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Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul fslichd, il est filmd d partir de Tangle sup6rieur gauche, de gauche d droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images n^cessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la m^thode. 1 2 3 32X -. I- 2 3 4 5 6 M:.'."j1DN ...-'Z. Jh.. I \ISBh mn , ^r- *>y5f^i** ' ' 1 - -I 'Vv/Ji ^nf^r '^(^V if'*'^^ v4 ?/^ tffrn^^ \^-j^ M •*li> I ii TH] READER I WILL] mm ftf^ OR THE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN. f^V EDITED BY THE REV. J. J. HALCOMBE, M.A., HEADEU AT CIUUTEniIO0SB, AND EniTOUIAL SE, SECHETAnv TO THE SOCIETY FOR PnO>rOTIX(; CIIRISTIAX K.VOWLEDOB. 80398 $mAm : WILLIAM MACINTOSH, 24, PATBIfflOSTEl! KOW. 1868. ill: W^' I LoNDOX: Friattd by Truscott, Son. & S:nur.oiis, SuColk Lane '.'ly. 01 A ■«1 Million T.irc,'] Jan. 1, IHDH.J MISSION LIFE. 'llilhl 11 ft c ,' 'A nil': STORY OF MY MISSION. fjM (''^''"" Kxti'icts from the jn-ivato Diary of ii Jlis.V.ouurv in Iniliu.) NEir.GiiEnuiE.S; March Is/, 18—. O-DAY must always be remembered as one of the white days of my life. I was taking my usual morning stroll on these lovely hills, -where I have come for a iew M'ccks of relaxation before ; je more serious , duties of ^Mission life begin, uhen I met the postman, and from under a roll of yellow wax. clotb he produced a lettv;r, the seal and handwriting of whieh proclaimed that it was from the Madras (.ommittee. The secretary wrote to say that I had been appointed one of C — 's assistants in the Society's new Mission to the TeUigus. I had for some time been expecting this communication, ^ \j9 and yet it took me by surprise ; I could scarce collect my thoughts; my brain was in a whirl, and I continued my walk to one of my favourite nooks, the wooded summit of a hill where I could rc-pcruse the letter, and think calmly of the future it opened out to me. It was a lovely raoi'ning. It is cold enough on the table-land of these far-famed hills — 'the .Blue Mountain sanatorium of South India — to have frost and ice,, though snow is seldom or never seen. VOL. V. 1 MISSION LIl'K. rMi«iil"ii T.lfe LJuii. 1, llUH. 'riic accncry ia Ijoyoiul description cliiirniinpf : n succession of giTcu hills and viiUcys, with nnnicrons whitc-wallcd liousca and cottaf^cs scattered about; a eliurch in a coinniaiKliii}^ position; a natural depression l)ct\veen two winding hills has hcen taken advantage of to form a lake of {ilcamiii};; water. Everywhere the t;rass is };recn, tlio turf sprin;;y under your feet ; everywhere you see English aiul Indian llora iuteruiixed. Hero by the roadside arc the raspberry, the strawberry (a small nl|)ine variety, delicious in taste and (lavour), the bilberry. Theic, deeper in the wood, is the gorgeous scarlet rhododendron, not as in llngland, a shrub, but a stout tree, from the trunk and limbs of which the gray moss and lichen hang like an old man's tresses. Still deeper, if you will penetrate where a rill of water is trickling down the hillside, and saturating the rich mould foi'mcd by the fallen leaves of centuries, you mtxy lip;ht upon the trcc-fcrii, most beautiful perhaps of all ferns, and I some- times think even of all trees or shrubs ; and this, with the stubborn cane and tall graceful Imniboo, will remind you that you are still in a tropical clirac. I sat down on one of the projecting roots of a tree, and while on the one hand I was able to look down on nearly the whole settlement of O , on the other »idc Mas a scene far more extensive, and under the present circmnstanccs more attractive to myself. The range of the (jhauts here fell sheer away, and opened out a vista through which the plains — tlie/o?/; country as it is called — could be seen stretched out like a map. There they lay 8000 feet below the boundless plains of India, bathed in light, so that they glowed with a ruddy tinge. You could see near fifty miles, some said, of a clear day ; the prospect seemed illimitable, and only melted away in Inzc in the distance. You could sec the heat that was scorching all the low land, while you were safe above enjoying the cool breezes. Though full twenty miles distant at its nearest extremity, yet so near did the vast plain seem, that you could see the patches of cultivation, the green squares of rice fields or sugar plantations; the sun shone on the tanks and lakes of water; the groves of trees and the green crown of the palmyra and cocoa-nut indicated native towns and villages; and there, Miiitlnn Mfi', Jan. I, IhUH. THE STOIIY 01' MV MFSSIO.V. 8 fill- norc ccr low c a of 11 gc. the ic ill all cool ireat ^ould lelils of Jiyra kcrcy strctchiiij^ away like a white ril)!)ou on a hazy curtain of pink t^auzc, WHS tliu road — the high road — that 1 was soon to travel on the way to my Mission. The circumstances \nulcr which this new Mission is ahout to ho ()|)(!ii(;d ar(! rcmarkahle. Tlic Ihij^lish chaplain at ICkkada had hccn led iVoin various causes to expect a f^rcat awakening in the interior of his district. Not among the higher classes, but amongst those who were almost the lowest of the low, village after village was proclaiming itself ready to throw oft' idolatry and to accept (Miristiauity. Especially were they desirous that touchers should he sent to live in their midst, and to teach them the " new doctrine." The chaplain's work among the liUglish residents of lOkkada, the capital town of the district of the same name, prevents him from taking any very great share in ]\Iissionary effort, hut he has found time to make several tours into the iuterioi-, preaching through au interpreter, receiving eaiididatcs for Christian instruction, and even baptising a few families of converts. One of the indica- tions that success is attending his labours is, that he is meeting with au organised opposition in some quarters, and the cry is being raised by the heathen that their religion and their caste is in danger. He has even been ill-treated and driven out of some villages where IJrahminial influence was still powerful. Hut this makes him only the more anxious that the field should be regularly occupied and systematically worked. Mainly through his earnest representations, and the advice of the Arehileacon and other members of the Local Committee, the Society has determined ou undertaking the work, and occupying this new field ; and a grant of, I think, .ClOOO for five years has been made to furnish the sinews and materials of the war. C — has been chosen as the first Missionary. He is young, very eleverj and energetic ; and a stay of some years in the South has given him experience in IMission work. F — ^ and my- self are to be his lay assistants till old enough to be ordained, and sufliciently experienced to take charge of separate districts. We three have known each other for years ; we have been intimately associated in several things, and are united, I trust, ^ MISSION Lll'K. rMission Ihm. 1, : 'Mission Life, , 1SC8. by ties of more timn ordinary fricmlsliip. I can say for myself that ray happiness was increased teafohl, wlien I knew tliat I was to work under C — , and that F — was to be my com- panion. Of our leader C — I will now say no more than that he is a young Missionary of the p^reatest promise ; that he has just been priested at the Bishop's last ordination, and tha'; he alone of three of us possesses some knowledge and experi- ence of tiie work that lies before us — a knowledge acquired during a proliation of four or five years in tlic Tamil ^N'^issions of the South. lie is just twcnty-fivo, but has already known the trials of ^[issionarv life in the loss of his voniig wife and of his only child. F — is twenty, two, and, in addition 'o intcllcctvial powers of a high order, is of a bright and cheerful disposition, has a marvellous way of winning on all persons and ail classes, is hail-felloAV-well-met with cvervbodv, and has a turn for if 'cn- tion and contrivance — "iimminev" we call it — which will make Iiim the jack-of-all-trades of our party. He too has fell; the first heavy Ijlow in life in the death of his father. Of myself I need say nothing more than that 1 am just nineteen, and that the sorrow whieli chastens and elcvat'js, weans from this world and wins one's thoughts to mother, has come to myself also, while on the very threshold of tliis great undertaking, in the sudden death of a much-loved elder brother, whose career at the medical college, begun with the highest promise, was brought to a fad and sudden termi- nation. C — , F — , and myself congratulate each other on the fact, first, that we are to be together ; and, secondly, that we go, not to an old aud Mell-knowu sphere of work, where others have toiled before n;., and boi'ne the burden and heat of the day, but into a field of virgin soil, where everything will be new, and where much of the life before us, and the associations around us, will be wild and romantic. I sat long with the letter in my hand, and thoughts of the future in my heart, in the scorching plains far below at my feet, I could see a specimen of what the sphere of my work would be like in its natural diaracteilstics, for there is a great Mission UfR,"! Jnii. 1, isUtS. J TIIH STORY OF MY MISSION. sanieiioss in Indian scenery, and one part of it is very like another ; and my imagination pictured out the rest. The life in the interior, the Mission hut, the settlement of converts around the Church and its services, the journeys to carry the (rospcl into new quarters, the preachings to crowds of idolaters, the success of our undertaking ; disappointment I never foi* one moment contemplated, defeat was never iuiticipated. At last 1 was going to be a ^Missionary, the wish of my heart for ears was now to be realized — what wjuUl it be like? how would I acquit myself? I thouglit of the first ^Missionary effort it had fallen to my lot to be present at, and the recollec- tion was not very assuring. Four years before, and when quite a lad, I had accompanied a body of ^Missionaries who had determined to take advantage of an immense gathering at one of the Hindu festivals, to preach in the noisy and crowded streets of a great city. The result was very dis- appointing to my ardent, inexperienced wishes. The !Mission- ary party had separated, each speaker was soon surrounded by a little group, but there was little or no preaching, only ques- tioning and co:;troversy — questioning, not to learn, but to nuzzle ; and controversy, not in a fair spirit of inquiry after truth, !)ut on points irrelevant and of little use. Thus a clever young Brahmin, who had been educated no doubt in a jMissiou school, and had read the Bible as a class l)ook, asked those questions on the nature of sin, the origin of evil, &c. &c., which it is very difficult indeed to answer in a general off-hand way; and propounded difficulties in the account of the creation, in the doctrine of the incarnation, in tlie discrepancies .and seeming inconsistencies of our Scriptures, as a set-off against the immoralities and absurdities in the sacred books of the Hindus. No good purpose seemed to be answered ; young as I was I saw that it was an untimely efl'ort : the great stream of feast- goers moved unceasingly on ; if any were attracted it seemed that a sense of the ludicrous more than anything else detained them in the throng around the ^Missionary ; and in the sound of music and the hum of the multitude his words ccmld scarce be heard beyond a yard or two. Sorae tracts were distr." ;uted ; N2 6 MISSION LIFE. [ Miuion Life, Jan. 1, 1868. five minutes after, the torn fragments came fluttering down on the heads of tlie Missionaries, and whitened the streets like flakes of snow. This was my first experience of Missionary cfTort, and the result was disheartening. Oh ! I thought for lungs of brass and the voiee of a trumpet, and the eloquence that can sway multitudes. Oh ! to see one of these men mounted on an elevation, deehiiming with words of power and conviction, while the sea of faces turn to him and drink in the truth. That was m; idea of street-preaching, but alas, " wisdom " doth not always " cry aloud in the streets." To attentive hearers her still small voice is more cflicaeious where two or three are gathered together, than in the busy haunts of men where the multitude are keeping holiday. It will be my lot, I thought, to preach in the highways and byways, in the streets and lanes, in many a lonely little village and hamlet ; what success will attend those efforts? At last I too wa^i going to be a Missionary ; honoured name, and yet by some con!>idered svnonvmous with enthusiast : how much romance gathers round the title ! how many miseoneeptions does it give rise to ! how few arc those who really know what it is to be a Missionary ! I determined, ere I rose from my scat, to resume at once the study of the native language, and to put myself through a regular scries of Missionary exercises and a course of train- ing. If I Avas to be a Missianary, I would l)e an earnest and hea'-ty worker. I would rise early, and take long walks to inure myself to fatigue. I would learn to swim that I might cross rivers as Selwyn does. I could already ride fairly. I would take every occnsion of speaking to the natives around. I would begin work then and there. I Avould , but why prolong the list of my good resolutions? Who that has been in hke circumstances but can understand and appreciate the warm enthusir.stic aspirations that filled me as I sat on one of the peaks of the Blue IMountaius, and looked down on the far-streteliing plains, whither I was soon to descend and com- mence the labour of life ? Ekkada, the chief town of the district we are to work in, and moreover a civil and military station, is to be our place of Hissinn l.ifi ,lim. 1, 1 l.if.-, I THE STOUV OF MY MISSION. rendezvous. Tlicrc it is arranged that wc arc all three of U3 to meet, and complete our arrangements for setting forth into the interior. As soon as the necessary preparations here are over, I shall set out on a journey of near 400 miles, to be accom[)li.shed partly on horseback, partly by dak, and towards its conclusiion, and over the most difficult part of the way, by slow stages in a native cart drawn by bullocks, through a wild and unsettled district with which I am totally unacquainted. March '6lli. — My preparations for the journey and for my future life have been going on vigorously. In tlie first place I have bought a horse, or rather a large-sized country pony, of Mahratta breed ; it stands about fifteen hands, is of a dark cream colour, and has al)out as much vice and ob- stinacy as ever quadruped possessed. Ilis appearance is ungainly, his motions arc rough^ and not unlike those of a camel ; his mouth is as hard us a brick ; he shies, bolts, kicks, and rears ; but not- withstaudinjr all this, is strong and likelv to be serviceable. F — and myself clubbed together in purchasing him, and arc to use him alternately, as the need of our work may demand. This arrangement is necessary, as wc are not yet prepared to meet the expense of purchasing and keeping each a horse for himself: and though it mav seem cxtraordinarv, vet he and I have always been accustomed to such partnership. On this occasion I have the advantage. I have been accustomed to riding from boyhood, and do not anticipate much difficulty in the management of our new steed ; but horsemanship is one of the few things in which F — docs not excel, never having bestridden a horse till of late, arid I anticipate disagreement between Tartar and his other master — fallings out and fallings oif. Wc call him " Tartar " partly as a pleasant pun on his colour, iuul to enable us sometimes to style him " Cream of Tartar," but also to express our sad misgivings that in pur- chasing him we have, according to the proverb, " caught a Tartar." A horsekecper has also been engaged, and his wife will serve as grass-cutter. I am to paj' the former eight, and the latter four rupees. Where fodder and green food for cattle is, as in most parts of India, hard to be got, it is necessary to \ MISSION LIFE. [ Mission Life Jan. 1, l»Cb' retain a servant regularly to seek and procure green grass. The wife of the horsckeepcr, or some friend of his, is generally entertained for this purpose. Early in the morning she sets out with a hoe or spade, and a net or hasket ; in the fields, by the roadside, and almost everywhere the coueh grass (or root- grass as it is more commonly termed, the spreading roots partly buried in the ground being very sweet and nutritious) may he found ; when a certain quantity has been procured, it must be v/ashed in some running stream before it is fit for food. It is wonderful how, even on the line of march, the grass-cutter will not fail of an evening to return home, tired and footsore perhaps, but with her store of this wholesome grass, of which horses are passionately fond. One other servant completes my retinue — the very smallest establishment certainly that a man in India can get on with. This is a cook, valet or dubash, and general manager. He is expected to take care of all my things ; he is ready to put on a button, or to give out supplies. He will bring a cup of tea or coffee to my bedside of a morn- ing before I am well awake. If I allow his services he will half dress me in ray sleep. He prepares my breakfast or dinner, serves it, and waits at table clean and attentive. On a journey he goes on beforehand, [and sees that my tent is struck or pitched, and, though he may have walked the ten or twelve miles that I have ridden, yet when I come up to the camp, I find everything in order, and perhaps a well-prepared meal awaiting me. I have bought a tent of modest dimensions, certainly not more than ten feet square ; this is to house and shelter three persons, A pole in the centre supports its sloping roof of canvas, and the walls are formed of the same material, but stiffened out by having ribs of bamboo inserted at intervals; these walls, or khanats, may in a few seconds be rolled \ip into a very small compass ; the roof, with its cords, pegs, &c., forms a somewhat larger and more irregular package, and the whole may be carried by two men, or by an ox if necessary. As to other baggage, I have a camp cot, chair, and table, all con- structed so as to fold and take up as little room as possible, and to admit of being carried about from place to place. I k J' •,1 III ki 5 III i« k 'n I ^ [Mmsioii h^le, JdHiiiiri/ 1, lh(h. A PARSEB FIEE-WOKSHirPEB AND HER SON. (From a Vhotograph). Missinti liife,"] Jan. 1, IbGb.J THE STORY OF MY MISSION. 9 Thus tiie cot consists of nothing more tliau two X shaped trestles with a couple of yards of canvas tightly stretched between ; a quilt, a pillow, and a couple of sheets suffice for bed clothes, and a hoard of. teak wood resting in like manner on a pair of trestles forms the table. Two cuvadi boxes of tin hold all that I shall carry about in the way of clothes, books, &c. Cavadl boxes arc peculiar I think to India, and derive their name from the way in which they arc carried, i.e. slung at each end of a stout bamboo, whicli is borne upon the shoulders. This mode of conveyance is not common to all Indian carriers ; as a rule a burden is carried on the head, but there arc some trained and accustomed to the use of the cavadl, and they transport with seeming case double the weight that others can carry. Each box is of block tin, painted green, about two feet in "width, and a foot deep, but the cover is shaped like a pyramid, as well to hold more, as enable the rain to run oft'; lifty-two pounds in each box is what a man is su2)posed to carry. As our future is so uncertain, it has been decided that for the present each brings "with him as little as possible — little more, in short, than his own wardrobe ; but this, from peculiar circumstances of climate, &c., is somewhat more extensive than would be deemed necessary in England. Where black broad- cloth is exchanged for white drill trousers and light cotton jackets of the same colour, or brown hoUand coats, one is obliged to have a dozen or two of each article of clothing instead of just two or three suits; and in a hot climate a far greater amount of linen is absolutely necessary. The con- ventional idea of a ^Missionary, as represented in the pictures of Missionary publications, is that of an individual iu black garments of ultra-clerical cut, with a " chimney-pot " hat on his head, and a book under his .irm. The reality is very different indeed : all in white, save the waistcoat, which is allowed to retain its sfible hue, though the material is alpaca, or some light stuff, and a black felt hat with white pvgre or turban round it ; this is the working costume, not merely of Missionaries, but of almost all classes in India, collectors and judges, magistrates and bankers, indigo factors and cotton 5 I 1. » h M 10 MISSION LIFK. [ Mission Ijire, Jnu. 1, 18(i8. brokers. As to that useless, ungainly abomination, tlio black hat, save in the presidency towns, it is getting day by day more and more luiconmion, and in the interior is never seen. I shall never forget the stir and e.\eitcment produced in a quiet Inth'aii village where one of our party for the first time donned this curious head-dress. An earthquake could hardly have excited greater commotion ; quiet respectful village elders turned away to hide their laughter ; women stopped in their occupation to gaze spellbound ; infants clung in scared amaze- ment to their mothers' nocks, and opened their great black eyes to the full to take in the spectacle ; little boys and girls ran on in front and tu.-ncd to gaze their full, and then ran forward for another sight, and looked at one another in silence as though to say, " Did you ever sec anything like that ?" Never again did the unfortunate wearer venture to exhibit this speci- men of European taste and civilization. The stock of books I am carrying with me is very small indeed, and I am saved the trouble of procuring anything in the way of crockery, glass, and kitchen utensils. We are to keep house (when we get a house) together, and C — will supply all that is necessary in this respect. But as it will bo of im- portance, when making Missionary tours in the int( rior, to have everything in the smallest compass, and so contrive as to save trouble and delay in package, I have got two little cases of great use. One is what is called a travelling canteen, i.e. a small box containing a few plates, knife, fork, and spoon, bottle and goblet ; the other is a tin box, some ten itichcs square, with four compartments, each containing enough of tea, coffee, sugar, and wheat flour for chappaties or damper, to last for a month or six weeks. There is one more package I must mention, because I suppose it finds its place in the trunk of every traveller in India, and that is a phial of quinine. Other medicines you may dispense with ; this you ■will be sure to need, if not for yourself, most probably for your servants. All who lead a wandering, unsettled life, and take their servants about with them, or have camp followers, have to lay in a considerable stock of this invaluable medicine as a febrifuge. Hardy as native servants are in some respects^ in MjisiMii Lire,"] Jau. 1, Ibett.J THE STUllY or MY MISSION. 11 others they arc very liable to sickness. They arc partinuhxrly susceptible to eliango of water ; you seldom hear it said, " the climate does inA, aj^rce with me ;" it is always, " the ?/;«/('r docs not suit my constitution ;" and when the water is bad, fever among your followers is the result, and quinine must be given with an unsparing hand. But quinine is no cheap or common medicine ; on the other hand, it is very expensive; perliaps that little phial with its few ounces of white powder, which I stow away so carefully in one corner of my tin box, is the most valualjle thing the box contains. I trust, however, that it will be some time before its services arc put into requisition. March 'iOlh. — I have been writing to several parties to aid me in the necessary arrangements for my journey : to the d(i/( or transit company's agents to secure a passage as far as their line runs in the direction I travel ; and to the collectors of the various districts through which I must pass, in order that bullocks may be posted to draw my cart from one stage to anotlier. My horse will carry me down the f//iat or the mountain-passes to the low country ; this will be a long but I anticipate very pleasant ride of twenty or thirty miles, every inch of the road dovn hill, but amid the most grand and lovely ocenery. At the foot of the hills I leave the horse to come on with its keeper by slow stages to Ekkada, while I perform the same journey by post. I shall be carried along the great trunk road leading to Madras, a distance of some 250 miles, by a transit company, iii one of their carriages drawn by bullocks relieved at regular intervals. This will be the easiest part of my journey, and my servant will accompany me, sitting on the box wifh the driver, or at the foot of the eonvcvance, which is so constructed that vou can lie at length within on a mattress ; and if you have a stock of provisions, you may travel day and night without stopping. When, however, I sliall have to branch oft' from the high road, and take the route (I can- not call it a road) to Ekkada, then will my troubles begin : a track not often travelled over ; no regular system of posting and conveyance as hitherto ; none of those facilities for locomo- tion, as guides, porters, rest houses, which one enjoys on the great trunk roads ; no mode of obtaining provisions ; some even \ S 4' i 'i' It it ^iX '> * , « 3 12 MISSION LIFE. [ Miminn t/if«, Jiiii. 1, 18US. spcnk of danger i:i the way of tliicvcs, &c., but I do not attach much weight to that ; I shall prove a very poor booty ! As the time draws near for leaving, for an indefinite period, these hills, where 1 have been so happy, and where all home influences in the way of parents, brothers and sisters, and friends, have so long centred (for there is qtiitc a little colony of English settlers and residents here), I begin to feel that the separation will be more painful than I had first antici- pated. There is a great difierence between the life on the breezy sunmiits of these glorious mountains and the languid existence in the scorching plains below, that one may well dread the transition from health and vigour and enjoyment, to discomfort of body and comparative inactivity of mind ; yet, if ever the thought of oijc's culUiuj can raise the mind above such considerations, it ought in the case of the ^Lissionary. IIow much more have otiicrs denied themselves — how much more endured ! I shall indeed look back on the blue range of these mountains, as they sink in the horizon with every mile of my journey on the plains, with as wistful a gaze as other Missionaries have watched the white cliff's of England dip out of sight into the sea ; but for them, as for myself, is the com- forting promise of receiving a hundredfold for each individual act of toil and self-denial, and " Not oiijoynicnt and not sorrow, is our dostlnpil oml or wny, Ilut to work, tlmt each to-morrow lind us I'urther thiiu to-day." {To he continued.') INDIAN MISSIONS.* (By Sir William Burton, late Puisne Justice of Madras.) CAN write and say much concerning the success of the Gospel in India from ocular experience. The difficulty is where to begin, so I commeucc at the beginning. The first introduction I had to the system of religious * Written at tlio request of the Rev. C. Spencer, with a view to its being read at a local meeting, and now published by permission of the writer. Mitaion Mrp.l Jim. I. Isllh.J INDIAN MISSIONS. 18 education in India was nt tlio iiistitntiou of tlioso excellent men, ;N[issioiinric.s of the Free (yJinrch of Scotland, wlicre njnvards of 700 pupils were in dinVrcnt stages of learning, the highest in the preparation of young luon for their ministry, and, in all, wisely and faithfully eoiiductcul. I knew three of these trained teachers who went forth from them to preach the (Jospel to the natives, and those pupils, not merely from the lower orders, hut from the IJriihmiuical order. One of these has preached Avith acceptance in Scot- land. I sent n servant's child to this institution at six years of age, and myself witnessed her haptism, her confirmation, and lastly, her marriage to a young Brahmin Christian, she herself heing of the lowest caste of Pariahs. I was frequently called npou, sometimes alone, at others assisted by my hrother judges, to examine into the system pursued in the conversion of these young people, when their Hindoo relatives would have taken them out of the protection of their instructors, and reduced them again to idolatrj'. Several such instances came before me, during a course of thirteen years, and I invariably found the young neophytes (ranging even so low as twelve to fourteen ycrs) were in- structed in the principles of the Christian faith, apparently sincere in their belief, resolute in their conduct, as were many equally young martyrs in the earliest Christian times, whom I considered entitled to receive the protection of the court against their idolatrous relatives. I remained long enough in India to see young people thus protected, happy mothers of Christian families. One instance I may particularly mention. Strenarasa, a Brahmin of high order, married to a heathen wife, became converted under the ministration of a clergyman of the Church of England, to the Christian faith, his wife remaining a heathen. Lady Burton and I witnessed his baptism (saw him remove his Brahmiuical thread, that mysterious symbol of more than we know of in their faith) ; wc saw him lay it down as a sacrifice before the baptismal water was poured upon his head. The same young man applied to me afterwards for a writ, calling upon the rela- ! l: I 5 i^^) 9 i im I ' I > t 9 )1 MISSION LliK. 'Mlminii I, iff, Jiui. 1, iHdh. tivcs of liis wifi', wlio liail separated licr entirely from his intercourse, for a restitution of his conjugal rijjhts, and I de- creed aeeordiuf^Iy after low^ adverse ar;^unient. ^ly decision was afterwards attempted to be set aside by a new huit before tlic full court, when the wife met the commissioners of tho court, sent to inquire into his state of mind conccrnin}» the transaction, and taiiiufc her statement, that she was liappy in the eoiiipaiiy of her husband, and bejxfjcd not to be interfered uilh in that rcspcjet, ami especially desired theuj to tell the court how f^ratcfuUy she felt to Sir "William Burton for sending her back to him. AVhen MC left India, they ^^crc livini; happily toj^ctlier, and liad luueheon with us wluii thev called to ^av " {rood i)ve. ''••'■ 1 could collcet many incidents of similar character ; these may sufliec on that part of the subject. The success of the Protestant conversions by the two great societies of the Church in Soulhern India is undeniable, in the fact that whole villages are now entirely Christian which were lilled with devil worshippers ; that they are as orderly and well beliaved as country villages in i^ugland ; that they all give largely of their small substance to the support of their churches; that they have JNlissionary societies of their own, in which thev subscribe for, and send forth catcchists and teachers to neighbouring heathen villages, thus freely commu- nicating to their heathen brethren of the blessing which has been given to them ; tliis again is but one instance of many. It would take me long to write liow much there is of the same spirit of progress in and about Madras, Calcutta, and Bombay, and every Missionary station, but you ask for parti- cidar instances of individuals of the higher ranks who have embraced Christianity. These have been few in comparison with the seed sown, but they arc many when we consider how great are the trials which an educated Hindoo has to overcome iu embracing the Christian faith. He is a Biahmin of the highest order ; belongs to a wealthy family, and has been edu- cated in all the wisdom of the west, save the highest, but has * Philip Andrew Strccnavni:a is now a E^nvcrnnicnt oflirial in an import.^nt jiositlon, and is respected by the heatlien and Christian of his district. Mmiinn [.ifi!,1 Jan. l.lhliH.J INDIAN MISSIONS. l.> been led bv circumstances Konictimcs cxtcrnnl, sometimes from witliiii, to read tlic (Jliristiim's book of the Word of (Jod; and Ilia simple rending, it may be, not nnnssistcd l)y much of |ji\stcrn liiiowleilj^c in its chicicbition, be rises from its perusal ii convert to the Cbristiau faith ; but lie has to cncouutcr tlie Ijccomiuf; an outcast from family and friends, repudiated from the community from wldcb he is now separated, and by no means reeeivinj^ an equivalent in his reception by our members. lie loses his patrimony and all for his relif^ion. Those Avho have been baptized under these circiunstanees, have had to endure all this and more. There have been many of less mark, but none whose case has l)een more remarkable than those of ]\lessrs. Banarjca, Tagore, and the J)utts. Banarjea was more than five and twenty years ago baptized l)y the celebrated Missionary Dr. Dull", and in due process of time took orders in the Ciiureh of ICuglaiul, and hud cluir'^e of a parish for many years in the neighbourhood of Calcutta. But his learning and abilities recommended him to the higher ofTiee of Professor of Bishop's College, ('alcutta, \/hieh he now fdls. lie has written several most eonviueing works, addressed to his countrymen, on the fallacies of the Hindoo j-eligion, and he himself stands firm amidst a sea of trials, in his con- fession of faith. I look upon Krislina Banarjea as the great exemplar of native conversion in India.* Mr. Tagore, of whom you rccpure particulars, wa*?, as well as Mr. Banarjea, personally known to me. Jle, too, was of the highest Brahmin order, having been educated in the Hindoo College at Calcutta, from which all religious instruction was excluded. He sought himself, and with the assistance of his friend iMr. Banarjea, in the Bible. And when I (irst became acquainted with him, his mind was in that unsettled «tiite which I have indicated, the contest Ijctwcen the world and his con- viction, and I had much friendly reasoning with him on the subject, showing the extreme danger of his state unless he at once made an open avowal of his faith. He was married, too, * Oil Uic '^oath of IVishop Cotton Pmfossor Htiiiarjivi was appointed bv the •.ynilicate to succeed him us President of the Faculty ot Arts of the University of Calcutta. t n ii 9 ^B 10 MISSION LIFE. rMissinn Life, , 1808. and liis Avifc had become from his teaching, and the little books that he brought her, according to her light a sincere believer, but Avith a true woman's heart, believing, and, where she had placed her truit, resolute and nnfcaring. lie has told me af^iain and again she has cried out in the night " we botli believe, wc arc rich enough ; why are wc not baptized V Both were young ; he not more than twenty, she but fifteen. Lady Burton and her sister visited her, and were much charmed witli her simplicity and nice feelings. She produced her Bible and hymn books from under her pillow, and said, " See, here arc my treasures." Miss AYcst sang a little air for her, Avith which she was much ])leased, and in return she gave Lady Burton a little poem of her own composition, translated by her husband. Wc left Calcutta, and she soon after sickened and died, so suddenly as not to give time for a minister of religion to attend to her ; but she died in faith, and her death set the seal to her husband's resolution, and he, too, was baptized, but an outcast from his family, a very wealthy one, and disinherited. But having received an excellent education, ho came to ]iUg- hind, studied tlie jurisprudence of this countiy, and was called to the bar, and returned to India entitled to practice as such before the supreme court of his country ; and I trust in him will be found a defender and upholder of all those whose rights have been cruellv taken from them as from himself, bv the worldly policy pursued towards Christian converts. Professor Tagore now stands in this position at Calcutta — a wealthy babdo. His father is a member of the council of the government, such measure of justice is at present dealt to each. It would faiigue you if T were to write more ; a week would hardly suffice for the full subject. I will, therefore, no longer tax my own amanuensis, or your patience, but conclude with my hearty wishes for the success of your Mission, that you all may be animated by that spirit which I am happy to believe does animate those engaged in the same work in India. Mission T.ife, | Jiin. 1,1808. J l.KAxKS FROM A SETTLERS DIARY, 17 LEAVES. FRO^r A SETTLEJl'S DIARY. on, TIIllKE YEARS IN QUEENSI-A\D. {Continued from vol. iv, page 107.) CHAPTER Vir. Dahung Downs ; April 8lh, 186G. IF ever 1 hail a roving disposition this late journey has exhausted it, and now I am quite ready to leave ti-avclling for those who have not tried it. I am iLi;ovcriug my strcnsith, hut that luckless journey took a good deal out of mo. Happily they had almost com- pleted the mustering when we returned, so that wc shall have 110 hard work until shearing, and wc arc all looking forward with pleasure to the approaching winter, for the summer was over- poweriiigly hot. Wc have been rather gay at the station lately, as some young ladies have been visiting there who were very musical, \OL. V. 2 ft i ti III 4 I* u 9 i r 18 MISSION LIFE. [ Mission Liff, Jan. 1, 1868. and pic-nics, &c., were inaugurated for their amusement, very much to the satisfaction of the other participants. We get on very well with the other " chums ;" it does not answer to be at loggerheads with one's neighbour in the bushj — the circle of acqurJntancc is too limited for such diversions. I am happy to tell you my salary is raised to £00 per annum, and P. is also engaged at £40, so that will speak for itself as to his efficiency. You will have heard that B. with his wife and child arc on their way home — the wisest thing he could do. They would never have succeeded here, and tlie establisliment of the boarding house proposed would have required capital, and have been a risk to a certain extent. This case ought to be a warning to deter others similarly situated from risking their fate in any undertaking on the strength of statements made by interested parties. I wish we could have sent some remembrance of your " bush boys,'' but I did not hear of these plans in time to enable me to do so. Although we had rain to spare in the north, the season here has been very dry ; very little rain has fallen since October, and botli grass and water are very scarce. There is again a great hue and cry about pleuro-pncumonia. A team of bullocks passing through this run a few days since were reported as diseased, and on inspection this proved to be true; so two of the worst cases were shot. We had also to shoot a very line imported bull, worth £300, last week. He was only six years old, but was worn to a skeleton with tubercular consumption. This disease very commonly attacks animals imported into this country, and I know no other assignable cause than the extremes of temperature — certainly it may be in the blood to some extent. As we arc not otherwise occu- pied, we are now going over the run, shooting an}' useless beasts, such as those aillietcd with consumption, or having broken or dislocated legs. We had a grand day's shooting ycsterdaj', and killed four emus, and six full grown kangaroos, and the day before we brought home eighteen ducks. We have now an liarmonium at the house, and have the chants in the service, and an accompaniment to the hymns. The notorious bubhranf.er, " Macphcrson," alias " the Wild Missinn lAk; Jan. 1, 1808. LEAVES niOM A SETTLER'S DTAllY. 19 Scotchman," is captnrcd at length ; but it is not improbable he will escape again, as he did once before. His father workod on this station for some years, and he used to be a shepherd here when a boy. The (lovernor of Queensland has issued an order for a day of humiliation and prayer for rain, on Friday, 13th instant. Tlie Brisbane river has ceased to run in two or three places in this neighbourhood, and creeks which have never before been known to fail, are now drv. Cattle arc dying all round Brisbane and Ipswich of sheer starvation. April 23rd, 18GG.- Since I wrote we have had three or four days' rain, which has started the grass nicely, and we are now sure of a fair supply through the winter. Tiicre ought to be a day of public thanksgiving, and surely the governor will issue an order to tliat cH'cct. There is a great deal of sick- ness in Brisbane; owing to the badness and scarcity of water. It is a sort of low fever, which they term colonial fever ; it carries off great numbers. It appears to be epidemic, but not contagious. The medical men do not seem to understand it, and I heard on reliable authority that half its victims die of extreme exhaustion, for want of proper nourishment and stimulants. The doctors universally prescribe starvation as a curative measure, \^thout regard to the constitution of the patient, and certainly this treatment kills more than it cares. The medical profession seems to be anythin;'^ but well repre- sented in this colony, as a rule, and I should be sorry to fall into the hands of any practitioner I have yet seen. The German practitioners seem the best. There is a very clever man at Nanango, but with the great distances he must travel, his influence cannot be extensive. The squatters arc in a great state of excitement just now, as the Government arc assessing all the runs afresh as the leases fall due for renewal, and the assessment is much higher than heretofore. The Government arc also planning and laying out large tracts of land for agricultural reserve in the very heart of the runs, much to the disgu-;t of the ocoupicrs. Fortunately we have escaped, as tiie ror.d was dcscril)ed by the surveyor to be so bad as to debar free access to the towns. 20 MISSION LIFE. [ Mission Life, Juii. 1, 1868. It is a curious fact that though both houses of Legishiture arc composed almost exclusively of squatters, that class seem to be getting the worst of it in the present pressure for money for Government purposes. The railways arc not doing well, and Government is stopping the works; they have enough to do to pay the interest on money already borrowed, without increasing their debt. Several capitalists are now going in for sugar planting, but, as the expenses of plants are enor- mous, none but large capitalists can attempt it. One in Bris- bane has just purchased some plantations from a company, and has sent home for £5000 worth of machinery for prepar- ing, crushing, and refining the cane, or sugjir, or something of that sort. An overseer will be appointed at £G0 a year to superintend the management of the jjlantation of 100 acres. We are anxious to know how the new system of curing meat for the English market is likely to answer ; if the meat keeps and sells readily in England, it will greatly enhance the value of fat stock in this country. We are going to try at the station to salt the meat for rations, and if we find it prac- ticable, the saving of labour will be great, as the present system of salting by hand rubbing is very troublesome in a climate where the process must be concluded immediately after death. The proposed process is this. A strong solution of brine is prepared, and the beast having been shot, is laid on his Ijack, and an opening made in the body through the brisket to get access to the heart ; a tube is then inserted into the ventricles of the heart, and pure water pumped in, so us to circulate through the veins and clear them of blood. V»'hcn the blood appears to be thoroughly expelled from the body, brine is substituted for the water, and is allowed to remain in the veins for five or ten minutes, when the meat will be found to be thoroughly salted. The beast is then skinned and cut up as usual. It is said that the hide also when taken off is found to be perfectly cured. The process as described appears suflficicntly simple, but whether or not it will answer is quite another affair. It has been objected by anatomists that it is imposssible the meat can be preserved in that mode without the aid of steam pressure, as the proposed mode of salting Mission life,") Jan. 1, 18C8.J LEAVES FROM A SETTLER'S DIARY. 21 presupposes the absorption of the brine into the tissues, whereas it is well known that as soon as life is extinet all power of absorptioji is at an end. How then ean the salt penetrate the substance of the mer „ ; We shall see. Wc have a pleasant addition to our circle in a visit from one of the neighbouring proprietors. lie is a very pleasant man, but has a predilection for driving four in hand at full tilt through the bush in so reckless a manner, that it makes one shudder to Avitncss it. He raves at his horses a good deal too, this being the approved mode of driving four in hand in Australia. He is however a most agreeable man, and much liked in the neighbourhood. He has been twenty-eight years in Australia without once leaving it. April 27th, 186G. — Wc have had our hands full of business, and are likely to be kept busy for some time to come. Our proprietor has sold 750 head of cattle to various Brisbane butchers, and they are coming for them pretty quickly, so they have all to be got in. We have already sent away two mobs of 120 this week, and another man has arrived to-night to fetch sixty more, so we shall not be idle to-morrow, at any rate. I have been out this afternoon measuring a new line of fences, four miles. It is surprising how one gets out of the way of walking in this country, where no one who has a horse, and there are but very few who have not one or more, thinks of exceeding a distance of a quarter of a mile on foot. I am more knocked up after this four miles' walk than if I had ridden seventy. The utmost I have ever walked in this colony was eight miles on one occasion. So people complain that the colonics absorb all the domestic servants ; certainly, they are not the best who come out here, and housekeepers from the old country do not rid themselves of that trouble by coming here. Human nature is much the same both sides of the equator. It is remarkable, for instance, in a station like this, what an extraordinary number of jobs the carpenter has to do in the house, and the amount of time consumed in the said " seeing to." Then there are the water carrier, gardener, blacksmith, &c., all constant visitants in or about the kitchen. Then if it is your misfortune to have a Ml 3 i -I ! ID D Y- t S t 9 22 MISSION LIFE. [ Mission Life, Jan. 1, 180U. female servant who lias a brother cmploycil on the station, you need not expect much work, or attendance in the evening, as, of course, said brother comes np to sec his sister regularly, and, of course, he brings his intimate friend, Dick, Tom, or Harry with him, .nnd they sit and smoke their pipes quite comfortably iu your kitchen, whilst you in the parlour are perhaps wondering " whatever makes that dear child cry so?" — said •' dear child'' being in all probability crying for his nurse, who meanwhile is quietly seated talking " sweet nothings " to her brother's friend, or coaxing his delicate appetite with a slice off the " roast," helped down by your pickles and sauces. Then when you have quite fashioned a servant to your liking, and she is getting useful, one of the "hands" makes her an od'cr of marriage, and so you lose your prodigy, and have to go through the same trouble with another raw country girl, with the disheartening feel- ing that she is sure to follow in the steps of her predecessor. May lOl/i, 18GG. — Wc have every prospect of a wet winter, altliough up to this date the rain docs not conic down kindly. I' — and 1 are now working together, having charge of a portion of the run with about 2000 head of cattle upon it, chiefly the thoroughbred stock and young cattle, so that at present our time is occupied, but we shall soon be more slack until shearing and lambing eommcnces. I often wish I could send home some natural curiosities, nor do I despair of doing so yet ; but for the last year ray constant wanderings have rendered it impracticable. Still I have got together a few shells and insects, and liope to add to them. The excessive heat" is a great impediment to the study of natural history in this colony ; in the summer months the heat is so ener- vating, and the work of each day exhausts all one's power of exertion. This part of the country is at present overrun with emus, bustards, kangaroos, and dingoes, driven, over here from the downs by the great scarcity of water. The dingoes have been more destructive lately than for some years past, and we arc now endeavouring to poison them to a large extent. This ia an essential operation in sheep farming, especially when the sheep are iu paddocks. V. is doing this on one side of the run, and I am similarly occupied ou the other. Mission Tiif(i, I J»n. 1, 18G8. J LEAVES FROM A SETTLER's DIARY. 28 This poisoning is done with strychnine; the mentis satu- rated with it, and then n small liolo is dug in the ground in which the bait is laid, and covered up with leaves. The wild dogs are attracted by the scent, and soon (ind and eat it, remaining at the hole scratching to find more until the poison takes cfl'cct, when they retreat and die. JJut if it is wished to obtain the skin, it is usual to tie some object, such as an old boot, &c,, just above the concealed bait, which induces the dog to fix his eye on it, and he dies on the spot. This work is obliged to be done by trustworthy persons, as half the men you could hire for the purpose Avould sleep away their time, and there is no means of checking them. You must take their Avord as to the amount of baits they have laid. A reward of a quarter of a pound of tobacco is given to any one killing a dingoe without the aid of poison, but this is rarely claimed, and indeed unless killed with the dogs, it is not easv to destroy them. I wish I could get you a photograph of the stockmen bring- ing in a i.irge mob of cattle at mustering time. It really is an imposi'.g sight to see the drovers coming off the hills on to a plain, the men behind driving and guiding them, and all the dogs following the horsemen. Perhaps some day a travelling photographer may enable me to do this, but that art is very badly represented out here, and I think it might even pay a man to learn to photograph well before coming out, if he could ensure keeping his chemicals free from damp in the floods. P — has had an awkward accident while draughting cattle ; one of the beasts made a rush at him, and getting out of his way through the stockyard-gate his hand jammed in the gate, which he did not dare open, as his enemy was on the other side and could not be removed by blows. At length one of the men took out his knife and pierced it through the skin, and thus effected a diversion, and happily only the fore-finger was seriously injured. June Idth, 18GG. — Winter is closing in upon us very fast now and the days are getting very short, although the days are still hot, but the nights are extremely cold. The wild cattle and horses have been coming down in large droves out of the mountains in quest of water, but it has now been ^ a; y) "2: k 1 »i 1 ' H m I I 24 MISSION LIKE. [ MiiHi'dii I,lfr, Jim. 1, \m>t raining hard for five days and nights. TIic " Stanley" is up, and as the mail man comes by that route he has got " baled up" at Mount Brisbane, and wc shall send our letters for the next mail by a man who is here to-night and is going down to Ipswich by another route avoiding the " Stanley." The " Brisbane" is not out yet. The mail man is not allowed to risk the safety of the mails by swimming flooded rivers. July 8th, 18GG. — AVc are fretting an unpleasantly mild winter, with a very trifling amount of frost. The fruit-trees are already blossoming, but probably we shall have the cold weather later on in the season. The rain did not come to much after all, and the ground is as dry as ever, but water- lioles and streams got filled up a good deal. Poultry-keeping is a favourite hobby of ladies in this country, and especially in the bush, where it aff'ords amusing occupa- tion. We have an e.vtcjisivc poultry-yard here, and all sorts of fowls seem to thrive well. The boys also have rabbits and pigeons, which gives the place a home-like appearance. We hear sad accounts from the towns of the frightful amount of destitution and poverty consequent on the excess of arrivals of emigrants, and the suspension of the Ciovernmcnt works. In some parts the Government stores have been broken into, and there is reason to fear that starvation led to the outrage. The towns arc overstocked with labourers, and in the interior it is the aim of the squatters to carry on their station work with the least possible outlay, and to employ no more hands than are necessa/y for the bare management of the sheep or catllc. As to employing labour on improvements in the form of paddocks, wells, cultivation, &c., &c., such a thing is never dreamt of, nor will it ever be entered into f/eneraUi/ until the Government make some material alteration in the Land Bills. At present leases are only granted for five years, at the expira- tion of which time a man is liable to have his run taken from him, with a merely nominal allowance for any improvements he may have made. The squatters and tradespeople are natu- rally in favour of increased emigration, because it must tend to reduce the price of labour, but while all necessary supplies continue at a high price it must entail a daily iucreas- im Its Ics I S !: 1. I the fo 'A *; ■ K •O ■ wages MISSION LIFE. [Minion l.ifr, LJui. 1, IbtlH. ill its trnin, tlio devotion smd kindness of this little Christian ))an> Mv. Stern's sojourn in Arabia the Happy and his journey homo were full of dangers and hardships ; and yet, so deeply did ho cling to his ailiiclcd people there, so much was his heart knit to them, that he dcscril)cs the happiness he felt in the Jid'cctionatc warmth of their farewell as the greatest he had ever known iu his Missionary career. lu the spring of I ''57 !Mr. Stern returned to I'jUglaud, after fourteen years of unwirjuricd hibour, chiefly in untried ground. Afterwards, going back ;,. Constantinople, he was requested in 1S.")5) to undertake a ion to the Falashas, or Jews in Al)y^sinia. To this land — destined to become so eventful to him — he accordingly proceeded in the autumn of the same year, aceonii)anicd by Mr. Bronkhorst, a fellow worker from the Society. They, too, had their difliculties about penetrating the interior ; they, too, wished to enter from Massowah, but they found it impossible, owing to the great northern province of Tigre being in the Abyssinian normal condition of turmoil. Even then some j)art of the country was always in a state of fermentation, and King Theodore ruled with the sword and not the olive branch. Of this man, who at present holds such a prominent place iu our interest, this may be the time to speak. There can be no (picstion that his is a remarkable character, or that the character once contained the promise of much that is noble ; and though uncontrolled passions have so gained the dominion over him that self-will has turned to fury, and impetuosity to cruelty, we must, nevertheless, be impartial in our judgment, not neglecting to take into consideration the unlimited despotic power which has been his share. No one who is ac- quainted with his history can fail to acknowledge that he has done great things. The father of King Theodore, or Tedros — whichever we like to call him — was a petty Amharic chieftain, said to have royal 5 u I i i 5 I i Si ' * I 28 MISSION LIFE. [ Mission Life, Jan. 1, l»a». blood in his veins, but in no other Avay raised above his neigh- bours. Driven to wreteheduess and poverty by his death, the mother of the young lad, whose name was then Kasa, placed her son in a convent, and supported herself by selling kosso, an Abyssinian drug. The convent was harried and burnt, but the boy with great difficulty managed to escape to a fort which belonged to an uncle, a more powerful chieftain than his father had ever been. Here he found a wild life exactly suited to his taste, with plenty of fighting and hard knocks, and a fair amount of glory to be gained ; and, as might be expected, he became a prodigious favourite with the soldiers. Before long, however, this nuele died ; his sons quarrelled, and another chieftain seized the province. Again Kasa had to flee for his life, and, like other heroes, owed his preservation to a poor man, who hid him for some time in his hut. He did not forget his benefactor. Years afterwards, when Kasa was powerful, this poor man was brought before him for some cflTence he had given to the troops, and being recognised by the chief, was dismissed and rewarded in right royal fashion. Kasa's next character, after his escape, appears to have been that of the leader of a band of robbers, who stole but did not kill. Either such half measures did not please his followers, or he was too strict a leader, for his lawless band laid a plot to murder him. Kasa's wits and daring courage, however, stood him in good stead, and by the aid of a few friends he got the upper Iiand of the robbers. Kelinquishing single-handed government, he joined another bandit chief, and for a short time dire Avas the consternation among the trading caravans obliged to traverse the sixty miles between Matamma and AVochnce, a tract of beautiful but desolate road, where, at the best of times, robbers and wild beasts keep the traveller in continual alarm. The life did not satisfy the young Abys- sinian. He 1 ad ambitious dreams of a larger po\yer than could be grasped by a robber captain, and although it was under pretence of compunction that he retired for a time to a more psistoral and quiet life, it was in truth only to mature his plans and gather round him a daring and turbulent force of kindred spirits. Miasiim Iiili',~l Jan. 1, ISfcS.J MISSIONARY TRAVKLS OF RKV. II. STKIIN. 20 The western provinces were ruled by a woman wicked and ambitious enough to be ranked among the worst of Queens — even in a fairy tale, where hard measure is dealt to royal consorts. Hearing of Kasa's position and intentions, she sent an army against him, but the army, on meeting the young chief and his band of desperate followers, fled ignoniiniously, without waiting for the attack. Then she tried fair means, even to giving him her grand-daughter in marriage, hoping by this means to be able to take his life. But Kasa's wife at once Avent over to her husband's side, and the devoted love she displayed in warding oft" her grandmother's plots would form a subject for a romance. It is rather hard to understand the terms on whicli Kasa and the Queen stood towards each other at this time. Probably, while she was yet able to control her passion, he was outwardly in honour; but, as she Avas ever on the watch for an oppor- tunity to rid herself of this hated rival, she was not slow to give him the command of an expedition against a very overpowering multitude of Ai'abs and Egyptians, who had invaded the border land. Ilcr plan was very nearly successful; Kasa was wounded and defeated, so gloriously defeated, however, tliat the retreat was almost as honorable as a victory could have been. Nevertheless, he was certainly in evil plight, and tlie Queen took advantage of it to send him a humiliating message. She (lid not vet know with whom she had to deal. A strong armv gathered round the standard of the enraged Ka^a, and a ircmendous battle ended in the absolute rout of the Queen's forces. Though wicked she was dauntless, and in the next en- conntcr she headed theai herself, and would have been suc- cessful had she been worthily seconded, but her chiefs were cowardly; Kasa's troops carried all before them, and this time the Queen herself — his implacable enemy — became his prisoner. lie cannot be accused of unworthy conduct on this occasion, lie neither treated her severely, or required hard terms, huleod, if anything, he rather displayed a rash generosity in setting the Queen free upon the intcrci-ssion of his father-in- law. Has .Vli, and he contented himself with the title of Governor of the Provinces, Ml i 5 9 I i |;h, ITT 30 MISSION LIFE. [ Mission Life, Jan. 1, \S6H All went on quietly for a year or two, so far as outward appearances reached, but the Queen was only bidinj;: her time — a vindictive woman is never appeased; and directly she and Ras Ali felt themselves strong enough to throw off the mask, they proclaimed Kasa a traitor. A civil war broke out with fury, Kasa was again triumphant ; and this time he wrested the kingdom itself from his treacherous relations. These events bring us to the year 1853. A scries of victories followed ; nor in the midst of success can we help remarking certain noble traits in the King's character. Passion had not then so blinded him but that when one of his worst enemies, Bcru Ooshu, fell into his hands, he coidd restrain the soldiers' fury, treat him courtcouslv, and spare his life : nor pride so uplifted him but that when his soldiers were exalting his prowess, he could fall prostrate and acknowledge that from God alone comes all power and glory, and that to Ilim alone should it be ascribed. Nevertheless, the sweets of conquest developed a deep and ingrained ambition. lie longed to unite the independent kStates of Abyssinia into one State, of which he should be the head. Tigre, the great north-eastern province which borders on the Red Sea, and has the port of Massowah on its upper extremity, and the town of Antalo to its south, was a tempting prey. No excuse seems to have been needed for the attack ; it was an illustration of might overriding right ; but never was Kasa so nearly overcome as by the fierce Tigrean troops; en- trenched, as they were, amid rocks and clifTs. It needed all the well-known valour of the King, all the fiery ardour of his nature, to lead his troops to the attack. It was then that he exclaimed, riding before them sword in hand, " xo-morrow by this time my name will be no more Kasa but Theodoros, for God has given me the kingdom." His prophecy was correct ; within a day or two a solemn coronation took place, the chief Bishop, or Aboona Salama, anointing him imder the name of King Theodoros. His next march was southward, against the Gallas, tlie wild heathen tribes of Abyssinia. These hated the Christians, and made commoa cause against them — to uo purpose, however, j11"i,"s«S:'] missionary travels of IIEVV II. STERN'. 31 for tliey were defeated, dispersed, and very barbarously treated ; while, as a check to any possible risiiij^ on their part, tlie great Amba, or hill fort Magdula, was fortified. Tiiis fort, by latest accounts the prison of the captives, stands up some three or four thousand feet higlicr than the country around it. One powerful independent province remained — that of Slioa, and it brought iifty thousand men to repel Theodore's attack. At this time, however, his arms were c/erywhcrc successful; and those who judge of him as a barbarous and petty potentate would, if they were acquainted with his history, acknowledge that he has some excuse for regarding himself as a most victorious Avarrior, who in a very short time subjugated powerful provinces, and united them under one rule. At the same time we may remark that, owing to this despotism and those victories, a war with King Theodore is not a war with Abys- sinia. Eleven years has not sufliced to weld the conflicting dements into one. Tigrc, Galla, and Shoa — Tigre, perhaps, above all — would gladly embark in any si/uggle which would enable them to shake o(l' the voke. Indeed, thcv have not waited for the landing of foreign troops ; the Avholc country is even now in a state of fermentation and rebellion ; it is not yet impossible that the captives may be delivered by their mean*'. .Most earnestly let us desire that it may be so ; not only because the precious lives may then be spared, with whom many and many a heart here in J'iUgland is bound up by all the tics of anxious love, but that we shall also bo saved further proceedings against the one Christian nation of Africa, whose creed and whose tradition'; arc built upon the f-ame everlasting truths as our own. King Theodore appears to have been sincerely desirous of reforming his Church. Certainly it needed reform, but his temper, which would brook neither opposition nor control, was not exactly the one suited to ])roducc harmonious results, lie v.as so angry with Cyiillus, the Copt Patriarch, who came to him at the beginning of his reign, as ambassador from the Viceroy of Egypt, that he imprisoned him for live days, and Mith him the Aboona ; but then Cyrillus appears to have dis- played very unbecoming pride and scorn, and as Theodore 1*1 D -I ^ U I g 9 32 MISSION LIFE. [ MiBsion Life, Jan. 1,1868. remarked with some justness, he could not understand a Christian priest becoming the envoy of a Mohammedan. Thcise and other particulars of the King's previous life are given by Mr. Stern in his volume of 'Wanderings among the Falaslias.' Unlimited power has no doubt more and more drawn out what was fierce and bad in his character ; fits of cruelty have alternated with fits of remorse, and his history reads like the development of a more barbarous Saul. Added to this, in the early part of his reign the death of his devoted wife almost maddened him ; and of late years he has lost two counsellors — Englishmen — ]\Ir. I'lcll and (Consul Plowdcn, who had obtained a very considerable influence over him, and were able in some degree to control his acts. To have loved his wife and these two friends as warmly as he undoubtedly did, proves at least that he can hardly be the utterly trcaclierous and bloodthirsty monster which he is sometimes represented. In appearance he is said by a recent traveller in Abyssinia* to be a well-made, middle-aged man, showing his African pedigree in complexion but not feature, with a peculiar bright observant eye, well-shaped mouth, and a smile and a manner which he can make almost irresistible when it so pleases his Majesty. Nor is he without accomplishments. Loving Eng- lishmen and England as well as he did when his two English friends were Avith him, he learnt to love Shakespeare and to be well sicquaintcd with his plays. On the Avholc, and looking at the very condicting accounts which are given of his character, it would seem that a man's worst enemies, his own unbridled passions, have been the ruin of a character which contained many noble elements. It seems probable tliat the exciting cause of his present fierce rage against the English novern- ment is a feeling that he has been treated like a child or an ignorant savage, coaxed with ])resents, for which he professed the greatest contempt, and unceremoniously dealt with in matters of courtesy. AVhether this has been the fact or not, it is without doubt the impression which rests upon his mind. d'o be continued.) I * Mr. Dnftoii. Mission Life, I Jan. 1, 1868. J THE ABORIGINES OF.AUSTRALIA. 38 THE ABORIGINES OF AUSTRALIA. (By the Rev. R. G. Boodle, M.A.) ■•v(V[,; I CANNOT put on paper my few lecollectious of the aborigines of New South Wales without a feeling of sadness. As an Englishman and a Churchman, I am bitterly ashamed, nay, I am afraid of the account to be rendered at the Judgment day, when I reflect how the arrival of my fellow-countrymen, bearing the name of Christian and having the habits and appliances of civilisation, brought a curse upon those wild children of the forest, debased a large part of them by fresh sins, instead of raising them towards the God who made them, and has been the cause of their rapid diminution in numbers, if not of their complete extinction. Some persons speak very complacently about the law, as they call it, by which the savage fades away before a civilised race. VOL. v. 3 3 «l lal 2 I HP' 84 MISSION LIFE. [Mission Life, L.Iau. 1, 186H. But unhappily the working of this law is to be traced only too evidently to the human agents. It is not so much to the white man's musket or rifle, used in self-defence or in protection of property, that the destruction of the aboriginal inhabitants is to be traced, as to the white man's drunkenness and the white man's lust, which have imported deadly diseases into the native veins, and have not only caused many premature deaths ; but have checked the birth of native cliildrei,, who might at least have filled up the gaps made in their ranks by death. We arc accustomed to see in the returns of the Registrar-General of England a large annual increase of population. In New South Wales and other Australian colonies, there has been a con- siderable annualdecrease in those tribes which have been brought into connection with the white man, the decrease being in proportion to the intercourse between the two races. Collins, the historian of the early years of the colony, makes mention of several native tribes which he saw on both sides of the Sydney harbour. When I landed in Sydney in January^ 1848, not one individual of those tribes remained alive. I saw one wretched drunken native in the suburbs, who belonged to a distant tribe : but those men, women, and children, who used to fish in the waters of the north and south shores of the bar- hour, were simply wiped out ; and, except in God's book of remembrance, and in the future resurrection, were as though they had never existed. There tlie Englishman had first set his foot and multiplied : and there the natives were not driven away, but simply extinct. The same result has followed in different degrees in most other parts of Austraha. In a report on the Australian aborigines ordered to be printed by the House of Commons in 1844, there is a letter from a Missionary at Port Phillip to Mr. La Trobe, the Government Superintendent, dated 1842; iu which it is stated, that the population of four tribes immediately round the station had, since the beginning of the Mission, a period of four years, decreased one half; and the writer adds : "should the present state of things continue, but a very few years will suffice to complete the annihilation of the aborigines of Australia Felix." Missiiiii Life, Jan. 1, IHIJ iS.J THE ABOKIOINES OF AUSTRALIA. 35 Where my lot was cast, on the Hunter river, the ex- termination was far advanced, though not quite complete. It must be remembered that before 1831 the white man had liot settled on the Hunter valley from Morpeth up- wards. Only twenty-seven years later, when I first saw it, the sight of two or three natives about Morpeth and Maitland was of rare occurrence : and they were, in nearly all cases, those who would hang about public houses for drink. As you ad- vanced farther from the places which had been longest settled, you might now and then see small knots of natives. In the district intrusted to me, measuring roughly from Muswell Brook to some few miles beyond Cassilis, about 3000 square miles, there were of men, women, aud children, about sixty remaining ; the small fragments of several independent tribes, who, like partridges in the winter, when the sportsman's gun has tiiinned the coveys, had amalgamated ; and at certain times would assemble from various parts of the bush to hold a cor- roberee, or native festival, which was but the shadow of such meetings in former times. Farther to the west and to the north, in the districts of the Castlcreagh, New England, the Clarence and Richmond rivers, and Moretou Bay, the tribes were more populous. Mr. Oliver Fry, Commissioner of Crown lands on the Clarence river, made a report in 1843 to the Hon. E. Deas Thompson, tbe Colonial Secretary in Sydney; in which he says that on the Clarence river were seven tribes, containing from fifty to one hundred men in each : and on the smaller river, the Richmond, four tribes, numbering about one hundred in each. The aggre- gate of the district under his charge, including some other tribes besides those mentioned, was about 2000. I am unable to say to what extent the present census of that part of the colouy would difter from that which he furnished more than twenty- four years ago : but be mentions, quite as an independent fact, a distinction between the tribes of those parts and othr s, which I cannot but consider one chief cause of the la' jr native population of that neighbourhood j that they have " evinced a disinclinatiun to almost ant/ intercourse with the settlers, manifested by the exceeding infrequency and short M Ml K m S .1(1(1 I -I'M ' u 9 ^) j; '?! 3 i'||; f* ft u 9 [ II 3G MISSION LiFK. r Minsion Life, J.in. 1. 1868. duration of tlieir visits to the stntion;^ : nor can tliev," he con- tinues, " be prevailed on to allow a white man to approach their camps, and in no instance have they ever become domesti- cated, or attached themselves to any establishment on theriver."* Neitlicr the liome Clovernment of those davs.nor the autho- rities in the colonies, are cliargeable with indifference to the preservation of the natives. On every occasion they sliowcd their anxiety for their welfare ; and had the same sj)irit pre- vailed among the convict population and free settlers, the efforts made for their civilisation and conversion would have had some prospect of success. In a despatch from Downing Street to Sir George Gipps, Governor of New South Wales, dated December 20th, 18 12, Lord Stanley, after commenting upon the unfavorable reports both of the Missionaries and of the " native protectors," concludes, " I should not, without the most extreme reluctance, admit that nothing can be done ; that with them alone the doctrines of Christianity must be inoperative, and the advantages of civilisation incommunicable. I cannot acquiesce in the theory' that they are incapable of improvement ; and that their extinction before the advance of the white settler is a necessity, which it is impossible to con- trol. I recommend them to your protection and favorable consideration with the greatest earnestness, but at the same time with perfect confidence : and I assure you that I shall be willing and anxious to co-operate with you in any arrange- ment for their civilisation which may hold out a fair prospect of success." The colonial authorities on their part endeavoured to pro- tect the natives from injury, and to promote their civilisation. Laws were made and penalties enforced for their good. It •wiAs made penal to sell spirits to them ; and the police were charged to prevent the white men drawing the native women away. Considerable sums were expended out of the proceeds of the lands sold to settlers by Government for the support of native " protectors," wiiose duties were not only to protect the aborigines against wrong, but to endeavour to teach them the arts and habits of civilised life. Lands were set apart for * ' Report,' p. 25?:. Million \Afe, .lull. 1, IHiiH. TIIK .VHORIUINKS OK AUSTRALIA. 37 them in different districts, tools were provided, blankets and food given, and encouragements held out to them to betake themselves to agriculture and pastoral pursuits. Among the settlers themselves tiierc were some few who interested themselves in the welfare of the natives around them, treated them with kindness, and taught them, as well as made use of their services. But the example of the majority of white men in the bush was so unchristian, and their treatment of the blacks so demoralising, that the Missionaries desired to bo re- moved as far as possil)le from them. And as the sheep and cattle stations were gradusilly poshed farther into the interior and sur- rouiul(;d them, they asked to be removed still farther into the unsettled parts. Sir George (Jripps, in a letter to Lord Stanley in January 1813, endorses tlie statement of a ^lissionary ; that one of the c/iicf causes of the failure of a ]\Iission, of wlfich he is speaking, is " the deadbj itijluence of ungodly Europeans." ]\Ir. La Trobe also, ia an official paper, referring to the bad practice and influence of European settlers, says, " I think it my duty to state that the evil effects of that influence can scarcely be exaygerated."^^ The attempts that were made to bring them to Jesus Christ were, from various causes, veiy disheartening in their results. And yet on looking back upon them, one is not surprised at their almost entire failure. Within that part of Australia extending from Moreton Bay on the eastern coast to Geelong on the south, comprising, at the present time, the colonies of Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria, four Missions were established, and received jiecuniary aid from the Government in addition to the land granted to them. No doubt many earuest men Avere interested in each of them : but the very enumera- tion of them is suggestive of disunion, and therefore of weak and desultory attempts at the great work of bringing wild, uncultivated, heathen tribes to the faith of Jesus Christ. The earliest jNIission was that of the Church Missionary Societv, at Wellington A'allev, about 100 miles north-west of Sydney, founded in the year 1833. Within a few years the London Missionary Society had fixed a Mission near Lake * ' Report of House of Commons on Australian Aborigines,' p. 243. i CI «1 9 01 J s a 38 MISSION LIFE. rMliiion liife, LJuii. 1, 1M6H. MacquRrie, on tlie const, 60 miles north of Sydney. A Lntlicrun Mission was planted at Moreton Bay, and a Wcslcyau Mission near Melbourne, in 1838. Within ten years from the foundation of the first of theso two of them were entirely broken up, and the others were in a state of collapse. A few children had been taught to read, and read fairly. They could say prayers, and had some knowledge of religious truth. A very small number of adults received in- struction, and some of them became useful in various kinds of work. But the impressions made on them were in very few instances lasting : the partially formed habits were soon dis- carded ; and those who had hoped to see their plans for them succeed lost heart, and gave up the work. Sir George Gipps, who passed four days at the Mission station at Wellington Valley, makes particular mention of a native, named George, who could both read and write, and was superior in every point to any native he had ever seen. As a proof of his civilisation, the governor states that a gentleman, with whom he was dining, caused George to dine at the table with him : and that on this occasion he " behaved with perfect propriety, so much so, indeed, that but for his colour, and his modesty in speaking only when spoken to, he might have passed for an ordinary guest." But two years after this, in 1843, the Clergyman in charge of the Mission writes in a desponding tone about the whole Mission ; aiul adds, a " young man, the same who was prominently introduced to his excellency the Governor, on his visit two years ago, as one far advanced in Civilisation, has almost entirely returned to wild habits," i.e. the habits of the natives. " He has been more unsettled for these eighteen months than I have ever known him before." This is only a specimen of the way in which, in nearly all cases, the work, which seemed to be progressing for a while, was stopped, and soon undone. And the consequence was that the Government declined to continue the aid it had, for a few years, given to the Missions. And the Missions themselves were discontinued. I believe I am right in saying that the Roman Catholics, of whom there was a considerable number, never attempted a Mission in New South Wales. And it must be MiHion LifB.I WORK FOR CHRIST. 39 sadly confessed that the want of vigour, and the disunion, wliich prevailed in the Church Missionary Establishment at Welling, ton Valley, were ill-suited to cope with the many and serious diffi(Miltii's which were found in the natives themselves, and the evils of European influence. {To be continued.) WORK FOR CHRIST. (Hy the Hev. VV. Cadman, M.A., Uuctor of Holy Trinity Cliurch, Miirylfl)oiu', bcinj,' iin iilistnict of a Sermon preached at S. Liiwruncc, Jewry, on fSatuvdiiy, Si'iitenibur 1 Uh, 18(57.) • Matthew ix,3fi. " Hut wlien ho saw tlio multitudoa, hi; was moved with compassion on them Ix'ciinso tiify fainted, Hiid were wcattered uhroad as sheep having no shepherd." FTER some introductory observations with reference to Home Missions, the question was raised, — How would our blessed Master and Saviour act with reference to them if he were in our position and circumstances ? We reply That — The necessity for such Mission existed iu his own time. T/ten there were nndtitudes, as sheep without a shepherd. That — He had corapassiim on these multitudes. That — He regarded them with hopefulness, as individuals to be saved. That — He taught his disciples that human instrumentality was to be employed in carrying out the divine purposes regard- ing them. IMiat — This instrumentality was to be called forth in answer to the prayers of those who were already His disciples. We thus perceive three links in the chain of (jod's purpose of everlasting love. A Saviour's compassion, human instru- mentality, and believing prayer. We cannot doubt then what our Lord would say with reference to the teeming population of our own land, if H(! were with us now. But He is with us now, according to His own most true promise. And while multitudes exist who are " as sheep without a shepherd," while He continues to use human instruraentalitv, while His command is unrevoked, and His promise remains, we may be sure that He will smile upon * The account of Mr. Cadman's sermon reached the Vicar of S. Lawrence too late for insertion iu his " Reminiscences of a City Church." I. G' hil ( u M ill WT \n 40 MISSION LIPK. [ Miiilon Life, Jan. 1, IMS. eflbrts which His own Hpirit prompts, and which are in accord- ance with His own example. IJc it remembered that He only asks us to do what we can. As on anotlicr occasion when He asked, " How many h)aves liave ye '(" So now, He calls His servants to examine what in His Providence they possess, and then act as His willing instruments in full trust that His blessing upon the little they liavc will make it not only fully adequate to feed the multi- tudes immediately around them, but that fragments will remain which His Missionary Bishops and servants may gather up. Seven baskets full — enough and to spare for the spiritual necessities of other multitudes in other lands. Plainly called, then, as we are to this duty of ^lissionary exertion at home and abroad ; as of old, while the mass of their natives were heedless, the apostles went went forth ou their Lord's work. So let it be with us. Work for souls, if done after His ex luple, is work for Christ. In doing it, we may be called to eoi nnd earnestly. Neces- sity may be laid upon us, not only to nclaim b it to main- tain the truth of the Gospel. It woml be treachery and cowardice if we were not to stand fast in the liberty with which Christ has made us free, or allow ourselves to be entangled again with any yoke of bondage. But let us work. Anxious we may be because of the peculiar circumstances of our own times, and the prospects of yet greater trial coming upon our own branch of Christ's Church. But let us work. Depressed we may be because of the great things to be attempted in our Master's service, and the inadequate means at our disposal of achieving success. But let us work. Discourujed we may be because of the little success that may seem to crown our efforts. But let us work. Ready to faint sometimes because it may be some standard- bearers faint, or because some of those with whom we have been associated, being unwilling to bear the burden and heat of the day, we are left to serve alone. But still let us work. Our Master is spiritually present to help, and He will be soon personally present to say " well done." " Steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as we know that our labour is not in vain in the Lord." — Let us work. I Million Liri!,1 Jiin. 1, ISljH. J Till". MEI.ANESIAN MISSION. THE MELANESIAN MISSION. (Continued from October Ao., 18(57, />. V2Q.) 41 CIIAPTEIi IX. WORDS OK COUNSEL. COLLEGE CUAVEL, AUCKLAND, (From the 'Gospel Missionary.') UR last chapter closed with an account of the return of Bishop Selwyn from his fourth Missionary voyage amongst the Melanesian Islands, bringing back with him twenty-four boys and two girls, four of the boys being old pupils. We Biiist now try to give some account of the next half year sp?^;nt at St. John's, Auckland. We cannot do better than begin with a short account of the Bishop's sermon at the thanksgiving service, on the first Sunday of their re-assembling in the College Chapel. Taking for his text Zech. viii, 23, the Bishop applied the n\ s Ji i d Si J i ■ i U D t t K: m 42 MISSION LIVE, [ Mission Lite, Jan. 1, 1808. prophecy, wliicli was never literally fulfilled in the Jewish Church, to its spiritual fulfilmeat in the Christian, and pointed out its applicability in the case of the heathen trihcs who people the sea, and who were ready to take hold ori tlic skirt of the Christian and say, " We will go with you, for wc know that God is with you." Christian influence he compared to a spiritual magnet. The following he especially instanced as the several principles of Gospel truth, illustrated hy events in their recent voyage^: 1st. The keeping hohj the Lord's Day. — This was ever the witness to the presence of an unseen Being, and was always understood as such. Then he told how, on the shores of New Caledonia^ hundreds of canoes snrrouiuled the vessel on Satur- day to trade and barter, and swarms of natives crowded the deck, whilst on the Sunday they were left in perfect quiet- ness, because he had explained to the people that the djvy was sacred to God and to His worship, and that they could not trade upon it, or entertain visitors. In the midst of hundreds of these busy and curious people, who were swarming around them, they spent the Lord's day as quietly and peacefully in its own special services and occupations as they could have done at home. 2nd. Peace. — So in like manner he sliowed how he had been taught in act the Gospel of peace, forgiveness of injuries ; and lie alluded to what some then present remembered of their re- c>^ption at Mallicollo the year before by a party amongst the ir habitants, and showed how the peaceable way in which they liad met it, without retaliation, and with every endeavour to un- deceive their suspicions and remove offence, had now been blessed, as was proved, by the friendly reception of their verij enemies on a recent occasion ; the readiness of one of them to come with them for r. short trip, and of another to make a longer cruise ; and when they were taken home, and the boat, which took them to shore, stood off, and the question was asked, Who would come to the College? a man walked forth unarmed into the water, and called out, " I, I." What was the feeling that led him to make the venture ? Doubtless from the peaceful influence of past intercourse : and f om the account Mipiion Life,"! Jan. 1, IWW.J THE MELANESIAN MISSION. 43 been and ir re- st the they toun- been rerif them ake i\ 111 the i)u was forth t was s from ccouut I he now heard from his brethren who liad returned, he believed that the Lord was with us, and he said, " I, I, will gjo with you/' 3rd. Comfort hi t'e Gospel.— -Describing how he had gone to Apale's* father at Jjii'u, to tell him of his son's death, he showed how in past times he might have feared the heathen justice of retaliation might have demanded life for Hfe ; l)ut now, on the contrary, he found even tlic nierc reflection of (Jospcl light had shed a healing influence. He found the party met together in a green spot under the shade of their cocoa-nut trees ; no sounds of heathen waihng were there, no cutting with stones !u>d the like ; but the tears of the parents fell quietly, and they spoke as those, who had heard that they need not sorrow as those without hope ; and were willing to listen to his assurance that their son rested in peace, and that they might find the same in following him. 4th. T/ie Gospel is n messaf/c of ri'cnnc'dkttiov ond forijweness. — In illustrating this truth he described the change in the Island of Mare or Ngengonc, where the ('hristian tribe refuses to fight, ajid where the heathen tribes, who still fight among each other, ^eem to respect their peaceful course, and where the fiercest and most bitter opponent of the IMissionaries had lately re- ceived himself and Mr. Nihill very willingly, and promised to allow any Missionary to come whom they might send. The conclusion was an earnest exljortation : 1st. To seek after nmty. — Not to cast the stumbling-block of division before those who were then receiving the first prin- ciples of the common faith ; and especially to show their willing- ness to help and befriend in all temporal matters those whose religious teaching diflered from their own, and to manifest their earnest desire that their work for Christ might at least l)c in parallel lines, not in opposition to each other, though it could not be in union. 2nd. To recognise the responsibility of infiuencing for good those youths and children brought for the first time utuler Christian teaching, and who were, by nature aiul early training, SM quick of perccpticui and so keenly sensitive of every im- pression, whether for good or evil. • See 'Mission Life,' Sept., 18G7, p. 63. I*' •"I I hi-.' * S -IT 44 MISSION LIFE. tMisBiou Life, Jan. 1, ISCH. m CHAPTEE X. BISHOP SELWYN WITH HIS ISLAND SCHOLARS. Will our readers, overlooking the slight anachronism, accept an invitation to sporiu a day with Bishop Selwyn and his island scholars, at St. John's^. College, Auckland ? — Yes ! Then we will at once introduce them to one who can give them just the information which we eannot give them, and with him we will for the present leave them.* " Well, then, you would come to morning service at seven, and see, issuing from three different buildings, lines of mixed English and Maori lads streaming to the pretty little wooden chapel. There are settlers in our neighbourhood that say they like to come to our chapel, ' for it is more like England than anything in the country.' In fact, it is almost tlie only ecclesiastical-looking building, I believe, in the country, and Mr. Wailes's painted glass at the east end gives it a ' home look ' of antiquity and sacred association very different from the generality of buildings here. The Bishop reads the service half in Maori, half in English — an English scholar reads the First Lesson, a Maori scholar reads the Second Lesson. At nine o'clock school begins. The Bishop only takes Scripture classes, and has them in chapel. First conies a class of ]\laori lads and men, who are separated into the baptized and the con- firmed — one set usually comes one day, the other another d.ay. The teaching is very graphic and lively. The Maori mind cannot take in anything abstract. Everything is taught by illustration ; either his fingers or a drawing with a pencil, as the lesson goes on, picture everything he says. I don't know that I can better describe his mode of teaching the young, or ot warning the elder, than by telling you of a visit I paid with him to the Chief iu the neighbourhood, who will not become a Christian because he has two wives, and he must give up one. " 'Are you not thinking of becoming one of us ? ' says the Bishop. " ' Yes, perhaps,' says the Chief. " There the conversation dropped, but I saw the Bishop hold * See ' Gospel Missionary,' vol. iii, p. 34 Mission Lil Jan. ], 1861 up two assent. Bishop you he and the put doi "I ] watchin out one 1 Sam. were. ' The othi worthy s however, pupil, ai the founc ing stone of iron o instil doe the aetua five minu gradually it. ' It i " After the Melar montljs, a tliat make teaclicrs fc had been i our Lord a examinatio to our ears They were ••iiid one of •itter they ( 'lis prayers •'^esus say t here, and s Mission Life,"! Jiin. 1, 18G8. .' THE MELANESIAN MISSION. 43 up two fingers, and then bend down one. The Chief nodded assent. At the time I did not understand it, and I said to the Bishop afterwards, ' What was that symbolical communication you held M-ith him, which he seemed to take in so readily ?' and then he told me that the Chief had two wives, and must put down one. " I have learnt the characters of many of the boys by watchinn; the questions he puts to them. I heard him single out one boy, in rather a marked way (when reading of Samuel, 1 Sam. viii, 3), to i^sk him what sort of men Samuel's sons were. The boy hung down his head, and gave no answer. The others looked hard at him. I found he was the .ather un- worthy son of a worthy father. The great value of his teaching, however, is his wonderful perception of the capacity of the pupil, and his fhoy//ht-biiUdi)iff, if I may so call it. He lays the foundation of his teaching so admirably. It is like build- ing stone upon stone. You never see a huge dome or cupola of iron on a weak wooden framework. The point he wants to instil does not come out till the end of the lesson, and perhaps the actual thing intended to be brought out docs not occupy five minutes of the lesson ; all the rest of the hour he has been gradually building up to that point. The JMaoris delight in it. ' It is so light-like,' they say — so clear, that is, " After an hour or so with the natives, you would see some of the Melanesians come in. They have only been with us a few months, and yet they have managed to pick up Avordsand ideas that make us very hopeful of bein'^ able to make them native teachers for their own people soujC day. A great deal of pains had been taken to impress upon them the difference between our Lord and every other man, and it came out in the Bishop's examination in a way which, however odd it may appear to our ears, yet satisfied us that they had got a right conception. Tliey were shown a picture of our Lord blessing little children, and one of them pointing to Ilim said, ' He very good.' Soon after they came across a picture of Samuel as a child, saying his prayers. One of them said at once, ' See there — very good •Tesus say to little boy there, " Vou pretty good ! yom tome up here, and see Me in heaven."' ' Dili D \^^ 9 ■:,:' ■ i J j'i u 46 MISSION LIFE. [ Mrssroii t.ife, Jan. 1, 1868. " It was rather trying to one's nerves, however gratifying to one's mind, to hear the following illustration or explanation come out. The Bishop was trying to teach them that bad words and lying were wrong, lie could not make out whether or no he had made himself clear, when the biggest boy left no doubt on our miuds, by retailing some words learnt oil board ship. " ' Does God love boys,' said the Bishop, * who do something and say they have not done it ?' " ' No ; f/ammo/i no good,' was the quaint reply. *• And, indeed, their keen moral sense in matters of truth and honesty is very exc-mplary — I use the word advisedly. They are positively an example to both English and Maori boys in matters of this kind. I said to the youngest, * Bob, when you go back to Erromango with Bishop, what shall you tell your mother that you have seen and heard V " ' I say to mother. Englishman and Bishop tell me '' only one God/' — He very fond of Bob, — He love me and all my brothers and sisters, and all men, Englishmen, Maori, Oui-Oui (their name for Frenchmen) and all. He love us — we must love Him, and be good to other men. Jesus Christ the Son of God loves us very much — He died for us.' " When these have spent an hour with the Bishop, in conic some English scholars, of twenty or thereabouts, and with them the principle of teaching is the same, though the matter is higher — words and passages in the Greek Testament teaching and illustrating the love of God, or the power of God, redemption, sanctification, &c. The Bishop always works on the Socratic plan of extracting the knowledge of the pupil, and making hira teach himself. Another hour or two is occupied with the highest class, the candidates for holy orders, and a like process carried on. The Bishop is specially a man whose knowledge is self-wrought and applied. He knows the Bible thoroughly, and another book he seems to know as well- — ' Pearson on the Creed.' With these two he seems to master every subject. " But let us go on with our day. A dinner in hall at two o'clock is of the simplest yet most substantial kind, and is at- tended by the whole College. The Bishop by this means is able MlSSh Jan, ; to reso roiai not ( lie hi farnit these I nee navigj a com leave i and th this p( "II Bishop sailor "It Jiorder- 'ioys we. up to A 'Luff it " Wit hard woi he keeps] ^Jian aiif except ill sailor ai| comes uii sliip undJ O'lly fan] ^var in l,f COtllJ);niy I t'le other | 'liin our tlie fonrtc ^"" couicl took iu cvl ''J'-laiics ol Miaajon Ijifc,"] Jan. 1,18«8.J THE MELANESIAN MISSION. 47 to offer chance hospitality without pressing hard on his limited resources. If business permits, after dinner we may start oif round the College to see the working departments. There is not one of these which he is not well aWe to superintend. If lie had not Ixsen a good Bishop he might have made a capital farmer, or a good carpenter, or a weaver, or a printer. All of these works are going on with our English and native lads. Then I need hardly say that he still more understands seamanship and navigation. He is, in fact, a first-rate officer. I was asking a common sailor the other day about the different vessels that leave this port, and their captains, and whom he had sailed with, and then I said, ' Whom would you prefer sailing under out of this port?' " He immediately said, ' Well, I had as lief go with the Bishop as any man,' evidently looking at him merely ou the sailor side of his character. " It was a glorious sight the day the new Mission ship, the Border-maid, first left her moorings near the College. All the boys were on board, and Champion, her captain, was piloting her up to Auckland, the Bishop at the helm. ' Luft", my lord !' ' Luff it is ! ' "With him it is no playing at seamanship, but downright hard work. He knows where every store is, and every rope ; he keeps liis watches regularly, indeed much more regularly tliau any captain of a ship, who never keeps watch on deck except in bad weather. He tsikes the sights, teaches the oldest sailor and the youngest boy. Every person and everything comes under his eye and care. And then his sermons on board ship under the open eye of heaven are so grand and sublime. Only fancy how this told the other day. There was a maurof- Mar in harbour which had been to the northern islands in his company last year, and he went on Sunday before he went off the other day, .and held divine servic<3 ou board. He took Avith him our four Melancsian boys, and the Gospel for the day was the fourteenth of St. Luke (Second Sunday after Trinity). \ou could see by the wrapt attention of the sailors how they took in every word he lid abcut those that were picked up in hy-laiics of the city. Doubtless their thoughts flew to Itothcr- K CI! mI t» i\ Ml 1.1 « :'ii; D D J \ U 9 Y 48 THE MELANESIAN MISSION. [. Miasinu Life, Jiin. I, 18»H. hithe and Wapping, and he contrasted the advantages of their orderly and disciplined life on board ship with their carelessi life on shore, and then he spoke of the hedges and highways of the ocean, and pointed to the black boys who had come to us originally from on board a man-of-war, and he told them how good a training for the Christian life we had found the order of a ship had been to these boys, how the regular habits on board this vessel had prepared the minds of the boys for subjection to a higher discipline and training for immortality. The sailors seemed to be tliankful to know that they had in their way, by example, been of service in the good cause. They were so ex- tremely fond of these black boys, and when they were sick or sorry they used to take such care of them. ( To be continued.) •luu, 1, ^5^ ';^:ss«^^' ts^g- _ BISHOP SEIiWYN'S HOUSE, ST. JOHN'S COLLEGE, AUCKLAND. (From the 'Gospel Missionary. ') Cl not who or other as exjjo they ;tiv life ill it -' fin2r down of the siuuo ^ly \\\\\\u\ shall he jji'i'iit iinion'j; the (ieiitiles; iitul in every ])liu'e incense shall lie oll'ered unto My nuino, and a imre oll'erini^ : for My niinio shall be great among the heathen, saith tliu Lard of Hosts." IIESI'' arc blessed words of encourngcmcnt to every iailliful Christian man who daily prays " Tiiy kiiif^dom come " iu all the fulness of its nieanii)}]^, and looks for their fulfihucnt as a matter of deep interest to himself; and the Missionary who has spent many years of his life labouring amonj;; the heathen learns more than other men to cherish this and other similar prophetic announcements of God's AVord as his great comfort and support. AVhcn, for instance, he j)auscs to consider the work before him, and contemplating the moral blindness and hardness of heart of the people he has to teach, he painfully realises how truly the Prophet Isaiah's words apply to them, that "they trust only in vanities and speak lies, that their feet riui to evil and make haste to shed innocent blood, their thoughts arc full of iniquity, and truth is fallen in the street, so that equity cannot enter, and lie that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey;" his spirit sinks within him at the thought of his own weakness, his work seems too great for him, and, unmindful of the gifts of his sacred calling, and the mighty unseen power working with those to whom "the grace is given to preach the imsearchable riches of Christ to the Gentiles," he exclaims, " Who is sufficient for these things ?" It is at such times that words like those of the text come home with power to the Missionary's heart, and remind him that " the Lord's hand is not shortened that it cannot save, neither His car heavy that it cannot hear," but that in God's own good time " the heathen shall learn to fear the Lord from the west and His glory from the rising of the sun, and that His name shall, indeed, be great among the Gentiles;" and he ui tol D J D I*! n I I ' I 62 MISSION LIFE. f Minion Life, Jan. 1, 1808. is enabled to go foctli again to his work with renewed energies and blighter liopes, thanking the Lord for tlic comfort of His blessed Word, and for the pledges and tokens already given him in his work of the fnHilmcnt of God's precious promises. This is a brief sketch of a working ^lissionary's feelings — of his hopes and fears, of his weakness and strength. It is as a Missionary that I am abont to address you a few plain words upon the subject of onr Church's ^Missions in the East, and to tell you wliy I think the prophetic promise of the text is now in process of coni|)lction, and that we of the present time have an especial opportunity given to us of hastcnitig its fulfiimeut, which o})portunity we are in danger of losing if we, as a (Church and nation, do uot bestir ourselves, and devote our energies, our means, our powers, more heartily and earnestly to Mission work than we have ever yet done. In the first place, looking "<^ our Indian Missions. Small as the work doing is as yet, and discouraging as it at times must be to every one practically engaged in it, from the very immensity of the task and the difllcidtics it presents, I think when we reflect how brief a period has elapsed since our Church really began her Missionary work iu the East, and how eomparativclv small has been her Missionary force carry- ing on the work of attacking the powers of darkness in their very citadels, we shall see that wc have no cause for impatience or discouragement at the small results already obtained, especially when we look back to the early history of the Church, and see that even at Antioch — where people Avere first called Christians, where Paul and Barnabas, and pro[)hets and teachers, endowed with rentecostal gifts, preached and taught — St. Chrysostom iu his day found more than half the people yet heathen. Those who sneer at the results of Missionary efTovts iu India and the East are, I believe, but partial observers, who, from some particular case — it may be of an inefhcient ^Missionary, or of an ill-managed Mission that has fallen under their own eyes — have become prejudiced against all jMissious, and shut their eyes to the manj' visible good results of other Missionary labours, which are plaiu to others who look around ,''^ I Misninii Mfc,"] Juii. 1, IM». J PROSPECTS OF CHRISTIANITY IN THE EAST. 53 them witli unbiassed minds — rcsnlts, I am bound to say, wrouglit not only by tlic ^Missions of our own (>liurcb, but by those of other Christian bodies who have entered tlic fichl witli us, and are in some sort remedying our deficiencies by occu- pying ground whicli, from want of means, our Cliurcli has been unable to operate upon. I feci sure that if Schwartz, or Ziegenbald, or Martyn, or Heber, could now come ai:u)ng us and behold the progress of the work they themselves began, the spread of (Christian knowledge, and its leavening inllucnces even upon those who are yet heathen — that they, rather than being discouraged, would sec cause for thankfulness, and cncouragcnient for us all to go on hopefully and tnaufully, in the full confidence that God is blessing, and will bless, our endeavours to make Ilis name great among the Gentiles. We must renicmbcr that lue condition of both India and China is now very ditfereut from what it was in the days of restricted trade and limited intercourse with the natives under the careful aiul cautious rule of the East India Company, for then all ^Missionary labour was looked upon with a jealous and timid eye, and was in no ways countenanced by the Govern- ment. ^Missionaries were few and far apart — ICuropean civili- sation and ideas were onlv represented to the natives bv the Company's civil and military officers, chaplains, and a few privileged traders and planters; but even then something was done, by direct and indirect efforts, on the part of the clergy and some true-hearted soldiers of Christ among the civilians and military, enough to turn some natives here and there from darkness to light, and to dispose others to look favourably upon the religion of their masters; — enough to arouse the fears and enmity of the Brahmins, who, like the workmen in Ephcsus, in fear for their own idols and superstitions, en- leavoured to prevent the progress of " the little drop of light'' thus let in upon them, by setting their own faces against it, and by exciting the fears of the credulous pcoi)!e with lying reports and terrifying pictures of the tyranny and oppression which would be exercised by their rulers to make them be- come Christians; the feeling thus aroused was industriously ^ IN ' q; i t:i , tal '■ J : D i D 1 j : .!» 'tii J u I!* w 94 MISSION LIFE. rMim [.Jail Mi«iiinn Life, 1, IHOH. fanurd niul propnpfifrd by the jealousy and lip.trcd of the leaders and teaeliers of Islam, until it culminated in the plirensy of the Indian mutiny, wliieli was, ns it were, tlie convulsive effort of an expirinj^ heathenism, and the outbreak of the l<)ng-slninl)crin}^ (lesi},'ns of Mahometan hatred and fanaticism to stamp out Christianity, and with it all I'luropcan power in India and ail the adjacent countries — for the same wave of thought ajul action a^jainst (Christianity and Christians jiassed through the islands of the Indian Archipelago up into China. iJut Ciod, true to His word that " His name should be great among tlic Gcntilc:s," and to His promise that the heathen should be "the inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth the possession," of His Son, frustrated the blind rage of the heatlien, and brought to nought the wily counsels of the ^lahometans ; and since then the increased and unfettered comnumication with the natives, the making of railroads and canals, the spread of planters and settlers, the largely-increased numbers of Europeans in Iiulia, the opening of fresh ports, and the extension of commerce in China and Japan, liave tended to weaken the prejudices of the Oriental miiul in all these countries — to take it out of its long-beaten, unbending, narrow track, shake its faith in old superstitions, arouse a spirit of inquiry, atul kindle men's hopes of the possibility of attaining to better things than their forefathers ever dreamt of. In India especially, where, beside the direct Christian teach- ini»- in Missionary schools, a large amount of general informa- tion is iujparted by the Government schools, western modes of thought and systems of jihilosophy, together with the (!!hristian ideas inseparable from them, are gradually spreading and opening their minds ; and it is plain that Hinduism is becoming daily more and more incompatible with the light thus making its way among the people, which exhii)its to th in the grotesque follies, the hideous abominations, and the CI 1 tyranny to which their idolatry, their superstitions, their .e, and the ceremonies of their forefathers have bound em. "o^u'sBN."] niOSPKCTS OF CllRISTIANITV I.N TlIK KAST. 65 It is coiitoiulcd, T know, liy some {jood men niiieli iiitorcstcd in tlu! spri'iul of Christianity, that this spirit of inquiry, tliis unsettk;(l state of tiio heathen mind, is nnfavonraI)le to the re- ception of the special trnths of Christianity, and that a cold, indin'ercnt, nninipressioiuihle Theism is more likely to be the result of the secular cnliji;hte!imcnt now {ijoinpf on and rous- ing the jjeoplc. I cannot say 1 think with them ; I think rather that it is a necessary awakeninjj and a i reparation of their minds for the reception of hij^her trnths, which periiaps could not have been cflectcd in any other way so rapidly and so generally ; and this nniy he looked upon as a critieal time indeed, a crisis for good which, if properly taken advantage of, and ri !>• I'* ! M •Hi I 58 MISSION LIFE. [>fi8ainn Life, Jan. 1, 18fiB. liecn cast in Borneo for the last twenty years, and whom I trust and Ijflitvc — if funds are [irovidcd for the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel to carry out the Missions it has already hcjrun there — it will be the honour and privilege of our own beloved Church to briii^ to Christ. Tliat nations who are in the state of religious decadence to which I have alluded will seek for some faith to satisfy them, is to ray mind strikingly proved by the ten millions under the Dutch rule in Java, wdio are now nearly all Mahometans, no Christian ^lissionaries having been allowed by their jealous rulers to offer them the message of peace, and freedom, and reconciliation to God through Jesus Christ. They, while under the sway of a Christian people, have readily, too readily, alas ! embraced what the teachers of Islam put before them, and, tired of their effete forms of Hinduism and Buddhism, of which most interesting vestiges rG.::iain, have accepted the Koran as the revelation and Mahomet as the prophet of God. I feel persuaded that there is much danger of more of the same kind of thing happening in the far East, if the Church of Christ does not exert herself now, more than she has ever done, to lay hold of the people whose minds are aroused and somewhat prepared to listen to and receive the message of sal- vation, of reconciliation to God through Christ our Lord. Delay only increases the difficulty and danger, for the emis- saries of Islam are fullv awake and alive to the crisis, and are working with a marvellous pertinacity and vigour, not only in the islands of the Indian Archipelago, but also in China itself. The new rebellion now troubling China in the north is a Mahometan onslaught, which I heard predicted some three years ago by a party of Chinese Iladgis, ten or twelve in number, returning from Mecca, where they had been for three years, who were for a time the guests of the principal ]Malay chief in Sarawak. They surprised the Malay and Indian !Mahonutaiis of the place with their superior knowledge, and their zeal and determination to propagate their faith in their own country in the north of China, which they described as coming rapidly under their influence. And doubtless, brethren, Mission Li''c,"| Jail. 1, ISUH. J puosrr.CTS of ciiiustianity in tut. kast. 59 there is mncli, apart from its simple Deism, in the fatalism, t\\^^ sensual sanctions, the despotic rule, the revengeful spirit, the nummary justice of the tenets and laws of Islam, most attrac- tive to the eastern mind and congenial to the feelings of people long accustomed to an iron rule and sunk in the depths of sensualism. Oil, Christian brethren, what a reproach it will be to Chris- tianity if Mahometanism, now apparently fading away in the West, be, from our neglect, allowed to arise with fresh vigour in the far East, and gather in nations, tribes, and peoples whom we ought to win for Christ ! My time to address you is limited, and I must not, there- fore, enlarge, as I fain M'ould do, upon this, to me, most interesting and important subject. But I trust that the few words I have spoken will have the effect of making j'ou seriously consider tlie calls that are now made upon you as a Chin-eh and nation — the call, " Come over and help us," which conies from the Eastern world, to which you owe so much of the luxuries, the comforts, and the necessaries of your daily life, upon which things, and mere amusements, so much is s|)cnt freely among us (more, perhaps, than by any other people), while, to our shame, we allow the ^lissiouary Societies of the Church to languish for want of means to extend their work. The mother of them all — the venerable Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, which carries on the Mission work of which I have had the charge in Borneo — can, for instance, do nothing to occupy a most important opening for us, in which, my recent letters tell me, numbers who would become ('hrislians, if we had a Mission among them, are Aveekly becoming Mahometans ; and if we look to India, we find that its special fund for Indian Missions is exhausted, and unless its income is increased by the sum of £l.'iJ,()00 a year, it must curtail its work in the very field where it ought to be largely extended ; and therefore it is that I would this day ask for your offerings to assist in making up that deficiency. And I would entreat you to make your occasional donations into regular suliseriptions, that your continuous individual efforts at least may not be wanting to impart to K I P mi ! {;; i:l u ! r ill* i) 3 IP* i 60 MISSION MFE. [ Mission Lifv, Jan. i, ima. those whose labour provides you with many earthly good things, the spiritual blessings which they so deeply need. Brollircn, the night is far spent, the day is at hand — perchance the time is very nigh, even at the doors, accord- ing to our mortal computation — when the Lord will come again to shake terribly the earth and gatluT the people unto Himself. God grant, if it be so, that we may every one of us be of those faithful ones who watch for their Lord, and, to the best of their power, take their part in preparing the way for His coming, by witnessing for His truth and proclaiming His love mito all men. So shall He bless us when He comes in His glory, and call us to enter into His joy everlasting. COREESPONDENCE. CENTRAL AFRICAN MISSION. EAR SIR, — When Bishop Tozer came to England in October last to recruit his health, upon which the trying climate of Zanzibar had made such large de- mands, he selected four out of the thirty African lads whom he is training at his Native College, with a view to their be- coming one day native ministers of the Church, and brought tliLdi to England with him that, by a residence of about a co\ip]o of yeais in this country, they might acquire such a knowledge of the Engli^ih language as would make them of invaluable service to Dr. Stecre iu working out his trans- lations. When first these lads arrived in England they lived toget^'er at the house of the Bishop's Commissary at Overstowey, ) ear Bridgewatcr ; but it was found expedient to separate tliP'u, in order that their entire conversation during their residence iu England might be conducted in the English language. One of these lads, Francis Mabruki, was given by the ^' ssion Ijife.l J.iii. 1, IHOS.J CORRESPONDENCE. 61 be- •M a n of ms- ''cr ear in WH in the Bishop into my charge; and T think your readers may like to sec the accompanying portrait of him, ".nd to be put in pos- session of his antecedents while a young savage in the far interior of Africa — as far as we are able to glean them from liis own account — and also of his present life with me at my little home in Suffolk. By tribe he is an Ajawa. It appears that about four years ago, being then, he supposes, about six years old — having lost both his parents in infancy, how he knows not — he was living with a married sister, not far from the shores of Lake Shirvva, near the southern ciul of whicli, it will be remembered bv many, Bislioj) Mackenzie, Central Africa's first Bishop, settled with his Mission party at a spot called Magomcro. In the waters of that lake, he tells me, he used to fish from a canoe with liouk and lii.e. One (lay the slave dealers came into the village, and, in the absence of his friends, took him away, together with a little brother about three or four years old. With a party of other slaves they were driven down to the coast. He tells me that, according to his present idea of the measuteuient of time, thev must have been a vcar reacliins: Zanzibar, some portion uf the journey being accomplished every day. At the end of about three months his little brother, of whom he appears to have been very fond, died, and tlius the last link which bound him to his home and family was >evcrc(l. Upon the arrival of Jic slave party at Zanzibar he fell into the hands of the Sultan, who gave him as a present, together with four other slave lads — ^just as one gentleman might scud another two brace and a half of pheasants — to the then newly arrived Bishop, to do, as slaves, the work of his house. I need hardly say that the Bishop did not accept tliem with tliis view. In these four little slave lads he saw tlic nucleus of that hi b: i el 1 p i D ! D ; lull It iJ it 9 rJr wor. which he had come to Zanzibar to do. In this gift he !i ■ji| 'I 62 MISSION LIFE. rMissioii Life, LJiin. l.lhCS. saw the overruling hand of the j^ood God who had guided him to that island, tlie very key of Eastern Africa and centre of the slave trade, and thus laid, as it were, the foundation of his future labours, in raising up from Africa's own sous those who should, one day, as ordained native ministers, carry back to their far distant tribes the " pearl of great price." And so he accepted the gift, and is training these lads, together with many others, in the faith of Christ; and most heartily can I bear testimony to the excellence and thorough- ness of the Bishop's training. Such progress had the little lad now under my charge made in reading, writing, and arithmetic, that when he came to me he was found to be sudicicutly prolicient to take his place in the tliird standard in writing, fourth iii arithmetic, and fifth in reading of our National School, which, I may add, is in every way a most advanced one. As to his moral training, I cannot speak too highly of him on this point. I find him most thoroughly truthful, honest, obedient, and excellent in every way : in fact, I often think, for a bov, he is too good, he nudvcs me fear. And yet with all this he is a manly little fellow, full of fun and liigh spirits, always ready to join in every English game amongst the gayest. llis dress consists of a red foz Arab cap, white linen trousers in warm Aveather, cloth in cold, a " Kisibau,'' or short white jacket, Mhieh is supplemented by a little cloth coat when the weather requires. His food is of the simplest. His bod he brought with him from Zanzibar. It consists of a ])alliasse, upon which he spreads a grass mat ; a blanket is thrown over all, and tucked in on all sides save the top, which is left open. Into this end he crawls, and lies thus enveloped like a chrysalis, hidden altogether from view. He bathes every morning, and washes and mends his own clothes. His love for reading, especially Bible stories, is insatiable ; it is impossible to satisfy him in this respect. He would read such books as ' The Peep of Day,' ' Line upon Line,' ' More about Jesus,' and some stories in *Agai,hos,' &c., till mid- night, if allowed to do so ; and it is hard to puzzle iiim in he Mission Jan. 1. l!jlJ8. !j|j8. J COIIRESPONDENCE. G3 any of the leading facts of cither Old or New Testament history. I ])r()ii^ht him home the other day two little presents — one a small framed picture of our Lord upon the Cross, tiie other a toy ship. Most boys would have been delighted with the latter, and cared little for the former. Not so Francis ; his delij^ht lay entirely with the picture — the ship was evidently at a discount. His morning and evening prayers consist of the Confession, Lord's Prayer, a special prayer for Africa and Bishop Tozer's work at Zanzibar, and then he repeats the Creed. I can only say, in conclusion, that I deem it the greatest privilege to have such a lad under ray roof. He teaches us all a lesson ; and we shall sadly miss him when he returns to Africa, in which country, I feel confident, that if God sees fit to spare his life, he cannot but do a great and good work for the cause of Christ crucified. , Do not these facts rebuke those who talk of the African as a creature of a lower and altogctlicr different organization to our.selve3, and as such incapable of being raised to civilisation and Christianity? Does it not rather argue that if we do but take them up out of the mire and' degradatioa of their miserable heathenism, into which, i;hrough a long, sad line of generations they have been wallowing, and give them oppor- tunities not (jreater than, but only equal to, our own children, that they can be made such as I have described this good 1,. I now under my charge to be ? Yours faithfully, T. E. Wilkinson. t \ I'l' ti ii % D ISi 1 ft:' is T Is'* tii 9 •' I, ore lid- in I(' / — ^ I nt MISSION LIFK rMisainn Lifn I Jiiil. 1, IHCS RF.VIEW. The Englishman in India. By C. Raikes, C.S.I. Longman, Green & Co. [HIS is a book of very unequal merit. The first half of it is nothing more than an epitome of Indian history, and espe- cially of those faets connected with the rise of l']nf:;lish power in India which, as the writer himself is obliged to confess, liave been " eonseerated by ilie pen " of Maeaulay and Kaye, and more fully described in the pages of Orme aiul !Mill. AVho that has read, or can so easily obtain possession of, tliose brilliant essays of ]Maeaulay, condensing in themselves so much and such varied information, will here be satisfied with an abstract of an ab- stract? So far as the book goes over old and well-trodden ground, the 'Englishman in India ^ is uninteresting, and indeed belies its name; it is not 'he English/««« in India; our interest is not excited and kept by the perusal of a personal narration : a wider field is chosen, and eonsc(|uently tlic interest is shallowed as long as the rise of the British power in India is the subject of Mr. llaikes' book. And even granting that the compilation is a good and useful one, we prefer Mr. llaikes as an original composer, as when he gives ns a specimen of his craft in tlie two last chapters of the book. Whatever he here writes of liis own experiences; and of his opinions is so well expressed, has siicli a freshness and vigour and originality about it, that we are sorry he did not draw more from memory and personal acquaintance with India, and less from books of reference; dejjiet more of the life which probably he himself has lived in India, in preference to the history which is at our command on the book-shelves. Of that part of the book which may be supposed best Avorthy of criticism in the pages of a Missionary publication — we mean the chapter on the life of Henry !Martyn — it is so entirely a comi)ihition of larger and better known works, that avc think it unnecf^ssary to quote any of the incidents of that well-known life. ^loreovcr, in our opinion, the claims of Henry Martynto Mission Iiift' Jim. 1, 11>C8 ] REVIEW. (i5 the title of Missionary arc very much over-estimated. That lie WHS a good man none can deny ; that he was a ;;rcat scholar there is suflieient proof; but that he was a great Missionary, and that everything in his career as a ^Missionary, in addition to his earnestness and true piety, is to be set up as the standard of workers in the present day, we cannot for a moment consent to. ])iiring his four years in India (for he arrived in the April of 180(5, and left on January 7, IHll), perliaps quite as much harm — unintentional harm — was done by him to the natives as un- do\d)tcd good. Mrs. Sherwood's description of him ])reaching to a crowd that was paid for its attendance — a crowd of l)cggars, fanatics, self-torturers — -'xhi])its the noble heart, the abounding Jove, the undaunted courage ; but there is also apparent want of that common-sense in dealing with men so necessary to the Missionary, but which Martyn lacked. He was one who attempted much (beginning a translation of the Bible after four ■weeks' acquaintance with the language, and which is now practically worthless), sacrificed much, might in time have done much ; one whose Missionary ^6'«/ none can doubt — whose Missionary 7Vork there is but little evidence of. The chapters on Sir Thomas ^lonro are of more than ordinary interest. They show how our old Indians loved the laiul of their adoption, and honoured and appreciated whatever good they saw in the people. In the midst of that growing hatred of India and the Hindus, which in the present day is so perceptibly be- traying itself on all sides and among all classes of the English, it is rcircshing to read how the great and good men, who esta- blished our supremacy in India, saw much in the country and its inhabitants to admire and approve of. What will our readers in India think of Monro's Avriting of the ''romantic hills of VcUore" ? Ycllorc is considered so dull and unprepossessing a spot that no one thinks of setting about to discover its natural beauties. Ycllorc is now one of the largest stations, and for a long time was the terminus of the jNIadras railway. The traveller longs to reach Vcllore, because he can there exchange the heat and dirt, and discomfort of country cart or palkic, or dak, for the luxury of a seat in a railway carriage. J3ut how many of the hundred'; who have come thci'c take an interest in the place ir,i; (ill I l£:l Q ^ '? ') ; ]j ■ ii I' i 'Ir vol.. v. 5 GG MISSION T-IPE. I MiMion liife, LJaii. I.IMIIH. itself, or can understand tlic idea of romance as connected with VcllorcV Yet Monro writes, p. IGO: " All around you is classic ground, in the liistory of this country, for almost every spot has hecn the residence of some powerful family, now reduced to misery by freqi'cnt revolutions, or the scene of some important action in former wars. 'Not Avith more veneration should I visi- o P"' ^f Marathon, or the capital of the ancient llomaui- a 1 ct oy on this hallowed fjround ; for, in sitting under a ^ ^i\, and ./hue listeninj; to the disastrous talc of some noble Moorman, who relates to you the ruin of his fortune and his family — to co template by what strauf^je vicissitudes you and he, Avho arc both originally i'rom the north of Asia, after a separation of so many ages, coming from the most op|)()site (puirters, again meet in Hiiulustan, to contend with each other — this to mc is ivonder- fullij solemn and affecllng." " In that short extract," adds Mr. Raikes, " is the key to Monro's public life." Instead of considering the decayed Mahometan families as " disagreeable niggers, •" he looked upon them as " noble Moormen ;" instead of voting everything a bore which had no direct relation to dogs, horses, tiffin, or cards, lie took a real hearty and sympathising interest in the human nature around him. He knew every village, and in each and all the peasantry swarmed out to welcome their tall soldier-like col- lector and to make their salaam to " Monro Sahib." And wc can testify from personal experience that, after a lapse of more than half a century, that name is still remembered and clierished by the dcscciulants of the people he governed. Persons little acquainted with India arc accustomed to speak of the degradation of the women of India, and draw pitiable pictures of the inferior position she occupies in the household, and of her entire subjection and submission to the Avili of her husband. Monro had a deeper insight into Hindu domestic life, and "we can vouch for the accuracy of the following de- scription of the strong-minded female agriculturist in some parts of India : "The women manage everytliing,and the men hardly venture to disobey orders. It is they Avho buy and sell, and lend and borrow; and though the man comes to the Cuteherry (court or justice) Miminri Life, .'nil. 1, 1««M. to IlflVC! leaving trilling, 1 to stay a The in 111 .".nd loM'cr c dren, and 0( but little re One of j\ eol lector of not William niirers of the ill India — no to the mined verandah of bearer ?) An oases ill the I old friend, gleams out oi Alinainii Iiife, ] Jan. l.ISOH.J KKVIiaV. 67 to liavd Iiis rent settled, lie alwuys receives his instructions before leavini; liome. If he j;ives np any point of tliem, however triliin<;, he is sure to in(uu her resentment. She »)r(h;rs him to stay at homo next day, and sallies forth herself next day in great indignation, denouncing the whole triI)o of revenue servants. On her arrival at the Cnteherry, she goes on for near an hour with a very animated spceeii, which she had probably begun some hours before, at the time of her leaving her own huusc ; the substance of it is that they arc a set of rascals for ini])()sing upon her poor simple husband. She usually concludes witli a string of interrogations — * Do you think I can plough land ■■vithout bullocks? that I can make gold? or that I can raise it by selling this cloth? ' She ])oints, as slie says this, to the dirty rag with which she is lialf covered, which slie had jmt on for the occasion, and which no one would choose to touch Avith the end of a stick. If she gets what she asks, slie goes away in good humour, I)ut if not she delivers another philippic. She returns to her unfortunate husband, and prol)ably does not (jonfine herself entirely to logical arguments. She is perhaps too lull of cares and anxieties to sleep tliat night, and if any person passes her house about daybreak, or a little before it, he will certainly find her busy spinning cotton. If I have not seen, I have at least often heard the women spinning early in the morning, when it was so dark that 1 could scarcely follow the road.'' The influence exercised by Hindu women of the middle ;ind lower classes, their industry, their love of home and chil- dren, and occasionally the religious depth of their character, are but little reniai'ked and understood by casual observers. One of ^Monro's friends in India was William Thackeray, eoUeetor of Adoni and father of the celebrated novelist. (Was not "William Makepeace Thackeray born in India? and will ad- mirers of the great writer — and nowhere is he moi-e read than in India — now^ that they know the fact, make their pilgrimage to the ruined and deserted bungalow at Adoni, up and down the verandah of which he was as a child carried about bv his heaver ?) And the following quotation describes beautifully those (Kiscs in the lonely desert of Indian life — a ehanec visit of an old friend, and the bright happiness which, at rare intervals, gleams out on the I'p-coimtnj life of the official in India, when ii'l^'!^^ I"* : r ■ 1,1 '1 it* 1- !rfflHlV| G8 MrSSION LIFE. rMi««imi l.ifc, I Jiin. 1, iMflH coiififcnial spirits meet in the jungle, aud the mind ia whetted and 8harj)ciu-d by mind : " I rc}?rct your loss/' writes Monro (alludinpf to Thackeray's removal) " on my own aceonnt, for I used to enjoy a fortnif^lit'a halt at Adoiii, and talking; of (ireeksand Trojans, after havinj; seen nobody perliaps for three or four months before, but IVdurs and ( iynmosophists. I hope that yon will in your new C()\(!rnment earry into ])raftiee the nuixims of the (ireeian worthies, whom you so nuich admire If there is any faith in physioi^nomy, T have no doubt that you will rival the (Jreeians; for after you wei'e eropt by tlie Adoni barber you were a strikiii<^ likeness of a head of Themistoeles I reecllect to have seen in an old edition of ' I'lutarch's Lives,' printed in the time of Oueen Elizabeth." In the ceded districts, which Sir Thomas ]\ronro ' settled * on its beconiinj? l^ritisli territory, there are old men who can re- member, and whom we have heard describing, their first English ruler. " lie was as high as that tent pole," said one man ; " his arms were so long that his hands touched his knees — he was not a man — he was a god, an incarnation." AVomen still sing songs of Monro Sahib, and anecdotes of his wisdom, his justice, his goodness, are still repeated. Thus even in India — rather let lis say, most of all in India does the sweet savour of a name remain. A colossal equestrian statue of Monro occupies a com- manding position, overlooking the ])arade-gronnd in iMadras. This to the natives is one of the lions of the town, ami there is commonly a group of villagers and cotnitry-folk around. But opinions diffc^r as to why he is thus set upon high, and the most generally received one is, that the English have thus 'pwiishcil their countryman — set him as a mark of reprobation so that the crows and kiti's defile his uncovered head — because he did good to the country and defended the Hindu against the extortion and oppression of the English; thus have they made him their martyr. But would that every young cadet and civil servant, as he ])asses nr.der the shadow of the old statue, would think more of and imitate the policy of that great man; would that his words could be written in letters of gold over every cutclieny (court of justice) in India: " AVc can never be (jualified to govern men against whom we are prejudiced." Mimion Mfr,] Jnn. I, IBM, J VIONKTTES FROM TIIK COLONIKS. 69 VIGNETTES FROM THE COI.OXIES. I. WILL try niul give yon my first experience of an Auntrnrmn wedillnpf. Kvcry one 1m iimrrii'tl by license, mid tlio iiiarrlufri! is jiorf'ornmMo at any tinio between Hunriso nnil sunset. Lust week a liajipy pair rcciuired my Merviccs It wn» a very pretty sight as I stood nt tho church diior watehinf? them coming— some ten couples, all ridin;? at a )»()od pace — the bride in a white habit, white veil, iind ^'loves, and her bridesmaids also having a preponderance of white. They all dashed into tho churchyard ; down sprang the gentlemen, bodily lifted down their fair companions, who gathered up their skirts, and camo into the church. Each of the happy pair then had to conic and take an oath, in tho vestry, of no impediment of age, want of consent, &c., and then tho ceremony took place. I took my place within the rails, but they thought, I suppose, they could bo married in tho seats just as well, Cor they would not come up till I had actually to .'ill them byname. After the marriage was concluded, and tho register signed, they went out into the churc'. /ard, and a scene of mutual congratulatiju and kissing went on from tho friends who had preceded them out of church, till I thought they never would stop and be off; but at last they mounted their horses and rode away as hard as they could, two and two, looking very hapjiy and pretty, leaving me to tho solemn ofHco of officiating at a funeral, which tho marriage party only just escaped being brought into contact with — their own fault, how- ever, as they choso to keep me waiting for them an hour and a half, and I had taken care to jilace two hours between the one ceremony and tho other. It seemed so strange to see a bride in her riding-habit, with her bridesmaid to hold a whip for her instead of a boucjuet, as, 1 believe, is usual. This couple were only labouring people, and yet evidently had an eye to the picturescpie, or else it was, possibly, my fancy ; but I thought they looked extremely well. Poor things ! they had scarcely started homewards when the rain, which had been threatening all day, camo down heavily, and they must have been drenched before they got home, four miles off. I did, I know, during the funeral and in walking home, for my horse, which I had foolishly left to feed about the churchyard, saw the gate open, and quietly galloped home, and " I was left lamenting." Weddings are few and far between down here — some three or four a year at tho most — but nearly all, however poor, are by license, for which the fees are something liks X5 5s., when they can be married by banns for about £1. II. Felntary, 1867. — In my district nearly all is pasture land, with hundreds of cows feeding on the different farms, butter being the staple commodity furnished to the Sydney market. At some of the largest farms they milk, morning and evening, some sixty or seventy cows, all hands turning out — men, women, and 70 MISSION LITK. rMission I.ifis' I .Ian. 1, 1HC«. chiUlrcu— to tlio 1 iilkinp:, \vliii:li takes some two m- three hours; hut the average nuii)ber, I laiiey, is iiliout forty to each farm. On the ^teainer ilays, th'it is, wl'Cii the boais j;o up <"roui Wollonffouf? to Sydney (five hours' passage), the road is thronged with carts ol' all sorts, hearing the dairy produce, while on other days perhiips, you will scarcely meet any one at nil, for they are at home busily churn- ing, sliimiiiii;;.', or doing soru'tliing about the place. ] have betu into several of their ihiiric-, and find most of then.' kept most beautifully clean, the tin dishes shining again. In some of them I (!0unted more than two hundred of these tin bowls, nearly all full of milk, and then I do not suppose I saw them all. They art all very i)leased if any ono notices t'.ieir dairy, and take a pride (as well they may) mi sliowing it to strangers, (>nly asking them, if agreeable, to enjoy in return .1 glass of the sweet new milk. March, 18G7. — The wet weather and great floods, such as Imvo not been known in this di:.triit since 18G0, have much iircvcnted my g(jliig about. To-day we have again incessant heavy rains, and our roads will bo again al', but impassable. In Kngland you can have no idea of what the country roads arc like in tins country — some- times in jiImccs up to the horse>' knees, and driving becomes almost dangerous. At intervals you come, on the main road, to a piece which is nielallcd ibr a little bit, and then you come to a big hole, into which your horse gets, and, of course, you stand the chance of going over his head as he stumbles over it somehow. However, we manage to get over them without many mishaps, considering. I have myself v,nly ht d one fall, and then it was partly my fault, for trying a short cut over a bad creek, and I came olf into some nice soft mud, so that a brush soon set me right. This was the day before Good I'riday — a moonlight night — as I wat, going down to the furthest pr.rt of my district, to hold a service, and 1 covdd scarcely help smiling as I presented myself to my congregation all over mud; but it could not be helped. The young ladies of the pi.- ih very beau- tifully decorated my church with flowers and evergreens on Easter Day. On the gallery at the west end were the words " I know that my Redeemer liveth," in letters of ivy-leaves ; and over the communion-table "lie is risen," similarly done. This latter text was '■■iggcsted to me partly l)y your use of it to each of us on Easter v.iorning the last occasion I spent it in England ; and as I came into church I almost fancied I heard your voice again speaking it to me. My congregation on Easter Day was very large, so that the church would not hold them all, and, besides the vestry being full and the stairs crowded, cliere were many outside. I made a very special ap" eal to my hearers in aid of the funds for building a f jhool- church in the distnct. The collection was the largest ever known — -£10 5s. 'Jd. A pleasing incident happened on that day. It had been custoniary for the ollcrtory to be collected in an old cracked china plate — a very great eyesore to me every Sunday, and the cliurcliwardens had promised that they would get something more suitable for God's house. You may imagine, thci, that I Wii!» very much pleased when i lady sent me, in the name of herself and live other ladies, a very iiandsomo silver ;il;'te, to be used instead of the other. I." ?l.«»,rf Mission Life,"] Juu. i, i.-'o^. J MISSIONARY NOTH BOOK. 71 MISSIONARY NOTE BOOK. gr. ^'il)iug;itoiic. IIE discussion which took ])liico at tlio moeting of the Ueu„'raphical Socii'ty on the receipt of the news from Zanzibar about Dr. Living- stone was of unusual interest. The cross-examination of th iviJence adduced elicited several facts, without a knowledge of which it would have been impossible to form any estimate of the value of iie information received. The first thought which naturally suggested itself to the mind on reading Dr. Kirk'.s letter was — Why if Dr. Livingstone was really alive and had fallen iu . -th a trading party hound for the coast, did he not take that opportunity of sending tidings of himself to his friends ? Mr. Waller at once disposed of this diihculty by explaining that a " trading party" was merely a euphemism for a " slaving party," and that Dr. Livingstone would not be likely to rely on such mes-;cnger». Knowing well hU anti-slavery propensities, and fearing, naturally enough, that any letter might contain some \inpleasant revelations about Ihcir own dnhigs, they wonld very likely have destroyed any such possible evidence against tbemselvcs, even hliould Livingstone have trusted in them. Another point which was brought out strongly was that the description of the "white man" refusing the ivory which was oilered to him, and declaring that his object was not to trade, but only to pass on through the country, went far to identify the traveller with Livingstone, inasmuch as even if any other traveller with a considerable armed escort, should be in that part of the country— a circum- stance which could not but be known somewhere on the coast — he would certainly be there for no other purpose but that of trade. Again, the number and the character of the firearms, carried by the traveller and his party exactly tallied with the cnuipment which Dr. Livingstone was known to have taken with him. Further, the age (about nineteen) and the character of two boys taken by Livingstone from Bombay were strongly insisted upon to show that had any dis- aster befallen their leader they would have found their way I)ack to tiie coast. They were both well known to Jlr. Waller, under whose care tliey had been after their release from slavery by the Universities Mission, and the highest testimony was borne in their favour, both by him and by those under whose care they had been at Bombay. It was also shown that so utterly unworthy of credit were the only witnesses upon whose testimony the account of Dr. Livingstone's death reste.l, and so in- terested would be their motives, both in deserting him and making good the story of his death, that there was practically no foundation whatever for the supposition of his having died in the particular way they stated. Beyond the known liai P iil|^ (Oil {^ ; [I I K' ill mrrimm am 72 MISSION LIFE. Mission Tiifi\ ^Jaii. 1, 18fta. perils of such mi undertaking as Livingstone was engaged in, there was no reason- able cause for anxiety ; whilst the fact of his not having been .ihloto oouimunicate with the coast for so long a period was easily to be accounted for, and by no means without jireccdent. The only circunistanco which militated against the theory of the said traveller and Dr. Livii;,';;stone being one and the [same was the description given of his head-gear, Livingstone invariably, even in the hottest weather, wearing abroad- brimmed native bat. On the whole, we cannot but conclude that the cross-examination very greatly confirnicd the substantial truth of the evidence given, and we are inclined to think that Sir Samuel Haker's "second thoughts" point to the true solution of the problem, and that if our impatience is too great to allow of our awaiting the issue of events, we must send an expedition /row the north. We should be curious to know what instructions were given to IMr. Young in the event of bis failing to discover any evidence of the truth of Moosa's ttory. Would this inabilitv ■ mstitute negative evidence suiRcient to justify his con- sidering the objecL of '>is expedition attained ? A stern chase will be a long chase, and if his direc'ions have been to find Livingstone dead or alive, bis confident anticipations of returning to the mouth of the Zambesi early in Jaimary may be doomed to disappointment. Probably the next great attraction at the; Geographical will be Dr. Livingstone holding forth on the probable whereabouts of Mr. Young. f I]c sialic %xi\t r appears that the slave trade has of late been carried on more extensively than ever on the east coast of Africa. Ea^-ly in 18G7 the Sultan of Zanzibar issued orders that no dhow should be taken within three miles of his coast. The result has been an almost perfect imnnniity to the slave-dealers, the tratlie being carried on without even the pretence of concealment. The constant sight of the slaves landing at Zanzibar — wretched, half-starved objects as they are — is sickening. The sull'evings endured by them on board the dliows from overcrowding have been described in our pages before. We will only add one more item to the catalogue of enormities which mark every stage of this diabolical trallic. For every slave brought over from the mainland a tax of one dollar has to be paid to the Sultan. If tlie slave, when ho reaches the coast, seems weakly or likely \.o die, no is left to perish on the sands, or his miseries put an end to by a blow ou the head. |)filu "glission Morit is brouglit iiita gisrtputc. 11 H following extract from a letter of the I?ishop of Rupert's Land will be read with interest, as showing how apt general travellers are to deny the existence of that which does not come immediately under their notice: " The venerable Society for the Propagation of the Oospel brought under my notice last year a strangely careless remark in a late book of travels in this ■ ' i o H a ■" ?! 1"= to _£ p.: > 'i is: isi ■ml -1 m 'jit i 1 1 .1 1 IHIIUIIiJI t^nmn Mission life," .Inn. 1, IsiiS. country, to joyed tlioiri! excursion tf the passage in this wide to be regre statement. ment, as thi enough ch.ii settlement t verts, its hu Missioniiry i attention an And work ai past year I li ])arishcs of h diocese arc n aff, but are t there is a lai two confinnf Most of the J show a grea Indians were Indian convei the work of a voluntary, j a great help t be training t\ their contrym up for a brief native Teache these districts occu travelled some constant bodily sufficient know * " The Koii prise and inilue J!wl i;iver Sett the nourest po!?: Mission lire,"] Jim. 1, IsiiS.J missiona:iy note book. 7» country, to the cfTeet that our Missionaries did not go out into the wihls, but en- joyed tliomst'lvcs in Red IJiver Settlement, and only now and then took a summer excursion to some neighbouring post in the interior.* While I do not suppose tha t the passi'.ge is anything more than the hasty rellection of travellers, whose course in this wide region happened not to take them to the Protestant Missions, yet it is to be regretted that they should have committed themselves to so inaccurate a statement. There are, no doubt, several Missionaries of our Church in the settle- ment, as there are Priests of the l?oman Catholic Church, but thoy have weighty enough charges, and accordingly confine themselves to the settlement. And in the settlement the interesting parish of St. Peter's, with its hundreds of native con- verts, its hundred and fifty communicants, and now its Indian Pastor (an object of Missionary inf f>rest without an equal in the country), might well have received the attention and visit of gentlemen anxious to write correctly on Missionar work. And work among pagan Indians has not ceased even in our centre. During the past year I have myself paid numerous visits to pagan Indians in tents in the parishes of both St. John's and St. Paul's; but most of the Missionaries of this diocese arc not only so distant that thoy cannot come to Bed River Settlement at all, but are so distant that I can hardly reach them At Norway House there is a large community of native Cliristians At York factory I held two confirmations, at one of them confirming uo fewer than fifty-one Indians. Most of the Indians in that quarter are professing Christians, and in many cases show a great propriety' in their outward profession. At Youcan one hundred Indians were in six months admitted into the Church by baptism, and two or three Indian converts conduct religious services among their countrymen. One does the work of an Evangelist among the heathen Crees — his eflbrts are altogether voluntary. A system is now commencing that will, I hope, in a few years prove a great help to the Missionary work. Various Missionaries over the country will be training two or three young Indians of promise for future usefulness among their contrymen. 15y-and-by, those of tliem that seem likely to do well will come up for a brief period to the College, and thus a trained and effective body of native Teachers, Catcchists, and Pastors, will be obtained for the evangelisation of these districts." %\t liisljoj) of (hwMiii LETTER in the ' Standard' highly eulogising Dr. Milman's industry in the discharge of his duties says, " He has been appointed to the See of (,'iiloutta scav.'cly nine months, and since his arrival in the East has been occupied incessantly in active work. lie has visited IJurmah, and has travelled some thousand miles over hi;? extensive diocese. Notwithstandingth is constant bodily activity, ho has been able to acquire, in this short space of time, suflleient knowledge to enable him publicly to ofReiatcin two native tongues. He • " The Romish priests far excel their Protestant brethren in Missionary cnti jirise and in.'iuence. The latter remain inert, enjoying the easeand tliat ISishop .Miluian'rf charge was not to the native clerfry, but to candidates for confirmation ; and he is, pcrhajjs, not aware that the Uishop of Madras, as well as Dr. Miluian's iiredocessor, officiated in native languages within a year of their arrival in their dioceses. Doubtless the means made use of in all cases has been the same, viz. the use of Uonian characters to express foreign sounds ; the prayers, &.C., have been written down in ' )nian letters, so as to convey a correct sound, and this has been read aloud to tlio i)eople. Only by means of such help could any Indian IJishop ever hope to address himself to the varied communities of native converts. gr. Ilonuaa '^iitM. 1^11. XOiniAX MACLEOD, the Editor of 'Good AVords,' is about to visit India us a deputation to the Scotch Presbyterians in that country, and to learn with his own eyes and ears the causes of ■ the success or the failure of Christian Missions in India. At a. dinner given to him in Willis's Itooms, prior to his departure, and at which the Dean of Canterbury })resided, he explained tliat " he went to India, not merely to inspect the Scotch Missions, but to find out, as far us possible, the state of all Christian ^Missions and of education in India, and, being furnished with the best letters from the (lovernnient and from other (piarters, ho should pursue his inquiries amongst Missionaries, civilians, and military men, and hoped to get to tile true state of all'airs. The whole Christian Church was lighting the great battle against lieathendoni j .ind he went forth, not as attached to this or that re- giment, but in sympathy with the whole army, hidia had been given to us by a series of events jierhaps the most rapid and wonderful in the world, yet we had not shown that sympathy which we ought to have felt for her 20O,OU0,()0t) of people." Dr. Macleod's report will, no doubt, be that of a candid ixnd unprejudiced witness ; yet may not the example of the Scotcli Presbyterians bo followed by cur great Church societies ? Meanwhile we trust that our readers may be able to follow in 'Mission Life' the footsteps of Dr. Madood in India. 3 Jllissbiuini grotlrcrliflol). HE experiment of a Missionary brotherhood has now fairly begun; its progress will be watched with deep interest. Near liloomfontcin. Orange Free State, a iiirm has been hired, and Canon Uecket and his party have taken possession of it. They will live together as a religious community, and endeavour to support themselves by the labour of their ewn hands, at the same time that tliey teach others, and .strive to ibrm a settle- ment of the natives around tliom. Three candidates for the Missionary brother- hood have been admitted probationers. ummnvrnm Missinii l.ifr,"] Jim. 1. IMiS.J MISSIONARY NOTE BOOK. 75 l'lli<^i S'0rfollt Isliin^. II R IHsliop of New Zealand, at a S. P. G. iricotinf^ in Bath, drew a toacliing picturo of iunoccr.t diihlrcn playing liido and sci'k in tlie prison-cells of Norfolk Island, once ii penal settlement, now the homo of a most interesting eoinmnnity — the deseendantu of the mutineers of the "IJounty." The visit of the Duke of Kdinhurgh to Trittan d'Aemiha, an account of which is given in the November number of '(iood Words,' cannot fail to draw attention to the condition of u people some- what similarly circiimstancod to the Norfolk Islanders. The snow-covered summit of the great peak of Tristan d'Acunha rises 8000 feet in height, and appears at a distance of fifty miles like a white spot of clo\id, while the lower ])or- tion of the island is entirely lost. At its base is the little settlement, with a jiopu- lation of iifty -three persons of mixed descent. In 1811) an anonymous donation of £!{)()() for this special pur])Osc enabled the S. P. G. to provide the settlement with the services of a resident clergyman. When his term of live years had ex- pired, the l{ev. W. Taylor retired to the Cape, accompanied by forty-five of his flock, and his jilaco lias not yet been supplied. The young men are described as line, handsome i'ellows, with only Just a perceptible mulatto shade, combined with a healthy red tinge j and some of the women as handsome brunettes of strikingly fine figure. If Norfolk Island is supplyins; Hishop Patteson with a succession of Missionary assistants, might not Tristan d'Acunha, if looked after and tended, come in time to furnish the African Church with candidates for the ministry ? fk Jbirssiiiian (!:xiic;)ition. Ill STAFFORD NOIITIICOTI-: has had ])hiced at his disposal the records of the C. JI. S.'s ^Missionary wc)rk in Abyssinia. Dr. Krapf, formerly one of the Society's Missionaries in that country, has been appointed dragoman or interpreter to the exiiedition. He has stipulated to have an assistant, who will also act as Pible colporteur. Dr. Krapf anticipates large oiiportmiities fur spreading Christian truth in c(ninection with this expedition. The statement in his letter to the Secretary for India, that Ins would not hesitate to ei.gago in religious controversy, excited the alarm of one of the members of the House of Commons, lest the proselytising should extend to the sepoys, &c., from Pombay ; and the question was asked in Parliament as to wlicther such a coui'l^e would bo permitted. In the event of his endeavouring to convert any but ani Abyssinian, the Commander-in-Chief will, according to Sir Stad'ord, cause him fo delist. ■■ K •-.i; p d J" y- ^ K fi- ll I sfl f mm 70 MISSION LIFE. Ccnirii! African glission. 'Minsicin Life, .jiiii. I, man. i:. STKKIIE writes on the lltii October tlmt Mr. Aliugton had left the const of the iimiuhind a month buf'oro for I'liga (or Vufjliii), tho eiii)itnl of Usnmbiirn, but no letters had boon received t'roin him. The woi-k at Zanzibar was goinff on without any change. All the Mission party were well. Tho Ilev. \V. Lea, Mrs. Lea, ami Miss I'akcmau, who sailed in August last for Zanzibar, had not urrivod when Dr. JSteere wrote. Bisluip Tozcr's dcjiarture is rather uncertain. At the end of last week he heard of a ship from Marsoillos which is to sail within a fortni<,'ht, so that by Christmas day he may be on tie seas. Two clergymen accompany the Hishop. gntisi] Columbiii. Ill'] brightest dreams of Missionary success have seldom been so nearly realised as in the case of the Church Missionary Society's Mission at Metlakattah. Our readers will rejoice to learn that a very similar work is now being inaugurated by another of Uishop Hill's fellow- workers. The Uishop writes — "At this very crisis of public trial to the material interests of tho colony a remarkable movement has taken place in one of our Indian Missions. The Itev. J. U. Good, who was stationed at Yale, 100 miles up the Fraser, has been rewarded for his zealous laboui-s by the adhesion of a tribe of lino Indians, numbering in their branches near 1000. Parties of these Indians had come to Yale to trade from time to time, bccann interested, and at length asked him to visit their chief village, about sixty miles further in the interior. He promised to come, and 700 gathered to meet him. There was some mistake in the day, and the chiefs telegraphed to him to know if he were coming. He replied by a stage which went out from Yale the same day. They were impatient, and telegraphed again, and paid for the answer ; and they telegraphed afterwards, at a cost to themselves of, perhaps, 15*. This will show their earnestness. Five miles out of Lytton (the small English settlement near the village) he was met by the chiefs and their attendants on horseback, and escorted in great state to the vill.ige. "The feeling was intense, and for several days ho taught them Divine truth, of which they never wearied. They then asked liim to come and live with them and be their father. He said, ' If I come I must find great fault with you, and make you put away many evil things which now you do.' They said, ' Only pity us and come, and we will do what you tell us.' They all then went through a solemn process of accepting him as their pastor, and eng.iging to do what he told them was right. Mr. Good could not resist this call, and has gone fnnn Yale, and has taken up his residence amongst them. I have had to meet the expenditure of his transit and other necessaries ; but every account received since shows the interest of these poor creatures in tho truth of the Gospel to be sustained. We must expect fluctuations iu their feeling ; but all who have seen the movement Miiijon Mf( J.m. 1, IhCB and know of God's k at about I( out and di ueglect, nn( require mut College. " I gricv£ calamity. ' covered witl were nearly Indian corn grow til. 'I'l woist. The is almost ceri " This cala: fully; Init wl I feel I can 1,- gracious will. '■ ^luch WU! of (he Standi! " Two days 1-oi'd. His Av " ^W an; ali can l.aidly bo "Our secon eordial and h; Cathedral, ami Court, tlic Coi it unanimously Stamliii^' Conn for consideratio siinjily act as a all'airs and sclic Jiendent Synod, of this. The n tirely ours. A\ licre, but will b wiienever the S> Miiiinn l.ifr, I Jan. 1, 1HC8.J MISSION A liY Norr, nooK. 77 and know tlic Iiuliim clmractiT oxpn'ss groat hopes about it. So wo have signs of God's IviiigdoiM iidvunciiig." upci't's I^an^. liirni'Ill from tlie IJishop of this distant diocese describes liis work iiiid tho di{licuUii;s ho lias to contend against. " I wisli," 111) writes, " tlie Cliurch could he moved to foci the imjOTrt- anco of tho work here. Tho emigration into Minnesota is going on Jit about 1000 a day. 'I'ho whole country up to this settlement is to be )nnpped out and divided for settlors; yet tho English Govormnent loaves this laud in neglect, and I cannot got friends to take up the Church work here. It would not rcijuiro much cflbrt at home to raise tho sum of iiSUOO as an endowment for tho College. " I grieve to say we have been visited, within tho last ten days, by a terrible calamity. Tho country, just when getting ripe into harvest, has boon literally covered with grasshoppers. Everything green is disappearing, am' tho crops that wore nearly ri))0 are going fast. Great part of the barley and all the oats and Indian corn will be lost. Potatoes and turnips will bo sorlmsly injured in their growth. The wheat, I trust, may in a groat measure escape. Hut this is not the woi St. The creatures have come here to brood and lay their eggs. Ne.xt year it is almost certain no green crop will ever be allowed to got np. "This calamity is a terril)le blow to all tho plans that wore advancing so hope- fully ; but what 1 have done has ever been from a deep feeling of duly ; thoreforo I fool I can lay tho trouble before God, and wait, without murmuring or care, His gracious will. " 3Iuch was going to have boon done this year. .V most harmonious meeting of the Standing Committee at my liouso had arranged everything. " Two days later, at midday, the first cloud of grasshoppers appeared. It is tho Lord, llis will be done. " We an; also threatened with ii mysterious distemper among the cattle, but it can hardly be called epidemic yet. " Our second meeting of Conference took place on May 29tli. It was very cordial and harmonious. After divine service and Holy Couinniniou in tho Catlicdral, and luncheon of all the Clergy and Lay Delegates witli unat P.ishop's Court, tho Conference met in the sc'ioolrooms of St. John's. After my address it unanimously resolved itself into a Synod of l{u}iort's Land, and referred to Standing Committee that was elected llio drawing up of a constitution and rules for consideration next year. Hut this name of Synod must not mislead; it will simply act as a body of niombors of the Church of lOngland for managing temporal allairs and schemes of tho Church hero; but it will not at present bo an indo- )iendent Synod, as are those in Canada. There wero groat diiliculties in tho way of tills. The Ritual and law of the Church of fhiglnid at homo will then bo en- tirely ours. Any charge at homo would, as far as applicable, come into operation licro, but will be open for our taking the same position as the Canadian Synods, whenever the Synod thinks it desirable and it is practicable. is! p '■'i 4 III' Lill K 9 K li I !li 78 MISSION LII"r,. 'Misiiim Lift-, _Jiiii. I, ISfiS. •'nil 1, IWJt "Till' f.ict f,'ivrs us <^iTiit ciiiise for thank rnlii0iircaehers of ,S. liawrenee, .Jewry, the llishop regrets that "he has finally withdrawn from tho work to which ho gave tho brightest and heartiest days of his life. Endowed with great readiness and power of speech, constitu- tionally vigorous, and well acrjuainted with the Creo language, he hud the gifts that, with the grace of God, make an ell'ectivc Missionary." T a recent meeting at Oxlbrd, IJishop Selwyii expressed his fear lest he might seem to be coming fIi,i Tarper, Al .Melanesia- do to prepai I'loven, and Hiwhops, stil two others, i IJ^nivcrsifies hody as well '''111 in the re "SO in propiij; CO nil CO] CI •' I'lrge iniiiil) African Jlissio; absence. \\'e " The IJisho: eoinmend to tii f'le nppe.ll whi Ziilnland. " The subject <'liure,i several 18G0 .igreed, \ Mim of .flloo : liisliop at its he. " The Mission '■'t^i'gymen and oi Disliop has nevei "i'^lio]), and was •-'"lenso exprcsse. liifn accepted tli. " The .Society i "'licet of the pn; ■•' year for the sah ^""1 m}0 has bee Misiiim I.ifr,1 •lim. 1, IbliM.J MISSIONAKV NOTK nOOK. 70 in Imnil v.itli militiiry duty. Wlioii MiiLfliiiiil. torn with •;^r'u'i' nt tlip news of tliounmiilH of her linivcst hous ijprishiii;^ in the Crimen without npirituiil hclj), sent forth Chiipliiin voliiiitcors In nunihors to their holji, thnt very siinio Canihridi^o sent forth tlin hnroic M,\i!kon/ic and Alfred I'iittcson. In tiiUinf^clmrpeof sueli ii threat diocese ii.s Lichlield, it was a threat liappinrss to k':iw that tlic time would not bo long before Honio subdivision iiiu»t take 'ilnco. Ho had Boon what subdivision of dioceses bad done in New ^I'aland. He r)nnd one Archdeacon there, Williauig, since Hishop ; Klon had sent hiui out in succession rif^ht good i'ellow-workers — Harper, Abraham, Hobhouse; nnd Mr. I'atteson had gone forth to cvungelise ]\Iclanesiii — a man who had proved, if any one ennld, what athletic sports might do to jjrepare a Misionary for his work, for he bad been captain of the Oxford Klevon, and one ri' its best tennis i)layers. He was himself one out of throe Hisbops, still alive, Hisboj) Wordsworth and the IJlsbop of Newcastle being the two others, who bad pulled in the i\ -it race between Oxford nnd Cambridge. The Universities were not established to bring up efl'cuunuto young men, but to train body as well as mind for the great work oi after-life. One bright hope cheered him in the relin(piisliment of the labours of bis life, viz. that he might yet be of use in propagating an interest in the Colonial and American Churches. Pissioiiiu'H Viisljop for .tululitnir. COMMITTEK has been formed for the ])urposo of raising nn endow- ment fund for a Missionary lJisbopri(! in Zululand. The Committee consists of the liishops of Oxford and Rochester, the Deans of Chiclicstcr and VAy, Archdeacon Clarke, Archdeacon Wordsworth, nnd a large number of clergymen well known for the interest they liavo taken in African Mission work. The laity are, we are sorry to say, conspii'uous by their absence. \Vc need not say how heartily we sympathise with the proposed ell'ort. "The Bishops of Capetown, (Srabam's Town, and the Free State can heartily enmmend to the sympathy anil support of the members of the Church of England the appciil which Is being made for the foundation of a Missionary Bishopric in /.ul'.iland. "The subject was brought by the Bishop of Cape Town under the notice of the (.'hurc.i several years ago, and the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in 18G0 agreed, under certain conditions, which were never fullilled, to grant a sum of .-GlUtO a year for the establishment of a JFission in that land, with a ISisliop at its bead. "The Mission was commenced In ISGO, and the Society now supports two ilorgymeu and one lay teacher, at a cost of more than £oOO per annum, but the liisliop has never been ajipointed. Bishop Mackenzie was to have been the lirsl bishop, and was coming to England with n view to consecration, when IJisbop l-'olenso expressed a wish to exchange Natal for that post, and Bishop Mackenzie liien accepted the office of Bishop of Central Africa. "The Society is not now in a position to increase its existing expenditure. The iilijeet of the present effort is to raise the ])crmanent and modest iiu'ome of .-C^OO !i year for the salary of a Bishop. To secure this JCiJUOO will be required. Of this Mini 4)800 has been given, and £200 more arc promised. - , I Cl ! CI (in* I'l f I K ^ i*"* i '■'5 i 4 IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET {MT-3) J: y 1.0 I.I ''.' i|ili3 6 M 2.2 1.8 1.25 1.4 1.6 *4 6" ». if p> *t' •'c'-l /W ^-^ e. .<^. m H !^, ' m ^ ^ Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY. 14580 (716) 872-4503 &?/ «0 MISSION LIFE. fMiision Life, ,Jan. 1, 180«. " The country is the coast line beyond Natal, stretching up to Delagoa Bay Two powerful tribes chiefly occupy the country ; one the Zulu nation, under the King Panda, the other the Amaswazi.'J The Rev. R. Robertson is at the head of the small Mission already established. The people are of the same race as the native population in Natal, and may, if not brought under Christian and English influences, easily become in after years politically dangerous to that colony, " Experience has taught the Church in Africa that the most edcctual w.iy to extend the kingdom of our Lord in that land is to send forth a Bishop to each wide region. Once appointed, he raises funds, selects a few fellow-hibourers, and commences operations. In a few years, as in the cai'e of the Bishop of the Free State, he gathers round him a considerable staflf of faithful labourers, and the College for the education of a native ministry at the Cape offers him the means of training up promising youths from the heathen amidst whom he dwells for the ofHce of teachers — 1, as Schoolmasters; 2, Catcchists; and 3, if found fit, as Ministers. " The Bishops believe that the plan originated by Miss Mackenzie and now brought forward by the Cnmmitee, which has undertaken the task of raising the necessary endowment, is the best that can be adopted for the spread of the Gospel in that portion of the African Continent, and that it will meet with the support of the whole African Episcopate. (Signed) " R. Capk Town. " H. Gkaham's Town. "Edwaed Orange Free State. " London, Noi-cmher 2,2nd, 1867." The following has been issued by the Committee : — The Committee, formed with the view of following up and carrying out the above recommendation of the Metropolitan of South Africa and his suflragans of Graham's Town and Orange Free State, desire to call attention to the practical and definite shape in which it is proposed to establish a lasting memorial to the late Bishop Mackenzie. At the t'me of his death a strong desire was expressed by many of his personal friends to raise some useful monument to his memory, and funds wer(! liberally supplied towards the furtherance of one of the objects in South Africa which had always been very near the Bishop's heart, the Mission, namely, in Zululaml eari'ed on by the Rev. R. Robertson, who is mentioned in the Bishop's memoir as a fi'llow-labourer, .and as working under his superintendence at the Uniln/.i Mission. But, by the blessing of God, the amount has ho far exceeded our expectations, that it is now thought by all most interested in it that it cannot be applied to a more appropriate or more suitable purpose than by being used as a nucleus for a permanent endowment fund for tl;e sending forth of a Missionary Bishop to Zuluiand and the tribes towards the Zambesi River. ^1 :^^- LMiasiu.i Life, rririiaif/ 1, IbliS. to UKSCl'Iil) MlilUAir V1C1IM3. (Sec pnge liO.) |iiii 41. !;•• ^ ^ P P m Minion Life,"! Feb. 1, 1868, J (Bein deer from cranes fror drawing fo: half.frightci locomotion^ just four in slow stages one's own t( Before I Neilglierries interesting t the course c or other of t Firstj on t various trans gain accruin siderable. Ti fact that the accommodatic and inasmucl punctuality ai JBachine paini mattress alouj for a limited at the sides, ir corners, a bag of Avater, and books as you ▼01. V. Mission Life," »b. 1, 1868. . THE STORY OF MY MISSION. 81 THE STORY OF MY MISSION. (Being Extracts from the private Diary of a Missionary in India.) {Continued from page 12.) EFORE the " Smoke Car," or the " Devil Horse," was seen pufTing over the plains of India, scaring away by the noise of the steam-whistle the chetah and wild, deer from the jungles, frightening the white paddy birds and crjvnes from their favorite haunts, the rice plantations, and drawing forth from countless villages and towns crowds of half-frightcucd and wholly astonished natives, the means of locomotion, from one place to another in the interior, were just four in number — by transit, by bullock or bearer dak, by slow stages in hired native carts, and lastly, on horseback, with one's own tent for a home. Before I describe the incidents of my jonrney from the Neilgherries to the scene of Mission work in K — , it may be interesting to say something of each of these methods, as iu the course of my wanderings I was constrained to adopt one or other of them in turn. First, on the great trunk roads, there are the coaches of the various transit companies, a purely private speculation, the gain accruing from which must at one time have been con- siderable. These differ from English stage coaches only in the fact that they were much smaller, being constructed for the accommodfvtion of not more than one or two inside passengers, and inasmuch as the postal arrangements for speed and punctuality are by no means so perfect. Imagine a bathing machine painted of a bright red or yellow colour, place a mattress along its whole length at the bottom, with a hollow for a limited quantity of luggage ; stow away in the pockets at the sides, in the net overhead, and in the depositories at the corners, a bag of bread and biscuits, a tin of sardines, iigoglet of water, and a few bottles of claret ; do not forget as many boolis as you can find place for, and let them be light and TOL. V. G IS d ISI ,„.. ' 1 ■ ^^ fe: 1!?' 82 MISSION LIFE. rM ission Life, [Fub. 1,1868. amusingr. Tor the time will sometimes hang heavily, and there is a contrivance behind your head where a lamp can safely be placed to admit of your reading at nij^ht. This is drawn by two horses, the wretchedness of whose condition is only exceeded by tlie viciousness of their disposition, inasmuch as some can only be harnessed while a man holds up one of the fore legs, others need the twitch applied to the nose to induce them to budge at all ; some will back till the whole concern is pushed axle-deep in the mireof tlie rice fields; others dasii oflwith a plunge that tries the soundness, or rather weakness, of every bolt and spring, and threatens to break to pieces every inch of the rotten harness ; but vicious or sober, though they set oflf at a pace that shakes you into a jelly, and leads you to expect a capsize at every turn, they presently sober down from very "weakness, and jog through their tea or twelve miles at the rate of five miles an hour. The roads between the larger military stations are kept, save during the heavy rains of the monsoon, in excellent order, but they are very dull and uninteresting, streiching before and behind you in one white track, that seems never to vary and never to end ; there is a sameness, moreover, in the scenery, and boxed up as the traveller is, and passing at a tolerably rapid rate, there is no opportunity or inducement to make himself better acquainted with the people or the country. There are no inns, liotels, or lodging-houses. You may pass thi'ough populous native towns, but the habits of the people are so different from your own, that you never think of seeking there " entertainment for man and beast.'' On the other hand, removed from the village, and standing alone by the roadside, shut in by the low walls of a square enclosure, is the travellers' bungalow, or rest-houses, provided by the Government for the use of travellers. Here, during the heat of the day, or while the horses are being changed, if you wish to have a meal in peace, or to wash off the dust of the high- way and enjoy the luxury of a cold bath, you may rest for a few hours. The old pensioned Sepoy or native soldier placed in charge of the bungalow is occasionally ready to prepare you a meal at the shortest notice, and the cock that a few moments before was crowing in the yard, is hunted down and served up as Mission J fell. 1, itj a toiir called overtal Litt stage c resting. a coacli a flourJ! horseko( 'jox wit I, no Joilg( tin toy. biJliard-ti sioned by rains; th em ban km but a raj opposite 1 Peihaps ai ijas saddei .vour lamp ^'lere is a fi'id now d; sight, tJie solemn hun ^"'■ogs in the horrible wh Pii'l up sudr to be cliang d«tcd staljj( ^^ your Jam cJiildren seal boiling. II inn I On the w] to recommen sionally be e <^"e sees but ^"'j=''» road, ai "^^'■fc to fartl Miuion Life, Fob. 1, 1868. J THE STORY OF MY MISSION. 83 a tough but tasty gvill. This well-known dish is commonly called " sudden duck," in aHusion to the speedy fate that has overtaken tlie venerable l)ird. Little need be said of the incidents attendant on Indian stage coach travelling of this kind — tliey are few and uninte- resting. Now and then your curiosity is excited as you meet a coach coming from the opposite direction, and dash past with a flourish of trumpets, wiiich the " guard," or more properly horsekeeper (for a miin in charge of the horses comes on the box with the driver, to lead them back when their services are no longer required), has produced on something like a child's tin toy. Occasionally, after miles of road as smooth as a billiard-table, you come to a broad and impassable gulf, occa- sioned by the entire washing away of a bridge after the late rains ; then you arc driven down one side of the steep road embankment, over the muddy stream now quite insignificant, but a raging torrent when swollen by showers, and up the opposite bank before you can continue your journey. Or perhaps after a glorious sunset, the strange beauty of which has saddened quite as much as it has impressed, you light your lamp to continue your book till sleep overtakes you ; there is a feeling of awful stillness on nil around — in the wide and now darkened plain there is not a house or living being in sight, the night voice of nature makes itself heard — a deep solemn hum of countless insects begins, the gruff croak of the frogs in the rice fields, and the piercing cry of the jackal, so horrible when heard in the dead stillness of the night. You pull up suddenly at a wretched wayside hut — here the horses are to be changed. How strange and weird the scene! the dilapi- dated stable, the sleepy listless grooms, the curious effect of your lamp on the group inside the hut — a "woman and two children seated round a fire over which their pot of rice is boiling. How different from changing horses at an English inn ! On the whole, travelling by transit, as it is called, has little to recommend it beyond the speed at which it may occa- sionally be effected. It is very dull and very fatiguing, and one sees but little of the country beyond just what skirts the liigh road, and that too often is of a character that does not invite to farther acquaintance. It is expensive, moreover; I lilt I m 81 MISSION LIFE. rMlfa'mi I.lfc, I J^'eb. 1, lHU». 111 ■|i| '11 paid lOOrs., or £10, for a journey of little more than 330 miles, accouiplislicd in four days. A second mode of travelling in India is bv mnkiiisc vour own arrangements, in connection with thn proper authorities, and getting posted along the line of march sets of bearers to carry your palanquin, or pairs of bullocks to draw your cart. This is the mode in common use in districts where no regular transit or service of coaches has been established. Tliis pre- supposes that you have a carriage or palanquin of your own, and have sudicicnt time to give the necessary notice to the Government oITicials. Let us suppose that you have to travel from ^Madras across the peninsula north-westwards towards Bombay. You write at least a month beforehand to the collectors, or chief revenue ofllcers of the several districts through which you liavc to pass, informing them of your in- tention, and asking their aid in the matter. The collectors have simply to give the necessary ordex's to their native sub- ordinates in each Talook (county) along the route, and then again arrange with the village authorities that on a certain day and at a certain hour (calculated approximately from the time of your setting out) a pair of oxen with a native driver, or a set of bearers with guide and torches, await your arrival on tho high road, or, if there be one, at the travellers' bungalow. For this convenience you pay at the rate of 3d. a mile for the bullocks, and a present to the driver, or 3s. a mile for a set of fourteen bearers ; but the charges vary considerably in different parts of the country and at diflcrcnt times of the year — the services of cattle as -well as men being of greater value at one time of the year — during the ploughing season and at harvest, for instance — than at another. AVhen travellers are few and far between, and the cattle of the farmers are not much in requisition — when, in short, the demand is small, the charges are low ; but if tho passers-by are frequent the prices rise. Travelling in this way one sees more of the country, and is brought into more intimate connection with the people ; the comfort, security, and rapidity of the journey depending almost entirely on the character of the English collector, or of the native Thasildar through whose district you are passing. In the better managed districts a paper is put into your hand at Migaioti 1,1 tV>. 1, 1b( the fir relay a; is gene driver, to trail hursed is i'carei sum fiiH it is du of coiini to pass. DAkj "iculonts higli roai interior c seldom o European civil ami t^»ere, anc ^vith the there are seen the /; behind the gaze is ju zcbe. T upon has occasionall That villaj, of which stood from old the tn itj covered cotton, hav: succession ; that tJie pri showing be i" the lands engraved on field or glol a natural de( I. ■■ Miasion liifo,"! full. 1, Isub.J THE STOIIY OF MY MISSION. 85 the first sta[»c, informing you of tlic distance between one relay and another, and specifying the anionnt of payment. It is generally left optional to the traveller himself to pay each driver, who in most cases is also the owner of the oxen, or to transmit the whole sum to the collector, to be reim- bur.scd by liim to the parties to whom it is due ; but it is feared that in the latter case, only a tithe of the whole sum finds its way to the purse of the patient ryot to whom it is due, the remainder being absorbed by the peculations of countless native subordinates, through whose liands it has to pass, Dilk journeys arc also not devoid of alarming and amusing incidents. You find yourself day by day receding from the high road of Enr6pcan civilisation, and penetrating into the interior of the countrv where the face of the Avhite man is seldom or never seen ; for be it remembered that whereas Europeans congrcgafe in the cities of India and in the large civil and military stations, and whereas the native dwellers there, and in villages near the high roads, are tolerably familiar M'ith the manners, the dress, and appearance of the English, there arc tens of thousands " up country" who have never yet seen the face of one of their rulers. You very quickly leave behind the signs of English rule ; the scene on which you now gaze is just what it was in the days of Porus or of Aurung- zcbc. The well-made Macadamized road which you set out upon has gradually dwindled down into a wheel track, passing occasionally over a ploughed field or the bund (dam) of a tank. That village of neatly-built thatched cottages, the inhabitants of which gather will eager curiosity to see you pass, has stood from time immemorial where it now stands. See how old the trees are that shelter ii, ! The lands surrounding it, covered with crops of rice, maize, sugar cane, indigo, and cotton, have come down from father to son in uninterrupted succession ; if you had time to inquire, you would find out that the priest of that little temple, the white tower of which showing between the green foliage is so prominent an object iu the landscape, can produce documents, sometimes a charter engraved on sheets of copper, in testimony of the grant of a field or glebe for the support of the priest. That tank where a natural declivity has been taken advantage of, and the rain- !ii" 86 MISSION L[1'E. [Miaiinn }Me, t'vb. 1, 180a. fjill of the year is stored up for the ])iirposc8 of ir-' '.itioii, wna doubtlesa cnnstriictcd in the davs of Mrdiommcdaii rule, niid prolmhiy tlio order of rotation accorditi'' to whicli the pre- vious wiUcr is permitted to irrijifiUe the fiohln of each fanner iu turn, is ns old as the tank itself, and liable to as little change. It is the India of old times, -with its wondrous scmi-eivilisa- tion, with its nnchangin<; customs and institutions, that you pass through when you have left the high road two miles behind ; but you soon discover that the means niid appliances for travelling are some of the things but little anticipated and provided for in the ancient re/jhne, and therefore are still wanting under the present Govcruuieiit. As to tlic road, few spring-carts could long survive the stniinin'g and the jolting to which thev are liable. Now you are shaken to pieces over a rocky way where the stones and boulders lie about, as large and abundant as at the bottom of a brook : now von are drawn cautiously along the narrow ridge of a tank-bund (dam) ; the narrow {)ath docs not exceed live or six feet in width, there is a precipice on one side of a shelving bank, and the muddy water on the other. Now you are brought to a standstill by a nullah, or dry w ater-course ; now you are capsized in the sandv bed of a river. You calcuhite on much dclav, and vou look out for frequent upsets. Besides, cattle and drivers arc not always forthcoming, and it is not comfortable to be de- serted and cast on one's own resources, in the midst of a strange people, and a hundred miles distant from the nearest English station. I am driven, let us suppose, down the principal street of an Indian village; the driver comes to a stop in front of a village, town-hall and asscmbl}' rooms, an open-faced shed Mhere way- farers of all conditions and ranks of life may put up of a night or during the heat of the day; or perhaps it is nothing more than a platform constructed of great slabs of stone placed about the trunks of fine old trees, where the women sit and spin, and the men assemble for their chat and evening deli- berations. Here the oxen are unyoked, my cart let down, and the driver, informing me that a fresh pair will presently be forthcoming, makes his salaam, roreives his fare, and having begged a few pice in copper to spend on a meal, that he may MiMinti ^Me; Kcb. 1, IBUH. take the Lis o.xcn have par much ah Yes, (I every 'h\W but keenl day ; and a largo £ cleverly o then liuir meal, N quiekly re while any myself wi midst of food prepa caste resti indiscriiniii triets only Jiut wlie half an hm I grow im|i the crowd, brevity of c The only cl crowd. I way to the duty it is generally tc finding him over bundle reproach lii vcnience he alacrity, npo for the del; journey, has taken, or th have gone to he will see t( mm '\ Miuinii T.iri',"] Kcb. 1, l»U».J THE STOIIY OF MY MISSION. 87 take the; silver liomc intact, disappears down the street, driving Lis oxeii before him. I frel as he gets out of siglit that I have parted with my hist friend, and am sensible of being very much aU)ne, tlioiigh surrounded by a little crowd. Yes, n crowd ! There are bovs who form the nucleus of every idle group in the world j there are men lazy and listless, but lueiily observant, for a Sahib traveller does not come every day ; and there arc women passing to and from the wells, with a large earthen pot of water borne on the hip, or balanced cleverly on the head, who gaze timidly for a few seconds, and then hurry away. While the oxen arc coming I shall enjoy a meal. No sooner do they sec that I am eating than all quickly retire, as it is considered very bad manners to look on wlnle any one is at meals. It is as well that I have provided myself with food and drink, otherwise I might starve in the midst of plenty. Few Englishmen accustom themselves to food prepared in tiie native way; and, on the other hand, the caste restrictions of the Hindus jjrcvent them from ofl'ering indiscriminate hospitality. A tumbler of milk, in some dis- tricts only buffaloes' milk, is all that can be procred. ]Jut when arc the bullocks to take me on ? Twenty minutes, half an hour, an hour, and no signs as yet of their approach. I grow iiu[)atient. "Bulls? where?'' I repeat continually to the crowd, with looks and gesticulation full of meaning, and a brevity of expression that makes it all the better uu' erstood. The only eflect this has is to thin, and in the end disperse the crowd. I can stand it no longer. I jiunp up, and ask my way to the house of the village Moonsitf, or head man, whose duty it is to collect the taxes, decide petty disputes, and generally to represent the Government. I am fortunate in finding him at home, seated in front of his house, and poring over buiullcs of accounts written on coaise brown paper, and reproach him with the neglect of his duties, and the incon- venience he is occasioning me. In a moment he is full of alacrity, apology, and polite assurances of regret, and excuses for the delay. The collector's letter, informing him of my journey, has not yet been received, or the day has been mis- taken, or the cattle after having awaited me all the morning Line gone to bait, or he has had dilliculty in procuring a pair; he will see to it in an instant. ! is! Pi P P r 88 MISSION LIFE. fMiuinn UfP. Ll'elj. 1, iwm. V, " oil, Ilnma, Ny a revelation f a perfect form of r '0 'iglit only ),y c 'i«"ity is a Divine Christianity cannot of looking at it. I '"■Slakes which hav s.V'tems, which it «■ instances which ha Ji'nglish writers, be s T'li Million Life, "l i'eb. l.lHGH.J EPIPHANY THOUOIITS. 9& Perliaps of all otlicrs the I ^^ human instrun.enUli.y ^hich'lT.'l'"''!''"''' ''"" ^" ^'"^ " really hlessi„. th. co..-.ry or district. Statistics or v" L . " 'T^''"^ '^^ ^'-'^''-i'v in s,.,„e g eT "('""our minds J they are liU , ° ^ "'"''' »'a'en.ents leave l,ttl. • ^ will take another case of , .• ., °"'" '"'""" these walls. ^ circulated i„ m,,-,. entitled < A Lo trr to TTT ^ "'"' "^ '^'^'^ '>««" lar.el. "«^''i"g in any other religion to be T" *" 'J"«^'-" is to shovv ^ ^ ^-a- reason hein, ^::^ ^^ZZ^;^;" '''''^'^'y' -^' '!'- 1 s^J De. y, or ra.e any perfect syste. of re "on t."' 'T "^'' °' ^'"^ -'"- tt^ ".V a revelat on from Onri d '^^iigion, this only could hav^ i,„ :;!'•"• "'■■■■'■ I"- been col: /'i:?;:"' .;■:« «'" .h.„ .„; I ,;™' ■iters, he shows how "'earen,isledbytheu;eofterm 'op Colenso and other s to which we htve n iti ' If ^ r 1 J 1 96 MISSION LIFE. ^tiln "Mi»sinu T,ifc _ Feb. 1, 1808. learnt to attach a meaning whicb in these cases they could not have heen intended to have, and that, in fact, the nse of words which seem to indicate the holding of much that the Christian holds in the higliest estimation is consistent with the most dchascd ideas of the Deity, and with the most monstrous errors and follies. In whatever light, in fact, we regard this treatise, whether as exposing the fallacy of one of Itishop Colenso's most plausihle theories — or as testifying to the " goodness" of the Gospel tree planted in the soil of India hy the Church of England, or as an appeal of peculiar power to the modern rationalist, it will hear favoural)le com- parison with any work which has issued from the press in England or India for some time past. You will say that these are exceptional cases. I grant that they may be, but it is fair, I think, to assume that the general advance of religion must have been very great, much greater than we should he apt to imagine, for it to be prssihle to quote such cases at all. Just as in such a School as this it would be impossible to conceive- that one or two great scholars shoidd occasionally be sent up to our Universities, and yet that there was nothing worthy of the name of scholarship nmongct all the rest who go out from this place. Such, then, brethren are some of the results in particular countries of our Church's Mission work, which next Sunday you will be asked to assist with your alms. Whether we look to such residts as these, or whether we look to the more often quoted results of the large number of Christian congregations gathered in places where a few years ago the sound of the Gospel had never penetrated, we have only to inquire closely into the matter to seek out details of what is being done to feel assured that it is ndccd God's work that we are aiding, and that it is a glorious privilege, which we should rejoice to ovail ourselves of, to be allowed to become fellow-worker.'i, in however humble a way, with those who have gone forth to the distant parts of the earth to give the light of the Gospel to them that sit in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide their feet into the way of peace. Million r,ii TWi steamer from difficulty^ o«i J secured a b( oJd one, of a passengers. steamer n-ould ^'ith this grcj ^ort or accomd tnenty hours, GJad Mc ncM Aspinwall Ave , t^'c isthmus to' «even miJes. VOL. V. MiMioii Mf,. mmioii Lif,. -I Jeb- i, 18(iM.J IN ^•'^lANS OF QUEEN CHARLOTTE'S ISLAND. 97 TWO YEARS AMONGST TIFP rxr. nrrrT^xr ^^^ INDIANS OF QUi^EN CIIARLOTTE^S ISTMV. "^ (lb- A. r. Pool ISLAND. E, Mining Kngineer.) t^HNlNG m^. back upon „,any __ sincere friends in Canada, I steamer from Ne^v Ynrlr f a • ''''''^^"'^d to catch the first fffieuit,, o.in, :>In\ Lt~^ t ,--t'-t considcra,r I jecured a berth hy pJiut\T ^'^'^ ^^""^^''^ ^"^ Cariboo. °^d one, of about IsSo^t ns // T""^* ^''^ ^^^^'"^"^^^ -- an P«-engera. U.der British Lf t' '"^^ ""^"'"^ --• ^000 Reamer would not have b en T' I """^ "^'"^•'^"' '^^^^ « f'^th this g..eat crowd on board "'V' ^'^''^^ '"^''^ ^^"^" «00. f-t or accommodation rimdldT °n'"""' ^"''^ ^''^"''^ --" *--lv l.ours, we at las rt d a?" i/" "^''^ ^^■'''^'^ -^^ ^ Glad we were indeed tlZf !"""''" ^~^^« ""''^s)- A^pinwall we had now to nf ' " ''"'" '"^ '-^ ^^^^ ^-- • At ^"'^ -thmus to Panama ;'.:;;"• *V"r "^"''^ '^^ ^'--'^^ «even miles. When this ra jlT' ' ^'''''''' «^ -bout forty! raiJwaj. was constructed some yoL VOL. V. m 1 ; ,1.^ ■ . « 1 '^ i " '0 r ■ : iiw ! if > Hi i* 1 ' i 98 MISSION LIVE. rMfaiion Life, LVeb. 1, lbS8. iri ago, ague and other fevers raged terribly ; it is reported tliat every yard of rail laid, was at the cost or sacrifice of a hurtiaa being; even now the bones of tlic victims may be seen jntting out from under the railway sleepers and bleaching in the sun. Fortunately for travellers in the present day those malignant fevers are in a manner unknown, or have wholly ceased. It is well it is so, for this is the most delightful and interesting part of the whole voyage. The chief characteristic which a stranger observes on landing here is the deep green foliage of the cocoanut tree and palm. Pine-apples were selling at ninepencc each, such beauties ! All the tavern or storekeepers have mon- keys at their doors. Turkey-buzzards arc as common here as crows are in Britain. A good supply of delicious fruit is always to be had from the natives in this wonderful vegetable kingdom, where at every stoppage of the train the women and children crowd into the carriages crying, " Bananas, my dear," " Oranges or pine-apples, my dear," &c. What a wonderful contract is here presented to the eye of a stranger from more northern latitudes — every point of the compass discloses magnificent vistas of leaf, bough, and blossom, while all outline of landscape is lost under a perfect deluge of vegetation. No trace of the soil is to be seen. Lowhuid and highland are the same. Mountain rises upon mountain in graceful majesty, covered to their very crests with every variety of vegetation and floral beauty. The loveliness of nature here is indescribable ; she seems decked out in her richest and most costly garb to welcome the adven- turous pioneer to that Eden of the Avorld and the Eldorado beyond. You simply gaze upon the scene before you with delight. 1 would strongly recommend all those who are lovers of matchless scenery and fond of botanical research, to spend a few weeks in the vicinity of the railway which crosses the ''Isthmus of Panama," and divides the Pacific from the Atlantic. Here all the gorgeous growths of an eternal summer are mingled iu one impenetrable mass, whilst from the rank jungle of canes and gigantic lilies, and the thickets of strange shrubs that line the water, rise the trunks of the mango, the cocoa, the sycamore, and the superb palm. . Minion I,ifp, *'very industrious people, and encourage the " whites" to live I: (3) T^ 102 MISSION LIFK. [Mixinn l K«l). 1, It if: iboa. ainonp; tlicm. This is an advnntngft, as these Indians are re- markably successful fishcrnion, and can bo always emijloycd in catching any quantity ot" fisli in the river for the supply «>(' the settlors. Tlicy are a hardy race of people, but rather dirty in their habits. Their houses are very substantially built, and many of them are entered by an opening of a circular form about two feet in diameter ^I'hich is made in the building after it have been erected ; " others are constructed with doors, after the white mati's system. These houses vary in size, from thirty to eighty feet in length, and from twenty to forty feet in breadth, are one storey high, with nearly flat roofs. The whole building is constructed of wood (cedar), the boards generally two inches thick, and averaging from six to eighteen feet in length by eighteen inches in breadth, remarkably regular and smoothly cut. "When I first examined them I was under the impression they were sawn and planed by white mechanics, but such was not the case, lis I shortly afterwards saw the mode by which the natives manufactured the timber into boards previous to their erecting a house for a newly-created chief. The tool which tlicy use for jdaning is a simple piece of iron fastened to a round wooden handle by a piece of cord manufactured from the inner bark of the cedar ; this tool is shaped and worked like an " adzo," and is their principal working implement. ' Their next tool of importance is an awl-shapcd knifc/thc point of the blade is bent up in the form of a half-circle; this instrument they hold like the tool held by English blacksmiths when cutting horses' hccfs, that is, Avith the back of the hand down and drawing the blade towards the bodv. It is really remarkable the number of articles for general purposes and for ornament which they make with this last sini|)le implement, all beautifully and artistically finished. I was shown a perfect facsimile of a sovereign carved on a piece of ivory of the same size as the gold coin. But to complete my description of their houses. The frame is supported by posts driven into the ground, an open space of about eight feet in depth being left between the floor and the ground. This space is used for (jeneral purposes, all filth, refuse, &c., being dropped through the openings in the floor; and when, in course of time, this "space" gets filled up, the house or " frame" is removed to another spot, and placed again Million *'«l<. 1. II on th( ngain move of twc about a hund logs re is full aside, of the I On t protect before w for squa night, t Overheai while at their win various a Tiieso the white river, uiK leave it. moored tc top of the and after they are landed a voices, hui Ijanish one season, the not ailowcf conirnunica •relief that i'ivp- the fis even for a heard one piercing wai Jicard they t On reach] KJ"uHi».] INDrANS OP QDEEN CIIARLOTTE's ISLAND. 103 on the top of new posts nnd there it remains till the spnco is ngaiu nilcd up. Tims tliey contiiiuo from time to time to re- move their nhode. Tlio roofs of those houses pencnilly eonsist of two {jiciit logs or trecj», the full length of the huildiiig and about three feet in diameter. Each of these requires at least a hundred Indians to hoist it up to its plaee. On these hugo logs rest the hoards, unfastened, so that when the house inside is full of smoke, or the weather is fiue, they can he piislied aside. Tliis, however, is seldom done, owing to the lazy habits of tlie i)eople. On the ceutre of the floor is spread a quantity of gravel to proteet the wood from eatching fire j on this is placed the fire, before which is placed or spread the mats, which serve as seats for squatting on during the day, and are used as mattresses at night, the sleepers lying with their feet towards the fire. Overhead, amidst the dense smoke, hang their uneured fish ; while at the far corner of the room are piled up in large boxes their winter stock of dried and cured fish, berries, and their various articles of merchandise. These Indians are very superstitious. They will not allow the whites to wash, or throw any water or rubbish into the river, under the impression that it will cause the fish to leave it. The fish when caught arc strung on a rope and moored to a pole stuck into the bed of the river, while on the top of the i)()Ie arc fastened bunches of feathers to charm them, and after they have renuiined in the water for several hours they are taken on shore, one at a time, and as they are being landed a crowd of children keep crying at the top of their voices, but in a solemn strain, " Vil-o-o-o." Tlicy generally banish one of their tribe to the mountains during the fishing season, there to exist on berries and what he can find. He is not allowed to have a fire, and none of his tribe may liold any communication with him "■while the spell lasts," it being their belief that if the banished Indian once sees any part of the rivf"" the fish will depart from it for ever. This is a cruel fate, even for an Indian, and I shall never forget the first time I heard one of those poor Indians* heartrending and most piercing wails as they came echoing from cliff to clift*. Once heard thoy are never to be forgotten. On reaching Queen Charlotte's Island I built a log house, in i) ' 4!)* !? " ' %n 104 MISSION LIFE. [ Mission MTi', Feb. 1, 1808. which I resided about twelve months, a sketch of which is seen at the head of this paper, and which is one of the most com- fortable of houses to live in, and can he quickly and cheaply built after the Canadian bush style. The trees, growing in the morning, are cut down an 1 converted into a comfortable house by sundown. It generally takes about fifty men to build one, every man giving a day's l.ibour free, while you give him his food and pay for a fiddlev, to wind up with a merry dance, this being called a " ^ ouso-warming." Of course, in the event of your neighbour rt [uiriug a house, a barn, or stable built, ten acres of bush c?, ire^i for crop, or fifty acres of potatoes dug up and put in pi f in one day, you have to reciprocate, and in this way you mav v. . I, 1868. H 1 •™ It is painful to be reminded of those unfortunate and beniglited creatures, with no religious faith, no elevated principle of duty ; and in bringing these cursory remarks to a close, I may perhaps state the mode which I would suggest should be adopted for the colonisation or early settlement of Queen Charlotte's Island, and in doing this, it will answer the inquiries made by a correspondent in a former number of this Magazine. After the emigrants had arrived at the island all hands would be set to work to build a large one-roomed log house, in which all could lotlge temporarily, and which could be used afterwards as a Mission station or school-house. When this is accomplislied, positions for fifty houses might be staked out, and then all hands could be employed in building log house No. 1, When "No. 1'' is completed. No. 2 could be com- menced and completed, and so on till the completion of the whole number required ; and thus within two or three months after landing on the island, every family would be comfortably housed. Thus domiciled in substantial wooden erections, the attention of "' " emigrants would be directed to the cullivation of the soil, which is most rich and fertile. Each family could begin farming operations on a small or extended scale, seeds and implements being provided from the general stock, and my impiossion is that at the end of the first year they would find themselves not only with every comfort, but on the road to independence. Of course the Government would require to grant 200 acres free to each family emigrating, or more land if wished by them under stipulated conditions. I will merely add that I have every confidence in the success of such an emigration scheme under Government authority. All that I cr.ave is the sympathy of my countrymen and countrywomen on behalf of those poor " llydah'' Indians on that is-ohited island, discovered by Captain Cook nearly a hun- dred y(!ars ago, and explored so recently by me ; and I do trust that I may be the means through the present channel of awakening a public .nterest in their fate. In conclusion, I may add that I ask nothing for myself but the pleasure of helping so noble a cause with ray own pre- sence, personal labour, and little capital. To the earnest con- Mijsion Feb. 1, II sidera B'itaii may ir beaufi/ Under i Would < jewels i cn a ee trf 'e^'ular ma Cariboo : t thousand Antler Cr S^t, Iiowevi so the cont miles bet we j'lcluding- t brethren h; Were careles; structions. J walked notifviiig. to I^eturnin^ at, 1 was told t «s''ed if I cou The incidents P'-ipt'r, are chiefly U Mifsion Life,"] Feb. 1, 18G8. J CHURCH WORK IN BRITISH COLUMBIA. 107 sideratiou of the industrious surplus population of Great Eritaiu^ I offer these remarkable facts in the hope that they may induce them to better their condition by settling on the beautiful and promising Island of Queen Charlotte, which, under the elevating influences of Christianity and civilisation, would eventurdly become one of the brightest and most precious jewels in the British Crown. CHURCH WORK IN BRITISH COLUMBIA. {Continued from vol. iv, page 159.) LIFE ON A MINING CREEK. ^ UGUST llth. — An express came over to-day from Antler Creek, with letters and papers for the magis- trate. The Government profess to have established a reguhtr mail service this season between the lower country and Cariboo : that is to S!\y, they have given an express man several thousand dollars to convey letters from New Westminster to Antler Creek, at the rate of one dollar per letter ! They for- got, however, to include William's Creek in the contract, and so the contractor charges half a dollar more for the sixteen miles between this and Antler — six shillings a letter, not including the extra colonial postage ! Last year, one of our brethren had to pay ten shillings a letter for some which wore carelessly sent up country to him contrary to his in- structions. I walked a mile or two down the creek this afternoon, notifving to miners the fact of there being Sunday services. Returning again to the "town," as I passed a drinking saloon, I was told that a man lay badly hurt in a l)ack room. I asked if I could see him. He had been engaged in a drunken * The inoi(Tent3 contained in the nccnmpanyinp: paper, rontinninc: n formei paper, are chiefly notes tnlcen I'roui the writer's private jouruiil 4'or 1UU2. ilu ''! 108 MISSION LIFE. [Mission Lire, Feb. 1, 1808. Misiinn L Mi ' 'it row the night before, and falling out of the door in a state of intoxication, he was rolled over the plank side-walks, with others on the top of him, and received fatal injury. They think the spine is dislocated. He was paralysed and uncon- scious. Shortly afterwards he died. I was afraid they would ask me to bury him. However, as he was professedly a llomanist, some of his own creed took the matter in hand without application to me. August 12th. — There is no flour to be had ; the supply is exhausted. A man has been offering 10*. a pound for it, but cannot get any eveu at that price. We are told there is none at Antler Creek either. When plentiful, it has been selling for 4s. to 4s. 6d. per lb., other provisions in proportion, beans and bacon. Beef fresh slaughtered is the cheapest food j this can be had for about 3*. per lb., and sometimes as low as 2s. A half-pound loaf, just such a small twist as an English baker sells for a penny or twopence, costs me a dollar. A box of matches, 2^. It is easy to understand how men get " broke " with such prices as these. And it is also easy to see at how heavy a cost the Church's Missions are sustained in mining districts imperfectly opened up. Coming out of the principal restaurant, my eye caught an announcement which at first puzzled me. It was a notice, over the bar, to the effect that jawbone was played out. In mining parlance, a thing or a person is "played out" when good-for-nothing men, used up, &c. But "jawbone," what did that signify? It appeared that when a man had no money, and went about living on credit, and putting off with promises to " pay next week," or with assurances that he was certain to " strike it rich " in a mining claim in a few days, he was said to be living by jawbone, i. e. by a free exercise of that pv rtion of his physiological structure. The notice, there- fore, done into Queen's English, was simply an announcement of no credit given. Sunday, August 17th. — There was a considerable falling off to-day in the attendance at service, morning and afternoon. Some pack trains came in, and all was bustle and excitement. The order of service we use (printed on cards, which arc distributed) is as follows : — 1. J on ano 2. A nature people i 3. G Thee," Versicle 4. V( 5. A 6. Va Evening 7. Sp< Mission i 8. Pra Prayer of 9. Ah 10. Th. 11. A ] This is on a third piled praye seen tliat we endeav( often I fin voice is all wholly to 81 cards is a n I think, in hitely necesi be found an the Bishop tooshun." A very gr upon Sunda, far as strikii He rests, was of the week, about the gan a Sunday is a Million Lire,~| Feb. 1, 1B08.J CHURCH WORK IN BRITISH COLUMBIA. 109 1. A hymn is sung. (These, some thirty in number, are on another card.) 2. A short address from the clergyman, explaining the nature of Common Prayer and worship, and the duty of the people in bearing their parts. 3. Oeneral Confession ; prayer, " O Lord, we beseech Thee," from the Communion Service; Lord's Prayer; and Versicles. 4. Venite, and Psalm ciii. 5. A lesson from Old or New Testament. 6. Various collects and prayers from the Morning and Evening Service. 7. Special prayers, compiled by the Bishop for use in Mission and mining districts. 8. Prayer for all conditions of men; General Thanksgiving ; Prayer of S. Chrysostom ; and Benediction. 9. A hymn. 10. The sermon. 11. A hymn. This is our usual morning service. The afternoon (printed on a third card) consists of the Litany, other selected or com- piled prayers, with a lesson, hymns, and sermon. It will be seen that the service is varied, the breaks are frequent, and we endeavour to confine it to an hour, if possible. Very often I find it impossible to have the closing hymn. My voice is all used up, and of course we have to lead, sometiq^es wholly to sustain the singing. The plan of service and hymn cards is a most useful one, and might be adopted with success, I think, in Mission services at home. Here they are abso- lutely necessary, as often there are not three Prayer Books to be found amongst hundreds of men As an American told the Bishop one day after service, they are "a great insti- tooshun." A very great deal of unnecessary work is done on the claims upon Sundays, though, as a rule, the miner observes it, so far as striking off work is concerned, for his own interest. He rests, washes his clothes, divides with his mates the yield of the week, does his marketing at the stores, and hangs about the gambling and liquor saloons. The drunkenness on a Sunday is appalling. F f!W I H^fn m 110 MISSION LirE. >'i««ion Life, Feb. \, 1868. L \l (* I ! i j \ll « 1 ■ Sunday, Avr/ust 2ith. — To-day I cli.irjgecl the pLico of service^ and also the hour of ihe second service, from afternoon to evening. The store we formerly used Avas let last week, and is now full of goods. I tried iti vain in several quarters for a place under cover, and at last was driven to choose the open air. I took up my position on the planked footway just outside the bar of the principal eating saloon. A tub liauled out and inverted served for my pnl|)it. I borrowed the eating- house triangle, and stood beating it for some ten niinntes by the door, as a call to church. Then I mounted my extem- porised pulpit, and began service for some twelve persons who had boldly seated themselves before me on a bench. As nsual we began Avith a hymn, and the singing quickly attracted others. Before it was ended I had some forty persons round me. They came out in numbers from the adjoining doorway, the principal gambling-hell on the Creek, which was always crowded on Sundays. Seeing that my congregation consisted of hearers far more than worshippers, I inverted the usual order of service, and proceeded to read a chapter, from which I preached at great length. I am bound to say I had a very attentive congregation. On such an occasion, however, preaching seemed more filly to precede worship, and though many moved away when, after my sermon, I knelt down and offered up the Church's beautiful prayers, yet some thirty remained to the close, not, I trust, without profit to them- selves. The strain to the voice of this open air service, with singing, is, however, very great, and I never could get through more than two such in the same day, with difficulty even so much. In the evening the proprietors of the restaurant let me use the bar-room, and took some trouble to help me ex- temporise plank seats. I got some sixty persons together, and standing myself Justin the open doorway, I had a supplementary congregation of many more upon the plank pathway outside. Both services were an immense improvement upon those of the former Sunday, and I rejoiced that necessity had driven me from the store we previously occupied. Thursday, August 28/A. — A great part of the magistrate's time is occupied daily in trying mining suits. These may be brought before him any day, after twcnty-four hours* notice, Miisiim Lire,"! Feb. 1, IBGH.J CHURCH WORK IN BRITISH COLUMBIA. Ill except when lie has given previous notice of a criminal court. The hiws which regulate the proceedings of free miners are simple enough on the whole, and, save in exceptional eases, suits cidl out the exercise of common sense rather than any extended knowledge of law. Mr. E — , in fact, is no lawyer at all, and yet is considered an excellent magistrate and gold commissioner. We may stroll in and listen to a case, a sample of the ordi- nary suits that come hefore the magistrate. It is a dispute between two companies on the Creek respecting water privilege. Comi)any A, requiring extra water for washing up the "pay-dirt," had brought in last year a small run of water from a gulch or ravine that comes down behind my tent and the court-house. They had constructed a ditch and l)uilt a high flume, spanning the valley, at a cost of some four thousand dollars. To enable them to do all this, they had proved before the magis- trate that l)y bringing this ditch and lead of water to their "claim," they would injure no one possessing a prior right to the water. Thus they had obtained the sanction of Mr. E — 's predecessor, and on completion of their costly work, they had "recorded" their claim to the water, which record, by mining law, became their title-deed. Company B lately took up ground in the ravine, just below the spot whence the ditch was led off, and needing more water, they quietly broke down the dam, on the plea that the waters of that stream could not be diverted from its proper channel to the detriment of the miners below. Company B were plaintiffs. Company A defendants in the suit. Company A produced their title, for- mnlly recorded. The gold commissioner called upon Company B to prove that they had occupied their claims before the ditch was made, the water diverted, and the title granted to A. B thereupon asserted a prior claim. They had worked the ground last year, and when the ditch AVJiter was drawn off had. protested, and Commissioner N — (Mr. E — 's predecessor) had shown gross partiality, and refused to entertain their protest. So, for want of water, they had been forced to abandon their " claim," but they had now determined to go iu and contest it again before Mr. E — , "whom they knew to be a gentleman," &c. &c. All this looked rather "fishy" for Company B — the attempt to blacken the character of \4 S h.lil.K w 113 MISSION LIFE. [MiMinn Lifr, Feb. 1, 1B6M. Mr. N — , and then to curry favour with Mr. E — at his pre- decessor's expense. However, Company A proceeded to argue tliat, admitting Company B had had any prior claim (which they disbelieved), they had forfeited it by leaving tlieir ground for an entire season, whereas the law only allows " a claim" to be unoccupied for seventy-two hours. To this B pleaded that they had been forced to leave the ground, and could obtain no redress from the then gold commissioner; that this, therefore, was not such a voluntary abandonment as the law supposed to bar a mining company's right. Here the magistrate put in a question to Company B. " AVhen you sued before Mr. N — , of course you held government licences as free miners?" To this an evasive answer was returned, and a reference to the roll of licensed miners for the previous year did not show their names to have been upon it. This of course ended the suit. Mr. N — in the previous year could not have entertained any suit or protest of Company B, as the law declares that without a licence, renewed each year, no man can hold or work a claim, enter a suit, or enjoy any mining privilege whatsoever. So Company B were ignominiously put out of court, and Company A continued in possession of their ditch. I Sunday, August ^\st. — Service, as on previous Sundays, in the open air in front of the restaurant at 10 a.m., and again at 7 p.m. in the bar-room. Crowded attendance, especially in the evening. The singing to-day was excellent, thanks to two splended bass voices, the best in the colony, those of Mr. Begbie, the Chief Justice of B. C, and Mr. Mathcw, his registrar, who had arrived during the preceding week on circuit. They arc frequent helpers of my choir at S. John's, in Victoria, during the winter months. My evening sermon was from 1 Cor. vi, 19, 20. After ;i few explanatory remarks on the illustration the Apostle uses here, and the idea of a Temple, I went on to speak of the heinousness of sin in redeemed, baptized, professing Christians — how it is sin against our redeemed nature — a nature which is raised and ennobled by being worn by God the Son, and dwelt in by God the Holy Ghost. I urged the great practical lesson to be carried out by {ill of us, as redeemed at such a cost, the lesson of the text, " Glorify God in your body ana in •ly. Misaion I.ife,1 fcl). 1, IbOH. J CHURCH WORK IN BRITISH COLUMBIA. 113 )1 your spirit," dwelling on the nature of practical religion, as being just this living to God's glory, whatever our calling or business might be. Several friends came round me after service to say good bye, as I had announced ray departure next morning, and my hope tliat Sheepshanks, who was remaining a few weeks longer, would come over from Antler Creek on alternate Sun- days to hold service. I was to start early next morning across the mountains to Lightning Creek, where 1 should find the Bishop, to travel down country with him. I made up my pack over night and gave it to a man who was to start at 2 a.m.; my own depar- ture I postponed till the more timely hour of 6 p.m. 1 had to borrow a blanket for the night, and slept for the last time in ray corner on the floor of the court-house. Tiie building was a plain rough shell of split logs, some 25ft. hy 15fL. with a small room built on at one end, which was Mr. Elwyu's office, sitting-room, bedroom, and kitchen, and in which slept, besides himself, his clerk, two constables, and a friend who was mining ! We formed a curious company that night on the floor of the big room. In one corner lay Charles Ilankin and myself under a pair of blankets, with our coats rolled round our boots for pillows. In another corner lay Mr. Elwyn's man-of-all work ; near him Mr. Begbie's Indian boy: On the side of the room opposite me lay together Mr. O'Reilly (magistrate and gold commissioner on Lightning Creek and high sheriff of the colony) and Lieutenant Palmer, R.E. ; in a corner near them a constable and a manacled prisoner ! He had been arrested and brought up about eight o'clock for drawing a revolver and firing at a man in a drinking-saloon. They chained him to the tall flagstaff outside the door, at first, this being the ordinary jail ! But about midnight it began 'to rain, and he made such a row that, in self-defence, we were glad to allow him to come under our shelter in the court-room, which raade him quiet. Such was ray last night on "Williams Creek. In bidding farewell to Cariboo, I could not but feel that a clergyman must submit to a great deal of forced inactivity in these young mining districts, so far as regards ministerial or Missionary work. In fact he is able to do little more than VOL. V. 8 : ? b § liiiul l;in ' ii lii HI !'l 114 MISSION LIFE. rMianionLife, L Feb. 1, 1888. i'i i hold his Sunday services, and visit the sick where there arc any. Often I used to feel, between Sunday and Sunday, that I might as well be 500 or (500 miles away, at my own regular post. Week-day services it was very difficult to Iiold. Directly the men were off work they had their suppers to pre- pare, and found themselves fit only to turn in and sleep after the meal was over. And while they were at work during the day they did not much caro to have a parson interrupting them. For days together I would rove up and down the Creek for two or three miles, as far as " claims" were "located,'' trying to effect something in the way of pastoral and religious conversation with the rough gJings dotted along the little stream. Occasionally I might succeed ; but still the general feeling was, " I have not done much to-day.'' But yet, in an indirect way, I cannot but believe more was done than I could measure or estimate. The very presence, in the three principal mining districts, of three clergymen and their Bishop, Avas a testimony borne to higher truth, and could not be without some effect on the complex mass of beings. Our mingling, as we did, with miners of all sorts tended much to disabuse their minds of prejudice against the Church of Eng- land and ministers of religion. Sometimes, at least, we were able, during our daily wanderings up and down the Creeks, or as we sat in the evening by a miner's flic outside his tent, to speak "a word in season to him that is weary;" and how many such are to be found in that strange region ! Some- times we have been able to touch deep springs of feeling by allusions to home and parents, when the heart seemed callous to other influences. No ; I believe that our work, small as it might seem to people at a distance, was not unimportant, or superfluous, or wasted. It was the work of preparation for others to build upon; of breaking up ground where others might plant seed. Above all, it was work for Him with whom nothing is lost, not even the poor fragments which others who are richly blessed with privileges might have thought valueless. I believe that in it all our good Bishop's prayer was simply this — " Show Thy servants Thy work, and their children Thy glory." He sowed in faith in this journey with his clergy, and I cannot think the seed scattered by these trails and waysides will bear no fruit in days to come. MlBHinn I'ifr.'l Fil). 1, IbOH.J LINES TO IJISHOP 8KLWYN. 115 TO BISHOP SELWYN ON HIS APPOINTMENT TO THE SEE OF LICHFIELD. (Hy It ColloRo Friend.) FiLWYN ! all England dotli rojolce with me, Now Lichfield liaila her sacred guide in thee ! As when the ark midst camped hosts appear'd, All Israel shouted, and Philistines fear'd : The sliout so vast that issued from the plain. The solid earth gave back the shout again. So her great champion in the Church's cause, Thee England hails, and greets with like applause ! But while true Churchmen scarce their joy contain, A different voice is heard from o'er the main : Thine own New Zealand (thine iilas ! no more) Weeping bewails her loss from shore to shore. Each British ship, returning on her sea. She fondly scann'd in hopes to hear of thee : Grieved at thine absence, r.iueh she wish'd to learn, When she might reckon on thy quick return. But all in vain — and heart-felt was her moan. When told that Lichfield claim'd thee as her own : Unfeigned sorrow in her face appears, And swarthy eyes are filled with unavailing tears ! So when from Babylon the Jews return'd. And for her ruin'd temple Ziou mourn'd. No sooner were the sacred courts designed. Than joyful shouts and praises filled the wind. Those who scarce hoped to see a temple there, Shouted that God at length had heard their prayer. But ancient men and elders stood amaz'd. Who on the former temple erst had gaz'd ; No shouts their voices raise — they wept aloud, A striking contrast with the shouting crowd. And which were greater, none indeed might know, The shouts of triumph, or the sobs of woe ! So, too, when England bid thee here remain. Nor tempt the dangers of the deep again — (lain would she keep at home her fav'rite son, Nor suffer him midst perils more to run ; '- - ! ^m 116 MISSION LIFK. rMiiiloti Mfr. I Felt. 1. Itm. Miutoii Ml fob. I, 180 Fain would slio give liim honour, wealth, and case, And guard from foreign hinds and stormy seas) — 'J'hcn was the tlie trial, Selwyn — trhic/i nuts best? Then did conMicting feelings stir thy hrcast j — One moment glad thou htard'st thy country's cry, The next for thy New Zfitland claim'd a siyh ; — ■ So evenly adjusted hung the scale, 'Twas doubtful v hich might in tlie end prevail. Had thine own heart its undisputed will, Then had thine own New Zealand held thee still ; ]5ut when the best and wisest in the land (By whose decision we are bound to stand) Bid counsel thee the vacant Sec to take, Not for thine own, but for thy country's sake — (So when great dangers tlueaten'd ancient Rome, She call'd her best and bravest legions home) — Then didst thou yield, and, as a patriot should, Didst sacrifice thyself for thine own country's good ! HINTS TO THE FIUENDS OF MISSIONARIES. cannot insert the following paper without saying how heartily we should rejoice to know that its sug- gestions were likely to be generally acted upon. Will any of our readers act upon them ? Should they be in- clined to do so, we doubt not that we can find willing hands in abundance, to make the necessary arrangements for their offerings being forwarded, in due course, to any destination •which may be indicated. Some perhaps will be inclined to improve upon the suggestion as regards books, and to send money occasionally for the purchase of copies of particular works, which they may themselves prize too highly to part with. We cau only promise to give ungrudgingly any amount of space which may be required for the acknowledgment of such gifts, and for the subsequent statement of the manner of their disposal. Might not some of our writers and publishers see in the idea here thrown out a not unwelcome means of dedicating to God's service the first fruits of their labours ? TIio n various n As a riilt« poor stiiti from tlio encoiiriigt his rcqiiir I writo squnro mil to servo, m I can ask I Now in I l)oen train. tho youi.qr, tioiis in til. lifo in host frequently sionary, hv liis life lonj Suppose ] to n(lniii)ist( once. VVlia roads are h here is the could not us( ordinary par but our Miss small coiiij)a( where tho stu want the Po( aud will brir nearest churc horses will n( simple reason for me at Mr, venicnt for pi doubt, to bo I than a private possible to pro his uiinistratio must be left- being advertis JJ^eedlework So witli a Biamon When back * Presented \ t 'Directorit 1. ill m I ^•1 Million Lifcl Icb. I, 1808. J HINTS TO FRIENDS OP MISSIONAIUKS. 117 The readers of ' MUsion Lifo' will bo iiinung tlio Ant to coufuitg that tho various appeals from Missionaries abroa cast down by misfortunes, and 'powerless to educate their child-en who surround their hearthstones. An effort, it is well known, was made before the war by the Bishops of the ten Southern Dioceses, in the whole bounds of which not one single Church College or University existed, to build up a University upon a broad and extensive scale, the avowed purpose of which was " that it should be founded by the Church for the special benefit of her own children, for the advancement of learning generally, and for the propagation of the Gospel, as she understands it; but that it should be freely open to all who might desire to avail of its advantages on the terms they were dispensed to the children of the Church." Mfssion I,if(. '■'•'I'- ), 18CH Its foiin( '>e alike fre sense. His for organiza folds of the patriotic, an tliis day an one faith an with our bn truest Christ] whom this SI known, appro An earnest " view to the hoped that th lliem to redeei able to carry oi 'lave done, and South has gone poverty. » Tlie costof liv J'"ff expenses al for the entire su] probably tuition 50 dollars per ycf With the exam not incumbent oi educating the son: We shall ^y the Com readers may this uational Coutributio The Parsomiirt m i>'\ i mmmm f TOf Mission Life,"! teb. 1, IBOB.J TROPOSED OFFERING TO AMERICAN BISHOPS. 125 i I" (1 Its founders worft careful to have it clearly understood tliat the University was to be alike free from sectionalism, in the political sense, and from party, in its religious sense. Bishop Otey, it* chancellor, declared most emphatically at the meeting held for organization at Lookout Mountain on the 4th of July, 1857, standing under the folds of tiic American flag: "We afiirm that our aim is eminently national and patriotic, and as such should commend itself to every lover of his country. We rear this day an altar, not of political schism, hut an ' altar of witness,' that we arc of one faith and one household. We contemplate no strife, save a generous rivalry with our brethren as to who shall furnish this great republic the truest men, the truest Christians, and the truest patriots. Not a Bishop, clergyman, or layman to whom this subject was mentioned at our last General Convention, hut, so far as known, approved the object, and heartily bade its projectors God speed." An earnest effort is now being made to reinstate the University, especially with a view to the necessities to which Dr. Mahan so feelingly alludes, and it was hoped that the Southern people woulH by this time be in circumstances enabling them to redeem their pledges, in part at least, and that this Institution might be able to carry out the purposes of its founders. Something from tl-.eir poverty they have done, and more they would be glad to do, but the pecuniary condition of the South has gone from bad to worse, and they are no longer ashamed to confess their poverty. Tiie cost of living there would he far less than elsewhere, and the saving of travel- ling expenses alone would equal the entire cost of tuition. The amount requisite for the entire support of a student would not exceed 250 dollars per annum ; and probably tuition alone, with room rent., &c., could be arranged in such cases at 50 dollars per year. With the example of the generous action proposed by our English brethren, is it not incumbent on the Churchmen of the United States to aid in this matter of educating the sons of Churchmen in the South ? We shall hope shortly to give a report of the progress made by the Committee in England, and trust that many of our readers may be able as well as willing to take their part in this national token of good will. Contributions should be sent to the Rev. F. W. Tremlett, The Parsonage, Belsize Park, London, 1 ■ 1 ^ i 1 1 ^ m\ {'■fi i-ih n ^i 126 MISSION LIFE. r Mitiion liifr, L Full. 1, 1808. A LETTER TO THE BRAHMOS FROM A CONVERTED BRAHMAN OP BENARES. (Printed at tlio Baptist PresH, Cnlcuttn, Sept., 1867, reprinted by the Uigliop of Culcuttii.) PART I. EAIl SIRS, — It has been my wish to put before you some thoughts which again and again conic into my mind concerning Urahnioisni . and one of tlic only two objects wliich have brought nie to Calcutta at this time was — the other object I need not mention here — that I might bo able to convey to you those thoughts by friendly coramunicutions with you, and also learn what would be your thoughts about them. And since, I thought, in conversation we nro often apt to express our minds very imperfectly, and are in danger of running away from the main subject into dif- ferent unconnected subjects, and of not coming at last to any definite result, I considered it better to put down my thoughts on paper, and then present them to you; and so I hiivo done. And now may I entertain the hope, dear sirs, that this my humble pajjcr will receive kindly notice from you ? I do feel a deep interest in you. Though it is true, it would have been more satisfactory to me to find that all such of my dear countrymen who receive so much light from education as to be able to understand the evidences, and to see the unparelluled excellencies of Christianity, embrace the word of life which is the only source of all good both in this world and the next; still I cannot but be very thankful to God that, while the ell'ect of high English education upon "many in this country seems that they lose all traces of religious instincts, laugh at '.nd ridicule the idea of religion, make riches, luxury, and wordly promotion their god, and devote their whole hearts and souls to them, you retain such reverence for God's Holy Name, and are such earnest friends and advocates of religion. And though you do not see the weight and the truth of our advice now, yet so long as you retain, by God's mercy, these religious instincts (and may He by His mercy make them stronger and stronger in you), we cannot despair of you. With such interest and with such friendly feelings, dear gentlemen, I now come to you, and hope you will not disdain my request j and you will greatly oblige me and will give much satisfaction to my mind, by fulfilling my request, and by giving a short time to the perusal of this letter. The following are the thoughts which I wish to present to you. It is evident to every one who knows anything about the past or present history of religions and philosophies of all nations, whether civilised or uncivilised, that, wherever the light of Christianity docs not shine, there men remain in great darkness about God, about man, about his relation to God and to his fellow- ereatures, and bin duties towards them both. There are indeed some truths, or parts of truths, found in all religions, but they are so mixed and surrounded with errors, foolish inventions, impurities, and absurdities, that, notwithstanding their presence, men remain in a most deplorable state in respect of religion wherever the light of Christianity does not shine. Christianity alone, it seems, teaches men true religion. The experience of the whole world seems to show that without the Mioion I.ii ••'cb. 1, 1H6( help of C nniverRiil ffroat d.-ul the light c men, wlmt '" the scIkj Christiunif t'o unwillin alone you I: ns it is at pi man would been perfect by reason, ai the revealed iliscovered it ^ut (loes not ■^ff'-in, whc is brought rcf one is very np to form a rii'Ii systems, and ^ invented or fol Take ono of •'oly- Itappe. sents to it. Al trine in name; as it may ajipea why? Hccaust true nature of 1 He cannot perct His porforiniiig 'Veil as the Mm teach in reality i Ilible which teac I5ib!e, and then could have learnt And let it also essence and life o defective notions does not know wl nor can he know j or towards himsel Tliere are seven fepts of religion, by exaggerating, „ own faulty metaph An example of tl an example of the I Mi!.si()ii Mfr, Ffb. 1, IHeH, :•] A CONVEllTKD BRAHMAN S LETTKll. 127 hel]) of CliriHtianity iiinti has no powor to tiiul it out by \m reaRon. Since then iinivorRiil experience geemti to establinh it, nnd Rince Itrahmoigin, which contains a prcitt (leiil of pure nnd cnliphtenod reli^^ion, has made its appearance only under tlio TiRht of CliriHtianity, nnd has been taui^ht and professed, at first, only by thoso men, whether In Amerien, or in Kn^;land, or in Calcutta, who have been educated in the school of Christianity, is it not clear that it is altogether borrowed from Christianity P IJut this you do not acknowledge. The reason why any one should bo unwilling to ncknowlcdgo it, seems to me this. The natural religion which alone you Hrahmos profess, is altogether agreeable to reason, thou;xh man's reason, as it is at present, is not able to discover it. 1 am not prepared to say whether man would have been able to discover it ; or not, by his reason alone, had his reason been perfect; but universal oxperionco shows that man is not able to discover it by reason, as he has it now. Hut when it is brought ready betbre man through the revealed word of God and he learns it, ho is apt to imagine that he could have discovered it himself by his own reason, because that reason finds it so agreeable. But does not universal history show that such a conclusion would be a mistake ? Again, when the true religion (I am speaking hero of natural religion alone) is brought ready before one, it appears so very simple and plain, tliat hence also one is very apt to think that it could very easily bo reasoned out. I'ut if we wish to form a right judgment in this matter, wo have only to look into other religious systems, and we shall see that it was not a plain and simple thing to those who invented or followed those systems. Take one of the chief doctrines of religion for an example, namely, that God is holy. It appears simple enough. The most ignorant villager most readily con- sents to it. All religions, as that of the Hindoos or Musalmans, teach this doc- trine in name ; but a little reflection will show you that simple nnd self-evident as it may appear to you, it cannot in reality be learnt from those religions. And why ? Because the mind of man is become so corrupt, that it does not know the true nature of holiness, and hence ho cannot teach it correctly and consistently, lie cannot perceive, for instance, the utter incompatibility of God's holiness with His performing unholy and immoral acts, and thus the books of the Hindoos, as well as the Musalmans, actually ascribing to God unholy and immoral acts, do teach ill reality that He is unholy, though they call Him holy in name. It is the Uible which teaches man true holiness. When therrfore a man learns it from tho Hible, and then finding it so simple and' plain a truth, begins to think that ho could have learnt it by his own intellect, would not this be a great mistake ? And let it also be noted that the doctrine of God's holiness is, as it were, tho essence and life of all other doctrines and precepts of religion, and when men have defective notions of it, their whole religious system must be faulty also. He that does not know what God's holiness is, cannot know what His justice or mercy are, nor can he know properly tho nature of his duties towards God, or towards others, or towards himself. There are several ways by which men err in respect of the doctrines and pre- cepts of religion. By having, for instance, false nnd defective notions about themj by exaggerating, abusing, and perverting them j and by mixing witL them their own faulty metaphysics and logic. An example of the first has been already given ; tho following may be given as an example of the second. What can be moro plain and universally agreed upon ■ ! S' 1 1 P It 128 MISSION LIFK. [Ml Lie lllinii Lifi*. b. 1, IHOM. thnii till' (liitii'B of chiMrcn, wivc», and difici])h;ii townnU parents, liUHbiindH, and teacher* ? All ri'lijfiouH Ryfitciiii aprce tlint the former onpht to honour nnd obey the latter. Hut see how this ])lain duty ih exaggerated in the Hindoo bookx, thul they not only tench that parent*, huRbundM, and teachers should bo lionoured, but that they kIiouUI be worshipped an Ood, nay, even more than Ood. Tliore is a story of I'undarika well known among the Marathan, which praises his filial vir- tues so much that it Fays that oven wlien Ood, being pleuHod with his virtues, came to him to give him what boon ho would desire from Ilim, he did not even so much as turn himself towards Him, being so busy in serving his parents, and took no further notieo of Him than to throw a brick towards Him to stand upon, till ho co>ild get leisure to speak to him and in((uiro wherefore ho had come. Whieh leisure, however, the story says, ho never got ; and Ood was so m)u;h the more pleased that ho is standing on tiiat very brick until this day in Pandharpur, the great pilirrimage-plaec of the Marathns. Is not all this great uousonso P la it not a turiiiiiij: of things quite upside down ? The following is nn example of abuse. Wo all agree that Ood's name is holy, nnd those who call upon His name with humility and sincerity will obtain a blessing from Him. Hut see how this truth is abused. 'J'ho Hindoos believe thai there is such a power in the very letter ; that compose any nauio of (Sod, that though a man should utter t in even with a wicked heart, he is sure to be purged of nil his sins. " Jfari takes awai/ shis bi, 'iiiff rememlored even hy stick aa are of ti'icked hearts." And that there bo Ij 'onbt left n out its meaning, the verse gives thi ; illustration of it. "For fire, thw-ih touched unhdentioruiUii, sitrili/ hums." Let no one suppose that such sayings aro very rare nnd meant as hyperbolical only. Tor such is really the belief of tlio orthodox Hindoos. There are many other ex- amples of such al)U8es of truth to be I'ouud in the Hhiigavata and other books. They say, for instance, that if n man directs his mind towards Ood even for n wicked purpose, since he nas made Ood the object of his mind any how, ho is sure to be saved. And these facts are adduced as examples of it : that Chaidya was saved by making Ood the object of his hatred, and the gopis by making Him the object of their lust. Can you imagine anything more silly or absurd ? Hut let me assure you, my Hrahmo friends, that though it a])pears absurd to you because you are enlighteucu by Christianity, yet it does not appear so to the Hindoos ; but they are delighted with such stories, and think they exhibit in the highest degree the greatness of God's mercy and power ; and men of devout minds anioiiLT them not uncommonly burst into tears on hearing such stories. And it must not be supposed that this is the case with the ignorant only among them, for thc'r greatest philosophers had no better light on this subject. And here I make n little digression, to state that people often mako a great mistake now-a-days in supposing that the teaching of the Puranas, and the stories of the gods, nnd the system of idolatry, are believed only by the vulgar, and not by philosophers nnd learned men among the Hindoos, and if the latter profess to adhere to it, it is only to keep the ignorant in that belief, they themselves be- lieving it to be all nonsense. I remember having read something like it in a note on ' Dr. Paley's Evidences of Christianity.' This shows how apt people are to form false opinions of others, by thinking that they also must think and judge as themselves do. For since, to a modern European, it seems incredible that any ' ii). 1, i8a«. man of son those who 'i'he f«,,.t Hindoos !)(. ''"ke, for ii ^''vali, and KrU/ina tohi jfoung gopis, strous conil author of thi Njiiya pliilog customary im the ojioning o Jt is also usua that o])ening ■ Ood. Now, it render to the God, logic Lchi "»i«isju,twhi "lentary writte «'iiee the univc: n "laker of it.# great Sankurac wl'o«e iilthy 8to 'wthing naked i % liralinio / J'live wo got bet stories wJiich wc nntl philosoi)]iic ibr my part dare Jfot tills light ir, ffly notions were ^->o"ot, then, thougli entirely u 'o open our eyes, lasting, wiio k'.i Jay of His grace ( "«''' got too much <^1'. he ])ersuaded '•''•'ink of the uub '"'^e thought that "'ueteenth century ^"t so it is. ^vju "lore than AlmigJa oni*v ?^"''"''''' ''"^ oni). for m part it i casl ;V"i! "°^' ^^or rase in France. VOL. V. I'cb. 1, iba», ;■] A CONVERTED URAIIMAN's LKTTER. 129 man of flcnso uud odticulioii could bdiuvo hucIi things, he natiinilly conchuk's that thoHO who profoM to boliuvo them rnrnt do ho In pretence only. The fiict, however, ia thiit all the leurned men ano not, then, act ungratefully towards a gracious God who has visit'xl us, though entirely undeserving, with this His heavenly light — that is, Christianity — to open our eyes, to free us from darkness and death, aud to lead us to the life ever- lasting. Who knows, if oflended by our proud neglect, He may not cause this day of His grace to pass away from us for over ? Or do you think that you have now got too much education ever to fall again into the mistakes of our forefathers ? Oh, be persuaded that there is no such security in education without Christianity. Think of the unbelievers in Europe, especially in Gernumy. Who would ever have thought that men of the education and the so-called enlightcnuicnt of tho nineteenth century, would have become a prey to such a delusion as pantheism ?f But so it is. When men called Christians begin to trust their own poor brains more than Almighty God, and begin to scorn the infiillible authority of His Word, * The world, however, according to all Hindoo philosophers, is an effect in part only, for in part it is made of things eternal. t And now, worse than this, to atheistic materialism. This is specially the case in France. VOL. V. 9 f ".V.I m n I i' n 1 : I!' V I. t'J I-' I*" p P, im \-m\v m ]i 111 i '-. 130 MISSION LIFE. rMiBBion Life, LFch. 1, 18G8. instead of making themselves wiser, as tliey hoped, they 'only plunge themselves into the deepest follies of pantheism. Do not think yet of yourselves, or of a Theodore Parker here or a Newman there, and say, Wo have not fallen into any such absurdity; for there has not been time enough for a full trial. But why should there be any doubt about tiic final issue ? For if universal experience tends to prove a fac';, whic'i I shall never give up repeating again and again, that men are utterly incapable, without the aid of Christianity, of comprehending rightly the truths of religion, it is but solf-ovident that though some men, by the mercy of a gracious Providence, having learned the truths of religion from Christianity, are, for a time, by the very nR*;Ural excellence of those truths, kept in the right appreciation of them, still, if they do not submit to its teaching as an infallible guide, but make their own reasoning their guide, they must sooner or later share the fate of all those who have tried exactly the same method. You may deny it to please yourself, but you cannot deny it if you would hear the voice of reason. Hut to return to the subject. I said men err in respect of the doctrines and precepts of religion by perverting them also. To give an example of this. Wo all agree that whatever God commands us to do is a virtuous act, and is a duty for US to do. But what is the true philosophy of it ? Because God is holy and guod, it is His pleasure tliat all His creatures should be holy and good ; and there- fore lie commands them to do those things which are holy and good. So the truth is, that He commands certain actions to he done, because those actions are in their nature virtuous ; and this being a certain rule, we may infer the virtuous- nessofan action, when wo are certain that God has commanded it to be done. But to say that an action, though vicious by its nature, becomes virtuous because it is commanded in the Shastras, that is, according to the view of the Hindoos, by God, is certainly n perversion of truth. Now, to use filthy, licentious, and abusive language, is a vicious action in its very nature, and cannot, under any circum- stances, be otherwise. But there are certain ceremonies among the Hindoos in which the use of such language is thought a duty, and therefore virtuous. And if you ask tliem,- how they can think such a thing not sinful, they w"' answer, how can that bo sinful which is done by o. icr of the Shastras ? And let no one suppose that such filthy things are found only in modern Hindooism, as in the most abominable festival of the IIoU, for instance; for they are found even in the ancient Vedic ceremonies. In the sacrifice called Mahiivrata there is a singular ceremony in which a Brahmacharin — that is, a young Brahman who is under the sacred vow of a studen of the Vedas — and a prostitute are ordered to use abusive and licentious language to each other.* Human nature has always been the same ! * I have a clear impression on my mind of having seen, some twenty-five years ago, when I was a Hindoo, in a. book on Mahiivrata, called Prayoga, the very words of the filthy abuse which are used by the Brahmacharin and the prostitute to each othor. On the strength of this impression I have mentioned this fact here. I being now an out-caste cannot have easy access to such books, for let it be observed that uiy countrymen, the Marathas, are more stri' '; in this matter than the people of this country. I tried, through a friend, to procure that book three or four years ago, when I waj in Benares, but did not succeed. This friend, however, procured for me a portion of a Sutra on Mahiivrata, which is an authority, how- i i i i 1^ .. Mission Lit *cb. I,i80i A still II the Chliai nre preser translate i I'pdsands , practise tL to it, and ( performing come to liii schoh'ast, c( in their mi orders it. ^ow, to s "letapliysies faults of hm utterly unab teries nnd m plain to hims tl'c cause wl ^^lien men a their curiositj made by God niade the wor fould not have some already ( speculations sp says we cannot and therefore ( universe is Goc sliake off from sinners, and t] But by degrees as ascribing a cl is called tlie Ma to he tlie materi u thing which n 'I'lie existence bt one tnie existen I'oth self-existcnf '^'l't\v all equally '•"'Stent and eten ii'lin'ion very mat ""•> relation betw( '"""'•ds Him, spri ever, of greater va "'^l'">etoCalcut „, , I uo not like ""'}• uiisleads. Mission Life,") Feb. 1,1868. J A CONVERTED BRAHMAN's LETTER. 131 A still more appalling example of perversion of truth occurs in tlio TTpanlshads. In the Chhanilogya Upanislmd a number of most curious modes of devotion (iipdsand) are prescribed. One of these xijxisands is so obscene, that one cannot venture to translate it "n a pamphlet like this, intended for general perusal. Many of those tipdsands i . ; also joined with certain vratas, or vows, to bo observed by those who practise the updsands, and so the updsand here alluued to has also a vrala joined to it, and quite conformable with it in its nature. It is that the person who is performing the updsad oui^ht not to refuse any wom;in that may choose to come to him ! IJoth the great commentator, Sankariichiirya and Anandagiri, his scholiast, coinmentiiig on the passage, say, without a shadow of any misgiving in their minds, that this act cannot be sinful, but a duty, since the Shastra orders it. Now, to say a word on men's erring in religion by mixing their own faulty metaphysics and logic with its pure and simple teaching. One of the greatest faults of human nature in its present, that is, fallen state, which a man seems utterly unable to overcome, is his curiosity to spy into all the unfathomable mys- teries and ways of God — his proud refusal to believe anything unless ho can make l)lain to himself its how and why. And thi? to a very considerable extent has been the cause why men have universally corrupted the jiuro teaching of religion. \\nien men are told that God has made this world, they will not rest there ; but their curiosity is aroused, and they must solve the problem how tiio world was made by God. Did lie take some existing materials, they say, with which He made the world, or did He mi.,ko it without them ? Without them He surely could not have made anything, for that is inconceivable. If, however. He used some already cxisVmg material, what, then, can that have been ? From such vain speculations sprang up all the ditt'erent schools of philosophers among us. One says we cannot suppose any other substance beside God to have existed eternally, and therefore God Himself must be the material of this universe. If so, theu the universe is God Himself. What, then, is there for ns to do but simply this — to shake oil' from ourselves the delusion that we are creatures, and that wo are sinners, and think and realise that wo are God, and we shall become God ! 15ut by degrees they began to be dissatisfied witli this slmplo form of Vcdantism as ascribing a change to the unchangeable essence of God, and so inve>ited what is called the Mayiivada, the system which nnikes Maya, a most undefinable thing, to be the material cause of the universe, which is thought at the same time to be a thing wliich neither is nor is not, in order to avoid the supposition of any other true existence besides God. For the doctrine of the Vedanta is that there is only one true existence, that is God. O^.hcrs thought Prakriti,* and others atoms, lioth self-existent and eternal things, to be the material causo of the universe. They all equally believe the souls, whether of men or beasts, to be likewise self- existent and eternal. It is evident that all such vain speculations alter the true leligion very materially. Tbey derogate from the greatness of God, and they alter the relation between Him, our Creator, and us. His creatures, and also our duties towards Him, sjjringing from that relation. ever, of gi-eater value. I regret that I have not brought that portion of die Sutra with me to Calcutva, but left it at Cawnpore. * I do not like to translate this word, for it cannot be translated. " Nature" only misleads. i ^ ! ; 1 k '1 jk " % n \ \\\ r ^1 :jm m 13a MISSION LIFE. rMission Life, Ll'eb. 1, 1868. IP^ And you kno>v that we, the people of India, have not been the only sufferers of this niiBery, but the same wus the case with all the nations of the world, those only excepted who enjoy the light of God's Holy Word, namely, the Bible. It is enough here to describe the state of only one or two of them, namely the Greeks and Romans ; for besides the Hindoos, these are the two nations most renowned for philosophy and science. Now, though I am not acquainted myself with their books, I lea.ii from other learned men, who have thoioughly read and examined them, this strange fact that, though in other practical and useful teaching the Greek and Koi^ipn philosophers were even superior to our sages, yet in religion the former were not only not better than the latter, but were even far more degraded ; the Lord God intending, by His mysterious Providence, to lix this truth thoroughly in our mind, that without the help of His revelation man shall never be able to find Him. I just quote here wha*; Dr. Paley has written on this subject : The heathen philosophers, though they have advanced fine sayings and sublime precepts on some points of morality, have grossly failed in others; such as the toleration or encouragement of levenge, slavery, unnatural lust, fornication, suicide, &c. e. f/. Plato expressly allowed of excessive drinking at the festival of Bacchus. Maxinius Tyrius ibrliado to pray. Socrates directs his hearers to consider the Greeks as brethren, but barbarians as natural enemies. Aristotle maintained that nature intended barbarians to be slaves. The Stoics held that all crimes wore equal. r,- ' I all allow and advise men to continue the idolatry of their au- Cicero, > . "' T,-, . , , I cestors. liiliu'tetus, J Aristotle, \ both speak of the forgiveness of injuries as meanness and pusil- Cicero, J hmimity. Those were trifles to what follows. Aristotle and Plato both direct that means should be used to prevent weak children being brought up. Cato commends a young man for frequenting the stews. Cicero expressly speaks of fornication as a thing never found fault with. Plato recommends a community of women ; also advises that soldiers should not be restrained from sensual indulgence, even the most unnatural species of it. Xenoplion relates, without any marks of rejirobation, that unnatural lust was encouraged by the laws of several Grecian states. Solon, their great lawgiver, forbade it only to slaves. Diogenes inculcated, and openly practised, the most brutal lust. Zeno, the founder, and Cato, the ornament, of the Stoic philosophy, both killed themselves. Lastly, the idea which the Christian Scriptures exhibit of the Deity, is in many respects different from the notion that was then entertained of him, b\it perfectly consonant to the best information wc have of bis nature and attributes from reason, and the appearances of the universe. The Scriptures describe him as one, wise, powerful, spiritual, omnipresent; as placable and impartial, as abounding in ail'ec- tion towards His creatures, overruling by His Providence the concerns of man- kind in this world, and designing to compensate their suifcrings, reward their merit, and punish their crimes in another. In his ' Evidences of Christianity' also Dr. Paley writes : One loose principle is found in almost all the Pagan moralists, is distinctly, however, perceived in the writings of Plato, Xenophon, Cicero, Seneca, Epictetus; 4ind that is, the allowing, and even the recommending to their disciples, a com- Minion Life ^eh. 1, 1868: pliance wii which thei ■Again : The who almost tink ration of tli dence in tli upon all oc( danger, for I will alsc "Ho-vevei according t( to believe in you not say i Mel.— Cer Soc.— By \ speak still mi whether you that case I (J( in this respe others; and t say outriglit others the san Mel — I say Soc. — O wo: the re"e of C}„°i " ° 1" 'f "^ Pandharpur, Jukaram, and that i , b^ uh '"T""""^ "'in and ba,;'^^'^ " ""'^interpre-' energetic hun.an life, jj ' ' f "'^ «''"l>ted for leaveniL the , •/ '? '""'•«'''tv of Tnkarnn,, and know litt f ek"' ?" ^''<^ °""^'- l^m ^-i „ V"""f' '' '"""« "f au tJ'e ],„i„t of view of . n '"' ""'^ "''o '"ok uno n w- ".^'' ^'^«'» »^'-eJ up in far as ]ns object is to d snlace ^onst.tntes the difficultv of f • ^? "•"• ^'"n '^e 'i'i'e translator profeles to i ' '' "'°'' '^^'"•^^""y- "^"'"'' nnd the ro d oV rn™r\°''""'^*^'«^«"-V).the^ L «ojl; nan^ely, as to -<1 thus a f'r .■''°" '''' ""^'^ ^^-^--^i tran^rr/™""""^" '" ^"-"^ of -ong he ffi„r " '^ "°"^^'^ ^oEnrop „"tats%T"""'"'^"^"''''•" 140 MISSION LIFE. 'Million Lire, Jeh. 1, 1808. Million fcl). 1, 1 ,1' every contact of sin and virtue, which being really the properties of the internal organ {antahkarana) are fiiUcly ascribed to the houI by the ignorant, and beinj? 80 ascribed, cause the soul to undergo transmigrntion, it alone (viz. the aforesaid knowledge), is able to secure for the soul freedom from transmigration, and thin freedom is salvation. Seeing then what is necessary, in the view of Hindoos, for salvation, viz. the knowing one's self to bo no doer either of good or evil, it is evident that neither works nor devotion can be direct means of salvation, liut they say that works and devotion purify the mind, and make it capable of receiving knowledge, and so become indirect means of salvation. Hut by works, again, wo must not understand works in the Christian souse. I)y works is meant the wholo ceremonial prescribed by the Vedas, in sacrificing to tho gods and olVering obla- tions to the deceased forefathers, &c. How necessary it is to understand these things correctly ! How apt Europeans would be to understand the words " works," "knowledge," &c., in tho Christian sense, and find much of Christianity in Hindooism ! Devotion, considered as an act, is the directing of one's mind uninterruptedly towards God. This may be done in many ways. God may be identified with tho sun or fire or even the sacrificial horse (as is prescribed in the opening section of tho lirihadiinanyaka Upauishitd), and the mind may be directed towards those objects. This de ^cion is considered to be superior to works, inasmuch as it exercises the mind directly, and has therefore greater efficacy and a natural fltucss to purify the mind and prepare it to receive knowledge, and to enable it to realise the soul's true nature. This is the philosophic view of the matter, but how ditlercnt it is from the Christian doctrine of salvation by faith. Those, however, who are fond of devotcdness towards God, the bhaktas, exalt the virtues of devotedness so much that they call it the sole, safe, and easy road of salvation. The Bhagavata even goes further and says of those who are fond of devotion : " There are some who do not even desire salvation." For since, according to the Hindoos, the soul, when in a state of salvation, is completely identified with God, no scope is left for tho exercise of devotion. There is then nothing in this matter peculiar to Tukaram. Leaving, however, the philosophic view of it, there is, it must be confessed, a certain aspect of Ihakti under which, as it is often expressed and entertained by the Hindoos, tho doctrine of hhakti comes very near to the Christian doctrine of faith, but it is a matter of much question whether, what they are often led to say by the promptings of natural light, could be established consistently with all their other doctrines by the teachings of their books, and whether those who affirm it do themselves consistently follow it, and are clear of all misgiving about it. At any rate, " faith " is not a synonym for hhakti, nor an exact rendering of it. Why, ^;hen, should one give a wrong meaning to a word, and thus make it appear, as if the very identical doctrine of Christianity about faith was taught by Tukaram ? The translator has also made a mistake, I think, in saying that the words " Tuka says " at the end of his songs, and similar phrases of other poets at the end of their poems, " convey a sort of claim to authority and inspiration." It is the general custom with all the vernacular poets in India, to insert their names at the end of their poems, many of whom could never have any idea of laying claim to inspiration. Again, as to what tho writer of the article says that " his (Tukaram's) mind was far of his c( tlie wor wish to Tukaraii rare exc devotion to an his Hut t( reading i to exist I sidcratior Who is tl Vithoba t of Vishnu books of chief of tl cussing he bcliovcd V and ilevoti on account ever been worthy not ami to (lisci I'l-'ligion foi to be such sentud to 1), are said to indeed, uiui in u coiTcci Indued tl specliil noti iucludo liiiii found ill lii bo (ouiul in follies and imagined to iortigiicr. above from ' are liable to others accor have heard ii ^vhenever tl I'lueh of pur, could onterta prevalent in li;ilil)Ie. Til (Tukaram's) ^^ Million Lifr.l Fcl). 1, liiOb.J A CONVERTED BUAIIMAN's LETTER. 141 was fur too oxclusivdy religious to allow of liia fuoling any interest in tlio triumphs of his country ;" and again, that " he writes liko one who was altogether abovo the world, and patriotism thiTurorc would have had no meaning for him," I Just wish to remark this, that the Hindoos are eminently an unhistorii'al people, and Tukaram therefore is not the only perscm in India who deserves this praise. With rare exceptions such will bo fotind to bo the case with all writers of this country, devotional or otherwise, except when their suliject uecessarily leads them to allude to an historical fact. Hut to come to the nuiin subject : it would bo a great mistake indeed, if by reading the abovo specimen from Tukaram, ono was to imagine any comparison to exist between the teaching of Tukaram and that of the Holy IJible. The con- sideration of one point only is sullicient to drive away all delusion on this matter. AV'ho is the (iod towards whom Tukaram exhibits so intense a din'otiou ? It is Vilhoba of I'andharpur, who is tho same with Krishna, the supposed incarnation of Vishnu, whose most immoral deeds are celebrated in the Uhagavatu and other books of the Hindoos. There stands liukmini by his side in I'andimrpur, the chief of tho sixteen thousand wives of Krishna. Now, remember, 1 am not dis- cussing here about the goodness or badness of the motives of Tukaram, who really believed Vithoba o- Krishna to be the supremo Uod, and lavished all his atl'ection and devotioi. on lum, nor am 1 iiKjuirin;,' how far ho is to bo accused or excused on account of his ignorance. The inijuiry I am pursuing is, whether man has ever been able, without tho help of revelation, to find out (iod, to entertain worthy notions of His attributes, to know the pure way of worshipping Him, and to discover a perfect standard of duty ; — in other words, to reason out a pure religion for himself. In this incpiiry we see that if Tukaram could imagine God 10 be such a one as Krishna or lli'iina or Vishnu or other Hindoo gods are repre- sented to be, and if he could imagine such immoral deeds worthy of tJod, as they are said to have been defiled with, it is dear that his was a very miserable religion indeed, and that he knew nothing of God's holiness, and therefore could not know in a correct and perfect manner other mutters of religion. Indeed there is nothing very peculiar in Tukaram, to make him an object of a special notice. Whatever judgment we jjass on Hindooism in general, would include him aiul hundreds of others liko him. Whatever good there is to be found in bis teaching, such as devotion, spirituality, charity, humility, tie., will be found in many other Hindoo books, such as the lihiigavata; and whatever follies and absiu-dities are found in other Hindoo books, neither can Tukaram be iuuigined to be free from tho same. Foreigners are of course ut once struck when such a specimen as that given above from Tukaram is brought to their notice. And as I said once before, they are liable to make great mistakes in this matter, because they begin to jiulge of others according to their own views of things. Many Englishmen, for instance, have heard much of the gross idolatry and other foolish things of Hindooism, and whenever they come across a piece like this of Tukaram, in which there is so much of purer and spiritual religion, they are apt to imagine that the man who cuuld entertain such sentiments must bo of diil'erent religious views from those prevalent in Hindooism. For, in their own estimation, the two things are iucom- patil)le. The translator of the above-given specimen of Tukaram says, that " his (Tukaram's) spirituality is individual and subjective ; that he leaves the people I 'f 11 iiii'-J 1 r' t ( if 142 MISSION LIFE. rMi«iinn Mfe, [ I'clp. 1, lHOi. Rervnnts of tho itniiKO of Pnndlmrpiir," &c. Ho eayB thU, becauRc in Inn viow tins Bpirituulity of Tukitrnm is innoir.pntiblo with his hc'uig n servnnt of tlio imuge of Fiiiidhnrpur. Uiit I do not hoo anything:; now in tho Rpirituiility of Tukanim, with which we ourselves were not thoroughly ncciunintcd, while yet we were serving most devoutly nnd sincerely tho images of Vithoba, Rama, Krishna r Shiva, Kiili, and others. Nor does there appear to mo any good reason to suppose, as tho writer of tho artielo docs, that Tuknriim'n favorite prcccjit, " repeat the name of dod," is liable to niiHinterpretation. Did Tukaram mean that the proper way of repeating God's name is not only to utter His name with tho mouth, but to do so with purity of heart and faith nnd devotion ? Auk tho question of tho rudest peasant, and he will say tho same thing. Hut nevertheless the Hindoos commonly think that though to utter God's name in the way prescribed, is tho proper and most acceptable way, yet there is such virtue in tho very letters of God's name, that though a man do but utter it anyhow, yen, utter it even with a wicked heart, bis sins will bo purged away. That, I say, is the common notion of tho Hindoos nnd there is no reason whatever to suppose that Tukaram dissented from it. A story is related in Adhyatma Riimiiyana, n book not a bit inferior to Tukarnm's songs in spirituality, that Valmiki, who was tho very chiefest of sinners, living upon robbery nnd murder, though a Brahman by caste, being told by some snints to repeat the name of Ra-niu in reversed order, Ma-ri'i,* because he could not l)ronounco it in proper order, was not only purged from all his sins by virtue of those letters, but became one of the holiest saints, and the inspired author of tho great Riimayana. How difficult it is for Europeans to understand tho ideas nnd the state of mind of the Hindoos ! The fact is that there is in Hindoo books a good deal of spiritual, devotional, and moral teaching, often conveyed by very high-sounding words; but notwith- standing this, those who wrote those books did not possess those correct, con- sistent, clear, and definite notions of God, His greatness, holiness, justice, and other nttrlbutes, and of other points of religion which Christianity tenches ; nnd therefore, whatever is incompatible in one who is enlightened by the teaching of Christianity, is not so in a Hindoo. European Missionaries and other European Christians who come to teach us the true religion of God, are liable to make two mistakes. They first come with an idea that tho poor Hindoos cannot bo acquainted with any of the sublime doctrines, the high sentiments of piety, and excellent precepts of morality, which are contained in the Bible, and so they expect to surprise ns by the mere announcement of them, i ad convince us at once of the divinity of the book which contains them. Bu i in this they cannot but meet with disappointment. The writer of the article on Tukaram says, " It must be hard to convince a people who have Tukaram in their mouths, of the intrinsic moral superiority of Christian doctrine." But it is not only liard to convince the readers of Tukaram, but every Hindoo who is at all acquainted with the teachings and stories of men renowned for devoutness, or with the spiritual and devotional portions of the Purdnas and other books, especially the Bhagavata. * The reversion of order does not appear plain in the Roman, though it does in the Devanagari character. i i ) ~IM»!l-fv ]\.. lion ^^te, . 1, IrtO-t. iow tho ) iimigo ildinun, vo wcro Criitliiia* ■r of tho Clod," is epcating HO with , peasant, ily think unil most suno, tliat :ecl lieart, J Hindoos )in it. A ruliaram's crs, living ome saints couM not ly virtue of thor of the 3 ideas and devotional, nt notwith- orrect, con- justice, and nclies; and [teaching of to teach us acquainted Ld excellent ly expect to [once of tho T)t but meet • It must bo |he intrinsic to convince ed with the the spiritual Bhdgavata. lough it does MUnInn Ting many sublime doctrines of religion and several excellent precepts of morality, tliough in some of those even, Christianity will be found uni(|uo ;* but its uxcellenro consists i> its teaching prominently, perfectly, fully, consistently, clearly, ami decidedly, what it concerns us to know for our belief and practice, and what is calculated to move, encourage, and comfort us in religion. Its teaching alone is freo from defects, follies, exaggerations, abuses, and perversions, from which no system invented by man has ever been free. This is what distinguishes tho Christian Scriptures from all religions in the world. It is all important, in order to know tho superhuman origin of tho Hible, that, when wo think of tho excellences of other religions, we should not lose sight of tho blindness and weakness of man's intellect which has filled those very religions with so many follies and absurdities iilso. To give an instance or two of au oxcellent doctrine being combined with monstrous absurdity in Hindoo hooks. In tho Ithagavata a dispute is mentioned to have arisen among tho Eishis as to who was tho greatest among tho three gods, Urahmil, Vishnu, and Shiva, The Bbugavata is written by a favourer of Vishnu, and asserts him to be tho supreme God ; hence in this dispute tho discussion is of course to be in favour of Vishnu, Well, one of the great devotees of Vislmu among the Rishis, Bhrigu, gets up and says bo can show them at onco who is the greatest. Ho goes to the abode of Brahmu, and behaves disrespectfully in his court, and Brahma cannot bear such behaviour and becomes full of wrath, and so is proved to bo wanting in per- fection. Next he goes to tho place of Shiva and tries him in a similar way, and finds him also wanting in perfection. Lastly he goes to Vishnu's abode and finds him asleep, and goes and kicks him on his breast. Vishnu awakes and gets up, but so far from being angry, ho expresses much sorrow that tho tender foot of the great saint should have been hurt by knocking against his hard breast. So Vishnu is proved to be tho very perfection of patience and humility, and therefore to be the greatest of all. Now as Vishnu is supposed to bo tho very supreme God by Bhagavata, this would indeed be a very notable example of patience and for- bearance, so far as his own act is considered. But think of the monstrous mode of bringing out this character, an eminent saint like Bhrigu going and kicking God on his breast ! How little idea of the greatness of God aiul of reverence towards Him must the author of the Bhagavata have possessed ! Again, in the great war of Maliabharata, Krishna, who is also believed to be the supreme God incarnate, is said to have taken the part of the Pandavas. Oa the side of tho Kauravas, tlieir opponents, there was the old warrior Bhishma. But of liim it is said that though he was obliged by circumstances to be on the Kau- rava side, yet he was one of tho greatest devotees of Krishna (parama bhagavata), and in heart was most afiectionatcly attached to tho Pandavas. He promised, however, that in fighting with Arjuna, the most beloved devotee, disciple, and * The doctrine, for instance, that God created the world out of nothing, it only to be found, clearly and positively, in Christian theology. ,ff 144 MISSION LIFE. pMusion Life, L Feb. 1,1868. friend of Krishna, be would never give up harassing him until he should compel Krishna himself to take up arms (for Krishna's vow was never to take up arms). And it is said that in the course of fighting between him and Arjuna (which is said to have continued ten days) he compelled Krishna to break his vow, and take up arms twice in order to protect Arjuna. Now, of course those who have never been Hindoos will not feel the affecting force of this story ; for they lack all the other associations of the Hindoo ideas in this matter; and the story is here recited very nakedly and roughly ; but devout Hindoos burst into tears when they bear it. Its affecting part lies in this, that God bears so great love towards His servants who have unreservedly devoted themselves to Him (the auani/a hhaklas) that He is even pleased to allow Himself to be overcome by them ; hut the inventors of this story, as well as those who delight in it, have no idea of God's holiness, and consequently of this fact, that " it is imi->08sible for God to lie." I beseech you all here, who have been from your youth trained up in English schools, and have received Christian enlightenment, whether Brahmos or others, to be very careful in forming your estimate of the merits of other religions, for you are above all others most liable to be led astray iu this matter. However sublime and exalted may appear to you the notions about God, His attributes, and morality, as taught in some portions of those religions, you must never think for a moment that those notions were either entertained by their teachers or under- stood by their followers in the same correct, perfect, full, and ccaisistent sense in which you are now enabled to understand them. Christian enlightenment weakt'us in one respect its own cause. For persons brought up under the light of Christianity are altogether unable to realise in their own minds the miserable aud dark state of the minds oi those who have not received that divine light, and therefore they arc apt to understand, interpret, aud explain their words and notions in their own sense. And thus not fully realising the wretchedness and de- fectiveness of all tliose systems which are invented by men, they cannot, of course, adequately appreciate the superhuman excellence of Christianity, nor the strength of the proof which it furnisiies ol the fact that Christianity is not a pro- duction of man's natural reason, but is a direct revelation from God. Even writers on the evidences of Christianity have appeared to me sometimes some- what backward in claiming for this evidence the full force which belongs to it. I was very powerfully struck the other day, when I gave the iirst few pages of this letter to a most esteemed and dear friend, r. European, to rcid. When ho read one of the i'oolish stories from tl.e Puranas which are quoted here, he said, "Surely the Hindoos cannot believe these things to be true — they must think of them as merely amusing stories." See how an enlightened mind becomes unfit to realise to itself the state of an unenlightenec' mind. i\nd, my lirahmo friends, I cannot help thinking that your case is somewhat like that of my Eurojican friend ; and h cnce it is that Christianity fails to convince you of its superhuman origin by tlie incomparable excellence of the reUgion which it teaches. Hut I have to say one thing more about Tukarara. Tukaram was a 3ai\it of the !Marathas ; and though I nm a Maratha myself, yet I confess I have never studied and examined his writii.gs, though there is no Maratha ivho has not fre- quently heard Tuka's ahhanjas recited by Itr.riddsas and others. It seems to me, however, lik oly that Tukaram was, with the most of the Maratha saints, such as Missiou Ji Teb. 1, 18 Dnyanes that is r and all tl belief froi they are \ a mistake of that sei are educaf who sing feeling, bu the so-calh circle were do not desc also liavo b of Pandhai Vithoba asi tious which facts ofoth Tukaram re] Buddhism f he found in is said by soi the correctn( sheep wliich, whither it is proverb — " '1 to trace."' A aught any oi whatever ml;. of the HI ado. in India for But as reg.i always snjjpo- is generally re or not. It is this : " fiilca savs, should be wors But, whctlu Tukaram follov be true, it will 'micii to be tru darkness, even to agree with remarks—" he , Hiiuioos as to tl defines " salvatic God." VOL. V. ( wmi Mission Lifr>,"l Teb. 1, 1808.J A CONVERTED BRAHMAN^S LETTER. 145 Dnyaneswar, Edrndas, &c., an ndherent of tho comrnon doctrine of the Hindoos, that is Pantheism. Indeed, as far as I know, all the hariddsas why sing hia songs, and all the devotees of Pandhapur (tho sanfs) do not at all dift'er in their religious belief from the common Hindoo system inculciitiul in Bhagavata and Gita, ; nay, they are the greatest readers of those books. The writer of the above article makes a mistake, I think, in calling tho Vithoba worsh-ppers a sect, and Tukaram a » lint of that sect. It is true that it is a fashion ^vit^ many among the Brahmans who are educated to despise Tukaram and other saints like him, and the hariddsas also who sing and read their books. I myself was once very fond of afleeting that feeling, but the reason of it is not that they hold any dillerent faith from that of the so-called orthodox Hindoos, but because Tukaram and many others of that circle were of low caste, and also because their writings are in the vernacular, and do not deserve any notice from a learned Brahman. Still many learned Brahmans also have been among the most devout admirers of Tukaram and of the devotees of Pandharpur. It is sa"d that Dr. Stevenson describes the worshippers of Vithoba as Bauddho- Vaishnawas. But this I fear is one of those bold specula- tions which tho European learned men are ever fond of hazarding with respect to facts of other countries and ages. The writer of the article himself says that Tukaram represents " an eclectic form of Hindooism into which a larger leaven of Buddhism found its way." I should like to know what are those things which he found in Tukaram v.'hich he could not trace to tlu; teaching of Hindooism. It is said by some that Vithoba was a Buddhist saint. Of course I cannot vouch for the correctness of the opinions of my countrymen. They are proverbially like sheep which, if one goes astray, ail follow, without examining each for itself whither it is going. They themselves have warned us in this matter by another proverb — " The source of a river and the race of gods one ought not to endeavour to trace."' Vithoba may have been origina'ly a Buddhist or a Mahommcdan, for aught any one knows; but this is certain, that those who worship him think, by whatever mistake they may have begun to think so, that he is the genuine God of the Hindoos, even Krishna, the husband of Kukmini, who has been worshipped in India for ages among the Hindoos. But as regards the common pantheistic notion of the Hindoos, which I said I always supposed Tukavam also to hold, 1 remember a part of his ahUanga which is generally repeated by the Marathas, though I cannot tell whether it is genuine or not. It is this : " Tnka says, " Scorpions as well as snakes are Narayana (that is, God) ; yet they should be worshipped afar ofl", but should not be touched." But, whether this passage be genuine .ir not, I think it is very likely that Tukaram followed the common pantheistic doctrine of the Hindoos. And if thia be true, it will again appear that the superficial excellence of his teaching is not much to be trusted, for there is beneath it the bottomless pit of corruption and darkness, even this absurd pantheism. The writer of the above article also seems to agree with me in this matter. For, commenting on one of his songs, ho remarks — " he (Tukaram) opens with a reference to the controversy among the Hindoos as to the mode of attaining God, or identity with Qod." Also when he defines " salvation," mentioned by Tukaram, to be "absorption into the essence of God." fi. 1 f \** M ' \* ^ . 1 *)!» VOL. V. 10 jiMl i f ■ i i \ ^ « 1 * ! : i . |- 1 W ( %- 140 MISSION LIFE. [Mission Life, Kcb. 1, 1868. The writer of the article says, " Large masses of the rude Maratha peasants sing the songs of Tultaram witli but very iniperfeet appreciation of tlieir import." He is led to think so, I suppose, by observing that the lives of the singers of those songs jdo not correspond with their teacliing. Hut here is another puzzle for Europeans. It is a fact that no amount of knowledge of religious truths which the Hindoo books can give has power to subdue the untameable passions and lusts which reside in different men in different degrees. Of course there are men of diflerent natural dispositions among the Hindoos; some are naturally very chaste or faithful or very kind-hearted or patient, &c. j and there are some who even combine many of these good qualities. Tukaram himself may have been such in an eminent degree. But if a man is naturally a slave to his passions and appe- tites, as, alas ! the generality of men are, there is no inciompatibility between sutb a man's possessing a most thorough knowledge of everything which the Hindoo liooka teach, and his remaining a sla\e still to those passions and appetites. It may happen that several external circumstances may sometimes combine to change externally the course of a man's life, who may have been previously a notoriously gay or licentious man ; and he may even betake himself to a religious life, and pass for a changed man. But the knowledge itself which the Hindoo books impart has no such power in changmg man's heart in any notable manner. That is the peculiar prerogative of the blessed Bible alone. It is true that even the Bible fails in changing the lives of thousands of men who live under its teaching. For the Bible does not act like a medicine on material substances. There must be some fitness also in the subject over which the Bible is to exert its influence. Nevertheless it is an undeniable fact that the Bible has wrought most marvellous changes in the lives and dispositions of thousands and tens of thousands of indi- viduals. We do not ascribe this power to the mere knowledge of those truths which the Bible reveals, but to the supernatural efficacy of the grace of God alone. Still this knowledge has a great share in this matter, inasmuch as God makes it one of the ordinary means of exhibiting the power of His grace. But the know- ledge imparted by Hindoo books is not such, but is very imperfect and inaccurate as regards the most vital truths of religion, and mixed with and rendered iueflectual by monstrous errors and follies. You will see, then, how by noticing just one or two things in the writings of Tukaram which lie at the very root of his system, and which cannot escape the notice of tlie most superficial observer the whole delusion about the great en- lightenment of Tukaram vanishes away. And I have little doubt that if any one was to examine his writings more closely he would find at every tnrn the same errors and follies about the most important points in religion as are found in all the other books of the Hindoos. The same will be found to be the case with Nanak also, out of whose writings Dr. Colenso has quoted a few select sentences, to insinuate that he and many others were equally inspired with the holy prophets to whom the word of God was revealed. In order to know the nature of the teaching of all those who became the founders of the various sects among the Hindoos, let this one consideration suffice.* How much soever they may differ from the orthodox belief of the * When I speak of tlie founders of various sects, I do not include Tukaram or others of the I'audlinrpur devotees, foi- I said that they are not sects in my opinion. But I mean such as Ntinak, Prauuilth, &c. Mission I,if( •t'eb. 1, iscf Hindoos, : Jiew point founded o materials found in tl entirely fa stance, the faith of th( Gujarat, a ( to have cros tenets of M mixed them and settled rejects a goi God. And, what God in that rested upon with the Goj) tion of Vishii the supreme ( These parti the Lord, bu( Panna. But t see from this Hindooism, all accept that p( describes the " book which s]i describe the d< since they belij incarnation, do fost io the H. Krishna are iio( Let these ol. enn do in its all fi'iends, to ans« of the most com iigion which con and without adi which wo must ( Attend calmlv tbem. For lea, very liable to mi <»"•'• The true 's very apt to ma have discovered i "press it. And m Mission Lifp,! Feb, 1, 1SC8.J A CONVERTED BRAHMAN's LETTER. 147 n Hindoos, and whatever parts of it they may practically reject, and whatever new points of belief they may have invented, yet nevertheless they are all founded on the old Hindoo faith, and their systems are mainly made up of materials taken from that faith, aud therefore much of that old faith will be found in them ; and even what they reject of it, they do not understand to be so entirely false and imaginary as we Cliristians or you Brahmos do. Take, for in- stance, the case of Pranndth. He perhaps has gone as far off from the original faith of the Hindoos as any other sect ran have done. Priinnath was born in Gujarat, a country famous for producing devotees and sect founders. He is said to have crossed the Arabian sea and visited Arabia, aud to have learnt there the tenets of Mahomedanism, and to Lave brought them back to his own country and mixed them with Hindooism, and so to have invented a new system. He came and settled at last in Panna, in Bundelkhand. He condemns idolatry, and rejects a good deal of Hindooism, and yet he accepts Krishna as the supreme God. And, what is more wonderful, according to Priinnath, K rishna was supreme God in that night only when the Spirit of the supreme God came down and rested upon him, namely, the famous night of " Rasa lilii," in which he sported with the Gopfs ; as for the rest of his life, he consideri!d it as that of an incarna- tion of Vishnu, whom, however, he did not hold, like the orthodox Hindoos, to be the supreme God. These particulars I learned from an intelligent person who is now a brother in the Lord, but was before a Prannatlii, and the very priest of their temple in Pannd. But that the Pr^nniithis worship Krishna is evident to everybody. Just see from this what notions these sect-founders entertained about orthodox Hindooism, although they diflPered so widely from it. For sinci the Priinnathis accept that portion of the Bhiigavata as the very description of God \ ; ich describes the "Rasa lilii," of Krishna, and though the other portions of the same book which speak of the rest of the life of Krislma are believed by them not to describe the deeds of the supreme God, but those of an incarnation of Vishnu, yet since they believe that there is such a god as Vishnu, and that Krishna was his incarnation, does it not show that they are, after all, in one way or other bound fast to the Hindoo faith, and that their notions about Bhagavata, Vishnu, and Krishna are not the same as ours ? liCt these observations suffice to give us an idea of what the human intellect can do in its attempts to find out tlic true religion. And now I ask you, my friends, to answer me impartially, whether it is not a fair and logical conclusion of the most complete and inductive reasoning, that man is not able to frame a re- ligion which could teach us correctly, fully, definitely, prominently, consistently, and without admixture of error, all these things which we must believe, and whicli we must do or abstain from. Attend calmly and considerately to the facts, and draw your conclusiors from them. Por I cannot warn you too often, that persons in your circumstances are very liable to mis? the right conclusion in this matter and to form an erroneous OIK'. The true religion is not brought to you ready-made, and its simplicity is very apt to make you think (as in fact it has led you to think) that you could have discovered it by your reason or " intuition," as you have lately preferred to express it. And also, as I have said, the very enlightenment which you have now 1^ 5 s 1 1'' 1.^ IlKI li ir • y-4 m' 148 MISSION LIFE. [Miasion Life, Feb. 1, 1868. received, makes you very unfit to realise tlie deformity and defectiveness of man- mveuted religions, and hence the true extent of man's inability to discover the true religion. Nothing, therefore, but a most cautious endeavour to keep yourselves from these two sources of error, and adhere rigidly to the liaconian method of reasoning, will lead you to the right conclusion in this matter. Observe, also, that there is no such t'ling as a new discovery, in the strict sense of the term, in the matter of religion. Tor almost all the funda- mental points of religion, such as the existence of God ; His holiness, justice, and mercy; His infinitude, omniscience, omnipotence, as likewise the great precepts of morality, &c., have been known to, and acknowledged by, if nob all, at least most men in all countries, at least civilised countries. They were certainly known to, and acknowledged by, our forefathers. I5ut the defect and weakness of man's understanding shows itself in this, that it has always enter- tained a defective, inconsistent, indefinite, and wavering notion of those things, and has always abused, exaggerated, and perverted them and spoilt them by mixing with them its own fallacious speculations, as I stated at the very beginning of tbi.s letter; and the more it endeavours to describe them in detail and to descend into particulars, the more abundantly these defects appear. Ir this way it has been that man's intellect has always been unable to frame a pure and perfect system of religion. And have we not a sufficient number of facts to con- sider our induction complete, and to say confidently that it will never be able to do so, that it is impossible for it to do so without the aid of Divine revelation ?* Since, then, you think that you liavo got a pure and perfect religion, I ask you, can you imagine that you have discovered it by your reason, or intuition, if you like to call it so ? I know it is very difficult, from whatever cause it may be, to make the Brahmos agree that tbey have got this light entirely from Christianity, and I was anxious * I have lately seen an old Brahniic tract, called Vaidaniic doctrines vindicated, the reading of which as well of some other Urahmic writings, gave me, I must confi'ss with sorrow, a sad view of the state of tlie minds of the Brahmos. I wisli to make a remark here on one thing in the above-mentioned tract. It is thus written there : — " ilan is a fallible being and bis unassisted reason is liable to the grossest misconception regarding his origin, his relations to the various orders of existences surrounding him, his duties as well as to himself as to others, and his obligations to his Creator, matters a correct knowledge of which, is essential to his maintaining the position in which be stands in creation, as his very welfare entirely depends upon such knowledge. For a right conception, therefore, of the purposes of his being and of his future expectations, the weakness of man's faculties requires to be propi)cd up by that Providence to which he owes his being and tin; continuance of it ; and hence arises the necessity of revelatio ." Now bear with me while I speak out my mind plainly; for plain speaking is jo mark of unfriend- liness. The sentences just quoted reveal a sad fact regar' ing the state of your mind. AVhile you thought you could take the Vedas, it ihe place of the Bible, for revealed books (for the above-mentioned tract was written, as appears to nie, when you held that opinion), you could readily perceive the necessity of revela- tion ; for to hold to the Vodas cost you nothing, but rather contributed to your glory. But as you have since found out that the Vedas could not stand f i r inspired books (and one may be thankful even for this) and as you are deterniinid not to embrace Christianity (for that is too humiliating and requires too severe sacrifices) no demonstration is now powerful enough to make you confess the necessity of revelation. Mission 1 Feb. 1, 16 to find thought follovvint n Chnsti before, w Him, mai agree a bo that my ] Tell me, notions ? I was a H And here '. you in thi formed by kindness a you, cannot a thorough Hindoo soc was not ind religious ar not very lea with books V a b until very fond of the first edi the reading of the Bible, after, that I barbarous nai IJiit to be sh wliich I now voutly believe and adored a have mercy) o in the Jumna, pitifully imiilo need not disch I'etter, more fi to my acquaint The Brahmo asked the gent converted to CI religion, and w as myself, and , " Did they find or did they k, tliey learned thi Jiave been contr ^^imi Feb'l"l868:] A CONVERTED BRAIIMA^'S LETTER. 149 to find out a way by which I could make this fact plain to tSiem. At last I thought of one way, and in conversing with a Brahmo I proceeded in the following manner:—! first put him a question about myself. I said : " I am now a Christian ; I entertain now very different notions about jGod from what I had before, when I was a Hindoo, about His attributes, the mode of worshipping Him, man's duty, and other points of religion. And as fau at least as we both agree about them, and we do agree to a very great extent, you must acknowledge that my present notions are correct and worthy of God and His true religion. Tell me, then," I asked the Brahmo gentleman, "how came I to entertain these notions ? Certainly not by my own reasoning or intuition, for I know that while I was a Hindoo, and unacquainted with Christianity, I never dreamed of them." And here I wish to tell you, my Brahmo friends, that I have an advantage over you in this matter, for I can draw a clear line between my old self as it was formed by Hindooism and my new self as it has been shaped, through the loving- kindness and grace of God, by Christianity. Many of yon, or (rather) most of you, cannot do so, I suppose, and that is the cause of the whole mischief. I was a thorough old-fashioned Hindoo, brought up in Benares within a circle of Hindoo society for removed from any contact of foreign influence. Moreover, I was not indifferent towards religion, but was very fond of it and of the society of religious and devout men, and Sani/dsis and Bairagis, &c. And though I was not very learned, yet I was somewhat acquainted with the Sanskrit language, and with books writtini in that language. Of English I did not know so much as the a b c until a short time before my conversion. In the course of time, I became very fond of discussing with Christians on the subject of religion, and got hold of the first edition of Mr. J. Muir's Matapariksha in Sanskrit. It was through the reading of this book that I first became acquainted with the religion of the Bible. Yet my eyes were so closed then, and even for a considerable time after, that I used to despise and consider as very foolish and only fitting for a barbarous nation, those very truths of Christianity which I now revere and love. But to be short, it is demonstrably certain in my case that the religious notions which I now entertain I never discovered by my reason or intuition. I most de- voutly believed with all the great philosophers and acute reasoners of my country,, and adored and sang of as worthy of God, such deeds as that He should (God have mercy) .,teal the clothes of the young Gopis while they were bathing naked in tlie Jumna, and would not give them back when they came out of the water pitifully imploring him, until they lifted np both their hands towards the sun ! I need not disclose the meaning of this. If I now abhor such things, and entertain better, more fitting, and more consistent ideas of God, it is unquestionably owing to my acquaintance with Christianity. The Brahmo gentleman with whom I was conversing did not deny it. Then I asked the gentleman about many others of my fellow-countrymen who have been converted to Christianity, cither from Hindooism, or Mahomedanism, or any other religion, and who now entertain the same opinions on the great truths of religion as myself, and which are very different from those they had entertained before. " Did they find out these notions," I asked, " by their own reason or intuition ? or did they leurn them from Christianity ?" He, however, acknowledged that they learned them from Christianity. And should he have denied it, he would have been contradicted by a thousand voices raised on every side, declaring what I r P «ifl P P. i r ; ! 150 MISSION LIFE. fMiSamn Ufc, L I'ub. 1, 1868. each individual knew by his own very experience. Then I asked him what ho thought about the thousands and tens of thousands of individuals who, in ancient times, were converted to Christianity from umong tlie Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Persians, and other nations, who, as it is well known from the accounts of those times, as well as from the declarations of many of themselves, were groping in the dark, and were wandering in the wilderness of error, so long as they had their reason only, or intuition, if you please, for their g^idc ; but/vere then brought to hoftl those notions which we. Christians, now hold, and which the Catholic Church has ever held, about the great truths of religion, when they were made acquainted with Christianity. He could not hesitate to acknowledge tliat they all owed their enlightenmcjnt to their uccinaintance with Christianity. Then I asked him " Since it is demonstrably certain (for wo can all certify it by our own experi- ence), that all these and all of us began to entertain these enlightened and worthy notions of religious truths only since our aC(iurtintanco with Christiunity, and therefore got them only from Christianity, and did not acquire and could not have acquired them either from the Upanishads or the Oita, or from Socrates, Plato, or Cicero, or from reason or intuitiorc— for it is a ftict that we were all, wandering in darkness while we used all of these, and what can be more trust- worthy than facts ? — can there be any doubt that you Brahmos also, who have begun to entertain your present, pure, and correct notions of religious truths — of course we can speak thus of each other's notions only as far as we both agree — only siuce you became acquainted with Christians and their notions : can there be any doubt, I say, that you learned aH these notions from Christianity alone, and did not find them out and could not have found them out by reason or intuition ?" Now, as far as I remember, the Brahmo gentleman did not express in any way that he disagreed with me in anything that I had hitherto said. But I could not make him confess the next legitimate aaid true conclusion which results from the foregoing remarks. That conclusion is this, that Christianity is a super- natural revelation from God ; and this can be deduced from the foregoing con- siderations in two ways. The first is this : that if Brahmoism be the true re- ligion and necessary for man, and if it can be discovered only by being acquainted with Christianity and cannot be discovered in any other way, whatever further additions and changes the adherents of the former be inclined to make according to their various opinions, it would follow that Christianity also is necessary and therefore must be believed, yea, it must be the will of God Himself that it should be believed, to be a supernatural revelation from God. But if you ask, "Granted that Christianity be necessary, why need it be believed as a divine and supernatural religion ? If we accept that part of it as true, i. e. abstractedly true, which is moral and theological (so much of it at least as approves itself to our reason), why need we believe that its claim to super- natural origin is also true ?" I will show you why. Christianity is necessary, because it has been shown tlmt it alone can bestow upon men this great and most necessary benefit, namely, deliveranc j from the maze of errors as regards religion, and the knowledge of true religion. But observe this further : Christianity can be thus beneficial to mankind only when believed to be a supernatural revelation from God, and an authoritative and infallible guide in matters of belief and practice. For if Christianity be not believed as a supernatural revelaticin from God, but only because and so far as it agrees with our reason, then it will become Mission Kcb. 1, ] dependi to its o' pleases. Christia can yon human i of God'f leave Cli to appro to its ow matter, i fail to se heen disi and must an authoi if thus b necessary. Now, tl to the con and it is a ligion wor be clearly unable to was nnabl Brahmoism — if from Christianit intellect or You will legitimate ( to say, at tl appeared t. siderations something said to him, Irought to c some one pt could be adi bined force practically, I appeared tha >ny astonishn found in my examined the reading some are labouring claims of Chi "nn; when 1 Miasion Lifcl Feb. 1, 1868.J A CONVERTED BRAHMAN's LETTER. 151 dependent on reason ; reason then will Imve authority over it, and try it according to its own standard, will change or modify it, retain or reject as much of it as it pleasesr. What will, then, be the issue ? Why, human reason will soon bring Christianity to the level of all the other religions which it has invented itself: can you doubt it for a moment ? Has universal experience shown or not, that human reason is a most blind, misguided, and miserable guide, without the help of God's revelation, in matters of religion ? How then is it possible for it to leave Christianity uncorrnpted, if it be left in its own hand: to try and judge it, to approve or disapprove of it, to change, modify, retain, o-. reject it according to its own judgment ? If then you are impartial and unbiassed judges in this matter, if you are true seekers and lovers of truth, you will not, it appears to me, fail to see that, if Brahmoism be necessary for man, and if it could not have been discovered without Christianity, then Christianity must be necessary also, and must necessarily be considered as a supernatural revelation from God, and an authoritative and infallible guide to men in matters of religion; for only if thus believed, it can accomplish that purpose for which it is heid to be necessary. Now, the second way by which, as I said, tho foregoing considerations lead us to the conclusion that Chriatfanity is a supernatural revelation from God is this, and it is a very plain one. If Brahmoism be a pure and perfect religion, a re- ligion worthy of being given by God and necessary for man to follow, and if it be clearly shown by a complete induction that the human mind is altogether unable to teach such a religion ; and if moreover from this fact, viz. that man was unable to frame such a religion, as well as from the other fact that Brahmoism was only discovered when men became acquainted with Christianity, — if from these two facts it be fully proved that Brahmoism is learnt from Christianity, then i t follows that Christianity is not a product of man's natural intellect or reason, but is a supernatural revelation from God. You will observe, I wished the Brahmo gentleman ( ?ee that this was the legitimate conclusion to which all my previous observatious tended j but, strange to say, at this time he took ' most curious turn, and began to talk in a way which appeared to me mott unconnected. After setting before him the aforesaid con* siderations as a sort of internal evidence for Chrigtianity, I proceeded to say something about the historical evidence for the miracles of Christ. For, as I said to him, such is the nature of probable evidence, that though one proof, brought to establish tho truth of a certain fact, may not appear in the eye of some one person to be perfectly convincing, yet if many and independent proofs could be adduced, all tending to establish the truth of the same fact, their com- bined force may be capable of producing such a degree of certainty as would practically, be equal to t hat of demonstration. To my astonishment, however, it appeared that he had never examined the subject of historical evidence at all ; and my astonishment has been increasing more and more since I came to Calcutta, and found in my interviews with some other Brahmos, that they likewise have never examined the subject of the Christian evidences. From these facts, as well as from reading some of the Brahmic writings, it began to appear to me that the Brahmos are labouring under great misapprehension about the opinions, assertions, and claims of Christians. For instance, in the case of the aforesaid Brahmo gentle- man ; when I spoke to him about historical evidences for the miracles of Christ* IS; d (111' I P & {■ ' ,.11 :i^2 1:1 -iu f IS r ■ I :ik' ^ ii /\ i ff 152 MISSION LIFE. [Miaaion Life, I'eb. 1, 1808. he at once broke out into u strange train of assertions : — " Wliat Imvo we to do," said he, " with miracles ? Thougli you could prove to me the reality of Christ's miracles, they will not convinco uie more of the truth of those moral precepts and spiritual teachings of Christianity, than their own intrinsic excel- lence does) in which you have hoen showing that Christianity so much excels, and which, as you said, first touched your own heart " (for I had said this to him in the course of relating to hiin my past history). " These moval precepts," he continued, " and spiritual teachings are the essence of Christianity, and those we, Brahmos, have accepted, and what more can there be that we must do ?" See how all the labour of my previous arguments was lost upon hiin. He seemed to think that all I had said was simply to show that the teaching of Christianity on morality, A.., is very excellent and true, and nothing more! Why, all my arguments were intended to set forth the evidences of Christianity, to prove thereby that Christianity is a divine revehtion. And if so, and since he appeared to admit my premises, as I said above, he ought to have admitted this, their necessary conclusion : could it then be right to accept a part of it only, and not the whole ? lleally, the good man appeared to nie to be no rcasoner at all, but a mere sentimentalist, who being naturally a man of pious disposition and deep and tender feelings, is so entirely taken up by the beauties of the pure and exalted piety and morality, which, of course, Christianity has taught the people of Calcutta, as to stop short at it, and be unwilling to give heed or listen to any- thing e'se, however important and necessary it may be. Oh ! the mystery of the depth of the evil of our fallen nature ! We may be obstinately rebellious against our God and Creator in our very fancied piety, humility, and self-resigna- tion to Him. O Lord God, bear with us, thy erring creatures j by Thy infinite mercy and long suffering, direct us aright when we go astraj j olinw us the iniquity of our very goodness ; hold Thou up our hand, and leav us, or we cannot go aright ; and so bring us to Thy truth, for Thy mercy's sake. Amen. Thus, however, it seems, we are greatly misunderstood by the Brahmos. The same was my impression when I read a Hrahmic tract called, ' The Doctrine of the Christian Resurrection.' This tract, like some other Brahmic writings, which I have hitherto seen, is also sadly wanting in that sweet and pleasing spirit which appeared to me in my aforesaid Brahmo interlocutor. I fear that educated young men in this country have got into the opinion that sarcasm is the only legitimate and standard style for writing in the English language, not only oa subjects relating to nationality, politics, &c., but even on the high and awful subject of religion ; and saicasm with declamatory eloquence seems to be under- stood by some as quite sufficient to answer all the purposes of a demonstrative argument. The writer of the aforesaid tract asks : — " Is the Christian prepared to adduce any valid evidence to substantiate the strange dogma that God is to sit in solemn judgment on an appointed day, arrayed in all the pomp of royalty, and call up tlie unsubstantial frames of the dead from the dust to which they must have been reduced ? Can he, from the very constitution of things, infer a priori (!) that a phenomenon so absurd to common sense, and so untenable in the eye of reason, shall come to pass in a distant futurity, and realise the talc» which have been promulgated in relation to it ? Can he by dint of reasoning (!), by any form of sound argumentation (!), by an appeal to the stubborn facts of history (!), or by a reference to the startling deductions of science (!), caa Miaaion Lif I'eb. 1, IbM he, I repc should, af to, and SI fesses, in f "the poiii themselvef fession, th( doctrine. factory grc tians do no the " const stubborn fu tend to "•«« revelation ; sound, to re its reasonal those analog such peculia for them, v evidences, t which you u Christians b unsatisfactor prayerfully, them), all fu Seeing, th many, becau Christians sa external and tianity must "we believe, Christianity, be estabHsh('( patiently, hui and opportuii satisfied that reasonable, bu that it teachcf 80 with your w of blessing anc country, yen, t And let me that is, of exai very wrong ai take hold of s staggers at it, j true. Is it not fess to have bee Hitiion Tjifc, Feb. 1, 1868. ] A CONVERTED BRAIIMAN'S LETTER. 153 lie, I repeat, in any way succeed in produLing in us a conviction that our souls should, lifter attaining freedom, be again confined in corporeal frames as alluded to, and subjected to their grosser laws ?" Happily, however, the writer con- fesses, in the same tract, thi» much about the doctrine of the resurrection, that " the point under consideration is like one of those things which, considered in themselves, it is as difficult to confute as to prove." According to his own con- fession, then, there is no positive reason, at least of any great weight, against the doctrine. If it is to be discredited and rejected, it is only for want of satis- factory grounds for believing in it. But does not the writer know that Chris- tians do not pretend to build this doctrine on any " h priori " reasoi', drawn from the " constitution of things," or on " dint of reasoning," or on " any appeal to stubborn facts of history," or on any other thing like it ; I sny they do not pre- tend to 'kjW on those things, for they build it entirely on the decl'-.ration of revelation ; though they may bring hundreds of analogie.i, whether sound or un- sound, to remove MISSION LIFE. fMluion Life LKcIi. 1, 1H98 tions bo 80 fur boyoud tha powers of rcnHon, that on nccount of tlio very feoblo- ness ivtul fiiults of our limiteil fiicultips wo may fiiil to ii])i)rec;iute tliem ? Hut the evidences of Christiiiiiity, historiciil und others, nrc thinga which full within the power of our judf^mcut, thoufi^h, to bo sure, oven here we must exereigo our judgment soberly, patiently, humbly, .nd without biat). If, then, these evidences should prove to ua that Christianity is a divine n '"tion, wo should then want nothing more. Let me f,'ive an illustration. Wo ftnu Jiere Tt e< h clear marks of design throughout the works of nature (and of .b our in ^-lecnj can confidenL'iy judge), that we are made ([uite sure that the world is a work of an Omnipotent and All- wise Designer. Being thus assured, we should not be ^ xll disturbed, if ono waa to show us instances of things in nature which may appear to us void of use or wisdom J nay, even to militate with our notions of a work of a benevolent and just Being. To such a man wo return only ono answer, viz. that all those things must bo good, ami it must be the fault of our own understanding if they appear to us faulty. And why do we feel so confident in this matter ? Because we have Iwen assured jireviously that the universe is the work of an Omni])otent and All- wise Being. But how rash and unsafe would be our proceeding if, instead of first assuring ourselves with sound reasons that the universe is tho work of such an author, we were to go and examine everyth'ng in the world, and try to aKcer'^ain whether, according to our miserable faculties, it appears to bo such us becomes the wisdom and goodness of a wise and benevolent Being, and whether there is nothing in it that is inexplicable to us ! I fancy many a one must have wrecked bis ship on this very rock of oll'enoe, and plunged himself in the horrid gulf of atheism. But more of this again at another time, if God enable me to do bo. But to return : the arguments here stated to show that Christianity must be a Bupernatural revelation from God have been brought forward as one of the in- ternal evidences of Christianity. It is, however, but a very imperfect sketch and of a peculiar character, not stating the unparalleled excellences of Christianity directly and fully, as a writer on the evidences would do, but indirectly, through the medium of Brahmoism itself, in order to avoid all dispute, and to take up un- disputed and common ground. Nevertheless a Brahmo gentleman (not the same whom I mentioned above, but another), before whom I once had an opportunity of propounding this argument, tried to evade this conclusion by the two following considerations. " First," he said, " though we have learned a great deal froai Christianity, and have derived much benefit from it, still we do not think that we arc wholly indebted to Chris- tianity, or that we have learnod what we now know from Christianity alone, inas- much as Christianity itself Is indebted to other systems which preceded it for the light which it gives. Therefore," he argued, " were it even true that we have derived all our knowledge directly from Christianity, still we cannot be said to be entirely indebted to Christianity, nor can Christianity be said to be the original source of that light which it imparts to others." His opinion was that God has been currying on from the beginning the religious education of the world through various gifted men whom He raised up by His Providence from time to time, such as Socrates, Plato, Mahomet, Nanak, and others (among whom he would reckon, of course, the holy prophets and our blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ too) ; and these have severally been acting their part, and helping forward the progress !t!b^"/b(l8:] A CONVERTED BRAHMAN's LETTER. 155 of rcligioiiH knowledge, till at Inst it ha« arrived at that perfect atngo which Brah* moism now repreHcntH. Just in the same way, in his opinion, CiiriHtianity uUo has only nctud itH part in this great work of the religiuux education of the world, and nothing more. Thus this gentleman wanted to nuiku it appear (and 1 aia afraid that you, my dear friends, would all agree with him), that there is nothing oztruordinary in Christianity, hut thi>t it is only like the many other religious systems that have made their appearance in the world, and which have all heea the products of man's natural intellect and reason. But this I consider to ba altogether a misrepresentation or a misconceptiim of facts. Is it true that the world has gone on improving in matters of religious belief? Is it true that as these imaginary prophets, namely, Socrates, Plato, Mahomet, Niinak, Tukarain, &c. arose one after another, each improved upon what his predecessor had taught, 80 that thoy might all be said to have gone on building up this mighty structure of religion, and though not without occasional stoppages, retrogressions, and mis- carriages (for if that was all I could readily pass it over), still on the whole steadily to have proceeded onwards and onwards towards greater and greater improvement and jjurity, till nothing was left for Christianity — or Brahmoism, if you like — but just to add the top stone? If this was all that Christianity has done, then no one could claim for it a superuatund origin merely on the ground of the oxeellenco of its teaching. But this is not the case. Lay aside the Bible and those systems which arc derived from the Bible (in which I not only include Brahmoism and all the various deistical systems of Christian Europe, but Mahometanism also), and there is no progress towards purity and perfection in religion anywhere to be found in the world. Is there any philosophic or religious system, or any pro- gressive series of systems, of which you can say that it approaches in purity and perfection so near to Christianity that Christianity might bo said to have done nothing more than to have only given a flnisMng stroke to it ? Not at all. I have shown you already, in the case of Tukarani.how people, by picking out some fine portio -> from the writings of some authors, mislead themselves and others, and imagine that they come very near to Christian enlightenment, and how a little consideration shows all such ideas to be a delusion. The fact is there are fine sen- timents to be found in all religions ; and there are absurdities, follies, and im- purities likewise to be found in all. Nay, when we examine them each as a whole, and try to find out what were the true views of those who have enunciated such fine notions on those very subjects, by comparing one part of their writings with another, we soon discover that their own ideas about those very sublime truths which they seem to enunciate are very defective ; and, as I said, we should guard ourselves against the error of supposing that they held those truths in the same correct, consistent, definite, and perfect sense in which we who are enlightened by Christianity do hold them. If there are fine sentiments to be found in Tukaram, Nanak, Socrates, or Plato, so there are equally fine, nay, it may be, finer ones, to be found in the Bhiigavata, Gita, Upanishads, and other books ; and if there are follies and absurdities in these, there are likewise in those. So that what I wish to show is that there is no progress. No one of these religions of man's invention can be said to have come nearer, or at least noticeably nearer, to Christianity than another. They all bear one common characteristic, and Christianity bears quite another, so that while they enable us to see what man's natural reason can achieve, and how far it can go in discovering true religion, Christianity is proved to be a I i: !:^ :' s' 1 . • & ' : ; i m 150 MISSION LIFE. fMlaiion Mfe, [Kb. 1, IMS. ii«i ^ •ystom which human ronson Is unablo of lt«clf to dispovcr. Thii, I nay, you wUI ncknowlcilgc, if you will allow that a condniiion built upon n romplcto Induction is true ; if, however, you v/itl not bo guided by it, you must give up almoRt all belief in things, whether in religion or in the world. Remember also what I said above, and then you will bo able to see the true nature of the difference that there is between Christianity and all man-invented religions. I Haid that there are no new discoveries in matters of religion, strictly 80 called, as there have been in mitural sciences. In the case of the latter there have been strictly now discoveries of facts or laws ; and very often one discovery liolped the philosopher to make another, or sometimes some mere accident helped him to do so, and wo can point out those causes which enabled him to make those discoveries. Now, though a philosopher discover a fact, yea, a most important fact, and most beneficial to mankind, which had never been known before to any man at any time in the world, yet wo do not call such a discovery a supernatural revelation from God. Hut the case of religion is very different from this. For it is evident, as I said above, that all the great truths of religion have been known, if not to all, at least to most men among\'iviliscd nations. Hut the difHculty has been in comprehending them correctly, perfectly, definitely, and consistentty. This, as the survey of universal history shows us, man has never been able to do; but ho has always comprehended them defectively, vaguely, and inconsistently, and has ever been ))rone (so naughty and corrupt is his intellect) to abuse, exaggerate, pervert, and spoil them, by mixing with them his own speculations. When, then, wo thus ascertain by a complete induction wliat the state of man's natural reason is, and what it cannot do, and find that Christianity has done that which human reason has never been able to do, is it not reasonable to believe that it is a super- natural revelation, as, indeed, it claims to be ? The Brahmo gentleman's assertion, then, cannot bo true, that Christianity has borrowed from others, For how can it borrow from others that which they do not possess ? And remember, we do not commend Christianity as a divine revelation, nor can you commend Urahmoism, as the purest religion, for that which they have in common with all the false and corrupt religions of the world, but only for that which the others do not possess ! And of this Christianity must be considered the origiral source, and Hrahmoisra cannot but have taken that from Christianity alone. The Brahmo gentleman, however, propounded another consideration, to evado the conclusion that Christianity must be a supernatural revelation from God. " We do not admit," ho said, " that even Christianity is a perfect and faultless system of religion. For we find," said he, " many defects and faults in the Bible, and our Brahmoism is so far from being a mere copy of Christianity, that we consider it rather an improvement on Christianity." Such wore the words of the Brahmo gentleman, and you of course (I suppose) all agree with him. I should like, therefore, very much to try to remove those objections from your mind, which you think yoxi have against certain points in Christianity, answering them one by one, if God enables me to do so ; but in the mean time I wish to set before you some general considerations regarding those objections. For surely the way by which I have tried to show you that Christianity must be a supernatural Eevclatlon is such that it shi ts out all dispute, and allows no objection to disturb the conclusion. For, as I said, I have taken the most indisputable and common Million T, fVb, 1, 18( grouud- nioro full MI ^icn, 3ai my lull ! was j)crf( that tira "My pec and liatc i Init if (It bad, aud The sc the heigl A boon a, ( On him, sionaries' I'^alashas ^irst inter the midst which capital, esc marriage. 11 With tciuptuou traveller, cavalcade tniiatcly, sistency he Feb'ubijs*'] MISSIONARY TUAVKL8 OP REV. II. STERN. 157 ground — tlint Ih, Drulimoixin iUelf. Tho fuUowIng ronaiilorations, however, will iiioro fully expluiu tliU point. ( To be eonlinued.) 1 MISSIONARY TRAVELS OF REV. II. STERN. {Continued from page 32.) TIE King's reception of Mr. Stern was very friendly. So was his beluiviour to liim throughout his first residence in Abyssinia. lie only required that tin; Mission should obtain the countenance of the Aboona, and hen, said he, " I am your brother and friend, and you have my full sanction to visit every province in my kingdom." II (! was perfectly aware of the faults of the Abyssinians, and, at that time, sincerely anxious to stir them up to better things. " j\Iy people," su'd he, later, " arc bad j they love rebellion and hate peace ; delight in idleness, and arc averse to industry ; but if Cod continues to mc my life I will eradicate all that is bad, and introduce all that is salutary and good." The second great personage in the kingdom, at that time at the height of his power, but now fallen into disgrace, is the Aboona, or chief and only Bishop of the Abyssinian Church. On him, scarcely less than on the King, depended the Mis- sionaries' hopes of obtaining leave to travel among the Falashas: therefore Mr. Stern felt no little anxietv about his first interview. He met the Aboona in the open country, in the midst of a grand procession, half martial half ecclesiastical, which escorted him, high on his scarlet chair, towards the capital, where he was to officiate at the King's second marriage. With not a little naivele Mr. Stern describes the con- temptuous look which was bestowed upon the dismounted traveller, who stood uncovered by the road side while the cavalcade swept by — a look by no means encouraging. For- tunately, it did not daunt him, and by the help of a little per- sistency he obtained an interview with the Bishop at the next ^ < < l liiii r ■ 'U1.L » I I Ui* 158 MISSION LIFE. [ Mission Life, Tcb. ], 1868. halt, where one word of explanation proved sufficient to change all the Aboona^s displeasure into graciousness. He had formed the idea that Mr. Stern was attempting to alter the faith of the Ab} ssinian Christians, and on hearing that he only desired to go among the .Tews, gave him a hearty permission to work. But before begirning his labours, the Bishop strongly per- suaded him to n.turn in his train to Debra (or Mount) Tabor for the royal marriage. Back, accordingly, he went. The curious town, made up as usual of low conical thatched huts, which clustered round a hill like gigantic mushrooms, was all astir with excitement; from every quarter persants in their white shamat^ were pouiing into it with their wives and children, not more from a desire to behold the wedding gf.icties than from that of obtaining the pastoral benediction. The weeding itself, however, possessed unusual attractions from the fact .nat King Theodore had taken the law into his own hands in the matter, since, by the Abyssinian canon, neither King nor priest are permitted to marry a second time. He nevertheless, after some consideration, decided to set aside the law. The young bride was the daught of the late Governor of Tigre, and with her mother had been leading a sort of con- ventual life. Mr. Bell, who was the escort sent to fetch her, was put to his wits' end from being compelled by etiquette so to arrange proceedings that not a glimpse of the bride should be caught by any but feminine eyes. First of all, therefore, he had a covered way formed from the tents to the mules ; then when she had passed unseen so far, off scoured a body of horsemen in front to clear awfy ubscacles and curious eyes al'ke, the gay tioop of mules, nith the mummy-like looking figures on their backs, following at a certain distance, and suc- ceeded in turn at the same distance by the rear guard of honour. So the problem was solved. Debra Tabor, the scene of the Avedding festivities, is at present i;he capital of Abyssinia, the King having summarily put an end to the rival claims of Gondar by burning the latter town to the ground. But, in truth, the barbarism of the country is most forcibly displayed in its architecture, its roads, and its coinage — rather, it should be said, in the absence of all tiixce "We are told that there is absolutely no stone work Mission Life,"] Feb. 1, iHCb.J MISSIONARY TRAVELS OF REV. II. STERN. 159 existing. Eude huts, little better than wigwams, form the habitation of the people, and tlie same description of dwelling serves for the King, unless his Majesty chooses to exchange it for a tent. Hoads there are none. Where the caravans have passed and repassed, the traveller is guided by a kind of track, but the natural difficulties have bcci in no case removed for him, and his journey is pleasantly diversified by scrambling over fallen rocks and out of gaping hoi(;8, up ascents for which steep is no word, or through soi"f> raging torrent. It appears very probable that our expedition to Abyssinia will be the means of bestowing two or three tolerable roads upon the people ; who knows whether in other things as well as in this good may not spring up for them from our teir;^'>rary occupa- tion? We have already said t'at the highlands of Abyssinia form a sort of gigantic terrace, 400 or 500 miles long, and about hjilf that number wide. It Iocs not rise in a gradual slope from the sea; on the contr^iry, between the sea and the vast ridge there lies a flat_, salt, sandy plain, almost a desert, which does not belong to Ab;, ssinia at all, and is the barrier about which so many dismal predictions have been uttered, owing tc its scanty supply of water and its unhealthiness. Its width varies from — at Massowah — a few miles to oOO miles. Then straight up from the plain rises the great wall of the terrace, so abrupt and perpendicular that the traveller often sees no way open to him, and despairs of breasting this mighty barrierj which towers to the height of 8000 and 9000 feet. By and bye he m.ounts through some gorge by such a road as has been described above, and as he goes he finds himself in a land of abrupt contrasts — mountains rising high above the highlands, and valleys cut deep down into the very heart of thern, through which the rivers of Abyssinia find their way into the Nile, and, swollen by the continual rains that fall from June to October, are the cause, according to Sir Samuel Baker's well-sustained theory, of the periodical inundations of that mighty river. By the side of these streams which thread the valleys lurk, at certain seasons, miasma and fever, from which the higher j,'round is exempt ; hut there, too, are found the most fertile spots of the country, and after the desolate plain that skirts the land, the frowning mountain wall which seems to defy intruders 160 MISSION LIFE. [ Mission Lire, Feb. 1, 1868. and the rugged wadys that scam the interior, it must appear little less than enchantment to Come upon grassy oraerald slopes, or the plain Mr. Stern describes, " where beds of lovely coloured lilies and scented shrubs grew in the wildest profu- sion ;" or the still more exquisite picture put before us by two French travellers,* of how " in many places the plain appeared like an immense basket of flowers ; jessamine perfumed tlic air, succulent plants, lavished along the path, rejoiced the eye by their beautiful purple and golden fruit; on the hill^, groves of mimosa, of kolquols, of date trees, offered to us a wonderful sight ; more wonderful still when one thinks of an European winter." .\11 travellers agree in extolling the magnificence of the scenery ; and indeed the variety of form and colour is so great, and the features of the country are so strongly marked, that it is not difficult to imagine its beauty. The precipitous rocks which here and there rise above and commands the adjoining country are the Arabas, i.e., the hill forts. They are formidable for no other reason than for their natural advantages; but tliese are very great, and it is on one of the most considerable of these — the Amba Magdala — that, as has been said, the captives are enduring their dreadful imprisonment. While some have represented the climate of Abyssinia as pestilential, and others extolled it as perfection, it is evident that truth lies between the two, and that the climate is as varied as the scenery. Mr. Stern says that " the lowland, or kolla — rich in vegetation, and abounding in the noblest trees and plants of the tropics — is, for more than six months in the year, overspread by an atmosphere of fever fatal to the most robust European ; and the lofty mcuntain tops are, again, too fl'fficult of access, and too exposed to bleak winds, to aflbrd a lesirable residence even for a northern frame. On the elevated plateaux, where nature enjoys perpetual spring, and the winds arc ever balmy and fresh, no fear need be enter- tained of being suffocated by heat or chilled by cold." The delicious shade of the wooded valleys tempts the traveller to linger in them, bat he is fortunate if he escapes the penalty of ague and fever. Cold and storm accompany the rainy season, and, the Abyssinians not having the energy to * Messrs. Ferrett and Galinier. Mission LIT i'el). 1, 18«( make 1 questioi Septeml Abyssiii and No Stern ch marshes climes. C calamity, obst}'"le t " The 1 proclaim i you contii my friend, and rouse( and who d couutryme the Gospe devote he; Lord acce make your ment and severance 1 every seed fold to the Amen. ^ Such was ^fi". Stern a tiie Palashas ceeded will VOL. V. '5'i>. 1, 1H68. Godar, the then capital, became their head-quarters, and tlie Bishop's residence — in Abyssinia an inviolable sanctuary — their home. From that point they could diverge to the surroimding Falasha villages, and make acquaintance with the " exiles" who yet bear that name, who here, as everywhere, are the homeless race, though their Abyssinian exile counts by thousands of years. SomeAvherc about the time of Solomon, whether drawn back in the magnificent retinue of the Queen of Sheba, or merely following the bent of an adventurous spirit, their forefathers came to Ethiopia ; 'ame, prospered, ^rew wealthy, strong, and spread over vhe land the knowledge of the true God. Though they resisted Christianity and retired before it, it is owing to their influence that the present Christianity of Abyssinia is more tinged with Jewish colouring than perhaps in any other part of the world. A stern, fanatic, fierce, melancholy race, they keep jealously apart from the equally-hated Christians and Mohammedans, quick to see the corruptions on either side. Had the two Missionaries taught the same details of faith as the Abyssinian priesthood, tliey would have had nothing to say to them ; as it was, it was a mistaken rumour that their coming was opposed by the Aboona, which first inclined the Falashas to receive them cordially. But the ignorance which is the bane of Abyssinia extends equally to the Jews. They need teaching in the Old Testa- ment as much as in the New, A few of the ceremonial chapters of the Pentateuch they know well, but the Holy books are so scarce that their knowledge scarcely I'caches further ; the voice of the Prophets sounds strange in their ears, and the simple histories of the Bible are degraded into foolish tr.iditions. Even the account of the Creation has been so distorted. Some of the Falashas told the Missionaries that " forty days before the great Architect of the universe had formed our globe He gave shape and form to Adam, and then left him at the threshold of the future Paradise. Subse- quently, when all had started into existence, the Creator saw a clod of clay, and not knowing where to place it. He said to the Angels, "What shall we do this?" Upon which the heavenly host responded, " Give him a soul," and thus man became a living being." Mission I i'eb. ], li An order in his accept plea tl truth, and tl able t( small I dumbfc read to the "New The commoi to impl^^ of hate found ai to hear i ^ho had Tlie c to enter i^ey shu mounted senting Jewish SA of Abyss free open perhaps n purple hi Missionar their earn weird-Jike ijow creed God hath ^■'ght path. It has b three Hig,'. of these, spected by cussed, C Mission Life,~| Feb. 1, 18t)8.J MISSIONARY TRAVELS OF REV. H. STERN. 163 Another Jewish monk — for strangely enough the monastic order has been instituted by one Gorgorius, who endeavoured in his own way to reform the Jewish Church — declined to jiccept the testimony of the Prophet Jeremiah, on the startling plea that the seer was a Christian and not a Jew ! But, in truti), ignorance pervades all, high and low, priests and people, and throughout whole villages you may not find one person able to read. So that the Bible came upon them, exr*.';.! .a small portions, as altogether an unknown book, and they were dumbfbundered when the Old Testament prophecies were read to them, and made clear at the same time by the light of the New. The priests' feeble arguments died into silence, "the common people heard" it " gladly." Nay, it would be unjust to imply that the priests refused to be convinced. Instances of hate and ill-will to the new comers were not unnaturally found among them, but also there were instances of eagerness to hear and of gratitude to the teachers — the white Falashas who had come over the sea to help their brethren. The ceremonial laws are very strict. For the Christians to enter a Jewish hut would be to defile it ; much more are they shut out from the humble square building, its top sur- mounted by a kind of red pot, and its sacred enclosure repre- .^enting the Holy Place at the rear, which constitutes the Jewish synagogue or mesquid. But in such a climate as that of Abyssinia it is no hardship to preach and instruct in the free open air, and very lovely were the spots where, encamped perhaps under some great tree, sweet flowers scenting the air, purple hills stretching far away in fantastic ridges, the Missionaries would speak out of the fulness of their hearts to their earnest listeners, and swarthy figures swathed in white weird-like shamas, eat in groups about them, drinking in the new creed. " You tell us good words,'* they would cry, "and God liath evidently sent you to teach and direct us into the right path." It has been already said that the Falashas have as many as three Higii Priests. The meeting of the Christians with one of these, Aboo Maharee, a man highly and deser/edly re- spected by his people, was eagerly looked forward to and dis- cussed. Could their arguments stand the weight of his learn- r. ? :!'! in; ! I fHlt 164 MISSION LIFE. rMiiainii Life, Feb. 1, 1868. ing? Would they venture upon any argument at all? The day came, the sanctuary was reached. Not to profane the sacred building, the Missionaries, surrounded by an ';xcited multitude, drew aside into one of the delicious shady j^roves •which so frequently formed the scene of their labours, and there awaited the coming of the High Priest. Tlie crowd grew thicker, the eager chattering people could not restrain their anxiety. Presently all eyes were riveted upon the mesquid, from out of which swept the white-robed procession, headed by Aboo Maharee himself, calm, dignified, and noble- looking. They came towards the grove, grave greetings were interchanged, and then all, priests and people alike, sat down upon tlu; grass, prepared for the discussion. It was opened, according to custom, by the strangers presenting the High Priest with gifts ; in this case a Bible and a white robe, which brought down on their heads a hearty benediction from all present. This ended, they began to speak, and although Mr. Stern does not tell us what words he used, they must have been well fitted for the occasion, as Aboo Maharee, from whom so profound a defence of his faith Avas expected, could only answer them with the trembling words, " Either you will become one of us, or I shall become one of you." The friendship and countenance of the High Priest were felt to be of so great importance to the success of the jNIis- sionarics, that this favourable reception highly raised their spirits ; and Aboo Maharee gav j decided proofs of kindness in pressing hospitalities upon the^n, and appointing an intel- ligent guide, Debterah Xcgousee, to conduct them to the various Jewish settlements with a letter of recommendation from himself. Certainly at this stage the Mission met with much encouragement. King, Aboona, and High Priest, joined in giving not only sanction, but real help. After this very interview, when Mr. Stern and his companion reached Geuda, a town which, -with the surrounding district, belongs to the Aboona, they found his people forewarned of their approach, and ready to welcome them. So far the King's conduct towards them had been courteous and liberal, nor had they, like a former party of lay Missionaries, been m^de the butt of a certain grim humour, at which we could smile had not later events intensified such caprice into deadly cruelty. The Mission 1, ftb. 1, IH Missio directii 1856, , leave f Gallas coramci underta ■with, h( David. set to M producir fair to J painted it had til and of r chariot 1 manufact infinitely i "«^ho, beiE "R^as requi was peren deserter, they manl experience enough to the Kiug ( The Ah hate them industrious teing those have a mos metal. Tli themselves them. Bu Jew; he li popular bel: or sorcerer mentioned, evil spirits. ^^y predisp Miasion Lifr, Pel). 1, IBUH. ] MISSIONARY TRAVELS OF llEV. H. STKIIN. 165 Missionaries alluded to were chiefly Swiss artisans, under tlie direction of the Rev. Mr. FJad. They reached Abyssinia in 185G, and obtained from the King, as did their successors, leave to preach iu his dominions, but only to the heathen Gallas and the Jewish Falashas. Meanwhile, before they commenced their labours, the King requested that they would undertake certain very different works for him. To begin ■with, he wished to possess a chariot resembling that of King David. There was no help for it, and the puzzled Missionaries set to work, by dint of great exertions succeeding at last in producing a conveyance, the original of which it would be hardly fair to lay at the door of the great King of Israel. It was painted green, to be sure, and so far produced an effect, but it had the disadvantage of possessing no powers of locomotion, and of requiring to be carried by men sedan fashion. The chariot having failed, the King next commanded them to manufacture a mortar and howitzer, an order which appeared infinitely more distracting than tlie first to the poor artisans, who, being men of peace, knew absolutely nothing of what was required of them. Fortunately, however — for Theodore was peremptory — one of their number happejied to be a Polish deserter, who had served in the artillery, and with his help they manfully set to work to construct a mortar without either experience or materials, and after many failures were skilful enough to turn out a very fair specimen, which so delighted the King that he has kept them at work ever since ! The Abyssinian Christians despise the Jews, and the Jows hate them with equal ^fervour. The latter form the rjost industrious part of the population, their two principal :.rades being those of builders and blacksmiths. Now the Abyssini ms have a most peculiar superstition connected with all workers iu metal. They suppose them to have the power of transforming themselves into hyaenas, and devouring those who have offended them. But the danger is doubled when the blacksmith is a Jew j he lives under suspicion, and often falls a victim to the popular belief. A person so suspected is called the Bouda, or sorcerer; and besides the animal transl'ormation above mentioned, he has the power of afflicting those he hates with evil spirits. It is possible that the very dread of the Bouda may predispose ignorant and excitable persons, especially : § ! 1 1? . {, i \ . 1^ ni i: >. '■"'! ,>i , P ; '« '' '^ i 1 1 h ' 'i^ i\ ' ^ ■ ; ; I!!!; ' ' 1 " ^ '|, 1 r ' ■ ;• ' ■ .f* i ' . i <** : i) j: , ,*5 £; iiii \ '!!'"'■' \w' p 1 ' \ ¥f 1G6 MISSION LIFE. fMiaaion Life, LFijI). 1,1868. fW' 1iw|!r women, to g've way to the strange symptoms which their friends immediately recognise as the work of the sorcerer. Certain it is that a sort of wild-beast madness seizes them, and that while the fit lasts the sufferer, whether mau or woman, appears to be endowed with superhuman strength. Then, of course, the popular resource of ignorance, the conjuror, is sent for, and the usual course of question and answer gone through, to oblige the Bouda to confess whom he is who has thus afflicted the poor possessed one. Mr. Stern heard the curious exorcism which concluded the dialogue, curious from its allusion to the Council of Nicsea, for after adjuring the evil spirit to come out in the name of the Blessed Trinity and the twelve Apostles, is added, " and the three hundred and eighteen Bishops at the Council of Nicaia." Beyond a doubt the favourable treatment of Mr. Stern was in some measure owing to the influence of Mr. Bell. This Englishman and Consul Plowden — Consul after a one-sided fashion, be it remembered, for Theodore has always persist- ently declined to recognise foreign consuls within his dominions — were the King's closest friends. Each entered Abyssinia as an adventurer; each rose to high favour with the King ; each shared with him the belief that by his means Abyssinia, would be raised to a great and powerful nation. Had they lived to guide his actions, matters might have assumed a very different aspect. But when Mr. Stern was in Abyssinia, Consul Plowden had already fallen in an encounter with a rebel chief called Garad, and not long afterwards Mr. Bell, in an endeavour to avenge him, met with the same fate. Then it was that the King's grief, passionate and uncontrolled, turned to furious cruelty, and the 1700 prisoners who fell into his hands met with horrible deaths. Mr. Dufton relates that a Missionary having once shown him a stereoscopic view of the cemetery of Melegnano, after the battle of June, 1859, in which was the figure of a man weeping over the remains of his friends slain in the battle, he burst "nto tears and said, "^Let me also weep, for I have lost m^ best friends; I am alone now." In remembrance of his two trusty friends, he conceived a strong attachment to the English nation (since, alas ! utterly broken), and has been heard to say that were an Englishman to present him poison, he, knowing it to be such. m Million Lirc,1 Feb. 1. 18B8. J CORRESPONDENCE. 167 would take it ; an Eastern manner of spe^^king, it is true, but one which it is doubtful whether he ever used in reference to any of his own or another nation. F. M. P. {To be conlinued.) COERESPONDENCE. JEWISH CONVERTS. Y DEAE, SIR, — You were kind enough to ask me for some account of the Operative Jewish Converts' In- stitution^ which I have much pleasure in supplying. The institution commenced in the following way. For many years considerable difficulty arose in dealing with tlie converts of the London Society for Promoting Christianity among the Jews. These converts were gathered chiefly, though not ex- clusively, from amongst the poorer classes, and a large propor- tion of them were foreigners, unacquainted with any trade, and unable to speak English. Tlie difficulties which surrounded the work of the London Society were rather formidable, and called for special action on the part of those who were interested in Jewish work. The late Mr. Simeon, of Cambridge, Dr. Marsh, Dr. McCaul, and Mr. Hawtrey, Sir G. Rose, and others of practical minds, were amongst those who grappled with them ; and in doing so founded in 1831 a very humble institution where shoe- making was taught, and where inquirers and converts, the baptised and the unbaptised, were alike received. This was the commencement of that which has now grown into two separate institutions, viz. " The Wanderer's Home," where inquirers are received at first, and to some extent sifted, and the Operative Jewish Converts' Institution, into which many from the Wanderer's Home are afterwards drafted for further sifting, and for full training and instruction. In this institution the inmates le^rn the trader of printing and bookbinding. The printing and bookbinding are of a S ' : is! j & '!• p I I'll' 1C8 MISSION LIFE. [Mitainn Life, Kel). 1, 1808. f^l li.l 'Hill 1 superior kind, so tliat the inmates mny afterwards without difficulty be drafted into the best printing and bookbinding establishments in London or elsewhere. Self-respect is produced in the inmates by the conscious- ness that they are assisting to maintain themselves. And the settled and industrious habits formed in the Institution are most highly prized even by those who do not afterwards follow tho trades, but rise to a higher level as clergymen, mission- aries, merchants, literary men, teachers of languages, Scripture readers, and schoolmasters. The aim of the committee has been to supply a Christian home, surrounded with genial home influences and home life, 80 that, in some measure, at all events, that from which the converts cut themselves off, by embracing Christianity, may be restored to them. It may not be uninteresting to give a very slight sketch of the way in which this is done. The inmates rise at six o'clock, and are ready for prayers at seven a.m. At half-past seven they breakfast ; at eight they enter the work- shops ; at ten they assemble for religious instruction ; at eleven they again repair to the workshops until one o'clock, when they dine. At two they return to work, and remain at it till six o'clock, when they have tea. After this they arc free until nine, when they have family prayer. At half-past nine there is some bread and cheese for thv/sc who des'.re it, and at ten they retire to their rooms. On two evenings of the week there are singing classes, and on two others lessons in English. They have besides special services in the Episcopal Jews' Chapel, wh'ch they attend. — one in Hebrew, and one in German, besides the ordinary English service. Sufficient time is allowed for exercise and amusement, and also for improvement of the mind and study when taste and ability lead them in that direction. There is a pianoforte for those who wish to learn to play, ancJ a fine library of GOO volumes for all who desire to read. There is a comfortable reading room and an excellent board room always open to them. Those who care for gardens have a small piece of ground allotted to them, and there is a playground for those who are fond of gymnastic exsrcise ; in the house there are games of chess, drafts, dominoes, &c. A few prints are framed and hung round the room to give it an air of comfort, and they are encouraged Miiainii X.ife.'] leb. 1, 1868 J CORRESPONDENCE. 169 to keep their bedrooms with taste. Their food is simple, but good nnd abuiulant, and their dress tl>at of mcclianics of the better sort. As mucli freedom is allowed as is consistent with diseip'.ne, and they are encourap;cd to regard tlie super- intendent clergyman as a friend, standing to them in the place of a father. You will be anxious to know how far the design has succeeded. Considering the class of men from whom the inmates are usually selected, and how very little is generally known of them Avhcn they enter the Institution, it is re- markable what an amount of success has attended its working. Some of the most valuable Missionaries of the Jews' Society have owed everything to it. It may suffice to mention a few names : — Stern and Rosenthal, of Abyssinia ; Dr. Pope, of Frankfort; Markhcira, of Paris; Frankil, of Jerusalem; Behren, of Germany ; Briihl, of Bagdad ; Handler, of Kocnigs- burg, were once inmates ; many clergymen of the English Church in England and America. Some clergymen of other denominations, once gladly worked by the side of those who are now occupying with credit, various positions of usefulness. There are, of course, many failures. Were the institution more generally known and more frequently visited by friends who would take the trouble to make themselves familiar with its working, and who would become acquainted with the inmates so as to be enabled to watch their after-career, a larger amount of good might be accomplished. The stimulus of personal kindness and sympathy is very powerful in the case of Jews cut off from their own friends. A Jew is a man of very warm feelings, and of powerful cliaracter for good or for evil. The good man is very good, the useful man very useful, and the bad man very bad, whilst the cunning deceitful man is intensely cunning and deceitful. It seems strange that religious societies have as yet done scarcely anything to encourage this partially self-supporting institution to fight its way. The Jews' Society, of course, helped it largely, and, to some little extent, the Bible Society. Perhaps a brighter day may soon dawn on it, and the promise may be fulfilled in God's good time to the Jew working in it. " Every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for My ? i % r \ i 1 k k.i. i '1 ^1 '.•;'^'^ vi' - ; ' IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) " -'^>:': -i ••T*V' '.. V- . '.:,.,» V ^>: ■^>'.:^v A -'''. '/^ - r *■ •■ • ^■ ■v^St4' 1.0 I.I 111 IIIII2.5 ilM 1^ II 2.2 . 40 III 2.0 1.8 \M IM 1.6 > V I ^;-,./^V./ ., \^ «. y r V/ >% c; e) ^ >P^>^. calculat: have still to have never 5 mention of t have service put, and the going their i and examine walked over there and hm July 1st.— the last parisl little chapel dated within Holy Coiniuu The congrega the other sidt miles. In tli hired room is be made of a to the other si erected a cha has been put of which was about ninety stranger the immediately really stands site point at . but across the few miles apa n c w ««i Miseion T.ifc,"l Feb. 1, ItiOS.J CORRESPONDENCE. 171 which is going on. I only regret that I am obliged to speak ajiparently of nij own doings. Ou Wednesday, June 26th. I left Abbotsdalc and arrived in the afternoon at the village of llopefield. The church was not sufficiently completed to bo opened, so evening prayer was said in the court-room. The church does great credit to all v/hohave assisted in its erection. Tlie congregation, which on the occasion of my visits amounts to 100, comes together from the surrounding farms ; in the village itself, I suppose there is not half that number of coloured people living. As this station is a new one, there have as yet been none admitted to Holy Communion; there was therefore no Celebration. In the afternoon I went further on my journey, and spent the night iit the house of a very hospitable Dutch farmer, and arrived on the 28th at Steenberg's Cove. This is an old-established station, and much in need of a resident clergyman. The good which the Church has effected in this place is acknowledged on all sides. It is not for me to speak of it particu- larly, suffice it to say that men and women commonly walk twenty miles to be present at the services, in some instances much more, and that there have been at tiiues as many us 300 persons in the church, or within hearing. Tlie building i« !)"'> calculated to hold more than half that number, so that when crammed, many have still to remain outside ; and, during all the years I have visited the place, I have never seen a vacant place at the afternoon service ou the Lord's Day. The mention of this reminds me that this is the only out-station at which I am able to have service on that day, so that the inconvenience to which the congregations are put, and the trouble thoy take in coming, and the self denial exercised in fore- going their day's or two days' work to come is apparent. At Stompneus I visited and examined the school, but held no service, as nearly every one on the place walked over to the services at Steenberg's, a distance of six and a half miles, there and back. July 1st. — I continued my journey to Hoetjes Bay, iind succeeded in reaching the last parishioner, who is living quite alone on Molagas Island. At this bay the little chapel was most I'ucomfortably crowded, and some were still unaccommo- dated within ; the building very much requires enlarging. After celebrating the Holy Comunuiion at sunrise on the 2nd, I went on round the bay to Lange Doom. The congregation here wps unusually small, many of them having gone on foot to the other side for the morrow's Celebration, a distance of no less tlian eighteen miles. In the evening I examined and baptiztnl several adults at Geelbek. The hired room is always nicely decorated with everlasting flowers, and shows what can be made of a most unsightly building. The following morning I went round early to the other side of the bay, to a place called Bc>,r Plein, where we have lately erected a chapel school. This substantial building, which will last for many years, has been put up very cheaply. The whole cost of it has been £17 4s. 5d., J62G of which was for door and windows made at the Kafir College. It will hold about ninety people, and since its erection has been always more than full. To a stranger the position of the building would seem to have been badly chosen ; imaiediately near it there resides but one boat's crew aud their families, but it really stands exactly where it ought. The distance from Lang Boom to the oppo- site point at which many of the congregation live is, I suppose twenty-four miles» but across the water it is not more three miles. Round the entire distance, only a, few miles apart, on some places as at Bottelary and Geelbek, there are a cousider- 172 MISSION LIFE. "Mission Life, Ful). 1, 1«68. Jfissioii I. J'el). 1, Ibi iMc, munbcr of persons liviiig ; at otherH only a single boat's crew, or even n cou])le alone in a pondok. The position of the church is such that it can 03 reached easily by land or water ; accordingly those who have boats sail across, keeping the Cross on the Church gable as a beacon in sight ; those who have wagons travel by them, and those who have neither, trudge the whole distance there and back on foot, a journey altogether of not less than thirty-five miles. The occasion of my last visit will never be effaced from my memory — boats with their living freight of souls hoisted up their sails, and beat up to the anchorage; oxen wended their weary way through the sand i, bringing the infirm and others, whilst many a one before daylight started on his journey on foot, one and all keeping the little white spot which marks the site of the church in their eye ; and ■when all had assembled there was a goodly gathering ; the church was more than full J thirty-seven communicated, which was rather less than usual ; several infants were baptized, and several couples united in holy matrimony. I will add only that I shall thankfully receive any subscriptions or donations for finishing these works. \V. E, Belson. 15, Princes Row (Newport Refuge), Soho, London, W.C. MISSIONARY NOTE BOOK. €n\Ui\l Jifritan pssion. IDINGS have reached us of the death of Mr. and Mrs. Drayton, within a short time of each other. Mrs. Drayton was called away first. Mr. Drayton had also been suffering for some time from dysentery; and a few days later dangerous symptoms showed themselves, and he rapidly sank. lie received the doctor's opinion, which took him quite by surprise, very calmly, and begged that the Holy Communion might be administered, in which all the other members of the Mission joined, and continued in the full possession of his senses till within a few hours of the end. They were buried near the site of the Church that is to be. A little infant is left. Mr. Alington had returned from the mainland after a month's stay with Kimweri, the head man of Vuga ; he was treated very hospitably, and two boys were given him to teach. Kimweri, however, would not agree that they should go to Zanzibar. He gave Mr. Alington leave to build and teach ; but it was not to be a stone house or a fort. He had a tedious journey of fifteen days to the coast, and found the heat of the lowlands intense, and the air terribly fever-laden compared with that on the biUg. certainly t iiotliiug, ii mend a cf for the pas We have Missions. iuterests of the very pa made throii; it is believei wliom 10,00 To meet t vices of the wtioltios of assistants. The wliite ness; bu. r),( man are si " It i.s iiiij), smiling farnia trail of tlic In able that thos our midst, it c tJuty to have s i'lff as our owi Hi; jour ninn kept iiein, most prr al'out its i)redi «P cannot dest tlie side wal '''"'•'', and wht " female slave, to sit upon. Mission Mfe,"] Feb. 1, lbfl8. J MISSIONARY NOTE BOOK. 173 fownto. HE rei)ort of the Church Society in Toronto, nn institution similar to our Diocesim Society, shows how great and vigorous is the woik carried on, and how well it is supported hy Clergy as well as by laity. We have seen no document from the colonies to compare with it, and certainly to those who think that England is doing everything, and the colonies nothiug, in support of Missions, of local Clergy, of education, we would recom- mend a careful study of this report, with its appendix of lists of subscriptions for the past year, extending over fifty-fivT closely printed pages ! We have but space to tjuote the words of the report on the subject of Imlian Missions. It would seem that there is a committee appoiuted to watch over the interests of the Indian Missions in the diocese, and they press upon the society the very partial nature of the work yet accomplished. From careful imiuiries made through the Indian Department and officers of the Hudson Bay Company, it is believed that the Indians still surviving in Upper Canada number i;},000, of whom 10,000 are in the diocese of Toronto. To meet the wants of the thousands thus perishing in her midst, wasted l)y the vices of the white men, and abandoned to the degrading superstitions and cruelties of heathenism, the Cliurch has now two Missionaries, with tlieir assistants. The white settlers are pushing the Indians farther and farther into the wilder- ness; bu. rhere is what is called the ludiiin Reserve, where the rights of tlio red man are si protected. " It is impossible," says the report, " for us to look with regret on the fact that smiling farms and busy marts, schools, colleges, and churches, have displaced the trail of the hunter and the wigwam of the savage. But if it be, indeed, inevit- able that these natives, the aborigines, whom we are displacing, shall perish from our midst, it cannot be too strongly impressed on our Church that it has a sokonn duty to have a care for the souls of those whose earthly inheritance we are assum- ing as our own." 'gmh\ glissions in ^outfr gintent;r. iini'] 'MONTH' gives some very interesting accounts of a Missionary journey in South Ameica, The writer describing Bahia says, — "The numerous churches are generally very richly decorated, but not cleanly kept. I saw some large black rats running across the altar of one of thcni, most profusely decorated with gilt carving. A negro priest was loitering about its prcciuc*^s. ' We cannot help It,' he said ; ' their numbers are so great we cannot destroy them.' The churches have no setits; the men stand round by the side walls, and the women scpuit down on the middle wooden lloor. Some- tiincs, and when the lloor is of stone, the ladies are accompanied to church by ii female slave, carrying a small sijuare carpet which she lays down for her mistress to sit upon. On a wooden bench, near the holy-water vessel, lay several dead I i '!:,*■ i i 174 MISSION LIFE. rMissinn Life, L ivi). 1, mm. bftbies, shrouded up with the exception of the face, iiud covered with fresh flowern. 1 had at first mistaken these little corpses for waxen ex-votos. Thus adorned, death had nothing sad or repulsive about it. Their niotlicrs were wailing hard by until a priest sliould come to recite the funeral jirayers." At I{io de Janeiro, the torch-light procession of the Burial of our Lord, common *in most lirazilian cities on Oood Friday, is described — a magniticent sight, no donbt, and y(!t it is no indication of llie hold that Rome has on the IJrazilians. At Porto Algere, the writer joins his liishop. "Tlic Prelate was at home, expecting my arrival, before setting off on an intended ^Missionary journey. He was a man still in the prime of life, formerly a good parish priest in the interior forests of the province of Bahiaj but his hair was entirely grey, and he bore in his countenance evident traces of the daily sorrow lie had to endure." The incidents of this Missionary journey into what is called the Ithine-land of the l?ra/ils, because occupied by settlers from the Rhenish pro- vincesof Germany, are next detailed. The arrival of the IHshop and his chaplain at the first station on their route, is then described. " By four o'clock we arrived oflf Sao licopoldo J for more than an hour previously fireworks had been heard hissing at intervals from th(^ midst of the woods that fringed the river, and had warned us of the preparations made in the colony for our reception. The warmth of our welcome gave me no little surprise; scarcely had our boat reached the shore when the air resounded far and wide with the roaring and fi/.zing of bombs, guns, pistols, crackers, and rockets, which strangely yet not inliarmoniously mingled with the silvery tinkling of the little church bells, and the moaning of the forest breeze. The Missionary, Father B,, dressed in alb and cope, stood awaiting us on the river bank, at the head of a long procession of young people, the girls dressed in pure white, and crowned with fresh-coloured roses. Two of the youngest of these pi'ctty blue-eyed golden-haired Saxons held aloft between them a little open basket, where, smothered amongst roses, was hidden a snow- white turtle-dove. The little maids, advancing timidly towards the Prelate, raised their basket on high, untied the silken cord which bound the wings of the captive bird, and set it free. The dove hovered for a moment over our heads, and then flew away to its native woods. This was Intended to be typical of the gifts of the Holy Spirit of God brought to the flock by this episcopal v'sit. The procession then re-formed, headed by cross and banners, and a double file of chil- dren singing the Litani(!S. Outside, on the grass, dressed in their Sunday best, knelt a crowd of men and women, reciting the Rosary and bending low, as the Bishop advanced under a gorgeous canopy, to receive his blessing. " In this manner we reached the homely church — a very rude and primitive- looking edifice, chiefly built of timber, but profusely decorated with flowers and branches of trees : whole palm-trees had been cut in the forest to adorn the sanctuary, and the Bishop's throne was one gorgeous mass of flowers. The Mis- sionary, after paying homage to the Prelate on this the first episcopal visit ever made in these regions, preached a sermon first in German, afterwards in Portu- guese, and then all present came one by one to kiss the pastoral ring The next was the great day, so long anticipated in the colony. There was a solemn Pontifical High Mass, a First Communion of some two hundred children, and Confirmation qflenoards administered to them and a great number of adults. There were many blacks mixed up with the German population, and also not a Mission Li ¥t\>. I, 18C few Indii Father o branco of nearly a Sunday a: deputatioi o solicit t vain. I ft austere an V 1' i'i iimong then vessels with good religio war, it boga was said, tha island, had a ascertain tlie dtiee the bool folds of cloth the poiisessioi watched wit! precious vohi Prayer— not been obtainei lost it, and tli ^l^i-. Ingolls •nit the God Tliere are n are called) a; PIE whi man And The Missionari gone to seek ot Ileie all are un native chiefs Mission Iiifi','1 Ktl). 1, 18CH. J MISSIONARY NOTE BOOK. 175 few Inilinns, who had come n long way through tho woods to see " the great Father of the hhick rohes." These poor pooph; have preserved a lively remem- hnuic'u of their former Jesuit Fathers, and although deprived of pastors now for nearly a eentury, whole villages have preserved the custom of meeting every Sunday and feast-day to sing and recite their Christian prayers. Several times deputations of these Indians, scattered over the yet uncolonised deserts, have como o solicit the IJishop to send them padres or Missionaries, hut until now always in vain. I fear the Hrazilian Clergy of the coast towns are unable to undertake tho austere and lonely Missionary life, and good priests from Europe arc few." f (rc gooli. HERE is a race of people in Uurmah, distinct from tho Burmese proper ; who arc of Tartar origin, and have a state religion — Boodhism. These jieople permeate the whole of Buimah, and aro chielty employed in agriculture. They are not idolaters, hut have, from time immemorial, among themselves had a tradition, that white men would come from the west, in vessels with long sticks (masts), and that they would bring a hook in whicli a good religion would be rcve.aled to them. About the time of the first Burmese war, it began to be rumoured in the jungles that sii'h people had come, and it was said, that one of their own tribe who resided in some distant parts of tho island, had actually got the hooJc. Mr. IngoUs and others took some pains to ascertain the truth of this report, and the man was found, and induced to pro- duce the book which had been worshipped, and was wrapped up in numerous folds of cloth. A large company assembled to witness the disrobing of the book, the pc.iscssion of which had been honoured greatly by the villagers. Mr. Ingolls watched with great interest the removal of one wrap after another, till the precious volume appeared, and strange to say, it was an English book of Common Frai/er — not new, but in good condition. He could not ascertain how it had been obtained, but supposed some one belonging to the invading army must have lost it, and that it was found by this man. Mr. Ingolls explained that though an excellent book, it was not to bo worshipped, but the God to whom its prayers were ofl'ored was. There are now several hundred ^a«;iiiu their cause or to re- venge tlic'inselves by turning upon the Mission Stations, (irst refusing to allow any Christian worship within their precincts, then destroying all the churches, and finally bidding the Missionaries themselves depart. Whether an arrangement can be made with tlie (iovernment for the safe re-occupation of tlic town by the Mis- sionaries, has still to be decided. In the inoan time they are employed in organ- ising a new settlement in the neighbourhood of Lagos, where a town of riutive converts has swiftly sprung up, and ground is already cleared for church, schools, and Mission dwellings. Uisiior Pattesom writes (August, 18G7') : — " We are about seventy miles north of Norfolk Isliind, and bo])e to reach it to-morrow morning. Our voyage bus l)ecii (I), (i.) ])rosperous. We have been preserved from g:ilis, reefs, and the various dangers that attend a cruise of several months among these ntuuerous islands. Our jiarty is not so large; as it was last year. 1 refused very many api)ru'ants because I want to make our start in om- new home with an old tried set of scholars. Wc liave thirty-six Melanesians on board, and twenty -six were left with Mr. Palmer on shore. Counting the English members of the Mission, we shall niiuil)er exactly seventy. The P)islinp of NuwfouiuUiind has recently been making a fortnight's tour amongst the Alission stations on the southern and western coasts of his diocese, and holding special serviei.'s. One Church was consecrated, and 1016 candidates were confirmed in ten ditferent places. Skvexteen thousand emigraots are landed every month at Castle Gardens (Xew York). According to the United fitates census of IStiO there are ;58H,717 persons born in fi)reig!\ lauds, of Ibrty-two dill'erent nationalties, resident in the city. Of these 1P.),1)81. are (iermans and 20;?, 7 10 are Irish; so that New York has more (termans than any (iernian clt^, except IJerlin, Munich, Weimar, and Hamburg, and more Irish than any Irish city except Dublin. Ckntual AjmacA, v ith a population of 2,000,000, is opening to ri(jspel inlluence^ . Some time ago an informal ai)plieation was received by the American Chareli Missionary Society for a Clergyman to be sent to (ireytown, an important seaporl in Nicaragua. A coloured barber has been in the habit for some time of readin;^: our service. The congregation has a frame building seating one bnnilred. There are eight communicants. The Sunday school has thirty-two scholars. Thirty dollars a month are promised to a Missionary. From this point Central America might be entered. .,._;«.'? The Sunday school children cf Canada during the past year have contributed 676 dolls. 47 cents, for the support of Fon^ign ]\Iissions, This makes an average contribution of about 8 cents, from each scholar in the year. Algieks — There are here about 200 English visitors in winter and spring, besides a few ])ermanent residents und fre(|uent visits from English ships. Service is held in a gloi my vault. Lieutenant-Colonel 11. L. Playfair, Consul-General, who///, as it is called, of the tiger ; the tall waving grass, so like in its mingling of green and yellow to the prevailing hues of his own coat, showed his favourite haunt. Once I saw the fresh traces of the wild elephant. That mark, so like the impress of a man's hand, shows that a bear has been this way ; the smaller and more numerous ones tell of troops of monkeys that liave scudded past ; and this, as though a heavy blanket had been dragged in the dust, what can it mean ? It is the trail that some large snake, the rock snake or the boa constrictor, per- haps, has left behind as he crawled across or lay sunning liim- self in the warm dust. Then flocks of parrots shrieked and scolded as they flew from one tree to another of the wild fig species, doves and pigeons cooed sweetly and soothingly, the shrill cry of the peafowl startled you, and with all the wind coming through the glades of the forest, rustling the broad leaves of the teak, and causing one slim bamboo to clatter against another, made a diapason in the forest concert. A \ ? 'I- s 9 il • 180 MISSION LIFE. rMissinii L.fc; LMaithl, 18M. Time was, rind that iiot long iigo, when the journey tlirough the "Elephant Jungle" was not so safo and easy as at i)rescnt. I vividly remember passing tlirough it some ten years ago, tvhcn, child as I \7as, the stillness and gloom of the great forest, the quiet of our party as vc passed on, the frequent occurrence of mounds of loose stones to indicate the spot Avlierc some nnforfun.ite had been carried away by a tiger, or where t)ie mangled remains of some tiqtpid runner (poscman) liad been found, the mrrks of the wild elepiuait ])oi led out with dread and a seared look into the bush as though cxi)ccting a charge in that direction — all tended to make an impression which has never been effaced. Then the journey AVi.s never attempted but in broad day. The doors of the palanquin, or the shutters of the transit carriages, were diawn up to exclude the air, gentlemen smoked their cigars, and ladies made un- spairing use of their " srdts." Each year, however, the forest is getting more and more thinned, and this has driven away the fever, as the broad road and the ever-passing transit- coaches have scared away the ti^^er and the elephant. In tlie very spot Avliere I can remember a company of scpoij^ were stationed, and called up at midnight on an alarm of tigers, to fire point blank into the forest as iit an enemy, I now saw a considerable village, inhabited principally by sawyers and wood- cutters, whoso labours are as beneficial to themselves in a money point of view as to others in facilitaMng the approaches to the hills. By midlay I reached my first halting-place, the "Travel- lers' Bungalow,'' in the verandah of which I write this. It is a square, ugly-looking building, divided into two large rooms, with a verandah all rjund supported on chunuin (mortar) pillars, and situated in the middle of a walled enclosure, jailed a compound. There were already some horses picketed with- out, and 1 found both rooms occupied ; but as my stay was to be short, I was content with a chair and the leaf of a table in the verandah, and I passed the heat of the day in reading, writing, and filling up the entries in my journal. The thought has occurred to mc, as doubtless it will occur to others, why s'>ould 1 not make this a missionary tour ? why not begin my work at once, ?.nd preach as I travel, and not re- serve my efforts till 1 have reached the field allotted to me ? (, ■, '■ 1- ■ p (3! I! % II 1 JJ'ssion T.ifp """i-cli 1, 18( In a 113' India ii through ft'om sou from tlic still 1)0 that I f peniiisulf in ficcom sepaivitp ( in inaiine descent. same pco diaJccts o ho wholly mcrly 1)C( native djii have neve the casual guages, wh ploxion, in dreary in i agreeably j resting; it and its inh, presidency collection To be al: ^ — , I nius myself acqu people tbroii in the Tarn the province and having tricts where hills wliicli 1 the Todas, ( these, a nobl ftaturcs, llor strength, spc, Mission Life "I Miuch l.lSfiS.J THE STORY OF MY MISSION. 181 In any other land such a course might be practicable, in India it is simply impossible. I am passing now diagonally through the southern presidency of India, or that of ^Madras from south-west to north-east. I am now about 100 miles from the west coast, and when I reach my destination I siiall still l)c about the same distance from the eastern shore, so that I do not traverse the wliole breadth of the southcru peninsula. It is a journey of between 300 and 100 miles, yet in aecoaiplishiug it the traveller has to pass through three separate countries, inhabited by races differing in their dress, in manners and customs, in language, and, perhaps, even in descent. I do not include the different tribes of one and the same people, nor am I referring to those who speak various dialects of one common tongue, but of nations that appear to be wholly distinct and separate from each other, that have for- merly been under the government of their own rajahs or native dynasties, and, thougli now brought under British rule, have never amalgamated or combined with each other. To the casual observer, ignoi'ant alike of native customs and lan- guages, who has no eye for differences in costume, in com- plexion, in casts of countenance, India is but one country, dreary in its sameness, and the Hindus but one people^ dis- agreeably alike — they are .all " niggers," and equally uninte- resting ; it is only to those better acquainted with the land and its inhabitants that the fact of India, and, indeed, each presidency being a great continent, and the Hindus being a Cfdlection of different people, becomes apparent. To be able to preach as I journey from the Neilgherries to K — , I must have niastered at least three langtuigcs, and made myself acquainted with the manners and customs of three people through whose territoiics I shall have to pass, I am now in the Tamul country, a few days hence I shall find myself in the province of ^.lysore, among a Canaresc-speaking jiopulation, and having passed through that, I shall enter the ceded dis- tricts where the Telugu or Telinga language is spoken. The liills which T have just left are inhabited by aboriginal races, the Todas, the Badagas, and the Kurumbers. The first of these, a noble race, though small in number, with European features, Komau noses, possessing great stature and physical strength, speak a language of their own, the origin of which, 3 !# ? \^ all f fit 183 MISSION LIFE. rMission I.ifi?, LMareh 1, IbfiS- as also that of the Avholc tril)e, is shrouded in niysteiy. The Badagas, a short and sliglitly-built r.acc, speak a dialect of Canaresc ; though far more numerous, they are the liclots or bond slaves of tlic Todas, who are recognised as lords of the soil. The Kurumbcrs are a wretched and degraded race, living in woods and caves, yet exercising the craft of the bhicksmith. Their language seems to be of Tamul origin. If I have mentioned these different races, of w^hich the above illustration will give a better idea than any description, it has not been to puzzle my readers by a formidable array of foreign names, but to show how hopelessly impracticable would be any Missionary efforts made by one individual as he passed through the towns or villages inhabited by these different people. Those who investigate and estimate at a distance the labours of the Missionary in India, continually lose sight of these two points — the vast size of the field to be occupied, the '"' nations, and languages, and tongues, ajid people" that are to be evan- gelised. From the verandah of the bungalow where I write I can see the native village a couple of furlongs distant ; some great crowd is gathered together in the open space between Misainn fiifc, ~| Marchi,18CS.J THE STORY OF MY MISSION. 183 I ; the streets, and I hear the hum of many voices. Perhaps it is the Avcekly market, or probably soine licathen festival has called forth the buyers, and sellers, and holiday makers. I long to bo able to stand in the midst of the crowd, and speak the words of life eternal, but the 13abel-likc discord reminds me of the curse once pronounced on presumptuous man, and I think that if anywhere the " gift of tongues" was necessary,' it is surely still needed by the workers in this Indian land. [The entries in my journal for some succeeding days I omit, as they do nothing more than describe the u-aual incidents attendant on transit journeys in India.] CASir, MtJDnuE ; lOth April. To-day I have made my first march on Tclugu soil, and among those to whom I conceive myself to bo "called and sent," Avhose language I must presently learn, and for whom I must labour God alone knows how long. I can conceive the feelings of a curate entering a new parish, or a bishop visiting for the first time his diocese, to whom every little thing is of interest and deemed worthy of remark. .Just so as the harsher sounds of the Tamil tongue give place to the more smooth and softer accents of the Telugu ; as I note the more chaste and picturesquely-flowing folds of the native attire, especially that of the women ; as I observe a fairer, handsomer, and more robust population, I am pleased, and congratulate myself on even these trivial advantages. But to-day's experiences tell me that in whatever respects it may have the advantage, in the matter of roads and in facilities for travelling K is wofidly deficient. I left behind me this morning the high road and the comfortable transit coach, and in a common country cart (for no conveyance on springs could endure the jolting), drawn by a couple of oxen fresh from the plough, with a man in front to show the way, and one behind to hold on in perilous places, I made my entry on the scene of my future labours. "What would those in England, who after heavy rains, or a sudden thaw, bewail the miserable condition of parish lanes or broad turn])ike3, say of that one I have just traversed, which the ' Calcutta lleview * thus describes : — " It is, in short, proverbially bad even among is: p \\ i ?» ? \m\ 181 MISSION LIFE. [ Mission Lifi', Miinlil, 1»G8. Madras roads, and tlicre is one part of it which is literally used by the Military Hoard as a trial grouiul to test the powers of new gun carriages, which are pronounced safe if they i)ass this severe ordeal." AVhere, however, the energy of British rule has not yet succeeded in furnishing the traveller with the means of speedy progression (the district was ceded to the English only fifty years ago), the relics of Indian customs are still in force, and serve more than anything else to snpply those delicicncics. There may be no macadamized road, no postal service, no travellers' bungalows, but there are Kaidharies, or guides, Bagaries, or porters, and arrangements in favour of travellers similar to those once existing in jNIexico and I'eru. As I came to each little village, though it might bo a wretched collection of the meanest huts, two men — I might have had twelve had I wished — came out at the call of the driver, the one to point out the May, often nothing more than a wheel tract that lost itself in the ploughed fields through which it passed, the other to carry any load or burthen. They accompanied me no farther than the next village, where their place was supplied by two others. A trifie of less than a penny each seemed abundantly to compensate them, as they enjoy a grant of land from (Jovernment, and are expected to give their services gratuitously to all travellers. As night carae on each brought with him n Jirc-sllck, the dried branch of some resinous tree, that blazed with considerable brilliancy for some time, and imparted a wild and weird aspect to our little party. The confidence and assured safety with which the Jlnglish travel in the interior is itself a proof of the moral influence tlicy exorcise. I thought of this while crossing one of the ■wildest and most difficult portions of to-day's journey. Here was I alone and unarmed, at least 100 miles either way from the nearest English station; it was night; it was a spot where any villany might easily be perpetrated. I could not speak the language of the people ; none knew where I came from, or whither I was bound, or whether my two boxes might not contain rupees and valuable stuffs instead of Bibles and tracts. Yet the shadow of a doubt of the honesty of those with me never crossed my mind. A gang robbery might indeed take place : I might fall in with a band of ''^Ln h'lj : li ''111. '■. •»k Whj.-: -','iv ,'J.^' ■■/ V* II 10 Mission Mr Muri'li 1, iHi that nij me to entcrtai ledge ti his oxer many g( cruinblii or guide bolongii the driv( M'ay; ai cany, ai all his w most da come to fresli gu pleading stomaclis them thi kind woi tlie stoi'v thatched the Sahil The p; of the fs English bungalow; high-bacl lofty and and a Icj heiglit ol the Rajal are incliii thought c but drov( ^vas nigh bazaars ol open vera to asceud Mi'sion TiiTi', 1 M.iiili 1, IMiH.J THE STORY OF MY MISSION. 185 dosperadocs lying iu wait for all wlio jvisscd tliut way, but that my defenceless condition would tempt those who followed me to meditate an attack, was a supposition I could not entertain, because such a case had never to my certain know- ledge taken place. There they were, tlic driver callin-j; to his oxen, wow entreating, now abusing the female relatives for many generations of his patient steers ; the cart rattling and crumbling and crashing over the great boulders; the llaidhari, or guide, a gaunt half-naked figure, evidently very poor, and belonging to a low caste, holding his torch low down, where the driver could see and avoid some of the inequalities of the way ; and the Bhagari, or porter, behind, having nothing to carry, and so employing himself as a living drag, and tiirowing all his weight on one side when the centre of all gravity was most dangerously inclined on the other. AVhen they have come to the limit of their beat, and clamoured vehemently for iVesli guides to take their place, they will come to me with pleading looks and suggestive taps on pinched and empty stomachs. A penny will delight them, sixpence will make them think me a wandering prince or a madman ; but a few kind words in their own language will make them carry home the story to the poor wife and half savage young ones in the thatched hut at home, and your memory w^U live for years as the Sahib who spoke to the poor Pariah. The place where I write these lines is also very suggestive of the fact that I have come away from the beaten track of English or Anglo-Indian civilization. I am in no trim bungalow, with its white walls, its plain solid table, its strong high-backed chairs, its uncarpettcd or matted floor, but in a lofty and open apartment, with a bright carpet in the middle, and a low divan or couch running round the walls at the height of a foot from the ground. This is the room which the Rajah of P places at the service of all wayfarers who are inclined to test his hospitality. My driver never even thought of asking me whether I would go to the palace or not, but drove straight through the old fashioned gateway. It was night, and half asleep I passed through the lighted bazaars of a native town, and found mvself at last before the open verandah of a large house, and was courteously invited to ascend the staircase on one side, which led me to my present I I 1*1 1 '1 of 1 i ■k ,^i ¥- ** \ 18G MISSION LIFE. [ Million Life, MuitIi I, leU8. 1 I quarters. Then I found that I was the Kajah's guest ; a steward or private secretary welcomed me in his master's name, and retired to send in no less a pcrsou;\;^o than the cook, who assured me that he was acquainted M'ith English dishes, and awaited my orders to give mc a speeimen of liis skill. I was satisfied with a curry, and when I had eaten and rested, a servant entered to ask if I would see the Rajah. Passing through several rooms and dimly lighted corridors, we entered at last the Cutcherry, or court house, it was full of people ; but reclining cross-legged on carpets on a raised dais at one end, Avas a young and strikingly handsome man, though somewhat indolent and cflcmiuatc-looking. His reception of mc was courtesy and grace itself; a few easy words, a pleasant smile, and he waived me to a chair near him, and entered into conversation with me through an interpreter. It is considered no mark of bad manners to ask any number of questions of a personal nature ; and a Hindu questions as unreservedly as a Yankee. One's parentage, age, business, salary, kc, arc freely inquired into, and the best, in fact the only, way to escape from this ordeal is to become yourself the questioner. Nor was the llajah unwilling to speak of himself, of his children {not of his wives), of the former glories of his house, of his present grievances, and above all, of law suits. I introduced as well as I was able the subject of religion and the object of my journey, and was coldly but politely listened to. The wonders of steam, of the railroad, and electric telegraph, of the magic lantern, &e., were more congenial subjects ; and I was shown a case fdled with toys and curiosities of all kinds, of which the llajah was very proud, and which had cost him large sums. lie was seated ia Cutcherry, with the principal officers around hlni, for the ostensible purpose of administering justice, but for one night; the arrival of a traveller was a sufficient inducement to judge, jury, and prisoners, to lay aside weightier matters and discuss the news and gossip of the great world without. 15th April. Five more days of slow and wearisome march. There is a sameness in the incidents, in the features of the couutrv, in Mil. Miir( the aye first To., coJJe of til on ( diflic the hoii the low meats, a discoveri somctJii nr.i n they fit for cJass ihii t'leir cast suppose absurdity * One oft( liistiiitr,,;^!,;,, 'lot so UX']I J; nMieaniiiuo tl wJiere thure , continually nj "'ere scnnctini t The E[EXT.- -lOWA.* AiJOTT two months ago I met an elderly Englisbman and his wilo who left Somersetshire nineteen yca-s ago, and now live in Pocahontas county, thirty miles to tho north-west. But during these nineteen years they have been deprived of tho privileges of our Church, to which they are devotedly attached. The only services they have in their settlement are by tho ^Eethodists ouco in three weeks, and occasionally by the Presbyterians. Hearing that there were six or eight Episcopalian' families in their neighboui'hood, I accepted their invitation, and agreed to spend the first Sunday in December with them. The day for my journey was cold and snowy. Tho conveyance was a small, uncovered wagon, which, to say tho least, did not look very inviting. On a portion of the road there are no houses to bo seen for twelve miles. Frightful accounts of persons lost and frozen in snow-storms occurred to my mind. There were three other * Abridged from the ' American Church Missionary Register. ? ti W 190 MISSION LIFE. I Missinn Life, " LMaiclil.lBGP. pasp^ngers, oue of whoin was a lady, whose destination waa Spirit Lake, sixty miles distant. The driver, however, had no fears ; so we agreed to go. After we had gone abont three miles, and were fairly on the open prairies beyond the Des Moines rivei-, it became much colder. We were frequently fiicing the north-west. But the snow abated, and occasionally the sun appeared. By seven in +he even- ing we reached the stopping- place for the night. I sufle'-ca very much from the cold, and having been in a cramped position in the wagon containing boxes and merchandise, I found it almost impossible to move or handle myself. The landlord had heard of my coming, and was very kind to me ; urged me to take supper and remain all aight. But my friends had sent their eldest son with a lumber wagon to take me to their house, and t)'? young man had been waiting for me about two hours. The distance Avaa four miles. At eight I reached my destination, more inclined than ever for a little warm supper and for a warm bed. Our host and fiimily received me kindly. On the following morning, after a bountiful breakfast, I felt somewhat like myself again ; but the weather had grown intensely cold during the night. Tt was the intention of my host to spend the day in visiting the church families in the settlement, but the cold would not permit. A proposition which I made pleased ther , It was to ask from the town-proprietor the gift of a church lot. The proprietor readily gave it, and made out the deed for it, which I sent to the IJisliop. In the afternoon, we visited several families about one and a half miles distant. Here it was where, only eight years ago, so majy settlers wers massacred by the Indians, and their cabins burnt. And this bloody work and destruction extended up to the Minnesota line. The settlers who received timely notice iled ; the rest fell victims to the tomahawk and scalping-knifc. The family of our host consists of seven — the father and mother, and five children. Although the early advantages of the father were limited, yet God gave him a vigorous mind, and a large experience of the riches of redeeming and sanctifying grace. His mind is well stored with gospel truth. He showed me many choice works which he brought from England. On Sunday morning, we went in good time to the new brick school-house where worship was usually held. The view from this point is truly enchanting. It is the highest point of ground for fifteen miles around. On every side there stretch out beneath you the most graceful rolling prairies, with here and there strips of timber. To the south-west many of the humble liabitations of the "homestead settlers" were pointed out to me, at a distance from six said get thi smaller blacks before. My He was miiiiste trouble pain, ailment tressing Mission Lire, T Marclil.lt'jfe.j LEAVES FROM A SETTLER S DIARY. 191 to seven jiiiles. AVlicro we stood was the town site. Tlio towii consists of five buildings, the court-house, school-house, the rcsideneo of tlif, town proprietor, the residence of the blacksmith, and his shop. The Methodists were to have service in the morning at eleven o'clock. It was nearly that time. Wo were the first, and it was about half-past eleven before any others came. In the winter, the rule established by common consent is, " he that comes first gets the key and builds the fire." This devolved on us, and was soou accomplished. The Methodist minister came third. He very kindly yielded his rights, and urged me to take the entire charge of his congregation and service. I3y this time a goodly company had assembled. I thankfully accepted the proffered favour, and, after distributing a few prayer-books and arranging for the singing, I ijivited him to come on the platform and take a part in the service. He read the second lesson. Tliis prepared all to listen favorably to the worship with the prayer-book and to my sermon. Our afternoon service was to be at half-past two. Many who ordinarily attend but one service were so pleased that they returned to the second. LEAVES FROM A SETTLER'S DIARY; OR, THREE YEARS IN QUEENSLAND. {Continued from paf/e 25.) CHAPTER VIII. EPTEMBER, 18GG.— Last week J— and I made an expedition to a soraev/hat inaccessible mountain iu search of a very rare species of " wallaby" which was said by the blacks to live there. We were so fortunate as to get three good specimens ; they are made like a kangaroo, only smaller, and have a bushy tail like a squirrel. Although the blacks had talked of them, no one in this part had seen them before. My poor friend !M — died lately at Eruccdale, near Roma. He was officiating in that district as an itinerant Presbyterian minister, and doing much good. Some months back he was troubled with a discharge from one ear, but unaccompanied by pain. A surgeon who attended him succeeded in curing this ailment, but ever since he had been subject to the most dis- tressing nightmare, his screams arousing everybody within K^^^^ c & [ t il ' r: m 193 MISSION LIFE. rMission Life. [MmitIi. i,1«<;s. Ill i^l cardiot, but in other respects he appeared in perfect health, and lor tM'O years he had liad nightmare occa- sionally. On the day he left lloma to go toBrncedale, suddenly he lost his reason while on horseback, aiid was seen by some blacks galloping round and round in a ring, and uttering loud shouts. The blacks The aliove illustration is taken, by ponnisslon, from 'Adventnres on a Voyage of Discovery ' (Hell end DaMy), I'roni wliieh the following' description of the use of the boonicrang is also taken : " One of the governor's sons very kindly oftVrcd to give nie an opportunity of witnessing the n;itive method of throwing the boomerang, for which i)urposc we visited together the native enoampnient, where we found the people lying about in lazy languor amidst the otfal of bones and tish, with carrion-kites hovering overhead. Such an cncani])inent may be scented a mile off. Young King sought a sturdy, rugged-limbed aboriginal, named Boatswain, and it needed great per- suasion to get him ou his legs. Mission I Aluich I, gave : convey baud, sane fc twelve to havi Austral when h four me seated ;i dangcro delirious nightiua where ct Jul^ J ance of < goJJig \\l^ shall Ijc { in the caj mother d( be aj)peari be stands of shades P— doubtftd be skiunc( the diiigoc ]S "•Youth,- "'Menoii " ' tiive bin i'c-puns ."'Oh yes, said the younj " ' IJerry wi " IJoatswain i' bundle of w fattened it aci 'wnd, and stro •■^ws; thenlifti "lade a short i boomerang, «■] " slight curve , '"e ground slia course high aU witli great fore VOt. V. Mission Life, "1 Maich 1, 1SG8.J LEAVES FROM A SETTLER S DLVRY, 193 gave information at the station, and some of the inmates conveyed poor M — in. A surgeon happened to he close at hand, so not a moment was lost, but he continued quite in- sane for three weeks, at times suffering much agony. About twelve hours before his death he became quite sane, but appeared to have entirely forgotten recent events, or that he was in Australia. lie spent some hours in prayer and then slept, but when he awoke the delirium had returned and he died with four men holding him down in bed. There was some deep- seated abscess in the brain. Some years ago he had had a dangerous attack of fever, in which he lost all his hair and was delirious for three weeks, and it is since that illness that the nightmare came on. It is a sad blank, especially in a colony where congenial minds are so rarelv met with. Julij I2th, 18GG. — We have now heavy rain with the appear- ance of continuance. It is my travelling fortune, and I am going up to Taabinga next week to bring down some sheep and shall he a fortnight on the road. ]My leisui'c time is occupied in the capacity of dry liurse to a young kangaroo. We ran his mother down the other daj', and I am trying to rear him, but he appears to be of a morose disposition and declines eating, so he stands a good chance of following his mamma to the " land of shades." P — is trying to bring up a young native bear, but he seems doubtful of success, so the probability is that young bruin will he skinned and eaten. Talking of skinning reminds me that the dingoes have been committing great ravages in the pad- " ' You throw boomerang, Boatswain ?' said my friend. " ' Me no likce ; plenty sleep !' returned Boatswain. " ' Give him sixpence/ said Mr. King. " ' Tie-punse,' said Boatswain ; ' me no got boomerang !' " 'Oh yes, Boatswain. Come now, get up j you catch 'em one down tl'.ere,' said the young man, pointing. " ' Berry well, you give 'em tic-puiiso me see,' was the lazy rejoinder. " Boatswain then got up, yawned, stretched his cicatrised arniti, and scrutinised a bimdle of weapons that lay in a bark hut close by. He selected a boomerang, tliittened it across his knee, made a general -iurvey of it, clutched it in his right hand, and strode about as if to collect the full strength of his llexors and exten- sors; then lifting his bloodshot eyes towards the top of a very tall gum-tree, be made a short run resembling that of an expect cricket-bowler, and away Hew the boomeriing, whizzing round with the speed of a catherine-wheel, and describing a slight curve downward in .ts rapid course. In about a hundred yards it touched the ground slightly, when :t immediately soared up again, taking another circular course high above and around the head of the gum-tree, and came whirling down Willi great force at the foot of the thrower.' VOL. v. 13 194 MISSION LIFE. D Mission Life, Murcli 1, 1S08. doclvs under P — 's charge. They entered a camp of ohl sheep, and before they couhl be got out killed five and wounded several others so badly that there is faint hope of recovery, although they are dressing the wounds. The murdered sheep have been skinned, and the entire carcase poisoned with strychnine and left for the dogs to feast on, — we liope with advantageous results. Avyiist 5th, ISGG. — This is the country for marriages ! every poor fellow — gentle and simple — as soon as he thinks his wages or salary could possibly be eked out sufficiently to support two people goes and marries, forsooth ! The conse- quence is he never lays by a sou, but oftener gets into debt. His children grow up half educated, or more frequently with- out any education. The poor victim works and slaves himself to death to keep liis wife in fine clothes, and so it goes on, one chapter of misery from first to last. There has been much stir in Brisbane lately. jMinistry turned out and the Opposition have taken their seats. This latter party is considered to hold Conservative principles — in England we should call them Liberals, but they arc Conser- vative compared with their predecessors, who were beyond question lladieals. The present ministry is chiefly composed of squatters and gentlemen, so those whose interests arc cen- tred in squatting arc proportionately jubilant at the change. This late money panic has put an end to the struggles of many of the squatters who were in the merchants' liands. As soon as the latter are pressed for money they sell up any poor indi- vidual who may have been toiling for years in the hopes of ultimately clearing oti' some debt occasioned by bad seasons ; thus, he loses all tlie little capital with which he commenced — his time anc^ labour at one blow. I have just returned from my journey to Taabinga, bringing back a flock of sheep. As I had a black boy to do all the shepherding, I had a comparatively " cosy" time of it, as wo say here. I was twelve days on the road, as wc could not do more than between five and six miles daily. My journey had nothing at all of in- terest to relate. I had little to do but to read and sleep all day. In the morning, as soon as the boy had fetched the horses and breakfasted, I started him off" with the sheep, and lay down by the fire and read until nearly noon ; then I packed Mission 7 Marcli 1, ] up, an that r before ^Vc tb down J, a sort ( ill this extreme ^vc Jiave laid clo: inipossil cold. J Howe tion fror cause to i rjitive of ijiihire. ' that a ti i'* scareclj the pictur l^ush is c Still, as h( 110 saying conscience Din-ing "ly black ] ti'y to excil tlicre arc patliies fi,j 'wrc idea o ''t'r. Of at tried to give ^>ould not utter irapos imrubcr of a f'L'lJow Diiio'c carnivorous t'"" did not ^ told him "turn in." Mission T.ifi-. ~\ Marclil.lS'H.J LEAVES FROM A SETTLEll'S UIAllY. 195 up, and went on to the spot at -wliicli we were ffoing to camp that night, and again read and slept nntil about an hour before sundown, when tlie boy Avouhl come up \vith the sheep. We then made what we eall a " bower vard," hv euttincr down hirge branches and piUng them, and weaving them into a sort of thick hedge ; and when tlic sheep were made secure in this pL'ice, the day's work (?) was done. The niglits were extremely cold, — such severe frosts, the only cold weather that we liave had as yet this winter ; so cold was it, that though we laid close to a fire made of huge blazing logs, sleep was impossible as it drew towards dawn, on account of the piercing cold. No wonder we have twinges of rheumatism. However, I got the sheep down all right, without molesta- tion from their natural enemies, the dingoes, so I had no cause to complain. Tell whoever suggested my writing a nar- rative of bush life, that such an attempt must inevitably be a failure. The life is so monotonous, and adventures are so rare, that a truthful relation would be decidedly heavy, and it is scarcely fair to one's fellow men to gloss over and paint up the picture, and deceive them into the idea that life in the hush is one continued round of excitement and pleasure. Still, as heat developes the properties of India rubber, tliere is no saying what effect the summer may have in stretching my conscience. During the long evenings I used to have lengthy chats with my black jNIercury ou things in general. Sometimes I would try to excite his interest by telling of other countries in which there arc blacks ; and on one occasion I roused his sym- pathies fully by talking to him of the African negro. The bare idea of being compelled to dig in a field made him shud- der. Of anv notion of religion he was entirelv destitute. I tried to give him a recital of the Deluge, Ark, &c., but he would not receive it at all — he persisted in arguing as to the utter impossibility of a man storing provision for so great a nuiiiber of animals, and wanted to know "Name (what) that fellow Dingoe been eat 'em along of Ilumpey" [What did the carnivorous animals eat in the ark?]. As my private informa- tion did not enable me to answer that question satisfactorily, 1 told him to put some wood on the fire and we woulJ " turn in." 5*' li'i M ^! «!li» 19G MISSION LIFE. [ Mis.sinn Lire, Murcli 1,1808. I could not liclp thinking of " The wise man of Nutal, M'ho had a Zulu for a pal." I suppose the aljoriyincs of Australia are about the only race of human beings that have not some idea of a Supreme Being or Deity. They are commonly said to entertain a notion of a certain governing Evil Spirit, to which they have given the name " Debil Dcbil," but by this name they really mean the spirits of black fellows when they are dead. Their belief is, that when one dies his spirit goes uj) "like smoke," as they say; and then he has wings, and flies about "like hawk :" this is what becomes of a good black, but the bad ones go down, and eventually become " Debil Debil" in various forms. Some wander about stupidly in the bush, being lost, not knowing how to get food, or -which -way to go. Some live in holes in the mountains, and in scrubs, ■while others are metamorphosed into fish. It is very difficult: to comprehend what is the distinction they make between a good and a bad black, — where they draw the line of diflercncc. With a view of informing myself on this matter, I alluded to a certain boy who was killed in a fight some months since, and asked what had become of him ? The reply was, that " he is gone up :" now, .is he was a thorough " ne'er do weel," a useless and decidedly bad black, I wonder what outrageous iniquity is requisite to send a spirit down. Perhaps it was a spirit of charity that prompted my informant to assign a pleasant sphere of existence in the invisilde world to this dead kinsman. Indeed, the obstacles to the conversion of these Australian aborigines to Christianity are overwhelming. Their migratory habits render them most difficult to get at, and their cliaracter is most uncertain. They are never to be trusted. They will come about the stations for a long period in the most inoffensive manner, and without any apparent provocation, on a sudden impulse will pillage and murder with- out mercy. All means hitherto emploj'cd have proved fruitless certainlv : the influence brought to bear is of a solitary character, as it must ever ijc in any exclusively missionary undertaking to a sparse population. It seems as though more good would probably be done bj' the local colonization of different districts, organising a community, and introducing industrious and civilised habits based on Christian principles anid a higli toiu' of moral character; but could such a system be carried out, 'III '^V'cstern a have made the Africai been brou^ quarter is k:'l li MissicJii T/ifr MiiiTli 1, 1S A 35 f\ is if 'if. I f^Wli 198 MISSION LIFE. [ Mistinn liirc, M.ircli l.lHOa Lique liolds in a sinull way n position somewhat analagous to tliat of our Governor-General of India. Knder liini arc; tlic subordinate (Jovcrnors of Ibo, Quillimaue, and Inliambane, on the eoast, and Sena and Tctc on the River Zambesi. I have visited jMozamI)ique, (inilHmane, and Tetc. The position of Mozambique is most favourable for com- mcree. The houses and fortifications arc built on an island about two miles from the coast. Other and smaller islands around, some of which are partially occupied, act as a natural breakwater. There are many j^ood residences on the main- land, which hereabouts is well wooded, but only to a small extent cultivated. The appearance of Mozambique, as beheld from the sea, is most ])icturesque. But " 'tis distance lends cnohantment to the view." A closer inspection somewhat impairs the pleasant impressicms which distance produces. The Portuguese neglect all kinds of drainage, and it is im- possible to consider as beautiful any locality fioni whence proceed odours the most abominable, and to the olfactory nerves jMozambique of all vile places is the most vile. There is at this jdace a semljlanee of power and an affectation of commercial prosperity. Here the Governor- General resides; here is a considerable display of military; here is the depot for most of the produce (ivory, skins, and some other kinds of raw material) which is acquired from the natives of the interior; and here is the famous pier (the glory of this part of the world) on which the dandies, arr.'iyed in vestments of finest material and newest Parisian fashion, disport themselves for a few minutes after the sun has gone down. But considering the advantages of its position, the many years it has been in the possession of the Portuguese, and the monopoly of trade which they have jealously held, the result is contemptible. They have done nothing to develop the resources of the mainland ; they have done nothing towards raising from their degradation the natives in their vicinity. Their quest has been ivory and slaves, and to acquire these commodities they have made their greatest exertions, — thev have hesitated at no crime. Bv the laws of Portugal the export of slaves is now illegal, though slavery is still sanctioned ; one source of profit is, therefore, by law lost to the peoplo of Mozambique : but instead of exerting them- m Misiinii Life, 1 Muiclil.lSfiH.J SLAVERY IN EASTEllN AFRICA. 199 selves like good men and true to tlic cultivation of this, ono of the richest and most productive portions of the African continent, and to the development of a Icf^itiniate trade, they scheme to evade the law, to keep up an illicit commerce in the "bodies and souls of men," and they will risk life and future in this nefarious, avd no\v-a-days most unprofitable trafhc, for our cruisers arc ever on the a,lcrt, and it is not often that a cargo of slaves from Portuguese territory cscapc3 them. When I was at ^Mozambique four large Spanish vessels Averc cruising about, nominally for rice, in reality for slaves, who had been collected at various parts of the coast ready for shipment; but so closely were they watched by our ships that they not only failed to secure their cargoes, but two of them were seized on suspicion of being slavers, and were condemned as such. But though ^Mozambique takes first rank Quillimanc is the most imporLant commercial port. This town consists of largo, and for the most part seemingly well built houses, in close contiguity to which are the wrcteiicd habitations of the slaves. The general appearance of (iiiillimane is far from displeasing. The houses arc backed or surrounded by gardens filled with orange and other trees, and groves of cocoa-nut palms give to the place that peculiar charm which only the palm tree is capal)lc of imparting. But upon all seems the spirit of ruin and decay. Everywhere you see symptoms of that deterioration, that indiflcrcnce to noblest pursuits, 'and the unthriftiness, which arc invariably engendered by slavery. Of the past of this town it were not possible to speak; it has held terrible antecedents. Outwardly, however, the present life of Quillimanc seems less obnoxious. Of Tete I have spoken elsewhere. Nothing can be more wretched than the provision ra;nlc for the spiritual Mclfare of these Portuguese (.'olonics. The padres arc invariably men of inferior capacity, froni whose mouths virtuous precept would be regarded as mocker}'. The church at Quillimanc is a well built, substantial build- ing, and is said to be rich in vessels of silver and j^old, the pious gifts of former inhabitants, who, Avhen they had been more than nsually successful in slave hunting or gambling (for Quillimanc is notorious for the gambling propensities of Hi k I A* V i 200 MISSION LIFi;. EMianinn Lite, Miirclil," ms. its people), sanctified their unholy gains by a donation to the church. "When I visited this cluu'ch I saw nothing of its Avcalth ; the adornments were of the most trumpery description, and the candlesticks and vases, &c., were of baser material than silver and gold. !Mass is performed every Sunday morn- ing, and that seemed to be the only service of the week. The Christian religion must present very unholy and for- bidding characteristics to the natives in these Portuguese colonics, Avlicthcr they be bond or free. No attempt is made to Christianize the heathen, Avho evidently regard Christianity as a less amiable superstition than their own. T once saw a ^ui ivc boy in Quillimanc, who had a wooden image, an abominable representation of our blessed Lord. 1 asked him if he knew whom it represented. " INIwana Mulunga " (the Son of God), he promptly replied ; but who He was beyond that he did not know ; he was ignorant of the blessed name; he evidently thought it was the white man's fetish ; and he sold the image as he would any other maukwara (native medicine) for a few beads. Politically and socially nothing can be Avorse than the results of slavery in these Portuguese possessions. And perhaps I shall best illustrate its evil effects upon the political prosperity of these colonies by a sketch of the life of Mariano, to whom frequent allusion has been made by Dr. Livingstone, and by myself in my story of the Universities' Mission, and who, of all men in that land, made himself the most infamously notorious. ]\[ariano, alias Matikinya (the cause of fear and trembling), a name he had from his father, who was a great desperado, was the son of a Portuguese from Goa. Upon his father's death he, a mere boy, was left the undisputed master of several of the best houses in and about Sena, wide territory, much money, and more than 2000 slaves. Besides this he inherited his father's disposition, for he seems to have had all the characte.istics of a barbarian despot, to which he had added such a knowledge of reading and writing, coupled with such vices and wants of civilisation, as he had been able to acquire at Quillimane and Mozambique. No sooner was he thus left to himself, than he gave free scope to his depraved dispositions ; he indulged in the un- restrained use of his passions and temper, and gave way to Miiiini Miircli the A unch amoi most desire the ai than i than the so sive pi resider him ai After ( was foi were u; dogs, t( slave p Sena ^v killed c sagacity of the' Marianc well kno only iiis this unf; one of ] Here foi morality, influence, like an ( coramittit A state tion of th publicly f( three hunt naand refu retinue, at dismiss all lie did. I commotion Mi«»iim I.ifp. T Miircli 1, 1«(JH.J SLAVFRV I\ KASTKRN AI'IUCA. 201 free uu- \\ to the wickedest caprices that his reckless vanity, gross nature, uneliccked authority and grecu ago suggested. He lived among his slaves, who had been reduced by his father to the most abject servility, and who now lived to pander to his desires; and he tliought himself some great one. lie scorned the authority and advice of those older and of a higlier position than himself. After a time he aspired to a wider influence than that which he exercised over his slaves. lie went into the society of his equals, btit by his arrogant ways and oflcn- sive pretensions he soon made himself obnoxious to the other residents of Sena, and a fierce enmity was kindled between liini and a Scnor I — , a man old enough to be his father. After the first outbreak of rage the quarrel of the principals was for some time perpetuated by their respective slaves, who were urged on, as certain men in this land will excite bull- dogs, to tear one another, and brutal conflicts between these slave partizaus were of daily occurrence. l?y their' coufiiets Sena was kept in a coutinual state of turmoil. Many were killed on cither side. At length, Senhor I — , who had the sagacity of age on his side, managed to enlist the sympathies of the Government (save the mark) on his behalf; and Mariano soon found that in all conflicts, even where it was well known that his antagonist's slaves had been the aggressors, only his own people were punished ; and in a fit of rage at this unfair treatment, he left Sena and took up his abode in one of his houses on the north side of the river Zambesi. Here for a time he reigned supreme, outraging law and morality, and exercising an unchecked will over all within his influence, with none to make him afraid ; acting indeed more like an eastern despot in the worst periods of history, and committing deeds equally base and barbarous. A state banquet at Sena, on the occasion of the corona- tion of the king, was the event which once more brought him publicly forward. He arrived at Sena with a body guard of three hundred slaves armed with guns, mand refused to let him enter the town retinue, and it was decided at last that if he entered he must dismiss all but six of his attendants. This, after some demur, he did. But the bombast of his approach had excited a great commotion, the slaves of Senhor I — were collected in great The officer in com- witb so formidable a Pi 3 »]* ?> 202 MISSION LIFE. [ Minfilon Life, Miirr:lil,llstitf. iM|i> numbers, others Avcrc there nlso, auil when ho made his appearance shorn of hi;' pomp, he was exposed to their jeers and Bcorn. At tlic Ijanquct lie fared no better j Scnhor I — made some insulting allusions to his diminished glory, where- upon ho rose from the table, and with fearful imprecations against Scnhor I — vowed that, though a l)oy in years, he and the Government also which had permitted him to bo thus insulted, should feel that his vengeance was that of a man. A tumult followed, ^Mariano was attacked, and with great difliculty he succeeded in getting alive out of the town. Very soon he collected a large number of armed men, and commenced a war against Scnhor I — directly, and against tlie Government indirectly. The fights were constant and sanguinary. The country about Sena was devastated. Mariano had friends at the coast avIio, as long as his means lasted, furnished him with arms and supplies, and he kept up an army of 2000 meu. The barbarities committed on both sides were great. INIariano gave gifts to those of his meu who brought to hiiu the hcaiis of any of his adversaries, and Scnhor I — adopted a like policy. At length the Government interfered and declared jNIariano a rebel, and the Governor of Quillimanc with all the regular troops he could muster, and with a host of armed slaves and colona (nominally free men, but avowed subjects of Portugal), took the field against him. For some time, however, tho impetuosity of ^Mariano's assaults gave him the advantage, and had he known how to use his success he might inore than once have destroyed both Sena and Quillimane ; but lie was no general, and he was not of the stuff of which heroes are formed. Enervated by self-indulgence, and chafed under the restraints of war, though not less fond of bloodshed, he grew weary of fighting, and made overtures of peace by sending, it is said, to the Governor of Quillimane, a present of 100 arobas of ivory, worth upwards of £G00 (an aroba being 321bs., and ivory at that period being worth 4s. per lb.). This led the way to negotiations, liberty was promised to Mariano if he submitted, so he surrendered, and was at once put into chains and sent as a prisoner to IMozambique, where he was tried for his rebellion, had all his property confiscated, and was sentenced to three vears' imprisonment. impri Miiiioi .March D gatli( conti rclati tlien mi.scli peaecj the ca crueUi i^Ia liberal was ;i ] makiuf hy his Mozam Kiane, some of kalgi's < VM'ty, h were ius tions to I'csistcd. TJioiu survcilla furtlier I^eeu res those to with out Was givei io a pi( (villingly '»ad Jean cunning last he s located Ji than a tl dautly su Jiinisclf. the kiui c greal Million Itifp MurcU 1 Utr. 1 , Ihta.J SLAVERY IN KASTKUN AFRICA. 203 During his incnrccrntion, liis slaves and those lie lind gatlidx'd under his coivunand, all of whom Mcrc well armed, continued the wuv for some time under the leadership of a relative of his. At last, however, they were dispersed, and then they roamed about the land in gangs, doing incalculable mischief, and causing much misery and suflering to the pcaceabh; natives. These people of ^fatikinya were, indeed, the cause of much fear uud tremlding, for their ravages and cruelties were great. ^Mariano served las full time in prison, and upon his liberation some of the merchants, who knew that his name ■was a power among the natives, learning that ho contemplated making formidable raids for ivory, hoped to enrich themselves by his agency, and supplied him with means. lie soon left Mozambique, came again into the neighbourhood of Quilli- mane, collected the remnant of his people, and despatched some of them, under the leadership of a relative, to jNlositi- kalgi's country, to collect ivory. This was nominally a trading partj', but in reality it was a slaving and a robber horde, who •were instructed, and who it seems carried out their instruc- tions to the letter, to take all they could, and to. kill all who resisted. Though nominally free, he was still under Government surveillance, for he was suspected, and perhaps with reason, of further rebellious projects. Ilis landed property had not been restored to him, and he had threatened to wrest it from those to whom it had been apportioned, and though treated with outward cordiality by the Governor of Quillimane, he was given to understand that he must confine his movements to a prescribed area. For a time he appeared to submit ivilliugly to this restriction, for during his imprisonment he had learnt self-control ; he was now a man, and had the cunning which bad men gain from increasing years. And at last he succeeded in removing himself fiom restraint, and located himself near tc !Mount jMorumbala, where, with more than a thousand of his old adherents, and who were abun- dantly supplied with arms and ammunition, he established himself. There he built a fort, and was soon recognised as the king of the country around him. A great excitement among the Portuguese generally was \^ it i . \ \% ^ li'l 201 MISSION LIFE. fMlBsion Ijife, LMBrchi.lSBS*. the result, of tins fresh move. Those of them wlio liad acquired Mariano's propcr*^;-, thoiij^li tlicy were not willing to resign it, kept it in fear and trembling. Their representations in- fluenced tlie Government, and the Governor of Quillimane again resorted to arms. And Mr. Burrup and ]\Ir. Dieliinson entered the countrv just as he was preparing to advance or Mariano at Morumbala. And wlien the expedition started they M'ent for some distance up the Zambesi with tlie Governor and the troops; but as thoy ncarcd the Shire, information was received tliat Mariano had broken up liis camp at Morumbala, and had marched with his men towards Quillimane, which place it was also said he had threatened to sack and destroy. The Governor and the troops, therefore, hastily returned, and our friends came up to us alone. It was afterwards found that ^lariano had no wish to renew the war witli the Government and his old adversary, Senhor I — ; he simply wanted to be let alone, in order that he might prosecute, without let or hindrance, his designs on the natives, who in the Shire Valley were not yet brought under the Portuguese do ninion ; and he was left alone. Then he endeavoured to retrieve liis fjdleu fortunes by raids vipon the inhabitants of the Shire Valley. Those he did not kill he enslaved ; those he enslaved he sent down to his agents at the coast, receiving stores and arms and ammunition ii: e::change. His object was, by conquest, to make himself lord of the whole of the Shire Valley. And it is by such agents as he that the Portuguese Government has extended its territory in Africa. lie would have been permitted to hold all he gained, and at his death, if the circumstances of the country were sufficiently favourable, the country he had subjugated would have been formallv added to the Crown of Portugal. In this way a Senhor Victoriua conquered the country jibout the Angoxa with his own people, and for his own purposes, \fter he died, the country over which he ruled was formally annexed to the colonies of Portugal, and his brother was raised to the rank of colonel, and received a lease of the whole land. For two years and more Mariano ravaged the VjiUey of the Shire, gradually forcing his way up towards ChiLisa's. We used to hear of his doings, but were in no fear of molestation mm Mis'ion Ufi', "1 Mai'ili 1, INtiH.J SLAVERY IN EASTKRX AFIIICA. 203 froiii " iin, for it seemed his policj'^ to cultivate tlic friendship of the English, and though some of liis people once stopped our canoes that were under tl'c charge of Chimbolo^ one of our natives proteges, coming up from the coast with supplies, as soon as he found to whom they belonged, he sent them on, declaring the English and he were friends. His great object seemed to be to open through the Shire Valley a highway to the ivory producing countries, and had it not been for the famine, he might have done so. But lie could not proceed without food, and the land before him was barren, the fruitful valley was foodlcss. The people were dying of hunger ; and drought defeated his intentions. I saw nothing of iiim )r his people when I came down the Shire on my way home. But before I could get out of the land, news came that this bad man had been struck dead in the fi "1 career of his inicpiity. The latter rains had been abundant, food along the Shire was in some places to be had, and so after collecting a large number of meu and a quantity of provisions, he started on his expedition, destroying and making captives as he went. He reached Malo, an island formed by the junction of the lluo with the Shire, and ever memorable as being the place where Bishop jNIackeuzie died, the inhabitants fled from before him, he plundered and destroyed the village on tlie island, and was about to continue his march, when he was seized with fever and died, a young man in age, but an old man in wickedness. His expedition was given up. Ilis people quarrelled among themselves. Tliey separated into several bauds, and the last that I heard of thera was that they were following the example of their bad master, making havoc of the land. But, some may say, what bus this man's history to do with the eQcets of slavery ? [Much every way. It is only where slavery is rampant that such a man could have been produced ; it is only where slavery had thoroughlv demoralised that the condition of things his life describes could have existed. And this state of anarchy and bloodshed is common to these colDuics. Mariano was not the only rebel in Zambezia (to use the name which the Port^iguese give to this portion of their possessions) ; they were numerous, and they were all begotten by that unholy pride and passion, and inordinate self-will, which characterise the generality of meu who dare IS 1^1 ' S m t 1," 206 MISSION LIFE. fMission Life, LMardil,18CS. ■llf »■■ to regard their fellow-men as less than men, — as property, in the same sense that we do .1 horse or a cow. It is true there was in the Southern States of America less of the evil effects of slavery than I have described as belonginsc to these Portuguese colonies. There society was composed of different elements, and the slave owners were not so cut off from the rest of the world as arc the Portuguese in Africa. Eut even there, notwithstanding the gloss of a certain kind of refinement and religion, the general demoralisation was fu'* greater than is usually supposed, and when passion is allayed, and 'years have swept away the mists of prejudice, and the history of these States is written, I feel sure that it will be shown that through t^ie evil effects of slavery, they were ripe for the ruin that has befallen them. In sixty years the Slave States had inci cased from six to fifteen, slave territory from 200,000 square miles to more than a million, the slaves from 500,000 to 4,000,000; the slave owners had obtained and retained the Government of the country r they had broken down every barrier to the universal extension of slavery ; they had declared that slavery Avas constitutional, natural, inviolable, and universal ; they had enacted that a black man had no rights which a white man was bound to respect, and they perished in the attempt to erect a slave empire, when they found that they could no longer dominate over the people of the North. And a more awful retribution than that which has come upon the people of the south, it is not, perhaps, pos'siblc to conceive. Of the social degradation which results from slavery I must speak in another paper. HARDSHIPS OF MISSION LIFE IN AMERICA. By the Ilev. Charles P. Wildeaham, M.A. UR sympathy with Missionaries will be increased when wc learn the hazards to which many of them are continually ex ,osed. It is hard to judge whether the heat of India or the frost of Canada bo the more trying ; both are cheerfully endui'ed for the Gospel's sake. I accouipanied a Missionary of the CaDaJian Church on an expedition which may serve as a sample of the ■ Missior Miircli i difficu river floatin pace, is the ( the nal masses drag th with sii Mission stood ei stream, Tliese ness," ir cane had repaid h IStchemii the inch touchinfr the same although with the of providi together : vantages, fertility of from any favorable s scattered ] some detai on by the they are m- spceimons emigrated i purposed t( crossed an : her object confirmed. Station she : she continue was reward ' Mission Ijifi-, Miirch 1, 18GS ] HARDSHIPS OP MISSION LIFE IN AMERICA. 207 difficulties and dangers incident to that climate. Wo crossed the river St. Lawrence, which, at that season, was covered witli large floating fields of ice ; these were carried by tho stream at a rapid pace. A .small boat, or rather a tree hollowed out Avitli tho hatchot, is the only practicable mode of transjiort. Tho skill and boldness of the native boatmen are astonishing— they paddle their canoe betwixt masses of ice, and when tho passage is blocked up, they leap out and drag the boat across the iloatiug icy island, and then launch it again with singular dexterity. AVhilst we assisted them in these toils, the Missionary caused us great alaiv -, for the rotten ice on which he stood cracked and burst, until he sank up to his middle in the rapid stream, out of which we dragged him witli much difficulty. These " perils of waters " were succeeded by " perils in the wilder- ness," in forcing our way through deep snowdrifts, which the hurri- cane had heaped up in the primeval forests. These hardships were well repaid by their results, for, on reaching the shore of the river Etchcmin, we found tl'jt the settlers from far and near had braved the inclemency of the weather to meet at Chinch. It was a touching sight to see so many emigrants from England reuniting in tho same prayers and services as tlieir friends at home, and thus, although thf^ Atlantic rolled between tliem, brought into communion with the absent. The isolation of tlic settlers adds to the difficulty of providing the means of grace ; these emigrants, instead of living together in hamlets or villages, are usually tempted by local ad- vantages, such as a mill-stream, or " water privilege," or by tho fertility of the soil to make their clearing, and build their log hut far from any existing habitations. Ileuco there is .seldom found a favorable spot to serve as a nucleus for a Church and School, and tho scattered population are hard to reach. I reserve for another paper some details of tlic vigour witli Mhieh these ministrations are carried on by tho Colonial Bishops and Clergy, and of the zeal with whicli they are accepted by the laity. Of the energy of the latter a few specimens will give some tcc^limony. One poor woman who had emigrated to Newfoundlar.d heard that the IBishop of that dioccso purposed to hold a Confirmation. Alone with her little boy, she crossed an arm of the sea in a small boat and iu blowing weather, her object being, that her boy should be baptized and herself confirmed. 33ut the storm had delayed her, and on reaching the Station she found that the Bishop had come and gone. Not deterred, she continued the toilsome voyage during the niglit, and her energy was rewarded by reaching the next Station in time to meet the S M . 208 MISSION LIFE. [' Misninn l.ifp, Murili 1, 1808. I \mn\ Bishop. Anoilicr proof of devotion was given by the poor fishermen of St. Margaret's Bay, who, with their wives and childrou, assembled for three days to build themselves a Church, aur" Loiled on by moon- light, and gratuitously, to complete the house of God. By a happy reaction the Missionaries whom we at home help to support, teach us in return lessons of earnestness and self denial, ond we feel that facts such as those described speak volumes to stir up in ourselves a holy zeal for that Gospel, which is indeed the Light of the World. MISSIONARY TRAVELS OF llEV. H. STERN. (Continued from page 1G7.) CHAPTER V. E must now return to Mr. Stern, journeying from village to village ciioug the Falasbas, standing under some tree, periiaps the common acacia or beautiful kolquol, with the Abyssinian white shama thrown round him, and the swarthy Falasbas standing or squatting about in picturesque groups, listening to his earnest words. Here is a road picture : — " We now struck across a beau- tiful heath, dotted with browsing flocks, and vocal with the Avild music of the shepherd's pipe. Numerous huts, con- structed of a framework of thick canes, interwoven with minosa bushes and acacia boughs, were discernible at short intervals throughout the Arcadian scene, in which, lil;e fanes of sylvan deities, they stood secluded. As we advanced, the road became more rugged, wild, and picturesque. Lofty cliffs and promontories, intersected by wooded valleys, now obscured and then again suddenly revealed the prospect over the broad and unruffled Tzana. Here, upon a giddy summit, far above the towering heights, rose, amid a forest of stately junipers, the Christians' place of worship ; yonder in those glens, agitated by a gentle breeze, waved an abundant harvest of ■wheat, teff,* and barley, bordered by golden strips of the yellow oil plant, whilst the very road we traversed was one en- tangled shrubbery of jessamine, honeysuckle, thyme, aud other * A grass bearing a tiny grain, from whicli tlie Abj'ssinians make excellent bread. mma i ' I'll II '] ^m--'_ [Mission Lite, Muyh 1, IW.S. kill p 5'V S5i r \ i i h\ ABYSSINIAN NATIYKS. (.Vrorn Sterne'a Jbi/asinia. Malintos-ii.) Missioi Jfarcli 1 I;' * arom a fn atmos He genen attcnt of the " burn Anc climate learn, i King ', that "i should commni find H/m all help Mission. closes Jii be prosp Ignon Abvssinij of the t wben the enecl thai amulet ta to the Al ^'■ith a pra who tin's whether h( But the Missionarif He returne been said, j of the Kir appears to European n compound c loves little reformer an( VOL. V. Mission I