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[Illustration: UNION CHURCH, RANEE KHET. ]

LIFE AND WORK IN BENARES AND KUMAON1839-1877

BY JAMES KENNEDY, M. A. Missionary of the London Missionary Society, Author of "Christianityand the Religions of India, " &c. 

WITH AN INTRODUCTORY NOTEBY SIR WILLIAM MUIR, K. C. S. I. , LL. D. , D. C. L. Late Lieutenant-Governor North Western Provinces of India

ILLUSTRATED

CASSELL AND COMPANY, LIMITEDNEW YORK1885

PREFACE. 

The history of this volume can be given in a few words. Months ago Isaid to a beloved relative that during the greater part of my life I hadmore to do than I could well accomplish, and that now, with health andstrength in a measure restored, I sometimes thought I had not enough todo. He said: "Why not write the reminiscences of your Indian life?" Thecounsel struck me as good, and I have acted on it. 

My theme has not the advantage of novelty: I cannot tell of a newcountry explored, and a new people brought within the knowledge of theworld; but it has the advantage of greatness and variety. I am not awarethat any book on Indian Missions has achieved signal success. I do notthink, however, a single one has been written in vain. That must havebeen a singularly poor book on so great a subject which has not hadsomething in it fitted to interest and inform readers. That must havebeen a very solitary, lonely missionary, who has had no friends ready tolisten to what he has had to say. These books may have received littlegeneral attention; but here and there, as the result of their perusal, there has been a more intelligent apprehension of our work, deepersympathy with us, and heartier support rendered to us. I have venturedto add a volume to those already published in the hope that it may dosome good before it passes into the oblivion which necessarily awaitsmost of the productions of the press. 

A glance at the contents of this volume will show it takes up a numberof subjects, some of which are merely touched in most books on Missions, and others not at all. Reminiscences, especially when they spread overmany years, and embrace great events, admit of very discursivetreatment. They leave the writer unfettered to take up any subjectwithin his wide scope which he may deem fitted to interest his readers. I have allowed myself the freedom thus afforded me. My aim has been totake my readers with me to our Indian home, to see us at our work, tohear us conversing with the people, to accompany us on our journeys, tosurround them in thought with our surroundings, so that they may realizeour position, trials, difficulties, and joys. I have throughoutmaintained the standpoint of one whose Indian life has been devoted toMission work. My two spheres of labour--Benares during the greater partof my course, and Ranee Khet, in the Hill Province of Kumaon, in lateryears--have come in for extended remark. 

My attention has not, however, been confined to Missions. I haveendeavoured to write as one interested in everything which ought tointerest a resident in the land. I have given some account of theclimate, aspect of the country, condition and character of the people, changes which have taken place, modes of travelling, and the BritishGovernment. I have again and again travelled in the North-West, and someaccount of these journeys has been given. On one occasion I spent thegreater part of two months in Ceylon, and to that beautiful island achapter is devoted. 

I have recorded at some length my experiences of the Indian Mutiny of1857. No one who was in that terrible storm can ever forget it; and theEuropean inhabitants of Benares at that time have special reason forthankfulness for their marvellous escape. 

I have found it convenient to follow, as a rule, the chronologicalorder, but I have not kept closely to it. When recording the more remotepast, the nearer past has been continually coming into view, and thecontrast has found expression. 

Indian names are written as ordinary English readers would pronouncethem, in preference to using the diacritical marks with which I havebeen long familiar in the writing of Hindustanee in the Roman character. The term "Hindu" is so established that I have used it in preference to"Hindoo. "

At the end of this book the reader will find statistics fraught withinterest to all who wish to understand the great Indian problem in itsmany aspects. 

It is impossible to keep one's self out of view in a work like this; butI hope the candid reader will give me credit for saying as little ofmyself, family, and doings as is compatible with the conditions underwhich I have written. 

I beg to dedicate this book to the friends of Christian Missions, in thehope it may increase the interest of some in that great Continent, withits teeming population, which has in God's providence come under therule of our land, and has special claims on our prayers, sympathy, andefforts. I cannot doubt that my Indian friends, both those who have comeback to England and those who are still in India, will give a kindlyreception to the volume. They will, I believe, confirm the generalaccuracy of my statements, and to a large extent acquiesce in my views. With them so long as my heart beats it will go forth in heartiest wishesand fervent prayer for the land with which our past has so inseparablybound us. 

 J. K. ACTON, August, 1884. 

[Illustration]

CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER I. 

_From 1838 to 1839. Voyage to India and the City of Palaces. _

Voyage. First Impressions of Calcutta. Changes since 1839. Messrs. Piffard and Lacroix. Schools. Visit to Serampore. 1

CHAPTER II. 

_Voyage to Benares--March, 1839. _

Various Modes of Travelling. The Sunderbuns. Fellow-passengers. Storm. Study of Hindustanee. Scenes on the River and its Banks. 9

CHAPTER III. 

_Arrival at Benares. _

The Rev. William Smith. Congregation of Beggars. The Rev. W. P. Lyon. Native Service. Settling down. 15

CHAPTER IV. 

_Missions in Benares from 1816 to 1839. _

The Baptists first in the Field. Eurasian Agents. The Church Mission. London Mission. Orphanage of the Church Mission. 20

CHAPTER V. 

_1839 and 1840. First Year in Benares. _

Views Enlarged and Modified. Study of Hindustanee. Undue Complacency. Study of the Native Character. Evangelistic Work. 27

CHAPTER VI. 

_First Year in Benares (continued). _

Class-feeling among Europeans. Eurasians. Climate in the North-WestProvinces. Variety of Scenery and Climate in India. Experience ofClimate during First Year. The Sufferings of Poor Natives in Winter. Homesickness. 34

CHAPTER VII. 

_The City of Benares. _

Sherring's "Sacred City of the Hindus. " Residents and Visitors. Commerce. Antiquity. Gautam's Ministry in the Sixth Century B. C. TheSuccess of Buddhism. Its Overthrow. The Devotion of the City to Shiva. Muhammadans. A Trip on the River. The Principal Temple. Heathen Templesand Roman Worship. The Mosque of Aurungzeb. The Present City Modern. Beggars. Macaulay's Description of Benares. 49

CHAPTER VIII. 

_Benares as a Mission Sphere. _

Hostility to the Gospel. Apostolic Labour in Great Cities. RobertHaldane's Project. Benares brought under British Rule in 1781. The Dooropened for the Gospel. Bishop Heber. Benares as a Centre of MissionWork. 77

CHAPTER IX. 

_Second Year in Benares. _

Marriage. The Vicissitudes of Indian Life. Celibate Missionaries. Different Departments of Work. 88

CHAPTER X. 

_The Religious Gatherings of the Hindus. _

Their Saturnalia. The Play of Ram. The Eclipse of the Moon. Mela atAllahabad. The Peculiarities of a Hindu Gathering. Sanitary Precautions. Cholera. Ascetics. Influence of Melas in strengthening Hinduism. 94

CHAPTER XI. 

_The Object of Christian Missions. _

Necessity for Different Modes of Action. _Preaching_. Questions, Objections, and Replies. Polytheism and Pantheism. Muhammadan Hearers. 108

CHAPTER XII. 

_Mission Schools. _

Primary Schools. Secondary Schools. College Department. IndianUniversities. The Danger of Christian Instruction being thrust aside. The Value of Higher Schools in a Missionary Aspect. Conversion. PublicOpinion. 124

CHAPTER XIII. 

_Orphanages. _

Pressing Need in 1837 and 1838. Sanguine Hopes. Difficulties. Advantages. Native Agents obtained. The General Result. 135

CHAPTER XIV. 

_Mission Tours. _

Voyaging in the Ganges. Trust in Ganges Water. Serpents. Journey to Agraat the end of 1842. Tents. The Appearance of the Country. Roads andGroves. Walled Villages. Traffic. Immunity from Thieves. Kindness fromMissionaries. Agra. Evangelistic Work. Kunauj. An Interesting Inquirer. New Mission Church in Benares. Tour to Kumaon in 1847. JourneyingTroubles. Return by Meerut and Delhi. 145

CHAPTER XV. 

_From 1847 to 1857. _

Work at Benares. Voyage to England in 1850. Return to India in 1853. Calcutta to Benares. From 1854 to 1857. Increase of Native ChristianCongregation. Mission Tours. Visit to the Fort of Rohtas in February, 1857. Biblical Examination. Missionary Conference. 168

CHAPTER XVI. 

_The Mutiny, 1857 and 1858. _

Causes. Peculiarity of our Position. The Native Army. Grievancesalleged. Dissatisfaction outside the Army. Threatenings of the Storm. The Cartridges. Outbreak and Progress of the Mutiny. Berhampore andBarrackpore. Meerut. 174

CHAPTER XVII. 

_The Mutiny (continued). _

The Christian Community at Benares. The Fanaticism of the City. Precautions. The Fourth of June. Mutiny of the Native Regiments. Flightto the Ganges. Escorted to the Mint. Retribution. The Panic of July 6. At the Mint on Sunday Night, July 5. Marriage of a Native Couple. Alarmand Panic. Strange Bed-fellows. After the Panic. Family left forCalcutta and England. From July to December. Lucknow. Mud Fort. TheSteadfastness of Native Christians. India in 1857 and Egypt in 1882. Visit to Allahabad. Desolation. The Kindness of English Officials. 185

CHAPTER XVIII. 

_Visit to Ceylon--1858 and 1859. _

Galle, Colombo, and Kandy. The Cocoanut Palm. The Cinnamon Gardens. Coffee Plantations. Perpetual Summer. Visit to Newera Ellia. TheChristian Zeal of the Dutch. Great Outward Success. Collapse. Missions. Buddhist Temples. 205

CHAPTER XIX. 

_From 1859 to 1868. _

Work at Benares. Increased Attention to the European Population. Visitto Cities in the North-West. Allahabad. Cawnpore. Lucknow. Incident onthe Ganges. Visit to Delhi in 1861 on our Way to Kumaon. Visit toEngland, Return to India, and Appointment to Kumaon. 213

CHAPTER XX. 

_From 1868 to 1877. Kumaon. _

_Its Scenery and Products. _ A Sub-Himalayan Region. Scenery, Climate, and Products. New Products. Tea. Inhabitants, Hindus and Doms. Gods andTemples. Local Gods. Demons. The Character of the People. Want ofCleanliness. The Plague. History. Native Dynasties. The British Rule. Progress. Tea Planting. The Irrigation of the Bhabhur. Wild Beasts. Treaty with the Ghoorkhas. Modes of Travelling. Journey to the PindareeGlacier. 232

CHAPTER XXI. 

_Almora Mission. _

Schools. Female Education. The Leper Asylum. English Preaching. 252

CHAPTER XXII. 

_Ranee Khet. _

Schools. Wooden House. Rain and Rats. Pioneer Work. The Erection ofBuildings. Work among the English. Among Natives. Educated Young Men. Doms. Night School. Itineracy. A Hill Mela. Bageswar. 260

CHAPTER XXIII. 

_Habits and Condition of the Hill People. _

Sanitary Regulations. _Yearly Visit to Nynee Tal. _ The Missions of theAmerican Episcopal Methodist Church. Retirement from the IndianMission-field. Helpful Friends. Return to England. 279

CHAPTER XXIV. 

_The Missionary in India. _

Extent and Variety of the Indian Field. The Greatness of the MissionaryOffice. The Contrast between Ministerial and Missionary Work. TheRelations of Missionaries to each other, to their respective Societies, and to Missionaries of other Societies. Their Relation to Europeans. 289

CHAPTER XXV. 

_The Missionary in India (continued). _

The Mode of Living required by the Climate. Missionary Theology. TheRadical Opposition of the Gospel to Heathenism. The Example of ourLord and His Apostles. Hindu and Buddhist Views of the Future. TheDoctrine by which Mission Success has been achieved. The Necessity ofSin being considered in the adjustment of Doctrine. _In Memoriam. _ 297

CHAPTER XXVI. 

_Native Christians. _

Syrian Christians. The Descendants of Xavier's Converts. The Shanars inTravancore and Tinnevelly. _The Hills of Central and Eastern India. _ TheKols and Santhals. _Bengal. _ Krishnaghur and Backergunje. _ThePresidency Cities. _ The Social and Educational Standing of the Converts. _Northern India. _ The Drummers in Native Regiments. The Waifs ofSociety. Pride in the Christian Name. Orphans and their Descendants. Converts of our Missions. Baptism sought from Wrong Motives. 307

CHAPTER XXVII. 

_Native Christians (continued). _

Unworthy Members. The Sacrifices made by Converts. Difficulty in Forminga Right Estimate of a Community. The General Character of our NativeChristians. _The Ordeal of 1857. _ The Christian Constancy of our People. Their Loyalty. Their Bearing in Joy and Sorrow. "Everywhere spokenagainst. " Most Europeans have no Sympathy with us. Unfair to judge byIndividuals. _The Support of Native Christians. _ Different Occupations. Native Christian Contributions. _The Compound System. _ 315

CHAPTER XXVIII. 

_The People among whom we labour--Muhammadans_. 

_A Large Muhammadan Population. _ Variety in Position, Culture, andCharacter. The Quran and the Bible. Licentiousness of Muhammadans, Hindus, and So-called Christians. The Estimable Character of someMuhammadans. Muhammadan Opposition to the Gospel. Its Opposition toIdolatry. Proselytes to Islam. The Relation of Muhammadans and Hindus toeach other. Hindu Home-life. Muhammadan Reformers. 329

CHAPTER XXIX. 

_Hindus. _

_Pantheism, Polytheism, and Idolatry, and their Demoralizing Tendency. _Counteracting Influences. _Contradictory Views of Hindu Character. _Professor Max Muller. Sir Thomas Munro. Sir Charles Trevelyan. 

_The Caste System. _ Its Ramifications and Effects. Its BanefulInfluence. Its Incidental Benefits. _The Patriarchal System. _ In thePresidency Cities Caste greatly weakened. Weakening Tendencies all overIndia. 

_The Brahmists. _ Brahmism and the Gospel. Brahmist Divisions. SuccessiveHindu Reformers. 

_Girls' Schools and Female Missions. _ Access to Hindu Families. LadyPhysicians. Great Importance of Zenana Missions. Behind the Curtain. TheFreedom of Women in Humble Life. The Influence of Women in India. 

_Mission Prospects. _ Difficulty in gauging Success. Hurtful Influence ofEnglish Infidel Literature. The Strength of Family and Social Ties. Instance. The Vast Extent of the Field. _Pagani_, Villagers, synonymouswith Heathen. 

_Help given in India for the Solution of Great Questions. _ 1. TheImmobility of the Eastern Mind. 2. The Genesis and Evolution ofReligion. 3. Comparative Religion. 4. The Migration of Nations. 338

CHAPTER XXX. 

_Europeans in India. _

_No Sphere in India for European Colonization. _ The Climate. The Landoccupied. _India Presents a Wide Field for European Agency. _ _TheDifference between Europeans and Natives. _ India never called "Home" byEuropeans. Highly Educated Natives. Native Gentlemen. Natives inSubordinate and Menial Positions. _The Position of Europeans changed. _Advantages and Disadvantages. _Improved Condition of European Society. _The Effect on Europeans of Home Literature. Increased Effort for theSpiritual Good of Europeans and Eurasians. 357

CHAPTER XXXI. 

_The Government of India. _

_Our Right to Govern India. _ We went as Traders, and were led byCircumstances to fight. The Conduct of the Native Powers. The Marquessof Hastings. Not allowed to remain at Peace. Our ComparativeFaithfulness to Engagements. _The Condition in which we found India. _The Muhammadan Empire. Civil Wars. Invasions. _The Dissolution of theEmpire. _ Adventurers. No Elements of Stable Government. The Effect ofBritish Rule. 

_The Greatness of the Work entrusted to us. _ Character of ourAdministrators. Responsibility elicits Capacity. District Officers. Strict Supervision exercised over them. The Evils springing from theInstitution of Courts. Runjeet Singh's Plan. The Evils Incident toCivilization. 

_Regulation and Non-Regulation Provinces. The Taxation Heavy. _ RegularPayments. The Land-Tax is the Land-Rent. The Native Army. The EuropeanArmy. Civil Officials in the Mutiny. Inadvisability of Bengalees holdingthe Highest Offices. 

_In India we have Different Nations. _ Bengalees Strangers in theNorth-West. The Preference given to English as Rulers. Trust in ourJustice. The Large Pay of High Officials cannot be justly or wiselyreduced. Opinion of Natives as Litigants. 

_The People Mainly Agricultural. _ Poverty. Increase of Population. Sturdy Beggars. Lending and Borrowing. Debt Hereditary. MarriageExpenses. 

_Incidence of Taxation. _ Municipal Institutions and Local Government. Improvement of Cities during Late Years. 

_Our Government no Unmixed Blessing. _ Unjust Charges and IncorrectStatements. 

_From whom is Improvement to be hoped?_ From no Class so much as fromIndian Officials. The "Gazetteer" of India. Importance of Informationbeing made Accessible to the English People. 

_The best Conceivable Government for India. _ The best PracticableGovernment. 

_The Future of India. _ Antagonistic Elements. The Order secured by theArmy. The Greatness of our Responsibility. Good Government Favourable toEvangelization. 365

STATISTICS 391

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGEUNION CHURCH, RANEE KHET. Frontispiece. BATHING GHAT, BENARES. 48A JEWELLER AT WORK. 53THE WELL AT CAWNPORE. 219RUINS OF THE RESIDENCY, LUCKNOW. 223THE LA MARTINIERE, LUCKNOW. 227TEMPLE IN THE HIMALAYAS. 237MISSION SCHOOL, ALMORA. 253LEPER ASYLUM, ALMORA. 257THE SNOWY RANGE FROM RANEE KHET. 263LANDSLIP AT NYNEE TAL. 281

PREFATORY NOTE. 

Neither the author nor his book stands in need of any introduction tothe public. But having been asked for such, I cheerfully respond. Duringhis long residence in the North-Western Provinces of India, where Imyself happened to reside, ample opportunities were afforded me ofknowing and observing the Rev. Jas. Kennedy and his work. And I amtherefore able, and glad, to say that no man was ever better placed thanhe was for gaining a thorough acquaintance with Hindustan and thevarious races inhabiting it, during the four decades of which he treats. I have met with none whose calm and sagacious judgment might more surelyenable him to form correct conclusions, nor whose high and scrupulousprinciple should impart to the reader greater confidence in the fair andtruthful statement of them. 

I regard this book as possessing a rare interest, not only for themissionary student, but equally so for the general reader. The amount ofinformation it contains, descriptive, social, evangelistic, and evenpolitical, is astonishing; and the discursive and, in part, autobiographical form in which it is written, renders it so easy, thathe who runs may read. The contrast is drawn graphically, and with alight and lively pen, between the state of things fifty years ago andthat which now prevails: the exchange of slow and cumbrous means ofconveyance for those which enable you in these days to perform thejourney of weeks in, you might say, as many hours; and the not lessmarked advance in education and intelligence. The retrospect, materialas well as moral, social, and religious, is useful in many ways. 

But that which lends its chief value to this work is the faithfulpicture of missionary labour--its trials and difficulties, its results, rewards, and prospects. During the considerable period brought underreview, standing by, as I did, and looking carefully on, I canunhesitatingly attest, as a whole, the correctness of my friend'sstatements, and the reasonableness of the lessons he would drawtherefrom. This book should be read by every one who wishes to acquainthimself with the attitude of Christian agencies towards the people ofIndia, and of these towards the Gospel. There is here a fertile field offacts and materials for thought. The author resorts to no roseatecolouring, nor any kind of varnish. Nothing is unduly sanguine. All istempered by sound judgment and wise discretion. 

If I may add a word from my own experience, it is this--Let myfellow-countrymen and countrywomen in India give their countenance tothe Missionaries labouring around them. They well deserve it, but toooften are allowed to stand alone. The loss is theirs who keep aloof, andneglect the man and his work. While our people are running to and fro inthe busy whirl of Indian life--some hasting to be rich, others engrossedin the labours of administration--higher things are too frequentlyforgotten. The spiritual life is prone to fade and droop. Many men--andwomen as well as men--who would at home be cultivating some corner ofthe Master's vineyard, begin to forget that similar obligations followafter them in their private walk and life abroad. Against thesedeteriorating tendencies, to mingle with the missionary band affords awholesome antidote. For myself, I can never be thankful enough that inmy early Indian life I found valued friends in the missionary circle, not only of the highest mental culture, but of a devoted Christianheart; and was privileged with their intimacy to the end. Among them Icannot refrain from naming such noble Missionaries as Perkins, Smith, and Leupolt, French, Stuart, Welland, and Shackell, Owen, Humphrey, Budden and Watt, Hoernle, and Pfander--that grand apologist to theMahometans--all of whose friendship I enjoyed, as well as that of theAuthor himself. If some of these were men the like of whom we may notsoon look upon again--a galaxy of rare appearance--yet, as we may learnfrom these pages, the field is in the present day stocked even moreplentifully than ever it was before. Opportunities of cultivating inthis field Christian friendship--and may I not add Christian work, andthat for Ladies also--are happily multiplying all around; and I canpromise an ample reward to such as make a faithful use of them. 

In conclusion, I will only say that I am much mistaken if this workfails to take its place as a standard book of reference in every libraryof missionary labour and Christian work abroad. 

 W. MUIR. 16th September, 1884. 

CHAPTER I. 

VOYAGE TO INDIA. 

In 1837 I was accepted by the London Missionary Society as one of itsagents. On September 15, 1838, I embarked at Portsmouth with thirtyother passengers on the _Duke of Buccleugh_, a vessel of 650 tonsburthen, and landed in Calcutta on January 19, 1839, _en route_ toBenares, to which I had been appointed. The only land we sighted fromPortsmouth to Saugar Island was a rock in the Indian Ocean. The time wethus spent at sea was four months and five days. Every now and thenspeedier voyages were made, but a few years previously this voyage wouldhave been deemed rapid. The _Duke of Buccleugh_, on her next voyage toIndia, went to pieces on a sandbank at the mouth of the Hoogly, buthappily the weather was moderate, and passengers and crew were saved. 

The route by the Cape of Good Hope has been abandoned for passengers formany years, and now Bombay is reached by the Straits of Gibraltar andthe Suez Canal in a month, sometimes in less, while another week isrequired for the voyage to Calcutta. Those who travel with the Indianmails across the Continent of Europe can reach their port in less thanthree weeks, and distant parts of India by rail in four weeks or less. 

All on board--officials returning to their posts, and persons going outfor the first time--were delighted to find the voyage coming to an end;but new-comers like myself were under the spell of novelty, which gavenew interest to everything we saw. At Kedgeree, near the mouth of theHoogly, the Post Office boat came to our ship with welcome letters fromfriends, who were looking out for our arrival. The level land on eachside of the river, with its rich tropical vegetation; the numerousvillages on the banks, with their beehive-like huts; the craft on theriver, large and small, many of them so heavily laden as to bring themdown almost to the water's edge; the little boats, with plantains andother fruits, which tried to attach themselves to our ship in the hopeof getting purchasers; the strange appearance of the people, with theironly covering of cloth round the middle--all gave us a thrill ofexcitement which can be known only in similar circumstances. Then, wewere about to set foot on the great land, of which we had read much, towhich we had looked with the deepest interest, and where we purposed tospend our days in the service of Christ. Though so many years have sinceelapsed, we can yet vividly remember the peculiar feeling of that time. 

The day before we landed, the Native agent of the mercantile house towhich our ship was consigned made his appearance with letters and freshsupplies. To the surprise of us new-comers, roast beef was on ourdinner-table that day. We thought it strange that in the land where thecow was worshipped, beef should be one of the first things brought tous. 

Our missionary friends in Calcutta had heard of the arrival of our ship, and arranged for our accommodation. Some of them came on board when weanchored in the Hoogly, off Fort William, and gave us a hearty welcome. We were right glad to find ourselves on land again. 

[Sidenote: THE CITY OF PALACES. ]

Calcutta is a hundred miles from the sea, but the country is so levelthat the tide runs up in great strength many miles beyond, and the tidalwave, which comes in at certain times, is very dangerous to small craft, and requires care on the part of large ships. The great trade of thecity is shown by the vast number of ships at anchor in the river, manyof them stately vessels of large tonnage, of which in our day many aresteamers. 

On landing, a stranger gets the impression that Calcutta is rightlycalled the city of palaces. On the great plain adjoining the river, atsome distance from each other, are two notable objects--Fort William andGovernment House. Beyond the plain lies Chowringhee, a range of loftyhouses extending for more than a mile, with balconies and flat roofs, giving one an impression of grandeur, which is scarcely sustained whenmore nearly seen, as that which looked at a distance like marble isfound to be stucco and plaster. Behind Chowringhee are a number of widestreets with similar, but generally smaller houses, each apart, withoffices and servants' houses in the enclosure. When entering the cityone sees that strange combination of meanness and dirt with grandeurwith which travellers in Eastern lands are so familiar. In theneighbourhood of Government House there are a number of shops in theEuropean fashion, but a very large proportion of the business ofCalcutta, we suppose the most of it, is carried on in bazaars, in whichthere are no showy shops, but where there is abundance of goods of everydescription. When we went to India, and for many years afterwards, infront of these shops were open sewers, over which customers had to passon slabs of stone. Amidst houses for Europeans, even in the mostaristocratic part of the city, were native houses of every description, many of them miserable grass huts. 

Since the time of which I speak, some forty-five years ago, Calcutta hasbeen greatly improved. It has been drained, supplied with good water, instead of being dependent on great open tanks, to which all had access, which no arrangement could keep tolerably pure, and is lit with gas. Open sewers are no longer to be seen, and from the best parts of thecity many native houses have disappeared. The changes effected mustconduce immensely to the health and comfort of the inhabitants. There isno part of India, we suppose, free from the plague of the musquito, butin all my Indian life I have not been so much tormented in any place byit as I have been in Calcutta. It adds insult to injury. If it wouldonly bite, sharp though its bite be, one could put up with it; butbefore it bites, and after, it goes on buzzing, as if mocking you, andevades every attempt to catch it. The last time we were there musquitoeswere comparatively few, and they seemed to have lost much of theirformer mischievous vigour. We suppose the improved sanitary arrangementshave not agreed with them. 

When in Calcutta everything reminded us that we had left our own countrybehind, though not all our own people. We saw them on every side, butthey were a mere handful in the midst of a strange people in a strangeland, where man and nature presented entirely new aspects. The look ofthe people, the exceedingly scanty dress of the labouring class, and thelong flowing robes of those in better circumstances, the marks on theforeheads and arms of the Hindus, showing the gods whose worshippersthey were, their processions with noisy, unmusical music, the publicbuildings of the people, the mosques of the Muhammadans, and the templesof the Hindus, with a church here and there to show that Christianityhad also its shrines--all brought to our view characteristics of thegreat land on which we had entered. Bombay, since the opening of theSuez Canal, has made progress which somewhat affects the pre-eminence ofCalcutta among the cities of India, but it still remains the capital ofBritish India--I ought rather to say of India--and its position willcontinue to make it, what it has been in the past, a vast emporium ofcommerce, the abode of a great population, and a place of most stirringactivity. It continues to be the resort of persons of every civilized, and almost every semi civilized, nation on the face of the earth. 

My stay in Calcutta of six weeks was longer than I had anticipated, butmy time was very pleasantly and profitably spent. A few days afterarrival a united prayer-meeting was held: missionaries of all societieswere present, the attendance was large, the spirit was earnest anddevout, and I then began to realize, what it was my happiness to realizemore fully afterwards, the uniting power of the missionary enterprise. Ihad the happiness of attending services with Native Christians, and ofjoining them in spirit, though not with understanding. I was especiallyinterested in the noble Missionary Institution of the Church ofScotland, and in the smaller, but promising, school of our own Society. I felt as if the sight of such a number of boys and young men, many ofthem with most pleasing and intelligent countenances, all learning ourlanguage, and, what is vastly better, all taught from the Word of God, was enough in itself to repay one for the long voyage to India. I heardthem examined, and was surprised at the knowledge of English possessedby some of them, at the extent of their Biblical knowledge, and at theChristian tone with which they gave replies to questions. I asked atall, slightly built young man, with a most intelligent face, dressed inthe flowing white robe of his people, who had spoken with what struck meas the accent of conviction, "Are you a Christian?" to which he replied, "Yes, in heart; but I fear persecution. " To this subject of schools Ishall have often occasion to revert in the course of my reminiscences. 

During my stay in Calcutta I had much pleasant intercourse withmissionaries of different Societies. I was the guest of Mr. Boaz, afterwards Dr. Boaz, of Union Chapel, by whom I was treated with muchkindness. Mr. Gogerly had been my fellow-passenger to India. Mr. Lacroixand Mr. Piffard were, at that time, the senior missionaries of ourSociety in Calcutta. Both were admirable men. Mr. Piffard was agentleman of property, who devoted himself to missionary work, andlaboured for many years most faithfully, without requiring to take, andwithout taking, any salary from the Society. A short time afterwards hewas suddenly carried off by cholera. Mr. Lacroix lived for many years. Ihad the pleasure of meeting him in my visits to Calcutta, and in hisvisits to the North-west, and also of frequent correspondence with him. He was esteemed and loved as few have been. He was a man with acommanding presence, tall and well-built, and had a geniality of mannerwhich won all hearts. He spoke and wrote English remarkably well, with aslight foreign accent and sprightliness, an _elan_, as our Frenchfriends call it, which told of his French birth and upbringing. He had athorough knowledge of the Bengalee language, and used it with acommanding eloquence, to which his voice, look, and gesture greatlycontributed. His last illness, the result of his long residence in theenervating climate of Bengal, was borne with Christian patience, anddrew forth the sympathy and kindly inquiry of all classes. At hisfuneral such tokens of respect and love were rendered to him by everyclass of the community, Native and European, as have been seldomwitnessed in Calcutta. 

[Sidenote: SERAMPORE. ]

Like all newly-arrived missionaries in Calcutta, I made a pilgrimage toSerampore. The illustrious trio--Carey, Marshman, and Ward--whose namesare indissolubly connected with that place, as first their refuge and, for many years afterwards, the scene of their plans and labours for theevangelization of India, had passed away by that time (January, 1839), but the Rev. John Mack, who had been long associated with them, and Mr. John Marshman, Dr. Marshman's eldest son, remained. I was taken by Mr. Mack to the college, the printing-office, the type manufactory, thepaper manufactory, the mission chapel, the station church, Dr. Carey'sgarden, and the native Christian village, indeed, to every object ofinterest about the place. I remember seeing an elderly man engaged intype-making, and observing a little image in a niche above him. I wastold this man had been many years in this department of work, and hadremained so strict a Hindu that he would work only under the protectionof his god. The teaching of the missionaries had had no effect inweaning him from his ancestral idolatry. Yet many were won to Christ bythe Scriptures and books, for the preparation of which the work of thisman, and of others of his class, was indispensable. 

When visiting Serampore, and hearing from Mr. Mack of the doings andachievements of the great men whose residence at Serampore has given ita sacredness it will ever retain in the annals of Indian Missions, Ifelt as a young Greek would feel on being taken to Marathon andThermopylæ. I felt I was entering on a war, where there had been heroesbefore me, which demanded courage and endurance of a far higher orderthan had ever been enlisted in the cause of patriotism. 

CHAPTER II. 

VOYAGE TO BENARES. 

_March, 1839. _

I left myself in the hands of friends in Calcutta as to the best mode ofproceeding to my destination. There were at that time three modes oftravelling to the North-Western Provinces. One was being carried in apalanquin on men's shoulders, arrangements being made to have freshbearers every few miles. For a long journey of more than four hundredmiles to Benares this was at once a very tedious and fatiguing mode oftravelling. To one who knew not a word of the language of the people inwhose hands one was to be for days it was additionally trying. Yet not afew persons newly arrived, some of them delicate ladies, did travel inthat mode to far more distant places than Benares, and very seldom anymishap befell them. In this mode little more could be taken in the wayof luggage than necessary clothing. 

Another mode was by the river in a native boat, with a crew engaged totake the party to their destination. Not a few travelled in this way, even to Delhi. Weeks, often months, were spent on the voyage; greatinconveniences were endured, and not infrequently great perilsencountered from the sudden storms to which voyagers on the Ganges areexposed, from the strong and eddying currents in some parts of theriver, and perhaps most of all from the treacherous character of theboatmen. In 1841 and 1842 a severe storm fell on a large fleet of boatstaking a European regiment to the north-west. Many of the boats werewrecked, and, if I remember rightly, about three hundred men lost theirlives. 

There was a third mode of proceeding to the north-west. A few yearspreviously a River Steam Company had been formed for the transmission ofpassengers and goods. Passengers were accommodated in flats drawn bysteamers. As the Ganges enters Bengal it breaks into a number ofstreams, by which it makes its way to the ocean. The Hoogly, on whichCalcutta stands, is one of these streams. Some of them are so shallow atcertain seasons that native boats of considerable size cannot findsufficient water, and they are at that time impassable for steamers, though so constructed as to have the least possible draught. The resultis that the steamers for the north-west (we believe none ply now) had tomake a great detour, to go down the Hoogly to Saugor Island, and then toproceed by one of the channels there found to the main stream. Thisgreatly increased the distance to the north-west. Except in the rainyseason, steamers for Benares had to go about eight hundred miles. 

[Sidenote: THE SUNDERBUNS. ]

Of these three routes this one of the river steamers was in manyrespects the most convenient and pleasant, especially for persons new inthe country, and my Calcutta friends kindly arranged that I should besent on in this way. I accordingly embarked for Benares on a flat, tugged by a steamer, in the first week of March. After going down theHoogly to Saugor Island, we made our way into the district called theSunderbuns by one of the channels of the Ganges. We got into a labyrinthof streams, every here and there opening up into a wide reach of water, giving one the impression we were entering a lake; and shortlyafterwards we found ourselves in a channel so narrow that we almosttouched the banks on both sides, and which barely allowed a passagewhere there was a sharp turn in the stream. We had native pilots whoknew the region thoroughly, and were in no danger of going astray. Theland down to the water's edge was covered with the densest tropicalvegetation, so that the banks often bounded our view, except when thetrees on it were lower than those beyond. In the waters and out, wildbeasts abound. Alligators were seen dropping from the banks into thestream on hearing the approach of the steamer. We saw no tigers, but weheard much about them as we were threading our way through that region. The previous year, early one morning, the watch on the deck of the flatwas startled by a tiger leaping on board, and, evidently bewildered byits new circumstances, leaping off on the other side. Messrs. Lacroixand Gogerly, when on a native boat in the Sunderbuns, were witnesses ofa desperate fight between a tiger and an alligator. The story has beenoften told. 

Less than two centuries ago there was a large population in what may becalled that amphibious region, the soil when cleared being very rich;but owing to the incursions of Mug pirates from the coast of Burmah, andthe oppression of Muhammadan rulers of Bengal, the most of theinhabitants perished, others fled, and so complete was the ruin that theexact site of once prosperous cities is unknown. In a region like theSunderbuns, when man's restraining and improving hand is withdrawn everytrace of his presence disappears under the rank vegetation, whichspeedily covers the sphere of his labours. The country, under Britishprotection, was in 1839 beginning to be reoccupied. Patches of groundwere reclaimed from the jungle, and since that time cultivation has beengreatly extended. We occasionally met native boats, and were thusreminded we were not the only human begins in that district. Nearly aweek elapsed before we emerged from the Sunderbuns. 

Our passengers were a motley band. Between twenty and thirty wereEuropeans, two or three were Eurasians, and there was a company ofSepoys under a native officer in charge of treasure. Most of the Sepoyswere Hindus, and as they cannot cook on the water, which is forbidden bycaste-law, they were obliged to subsist as they best could on dry grain. The Muhammadans had no convenience for cooking on the flat, but theywere allowed partial use of the steamer. All were delighted when theygot into the open country, and could get on shore at night to preparetheir meals. 

The steamer and flat were brought to anchor at all the important townson the river, for lading and unlading goods and for landing passengers, of whom very few left us, as most were bound for Benares and Allahabad. When evening came on we always anchored, wherever we might be. We saw alittle of Bhagulpore, Monghyr, Dinapore, Patna, Ghazeepore, and someother places. At Monghyr I spent a very pleasant evening with Mr. Leslieof the Baptist Mission, even then of considerable standing, and yearsafterwards a highly esteemed veteran in the missionary host. 

[Sidenote: A STORM ON THE GANGES. ]

Our progress was slow. In some places the stream was too strong for oursteamer tugging the flat, and in other places the water was too shallow. Sometimes we got for hours, in one case for a whole day, on sandbanks, from which we got off with great difficulty. The most memorable incidentof the voyage was a storm, which came on us one evening as we werenearing Dinapore. There was so little warning of its approach that we, who knew not the climate, were quite unprepared for its coming. Beforebreaking on us we were brought to a standstill, the flat was separatedfrom the steamer, and both flat and steamer were brought to anchor. Thesky suddenly became dark, we heard puffs of wind, and then the stormburst on us in all its fury. The dust was so raised that we could seeonly a few feet from the flat, and the flat so rolled that every now andthen a splash of water came in at the windows. A scene of greatconfusion ensued. Some Indo-Portuguese servants were on their knees, imploring Mary--"Mariam, Mariam!"--to save them. The Hindus were loud intheir appeals to "Ram, Ram!" while the Muhammadans shouted "Allah, Allah!" A newly arrived English lady almost fainted from fright, and herhusband tried to calm and assure her. Every face indicated anxiety. Inless than an hour all was over, and we were thankful to find ourselvesonce more in safety. 

Before leaving England I had possessed myself of a Hindustanee Grammar, and in Calcutta of a Hindustanee Dictionary. On the voyage to India Idid not make much of the grammar, but on the way to Benares I gavemyself resolutely to learning the language. I found a young nativeofficer on the flat who knew a little English, and who professed to be agood Hindustanee scholar. I got the consent of the native officer incommand to his coming to my cabin when off duty, and I spent hours dailywith him, trying to get my tongue about the strange sounds, with which Iknew I must be familiar if I was to do the work for which I had come toIndia. I received great help from this young Muhammadan, and felt as ifI was beginning to get my foot into the language before reaching mydestination. 

On the three Sabbaths I was on the river I had the pleasure of preachingto the Europeans on board. 

A voyage on the Ganges does not enable one to see much of the country. The banks are often very high; in many places there is a great extent ofsand; the country, with the exception of the district where the mainstream is entered, is very level, and the country is therefore veryimperfectly seen. The native craft, so unlike the vessels of our owncountry, with their lofty prows and sterns, and great ragged squaresails, many laden with wood and grass, which made them like movingstacks, were constant objects of interest. 

At length, after more than three weeks on board, we were delighted oneSunday forenoon to see in the distance the domes and minarets ofBenares. 

[Illustration]

CHAPTER III. 

ARRIVAL AT BENARES. 

On Sabbath, March 31, 1839, we came to anchor at the northern end ofBenares, at a place called Raj Ghat, the ferry connecting the city onthe left bank of the river with the Trunk road on the right, leading toBehar and Bengal. Near this place the most of the native craft employedin the city traffic is moored. Many of the vessels are of considerablesize. 

For hours Benares had been in sight, but owing to the strength of thestream our progress had been slow. It was early afternoon by the time ofour arrival. In so public a place as Raj Ghat there are always a numberof people, but the early afternoon is a time when few bathe, and thereis a lull in the stir of the community. As the afternoon comes on, andthe evening advances, there is fresh activity. We therefore, on landing, saw little of the scene with which we were afterwards to becomefamiliar. 

Word of the approach of our steamer and flat had reached Secrole, theEuropean suburb of Benares, three miles inland, and no sooner had wecome to anchor than the agent of the Steam Company and the friends ofexpected passengers came on board. Among these was the Rev. WilliamSmith of the Baptist Mission, whose house was on the high bankimmediately above Raj Ghat, and who had been requested by my brethren ofthe London Missionary Society to be on the look-out for me. This goodman gave me a kindly welcome, and took me with him to his house, builtvery much in the native fashion, with flat roof, with small, low roomsentering from one into another, and a verandah extending along itsfront, from which a commanding view was obtained of the river and craftbelow, the country on the other side of the river, and a part of thefront of the city. Immediately behind the house was the chapel, in whichdaily worship was conducted. 

[Sidenote: PREACHING TO BEGGARS. ]

The first thing I saw on getting to Mr. Smith's house was the chapelcrowded with very poor-looking people, of whom a number were blind andlame. I was told these were beggars, who came every Lord's-day toreceive a dole, either pice or dry grain, from the missionary and hiswife, and who listened very patiently to an address before the dole wasgiven. This service was kept up for many years, and there was no fallingoff in the attendance. Those who have read the life of Henry Martyn, andothers of the early missionary period in India, know that theyministered to this class. Here were persons whose destitution appealeddirectly to the Christian heart, and who were content to be present whenthe gospel message was delivered, while little access to others could beobtained. How far these poor people heard it would be difficult to say. I am afraid few heard with any desire to understand and consider whatwas said, but there is every reason to believe some did obtain lastingspiritual good. We have heard of instances of genuine conversion, thoughit must be admitted these were rare; and it must be also acknowledgedthere were instances of pretended conversion, when the life soon provedthat the motive for seeking baptism was entirely sordid. Still the workin itself was worthy of the followers of Christ, and could not fail tomake a favourable impression, not only on the persons helped, but on thecommunity around. Almsgiving stands high among virtues in the estimationof both Hindus and Muhammadans; it is considered sufficient to atone formany sins, and it is practised so indiscriminately as to pauperize manywho could provide for themselves. It is unfit that Christianity shouldseem less careful of those who are really poor and helpless thanHinduism and Muhammadanism are. Work such as I saw in Mr. Smith's chapelis carried on in some places down to the present time. 

A short time after our arrival at Raj Ghat my dear friend the Rev. W. P. Lyon appeared, and took me in his conveyance by a road skirting the cityto the Mission House in Secrole, which he then occupied. From Mr. AndMrs. Lyon, both of whom I had known intimately for years in our ownland, I received a hearty welcome. 

At the corner of the mission compound, facing the public road, was thehumble chapel, built of sun-dried bricks, in which service was conductedin the native language. I arrived half an hour before the time for theafternoon service. Before its commencement I had the pleasure of meetingMessrs. Buyers and Shurman, with whom I was to be for years associatedin mission work. With them I went to the service, which was conducted byMr. Shurman. There were at that time only two or three native Christiansconnected with the mission, and these, with their families, themissionaries and their wives, and a few orphan children, constituted thecongregation. I had just enough of the language to catch an expressionhere and there, and from my ignorance of what was said my mind was leftat greater freedom for realizing my new and strange position. 

I had just had a glance of the sacred city of the Hindus. I had seen ata short distance the domes of some of the principal temples, and theminarets of some of the principal mosques, especially those of themosque built by Aurungzeb, soaring far above every other object in thecity. I had dimly seen the bathing-places of the people stretching awayfor miles, and the houses on the high bank of the river. As I landed Ihad seen a few bathing, and a number moving about. 

And now, in this poor chapel, with its low roof and earthen floor, Ifound a few assembled for the worship of the living God through the LordJesus Christ. I realized, as I had not done before, that I had left mynative land behind, and had come among a people the vast majority ofwhom were wholly given to idolatry, and the rest followers of Muhammad, the bitter enemies of my Lord and Saviour. The greatness and difficultyof the missionary enterprise presented themselves to me with a painfulvividness, and but for the conviction that the work was of God, and thatmy long-cherished desire to enter on it and the gratification of mydesire in my appointment to Benares had come from Him, I should havebeen ready to retrace my steps. Yet here I was, worshipping with a fewpersons who had been idolaters, and one of whom at least had made greatsacrifices when he had avowed his faith in Jesus. Why should we despisethe day of small things? Forty-four years have elapsed since that, tome, memorable 31st of March, 1839, and I can now realize myself sittingwith Messrs. Buyers and Lyon in front of that humble pulpit, while Mr. Shurman preached, and remember, as if it were yesterday, the strangefeelings that thrilled me that afternoon. 

[Sidenote: RESIDENCE IN BENARES. ]

I had to make no arrangement for my accommodation on reaching Benares. Previous to my arrival it had been arranged that I was to take up myabode with my dear friends, Mr. And Mrs. Lyon. I was at once at homewith them, for Mr. Lyon had been my fellow-student at Glasgow, and Mrs. Lyon was the member of a family with whom I had been intimatelyacquainted while studying at Edinburgh. Within a few days of my arrivalI was introduced to the missionaries of the Church Missionary Society, and to a few European residents who took an interest in missionarywork. 

CHAPTER IV. 

CHRISTIAN MISSIONS IN BENARES. 

FROM 1816 TO 1839. 

It may be well to give, before proceeding further, a brief account ofwhat had been done for the evangelization of Benares up to that time. 

Our Baptist brethren were first in the field. All who have read thebiography of the illustrious trio of Serampore are aware that theyformed, and with ardent zeal and untiring energy prosecuted, greatschemes for the evangelization of the millions to whose spiritual goodthey had consecrated their lives. The translation of the Scriptures intothe languages of India was their special service, but it was far fromstanding alone. They were fully alive to the importance of preparing andsending out men of God to go among the people, and make known to themJesus as the Saviour of the world. They gladly availed themselves ofEuropeans, Eurasians, and natives, who seemed qualified for the work byChristian character, zeal for the conversion of the people, and aptnessto teach, though, with few exceptions, destitute of any considerablemeasure of mental culture. Some of these agents had force of characterand native talent, and much good and useful work was accomplished bythem. One of their number was Mr. Bowley, who afterwards joined theChurch Mission, and was for many years located at Chunar. He translatedthe entire Scriptures into Hindee, and did beside much excellentliterary work in the translation and composition of books and tracts. Ashe had no knowledge of Greek and Hebrew, his translation of the Biblehas marked defects, though from his knowledge of Hindee and his goodjudgment it has also marked excellences. His translation of the NewTestament is now largely superseded, but his translation of the OldTestament is the only one yet possessed. The style of his smaller worksin Hindustanee, or Urdu, as it is commonly called, is remarkablyidiomatic and pleasing. 

[Sidenote: BAPTIST MISSION IN BENARES. ]

Missionary work was commenced in Benares by Mr. William Smith, who wassent to it by the Serampore missionaries in 1816. I have alreadymentioned him as having welcomed me on my arrival. He secured a housefor himself at Raj Ghat, the northern boundary of the city, with acrowded population around him, and there till his death he lived withhis family, during all the period diligently prosecuting his missionarywork. He had been a drummer in the native army, spoke the Hindustanee ashis mother tongue, and belonged to the large class who, having Europeanblood in their veins, are professing Christians, but as to theirordinary habits of life are more native than European. Mr. Smith was aman of limited education and of little talent, but of sterlingexcellence, and secured the respect and love of all classes of thenative community by his kindly and consistent life. For years before hisdeath there was in his house the strange spectacle of five generations, and his great-great-grandmother was heard by a friend of mine murmuring, "It looks as if God had forgotten to take me away. " Mrs. Smith, whowas, I believe, a pure native, was a woman of remarkable energy, andexercised a powerful influence for good on all connected with her. Owingto the unhappy controversy between the Serampore missionaries and theBaptist Missionary Society, and the separation in which it ended, Mr. Smith was left for a time without any salary; but by the establishmentof a Eurasian boarding-school his wants were fully supplied. On to oldage he moved about among the people, conversing with them, going totheir great religious gatherings and distributing tracts and portions ofthe Scriptures in a very quiet, unostentatious manner, and succeeded, byGod's blessing, in bringing a few into the fold of Christ. 

[Sidenote: CHURCH MISSION IN BENARES. ]

Among the pioneers of modern missionary work in India the late BishopCorrie, of Madras, has a high and honoured name. He was one of the smallband of Government chaplains who gave themselves heart and soul to thework of diffusing the gospel among the native population. Henry Martynis the best known of this band, and with him men like Brown, Thomason, and Corrie deserve to be held in everlasting remembrance. Mr. Corriewas, in 1817, the chaplain of the European community in Benares. Previous to that time a rich native, Rajah Jay Narayan, had establishedand endowed a school in the part of the city inhabited chiefly byBengalees. This Rajah formed so high an opinion of Mr. Corrie, and ofhis ability to carry on the school efficiently, that he asked him toundertake its management. Mr. Corrie accepted the offer in the name ofthe Church Missionary Society, whose sanction to the measure he hadobtained, and to it the school was made over by formal deed of gift in1818. Under the name of Jay Narayan's School, and afterwards of JayNarayan's College, it has continued down to our day; and it has donemuch for the education, on Christian principles, of successivegenerations of Benares youth. A Mr. Adlington was the first head-master, and a short time afterwards a missionary was sent. He was succeeded byothers, but owing to their failure of health little was done on to thefourth decade of the century, except the securing of suitable ground andthe erection of mission-houses at Segra, in the immediate suburbs of thecity on its southwestern side. This place had formerly been noted forthe thieves and thugs that infested it. In 1839 the two missionaries atSegra were the Rev. William Smith and the Rev. C. B. Leupolt. Mr. Smithreached India in 1830, and after spending fifteen months in Goruckpore, on the borders of Nepal, was transferred to Benares in 1832. He wasjoined by Messrs. Knorpp and Leupolt in 1833. The two Churchmissionaries in Benares in 1839, Messrs. Smith and Leupolt, laboured formany years afterwards with singular devotedness for the spiritual goodof the people. As it is invidious to make comparisons, I will not saythat they were foremost in the first rank; but all who knew them willbear me out in saying they attained a high place in the first rank ofthe missionary band. 

[Sidenote: LONDON MISSION IN BENARES. ]

The Rev. Matthew Thomson Adam was appointed by the London MissionarySociety to Benares in October 1819, and reached his destination inAugust, 1820. He remained at his post till 1830, when he returned toEngland, and resigned his connection with the Society. He afterwardswent to the United States, where he undertook a pastorate. Mr. Adam wasa scholarly and diligent man. He prepared and published a HindeeGrammar, an English and Hindee Dictionary, and some tracts. He secureda site for a mission-house on the border of cantonment towards the city, and erected on it a commodious and substantial structure; and since hisday a church, a school-house for girls, and houses for nativeChristians, have been erected in the mission compound. He also secured avery central site in cantonments for a place of worship for holdingEnglish services, and by the liberal help of the English military andcivil residents erected on it a building which was called Union Chapel. His services among our countrymen seem to have been greatly valued, butowing to a change in the _personnel_ of the station, a change which isgoing on incessantly in India, the congregation fell off, Union Chapelwas sold, and the money realized by the sale was spent on the erectionof a chapel in the city, on a site obtained with great difficulty. Mr. Adam left Benares before this building, erected with a view to nativeservices, could be turned to account. In a brief record of his laboursdrawn up by himself, he says that he deemed it a high honour to livenear such a city, and to testify to his Master by pressing His claims onindividuals with whom he had an opportunity of conversing; but he didnot think it advisable to attempt the preaching of the gospel in placesof public resort. He was at times encouraged by the prospect of personsbecoming the followers of Christ, but in every case his hopes weredisappointed. No native was baptized by him. 

The London Mission of Benares was reinforced in 1826 by the arrival ofthe Rev. James Robertson. He was a man of linguistic talent, and wasfull of plans for setting up the standard of the Cross and assailing theidolatry around him. He opened a number of schools in various parts ofthe city, and organized a system of Bible-reading in the streets. Sevenmen, chosen from among Hindus, whose sole qualification was ability toread, were appointed to read daily in different parts of the city ourScriptures without note or comment. We have no doubt they took care totell their hearers that they did their work to please the sahib, and gethis pay, but had no intention of accepting the new teaching, and had nowish that others should do so. No other missionary has followed thisplan. Mr. Robertson left behind him in MS. Translations into Urdu of apart of the Old Testament, which were carefully examined and partly usedby Mr. Shurman; but the style was too difficult for any except those whowere well acquainted with the Persian language. 

The Rev. William Buyers joined the Mission at the beginning of 1832, andMr. Robertson was carried off by cholera fifteen months afterwards, inhis thirty-fourth year. Mr. Buyers was thus left alone, but early in1834 he was joined by the Rev. J. A. Shurman and the Rev. Robert C. Mather. In 1838 the Rev. W. P. Lyon arrived at Benares, and that yearMr. Mather went to the great commercial Mirzapore, where he established, and for many years afterwards conducted with great efficiency, a veryimportant mission. When I reached Benares I was thus the fourth on itsstaff, and the seventh from its commencement. 

Much good work had been done by the brethren with whom I was to beassociated. They had established schools for primary education, butowing to the want of funds all but one had been given up by 1839. Theyhad taken part in preparing tracts and revising the translation of theNew Testament in Urdu. A place of worship had been erected, and a feworphans had been gathered. Evangelistic work was being activelyprosecuted in the city. 

A short time previous to 1839 the Church Mission had undertaken a verybenevolent and a very difficult work. In 1837 the North-WesternProvinces were desolated by famine. Many thousands perished, everywheremiserable boys and girls were to be seen who had become orphans, or whohad been abandoned by their parents. At this terrible crisis missionscame forward with the offer of adopting these forsaken children. Fiftywere made over to the Church Mission at Benares, and afterwards manymore were added to this number. Suitable buildings were speedily erectedfor their accommodation, and arrangements were made for their educationand support. These children were so emaciated that many died within afew days of their being brought to the mission. At the close of 1838 anexcellent missionary and his wife, Mr. And Mrs. Knorpp, were carried offby a low fever which attacked them while attending to their charge. Bythe hot weather of 1839 the health of the orphans had greatly improved, and everything was being done which could be done for their temporal andspiritual welfare. 

By the time of my arrival, the missionaries of the Church and LondonMissionary Societies--Mr. Lyon excepted, who had arrived only thepreceding year--had fully entered on their work. They had been fromseven to five years at their posts, had acquired a good knowledge of thenative languages, had all the vigour and hopefulness of early middlelife, and were giving themselves zealously to the prosecution of thegreat work for which they had gone to India. 

CHAPTER V. 

MY FIRST YEAR IN BENARES. 

A stranger passing hurriedly through a country may carry awayimpressions about its climate, products, and people, which residence fora considerable time would not merely modify but reverse. There are somethings of which he can speak with some confidence. The great naturalfeatures of a country, its mountains and plains and rivers, do notundergo any marked change, and these may be truly described by thecasual visitor. The general aspect of a people, their houses, dress, andlook, remain much the same, and of these an accurate observer may give atrustworthy account; but if from what he himself has seen and heard heattempts to give a general estimate of the character of the people andof the state of the country, he is almost sure to fall into greatmistakes. 

Within the last few years India has become a favourite field fortravellers who can without inconvenience spend a few hundred pounds, andbe absent from home three or four months. Swift steamers take themquickly to and from Bombay, and railways carry them in a short time fromone end of India to the other. They travel at the season when travellingis delightful, and thus see the different countries of that great regionin their most attractive form. If they infer what they do not see fromwhat they see, they are sure to make statements utterly discordant withfact. Mr. Wilson, who was sent out to India to put its finances intoorder after the Mutiny, travelled through the North-Western Provinces inthe cold weather, when the country was covered with abundant crops, andwas delighted with all he saw. He declared it was the finest country hehad ever seen. He returned to Calcutta as the hot weather was settingin, and died in the succeeding rainy season. It is said that some timebefore his death he pronounced the climate to be the most detestable onthe face of the globe. Dr. Norman McLeod was our guest for a very shorttime in Benares, as he was prosecuting his Indian journey. When drivingabout on a fine balmy morning, he said, in his genial fashion, "Youmissionaries often complain of your climate; I only wish we in Scotlandhad a climate like this. " To which I replied, "Ah, doctor, kindly stopwith us through our coming seasons; prolong your stay till nextNovember, and then you will be able to speak with authority. " The worthydoctor did not take my counsel. His death some time afterwards wasattributed to his Indian tour; but if it left in him the seed ofdisease, the blame rests not on the climate, but on the excessivefatigue caused by overmuch travelling and work. 

The case of a person who has lived through a whole year in a country, and has during that period moved among the people, is very differentfrom that of the passing stranger. He knows the climate as a travellerfor a few weeks or even months cannot. The seasons during that year mayhave been more or less abnormal, and yet the resident cannot fail tohave obtained that knowledge which enables him to form a notion of whathe has in the main to expect every year. He gets a glimpse into thecharacter and peculiarities of the different classes of the population, both native and foreign. He may know little of the language of thecountry; but if he has an observing mind, and moves freely about, he isconstantly receiving information about the people in a degree which hehimself does not always realize. If his residence be prolonged for manyyears, as he looks back to his first year, and remembers its experience, he finds that his views have been greatly enlarged, on many pointsgreatly modified; he is sure that his knowledge is much more accurateand mature; but there is scarcely any subject on which he finds hisviews entirely reversed. 

[Sidenote: THE EXPERIENCE OF THE FIRST YEAR. ]

This, at least, has been my experience. I have a vivid remembrance of myfirst year in Benares--a much more vivid remembrance than I have ofsubsequent years, and it would be strange if I did not find that myviews on many Indian subjects have been greatly modified, and on allmuch enlarged; but I do not discover that on any subject there has beena complete reversal. 

I have already mentioned that on my voyage from Calcutta to Benares Ispent much of my time in the study of the Hindustanee language, commonlycalled Urdu. Within a week of my arrival I gave myself to it with allthe application of which I was capable. I had as my teacher a munshee, who had been long employed by the missionaries of our Society, but whocould not speak a sentence in English, though he knew the Romancharacter well. I was told that his ignorance of English would prove anadvantage, as I should on this account be obliged to speak to him, inhowever broken and limping a fashion, in the language which it wasindispensable for me to acquire. We had before us an English andHindustanee Dictionary, a Hindustanee and English Dictionary, aHindustanee Grammar, and a book of easy sentences in both languages inthe Roman character. At first my teacher and myself had to put thingsinto many forms before reaching mutual intelligibility; but graduallyour work became easier, and when two or three months had passed wefairly understood each other--I trying to express myself in Hindustanee, and he performing the much-needed work of correcting my words and idiom. I commenced with a portion of the New Testament, and soon got into someof the classics of the language. The use of the Roman character in thewriting of Indian languages had been strongly advocated by Sir CharlesTrevelyan, by Dr. Duff, and other men of mark, and was accepted by themajority of the missionaries. Portions of the Scriptures and other bookswere printed in it. Like all young missionaries, I learned the Persianand Nagree characters, in which the languages of Northern India hadalways previously been written; but the Roman character was veryconvenient, and I regretted afterwards I used it so much. 

This study of the language was felt to be a foremost duty, and wasprosecuted from day to day. This went on for months with littleinterruption, except what was caused by the serious and continuedillness of Mrs. Lyon, which, to the great regret of all their friends, led before the end of the year to the departure of Mr. And Mrs. L. ForEurope. 

In the seventh or eighth month of my residence at Benares I wrote ashort sermon in Hindustanee on John i. 29, and read it at the nativeservice. Within a year I took my part regularly at that service, firstusing my manuscript, and then extemporizing as I best could. 

I must confess I regarded my new linguistic acquisition with much morecomplacency at the end of my first year than at the end of my fifth orsixth. On my way to Benares, as I have already mentioned, I spent a fewhours very pleasantly with Mr. Leslie, the Baptist missionary atMonghyr. I mentioned to him that my friend Mr. Lyon had learned thelanguage, and was preaching in it. Looking me full in the face, he said, to my surprise and chagrin, "Depend on it, Mr. Lyon may use the words ofthe language, but no one can be said to acquire it in a year. " I thoughtthis a hard saying, but years afterwards I was forced to feel its truth. I had in a year got such a glimpse into the Hindustanee and Hindeelanguages as to have some conceptions of their nature, to know theirtone, and to bring them into partial use; but I had a very limitednotion of their nice distinctions, their peculiar idioms, and their vastvocabulary. I cannot say that the opinion on this subject I formed in myfirst year was entirely reversed by my after experience, but it waslargely modified. 

[Sidenote: STUDY OF NATIVE LANGUAGE AND CHARACTER. ]

While studying the native language, I felt myself studying the nativecharacter as well. My teacher was very patient, correcting mymistakes--mistakes, I must confess, often repeated--without allowingeven the slightest surprise to appear in his countenance. He did notsmile at blunders at which, when I knew better, I myself heartilylaughed. When I showed the slightest impatience at being checked he atonce allowed me to go on as I liked, though, as I afterwards knew, Ineeded to be corrected. He was loud in praise of my progress, declaringthat I would soon surpass all my predecessors. In my intercourse withhim I had illustrations of the patience, the courtesy, and also theflattering, cozening character of the people, when dealing with thoseby whom they think they can be benefited. The impressions of nativecharacter thus obtained were amply affirmed by the experience of afteryears. 

This munshee was well acquainted with our Scriptures. He belonged to theWriter caste, and had from his early years been in contact withEuropeans. He was ready for conversation on religious subjects, and hadmuch to say in favour of the philosophical notions which underlieHinduism. Three or four years afterwards he seemed to awake all at onceto the claims of Christ as the Saviour of the world, and under thisimpulse he openly appeared in a native newspaper as the assailant ofHinduism and the advocate of Christianity, which led to the hope that hewas to avow himself, by baptism, a follower of the Lord. But he becamealarmed at what he had done; he could not bear the reproaches of hisfriends, and he fell back into the ranks of his people. Though he hadceased to be my teacher I had opportunities of seeing him, and I triedto speak to his conscience, to his conviction of the Divine origin ofthe gospel. The last time I spoke to him he said, with marked emphasis, "There is no use in speaking to me. Let Hinduism be false or true, I amdetermined to live and die in it as my fathers have done!" His case wasthat of many with whom every Indian missionary is brought into contact. 

During this year I was introduced into the methods in which evangelisticwork was conducted. In addition to attending the services of the Lord'sDay, I went now and then with my brethren to the city. We had at thattime two little chapels in good positions, at the doors of which thepeople were first addressed, and were then invited to enter that theymight hear the new teaching more fully expounded. There was, of course, nothing of the staidness or quietness of a Christian congregation. Thespeaker was often interrupted; questions, sometimes very irrelevantquestions, were asked; and the people came and went, so that those whowere present at the commencement were seldom present at the close. During the year I saw the principal places in Benares--its main streetsand markets, its temples and mosques; and thus formed some idea of thegreat city, where for many years afterwards it was my privilege tolabour in the gospel of Christ. 

[Sidenote: THE LANGUAGES OF NORTHERN INDIA. ]

The work of the missionary in Northern India would be greatly simplifiedif he had to learn only one language. He has to learn the two I havenamed, the Hindustanee and the Hindee. The Hindustanee arose fromintercourse between the Muhammadan invaders and the people they hadsubdued. It is written in the Persian or Arabic character, and draws itsvocabulary mainly from the Persian and Arabic languages. It is thelanguage of law, of commerce, and of ordinary life to many millions. TheHindee in its various dialects, some of which almost rise to the dignityof languages, is the vernacular of the vast Hindu population ofNorth-Western India. It rests mainly on the Sanscrit, and is written inthe Sanscrit or Deonagree character. In some of the most popular booksthe languages are so strangely combined that it is impossible to giveany definite name to the language used. An acquaintance with theselanguages is indispensable to missionary efficiency in Northern India, but it is very difficult to attain marked excellence in both. 

CHAPTER VI. 

THE FIRST YEAR--SOCIETY AND CLIMATE. 

A very brief residence at Benares led me to see the great differencebetween the society to which I had come and that which I had left. TheEuropean community formed a mere handful of the population, and wasalmost exclusively formed of officials, with all the peculiarities of aclass privileged by office. We had some two hundred Europeanartillerymen with their officers, of a regiment paid and controlled bythe East India Company; three native regiments officered by Europeans;three or four members of the Civil Service, charged with theadministration of the city and district; one English merchant, and twoor three English shopkeepers. I now learned for the first time thedifference in rank between Queen's and Company's military officers. TheQueen's officer regarded himself as of a higher grade. Members of theCivil Service and Company's officers met on terms of social equality;but the Civilians looked on themselves as of a higher order, as thearistocracy of the land, and the assumed superiority put a strain tosome degree on social intercourse. The persons sent out from thiscountry for the administration of India are called Covenanted Civilians, as they bear a commission from the Queen; while those engaged foradministrative work by the Indian Government are called Uncovenanted. The former class continue to have a great official advantage over thelatter; but forty years ago there was a great social inequality whichhas in a measure ceased, where these uncovenanted servants are Englishgentlemen, as they often are. English merchants were regarded as insociety; but shopkeepers, however large their establishment, were deemedentirely outside the pale, except for strictly business purposes. Thiswas partly accounted for by European shopkeepers having been previouslystewards of ships, or soldiers who had received their discharge. Missionaries were looked on as sufficiently in society to be admissibleeverywhere, and were treated courteously by their European brethren whenthey met, though only a few desired their intercourse. 

[Sidenote: EUROPEANS AND NATIVES. ]

As to the people of the land, both Hindu and Muhammadan, I discerned atonce, what I might have fully anticipated, that between them and usthere was a national, social, and religious gulf. Some were in ourhouses as servants. We had to do with them in various ways; we could notgo out without seeing them on every side. There was on the part of manya courteous bearing towards each other; there was in many cases a kindlyfeeling; but the barriers which separated us could not be for any lengthof time forgotten. I speedily saw that some Europeans looked withcontempt on the natives, as essentially of a lower order in creation;but the better class of Europeans, the higher in position and education, as a rule, regarded them with respect, and treated them not only withjustice but with kindness. Native servants received as kind treatment asservants do in well-conducted families in our own country, and in manycases repaid this kindness by devoted attachment and the efficientdischarge of the work entrusted to them. When native gentlemen came incontact with Europeans of the higher class, all the honour was accordedto them to which by their position they were entitled. Even in this casethere were national and religious differences, which effectuallyprevented the intimacy which is often maintained where such differencesdo not exist. 

[Sidenote: EURASIANS. ]

Within the first year I got an insight into a large and growing class, who were connected with both Europeans and natives, and yet did notbelong to either. I refer to persons of mixed blood; some almost asdark, in many cases altogether as dark, as ordinary natives--many ofthese being descendants of Portuguese; others, again, so fair that theirIndian blood is scarcely observed; some in the lowest grade of society, very poor and very ignorant; and others, with many intermediate links, most respectable members of the community in character, knowledge, position, and means. All these, whatever may be their rank, areChristians by profession, and they dress so far as they can after theEuropean fashion; but the poorer class, in food and accommodation livevery much as natives do, and mainly speak the native language. Thepeople of mixed blood are called by different names--Eurasians, EastIndians, and not infrequently by a name to which they most rightlyobject, Half-caste. 

I was surprised and sorry to observe the feeling with which manyEuropeans regarded this class. They were looked down upon as of aninferior grade, who, whatever might be their character or position, werenot entitled to rank with Europeans. In the dislike of natives shown bysome Europeans there was something to remind one of the American feelingin regard to colour, though of a much milder type; but I was notprepared for the degree in which the feeling prevailed in reference toEurasians, though I might have been had I remembered that the slightesttinge of African blood, a tinge to many eyes not perceptible, had beenconsidered in America a fatal taint. I speedily observed the effect thefeeling had on Eurasians in producing an unpleasant sensitiveness, andimpairing the confidence and respect indispensable to socialintercourse. 

Since that time I have understood the causes of this feeling much betterthan I could have then done. The most candid and thoughtful of the classwill allow that as a community they labour under great disadvantages. Though they have native blood in their veins they are entirely separatefrom natives in those things to which natives attach the highest value;and though by the profession of Christianity, by the adoption ofEuropean habits so far as circumstances allow, and by the use of theEnglish language, they draw to Europeans, yet they are forced to feelthey do not belong to them. They occupy an awkward middle position, andthe knowledge that they do leads to unpleasant grating. Then they havenot had the bracing which comes from residence in a Christian land. Though proud of their Christian name and profession, they have beeninjuriously affected by the moral atmosphere of their surroundings. Thelower their social position, the closer has been their connection withthe lower class of natives, and the more hurtful have been theinfluences under which they have come. Eurasians are noted for theirexcellent penmanship, and a great number from generation to generationhave found employment in Government offices, the greater number as merecopyists, but a few as confidential clerks and accountants, whoseservices have been highly appreciated by their official superiors. Aconsiderable number have risen to important offices in theadministration of the country. An increasing number are able to taketheir place in every respect abreast of their European brethren. Individuals have gone to England, and have succeeded in getting bycompetition into the Covenanted Civil Service. The class has beensteadily growing for years in intelligence and character; and as themembers of their families are enjoying educational advantages to agreater extent than at any previous period, there is every reason tohope progress in the future will be still more rapid than in the past. The distinction between them and persons of pure European blood willthus become less and less a barrier to social intercourse; they will bedelivered from the unpleasantness the barrier has often caused, theircharacter will grow in strength, and they will become increasinglyfitted for exerting a happy influence on the native community. In thecase of individuals the distinction is now practically ignored. Thereare no more honoured and honourable persons in India than some whobelong to this class. There have always been devoted Christians amongthem, and of late years an increasing number have come under the powerof Divine grace. 

It has been often remarked that one of the most pleasing traits ofnative society is reproduced among Eurasians--the tie of kinshipprompting those who are in better circumstances to help their needyrelatives, often to the giving of large pecuniary aid, not unfrequentlyto the taking of them into their houses. In the humbler portions of thecommunity there is often seen a patriarchal household like that so oftenseen in native society. 

[Sidenote: THE CLIMATE OF NORTHERN INDIA. ]

The new-comer's experience of climate prepares him for what he has toexpect during his future residence. We have three marked seasons in theNorth-Western Provinces, the one melting gradually into the other--thehot season beginning in March and ending in June, the rainy seasonbeginning with July and ending in October, and the cold weatherbeginning with November and ending in February. The seasons may thus bedescribed in a general way, but in fact every year differs somewhat fromothers, as they do in our own country. The hot weather is sensibly feltbefore March begins, and the heat of March is far less than that of thesucceeding months. The first burst of the rains is often before themiddle of June, but after that burst, called the "little rainy season, "it is not uncommon to have a spell of very hot sunny weather. In someyears, indeed, there is so much weather of this kind during what iscalled the rainy season, that the heat is most intense, and the cropsare burnt up. Towards the end of September there is commonly the lastgreat outpour of rain, and as October advances there is the coolingfreshness of the approaching cold weather, with enough of heat in theday-time to tell us it has not quite let go its grasp. December andJanuary are our coldest months. In England, after an unpropitioussummer, the remark is often made, "We have had no summer!" and in thesame manner in India, when the temperature has been high in the coldseason, and we have not had the expected bracing, we say, "We have hadno winter!" Yet as in our own country, so in India; we have our markedseasons, though we cannot be sure of the weather at any particularperiod. 

As India is an immense region, a great continent, with every variety ofscenery, with plains extending hundreds of miles, and vast stretches offorests, with table-lands and lofty mountains, with land of everydescription from barren sand to the richest alluvial soil, the climateand products of its different countries are so different, that thestatements made about one region, however correct, when applied to thewhole are utterly misleading. I have been describing the seasons of theNorth-Western Provinces; and yet, as Benares is in the lower part ofthese provinces, its climate is considerably different from that of thecountry farther north and west. The farther north we travel the longerand colder is the cold season, and as a rule the hotter and briefer isthe hot season. On one occasion the heat was so great in Benares inMarch that we found the night punkah pleasant; but on reaching Delhi, nearly six hundred miles distant, a few days afterwards, instead ofseeking a night punkah we were thankful to have blankets to keepourselves warm. 

[Sidenote: THE HOT SEASON. ]

I have a vivid recollection of my experiences of the climate during myfirst year. During our voyage on the Ganges the heat during the day waslike that of a cloudless July in England, and at night it was pleasantlycool, the wood of the flat speedily giving off the heat it had taken induring the day, and the flow of the river contributing to our comfort. Reaching Benares as April was setting in, I speedily felt I was gettinginto the experience of an Indian hot season. The doors were openedbefore dawn to let in whatever coolness might come with the morning, andbefore eight they were shut to keep out the heat of the day. The lowerpart of the door was of wood, and the upper part of glass. Outside thedoors were heavy wooden blinds, made after the fashion of Venetianblinds, the upper part of which were opened to let in from the verandahthe degree of light absolutely necessary with the least possible degreeof heat. No prisoner in his cell is more excluded from an outside viewthan we were in our rooms during the day in the hot season. There was aremarkable contrast between the outside glare and the inside dimness, sothat a person coming from without could not on entering see anything. The prevailing wind is from the west. There is enough in the morning toshow the direction from which it is coming. It rises as the dayadvances; by two or three it blows with great strength, raising cloudsof dust, and lulls towards evening. This wind is cool and bracing in thecold weather, but as the season advances it becomes warm, and by May itsheat resembles the blast of a furnace. It every now and then gives placeto the east wind, which is not nearly so hot, but is so enervating thatthe hot wind is greatly preferred. During the day we sit under thepunkah, a great wooden fan suspended from the roof with great flappingfringes. This is pulled by a coolie, sometimes in the adjoining room, but when it can be arranged in the verandah outside, who has in his handa rope attached to the punkah, which is brought to him by a smallaperture in the wall, through which a piece of thin bamboo is insertedto make the friction as little as possible. When the west wind isblowing freshly, it is brought with most pleasant coolness into thehouse through platted screens of scented grass, on which water iscontinually thrown outside. For years machines resembling the fanners somuch used by farmers in former days, with scented grass on each side anda hut of scented grass over them, on which water is continually thrown, with wheels turned round by hand labour, have been brought largely intouse. These machines are appropriately called "Thermantidotes. "

The night in the hot season is much more trying than the day. There isnot a breath stirring, and the heat of the day, taken in by the walls, is radiated all the night long. I found the night punkah in almostuniversal use but I thought I would get on without it, and used it veryseldom. When the next hot season came I was glad to conform to thecustom of the country, for I found when I had not the punkah I got up inthe morning so tired and weary that I was unfit for the work of the day. 

The aspect of the country at that season is very dreary. Some treesretain their freshness in the hottest weather; but not a blade of greengrass is to be seen, and the ground is scorched, scarred, and baked, asif it had been turned into a desert. 

[Sidenote: THE RAINY SEASON. ]

A marvellous change is produced by the first heavy fall of rain. Afterstifling heat for some days, the rays of the sun beating with afierceness which threatens to burn up all nature, and which drives thebirds for shelter to the thickest foliage of the trees, the cloudsgather, the thunder rolls, peal quickly succeeding peal, the lightningflashes incessantly, and then, after some heavy showers, there comesdown for two or three days, with very little intermission, such torrentsthat it looks as if we were to be visited with a deluge. Within a weekall nature is transformed. The parched earth gives way to the richestgreen. We in our country say in very propitious weather that we seethings grow; but in India vegetation takes such a bound as it never doesin our temperate climate. Immediately after the downpour of rain, thesun comes out in all its strength; and, under the action of heat andmoisture, vegetation progresses marvellously. The fields are quicklyploughed, the seed, for which moisture and great heat is required, issown, and in the course of three or four weeks they are far above theground. Within three months the harvest of the rainy season, furnishingthe people with rice, maize, and other grains, which furnish theprincipal food of the people, is gathered in. 

The rainy season is productive in another and less pleasant manner. Itis as favourable to insect life as it is to vegetable life. Flying whiteants, flying bugs, and other unwelcome visitors of the same order, comeout in thousands. At night, if the doors be open the white ants make forthe lamps in such numbers that they are extinguished by them, and theroom is in the morning found strewed with their dead. It requires atorpid temperament to remain calm under this visitation. All dislike it, and some find it a grievous trial. As the rainy season advances, thetrouble abates, and by the time the cold weather sets in the ordinaryhouse-fly by day and the mosquito by night alone remain to buzz aboutus. The mosquito has rightly got the first place among insecttormentors. The house-fly is at all seasons, in some more than inothers, and gives not a little annoyance by its pertinacity. 

The change at the commencement of the rainy season is delightful. Thedoors are thrown open, and the dry, parching wind gives place to arefreshing coolness. When the rain ceases, the heat returns; the weatheris very muggy, the skin is irritated by the excessive perspiration, andmany suffer more than during the hot season. When the rain is abundantand frequent, the suffering is much less than when there is little rainand much sun. There is one comfort at that time: we know we are going onto the cold weather, which will make amends for all that went before. 

I can hardly conceive any country to have a finer climate than that ofthe North-West Provinces of India in the cold months. Rain doessometimes fall during that season; it may fall at any time of the year. I remember a heavy fall on the first of May, and about Christmas and theNew Year it is eagerly desired for the crops, but ordinarily from weekto week there is an unclouded sky. There is a cool, pleasant breeze fromthe west. In the house it is not only cool but cold, so that a littlesunning is pleasant, and at night in December and January, especiallyfar up the country, fires are welcome. Then Europeans, so far ascircumstances permit, get into the open air and move freely about, witheverything in the climate to favour their travelling. 

[Sidenote: THE COLD SEASON. ]

The beginning of the cold weather is a very busy season with theagricultural class, to which the great body of the people belong. If therainy season has been favourable, especially if heavy rain has fallentowards its close, the wells are full, and from these, after the landhas been ploughed, and the seed sown for the rabee crop, the mostvaluable crop of the year, the fields are irrigated. Whatever grows inour land in summer grows in North-Western India at that season: wheat, oats, barley, potatoes, carrots, are grown in abundance. About March theharvest is reaped. 

As I proceed with these reminiscences, I shall have frequent occasion torefer to our North Indian winter, its scenes, and employments, and Ihave thought it well to enter at some length into a description of itspeculiarities. 

One thing I observed my first year which I had abundant opportunity toobserve afterwards. The weather so welcomed by Europeans is very tryingto most natives, especially to those of the humbler classes, whoseclothing is very scanty. They never try to get warm by taking exercise. They cower in the morning and evening round a fire, which has commonlyfor its fuel dried cow-manure, with a coarse blanket over their head andshoulders. As the sun gets above the horizon, they plant themselvesagainst a wall to bask in its rays, and if they can, do not stir tillthey are well heated. As might be expected, many of them suffer fromchronic rheumatism. The extreme heat is not liked by them, but from itthey suffer far less than from cold. 

While most Europeans get new life in the cold weather, the little onesshowing by their rosy cheeks how much they are benefited, a few are inbetter health when the weather is warm, as then they are less subject toaguish attacks. The remark is often made by those who have muchsedentary work that they like the cold season for enjoyment, but find itunfavourable for work, as they cannot keep so steadily at it as they canwhen the heat keeps them within doors. 

While giving the reminiscences of my first year, my mind has beencontinually carried forward to the experience of after-years inreference to the vernacular languages, the various classes with whomresidence in India brings one into contact, and the seasons of thecountry. In giving partial expression to this experience under theheading of my first year, I have gone far beyond it. Those who favour mewith the perusal of my narrative may perhaps find it more intelligibleby my having anticipated myself. 

I must confess months of the first year passed before I ceased to feelmyself an exile. The scenes around were so unlike those of my owncountry, the prevailing idolatry so repulsive, the society, associations, and climate so different, that I turned from them to mynative land with many a fond longing look. This feeling of exile was nodoubt deepened by the illness in the family with whom I was residing. We had an English service every Thursday evening, conducted by themissionaries in the hall of the mission-house, but I greatly missed theservices on the Lord's-day to which I had been accustomed. 

[Illustration]

[Illustration: BATHING GHAT, BENARES. ]

CHAPTER VII. 

THE CITY OF BENARES. 

My greatly beloved and much esteemed friend, the late Rev. M. A. Sherring, years ago published a handsome volume under the title of _TheSacred City of the Hindus_, in which he gave ample information about itshistory, temples, castes, festivals, commerce, and religiouspre-eminence in Hindu estimation. To that work I must refer readers whoare desirous to be furnished with details. My aim is to describe asconcisely and vividly as I can the marked peculiarities of the place. 

Benares is the largest city in the North-Western Provinces, though it isapproached in population by some others, as Delhi, Agra, and Allahabad. It is among the largest purely native cities in India, but it is greatlysurpassed in population and wealth by Calcutta, Bombay, and Madras, thegreat seats of British rule, and the great emporia of Indian as well asof European commerce in the East. These cities under our rule have risento be among the greatest in Eastern Asia. For many a day the populationof Benares was said to be above 500, 000, but this has turned out a veryexaggerated conjecture. [1] When the first careful census was taken, theresident population was found to be under 200, 000, and every succeedingcensus has confirmed its substantial accuracy. In the last census thenumber given is 207, 570. When the first census was taken great surprisewas expressed at the result, and some asserted no dependence could beplaced on it. The ground of this assertion was that in the houses ofsome of the wealthier classes there are many females, who live, innative phrase, behind the curtain, who are never seen by outsiders, towhom the officials of the Government have no access; and on this accountthe accuracy of the return made to the enumerators entirely depends onthe faithfulness of the head of the household. It has been said thatwhen the first census was taken the general impression was a capitationtax was to be imposed, and that in consequence the inmates reported werefar below the actual number. If there was error on this account it wasto a very limited extent, as every subsequent census has agreed with thefirst, although the notion of a capitation tax has entirely died out. One going through Benares, from street to street, from one end of it tothe other, does not get the impression its resident population exceedsthe estimate found in official statements. The city has a great floatingpopulation, as it is the resort of strangers from all parts of India. Itis reckoned that on the occasion of the great festivals there may be100, 000 visitors, some say 200, 000, but we are not aware any attempt hasbeen made to number them. 

[Footnote 1: Bishop Heber visited Benares in 1824. He says in hisjournal, "The population, according to a census made in 1803, amountedto above 582, 000--an enormous amount, and which one should think musthave been exaggerated. " The census which gives such a return must havebeen taken in a very singular manner. ]

[Sidenote: TRADE AND COMMERCE. ]

In commerce, as in population, Benares holds a high, but not thehighest, place among Indian cities. The district of Benares is not solarge as some others in the North-West; but it is very productive, isdensely peopled, and the city has on this account a large localbusiness. Besides, the merchants and bankers of Benares have dealingswith the other districts of the province, and indeed with all parts ofIndia. The city has many artificers. It has workers in stone, wood, iron, brass, silver and gold. They produce articles which command alarge and profitable sale. God-making and toy-making are among thestaple businesses of the place. The making of idols in differentmaterials to suit the taste and means of purchasers, gives employment tomany. The images while being made are only stone, brass, or gold, as itmay be, and no reverence is then due to them. It is when certain sacredwords are uttered over them, and the god is supposed to take possessionof them, they become objects of worship. Benares is well known for itstoys made of very light wood, and lacquered over. Of late years theenchased brass vessels made in Benares have been much admired, and havesecured a large and profitable sale. Perhaps the most importantmanufacture of the place is _kimkhwab_--_kinkob_ as it is called byEuropeans--cloth made of silver and gold tissue, in which the princesand grandees of India array themselves on state occasions. I believethis business has fallen off, as with the incoming of European influencethe love of barbaric pearl and gold has declined, if not among therajahs of the land, among a class beneath them, who formerly thoughtthey could not retain their rank in society if they did not appear onspecial occasions in gorgeous robes. 

While in population and commerce there are cities in India which surpassBenares, in Hindu estimation it stands above them all in religiouspre-eminence. Perhaps at the present time more eyes are turnedreverently towards it than to any city on the face of the earth. 

[Illustration: A JEWELLER AT WORK. ]

I must attempt a brief sketch of the history of Benares. We are sure itwas not among the first cities erected by the Aryans after leaving theirhome in Central Asia and crossing the Indus. They first took possessionof the land in the far north-west of the great country they had entered, and gradually made their way to the south and east. Wonderfully acuteand painstaking though the Pundit mind be, it has so dwelt in theregions of speculation and imagination that it has paid no attention tohistorical research. Its laborious productions have left us ignorant ofrecent times, and we need not therefore wonder that, except byincidental allusions, it throws no light on the early settlements of theAryans in India. We know that they brought with them a considerablemeasure of civilization, and soon erected cities. Indraprastha, builtnear the site of the present city of Delhi, and Hastinapore, some thirtymiles from it, figure largely in the Mahabharut, the giant Hindu epic. Kunauj, lying east and south of Delhi, became some time afterwards thecapital of a widely extended empire, which lasted, with vicissitudes, down to Muhammadan times. Benares is seen in the dim light of antiquityas a favourite abode of Brahmans, and as sacred on that account, but itdoes not appear that it ever was the seat of extended rule. For many aday it was subject to Kunauj, and it afterwards came under the sway ofthe Muhammadans, to whom it was subject for six hundred years. 

[Sidenote: BUDDHISM. ]

A clear proof of the influential position of Benares centuries beforethe Christian era, is furnished by the fact that Gautama, the founder ofBuddhism, deemed it well to commence his public ministry there in thesixth century B. C. [2] The spot where he first unfolded his doctrinewas a grove at a place now called Sarnath, about four miles from thepresent city. At this place there is a large Buddhist tower, which isseen from a great distance, and around it are extensive remains, whichhave been excavated under the direction of Major-General Cunningham, andhave been found to be of Buddhist origin. The success which Buddhism hadachieved and maintained for centuries in the country where it arose, isstrikingly confirmed by the testimony of two Chinese Buddhists who wenton pilgrimage to India, the one in the fifth century A. D. , and the othertowards the middle of the seventh. Their narratives have been preserved, and furnish us with most interesting details. From them we learn thatdown to the time of their visits Buddhism had temples, monasteries, andthousands of adherents; but it had not the field to itself, for thesestrangers tell us, especially the later of the two, that a large andincreasing number of the people were warmly attached to Hinduism. Wehave no historical account of the overthrow of Buddhism, but we havereason to believe that towards the close of the eleventh century, orearlier, the devotees of Hinduism rose against it, and so stamped it outthat not a temple was left standing and not a monastery remained. Major-General Cunningham says that about that period "the last votariesof Buddha were expelled from the continent of India. Numbers of images, concealed by the departing monks, are found buried near Sarnath; andheaps of ashes still lie scattered amidst the ruins, to show that themonasteries were destroyed by fire. " This is confirmed by excavationsmade at a later period by Major Kittoe, who says, "All has been sackedand burned--priests, temples, idols, all together; for, in some places, bones, iron, wood and stone, are found in huge masses: and this hashappened more than once. " From Benares having been the scene ofGautama's early ministry, and the place where his first disciples werecalled, it stands high in the reverence of the millions who compose hisfollowers, although their only living representatives there now are afew Jains, whom orthodox Buddhists regard as heretics. 

[Footnote 2: The names and titles of this famous teacher are perplexingto those who do not know the meaning. His father was chief or king of atribe called Sakyas, and therefore Gautama received the name ofSakya-Muni, or Sakya-Saint. When he announced himself as the inspiredteacher of the nations he took the name of Buddha--the wise man, theenlightener, the inspired prophet. ]

[Sidenote: THE SACREDNESS OF KASEE. ]

Long before the time of Gautama Hinduism prevailed at Benares, and wehave observed its rites were practised side by side with those ofBuddhism when the city was visited by two Chinese pilgrims. Some timeafterwards it obtained full sway under the form of fanatical devotion toShiva the Destroyer, and that sway it has maintained down to our day. What Jerusalem is to the Jews; what Mecca is to the Muhammadans; whatRome is to the Roman Catholics--that, and more than that, Benares is tothe Hindus. They form by far the largest portion of the population ofIndia, and to them Benares--or as they delight to call it, Kasee theSplendid, the Glorious City--is the most sacred spot on earth. They say, indeed, it is not built on the earth, but on a point of Shiva's trident. They assert that at one time it was of gold, but in this degenerate ageit has been turned into stone and clay. In their belief the Ganges issacred through its entire course, but as it flows past the sacred cityits cleansing efficacy is supposed to be vastly increased. The ritesperformed at Kasee have double merit, and its very soil and air are sofraught with blessing that all who die there go to heaven, whatevertheir character may be. With this belief diffused among the millionswho, differing widely from each other in nationality and language, aredevoted to Hinduism, it may be supposed how many eyes are reverentlyturned towards Kasee, and with what eager steps and high expectationsvast numbers resort to it. I have frequently seen persons entering thecity, not on foot--that they did not deem sufficiently respectful--butprostrating themselves on the ground, measuring the ground with theirbodies, and approaching the sacred shrines. And then, especially on theoccasion of great festivals, bands may be seen entering the city, oftencomposed of women--hand-in-hand lest they should lose each other in thecrowd--singing the praises of Shiva and the glories of his city. Manyaged people come from distant parts of India--the greater number, Ibelieve, from Bengal--to reside and end their days in it, that bybecoming Kasseebas (dwellers in Kasee) they may when they die becomeBaikuntbas (dwellers in heaven). 

Though Benares be _par excellence_ the sacred city of the Hindus, strange to say they are proportionately fewer than in ten cities of theNorth-West. According to the census of 1872, there were 133, 549 Hindusand 44, 374 Mussulmans: that is, a little more than three Hindus to oneMussulman. In the great commercial city of Mirzapore, about thirty milesdistant from Benares, there were five Hindus to one Mussulman. The factthus certified is entirely at variance with the conjecture made by thosewho look at the crowds bathing at the riverside, and frequenting thetemples, and contrast them with the small number seen in the mosques, even on Friday, the Muhammadan weekly day of worship. In the districtthe Hindus vastly out-number the Muhammadans. 

Benares is built on the left bank of the Ganges, and extends in acrescent shape three miles and a half along the bank, and a little morethan a mile inward. The most imposing view is from a boat slowlydropping down the stream in the early morning--the earlier the better, especially if it be the hot season, as then the people betake themselvesto the river in greater numbers than at any other time. Travellers inmany lands who have seen this view, have declared it to be one of themost remarkable sights of the kind which the world presents. 

Photographic and pencil pictures of Benares have appeared in illustratednewspapers, in periodicals and books, and give a more vivid and correctimpression than can be conveyed by a verbal description. These picturescan, however, be better understood when those who look at them arefurnished with information which no picture can afford. 

The right bank of the Ganges at Benares is very low, and is alwaysflooded when the river rises; but the left bank, on which the citystands, is in many parts more than a hundred feet high. The river sweepsround this high bank. The city is connected with the river by flights ofstone steps, called "ghats. " This word ghat often meets the reader ofbooks on India. It has various meanings. It means a mountain-pass, aferry, a place on the riverside where people meet, and, as is the caseat Benares, the steps which lead down to the river. Two small streamsenter the Ganges at Benares--on the southern side the Assi, on thenorthern side the Burna. Some have supposed that the city has receivedits name from lying between these two rivulets--Burna, Assi, making theword Burunassi, Benares; but this derivation is more than doubtful. Others maintain the word comes from a famous rajah called Bunar; butthis, too, is a mere conjecture. 

[Sidenote: A TRIP ON THE RIVER. ]

Let me take my readers with me on a trip down the river. We embark atearly dawn on a native boat at Assi Sungam, which means the confluenceof the Assi with the Ganges, at the southern extremity. Towards that endof the city some of the houses seen on the high bank are poor, some arefalling into decay; but as you advance, lofty buildings, some of them ofa size and grandeur which entitle them to the name of palaces, come intoview. Their numerous small windows, their rich and varied carving, theirbalconies and flat roofs, give them a very Eastern look. Perhaps themost notable of the buildings are an observatory, built by a famousRajput prince, Jae Singh, and a massy and extensive structure, with itsbuttresses and high walls looking as if recently erected, which wasbuilt in the last half of the eighteenth century by Cheit-Singh, theRajah of Benares at that time, who was deposed by Warren Hastings onaccount of his refusal to comply with the demands of the BritishGovernment. In Macaulay's famous Essay on Warren Hastings there is along narrative of this contest, which is amusingly at variance with thenarrative given by Warren Hastings himself. This building is stillcalled Cheit-Singh's Palace, but since his day it has been the propertyof the British Government, and has been for many years the residence ofprinces of the old imperial family of Delhi, who on account of familytroubles had come to reside in Benares, and were, happily forthemselves, far from Delhi during the mutiny of 1857. Some of themansions facing the river belong to Indian princes, who occupy them onthe rare occasion of visits to the city, and leave them in charge ofservants, of whom a number are Brahmans performing sacred rites ontheir behalf. 

There is one spot on the riverside from which most visitors avert theireyes with horror--the place where the dead of Benares and thesurrounding country are being burnt, and the ashes thrown into thestream. The fire at that place never goes out. Cremation, not burial, itis well known, is the Indian mode of disposing of the dead. 

The peculiarity of Benares as the sacred city of the country isstrikingly attested by the temples, which crowd the high bank of theriver, and arrest the special attention of the visitor. Some of theseare much larger and more expensive than others, but there is littlevariety in their form; and all of them, even the largest and mostfrequented, are small compared with Christian and Muhammadan places ofworship. They are circular, with heavy domes narrowing towards the top, and, as a rule, with a narrow doorway alone admitting light and air. Some domes are of respectable height, but none approach that of many ofour church towers and steeples. Most of the temples are sacred to Shiva, Mahadeo, the Great God, as his devotees delight to call him, and aresurmounted by his trident. Many have a pole at their side with a flagattached to it. One sees at a glance they must, though small, have costlarge sums, as they are most solidly built of hewn stone, and have allmore or less of ornamentation. A few temples are built close to thewater's edge. One has got off its equilibrium, and looks as if it wereabout to fall into the stream; but for many years it has remained inthis tottering position. 

[Sidenote: BATHING IN THE SACRED STREAM. ]

While the houses and temples on the riverside are viewed with interest, the visitor, as he looks from his boat, is still more interested in theliving mass before him. It is the early morning. The sun has just risenabove the horizon, and is shedding its bright rays on the river and thecity. It looks as if all the inhabitants were astir and had made theirway to the river. Crowds are seen on the steps, some even then makingtheir way back after having bathed, and others going down to the stream. Thousands are in the water. Men and women, boys and girls, arethere--the men and women at a short distance from each other. Immediately above the water are platforms with huge stationary umbrellasover them, and on these men are squatted, whose portly appearancebetokens ease and plenty. These are Gungaputrs--sons of the Ganges--aclass of Brahmans, whose duty it is to take care of the clothes of thepeople as they bathe, to put a mark on their forehead to show they havebathed, and who receive a small offering from them as they retire. Allbring with them their bathing-dress, and they most deftly take off andput on their scanty clothing. When the bathing is over they wring outthe clothes in which they have bathed, fill with Ganges water a smallbrazen vessel, which each person carries with him, and make their wayinto the city to pay their homage to their favourite gods beforeproceeding to their homes. I have been told that the very devout amongthem visit some thirty temples of a morning. 

You watch the people as they bathe. It is evident they are not engagedin mere ablution, so important for health and comfort in that hotclimate. They are engaged in worship. You see them taking up the waterof the Ganges in the palm of their hands, and offering it up to the sunas they mutter certain prescribed words. You observe them making acircular motion, and if sufficiently near you see them breathingheavily, which you are told is their way of driving away demons, whoeven in that sacred spot are said to haunt them. There is no unitedworship: each worshipper apart performs his and her devotion. There isincessant movement among the crowd. As the words of worship--I mightrather say the spells--they have been instructed to use are notwhispered but uttered, and by many with a loud voice, a stream of soundfalls on the ear. If, at some spot where bathers are not inconvenienced, the boat be moored, and the visitor ascends the steps, he may find oncertain days, in two or three places, pundits reading and explaining theRamayan, or the Mahabharut, the great Hindu Epic Poems, to a crowd ofpeople, mainly composed of women. Sentence by sentence is read frompoetical translations made long ago, which require to be re-translatedinto the ordinary language of the people to be generally intelligible. We have occasionally stopped to hear these pundits, and, judging by whatwe heard, we concluded they satisfied themselves with a loose paraphraseof what they were reading. These men are rewarded with a respectful andattentive hearing, and with something more substantial when the work isover. 

If the visitor is bent on obtaining a full impression of the workcontinually carried on in Benares, he will make his way into the cityfrom one of the principal bathing-places. He will speedily find himselfin long narrow streets, with lofty stone houses on either side. Thebuildings are of hewn stone, and of the most substantial description. They have for the most part a narrow doorway, opening into a quadrangle, around which are the apartments of the inmates. The streets are sonarrow that through some of them a vehicle cannot be taken, and inothers conveyances pass each other with difficulty. There are parts ofthe narrower streets and lanes on which the sun never shines. In the fewcases where houses on both sides of the street opposite each otherbelong to one proprietor, there is at the top a bridge by which theinmates pass from one to the other. 

[Sidenote: WORSHIP IN THE TEMPLES. ]

Not the houses, however, but the temples, secure the chief attention ofthe visitor. They are seen on every side. Numerous though they be, theyare not sufficient to meet the demands of the people. At every few stepsobjects of worship meet your view. In niches of the walls are littleimages, so worn by the weather and by the water poured on them byworshippers that it is difficult to determine what they are intended torepresent. At your feet, close to the walls, you see misshapen stoneswhich are regarded as sacred. As you proceed you find yourselfaccompanied by a crowd who have bathed, and who are going to completetheir morning worship by acts of obeisance to their gods. They are seen, as they walk, bowing their heads and folding their hands before thesacred objects that line their way. Every now and then one of a partywill raise the shout "_Mahadeo jee kee jae!_"--("Victory to the GreatGod"), that is to Shiva, to whom this title is given; and the shout istaken up and repeated by others till the street resounds. It hasoccurred to me that this is done with peculiar force when Europeans arewithin hearing. 

[Sidenote: THE TEMPLE OF BISHESHWAR. ]

You speedily find yourself at the principal temple of Benares--thetemple of Bisheshwar, sacred to Shiva under this name, which means _Lordof All_. This temple is in the midst of a quadrangle, covered in with aroof; over it are a tower, a dome, and a spire. The tower and domeglitter in the sun like masses of burnished gold, and on this accountit is called the Golden Temple. Natives will tell you that it is coveredwith plates of solid gold, but in fact it is merely gilded with goldleaf, spread over plates of copper overlaying the stones beneath. Underthe dome is a belfry in which nine bells are suspended, and these are solow that they can be tolled by the hand of those who frequent thetemple. We are told that the temple, including the tower, is fifty-onefeet in height. "Outside the enclosure is a large collection of deities, raised upon a platform, called by the natives 'The Court of Mahadeo. '"Though the gods in the Hindu books are represented as continuallyquarrelling with each other, and their devotees take up their quarrels, not only at the temple of Bisheshwar, but throughout the city which isregarded as Shiva's own, they are seen side by side, as in perfectamity, and there is not a single god who does not secure the specialdevotion of some worshippers. It is, however, required of all who dwellin Kasee, or frequent it, to acknowledge that Mahadeo is entitled tosupreme homage, and that to him in the first instance obeisance must bemade. The symbol of Shiva, or Mahadeo, which is found wherever he isworshipped, is the _Linga_, a conical stone, which does not in itselfsuggest any impure notion, but which is intended to be a vilerepresentation. In this famous temple this conical stone receivesspecial honour. There, too, are figures of Shiva himself in all hishideousness, with his three eyes, covered with ashes, and his eyesinflamed with intoxicating herbs. Outside the temple there is a figurecut in stone of a bull seven feet high, sacred to the god, as this ishis favourite animal for riding. Within the quadrangle there is a wellcalled _Gyan Bapee_, the well of knowledge, to which it is said the godbetook himself when he was expelled from his former temple by the bigotEmperor Aurungzeb. On this account the well is deemed specially sacred. It is surmounted by a handsome low-roofed colonnade with forty pillars. It is covered with an iron grating, in which there is an aperture forsmall vessels to be let down into it, which when full are drawn up, andthe water thus drawn is highly prized. As from day to day a largequantity of flowers are thrown into it, it may be supposed how horribleits water and how offensive its smell; it is a wonder the people are notpoisoned by it. 

We must not proceed further with this description of Bisheshwar'stemple. Those who wish for more information can find it in the ampledetails given by Mr. Sherring. 

To this temple thousands resort every day. It is open, and priests arepresent, we are told, twenty hours in the twenty-four. It is only shutfrom midnight till four in the morning. The temple itself holds a verysmall number, and the entire quadrangle would be crowded by one of ourlarge congregations. The people press into it in one continuous stream, toll a bell to draw the attention of the god, make their obeisance, pouron the object of their worship a little of the Ganges water from thesmall brazen vessel they have in their hand, throw on it some flowers, give a present to the attendant priests, go round the building withtheir right hand towards it, and pass away to give place to others. 

How does the visitor regard this scene? Apart from the consideration ofthe dishonour done to the ever-blessed God by worship rendered to imagesrepresenting gods that are no gods--by which, if a Christian, he must bepainfully affected--there is much in the scene before him to impresshim with the sottish folly into which man can sink in his religiousviews and practices; and there is nothing to draw forth his regard andsympathy, except it be the fervour, the deep though mistaken fervour, ofsome of the worshippers, especially of the women, who may sometimes beseen with children in their arms teaching them to make obeisance to theidol. In Roman Catholic worship there is much which, as Protestantsruled by the Bible, we rightly condemn; but in the gorgeous vestments ofits priests, in the magnificence of many of the places in which theyminister, in the grand strains of their music and in their processions, there is much to impress the senses and awe the mind; but in the worshipcarried on in the temple of Bisheshwar it is difficult to find aredeeming quality. The whole scene is repulsive. The place is sloppywith the water poured out by the worshippers, and is littered by theflowers they present. The ear is assailed with harsh sounds. Theministering priests--Pundas as they are called--are, as a rule, coarse-looking men, with shaven head, save with a long pendent tuft fromthe crown, with the mark of their god on their forehead, and are veryscantily attired. They clamour for a present when a European appears, and if given it is declared to be an offering to the god of the place. Among the crowd you see men with matted hair and body bedaubed withashes, who have broken away from all domestic and social duties, anddevote themselves to what is called a religious life. Some of theseascetics are no doubt impelled to follow the life they lead by asuperstitious feeling, but many are idle vagabonds ready for thepractice of every villainy, who find it more pleasant to roam about theland and live on others than support themselves by honest labour. Thepeople dread their curse, but many give them neither respect nor love. At a place like Bisheshwar's temple there is always a host of ordinarybeggars, who clamour for alms, and receive from some two or threeshells, called _cowries_, sixty of which go to make up a halfpenny, fromothers a little grain, and from the more liberal or more wealthy a smallcoin. 

[Sidenote: THE MOSQUE OF AURUNGZEB. ]

From this stirring scene you have only a few steps to go to findyourself in the large mosque built by the Emperor Aurungzeb on the siteof the old temple of Bisheshwar, which was thrown down to give place toit. The contrast is very striking. You have left the bustling, noisycrowd, and see only a few individuals in the attitude of devotion--nowstanding with folded hands, then on their knees, then with foreheadtouching the floor, engaged in supplicating the Invisible One. Insteadof grotesque and repulsive images meeting your view, you see very littleornament of any kind, and are impressed with the severe simplicity ofthe lofty building. The more one knows of Muhammadanism, the moregrievous are its defects and errors seen to be; but in the simplicity ofits mosques, which has nothing in common with the sordid barn-likebareness too characteristic at one time of many places of worship in ourown land, there is much from which Christians might learn a usefullesson. 

Within a stone's throw of Bisheshwar's temple there is a host oftemples, none of them very large, some of them small, but most coveredwith carving, to some extent for mere ornamentation, but chiefly for thepurpose of illustrating the objects of Hindu worship. If you visit themyou will see everything is accordant with the great shrine you haveleft. You will see Shiva, sometimes seated on a bull, sometimes on adog; his hideous partner Durga, with her eight arms and her ferociouslook, indicating her delight in blood; Hanuman, the monkey-god, with hishuge tail; Krishna engaged in his gambols; Ganesh, the god of wisdom, with his elephant head and protuberant belly; and many others beside. Everything you see is wild, grotesque, unnatural, forbidding, utterlywanting in verisimilitude and refinement, with nothing to purify andraise the people, with everything fitted to pervert their taste andlower their character; and yet, I must add, with everything to give afaithful representation of the mythology prepared by their religiousleaders. The pundits who wrote the sacred books of the Hindus were menof great talent, of abundant leisure; and it is a marvel to me, of whichI can give no explanation, how they spent their days in spinning thewildest legends, and in setting forth their gods as performing the mostfantastic, capricious, foolish, and wicked deeds, when they had a clearcanvas before them, and might have filled it with something worthy ofour nature, and worthy of objects to be worshipped. 

Aurungzeb's mosque has two lofty minarets, rising about a hundred andfifty feet above its floor, and thus having from the river an elevationof two hundred and fifty feet. From a boat on the river the visitor hasthe nearest and most impressive view of the city, with its peculiaritiesas the high place of Hindu worship. If he proceed to the top of one ofthe minarets, which is reached by a steep, dark spiral stair, he willhave a most commanding and extensive view of the city, the river, andthe country for many miles around. He will see that while the streets inthe centre of the city are long and narrow, and have very lofty houses, beyond these the roads widen, and many of the houses are poor and mean. As his eye falls on the part beyond the most crowded portion, he willobserve here and there fine mansions with gardens around them, evidentlybelonging to the wealthy portion of the community, but surrounded bypoor streets. 

[Sidenote: RETURN TO THE EUROPEAN STATION. ]

After seeing what I have endeavoured to describe, the traveller is wellpleased to get back to his boat, and to drop down the river to Raj Ghat, the northern end of the city, where, after his fatigue, he is happy tofind a conveyance to convey him to the European station more than threemiles distant. 

During my residence in Benares I often made this trip from Assi-Sungamto Raj Ghat, generally in company with strangers. The last time I madeit I was accompanied by the late Dr. Norman McLeod of Glasgow, and thelate Dr. Watson of Dundee. They were greatly interested in what theysaw, and repeatedly said the reality exceeded their expectation. Dr. McLeod was specially eager to see everything that could be seen, and inhis own strong genial way expressed the feelings excited by the strangescenes before him. 

I must press into the concluding part of this chapter, as concisely as Ican, some additional facts which call for special notice. 

The city as it now stands is quite modern. Though foundations dug up, and pieces of masonry seen in existing buildings, testify to itsantiquity, we are told by those who are best qualified to judge thatthere is not a single house or temple the erection of which can berelegated to a more remote period than the reign of Akbar, who was acontemporary of our Queen Elizabeth. 

Various estimates have been given of the number of temples. Accordingto the census of 1872 the number is 1, 454. This does not include smallershrines in niches in the walls, which may be reckoned by thousands. Thetemples are constantly increasing in number; at no previous period werethere so many as at present. Traders and bankers have prospered greatlyunder our rule, and, if devout Hindus, they deem themselves bound todevote a part of their wealth to the erection of a temple. A regard totheir honour as well as to their gods prompts them to this spending oftheir money. 

So far as I have been able to ascertain, the temples of Benares havevery little of either funded or landed property. The vast sum requiredfor the support of the priesthood comes mainly from the offerings of thepeople. 

The "Imperial Gazetteer" of India gives no account in its last census ofthe castes of Benares, but we are sure that many thousands of theinhabitants are Brahmans. They are greatly subdivided, and are sodifferent in rank and occupation that they keep as separate from eachother as if they had no caste in common. The Pundas officiate in thetemples; the Gangaputrs, the sons of the Ganges, minister at thewaterside; the Purohits are the family priests; and the Pundits, themost esteemed of all, are the learned men who study the Shastres, andexpound them to the people as occasion requires. Hindus generally havetheir Gurus, religious guides, who perform to them very much the workdone for Roman Catholics by father confessors. These may be familypriests, learned men; or, in the case of the lower castes, the lowerorders of Brahmans. A vast number of the sacred caste have nothing to dowith religious services. They are engaged in various businesses. Aconsiderable number are cooks in the houses of the wealthy, as fromtheir hand all can eat, while they in many cases would consider it anintolerable insult to be asked to eat with their masters. Not a few arebeggars. 

There are places in Benares to which people resort almost as much as tothe temple of Bisheshwar. Among these I may mention the tank ofPishachmochan, a word meaning deliverance from demons, as bathing in itis considered very efficacious in securing this end, and the temple andtank of Durga at a place called Durgakund. At this latter place thereare many hundreds of monkeys--some say thousands, though this isdoubtless an exaggeration--which scamper about in all directions, andfare well at the hands of Durga's worshippers. These animals are deemedgods and goddesses, and woe to the person who does them any harm. 

The monkeys are not the only animals deemed sacred at Benares. All whohave heard anything about the city have heard about the well-fed lazybulls prowling about the streets, and insisting on making free with thegoods of the vegetable and grain sellers. These are no longer to be seengoing about in their former fashion. I shall have something to sayafterwards about them. 

[Sidenote: FESTIVALS AT BENARES. ]

Mr. Sherring gives an account of forty melas, or religious festivals, inthe course of the year in Benares. The principal of these are the Holee, the Saturnalia of the Hindus, the Ram Leela (the dramatic representationof the life of Ram as given in the epic poem, "The Ramayan"), and thePilgrimage of the Panch Kosee, when the people make the circuit of thecity, and halt for the night at certain assigned stations. On theoccasion of eclipses vast numbers resort to Benares from all parts ofIndia. 

Benares has long been considered the Oxford of India. Its learned menhave from ancient times been famed for their learning, and the aspirantsfor Hindu lore--all members of the same caste with themselves--have fromgeneration to generation sat at their feet. They have had no grandacademic halls in which to give their prelections; they have taken nofees from their pupils; they have met in very humble rooms, or in theopen air in a garden under trees; but both teachers and students havebeen characterized by an assiduity and a perseverance which the mostlaborious of German scholars rarely attain. The very modest requirementsof these learned men have as a rule been met unasked by the princes andwealthy of the land. 

In 1791, a very short time after Benares was brought directly underBritish rule, a Sanscrit college was founded by the payment of certainpundits, who were left to carry on their work unchecked by anyauthority, or even suggestion, from without. It is said that pundits ofthe highest repute refused to have anything to do with the foreigner. In1853 a very fine Gothic structure, said to be the most imposing buildingerected by the British in India, was opened under the name of theQueen's College, for the accommodation of students in both Western andEastern learning. Here both English and Sanscrit are studied, and underthe first Principal, the late Dr. Ballantyne, vigorous, and I hope tosome degree successful, effort was put forth to infuse Westernliterature, philosophy, and science into the pundit mind. 

I have mentioned the number of Muhammadans residing at Benares. It isofficially stated they have 272 mosques, of which that of Aurungzeb, with its lofty minarets, is the largest. Hindus must have looked withhorror on the sacrilegious deed by which this mosque was erected on thesite of the demolished temple of Bisheshwar; but the power of the bigotemperor was so great that they could do nothing more than invocatecurses on his head. The close neighbourhood of this mosque to the mostfrequented temple, and the remembrance of the building which formerlyoccupied its site, have produced a bitter feeling towards the followersof Muhammad. Early in this century there was a furious contest betweenthe two classes of religionists, which lasted for some days, and was atlast quelled by the military. During the fight every conceivable insultwas offered to each other's feelings, and lives were lost. TheMuhammadans suffered most, and since that time they seem to have beencowed, so that there has been much less fighting between them and theirHindu neighbours than in some other cities in the North-West. 

The city has two great squares, occupied as market-places, in whichgoods of every description are exhibited and sold in the Easternfashion. They present a stirring scene of an afternoon, which is theprincipal time of business. 

[Sidenote: CENSUS RETURNS. ]

In the census of 1872 the occupations of all males above fifteen yearsof age are noted. I give some of the items--

Alms-takers 184Beggars 3, 490Barbers 979Pundits 96Priests (temple or ghat) 2, 809Purohits (family priests) 1, 273Servants 14, 309

I suppose the distinction between alms-takers and beggars is that theformer class deem it beneath them to ask, but have no objection to takealms, while the latter class both ask and take. Among the latter, besidethe blind and helpless, many able-bodied men make beggary theirprofession. On one occasion, in the neighbourhood of Benares, I met aman in the prime of life who said he had just returned from a longjourney. On referring to his business he frankly said that he had neverhad any other occupation than that of a beggar. This was his hereditaryprofession. We have no Poor Law in India. The people, from variedmotives, are ever ready to give aid to those who cannot supportthemselves, and in addition exercise an indiscriminate charity, whichhas a demoralizing effect. 

The census informs us there are in Benares 16, 023 masonry houses, and21, 551 mud houses--that is, houses many of which are of mud moistenedand dried as the walls rise--and others of sun-dried bricks. I do notwonder at the disappointment felt by some who have been much impressedwith the front view of the city, and have then traversed its streets. 

Till recently, from the commencement of our rule, our Government hasnever been at peace with all the native rulers of India. In various wayswe have come into collision with them, and the final result in everycase has been their overthrow. The deposed rajahs have as a rule beensent to Benares, as if our Government wished to compensate them for theloss of their dominion by conferring on them special religiousadvantages. 

On the opposite side of the Ganges, a little above the southern end ofthe city, is the town of Ramnuggur, with a population of 10, 000. It isthe residence of the Rajah of Benares, who is simply a large landowner, and has no authority beyond that which wealth confers. His palace, orrather fort, is close to the river. Behind the town, close to theRajah's garden, there is a large tank, and a temple facing it which isremarkable for the exquisite carving on its walls illustrative of Hindumythology. 

[Sidenote: MACAULEY'S DESCRIPTION OF BENARES. ]

I end this account of Benares by an extract from Macaulay's Essay onWarren Hastings, in which, in his own high rhetorical fashion, which soreadily yields itself to exaggeration, he describes the city. If Iremember rightly, there is no mention in his biography of his havingvisited the North-West, and his description is therefore not that of aneye-witness. 

"The first design of Warren Hastings was on Benares, a city which inwealth, population, dignity, and sanctity was among the foremost inAsia. It was commonly believed that half a million of human beings wascrowded into that labyrinth of lofty alleys, rich with shrines, andminarets, and balconies, and carved oriels, to which the sacred apesclung by hundreds. The traveller could scarcely make his way through thepress of holy mendicants and not less holy bulls. The broad and statelyflights of steps which descended from these swarming haunts to thebathing places along the Ganges were worn every day by the footsteps ofan innumerable multitude of worshippers. The schools and temples drewcrowds of pious Hindus from every province where the Brahmanical faithwas known. Hundreds of devotees came thither every month to die, for itwas believed that a peculiarly happy fate awaited the man who shouldpass from the sacred city into the sacred river. Nor was superstitionthe only motive which allured strangers to that great metropolis. Commerce had as many pilgrims as religion. All along the shores of thevenerable stream lay great fleets of vessels laden with richmerchandise. From the looms of Benares went forth the most delicatesilks that adorned the balls of St. James's and of Versailles; and inthe bazars the muslins of Bengal and the sabres of Oude were mingledwith the jewels of Golconda and the shawls of Cashmere. "

[Illustration]

CHAPTER VIII. 

BENARES AS A MISSION SPHERE. 

Hinduism, like all other religions, has its points of contact, we maysay of agreement, with Christianity; but in its main features andtendencies it is intensely antagonistic, and this antagonism may beconceived to have its keenest edge and greatest force in the city fromwhich it has for ages maintained its sway over the millions of India. Ifany religion could be considered entrenched by local advantages beyondthe possibility of overthrow, Hinduism might be declared secure atBenares, if not against assault, at least against defeat. 

People in all ages, all the world over, cling with varying degrees oftenacity to the views and practices which have come to them from theirfathers. Jeremiah said, "Pass over the isles of Chittim, and see; andsend unto Kedar, and consider diligently, and see if there be such athing. Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods?"Hinduism in its present form is comparatively modern; but the peoplegenerally know nothing of its history, and they regard it as aninheritance from the most ancient times. It comes to them as the giftsof gods and sages, which it would be sacrilege to reject. There is muchin the religion itself to bind the people to it. Its numerousceremonies, sustained by the largest promises, give the assurance of agreat reward. In discharging their religious duties they have often toendure toil, undergo privation, and make sacrifices; but the more theydo and suffer, the greater is the complacency with which they regardtheir religious position. There is one thing Hinduism does not demand ofits devotees. It does not demand a radical change of character or oflife. Its every requirement may be met without abandoning evildispositions and practices. It can be easily supposed how strong a holda religion like this has on its votaries, and how especially strong itshold must be in the city where it has been enthroned for ages. 

In our day much is said about heredity. Facts illustrative of its powerover the features, character, and life, not only of individuals but ofcommunities, are patent to all. Whatever heredity can do it does ininfusing the spirit of Hinduism into the very blood of the people ofBenares, who have been so long dominated by it. The mastery it hasobtained over them is shown by the whole tone of their minds and thewhole bearing of their life. If sincerity and enthusiasm be theessential requisites in religion, the inhabitants of this city have allthey need, for these qualities are possessed by them in a high degree. Then, in such a city there is felt the almost overpowering influence ofthousands from day to day, and of vast multitudes on occasion of highfestival, performing the same rites, worshipping the same gods, andanimated by the same spirit. The peculiar thrill of pleasure given by agreat assembled eager host to every individual composing it; the senseof importance it gives to each, as if on him rested the concentratedhonour of the gathering, does much to bind people to a religion whichreceives such services from millions. If for a single year these dailyservices and periodical gatherings were intermitted, Hinduism would begreatly weakened. 

[Sidenote: SECULAR AND SACRED INFLUENCES. ]

In addition to the domestic, social, and public influences which guardand uphold the existing state of things, there is the tremendous powerof personal gain and honour. The honour, the wealth, the verysubsistence of large influential classes, are bound up with themaintenance of idolatry. The Pundits, the guardians and expositors oftheir sacred books; the Pundas who minister in the temples; theGungaputrs who serve at the river side; the Purohits, the familypriests; the Gurus, the father confessors and guides of the people; andthe Jyotishees, the astrologers, with their families and relations, would be stripped of their honour and gain, of their very means ofliving, if Hinduism was at once abandoned. Benares is a great commercialas well as religious city. If it ceased to be Hindu, we cannot supposeits commerce would be paralyzed; but as a considerable part of itsordinary trade is dependent on the thousands of pilgrims who resort toit, on the money they expend on food, on gifts to the priests, and onthe purchase of articles exposed for sale, great loss would be in thefirst place incurred. The many artisans now employed in making images ofstone and brass, would find no purchasers for their goods. In additionto the pecuniary loss which directly and indirectly would fall on allclasses, the whole community would feel the glory of Kasee, the SplendidCity, had departed, when, stripped of its sacredness, crowds of pilgrimsno longer filled its streets, frequented its temples, or bathed at itsghats. They would feel as the Jews did in their dark and disastrousdays, when the ways to Zion were untrodden, and there was the silence ofdesolation within its gates. 

When the peculiarities of Benares are in any degree realized, the workof making known the gospel to its inhabitants may appear formidable tothe extent of hopelessness. 

It is formidable, very formidable, but it can appear hopeless only whenwe forget the command of our Saviour to preach the Gospel to everycreature, when we forget the power of the truth, the adaptation of theGospel to the human heart, its past triumphs, and the promised aid ofthe Holy Spirit. The very strength of this fortress of idolatry shouldcall forth the courage of Christ's soldiers by directing their eyes toHim as their great and glorious Leader. Such was the courage of theApostles and their immediate successors, when instead of going to smalltowns and villages, and working from them towards the cities where theGospel might be expected to meet with the most determined opposition, they assailed at once with their spiritual weapons the high places ofidolatry, of power which claimed worship as well as homage, and oflearning which aimed in its own strength, and aimed unsuccessfully, atthe solution of the deepest questions which affect mankind. They went toEphesus, to Rome, and to Athens, and secured in them a measure ofsuccess, which prepared the way for a mighty revolution throughout theRoman Empire. 

Towards the end of the last century, when there was a great awakening ofthe missionary spirit, devoted Christians, animated by apostolicexample, formed the purpose of going with the Gospel to Benares. RobertHaldane sold a fine estate, that with a band of chosen companions hemight preach the Gospel to its inhabitants. He was obliged to abandonthe enterprise by the prohibition of the East India Company; and then, in company with his brother and others similarly minded, he turned tohome mission work, which for a time was prosecuted by them with ardentzeal and great success. 

[Sidenote: HINDUISM AND CHRISTIANITY. ]

In 1781 the city and district of Benares, which had for some time paidtribute to our Government, were brought directly under our rule. We aresure no Christian missionary would have been previously tolerated inBenares for a day. He could not speak of Jesus Christ as the Lord of alland the Saviour of the world without implying that Mahadeo and the othergods of Benares were no God. His teaching would be speedily discerned inits antagonism to the genius of the place, and would ensure his speedyexpulsion, if not his death. To the present hour no missionary isallowed to plant his foot in Mecca, or Medina, the sacred cities of theMuhammadans. Till a very recent period, when the Pope's political powercame to an end, no Protestant minister was allowed to open his mouth inproclaiming the Gospel in Rome. The mild Hindu can be as fanatical asthe Muhammadan and the Roman Catholic in resenting an attack on hisreligion, and in persecuting its opponents. 

We have no historical records from which we can learn how Buddhism wasoverthrown in India; but, as we have already observed, we have reason toconclude it was not overthrown by argument and persuasion, but by fireand sword. The intense hatred shown to the Gospel by those who areimbued by the spirit of Hinduism will not allow us to doubt that, ifthey had the power, they would forbid all Christian effort, andespecially such effort in their sacred city. They were long under therule of the Muhammadans, and were subjected by them to grievousindignities, which they were helpless to avert or resent; but theirattachment to Hinduism, instead of being diminished, was inflamed by thetreatment they received, and during the semi-independent position theyheld previous to coming under our sway they had both the power and thewill effectually to prevent the entrance of a new antagonistic religion. The superior strength and daring of the English were so signally shownin the overthrow of Rajah Cheit-Singh by Warren Hastings, thatopposition to the new _régime_ was seen to be hopeless, and the peoplequietly submitted to their new rulers. So far as they knew the temperand policy of the English, they might conclude their religion would attheir hands not only be safe from violence, but protected from everyattempt at proselytism. The policy which would have left Hinduismundisturbed was successfully opposed by the Christian feeling ofEngland, and the way was opened for the Christian missionary into thevery fortress of Hindu idolatry. For this entrance we are not in any wayindebted to the mildness of Hindu religionists, but to the resolute, persevering, courageous effort of men of God, who contended successfullyagainst the worldly selfishness which would have doomed the millions ofIndia to perpetual night. 

[Sidenote: STREET PREACHING. ]

We have observed that mission operations were tentatively begun inBenares in the second decade of this century. The work was carried on ina very quiet unostentatious manner. Some time elapsed before any openaggressive effort was put forth. If Bishop Heber's counsel had beenfollowed there would have been no departure from the first timid modeof action. He says in his journal, "The custom of street preaching, ofwhich the Baptist and other Dissenting missionaries in Bengal are veryfond, has never been resorted to by those employed by the ChurchMissionary Society, and never shall be so long as I have any influenceor authority over them. I plainly see it is not necessary, and I see noless plainly that though it may be safe among the timid Bengalees, itwould be very likely to produce mischief here. All which themissionaries do is to teach schools, read prayers, and preach in theirchurches, and to visit the houses of such persons as wish forinformation on religious subjects. " If the good man had lived a fewyears longer he would have seen ministers of his own Church forward inmodes of action which he disapproved, and would doubtless have wishedthem God-speed, as his successors in the diocese of Calcutta have done. The Bishop of Lahore, Dr. French, took a prominent part for years inoutdoor preaching. 

The missionary has of course met with opposition in many forms; theopposition has often been keen and bitter, but it has not taken the formof violence to person or injury to property. The Gospel has been formany years proclaimed in the most public places in Benares, crowds haveheard it, and no hand has been raised against the preacher. In thememoirs of the Rev. William Smith, of the Church Mission, who wasindefatigable in evangelistic labour, than whom none was better known inBenares, it is mentioned that on a few occasions mud was thrown at him, but it did him no harm. On one occasion, after a very keen discussion, when my Hindu opponents had been extremely angry, on coming out from theplace a native Christian by my side was struck on the head by a stone, which was evidently intended for me. Happily the young man speedilyrecovered from the blow. The night was dark, and the act was not broughthome to any one. The people present expressed indignation at the deed. On another occasion a man drew his sword half-way out of the scabbard(it was the fashion of the time to go about armed), and said he wouldgladly cut off my head, because I was trying to turn away his peoplefrom their religion; but he knew if he did he would be hanged, and as hewished to live a little longer he restrained himself. He gave me ascowl, which showed how ready he was for the crime if he could commit itwith impunity. On another occasion most vigorous drumming was carried onabove our heads, which made speaking and hearing impossible. As aftermany years spent in Benares I cannot recollect any more violent actsthan those I have mentioned, the reader may infer how little reason wehave to complain of danger to life or limb. 

[Sidenote: POSITION OF THE MISSIONARY IN BENARES. ]

Nothing approaching the treatment of Dr. Kalley by the Popish priests ofMadeira has been ever experienced by any missionary in Benares at thehand of Hindu priests. The perfect security, with which in ordinarytimes we went about our work, is in marked contrast to the experience ofmany a labourer in the home mission-field, not only in the early days ofMethodism, but down to our own time, to say nothing of the violence towhich the Salvation Army has been exposed. The fact that we belong tothe ruling race, and that it is understood by all an attack on us willbe promptly and severely punished, has had, no doubt, much to do inenabling us to carry on our operations so quietly and safely. There hasbeen an ebullition at times on the occasion of baptisms, but it hassoon subsided. Gradually the people have come to understand ussufficiently to be convinced we are bent on promoting their good, andthey regard us in consequence with a friendly feeling. Most pleasantproof has been given that many of the inhabitants of Benares have cometo look on missionaries not only with respect but affection. I wellremember gratifying acts of courtesy and kindness, which could not havebeen prompted by sinister motives. 

I must not omit to say that while missionaries have carried on theirwork openly and boldly, they have felt themselves bound to treat thepeople courteously, and to abstain from the use of violent and abusivewords. There are places where they do not deem themselves entitled todeclare their message--such as sacred places where worship is beingcarried on. Mr. Smith, of the Church Mission, once mentioned to me thathe had for a short time taken his stand close to one of the bathingplaces, but the priests and people were greatly excited by his presence, and he deemed it proper to retire. 

While at Benares the Gospel has to encounter peculiar opposition, it hassome marked advantages as a mission-field. The missionary, as he movesabout, meets with people from all parts of India. While these speakdifferent languages, many know enough of the languages spoken at Benaresto admit of a measure of intelligent intercourse with them. Vastmultitudes come from the widely extended region over which theHindustanee and Hindee prevail. While many go to Benares, we may supposethe great majority, urged by the gregarious feeling so powerful all theworld over, happy to find themselves among the multitude, hoping to getsome religious benefit, and sure at any rate, as they acknowledge, ofamusement, we cannot doubt there are among them earnest souls--how manyit is impossible to say--who are ill at ease, and have a craving forrest and satisfaction. These persons are in the state of mind to whichthe Gospel is specially adapted, and it is very desirous for themissionary to come into contact with them. Missionaries have fallen inwith persons of this class, and among them there have been pleasinginstances of conversion. There are individuals now in distant parts ofIndia living Christian lives, who were led to embrace Christ as theirSaviour by what they heard at Benares. Many Christian books have beencirculated among pilgrims to the sacred city. These are taken to theirhomes, we may hope sooner or later to be read by them to their spiritualbenefit. Again and again bread cast on the waters has been found aftermany days. 

The greed of the Pundas and Gungaputrs of Benares is notorious. Many apoor pilgrim has suffered from their exactions, and we may suppose thatreverence for the sacred city has received a shock under such treatmentsimilar to that which Luther experienced on his visit to Rome. WhileHinduism is no doubt greatly strengthened by the resort of the people toBenares, much done and endured there is well fitted to alienate the morethoughtful of the visitors; and so far as they are alienated from theprevailing superstition, the more likely they are to listen patientlyand candidly to the Christian preacher. 

[Sidenote: PROSPECT OF SUCCESS. ]

I conclude these remarks on Benares as a mission sphere by observingthat marked success there would have a marvellous effect on theevangelization of India. The news would soon spread that Hinduism wasdrying up at its fountain, and that its power could not be much longermaintained. We know that Hinduism itself has undergone great, we may sayradical, changes, since Kasee became one of its principal seats, if notits head-quarters. There Buddhism was first preached, and from itBuddhism went forth to all Eastern Asia. There it was for a timepredominant, but Hinduism again obtained supremacy, and drove its rivalfrom the field. For centuries, Hinduism under the form of devotion toShiva Mahadeo, the Great God, as they delight to call him, has had fullsway. Is his dominion to last for ever? Are the people to be for ever inthe slough of idolatry and superstition? We cannot believe that theyare, until we abandon all trust in Him who rightly claims all humanhearts, and whose grace is sufficient to enforce these claims. We knownot when, we know not how, but we do know that even in Benares, as allthe world over, our blessed Saviour will take to Himself His great powerand reign. Even now entrance has been gained for the truth of God, hearts have been won by it, and Christian churches have been formed. Thefirst-fruits have been gathered, and the harvest will come. Are weallowing imagination to take the reins at the expense of judgment, whenwe indulge the hope, that as in former days Buddhist preachers wentforth from Benares to the millions of Eastern Asia with the lessons ofGautama, the Brahmans of Benares, accepting Jesus as their Saviour, willgo forth with His Gospel to diffuse it far and wide among the nations ofIndia, and then, with their converts, make their way to the remotestEast? Let us not say, "If the Lord would make windows in heaven, mightthis thing be?" but rather, "Who hath despised the day of small things?"The Messiah "shall build the temple, and He shall bear the glory. "

CHAPTER IX. 

MY SECOND YEAR IN BENARES. 

In beginning this chapter it is fitting I should mention that shortlyafter entering on my second year an event occurred of transcendentimportance to me, which has contributed to my personal comfort andmissionary usefulness as nothing else could have done--my marriage withthe object of my choice, who has been, through God's great goodness, spared to me through all the intervening years. 

Before the close of my first year I had a striking illustration of thevicissitudes of Indian life, and of consequent difficulty in prosecutingthe missionary enterprise. On reaching Benares at the end of March, 1839, I found three missionaries of our society, Messrs. Buyers, Shurman, and Lyon. Within a month of my arrival we were joined by aGerman missionary and his wife, Dr. And Mrs. Sommers. Towards the end ofautumn Mr. And Mrs. Lyon left, owing to the failure of Mrs. Lyon'shealth. They were followed three months afterwards by Dr. And Mrs. Sommers, owing to Mrs. Sommers' illness. My second year was advancedonly a few months, when Mr. And Mrs. Buyers, after a residence of nearlyten years, departed for Europe. Dr. Sommers had remained too short atime to render any service. Mr. Lyon had made excellent progress in thelanguage, and promised to be a very efficient missionary; but, to ourgreat regret, he was obliged to leave. Mr. Buyers was in his prime, andwas well equipped for service. Thus within eighteen months the staff ofthe mission was reduced from five to two, and one of these too young andinexperienced to do anything more than help his senior brother. In June, 1841, we were joined by the Rev. D. G. Watt, and early in 1842 by theRev. J. H. Budden. These much-esteemed brethren still survive, and havedone excellent service in the cause of Christ; but both suffered muchfrom the climate, and their stay at Benares was too short to admit oftheir doing there what their hearts were bent on doing. 

[Sidenote: THE FAILURE OF HEALTH. ]

I have not the means of comparing our Indian missions with missions inother parts of the world, but I believe our losses by the failure ofhealth have greatly exceeded theirs. The climate of the South SeaIslands, of South Africa, and of the West Indian Islands, is far morefavourable to European health than that of the parts of India in whichmost of our missions are. The longevity of many of the South Africanmissionaries bears remarkable testimony to the salubrity of theirclimate. 

This failure of health and consequent abandonment of the work is one ofthe greatest trials missions in India have had to encounter, and is aformidable obstacle to success. Instances have not been rare when, aftergreat expense has been incurred, the missionary or his wife has suddenlybroken down--the wife perhaps more frequently than the husband--and aspeedy return to England has been the result. The name appears in theReport as an agent, but no work has been, or could have been, accomplished. In other cases the stay has been too brief to haveadmitted of efficient service. A considerable time must elapse beforethe missionary, however zealous and able, can acquire such anacquaintance with the language and people as will enable him to do hiswork in a satisfactory manner. When one has fully entered on the work, there is frequent interruption from illness and weakness induced by theseverity of the climate. When I transfer myself in thought to my firsttwo years in Benares, and from my vivid remembrance of the vicissitudesof our mission during these years look down through all the succeedingyears not only of our mission, but of other missions in Northern Indiawith which I am well acquainted, I am painfully struck with the bitterdisappointments of missionary Societies in the prosecution of theirwork. They have responded to the urgent appeal for reinforcement, and innot a few cases no sooner has the reinforcement been gained than it hasbeen lost. The Societies formed of late years for Zenana work havesuffered from this cause more than even the older Societies. They havesuffered in a degree which must have been very discouraging to theirmanagers and supporters. Happily a considerable number of all Societieshave been able to remain at their post, and some have remained so longas to give an average length of missionary service, which hides the factof the extreme brevity of the period spent by many in the foreign field. 

The question here suggests itself, Has this speedy abandonment of thework been always necessary? Has there been the endurance demanded ofthose who have professed themselves consecrated to a missionary life?Has the return to England been accepted only when the compulsion ofcircumstances left no alternative, and then accepted most reluctantly?With every desire to think of others as favourably as possible, withoutany breach of charity, it must be acknowledged there have been cases ofdeparture, where I think a more resolute spirit would have kept personsat their post. This I trust holds true of only a few. I know some whosoon left to whom the abandonment of the work was a bitter trial. Nothing but the thought that to remain would have been to fight againstProvidence took them away. To go back to the cases of failure during myearly period at Benares, I may mention that the departure of Mr. AndMrs. Lyon was absolutely necessary; and those who know the subsequentcareer of my friends, Messrs. Watt and Budden, need not be told that ifhealth had permitted Benares would have been for many years the sphereof their labours. 

[Sidenote: CELIBATE OR MARRIED MISSIONARIES?]

As the withdrawal of missionaries has often been caused by the failureof the health of their wives, some have thought it would be well to havecelibate missionaries in a country which has so severe a climate. Tothis there is the obvious reply that missionaries, like others, arehuman beings, and a restriction on them which wars with human naturewould be found very pernicious, as it has ever been. Then, the wives ofmissionaries, when they are what they ought to be, are very efficientand, indeed, necessary missionary workers, and in many cases theirlabours are as useful as those of their husbands. In well-orderedmissionary families the people see what a happy Christian home is, andthey are assured of a sympathy in their trials and cares which theycould not expect from unmarried missionaries. Some Societies, our ownamong the number, have accepted as missionaries to India persons engagedto be married, but they have required them to remain for a year or twounmarried after going out to test their fitness for the climate; and, inthe event of the test being successfully stood, to give them anexperience which will enable the newly married wife to enter with lessstrain on her Indian life. This may be a wise arrangement, and yet thereis often a restlessness till the marriage takes place, and time spent ingoing to the port of debarkation, which carries with it somedisadvantages. 

We dare not retreat from this great work of evangelizing India onaccount of the vicissitudes of which I have been speaking, or on accountof other very formidable obstacles which oppose us. To do so would be toact a craven part. Agents must be found for the prosecution of the work, and we must hope with the improved advantages of an Indian career thefailures will be fewer than in the past; but whatever they may be, theChristian Church must go forward. One obvious inference from the facts Ihave stated, is the extreme desirableness of a native agency. Thenatives of the land, when found fit for the work, have always beenhighly prized. Many of this class are now labouring in different partsof India, and there is every reason to hope that in coming years thenative agency will grow largely in extent and efficiency. 

[Sidenote: IMPRESSION OF THE SECOND YEAR. ]

During my second year in Benares I entered on every department ofmission work, and had many opportunities for intercourse with thepeople. In my turn I preached to the native Christian congregation, wentwith the missionaries and catechists to the city, and engaged inteaching the boys attending our primary schools. I saw the greatgatherings of the people at their religious festivals, and realizedtheir character, and the nature of the work to which I had devoted mylife, more than I had previously done. Instead of followingchronological order, my object in these reminiscences will be bestattained by endeavouring to present to my readers those aspects ofIndian and mission life which, during my second year, made a deepimpression on my mind, an impression which was deepened by subsequentexperience. 

[Illustration]

CHAPTER X. 

THE RELIGIOUS GATHERINGS OF THE HINDUS. 

Crowds pass through the temples of Benares every day, pay obeisance, andpresent offerings; but on ordinary occasions there is no combined act ofworship conducted by a leader, as is common in Christian assemblies. Onoccasions of special urgency--the failure of rain, its unseasonablefall, the fear of famine, or the dread of a great calamity coming on thecommunity in some other form--sacrifices are offered up by priests inthe presence of great multitudes, in which all present unite. These arevery special and occasional services, for, as a rule, all over Indiapersons and families act apart. 

Hindus are, however, eminently social, and in their religious servicesfull play is given to the social feeling. This is shown by their melas, or religious gatherings, which are held all over the country, and areextremely popular. Some of these melas are local, and have only a localattendance. Those to which crowds from places far and near resort areheld in so-called sacred spots. Many are periodical, and are held atfixed periods of the year in honour of their gods, and in celebration oftheir exploits. Others, again, are held on special occasions, and ofthese eclipses are the most attractive. 

[Sidenote: THE SATURNALIA OF THE HINDUS. ]

In the course of my second year I saw a good deal of these festivals. Ihave a vivid and very unpleasant recollection of the Holee of that year, the Saturnalia of the Hindus, which is held at the setting in of the hotweather. It lasts for several days, during which the people act as iffreed from every moral restraint. There is a general cessation oflabour; the people wander about, indulge in the wildest freaks, addressto women who venture out the vilest words, leap and dance as ifpossessed of the spirit of licence, and throw red colouring-matter onthose they meet, without respect of persons; till all seen in thestreets, with their besmeared faces and soiled clothes, have a mostdisreputable appearance. The night is rendered hideous, and sleepwell-nigh impossible, by the drumming, fifing, and shouting of therevellers, kept up till break of day. During this period many thinkthemselves at liberty to do what at another time they would deem veryculpable. Not a few partake of intoxicating drink, and if nativestatements be true they give themselves over to the grossestlicentiousness. Europeans, as a rule, except it be necessary for them togo abroad, remain quietly in their homes while the Holee lasts, andmission work is for the time well-nigh suspended. When, however, Europeans have occasion to go out they have little reason to fearinsult, as even in the Holee season they are regarded, if not withrespect, at least with a dread which restrains the revellers. Thehurtful influence of this season of licence can be conceived. I havealways observed that for some time afterwards the boys in our schoolswere sleepy and listless. 

On the night of the Diwalee mela, held in honour of Lakshmee, thegoddess of wealth, the whole city is illuminated, tiny lamps are seeneverywhere, friends give presents to each other, sweetmeats and parchedgrain are distributed among the poor. High and low give the night togambling. The belief is entertained that if they fail to spend the nightin this manner they will in their next birth be turned into frogs, orsome vile reptile. 

The most popular festival of the year at Benares and over theNorth-Western Provinces is the Ram Leela, the Play of Ram, when the lifeof Ram, a very popular incarnation of Vishnu, is dramatized. This dramais acted in the open air in different parts of the city, in the presenceof admiring thousands. The people see Ram and his faithful spouse Seetaforced to leave their royal home by the intrigue of his mother-in-law;they see them in the forest, where Ram leads the life of a hunter; theysee Seeta carried off by Rawan, the Demon King of Lunka (Ceylon); theyhear Ram's cries of bitter distress on finding his beloved Seeta gone;they see him informed that Rawan is the ravisher; they see him settingout with the divine monkey Hanuman, and his army of monkeys for therescue; and they rejoice with him in the taking of Lunka, thedestruction of Rawan, and the rescue of Seeta. The story furnishesabundant material for a drama, and the people enter with the greatestzest into the different scenes. A huge figure of Rawan is made of woodand paper; it is set on fire, and the crowds, looking on, make the airresound with their shouts. During this mela two things are united whichin Hindu estimation well agree--amusement and devotion. They regard theRam Leela as a religious service, which they are bound to render to theconqueror of Rawan, and while rendering it they are at once performingduty and receiving pleasure. They continually call such a service_tumasha_, _show_, _fun_, and they regard its life and sprightliness apleasing contrast to the sombre and staid services of the ChristianChurch. 

[Sidenote: ECLIPSE OF THE MOON. ]

Before the conclusion of my second year an eclipse of the moon occurred, which drew to the city the greatest assemblage of human beings I hadever seen. The Hindus place high among their deities the sun and moon, and render to them daily worship. Between the gods and the demons thereis perpetual war, and victory inclines at one time to one side, atanother time to another. In Hindu mythological annals many instances arerecorded of the gods having been reduced to the utmost extremity. We aretold that eclipses are caused by the demons endeavouring to swallow thesun and moon; and religious services on these occasions have a doublebenefit--the worshipper secures a high degree of merit, of which he willreap the reward one day; and the demons are driven off from their preyby the drumming, the shouts, and the merit of the assembled people, tothe great relief of the endangered gods. The most extravagant promisesare held out to those who bathe in the Ganges, at any time in any partof it; but bathing on the occasion of an eclipse, and especially in sosacred a place as Benares, is meritorious in a degree which isincalculable. The Pundits, the religious leaders of the people, have, itappears, access to the council of the demons, for the exact time of thecoming attack is known by them so long before hand that the people farand near are prepared for its approach. In fact, if it did not come on, if the demons withdrew from their intention, there would be greatdisappointment. Brahman missionaries go great distances to inform thepeople the eclipse is to take place, and to press on them the benefitthey will receive by bathing at Benares on that occasion. On theirreturn they are accompanied by those whom they have succeeded inpersuading. Leaving the mythological for the scientific platform, we hadbetter mention that the Hindu astronomers have for ages been able tocalculate eclipses; and now they need not trouble themselves to makecalculations, as European almanacks are in their hands to give therequisite information. 

For a few days previous to the eclipse of which I am now to speak, theunusual number of strangers in the city made it evident some great eventwas about to occur. From the morning of the appointed day the peoplepoured into the city in a constant stream. As evening came on I made myway into the city on foot, but before reaching its centre I found thestreets so blocked that I despaired of getting to the riverside. Iretraced my steps, and by a road skirting the city made my way to RajGhat at the northern end. There I remained till the eclipse commenced. Many were near, but they were few compared with the crowds pressingtowards the chief bathing places. When I arrived at Raj Ghat theconfused sound of a great multitude fell on my ear, but no sooner didthe eclipse begin than the thousands on the river's brink and crowded onthe ghats, as with one voice raised a shout so loud and prolonged, thatI should think it must have been heard for miles. I was on a high bankof the river, and could see distinctly the people below rushing into thestream. I could not but think of what must be occurring where the crowdwas so dense that individual motion was well-nigh impossible. It wasreported next morning that three or four hundred persons had beentrampled to death or drowned in the rush to the river when the eclipsebegan. This was afterwards declared to be an exaggerated statement, butit is certain many lives were lost, though how many was not ascertained, as a number were carried away by the stream. Special care was afterwardstaken by the authorities to prevent such catastrophes. After stoppingsome time at Raj Ghat I returned to my home, musing on what I had seen, and longing for the time when the millions of India will seek cleansingand life, where alone they can be found. 

[Sidenote: MELA AT ALLAHABAD. ]

Towards the end of 1840 I went to Allahabad, seventy miles north-west ofBenares, to take part in evangelistic work at a great mela held thereannually, as I thought I might be able to render some help to mybrethren. Allahabad, called Pryag by the Hindus, is at the confluence ofthe Ganges and the Jumna, and all such places are deemed sacred. It issaid there is a third river, the Suruswatee, once visible but nowunderground, and the place is therefore called Tribeni--the threefoldstream. Pryag has been for many years a famous place of pilgrimage, andevery year a mela is held, which is at its height for some seven days, but is kept on for weeks. It is held in the cold weather, December orJanuary; and, next to Hurdwar, where the Ganges issues from themountains, draws a greater crowd than any other mela in Northern India. Bathing at Tribeni is peculiarly meritorious in some years, and in thesethere is a vastly increased attendance. Except on the occasion ofeclipses there is no such gathering even at Benares; but very many whogo to Allahabad, before returning to their home, often a distant home, pay a visit to the sacred city. 

At one time the Government imposed a tax on pilgrims to this mela, butit was taken off in 1838 or 1839. 

The mela is held below the fort, on the land lying between the Gangesand the Jumna at their point of meeting, on a great stretch of sand, which is covered in the rainy season. In December and January the westwind blows freshly over the place, and as there is incessant movement, soon all present are so covered with dust that they look like millers. 

[Sidenote: EVANGELISTIC SERVICES. ]

A gathering like this at Allahabad is always embraced for evangelisticpurposes. Missionaries and native brethren are thankful for theopportunity afforded them of preaching the Gospel to many who have comefrom places to which no missionary has ever gone. The missionaries atAllahabad gladly welcome and hospitably entertain the brethren of othermissions who join them at these annual gatherings. Large tents are putup, with the front open towards the road, and there the preachers frommorning till evening, preacher succeeding preacher, address the people, while hearers succeed hearers. A few individuals stop a long time, as ifrapt up in what they hear, as if they were drinking in every word;others stop a considerable time; while many, after looking on and gapingfor a few minutes, hold on their way. Every now and then questions areasked, objections are started, and a discussion ensues. When thequestions are in any measure serious and reasonable, much benefitresults from such discussion. The interest of the people is quickened, and opportunity is afforded for explaining, defending, and enforcing thetruth as it is in Jesus. Sometimes the questioner is neither serious norreasonable, and then the danger is of the discussion turning into awrangle, which does more harm than good. Prominent transgressors in thisline are the Pundas, specially interested in the mela, who do all intheir power to set the people against us. At this first great gatheringwhich I attended--I found it was the case afterwards on similaroccasions--there was less mere idle discussion than there is where themissionary carries on his work from day to day. In addition topreaching-stations, there were bookstalls where portions of theScriptures and Christian tracts and books were disposed of. On to thetime of this mela there was a large gratuitous distribution amongpersons who from their look and manner were deemed suitable recipients;but for many years it has been found best to charge a small price, without adopting a hard and fast line against giving away. 

It is very difficult, rather impossible, to estimate the effect producedby evangelistic services on such occasions. They have not been fruitlessas to conversion, but if we look simply at results of this kind it mustbe acknowledged they are very limited. Instances have occurred ofpersons having been so impressed that they have followed missionaries toplaces far away from Allahabad; but their courage has failed them, andthey have after a short time disappeared. One advantage is secured--theGospel is kept before the minds of the people, and some knowledge of itis carried to the remotest parts of the land. Books and tracts are takento places which missionaries have never visited. It cannot be doubtedthat such services have their part in preparing the people for the newand better state of things which every Christian longs for and expects. 

At Allahabad I had an opportunity of observing the peculiarities of agreat Hindu mela. The morning was devoted to bathing and the performanceof religious rites. As the forenoon came on, the merchants of everyclass set out their wares in tents erected on sites appointed for them, with their opening, so far as possible, away from the side exposed tothe wind. Goods of every description, useful and ornamental, cloth, grain, cooking vessels, trinkets, and sweetmeats, were exhibited totempt purchasers, and buying and selling went on as vigorously as if thepeople had come together solely for that end. Crowds were in constantmotion, going from place to place to see what could be seen, andstopping where there was any special attraction, or, as happens in ourown crowded streets, stopping where a few were incidentally collected. By the afternoon, singers, experts in tricks, and show-people of everydescription, commenced their operations, and were sure of admiringcrowds. The merry-go-rounds were largely patronized. Hour after hour wasthus spent. 

[Sidenote: COOKING AND MERRYMAKING. ]

A few cooked food early in the day, but the vast majority staved offhunger--in some cases by partaking of cakes reserved from the previousevening meal; the greater number, I believe, by partaking of sweetmeatsmade with flour, sugar, and melted butter, of which an enormous quantitywas offered for sale. As evening came on they scattered themselves overthe ground lying between the Ganges and the Jumna, and set to thepreparation of their one proper meal for the twenty-four hours. Theplain was alight with their fires. Nothing can be simpler than theircooking. They make what they call a _choola_, an elevation in the shapeof a horseshoe of a half-foot or a little more of moistened mud, orstone if they can get it. If the traveller be of a respectable caste, hetakes care to make no use of the _choolas_ which former travellers haveleft. They may have been set up by impure hands, and so he makes one forhimself. It is convenient to have two such _choolas_, that they may puton the one a small pot with rice or _dal_, a kind of pea, in it, and onthe other a girdle for bannocks of unleavened dough. Cooking is, ofcourse, largely women's work, but men are as expert at it as women, andare continually seen preparing their meal. I have never travelled with anative who seemed to think he was called to an unusual or unpleasantwork, when required to cook his food. All he needs is a couple of smallcooking vessels, which he carries with him, a little fuel, good water, meal, and a spot on which he may set up his humble hearth. I have seenthis work done by pundits, learned men, who showed no indication ofshrinking from it as if it trenched on their dignity. Indeed the punditin a party that has few facilities for cooking has, as I remember wellin one instance, this honour conferred on him on account of his castebeing higher than that of those who are with him. All of every caste caneat what he has prepared, but he helps himself first, and eats apart. 

To return to the mela. The evening is well advanced before the repast isover. We might suppose that after the stir of the day all would be readyfor sleep, and no doubt many lie down and sleep soundly; but quite anumber are too eager for the enjoyment of the fair to give themselves torest. Singing, drumming, and boisterous mirth go on till the small hoursof the morning, as I have known to my unpleasant experience--not atAllahabad, but elsewhere when I have been in their close neighhourhood. 

How do the vast multitudes who attend a mela, such as that of Allahabad, dispose of themselves at night? Their arrangements are of the simplestkind. Many wrap themselves in their sheet or blanket, if they have one, and lie down on the ground without any idea they are enduring hardship. Others rig out a temporary tent with sticks and a blanket over it, creep under this, and deem themselves luxuriously accommodated. Thisgathering at Allahabad is in the cold weather, and if the nights be verycold, as they sometimes are at that season, no doubt many sufferseverely. Every now and then heavy rain falls, and then, as may besupposed, the suffering is extreme. Sanitary precautions are of theutmost importance where such vast crowds meet and remain together fordays, and these are taken by the authorities. They cannot, however, provide against suffering caused by bad weather. Occasionally cholerabreaks out, and then the scenes witnessed are appalling. At the mela of1840 the weather was good, and there was no indication of disease amongthe people. Some years afterwards we were travelling towards Allahabadat an early period of the mela, and met crowds fleeing from it onaccount of the outbreak of cholera. Here and there we saw corpses at theside of the road, occasionally without one person near, at other timeswith a weeping group around, who were preparing to carry off the body tosome rivulet to have it burnt, or, as it often happens, to have itscorched, and then left to be devoured by jackals and vultures. Some hadheld on their way with weary limbs till the fell disease seized them, and then they succumbed, lay down, and died. We remember stopping wherea young man was dying, with two or three sorrowful ones around him. Wespoke to him, but got no reply. His glazed eye told he was beyond allhuman help. 

One of the first things I saw at this Allahabad mela was a quantity ofhuman hair, and was told that it had been cut off after the fulfilmentof vows, reminding one of a custom to which we find frequent referencein both the Old and New Testaments. I also saw a very disgustingsight--men in stark nudity, sitting in a very composed dignifiedfashion, and women approaching them with folded hands, and paying themprofound homage. These were deemed men of great sanctity, whose blessingbrought signal benefit, while their curse entailed terrible calamities. At an early period of our residence at Benares we sometimes met thesenaked creatures in the streets; but for many years they havedisappeared, as there is a magisterial order that they be flogged fortheir indecency, however loud may be their pretension of sanctity. AtAllahabad there were many devotees with their tangled hair, besmearedbodies, and _very_ scanty clothing--if what they had on could be calledclothing. These are yet seen all over the country. The time has not yetcome for stringent orders in these cases. 

[Sidenote: HINDU SOCIAL FEELING. ]

On the occasion of a gathering such as that of Allahabad a stranger seesno sign of the separating influence of caste. The people move about andmix with each other as freely as people do in Europe when assembled inlarge numbers. There is nothing in caste to prevent people conversingwith each other and being on friendly terms; but the friendliness mustnot go the length of eating together or of intermarriage. There areindeed large classes deemed so low, so outside the pure Hindu castes, that, so far as is possible, their touch is shunned, and they are notallowed to enter temples; but even these may be spoken to and castepurity retained. We have not in Northern India a class so low that theymust hide themselves when a Brahman appears, as Pariahs have to do insome parts of Southern India. In fact, at Hindu melas one receives apleasing impression of the social character of the people, when heobserves their good humour and friendly intercourse. 

We do not wonder at the popularity of these gatherings. The socialfeeling is as strong among the Hindus as among any people on the face ofthe earth. The vast majority lead lives of monotonous toil in placeswhere there is no excitement greater than that of ordinary village andhamlet life, and to them it must be a great pleasure to resort to thegatherings of their people, where religion, business, and amusement arevery happily combined, and where there is so much to interest, exhilarate, and gratify them. These times are to them the red-letterdays of the year, without which life would be intolerably dull. Resortto these gatherings no doubt involves them in toil, in expense, andsometimes in great suffering; but they do not shrink from the cost, asthey anticipate the expected benefit. 

[Sidenote: CHRISTIAN SOCIAL FEELING. ]

There cannot be a doubt that Hinduism is greatly strengthened by thesemelas. Judaism was greatly strengthened by the people according to theDivine command going up thrice every year, at appointed times, to theplace where the name of the Lord was, and by their repairing in vastnumbers once a year to their sacred capital after they had become widelyscattered among the nations. Muhammadans, by long journeys and perilousvoyages, make their way to Mecca and Medina, their sacred cities, andmake it a point to be present at the most sacred season, when manythousands are assembled. These pilgrims return to their homes moredevoted than ever to Islam. It would be strange if Christianity, whichabove every other religion aims at producing and sustaining the feelingof universal brotherhood, did not avail itself of this social feeling, to which so much scope is given in human religions, and which is sopotent in confirming the devotion of their adherents. Our blessedSaviour, the Head of the Church, has by the institution of Churches, andthe instruction given to them through His Apostles, provided for thefellowship of His people; and the occasional gathering of the members ofdifferent Churches, to which the principles of the Gospel point, and towhich it gives the fullest sanction, presents precious opportunities forthe manifestation and exercise of the brotherliness so characteristic ofthe kingdom of heaven which our Lord came to set up on the earth. 

[Illustration]

CHAPTER XI. 

THE OBJECT OF MISSIONS, AND VARIOUS MODES OF OPERATION. 

There is no difference of opinion among missionaries as to the objectfor which they have gone to the heathen. They are all agreed theirobject is to make known the Gospel, the message of salvation, to all towhom they obtain access, to explain its nature, and press its claims ontheir acceptance. To this nothing can be held superior; to thiseverything must be deemed subordinate. To place anything above it, oreven beside it, would be to lose sight of the very _raison d'être_ oftheir missionary calling. 

[Sidenote: VARIETY OF EFFORT NEEDED. ]

There may be, however, and there often is, a difference of opinion as tothe line of operation best fitted to secure success. Missionaries findthemselves in presence of widely-separated classes, who must beapproached in different ways, and it is the part of wisdom to find outthe most direct path to their understanding, conscience, and heart. About these modes of operation there has often been marked diversity ofopinion, some pleading for one mode, and others for another. It cannotbe denied that in the discussion thus carried on there has often beenone-sidedness, resulting in some cases from natural liking, in some fromspecial fitness, in others from the peculiarities of the sphere intowhich missionaries find themselves introduced so that they fail torealize the peculiarities in the qualifications, likings, and spheres oftheir brethren, who are as eager as themselves to bring the people tothe feet of the Lord Jesus. Hinduism is a strong fortress, and those whoassail it by hurling at it--if I may so speak--the red-hot shot ofexposure of its errors, and the fire of the truth as it is in Jesus, actvery unwisely in depreciating those who are quietly preparing theammunition required for carrying on the siege, or are undermining thefoundations, and thus preparing for entering the breach. The erection ofthe Christian Church in India is a most arduous, and at the same time amost glorious, enterprise, and a variety of workmen is required. Thosewho handle the trowel and the hammer act very unwisely in depreciatingthose who plan the structure, clear away the rubbish, and lay thefoundation, or who in other ways help on the building. Theseillustrations require no enlargement. They indicate the views whichevery succeeding period of my missionary career has led me to entertainwith increasing firmness. The translation and revision of theScriptures, the preparation of Christian tracts and books, teaching inschools and colleges, taking charge of orphanages, the going among thepeople in city, town, and hamlet, wherever they can be reached, to speakto them about the Saviour of mankind; attending to secular work, such asthe erection of buildings, keeping accounts, and gathering money--allare legitimate departments of missionary work, and the choice of them bymissionaries ought to be determined by the exigencies of missions, bypersonal fitness, and by providential indications of the course whichshould be pursued. I would go further, and say that the preparation ofgrammars and dictionaries, the giving of time and strength to literarywork, may in certain circumstances, in the case of men of peculiarqualifications, be deemed work worthy of a missionary, as thereby he maydo much to further the cause to which he has devoted his life. Readerswill readily recall names of illustrious men, who were deeply imbuedwith the missionary spirit and did eminent service, who were alsoremarkable for their literary achievements. It would, however, be veryundesirable that literary ability and industry should be the mostprominent characteristics of a large portion of the missionary band. Devotion to literary work is, with rare exceptions, incompatible withthe active life which must be led by those who would come into closecontact with the people, and by personal intercourse strive to bringthem to the Saviour. 

Some individuals have gone to the mission-field with the firm resolve todo the work in only one way. Such a resolve has ever seemed to me mostunwise, savouring more of wilfulness than of holy steady purpose to dothe Master's work. The missionary ought to go out ready to part withevery preconceived notion at the call of providential direction and theSpirit's guidance, prepared to do with all his might whatever he mayhave the opportunity of doing for the advancement of Christ's kingdom, however little may be his natural liking or supposed fitness for thework. 

Like most missionaries, I went to India with my liking for certain formsof work; but like nearly all who have been long in the field, there isscarcely any department in which I have not some time or other beenengaged, though for some departments I have had little aptitude and, Imay say, no liking, and from which I would have escaped if I could. Tohave held back would have been dereliction of duty, and this convictionovercame my reluctance. 

PREACHING TO THE HEATHEN. 

[Sidenote: BAZAR PREACHING. ]

Without any depreciation of other departments, preaching to theheathen--what is commonly called in India Bazar preaching--ought ever tohold a prominent place. 

Evangelistic work is carried on wherever access to the people can beobtained. In Benares, our primary schools, of which I shall speakpresently, were taught in verandahs open to the streets. These wereutilized as preaching-stations. The boys were first examined and taught;a few invariably gathered around, and we turned from the boys to thebystanders, and spoke to them so long as they were willing to hear, orwe were able to speak. In addition to these verandahs we had humblebuildings erected on the most available spots, for the double purpose ofschools and preaching-stations. To these little chapels we could retirefrom the noise of the streets. In them we had morning and eveningservice; but as the hot weather advanced the heat was well-nighintolerable in the city in the evening, and evening work was suspendedtill we got cooling by the first burst of rain. 

We every now and then betook ourselves to the shade of a house or atree, where we spoke to the passers-by. On the occasion of greatgatherings we took our stand at the roads by which the people werepouring into the city, or making their way out of it. Every place wasdeemed suitable where we could get hearers, and could hope for anydegree of attention. At some spots the crowd was so large and noisy thatthere was no use in trying to make ourselves heard. As we went about wespoke to individuals and little groups as opportunity was presented tous. 

Some missionaries who laid themselves out for this department made it apoint to go every year, with their native assistants, considerabledistances to the great melas, and spend days, sometimes weeks, insetting before the assembled crowd the great truths of God's Word. Others, again, made it a point to travel during the cold weather, so faras home duty allowed, to preach the Gospel through the country; somewithin a limited area, confining themselves to certain towns andvillages, and visiting them again and again, while others made veryextended tours. It was my privilege for years to take part in theseitineracies, and I remember with peculiar pleasure the opportunitiesthey afforded for intercourse with the people. 

[Sidenote: DIFFERENT MODES OF PREACHING. ]

What in India is called Bazar preaching is very different from theordinary preaching of ministers in this country, both in its mode and inthe circumstances in which it is conducted. When accompanied by a fewnative Christians, we begin by singing a hymn and offering a shortprayer. Then those present are addressed. Often one of our Lord'sparables, or some striking fact or passage from the Scriptures is takenas a text. Sometimes a remark by one of our hearers, or something ofgeneral interest which has just occurred, gives the keynote to theaddress. The great doctrines and facts of Scripture are mainly dwelt on, and the more simply and directly they are set forth, the more are wesatisfied our duty is efficiently discharged. In our preaching the firstplace is assigned to the life and character, the words and deeds, thedeath, resurrection, and reign of our blessed Saviour. Suitableness is avaluable characteristic of preaching everywhere, and among no people isit more important than in speaking to the Hindus. They are very fond offigures, of illustrative instances, and when these are happily appliedthey produce a marked effect. In the character of the gods andgoddesses, and in Hindu notions and practices, there is much which isopen to attack, and some avail themselves largely of this opening toassail the cherished belief of the people; but as a rule it is farbetter to assert and enforce truth than to confute error, though truthdoes at times require error to be directly exposed. The native brethrenare much more inclined to aggressive speech than the missionaries. Theyknow their own countrymen well; they are familiar with their modes ofthinking and of acting, they are well acquainted with the doingsattributed to their gods, and they are ready to attack them withunsparing severity. On one occasion a catechist, more zealous than wise, began his address with the words, "Your religion is altogether false, "which so provoked his hearers that they did not hear another word, andwent away in indignation. Afterwards I sharply reproved him for hisindiscretion, as I had at times to do to him and others. 

Occasionally a missionary is quietly heard, and if heard attentively aswell as quietly he is gratified with the reception he gets, and hopesthat good is being done. It is seldom, however, in a city like Benaresthat a preacher is allowed to go on long without interruption. If aconsiderable number assemble we are almost sure to find, before weconclude, some among them ready to speak, and the object of those whothus come forward becomes speedily apparent. Some are eager to interruptthe preacher. He has scarcely announced his subject, and has had noopportunity of explaining and illustrating it, when he is interruptedby the words, "You have spoken a long time" (the long time has perhapsnot been five minutes); "let me speak a little while. " As a rule, inthis case the missionary appeals to the fairness of his audience to givehim a patient hearing, that they may really know his views, and may bein a position for coming to a right judgment regarding them. Often theappeal is successful, and our eager disputant is compelled to remainsilent. When the address is over discussion is welcomed; and, as I haveobserved about preaching at the religious gatherings of the people, ifconducted with reasonableness and good humour it is fitted to do good. We are thankful when there is the appearance of candour, even thoughthere be not earnestness, when those who speak seemingly desire to knowexactly what we do hold, as thereby an opportunity is given for theclearer and fuller statement of the Gospel. I have a pleasingrecollection of many instances when persons were evidently impressedwith what had been told them of the Lord Jesus Christ, and of the claimsHe has on man's love and trust. 

It must be acknowledged that this has not been the mood of most of ourhearers where we are well known. Many are eager to defend their ownposition as Hindus, and to attack Christianity because it wages war withtheir religion. Heathenism in ancient times, heathenism now as we see itin India, was and is very liberal. It is ready to let Christianityalone, if Christianity will let it alone. It is the exclusiveness ofChristianity which is so offensive. We are continually told thatChristianity is excellent for us; we are most welcome to maintain ouradherence to it; and it is surely fair to let them alone in theenjoyment of their religion. Because they are not let alone, because wecontend that their religion is dishonouring to the living God andhurtful to themselves, because we affirm that Christ is the one Saviourand the rightful Lord, they are eager to find something in our books andviews which they can assail, and by which they can show our position tobe untenable. 

There is nothing we hear more frequently than that all religions lead tothe same goal, as all the roads of a country lead to its capital. Tothis we reply that those who wish to go to Calcutta in the east are notlikely to reach it soon if they set out on the road to Lahore in thewest. The east and west are opposite, and yet they are not opposed; butgood and evil, righteousness and unrighteousness, are essentiallyopposed, their fruits are opposed, and those who practise them are sureto find themselves at last in places as distinct from each other aslight is from darkness, as happiness is from misery. 

[Sidenote: THE STRENGTH OF TRADITIONAL RELIGION. ]

Traditional religion is strong, except in peculiar seasons when the tideof public opinion runs in the channel of religious revolt. From the lipsof Hindus we hear continually, "We must walk in the ways of our fathers. What our fathers believed we believe. What our fathers practised wepractise. No good son leaves his father and mother. No good wife leavesher husband for another. " To this objection we have various replies. Wetell them they do not walk in the ways of their ancient fathers, forthey did many things, such as eating the flesh of cows, which theyabhor, knew nothing of the gods they worship, and were not fettered bycaste as they are. What we say about these Hindu ancestors gets littlecredit, as the people generally know nothing about them. We remind themthat among themselves there have been tribes that have from generationto generation lived by thuggery and dacoity (murder and robbery). Oughtthe children of these murderers and robbers to walk in the ways of_their_ fathers?

I have often referred to the Khonds in the hills of Orissa, who, tillthe horrid practice was stopped by British interference, enticedchildren from the plains, fed them well, treated them kindly, and thenon a fixed day murdered them, tore limb from limb, and scattered thebleeding fragments over the fields as an offering to the Land Goddess tosecure an abundant harvest. I have asked, "Ought these people to walk inthe ways of their fathers?" To this question I have never received anaffirmative reply. 

We have reminded the people their fathers were as prone to err as weare; that we ought to weigh in the scales of truth and justice what theydid, in order to the imitation of them when right and the forsaking ofthem when wrong. If they were with us, provided they were really wise, they would wish us to embrace the good of which they knew nothing, butwhich was now presented for their acceptance. With all their regard fortheir fathers, there were things unknown to them--as, for instance, thepotato for food, and the railway carriage for travelling. If the potatowas good for the body, as many of them showed they thought by partakingof it, might not our religion be good for the soul? If they resorted incrowds to the railway carriages even when going on pilgrimage to theirsacred places, if in their earthly travels they found these carriages soserviceable, might they not find the religion of Christ, if candidlyconsidered, the best vehicle for carrying them to heaven? We have muchsympathy with the feeling of reverence for ancestors, but they are notentitled to tyrannize over their descendants. We tell them we do notwish them to leave their father's house, but to return to it; not toleave the husband, but to return to the true husband. 

[Sidenote: WORSHIP OF GOD UNDER MATERIAL FORMS. ]

At first sight the worship carried on at Benares seems so absurd thatone wonders how a reasonable being can say anything in its defence. Manyyears ago I had a visit from an English gentleman who was travellingthrough India, and he expressed his surprise we had such limited successin turning the people from worshipping such ugly misshapen stones. Heevidently thought that by quoting some of the passages of Scripture inwhich the wickedness and folly of idol-worship are exposed, he couldsilence idol-worshippers, and secure their speedy conversion to theliving God. If he had come into contact with the people he would nothave found their conversion such an easy matter. I have never met aHindu who would allow he worshipped the material objects before which hebowed down. However illiterate he may be, he is ready to maintain thathe worships the god represented by the image, and who is actuallydwelling in it in a mysterious manner, after some sacred words have beenuttered over it. 

We are often told in defence of Hinduism that it is a symbolicalrepresentative religion, and that as God is vastly beyond ourcomprehension, we cannot, except by symbols, attain any conception ofHim. We have often to say in reply, that as we cannot see our ownspirit, and yet know how real, how dominant it is, so far less do weknow the Supreme Being, and yet we have abundant evidence of Hisexistence, character, and government. Of Him no fitting image can bemade, and every such attempt is unworthy of Him, and degrading anddemoralizing to us. The representations of God in Scripture undersensible forms are of high value to us in our weakness; but whenreproduced in material substances, such as wood and stone, they havebeen ever found to foster low, materialistic views of the Most High. Ifwe must betake ourselves to such symbols, let us have those whichinspire lofty thoughts. What is there in these grotesque idols to helpus in rising to the living God? Hindus who know English have quotedCowper's address to his mother on getting her picture, "Oh that thoselips had language, " and we have been asked, "Was not Cowper helped inrealizing his mother when looking at her picture?" To which there is theobvious reply, "Cowper's mother was truly represented. Is God truly andfittingly represented by the idols you worship?"

The gods are continually represented as mediators through whom weapproach the Supreme. "When we seek the favour of a king we approach himthrough his ministers; when we wish to propitiate a judge we try tosecure a friend who will plead for us: and thus by the gods we getaccess to the Most High. " To this we reply that as creatures we may eachone go directly to God, for He is always near us, and we can never befar from Him; but as sinners we need a mediator. As the necessity for amediator is acknowledged, we have an excellent opportunity of showinghow worthy Christ is of being trusted as the Mediator, related as He isby His essential nature to the Most High, and to man by the nature Hehas assumed. A favourite figure with the Hindus is that the gods are aladder by which they ascend to the Supreme; and we could not have afigure more adapted to our purpose, as it leads us to show that Christis the very ladder we need--He by His Divine nature reaching heaven, andby His human nature being set upon the earth. His infinite excellenceand His propitiatory sacrifice assure us that this ladder is so strongthat it can bear the weight of the whole of the human family in theirascent to God. 

Few things have been a greater stumbling-block to the Hindus than thecrucifixion of Christ, and we have to dwell continually on the fact thatit was not by the failure of His power, but by the ardour of His love, He endured this death. Some of the gods, Shiva and Kalee in particular, are propitiated by animal sacrifices, as blood is specially pleasing tothem. The need of sacrifice to deliver from the consequences of sin isdimly discerned by the people, but they have such distorted views on thesubject that it is difficult to convey to them the Christian idea ofpropitiation. 

[Sidenote: PUNDIT DEFECT IN HISTORIC INSTINCT. ]

The learned men of India have been singularly wanting in what may becalled the historic instinct, and we need not wonder at finding thepeople generally destitute of it. The evidence for Christianity drawnfrom its history makes no impression on them. Historical facts and thewildest legends are received by them with equal readiness. When speakingof the miracles of our Lord, and enlarging on their peculiar features ofpower and goodness, I have been pleased to witness an attention whichled me to hope that a favourable impression was being made; but morethan once my hope has been dashed to the ground by one of my mostattentive hearers saying, "You have been telling us of your God. He didexcellent things, and you do well to worship Him; but listen to me, andI will tell you what my gods have done. " And then my hearer has becomethe speaker, and has dilated on the wonderful feats of his gods, such asKrishna lifting up a mountain and holding it on his hand above hisworshippers to shelter them from the angry bolts of Indra; and hastriumphantly asked, "Is there anything similar to that in your Bible?"To which we have readily replied, "There is not, but there is what ismore worthy of God. " The most illiterate of the people are very familiarwith mythological stories, and if listened to will go on to relate themwith the greatest gusto, and at the greatest length. 

Our doctrine of salvation by grace alone, and not in any degree by man'smerit, is often declared to be fatal to morality. This is often said inour own country, and we need not say what we advance in its confutation. 

The doctrine of previous births has taken full possession of the Hindumind, as accounting for the character and events of the present birth. This belief in transmigration has a very hurtful effect on the people, as it leads them, when suffering for their conduct, to attribute theirsufferings to births of which they do not profess to have anyremembrance, instead of blaming themselves for the course they hadpursued. We have to show the baselessness, the unreasonableness, and theinjurious tendency of this notion. The doctrine of a blind fatedetermining everything is widely held. The greatest criminals coollyassert it has been their fate to have done what they have done, and, ofcourse, to suffer as they suffer. The moral nature of the people, thoughbenumbed, is happily not destroyed, and to it we appeal against a notionwhich levels all moral distinctions. 

[Sidenote: PANTHEISM AND HINDU PHILOSOPHY. ]

Pantheism, it is well known, lies at the foundation of Hindu Polytheism. It may be indeed doubted if there has ever been a Polytheistic systemapart from a Pantheistic element. The Hindus generally cannot work outthe Pantheistic theory, as the Pundits do, but the most illiterate arefamiliar with its commonplaces, and are ready with their avowal. Weoften hear, "Is not God everywhere? Does He not pervade all? Is He notall? Is not all evolved from Him, as the spider's web is evolved fromits body? Does not all emanate from Him, as the stream flows from thefountain and rays from the sun? Are we not all portions of Him? We mayworship anything and everything if only we see God in it. There aredifferences in the sparks from the central fire, some far brighter thanothers. The gods are the brightest sparks, and therefore they arespecially worthy of worship. " In reply we have to insist on thedifference between the Creator and the creature, between the Ruler andHis subject. We are often told it is God that makes us speak and act, and we are puppets dancing as He draws the strings. In protest againstthis doctrine we appeal to the acknowledgment they themselves make ofthe essential distinction between right and wrong, the one to be done, the other to be shunned, and show that if their Pantheistic notion beaccepted the distinction is obliterated, and the floodgate is open tothe commission of all wickedness. 

The most advanced thought of Hindu philosophy is that all is Maya, illusion, the play, the amusement of the Supreme, who leads us tobelieve that we are, that we have a separate existence, which we havenot; but at last the illusion will come to an end, all will be absorbedin Brahm, as the water in the clouds falls into the sea; there will beno conscious existence in the universe. Brahm himself will glide into aprofound slumber from which he will awake after a vast season of repose. A rope lying on the road is taken for a serpent, but it is only a rope. There are hundreds of suns glancing on the waters, but there is only onesun. In reply we contend that illusion implies reality; that if therewas no reality illusion would be impossible. If there was no serpent arope would not be taken for it. If there was no sun there would be nosuns glancing in the waters. 

The question has been often discussed, Have the Hindus any idea of aliving, personal God? It is unquestionable they often speak as if theyhad. They often say, "Does not God see? Does He not know? Will He notpunish us if we do what is wrong?" It is difficult to say to what degreethis notion has been formed and cherished from intercourse for ages withMuhammadans, and how far it comes from the demand of the human spiritfor the living God. Some eminent Sanscrit scholars tell us that theVedas teach Pantheism, while others assert that in their most ancientteaching they assert the doctrine of a living, personal God. From thisdivided opinion it is plain that the teaching of the Vedas on this vitalsubject is ambiguous. At any rate there cannot be a doubt that themodern Hindus have some notion of God as a living, conscious One apartfrom His creatures, although it is held with Pantheistic andPolytheistic notions, which are antagonistic to it, and greatly weakenits influence. Its being held at all is very serviceable to a missionaryin the prosecution of his work. 

In a city like Benares many have acquired a considerable acquaintancewith the Bible, and these endeavour to find flaws in it to show that ourreligion is as assailable as theirs. 

I must not go further into these details of evangelistic work. As I amgiving them my past life comes vividly to my remembrance. I remember itspleasures, and also its difficulties and trials. I feel as if I wasengaged in preaching to the Hindus among whom I have spent a great partof my life, and discussing with them the great questions which affectGod and man. I am consequently in danger of saying more than can beinteresting to my readers. 

[Sidenote: MUHAMMADAN OPPOSITION TO THE GOSPEL. ]

In Benares it is rare to have only Hindus for our hearers. We very oftenhave Muhammadans also, and, they are our most eager and bitteropponents. All I can now say about them is that they are bent onentrapping us with questions about the Sonship of Christ, the Trinity inthe Godhead, the authenticity of the Scriptures as we now have them, thealleged incompleteness of Christ's prophetic office, as proved, theythink, by the promise of the Paraclete as well as by the predictions inboth the Old and New Testaments. Among Muhammadans we have metindividuals who seemed sincere inquirers after truth, who seemed bent onascertaining what is true and discovering what is false. We have beengratified with their apparent candour, humility, and reasonableness. Wemust acknowledge these have been a small minority compared with the manywhose pride and bigotry have shut up their mind against everything wehad to advance, and whose sole aim has been to assail Christianity andChristians. 

In the prosecution of the evangelistic work, which I have endeavoured todescribe, missionaries come into contact with all classes. The seed ofthe word thus sown far and wide may remain for a time hidden, but wehave every reason to hope it will some time spring up and bring forthabundant fruit. 

CHAPTER XII. 

SCHOOLS. 

From the commencement of Missions, schools have received much attention, and have absorbed a large part of mission agency. These schools havebeen of different orders, many primary, a number secondary, and a feweducating the pupils up to the University mark for degrees. I have had agreat deal of experience in teaching and superintending primary andsecondary schools, and I have seen something of the institutions of thehighest class. I now speak of schools for boys and young men. Girls'schools will receive attention in a subsequent chapter. 

[Sidenote: PRIMARY SCHOOLS. ]

I do not know any mission in Northern India where elementary educationhas been entirely neglected. Some have done much more in this departmentthan others, but all have devoted to it a measure of attention andeffort. We had at one time ten schools of this class in different partsof Benares. In these humble schools many have learned to read, write, and keep accounts, and have thus been fitted for discharging efficientlytheir secular work. Their minds have been furnished and their characterimproved by useful information communicated to them. Above all, Christian instruction has been imparted. The schools have beenfrequently visited by the missionary and his native assistants for thespecial object of reading with the pupils portions of the Scriptures, and inculcating the lessons they contain. Thus readers for ourScriptures and Christian books have been prepared, who we may hope cometo their perusal with weakened prejudice from the kindly feeling withwhich we are regarded. A favourable impression has thus been made on theminds of parents as well as of pupils. 

I have already mentioned that these schools have been utilized forpreaching-stations, and have been well adapted for this purpose. Theyhave been carried on at small expense. The great drawback has been thatwith few exceptions the teachers have been Hindus. They have been of theKaisth, the writer caste, who are as a caste less imbued perhaps withHinduism than any other. When Christians have been available theirservices have of course been thankfully secured. For some years theHindu element has been gradually withdrawn from the teaching staff. Twoof the early teachers in our time became Christians, one having beenbaptized in our Mission, and the other in the Church Mission at Benares. 

The whole state of primary education in the North-West, I may say inIndia, is on a very different footing from what it was in 1840. Greatprogress in every department of education has been made since that time. Considering the vast importance of primary education, the advancementhas not been so great as might have been expected, but there is everyprospect of its being largely extended in the immediate future. It ishoped that one outcome of the Education Commission which is now sittingwill be the gathering into schools of many thousands of the young whohave been hitherto neglected. 

In most Missions of any standing, even where the chief attention hasbeen given to direct evangelistic work, some provision has been made forsecondary education. A school with this object was established in ourMission in 1845. It was taught in a well-sized native house, and wasafterwards transferred to a larger building. It had successivesuperintendents, the late Mr. Sherring, Mr. Blake, and myself. It was alonger time under Mr. Sherring than under any other, and in it helaboured very diligently and efficiently. It received the name of theCentral School, as our idea was to transfer to it the best boys fromwhat we called the Bazar schools. It was intended to allow none to enterwho had not made some progress in reading their own language, but wefound this exclusion impracticable, and we were obliged to form anelementary department. English was taught, and the higher classes wereintroduced to geometry, algebra, history, especially Indian history, andother similar branches of a liberal education. Almost all when theyentered were ignorant of English. Those who remained a considerable timemade fair progress, a few made remarkable progress; and we were happy tofind that many on leaving us obtained responsible situations, which theycontinued to hold to the satisfaction of their superiors. 

For years under successive superintendents the Head Master was aChristian, Babu Ram Chunder Basu, who is now most usefully employed as alecturer to educated natives. His great attainments, his diligence andteaching power, did much to promote the prosperity of the school. 

In our Central school a very prominent place was given to Christianinstruction. Every day Scripture lessons were given by Christianteachers; on Saturday, for years, a lecture was delivered to theassembled school; and on Sunday morning a service was held, at whichthere was a good voluntary attendance. The effect of the prominence thusgiven to Christian teaching was shown early in 1857, when on a planarranged by the zealous public-spirited Commissioner of the BenaresProvince, Mr. Henry Carre Tucker, there was a gathering in the city ofthe pupils from all the schools in the province who choose to attend tosubmit to an examination in Scripture knowledge. Prizes in money andbooks were given to those who proved themselves most proficient. A greatnumber of lads and boys made their appearance, and the high place takenby the pupils of our Central school showed how well they had beentaught. 

[Sidenote: THE UNIVERSITY STANDARD. ]

Some missions provide for taking their pupils on to the Universitystandard. Among these the missions in the Presidency cities have held, and from their peculiar sphere must continue to hold, the first rank. Ihave already observed nothing interested me more, nothing delighted memore on reaching Calcutta early in 1839, than the sight of many youngmen and boys taught in the institutions of the Church of Scotland and ofour own Mission. It was most exhilarating to see so many bright youthsstudying our language, introduced to Western knowledge, and, above all, led to the fountain of truth in the Word of God. Dr. Duff was not thefirst in establishing in Calcutta an institution for the teaching ofEnglish; he was not the first in establishing a Christian school; manywere before him in this good work: but he was the first in setting up aninstitution on a large scale on a thoroughly Christian basis, in whichEnglish was to have the first place, and in which provision was made forcarrying the students on to the University standard of Europe. In 1843the missionaries, on account of their adherence to the Free Church, wereobliged to give up their buildings in Cornwallis Square, and to seekaccommodation in another part of Calcutta, where they have continuedtheir scholastic work with great zeal and efficiency. The institution inCornwallis Square has been conducted for many years with remarkablesuccess by the missionaries of the Established Church of Scotland. Allthe missions of Calcutta have taken part in this work, and have sentforth bands of well-educated young men, who have acquired a largeacquaintance with the Word of God. 

Similar institutions have been formed throughout the country. As may besupposed, these vary greatly in resources and efficiency. Years ago ourCentral school was transferred from a rented house in the city to alarge purchased house in the suburbs, where, under the name of the HighSchool, it has continued to flourish. Many of its students havesuccessfully passed the Entrance examination of the Calcutta University, and a considerable number have passed the First Arts examination. It hasalways stood high in native estimation, has had a large attendance ofpupils, and is reckoned one of the best institutions of the kind in theNorth-West. The change from the Central school, with its secondaryeducation, the the High school, with its arrangement to carry on thepupils further, was made by the late Mr. Sherring, and to his assiduouscare and efficient management its success is largely due. It maintainsits character under the superintendence of our friend Mr. Hewlett, whohas arranged for the opening of a B. A. Class. 

I have mentioned the University standard. For many years after our goingto India there was no University in the land. The establishment ofUniversities in Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay, and the introduction ofthe grant-in-aid system, have effected in the educational department achange so great that it may be called a revolution. The studies inmission schools are to a large extent what they were, but they have comeunder new conditions, which greatly alter the proportionate attentiongiven to them, and the degree of zeal with which they are prosecuted. Under the grant-in-aid system missionaries are allowed full liberty ingiving Christian instruction to their pupils. The only thing required bythe Government Inspector is that the secular education be such as willentitle the school to a grant. If formerly a mission school egregiouslyfailed in fitting the pupils for the positions in life to which theywere looking forward, it rightly lost favour, and was soon deserted. Nowthere is a new urgent necessity for efficiency, and the healthy stimulusthus given is in itself a marked benefit; but if care be not taken theopportunity for imparting Christian instruction is impaired, whichformed the main inducement for missionaries taking part in the work. 

[Sidenote: AMBITION FOR UNIVERSITY HONOURS. ]

The effect of the change is most marked in our higher schools. There isa widely spread and intense ambition for University honours. Not only inthe Presidency cities, but in the great cities of the country, a crowdof boys and young men are eager for admission to the University circle. This eagerness springs from the desire for honourable distinction, whichis as strong in the minds of Indian youth as in any youth on the face ofthe earth. It springs, perhaps, still more from the fact that theUniversity stamp, attesting educational proficiency, is a highrecommendation in favour of applicants for well-paid situations. Itwould be hard to say how far a love of knowledge contributes to thiseagerness for study. It would be uncharitable to affirm it is altogetherabsent, but it would be shutting one's eyes to potent facts to supposeit furnishes the greater part of the motive power. Owing to variouscauses, such as the want of opportunity, of capacity, and diligence, thegreat majority of students do not aspire higher than the Entranceexamination; but even to pass this successfully is considered a greatfeat, and many are proud of achieving it. The Calcutta University has ahigh standard for degrees, and those who acquire them are entitled to beconsidered well-educated men. 

The effect of this eagerness, we may say this rage for Universitydistinction, on mission schools can be easily conceived. The greatquestion with the student is, "How can I get to the University goal?What are the studies which promise the quickest and largest success?"The studies which do not lead to this goal have little attraction; whilethose that lead to it, and just in proportion as they lead to it, areeagerly pursued. Our Scriptures have no place in the Universitycurriculum. The consequence is that the student, whose supreme aim is toacquit himself well when he goes up for degrees, and estimates studiesby their bearing on his success, gives to the Bible only the attentionrequired by the rule of the institution he attends, and he often givesthat attention reluctantly; so that even the knowledge he cannot fail toacquire can scarcely be expected to tell on his heart and conscience. Every hour given to the Bible he is apt to regard as taken away from thestudies which he most highly values, and in which, with all hisapplication, he finds it difficult to attain proficiency. 

[Sidenote: THE POPULARITY OF MISSION SCHOOLS. ]

It is undeniable that mission schools have been, and are, popular withthe people of India. From the Report just published of our BenaresMission it appears that at present there are 1, 265 pupils in itsschools, boys and girls. Various things have conduced to thispopularity. Missionaries as a class have acquired a firmly establishedcharacter for attention to their pupils and kindly treatment of them. They are credited with good motives by many who have no drawing toChristianity. Then, for a considerable time no charge for tuition wasmade, the pupils being simply required to pay for their school books. Since fees have been taken they are, I believe, generally lower than inGovernment institutions; though, on the other hand, these havescholarships and prizes which are far beyond any pecuniary advantagemission schools can offer. There is, of course, in our schools thepossibility of the pupils' ancestral religion being weakened, or evenabandoned, but the hope is entertained both by them and their parentsthat the danger will be escaped. While the main motive for resorting toour schools is secular advancement--undoubtedly a right motive, if keptwithin due limits--the missionaries, while earnestly desiring thetemporal welfare of their pupils, are actuated by a still higher motive, which they constantly avow. Till the establishment of the University, boys and young men, while prosecuting the special object for which theyhad put themselves under tuition, with few exceptions showed nodisinclination to Christian instruction. A portion of the school-timewas allotted for it, and to the work of that time many cheerfullyapplied themselves. Some became deeply interested, and a few were led inconsequence to avow their faith in Jesus. With the new University systema new order of things has come in, which has placed Christianinstruction under great disadvantages. 

In consequence of this change some have advocated the entire withdrawalof mission agency from the schools where the higher education isimparted. It has been said, "Why should missionaries from day to day bedoing the work of mere secular teachers, in hope that during the shorttime allotted for Christian instruction to young men, indisposed toreceive it, they can secure their spiritual good?" If they withdraw, what then? The alternative is the loss of influence over a class thatmay be expected to take the lead in all movements of their people, andtheir transfer to teachers who are, in many cases, the avowed and bitterfoes of Christianity, and whose object will be to imbue them with theirown sentiments. There is abundant testimony to the fact that the pupilsof mission schools regard missionaries with a friendly feeling, anddiffuse that feeling in their respective circles, and also show respectfor the Gospel even when they argue against it to justify theiradherence to their ancestral religion. May it not be hoped, too, that inmany minds a conviction is left that Christianity is the religion ofheaven, although there are formidable obstacles to that convictionobtaining sway over the heart and life? There have been instances wherethe conviction has broken through every obstacle, and has been avowed byopen profession of faith in Christ. Our Missionary Societies may wellshrink from the abandonment of a sphere which furnishes the opportunityfor favourable influence over so many minds--and minds, too, which aresure to be very influential in the community. 

[Sidenote: SABBATH SCHOOLS. ]

The preferable plan has been adopted. It appears from the lateststatistics that the number of students in mission schools is greater, and the course of study more advanced, than at any previous period. I amnot aware that any of the missionaries in the higher institutions haveproposed to abandon them on account of the new state of things. Whilegiving themselves cheerfully to the imparting of the education whichtheir pupils are eager to acquire, they put forth resolute steady effortto counteract the secularizing tendency of their studies. The assembledschool is opened with prayer, Scripture lessons are given, and, taughtas they are by Christians, the pupils are under Christian influenceduring all their school hours. It is common in the North-West, and Isuppose in other parts of India, to have services in the schools onSabbath morning, at which the attendance is voluntary; and at Benares, at least, the attendance has been very encouraging. Of late Sabbathschools, apart from day schools, have been established in many missions, with every prospect of success. The attendance is large, and in someplaces a number of parents are present. These schools are carried onlargely on the English and American model. The international lessons areused, pictures and books are given as prizes to attentive scholars; andthey have a yearly treat, in conducting which care is taken against theviolation of caste. The American Episcopal missionaries have taken thelead in this new departure. 

It has been often remarked that our higher schools can show very fewconverts. The conversions have not been many, and yet they have not beenso inconsiderable in number as they have been represented. When we lookat our mission agents we find that a large proportion of our mostefficient men, the men that have done the best service, have come fromthese schools. At the great Missionary Conference at Allahabad in 1874, at which I was present, they acquitted themselves in a manner whichattested their mental power and Christian earnestness, and gave one ahigh opinion of their fitness for evangelistic work among theircountrymen. At the late Decennial Missionary Conference in Calcutta theytook a prominent and effective part. It is, indeed, a matter for deepregret that of late our accessions from this quarter have been few; butwhen hope has been at the lowest ebb one has appeared here and there tostrengthen it by avowing himself a follower of Christ. [3]

[Footnote 3: At the Calcutta Conference there was much discussion aboutschools, especially of the higher order. Experienced educationalistsgave expression to their views, some stating in strong terms theaversion to Bible lessons shown by many of the pupils; while others, among whom Mr. Miller of Madras was prominent, represented the pupils asgenerally willing to receive Christian instruction. ]

In reference to our schools, in reference to our work generally, it isimportant to keep before our minds the great power of public opinion. Many are the things which go to form it; it is very subtle in itsworking; the most acute and observant mind cannot estimate its force:but when once widely formed its effects are remarkable. In India publicopinion is formed much more slowly than in a land like ours; theconstitution of society presents a stronger front to its action. Butthere too it works, and when it works on till it has obtainedovermastering power we may expect to see a marvellous change. We cannotdoubt that missions have a high place in forming this opinion; and amongmission agencies I believe there is no one which has told and is tellingmore beneficially on the people than our mission schools. 

CHAPTER XIII. 

ORPHANAGES. 

All over India missions have had orphans under their charge, but frompersonal knowledge I can only speak of the North-West. 

[Sidenote: FAMINE IN THE LAND. ]

The need for these institutions was most pressing in 1838 and 1839. Iremember hearing, on my arrival at Benares, the most harrowing accountof the fearful sufferings of the people over a great extent of country. The famine had been sore in the land. People fled from their towns andvillages, hoping to reach a more favoured region; but travelling throughdistricts as destitute of food as those they left, they received nohelp, and perished miserably. The weak and the very young were the firstto succumb. Many struggled on, eating grass or anything that could allaythe pangs of hunger, in the hope of reaching the cities where they couldexpect relief from their own people, and still more from their Englishrulers. At that time Agra was the seat of government for the North-West, and as the famine was specially severe in that district, so great amultitude poured into it that, notwithstanding the strenuous effort putforth by Europeans, official and non-official, helped by wealthy andbenevolent natives, only partial relief could be afforded. The means ofcommunication between one part of India and another were, even at thattime, far better than they had been in the days of native rule; much hadbeen done to improve the roads, but owing to the distance of placeswhere food was comparatively abundant, and the length of time and theexpense incurred in conveying it to the afflicted districts, timely helpwas not obtained. Many children were abandoned, and the authorities sentout orders to their subordinates to rescue these waifs and feed themtill arrangements could be made for their support. 

Missionaries felt themselves called on to offer their services in thisdreadful emergency, and the offer was readily accepted. The largeexpenditure for which they thus became responsible was met by a smallallowance made by Government for each child, by a grant from a FamineFund which had been raised, and by contributions received bymissionaries from friends to help them in this new undertaking. 

The institutions then established have become permanent. The places leftvacant by the death of many of the first inmates, and the entrance intoactive life of those who survived, were soon filled by others who hadequal claims on Christian compassion. On the occasion of great melaschildren are often lost, and in not a few cases their parents are neverfound. In the great cities, by the death of parents, and by theabandonment of children--sometimes through extreme destitution, at othertimes by unnatural indifference--helpless little ones are cast on thepity of the public. From country places forsaken children are sent tothe head-quarters of districts. In seasons of scarcity, which frequentlyoccur, and especially in famine years such as 1861, large additions aremade to the number of orphans. With these causes operating to producethe class from which orphanages are recruited, there is no likelihoodof the time coming when they will not be needed. The people, as a rule, are undoubtedly kind to children; but when we consider the great povertyof many, the extreme difficulty with which they obtain the necessariesof life, there is no reason to wonder at the cases of destitution whichare continually presenting themselves. In our own country, with all itsadvantages, we have numerous orphanages, where many are sheltered andtrained for useful life, who would otherwise be thrown as waifs on thesurface of society. 

[Sidenote: SANGUINE HOPES. ]

When orphanages were first formed in Northern India, great hope wasentertained they would not merely relieve present and pressing distress, and do good to a large number of destitute young persons, but would tellpowerfully on native society, and lead to the formation of a large, strong Christian community. The sufferings of the people afflicted byfamine were deplored, they were regarded with deep pity; everything wasdone which could be done to relieve them, but it was hoped that out ofthis calamitous state of affairs would be evolved, through theoverruling of Providence, a signal moral and spiritual benefit to thepeople generally. Here was a large band of boys and girls taken out ofnative society, cut off from idolatrous training and associations, andmade over in the most plastic season of their lives to be moulded bythose whose supreme aim would be to strengthen and elevate theircharacter, and prepare them for a happy, useful, and honourable career. It was hoped that when these children thus trained grew to manhood andwomanhood, they would go out among their countrymen striking examples ofmoral and spiritual excellence, and would by their manifest superioritymake a greater impression on the minds of the people than could be madeby the preaching and efforts of missionaries. A worthy chaplain sent outa pamphlet advocating the gathering by Government of all the orphanchildren in the country, and, if I remember rightly, of all the childrenwith whom parents were willing to part, and the placing of them ininstitutions where they should be brought up as Christians, and asmembers of the Church of England. He maintained that if this was done, in the course of a few years a great number would go out to nativesociety to leaven it with Christian sentiment, and with loyalty to theBritish Government. He drew a glowing picture of the good that would beaccomplished if this policy were adopted and vigorously carried out. Fewwere so hopeful as my friend, but many did anticipate great results. 

It cannot be doubted that orphan institutions have done much good; but Ithink none will maintain that the sanguine hopes with which they werebegun have been realized. There have been obstacles in the way ofsuccess which might have been partly foreseen, but which could not havebeen fully anticipated. Many of the children brought to the missionarieswere so sickly and emaciated, that they soon died in spite of all theattention bestowed on them. The mortality has been at times mostdepressing. There was no vitality to resist disease. The effort topreserve life was in many cases frustrated by the vitiated taste of thechildren, which led them to eat lime, earth, garbage of any kind onwhich they could lay their hands, in preference to good food. They wereclosely watched, but it was impossible to watch them so closely as toprevent them from doing that which hurried them to the grave. 

[Sidenote: THE DIFFICULTIES IN ORPHAN MANAGEMENT. ]

The orphans were of different ages, from very early youth to fourteen orfifteen. The elder ones were steeped in the spirit of the class fromwhich they came--as a rule the lowest class of the community; and theyounger ones had in their very blood hereditary qualities which putobstacles in the way of successful training. We do not believe there isin blood the overpowering efficacy which some have attributed to it; ifit had, responsibility would cease, and the effort to raise certaintribes and classes would be hopeless; but we believe it has a stronginfluence, and we think we have seen clear evidence of its hurtfuleffect on Indian orphans. There were these difficulties to begin with. And then it was impossible to bring these children under the happyinfluence of an orderly living family. In our own country it has beenfound highly conducive to the right bringing-up of orphans, to therepressing of evil tendencies, and the drawing forth of the finerelements of character, to secure for them domestic training to theutmost extent circumstances will permit. The keeping of many together, not merely taught together, which is very desirable, but eatingtogether, sleeping together, constantly acting and reacting on eachother, is found very unfavourable to the formation of the rightcharacter, however careful, wise, and kindly the superintendence may be. In India, where hundreds of orphans were brought at once to missionpremises, this gregarious life was unavoidable. Besides, it isimpossible to separate orphans from the community around so completelyas to leave them unaffected by its moral atmosphere. 

There was of course a difference in the qualifications of those whoundertook this great charge, some being more fitted for it than others;but this we say with the utmost confidence, after an intimateacquaintance with the working of some of the larger orphanages, and ageneral knowledge of others, that they have been managed with alaboriousness, a patience, a wisdom, and a kindness, deserving of thehighest praise. Those in charge acted as parents, so far as that waspossible, but in the nature of things there could not be the closeattention and the fond personal affection to each of ordinary domesticlife. We remember cases where children were committed to well-orderedChristian families with happy results, but for many years afterorphanages were founded there were no such families to receive them. 

[Sidenote: THE OCCUPATIONS OF ORPHANS. ]

With the exception of orphans sent to Baptist Missions, they were as arule baptized at once, and were thus brought within the pale of theChristian Church to be trained for the love and service of Christ. Thefirst place was given to Christian instruction and training. All weretaught reading, writing, and arithmetic. Those who proved themselvescapable of receiving a higher education were continued at school, in thehope of their becoming qualified for offices such as those of teacherand preacher, for which mental and moral fitness was indispensable. Thegreat majority were early taught a trade. In the larger orphanages avariety of trades was introduced--tailoring, carpentry, baking, dyeing, carpet-making, printing, bookbinding, and farming. Some of these trades, after much labour had been bestowed upon them, were given up, as it wasfound the orphans could not compete with native workmen. They had notthe energy and aptitude possessed by those who followed their ancestraloccupations, and who had been from their earliest years familiar withthe conditions of native trade. Hopes were entertained many would betakethemselves to farming. These hopes have been only partially realized. On land secured by the Church Mission of Benares, at a short distancefrom the city, orphans when they grew up were settled; but few tookkindly to the work, and most soon abandoned it. There are now a fewChristian families on the ground, but the larger part of the land is letto ordinary native agriculturists. In some places, such as Goruckporeand Shahjehanpore, the experiment has been successful. A greater numberhave continued at printing and bookbinding than at other trades. Co-operative associations of native Christians have been formed atAllahabad for printing, and at Futtygurh for tent-making, which Ibelieve continue to prosper. These associations are under unfetterednative management. A considerable number who have come out of orphaninstitutions have followed the trades they were taught, and havesucceeded in getting employment in different places. Many were trainedas servants, and in that capacity they are scattered over all NorthernIndia. These have been joined by not a few who were taught trades, butdid not continue in them, as they deemed service easier and moreprofitable. This is much to be regretted as native Christians in serviceare exposed to many disadvantages and temptations from theirfellow-servants, and too often from their European masters andmistresses. The position of a capable artisan is far superior. 

It must be acknowledged by those who have the kindest feeling towardsthe orphans, and who wish to entertain the most favourable opinion ofthem, which truth will permit, that they have often been wanting inenergy and self-reliance. There has been a tendency to lean unduly onthose to whom they have been indebted for the preservation of theirlives, and for everything which makes life desirable. They have beenaccustomed to call them, in the language of the country, _ma, bap_--_mother, father_--and to expect everything to be done for them asif they were still helpless children. This can not be said of all, butit must be acknowledged this unduly dependent spirit has been oftenshown. A greater wrong could not be done to orphans, when grown tomaturity, than to treat them as children, unable to make their own wayin the world. This would be to destroy all strength of character, andturn them into abject, and at the same time discontented, paupers. Fewhave been so destitute of common sense as to have supposed that in thisway they were to be supported, but there has been a tendency to expectthe missionaries to set them out on a career of self-support, and removeall obstacles in their way without any special effort on their part, andwhen difficulties have arisen to fall back on their missionary friendsto set them out afresh. When these expectations have not been realized, they have been disposed to view their guardians as having failed inparental duty and affection. We have known cases where the roughexperience of life has taught self-dependence, and thankfulness also forthe treatment, which at the time was regarded as unkind, but had led tolasting benefit. So far as we have been able to ascertain, the ordinaryfeeling among those who had been inmates of orphan institutions, and oftheir descendants, has been one of affection and gratitude to those whohave watched over them and provided for them in their days ofhelplessness, and who have toiled and in many cases suffered to promotetheir temporal and spiritual good. When travelling we have met many ofthis class, and have been much gratified by the spirit they have shown. 

Some have come out of orphanages well equipped for the highest work bycharacter and attainments. As teachers, catechists, and nativepreachers, these occupy honourable and useful positions, and have been agreat blessing to the Church and the world. In the course of ourresidence in India we have seen many of the missions in the North-West, but our acquaintance with them is too slight to enable us to mention thenumber given by orphanages to the higher class of native agents. We haveknown several who are worthy of all respect, confidence, and affection. 

[Sidenote: ORPHANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS. ]

To the question, "What is the general character of the large communityof native Christians formed of orphans and their descendants?" it isdifficult to give a satisfactory reply, though easy enough to give one'simpression. A characterization of communities is one of the most commonand at the same time most unsatisfactory of operations, as the data forits being done well are so wide, recondite, and difficult to grasp. As Iproceed I shall have occasion to give my views of native Christiansgenerally. All I can now say about orphans and their descendants is, that considering what human beings are, as shown from age to age, considering the circumstances and surroundings of those of whom we arespeaking, the moral and spiritual results are what might have beenexpected, though not all that had been wished for and hoped for. Sanguine spirits had hoped that they would have had a strikingsuperiority to their fellow-countrymen, which would have drawn forththeir wonder and led them to inquire whence the superiority had come;but no one will maintain this has been the case. A few, I believe veryfew, have turned out utterly reprobate. The character of some who havenot lapsed into gross wickedness has been very unsatisfactory. Many arerespectable members of society, and make the profession of religionimplied in attending public worship and calling themselves Christians. Aconsiderable number show in different ways spiritual character. Whatmore can be said of congregations composed of those whose advantageshave been immeasurably greater? It would have been a most pleasing, butat the same time a most remarkable and unparalleled result, if orphansbrought up under the charge of missionaries had gone forth a unitedband, with no defaulters, to maintain the cause of God among theircountrymen, by a life so adorned with excellence that its testimony toChrist could not be resisted. The result actually attained, thoughchequered, is sufficient to show that orphan institutions have by theDivine blessing done much good, and that the faithful labour bestowed onthem has borne gratifying fruit. 

[Illustration]

CHAPTER XIV. 

MISSION TOURS. 

In our own country, under the pressure of life, many hail the releasefrom toil and the refreshment of spirit promised by the annual summertrip. So in India missionaries avail themselves of the cold season tosally out for the prosecution of their work. Their main object is tomake known the gospel to the many whom they are sure to meet wherevertheir tent may be pitched, who have never heard the name of Jesus, except perhaps amidst the bustle and noise of a mela, and who but foritineracies would remain in total ignorance of the Saviour of mankind. The missionary who does not keep this before his mind as his chief aimis unworthy of the name. While this object is pursued, another is soughtwhich missionaries deem very legitimate. Health is indispensable for theefficient discharge of their duties, and travelling is found verybeneficial to the health of their families as well as to their own. Touring in the cold weather, by the new strength it gives to the bodyand the refreshment it gives to the spirit, has been found to preparethem for a new campaign at home as nothing else could have done. 

Some missionaries have kept themselves within a limited sphere not farfrom their homes, visiting the same places again and again, obtaining apersonal acquaintance with many of the people, and endeavouring todeepen any impressions which may have been made. Others have travelledfor weeks, sometimes for months, over hundreds of miles, visiting thetowns and villages on their route, and speaking about the things of Godto all whom they have met. 

During my long residence in India it was my privilege to undertake toursof both descriptions. I never stopped at home during the coldweather--we are not in India in the habit of saying "summer and winter, "but "hot weather and cold weather"--except when justice to mycolleagues, or the necessities of the mission, compelled me to stay. There were seasons when my colleague was, either from inexperience orill-health, unable to do the home work; or, as happened more than once, I had no colleague at all, and in these circumstances it was obviousduty to remain at my post. Even then I commonly managed to get out alittle into the surrounding country. On some of our tours we were put tono small inconvenience, and we were not strangers to hardship; but welook back to them with much pleasure, and think how much we would liketo set out on them again if circumstances permitted. 

[Sidenote: VOYAGING ON THE GANGES. ]

At an early stage of our residence at Benares voyaging on the Ganges wasa favourite mode of enjoying the cold season. There were budgerows, vessels with two tolerably sized rooms, available for hire at a moderatecharge. It was indispensable to have with the budgerow a small boat forthe accommodation of servants and for the cooking of food. On a fewoccasions I took a trip on a vessel of this description with my family, moving up and down the river, and halting towards evening near a townor village, which I could visit for the purpose of speaking to thepeople about the Saviour. The country is so populous that there was nodifficulty in mooring our little craft in the evening near some placewhere hearers could be collected. It was seldom on any tour in theNorth-West we were allowed to forget that we were in the region of thesacred river, which receives from the people divine honours, and whichin their belief confers inestimable benefit on all who bathe in itswaters. When on the bank of the river, its alleged virtues formed afrequent subject of remark and discussion. There, as elsewhere, we hadto tell them that Ganges water, however good for refreshing andcleansing the body, cannot wash away one spot from the soul. We had totell them frequently, that as the washerman who puts clothes into a boxand carefully washes it with the expectation of their coming out cleanand white will be acting a very foolish part, so they were acting anequally futile part if they supposed that the water of the Ganges, souseful for the body, had any effect on the spirit. In answer to theremark that Ganges water could not do what other water could not, as ithad nothing peculiar in its composition, I have been gravely told thattwo things exactly the same to the senses may be essentially different;and the proof given was that the river Kurumnasa, which means thedestroyer of merit, takes away all merit from those who bathe in it, while bathing in the Ganges secures an untold degree of merit, extendingnot only to one's own past and future, but to an untold number ofancestors and descendants!

When on the Ganges or its banks one continually sees proof of theimplicit trust placed in it. We remember being awakened very early onemorning long before dawn by a person bathing close to our boat, in aquivering voice which showed he was chilled by the water, long andearnestly imploring the favour of _Gunga Ma_--Mother Ganges. 

There is no part of India, mountain or plain, where serpents may not beencountered. One evening, when returning to our boat from a village onthe banks of the river, I was walking warily on a narrow pathhalf-covered with grass from both sides, when I saw before me what Ifirst supposed to be a rope. I halted, and immediately a serpent glidedaway. That evening, before reaching the boat, I saw at least a dozen ofserpents at their evening gambols over the ruins of a house. I walkedquietly on, deeming it the best part of valour to leave themundisturbed. If they observed me they showed no inclination to approachme. 

For many years voyaging on the Ganges has gone out of fashion. Nativeboats laden with produce and wood continue to ply, but the budgerows andpinnaces, which Europeans could hire, have almost entirely disappeared. There are various reasons for this change. The current of the river isvery rapid in some places, which makes the work of dragging against itvery slow and tiresome; there is sometimes the danger of collision withother boats. The high banks of the river here and there prevent thecountry from being seen, and at other places there is a dreary stretchof sand. Though the weather of the cold season is very steady, a stormmight come on, and if it did neither boat nor boatmen could be trusted;for the boat, never of the best material, was often sadly out of repair, and the boatmen were ready, when danger appeared, to throw themselvesinto the water and make for the shore, leaving the passengers to shiftfor themselves. There was, indeed, the pleasantness of sailing on abroad river; the air was very fresh; there was no leaving of thetemporary abode from day to day; the trouble of a shifting camp wasescaped, though occasionally there was inconvenience from theindispensable cook-boat not keeping sufficiently near. Opposed to theseadvantages were the disadvantages I have mentioned, which were alwaysfelt to be serious drawbacks; and when the roads had been improved, andjourneying facilities increased, travelling by land obtained so decideda preference, that the river has been well-nigh abandoned by Europeans. 

[Sidenote: SHORT AND LONG TOURS. ]

Some seasons our touring was confined to a narrow range, not extendingbeyond thirty or forty miles. We every now and then spent a few dayswithin a few miles of the city. Our first journey of any considerablelength was, at the end of 1840, to the mela at Allahabad, some seventymiles north-west of Benares, which I have already mentioned. At the endof 1842 I made a tour along with my wife and child to Agra, more thanfour hundred miles from Benares, which occupied us about three months. On this tour we passed through Allahabad, Cawnpore, Futtygurh, Mynpoorie, and other well-known places. Early in 1847, accompanied by abrother missionary, we went to Almora, nearly six hundred miles distant, travelling with our tents to the foot of the hills, and spending six orseven weeks on our way. We left Almora for Benares in October, andreached it early in December, having taken Meerut, Delhi, and Allygurh, as well as Cawnpore and Allahabad, in our return route. Our longjourneys many years afterwards were performed with few exceptions undernew conditions, and with much greater expedition. 

If my readers are in thought to accompany us on those journeys, it maybe well to state the circumstances in which we travelled, the weatherwe had and could generally expect, our travelling arrangements, thestate of the roads, and the aspects of the country through which wepassed. 

As to the weather, it was generally delightful. We had from day to dayan unclouded sky, with the sun rather strong as the day advanced, butwith a refreshing breeze, which made it thoroughly cool in the shade, even cold sometimes, so that one was inclined to go out into thesunshine to get warmth. In the daytime warm clothing was pleasant, andat night, especially in tents, our blankets and wraps came into fullrequisition. There was a steadiness in the weather exceeding anythingknown in our climate. We have known weeks without any shading of thesky. There were, however, occasional breaks. Now and then cloudsgathered from day to day, and at length came down in heavy rain, whichwas most welcome to the farmers, especially when it came as it oftendid, about Christmas. Thunder storms might be sometimes looked for, accompanied by sudden and severe gusts of wind. These days ofatmospheric disturbance were sufficient to make us, as travellers, appreciate more highly the weather with which we were ordinarilyfavoured. 

[Sidenote: APPEARANCE OF THE COUNTRY. ]

The greater part of the country through which we travelled is verylevel. Beyond Chunar, indeed, which is sixteen miles from Benares, andMirzapore, which is thirty miles distant, there is a great extent of lowhill-country. These districts we visited several times. The most of ourjourneys were in the wide open plains of the North-West. The country, though level, is by no means uninteresting. You receive as you travel avery favourable impression of the productiveness of the land and theindustry of the people. In the cold weather you see, as far as the eyecan reach, a sweep of growing corn, wheat and other grains, which givethe hope of an early and abundant harvest. Towns and villages meet yourview on every side. If you get to a slightly elevated spot you arestruck with the number of wells you see in the fields, dug for thepurpose of irrigation. In the great region lying between the Ganges andthe Jumna, called the Doab--the country of the two rivers, theMesopotamia of Northern India, over a great part of which we travelledfor the first time at the end of 1842 and the beginning of 1843, andwhich we have often traversed since--there is no extensive forest nearthe Trunk Road. In all directions, however, you see clumps of lofty andshady trees, and occasionally groves of considerable extent. Trees havebeen largely planted along the road, and within every few miles thereare groves, where travellers get their tents pitched, and where they arethoroughly protected from the glare and heat of the sun. Even in thecoldest part of the cold weather tents pitched in the open becomequickly too heated for comfort. In the groves the deep shade cast by thewidely-spread branches and the thick foliage sometimes darkens the tenttoo much for reading and writing; but outside, on a chair before a smalltable, if that be required, one can spend hours very pleasantly readingor writing, as it may be, and listening if inclined to the cawing of thecrows, the cooing of the doves, and the notes of other birds, while thegentle breeze rustles through the trees, and the children, if any, playwith their toys under them. 

Natives, when they travel, as I have already mentioned, manage things ina fashion which we are not able to imitate, but which I have often beeninclined to envy. Let them have flour, water, a little wood for fuel, if not in its stead dried cow-dung, and they partake with relish of themeal their own hands have cooked, conscious of no want and complainingof no hardship. The relish is increased if they can get some of theordinary vegetables of the country. With the meal over, after chatting awhile over the Hookah, the "hubble-bubble" as English people call it, the pipe which sends tobacco smoke through water, they wrap themselvesin the blanket which they carry with them, and sleep soundly under atree, when, as is often the case, no Sura, a native resting-place, is athand. If rain comes on they creep into a place where the rain cannotreach them, if such a place be available. A few Europeans have atdifferent times tried to follow the habit of native travellers, and invery exceptional cases it has been successful. The ordinary result hasbeen the speedy ruin of health. 

Our habits compel us to travel in a different way. When a missionary isalone, though he cannot travel as a native does, he can put up, and doesput up, with inconveniences to which a family cannot be exposed. Thefamily, however, requires a change as well as himself; and when wife andchildren are with him, as they often are, the house is shut up at home, home servants are taken, and travelling requires only a slight additionto the domestic staff. An additional horse is needed for the conveyance(in India a conveyance is not a luxury but a necessity); two tents arerequired, one to be sent on over-night, while the other is kept behindfor occupation; along with the tents, slight portable beds, bedding, small folding-table, cane chairs, and cooking-vessels. These goods ofthe moving household are laden and forwarded on carts called Hackeries, drawn by oxen. Highly paid officials manage as they travel to have withthem many of the luxuries and even some of the elegancies of life, butmissionaries are satisfied if they get necessaries. As we travel wemanage, though not always, to get milk, fowls, and eggs, andoccasionally a kid. Whatever beside we need must be taken with us. 

[Sidenote: PLEASANT TOURING. ]

When the weather is fine, the roads good, the horses and bullocks strongand manageable, and the attendants efficient, touring in the North-Westin the cold weather is very pleasant. If travelling be prosecuted fromday to day, the custom is to rise very early in the morning at theearliest dawn, or before dawn, when the morning-star appears, and torouse the camp. This was my part when travelling with my household. Thewatchman wakened me, and I wakened all around. We got quickly ready, andset out on our journey of twelve or fourteen miles. The mornings werenot only cool, but often sharply cold. On arriving at the end of ourstage, it might be as early as eight or half-past eight o'clock, weshould find, and often did find, the tent pitched, which had been senton over-night, the table spread commonly under a shady tree, the waterboiling, food prepared; and then with a keen appetite we sat down tobreakfast. When the afternoon was a little advanced, the cart arrivedwith the tent and other things left behind, and was soon pitched for ournight occupancy. Towards evening the day-tent was taken down, and wassent on over-night with everything requisite for the next day. When allthe circumstances were favourable, everything went on with an ease andregularity which made us feel at home while away from home, and gave usat the same time the constant variety of new scenes. 

The circumstances were not, however, always favourable. They weresometimes the reverse. The new horse was unmanageable, the bullocks wereweak and could not draw the carts, the servants were remiss orincapable, the roads were in some places shockingly bad, we were leftfor hours without tent and food, and, as I have said, the weather nowand then was wet and stormy. We had sometimes an amount of trouble whichmade us half regret we had left home. Ladies are generally very patientin such circumstances, but children are sorely tried. The difficultieswe encountered in some of our early journeys were such that we nowwonder how we got out of them, and succeeded in getting on at all. Thetouring in favourable circumstances, which I have described, is nothowever a mere ideal. Happily it was often with us a reality. On settingout things required to be adjusted. Time was required for getting thingsinto their places, and for each person learning to do the work assignedhim. When once we got into travelling trim, and our people were whatthey ought to be, things went on with the regularity of clockwork. 

I have mentioned our long tours in 1842 and 1847. On these journeys wehad a good deal of pleasant smooth travelling, and we also encounteredsome of the difficulties of which I have spoken. The Trunk Road fromAllahabad to the North-West was in excellent condition in 1842-43; butfrom Benares to Allahabad it had been allowed to get out of repair, andthe roads diverging from the Trunk Road on one side to Futtygurh and onthe other side to Agra we found very bad. The story of our difficultiesis well remembered by us, but it must be given very concisely. At oneplace a wheel of our conveyance broke in the middle of a stage, andafter some delay we succeeded in getting an Ekka, a small nativeconveyance drawn by a pony, on the narrow platform of which the membersof our party who could not walk were squatted as they best could; whilethe rest of us walked. We sent on word of our trouble to our missionaryfriends at Futtygurh, who kindly arranged to get us on to theirhospitable abode, and to get our conveyance repaired. Three days afterleaving Futtygurh our best horse died, from sheer fatigue in drawing ourconveyance through the sand. This threw us on having it drawn bybullocks at the rate of a mile and a half, or at the utmost two miles, an hour, over a very bad road, which jolted us frightfully. 

[Sidenote: WALLED VILLAGES. ]

As we travelled we saw many things which drew our attention and excitedour interest. Most of the villages along our route were surrounded byhigh mud walls, and had only one entrance by a great strong gate, whichwas shut at night, reminding us of the insecurity from which this partof India had emerged when it came under British rule within the memoryof men then living. Villages thus fortified, if sufficient watch waskept, were quite secure against the sudden raids of Mahratta horsemen, or the attacks of robbers, to whose unwelcome visits they were alwaysexposed. The former state of insecurity was also suggested by the numberwe met armed to the teeth, by shield on the breast, sword at the side, and matchlock on the shoulder. The insecurity had to a great extent cometo an end, but the habit of going armed continued. 

Along the road at convenient distances there were Suras for theconvenience of travellers, which people in England, when speaking ofEastern lands, call Caravanserais. These are generally open spaces, surrounded by mud walls, with sheds at their sides for people who arewilling to pay a very trifling sum for the luxury of sleeping undercover, and, if they like, for having their horses near them. Carts andoxen are always in the open. Sellers of grain and wood are always therewith everything native travellers require. If a bedstead--a lowfour-footed article with rope for its bottom and mattress--be preferredto the bare ground, it can commonly be procured for three-halfpence forthe night. When in the evening we were near these places we went tothem, and saw the poor weary travellers setting to the preparation oftheir simple meal--with most the only cooked meal of the day--withapparently as great contentedness as we have when after a fatiguing daywe reach an hotel, and, having given our orders, know that speedily weshall sit down to an ample repast. Many of these Suras have been builtat the expense of well-to-do natives impelled by different motives, forlove of name--_nam ke liye_, as the natives say, a motive for whichtheir countrymen continually give them credit--for the acquisition ofreligious merit, and from benevolent feeling. These places are calledDhurmsalas, places erected by righteous, good men. 

[Sidenote: "WELLS OF SALVATION. "]

On this our first long journey in the country, we were impressed by theamount of traffic we saw on the road; and this impression was deepenedon future occasions. We seldom travelled a few miles without seeingcarts drawn by bullocks and laden with goods. We saw rows of camels, walking in single file, each attached to the one before and the onebehind by a string. These belonged chiefly, though not exclusively, toAfghans, and were laden to a large extent with the products of theircountry. Every now and then we came across elephants, sometimes with astack of tender branches on their back, which form a large part oftheir food, and at other times with persons seated sometimes on ahowdah, sometimes on a pad. There were many foot-passengers, not a fewwith heavy loads on their heads. When these came in sight of a well, howquickly did they step up to it, throw off their burden, drop into ittheir brass vessel attached to a string, draw it up, and take a long, deep draught of the precious water! As I have observed them I havethought of the words, "With joy shall ye draw water out of the wells ofsalvation. " To these poor toiling people the wells did appear wells ofsalvation. On some days we met bands of persons--chiefly men, with awoman here and there among them--with bamboo rods across their shoulderswith a basket at each end, their travelling gear in and on one basket, and a vessel with Ganges water in the other. Thousands of these pilgrimstravel every year over Northern India, going from one shrine to another, and pouring on certain images the water of the sacred river. 

In our journeyings we had a singular immunity from thieves, a greaterimmunity than we had in our house at Benares, which was several timesvisited by these unwelcome intruders, though we always kept a watchman. All over the North-West, I suppose all over India, thieves abound. Wholetribes have for generations followed theft as a profession, and havebetaken themselves to honest work only when compelled by finding theiroccupation perilous. They have had as their associates the idle anddissolute of other castes. Tents, as I have observed, are commonlypitched in shady groves, and in consequence admit of being approachedunobserved, and a sharp knife in a skilful hand can easily secure anentrance on any side. Travellers have piquant stories to tell of thecleverness and impudence with which their property has been taken away. A missionary friend of ours awoke one morning to find that during thenight everything in his tent had disappeared on which thieves could laytheir hand. We had a large experience of tent life, but we have happilyno story to tell about any similar loss. I do not remember our havinghad even a night alarm, though I well remember the difficulty we oftenhad in preventing our guardians from sending forth unearthly cries, which made sleep impossible. My habit was, wherever we halted, to makemy way to the headman of the adjoining village or town, and to place ourencampment under his care. We were generally told there were thieves inthe neighbourhood; we were sometimes told they were numerous and daring. We always stated our readiness to pay for watchmen, and we told theheadman that if he did not send trustworthy men we should hold himresponsible. We thus paid a sort of black-mail, but we thought the smallsum paid well expended as insurance for the safety of our property. Sometravellers take watchmen with them. This we never did, as we thoughtourselves safer in the hands of men on the spot. Many a time as we laydown in our tent did we think how strange it was that, far away from ourEuropean brethren, in a strange land among a strange people, we couldcompose ourselves to sleep with as little fear, and with as strong afeeling of security, as if within locks and bars in our own country. Wethought, with thankfulness, that we were under the ægis of our owngovernment, even when we were in places where Englishmen were seldomseen, but where, notwithstanding, our prestige was fully recognized. 

At all the places through which we passed on our first long tour, Allahabad, Cawnpore, Futtygurh, Mynpoorie, and Agra, we were treatedwith the utmost kindness by the American and English missionaries, andby other Christian brethren, some of whom have been life-long friendsever since. 

[Sidenote: THE BUILDINGS OF AGRA. ]

We were interested in all the places we saw on this tour; butAgra--Akbarabad, as natives always call it, the capital of Akbar, themost remarkable emperor who ever ruled over India--had for us, as forall who have visited it, peculiar attractions. When at some distancefrom the city we saw glistening in the sun the lofty dome and the stillloftier four minarets or towers of the Taj Muhal, that wondrousmausoleum of the purest marble, built by the Emperor Shah Jehan for afavourite queen. On our arrival we lost no time in going to it. Onsubsequent visits to Agra we renewed our acquaintance with it, and onevery new occasion its exquisite beauty and lofty grandeur enhanced ouradmiration. We also saw the Motee Musjid, the Pearl Mosque as it iscalled, built of marble, and called the Pearl Mosque, as I suppose, onaccount of its beauty and symmetry; the grand tomb of Akbar at Secundra, six miles from Agra; and other objects of interest. I am not to attempta description of these world-famed buildings of Agra. They have beenoften described, and by none perhaps better than by Bishop Heber in hisjournal, which is now little read, but which gives a more graphic andaccurate account of the parts of India he visited in 1825 than any Ihave seen elsewhere. Of the Taj and other grand structures of theMuhammadan emperors, he says they look as if "built by a giant andfurnished by a jeweller. "

While deeply interested in much we saw in this tour of 1842-43, on it, as well as on all subsequent tours, our great evangelistic object waskept steadily in view. On this occasion I was accompanied by acatechist. In the early afternoon, when we might hope to meet peoplereleased from the work of the day, we repaired to the neighbouringvillage. Often we found a large tree at the entrance to the village, with a stone seat close to its trunk, and on it we sat down. If therewas no such seat a small native bedstead was often brought--such a thingas a chair was unknown--and we were asked to sit, while the peoplepolitely stood, till at our request they sat, which they can well do ontheir haunches. We entered into conversation with those who gatheredaround us. We asked if there was any pundit, any learned man in thevillage; and if there was we were happy to see him come, as we knew thepeople would look on us with less suspicion if he was present. In manyplaces they were so unaccustomed to the sight of Europeans that theylooked on us with a mingled feeling of curiosity and fear. We tried toput them at ease by speaking about something in which we knew they weredeeply interested, such as their fields and crops, and as soon as wewell could we made our way to the subject of religion. We read thosepassages from our Scriptures which we thought most fitted to arresttheir attention. We aimed at setting forth the great facts and truths ofrevelation with all the simplicity, conciseness, and earnestness wecould command. We repeated what was not understood, or wasmisunderstood, and endeavoured to make it plain by familiarillustrations. 

We met with varied reception. In some places the people were so stolid, that even the catechist, one of their own people, seemed to make noimpression. On many occasions we were heard most patiently, and weretreated most courteously. Now and then, especially in the larger places, and where markets were being held--these are held weekly in centralplaces, sometimes twice a week, and are well attended--there was muchnoise and great interruption. At times we encountered strong, bitter, and captious opposition. On the whole we met with far less opposition, and with a much more patient and respectful hearing, than at our statedwork in a city like Benares. Often we were thanked for our visit, andwere told our teaching well deserved consideration. Not infrequently theremark was made, "What you say is very good, but we never heard itbefore; we understand it very imperfectly, you will be leavingto-morrow, and we shall forget it all. " We parted with such persons witha heavy heart. We always halted on the Lord's Day, and often on otherdays, when we met with encouragement and circumstances permitted. 

[Sidenote: AN ANCIENT CAPITAL. ]

Kunauj, now a poor, decayed town, composed chiefly of low mud-builthouses, with not one fine building in it so far as I remember, was, as Ihave already mentioned, for ages the most famous city in Northern India, the capital of sovereigns ruling over extensive regions. The Brahmans ofKunauj continue to hold the highest rank in the Brahmanical hierarchy, but I believe only a few reside in Kunauj and its neighbourhood. As welearned it was only a few miles off the Trunk Road, we determined tohalt a day for the purpose of visiting it. We accordingly went to it onemorning, and remained in it some time, looking at the mounds which coverthe ruins of its palaces, and which is all that remains to tell of itsformer greatness. A number gathered around us, with whom we conversed. They seemed so much interested in what we said about the Saviour, thatwe promised to visit them on our return. We accordingly arranged toremain a Sabbath at the part of the Trunk Road nearest to Kunauj. Reaching it on a Saturday we sent on a small tent, and early next day, accompanied by the catechist, I made my way to the town. There weremained the entire day, and I have seldom had such a day of pleasanttoil. The people came in crowds, and talk on the highest subjects waskept up from hour to hour. The catechist, after a time, left me to visitsome persons he knew in the neighbourhood, and I was left alone tounfold the doctrines of Christianity, and to answer the questions put tome. I more than once said, "I must have rest. " All went out, and I laydown on a piece of carpet on the floor of the tent. Some one soon peepedin; "Have you not had rest now, sir?" and so I had to get up and resumemy work, not over well-pleased the catechist had left it all to me. Since that time Kunauj has had visits from missionaries, and they havehad many hearers, but I have not heard of any fruit gathered from thesevisits in the form of converts. 

[Sidenote: AN EARNEST INQUIRER. ]

I was greatly impressed with one visit I received on this tour. We hadgot over our morning journey. I was, I suppose, more tired than usual, for in the forenoon I lay down on our travelling bedstead to rest. Iheard a voice at the tent door, "Sahib, sahib!"--"Sir, sir!"--and Isaid, "Come in. " In came a native well dressed, and looking as if tiredwith a long walk. I told him to sit down on the carpet, which he did, and he then proceeded to tell me the object of his visit. He said insubstance: "Last night you were in a village twelve miles from thisplace, and you there spoke much of an incarnation, an '_autar_, ' whichhad for its object the deliverance of man from the power and punishmentof sin. One who heard you last night told me something of what you hadsaid. I have long been a worshipper of the gods of my fathers, but Ihave got no rest, no satisfaction. I have heard much of incarnations, but I know of no sinless one. Not one of them has done me any good. Haveyou certain information of one that can deliver me and satisfy me?" Ineed not say what I said in reply to this great inquiry. We talked longand earnestly. I found he could read, and I gave him a Gospel and sometracts. He professed to be much interested. I begged him to give me hisaddress that I might communicate with him. He did not pointedly refuse, but no address was given to me, apparently from the fear, so commonamong the people, of the reproach and suffering which will come uponthem if they be suspected of an intention to abandon their ancestralreligion. I parted with the man praying, that he might be led to theSaviour. Often, often have I thought of him; often have I hoped thatwhat was said that forenoon had sunk into his heart; but I have neverseen him, never heard of him, since that time. 

I have mentioned that early in 1847 we went to Almora, in the HillProvince of Kumaon, and towards the end of the year returned to Benares. Before our departure we had the pleasure of seeing the completion of awork which had made a great demand on our time and attention, and hadcaused us no small anxiety--the erection of a new place of worship inthe Grecian style, in the place of the small mud building in which wehad hitherto met. This was our first essay in building, and ourinexperience led us into many mistakes, which we tried to avoid infuture work of the kind. The building cost above £1, 200, fully twice thesum we had calculated. Through the liberality of friends its entirecost was met within six months of its opening, and it has proved ofgreat service to the Mission. The opening services were conducted inHindustanee and English. The late Rev. J. A. Shurman preached with greatpower in Hindustanee to a crowded congregation composed of Christians, Hindus, and Muhammadans, and I preached in English to a large Europeancongregation. We were greatly encouraged by the liberal collections madeat these services. 

[Sidenote: SLOW TRAVELLING. ]

I must defer to a later period of this work what I have to say aboutKumaon, to which we paid several visits, and where we spent the lastyears of our Indian life. Our journeying to and from Kumaon in 1847 waspartly over the ground traversed on our trip to Agra in 1842-43, andpartly over new ground, as one may see by looking at the map of NorthernIndia. The conditions of the journey were to a large extent those I havealready described; but we suffered from bad roads, from our campequipage falling behind, and I may add from inefficient service, muchmore than we had formerly done. On reaching Almora we mentioned to afriend the route we had taken, and he said, "Surely you have not come ina wheeled conveyance, for I am told that road is impassable. " I told himthe road was passable, for we had passed it, but if we had previouslyknown what it was we should not have attempted it. Amidst the tracks wesaw, we often had difficulty in deciding which was the road. Betweenunbridged streams with high banks, ditches, and deep ruts which caughtour wheels and would not let them go, our progress was much impeded; butwe toiled on. At one place we were happily helped by a company ofSepoys, whose medical officer was a dear Christian friend. In otherplaces we were extricated by the help of villagers. 

As we journeyed in these circumstances we were not in a mood to beamused, but I was amused one day by the contrast between a romantic ladyand an unromantic "sais" (_anglicè_, groom). The Hills had come grandlyinto view, but unhappily we were fast in a ditch. The lady looking tothe "sais" said, "Sais, do you not see the hills?" To which he mostdolefully replied, not lifting his eyes as he spoke, "Madam, what can Isee? We are stuck in the mud. "

One day we took full ten hours to go twelve miles. When we came to theend of our stage we found we had to encamp for the night in the lowscrub of the forest, with stagnant water all around us. There was a hutat the place with two native policemen to help travellers, and we weretold by them that there had been for some days in the neighbourhood whatis called "a rogue elephant"--an elephant which, for some reason knownonly in elephant councils has been driven out of the herd, and is soenraged by his expulsion that he is ready to run amuck at every personand animal he sees. This was not pleasant intelligence. We found nativecarts at the place, ready to proceed in the morning to a market to beheld at the foot of the hills; and after a very uncomfortable night, much disturbed by the cries of the beasts of the wilderness, we set out, the people shouting to scare the elephant, which, though ready formischief, is frightened by noise. We saw no trace of him. When the daywas well advanced we reached a rest-house close to the hills, with abrawling stream behind it, with which our children as well as ourselveswere delighted, one of them clapping his hands and saying, "Water clearand bright!" We had our first and rather perilous hill journey the nextday, but my account of it and subsequent journeys in the mountains mustbe reserved for another time. 

We went to Kumaon by the most direct route through Futtygurh andBareilly. We returned by a longer route _viâ_ Meerut and Delhi. Ourdifficulties on our way back were somewhat different, but they werequite as great as on our upward journey. Some of the streams we had tocross were not fordable, and we had great difficulty in gettingourselves ferried over. A few nights were spent in exceeding discomfort, our carts not having come up with our tents, and we were shelterless andsupperless--rather, if I may coin such a word, dinnerless. One nightcover was got for my wife and children, but a missionary brother andmyself remained out all night, with no possibility of obtaining rest, asa pack of jackals were gorging themselves on the carcase of a bullock, and making the most hideous noises. As the night was cold, and we had nobedding, it was perhaps well the jackals were there, as otherwise wemight have been tempted to lie down on the bare ground, which we couldnot have done with safety to our health. When once we got to the TrunkRoad, which we had from Delhi to Benares, our travelling difficultieswere at an end, and we got on most comfortably. 

At Delhi our tents were pitched in an open space near the house of Mr. Thompson, for many years the Baptist missionary in that city, whosewidow and daughters were afterwards so barbarously murdered by themutineers in 1857. With him and his family, and with some otherChristian friends there, we had much pleasant intercourse during the fewdays we remained. We of course saw the sights of the grand old imperialcity--the Juma Musjid said to be the largest mosque in Asia, a mostcommanding building on a small rocky elevation, to which you ascend bya lofty flight of steps, and which has a most magnificent court pavedwith granite inlaid with marble; the palace, so far as it was open tovisitors; the Chandnee Chauk, the great open street and market-placewith a fine stream of water flowing through it; and, at the distance ofa few miles from the city, the remarkable tower, the Kootub Minar, 240feet high, erected by the Muhammadan conquerors who first made Delhitheir capital. For miles around there are ruins of mosques, mausoleums, palaces, and splendid mansions. For a description of Delhi, as for thedescription of Agra, I must refer my readers to Bishop Heber's Journal. 

During this journey to and from Kumaon we carried on, so far ascircumstances permitted, the missionary work I have already mentioned. Our experience while prosecuting this tour so closely resembled that ofwhich I have already given an account, that it is unnecessary to enterinto details. 

[Sidenote: CHRISTIAN HOSPITALITY. ]

As on our visit to Agra in 1842-43, so on these journeys of 1847 we metwith the greatest kindness from our missionary brethren, some of whom wehad afterwards the privilege of entertaining at Benares. It mattered notwhether they were Episcopalian, Presbyterian, or Baptist, English, Continental, or American (at that time there were no Methodist missionsin Northern India), we received a cordial welcome, and though formerlyunknown to each other we at once felt at home. We sometimes felt in muchneed of help, and it was most readily afforded. To some other Christianfriends we met our grateful acknowledgments are due. 

CHAPTER XV. 

RETURN TO BENARES. 

VOYAGE TO ENGLAND AND RETURN TO INDIA, A. D. 1847-1857. 

When two more years had passed, during which we were enabled to carry onour work with few interruptions, we found that, beneficial though ourvisit to the hills had been, we stood in need of a still greater change, and of a more thorough bracing of both body and mind. Health again beganto fail, and we felt unequal to the work devolving on us. We accordinglyleft Benares for Calcutta towards the end of 1849. As our children wereyoung, and travelling by land was both fatiguing and expensive, we hireda budgerow and sailed down the Ganges. Our voyage lasted over fourweeks. It gave us the opportunity of touching at a number of places, Ghazeepore, Buxar, Monghyr, Dinapore, Patna, and Berhampore, in most ofwhich we had the pleasure of meeting missionary brethren. Towards theend of January we embarked on the ship _Monarch_, and after aprosperous, though not a rapid, voyage we arrived in England in May, 1850. The only place at which we touched was St. Helena. We lay off itthe greater part of a day, but none were allowed to land as we hadmeasles on board. 

I will dismiss our stay in England in a few sentences, as it is no partof my plan to give English reminiscences. Like other missionaries onleave, I visited many places in England and Scotland on behalf of theSociety of which I was an agent. At the expiration of our leave in theautumn of 1852 medical opinion forbade our departure. By the autumn of1853 health was so improved that the way was open for our return toIndia. 

[Sidenote: VOYAGE TO INDIA. ]

After a season of severe domestic trial, which delayed our departure, mypartner, myself, and two children embarked on board the _Indiana_, oneof a new magnificent line of steamers plying to India round the Cape ofGood Hope, in November. The voyage extended to eleven weeks. The weatherthroughout was remarkably favourable. We touched at the Islands of St. Vincent, Ascension, the Cape of Good Hope, the Mauritius, Point deGalle, and Madras. We landed at most of these places, and this took awayin a great measure the weariness of a long voyage, which I must say wefelt increasingly on every successive occasion. We were detained at theCape for three or four days, which gave us an opportunity of getting tothe top of Table Mountain, and of visiting the vineyards a few miles outof Cape Town. We were hospitably entertained by Mr. Thompson, andattended his services on the Lord's Day. Mr. Ellis, who was at the timeat the Mauritius, kindly came on board as soon as the _Indiana_ came toanchor, and took us on shore to the house of our missionary, Mr. LeBrun. We attended his service--it was the Lord's Day--and were delightedto see so many present, several of whom we were told were refugees fromMadagascar. The congregation was well-nigh entirely composed of peopleof colour, varying from the brown of the mixed race to the jet black ofthe negro. The white dresses formed a striking contrast to the duskyfaces, many of which, dark though they were, were lit up with anexpression indicative of intelligence and contentment. The service wasconducted in French, which continues to be the language of the island, although many years have elapsed since it became a British possession. After the service we were taken to the house of the Secretary toGovernment, who hospitably entertained us. We embarked the next day. Aswe were proceeding to the shore we were struck with the familiar soundsof the Hindustanee language from the lips of Indian coolies. We weresorry we could exchange with them only a few passing words. During thefew hours we were off Madras we had the pleasure of landing and seeingsome of the missionaries there. 

[Sidenote: JOURNEY TO BENARES. ]

After a short stay in Calcutta, we set out for Benares. The journey wasperformed in a new fashion. We purchased a conveyance, and arranged tohave it drawn by relays of coolies all the way. Arrangements were madeby an agent in Calcutta to have word sent on in advance, so that atevery sixth or eighth mile coolies might be in readiness for us. Before1839 the great Trunk Road from Calcutta to Delhi had been made, but thestreams and ravines were for the most part unbridged, and consequentlytravelling by a wheeled conveyance was very slow and difficult. By 1854the road had been greatly improved, many bridges had been made, and thusthe facilities for travelling were much increased. At every twelve orfourteen miles there were rest-houses for European travellers, called"staging bungalows, " all built on the same plan at the expense of twowealthy natives, each with two rooms and a bath-room attached, abedstead in each room, a table, and two or three chairs, with a man incharge to take a small sum from each traveller for accommodation, andready to furnish him with a good Indian meal at a very moderate rate. Atsome of these we stopped for rest and food. Our party consisted of ourfamily, and a lady friend who wished to travel with us. Desirous to geton quickly, we were sometimes in our conveyance twenty hours out of thetwenty-four, and dosed as we proceeded the best way we could. We metwith no adventure worth relating, and were glad after ten days'journeying to find ourselves once more in our old dear abode. We had amost hearty and gratifying welcome from our brethren, both European andnative. We reached it on a Saturday. I told the brethren that after mylong absence, and entire disuse of the native language during thatperiod, I must be a hearer the next day. They said that could not be, asthe people were expecting me to officiate. Thus urged I ventured toconduct the service, and I was agreeably surprised to find that oldscenes seemed to revive my knowledge of the language, and to bear methrough with unexpected ease. 

We resumed work at Benares recruited in health, and refreshed in spirit, and prepared by the experience of previous years to prosecute it withnew effectiveness. We had a sense of the difficulties of the work, itstrials and discouragements, and of the absolute necessity of Divine helpin order to its being rightly prosecuted, which we could not have had atan earlier period; and we had at the same time a deeper realization ofits greatness, blessedness, and final certain triumph. The missionaryhas little of the spirit of his office, and little fitness for it, whoat every successive stage of his course is not increasingly bent onhonouring his Master and promoting the good of the people among whom helabours, and who is not at the same time increasingly thankful forhaving been called to so high an office, while deeply humbled at his ownunworthiness and his many shortcomings. 

During the three years under review, our native Christian congregationwas larger than it had been at any previous period, and, I am sorry tosay, larger than it has been in later years. There were at that timeabout twenty Christian households in the mission compound, and severalChristian families came from a little distance. There was aprinting-press in our neighbourhood, which gave employment to a numberof our people, and others succeeded in getting situations which gavethem comfortable support. It was a gladdening sight, when the gong wasstruck for worship, to see them making their way to the chapel, and tofind them, when assembled there, well-nigh filling the place, allcleanly clad, and devoutly engaged in the service of God. Many a timewas my heart full of joy and hope when ministering to them. We had, indeed, our difficulties and trials. These are never long or far from uswherever we may be. There were inconsistencies and lapses among thenative Christians which grieved us; but their general conduct was good, they were at peace with each other, and in some there were markedindications of growing piety. 

Our tours during the cold weather of these years were mainly confined tothe country within thirty or forty miles of Benares. Our only tour ofany length was in January and February of 1857, when we went on theCalcutta road as far as Susseram, more than a hundred miles distant;and, leaving the Trunk Road, made our way to the rock of Rohtas, overlooking the Soane, where there are extensive remains of an imperialfort. We lodged one night in one of the deserted halls, of which therewere several in a fair state of preservation, and we were told that tothese the tigers of the surrounding forest occasionally resorted. Duringthe Mutiny this fort was for some time the headquarters of a rebelchief. With the exception of this tour to the east of Benares, to whichI shall afterwards refer, our experience in these itineracies closelyaccorded with that of former years. During this period the school andpreaching work of the mission was steadily prosecuted by the catechistsand missionaries. 

[Sidenote: TWO GATHERINGS AT BENARES. ]

Towards the close of 1856, and at the beginning of 1857, there were twointeresting gatherings at Benares. The one was the meeting of boys andlads from all parts of the province for a Biblical Examination--of whichI have already given some account. The other was a MissionaryConference, which was largely attended and efficiently conducted. Thefacilities for travelling were not so great as they are now, but theywere such as admitted the presence of a number of missionaries fromdistant places. We parted deeply thankful for the pleasant andprofitable intercourse we had had with each other. Little did we thinkof the terrible storm which was so soon to break over us, in whichseveral of our number were to lose their lives. 

CHAPTER XVI. 

THE MUTINY OF 1857-58. 

No one who was within the range of the hurricane of 1857, no one who waseven on its edge, can ever forget it. When we now look back, we marvelthat a single European in that part of India was spared to tell of itsfierce struggle, its sad sights, and its fearful perils. The annals ofthe Mutiny are furnished in volumes filled with ample details. Itscauses and consequences have been largely discussed. My narrower andhumbler aim is to describe that terrible outbreak so far, and only sofar, as it came within my own experience and observation. My narrativewill, however, be better understood by stating briefly the causes, which, in my opinion, led to this great rising against us, and by givingan outline of its progress before reaching Benares, where we thenresided. 

CAUSES OF THE MUTINY. 

Our position in India is very peculiar. The history of the worldpresents no parallel. A great continent, containing a number of nations, possessed of an ancient civilization, some of them composed of racesgiven to war and noted for their prowess, with a population amounting atpresent to 253 millions, has been brought under the dominion of acountry of limited extent and limited population like ours, separatedfrom it by many intervening countries, and accessible only by thousandsof miles of ocean. That continent has not been subjected to tribute, andthen left to its native rulers. Over by far the greater part of Indiathese rulers have been displaced, and British rule has been established. Where native rulers remain, they are bound to administer their affairsin accordance with the views of the Sovereign Power. Over a part of theIndian continent the rule commenced more than a hundred years ago, andfrom decade to decade it has extended till it now embraces its presentvast proportions. It extends beyond India. In the North-West we haveentered into what properly belongs to Afghanistan, and from Burma alarge extent of territory has been taken; so that the east as well asthe west coast of the Bay of Bengal has come under our rule. To allappearance the rule is as firmly established as if it had come down fromancient times. 

[Sidenote: INDIA CONQUERED BY INDIAN SOLDIERS. ]

It would be a great mistake to suppose that India had been conquered forEngland by its own people. If they had been left to themselves, no partof it would now belong to us. The small European force has always beenthe backbone of our armies; but in every battle native soldiers haveformed the great majority. The French gave us the example of employingnative soldiers to place their country under European rule. In thedissolution of the Mogul Empire, thousands of warriors were ready tofight the battles of any one, European or native, who would pay themwell. The example of the French was followed by the English, till India, from Cape Comorin to the mountains of the north and the north-west, cameunder their sway, to an extent and with a completeness and firmness ofgrasp never reached by the Muhammadan power in its palmiest days. EachPresidency--Bengal, Madras, and Bombay--has had its own native army, in1857 amounting altogether to 240, 000 men. In the Bengal army, by far thelargest of the three, there has never been a single native of BengalProper. It has been entirely composed of north countrymen, to a largeextent of Brahmans, and Chhatrees the old fighting caste of India, whohave entered our service on account of its good pay and good treatment, though alien from us in everything by which one people can be alien fromanother. Many of the native soldiers have been Muhammadans, who areintensely averse to us on both religious and political grounds. Underthe influence of friendly intercourse and good offices performed to eachother, a kindly feeling often sprung up between officers and men; but asa body they were mercenary troops fighting for strangers, and thehistory of the world furnishes abundant instances of such an army beingas formidable to their employers as to those against whom they have beenemployed. In the course of time our native soldiers were more and moretrusted; important places were garrisoned by them, military stores wereentrusted to them; and nothing was more natural than that in the moreambitious of their number the thought should spring up that the time hadarrived for expelling the stranger, and seizing the power within theirgrasp. In thus acting they could make themselves sure of the sympathy oftheir countrymen. 

[Sidenote: CAUSES OF DISSATISFACTION. ]

The Sepoys have been treated in the matter of pay, clothing, and food, as they never were under native rulers; but they have been subjected tostrict discipline, and they have been cut off from the much-prizedprivilege of foraging, or rather plundering. They have at differenttimes complained loudly of unjust treatment. Alleged breach of promisesof pay, and their being sent to fight our battles in foreign countriessuch as Burmah, China, Persia, and Afghanistan, and to parts of Indiaforeign to them, have been prominent among their causes of complaint. They have not confined themselves to complaint and remonstrance; theyhave again and again broken out into mutiny, which has led to someregiments being disbanded, and the mutineer leaders being severelypunished. Years before 1857 it was asserted by persons eminentlyqualified to judge, like Sir Henry Lawrence, that grievous mistakes hadbeen committed in the administration of the native army, and that oursafety demanded great changes in its treatment and distribution. Whenone reads the statements they made, and the warnings they gave, thewonder is the mutiny did not sooner occur. Lord Ellenborough, beforeleaving India, declared the Sepoys were our one peril in India, andcharacteristically proposed we should keep them in humour by keepingthem always fighting. 

All other causes of revolt were light compared with the charge oftenadvanced and believed that we were bent on the destruction of theirreligion. From the outbreak at Vellore in 1806, on to the great mutinyof 1857, this charge was persistently made. The Sepoys were allowed allthe religious liberty compatible with military obedience; they had everyfacility for following their religious customs; they were fenced offfrom Christian influences as no other part of the community was; theywere solemnly assured again and again their religion would bescrupulously respected; they had full evidence before their eyes thatwith few exceptions their officers had no Christian zeal. Whence, then, this charge of tampering with their religion? The explanation is to befound in the character of Hinduism. It is intensely outward. It is amatter of rite and ceremony, of meat and drink, of clothing and posture. It may be filched from a man without any act of his own by the act ofanother, and he may not be aware till informed that the fatal loss hasbeen incurred. Something may be introduced into his food which willdeprive him of his religion, and make him an outcast all his days. Whatmore easy than to introduce a defiling element, such as the blood or fatof the cow or bullock, of which the Brahman or Rajpoot might unawarepartake? To this intensely outward religion people of these castes arepassionately attached from custom, from superstition, and still more, Ithink, from the consideration among themselves and others which castepurity secures. Their honour, _izzat_, as they call it, is their mostvaluable possession. An attack on it is bitterly resented. This honouris quite consistent with licentiousness, robbery, plunder, and evenmurder; but to violate caste by drinking from the vessel of a low-casteman, or eating with him, would bring with it indelible disgrace. Topartake of the cow, the sacred animal, is the greatest crime which canbe committed, and, if done unconsciously, the greatest calamity. 

Notwithstanding the fact that the English as a people had little zealfor their religion, the Sepoys thought they saw reasons for our wishingto effect their conversion. If Christians, they would be fitterinstruments for carrying out the designs of their English conquerors. They would in that case be no longer hampered by class distinctions, commissariat arrangements could be more easily made, they would have noobjection to serving in foreign lands, and they would become identifiedwith us. What was more easy than to effect the change by themanipulation of their food? Their imagination led them to interpretfacts as justifying suspicion, and the supposition was enough to drivethem to revolt. 

The Muhammadans in India have become Hinduized to a large extent; theycontinually speak of themselves as a caste, and Muhammadan soldiers haveshared with their Hindu comrades in the fear that the English were benton destroying their religion. They took the most prominent part in themutiny at Vellore in 1806. They were injudiciously required there to puton the English military hat, to shave their beards, and put on leatherbelts, which they maintained were made of pigs' skins; and all this wasdone, they said, to turn them into _Topeewalas_, Hatmen--in other words, into Englishmen and Christians. 

[Sidenote: CO-OPERATING CAUSES FOR REVOLT. ]

Outside the army there have been causes, co-operating with those within, in prompting the soldiers to rise against us. Our government is a veryforeign one. There is a national gulf between the rulers and the ruled, and consequent absence of the sympathy which would draw them to eachother, if they were of the same people. Our government is at onceexpensive and strong, requiring a large amount of taxation consideringthe resources of the country, and able to enforce its payment. India hasbeen greatly favoured by high-minded and able rulers; but often, withthe best intentions, from want of thorough acquaintance with the nativecharacter and customs, injustice has at times been done by the decisionsof our courts. Though giving security for person and property, such asIndia had never previously enjoyed, our government has borne hardly onsome classes, such as the officials of the native states we haveannexed, the numerous dependents of the abolished native courts, and theable and enterprising members of the community, for whom no suitablesphere has been open, as the main prizes in both the military and civilservices are reserved for the English stranger. Then deposed princeshave now and then intrigued with the army to draw it away from itsallegiance. 

In the spring of 1856 Lord Dalhousie laid down his office, after hislong and memorable Proconsulship. So little did he anticipate the eventsof the coming year, that in the elaborate Minute he wrote on hisretirement he satisfied himself with saying, regarding the native army, that the condition of the Sepoy could not be improved. Till the closingmonths of the year there was no fear of the coming storm. Profound peacereigned throughout India. War had been declared against Persia, buthopes were entertained that victory would soon crown our arms, and thesehopes were fulfilled. 

THREATENINGS OF THE STORM. 

Towards the end of 1856 and early in 1857 there were mutterings of thestorm. A number of men were selected from each regiment to be taught theuse of the Enfield rifle, and for this purpose a new cartridge wasrequired, which required to be bitten with the teeth. The report spreadlike wild-fire, and was firmly believed, that the cartridge was smearedwith bullock's fat to destroy the caste of the Hindus, and with pig'sfat to destroy the caste of the Muhammadans. The Adjutant-General of thearmy declared there was not the slightest ground for the statement; butthe more strongly our innocence of design on their religion wasasserted, the more firmly did the Sepoys believe our guilt. Paper wasoffered to them, and they were told to prepare cartridges forthemselves; but they said the paper was dangerously glazed, and theywould not accept it. Among other things causing disquietude was an orderthat in future all enlisting must engage to go wherever they might besent in India or beyond. Hitherto some regiments had been enlisted onlyfor service in India, and could not be sent out of it except by theirown consent. On every side there were signs of a new era setting in, which forbode no good to the ancient customs and institutions of theland. The more aspiring spirits among the Sepoys had evidently formedthe project of uniting the whole army in the attempt to drive theEnglish into the sea, and secure power and emolument for themselves. 

[Sidenote: CIRCUMSTANCES FAVOURABLE TO REVOLT. ]

Various things favoured the project. It was well known that manythroughout India hated the English, and were ready to join in theirexpulsion. Forts and arsenals were left in their keeping, unchecked bythe presence of European soldiers. The mass of the European force was inthe far North-West, in the Punjab, and towards the border ofAfghanistan, as if there the danger lay. The Sepoys saw that if theycould combine and act in concert they could with ease strike us to theground. Then the prophecy was widely spread that our rule was speedilyto come to an end. It had commenced with our victory at Plassey on June23, 1757; and when the sun of June 23, 1857, should set, not one Englishface would be seen in India. Mysterious cakes, resembling our bannocks, were sent on from village to village, like the fiery cross in Scotlandin former days, to prepare the people for great and startling events. Early in 1857 the ferment among the soldiers was spreading among largeclasses of the people. 

During the cold weather of 1856-57 I spent some weeks in travelling withmy family in the country to the east of Benares, on the Calcutta road. We left the high-road and made our way, as I have already mentioned, toRohtas Gurh, a famous abandoned fortress on the top of a hill. In someof the villages to which I went to preach the Gospel the bitterestfeeling was shown, especially by young men, towards our rule andreligion. In one place the feeling manifested was so bitter that Ithought they were prepared to lay violent hands on me. I rememberremarking more than once, as I returned to the tent weary and worn outin body and mind, that a strange feeling was coming over the people, which I had never previously observed, and that I feared dark days wereapproaching. 

THE OUTBREAK AND PROGRESS OF THE MUTINY. 

At Berhampore, more than a hundred miles above Calcutta, andBarrackpore, a few miles from it, the Sepoys broke into open mutiny, which led to the leaders being executed and their regiments disbanded. The outbreak at these places made a painful impression on the entireEnglish community, and created deep anxiety. That anxiety was increasedby the reports received from day to day of the mutinous spirit shown bythe Sepoys all over the country. We were told of midnight meetings, insolent conduct, and incendiary fires. The most sanguine could not butfear that we were entering a calamitous period. The most hopeful werethose officers who had been long with native regiments, and were surethat whatever others might do, their men would remain staunch. 

[Sidenote: THE RISING AT MEERUT. ]

At length, on May 10th, the storm burst out at Meerut in all its fury. I cannot enter on a detailed account of the events of that sad, memorable day. I can only in a few words mention what took place. On theprevious day 87 men of a native cavalry regiment had, before the wholegarrison of the place, been put in irons for repeated persistentdisobedience. Though there was a large European force a native guard wasput over the prisoners, who were confined in a place close to theircomrades. No precaution was taken against their rescue. On the eveningof the next day, Sunday, as the Europeans were gathering for Church, theSepoys rose, murdered their officers, hastened to the parade ground, liberated their imprisoned comrades, opened the jails, raised all thevillainy of the native town, massacred the Christians whom they met, men, women, and children, set houses on fire, and then set out forDelhi, the great old imperial city. There they were welcomed by thetitular king and his family, and there, as at Meerut, they murdered allthe Christians on whom they could lay hold. By the mismanagement of thelarge European force at Meerut, a small portion of which was well ableto cope with the Sepoys, they did not arrive on the scene of revolt tillthe Sepoys had done all the mischief on which they were bent, and hadset out for Delhi. 

That 10th of May we remember vividly. We had had our usual afternoonservice with the native Christians. In the evening we walked out in thegarden. The moon was shining in an unclouded sky. Hot though the weatherwas we enjoyed our quiet walk, talked of the services of the day, andthe threatening appearance of affairs. Little did we think of theterrible scenes which were then being enacted at Meerut. 

The outbreak at Meerut awoke as with a peal of the loudest thunder theentire English community in India, and especially in Northern India, toa sense of imminent peril. We had hitherto lived in the enjoyment ofprofound security. There had been uneasiness on different occasions, when our power seemed imperilled by the disasters which overtook us inAfghanistan in 1841-42, and by the life and death struggle we hadafterwards with the Sikhs. Our enemies were then watching for our fall, and the reasons for uneasiness at those times were stronger than thecommunity generally were aware of. There had been also at differenttimes uneasiness in reference to the Sepoys, but they came to beregarded as wilful children, who might be troublesome, but who would dous no harm. In our own country, among our own people, we could not havefelt safer than we ordinarily did. At the travelling season we wentabout, pitched our tents in solitary spots, for weeks together perhapsdid not see a white face, and were treated not only with courtesy, butgenerally with profound deference, as if we belonged to a superior race. The people in their obsequious fashion, and with their idolatrous views, would almost have given us divine honours. All at once we realizedourselves as living in the midst of a dense alien population. Our owntrusted soldiers, serving under our banners, receiving our pay, andsworn to defend us, had risen against us; and with them as declaredenemies, in whom could we confide? Our obsequious servants of yesterdaymight become our murderers to-day. We felt ourselves at bay, surroundedby a host who might any moment fall on us and destroy us. 

CHAPTER XVII. 

THE OUTBREAK AT BENARES. 

At no place was the shock felt more severely than at Benares, where Iwas residing with my family. In no place was the danger greater. We wereliving in the suburbs of the most superstitious and fanatical city inthe land. Again and again during the eighty years of our rule there hadbeen riots in the city, professedly to avenge religious wrongs--riots soformidable, that they were quelled by military force. A very few yearsprevious to 1857 the city was thrown into violent commotion, inconsequence of new messing regulations in the jail, by which it wasalleged, though without reason, the caste of the prisoners would beaffected. The rowdy element, composed of those emphatically called_bud-mash_ "evil-doers, " persons ready for every mischief, was verystrong. The Sepoys put in the forefront of their quarrel the plea thatthey were fighting for their religion, and where could they expect somuch sympathy and help as in Kasee? Sir Henry Lawrence, writing sometime previously about the mistakes committed in the management of thenative army, named Benares as a place where fearful scenes would bewitnessed in the event of a Sepoy rising. Intensely Hindu, thoughBenares be, it has, as we have already observed, a large Muhammadanpopulation, and in attacking us the Hindus could fully depend on theirhelp. 

Our danger was greatly increased by the vast disproportion between thenative and European force--a disproportion so great, that apart from thedanger of our neighbourhood to a great city, from which we might expecta host to pour out to attack us, it looked as if we were doomed todestruction. We had in Benares a Native Infantry regiment, which wasbelieved to be tainted; a Sikh regiment, the temper of which was littleknown; and, a few miles off, an Irregular Cavalry regiment, composed, itwas said, of a superior class of men, all, I believe, Muhammadans, butwhom few could trust in the event of a rising. Our European forceconsisted of thirty artillery-men in charge of a battery of three guns. At the fort of Chunar, sixteen miles distant, there was a number ofEuropean soldier pensioners, of whom perhaps sixty or seventy might beeffective. So unbounded had been the confidence in the Sepoys, that theartillery-men in Benares and the pensioners in Chunar were the onlyEuropean force in the entire province of Benares under the BenaresCommissioner, with a population of over ten millions; while in sevenstations in the province there were native soldiers, chiefly infantry, but partly cavalry and artillery. Besides the English officers of thenative regiments, and some half-dozen English civil officials, the onlyEnglish people were missionaries of the Church, Baptist, and LondonSocieties, and a few traders, while a few indigo planters were scatteredin the country. 

[Sidenote: PREPARATION FOR THE STORM. ]

On the news of the Meerut mutiny reaching Benares, the civil andmilitary authorities lost no time in consulting what should be done. Theproposal that we should leave in a body for the Fort of Chunar was mostwisely rejected. It was impossible to disarm the distrusted NativeInfantry regiment in the absence of a European force. There was a largebuilding in cantonments, which had been erected for a mint for theNorth-Western Provinces, and had been used for this purpose till theprovincial mints were removed to Calcutta. It always afterwards bore thename of "The Mint. " This building is in a wide enclosure, surrounded bya high wall, and it was hinted all round that in the event of a risingwe should, if possible, make our way to this place. The IrregularCavalry regiment was called in to patrol the roads leading to thestation and city, and report the presence of suspicious persons. Theresolution was formed to maintain a bold front, and pursue our usualcourse, as if we knew that succour was at hand. On every side the hopewas expressed that none would give way to panic. The men at the head ofaffairs had the general confidence of the community. 

Most happily for us and for many others there was a lull in the stormafter the mutiny at Meerut and the possession of Delhi by the mutineers. There was alarm everywhere, here and there there was commotion, butthere were no extensive and concerted risings. If there had been wecould not have been saved. Our soldiers were returning from Persia, regiments proceeding to China were stopped on the way and brought toIndia, and an available force was thus placed at the disposal of theauthorities. English soldiers were hastened up from Calcutta. From dayto day we with joy saw them pass our gate in carriages on their way tocantonments. Great though our danger was they were not detained. A smallnumber was kept for our defence, and the rest were sent on to relieveour sorely-pressed people farther north. Some began to hope the darkcloud over us was about to be dispersed, while others looked on ourposition with dismay approaching despair. As our house was in a veryexposed position, a friend had at an early period invited us to take upour abode with him; but we resolved to remain for the present in our ownhome. 

THE FOURTH OF JUNE, 1857, AT BENARES. 

At length the storm burst over us. By attempts at incendiary fires andin other ways the Native Infantry regiment had shown a mutinous spirit. The necessity for disarming it was obvious to all except its ownofficers, but the difficulty of the measure was great. On June 4thColonel Neil, one of those men whose high qualities were elicited by theterrible struggle on which we had entered, arrived at Benares. On theprevious day a native regiment had mutinied at Azimghur, sixty milesdistant. A council was held, and as there were one hundred and twentyEnglish soldiers it was resolved to disarm the Native Infantry regimentnext morning. The question was asked, "Why not now? We may be all killedbefore morning. " Immediate disarmament was determined on. Well was itfor us this was the decision, as it was afterwards found that very nighthad been fixed for the rising of the regiment, and the massacre of usall. The whole military force of the place was called out, the Englishsoldiers being placed near the guns, and the Sepoys were ordered to piletheir arms. The order instead of being obeyed was met by our officersand men being fired on, and the fight commenced. 

[Sidenote: THE RISING AT BENARES. ]

We had just finished dinner when our night watchman rushed into theroom with the startling words, _Pultun bigar guya_, and _lin men agluga!_--"The regiment has mutinied, and the cantonments are on fire. "Scarcely had he uttered the words, when we heard the sharp rattle of themusketry and the crash of the guns. Our little conveyance was madequickly ready, and, with all others in that part of the suburbs, wedrove as quickly as we could to the only place of temporary safetyavailable for us, on the banks of the Ganges at the northern end of thecity. The English were in different parts of the suburbs, and betookthemselves to the places nearest to them which promised immediateshelter. Sir John Kaye, the historian of the Sepoy War, says that themissionaries left the city for Chunar, with the exception of one henames, Mr. Leupolt. In fact, only the Church missionaries went in thatdirection, and they could go in no other. 

As we were hastening to the Ganges we knew from the noise of themusketry and cannon that the battle was going on, and from the cloud ofsmoke rising from cantonments we feared that all the houses were onfire. We went with others to the house of an English merchant whom weknew well, and then as the natives were gathering around we betookourselves to boats on the river, and got out into the stream. In a shorttime a messenger from cantonments reached us with the good news that ourmen were victorious, and that the mutineers were in flight. We returnedto the house of our merchant friend with the intention of remainingthere for the night. With our party were a number of children, some ofthem infants, and they, poor things, were put to rest in any cornerwhich could be found. Between eight and nine the Brigade-Major, who hadbeen slightly wounded, and had been saved from certain death by thefaithfulness of a trooper, rode into the compound accompanied by men ofthe Irregular Cavalry regiment. We all ran out, and were told by himthat a number of English soldiers, who had just arrived from Calcutta, were on the other side of the Ganges ready to be ferried over, and thatthey would form our escort to the Mint, which was between three and fourmiles distant. In the meantime we learned all that had occurred--how theNative Infantry regiment had mutinied, how they had been joined by theSikhs, some said by panic, by others I believe more truly, from sympathywith their Hindustanee brethren, as was shown by their after conduct;and how all had been put to flight by our band of soldiers, aided by theguns. On our side four were killed and nineteen wounded, of whom thegreater number afterwards died. How many of the Sepoys were killed wasnot ascertained, as, with the exception of a few, the dead and woundedwere carried off by their comrades. 

When all was ready we set out, a long cavalcade, with English soldiersin front and behind, and native troopers on each side, our guardiansthen, but before the morning dawned in flight to join the mutineers. Itwas a calm, beautiful moonlight night, forming a strange contrast to theturmoil of the preceding hours. The road took us by our house, and as wepassed the gate a servant, who had been watching for us, came out withartificially cooled water, which was very welcome. We reached the Mintabout midnight, and there the whole European community was assembled. Onevery side there was eager talk about our position and prospects, butthere was no appearance of panic or fright. The mothers soon succeededin finding spots in the spacious rooms of the Mint--which had not beenswept, and were covered with half an inch of mud--for their preciouscharge, and there they remained to watch over them; while the mensauntered about, or tried to sit where anything like sitting waspracticable. Stray shots were heard, and from the city went up rockets, which were regarded as signals to the Sepoys outside. Most were awake asif it were full day. Between three and four in the morning, as I wassitting with two or three others on a native bedstead, a person came andsaid, "Where is the magistrate? The city is up. " It was a false alarm;the city remained strangely quiet. As the morning broke we were all insafety, and no enemy was to be seen. Many of the English soldiers wereso overcome by fatigue that they lay on the gravel fast asleep, withtheir muskets by their side. 

[Sidenote: LIFE AT THE MINT. ]

In the Mint we all remained for more than a week in the greatestpossible discomfort, unable to change our clothes except by going tosome house outside, which some of us ventured to do. We once ventured toour house for some very necessary articles, and daily visits were paidto a barrack a short way off, where the sick and wounded were. Duringthe day, with the blazing sun above us, and the wind blowing through theMint with the heat of a furnace, we were obliged to confine ourselves toits large crowded rooms. The exposure was trying, but was patientlyborne, and did no seeming injury to our health. At night we sleptoutside, most of us on the flat roof of the Mint, on bedding which ourservants brought us. Our food was cooked at our homes, and brought to usby our servants, and very thankful were we to get it, though we hadneither tables to sit at nor chairs to sit on. Had not our servants beenfaithful we should have starved, as the authorities, to prevent panicand to show a bold front, had laid in no provisions. This seems veryunwise, and yet there is no doubt the bold front did much under God toeffect our deliverance. 

In the morning of the Sunday after the mutiny the Rev. C. B. Leupolt, ofthe Church Mission, preached on the parade ground. In the afternoon Iwas requested to preach. The soldiers, with their rifles in their hands, and the European inhabitants were my audience. I took for my text wordswhich at once suggested themselves to my mind, "If God be for us, whocan be against us?" These words of the Apostle Paul, I was afterwardstold, came fraught with strength to the hearts of some present. 

On Sunday evening it began to be whispered that mutiny had broken out atAllahabad. On Monday we knew all. The 6th N. I. Regiment, afterprofessing in the afternoon their readiness to march to Delhi and fightthe rebels, in the evening rose, murdered sixteen officers, six of themyoung lads who had just arrived, and all Europeans who came their way. Happily families were in the Fort, to which they had betaken themselvesin opposition to the affectionate remonstrances of the native officers, who said it was a slur on their fidelity! The Sepoys plundered theTreasury; and it is said many of them were afterwards murdered by thevillagers on account of the money with which they were laden. 

As the Sepoys entirely disappeared, and the city of Benares was quiet, though the country around was much disturbed, most of us after a timereturned to our homes. In our own case we found that not one of ourservants had decamped, and not a pin's worth had been stolen. The verynight of the mutiny a servant picked up the few silver spoons we hadleft on the table, and at considerable risk made his way to us to placethem in his mistress's hands. Indeed, all about us acted with afaithfulness which elicited our warm gratitude. 

[Sidenote: INCIDENT AT THE MINT. ]

While we were at the Mint a little incident occurred, which suggestedhow, in the excited state of affairs, a spark might have caused a greatconflagration. Seeing a crowd of natives, almost all servants, at thegate, I went to it, and there the sentry, a little peppery Irishman, wasthreatening to stab with his bayonet a native servant with a note in hishand. I asked what was the matter. The sentry said, "That black fellowis mocking me, and I'll send this through him. " The servant appealed tome. He said he had a note for a gentleman in the Mint, and entreatedthat "gora, " "white man, " to let him in, but instead of doing so hethreatened to kill him. The mocking was, it turned out, the nativefolding his hands in the attitude of supplication. I explained thematter, and the man got in. The native servants were so roughly treatedby some of our people, especially by the newly-arrived soldiers, simplybecause they were natives, that I was afraid they might leave us in abody; and if they had done so we should have been in a sad plight. Oneof my own servants, a native Christian, complained bitterly to me of thetreatment he had received. 

The quiet of Benares during this period was remarkable--I might almostsay preternatural. When the fight of the 4th of June commenced, numberswere seen with drawn swords rushing towards cantonments, but when theysaw Sepoys falling, and others running away, they shrank back into thecity. A great dread fell on the entire population. I was told by nativesthe report had gone out that the English soldiers had been commanded toenter the city, and slay every man, woman, and child they met; and thatin consequence, to adopt their exaggerated words, they sat trembling allnight, no one daring to sleep. 

In the meantime the terrible work of retribution commenced. Martial lawwas proclaimed, and many poor miserable creatures, charged withplundering, were hanged. Some of the Sepoys caught were blown from guns. I will not harrow my readers with details. I shunned as much as I couldthese bloody scenes, but on several occasions I came suddenly on them. To the present day I shudder as I think of what I saw. 

THE PANIC OF JULY 6TH. 

[Sidenote: OUR DAY OF PANIC. ]

I must now come to our day of panic, July 6th. July 5th was a Sunday. Wehad our usual services with the native Christians. Some two hours afterthe evening service, a nephew of ours, then at Benares, drove into thecompound, and told us we must go at once to the Mint, as a large forceof Sepoys and country people were four miles off, prepared to attack thejail. This was startling news, as our house lay in the direct linebetween the jail and the city, and, in the event of the attack beingsuccessful, we should be the first victims. Still, we were veryunwilling to stir, but our nephew was so urgent that we at last compliedwith his entreaty. A refugee family was in our house, and with us allcrowded into a small conveyance we made our way to the rendezvous. Whata scene was there! Most had arrived before us. Rain was falling, and wecould not remain out. The rooms were so crowded that we could not getinto them, and we had to lie for the night as we could in a dirtypassage, with our back to the wall. The night passed off without analarm, and in the morning we returned to our home, somewhat annoyed athaving been taken from it, as we supposed, without sufficient reason. 

On the morning of the 6th I had a strange duty to discharge for such atime--the marriage of a couple. One of our native Christians hadarranged for his marriage taking place at that date. I told him thatthis was no time for marrying; that we who were married must abide withour families, but that those who were intending marriage should defer itto a more propitious season. He said all was arranged, and he begged meto officiate, which I did, I must say, with a bad grace. No sooner wasthe marriage over than I went home. After breakfast and family worship, we each betook ourselves, thoroughly worn out, to our rooms to obtainsome rest. Scarcely had I lain down on my couch, when our faithfulwatchman came to my door and exclaimed, "If you do not go at once to theMint you will all be killed. " I asked him what was the matter. He couldnot tell me. He could only say, "Fly, fly. " The refugee lady who, withher family, was with us, hearing the watchman's words, exclaimed, "Oh, Mr. Kennedy, do not leave us!" to which I replied, "Depend on it, I willnot. Rather than that, I myself will remain behind. " Our conveyance wasspeedily made ready, and off we started, with such a crowded coach ashas been seldom seen, I, as driver, urging the poor overladen horse tohis utmost speed. Natives as well as Europeans were seized with panic. There was a stream, then in full flood, close to our house, and I sawseveral natives throw themselves into it to swim across, at the imminentrisk of their lives. As we crossed one of the great roads leading to thecity, the natives were running as if pursued by demons. Right before uswe saw an English lady running towards the Mint, with her bare head inthe sun, which had now come out in its strength. A gentleman in a buggydrove past us, pulled in reins, the lady leaped into it, and they dashedon to the place of refuge. On reaching the Mint we found most of theEuropeans there before us. I accosted a friend and said, "What does thismean?" He told us how the impression had gone out that the enemy were onus, and how the panic might have been prevented if information of thestate of affairs had been given. There was danger. The host comingagainst us had, with characteristic procrastination, put off the attacktill the morning. To prevent their approach to the city, every man andgun that could be spared were sent out to meet them. 

When we reached the Mint we heard the rumour that Cawnpore had fallen. The report was not generally believed, but it was true. We were only twohundred miles from Cawnpore, and yet nine days had passed before ourhearing of its fall, and we then heard of it only as a rumour. 

The feeling of panic soon subsided, and as some in their haste had takensomething with them, it soon looked as if we were a large improvisedpicnic party. For a few hours all was quiet; but in the afternoon therattle of the musketry and the boom of the cannon told us the battle hadcommenced. Soon the news reached us that the rebels were in flight, andthat we were again safe. Till the news reached there was anxiety, butthere was little manifestation of it, except by the wives of some of thesoldiers, who were wringing their hands and weeping bitterly. The nightwas spent by us in the greatest discomfort, huddled together, lying inour day clothes on the floor, in an atmosphere so close that I wonderwe were not stifled. That 6th of July, 1857, at Benares can never beobliterated from the memory of any one who was there. It makes usunderstand, as nothing else could do, how much more dreadful a panic isthan the most furious combat. 

[Sidenote: THE ADVENTURES OF A MARRIAGE DAY. ]

I must recall my readers for a little to the couple whom I had marriedon the morning of that memorable day. We had not been above a fewminutes in the Mint, when whom did I see rushing in at the gate, out ofbreath, but my friends whom I had united in wedlock a few hourspreviously, the bridegroom a few steps in advance of the bride, who wasdoing her best, with little success, to save her bridal dress from beingsoiled by the muddy road. Grave though our position was, I could not butsmile when I saw them. I went to meet them, and looking sternly at thebridegroom I said, "Chhotkan, did I not tell you this was no time tomarry?" He looked at me sheepishly, and said, "Well, sir, it is nowover, and I cannot help it. " I had better add that the marriage has beena happy one. The husband has maintained a Christian character, and hashad a prosperous career, and they both survive to the present time. 

THE DAYS SUCCEEDING THE DAY OF PANIC. 

On the day after the panic we all returned to our respective homes. Theimmediate danger was past, but the country around was in a verydisturbed state. The officer commanding the station sent round acircular strongly recommending the immediate departure for Calcutta ofEuropean families, and, indeed, of all Europeans who were not able andwilling to bear arms. Like many of my countrymen, I was thrown by thiscircular into great perplexity. Our house was out of cantonments, in avery exposed situation. We had four children with us at the time, theeldest six years of age, and the youngest a little more than threemonths. Their departure was indispensable. Was I to go with them, orsend them away and remain behind? Some advised me to go, but we soon sawthis was not the course which ought to be pursued. Officers were sendingaway their families, and they themselves were remaining behind. For meto desert my post at such a time, was seen by us both, would be to undothe work of my life, and it was evident my duty was to remain. Armedsteamers were going up and down the Ganges, and I hoped to secure apassage to Calcutta in one of them for my family. Hearing a steamer wasexpected from Allahabad, we went down to Raj Ghat; and as soon as thesteamer came to anchor I went on board. It was full to overflowing ofrefugees from the North-West. The captain told me he could not give myfamily even a deck passage, so crowded was the vessel. There was nothingfor us but to go back to a friend's house, where we had been living fora few days. Through the kindness of a friend at Allahabad, to whom I hadwritten, I succeeded in securing a small cabin for my family in the nextsteamer, and in it they made their way to Calcutta, after a detention ofsome days at Dinapore in great discomfort and danger, owing to themutiny having broken out there. At Calcutta they embarked, in September, in a cargo ship for England, which they reached after a long and stormypassage. During the whole of July and August the communication betweenBengal and the Upper Provinces was so interrupted, that sometimes forweeks together no certain information was received of what wastranspiring. At Benares the only mails reaching were from places nearus. At Calcutta the rumour went out that Benares had fallen, and thatall the English people in it had been massacred, causing the deepestdistress to the many there who had left loved ones behind. 

BENARES FROM JULY TO DECEMBER. 

[Sidenote: EXPOSURE TO ATTACK. ]

From July till October the position of the English at Benares was one ofgreat danger. We had no fighting, but we were continually threatened. Wehad twice or thrice an alarm, the most serious being from an _emeute_ inthe jail, which was soon suppressed and the leaders executed. Delhi wasnot taken till September, and till that was done, all who desired ouroverthrow were sure it was about to be accomplished. Our great peril wasfrom Lucknow. Our small force there was besieged, it was reckoned, by50, 000 men. They were not relieved till towards the end of September. While the siege was being carried on, information reached theauthorities of Benares that a plan had been formed to detach from thebesieging army five or six thousand men to attack us. The plan was mostfeasible. The distance by the direct route was under two hundred miles. The river Goomtee, which flows by Lucknow, enters the Ganges a few milesfrom Benares. It was at that time in full flood, and a flotilla might beeasily gathered by which, in a few days, a large body of armed men withthe munitions of war could have reached us. Some of the Barons of Oudesent offers of aid, but these offers were by many considered lures todraw us into their net, that they might the more easily destroy us. JungBuhadur, the famous ruler of Nepal, proposed to come with his braveGhoorkas to defend us, but their presence was more feared than desired. Then in the great city near us we knew there were many plotting ourdestruction, and ready to rise at the first signal of an approachingfoe. 

So great was the danger considered, that thousands were set to theerection of a great earth fort close to the Ganges, on the site of anold Muhammadan fortress. Owing to the disturbed state of the country thecommerce of the place was paralyzed; the stock of grain in the marketwas very low, and food was selling at famine prices. The erection of thefort gave most welcome employment to the poorer portion of thecommunity. So great was the danger, that, acting under the advice ofthose best acquainted with the state of affairs, I sent to this fortbooks, documents, and other things which I deemed it most important topreserve. We were instructed how we were to act in the event of a suddenoutbreak, the rendezvous to which we should instantly resort, and fromwhich we might make our way together to the fort, which was beingerected. It often occurred to me that our position at that time was likethat of persons sitting on a barrel of gunpowder in a house on fire. Soalarming were the accounts received in the daytime, that I often laydown at night uncertain what might occur before morning. Often I got up, looked towards the cantonments, and listened. Thankful that all wasquiet, I returned to my bed. 

[Sidenote: CONSTANCY OF THE NATIVE CHRISTIANS. ]

During these anxious months I had abundant reason to be thankful for thedecision at which we had arrived, that I should remain behind when myfamily left for England. In the discharge of the work devolving on mefrom day to day, I felt I should have been recreant to duty, and missedmany opportunities of usefulness, had I gone away. Early in September, to the great grief of us all, a much-loved member of the Mission, mysister-in-law, the wife of my senior colleague, Mr. Buyers, was removedby death. She had remained behind when other ladies, who had children, left. Mr. Buyers was prostrated by the blow, and for a considerable timewas unable to resume work. The charge of the Mission thus came largelyinto my hands. Before the end of July we re-opened our principal schoolin the heart of the city, of which I was superintendent, and which Ivisited constantly. At Benares a Depôt Hospital was opened, to which thesick and wounded Europeans were brought from the surrounding country, and there a part of every day was spent. My principal work, however, wasamong the native Christians, with whom I met constantly to speak aboutthe state of affairs, to consult what should be done, to commitourselves to God, and ask from Him guidance and protection. The firmnessand courage of these Christians were worthy of the highest praise. Asnatives, they could elude observation far more easily than Europeans;but even where they were unknown, so entwined is idolatry with the wholelife of the people, they could not be any time among their countrymenwithout being discovered if faithful to their Lord; and, as recreantsfrom their ancestral religion, they were sure to be cruelly treated. They had only to declare themselves Muhammadans, and safety would be atonce secured. Not one of our native Christian community thought ofseeking safety by such means. They seemed resolved to brave every hazardrather than deny their Lord. At length, by the capture of Delhi in thefirst half of September, and the relief of the Lucknow garrison sometwelve days afterwards, the dark, threatening clouds over us began tobreak. 

From October onward the tension was loosened; but the danger was notover. Though the garrison at Lucknow had been relieved, we were forcedto evacuate it, and for months afterwards the whole country of Ouderemained in the hands of those who had risen against us. Over a largeportion of the North-West, and in Central India, our government remainedprostrate. We had been so long in danger we had become blunted to thesense of it, and remained unmoved in circumstances which at an earlyperiod would have greatly excited us. 

During the recent outbreak in Egypt, the position of Europeans in thatcountry in many respects resembled that of Europeans in Northern Indiain 1857. Very similar was their danger, very similar their sufferings, and very similar was the deliverance of the greater number. But forprovidential interposition, not one would have in either case escaped. When I look back and consider what our position was, I marvel that anyof us survived to tell what we endured; and our hearts are hard and coldindeed if we are not fervently thankful for our preservation. While mynarrative shows that the residents at Benares in 1857 had to passthrough a season of severe trial and great danger, all acquainted withthe history of that period are aware that our countrymen in other placeshad vastly more to suffer. In many places the rising was temporarilysuccessful. With us, the authorities all through kept the upper hand. The result was that we were kept from the extremity of suffering towhich many were subjected. The entire loss of property was the least ofthe trials they had to bear. Many, among whom were delicate women andhelpless children, were cruelly murdered. Others saw the objects oftheir warmest love killed before their eyes, had to endure the mostfearful privations, and had to pass through untold horrors beforereaching a place of safety. Not a few sank into the grave, the victimsof toil, suffering, and sorrow. At no place was the danger greater thanat Benares, and at no place did the general community suffer so little. 

VISIT TO ALLAHABAD. 

[Sidenote: THE DESOLATION OF ALLAHABAD. ]

Learning that there was no missionary at Allahabad, about seventy milesnorth-west of Benares, which is now the seat of Government for theNorth-West, I wrote in December to a native Christian there whom I knew, proposing to visit him and his brethren, and in due course I got hisreply, expressing the pleasure my visit would give them. I accordinglywent, taking Mirzapore on my way, where I spent two or three days veryhappily with the mission family. I found a tent erected for myaccommodation by the native Christian brethren close to the ruins of themission premises. What a scene of desolation the whole place presented!The houses of the European residents had been set on fire, and therethey were as the mutineers had left them. There were no Europeanfamilies. One large house had been put in order by the magistrate, andin the wide surrounding enclosure what may be called a canvas town hadarisen. Civil and military officers were continually passing up anddown, and for their accommodation tents had been pitched. All took theirmeals together in the restored mansion, and they kindly asked me to jointhem during my stay. My tent was pitched close to the abode of thenative Christians. I had thus the opportunity, during the week Iremained, of holding constant intercourse with my own countrymen andwith native brethren. From the natives I heard much of what they hadseen and suffered. I was shown the scenes of the terrible events whichhad occurred, and as retributive measures were still carried on, I saw, in spite of myself, scenes which made me shudder. On the other side ofthe Ganges there were frequent skirmishes between parties sent out andbands there who were resisting our authority; the firing was distinctlyheard. On Sunday I preached twice to the native Christians. In theforenoon the service was conducted in a small chapel, which had not beenburnt down, because it was so close to native houses that, if burnt, theflames would have certainly spread to them. In the evening I re-openedfor worship the principal mission chapel. An attempt had been made toset it on fire, but as it had not been at once successful, owing to itsbeing very strongly built, the insurgents satisfied themselves withbreaking the doors, windows, seats, pulpit, and everything which couldbe easily destroyed. The wreck had been cleared away, and there Ipreached to a goodly company, one of them a man whose arm had been cutoff because he was a Christian, and who had been left as dead. Hisrecovery was marvellous. That was a memorable Sunday to me and to thoseto whom I ministered. My morning subject was, "In the day of adversityconsider" (Eccles. Vii. 14); and in the evening, Christ stilling thestorm (Matt. Viii. 23-28). 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

VISIT TO CEYLON AND RETURN TO BENARES. 

1858-1859. 

During the hot season and rains of 1858 I suffered greatly from boilsand feverishness. After applying in vain the usual means of cureprescribed, I was advised to try a sea voyage. I accordingly arranged togo down the Bay of Bengal to Point de Galle in Ceylon, and to awaitthere the arrival of my wife from England, so as to return with her toIndia. 

[Sidenote: VOYAGE TO CALCUTTA. ]

The rebellion still flickered in Bahar. A part of the road to Calcuttawas in the hand of Kower Singh, a rebel chief; and travellers likemyself to the capital from the North-West were on that account happy toavail themselves of the river steamers. We had the clear sky and thegentle breeze of that delightful season in Northern India. From morningto night we sat under a thick awning, reading or talking, as we wereinclined, refreshed by the breeze, and interested in the various objectspresented to our view on the river and its banks. The fortnight of thevoyage passed most pleasantly, and I arrived in Calcutta half cured ofmy ailments. I was happy to find myself in time for the outgoing steamerof the P. And O. Company, on which I took passage to Point de Galle. Onlanding I saw the last newspaper received from England with the list ofpassengers for successive steamers, and from it I learned that my wifewas to come a month later than I had anticipated. This left me with fiveor six weeks in Ceylon to dispose of myself as I best could. I made upmy mind to travel through the island. I accordingly left Galle by coachthe next day for Colombo, the capital. After staying there a few days Iset out for Kandy, the old capital; held on to Newera Ellia, thesanatorium of the island, lying under Pedro Talla Galla, its highestmountain; ascended the mountain, made my way back by another route toKandy, and then proceeded to Galle, where I was happy to meet my wifeand child, with whom I went on to Calcutta. 

When I landed at Galle I was not aware that I knew a single individualin the island, but I was not an hour at the hotel to which I went beforeI found myself in company with a medical gentleman, a native ofPerthshire, who knew my friends; and on my arrival at Colombo I wasrecognized on the street, by my resemblance to my father, by a personwho had never seen me previously, but who knew him. It struck me itwould be dangerous for me to attempt an incognito, which, happily, I hadno temptation to do. During my travels in Ceylon I met several from theNorth of Scotland whom I had known intimately, and among them one whohad been for years my schoolfellow. My countrymen were there, aselsewhere, prominent members of the community. 

[Sidenote: THE SCENERY OF CEYLON. ]

I was much interested in all I saw during my travels in Ceylon. I wasprepared to see fine scenery and rich foliage, but the reality greatlyexceeded my expectation. On the coast between Galle and Colombo there isa considerable extent of level land, covered by the cocoanut palm, which forms much of the wealth of the people. Every part of the tree isturned to account. The wood is used for rafters, and the leaves forthatching. The kernel is an article of food, but its principal valuecomes from the oil made from it after it has been dried. The nutcontains a liquid, which is deemed by the natives very refreshing. Thefibrous husk round the cocoanut, called coir, is manufactured intoropes, matting, brushes, and other useful articles. It is largely andprofitably exported. The trees are tapped for a juice, which, boiledwhen fresh, gives what is called palm-sugar; but when kept, becomesintoxicating. The name of the tree in the native language is "Tar"; thisintoxicating juice is called "Taree, " and by a well-known custom oflinguistic transposition it is called by English people "Toddy. " We haveat Benares palm-trees which furnish this toddy, and I am sorry to say itis by far too largely used. This cocoanut palm abounds on the coast, andis always bent towards the sea, as if to welcome its breezes, or tostrengthen itself against them. Away from the coast it well-nighdisappears, and trees of a very different order are seen on every side, many of them rising to a great height and covered with beautifulfoliage. 

The scenery in the interior is very striking. When travelling on the topof the coach from Colombo to Kandy, I might have thought myself in myown Highlands, as mountain after mountain came into view, and our roadin its descents and ascents skirted precipices, where safety demandedthe most careful driving. Long, winding valleys, through which riversflowed, with falls and cascades here and there, reminded me of ourfinest straths. I saw no large bodies of water like our lochs. Therewere two points of marked dissimilarity. The month was December; Irequired no great-coat, and the rays of the sun were stronger than waspleasant. Instead of the leafless trees, and the white covering of thesnow of the Scottish winter, there were trees in their richest dress, and all around a verdure of the freshest green, telling me I was in atropical land, and in a land where heat and moisture by their abundancegave extraordinary force to vegetation. As I travelled from Kandy toNewera Ellia, and back again to Kandy by a different route, myimpression of the picturesqueness and productiveness of the country wasconfirmed. There was one thing I did not see--the blooming heather of myown Highlands. 

There is, I suppose, no country where all that is desirable can beobtained. It must be acknowledged Ceylon has its disadvantages. Itsclimate is that of perpetual summer, warmer indeed at some times than atothers, but never approaching our heat in Northern India in May andJune. It is only six degrees from the equator, and it owes its moderatetemperature to its sea breezes and abundant rain. I missed the bracingcoolness of Northern India in December and January. Perpetual summer isgood for neither soul nor body. For bodily health and enjoyment thealternation of cold and heat is far better, as in the moral worldprosperity and adversity are required for the maturing of character. 

There is one evil--I do not know whether I should call it a minor or amajor evil--to which both man and beast are exposed in Ceylon. We haveall heard of snakes in the grass. In the fine grass of Ceylon leechesabound, and are ever ready to take their unwelcome contribution from allthat come their way. They leap up on passers by, and try to exact fromthem their favourite food. I was often reminded by unpleasant nips thatthey had got hold of me. For months after leaving Ceylon I had on mylimbs marks of their doings. 

[Sidenote: PRODUCTS OF CEYLON. ]

When travelling between Kandy and Newera Ellia, I was the guest ofcoffee-planters, all of them, so far as I remember, my own countrymen;and saw coffee in all its stages, from the berry on the coffee-bush onto the manufactured article ready for the market. The plant isindigenous in the island, but it was turned to little account till takenup by Europeans. The pioneers in its culture, as so often happens insuch cases, are said to have lost heavily; but at the time of my visitplantations were paying well, and a large tract of land was undercultivation. I believe it afterwards ceased to be profitable, and nowtea cultivation is taking its place. 

At one time cinnamon was the most valuable export of the island, but by1858 it had so decreased in value by its being produced abundantly inlands still farther east, that comparatively little attention was givento it. I was taken to the public garden in Colombo, and saw thework-people with their sharp knives peeling off the fragrant bark fromthe cinnamon-tree, and preparing it for the market. 

Colombo, the capital, is a large, stirring, rising town. Galle is a muchsmaller place, and owes its importance to its being a place of call forsteamers on account of its sheltered bay. It is noted for its pedlars, men who, with combs in their long hair, and clad in jacket andpetticoat, might be taken for women. Their wares of jewellery andprecious stones have not a high character for genuineness. Kandy, theold capital in the interior, is a small place, lying very low, and issurrounded by hills. It has a beautiful little artificial lake, and isfamous for its temple, with a tooth of Buddha as its great treasure. 

During the few weeks I was in Ceylon I was most hospitably entertainedwherever I went by missionaries, chaplains, coffee-planters, and others. I shall always retain a grateful recollection of the kindness Iexperienced. From these friends I heard much about the spiritual stateof Ceylon. It is well known the Dutch were the first Europeans whoobtained a footing in the island. They determined to stamp outheathenism and establish Christianity, not by violent persecution, butby reserving offices of every description for those who embraced theChristian faith, by treating them in every possible way as a privilegedclass, and by showing official disfavour to the unbaptized. An agencycomposed of chaplains, catechists, and schoolmasters was appointed tobring the community within the Christian fold. The work went on withgreat apparent success. Tens of thousands avowed themselves Christians. It looked as if heathenism was to disappear under Dutch rule. If theDutch had retained possession of the island, and had persevered in theirpolicy, in all likelihood by this time Ceylon would have been aprofessedly Christian country, with a strong underlying element ofheathen notion and practice. 

[Sidenote: BUDDHIST WORSHIPPERS. ]

No sooner was the policy of neutrality adopted with the installation ofEnglish rule, than this large Christian community melted away, andflowed into the old channel of Buddhism, which had been for ages thereligion of the Cingalese. The thousands of Christians were reduced tohundreds and tens. The London Missionary Society early entered thefield, but withdrew. In the parts of Ceylon where I travelled I met withMethodist, Baptist, and Church of England missionaries, and in otherdistricts there were American missionaries. The descendants of thosewho once were professed Christians retain some Christian notions, andadhere to some Christian practices. Baptism is still in favour withthem, but it is never administered by Protestant missionaries except tothose deemed fitting recipients. If Buddhists were consistent, caste ina mild form and to a limited extent might be tolerated, but could not beapproved. They are not, however, consistent, and caste is much moreregarded by them than Gautam would have sanctioned, though it has notamong them the rigidity it has among the Hindus. I was told regardingone boarding institution for young men, all ate together; but onreturning to their homes they performed certain ceremonies which removedthe defilement they had contracted. As to the general character of thenative Christians, I inferred it was much the same as in India, withsimilar excellences and similar defects. 

I went into some of the Buddhist temples. On the walls were sculpturedthe terrible sufferings of the wicked in the different hells into which, according to Buddhism, they are cast. The worshippers appeared to meremarkably stolid and listless, as if engaged in a work which could notbe too mechanically performed. There was nothing of the animation of theHindus when they are worshipping their gods. 

I went into a large Roman Catholic church, and saw all the usualfurniture of Roman Catholic worship. On the wall, the worship of demonsby the faithful and their attendance at demon feasts was stronglydenounced, and threatened with severe punishment; from which it wouldappear this was no uncommon offence. 

I was struck with the massy churches built by the Dutch in Galle andColombo. They testify to the zeal of the first colonists, as if theywere taking possession of the land for Christ, and were determined tomaintain His worship, though far distant from the land of their fathers. Dutch descendants and Scotch colonists now form the most of theworshippers in these places. The Dutch language still survives, and in1858 some of the Dutch people understood no other. For them a service isheld in their own language. I preached in both of these churches at therequest of the chaplains. In one of them the Lord's Supper wasadministered, and the communicants were addressed first in English andthen in Dutch. 

Towards the end of December I left Galle with my wife and child forCalcutta, taking away with me pleasing recollections of the scenes I hadwitnessed, the information I had received, and the kindness I hadexperienced during my six weeks' travels in the island. 

After a brief stay in Calcutta we made our way to Benares--the firstpart of the journey by the recently constructed railway, and the rest, the greater part of it, by a four-wheeled conveyance, drawn by a horse, called a Dawk Garry, arrangement for a fresh horse every sixth orseventh mile being made by the Dawk Garry Company. Instead of spendingthree weeks on the way, as we had done in 1839 when proceeding toBenares on a steamer, and twelve days in 1853 in a conveyance drawn bycoolies, we now completed our journey in five days. We were glad torejoin our brethren, and to resume our work in Benares. 

CHAPTER XIX. 

VISIT TO CITIES IN THE NORTH-WEST AND TO KUMAON--VISIT TO ENGLAND ANDRETURN TO INDIA. 

FROM 1859 TO 1866. 

From the time of our arrival at Benares in January, 1859, on to ourdeparture for the hills in March, 1861, the work of the Mission wascarried on in the usual way. There were interruptions from failure ofhealth, but during the most of the period the operations of the Missionwere vigorously carried on with tokens of the Divine blessing. 

[Sidenote: ENGLISH SERVICES. ]

The principal change during this period was the greater attention givento the European population. Before 1857 the English-speaking populationof Benares was very small, and as there was always an English chaplainat the place, and our Baptist brethren kept up an English service, ourMission did very little in this department. For a time we had an Englishservice one evening in the week, but owing to the weakness of theMission, and the pressing demands of native work, this had been givenup. After the Mutiny the English-speaking population was largelyincreased by English soldiers, and persons connected with the PublicWorks. It was deemed incumbent on us to do something for our owncountrymen, whose spiritual need was manifest to all. On this accountEnglish services on the Lord's Day were commenced. For a time two suchservices were held, one in the Mission chapel, and another in theschoolroom of the cavalry barracks. On the withdrawal of the cavalrythis second service was discontinued. The service on the Lord's Daymorning or forenoon in the Mission chapel has been steadily kept on tillthis time, has been generally well attended, and has been, I believe, productive of much good. 

As the Rev. William Moody Blake, who joined the Mission in 1858, tookthe superintendence of the Central School, and with occasionalassistance conducted the English services, the work among the nativewomen and girls was left to be carried on by my wife, to which she hadgiven her heart and strength from the time she became a member of theMission in 1839, while I had the principal charge of evangelistic workamong the heathen, and of ministering to the native Christians. 

The most memorable episode of this period was a visit we paid toAllahabad, Cawnpore, and Lucknow, in the winter of 1859-60. We saw muchon this tour which deeply and painfully interested us. I have alreadymentioned the desolation I saw on my visit to Allahabad at the end of1857. During the two succeeding years the houses which had been burnthad been rebuilt, new houses had been erected, and new roads had beenmade. Traces of the desolation caused by the Mutiny remained, but therewere on every side signs of great prosperity. Allahabad, from itsposition at the confluence of the Ganges and the Jumna, had always beendeemed a place of great importance in both a military and civil aspect. It rose to new importance by being made the seat of government for theNorth-West instead of Agra, and also by becoming the centralrailway-station, from which it was arranged railways should ramify toLahore and Peshawur in the north-west, to Calcutta in the east andsouth, to Jubbulpore and Bombay in the west, forming in Central India aconnection with the railways in Southern India. This arrangement hasbeen carried out, and now there is no city in the interior of thecountry which bears so close a resemblance as Allahabad to the greatPresidency cities, in its churches, European shops, hotels, and roads solined with houses that they may be called streets. As might be expected, the native population has greatly increased. 

From Allahabad we went by train to Cawnpore, one hundred and thirtymiles to the north-west. This place was for many years a large militarystation, as the kingdom of Oude lay on the other side of the Ganges. Itmay be well to give a very brief narrative of the terrible events whichoccurred there, that readers may the better understand what we saw. 

[Sidenote: MUTINY AT CAWNPORE. ]

On the breaking out of the Mutiny, the English soldiers and residentsentrenched themselves in an open plain, which had the solitary advantageof accommodation in barracks, while they left the arsenal in the handsof the insurgents. The siege commenced on June 6th, directed by DundhooPunt, the Nana Sahib as he was called, the adopted son of Bajee Rao, theex-Peshwa of the Mahrattas, whose castle was ten miles distant. On June27th, after enduring terrible hardships and privations, our peoplesurrendered on promise of being sent safely to Allahabad. Theyaccordingly made their way to the promised boats; but no sooner had theybeen reached than they were set on fire, and the Nana in person directeda fusillade on the party. Only four succeeded in escaping, and they didthis by swimming. The men were murdered, the women and children, to thenumber of two hundred, were taken back, were huddled together in crowdedrooms, scantily fed on the coarsest food, and subjected to everyindignity. The Nana's army was defeated in several engagements, and wasat last utterly overthrown by the army led by General Havelock, in abattle fought at the entrance to Cawnpore. By an order of the Nana, issued by him when fleeing from the place, the women and children weremurdered, and their bodies were thrown into a well. Our soldiers arrivedto see to their horror the well choked with the victims of Nana'ssatanic cruelty. Unknown to those whom he was besieging, he hadpreviously, on June 4th, ordered the massacre of one hundred and thirtymen, women, and children, who had come from Futtyghur. 

[Sidenote: GALLANT DEFENCE AND TERRIBLE DEFEAT. ]

At Cawnpore we saw much to sadden us to the very core. The thrillingaccounts we had read of the atrocious deeds there committed came to ourremembrance with a painful reality. All along the river-side, houses, once occupied by officers, lay in ruins as the mutineers had left them. We observed flowers blooming here and there in the gardens, planted bythose who had been so ruthlessly cut down. We visited all the placesmade memorable by the sad events of 1857. We went to the Sabadha Kothee, as it was called, the house on a slight elevation from which the Nanadirected the siege of the entrenched camp. It was well remembered by usas the abode, in 1842, on our first visit to Cawnpore, of a missionaryof the Propagation Society, with whom we had much pleasant intercourse. Within less than half a mile of this house lay the entrenched camp ofthe English--if a trench three or four feet deep, with a breastwork ofearth behind it four or five feet high, deserves the name of anentrenchment. The spot was chosen on account of the barracks, in whichour people could shelter themselves against what they expected to be amere temporary assault, if an assault at all was made, as they supposedthe mutinous soldiery would leave at once for Delhi, which they wouldhave done had not the Nana stopped them by large pay and largerpromises. The barracks speedily became well-nigh uninhabitable under thefire of the enemy. At last they were burnt down, and no shelter remainedfrom the fierce rays of the sun. One could not look on the spot, andconsider the weakness of the defenders compared with the strength of theenemy, supplied as they were with the guns and ammunition of ourarsenal, without wondering the defence could have been maintained for aday. The defence was most heroic; extraordinary feats of valour wereperformed, but at last the besieged were obliged to succumb from thefailure of food and ammunition. 

We walked from the entrenchment, which was rapidly disappearing underthe rains and heat of the climate, by the route taken by our people tothe promised boats, which were set on fire as soon as they reached them. It was truly a _via dolorosa_, and we walked on it with saddened hearts, musing on the awful sufferings our countrymen had endured. On a littletemple close to the ferry at which the boats lay, and on some housesnear it, we saw marks of the bullets on the walls. 

Since that period--the winter of 1858-59--we have been on severaloccasions at Cawnpore. The desolation has disappeared. Ruined houses areno longer to be seen. A stranger might pass through the place withoutobserving anything to remind him of the events of 1857. He would be avery preoccupied or a very stolid person who could pass through Cawnporewithout making it a point to see the monuments erected to commemorateour fallen countrymen. On the site of the entrenched camp a memorialchurch has been raised, with stained windows and varied devices bearingthe names of those who had fought and suffered there. A very handsomemonument of marble, surmounted by a statue of the Angel of Peace, with asuitable inscription, has been erected over the well into which thebodies of the women and children were thrown. The ground round it iskept in beautiful order. For many a day visitors to India will look withtearful eyes and sad hearts on these spots sacred to their fallencountrymen. 

[Illustration: THE WELL AT CAWNPORE. ]

[Sidenote: THE CAMPAIGN IN OUDE. ]

Leaving Cawnpore, we crossed the Ganges and travelled forty miles toLucknow, the capital of the country of Oude, which was ruled by afeudatory of the Mogul Empire, who had become a feudatory of the BritishCrown. To him our Government gave the title of King. In 1856, by anorder from home, the country was taken under our direct rule on accountof gross misgovernment, by flagrant and persistent violation of theengagement made with us. The Chief Commissioner in March, 1857, was SirHenry Lawrence. After staving off the Mutiny successfully for a time, hewas obliged in the end of June to concentrate his force in ahalf-fortified place on a slight elevation, called the Residency, asthere the British representative, under the title of Resident, and hisofficial subordinates, had their abode and offices. There the Englishwere besieged by a vast body of Sepoys, and by the Talookdars, theBarons of Oude, and their retainers. Sir Henry Lawrence was mortallywounded on July 4th. The siege was maintained till September 25th, when, after a fierce struggle, it was relieved by Havelock and Outram. They in their turn were besieged, but they were able to maintain theirfooting till November 19th, when they were finally relieved by Sir ColinCampbell. Outram remained with a force of observation at Alum Bagh, alarge garden with a very high wall, outside Lucknow on the Cawnporeroad; while the rest held on to Cawnpore. Sir Colin Campbell returnedwith his army, and took the city on March 6th, 1858. We are told that inthe interval it had been fortified in a way which would have done creditto a European power. My narrative will be better understood by thesefacts being remembered. 

As we travelled from Cawnpore to Lucknow we passed houses close to theroad which still retained the loopholes through which the enemy hadfired on our troops. The earthworks hastily raised for temporary shelterstill remained. We were reminded at every mile of the fierce resistanceour soldiers had to encounter. At Lucknow we remained for a week, andwent over all the scenes made memorable by recent events. We paidseveral visits to the Residency, where our people defended themselves solong and valiantly against thousands of armed men well supplied withammunition. At every step proofs presented themselves of the desperatestruggle maintained with the foe. The houses in the Residency had beenso battered and torn by shells and balls that scarcely one was habitablebefore its evacuation, and the ruin was completed when the city wasfinally taken by Sir Colin Campbell. At the beginning of 1859 the wholeplace was a mass of ruin, with here and there a piece of tottering wall, shaken or perforated by heavy shot and ready to come down. The wallsstill stood, though in a very broken state, of the house in which SirHenry Lawrence died, and the spot was pointed out to us where he hadreceived his death-wound. A large body of labourers was employed intaking down the ruined walls and levelling the ground. We observed boneswhich had been dug up by them as they pursued their work. 

From the entrance into Lucknow on the Cawnpore road there is a street, two miles in length, leading straight to the Residency. The enemyexpected our army to advance by this street, and made provision for itsdestruction by digging trenches, and lining the houses on both sideswith musketeers ready to pour on our soldiers a killing fire. Therelieving army, guided by a person who knew Lucknow well, and had atgreat risk made his way to them at night from the Residency, made asudden detour to the right, and advanced by a comparatively open route, stoutly but unsuccessfully opposed at almost every step. I had thepromise of a guide to take me on foot by this route to the Residency, but on reaching Alum Bagh, the appointed place of meeting, I found noone there. I made my way, however, with very little difficulty byobserving the marks of the bullets on the houses along the linetraversed. I sometimes lost the trace, but soon recovered it, musing asI went along on the very different circumstances in which our countrymena short time previously had gone over that road. 

[Illustration: RUINS OF THE RESIDENCY, LUCKNOW. ]

We saw other places of interest, such as the Muchee Bhawan, the fort inwhich our soldiers were previous to the siege; the Kaisar Bagh, anextensive garden, filled with showy, lofty houses, where the King ofOude and his numerous retinue had resided; the Chuttar Manzil, ahandsome building where public entertainments were given; the gateway atwhich the gallant Colonel Neil fell--now called Neil Gate; theSecunder Bagh, a garden with a high wall, where a large body of theenemy was posted, and which was stormed by the 78th Highlanders, whoshut up every exit and killed every soul, many of the Sepoys fightingdesperately to the last. Two thousand bodies were taken out of the placeand buried in the adjoining ground. We observed on the walls the marksof the bullets, and even the indents made by the swords and bayonets, while this carnage was going on. 

[Sidenote: GENERAL LA MARTINE'S INSTITUTION. ]

A French adventurer of the 18th century, General La Martine, had risento great power and wealth in the service of the Kings of Oude. Heerected a splendid mansion in Lucknow for the support and education ofboys of every creed--Christian boys to be brought up in the ChristianGovernment's religion--and richly endowed it. Similar institutions wereestablished in Calcutta and in Lyons, La Martine's native place. Thisinstitution has proved a signal blessing to European and Eurasianfamilies. On the outbreak of the Mutiny the teachers and pupils betookthemselves to the Residency, and under the leading of their Principaltook an active part in the defence. La Martine had so little confidencein the kings whom he had served for years, that he ordered his body tobe buried in a vault under the building, which he knew would prevent aMuhammadan from making it his dwelling-house. This was accordingly done. 

While we were at Lucknow we were most hospitably entertained by amissionary of the Church Missionary Society, to whom a large nativemansion had been made over by the authorities on account of the ownerhaving taken an active part in the rebellion. On Sabbath I preached inHindustanee to the native Christians, and we attended the Englishservice held in a building which had been an Imambara, the name given toa building where Muhammadans of the Shiah sect worship. 

When going from Cawnpore to Lucknow we travelled by day. We returned bynight, when the moon was full. It was one of those calm, clear nights ofwhich we have many at that season. We reached the Ganges about four inthe morning. While waiting for a boat to take us across, there fell onour ears, coming from a cluster of huts close by, the voice of a singerat that early hour; and what was our delight and surprise, as welistened, to hear the words distinctly uttered of a well-known hymn inpraise of the Redeemer of mankind! A short time previously the mentionof that name with honour in that place would have exposed him whouttered it to a violent death. The incident was very cheering as an omenof the dawn to benighted India, when, through the tender mercy of ourGod, Jesus the light of the world shall shine into the hearts of itsteeming population, and raise them into the sunshine of heaven. 

Lucknow, as well as Cawnpore, has undergone a great change since 1859. We saw it last in 1877, when traces of the fierce conflict which hadbeen there carried on had well-nigh disappeared; while on every side, innew roads opened up, in miserable tenements thrown down, in new houseserected, and in rubbish removed, evidence was given that the effetegovernment of the Kings of Oude had given place to the vigorousgovernment of their Western conquerors. Nothing is now to be seen of theruins and desolation of the Residency. The ground has been levelled, trees planted, paths made, and the whole place is kept in beautifulorder. On the highest spot there is a memorial cross. All out fromLucknow for miles, at the instance of friends, monuments have beenraised, some of them with very touching inscriptions, in memory of thefallen, so far as the spots where they fell could be identified. 

[Illustration: THE LA MARTINIERE, LUCKNOW. ]

We returned to Benares with a very vivid impression of what we had seen, with a new realization of the sufferings our countrymen had endured, with deepened admiration of the heroism they had shown, and withthankfulness at once for our rescue as a people from destruction, andfor the restoration of our rule. 

[Sidenote: VISIT TO DELHI. ]

We continued at our post at Benares till March, 1861, when the state ofthe Mission admitted of our obtaining a much-needed retreat to the Hillsfor a few months. We accordingly left Benares for Almora, and took Delhiby the way, where we remained a few days. This was our second visit tothe grand old imperial city. On this occasion we visited the scene ofthe memorable events of the Mutiny year, as we had previously done atCawnpore and Lucknow. We went to the heights commanding the city, whereour army was encamped for months, at once the besiegers and thebesieged, and from which at last they took the city, after a contest sodesperate and bloody that for days the issue was doubtful. The palace, with its magnificent halls of audience and entertainment, where theEmperors of India had for ages kept their court, we found turned intobarracks and an arsenal. English soldiers trod those rooms where Indianmagnates had bowed before imperial majesty--giving us an impressiveillustration of the transitory nature of earthly glory. 

For some time after going to Almora our health improved; but as theseason advanced it gave way so entirely, that our medical attendantcame to the conclusion a visit to England was indispensable to itsrestoration. The Directors of the Society gave their kind and promptconsent to our return. We accordingly embarked from Calcutta forEngland, _viâ_ the Cape of Good Hope, in January, 1862, and reached ourdestination in April. 

All I have to say about the interval between 1862 and 1865 is that Ivisited many places in England and Scotland on behalf of the Society, did a good deal of ministerial work besides, and was kept in uncertaintyabout my future course by medical opposition to my going back to India. In 1864 I feared I could not return; but my health improved so much in1865, that the medical men I consulted, to my great joy, consented toour going back. We accordingly embarked for Calcutta _viâ_ the Cape, accompanied by two young missionaries appointed to Benares, inSeptember, 1865, and reached our destination, after a prosperous voyage, towards the end of the year. We were very pleased with the thought thatour traversing the Atlantic and Indian Oceans had come to an end. 

The railway had some time previously been completed to the North-West, and so instead of days and weeks spent on the journey from Calcutta toBenares, it was now made in twenty-six hours. 

[Sidenote: APPOINTMENT TO RANEE KHET. ]

The hot weather and rains of 1866 were spent in Benares. We felt theheat that year more than we had ever previously done, and were to agreat extent incapacitated by it for the prosecution of mission work. Wecame to the conclusion that continued work in the plains was beyond ourstrength, and as we much wished to continue in the mission field, wehoped a hill sphere might be opened up. In March, 1867, we left forAlmora, where, with our colleague Mr. Budden, we engaged in differentdepartments of mission labour. Early in the cold weather we returned toBenares, and resumed our work there. As the hot weather of 1868 came on, we were again privileged to return to Almora. Towards the end of thatyear it was arranged that our connection with Benares should cease, andthat we should begin a new mission at Ranee Khet, about twenty milesnorth-west from Almora. 

[Illustration]

CHAPTER XX. 

KUMAON. 

(1) ITS SCENERY AND PRODUCTS. 

Kumaon is a sub-Himalayan region, with Nepal to the east, the snowyrange, separating it from Tibet, to the north, Gurhwal and Dehra Doon tothe west, and Rohilkund to the south. Including the hill country ofGurhwal, and the belt of forest and swamp lying immediately under it, ofwhich only a small part has been reclaimed, Kumaon is about half thesize of Scotland. 

[Sidenote: THE SCENERY OF KUMAON. ]

The province presents a remarkable contrast to the great level countrybeneath. Over it you travel in some directions hundreds of miles, andscarcely any elevation or depression in the land can be discerned. Asyou travel northward, and approach the limit of the plains, you seehills rising before you, tier after tier; and behind them, on a clearday, the higher Himalaya, with their snowy peaks, as if touching theheavens. 

Kumaon is very mountainous, with as great irregularity as if the landhad been fluid, had in the midst of a storm been suddenly solidified, and had then received its permanent shape. Here and there are valleys ofsome extent, table-lands and open fields are occasionally seen; but overa great part of the province hill is separated from hill by a space sonarrow that it can only be called a ravine. The consequence is thatcultivation is carried on mainly in terraces. Where the slope isgradual, and the soil fit for cultivation, these terraces, some verynarrow and others of considerable width, rise one above the other to thedistance of miles, with the hamlets of the cultivators scattered overthe hill-side, presenting to the eye of the traveller an aspect ofscenery which is not to be seen in Europe, so far as I am aware. At anyrate, we saw nothing resembling it on the vine-clad hills rising fromthe Rhine, or in the mountains of Switzerland. 

The country is well watered. It has innumerable streams, varying fromtiny rills to large rivers. In travelling, we have been for days withinthe constant sound of running water. It has a few lakelets, but it hasno large bodies of water, like the lakes which contribute so largely tothe beauty and picturesqueness of Switzerland and Scotland. It looks asif the deep hollows, of which so many are to be seen, had been unable toretain the water poured into them, and had let it all flow away. A largepart of the province is so steep and rocky that it cannot be turned toany agricultural purpose; and even for grazing purposes a large portionis of little use, as the grass is coarse and poor. There is a greatextent of forest and brushwood. As the land slopes towards the Bhabhur, the forest is very dense and varied. The timber is of considerablevalue, but as there is neither road nor water carriage it must becarried on men's shoulders, and this involves an expense more than itcan bear. 

From what I have said about the peculiarities of Kumaon scenery, itsmountains, valleys, and ravines, my readers are prepared to hear it hasa great variety of climate and produce. Of hills, of which there aremany from 5000 to 9000 feet above the level of the sea, the climate isdelightful--warm, but not oppressively warm, a little warmer than it isin our country in summer; and cold, though not so severely cold as it iswith us in winter. The rains are very heavy, but to compensate for thisthere is, during the greater part of the year, a steadiness of climatewhich forms a striking contrast to the fickle climate of England. Downin the valleys the heat is very great. Even in winter the sun isunpleasantly strong, and in summer in the deep ravines the temperatureis almost as trying as in the plains. When the season has been somewhatadvanced, I have been very thankful to escape from the heat of these lowplaces to the bracing air of the hills. The English Sanatoria are ofcourse on elevated sites. 

As Kumaon has within its borders a cold, a temperate, and a tropicalclimate, it has a great variety of produce, and when its capabilitiesare more fully turned to account this variety will be greatly increased. Most of the grains found in the plains are grown in the hills. Thewarmer parts of the country produce superior oranges in abundance, andthere is also a good supply of walnuts. Of late years apples and pearshave been grown with great success, and if the farmers paid attention tothis branch of horticulture they might reap a large profit. Attemptshave been made on a small scale to cultivate the grape, gooseberry, andcurrant, but the excessive rainfall of the rainy season has been foundunfavourable to them. Tea has become the most valuable product of theprovince. Tea-planting was commenced at the instance of Government, under its direction and at its expense, more than forty years ago; andnow tea-gardens are found all over the province, owned almost entirelyby our fellow-countrymen, and, with few exceptions, managed by them. Atfirst Chinamen were employed, but they have been dispensed with, and theentire work is now done by hill people under English superintendence. 

(2) THE NATIVE INHABITANTS OF KUMAON. 

[Sidenote: THE INHABITANTS OF KUMAON. ]

The hill people of Central and Southern India, the Kols, the Santhals, the Bheels, and others, as is well known, widely differ in race, language, customs, and religion, from the Hindus and Mussulmans of theplains. In Kumaon, on the other hand, the great majority are strictHindus, worshippers of the Hindu gods, and scrupulous observers of casterules. It would appear that when the ancestors of the Hindus, comingfrom Central Asia, crossed the Indus, and took possession of the countrynow called the Punjab, they made raids into the lower range of theHimalayas, killing their inhabitants, or turning them into slaves. Thedescendants of the aborigines are at present found in a class calledDoms, who form the artisan portion of the population, and are alsolargely employed in agriculture. The Muhammadans form a very small partof the population, and are almost entirely emigrants from the plains. 

The character of the hill Hindus, in its essential elements, closelyaccords with that of their brethren elsewhere. They worship the Hindugods, practise Hindu rites, and are imbued with the Hindu spirit. TheBrahmans and Rajpoots are proud of their position, firm in maintainingit, and shrink from everything which would invalidate it. Under nativerule the high-caste spirit had full scope, for we are told that formurder a Brahman was banished, and a Rajpoot heavily mulcted; whileother murderers were put to death. Such offences against the Hindureligion as killing a cow, or a Dom making use of a _huqqa_ (the pipefor smoking), or a utensil belonging to a Brahman or Rajpoot, werecapital offences. The power obtained by the Brahmans was shown by thefact that, when the province came under British rule, one-fifteenth ofits arable land belonged to the religious establishments. 

All the Hindu gods and goddesses are worshipped in the hills, but thehideous goddess Kalee is the favourite object of worship. Small templesto her honour are found all over the province, many of them in solitaryplaces on the tops of hills, to which it is meritorious to makepilgrimages, and around which at certain seasons melas are held. We havein our wanderings fallen in with several of these temples in spots fromwhich, for many miles around, no human habitation is seen. By far themost famous shrines are those of Badrinath and Kedarnath, in the upperpart of Gurhwal, within the snowy range, where Vishnu is the object ofworship, and the officiating priests are Brahmans from Southern India. Pilgrimage to these places is very meritorious, as it can only beaccomplished at the cost of great toil and suffering, and at theimminent risk of life. 

[Illustration: TEMPLE IN THE HIMALAYAS. ]

In addition to the gods worshipped all over India, the hill people havelocal gods unknown elsewhere. _Bhoots_, evil spirits, commonly supposedto be the spirits of those who have during their earthly life been notedfor their wickedness, and have acquired the demon character, arebelieved to haunt the mountains and forests, and are the objects ofspecial dread. Homage is paid to them to secure their goodwill and averttheir vengeance. The people greatly dislike travelling at night, as thatis the season when the _Bhoots_ roam about and fall on their prey. When they must move about they break off the branches of the pine-tree, and turn them into torches to frighten off both the wild beasts and theevil spirits. In the imagination which peoples hills and forests withbeings outside the circle of humanity, that make their presenceespecially felt at night, the people of Kumaon closely resemble themountaineers of other lands, among others those of our own ScotchHighlands, as they were till a recent period. In my early days I heardso many stories in my native Highland village of ghosts and fairies, that I was afraid to move about after sunset except when guarded byothers, lest these supernatural beings should lay hold of me and carryme away. 

[Sidenote: THE CHARACTER OF THE KUMAONEES. ]

The people have a character for industry. When one sees the difficultiesunder which cultivation is carried on, he is inclined to consider itdeserved. They have periods of lounging, but also of very hard work. Thewomen, in addition to household work, cut and carry wood and grass, anddo much farm work--I have thought at times more than their share; butafter all, the heaviest work, the carrying of great loads on head andshoulders, up hill and down hill, and the farm work requiring moststrength, is done by the men. Much of the work done by them--work doneby draught animals elsewhere--must tend to break down their health andshorten their days. 

The Kumaonees have been described as untruthful but honest. I must sayour experience has verified the unfavourable part of this descriptionmore than the favourable. So far as veracity is concerned we have notbeen impressed with any difference between them and other natives ofIndia. We think their honesty has received more credit than it deserves. This is, at any rate, the opinion of the tea-planters with whom we haveconversed, and who have had superior opportunities for judging. Theyhave told us of the strict watch they have to set to guard their tea andfruit. We found that some hill servants, whom we had greatly trusted, had systematically robbed us. The character for honesty was, I believe, given to them because when they set out on their periodical migration tothe plains they left their villages unguarded, and found their propertysafe on their return. I suppose this resulted partly from anunwritten--may I say?--honourable understanding, that as in their sparseand widely-scattered population it was well-nigh impossible to guardtheir goods, the rights of property should be respected; and partly fromthe circumstance that there was little left behind in the villages whichcould be carried away. So far as others, especially Europeans, areconcerned, this understanding to practise honesty does not hold. 

We incidentally heard of no small degree of immorality among the people, but our information is too limited to justify one in comparing them withothers in this respect. There is much that is likable among them, butthe general moral tone is undoubtedly low. Polyandry, which prevails insome districts in the Western Himalayan range, is I believe unknown, butpolygamy is not uncommon among those who can afford it. 

Cleanliness has never been considered a virtue of Highlanders. It isnot--or perhaps I should say it has not been--a characteristic of theHighlanders of our own land. Among the Kumaonees it is notably wanting. The loathsome disease of leprosy has long prevailed in the province, owing to a large extent to the filthy habits of the people. To the samecause there is every reason to believe, we have to trace the outbreaknow and then of the plague--_muha muree_, the great plague, as it iscalled--which has proved very destructive. It resembles the plague whichat different times prevailed in Europe and swept away thousands. Sogreat is the dread of this terrible malady, that on the report of itsapproach people flee from their villages. Cholera has been at timesfatal to many, but its ravages are not to be compared to those of theplague. 

(3) HISTORY OF KUMAON UNDER GHOORKHA AND BRITISH RULE. 

[Sidenote: CONQUEST OF KUMAON. ]

Kumaon had been long under the rule of a native dynasty, but intestinefeuds laid the country open to the attacks of ambitious neighbours. Inthe latter end of the eighteenth century the Ghoorkhas, a militarytribe, rose to power in Nepal, the hill-country to the east, and earlyin this century they extended their conquests over the hill-country tothe west, till they were checked by Runjeet Singh, the famous ruler ofthe Punjab. Their rule over Kumaon was said to be very oppressive. Byraids into British territory they came into collision with the English. After a severe struggle, carried on through two campaigns, they weredefeated, and forced to give up the country they had conquered to thewest of Nepal, which they had held for about twelve years. Kumaon andthe adjoining hill-country of Gurhwal were placed under the jurisdictionof a British Commissioner, and the arrangement made in 1816 has beenmaintained to the present time. 

[Sidenote: PROGRESS OF THE PROVINCE. ]

The country has made immense progress since the English took possession. The people are now under a government which aims at protecting life andproperty, and at treating all, high and low, with equal justice. Nolonger are Dom offenders against caste laws executed while Brahman andRajpoot murderers escape. Atrocious customs have been suppressed, suchas the burial of lepers alive, which was formerly largely practised. Sanitary regulations have been issued, and penalties imposed on thoseconvicted of violating them. Fights between villages, ending in robberyand murder, are no longer permitted, though sham-fights are stillallowed. I was once a witness of such a fight, when a vast number ofhill people were collected, as if for a great field-day, and stones werethrown from slings in a way I thought perilous to the combatants. Roadshave been made, and rivers bridged. The new roads are too narrow andsteep to admit of wheeled conveyances; often they are only three or fourfeet in width, and are at a gradient which makes them trying for horsesand for persons on foot; but they are an immense improvement on thefootpaths with which the natives were satisfied till they came underBritish rule, and with which they are still satisfied when left tothemselves. I have not had much experience of the by-paths of thecountry, but quite enough to have made me thankful for the new order ofthings. Very recently a road for carts and conveyances has been madefrom the plains to Nynee Tal, Ranee Khet, and Almora; but the route isso circuitous that the roads hitherto traversed will continue the chiefmeans of communication. 

No sooner was the British rule established than the effect was seen inthe increase of cultivation. Mr. Traill, the first Commissioner, statesthat from the time of the occupation, 1816 to 1822-23, the date of hisretirement, cultivation had increased fully one-third, and since thattime there has been a steady advance. The population has more thandoubled, for we are told that in 1823 there were 27 inhabitants to thesquare mile, while in 1872 there were 65. At the same time there were797 to the square mile in the Benares district, and there was nodistrict in the North-West Provinces where the population was under 185, while the average was 378. An immense disparity must continue betweencountries with such different capabilities, but the progress made inKumaon under British rule is proportionably as great as that made in themost favoured parts of India. 

Wealth has been brought into the country as well as drawn out of it. Ihave already referred to tea-planting as a new department ofagricultural industry. Many thousands have been spent ontea-gardens--much more, I suspect, than has yet been got out of them. Atea-planter once pointed to a cluster of well-built villages, and said, "These houses have all been built within the last few years by theproceeds of wages made in the tea-garden under my charge. " Then thegreat influx of European travellers and residents has done not a littleto enrich the people in various ways, though at times the labour thusrequired has been very grudgingly given, as it has withdrawn them fromtheir homes when their own work was urgent. 

Of late years a new source of income has been opened up to the people bythe enterprise of Sir Henry Ramsay, who has been for many years theCommissioner of the Province, and has done more for it than any of hispredecessors. The hill people of some districts have been for ages inthe habit of moving down _en masse_ with their cattle at the beginningof the cold weather for grazing, and have returned to their mountainhomes when the hot weather had set in. The country immediately underthe hills is called the Bhabhur, and is quite distinct from the Turaiwhich lies beyond. This Bhabhur is a formation of sand and shinglefilled with boulders, largely covered over with soil, which producesabundant herbage in the rainy season, and is thus good grazing ground inthe succeeding months. It has a large extent of forest, composed oftrees of great girth and magnificent height. The innumerable streamswhich come down from the hills flow under the Bhabhur, and make theirway into the Turai beyond, where the land becomes water-logged, and themain product is long, rank grass, growing to the height of ten or twelvefeet. By a system of canals, devised and carried out by Sir HenryRamsay, the water as it comes down from the hills is made to irrigate alarge part of the Bhabhur, rendering it fit for agricultural purposes. The result is that the people now cultivate the land, beside grazingtheir cattle over it. They sow toward the end of the rainy season, andreap at the beginning of the hot weather, when they retreat to thehills, and are ready for the cultivation of their fields there. Thisaddition to the arable land has been a great boon to the people. Icannot say, however, judging by those with whom I have conversed, thatthey are satisfied. They grumble at the new tax imposed for theconstruction and maintenance of the canals, and also at the tax theyhave to pay for their holdings in the hills, though I believe it to bevery light. They would gladly have all the benefits of a firm andimproving government without paying anything for its support. 

[Sidenote: WILD BEASTS. ]

Notwithstanding the extension of cultivation and the increase ofpopulation in Kumaon, we may travel for many miles over hill and forestand not see a trace of man's presence. Cover for wild beasts has beensomewhat abridged, but it is still sufficient to shelter them, and tomake it unlikely they can be exterminated. Both in the hills and in thecountry beneath, hunters of wild beasts, European and native, still findabundant employment. Not a year passes without persons, sheep, andcattle being killed by tigers, leopards, and hyenas. They live so muchin the gorges of the mountains, and in the depths of the forests, readyto pounce on their prey when opportunity presents itself, that thedestruction caused by them is seen, while they themselves disappear. Thefirst thing we saw on our first approach to Almora was a horse which hadbeen killed by a leopard the preceding night. A woman, who had beencutting grass before the door of a house we occupied for a few days, waskilled an hour afterwards by a tiger in the adjoining forest. Oneafternoon we heard the cry of a herd, and running out we saw a goat withits throat cut, but the leopard that had killed it had disappeared inthe jungle beneath. On another occasion my pony, picketed near my tent, had a narrow escape from a leopard. I have often heard huntsmen relatethe encounters they have had with these terrible brutes. On one occasionI saw four dead tigers brought in by a party that had killed them a fewmiles from the place where my tent was pitched. Tigers are verymigratory. They live in the cold weather down in the Bhabhur and theTurai, and as the hot weather advances they follow the herd up the hillson to the verge of the snow. The bears of the hills feed on fruit andvegetables, and usually make away when human beings are seen, but theyare very formidable to those who attack them, or come suddenly acrosstheir path. In some places wolves abound, and children and animalsrequire to be guarded against them; but they never hunt in packs as inRussia, and they are not feared by grown-up people. In the lower hillsand the Bhabhur there are herds of wild elephants, which do much injuryto the crops of the people, and cannot be safely approached. I have beenagain and again in their track. There are also serpents, but they arenot so numerous or venomous as in the plains. The dangers to which theinhabitants are exposed is shown by the annual statistics of casualties, in which the first place is given to the ravages of wild beasts, thesecond to landslips, and the third to serpents. 

[Sidenote: INCONVENIENT STIPULATION. ]

I may end this account of Kumaon, its scenery, products, history, andpeople, by mentioning two stipulations in the treaty with the Ghoorkhas, when the British took possession of the land, which are strikinglyillustrative at once of British policy and of Hindu feeling. Onestipulation was that certain sums should be paid annually to the priestsof certain temples. A second stipulation was that the slaughter ofbullocks and cows should be strictly prohibited. Not a vestige of powerover the country was left to the Ghoorkhas; the entire rule wastransferred to the British. But our authorities, influenced at once byreligious liberalism or indifference, and by deference to Hindu feeling, accepted these conditions. The first stipulation caused no trouble, butthe force of circumstances has led to the violation of the second. Whenthere were no European troops in the Province, and the only Englishmenwere civil officials, officers of native regiments, and a few casualtravellers, the prohibition of beef caused little inconvenience; but alarge influx of English people, soldiers and others, made the observanceof the stipulation impracticable. For a time it was violated, and theauthorities professed to know nothing about it; but when Nynee Talbecame a great summer resort, and English soldiers were located at it, beef became a well-nigh indispensable article of food, cows and bullockswere killed, and the breach in the treaty by which the country was cededto us became manifest to all. It is said that when the high-casteofficials protested against this outrage on the Hindu religion, anEnglish official quietly said that such good Hindus were not in theirproper place, that they should be transferred to their holy city, Benares. This speedily silenced the complaint, as hill people intenselydislike leaving their mountains for the plains. 

The treaty with the Ghoorkhas is not the only one in which thestipulation against beef has been made when territory has been ceded. Toa treaty-keeping people like the English the stipulation has been veryembarrassing, so embarrassing that for a time resolute effort has beenmade to observe it, but it has at length broken down under what has beendeemed the compulsion of circumstances. We have heard of a high-casteofficial consoling his brethren for the outrage by reminding them it isthe nature of tigers to eat cows and bullocks, and by telling them thatthe English were tigers, had a similar love for such food, and as it wastheir nature it must be borne with. Though so shocked with the sheddingof the blood of cows and bullocks, the ruling class in Nepal have shownno aversion to the shedding of human blood, as is well known by allacquainted with the history of the country. During the mutiny a friendof mine, travelling with a regiment of Ghoorkhas that had come down fromNepal to help us, saw them kill a party of mutineers who had surrenderedunder an oath of their lives being spared, with a savage ferocity whichshocked him beyond measure. 

(4) TRAVELLING IN KUMAON. 

[Sidenote: TRAVELLING. ]

The greater part of our time in the Province was spent in the capital, Almora, and in the newly-formed Sanatarium Ranee Khet, but we frequentlytravelled through many of its districts. I have mentioned the improvedmeans of communication, but vastly better though the roads be than theywere in the days of native rule, travelling continues to be veryexpensive, fatiguing, and in some modes not a little dangerous. Travellers must either walk, ride, or be carried on men's shoulders. Thefirst mode can be adopted only by those who have abundant strength andleisure. It was my mode during our first visit, as I was not pressed fortime, and notwithstanding our residence of eight years in the plains Iretained a good deal of my youthful vigour. The mountain scenery and themountain air gave us new life. I travelled on foot some three hundredmiles. On the occasion of future visits I was happy to avail myself of ahill pony. Most gentlemen and many young ladies perform their hilljourneys on horseback. Happily, hill ponies are, as a rule, quiet andsure-footed; and they require to be, as the roads are narrow, in someplaces very narrow, and overhang precipices, down which the rider wouldbe dashed if the pony slipped or was scared. At first, riding appearsvery dangerous, but after a time there is a feeling of security. Iremember riding with confidence over places where at first I deemed itprudent to dismount. Scarcely a year, however, passes without ridersbeing killed, and all who have travelled much over the country have totell of providential escapes. The third mode, the mode adopted by mostladies, and by gentlemen who have not nerve to ride, is to be carriedon men's shoulders. The palankeen and dolie of the plains are by far tooheavy and cumbrous for the hills. The favourite vehicle is the_dandee_--a pole, with a piece of carpet attached, on which thetraveller sits sideway, and which has belts for the back and feet. Twomen, one at each end of the pole, are able to carry the _dandee_ a shortdistance, but in journeys four are commonly employed. During the lastfew years a very light sedan-chair has come into favour, which is farmore convenient for ladies, but the _dandee_ is lighter and willcontinue to be largely used. 

We have seen a good deal of both the eastern and western portions of theProvince. In 1847 we travelled to Lahoo Ghat and Petorah Gurh in theeast. On this occasion I went on to Nepal, and was told by the Nepalesesentry on the frontier bridge that without special permission fromKhatmandoo, the Capital, I could not proceed farther. In 1869, incompany with my much-esteemed friend the late Dr. Mather, I travelled inthe same direction, and saw much of the country, as we went by one routeand returned by another. During the later years of our residence we sawa good deal of the western districts, to which I shall refer when givingan account of missionary operations. 

Along some of the main roads, at the distance of twelve or fourteenmiles, are small rough Rest-houses, with a table, two chairs, and abedstead, often in very bad condition. These houses are in charge of awatchman, who is often long in making his appearance, and then bringswood and water, and sometimes a little milk. For everything else you aredependent on people with you carrying supplies. Where there is muchtraffic there is good accommodation. 

[Sidenote: TIMELY ESCAPE. ]

Our most memorable journey, perhaps, was one made in 1861 to thePindaree glacier. The journey was a very fatiguing one, as the roadswere so bad, and the ascents and descents so steep, that before we gothalf way I was obliged to leave my pony behind, and to make my way onfoot, helped to ascend and descend in some places by strong hill-men, who drew me up or helped me down by a belt round my middle, while mywife and little boy were carried in _dandies_. Many of the bridges wererough wooden structures, with no parapets. As we approached the snow wesuffered much at night from cold in our little tent. The hill people ofthe higher region we found much stronger and more unsophisticated thanthose we had left behind. The women seemed never to have seen an Englishwoman or child. They were first afraid to come near us, but my wife madeher way to little groups, and they seemed delighted with her, and stillmore with her little boy. Fatiguing and trying though the journey was, health was improved by it, and we were well rewarded for any toil andinconvenience we endured by the magnificent scenery we saw. Down thePindaree valley came a roaring torrent, showing by its yellow tinge itcame from the melted snow. We were awed as we looked up at thetremendous cliffs on either side. Pursuing our way in silence, I heard aservant from the plains, who was walking behind me, muttering tohimself, "Such a wicked place I never saw in my life. " We breakfasted onthe glacier, and after looking at some of the crevasses we were glad tomake our way back to our tent a few miles below. Next morning weretraced our steps, and it was well we did so, for as we were rapidlydescending we had heavy rain, and could see snow falling where we hadbeen. The next day the whole region behind was covered with snow, andwe were thankful for our timely escape. 

The details of travelling I have now given, and the previous detailsabout the country and people may perhaps enable the reader the better tounderstand and realize missionary work in the Province. 

[Illustration]

CHAPTER XXI. 

THE ALMORA MISSION. 

Stated mission work was commenced in Kumaon in 1850. Previous to thattime a few of its people had heard the Gospel from missionariestravelling through it, or residing for a few months in it. In that yearthe Rev. J. H. Budden, of the London Missionary Society, after labouringfor a time in Benares and Mirzapore, was obliged by the failure ofhealth to abandon all hope of continuing in the plains, and took up hisabode at Almora, the capital of the Province. The society declined toenter on mission work in Kumaon; but Captain Ramsay, Senior Assistant tothe Commissioner, with other friends, came forward with most liberaloffers of support, and consent was given to Mr. Budden's entering intoan engagement to carry on the Mission as the agent of its localsupporters. For some time his entire salary and all expenses were met bythese friends. Afterwards a part of the salary was paid by the Society, and for years the whole, but the friends who founded the Mission have onto the present time supported it with princely munificence. At the headof these is Sir Henry Ramsay, the Captain Ramsay of 1850, who has beenfor many years the Commissioner of the Province, and who continues thewarm and liberal supporter of everything by which the spiritual aswell as the temporal good of the people may be promoted. 

[Sidenote: WORK OF THE ALMORA MISSION. ]

As the Mission at Almora was the first, so it continues to be the mostimportant in the Province. Organized and administered by Mr. Budden, andheartily supported by friends on the spot, it has done a work which hastold powerfully and happily on the entire country. From the beginningmuch attention has been paid to the education of the young. For a longtime the school of the Mission was the only one in the Province where asuperior education, at once native and European, was imparted; andstill, both in the number of its pupils and in the extent of its courseof study, it stands highest. From it have gone out for many years bandsof young men who now fill varied positions under Government, and it isbelieved they are discharging their duties with greater intelligence anda higher character than those they have succeeded. In remote parts ofthe Province I have met persons who have spoken in strong terms ofgratitude of the benefit they had received from attending the AlmoraMission School. A few years ago a large, handsome structure was erectedfor its accommodation at great expense, towards which the nativescontributed very liberally. In addition to this school-house, theMission has valuable property in mission-houses for native Christians, an orphanage, and a book-room. 

[Illustration: MISSION SCHOOL, ALMORA. ]

[Sidenote: THE LEPER ASYLUM. ]

In other departments excellent work has been done. Female education hasbeen zealously prosecuted under the direction of Mr. Budden's daughters. For many years there has been an orphanage in which destitute childrenhave been brought up and educated. The authorities made over to theMission a Leper Asylum they had established, and for years it has beenunder its exclusive charge. Much has been done for the inmates of thisasylum at the cost of personal labour, great anxiety, and a heavyexpenditure. Suitable buildings have been erected, the wants of thelepers have been supplied, everything has been done which could be doneto mitigate their sufferings, and to secure order and cleanliness. Theefforts put forth to draw them to the Great Physician to secure theirspiritual cure have by the Divine blessing borne abundant fruit. Whenthe Rev. John Hewlett was in charge in 1864-65 there was a movementtowards Christianity, which resulted in the baptism of several. Sincethat time the work has gone on. Christian worship has been regularlymaintained among them, and much labour has been bestowed on theirinstruction. Many have been baptized, after giving all the evidence ofsincerity which could be expected, and at certain times the Lord'sSupper has been dispensed. Among the lepers there have been persons ofvery debased character, but the conduct of most has been good, and, sofar as we can judge, a number have become the true followers of theSaviour. If the Mission had done nothing more than sustain this LeperAsylum, it would have done a most Christ-like work, deserving the warmapprobation and liberal support of Christ's people. 

[Illustration: LEPER ASYLUM, ALMORA. ]

From the commencement of the Mission a service has been conducted everySabbath in English for the benefit of our countrymen residing in Almora. Services have been held in the native language for the native Christiansand natives generally. 

In addition to the work of organizing and conducting the variousdepartments of the Mission, Mr. Budden has made large and valuablecontributions to native Christian literature. 

I have seen much of the Almora Mission, and have had the privilege oftaking part in conducting its operations. Among other duties which Iendeavoured to discharge during two seasons was to go, along with mywife, every Sabbath morning to conduct worship with the lepers, and toinstruct them. Mrs. Kennedy went besides once every week. There is nowork on which I look back with deeper interest than I do on this. Wefirst conducted a brief service of singing, prayer, and preaching. Mrs. Kennedy then took the women and I took the men to see how much of thesermon they understood, and to inculcate the great lessons of God's Wordin the way of question and answer. The work was at first very trying, but gradually we became more than reconciled to it. Our heart was drawnforth in deep pity to these poor people, and we left them deeplythankful for the privilege we had of speaking to them of the Saviour, and of telling them of His compassion for the suffering and the lost. 

[Illustration]

CHAPTER XXII. 

RANEE KHET MISSION. 

In accordance with instructions from the Directors of the LondonMissionary Society, Mrs. Kennedy and myself went at the beginning ofMay, 1869, to Ranee Khet, a new station twenty miles north-west ofAlmora, to enter on mission work there. Some time previously it had beenresolved to open a new mission in the Province, and I had been appointedto commence it. After much consideration Ranee Khet was deemed the mosteligible place for the extension of our work. The name means "The Fieldof the Queen, " and was probably given to it in honour of Kalee, as ithas on its higher part a small temple sacred to her, round which thehill people hold a yearly mela. The place may be described as a roughtable-land, with an elevation of from 6, 200 to 7, 000 feet above thelevel of the sea. With the exception of a little land cleared on oneside, the country for miles around was covered with forests of pine, oak, and rhododendron, over which the people of the valleys pasturedtheir cattle at some seasons of the year. The attention of theGovernment was drawn to the place as suitable for a military Sanitarium, and engineers were sent to open up roads and investigate itscapabilities. The report made by them was so favourable that aconsiderable outlay was sanctioned for turning it into a retreat forEnglish soldiers from the heat of the plains. 

The prospect of Ranee Khet as a European station, where soon a largepopulation was sure to gather, was one reason for regarding it as a goodsphere for a new mission. The chief reason, however, for the choice wasthe fact that within twelve miles around, on the sides of the hills andin the valleys beneath, there was a large accessible population, furnishing a much wider field than one missionary could well occupy. 

[Sidenote: VISITS TO RANEE KHET. ]

Previous to taking up our abode at Ranee Khet I paid several visits toit, with a view to making myself acquainted with the neighbourhood andto holding intercourse with the people, many of whom I met in theirvillages. They looked on me with fear, as if I had come to lay a new taxon them, and seemed utterly unable to comprehend me when I told them Iwas no Government official, but a servant of God, who came to them withgood tidings from Him. The only school of which I heard was twelve milesdistant, and I came to the conclusion that the establishment of primaryschools would be very beneficial to the people, and highly favourable tomy object. Though so illiterate that in well-sized villages I did nothear of a person who could read, a number expressed approval of myobject. Some were forward with the promise to erect school-sheds, and tosend their children, but the performance did not come up to the promise. 

When we went to Ranee Khet there was not a single house at the place. The only Europeans were two Engineers and a sergeant, and they wereliving in their cook-houses, preparatory to building houses forthemselves. I had arranged with a friend to have a wooden house erected, but when we went the work had only been commenced, and the first sixweeks we lived in a tent. It was midsummer, and the tent was in thedaytime intolerably hot. The trees around gave little shelter, they werechiefly pine; but we soon succeeded in putting up booths, and in them, except when storms came on, we were very comfortable during the heat ofthe day. 

We were thankful when we exchanged our tent and booths for our roughwooden house. In it we remained two years and a half in tolerablecomfort. There were two serious drawbacks. In the heavy rains the houseleaked in such a degree that there was scarcely a dry spot in it; and, what was worse, the rats got into the open roof, and by their activemovements, especially at night, were a great annoyance. Latterly theleakage was stopped, but the rats were too strong for us, and could notbe dislodged. Notwithstanding these inconveniences, when we rememberedthe heat of the plains, during six months of the year, which we hadendured, and our brethren were continuing to endure, and contrasted theclimate there with the climate we were enjoying, we were never temptedto murmur. We felt deeply thankful for the Providence which had given usan abode in a country where summer heat was only a little greater thanin our own, where there were no hot winds, where with windows open wecould be always comfortable in the hottest weather, and where all aroundus was magnificent scenery. 

I have mentioned rats. In their division of common rat and musk-rat, they are troublesome enough in the plains, but they are a plague in thehills. They abound in the fields, and are very hurtful to the crops. Nota house is erected into which they do not manage to make their way; butwhere a house is well built, and due care is taken, they find littleshelter. They go into a rough wooden house as if they were entitled tofull possession. These unwelcome intruders may be kept in check, butthere is no hope of entire deliverance from them. 

[Sidenote: MISSION BUILDINGS. ]

During our eight years in Ranee Khet we had to discharge the variedduties devolving on missionary pioneers. To one department, to which Iknew much attention must be given, I looked forward with dismay--theerection of buildings. Remembering our experience in the plains we wouldgladly have shrunk from this work, but we knew it must be faced. Throughthe great kindness and efficient help of friends we succeeded in gettingsuitable buildings erected. The first building we put up was a place ofworship. After considerable delay we succeeded in getting a suitablesite for a mission-house on a knoll within a short distance of thenative bazar. The servants' houses and the cook-house were first up, andleaving our hut we took up our abode in the cook-house, that we might beat hand to superintend the erection of the mission-house. Before itscompletion we got, close at hand, a site for a school-house, which, withits handsome hall and four side-rooms, furnishes more accommodation thanhas yet been required. To this building natives contributed liberally. As the stone and wood required had to be carried on men's heads andshoulders, every additional yard increased the expense, and we wereobliged to use the wood and stone nearest, though at some distancebetter might have been procured. Our masons and carpenters were not of asuperior order, and required to be constantly watched and directed. Thebuildings were not all we could wish, but they were suitable for theclimate and for our purpose. Our house was commodious, was in the bestposition for mission work, had a magnificent view of the snowy range, and we would not have exchanged it for the finest house we had seen inthe plains. 

[Illustration: THE SNOWY RANGE FROM RANEE KHET. ]

From the commencement of our residence in Ranee Khet, village schoolsreceived much of my attention. For a time I had nine under my charge, atdistances of from six to fifteen miles. For the accommodation of threeschools stone houses were erected, and for other schools sheds of grassand wood were put up. The attendance at these schools varied greatly atdifferent seasons of the year: many came too short a time to get anybenefit, the attendance of others was too irregular to admit of muchprogress; but a considerable number remained till they received a goodprimary education. On my visits I taught the pupils, and conversed withtheir parents and friends who gathered round. When the weather permittedI had my tent pitched for days near the school, and visited theadjoining villages. On these occasions I tried to sit down where or howI could, with the people around me, and entered into familiarconversation with them. The language was a great difficulty, as thedialect of Kumaon differs widely from the Hindee of the plains; but bydint of repetition, and putting what I had to say in different forms inthe simplest fashion, I was often happy to find myself getting into theunderstanding of my hearers. Every second Saturday the teachers, oftenaccompanied by senior pupils, came to my house to report what they haddone, and to receive instruction. 

[Sidenote: CONTRASTED VIEWS OF SIN. ]

I had reason to be thankful for having entered into this department ofwork. A large amount of Christian instruction was imparted; many of theboys showed remarkable aptitude in committing to memory portions ofScripture, such as the ten commandments and the parables of our Lord. Much general knowledge was acquired, a number of the pupils becamebetter fitted for their secular calling, and the goodwill of the peoplewas secured. Once, when thirty miles away from Ranee Khet, I met a ladwhom I recognized as an old pupil. I asked him if he remembered what hehad been taught. He said he did. He went to a house close at hand, brought a copy of St. Luke's Gospel, read at my request the fifteenthchapter, and explained its meaning with an accuracy which surprised me. At the same place I met a man of a different order. He told me he wasgoing to a mela, to which I was also proceeding. I asked him what he wasto do there. He said he was to bathe, to wash away his sins. I asked himwhat was the sin which oppressed him. He said, "I am a husbandman. Inploughing my fields I destroy much life, which is a great sin. This isthe worst thing with which I am chargeable. " The lad taught in theschool knew something of what sin was, as the poor man did not. I cansay nothing about the spiritual results of these school efforts. I canonly hope that by God's blessing good has been done. The Government hasnow entered largely on primary education in the Province, and with itsresources and prestige will, I trust, secure a large school attendance. 

All through my residence at Ranee Khet I endeavoured to embrace theopportunities given to me of promoting the spiritual good of our owncountrymen. A service was at once commenced with the few residents andvisitors at the station. Towards the end of 1869 two companies ofEnglish soldiers were sent, and as soon as tolerable accommodation wasprovided a regiment was stationed at Ranee Khet. As for nearly threeyears I was the only resident Christian minister, I held two servicesevery Lord's Day--one for Presbyterians, including all non-Episcopalianadherents, and the other for the Episcopalians, the Prayer-book beingused at this latter service. I also visited the sick in hospital, andwhen at home conducted a weekday meeting. We first met in the open air, or verandah of our hut; afterwards in the hut used as a temporarycanteen; for some time in the recreation-room; and during our lateryears in our place of worship, which we called Union Church. An effortwas made to get up a girls' school, but it was unsuccessful, as theattendance of the few native girls in the Bazar could not be secured. Sofar as native women were concerned, all Mrs. Kennedy could do was toinstruct the few living in the Mission compound. She found, however, aninteresting sphere among the wives and children of the soldiers. TheSabbath school, commenced and carried on by her, assisted by others, wasattended by all the children, Roman Catholic as well as Protestant; butno sooner was a Roman Catholic chaplain appointed than the order wentforth for the withdrawal of the children of his Church, which was obeyedwith manifest reluctance. We had much pleasure in these services withour own people, and had every reason to believe lasting good was done. Some of the boys of the Ranee Khet school expressed a desire to betaught English, and these came every second day to our house to betaught by Mrs. Kennedy. 

[Sidenote: MISSION WORK AT RANEE KHET. ]

While thankfully availing myself of the opportunities presented ofpreaching the Gospel to our own countrymen, such opportunities as Inever had at any previous period of my Indian career, my chief attentionwas given to the work for which I had been sent to Ranee Khet. I havealready mentioned missionary work done on visits to the schools. AtRanee Khet opportunities were found for conversation with shopkeepersand their customers. Thousands of work-people were employed on thebuildings which were being erected, and these, when the work of the daywas over, flocked to the Bazar to buy food. After the toil of the day, when eagerly anticipating their only cooked meal in the twenty-fourhours, they were not inclined to listen to a stranger telling them ofhis strange religion. Occasionally I did succeed in getting for a timethe attention of some not so eager as others to get their evening meal. Most heard quietly, but sometimes individuals replied with bitter words. Many of the work-people had come from a great distance. The mostprominent of these was a band of Cashmeeree Mussulmans, who spokeagainst Christianity with a fierceness which showed what they would doif they had the power. From one of them I got a retort, which it wasdifficult to repel. I tried to put the party into good humour by askingthem about their country, and I smilingly said, "Is there no food inyour country, that you have come all this way for it?" To which I gotthe reply: "You, sir, have come much farther than we have done. Had youno food to eat in your country?" I must acknowledge I felt myself shutup under this rebuff. 

During my residence at Ranee Khet I had much intercourse with twoclasses widely separated from each other--educated young men, and Doms. 

I have mentioned that from the Almora Mission School a number of youngmen had gone into all parts of the Province. Several got situations inthe public offices of Ranee Khet, and to them in the course of timepersons of the same class were added from Bengal. I visited these attheir quarters, and did all in my power to maintain friendly intercoursewith them. A room in the school-house, supplied, partly at their ownexpense and partly by the liberality of friends, with newspapers, periodicals, and books, was turned into a reading-room, which was alwaysopen in the evening. One evening in the week they met me in class, whenwe had as our text-book the Advanced Reader of the Christian VernacularEducation Society, which furnished full opportunity for conversation onthe most useful and important subjects. The attendance was not so steadyas could be desired. All were friendly in their bearing, and some seemedmuch interested in our study and talk. A few professed Brahmist views, but none were inclined to join the Brahmist community and break withtheir own people. There was no indication of the spiritual concern whichcompels the soul to earnest investigation, with a view to followingtruth wherever it may lead. 

[Sidenote: MISSION WORK AMONG THE DOMS. ]

The other class with whom I had much to do at Ranee Khet were the Doms, to whom reference has already been made as in all probability thedescendants of the aborigines of the country previous to the Hinduinvasion. They are a most useful part of the community. As the artisansof the country, the people of every caste have much to do with them. They are largely engaged in agriculture. They do things by which thecaste people would be defiled, such as carrying away the carcases ofanimals. In a high-caste village it is not uncommon to see, a littleaside from it--if the ground permits, below it--a number of housesoccupied by Doms. The pigs and fowls around the meaner dwellings, andthe poorer looks of the inhabitants, tell what they are. As artisanwork is now in great demand the circumstances of the Doms are muchimproved, and there is every prospect of their rising into a higherposition. They bear, and for many a year they may be expected to bear, indubitable marks of having been for ages a servile, despised, downtrodden class, having no respect from others, and entertaininglittle respect for themselves. Their improved circumstances will dosomething towards raising them in the social scale, but we cannot lookfor high moral excellence and real manhood till they come under thepower of the Gospel. 

On account of the abundance of work which the formation of an Englishstation was sure to afford, a colony of these people erected a villagefor themselves on the side of the Ranee Khet hill below the Bazar. I hadwhen in Almora conversed frequently with Doms. At Ranee Khet I saw muchof them, and had more encouragement among them than among any otherclass. To some who expressed regret they could neither read nor write, Isaid it was not too late; that I would take care that they be taught ifthey were willing to learn. To test them I opened a night-school, and anumber availed themselves of it. It was a gratifying sight to see them, at ages varying from fifteen to thirty-five, conning theirspelling-books at the door of the school-house as evening was coming on, or trying to form letters on their slates. A few became soondiscouraged, but a number held on, night after night for two or threehours, with the greatest eagerness, till they could read, write, andcount very fairly. One result of the school was that they began toattend, with great regularity, a service held every Sabbath afternoon inthe hall of the school-house. During the last year of our residence inRanee Khet, the attendance at this service was larger than at anyprevious period, and it was mainly composed of Doms. Nothing couldexceed the quietness and apparent interest with which they heard thesimple addresses given. I cannot say I saw any evidence of spiritualawakening, but the torpor of their previous life was shaken in a waywhich inspired the hope of their being brought into the fold of Christ. 

I have mentioned the fierceness of the Cashmeeree Mussulmans. Thischarge cannot be brought against them all. One of their number, a younglad, came to the school, and was in every respect one of the best pupilsin it. With another, one so trusted by the rest that he was thego-between in the arrangements for work with the English engineer, I hadmuch intercourse. Though the head of the party, and himself doing nomanual work, he could neither read nor write, and was entirely dependenton accounts being kept by another. To my surprise he came to thenight-school, and applied himself so diligently that he acquired a fairmeasure of elementary education, though his knowledge of the Hindeelanguage was very imperfect. He regularly attended the Sabbath eveningservice, and seemed to listen most eagerly. One day he came to ourhouse. I at once saw that he was greatly excited. He shut the doorbehind him, as if afraid of being seen, came close to me, got down onhis knees, and said: "Sir, what am I to do? Last night Huzrut Isa" (thename given by Muhammadans to our Lord, which may be translated "HisHonour, " or "His Excellence Jesus") "appeared to me in a dream, andsaid, 'Follow me; follow me. ' But how can I follow Him? My people willkill me, they will kill me!" I have seldom been more touched than whenI looked on the anguish in the face of that poor man, and the tearscoursing down his cheeks, as he uttered these words. I need not tell theChristian reader what I endeavoured to say. Shortly afterwards theCashmeerees left Ranee Khet, and this man with them. I could not findout where they went, and I have lost all trace of my friend. 

[Sidenote: ITINERACY. ]

A considerable part, sometimes the greater part, of the cold weather wasgiven to itineracy. Some winters we went down to the foot of the hillsto prosecute mission work among the large population found there at thatseason. We moved from place to place, erecting our tent in centralspots, from which within a radius of two or three miles we could visitpopulous villages, some built of rough stones, but most composed ofgrass sheds. I was generally accompanied by a catechist. We had manyopportunities of speaking to the people on the highest subjects. Notinfrequently we met persons whom we had met in the hills, and then wewere sure of a special welcome. Once I came on a party of Doms, tailors, whom I had seen a short time previously, and I said to them: "As youhave no cattle, and do not cultivate the ground, what has brought youdown?" To which I got the reply: "We have come in search of the sun. "This gave me an opportunity of speaking of that Sun in whose warmth andlight their spirits might dwell at all times, in all places. Iendeavoured to set up schools in the Bhabhur, but had not anyencouraging measure of success. 

There was much which was pleasant and exhilarating in this movement fromplace to place, and in camping under the trees: but it was at times veryfatiguing, and in bad weather very unpleasant. More than once we wereovertaken by severe storms, but happily the worst of these storms cameon us in favoured places, where we could find shelter on escaping fromour tent. 

Hill ponies feel themselves strange when in what a friend used to callthe "roomy plains. " The pony I had for years was quiet enough in thehills, but I had to watch it narrowly in the plains, as it seemed tohave always the sense of danger, and was ready to start in a fashionwhich more than once almost dismounted me. 

Some winters were spent in itinerating in hill districts from which thepeople did not go to the Bhabhur. In these winters I had the opportunityof going to a mela held at Bageswur, about thirty-five miles from RaneeKhet, at the confluence of the Surjoo and the Kalee. This mela is thegreatest held in the Province. To many it is the grand event of theyear. The people from all parts flock to it for religious, commercial, and social purposes. In the motley crowd may be seen hill-men from allthe districts of the Himalaya, natives from the plains, Tibetans fromthe other side of the snowy range, and Englishmen. 

This mela is held in a low valley not far from one of the passes intoTibet. It is attended by many Tibetans, who succeed in bringing theirponies through the tremendous defiles which separate their country fromKumaon. These ponies bring high prices. They also bring sheep laden withsalt and borax. These Mongolians are great stalwart men, with broadfaces, clad in homespun woollen cloth of many folds, which is seldomtaken off till it is worn off. They are accompanied by a few women andchildren. They take their religion with them in their praying-wheels, which they keep going. They are an intensely religious people, as Mr. Gilmour tells us, but it is in the most mechanical fashion which can beconceived. If they were mere machines, wound up like theirpraying-wheels, they could not to all appearance be more devoid ofthought, feeling, and conscience in the exercise of their religion. Imarked their countenances, and could only wonder at their stolid look. Much that is absurd is found in man's religion, but the Tibetan form ofit seemed to me the very _ne plus ultra_ of irrationality. Some of theseMongolians are inveterate beggars, but it would not be fair to judge thepeople generally by these stragglers into India. There was more life intheir dances than in their religion, though not much grace. It seemed tome that if elephants could dance, they would do it somewhat in thatstyle. 

[Sidenote: GREAT FAIR AT BAGESWUR. ]

In the town of Bageswur there are substantial houses belonging to themerchants of the Province, and these are occupied by themselves or theiragents during the greater part of the cold weather. During the rest ofthe year it is deserted, as the valley is very hot and feverish. Duringthe colder weeks of the year it is a very stirring place, but it is onthe occasion of the melas, two of which are held within three months, that there is a large gathering. At the principal mela many thousandsmust be present. As in all Hindu gatherings, religion, business, andpleasure are eagerly prosecuted. A town of booths rises suddenly in thevalley and on the sides of the hills. Whenever I have gone, I have formiles before reaching the place seen many carrying or trailing branchesof trees, with which they were to erect their temporary abode. Theseanswer well in good weather, but when rain or snow falls they give noshelter. The morning is given to bathing. One morning is peculiarlypropitious, and then from the earliest dawn the people are in thestream, many of them, I suppose, getting well-nigh the only ablutionthey have in the course of the year. During the day selling and buyinggo on vigorously. As evening approaches the merry-go-rounds arepatronized, and crowds gather round singing and dancing parties. Thedancers are young men linked hand in hand, who move about in circles, shuffle their feet, and sing in a very monotonous fashion. Many set tothe preparation of the evening meal, and the valley and the hill-sidesare aglow with fires and lights. Amusement, however, has not come to anend. Singing is kept up till the small hours of the morning, to the nosmall disturbance of those who cannot sleep except when there is ameasure of quiet. Between the singing of the people and thebarking--rather the howling--of the Tibetan dogs, such barking as I havenever heard in our own country, wearied though I have been by the workof the day I have for hours found sleep to be impossible. 

Englishmen attending the mela find a temporary abode in tents, and in astaging bungalow erected for the accommodation of European travellers. They dine together in the hall of this house, and occupy their tents atnight. Officials deputed by the Commissioner of the Province arepresent, for the double purpose of keeping order and of paying rewardsto those who have killed wild beasts. The skins of the tigers, bears, and leopards, for the destruction of which rewards have been paid, aresold by auction under the direction of the officials. The heaps of skinsexposed for sale give one a striking impression of the number of wildbeasts in the country. There are many keen hunters, both native andEuropean, and there is no likelihood of their occupation coming to anend for want of game. Tea-planters attend this mela to buy mats, whichare made by the people in large quantities, and are required in thepreparation of tea for the market. Military officers on leave andtravellers from the plains are present from the double motive of seeingthis strange gathering and of purchasing ponies. 

For many years Mr. Budden, accompanied by native Christians, has been inthe habit of going to this mela, and I have been happy to help him andhis brethren when opportunity has been given to me. A colporteur hasbeen present with his wares, and succeeds in selling at a small priceportions of the Scriptures and tracts. An amusing instance of indecisionoccurred at the bookstall the last time I was present. A man hadpurchased a Gospel. He came back saying he was told by his people thathe would certainly become a Christian if he took that book to hisvillage, and he laid down the book on the stall and asked for his money. The colporteur refused to cancel the sale, and the man was sorelyperplexed, reluctant to lose both his money and that for which the moneywas paid. At last he walked away with the book, the colporteur assuringhim it would do him only good. 

[Sidenote: PREACHING AT THE FAIR. ]

We took our stand at different parts of the mela, and spoke to allwilling to hear. Many speedily passed on, but a number remained for sometime, as if desirous to know what this new religion was. Now and then weencountered pundits, and if they were at all reasonable we were pleasedwith their presence and opposition, as a colloquy with them greatlyquickened the interest of the people. On one occasion, after skirmishingwith some pundits, it was arranged they were to meet us at a fixed hourfor discussion. Our Christian party were present at the appointed placeand hour, but our pundit friends did not put in an appearance. Ourgoing, however, was not in vain, as we succeeded in getting hearers wholistened patiently to what we had to say about the Saviour of mankind. One of our number was a converted pundit of Almora, who spoke to thepeople in a way I thought eminently fitted to make a favourableimpression. 

[Illustration]

CHAPTER XXIII. 

HABITS AND CONDITION OF THE PEOPLE. MISSION WORK AND RETIREMENT. 

During our residence in Kumaon we had many opportunities of observingthe condition and habits of the people. I have mentioned the newresources opened up to them, and yet it must be acknowledged that manyare poor. The population is probably much larger than it has been at anyprevious period. The holdings are small, and by the division made on theoccasion of the death of the head of the household they ever tend tobecome smaller. There are a number in the Province who own no land, andare poorly remunerated for their labour by their countrymen. I havementioned the new source of wealth opened up to the people by the canalsand cultivation of the Bhabhur. Reference has also been made to thetea-gardens and public works, on which large sums of money have beenspent, of which much has reached the people in the form of wages. Thusall classes, both those who have land and those who have not, have beenbenefited. Indeed, apart from income thus obtained it is difficult toconceive how the people could have been supported. If they do not makeprogress in material comfort the fault must lie in their want ofenergy. 

Like their brethren in the plains, the people in the hills live chieflyon cereals--the cheaper cereals--and vegetables; but, like most below, including even many Brahmans and Rajpoots, they have no objection toanimal food when they get it of the kind they approve, and prepared inthe way caste rules require. As to Doms, nothing that is at all eatablecomes amiss to them. They have no objection, indeed, to much we shoulddeem uneatable. The Hindus eat the flesh of goats and kids offered insacrifice. They also eat the flesh of short-tailed sheep, butlong-tailed sheep are an abomination to them, as they regard them as akind of dog. We saw once an amusing instance of the notion ofuncleanness attached to this species of sheep. A few sheep were beingchosen by a purchaser from a flock. The animals were scampering about, showing, according to their nature, their unwillingness to be caught. Three or four men were engaged in catching them, but one every now andthen started back when about to lay his hand on a sheep, exclaiming, "_Wuh doomwala hai!_"--"It is a tailed one! it is a tailed one!"--as ifhe would be hopelessly defiled by touching it, while his less scrupulouscompanions of the same caste said, "You fool! what does it matter? Itwill do you no harm. " They would not have eaten its flesh, but theircaste spirit was sufficiently relaxed to allow them to touch it. 

I have referred to sanitary regulations issued by the authorities toguard the people against epidemics caused by want of cleanliness. One ofthese regulations forbids the dwelling together of animals and humanbeings. On our first visit to the hills in 1847 I came unpleasantly intocontact with this dual occupation of the same house. As night wassetting in I came to the top of a hill, and from it I could see a fewstraggling houses at a short distance. I had with me two or three men, who proposed to put up a booth for the night. Unhappily for my comfort, a thunderstorm came on with heavy rain, and the booth was no protection. I was taken to a house a short way off, but on entering it the smellfrom the animals occupying it with their owners was so strong that itdrove me out. I preferred to face the storm to bearing the effluvia ofthat highland abode. I was told of a little unoccupied grass-shed a miledown the hill. I found the grass so thick and well tied that the raindid not get through, and the entrance was on the lee side. Into this Icrept, and slept soundly till the morning, for I was very tired with thelong walk of the day. 

The new sanitary orders have no doubt done good, but it is difficult tosecure compliance with them, though fines are imposed on personsconvicted of disobedience. If there had been a reward for informers Icould have more than once won it by telling what I had seen. 

[Sidenote: NYNEE TAL. ]

A very pleasant break during our life at Ranee Khet was a yearly visitpaid to Nynee Tal, about thirty miles distant, which had become the seatof Government for the North-West for half the year, and a place of greatresort from the plains during the hot and wet months. It has manyadvantages as a Sanitarium. It is within sixteen miles of the Bhabhur, and has an elevation of from 6, 300 to 8, 000 feet above the level of thesea. There is a small, beautiful mountain lake, from one end of whichone looks down on the plains over the intervening hills; while at theother end, beyond a piece of uneven ground, rises a lofty mountain. There are rather steep hills on either side, but hills with a gradientwhich admits of houses being built on them. Though so near the plains, this lakelet was till 1842 unknown, except to natives and a few Englishofficials. In that year travellers with difficulty made their way to it, and drew attention to its attractions. We first saw it in 1847, and thenit had very few houses. An old General, one of its first residents, toldus that one day the preceding year he saw a tiger walking leisurelyabove his house, and looking down, as if wondering at the change whichwas coming over the place. Some of the first residents were startled bymeeting bears in their walks. Since that time houses have been built onevery side, and during the season there is a great population of bothEuropeans and natives. Four years ago there was a fearful landslip, which carried down a number of houses with it, and buried many under thefalling mass. 

[Illustration: LANDSLIP AT NYNEE TAL. ]

At the beginning of 1857, the American Episcopal Methodist Churchentered on mission work in Rohilkund. When the mutiny of that year brokeout, the agents of this church in Rohilkund escaped to Nynee Tal, andfrom that time they continued to occupy it as a mission station, andalso as a sanitarium for their brethren in the plains. The Mission hasbeen efficiently conducted. English services have been maintained duringthe season. They have been well attended by all classes, and have donemuch good. Between native servants and shopkeepers from the plains, andnatives of the hills, who flock into the place for service and work, there is a large sphere for mission work, and much has been done in theway of both preaching and schools. The Mission has been extended toother parts of the Province, to Gurhwal in the north, to Petorah in theeast, and to other places, with manifest tokens of the Divine blessing. 

[Sidenote: ANNUAL MEETINGS AT NYNEE TAL. ]

With these American brethren we have been on the most friendly terms, and have co-operated with them in every way open to us. We formed anassociation with them for mutual counsel and help. One result of thisassociation has been the holding of annual meetings in Nynee Tal inautumn, for the benefit of Europeans and natives, and conducted in boththe English and native languages, ending with the celebration of theLord's Supper. These meetings were largely attended, excited muchinterest, did, I believe, much good, and were very enjoyable. On theseannual visits to Nynee Tal we commonly remained a week or ten days, andhad much pleasant intercourse with the missionaries and other friends. During several years Sir William Muir, as Lieutenant-Governor of theNorth-West, was resident for half the year at Nynee Tal, and our specialthanks are due to him and Lady Muir for hospitable entertainment. 

While, during our residence in the hills, time and strength were mainlygiven to effort for the spiritual good of our own countrymen and thenative population, there were times, especially during the rainy season, when I was much at home; and I was glad to avail myself of the leisureafforded of writing for the press what I hoped might prove, and what Itrust has proved, of spiritual benefit to natives and others. During ourstay in the hills, in addition to articles for the "Indian EvangelicalReview" and other periodicals, I wrote a Commentary on the Epistle tothe Romans in Hindustanee, and Essays in English, which were publishedin book form under the title of "Christianity and the Religions ofIndia. " At an early period of my missionary career, at the request of mycolleague Mr. Shurman, to whom the work of revising and in parttranslating the Bible into Hindustanee was entrusted, I transferred thePentateuch from the Persian into the Roman character, and translated thebook of the Prophet Jeremiah, which, revised by Mr. Shurman and Dr. Mather, now forms part of the version. Before leaving India I did alittle, at the request of the North India Bible Society, towards therevision of the Hindee translation of the New Testament. On this work alarge and very able Committee is now engaged. During my Indian career Ihave written a good deal for the press--I must acknowledge in a verydesultory manner. 

Thus engaged in prosecuting our work, years passed on till the end of1876, when we felt the time had arrived for retiring from the IndianMission-field. In July of that year I had a severe illness, which laidme aside, and incapacitated me for carrying on mission work with anymeasure of efficiency. I might have continued at Ranee Khet, and donethe work within my reach there, but by doing so the most important partof the work, the work in the district, would have remained undone; and Ideemed it best to retire to make way for one who could fitly occupy thesphere. Medical men whom I consulted strongly advised my departure, andthe Directors of the Society gave their prompt and kind sanction to ourreturn to England. 

[Sidenote: FRIENDLY HELP. ]

I cannot end this account of our life in Kumaon without givingexpression to our gratitude for the kind aid afforded us by friends inthe prosecution of our work. Among these friends, one of the steadiestand kindest was the cantonment magistrate, Colonel, afterwardsMajor-General, Chamberlain, who identified himself with the Mission, andwas ever ready to do all he could to promote its prosperity. During ourlengthened absences from the station in the cold weather, and wheneverI could not officiate, he conducted service with the English soldiers, and he was ready in every way within his power to render help. Inaddition to aid in carrying on the Mission, we received great personalkindness from him and his partner, of which we shall always retain agrateful recollection. He retired to England a short time after us, andwithin a little more than a year he was suddenly called away--to his owngain, we are sure, but to the grief of all his friends. It gives me amelancholy pleasure to render this tribute to his memory. For steadyfriendship and most valuable aid our best thanks are also due toCaptain, now Lieut. -Colonel, Birney, R. E. , the resident Chief Engineer;Robert Troup, Esq. , a tea-planter in the neighbourhood; and Mr. Ashhurst, engineer. Among the friends not resident at Ranee Khet, towhom the Mission is largely indebted, are Sir Henry Ramsay and SirWilliam Muir. Besides the friends I have mentioned, many otherscontributed liberally to the Mission, without whose aid much which wasdone must have remained unaccomplished. By the liberal contributionsreceived the operations of the Mission were carried on, and valuableproperty was created at very little expense to the Society. 

We left Ranee Khet at the close of 1876. As we were leaving India withno prospect of returning, we spent two months in visiting differentstations, seeing their Missions, and holding intercourse with friendsand brethren. In the course of these months we visited Bareilly, Shahjehanpore, Agra, from which we went to see that wonderful desertedcity, Futtypore Sikree, with its magnificent tombs, Jeypore, Lucknow, Cawnpore, Allahabad, Mirzapore, Benares, Jubbulpore, and Bombay. At Agrawe attended the native service of the Church Mission. The minister whopreached was a native who had been educated in our central school atBenares when I was superintendent, and was there led to the knowledge ofChrist, though he was not baptized till his return to his native city, Agra. On this tour we saw and heard much which interested us greatly, asit showed the work of evangelization was being vigorously prosecutedwith tokens of God's blessing resting on it. We embarked at Bombay inFebruary, and arrived in England at the end of March. 

We left India, where we had spent the greater and, I may say, the betterpart of our life, with feelings I will not attempt to describe. I canonly say when we review our Indian life, that while deeply humbled atthe recollection of many errors and defects, defects in wisdom, zeal, and love, we are deeply grateful for having been privileged to labourfor so many years in the service of our adorable Redeemer, not, wetrust, without proof that good was accomplished through ourinstrumentality; and so long as we breathe, our hearts will steadilyturn towards India with ardent love, and with fervent prayer for thespiritual and temporal welfare of its inhabitants. 

[Illustration]

CHAPTER XXIV. 

THE MISSIONARY IN INDIA. 

On reviewing these reminiscences I find there are several subjects ofinterest to which I have only casually alluded, and others on which Ihave made no remark. My readers will, I hope, bear with me while Idetain them by stating facts and expressing views which will make thenarrative more complete. 

It is unnecessary to describe the office of missionary to the heathen. No one has rightly entered on the office without being deeply impressedby its greatness, arduousness, and responsibility. It is equallyunnecessary to describe the qualifications required. No one cancontemplate the demands the office makes on intellect, heart, andconscience, on love to the Lord Jesus Christ and love to souls, onwisdom, perseverance, and courage, without exclaiming with the greatmissionary Paul, "Who is sufficient for these things?" The idea that oneunqualified for work at home would do for a missionary abroad is sopreposterous that it is strange it should have ever been entertained bythe most heedless. 

There is, however, a great difference between an office and those whoserve in an office. Because an office is great and honourable it doesnot follow that those who hold it have always the high character itdemands. The question may, then, be fairly asked, Are missionariesworthy of their office? I, of course, use the word "worthy" in arelative sense, and I remember our limited acquaintance with the humanheart. It must be acknowledged there have been a few, happily a _very_few, who have shown themselves utterly unworthy of the office, some bylack of intellectual fitness, and others by want of spiritual characterand by indisposition to the work. There have been cases of the utterfailure of character, but these have been extremely rare. Ofmissionaries generally it may be confidently affirmed they have beentrue men. I have a wide acquaintance with the missionaries of NorthernIndia. During our long residence in Benares we saw many of allSocieties, of all Churches, as they travelled up and down. Benares isone of the great halting-places between Bengal and the Upper Provinces, and residence there gives many opportunities for acquaintance withbrethren. We have the most pleasing recollection of many we have met, and we have followed their course with deep interest. 

[Sidenote: MINISTERS AND MISSIONARIES. ]

I should be acting in opposition to my settled conviction if I were tospeak of missionaries as more devoted to Christ's service, moreself-denied, more ready to endure privation than home ministers. Thisglorification of missionaries, as missionaries, was much in vogue at onetime, and is still sometimes heard. Our Master, the Lord Jesus Christ, gives to every one his work, and our devotedness is shown, not by ouroffice, but by the way in which we do the work assigned us. Predilectionto a certain sphere, supposed fitness for it, temperament andcircumstances, have much to do in indicating to us the sphere our Lordwould have us to occupy. Tried by the test of devotedness, as shown indaily life, I have never seen any reason for placing one class ofChrist's servants above the other. Among ministers there is, as we allknow, a great difference, not only in talent and attainment, but also inlove, zeal, wisdom, and endurance--in every quality which their workdemands. Similar is the variety among missionaries. There are manydegrees of efficiency and, it must be acknowledged, of inefficiency. They, as well as their brethren at home, can go through the routine oftheir work in a very perfunctory and unsatisfactory manner; while they, too, can consecrate all their powers to the service of their Lord. Itwould be easy to select from the home field ministers who, in unweariedlabour, self-denial, and privation for Christ's sake, greatly excel theordinary run of missionaries; and it would be equally easy to selectfrom the foreign field missionaries who greatly excel most of their homebrethren. 

In several respects there is a marked contrast in the position ofministers and missionaries. Ministers labour in their own language, among their own people, amidst home surroundings and associations; whilemissionaries have to part with loved relatives and to betake themselvesto a foreign land, where they have to learn a foreign language, oftenlanguages, at the cost of much time and of wearying application, havefor years, as in the greater part of India, to bear a severe climate, are called to prosecute their work among a strange, an unsympathetic, and sometimes a hostile people, and, what is felt by family people to bethe greatest trial of all, they have to send their children to England, and to live separate from them for years. Some of these trialsmissionaries share with their fellow-countrymen, who from secularmotives go to foreign lands, but others are peculiar to their vocation. 

While I mention the trials of a missionary career I cannot forget thetrials of ministerial life at home. We should require to shut our eyesto patent facts if we were to ignore the privations many excellent menare called to endure, and the varied difficulties they have to encounterfrom the character and circumstances of the people among whom theylabour, from the peculiarities of our times, and from the abidingqualities of human nature, as it is now constituted. Missionaries arenot rich, but they have adequate support, for good or evil are notdependent for it on the goodwill of those to whom they minister, andreceive it as regularly as if it came from an endowment. With childrensent home for education they have times of great pressure, but much hasbeen done to aid them in meeting this additional expense. Viewed merelyas to the comfort of living, and ease of mind as to support, theadvantages are not all on the side of the home minister. To counteractthe advantages of the missionary's position to which I have referred, itmust be remembered the average career of service in India is short--somereturning very soon, and others after a few years. Those who returnafter years spent abroad, and yet in the prime of life, are rightlyexpected to enter the list of the home ministry; but the work they haveleft and that on which they are entering are so different, that themental habits acquired in the one are felt to be a poor preparation for, and often even an obstacle to, efficiency in the other. 

[Sidenote: SPIRITUAL CHARACTER INDISPENSABLE. ]

In their duties, joys, and trials, ministers and missionaries have muchin common. We have to deal with the same human nature, manifesting thesame characteristics, though in different forms. We have the samemessage to deliver. We have the same great end in view, the salvationof those to whom we minister, their restoration to the character andjoys of God's children. Whether we labour at home or abroad, we arerequired to endure hardness as good soldiers of Jesus Christ. If we havenot entered on our work from love to Christ and love to souls, with anintense desire to spend and be spent in Christ's service, with a beliefthat He has called us to it, and given us a measure of fitness for it;if we are conscious of being dominated by inferior motives; if we havenot delight in our work, even when there is great pressure on both mindand body; if we do not long for the success of our work, it is obviouswe have missed our vocation, and it would be better for us to sweep thestreet, I would say it would be better to walk the treadmill than occupyour position for an hour. This I must say for myself, I am deeplythankful for having been privileged to labour in the foreign field, andconsider it the highest honour which could have been conferred on me. With my brethren I have had many trials to endure, some privations tobear, some perils to encounter, but I have never for an hour regrettedmy early decision to give myself to Christ's work among the heathen. Iam sure I here speak the feeling of my missionary brethren. 

I have endeavoured in my reminiscences to give such a representation ofa missionary's position and work in Northern India, that home ministerswho may read my narrative can have no difficulty in comparing andcontrasting ministerial and missionary spheres. It will be seen howvaried are the duties devolving on the missionary, and how great are thedemands on thought and effort for their proper discharge. They have, inmany cases, to attend to harassing and perplexing secular work. A numbergive their time and strength to teaching, and I know enough of thisdepartment to testify that those who give themselves to it in a climatelike that of India lead very laborious lives. I have said little of thetranslation of the Scriptures, and the preparation of Christian booksand tracts. This is a department in which there has been much exhaustingeffort of both body and mind, as all know well who have done even alittle in it. In the prosecution of direct evangelistic work themissionary finds much to interest and encourage him, but also much togrieve and depress him, especially if he has a sensitive nature, and hasno natural love for debate. Even to those who do not shrink fromdiscussion there is often not a little which is very trying. I have avivid recollection of times when I have returned from Benares to my homein the suburbs, so wearied in body and grieved in spirit by theopposition I had encountered and the blasphemies I had heard, that Ihave felt as if I could never enter the city again. But I went again, and perhaps the next time was much encouraged. 

Missionaries at the same station are much more closely associated thanministers at the same place at home. The management of the mission, thepolicy to be adopted, and the respective places to be filled, are undercommon arrangement and control, subject to the district committee, andthrough them to the home directors. Many perplexing questions comebefore missionaries thus associated, and human nature in them must haveparted with its usual infirmities, and put on peculiar excellence, ifdifference of judgment and consequent variance of feeling had neverappeared. We cannot plead exemption from human imperfection. It cannotbe denied that at times there has been strong diversity of judgment andpainful alienation of feeling, when missionaries have too closelyresembled Paul and Barnabas in their sharp dispute at Antioch; but itcan at the same time be most truly affirmed that with very rareexceptions discord has soon come to an end, and those who have differedwidely have become attached friends, as we know Paul and Barnabas did. The normal state of things is that of mutual love, respect, andhelpfulness. 

Missionaries have also had their differences with the Societies thathave sent them out and supported them. The respective position of homecommittees and foreign missionaries are so different, that a differenceof judgment is in some cases unavoidable; but confiding as they havedone in the goodness of each other's motives, full harmony has been soonrestored. I must be allowed to say of the London Missionary Society, whose agent I was for so many years in India, that my warmestacknowledgments are due to it for all the kindness and considerationshown to me and mine. If I were now to begin my career with my knowledgeof the past, there is no Society with which I could so confidentlyconnect myself. 

[Sidenote: INTERCOURSE AND CO-OPERATION. ]

All have heard of the friendly intercourse among missionaries ofdifferent churches. They, too, when near each other have had occasionaldifferences; but with rare exceptions they have been on terms not onlyof courteous bearing, but of affectionate intimacy. There is nothing inour Indian life to which we look back with greater pleasure than ourintercourse with Presbyterian, Baptist, Methodist, and Episcopalianbrethren. With the Episcopalian and Baptist missionaries at Benares wewere on as warm terms of friendship as if they had been members of ourown Mission. For many years we were in the habit of meeting weekly withthem for the study of the Scriptures, prayer, and Christian communion. 

Most Europeans take no interest in missions, look on missionaries asgood men engaged in a Quixotic enterprise, and know almost nothing abouttheir work, but still they treat them with courtesy. There are, however, some of our own countrymen who take a deep interest in our work, visitour schools, occasionally attend our native services, and contributeliberally to our mission schemes. These do much to cheer our hearts andpromote our success. Again and again my work would have been at astandstill but for the help given me by European Christians, and ourintercourse with some has resulted in close and enduring friendship. Ifpersons have a temperament preparing them for friendship, I cannotconceive any position more favourable to its formation and strength thanthat of a missionary in many of our Indian stations. 

[Illustration]

CHAPTER XXV. 

THE MISSIONARY IN INDIA (Continued). 

It has been already stated that missionaries have an income, whichenables them to live in a way conducive to the health of themselves andfamilies. Things which would be luxuries at home are necessaries inIndia, and all they can do is to alleviate the suffering caused by theclimate. As missionaries are often more stationary than Europeanofficials, both military and civil, and spend much less than they do onhorses, establishments, and entertainments, their houses have an air ofcomfort which is surprising to those who know their income, and has ledto much misrepresentation on the part of those who know not and do notcare to know what it is. 

Not infrequently young men have gone out to India as missionaries withthe firm resolve to live to a large extent in the native fashion, and toeschew what they conceive the undue indulgence of those who had precededthem, but the experience of one hot season has generally brought them toanother mind. Individuals have adhered to their resolution, and theresult in one case I know was insanity, in other cases utter failure ofhealth, and in others speedy death. A band of Germans determined tolive, if not in the native style, at least in the simple style of theFatherland, as to habitation, food, and service, and with scarcely anexception the plan was soon abandoned. The only successful case I haveheard of in our day has been that of Mr. Bowen, a devoted Americanmissionary in Bombay. We have had no William Burns, in Northern India atleast. I can say for myself, that so far as the mere comfort of livingis concerned I should greatly prefer a humble abode and simple fare inEngland, to the finest house and the most sumptuous fare in the plainsof Northern India. It has been maintained by some that our only hope ofsuccess lies in our becoming ascetics, and outstripping by ourausterities the Hindu saints. In other words, by acting as if weaccepted Hindu principles of religion we are to overthrow Hinduism, andwin the people to Christ. The proposal calls for no consideration. 

Of late a good deal has been said about the substance of missionaryteaching. Missionaries as a class maintain and teach the doctrinal viewsof the Churches whose messengers and agents they are. In these Churchesa sifting process has been going on for a considerable time, which hasled in some cases to a reversal of belief in matters of great moment, and in a greater number to the modification and softening of viewshitherto entertained. Every one must decide for himself how far thesifting has been wisely done, how far chaff and only chaff has beengiven to the wind, and precious grain gathered into the garner. Missionaries have unquestionably been affected by doctrinal discussion, in a few instances, I believe a very few, to the reversal of some oftheir former views, in all, perhaps, though in different degrees, to areadjustment of their doctrinal position, to giving more prominence tosome aspects of truth and less prominence to others, under theconviction that such is their relative position in the Word of God. 

[Sidenote: MISSIONARY PREACHING. ]

However much imbued missionaries have been with the views of theirrespective Churches, their position among the heathen has always ledthem to the constant and simple presentation of the great facts anddoctrines of the Bible. These have been set forth in the manner deemedbest fitted to commend them to the understanding, conscience, and heartof the people. Familiar illustrations have been largely used, andelaborate doctrinal discussion shunned. While the missionary finds muchin the narratives and teachings of the Old Testament which is helpful tohis object, he dwells chiefly on the life of Christ, His deeds, words, living, and holy example; death to redeem men; man's urgent need of sucha Saviour, because guilty and depraved; the claims of Christ on Hislove, trust, and service; the blessedness of compliance with theseclaims on character and state; the misery and doom incurred by theirpersistent rejection. How often have I seen the heathen greatly moved bythe parable of the Prodigal Son!

The missionary, like the home minister, has to guard againstone-sidedness, if he would keep to the Book which he professes to be hisstandard. The many-sidedness of the Bible, its appeal to man's wholenature, is one of the most marked proofs of its superhuman origin. Whileit addresses itself continually to man's moral nature, to his sense ofright and wrong, while it appeals to his intellect and heart, it alsospeaks to his fears and hopes. These appeals are made to all, whatevermay be their diversity in character and condition. If we were to followthe course of many in our day who condemn appeals to fear, we should beignoring a large part of Scripture, including many of our Lord'sutterances, and at the same time ignoring that fear of hurtfulconsequences which the Author of our nature has implanted in us as agreat means of self-preservation. To hope as well as to fear much isaddressed in the Bible, and the missionary who would approve himself tohis Master is bound to appeal to both principles, while, like hisMaster, he makes his constant and main appeal to the higher part ofman's nature. 

[Sidenote: MISSIONARIES COUNSELLED. ]

While the missionary ought to strive to understand the people among whomhe labours, and to discover the most promising avenue to their minds, while he ought to commend himself to every man's conscience as in thesight of God, he is not to seek acceptance for his message byaccommodating it to the views of his hearers. He knows that betweentheir views and his message there is not only a marked discrepancy, buton many points radical opposition, and the one must be displaced if theother is to be accepted. We have here for our guidance the example ofour Lord and His apostles. 

I have endeavoured to give a faithful description of the tenor ofmissionary teaching. It appears many are dissatisfied with it. We aretold we must part with our narrow traditional views of doctrine, andbecome imbued with the larger and more liberal views of our times, if weare to hope for success. In the late Dr. Norman McLeod's "Life" we findhim saying, "The chief difficulty in the way of advancing Christianityin India is unquestionably that almost all the missionaries represent anarrow one-sided Christianity. " I cannot conceive what could have beenhis ground for this astounding statement, except his impression--itcould not have been anything beyond an impression--that missionariesadhered to the doctrines of the Churches that had sent them out, his ownamong the rest, and had not followed him in his changes. Every one whocomes out with new views, or modification of old views, assures us thatsuccess will speedily follow the acceptance and preaching of _his_ phaseof doctrine. Some tell us we must preach the moral aspect of theatonement, and part with what has been called the forensic aspect; wemust only speak of the love it shows to man, and say nothing of itsbearing on the Divine law and government; and then the great cause ofso-called failure will be removed. So far as I know missionaries, theyaccept both aspects of the atonement; they believe both aspects aretaught in Scripture, and they are convinced that instead of enfeeblingthey strengthen each other, while the doctrine thus presented meetsman's deepest wants. Others, again, tell us we must preach what iscalled Life in Christ--the utter extinction of impenitent sinners, whileothers say this is a shocking doctrine, and we must preach universalrestoration. This is no place for discussing the teaching of the Bibleregarding the great Beyond, which is at present exercising so manyminds. All I will say is that neither in the old views nor in the new isthere anything which a Hindu or a Buddhist will accept, while he remainsa Hindu or Buddhist. So far as I am aware, all students of Hinduism andBuddhism are agreed that eternal conscious existence, with identity ofbeing firmly maintained, is alien from both systems. They do not holdthe doctrine of either eternal happiness or eternal misery. To beextinguished, in the sense of being absorbed into Brahm and losing allconscious personality, is the reward of high virtue, while the wickedhave to pass many miserable births before they reach this longed-forgoal. With them salvation, liberation, is not deliverance from sin, butfrom conscious existence. They have both heavens and hells--heavenssupernatural in their surroundings but intensely earthly in theircharacter, doings, and strifes, and hells full of everything which isrepulsive and painful; but both, after vast lapses of time, will beemptied into the great ocean of being, into the One without a Second. Cessation of conscious existence is not with them the punishment ofwickedness, but the eagerly desired consummation of their being, thegoal which is quickly reached by the eminently good. 

Let missionaries by all means listen to what is said in favour of newviews, let them modify or change their views if they think they seescriptural authority for the change, but I am profoundly convinced noshifting of our doctrinal position will secure success. Looking over thewhole field of foreign missions since the end of last century, it isundeniable that God has done great things by them, for which we haveabundant reason to be glad; and we know the teaching by which the deserthas in many places blossomed as the rose. New phases of doctrine haveyet to win their triumph. We must look in another direction for agreater degree of success--to more unreserved devotedness to Christ onthe part of both missionaries and those who send them out; closercommunion with Him; a higher degree of attainment in the mind which isin Him; a more persuasive deliverance of our message, and a largereffusion of God's Spirit. 

[Sidenote: THE HEART'S OPPOSITION TO THE GOSPEL. ]

The great obstruction at home and abroad to the acceptance of Christ asthe Saviour is moral obtuseness, a dormant conscience. Our Lord's wordsthrow a steady light on man's neglect of the great salvation, "_Theythat are whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. _" Till menknow they are sick, and recognize the deadly nature of their sickness, there will be no application to the Great Physician. In addition to theindurating effects of sin everywhere, the people of India have been forages so drugged, I may say, with pantheistic and polytheistic teaching, that if man's moral nature had been destructible it must have beendestroyed ages ago. Happily it can not be destroyed. Perverted, stupefied, dormant, though it is, it still exists, and to it we cantherefore address the message of Heaven, while we look up to God to makeit effectual by the teaching of His Spirit. When man knows himself to bea sinner, when he knows what sin is, then, and only then, whether inIndia or in England, he casts himself with joy into the arms of theSaviour. 

I am surprised when Christians speak as if only a modification or a newstatement of doctrine was required in order to achieve full andimmediate success, as if they had never read such passages as "_Thecarnal mind is enmity against God_;" "_The natural man receiveth not thethings of the Spirit of God_;" as if they were ignorant of the facts bywhich these statements are so amply and mournfully attested; as if theyhad never heard of One who appeared, as ancient sages longed to see, clothed with perfect virtue and dwelt among men, and was yet rejectedand crucified by them; as if they knew nothing of His apostles, whospake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost, and yet had to lament overmany hearers to whom their message was the savour of death unto death. Musing over the controversies of the day, the wish has often arisen inmy mind: Would that the nature of sin was not kept so much in thebackground! Would that it was seen in its offensiveness to God andinjuriousness to man--persistently daring high Heaven, while corrupting, degrading, disquieting, and ruining man! Would that the scriptural viewof sin and sinfulness, which receives such ample confirmation from humanexperience and history, was more considered in the adjustment ofdoctrine! All readjustment in which the nature and effect of sin is notkept steadily in view must lead to serious error--error whichmisrepresents God's character and government, is inconsistent with factsmeeting us on every side, and must prove most hurtful to man. I amconvinced that while on some points there has been progress, and wisemodification of doctrine, on the subject of sin the theology of formerdays was truer to Scripture and fact than the theology of our time. 

[Sidenote: "IN MEMORIAM. "]

I cannot conclude these remarks about the Indian missionary withoutmentioning--and I can do little more than mention--the names of lovedfellow-labourers who rest from the toils of earth, and have entered intothe joy of their Lord above. A feeling of sadness and yet ofthankfulness comes over me, as I see before my mind's eye brethren ofour own Mission with whom I was associated--Buyers, with his intimateacquaintance with the native languages, his large knowledge, and hiskindly disposition; Shurman, the keen, impetuous, plodding Germanscholar, whose great monument is his translation of the Old Testamentinto Hindustanee; Mather, first of Benares and afterwards of Mirzapore, one of the most enterprising and devoted missionaries ever sent toIndia, whose peculiarity of temper and urgency with new plans led in hisearly years to unpleasantness, but who, when well known, was one of thetruest and kindest of men, with whom for many years we had an intimatefriendship, and whose memory and that of his excellent wife we shallalways revere; and Sherring, one of the most amiable of men and mostpleasant of colleagues, a man of marked attainments, and anindefatigable worker. The agents of other missions at Benares call foraffectionate mention. I have in an early part of my reminiscencesspoken of Smith, the founder and for many years the sole agent of theBaptist Mission at Benares, a quiet, diligent, Nathaniel-like man. Thismission had for years George Parsons, a man of large linguisticattainments, of most amiable, meek, and devout character, than whom itwould be difficult to find a more conscientious labourer. The ChurchMissionary Society was highly favoured in having had for a long periodat Benares two men, Smith and Leupolt, who, in their respectivedepartments, had, I believe, no superiors in India. For many yearsSmith, with resolute perseverance and great efficiency, often withsevere strain on both body and mind, prosecuted evangelistic work in thecity and the surrounding neighbourhood. No man was better known and morehighly esteemed by the entire community. He had success to cheer him inthe form of persons avowing themselves the followers of Christ, but thenumber was so small that he was often greatly depressed. I cannot doubtthat by his ministry seed was sown in many minds which will yet bearfruit. During our later years in Benares, Fuchs was one of the agents ofthis Mission, an excellent biblical scholar, a diligent labourer, whorequired only to be known to be loved and esteemed, with whom we hadmuch pleasant and profitable intercourse. He was suddenly called away inthe midst of his usefulness, and in the prime of life. I have beenconfining my remarks to the departed; but I must mention two whosurvive--warm-hearted Heinig, of the Baptist Mission, now set aside byage and infirmity, after a long life of great toil in the service ofChrist, and our greatly-loved friend Leupolt, of the Church Mission, whois still doing good service now in England, and was for many years thefellow-labourer of his friend Smith. His name and work at Benares willlast for many a day. 

Our departed brethren had their imperfections; who of us are withoutthem? But I can truly say that in their general character, work, andbearing they were the messengers of the Churches to the Gentiles and theglory of Christ. 

Looking beyond our Benares missions we remember a number of faithfullabourers, whom we knew and loved, who have joined the majority, such asthe learned and kindly Owen, the venerable Morrison, the apostolicZiemann, and many others besides. I do not use these terms in aconventional sense, but as justly applicable to the men. Those I havenamed laboured, and others have entered into their labours, men worthyof all esteem, love, sympathy, and help. 

[Illustration]

CHAPTER XXVI. 

NATIVE CHRISTIANS. 

Native Christians form so large and varied a community that right viewsof them can be obtained only by those who consider its component parts. 

In Southern India there are thousands calling themselves SyrianChristians, still more frequently Christians of St. Thomas. Either theApostle Thomas or some of his spiritual children went to India, andfounded a Christian Church. Down through the ages the descendants ofthese first converts have clung to the profession of Christianity, andhave kept up their connexion with their fellow Christians in WesternAsia. They have the peculiarities of hereditary Christians exposed to acorrupting moral atmosphere, and possessing limited means of spiritualimprovement. We are told that they have made great progress throughtheir intercourse with European missionaries. 

In Southern India and Ceylon there is a large body of native Christians, the descendants of the many baptized by Xavier and his companions. Everyone who has read the life of Xavier knows how widely he opened the doorof the Church; with what facility, to use his own favourite expression, he "made Christians. " Many speedily relapsed into heathenism, but asufficient number remained steadfast to form a large community, andtheir descendants are reckoned by tens, rather hundreds, of thousands. There is not--at least there was not a short time ago--any reliablecensus of their number. Protestant opinion of these native Christians isvery unfavourable. It may be prejudiced, and yet it has been expressedby persons who have come into contact with them, who know them well, andwho would shrink from doing injustice. Many facts have been stated insupport of an unfavourable estimate. The Abbé Dubois condemned them as ascandal to the Christian name, and other Romanists have joined him inconfirming the testimony of Protestants. 

In Travancore and Tinnevelly, in the far south, there are large nativechurches, in connexion with the Propagation, Church, and LondonMissionary Societies, composed of Shanars, a people outside the Hindupale and greatly despised by them, with a sprinkling of caste people. When whole villages come over to the profession of Christianity, wegenerally find a few who may be regarded as true believers in the LordJesus Christ, with limited knowledge but genuine faith, while the many, though favourably impressed, simply assent to the action of theirfriends and neighbours, and are little changed except in name. They areon the way to a happy change by having come under new and elevatinginfluences. 

All over Southern India there are native Christian churches, the work ofconversion having proceeded in some cases gradually, individual byindividual, while in other cases numbers have been admitted at the sametime. 

[Sidenote: THE CONVERSION OF NON-ARYAN TRIBES. ]

Among the non-Aryan tribes, the Kols and the Santhals, occupying thehills and forests of Central and Eastern India, a great work has beendone during the last thirty years. Thousands have been brought into thefold of the Christian Church. In habits, character, and condition, thesetribes bear a considerable resemblance to our rude Teutonic ancestors, and they have been brought to the profession of Christianity in asomewhat similar manner; with this difference, that they have not beenheaded by chiefs in the reception of baptism, and in many casescommanding it. The first converts were the direct fruit of missionlabour; their number increased, inspired by zeal they told theircountrymen the treasure they had found, and called on them to share itwith them. Many listened to their words and accepted their message. Thework thus spread from village to village, and from hamlet to hamlet, till it extended to parts of the country never visited by a missionary, and included many who had never seen a missionary's face, in some caseswho had never seen a white face. A very dear friend and enterprisingmissionary, the late Rev. William Jones of Singrowlee, made his waythrough a wild roadless country to the border of the Kol region, andcame to a hamlet where the people were startled by the appearance of aEuropean, as they had never been visited by one before. Though fromdifference in language their intercourse was limited, they understoodeach other sufficiently to discover, to their mutual delight, that theyhad a common faith. The general character of a community formed of arude people, emerging from fetish and demon worship, can be readilysupposed. I suspect the converts made by the monk Augustine and hiscompanions had not a little in their character and conduct to show thepit from which they had been taken; and yet that was the dawning of aday for the Anglian and Saxon race in our country for which we haveabundant reason to be thankful. There is no doubt much imperfection inKol and Santhal converts, but we may well anticipate for them a far lessclouded day than that which dawned on our forefathers when Augustinewent to them. 

In Bengal there are two large native Christian communities, one inKrishnagurh in connexion with the Church Missionary Society, and theother in Backergunje connected with the Baptists. In both cases theconversion of individuals has led to numbers avowing themselves thefollowers of Christ. Where conversion is thus what may be calledcollective rather than individual, there may be in some a high degree ofspiritual life, but the majority simply go with the stream. It will beobserved that in the statistics of some missions so many are representedas baptized, so many members of the church, so many adherents, the lastclass often outnumbering the other two. These adherents openly declaretheir abandonment of idolatry, attend public worship with more or lessregularity, call themselves Christians, and are called Christians byothers. They may be described as in the outer court of the temple, fromwhich not a few from time to time enter the inner. 

In the great Presidency cities, Calcutta, Bombay, and Madras, and theirimmediate neighbourhood, the native churches connected with ProtestantMissions are comparatively small. The members of these churches differmore widely in social position, mental culture, and I think I may addspiritual character, than any other native churches in India. Some ofthe members are highly educated, have acute and disciplined minds, andhave an intimate acquaintance with our language and literature. Individuals among them have made sacrifices by becoming the followersof Christ, of which the only adequate explanation is that they have comeunder the power of an all-controlling faith, of the faith which givesthe victory over self, the world, and the devil. Persons moreestablished in the faith of Christ than some of these are, morethoroughly assured that He is the Son of God and the Saviour of theworld, I have never met. In these churches there are degrees of cultureand social standing, till we come to unlettered persons in the humblestrank of life, some of whom are, I doubt not, as genuine Christians andas devoted to the Saviour as their brethren of higher social standingand larger mental attainment. 

[Sidenote: THE NATIVE CHRISTIANS OF NORTHERN INDIA. ]

I now proceed to speak of the native Christians of Northern India, withwhom for many years I have been closely associated, and of whom I canspeak with a measure of confidence. 

In the North-Western Provinces, as in other parts of India, we havedifferent classes that go under the name of native Christians. Mostdrummers of native regiments have been Christians, in the sense thatthey have been baptized persons. Many are descendants of Portuguese, whohave gradually become mixed with the lower classes of natives, andcannot, except by dress, be distinguished from them, their hue beingoften darker than that of the people. These Portuguese descendants arenumerous all over India, in the South very numerous, and hold verydifferent positions in society, but those I have known in the North havebeen mainly of the drummer class. To these have been added aconsiderable number of natives, the waifs of native society, who haveattached themselves to European regiments as camp-followers, not a fewof whom have so separated themselves from their own people that theyhave found it convenient to profess the Christian faith. I have knownindividuals of this class who bore a good character, and were regular intheir attendance on public worship. We had a number of them in ournative Christian congregation at Benares, and we had for years a weeklymeeting in their quarters. I cannot, however, speak highly of them as aclass, either as to intelligence or goodness. Not a few went to a placeof Christian worship only on Christmas Day, or on the occasion of amarriage or baptism, and their general conduct was no honour to theChristian name. Yet these people are proud of being ranked asChristians. We had a striking illustration of this at Benares. A persondied, the son of an English colonel by a Muhammadan wife. I knew the manwell. He often called on me, and was eager for discussion. Hecontinually avowed himself a follower of Muhammad. He was never seen ina place of Christian worship, and was often seen in the mosque. When hedied, the relatives of his mother made arrangements for the funeral; butthe drummers and Christian camp-followers gathered in numbers, went tothe magistrate, and claimed the body on the ground that the man had beenbaptized in infancy. As the result of inquiry it was found that at thefather's instance he had been baptized, and on this account the body wasmade over to the Christians, who carried it to the grave in triumph, asif they had achieved a great victory for their faith, the chaplain ofthe station reading the funeral service. The native Christians connectedwith the different missions in Benares for the most part kept aloof. 

I have already spoken of orphans and their descendants, and need saynothing more about their character. They form a considerable portion ofthe native Christian community in the North-West. 

[Sidenote: UNWORTHY ADHERENTS. ]

All our missions have had accessions from both Hindus and Muhammadans, but chiefly from Hindus. I heartily wish I could say all have joined usfrom right motives. This I cannot say. It is undeniable that personshave joined us from unworthy motives, some because they have broken withtheir brethren, others who are pressed by want in hope of support, andothers again in anticipation of a life of less toil if they can getunder the wing of a missionary. There have even been individuals whohave made it a trade to be baptized, who have told most plausiblestories, have hung on missionaries for a time, and have then set out inquest of new pasture. They remind us of the wild Saxons, who submittedto baptism again and again that they might obtain the white dress givenon each occasion to the baptized. Some missionaries have been far moreready than others to administer baptism, but as a rule they haveexamined candidates closely, have made all possible inquiry, and havebaptized them only on obtaining what appeared satisfactory evidence ofsincerity. Some who proved most unworthy manifested the greatestapparent earnestness, possessed a considerable degree of knowledge, andwere hailed by us as a valuable accession. I narrowly escaped baptizinga man who turned out the leader of a band of thieves. He came to meprofessing an ardent desire for baptism, paid frequent visits, mademarked progress in knowledge, and was well spoken of by persons who saidthey knew him; but circumstances occurred to bring suspicion over him, and he suddenly disappeared. Long afterwards we found out that he was aleader of an infamous following. 

To give one of many illustrations of the way in which persons try toconnect themselves with us, I may mention that one day a well-dressednative, mounted on a good horse, rode up to my door. On coming to myroom he told me he had come to be baptized, as he was convinced Christwas the Saviour of the world. He was urgent for immediate baptism. Lifewas uncertain, he might die at any hour, and how could he know he wassafe if he did not come under the wing of Christ? I told him if hebelieved in the Lord Jesus Christ it would be well with him, whetherbaptized or not, and that I could not baptize him till I should makeinquiry and know more about him. It occurred to me that he had a motivefor such urgency which I could not discover. I sent for one of the mostjudicious of our native Christians, and begged him to find out what theobject of the man was. He took him away, and soon returned to tell me hehad got it all out--that the man had had a violent quarrel with hisrelatives, and had vowed to bring disgrace on the family by becoming a_Kristan_--a Christian. I recalled the man, and told him he must come tome from another motive and in another temper, if I were to baptize him. He rode away, and I never saw him afterwards. 

[Illustration]

CHAPTER XXVII. 

NATIVE CHRISTIANS (Continued). 

I suppose there is no community of any extent that has not unworthymembers, persons that may be called its excrescence and blots, who haveincreased its size, as a tumour increases the size of the body, but areactually its weakness and disgrace. Such were the unworthy persons ofwhom I have been speaking. Very different is the general character ofthe native Christians connected with the various missions in NorthernIndia. Some of our converts have made sacrifices, by avowing themselvesthe followers of Christ, to which persons in our country are nevercalled. They have literally left father and mother, houses and lands, wife and children, for the sake of the Lord Jesus Christ. Whatever mayhave been the position of our converts, they have, as a rule, partedwith much which is highly valued by their people. Caste standing, evenwhen the caste is not considered high, secures many advantages, and isgreatly prized. Its loss is deemed a dire calamity, and this loss ourconverts are called to endure. They join a despised and hated community, are called vile apostates, and are charged with the most sordid motives. I have heard the charge advanced against converts who, to my knowledge, had left their place in native society under the power of the profoundconviction that Christ was entitled to their hearts and lives, thoughthe conviction required of them the most painful sacrifices, and exposedthem to the bitterest reproach. During my first years at Benares, one ofthe catechists of our Mission was a Brahman, who had been baptized byMr. Ward of Serampore. He was stripped of the property to which he wasthe heir, of which the annual rental, according to an official document, was 5, 000 rupees (£500), because he could not perform the funeral ritesof his father. His income as catechist was small, but I often heard himcharged with the lowest mercenary motives by those who knew not, and didnot wish to know, anything about his antecedents. He bore the chargepatiently, deeming it an honour to be reproached for his Master. He wasfar from being a perfect character, but no cloud ever seemed to comeover his belief that Jesus was the Saviour of the world. When he was onhis death-bed I asked him if he regretted the life of comparativepoverty and of great reproach he had led because he had become aChristian. He tried to raise himself on his pillow, and said with anenergy that startled me, "If I had a thousand lives, I would give themfor Him who died for me. " In reference to him and others, the remark wasoften made by our hearers, "We are willing to listen to you--you are agood man and have kept to your religion; but we do not wish to hearthese, for they are apostates. "

In all communities there are so many varieties, that the most successfulattempt at characterization on the part of those who know them well canonly claim an approach to correctness, and must be received withdeductions. Those who look at a community from a distance, who know onlya few individuals, perhaps know none at all, but judge from what theyhear from others, and these deeply prejudiced, are sure to form a veryfalse estimate. When speaking of our native Christians, I have theadvantage of long and intimate acquaintance not only with those of ourown Mission, but with those of other missions in Northern India, and Ithink I should understand them better than many who have the mostsuperficial and partial knowledge of them, perhaps do not know them atall, and yet speak of them in depreciating terms. 

[Sidenote: THE CHARACTER OF NATIVE CHRISTIANS. ]

I cannot speak of our native Christians, even of those who have madegreat sacrifices, as possessing a lofty character, as marked by signalexcellence. We learn from the Epistles of the Apostle Paul he found muchwhich was faulty in his converts, and we need not wonder at the faultswhich are too manifest in ours. Is there any home minister who is nottried by the conduct of some of his people? Is there any minister ormissionary who has not frequent reason to be dissatisfied with himself?Indian missionaries are sometimes sorely tried by their converts. Allaround is a low moral tone. Slight, inadequate views of sin prevail. Truthfulness is praised, but little practised. Our people breathe atainted atmosphere, and by becoming Christians they do not escape itsdeleterious effects. While these defects are frankly acknowledged, truthenables me to state, without any misgiving, there is much in our peoplewhich is very estimable. Observe their daily life, go with them to theirrespective businesses, and you will find them with few exceptionsdiligently pursuing their vocation, and honourably supporting theirfamilies. See them at their homes; you will be gladly welcomed, and youwill generally find them striving to have everything clean and tidy, andas comfortable as their means permit. You will find the Bible and a fewChristian books on their shelves, and you will learn that family worshipis largely observed. When conversing with them you are often impressedwith their manifest sincerity, with their gratitude for having beenbrought into the fold of Christ, with the honour conferred on them bybearing His name, much reproached as they are on account of it, and withtheir desire to walk worthy of their profession. See them in the houseof God, cleanly clad, and as they engage in the different parts of theservice you are struck with their devout appearance. Observe them intheir intercourse with each other, and you will find much of mutualkindness and helpfulness. Observe them in their intercourse with Hindusand Muhammadans, and you will find that instead of hiding theirChristian profession, and being ashamed of it, they glory in it. I havesaid that missionaries are tried by their converts. I ought in candourto add that converts are sometimes tried by missionaries. Their traininghas been so different from ours, their position is so different fromours, that it is very difficult for us to understand them thoroughly;and so far as we fail to understand them, we fail in sympathy and inright action towards them. 

[Sidenote: FAITHFULNESS TO THE DEATH. ]

The native churches passed through a fiery ordeal in the Mutiny of 1857, and came out of it in a way which reflected great honour on theirChristian constancy. Even those who had the most favourable opinion werenot prepared for the readiness shown by them to part with all, to partwith life itself, rather than part with their Lord. I cannot say howmany were put to death, but we know that thirty-four were killed on theParade-ground of Furruckabad by order of the Nawab, and seven or eightperished at Cawnpore. In Foxe's "Book of Martyrs" there is not a morestriking instance of witnessing to the death for the Lord Jesus than wasmanifested by Vilayat Ali, in the Chandnee Chauk of Delhi, when, surrounded by infuriated Muhammadans calling on him to recant or die, hedeclared Christ to be his Saviour and Lord, and when falling under theswords of his enemies uttered with his last breath the prayer ofStephen, "_Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. _" The account is furnished bya witness of the scene. There were defections, but if our view beconfined to Christians connected with the different missions they wereremarkably few, fewer, it is affirmed, than those of Europeans and EastIndians. One whom I knew well, though he was not of our Mission, apostatized to save his life, and died most miserably, abandoned by hisnew fellow-religionists, and tenderly watched by those whom he had left. Full details of the conduct of the native Christians in that terriblecrisis are given by Mr. Sherring in his book, "The Indian Church duringthe Great Rebellion. " This book had, I believe, a considerablecirculation when it was published, but like many other good books it haspassed into oblivion. The information it contains was furnished bypersons intimately acquainted with the facts, and is very valuable asproving the genuineness and constancy of native Christian piety. Itgives more insight into the real character of the native Christiancommunity than can be obtained by perusal of large volumes full ofordinary mission details. The friends of missions would do good serviceby seeking its republication. 

The loyalty of the native Christians to the British Government, as wellas the constancy of their Christian faith, was strikingly shownthroughout the Mutiny. This loyalty was maintained amidst much fitted todiscourage it in the conduct towards them of Europeans, both officialand non-official. 

We have seen native Christians in joy and sorrow, in trial andtemptation. We have been present at their death-bed, and have heardtheir words of hope and trust when entering the dark valley. We have hadabundant reason to regard them with esteem and love. With many we havehad pleasant intercourse, and from our intercourse with some we havereceived intellectual and spiritual profit. At one time there was asmall band of highly-educated native Christians at Benares connectedwith the different missions. It gave us great pleasure to have them nowand then spending an evening with us. They were always ready to startsome important subject, and their remarks were stimulating andinstructive. I remember more than once our remarking, when they wentaway, Could we have had a more pleasant and profitable evening if ourEuropean brethren had been with us? At the great Missionary Conferenceswhich have been held in recent years the native Christian brethren havetaken a prominent part, and both intellectually and spiritually theyhave been found worthy of standing abreast of their brethren from Europeand America. It must be acknowledged there has been a difficulty attimes in adjusting the exact relationship of these highly-educatednative brethren to their missionary friends, and there has been inconsequence unpleasant jarring; but amidst differences Christianprinciple has asserted its uniting power, and their ordinary bearing isthat of mutual esteem and love. 

It may be said, "If native Christians as a community deserve thecharacter you have given them, how is it that people from India speak somuch against them?" The explanation can be easily given. 

[Sidenote: ALLEGED FAILURE OF CHRISTIANITY. ]

There is no part of the mission-field, the South Seas, Africa, the WestIndies, China, as well as India, from which persons have not comeaffirming that the so-called converts are changed in name only; thatthey are no better than they were, and in many cases worse. Do we notfind analogous cases nearer home? It is often said of professors ofreligion--very truly of individuals, very untruly of the class--thatthey are less worthy of trust than avowedly worldly persons. Largecommunities remarkable for religious zeal, like the people of Wales, arecondemned in the face of favourable evidence which seems wellauthenticated. Persons have even stoutly maintained that Christianityitself has been a failure in its moral influence on the nations. Want ofsympathy and antipathy blind the mind to facts, and lead to mosterroneous judgments. The great majority of Europeans in heathencountries have no sympathy with missions, and have neither the knowledgenor the spirit indispensable to the formation of a correct judgment. They hear a loose report of converts from persons who in turn have beentold by others what they say, and the report is at once believed andcirculated. They have, perhaps, met an unworthy native bearing theChristian name, and he is regarded as a fit representative of the entirecommunity. 

It is a common opinion among many of our countrymen in India thatHinduism is as good for Hindus as Christianity is for us, and theycannot conceive why a person should leave the one for the other exceptfrom sinister motives. When speaking on one occasion with a lady whoregularly attended church, and no doubt deemed herself an excellentChristian, about a native gentleman of high rank, whose kindly temperand courteous demeanour we were both praising, I said, "Would that hewere a follower of our Saviour!" She looked surprised, and said, "Do youthink so? He is, I think, a better man by remaining as he is. " So strongis this feeling with some English people, that a native who callshimself a Christian is regarded by them as on that account a suspiciouscharacter. I know a well-educated native Christian who applied for aGovernment situation. He had good certificates; they were sent in, andwhen the official to whom he applied came to know he was a Christian--heknew nothing more about him--he threw them aside with the word"_namunzoor_, " "not accepted"--the technical term for "rejected. " Oneresult of this English dislike to native Christians is that natives havetold me that none but missionaries and a few associated with them wishedthem to become Christians; that English people generally wished them toremain Hindus. It can be conceived how great is the stumbling-block thusput in our way. A Church of England missionary of great experience oncesaid to me, "Would that there were no Europeans near us! We might thenhope for progress. " I am not to vindicate the remark. I mention it toshow the effect on the mind of a devoted missionary by English hostilityto the conversion of natives. On every side, from European as well asfrom native society, there is every worldly obstacle to their embracingthe Gospel. 

[Sidenote: GOVERNMENT OPPOSITION TO THE GOSPEL. ]

At one time there were obstacles to the profession of Christianity whichdo not now exist. When India was being brought under the sway ofEngland, our rulers regarded the Gospel as a disturbing and threateningelement, which ought to be carefully excluded. Long after the Christianfeeling at home had forced open the door, the Gospel was treated as anintruder to be in every possible way thwarted and disgraced. Inillustration of the opposition the Gospel had to encounter, I quote afew sentences from a recently-published volume, "Asiatic Studies, Religious and Social, " by Sir Alfred C. Lyall, K. C. B. , the presentLieutenant-Governor of the North-West Provinces:--"We disbursedimpartially to Hindus, Mussulmans, and Parsees, to heterodox andorthodox, to Juggarnath's Car, and to the shrine of a Muhammadan who haddied fighting against infidels, perhaps against ourselves. " "The chiefofficers of the Company in India were so cautious to disown anypolitical connexion with Christianity that they were occasionallyreported to have no religion at all. " "Up to the year 1831 nativeChristians had been placed under the strongest civil disabilities by ourregulations. .. . Converts were liable to be deprived not only ofproperty, but of their wives and children; and they seem to have beengenerally treated as unlucky outcasts, with whom no one need be at anytrouble of using any sort of consideration. " We are told that they wereeven forced by Government order to pull the car of Juggarnaut, andseverely punished if they refused. According to a parliamentary paper of1832, "our interference extended over every detail of management: weregulated funds, repaired buildings, kept in order cars and images, appointed servants, and purveyed the various commodities required foruse of the pagodas. " Under home pressure this state of things hasgradually given place to neutrality, which, if impartially maintained, is I suppose the only policy open to us in the peculiar circumstances ofIndia. 

I have already said there are very unworthy persons bearing the name ofnative Christians. To judge our Indian churches by these is as unfair asto judge English Christians in India by Englishmen, of whom, alas!there are many, soldiers and others, who are notorious for drunkennessand licentiousness. We have even English beggars in India, wretched men, who have drifted out of the army, railway, or other department, and whodisgrace our name. Strong men have come whimpering to my door, to whom Ihave given help, and I have seen them a few hours afterwards--I rememberone case well--rolling in the bazaar in beastly drunkenness. It would beas fair to take these men as a specimen of English Christians, as tojudge native Christians by persons bearing the name while they disgraceit. 

The very acknowledgment of missionaries about the imperfections of theircommunities, about the utter hollowness of some individuals, has beenturned into adverse testimony. In the recent meeting at Exeter Hall towelcome the Madagascar missionaries, Messrs. Cousin and Shaw, Mr. Cousin, in the course of his very interesting address, said that much ofthe Christianity of the Malagash was "purely nominal and utterlyworthless. " I should not at all wonder if some day I found this broughtforward as a missionary's acknowledgment that the Christianity of theMalagash is purely nominal and utterly worthless, and that missions inMadagascar, as elsewhere, had been a failure. 

[Sidenote: THE SUPPORT OF NATIVE CHRISTIANS. ]

The support of native Christians has sorely tried and perplexedmissionaries. They have been desirous, on the one hand, of holding outno inducement to persons to join them from unworthy motives; and on theother they have felt that persons thrust out of their caste andemployment, and not infrequently from their family, had claims on help, with which every Christian feeling bound them to comply. Persons able towork have never been allowed to live in idleness, but the difficulty hasbeen to find suitable work. In some missions, when persons have shownan aptness for domestic service they have been trained to it. In anumber of missions trades have been started, and have been carried onfor a longer or shorter period, with more or less success; but, as arule, the relation of employer and employed does not accord well withthe relation of pastor and people. The difficulty continues, and will nodoubt continue, but it is decreasing every year. When travelling downthrough Northern India in 1877 we found Christians in every place atwhich we stopped, and we learned they were supporting themselves invarious modes, in printing offices, bookbinding establishments, railways, and public offices. A number were in domestic service. I wishfewer were thus employed. When anything goes wrong in a house the Hinduand Muhammadan servants are sure to blame the Christians; masters andmistresses look for more from them than can be reasonably expected, andthey no doubt are apt to fall into the well-known and objectionablehabits of the class. The more capable of the native Christians, thehigher in character and education, are for the most part employed asteachers, catechists, and native preachers. A few have risen toresponsible and lucrative positions in civil life. A native Christianfrom Bengal held for some years, to the great satisfaction of bothEuropeans and natives, the office of Postmaster of Benares. He and hiswife were members of our native church. Another member of our church fora time was the Inspector of Post-offices in the Benares district. 

I believe in every mission in the North-West native Christianscontribute regularly to the support and diffusion of the Gospel, and, considering their means, their contributions are liberal. I rememberhearing years ago of a native church in Calcutta agreeing, without adissentient voice, to give a month's salary for the erection of theirnew church building--an act of liberality which has been seldom equalledin our country. 

Much has been said about the compound system, as it has beencalled;--Christians living together apart from the heathen, and in mostcases in the immediate neighbourhood of the missionary's residence. Muchhas been said, I think unjustly, in condemnation of this arrangement. Itis not the hot-bed, which it has been called, in which robust Christiancharacter cannot be produced. Native Christians, thus living together, hold constant intercourse with the heathen in the business of life, andare at the same time saved from the peculiar trials and temptationsincident to living among Hindus and Muhammadans. So far as nativeChristians make their light to shine, it will be well seen by theheathen though their dwellings be apart. One great advantage of livingin a mission compound, near the place of worship and the missionary'sresidence, is that wives and children can regularly attend publicworship, and can come under the teaching of the missionary, andespecially the missionary's wife, as otherwise they could not have come. For a time we had quite a number of native Christians in our compound atBenares, who paid a small rent for their houses, and went out every dayto attend to their respective callings. If they had lived in the city Icannot conceive how mothers and children could have attended worship asthey did, or how my wife could have taught the children and heldconstant intercourse with the women. Because living in the compound, itdoes not follow that they are dependent on the mission for support. There is nothing more desired by missionaries than that their peopleshould maintain themselves, by their own exertions. Living among theheathen is often indispensable--it is so increasingly with our nativeChristians; but where circumstances admit, I think great advantagesresult from Christians living near each other and near the missionchurch. In our own country, are not favourable surroundings sought forthe young and the inexperienced?

[Sidenote: PROGRESS. ]

When I look back to the beginning of 1839, when I landed in Calcutta, and compare the native Christian community of that day with what it isnow, I am struck with the great change which has taken place. If weconfine the term to those connected with missions, they were then a merehandful. Now they are considerable in number, and they have become arecognized and appreciable portion of native society. They areincreasing in number, though not so rapidly in the North as in theSouth, and are becoming rooted in the land. The largest native Christiancommunity in the North-West is, I suppose, that connected with themissions of the American Episcopal Methodist Church in Rohilkund andOude. It is largely composed of Muzbee Sikhs, a people much despised byboth Muhammadans and Hindus. Of late the Salvation Army has entered onthe campaign against Hinduism and Muhammadanism. Its organ boastslargely of success, but its statements have been strongly questioned bypersons acquainted with the facts, on whose warm attachment to the causeof Christ full dependence can be placed. A well-known missionary of theEpiscopal Methodist Church in Oude has been lately pursuing the tacticsof the Salvation Army. Accompanied by a band of native Christians, hehas been entering villages and towns with song and drum and tambourine. The people in crowds have gathered round him. He and his brethren havepreached Christ to them, have urged them to accept Him as their Saviour, and have given on the spot baptism, _chin_--the mark of the ChristianChurch, to any avowing their readiness to become Christ's disciples. Time will show how far the work is genuine. Perhaps we old missionarieshave been too slow in administering baptism. Of this I am sure, thatnothing is more fallacious as the test of success than the number ofpersons baptized--so different is the opinion held by missionariesregarding the qualifications required in order to baptize. NativeChristians are more self-dependent than they were, and are receiving ahealthy impulse from feeling that they must push out for themselves. They have to contend against much which is adverse and hurtful, butwithout indulging too sanguine hopes we may firmly anticipate for them abrighter and better future than their past has been. 

[Illustration]

CHAPTER XXVIII. 

THE PEOPLE AMONG WHOM WE LABOUR. 

MUHAMMADANS. 

All over Northern India--I may say all over India--we find the followersof Muhammad. They are very unequally distributed. In some districts theyform the majority, in others their number is very small, while in thecities they abound. There is among them all the variety of station whichmight be expected in a community composed of millions, ranging fromprinces, wealthy landholders, and great merchants, down to labourers andbeggars. There is among them all variety of culture, from profoundlearning in a narrower or wider groove, down to utter illiteracy andgross ignorance. There is also variety of character, many leadingnotoriously wicked lives, while others are noted for goodness, and arehonourable and useful members of society. 

Looking at the Quran and the Bible, one might suppose there is a closeaccord between them, as both assert the unity and sovereignty of God, both condemn idolatry, and in both the same names continually meet us, such as Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, David, Solomon, and our Lord JesusChrist. In fact, however, in India, as elsewhere, Muhammadanism hasshown itself intensely hostile to the Gospel. The reason is apparent. Ithink it is difficult for any one to read with candour the Quran on theone hand, and the Bible, especially the New Testament, on the other, without perceiving the marked contrariety between them, notwithstandingtheir agreement on some points. 

A true follower of Jesus Christ, one imbued with the spirit of Histeaching and bent on the imitation of His example, cannot fail tocultivate holiness of heart and life, to cherish a humble, lowly temper, to look on all with love, however unworthy of love their character andconduct may be, and to promote their good in every way within his power. A follower of Muhammad, so far as he is imbued with his teaching, regards God with profound reverence as the Sovereign of the universe, deems homage to Him most due, looks with indignation on the worship ofidols, attaches immense importance to outward rites and services, glories in Islam, pays comparatively little attention to inwardexcellence, and sees no need for a change of heart. As a worshipper andservant of Allah, following the precepts of the Prophet of the laterage, he deems himself the spiritual aristocrat of the race, and looksdown with scorn on all outside the pale of his community, whom he is insome cases bound to put to death, and in all cases to subject todegrading conditions, so far as he has the power. However wicked hisconduct may be, as a worshipper of Allah he is sure of more tendertreatment in another world than that which awaits Christians andidolaters. Thus the typical Muhammadan is one who scrupulously observesthe laws of Islam, goes through his devotions with all the regularity ofa soldier on drill, fasts at the appointed season, gives alms to thepoor, attends to all prescribed rites, and at least once in his lifegoes on pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina. Outward religiousness, pride andself-righteousness, are his distinguishing characteristics. 

[Sidenote: THE LICENTIOUSNESS OF MUHAMMADANS. ]

Much has been said about the sensuality of Muhammadans. The sanctiongiven by Muhammad to polygamy and extreme facility of divorce has bornebitter fruit. His own example has had a depraving influence. He alleged, indeed, a special Divine sanction for the dissoluteness of his laterlife, but this has not deterred his followers from thinking they couldnot go far wrong in imitating him. In addition to these facilities for alife of sensual enjoyment, the teaching of the Prophet in reference tofemale slaves has had a most depraving effect on family life. TheHindustanee expression for _libertine_, _profligate_--_luchcha_--is, Ithink, more frequently applied to Muhammadans in Northern India than toany other class of the community. It must be confessed, however, thereis so much licentiousness among other classes--not only among Hindus, but I am grieved to say among many from our own land, soldiers andothers--that I can scarcely join in declaring Muhammadans sinners inthis respect above all others. There is this difference between thelicentiousness of so-called Christians and Muhammadans, that in theteachings of the Gospel, while no unnatural restraint is laid on thosewho accept it, the strongest motives are brought to bear on them infavour of purity of heart and in opposition to licentiousness of life;while in the teachings of the Quran, amidst severe condemnation of thegratification of unlawful desire in some forms, there is much, if not toencourage, at least to give every facility for a life fatal to personaland domestic purity, a facility of which the adherents of Islam havelargely availed themselves. 

While agreeing with the views generally held by Christians regarding theteaching of the Quran and its influence in the formation of character, Icannot join in the sweeping condemnation of the Muhammadans which I havesometimes heard, as if they were one mass of corruption. In the middleand lower classes in Northern India we are told, by those whosetestimony can be trusted, monogamy is the rule. Many lead a quiet, orderly life, with the domestic affections in full play which beautifyand gladden the home. A Muhammadan writer, who may be supposed to knowhis own people, tells us that polygamy is getting out of favour, andthat a strong feeling has set in in favour of a man having only onewoman to wife. Among them there are undoubtedly persons of highcharacter, whose bearing would do honour to the adherents of a farhigher creed. I have conversed with some who seemed to me set on knowingand doing the will of God, who showed, so far as I could obtain aninsight into their character, a reverent, earnest, humble temper, as ifthey had come under the power of the few passages, occurring here andthere in the Quran, which inculcate spirituality of mind and love to allmen, and as if they had in a measure escaped from the externalism soprominent in that book, and from its hard, fierce, bitter tone towardsall who refuse to receive it as a revelation from heaven. With twoMuhammadans I was for years on as friendly terms as I could be with anywhose belief and practice differed so widely from my own. As tocourteous, kindly demeanour, they were all that could be desired. I hadmany an earnest talk with them on the highest subjects, and I was struckwith the apparent candour with which they listened to all I had to say. They read with evident interest books I gave them, and in the case ofone such an impression was made that I hoped he was coming to theacknowledgment of Christ as his Lord and Saviour; but after going to hisMoulvies he kept to Muhammad, though with manifest misgiving. 

[Sidenote: MUHAMMADAN OPPOSITION TO THE GOSPEL. ]

While I cannot join in the sweeping condemnation of Muhammadans, I mustacknowledge my experience accords with that of my missionary brethrenregarding those with whom I have come ordinarily into contact. When Ihave been speaking to a company of Hindus, and have apparently securedtheir attention, I have been sorry to see a Mussulman coming up, as pastexperience had prepared me for the immediate introduction of suchquestions as the Trinity, the Sonship of Christ, His propitiatorysacrifice, and not infrequently the eating of pork. I have done my bestto stave off such untimely discussion, and to keep to the subject I wasteaching, but in not a few instances my audience has been broken up bythe new-comer insisting on being heard. During my long missionary careerI have had many discussions with Muhammadans in public and in private, in some cases conducted with a calmness and fairness which promised goodresults; but in still more numerous cases with a readiness on their partto resort to the veriest sophistry, and fly from one point to another, and with a love of disputation which led to wrangling, and couldaccomplish no good. The controversy between Christianity andMuhammadanism has been carried on by the press as well as by oraldiscussion. In this department the late Dr. Pffander, Sir William Muir, and Mr. Hughes of Peshawur, have done excellent service. 

It might be supposed that as Muhammadanism is so near to Christianitythat it may almost be called a Christian heresy, and as we have inconsequence much common ground, we might expect to find its adherentsmore accessible than Hindus to the Christian missionary. The opposite isthe case, furnishing another illustration of the fact that noreligionists are so antagonistic to each other as those who most nearlyapproximate. At the present time all over the world, Popery, under theconduct of the Jesuits, is far more hostile to Protestant missions thanany form of heathenism. 

It ought to be mentioned to the credit of Muhammadanism that it arose asa protest against polytheism and the worship of idols. This protest ithas maintained down to our day. Not even a religious symbol is allowedto appear in their places of worship, and hence the marked contrastmosques present not only to Hindu temples, but to Christian churches. 

Muhammadanism is a proselytizing religion as well as Christianity. During my Indian career I have heard of a convert now and then fromHinduism in the North-West, and very occasionally one from Christianity;but these accessions have been very few. In Bengal, on the other hand, it appears that during the last thirty or forty years a great number oflow-caste people have been drawn into the Muhammadan ranks, many of themsmall farmers, who think that by belonging to a large and influentialcommunity they can the better contend with the landlords. It is saidthat the change is simply one of name and ritual. 

The accessions from Muhammadanism to Christianity have been very few;but some of the best converts in the North-West belong to this class. 

[Sidenote: HINDUS AND MUHAMMADANS IN CONTACT. ]

For centuries Hindus and Muhammadans have been near neighbours in India. In the ordinary course of life they have had much intercourse with eachother, and have exerted a strong mutual influence, the Muhammadans, especially of the lower class, having become in a measure Hinduized, while the Hindus of the lower class have become, if I may use such aword, in some degree Muhammadanized. I believe the stricter Muhammadansare of pure Mogul and Pathan descent, while the more lax are the manywho at different times have been drawn or forced into Islam. OurMuhammadan servants speak continually of their caste, have many Hindunotions, and follow many Hindu practices. Low-caste Hindus, on the otherhand, are prominent in some Muhammadan processions. Both Muhammadans andHindus, as a rule, are satisfied with their respective position, asassigned to them by Allah or Fate, have no repugnance to each other, andno wish to disturb each other. 

So far, however, as Muhammadans and Hindus are imbued with theirrespective systems they must be antagonistic; and their antagonism, though generally latent, every now and then breaks out into fiercestrife, which but for the interposition of Government would lead tocivil war. Early in this century there was in Benares a pitched battlebetween them, when they assailed each other with the utmost fury, andwere separated by military force. All have heard of a recent conflict inSouthern India, where blood was shed and property destroyed. Aboutthirty years ago Oude was threatened with the outbreak of a war betweenthe parties. There have been recently conflicts in Rohilkund on theoccasion of processions, which but for prompt interference would haveled to disastrous results. 

[Sidenote: MUHAMMADAN REFORMERS. ]

Of late years a reforming party has arisen among the Muhammadans withboth political and religious ends in view. This party painfullyrealizes the loss incurred by their fellow-religionists on account oftheir neglect of the English language, and their failure to accommodatethemselves to their new masters, thus allowing the Hindus to get inadvance of them. They consequently discourage exclusive attention toArabic and Persian literature, and advocate the cultivation of English. A few of this class have come to England to prosecute their studies, butfor the many who must remain in their own land an institution has beenopened at Allygurh, in the North-West, in which provision is made forimparting a liberal education. It cannot be expected that IndianMuhammadans can have a strong liking to the English Government, but thisreforming party wishes to reconcile itself to the new order of things, and to identify itself with our rule so far as the Quran permits. Inreligious belief these reformers range from strict orthodoxy to rankrationalism. Their leader is an able and ardent advocate of Islam, though he has thrown off what he deems unauthorized and hurtfulaccretions, and many of his followers no doubt agree with him. ABengalee Muhammadan, a graduate of Cambridge, has published a bookentitled "The Life of Muhammad, " which is saturated with rationalisticviews. I cannot suppose he stands alone in his rationalism, but I haveno means of knowing to what extent his views are shared by others. Thewhole party is the antipodes to the Wahabees, the extreme Puritans ofIslam, who aim at following strictly the instructions of the Quran andthe Traditions, and wage war to the knife against Christians andidolaters. Between the Wahabees and the reformers there is a verynumerous party--it is supposed the great majority of Muhammadans--whohave little sympathy with the strictness of the former, but as littlewith the looseness of the latter, who in their opinion are sacrificingIslam to their ambitious and selfish views. Between the reformers andthose who cannot advance with them there has been sharp controversy, andthere is no prospect of its coming to an end. 

[Illustration]

CHAPTER XXIX. 

THE PEOPLE AMONG WHOM WE LABOUR (Continued). 

HINDUS. 

I have endeavoured in my account of Benares to describe the Hinduidolatry there practised, and in my account of our missionary preachingI have stated the arguments by which that idolatry is defended. TheHindu system, it is well known, is at once pantheistic and polytheistic. The universe, we are told, is God expanded. _Brahm_--he alone is theExistent One; but there are several persons and objects in which he ismore manifest than in others, and as owing to _Maya_ (illusion) webelieve in our separate existence, it is fitting that to these objectsspecial honour should be paid. I have mentioned the hideous aspect ofthe images worshipped at Benares, and their hideous aspect well accordswith the character attributed to the gods worshipped under these forms. 

[Sidenote: THE INFLUENCE OF HINDUISM ON CHARACTER. ]

We are all familiar with the maxim, Like priest, like people. May wesay, Like God, like worshipper? If so, we must regard the Hindus as inthe very mire of moral debasement. Just think of a whole people actinglike Shiva, Doorga, and Krishna! I think it cannot be doubted by any onewho looks at the nature of the human mind, and the power exercised overit by its belief, that the worship of these and similar gods, alongwith the prevalent pantheistic and fatalistic views, which strike at thevery root of moral distinctions, have done much to deprave the Hindumind. The people, indeed, often assert "to the powerful there is nofault. " The gods had the power and the opportunity to do what they did, and therefore no fault attached to their conduct; but ordinary personshave neither the one nor the other, and for them it would be veryculpable to pursue the same course. Can a people fail to occupy a lowplace on the plane of morals to whom the maxim I have quoted would betolerable? I believe they do as a people occupy a low place, and yet notnearly so low as might have been anticipated. 

There is much to counteract the influence exerted on the Hindus by theevil example of their gods, by their excessive trust in outward ritesapart from all mental working, and by the pantheistic teaching of theirphilosophers. They retain a moral nature, and acknowledge thedistinction between right and wrong as readily as we do, though thedistinction be inconsistent with the views they often express. Therequirements of society and of daily life exert a powerful and salutaryrestraint by the obstacle which they present to a vicious career. Thefamily constitution has conferred immense benefit on the Hindus, as onother nations. 

It must be acknowledged that however long we may reside in India, ourknowledge of the inner life of the people is very limited. We may be foryears on the best terms with them; we may meet them frequently, andconverse with them freely on all subjects; there may be not onlyacquaintance, but to all appearance friendship: and yet we have noentrance into the family circle, we cannot join them in the familymeal, we can scarcely get a glimpse into their home life. If they be ofthe poorer class they would be shocked at our entering their houses, andconversing with their women and children. If of a higher class, theyvisit us and we visit them. They have a room of audience in which theywelcome us. On occasions they prepare sumptuous feasts for Europeans, ofwhich they themselves do not partake. However friendly we may be withnatives of rank in Northern India, it is difficult, often impossible, tosecure an interview between our wives and the female members of theirfamilies. As to English gentlemen, they never see the face of a nativelady. Still, notwithstanding our being kept so far outside Hindu familylife, we know enough about it to be sure there is often strong familyaffection. We have many proofs that parents regard their children withthe most tender love; and we know that in the lower classes, at least, children often requite this love by sending a large portion of theirwages to their aged parents. I myself have often been the channel ofcommunication. It cannot be doubted that this family affection is widelyextended, and has a very happy influence on the character and life ofthe people. 

[Sidenote: THE CHARACTER OF THE HINDUS. ]

Professor Max Muller, in his recently-published book, "India, what canit teach us?" discusses at length the character of the Hindus. He quotesthe views entertained by persons of large Indian experience, who hadmixed freely with all classes, and yet differ widely in their testimony, showing that in forming an estimate of the character of a community weare greatly influenced by our temperament and by the standard we employ. Sir Thomas Munro, the famous Governor of Madras, speaks of the characterand attainments of the Hindus in the most laudatory terms. He says, "Ifcivilization is to become an article of trade between England and India, I am convinced that England will gain by the import cargo. " Sir CharlesTrevelyan, on the other hand, speaks of them as a morally depravedpeople, to whom "the phenomenon is truly astonishing" "of a race of menon whose word perfect confidence may be placed. " "The natives require tobe taught rectitude of conduct much more than literature and science. "

The Professor is evidently inclined to take the favourable view. Hethinks the ordinary view of their falsehood and dishonesty is applicableonly to the rabble of the cities and the frequenters of our courts, butis most unjust to the unsophisticated people of the country, whosetruthfulness he extols. After the laudation of these honest and truthfulpeople, I must say I was amused with the _naïveté_ of the learnedProfessor, when he goes on to show that the excellence of his _protegés_is not sufficiently strong to be maintained in the face of temptation. He says, "A man out of his village community is out of his element andunder temptation. What would be called theft or robbery at home, iscalled a raid or conquest if directed against distant villages; and whatwould be falsehood or trickery in private life, is honoured by the nameof policy and diplomacy if successful against strangers. " The laudedtruthfulness and honesty are so delicate that they cannot stand thebreath of the nipping cold which has to be encountered when they leavetheir sheltered enclosure. The excellence is, according to theProfessor, though he does not say so in words, merely conventional, asit rests on the principle of mutual insurance among those who form aclosely-knitted community, bound together by common interests andassociations. Even then excellence needs to be guarded by an oath, whichis viewed with superstitious awe. I do not think the Professor's friendswill thank him for this defence of the morality of their countrymen. 

When I think of the wickedness rampant among large classes in a countrylike our own, notwithstanding our great privileges, I shrink fromapplying to the Hindus the strong terms of condemnation which I haveoften heard. There is among them, as I have already said, much familyaffection; they are, in ordinary circumstances, very courteous; theyoften manifest a kindly disposition; almsgiving is reckoned a highvirtue; many lead quiet, orderly, industrious lives; and, as Max Mullertells us, from the earliest age _satya_, "truth, " in its widest sense, has been represented by them as the very pillar on which goodness rests, though it must be allowed it has been much more praised than practised. 

[Sidenote: THE HINDU AND CHRISTIAN STANDARDS. ]

Am I then to say, as many have done, that Hinduism has done itsadherents no harm, and that Christianity has done its adherents nogood--that the Hindus as a people stand as high morally as we do? Withevery desire to speak of them as favourably as I can, with a pleasingrecollection of many acts of kindness and courtesy, and with everydesire to rid myself of prejudice, I must dissent strongly from thisview. I cannot forget the lurid light cast on the native characterduring the Mutiny; the treachery, ingratitude, falsehood, and crueltyshown by many who gloried in their caste purity--relieved, however, itis only right to acknowledge, by notable instances of faithfulness andkindness. I cannot but remember the impression often made on my mind oftheir low standard of character, the absence of high motive, even whenfull expression has been given to the distinction between right andwrong. Happily, in our land there are many, in every class of society, who, as the result of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, hate sin in everyform, and strive after excellence, an excellence springing from supremelove to God, and prompting to sustained effort for the good of man, forwhich we look in vain among the best of Hindus, though among them wediscern the workings of conscience and the desire to do what is right. The standard of character is undoubtedly far higher among us than it isamong Hindus, and this standard, protesting as it does againstwickedness, and calling us to aspire after goodness, is in itself anincalculable benefit to a community. For many a day it has been mysettled conviction that Hindus are vastly better than, looking at theirreligion, we could expect to find them, and that we on the other handfall far below the excellence to which our religion summons us. IfHinduism was allowed full sway over its adherents society would go topieces, while we should rise to the excellence of angels if we were tocome under the full sway of the Gospel. 

All have heard of the caste system of India, but only those who havelived among the people can understand its innumerable ramifications andits remarkable effects. Every caste, down to the lowest, is endlesslysub-divided. There are Brahmans who would as soon eat, drink, andintermarry with people of low caste, as with many who like themselvesboast of Brahmanical blood. In books the Sudras are described as thefourth, the low, servile caste; but in fact a vast number in NorthernIndia, who are loosely reckoned Hindus, are far below the Sudras, andthus the Sudras acquire a relatively high place. These low-castepeople, on whom the people above them look down with contempt, are intheir own fashion as tenacious of caste as their superiors, and they, too, multiply their divisions, one class maintaining its superiority toothers. We have a large community called _Chumars_, "leather-people" asthe word means, though many of them have nothing to do with leather. Oneof them once told me there were twelve divisions in their caste. We hadnear us at Ranee Khet a little colony of Dhobees, washermen, whom Ivisited now and then. I observed some huts were built separate from therest, and I asked the reason. The man to whom I was speaking, for hisclass an intelligent man, expressed his surprise I did not know thereason. He said, with an air of dignity, "These are of an inferiororder, and it is requisite their huts should be built apart. "

It has been often shown that this caste system is most baleful. Itnarrows the sympathies of the people, keeps them in the same groove, fetters their minds, represses individuality, and is a bar to progress. It would be unfair, however, to say that all its consequences arepernicious. It so far benefits those bound by it that it restrains themfrom some forms of evil, and secures mutual helpfulness, just as theclose trade guilds of our own country did, of which we have happily gotrid. When the clan system was in full force among the ScotchHighlanders, there were broken men, men who had left the clan or wereexpelled from it, and these were notorious for their crimes. In likemanner there are persons who break away from caste, and are the worstmembers of the community. 

The patriarchal system, the system so prevalent in India, by which thepeople, instead of forming separate families in their separatedwellings, all form one household, to a large extent with a common purseand under a common rule, is perhaps still more fitted to fetter the mindand to obstruct progress than even caste itself. Those who have embracedChrist as their Saviour have often suffered more from their own kindred, dwelling together, than from their caste brethren. 

[Sidenote: THE DISINTEGRATION OF CASTE. ]

Many things tend to the disintegration of caste, such as education, thesubjection of all to the same laws, the growing demands of commerce, andtravelling together in railway-carriages. The attractions of therailway, notwithstanding its disregard of class distinctions, areirresistible. Thousands of pilgrims thus make their way to distantshrines, though by travelling in this easy fashion they lose the meritwhich suffering would bring. When railways were constructed, a proposalwas made by leading Hindus to have separate carriages for separatecastes, but compliance with the proposal was of course out of thequestion; and now high Brahmans and low Chumars--who are never seen inthe same temple even though they worship the same gods, as the presenceof a Chumar there would be deemed a profanation--may be seen packed inthe same carriage in as close contact as two human beings can be. Whenthey separate the Brahmans have recourse to lustrations, and satisfythemselves the impurity has been washed away. 

In the great Presidency cities caste is no doubt greatly weakened. Manyopenly violate its rules, and are never called to account, but thesevery persons take care to maintain their caste position for certaindomestic and social purposes. Leaving these cities and a small classscattered over the country, the mass of the people seem as much bound bycaste as they ever were, so far as its outward requirements areconcerned, though, as I have said, there are no doubt influences widelyspread which tend to its relaxation. This is the case in Northern India, at any rate. 

Much has been said about the Brahmist movement. The number of itsprofessed adherents is very small, but many of the educated class areimbued with its spirit. Years ago branches of the Brahmist Sumaj wereformed in the great cities of the North-West by young Bengalees employedin the public offices. For a time their services were kept up zealously, but soon they declined. The last time I heard about these communitiesmost had ceased to exist, and only two or three had any sign ofvitality. So far as I have learned, the Brahmists have had very fewadherents from the Hindus of the North-West. At first sight Brahmismseems an advance towards the Gospel, and a preparation for itsreception, but the best of our native Christians in Calcutta look on itas furnishing a welcome abode to those who cannot remain Hindus, and yetfor various reasons refuse to embrace Christ as their Lord and Saviour. Its avowed hostility to definite doctrine, to what is denounced asdogma, the dreamy sentimentalism characteristic of the system, theignoring to a great extent of the terrible facts of man's depravity andguilt, and the coquetting with Vedism, do little towards bringing itsadherents to the feet of Jesus. The Brahmists used at one time to tauntus with our divisions, but for a long time they have had two separateSumajes, composed respectively of Conservatives and Liberals. Inconsequence of Chunder Sen's Hindu proclivities in his later years, theLiberals became divided among themselves, the majority having seceded, while a few remained his devoted followers, who are likely to settledown into a Hindu sect, tinged with Christian thought and feeling. 

[Sidenote: HINDU REFORMERS. ]

From time to time reformers have appeared among the Hindus. Gautam, theSakya Saint, was one of the earliest and greatest of the class. Successive reformers have had a great following, but the stream has notrisen above its source. From Gautam downward some fundamental principlesof Hinduism have been retained, and in the end these principles haveasserted much of their former sway. This threatens to be the case withBrahmism. Notwithstanding its assertion of the Divine Unity, it has astrong pantheistic tinge, and already we see its effect. As it hasarisen in a measure as the result of Christian teaching, and among apeople to whom the Gospel is made known, it may be hoped that many, influenced by it, may travel upward to the light, instead of turning tothe darkness from which they have emerged. 

Increasing effort has been put forth in late years for the menial andspiritual improvement of the female portion of the population. From thecommencement of missions, the wives of missionaries have bestowed muchlabour on the women and girls to whom they could find access. These havebeen well-nigh exclusively either Christians, or of the lower class ofsociety. Very occasionally individuals of a higher class come underChristian teaching. A daughter of the late Rajah of Coorg, a stateprisoner at Benares, was for a time under the tuition of Mrs. Kennedy. She was brought daily to our house, sat with us at table, and was taughtwith our children. The Rajah wished her to be brought up as a Christianand an English lady, in the hope that he might thus be helped in gettingback his kingdom. Eventually she was brought to England, was baptizedby the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Queen standing sponsor, and wasmarried to an English officer. She survived her marriage a very shorttime. This was altogether an exceptional case. It has been mostdifficult for the wives of missionaries to obtain even an occasionalinterview with native ladies, as I have already intimated, though theirhusbands have been our frequent and friendly visitors. From the Reportsof Zenana Missions we learn that of late years access has been obtainedto many native families which had till recently been excluded from allChristian, and, indeed, from all European influence. The lady physicianis often welcome where the ordinary teacher can find no entrance. In acity like Benares--and I suppose it is the same elsewhere--except forthe lady physician in her professional capacity, and only rarely even inthat capacity, the door of the Zenanas in the houses of the greatmagnates continues shut against all who would seek to awake and guidethe dormant minds there. 

[Sidenote: THE POSITION OF WOMAN AMONG THE HINDUS. ]

Nothing can be conceived more deplorable than the condition of theladies of India, living, as the phrase is, behind the curtain. They are, as a rule, utterly uneducated, know nothing of books, are shut out fromthe world, and have no refuge from _ennui_ in such employments asneedlework, knitting, and embroidery, for which the nimble fingers ofthe sisterhood are so well adapted. They have no society beyond thewomen of the household, their husbands and their children. An occasionalglimpse has been got by our ladies into their state, and, as might havebeen expected, their minds have been found utterly childish and dwarfed. Happily for themselves the vast majority of the women of the countryare under no such bondage. Their husbands cannot afford to curtain them. They move about freely as they do in our country, only with the hoodready to come down over the face. They are seen in the streets ofBenares as they are seen in the streets of our own towns. 

All have heard of the low view of woman entertained in India, and of thehumiliating customs to which she is subjected; but nature asserts itselfthere as elsewhere, and notwithstanding all the inferiority with whichshe is charged, she exercises a profound influence on the male portionof the community. This is recognized by the people always saying, _Ma, Bap_--Mother, Father--not _Father and Mother_, as we say. It is wellknown that in the large households of which I have spoken the dowagerlady is the supreme ruler, often the tyrant--not the less a tyrantbecause in her youth she had been treated as a slave. The state ofwidows, many of them mere children, is sad indeed. 

Shut out though we be to a large extent from native families, we havemany proofs presented to us of the power of female influence, a poweroften most perniciously exerted, as it is the power of ignorance andsuperstition, a power opposed to all intellectual and spiritualprogress. The devout women of India are often our most formidableenemies, as they were of Paul in Antioch in Pisidia, and no doubt inother places. Some of our converts have known from painful experiencewhat their opposition to the Gospel is, and it cannot be doubted thatmany have been prevented from joining us by the pressure brought to bearon them by their mothers, wives, and sisters. Well may every friend ofIndia pray earnestly that Zenana Missions may be crowned with success. 

A returned missionary is often asked what are the prospects of missions. From careful and trustworthy statistics we learn the number ofChristians is increasing rapidly. It is right to observe that thisincrease has come mainly from the non-Aryan tribes, and people of lowcaste. We have valuable converts from the higher castes, but they arefew. When we leave statistics we have recourse to impression, and thatimpression depends greatly on circumstances, and still more, perhaps, onthe temperament of the observer. It is very difficult to gauge publicopinion. When we think of all the influences at work, such as education, both primary and more advanced, Christian literature, missionary effortin many forms, railway travelling, commerce, and a Government bent ondoing justice, we look forward with hope to an awaking of the Hindumind, under which it will seek and embrace the highest good. 

[Sidenote: OBSTACLES TO CONVERSION. ]

The obstacles to success are most formidable, so formidable that, notwithstanding promising appearances, we should despair if we were notassured that the work is of God. The literature of our own country isstrengthening the opposition to us. The unbelief of many educatednatives, an unbelief springing both from repugnance to the Gospel andfrom dread of the sacrifices to which its acceptance would subject them, is fortified by the perusal of sceptical books and periodicals. Yearsago I met a Bengalee far up in the mountains, who told me I need notspeak to him about Christianity, for all reasonable people in Englandwere abandoning it. In proof he put into my hands a letter fromProfessor Newman in answer to a letter he had sent to him. The Professorcounselled his correspondent to worship God as his conscience and reasondirected him, and to keep apart from the Christian Church. 

Notwithstanding these obstacles to the reception of the Gospel, thereare persons to whom it has come with a Divine sanction, but who are sobound by family and social ties that they do not avow their faith. Striking instances of this failure to act in accordance with convictionhave come under my observation. I mention only one. I once had aninterview with a dying young Hindu, who had been taught in a missionschool and was well acquainted with the Gospel. With tears in his eyeshe said all his trust for salvation was in the Lord Jesus Christ, andthat he knew it was his duty to avow his faith, but he could not, for ifhe did his relatives would one and all abandon him. He seemed to dreadany one but myself hearing the confession of his faith. I have knownothers who have had a strong drawing to the Saviour, but they havestifled their convictions, and have become, as I remember with sadness, bitter foes of the truth. Let only the tide set in in favour ofChristianity, and many, I doubt not, will be ready to flow with it. 

It ought ever to be remembered that in India we have a vast population. In the North-Western Provinces and Punjab alone there is a populationtwice as large as that of Great Britain and Ireland. Those of thispopulation who may be said to be educated in a high degree are themerest handful. You travel hundreds of miles through regions full oftowns, villages, and hamlets, where you find that the partially educatedare very few compared with the wholly uneducated many. Even most of theshopkeepers who can keep accounts well are unable to read a book withease, as the written and printed characters are very different. All knowthat their English rulers are called Christians; those who live near thegreat lines of road hear an occasional address from a passingmissionary, many frequenters of melas have come under the sound of theGospel, but the vast majority have not the slightest conception of itsmeaning. When Christianity had spread to a considerable extent in theRoman Empire, country districts were so little affected by it that_pagani_ (villagers) became soon synonymous with "heathen, " the onlymeaning which attaches to the word as it is now used by us. A vast workhas to be done before the villagers of Northern India cease to be pagansin our sense of the word. The work of evangelization is only in itsinitial stage. It is yet with us the day of small things--but it is theday, not the night. The morning has dawned; over a great part ofNorthern India we can only see the faint streaks of the coming day, butthe light will spread, the darkness will vanish, and the millions ofthat great country will yet be gladdened by the beams of the Sun ofRighteousness. 

I mention, and merely mention, help which India gives for the solutionof some great questions:--

(1) _The immobility of the Eastern mind. _ In manner of life, insalutations, in offerings of inferiors to superiors, in many customs, the far East, like the nearer East, continually reminds us of the Eastas presented in the records of antiquity--above all as presented to usin the Bible. He must be a very careless observer who has not beenstruck with the resemblance. The restless changing West furnishes inthis respect a striking contrast to the staid, unchanging East. Therehas been no such immobility as to religious opinion and practice. There, as elsewhere, it holds true that man's mind never remains in one stay. The Hindus of the present day speak of their Vedic ancestors withprofound reverence, but if they were to rise from their graves and actas they did when denizens of earth--kill cows, disregard caste, drinklargely of the intoxicating juice of the som plant, and worship in anentirely different manner--their reverence would turn into horror anddetestation. We cannot say that the modern Puranas do not rest in anydegree on the Vedas; some Vedic principles are manifest in them: but inthe gods they set forth for worship and in the practices they enjoin, there is between them and the Vedas a marked diversity. The numeroussects which have arisen from time to time among the Hindus show thatthey too have had that measure of mental activity which has led to newforms of thought and practice. 

[Sidenote: RETROGRESSION. ]

(2) _The genesis and evolution of religion. _ In the dim remote past towhich the Vedas introduce us, we find the Hindus a religious, a veryreligious, people. There is no indication of any period when they couldbe called secularists. Their religious views and practices have changed, there has been an evolving process; the connection may be traced, and wesee the result in the Puranic system of our day. Has this movement beenforward, or backward? Has the fittest survived and the weak and uselessperished? The Vedic system little deserves the praise often lavished onit, but surely it is preferable to that which has taken its place. Therehas been deterioration, not improvement. Has not this ever been the casein reference to religion, so far as the working of the human mind isconcerned? Is not modern Buddhism a falling off from ancient Buddhism?Does not Rabbinical Judaism belittle and dwarf Old Testament Judaism?Does not Roman Catholic Christianity materialize New TestamentChristianity? The facts of man's religious history prove incontestablythat his constant tendency is towards retrogression, not towardsadvancement. 

[Sidenote: THE BIBLE AND THE HINDU SCRIPTURES. ]

(3) _Comparative religion. _ On this subject elaborate treatises havebeen written with the object of proving that all religions have hadtheir origin in the human mind, and have been evolved under purely humanconditions. Some of the writers, prompted, we may hope, by a devoutfeeling, allow in vague terms an influence exerted on the evolution byProvidential arrangements. Still, in the result we are not to see in anycase the effect of a supernatural revelation, but in all cases anapproximation in different degrees to truth, secured by the unaidedworking of the human mind. Does a comparison between the sacred books ofthe Hindus and the Bible support this view? Listen to a Sanscritspecialist like Professor Max Müller, who has spent years in the studyof the Veda, and who has every conceivable motive to say everything hecan on its behalf: "That the Veda is full of childish, silly, even toour mind monstrous conceptions, who would deny? But even thesemonstrosities are interesting and instructive. I could not even answerthe question, if you were to ask it, whether the religion of the Vedawas polytheistic or monotheistic. Monotheistic in the usual sense of theword it is decidedly not. " The dreamy, vague teaching of the Veda hashardened into the unmistakable polytheism and pantheism of modernHinduism. In no country in the world has mind been more active than inIndia; in no country have the learned had such abundant leisure, suchfull opportunity for quiet, sustained thought--and you see the result. We follow with deep interest and sympathy the straining of these mindsto understand themselves and the world around; as they grope after Godwe find they occasionally obtain a glimpse of the highest truth, butthe darkness, though for the moment relieved, is not dispelled. Thetruth has continued to elude them. They have not arrived at theknowledge of even the first principles of a theology worthy of God, andfitted to direct, purify, and guide man. Excellent, high-tonedsentiments are no doubt found in Hindu writings, but these do not altertheir general character. The Bible, by its teaching regarding God andman, above all by its record of the peerless excellence of our LordJesus Christ, and of the provision made through Him for the supply ofman's deepest wants, presents a marvellous contrast to the Veda, to thegreat epic poems of the Hindus, to their philosophical treatises andtheir Puranas. I know a good deal of what has been said to show that thecharacteristics of the Bible may be accounted for on merely humanprinciples, but the certain facts of the case refute, to my mind, thearguments adduced. Max Müller says in one of his writings--I cannotquote his exact words--that we are not to look in the songs of the Vedafor anything so advanced as we find in the Psalter. Why not? Had not thePundits of India far more cultured minds than David and the hymnists ofIsrael? Their works are different, for their teaching came fromdifferent sources. One benefit I have got from my residence in India, aconviction deepened by every successive glimpse into Hindu teaching andpractice: that in the Bible we have a supernatural revelation of God'swill, and that in building on it we are building on a rock which cannotbe shaken. 

(4) _The migration of nations. _ Few things in the history of the worldare more surprising to us than whole nations making their way to new andremote countries. I have thought I have got a little help towardsunderstanding these movements when I have observed large bands ofpeople--men, women, and children--pursuing their journey, carrying withthem all they deemed necessary, and lying out at night on the bareground, with a blanket, which they had carried over their shoulder, astheir only covering. They took food with them when they knew that attheir halting-place it could not be procured. Very differently do ournative regiments travel. They are attended by a host of camp-followers, and have a formidable amount of baggage. I once saw a party of woodmenin the hills sleeping under a tree when there was frost on the ground;and on the remark being made it was a wonder they could live, a hillmanremarked, "Has not each got his blanket? What hardship is there?" Whennations migrated they no doubt sent out scouring parties, who seized allthe food on which they could lay their hands. When travelling alone inthe hills I had commonly with me a tent so small that a man carried iton his head, but I must acknowledge I could not approach the simplicityof the native traveller's arrangements. 

[Illustration]

CHAPTER XXX. 

EUROPEANS IN INDIA. 

The climate of India precludes the possibility of its being a sphere forEuropean colonization. With the exception of the hill districts, theintense heat during the greater part of the year makes out-dooroccupation trying even to the native, and well-nigh unendurable forEuropeans--a heat uncompensated by the coolness of the night, for in theNorth-West, at least, the stifling closeness of the night is more tryingthan the heat of the day. If this heat lasted for only a few days, as inSouthern Australia, it might be borne, though a hindrance to work; butin India it lasts for months, and it is succeeded by months of drenchingrain, during a great part of which the moisture and mugginess are asunpleasant as the previous dry heat had been. 

Apart from climate, there is no room for us as colonists. In India wehave not to do with rude tribes, as in America, New Zealand, andAustralia, and in a measure in Southern Africa, that cannot be said topossess the land over which they and their fathers have long roamed, orof which they have cultivated a very small part. We have to do withancient nations that have taken full possession of the land bycultivation of the soil, and by pursuit of the arts of civilized life. We find in India no tribes wasting away before the white stranger, buta people growing in number under the security of our government. Thereare districts in the North-West more densely peopled than any districtsin Europe occupied by an agricultural population. The emigration ofcoolies to the Mauritius, to Bourbon, to the coast of South America, andto the West Indian Islands, has done little to relieve the pressure. Migration to unoccupied parts of Central India and Assam has beencarried out to a small extent, and it is very desirable this migrationshould increase. Non-Aryan tribes occupy a large part of the mountainsand forests of Central and Eastern India. They have no wish foraccession from the people of the plains, and still less do they wish forthe entrance of Europeans. I can say nothing about the mountains of theSouth, but so far as I have travelled over the sub-Himalayan range inthe North there is no place for Europeans in it, except for officials oremployers, and managers of native labour, such as tea-planters. 

While India presents no sphere for European colonization, it presents anincreasingly wide field for European agency in the civil and militaryservices, in the departments of education, commerce, manufacture--forinstance, of cotton goods, railways, indigo, and tea. In these differentdepartments Europeans are in constant intercourse with natives of everyclass from the highest to the lowest. There is often much pleasant andcourteous intercourse between them; but in language, habits, religion, in almost everything in which human beings can be separated from theirfellows, they are so different that they remain to a great degreestrangers to each other, however kindly may be their mutual feeling. English people never call India "home, " though they may have lived in itthe greater part of their life. This name is always reserved for ourfatherland. (I had better say that the term English, as used in India, includes all from Great Britain and Ireland, and to them also the termEuropean is mainly, though not exclusively, applied. ) I have heardpersons of pure English descent, who had never been out of India, speakof England as "home. " The reservation of the word to the land from whichwe have gone, indicates the fact that in India we are strangers, andcannot cease to be strangers. Colonists in America and other lands maymake a similar reservation; but living as they do among their ownpeople, in a country which they expect to be the home of theirdescendants, the term as applied to England is deprived of much of itsendearing force. 

[Sidenote: EUROPEAN AND NATIVE INTERCOURSE. ]

In the great Presidency cities, and in a less degree in other citiesthroughout the country, we have a large educated class of natives, whoare well acquainted with our language and literature. They have pursuedtheir studies in the hope of securing good situations, and this hope isin a large measure realized. They are found all over Northern Indiaoccupying responsible and well-paid positions. Many persons of thisclass come daily into close intercourse with Europeans in the dischargeof their duties, and have means of knowing them which no other classpossesses. The intercourse is generally courteous, in not a few casesfriendly, and they talk freely with each other on a great variety ofsubjects. There is, however, not infrequently an underfeeling witheducated natives that they are not sufficiently appreciated--that theydo not get the place due to them--that they are treated as an inferiorrace; and there is consequently a suspiciousness fatal to cordiality. Iam far from thinking that Europeans always treat educated natives withthe courtesy due to them. I have known instances of marked discourtesy;but I am sure many of our people are bent on treating them with alljustice and kindness, and sometimes, at least, this friendly feeling hasnot been reciprocated. Human nature being what it is, however much wemay regret, we need not wonder at the grating between parties that haveso much in common, and yet owing to that very circumstance have clashingfeelings and interests. 

Many native gentlemen, some of the highest rank, cultivate Europeansociety, and every European who has anything of the gentleman in himtreats them with the courtesy due to their position. Natives of thisclass are, as a rule, most gentlemanly in their demeanour, andintercourse with them is very pleasant. 

[Sidenote: THE FAITHFULNESS OF SERVANTS. ]

Between Europeans and most natives with whom they have to do, there issuch a difference of station there is no room for jealousy. To someEuropeans they stand in the relation of agents, clerks, and labourers;to a greater number in the relation of servants. In India, as in our owncountry, there is a great variety in the character of both masters andservants. There, as here, there are hard, selfish, unreasonable mastersand mistresses, and there are undoubtedly bad, false, dishonestservants; but I have no hesitation in giving my impression--I may saystating my belief--that native servants are generally well treated, andthat this treatment draws forth no small degree of gratitude andattachment. This was strikingly shown in the Mutiny period. Servantsoften remain for years with the same masters, render most useful andfaithful service; their wages are continued in whole or in part duringthe temporary absence of their masters from India; on their return theyare found waiting for them at the port of debarkation, and on finaldeparture for Europe it is not unusual for old Indians to pension thosewho have been faithful to them. When I speak of faithfulness, I do notmean that, with the exception of very rare cases, full dependence can beplaced on their truthfulness, or even on their honesty in the strictsense of the term. It is very difficult for them to resist thetemptation to tell a lie, when a fault is to be screened or benefit tobe obtained, and there are certain understood perquisites of which theyare inclined to avail themselves in too liberal a degree; but they areat the same time very careful to guard the property of their masteragainst all others, and are deeply concerned for the honour of his name. As a rule natives, both servants and others, are treated with lessjustice and kindness by the lower class of Europeans than by personsbetter educated and of a higher position. There are indeed soldiers andothers who look on "niggers, " as they call all natives, with contempt, and are inclined to abuse them, so far as they are permitted, to thefull bent of their rude nature. The term "nigger" is used by some whocall themselves gentlemen. All I can say of such gentlemen is that Iwish they would speak in a manner worthy of the name. 

Of late years the position of Englishmen in India has greatly changed. By the overland route, and by the weekly postal communication, Englandand India are brought near to each other in a degree which could nothave been deemed possible in former days. Persons on leave for threemonths can now spend a month or five weeks with their friends inEngland, and at the end of their leave be ready to resume their duties. Every week a stream of literature, in the shape of newspapers, periodicals, and books, is poured over every part of India, reachingthe European in the most remote part of the land. Hill stations havebecome very accessible by rail, and to these Europeans betake themselvesin great numbers for the hot months. All these things give greater forcethan ever to the home feeling, by strengthening home sympathies andties. The result is our people in India are birds of passage as theynever were before, ready to return to their own land as soon ascircumstances will allow them. 

There are some advantages from this altered state of things. Many of theearly residents became, to their own deep injury, too intimate with thepeople of the land. They learned their ways, and became like them incharacter. It was often said, when the Mutiny broke out, that theofficers of native regiments had in former days maintained friendlyintercourse with the Sepoys, and thus secured their attachment, and thatthe cessation, or at least the lessening, of this intercourse was onegreat cause of the outbreak. If good resulted from it in the weakeningof national antipathy, in many cases evil resulted from it in thedeterioration of character. Many of our countrymen at an early periodformed native connections, and by doing so brought themselves down tothe level of their new friends. Some became so entangled that they gaveup all thought of returning to their own country. It must not besupposed that all who settled down in India for life were of thischaracter. Some who had kept themselves aloof from all improperconnection with natives became so attached to India and to the mode ofliving there, that they made it their permanent abode. A few of thisclass remain, but their number is rapidly decreasing, and none aretaking their place. The persons who have thus made India their homehave often had a large circle of attached native friends. 

The constant communication of Englishmen with their native land, frequent visits to it, and the anticipation of getting away from Indiaat the earliest possible period, tends to lessen their interest inIndian affairs, and weaken their sympathy with the native population. The closer connexion with England is, however, attended with someadvantages. It can be confidently affirmed that many of our countrymenin India are bent on promoting the good of the people with whom theycome into contact, and strive to perform their duties faithfully. We mayhope that home influence may strengthen them for the more efficientdischarge of their work, and may thus prove a benefit to the people. 

[Sidenote: IMPROVEMENT OF EUROPEAN SOCIETY. ]

In many respects there has been a marked improvement in Europeansociety. The small house near the large one, significantly called theZenana, is never seen near the houses of recent erection. Even in thesmaller stations there are places for Christian worship, where Europeansmeet on the Lord's Day, when some official reads the prayers of theChurch of England, and, if he be a zealous man, a sermon. A chaplainpays occasional visits to these places. The attendance on public worshipis far from being what it ought to be, and we have much reason to fearit is often very formal; but it furnishes a pleasing contrast to theneglect which formerly prevailed. Along with this church-going there is, no doubt, a great deal of unbelief in India. I have already said we havein India Christians who are earnest for the honour of their Lord, and doall they can to promote His cause; but the greater number of our peopleare not, and have never been, friendly to the propagation of theGospel. I am afraid the unfriendliness has been increased by thesceptical tone of much of the literature of the day. I have knowngentlemen giving to their native subordinates for perusal periodicalsand books which could only lead them to the conclusion that Christianitywas dying out in England. 

There are, happily, counteracting influences. Christian as well assceptical literature makes its way to India, and is telling on manyminds. And then, at our larger stations, where Europeans and Eurasiansare in the greatest number, more is done for their spiritual benefitthan at any previous period. Well may every Christian heartily desiresuccess to all such effort, for nothing would do more to bring thepeople of the land to the feet of Jesus than the prevalence of livinggodliness among our own countrymen. 

[Illustration]

CHAPTER XXXI. 

THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA. 

The first question which comes before us when considering the governmentof India is, What right have we to govern it? For an answer to thisquestion we must betake ourselves to the history of our connexion withIndia. This history cannot have for us the interest and fascination ofthe history of our own country; but it has strong claims on us as thesubjects of the British Crown, contains much that deserves and repaysperusal, and must be known by us in order to the right understanding ofthe position we have obtained. 

My reading of Indian history leads me to the conclusion that in alllikelihood we should never have been rulers in India had we not beengrievously injured as traders, in violation of rights accorded to us bythe native powers. All know the story of the black hole of Calcutta, which led to our waging war on the Nawab. We had previously fought withthe French and French allies in the south, we had contended with otherEuropean rivals, but our rule began with the victory of Plassey. Afterthat victory our only alternative was either to leave the countryaltogether, or to go on conquering till we should become the supremepower over the whole of the continent. If we had retired from the landwe had conquered, and had sought to remain as traders, our retirementwould have been attributed to weakness, and demands would have been madeon us which would have made trading impossible. If we had determined notto advance, but simply to retain what we had acquired, and had satisfiedourselves with repelling attacks, these attacks would have beencontinued till we had either gone forward, or resigned our conquestaltogether. 

We can understand the course pursued by the founders of the BritishEmpire in India only when we look on them as placed between thealternative mentioned. The Directors of the East India Company did notseek the government of India. They deprecated it. By it commerce wasdisorganized and dividends lowered. Some of their servants in India madeenormous fortunes by the new state of things, but this was no comfort tothem. Order after order was sent out against the extension of territory. Governor after governor was commissioned to carry out the peaceful viewsof the home authorities, but still conquest went on under the directionof these very governors. 

[Sidenote: THE POLICY OF THE MARQUESS OF HASTINGS. ]

I am far from vindicating all that was done; deeds were committed whichdeserve severe condemnation; but it would be a travesty of history tosay that the governors, who set out with peaceful intentions, succumbedto the lust of conquest. They were often forced to adopt war measures. Many instances might be adduced. I give only one. The Marquess ofHastings had denounced the conquering career of the Marquess ofWellesley. He was selected for the very purpose of reversing his policy, so far as it could be reversed. If any person could be trusted forgiving peace to India he was the man. Shortly after his arrival ourconnexion with the Ghoorkhas, the ruling body in Nepal, became strained. They made raids into our territory beneath the hills, and murdered androbbed our subjects. The Marquess was extremely desirous to avoid arupture with them. Remonstrances were addressed to them, and proposalsmade to settle differences by the better defining of the boundariesbetween their country and ours. These proposals were regarded as a proofof weakness, and the bold demand was made we should give up to them thegreat fertile region north of the Ganges. There was no furtherhesitation. To yield to this demand, for which there was not the pretextof right, would have been to announce to all the potentates of Indiathat we were unable to defend ourselves, and would have led them toassail us. War was declared, which, after two campaigns and a severestruggle, ended in the discomfiture of the Ghoorkhas, and in theircession to us of the large territory they had conquered a few yearspreviously. Ought the Governor-General to have yielded to the Ghoorkhademand? Yes, if we were prepared to leave the country altogether, butotherwise not. 

No sooner had the Marquess of Hastings landed in India than he began todoubt the policy he had formerly advocated, and events soon compelledhim to abandon it. The policy on which he acted was declared by him inunmistakable terms: "Our object in India ought to be to render theBritish Government paramount in effect, if not declaredly so . .. And tooblige the other states to perform the two great feudal duties ofsupporting our rule with all their forces, and submitting their mutualdifferences to our arbitration. "

Till we became confessedly supreme we were not for any length of timeallowed to remain at peace. There were two main reasons for the unrest, which prepared the way for war. One reason was that the native powershated and dreaded us, and were eager for our overthrow even when theyprofessed the greatest friendliness. When we were involved indifficulties they were ready to rise against us. Every indication of ourdesire to avoid hostilities was interpreted as a sign of weakness, andthus became an incentive to the renewal of the struggle. Another reasonfor the fresh outbreak of war was the treachery of the native princes. Icannot say that in the matter of treaty keeping we had clean hands. Thegross deceit played on Omichund, as described by Macaulay in his Essayon Lord Clive, stands nearly alone in our public conduct in India, butother transactions have been unworthy of our character for high-mindedintegrity. It may, however, be confidently affirmed, that looking at ourgoverning conduct as a whole, it presents by its faithfulness toengagements a marked contrast to the conduct of those who had enteredinto treaty with us. Many of our Indian wars would have been preventedhad there not been on their part the violation of engagements in amanner which showed they never intended to keep them an hour longer thanthey were compelled by circumstances. 

If a review of the course pursued by our people in India shows how webecame the governing power, and indicates the ground on which our rulerests, a review of the history of India for ages previous to our advent, and of the condition in which we found it, will help us greatly inanswering the question--Has India been benefited or injured by ourhaving seized the sceptre?

[Sidenote: MUHAMMADAN RULE. ]

For centuries Muhammadans were the rulers of India. They entered, notto avenge wrongs done to them, but as the servants of Allah, called toput down idolatry, and entitled to rule over the nations they subdued. Centuries elapsed before the extension of their rule beyond theNorth-West region. Gradually it extended to other parts of India. Theseventeenth century was well advanced before the greater part ofSouthern India came under the rule of the Emperor of Delhi--theShah-un-shah, King of kings, as he was called. His suzerainty wasgenerally acknowledged in those lands which continued under Hindurulers. 

As we turn over page after page of the Muhammadan rule in India, whatscenes of strife, of bloody war, of treachery, of desolated countries, continually meet our view! No sooner did an emperor die than thestruggle commenced for the vacant throne between his many sons, brotherfighting with brother till one became the victor, and then woe to thevanquished! The governors of Provinces, as soon as they thought they hadsufficient power, rebelled against the sovereign, and struggled--notinfrequently with success--to secure an independent throne. In thecourse of these civil wars countries were overrun, towns and villageslevelled with the ground, their inhabitants massacred, and theirproperty pillaged. We read of rival dynasties which contended with eachother for empire. We are told of terrible invasions like those of Timourand Nadir Shah. There were no doubt great emperors, such as theillustrious Akbar, during whose rule India suffered comparatively littlefrom war, and enjoyed great prosperity. Governors were now and then firmand just rulers. Looking at the whole period of Muhammadan rule, duringno part of which India was free from the scourge of war, and during agreat part of which war on a large scale was carried on, untold miserymust have been endured by many of its inhabitants, and there was littlesecurity for life and property. The aristocracy of the emperors' courtswas mainly that of office, and only to a limited degree that of bloodand ancient possession. We find persons of mean birth rising togreatness, and persons on the very pinnacle of honour cast down to theground. There was a succession of emperors called Slave Emperors, asthey had originally been slaves in the court, whence they rose tosupreme power. When we consider the teaching of the Quran respectingthose who do not submit to Islam, we may suppose what the condition ofthe Hindus was under Muhammadan rulers, so far as they acted out theirprinciples. Happily during this period, though constantly exposed toterrible disasters, the people in their villages were often left tomanage their own affairs. 

[Sidenote: THE REIGN OF ADVENTURERS. ]

When our nation commenced its conquering career in the middle of theeighteenth century, the Muhammadan Empire was in a state of collapse. Within thirteen years of Aurungzeb's death, in 1706, six sovereigns wereseated on the imperial throne. Shah Alum was nominal emperor from 1759to 1806, and all the time he was a wanderer, a prisoner, or a pensionerof the Mahrattas, the Rohillas, or the English. He was as melancholy anexample of fallen greatness as can well be conceived, a greatness whichretained its title while its bearer was subjected to every indignity. Hehad been for some time in the hands of the Mahrattas, who used his sealfreely, and at the same time treated him with the utmost cruelty. Thefood supplied was so insufficient that he and his household were almoststarved. When Lord Lake took Delhi from the Mahrattas in 1803 he foundthe poor old blind emperor under a tattered canopy, trembling at whatmight now befall him. Some years previously his eyes had been gouged outby one of his Rohilla keepers. At once he was treated by us with thehighest consideration. Power was not given, but a handsome pension wasassigned, and he was personally treated with all the honour due to areigning sovereign. When these facts are remembered, it is strange weshould be charged with overthrowing the Muhammadan Empire in India. Whoever was injured by our conquest, Shah Alum and his family wereassuredly benefited. 

Our contention was with those whose only claim to rule rested on thesword. Bold adventurers had risen everywhere, and were snatching at thefallen sceptre. There were still emperors, as we have mentioned, andtheir prestige gave value to documents bearing their seal, but they didnot retain a shred of power. Daring Europeans, helped by native allies, had set to carving out principalities for themselves. The viziers andnawabs that ruled in the name of the emperors rendered them neitherobedience nor tribute. Our first great battle was fought with Suraj udDowla, the Nawab of Bengal, the grandson of Aliverdi Khan, an Afghanadventurer, who had acquired the government of the country. In the Southwe fought with Hyder Ali, a trooper who gathered under him a maraudingband, and by courage and craft rose to being a sovereign, and with hisson Tippoo Sahib. Our longest and most severe contests were with theMahrattas, a warlike tribe of Hindus in Western India, who came firstinto prominence in the seventeenth century under Sivajee, a pettychieftain, and gradually advanced under various leaders till they becamefor a time the paramount power. Their hordes of horsemen scoured thecountry in all directions, north and south, east and west, demandingthe _chauth_, the fourth part of the revenue, and returning to theircapitals laden with spoil. The leaders with whom we had most to do, sometimes in the way of friendship, far more frequently in the way ofwarfare, were the Peshwa, the head of the Mahratta confederacy, the heirof Sivajee; Ranojee Bhonsla, a private horseman, who became Prince ofNagpore; Pilajee Gaikwar, a cowherd, who ruled in Baroda; RanojeeScindia, a menial servant of the Peshwa, who made Gwalior his capital;and Mulhar Rao Holkar, a shepherd, who became Maharajah of Indore. Notone of their number professed to belong to the ancient ruling familiesof India. 

As we glance at India as it was under Muhammadan rule, and consider itsstate when our conquering career began, we find there were no elementsof stable government: the Imperial power had become a shadow; ambitiousleaders were everywhere striving for the mastery, ready to beat down allopposition within their own immediate sphere, and then prepared to wrestpower from neighbouring chiefs. India had at that time a very darkprospect before it. 

This review of the past history of India may seem an unduly longintroduction to a brief statement regarding its condition under ourrule, but it is only by looking to the past a right answer can be givento the questions: What right have we to govern India? From what evilshas our government delivered it? What benefits have we conferred on itspopulation? Inattention to the past has led many to give in some casesan utterly wrong, in other cases a very inadequate, answer to thesequestions. It is clear that India has been brought under our rule bywhat may be rightly called aggressive war only to a very limitedextent. It is also clear that the hostile forces we encountered were notthose of the ancient princes of the land, but of adventurers who werestruggling to rise on the ruins of the disorganized empire. At thepresent time, on the mere ground of the length of possession, our rulehas a stronger claim than that of the potentates whom we overthrew. 

[Sidenote: THE ADVANTAGES OF BRITISH RULE. ]

A review of the past prepares us to see some of the advantages our rulehas conferred. No longer are armies marching over India, supplying theirwants by the plunder of its people, and leaving ruin in their track. Nolonger has the husbandman, when he sees at a distance the dust raised bythe tramp of the Mahratta cavalry, to flee to his walled village, if hehas one to flee to, or to his hamlet if he cannot do better, leaving hisfield, perhaps ready for the sickle, to be trodden down by the unwelcomestranger. No longer are hosts of marauders like the Pindarees, whoscarcely professed to be anything else than marauders, allowed to roamover fertile and populous regions in their robbing and murderingexpeditions. No longer are professional robbers called Dacoits allowedto set out on excursions, and make their way under various disguises totowns, to rise at an arranged signal, attack the houses of the rich, andforce them, often under torture, to reveal their treasures. No longerare Thugs, professional murderers, left to arrange their plans forinsinuating themselves into the goodwill of travellers, with a view, when the opportunity came, to throttling their victims, robbing them, and then burying them, that all mark of their deeds might be effaced. From Dacoity and Thuggery Europeans had nothing to fear, but nativessuffered frightfully; and special departments were formed for theirsuppression. In Northern India, at least, these bands of robbers andmurderers have been broken up. No longer are the lives and property ofthe people at the disposal of their rulers, as was to a large extent thecase previous to the British era. They are now under the ægis of law. 

If any one think that the advantages thus conferred by the establishmentof a stable government are of little value, all we can say is they haveno conception of the misery brought on thousands from generation togeneration, when these advantages were unknown. 

Never was a comparatively small nation entrusted with so vast a work asthat committed to us by our undertaking to administer the government ofa continent thousands of miles from our shores, inhabited by two hundredand fifty-four millions, who differ widely from us in language, religion, habits, history, associations--in almost everything in whichone nation can differ from another. Two hundred millions are under ourdirect rule, and the rest are under native rulers who acknowledge ourQueen as suzerain. It would have been a miracle had we not in the courseof our government, during more than a hundred years, done many unwise, many wrong, even many cruel things. He would be a bold man who wouldstand forth and maintain we had done good, and only good, to the nationsof India. We take no such optimist position. You can adduce many thingsin our dealings with the people which the best of the officials havethemselves condemned, and you can mention evils which have followed ourrule for which we can scarcely be said to be responsible. This, however, we say with the fullest conviction, as the result of long residence inIndia and of extensive observation: that considering our position asWestern strangers, and the difficulties with which we have had tocontend, our Government has had a success far greater than could havebeen anticipated, and has conferred vast advantages on the country. 

[Sidenote: BRITISH ADMINISTRATORS. ]

It would be difficult to find in the history of the world a moreremarkable class of men than those who have been engaged in theadministration of India. There have been inefficient, selfish, idle, unprincipled men among them. In former years we used to hear of JohnCompany's bad bargains; and now that India has come directly under therule of Queen Victoria we now and then hear of John Bull's bad bargains. These have been the exception, not the rule. There has been insuccession a band of men who have earnestly sought the good of thepeople, and have shown a capacity for administration which I have nodoubt surprised themselves, as it has those who have watched theirprogress. Sir John Kaye has given interesting sketches of some Indianworthies, but it would require a series of volumes to record the deedsof the many who have taken a warm interest in the people, have toiledfor their good, and have been trusted, and in some instances literallyadored, by them. I have had a considerable acquaintance with the_personnel_ of the Government of the North-West Provinces, from someoccupying the highest position down to assistant magistrates. I cannotsay I admired all, but I can say that I have been surprised at thenumber who did their duty faithfully, were thoroughly interested intheir work, and rejoiced when they had achieved any measure of success. 

With a few exceptions the Governor-General has been an English noblemanwho has filled some important office at home; but Lieutenant-Governors, and not infrequently Governors, have been persons of large Indianexperience, who have passed with honour through all the grades of theCivil Service. These, assisted by the Commissioners of Provinces, exercise a strict supervision over the entire administration. Officialshave continually to report their doings, and irregularities are quicklydiscovered. We know of no class who have more onerous duties todischarge than magistrates of districts and their subordinates. Theyhave long hours in crowded courts in an exhausting climate, decide manyintricate cases, maintain order within the bounds of their jurisdiction, receive reports of what is being done and give directions, preparereports for the Government, and they are expected to give a courteousreception to native gentlemen when they call, however long thesegentlemen may be inclined to prolong their visit. We have been at timesin a position to see the daily life of some of these men, and have beenstruck with the amount of work devolving on them, and the patience theyhave shown where there was strong temptation to impatience. 

[Sidenote: INCIDENTAL EVILS OF OUR RULE. ]

As strangers, it is difficult for us to understand the people, and theresult is that with the best intentions we have at times adoptedmeasures utterly unsuited to them. Our very attempt to secure the rightsof all classes by the careful drawing up of civil and criminal codes, and by the institution of courts where they are administered, hasfostered the litigiousness of the people, and has led to a fearfulamount of perjury. Litigiousness got no play where courts did not exist, and perjury could not show itself where witnesses were not examined. Itis said that in one of our most recent acquisitions, the Punjab, thepeople have deteriorated under our rule. Runjeet Singh had no prisons. Thieves caught in the act were maimed and allowed to go their way. Murderers and other great offenders were at once put to death. We canscarcely adopt this primitive mode of maintaining order, and by ourcodes, courts, judges, and witnesses we have no doubt opened the door toevils of which the Punjab knew nothing in Runjeet Singh's time. If theearly colonists of New York and Boston had retained their primitivesimplicity, those cities would not now be disgraced by the slums, withtheir vice, crime, and misery, which make them too closely resemble thecities of the old continent. When society makes progress, new, social, and political, arrangements are indispensable, the countervailing goodbeing much greater than the incidental evils which come in their train. 

In India there are Regulation and Non-Regulation Provinces, theRegulation Provinces being those which have been long under our rule, and are subject to all our laws; and the Non-Regulation Provinces beingthose to which our codes are only partially applied, and where much isleft to the discretion of the administrator. In the former the chiefoffices belong to the regular Civil Service, while in the lattermilitary men as well as civilians are employed. Both classes havefurnished most able and capable men. 

[Sidenote: TAXATION. ]

Considering the resources of India its taxation is heavy. Our Governmentpays its servants of every description, high and low, civil andmilitary, with a regularity utterly unknown under native rule, and theincome must in regularity keep pace with the outlay. When we read ofseventy millions as the expenditure, it must be remembered that what iscalled the land-tax is really rent, for in India the land has alwaysbeen considered the property of the state. This is kept before the mindof the people of Madras by the yearly assessment of the tenants, andbefore the people of the North-Western Provinces by the new assessmentmade every thirtieth year. By the perpetual settlement of Bengal, thetax-collectors were at once raised to the position of landholders, ofwhich they have often taken undue advantage. It must also be rememberedthat a considerable sum is expended on remunerative works, such ascanals and railways. The expenditure on the army is great. I cannotconceive why our Government keeps up so large a native army. It wouldappear to those who are outside the Government circle, that itsreduction would conduce to safety as well as to economy. The Europeanpart of the army is comparatively very small, and it would be mostperilous to lessen it. Years before the Mutiny, Sir Henry Lawrence saidit was the backbone of our strength, and events proved how true hisremark was. Yet it is, and must continue to be, very expensive, likeevery other form of European agency. The Mutiny among its other resultsleft behind it heavy pecuniary responsibilities, which have added to thedebt and led to increased taxation. Many are of opinion that theamalgamation of the Royal and Indian armies was an unwise measure, andhas caused much unnecessary expense. Often complaints have been madethat successive home Governments, from their unchallenged control overthe affairs of India, have imposed an unjust burden on its resources bykeeping at home too large a force at its expense, and by undue chargesfor stores sent out, as well as by making it pay sums which were moreproperly due by the imperial exchequer. 

"The net land revenue has risen in the ten years beginning 1870-71 from£20, 335, 678, or nearly half the total net revenue of £42, 780, 417, byabout two millions sterling, to £22, 125, 807, with a total net revenue of£49, 801, 664. The gross revenue of the latter year, 1879-80, was£68, 484, 666, the difference being derived from sources other thantaxation, such as the opium monopoly. The revenue of 1880-81 was£72, 920, 000, and the gross expenditure £71, 259, 000. Including the landrevenue as land-tax, the 200 millions in the twelve Provinces of BritishIndia pay about 4s. A head of imperial taxation, besides municipal orlocal and provincial cesses, which purchase such local advantages asroads, schools, police, and sanitary appliances. This incidence oftaxation varies from 5s. 6d. Per head of the land-owning classes to 3s. 3d. For traders, 2s. For artisans, and 1s. 6d. For agriculturallabourers. The fiscal policy of the Government has of late been toreduce the burden of the salt monopoly, which is a poll-tax, and toabolish import duties. The 54½ millions in the Native States pay only totheir own chiefs, who enjoy a net annual revenue of fourteen millionssterling, and pay £700, 000 as tribute, or less than the cost of themilitary and political establishments maintained on their account" (Dr. George Smith's "Geography of British India"). Deducting land-tax, opium, railways, irrigations, post-office, and suchlike remunerative services, the taxation is reduced to 2s. Per head of population. 

If the European army in India be the backbone of our military sway, European administrators are, I believe, the backbone of our government. During the terrible years 1857 and 1858, the services rendered by thosewho were engaged in civil employment were of the highest value inrestoring peace to the distracted country, and in re-establishing ourgovernment. European officials of every grade showed equal zeal anddetermination. There were many native officials in these Provinces, someof them highly paid and greatly trusted. A few remained faithful and didgood service, though the help rendered, when summed up, cannot bereckoned great. Many proved unfaithful, and some became our bitterenemies. If instead of Englishmen as judges, magistrates, andcollectors, we had had at that time highly educated natives of Bengalholding these offices, the men who receive for themselves the besthearing in England, can we suppose that, however well inclined, theycould have borne the brunt of the contest, and aided largely in securingthe victory? It would ill become me to speak against these men. I knowsome of the class for whom I have not only a high esteem but warmaffection. Among them there are not a few who are great in attainment, keen in intellect, and strong in purpose to do the right. Still I do notthink they themselves would maintain they have the physical courage, thefirm mental calibre, the moral strength, and the high place in theconfidence of the community, which would qualify any of their number tooccupy the position of Governor-General, Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, and Chief Commissioner, or would make it desirable they should form theleading body of the administrative staff. The successful candidates forthe Civil Service have come, we believe, exclusively from thehighly-educated youth of the Presidency cities, between whom and themillions of their own Provinces there is no such bond as unites theso-called leaders of the Irish with the majority of their countrymen. Inthe other countries of India they are little known, and are regardedwith no special interest. 

[Sidenote: HINDUSTANEES AND BENGALEES. ]

Many mistakes would be prevented if English people would remember thatwe have in India nations differing widely from each other. We have astriking illustration of this fact in the part of India in which we havelived. Bengalees abound in the public offices in the North-WestProvinces and in the Punjab. They are deemed sharper in intellect, andare better educated, than the Hindustanees, and on account of theirsuperior education they have got situations which would have been filledby natives of the country, had their educational acquirements beenequal. These Bengalees are not strangers in these Provinces to the sameextent as Englishmen, but they are strangers, and are looked upon assuch by the people. Where they are numerous they keep mainly tothemselves, and however friendly they may be with Hindustanees they areregarded as belonging to another country. When you meet them you knowthem at once by their look, dress, language, and habits. A part ofBenares, called Bengalee Tola--Bengalee district--is inhabited almostwholly by Bengalees, and when you enter it you feel you have come amonganother people, who speak a different language and present a differentappearance. During the Mutiny they were regarded in the North-West withsuspicion, as half-English, and many were happy to seek shelter where wewere able to keep our footing. If the question was put in HindustanProper to any large body of people--Would you have Bengalees orEnglishmen for your magistrates and judges? I think in most places thewell-nigh unanimous response would be, The Englishman. 

If my opinion is to rest on my own observation, I would confidently saythat notwithstanding the injustice and unkindness charged against someEnglish officials, the people generally have profound trust in ourjustice--in our _insaf_--and as a rule, except when they think thenative partial to themselves, they prefer to have their cases triedwhere an Englishman presides. When on a journey I once came up to twomen engaged in eager talk. I heard them use frequently the words, _Ungrez_ and _Insaf_--_Englishmen_ and _Justice_--and on stopping Iheard the one telling the other of the bribes taken by native officialsin a case he had, and of the justice done when the Englishman took itup. He ended with the words, "What a wonderful people for _insaf_ theseEnglish are!" to which remark the other man assented. I thanked them fortheir good opinion, and held on my way. 

If the administration of India in its present state must, in its chiefoffices, remain in the hands of Europeans, it must be expensive. Thegreat officers of state, considering the dignity they have to maintainand the establishments they have to keep, must be highly paid. When wethink of the qualifications required by those who are charged with theordinary administration, the great expense to which they are put, theyears they spend in laborious work in an exhausting climate, and theirunfitness as a rule for work in England on their retirement, I do notthink their income or pension can be to any large extent safely orjustly reduced. The era of nabobs, returning with vast wealth toastonish the English people, has long since passed away. These men hadsmall pay, but great perquisites. The pay has been greatly increased, but the perquisites are gone, and India has benefited vastly by thechange. 

Indian magistrates have much to tell of the litigiousness of the people, their constant attempts to overreach each other, the carefully wovenlies which they have daily to unravel, the trust put in bribes toinfluence decisions, and the deeply ingrained notion in the minds ofnative officials that they should get more for their services to thepublic than the bare pay, the _sookha tulub_--_dry wages_--as it iscontemptuously called. 

[Sidenote: THE POVERTY OF THE PEOPLE. ]

The people of Northern India are mainly agricultural, and they areunquestionably poor. Our very success has in one aspect tended to theirimpoverishment. With very few exceptions they marry young, and duringthe many years of peace which have passed over them, with the exceptionof the short sharp crisis of the Mutiny, the population has greatlyincreased. Whenever an epidemic breaks out, means are at once employedto check it. There is a vaccination department for the purpose ofpreventing the ravages of small-pox. Female infanticide, which hadprevailed to a frightful extent among certain castes, has beendiminished, though not, it is feared, wholly suppressed. It is wellknown that famines have been sadly destructive of life, but there isevidence that previous to our rule, when there were few roads and littlecommunication between one part of India and another, famines were stillmore so. Among so vast a population directly dependent on the soil, in acountry where rain is so indispensable, and is now and then a failure, we have too much reason to fear famines may yet recur; but suchprovision is now made against their ravages, that it is hoped thecatastrophes of the past will be escaped. 

It is believed that, as the result of the new order of things, India atthe present time has by many millions a larger population than it everhad previously. Mention has been made of the improvement effected inthe Province of Kumaon; and other parts of India present instances ofequally successful administration, but the area of new cultivation hasnot kept pace with the increase of population. It is sad that so many ofthe people should be underfed. In our own country and in Ireland thisquestion of sufficient food for the entire population is one of thepressing difficulties of the day. Much is within the power of peoplethemselves to improve their condition. We know it is so at home, and itis so in India. There, there is a vast body of sturdy beggars, under theguise of religious devotees, who feed on the people. Lending andborrowing go on at a most hurtful rate. If a person finds himselfpossessed of some twenty or thirty rupees, he either puts it into jewelsfor the female members of his family, or lends it at an exorbitant rateof interest. It has sometimes seemed as if creditors and debtorsincluded the entire population. Debt, not by law but by custom, ishereditary, and a man is expected to pay the debts of his grand-parents. Marriage expenses are so heavy, that very often a debt settles down on aman on his marriage day under which he lies till the day of his death. Government has done much to induce leading men to bind themselves to amoderate expenditure on the occasion of marriages, in the hope that theexample might prevent the unreasonable and pernicious profusion of themarriage season. If the habits of the people were changed the pressureof poverty would be greatly lightened. 

[Sidenote: IMPROVEMENT. ]

There is much room for improvement in the incidence of taxation. Theland-tax, we may say the land-rent, is the main source of revenue, butit is alarming to think of dependence on the opium monopoly for themillions it contributes. Intoxicating drugs are largely used in India, and among them opium holds the favourite place. Permission to the peopleto grow and manufacture opium for themselves would be as hurtful aspermission to distil whiskey and gin would be to our country. It isdevoutly to be wished the present system may come to an end, and that inits place a fiscal system be adopted similar to that of England inreference to alcoholic drinks. In reference to spirits, every effortshould be made to discourage their sale, however much the revenue maysuffer in consequence. The salt-tax has been so productive that it hasbeen kept up in a manner which has borne heavily on the people. It hasbeen reduced, and it is hoped that it will be reduced still further. 

Regarding some of the questions at present much discussed, I can onlysay that every friend of India, I may say every friend of justice, mustdesire that the people be largely entrusted with the management of theirown affairs, that local government be encouraged, and every facilitygiven to the admission of natives, so far as they are qualified, intothe rank of administrators. Much is being done in this direction, andstill more will be done in the future. The police has been improved, butit stands much in need of further improvement. 

Happy changes were expected from the assumption by the Queen of thedirect government of India. Progress has been made since that time, butI do not think it is in any large measure owing to the change. For sometime previously increased attention was given to the sanitation oftowns, the improvement of roads, the laying out of market-places, theplanting of public gardens, the building of hospitals, dispensaries, andtown houses. Many wealthy natives, stirred up by magistrates, havecontributed liberally to these improvements. Of late years these workshave been carried on with increasing zeal. In 1877 we saw some of theprincipal towns in Northern India, and were struck with the contrastthey presented to their condition during the early years of ourresidence. The filthiest place in Benares, which almost sickened meevery time I came near it, is now a beautiful garden, with a finetown-house attached to it. The very bulls of Benares have been got ridof. No longer are these brutes encountered in the streets. 

My readers will observe that I am far from agreeing with those whodescribe our rule in India as an unmixed blessing to its inhabitants. Itis undeniable that our rule, because foreign, lies under greatdisadvantages. I am still farther removed from agreement with theextremely pessimist views which are sometimes advanced. The history ofIndia rebuts the assertion that we have acquired our sovereignty mainlyby fraud; and whatever may be said of other parts of India, no oneacquainted with Bengal and the North-Western Provinces can say that hehas there seen "the awful spectacle of a country inhabited only byofficials and peasants. " When one thinks of the atrocious crimes, upheldby religious sanctions, such as suttee and infanticide, which we haveput down in the face of determined opposition and even threats ofrebellion from the most honoured classes of the community, it is strangeto be told that "before we went the people were religious, chaste, sober, compassionate towards the helpless, and patient under suffering, "and that we have corrupted them. We are told that "while we haveconferred considerable advantages, the balance is wofully against us. "As the result of long residence in India, and of reading about India, Ihave come to the conclusion the balance is immensely in our favour. 

[Sidenote: WHENCE IS IMPROVEMENT TO COME?]

All friends of India desire the improvement of its government, and theincreasing welfare of its people. Whence is the improvement to come? Weare told "nothing is to be hoped for from the Indian official class. "From whom is anything to be hoped for? From the Home Government? Theleaders of our political parties have passed measures beneficial toIndia, but they have again and again taken advantage of its helplessnessto impose on it burdens to which it ought not to have been subjected. Are we to look to the people at home for relief? How difficult is it tosecure attention to the subject, or to make them understand it whentheir attention is gained! Are we to look to the non-official class inIndia? I have nothing to say about the Ilbert Jurisdiction Bill, exceptthat while officials have been divided about it, many of the mosteminent being in its favour, non-officials almost to a man have beenbitterly opposed to it. Where I have spent the greater part of my life, nothing has been more common than complaints by Europeans of injusticedone to them by partiality shown to natives at their expense. Are we tolook to the great landholders, bankers, merchants, shopkeepers, andwell-to-do classes in the cities of Bengal and the North-West, who havebenefited most by our rule? What may be expected from them isillustrated by the fact that when the finances were thrown by the Mutinyinto confusion, many protested against an income tax, and some of highposition proposed that the finances should be rectified by an increaseof the salt-tax! In these influential classes there are high-minded andbenevolent individuals, but if we look at them in their collectivecapacity we shall be disappointed. When we look at the long roll ofdistinguished Indian officials, mark their achievements, hear theirprotests against what they deemed hurtful measures, and their advocacyof beneficial changes, I think we find in them India's warmest friends, who have done it the most signal service, and from whom more can beexpected than from any other class. 

There are ample materials for arriving at correct views regarding thecondition of India and the way in which it is governed. No ParliamentaryCommittee, no Royal Commission, is required to elicit the facts. Therecently completed "Gazeteer" of India, in which Dr. Hunter and hisassistants had been engaged for years, furnishes full and reliableinformation. The state of India is described in that imperial work witha frankness and fulness which leave nothing to be desired. If one of ourgreat writers, who has secured the ears of our country, would set to thedrawing up of a volume of moderate size, founded on the "Gazeteer, "showing in a readable interesting form what has been done and what hasbeen left undone, what has been done well and what has been done ill, and if the intelligent people of our country could be induced to give ita careful perusal, untold good would be done both to England and toIndia. Nothing would please Indian officials more than the eye ofEngland being thus fixed on their doings and misdoings, that the wholetruth might be known, and praise and censure be justly distributed, andstill more that the changes most beneficial to the people might beeffected. 

[Sidenote: THE BEST GOVERNORS FOR INDIA. ]

It is undeniable, as already said, that our rule because foreign liesunder great disadvantages. When the ancestors of the present Hinduscrossed the Indus and gradually made their way into the Continent beforethem, they subdued and to a great degree enslaved its inhabitants. Formany a day their rule was foreign. This was also the case with thesuccessive Muhammadan conquerors. Rule founded on the suffrages of thepeople remains to the present day unknown. There is, however, thisdifference between the previous rulers of India and the English, thatthey remained in the country, and gradually became amalgamated with itsinhabitants, while we show no disposition to make India our home. As wedo not, it would be far better if Hindustanees were the rulers ofHindustan, Bengalees of Bengal, the members of other Indian nations oftheir respective nations, provided they were qualified by character, attainments, and the estimate entertained of them by the ruled, with astrong central power to secure order throughout the Continent, whileleaving unfettered the general administration. Towards this idealstrenuous efforts should be directed; but when we look at India as it isnow, with its divergent and antagonistic elements, with the weaknessinduced by ages of superstition and despotism, what a long road has itto travel before it can reach this goal! The question, then, is not whatis absolutely best, but what is practicable. Thus regarded, we are shutup to the continuance of our rule. Every friend of India must desirethat it may be improved in every possible way, so that it may be in anincreasing degree a blessing to its teeming population. 

No one can predict the future of India. Within its borders there aremany who for various reasons would be delighted with our overthrow, while I believe the vast majority in the parts of India I know bestwould deprecate our departure as a dire calamity. It is a notable factthat when our own native soldiers, sworn to uphold our rule, rosefiercely against us, and rebellion in many districts followed in thewake of mutiny, not a single native prince of the highest rank availedhimself of the opportunity to throw off the suzerainty of our Queen. The army of the Prince of Gwalior rose against us, but by doing so theyrebelled against their own sovereign. When in 1877 we were in a nativestate in Rajputana, a gentleman, who knew well the temper of the people, said that if our control was withdrawn the Rajputs and Mahrattas wouldbe at each other's throats in a month. Our army has something better todo than to uphold an alien government. It has to prevent the outbreak ofwar which would desolate India from one end to the other. Happily itsprestige is sufficient to avert this terrible evil, but the prestige canonly continue while the army exists. By the suppression of the Mutinyour prowess was shown in a manner which has made an indelibleimpression. It is scarcely conceivable we can again have to encounter asimilar outbreak, though trouble may come from unanticipated quarters. Our immensely improved means of communication contribute largely to oursecurity. Good government, the conferring of manifest benefits on thepeople, will do more to establish our rule than all other thingscombined. It is obvious to all who have any just conception of ourposition in India, that never was a nation charged with greaterresponsibilities, never was such a tremendous task committed to apeople, and never was there a more urgent call for the highestqualities, if the duties devolving on us are to be worthily discharged. Our Government cannot, and ought not, to undertake its evangelization, but if the work of government be rightly done, it will indirectly, butvery effectually, help the Christian Church in giving the Gospel to themillions of India, which, when accepted by them, will purify and elevatetheir character, improve their condition, and fit them for true, healthy, national life, while securing their spiritual and eternalgood. 

STATISTICS. 

Area of India and British Burma, 1, 495, 574 sq. Miles. Population in1881, 254, 899, 516. 

Under British rule 197, 815, 508Under Native rule 57, 084, 008

Hindus 187, 931, 450Muhammadans 50, 127, 585Buddhists--almost entirely in British Burma 3, 418, 884Sikhs 853, 426Aborigines--mainly Demon worshippers 6, 426, 511

 _Christians_Europeans[4] 142, 000Eurasians 62, 000Protestant Native Christians[5] 492, 882Roman Catholics 865, 643Syrians--about 300, 000 -------- 1, 862, 525Other Creeds not specified 4, 479, 135

The increase of the Native Christian community connected with ProtestantMissions from 1851 to 1861 was 53 per cent. ; from 1861 to 1871, 61 percent. ; and from 1871 to 1881, 86 per cent. The number of communicantsrose from 14, 000 in 1851 to 113, 000 in 1881. Within the last decade thenumber of native ordained agents has risen from 225 to 461; of nativelay preachers from 1, 900 to 2, 400; of native Christian teachers from1, 900 to 3, 400; of native Christian female agents from 800 to 1, 600. Thenumber of male pupils in Mission schools in 1851 was 50, 000; in 1881, 129, 000. The female pupils increased within that period from 11, 000 to56, 000. The increase in Zenana pupils was from 1, 900 in 1871 to 9, 100 in1881. 

[Footnote 4: Including 65, 000 British soldiers. ]

[Footnote 5: Including 75, 510 in British Burma, but not the 35, 708 inCeylon. ]

[Illustration]

UNWIN BROTHERS, THE GRESHAM PRESS, CHILWORTH AND LONDON. 

[Transcriber's Note: The following typographical errors from theoriginal edition have been corrected. 

In Chapter III, in the sentence beginning "Forty-four years haveelapsed" the word "sittting" has been changed to "sitting". 

In Chapter XI, in the sentence beginning "It was my privilege foryears" the word "intineracies" has been changed to "itineracies". 

In Chapter XVII, in the sentence beginning "So great was thedanger" the word "thouands" has been changed to "thousands". 

In Chapter XXII, in the sentence beginning "The Government has nowentered" the word "largerly" has been changed to "largely". 

In Chapter XXV, in the sentence beginning "I am surprised whenChristians speak" the word "achieve" has been inserted between"to" and "full"; in the sentence beginning "I have been confiningmy remarks" the phrase "who his still" has been changed to "who isstill"; and in the sentence beginning "Looking beyond our Benaresmissions" the word "beyound" has been changed to "beyond". 

In Chapter XXVI, in the sentence beginning "It occurred to me" theword "occured" has been changed to "occurred". 

In Chapter XXXI, in the sentence beginning "The great officers ofstate" the phrase "must he highly paid" has been changed to "mustbe highly paid". ]