-mmm^^m^:: JS^;^ rISTOHy- OF • XH€ -MISSIONS-OF ^Hg-FRgS-CHUlRCH-OFSC OTlAM ) t'eJlH • INDIA • AND -AFRICA 1^1^ LIBRARY ' OF THE <' ' - , T h e o logical S e^ i n a r y , ^ PRINCETON, N.J. Case, Divi J^-4./ BV 25^0 ;«Il.?-.'l824-l897. Robert Hunter, ^"-'r^ missions of ^.y-i73)577 Central Provinces, ... 9,224,825 Bombay Presidency (estimated , 13.983,99s Madras City, 397.552 Bombay City, ) No returns ) as yet. X Poonah City, Nagpore City, 85,661 Kamptee, ... 50,930 Seetabuldee, § Chanda Town, 18,706 Bundara Town, 13,383 Chindwara Town, ... 9,185 It is the wish and prayer of the author that the present humble volume, notwithstandmg its imperfections, may, with the Divine blessing, be helpful in increasing the in- terest felt in Foreign Missions, and may lead to more earnest supplication and increased effort for the evangelisation of the heathen world. ROBERT HUNTER. * Cannot be given ; all returns not yet received. t Taken from Board of Trade Returns. A British Colonial possession not under Indian administration. X Estimate as per Census of 1864 — 816,562. I Not shown ; probably included with Nagpore. CONTENTS. SECTION L— HOME OPERATIONS. I. THE SCOTTISH CHURCH IN ITS SLEEP AND IN ITS AWAKING ..... II. A MISSIONARY SOUGHT AND FOUND III. A DARK PROVIDENCE OVERRULED FOR MUCH GOOD IV. THE DISRUPTION AND ITS CONSEQUENCES V. SHALL THERE BE RETREAT ? ... VL ARRANGEMENTS SINCE THE MUTINIES I II 15 20 39 SECTION IL— CALCUTTA. I. INDIA, AND ESPECIALLY BENGAL II. THE FIRST CAMPAIGN IIL THE INSTITUTION IN NEW HANDS IV. THE YEARS PRECEDING THE DISRUPTION V. THE DISRUPTION AND ITS CONSEQUENCES VI. EXCITING SCENES VII. SORROW AND JOY — NATURAL DEATHS AND SPIRITUAL BIRTPIS ...... 46 71 76 80 96 CONTENTS. CHAP. VIII. THE MISSION AFTER DR DUFF'S TEMPORARY RECALL TO EUROPE ...... IX. THE MISSION AFTER DR DUFF's RETURN TO CALCUTTA X. THE mission AFTER DR EWART's DEATH XI. THE mission AFTER DR DUFF'S FINAL DEPARTURE XII. THE MISSION AFTER DR MITCHELL'S ARRIVAL 104 114 123 132 139 SECTION III.— MADRAS. I. THE PLACE AND PEOPLE . II. THE FOUNDATIONS LAID . III. SPLENDID FIRST FRUITS . IV. THE DISRUPTION PERIOD . V. THE LONGED-FOR TIME OF REAPING VI. THE CHARTER OF FEMALE EMANCIPATION VII. A CHEQUERED NARRATIVE VIII. THE MISSION AFTER THE DEATH OF ITS FOUNDER IX. FRESH APPOINTMENTS .... 149 160 163 167 172 185 195 SECTION IV.— BOMBAY. I. THE MAHRATTA COUNTRY AND ITS PRESENT CAPITAL . 202 II. THE SOJOURN AT BANKOTE AND HURNEE . . 205 III. TRANSFER OF THE MISSION TO BOMBAY . . . 209 IV. THE BOMBAY INSTITUTION AND ITS EARLIEST FRUITS . 212 V, THE DISRUPTION AND ITS EFFECTS . . . 221 VI. FROM THE RETURN OF DR WILSON . . . 226 VIL AFTER MR NESBIT'S DEATH .... 24O CONTENTS, XI SECTION V.^POONAH. CHAP. I. POONAH IN ITS PALMY DAYS II. A SEED "in WEAKNESS SOWN " . III. AFTER THE DISRUPTION . IV. FATHER AND SON COADJUTORS IN THE MISSION V. AFTER THE MUTINIES VI. AFTER MR MITCHELL'S DEATH VIL SATTARA ..... VIII. THE RURAL MISSION AT INDAPORE AND JAULNA PAGE 257 266 270 276 280 282 SECTION VI.— NAGPORE. I. THE PLACE AND PEOPLE ..... 289 II. THE COMMENCEMENT OF OPERATIONS . . . 292 III. THE CASTE STRUGGLE AND ITS CONSEQUENCES . . 298 IV, FALL OF THE NAGPORE KINGDOM . . • 3IO V. LAMENTATION AND WOE . . . . -317 VI. THE MISSION AFTER THE DEATH OF ITS FOUNDER . 32I SECTION VIL— MISSIONS TO THE WILD TRIBES. THE SANTHAL MISSION. I. THE PEOPLE .... II. COMMENCEMENT OF OPERATIONS . . 328 . 330 Xll CONTENTS. THE GOND MISSION. CHAP. I. THE PEOPLE AND THE DISTRICTS THEY INHABIT II. COMMENCEMENT OF THE WORK . . , . THE WARALI MISSION . . . . 334 336 SECTION VIII.— CAFFRARIA. I. SOUTHERN AFRICA AND ITS INHABITANTS II. TAKING POSSESSION III. WAR IV. SEPARATION V. AGAIN WAR VI. THE INTERVAL OF PEACE VII. THE LAST AND GREATEST WAR VIII. AFTER THE RESTORATION OF PEACE IX. A " PROPHET " AND HIS TIMES S*. MR STEWART'S REPORT ON THE MISSIONS XI. THE SETTLEMENT ON THE TOLENI XII. THE NATAL AND GORDON MISSIONS CONCLUSION ALPHABETICAL INDEX . . 338 343 347 350 353 356 359 362 365 370 374 376 378 381 PBIIICETOI^ THSOLOGIO SECTION I. HOME OPERATIONS, CHAPTER I. THE SCOTTISH CHURCH IN ITS SLEEP AND IN ITS AWAKING. HURCHES, like individuals, are accustomed to sleep, when their energies have been exhausted by arduous labour and strong excitement. After the great Reformation struggle,which in one form or other lasted nearly two centuries, had come to a close, all the churches which had been en- it, fatigued by their protracted exertions, sunk The Church of Scotland, among the rest, * Before the lethargy now spoken of had become fully established, evangelistic efforts of an Interesting character were put forth in connection with the ill-fated " Darien Scheme." When the colony to Darien was first set on foot, two ministers, Messrs James and Scott, were sent out, but of these one died on the passage, and the other soon after landing. The council wrote home asking that the vacancies might be promptly filled, and in 1699 the Commission of the General Assembly "missioned" Messrs Alex- ander Shields, Francis Borland, Archibald Stobo, and Alexander Dalgleish, to pro- ceed to the new colony and look after the Scotch settlers ; besides which, they were particularly enjoined to labour among the natives for their instruction and conver- sion. In 1700 the Assembly sent them a letter, in which the following sentence occurs : — " The Lord will, according to His promise, make the ends of the earth see His sal- vation, and we hope will yet honouryou and this Church from which you are sent to carry His name among the heathen." Mr Dalgleish died like a predecessor on the passage, and owing to the irreligion and licentiousness of the settlers, the other ministers did not effect much either for them or for the Indian aborigines. Dr M'Crie's Memoirs of Veitch and Bryson, pp. 236-241, Acts of Assembly, 1700. Edinburgh Christian Instructor, 1819, pp. 476-478. at length gaged in into lethargy.* 2 HOME OPERATIONS. no sooner found that under God the glorious revolution of 1688 had terminated, for the time at least, her struggles and her sufferings, than she flung herself down to seek repose, and sunk ere long into a slumber so profound that it looked the image, and seemed as if it would terminate in the reality, of death. With some brief and partial awakings, that sleep continued for about a century. There were those who whispered in the ear of the slumbering Church, as in that of an ancient prophet, " What meanest thou, O sleeper ? arise and call upon thy God," but no very audible response was elicited. During the time of fitful and partial awaking already spoken of, some Httle evangelistic work was done, but it diminished instead of increased as time wore on, till finally the duty of extending the Redeemer's kingdom ceased to be discharged, and its binding obligation, though nominally acknowledged, was virtually denied.* Though it is not true in nature, it is so in human his- tory, that the darkest hour is generally the one just before the dawn, and so it proved in the case now under con- sideration. In Divine providence, the French Revolution rudely dis- turbed the slumbers of the Church, and when in 1792 and 1793, the terrible atrocities perpetrated by the Jacobin faction showed the depth of cruelty of which unregenerate man is * An abstract of these efforts is given in the preface to the Missionary Record for July 1S39 to December 1841. That preface bears date ist December 1841. Omitting the measures designed to assist continental or colonial Churches, they are the following: — " The establishment of corresponding missionary' boards at Boston in 1732, at New York in 1741, at New Jersey in 1754, the school at Lebanon [Connecticut] for raising missionaries to the Indian tribes, and for which in 1767 the Church ordered a general collection which amounted to upwards of ^^2500 ; . . the sending out many" [were there really many ?] "missionaries to foreign parts, among whom were the celebrated Brainerd and Kirkland, who laboured with such success among the Oneyda, Seneca, and Tuscorora Indians, the endeavours made in 1774 to enlighten the barbarous tribes of Africa by means entirely parallel to those we are now employing for India — viz., raising of native teachers who had been led by the Spirit of God to desire the work — these, and many similar things that mi^ht easily be specified, demonstrate that our fathers understood full well the obligations of missionary duty." The paragraph here quoted, which was evidently designed to make the most of the Church's efforts during the eighteenth century, is followed by an admission that a time succeeded during which it became indifferent to missions, a melancholy fact too well supported by evidence to permit of its being denied or explained away. ORIGIN OF THE MISSIONARY SOCIETIES. 3 capable, even when he talks of universal brotherhood, and stands forth as the nominal advocate for freedom, the long- protracted lethargy of the Scottish Church was all but brought to an end. She began to arouse herself, though unable for a time to resume her old activity. The strong reaction in favour of vital religion produced by the operation of the Spirit of God at the time, and in the circumstances now described, was accompanied by a consi- derable outburst of the missionary spirit, an element in which, with all their zeal, the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries had been somewhat deficient. Two societies started into life in the northern part of the island, both destined to do good in the world. They were called the Glasgow and the Scot- tish Missionary Societies. The Glasgow Missionary Society was founded on the 9th February 1796, the venerable Dr Robert Balfour being its first secretary. One destined to be afterwards very prominent in its management, Dr John Love, was then in London acting as secretary to the London Missionary Society, which had been formed during the previous year. The Scottish Missionary Society was begun, like the sister association, in February 1796, and the first meeting in Edin- burgh,, which was under the presidency of the celebrated Dr Erskine, was in March of the same year. Soon afterwards it sent out circulars throughout the country, which excited much discussion, and led to the transmission of three overtures to the General Assembly of 1796, one from the Synod of Fife, a second from the Synod of Moray, and a third from an indi- vidual called William M'Bean. The overture from the Fife Synod ran thus : — " That the Assembly consider of the most effectual method hy which the Church of Scotland may contribute to the diffusion of the gospel." That from the Synod of Moray was thus worded : — " That it be recommended to such members of the Synod as shall 4 HOME OPERATIONS. attend the next General Assembly, to use their influence and endeavours for promoting an Act of Assembly for a general collection throughout the Church, to aid the several societies for propagating the gospel among the heathen nations." That signed William M'Bean was in the following terms : — "It is humbly overtured to the General Assembly of the Church of Scot- land, that in respect a very laudable zeal for spreading the gospel to heathen countries has appeared both in Scotland and England, the Assembly should encourage this most important and desirable object by appointing a general collection over the Church, or adopting whatever other method may appear to them most desirable." The evangelical party wished the three overtures to be discussed separately, but the moderates combined them, the evident intention being that, the discovery of legal or other difficulties in the way of making the collection proposed in two of them, might be pleaded as an excuse for ignoring the obviously unobjectionable proposals of the third. It was in connection with these overtures that the celebrated mis- sionary, or rather anti-missionary, debate took place in the Assembly of 1796. Mr George Hamilton, minister of Gladsmuir, stood forth as the mouth-piece of those who, though nominally friendly, were really hostile to missionary enterprise. " To spread abroad," he said, " the knowledge of the gosyel among barbarous and heathen nations seems to be highly preposterous, in so far as it anticipates, nay, it even reverses, the order of nature. Men must be polished and i-efined in their manners before they can be pro- perly enlightened in religious truths. Philosophy and learning must, in the nature of things, take the precedence." There follows next, as might be anticipated, a panegyric on the ''simple virtues" of the untutored Indian, " virtues,'' it may be remarked, which, however prominent they may be in the pages of novelists, do not bulk at all so largely in the descriptive narratives of those who have been much brought in contact with the red men of America. Of course, how- ever, Mr Hamilton knew the untutored Indian solely by report. After the eulogy on his '' virtues " already com- mented on, the anti-missionary speaker thus proceeded — (391) THE AN TI-MISSIONAR Y ASSEMBL Y. 5 *' But go — engraft on his simple manners the customs, refinement, and may I not add, some of the vices of civilised society, and the influence of that religion which you give as a compensation for the dis- advantages attending such a communication will not refine his morals nor ensure his happiness." As will be remembered, Mr Hamilton had indirectly made the important admission, that while in his view it would be out of place to send the gospel to a rude heathen people, it would, to say the least, not be objectionable that its claims should be commended to a land, if any such existed, which had already made some progress in philo- sophy and learning. But as he goes forward, he, in forget- fulness of consistency, withdraws this concession. Speak- ing of a country like that now described^ he says — " But even suppose such a nation could be found, I should still have A\ eighty objections against sending missionaries thither. Why should we scatter our forces, and spend our strength on foreign service, when our utmost vigilance — our unbroken strength — is required at home. While there remains at home a single individual without the means of religious knowledge, to propagate it abroad would be improper and absurd." He was very much against the proposal that a collection should be made for foreign missions, saying — " For such improper conduct censure is too small a mark of disappro- bation ; it would no doubt be a legal subject of penal prosecution." Of course he did not wish the discredit of standing forth as an open enemy of missions, and therefore finished — " Upon the whole, while we pray for the propagation of the gospel, and patiently await its period, let us unite in resolutely rejecting these overtures." The well-known Dr Carlyle of Inveresk seconded Mr Hamilton's anti-missionary motion. Readers will under- stand, without any explanation, the amount of spiritual weight which a minister of the Carlyle type was likely to bring to any cause which he espoused. Dr Hill, the mode- rate leader, framed a motion more decorous than Mr Hamilton's, but still on the same side j and the two, being combined together, were carried by a majority of 58 to 44. (391) 2 6 HOME OPERATIONS. The motion on the evangelical side, which was thus nega- tived, was couched in the following mild terms — "The Assembly appoint a Committee to take the subject of the overtures into consideration, and to report to next Assembly," But mild as it was, it had in the eyes of the moderate party this fatal defect — that it all but pledged the Church to action, while they wished to do nothing. It is worthy of note, also, that 102 seem a small number to have voted on a question so momentous as whether the Saviour's express commands to make disciples of all nations were or were not to be ignored (Brown's "History of Missions," vol. ii., p. 475). As Dr Hetherington mentions in his history, the Mr Hamilton who made the anti-missionary speech in 1796 was afterwards honoured with the degree of D.D., and elected to the Chair of the Assembly.* Every Church should, in its corporate capacity, be a mis- sionary Church, and no one has a right to delegate its duty in this respect to societies ; but if Churches are unfaithful to their trust, societies which discharge it for them are entitled to the warmest thanks of Christians, and after the melancholy debate of 1796, the hopes of the pious portion of the Scottish community centred in the new societies formed in the early part of that year. These were unsectarian in their constitution, and were supported both by Christians inside and outside the Established Church. Each rendered good service to the evangehcal cause. When the Glasgow Society came into existence on the 9th February 1796, Dr John Love, as already stated, was in the English metropolis, acting as secretary to the London Missionary Society, but he settled in Anderston parish in the year 1800, and from that time on to his death, which * In 1852, the Nag-pore missionaries were requested by a yoting Indian officer to address his servants on the claims of Christianity, which accordingly they did. The gentleman in question was said to be a grandson of one of those who figured most prominently in opposition to missions in tlie Assembly of 1796. How little did the grandfather foresee that in a few years a lineal descendant of his would make such a request I THE GLASGOW MISSIONARY SOCIETY. / occurred in 1825, he was one of the chief men in the Glas- gow Association. The Society's first efforts were directed towards the country near Sierra Leone, two portions of which were successively occupied ; but in the one case the agents despatched failed to fulfil the expectations formed of them, and in the other the unhealthiness of the climate soon carried them off by death. The next attempt was made in the direction of the Foulah country, in the interior of Wes- tern Africa, the London and Scottish Missionary Societies both co-operating in the enterprise ; but this effort also ended in failure. After these heavy discouragements the Glasgow Society attempted nothing independently for many years, but con- fined itself to raising funds and distributing them among other missionary bodies. On the 1 6th June 1819, there occurred that earthquake in Cutch, which has been rendered classical by the promi- nence given it in Lyell's "Principles of Geology ;" and next year the constituents of the Glasgow Society, pitying the poor people exposed to the danger of being swallowed up alive in such catastrophes, memorialised the Committee to send out a mission to the banks of the Indus. The matter was so nearly assuming a practical form, that in the same year (1820) Dr Love penned a pamphlet commending the proposal, but difficulties arose which prevented its being carried out. At length the attention of the directors was turned to Southern Africa. When Cape Colony was taken by the British from the Dutch, they found that their predecessors had set up a Presbyterian establishment there, which could not easily be displaced. It was, however, deemed politic to supply vacancies in its ministry as they arose from Scotland instead of from Holland; and about 1820, the Rev. Dr Thom, one of the leading men in the Cape establishment, was despatched to Scotland for a supply of ministers. He 8 HOME OPERATIONS. communicated with the directors of the Glasgow Missionary- Society, then in quest of a sphere in which they might com- mence operations, and strongly urged on them the claims of Caffraria. They were convinced by his arguments, and resolved to send out agents immediately to that region. On the 29th May 1821, the Rev. W. R. Thomson and John Bennie were designated as missionaries to Caffraria. On the 5th March 1823, the Rev. John Ross was set apart to the same field. Similarly, the Scottish Missionary Society sent out labourers to the Sussoo country in West Africa, to Russia, to India, and to Jamaica. To the West of India were despatched in succession the Rev. Donald Mitchell, who survived but a short time, the Rev. John Cooper, the Rev. Alex. Crawford, the Rev. John Stevenson, the Rev. James Mitchell, afterwards of Poonah, with the Rev. Robert Nesbit and the Rev. John Wilson, both, as is well known, subsequently of Bombay. The Rev. James Mitchell was ordained in August 1822 ; the Rev. Mr Nesbit on the 13th December 1826; and the Rev. John Wilson on June 24, 1828. AVhilst the Scottish Missionary Society was engaged in sending to the Bombay Presidency men destined ultimately to achieve great results there, events were already in train for bringing the Church of Scotland in her corporate capacity into the field. So early as 18 18, a celebrated Scottish minister, the Rev. Dr Inglis, in Church policy a " moderate," but in other respects with strong leanings towards evangelism, had begun to revolve in his mind the Church's duty with respect to the heathen world. Year by year the theme occupied an increased measure of his atten- tion, till at length, in 1824, he felt constrained to lay his views on the subject before the General Assembly. In May of that year (1824) the Assembly took into con- sideration certain overtures which had been addressed to it, regarding the evangelisation of the heatlien world. After a INDIA SUGGESTED AS A MISSION FIELD, 9 lengthened explanation on the subject, from the Rev. Dr IngUs, the following motion was unanimously adopted ; — " That the Assembly approve the general purpose and object of these overtures, appoint a Committee to devise and report to next Assembly a specific plan for the accomplishment of that object, and reserve for the consideration of next Assembly the means of providing the requisite funds, by appointing an extraordinary collection, as well as by opening a public subscription, for the accomplishment of that pious and benevo- lent object."* Of this Committee, the convener was Dr Inglis, to whom, under God, great credit is due for the happy result to which the debate led. It was the high character which he bore for piety, candour, and sound judgment, and the relation in which he stood to both parties in the house, which procured for foreign missions a hearing which, perhaps, they would not have otherwise received ; nor should it be forgotten that, as evangelism had been slowly but surely gaining ground during the quarter of a century and more which had elapsed since the anti-missionary Assembly of 1796, the repetition of the melancholy spectacle then presented had become morally impossible. The same year (1824) an important memorial arrived from the East, bearing date Calcutta, December 1823, and signed by Mr, afterwards DrBryce.t It urged the Church to establish a mission in Calcutta, and ultimately proved of * The General Assembly had, the day before, carried an equally unanimous motion in favour oi hotite missions. Instead of home and foreign missions being antagon- istic, their interests rise and fall together. t In explaining how this gentleman came to be located in the Indian capital, it is necessary to glance back for a moment at an event, or rather series of events, which occurred in 1813. During that year, the East India Company's charter, which as usual had been granted only for a period of twenty years, re- quired renewal, and petitions flowed into Parliament from various quarters, urging it to extort fresh concessions from the Leadenhall Street magnates. At the suggestion of the elder Dr M'Crie and Sir Henry Moncreiff, father of the pre- sent baronet, the Scottish Church put in a claim to have a Presbyterian chaplain appointed at each of the Indian Presidency seats. Reporting this occurrence, Dr Horace Hayman Wilson finishes a sentence of his hidiaii History (the con- tinuation of Mill's great work) with the memorable words, "The majority of the British resident in India being Scotch, and of the Presbyterian communion." Though his startling statement was somewhat exaggerated, yet it was not very far beyond the truth. The appointment of a Presbyterian chaplain at each of the Presidency seats was therefore conceded, and Dr Bryce was the representative of the Scottish Church in Calcutta, in December 1823, the date to which we have come. 10 HOME OPERATIONS. historic importance, for it powerfully turned the attention of the Church to India, the most eligible missionary field, we hesitate not to say, in the whole world. But to return to Dr Inglis and his committee. In May 1825, they reported their opinion to be — " That, in the first instance, at least, it would be desirable to make one or other of the British provinces in India the field of labour ; that it would be desirable to establish, in the first instance, one central seminary of education, with branch schools, in the surrounding country, for behalf of the children of the native population, under the charge of a head master, who ought to be an ordained minister of our National Churchj'and not less than two additional teachers from this country, to- gether with a certain number of additional teachers, to be selected by the head master, from those natives who had previously received the requisite education ; that the head master ought to embrace opportu- nities, as they occur, to recommend the gospel of Christ to the faith and acceptance of those to whom he finds access ; that, with this view, he ought to court the society of those natives more especially who have already received a liberal education, and, if encouraged by them, ought to put into their hands such tracts illustrative of the import, the evi- dences, and the history of the Christian faith as may be sent to him for that purpose, under the authority of the General Assembly, and ought also to preach from time to time in the hearing of such persons, or others who may be induced to attend him, either in the hall of the seminary over which he presides, or in such other convenient place as may be afforded him." This report was penned by Dr Inglis, and met with the high approval of the Assembly. In 1826 a pastoral address was issued, Dr Inglis being its author, which powerfully urged the claims of foreign missions. That year an effort was made to obtain a general collec- tion, no one having taken the odium of repeating the menace of a legal prosecution, so pointedly insisted on in 1796. If, as is fair, one measures the amount of missionary zeal diffused at any period throughout a church by the contribu- tions which its members make for the heathen world, then the Church of Scotland, as it was in 1826, must be denied all but the most moderate amount of commendation. A collection, as has been already stated, was made, to which it must now be added that the result was as follows : — "Out of more than 900 parish churches and 55 chapels of ease, col- DR CHALMERS AT ST ANDRE WS. II lections were made in no more than 59 parish churches and 16 chapels ; that the subscriptions amounted in extraordinary donations to about ^300, and the annual contributions to about ,{^90 " ! The collection, in short, had been a failure. By the next year, however 1^1827), considerable improvement had taken place, and it was found that the time had come for search- ing out a missionary. CHAPTER II. A MISSIONARY SOUGHT AND FOUND. To understand how it was that a missionary was nearly ready, and might, if sought for, be found, at the very time when the Church was anxious to commence operations in Calcutta, it is necessary to go back to that well-known event in the history of Dr Chalmers, when the great divine, to the astonishment of not a few, and with the heavy censure of some, allowed himself to be translated from the pastorate in Glasgow, which he had filled with such distinction, to what the public thought the much less influential position of Professor of Mental and Moral Philosophy in St Andrews' University. But " wisdom is justified of her children," and the results which flowed from the sojourn of Dr Chalmers in the Fifeshire University, could ill have been spared by Christendom. One great service which he rendered in his new situation — and a service it was which, perhaps, no other person in Scotland was so competent to perform — was, that " in a series of lectures in the Town Hall, he popularised the history and objects of missions, and ren- dered that one of the most fashionable themes which had been nauseated before." One of the first among the students to come under the spell of Dr Chalmers' master-mind was John Urquhart, who, with his immediate friends, founded a small and half-private missionary society among the 12 HOME OPERATIONS. Students. Of this association the secretary was Robert Nesbit, whilst the librarian w^as Alexander Duff. During the session of 1824-25, the small society was developed into the more general association, called the St Andrews' University Missionary Society. When the Church had fully resolved to send out a mis- sionary, Dr Inglis and the Missionary Committee sought assistance from the theological professors and ministers of the Church in finding a suitable candidate for the very re- sponsible office. Among others who received a letter on the subject was Principal Haldane, of St Andrews' University, who thought Alexander Duff, then within a year of licence, the most qualified of all the students to undertake the found- ing of a mission, and urged him to allow himself to be nominated for the duty. Mr Duff was, however, unwilling to allow his name to be brought forward, feeling diffident of his ability rightly to discharge so great a trust. About a year afterwards, when he was on trials for licence, a second application was made to him, this time by the Rev. Dr Ferrie, of Kilconquhar, Professor of Civil History, who had received a letter on the subject from a member of the Foreign Mission Committee. Thus a second time solicited, Mr Duff viewed the matter in all its bearings, and, after serious and even agonising thought, sought and obtained a conference with Dr Chalmers : and finally, having received a satisfactory answer to a ejuestion which he put with regard to the amount of liberty he should have to carry out such methods of operation as might commend themselves to his mind, he intimated his acceptance of the call offered him by the committee.* The appointment was confirmed by the * Dr Dufifwas born on the 25th April i8o6, at the old farmhouse of Auchnahyle, since replaced by a more modern building, about a mile from the little village of Pitlochrie, in tlie parish of Moulin, in the uplands of Perthshire. Towards the end of the i8th century a considerable religious awakening took place in the parish of Moulin, then under the spiritual care of the Rev. Dr Stewart, afterwards of the Canongate Church, Edinburgh. Among those who came under very serious im- pressions was the elder Mr Duff, who did all that was in his power for the spiritual benefit of his distinguished son. The latter once wrote— "Into a general know- ledge of the objects and progress of modern missions I was initiated from my earlie * youth by my late revered father, whose catholic ^.pirit rejoiced in tracing tht THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND S FIRST MISSIONARY. I 3 Assembly of 1829, and on r2th August of the same year the Church of Scotland's first missionary to the heathen world was ordained in St George's Church, Edinburgh, the Rev. Dr Chalmers preaching and delivering the subsequent address with his wonted ability and fervour. On the .30th July Mr Duff had been united in marriage to the daughter of the late W. Drysdale of Edinburgh, Dr Inglis officiating on the interesting occasion, and about the middle of October the bridegroom and bride went on board the Lady Holland, East Indiaman, at Portsmouth, and sailed for the distant land, to the evangelisation of which their best energies were in future to be consecrated. Speaking of a vessel which had departed for the East, a poet says — " On India's long expecting strand Her sails were never furled." And his language is painfully appropriate to the ill-fated Lady Holland. On the night of Saturday, 13th February 1830, she struck on the desolate and uninhabited Dassen Island, about thirty miles to the north of Cape Town. In the good providence of God, Mr and Mrs Duff, with the remaining passengers and the crew, succeeded in reaching the shore,* but the vessel herself became a total wreck. triumph of the gospel in difterent lands, and in connection with the different branches of the Christian Church. Pictures of Juggernaut and other heathen idols he was wont to exhibit, accompanying the exhibition with copious explanations well fitted to create a feeling of horror towards idolatry, and of compassion towards the poor blinded idolators, and intermixing the whole with statements of the love of Jesus." The future missionary received his education at the parish school of Kirkmichael, twelve miles from Moulin, then under an excellent teacher. Next he attended the Perth Academy, and finally gained a scholarship in the University of St Andrews, where he highly distinguished himself. His forte was classics, and he kept at the head of his Greek and Latin classes. At the end of his arts' curriculum, he took the degree of W.K.— {Friend of India, Dec. 31, 1863.) One of his teachers at the Uni- versity was the profound classical scholar, John Hunter. Another of them, Pro- fessor Alexander, said in the Assembly of 1842 that he had the honour of having Dr Duff under his care as a student at the University of St Andrews, and he then gave high promise of future eminence. Yet another of them, Principal Haldane, spoke of the honour he felt in having him as one of his pupils. It was when attend- ing the Moral Philosophy Class in 1823-1824 that he first became a student of Dr Chalmers. On finishing his arts' curriculum, he entered the Divinity Hall of St Mary's College. His farther career is traced in the ordinary narrative. * Mr, afterwards Sir Henry Durand, so distinguished for intellect, courage, administrative ability, and Christian character, was also on board the Lady Holland at the time of her shipwreck. 14 HOME OPERATIONS. Everything Mr Duff had brought with him from his native land, including 800 distinct works, and sadder still, his manuscripts, which once lost could never be replaced, perished in this catastrophe, the single exception being a " Bagster's Comprehensive Bible and Psalm Book," which owed its preservation to the fact that those kind friends who had given it to the missionary at parting had considerately packed it in a stout leather covering. As he stood in soli- tude musing on that wild and barren strand, he saw, in the remarkable providence which had befallen him, an intima- tion divinely conveyed that henceforth he should not allow even the study of books and literary composition to inter- fere with his supreme attachment to the Bible, or mar the singleness of aim with which he devoted himself to the evangelisation of that great land for which he desired to labour so long as his life continued. The new vessel in which he proceeded on his way had well-nigh foundered in a storm off the Mauritius, and was finally dashed ashore in a cyclone at the mouth of the Ganges. Thus early was the Church made aware that "perils in the sea" are a charac- teristic of missionary as they were of apostolic voyaging. Notwithstanding all the dangers and difficulties which Mr and Mrs Duff had been called to encounter during their protracted voyage of between seven and eight months, they reached Calcutta on the evening of Wednesday, 27th May 1830, though, in those days of slow postal transmission of intelligence, it was long before their safety was known to the Church at home. Reserving all notice of Mr Duff's operations in Calcutta to a subsequent portion of the volume, we continue the narrative of proceedings at home. Nothing quickens mis- sionary zeal more than to know that the campaign has actually been commenced ; and when the Scottish Church felt that in its corporate capacity it had unfurled the standard of the Cross in, or, as it believed, near the Indian capital, the difficulty of obtaining funds was con- INCREASE OF THE MISSIONARY SPIRIT, I 5 siderably diminished. In May 1831, or about a year after Mr Duff had reached Calcutta, a colleague was ordained to proceed to his assistance — we refer to the Rev. W. S. Mackay. In 1833, Dr Inglis communicated the joyous intelligence that a third missionary might be appointed, as the committee might now calculate on an income from all sources of ;£i 200 a year. In the reply which came from the East there was found the remarkable sentence — " Oh, do not fix on ;£"i2oo a year as your maximum. Put down ^10,000 a year as your minimum, and from that rise up indefinitely without fixing any maximum at all." When the letter containing this notable sentence was handed about among the members of the Home Committee for perusal, one of the most respected of their number was so astonished, that on the margin he made the following entry with his pencil : — " What ! is the man mad ? Has the Indian sun turned his head ?" — {Free Church Missionary Record, 1867, p. 154.) The ;£io,ooo were never reached in pre-Disruption times, but the Free Church had not proceeded far on its career before it attained that annual revenue permanently. The increase of funds intimated by Dr IngHs enabled the Church to appoint a third missionary to Calcutta — the Rev. David Ewart. He 'was ordained in July 1834. With his departure for the East a well-defined period of the Home Church's missionary history comes to an end. CHAPTER III. A DARK PROVIDENCE OVERRULED FOR MUCH GOOD. July 1834, as has already been stated, was the date of Mr Ewart's ordination. In that very same month and year, though the Church did not know it till afterwards, the first missionary was lying on a sick-bed at Calcutta, grievously 1 6 HOME OPERA TIOXS. afflicted with one oi the formidable diseases of tlie Fast — Indian dysentery. In the providence of God his Hfe, though for some time in serious peril, was ultimately pre- served, but a peremptory medical mandate required his temporary return home to recruit his shattered constitution. He therefore prepared to return as Mr Ewart made ready to go out. What seemed a heavy calamity was soon, how- ever, found to be a blessing in disguise, for his etYorts while at home greatly aided in arousing the Scottish Church to some faint appreciation of the grandeur and importance of the work to which she had set her hand in the East, and con- stituted quite an epoch in the history of Scottish missions. The ettorts now spoken of were inaugurated by a magni- ficent oration, which he delivered in the Assembly of 1S35. We have heard members who were present speak of the great effect which it produced, one sober-minded minister telling us how it affected him to tears. Of course those who were absent were anxious to have the speech at once published, though a printed oration can never give an adequate idea of spoken eloquence. An edition of 10,000 copies was con- sequently struck off, and was exhausted in a few months, and a second one speedily followed. It was subsequently reprinted along with other addresses in 1S50. Soon after its deliver}' in 1835, its author received from Marischal Col- lege, Aberdeen, the degree of D.D. With the rise of a missionary spirit in the Church of Scot- land, the societies formed in 1796 were of less utility than formerly. If the pious people who in that year united to send missionaries had entertained the faintest hope of inducing the several denominations in their corporate capacities to seek the evangelisation of heathendom, they would in all proba- biHty have deemed it unnecessary to form societies at all. When the Church of Scotland commenced its Indian mission in 1829, it drew from the societies some of the subscribers who belonged to the Establishment. When the United Presbyterian Church set up missions of its own, which it BREAK UP OF THE SOCIETIES. 1/ did in January 1835, it similarly carried away some of the Dissenting subscribers, whilst the breaking out of the Voluntary controversy rendered it now difficult for those who remained to act in perfect harmony. The palmy days of the societies were evidently over. One result of this altered state of things was that, with the cordial consent of the directors of the Scottish Missionary Society, the Rev. Messrs James Mitchell, Robert Nesbit, and John AVilson were transferred to the Establishment in the month of August 1835. Thus, in a single day, the Indian mission- aries of the Scottish Church became doubled in number. Moreover, the Church was represented now not at one Pre- sidency merely, but at two. Bombay was provided for as well as Calcutta, and Madras only was neglected. Before 1836 had far run its course an effort was made to supply this manifest want, and Mr Anderson, whose soul had been so fired with reading Dr Duff's Assembly speech that he was constrained to devote himself to the evangelisation of India, was accepted as missionary to Madras. He was ordained on the 13th of July. In December 1837, the Glasgow Missionary Society was divided into two sections, the one holding and the other rejecting the Establishment principle. The former was called the Glasgow ^lissionary Society, adhering to the Church of Scotland, and the other the Glasgow African Missionary Society. The missionaries, catechistS; teachers, and converts were asked to choose to what section of the old association they would adhere, and an amicable division was made of the property at the several stations. It was a melancholy circumstance that, while Dr Duff was able to bring intelligence of great and good work done among the young men of Calcutta, no similar work had yet been found practicable among the other sex, who were doomed by tyrannical prejudice to remain in ignorance, it being declared criminal for them to acquire knowledge. A Christian officer of the Bombay army — Major St Clair 1 8 HOME OPERATIONS. Jameson, a brother of the late Sheriff Jameson — was so impressed with the necessity of attempting, on however small a scale, to alter this sad state of things, that in 1838 he formed the Ladies' Society for Female Education in India. With the spirit of enterprise now prevailing, the Church could not think of resting satisfied with transferring mis- sionaries from the charge of one committee to another, or of commencing such societies as that for the benefit of the females of India, or even of occupying a new and important station like Madras. It felt also the need of strengthening the missions already begun. In 1837 there appeared a pamphlet, entided " Statement of Reasons for Accepting a Call to go to India as a Missionary." It was from the pen of the Rev. John Macdonald, then a minister in Chadwell Street, Pentonville, London, and son of the Rev. Dr Macdonald, of Ferintosh, so well known and highly valued as the apostle of the Highlands, or the apostle of the North. It was Dr Duff who had pressed on him the claims of the heathen world. He departed in the fall of the same year for Calcutta, there to find work, influence, and a grave. In July 1838 the Rev. John Murray Mitchell, who had been a distinguished student at Marischal College, was ordained to Bombay; Robert Johnston, on the 5th Sep- tember of the same year, to Madras ; the Rev. Thomas Smith, in May 1839, to Calcutta ; and the Rev. John Braid- wood, on the 6th August 1840, to Madras. Mr Braidwood was specially the missionary of the students of theology in Edinburgh. Meanwhile the Glasgow Society continued its labours in Caffraria, though from the limited means at its command, it was only at comparatively remote intervals that it was able to send a missionary forth ; but imme- diately after it had been severed into two portions, the section of it adhering to the Establishment despatched the Rev. William Govan, who was ordained on the ist July 1840, with instructions to found a seminary for the DR DUFF S FIRST HOME CAMPAIGN. 1 9 Caffres. The number of missionaries sent out by the Church of Scotland between 1835 and 1840 will show how remarkably the evangelistic spirit was gaining power.* Under God the prime mover in this much-needed revival had been Dr Duff, whose exertions for India had been very great. He had addressed seventy-one presbyteries and synods, as also hundreds of congregations, besides repeatedly preaching or speaking in London and other centres of influence in the South. Finally, by dint of great energy, he in four months penned the largest of all his works — "India, and Indian Missions" — in which, after giving an account of the system of Hindooism, especially as it exists in Bengal, and penning the most moving appeals in favour of the evangelistic enterprise, he, in an appendix to which the future historians of India will eagerly turn, gives an extremely interesting account of the first four brilliant years of the Calcutta mission. This work issued, he again bade adieu to his Church and his native land, and, crossing the ocean without any of those perils which he had been called to encounter during his first voyage, safely reached Calcutta in May i84o.t * Another indication of this was the issue of a new series oi \\\t. Missionary Record, a quaito, costing 3d., or if stamped 4d. per number, which enabled the Church to present the missionary intelligence received from abroad in more detail than for- merly. The last number of the old series was published in April 1839, the first of the new in July of the same year. t After Dr Duff's departure the mission funds slightly retrograded. There were collected — Between ist August 1838 and 20th May 1839, £'iM,li ^s. lod. ,, ,, 1839 ,, 1840, ;{^524i, 14s. lod. ,, ,, 1840 ,, 1841, ;^469o, OS. od. ,, 1841 ,, 1842, ^^4158, OS. od. — Missionary Report for 1840, p. 340. 20 HOME OPERATIONS. CHAPTER IV. THE DISRUPTION AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. It is now universally admitted that an event of world- wide importance occurred when, on the memorable i8th of May 1843, the doors of St Andrew's Church, Edinburgh, were suddenly flung open, and several hundred members of Assembly marched forth, thus severing their connection with the Establishment, once almost the idol of their hearts. Many considerations which, had they been aware of them, would have furnished a certain amount of consolation in the anxious circumstances, were then unknown to the spiritual heroes. To one of these it is now needful to allude. The seceding party had not been informed what course would be adopted by the missionaries when the Church, whose ambassadors they were, became severed into two. The Convocation, which met in September 1842, appointed a Provisional Committee to communicate with them, the Rev. Charles Brown being its convener, and a letter was despatched on the 2nd May 1843, " ^^"^ prospect of the disruption of the Church, which is now inevitable."' Care- fully abstaining from any effort to bias the conscientious decision which the Scottish ecclesiastical ambassadors to the Jews and Gentiles might form, the committee, with remark- able prescience of the future, stated that it would still be one of the chief objects of the Church, when disestablished, to maintain, and there could scarcely be a doubt largely increase, her missions abroad. When the Disruption oc- curred, the Rev. Dr Brunton, convener of the Foreign Mis- sions' Committee, first of the united Church, and now of those who remained in the Establislnnent, also sought the adherence of the missionaries, honourably abstaining, how- ever, from any attempts unduly to bias their decision. In those days there was no railroad through the Egyptian MISSIONARIES PRONOUNCE FOR FREE CHURCH. 21 desert, and none in India, nor did the electric telegraph to the East exist to flash questions and answers to and fro almost with the rapidity of thought. Both parties had to exercise patience, not merely for weeks but for months, and during some time the Free Church Missionaij Record came out with extracts from Duff's " India, and India Missions," and other publications, instead of with intelligence from himself and his colleagues. Had the reason of the silence not been known, it would have appeared ominous, but the true explanation was not far to seek. Friends dis- tant about a quarter of the circumference of the world did not know that a Disruption had occurred, and therefore they sent their letters to the old quarter. At last replies came from the nearest of the Indian stations — Bombay and Poonah — statmg that all the missionaries there adhered to the Free Church. Subsequent mails brought in letters from Calcutta, from Madras, and from Caffraria, conveying the adherence of all the missionaries there. That the Jewish missionaries had come to the same decision was known before, so that at length it became possible to announce, as was done at the Assembly of 1844, that all the Church's mis- sionaries, both Jews and Gentiles, as well as the agents of the Glasgow Missionary Society in Caffreland, had decided on casting in their lot with the Free Church. Successes of a remarkable character, however, are almost sure to increase the responsibilities which have to be met, and the accession of the missionaries necessarily involved a heavy drain on the finances of the infant Church, already compelled to face an outlay of the most colossal proportions. The sum total in the mission treasury was then but ;£"32 7. It is a wonder there was so much, for the day on which it had been fixed that the first collection for India should be made had not yet arrived, and the ;£"32 7 had come from some thoughtful friends of the Church and its operations abroad, who had wisely resolved not to wait for the time of the collection, but to send in their money at once. The faith was great and (391) .3 22 HOME OPERATIOAS. noble which led the Church, in humble dependence upon her Divine Head, to pledge herself to maintain, and, if possible, to extend her foreign missions — and that at a time when churches, manses, schools, everything — had to be replaced at home. There were heavy losses of property in India, though not for a moment to be compared with those in Scotland, in consequence of the Disruption. The Calcutta buildings and library — the former raised chiefly through Dr Duff's powerful influence, and the latter generally believed to have been a gift to himself personally — had to be surrendered ; so also had the recently-completed premises at Bombay. We entertain the strong conviction, that in all disruptions of churches or so- cieties, the property which has been accumulated by the joint efforts of the members should be divided between them, in place of being given to one party only ; and that no Church or no individual should accept anything to which there is not a moral as well as a legal claim. Had such a division as was proposed by the Free Church been adopted by both parties at the Disruption, the Calcutta and Bombay missions would not have lost everything as they did. The Madras mission had no buildings of its own in that city in 1843 '> i^ therefore escaped losses like those which took place at the sister presidencies. Thus happily situated, it did to the Church at home a thoughtful and most generous deed. It raised funds for its entire maintenance from friends in or near Madras, and, casting its support on these, cost the home Church not a farthing during the first year after the Dis- ruption. The missionary zeal and devotedness of that Church were now to be shown in another way, and the promise redeemed that not merely should the existing stations be maintained, but that, if possible, there should be an increase of their number. In the year 1842 (we think it was), a lady of deeply Christian character, then at Jaulna, in the Nizam's country, lay on a sick bed, and in near view of the eternal CAPTAIN HILL S GREA T GIFT. 23 world. She wished a large sum of money to be devoted to the establishment of a mission in Central India, the spiritual destitution of which she had with much sorrow observed. Soon afterwards she breathed her last, and was with the Saviour to whom her supreme affections had been given. Her husband, Capt. Hill, had it in his power to carry out or to set aside the request of his dying partner.* What a worldly. man would have done in the circumstances no one can well doubt, — he would have ignored the suggestion which had been given. Very different, indeed, was the conduct of Cap- tain Hill. Himself deeply pious, and very deeply interested in the evangelisation of India, he, though not wealthy, im- mediately took steps to offer ;^2 5oo, in three per cent, consols, to the evangelical body wdiich he believed would be the most likely to establish an efficient mission in Central India. Though himself a member of the English Church, yet his sympathies were unsectarian, and having been struck with the energy of the Scotch missionaries, and the success which had attended their exertions, he resolved to give the Christian denomination which had sent them out the first offer. He entered into correspondence on the subject with the Rev. Dr Wilson of Bombay, who laid the proposal before the Committee, himself supporting it strongly. They being also in its favour, communicated it to the Church at large in the Missmiary Record for September 1842. It was already decided that the location of the proposed mission should be the Nagpore country, either at Kamptee or Nagpore. Before the proposal had been considered, the Disruption took place, and Captain Hill had to consider to which section of the now dissevered Church he should renew his offer. Observing that all the missionaries whose efiiciency he had noted went with the Free Church, he, as was natural, deemed it the best entitled to receive his bounty, and, fear- ful as were the financial responsibilides which it had to face * Free Church Missionary Record, 1858, p. 127. 24 HOME OPERATIONS. at home, it, before 1843 had passed away, with admirable faith accepted the offer made to it, and proceeded imme- diately to establish a Nagpore mission. A missionary was sought and found in the person of the Rev. Stephen Hislop, who, in 1844, when he was offered the Nagpore appointment, had just completed his theological course.* So soon as Dr Wilson intimated the appointment of Mr Hislop to Nagpore, Captain Hill trans- ferred to the Free Church Committee the sum which he had so generously offered, ^2500, adding interest from the very day when he had commenced correspondence with the Church on the subject. This brought the amount up to ^^2674 15s. 2d. of stock.t Only the interest was to be ex- pended, not the principal. Almost immediately afterwards a notable advance was made in another quarter. In 1844, the Glasgow Missionary Society offered its Caffrarian stations to the Free Churcli.j The transfer was sanctioned by the General Assembly of 1844, and the missions were handed over with much cor- diality on both sides, and entirely free from debt. When this change in the relations of the Caffre missionaries took place, the Glasgow India Association on behalf of Female Education in South Africa forbore to dissolve, determining, * Mr Hislop was born at Dunse, in Berwickshire, on the 8th of September 1817. He received his elementary education in his native town. Subsequently he became a student at the Universities of Glasgow and Edinburgh, where he attained con- siderable distinction. His theological training was commenced at the latter seat of learning, and was completed, after the Disruption, at the New College. t In the letter handing this munificent surn over, Captain Hill says : — " Now is my mind at ease respecting the final appropriation of this money. I thank the Lord that from the time He put it into my heart to place the money at your disposal for a mis- sion in these parts, I have had much peace of mind. 1 was assured that the desire came from God ; and His grace has supported me throughout, and enables me to say, ' All things are of Thee, O Lord, and of Thine own have I given Thee.' " _ It may be added that Captain Hill subsequently rose to eminence in his profession. Left by some mi>management in the second Burmese war, in the town of Pegu, iso- lated from the rest of the British army, the place was surrounded by the enemy, to the number, it was believed, of 8000, when, putting himself at the head of 400 Europeans and a few natives, he gained four victories over the semi-barbarian besiegers, and suc- ceeded in holding the place till it was relieved. He is now Major-General Sir William Hill, and resides in London, where he is zealously engaged in promoting Christian female education in India, his deep interest in that country having remained with him during every part of his long and honourable career. tin 1847, the stations of the Glasgow African Missionary Society were transferred to the United Presbyterian Chuich. A FINANCIAL CRISIS. 2$ on the contrary, to maintain and even extend their opera- tions as the condition of the other sex advanced. The Free Church, soon after accepting the Caffre missions, thought of superadding to them a station at Capetown, and about February 1846, the Rev. WiUiam Gorrie, and in April of the same year, the Rev. Ebenezer Miller, were ordained missionaries to Capetown. Thus energetically did the Free Church push forward her operations abroad no less than at home, in the year immediately succeeding the Disruption. CHAPTER V. SHALL THERE BE RETREAT? The recent movements had been somewhat too rapid for the funds of the Mission. At the end of the financial year 1844, the Committee had a balance on hand of ;^483o, 15s. lo^d. By 1845 it had diminished to^i433, 7s. 2d. In 1846 there was a deficiency of ;^39, 19s. 6d., which, increasing with appalling rapidity, became £32^2, 14s. 2d. in 1847. To meet this highly unsatisfactory state of things, the General Assembly enjoined that there should be a col- lecting week, during which ^10,000 should, if possible, be raised, the surplus, after paying the debt, being apphed to form the nucleus of a fund for supplying mission buildings at the several stations, as well as supporting native cate- chists and preachers. The collecting week in July, with some donations from England, produced ;£"55oo, which removed the immediate difficulties of the Committee ; but as the causes from which these had arisen still remained in potent operation, they again almost immediately returned. In March 1848, it became known that the revenues of the Home and Foreign Mission, taken together, would fall short of the expenditure by nearly ^5000. In the emer- gency, the Free Church ladies made a great effort, and 26 HOME OPERATIONS. raising the ;z£^5ooo, gave ^3000 to the Foreign Missions Committee, which cleared off all their debt except about ;^3oo. But if nothing further were done it was manifest that the relief would be only temporary. In their report to the Assembly of 1848 the Committee showed that, while their ordinary revenue seemed to have settled down at ^^7300, their fixed annual expenditure, exclusive of casual- ties and buildings, was ;£"97oo, leaving a yearly deficit of ^2400.* Retrenchment in these circumstances being inevitable (unless, indeed, the income could be largely increased), the Acting Committee had proposed to discon- tinue the Caffre Missions, especially broken up as they were by the War, but the General Committee, at a meeting held on the 29th February, had refused to sanction the arrange- ment. It had also been proposed to transfer the Cape Mission to the Colonial Committee. This last measure was one so natural that it was likely to meet with general acceptance \ but, the thought of sacrificing a mission of long standing like the Caffrarian one, was one evidently not to be lightly entertained. Before any Foreign Mission field then occupied should be abandoned, a year of grace was given, extending from the Assembly of 1848 to that of 1849, during which it was hoped that there might be a great increase in the revenue of the mission. The collection that year was what it was meant to be — an extraordinary one — and, with a donation of ^1000, it was sufficient to meet the current expenditure for the year. But it was felt * The revenue of the Foreign Mission Fund from the Disruption to 1848 stood thus :— For the year ending March 1844, .... £^,^,00. 17 o „ ,, 1845,.... 7,282 7 9 „ ,, 1846,.... 7,356 14 3 ,« J, 1847,.... 7,333 18 7 ,, ,, 1848,.... 10,023 O II of which, however, ;{^3ooo was a special donation from ladies connected with the Free Church. Excluding this exceptional gift, the income for 1848 was ;^7023, os. I id. Thus it will be perceived that the income had settled down at a few tens or hundreds of pounds above ;^700o per annum. The fixed annual expenditure, on the contrary, exclusive of casualties and buildings, was ;^9756, os. 4d., and there was a consequent annual deficit, even excluding the charge for interest, of between two and three thousand pounds. — Free Church Missionary Record, 1S47-1S48, P- 475- DR DUFF S RECALL. 2/ to be doubtful whether the advance made in circum- stances fitted to call forth unwonted exertions could be expected periodically ; and if it could not, then the crisis averted for the time would speedily return. It had been prudently resolved to give the Assembly's Commission autho- rity to examine how the Foreign Mission finance then stood. The result being still unsatisfactory, the Commission directed the Committee to prepare a scheme for a reduced expenditure, suitable to its probable income, and submit their plan to next General Assembly. At the Assembly of 1849, consequently, the Committee officially reported that the dates at which the three most recent missions were first noticed in their minutes were as follows : — Nagpore, 6th October 1843 ; the Glasgow Society's Missions, 17th May 1844 i a-i^d the Cape Missions, 30th June 1845. The Committee left it to the Assembly to decide which of these should be abandoned. The transference of the Cape Mis- sion to the Colonial Committee was easily agreed to, but the Assembly could not find in its heart to abandon either CafFraria or Nagpore.* After the matter had been debated at length, the heroic and Christian resolve was made not to go back a step, but to take some new method of increasing the income. On the lamented death of the Rev. Dr Chalmers, which took place on the 31st May 1847, private friends in this country began to sound Dr Duff as to whether he would accept the vacant chair of theology if elected to it by the Church. He discouraged the idea to the uttermost, and for about a year not much was heard of it. At the end of that period, how- ever, it arose anew, and this time very publicly. During the autumn of 1848 it was discussed by Presbyteries, Synods, and ultimately by the Commission of Assembly. A considerable majority were in its favour, though a formal * At this crisis more than one of the missionaries or assistant missionaries pre posed temporarily or permanently to reduce their incomes, in the hope of somewh^.t aiding the Church in its financial embarrassments. 28 HOME OPERATIONS. decision could not be arrived at until the Assembly met in May. The home proceedings, of course, were speedily reported in India, and alarm was expressed mainly by those who did not know Dr Duff's devotion to the great cause to which he had consecrated his life, and addresses from all quarters poured in upon him, deprecating the step he was about to be invited to take.* In these circumstances he thought it expedient to address a letter to his missionary colleagues, asking their counsel, when they, without mutual consultation, yet without a dissentient voice, advised him to decline the chair, but to yield to a unanimous request sent him by the Committee that he would return home for a period on a purely missionary enterprise. This advice coin- cided exactly with Dr Duff's own convictions of duty, and in a letter to Dr Tweedie, dated March 6, 1849, he nega- tived the proposal about the theological chair before it could go before the Assembly, but intimated his acceptance of the Committee's invitation to return temporarily, and, if possible, communicate an impulse like that of 1835 to Foreign Missions. He asked and received permission before returning to visit the leading Indian stations, that he might understand their needs. Leaving Calcutta for Southern India early in April, he wrote from Madras on the 26th. Visiting the principal mission stations to the south, such as Tranquebar, Nega- patam, Tanjore, Trichinopoly, Madura, Tinnevelly, and Tra- vancore, he wrote from Trivandrum June 26th. Crossing to Ceylon, he visited Colombo and other mission stations there ; and leaving Point de Galle on July 26th, reached Calcutta on 6th August. After effecting several arrange- ments there, he left on 5th October 1849 for Northern India, visiting all the missions at the principal stations as he went along. His journey extended as far in a northerly * Among those who sent strongly-worded addresses of respect nnd afiection, were students of the institution, converts not merely of the Free Church but of £»ther roisbions, the East Indian community, (fee. &.c. RAJAHGOPAUL IN THE ASSEMBLY. 29 direction as Kotghur, on the Sutlej, forty miles beyond Simla. He spent a week with the late Sir Henry Lawrence at Lahore, where he obtained information of all kinds regarding the Punjaub. On the 31st December, he left by boat Ferozepore on the Sutlej, and in about a month after- wards the Rev. Dr Wilson, by pre-arrangement, met him at Sehwan, in Central Scinde, and escorted him by the way of Hydrabad (not the one in the Deccan, but that near the Indus), the Run of Cutch, Goozerat, and Surat, to Bombay, which he left by steamer on the 17th of March 1850, reaching SouthamjDton on the 23d April. That year the missionary element was very prominent in the Supreme Court of the Free Church. Not merely did Dr Duff make more than one of his great speeches, but Mr Anderson of Madras addressed the house, as did Rajah- gopaul from the same presidency seat, and Mr Nesbit, from Bombay. Rajahgopaul, as was natural, attracted great notice. The Editor of the Witness., commenting on the appearance which the Hindoo stranger made in the Assem- bly, said — " One of the most remarkable speeches which has been made in the Assembly was that by the young Indian convert and minister, Rajah- gopaul. When we saw him present himself to the overwhelmingly large Assembly, such was the impression made upon us by his diminu- tive figure that we felt he was about to attempt what was utterly beyond his physical powers. The impression was heightened by his slim build, and dark and somewhat sickly countenance. But he had not spoken two minutes till this impression was completely dispelled. All that appeared to us, judging with the eye of a European, as defects in his appearance, were speedily forgotten in the force of his oratory. His features began to glow with animation, a wondrous power seemed to pervade and breath through all his frame, and his tones rang clear and full through the remotest corner of the great hall. Nor did we less admire his intellectual power." This Assembly had not to hear a discouraging financial report from the Foreign Missions Committee, as its three predecessors had done. There had been raised during the year no less a sum than ;^i2,328, iis. id., or about ^^5000 above the average, the moving power which had led to this 30 HOME OPERATIONS. encouraging result having been the desire to make sure that no reason might remain for suppressing a mission. Besides the ordinary revenue, Mr Anderson had raised ;^8ooo for the mission buildings in Madras, making upwards of ;^i 5,000 in all. Still it was felt that if this advance were to be made per- manent, there must be an alteration in the mode of raising funds. So early as 1847, the Committee appear to have been revolving in their minds some plan more productive and stable than that of a mere annual collection, for in their report presented to the Assembly in that year they say — " Your Committee cannot conceal their apprehension that their present difficulties arise from a cause which, under the existing arrange- ment, is likely to be of permanent operation, and that they can only be effectually removed by an equally permanent organisation for increasing their annual revenue." On his way home, Dr Duff, in meditating on the subject, made up his mind that the only effective plan was that of congregational associations, with a regular staff of col- lectors, and regular quarterly subscriptions. This plan, therefore, he earnestly pressed on the Foreign Missions Committee. But as, at first, many were opposed to it, on the ground that it might interfere with other existing organi- sations, he urged that a Synod of the Church might be se- lected for ^n experiment, on the success or failure of which future operations might be made to depend ; and named that of Perth, as it contained within its bounds Highland and Lowland districts, with specimens of every variety of population — civic and rural, agricultural, pastoral, and manufacturing. To this suggestion the Assembly of 1850 agreed — the details of the scheme, with its requisite work- ing machinery, being left to Dr Duff and those who might follow him, aided by the light which experience might impart. He commenced operations on the loth July 1850, in the Free Church of Blairgowrie— that of the Rev. Robert Macdonald, now of North Leith — being assured that from FOREIGN MISSION ASSOCIA TIONS. 3 1 him he would meet a hearty welcome ; then, going from congregation to congregation, until he had exhausted the whole Synod, he persuaded every one, without exception, to enter into the associational plan. After his return from Perthshire, in November, Dr Duff addressed the Commis- sion of Assembly, and by an array of statistical and other statements satisfied it that, while the plan was eminently successful as regarded Foreign Missions, it in no way interfered with the prosperity of any other scheme. Continuing the work during several successive years, he visited most parts of Scotland, extending his journey to the Orkney and Shetland Islands, and almost everywhere inducing the majority of the ministers and congregations to adopt the associational plan. The Assembly report for 1852 mentioned the formation of 150 associations j that of 1853, 354; 1854, 404; 1855, 407 ; 1856, 436 ; 1857, 498 ; 1858, 548 ; 1859, 552 ; 1865, 565 ; and 1872, 616. The system has in most respects worked admirably, the sum raised by an association in any locality being, as a rule, three or four times as much as the old collection produced, and now the scandal of microscopic giving to the foreign field is mainly confined to the minority of congregations which still depend upon the old collection.* In this * How great that scandal in some cases is, the subjoined statistics will show. In addressing the Assembly, which met in May 1866, Dr Duff gave the result of an elaborate investigation made by Mr Braidwood with respect to the rate of giving to Foreign Missions prevalent in the Free Church. "There are," he said, "in the Free Church of Scotland 848 churches and 72 mission stations In the 84S charges in connection with the Free Church at present — leaving out stations— the membership is 247,472 Of the 848 congregations of the Free Church, .... 6 charges, containing 2733 members, have contributed above 5s. each member ; 17 charges, containing 7569 members, have contributed from 3s. to 5s. each member ; 21 charges, containing 9094 members, have contributed from 2s. to 3s. each member ; 50 charges, containing 19,176 mem- bers, have contributed from i7d. to 2s. each member ; 55 charges, containing 17,986 members, have contributed from 13d. to i7d. each member ; 47 charges, con- taining 13,822 members, have contributed from iid. to 13d. each member ; 78 charges, containing 21,327 members, have contributed from gd. to iid. each member; 88 charges, containing 28,029 members, have contributed from 7d. to gd. each mem- ber ; 119 charges, containing 32,407 members, have contributed from sd. to 7d. each member ; 126 charges, containing 34,753 members, have contributed from 3d. to sd. each member ; 79 charges, containing 22,327 members, have contributed 2d. and a fraction each member ; 72 charges, containing 15,848 members, have contributed id. 32 HOME OPERATIONS. respect the success of the scheme of associations has been so great that the Church dare not now return to the pre- vious arrangements. What it now must do is to try to perfect the working of the association system. Being machinery, it must be looked after carefully, else it will fall into disrepair ; and the one weak point about its operation must, if possible, be removed. It is this — that many who would have put a trifle into the plate at a Foreign Mission collection think that trifle, if they either cannot or will not afford more, too small to be formally written down in their name in a collector's book, and they therefore cease to give even that trifle to Foreign Missions, and are in the position so discreditable to a professing Christian of doing literally nothing, in a financial direction at least, for the evangelisation of the heathen world. Hence, while three times as much may be given in some congregations under the association scheme as was raised by the old collections, the numbers subscrib- ing are fewer than formerly.* This is the one weak point about associations which every one connected with them should strenuously attempt to correct ; with only a little vigilant oversight on the part of ministers and ofiice-bearers, the correction might easily and speedily be made. In 185 T, Dr Duff was Moderator of the Assembly. The fervent addresses which he delivered during the sittings of the venerable Court were afterwards published as a volume. While the Perthshire visitation was in progress, a legislative and a fraction each member ; 28 charges, containing 6065 members, have contri- buted id. each member ; 37 charges, containing 12,229 members, have contributed a fraction of id. — from ^d. to \A. — each member; 25 charges, containing 4112 members, have contributed wzVper member." — Free Church Missionary Record /or Julyz, 1866,//. 12, 13. * Dr Duff, in his Assembly speech of 1872, brought forvv^ard some very striking and mournful statistics as to the small number of subscribers to Foreign Missions in certain congregations. " One congregation numbered 710 members. How many of these contributed anything for tiie spread of the gospel throughout the world ? There were 280 ; leaving all the rest giving nothing, and yet they were not poor. In another congregation of 800, there were only 130 who gave towards this object ; in another of 700, there were only 85 ; in another of 746, there were only 77 ; in another of 513, there were only 125 ; in another of 642, only 40 ; in another of 230, only 79 ; in another of 1227, only 311 ; in another of 756, only 126 ; in another of 820, only 161 ; in another of 460, only 50 ; in another of 898, only 212 ; and in another of 732, only 150."^ — Free Church Missionary Record, 1872, //. 137, 138. AN UNRIGHTEOUS LAW ASSAILED. 33 measure was being discussed, which had long been urged by the missionaries, as demanded aUke by justice and the highest interests of Christianity in Asia. In the Hindoo kingdoms of the East, there was no proper comprehension of the rights of conscience ; and any one leaving the Brah- manic faith was punished for the so-called crime by being deprived of his ancestral property. We are inclined to think that the Mohammedans can never have allowed this law to be enforced against them, but that, though yet more intolerant themselves, they must have protected Hindoo converts to the Koran from all effective persecution on the part of their former co-religionists. It was different with the British. They for a time enforced the Hindoo intolerant enactment, though many of them must have felt qualms of conscience on finding themselves made the instruments of persecution. About the year 1830, the Rev. Dr Wilson, of Bombay, began to agitate for the abolition of the enactment now mentioned, and he ultimately stirred up the rest of the Bombay missionaries on the subject. Shortly after he com- menced his operations, an able pamphlet on the subject was drawn up for the Bengal missionaries by Dr Duff, assisted by Rev. W. H. Pearce, of the Baptist union. Mr Stewart, of Madras, addressed the Church Missionary Society on the same question, and Lord Bexley directed the attention of the Board of Directors and the Board of Control to the subject. Lord Ellenborough considered that the Govern- ment in India could do all that was requisite. It was understood that instructions were sent out to Lord William Bentinck, requesting him to provide a remedy for the evils complained of, and he, nothing loth — for he was a man of a true reforming spirit — put an end to the intolerant law, though not in the best possible way, by a clause which, in 1832, he inserted in the Bengal code. But, unhappily, this left matters as before in Calcutta city, which was under the jurisdiction of her Majesty's Supreme Court, as were also Madras and Bombay, besides which the governors of 34 HOME OPERATIONS. the two latter presidencies, if in their power, fliiled to do their duty, by imitating the enUghtened example of Lord William Bentinck. By Act No. XXI. of 1850, the Earl of Dalhousie, with his Council, abolished the intolerant law by providing that — "So much of any law or usage now in force within tiie territories subject to the Government of the East India Company as inflicts on any person forfeiture of rights or property, or may be held in any way to impair or affect any right of inlieritance, by reason of his or her i-enouncing or having been excluded from the communion of any religion, or being deprived of caste, shall cease to be enforced as law in the Courts of the East India Company, and in the Courts established ])y royal charter within the said territories." As some of the natives of Madras and Calcutta were clamouring for the repeal of this righteous enactment, the Synod of Perth, after hearing an address from Dr Duft', sent an overture to the Assembly, calling its attention to the subject, and the Assembly very cordially petitioned the Legislature firmly to maintain the new regulation. The Hindoo opposition soon after died away, and permanent gain was achieved to the great cause of religious liberty. In 1853, when the subject of renewing the East India Company's charter was before Parliament, Dr Duff was examined before a committee of the House of Lords on the practical working of law and justice in India, especially in Bengal, and on the whole subject of Indian education. His evidence on these important topics, extending to a considerable length, was published in the Parliamentary Blue Book issued at the time. The last year that Dr Duff was at home. Sir Charles Wood (now Lord Halifax) issued an exceedingly enlightened educational despatch, which will render his name immortal, and ultimately place him on a pedestal of honour, from which some of the now celebrated Indian warriors will be displaced. It is believed, on what may be reckoned good authority, that the influence of Dr Duff tended in no slight degree to procure the issue of this statesman-like despatch ; THE CELEBRA TED EDUCA TION DESPA TCH. 3 5 that, moreover, before it was drawn up, he was consulted m regard to some of the more important points on which it was meant to touch, and supplied some of the most valu- able materials which it embodies. The despatch in question dealt with Indian education both in its higher and in its lower grades. With respect to the former, it established a university at each of the presidencies on the model of the celebrated London one, granting them the power of confer- ring degrees. With these universities, which, it should be understood, are not teaching, but, like the University of London, examining bodies, the government colleges, where instruction is actually communicated, were at once affiliated. But, as fairness required, the affiliation did not stop there. It extended to high-class seminaries and institutions, by whomsoever taught. On this point the despatch descended to particulars. Sec. 37. " Those which, like the Parental Academy, are conducted by East Indians, Bishop's College, the General Assembly's Institution, Dr Duffs College, the Baptist College at Serampore, and other institu- tions under the superintendence of different religious bodies and mis- sionary societies, will at once supply a considerable number of educa- tional establishments, worthy of being affiliated to the universities, and of occupying the highest place in the scale of general instruction.'' The senates of these universities were not to be composed simply of State officials, but to these were to be added men unconnected with Government, who had shown an interest in education. Sec. 34. " The additional members should be so selected as to give all those who represent the different systems of education ^^'hich will be carried on in the affiliated institutions — including natives of India, of all religious persuasions, who possess the confidence of the native commu- nities — a fair voice on the senates." At the same time, pecuniary aid was to be given to others than the State schools, the Government simply buying good secular education from any teachers who might be able to produce the article, at the same time forbearing to take cognisance of their religious faith. 36 HOME OPERATIONS. Sec. 52. " We have resolved to adopt in India the system of grants- in-aid, which has been carried out in this country with very great success." Sec. 53. "The system of grants-in-aid which we propose to estabHsh in India, will be based on an entire abstinence from interference with the religious instruction conveyed in the schools assisted," The writer is of opinion that the action of Government with regard to pubUc education should be regulated by the circumstances of each individual country, and he strongly holds the view that the scheme sketched in the educational despatch of 1854 exactly met the case of India. He thinks that it was wise to affiliate the Free Church institutions to the Indian universities, and to accept the grants-in-aid. Towards the end of 1854, Dr Duff considered that the home work, on account of which he had agreed temporarily to leave India, was well-nigh accomplished. But before returning, he felt it his duty to respond to pressing invita- tions which had reached him from different parties in the United States and Canada. Accordingly, about the end of January 1854, he sailed from Liverpool, and, after a very tempestuous voyage, safely reached New York on the 15th February. As might have been anticipated, his reception was of the most gratifying character. One, writing after the missionary had been some little time in America, uses the following language: — '■' From New York to Washington, and thence by Pittsburgh and Cincinnati to St Louis, and thence by Chicago and Detroit to and through the Canadas, and by the way of Boston back again to New York, his route has been a constant ovation." A scene witnessed on this tour was so remarkable that it must be presented to the reader. It occurred while Dr Duff was at Washington, and was thus described by an eye-witness : — " By the invitation of the senior chaplain, the Rev. Henry Slicer, and at the request of several members of both Houses {i.e., of Congress), Dr Duff preached in the Capitol last Sabbath forenoon (March 19, 1854), As early as nine A.M. groups of anxious hearers might be seen assembUng on the lawn, and long before the appointed hour every seat was occu- pied, and every passage and hall within hearing filled to overflowing. DR duff's AMERICAN VISIT. 3/ Among the congregation I noticed the President and his lady, the Speaker of the House, several of the heads of departments, and a large representation of both Houses of Congress, and the literati and profes- sional men of the city and district. I saw there also several miYiisters and laymen who had travelled from Georgetown, Alexandria, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York, to hear the gospel from the lips of this minister of Christ. Rarely, indeed, are Christ's ambassadors favoured with such a congregation. But the preacher saw neither literati nor legislators, senators nor president. An assemblage of dying sinners was before him, and a dispensation of the gospel was committed to him. To convince them of sin, and to make a full offer of God's salvation, was his business. His message from God unto them was, ' Friends and brethren, I dare not compromise this matter with your consciences ; I must wash my hands of the blood of souls.' This evidently was his aim. " Before Dr Duff left the Western Continent, there were put mto his hands, as a testimony of personal affection and esteem, about ;£'5ooo for mission buildings in Calcutta, while soon after his return the University of New York conferred on him the degree of LL.D. It was Dr Duff's intention to proceed at once to India on his return from America, but serious affection of the nervous system, produced by the mental exertion he had put forth and the exciting scenes through which he had passed, necessitated his taking a season of rest. He was sent to the shores of the T^Iediterranean, whence he made a trip to Palestine, and finding himself by the autumn of 1855 suffi- ciently recruited to return to the East, he sailed for India, and, landing at Bombay, went by the way of Poonah and Nagpore to Calcutta, which he reached on the i6th Feb- ruary 1856. The elaborate statements which he furnished respecting the condition of all the Free Church stations which he had visited, mainly constituted the report to the Assembly of 1856. The important results which flowed from Dr Duff's second visit home, have led us to give a prominence to it even in this brief narrative. Had we space, we should also give some details regarding the home work of other missionaries, whom loss of health compelled, under medical advice, to repair for a season to their native country. All of them (391) 4 38 HOME OPERATIONS, assisted, so far as their time and strength would admit, in various ways ; and in cases where mission buildings were required at the several stations, they had to thank friends in the home Church for aiding them liberally, even when local claims were great and pressing. In 185 1, the first medical missionary went out to India, his destination being Calcutta. In 1856, Dr Paterson was designated to Madras, and the sending forth of skilful medical men, to labour side by side with the ministerial brethren, has ever since been regarded as a duty never to be forgotten. It would be tedious to mention here the new missionaries sent forth by the Free Church from time to time ; they will find mention more appropriately in the succeeding portions of the work. Only when some important home result flowed from theirnomination, shall we take note of their appointment. This rule, however, does not excuse us from mentioning that, in 1852, the Ladies' Society sent out Mr and Mrs Fordyce to Calcutta. In 1856, they were compelled to return, Mrs Fordyce being ordered home, and the work, being such as a gentleman could not undertake alone. On revisiting Scotland, Mr Fordyce went through a large portion of it, under the auspices of the Ladies' Society, advocating female education in India. About the same time, he started the Eastern Females' Friend, a small periodical, to support the cause which he had at heart. Through his untiring advocacy, the income of the society largely increased, and much greater prominence than before began to be given to this very important department of evangelistic duty. An essential part of the original programme of the mission was the raising up of native preachers, who should carry the gospel to their countrymen, and who might be expected to be a cheaper, and, in some respects, a more effective agency than foreign missionaries from Europe. By 1857, several of these had completed their studies, and it became an object to decide what their precise sphere of THE MISSIONARY CONFERENCE OF \Z6l, 39 labour should be. The Assembly, on the suggestion of the Foreign Mission Committee, adopted, we think wisely, the suggestion that native congregations should be organised without delay, and should be encouraged to call native pastors. This and the next Assembly also took steps to have lay* teachers appointed to the several institutions. Some difference of opinion was excited as to whether it was expedient to affiliate the institutions to the Indian uni- versities commenced in 1857, but the general opinion seemed to be in its favour. CHAPTER VI. ARRANGEMENTS SINCE THE MUTINIES. There is no need here to describe the appalling year 1857. Though the Indian mutinies for a time proved a serious impediment to the work in India, yet they were overruled to produce this good effect, — that they turned the attention of the Church powerfully to the degraded moral condition of India. The mission funds had been in debt at the Assembly of 1857, before the mutiny at Meerut could become known, ;^3044. In that of 1858, the increased interest in Indian affairs, produced by the calamities in the East, had enabled the committee to pay it off, and even then left them some funds in hand. The evening of Wednesday, 20th November, and the whole of Thursday 21st, 1861, were profitably occupied with a missionary conference, one good result of which was that, whereas before it met there was a difficulty in supply- ing some vacant places in the East, volunteers for the work sprung up after it had sat. At the conference desires were expressed in favour of more direct preaching to the heathen • The word lay is in some respects an objectionable one, but it is difficult to find another term, and we use it, therefore, for convenience sake. 40 HOME OPERATIONS. masses, especially by the native ministers, and an impulse was given to the formation of such rural missions as have since sj^rung into existence. Even before the conference, one of these had been commenced at Mahanad, in Bengal, by the Calcutta missionaries. In addition to the Monthly Record., a quarterly paper had for some years been published, but it was discontinued in 1862. That year steps were taken to originate a fund for the widows and orphans of missionaries. Donations and legacies were solicited for it, but in April 1868, the com- plaint was uttered that none had been received. Efforts were at the same time made to give a new impulse to the Church's missionary periodicals. The Record.^ as pubHshed for seven years after the Disruption, was of quarto size, and so much on the same model as that which for some time previously had been issued by the united Church, that the two could without difficulty be bound together. In 1843, the Fi'ce Missionary Record cost three- pence unstamped, and fourpence stamped, as its prede- cessor had done. In December 1848, its circulation was between 14,000 and 15,000. In July 1846, the price was reduced to three-halfpence unstamped, and twopence-half- penny stamped. It was well conducted, and it was not creditable to the friends of missions that this reduction in price failed permanently to increase the number of the subscribers, which, indeed, slightly retrograded, instead of going forward. In August 1850, the quarto was exchanged for the octavo size, which the publication has since retained, and instead of being confined as before to a record of what was doing in the purely missionary branches of the Church's operations, it now embraced them all. The circulation of the quarto, during 1850, had averaged a trifle under 13,000 copies monthly. Of the first number of the octavo, 30,000 copies were struck off. As, however, the copies of a first number printed are no proper criterion of what the perma- nent sale will be, it is more important to notice that, in THE RECORDS. 4 1 1851 and 1852, between 30,000 and 40,000 were disposed of monthly, a great increase on the circulation of the old quarto. The editors were Messrs Nixon, Wilson, and Lumsden, who discharged their important trust well. Still, as a rule, it is expedient that there shall be but one respon- sible editor to a publication, and the Assembly of 1853 requested the Rev. Dr Wylie to undertake the superin- tendence of the Record. In the preface to the volume for 1855-6, p. iv., he mentions that when his aid was solicited, the periodical was going down at the rate of 500 copies a month, and that its continued existence was in peril. In 1S54, the circulation was between 21,000 and 22,000 copies. — Missionary Record, 1S53, 1854, pp. 293, 294. In the preface to the volume for 1856-7, it was mentioned that it had risen during the previous year 2300 — namely, from 18,260 to 20,560. At the end of 1861, Dr Wylie resigned, and was succeeded by Mr Mackenzie of Dun- fermline, who retained it till his lamented death in June 10, 1869. In 1 86 1, the effort was made to issue the Record as a weekly periodical, at a penny a number, but it was found expedient speedily to resort to a monthly issue only. One disadvantage attending the weekly publication was, that the numbers became soiled or lost, and were not all forth- coming to be bound at the end of the year. In 1866, the Record had a circulation of 30,000; in 1867, 31,000; in 1868, 33,500; and in 1871, 34,000. These high numbers are eminently creditable to the present editor, the Rev. Norman L. Walker. Under the able management of Mr William Dickson, the Children's Missionary Reco7'd\\Visior many years had a wonder- fully large and increasing circulation. In May 1846, 30,000 of it were sold ; in February 1847, 35,000 ; in 1849, about 40,000 ; in 1852, 39,000 ; in 1868, 46,000 ; in 1871, 53,000. When the Disruption took place, the missionaries felt very sorry to bid adieu to the Rev. Dr Brunton, who had treated them with G;reat kindness and consideration while 42 HOME OPERATIONS. he was their official superior. After the separation in 1843, Dr Gordon was convener of the Free Church Foreign Mission Committee, and retained the office till 1846. Then Dr James Buchanan followed till 1847. Subsequently, Dr Tweedie undertook the responsible trust, and continued to discharge it with admirable zeal and devotion for the long period of fifteen years.* After Dr Tweedie's departure, Dr Hanna held office for a short time, but was not able to continue in it, in conse- quence of his literary engagements, and the Assembly of 1863 unanimously resolved to invite Dr Duff home to assume the permanent convenership. The members were not at the time aware that the health of that very eminent missionary was just about to fail, and that he was on the eve of being medically advised to quit Calcutta finally. The invitation, therefore, reached him at a very opportune time ; and having, after a severe mental struggle, accepted it, he returned home, first, however, visiting most of his brethren in India and Africa, to learn the state of the several missions before he became their official head. Between the resig- nation of Dr Hanna and the arrival of Dr Duff in the autumn of 1864, Dr Candlish temporarily acted as convener. The salary offered Dr Duff was ^400 per annum ; but a small annuity, afterwards to be spoken of, sufficing for his moderate wants, he, in April 1865, generously proposed to resign the income attached to the convenership, and dis- charge the duties of the office gratuitously. The Assembly of 1865 unhesitatingly demurred to the proposal, feehng that Dr Duft' was acting far too generously; but he was firm on the point, and was finally allowed to carry out the act of self-sacrifice on which he had resolved. * The Rev. W. K. Tweedie was ordained, in 1832, minister of the Scottish Church, London Wall. Four years later he was translated to the South Church, Aberdeen. He and the late Rev. A. D. Davidson, D.D., were considered to be unquestionably the best preachers tlien in the city. In 1842 Dr (then Mr Tweedie), was translated to the Tolbooth Church, Edinburgh. He died on the 24th March 1863, after a short but excruciating illness. Notwithstanding the bodily pain he suffered, his end, spiritually viewcil, was perfect peace The name of no purely home minister of the Free Church is so thoroughly identified with foreign missions as that of Dr Tweedie. FEMA LE ED UCA TION. 43 At the time when the Assembly of 1863 invited him home, the funds were again somewhat in debt, but the ladies made a special effort to clear off arrears, and not hand him over an embarrassed exchequer on his assuming the responsibilities of office. In turning attention to the arrangements from time to time made for the direction of the missions, grateful men- tion should be made of the services rendered by the late Mr Henry Tod, W.S., who for many years was secretary to the committee ; so also must deep obligation be expressed for the valuable and painstaking labour of Mr Robert Young, the Association Secretary, who from his youth up has given his best powers to the mission. In 1864, a number of "old Indians" met in Edinburgh during the Assembly week, and founded a society for sup- plying religious ordinances to Europeans in our Eastern empire. Dr Kenneth Macqueen, the virtual originator, became the first secretary, and the Rev. Mr Fordyce. formerly of Calcutta, is now its highly efficient commis- sioner at Simla, whence, partly by itineracy continued during six months in the year, and partly through the publication of a religious periodical called the Mountain Echoes^ he exerts very extensive influence in India. Till 1865, there had been two ladies' societies — one for India, and the other for Africa, the latter drawing its chief support from the West of Scotland, while the former did so from the country generally. In 1865, the two societies were formally amalgamated together, and the united asso- ciation thus formed was declared an integral part of the foreign mission, doing for the female part of the population in India and Caffraria what the ordinary operations accom- plished for the stronger sex. Next year, the hon. secretary of the society proposed that an effort should be made to induce every female communicant in the Free Church (and he estimated their number at 130,000) to join the society. 44 HOME OPERATIONS. paying each one shilling a year. This would raise ^6500, or treble the former revenue. In 1864, it was calculated that, from the Disruption till that period, the Free Church had raised for foreign missions no less a sum than ^£"356, 247, os. 4d. So long ago as the time when Dr Duff was passing as a student through the divinity classes in St Andrews' Univer- sity, it struck him as a want that there was no professorate of missions. — (^Missionary Record^ 1866-7, p. 149.) In a letter of his to Dr Gordon, published in the Missionary Record for 1844, p. 126, he reverted to the subject. In the Assembly Report for 1862, the proposal was again mooted, but it was not till 1865 that practical steps were taken for its realisation. The Assembly of the last-mentioned year unanimously approved of it, and appointed a committee to make the necessary arrangements. Dr Duff was of opinion that not merely should there be a professorship of evangelistic theology, but that a missionary institute should be combined with it, of which the professor should be the official head. Through his exertions, ;£" 10,000 were contributed in 1866 by fourteen or fifteen gentlemen to endow the chair. The voice of the Free Church, speaking through its presby- teries, unanimously designated Dr Duff for the proposed ofhce, and, on the very cordial invitation of the Assembly in 1867, he accepted it, refusing, however, to draw any income from it, but giving over the money designed for himself to the proposed Missionary Institute. In March 1868, a letter was received from Professor Piatt, of Berlin, asking information regarding the professorship and institute, and mentioning that in all probability something on the model of them would speedily be attempted at the Prussian (now the German) capital. At the earnest suggestion and recommendation of Dr Duff, the Assemblies of 1866 and 1867 empowered the Foreign Mission Committee to raise a large fund for erect- ing mission buildings at the several stations in India and MISSION BUILDINGS. 45 Africa; and on the 17th March 1868, the committee issued a special appeal on the subject. After careful calculation, the sum required was fixed at ^50,000, The first effort was made in Glasgow, where one hundred subscribers gave among them ^10,000. One headed the list with ;^iooo, six followed with ^500 each, eight with ;^25o, and so on. By the Assembly of 1870, ;^3o,ooo had been promised, of which ^16,304 had been actually paid. The ^50,000 had not been completed by April 1873. How vast the growth of missionary feeling within the limits of Scotland since the anti-evangcHstic debate in the x^ssembly of 1796! SECTION II. CALCUTTA. CHAPTER I. INDIA, AND ESPECIALLY BENGAL. ONTINENTAL INDIA, measured from the northern extremity of the Punjaub to Cape Comorin in the south, is about 1830 miles long. Its breadth from Kurrachee in the west to the eastern extremity of Assam, is about the same. A line drawn 1830 miles south from Edinburgh, would reach the commencement of the Sahara, and another of the same length, east slightly north from the Scottish capital, would extend to Revel, in the Gulf of Finland. The area of India is about 1,558,254 square miles (Blue-Book No. 68, year 1870). That of Europe, excluding the semi - Asiatic countries of Russia and Turkey, is about 1,500,625 square miles, so that the area of India is somewhat greater than that of Europe with Russia and Turkey omitted. The population was long ago estimated by the Rev. Dr Wilson of Bombay at 200,000,000, and recent researches have shown that his estimate, once believed too high, is beneath rather than above the truth. There are 240 millions of inhabitants, if not more, in India. ARYANS AND TURANIANS. 4/ The ethnology of the country is interesting. To under- stand it our readers must first obtain clear ideas of the meaning attached to the terms Aryan and Turanian. At a period of very considerable antiquity, say not less than 1700 years before the Christian era, there seems to have lived in or near Bactria a nation from which the Brahmans, the Medes, the Persians, the Greeks, the Romans, the Teutons, the Celts, the Sclavonians, and some other races ultimately sprung, and the several peoples now spoken of are closely akin.* It is this ancient nation and its modern branches that ethnologists denominate Aryan. It became settled and semi-civilised while yet the other nations were wandering hordes. To the latter was applied the name Turan, signi- fying in Sanscrit swift, hence a nomad. Modern ethnologists have adopted the term, and are accustomed to call most of the non-Aryan and non-Semitic Asiatics Turanian. The Turanians are nearly identical with the Mongolians of earlier writers, with this exception, that the Chinese now figure as a race by themselves, in place of being ranked as a mere sub-division of the Mongolians. The aborigines of India entered it at a very remote period of antiquity, apparently in two streams — one, from the north-west, proper Turanian, and akin to Tartar ; and the other, from the north-east, an overflowing from Cliina.f * Their languages are still allied to each other both in words and in grammatical inflections. Thus the Sanscrit word for ten is daha, while all know that the corre- sponding term in Greek is cr't'/ti^ / the Mahratta Diaiwos or ?!!n>iooshy?(, meaning a )/ian, reminds us of English ; hora signifies an hour, not merely in Latin but in Sanscrit, while the seventh, in the former language sej>tt7nus, is in the latter saptimi. Similarly the inflexions are akin, thus — Singular Dual Plural — Bopfs Coiiipayntive Grammar^ Vol . ir. (1S45), p. 673. t With regard to the importance of the latter stream, see Mr W. W. Hunter's " Comparative Dictionary of the Languages of India and High Asia." London : Triibner, 1868, pp. 20, 22, 28. SANSCRIT. GREEK. I. dadS-mi dido-mi 2. dada-si didd-s 3. dada-ti dido-ti I. dad-vas 2. dat-thas dido-ton 3. dat-tas dido-ton I. dad-mas dido-mes [dido-men ?] 2. dat-tha dido-te 3, dada-ti dido-nti 48 CALCUTTA. In our view, there probably was a second influx of Tura- nians, who conquered some of the first comers, and reduced them to all but a servile state. Those thus subdued now constitute the Mahars — the Mangs,&c., of Bombay, the Dheds of Surat, the Pariahs of Madras, the Shanars of Tinnevelly, the Chandalas of Bengal, and other outcasts, now occupying the very lowest position in Hindoo society. A portion of the aborigines, however, refused to submit to the invaders, and fleeing to the jungles and mountains, succeeded in per- manently maintaining their independence. These are the wild tribes, about 200 in number.* Some of the best known of them are the Gonds, the Khoonds, the Koles, and the Santhals. The conquering section of the Turanians ultimately underwent a fate only less hard than that which they had inflicted on the aborigines. At least twelve or fourteen centuries before the Christian era, a section of the Aryan nation left Bactria, and entered India. They occupied first a part and then the whole of the Punjaub. Pushing forward step by step during the succeeding cen- turies, they at last held all the country north of the Nerbudda. After a long halt there they passed the river as conquerors, and finally succeeded in establishing their domination over the Turanians, who till then had been masters in the land. Elated by this success, they refused to intermarry or even eat with their predecessors in India, and constituted three castes of their own — the Brahmans or sacred order, the Kshatriyas or warriors, and the Vaisyas or merchants, while their immediate predecessors, of Turanian descent, were placed beneath the rest, and called Sudras. Finally, the Brahmans, apparently at a compara- tively recent period, manufactured shasters or portions of shasters, professedly divine, which alleged that Hindoo caste, the offspring, it will be observed, of military conquest, was of religious origin ; or to be more specific, that the "* See Hunter's " Comparative Dictionary of ihe Languages of India and High Asia," p. 2. THE INDIAN CASTES AND RACES. 49 Brahmans came out of the mouth of God to instruct men ; the warriors from His arms, to defend them ; the Vaisyas from His stomach, to feed them ; and the Sudras from His feet, to serve them. The outcastes, whether living as the lowest class in settled society, or maintaining their inde- pendence in mountains and forests, were considered as beneath even that servile race who ' came out of the feet of God.^ What their origin was the Brahmans, so far as we know, have not been obliging enough to explain. For about ten centuries — or from 300 B.C. to 700 a.d. — the Buddhists contended manfully, and for a long time with thorough success, against this gigantic system of exclusive- ness and priestcraft, but being driven out of India about the latter date, they left the field to their rivals, and the caste system became thoroughly dominant, and attained a strength of which even at this day it has been but partially divested, though it has not succeeded in permanently enforcing its worst laws, owing to the establishment first of Mussulman and then of Christian rule in the land. The Mohammedan conquest of India was made about eight cen- turies ago, and the Moslem population in its four sub-divi- sions of Sheiks or disciples (mostly low caste Hindoo converts), Syuds, or men at least nominally descended from the " Prophet," Moguls (chiefly Tartars and other Tura- nians), and Pathans (Aryan Affghans), now constitute at least one-fifth portion of the whole population in India, though till lately they were erroneously estimated at only an eighth. To turn now to Bengal proper. The word is a very ambiguous one. It may mean the Bengal Presidency, which till a few years ago extended from the mouth of the Ganges to the eastern boundary of Affghanistan, or it may signify that most fertile land, flat as a carpet, which consti- tutes the delta of the magnificent Ganges and Brahma- pootra rivers with the parts adjacent. The Bengalee race was never more graphically described 50 CALCUTTA. than by Lord Macaulay in the following brilliant pas- sage : — "The physical organisation of the Bengali is feeble even to effe- minacy, lie lives in a constant vapour bath. His pursuits are seden- tary, his limbs delicate, his movements languid. During many ages he has been trampled on by men of bolder and more hardy breeds. Courage, independence, and veracity are qualities to which his consti- tution and his situation are equally unfavourable. His mind bears a singular analogy to his body. It is weak even to helplessness for pur- poses of manly resistance, but its suppleness and its tact move the children of sterner climes to admiration, not unmingled with contempt. All those arts which are the natural defence of the weak, are more familiar to this subtle race than they were to the Ionian of the time of Juvenal or to the Jews of the darkest ages. What the horns are to the buffalo, what the paw is to the tiger, what the sting is to the bee, what beauty, accoi-ding to the old Greek song, is to woman — deceit is to the Bengali. Large promises, smooth excuses, elaborate tissues of circum- stantial falsehood, chicanery, perjury, forgery, are the weapons, offen- sive and defensive, of the people of the Lower Ganges. All these millions do not furnish one sepoy to the armies of the Company, But as usurers, as money-changers, as sharp legal practitioners, no class of human beings can bear a comparison with them. With all his softness, the Bengali is by no means placable in his enmities, or prone to pity. The pertinacity with which he adheres to his purposes yields only to the immediate pressure of fear. Nor does he lack a certain kind of courage which is often wanting in his masters. To inevitable suffering he is sometimes found to oppose a passive fortitude, such as Stoics attri- buted to their ideal sage. A European warrior, who rushes on the battery of cannon with a loud hurrah, would shriek under the surgeon's knife, and fall into an agony of despair at the sentence of death. But the Bengali who could see his country overrun, his house laid in ashes, his children murdered or dishonoured, without having the spirit to strike one blow, has yet been known to endure torture with the firmness of a Mutius, and to mount the scaffold with the steady step and even pulse of Algernon Sidney." There is a certain dash of caricature in this description ; and yet it is so close to reaHty that if we were asked to point out an epithet entirely unsupported by fact, we should fail to do so. It is needful, however, to explain that Macaulay uses the word Bengalee in a very restricted sense. He means by it not a native of the Bengal presidency in general, but an inhabitant of the parts near the mouth of the Ganges, and he, moreover, not of Mussulman but of Hindoo descent. Bengalees, using the word in this limited sense, are the most THE HINDOOS A AW MUSSULMANS OF BENGAL. 5 I unwarlike of men. In the thirteenth century they allowed the Mohammedan General, Bukhtiyar Khilijy to conquer their country in one single campaign, and then went placidly on as a down-trodden race for 555 years more. Even then it was not they, but the handful of British in that region, who rose in arms against the Mussulman domination, and for the liberty which they now enjoy the Bengalee Hindoos are indebted to our countrymen. Some consequences, inte- resting in a missionary point of view, flow from the facts now mentioned. Having emancipated instead of enslaved the Bengalee Hindoos, we have warrant for expecting that they will be more ready to examine the claims of our reli- gion, than if our political relations with them had been of a contrary character. The Mussulmans, again, we should expect to manifest great prejudice against our faith, arising from the fact that to the old feud, which began at least as early as the crusades, has been added a new cause of quarrel — in other words, they do and must feel annoyed that having, when first we came to Bengal, found them ruling there, we smote their dominion down. Another conse- quence, important in its missionary bearing, follows natu- rally from the long and firmly-established Mussulman rule in Bengal — namely, that special difiiculties have there been found in obtaining the attendance of caste girls at school, from the retirement in which the female part of the com- munity are kept. The Hindoos, we believe, to some extent at least, borrowed the practice of secluding females from the Mussulmans, adopting it either from the desire of imitating their masters, or with the view of sheltering their wives and daughters from Moslem outrage. To use a mathematical expression — as a rule, the seclusion of women in any portion of India is in the direct ratio of the strength possessed by the Mohammedans in that region ; and since the submis- sive Bengalees bowed their necks more thoroughly and for a longer time than the other Hindoo races to the iron yoke imposed on them by the followers of the '' Prophet," the 52 CALCUTTA. difficulties in the way of female education were necessarily found greater there than elsewhere. There was just one counteracting circumstance — proximity to the seat of the Supreme Government necessarily tends to the disintegration of all obsolete customs, whatever the causes from which they may originally have sprung. The census for 187 1, if the information regarding it sent home by the correspondent of the Times, under date Cal- cutta, August 13, 1872, and published in the number of that paper for September 11, is correct, will reveal some startling and wholly unexpected facts. In the Administra- tive Report for 187 1, the population under the Lieutenant- Governor of Bengal — in other words, that resident within Bengal proper, Behar, Orissa, Assam, andTenasserim, was esti- mated at 42,680,000. This number the census is expected to raise to 66,856,859 ! thus adding about the population of England and Wales at a single stroke of the pen. Almost as startling is another statement, that the Mohamme- dans in the districts east of Calcutta amount to above 21,000,000. If this be confirmed, then, as before stated, the ordinary estimate, that the Indian Mussulmans constitute no more than one-eighth of the entire population, must be con- siderably modified. To turn now from Bengal to Calcutta. This very important city, the capital, not of India simply, but of Asia, has grown up with mushroom rapidity. In 1700, certain villages occupying the site of the present city were trans- ferred to the British, in return for a present made to a son of the Emperor Aurungzebe. One of these villages, con- taining an old temple of the goddess Kali or Cali, gave name to Calcutta. Whilst the population of the Indian provinces has gene- rally been found popularly under-estimated when a proper census has been taken, it has been exactly the reverse with the Indian cities. The population of Calcutta proper was wont to be estimated at between 600,000 and 700,000, or even CALCUTTA CITY. 53 more. The census of last year makes it 447,601. Of these, 291,194 are Hindoos; 133,131 Mohammedans; 21,356 Christians — European, East Indian, and Native ; the rest consists of Jews, Greeks, Armenians, Chinese, Parsis, and "Asiatics." The total number of Hindoo males able to read and write is 65,215, or i in 3 ; and of Hindoo females, 4,497, or i in 23 — the corresponding numbers as regards Mohammedans being 14,011, or i in 7 ; and 896, or I in 41. It is proper to add that the above aggregate of 447,601 includes only the population of the city of Calcutta proper within the old Mahratta ditch, and under the juris- diction of the Supreme Court. Were the densely-peopled suburbs included, as in the case of most of our home cities, the sum total would stand at 892,429. Howrah alone, on the opposite side of the river, has now a population of about 100,000, The Rev. John Robson, giving his first impressions of the city as he saw it in 1868, speaks of the European quarter as consisting of splendid buildings, broad streets, spacious squares, and a magnificent esplanade. In painful contrast with this was the native town, which was miserable and squalid in the extreme. The religious aspect of the city he also describes as quite peculiar. The Pundits of Benares call it the Christian city, and this, he says, is the idea which its first appearance would suggest. " Symbols of idolatrous worship," he adds, " are absent, and idola- trous temples few and obscure. Nearly all the prominent religious buildings are churches, most of them designed for the European popu- lation, which in this, as in everything else, seems to knock the natives into the background. Lai-ge and powerful educational institutions, idol temples, neglected and decaying, and a few small native churches — such are the types of the present state of missions in Calcutta." — Free Church Missionary Record, 1868, p. 127. It must, however, be remembered that this description applies to the year 1868, and not to 1830, when our narra- tive commences. (391) 5 54 CALCUTTA. To some it may appear astounding that the native part of what has been proudly designated ''the city of palaces" should consist of edifices so exceedingly humble as those described in the quotation by Mr Robson. All wonder will, however, cease if it be correctly apprehended that India — which, if her splendid resources were properly developed, would be one of the very richest countries on the globe — is at present extremely poor. There are wealthy natives within her borders, but the mass of her people are indigent. The average income of the natives is about a seventh part of that possessed by our countrymen here ; ^ or to be more specific, if the average income of the British at home, estimating a,\ to a family, is about ;^i23, is. 6d., then that of the Hindoos is a trifle under ^iS.t There is not a rich heathen country existing at present. Compared with Christian lands, they are all miserably poor, and when they receive the gospel, they will find it bring along with it temporal prosperity in this world no less than the promise of the life to come. The facts now mentioned regarding India, and its most populous province, will be found to have a more or less direct bearing on the history of the missions, to which, without further delay, we now must return. CHAPTER II. THE FIRST CAMPAIGN. The circumstances in which the Church of Scotland first came to the resolution of embarking in her corporate * We have founded this opinion, partly on observation and partly on the fact that, speaking broadly, whilst thirty milliijns of British pay ^70,000,000 of inipeiial taxes, the same number of Hindoos i^ay only ,£10,000,000, or a seventh as much. t iVlr Dudley Baxter, in 1867, calculated the income of Britain at ;{]82i,379,ooo, which, allowing 4^ to a family, a more accurate estimate than the conuiion one, 5, would amount to the sum for each stated in the text. DR DUFF DEVISES HIS CELEBRATED PLAN. 55 capacity in a mission to Bengal, and the appointment of the Rev. Alexander Duff as her first missionary, have been de- tailed in the earlier portion of the work. We pass now in imagination to Calcutta, where Mr and Mrs Duff landed on the evening of 27th May 1830, safe, and in comparative health, notwithstanding that they had been between seven and eight months on the voyage, and during that period had been wrecked, not once but twice. The Assembly of 1 8 2 9 had resolved, among other mission ary operations, to found an institution for higher education, and they had named as the place where they wished it located the province of Bengal ; not in the city of Calcutta, but somewhere within an easily accessible distance from it, leaving entirely to MrDuff's discretion everything concerning the subject-matter to be taught, the system oftuition, the media of instruction, the organisation and discipline, &c., &c. Dr Inglis' plan, adopted by the Assembly, of commencing an in- stitution, was, we beUeve, a very wise one, but the latter could never have become powerful if placed, as was wished, outside of Calcutta. At no place except the Eastern metropoHs itself did a sufficient desire for a high education exist, to furnish pupils enough for such an institution. Mr Duff, with the sagacity of genius, soon found this out, and as the re- sult of many inquiries, succeeded in at last convincing the Committee at home that he acted wisely in setting aside the instructions he had received as to placing the institution in a provincial part of Bengal, and in commencing it where alone it could be successful — in the capital. Another great rock was now in mid-channel, past which he must successfully steer, if the institution were to reach the haven of extensive influence to which it was intended that it should arrive. To speak without a figure. The locality for the institution being now settled rightly, it was requisite next to make no mistake as to the language in which the higher instruction was to be communicated, for if mistake were committed, the seminary would fail, at least for many years, to rise into 56 CALCUTTA. power. What language, then, should be used in the insti- tution ? Bengalee, would be the natural answer ; but those acquainted with India know that a great error would have been committed, had the institution been simply a vernacular one. The Bengalee was then an uncultivated language, with a trifling literature. Besides, the acquisition of it not being the road to wealth, most parents would not have cared to send their children to learn it, or if they had, they would have taken them away at the age of 12 or 13, and despatched them elsewhere to study English. Then, should Sanscrit be used for communicating the higher knowledge to Hindoo boys, and Arabic and Persian for those of Mussulmans, as Government officials and learned orientalists urged ? If so, then for years, if not even permanently, the institution would have fallen into the hands of bigoted Pundits and Moulavis, who would have rendered it useless for Christian purposes. Only on one condition could it become powerful and really of importance for Christian ends, — that condition was, that the language taught in it should be English. Again Mr Duff was right in his decision. It was marvellous that a missionary so young and inexperienced should have found his way amid advices the most contradictory to conclusions so sound as these. It can be attributed only to the sagacity of genius, acting on its own convictions, after fervent prayer for the divine direction. It is right, however, to remark that, while the English language was chosen as affording the most effectual medium for communicating a knowledge of the higher departments of literature, science, and Christian theology, the vernacular tongue was from the first regarded as alone available for imparting an elementary education to the mass of the people. The former, or English, was declared to be the fittest medium of distribution to the highly-educated few, and the latter, or Bengalee, the only adequate medium of distribu- tion to the ordinarily-educated many. Accordingly, that THE INSTITUTION OPENED. 5/ the pupils might be able to turn their acquirements to good account for the enlightenment of the many, a Bengalee de- partment was, from the very outset, conjoined with the English, and all the pupils were constrained to give a due proportion of their time and attention to the former as well as the latter. The plan of operations settled, no time was lost in taking action, and a tolerably-sized hall in an old building in the central part of the native town was hired as a school-room. It had once been occupied as a Hindoo college, and afterwards used as a chapel by native Unitarians, or rather Vedantists. Rammohun Roy, the celebrated Hindoo reformer, had pro- mised his assistance in obtaining pupils to commence with, and on Monday, 12th July (1830), a note was sent to him, stating that it would be a favour if he would send the young men he had spoken of on the morrow. He fulfilled his en- gagement, and at the appointed time five appeared. The nature of the intended school was explained to them, and they went away highly satisfied. On Wednesday, about 20 more arrived, and, after a conference with the missionary, departed also favourably impressed. On Thursday, 80 more came, and as there was room in the building hired for no more than 120 at a time, it was unnecessary to wait for an increase of candidates. Next day, however, the plan re- solved on required modification, for 200 more pupils ap- peared, and put forth the most moving importunity not to be turned away. What, in these circumstances, could be done ? If the senior classes were to meet at one portion of the day, and the junior ones at another, then 240 instead of 120 could be accommodated. To reduce the candidates to this number, it was intimated that only written applica- tions for admission would be attended to, and that none would be enrolled as pupils who did not promptly pay for books and bind themselves to stay at the school a rea- sonable length of time, so as to profit by the instruc- $8 , CALCUTTA. tions communicated. 250 complied with these conditions, and by alternating the classes, room was made for them all* The institution was opened on Monday the 2d August, 1830. There was at first no college department, the most advanced youths — about 40 in number — being able to do no more than spell words of tw^o syllables ; but with the high genius for teaching possessed by the Church of Scotland's first missionary, and on the intellectual system on which he acted, as practised by Mr Wood of Edinburgh, and afterwards more fully by Mr Stow of Glasgow, but considerably modified, so as to adapt it to oriental ways and habits, the progress of the pupils was extremely rapid. One-third were above the age of 20, and one-fourth were Brahmans. It was a critical moment in the history of the institution when 100 New Testaments were, after explanation, put into the hands of the scholars, but only three or four left in consequence. The first passage read w^as the Lord's Prayer, which was afterwards daily offered up for some time at the opening of * As it was really an astounding phenomenon that Hindoo parents should entrust their children in large numbers to an instructor who made no secret of his intention to convert them to another faith, it is interesting to inquire into the motives which induced them to act in a manner which at first sight seems so unaccountable. In India, offices requiring a knowledge of English in those who fill them are much better paid than those of which the duties can be discharged by natives acquainted only with their vernacular. No caste in India are more intellectual, and none more ambitious, than the Brahmans. When Enulish began to be taucjht in the Hindoo college, a number of Brahmans and other high-caste parents sent their children, but many could not afford the fee, being exceedingly poor. This was the class which furnished so many and so eager applicants for admission into the Calciuta institution, and in taking what an impartial spectator would call a most perilous step, they would reason in such a fashion as this: — "The education gratuitously offered in the new school may at last procure for our sons much more lucrative appointments than if they knew only Bengalee ; and as for the peril of their apostatising from Hindooism and becoming Christians,— why, there is little likelihood of their doing anything so foolish and sinful." Thus much for the parents, but the sons from the first occupied higher ground. Partly sharing the worldly views of their fathers and mothers, they had also more worthy aims. A Hindoo boy, from 12 to 15, especially of the Brahmanic ca^te, possesses a deep love of knowledge for its own sake. Whilst an average English boy cares for little but play at the time of life spoken of, his oriental compeer gives his most earnest attention to study ; but it is viainful to be obliged to add that often, on reaching a somewhat more advanced age, he plunges into vice to an extent which deadens his intellectual as well as his moral powers, and the boy who at 15 had keen intellectual tastes, is stupid and uninteresting at 25 Notwithstand- ing this discouraging circumstance, Hindoo youths are e.xtremely interesting pupils to teach, and in many ways gratify the lieart of every missionary who has them under his charge. PLACE OF THE BIBLE IN THE INSTITUTION. 59 the institution, till the pupils were far enough advanced, in- tellectually, to follow an extemporaneous prayer. The * Prodigal Son ' followed next, and then the 13th chapter of ist Corinthians. Lastly, the New Testament, and after a time the whole Bible was systematically studied.* * It may be of good service to record Mr Duff's own statement of his use of the Bible as a class-book, in his work on " India, and India Missions," upwards of 30 years ago : — " Here must we state, once for all, that while from the very first the Bible itself was thus made a school aiid clas-^-book, it was so made distinctly, avowedly, and exclusively, for religiojis and devotional exercises, with the view of bringing all the faculties of the soul into contact with the life and spirit and quickening influence of Jehovah's holy oracles ; and never, never for the parsing, syntactic il, and sundry other grammatical exercises which, we fear, is but too com- mon. We know of none more likely to lower the Bible from its unapproachable eminence of sacredness, as 'the Book,' ^ the Book of books:' and we have never ceased, and, through God's blessing, never will cease, humbly but resolutely to lift up our solemn protest against it. We would not wish on this subject, any more than on any other, to advocate an untenable, or impracticable, or dangerous extreme. We would pray, on the one hand, to be delivered from the Pharisaic idolatry which would hold up to the nations the very papyrus or parchment on which the words of inspiraiion are written, exclaiming, ' Behod the Book ! fall down ye before it and worship it ;' instead of crying aloud, ' Behold your God revealing Himself through the medium of His Written Word ; fall ye down and worship before Him.' So, on the other hand, we would pray to be delivered from the Sadducean latitudinarianisni or indifference which would strip the written Word of all its sacredness, by mingling it up with the parsings, conslruings, correctings, trappings, ferular visitations, and all the other irreverent bustle of pedagogal gymnastics. On the frontispiece of their Bible the Jews were wont to inscribe, in flaming characters, the exclamation of fear and astonishment extorted from Jacob by the vision of Jehovah at Bethel — ' How dread- ful is this place ! This is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!' On which the great Owen most appropriately remarked, 'So ought we to look upon the Word with a holy awe and reverence of the presence of God.' But if any scheme could be devised more cunning than another, by which, under the semblance of honouring and magnifying it as a schooNbook, we could succeed in di- vesting the perusal and contemplation of it of «// 'holy awe and reverence ' of God's presence, it is the very practice which has now been reprobated — reprobated, not so much from abstract considerations as from painful experience of its most blight- ing effects. If the Bible is to be made a school and class-book — and rather, infinitely rather, let us decide on the banishment of grammars, and geographies, and all popularised excerpts consecrated exclusively to science and the muses, from our schools, than suffer it to be dislodged by the great anti-Christian con- federacy from its throne of rightful supremacy in wielding the sceptre over the entire educational realm ; — if the Bible, we say, is to be made a school and class- book, let it not be evacuated of its divine significance, by being turned into com- mon use, for testing the rules and laws of every self-elected dictator in the ancient domain of speech. Let it not be lowered from its regal dignity to dance attendance and serve as a humble vassal at the outer portals of knowledge. Let it be ever maintained in the right ascension of its sacredness — the meridian altitude of its spiritual power. Let it be gratefully studied as the Book of Life : let it be joyfully consulted as the chart of heaven : let its holy oracles be listened to with profounde.-t awe : let its cheering revelations be welcomed and hailed as the brightest ra3's from ' the ancient glory : ' let its statutes, testinionies, and righteous judgments be im- plicitly submitted to as the unchanging ordinances of the King of kings ; and then, and thc7i only, will that best of books — the Bible — be allowed to promote the grand design for which it was by Heaven bestowed. Then, and then only, will it be duly reverenced — the God who gave it duly honoured — the myriads of young immortals trained in educational seminaries duly quickened and edified, — fortified for the vicis- situdes of time, and ripened for the hosannahs of eternity." 6o CALCUTTA. The more intellectual of the youths were in ecstacies of delight on account of the new world of knowledge which was opening before them, and the head teacher was the same that the Lord had so manifestly prospered his way.* This joy was summarily checked one morning when the missionary, reaching the loved scene of his labours, saw a beggarly array of empty benches staring him in the face, in place of the animated countenances from which he had expected to receive a greeting. Only about half-a-dozen pupils were in the school in place of the hundred and more whom he had calculated on finding assembled. On asking for an explanation, one of the pupils drew out from beneath his dress a copy of that highly-orthodox Bengalee paper. * Here it is proper to note how another difficuhy had been overcome. At first, no school-books could be had except those published by the Calcutta School Book Society ; and from these all knowledge of a religious character had been systemati- cally excluded. Now, it must be obvious that the very young — those who knew not the English alphabet, or knew no more than the alphabet of their mother-tongue — could not read a portion of the Bible either in English or Bengalee. What, then, was to be done ? Were these to be left wholly without religious instruction until they had advanced so far as to be able freely and intelligently to peruse the Scrip- tures? If so, a year or two might intervene, and, so far as reading w&s concerned, hundreds, in the course of time, might quit the institution as ignorant of divine truth, and as much immersed in heathen darkness, as when they entered it. What, then, was to be done? What was the remedy? If there were any, how was it to be applied? Here is Dr Duff's own account of the matter, as contained in his work on " India, and India Missions" : — "The remedy devised was simple, and, as the result proved, effective. It consisted in the compilation of a progressive series of three new elementary school-books, entitled 'English Instructor, 'No. I., II., and III., each consisting of two distinct divisions or part.s, which might be denominated the C07?tni07i and the religious. The_^?'.?2'/<-?ri' was composed of appropriate lessons, of the most miscellaneous character, — partly original, partly selected, and partly al- tered, abridged, or compiled from the contents of pre-existing school-books. Into this division all manner of topics were introduced, calculated to arrest the attention, excite the curiosity, and summon into vigorous exercise the conceptive and other in- tellectual faculties. Here, too, all ortho5::raphica1, etymological, syntactical, and prosodial exercises were carried on with the most boundless freedom, — without any risk of jarring with that solemnity of feeling which the very name of Deity ought ever to inspire, — without dislocating any doctrine of faith, or linking it with gi otesque, in- congruous, or painful associations, — without trenching by a single intrusive move- ment on any one province of sacredness. The second divisioti in each number of the series was devoted exclusively to religious topics. These portions were read, not for the purpose of grammatically mastering the English language, but for the sake of gathering up the doctrines and precepts, warnings and promises, examples and lessons therein taught, exhibited, or enforced. They were treated, therefore, purely as means instrumentally designed to awaken the conscience and variously influence and impress the heart. Thus, by the separate perusal of a small portion of each division daily, there arose a happy combination of lingual and literal acqui- sition, and of those nobler exercises which tended to promote moral and religious improvement." Here it may be added that, ever since, these "Instructors" have been used as class-books in the Central Institution and Branch schools, as well as in most of the other mission English schools in Bengal. THE CHUN DR IK A AND ITS TEACHING. 6 J the Chwidrika (or moon-effulgence), established a year or two before, to defend the burning of widows alive. The school, it appeared, had received notice in its columns, apropos of the discovery which had been made, that some of the pupils were fast losing faith in Hindooism, owing to the instructions which they had been receiving. Parents were therefore ordered to withdraw their children from the school, under pain of excommunication by the Dharma Sab/ia^^ or Holy Synod, of which the distinguished editor was himself secretary. If any should disregard this warning, and still go to the school placed under a ban, then the case might be met by the hoisting of a yellow flag upon the building, to warn passers by of the moral plague that raged within. The appearance of the empty benches, hitherto an enigma, was now at once explained, and the only question which remained for solution was the practical one, What was to be done ? The missionary wisely resolved to do nothing, arid, after intimating that he would go on with the institu- tion if half-a-dozen, or even one, attended, he placidly pro- ceeded with the lessons as if nothing had happened. A few of the missing youths reappeared in the afternoon, and in little more than a week all but three or four had returned. The C/m?idrika, of course, thundered out a new anathema ; but its effects were far inferior to those produced by the former effusion, and at last the most furious phihppic which it could send forth did not perceptibly affect the institution. It rose rapidly into eminence : the first examination, which was held at the end of twelve months from its opening, was a great success ; and Lord WiUiam Bentinck, who was then Governor-General, declared some time afterwards that it had " produced unparalleled results." Towards the close of 1831 the Rev. William Sinclair Mackay arrived from Europe as a second missionary. t This * The Dharma Sabha had been instituted shortly before, to defend Suttee, and contained within its membership most of the influential Hindoo gentlemen in Calcutta t William S Mackay was born at Thurso, in Caithness, in the ycir 1807. His 62 CALCUTTA. relieved Mr Duff of a portion of his daily labour in the in- stitution, and enabled him to throw himself more fully into a great variety of religious and philanthropic operations, all bearing on the temporal and spiritual welfare of the natives. The Tract and Bible Societies occupied much of his time and attention. His papers, written at that time on the most approved mode of representing Oriental alphabets in Roman characters, have been again and again reprinted in India and England j and he had his full share, both theoretically and practically, in the discussions which paved the way for Lord Macaulay's famous minute, and Lord William Ben- tinck's decisive decree in favour of Anglicanism and against Orientalism. Another series of operations commenced soon after Mr Duff's arrival, and was carried on parallel with those formerly described. In 182 1 the Government had founded a Sanscrit College for the sons of Brahman s, with two wings attached for the instruction of other natives in the English language and literature, mainly with the view of raising up a body of qualified scholars who might translate selected portions of European literature and science into the learned languages of India, in which alone it was thought that such knowledge could or ought to be conveyed to the higher and more in- fluential classes, while it considered itself precluded from introducing Christianity. The result was that many of its young men, taught by their English education to despise Hindooism, assumed without inquiring that Christianity would, if examined, prove equally vulnerable. They became Deists, nay, many avowed themselves Atheists, while some cast off all' the restraints of moral obligation. In August 1S30, soon after Mr Duff's arrival, he succeeded in inducing college education was obtained at one of the Aberdeen Universities, where he held a high place in the prize list. Subsequently he went to complete his studies at St Andrews, where he came under the magnetic influence of Dr Chalmers. When he arrived in Calcutta, towards tlie end of 1831, he was not much above t^^■enty-four years of age. Dr Duff and he had been felhnv-students in St Andrews before either sailed for India. Tlui-. he was one of the St Andrews group of students of whona so many became missionaries. EXPLOSION OF DIGOTR V. 6$ a number of these to agree to attend a weekly course of lec- tures on the Evidences and Doctrines of the Christian Faith. The Rev. Mr Dealtry, a Church of England chap- lain, afterwards Archdeacon of Calcutta, and last of all Bishop of Madras, with the Rev. Messrs Hill and Adam, of the London Missionary Society, agreed to take part in the course. The place of meeting was to be the lower room of Dr Duff's house, which was conveniently situated in the heart of the native town, near the Government College. The first part of the course, to consist of lectures on the Evidences of Natural and Revealed Religion, was under- taken by Mr Duff; but by mutual agreement Mr Hill delivered the first or introductory lecture, and at that time there never was a second. A violent outburst of bigotry on the part of the Hindoo community constrained the directors of the college to turn their attention to the events then in progress, and these worthies issued an edict for- bidding the students, on the pain of their high displeasure, to attend the lectures, though what right they had to in- terfere in the matter it was difficult to perceive. The European press soon made them ashamed of their tyran- nical order, and it was rescinded, but not until it had produced remarkable results. The young men, forbidden to go to the lectures, proceeded to set up debating societies among themselves, where (and we honour them for it) no one was required to argue against his conscientious convictions. Mr Duff was a constant visitor at these gatherings, and was greatly struck by what he saw and heard. He thus speaks on the subject : — " To a British-born subject the free use in debate of the English lan- guage by these oHve-complexioned and bronze-coloured children of the East, on their own soil, and at the distance of thousands of miles from the British shores, presented something indescribably novel, and even affecting. Nor was the effect at all diminished, but rather greatly heightened, Avhen ever and anon, after the fashion of public speakers in our own land, the sentiments delivered were fortified by oral quotations from English authors. If the subject was historical, Robertson and Gibbon were appealed to ; if political, Adam Smith and Jeremy Ben- 64 CALCUTTA. tham; if scientific, Newton and Davy; if religious, Hume and Thomas Paine ;* if metaphysical, Locke and Reid, Dugald Stewart and Brown, The whole was frequently interspersed and enlivened by passages cited from some of our most popular English poets, particularly Byron and Sir Walter Scott. And more than once were my ears greeted with the sound of Scotch rhymes from the poems of Robert Burns. It would not be possible to pourtray the effect produced on the mind of a Scotch- man, when, on the banks of the Ganges, one of the sons of Brahma, in reviewing the unnatural institution of caste in alienating man from man, and in looking forward to the period in which knowledge by its trans- forming power would make the lowest type of man feel itself to be of the same species as the highest, clearly gave utterance in an apparent ecstacy of delight to these characteristic lines : — ' For a' that and a' that. It 's comin' yet for a' that, That man to man the world o'er Shall brothers be for a' that.' " Not merely debating societies, but newspapers, with the young Bengalees as editors, came into notice. We have already had occasion to mention one periodical, the Chiuid- rika, the organ of the ultra-Conservative party of Hindoo religionists, but with that paper the young illuminati were at daggers drawn. Their organs were two, the Gyanmieshun^ in Bengalee, and the Inquirer^ in English, while an inter- mediate party, the Vedantists, who, perceiving the absurdities of the easily-refuted Pooranas, on which modern Hindooism is founded, fell back on the less vulnerable ancient Vedas, addressed the pubHc through means of the Coumiidee. The severely orthodox Hindoos looked on the Liberals with intense hatred, and a single spark might at any time pro- duce an explosion. Youthful imprudence was ere long to supply that spark. On the evening of the 23d August 183 1 a considerable number of the young illuminati took their way to the family house of their friend, Krishna Mohun Banerjee, editor of the Inquirer. Though he was not at home they * A bookseller in the United States of America, who had heard that there was a party among the Bengalees likely to purchase the " Age of Reason," sent a large supply out. When a ship brought a thousand of them to Calcutta they were sold at the beginning for one rupee a copy, but the demand for them ultimately became so great that five rupees instead of one were ultimately asked and obtained. A UNIQUE DRAMA. 65 had no scruple in taking possession of the room in which they had been accustomed to meet for discussion. The presence of that knot of congenial spirits, one and all of revolutionary tendencies, coupled with the absence of the more sober-minded editor, was not unattended with peril to Hindooism ; and as their enthusiasm was gradually raised to the pitch for action, they unanimously resolved to commit what was held to be the unpardonable sin by partaking of beef. A roasted portion of what was believed to be the unhallowed food being ordered from the bazaar, they each and all ate a portion of it, and were engaged in this fearful work when the editor returned home. Young Brahmans, as most if not all of them were, do not generally like beef the first time they taste it, which was probably the reason why some of the unclean substance remained when the repast was finished. How to dispose of this uneaten remnant was of course a question, and some impulsive spirit in the company solved it too summarily, on the spur of the moment, by seizing the beef in his hand and letting it fly into the compound or courtyard of a highly orthodox Brahman who lived next door. The holy man was within his residence when the projectile descended, and if he entertained any doubt as to its character he Avas at once enlightened by the exegetical remark with which its flight was accompanied, "There is beef! There is beef!" Aroused by the ominous sound, which boded that, according to caste law, his premises were hopelessly defiled, he rushed forth at the head of his servants and violently assaulted the editor and his friends. The young men did not attempt to defend what they had done, but made an apology for the past, promised amendment for the future, and hoped that the irate Brahman might now feel satisfied. Need it be added that this expectation was wholly disappointed. Their conduct was soon noised abroad through Calcutta, and it is not to be wondered at, that wherever the outrage was re- ported great excitement followed, and the determination 66 CALCUTTA. was evinced once for all to grapple with the unbelieving crew, and reduce them to obedience. The relatives of the editor were ordered to expel him from the parental abode, unless he humbly recanted his errors and engaged never more to use his pen against his ancestral faith. It is very creditable to him that he refused to make the required recantation, and preferred to be ejected from his home at midnight and encounter personal risk from the excited mob in the street. As his friends had most of them broken caste by putting the unclean thing to their lips, they too were pretty severely dealt with by their relatives, urged on by the more bigoted Hindoos. All parties in Calcutta watched with eager interest the progress of the strange drama now described, and among others Mr Duff, who was of opinion that the persecuted young men might, hi their distress, examine the claims of the gospel with a candour which they probably would not have manifested had the course of their lives run more smoothly. He therefore asked a mutual friend to bring Krishna Mohun to his house. The young Brahman came, on which the missionary expressed deep sympathy with him in the sufferings which he had endured, and, after gaining his confidence, succeeded in convincing him that as a " professed inquirer after truth, he was bound to search into and candidly examine the claims of Christianity, and that he was not warranted in setting it aside unless he first proved its evidences to be unsatisfactory. Krishna then made so favourable a report to his youthful friends and fol- lowers respecting this first interview with the missionary, that they resolved to hold weekly meetings at his house for religious instruction and discussion ; but before farther arrangements were quite completed new trials had first to be encountered. On the 28th September, Krishna had to depart hurriedly from his new abode to escape personal assault, though about a month had elapsed since the beef afiliir, and now not a Hindoo in all Calcutta dared to give DR DUFF AND THE UNBELIEVERS. 6/ him shelter, so that he had no resource left but to take up his residence in a European lodging-house. Next evening Mr Duff went thither to pay him a visit, and found him surrounded by his friends, who were joining him in de- nouncing popular Hindooism, and vowing that in future they would proceed to greater lengths against it than they had done in the past. In their present state of isolation and distress they listened to the European visitor while he showed them that the great European reformers, Luther, Calvin, Knox, and others, constructed as well as destroyed. They, as Bengalee reformers, must do the same if their exertions were to be reahy beneficial to their countrymen. Finally, after much reasoning and many appeals, they were persuaded to attend at his house, for a weekly lecture, on Tuesday, and seek religious instruction, opportunity also being afforded for subsequent discussion. This second course Mr Duff had to undertake single-handed, and carry it on from beginning to end without assistance or co-opera- tion on the part of any other. At first from forty to sixty came, most of them behaving very well, while a small minority were proud, forward, rude, boisterous, and often grossly insulting. Besides the youths, for whom the lectures were primarily designed, other Hindoos in considerable numbers, as well as East Indians and Europeans, attended to witness the unwonted spectacle. The first series of lec- tures and discussions was regarding the initial truth of all religion — the being of a God. His attributes were next established, after which followed the evidences of natural and then of revealed religion ; and, last of all, a full state- ment and exposition of the doctrines of the Christian faith, with earnest appeals to the conscience. One of the most forward and reckless of the young men who attended the lectures was called Mohesh Ghose. When he came to them in November 183 1, he did not really expect to receive any religious benefit from what he heard, but he believed he would have the opportunity of exposing 68 CALCUTTA. what he considered to be the irrational and superstitious fallacies of the missionary. Step by step, however, he found himself driven from Atheism and from Deism, first to a general acknowledgment of Christianity, and then, through the special working of the Spirit of God, to the accept- ance of the gospel with his heart. He was baptized on the 26th August 1832, but, strange to say, not by his spiritual father, but by an Episcopal clergyman, with whom he had not previously had any connection, whilst in the first pub- lished statement of his conversion he did not make those acknowledgments which justice, no less than gratitude, required of the deep obligations under which he lay to the Presbyterian missionary. For this omission, however, he subsequently apologised, with expressions of deep regret, in tlie columns of the Calcutta C/iristia?i Observe?'.'^ Krishna Mohun was present when the sacred rite was administered, and, in commenting on the incident in the Inquirer^ he wrote in a spirit so different from that which of old had animated him, that it was evident he was now himself a Christian. Shortly afterwards he was baptized by Mr Duff, in his lecture room, amid a dense crowd of natives, East Indians, and Europeans, and has ever since been a pillar of the native Church of India, and the author of several able and masterly works alike in English and Ben- galee. After some time he was led, from circumstances, to connect himself with the Church of England, of which he became an ordained clergyman and professor in Bishop's College. Before conversion he was a Kulin Brahman. t * Of this periodical, which for upwards of thirty years rendered great and im- portant service to the cause of evangelical Christianity in India, there were at the outset three joint editors — Mr DnfF having charge of the general department for original articles, &c., Mr Hill of the review^ and Mr Gogerly of the intelligence de- partment. t There are grades of dignity in the Brahmanic caste, the Kulins occupying the very apex of the pyramid. So high are they supposed to be, that it is deemed a great honour for a Brahmin girl to obtain one of them for a husband, a foolish fancy of which many Kulin scoundrels take cruel advantage by marrying indefinite num- bers of young women all over the country, of course obtaining, if possible, a dowi y with each, and then quartering themselves for long periods of time on f,ither-in-law after father-in-law with as little shame as the professional mendic ints in the streets. HIGHLY IMPORTANT BAPTISMS. 69 When he led the phalanx of unbelief, he owed his position as leader among the young illuminati to the strength of his intellect, and he is so thoroughly master of the English tongue that when he pens an article in a quarterly re- view no one would ever suppose that it was written by a Hindoo. Early one morning, about the beginning of December 1832, another of the young men, Gopinath Nandi by name, entered Mr Duff's study, and, sitting down, remained quite silent for about a quarter of an hour, as if burdened with some great grief. At length gaining utterance, he asked, " Can I be saved ? Shall 1 have the privilege of being called a son of God, and a servant of Jesus Christ ? Shall I be admitted into the holy family ?" " BeUeve in the Lord Jesus Christ," was the reply, '' and thou shalt be saved." Before the interview terminated, the burden was removed, and Gopinath was rejoicing in his Lord and Saviour. He was soon after admitted into the Church of Christ by bap- tism, Mr Duff administering the ordinance. A year or two afterwards, Gopinath proceeded to the north-west provinces, and there became a distinguished and successful missionary of the Cross.* These baptisms being the first of the kind which had ever occurred in India, produced a profound sensation alike in the native and European communities. By that time, Atheism had almost, if not altogether, disap- peared from among the young men, and Deism was much less rampant than formerly. Not merely had three been baptized, but many who still remained nominally Hindoo, with more or less straightforwardness acknowledged the claims of Christianity. Of these, however, some were after a time admitted mto the Church of Christ by baptism. About the beginning of 1833, Mr Duff commenced two courses of lectures — one for converts and others whose objections to the Bible he had been enabled previously to * In 1833, a pious officer at Futtehpore, in Upper India, set up a school at that station, and applied to Mr Duff for a teacher. Gopinath was sent, and laboured in the north-west till his death. We shall meet with him again in the history. (391) G 70 CALCUTTA. remove, and a second for those less advanced. A Bengalee service was also instituted soon afterwards, and other means were taken for accomplishing the ends contemplated in the establishment of the mission. It received extension also in a remarkable way. Soon after Mr Duff's arrival in Calcutta, the late Rajah Rammohun Roy, introduced him to a family of wealthy zemindars (landowners), consisting of four brothers, with the family name of Chaudri, who lived happily together on their ancestral estate at Taki, forty-five miles east of Calcutta. Visits paid by some of these to the Calcutta institution, and subsequent intercourse with Mr Duff, led to their making a request that he would found a school at Taki on the same model as that in Calcutta. After a visit to the place, in which he received a right princely welcome, he agreed to the proposal, and suggested a site for the con- templated buildings. The Chaudris, by a legal instrument, bound themselves and their heirs to pay the main charges of the schools, amounting to about ;^3oo a year, at the same time leaving to Mr Duff the whole management of the educa- tion. The institution was opened with due ceremony on the 13th June 1832. In the second year of its existence, great floods swept away about 50,000 natives in Lower Bengal, and fearful pestilence completed the work of destruction. The school suffered severely, but it rose again into power when the calamities terminated. — [Missio?iary Record, 1838-39, pp. 81, 109, and 132.) Quite early in the history of the mission, one of the secretaries of the supreme government wrote — " How numerous are the instances in which visitors to the General Assembly's celebrated academy have caught the spirit of the plan, and been induced, on their return to their respective districts, to form the nucleus of similar institutions ! " In 1833, the first fruits of the institution in the conversion of souls were reaped with great gladness, a young man, called Anundo Chunder Majundar, having on that day been admitted into the Christian Church.* Not long * Anundo, in 1834, accompanied Mr Groves to England, and, on returning to the East, became a catechist of the London Missionary Society. He died in 1841. MESSRS MA CKA Y AND E WART. J I afterwards, other converts were obtained from the institu- tion. But we must not anticipate. As a rule, the first four years of a mission are a sowing rather than a reaping time, and the campaign now described stands quite alone for the brilliance of its results. But just when past successes were most vividly inspiring hope of new and yet greater victories, an unexpected and afflictive providence terminated the campaign. Oftener than once, during the currency of the events now described, Mr Duff's health had threatened to break down under the load of his manifold labours and anxieties,^ and finally, towards the end of July 1834, he was ordered home at two days' notice to save his life, then in imminent danger, and departed, leaving his colleague, Mr Mackay, in sole charge of the mission. CHAPTER III. THE INSTITUTION IN NEW HANDS. Before 1834 closed, another missionary had arrived from home — the Rev. David Ewart. f Though the absence of Mr Duff was necessarily an incalculable loss to the mission, yet the institution continued to flourish in the hands of Messrs Mackay and Ewart. Mr Mackay was a man of modest, retiring character, exquisite taste, a fine balance of mental faculties and varied accomplishments. The earthly tenement in which these qualities were enshrined was, how- ever, from the first feeble, and the trying climate of Bengal soon broke it down. The Rev. David Ewart, when he first went to India, was a young man of ruddy complexion, and * To his manifold missionary and other htbours was superadded, for a twelve- month, the charge of the Scotch Church, after Dr Bryce had left on furlough for Scotland, and before the arrival of Mr, now Dr, Charles. t Mr Ewart was born 24th September 1806, at the farm of Upper Bailoch, in the parish of Alyth, and within a mi'e of the town of Alyth. He was afterwards a student at St Andrews along with Messrs Duff and Mackay. 72 CALCUTTA. with a physical frame which enabled him to undergo great fatigue. Punctual as clockwork, he might be seen day by day proceeding to the institution, in which his chief duty lay, prepared to labour with untiring energy, and a patience and good temper that never flagged, great qualities for keeping an institution going in India, or any other land. On the 7th March 1835, the Governor-General, Lord William Bentinck, whose reforming ardour had not been exhausted by the great measure which will for ever im- mortalise his name — the abolition of Suttee — initiated an important revolution in the attitude of Government towards sound education in India. Hitherto the patronage of the Government had been almost exclusively confined to schools and colleges designed for the inculcation of so-called oriental knowledge, which in the main consisted of false science and false religion. But a first step was taken to altering this state of things when, at the date mentioned above, the Governor-General declared that — " The great object of the British Government ought to be the promo- tion of European literature and science among the natives of India, and that all the funds appropriated for the purpose of education would be best employed in English education alone." At that time, be it observed, the funds given for the pro- motion of education were unhappily very limited, so that it was needful to make a choice among the competing systems of education ; and Lord William chose that which was likely soonest to produce great results. His decree, it need scarcely be pointed out, was well fitted to give a fresh impulse to the educational operations of the Calcutta mission. One institution which this decree at once called into life was the Medical College, with a full staff of professors, whose prelections were to be in English, with, however, a vernacular department for humbler practitioners. This was founded on the ruins of the medical class, previously con- ducted chiefly for Mohammedans, through the medium of Arabic. A very interesting point connected with its THE CASE OF D W ARK AN A TH BHOSE. 73 establishment is thus told by the Friend of India for December 31, 1863 : — " The most striking practical proof of the great social changes set in motion by Dr Dufif is seen in the history of the Medical College. Dr John Tytler kept a medical school, in which he taught the natives anatomy from models of the human body. Dr Duff declared that a thorough English education dispelled the prejudices which Dr Tytler recognised, and challenged him to try the experiment on his own highest class. To the Government deputation which questioned the class on the subject, the first student, a Brahmin, said he had no objection to touch a dead body when studying anatomy. The rest of the class agreed, and the battle was won by the establishment of the Medical College." The words used by the Brahmin with regard to the idea of his caste being defiled by touching a dead body for scientific purposes were: "Oh, that's all prejudice, prejudice!" — Missionary Record^ 1837-1841, p. 236. In 1837, a remarkable baptism occurred — that of Dwar- kanath Bhose, a pupil in the institution, about seventeen years old. Dwarkanath, having been suspected of leanings towards Christianity, was thrown into a palanquin and taken to his father's country house, two days' journey from Cal- cutta, where iron chains were put upon his legs to prevent his escape. Some time afterwards he was released, and, returning to school, applied for baptism. A second time he was carried off, but again escaped. An attorney's letter was sent demanding his surrender, but no notice was taken of it. Two or three days subsequently, when he was out in a carriage with Mr Ewart, the horse was thrown down by a band of ruffians, and Dwarkanath carried off. Legal pro- ceedings were taken in consequence, in which effective assistance was gratuitously rendered by Mr Leith, barrister, and Dwarkanath was ultimately released. He was baptized on the 1 8th February 1837.* On the 17th February 1838, the Rev. John and Mrs * After Dwarkanath had completed his literary education, he entered the Medical College of Calcutta, and so highly distinguished himself, that he was chosen as one of four students to be sent to London by the Bengal Government, for the purpose oi finishing, imder the best professors existing, their medical education. On returning, he became a member of the native Free Church congregation in Calcutta. 74 CALCUTTA. Macdonald arrived to the assistance of the mission.* Mr Macdonald was a man of great and even stern fideUty to principle, the terror of open sinners and of inconsistent Christian professors, but prized exceedingly by those to whom religion was all in all. Though feeling the necessity of having secular subjects taught, and taught well, in the institution, yet personally he desired, as a minister of the gospel, to confine himself to the one great theme, and employment of a congenial character was found for him in the theological department of the institution. His services in the mission were soon highly indispensable; for in 1838, Mr Mackay's health so utterly gave way, that when by medical advice he took ship for Van Dieman's Land, neither he nor his friends had much expectation of his surviving the voyage. In 1839, two very remarkable baptisms took place in connection with the mission. They were those of Mahendra Lai Basakf and Khoilas Chunder Mookerjee. % When Ma- * John Macdonald was born in Edinburgh on the 17th February 1807. His father was at that period minister of the Gaelic Church in the Scottish capital, but was subsequently translated to Ferintosh, in a fragment of Nairnshire, everywhere surrounded by Ross-s!iire districts. There he made such wide-spread efforts for the evangelisation of the Celtic population, that he came to be designated the apostle of the North. The son was educated at King's College, Aberdeen, where he highly distinguished himself, the most notable of his intellectual achievements being that he gained the Huttonian prize, which constituted him what in the South woud be called the senior wrangler of his year. He was licenced on 6th January 1830. In October 1830, he took charge of a small Scottish congregation then worshipping in Chadwell Street, Pentonville, London, and on the 17th March 1831 was ordained its pastor. Coming under the powerful spell of Dr Duft's eloquence during the visit of the latter to London, his missionary leanings became known, and he was in con- sequt;nce invited by the General Assembly's committee to go to Calcutta. Accept- ing the call he, on the 19th December 1837, left for the East in a ship called the Marion. t Mahendra was born in September 1S22, and entered the institution a"bout 1831. Soon after he was removed to the Hindoo college, but was ere long permitted to return again to the institution. \\\ 1838, he came under powerful religious nnpres- sions, which became known to his friends, and led to his being deprived of his books and plied with the exhortations of interested Brahmins. All was, however, without avail. Then it was said that, at the suggestion of a very near relative, his " friends " tried to seduce him into vice, well knowing that this would unfit him for being admitted into a holy religion. The disreputable plot failed, and, as men- tioned in the text, he was at length baptized. Mahendra possessed great intellect. He was the gold medallist of his year at the institution, and some new demonstra- tions which he made of Euclid's problems elicited the warm commendation of Pro- fessor Wallace, who then filled the mathematical chair in Edinburgh University. X Khoilas was a native of Kulahasho village, twenty-four miles westward of Cal- cutta, He was born in 1821. His father was a Kulin Brahmin. He entered the MAHENDRA AND K HOI LAS. 75 hendra came seeking baptism, his father did all in his power to induce him to return home. At first he admitted him to be above sixteen ; but on learning that in that case he had an indisputable right to judge for himself, he altered his statement, and reduced the age to fifteen years and some months. No legal proceedings were attempted, and Ma- hendra was baptized on the 8th March 1839. Khoilas first came to the Mission-house in April 1839. His friends had been taking him to some idolatrous cere- mony, with which he felt that he must have nothing to do, on which he suddenly escaped from them on the road, fled to his spiritual instructors, and asked for baptism. His native friends could not for a long time induce him to leave, till at length, in the simplicity of his heart, he believed two baboos, because " they were educated men and had English manners," and went with them to his father's house, on their solemn promise that they w^ould bring him back in an hour or two. The result might have been conjectured. He was carried oft' as a prisoner and kept in captivity three months in a house far away from Calcutta. But he remained firm during this trying period, and at last escaping again to the Mission-house, was publicly baptized in the hall of the insti- tution in August 1839. Soon afterwards a young Brahmin, called Chundra Kumar Roy, asked baptism. He was about eighteen years of age, but not possessed of much mental ability. On Sunday, i8th August 1839, the Rev. Thomas Smith (now the Rev. Dr Smith, of Cowgatehead) reached Cal- cutta;* and towards the end of the same year, Mr Mackay was again back at his post, with his health considerably recruited, t institution in 1S33. He was not so much able as gentle, tractable, and attentive to his studies. * On the 8th March, Mr Smith was ordained by the Presbytery of Edinburgh — Dr DufF, who was then at home, presiding and officiating on the occasion. 'I'he very eloquent sermon and addresses then delivered were published, by request, under the title of " Missions the Chief End of the Church." t Mr Mackay, when he was in Van Dieman's Land, made a very favourable im- pression on tlie governor, Sir John Franklin, ultimately destined to become a martyr 76 CALCUTTA. CHAPTER IV. THE YEARS PRECEDING THE DISRUPTION. In May 1840, Dr Duff returned in recruited health from Scotland. Larger buildings having by this time been obtained through his exertions while at home for the in- stitution, it was no longer under the restraint as to num- bers which it had originally been, and in place of 300 there were now 800 pupils in attendance. By January 1841 they increased to 870. The reforming governor. Lord William Bentinck, was no longer in India, and his successor, Lord Auckland, had not approved of his predecessor's educational decree, but had made a retrograde movement, which, for the time at least, arrested the severance of the Government from oriental error. A series of letters, strongly deprecating this reactionary step, was addressed to its noble originator by Dr Duff, and led to a warm and even vehement discussion between the advocates of Orientalism and Occidentalism^ which ended by the adop- tion of some practical measures that went far to neutralise the force of the Governor-Gen eral's unhappy decree. In 1840, Miss Laing arrived from Europe as the agent of the Scottish Ladies' Society for promoting Female Education in India, commenced the year before. An orphan refuge for girls had been begun on a humble scale a short time before by Mrs Charles, wife of the Rev. Dr Charles, then of science in the polar regions. He also so gained the hearts of the colonists, that they wished him to remain among them as their pastor, but he felt that his proper sphere was Calcutta, where there was in progress what he believed to be " the most important work now carrying on on the earth." He left Hobart Town on December 13, 1839. On his return voyage, he was shipwrecked on the coast of Orissa, about twenty miles south of False Point, on the evening of February 15, 1840. " For myself," he wrote, " I looked upon death as inevitable. To me, though not in that form, the prospect had long been familiar, and then, as ever, my chief regret was that I had dime so little for Christ, and given so much of my heart and time to the world." At length a native vessel, of eighty or ninety tons, picked the crew and passengers off the wreck, and ultimately transferred them to a British ship, which brought them to Calcutta. SIEGE OF THE MISSION HOUSE, yj senior Presbyterian chaplain at Calcutta. The girls now spoken of were given in charge to Miss Laing, and more having been sent her, another lady, Miss Saville, was sent from home to her assistance, arriving on nth December 1842. It was an extremely gratifying circumstance that an effort should have commenced for the small section of the Cal- cutta females who alone were accessible at that time to missionary effort. Meanwhile, the institution was producing, under the operation of the Divine Spirit, the results which had been contemplated in its establishment. News came from Futtehghur, in the north-west provinces, that baptism had been administered there to a young man called Kalichurn Dutt, who had been for four years in the institu- tion ; and some time afterwards more spiritual fruit was gathered, and this time, it is gratifying to add, by those who had sown the seed. On the 2d November 1841, a young Brahmin of 18, Jagadishwar Bhattacharjya, who had for some time been applying for admission to the Church, appeared at the Mission-house. His relatives, as is usual on such occasions, tried by moving entreaties to shake his resolution to become a Christian, but the inquirer, though naturally soft and yielding, was firm as a rock in adhering to his purpose. Next day the matter was noised abroad over Calcutta, and the day being one marked by an unusual conjunction of the planets, and therefore, in the opinion of the astrologers, sure to be attended with some great cala- mity, excitement arose, and violence was attempted. Thousands surrounded the Mission-house in a state of rage and fury, so that Dr Duff had to apply to the police for a protective force. In these circumstances, it was found necessary to baptize Jagadishwar at once, to show the assailants that he was finally lost to Hindooism. At one o'clock, consequently, he was led out into the institution, and the younger boys being dismissed, while the elder ones were retained, he was solemnly baptized on making a pro- 78 CALCUTTA. fession of his faith, and throwing down, in presence of all the spectators, his poita or sacred thread, a symbol designed to indicate that he flung from him all the caste privileges no less than the faith of Brahmanism When the pupils, on being dismissed, all concurred in reporting that the deed was done, the mob besieging the Mission-house melted away, and quiet was in consequence restored. Only about sixty pupils were removed from the institution in conse- quence of this baptism, and a few weeks sufficed to restore it to its pristine strength. On Wednesday, 19th January 1842, another Brahman, Prasanna Kumar Chatterji, was admitted into the Christian Church. On Sabbath, 3d July 1842, at the ordinary evening ser- vice at the institution, Madhab Chandra Basak, a young man of the same standing as Jagadishwar, was baptized, after passing through the dreadful ordeal common on such occasions. An interesting fact connected with this case was, that about a hundred native students from the higher classes of the institution, from the Hindoo College, or from other seminaries, were present at the administration of the sacred ordinance, and behaved most decorously. Notwithstanding what had occurred, there were sixty more candidates for admission into the institution next day, being the first Monday of the month, when fresh names are enrolled. Madhab was not long a member of the Church on earth. He died on the 17 th February 1843, of consumption, at Kishnagur, whither he had been sent for change of air. Jagadishwar and Prasanna, who had gone with him to take care of him, watched over him with affectionate care, till he no longer required human kindness. About the same time word came that the Rev. Mr Bowley, a Church of England missionary at Chunar, on the Ganges, had baptized a young man, formerly a pupil in the General Assembly's institution. This was at least the third BRANCH INSTITUTION AT TAKI . 79 known instance in which pupils of Dr Duff's had received the seaHng rite in the upper provinces. Facts of this kind, which afterwards became more numerous, require to be taken into account in estimating the success of the institution. Not merely were there new accessions to the native Church, but there were within its fold aspirants to the ministry, and on the loth March 1842, Mahendra and Khoilas, after a searching examination, were set apart as full catechists. Though the completion of the new buildings had given an impulse to the institution, so that its pupils had risen to 900 on the roll, with 700 in daily attendance, yet it was resolved to push forward into the country districts, espe- cially as spheres were required within which Mahendra and Khoilas might labour for the Redeemer. In the early part of 1842, Ghospara, the residence of the head of the re- markable sect of the Karta Bhojas, or worshippers of the Creator, on the left bank of the Ganges, about thirty miles above Calcutta, was, after much inquiry and a personal survey of the locality, selected by Dr Duff for occupation, and by January 1843, ^'^^ premises which had been erected were ready for the commencement of operations. About the same time means were taken to occupy Culna.* It will be remembered that the mission already had a school at Taki. To manage this more effi- ciently a teacher, then unordained, was despatched from home. This devoted labourer, Mr, now the Rev. Mr Fyfe, * Culna is about fifty miles north from Calcutta, on the right bank of the Hooghly. It contains about 30,000 inhabitants. It derives importance from being the port of Buvdwan, the outlet by which rice and other grain, cotton, &c., are exported from that fertile district. About 1842, the Church of England sent a mis- sionary thither, but in 1841 removed him to the district of Kishnagur, where a remarkable movement had taken place among the Karta Bhojas ; and the Culna premises, by an arrangement with Dr Duff, w^tre sold to the Scottish mission The Glasgow Ladies' Association bought them, designing them to be a station for Mahendra. Till he was ready to occupy it, Mr Chill, a European brought up in India, was to commence operations there. It may seem strange that a Ladies' Asso- ciation in Scotland should so actively interfere in Bengal mission work ; the reason was, that the Association had generously agreed to support Mahendra, while the Churcliof St Stephen's, Edinburgh, with equal liberality, undertook for Khoilas. 8o CALCUTTA. Still remains in connection with the mission. The ordained labourers were all at their posts, Mr Smith, who had been compelled by ill health to leave on December 17, 1841, for the Cape of Good Hope, having returned on the 13th December 1842, and all was proceeding smoothly and satis- factorily as the mission neared the crisis of the Disruption. CHAPTER V. THE DISRUPTION AND ITS CONSEQUENCES, As has already been stated, all the ordained missionaries of the Scottish Establishment seceded with the party who at the Disruption became the Free Church. The hope was entertained that there might be an arrangement about an equitable division of the property at Calcutta, Bombay, and other stations, but law was insisted upon, or rather, the repre- sentatives of the Established Church thought it equitable to take everything that they could claim by mere technicalities of law, and strip their adversaries as bare as possible. The mission, therefore, lost the Calcutta buildings, for which the money had been obtained mainly through the earnest pleadings of Dr Duff when at home ; nay, more, the library and philosophical apparatus had to be surrendered, though with good reason believed by Dr Duff to have been in- tended by the donors as a personal gift to himself It is not, however, buildings, books, or apparatus which consti- tute an evangelistic agency, but human souls, and Mr Fyfe, with all the other teachers, cast in their lot, as did the entire mass of the pupils, with the retiring missionaries. Miss Laing took the same side, and on the ist November, had to give up all the original orphans, while her assistant. Miss Saville, sided with the Establishment, and was at once promoted to fill the office vacated by her principal. DISRUPTION TRIALS. 8 I On the 13th August 1843, ^ disruption took place also in the Calcutta Presbyterian Church, Dr Duff, his colleagues, and many of the members, withdrawing from its com- munion, and taking steps to form an organisation of their own. All the native converts left with their spiritual in- structors. Everything had to be begun anew, and unless vast energy were put forth, the disruption crisis would prove also the disruption catastrophe. The first step was to apply for the temporary use of a large room in which divine service in English might be commenced; and the Freemasons' Hall was at first obtained for the purpose,* and there, by Dr Duff preaching in the forenoon, and Mr Macdonald in the evening, the Free Church of Calcutta was inaugurated. But the Masons, with little respect for the rights of conscience, soon ejected the congregation from it by a majority of one vote. An application was next made to Government for one of the side-rooms connected with the Town Hall, which elicited an evasive reply. At this the managers of the Parental Academic Institution (now the Doveton College), estabhshed and supported by the East Indian community, generously came forward, and offered the use of their hall, which was cheerfully accepted. A site was obtained at the corner of Wellesley Square, near the * This inauguration was rendered memorable by the baptism of a convert, who has since proved an eminent minister of Christ — the Rev. Behari Lai Singh. His father, a Rajput by birth, had come from Central India and settled in Calcutta. He had two boys, who were both sent for education to the institution. I'here, along with general studies, they acquired a thorough knowledge of the Bible. The elder of the two lt;ft the institution for the North-west, and falling in with a Church of England missionary, was by him baptized. The younger, Behari Lai, among other exercises, wrote a remarkable essay on the Evidences of Christianity. Having obtained the appointment of head-master of a Government school in Jubbulpore, on the Nerbuddah, with a handsome salary, he went thither to occupy his new charge, intellectually convinced of the truth of Christianity, but without heart-conversion to God. There, through the blessing of the Holy Spirit, his head knowledge was turned into heart convictions. He, therefore, resolved to resign his .'-ituation and come to Calcutta for Christian baptism and further instruction, though distinctly warned that while a student in the mission he could only obtain subsistence allow- ance, which did not e.xceed a tenth part of his salary in Jubbulpore. In the face of this warning, however, he determined to come. On the morning of Sabbath, 13th August, he arrived at the Mission-house ; and on the evening of that day, in the Freemasons' Hall, Mr Macdonald had the joy of administering to him the sealing ordinance. 82 CALCUTTA. Government Mohammedan College, and after ^looo had been paid for it, £2600 remained as the nucleus of a building fund. Mr Macdonald officiated as temporary pastor. The missionaries would have addressed themselves with equal vigour to the task of obtaining new mission pre- mises, had they been able to convince themselves that the Establishment would not on any terms consent to their retention of the former buildings, but to the last they refused to believe that the liberal proposals of the Free Church on the subject would be sternly refused. At length, a letter which reached Calcutta on January 22, 1844, dashed all their hopes on the subject, and let them know that they were face to face with perhaps the greatest diffi- culty they had ever had to encounter in the East. Native houses, as a rule, are bamboo and mud huts, while the great houses of wealthy natives are family mansion-houses, which, as a rule, they will on no account let to Europeans j and where to obtain a building to accommodate nearly 1000 pupils it puzzled the missionaries to know. Yet no edifice less than this would suffice, for at the examination held a few days before, the roll — which was always expurgated on the I St of each month, every scholar who had been absent during the whole of the previous month without satisfactory explanation being remorselessly struck out — had on it 893 names in the school, and 36 in the college department — or 929 in all. Happily it was vacation time, and thus a few precious days were given to look out for new school rooms. Not merely the missionaries and converts, but the senior pupils hunted up and down the native city, in the hope that the uninhabited mansion of some baboo (native gentleman or nobleman) might be found to let or to sell. At last, after long and tantalising disappointment, a huge pile of building in the form of a square, in the aristocratic Nim- tollah Street, excited hopes, and these grew bright when it became understood that the proprietress, a widow whose husband had become bankrupt, occupied only the Zenana NEGO TIA TIONS FOR NE W PREMISES. 8 3 or female apartments attached as a wing to the square, and could, if she pleased, without detriment to herself, let the square building itself, which was on a scale of sufficient magnitude to accommodate 1000 pupils. The widow, through her only son, who was wont to come to Dr Duff on friendly visits, and was favourable to the letting of the house, was led to feel that it would be for her pecuniary advantage to consent to the proposals made to her, but her guru, or family priest, and other Brahmans soon put evil suggestions into her mind. Might not, said they, the Europeans eat beef within the building, and thus hopelessly defile it ? Of course they might, and probably would. For this, there- fore, and other reasons, she suddenly changed her mind, and after saying that she would let the premises, said next, with yet more decision, that she would not. The mis- sionaries were greatly cast down on receiving this intelli- gence, but they consoled themselves by purchasing a very eligible site in the same street, which had then unexpectedly come into the market, for permanent premises, though, of course, this would not satisfy their present necessity. To their surprise and gratification, a letter was received from the widow's European man of business, who was led to take an interest in the matter through the late excellent Mr R. Rose, a tried friend of the mission, stating that the lady had again changed her mind, and that she was willing to let the square building on condition that no beef should be eaten therein, that she should be allowed to remove the sacred mud floor of the temple part of it, and leave the vacuity to be filled up by the missionaries anyway they pleased. A deed of lease for five years was prepared ; and early next morning Dr Duff, with Mr Rose and the man of business, hurried to the house, — the widow, behind the purdah, authorising her mark to be annexed to the deed, and Dr Duff signing it in behalf of the mission. With deep thank- fulness to the Disposer of all events, they closed with her offer. It was now felt that, for the time at least, the crisis 84 CALCUTTA. was at an end. The heathens of the old bigoted party were greatly depressed in spirits on finding that the institution was, after all, to go on, whilst the pupils, actual and pro- spective, were proportionately elated. On Monday, the 4th March 1844, the institution opened with teachers, monitors, and 791 pupils present on a roll of upwards of 1000, only it was now in Nimtollah Street, and not, as previously, in Cornwallis Square. Nor was the library entirely destitute of books. Friends, European and native, had made donations collectively amounting to about 1 100 volumes, whilst a Herschell's ten-foot telescope, also presented to the mission by Mr Stewart, son of Dr Stewart, formerly of Moulin, Dingwall, and the Canongate, Edin- burgh, became the nucleus of a fresh set of apparatus. The Disruption affected most of the branch stations, as well as the central institution and church. Khoilas and Mahendra had gone to occupy Ghospara in June 1843, before the news of the Disruption had reached India. Some time afterwards, the St Stephen's congregation of the Established Church claimed, and in November 1844 ob- tained, the buildings there, the two catechists being with- drawn. An arrangement was come to, by which the Free Church was allowed to retain Culna, the one fragment of salvage from the great Disruption wreck. Taki it was beyond the power of the Establishment to meddle with, belonging as it did to Hindoo zemindars, and not to the mission. Shortly after the Disruption, the baboos, finding the place very unhealthy for European teachers, removed the school to Baranagur, the seat of their town residence, a populous suburb on the Hooghly, north of Calcutta. After the transfer, it contained 200 scholars. The teacher, Mr Fyfe, was a devoted man, and, in 1844, he applied to be received as a candidate for the ministry. In that year, also, Jagadishwar Bhattacharjya, Prasunna Kumar Chatterjee, and Lai Behari De, made a similar application. In May 1844, there appeared the first number of the BA P TISA I OF FI VF JE WISH CON VERTS. 85 Calcutta Rcvieiv^ a quarterly which has continued till now, discussing Indian affairs with an amount of knowledge which our home quarterlies are not in circumstances to rival.* On the last Sabbath of July 1844, Gobindo, a young man who had for years previously been a student in the institution, received the sealing rite, and on December 8th of the same year, high hopes were raised by the admission into the Church of five Jewish converts, A man of that nationality, called Isaac, had been brought into intercourse with Captain Roxburgh, a member of the Church of England, and subse- quently of the Free Church. In this way, some desire was awakened in his mind to inquire into the truth of Christi- anity. Eventually he was led to apply to the missionaries, bringing three others of the same nationality along with him. Isaac himself was a rabbi ; another, of patriarchal age and aspect, was called Abraham ; a third was a young man named Joseph ; a fourth was Joseph's wife, and the daughter of old Abraham. It was soon arranged that they should come every Sunday morning to Dr Duff^s house, and bring along with them as many more of their race as could be induced to attend. In point of fact, about a dozen, on an average, were wont to come in for biblical instruction. The first grand object was to search the Scriptures, and prove from them that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah promised to the fathers. The varied processes by which this examina- * The projector of the Calcutta Review was the celebrated Indian historian, Mr (now Sir John) Kaye. After the publication of two or three numbers, he was obliged to leave India in bad health. Dr Duff, who, before it was actually started, had agreed, on certain conditions with regard to its friendly bearing towards Christianity and Christian missions, to be a regular contributor, now became sole editor, and he continued to retain the arduous and responsible office till he left India in 1849, when he was succeeded by Mr (afterwards Dr) Mackay. Dr Mackay c imposed beautifully, but his health was at all times feeble, and finding that he was unable to bring out the luimbers with perfect punctuality, he resigned, and was succeeded by Mr (now Dr) Thomas Smith, who heid the editorship for some years. The missionaries powerfully supported Christian tn.th in the Revie'w,vj\\\\c that important organ of public opinion was in their hands. It was a high compli- ment to their talents when it was temporarily given over to them, and, indeed, out- side the senatus of a university, it would not be easy to find in the same institution three men associated togetiier, who in succession were adjudged worthy of editing a first-class quarterly review. (391) 7 86 CALCUTTA. tion was carried on cannot be detailed here. Suffice it to say that, after a time, the first four that came were led to rejoice that in Jesus Christ they had found the true Messiah, the Redeemer of the world. And believing in Him with the whole heart, they were by Dr Duff, on the evening of the day already referred to, joyfully admitted into the Christian Church. The rabbi then held up his infant daughter for baptism, and would have presented also his httle boy, had the child not been carried off from his house by a mob of ruffian Jews, and retained, so that a writ of habeas corpus was necessary for his recovery. In 1848, two of the converts, Abraham and Isaac, died within a few days of each other. And nothing could well exceed the strength of their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour, and the triumphant joy of their exit to be for ever with Him in glory. The first examination of the institution in Nimtollah Street was felt to be of much interest, on account of the danger so recently escaped. Owing to its distance from the European part of the city, and other reasons, it was held in the Town Hall, on Friday, 27 th December 1844, when, excluding about 200 from Baranagur, there were upwards of 1200 present, there being on the roll of the central institution 1257 — namely, 1142 in the school, and 115 in the college department, with 21? in that of Baranagur. The average attendance in the central institution during the year had been 910 ; the greatest number present at any one time, 988. The day after the institution was opened, 10 19 were actually present. These were splendid statistics, and were all the more remarkable that they were reached at so early a period after the Disruption. Shortly before this. Sir Henry Hardinge, the Governor- General, in Council had issued an order of a very enlightened character, designed at once to give an impulse to the cause of education in Bengal, and obtain for the public service more efficient agents than had hitherto been possessed. Till this time, in selecting young men to fill official situations, A LIBERAL ENACTMENT ILLIBERALLY TREATED. 8/ even the alumni of the Government colleges had been thoughtlessly, if not even designedly, overlooked ; whilst the case was worse with the most distinguished students in the missionary institutions. Sir Henry, feeling the injustice and impolicy of this arrangement, enjoined that for the future, when a situation had to be filled up, and there were a number of candidates for it, preference should be given to those who had received a liberal education. The conductors of non-governmental institutions were, at the same time, invited to send in lists drawn up according to a prescribed form, of the most deserving young men under their care, that, after proper inquiry, these might rank with the best. alumni of the Government schools and colleges as eligible candidates for public situations. Nor was it simply to high and well paid offices that this order was to refer. If a man who could read, and a second who could not, applied together for the same humble post under Government, then, other qualifications being equal, the reader was to be pre- ferred. Complaints were made by the missionaries of the manner in which subordinates, jealous of their influence as educationists, prescribed such subjects for examination as would necessarily put students in an institution like Dr Duff's at a serious disadvantage, and how^ they succeeded in rendering the gazetting system, conceived with such liberality and fairness, a dead letter. That the complaints of the missionaries were well founded, was pubhcly admitted by the home authorities. In Sir Charles Wood's celebrated education despatch, published in 1854, the following frank admission is made : — Sec. 74. " We shall not enter upon the causes which, as we foresaw, have led to the failure of that part of the resokitions which provided for the annual submission to Government of lists of meritorious students. It is sufficient for our present purpose to observe that no more than forty-six persons have been gazetted in Bengal up to this time, all of ivhom were students in the Government colleges.'" [The italics arc ours.] The gazetting system was consequently abolished. Had it been impartially worked, it would have been of great value 55 CALCUTTA. not simply to the educated natives, but to Government ; and great discredit attaches to those who accorded, even to the alumni of Government colleges, only a fraction of their rights, and denied to the pupils of the great missionary institutions every atom of the justice which was their due. CHAPTER VI. EXCITING SCENES. The missionaries had looked forward with eager joy to the time when Khoilas and Mahendra would stand forth as heralds of the Cross to their countrymen, and their first efforts for the conversion of souls were in all respects encouraging. It pleased God, however, to summon His servants to another sphere than that for which their earthly instructors had designed them. Early in 1844, Khoilas' health had begun to give way, and in the month of March, of the same year, an attack of cholera so thoroughly prostrated him, that he expected to go, and, losing all fear of death, repeated the first verse of the hymn beginning — " The hour of my departure's come." Though he nominally recovered, the disease left his consti- tution so shattered, that he fell into an atrophic decline. When death visibly drew nigh, he manifested perfect tran- quillity of soul and firm faith in his Saviour ; and finally, at one in the morning of the 26th February 1845, "without a sigh, a struggle, a movement of any sort in his attenuated bodily frame, his spirit quietly departed unto the Lord." The Rev. Mr Macdonald, of Calcutta, wrote a memoir of him, in which he expresses the confidence he had in the thorough Christian character of this native disciple. Less than two months more saw the gifted Mahendra on his deathbed. He was cut off by cholera on the 26th THE BARREN FIELD YIELDS FRUITS. 89 February 1845. During his brief illness, his brain was affected and his mind wandered, but even then salvation by Christ and missionary work among his countrymen were the subject of his incoherent speeches. During intervals of calmness, he gave most satisfactory evidence of his faith, often repeating, " I am not afraid to die ; oh, no. I know in whom 1 have believed. I am ready to die — to die with- out any regret — resting on my Saviour ! ^' * If 1845 was marked by such mournful events as the deaths of Khoilas and Mahendra, exciting incidents of another character were to render it for ever memorable. It is almost a rule in the Church of Christ that, when the followers of the Redeemer become exceedingly impressed with the barrenness of the spiritual field they cultivate, and are driven to prayer on the subject, plants of grace are just about to spring up. On January 20, 1845, ^^ Macdonald wrote lamenting that out of all the pupils actually attending the institution during the previous year, not one had been baptized, the young man admitted into the church in July having ceased to be a student five years before. He had no suspicion when he penned this lament that within a few hours a great and exciting drama of conversions from the institu- tion was just about to begin. The day after Mr Macdonald wrote his letter, Guru Das Mitra, one of the most promis- ing among the pupils, came to the Mission-house as an inquirer, and was shortly afterwards baptized. Next a case of conversion with romantic accompaniments, occurred in connection with the mission. A young man — called Umesh Chandra Sirkar, a student in the institution, whose father was dewan, or chief counsellor of a rajah — had secret leanings towards Christianity ; and when about sixteen years old, he began to teach his " wife," or rather the girl betrothed to * The high mathematical abihty of Mahendra has already been mentioned. Nor was this all. He di-^tinguished himself in logic, metaphysics, theology, &c. Indeed, he had a mind capable of grappling with any subject. He was, moreover, an excel- lent teacher, but, above all, he was a real missioiiary of the Cross. Bengal lost much when it lost Mahendra. QO CALCUTTA. him, and who was now about ten years old. This required to be done in a covert manner, for female education among the higher classes was then looked upon as a crime. The young couple sat up secretly till one or two o'clock in the morning, engaged in study, she being the pupil and her betrothed husband the teacher. Presently, through the instrumentality of these instructions, the young girl became a convert, and now a good reader in Bengali. On perus- ing that portion of the " Pilgrim's Progress " which speaks of the flight of Christian from the City of Destruction, she felt that her own and her " husband's " case was mirrored forth, and proposed that they should forthwith escape from the heathen household in which they lived to Dr Duff's residence, as at that time there was no Mission-house. The husband hesitated for a little, but finally consented to the project. Hindoo females are so fenced round in the East, that for a time the pair could not obtain the opportunity for departure which they sought. At last on a great festival day, which happened to be the Sabbath, when friends were off their guard, Umesh and his wife succeeded in effecting their escape. Both stood firm against all efforts of the relatives, and the rajah, who visited Dr Duff's house in state, to induce them to return home ; and Sir Lawrence Peel, cousin of the statesman, perceiving the falsehood of the affidavits which represented the young couple as detained against their will by the missionary, refused a writ of habeas corpus. They were baptized by Dr Duff in his house on April 27, 1845, to prevent the violent assault which was fully meditated and planned had they been taken to the church. On Monday, May 5th, a young man, called Bykanta Nath, came for baptism, and was sent by Dr Duff to Mr Thomas Smith's house for protection, as it was farther from the native city. The brother came soon afterwards, and, says Mr Smith — " Such a scene as ensued I never witnessed before, and such a day, I trust, I shall never be called to pass again. The ingenuity and deter- THE FULL TIDE OF BLESSING. 9 1 mination of Brajanath (the heathen brother) were beyond anything I could have conceived. With the exception of a few minutes that he ilirew himself down on the floor, and fell asleep from perfect exhaustion, he never ceased, from five in the morning till seven in the evening, to ply his brother with all manner of arguments and solicitations. Blandish- ments, reproaches, and threats, arguments and abuse, he used with a degree of rhetorical effect which our greatest orators might well envy." All, however, was without avail ; Bykanta stood firm. The same scene was repeated for two hours next morning, but again without result. Then, in the absence of Mr Smith at the institution, the brother persuaded Bykanta to see his aunt, who was in a palanquin outside the gate, being afraid to enter for fear of caste defilement, and who, it was repre- sented, had eaten nothing since she left home. All this of course was a plot, and no sooner did the young man sit down on the side of the palanquin than he was forced into it and carried away. A Dr Balfour, then at Mr Smith's, with Jagadishwar and a servant, followed to prevent the seizure, but they were overpowered by about thirty natives, and had the mortification of witnessing the young man carried off. A writ of habeas corpus was obtained, but to render the law without effect the brother against whom it was issued and the convert were removed to the house of a wealthy baboo, where every effort was made to pervert the conscience or corrupt the morals of the young man with the view of pre- venting his being baptized. He came nobly through this trying ordeal, and it becoming dangerous, with the writ of habeas eofptis in force, to keep him permanently in con- finement, there was no help for it at last except to let him return to the mission. Whilst Mr Smith was hunting one evening for Bykanta, he went into the house of a Brahman of his own acquaintance, and wished to be conducted to the residence of a pupil called Banko Behari Basu, living in the vicinity, who had reported that he had held an interview with the missing convert, whom he found in his house crying and in chains. The domestics of the Brahman soon returned, not with 92 ^ CALCUTTA. intelligence as to where Banko lived, but with himself. On seeing him Mr Smith, merely for the sake of saying something till he could take him out and speak with him privately, put the question — " ' Well, Banko, are you not afraid to come out on so dark a night? ' ' Oh, no,' was his reply. ' What,' said Mr Smith, ' are you not afraid that I should take you and make you a Christian ? You know your countrymen always say that we make Christians by force,' ' It is to be a Christian that I wish,' was his earnest reply. ' I am a Christian. I do not want to have anything more to do with Hindooism.' ' What,' said the Brahman, ' you leave Hindooism ? You leave our religion ? Why will you do that?' ' Because,' said he, 'your religion is full of idolatry, and superstition, and wickedness.' " Of course the Brahman forthwith reported all this to an uncle with whom Banko was staying, his father and mother being dead, on which the youth was summoned into the presence of his relatives, and informed that he must either abjure Christianity or quit the house for ever. He chose the latter side of the alternative, went to Mr Smith's, obtained shelter, and on Wednesday the 13th May was baptized by Mr Ewart. On Sabbath, the i8th, another student, Harish Chandra, came forward, and was bap- tized on the 25th by Mr Macdonald. Finally, on Saturday, 31st May, a young man, Benemadab, who had been removed from the institution about three years before, presented himself as a candidate for the sacred rite. He was baptized on the ist July. Thus, before 1845 was half finished, no fewer than seven young men from the institu- tion had either been baptized or were just about to be so. One does not require either to wonder or complain that great excitement arose in Calcutta, and the cry of Hindooism in danger was raised. The seven were looked upon as the normal products of the teaching in the institution, while it was alleged, and it must be confessed with justice, that a great many more of the young men were Christians in heart, and were restrained only by fear from soliciting baptism. In every street, in every bazaar, wherever a knot of Hindoos gathered to converse, the recent baptisms were the subject A BABOO COMES TO THE FRONT. 93 of conversation. All missionaries were bad, the Free Church ones were worst of all, and as for Dr Duff, no un- cultivated savage, no beast of prey, was more to be dreaded. In the alarm that prevailed all sects and sections of the Hindoo community, the stiffly orthodox Dharma Sabha, the Vedantist Brahma Sabha, that founded by the late Rammo- han Roy, and the Tattwabodhini Sabha, yet more remote from popular Hindooism, all made common cause. Meet- ing after meeting took place, and numerous schemes were discussed for preventing further baptisms. At length a. pro- ject was set on foot which, it was believed, would buttress Hindooism, and render it less vulnerable to the assaults of the Free Church or other missions. There was in the Indian community a baboo, the venerated Muti Lai Sil,* believed to be what worldly people call " worth " half a million sterhng. A son of this gentleman had been at the Hindoo College, but being made to stand up on a form for some petty offence, his father thought this an insult to himself — the semi-millionaire — and wished the teacher reprimanded. Not succeeding according to his desires, he withdrew the pupil from the college, and set up a seminary of his own. Wishing to put it in charge of men who would abstain from introducing any Christianity into it (one might be even a full millionaire without being deeply read in Church history), he selected the Jesuits of St Xavier's College as people who could be thoroughly trusted in such a matter. Eight short months saw a rupture between the allies. Sil charged the Jesuit fathers with violating their engagement not to teach Romanism to the pupils, and, with the promptitude of a Bismarck, turned them out. It was hard to supply the lack of efficient service which this act of discipline produced, and the seminary fell to a low ebb. A gentleman of such public spirit and unimpeachable orthodoxy was clearly the very person whom the crisis re- quired, and accordingly when it was intimated at a public * This word is pronounced like the English one, seal. 94 CALCUTTA. meeting that the baboo, Muti Lai Sil, would come to the rescue of endangered Hindooism, the plaudits which arose were loud and long. Sil undertook to give up a spacious mansion near the Free Church institution for the establish- ment of an anti-missionary college, whilst for its current expenses, when it started, he would subscribe what would come to about £,^00 annually. He would be gratified if they would name the new seminary Sil's Free College. They would not. Great as Sil's doings had been, there were others worthy of all honour too. Some present at the meeting had promised a clear donation of ;£iooo, be- sides monthly subscriptions. They were not disposed to sink their names in that of Sil. On hearing this that gentleman gave way, and consented that the new college should be called the Hindoo Charitable Institution. Nay, more, till the confederates were ready to act with efficiency, he would transfer his seminary (the ex- Jesuit one) to the building which he had given up, and would take in addi- tional pupils till the whole number amounted to a thousand. He would give a donation to it of ^30,000, and an annual contribution of £,1200. (Thunders of applause.) The transfer was made on Monday, the 2d June 1845, and Sil's Free College, or Sil's College, was inaugurated in presence of the Rajahs Radhakant Deb and Bahadur, with other Calcutta magnates. Then all the force of the Hindoo sabhas (synods and societies), and of Hindooism generally, was brought to bear on the parents of the pupils attending the Free Church and other missionary seminaries, to compel them to withdraw their sons and send them to Sil's. After many parents had succumbed their boys still held out, but finally most of them were either intimidated, or in some cases literally starved, into a surrender. As the rise or fall of the barometer indicates the character of the weather pre- vailing, so the increase or decrease of the pupils in attendance on a mission seminary affords a wonderfully correct idea of the amount of anti-evangelistic feeling in the native com- THE FINALE AT LEAST FOR A TLME. 95 munity at any particular time, and we are astonished to find that the daily attendance fell only about 300. On the 7th of May there were 916 present, and on the 31st 618, but most of those withdrawn were from the highest or most advanced classes. Still what may be called the mission barometer was correct in its indications. It unequivocally pointed to very serious storm, but still storm which would pass away before long. At a meeting of all the pupils in the hall of the institution, Dr Duff told them to inform their parents, guardians, and neighbours that no diminution of numbers would make them desist from their labours, and that they might as well wait till the great Ganges rolled away and became dry land, as wait till they closed the insti- tution. A few years later the Friend of India had an article drawing attention to the state of the institution opened under Sil's auspices with such a flourish of triumphs. Hap- pily for its permanence the donations had been funded and yielded interest, but the annual contributions had rapidly diminished as time rolled on. Teachers had re- quired to be dismissed through want of funds to con- tinue to pay them, and yet the sight of their dismissal had not brought new subscribers or elicited actual money from the old. If the Friend was right — and we never saw any contradiction given to its allegations — the monthly subscriptions from the whole of Calcutta — the wealthiest city, it may be mentioned, in Asia — amounted to seven rupees, while the collector who went round with the book received eight for his services. In short, if we may be per- mitted to present the matter algebraically, the total monthly contributions to the college, stated in rupees, amounted to minus one. Meanwhile the Free Church institution was recovering its strength. At the examination of 31st December 1845, 1049 were on the roll, of whom 76 were in the college de- partment. Four months previously the convert Prasanna, formerly a Kulin Brahman, but who, happily for his minis- g6 CALCUTTA. terial prospects, was the " husband of one wife,'^ succeeded in carrying that one wife off from her village in a boat, she having been hitherto detained by her relatives against both his will and her own. On the 2d June she and the wife of another convert, Gobindo, were baptized together ; but if the Church was thus increased, it had about a couple of months previously sustained a diminution, Benemadab and Harish, two of the seven converts of 1845, having been perverted to Romanism, being the only converts ever so perverted. This untoward event quickened the desires which had before been felt for the erection of a converts' home, and in the course of three days, contributions, on personal application by Dr Duff, to the amount of upwards of 10,000 rupees (^1000), mostly from Christians unconnected with the Free Church, were obtained for the purpose. The building was ready for use about May 1847. Except the two perverts all the others baptized were true to their professions, and on 26th May 1846 four of them, Jagadishwar, Lai Behari De, Prasanna, and Behari Lai Singh were appointed catechists, as one stage of progress towards the holy ministry. CHAPTER Vn. SORROW AND JOY — NATURAL DEATH AND SPIRITUAL BIRTHS. For sixteen years from the time that Dr Duff had gone forth as the first of the Church of Scotland's missionaries to the East, there had not been a single death among the or- dained European labourers at any of the Indian stations. In the ordinary course of providence this very favourable state of things could not be expected to last much longer, though only the omniscient Disposer of all events knew who would be the first to fall. On the morning of Wednesday, 251!! August 1847, the DEATH OF THE REV. MR MACDONALD. QJ Rev. Mr Macdonald, of Calcutta, went to the institution in his usual good health and buoyancy of spirits. His prayer for the conversion of the pupils, always fervent, was this time, as reported by Dr Duff, peculiarly solemn. The same evening he had a faint attack of fever, and in consequence remained at home from the institution next day. In the evening the fever returned upon him more strongly, and then for some little time subsequently, while tolerably well during the day, he was sleepless at night, and occasionally slightly delirious. Besides fever, he complained of a dull pain in his head, which rendered consecutive mental operations im- possible. On Tuesday, 31st, he seemed a great deal better, and, rising from his bed without assistance, walked into his study, and sat down at the table to enjoy the morning breeze. Soon after he began to feel drowsy. The doctor, when he came, recommended him to encourage this inclina- tion, and requested Mrs Macdonald to get the Venetians shut, and keep everything perfectly quiet. To the surprise of his friends, who to this time had never suspected serious danger, what supervened was not sleep but avna. When the medical man returned at noon, his practised eye enabled him speedily to discern the real state of his patient, and, giving strong remedies, and calling in fresh professional assistance, he did everything in his power to ward off the fatal result. But he found all his efforts vain, and at four in the afternoon communicated the sad intelligence that the case was hopeless. Two hours previously to this, Mr Mac- donald had become wholly unconscious, and showed no signs of life except heavy, stertorous breathing. At five minutes after the midnight which ushered in Wednesday the ist September, the heavy breathing ceased, and, ''with a look holy, peaceful, and serene," he passed away. On the following Sabbath his funeral sermon was preached by Dr Duff, to a deeply solemnised audience. The praise of Mr Macdonald of Calcutta is in all the Churches. He was a most devoted man of God, faithful and fearless in carryii g 98 CALCUTTA. out his convictions of duty, and yet not morose, as many worldlings who held aloof from him thought, but with a joyous and even playful spirit. He left behind him a widow and seven children, for whose temporary support a fund was raised. Mr Macdonald's remarkable prayer for the conversion of the pupils has already been noticed. The day after it was presented, Mr Ardwise, at that time teacher of the Barana- gar school, came to the Mission-house, bringing with him three students — Prankristo Ganguly, Kalidas Chakrabarta, and Surja Kumar Mukerji, all Brahmans, who, after long dehberation, had resolved to apply for baptism. Surja failed in the hour of trial, but Prankristo and Kalidas nobly passed through the terrible ordeal to which they were sub- jected by their relatives. In the afternoon of the same day, a fourth pupil of the Baranagar school, called Jodu Nath Banerjya, a Brahman like the others, arrived at the Mission- house, and stood firm against all efforts to induce him to return home. On Sabbath, the 5th September — the one on which funeral sermons were being preached for Mr Mac- donald — Dr Duff baptized the three Brahman converts, along with an up-country Sudra, 27 years of age, in presence of the congregation which assembled in the evening, sorrow and joy being thus strangely commingled, as, indeed, they ever are in the Christian life. These baptisms, with one which occurred about the same time in connection with the Established Church of Scot- land's mission, galvanised the languishing confederacy into fresh life. On Sabbath, 19th September, a meeting was held to con- cert measures to stay the further progress of conversion. About 2000 attended, including Hindoos of all shades of thought, from the venerable men of ultra-conservative ten- dencies, who sighed for the ' good old times,' when widows were burnt alive, agreeably to the holy shasters, to young Bengalees, who, when it could be slily done, ordered a GREAT OUTBURST OF WRATH. 99 beefsteak and champagne at Wilson's or Spence's, and having thus really finished their own castes beyond the pos- sibility of redemption, then thanked God that they were not wicked like those Christian converts who broke caste from conscientious motives. All Calcutta discussed the same questions as those which had been debated at the meeting, and various measures were publicly or privately suggested, one of them, which clearly emanated from a very practical, rather than a very pious mind, being to hire bliidgeon-men (a too common Bengalee practice), and beat Dr Duff nearly, if not quite, to death, — the evening fixed on being that of Sunday, when it was known that he would be returning in the dark through some narrow crooked lanes, from the in- stitution, where he always preached on Sabbath evening. The friends of the distinguished missionary counselled him to take care how he walked out, especially after dark, whilst he himself wrote to a well-meaning and influential baboo, stating that he would go out as freely as ever, whether by night or by day, in discharge of his ordinary duties ; showing how silly it was to think that even if the Hindoos succeeded in murdering him, his martyr death would be ad- vantageous to their cause ; and proposing a public discussion, as the claims of the two faiths could be settled only by argument and not by clubs. The baboo deemed discretion the better part of valour ; but an Irishman called Tuite, who had figured at Waterloo, seems to have felt his military and national instincts revive on finding that a contemplated battle was likely to fall through for want of a combatant, and not reflecting on the tremendous responsibility which in the sight of God he assumed, intimated his intention of heading the anti-Christian confederacy. A deputation was sent to Dr Duff, challenging him to a private discussion. He, however, very properly insisted that the discussion should be public, and offered for the purpose the great hall of his institution, which was conveniently situated, and was capable of accommodating one thousand hearers. To this 100 CALCUTTA, his opponents were at first averse, but finally they yielded the point. To prevent a confiised rambling over many subjects without hope of reaching a definite result, it was arranged that Dr Duff should deliver a series of weekly lectures on the evidences and doctrines of revealed religion, announcing the subject a week beforehand, so that all might come fully pre- ])ared with their objections. After every one had spoken, Dr Duff was to conclude with a general reply. For upwards of two months these lectures and discussions were regularly carried on amid crowded audiences. Gradually one after another of the native champions, being fairly silenced, gave up attending. At last the European leader himself disap- peared ; and Dr Duff, finding himself left in possession of the field, wound up earlier than he had anticipated with a concluding lecture and appeal. It is satisfactory to add that the Irishman subsequently sent Dr Duff a letter, ex- pressing regret for the part he had acted in the anti-Christian crusade just described. It may also be added that, not- withstanding the outpourings of profanity and blasphemy on the part of some of the native speakers, these lectures and discussions did a vast deal of good. For a time, at least, they cleared a grossly foul irreligious atmosphere : atheism, materialism, and many other anti-Christian ismswQXQ driven from public view into their darksome hiding-places; while the faith of the sincere was strengthened, and the convictions of the timid and wavering greatly confirmed. Before the close of the year another deeply interesting case of baptism occurred. Shib Chunder Banerjya, a Brah- man of the highest caste, was a student of the Hindu Government College. He had got hold of a New Testament when very young, and was so struck with the beauty of its teaching, and so impressed, that, when a heathen boy of 13, he repeated the Lord's Prayer in his devotions, instead of the Hindu prayers, all unknown to his idolatrous relatives. He had convictions of sin, but these passed away, and he turned and fought against Christianity. Though a student SHIB CHUNDER BANERJYA. 10 1 at the Hindu College, however, he attended a class in Dr Duff's house on Sabbath mornings, intended for young men like himself, and by this, Shib Chunder experienced the re- turn and deepening of convictions of sin, — he came to feel himself lost^ — his language was, " I am a lost man : Chris- tianity may be true, and I may be saved ; if it is not, I am no worse ; / a^ti lost; I will inquire." Singularly enough, in his father's house he found some Christian works — how they came there he never knew — Doddridge, Romaine, Searle. He used, on returning from Dr Duff's class (which he attended without the knowledge of his heathen relatives), after partaking of the family meal, to shut himself up in a carriage that stood unused in his father's courtyard. There he spent the day in meditation, prayer, and reading — study- ing his Bible and the above-named books. As the day de- clined, he emerged from his place of concealment and set out for the institution, the doors of which were always open long before the Sabbath evening lecture began. Sometimes an hour or two v/ould be spent in prayer and reading of the Word, wandering from room to room, and pouring forth the agonising desires of his heart to God for pardon and light. Then came the lecture, from which he always derived profit. Finally he went home (after such a Sabbath-day's exercise as is not often known even in a Christian land), encouraged to go on, though yet nominally a heathen. At length peace and light came : Shib Chunder was baptized towards the close of 1847, ^i^d ever since has held on his way devotedly, earnestly, consistently. He is a powerful and impressive speaker. Holding an important office under Government, he unremittingly devotes all his spare time and strength to the blessed work of evangelising his countrym^en. The examination of Mr Laing's orphanage, which took place on 7th December, showed how thoroughly it had re- covered from Disruption losses. After the original orphans were surrendered, only five girls remained. Now, however, (391) 8 1 02 CALCUTTA. there were 36 — all boarders. Besides this, a day-school had been established for East Indian and Hindoo girls, and had been connected with the orphanage. On the evening of the examination day, seven of the orphans, all giving credible evidence of conversion, were baptized. One was a Jewess, the other six were Hindoos. Despite the Tiiite controversy, 1848 opened hopefully. Readers may remember that in 1845, ^ young man, Surji, who was then seeking baptism, gave way in the hour of trial. He returned in January 1848, and was admitted to the Church on the 26th of that month. He stated that he had not conformed to Hindooism while living among idolaters. During 1848, the mission developed in various directions. Early in the year it occupied a new station at Bansberia [pro- perly Bangsabari], seven miles beyond the town of Hooghly. The Tatwa-bodhini, or Vedantist society, had a school there ; but a financial crisis in Calcutta compelled them to sell it, and the mission, through the exertions of Dr Duff (assisted by Mr Rose), became the purchasers. It derived importance from having in its immediate vicinity a holy place called Tribeni, visited at one season of the year by about 50,000 pilgrims. Mr Chill, and Jagadishwar, were sent thither, Messrs Fyfe and Prasanna having gone shortly before to Culna, while Behari Lai Singh became attached to the Free Church congregation in Calcutta. , Before the middle of the year five more orphans were baptized from Mr Laing^s institution, twelve within eight months. The importance of this institution to the mission was very great, and the loyalty of the young men (Kulin Brahmans and others) in choosing as partners nominally low caste, but really well educated, girls from, the boarding school, rather than maidens of long pedigree, crass ignorance, and idolatrous belief, shows the sincerity with which these youths had embraced the Christian faith. Shortly after- wards, or to be more specific, on Saturday, loth June 1848. a young man from the institution, Dinanath Adhya by THE CALCUTTA FREE CHURCH. I03 name, who was awakened by a discourse of Dr Duff's, in the text " My son, give me thy heart," came to the Mission- house, and after being subjected by his relatives to the usual ordeal, was baptized on Sabbath the i8th. Sunday, the 13th August, was a day worthy of being for ever remembered by the mission. It was the fifth anni- versary of the Calcutta disruption, and was signalised by the opening of the Free Church which that event necessi- tated. The congregation which had all along been charac- terised by a liberality well nigh unparalleled, had been sub- jected to severe trial in connection with the building of the church, but this now only enhanced the thankful rejoicing.* On Sabbath, ist October 1848, a purely Bengalee church was commenced under the pastorate of Mr Ewart. The vernacular was exceedingly acceptable to such members as Khoilas' and Mahendra's widows. Some of Miss Laing's senior girls, many of the pupils from the institution, with other Hindoos, more or less regularly attended. On the loth November 1848, the mission was strengthened by the arrival of Mr and Mrs Sinclair, the former having been appointed to succeed Mr Macdonald. The pupils under the charge of the mission had increased during the year. In 1847 the average on the roll of the institution had been 1066 ; in 1848 it was 11 54, besides which there were about 200 (three-fourths of them Brahmans) at Culna, 200 at Bansberia, and 150 at Baranagar, or about 1700 in all, not taking into account Miss Laing's orphanage, and a school founded by Mrs Ewart for Jewish and Armenian * The purchase for ;^iooo of a site for the Free Church has already been men- tioned. After noble subscriptions to the building fund had been obtained, the erection of the edifice commenced. By January 1846 it was far advanced towards completion, when the roof fell in with a terrible crash, crushing the pillars of poor Indian brick which supported it, and totally pounding them to dust. Examination showed that the walls had been so injured by the wrench which they had received, that they required to be taken down and the building commenced anew at an in- creased expense, about equal to that at which the estimate had been made for its first erection. On the second plan an iron roof was put on the walls, requiring no pillars for Us support, and finally, the church was opened at an expense first and last, of about ;^i2,ooo. Mr Macdonald was the temporary pastor for three years, after which Mr Mackail took its spiritual, oversight. 104 CALCUTTA. girls. The attainment of these great results had been facili tated by the fact, that the excitement which marked the latter part of 1847 had been succeeded by profound apathy, it being a law of social life, that a calm succeeding a tem- pest is as deep as the previous storm was severe. CHAPTER VIII. THE MISSION AFTER DR DUFF's TEMPORARY RECALL TO EUROPE. The movement for the recall of Dr Duff to fill the theo- logical chair, left vacant by the death of the great Dr Chalmers, the decided rejection by the missionary of the tempting invitation, his consent to return home on a temporary enterprise of a solely missionary character, and the routes by which he journeyed to obtain full acquaintance with the wants of the several mission stations, have already been narrated in the home section of this volume. It is unnecessary to repeat them here, and we proceed at once to the narrative of occurrences in the Calcutta mission dur- ing the period which we have now reached. It commenced hopefully on the 26th April 1849, just after Dr Duff's departure for the south of India. Mr Smith baptized a Brahman called Chandra Kanta Chuckerbutty, and on the 2d May, admitted into the church a low caste native, Ishwar Chandra Sircar, whose daughter, a little girl of six or seven, was placed in Miss Laing's orphanage. Ishwar died a few months afterwards. Dwarkanath Das Basu, once a pupil of the institution, and then a student of medicine in London, where he was baptized, on his return became a communicant in the Calcutta Free Church. Shortly after the events now spoken of, when Dr Duff had returned from Ceylon, and previous to his de- CHINSURAH OCCUPIED. lO^ parture for the Punjaub, an important step forward was taken by the occupation of Chinsurah, formerly the capital of the Dutch possessions in Bengal* On the 20th August 1849, he opened the chapel generously given over to the Free Church by the London Missionary Society. At the communion held in connection with the opening service, there were twenty-five participants. Next day an English school was opened by him, when 350 promising youths at once presented themselves for admission. At first Mr Fyfe took charge of it, leaving Culna where he had laboured immediately before to Prasanna, but in August 1850, the Rev. Ebenezer Miller arrived from Capetown to become its superintendent.+ The development of the Chinsurah school or institution was extremely rapid. So early as the time when the Assembly Report for 1849 ^'^s penned, it had about 600 names on the roll. At all the stations taken together, there were then 2300. The same year (1849), Banku Behari Basu, Baikanta Nath De, Uma Charan Ghosh, Dinanath and Guru Das Mitra, all five converts of the mission, addressed a letter to the Presbytery of Calcutta, expressing their desire to study for the ministry, and were accepted as probationary catechists. In the early years of a mission, an individual baptism is of so much importance that, even in a brief sketch like the present, it requires to be recorded ; but after admissions * Chinsurah is situated about twenty-five miles north of Calcutta, on the right bank of the Hooghly, that is, the same bank as that on which Culna and Eansberia stand. Chinsurah and Hooghly, the latter at one time the capital of the Portuguese territory iu Bengal, really con->tilute but one town with about 50,000 inhabitants. The London Missionary Society had cultivated it for about fifty years, but with_ so little fruit, that towards the end of 1848 they intimated their intention of occupying it no more. The chapel, costing ;^iooo, chiefly raised on the spot, was offered by the London Missionary Society to the Free Church as a gift, on condition that the pure Calvinistic doctrines, agreeably to the terms of the title-deed, shoidd ever con- tinue to be preached in it, but Dr Duff recommended that, as a very small return for so much kindness, £\s'^ contributed by the home Society to the edifice, should be refunded. This accordingly was done. t Scarcely had Mr Miller reached his destination, when he was subjected to a very heavy trial ; his wife, a highly gifted lady, having been cut off by cholera within forty-eight hours of their arrival at Chinsurah. Some short poems which she wrote shortly before, showed at once her powers and her piety, and made one feel that she might have done much for India had she been spared in life. I06 CALCUTTA. into the Church grow more numerous, the significance of each one — viewed in its relation to the progress of the work — becomes less. In future, then, we shall only record those specially interesting or important. In 1850, a Kulin Brahman, Shyama Charan Mookerjee, was admitted into the Church. He aimed at suppordng himself honourably by iron-founding, to which he was then serving an appren- ticeship. On 17th October of the same year, a Brahmanee, called Priya, Guru Das Mitras's wife, was baptized ; on 29th December, a Mussulman, named Muhammad Bakar, and early in 185 1, another convert from the same faith, called Ele Bua, were admitted to the Church. The educa- tional statistics of the mission on January 6, 185 1, stood as follows : — The Calcutta Institution on the roll . . 1328* Chinsurah 740 Bansberia 204 Culna 200 • 2472 Mrs Ewart's female school for Jewesses, Greeks, and Armenians f . . . . 104 Miss Laing's, about .... 60 Jagadishwar's wife's, about ... 20 In Behari Lai's " pay-school " . . , 154 — 338 Grand total . . . 2810 In looking at these figures, the large numbers to which * This high number is the more remarkable that not long before the Hindoos had been excited about four conversions wliich took place in connection with the London Missionary Society's institution at Bhowanipore, in the south of Calcutta — an insti- tution, it may be remarked in passing, framed on the model of Dr Duft's. They had in consequence been discussing whether some method might not be adopted of receiving back into c.iste any Christian converts who might wish to re-enter Hindoo society. The period will come, though we think it is not yet very near, when the way back into caste will be made extremely easy. The probable effect of this inno- vation will be the very opposite of what those half-liberal Hindoos who advocate it expect. The reform will strike a mortal blow at caste, instead of reviving its power. For every one who walks back into caste, a hundred at least will fling off its trammels, being encouraged to do this from knowing that they may remain oiuside in freedom as long as they like, and yet be welcomed back with open arms whenever they are pleased to return. t A little incident connected with Mrs Ewart's school is worthy of being mentioned here. The Bible, it need scarcely be stated, was used in the classes. On account of this, the chief rabbi anathematised the school, with the effect of making the young Jewe'^ses withdraw. Mrs Ewart was informed tliat they would be sent back if she would not require them to read the New Testament. She felt that the demand was one which she dared not grant, and stood firm. By and by the rabbi himself gave way, and wished his own two granddaughters to be placed under her tuition. BAPTISMS. 107 Chinsurah has already attained are very notable, and a point which the figures will not reveal is worth attention — the extent to which the converts of the mission were becoming helpful in its operations. When these statistics were published, Prasanna was at Chinsurah, Jagadishwar at Bansberia, and Lai Behari De, without European aid at Culna. On 12th November 185 1, the three senior catechists just named were licensed to the ministry, after passing a very satisfactory examination. Some months previously (on Wednesday, July 185 1), Mr Mackay had baptized two young men, called Bhabun Mohan Basu and Ramchandra Basu, cousins, and both pupils from the institution. The missionaries in Calcutta, with fine brotherly feeling, used as a rule to take baptisms in turns, the minister of the Free Church also for this purpose being re- garded as one of the fraternity; and on 6th August, Mr Ewart admitted into the Church a learned Mussulman, rather past the meridian of life, called Maulavi Abdulla. The importance of this latter case will be apparent when it is mentioned that a Maulavi among the Moslems holds the same position and exerts the same influence as a clergyman, or perhaps even a theological professor among ourselves. On 28th December 185 1, Mr Ewart baptized a Brahman, aged upwards of twenty, called Samacharan Bhatturjya, with a Sudra, the latter com- paratively uneducated. Mr Mackay, writing in July 1852, says that, including children, there had been seven baptisms during the week. The only one of these which requires special notice is that of two young men, Chandra Kant Mitra, and Khoilas Chandra Ghosh. Khoilas was the first fruit of Jagadishwar's missionary life. On September I, another Khoilas (Khoilas Chandra Kundu) was baptized. He was one of the most distinguished pupils in the institu- tion, and his mother — a real woman — preferred her natural affection for him to her reputation with her co-religionists, broke her caste, took up her residence, with the welcome approval of the missionaries, along with her son, and was to lOS CALCUTTA. him a loving mother as before. Only one case of the same nature had previously occurred since the commencement of the mission. On 26th December 1852, a first year's college student, Golab Chandra Biswas, was baptized, and some of his fellow-pupils came to see his admission into the Church, clubbing together to pay the hire of conveyance for the purpose. Here we must interrupt the narrative of accessions to the Church, to mtimate some changes in the European agency of the mission. In 1852, the Ladies' Society for Female Education in India took the opportunity of Miss Laing's temporary return home to recruit her health, to carry out a design which had been talked of years before, of sending out a married missionary. Mr and Mrs Fordyce arrived in that year to take charge of the female orphanage. On the 29th December of the same year (1852), a breach in the ranks of the European labourers was made by the death of the Rev. David Sinclair, after a very brief illness.* As Mr Mac- donald's removal was speedily followed by baptisms, so on the very day of Mr Sinclair's decease, a young man applied for admission to the Church, and was shortly afterwards received. Mr Sinclair's place in the Calcutta mission was supplied by the Rev. Thomas Gardiner, who reached the Indian capital on the 29th May 1853, accompanied by the Rev. John Milne, formerly and subsequently of Perth, the latter having been sent out to take charge of the Calcutta church, which ill health had some time previously caused Mr Mackail to resign. Just before their coming, there had * Mr Sinclair was a man of very decided ability, who, during his student days at the divinity hall, had his mind firmly made up to ofTer himself as an Indian mission- ary. He was appointed, as we have already mentioned, to Calcutta, to succeed the sainted Mr Macdonald. There he laboured with all conscientiousness till within a few days of his death. For some months previous to his removal, it was manifest that his constitution was undergoing a change. He became suddenly and remark- ably stout, but as this was attended by an increased instead of a diminished capacity for work, it was regarded as a hopeful sign. Presently, however, his breathing became affected, and he was in consequence confined to his house. Three weeks later, at the age of thirty years and nine months, his spirit passed away. An extremely serene and peaceful expression remained on his features after his departure. Mr Macicay was of opinion tlint disease of the heart, followed by dropsy of the upper part of the chest and neck, was the cause of di.bohuion. MORE SPIRITUAL FRUIT. lOQ again been numerous and important accessions to the Church. From Bansberia had come two inquirers, Shrinath Ghosh and Kumar Raya, who were baptized, as were also Gour Chandra Sheeb and Brajanath Mitra, selected from various applicants connected with the Calcutta institution. The case of Brajanath was specially interesting. His father was a lineal descendant of the former Rajah of Calcutta, and as such received a pension from Government. It was a very anxious day at the mission when Brajanath sought and found shelter within it, and the ordeal to which he was subjected by his father and his other relatives was un- wontedly severe. But, supported apparently by divine grace, he passed through it successfully. Soon after the arrival of Messrs Gardiner and Milne, a young man, Ishan Chandra Ghosh, was baptized. Mr Smith, on Wednesday the 8th of June, admitted two Kayasts (of a respectable Sudra caste) into the Church, and on Sabbath, 12th, imme- diately after the induction of Mr Milne, Mr Gardiner administered the sealing rite to Barada Prasad Chakrabutti, a young Brahmin. On Wednesday, 6th July, Mr Milne baptized a young man, Mudhu Sudan Singh, nephew of the Rajah Radhakant Deb, the head of the Hindoo orthodox or bigoted party, making nineteen in all since the commence- ment of the year — an unprecedented number. On 7th De- cember, Rajendra Chandra Chandra, the gold medallist of his year in the Calcutta institution, was baptized. More than twelve months before, he had. become a medical student. Some of our readers may possibly remember seeing him sub- sequently during a visit which he paid to this country. With his admission into the Church, the harvest of souls from among the young men of the institution intermitted for eight months, though two of the girls from the orphanage were added to the congregation on 8th March 1854. The fruits which had been reaped had anew excited the alarms of the heathen party, and, less feeble than of old, they supported an opposition institution called the Hindoo no CALCUTTA. Metropolitan College, which, with affiliated branch schools, rose in the early part of 1854 to have 11 00 names on the roll, and all of paying pupils. Independently of the ex- clusion of Christianity, one popular feature about this establishment was that it charged much lower fees than the Government college. But notwithstanding these efforts to damage the mission institution, the latter lost no more than 260 pupils, and had still more than 1000 on its roll ; nor was it long before it again recovered its numbers. After the eight months' lull in the admissions into the Church from among the young men, a new series began, and continued with little intermission to the end of the year. The following was the list given up to November 8 : — 1. Bishnu Charan Chatturjya, baptized August 16, 1854. 2. Raj Krishna Banurjya, August 23. 3. Kamini, wife of Jadunath Banurjya, August 27, 4. Prasanna, wife of Shib Chandra Bannerijya, October I. 5. Jadunath Chatturjya, October 15. 6. Ishan Chandra Mulxharjya, October 22. 7. Kedarnath De, October 31. 8. Kali Padwa Chattarjya, November 8. All but No, 7 were of the Brahmanic caste. Nos. 3 and 4 were Brahminees, the wives of converts, and Nos. I and 2 were Kulins. No. 7 was the first fruit of Chinsurah to Christ. The series of important baptisms did not cease with the last in this list. That of Ommur Nath Pul, an ex-pupil of the institution, took place on 26th November 1854, followed after a brief interval by those of Nabin Chandra Ghosh, Ishan Chandra Sircar, and Jogindra Nath Basu, succeeded soon afterwards by another unnamed. Jogindra was brought before the magistrates, but was allowed to go where he pleased. The six last baptisms now mentioned were all from Chinsurah, a fact which is worthy of special attention. Some are of opinion that the establishment of institutions like the Calcutta one for the evangelisation of India7i cities is a much less effective method of spreading the gospel than preaching in the streets of those cities. From the year 1798, on for half a century, devoted missionaries had THE ZENANA SCHEME. I I I preached in the streets of Chinsurah without apparent effect, whilst an institution was blessed to gain, within little more than a tenth of that time, a whole cluster of important baptisms. The writer strongly holds that no system has been found equal to the institution one for dealing with the caste hierarchy of the India7i cities, the chief successes of preaching having been among the outcaste aborigines, whether subdued as the Pariahs, the Mahars, and the Shanars, or nearly independent, as the Coles and the San- thals. The 850 pupils who were on the roll at Chinsurah on 1 8th December 1854, were, in our view, a more hopeful sphere than a fluctuating street assembly for the operations of a mission. Not to interrupt the series of baptisms, we omitted to mention the laying of the foundation-stone of new and per- manent mission buildings, which took place on Thursday, 27th July 1854, in presence of a great concourse of natives, and the arrival from home, on 15th January 1855, of the Rev. Mr Pourie, a new labourer appointed to the mission,* but as a few months later Mr Mackay had to return home temporarily, a second time in bad health, the gain was more apparent than real in the number of Euro- pean labourers. Loss of health also compelled Mr Miller of Chinsurah shortly afterwards to pay a brief visit to Aus- tralia. The year 1855 was signalised not merely in the history of the Calcutta Free Church Mission, but in that of India itself, by the successful commencement of what is now popularly called the zenana scheme. Zenana is the Bengal word for what the Mohammedans of Turkey call the harem — the apartments in which women are secluded. The zenana scheme proposed to induce native grandees to allow * Mr Pourie was born at Kirktown of Newtyle, Forfarshire, about twelve miles from Dundee, on the gth October 1824. He was converted through the instrumen- tality of the Rev. Air (afterwards the Rev, Dr) Roxburgli. He distinguished himself at the New College. He was ordained by the Presbytery of Glasgow on 28th November 1854. 112 CALCUTTA. European or native Christian governesses to enter those virtual prison-chambers, and give their inmates as much rehgious and secular instruction as the head of the house Avould tolerate. The subject had, from time to time, led to inquiry on the part of the friends of native improvement. So long ago as 1840, the Rev. Thomas, now the Rev. Dr Thomas Smith, wrote an article in the Calcutta Christian Observer^ recommending what in its essential features was the zenana scheme. Chiefly with a view of testing its practicability, he issued a series of queries to Mrs Wilson, of Agurpara, the lady who is believed to have done more than any other for. female education in Bengal. But so inveterate was the hostility to female education among the higher and better classes of natives, that no effectual steps could then be attempted. English education, however, as Dr Duff had long before predicted, was rapidly and power- fully preparing the way for its realisation. For nearly fifteen years no practical response was elicited to Mr Smith's formal proposal, till at last, in the early part of 1855, Mr Fordyce adopted it, and with assistance from its author, unexpectedly succeeded in putting it in practical operation. So early, indeed, as in his report for 1853, pub- lished soon after the beginning of 1854, Mr Fordyce had dis- tinctly alluded to the subject. In the report for 1854, issued early in 1855, he intimates the commencement of the zenana scheme, and, wonderful to tell, on the satisfactory principle that the native gentlemen who availed themselves of the services which the governesses rendered should pay the greater part of the expenses. In the report for 1855, it is said that the scheme has " hitherto been a successful experi- ment." At the General Conference of the Bengal Mis- sionaries, held in Calcutta in September 1855, Mr Fordyce, on the 7th of the month, submitted a paper in which he mentioned that the realisation of the zenana scheme had commenced, and that it had succeeded admirably these six months. The conference, in their resolution passed after ORDINATION OF NATIVE CONVERTS. II3 hearing this paper, recorded their conviction that the scheme was entitled to " hearty support/' and that it was "capable of large extension, at least in Calcutta." Early in 1856, the failure of Mrs Fordyce's health compelled her husband to return home.* Up to the beginning of July, the year 1855 was unfruit- ful in baptisms, but soon afterwards a Kulin Brahman called Banerjya or Banerjee, was baptized, after undergoing the usual ordeal. Other baptisms of less importance followed ere long. The passing of the Education Act of 1854, mentioned at more length in the home section of the work, was of course marked with great joy and thankfulness by the missionaries, who eagerly waited for the regulations on which grants-in- aid were obtainable. Before many months elapsed it was understood that the Government would bestow its aid not to supersede, but to supplement voluntary effort, and that probably nothing would be given to Calcutta city, as it was believed that education of all kinds could be carried on efficiently there without pecuniary assistance from the civil authorities. On 9th September 1855, an event, long looked forward to with eager interest, was, in the providence of God, permitted to occur ; three native converts, Jagadishwar, Prasanna, and Lai Behari De, were ordained to the office of the holy ministry. * In a pamphlet called "Christianity in India," being a speech delivered by Mr George Smith, editor of the Friend of India, at a meeting in 1864 of the Ladies' Society for Female Education in India, Mr Smith says : — " But it is the chief glory of your society, that the Rev. Mr Fordyce, when your agent, was the first to form and develop the now famous zenana mission." In a footnote Mr Smith adds : — " In his 'Brief Review of Ten Years' Missionary Labour in India,' Dr Mullens speaks of Mr Fordyce as having ' endeavoured to set on foot zenana schools.' and declared that the effort proved somewhat premature. I was cognisant of the first dawn, and subsequent realis;ions in Caffraria, the French mission in Basuto land beyond the great Orange River, and entering Natal from the noith, returned from Durban by steamer to Cape Town. The experience thus acquired of South African missions has now been turned to good account in his office as Convener of the Foreign Mission Committee. APPRECIATION OF HIS CHARACTER AND WORK. I3I past history. As a university examiner for four out of seven years, I have reason to know well in what position it is in Bengal ; and I say this, that whatever may be Dr Duff's claim to the reverence and grati- tude of the Church, whose most illustrious missionary he is, his title to the gratitude of the government and people of India, for his influence on education, is far greater. With a full knowledge of the facts, with a personal knowledge of them for nine years, I declare that all that is good, useful, and healthy in education in Northern India, for the past thirty years, is due to him. Had he not been a missionary at all, he would have done more for the conversion of India by this influence, than many missionaries. In this aspect — and I speak the cold language of fact— Dr Duff has been a greater benefactor to India than any man I can name. He and the system with which his name is identified, have left their stamp on the most critical period, embracing more than a generation of Indian history," After the departure of Dr Duff, a gentleman raised among the friends of our missionary a sum of money which he would have offered as an absolute personal gift, had he not feared from his knowledge of Dr Duff's character that it would not be accepted. He therefore permanently invested it in name of trustees, under the designation of the " Duff Memorial Fund," the interest of it to be given to the illus- trious evangelist while he lives ; and when at length that event shall arrive which all wish may yet be very long deferred, then it is to be appropriated in all time coming to the benefit of disabled missionaries, or in aiding in the support of widows and children of missionaries, whose lives have been spent in the cause. With other money raised in Calcutta in memory of its distinguished missionary, four handsome university scholarships have been established bearing his name, two to be bestowed on pupils from the Free Church Institute, one on those of other denominations, and one on an alumnus of the Government Colleges. The Bethune Society also contributed ;£2oo for a full-length portrait of their former president. The final departure of Dr Duff naturally constituted an epoch in the history of the Bengal mission. 132 CALCUTTA. CHAPTER XI. THE MISSION AFTER DR DUFF'S FINAL DEPARTURE. The mission, under its new management, was not long in obtaining tokens of the Divine favour, though a portion of the fruit reaped sprung from seed sown during the previous period, or at the out stations. The Missio?tary Record for April 1864 intimated six baptisms. One, Jodu Nath Das, was a brother of Lucky Nath Das, and was a third convert within twelve months from Mr Macdonald's visits to Howrah. Another was the poor Brahman youth, driven temporarily out of his mind by the violence of his relatives ; and the other four were an illustration of what probably will become common yet— the baptism of groups of friends. This grati- fying spectacle was witnessed at Mahanad on the 24th of January 1864, there being there and then admitted to the Church four young men — Ramchundra Das, aged 27, head master of a government school, his brother and cousin, and a convert from Mohammedanism, a friend and associate of the other three. Some months later, a very promising youth, Behari Lai Chandra, was baptized. When his proclivities towards Christianity had manifested them- selves at home, he had been put in confinement by his father and other Hindoos, and he had such difficulty in escaping that when he presented himself at the Mission- house it was almost in a state of nudity. He offered him- self as a candidate for the ministry, as did also another convert called Kally, who had been baptized some time before. Shortly afterwards a girl, Kalyani, was baptized. Her case was specially interesting. She was the first fruit of Dr Duff's caste-girls' school, and her instructress, the new teacher, Mrs Chatturjya, was herself the first female convert of flie mission. On Saturday evening, 3d Septem- STRUGGLES, , 1 33 ber 1864, there arrived from Culna three candidates for baptism, Pana Lai Basu, aged 19; Kumish Behari Basu, aged 17; and Monshur Ghose, 16 J. Their mothers and friends came down and made efforts, though vainly, to induce them to return home. "'One Sabbath evening,' Mr Fyfe writes, 'one of them struck her- self with bricks and made the blood flow profusely from her forehead and temples. She seized her son frantically, and called for a knife to cut her own throat, so that I was obliged to send for a palkee and order her friends to take her away. She has been back several times, but has been quieter than she was the first time.' " Scarcely any young man is baptized without having been first informed that his mother is dying or will kill herself whenever she hears that the rite has been administered. It is extremely rare, however, for the most dreadful threats to be even partially fulfilled. The case mentioned by Mr Fyfe is one of a very exceptional character. The first impulse of a kind heart is to say, do not baptize any youth whose relatives so acutely feel the apostacy of one they love from their ancestral faith. To which the reply is, that first it would not be right to do what is asked. The human con- science is so infinitely important that one must not violate its dictates even at the bidding of a mother. And, secondly, it would not be expedient. Once let it be known that female demonstrations could prevent a reception into the Church, and the wily and selfish priests would take care that not even one baptism would in future occur. On every occasion they would order up battalions of females, with instructions to flourish knives, and say that they would sacrifice their lives unless the baptism were stayed. In this, as in all other cases, the path of duty, even when it cannot be trod without exquisite pain, is the path of safety, and no one is warranted to turn from it, at the bidding of expediency, to the right hand or the left. The surrender of one of the Mahanad converts, Kumedhi, was demanded in a lawyer's letter, and intimation was made that if he were not at once (391) 1 134 CALCUTTA. given up, application would be made for a writ of habeas corpus. In these circumstances Kumedhi's baptism w^as delayed a week. By that time it was inferred that the lawyer's threat was a mere brutum fuhien, which might with safety be ignored ; the young man was therefore bap- tized without further delay on the i8th September 1864. Scarcely were these three Culna baptisms over than three other youths appeared from the same place on the same errand. Two were at once admitted into the Church, while the baptism of the third was delayed owing to a threat of application for a writ of habeas corpus in his case. " ' It was,' says Mr Macdonald, 'actually taken out, but not served, as I understand, because the counsel or attorney engaged by them (the natives), in considering the case in connection with the recent cases in Bombay and the Punjaub, came to the conclusion that there was no hope of success, and consequently advised his clients to proceed no further. The young man was then baptized.' " Shortly after these joyous events one of another character tried the faith and the fortitude of the missionaries — the destruction of a great portion of the mission buildings, both in the metropolis and the out stations, on the 5th October 1864, by a cyclone.^' By the prompt and liberal response of the home Church to an appeal on the subject, issued by Dr Duff in name of the committee, money was obtained to repair the damage done by the cyclone. One most interesting discovery which came out in connection with the cyclone was that there were baboos now so enlightened, in one respect at least, that they were willing to give up the idol halls in * Happily we have scarcely any experience here as to what a cyclone means, the heat being too moderate and the rotation of the earth not rapid enough in our lati- tude to create a genuine British cyclone, though the feeble remains of some which have originated in the Carribean Sea occasionally visit our shores. The word cyclone, from the Greek KVkKos, a circle, was coined by Mr Piddington, of Calcutta, in 1848, in lieu of the naturalised Spanish term hurricane. It was meant to express what before had been discovered by other observers, that the dreadful storms which devastate certain regions in the warmer laiitudes are rotatory in their movement. Unhappily the Bay of Bengal is one of their chosen seats, and it is to be feared that at uncertain intervals the mission buildings at Calcutta, and perhaps at Madras, will be damaged by cyclones. SATISFACTORY FINANCE. 1 35 thejr houses for the temporary accommodation of Christian schools. How astonishing that men of such good sense did not take the opportunity to bundle out their idols once and for all ! At the end of 1864, Sir John Lawrence, then Viceroy of India, presided at the examination. Never had any of his predecessors done so. We mentioned some time ago the introduction of fees into the institution and branch schools. Those had gradu- ally increased, till in the mission report to the Assembly in 1865, it was stated that those in the central institution amounted to nearly ;^iooo a year, and those in Chinsurah to £s^Z^ i°s., besides about ;£2o for a small preparatory school. In fact, Chinsurah was almost self-supporting. The natural effect of the fees was, of course, to reduce the number of pupils, yet there were 3135 remaining. Sixteen adult baptisms had taken place during the year, two of them being those of students from the highest class in the institu- tion. The number baptized since the commencement of the mission had been upwards of 170, most of whom, if living, still remained connected with the Church. ' The deacons' court of the native congregation intimated that ;^i2 2 had been contributed during the year, and they re- solved, from 1st July 1865, to declare the congregation self- supporting, and take no more money from Scotland. It was believed that there was not a native church in all India which raised so much per annum for Christian purposes. Baboo Vishnoo Chandra Chatturjya deserves great credit for having been the chief agent in bringing this satisfactory state of things about. In June 1863, a youth called Hem Nath Bhose, a few months short of 16, had sought baptism. A writ of habeas corpus was taken out by the relatives against Dr Duff and Mr De. The judge did not examine the youth to ascertain whether or not he had discretion, but gave him up to his father. In July 1865, he again returned to the Mission- 136 CALCUTTA. house, and on the i6th of that month was baptized. The father attempted to stop the administration of the ordinance by alleging that his son was a person of bad character, but no credit was given to his statements. As there had been discussions on this case in the newspapers, a great crowd assembled to witness the baptism. They attempted to carry off the neophyte, but failed. When, the rite was about to be administered, shouts and yells, with cries of " Haribol " * arose, both from the back benches in the church, and from the crowd outside; but a heavy shower of rain just then coming on and clearing the street, the service was completed in comparative peace. Complaint was made against those who had disturbed the public worship, and a reward was offered for their detection. At the baptism of a young man called Behari Lai Bhose, a student in the first year's college department, which soon afterwards took place, ten girls from the orphanage were brought into the church to help the psalmody. Among other baptisms which soon afterwards occurred, one was that of a widow of 18 or 19, but looking older on account of the hardships she had undergone. A few months later another widow, this one aged 48, was baptized. A lecture on Jesus Christ, delivered on the 5th May 1866, by the Baboo Keshub Chandra Sen, the head of the progressive party of the Brahma Sumaj,t having in it passages in which our holy faith was referred to in a friendly manner, the conservative Brahmas proceeded to assail the * Haribol, literally, Say Hari, that is, Krishna. t The leading divisions of the Hindoo Shastras are the Vedas and the Pooranas ; the former being very ancient, while the latter are comparatively modern. Both are pantheistic, but the Pooranas, from their gross idolatry, are by far the more vulnerable of the two. Hence the more enlightened Hindoos at Calcutta and other centres of modern thought are becoming a little a-hamed of the Pooranas, and not yet being willing to embrace Christianity, fall back on the Vedas, and call them- selves Vedantists. They are not very candid in the use of these ancient bo iks, for they rationa'ise away any statement in them which they do not Hke. The modern Ved intist sect in Calcutta was founded by Ranunohun Roy, and is generally called the Brahma Sabha [pronounced Brahma Subha], or Sumaj, from Brahm, not the first person of the triad, but a certain abstraction, destitute of qualities, believed to be in a manner the essence of God. About the date to which our history has come, the Sabha, or Society, had broken into two or three— the old men being, as was natural, more conservative than the younger ones. The latter were under the CONTROVERSIAL LECTURES. 13/ doctrine of Jesus, evidently in dread of its further advance in the community. A gentleman of eminent talent and ac- complishments — Baboo Grish Chandra Ghose — announced and delivered a lecture on what he called the decline of Christianity. The lecture being long, there was no time to reply to it at the close ; but Dr Robson at once announced that he would do so next evening, in the hall of the Free Church Institution, which he did. Mr Macdonald intimated and delivered a second lecture on the Testimony of Baboo Grish Chandra Ghose, an enemy, in favour of Christianity and against deism. Grish's lecture opened the columns of both divisions of the Brahma Sumaj to letters on the subject, and thus the discussion was profitably prolonged. The excitement was kept up by two baptisms. The one was that of a Brahman of the Bhattacharjya class, aged i8, who had been several years in the institution, having learned English after with difficulty obtaining his father's consent to do so, the worthy Bengalee saying that our language was " an unclean tongue, an unholy study, that will lead to your corruption and ruin." The young man now spoken of was baptized by Mr Don on the 5th August 1866. The other, though baptized in connection with the London Missionary Society, had obtained his Christian knowledge in the Free Church Institution. The practice of replying in the Hall of the Free Church Institution to attacks on Christianity made elsewhere, has been continued since with manifold advan- tages to the cause of truth. One of the largest and wealthiest villages in the Mahanad district is Akhna. In it is a flourishing girls' school, and a zenana one, with about 20 in attendance, for adult females. Half-a-dozen of the zenana pupils expressed their desire to embrace Christianity. On this becoming known, their leadershipof the well-known Keshub Chandra Sen, who derived, it cannot be doubted, from the Bible, and not from the Vedas, his two doctrines of the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man. Edward Irving had become famous by introducing the expression, "The fatherhood of God," into a prayer, long before Keshub stood forth as a religious teacher. 138 CALCUTTA. relatives, of course, took means to prevent their carrying out their conscientious convictions. Two of the females, however, escaped and sought shelter in the mission, — an exploit in the case of timid and high-born dames who had never left the secluded precincts of the zenana, of unprece- dented boldness and courage. Both of them were young widows!^ Their ages were respectively 16 and 20. Their names were Biraji Bosu and Bidhumukhi Bosu. Both were baptized on July 29th, 1866. One of the most formidable obstacles which retard the progress of Christianity in India is the separation of members of families, necessitated by the caste system. This being so, it is a matter of the deepest thankfulness when cases occur in which a whole family are brought, one after another, into the Church. Such a case occurred in connection with the Bengal mission. The baptism of the baboo Lucky Narayan Das, from Howrah, with the loss and recovery of his wife, have been already recorded. All his family were within a few years subsequently converted to Christ. Lucky himself said — "On the 17th August 1862, I was baptized; my wife on the 4th January 1 863 ; and then my youngest brother, Jodu Nath Das. on the 6th December 1863 ; and my neighbour, Lucky Monie Mittra (widow), on the 23rd July 1865." Baikanta Nath Das, the last of the family, was admitted into the Church on the 15th July 1866. When it becomes common for households of caste Hindoos to come into the Christian Church, leaving no member outside in heathenism, the triumph of the gospel will not be much longer delayed. In April 1867, the Rev. J. Pourie, pastor of the Calcutta Free Church, was obliged to leave that city under medical advice for Australia, where he died the same year.t * See pnge 126. t the libenility of the Calcutta Free Church had been almost, if uot altogether, unparalleled. The membership is not large,' and yet between August 1843 and 31st August 1863 it raised ^62,208. The pastor's stipend was ^600, and iu 1863 a manse was being built which was expected to cost ^^3000 or ^4000. There was a fund called the furlough and sick-leave fund, which amounted to;^i7oo, and also a THE REV. DR MURRAY MITCHELL. 1 39 About October 1867, word reached home that Lai Behari De had resigned the pastoral charge of the Bengalee Church, and entered the Government Education Service \ that when Dr Robson's term of service expired he would not renew it, but would take a situation under the Government, or com- mence private practice ; that Mr Fyfe would soon require temporarily to return home on account of his health ; and, finally, that the health of Mr Pourie, the pastor of the Free Church, had hopelessly broken down. It was perceived that another crisis in the history of the mission had arrived. In the emergency, the Rev. Dr Murray Mitchell, at the request of the Foreign Missions Committee, resigned his pastoral charge at Broughty Ferry, and proceeded tempo- rarily to Calcutta, leaving Southampton with Mrs Mitchell by the first mail steamer in December 1867, and arriving early in the following year. CHAPTER XII. THE MISSION AFTER DR MITCH ELL's ARRIVAL. The intellect, scholarship, refinement, and long missionary experience of Dr Mitchell rendered him the most fitting person that could be found to aid the Bengal mission in an emergency, and he went forth prepared to give assistance in any department of the work in which his services might be most required. Just before his arrival, the Calcutta Church had beeii filled up, the congregation having preferred promptly calling Mr Don, one of the missionaries, to sending home instructions to look out for a pastor.* Dr Mitchell retiring fund and a willows' and orphans' fund. No symptoms had appealed of diminished zeal. During the years 1862-63, ^3740, 8s. had been raised, of which ;^2338 had been contributed to the mission. * The HberaHty of this church still continued. When Mr Pourie was absent from ill health in Australia, his attached flock gave him his full salary, which had been raised some time previously to between ^£700 and ;{^8oo. In 1871, it was stated that, since 1844, it had raised ^85,000. It had also three Sabbath schools, with 27 teachers and 235 pupils. 140 CALCUTTA. when he came, therefore, gave his main strength to the mission. It had some weeks before sustained serious losses from a second cyclone, in various respects more destructive than that of 1864. The buildings at the branch stations had some of them suffered considerably, and those in Cornwallis Square had also been partially injured. "All the masonry of our institution," wrote Mr Fyfe, "stood the storm well, except a little observatory on tlie roof, which is so much damaged that it must be taken down altogether. We will not think of rebuilding it. Some of the doors were smashed in pieces, and many of the windows destroyed." Dr Mitchell did not confine his labours to Calcutta, but made extensive missionary tours in Bengal, the Santhal country, Nagpore, the North-West Provinces, and the Pun- jaub. He and Mr Don also, as members of the Calcutta University, exerted their influence and gave their suffrages in favour of such a course of education as they believed best for the intellectual and moral training of the students. They aided in carrying, by a majority of one, the retention of "Abercromby on the Mental and Moral Sciences " against some gentlemen in the University Council, who wished it expelled from the list of text-books for examination. Dr George Smith, of the Friend of Lidia, powerfully supported the missionaries with his pen in this struggle. In 1869, the Christian Vernacular Education Society intimated their intention of taking up as " a circle of schools'' the adult night ones established at Mahanad. This was to be done, not by superseding the native system, but by furnishing improved books and systematic inspection. In 1869, there were thirteen adults baptized in connection with the mission. At the examination which concluded the operations of that year. Sir Richard Temple presided. In 1870, the baptisms were under average, being only five, but in the mysterious working of the Spirit of God, there are ebbs and flows in the number of admissions to the Church in each Indian mission. Two of the five were POSITION OF THE MISSION. I4I Mussulmans. A young man, Selin-u-Din, employed as an evangelist, having betaken himself to secular employment, Kh urban Ali, one of the five new converts, was appointed his successor. Mr Beaumont of Chinsurah,* and Mr and Mrs Fyfe,t having been compelled by ill health to return to Europe, first the Rev. James Robertson, and subsequently the Rev. John Hector, were appointed to Bengal, and arrived, the former in the fall of 1871, and the latter early in 1872. J In July 187 1, Dr Mitchell baptized Adwaito Charan, a " native doctor," that is, one who had received a fair medical education through the medium of his own Bengalee. It was thought that he would in all likelihood assist Dr Templeton in the Santhal mission. A few months later baptism was administered to a young Mussulman, Sultan Hossein, who Avas the son of a man of high position at the Court of Lucknow while a Court was still there, but who died while " Sultan " was very young. But we must hasten to a close. In the Assembly Report for 1872, it was stated that the Bengal mission had 2967 pupils. There were 137 in full communion with the native Church. The operations of the mission were superintended by a large committee on the spot, with the Rev. J. D. Don as chairman, and as many as twenty " laymen " members. Mr Robertson having examined the orphanage and found two or three girls comparatively advanced in knowledge, bethought him of establishing a normal class, and educating them as teachers. Eight are now in the normal class. Lord Northbrook, in his inquiries with * Mr Beaumont, with the sanction of the committee, subsequently transferred his services to Poonah. t Mrs Fyfe died shortly afterwards of paralysis. She had devotedly laboured thirty years with her husband in the East. \ The Rev. James Robertson was ordained by the Free Presbytery of Turriff, on 8th June 1S71, and the Rev. John Hector by that of Aberdeen, on the 14th December 1871. The former sailed for Liverpool en 28th September 1871, with Dr Templeton, of the Santhal mission, and the latter on the 26ih February 1872. The steam vessels in which they embarked belonged to the Messrs Smith of Glasgow, to whose honour it should be mentioned that they made a handsome reduction in the passage money. 142 CALCUTTA. respect to the state of education in Calcutta, visited several of the seminaries, and, among others, our own institution. Early in 1S72, Mr Macdonald, after ten years' service in the East, returned on furlough to his native land. In addi- tion to his labours in preaching and teaching, he had used the literary gift which he possessed in editing two periodicals, as well as several English classics, including Reid's " Inquiry into the Human Mind." The classics were designed for the use of schools. No one, we think, can read the foregoing narrative without perceiving that through every vicissitude the mission has been making way. Even in severe trials there has been much to encourage. One of the heaviest afflictions it has ever had to undergo has been the acceptance by some of its native agents of secular employment. Yet how much good these may yet be able to effect in the several spheres which they fill may be judged of from the three following instances : — The Rev. Lai Behari De, formerly pastor of the native Church at Calcutta, is now attached to the Hooghly College in the immediate vicinity of Chinsurah. He has established a Presbyterian service in English for the Europeans and natives. At the opening, on nth February 1872, forty attended, the majority being East Indians, with a good sprinkling of Bengali native Christians and a few Europeans. We should have preferred that the service had been in Bengalee, as a native convert is " debtor," in the Scriptural sense, to his own heathen countrymen first. But we are glad to welcome missionary efforts in any direction. Sheeb Chunder Banerjya, it may be remembered, resigned his situation as catechist in 1859, but resolved to continue preaching without receiving salary from the mission. In both respects he has done as he said. The only income he has since had for spiritual work was from a strange source. In 1850 a native, called Mookerjya, had been baptized by Dr Mackay. In November 1865, he employed Sheeb THE EFFECT OF SCATTERING ARBOAD. 1 43 Chunder, then in the Government service, as an evangeHst, undertaking, if he resigned, to provide his entire support. Mookerjya was in partnership with a Mr Clark, their firm being called that of Messrs Clark and Mookerjya. — Free CJm7'ch Missionary Record for March 1867. Sheeb Chunder* is still in the Government service in the financial department, and having to accompany the Gover- nor-General to Simla, he lately wrote in these terms to the Rev. Dr Thomas Smith, who, as our readers will recall, was for a considerable time his associate in village preaching : — "By grace I am saved, by grace I am fed, by grace I work at my desk ; for every, even the least mercy of a temporal kind, I am indebted to the free grace of God in Christ Jesus my blessed Lord."' Of his official duties, he says that they are " invested with a sacramental value, because the Holy vSpirit alone helps me to do my work, not as men- pleasers, but as a service to the living God." He adds, " I have the exceeding high privilege of ministering to a temporary congregation of natives, brethren of different denominations. Every Lord's day we have service both in Bengalee and Hindoostanee. I do not, of course, administer the Lord's Supper to my temporary flock. One week my esteemed friend, Mr Fordyce, does that for me."— yvrt- Church Mission- ary Record, 1871, p. 199. Not merely acceptance of secular employment, but ill- health has sometimes removed the mission converts from Calcutta. Among those who departed on this account was Kali Das Chakrabutti. The dry air of the upper provinces, which is much less deleterious to the human frame than the muggy atmosphere of the Gangetic delta, restored his health. Now he is located at Bhawalpore, a half-independent state, ruled over by a branch of the Scindian Ameers. There he has estab- lished a school attended by about 130 boys, for whose use he has published tw^o small books in the Bhawalpore dialect, one in the Hindi and the other in the Persian character. * He i^ generally called Banerjya, but we prefer terming him Sheeb Chunder. Among ourselves, the first name is, as every one knows, the Christian one, and the second the surname ; but the Hindoos adopt a different system. As a rule, when there are three names, the first is the youth's own, the second is his father's, and the third is that of the family or clan. We may be wrong, but we interpret the name which has suggested these remarks to mean, Sheeb, son of Chunder, of the Baner- jya clan. 144 CALCUTTA. He behaved also with true Christian philanthropy during a recent famine. As we learn from the Missionary Record for January 1872, he recently wrote in warmly affectionate language to his spiritual father, Dr Duff. It is not simply in Calcutta, — it is in Bengal, the north-western provinces, the Punjaub, indeed, all over India, that one must look for the converts, and the old pupils of the Calcutta mission. The foregoing being only a sketch, the labours of the missionaries in connection with the central institution and its branches have been chiefly noted. But it would be doing great injustice to them and their converts, to suppose that these labours were confined to the institution and its branches. From the first, Dr Duft's view on the sub- ject was, that when the educational staff was sufficient in number, one half the missionary's time and strength should be devoted to institution work, and the other half to miscellaneous mission work, according to the varying tastes, predilections, or aptitudes of the several agents. At times the supply of labourers admitted of the scheme being fully carried out. At other times, from ill-health or tem- porary absence, or death, it could only be partially realised. But, from first to last, by most of the missionaries, a vast deal of miscellaneous evangelistic work was accomplished, in the way of holding private classes for religious instruction, on week days and Sabbath days, preaching in the Institu- tion Hall or in bungalow chapels ; lecturing to the educated natives ; visiting for evangeUstic purposes various localities in the native city or country districts in the neighbourhood of Calcutta, or making itinerating tours into the interior during the long vacations ; preparing Christian school books, religious tracts, translations of religious works, &c. ; while by native teachers, catechists, preachers, and ordained ministers, the gospel has been extensively proclaimed through large and often far-distant zillahs and villages, to hundreds of thousands of all classes, alike Mohammedan and Hindoo. SECTION III. MADRAS. CHAPTER I. THE PLACE AND PEOPLE. jHE Madras presidency is inferior in importance only to that of Bengal. Its greatest length, which is from north-east to south-west, is about 950 miles, while its greatest breadth, measured at right angles to the former line, is about 450. It has 1727 miles of coast, an enormous amount for its area, but unhappily there is everywhere a notable absence of good harbours. By the census of 1872, so far as the exact details have as yet been ascertained, the population of the Madras presi- dency was 31,250,000, nearly as great as that of the United Kingdom. The leading Hindoo races are the Tamuls and the Teloogoos. The Tamuls are undoubtedly of Turanian descent. They have a certain affinity to the Tartars, and a language of Beloochistan, the Brahui, in many points resembles the Tamul. The Gond tongue does so likewise, and there can be no question that the Tamuls once extended much farther north than at present, and that they were gradually forced southward by the Brahman Aryan invaders. They now occupy the east side of India, from a few miles north of 146 MADRAS, Madras city, to near Cape Comorin. They have overflowed also into Ceylon, and extend over the whole northern and eastern portions of that island. Living so far south, they are the darkest coloured of the great Indian races, indivi- duals being occasionally met with not very distinguishable in hue, or even in thickness of lips, from some negroes ; but even in such exceptional cases, there is no danger of con- founding the two races, one unmistakeable distinction be- tween them being the long straight hair of the Tamulian, as contrasted with the woolly-like natural curls of the negro. Perhaps one-fifth of the Tamul-speaking people are Pariahs, an aboriginal race, which, submitting to the caste Tamu- lians, were by them thrust down to the very base of the social pyramid. These Tamul Pariahs have shown a remarkable aptitude for what may be called domestication. Multitudes of them become servants to Europeans, and no Hindoo seems so much at home among pots, pans, kettles, and other culinary utensils, as a Tamul Pariah. Associating as those Pariahs do largely with Europeans, and speaking as many of them do either broken or tolerably good English, they are fast coming under the influence of Christianity, and at no very remote period will, we hope, come over to it, not as now individually or by families, but in masses. The caste and no-caste Tamulians are together no fewer than ten or twelve millions. The Teloogoos are allied to the Tamuls in race, but difl'er from them physically to a greater extent than one would expect who knows how much they are akin. The Teloo- goos are more handsome than their Tamul brethren ; in- deed, it is wonderful how many men of fine features one sees among them, and that, be it observed, though they are of Turanian descent, and allied to Tartars. Their language is melodious in sound ; their country is north of that occu- pied by the Tamuls ; their numbers may be from ten to thirteen millions. MADRAS CITY. 1 47 When first the British began to mingle in the politics of the Coromandel country, they found that the governing authority was in the hands neither of Tamuls nor of Teloo- goos, but of Mussulmans. There, as elsewhere, we smote the Mohammedan tyranny down, and emancipated the Hindoos from their oppressive sway. In offering the gospel then to the latter, we appear before them in favourable cir- cumstances; whilst, on the contrary, the Mohammedans, even if they had no religious quarrel with us, have this cause of alienation, that they cannot forget the mortal injury which their political power suffered at our hands. To speak next of Madras city. Its situation is a very unfavourable one for a maritime capital, from the unhappy circumstance that it is destitute of a proper harbour, and to make one would be exceedingly difficult, if not even imprac- ticable. Hence ships which visit the city require to lie in the open roadstead, some distance from the shore, and ever and anon haul up their anchors, or even cut their cables and stand out to sea, when a tempest from the north-east threatens to heave them ashore. Madras grew up originally under the sheltering ramparts of Fort St George, which is still kept in good repair. The fort is on the shore, north and north-east of the city, which, measured from the northern extremity of the fort, extends along the margin of the ocean southward about 9 miles, with an average breadth inland, at right angles to this line, of 2 J, increased in one place to 3f miles. The area is considered to be about 30 square miles, or about a fourth that of London ; but this large expanse is not closely set with houses — it has within it numerous gardens and other open spaces. The population was for some time officially estimated at 720,000. Whilst, however, as already stated, conjectures as to the population of the several Indian provinces generally fall beneath the truth, guesses as to the number of inhabitants in the cities as a rule, exceed it, and the Madras Administration Report 148 MADRAS. for 1 86 2- 1 863, gave the following as the population of the city : * — Europeans and Indo-Europeans . . . 16,368 Native Christians, 21,839 Hindoos, 325,678 Mussulmans, ^ 63,886 Total, . . . 427,771 — Parliamentary Blue Book, No. 68, for 1870. If the Europeans and the East Indians be omitted, then the inhabitants of Madras are mainly Tamuls, Teloogoos, and Mussulmans. The two former races profess Hindooism, and are in caste nomenclature Sudras, dominated over by the lordly Aryan Brahmans. The latter, however, were long in reaching Southern India, and do not even yet swarm there as they do in places less remote from their primeval seats. When the late Mr Hislop went temporarily from Nagpore to Madras, one of the features in the latter place which greatly struck him was the comparative fewness of Brahmans in the streets. Those astute men seem to have made a considerable blunder in their method of dealing with the Southern presidency seat. They have hitherto looked on it as a place of no peculiar sanctity, whereas they should have declared it an extremely holy spot, and in- vited Brahmans thither from all quarters to keep the Sudras from being led away to Christianity. We trust that it is now too late for them to think of correcting the error. The Mohammedans of Madras reside chiefly in a part of the city called Triplicane, which runs from the fort southward, and therefore parallel to the sea coast, from which, however, it is separated by a bend in the river Koom. Excepting only Calcutta, there is no more important spot in India for the establishment of a great mission than Madras. '^ See the Car/iafic Telegraph for November 26, 1862, or the overland summary of the Bombay Gazette for 12th December 1862. THE REV. JOHN ANDERSON. 149 CHAPTER 11. THE FOUNDATIONS LAID. The impassioned eloquence of Dr Duff during his first visit to his native land had stirred up such an interest in his educa- tional system of operations in the East, that an ardent desire arose for the establishment of " institutions" on the model of the Calcutta one at the other presidency seats. There being already missionaries at Bombay, it was easy to take imme- diate action there ; and, as we shall afterwards see, a school of Dr Wilson's, commenced in 1832, was removed to the fort and opened on a larger scale, with the view of develop- ing it into an " institution." Then the turn of Madras naturally came, but, of course, little could be done till first a missionary was sought and found. The influence of Dr Duff's great speech in the Assembly of 1835 had, however, told powerfully on the mind of a licentiate of the Church, then living on the banks of the Nith, near Dumfries, and the afterwards renowned John Anderson had consecrated himself to evangelistic work in India.* He was prepared to undertake the conduct of the Madras mission, and being ordained in St George's Church, Edinburgh, on July 13th, 1836, left soon afterwards for his destination. Before proceeding to his own proper sphere, he visited Calcutta to see the working of the institution there. He arrived at the Bengal capital on the 27th December 1836, and received hospitality from the Rev. Mr Mackay, who, during Dr Duft^'s absence in Europe, was head of the mis- sion. He finally reached Madras on the 22nd Febru;ir\' 1837. At that time he was in his 32nd year, a period of * John Anderson was born at the farm of Craig, in the parish of Kirkpatrick- Durham, in Kirkcudbrightshire, on the 23d of May 1805. He distinguished himself highly at the Universitv of Edinburgh. When in his 22nd year, he gained a prize for ihe best Latin poem on Hannibal's p.issage of the Alps, though four studenis, ulti- mately de-tined to be professors, were in his class, and either were or might have been competitors. (391) 1 1 150 MADRAS. life considerably more advanced than that at which most of the Free Church missionaries have proceeded to the East, but this was a decided advantage to any one going to com- mence operations in a new and untried sphere. The germ from which the great Madras institution ulti- mately developed was already in existence when Mr Anderson first reached that presidency seat. In June 1835 the Rev. Messrs Bowie and Lawrie, Scotch chaplains at Madras, had founded what was called St Andrew's School, the name being probably taken from that of the so-called patron saint of Scotland. On Mr Anderson's arrival this school was placed under his care, and, removing it to the native city, he re-opened it on the 3rd of April 1837, with an attendance of fifty-nine pupils.* In doing so, he made no secret of his intention to aim at the conversion of the pupils to Christianity, and let it be distinctly known that this was the very purpose the Foreign Mission Committee had in view in sending him and his brethren out. His first circular is an extremely straightforward document ; and if, when conversions took place in the school, some of the natives professed to feel amazed, as if some strange thing had happened, they certainly could not in justice complain that they were left without previous warning of what was likely to occur. " 'It is,' said the circular, ' the wish of the committee of the Indian mission to establish a school at each of the three presidencies as the most important stations in India for the advancement of their object.' " Tlie object is simply to convey, through the channel of a good education, as great an amount of truth as possible to the native mind, especially of Bible truth. Every branch of knowledge communicated is to be made subservient to this desirable end. The ultimate object is that these institutions shall be a normal seminary, in which native teachers and preachers may be trained up to convey to their benighted countrymen the benefit of a sound education, and the blessings of the gospel of Christ." Despite the unfurling of the Christian flag thus conspicu- * There had once been 150, but the admission of a Pariah, whom the School Com- mittee (to their honour be it said) had refused to expel, had brought it down cou- siderabb'. — Mnciras Native Hfr,i/tf for October 9, 1847, p. 2. THE CASTE STRUGGLE. I5I ously, the zealous and efficient teaching of Mr Anderson began to produce its natural effects, and by December 22, 1838, the attendance of pupils had advanced from 59 to 277. The course of an Indian mission school, like that of true love, never yet did run smooth, and presently rocks appeared in mid-channel, and rapids presented themselves with broken water, so that the faithless were tempted to doubt whether the former placidity of movement would ever return. To speak less figuratively, scarcely had the mission began to make progress when troubles arose. The first was caused by a renewal of the old caste struggle. Two Pariah boys had found their way into the school under false colours, and when they were discovered some of the caste youths and their friends wished the expulsion of the intruders. Mr Anderson could not in conscience comply with their request, and about 100 of his pupils in conse- quence left. Ten of these were received into the Native Education Society's School, the European Committee of which — who evidently fell into the error of supposing caste and worldly rank the same* — stating that they deemed it right to afford an asylum " when the feelings of a boy were shocked by his being associated with persons of an inferior class of life." The caste struggle was more severe than it would have been had the intolerant heathen party not obtained European countenance ; but Mr Anderson finally achieved the victory, for in a few months the places of the boys who had left him on the Pariah question were supplied by new comers, whilst the committee of the rival school was partly broken up by the secession of four eminent Christians from its ranks. His triumph struck a blow at the caste system in Madras, from which it has never recovered. When a missionary feels himself embarked in a caste * By caste law men of the highest rank, unless by birth Hindoos, are on the level of Pariahs, if not even lower, and the humblest Sudra should be above associating with tl e Governor-General of India. Mr Anderson was as much a Pariah as the boys whose expulsion was demanded, so also were the Euroi'can members of the Native Education Society's Committee. 152 MADRAS. Struggle in which he dare not yield, it is good policy for him to begin operations in another quarter, provided he be strong enough in men to act with effect in two places at once. It wonderfully helps to keep him in good spirits, and make him feel that his Divine Master's work is going forward in his hands, if when a door is partially closed against him in his first sphere, he can so arrange that one shall be flung wide open for him in a second. Mr Anderson perceived this, and when, to his sorrow, the Madras school suffered on account of the struggle about the Pariah boys,* he looked out for another locality at which he might establish a school and commence operations. But before any effective action could be taken, it was needful that a colleague should come to him from Scotland. It was destined that he should not wait long for this coveted boon. On the 24th January 1S39, the Lady Floi'a Indiaman cast anchor off Madras, and Mr Anderson boarding her and hastening into her cabin, there met and gave a hearty welcome to his old college friend, Robert Johnston, who had come as a second missionary.! Independently of this affection for each other, begun at home, diversity of tempera- ment rendered them admirably fitted to work together in harmony. Mr Anderson was the Luther, and Mr Johnston the Melancthon, of the Madras mission. The Rev. Mr Braidwood, of Madras, in the memoir of them which he wrote after their deaths, happily designated them " true yoke-fellows in the mission field." The coming of Mr Johnston so much strengthened the mis- sion that it was resolved to push forward and occupy a new station. Conjeveram was the place selected for the purpose. Conjeveram, or the golden city, sometimes called the Benares of the South, lies about forty-two miles south-Avest of * See note to page 151. t Robert Johnston was born at Craigieburn Wood, near Moffat, on the i6th December 1807. He was licenced by the Presbytery of Edinburgh in the year 1833, l>ecame a home missionary at Wallaceiown, Ayr, in Ju'y 1837, and was ordained missionary to Madras on the 5th September 1838 — Free Clinrch M issionary Kecordy 1852-1853, p. 260; P.raidwoud's "True Yokefellows,'' p. 17. CONJEVERAM AND CHINGLEPUT. I53 Madras. It is said by one of our missionaries to remind a Scotchman of Kirkcaldy, the reason being that its main street, which, moreover, constitutes the chief portion of the place, is about three miles in length. There is an upper or great, and a lower or little, Conjeveram. At the former is a Sivavite temple, dedicated to the god Yagambar, and said to have connected with it about a hundred dancing girls. At the latter is a Vishnuvite one, sacred to Vurdarajulu. The ordinary population of the two Conjeverarns, taken together, is under 20,000, a number, however, which at the great annual festival in May is so swelled by devotees from all quarters, that it reaches from 100,000 to 200,000. On the 29th of May 1839, Mr Anderson boldly opened a Christian school at this great focus of idolatry, while the great annual festival was going on. In default of a better place, he had to commence operations in one end of the collector's stable. When he began, he had only eight or ten scholars, but by the end of two months, the pupils had increased to forty, all of whom paid a considerable fee. First fever and then cholera prostrated the devoted mis- sionary, and for a time it looked as if the Conjeveram enter- prise would cost him his precious life. In the good provi- dence of God, however, he was ultimately restored to health. When he first introduced the Bible into the Conjeveram school, some influential natives begged that the step he was taking might be delayed for a year, but he wisely declined acceding to their request, knowing full well that if he granted the delay sought, the difficulty of ultimately doing what was right would during the interval have increased, instead of diminishing. Shortly afterwards, W. A. Morehead, Esq., set up a school at Chingleput, which before long he, with the approbation and concurrence of the native committee, gave over to the mission {^Madras Native Hej-ald for 1847, pp. 32, 33). Chin- gleput is situated about thirty-five miles from Madras, on the great southern road to Trichinopoly. It has a fort of some I 5 4 MADRAS, celebrity in the history of India, " with a rampart and ditch two miles in circumference. The latter is wide and deep, and is constantly filled with water, which during the rainy season expands to a spacious lake " {Madras Almanac for 1839, p. 407). Chingleput is a zillah, or what in English we should call a county town. Thornton, in 1857, esti- mated the population of the zillah at 583,462.* In August 1840, the mission received another school, one at Nellore, with property nearly sufiticient for its mainten- ance, the donor being Dr Cooper, the gentleman by whom it was originated. It was then taught by Mr Paezold, who was brought down for three months to Madras, and initiated into the method of teaching pursued in the parent institu- tion. While Conjeveram, Chingleput, and even Madras itself, were in the Tamul country, Nellore was a Teloogoo town. At the time when the mission commenced opera- tions there, it was believed to have about 20,000 Hindoo inhabitants, with a considerable number of Mohammedans. It was about 100 miles north of Madras, and is capital of a zillah containing, in 1857, 935,690 inhabitants. On the 8th of March 1841, a branch school was established at Triplicane, the Mohammedan suburb of Madras, and designed chiefly for Moslem youth. Its teacher was Mr Whitely, who for many years subsequently was a very effi- cient agent of the mission. On the 15th January 1841, just before the opening of the Triplicane branch school, the Rev. John Braidwood, who had been ordained on August 6, 1840, as a missionary to Madras, arrived with Mrs Braidwood in the Lady Flora. One of the first departments of mission work with which he and his partner became associated, was an early effort in favour of female education. The details are worth putting on * Speaking of the circumstances in which the operations of the Madras mission were commenced at Conjeveram and Chingleput, Mr Anderson said--" Had it not been for the struggle about caste in our institution in 1838, the Conjeveram school would never have been started, nor probably that at Chingleput. The difficulty at the centre gave occasion to the establishment or adoption of these schools." — Madras Native Herald iox October g, 1847, p. 5. FEMALE EDUCATION. I55 record. In 1839, Major St Clair Jameson offered a prize of 100 rupees for the best essay written by a youth in each of the three missionary institutions on the subject of native female education, and the best method of elevating the con- dition of the Hindoo women. Some of the abler youths in the Madras institution resolved to compete for this prize, and in the first ardour of their temporary enthusiasm at- tempted to teach their wives and other female relatives, but meeting with opposition from the ladies whom they designed to instruct, they soon gave up the task in weariness or despair. Discussion, however, and essay writing on female education in 1839 and 1840, prepared the way for action at a not very remote period. When Mr and Mrs Braidwood first arrived, they lived in the part of Madras called Roya- pooram. While there some girls, including a few of caste, were induced to attend at their house for instruction ; but on their removing to Black Town to be nearer the institu- tion, the incipient girls' school had to be temporarily given up, and exciting events, to be detailed in the next chapter, prevented its immediate resumption. (See Madras Native Herald, October 21, 1848, pp. 227-229). CHAPTER HI. SPLENDID FIRST FRUITS. When Mr Anderson had laboured for nearly four years without visible fruit in the conversion of souls, one of the pupils, a Teloogoo youth called Ettirajooloo was confined to his house, in order to prevent his continuing to attend school. He wrote to Mr Anderson in the following terms : — " Because I have felt the sweetness of the Almighty's word, I wish to know what I am to do to be saved." He earnestly entreated the missionaries to pray for him that he might be allowed to return to school and receive baptism. 156 MADRAS. Before this case came to an issue two others had arisen. They were those of the now celebrated P. Rajahgopaul and A. Venkataramiah. Rajahgopaul was a Sudra of the respectable Moodeliar caste. He was about eighteen years of age, and had been inquiring for more than a year. On his applying for bap- tism, Mr Anderson asked if he was prepared to give up his mother, his sisters, and his all for Christ. On his replying that he was, " Well," said Mr Anderson, " I am prepared to give up my school for you." — Free Church Missionary Record^ October 1855, p. 61. To give some details next regarding Venkataramiah. In the south of India is a caste called Chatanees, which technically considered is Sudra, yet is deemed one of much respectability. Some of the Chatanees are said to be mag- nificent looking men, and are known by a peculiar fillet which encircles their brows, no less than by their well- stamped features. It was to this caste that Venkataramiah belonged. He was grandson to the registrar of the petty court. Hearing, in 1839, that a missionary, the Rev. Robert Johnston, eminent for his mathematical attain- ments, had just arrived from Scotland, he resolved to embrace the opportunity of prosecuting the study of the science just named, steeling his mind and heart all the Avhile against the religious teaching with which the scientific lessons might be accompanied. He knew neither the necessities and aspirations of his own soul nor the power of the truth with which he was about to be brought in contact, and in about a couple of years after entering school he was a candidate for baptism. He and his companion, Rajah- gopaul were by far the most intelligent and interesting pupils belonging to the first class in the institution. — Free Church Missionary Record, 1862-3, PP- ^-3- When the relatives received intelligence that Rajahgopaul and Venkataramiah had applied for baptism, they, as was natural, came to the Mission-house, and for two hours — from THE FIRST THREE CONVERTS. 1 5/ 9 to II A.M., did all that was in their power to induce them to return home. Mr Anderson said that their appeals to the youths and to him were more trying to flesh and blood than anything he had ever before witnessed, and their look of despair and their silence when the young men remained, as they did, firm, " might have moved a heart of stone to pity them." The relatives then applied to the chief magistrate, J. H. Bell, Esq., stating of course falsely that the youths were forcibly detained, on hearing which Mr Anderson at once proceeded with them to the police office, that Mr Bell might question them as to whether or not they were free. On being asked where they wished to go, they without the least hesitation replied that they desired to go with Mr Anderson, and were permitted to do as they said. Rajahgopaul and Venkataramiah were baptized by Mr Anderson on the evening of Sabbath, June 20th, 1841. Both being of the Tamul race, their admission to the sealing ordinance was the commencement of a Tamul church in connection with the Madras mission. But where all this time was Ettirajooloo? Still kept away from school and more strictly guarded than before, but yet having his communications with the outer world so far open that he obtained intelligence of the baptisms. At last he managed to make his escape, and arrived at the Mission-house with the marks of the scourge upon his face. He was baptized by Mr Anderson on the 3rd of August 1 841, and thus the foundation of a Teloogoo no less than of a Tamul church was laid.* — Free Church Missionary Record, 1852-3, p. 32. It need scarcely be added that the institution and the branch schools suffered severely in consequence of these baptisms. "We are reduced," said Mr Anderson, "to a handful," and in making this intimation, he simply stated what was tlie sober truth. 400 scholars were scattered, of * Mr Anderson said of Ettirajooloo — " He is quite the delight of us all— he is so modest, humble, and .simple, and full of desires for souls, especially for the lambs." 158 MADRAS. whom 100 could read the Bible, and readily follow an English discourse. Only 30 or 40 remained. In the tem- porary destruction of the institution, a heathen school, called after its founder, Patcheappah's, rose into power, and about 70,000 Hindoo inhabitants of Madras petitioned Lord Elphinstone to establish a High School and Univer- sity. Were the converts worth purchasing at so tremen- dous a cost? They were undoubtedly. As Mr Anderson well said, "A school ceases to be missionary, if men shrink from the thing they have been seeking and desiring, and the Churches of Christ have been praying for." — Madras Native Herald for October 9, 1847, p. 6. When Mr Anderson saw the young men, for whose spiritual and temporal welfare he had travailed, scattered here and there, and knew how slight was the probability of some of them at least ever returning to the institution, he conceived the happy thought of starting a periodical for their benefit, and commenced the Madras Native Herald. It was published fortnightly, the price being six rupees a year, paid in advance. By the end of 184 1, it had obtained more than 200 subscribers. It was carried on for many years, and not merely gave minute details regarding the ever- varying phases of the mission history, but advocated Chris- tian truth and assailed idolatry in the most vigorous manner. It also afforded a considerable stimulus to the Christian converts, and other advanced pupils of the institution, by publishing their essays and discussions in its pages. Many of our readers have doubtless in former years perused with no slight interest the Madras Native Herald. The institution was not long in recovering from the shocks it had sustained through means of the recent bap- tisms. By November 20, 1841, there were again about 100 youths in daily attendance, on a roll of 120; and when, on the 6th January 1842, the annual examination took place, 278 pupils were present — only sixteen fewer than on a previous occasion twelve months before. At this examina- FRESH BAPTISMS. I 59 tion Sir Edward Gambier, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, presided, as he had done two years previously, and vigorously defended the missionaries from the charge of having in any way dealt unfairly with the natives in aiming at their conversion. About the same time offers came from the St George's (Rev. Dr CandUsh's) and the New North (the Rev. Chas. Brown's) congregations, to undertake the support of the first three converts, who now, it should be added, were looking forward to the ministry. On Sabbath, 8th May 1842, another baptism took place. It was that of a young man from the institution called Soobaroyan, a Moodelly, eighteen years of age, who was a friend of Ettirajooloo's, and had doubtless been partly influenced by his example in seeking admission into the Church. Before the rite was administered, he had stood against the most passionate entreaties of his father to return home — nay, he had been acquitted of a frivolous charge brought against him in a court of law by his unnatural parent, with the view of preventing him from becoming a Christian. Yet, notwithstanding these proofs of sincerity, he was finally decoyed away by his relatives, and was lost to the mission. In July of the same year, S. P. Ramanoojooloo, a Naidoo, who had long appeared very near the kingdom of heaven, was brought to a decision through means of a so- called accident by which his arm was broken. He was of more mature age than some of the converts, being about 24 when he asked for baptism. The ordinance was administered on 1 6th July 1842. Expectations were entertained that he would render good service to the Christian cause, for he had already done valuable work as teacher of the Conje- veram school, besides writing a prize essay entitled, "Woman as she is in India." Two days after his baptism the shrieks of his mother so affected him, that to comfort her he returned home, declaring, however, that he had no l6o MADRAS, intention of renouncing Christianity. Rather more than a fortnight afterwards, Soobaroyan returned to the Mission- house, but soon again departed as before. The baptisms of 1842 were by no means so detrimental to the school attendance as those of 1841 had been. When the examination of the institution took place on the 5th January 1843, the total number of pupils under charge of the mission was between 500 and 600, though these were not so far advanced as those who had been in attendance before the shattering of 1841. At this examination, Sir Edward Gambler was again present, whilst the chair was occupied by the Governor of Madras, the Marquis of Tweeddale, who brought the Marchioness with him and remained three hours, manifesting unaffected interest in all that took place, and, by that interest, encouraging the missionaries to go for- ward in the trying but glorious work in which they were engaged. CHAPTER IV. THE DISRUPTION PERIOD. At the Disruption the three Madras missionaries, as has already been stated, ceased to be connected with the Scottish Establishment, and cast in their lot with the Free Church. It now became an advantage to them that they had hitherto conducted their operations almost exclusively in hired buildings, as it prevented such a loss of property as had to be sustained by their brethren at Calcutta and Bombay. In conjunction with the financial board, they gave noble assist- ance to the Church with which their convictions went, by relieving its sorely-burdened finances of their maintenance for a year. During that period they were paid from local funds, contributed to the extent of about 15,000 rupees — ^1500 sterling — by those who admired the fidelity to FEMALE EDUCATION. l6l conscience and the spirit of self-sacrifice which characterised the Disruption heroes. One subscriber's name requires special mention— A. F. Bruce, Esq., commenced contri- buting at the rate of 3000 rupees (;2£"30o) annually ! to the mission. The same year, 1843, was notable 'in another respect, namely, for the commencement, in very hopeful circum- stances, of female education under the supervision of the Free Church labourers. The discussions on this subject carried on in 1839 and 1840, and Mr Braid wood's effort in 1 84 1, have already been noted. When the discussions now spoken of took place, there was not one caste female in any Bible day-school in Madras {F. C.M.R., 185 1, 1852, p. 306). In May 1843, a communication was received by the Madras labourers from those who afterwards became the Free Church Ladies' Society for Female Education in India, offering help, and expressing the wish that a beginning were made in the great work which they were associated together to promote. Mr Anderson, at the time, thought the project impracticable {Madras Native Herald, 1847, p. 10); but through the wives of two of the East Indian teachers, he, in September 1843, made the attempt, and was unexpectedly successful. True, the commencement was on a very small scale, only five pupils having been present on the day of opening.* On May i8th, 1844, there were 17 native caste- girls in attendance at Madras, and seven in Triplicane, which Mr Anderson called "an encouraging number!" Evidently he had no conception, at that early period, of the great and rapid development which female education was soon to attain, under the auspices of the mission. Soon, however, an omen of future success presented itself, for in 1844 the *One pie — that is, half-farthing per day — was given to all who came in time, and a second to such as excelled in diligence, and books were bestowed gratis {F .C. Al. R., 1854, 1855, P- 262). Some object to any pa3'ment, direct or indirect, in such cases ; but, in the opinion of the writer, a temporary recourse to such expedients is perfectly legitimate, and in practice it has worked well, having aided in overcoming, more quickly than would otherwise have been possible, the j;reat (iiffirulties attendant (ill the first efforts made for female education. 1 62 MADRAS. Hindoos themselves began to set up schools for the educa- tion of native girls. On Friday, 29th March 1844, a Jaina* Brahman, Vis- wanauthan, aged 17, was baptized,t and on the subsequent Saturday, and again on Monday forenoon, Calastree and ArJQnun came seeking admission into the Church, but both after a time gave way. Neither had received the sealing ordinance. On Friday evening, the 12th of July of the same year, S. P. Ramanoojooloo returned to the mission, bringing with him his wife, Aleemalummah, and, openly confessing the apostacy of which he had been guilty, was readmitted to the Church. Mrs Braidwood gave special attention to the instruction of Aleemalummah, as well as to that of Mary, an interesting native Christian girl. On Wednesday, 28th August 1844, Arjun, already mentioned, who had come to the mission the morning before, was baptized, but secretly departed again the same evening. A work of grace having for some time appeared to be in progress in the hearts of Aleemalummah and Mary, already mentioned as receiving special instruction, the former was baptized on the last Sabbath of the year 1844. She was the first female convert fromHindooism received by the missionaries into the Church, and was about 20 years old. Some fruits were almost imme- diately afterwards obtained from Triplicane branch school — Appasawmy, a Naidoo youth of 19, receiving his instruc- tion there, who had soHcited baptism the previous April, but again drawn back, having again appeared, and this time been admitted into the Church. The mission had now become so strong that it could stand events like those just recorded without such heavy * The Jainas are a sect of Indian religionists whose tenets are akin to those held by the Buddhists. They are tender of animal life. Their architecture is elaborately ornate. Many of the native Indian bankers are Jainas. t Viswanaulhan did not ultimately fulfil the expectations which his baptism had excited. On the ist October 1848, he burst a blood-vessel when returning from the chm-ch, and was in avcry humbled frame of mind. The missionaries showed him much kindness, yet in January 1849, ^ '^ew months after his recovery, he secretly left the mission and went to reside with a Roman Catholic priest at Raynpooram, though he had been studying for the Free Church ministry. A SOWING TIME. 1 63 losses as those which took place in 1841. At the examina- tion which took place on 7th January 1845, 390 pupils were present, whilst in all the schools taken together there were no fewer than 840 on the rolls. Sir Edward Gambler, the Hon. Justice Burton, and Bishop Spencer were present, and spoke in a manner befitting the Christian gentlemen which they were. On 13th November 1845, Mr Anderson wrote, "We have had no conversions this year, but much outward prosperity." To home readers the conjunction of ideas may appear strange, but there is in reality a close logical connection between them. Sowing and reaping times alternate in an Indian mission. While all is tranquil, the pupils steadily increase in numbers, and much precious seed is sown in their minds. Then, in God's good time, reaping comes. Some promising student, giving evidence that he has become the object of Divine grace, seeks and is granted admittance into the Church. On this being noised abroad, the parents of the scholars become alarmed, lest the example should prove contagious, and hurry their sons away. The numbers in the institution greatly fall, and of those who are withdrawn, some of the most advanced never return. Those alternate periods of sowing and reaping are known in every mission, and a faithful labourer, while doing all in his power to sow precious seed during the time of much outward prosperity, when baptisms are withheld, at once longs for and dreads a time of reaping. CHAPTER V. THE LONGED-FOR TIME OF REAPING. The -'outward prosperity" mentioned in the previous chapter, went on till about the middle of 1846, without any conversions from amons: the heathen to brins it to a close. 1 64 MADRAS. Not that during the interval, the mission had been without tokens of the Divine favour. About six Europeans had been awakened under the preaching of the Word in Enghsh ; early in 1846, Rajahgopaul, Venkataramiah, and Ettirajooloo had been licensed as preachers; and during 1845, no less than ;£"36oo had been subscribed to the mission by friends in India, ^1600 of it for schools, and ^2000 for a building fund. Still there was reason for sorrow and humiliation, for there had not been native baptisms. An alteration in this re- spect was now, in the goodness of God, to take place. On the 8th of April 1846, a young man called Ponumbalum appeared at the Mission-house, having walked thither no less than thirty-five miles. His convictions in favour of Christianity were of long standing. Ten years before, when he was only fourteen, he had sought baptism from the Rev. Mr Winslow, but, with other boys, had been carried off by a heathen mob. Five different times did his relatives put forth all their efforts to induce him to return home, but he stood firm as a rock, and was admitted into the congre- gation on the 17 th of May. Four days previously, two other youths, Ramanoojum and C. Sungeeve, were received into the Church on the 3rd of June, and a fourth, R. Soondrum, on the 17th. A few months later, three others appeared, Davanaygum, Govindoo, and Ragavooloo, and on the lotli September a fourth, called S. R. Soondrum — making eight in all. One of these eight, Ragavooloo, was a Brahman, and the Hindoos, feeling that the loss of a young man belonging to the sacred caste would be a considerable blow to their faith, induced the relatives to apply for a writ of habeas corpus against Mr Anderson. The result which followed was as gratifying to the supporters of missions as it was disappoint- ing to the Brahmanic party. Sir William Burton, the judge who tried the case, showed that the one object which a habeas corpus writ was designed to serve was t(^ set the DISCRETION AND NOT AGE. 1 65 person, in whose favour it was sought, free from illegal restraint. He was simply allowed to go where he pleased, provided he possessed discretion to be trusted to take care of himself The legal phrase, age of discretion, was not a good one, for it was not so much age, as the actual attain- ment of discretion, which the court had to ascertain before deciding that a youth was entitled to be his own master. In England the law allows a child of fourteen to appoint its own guardian, and there was even a case in which the court refused to deliver one less than fourteen to its father. There was reason to believe that Ragavooloo, though of small stature and juvenile aspect, was seventeen years of age, though his relatives declared him only twelve. A circum- stance which threw doubt on the statements of the family was, that no horoscope had been produced, though one must have been made at a Brahman boy's birth.* The judge having ascertained by personally questioning him, that he was possessed of discretion enough to be allowed to live where he pleased, asked him where he wanted to go, on which he replied, to Mr Anderson. Means were then taken to enable him to carry out his wish, which it was very difficult to do in the face of the riotous Hindoo mob, some three or four thousand strong, the majority being Brahmans. In vain did the police attempt to clear the street in front of the court-house to let the people out ; the multitude simply shifted their ground, and that not so much from fear of the official authorities, as from the variation, in their own opinion, as to the door by which Ragavooloo would come out. It was manifest that when he did make his appearance, the Brahmans would attempt to seize him, and he was therefore kept in the court-house till a late hour in the evening. As even then there were * It was pretty plain that no such complaint would require to be made in any future case. Any one who knows India, would at once be aware that in other habeas corpus prosecutions instituted to prevent the baptism of Brahman youths, horoscopes would uniformly be produced, though whether they were old and gen- uine, or had been manufactured a few d.iys previously to deceive the court, would always require careful scrutiny. (301) 12 1 66 MADRAS. no signs of dispersion, a coach was so placed at the sheriff's office as if possible to draw off the attention of the populace, while Mr Anderson's own vehicle was being drawn up in an adjacent enclosure, which communicated with the court- house. The Rev. Mr Braidvvood, the deputy sheriff, the chief constable, and Ragavooloo, entered this latter con- veyance, and the shutters of it having been closed on all sides, the coachman received orders to drive to the mission. Before, however, he had emerged through the gateway into the street, the mob became aware of the manoeuvre in pro- gress, and made a rush at the vehicle, with the object of seizing the horse's head. On this the coachman caused the animal to rear, plunge, and then set off at full gallop, the Brah- mans and others running behind, shouting and throwing stones. The coachman was struck repeatedly, but he re- solutely kept his seat and did his duty to the last. When the coach entered the mission enclosure, a body of police, stationed there for the purpose, closed the gate, and remain- ing inside, prepared to defend the place against assault. Afterwards the deputy sheriff was escorted back to his office, and the Rev. Mr Anderson conveyed in safety from the court-house home. The mob gradually dispersed, and before long the storm had been succeeded by a calm. On Wednesday, 23rd September 1846, Ragavooloo was bap- tized, along with three other youths, Davanagum, Govin- drajooloo, and S. R. Soondrum.* The eight baptisms now reported greatly stirred up the heathen, who, however, failed to remove more than 300 * It is painful to add, that Ragavooloo showed himself an unstable convert, and having, in August 1847, been taken into court a second time, under a writ of habeas corpus, he, after a fifteen minutes' interview with his father, granted him by the judge, elected to return to his heathen home. This choice, painful as it was to the missionaries, confirmed, instead of invalidating, Sir William Burton's exposition of the law, as to the right which a young man possessing discretion has to judge for himself as to where he should reside. Ragavooloo, who had eaten with Christians, could not be re-admitted into caste. He was, in consequence, compelled to remain without position in the Hindoo com- munity, now a tool in the hands of the Rrahmanstor attacking the mission, and now going thither himself and confessing how little his spirit was at ease. Ultimately he returned to his Christian instructors. WORK OF GRACE AMONG THE GIRLS. 1 6/ pupils from the schools. They, at the same time, sent a memorial to the Court of Directors, wherein they begged that they might be saved from '' the fangs of the mission- aries," the plain meaning of which was, that the court should prevent parents sending their children to such schools as they pleased, and aid in coercing young men who had lost faith in Hindooism, into professing to believe what they deemed untrue. Of course the court could not possibly have granted the wishes of the intolerant memorialists, and the petition was void of effect. At a communion which occurred soon after the eight baptisms, twenty-one natives sat down at the table, fifteen of them, including a female, being converts of the mission. The same year (1846) three of them, Messrs Venkataramiah, Rajahgopaul, and Ettirajooloo, were licensed as preachers, and on December 15, the institution was removed to new premises on the esplanade, affording better accommodation than those previously occupied. 1846 had been a notable year in the history of the mis- sion; 1847, i^^ the providence of God, was destined to be quite as remarkable. CHAPTER VI. THE CHARTER OF FEMALE EMANCIPATION. In February 1847, two of the first class in the girls' school at Madras, Unnum and Mooniatta by name, came under conviction of sin through means of direct appeals made by Mr Anderson to the consciences of the pupils. The same eftect was produced next month on two others, called Venkatlutchmoo and Yaygah, and shortly afterwards on a fifth girl, called Mungah. On Wednesday, the 7th of April, Unnum and Mooniatta, hearing that they were to be married (of course without any reference to their own feelings) to 1 68 MADRAS. heathen men, became convinced that if they failed to carry out their rehgious convictions now, they would probably never be permitted to do so. They therefore took refuge in the Mission-house, and, in the circumstances, were gladly received.* That same evening Unnum's grandmother, Ummariee Ummah, was sent for, and came. She was a fine grey-haired old Moodeelly, and having herself some leanings towards Christianity, was with little difficulty persuaded to place her granddaughter, and indeed herself, under the guardianship of the missionaries.t The youngest of her grand- sons consented to do so likewise, while the two elder went off to avoid eating " Pariah rice." By Pariah they meant European, Europeans, as already stated, being on the Hindoo system Pariahs, or, if it be possible, even something lower. Mooniatta's mother, Jyalanda, accompanied by other rela- tives, arrived on Thursday in a half-frantic state, and having failed to induce the daughter to return home, and remain contented to be an idolatress, applied in forma pauperis for a writ of habeas corpus against Mr Anderson. That same Thursday there arrived two of the other girls — Yenkat- lutchmoo and Yaygah — an act of wonderful courage on their part, as heathens — armed with stones, sticks, and iron bars — were already in front of the Mission-house, and were restrained only by the presence of the chief magistrate and the police from proceeding to open violence. Next day (Friday) there was another arrival — that of Mungah. The first pair — Unnum and Mooniatta — were Tamul girls ; the three who followed — Venkatlutchmoo, Yaygah, and Mungah — were Teloogoos.;]: The ages of the five ranged from eleven * On the 2Qth January 1847, "ot many days before the case of the girls began, Mr Anderson was married to Miss Margaret Locher, originally from Switzerland. She came out to India in 1845, sent by the Ladies' Society of the Scottish Establishment. Next year she joined the Free Church. t Unnum's grandmother was baptized on the 9th January 1848, and received the name of Sarah. I Before the coming of the five girls, there were already in the Mission-house, wiih the sanction of their guardians, three others — viz., a native Protestant girl of twelve, called Mary, a Roman Catholic of the same age, named Ummanee, and a child of Sf-ven, Shunmooguni, who had been placed under Mr Anderson's charge by Sir William Burton. With the five new comers, there were eight in all. THE CASE OF MOONIATTA. 1 09 to thirteen years. All had been in the girls' school more than two years, and some of them more than three. Each had for more than a year been studying the gospels in English, having previously read them in her own language. The trials of the three Teloogoo girls from their relatives were moderate, and they had little difficulty in standing their ground. Of course, the events w^hich have just been related pro- duced great excitement throughout Madras, and struck what to the short-sighted might appear a fatal blow at the cause of Christian female education. Of 170 girls who had been in the school before Unnum and Mooniatta came seeking baptism, only three — two Hindoos and a native Protestant — returned on the morrow (Thursday). On Friday no more than one came, and on Saturday even that one, terrified apparently by the loneliness of the place, stayed away. By the end of the same week, the attendance of girls at Tripli- cane had fallen from a hundred to thirty-eight, and the schools of all the other missions had suffered severely. The costs had been heavy, but if in providence all went well, the gain would be much more than worth the price paid for its attainment. Under God, everything would depend on the result of the legal proceedings in the case of Mooniatta. Jyalanda, her mother, obtained the writ which she sought. It w^as directed against Mr Anderson, and required him to appear on the 20th inst., bringing with him Mooniatta. The demand was of course met with cheerful obedience. When the day came, a horoscope was presented on the part of the mother, to prove that her daughter was only seven years eight months and twenty-seven days old ; but the judge saw good reason for believing the horoscope forged, and forming the opinion that Mooniatta was — what she appeared to be — somewhat more than twelve years old. He intimated that, by the English law which w^as administered in the Madras Supreme Court, the girl was entitled to go where she pleased, provided that she possessed sufficient I/O MADRAS. discretion to make a choice. To decide whether or not she possessed the discretion spoken of, and whether the desire to become a Christian was a youthful whim or a fixed resolve, he proceeded publicly to question her in the follow- ing fashion : — " ' Whether,' asked Sir William, ' do you wish to go to Mr Anderson's or to your mother's ? ' M. — ' I like to go to Mr Anderson's.' " Sir W. — ' Now consider. Answer truly. You were born to your mother, your mother suckled you at her breast, she carried you about when you were a little child, she gave you food and clothes, she put you to a good school ; now, what is the reason that you wish to leave her, and go to another place ? ' M. — ' If I go home, they will force me to M'orship idols made by men ; they have eyes, but they see not ; ears have they, but they hear not ; a mouth have they, but they speak not. I wish to go to a place where I can be saved.' " Being further questioned as to her religious belief, she was answering very satisfactorily, when her brother suddenly seized her first by the hand, and then by the back of the neck, making her scream with terror. The chief magistrate and half-a-dozen others forced him after a struggle to quit his hold, and he was committed to prison for contempt of court. This terminated the proceedings for the time being, and the court broke up, after it had been intimated that the decision would be postponed till the 3rd May, that Sir Edward Gambler, the Chief-Justice^ might have an oppor- tunity of forming an opinion on the important question involved. When the 3rd of May came, Sir Edward Gambler, who had privately questioned Mooniatta for about three-quarters of an hour, with the view of testing whether or not she was possessed of discretion, concurred with Sir William Burton in declaring her entitled to go where she pleased, on which slie, without hesitation, decided to return with Mr Anderson to the mission. Some weeks subsequently, Mooniatta's mother and brother, at the instigation of some influential Hindoos, who again were doubtless counselled, or at least instructed, by European lawyers, applied to Sir Edward Gambier for a new writ of habeas corpus in the case, found- GI^EA T LEGAL VICTOR Y. I 7 1 ing their demand on the statute of George III., chap. 142, sect. 12, which provides that the rights of fathers of famiHes, according to the Hindoo law, shall be regarded. Both judges, however, considered that Mooniatta's case had been properly decided on English law, the Hindoo code not being in force within the limits of the Supreme Court, except in the case of contracts and inheritance. The writ was there- fore refused. The view taken by the Madras judges in the Mooniatta case was confirmed a few months later by the decision of the Chief-Justice of Calcutta in that of Radhakant Dutt.* The decision of the Madras judges in Mooniatta's case was of incalculable importance to the cause of missions. It was the very charter of Indian female emancipation. But to return to the narrative. The five girls who came to the Mission-house in the exciting circumstances described, were carefully instructed for another six months, and then publicly baptized by Mr Anderson on the 20th October. Unnum was named Joanna ; Mooniatta, Ruth ; Venkat- lutchmoo, Lydia; Yaygah, Rachel; and Mungah, Elizabeth. It is very difficult for a missionary to resist the sometimes pressing requests of his converts that they may be allowed to assume Christian names, instead of those by which they have hitherto been known, yet it is impossible to avoid feeling a certain measure of regret that the name of Mooni- atta should have been suppressed after that young but heroic confessor had made it celebrated through the length and breadth of India. Those who had predicted that the coming of the five * If some readers are of opinion that twelve is a very early age for Hindoo girls to separate from their relatives with the view of seeking baptism, they should give due weight to two facts not universally known, and even when known apt to be for- gotten. The first is, that orientals are physically and mentally precocious, and that a Hindoo girl of twelve is as far advanced as an English one of fourteen, if not even more. The second is, that Hindoo girls are married at so early an age ; and when they go to live in their husband's houses, are so certain to be denied liberty of con- science, that if they are not allowed to seek baptism at or soon after the age of twelve, they, in most cases, will never be permitted to do it for the whole remainder of their lives 172 MADRAS. girls to the Mission-house would strike a heavy, if not even a mortal blow, at the great cause of female Christian educa- tion, were proved by the event not to possess the penetra- tion of seers. By the 9th of July, twenty-three girls had come back to the Madras, and fifty to the Triplicane school; and on 23rd December 1847, the examination day, there were actually present 118 from Madras and 99 from Triplicane. CHAPTER VII. A CHEQUERED NARRATIVE. Writing on August 14, 1847, Mr Anderson mentions the baptism of three young men — Narasimayah,* a Brahman of 20; Humoogum, a youth of 17 ; and Ramasawmy, an orphan lad of 13, the admission of the last named to the Church being sanctioned by his heathen protector.f In the Assembly Report for 1848 it was stated that the native congregation at Madras consisted, including children, of thirty-four souls, of whom twenty-four were communi- cants. By this time there was just as much apathy among the Hindoos as the year before there had been excitement. Hence the numbers in attendance at the schools rapidly increased. In the Assembly Report they figured as about 900, more than 250 of them being caste girls; by August T5th they had risen to i roo, 300 of them girls of caste ; by October 15th there were 1150; and in April 1849 there were 1322 in daily attendance, 273 of them girls. On the i5lh of that month Mr Anderson, whose health for the two or three years previous had been declining, was * About a year subsequently a Brahman convert t>f the same name, we presume this one, was cut off from the Church. t Writing on November 13, a few months after these were received, Mr Anderson said — " During the last six years I have baptized twenty-five souls directly from the Hindoos of different castes : three h'lve gone bick in that time to their relatives and their gods ; six of the twenty-five had been caste feinalej." THE 2STH BORDERERS. 1 73 under the necessity of embarking for Europe. He took with him one of the converts, Rajahgopaul, whose deep piety and modesty were such that he was not hkely to be spoiled by the attentions which he was sure to receive in Europe. Mrs Anderson nobly stayed behind to look after the female converts of the mission. Dr Duff and Mr Hawkins had arrived from Calcutta a few hours before, and Dr Duff and Mr Braidwood stood on the shore till the Rev. Mr Ander- son, the Rev. Mr Johnston, Rajahgopaul, Mr Hawkins, and a lady had been conveyed through the surf in a Masoolah boat and put on board the steamer. Mr Johnston soon after- wards returned to act as head of the mission, whilst its energetic founder sojourned for a time amid the bracing atmosphere and the Christian society of his native land. The Rev. Mr Johnston, writing on November 14, 1849, stated that no conversions of which he and his colleague knew had taken place in the institution for more than two years ; but information was received that two young men who had received their first impressions in the institution had been baptized, the one at Bombay and the other at Belgaum. The second of these, Sabapauty by name, with the sanction of the Rev. Joseph Taylor, of Belgaum, who had admitted him into the Church, came with his wife, Ummanee, to place himself under the charge of the Madras mission. On their arrival they were received into Mr Braid wood's house. Nor had the missionaries, during the two years of barrenness now mentioned, been without tokens of the Spirit's presence. Far from it. A work of grace had been begun through their instrumentality among the 25th Borderers, a European regiment then stationed at Madras. Nor were they by any means labouring fruitlessly among the natives. There was granted them a precious sowing time that they might in due season reap. Numbers increased both in the institution and branch schools when- e^^er the alarms caused by baptisms had had time to subside. On July 9, there were 1200 in all the schools, of whom 430 1 74 MADRAS. were at Madras and 305 at Triplicane. Three or four months later there were 1400, and in the report to the Assembly in 1850 they were estimated at between 1600 and 1700. The Home Committee had strongly felt the necessity of sending out a new missionary to relieve Messrs Johnston and Braidwood, now sorely overtasked, but none could be promptly obtained. In the emergency, they requested the Rev. Stephen Hislop, of Nagpore, temporarily to proceed to Madras, if his own sense of duty, guided by local know- ledge, permitted him to take the step. He, in consequence, left Nagpore with his wife and his two children on the 15th of April 1850, and reached Madras on the i8th of May. The spiritual barrenness which for some time had existed was now passing away, more than one inquirer appeared, and on 26th June 1850 a Teloogoo youth called Moodookrish- num was baptized. Tlie loss of pupils which resulted was only about eighty. While Mr Anderson, with his spiritual son Rajahgopaul, was at home, his heart was all the while with the Madras mission, and on the 12th December 1849 ^^^ issued a cir- cular,* asking ;^2ooo to be added to ;^3ooo already raised on the spot for the enlargement of the mission premises. Further consideration showed that not ;£"20oo but ;£3ooo would be needed — namely, £iS^^ ^^ provide suitable accommodation for the male converts, and an equal sum for the eleven girls. The response which these appeals * Some facts mentioned by Mr Anderson in this appeal possess much interest. He said that since 1841 thirty-six Hindoos had been converted through the instru- mentality of the institution, though six had been baptized by other missions. Since 1844, fifteen female converts had been baptized. About a hundred Europeans had apparently received spiritual blessing since the Disruption through the instrumentality of the Madras labourers. During thirteen yenrs .^{^16,000 had been subscribed to the mission by Christians of all denominations, ;{^6ooo of it since the Disruption. Tlie money received from liome had been .£10,000, ;£6ooo of it since the same date. In a letter from Venkataramiah, of date December 14, 1849, it wa^ mentioned that the pledged income of the subscribers to the schools was about 6000 rupees per annum, but the actual expenditure was twice as great. We may add that some time before, ill answer to an appeal from Mr Anderson, a Glasgow Ladies' Society agreed to raise £-^~„ or half salary of a native probationer in Madras, the remainder to be raised in Indi-i. DEATH OF MR JOHNSTON. 1^5 elicited showed the interest which Scotland felt in the mission with which Mr Anderson was connected. Instead of ;£^3ooo, ;£'3ioo were promptly obtained, though a great effort was in progress at the same time permanently to raise the annual revenue of the Foreign Missions Committee. On Saturday, 19th October 1850, Mr Anderson and Rajah- gopaul embarked at Southampton for Madras, and reached their destination on Sabbath morning, the ist of December. With them was Mrs Anderson's sister, Mrs Locher, sent out by the Ladies' Committee, but who was scarcely more than four months in Madras before she died of cholera. At the examination of the female schools, held on Friday, 20th December 1850, Sir William Burton came spontane- ously and took the chair, while at that of the institution, on 7th January 185 1, the Right Hon. Sir Henry Pottinger, Governor of Madras, was for the first time present, and remained an hour and a half There were then 1800 pupils connected with the mission, 439 of them caste girls, though most of the latter were very poor; 633 were actually pre- sent, 235 of them from Triplicane ; 86 were Mohammedans. When the examination of the female schools took place, Ruth (formerly Mooniatta) was about to be married, and Sir William Burton left for her 100 rupees to enable her to furnish her house. On 17th February 1851, Mr Johnston, who had for some time been in a consumption, was taken with spitting of blood from the lungs, followed by a severe and more alarming attack in the evening. By advice of his medical attendants he sailed for Europe on the 22nd of the same month, being then so weak that he had to be hoisted on board the steamboat in a palanquin.* He was destined to see India no more. Partly to supply his place the Rev. James Drummond came out, arriving on the 24th May, but * Mr Johnston rallied considerably, as most missionaries do, during the homeward voyage, but he could not maintain the strength gained, and, after the usual improve- ments and relapses which mark the progress of consumption, he quietly fell asleep in Jesus in the hoube o! Lady Foulis, in Edinburgh, on the 22nd March 1S53. 1/6 MADRAS. his constitution was found unadapted to the dimate, and, having been oftener than once laid up with fever, he had, by medical advice, permanently to quit India within six months of his landing. Before it was known that this would be the case, Mr Hislop, with the sanction of the Home Committee, and his colleagues at Madras, had quitted the southern presidency seat in May 185 1, to return to his much-loved station of Nagpore. The native preachers, Venkataramiah, Rajahgopaul, and Ettirajooloo were now becoming almost as helpful as Euro- pean labourers could have been to the mission. They were preaching to large audiences of their countrymen Sabbath by Sabbath. Three years before this Rajah's audience was stated to be about 150. Now there were between 300 and 400, 200 and more being adults. Next we read that, on 19th October 185 1, adding together the audiences at Madras and Triplicane, the one addressed by Venka, the other by Ettiraje, Rajahgopaul catechising, there were nearly 800 present, the great majority being idolaters belonging to all castes from the Brahman to the Pariah. By September 1852, there were 1000 ; a year later, iioo ; by the end of 1853, 1200 \ and by the termination of 1855, 2000. But we anticipate. So early as 1848, the three native brethren had conducted the Thursday evening ser- vice with the Borderers, and that wdth much acceptance. Having thus made full proof of their gifts, they, on the 12th December 1851, Avere ordained native missionaries to the heathen. Between May and October of that year, there were several baptisms. Two were native girls — Aleemaloo, aged 13, and Streerungum, in her 13th year. One was a Teloo- goo youth in his i6th or 17th year. All three had some trials to undergo from their relatives, but went through them nobly. There followed next a man of 35, Tachamenon, who, twelve years before, had been a student in the insti- tution. He had a good situation in the Sudr Adawlut (or EFFICIENCY OF THE MISSION. lyj Supreme Court of Judicature), and with his wife was bap- tized. The female school at Madras was not affected as much as might have been expected by the baptism of the two girls. It fell only from 170 to 140. The father of Sun- geeve, a convert, was soon afterwards baptized. The exceeding efficiency of the mission at this period was shown by the fact mentioned in connection with the examination of December 22, 185 1, by the Madras Specta- tor, namely, that while the pupils on the rolls of the several mission schools amounted to nearly 2300, " the Government High School, with all its special recommendations and pro- spects, numbers a handful of scholars scarcely increasing." Making every allowance for the fact that the fees in the Government school were high for a poor people like the Hindoos, whilst the mission schools were at that time free, nothing but great teaching ability and Christian zeal could have enabled the Free Church labourers and their Euro- pean, East Indian, and native assistants, so completely to distance their rivals. Alas ! that very zeal was wasting away the agents, and, in February 1852, Mr Braidwood was compelled by failing health to return temporarily to Britain, while Mr Anderson was believed to have heart complaint, and fears were entertained that at any moment he might fall down in presence of his friends. New labourers were urgently required, and it was matter for thankfulness that they were obtained. On the 26th July 1852, the Free Presbytery of Edinburgh ordained the Rev. Robert B. Blyth and the Rev. Alexander B. Campbell to Madras, and the new labourers, sailing in the screw steamer India?ia on the 15th September, reached Madras on the 27th November, and at once threw their whole souls into the work of the mission. Much that the missionaries saw during the first few weeks of their residence in India must have impressed them deeply.* For instance, when on December 22, the * One peculiarity of Indian academic life seems greatly to have struck Mr Blyth He says :— " More than once when I have threatened to keep in a class wnich had 178 MADRAS. examination of tlie female schools was held at Madras, 25 bullock bandies (carriages or light carts), each freighted with girls, arrived from Triplicane — a spectacle even more remarkable than that of the van and omnibus loads of chil- dren now so frequently met with in connection with school treats at home. A few days later the new missionaries would not fail to note that at the examination of the insti- tution the chair was occupied by the Governor, Sir Henry Pottinger. A few months later, a beautiful little incident occurred in connection with the mission. On the 26th April 1853, Mary Anne, a protege of Sir William Burton's, was married to a young but steady and promising convert, call Moodookrishnum. Sir William and Lady Burton asked permission to be present at the marriage feast, and were, of course, joyfully admitted. Eighty-three sat down. In the course of some remarks which he made on the occasion, Sir William used the following language : — " I rejoice to be present on this occasion. Every time I have been in this hall, it has always been with a feeling of peculiar pleasure. I have been present at your examinations, I have been here at baptisms and other services, and now I am present on this festive occasion. I have always felt my heart greatly elevated by the communion I have enjoyed in this place. It is so different from the society of the world. We cannot but expect trials and sorrows on earth, but such hours as these are like green spots in the wilderness, and remind one of the intercourse of another and holier world. May God shower down His best blessings on all your labours." Mr Campbell, in a letter which he wrote on nth Octo- ber 1853, stated that he had recently been brought to death's door, having been affected with incipient inflamma- tion of the heart. In anticipation of losing his life at so early a period of his residence in the East, he yet in no degree felt regret that he had become a missionary. "How few ministers at home," he moralised, "during a long life- time, have ten or twelve really anxious souls concerning whom they have not been giving satisfaction, and to impose upon them another hour or half-hour of tuition, I have found the proposal so generally palatable to the offenders that it liad to be abandoned, for the simple reason that instead of being, as was intended, an infliction, which it is very widely thought to be in Scotland, it was hailed as a boon." BAPTISMS. 179 good hope that God has begun within them an imperishable work of grace ! Crowded into the brief period I have been here (scarcely a year), I have seen as many souls gathered from among the heathen ; and to behold such a triumph of the word and work of God, is it not enough to make one for ever grateful that he was permitted to take a part in the work of such a glorious harvest day ? " During the period referred to, seven baptisms had taken place in one single evening ; natural affection, however, subsequently led one of these then admitted to return to his relatives. Of the remaining five, who were all baptized on the 1 8th September 1853, Abdool Khader, an Arab, aged 25, had for twelve years been connected with the schools, and was now a monitor at Triplicane ; Kanacaswamy, aged 20, Coopaswamy, 19, and Parthasarathy, 20, were all Hindoo youths from the institution ; while the fifth, Elminalee, aged 13, was one of the best girls in the first class of the female day school. Abdool brought with him his wife, Abassibee, and her little niece, Zenobee ; the former was a bigoted Mus- sulmanee. "She," said Mr Anderson, "fights hard for the Prophet, but he [her husband] has great hopes of succeeding." On Sabbath the 13th November 1853, about a month after the date of Mr Campbell's letter, there were three more baptisms — those of R. M. Bauboo Naidoo, one of the best monitors in the Triplicane school, and two Teloogoo youths of nineteen — Soobrayaloo and Parthasarathy. Writing on 13th December 1853, Mr Anderson said — " We have fifteen native families now — seven living in the Mission house, and eight out of it." When on the evening of the first Sabbath of 1854 the communion was held, forty-three native converts sat down. There were, besides, four at Nellore, and four now with other missions — in all fifty-two. On the 26th January 1854, the Rev. James Miller Macin- tosh — who had been ordained on the 13th, and had sailed from Southampton on the 20th, of the previous December — arrived to the assistance of the mission. Baptisms still went on. On the 14th May 1854, no fewer l80 MADRAS. than eleven converts were admitted to the Church simul- taneously. One of these was Abassibee, the wife of Abdool Khader, a bigoted Mussulman, it will be remembered, only eight months before. Another was a Mohammedan — Abdool Ali, teacher of the girls' school at Nellore. Other two were Chingleput girls, who, when the missionaries declined to take them along with themselves to Madras, spiritedly set off alone, and, after travelling thirty-five miles, arrived at midnight. One of them was a Tamul girl, called Devanee, and the other a sensitive and shrinking Marathee caste girl, called Yana Baee. There were also four other pupils from Mr Anderson's boarding school. There was a Malayalim pilgrim on his route to Benares, who, after visit- ing his relations in the native Church, went no farther on his way to the so-called sacred place. There was a Mood- elly youth from a heathen school, but of the whole eleven none was in one respect so remarkable as the youth Naga- lingum. He had been brought up in a heathen school, but Christian books, though felt to be dangerous, were used, those of heathen manufacture being so miserably poor. One passage which he had to read in course was that in Psalm 115, which denounces idolatry, the one, we mean, beginning, " Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands." He was so impressed that he cried out in the class — " I will be a Christian," on which the heathen teacher administered a round of castigation to the whole class by way of eradicating any proclivities towards apostacy from Hindooism with which they might secretly be possessed. By April 1854, Nagahngum's convictions had become so mature that he fled to the mission, and was baptized, as already mentioned, with other ten converts on the 14th May. He was heir to property worth about ;£"7ooo, and being but fourteen years of age, was not likely to be given up by his heathen friends without a struggle. Some months after his admission to the Church, a writ of habeas coi-pus A^'as taken out against Mr Anderson by Naga's relatives. ANOTHER LF^GAL TRIUMPH. l8l The reason why they had not done so earUer was, that they waited till Sir WilUam Burton should be absent, and the Chief-Justice, Sir Christopher Rawlinson, should return from the hills, that they might ascertain by experiment whether the discretion doctrine was simply an idiosyncrasy of the former gentleman, or really English law. The result dashed all their hopes. Mr Anderson appeared in Court with Nagalingum, without waiting for the issue of the writ against him, on which Sir Christopher questioned Naga just as Sir William Burton would have done, and finding him possessed of discretion, allowed him, though only a little above fourteen, to go where he pleased."^ This case recalls former ones at Madras, and apjvpos of them, it may be remembered, that when Nagalingum's case occurred, Ragoovoloo was living in charge of the mission, and Moon- iatta, now the wife of Appaswamy, a divinity student, looking forward to speedy license, was the mother of two children. On 9th June 1854, the Free Presbytery of Madras re- solved to ask the Foreign Mission Committee's permission to take four students of divinity on trials for license, and admit other six young men as divinity students. Soon afterwards, two native Romanists were baptized. Both had been pupils in Protestant schools, the former in that of the Church of England at Trichinopoly, and the latter in that of the Free Church at Kamptee. Of three medical students — Appiah, Rotundo Vailoo, and Veerabuthrum — who had some little time before been mentioned as inquirers, one Rotundo Vailoo, it was stated, had been three years in the school at Nagpore [Kamptee ?]. The same year (1854), while Abdool Khader was preach- ing to his former co-religionists, the latter eked out what was wanting in their arguments by throwing brickbats,! even * It may be remembered that in the case of Hem Nath Bhose, Dr Duff and Lai Behari De were denounced from the bench by Sir Mordaunt Wells for receiving a young man considerably older than Nagalingum, and who at Madras would have been allowed to go where he pleased. Surely fresh legislation is needed to remove these anomalies. t In i860, a Mussulman inquirer, called Mustapha, then soliciting baptism from 1391) 13 1 82 MADRAS. while they were inside the mission premises. It was needful to check this method of procedure at the outset, and one of the rioters was punished with a month, and a second with a quarter of a year's imprisonment. The excitement at Trip- licane temporarily increased the audience of both the native missionaries, so that at that station, on one Sabbath, 1271 were present, and at Madras 1657. Adding 300 for Nellore, where Ettirajooloo had for some time before been labouring, nearly 2000 natives must have heard the gospel from the lips of the native missionaries that Sabbath-day. On the last Sabbath of 1854, Venkataramiah baptized two natives — one a heathen, and the other a Romish woman ; and when the same evening the communion was ad- ministered, there sat down at the sacred table ninety-five persons, of whom sixty-two were natives, male and female. In December of the same year, there were 2381 pupils in the several schools of the mission, 300 of them Moham- medans. At the examination of the institution, held on the 5th January of the following year, the chair was occupied by the Governor of Madras, Lord Harris. Six days later, the Rev. William Moffat, who had received ordination on the 28th November 1854, arrived to the assistance of the mission. Permission having been given to license the four divinity students whose case had been laid before the home Committee, Messrs J. Frost, S. Ramanoojum, R. Soondrum, and C. Appaswamy, were, early in 1855, admitted to the status and responsibiHty of probationers in connection with the mission. About the same time three young men, perfect strangers to the Madras labourers, suddenly came seeking baptism. They stated that they had travelled for the purpose 200 miles. They were of good caste, and spoke their native the Madras brethren, was told by his brother that had he known beforehand his design of going to the mission, then "rather than we would have allowed you to become a Christian, we would have chopped you in pieces." A large section of the Mussulman community, in every country which they inhabit, are as remorselessly intolerant as this ferocious youth. DEATH OF MR ANDERSON. I 83 language — theTamul — well. They received the boon whicli they sought, the ordinance being administered at the same time to a female convert from Romanism.* In the month of March 1855, it became known to Drs Lorimer and Blacklock, Mr Anderson's medical attendants, that the revered founder of the mission, who had for some time been in bad health, and of late had been seized by re- mittent fever, was rapidly nearing his end. The colleagues of the dying missionary requested Dr Lorimer to intimate to him that in all human probability his dissolution was ap- proaching. " I thank you, beloved friend," was the reply, " for making so simple and direct a statement It makes me lean on the Lord entirely, and love my heavenly Father more, Jesus my Saviour, the mission and all in it, and my loving and faithful wife. I feel that the mission will never want men to labour, or means, or converts, or institutions. People of all denominations will support it, for the Lord has His hand here." Then, meditating a little longer, he said, "And so we shall ever be with the Lord." "The redemp- tion which is in Christ Jesus." For two or three days after he lingered on in great weak- ness, counselling those around him, and consoling them in the prospect of his removal. Then after his strong frame had struggled awhile with death, release was granted, and on Sabbath, 25th March 1855, his spirit was with the Saviour whom he had loved so well. His loss was mourned, not merely by his colleagues and his converts, or even by the Church which had sent him forth, but by every one who cared for the evangelization of India, and knew to what extent that one object had occupied all his energies. Nay, the heathen themselves, who at times had so bitterly op- posed him, knew how great was his worth, and could not but feel regret when he passed away. * There is a difference of opinion among missionaries as to whether converts from Romanism should be re-baptized. It will be perceived that the Madras brethren administered the rite anew, not acknowledging the validity of what had been pre- viously done. 184 MADRAS. " I was told lately," said Mrs Anderson, "that even the heathen mothers were telling their children that the benefactor of the Hindoos had died. They all understood that he loved them, for his heart was open to every one." In a funeral sermon for him, preached by the Rev. Thomas Clark, then of Bombay, now of Odessa, that keen and ac- curate observer of character speaks of a Saturday afternoon and evening he once spent in the Free Church Mission at Madras, and the evidence he then had of the " rich spiritual endowments of our missionary, in all their astonishing variety and magnitude." On that, as on other Saturday evenings, the whole converts of the mission were assembled for social intercourse, and mental and moral improvement. At Mr Anderson's request, one after another stood up and delivered his sentiments on some important topic connected with the work at Madras, while, as Mr Clark says — " In the midst of the speakers Mr Anderson sat, ejaculating a word better than that employed by the speaker here, correcting a sentiment, at another time adding an illustration, and anon giving a mead of judicious praise, all accomplished with such tact, being dropped, as it were, parenthetically, so as seldom to stop the orator, scarcely even to embarrass him, and with such love and beaming joy as stimulated these vouths to unbare their touched spirits freely and fully. This was a great discipline ; and on the next day, which was the Lord's, each went forth into the byeways and centres of concourse to their countrymen, fortified and encouraged to proclaim boldly the doctrine of Jesus Christ." — Oriental Christian Spectator, 1 855, pp. 146, 147. It will afford some evidence of the estimation in which Mr Anderson was held by the Europeans in the East, when it is mentioned that between the time of the Disruption and that of his death — or rather till the end of 1854, about three months before his death — there were contributed to the Madras mission no less than 199,022 rupees, or in sterling money, nearly ^20,000. SALAY STREET. 1 8$ CHAPTER VIIL . THE MISSION AFTER THE DEATH OF ITS FOUNDER. When Mr Anderson died, four ordained European mission- aries remained to carry on the work. Two of these, Messrs Blyth and Campbell, had been less than three years in India, whilst the other two had been only a few weeks. There was hope, however, that Mr Braidwood * would soon arrive from home. One of the recent converts, Soondrum Moorthy by name, had an uncle who took a leading part in a gathering of bigots at Salay Street, and signalised himself by parodying Christian worship. Soondrum, after a time, went back to this man, and was induced by him to seek restoration to his former status in the Hindoo community. This originated a caste controversy like that described in our Calcutta nar- rative, a minority wishing to make the way back into Hin- dooism easy, while the great mass of the pundits and the people stood stiffly to the teachings of the Shasters on the subject, and would by no means consent to take an erring sheep back again into the fold. The missionaries were very desirous to set up a preaching-hall in or near that same Salay Street, where the camp of the enemy was pitched. In June 1855, Venkataramiah baptized four young men, one if not two of them being Brahmans. Two inquirers also presented themselves, — Paramasiven,tfrom the Govern- * In an appeal issued by Mr Braidwood while at home, it was stated that "the sum of ;£64oo altogether would place the mission on a permanent and effective footing as to buildings." In a subsequent communication he added that there were required — i, a mission-house, to accommodate two European missionaries, with a house for converts attached to it ; 2, an institution for males, serving at once the ends of an infant college, a normal seminary, and a school fur boys; 3, an institu- tion for females ; and, 4, a preaching-hall. The estimated cost of the whole was ^9300 ; but when what Mr Anderson had raised at home, and the contributions from India were deducted, the sum was reduced to ;^3ioo. — Missionary Record, August 1854, pp. 14, 15. t The case of Paramasiven was interesting. He was the third son of Jandavaroy, late SudrAmeen (chief native judge), at Chingleput, aworthyman, who kept his chil- dren from idolatry, and sent them to the mission school. He had studied the Bible, though not connecting himself with the Christian Church. 1 86 MADRAS. ment High School at Madras, and Juggiah, from Nellore. Hitherto all converts from the out-stations had been baptized at Madras, but when the next case occurred it was resolved that the rite should be administered at the inquirer's own station. As might have been anticipated, the first case in the new locality was a trying one. A young man, called Venkatarungum, was received into the Mission-house at Vellore, by Messrs Macintosh and Ettirajooloo. Applica- tion being made to the magistrate, the youth was summoned to the cutcherry [court-house]. As he was pro- ceeding thither with his spiritual instructor, the populace attempted to seize him, but failed, though their attack was very determined and violent. He witnessed a good con- fession in the court-house, and was subsequently baptized at Vellore. He was the first convert of the Madras mission who received the sealing ordinance away from the central station. Soon after the youth now mentioned came as an inquirer, Tattiah and his wife, the former about 20 years of age, followed his example, but gave way when trial be- came severe. The heathen were furious, and threatened an attack on the Mission-house. Till baptisms become common at the out-stations, there will be always more excitement and danger of riot when they take place there, than at the leading centres of civilisation. The death of Mr Anderson, and the exertions of Mr Braidwood at home, had stirred the Church up to send out considerable reinforcements to Madras. On the i6th Octo- ber 1855, the Rev. Alexander Macallum, and on the next month the Rev. John G. Cooper, were ordained to Madras. Mr Macallum reached his destination on Sabbath, 2nd De- cember 1855, Mr Cooper on Saturday, the 29th of the same month, and Mr Braidwood himself on Monday, 28th January 1856. Never was the mission before, and never has it since, been so strong in men as it was after their arrival. There was a possibility now of commencing fresh depart- ments of missionary work, and Mr Blyth, proceeding to A MEDICAL MISSIONARY. 18/ Chingleput, remained there for a considerable time training certain of the converts, sent to him for the purpose, for evangelistic work in the villages. Soon after Mr Anderson's death a school to which the mission had been pledged was commenced at a place called Goodoor, ninety miles north of Madras, and twenty-two south of Nellore, but it had ultimately to be discontinued for want of funds. In June 1856 the village of Wallajahabad, thirty-eight miles south- west from Madras, was occupied, Major Brett having given a house and " godowns," with 200 rupees annually, at the same time expressing the wish that they would begin a school. His desire being gladly acceded to, there were soon a hundred boys in attendance. A girls' school was then started, and had speedily twenty-six pupils. In 1856 also, Mr Huffton, who had been nineteen years a labourer in con- nection with the mission, was directed to commence a female school in a purely native part of Madras. He did so, and though he gave no fee, but, on the contrary, made the girls I^ay for their books, he had soon twenty in attendance. At the examination of the institution, held at the end of 1855 or the beginning of 1856, Lord Harris had presided, and the following year the chair was occupied by that fast friend of the mission. Sir William Burton. Some time before this latter event Dr Paterson, son of the " missionary of Kil- many," had arrived at Madras, sent out partly by the Medical Missionary Society and partly by the Free Church Committee, but, on the other hand, Mr Moffat had about the same time to return home, so that the number of the Free Church labourers was not really increased. In all parts of India there was more or less of severe trial in 1857, the year of the mutinies, when the natives were not sure whether the British Government in the East would continue or pass away. Before it had far advanced the Chetties, a bigoted caste of natives, pulled down the new preaching hall then being erected in their neighbourhood, and which was to cost the mission not ^300, as originally 1 88 MADJ^AS. expected, but £?>So. The hall, however, was ultimately built. Then Abdool Khader, the Arab convert, returned to his people. First his wife was seduced away from him and married to a Mohammedan, and finally he himself was induced to depart. He re -embraced Islam on the loth June, about a, month after the mutinies at Meerut and the proclamation of a Mohammedan emperor at Delhi. Madras was mercifully spared from the massacres wliich took place almost through the length and breadth of the Bengal Presidency, though apprehensions were entertained, especially with regard to a possible rise of the Triplicane Mohammedans^* during their great annual festival of the Mohurrum. The mission was obliged for a time to inter- mit its preaching in the portion of Madras inhabited by the exciteable followers of " the Prophet." Baptisms went on as usual during the mutinies. For instance, on Sabbath, 12th July, when the danger to India was about the greatest, Chinnamah, Lady Foulis' late ayah (nurse), was baptized by Venkataramiah, receiving the name of Eliza Foulis Anderson. So also were Krishna Raj 00, a Vishnuvite, from Trevandrum, Mungah, now Elizabeth Stark, and Bayee, now Jane Laughton, the two last being girls from Mr Anderson's boarding school. One of these, however, Jane Laughton, died a few days subsequently of intermittent fever. On November 29th a young Moodelly, called Saganathcn, was baptized by Mr Campbell. It was a remarkable testimony of the confidence which was reposed in the missionaries, even during the years of the mutinies, that, at the examination of the institution which took place, again under the presidency of Lord Harris, on the 16th * Lord Harris, tlie Governor of Madras, took the best precautions he could against this very possible, not to say probable, contingency. Mr Braid wood thus describes tlie arrangements which were adopted : — " Six troops of horse artillery are ready to dash upon the insurgents if they dare to show themselves ; the volunteers, cavalry, and infantry, raised from among the Christian inhabitants, keep watch night and d.^y ; a body of mariners and seamen assist in garrisoning Fort St George ; the European troops here patrol the streets with loaded muskets ; and a war steamer is lying off the roads ready to hurl its 64 pounders into Triplicane, the great Moham- medan suburb." ADVERSE LEGAL DECISION, 1 89 December 1857, it was stated that on the rolls of all the schools taken together there were 2555 pupils, of whom 240 were Mohammedans. Next year (1858) the Rev. Mr Cooper proceeded to the assistance of the Nagpore mission. Soon afterwards word was brought that three Chetties, Appavoo, Patcha, and Narayan, who had been baptized about three years before, and who had been advised, in May 1857, to return to their village, Poothor, about a hundred miles from Madras, had set up a school, and were teaching it with zeal and energy. On 20th July 1858, RajahgojDaul was called to be pastor of the Madras Native Church. " 'Many of the native converts,' says Mr Braidwood, 'would have preferred a European pastor, both because it was through this instru- mentality they were brought to the knowledge of the Saviour, and because they found it so much easier to pay their respect there than to any one of themselves, however eminent in gifts and graces.' " Then there was the perplexity about the almost equal claims of Rajahgopaul and Venkataramiah. The latter had the more powerful intellect, while the former was the softest and most winning, and on him the choice fell. We have not space to record all the applications for bap- tism which took place in connection with the mission, but prominence requires to be assigned to one case — that of a Chetty called Narrainswamy. The young man having taken refuge in the Mission - house, stood firm against all the efforts made by his friends to induce him to depart. A writ of habeas corpus was then applied for and granted. The young man believed himself to be 16, whilst the relations maintained that he was only 13, and the judge. Sir Christopher Rawlinson, the same who had allowed Nagalingum to go where he pleased, declared that the recent case of Alicia Race, decided by Lord Campbell, had extended the parental authority to 14, and left the time between that and 21 a debatable ground. Believing the relations' statement that the youth was only 13, he directed igO MADRAS. him to be restored to his father. This decision was a great blow to the mission from its bearing not so much on the case of boys as of girls. No caste girl is allowed to be at school till she is 14, and she is sure to be denied liberty of conscience at home. At a missionary conference held at Ootacamund, those present expressed the wish that an Act were passed, declaring that boys should be free to receive baptism after 14, and girls after 12. The latter age may appear very young, but it must be remembered that the nations of the East are far more precocious than the races inhabiting colder regions, girls in India often being mothers at, or even a little earlier than 13. If not allowed to be baptized at 12, they will, in all probability, be under the control of a husband immediately afterwards, and will never be allowed to enter the Church at all. In 1858, a panic connected with conversions having arisen, the central female school in Madras was scattered. A side school was then set up in the locality from which most of the scholars were drawn, to recover the runaways. At the end of the year there were sixty in attendance. Considerable changes occurred in 1858-59 in the European agency of the mission. Before the middle of 1858, the Rev. Mr Blyth was compelled to return home, and was ultimately declared incapable of resuming his labours in India. On 5th April 1859, Mr Macintosh had similarly to return, and, as it proved, permanently. Towards the close of 1858, Mrs Anderson had to leave temporarily for Europe ; and though Mr and Mrs Moffat returned from home on the 25th November 1858, the former died from congestion of the liver on the 3d August 1859, and his afflicted partner came back to her native land. In death the Rev. Mr Moffat was able to repose his soul upon the Saviour, and his colleagues greatly mourned his loss. Amid these vicissitudes, however, the work of the mission steadily made way. some events of considerable interest occurring about this time. Our readers will not have for- NA GALING UM AND R UTHNUM. 1 9 1 gotten the youth Narrainswamy Chetty, given up to his father by Sir Christopher Rawhnson. Contrary to all caste law, the youth, after the purgations and washings of a day, was admitted to the family table. After all, however, the Chetties, though proud of their social dignity, are only, according to Hindoo notions, low caste Sudras. Brahmans would probably have been more particular. About a year afterwards, Narrainswamy, being now, even by his relatives' admissions in court, upwards of 14, returned to the mission. It was not only in his case that the stringency of caste law was relaxed. About the end of March 1859, Nagalin- gum went back to his grandfather's house to see whether he would be allowed to live there as a Christian. For a time he was kindly received, even though Chevgulroyen, his elder cousin, had a few days previously gone to the Mission-house as an applicant for baptism. By and by, however, Naga found that liberty of conscience was being gradually denied him, and he again returned to his spiritual fathers. His temporary presence among his heathen rela- tives was not without benefit to the Church. He had diffused a favourable feeling towards Christianity throughout the minds of several among those with whom he had asso- ciated, and this was one reason why he had been unable permanently to remain at home. All missionaries will be delighted when the relaxation of caste law renders it pos- sible for converts to remain at home, and prevents those painful separations in families which heathen intolerance now necessitates when conversions take place in India. Just before Naga's return home, a very remarkable case had begun. In the middle of March 1859, his youngest cousin, a youth called Ruthnum, wished to be received into the Mission-house, with the view of his receiving baptism. As it was impossible to prove him more than 14, it was felt that he could not be permitted to remain, after Sir Christopher Rawlinson's late decision, so he had to return to his relations. They, speedily perceiving his leanings 192 MADRAS. towards Christianity, had him removed from Madras, and sent to a place some hundred miles off, in the south of India. Not long afterwards, he reappeared at the Mission- house, quite drenched with sea water, and again begged to be taken in. On being asked how he had travelled and why he was so wet, he told a thoroughly romantic and quite trustworthy story. He had escaped from the village and managed to elude those who started in pursuit of him, on one occasion successfully concealing himself in one side of a town while they were in the other. On reaching Pondicherry, he had pledged his gold earrings, and with the money thus obtained, hired a catamaran (a native raft made of three logs of wood tied together), and boldly launching with it on the ocean, sailed 100 miles to Madras, being for the fifty hours of his adventurous voyage without sleep and without fresh water. His arrival took place the day after Mr Moffat's death, and helped to relieve the sadness of that period of bereavement. But what was to be done with Ruthnum now that he had come ? It would have been very hard to send him away again. It was, therefore, resolved at all hazards to grant his request. No legal proceedings followed, and he was baptized.* On 3rd March 1859, the evangelistic hall, designed as a preaching station among the heathen (the one which the Chetties pulled down when it was in process of erection), was opened, and on the 6th June of the same year, the foundation stone of the "Anderson Church" was laid. * It is painful to add that Ruthuuin's steadfastness was not vvhat might have been expected from the resolution and enterprise which so wonderfully characterised the commencement of his Christian career. Following the example of his relative, Nagalingum, he after a time visited home, designing while there still to carry out his religious convictions. Subsequently he returned agam to the mission. Several such visits to his relatives were paid, and then in 1861, in place of seeing himself, Mr Campbell received the following letter : — "Dear Sir, — I have made up my mind to stay with my people altogether, con- sequently I must bid and take from you a farewell separation. For all your unwearied kindnesses to me, accept my gratitude and esteem. Farewell. " I am, " Yours affectionately, " C. Ruthnum." — Free Church Missionary Record, 1S62-1863, p. 51. CHOLERA. 193 Hitherto the Enghsh worship had been held in the hall of the institution. There were at that time no fewer than thirteen weekly vernacular services in connection with the mission, besides the daily ones at Dr Paterson's dispensary.* At the public examination of the female schools in Decem- ber 1859, Mr Campbell showed how open the door now was for the education of the Madras girls, and a generous civilian present at once intimated that he would give ;£"i5 a-month to set up a new female school. The pupils in it from the first paid for their books, and gave a small fee besides. The same generous civilian soon after promised ^10 more a-month on hearing that the want of that sum would necessitate the extinction of some vernacular schools in the mission. The Rev. Mr Blake having been ordained to Madras on 14th December 1859, reached his destination on 8th Feb- ruary i860. Mr Houston, a European teacher, arrived from home about the same time ; but losses counterbalanced these gains. Soon afterwards, Mr Braidwood was ordered home — it was feared permanently — and bereavement again was sent upon the mission. In i860, cholera — no unusual circumstance — broke out among the pilgrims assembled at the Conjeveram festival ; and as they dispersed, they carried the disease wherever they went, making wholesale slaughter along their whole line of route, t It reached Wallajahbad, where Mr Frost, who was then just about to receive ordination, nobly refusing to * In the report read by Mr Campbell at the examination of the institution on 20th November 1859, it was mentioned that, though a monthly fee was now exacted, yet on the rolls of all the schools were 2685 pupils — namely, 1924 boys and 761 girls. 565 pupils studied at the central institution. Dr Paterson mentioned that there had been 6000 new patients at the dispensary during the year. The native com- municants in Rajahgopaul's church were 87. t The experience of London in 1866 almost definitely showed — what had been sus- pected before — that the most potent cause of cholera in a year when the atmosphere favours a development of the disease is the drinking of impure water. As bearing on the subject of the Conjeveram outbreak, it is remarkable that Mr Campbell of Madras, in his letter of nth July, says — " We had no rain for upwards of six months, and tJie state of the tanks and 7vells 7vas dreadful in the extreme^ It may be added that the immense masses of pilgrims, partly ignorant, partly contemptuous, of sanitary law, destroy the water of every shallow river near which they encamp, which is one main reason why cholera is so continually found in their train. 194 MADRAS. desert his post, died of the disease on the nth July i860. On 9th September, Mustapha, a Syud, or descendant of the " Prophet," was baptized. That same year, as Mr Campbell mentioned, the pice system was abolished in all the female schools, and without affecting the attendance. In fact, at the end of the year there were 809 on the roll of all the girls' schools. Dr M 'Queen said that the effect of the change of system was simply to bring girls from higher grades of society than before, as if the better classes " had scorned to participate in a gratuitous benefaction." At the examination of the female schools at the end of 1 86 1, Lady Denison, wife of the Governor of Madras, was in the chair. At the examination of the institution. Sir WiUiam Denison himself would have presided, had he not been prevented by ill health. In his absence, the Chief- Justice, Sir Colley Scotland, took the chair. The pupils in all the schools were 2473 ) there were 132 teachers. From December i860 to November 1861, Rs. 4810. 10. 11, or more than a thousand rupees above last year's receipts, and an equivalent to a quarter of the whole expenditure of the mission — the salaries of the European labourers excepted — had been paid for fees. In many of the schools, the charge had been raised from eight to twelve annas a month. On the 15th January 1862, the Rev. Mr and Mrs Campbell were obliged to leave on a temporary visit to Britain, the health of Mrs Campbell having suffered very severely from her residence in the East. Soon afterwards, a great trial was sent upon the Madras mission. Mr M'Callum had for some time been in poor health, complaining chiefly of debility. He was advised to seek rest for a time at Bangalore station, on the table land of Southern India, and started for the purpose on Tuesday, June loth. On the night of the nth, he became alarmingly ill, it is believed of apoplexy, and died at the house of Mr CHRISTIAN PROPRIETOR OF A TEMPLE. 1 95 Rice, of the London Missionary Society, half an hour after his fatal seizure. Mr Houston, one of the Madras mission teachers, had accompanied him on his journey, but could do nothing to alleviate his sufferings. He had laboured with his whole soul for the good of India, and left behind him a great blank in the mission when he died.* CHAPTER IX. FRESH APPOINTMENTS. When the intelligence of Mr M'Callum's death reached home, Mr Campbell felt it his duty at once to return for a time to Madras. A new missionary, and one of signal ability — the Rev. William Miller — was ordained by the Presbytery of Edinburgh on the 22nd October 1862, and accompanied Mr Campbell to the East. Mr James Houston, the teacher, having laboured for three years in the mission, resigned in 1863 from ill health, and Dr Carslaw, M.D., was api^ointed his successor. In the early part of 1863, a decision of the Supreme Court gave Nagalingum the whole of his property, amount- ing to between ;£"2o,ooo and ;^3o,ooo. Two-thirds of the money were to be paid at once, and the remaining third on his grandfather's death. By this verdict, oddly enough Naga became the undoubted proprietor of the temple and god in his native village, about six miles from Madras. The temple was of granite, and the " god " about the size of * Mr M 'Galium was of mature age when, in November 1844, he entered the Univer- sity of Edinburgh. He gained a prize or two while there, but was not what is some- times called a prize-man. When at the New College, he was president of the Mis- sionary Society, fft', Mr Campbell, and Mr Blyth, offered themselves together to the Indian work. But at first Mr M'Callum was forbidden by his medical advisers to go to the East. On this he became a missionary for Dr Tweedie's congregation in the Lawnmarket of Edinburgh, having before been an elder in Pilrig congrega- tion. He often preached to crowds on the Castle Esplanade. Referring to the Lawn- market, he said — "I go to my work as joyously as the Australian to his diggings. I like my Master, and I love my work." I'he features in his character were "great simplicity, integrity, love, and true unfeigned faith in the Lord Jesus." — I\Iissio>iafy Record, October 1862. 196 MADRAS. a man. A deputation from the leading inhabitants waited upon him, requesting him to make them a present of the temple and idol ; but at Mr Campbell's suggestion, he resolved to do nothing rashly, and intimated that he would take time to consider his decision. In 1863, Ettirajooloo resigned his situation at Nellore. When Mr Campbell saw the Madras mission again in good hands, and in a prosperous condition, he returned home to complete his furlough ; and his wife's health being such that she was for ever prohibited from returning to Madras, he very reluctantly terminated his direct connection with the mission. Mr Blake being then at Nellore, there was for the next eighteen months only one ordained European labourer — Mr Miller — and he new to India. In intimate alliance with him, however, was Dr Paterson, the medical missionary, assisted by Caleb, a native baptized on 17th June 1855, and another convert. The members of the financial board also rendered assistance, it being their practice to visit the dispensary week about, and there confess their Saviour. The native converts also rendered aid. Two of them — Bauboo, now a native preacher, and his friend, Paramasiven, a divinity student — between them carried on a monthly periodical, called the Lamp of Life. Bauboo also intimated his intention of introducing the zenana scheme into Madras. Whilst singlehanded, Mr Miller had also to grapple witli financial difficulties, the revenue of the mission no longer sufficing for its expenditure. Among the measures of re- trenchment which he carried out, was the discontinuance of the Madr-as Native Herald as a " periodical." It involved a loss of ;^3o annually, which could not be spared. He intimated his intention of bringing it out again as an occa- sional paper, when facts or incidents connected with the mission required to be made known. The Herald ceased to appear statedly at the end of 1863. By the end of 1864, owing to the retrenchments which Mr Miller had carried out, the mission was free of debt, though it had been heavily DR PATER SOX. 1 9/ burdened when he arrived from home. Before the end of 1863, two missionaries — the Rev. W. Stevenson and the Rev. John Macmillan — had arrived to his aid. But in 1863 the health of Mr Blake necessitated his finally quitting the tropics." The services of a European missionary not sent from home were for a time obtained, the Rev. Mr Metzger, a German, formerly connected with the Basle mission, on the Malabar coast, having accepted the charge of Chingle- putt to supply the place of Paramasiven, who had resigned. Being an adept in the native languages, he devoted a great part of his time to itinerant preaching. When Mr Blake was obliged, from ill health, to quit Nellore, first Rajahgopaul, and afterwards Venkataramiah, took charge of it. There were then about twenty com- municants, with several baptized non-communicants. Rajah while there baptized several people. We have not yet given the prominence to the labours of Dr Paterson which their importance deserves. He was a very effective medical missionary. About the early part of 1865 he and Mrs Paterson gained access to the interior of native households, from which ordinary Europeans are excluded. The subsequent year he had fifteen young men in his class training for dispensaries. The class was unsec- tarian, and its students were drawn from all Christian deno- minations. By 1870 he had sent forth twelve educated natives to be medical missionaries in their own districts, and diffuse abroad the benefits they had received. At that time he had two dispensaries, one in Blacktown, the other at Royapooram. The average daily attendance was 120, and during the year no fewer than 43,000 * Mr Stevenson was ordained by the Free Presbytery of Perth on the evening of the 4th, and Mr Macmillan by that of Aberdeen on the evening of the loth, October 1863. They sailed together for Southampton on 4th November of the same year. Mr, with Mrs Biake, reached home, via the Cape, about the end of 1864 Subse- quently Mr Blake became a missionary to the Maories, and is now in a pastoral charge in New Zealand. \ In 187 1, the state of Mrs Mctzger's health compelled her husband to leave India. In doing so, he intimated that he would probably enter the service of the Protestant Church of Wurtcmberg. 1391) 1 4 1 90 MADRAS. persons were directed to the Physician of Souls. There was also a small hospital, into which fifty-three natives had been admitted during the year. Worn out with his toils, Dr Paterson left India in 1871, and died soon after reaching home. Dr WiUiam Elder was appointed his successor. Our readers may remember various cases mentioned in connection with the Calcutta mission in which widows, specially degraded by heathen custom, showed a greater disposition than other females to embrace the truth. In this point of view, a case which occurred at Chingleput is worthy of record. A young woman, called Runganayaghee or Rungam, about 19 years of age, applied for baptism at that station on the 9th April 1867, and after enduring a certain ordeal from her relatives, which she met with firm- ness, was then passed on to Mrs Anderson at Madras. Before the end of 1867 a distinguished student of Aber- deen University, Mr George M. Rae, ordained on June 28th, arrived from home. Early in 1868 Mr Miller had temporarily to return to Europe. He delivered a very effec- tive address in the Assembly, and before 1869 had far advanced was again at his post in India. In 1 87 1 Mr William Ross, a third year's divinity student, was sent out to India to supply a vacant teachership and professorship of mathematics in the Free Church Institu- tion. He was despatched on the understanding that he should complete his studies in India, and be licensed and ordained by the local Presbytery. Dr William Elder, already mentioned, accompanied him to the East. They sailed from Plymouth on the ist October, in the Messrs Greens' new steamer Viceroy. The same year a generous friend gave £,1000 to tlie library of the institution, and the Home Committee added a grant of ;!£i'ioo to build a room for its accommodation. When, at the close of 187 1, the examination of the day and boarding schools took place, Lady Napier, wife of the Governor, presided, whilst anotlier distinguislied personage FEES. 1 99 of the same surname, Lord Napier of Magdala, was among the visitors. Eight schools were then sustained by the mis- sion, with an attendance of 784 girls. £^^A had been received in fees during the year. Sixteen girls, all native Christians, had passed the Government examination for female teachers' certificates, and the name of one of these appeared in the highest grade. In the early part of 1872 Mrs Anderson resigned the boarding-school on account of indifferent health, but as she will continue to reside in Madras, her services will still be available to the mission cause. Miss Jane Sloan has been appointed her successor. In 1869 and 1870, sometime after Mr Miller's return from Europe, he penned a series of remarkably interesting letters, published in the Missio?iary Record^ in which he gave minute details regarding the institution, and his manner of life in Madras. He stated that the 300 pupils who were in the institution some years ago have now developed into 800 in 21 distinct classes. In the lowest school there are about 300 Hindoo to 60 Mohammedan pupils. So little love for learning have the Mohammedans that the fees imposed upon them have not been heightened for years, while those in the Hindoo classes have been regu- larly increased. In the Mohammedan classes they are two annas a month (an anna is about ijd.). In the Hindoo classes, again, three or four times that amount is cheer- fully paid. In the months of January and July, when alone converts are received into the upper school, there are always numerous applications for admission ; only some of which can be attended to for want of room. In the upper school, one portion of the senior department of the institution, there are nominally five classes, but as one of these is divided into three portions, there are, properly speaking, eight. Mr Miller contrasts the school department as it was in 1870, when he wrote, with its condition seven years before — "About which time it was that the institulion, after a consideraLle interval of decay, began that progress towards a good position in the community, and a powerful influence upon it, which has continued ever 200 MADRAS. since. 'It is only the school department,' he proceeds, ' that can be fairly compared with the state of matters seven years ago, for there existed no college classes at all until a year or two after that date. . . . At the time referred to the fee was a uniform one of four annas— that is, 6d. a month, with an entrance fee for each new pupil, on his admis- sion, of double that sum. The proceeds of both together were less, on the average, than ninety rupees, or £() a month, since payment was neither very universal nor very regular. Since then the fee has been repeatedly raised, especially in the higher classes. In a portion of the lower schools it is not yet more than double what it used to be, or is. monthly ; but as the_ classes rise the fee goes up to is. 6d., 2s., 3s., and in the college department to 5s. — that is, 2\ rupees a month. Thus, even in the upper school, it stands at six times, and in the college at ten times, what could be obtained seven years ago. There has been a corresponding rise of the admission fee, and altogether the £<) has risen now to about £']Q>, or, in round numbers, instead of contributing ;^ioo a year to its own support, the institution contributes ;!^8oo, ... As years pass it may be hoped that farther steady progress will be made in this direction. But even what has been attained is gratifying, especially since such a point has been reached already that these fees, together with the grants obtained from Government, meet all the expenses of the institution, except the salai'ies of such European missionaries as are employed in it.' " That the working of the college department may be un- derstood, it is necessary to understand the constitution of the Madras University. The University of Madras was called into existence in 1857. It consists of a Chancellor, Vice-Chancellor, and Fellows ; the last numbering at present nearly 60, and containing representatives of every class of educated men, natives as well as Europeans. Various missionaries are fellows. The body of fellows is denominated the Senate. There are four examinations — the entrance, or matriculation one ; the first examination in arts ; the degree examination for B.A. ; and the M.A. examination. Few go forward to these higher trials of scholarship. It is for the lowest of the examinations — the matriculation one — that the highest of the school classes in the Free Church Institution are preparing. Many of those who are successful in this first trial of strength give up study and go into active life ; others enter the classes in the college department of the institution, which are affiliated to the University, and are considered an integral part of it. In these advanced classes they prepare for the higher examinations. CHRISTIAN TEACHING. 201 Since the institution of universities at tlie several presi- dency seats, the missionaries have had to encounter a new and very formidable difficulty. The examinations for the universities, not even excepting the first or matriculation one, are really severe, — in this respect resembling those in the University of London, on the model of which the Indian universities were framed. Hence, the young men are so preoccupied with intellectual toil and ambition, that less spiritual fruit is reaped from among them than formerly, though the Bible is as steadily and as zealously taught as ever it was. Would it, then, be expedient to dissever the institution wholly from the University — abandon intellectual ambition, and be contented with moral and spiritual fruit? Assuredly not, we would say. It is Mr Miller's opinion, that if this course were adopted, only a few children would remain as pupils in the institution, and in consequence it would cease to exert any powerful influence on the com- munity. The missionaries, we think, are acting wisely in leaving the institution still affiliated to the University, and teaching the Bible, as they and their predecessors have uniformly done, with conscientious and loving zeal. That, even under the new and more onerous conditions, they are meeting with a large measure of success, in their endeavours to commu- nicate Scripture knowledge, was recently evinced in a gratifying manner by an incident which occurred. A Mr Cator having liberally given prizes for Christian knowledge, to be competed for in Madras, natives were, of course, at a disadvantage compared with Europeans and East Indian youths. Yet the pupils of the Madras Free Church Institu- tion gained three of the ten prizes, and eight out of forty-four certificates of merit. They ivere the only natives who were successful in the competition. It was a great day for the whole southern portion of India when Mr Anderson founded the Madras mission. SECTION IV. BOMBAY. CHAPTER I. THE MAHRATTA COUNTRY AND ITS PRESENT CAPITAL. OMBAY, Poonah, Nagpore, Sattara, Indapore, Jaulna, Bankote, and Hurnee — names which it will be needful to bring before the reader as the narrative proceeds — are all in the Mahratta country. The region now spoken of constitutes a triangle, of which the base runs along the shore of the Indian Ocean, from about the mouth of the Taptee on the north, to Goa on the south, while the apex falls inland about 50 miles beyond Nagpore. The region is naturally divided into two, distinguished from each other by well-marked characteristics. All who have studied the map of India know, that nearly parallel to the western coast of that country, and not many miles distant from it, there runs a gigantic chain of moun- tains. This great basaltic range the natives call the Syha- drees, while Europeans denominate it the Western Ghauts, interpreting Ghaut to mean mountain, whereas its primary signification is, mountain-pass. The narrow strip of broken territory between the Ghauts and the sea, is called the Concan, while the table-land above them, sloping away south-eastward towards the distant Bay of Bengal, receives the name of Deccan. THE M AH R ATT A RACE, 203 The Maliratta-speaking population of India number at least 10,000,000. Ethnologically viewed, the term Mah- rattas, in our opinion, includes three races. The first are the Mahars, who are taller and stronger than the ordinar)^ Mahrattas, and are (we agree with Dr Wilson in considering) the remains of a once very powerful aboriginal tribe, now, however, subdued. The second race, higher than the former in dignity, is the ordinary Mahratta one, consisting, its royal families not excepted, of Sudras, or low-castes. They are not, as a rule, handsome. They look plebeian in features, and are about the colour of a cup of tea or coffee after the cream has been put in. The third and highest race is the Brahman one, which is exclusively Aryan, whereas there is reason to believe that the Mahrattas, and yet more the Mahars, were originally Turanian. The prowess in battle of the Mahrattas of all kinds is indisputable. Under their great leader, Seevajee, they flung off the Mohammedan yoke under which, like the rest of the Hindoos, they had for centuries groaned ; and, having done so, they attempted next to grasp the empire of India for themselves. Having struggled for it first with the Mohammedans, they did so next with ourselves, and at the commencement of the 19th century it was still undecided which of the contending powers would succeed in grasping the sceptre. It was a blessing of inconceivable importance to India that the divine decision was in favour of the British ; for, considering that Mahratta rule was a frightful sort of tyranny, one shudders to think of the consequences which would have resulted to India, had it fallen into Mahratta hands. Nana Sahib was a Mahratta, born at Kurwar, 24 miles from Sattara; and in the year 1858, Mr Aitken, then a missionary in the latter city, wrote that he never met with a Mahratta, except his own pupils, who censured anything which the Nana had done. As in other cases, we would now point out the mis- sionary bearing of the political facts presented above. In Bengal, as already mentioned, the British did not strike 204 BOMB A Y. down a kingdom ruled by Hindoos, but emancipated the people of that race and faith from Mussulman tyranny. The same thing happened at Madras. At Bombay, however, it was different. In that presidency, and the regions adjacent, we met the Mahrattas in battle when their power was great, and their ambition at its highest, and smote their empire down. In presenting our religion for their acceptance, then, we do so in unfavourable circumstances, inasmuch as we were first their rivals and then their conquerors, and the triumphs of the gospel may be expected to be less rapid in the west of India than in most other parts of the country. Another unfavourable circumstance is that, as Mr J. M. Mitchell says in his "Life of the Rev. R. Nesbit" — " Missions were commenced in Western India about 50 years later than in Bengal, and a full century later than in Madras." For these and other reasons which might be ad- duced, the Bombay missionaries have had a sphere of special difficulty. There is, however, one counteracting circumstance, namely this, that if, as we believe, female seclusion in India is of Mohammedan more than Hindoo origin, then, reasoning a priori^ a vigorous Hindoo race, who were not very long under the Mohammedan yoke, and who ultimately cast off that yoke by their own unaided exertions, will not probably seclude their females so much as the Tamuls and Teloogoos of Madras, and, above all, as the Bengalees of Calcutta ; hence, female schools will be found more prac- ticable at Bombay than at the other presidency seats. To limit our attention now to Bombay city. The island so named is more naturally fitted to be a capital than either Calcutta or Madras, its chief drawback being that its area is too small for the population upon it, and therefore house rent goes up, and up, and up, till it reaches a fabulous height, with the result of huddling the people together and causing a heavy death-rate. The population of Bombay by the census of ist February 1864, as given in the Parliamen- tary Blue Book, No. 68 for 1870, was as follows :— BOA/BAY CITY AND PRESIDENCY. 20$ Europeans, , 8,415 Indo-Europeans, IjSqi Native Christians, iQjQOS Jews, 2,872 A fricans, 2, 074 Chinese, 358 Parsees, 49,201 Brahmans, 30,604 Buddhists, 8,02 1 Bhatia, 21,771 Hindoos, 523,974 Lingayat, 1 , 598 Mussulmans, 1 45, 880 816,562 The Bombay presidency contains 13,983,998 inhabitants. The city, in addition to being the head of the presidency which bears its name, is admirably situated for operating upon Africa, Arabia, and the countries up the Persian Gulf. Despite the disadvantages against which the evangelist has there to contend, it is an exceedingly important and desir- able mission field. CHAPTER 11. THE SOJOURN AT BANKOTE AND HURNEE. In or immediately before 1822, the Scottish Missionary Society resolved to commence operations in the west of India, influenced by the consideration that while there were upwards of eighty labourers in the presidencies of Bengal and Madras, no more than six were stationed within that of Bombay. Their first missionary was the Rev. Donald Mitchell, who arrived in January 1823,* but died about * Mr Donald Mitchell hacf already passed tlirough unusual and varied experience. The son of a Scottish minister, he had contemplated himself embracing the sacred profession, but while at the Divinity Hall he began to depart from the Confession of Faith, and ultimately sank into Socinianism. Abandoning the further prosecution of his theological studies, he sought and obtained a commission in the East India Company's service. In the providence of God his regiment was cantoned at Surat, where the European missionaries of the London Society were the means of leading him back to evangelical truth. Never till now had he experienced its power 206 BOMB A V. eight months subsequently. Shortly before his lamented de- cease, there arrived three others labourers, the Rev. Messrs John Cooper, James Mitchell,* and Alexander Crawford, the little band being increased not long afterwards by the coming, on the 17th February 1824, of the Rev. John Stevenson. All these missionaries were married, and thus they had female assistance from the first in carrying on their work. The intention had been that they should per- manently settle in Poonah, the proper Mahratta capital, but the Government would not hear of such a proposal. They thought that it might dangerously excite the Brahmans and other Mahrattas who had engaged in a struggle for supremacy with the British only seven years before. Thus baffled, the missionaries felt it to be a question where they should go. They thought of Bombay, but to a certain extent that field seemed pre-occupied, there having been there an American mission from the end of 18 14 or the beginning of 18 15, and one belonging to the Church of England from 1820. They therefore turned aside to the much less promising sphere of the Southern Concan. Two stations within the region just named were soon after occupied, the one at the town of Bankote, about sixty miles south of Bombay, and the other at Hurnee, fourteen miles still further south. After acquiring the language, the missionaries preached to the adult native population, for whose benefit also they composed and circulated tracts. Perceiving the wretched character of the heathen verna- cular schools, they sought, if the teachers would allow it, to improve them, and by 1827 had under their nominal upon his conscience. Resigning his commission and returning home, he completed his studies, and then offered himself to the directors of the Scottish Mis- sionary Society fnr evangelistic work in India. He was, Dr J. Murra}' Mitchell thinks, the first person seriously to turn the attention of the directors to the para- mount claims of India. — L(/e of I\Ir Neshit, pp. 63, 64 * James Mitchell was born in the year 1800, in the vicinity of Stirling. Removing thence to Leith, he became connected with the congregation of the well-known Dr Colquhoun, where, especially in the Sabbath-school, his attention was directed to the claims of missions. Against the remonstrances of his relatives he resolved to devote himself to the work, and, after receiving a considerable measure of academic training, was ordained in August 1822, as a missionary to India. — Free Church Missionary Record, June 1866, pp. i, 2. VERNACULAR SCHOOLS. 20/ control eighty distinct schools, with about three thousand pupils, a certain proportion of them being Brahmans. Nay, more, some few girls came along with the boys ; and by the 15th March 1824, the announcement was made to the Society that the missionaries were taking measures to erect "a school-room solely for the reception of girls." By 1827, wonderful to relate, the female pupils exceeded 300. The boys' schools were found almost valueless for direct Christian ends. It is quite easy to explain why this should be so. Nine-tenths of all the heathen teachers in India so de- cidedly prefer their pockets to their creed that they would feel no scruple at all in handing over their schools to a missionary, allowing him to teach Christianity or anything else that he pleased, provided that they were employed as his assistants, their department being to train the pupils in arithmetic and the mechanical art of reading. The bargain is an excellent one for the missionary, provided he do not take over a greater number of schools than he and his Christian agents can efficiently control. If he be too ambitious in this respect, then heathen dominates over Christian influence in his schools, and the Hindoo teacher has the better of the bargain. Eighty schools were too many for four men properly to superintend, and therefore it was that they rendered the mission little direct service. Indi- rectly, however, they did an immensity of good. They taught the Government of Bombay, what it did not know before, that even in remote districts, native teachers and native pupils, many of both being Brahmans, would, if courteously invited, place themselves under European superintendence, fearing no evil. The lesson being turned to good account, the Government set up vernacular schools of its own in many of the Mahratta villages. On the 4th June 1827, the Rev. Robert Nesbif" took * Mr Nesbit was born at the village of Bowsden, in the county of Durham, on the 22nd of March 1803. His father, a small farmer, was elder in a Presbyterian Church. The son came under the influence of Dr Chalmers' fervid oratory while he was at St Andrews, but it was not till he became tutor in the family of Mr 208 BOMB A Y. ship at Portsmouth, to proceed to the assistance of the mission. He arrived in Bombay on September 19, and soon afterwards proceeded to the Southern Concan, where, being an admirable linguist, he, in the incredibly brief space of three and a half months, began to talk Marathi, so as to be pretty well understood. The comparative ineligibility of the thinly-peopled and rugged Concan as a field of operations, continued to be felt, and as, after all, two weak missions were not sufficient to preoccupy a city so important as Bombay, the Scottish evangelists resolved to despatch one of their number thither, and on the 26th December 1827, Mr Stevenson was sent to this new and promising field. On February 13, 1829, the mission received a splendid reinforcement by the arrival of the Rev. John (now the Rev. Dr) Wilson, in himself a host, accompanied by the first Mrs Wilson.'"^ After remaining for some months in the Southern Concan, he removed in November of the year he came out to Bombay. Other events had signalised 1829. There had been admissions to the Church both from among the Hin- doos and the Portuguese; but, on the other hand, Mr Crawford had been compelled by ill health to return to Europe. In December 1827, the Bombay Tract and Book Society was founded at that presidency seat on a catholic basis, and in 1830 Mr Nesbit composed for it a tract called the True Atonement, which in 1855 had passed through twelve Groves of Exeter, that he formed the resolution of destining his life to foreign mis- sions. He had been licensed by the Presbytery of Caithness before going to Exeter, and after returning he offered himself to the Scottish Missionary Society, and being accepted, was ordained by the Presbytery of St Andrews on the 15th December 1826. * John Wilson was born in Lauder, and taught for a time in the school of Horn- dean. He was ordained one of the Scottish Missionary Society's agents in Western India on the 24th June 1828. On the 13th of August in the same year, he was married to Miss Margaret Bayne, daughter of the Rev. Keinieth Bayne of Greenock. On the 30th, the Wilsons embarked for London at Newhaven, the Granton pier, we believe, not then being built. On the 14th September they commenced their voyage to India. Witla the exception of a wild and perilous night, during which their vessel was in danger of being flung ashore, in Table Bay, duiing a south-easterly gale, their voyage to India was not unpleasant. MR iVILSON SETTLES IN BOMBAY. 209 editions, and has since gone through a great many more. It has been translated also into Guzerathi. Deeply evan- gelical as Mr Nesbit's little tractate is, and admirably adapted as it has proved to the native mind, it has already effected much good, and its career of usefulness is not yet nearly run. At the end of 1830, Mr Cooper removed with his family to the Neilgherry hills, mainly for the sake of his wife, then in very feeble health. The lady derived comparatively little benefit from the measure, and before long she gra- dually sunk and died. Soon afterwards sickness compelled her husband permanently to return home. Some of our readers may have known him many years later, as the United Presbyterian minister of Fala, on the south-eastern boundary line of Midlothian. Messrs Mitchell and Stevenson having preached to the people of Poonah in the year 1829, and been well received, Mr Stevenson removed thither about 1831 j and on the 8th August of the same year, Mr Nesbit, under medical advice, joined him there, the dry atmosphere of the old Mahratta capital being more healthful than the hot muggy air of Hurnee. When it was found that Poonah was really open, and that the missionaries were likely permanently to retain their footing there, the operations at Bankote and Hurnee were allowed to come to an end. CHAPTER HI. TRANSFER OF THE MISSION TO BOMBAY. The scene now shifts to Bombay city, to which, it will be remembered, Mr Stevenson had been despatched sometime before. Thither went also Mr and Mrs Wilson on the 26th November 1829, having first visited Bankote and other places. They had already made such progress in the 2 I O BOMB A Y. Mahratta language, as to be able to use it with some effect. The linguistic powers of Dr Wilson are now universally known. Immediately on reaching the Western presidency seat, he began to converse with the natives and preach to them, besides taking measures for the establishment of schools. In 1830 he commenced to issue an exceedingly valuable monthly periodical in English, called the Oriental. Christian Spectator. Only a few years have elapsed since it came to an end.* In the Oriental Christian Spectator for July and August 1831, he reviewed a work by "Elisaeus," translated by Mr C. F. Newmann, on the History of Vartan, and the religious wars among the Persians. In this re- view he made some strictures on the Parsee doctrines, which led to a controversy between him and some professors of that faith. His researches into Parseeism were ultimately to assume large proportions, and lead to important results. It was not only Avith the Parsees that he entered into friendly controversy — he did so also with the Hindoos and the Mohammedans. To the former he addressed his First and his Second Exposure of Hindooism, the former penned in 1832, in reply to Mora Bhutt Dandekara, while the latter, of which a copy now lies before us, bears date Bombay, October 1834. The amazing literary activity of Mr Wilson at this period of his career, will be apparent when it is mentioned that, at the end of the " Second Exposure," the following works from his pen are advertised (independently of the First Exposure in Marathi, and the Second in English and Marathi : — " The Rudiments of Hebrew Grammar in Marathi,'' price four rupees bound, but sold at half price to native Israelites ; " Idiomatical Exercises, illustrative of English and Marathi," five rupees ; second edition of a "Lecture on the Vandidad Sade(the Scripture of the Parsees), delivered to the people of that faith on the 19th and 24th June 1833," price one rupee stitched ; and finally, " A Refu- * A complete series of tlie Oriental Chrixtiaji Spcrtainr\\ovA<\ be a boon to any library in the country- So far as the writer's observation has extended, there is not one iii the splendid Britisii Museum collection. FEMALE EDUCA TION. 2 I I tation of Mohammedanism, in reply to Haji Muhammad Hashim," price half a rupee stitched, or one rupee bound. Besides these hterary efforts, Mr Wilson had made extensive tours in the Concan Deccan and other places, all this having been effected within the first six years of his residence in India. Meanwhile his partner in life had been the reverse of idle. In addition to assisting her husband by writing in the Oriental Christian Spectator, and in other ways, she had been successful in her efforts to promote female education. On the 29th December 1829, she opened a small female school. A quarter of a year later she had fifty-three scholars, and in yet another quarter of a year she had six schools, with 120 pupils. In 1832 the girls under her charge amounted to 175. In July 1833, a message arrived from home, which, had it been obeyed, would have terminated the enterprise so hopefully begun — the directors of the Scottish Missionary Society, alarmed by the diminution of their pecuniary resources, having ordered the curtailment of operations, including the dismissal of all the pupils in the schools. The injunction was not acted upon, and in January, 1834, Mrs Wilson's girls amounted to about 200. Her coadjutor in setting up, and for a time maintaining the female schools, had been Mrs Mitchell of Bankote, who, however, died at Dhapuli on the 17th January 1832. Mrs Wilson herself, not long afterwards, lost her health, and finally entered into her rest on the 19th April 1835. A memoir of her from the pen of her distinguished husband, has made her talents and her moral worth known to the Church at large. As already mentioned, in August 1835, the Rev. Messrs James Mitchell, R. Nesbit, and John Wilson, were, on their own application, amicably transferred from the Scottish Missionary Society to the Church of Scotland, and the second period of the Presbyterian Mission in Western India came to an end. 2 1 2 BOMB A Y. CHAPTER IV. THE BOMBAY " INSTITUTION" AND ITS EARLIEST FRUITS. The great success which had attended the Church of Scot- land's Institution, founded by Dr Duff at Calcutta, had created the desire, both at home and in India, that a seminary or school and college of the same kind should be begun, with as little delay as possible, at the other pre- sidency seats. So early as 1832, some pious European gentlemen in Bombay had set up in the mission premises in the fort an English school, which " Mr Wilson undertook to organise and superintend." On the ist December 1835 it was trans- ferred to the Church of Scotland, and was at first deno- minated the Scottish Mission School. On the return of Mr Nesbit to Bombay, on the 7 th February 1837, after an absence from India, for the recovery of his health, of two years and a month, he took a house in the fort, constituting in reality a portion of the same building as that in which the school was accommodated. His health was not yet re-established, and in the hope of improving it, as well as effecting missionary results in another quarter, his friends some months later sent him to Ceylon, to found a Presby- terian Church in the island. Returning properly recruited, in February 1838, he was now able to labour with full efficiency. In November of the same year the Rev. John Murray Mitchell, a distinguished graduate of Marischal College, arrived from Scotland, having been ordained just after completing his theological curriculum. The arrival of these labourers rendered it possible to organise the school on a more extended basis than at first, and it became known as the General Assembly's Institution. Ten days after the Scottish school was established by Dr Wilson, in December 1835, a Parsee boy, apparently be- PARSEE INQUIRERS. 21 3 tween 13 and 14 years of age, was enrolled as a scholar, giving his name as Dhanjibhai Nauroji. On the 12th Feb- ruary of the subsequent year (1836) another youth of the same nationality became a pupil, and was entered in the catalogue as Hormasdji Pestonji. These were not the only Parsee boys at school, but of all who were in attendance they are the most worthy of mention. On the 13th October 1838, a teacher in the institution, Mr Thomas Smith by name (of course not the Calcutta missionary), addressed a letter to Dr Wilson, in which he expressed his belief that Dhanjibhai was already in a state of grace, and intimated that the young Parsee was desirous of baptism. A series of conferences with the inquirer himself convinced Dr Wilson that the favourable opinion given of his spiritual state was correct, but still no action was taken during the long period of eight months, so anxious was the missionary, on more accounts than one, to proceed cautiously in a matter of such delicacy. At last the movements of two other Parsee young men rendered it impossible further to delay the crisis. Framji Bomanji and Hormasdji Pestonji were bosom friends, and coming, apparently about the same time, under the influence of the truth, they had agreed, after communicating their state and feelings to Dr Wilson, to request that they might be baptized together. Man proposes, but God dis- poses ; and instead of the close friends entering the Church in company, and remaining permanently hnked together in the bonds of Christian affection, they were destined to be severed, apparently never to meet again in the world. When the announced intention of Hormasdji's family immediately to remove from Bombay, taking him along with them, ren- dered it necessary for the friends at once to carry out the step they had resolved on, Hormasdji succeeded in reaching the Mission-house, while Framji fell into the hands of his caste people, and was never allowed to see his instructors any more. When Dhanjibhi heard what had taken place, he felt (391) 15 214 BOMBAY, that he had not a moment to lose if he wished to retain the hope of receiving baptism, and he too fled to the Mission- house. The Parsee community of Bombay now became greatly excited. Though their faith was one vulnerable at a hundred points, yet they had laid the flattering unction to their souls, that no young Parsee, however carefully instructed in Christianity, would ever think of forsaking Zoroastrianism. Now that they had been rudely unde- ceived, they, or at least a large number of them, gave way to blind fury, and, casting off even the pretence of respect- ing freedom of conscience, showed themselves prepared, if needful, to use violence both to the converts and their instructors. On Monday, 30th May 1839, they made an effort to carry off Hormasdji from Dr Wilson's house, but the domestics, the Mahratta teachers and others, hearing the noise, rushed to the rescue, and prevented the outrage being completed. Foiled in this endeavour, the defeated party went off, but immediately afterwards returned with a policeman to arrest Hormasdji on a ridiculous charge, said to be disapproved even by the relatives, that he had carried away some of the family jewels. This efl'ort proved equally abortive with the last. Dhanjibhai also was compelled to pass through exceedingly trying scenes. His friends, accompanied by a messenger of the Parsee Panchayit (San- hedrim), came in quest of him, and required him to return with them, but neither tears, lamentations, nor entreaties could shake his firm purpose to be a Christian. On Wed- nesday evening, ist May, he was baptized, after making a profession of his faith, and laying upon the table his Kusti, or sacred thread, the badge of his caste. Hormasdji, at the same time, declared himself also a Christian, and laid his Kusti aside, though his baptism was deferred till Sab- bath, the 5 th of May. Legal proceedings had meanwhile been commenced against Dr Wilson. When threatened with violence, he had informed his intended assailants that the constitutional NOBLE CONDUCT OF DHANJIBHAI. 21 5 method of procedure was for them to appeal to the law, and, taking him at his word, they had filed affidavits before the Supreme Courts, and obtained two writs of habeas co7-piis, the one requiring Dhanjibhai, and the other Hor- masdji, to be produced before the Chief Justice, that it might be ascertained whether they were under illegal re- straint. Counter affidavits were immediately prepared on the part of the missionaries and their friends, to show that the Parsee youths had all along been free to return home if they pleased. The writ requiring the production of Hormasdji was ultimately cancelled, but that relating to Dhanjibhai went to proof. The first appearance in Court was on the 6th of May, the proceedings on that day closing with the declaration that, till the case ended, Dhanjibhai might go where he pleased. On being ques- tioned by the judge as to what his intentions were, he, in the face of all that was powerful, wealthy, venerable, or dangerous among his countrymen arrayed against him, modestly, but firmly, declared his intention of going with Dr Wilson. The missionary just named soon after came out of the Court, accompanied by the two Parsees, and entered his carriage. On seeing him the mob became excited, and some of the Zoroastrians caught the wheels of the vehicle and attempted to prevent it from starting ; but, mainly owing to the exertions of several European gentlemen who were present, the endeavour failed. When, at length, the conveyance moved ofi', the baser part of the Parsees ran behind it, shouting " seize, kill," while the more respectable of the caste, feeling ashamed of such conduct, held aloof. When the case again came before the Court, which it did on the 1 6th of May, the police were on the alert, and the military had received orders to be in readiness, if their ser- vices should be required. Happily, however, the tranquil- lity on this occasion remained unbroken ; and when Dhan- jibhai a second time stood nobly true to his convictions, he 21 6 BOMBAY. was finall)^ allowed to go where he pleased. This time Dr Wilson and he were able to return to the Mission-house in comparative safety. The Parsees had already resolved to take other steps, with the view (of course, certain to be disappointed) of pre- venting future conversions. The first of these Avas a per- fectly legitimate one, namely, to withdraw the youths belonging to their caste, if they could induce the parents to listen to them, from Christian seminaries, and send them to Zoroastrian schools, which they proposed to establish. Their second resolve was one which would not have been adopted by them, had they understood the great and sacred principle of religious liberty. It was to prepare and send off a petition to Government, which, when it appeared and was read, came popularly to be termed the Anti-conversion Memorial. Its prayer was that there should be some restraint put on the establishment of mission-schools ; that no mis- sionary should tamper with the faith of a child under 21 years of age [16, it should be mentioned, is the age which Hindoo law considers that of majority]; and, " Further, that if any person after the age of 21 years shall become a convert to the Christian or other faith, he shall not be capable of exercising any power or control over his wife or children, and also shall be liable to provide a reasonable sum for their maintenance, and also shall forfeit all right and title to inherit the family or ancestral property of his parents, except such portion thereof as may be bequeathed to him by will, and that the provisions of the Act may be guarded by proper penalties, to be enforced in any court of justice in India." It was a satisfactory circumstance, that out of a population of about 250,000 people then resident in Bombay, only 21 15 signatures could be obtained to this intolerant petition. Its fate might have been predicted beforehand — the Bombay Government, to which it was addressed, would not lend its countenance to persecution. The only unsatisfactory part of the answer returned to the memorialists was one in which it was intimated that consideration would be. given to the request that missionary movements might be restrained. DR WILSON S PARSER RESEARCHES. 2 I / especially at sacred places; but, happily, the Supreme Government put all right by declaring that '' his Lordship in Council cannot deem it to be necessary or proper to pro- hibit the resort of missionaries to any places to which other British subjects may without offence have access." * The legal proceedings now described, and the failure of the anti-conversion memorial, had a great and lasting effect on the minds of the Parsees, the Hindoos, and other orien- tals, not in Bombay merely, but throughout India, They gave them a first lesson on the principles of religious liberty. Of course a heavy price was paid for the advantages gained. For many years not a single Parsee boy entered the institution. Of 284 pupils in attendance, all but 50 were taken away, and those who remained were almost ex- clusively Christians. The vernacular schools also felt the violence of the storm, and friendly intercourse which had begun with the Government students came, for a time at least, to an end. Yet we hesitate not to say, that the advantages gained were worth even this heavy price. Though the possibility of Dr Wilson's acting on the Parsees by scholastic means was for the time being at an end, yet his pen continued free. The sermon which he preached, from the text Isaiah xlv. 5, 7, 8, on occasion of Dhanjibhai's baptism, is of a very remarkable character, and the notes on Parseeism with which it is illustrated are so amazingly learned, that it has been doubted whether a single Parsee could be found who knew as much of Zoroas- trianism as Dr Wilson put into the tiny volume containing his sermon. Nor is this his only work on the Parsee faith. He published a much larger volume on the subject in 1843. This most elaborate and valuable production attracted the notice of the "Institut" of France, and led to its author obtaining an honour accorded to very few ministers of any ^ The answer of the Supreme Government was communicated to the memorialists in a letter signed, " W. R. Norris, secretary to Government. Bombay Castle, loth April 1840." 2 I S BOMB A V. Church — that of his being elected F.R.S., or fellow of the Royal Society of London, he having before for some years been President of the Bombay branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. But we must not anticipate. In addition to the two Parsees, two Armenians and a Roman Catholic were admitted to the Church in the year 1839. The institution was beginning to recover from the shock it had sustained through means of the Parsee bap- tisms. On the 30th January 1840, there were again 146 upon the roll, with an actual attendance of 100. Early in that year the missionaries were gladdened by a visit from Dr Duff, then on the way from Europe to his own sphere of labour. On the 6th April Mr Aitken arrived from home as a lay-teacher. Soon afterwards, a Persian Armenian, for- merly a Zoroastrian, was admitted to the Church. The Irish Presbyterian Synod having come to the resolu- tion of commencing operations among the natives of India, chose, mainly at Dr Wilson's suggestion, the peninsula of Kattiwar, in Guzerat, as the sphere for their labours. When the Rev. Messrs (James) Glasgow and Kerr, the two mission- aries sent out, arrived at Bombay, Dr Wilson received them with his wonted cordiality, and kindly promised to escort them to their destination. While they were all at Rajkote, in Kattiwar, on the 9th August 1841, Mr Kerr was attacked by jungle fever. Dr Wilson was seized with the same dangerous malady four days later. Mr Kerr died on the 29th August, while Dr Wilson was for a long time in immi- nent danger, but ultimately, in the good providence of God, recovered. The heathen servants who had accompanied the missionary deserted him in his distress, being afraid of taking the infection ; but Dhanjibhai, regardless of peril to himself, nobly remained to minister to his spiritual father. Captain Le-Grand Jacob also, the acting poHtical agent in Kattiwar, showed great kindness. Dr Wilson reached Bombay on the 28th September, and had very shortly after- wards to sustain, like his colleagues and others in the HORMASDjfs DAUGHTER RECOVERED. 2l9 mission, a fresh trial, for in October, Miss Anna Bayne, his wife's sister, was removed by death.* Notwithstanding all this, the work made progress. A trifling grant from home enabled the Bombay labourers to extend their operations among the interesting Beni-Israel, who were estimated at 5000, 7000, or 8000 in number; two scholarships were founded in the institution ; a girl from the boarding-school was baptized ; two female teachers had arrived from home ; and the mission buildings, for which funds had been raised partly in Scotland and partly in India, were fast advancing, and promise was given of their speedy completion. An event of very considerable importance to the cause of missions, happened in the early part of 1843. When Hormasdji became a Christian, his wife remained with her caste people, who prevented her husband from seeing her, and ultimately married her to another man, though it is believed that her affections still remained with Hormasdji. His infant daughter Bachoobai, had also been kept back from him, but now that she was growing up into girlhood, her father and the missionaries very properly resolved to attempt her recovery. An application was made to the. Supreme Court for a writ of habeas corpus ^ and the judges, as was expected, ruled without a shadow of hesitation, that the child should be given to her father. The Parsee news- papers were furious at the decision. Whilst writing of it and the previous verdict, Mr Nesbit said — "The Parsee and every other native community are now made aware of two great laws affecting the interests of converts to Christi- anity. " I. Every person of sufticient age to judge for himself (the term is, I believe, fourteen years), is allowed without any legal penalty to follow his own choice in matters of religion. " 2. A father, by changing his religion, does not forfeit his claim to * On the 25th June 1839, Mr Nesbit was married to Miss Hay Bayne, sister of the first Mrs Wilson, who had come out as a female teacher. She was a gifted and highly pious lady, as was the Miss Anna Bayne, whose death has now bcci\ recorded. 220 BOMBAY. the guardianship of his children. A third law was announced from the bench, although delay has unhappily frustrated its actual exemplifica- tion in this particular case. Marriage is not dissolved by what may be termed the apostacy of one of the parties. If they be pleased to dwell with each other, no third party is allowed to interfere." A very interesting episode in the history of the Bombay mission, now requires to be told. When Dr Wolff visited Abyssinia, he and Mr Isenberg persuaded an influential native of that country to send two of his sons to Bombay for instruction. The names of the young men were Gabru and Maricha Warke. Arriving in April 1837, they were placed under the charge of Dr Wilson, in whose house they lived for four years and eight months. Possessed, as they were, of great intellectual ability, they made rapid progress in their studies, though they had not heard a word of English till about the time that they departed from their native land. Now that Dr Wilson was about to return for a season home, he thought that the time had come for sending the Warkes back to their native country, where, from their intellect, their knowledge, and the evidences of piety they exhibited, he hoped they might be able to do much good. It was arranged that they should accompany him as far as Aden in Arabia, and remain there till a vessel could be met with, sailing to the Abyssinian coast. Another pupil of the institution, it was planned, should go with Dr Wilson on the homeward voyage. This was Dhanjibhai, who, having offered himself, and commenced his studies for, the ministry, now desired to finish them at the New College in Edinburgh. These arrangements were carried out. On the 2nd January 1843, Dr Wilson left Bom- bay to proceed to Europe, taking with him Dhanji and the Abyssinians. The latter were left at Aden, whilst the rest of the party continued their journey to the west. On their route they visited Palestine, Dr Wilson making numerous observations there and elsewhere, both on the places and on the several peoples inhabiting them, which were afterwards pubHshed in his excellent " Lands of the Bible.'* BAPTISM OF NARA VAN SHESHADRI. 221 After finally quitting the soil of Asia, the travellers pursued their way to Constantinople and Pesth, and, in the good providence of God, reached Scotland in safety on the 23d September of the Disruption year. CHAPTER V. THE DISRUPTION AND ITS EFFECTS. The adherence of all the Bombay missionaries to the Free Church involved, as at Calcutta, the loss of valuable mission buildings. Those in process of erection at the western presidency seat were being roofed in, when the event which severed them from the missionaries took place, thus dashing from them the cup of anticipated pleasure, when it was almost at their lips.* The Rev. Dr Stevenson, now a government chaplain in Bombay, adhered to the Establishment, but the four ruling elders in his congregation, with sixty out of the seventy-five communicants, disapproving of this step, applied temporarily for ordinances to the Free Church missionaries, and sent home money for the passage out of a permanent pastor. On the evening of Wednesday, 13th September 1843, ^ great and joyous event took place. We refer to the bap- tism of a Mahratta Brahman, Narayan Sheshadri, a dis- tinguished pupil in the institution, and who has since proved himself to be one of the most valuable converts ever given to an Indian mission. Next day the Brahmans of the city met, and resolved to excommunicate all parents who should in future send their sons to the institution. A certain * Writing on June 16, 1843, regarding the expected loss of the mission premises at Bombay and Calcutta, Mr Nesbit said : — " Sad it is that so nuich valuable pro- perty should fall into the hands of those for whom it was never designed. But faith listens to the ancient narrative, and stills and stays the mind. 'What shall we do for the hundred talents which I have given to the army of Israel ?' And the man of God answered, Jehovah is able to give thee much more than this." 222 BOMBAY. tragic element was soon after mingled with the joy felt on account of the late addition to the list of converts. Narayan had a younger brother, a few months above twelve years of age, " one of the sweetest and most intelligent boys," Mr Nesbit said, " that I have ever seen." This boy, whose name was Shripat Sheshadri, but was sometimes called Dada as a name of endearment, was known to share his elder brother Narayan's religious views, and was there- fore put under restraint by his father. He escaped to the Mission-house, where shelter was given him, though he was not deemed as yet quite a fit subject for baptism. The father seemed disposed to let him remain, but, urged by his caste people, he was at last induced to apply for a writ of habeas corpus against Mr Nesbit. The result was, that on 3d November, by order of the Court, Shripat was given up to his father. Considering his youth, the decision is in no respect a wonderful one, but there can scarcely be two opinions as to the want of acquaintance with the human soul shown by the puisne judge, Sir Erskine Perry, in declaring, as he did, that the religious convictions of a boy of twelve were " not worth a farthing." When the sentence was pronounced, and Shripat heard that he was to be sur- rendered, he suddenly rose up, and with tears in his eyes, addressing the judge, asked, But am I to be compelled to worship idols? To this puzzling question no answer was returned. The restoration of Shripat to his father stirred up a curious caste difficulty which was not settled for years. Having eaten in the Mission-house, he had lost his Brah- manic caste, and eminent expounders of the Hindoo faith were consulted as to whether there was any method of re- storing him to his former status. According to the Hindoo law when fairly interpreted, there was no such method, and so the vast majority of the pundits felt and said. A small minority, however, felt how awkward it would at times prove for caste interest if any one who ate forbidden food, CASE OF SHRIPAT SHESHADRI. 223 or what was the same thing, unobjectionable food with for- bidden people, were allowed no place for repentance, but were left an outcaste for life. They fraternised with the father and Shripat, and a schism threatened to arise among the Mahratta Brahmans all over Western India. Despite plain indications of an approaching explosion of wrath on the part of the orthodox, the liberals still held upon their way. They feasted one company of Brahmans after ano- ther in the hope of changing their views ; and one of their number, at the suggestion of the rest, took means for the ceremonial purification of the youth, who had been carried to '' the sacred city " of Benares for the purpose. It is understood that up to this period he had continued to avow his Christian convictions, and refused to be "purified." But ultimately he seems to have consented to the process, and the ceremonies were actually carried out. The last act of the drama had not, however, yet come, for such an outburst of rage took place against the liberals when it was known that the heretical deed had actually been done, that they were obHged summarily to retrace their footsteps and admit that they had grievously erred.* Not merely was Shripat thrust out of caste anew, but his father, who had eaten with him, shared the same fate. The case of the erring liberals then came up for consideration. They were let off more easily than was expected, because they were somewhat too powerful to render it expedient to drive them to extremity ; besides which their judges felt that they had not been suffi- ciently watchful over their own caste purity, but many of them had eaten with one who had eaten with another, who again had eaten with a third who had eaten with one of the proscribed. They therefore contented themselves with * When it was decided that Shripat could not be readmitted to caste, and that all who had acted on the contrary belief must receive punishment, the bigoted party wliose opinion had thus been endorsed by the highest authorities were much elated with their triumph. They made great illuminations, causing lamps of clarified butter to be lighted in all the temples. " No such joy," said a native paper, "was experienced by Brahmans, even when Vishnoo, having become incarnate as a fish, rescued the Vedas from the hands of Shunkasoor." 224 BOMBAY. requiring their delinquent brethren to confess their fault and swallow water in which an idol had been washed, and the right foot of a Brahman or two had been dipped. Still a scapegoat (metaphorical, we mean, not literal) was neces- sary ; and one was found in the person of that rash or misguided Brahman who had purified Shripat. For him potions, besmearings, ablutions, many and frightful, were prescribed. He, knowing that it would be at his peril if he dared to reclaim, had no resource left, except with as good a grace as he could muster to submit to the discipline. When Shripat became somewhat more advanced in years, he might, without further interference, have returned to the mission, but the compliance with idolatrous practice to which he had yielded after his surrender, had so affected his moral and spiritual nature, that he had lost all desire to become a Christian, and he returned to his spiritual instructors no more. In September 1844, Mr Henderson, a professor in the Elphinstone College at Bombay, a Government educational institution from which Christian teaching was excluded, feeling dissatisfied with the results which he saw produced by the secular education which alone he was allowed to communicate, resigned his professorate, and was on appli- cation received into the mission as a teacher on about half the salary which he had formerly enjoyed. He stated that the young men he had left were nearly all sceptics, and were most of them disaffected to the British Government. The remarkable conscientiousness which Mr Henderson showed is beyond all praise. He began his labours in the mission on 2d January 1846. As the institution was partially recovering from the shock which it had sustained in consequence of Narayan and Shripat's cases, the female schools received a similar blow, owing to the baptism of a girl, aged 14, called Maina. She had been asked to take part in some idolatrous ceremony, and had nobly refused to do it. When she applied for ORDINATION OF DHANJIBHAI. 225 baptism her caste people made every effort to induce her to remain in heathenism, but all in vain. She afterwards rendered great service to the mission. About the same time a widow of the Parwari caste was baptized with her little boy, nearly two years old. In April 1845, the Rev. J. Garden Fraser, who had been ordained by the Presbytery of Edinburgh on the 23d January previous, arrived at Bombay to be pastor of the Free Church. It will be remembered that the erection of a building, and the provision of a stipend for tlie minister, had been resolved on when the Bombay disruption took place. The work had been prosecuted with great ardour, and till Mr Fraser came the missionaries had conducted the services in the Free Church congregation.* In April of the same year the Abyssinian youths returned for a season from their country to Bombay. In 1846, Mrs Seitz, a Christian lady, offered her gratui- tous services to the mission as a female teacher. Her offer was thankfully accepted. The boarding-school, with an orphanage for girls, then in its infancy, was put under her care, and through her untiring exertion soon reached vigo- rous maturity. On the nth December of the same year, Dhanjibhai was ordained a missionary in Canonmills Hall, Edinburgh, Dr Candlish preaching and presiding on the occasion to an immense concourse of people. That month, also, Hor- masdji was licenced by the Presbytery of Bombay. It had admitted one of the mission teachers, Mr Henry Pitt Cassidy, to the same spiritual office on the 5th of August. On 29th December 1846, a pupil of very interesting character, Bala Gopal Joshi, was received into the Church. Bala was a Mahratta Brahman, who commenced his edu- * So early as October 31, 1843, Mr Nesbit was able to intimate that 9558 rupees, ortakingin the Siistentation Fund, designed to last two years, 17,000 or 18,000 rupees, had been subscribed for the Bombay Church. The ground, it was afterwards stated, cost about 13,000 rupees, of which about three-fourths were given by one gentleman, Mr M'Culloch, of the house of Ritchie, Stewart, & Co. In addition to his contri- bution to the site, he subscribed also 5000 rupees to the Church. 226 BOMBAY. cation at Poonah under the superintendence of Mr James Mitchell and Mr Wazir Beg, but afterAvards removed to Bombay to enjoy a scholarship in connection with the insti- tution. There he came much in contact with Mr Murray Mitchell, who treated him with great kindness. It was thought best to send him to Poonah to be baptized, partly that he might produce an impression upon his former asso- ciates there, and partly to avoid casting back again the Bombay institution, which was now recovering its numbers, and had even obtained a Parsee pupil, the first since 1839. CHAPTER VI. FROM THE RETURN OF DR WILSON. On February 14, 1847, Mr J. Murray Mitchell, who had been a short time in Europe, returned to Bombay. Dhanjibhai arrived a few days later, and Dr Wilson on the 8th November, About this time the Bombay Tract Society recommended that tracts should in all cases be sold instead of given away. The change which was produced on the aspect of the whole publications themselves, when it was found needful to make them attract purchasers, was truly wonderful, and all the missions from Bombay to Nagpore which adopted the prac- tice of selling instead of distributing tracts were loud in praise of the reform. Mr Mitchell, and, indeed, the Bombay Missionaries in general, had a great deal to do with the Tract Society. During the year 1847 only two baptisms took place in the mission. One was that of a girl, Lakshmi, from Mrs Seitz's boarding-school. Early in 1848 Professor Henderson and Dr Wilson, when visiting the island of Salsette, were attacked by bees, and almost stung to death. Hiat identical species of bees Dr DEATHS IN THE MISSION. 22'J Wilson had previously seen in Palestine. It is a most for- midable creature, and is probably the hornet of Scripture which drove the Amorites out of their old possessions. — (Exod. xxiii. 28, Deut. vii. 20, Joshua xxiv. 12.) Early in 1848 Mrs Nesbit, who had for some time been wasting away with consumption, became so alarmingly ill that it was needful that she should go on a sea voyage. It was too late. She died on the i8th May, her husband, who had accompanied her, seeing her mortal remains committed to the deep, and then proceeding homewards for a season to recruit his health. On 5th July Hormasdji was ordained, and, considering the tenacity of purpose shown by the Parsees, it is remark- able that a few days previously a Zoroastrian, with his wife and child, had solicited baptism. They came from Yezd, in Persia, where a remnant of the Parsees, saved from Moslem massacre, still keep their sacred fire burning. The in- quirers had two children, one of whom, a girl, was placed in Mrs Seitz's boarding-school. During this, as during the preceding year, there were but two adult baptisms. Early in 1849 Professor Henderson was compelled, by ill health, to return to Europe. He died of epilepsy at Barn- staple in May 1850, his valuable services in connection with the institution having continued for little more than three years. On the 1st March 1849, Gabru and Maricha Warke re- turned again to Abyssinia. They sailed from Bombay in an Arab vessel. They were very kindly received by King Wobi, who gave them presents, including two lions, a favour never granted to a subject before.* * In November 1851 Dr Wilson intimated that the two Abyssinians had a school with fifteen pupils in their native land. In 1854 Gabru returned, by request of Dr Wilson, for a short time to Bombay, after six years' absence. He stated that there were then sixty boys in the school. In the report of the Bombay mission, presented to the General Assembly of i86g, allusion was made to the services rendered to the British expedition to Abyssinia by Gabru and Maricha Warke, then recognised councillors of the Prince of Tigre. " I'hese services," it was added, " have been warmly acknowledged by tlie illustriou-. leader of that expedition, Lord Napier of Magdala, in his telegrams and despatches addressed to the authorities in England and in India, and which have already 228 BOMBAY. In February 1850, a girl, called Suggunie, a pupil of the French boarding-school, was baptized. At the examination of the institution, on 15th March 1850, the numbers were as follow : — Hindoos, Ill Mohammedans, ....... 9 Parsee, ........ I Israelites and Jews, 19 Romanists, &c., . . . ." . . . lo8 248 Pupils in Marathi and Guzerathi boys' schools, . . 433 Girls' schools, ........ 545 1226 On the 26th of May 1850, Dr Wilson baptized an African girl called Yesima, whose case was interesting. She had been rescued, when an infant, from an Arab slaver, and had been brought up first in the school for destitute girls, and afterwards under that so well conducted by Mrs Seitz. The same year the mission obtained a very valuable acces- sion to the number of its converts in the person of Mr Vincente AveHno de Cunha, a young man of Portuguese descent, formerly a Romanist, but who, becoming a Free Churchman from conviction, sat down at the communion table for the first time on the nth August 1850. He had been three years in the institution, partly as a teacher and partly as a pupil.* At the succeeding examination he read past before the eye of the public." The following is another testimony in the same direction. It is from an able and interesting work, entitled "The Campaign in Abyssinia," by R. E. Shepherd, Esq., M.A., Special Correspondent of the Thf/es of India : — " Fortiniately for himself and for us, Prince Kassa rejected the overtures made to him from Egypt and Turkey, determining to stand by the English. How far he may have been induced to do so by the two Tigieans educated at Bombay, Maricha Warke and his brother Gabru, and how much the nation owes to Dr Wilson on that account, it is impossible to say. The belief that, in connection with the campaign in Abyssinia. England owed more to the Free Church of Scotland's Missionary Institution in Bombay than it does to any institution in the Presidency, the Government itself, and the commissariat department not excepted, was enter- tained by not a few." * The Portuguese were our European predecessors in the empire of at least the sea-coast along a great part of Western and Southern India. The seat of their dominion being at Goa, in the Concan, it naturally fell to the Bombay missionaries to deal with them, and it is interesting to note that they and the Irish Romanists in India are at feud, the Portuguese wisely claiming soine sort of ecclesiastical inde- pendence, and the Irish there, as everywhere, being the blinded slaves of the Pope. SCHOLARSHIPS. 229 an essay criticising " Hume's Treatise on Miracles," which contained reasoning of so powerful a character as quite to amaze Major Le Grand Jacob, who was then presiding. The same year a young Brahman, called John Sham Rao, for- merly a pupil in the Free Church Institution at Bombay, was baptized by the Canara missionaries. In 1850 also, Mr M. Mitchell published a little work of great utility, called " Letters to Indian Youth on the Evi- dences of the Christian Religion, with a Brief Examination of the Evidences of Hindooism, Parseeism, and Zoroas- trianism." Dr Mitchell recently found the volume now spoken of used in many schools in the Bengal Presidency. It would be found of interest in this country, and readers would learn a good deal from it, especially from the chap- ters on the Hindoo, Mohammedan, and Parsee faiths. The Bombay institution had in various respects to en- counter more formidable obstacles than the sister estab- lishments at the presidency seats. About 1850, however, one of these impediments was rendered less formidable, the reason being, that the Government began to demand fees from the pupils in its college, as had long been done at Calcutta and Madras. Still, they were fixed very low. In all parts of India a Government scholar has patronage and other advantages denied those, though in some cases abler students, who seek instruction at the hands of the mission- aries j and if he manifests any considerable amount of talent or diligence, he easily obtains a scholarship for his support. Again and again the missionaries felt constrained to ask their friends to found scholarships in the several in- stitutions. Nowhere was the necessity greater than in Bombay; and, about this time. Captain Davidson gave ;^ioo to found a scholarship, and Major Le Grand Jacob, Major Purves, and others, subsequently followed the good example set.* The institution also was removed to better * Even after the exertions of these kind friends, the Bombay mission in February 1852 had but £2j a-year for scholarships, against ;^7oo per annum in the Govcrn- (b91) IG 230 BOMBAY. premises — no unimportant change, for in such a chmate, to work in small badly ventilated rooms, is detrimental in no shght degree to both pupils and teachers. A considerable advance on the numbers in attendance now took place, chiefly in consequence of the favourable circumstances just detailed.* On 4th May 185 1, Mr Nesbit arrived at Bombay from Europe, within two days of the third anniversary of his departure. The institution, as already mentioned, had been removed to better premises, but there was little doubt that rents would rise year by year over Bombay island, already too limited in extent for its continually increasing inhabi- tants, in which case there was no guarantee that sooner or later the mission might not have to pay so large a sum for a hired building, as to render it ruinous to continue in it longer, t It was therefore wisely resolved that application should be made for assistance, to erect premises which should be the property of the Church, and independent of all fluctuations in rental. Mr Nesbit, when at home, having on the 5th June 1850 obtained the committee's sanction to the project, issued an appeal, in which he stated that the buildings lost at the Disruption cost ;^8ooo, but though no sum was formally indicated, he evidently expected a much smaller amount for the humbler edifice which was to supply its place. £,Z^oo were obtained, though to complete this ment College. It is a wonder that, in these circumstances, the former was still able to obtain pupils at all. * At the examination in the early part of 1851, the numbers on the roll were as follow : — Hindoos, ........ 142 Mohammedans, 7 Parsee i Israelites and Jews, ...... 23 Christians, Romanists, Armenians, and Protestants, 105 Total in the Institution, 278 In the Marathi and Guzerathi Boys' Schools, 392 Do. do. Girls' Schools, 554 1224 Dr Wilson compared the statistics of the schools as they were when he returned from Europe, in the beginning of November 1847, and again in May 1851 : — Nov.^847. May 1851. Institution, . . 253. Institution, . . . 27S. '^I'otal, . . . 1135. Total, . . . 1224. Hindoos in the institution, 90. Hindoos in the institution, 142. THE CASE OF SAI. 23 I sum he had been compelled to stay in Europe, after he would fain have been back in India. A subscription had, mean- while, been set on foot in Bombay to supplement this fund, and had been successful, though the comparatively limited society connected with the Free Church then had, since the Disruption, subscribed 60,000 rupees for congregational and other purposes, besides liberally supporting the mission. On 3rd November 185 1, Dr Wilson was able to intimate an important addition to the Church, being that of an Indian Portuguese convert from Romanism, called Louis Caetano.* He had obtained four of the minor orders in the Popish College of Rochelle, in Goa, and had a brother and an uncle Romish priests. Mr Vincent de Cunha, the former Por- tuguese convert, was going on well, and had made consider- able progress in his studies for the ministry. Mr Peyton, now of Portsoy, was a divinity student with him; Mr Narayan Sheshadri had been licenced on the 23rd September 185 1, and the probationer, Mr Cassidy, having some time before become a Baptist, no longer retained his direct connection with the mission. Among the interesting pupils at the in- stitution were three Chaldean Christians from Mesopotamia. In the report to the Assembly of 1852, it was stated that there were 1 3 1 7 pupils in charge of the mission, of whom 302 were in the institution. Of the 302, 158 were Hindoos. The girls under instruction were 559. That year, 1852, was a notable one in the mission history, from a legal con- test which took place while it was in progress for the great cause of religious liberty. The teacher of the mission school at Colaba was a Hindoo, called Vithu or Wittoo Satwaji, who had abandoned idolatry, and though unbap- tized, had leanings to Christianity. He had a daughter called Sai, who had reached the age of between fourteen or fifteen, without having been married or even betrothed to any heathen. On Wednesday, 26th May 1852, a large band * Subsequently to this, in 1S55, he set up a school in Goa, which was attended by thirty-five pupils. 232 BOMBAY. of Vithu's caste people lawlessly entered his house, and threatening him with death if he interfered, carried off his daughter, Sai, to marry her against her and her father's will to an idolatrous Hindoo. By the assistance of the police, Sai was recovered, and to render her abduction more difficult, she was placed under Mrs Seitz's care. Next the grandmother of Sai, prompted, there can be little doubt, by Brahmanic priests, applied to Sir Erskine Perry for a writ of habeas corpus, making allegations which, it is almost unneces- sary to add, broke down when put to proof. The Chief- Justice said, '' The only point appears to be, the girl being fourteen years of age, to ask her where she wishes to go." After some legal fencing this was done, when she promptly elected to go with her father, and returned with him to the mission. It will be perceived that the age of freedom, which was sixteen when the case of Shripat Sheshadri had been tried before the same judge, had by 1852 been lowered to fourteen. On i8th July 1852, Sai was baptized. An orphan of seventeen, called Sakhu, who for some time had been in the boarding-school, was baptized about the same time. Some are disposed to sneer at the little result produced by missionary exertion in India, but it is remarkable that, in every part of that vast country, the priests are not con- temptuous, but fearful of the missionaries and their work. It might be supposed that in the Mahratta country, where, from various causes already explained, there has been less advance than in some other regions in India, the Brahmans would look with complacency on the defences which idola- try possesses against Christian assault, but in reality it is the reverse. Just before the Sai case went into the law- court, Mr Nesbit mentioned a remarkable utterance by a great champion of Hindooism, called Gungadhur Shastree (Shastree it may be mentioned, signifies learned in the Shasters). *' Hindooism," said Gungadhur, "is sick unto death ; I am fidly per- A MOHAMMEDAN CONVERT. 2^3 suaded that it must perish ; still, while life remains, let us minister to it as we best can. I have written this book " (one in defence of Hindoo- ism) "that it may prove a useful medicine. And if it be so fated, then possibly the patient may even yet recover." Other races besides the Hindoo one were becoming af- fected through Christian teaching. The Rev. J. M. Mitchell, writing in 1852, mentioned that during the last twenty years, the " Beni-Israer' of Western India had risen from gross idolatry to something like an intelligent acquaintance with the Word of God, though there had been no actual con- versions to Christianity from their ranks. The Mohammedans, who, as a rule, did not condescend to patronise even Government schools, but remained proud of an ignorance which was daily making them fall lower and lower in the social scale, and putting the Hindoos over their heads, had not been much affected by Christianity, yet solitary conversions from their creed were ever and anon obtained. On 25th July 1852, a very interesting Moslem, called Haji Ghulam Hyder [Haji means one who has made a pilgrimage to Mecca, or some other ''holy place"], was baptized. The neophyte altered his name, and made it Haji Ghulam Mashiah, meaning Haji, the servant of the Messiah. He was the first-fruits of Scinde to Christ, the means of his conversion having been Dr Wilson's preaching in that region when he went thither to meet Dr Duff. The Bombay missionaries, it may be mentioned, have all along made longer and more frequent preaching tours than their brethren at the other presidencies, who have had a larger sphere at head-quarters among the English-speaking natives, and not only the case of Haji, but several others, show that these tours have been spiritually blessed. Men who heard the gospel in remote villages followed the preacher to Bombay, or sent sons to be instructed by him, or in other ways showed that the Word addressed to tliem had not been without effect. Take the following example. In 1838, the Rev. Dr Wilson, accompanied by Dr Smyttan, made a 234 BOMBAY, tour to A junta, preaching in the village. A young man, called Manaji, was impressed, though he took no steps at the time to act upon his convictions. A long time subse- quently, however, he removed to Bombay, and, after re- maining for about two years in the Mission-house, was baptized with his infant child on 12th December 1852. In the year before his baptism, Dr Wilson and he had journeyed to Ajanta, where they succeeded in persuading Manaji's wife to repair to Bombay, bringing with her her four children, her two youthful sons-in-law, and a nephew. Of the four children, three were girls, and two of them being of suitable age to enter Mrs Seitz's boarding-school, were placed there, that they might receive instruction. Soon after his baptism, Manaji was temporarily despatched to the province of Khandesh, that he might set up a Bible stand at a fair. In speaking of the influence exerted by the mission on the country districts, it should be mentioned, that while about half the pupils in the institution belonged to Bombay and its neighbourhood, the other half were drawn from all the provinces of the presidency, or even, like the Abyssinians and Chaldeans already mentioned, from foreign lands. Rays from the light displayed at Bombay have entered Persia, Arabia, and even remote Africa. On. the ist October 1852, the erection of the permanent mission premises was begun. The institution had shortly before been removed to a building near the site of the con- templated edifice, the effect being an increase of about 70 on the number of the pupils. At the end of 1852, 1413 young people were receiving instruction from the mission. There were 33 native communicants, and 24 baptized adhe- rents, with several children of converts not baptized. Seven native adults had received the sealing rite during 1852, or, counting from the Assembly of 1852 to that of 1853, eight. The latter was the largest number which had been received in any one year hitherto since the establishment of the mission. A IR NESBI T S TEA CHIXG, 235 When Mr Clark passed through Bombay on his route to Agra, he visited the institution, and in a letter dated 4th March 1853, gave the following graphic account of Mr Nesbit's teaching : — " Mr Nesbit's class of senior lads was indeed a wonder to look upon. All races — native and immigrant were there — Jew, Mussulman, Hindu, Parsee, and Portuguese, in their distinct costumes, and nothing could be more exciting than the way in which Mr Nesbit played off one against the other — Parsee confounding Hindoo or Mussulman, Mussul- man both, while Jew cut short the argument of all three, and became a victim in turn to the Scripture logic of his opponents. Our missionary guided all this, and his voice rose amid all this intellectual and moral affray, at every moment, in the mild accents of Christian conviction, shooting many a powerful shaft, and counselling all by the spirit of wisdom, unconquerable temper, and gentle irony which shone through all the discourse. Nothing could match the keenness of the native features during the exercise, and for this reason above all, that the results of every lesson point to a terrible crisis in their lives, if followed out, and it is ever threatening to be so. " On the 29th April 1853, Ramchandra,a Mahratta properly so called,* was baptized. He was about 20 years of age. Another interesting case of conversion took place soon afterwards. It was that of a Milanese Italian, called Signor Enrico Antongini, who for some time had been in a mer- cantile office in Bombay. Brought up in Popery, he had been led to see the errors of that system, and wished to renounce them. He sat down with the Presbyterian con- gregation on the 7th October 1853, having come to the conclusion that its method of administering the ordinance more nearly conformed to Scripture precedent than the system of kneeling which he saw to be the practice in some other quarters. Just before this, on the 6th September, the native Church had sustained a severe blow in the death of Bala Gopal, baptized in 1846. Bala possessed great intellect, as evinced by the fact of his having carried off the highest bursary in * The Mahrattas were originally Icunbees (farmers), dhungurs (shepherds), or other Indian castes, but having distinguished themselves ab ive their compeers, even to the extent of seating at least half-a-dozen of their number on as many thrones, they denied their lowly origin, and professed to belong to the Kshatriya, or warrior caste. 236 BOMBAY. the Grand Medical College. He was studying there, not with the view of entering on private practice, but with the intention of becoming a medical missionary ; but it was not the will of God that he should be allowed to render service of this description. He died possessed of firm faith in Jesus, and in perfect peace. Great lamentations were made for him, and his funeral was attended not only by members and pupils of the Free Church mission, but by representatives from the several Christian denominations in Bombay. About the end of 1853, the mission had another heavy loss to sustain in the resignation, from ill health, of Mrs Seitz, who for many years — and, if we mistake not, from first to last, gratuitously — had conducted the boarding-school with great efficiency. Her pupils — at least, the senior ones — knew English almost as well as their native tongue, and could sing beautifully, Mr Cassidy having been their in- structor in the latter department of eff'ort. On Mrs Seitz's resignation, her oldest scholar, Maina, who had been married in the previous January to Mr Vincent le Cunha, took her place. About the same time the institution was favoured with a visit from the Rajah of Dhar, a petty Rajpoot state, which strangely enough remained unswallowed up by the powerful Mahratta sovereignties in the vicinity. The Dhar Raja was about 26 years of age. He expressed himself as much gratified with what he had seen, and gave a donation of 500 rupees to the institution. About this date, also, a young Chaldean Christian, called Antonius Gabriel, from Merdin, in Mesopotamia, renounced Popery, and was received into the communion of the native Church. We have not for some time had occasion to mention Mr Dhanjibhai. Dhanji had gone to Surat, about 154 miles from Bombay, no doubt partly influenced by the fact that, next to Bombay, Surat has the greatest number of Parsee inhabitants of any city in India. Not finding proper access MR BAB A P ADM AN J I. 23/ to his former co-religionists, he addressed himself to the outcaste Dheds, who, in the Guzerat province, correspond exactly to the Mahars and Mangs of the Mahratta country, and the Pariahs of Madras. He established vernacular schools for their benefit, and, though they did not much care for education, yet persuaded some of them to send their children. In 1852, 130 boys and 20 girls were under in- struction. On the 30th April 1854, Mr Dhanjibhai reaped the first-fruits of his labour among the outcastes, having on that Sabbath baptized two Dheds, namely, a teacher and a pupil in one of the schools. Another pupil would have been admitted at the same time, had not his relatives carried him off. The Dhed teacher baptized was called Bhana Ruttan, and the pupil Devla Ruttan.* In addition to his labour among the Hindoo outcastes, he was engaged, along with Dr Wilson, Hormasdji, and other missionaries, in making a jubilee revision of the Guzerathi Bible. Guzerathi, it should be mentioned, is the language which for some centuries back has been the vernacular one to the Indian Parsees. In the Assembly Report for 1854, it was mentioned that there were 348 pupils in the institution, 525 in the boys' Marathi and Guzerathi schools, and 486 girls — total, 1354. On the 3rd September 1854, Mr Baba Padmanji, aged 23, the most distinguished pupil in the institution, received baptism at Belgaum. He had commenced his education there, after which he had removed to Bombay to the Free Church institution to carry it on. On receiving baptism, which, as stated, was administered at Belgaum, he returned to the presidency seat and became of great value to the Free Church mission. It was remarkable that even the native community, the ranks of which he had deserted, admitted him to be a young man of high moral character. The same month the mission was strengthened by the arrival from * Other baptisms took place in connection with these schools in after years, and it is to be regretted that they had ultimately to be given up for want of funds. 238 BOMBAY. Agra of the Rev. Thomas Grieve Clark, who had received a call to the pastorate of the Free Church, which had been vacant for the two years preceding, during which time the missionaries had suppHed its pulpit. The induction took place on Friday, 6th October 1854, and on Wednesday the nth, and the following week, the Rev. Narayan Sheshadri was ordained a missionary. When licenced, Mr Nesbit had borne a high testimony to his worth, saying of him — " It was touching to think that we could not recall to mind a blot or backsliding in any part of his course." 1855 w^s a very eventful year in the history of the mis- sion. It opened well, for on the 7th January Dr Wilson bap- tized a convert from Mohammedanism, with a young Hindoo, and the three children of the latter. Another joyous event followed soon afterwards, for on the 13th April the classes were transferred to the new buildings which had been erected for the institution. They had cost about ^6000, and were of capacity enough to accommodate 800 pupils. Unhappily, 8000 rupees of debt still remained upon them. During the year immediately preceding, there had been baptized 12 adults with 5 children, and there were now of old and young about 100 in the native Church. On the 7th July, Dr Wilson baptized a man called Ismail Ibrahim the first Bohora,* so far as was known, who had ever embraced Christianity. He was about 46 years of age. On the 31st of March 1855, Mr Nesbit was united in marriage to Miss Marion Marshall, eldest daughter of Claud Marshall, Esq., of Greenock, but death speedily dissolved the union. On Thursday, 26th July of the same year, Mr Nesbit had continued his labours in the institution till 5 P.M., the usual hour for the dismissal of the college division. * Every one who has been in India is quite familiar with the aspect of the Moham- medan pedlers called Bohoras, whom he has seen times without number unfolding their baskets and exhibiting their wares to the feminine portion of the household, and habitually asking for each article two or three times as much as they expect or are entitled to receive. They are generally looked on as an intensely worldly class of men, and though continually in contact with Christians, are yet little disposed to embrace Christianity. DEATH OF MR NESDIT. 239 He had not felt very well during the afternoon, but he did not anticipate serious danger. Though he knew it not, cholera in a malignant form had seized him, and after a night of terrible agony which barely left him the abiUty to express his undiminished trust in the Saviour, his immortal spirit at ten next morning passed away. About 400 Euro- peans and a great crowd of natives attended his funeral, and, says a spectator — " To see the children and those of extreme age crying at the grave was a day never to be forgotten : natives of all classes, Hindoos, Parsees, and Mohammedans, without distinction, all shed tears, nay, even cried loudly over the dust of their departed friend and well- wisher." No wonder, for a more loving spirit than Robert Nesbit, especially in his later years, it would have been difficult any- where to find. His conscientiousness, too, was very notable, as was his insight into the human heart. Hormasdji Pestonji once took Mr Nesbit for a god on account of what appeared the infallible rectitude of his judgments, and was not convinced of his mistake till the fancied divinity charged him with a fault v/hich he was conscious he had not committed. The missionary whose loss was deplored was, while he lived, the best of all the European missionaries in Western India as a Mahratta speaker, his pronunciation being faultless. On this point the Rev. Narayan Sheshadri gave emphatic testimony. He said — '' I, myself a Brahman, do not remember a single word during so many years that he mispronounced. It was just the other day the Pundit of our institution told me that if Mr Nesbit spoke Marathi from within a screen, even Brahmans from without would not be able to detect that a foreigner was speaking." Only four months and a day elapsed between the removal of Mr Anderson at Madras and that of Mr Nesbit at Bombay. Just before Mr Nesbit's death, the female boarding- school had been placed in charge of Mr and Mrs Nesbit, and his widow resolved to remain and carry on the work which she had begun. 240 BOMB A V, CHAPTER VII. AFTER MR NESBIT S DEATH. The place of Mr Nesbit was supplied, so far as a new- comer could fill it, by the arrival of the Rev. Adam White,* who, with Mrs White, reached Bombay early in 1856. They came at an interesting period of the mission's history. During the year 1855, no fewer than 18 adults and 7 children had been admitted into the native Church, t which now contained 126 persons — namely, 55 in full communion, 42 baptized adherents, and 29 unbaptized children of con- verts, with wards and catechumens of the mission. Soon after Mr White's arrival, there occurred the baptism of Ganpat Rao Raghunath, aged 18, a Parbhu, a very respect- able Sudra caste, and who, moreover, had been the most distinguished pupil at the late examination of the institu- tion. Nor was it long before Mr White was called to be an actor in one of those exciting scenes of which so many have occurred in connection with our missions in the East. At the end of April 1856, while Dr and Mrs Wilson were absent at Mahabaleshwar, during the school vacation, four Parsee youths, students in the Elphinstone Institution (the Government college or seminary in Bombay, visited Mr White, seeking religious instruction. After repeated interviews had taken place with these interesting youths, they sent a joint letter to Messrs Wilson and White asking for baptism. They were admitted into the Mission-house on Monday, i6th June. Great excitement of course arose among a peoples© jealous * Mr Adam White was born in Aberdeen on the 19th May 1829. He distin- guished himself highly at the Grammar School of his native city, and afterwards at Marischal College. He was ordained a missionary in the Free West Church, Aber- deen, on the 29th November 1855, and sailed with Mrs White for Bombay on the 4th January 1856. t One was a Brahman, Vasadeva Pant, aged 28, from the small state of Sawant Wadi. He was baptized by Narayan Sheshadri on the loth September 1855. PROFESSOR ARDASEER FRAMJEE. 2\\ of apostacies from their ranks as the Parsees, and the most pertinacious efforts were made to persuade the young men to leave. Violence, it is believed, would have been re- sorted to, had not several native policemen, under the guidance of a European constable, kept watch over the house night and day. After a time, three of the youths gave way, but the fourth, Bairamji Kersasji, remained firm, and was baptized on the 31st August. On resuming his attendance at the institution, he required for a time to be escorted by a policeman. It was a satisfactory circum- stance that in this new contest with the Parsees, the Hin- doos and even the Mohammedans were said mostly to sympathise with the mission. When the excitement of the Parsees had so far subsided that they were able to reflect calmly on the occurrence which had taken place, they were puzzled to know how students, brought up at an institution from which religion was carefully excluded, could have become friendly to Christianity, and they, in violent letters to the native newspapers, denounced Mr Ardaseer Framjee,a Parsee Professor in the Elphinstone institution, as the cause of the mischief. According to them he had violated the injunction which prohibited him from teaching Christianity to the pupils. When the Government learned that these charges were being made, they very properly ordered an inquiry. The result was most gratifying. Not merely were the statements that Mr Framjee had taught Christianity proved without foundation, but the principle was laid down that it was not any violation of duty for a teacher to give simple explanations of such portions of British classics read in the school as referred to Christianity. This concession the mission had long been fruitlessly seeking to obtain. All the Parsee boys, excepting one, were removed from the institu- tion, and the wonder is that even one was allowed to remain. Baptisms in a mission often come in clusters, with inter- vals of greater or less continuance between ; and on the 6th July, not long after the Parsee gain, Dhanjibhai baptized 242 BOMB A Y. a lad of 1 8, called Rama Kalgan, and about the same time Dr Wilson baptized a girl called Sakhu. Again, on the 26th, the same distinguished missionary baptized one of his servants. On the 17th October, Dr Wilson wrote that a few days previously a young man of a very important Moham- medan family had come to the Mission-house seeking bap- tism. His name was Sayad Husan Medinyah, — Sayad, as already explained, signifying that he was a descendant of the " Prophet," and Medinyah that he came from Medina. His relatives, fearing for their personal safety if the excited multitude in the mosques should hear what had taken place, concealed the loss of the youth, and Dr Wilson asked and obtained the presence at the Mission-house of a European constable and a native policeman in plain clothes. But, wonderful to relate, the Mohammedans behaved with fair- ness. They took the perfectly legitimate course of bringing up their ablest controversialists to argue with the convert ; and when the efforts of these Moulavis failed they gave the matter up, and allowed the young man to receive the seal- ing rite. On Sabbath, 9th November, Dr Wilson baptized two important natives — one a Seikh, Khan Singh, from the Punjaub, and the other a Mussulman moonshee (teacher of languages), named Ashraf Khan. Finally, another Parsee, Shapurji Edalji, who had come and gone once before, re- appeared at the Mission-house, and this time remained. These successes, of course, told on the institution and branch schools, and at the examination, held on the 12th Decem- ber, there were on the roll 2 1 2 in the English department, being loi less than during the previous year. Adding the vernacular schools, there were still left with the mission 1068 pupils. It is a wonder there were so many, for the recent excitement had made the natives found several schools of their own. On the 7th December, a few days before this examina- tion, the Rev. James Wardrop Gardner, with Mrs Gardner, arrived to the assistance of the mission. He was not long MOSLEM AND PARSER BAPTISMS. 243 in India before he saw some of the difficulties with which missionaries have to contend. On i6th January 1857 a venerable Mohammedan Sayad, came seeking baptism. Some excitement in consequence arose, bigots having pre- sented themselves to try and induce the wife to desert her husband. They were unsuccessful, but the risk of their proceeding to violence was so considerable that additional protection had to be obtained for the Mission-house. Loss of health compelled the Rev. Mr Murray Mitchell to leave, on the evening of the i6th January 1857, for his native country. On the 8th February T857 Sayad Husan, the Moham- medan already mentioned, and the Parsee, Shapurji Edalji, were baptized. Both were students in the same class of the Elphinstone Institution, and both had for their teacher Ardaseer Framjee. The plan of keeping the Parsee boys away from the Free Church Institution, and sending them only to places where the Bible was not taught, had evidently failed to keep them from Christianity, Many of the Parsees fathers had, however, become a good deal modified from what they or their predecessors had been twenty years before. On May 26, 1857, a Parsee brought his two sons to Dr Wilson, and asked him to instruct them in Chris- tianity, undertaking, at the same time, to provide for their support while they were at their studies. Dr Wilson, it need scarcely be added, accepted the trust, only amazed that it had ever been made. But soon afterwards there was evidence that such friendliness to Christianity was rare in the community from which he came. A young Parsee having taken refuge in the Mission-house with the view of embracing the gospel, was induced to return home on a solemn promise made by his relatives that if he did so he would be allowed to attend school, but, as might have been anticipated, the missionaries saw him no more. About the end of 1857, whilst the excitement about the sepoy mutinies was still very great, Dr Wilson baptized a 244 BOMB A Y. woman called Yelabai, mother-in-law of one of the converts, Gourabai, a pupil of Mrs Wilson's female schools, and Maniram Motiram, a Marwadi,* the first of his caste who has received the sealing rite. A few months later a Syrian Catholic t convert, called Mr Michael Joseph, was admitted to the communion. After four other baptisms, the particu- lars of which need not be detailed, the Native Free Church at Bombay consisted, on the 24th December 1858, of 83 communicants, or, including adherents, of 161 souls. About the 17th December 1858, Mr White started for Nagpore ; and on 20th January 1859 the Rev. Mr Aitken, of Sattara, arrived at Bombay. The native Church had in it much spiritual life. Its members were taking steps to erect a fabric of their own for the worship of God, with two manses for native pastors. Of the 3550 rupees raised for the purpose, 2450 rupees, to be paid by instalments, came from the native brethren. Euro- pean aid had, however, largely to be solicited, as the total cost of the buildings, it was estimated, would be about 30,000 rupees. On the 24th July 1859, the Rev. Dhanjibhai Nauroji, Mr Baba Padmanji, and Mr Bapu Masda were elected elders. It was a remarkable proof how completely caste feeling had gone down, that Bapu, though originally a Mahar, was elected almost unanimously. At that time Dhanjibhai was editing a Guzerathi and Narayan Sheshadri, a Mahratta periodical. Not long afterwards the leanings towards Christianity of a Parsee youth, called Merwanji, being observed by his relatives, they removed him to Surat, to be out of the way of the Bombay missionaries, but, meeting with the Irish brethren there, he made known his case to them, and was baptized by one of them, the Rev. Dr Glasgow. The mention of the Irish brethren naturally recalls Dr Wilson's * Marwadis, as their name implies, come from the province of Marwar, in Kaj- pootana. They are the great bankers of India. t For many centuries there has existed on the coast of Malabar a small Syrian colony. The Romish missionaries have led a number of these Syrians to Popery. LOSS OF AMBROLI MISSION HOUSE, 245 journey to Guzerat in 1841, to introduce them when they first came out to their sphere of labour. A similar journey was made by him in 1859, to introduce the United Pres- byterian brethren, Messrs Shoolbred and Steele, to their appointed sphere of exertion in Rajpootana. On this journey he found two former pupils of his, one English translator and reporter of news to his Highness the Gui- cowar, and the other educational tutor to his brother. Towards the end of 1859 Dr Murray Mitchell was again at his post in the mission. In January i860 the Rev. Mr Carlyle, late of Brechin, arrived to take charge of the European Church, the Rev. Mr Stothert came on the nth February as an additional missionary, and a short time afterwards Mr Dewar arrived as teacher. Great changes had taken place in India since Mr Mitchell had left it two years before, and he especially remarked on the aUenation from the Europeans shown by the natives on account of the war of races which for some time had prevailed. Soon after this Dr Hugh Miller, an excellent elder in the Bombay congregation, undertook to raise ;^2 5oo for the native Church and manse schemes already mentioned ; and James Burns, Esq,, of Glasgow, promised to contribute ;^5oo, on condition that the buildings were opened free of debt. Among the baptisms which occurred in i860, was that of a man called Rama Mullari, aged thirty-four, first hospital assistant at Dhapuli, who with his daughter, a nice intelli- gent girl of seven or eight, was admitted into the Church in April of that year. Though in most respects Bombay is placed more favour- ably for a capital than either Calcutta or Madras, yet, as before mentioned, it has one great disadvantage, that being, as these are not, an island, and an island of very limited area, rents rise very rapidly, as population increasingly crowds into the small space. In 1861, the Mission-house at Ambroli had to be given up, the rent demanded for it (391) 17 246 BOMB A Y. being now jQz'^ a month = ^£^360 a year. Great sorrow was felt by Dr Wilson on quitting it, after he had resided there for thirty-one years. But the work of Christ still proceeded. In October 1861, Dr Wilson stated that, since the com- mencement of that year, twelve adults and two children had been baptized. Several of these were females, and two were Rajput men. On the 23d January 1862, Mr Joseph Dewar, the teacher, died when he had been less than two years away from home. He left a widow and child to deplore his loss. At the Assembly of 1862,* there were in the institution 421 pupik— 301 studying through the medium of English, and 120 through that of the Indian languages. There were in Kalyan no studying English and Marathi ; the district vernacular boys' schools had 233 ; the girls were 433. In all there were about 1200 pupils. The native Church had 87 members, and there had been baptized since the com- mencement of the mission, 115. Our limited space will not, as a rule, permit us to give the details of each convert's work, but room must be forced for a notable enterprise performed by Mr Mikhail Joseph, a native of Bagdad, but led to the truth in connection with the Bombay mission. This man made a daring journey through that focus of Moslem bigotry — Arabia, visiting Mokha, Sana, and even Mareb, the last mentioned place believed to have been the seat of the Queen of Sheba, who visited Solomon. Mikhail sold on this tour no fewer than 243 copies of the Scriptures. In the Assembly Report for 1864, it was mentioned that, during the previous twelve months, ten persons had been added to the native Church. Four were females from the boarding-school, one was a young man from the institution, and several were Mohammedans. Moslem converts are always both difficult and important to obtain ; and for the * In 1857, bad health had compelled Mr Clark to return to Europe ; and in 1862, the same cause necessitated the resignation of his successor, Rev. Mr Carlyle. RURAL MISSIONS. 24/ encouragement of those called to labour among that un- tractable race of men, it may be mentioned that, in the opinion of Dr Murray Mitchell, effete Mohammedanism disappears and gives way to Christianity faster than exploded Hindooism or Parseeism. — Free Church Missionary Record^ i860, p. 199. In the years 1865 and 1866, an effort was made to use the native preachers and catechists for more systematic aggression on the heathenism of the village population and the wild tribes. A catechist, with his young wife, was sent to Rutnagherry, in the Southern Concan, not far from the place where the Scottish mission had first been established. Mr H. Bruce Boswell, of the Civil Service, kmdly undertook to provide for their support while he continued at the station. The Parsee convert, Shapurji Edalji, was sent out towards the close of 1865 to commence a mission among the Waralis. Further details with regard to the latter enter- prise will be found in a subsequent part of the volume. For some time previously, a catechist had laboured at Mahabuleshwar, an Indian sanatorium on the Western Ghauts, between 4000 and 5000 feet above the sea level. Mahabuleshwar means " lord of great force," and is not misnamed, for all around the hills are broken up into an endless succession of perpendicular cliffs one or two thou- sand feet high. The rainfall is 300 inches during the year. There are about eighty European residents. The catechist superintends a small vernacular school. In 1867, new buildings were completed for the female boarding-school. Whilst at home, Mrs Nesbit had raised for the purpose ;^3ooo. The Government gave ;,{^2 5oo. The same year a great friend and benefactress of the female schools — the second Mrs Wilson of Bombay — died, greatly lamented by a wide circle of Europeans and natives who had known her worth. When, in 1868, her distinguished husband had completed his fortieth year of missionary life, tlie community in Bombay commemorated the event 248 BOMB A Y, by a cordial demonstration. A subscription was made, of which it was designed that so long as he lived he should enjoy the interest, while afterwards it should be employed to found a philological lectureship. The amount contributed was 21,000 rupees. The Right Hon. Sir Seymour Fitz- gerald, Governor of Bombay, presided, being on the right of Dr Wilson, while on his left was Sir Richard Couch, the Chief-Justice. Among the subscribers were Churchmen and Dissenters, Roman Catholics, Hebrews, Hindoos, Parsees, and Mohammedans. A religious tone pervaded the meet- ing. It should be mentioned, that when in 1857 the Bombay University was founded, Dr Wilson was one of the original fellows named in the Act of Incorporation. He took a leading part in framing and revising the bye-laws and regulations for the government of the University, and for the arrangement, extension, and balance of the studies to be prescribed. He had from the beginning been examiner in Sanscrit, Persian, and the vernacular languages; had been a member of the Syndicate since its proper work commenced, and for nearly six years head of the Faculty of Arts as dean, and since September of the previous year vice- chancellor. It was stated by one of the speakers that Dr Wilson had enjoyed the respect of every successive governor of Bombay from Sir John Malcolm to Sir Seymour Fitzgerald. The native church edifice for which the subscriptions had been made, was opened for divine worship on Sabbath, 28th February 1869. Dhanjibhai preached in the morning in Hindustani, and afterwards baptized a woman. Narayan preached in the evening in Marathi. A collection was taken at each diet of worship, and amounted to 500 rupees. On 6th July 1869, the Rev. William Stephen was ordained by the Free Presbytery of Aberdeen a missionary to Bombay; and on Friday, the 23d of the same month, he left Glasgow for his destination in the City ofAmoy, being a free passenger, though the proprietors, Messrs George Smith & Sons, were not members of the Free Church. DR WILSON MODERA TOR OF ASSEMBL V. 249 An interesting baptism was soon after intimated. A pupil, called Jayakar, had highly distinguished himself in the college department of the Free Church institution at Bombay. He then entered on the study of medicine; and obtaining what was called a travelling fellowship — that is, a fellowship designed to support him in England if he wished to continue his studies there — he came to this country, and entered the Royal College of Surgeons in London. Returning to his native land as Dr Jayakar, he was baptized at Ahmedabad by Mr Wallace of the Irish Presbyterian Mission, and wrote intimating the gratifying fact to Dhanjibhai and Dr Wilson. Early in 1850, there was another important baptism. There was a Brahman who had been a pupil in the Free Church institution for seven years, and was almost embracing Christianity while pursuing his studies. Fear of his friends, however, held him back ; and on leaving for the Northern Concan, he was still nomi- nally a heathen. But the ministrations of the Free Church catechist then connected with the Warali mission was blessed to him, and he was baptized by Dr Wilson. Soon afterwards, Dr Wilson departed for Scotland to recruit his health, by a temporary sojourn in the bracing atmosphere of home. The Church having conferred on him the highest honour it had in its power to bestow, by placing him, in 1870, in the chair of the General Assembly, he mentioned various interesting facts in his Moderator's speech. Bombay, he stated, had not had the same pecuniary grants from home as some other stations. The two Abyssinian youths were now recognised counsellors of Prince Kassk of "J'igre. The services which they had rendered to the British army under Lord Napier of Magdala had been publicly acknow- ledged, and were of great importance, though they could not be particularly specified. Other pupils from Abyssinia were at present under his care. From the Lake Country, near the remote sources of the Nile, Dr Livingstone had brought him young men to Bombay, who, after receiving 250 BOMBAY. instruction, had been baptized. Finally, they had left India for Africa with Dr Livingstone. During the absence of Dr Wilson, Mr Dhanjibhai announced a baptism of great importance. It was that of a young man whose father was president of the Theistical Association of Bombay, the equivalent of the Calcutta Brahman Suraaj. His first religious impressions were produced through his connection with a native, who used to read the Scriptures and offer up prayer in his family, but who to the last remained unbaptized. Dr Charles Brown's work on " The Glory of Christ," was also of use to him. He was to proceed immediately to England to compete for a Civil Service appointment. Towards the end of 187 1, Mr Stothert was obliged tem- porarily to return to Scotland in bad health, whilst Dr Wilson departed for the East, desirous while life and strength remained to labour, as for more than forty eventful years he already had done, for the evangelisation of India. SECTION V. POONAH, CHAPTER I. POONAH IN ITS PALMY DAYS. OONAH becomes first traceable in history in a.d. 1604. In that year the city and the districts adjacent, were given as d. Jagkire, or royal grant, free from tribute, to a Mahratta called Malolee, the donor being the rajah or sultan of Ahmednugger, then an independent state. When the Ahmednugger kingdom broke up, the grant of Poonah was continued by the Mo- hammedan rulers of Beejapoor, into whose hands that por- tion of India had passed. The grandson of Malolee was the celebrated Seevajee, who threw off the Mussulman yoke and founded the Mahratta empire. In 1673 the bold chieftain took Sattara, which, in 1698, became the seat of the Mahratta government. Oriental dynasties generally lose vigour in three generations, and Saho, the grandson of Seevajee, was a man of little energy or ability. Nominally the second, but really the first, in what modern politicians would call his Ministry, was a functionary called Peishwa or leader, and in 1749, Balajee Rao, an astute Brahman, who then filled the office, played " mayor of the palace " to his feeble master, as the French Pepin did to the last of the 252 POONAH. Merovingian kings. In other words, the Peishwa succeeded in inducing Saho to transfer to him all the power of the state, the peishwaship, moreover, being formally declared to be hereditary in his family. This amazingly short-sighted arrangement being made, the imbecile monarch died, and his descendants were kept in nominal dignity, but really imprisoned at Sattara, while each of the successive Peish- was obtained from his caged sovereign the permission to reign in his name, which was tantamount to saying in his stead. The first of the really supreme Peishwas transferred the seat of government to Poonah, which, in consequence, became the most important city under Mahratta sway. A great contest took place in 1803 between the Mahrattas and ourselves, for the empire of India, and the struggle was renewed in 1817. From the latter of these dates, Poonah has been directly under British authority, the last of the Peishwas, who acted to our government most treacherously, having been defeated in battle, and then hunted up and down Western India as a fugitive, till at length he sur- rendered, on being promised a magnificent pension. He ultimately died at Bithoor, on the Ganges, near Cawnpore, after adopting the infamous Nana Sahib as his son and heir. Poonah was supposed to have had a population of about 150,000 during the palmy days of the Peishwas. It has not so many now. The general opinion is, that during the period to which the succeeding narrative refers, its inhabi- tants may have amounted to about 100,000. The Peish- was, as already mentioned, were Brahmans, hence the sacred order constitute a large proportion of the Poonah popula- tion. This, coupled with its former celebrity, makes it a place of great importance. Nor are Brahmans and Mah- rattas the only dignitaries. Situated as it is, 1823 feet above the sea level, and with spurs from the Western Ghauts in its immediate vicinity, to which retreat can be made when the heat becomes unpleasant in the city, Poonah is one FIRS T PRE A CHING A T POONA H. 253 of the sanataria of Bombay, and is often visited by Euro- peans from the Western presidency seat, not excepting the governor himself. Apart from these birds of passage, the European population of Poonah is very considerable, from the fact that there must always be there a garrison sufifi- ciently large to prevent any rise in arms on the part of those admirers of the '' good old times," who might wish to try anew the pleasant paths of conquest and plunder. These and other considerations show that Poonah was a place suitable for the establishment of a powerful mission, and which the Christian Church did well to occupy at the earliest practicable date. CHAPTER 11. A SEED " IN WEAKNESS SOWN." As already mentioned, the Scottish Missionary Society had from the first contemplated making Poonah the centre of its operations in India, but had been prevented doing so by the Government, which feared that the Brahmans would not endure the heralds of the cross at the old seat of Mah- ratta supremacy. For about six years then, after the com- mencement of the work in the Concan, the labourers there considered Poonah a forbidden spot, but at length, in 1829, Messrs Mitchell and Stevenson ventured thither, and, con- trary to expectation, were exceedingly well received. The common people heard them gladly, and though, as was in- evitable in that nest of Brahmans, the lordly caste at times sought to lower or to drive the audiences away from hearing the seductive voices of the western preachers, the Sudra Mahrattas took their own way in the matter, and remained to hear what the Padrees * had to say. As in the case of * Padree is a word borrowed originally from the Portuguese, who, as is well known, use it for the Romish priests, Father A. or Father P>. The Hindoos have given the term a more extended signification, and apply it to all missionaries and other ministers. 254 POONAH. the village schools, the Government showed a praiseworthy- readiness to act on any new enlightenment which it might receive, and it no longer objected to the establishment of a mission at Poonah. Sometime after Poonah was taken by the British, our Government in 182 1 set up within it a Sanscrit College, which none but Brahmans were permitted to attend. The commissioner who instituted it stated — "That he had not taken any measures towards the introduction of any branches of European science, but had endeavoured to direct the attention of the college principally to such parts of their own shastras as are not only more useful in themselves, but will best prepare their minds for a gradual reception of more valuable mstruction at a future time.'' — Missionary Record, Izxvcc&xy 1843, P- i?^' Such was the opinion which the Government entertained as to the opposition the Poonah Brahmans were likely to offer to the introduction among them of even the most homeopathic dozes of true science. To this hotbed of bigotry, Mr Stevenson proceeded in 1830, to lay the foundations of a mission. Whether or not he made progress in breaking up the fallow ground in the native field — a sphere was open to him among his ow^n countrymen, for Poonah was the largest military station in the whole presidency. He succeeded, shortly after his arrival, in bringing together a congregation of Presbyterian soldiers. On the 8th August 1831, Mr Nesbit, by medical advice, left Hurnee to join him, and on arriving, shared with him not merely the missionary but the pastoral work. In 1832 Mr Stevenson set up a school, which, however, was transferred to the Government a few months subse- quently. Even after this change, it for some time bore marks of its missionary origin, by having religious instruc- tion communicated to the pupils. Mr Nesbit spoke very disparagingly of the converts of the mission, many of whom also he said had apostatised. Encouragement came to the missionaries, however, from a quarter from which they had THE REV. JAMES MITCHELL SETTLES IN POONAH. 255 not expected it, for the European soldiers, among whom they laboured, highly appreciated their ministrations, and in 1832 an awakening occurred among them, almost reach- ing the proportions of a home revival. In 1833 sickness drove Mr Stevenson from Poonah to Calcutta, and on his return in May in that year, Mr Nesbit was compelled to go to Bombay for medical advice, with regard to a painful affection apparently in the ear, but really, as afterwards appeared, in the throat ; a discovery which explains the mystery why it was always aggravated after preaching. For sometime previously he had been unable to use his voice, and had been shut up to employ his pen more and more in the service of the mission. Soon after Mr Stevenson's return from Calcutta he termi- nated his direct connection with the mission, and entered the service of the East India Company as a chaplain. In 1834, also, Mr Nesbit was obliged by the affection of his " ear," which, despite surgical treatment, still continued, to go to recruit his physical frame at the Cape of Good IJope. Though absent from Poonah, he still in effect preached there, for a short time previously he, at the request of the European congregation, had published a volume of excellent sermons, well fitted both to commend and to vin- dicate the truth. The reason for occupying the Southern Concan having in large measure ceased when Poonah became accessible, and the mission being compelled to make a choice between the two, as it was not strong enough in men to occupy both, Mr James Mitchell proceeded to Poonah to supply Mr Nesbit's place, and the Southern Concan was abandoned. Mr Mitchell was of a more hopeful temperament than Mr Nesbit, and though he could not work more faithfully, yet he did so more cheerfully than his talented predecessor had done. In 1835, as already stated, Mr James Mitchell, and the other agents of the Scottish Missionary Society in Western 256 POO NAN. India, transferred their services to the Established Churcli. The change did not in any way affect the operations of the mission. When Mr Nesbit returned from the Cape of Good Hope, he settled at Bombay, and it was not till January 1839 that he again saw Poonah. On visiting it at that date, he was agreeably disappointed to see the progress which had been made during the interval. The small native Church had begun to increase considerably, and a commencement had been made of an English school, the nucleus of the present institution. Converts, servants, inmates of the poorhouse, teachers of schools, pupils, and strangers, gathered for the Mahratta service, constituted a large congregation, and he records that he never before had spoken to one with so much treedom and delight. The first and most trying period of the Poonah mission was indeed over. A realisation had taken place of the promise or prophecy — *' The heavenly dew shall nourish The seed in weakness sown ; " and whilst the Government were afraid to give the inhabi- tants of Poonah the boon of European science, the mission had boldly, and with an encouraging measure of success, bestowed on them the greater blessing of Christianity. Though Mr INIitchell taught with much zeal in the school, yet he had a great love for vernacular preaching. One place where he successfully exercised his gifts in this respect was the poorhouse, from which, first and last, he reaped no inconsiderable fruit. So early as 1839, we find among three baptisms recorded as having taken place on Sabbath, loth November of that year, one from the " poor asylum." The next year (1840) Mr James Aitken, an unordained teacher, was sent out to assist Mr Mitchell, He reached Bombay on the 9th April. Besides Messrs Mitchell and Aitken, another agent was in connection with the mission — Mr W. Drake, who was stationed at Indapore,* 84 miles * At that time Indapore was supposed to contain about 6000 inhabitants. A Mr THE ZENANA SCHEME ANTICIPATED. 25/ E.S.E. of Poonah. Including his pupils, there were in con- nection with the mission no fewer than 15 schools — 11 for boys and 5 for girls. The average attendance in the former was about 500, and in the latter about 90 — 590 in all. In a letter by Mr James Mitchell, of Poonah, published in the Missionary Record for 1842, p. 152, there is a fore- shadowing of something very like the zenana scheme. He says — '* Mrs Mitchell has lately begun visiting in the families of some of the girls and others. A few days ago she had rather an interesting inter- view with the females of one of the chief pundits in Poonah, a man of the highest rank, both as a Sirdar (nobleman) and a Brahman. They were so taken with the interview that the pundit called yesterday to ask her to repeat the visit. I hope that thus my long-cherished views, of female missionaries carrying the gospel into the bosoms of the families in the higher as well as the lower grades of society, are about to be realised. May the Lord be with us, and give us wisdom and discretion in the attempt." The foundations of the Poonah mission had been securely laid, and a considerable part of the superstructure reared, before the testing period of the Disruption. CHAPTER III. AFTER THE DISRUPTION. The Disruption made little difference on the Poonah mission. The whole establishment — agents, converts, and pupils, with Messrs Mitchell and Aitken at their head — simply went over to the Free Church, and as there was no property to lose,* were able, without unpleasant controversy, to proceed with their work as before. On July 17 th, 1844, Mr Aitken received ordination, and on 28th January 1845, Price had established schools in and around Indapore, before Mr Drake's arrival. Mr Drake, in 1842, had four schools in that neighbourhood, in as many villages, with 100 pupils in all. * In an appeal issued in 1850, the Rev. Mr Nesbit said, "The mission premises at Poonah, the gift of private liberality on the spot, to the extent of about .^1500, have happily not been affected by the Disruption." 258 POONAH. Miss Joanna Shaw arrived from Europe, as assistant to her sister, Mrs Mitchell, who was superintendent of the female schools. In 1845, Mr Aitken, who found the dry air of the Deccan too stimulating, had to remove to the moister climate of Bombay, and soon afterwards to make a temporary return to Europe. From the Assembly report we learn that no baptisms had taken place during the year 1 844-1 845, but that the schools were flourishing. There were in the English schools about 125 5 Marathi boys' schools „ 365 5 Marathi girls' „ ,, 1 10 Indapore „ ,, 160 760 A year later there were about 200 at Indapore, or 800 in all. It will be observed that the expression is " English schools," in the plural. There were two of them — one in the bazaar, among the population brought a good deal in con- tact with the English, and who therefore felt some faint desire to acquire our tongue ;* and the other in the native city. Great advantage would have been reaped from an amalgamation of the schools, had that been possible, and one was tried soon afterwards, but it was premature, and the old arrangement had for a time to be reverted to. In the infancy of English education in a Hindoo city, the com- modity requires almost to be carried to the doors of the recipients, else they will not trouble themselves about it. It is not till the demand for our language becomes extensive and strong that a bazaar and a city school can be combined without a serious reduction in the attendance. t As we could have known, without being told it, the numbers at the bazaar school were greater than those at the city one. Yet the city school was, in some important respects, the more im- portant one; for, ist, it was attended chiefly by Brahmans, * The bazaar was called the Camp bazaar, or the Sudder, that is, the chief bazaar, and was about a mile from the city. The population was very mixed and mig atory. t When the two English schuolswere temporarily united in 1845, their aggregate number, 125, was reduced to 90. RURAL MISSIONS. 259 while the bazaar pupils were mostly low caste camp fol- lowers ; and, 2nd, the students in the city school belonged to the permanent population, whereas those in the bazaar one were here this year and gone the next. At the Assembly of 1845,* there were in the Poonah native Church 20 adults and II baptized children. That year the Governor of Bombay, Sir George Arthur, presided at the examination, as he had done once before, and expressed himself highly gratified with the system of education pursued, and the re- sults which had been attained. Several baptisms took place about this time, besides which a native Romanist was ad- mitted to the communion. Even in Poonah, the very seat of the old Mahratta Peishwas, there were, in the bazaar at least, Tamul-speaking people, mostly belonging to that domesticated race — the Madras pariahs. The Romanist, who we presume was at first a Tamul pariah, was employed to teach a vernacular school, using his native tongue, and his sincerity was evinced by his accepting 10 rupees a month as teacher, when he might possibly have obtained 15 or 20 as a gentleman's servant. Soon afterwards, Wazir Beg, then the most important native teacher the mission possessed, was offered the head mastership of Dharwar Government school, with 100 rupees monthly of salary, but declined the offer. At this time we find in Mr Mitchell's arrangements a quiet anticipation of what are now termed rural missions. For instance, in 1846 he had the convert Shewanath located at a village called Kotrur. A second one, Appa, was at Little Kondvva, two miles from Poonah, teaching a school with twenty children. Gopalla, the younger of two Brah- * It is always interesting to the student of human progress to see how liistoric scenes repeat themselves, and that in different regions of the world. Readers will remember how poor students of the Reformation period, and Luther himself among the number, had to beg bread from door to door, to aid in their support whilst they prosecuted their studies. The same scene is reproduced even yet in Poonah- In his report for 1845, Mr Mitchell mention-, the veiy interesting fact that some of the Brahman boys literally beg for support whilst under instruction, calling at the houses of a certain number of their richer caste people about dinner-time, and obtaining a little rice from each. The scanty supplies of rice thus obtained keep them in food for the whole day, and leave them free to devote a number of hours to their lessons. 260 POO NAM. man converts baptized a little before, was directed to com- mence operations at a place a mile further off, whilst the other Brahman still remained as a pupil in the English school. We have already had occasion to mention an act of self- sacrifice on the part of Mr Wazir Beg, teacher of one of the English schools. Whereunto such devotion in the interests of the mission tended it required no diviner to forecast. He applied for baptism, and on Friday, i8th September 1846, sent off a very interesting letter to his father, who was messman of H.M. 22nd Regiment, then in Bombay, intimating what was about to take place. Next day, with Wazir Beg's concur- rence, the fact of the intended baptism was intimated in the school, and in consequence soon became mooted abroad in the city. His friends and relatives assembled and attempted by entreaties and denunciations to shake his resolution. One man, in the true spirit of the Mussulman faith, de- clared that whatever the consequence, he would murder him if he embraced Christianity, and then, with oriental infirmity of purpose, failed when the time came to carry Oinl his nefarious threat. Another man, learned and respectable, told him that but for the English Government he should have lost his head instantly, and that he, the said learned man, would have been the first to demand such an execu- tion, a fact probably correct, but most discreditable to the Mussulman religion. On the Sabbath, the intended bap- tism day, the " faithful," especially of the rougher sort, presented themselves in numbers at the Mission-house, and finally the father made his appearance from Bombay, having posted up to Poonah on receiving the letter. Wasir Beg was persuaded to return temporarily home, and would, doubtless, for ever have been prevented from receiving bap- tism had not the magistrate, on being appealed to, inquired into the case, and finding that illegal restraint was being exercised, set the convert at liberty. He was baptized at I J A.M. on Thursday, 24th September. It is satisfactory to BAPTISM OF WAZIR BEG. 201 add that the Mussulman father behaved in a proper manner to his son after his baptism, giving him such of his clothes as had been left at home, and a valuable gold watch and chain which he had some time before presented to him ; and, wonderful to tell, the Mussulmans did not afterwards mob him as he was going and coming to school. Wazir Beg, at the time of his admission into the church, was about 22 years old. His talents were of a high order. He was a good Persian scholar, had attended a little to Arabic, and lately begun Greek. His whole education had been received at the mission school in Poonah, where he had been first a pupil and then a teacher. The schools suf- fered less than might have been anticipated from Wazir Beg's case. There were 130 pupils before it happened, and 107 after, but the pupils taken away were those most advanced in their studies. Of the other baptisms during the year 1846, two claim special notice. One was that of Bala Gopal, mentioned at length in connection with Bombay. Bala had been for three years a pupil in the Poonah mission school when, in Octo- ber 1845, he accompanied Mr Murray Mitchell to enjoy a scholarship there. It was thought well that he should be baptized at Poonah, that he might set a good example to his old class-fellows, and also might save the important Bombay institution from the shock which, in all probability, it would have received had the news been spread abroad that an- other of its Brahmanic pupils had been baptized. The second case was that of a Parsee called Rustomji Nauroji, who was in gaol, by sentence of a court-martial, and had to be brought to church from the prison for the purpose of having the rite administered. His baptism and that of Bala Gopal took place on Sabbath, 27th December 1846. That year was one of death at Poonah. Mr Mitchell wrote in August 1846 that in the two months previously the cholera had cut off about a third of the population. An interesting point connected with the girls' day schools (391) 18 2^2 POONAH. was this — that there were in them pupils from the best Brahmanic famiHes. We do not think any one would have ventured to anticipate this when first the capital of the Peishwas became the seat of a mission. The boarding- school girls, again, were either outcastes or children de- serted by their parents, but notwithstanding this, the estab- lishment of such a school was a great advantage for the pupils being brought up in a Christian way, and having no contact with heathenism, were many of them led to the truth and baptized. For instance, on May ii, 1847, Mr Mitchell intimated the baptism of a boarding-school girl called Girji, about 14 or 15 years of age. The native church now con- sisted of 24 communicants, 6 of whom were employed in the work of the mission. Some time afterwards, there was an election of elders in the native church, and Mr Cas- sidy, an Indo-Briton, and Wazir Beg and Vitoba, native converts, were regularly ordained to the oversight of the native church, which, towards the close of 1848, had 28 in full communion. Mr Cassidy was teacher of the bazaar English school, and Mr Wazir Beg of the city one. In July 1849, the former contained 90 pupils and the latter 50. As a specimen of the devotion to mission work which one of these elders, Mr Cassidy, exhibited, it may be mentioned that when, in 1849, the local funds were so inadequate to the support of the schools that it was seriously proposed to give some of them up, and simultaneously with this, the foreign mission finances of the home Church were so seriously embarrassed that the question was mooted whether it might not be needtul to abandon either Nagpore or Caf- fraria, Mr Cassidy * came generously forward and offered for the year between July 1849 and July 1850 to accept 50 instead of 150 rupees a month. About the former of these dates, he thus wrote to Mr Mitchell — "My mother and I have been thinking of the proposal to give up * In 1851, Mr Cassidy having adopted Baptist views, ceased connection with the Free Church mission. THE " DAKSHINA " REMODELLED. 26 the African mission, and find that we may live at a much less expense than we do now. We can afford to give ;^roo this year for that pur- pose, from June 1849 to June 1850. ^50 will be quite sufficient for our maintenance. . . . Should be we able, we shall assist still further to support our brethren in Africa. There is nothing which has so much distressed us as this proposal. Should it be carried out, I shall never feel happy with any amount of salary." On 24th July 1850, it was recorded that during the by- gone year Mr Cassidy had subscribed ;£i 50 to the mission. The Indapore branch of the operations was now flourishing. There were there 350 pupils ; the Government had given the use of a school house, while the Fatel (mayor or pro- vost) of the village of Limgaum, a man called Shivaram, had been baptized. From the report to the Assembly of 1850 we learn that between 1836 and that time 42 adult baptisms had taken place m connection with the mission. Deaths and removals, however, had prevented the communicants from rising above 29. Whilst the successive Peishwas were in their glory at Poonah, they were in the habit of annually dispensing a daksJwia or gratuity to their caste people, the Brahmans. In some years this ill-advised expenditure amounted to ;£3o,ooo sterling. When our Government obtained the country it continued the daks/wia, though on a reduced scale, paying away only about 30,000 rupees, or ^^3000 sterling a year. The money was given nominally for the encouragement of learning, by which was meant Sanscrit ; but it produced liitle result even in the study of that tongue, owing to the fact that a Brahman, who had once become a recipient of the gratuity, continued to be a pensioner year by year to the end of his life. In most instances, of course, the oriental love of indolence overcame him at once when he found himself with an independent salary for life, and in too many cases he at once ceased to study Sanscrit, or anything else. It was supposed that the Government, the members of which were too astute not to see this scandal, only re- 264 POONAH. quired a gentle pressure to be put upon them by the more enhghtened natives to induce them to remodel the dakshifia. Towards the end of 1849 that pressure came from some enlightened and aspiring young men, chiefly old scholars of Mr James Mitchell's. These petitioned the Government for permission, on certain conditions, to share in the annual money distribution, given nominally for the encouragement of learning. They wished that it might be dispensed to those who produced the best original works in Marathi, or the best translation from that language into English, though they were so tender of vested interests that they desired the recipients of the dakshina to enjoy it as long as they lived, and that change should be gradually introduced as the present incumbents died out. Need it be added that the Brahmans of the old school, though treated with such tenderness, stood aghast at a proposal so dreadful as that Government patronage should be transferred from drones to working bees ! They threatened to excommuni- cate the young men if they did not at once withdraw the petition they were preparing, and the youthful literati were obliged to obey. It is in circumstances like these that the value of a free press most markedly shines forth. The newspaper editors got hold of the suppressed petition, and published it with strongly favourable comments, and before long the Government, thus informed of the state of affairs, granted the prayer of the unpresented petition, and re- modelled the dakshina.'^ This narrative affords one out of many illustrations which might be brought forward, that the mere statistics of the baptisms from an institution gives no adequate criterion of the amount of influence it is exert- ing on the community and on legislation. The influence of the mission was observable in another way. Of the converts who acted as subordinate agents, three — Narayan Keshawa, Gopal Keshawa, and Appa Nasi- * In 1852 no fewer than sixty-nine vernacu'ar works, though most of them, it must be confessed, translations, were handed in by competitors for a share in the remodelled daki/titia. A BHEEL CHIEF. 26$ kar — were converted Brahmans ; and in 1852 Mr Mitchell mentioned that all the Brahman converts in connection with the Free Church in Bombay, and the American mission at Ahmednugger, were originally from Poonah, and that the former had received their first Christian instruction, if not even their first impressions, in one of the Poonah mis- sion English schools. In 1850, a chief of the predatory tribe called Bheels, aged 16 or 17, who derived a revenue from a number of villages, into the full possession of which he was to come in about two years, was brought to Poonah for education in the Government College, his hereditary karbarie, or manager of the estate, who, moreover, was his cousin, accompanying him to the city. They were placed in charge of Mr Wazir Beg, who had leave to give them what instruction he pleased, and who possessed such influence over them that they attended his daily family worship, and even at times accompanied him to church. Soon afterwards, if not even as early as this, the mission had a European congregation of between 200 and 300, mostly soldiers, with about thirty communicants. Mr James Mitchell and his coadjutors felt it difficult, nay, even im- possible, properly to attend to all the varied departments of effort carried on in connection with the Poonah mission, and in the early part of July 185 1, the Free Presbytery of Bombay resolved to send relays of its Presidency members to render assistance at Poonah. Mr J. Murray Mitchell was the first to go thither. The arrangement now men- tioned continued for many years, and, while effective for its primary object, it carried with it this further advantage, that when the strength of the Bombay labourers became worn out through the exhausting nature of the climate in which they ordinarily resided, the drier and more bracing atmo- sphere of Poonah again recruited their energy. In June 1852 a young Brahman, long in the Poonah institution, and for some time employed as a monitor, was 266 POONAH. baptized by the American labourers at Sattara, another proof, if indeed another were needed, of the great and growing importance of the educational work carried on by the Poonah mission. CHAPTER IV. FATHER AND SON COADJUTORS IN THE MISSION. On August 10, 1852, the Rev. William Kinnaird Mitchell was ordained a missionary to Poonah, where his father had so long laboured, and, with Mrs Mitchell, reached the old Mahratta capital on the 2otli January 1853. There was need for an increase of Christian agents, for unbelief was alarmingly prevalent among the alumni of the Government College, whose education had rendered them too enlightened to believe in Hindooism, while it had left them wholly ignorant of the claims which can be brought forward on strong evidence in favour of Christianity. The youths of intellectual vigour, but sceptical tendencies, who swarmed in Poonah, were only a few of them natives of the place ; the city, being in a manner a university seat, drew the ablest and most ambitious young men from all the Mahratta coun- try, and it was a noble work to lead them, so far as man could do it, in the direction of religious truth. At this time the English congregation already mentioned had become yet larger and more influential. It afforded a noble sphere for Christian effort. Writing on 9th May 1853, Mr Kinnaird Mitchell said that the day previously about 400 soldiers belonging to the 78th Regiment had been pre- sent at the morning service, making, with others, about 450 present, while in the evening there were about 150. Towards the end of the year the Rev. James Mitchell was compelled to repair to Europe for the restoration of his FEMALE DEVOTION TO CHRIST. 26^ health, which had suffered from thirty years' arduous labour in India, and the Rev. J. Murray Mitchell proceeded to Poonah temporarily to occupy his place. The departure for a time of Mr James Mitchell evoked the warmest feel- ings of respect and affection for him from all the converts, the pupils, and the friends of the mission. In December 1853 Mr Wazir Beg* was licenced a preacher. On the 27th January following he opened a Hindustani school for Mohammedans in the city. About forty boys joined it, a large number, considering the peculiar difficulty everywhere found to induce Mohammedans to consent to receive education, especially if imbued with Christianity. On Sabbath, i6th July 1854, Mr Murray Mitchell baptized a middle-aged woman, called Jijibai, of very respectable caste, "but not of much intelligence. For a time, Mr Mitchell hesitated to administer the sealing rite, on account of the limited knowledge the inquirer showed of the histo- rical portion of the Bible. But his scruples were overcome by the affection she showed for Jesus. " I know nothing," said she ; " I am as dull as a clod, but I clasp the feet of Jesus, I clasp them to my breast." Her husband was a Christian, having been baptized in 1851. It is the practice of Hindoo families while they work to relieve the tedium of their occupation by singing ; their ditties on such occasions are always grossly idolatrous, and sometimes morally offen- sive. Mr Mitchell requested her husband to write down verbatifTi the words which she now sung, and he related that they were these : — "To my poor house a stranger has come, Even King Jesus, the darling of heaven, I run to bid Him welcome. * About a year afterwards Mr Wazir Beg visited Scotland. He ultimately joined the United Presbyterian Church, and is now, we believe, in Australia. He lately published an excellent book on Presbyterianism, and we were glad to perceive, from a donation of his, if we rightly remember, of;i^5 to the Poonah mission, that he had not forgotten the institution in which he had received the great boon of a reli- gious education. 268 POONAH. " With gods of stone what more have I to do ? I clasp my Saviour's feet ; My soul clings to Jesus. " The Lord of all is my Father now, Jesus is my brother now, I shall not want. " Since I clasped Thy feet to my bosom. Rich, rich am I, O Jesus ! Oh, leave me never ! " When the examination of the mission school was in pro- gress in 1854, Lord Elphinstone, the Governor of Bombay, entered unsolicited, and remained a full hour, taking deep interest in the proceedings. Whilst explaining that his visit was in no respect official, he yet personally expressed his warm wish for the prosperity of the Poonah and the other institutions designed to spread the truth. The same year two very interesting baptisms took place. One of the most courageous Christian officers in India was Brigadier Mackenzie, who with his talented lady has done much to spread the gospel in the East, Having been one of the heroes and prisoners in Affghanistan, during our disastrous occupation of that mountain region, he had many acquaintances and friends quite outside the Indian empire. Among others there was a Persian, or Kuzzilbash,* called Aga Mohammed Khan, whom the brigadier placed in charge of the Poonah mission about the year 1850. Four years later the Aga was baptized, and his wife, formerly a bigoted Mussulmanee, but now giving good evidence of her having received the truth in the love of it, was admitted into the Church along with her husband in November 1854. The ancestors of Aga Mohammed had been high in the service of Nadir Shah, when that ferocious conqueror was in the zenith of his fame. Under Mr Murray Mitchell's auspices, the institution "* The Kuzzilbashes of Affghanistan were followers of the celebrated Persian con- queror, Nadir Shah. Most of them were, to a certain extent, on the British side during the Affghan struggle. PROGRESS. 269 wonderfully flourished. In 1855, he mentioned that there were now in it 250 pupils. It was, therefore, unpleasantly crowded. Adding those from the vernacular schools, there were altogether about 900 pupils under instruction. In the fall of 1855, the Rev. James Mitchell again returned to Poonah. While at home, he had issued an appeal* for funds to supply some of the wants of the mission. ;j^iooo were asked for additional buildings, between ;£"4oo and ;^5oo for apparatus, and from twenty to thirty scholarships at jQ^, IDS. each per annum. Though of what was sought only a portion was at the time obtained, yet his visit home proved an aid to the Poonah mission.t A new source of income about this time became available, though at first it was but of trifling amount ; in other words, most of the vernacular pupils began to pay fees. None could yet be exacted from the students of English in the institution, because the pupils in the Government College paid none, and had the benefit of eighty scholarships. At the examination of the Poonah institution, at the end of 1855, both the Revs. Dr Duff and Wilson were present. Dr Duff spoke for an hour and a quarter an address described as well fitted to conciliate and impress the audience, which was one of a very interesting character, consisting as it did of the elite of the Government College youth, all the native professors who knew English, and the mission pupils. On the 24th of February 1856, regular Marathi preaching in the city in a large room was begun, and a commodious hall fitted for the institution was rented from a high Brahman — a wonderful thing to occur in such a focus of caste pride as Poonah. The boarding-school was also flourishing. Mr Kinnaird Mitchell mentioned that the * In the appeal, Mr Mitchell mentioned that of the 100,000 inhabitants, more than 20,000 were Brahmans. t When Mr Mitchell left home, £62,^ had been collected for buildings, and eight or ten scholarships of £^, los. each annually had been obtained. The number was afterwards increased to twelve. 270 POONAH. girls were occupied about an equal time in lessons and at work, and regularly took a walk across the beautiful plain before the mission premises under the care of their matron and peon.* They are kept in constant employment, as several ladies — some of them from a distance — send orders to be executed in school. At the ladies' bazaar, the speci- mens of crochet and sewing were approved, and, what was better, purchased. In November 1856, Mr Mitchell baptized two adult women, both of good caste, and about the same time the missionaries were greatly gratified to learn that the magis- trate, Mr Duncan Davidson, had prohibited the cruel and superstitious practice of hook swinging throughout the Poonah coUectoiate.t About the end of 1856, the mission sustained a loss by the return to Europe by medical orders of the Rev. W. Kinnaird Mitchell, and that with little hope of his ever being able to return to India. The Rev. James Wardrop Gardner, ordained on October i, 1856, was sent out in his room. CHAPTER V. AFTER THE MUTINIES. Everywhere in India, during 1857 1 and 1858, there was an uprising of the adherents of the false faiths in that land against Christians. As a specimen of the disposition then * The word peon is very difficult to translate. In fact, there is no corresponding term in the English language. Peons are petty native officials, who wear belts as a badge of their connection with Government, or with some respectable authority. Policemen, beadles, and janitors, are all peons in the East. t A coUectorate, it should be mentioned, is about the size of an English county, or shire. X In connection with the mutinies, it maybe remarked, that the 78th Highlanders, who did good service in protecting Calcutta, and fought with great bravery in all General Havelock's battles, had shortly before been attendants on the mission Church in Pounah. General Havelock himself, though a Baptist, was a hearer of Mr Mitchell's for several years when at Poonah, and communicated with the Presbyterian congregation. — Missionary Record, Feb. 1858. PERSECUTION OF A NATIVE PREACHER. 2/1 prevalent to maltreat the professors of our holy religion, the following incident deserves record : — A convert of the Bombay mission, called Mr Ramachandra, being originally from the Deccan, found the relaxing air of the Concan hurtful to his health, and removed in consequence tempo- rarily to Poonah, where he taught a class in the institution, besides preaching in the streets. A number of young men returning from a Government office found him engaged in the latter duty, and attacked him, pulling him about and casting him again and again on the ground, launching at him all the while the most abusive language. They were even heard to say that could they find him by himself without any protection, they would kill him outright. Hap- pily there appeared at this critical moment constables, who not merely rescued Ramachandra, but arrested some of his assailants, and took them to prison. The head of the city poUce, a Parsee, was, as Mr Mitchell gladly acknowledged, most anxious that all connected with the mission should receive adequate protection. A native preacher, it should be added, is much more likely to be assaulted when he is labouring alone than when he has the companionship of a European missionary. In the report to the Assembly of 1859, it was mentioned that there were 856 pupils in the Poonah schools, that four adult baptisms had taken place during the year, and that the native Church now consisted of forty-five members. At the end of the year. Lord Elphinstone was again at the exa- mination, and this time gave the prizes away. There were then 289 names on the roll of the institution. In one of the early months of i860, Mr James Mitchell was again ordered home. Before departing, he, on the 13th May, baptized no fewer than thirteen converts. Three were girls from the boarding-school, and the rest inquirers either from the general population, or from the poor asylum. As on the former occasion, the Rev. Dr J. Murray Mitchell supplied his place at Poonah. 272 POO N AH. The mission had led the way in female education, but by this time the natives themselves were more and more decidedly engaging in the work, and one of the Poonah Sirdars (noblemen), Moro Rughoonath Dhumdherrey, Esq., handed over a school to the superintendence of the Free Church agents, whilst continuing to pay its expenses.* With this addition, the female scholars in charge of the mission were, at the examination on Friday, 31st August 1860, 187. All castes were admissible, though at that time there happened to be no outcastes in the schools. The pupils were chiefly Brahman and Marathi girls, with a few Mussulmanees. Mr Mitchell's great ability as a teacher told on the mis- sion, as it had done on the previous occasion, and on the 26th October i860, he was able to intimate that there were about 440 studying English in the institution, more than two- thirds of them Brahmans. Upwards of 100 more were learning Marathi. A school at Indapore was peti- tioned for by the inhabitants — the former one having been abandoned ; and so eager were the people for it, that they intimated their willingness to pay fees, as did the Mussul- mans of Poonah, if a Hindoostanee school were set up. Even without these additions, the mission had then under its charge about 800 pupils, there having been an increase of between 200 and 300 since Mr Murray Mitchell's arrival from Bombay, a few months before. By the Assembly of 1 86 1, the pupils were 976. The female scholars had in- creased to fully 250, being an augmentation of sixty during the previous year. On November 5, Dr Murray Mitchell admitted to the Church a man and his wife. The wife was the Ayah (servant) ''■ The female schools of the mission were then six in number, viz. : — Pupils. 1. The Orphanage and Boarding School in the mission " compound," 34 2. One day school in the Sudder Bazaar, containing • • • 35 3. 4, and 5. Three schools in the city, 103 6. Moro Rughoonath Dhumdherrey's school 15 INTERIOR OF THE INSTITUTION, 2/3 of a lady, and had visited England. The man, Premdas, was a Gosavi (religious mendicant), aged apparently about 46, and who had numerous disciples, whose minds must naturally have been affected by the departure from Hin- dooism of their teacher. Three boarding-school girls had shortly before been baptized. About this time a party of visitors having gone to see the institution, one of their number, a lady, gave a graphic description of what she witnessed. The building, as she learned, had once been the dwelling of the chief officer of the court of the Peishwa, and when once she and her com- panions had made their way along the dark and narrow pas- sage into the hall, they found the latter spacious enough. A row of pillars ran down the centre, supporting the ceiling, both pillars and ceiling being carved in the most elaborate style, in a dark wood of high polish. This contrasted finely with the white-washed walls and the white dresses of the boys, who were ranged in two or three rows along the whole length of the building. The intelligence they showed was very remarkable. On a question being asked by one of the party as to the caste of the boys, Dr Mitchell addressing the class, said — '• Let all the Mussulmans stand up." One or two stood up. " Let all who are not Brahmans stand up." Again a very few got up. " Now, let the Brahmans stand up," whereupon nearly the whole sprung to their feet, seeming to think it a very good joke. On the 28th September 1862, a girl called Ramee, aged twelve, from the boarding-school, died. She had been found by the police abandoned, in a very neglected state, at a place called Kandala, about eighty miles from Poonah. The police, who believed that she had been stolen from her parents, not knowing where to send her, gave her to the missionaries. She was at first afraid to look any one in the face, but by and by, encouraged by kindness, she gave her narrative, which was a painful one. She had been in the hands of gypsies, who, finding that she was not an apt 274 POONAH. enough scholar for their purpose, branded and then aban- doned her. The Juvenile Missionary Association in Dr Tweedie's congregation, at the suggestion of Mrs James Cunningham, undertook her support. She seemed after a time to come under the influence of divine grace, and was baptized in the early part of 1862, but before the end of the year, she became a great sufferer from boils, and finally died, as already mentioned, on the 28th September. On the nth January 1863, Mr James Mitchell baptized four natives. One of these was a blind man, of Mussulman extraction. Another was a Kunbi cultivator, a third was a woman also of the Kunbi caste, who took refuge in the Mission-house, having on her way thrown her household gods into a well. The sphere among the young Brahmans of Poonah had now become so great and important, that it was necessary that further aid should be sent from home, and Mr John Small, who for four years previously had been teacher ot the Free Church school at Aberuthven, having been ap- pointed to the Poonah institution, left Gravesend in the Windsor Castle on the 27th July 1863. He reached Poonah on Wednesday, 7th December. On 7th September 1864, a young man called Krishna, of the Goundi or Mason caste, was baptized. He had pre- viously stood, against the efforts of his female relatives and others to shake his resolution. With their tears, loud outcries, falling at the feet, tearing of hair, &c., in short, such a spectacle as deeply affects a European missionary, Krishna was but little moved, believing it to be in the main hypocritical acting. " That it was so in this case," says Mr James Mitchell, " seemed very evident ; for when they found that, notwithstanding all their wailings, he (Krishna) stood firm, they changed their tactics and poured on him all the imprecations and curses they could devise." His wife and child were taken from him as a punishment for his embrac- ing Christianity. DEATH OF REV. JAMES MITCHELL. 275 At the annual examination of the girls' schools, Lady Frere, wife of Sir Bartle Frere, Governor of Bombay, was present, as were his Highness the ex-Ameer of Scinde, the sons of Sir Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy, the Hon. Jugannath Shunkersett, and other influential natives. The mission had then one female boarding and six day schools, with an aggregate of 310 pupils. In the former were twenty-three boarders and seven day scholars. Formerly Mrs Mitchell was the superintendent, but now Mrs Gardner had taken her place. On 1 2th March 1865, Mr Mitchell baptized two people. The case of one was interesting. He was originally of the Kayasta (writer) caste, a very respectable one in India, and containing among its members, Chundu Lai, then prime minister of the Hyderabad State. He had become a Gosavi (a religious monk and mendicant), but becoming disgusted with this mode of Hfe, had again betaken himself to secular employment. He was about thirty-five years of age when he was baptized. One source of support for the female schools at Poonah arose from boxes of fancy work sent out by the Ladies' Society and other friends at home. These were forwarded alternately to Poonah and Nagpore, or were shared between the two ; and at one of the sales — that held towards the end of 1865 — Sir Bartle and Miss Frere, with the staff of the former, came and made purchases. £,'2\o were realised. About the same time the Rev. Mr with Mrs Angus arrived at Bombay, on his road to Poonah, where, however, in providence, it was ordered that he should supply a vacancy instead of adding another to the number of the ordained missionaries. In 1866, the long missionary career of Mr James Mitchell came to a close. He expired on the heights of Matheran on the 28th of March, after a short illness. " He died," says the Rev. Dr Wilson. " in the full exercise of all his mental and spiritual faculties, and in the possession of perfect rest and 2j6 POONAH. peace in Jesus, and joy in the salvation of his God. Mrs Mitchell, his eldest daughter, Dr Fraser, and Mr Small were present Avith him when the solemn event occurred, and they were all greatly comforted by wit- nessing the triumph of his faith in the Redeemer." Mr Mitchell was the oldest of the missionaries. He was about sixty-six when he died ; and with the exception of two short visits home, had laboured in India continuously for the long period of forty-three years. Though his talents were not remarkable, yet his perseverance in labour, his amiability, and his devoted piety, won all around him, and sincere regret was expressed by many, from Sir Bartle Frere, Governor of Bombay, downwards, when the news arrived of his death. A forecast of this sorrow was given when he was compelled to go temporarily home in 1853. A correspon- dent thus wrote of him — "His praise is on all sides around. It is quite astonishing to find one who long occupied, in several respects, a critical and difficult post all alone, and evidently was never afraid to raise his testimony on behalf of the highest principle, universally esteemed and beloved. His down- right candour made all respect him, even in rebuke, and his warm heart made him a bosom friend of many through the presidency, but especially in and around Poonah. The native congregation look on him emphati- cally as a father, and many were the tears shed at his departure. ..." CHAPTER VI. AFTER MR MITCHELL S DEATH. After the death of Mr James Mitchell, Mr Gardner became the head of the Poonah mission, with Mr Angus, recently arrived, and Mr Small, an unordained missionary teacher. A girl — Savitri — soon afterwards baptized from the board- ing school, took the name of Margaret Mitchell, in grateful remembrance of Mrs James Mitchell, who had been very kind to her ; whilst another, who had been found standing solitary and helpless in the mission "compound" in i860, and who, from her wild, gipsy-like character, had been called GRANTS-IN-AID. 2// Topsy, after the negress of that name in Mrs Beecher Stowe's well-known fiction, " Uncle Tom's Cabin," was, at her own request, called Maria Cunningham — Maria, after Mrs Murray Mitchell, who placed her in the school, and Cunningham, in gratitude to Mrs James Cunningham of Edinburgh, who had sent her support. Of three baptisms (not from the boarding school) which took place soon after- wards, two were interesting from this circumstance, that the man Bapoo was a Mahratta, properly so called, and con- nected with the noble family of Shirakay, and his wife Gunga, with the royal house of Bhonslah. Before the end of 1866, Government had begun to give grants to the educational operations of the mission, a boon which might have been expected to be bestowed some years before. The sums paid were — Rupees. Annas. Central Institution 2419 Mussulman School 53 8 City Marathi School . lOQ Camp Marathi School 46 Total . . . 2627 8 Or about £262, 14s. 6d. sterling. Nothing was bestowed on the female schools ; in fact, nothing had been asked, for it was felt to be useless, unless certain Government rules for grants-in-aid first underwent modification. Though unassisted, the girls' schools were doing a good work, and ehcited the commendation of Miss Carpenter when she visited them in company with Sir Alexander and Lady Grant. The boarding-school was very helpful to the Church, nine of the elder girls being communicants, and acting in a manner befitting their profession. A woman who had received her first religious impression when in the service of Lady Grant, was admitted to the Church by baptism. Sir Alexander and Lady Grant, with Miss Carpenter, being present on the interesting occasion. On Sabbath, 4th November 1866, a session was formed (391) 1 9 278 POONAH. for the native Church, Dr Wilson having previously come to Poonah for the purpose of ordaining elders. Those set apart on the occasion were the Rev. Mr Gardner, the Rev. Mr Angus, and Mr Bapu Bhairava. The last named is the only one of the three who has not yet been introduced to our readers' notice. He was an old man of seventy-five, a sub-overseer and account keeper of the Poonah Camp Poor's Asylum. He died next year, " calling on the name of Christ, and saying he was going home." In June 1867, the Rev. James Paterson, a Free Church minister, who had been shortly before appointed harbour missionary in Bombay, visited Poonah, and addressed the pupils assembled for a religious service or Sabbath- school on the Lord's-day morning. Mr Paterson suggested that the addresses should be continued, if possible, a variety of speakers being secured. The suggestion being acted on, Dr Young spoke on Sabbath morning, July 7, and Colonel Field on the 14th. The novelty of an officer of high rank coming to address the students drew together a number of young men from the Government College no less than from the mission institution, to whom the Colonel spoke with great power and faithfulness. On the 21st, Captain Jacob made the address, on the 28th Colonel Phayre, the Quarter- master-General, and Colonel Kirby the week afterwards. The Rev. Narayan Sheshadri was to appear next, and then several officers were to take their turns. Other missions might well imitate this simple but highly promising method of laying the truth with effect before the opening minds of the Hindoo youths. Soon afterwards, loss of health compelled Mr Gardner of Poonah to pay a temporary visit home, from which he returned in 1869, Messrs Angus and Small had carried on the work with energy in his absence ; and the latter, having turned his thoughts towards the ministry, was studying with the view of his becoming a missionary. His ordination took place in St Andrew's Church, Bombay, towards the THE OLD MISSION HOUSE TAKEN DOWN. 2'jg close of 1869, his "trials " having been sustained with high approbation, especially his Marathi discourse, on which high encomiums were passed for its simplicity, its idiomatic purity, and the excellent pronunciation with which it was delivered. About the same time a mournful but inevitable adieu had to be paid to the old Mission -house. There the native Church had been cradled, and nurtured in its infancy, till now it had grown up to the goodly stature of possessing about eighty communicants. For more than thirty years, also, the English congregation had met within the same building, and had contracted hallowed associations for the place in which they had assembled. Still there were reasons for bidding it adieu ; so after there had been a communion in the native congregation, presided over by the Rev. Baba Padmanji, who had recently been elected its pastor ; and after a second service — one with the English congregation — had concluded with the intimation that there would not be any more preaching there, the house was finally vacated. Soon the pickaxe and the hammers were at work upon the walls, and the process of demolition began. When the thatch and cloth ceiling were removed, and the daylight streamed in, it then became apparent that it had not been abandoned a day too soon, and that those who had for some time back been afraid to enter it were not without justification for their fears. The cracked and gaping walls, and the broken joists and rafters, showed that it would have been a tempting of providence to have remained any longer. A grant was obtained from the home Church to aid in the erection of a more substantial building. The new Mission-house was not long in being put up. When completed, it was occupied by Mr and Mrs Gardner. The new church, which was erected chiefly by means of contributions from friends in India, was opened for pubHc worship on January 1, 187 1. In June 1871, a pupil in the English school, called 280 POONAH. Digambar, a milkman by caste, sought baptism, his rela- tives and friends behaving in the way of which the earlier history of the several missions furnishes so many painful instances, but which, it was hoped, was becoming rarer with the increase of enlightenment in the land. A short time afterwards, Mr Baba baptized a sepoy. That year, the Poonah mission sustained two serious losses : Mrs Angus, who had admirably discharged her re- sponsible duties as the wife of a missionary, but had been sent to her native land to recruit her shattered health, died at Rothesay on the 26th September, and Mr Gardner, who had again been ordered to Europe, was so worn out by his labour in India that he was not likely to be again in a state to labour with effect in that land. On finding that he would be unable to return, the Rev. Mr Beaumont of Chinsurah, temporarily at home as an invalid, volunteered to transfer his services to the Poonah mission, and his offer being thankfully accepted by the Committee, he, with his wife, sailed for Bombay on 6th February of the ensuing year. Mrs Beaumont subsequently took charge of the boarding- school, to which, during many years, Mrs Gardner had ren- dered most effective service. In the Assembly report for 1872, the pupils of the Poonah mission were set down at 434. Who, when the Peishwas were in the height of their glory, and the Mahratta confederacy had, in the opinion of some, a better prospect than ourselves of obtaining the sovereignty of India, would have dared to forecast the establishment, the progress, and ultimately the gratifying success of the Poonah mission ? CHAPTER VII. S AT T A RA. The town of Sattara is situated in the Deccan, a little east from the Syhadree hills, about 1 1 5 miles in a straight line THE S ATTAR A MISSION. 28 1 south-east from Bombay, and 55 south from Poonah. It was the capital of Seevajee and his immediate successors till the first of the independent Peishwas set up his court at Poonah. The town of Sattara is not large. It lies in a valley dominated by the fort, which is on the summit of an adjacent hill. On the death of the last Rajah in 1848 without lineal descendents, the principality was held to lapse to the British Government. Then a claimant started up, and made great efforts here and in India to obtain the sovereignty, but all in vain. We saw him received at Nag- pore by the Rajah at a torch-light procession, in which there was a march of horses, some with silver and some with golden trappings, whilst the howdahs or seats on the backs of the elephants shone resplendent with crystal. But, not- withstanding all this display, the small British fort crowning Seetabuldee hill remained grimly silent, and would not by thundering forth a salute acknowledge the claimant king. Sattara was occupied by Mr Aitken about the year 1850. He had some difficulty at times in raising money to carry on his operations, the European population being too small to furnish him with adequate supplies. Indeed, he was generally dependent on friends at a distance, and at one time received pecuniary assistance for his evangelistic work from Sir Henry Havelock, and at another from Mr (now Sir Bartle) Frere. The whole labour of a school containing 200 pupils for the most part devolved on himself. This school was for years held in a house so low that Mr Aitken's head nearly touched the roof, while the temperature occasionally stood at 115°. An effort was made to obtain a large building capable of accommodating 1000, which had been a residence of the late prime minister of the Rajah, but it was resolutely refused, that it might not be " polluted by a filthy beef-eater." In August 1852, however, Rajaduya, a youth whom the late Rajah of Sattara wished to adopt as his heir, came in great state to see the examination of the school. The British Commissioner advised him to become 282 POO N AH. a pupil, which he did, and then, beef-eating notwithstanding, the building so long refused was given, and that at the extremely' moderate rate of ;^i5 per annum. Towards the end of 1858, when it became evident that the health of Mr Hislop would speedily necessitate his tem- porary return to Europe, steps were taken to supply his place for a season. It was thought that the best method of meeting the difficulty would be to send Mr White to Nag- pore, bringing Mr Aitken to Bombay to supply his place,* and abandoning Sattara as a Free Church station. The arrangement was carried out, and Sattara was given up. We are not aware that Mr Aitken baptized any natives during the years in which he laboured there. The popular belief was that he demanded too high a standard from applicants for the sacred ordinance, and that they, becoming ultimately tired of waiting, asked and received baptism from other missions. No work done for Christ is ultimately abortive, and it cannot be doubted that there were and must have been permanent results from the temporary Sattara mission. CHAPTER Vlir. THE RURAL MISSION AT INDAPORE AND JAULNA. Our own view is clear and decided that, for an attack on the caste hierarchy of the great Indian cities, street preach- ing has been found comparatively powerless, and that no method of evangelistic operations has in efficiency ap- proached the "institution" system. But India being an agricultural, and not a commercial, much less a manu- facturing country, the cities are proportionately far fewer in number, and, with a few exceptions, are smaller in popula- tion that those of Britain, so that the list of places in which * Mr Aitken's connection with the Free Church mission ceased in October 1868, and he died in India in 1870. A RURAL MISSION PROJECTED. 283 a powerful institution can exist (outside of Lower Bengal at least) is very limited. The great mass of the Hindoos, then, must be evangelised by preaching. Though it is, of course, impossible to state spiritual results in mathematical formulas, yet founding our view on past experience, we believe it an approximation to the truth to say that the power of an efficiently conducted " institution " is in the direct ratio of the size of the city in which it exists, while the influence of preaching, as tested by the number and character of the baptisms, is in the mverse ratio of the magnitude of the town or village in which the gospel has been proclaimed. In other words, preaching has been more successful in the towns than in the cities, in the villages than in the towns, and in the hamlets tenanted by the wild tribes than in the villages. Again, while the success of the institutions has been mainly among Brahmans, or, at the least, Sudras of respectable position, that of preaching has been greatest among the despised outcastes, whether subdued and thrust down to the lowest part of Hindoo society, or still wild among the woods and hills. When, therefore, it was resolved to establish a mission in which preaching, specifically so called, should be the "para- mount method of operations, the locality judiciously selected was among towns and villages, so much so that it was called, though not with perfect accuracy, ''rural." There had for a long time been, and there still continues to be, a mission of the very kind contemplated, that of the Ameri- cans at Ahmednugger, in the Deccan. The brethren there, who at first gave prominence in their arrangements to educa- tion, afterwards completely altered their system, and directed almost their entire energies to preaching. In the Alis- sionary Record iox January 1861 there was a letter from Dr J. Murray Mitchell, who, in company with Narayan Shes- hadri and two other converts, had just visited the Ahmed- nugger mission, on occasion of the jubilee of the American Board and was much struck by the sight, 300 out of the 284 POONAH. 400 and more* converts of the mission having come from the villages where they lived to take part in the celebration. Dr Mitchell expressed the strong desire that a similar mis- sion could be set up in the villages near Poonah. In the winter of 1861-1 862 he visited Jaulna, where two of the native agents of the Bombay Free Church Mission had laboured for several months, and found some fruits of their exertions still remaining t — {Fr-ee Church Missionary Record^ 1863, p. 222). In a subsequent letter, dated January 25, 1862, he said that a serious error, he thought, had been committed in allowing the work at Indapore and Jaulna to be interrupted, and stated that Mr Narayan Sheshadri would soon proceed to one or other of the stations just mentioned with the view of recommencing operations. Evidently Dr Mitchell was the prime mover in the revival of the mission over which the Rev. Narayan Sheshadri \ now presides. In 1862 also, Indapore was selected as the first seat of the mission, and in the month of May operations were actively commenced. § A vernacular school was set up, to which Mahars, after some demur, sent their children, and a col- porteur, Hira Singh, was sent to sell Testaments and tracts. Once a month Narayan preached to the British engineers and labourers employed on the railway at some distance from Indapore. After eight months' advocacy of female education, he next established a female school. Three months after it was begun thirty-five were in attendance, all girls of caste. Narayan, in addition to taking the religious part of the teaching in the ordinary school, instructed also between sixty and eighty children of the * "The converts," Dr Mitchell says, "are above 400, and of late their number has been rapidly increasing. The influence spreads among the lowest castes, but is hardly perceptible among the middle and upper classes." t One of these, Mr Haldane Jenwick, was sent to Jaulna as early as the autumn of 1855, :ind was supported by Christian officers at the station. I We remember with affection and esteem Narayan Sheshadri when we had Chrisiian intercourse with him at Bombay many years ago, and, as before stated, believe him to be one of the most valuable converts which God has ever given to any Indian mission. J It was estimated that by this time Indapore had increased to 10,000 inhabitants. RURAL MISSION AT IN DA PORE AND J A ULNA. 285 lower classes from the Word of God, in two ragged schools which he had set up. A rich Hindoo merchant soon after- wards paid for the establishment of a second female school. Two catechists, the one Premdas and the ot,her the colpor- teur Hira Singh, were sent to labour in and around Jaulna.* In 1863, Rawji Mulhari, a trained apothecary, who had served under Government for many years, and who, with his whole family, was baptized by Dr Murray Mitchell, was engaged by Mr Sheshadri as a native medical mis- sionary for Indapore and Jaulna. Indapore was divided into five districts for preaching purposes. In 1863 the baptism of a middle-aged Brahman, called Madhoo Rao Rajaram, was reported. He was originally of the immoral sect of Shaktas, or worshippers of the goddess Devi. In 1864 Hira Singh's wife was received into the Church. Narayan reported that he was in the habit of keeping the Aveek of prayer requested by the Evangelical Alliance. So utterly has he flung from him the fetters of caste pedigree that, speaking of the " higher" and the lower classes, he says — " I use this word for the sake of convenience, I myself acknowledge no such distinction." At the first Christian marriage which took place in the mission, about 400, including the leading inhabitants, were invited to be present, and came, when Narayan showed them how much of British prosperity was to be traced to the honour acceded in our land to woman. An Anglo vernacular school was soon after set up in Indapore. Twice a year Narayan visited Jaulna, and found it more disposed to receive the truth than Indapore. In 1865 there were in the Church at Jaulna twenty-one in full communion, two suspended, twenty-three baptized children, and about twelve in the class of catechumens. That at Indapore, at * Jaulna is a cantonment 235 miles S W of Nagpore, and 210 N.E. of Bombay The military force located there, which is under British officers, is designed to serve (or, if need be, to control) our ancient friend and ally the Nizam of Hyderabad. The population of Jaulna fluctuates according to the number of troops at the time there. In the nativ- city of Jaulna there are about 10,000 people, and at Khaderabad, two miles S.W. of the cantonment, about 7000 more. 286 POONAH. the same time, consisted of ten members in full communion, eight baptized children, one suspended, and eight unbap- tized children, wards of the mission. On a visit to Jaulna in August 1863, Narayan baptized thirteen adults and five children, and on a second one, half a year later, eleven adults and five children. On the latter of these tours he asked contributions from some Europeans to enable him to set up schools at certain places along the line of route, and at Jaulna itself he wished to establish a school for the benefit of the converts, few of whom were able to read, or if they were too old to learn, at least for their children. Most of the converts, he stated, belonged to the lowest of the low, by which he meant that they were Mahar or Mang outcastes. The appeal was successful, and the normal school which he sought to establish was begun. It having been apparently urged upon Mr Narayan from home that he should, if possible, try to make the several stations self-supporting, he said that if he were aided five years from the time he wrote — the end of 1865 or the beginning of 1866 — he might perhaps by that time succeed in doing so. His wife, he mentioned, understood farming, and, having secured a field, and entertaining expectations of obtaining two or three more, she had given him 75 rupees (;£7, los.) in one year for missionary purposes, and 45 (-£45 I OS-) ^^ next. The Church at Jaulna had by this time increased to sixty-two souls. In about four years from the first foundation of the mis- sion Mr Narayan became popular with the natives of Inda- pore. He was elected president of a charitable committee, and of a general library. Obtaining philosophical instru- ments from Scotland, he made use of them in lecturing to the people, and found them considerably to aid him in reaching their hearts. Another method which he employed of spreading the truth is worthy of adoption in other parts of India. Premdas had some poetic genius, which he used for the cause of the Redeemer, composing Christian hymns RURAL MISSION A T INDAPORE AND JAULNA. 28/ and afterwards setting them to native tunes. There was in connection with the mission a bUnd man who had a sten- torian voice, as also had his wife. The Christian party, musically led by this couple, were wont to march through Jaulna, Khaderabad, and other places, singing Premdas' hymns, while some of their number accompanied the vocal effort with four-stringed instruments, cymbals, and a drum. No money was taken, though some was offered, lest the party might be mistaken for ordinary street musicians. By the end of 1867 the Jaulna native congregation had 116 members and adherents, eighty-eight of them in full communion. Twenty-three adults had been received dur- ing the year. Eleven of the 116 were from the Roman Catholic Church. As a large number of the converts had no hereditary right in the villages in which they resided, Mr Narayan thought it would be expedient to found for their use a Christian village. The Nizam's Prime Minister, the enlightened Sir Salar Jung, was favourable to the pro- ject, and granted land to be rent free for twenty-five years. The site chosen was on a most elevated spot, visible from afar. The village was to be built on sanitary principles. Its name was to be Bethel, and pecuniary aid, it was stated, would be required to enable its founder to sink half-a-dozen wells, erect a good church, a manse, two school-houses, one for boys and the other for girls, an inn for strangers to dwell in, a market shed, an industrial shed, and construct macadamised roads bordered with trees. It was proposed that the natives should build houses at their own expense, but ;£'iooo were asked from the committee for the purposes now mentioned. They having their funds pledged to other enterprises were unable to grant Mr Narayan's request. The children in the Scottish Sabbath schools were, however, appealed to, ;£"4oo being solicited from them to build two school-houses and dig a well. They responded with their wonted enthusiasm, and raised ;^42o in place oi £^a,oo. In 187 1, the Rev. Sidoba Bapuji Misal, an ordained 2SS POONAH. missionary of the American Mission in Western India, was engaged by Mr Sheshadri entirely on his own responsibiUty, and was stationed at Oomrawuttee."^ Finding his support burdensome, Mr Narayan wished the Committee to under- take it, which they did, but at the same time they expressed the hope that the native brethren would do all in their power "to develop the resources of the native Church in the direction of ministerial support." The Indapore and Jaulna mission has been managed with admirable fertility of resource, devotion, and success ; and if the varied plans of its conductor have at times had to be cut down, or even set aside, it must be remembered, that to an extent not easily understood in the East, the several Church Committees feel difficulty in raising, within a small country like Scotland, and from a people who mostly feel difficulty in meeting the wants of their own households, the sums required to carry on Christian operations in their own and in many other lands. Not the wish of the Foreign Mission Committee, but the limitation of the funds in their hands, circum- scribes their operations. Were the means at their command, they would gladly take steps at once to enter all the open doors existing around the several mission stations in the great and necessitous Indian land. * Oomrawiittee is a town — a great cotton mart. It was into this place that great quantities of money poured during the American war, of which, if report is to be believed, some natives made so bad a u'^e, that they had silver instead of iron wheels constructed for their carts to gratify their love of display 1 SECTION VI N AGP ORE, CHAPTER I. THE PLACE AND PEOPLE. EASURED in a straight line, Nagpore is 390 miles N.E., slightly E. of Poonah ; and one is apt to leap to the conclusion, that being so much further into the interior than that upland city, it must occupy a position very elevated above the sea, and be semi-European in climate. A glance at the map ot India will instantly dissipate such an illusion. It will be perceived that the watershed for Western and Central India runs along the summits of the Western Ghauts, which are on an average but 45 miles from the Arabian sea j and all the rivers flow S.E., descending from near Poonah, more or less in the Nagpore direction, till finally they are lost in the distant Bay of Bengal. While Poonah, as mentioned before, is 1823 feet above the sea-level, Nagpore is no more than 930. It is remote from the great centres of European en- lightenment, being, if the measurement be made in mathe- matically straight lines, 440 miles from Bombay, 565 from Madras, and 605 from Calcutta. Situated not far from mid- way between the three presidency seats, it was from the first perceived that, when the time for holding a Presbyterian |§90 NAGPORE. Synod in India arrives, Nagpore is probably the spot where, for the first year at least, its sittings will take place. In many maps of India not yet withdrawn from circula- tion, a large territory figures in their central portion, with "Berar" printed across it in capital letters. Of this king- dom, Nagpore is made the capital. This geographical arrangement has, however, been obsolete for a great many years. When an Anglo-Indian uses the word Berar, he means, not the Nagpore country, but a cotton-growing territory west of it, with Ellichpore for its capital The region ruled over by the late Nagpore king, or by Gond chieftains, at least nominally in vassalage to him, was 368 miles long, by 278 broad, and included an area of 76,432 square miles. It was about 2^ times as large as Scotland, and considerably exceeded in extent England and Wales. The most civilized portion of the territory was divided into five soobahs or provinces : — i, Deogur below the Ghauts, capital, Nagpore ; 2, Chanda, with a capital of the same name; 3, Wain-Gunga, capital, Bundara; 4, Deogur above the Ghauts, capital, Chindwara; and 5, Chutteesgur, with its chief town Raepore. Besides these settled provinces, there were numerous fiefs, many under semi-barbarian Gond chiefs. The largest of these was Bustar, an unexplored region covered with jungles, in which it was suspected that human sacrifices still lingered. By our Mussulman prede- cessors a large portion of the Nagpore country was called Gondwana, or the region of the Gonds. The advent of the Mahrattas was a comparatively recent event — it took place only between one and two hundred years ago. Now, the mass of the inhabitants in all the five settled provinces, ex- cept that of Chutteesgur, are Mahrattas. In 1825, a census was taken, and the relative proportion of the several races was found to be these : — Hindoos of the Brahmanic faith, 2,120,795; Mussulmans, 58,368; Gonds, 291,603. It is supposed that there are now 4,650,000, or even four and three quarter millions. NAGPORE AND ITS VICINITY. ^9^ Nagpore city is not more than 150 years old. It was, until lately, the capital of the Eastern Mahrattas, but since its annexation to the British empire, it has become the chief city of the Indian '' Central Provinces." It is shaped like the bow of a ship with the bowsprit still adhering, the latter being formed by a long suburb which projects from it on its north-eastern side. It is so thickly planted with trees that on some sides one travelling past it might mistake it for a forest, — indeed, but for the occasional glimpse of a house or a temple peering through the umbrageous foliage, ' even a somewhat keen observer might fall into this illusion. It is, or at least used to be, filthy, even for an Indian city — all sanitary law being systematically set at defiance. A census of Nagpore, made some years ago, fixed its popula- tion at 1 11,231, 2^ per cent, of them Mussulmans. West of Nagpore a mile and a half, and separated from it by a large tank, there rises the two-topped hill of Seetabuldee, me- morable for the gallant and ultimately successful defence which a small British and Sepoy force made there on the 26th November 181 7, against the Arabs, aided finally by hosts of Mahratta cavalry, treacherously instigated by our nominal friend and ally, Appa Saheb, then Nagpore king, to attack and destroy the British, in a time of profound peace between the two governments. The Europeans at Nagpore do not live in that capital itself, but at Seetabuldee. The Mission-house was on the slope of the hill facing the city. Kamptee and Seetabuldee were British territory at a time when the whole region round was under native rule. The mass of the British and sepoy troops designed, while the Nagpore kingdom stood, to protect, or if need arose, to control the Rajah, were located, not at Seetabuldee, but ten miles north-east, at a place called Kamptee. That mili- tary cantonment stretches from north-west to south-east, along the right bank of the Kanhan River. Its population fluctuates according to the number of regiments which at any particular time happen to be there. On the 7 th April 292 NAG PORE. 1837, when the forces were above the average, the inhabi- tants of Kamptee and the villagers connected with it were stated at 41,659 souls, exclusive of a fluctuating population of 14 ID, and of 5000 persons from the country, who were supposed to attend the weekly markets. — Jejikins' Rep07-t ; also Free Church Missionary Record 'iox 1843, p. 67. On looking, before experience was obtained at the ad- vantages and disadvantages of Nagpore as a mission field, it was needful first to make a distinction between the ex- ceptional spots, Kamptee and Seetabuldee on the one hand, and the rest of the territory on the other. At Kamptee, and a portion of Seetabuldee, the Hindoo races with which the mission would necessarily be brought in contact were the Tamuls and Teloogoos, who, in Southern India, had been found so susceptible of Christian enlightenment, while everywhere else the race to be encountered would be the Mahrattas, who, chiefly from political causes explained in the first chapter on Bombay, have everywhere shown them- selves backward in receiving the truth. To the difficulties at Bombay, Poonah, Sattara, and elsewhere, would inevit- ably be superadded others of a character not experienced by the brethren at the stations just mentioned, namely, that the ruling power was in the hands of a heathen instead of a Christian Government, and it was very questionable whether liberty of conscience would be granted, if any inquirer, important enough to be a sensible loss to Hindoo- ism or Mohammedanism, should seek admission into the Church of Christ. CHAPTER n. THE COMMENCEMENT OF OPERATIONS. The circumstances in which the resolution was formed to occupy Nagpore, have already been detailed in the early WRECK OF A GERMAN MISSION, 293 portion of this volume. Tlie Rev. Stephen Hislop, the first missionary, was ordained in Dr CandHsh's church, on Thurs- day, September 4, 1844. He and Mrs Hislop (the latter called before her marriage Miss Erasma Hull), left South- ampton in the Great Liverpool steamer, on the 3rd Novem- ber 1844. They reached Bombay in safety on the 13th December, and accompanied by Mr Murray Mitchell, ap- pointed by the Presbytery of Bombay to be their escort, arrived at Nagpore on the 13th of February 1845. Their route had been via Poonah, Ahmednugger, Aurungabad, and Jaulna ; a distance, if allowance be made for the occasional tortuousness of the roads, considered to be about 580 miles. The gentlemen performed the greater portion of it on horseback. Many friends welcomed them on their arrival, and among others Captain Hill, the generous founder of the mission. Three German artisans, Messrs Bartels, Apler, and Voss, then at Kamptee, became assistants to Mr Hislop. The two former had been saved when their companions perished in the wreck of an agricultural mission.* Messrs Apler and Voss were sent to Seetabuldee, with instructions, if possible, to make it a basis of operations against Nagpore city. Their first efforts were not encourag- ing. Most of our readers must have seen a representation * The occurrence briefly mentioned in the text was of a very tragic character. About the end of 1841, six Germans went out to India, under the auspices of the late Pastor Gossner of Berlin, to found an agricultural mission colony among the Gonds of Oomercuntuk, upwards of 200 miles north-east from Nagpore. They reached their destination on the 26th February 1842. On the 25th March, a village for which they had negotiated was transferred to them by the natives. They pro- ceeded next to build a house, cultivating at the same time the fields which they had acquired. They were thus engaged in the middle of June, when the rainy season set in. Their house was not sufficiently far advanced to keep out water, and disease broke forth among them. Four out of the six died, within five days of each other. Among those who thus perished was Mr Losh, the one ordained agent of the mission, and the only member of the party who had any knowledge of the country. The two survivors, Messrs Bartels and Apler, made their way to Jubbulpore, about 156 miles north-east of Nagpore. Afterwards, on the kind invitation of Cap- tain Hill, they set out for Kamptee, which they reached on the 4th Febiuary 1843. Ultimately, with the sanction of the Home Committee, they were associated with the Nagpore mission. Meanwhile a third German, IVIrVoss, had arrived to reinforce the original party, and he also, finding the agricultural mission abandoned, sought a connection with the Free Church and Mr Hislop. — Frei: Church Missionary Record, 1847 48, pp. 513, 514. (391) 20 •294 NAGPORE. of the ten incarnations of Vishnoo. Nine of these are con- sidered as already past, while the tenth is still to come. Some Brahmans and other Hindoos in Nagpore city and elsewhere, having formed the opinion that the tenth advent was immediately to be expected, broke their castes in pre- paration for the happy event, and from the Kalki avatar or incarnation which they waited for, they were termed Kalankees. The orthodox Hindoos considered their views as to the tenth advent erroneous, and their procedure in breaking their castes sin of the worst kind, and, in conse- quence, persecuted them considerably. It was just when the excitement was about the greatest, that Messrs A pier and Voss appeared upon the scene, and in the crass ignor- ance of the nature of Christianity then prevailing in the city, they too were dubbed Kalankees, and were supposed to aim at breaking castes, in preparation for the tenth avatar. Mr Voss returned from the city on one occasion, with the marks of four large stones upon his hat; these, it need scarcely be added, had been flung at him by members of the orthodox party. In such circumstances it was deemed prudent for the German brethren to forbear entering the city for a time. Mr Bartels, who had been located at Kamptee, had a much more tranquil sphere. He was given the oversight of the small Tamul congregation, and the superintendence of the educational operations of the mission in Kamptee. It is necessary here to explain how these originally begun. When Mr Hislop first reached Kamptee, he found there a small Christian school, conducted on an unsectarian basis by a committee of officers. These gentlemen considered that the object for which they had commenced the school would best be served by transferring it to the mission, handing over along with it the building in which it was held. Before the committee took this decisive action they very properly sent a circular to those who had contributed to the erection of the original building, but failed to find among OPERA TIONS A T KAMPTEE. 295 them a dissentient voice as to the propriety of the measure which they recommended. The original edifice speedily becoming too small for the school under its new manage- ment, was ultimately converted into a house for the teacher, and the mission built adjacent to it a new and larger one in which the school has ever since been conducted. Mr Bartels, as already mentioned, was requested to take charge of the Kamptee school when first the mission received it, and did so cheerfully, but alas ! his labour in it soon ter- minated. He died on the i6th August 1845. The im- pression made on Mr Voss by the fataUty which seemed to track the footsteps of the Germans in Central India was such that it told on his physical and mental health. He left Nagpore for a mission in the Himalayas, and had ultimately to return to Europe. Only Mr Apler now remained with the Free Church mission. In default of other teachers Mr Hislop obtained from Bombay a highly-educated and able, but, unhappily, a non- Christian Hindoo called Sakharam Balkrishna, to conduct the secular teaching, while he himself gave his best efforts to the religious department. There were at this time fifty-seven scholars, some of them Europeans or Indo- Britains, but the great majority Hindoos. He ministered at the same time to Europeans, and was divinely enabled to do spiritual good to a young officer in the cantonment. Still, as the population of Kamptee was, properly speaking, foreign to Central India, and as, moreover, it almost totally changed every third year, Mr Hislop felt that he must direct his main efforts to Nagpore and the Mahrattas, and in anticipation of his speedily leaving Kamptee, the financial board of the mission paid 400 rupees to buy out of the army a pious corporal called Mr Liddel, who wished to be employed as a Christian teacher. The Kamptee school was put under his charge, and it was to accommodate him that the old building was converted into a residence. By this time the Kalankee storm had blown over, and on 296 NAG PORE. the 2nd of May 1846, Mr Hislop, ''with much fear and trembling, but yet looking to the Head of the Church, who disposeth all things for the advancement of His cause," opened a school in the city of Nagpore. The premises obtained were in the chief street — that which had in it the Rajah's palace. Commenting on this fact a few years later, a not very friendly Resident said complainingly, " You have taken the bull by the horns." There was no possibility or wish to deny that such had been the case ; but all things considered, the boldest policy is, as a rule, the safest in dealing with half-civilised Asiatics — the smallest symptom of timidity is generally fatal to an enterprise. When the school was first opened, 30 boys entered their names as scholars, and before long there were 70. A few wished to learn English, but the great majority cared for nothing but Mahratta. Sakharam, whose native language was Mahratta, removing from Kamptee, took the secular part of the instruc- tion in the Nagpore school, while Mr Hislop communicated the religious knowledge. He still visited Kamptee statedly to conduct religious services, and at one of these, on the 4th June 1846, baptized his Tamul servant Mahankali, and Veerapa or Veeraswamy, servant of a Christian officer, Colonel Wynch. Both were Tamul Pariahs. Till Mahan- kali came under the power of the truth, he never thought of acquiring the art of reading ; but on becoming a Christian, he set to do so with great ardour, that he might read the Word of God himself, instead of being dependent on others for information as to its contents. Both Mahan- kali and Veerapa remained permanently in connection with the mission. A few months later, Mr Hislop took up his vigorous pen to expose the proceedings of the British authorities in choosing for the day when the Rajah was to be formally saluted a heathen festival called the Dusserah, when the king appeared, not in a civil, but in an ecclesiastical capa- city, going forth in state to worship a tree. No improve- FIRST FRUIT OF THE EASTERN MAHRATTAS. 29/ ment resulted from Mr Hislop's efforts, but matters re- mained unchanged till the fall of the Nagpore monarchy- left no king to salute. The present writer was ordained in the Free West Church, Aberdeen, on the 2 2d October 1846. Sailing from Southampton on the 3d January 1847, he reached Bombay on the 14th February, and Nagpore on the 27th March. It was arranged that he should be placed, not at Kamptee, but with Mr Hislop at Seetabuldee, that he might operate on Nagpore city. On Sabbath, the 25th July, Yadoji, ex-patel — that is, ex- mayor — of the village or small town of Vishnoor, on the Wurda river, 70 miles west of Nagpore, was baptized at Kamptee in presence of the English congregation. His first rehgious impressions had been produced by reading a tract called the First Book for Children, and they had been deepened on a visit paid to him by Messrs Hislop and Apler during the school vacation at the end of 1846. Yadoji was the first fruit of the eastern Mahrattas to Christ. At the examination of Kamptee school on the 24th August 1847, there were 104 on the roll. Some were Euro* pean or East Indian girls, for whom an industrial depart- ment had been provided. At the end of 1847, there were still 104, of whom 93 were in attendance — viz., 19 girls and 74 boys. There were 11 Europeans, 5 Mussulmans, i Parsee, and 63 Hindoos. Only 18 had been a year at school. That year there was a mission tour with a tent to Chanda, about 85 miles south of Nagpore. On Sabbath, 26th March 1848, Apaya, a Teloogoo Pariah, and Perumal, a Tamul Pariah who took the name of Ben- jamin, were baptized at Kamptee. Apaya afterwards ren- dered the mission great service as colporteur. About fourteen months subsequently, Benjamin, falling sick, was coerced back into heathenism through the maltreatment he received from one of his relatives. On recovering, he compromised matters with his conscience by becoming a 298 NAG PORE. Romanist. On the 28th May 1848, a Tamul Pariah, Ramaswamy, or David, was baptized. On the 1 8th May 1848, Mr Hislop was bitten by a mad dog. When one who has sustained an injury of this sort has the part affected carefully cauterised, hydrophobia scarcely ever results ; but there is always the possibility that some of the poison may still be left in the wound, and it is not till at least six weeks have passed away without any symptoms showing the approach of the appalling disease that the sufferer can feel himself again safe. It was a weary time of waiting, and the depression natural in the circumstances was in no slight degree increased by a mourn- ful event which occurred during the interval. One day, the excellent assistant-missionary, Mr Apler, was proceeding to the city, where he was in the habit of preaching daily in the streets, though sometimes maltreated by the people. He unexpectedly observed that he was to a trifling extent spitting blood, and thought that though no danger was in all likelihood to be apprehended, yet it might be prudent to avoid exercising his voice in public that day. He there- fore returned home. That faint spitting of blood arose from inflammation of the lungs, which speedily became very fierce, and terminated his earthly existence on the 27th May. His wife left soon afterwards, and then there was not at Nagpore one survivor of the unhappy German mission. CHAPTER HI. THE CASTE STRUGGLE AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. A NUMBER of the best scholars in the Nagpore school were Mahratta Brahmans, some of whom had become consider- ably shaken in their heathenism by the Christian training which they had received. Side by side with these sat two boys from Seetabuldee, whose fathers, now members of the THE CASE OF BABA PANDURANG. 299 Church, had originally been Tamul Pariahs. This awful fact came to be known by sundry new comers as yet strong in their heathenism, and in the pride of their caste purity they made the demand that the " Pariahs " should be expelled. The mission, of course, firmly declined acceding to their wish. On this they left school, and had they done no more than this, their bigotry would have inflicted little damage, and the matter would soon have been forgotten. But, on departing, they communicated the intelligence to the city Brahmans that there were " Pariahs " in the Nagpore school, and a ukase in consequence came forth from the chief priests, ordering the immediate withdrawal of all the Brahman pupils. It was impossible in the backward state of Nagpore society to resist this mandate, and the Brahman youths who did not care whether there were Pariahs in the school or not, were forced away, though there was no other place where they could obtain European knowledge. After a time, one of the Brahmans, removed from instruc- tion — Baba Pandurang, a youth aged fourteen years and eight months — resolved to return to school, cost what the step might. Of caste prejudice he had none, for in heart he was a Christian, and he believed that not even his earthly father had any right to doom him to ignorance at the bidding of a selfish heathen priesthood. He resumed attendance at school, and would not cease it, even at the bidding of his father. Being put in confinement at home and cruelly treated, he considered that he had no resource but to seek shelter at the Mission-house, avow his Christian convictions, and solicit that he might be baptized. His father was sent for, and given every opportunity of per- suading him to return home, but he was not permitted to use violence. Baba stood firm against all endeavours to induce him to leave, and plainly stated his intention of soliciting admission into the Church. On this the father complained to the Rajah, and the Rajah to the acting Resident, by whom the youth's immediate surrender was 300 NAGPORE. demanded. Mr Hislop wrote explaining the circumstances in which Baba had come, and pointing out that he would in all probability be ill-treated if he returned to the city. A second demand came for his surrender, which was now stated to be required by existing treaties, one of which made the king absolute over his subjects, and another stipulated that his " discontented subjects " should be given up. A promise was, however, given in this second letter that the British Resident would interpose for his protection. Not- withstanding this the youth, who, on being given up, wit- nessed a good confession before the Brahmanic and other dignitaries of the city, was placed in confinement by the Mahratta Government, no time, however remote, being mentioned for his release, and the opinion of some among the natives was that he would be imprisoned for life. An appeal was taken to the Governor-General in Council, but without effect ; and it was understood, though not definitely known, that the Court of Directors also approved of all that had been done by the local authority at Nagpore. FaiUng other means of redress, the aid of public opinion was next invoked, and very successfully. Both the religious and the secular press of India took up the case warmly ; and Baba was written out of his place of confinement on the iioth day from the time of his incarceration. On being released, he almost imm.ediately reopened communication with the mission, though after a time it became manifest that he had suffered considerable moral injury during his confine- ment. If the interpretation put upon the letters of the acting Resident, and almost universally concurred in by the mis- sionaries, was correct, then there would be no possibility of admitting any Christian convert from Nagpore into the Church, unless, indeed, he were one so unimportant that no one thought of complaining against him to the native autho- rities. It was questionable whether, in these circumstances, it was worth while to continue the operations in Nagpore DEATH OF YADOJI. 301 city, since, though sowing there was permitted, reaping was prohibited under heavy penalties. So completely were the camp followers in Kamptee and Seetabuldee severed by language, and even in sympathy, from the Mahrattas of Nagpore, that the former were not perceptibly affected by the case of Baba Pandurang ; and on the 19th November 1848, a Teloogoo carpenter (Cot- tingam, an objectionable name changed to Jacob), who worked in the Seetabuldee arsenal, was baptized, his mother and sister uttering threats, happily not carried out, of taking their lives whenever they heard that the baptism was com- pleted. A few days subsequent to this new accession to the Church, Yadoji, the first Mahratta convert, went, with the sanction of the missionaries, to his village to escort his wife, who now professed her willingness to live with him, to Nagpore. He caught fever in passing through the jungle, and arrived in a dying state. Access to his own house was denied him, and he died m a cowshed, after testifying his faith in Christ. His last request, that his remains might be buried like those of a Christian and not burnt in the Hindoo fashion, was disregarded. He was burnt, and his ashes were thrown into the Wurda river, which runs past Vishnoor. At the second examination of the Kamptee school, which was held on Saturday, 3d February 1849, there were on the roll 119 pupils, 20 of them girls ; 108 were present on the examination day. The notoriety which the case of Baba Pandurang gave to the fact that two boys originally of Pariah descent were in Nagpore school, rendered it impossible for the Brahm.an pupils to return as they wished, while it was a point of honour with the mission not to ask the two obnoxious youths to withdraw ; it was felt to be a matter of duty to retain them at whatever cost. A method, however, was suggested by a native friend interested in the case, of postponing to a more convenient season the remainder of the caste struggle. A 302 NAGPORE. school was set up, on the 15th February 1849, i^ Seetabuldee, a place which, on other grounds, it was desirable to occupy so soon as it could conveniently be done, and the ex-Pariahs, finding it much more convenient for them to go thither than to walk an additional mile and a half to Nagpore, spontane- ously transferred themselves to the new school, on which the chief Brahman and other high caste pupils returned to the Nagpore seminary. By and by, when the two boys became somewhat more advanced in their studies, they were re- quested to return to Nagpore. When they reappeared, all the senior pupils knew perfectly what they were, and a single rash word would have commenced a new caste struggle. But tranquillity remained unbroken, because no pupil had the courage or the imprudence to say, " There are the Pariahs." On Sabbath, nth March 1849, Shrawan, the teacher of the Seetabuldee school, was baptized. He was of the the Mahratta Kunbi, or cultivator caste, and in some mea- sure supplied the place of the deceased Yadoji, who was also a Kunbi. On the morning of Sabbath, 2nd September 1849, at the ordinary morning meeting for communicating instruction to the heathen pupils, the passage of Scripture taken up in course having suggested the importance of female education, the missionary who was conducting the service made some strong remarks on the subject. A young man present ex- claimed that if a girls' school were established, his sister would attend. After further addresses from the missionaries, the school was opened on the loth September with five pupils, no payment, direct or indirect, having been made to them for attending. By dint of desperate effort, the number was soon after got up from five to eighteen ; but Nagpore being in all respects half, if not even a whole, century behind the presidency seats in enlightenment, the school never rose into power, A romantic incident, however, took place in connection with it during the first twelve months of LULLOO BAI. 303 its existence. One day the teacher was surprised to find two girls of rank, about ten years old, present themselves for admittance. One was sister of the principal queen, and was called Lulloo Bai. She was much lighter in colour than the generality of Mahrattas. The other girl was her cousin, and was of somewhat darker tint. Both showed great ardour in the pursuit of knowledge j and had they been allowed to remain a few months, would have made solid acquisitions. But as soon as the matter became noised abroad, bigoted relatives, as might have been anticipated, exerted a pressure to have the two girls removed from school j and after Lulloo and her relative had been with- drawn, and had again returned two or three times, they finally came no more. It was stated that Lulloo had been allowed a private tutor for a few days after her removal, to wean her from the pursuit of knowledge, of which she was so fond. Before leaving, she solved what all had felt to be a mystery — the reason why she had been sent to school. Her sister, the chief queen, felt the absence of knowledge of the outward world which there was in the Zenana, and the enforced ignorance produced by the arrangement which forbade females, even of the highest rank, to acquire the elements of reading, and therefore asked her sister Lulloo as yet too young to be put in confinement, to become a scholar in the school, and then returning to the palace to repeat all she was taught, and all that she heard and saw. This incident affords an illustration of the transcendent boon which the zenana system, when it becomes extensive, will prove to the secluded females of India. On nth April 1850, the native Church at Kamptee contained twenty-eight members, and that at Seetabuldee fifteen, with several adherents at both places. On the fifteenth, Mr Hislop left Nagpore with his wife and children to proceed to the assistance of the Madras mission, and he was absent till the 28th May 185 1. The mission agency was further reduced by the death of Mr Liddel, the Kamptee 304 NAGPORE, teacher, on the 19th August 1850, so that the only advance which could be made during the year was the opening of a new vernacular school in the Aditwari district of the city. This increased the aggregate number of the scholars ; and at the examination of the Nagpore and Seetabuldee schools, held on 14th December 1850, and presided over by Brigadier M'Leod, there were on the roll 216 pupils, of whom there were present — boys from Seetabuldee, 1 1 ; girls, 9 ; in all, 152 ; of whom 35 were studying English and 117 Marathi. Adding in the Kamptee pupils, there were 310 in all. In November 185 1, Major (afterwards Sir Henry) Durand came to act for a short time as Resident at Nagpore. He at once commenced the most friendly relations with the mission, and, though pressed for time, occupied the best part of two days in visiting the several schools in the city, concluding by presiding on 13th November at the examina- tion. 310 pupils were present, the number having been in- creased by the commencement of a new Mahratta school in the Budhwari district of Nagpore. When the missionaries were returning from their annual mission tour, which this year had been to the British canton- ment of EUichpore, in Berar, west of the Nagpore country, they fell in, according to previous arrangement, with one of their native agents, a Tamul Christian called Samuel Hardy, who was selling tracts through the villages, and making some notes of the population of the several places, as an aid to future operations. Having stated that he had met with un- wonted opposition, and that a storm against him seemed gathering, he was directed to cease asking any statistical questions, so that if a battle had to be fought for him, it should be on one simple issue, namely, the liberty to sell tracts. A few days later one of the missionaries, then teaching in Seetabuldee school, a quarter of a mile from the Mission-house, received a message to come home imme- diately, as Samuel had been brought in between two armed men as a prisoner. On obeying the summons, he found ARREST OF SAMUEL HARDY. 305 that the one man had a musket conspicuously displayed, whilst the other bore in his hands a sword and shield. After all that had happened in the case of Baba Pandurang, the duty was clear of risking a great deal rather than losing Samuel. The missionary, after sending an express for his colleague, stood between the men and the city to which they were going, and informed them that Samuel was not one of the Rajah's people, but was a British subject, who was at that moment standing on a fragment of British soil, and that it was illegal to remove him against his will from the Indian empire into a foreign state. The awe which a white face inspires among southern Asiatics is quite remarkable ; and instead of the men presenting their arms and rushing past, as they could easily have done, they held up their hands like children, and implored that they might be allowed to take their prisoner to the city — a request which, of course, was met by a resolute negative. This dead lock continued for nearly three quarters of an hour, at the end of which time Samuel said that he had made a promise to go with the men, and wished to fulfil it. "Why did you make such a promise ? " it was asked. " Because I should not have been brought to the mission if I had not given it.'' This, of course, totally altered the circumstances of the case. High approval was expressed of that Christian principle which when it has sworn to its hurt, " changeth not ;" and the men were told that they might march their prisoner to the city, only the missionary would accompany them as advo- cate. Just then his colleague arrived, with the intention of taking the same ground as to the illegality of removing a British subject from British soil, when he was informed of the promise, and said he too would go as advocate. It would have been no great hardship to have walked to the city, but there are times when a Uttle ceremony is valuable in the East, and the bullock carriage was ordered out, that there might be at least a trifling show of dignity. The animals got in motion at their usual deliberate pace, the 306 NAGPORE. armed men with the prisoner walking alongside, and a group of native Christians, gradually increasing in number, accom- panying the procession. On reaching the court where the case was to be tried, a polite message was sent requesting the presence of the magistrate, who had gone home for a time, but he did not make his appearance. At last a visit was paid to his abode, when, on hearing the nature of the case explained to him, he said that it was evidently one too important for him to try, and asked us to go to the Vakeel (native ambassador), then in the palace. The bullocks were yoked again, and presently drew up at the palace-gate. A polite message was sent, asking the Vakeel to meet us in the street. He wished the interview to be in the palace, which, unless in very unusual circumstances, an ordinary European is not allowed to visit. Thus invited, the mis- sionaries entered. On reaching the lobby they were asked to take off their shoes, a request which was courteously but firmly declined, Mr Hislop explaining that the Europeans having removed one article of dress — their hats, and the Mahrattas one article — their shoes, the members of both nationalities were now on a footing of equality; but if the British were required to remove a second article of dress, they then degraded their nation beneath the Mahratta power, whereas no true Briton admitted his nation to be inferior to any one inhabiting the world. The Mahrattas, after remaining obstinate for a time, gave way upon the shoe question, and on meeting the Vakeel, who stood with all the palace dignitaries around him, Mr Hislop pleaded for liberty of conscience with such consummate skill, that Samuel was given up, the missionaries becoming bail for his appearance if he were again required. Nay, more, liberty was obtained to sell tracts through the length and breadth of the Nagpore country. Mrs Hislop, and a pious officer who happened to call just after the bullock carriage had de- parted for the city, waited in painful anxiety till the result should be known, and became very uneasy when hour after MR MANSEL. 30/ hour passed without any intelligence how matters were pro- ceeding. At length the whole party, with the exception of the armed men, were seen returning, and much thankfulness was felt when the great success which it had pleased God to grant was reported. Next morning both the Vakeel and Mr Hislop communicated to the British officiating Resident what had taken place, but all having been directly settled the evening before, there was nothing left for the British representative. Captain Elliot, to do, except to comment, which he did in a friendly spirit, on the arrangements which had been made. On the 2oth February 1852, a sepoy called Veeraswamy, a Teloogoo by nation, was baptized. He had once been a turbulent man, but the transformation which divine grace made upon him was great and notable. A circular having been sent to the mission requesting in- formation as to instances of British connection with idolatry at Nagpore, that efforts for their removal might be made when the East India Company applied for the renewal of its charter in 1853, Mr Hislop took the frank course of mentioning to Mr Mansel,the Resident, what practices would require to be noticed in the reply sent to the circular, on which that gentleman, with great good feeling, intimated his intention of discontinuing some of the methods of coun- tenancing idolatry to which exception had been taken. He soon after presided at the examination of Nagpore and Seetabuldee schools, held on 14th December 1852. The establishment of two new Mahratta schools had considerably increased the aggregate of the pupils under instruction. There were now 531 on the roll, or adding in the Kamptee scholars, 611. On Wednesday, 6th July 1853, Pahar Singh, a Rajpoot, a high caste in the Hindoo community, the word literally meaning the sons of kings, Baba Pandurang, who had already suffered so much for the sake of Christ, and Ram- swami, one of the advanced Nagpore pupils, originally of 308 NA GPORE. Pariah descent, but whose intellect and conscience had been greatly developed by the instruction he had received, were admitted into the Christian Church. The principles laid down in the case of Baba Pandurang were all but universally believed to preclude the possibility of receiving any other pupil from the Nagpore English school who might ask shelter in the Mission-house with the view of obtaining baptism, and there can be no question that the spectacle of the imprisoned youth struck terror into the pupils. At length, however, one of them, Ganu Lingapa, aged 17, whose father, a Teloogoo, long settled among the Mahrattas, was of the builder caste, felt that he could no longer restrain himself from seeking baptism, even though the application might lead to his immediate incarceration. An interview was therefore sought with Mr Mansel, who kindly promised to advise the Rajah to grant his subjects liberty of conscience, and meanwhile sanctioned the re- ception of Ganu into the Mission-house. The interview with Mr Mansel took place on the 29th July 1853, and when the missionaries returned home they found the youth had already taken the decisive step, his anxiety being such that he had not waited to hear whether or not there was a pro- bability that liberty of conscience would be granted. His relatives were immediately sent for, and hour after hour they made every effort to induce him to return home, but when evening came he still remained firm. As soon as it became dark, a riot, though not of formidable magnitude, took place, but the police being sent for induced the excited people to return home. Next morning the Vakeel, the same who had yielded liberty of conscience in Samuel's case, was asked, and promised, on the part of the Rajah's government, that the Mission-house should be protected till a decision was come to as to whether or not the King would grant the liberty of conscience which the Resident had strongly recommended him to concede. During the night, after the first riot, it was needful to take precautions against an THE MISSION HOUSE ATTACKED. 309 attack during the hours of darkness, and, indeed, a person was detected skulking through the shrubs about midnight to see whether or not vigilance was maintained, but being imme- diately challenged he withdrew, and all went on peacefully till morning. Ganu had slept but little, and was now physically worn out, notwithstanding which he stood again hour after hour against the efforts made by his caste people to induce him to leave, till at length, about 2 p.m., the sad apprehension began to be entertained that unless he could obtain repose he would probably after a few hours give way. As the sun was within an hour of setting, another and more formidable riot began, there being then about 350 people surrounding the house. Two hundred of these were in front, and the remaining 150 at one of the sides. It was the latter party which broke into uproar. Stones, some of them of magnitude, were hurled, the glass which occupied the upper half of the door was smashed to pieces, and the woodwork attacked by the mob, whose in- tention clearly was to effect an entrance. As it was evident that they could force their way in very speedily, it was deemed the most prudent course to go out, the sight of white faces often quelling a riot. When the missionaries presented themselves they were attacked, but the native Christians heroically fought a battle in their defence, and shielded them temporarily from injury. Yet the protection would have been but momentary had it not been that Ganu Lingapa at that instant finally gave way, and, with the remark, pronounced in sorrowful tones, " They are killing master," departed from the house. He attempted to keep out of the mob, but was captured and taken to the city. The leaders in the riot were native police in British pay, sepoys in British pay, and city people, to whom there came a message, though not really, the writer believes, from the palace, stating that it was the Rajah's orders that the Mission-house should now be attacked. A policeman and two sepoys were imprisoned for their share in this outrage, V391) 21 310 NAG PORE. and the Nagpore Government being held responsible for having broken its promise to protect the Mission-house, had to send its Ambassador in broad daylight and pay down I GOO Nagpore rupees, about £,^i, damages as an atonement for what had been done. After the necessary repairs on the house had been effected, and presents had been given to the native Christians who had rendered assistance, and some of whom had been hurt in the riot, the rest of the money was used for the public operations of the mission. Between two and three years afterwards Ganu Lingapa had a secret interview with Mr Hislop, and " made known his unabated desire to follow Christ," but he was cut off by cholera on the 25th April 1856, before he had taken practical steps to carry out his design. There is reason to believe that, despite his fall, in circumstances of exceeding trial, he was a true Christian. On 2nd November 1853 three natives were baptized. One, Bal Dewa, was a Rajpoot, a protege of Brigadier Mackenzie. All were British subjects, and therefore they had not to encounter the formidable difficulties in the way of those inquirers whose less happy lot it was to reside under heathen rule in Nagpore city. "* CHAPTER IV. FALL OF THE NAGPORE KINGDOM. On the nth December 1853, Raghojee Bhonslah, the Rajah of Nagpore, died, and as he had no hneal de- scendants, and, it was said, no near relatives, and had, moreover, refused to adopt a son, his country was con- sidered to have lapsed to the paramount power ; and was declared an integral part of the British dominions. The lower six-sevenths of the people acquiesced in, if they did MR HISLOP ALL BUT MURDERED, 3 I I not even desire, this arrangement, which shielded them from upper class tyranny; but the remaining seventh, constituting the Brahmans, the Mahratta nobility, and other influential classes, were, as might have been anticipated, opposed to what had been done. The country had before belonged to the British, but they had set up the late Rajah when he was a boy, and, to give him dignity, had brought from Calcutta and handed over to him the Nagpore crown jewels, which had been taken in war. The extinction of the native dynasty led to no excitement of any consequence, but when, as a consequence of that event, steps were taken, on the nth October 1854, to remove the jewels back to Cal- cutta, a riotous mob assembled before the palace, and when Mr Hislop was passing through it alone he was mistaken for one of the officers sent to bring the jewels away, was assaulted, and all but murdered. As he was lying on the ground almost at the last gasp, whilst a ferocious mob still continued to maltreat him, sarcastically shouting all the while, " Take the jewels, take the jewels," an old pupil, now grown to manhood, in the providence of God, happened to pass, and, recognising his revered teacher, explained to the people the mistake of identity which had been committed, on which most of the assailants seemed to feel regret for what they had done. But a small remnant, chiefly Mussul- mans, seemed disposed to complete the murder, on which the young man, running to a native military officer a few feet off, obtained a small number of sepoys, whom he brought to the scene of action. On their arrival the ruffianly Moslems precipitately fled, showing that, like assassins in general, they were as cowardly as they were cruel. Then a palanquin being procured Mr Hislop was put into it, and, escorted by natives with drawn swords, was successfully conducted past the palace, and taken out of the city to the Mission-house. The aspect he presented when carried home, none who witnessed it will ever forget. On his head were ten deep gashes, while all over his body were 312 NAGPORE. bruises ; and the white dress he had worn was everywhere so saturated with blood, that it was only from a small part beneath the knee that its original colour could be inferred. The native doctor called in to shave the head of the appa- rently expiring sufferer fainted at the sight, and it required European nerve to do what was requisite in the case. Had he not naturally possessed a strong constitution, it is im- possible that he could have survived. During Mr Hislop's confinement to a couch, owing to the injuries received in the riot, the examination of the Nagpore and Seetabuldee schools was held on the 24th November. At that time the numbers on the roll, including those at Kamptee, were 725. Five hundred were present at the examination ; of those only 200 could be admitted at one time, for want of room, so that the remaining 300 had to remain outside. In the vacation which followed, the mis- sionaries visited the Puchmaree hills and Chindwara, after- wards to become the sphere of the Gond mission. On the 17th of May 1855, the writer of this work had, by medical order, to leave Nagpore for Europe. The oppor- tunity was embraced of issuing an appeal for funds to erect a building sufficiently large to accommodate the Nagpore and Seetabuldee pupils. The fall of the Mahratta Govern- ment having removed the hesitation, which till that time had been felt, to erect a structure which a law forbidding baptisms might at any time render useless for mission purposes, p{^i2oo were now asked for the purpose, and, as pre- viously mentioned, were promptly obtained. Miss Barclay of Edinburgh having given the whole amount. On 2nd March 1856, Mr Hislop baptized two women, one Teloogoo and the other Marathi; the latter was Shrawan's mother. On a mission tour, undertaken at the commencement of 1857, he spent a Sabbath at a village called Borgaum, the patel of which had been known to the mission for some years. This man was stated to have renounced idolatry, A TTEMP TED MA SSA CRE. 3 I 3 and to have been followed in this respect by many in his village, but he had not moral strength to break his caste and ask for baptism. The next Sabbath was spent at a village called Mitpanjura, where Ganpat Gir, an old pupil of the mission, was patel. The case of this youth was very remarkable. He had been adopted by a religious celibate, whose wealth he inherited, on condition of remaining un- married, and professing that type of Hindoo monkery which his spiritual father held and propagated. In heart Ganpat Gir was a Christian, who had in his house, and used often to read, the books he used when at the Nagpore school, with other works which he had purchased from the mission, but he had not moral strength to resign his pecuniary for- tune, and renounce his provostship, for the sake of carrying out his conscientious convictions. Would that the grace of God would visit those two men. Mr Hislop was at his post during the dreadful mutinies and rebeUion which will ever make the year 1857 memor- able. On Friday, the 12th June, a Mohammedan called Fyze Buksh, long known and highly respected by the mis- sionaries, came to Mr Hislop under cover of the night, and advised him to send away his wife and family, as a massacre of the Europeans was intended by his co-religionists on an early day, though which it was he could not tell, as they distrusted him and kept him in as much ignorance as they could. The day was really the Wednesday following, and the massacre was to be carried out by a combination of up-country sepoys in the British regiments and the Mussul- mans of the city. A regiment deep in the plot, having had a hypocritical offer which it made to march at once against the mutineers, held as genuine and accepted, it was needful to anticipate the time when its departure would take place, by hastily moving forward the massacre from Wednesday to the Saturday preceding. The time was fixed for midnight, and the signal was to be the ascent of three fire balloons from the city. Mr Hislop had not failed to communicate 314 XAGPOKE. to the British authorities the intelligence he had received of the plot, but as no one knew the time when the massacre was to take place, there was danger that even yet the nefarious deed might be carried out In the providence of God, however, two faithful sepoys of low caste, from Southern India, betrayed the plot ; at, nay, even beyond the eleventh hour, in the literal sense of the term, when the European natives were already in their beds, sleeping, as usual in that climate, with open doors, and the assassins, chiefly Mussulmans, were at their posts, and only watched for the ascent of the balloons to begin the work of mas- sacre. Mr Hislop was then at Kamptee, whither he had gone to be ready to preach on the morrow, but Mrs Hislop, and her little girls, had Uke the rest of the Europeans to escape up Seetabuldee hill, and shelter themselves behind the can- nons of the small fort. The few artiller}-men present hav- ing by this time loaded the guns, and standing, prepared for action, the mutineers were too cowardly to proceed with their nefarious scheme. Had the Europeans at Nagpore been destroyed, Hyderabad in the Deccan was, it was stated, ready to have risen, in which case the whole ^lad- ras presidency would soon have been in flames. Bombay would probably have imitated the bad example, and it might have been needful for our forces, when they arrived, to reconquer India instead of Bengal. It was an event of world-wide importance, that the intended massacre at Seeta- buldee was discovered and prevented when within an hour of its accomplishment that Saturday night. The writer having resigned on 3rd September 1S57, the Madras mission was requested to send aid to Mr Hislop, as Mr Hislop had given it assistance some years before. It did so, and the Rev. John Cooper was despatched per- manently to Central India. He reached Nagpore in 185S. Shortly after his arrival, Mr Hislop had temporarily to re- turn home to recruit his health. Before leaving he, on the 19th September, baptized no fewer than seven converts. THE REV. ADAM WHITE, 315 One was a Brahmanee girl, Baba Pandurang's wife ; another was wife of Virapa, one of the first two converts of the mission ; two were ISIahratta kunbis cultivators (the caste of Yadoji and Shrawan), and one was a Rajpoot, called Anand Singh. In November 1858, a Mahratta Brahman youth, called Narayan Vithul, who had been for many years a pupil in the city school, and whose father, while the native Government lasted, was what might be called its Chancellor of the Exchequer, came for baptism. After a time he went back to heathenism, but in i860, again returned to the mission. That Mr Cooper might not be left alone during Ivir Hislop's absence in Europe, the Rev. Adam White was requested to proceed to his assistance from Bombay. He did so, arriving on Thursday morning, 13th January 1859; but a few months later, a change of sentiment, with regard to the propriety of administering the seahng rite to infants, led to his being re-baptized by Colonel Miller, then with his regiment in Central India. This step ultimately severed Mr "Wliite's direct connection with the Free Church mission.* Mr Stotliert was sent from Bombay to occupy his place. Shortly before this Syed Imam Kureem-Ood-Deen, a Mohammedan fi-om Southern India, had been baptized by Mr Cooper. He was then employed as an assistant in tlie Seetabuldee school. Among other baptisms which took place at this period, one was a sister of Anund Singh, the Rajpoot. They, with another of the same family, were orphans, placed by a pious officer, Major Arrow, in charge of the mission. * On leaving Naspore, Mr White marked out for himself a district in the Syha- dree Hills, arouiid Paorundhur, in the Poonah coUeciorate, which he made his centre of operations. There, abr'Ut iwenrj- miies south-east from Poonah city, he laboured during the four succeeding years, ■with exemplarj' real, till on ihe i6th May iSd4, he was cur off bj- cholera, caught when mini>teririg to the pilgrims dying of that disease at Sassoor. A widow and five children were left to mourn his loss. '* Not slain by fanatics," said the Times of India, '"nor cut off by those who are supposed to hate a missionarj-, but a martjT to his own self-devoted love to the bodies and souls of the natives of this country ; Adam White, the pure and the single-eyed, has passed away to his rest. He has given up his life, as he gave np all, to tie great cause of India's regeneration." 3l6 NAGPORE. Mr Hislop left Britain in the fall of i860, and in due time safely reached his destination. Some time after his arrival, Mr Stothert returned to Bombay, after having been about two years in Central India. Mr Hislop said of him — " I know no missionary in India who has, within the same period, made greater attainments in the languages of the East. He has ac- quired a good knowledge of Marathi, Urdu, and Sanscrit." On the 20th November 1861, about a week before his departure, Messrs Baba Pandurang and Ramswami Venkatachellum were licensed by the Presbytery of Bom- bay, which met at Nagpore for the purpose ; in other words, the three Nagpore missionaries were sufficient to form a quorum of the Presbytery, and execute business. The advance made between 1852 and 1862 may be esti- mated from the fact that, whereas in the former year the mission had under its charge 39 native Christians, 16 of them communicants, in the latter one it had 138 native Christians, of whom 47 were communicants. Not even in the narrative of the first years of the mission's history were we able to find space for every baptism, and now when these are beginning to multiply in a gratifying manner, our record of them must be even more imperfect. On 7th May 1862, Mr Temple (now Sir Richard Temple), brother of the present Bishop of Exeter, arrived as Commis- sioner, which is a modest term for what at home we should call governor, and the Hindoos would designate Rajah of Nagpore, and the Central Indian provinces generally. One of his first measures was to rescind an unhappy regulation made in 1855, proscribing Mahratta, the language of the province, and substituting Hindoostanee, the Mussulman language, in its room. The people were naturally very grateful for his restoring (what it was really an act of great tyranny ever to deprive them of) the use of their native tongue in the courts of law. Little or nothing had been done for the education of the province till Mr Temple's arrival, but he at once took steps to discharge the duty of MR iNO W SIR RICHARD] TEMPLE. 3 I / the Government in this respect ; and finding that from the fact that the annexation of Nagpore was still a quite recent event, the desire for English, nay, for any kind of knowledge, was as yet very limited, and that there was no scope for two seminaries of a high order, he resolved to allow the mission to occupy the field, and gave a money donation to extend its operations. A warm personal friendship sprung up between him and Mr Hislop. The only school Mr Temple felt it right to set up was a normal one for the training of teachers. On i8th January 1863, the Nagpore female school, which for want of accommodation and other causes had become extinct, was reopened. Twenty-six pupils were learning Marathi under Mrs Hislop, while at Seetabuldee thirteen were acquiring Tamul and English under Mrs Cooper. About the beginning of August 1863, Mr Hislop baptized a Bengalee, whom he had visited in prison two or three times a week for seven months before. CHAPTER V. LAMENTATION AND WOE. To comprehend how the mournful event which we are now approaching occurred, it is needful to go back to some incidents which took place many years previously. In December 1847, as the missionaries were proceeding, during the month of annual school vacation, on a preaching tour to Chandah, they observed at Takulghat, about twenty miles south of Nagpore, a circle of large unhewn stones, with a detached stone outside facing the East. Further examination then, and on another occasion soon to be mentioned, revealed that there were about ninety-six such circles, some single, others double, all close together, and spread over an area of about four square miles. Whilst 3l8 NAG POKE. they were looking at the circles, a group of Hindoos hap- pened to pass, and the senior missionary, pointing to the antiquities, put the question, "What are these?" "Who knows ! " said one of the Asiatics, and that knot of people passed on. The next that came up were a party of holy men, apparently on pilgrimage, "What are these?" said the missionary again, pointing to the circles. " God knows !" was the leader's reply, and that batch of people passed on. These answers not being deemed exhaustive of the inquiry, application was made about two years subsequently through the Resident to the Rajah, for permission to dig in the centre of some of the circles. A favourable answer being returned, excavations were made towards the close of January 1850, and there were found iron spear-heads and, still more interesting, an iron vessel like a frying-pan, with two rings for handles, and inside a mosaic work formed of pieces of tile, and enclosing what seemed to be the remains of extremely antique ashes of the dead. The hostility of a petty native official at Takulghat having prevented the excavations from being as complete as had been intended, it was felt that they should be resumed at some future time, but the pressure of mission work caused more than thirteen years to elapse before anything further was done. At last, in 1863, Mr Hislop, who was then on very friendly terms with Mr Temple, the commissioner, applied to him on the subject, and it was agreed that new excava- tions should be made in name of a society called the "Antiquarian and Scientific Society of the Central Pro- vinces," which had been inaugurated at Seetabuldee the month before. Accordingly, on the 3rd September 1863, Mr Hislop accompanied the commissioner to Boree, about three miles from Takulghat. On the 4th, the two rode over on horseback to the circles, and saw the new excava- tions commenced. When the time for returning to Boree approached, it was arranged that Mr Temple should go alone, while Mr Hislop remained behind to collect and DBA TH OF MR HI SLOP. 3 1 9 classify some antiquities which had been found,* and to examine a native school (not belonging to the mission) at Takulghat, after which he would ride back to Boree, and he hoped in time for an eight o'clock dinner. A few minutes after the stipulated hour, instead of Mr Hislop appearing, a horse of the commissioner, which had been lent him for the day, came cantering up to the Boree camp without a rider, and alarm being in consequence excited, parties with torches were sent in quest of the missing mis- sionary. They looked for him along the road, and not finding him, went on to Takulghat. On learning in that village that Mr Hislop, after examining the school, had mounted the horse and cantered off in the direction of Boree, the probability of a fatal accident having occurred forced itself upon their attention, and on coming to a swollen stream which crossed the road, they proceeded to explore it carefully. It was not long before they discovered in the channel the body of the missionary lying under about three feet of water. Lifting it from its lowly resting-place, they took it on to Boree. Medical aid was instantly pro- cured from the camp of the commissioner, and every effort made to restore animation, but without success. Indeed, it was painfully apparent from the first that the case was hopeless ; for Mr Hislop must have been submerged at half- past seven, or a quarter to eight, and it was not till after ten that he was discovered.t *The Rev. Dr Wilson of Bombay considers the remains, as did the late Mr Hislop, to be of Scythian origin, and the former even ventures to date them. He assigns them to that inroad ot the Scythians into Western Asia which continued for twenty- eight years, as stated by Herodotus. [See his paper on the subject read before the Society]. t No eye saw him perish, but inquiry showed pretty clearly how the mournful catastrophe must have taken place. On the left hand of the road from Takulghat to Boree, and at no great distance from it, runs a river, which is joined by a minute tributary about a mile from Takulghat, and two from Boree. This tributary has a deep channel, yawning open in the midst of cultivated fields. Ordinarily it is quite dry, or has in it a mere driblet of water ; but after rains, it becomes a deep and rapid stream. Moreover, when the adjacent river is in flood, it sends a backwater into the channel of the small tributary, and renders the latter formidable enough. No rain had fallen at Takulghat on the 4th September whilst Mr Temple and Mr Hislop were together, and it was with considerable surprise that the former found, as he rude up to the tributary in the afternoon, that instead of being, as it had been in the morning, a harmless rill, it was now a formidable abyss of water from fifteen to 320 N AGP ORE. He was admirably adapted to be the pioneer in an evan- gelistic enterprise, and rendered good service to the cause of Christ in Central India. The estimation in which he was held by the Church, and the shock which his sudden death caused, were evinced by the very handsome subscription made for his widow and children of above ;^4ooo from friends in India and at home. It is worth mentioning that Sir Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy, who had been his fellow-pas- senger when he was returning from Europe in 1861, sub- scribed 500 rupees to the testimonial. It should be added that when Mr Hislop was on evangelistic tours, and when his mind required relaxation to keep it in tone, he made a number of scientific discoveries, especially in geology, which gave him a high reputation not merely in India, but in Europe.'^' It was a dark and mysterious providence which made a nameless backwater on an Indian river, itself unknown to eighteen feet broad, and ten feet in depth, rain having evidently fallen somewhere in the vicinity. On making this discovery, Mr Temple, with proper thoughtfulness, placed a man at the point of danger to put Mr Hislop when he came on his guard against entering the water, and conduct him to a ford some distance up the stream ; but, as is too frequently the case with Orientals, the person was not at the post of duty when the critical moment came- When thus Mr Hislop rode up in black night, there was no one to warn him of danger, and with his usual fearlessness, he rode into the water, thinking the depth to be as trifling as he had seen it to be in the morning. Examination showed that the horse must have been totally submerged. In all probability it then plunged and threw its rider, after which it succeeded in reaching the bank. Mournful to tell, Mr Hislop seems at one time to have reached the bank al--o, but vainly, for his corpse held with tenacity handfuls of grass. The officers of the Humane Society in London have discovered that the notion about a death-grasp in the drowning is a popular myth. As a rule, the hand of a person perishing in the water relaxes its hold as unconsciousness approaches ; and if it was different in the case of Mr Hislop, the probable reason is to be looked for in the abnormal energy of his character. Floods in the East, it should be added, often fall as suddenly as they rise, and while there were about ten feet of water in the channel at the time that the searching party first crossed it, there were but three less than two hours subsequently when the body was found. * When the news of Mr Hislop's death reached Britain, the writer was invited by a friend to be present at the next meeting of the Ge^ 'logical Society. When the meeting closed, several menibers very kindly expressed their sorrow for Mr Hislop's loss. Among those who did so were Sir Charles Lyell, Mr Leonard Horner, and Dr Falconer. Li February 1864, Professor Ramsay, in his presidential address, gave an obituary ntitice of Mr Hislop, though not a fellow of the Geological Society, an honour, wc believe, not till that time bestowed on any except Hugh Miller, though of late it has been repeated in the case of Mr Babbage, and possibly one or two more. There is a Nagpore mineral called Hislopite ; several fossils have appended to them the specific name Hislopi, while one has Hislopianiis ; and if it were possible that the Church which sent the first Nagpore missionary forth should ever forget him, the geological world would not allow his name to die. NE W LABO URERS. 3 2 I fame, the means of summoning such a man to his rest. But the Divine arrangements are ever marked by infinite wisdom and love. " Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Thy sight." CHAPTER VI. THE MISSION AFTER THE DEATH OF ITS FOUNDER. When Mr Temple intimated his intention of aiding the mission institution with Government money, Mr Hislop very strongly urged the Church to send out a European teacher to it without delay ; and, in the providence of God, it happened that the gentleman (Mr William Young), appointed on ac- count of his representation, was the first effective assistance which Mr Cooper received from home when he was left alone in the mission."^ The Rev. James Dawson was soon after- wards appointed to succeed Mr Hislop, and being ordained, on the 6th October 1864, by the Presbytery of Edinburgh, sailed from Southampton on the 27th October. A second teacher haying been applied for, Mr John Dalziel f was appointed, and sailed in the steamer of the 12th November. In 1864, a female orphanage was set up, for the support of which boxes of ladies' work have since been repeatedly sent by kind friends in this country. In 1864, Samuel Hardy, the same young man whose release from the heathen officers was narrated in an earlier chapter, returned to Seetabuldee, and was employed by Mr Cooper as a catechist in connection with the mission. He speaks Tamul, Teloogoo, Marathi, and Hindustani, and, not- withstanding his European name, is of the Tamul race. On Friday, 31st December 1864, Mr Dawson and Mr * Mr Young was for five years pupil teacher in the Free Church school of Insch, and for two years sub-^equentIy was in the Free Church Normal Seminary of Edin- burgh. He left Southampton on the 27th January 1864. t Mr Dalziel was formerly teacher of a subscription school at Buckhvie. 322 NAGPORE. and Mrs Dalziel all arrived in safety. They had travelled 370 miles by rail, and 160 more by the ordinary country vehicles. The first missionaries had to ride most of the way - to Nagpore on horseback. The construction of the rail- way for 170 miles made it much more accessible. Nor was it only 170 miles that the railway was designed to extend. Measures were then being taken to bring it to Seetabuldee. A piece of land on which five houses had been built by one connected with the work, as the nucleus of a Christian village, had been given over to the mission in 1855. Now it was purchased for a railway terminus, compensation being given for the destruction of the so-called "village," or rather hamlet, and those who were thus displaced erected a second "village," nearer Nagpore than the first. The party from Europe arrived just in time to be present at a feast given by C. Bernard, Esq., of the Civil Service, to the native Chris- tians. At this feast 150 sat down to a sumptuous repast, about 30 European gentlemen and ladies being present as spectators. Last year a similar feast had been given by R. M. Brereton, Esq. The year 1864 was one of great success in the mission. Including converts from Romanism, there were no fewer than 32 adults received into the Church, and 19 children. One was a Mahratta woman, Bajibai, widow of a Christian teacher, who had been associated with the mission almost from its commencement, but died in the faith of the gospel in March 1864 : the rest were mostly Tamulians connected with Southern India, who had come temporarily to the Nag- pore country with officers, or as camp-followers of the regiment. One was himself a Sepoy, another was a girl, aged 14, of Mohammedan parentage, who had been placed by an officer interested in her under Mrs Cooper's care, her father having died and her mother married again. Several of the other converts were connected more or less with the camp. The case of a man called Pandurang, baptized at Seetabuldee on July 29th, 1864, claims more special BAPTISMS. 323 notice, from the bearing it had on the evangelisation of the Mahratta-speaking population. The Mahars and Mangs, subdued aborigines, now at the base of the Hindoo social system through the whole Mahratta country, would, if they were wise, lose no time in revolting in mass against the system which oppresses them ; and the day, we trust, is not very far distant when they will actually do so. Any symp- toms of a tendency in Mahars and Mangs to come over to Christianity is, therefore, a fact which may ere long become profoundly significant. In the fall of 1863, as Mr Cooper was about to escort Mrs Hislop to Bombay, six Mahars from the village of Dapewada, 16 miles off, appeared at See- tabuldee to ask for baptism. Only one, Dasru, the Kotwal of the village, was deemed fit for the rite, and it was ad- ministered to no more than him. The means of his conver- sion had been a New Testament and religious tracts, which he had obtained from the colporteur of the mission. Pandurang was another Mahar from the same village, where the gospel was evidently showing a tendency to root itself. Dasru was afterwards engaged as a colporteur. The succeeding year there were also somewhat numerous baptisms, one of them very important. The one was that of a monitor in the Kamptee schools — a Kanoji Brahman, aged 18, called Jankey Persad. The father, a venerable and stately looking old man, for three hours attempted to shake his resolution, but in vain. Till a late hour crowds of angry and boisterous acquaintances beset the school- house, and were only deterred from violence by the fear of losing their situations or their pensions if they created any disturbance in the cantonment. He was baptized on Sab- bath, 1 2th February 1865. After the service was ended, a number of European friends (officers and others) shook him very warmly by the hand, congratulating him on the noble stand he had made, and urging him to constancy in his new profession. Another baptism deserves mention — that of a kayat (a writer-caste) called Jugalkeshore, from that great 324 NAGPORE. citadel of heathenism — Nagpore city. The preaching of Samuel Hardy was what first, under God, induced him to turn his attention to the truth. Mr Dawson baptized him on the 22nd January 1865. Of two baptisms on 19th March, one was that of a Mahratta Hindoo, When soon afterwards Mr Temple decided that the Go- vernment should commence a normal female school, the mission was applied to for a lady superintendent and a staff of teachers. On Sabbath, 21st May 1865, Arjun, a third Mahar from Dapewada, was baptized. Baba Pandurang, who for upwards of two years had been in charge of a mission-school set up before Mr Hislop's death, in the town of Chindwara, was now at Nagpore. John Chumpa, baptized about i860, afterwards became teacher of the Chindwara school. Mr Cooper, Mr Dawson, Baba Pandurang, and Samuel Hardy, did what they could to spread the gospel in Nagpore city, and writing in 1865, Baba said — "Nagpore is not the Nagpore of 1845, when the first missionary arrived here. The days of strong prejudice have nearly vanished." A short time afterwards, he was taken with severe illness, apparently, by the description, cholera, and was supposed to be dying, but was able to trust his soul thoroughly to Christ in the prospect of dissolution. He received much loving attention from the native Christians, and ultimately, with the Divine blessing, recovered. A few months later the movement among the Mahar cultivators at Dapewada, now increased to seven, showed unmistakable symptoms of spreading among the Mahars of the neighbouring places. One of these, which now ob- tained a Christian representative, was Borgaum, we presume the village (for there are two in the vicinity of the same name) of which the patel had so long given up idolatry, and which is no more than 3^ miles north of Dapewada. NE W ED UCA TIONAL FOLIC Y. 3 2 $ While these baptisms were in progress, Mr Dawson admitted a young man called Mohun Lall, aged i8, a Siidra of the Lodi caste, who had been, till the excitement about Jankey Persad arose, a pupil in the Kamptee school, into the Church at that station. His companion, Ramchurn, had before been baptized. Ramchurn being a Rajpoot, an effort was made by his caste people to prevent his carrying out his convictions, and when, on Friday, i8th August 1865, he took refuge with Mr Ramswami, one of the native preachers, an angry mob surrounded the house, and would have proceeded to violence had not the arrival of the police restored order. On the Sabbath following, he was baptized. The Kamptee school was flourishing under Ramswami's superintendence. There were 175 upon the roll. That same year Mr Cooper had to exercise discipline on some of the senior native Christians who had been dis- turbing the peace of the congregations of Kamptee and Seetabuldee, after which harmony and brotherly love were restored. In 1867 the Chief Commissioner ofiEicially thanked the two European teachers in the Nagpore institution, Messrs Young and Dalziel, and also Mr Cooper, a favourable report on their services having been made to him by the Director of Public Instruction. In 1868 a German missionary, Mr Lohr, came out from Europe to seek a sphere of labour, and was directed to the Satnami Chumars, an aboriginal people in the district of Chutteesgurh (the Thirty-six Forts), the most easterly and least civilised province of the late Nagpore kingdom, thus removing the excessive isolation, in that direction especially, of the Free Church mission. So long as Mr Temple was at Nagpore the Government, it will be remembered, set up no seminary of its own for boys, excepting only a normal one ; but in 1868, after his departure, a new policy was introduced, and it was con- sidered right that the inhabitants of Nagpore should have (391) 22 326 NAGPORE. their choice between a Christian school on the one hand, and one or more of a purely secular character. The autho- rities there, therefore, with the sanction of the supreme government, set up two Anglo-vernacular schools. As the demand for English education was still very limited in the city, there were not enough students of English to fill three schools. The mission institution consequently suffered, and will continue to do so for a time, until the increasing de- mand for English will furnish scholars for all the three. Meanwhile Mr Cooper has done rightly in refusing to ele- minate the Christian element from the mission school. That must be preserved in unimpaired integrity whatever vicissitudes may arise. At an old provincial capital called Bundara, forty miles east of Nagpore, and containing 13,000 or 14,000 inhabi- tants, a native Church had sprung up, and on a mission tour at the end of 1868, the communion was dispensed to twelve people, mostly natives, in the house of Mr De Rebella, formerly teacher of the mission school in Kamptee. The widow of Venkat Rao, one of these converts, was after- wards employed as zenana teacher under the auspices of the London Society for Female Education in India. Not long afterwards the mission sustained a severe loss in the death of John Chumpa, who had been a most self- sacrificing and valuable labourer.* The departure of Mr Dawson, in 1867, to commence the Gond mission, having made a blank in the list of Nagpore agency, the Rev. David Whitton was ordained to the station by the Free Presbytery of Arbroath, on the 13th July 1869. Mr Dalziel, the teacher, also was seeking license, and aspired to become a missionary. In 1870 failing health compelled Mr Cooper, under medical advice, to return for a season home. In 1872 he returned again to Central India. ** We arc sorry to find it stated that in April 1869 the Rev. Eaba Pandurang, and in March 1870 the Rev. Ramswami Venkatachellum, ceased connection with the mission. PRESENT STATE OF THE MISSION. 327 Among the interesting baptisms which have taken place within the last four years, in connection with the Nagpore mission, may be mentioned those of Naganna, now Simon, a sepoy, like the former, of the 7 th Madras Native Infantry, baptized in 1868 ; a pupil of " Anundi Bai's girls' school" (a day one) ; with four children from the orphanage, in 1871. Last year (1872) there were 528 pupils in connection with the mission. The year before there were about forty- three girls in the boarding-school, with twenty-six in the day-school — in all, sixty-nine. Mrs Young, wife of one of the teachers in the institution, sad to tell, had died, and her husband, with three children, had returned home. The native Christian village on the new site has been com- pleted. Mr Cooper, as already mentioned, has returned after his necessary sojourn at home, and there is much that is hopeful for future progress in Central India. SECTION VII. MISSIONS TO THE WILD TRIBES, THE SANTHAL MISSION. CHAPTER I. THE PEOPLE. EFORE entering on the specific subject of the Santhal mission, a few remarks on the hill and jungle tribes of India in general may not be out of place. These tribes, as already men- tioned, are properly the oldest inhabitants of the country. In one very important respect they are markedly superior to the dwellers on the plains ; they are, as a rule, truthful, while the ordinary Hindoos, with a few honourable excep- tions, are mendacious to an extent of which none but those who have had long personal experience of them can have the faintest conception. The wild tribes of the jungles and hills have never been converted either to Hindooism or Mohammedanism. Their religion is a simple fetichism, with a tendency to stain itself, where opportunity is afforded, with the crime and infatuation of human sacrifice. They have no caste, no hierarchy, no grudge against the British for native dynasties overthrown, and, humanly speaking, may be expected to enter the Church in large numbers, like the THE WILD TRIBES. 329 Shanars of Tinnevelly and the Karens of Burmah, races of a very similar kind. But the tincture of Christianity which nominal converts will possess will be very slight, unless vernacular schools for combined religious and secular teach- ing be set up in the several villages or hamlets where the gospel is received. There is an important political reason why earnest efforts should be made immediately to evangelise the wild tribes. If, as is by no means improbable, they are brought over without very much delay in mass to nominal Christianity, then in the event of new mutinies or rebellions occurring, every range of hills would be inhabited by men with similar sympathies to our own, and would constitute a secure basis of military operations, for holding, or it might even be, recovering our position on the plains. Not that we would wish to hold India by force, if its people desired our depar- ture. If the time should ever arrive that India stood in the same relation to us as, prior to 1866, Venetia did to Austria, or as the Ionian Islands did to Britain just before we cut them adrift in i860, it would be a folly and a crime to think of retaining it by force. But partial outbreaks might occur even when, as at present is the case, the majority of the people were in our favour, and therefore it is needful to look at the country with a military as well as a missionary eye. As already mentioned, there are about 200 distinct mountain and jungle tribes in India, though they fall natu- rally into two great groups, and apparently only two — namely, those with a Tamul and those with a Chinese affinity. The Santhals seem to belong to the second of these divisions. When Dr and Mrs Murray Mitchell visited their country they made numerous interesting observations on their aspect and manner of life. " Physically," says Mrs Mitchell, " the Santhals are a fine race. They are of a good height, well and firmly built, and broader-shouldered 330 MISSIONS TO THE WILD TRIBES. than the Bengalees, and are more manly-looking. They have not the delicate features, however, nor the intellectual expression of either Ben- galees or Mahrattas, and they are by no means so fair as the latter. The curse of early marriage does not exist among them ;■ neither does poly- gamy. The women aie not caged and shut up in zenanas, like their poor sisters in Bengal. They are bright, and frank, and happy-looking, though I cannot say they are handsome, and, of course, are a little like savages. " They are intensely superstitious, and believe in bhoots or spirits (rather demons), who are supposed to reside chiefly in trees. They have some vague idea of a great Being who is beneficent and good, but with him, because it is so, they have little or nothing to do. The bhoots are capricious and revengeful, and ever on the watch to do them hurt, therefore it is needful to propitiate them, and all the rites and ceremonies are performed in honour of the malignant beings. Their worship is entirely one of fear." — Missionary Record, 1871, P- 182. We should have conjectured that their religion was one of fear even had we not been told. The less civilised the nation or tribe, the farther is it from conceiving the glorious and consoHng truth that God is love. CHAPTER II. COMMENCEMENT OF OPERATIONS. The Santhal mission was an offshoot from the great Cal- cutta one, though being at a much greater distance than Chinsurah, Culna, Mahanad, or such places from the central station, and being, moreover, specifically designed to benefit a jungle and hill tribe of unsubdued aborigines, it is better to give it a place of its own in the history. When at home, Dr Duff, in his missionary addresses throughout the country, had often drawn attention to the aboriginal tribes of India — their numbers, their characteris- tics, and the importance of efforts to evangelise them. In 1849 he visited the Shanars of Tinnevelly, and in 1858-9 the Karens of Burmah, with a view of noting the missionary operations carried on amongst them. At a later date, in a THE SANTHAL MISSION. 33 I communication which appeared in the Missionary Record^ he says — "Most of the cold season of 1861-1862 I spent among the Koles in Chota Nagpore,* accompanying the chief commissioner, Colonel Dalton, in his rounds through the district. Part of the cold season of 1862-1863 was spent among the Santhals in the hill region between Chota-Nagpore and Rajmahal on the Ganges, making inquiries with a specific view towards the ultimate establishment of a mission among them. Several members of the Free Church in Calcutta were willing liberally to support such a mission." Application was then made to the Foreign Mission Com- mittee to undertake operations in the Santhal country, but want of funds prevented them from complying with the invitation. The matter, therefore, languished for a time. But by and by the increase of fees in the Calcutta institu- tion disengaged money which before had not been available for the extension of the operations, and the Rev. Dr Murray Mitchell was requested to visit the Santhal country and collect information. He did so in the cold season of 1868-9, and reported favourably. He found the villages in which the Santhals lived cleaner than those occupied by the Hindoos. He considered that the Santhals and Koles together might amount to about four millions, and added that the rate at which the work was making progress among the Koles might be judged of by the fact that on one Sabbath he witnessed 94 baptisms, and on the next 64. A member of the Free Church of Calcutta who had extensive tea plantations in the neighbourhood of that country, offered to contribute ;£"i8o annually if the contemplated mission were actually set on foot. In these encouraging circumstances the Flome Committee resolved to take action, and sent out the Rev. Archibald Templeton, M.B., who, in addition to his theological acquirements, had qualified himself as a medical practi- * This is not the Mahratta Nagpore, the seat of the Free Church mission, but a district about 350 miles further eastward. Chota is Hindostanee for little, and the general belief is that Chota Nagpore simply means Little Nagpore, but there is reason to think that the word is properly Chutia, and not Chota. 332 MISSIONS TO THE WILD TRIBES. tioner. It was resolved that the centre of operations should be near Pachamba. In its vicinity is a small town for the numerous mechanics and officials sent out from Britain in connection with the East Indian railway. The route to it from Calcutta is through the colliery district— Raneegunge, and then on to Bancoorah, the latter station having for a few months prior to the mutinies been the seat of a mission under the Rev. Mr Stevenson, now of Pultney- town. The sacred mountain of Parisnath, a great place of Jain a pilgrimage, is not far from the seat of the mission. Dr Templeton took up his residence at Pachamba on 15th December 1871. He has not yet been long enough there to render it needful, with our limited space, to enter into further details respecting his work. THE GOND MISSION, CHAPTER I. THE PEOPLE AND THE DISTRICTS THEY INHABIT. The Gonds are an aboriginal race who have seen better days. In the second century of the Christian era, they were known beyond the limits of Asia, if, as Dr Wilson of Bom- bay thinks, they are the people described by Ptolemy in his geography as the Gondaloi. " A glance," says Dr Murray Mitchell, *' shows the difference be- tween Gonds and Hindoos. The nose of the Gond is flatter and broader, very seldom prominent ; the ear is longer, the lips thicker, the mouth wider, the beard and moustache more scanty ; complexion a little darker. There is certainly not much beauty in a Gond face, but the expression is not unpleasing." Their language has a certain affinity to Tamul, and, like Tamul, is of the Turanian group of tongues. During the time when the Mogul empire was flourishing, the province THE GONDS. 333 afterwards called Nagpore, or at least, a great part of it, was termed Gondwana, meaning the country of the Gonds, from its being in the main inhabited by that people. There had been four important Gond states nortli of the Godavery, with one south of that river, but gradually the Mussulmans succeeded in overthrowing most of them, whilst the Mahrattas, when they managed to establish themselves in Central India, completed the work which the Moham- medans had begun. So recent was the suppression of the Gond sovereignty near Nagpore itself, that the last Rajah of that race, or rather a descendant of his, was a pen- sioner of the late Nagpore Mahratta king. The personage in question had become a Mohammedan, but the great mass of the Gonds still retained their primeval faith. It was of an extremely nebulous character, consisting of the worship of stones and particular trees, and apparently of demigods, though how many, no one can exactly tell. If a circle be described around Nagpore city, with a radius of eighty miles, it will not enclose much except what is Hindoo; but immediately beyond the circle, on the north-east and south-east, will be extensive districts inhabited chiefly by Gonds. They are all very far behind in civilisation, but there are great differences among them; the wildest, who, it is suspected, at a very recent period perpetrated the crime of human sacrifice, being in Bustar, a couple of hun- dred miles south-east of Nagpore. The most accessible of the Gonds are those of the north. An excursion to their country was made by the Nagpore missionaries in the winter of 1854-55. — Free Church Mis- sionary Record iox 1867, pp. 26, 50. The country round Nagpore itself is a table land about 900 feet above the sea, sloping gradually south-east, towards the remote Bay of Bengal. The province of old was called Deogur below the Ghauts. Between forty and fifty miles north of Nagpore, the traveller encounters the Ghauts re- ferred to — a long connected trappean ridge, running east and 334 MISSIONS TO THE WILD TRIBES. west, to get his bullock carriage and carts up which is the work of a great many hours. Once far enough inland, to lose sight of the Ghauts, which have proved such a deten- tion, the traveller finds himself on what looks a low plain, but is really a table-land, more than a thousand feet higher than the first. In short, he is in the old Nagpore province of Deogur above the Ghauts. The capital of the latter region is Chindwara, eighty-two miles north of Nagpore,* and 2 ICO feet above the level of the sea. About forty miles west of Chindwara is the magnificent sandstone range of the Puchmaree Hills, jagged like Spanish sierras, a great Gond region. CHAPTER H. COMMENCEMENT OF THE WORK. Towards the close of 1865, Mr Dawson of Nagpore, writ- ing to the convener, intimated that a mission to the Gonds was about to commence, and that Samuel Hardy would go as pioneer and explorer. Leaving his wife and five children temporarily under the care of his brother, he set out on Thursday, the 7th December 1865, for Chindwara, which was designed to be the headquarters of the mission. Chindwara contains a population, by the census of 1867, of about 10,000, of which, however, only 360 are hill tribemen. But in the district, which Dr Mitchell compared in size to a Scotch county, there are 128,252 Gonds, or about three-eighths of the entire population. Within a radius of six miles from the town of Chindwara, there are about seventy villages, with an aggregate of 10,000 inhabi- tants, about 4500 of them Gonds. * Thornton's Gazetteer, usually very accurate, and to which we have been in- debted for a number of the geographical facts in this volume, is not correct in its statements rcL^arding the po'-ition of Chindwara. It says that the town just named is eighty-two miles south of Saugor, and 167 north of Nagpore. It should have been 167 south of Saugor, and eighty-two north of Nagpore. THE GOND MISSION. 335 In 1866 the Rev. James Dawson became the head of the Gond mission, Samuel Hardy acting as his second in com- mand. In 1867, Samuel's horsekeeper, and the wife and child of the latter, were baptized at Chindwara. Though to a certain extent the first fruits of the Gond mission, yet they were not properly speaking Gonds, but Mahars. Mr Dawson and his companion make long tours from Chind- wara, which they perform on horseback, buffaloes carrying their tent and furniture. On these tours they preach in the villages, sell tracts and Scripture portions, and use every means in their power of spreading the gospel. On a tour in 1867, which lasted twenty-seven days, i8s. were received for the Scripture portions and tracts sold, though we should conjecture that the principal purchasers were the Hindoos proper, the Gonds being unable to read. Next year, on a tour of six weeks, ;^2, 12s. gd. were similarly obtained. In 1868 a Teloogoo lad, called Rangaswamy, was baptized by Mr Dawson. During the period when he could not travel, he commenced a house to house visitation of Chindwara town, whilst Mrs Dawson set up a small girls' school with eight in attendance. In November 1869, the mission was visited by Dr Murray Mitchell of Calcutta, who stayed ten days, and before departing, wrote two most valuable letters regarding the Gonds and the missionary operations com- menced for their benefit. He showed the importance of labouring to evangelise them, amounting as they do to per- haps one and a half millions, or with some allied tribes, even two millions. He gave a vivid sketch of the missionaries as they appear in their travels, saying that Mr Dawson, who had hardly bestrode a horse before coming to India, is now quite an equestrian, and speeds over hill and plain, " as if to the manner born." " So does excellent Samuel Hardy, whose humble looking tattoo " (pony) " is always ready for its duty.'' Both Mr Dawson and Mr Hardy had by this time acquired Gondi, and found it make way for them to the hearts of the people. When not on more lengthened 336 MISSIONS TO THE WILD TRIBES. tours, they were accustomed to go forth in the morning 1o visit the villages, in one direction from Chindwara, return- ing in the evening. The same process was repeated in another direction next day, and so on, till in a month the labourers had gyrated round the entire area of the district marked out for occupation. It was sought also to establish schools, but the Gonds were found very backward in a])- preciating the value of education. In 187 1 there were under charge of the mission twenty-four baptized adherents, of whom sixteen, mostly Hindoo, had been admitted on pro- fession of their faith. Mr Dawson's labours in connection with the language have been most praiseworthy. On the tour of 1854-55, and subsequently, Mr Hislop had made a collection of words, idioms, &c., and remarks on the Gond people, which were published shortly after his decease by his generous friend, Sir Richard Temple. This was almost the only aid Mr Dawson had in acquiring Gondi. Yet, in 1872, his literary works in connection with it were as follow : — I. Two Papers published by the Asiatic Society of Bengal in 1870, which togetherform an outline Grammar and small Vocabulary in Gondi. 2. The Gospel of John in Nagri (Sanscrit) Character, 1869. 3. The Book of Genesis in Roman character, 1870-72. 4. The Gospel of Matthew in Nagri, 1872. 5. The Gospel of ]\Iark in Nagri ; and 6. Some materials for a larger grammar and dictionary. The Church will look with eager interest to the future development of the promising Gond mission. THE WARALI MISSIOISr. On the 22d December 1834, the Rev. Dr Wilson and Dr Smyttan, then visiting Umargaum, in the Northern Concan, fell in with men of uncouth appearance, who called them- selves Waralis, and were ascertained to be representatives of a wild jungle tribe. The gentlemen were interested to THE WARALI MISSION. 33^ know more of them, and on 9th January 1839, Dr Wilson, Mr James Mitchell, and Mr Dhanjibhai — the last-named member of the party being then unbaptized — left Bombay, with the express intention of visiting the Waralis in their jungles. Travelling ina Damaun, they soon reached the country of which they were in quest, and found much to interest them in the condition of its rude inhabitants. The peculiarities of the Waralis were afterwards described in one of a series of papers on the wild tribes of Western India, contributed by Dr Wilson to the Missmiajj Record in the year 1841, and in a volume which he more recently published on the evangelisation of India. Towards the end of 1865, it was proposed to send as a missionary to the Warali tribe the Parsee convert, Shapurji Edulji, then awaiting license as a probationer; and in April 1866, he took his departure for the Northern Concan. Shapurji found the Waralis in a state of deplorable mental feebleness and ignorance. He stated that they could count no farther than twenty, and that even in this extremely limited effort at computation they made blunders. — Free Church Missionary Record, January 1866, p. i. After a survey by Dr Wilson, Mr Stothert, and Dhanjibhai, the seat of the mission was temporarily fixed at Sanjan, where the directors of the Baroda Railway Company gave a bungalow at a nominal rent. It was believed, however, that when another station was opened at a place called Colwad, on the sea coast, nine miles south from Sanjan, it would be found a better centre. — {Free Church Missionary Record, September 1866, p. 1-3). In July floods drove Shapurji from Sanjan to Oomergaum. On Monday, 29th August 1866, Dr Wilson set out to visit Shapurji in the jungle. The latter was then alone, but in October of the same year he was joined by a medical cat?chist, a Marathi teacher, and a colporteur. The Warali mission ^as since gone on, though as yet with inconsiderable success. SECTION VIII. CAFFRARIA, CHAPTER I. SOUTHERN AFRICA AND ITS INHABITANTS. [HE aspect presented by the southern portion of the great African continent, on maps at least, is familiar to even the humblest tyro in geo- graphy. The land rises from the great waste of waters formed by the commingling of the South Atlantic, the South Indian, and the Southern oceans, terrace appear- ing behind terrace, till table lands of considerable elevation are reached. Lying on the other side of the equator, it is winter in that region when it is summer with us, and summer there while we have winter, the periods of spring and autumn being similarly reversed.* It is not so generally known as it should be, that the table lands, and even the deserts of hot countries, are not at all unhealthy places to dwell in, the intensely pure and dry atmosphere imparting to most people, and above all to those of sensitive nerve, ■* The hottest time of the year is the last half of January and the first half of February. In the month of February there are almost always heavy rains, which maybe called the latter rains, in contradistinction to others occurring in "spring," or, to speak more specifically, about the loth September. In the ordinary hot days, which are but few, the thermometer does not rise above eighty degs. Two or three times in winter the hill-tops have snow upon them, but only for a few days In upwards of thirty years, Mr Laing of Burnshill only once saw snow on the 1- .viands, and it vanished the same day on which it fell." — Free Church Mission try Record, 1861, 1862, pp. 276, 277. HOTTENTOTS AND CAFFRES, 339 an elasticity, a capacity for labour, and in some cases even a faint ruddiness of tint, all of which are totally wanting in the inhabitants of steaming tropical deltas. Hence, unless ' where decaying vegetable matter creates intermittent or other fevers, the upland portions of South Africa are health- ful for European settlers. Many years ago we cut out of a newspaper a paragraph exhibiting the mortality among our soldiers at the several stations throughout the world garri- soned by the British army. The deaths among a thousand soldiers in Britain were sixteen in a year, whilst Cape Town had but ten, and the eastern frontier of Cape Colony only nine, the last-named district being at that time the most healthy region in the world occupied by the British army. When our predecessors the Dutch first gained dominion in South Africa, they found that the native inhabitants of the districts earliest settled were of the Hottentot race. As their knowledge extended, they became aware that another tribe, or series of tribes, comprising the people now called Cafifres, occupied the region more to the eastward, and were in many respects superior to their Hottentot neighbours. When we supplanted the Dutch in the government of the Cape, and, imitating the annexation policy of our prede- cessors, proceeded to spread abroad in the land, we soon became acquainted with the Caffres, in war as well as in peace. Neither the Hottentots nor the Caffres are of the proper negro race, which is believed to extend no farther south than to the Tropic of Capricorn. Both, however, have the woolly hair of the ordinary negro. Why the Caffres should be so superior to the Hottentots is an ethnological puzzle. Some— taking into account the undoubted fact that there is a good deal of Arab blood among the aristocracy of Mada- gascar — suppose that the Arabs may have made their way also to Caffraria, and by intermarriages, improved the Caffre race. In favour of this view may be adduced the remark- able fact that the Caffres practise the rite of circumcision, 340 CAFFRARIA. and make ceremonial distinction between things clean and unclean. In the opinion of others, these observances are of indigenous origin, and did not come, directly or indirectly, from the Arabs, or any other Semitic people. If so, then the fact must be accepted that it is possible for a race of semi-negro organisation to manifest intellect of an order which we are too apt to consider as the exclusive possession of the Aryan and Semitic families of mankind. The word Caffre, Kaffir, or Kafir, is evidently of Moslem introduction. It signifies infidel, and is the contemptuous term applied by Mussulmans to all who are not believers in the so-called Arabian " Prophet." The name by which the Caffres designate themselves is Aman-Xosa, meaning the people of Xosa, while the Hottentots are similarly called Aman-Ibranana, the people of Ibranan. The word Aman- Xosa has been transformed by European lips into Amakosa. The Caffres' own tradition is that they came originally from the north, an opinion, we should think, quite consistent with fact. — Free Church Missionary Record, February 1848, pp. As a people, they are tall and muscular. When not pressed by want of food, or excited by the presence of an enemy, they are indolent. Woman is degraded among them, being bought and sold. They support themselves partly by agriculture, but chiefly by the produce of their herds of cattle. They have no towns, but live in small hamlets, or kraals, consisting on an average of about seven families each. These kraals are in some favourite spots so numerous, that there may be a population of seven or eight thousand, within an area of perhaps ten square miles. — i^Free Church Missionary Record, 1845-6, pp. 45,46). Their huts are circular, like beehives.* * " We have visited," says Mrs Dalziel, writing in 1870, " a number of Caffre huts. . . They are exactly like bee-hives. l"he hut of a young couple we visited was twenty-five feet across, a good wooden table in the centre, where the fire is lighted when they have one, a wooden bed-frame with bedding, &c. Round by the walls were boxes with white covers over them, two stands for books, a looking-glass, some pictures on the walls, " British Workman's Almanac," &c., the walls spotted with blue paint, one chair, and a stand for dishes. It was wonderful compared with some I CAFFRE LANGUAGE AND CUSTOMS. 34 [ As a specimen of the Caffre language, take the first three verses of Mark's gospel, which run thus : — " Ver. I, Inggualo yindaba-ezilungileyo zika-Yezu Kristii un-Nyana ka-Tino. 2. Dzhe gobubaliweyo gu- Yesaya isandu-lelo, esiti, Bonake ! (layituma ingelosi yam pambi Kobuso, bako, eyabueca inthela yako, Isandi sodandulukayo ebugxwayibeni, Manikeniyin-gulugo inthlela, yen-Kosi, nenz' inthlela zayo zilungi. — Free Chiirch Alissionary Record, 1844, pp. 251, 252. The religious state of the heathen Caffres is in some respects without a parallel. They have not in all their country a single temple or a single idol. It is a matter of dispute whether or not they acknowledge a Supreme Being. No doubt could arise on the subject if they had any proper worship, and the uncertainty which exists is not to their credit. As is generally the case with those who disbelieve or but faintly acknowledge God, they are very superstitious. They are always afraid of being bewitched, and act with great inhumanity to any one whom they suspect of having done them this great injury. As the sequel will show, they are very prone to be deluded by false prophets. So are they also by rain-makers. It is more satisfactory to find that they have at least a faint belief in immortality, as shown by the fact that when their cattle die they burn the fat and bones, in the hope that the fumes ascending from the sacrifice may be grateful to deceased heroes, who, it is believed, occasionally become hungry and require to be thus fed. — Free Church Missionary Record^ 1854-1855, p. 256. Circumcision is performed, not on the 8th day as among the Jews, or in the 13th year as among the Arabs, but between 18 and 24. It is followed by a period of lawlessness and immorality, the neophytes living for four months in temporary huts which they erect, and being permitted to do exactly wiiat is right in their own eyes. In 1848, the Rev. Mr Govan of the Lovedale seminary have seen, but at the best had — no chimney, no windows. . . Sometimes holes in the wall for light, oftener not even that, only the door. . . . The little children naked, the elder ones nearly so." — Free Church Missionary Record, 1871, p.54. V391) 23 342 - CAFFRARIA. Stated that the shores of Cafifraria, from the colony to Natal, extended nearly 400 miles, that the Natal country was about 200, and that Caffre-speaking tribes stretched along the coast for some hundred miles further — how many, he did not know. He understood that messengers from a tribe near Delagoa Bay who came asking for a missionary spoke the Caffre tongue. Including the Zulus of Natal, he esti- mated the numbers known to use this form of speech at 500,000. In missionary and other letters from Cafifraria, the word Fingo or Fengu perpetually occurs, and the question is fre- quently asked — Who are the Fingoes ? A very clear answer is returned by the Rev. Dr Stewart of Lovedale. The Fingoes, as we learn from him and others, are a people of Caffre descent, who originally lived northward from most of the other tribes claiming the same affinity. Their power being broken in war by the conquering and cruel chiefs Chaka and Mazilikitse, they were compelled to flee to the south and seek an asylum with the rest of their countrymen. The latter, with great want of political foresight, considered that it would be for their advantage to reduce the refugees to the position of a servile people, which accordingly they did. When, in 1835, a war was in progress between the Cafifres and the British, the Fingoes, galled by the ill-treatment they had received from their so-called brethren, sided with the British, and were in consequence both set free and allowed to settle in the British territory. The political occurrences now mentioned were sure to carry with them these conse- quences, among others, that the Caffres, using the term now in its special sense, would be difficult to evangelise, as they would be sure to be prejudiced against the gospel, which they would regard as the faith of the conquerors who had humbled them, whilst the Fingoes would be more disposed to embrace the truth, as they would look at Christianity as the religion of those who had broken their fetters and set them free. EARL Y EFFOR TS. 343 CHAPTER II. TAKING POSSESSION. So far as is known, the first missionary who ever set foot in Caffraria was a Dutch physician called Dr Vanderkenip, sent out with Dr Kircherer and other pious men by the London Society in 1798. The doctor, however, did not find a suitable place for a station, and returning to the vicinity of Algoa Bay, he founded a Hottentot settlement at a place called Bethelsdorp. — {Ca7npbeir s Travels in South Africa^ 3rd Edition, 1815, Advertisement, p. i; also p. 70, &c.) After a long interval, the same Society sent forth Mr Joseph Williams, who visited Caffraria in April 1816, and settled there with his family in June of the same year. His career was short, for he died in August 1818. After his decease, a Christian meeting was kept up by one of his converts called Unstikana, in a small kraal or hamlet, for nearly two years, till June 1820, when the place of Mr Williams was supplied by the arrival at Igwali of Mr Brownlee, with his flimily. This new labourer, though he went out under the auspices of the London Missionary Society, was a Scotch- man from Clydesdale. In the month and year already mentioned — June 1820 — he formed the station of Chumie, on one of the tributaries of the Chumie river, about nine miles north by east of the place where the Lovedale semi- nary now stands. In our narrative of home operations we have mentioned the providential circumstances which ultimately induced tlic directors of the Glasgow Society to send a mission to Caf- fraria. A few additional details may here be superadded. In 1820, Mr W. R. Thomson, then a divinity student whose studies were nearly completed, had agreed, when licensed, to proceed to the Cape and become pastor to a small 344 CAFFRARIA. colony of Scottish emigrants soon to sail from the Clyde in a ship called the Abeona. As the small sphere he was about to occupy would be insufficient to furnish him with full employment or adequate pecuniary support, the Glasgow Society, about September 1820, invited him to undertake on his arrival to give a portion of his time to evangelistic work among the Caffres, which he readily consented to do. Meanwhile, the Abeofia, which had gone on in advance, was burnt in mid-ocean, and, sad to tell, the greater part of the emigrants perished either in the flames or in the sea. It was then decided that Mr Thomson should go out solely as a Caffre missionary, and on the 23rd January 1821, he and Mr Bennie were " set apart " (not ordained) in Albion Street Chapel, Glasgow— the Rev. Mr M'Lean's. Mr Bennie was then in his 26th year. Mr Thomson was after- wards sent forward to London for ordination, whilst Mr Bennie accompanied him to Africa unordained. Sailing from Gravesend on the 29th April 1821, they arrived at Chumie on the 15th November of the same year, and obtained a warm welcome from Mr Brownlee.* — Edinburgh Chrisiia7i I?isfrucfor, vol. xx. (1821), pp. 765, 766. Speaking of the contented ignorance in which the people then dwelt, a missionary, Mr Robertson, said — "In 1821, the people were very deeply plunged in ignorance, so much so that the young children had to ho. bribed with presents before they would come to school ; while in hiring themselves out, the people were content with l)uttons or beads for their services, and they would barter iheir cattle for the same trifling things." — Free Church Missionary Record, 1872, pp. 50, 51. In July 1822, seven natives, six of whom had received their first religious impressions under Mr Williams' ministry, appHed for baptism. Five of them, with seven children, soon afterwards received the sealing ordinance. The mis- sionaries were in the habit of naming those whom they admitted to their fellowship after their friends and patrons in the West of Scotland, and before the Caffre church had * Not long after this, the Wesleyans also commenced operations in Caffraria. REIN FOR CEMEN TS. 345 advanced beyond the state of infancy, it had in it a Robert Balfour, a John Love, an EHzabeth Love, with a Mary Ann and Charles Henry. On March 3rd, 1823, the Rev. John Ross received ordina- tion from the Presbytery of Hamilton, having been licensed by them shortly before. He soon afterwards left for Caf- fraria, taking with him a small Ruthven printing press. He arrived at the frontier in December 1823, and on the ist January 1824, a Presbytery was formed, consisting of Messrs Thomson and Ross, ministers ; and Mr Bennie, elder.* In 1824, soon after the coming of Mr Ross, the mission felt itself strong enough to occupy a new station, and did so at a place called Inchra, which was named Lovedale, after the Rev. Dr Love, of Glasgow. As we shall afterwards see, it is not the present Lovedale. Messrs Ross and Bennie were located at Inchra, while Messrs Brownlee and Thom- son remained at the Chumie.t Ere long there were fourteen candidates for baptism at the Chumie, and seven at the Inchra. About the beginning of 1826 one of the converts, Robert Balfour, became a missionary teacher, as did a second one, Charles Henry, soon afterwards ; and two natives, Joseph Williams and John Burns, were baptized. In December 1827 the mission was splendidly reinforced by the arrival from home of Mr and Mrs M'Lachlan, Mr and Mrs Chalmers, Mr and Mrs M'Diarmid, and Mr Weir, with his mother, Mrs Weir. J In 1828, Mr Ross and Mr M'Diarmid commenced a new * Ultimately, Mr Bennie received ministerial ordination from the Presbytery thus formed. t Soon afterwards Rlr Brownlee resigned Chumie to the care of the agents sent out by the Glasgow Society, and himself, removing to the banks of the Buffalo, formed a station on the spot which now constitutes the site of King William's Town. X Mr M'Lachlan went out as an ordained missionary connected with the Old Light Burghers, Mr Chalmers as a catechist from the Relief Church, and Messrs Weir and M'Diarmid as missionary mechanics or elders connected with the Church of Scotland. The severe indisposition of Mrs M'Lachlan soon afterwards compelled her and her husband to return home. He ultimately went to North America. — Glasgow Missionary Society Quarterly Intelligence, 1838, pp. 4, 5. 34^ CAFFRAKIA. Station at a place on the Kat river, called by them Balfour. Soon afterwards they were driven from it by war. When peace was restored Mr Thomson, in 1829, ceased his direct connection with the mission, and settled as a minister at Balfour, which was now within the colony, and had been converted into a Hottentot settlement. May 1830 saw the commencement of Pirrie station, at a place called Quarkwebe, on a tributary of the Buffalo river. The eastern side of the Amatole hills, visited, as it is, by clouds from the South Indian Ocean, receives much rain, and is therefore well watered and fertile, while the more arid western side is dry and scorched. Pirrie is on the eastern or well-watered side, and is situated on the edge of a forest. When Pirrie was founded there was then a large Caffre population in the vicinity. On June 6th of the same year (1830) a station was founded at a place on the east bank of the Keiskamma river. It was called — after the Rev. Dr Burns, minister of the Barony parish in Glasgow — Burnshill. The station is situated on the face of a ridge, around the base of which the Keiskamma pursues its very winding course. It is one of the most beautiful spots in Caffraria. Almost opposite the station is a magnificent valley called the Amatoli, with ranges of hills on either side. On one of these, south-west from the station, the British, during one of the early Caffre wars, built a fort called Fort Cox, which was allowed to go into decay on their quitting that region at the end of the war. The kraals of the great chiefs Sutu and Sandilli were also in the immediate vicinity. — {Missionary Record, Jan. 1843, p. 184.) Messrs Chalmers* and M'Diarmid were the founders of Burnshill, and the first missionaries who laboured at the station. — Free Church Missiotiary Record, 1867, P, 250. On the 31st August 1830, the Rev. James Laing was * On 3rd Mav 1S32, Mr Chalmers was ordained, and he figures in future as the Rev. W. Chalmers. THE WAR OF 1 835. 347 ordained to Caffraria, and reached his destination before the end of the year. In July 183 1, Mr Ross went to labour at Pirrie station, with which his name has ever since been identified. — Free Church Missionary Record, 185 2- 185 3, p. 5. On 8th July 1832, six females were baptized at Chumie. There were then seven communicants there. On August 24, 1834, a somewhat remarkable baptism took place — that of a Caffre called Vimbe, named John Muir, after the Rev. Dr John Muir. He afterwards became useful as a native schoolmaster. He was the son of a sorcerer, and when baptized could repeat the whole of the Shorter Catechism in Caffre, a translation of it having even thus early been made by the Scottish labourers. If it was a very hopeful circumstance that the foundations of a Caffre Church had been made in the conversion of several natives, there were still many discouragements tend- ing to occasion the missionaries anxiety. The men, as a rule, treated their preaching with indifference, and the women with bitter hostihty; nor were their lives always safe among the ignorant and suspicious people, who as yet had neither learned to respect their motives nor appreciate their personal worth. CHAPTER HI. WAR. Towards the close of 1834 some cattle belonging to the Caffres strayed within the colonial territory, where they began to graze. Being seized by the military, they were re- captured by the Caffres, who, however, had two men killed in the fight, and a chief wounded. This so irritated them that on the 22nd December (1834), without warning given, they rushed into the colony, pUnidering and murdering the 34S CAFFRARIA, settlers wherever they were found. When they had glutted their revenge they then returned to Caffraria, carrying with them immense spoil. War, of course, followed immediately on the part of the Colonial Government, supported from home. The missionaries remained as long as they could at their posts, but finding their lives in danger, they were under the necessity of taking their departure for the colony, being protected on their perilous journey by an escort of soldiers kindly furnished them by the British authorities. They had left behind all their property, estimated at about ;^iooo value, besides the mission buildings, calculated at ;^75o more. Though the suddenness of the Caffre inroad which commenced the war had enabled the savages at first to achieve successes, yet before long they began to suffer severely in the contest, and before 1835 was at an end were glad to sue for peace. It was granted them without their being deprived of territory, and the boundary line between Caffraria and the colony remained, as it had done since 1819, the Great Fish river. Up till this time the Fingoes had been in slavery in Caffraria, but in the war of 1835 multitudes of them, taking the opportunity to recover their liberty, gave assistance to the British, and at the conclusion of hostilities Sir Benjamin D' Urban settled a great body of them within the British territory, a measure as politic as it was just. As the Fingo language, with the exception of a few words, was identical with that of the Caffres, the mis- sionaries had no difficulty whatever in holding communica- tions with them, and ministering to their spiritual wants. When the Scottish labourers returned to their stations, which they did before the end of 1835, they found that the buildings which they had erected had been occupied alter- nately by the Caffres and the English, and were in a sad state of dilapidation. At Chumie and Burnshill the windows and furniture had been broken, while the premises at Love- dale and Pirrie had been burnt. The situation of Lovedale having been found inconvenient, LOVED ALE FOUNDED. 349 the missionaries embraced the opportunity which the de- struction of the buildings there afforded, of removing the station to a more eUgible spot on the banks of the Chumie, where water for irrigating the land might be obtained. The new station is about 650 miles in a north-easterly direction from Cape Town, and about forty from King WilHam's Town, the small but growing capital of British Caffraria. It is situated on the right or west bank of the Chumie, above its junction with the Keiskamma, of which it is the principal tributary. The Chumie there is a perpetual stream. Mrs Dalziel, writing in 1870, says that the Lovedale buildings *' are prettily nestled among the grassy hills, reminding us of Moffat." It Hes west of Burnshill, the distance between the two having been variously estimated at fifteen, sixteen, eighteen, or twenty miles. Lovedale is at least thirty miles west of Pirrie. Some time before the war, C. E. Stretch, Esq., the Colonial agent, had commenced a watercourse to supply the station and fields at Burnshill. After peace was re- stored the useful public work was completed by Caffres employed by and working under the superintendence of the missionaries. In 1836 a new station was commenced at a place called Iggibigha, a name unfamiliar to most of our readers, from a cause to be stated in our next chapter. On 14th July 1836, the Rev. Nr Niven, ordained on the 2nd February 1835 by the Relief Presbytery of Glasgow, arrived at Chumie as a new labourer in connection with the mission. On the 31st December 1837, Tente, son of the chief Gaika, was baptized. 350 CAFFRARIA. CHAPTER IV. SEPARATION. When the separation of the Glasgow Missionary Society, in December 1837, took place, the Rev. Messrs Bennie, Ross, and Laing, missionaries, and Messrs M'Diarmid and Weir, catechists, adhered to the section of the old associa- tion which approved of the Establishment principle, while the Rev. Messrs Chalmers and Niven sided with that which held " volmitary " sentiments. For some time afterwards the missionaries met in one Presbytery, and never alluded to the points on which they differed ; but at length, about 1842, they ceased to unite in this common action, and their separation was complete. They still, however, continued to entertain the most friendly feelings for each other. When they parted, the stations commenced and carried on by their joint efforts were divided among them, Lovedale, Pirrie, and Burnshill being given to the Established party, and Chumie and Iggibigha to the Dissenters. About the year 1839, a church was erected at Burnshill. It was of a very humble character, being formed of rough and mostly unhewn stone, with a clay floor and thatched roof. About March of that year there were 1 1 communi- cants there. Not long afterwards Mr Bennie thus wrote regarding the appearance of his pupils : — *' Have you seen on your right about 30 young lads and boys, seated along the wall, with their karries at their feet, while they are themselves clad in sheepskin or ox-hide karossesl Some of them have their heads also adorned with tufts of birds' feathers, or the tails of wild animals ; and not one is in danger of mistaking a bonnet or cap for his own — for they have not among them any such article. You will observe that not more than seven or eight of these lads have books, and yet they are re- ceiving instruction. The other three rows also, you will perceive, are girls or young women, and among them about twenty have books. You are perhaps surprised at the general appearance of my scholars — that THE REV. WILLIAM GO VAN. 35 I they are rather red than black from the ochre painting ; * and you are probably asking yourself whether I have not influence enough to induce them to discontinue such a practice. I have no wish to plead the use of red ochre, and will only say, by way of apology, that, like many others, they are not easily dissuaded from following the fashion. " — Mis- sionary Record, 1 839-1 841, p. 219. For a long time it had been felt by the Home Committee and by the missionaries, that means should be taken to im- part to the Caffres an education superior to the very elemen- tary one they had hitherto received ; and to meet this want, the Rev. William Go van f was despatched from home with instructions to found a seminary at Lovedale. The seminary was designed to accomplish several objects of importance. It would be a suitable place for the education of the mis- sionaries' own children; it would teach the Europeans and the Caffre boys to associate together, and regard each other with mutual respect ; and, finally, it would raise up from among the latter native teachers and preachers, as did the "institutions" in India. Mr Govan opened the seminary on the 21st July 1841, with eleven natives and nine children of English extraction, the latter being mainly sons of missionaries, either of the Glasgow or of other societies. The European and native students were placed in identically the same classes, and competed together day by day. The result which ultimately appeared is well worthy of record. So long as the repre- sentatives of the two races remained boys, they were almost equal in mental power, as was shown by the fact that the prizes gained by the members of each race were almost * The heathen Caffres and Fiiigoes (the latter even more than the former) are in the habit of painting their bodies with a pigment of red claystone and fat, and their garments very soon partake of the contents and colour of this mixture. Besides this, they adorn their arms, and sometimes also their ankles, with rings of brass wire, which they carefully keep in a bright state. Of old, garments of ox-hide were com- mon, but now cotton and woollen blankets, ornamented with white buttons, have extensively come into use. The men generally go bare-h«aded, while the women have a handkerchief over their hair. Some of the latter have adopted European attire, even coming out on grand occasions in crinoline. Both men and women are fond of using umbrellas. — Frre Church Missionary Record, 1862, 1863, pp. 201, 202. fMr William Govan was licensed on i6th June 1840. He was ordained by the Presbytery of Glasgow on 21st July of the same year. He reached Lovedale early in January 1S41. 352 CAFFRARIA. exactly proportioned to the members of that race then in the class ; but subsequently it was ascertained, that when the boys grew up to manhood, the superiority of the Europeans became very marked. The natives were now more friendly than they had been during the earlier years of the mission, and somewhat more disposed to profit by the instructions they received. For instance, when Mr Go van arrived, a chief, named Botman, shook hands with him, and he found that the individual in question was in the habit of attending church. In September 1842, Miss Thomson arrived from home as a female teacher. The same year, Notas, wife of John Muir, and Nokas, wife of Tente, were baptized. On August 30th, 1843, the Presbytery of Caffraria met at Lovedale, under the moderatorship of Mr Laing, and unanimously resolved to adhere to the Free Church. In March 1844, we find Mr Laing preparing materials for a Caffre periodical, to be called the Ikiuezi^ or "Morning Star," and baptizing three converts, one a young man from the institution. Some little time afterwards, a case occurred which showed that the gospel implants aspirations after freedom in persons of either sex, and whatever be the race from which they have sprung. Hena, a daughter of the great chief Gaika, was placed in the charge of her brother Makema, who sup- posed he was quite warranted — as, indeed, he was, by Caffre custom, though not by the divine law — in selling her in marriage to the highest bidder, without any reference to her own inclination. But Hena had become a Christian. She felt that the Scripture forbade her to be yoked to a heathen and polygamist, and therefore flatly refused to be disposed of in the manner Makema thought best for his interests. Finally, with the assistance of the missionaries, she vindi- cated her liberty. The gospel was evidently beginning to be felt as a power. It was awaking consciences, it was loosening the arbitrary TRANSFERENCE TO THE FREE CHURCH. 353 power of chiefs and other men in authority, and yet heathenism was in some respects so rampant, that Mr Bryce Ross considered the period from 1838 to 1846 the dreariest in the history of the Caffre missions. — F?-ee Church Mis- sionary Record, 1864, 1865, p. 749. CHAPTER V. AGAIN, WAR. In 1844, as already mentioned, the Caffrarian stations of the Glasgow Missionary Society were transferred, with the cordial approval of all parties concerned, to the Free Church,* In the report of the Foreign Mission Committee, presented to the Assembly of 1845, it was proposed to extend the missions, by commencing operations at Cape Town. Soon afterwards Mr Gorrie was ordained to Southern Africa. He was in that portion of the world when nominated for the appointment, and was to have been ordained there, but difficulties arising, he was brought home for the purpose. A colleague for him was found in the Rev. Ebenezer Miller of Rotterdam. The station of these two labourers was de- signed to be Cape Town, for which they left in the summer of 1846. t Scarcely had the Free Church taken over the * When the Caffrarian missions were transferred to the Free Church, the agency stood as ftjUows : — I. Lovedale seminary. —Rev. William Govan, tutor in the seminary; Mr Richard Ross, assistant ; Jacob, native schoolmaster, normal class. II. Lovedale mission. — Rev. James Laing, missionary ; Mr James Weir, catechist and mechanic : Robert Balfour, native catechist. III. Burnshill.— Rev John Bennie, missionary; Mr Alexander M'Diarmid, cate- chist and mechanic ; Charles Henry, native catechist ; Robert Craig, native school- master ; and John Beck Balfour, native schoolmaster. IV. Pirrie.— Rev. John Ro.ss, missionary ; Joseph Williams, native catechist ; Thomas Hoe, native catechist ; Miss Thomson, female teacher.- j^r 361, 362-365, 367-373- Lucky Narayan Bhose, 127, 138. Lulloo Bai, 303. Luther's early life, a parallel to, 259. Lyell, Sir Charles, 320 {Note). Macallum, Rev. Alex., 186, 194, 195. Macaulay, Lord, 49, 50. Macbean, Mr William, 3. M'Crie, Rev. Dr., sen., g{Note). Macdiarmid, Mr and Mrs, 345, 346, 350, 353, 355, 357, 361- Macdonald, Rev. Dr, of Fermtosh, 18, 74- Rev. John and Mrs, 18, 74, 81, 89, 92, 96, 97, 98, 103. Rev. Kenneth Sommerled, 125, 132-142. Rev. Robert, 30. Macfarlane, Rev. Dr, of Renfrew, 364. station, 364. Macintosh, Rev. J. Miller, 179, 186, 190. Mackail, Rev. Mr, io8. Mackay, Rev. Dr. W. M., 15, 61, 62, 71, 72, 74-76, 8s, 107, 115, 116, 118, 125. Mackenzie, Brigadier, 268, 310. INDEX. 38s Mackenzie, Rev. Mr, of Dunfermline, 41. M'Lachlan, Mr and Mrs, 345. Macleod, Brigadier, 304. Macmillan, Rev. John, 197. M'Pherson, Colonel, 116. M 'Queen, Dr Kenneth, 43. Madhab Chandra Basak, 78. Madras city, viii., 147. high school, 177. mission, 17, 18, 21, 22, 29, 149-201. native church, 157, 172, 179, 193. Native Herald, 158, 196. presidency, viii,, 145. university, 200. Mahabuleshvvar, 247. Mahanad, 115, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 137, 138, 140. Mahars, 48, 203, 283, 286, 323. IMahendra Lai Basak, 74, 75, 79, 88, 89. 's widow, 103. Mahratta converts, 235, 277. country and people, 202, 203. Malna, 224, 225, 236. Mangs, 48, 286, 323. Mansell, Mr, 307, 308. Mareb, the residence of the Queen of Sheba, 246. Maricha (see Warke). Marriage, 126. Marwadis, 244. Massacre at Nagpore planned, 313. Maulavi (Mohammedan) baptized, 107. Measles, 361. Medical college, 72, 73. missions, 38 (see also Paterson, Dr). Merit fostering order, 86. Metzger, Rev. Mr, 197. Miller, Rev. Ebenezer, and Mrs, 25, 105, 116, 353, 354. Dr Hugh, 245. Rev. William, 195, 196, 197-201. Milne, Rev. John, 108, 109, 119. Misal, Rev. Sidoba Bapuji, 287. Missionaries, the Scottish, all adhere to the Free Church, 21. Missionary conferences, 39, 190. Missions, professorship of, 44. Mitchell, Mrs, of Bankote, 211. Rev. Dr John Murray, and Mrs, 18, 139, 141, 206, 212, 226, 229, 233, 243, 261, 265, 267-269, 271-285, 293, 330, 33I' 334, 335- his life of Rev. R. Nesbit, 204, 206. Rev. Donald, 8, 205, 206. Rev. James, 8, 17, 206, 209, 211, 253-276. Rev. W. Kinnaird, 266, 269, 270. Moffat, Rev. Wm., 182, 187, 190. Mohammedans, 51, 52, 147, 154, 181, 182, 233, 246, 247, 260, 261, 313, 314, Mohammedan converts, 106, Mohesh Ghose, 67, 68. [07, &c. 180, i8g, 191, 195, T96. 23, 24, 27, 289-292. 227. 191. Mohun Lall, 325. Mohurrum festival, 188. Moncrieff, Sir Henry, sen., 9 {Note). Mookerjya, 142. Mooniattn, Ruth, 167-172, 175. Morehead, W. A,, Esq., 153. Mouiitai?i Echoes, 43. Mudhu Sudan Singh, 109. Muir, Rev. Dr John, 347. Mr John, 347. Mullens, Rev. Dr, and Mrs, 113, 127, 128. Mutinies, 39, 117-120, 187, 188, 313, 314. Nagalingum, Nagpore, viii., lapse of, 310, 31 Chota, 331. Nana Sahib, 203. Napier, Lady, 198. Lord, of Magdala, Narrainswamy Chetty, : Natal mission, 376, 377. Nellore, 154, 197, &c. Nesbit, Rev. Robert, 8, 12, 17, 207, 208, 209, 211, 221, 222, 227, 230, 232, 238, 239, 240, 254, 255, 256, 257. the first Mrs, 219, 227. the second Mrs, 238, 239, 247. Nimtollah Street, 86, 116. Niven, Rev. Mr, 349, 350. Nixon, Rev. Wm., 41. Northbrook, Lord, 141. Oriental Christian Spectator, 210. Orientalism v. Anglicanism, 62. Pachamba, 332. Padmanji (see Baba). " Padree," from Padre, 253. Pahar Singh, 307. Pandurang (see Baba). Parental Academic Institution, 8t. Pariahs, 48, 146, 151. Parsees, 212-218, 226, 227, 24O, 241, 243, 244, 261, 271. Patcheappah's School, 158. Paterson, Dr, 38, 187, 193, 196-198. Rev. James, 278. Pearce, Rev. W. H., 33. Peel, Sir Laurence, 90. Peishwas, the, 251, 252, 263. Perry, Sir Erskine, 222, 232. Persad, Mr Jankey, 323, 325. Persecution, 271. Pice System, 194. Pilgrimages and Cholera, 193, 315 [Note). Piriie, 346, 347, 350, 353, 355-35 7» 361, 363, 371. 372- Ponumbaium, 164. Poonah, 206, 207, 209, 251-253. Mission, 253-280. Sanscrit College, 254. 386 INDEX. 164, 21. Portuguese in India, 22S. Pottinger, Sir Henry, 175. Pourie, Rev. Mr, m, 119, 138, 139. Praiikristo Gan£;uly, 98. Prasanna Kumar Chatterji, 78, 84, 95, 96, 102, 107, 113. Pringle, Thomas, the poet, 373. "Prophets," Caffrarian, 360, 365-367. Purves, Major, 229. Radhakant Dutt, Case of, 171. Rae, Rev. George M., 198. Ragavooloo, 164-166. Rajah of Nagpore, 299, 300, 308, 311. Bahadur, 94. Radhakant Deb, 94, log. Rajahgopaul, Rev. P., 29, 156, 157, 167, 174-176, 189, 193, 197. Rajendra Chandra Chandra, 109, i Ramanoojooloo, S. P., 159, 162. Ramchurn, 325. Ramee, 273, 274. Rammohun Roy, 57, 70. Ramsay, Prof., 320 {Note). Ramswami Venkatachellum, 307, 326. Rawlinson, Sir Christopher, 181, 191. Record {Missionary) of the Establi Church, 40. of the Free Church, 40, 41. "Red" Caffres, 351. Rents, 245, 246. Robertson, Rev. James, 375. Rev. Mr, 141. Rev. Mr, 344. Robson, Dr, 137. Rev. John, 53. Rose, Mr, 83, 102. Ross, Mr Wm., 198. ■ Miss Helen, 363. Rev, Bryce, 353, 359, 361, 375- Rev. John, 8, 345, 347, 350, 355- 356, 357. 361. Rev. Richard, 367, 369, 370. Roxburgh, Captain, 85. Rugoonath, 240. Russia, 8. Ruth. See Mooniatta. Ruthnum, 191, 192. Rutnagherry, 247. Rural Missions, 259, 282-288. ,hed Sai, Case of, 232, 233. St Andrews' School, Madras, 150. UniversityMissionary Society, Salay Street, Madras, 185. Sandilli, 346, 360, 363, 374. Sanjan, 337. Santhals, 48, 328-332. Satnami Chumars, 325. Sattara 252, 280-282. !75- Saville, Miss, 77, So. Sayads baptized, 242, 243, &G. Scholarships, 131, 229. School Books in Calcutta, 60. Scinde, Ex-Ameers of, 116, Scindia, 116. Scotch Presbyterians in India, 9 {Note). Scotland, Sir Colley, 194. Scott, Rev. Mr, of Darien, i {Note). Scottish Missionary Society, 3, 8, 17, 205-211, 253-256. Seetabuldee, viii , 291, 302, &c. Seikh, a baptized, 242. Seitz, Mrs, 225, 232, 236. Selling Tracts, 226. Shanars, 48. Shapurji Edalji, Rev., 243, 247, 337. Sheeb Chunder Banerjya, 100, loi, 114, 120, i2r, 142, 143. Sheshadri, Rev. Narayan, 221, 222, 23T, 238-240, 283-288. Shripat, 222-224. Shields, Rev. Alex., i (Note). Shoolbred, Rev. Mr, 245. Sikwetshi, 376. Sil's College, 93, 94, 95. Sinclair, Rev. David and Mrs, 103, 108. Sitela, 359. Slaves, 228. Small, Rev. John, 274. Smallpox, 361. Smith, Dr George, of the Friend of I/idia, 113, 140. Messrs George and Sons, 248. Rev. Dr Thomas and Mrs, 18, 75, 80, 85, 90, 91, 92, 104, 109, 112, 114- 116, 119. Sir Harry, 360, 362. Spencer, Bishop, 163. Steele, Rev. Mr, 245. Stephen, Rev. Wm., 248. Stevenson, Rev. Dr John, 8, 206-209, 221, 253-255. Rev. George, of Pulteneytown, 332- Rev. W., 197. Stewart, Rev. Dr James, 342, 370-372. Rev. Dr, of Moulin, 12 {Note). Stobo, Rev. Mr, 1 {Note). Stothert, Rev. Richard, 245, 250, 315, 316, 337. Stow, Mr, of Glasgow, 58. Sultan Hossein, 141. Surja Kumar Mukerji, 98. baptism of, 102. Suttee, 61. Sutu, 346. Taki, 70, 79, 84. Takulghat, Scythian remains at, 317- Tamuls, 145-148, 154, 168, 292, S:c. Tatwa-bodhini Society, 102. Taylor, Rev. Joseph, of Belgaum, 173. INDEX. 387 Teaching and Preaching, 110, iii, 233, 234, 282, 283. Teloogoos, 145-148, 154, 155, 168, 292. Temple and God adjudged to a Native Christian, 195, 196. Temple, Sir Richard, 140, 316, 317, 321, 324, 325, 379. Templeton, Mr, 367, 371, 372. Rev. A., M.B., 331, 332. Tente, Mr, 349. Thom, Rev. Dr, of Cape Colony, 7, 8. Thomson, Rev. W. R., of Caffraria, 9, 343. 344- — — Miss, 352. Tiyo Soga, Rev., 375. Tod, Mr Henry, W.'S., 43- Toleni, 374, 375- Toogood, Miss, 116. Transkeian Migration, 367 [Note), 374, 375- . Tribeni, 114. Triplicane, 148, 162, 188 {Note), &c. Turanian Race, 47, 48, 145. Tweeddale, Marquis and Marchioness of, 160. Tvveedie, Rev. Dr, 42, 195, 370. Tytler, Dr, 73. Uma Charim Ghosh, 105. Umesh Chandra Sirlcar, 89, 90. Umlakaza the Caffre " Prophet," 365- 367- Umlanjeni, .1 Caffre " Prophet," 360. Unnam, Joanna, 167, 168, 169, 171. United Presbyterian Church, 16, 17. Unstikana, 343. Urquhart, Mr John, 11. Vandkrkemp, Dr, 343. Vandidad Sade, The, 210. Vedantism, 57, 93, 102, 136. Venkat Rao's widow, a zenana teacher, 326. Venkataramiah, 156, 157, 164, 167, 174, 176, 182, 188, 189, 197. Venkatlutchmoo, Lydia, 167-171. Vernacular schools, 207. Vimbe, 347. Vincente Avelino de Cunha, 228, 229, 231, 236. Voss, Mr, 293, 294, 295. Walker, Rev. Norman L., 41. Wallace, Professor, 74 (Note). Waralis, 247, 336, 337. Warke, Messrs Gabru and Maricha, 220, 225, 227, 228, 249. Weir, Mr, 345, 350, 353. White, Rev. Adam, 240, 244, 315. Whitton, Rev. David, 326. Widows, Hindoo, 126, 127, 138, 198. Wild tribes of India, 328-337. Williams, Rev. Joseph, 343. Wilson, Dr Horace Hayman, g (Note). Mrs, of Agurpara, 112. the first Mrs, 208, 211. the second Mrs, 247, 347. Rev. Dr John, 8, 17, 23, 24, 29, 33, 149, 208-220, 226-250, 269, 319, 336, 337- Rev. Dr Wm., 41. Winslow, Rev. Mr, 164. Wood, Mr, of Edinburgh, 58. Sir Charles. — See Halifax, Lord. Wylie, Mr Macleod, 122. Rev. Dr, 41. Yadoji, 297, 301. Yaygah, Rachel, 167, 168, 171. Young, Mr Robert, vii., 43. Mr William and Mrs, 321, 325, 327- Zambesi River, 370. Zenanas and the Zenana Scheme, III, 112, 113, 137, 196, 257, 303, 326. Zibi, a Caffre Chief, 368, 369. p,,««^lrssiffiil\^^ DATE DUE