and well, 
 but those who trust to it throw themselves 
 away. Then he said that the Christians’ God 
 never failed his people, that he clung to them 
 all the days of their life, and was with them 
 when they died, and then took their souls to 
 heaven. 
 
 “ Moreover, he said that the true Christian 
 did not really die, but that his body got sick, 
 and little by little, like the walls of our mud 
 houses in a great storm, it wasted away ; and 
 when God’s time came he took the soul, the 
 real man, to heaven, and then the body only 
 died and was buried. At last he told all how 
 they could have the real God to be their God 
 and friend. He said this would be easy if they 
 tried to leave off all known sins, and believed 
 in Jesus Christ, who came to the world to seek 
 and to save them ; and prayed to God to help 
 them for the Saviour’s sake.” 
 
 “Well, enough about the preaching,” said 
 Kristna Row : “what else did he do ? ” 
 
 “ After the preaching was over, he took lots 
 of babies in his arms, and named them ; and 
 then the preacher Obulu asked God to bless 
 
VISIT TO THE MISSIONARY'S CAMP. 21 J 
 
 the babies. He said Jesus did like that when 
 on earth. Those Christians love him much. 
 Some of the women I saw took their small 
 children, and, pointing towards the missionary 
 when he was talking, said to them, ‘ See the 
 missionary ! See the man whom God raised up 
 to save all our lives during the famine ! If it 
 had not been for him, you would be dead now.’ ” 
 “ But what other subjects did he talk about ? ” 
 asked the Brahmin priest. “We have heard 
 enough about religion and the famine. Were 
 there no Brahmins or Sudras there ? ” 
 
 “Yes,” said Uppiah Naidu : “there were 
 some Brahmins there when he was preaching, 
 and one young man made a very insulting 
 remark. The missionary was apparently very 
 angry for a moment, and I expected trouble. 
 But he simply turned to the Brahmin, and said, 
 ‘Young man, the source of your religion must 
 be bad indeed to send forth such an unclean 
 stream. If there is any more such filth in you, 
 you had better let it also come out, or you will 
 soon be wholly spoiled, and too bad to save in 
 any way. You have not insulted me, but God. 
 We are all ashamed of you.’ The young man 
 retreated, and soon left. 
 
21 8 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 “ After the meeting was over, some Sudras 
 of my caste said that some of their women had 
 the ear-ache; and a goldsmith said his mother- 
 in-law had a pain in her stomach, and asked for 
 some brandy. They said that heretofore Eng- 
 lish gentlemen had camped in their grove, and 
 had given some of their friends brandy, and 
 that it had been very useful.” 
 
 “ What did the missionary do ? Did he give 
 the brandy?” asked Babiah Naidu. 
 
 “No,” said Uppiah Naidu: “he told them 
 that he did not have any brandy in his camp, 
 that he and all his servants had now been two 
 months travelling, and that they had not, and 
 did not use, brandy at all. He further said, 
 that all spirituous liquors were bad ; that they 
 and caste were like twin brothers, and the Devil 
 was their own father, and man’s evil nature the 
 mother of both. He told the goldsmith that 
 he might give his people a little Pain-Killer if 
 he wished it ; and told the Kumma man that for 
 the ear-ache lie had better buy some cocoanut- 
 oil, and warm it a little, and pour it into the 
 aching ear ; and assured them that these were 
 better than brandy or arrack or any thing of 
 the kind.” 
 
VISIT TO THE MISSIONARY'S CAMP. 219 
 
 “What did the goldsmith and the Kumma 
 man do ? ” asked Soobama. “ Did they really 
 want the brandy ? ” 
 
 “ They looked ashamed, and soon went away,” 
 said Uppiah Naidu. “They wanted to get 
 something against the missionary, to destroy 
 his influence ; and no doubt their next motive 
 was to get the brandy to drink themselves, for 
 you know of late many of our people have 
 commenced drinking brandy and arrack, both 
 of which are contrary to the teachings of our 
 ancestors. I was glad when I heard that mis- 
 sionaries and Christians do not drink liquors. 
 It speaks well for them.” 
 
 “All this is vety. strange,” said the moonsiff : 
 “for I never heard of an Englishman before 
 that did not drink liquor, and many drink it as 
 a child does milk ; some of them, I hear, get 
 drunk every night before they go to bed.” 
 
 “Did any new converts join the missionary 
 at Agrarum ? ” asked Kristna Row. 
 
 “Yes,” said Uppiah Naidu. “After the 
 missionary preached in the morning, the native 
 preachers and leading men held a meeting, and 
 about twenty of the Madega caste asked to be 
 baptized. The preachers questioned these ; and 
 
220 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 the applicants for baptism promised never to 
 worship idols again, nor work on Sundays, and 
 that they would worship the God of the Chris- 
 tians only, and serve him as long as they lived. 
 
 “They also said that they believed on him 
 now, and prayed to him to have their sins for- 
 given ; that they felt at peace with God, and 
 happy. Afterwards the preachers cut off the 
 lock of hair on the top of their heads, sacred 
 to the gods, took them to the large well dug by 
 government near the Cumbum road, and led 
 them down the steps into the water. The 
 preachers sang a hymn, and prayed, and then 
 they baptized the new converts. One of the 
 preachers said that they had baptized over one 
 thousand since they left Ongole two months 
 ago.” 
 
 “ That is it, that is it ! ” ejaculated half a 
 dozen Brahmins at once. “That accounts for 
 all the nice words of the missionary. The 
 plan is to destroy our Brahma-given caste, and 
 degrade us all, and make us all tanners and 
 cobblers.” 
 
CHAPTER XX. 
 
 lukshmiah’s return. 
 
 people of Ahmudala and all that 
 W' I vicinit y came frequently to Ongole to 
 
 attend court, or to sell their produce 
 
 and purchase iron and English-made fabrics. 
 Among those who had called on Lukshmiah 
 since he commenced attending school, was his 
 uncle Pulliah, Dilama’s father. He told Luksh- 
 miah that Dilama was very fond of him, and 
 that he wished him to come and take her away. 
 Lukshmiah, however, since he became a Chris- 
 tian, considered Dilama as his cousin only, but 
 thought that after he had finished his educa- 
 tion, if she still loved him, they might then be 
 married ; and thus even his relatives and for- 
 mer caste people would have to acknowledge 
 that he had acted honorably. He made known 
 his plan to his uncle Pulliah, who said that it 
 
 221 
 
222 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 was good, but added, that, as Dilama was now 
 a young woman, he would better bring her to 
 Ongole, and either marry her, or put her in the 
 girls’ boarding-school. 
 
 Perhaps Pulliah was sincere in this advice, 
 and perhaps it was only part of a well-laid 
 scheme to entice his nephew away from On- 
 gole ; but Lukshmiah believed him, and hence 
 was all ready to give careful consideration to 
 his father’s letter inviting him to Ahmudala. 
 He laid his case before the missionaries. They 
 told him plainly that they feared his relatives, 
 by appealing to his love for his father, aided by 
 Dilama’s entreaties, would make every effort to 
 induce him to renounce his religion. They 
 also assured him that he could not resist these 
 temptations in his own strength, but that if he 
 trusted in Jesus, and prayed often, he need not 
 fear to go. When Lukshmiah asked what he 
 should do, they sent him away to pray, and to 
 decide for himself. 
 
 A few days later Lukshmiah wrote to his 
 father that he would soon visit him ; and at 
 the appointed time he took leave of the mis- 
 sionaries, who had many doubts and fears as 
 to the result of the visit, and started for the 
 
LUKSHMIAH'S RETURN. 
 
 223 
 
 home of his childhood. His father, his uncle 
 the moonsiff, and Soobama, and, in fact, all of 
 his relatives, welcomed him back. They al- 
 lowed -him to come into the court, and into the 
 rooms used as sitting-rooms, and provided nice 
 food for him ; but Lukshmiah noticed that all 
 the pots and other articles which would be 
 called polluted if touched by a man of low 
 caste were removed, and that his . food, though 
 very good, was placed on plates made by sew- 
 ing together the large leaves of the banian, and 
 other trees, which are only used once, and then 
 thrown away. 
 
 After a day or two they began to converse 
 with him about the Christian religion, and the 
 school, and were surprised to learn that he 
 could already read easy books. Telugu youths 
 are very polite to their parents, especially to 
 their fathers. Until he is a grown man, the 
 son may not speak unless spoken to in their 
 presence; and, if sitting when they come into 
 the room or approach him, he will immediately 
 rise to his feet, and continue standing until 
 they are seated. Lukshmiah did not wish to 
 seem rude ; but at length he gained sufficient 
 courage to ask his father why he had urged 
 
224 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 him to come home, and what he wished him to 
 do. 
 
 Uppiah Naidu replied kindly : he told him of 
 his old age and of his grief, and of Dilama, 
 and begged Lukshmiah to remain at home. 
 Lukshmiah asked how he could do this, since 
 he had broken his caste. Uppiah Naidu an- 
 swered that he would call a meeting of the 
 leading men of their own caste, and they 
 would consult together. 
 
 “Father,” said Lukshmiah, “you once called 
 a council when I first came back from Ongole, 
 and their decision was one to which I could not 
 consent ; and what is the use of another coun- 
 cil ? ” 
 
 “ This time we shall have our own caste peo- 
 ple only,” said Uppiah Naidu; “and it will be 
 private until we can see what can be done.” 
 
 Lukshmiah consented ; and that evening, after 
 supper, Babiah Naidu and several of the lead- 
 ing men of the Kumma caste met in Uppiah 
 Naidu’s house. Babiah Naidu, addressing his 
 nephew, said, — 
 
 “ Lukshmiah, you know well how much we 
 all love you, how your mother Seetama doted 
 on you, how Dilama pines for you, and how 
 
L UKSHMIA H 'S RE TURN. 
 
 225 
 
 your father’s heart now yearns for you and your 
 welfare. We have all consulted together, and 
 we want you to remain with us. Will you do 
 it ? ” 
 
 “ I have broken caste : how can I remain ? ” 
 asked Lukshmiah. 
 
 “ If you will return to your home and to our 
 honored religion, we can make a festival, and 
 can pretend to burn your tongue, and then all 
 will be satisfied. The priest, if he has a few 
 rupees and a hint, will not hurt your tongue 
 with the gold wire, — no fear of that.” 
 
 “ But, uncle, how -can I leave the Christian 
 religion ? ” asked Lukshmiah. 
 
 “ Oh ! all religions are about the same. There 
 are good and bad men in all of them. We 
 think that if you are a good man in the religion 
 of your fathers, nothing more will be required 
 of you.” 
 
 “ Do not be offended, uncle and friends,” said 
 Lukshmiah. “I fully believe in Jesus Christ 
 as my Saviour, and I cannot renounce him. I 
 feel in my heart that he has taken away my 
 sins, and given me peace ; and how can I be- 
 tray him ? Oh that you would believe in Jesus 
 also ! Before you urge me further, let me tell 
 
226 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 you the story I have heard of a Sudra and his 
 dog. The dog was black ; but the master 
 wanted him to become white, so he took him 
 to a river, and washed him : he did this for 
 many days ; but, the more the dog was washed, 
 the blacker he became. The master had under- 
 taken an impossible thing, for God had given 
 the black color to the dog’s hair. So, O 
 friends ! although I love you, yet I cannot leave 
 the Christian religion. My faith, which is of 
 God, is in God ; and it cannot be uprooted. It 
 is not like the walls of a house built of mud 
 and sand, which are easily washed away when 
 exposed. No, no ! my faith is like a house 
 built of lime and stone, and with a stone foun- 
 dation, which no cyclone can carry away or de- 
 stroy. I stand on the solid rock Christ Jesus, 
 my Saviour and the world’s Saviour. If you 
 love me, do not ask me to give him up, for I 
 cannot.” 
 
 After a moment’s pause the moonsiff said, — 
 
 “ Well, Lukshmiah, we will let you keep your 
 faith in the new God, but return to your caste. 
 This can be done.” 
 
 “ How can that be ? ” asked Lukshmiah. 
 
 “ Oh ! easily enough. The English, I hear. 
 
L UKSHMIA H 'S RE TURN. 
 
 227 
 
 have caste as much as we do. The only dif- 
 ference is in origin, and perhaps a little in 
 details.” 
 
 “ I never heard before that the English had 
 caste,” said Soobama, who up to this time had 
 with difficulty kept silent. “ Tell us how it is, 
 brother-in-law.” 
 
 “ Why,” said the moonsiff, “ the castes of the 
 Hindus were given by Brahma, and we decline 
 to eat with the man or person born of parents 
 of a lower caste than ours. The caste of the 
 English must be begotten of Bungarama, the 
 goddess of gold and silver and precious stones ; 
 because the wealthy will not eat with the poor, 
 nor the high official with the low. I hear that 
 these distinctions are observed in Madras and 
 in England, and that they are hereditary, and 
 form an important factor in the social fabric of 
 the kingdom, and extend to the throne. If 
 caste was wrong, would it be allowed in Eng- 
 land ? Oh, no, Lukshmiah ! those missionaries 
 of yours are asking more of you than they do 
 of their own countrymen. Then think further. 
 You have seen the Roman Catholic mission- 
 aries of Butchalla ? They allow their converts, 
 you know, to keep their caste, and even allow 
 
228 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 them to put the marks pleasing to Vishnu and 
 Siva on their foreheads, and also to wear the 
 hair on the head under which we think the gods 
 dwell. Your missionaries are too exacting, my 
 nephew.” 
 
 “ O uncle ! I am but a young man, and should 
 keep silent ; but I beg of you to hear me,” said 
 Lukshmiah. “ I cannot tell why the English 
 keep caste, as you say some do ; neither can I 
 understand why the Roman Catholic priests 
 allow caste. It seems to me that they are very 
 inconsiderate. Two wrongs, or even three 
 wrong acts, would not make one good deed. 
 Listen to me, I pray you. You have always 
 taught me that the Rig Veda, one of the Hindu 
 sacred books, declares that the Brahmin is the 
 actual mouth of Brahma, that soldiers are his 
 actual arms, husbandmen his actual thighs, and 
 that Sudras, or servants, sprang from his feet ; 
 and hence caste is part of Brahma. It is also 
 written in the Mahabharata, that the highest 
 form of religious life is a strict observance of 
 the rules of caste. 
 
 “From these teachings, O friends! you see 
 that caste must be God. I cannot consent to 
 this ; for I do not believe in Brahma, or in any 
 
LUKSHMIAH'S RETURN. 
 
 229 
 
 of the gods I used to worship. Our own Hin- 
 du books say that Siva once with his thumb- 
 nail cut off one of Brahma’s heads, and that 
 Brahma cursed him : on account of the curse 
 the head clung to his hand ; and, powerless, he 
 fled before a frightful demon to the ends of the 
 earth. It is also said that Vishnu was cursed 
 by the sage Bhriga, and condemned to ten mor- 
 tal births. In one of these incarnations, that 
 of Kristna, he performed wonderful deeds, but 
 at last became impotent under the curse of a 
 Brahmin. He was entertaining the sage of 
 Durvasa, when some portion of the food fell on 
 the sage’s feet. This enraged the sage ; and he 
 cursed Kristna, and told him that he would die 
 a violent death. Kristna could not escape this 
 curse ; and a hunter one day, mistaking his 
 foot for a deer, killed him. 
 
 “ One of the shastras says that Brahma told 
 a lie, and that on account of this Siva cursed 
 him, saying, ‘ O Brahma ! who dwellest in the 
 beautiful, perfume-breathing lotus, let there be 
 henceforth upon earth no temple and no wor- 
 ship to thee who hast told this lie.’ It is even 
 so : the great Brahma, the begetter of caste, is 
 forever disgraced. Can the real God lie, and 
 
230 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 do evil as well as good ? Can a tree bear both 
 good and bad fruit ? or can one tree bear four 
 different kinds of fruits? Can four sons of 
 the same father be of so different a nature as 
 the Hindu castes are? It is impossible. The 
 whole Hindu system of gods and goddesses, 
 who lie and deceive, and curse each other, and 
 run off with each other’s heads, to-day all-pow- 
 erful, and to-morrow less than man, must be 
 absurd.” 
 
 “Well, enough, stop, Lukshmiah ! ” said 
 Babiah Naidu. “You can do as you wish : we 
 shall not force you, you are a man ; but we beg 
 of you to consider well.” He rose and went 
 away ; and soon all the others in the room 
 followed, and Lukshmiah was left alone. They 
 saw that they could do no more, and gave him 
 up as lost to them. 
 
 The next morning Uppiah Naidu asked 
 Lukshmiah if he was not going to Samanta to 
 see his uncle Pulliah and Dilama. 
 
 “ I will go if you will write a letter for me,” 
 said Lukshmiah. “ I fear they will not treat 
 me well unless you do.” 
 
 “ I will write to your uncle,” said his father. 
 “ After your bold speeches in the council last 
 
LUKSHMIAH'S RETURN. 
 
 231 
 
 evening, — wise or unwise I know not which, — 
 our caste people will give you up ; and they will 
 not want to see you, for fear you may induce 
 other young men to do as you have done.” 
 
 The news of Lukshmiah’s bold defence before 
 the moonsiff preceded him to Samanta ; and 
 when he reached his uncle’s house they were 
 prepared to give him an answer about their 
 daughter through the village officials. Luksh- 
 miah made known his errand, which was well 
 understood ; and Pulliah called the moonsiff and 
 kurnam and several of the leading men of the 
 town to help him decide what to do. They 
 came : and Lukshmiah related to them in detail 
 all the circumstances of his marriage with his 
 cousin Dilama, and said that he had now be- 
 come a Christian, and wished to avoid the ap- 
 pearance of evil ; accordingly, if the parents 
 would take Dilama to Ongole, or send her there 
 by trusty persons, she would be well taken care 
 of in school, and if after a year or two she still 
 loved him, they would be married. 
 
 The kurnam and moonsiff said all this seemed 
 fair and honest, and asked Pulliah and his wife 
 what they would do. Pulliah said that Luksh- 
 miah had broken his caste, and that, though 
 
232 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 they could not send their daughter away, she 
 might go if she wished. 
 
 The kurnam then asked Dilama what she 
 would do. He reminded her that Lukshmiah 
 was her cousin, and that she had been married 
 to him, and added that he looked like a good 
 man, and he did not think she ought to object 
 to him because he was a Christian. He also 
 told her, that if she remained with her parents 
 she could never marry again, and that if evil 
 came through ' her, the whole village as well as 
 her parents would be ashamed. 
 
 The words of the kurnam and moonsiff, so 
 flattering to Lukshmiah, were simply official, 
 but did not represent their real views or their 
 real advice to Dilama. The whole had been 
 planned beforehand : Lukshmiah was to have 
 the semblance of a fair hearing, while the ob- 
 ject of his visit was to be utterly defeated. 
 The parents and the kurnam and Dilama 
 played their part well. 
 
 After the kurnam finished speaking, Dilama 
 appeared angry, and said, “ The gods have been 
 unjust to me. This man is not my husband : I 
 know him not. My husband destroyed himself, 
 and is to me as if he were drowned in the sea, 
 
LUKSHMIAH'S RETURN. 
 
 233 
 
 only a corpse. No, I will never go with this, 
 man. He is like a filthy worm. Will you send 
 me away with such a pollution ? or would you 
 drown me also in the sea? No, never will I 
 be the wife of such a fellow. My husband was 
 an honorable man, but now is dead to me. I 
 am a widow. I will live with my father and 
 mother. Let this man go : he is lost to me 
 forever. I will go home.” So saying, she left 
 the council. 
 
 “Friends,” said Lukshmiah, after Dilama 
 had gone, “you know "one familiar proverb, ‘A 
 dog cannot eat a cocoanut.’ Why? It is in- 
 cased in a shell too hard for his teeth. You 
 have heard what my cousin said. I do not 
 blame her, and I cannot blame myself. Our 
 marriage was not of our own free will. Our 
 parents did not consult us ; and I cannot con- 
 sider it binding now, since she has cast me 
 off with such abuse and anger. She evidently 
 hates me. Personally I have done her no harm. 
 Our parents must bear the blame of our mar- 
 riage, and all the consequences. Why should 
 we be tied together as man and wife by a 
 marriage which neither she nor I contracted? 
 It would be a curse upon us both. You can 
 
234 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 well see that she scorns and despises me. 
 Give me, therefore, a divorcement according to 
 the rules of the Kumma caste, and I will go : 
 I can do no more.” 
 
 The kurnam said, “ According to the rules 
 of caste and Hinduism you are free, Luksh- 
 miah. What Dilama has said here before the 
 moonsiff and me and these leading men consti- 
 tutes a legal divorcement, and you are at liberty 
 to marry another woman if you please.” 
 
 Lukshmiah made a polite salaam to his uncle 
 and aunt, and to the members of the council, 
 and went away. He turned his back on Sa- 
 manta with mingled feelings of pain and pleas- 
 ure, — pain because he had been so badly treated 
 by his uncle and aunt and the girl, whom, if he 
 did not love, he highly esteemed. “ Why is 
 this?” he asked himself again and again. “I 
 have done no evil : I have left worshipping idols 
 of gold and silver and stone and wood. I have 
 also left off many kinds of sin, and now believe 
 in the God who gave me life. This is all they 
 have against me.” He was happy, however; 
 because he felt that he had done his whole 
 duty, and was now free from his child-marriage. 
 
 When he reached Ahmudala, his uncle the 
 
LUKSHMIAH'S RETURN. 
 
 235 
 
 moonsiff spoke to him coldly ; but his father 
 met him, and tried to be pleasant, and asked 
 him about Dilama. Lukshmiah told him all. 
 
 “It is just as I expected,” said Uppiah 
 Naidu. “As you will not be restored to your 
 caste, you would better return to Ongole. I 
 will try to get on without you. May God have 
 mercy on you and on me ! ” 
 
 Soobama came near, and the conversation 
 ceased. She asked Lukshmiah if he had suc- 
 ceeded at Samanta, ^nd if he was coming back 
 to his caste and home. When Lukshmiah 
 replied in the negative, she broke out in a most 
 violent storm of abuse. Weeping and wailing 
 and screaming by turns, she said, “ Do you 
 think Dilama would live with you? You are 
 given up to evil. You are like a filthy bird. 
 Why did you come here ? Do you wish to pol- 
 lute us ? Oh, it is a pity you were ever born ! 
 The gods cursed us by sending you to your 
 father and mother : you are lost to us forever. 
 Leave us. Oh, go, go ! ” 
 
CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 A NEW CHARACTER. 
 
 BOUT a year after Lukshmiah’s return, 
 a girl fourteen or fifteen years of age, 
 of the Sudra caste, came to Ongole 
 with native preacher Abel and other Christians, 
 and desired to be baptized. The missionaries 
 asked to see her, and a beautiful but somewhat 
 slender girl was introduced to them. She was 
 modest and shy ; but by her looks and whole 
 demeanor she soon interested them in her wel- 
 fare, and they felt convinced that God had sent 
 her to Ongole, and that it was their duty to 
 find out what his wish was concerning her. 
 
 Papulama (for this was her name) gave to 
 the church a very satisfactory account of her 
 conversion, and was baptized. As she was very 
 anxious to learn to read, and to know more 
 about the new religion, she was admitted to 
 
 236 
 
A NEW CHARACTER. 
 
 2 37 
 
 the girls’ boarding-school. These are the main 
 facts of her history, as she gave them : — 
 Papulama was born and brought up in the 
 village of Jaganada, about fifty miles north- 
 west of Ongole. Her parents were of the 
 Reddy (a division of the Suara) caste, and were 
 well-to-do farmers, cousins of the moonsiff, and 
 hence people of respectability. The natal cere- 
 monies when little Papulama was born were so 
 nearly like those previously described at Luksh- 
 miah’s birth that they need not be repeated. 
 Suffice it to say, that she was dedicated with all 
 the proper ceremonies to the goddess Pola- 
 rumma, who is supposed to preside over small- 
 pox, measles, and other malignant diseases. 
 This goddess, with Ma Lukshmi the goddess 
 of cholera, and Bungarumma the goddess of 
 wealth, and many others, are called village 
 deities. As no mention is made of these god- 
 desses in the Hindu Vedas and Puranas, they 
 probably belonged originally to the non-Aryan 
 races. But Brahmins allowed them to remain, 
 and they have become an important part of 
 Hinduism ; for every village has not only its 
 gods, but also its goddesses. When a man is 
 taken with the small-pox, cholera, or fever, it 
 
238 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 is supposed that Polarumma or Ma Lukshmi 
 or some other goddess has entered into him. 
 These goddesses are much dreaded, and are 
 worshipped by all. If one of the family or a 
 friend is taken with the small-pox, margosa- 
 leaves, which are supposed to delight the god- 
 dess, are placed beside the sick man ; rice-flour 
 and a small black grain called pesalu, mixed 
 with sugar, are offered to the goddess in the 
 presence of the patient ; and presents are sent 
 to the priest of the goddess. The sick person 
 is fed on cooling food ; but no medicine is used, 
 either internally or externally. If the person 
 dies, or an eye is lost, it is supposed that the 
 goddess has been displeased in some way. Po- 
 larumma is feared and hated, and worshipped 
 as a hard-hearted, cruel monster. 
 
 Such was Papulama’s patron goddess ; and 
 her mother trained her to be faithful, and to 
 withhold nothing which might gain and keep 
 the favor of the deity. Hence, besides the 
 almost daily worship of the idol, once or twice 
 a month Papulama and her mother would visit 
 the shrine of the goddess, taking with them 
 boiled rice, sugar, and incense ; and after pre- 
 senting the food before the idol, and burning 
 
SHRINE OF GODDESS POLARUMMA. 
 

A NEW CHARACTER. 
 
 239 
 
 the incense, they would both prostrate them- 
 selves before it, their foreheads touching the 
 ground. Other gods and goddesses were not 
 neglected ; and once a year the whole family 
 went to the great festival in Markapoor in 
 honor of Sena Kashavudu, one of the incarna- 
 tions of Vishnu. 
 
 When Papulama was about seven years old, 
 her father made a feast for his relatives and 
 friends during the Pongal festival, which takes 
 place annually in January, celebrating the sun’s 
 return north, when it passes from the sign of 
 the zodiac Sagittarius to Capricornus. They 
 ate and drank and made merry, and worshipped 
 Vishnu. The sun returned just at the ap- 
 pointed time, but the father died before morn- 
 ing of apoplexy. Papulama’s mother Gunga- 
 ma was deeply attached to him, and mourned 
 over his loss till she became insane. In the 
 family there were, besides the mother, Papu- 
 lama and her adopted brother, two widowed 
 aunts, and a grandmother. The moonsiff, who 
 was a cousin of Papulama’s father, was a kind 
 and just man ; and after his cousin died, and 
 Gungama became insane, he took charge of the 
 children and household, and hired men to carry 
 on their father’s farm. 
 
240 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 Years passed, and the great famine came. 
 Papulama, with others, saw many heart-rending 
 sights; but, the moonsiff of Jaganada being a 
 rich man, those under his care suffered but lit- 
 tle, if at all, from hunger. But, as if to make 
 all feel the chastening hand of God, cholera 
 entered his home ; and Papulama’s adopted 
 brother, and grandmother, and some others 
 died. 
 
 Soon after this, the native preacher Ongoore 
 Abel of Markapoor, while on his circuit, visited 
 Jaganada, and was preaching in the bazaar, 
 where a number of the Sudra caste were lis- 
 tening to him. Papulama, with the water-pot, 
 was on her way to the well for water, to pre- 
 pare the evening meal, when she heard some 
 one talking loudly about idols and God. Curi- 
 osity led her toward the spot, or rather God 
 sent her to hear a message from himself. 
 
 As Papulama drew near, Abel was saying, 
 “ If you continue in sin, you will go to hell : 
 if you believe in Jesus Christ, you will be 
 freed from sin, and will, at death, be taken to 
 heaven.” The preacher then said that all had 
 sinned many times ; that heaven was a holy 
 place, and that no sin could enter therein, since 
 
WATER WOMEN’ 
 
A NEW CHARACTER. 
 
 24I 
 
 God was the supreme Ruler of heaven, and sin 
 was opposed to him and to all that was good 
 and holy. This point he illustrated by saying 
 that none of them would take a leper into their 
 house, or a cobra, or any filthy and vicious ani- 
 mal. Idols, gods, and goddesses, he said, were 
 of gold, silver, or copper, wood or stone. He 
 told them a story of a woman whose husband 
 and two sons once went on a journey. After 
 a few days the wife and mother began to long 
 for her husband and sons ; and she thought 
 that as they had gone away, or could not be 
 seen, she had better set up one large and two 
 small stones in the house to represent them. 
 This she did, and daily made feasts to them, 
 and talked to them, and bought nice clothes, 
 and dressed the stones gayly. At last her 
 money was all gone, and she tried to borrow 
 of her neighbors, but they thought her crazy, 
 and would not lend ; then she went to a brok- 
 er, and got twenty-five rupees. Before these 
 were all gone, her husband and sons returned. 
 When the husband saw the stones, and knew 
 what use his wife made of them, he was very 
 angry, and, throwing them out of the door, 
 asked, “Am I a stone?” But, as he could not 
 
242 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 pay the debt his wife had contracted, he was 
 put in prison, and his family was reduced to 
 beggary. After showing the people how they 
 were like the woman, he continued, “A man 
 once broke his cart, wheels, pole, and axle-tree, 
 and afterwards put it in a pile near his house. 
 A neighbor coming along, and seeing his oxen 
 idle and his cart in a heap, said, ‘ Man, why do 
 not you put your bullocks to that cart ? If you 
 do, you will make much money.’ The owner 
 replied, ‘ There is no use of putting bullocks 
 to a broken cart. Without being mended, it 
 can do no work.’ ” 
 
 Abel then showed them how man’s nature is 
 ruined like the cart ; that he has in his heart 
 no real love for God, or desire to worship him ; 
 and pointed out the awful destruction towards 
 which all were hastening. Then he told them 
 of the Great Physician and of his grace, and 
 how to be made whole ; and described as well 
 as he could the glory and eternity of heaven, 
 and the joy of the redeemed in that happy land, 
 freed from sin and from pain and sorrow, dis- 
 ease and death. 
 
 After Abel had finished his discourse, Papu- 
 lama invited him to come to the court near 
 
A NEW CHARACTER. 
 
 243 
 
 her mother’s house, and preach and sing. He 
 went ; and after talking for some time, and 
 singing one or two beautiful Telugu hymns, 
 he went away. But God honored his own word : 
 it was not to return void. 
 
 That night Papulama was sad. She pre- 
 pared the evening meal, but could not eat. 
 She lay down on her mat at last, to try and 
 forget the sermon ; but the words, “ If you con- 
 tinue in sin, you will go to hell : if you believe 
 in Jesus Christ, you will be freed from sin, and 
 at death will be taken to heaven,” kept ringing 
 in her ears ; and sleep came not, until, wearied 
 by tossing to and fro, she slept, to dream of 
 demons and torments which neither tongue 
 nor pen can describe. Morning came, and yet 
 those words haunted her. She went to her 
 wheel, and engaged in spinning fine cotton 
 thread, which would ordinarily occupy her 
 whole mind : but the arrow had gone too deep- 
 ly into her heart to be removed ; and when, a 
 week later, Abel came to Jaganada, she was 
 delighted, and again asked him to preach near 
 her mother’s door. Every week the faithful 
 native preacher, who himself, from his infancy 
 to manhood, had worshipped the stone image 
 
244 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 of Polarumma now in the museum of Brown 
 University, and who had suffered imprison- 
 ment because he had abandoned the worship 
 of the cruel monster, and believed in God, 
 visited Jaganada, and preached Jesus. 
 
 Three months passed. Papulama was no 
 longer in gloom and sorrow. She had accepted 
 the offer of a free salvation made by her blessed 
 Lord and Saviour, and was at peace. But she 
 felt that she must be baptized, and thus profess 
 him openly. She told her mind privately to the 
 native preacher. He warned her to be careful ; 
 telling her that her relatives, her foster-father, 
 the moonsiff, and her friends would cast her off 
 and abuse her name if she broke her caste. 
 He also said that God had not told us that 
 those only who are baptized should be saved ; 
 but Paul’s word to the jailer was, “Believe on 
 the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be 
 saved:” he intimated to her that it might not 
 be her duty to be baptized at once, and urged 
 her by all means to consider well before acting. 
 
 Papulama agreed to do this, but carefully 
 inquired the time of the next meeting at 
 Qngole, when all the preachers and teachers 
 from Markapoor and farther west would proba- 
 
A NEW CHARACTER. 
 
 245 
 
 bly pass through Jaganada. She could not 
 satisfy herself that it would be right to try to 
 keep her new-found hope a secret, and deter- 
 mined to go to Ongole and see the missionaries. 
 She secured grain enough for food for several 
 days, and a few annas in money ; and, when 
 preacher Abel and other Christians passed 
 through Jaganada, she, bundle in hand, secretly 
 left her home, and joined the company. As 
 soon as Papulama’s mother heard that her 
 daughter had left Jaganada, she started after 
 the company of Christians, and overtook them 
 before dark. Her reason had so far returned 
 to her that she realized that something was 
 about to happen to her child, and she begged 
 her to return to her home. She also by turns 
 both abused and flattered the native Christians 
 and preachers ; and, when they assured her for 
 the hundredth time that they had not enticed 
 her daughter away, she would turn to Papulama, 
 throw her arms about her neck, and plead with 
 her not to leave her. Thus for two days and 
 nights she clung to her daughter. When Papu- 
 lama was awake she kept near her ; and when 
 she slept the mother sat down beside her girl, 
 and, covering her face with her hands, spent 
 the hours in silence or weeping. 
 
246 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 When about half way to Ongole, Gungama, 
 Papulama’s mother, suddenly left her, and re- 
 turned to Jaganada; but about four weeks 
 later she appeared in Ongole, and was deter- 
 mined to take Papulama back with her. She 
 got an interview with the missionaries, threw 
 herself at their feet, and begged for her child. 
 The missionaries were in an awkward position. 
 They felt deeply for the poor woman, yet they 
 could not refuse to be faithful to the trust God 
 had sent to them. 
 
 They called Papulama, and stated the whole 
 case to her, telling her that she must do what 
 she believed would please God. Gungama 
 asked to see Papulama privately ; but the mis- 
 sionaries would not consent to this, supposing 
 that she would try to frighten her in some 
 way. Next she asked to be allowed to whisper 
 to her ; and this was granted. She threw her 
 arms about Papulama, weeping, and begging 
 her to have compassion on the mother who had 
 given her birth, and not forsake her for stran- 
 gers and foreigners. It was a scene which 
 might touch any heart, to see the mother in her 
 deep sorrow, clinging to her daughter, some- 
 times falling down and embracing her feet, and 
 
A NEW CHARACTER. 
 
 247 
 
 imploring her with bitter tears not to leave 
 her ; and the tender-hearted but brave girl, with 
 tearful eyes and strong emotion, struggling be- 
 tween love and duty, and telling her mother of 
 the joy she had found in the religion of Christ, 
 and how impossible it was to desert her Sav- 
 iour. Duty triumphed ; and Papulama, while 
 still loving her mother, stood firm in her faith. 
 She would not go. 
 
CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 IN SCHOOL AT ONGOLE. 
 
 NLY a very few, perhaps not more than 
 one in a hundred, of the Sudra or 
 Mala and Madega castes, can either 
 read or write ; because Hinduism teaches that 
 the former are servants, and the latter servants 
 of servants, and for them to aspire to educa- 
 tion and position would be displeasing to Brah- 
 ma, from whose feet the Sudras are supposed 
 to have sprung. 
 
 This cunningly-devised and faithfully-taught 
 dogma works well for the Brahmins, who have 
 managed from time immemorial, not only dur- 
 ing the reign of their own rajahs, but also 
 under the Mohammedan moguls and nabobs 
 and the English even to this day, to monopo- 
 lize most of the lucrative and influential offices 
 of state, as well as the learned professions ex- 
 
 248 
 
IN SCHOOL AT ONGOLE. 
 
 249 
 
 cept perhaps medicine. Never were tyrannical 
 laws more completely humiliating, or more 
 faithfully executed, than the rules of caste 
 made and executed by Brahmins. The Telugus 
 are an imaginative and also a thinking people, 
 and are equal in natural ability to most Euro- 
 pean nations. The minds of their children and 
 youth, deprived of books and correct instruc- 
 tion, are so filled with all manner of fables and 
 superstitions, besides the multitude of legends 
 of gods and goddesses, that they are but little 
 better than slaves to a thousand imaginary 
 masters. 
 
 A Telugu native preacher tells the following 
 stories : “When I was a child, I went one night 
 into the yard with an aunt. She saw some- 
 thing on the top of the house ; and, thinking 
 that her patron god had come to see her in 
 answer to her many prayers, she fell down and 
 worshipped the supposed god, and made me do 
 likewise. Afterwards she was so pleased, and 
 adored the supposed god so loudly, that he 
 started to run away, but broke the tiles of the 
 house in his flight. The men of the house 
 then rushed out, and caught the supposed god, 
 and found he was a thief.” 
 
250 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 “At another time a friend, who was a dealer 
 in oil, in passing my father’s house with a pot 
 of oil, thought that he had forgotten some- 
 thing, and put his pot of oil in my study, and 
 went away ; but, being called suddenly to an- 
 other town, he did not return that day. When I 
 came into my study, I noticed the oil, and made 
 inquiries about it ; but no one knew any thing 
 about the oil, and no one had been seen in the 
 room. My aunt called all the neighbors, and 
 consulted about this extraordinary occurrence. 
 It was decided that probably this was the work 
 of the terrible demoness Kattari, and that it 
 meant that the owner of the room would die. 
 Soon after this a woman, who had heard of the 
 pot of oil, came along, and by various motions 
 of her head and body indicated that she was 
 possessed by the goddess Kattari. The women 
 were all much frightened ; and their fear was 
 increased when the woman said, ‘ I am Kattari, 
 and the person to whom this room belongs shall 
 certainly die.’ Cocoanuts and rice were offered 
 her ; and she relented, saying that if a cock 
 and a sheep were sacrificed to her I would live. 
 My aunt made preparations for these sacrifices 
 at once ; but, when a little while later my 
 
IN SCHOOL AT ONGOLE. 
 
 251 
 
 friend the oil-merchant came along, she ceased 
 to offer further honors and spoils to ‘ the woman 
 possessed by Kattari.’ ” 
 
 A few years ago, when the missionaries re- 
 turned home from a preaching-tour, they found 
 all the young men and women in the normal 
 and girls’ schools in great fear : all had left 
 their houses, and slept out in the open air ; and 
 many of them begged to be allowed to return 
 to their homes at once, for the mission com- 
 pound was haunted, and if they remained they 
 would be killed. They said that every night 
 stones fell on their houses and in their yards, 
 thrown by unseen hands ; and some went so 
 far as to assure the missionaries that they had 
 not only heard the stones fall once and again, 
 but that they had seen them. It tasked all the 
 powers of the missionaries to quell the panic, 
 and restore the assurance that devils, however 
 many there might be, could not harm faithful 
 Christians with stones or any thing else, be- 
 cause the everlasting arms of the living God 
 were around his people. 
 
 If the laborer on his way to his work in the 
 morning happens to sneeze, he must return to 
 his home, and wait a while before he starts 
 
252 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 again, else evil will come to him before night. 
 If any one meets in the early morning a widow, 
 or Brahmin with a wholly shaven head indicat- 
 ing that he has made a vow, or a man of the 
 Madega caste, he returns to his home, because 
 these indicate bad luck. If a crow (and these 
 birds are very numerous here) flies across the 
 road before a person from the right to the left, 
 or if a cat passes from the left to the right of 
 the way, these indicate that the intended busi- 
 ness or project will prove a failure ; and hence 
 the devout Hindu turns back till a more propi- 
 tious time. If lizards, of which the country is 
 full, make a noise peculiar to them, it is sup- 
 posed to be a sign of danger. The howling of 
 a dog here, as among some in enlightened 
 America, is thought to be a warning of death; 
 and, if an owl hoots on the top of the house, it 
 indicates that a calamity of some kind is about 
 to befall the inmates. Important projects are 
 not commenced during the dark of the moon ; 
 and long journeys are not undertaken when the 
 traveller in starting would have to go towards 
 the planet Venus when it is either the morning 
 or the evening star. 
 
 These and a thousand other things, many of 
 
IN SCHOOL AT ONGOLE. 
 
 253 
 
 which are worse,' fill the minds of the youth ; 
 and, even after they have become Christians, 
 the influence of these old superstitions is very 
 great. Hence the missionary and the mission- 
 teacher have a long, hard, and difficult task to 
 enlighten the minds of believers, to teach “all 
 things” as Jesus commanded, and to give the 
 children and youth among the converts, even 
 the rudiments of an education. But do not 
 understand that the home teaching given to 
 the Telugu youth is all bad. Far from it. They 
 are taught many good lessons which multitudes 
 of youth in more favored lands would do well 
 to heed. Telugu boys and girls are in many 
 respects perfect gentlemen and ladies. I have 
 travelled much by night and by day, and have 
 come in contact with thousands of Telugu 
 youth of all castes in hundreds of villages ; 
 and I do not recollect that I ever received from 
 one of them, even a rude or unkind answer, or 
 that I ever heard one of them swear or curse. 
 They are taught from infancy to be polite to 
 strangers, and not to make fun of the unfortu- 
 nate, but to be compassionate, and also to be 
 temperate, industrious, and frugal, and to mind 
 their own business, and honor those older than 
 
254 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 themselves, revering their parents and grand- 
 parents and aged people at all times and every- 
 where. 
 
 Lukshmiah was admitted to the boys’ school 
 soon after his baptism, and made fair progress 
 in learning to read ; but after his second visit 
 to Ahmudala, when Dilama had publicly and 
 finally cast him off, he studied with increased 
 zeal. The abuse of Dilama and Soobama, the 
 taunts of former friends, and the coldness of all 
 his relatives, were necessary to wean him from 
 them, and prevent his longing for them and the 
 scenes of his childhood. 
 
 The lessons he heard recited in geography 
 astonished him much ; and he would ask the 
 teacher after school if it were really true that 
 the world is round and not flat, and that men 
 had sailed quite around it. These assurances 
 were given, and the theory of eclipses was ex- 
 plained. When he heard that the great cobra 
 with twelve heads, on which he thought the 
 world rested, and which he had often dreaded 
 and worshipped, fearing that it would swallow 
 the sun or moon, was a myth, and that the seas 
 beyond the earth, of sugar-cane juice, of clari- 
 fied butter, of curds, and of fresh water, were 
 
IN SCHOOL A T ONGOLE. 
 
 255 
 
 mere fables, he was greatly pleased, and longed 
 for more extended knowledge. 
 
 While such thoughts and plans were fresh in 
 his mind, an event happened which made a 
 deep impression on Lukshmiah. He was nat- 
 urally sympathetic and tender-hearted ; and 
 when native preacher George, from near Cum- 
 bum, came into Ongole, sick of consumption, 
 after having shared gloriously in gathering 
 many sheaves for the Master’s garner in 1878, 
 Lukshmiah was very sad ; for George was a 
 young man and an enthusiastic preacher, whom 
 everybody loved at sight. Lukshmiah and 
 others did all they could for the sick servant 
 of God ; but medicine was of no use, and kind- 
 ness was needed for only a few weeks. George 
 exhorted Lukshmiah, and all who came to him, 
 to be faithful, and to learn quickly, that they 
 might go out and preach Jesus, making known 
 the great salvation he had purchased for all by 
 his blood. 
 
 “This is necessary,” said the sick man, “be- 
 cause I am going : my work is done, and Jesus 
 is calling me. But the Christians have no one 
 to train them up to be strong men and women 
 in Christ ; and multitudes also on my field of 
 labor have not believed in our Saviour.” 
 
256 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 The dying man’s words were not lost. They 
 sank deep in the hearts of Lukshmiah and 
 many others, who felt more than ever before 
 that they must study hard, and prepare as soon 
 as possible to preach the gospel. Lukshmiah 
 frequently spent his evenings with preacher 
 Obulu. It was he who, in his own father’s 
 court in Ahmudala, had first made him feel 
 that the Christian religion was something dif- 
 ferent from the lifeless, comfortless religion of 
 the Hindus. The large, loving heart, and the 
 rich experiences of Obulu, which he was ever 
 ready to relate, were very attractive to Luksh- 
 miah ; and he became attached to him as to a 
 father. 
 
 Weeks and months passed swiftly by. Luksh- 
 miah grew in grace and knowledge, and in the 
 esteem of the teachers, preachers, and mission- 
 aries ; and he was contented. But books and 
 his new-found faith and Christian friends were 
 not all that now attracted Lukshmiah, and gave 
 him pleasure. A certain young woman in the 
 girls’ school, with mild but sparkling black 
 eyes, and long silken black hair, which was 
 always tastefully arranged, had, not by words 
 or by letters, but by her modesty and general 
 demeanor, quite won his heart. 
 
IN SCHOOL AT ONGOLE. 
 
 25 7 
 
 Papulama and Lukshmiah, before they be- 
 came Christians, belonged to different divisions 
 of the Sudra caste, which never intermarry. 
 But their social position in their native vil- 
 lages, and the treatment each had received at 
 the hands of relatives, had made them friends ; 
 and Lukshmiah did much to pacify Gungama, 
 Papulama’s mother, when she came to Ongole, 
 for she listened to him as she would to no one 
 else. The friendship and interest he felt for 
 the lonely but courageous girl grew into ad- 
 miration, and admiration into love which he 
 could not conceal. 
 
 One day he came to the missionaries, and 
 apparently had something in his mind which 
 he hesitated to tell. The missionaries knew 
 at once what the subject was, for they had 
 not failed to notice Lukshmiah’s actions ; and 
 strict rules could not wholly control his eyes, 
 which would sometimes, in public gatherings 
 and elsewhere, unconsciously wander away to 
 the seats reserved for the girls’ school. But 
 they professed ignorance, and asked if he were 
 ill, or if he had heard bad news from his father 
 or friends. He answered in the negative, and 
 at last said, “ I want you to let me have Papu- 
 
258 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 lama for my wife.” Of course the missiona- 
 ries were astonished : what father is not when 
 one asks for a loved daughter ? and they said, 
 “ Lukshmiah, how can we let you have Papu- 
 lama ? Perhaps you may still love Dilama, and 
 may want to wait until she repents of having 
 divorced you, and then marry her.” 
 
 “ No,” said Lukshmiah ; “ Dilama I esteemed. 
 She is a nice girl, and my cousin ; but I never 
 loved her ; and, as I understand it, she never 
 was my wife. The marriage between us was 
 the work of our parents, and not ours. Be- 
 sides, she hates me, and has divorced me, and 
 driven me away in shame from her village. I 
 will never marry her again.” 
 
 “But,” said the missionaries, “you ought to 
 attend school at least three years yet in the 
 theological seminary at Ramapatam : why, then, 
 do you wish to be married ? ” 
 
 “Oh!” said Lukshmiah, “if you will only 
 promise Papulama to me, I will wait until I 
 have finished my theological course, or until 
 such a time as you may appoint for the mar- 
 riage.” 
 
 “ But how do you know that Papulama will 
 marry you ? Have you ever talked with her 
 about marriage, Lukshmiah ? ” 
 
IN SCHOOL A T ONGOLE. 
 
 259 
 
 “No,” answered Lukshmiah : “you know 
 that young men are not allowed either to con- 
 verse with the young women, or to write to 
 them ; and, besides, I would not venture to 
 think of asking Papulama to become my wife 
 till I had your consent and blessing.” 
 
 “ Well, we will call Papulama, and see what 
 she has to say on this most important subject, 
 Lukshmiah,” said the missionaries. “ She is 
 the all-important factor in this affair, and we 
 cannot talk more until we see her.” 
 
 Papulama came ; and, after inquiry, it was 
 found that Lukshmiah’s love was duly recipro- 
 cated. On account of her father’s death when 
 she was so young, and the insanity of her 
 mother, and afterwards the famine, which taxed 
 all the energies and resources of her foster- 
 father the moonsiff of Jaganada, she had never 
 been married. Lukshmiah had a whole heart 
 to offer her, and she a whole heart to give in 
 return. The missionaries were convinced that 
 the love between Lukshmiah and Papulama 
 was of God ; and they consented to a promise 
 of marriage, to be fulfilled after three years. 
 
 The time drew near when Lukshmiah must 
 go to Ramapatam to enter upon his theological 
 
26 o 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 course. He expected to go there unmarried, 
 and was quite pleased and happy. But after con- 
 siderable thought the missionaries concluded, as 
 Papulama seemed likely, if properly educated, 
 to be very useful as a teacher and Bible-reader 
 among caste-women, that a three or four years’ 
 course of study in the theological seminary was 
 just what she would need; and therefore they 
 suggested to the young people that they might, 
 if they wished to do so, be married at once ; and 
 this suggestion was accepted, and acted upon 
 immediately. After their marriage they visited 
 Ahmudala and Jaganada. They talked to all 
 who would listen to them about the new religion 
 which had made them so happy. Both they 
 and their words were received with some favor 
 by their parents and relatives and friends, who 
 urged them to learn first, and then come to 
 them again. A month later, in July, 1880, they 
 commenced study at Ramapatam. 
 
CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 AT RAMAPATAM. 
 
 BOUT one hundred and fifty miles north 
 of Madras, and thirty south of Ongole, 
 near the seashore, is the little village 
 of Ramapatam. In front the blue waters of the 
 Bay of Bengal roll in and break incessantly on 
 a white-sand beach. All about the flat, sandy 
 shores are groves of Palmyra palm-trees, with 
 their straight, pillar-like trunks, and dark, 
 bunchy tops ; and here and there a few tall, 
 slender cocoanut-palms sway their long feath- 
 ery leaves in the wind. The Buckingham 
 Canal, which runs from Madras far into the 
 northern districts, passes close to Ramapatam, 
 and forms the principal means of traffic and 
 conveyance along the east coast. 
 
 Quite near the village, on very gently rising 
 ground, and facing the sea, is Brownson Theo- 
 
 26l 
 
262 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 logical Seminary, an institution where a large 
 number of Telugu converts are gathered to 
 study the word of God, and prepare themselves 
 for Christian work among their countrymen. 
 The compound (enclosed premises) is quite 
 large, and has the full benefit of the fresh sea- 
 breeze. The fact that the grounds are so broad 
 and airy is very favorable to such an institution 
 in the matter of health ; and it was indeed for- 
 tunate that this fine location was secured, and 
 the seminary established here. 
 
 Out in the broad lawn before the mission 
 house, as we look toward the sea, is a sacred 
 spot. Within a circular thorn-hedge stands a 
 beautiful date-palm ; and under its graceful, 
 drooping branches a white-marble slab marks 
 the resting-place of Mrs. Williams, wife of the 
 principal of the seminary. In the year 1876 
 she fell asleep in Jesus ; and the spot where she 
 rests was appropriately chosen in view of the 
 institution she loved so well. 
 
 It was this seminary at Ramapatam which 
 American Baptists were called upon to endow 
 in 1873. It has since then prospered greatly. 
 The students number about two hundred at 
 present, and the number is increasing every 
 
AT RAMA PA TAM. 
 
 263 
 
 year. Many of the young men are married, 
 and their wives come with them ; and those who 
 are able study in the same classes with their 
 husbands, thus fitting themselves for usefulness 
 as school-teachers and instructors of the women 
 in the fields of labor which they and their hus- 
 bands will occupy. 
 
 Besides the principal, there are four regular 
 teachers in the seminary. These have all been 
 selected from among the students themselves, 
 and trained for this very purpose. They are 
 faithful men and good teachers. The first 
 three are ordained. 
 
 The seminary is a busy place : there is no 
 room for idleness. The motto inscribed over 
 the door of the schoolhouse where John Milton 
 went to school would be appropriate here : 
 “Doce aut disce aut discede” (“Teach, or learn, 
 or leave”). Every morning at seven o’clock 
 work commences ; and recitations and lectures 
 fully occupy the day till four o’clock, with the 
 exception of the noon recess. 
 
 The course of study commences with Gene- 
 sis and the Gospel by Matthew, and the first 
 year is spent on the first books of the Old and 
 New Testaments. In due time the whole Bible 
 
264 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 is gone over in regular order, much of it being 
 committed to memory. And in the fourth year 
 instruction is given to a certain extent in 
 church history and pastoral theology. Many 
 of the students acquire a very commendable* 
 knowledge of the word of God and the Chris- 
 tian system. 
 
 The houses where the students live are of 
 brick, laid in lime mortar, with tiled roofs ; and 
 most of the work on these buildings has been 
 done by the students themselves after school- 
 hours and on Saturdays. The houses were 
 almost all -destroyed by the great cyclone in 
 November, 1879, and were built up again by 
 the students. Wood is exceedingly scarce and 
 very high-priced in this part of India : hence 
 bricks and tiles are used. That the students 
 should work, is desirable in various ways. It 
 economizes the funds of the seminary ; it is 
 conducive to the health of the students ; and it 
 teaches them that even preachers and teachers 
 must be ready to labor with their hands if 
 necessary. 
 
 Now that we have become somewhat ac- 
 quainted with the place, let us take *a walk 
 round among the cottages. It is towards even- 
 
AT RAMAPATAM. 
 
 26 5 
 
 ing, and we may walk out without danger from 
 the sun. As we go along from house to house, 
 the students seem very happy to see us ; and 
 among them we soon notice Lukshmiah and 
 Papulama. As we approach, Lukshmiah rises 
 from his seat by the door, where he is read- 
 ing, and Papulama comes from where she is 
 boiling the rice for the evening meal ; and they 
 both greet us with a loving smile, and with 
 that graceful salaam which is so natural to the 
 Telugus. We find that Lukshmiah is study- 
 ing his Bible-lesson for the next day. He is 
 happy, and studies diligently ; though often, 
 when speaking of his heathen relatives and 
 friends, a cloud of anxiety and sorrow comes 
 over his face, as he thinks of their condition, 
 and his separation from them. And as he 
 realizes that the religion of Christ often brings 
 a sword instead of peace, and that “a man’s 
 foes shall be they of his own household,” he 
 says it is hard; but, as it is right, he submits 
 gladly to all that discipleship to Christ in- 
 volves. 
 
 Day by day he and Papulama, in a large class 
 of sixty-five, follow the regular course of Bible- 
 study. They are highly esteemed by their 
 
266 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 teachers and fellow-students : their conduct is 
 upright, and their influence good. 
 
 We will suppose now that it is Saturday 
 morning. At the ringing of the bell at seven 
 o’clock, all assemble as on other days for morn- 
 ing worship. After the devotional exercises, 
 all the students bring forward their regular 
 weekly contributions, and place them on the 
 table before the teachers. Besides this, many 
 of them make special offerings : one perhaps 
 will bring a fowl, and another some vegetables ; 
 these are sold at auction among the students, 
 and the proceeds put into the fund. 
 
 After these exercises, about seventy of the 
 students go out, two by two, into the surround- 
 ing villages within a radius of ten miles, to hold 
 meetings on Saturday evening and Sunday 
 forenoon. One of the senior students and a 
 younger man generally go together, one to 
 preach, and the other to conduct Sunday school 
 in villages where there are Christians. 
 
 On Sunday morning at eight o’clock, all 
 except those who have gone out to the villages 
 assemble in the seminary for Sunday school, 
 attired in their clean clothes. The school is 
 conducted very much as Sunday schools are at 
 
A T RAMA PA TAM. 
 
 267 
 
 home; the International Lessons, translated into 
 Telugu, being used. After the opening exer- 
 cises, when all have separated into their differ- 
 ent classes, we will walk through the rooms 
 among them, and see what they are doing. 
 Here and there they are seated in groups on 
 the mats, each class forming a circle around its 
 teacher. There are about fifteen classes, ar 
 ranged according to age and attainments. The 
 teachers are full of earnestness as they explain 
 the lesson; and the scholars recite just as well 
 as children at home, committing to memory the 
 Golden Text and other passages. 
 
 You notice the babies lying on the floor in 
 front of their mothers, kicking and smiling and 
 crowing. They must be brought to Sunday 
 school, or their mothers would have to stay at 
 home ; for they have no servants with whom to 
 leave them. 
 
 After the classes have gone over the lesson, 
 all come together again, and general questions 
 are asked by the leader. Your attention is 
 attracted by the prompt and correct answers, 
 given in such a pleasant manner, by one of the 
 young married women. That is Papulama, the 
 wife of Lukshmiah. He is out in one of 
 
268 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 the villages, telling the people of a Saviour’s 
 love ; and she is here, diligently studying the 
 truth, and preparing to become a teacher in the 
 Sunday school. 
 
 At nine o’clock the regular morning service 
 is held, usually conducted by Yohan, the first 
 of the four teachers in the seminary. As you 
 listen to him so discreetly, soundly, and ear- 
 nestly unfolding, illustrating, and enforcing the 
 truth of God, you wonder, and ask yourself, 
 “ Can he be the same who, ten or twelve years 
 ago, was a poor little naked, ignorant heathen 
 boy, out in one of the western villages, wor- 
 shipping a dumb stone, and knowing nothing of 
 a god beyond that?” His home was at a vil- 
 lage about six miles from Ahmudala, and there 
 he first heard the saving truth. Now he is like 
 a right hand to the principal of the seminary. 
 His fellow-teachers also are all worthy of con- 
 fidence and love. 
 
 At two p.m. all connected with the Sunday 
 school meet for the practice of singing. They 
 use their own native airs chiefly, with hymns 
 which have been composed by their own preach- 
 ers, as well as by missionaries. Many of their 
 tunes are very pretty, and suit their taste and 
 
AT RAMAPATAM. 269 
 
 their language much better than English 
 tunes. 
 
 Towards evening some of the female teachers, 
 with a few of the young women, go out into 
 the streets of Ramapatam and the neighboring 
 palems, to speak to the women concerning the 
 all-important subject. 
 
 At seven o’clock on Sunday evening, the stu- 
 dents who went out to preach in the villages 
 having returned, all connected with the institu- 
 tion come together, and the principal preaches 
 to them. He has thus a good opportunity to 
 follow up the instructions of the class-room, and 
 to draw particular attention to those subjects 
 which will be of special importance to Christian 
 preachers and teachers while preparing for their 
 life-work. 
 
 The seminary building, its three rooms thrown 
 into one, is closely packed, there being scarcely 
 standing-room for the preacher. Not only is 
 the interior of the building filled, but the ve- 
 randas also. Many of the people cannot see, 
 and can scarcely hear, the preacher. The build- 
 ing, which six or seven years ago was large 
 enough, is now entirely insufficient, so greatly 
 has the number of students increased. One 
 
270 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 result of the great ingatherings of 1878 and 
 following years is a largely increased attendance 
 at the seminary. A new building, large enough 
 for all the students to assemble together in one 
 hall, is very much needed. 
 
 Such is the institution where Lukshmiah is 
 now fitting himself to explain the facts and doc- 
 trines of the Christian religion to his people, 
 many of whom are still strongly prejudiced 
 against it, and many more of whom know little 
 or nothing about it. We hope, that, by the 
 grace of God, both Lukshmiah and Papulama 
 will yet be the means of leading many of the 
 people of their own caste and others out of 
 the prison-house of Hinduism, into the light 
 and liberty of the gospel. 
 
 Here, then, in the seminary, we will take 
 leave of them, hoping that some of our readers 
 at least may hear of them again in coming 
 years. We have traced their story from their 
 childhood, in heathen darkness, until now they 
 stand in the ever-brightening light of God, and 
 on the threshold, we trust, of a life of very 
 devoted and very successful labor for Him who 
 redeemed them. Dear reader, whether you hear 
 of them again on earth or not, we have no doubt 
 
AT HAMA PA TAM. 
 
 271 
 
 that when “they shall come from^the east and 
 from the west, from the north and from the 
 south, and sit down in the kingdom of God,” 
 these two will be there. 
 
 Two years have passed since Papulama first 
 came to Ongole. Gungama, her mother, now 
 comes to see her frequently. Her insanity is 
 nearly gone, which she says is because she 
 believes in Christ as her Saviour. She is happy, 
 and has asked to be baptized. After her visits 
 to her daughter, when her relatives or the peo- 
 ple of her village ask her if she has broken her 
 caste, she tells them blandly that she has not ; 
 that she has become purer by visiting Ongole ; 
 and that, if they also go there, their caste will 
 be improved. They take her words literally, 
 and let her alone gladly, because they know in 
 their hearts that Gungama is right; for neither 
 Brahminism nor popular Hinduism can offer to 
 the weary, heavy-laden, sin-sick millions of India 
 either a Comforter or Saviour. 
 
CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 IMPORTANT FACTS AND PRESSING NEEDS. 
 
 N the preceding chapters you have 
 learned much of the habits and cus- 
 toms and every-day life of the Telu- 
 gus ; also how they are trained, and how they 
 think, feel, marry, live, and die. I wish you 
 now to take a more extended view, that you 
 may know what we have to meet, and thus 
 you will be the better able to help us and the 
 cause in India efficiently. 
 
 India contains 1,577,698 square miles. It 
 is as large as twenty-eight states like Illinois, 
 or one hundred and ninety-seven states like 
 Massachusetts. The census has just been taken, 
 but the results are not yet made known : we 
 can safely say, however, that the population of 
 India is about two hundred and fifty millions. 
 Of this vast number, about one hundred and 
 
 272 
 
FACTS AND NEEDS. 
 
 273 
 
 eighty-five millions are of the Brahmin faith, 
 about forty-one millions are Mohammedans, 
 and about three millions are Buddhists. Of the 
 remainder, three hundred and fifty thousand are 
 nominal Christians, and the rest are of the 
 various religions of the hill and aboriginal 
 tribes. 
 
 When the English first came to India, it was 
 mostly under the Mohammedan rule, the em- 
 peror being the Great Mogul of Delhi. It is 
 now wholly subject to Queen Victoria, the Kai- 
 ser-i-Hind, “ Empress of India ; ” for, although 
 some of the native states are said to be in- 
 dependent, the independence is only nominal. 
 No capital is without its British resident and 
 British cannon. These are nominally to help 
 protect the rajah, but in fact, probably, to 
 watch him and his subjects. India, although 
 now one vast empire, was in past ages com- 
 posed of many nations, as Europe is to-day. 
 These different peoples now speak one hundred 
 and thirty-nine distinct languages, and prob- 
 ably about one hundred different dialects, mak- 
 ing over two hundred languages and dialects 
 in all. 
 
 The people of India are, by the best authori- 
 
274 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 ties, supposed to be the descendants of the 
 aboriginal inhabitants, and their conquerors 
 the Scythians, and of the Aryans who in turn 
 invaded India, and conquered the Scythians. 
 And to these must be added the descendants 
 of the Mohammedans who came to India from 
 Persia. The religion of the aboriginal tribes 
 may have been fetichism ; and the religion of 
 the Dravidian race of Scythians, who first colo- 
 nized Telingana, was somewhat like that of the 
 worshippers of Siva of modern times ; while 
 the Sanskrit-speaking race of Brahmins, Ksha- 
 triyas, and Vaisyas, were pantheists. The 
 Dravidian race allowed the aborigines to keep 
 their religion, and by degrees it was adopted 
 by the conquerors generally. After the Aryans 
 came they obtained influence by conquest, or 
 otherwise, and the Brahmins were accepted as 
 the teachers, counsellors, and priests of the 
 whole people ; while the name of the god Siva 
 was given to the principal god of Telingana, 
 and in some way the Aryans got the consent 
 of the people to make them the fourth caste, or 
 Sudras. 
 
 The god Brahma is said to have four faces ; 
 and, judging by the different views of him held 
 
FACTS AND NEEDS. 
 
 275 
 
 by his followers, the number of faces is none 
 too great. You may meet a man ; and, after 
 preaching to him, he may tell you that such 
 teaching is very good for low-caste people, but 
 that, as for himself, he does not worship idols, 
 and has no need of our religion. Ask further 
 what he means, and he will tell you that he has 
 the Vedas, which were written three thousand 
 years before Jesus Christ was born, and does 
 not care for so new a religion. He declares 
 that he never committed any sin ; and, if you 
 care to talk further with him, will boldly affirm 
 that he is God. He believes in pantheism, or 
 that Brahma is the only deity, the supreme 
 Lord of the universe, eternal and self-existent, 
 who created and manages the universe by two 
 powers, good and evil, — Vishnu the preserver, 
 and Siva the destroyer. They say that there 
 is no difference between God and soul, and that 
 everything is “illusion.” They explain their 
 faith by the following illustration : — 
 
 •“ If a number of vessels with water in them 
 be placed opposite to the sun, then in each of 
 the vessels the sun will be visible, although in 
 reality the sun is only one. Similarly, although 
 God is one, still he is visible in everybody, 
 
276 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 presenting various appearances. Hence every 
 man is God.” 
 
 Besides this sect of religionists, there are two 
 other sects, which differ somewhat from it ; one 
 claiming that the soul approaches God or be- 
 comes similar to God, and the other asserting 
 that the soul and God are entirely different. 
 The three sects are said to be subdivided into 
 ninety-six minor sects. 
 
 Around the triad Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva, 
 and with the Puranas as authority, modern Hin- 
 duism or popularized Brahminism has, in poet- 
 ry and fable, gathered the three hundred and 
 sixty millions of fabled gods and goddesses. 
 The Hinduism of the masses, which is practical 
 polytheism, has so far departed from the spir- 
 itual pantheism taught in the Vedas, and ad- 
 hered to by the few, that there is but little 
 resemblance. 
 
 But the Brahmins are equal to the emer- 
 gency. If questioned about the results of their 
 teachings, they say, “ Gods, men, trees, animals, 
 stones, earth, emanated from the Lord of the 
 universe ; and all will be ultimately absorbed 
 into him, Brahma. Hence, although images are 
 worshipped, yet that is not wrong ; as the mate- 
 
FACTS AND NEEDS. 
 
 2 77 
 
 rial is part of Brahma, and the form given to 
 the idol only represents some characteristic or 
 action of the god.” They say, that, while the 
 learned do not worship idols, yet they counte- 
 nance them, as they are necessary for the un- 
 learned and ignorant masses. As nearly as I 
 can learn, all classes and sects of the Brahmini- 
 cal faith, in this part of India of which I am 
 writing, believe in transmigration. As a man 
 casts off his old clothes, and puts on new, so in 
 the next life a new form is taken, either higher 
 or lower, according to the deeds done and merit 
 gained. 
 
 Hinduism is not the dead or dying religion 
 that it is often represented to be. Far from it. 
 It is thoroughly organized. In one sense, every 
 Brahmin is a priest, and his word is law. 
 Every village has its shrines and temples, one 
 or more ; and every temple has its priests, and 
 dancing-girls, musicians, and servants, to per- 
 form all the different rites and ceremonies of 
 their complicated ritual. Every man down to 
 the common laborer knows exactly what his 
 social status is, what fasts and feasts are to be 
 observed, what presents are to be given to the 
 priest, and what to the god ; what ceremonies 
 
278 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 are to be observed, and what sacrifices are to 
 be made : and the priests see to it that all such 
 duties are faithfully performed. 
 
 Besides the priests in every village and tem- 
 ple in South India, there are four high priests 
 of the god Vishnu, and five of the god Siva. 
 These high priests have an immense income, 
 and travel in great pomp with elephants, and 
 sometimes with two or three thousand followers 
 in their suite. The high priest of this section 
 visits Ongole once in four years, when people 
 of all castes flock in to see him, to give him 
 presents, and to worship him. 
 
 Bra’nminism cannot be called the state reli- 
 gion of India, for nominally government is 
 neutral in all religious matters. But every 
 temple is endowed with lands, which are free 
 from government taxes. These lands were 
 given, in ages past, by the rulers ; and, when 
 the English annexed the country, they contin- 
 ued the old order of things in all religious 
 matters except the suttee, the hanging festival, 
 and human sacrifices. The temples of Vishnu 
 and Siva in Ongole are endowed with about 
 one hundred and twenty-five acres of the best 
 land for cultivation in the vicinity. 
 
FACTS AND NEEDS. 
 
 279 
 
 Most temples have so much income from 
 lands that Brahmins generally can live in ease 
 and luxury, while the high priests are im- 
 mensely rich. Moreover, the influence of the 
 large number of Brahmins in all branches of 
 government service is very great ; and but few 
 English officers, even if they have the intel- 
 lectual ability, have the nerve or physical 
 strength to stem the current of opposition to 
 all their subordinates. The Hindus generally 
 are in earnest in all religious matters. Their 
 religion enters into the every-day life of all 
 castes and classes and occupations. The ear- 
 nestness of the Hindus does not appear great 
 on a slight acquaintance. Their enthusiasm is 
 not of the effervescent type, which may waste 
 itself away in talk ; but it is like the ebbing 
 and flowing of the ocean tide, which quietly, 
 noiselessly, sweeps every thing before it. The 
 Brahminism which surrounds us, and contests 
 with us every inch of ground, is no myth. But 
 we are neither overawed nor discouraged. We 
 know that we fight not in our own strength, 
 but that in due time, in God’s own time, India 
 will submit to him ; and in every city, town, 
 and hamlet, from the snow-capped Himalayas 
 
28 o 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 to Cape Comorin, there will be chapels to the 
 God of heaven, instead of idol houses and 
 temples, while songs of praise and thanksgiv- 
 ing and prayer to our blessed Saviour will be 
 heard in every household. 
 
 In India there are, including those on leave, 
 six hundred and eighty-nine missionaries, nearly 
 four hundred ordained native preachers, and 
 about one hundred and three thousand church- 
 members. 
 
 The missionaries and native preachers are 
 doing, we have reason to believe, a good work. 
 Thousands of village schools are taught by 
 Christian men and women ; and hundreds of 
 colportors, with Bible in hand, travel from vil- 
 lage to village, and offer the word of God, and 
 evangelical and other tracts, for a nominal price 
 to all who will buy ; while hundreds of other 
 zealous men, as catechists or lay-preachers, go 
 everywhere preaching Jesus. Thus the com- 
 parison between the living Saviour, and Krist- 
 nah and Ramaswamy, and scores of other gods, 
 — between the teachings of the Bible, manifest 
 in the warm throbbing heart of Christian Eng- 
 land and America, and the cold and comfortless 
 tenets of Manu and the Rig-Veda and the Pu- 
 
FACTS AND NEEDS. 
 
 28l 
 
 ranas, — is forced upon the attention of thou- 
 sands every day. God is blessing these efforts. 
 The great Mount Meru of Hinduism is honey- 
 combed with truth ; and, if the churches at 
 home do their duty, I believe that before an- 
 other half-century, the death-knell of mighty 
 Brahminism will be rung, and that Christianity 
 will be the religion of India. 
 
 When India is Christianized, the world may 
 expect much from her. The Hindus, among 
 whom the Telugus stand in the front rank, are 
 capable of great things. If India is won for 
 Christ, she will evangelize the other nations of 
 the East. It was in India that Buddhism had 
 its origin ; and from here it was taken to Ceylon 
 and to Burmah, to Thibet, China, and Japan. 
 Such was the zeal of the Hindu Buddhists to 
 spread their religion, that five hundred priests 
 left at one time as missionaries to Thibet ; and 
 one king, Asokha, is said to have built eighty- 
 four thousand Buddhist temples. The Hindus 
 are not lacking in intellectual power or enter- 
 prise ; and after they are Christianized, and 
 freed from the slavery of caste and superstition, 
 they will repay the world for all that is done for 
 them now. The very fact that they cling to the 
 
282 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 old customs, traditions, and fables of their an- 
 cestors, encourages me much ; for I see by faith, 
 that, if we give them now a pure religion, they 
 will not give it up. And perhaps a century or 
 two hence, when America and England, bloated 
 with wealth, and given to change and show, 
 have departed from the faith of their fathers, 
 Telugu or Tamil or Mahratta preachers of the 
 gospel may be sent from India as missionaries 
 to evangelize the United States and the British 
 Isles, or to be the star preachers in New York, 
 Boston, Chicago, and London. More improba- 
 ble things have happened in the history of the 
 Church during the past eighteen hundred years. 
 
 What is needed ? 
 
 You who have carefully read this little book 
 have felt, I trust, that more missionaries should 
 go to India. You will also agree with me, I 
 think, when I tell you that we need the best 
 men in America, — men who have the intellec- 
 tual power and training requisite, not only to 
 preach their own religion, but also to grapple 
 with these venerated theories and Brahminical 
 sophistries, and quickly, yet good-naturedly, to 
 hurl them to the ground. Men of great faith 
 in God, and in the gospel of Christ as the 
 
FACTS AND NEEDS. 
 
 283 
 
 world’s great need, of practical common-sense, 
 large, warm hearts, and cosmopolitan natures, 
 are the men whom India wants. 
 
 But money is also needed. I do not know 
 that I ever saw a successful missionary who did 
 not feel that he was crippled in his usefulness 
 by a lack of funds for his teachers of village 
 schools, for his preachers, for his girls’ school, 
 his boys’ school, his high school, or theological 
 seminary. This is to be regretted, especially 
 since the number of missionaries and native 
 assistants is so small, and since a little money 
 will do so much good. Money, when used to 
 support native assistants here, in most places 
 is probably worth six times as much as it is 
 in America : hence, from fifty to one hundred 
 and fifty dollars per year will support a native 
 preacher or teacher comfortably. 
 
 India also needs the daily prayers of God’s 
 people. By this I do not mean that she needs 
 the cold, perfunctory prayers of those who pray 
 for the heathen because it is their duty ; whose 
 words, like the muntras of the Brahmins, never 
 rise above their heads. No ; but we do believe 
 we need the prayers of those dear disciples 
 who love the heathen, and who sacrifice to give 
 
284 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 for missions the “effectual, fervent prayers ” of 
 the righteous. 
 
 Some of you, then, can aid us by coming 
 here yourselves to labor. Others can assist by 
 their prayers and their alms ; and those, if 
 there be such, who really have no money to 
 give, can nevertheless help us by their suppli- 
 cations at the throne of grace. Thus you and 
 we will work together : souls will be redeemed 
 through our instrumentality, and India will be 
 won for Christ. And by and by, when we are 
 called to cross the river, we shall hear the Mas- 
 ter’s voice, “Well done, good and faithful ser- 
 vant;” and crowns all bright and glittering, 
 with many stars, will be placed upon our heads. 
 
 Said a lady to me a few days ago, “ I be- 
 lieve I am redeemed, and that I shall have a 
 crown in heaven ; but O sir ! I fear that it will 
 be a starless crown.” Then she went on to 
 say, while tears were in her eyes, that a few 
 years ago she had read a little poem called 
 “The Starless Crown,” which made a deep im- 
 pression on her mind. She could not satisfy 
 her conscience until she had engaged as mat- 
 ron of a Telugu girls’ school. In that she 
 labored over three years. Then her health 
 
FACTS AND NEEDS. 
 
 285 
 
 failed, and she had to resign. After two or 
 three years of rest, she was so far recovered 
 that she thought she could again work for the 
 Master ; and, with high hopes, she took charge 
 of another large girls’ school : but in less than 
 a year her health completely failed again, and 
 her physician told her that she must give up 
 her post, or die soon. “ And now,” said she, 
 “ my work seems to be done ; but I fear I have 
 no stars in my crown. Oh ! if I could stay and 
 work on until there was just one star, I would 
 go contentedly.” I tried to comfort her by 
 saying that she had done a good work training 
 Christian girls for usefulness ; and having tried, 
 and having done what she could according to 
 the strength given, her crown would not be 
 lacking in brightness, or be necessarily star- 
 less. Dear reader ! are there stars ready for 
 your crown ? If not, are you trying to win 
 them ? Have you done all you could, as this 
 woman did ? If not, oh, for your own sake, 
 and for the poor lost millions of earth, awake ! 
 Jesus said to his disciples, and to you if you 
 are his, “Ye have not chosen me, but I have 
 chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should 
 go and bring forth fruit.” “ They that be wise 
 
286 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, 
 and they that turn many to righteousness as 
 the stars for ever and ever.” 
 
 THE STARLESS CROWN. 
 
 “Wearied and worn with earthly cares, I yielded to re- 
 pose ; 
 
 And soon before my raptured sight a glorious vision 
 rose : 
 
 I thought, whilst slumbering on my couch in midnight 
 solemn gloom, 
 
 I heard an angel’s silvery voice, and radiance filled my 
 room. 
 
 A gentle touch awakened me ; a gentle whisper said, — 
 
 ‘ Arise, O sleeper ! follow me ; ’ and through the air we 
 fled. 
 
 We left the earth so far away, that like a speck it seemed; 
 
 And heavenly glory, calm and pure, across our pathway 
 streamed. 
 
 Still on we went : my soul was rapt in silent ecstasy ; 
 
 I wondered what the end would be, what next should 
 meet mine eye. 
 
 I knew not how we journeyed through the pathless fields 
 of light, 
 
 When suddenly a change was wrought, and I was clothed 
 in white. 
 
 We stood before a city’s wall, most glorious to behold; 
 
 We passed through gates of glistening pearl, o’er streets 
 of purest gold. 
 
FACTS AND NEEDS. 
 
 287 
 
 It needed not the sun by day, nor silver moon by night: 
 
 The glory of the Lord was there, the Lamb himself its 
 light. 
 
 Bright angels paced the shining streets, sweet music 
 filled the air ; 
 
 And white-robed saints, with glittering crowns, from 
 every clime were there; 
 
 And some that I had loved on earth stood with them 
 round the throne : 
 
 ‘ All worthy is the Lamb,’ they sang, * the glory his 
 alone.’ 
 
 But, fairer far than all beside, I saw r my Saviour’s face ; 
 
 And as I gazed he smiled on me with wondrous love 
 and grace. 
 
 Lowly I bowed before his throne, o’erjoyed that I at last 
 
 Had gained the object of my hopes, — that earth at 
 length was past. 
 
 And then in solemn tones he said, ‘Where is the dia- 
 dem 
 
 That ought to sparkle on thy brow, adorned with many 
 a gem ? 
 
 I know thou hast believed on me, and life through me is 
 thine ; 
 
 But where are all those radiant stars that in thy^ crown 
 should shine ? 
 
 Yonder thou seest a glorious throng, and stars on every 
 brow : 
 
 For every soul they led to me they wear a jewel now; 
 
 And such thy bright reward had been if such had been 
 thy deed, — 
 
288 
 
 FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 
 
 If thou liadst sought some wandering feet in paths of 
 peace to lead. 
 
 I did not mean that thou shouldst tread the way of life 
 alone ; 
 
 But that the clear and shining light which round thy 
 footsteps shone 
 
 Should guide some other weary feet to my bright home 
 of rest ; 
 
 And thus, in blessing those around, thou hadst thyself 
 been blest.’ 
 
 The vision faded from my sight, the voice no longer 
 spake ; 
 
 A spell seemed brooding o’er my soul, which long I 
 feared to break. 
 
 And when at last I gazed around, in morning’s glim- 
 mering light, 
 
 My spirit felt o’erwhelmed beneath that vision’s awful 
 might. 
 
 I rose, and wept with chastened joy that yet I dwelt 
 below ; 
 
 That yet another hour was mine, my faith by works to 
 show ; 
 
 That yet some sinner I might tell of Jesus’ dying love, 
 
 And help to lead some weary soul to seek a home above. 
 
 And now, while on the earth I stay, my motto this shall 
 be, 
 
 To live no longer for myself, but Him who died for me ; 
 
 And, graven on my inmost soul, this word of truth di- 
 vine : 
 
 ‘ They that turn many to the Lord, bright as the stars 
 shall shine.’ ” 
 
/ 
 
 
DATE DUE 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 GAYLORD 
 
 
 PRINTED IN U S A