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 Mr. and Mrs. 
 &). J. Rogers 
 
 Second edition, revised. 
 
 ALL RIGHTS RLSErtVEJ ( > 
 

 

 We have no apologies to offer for the fol- 
 lowing pages. Many of the chapters were 
 written while we were in India, and we were 
 directly connected therewith. They are true to 
 life generally in that land. A number of the 
 articles have appeared in American papers. 
 
 At the request of friends, we publish this 
 book. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. W. J. Rogers. 
 
 Fitchburg, Oakland, Cal., 
 
 November 15, 1910. 
 
 345722 
 
Contents. 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I Americans Complimented 13 
 
 II Scene at Jain and Rahm Temple 17 
 
 III A Strange Occurrence 24 
 
 IV A Hindu Wedding 26 
 V Isaac 33 
 
 VI At Lover's Lodge 37 
 
 VII "That's What Gets Me" 42 
 
 VIII The Devil in the Well 43 
 
 IX Officers at Igatpuri 48 
 
 X Superstition Defeated 52 
 
 XI A Hindu God 56 
 
 XII Among the Tombs 60 
 
 XIII Why She Became Queen 66 
 
 XIV Beggars at Igatpuri 68 
 XV Pardevi 70 
 
 XVI TheMistri 74 
 
 XVII Hindus' Incineration Ground - 83 
 
 XVIII Nanahar's Translation 91 
 
 XIX TheDhobi - 93 
 
 XX Little Assuria 100 
 
 XXI A Marvel 106 
 
 XXII Grinding at the Mill 108 
 
 XXIII An Old Man's Sacrifice - - 112 
 
CHAPTER .1. 
 
 FEW days ago we were occasioned to go 
 to Bombay and bring supplies for the 
 mission. We went to the station, pur- 
 chased our ticket, and entered our compart- 
 ment in the railway carriage where we noticed 
 a dark-faced, heavy set, elderly native sitting in 
 a corner, and took a seat by his side. Conver- 
 sation ensued. The train left the station and 
 we were soon going at full speed toward our 
 destination. As it takes about three hours to 
 make this journey, it gave us quite a while to 
 talk over some religious and secular subjects. 
 
 We were about to finish our colloquy when 
 the aged-faced man looked up into my face and 
 said, "I judge you are an American missionary, 
 are you not?" 
 
 "Yes, my friend, I am." 
 
 "Well, sir, I am glad w^e could make this 
 trip together. I always like to talk to Ameri- 
 cans." 
 
 "I am glad to hear that, but do you not 
 like to chat with people from other countries?" 
 
 "Oh, yes; but I like Americans best." 
 13 
 
INDIA FROM THE SUBLIME 
 "But why do you like them best, may I 
 ask?" 
 
 "Well, sir, because I have lived many years 
 and have never known one of them to smoke 
 or swear." 
 
 The train entered Victoria Terminus, which 
 is considered one of the most elaborate railway 
 stations in the world, and we parted, but before 
 parting we gave our new friend an invitation to 
 call at the mission on his return, for which he 
 thanked us and promised to come. 
 
 14 
 
TO THE RIDICULOUS 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 Scene at TJain an6 
 
 |BOUT seven or eight blocks from the mis- 
 sion will be found what is called the Jain 
 and Rahm temple. It is one of the best 
 in appearance of any of the temples about Igat- 
 puri, however, it is not so much our intention 
 to write about it as it is to discuss the individuals 
 in front of it. 
 
 You will notice five men, one of whom is 
 sitting on the steps. This is the priest in 
 charge, and the two standing beside him are 
 what the Hindu calls "holy men." The others 
 down in front, holding umbrellas, are devotees. 
 The one at the left is studying for the priest- 
 hood, and the other is a corn and cloth mer- 
 chant of the village, who has just been to wor- 
 ship. 
 
 The priest is quite well learned, and speaks 
 Hindustani, Marathi, Sanskrit, and English. 
 He confines himself to teaching the Marwardi 
 caste only. In front of him you will notice a 
 small stand with a book on it. The stand is like 
 those used by many natives, especially in the 
 schoolrooms; but the book is not considered so 
 .17 
 
INDIA FROM THE SUBLIME 
 common or unclean as to be allowed to fall 
 into promiscuous use. It is said to be the story 
 of Rahm, and is entitled Rahmin. This priest 
 studies and also teaches it. In the reading of it 
 to his disciples, he is very careful to avoid mak- 
 ing any mistakes, for should he make any, he is 
 liable to lose his position. 
 
 It is not the priest's duty to tell folks of 
 their sin and wickedness; he must ever make 
 believe they are good and righteous. He must 
 not rebuke them, "for," says he, "if I do, they 
 will become angry with me and I shall get no 
 money," and apparently, this priest's chief aim 
 is to get all the money he can, w r hich his wor- 
 shippers give him full liberty to do. 
 
 He arises at four every morning and takes 
 a cold bath, offering prayers at the same time. 
 You will notice that he has his forehead, arms 
 and breast painted, which he does in reverence 
 to his gods, for this is one way he acknowledges 
 to the world whom he worships. The paint is 
 simply a mixture of ashes and water. The 
 beads around his neck are radroksh, the berries 
 of the tree elecarpm gaaitrus, commonly used 
 for rosaries. He holds two short strings of 
 beads in his hands, which he uses to count 
 prayers on also. 
 
 In connection with the duties of the priest, 
 18 
 
TO THE RIDICULOUS 
 it is his business to instruct his people in any 
 matters relative to life, sickness and death. He 
 performs marriages, and by a certain calendar 
 in his possession, is enabled to tell his people 
 when it is a good time to marry. 
 
 The "holy men," or more properly speaking, 
 fakirs, are said to make themselves holy by 
 going to Benares, Rameshwar or Nasik and 
 paying a few rupees to be branded with a 
 stamp bearing the name of whichever of the 
 above cities they enter. The stamp is made of 
 gold, silver and copper, milled. It is put into 
 the fire and left there until red hot; then taken 
 and applied to the right arm near the shoulder. 
 Should a woman be made holy, she is branded 
 on the left arm. 
 
 The fakirs in this picture went to Ramesh- 
 war to go through the process of being made 
 holy. Now they go begging for a living. 
 They are not compelled to beg, but do so as a 
 matter of choice. They are stopping in our 
 village for four months now, and when the 
 rains are over, will journey on. Believing it to 
 be a sin for them to ride, the}' walk excepting 
 when they are ill. Their caste can eat mutton 
 religiously, but they cannot. They buy hair to 
 wear on their heads in addition to what they 
 already possess, and have full beards and never 
 21 
 
INDIA FROM THE SUBLIME 
 
 shave. 
 
 No one is permitted to touch a fakir's 
 chatti (drinking cup). If perchance somebody 
 does, he flies into a temper and goes immedi- 
 ately for a new one. When he dies, it is placed 
 on his grave unless he is high caste; then it is 
 buried with him. 
 
 You will also notice a man holding a tumba 
 in his left hand. This he uses in carrying water 
 and rice as well as employs for begging pur- 
 poses. His master presented it to him when he 
 came to the completion of being made "hQly," 
 after their manner. 
 
 A tumba is no more than a brass or wooden 
 vessel. These people prefer them made of 
 wood with brass bands, as rice keeps better in 
 wood, and the bands keep the wood from 
 cracking. When this fakir dies, his tumba will 
 be returned to the priest who gave it. 
 
 The book held by the fakir standing on the 
 right hand side, is called Gifa. It is a popular 
 Hindu poem, said to be like David's psalms, 
 and was written by a celebrated fakir by the 
 name of Walmek. 
 
 The priest in charge at this temple, told us 
 
 plainly that he was convinced that he was 
 
 wrong, and did not believe at all in what he 
 
 was teaching. We asked him why, then he 
 
 22 
 
TO THE RIDICULOUS 
 did not stop such delusive work, and he con- 
 fessed that it was only for the money that he 
 held his position. Several times he called on 
 
 us, and was anxious that Mrs. R come and 
 
 teach his wife, children, and mother about 
 Jesus Christ. 
 
 23 
 
INDIA FROM THE SUBLIME 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 *3V Strange Occurrence. 
 
 |EVERAL days ago a young man friend of 
 ours needing some change, asked his 
 mother for one rupee, whereupon she 
 brought the amount and laid it on their table. 
 After a short conversation, both mother and 
 son left the room, and a little later returned to 
 get the rupee, when behold, it had disappeared! 
 
 During their absence, there had been no 
 one in the room save a Hindu who was 
 employed as a servant, and he was speedily 
 summoned into account. 
 
 "Boy, where is that rupee we left on the 
 table?" 
 
 The servant replied, "Ham ko ne a fa," 
 which literally says, "It does not come to me," 
 meaning he did not know. 
 
 "Yes, you do. Now tel 1 the truth." 
 
 "No, I don't," he rejoined, "and if I do, I'll 
 lose one of my fingers before morning." 
 
 Nothing more was said. The servant was 
 
 sent on an errand to the bazaar. On his return 
 
 to the bungalow, a dog came running after him 
 
 and bit off one of his fingers. The young fel- 
 
 24 
 
TO THE RIDICULOUS 
 low was much frightened and ran to the bunga- 
 low with his hand paining and bleeding, con- 
 fessing his theft. 
 
 A strange occurrence, yet ever and anon sin 
 will out, for has not God said, "Be sure your 
 sin will find you out?" 
 
 "O Sahib, my finger!" 
 
 25 
 
INDIA FROM THE SUBLIME 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 |ROM before sunrise in the morning until 
 after midnight, the drums have been 
 beating and the bagpipes have not ceased 
 to peal forth their peculiar melody. We see 
 people running to and fro in the street carrying 
 green branches, and stopping in front of 
 Mochi's place of business, for Mochi is a shoe- 
 maker. With these branches and some sticks, 
 they are erecting a sort of an arbor which pro- 
 jects part way across the public street. 
 
 As drums and horns and most any and 
 every kind of music and noises are common at 
 feasts, shows, and the burial or burning of the 
 dead, we think all this tamasha so far nothing 
 strange; but as various other things take place 
 one after another and all at the same time, our 
 curiosity is aroused, and we ask, "What is 
 going on at the shoe shop?" 
 
 The answer comes from our always well- 
 informed ayah ( native nurse, for she is ever 
 the village gossip), "A Hindu wedding." Being 
 the first we had heard of at our station since 
 our arrival in this wonderland of the East, we 
 
 26 
 
CATCHING TODDY. 
 
TO THE RIDICULOUS 
 could not refrain from asking the privilege to 
 attend, and were gladly granted the same. 
 
 Here we go. "Shall we be in time?" Well, 
 as it lasts for several days, we shall be in time 
 for some of it at least; but I should like you to 
 see it with us. 
 
 We arrive at the bungalow and hear 
 shouts, singing and the same old music rolling 
 on. A group of women and girls are in the rear 
 of the scene, while men and boys make merry 
 out under the arbor. All sit on the ground, 
 which serves the purpose of a floor in India, 
 especially among the common and lower castes. 
 The men are drinking some light-colored liquid 
 and from the way they act, I am inclined to 
 think it is some strong drink. (Prov. 20:21.) 
 
 A certain native discovers the American 
 guests standing near the doorway and wel- 
 comes us with smiles and kind words, though 
 we can scarcely hear what he says, owing to 
 the musicians going at full speed, who have 
 evidently espied us also and are displaying 
 their skill. 
 
 After a short interview, our friend calls the 
 father of the bridegroom, who seems to be boss 
 of the whole affair I presume it is because he 
 pays the bills, and I must add, these are costly 
 days. Indeed, weddings mean many days yes, 
 
 29 
 
INDIA FROM THE SUBLIME 
 years of hard labor, and oftentimes more than 
 the savings of a lifetime are spent in a single 
 day for the occasion. The cost varies consider- 
 ably. Some spend one hundred rupees, while 
 others spend many times that amount. A con- 
 tinual feast is carried on for days. Opium and 
 intoxicants are greatly indulged in, and an elab- 
 orate display of fireworks is expected. 
 
 However, the father reaches us, throws up 
 his hands and begins to shake his fists, the result 
 of which reminds one of a throttle on a railway 
 engine, as soon as the throttle is moved, the 
 train begins to "slow up." Almost immediately 
 the noise was hushed. 
 
 "Would you like to have your pictures 
 taken?" we asked, for we had taken our camera 
 with us. "Whatever is your wish, sir," he 
 replied. So arrangements were made, and 
 before we got through, the whole multitude 
 wanted to be photographed quite unlike the 
 jungle folks, who, when we turned our camera 
 upon them, took to their heels lest they should 
 be killed. There were father, brothers, uncles, 
 aunts, in fact, as aforesaid, all the wedding 
 guests march into the street and a picture is 
 taken and nobody injured. 
 
 To the right stands the father; near the cen- 
 ter is a young man with a chadar, a piece of 
 
 30 
 
TO THE 'RIDICULOUS 
 cloth draped in the shape of a cross over his 
 breast. This is the bridegroom with his bride, 
 a little girl about nine years old, at his right. 
 
 She wears a red sari ( dress) decorated with 
 white fancy work; a necklace worth twenty -one 
 rupees (seven dollars) around her neck; four 
 rings on her toes, two in each ear, silver 
 bracelets on her arms and wrists, and a large 
 nosegay. She appears quite fancy in her bridal 
 habiliment, which has been given her by the 
 bridegroom. 
 
 Look at her a mere child, with many 
 responsibilities of a full grown person. The 
 ceremony was officially performed the third 
 day of the feast, but the wedding is not yet 
 over and three days have passed since then. 
 She has not been allowed to rest since the first 
 day of her wedding she nor her husband. 
 
 But the great day of her life is on in India 
 as in America the day all girls look forward 
 to the wedding day. Yet, alas, how vastly 
 different! The consent of the parties vitally 
 interested in this marriage and most others here 
 has never as much as been thought of nor con- 
 sidered. Perhaps having never met before the 
 wedding day, they take each other for better, 
 for worse because of their parents' agreement 
 in the matter. 
 
 31 
 
INDIA FROM THE SUBLIME 
 As for love, the rule in India is, "Marry 
 first and love will come after;" and generally 
 speaking, it does, at any rate, on the side of the 
 young wife, who is said to be the essence of 
 devotion to her lord and master. 
 
 "Her faith is fixt and cannot move, 
 She darkly feels him great and wise, 
 And dwells on him with faithful eyes, 
 'I cannot understand: I love.' " 
 
 32 
 
TO THE RIDICULOUS 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 IAAC is industrial after the oriental 
 method, that is to say, he is always 
 doing something, but is economical of 
 energ3 r rather than time. 
 
 If there are more ways than 
 one in doing a thing, he has an 
 unerring instinct which guides 
 him to choose the one that costs 
 the least trouble. He is a fatal- 
 ist in philosophy, and this helps 
 him too, for in transplanting a 
 rose bush, he breaks off the root 
 to save him the trouble of dig- 
 ging deeper, for if the plant is 
 to live, it will live; if it is to die, 
 it will die, for do not some plants 
 live and some plants die? This is when Isaac 
 serves as a mallee. 
 
 Yes; some plants live and some plants die, 
 
 but more disappear, and when I mention the 
 
 subject to Isaac, he treats me as a dreamer of 
 
 dreams and declares we never had such. How- 
 
 33 
 
INDIA FROM THE SUBLIME 
 ever, I find out later that he carries on a small 
 nursery and seed business of his own; so decide 
 to let him go. 
 
 ii-ii y w 
 
 / //. ///. /v. 
 
 GD 
 
 
 
 34 
 
COLOMBO. CEYLON. 
 
TO THE RIDICULOUS 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 ^Hover's 
 
 |ES, here we are, where "the spicy breezes 
 blow soft o'er Ceylon's Isle," back in a 
 grove of cocoanut palms Lover's Lodge 
 they call it, and well-named it is, for one feels 
 as though he would like to spend the rest of his 
 life here, after his long, wearisome journey out 
 from England. 
 
 We spring from the rickshas with delight; a 
 Singhalese servant meets us at the door and 
 directs us into the spacious drawing room. 
 These are the first few hours we have spent on 
 land since going ashore at Suez, and how 
 refreshing it is ! The host and hostess are very 
 cordial, making everything as pleasant as pos- 
 sible for us. He is a government official and 
 relates many deeply interesting incidents of life 
 here. 
 
 How strange it all seems! Truly we are in 
 a different world, we think, after our tete-a-tete 
 especially, and filled with wonder, we retire to 
 our room where we anticipate sleeping once 
 again in a bed that stands still. This night we 
 are not to be "rocked in the cradle of the deep," 
 37 
 
INDIA FROM THE SUBLIME 
 where we so often failed to 'lay us down in 
 peace to sleep,' for indeed, we had awful 
 storms at sea, tossed about at a terrible rate in a 
 condemned vessel; actually lost for three hours, 
 and when the Captain got his bearings, which 
 were determined by a certain star that appeared 
 toward morning, we found ourselves just off 
 the island of Perim where the poor China 
 sank. Only a little while and we saw her mast 
 rising out of the water. 
 
 At such a time one cannot help being re- 
 minded of Pat's answer when he was asked 
 which he would rather be in, a wreck on land 
 or at sea. After thoughtfully scratching his 
 head, he replied: "Faith, and I should prefer to 
 be in a wreck on land, for then there you are; 
 but, and if you are in a wreck and go to the bot- 
 tom of the sea, then where you are?" 
 
 But I must not dwell on that dreadful night 
 for we are now preparing to retire and are soon 
 in bed, right in the veranda window, where 
 fresh, cool air comes pouring in happy, con- 
 tent, ready for dreamland, when we feel a 
 strange sensation in our limbs. What a queer 
 streak our circulation has taken! Reminds one 
 of blood trickling through some lower vein of 
 the limb. Surely it will pass off soon, we 
 think, when behold! it becomes violent and 
 
 38 
 
THE COBRA. 
 
TO THE RIDICULOUS 
 even more violent, till we are alarmed, and 
 finally, such a wriggle comes that we do not 
 take time to think farther or conclude, but out 
 through the mosquito netting, which has so 
 quietly tucked us in for the night, we find our- 
 selves upon a chair shouting out to the rest of 
 the house to come and see what is in the bed. 
 
 The hostess comes smiling through the 
 door, for true to the Orient, nothing worries 
 her. 
 
 "I forgot to tell you to watch for snakes," 
 said she. "They are common with us here," 
 and walking over to the bed, they saw the fel- 
 low crawling out along under the sheet, mak- 
 ing for the veranda window yes, that very 
 window which we appreciated so much upon 
 retirement. Needless to add, that we had bad 
 dreams that night whenever we took time to 
 dream. Oh, that wriggle! We shall never for- 
 get it; and even though "all the world does love 
 a lover" we must say in warning, that there 
 may be things about any Lover's Lodge that 
 are not altogether lovable, especially in this 
 part of the world. It seems that there is ever 
 something lurking around the corner seeking 
 your life. Ne fronti crede. 
 
 41 
 
INDIA FROM THE SUBLIME 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 "Z5M's >#M (Bets 3tte." 
 
 )T long since, a missionary friend of ours 
 while on his way to our station, met a 
 Brahmin, and during the course of their 
 conversation, he approached the subject of 
 Christianity. 
 
 The Brahmin remarked that he had been 
 educated in a Christian mission school and had 
 learned much of the Bible. 
 
 At this our friend asked the high-caste 
 Hindu (for that is what a Brahmin is) what he 
 thought of Jesus Christ. 
 
 The Brahmin said: "Of course, I do not 
 believe in Jesus Christ as you Christians do, but 
 I must confess he did some things I cannot but 
 think about." 
 
 "May I ask what some of them are?" quer- 
 ied our friend. 
 
 "Yes," replied the Brahmin, "you know 
 when they went to kill him, he said, 'Father, 
 forgive them.' That's what gets me." 
 
 42 
 
TO THE RIDICULOUS 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 ~3>evil in 
 
 |N OUR mission compound we have three 
 wells. Two of these are very shallow, 
 and do not amount to very much. If 
 they did, they would probably have some his- 
 tory like the third one which is in our front 
 yard, a little to the right of the front door of the 
 bungalow. 
 
 Several years ago a few natives were hired 
 to dig the "front well," agreeing faithfully to 
 dig it wide and deep, and give the owner a fine 
 one so he might have water the year round 
 and not suffer lack during the dry season. 
 
 The work is begun. They dig about two 
 feet down and find nothing but rock. At this 
 discovery they bring crowbars, dynamite, etc. 
 I might say right here that our India folks have 
 not modern improvements on every line; in 
 fact, most everything is done in a primitive 
 manner. We dig through rock with muscles 
 and crowbars; blast by attaching a lighted can- 
 dle to the end of a long stick or pole, so as to 
 reach from a distance the powder for the pro- 
 cess. 
 
 43 
 
INDIA FROM THE SUBLIME 
 
 The combat is on. Pounding and blasting 
 are heard. Pieces of rock ascend and lay on 
 the surface of the ground above. After days of 
 labor, the workmen reach a depth of about fif- 
 teen feet when all of a sudden the noise ceases, 
 and they come climbing out of the well. 
 
 "Why are you not working?" asks the 
 owner of the place. 
 
 "O Sahib, devil in the well!" 
 
 "You men go to work and keep your con- 
 tract. There is nothing of the kind in the well." 
 
 "Oh yes there is, Sahib. We have dug un- 
 til we have come to flint rock and that is a sign 
 that Shaitan (Satan) is in the well." 
 
 "I must have it deeper and if you do not 
 work, what shall I do?" 
 
 "We will work, Sahib, but we must first go 
 and offer sacrifice to our gods." 
 
 "Very well, go. Don't be long." 
 
 "We won't be long, Sahib; but you must 
 give us a cock and a lamb for the sacrifice." 
 
 "Nay, nay; I'll never give you nor anyone 
 else such things for offerings to stone and 
 wooden gods," concludes the Sahib, and the 
 men leave yes, leave and to this day the old 
 well stands as it was then left. We have ex- 
 plored the bottom of it and find dirt, old tin, 
 rags and all sorts of filth, but the only life, how- 
 
 44 
 
THE BUNGALOW 
 
TO THE RIDICULOUS 
 ever, that we ran across was in frogs, eels and 
 numerous flies and insects. 
 
 The devil is not in the well; he resides in 
 the millions of stony hearts and wells that hold 
 not the "living water." 
 
 47 
 
INDIA FROM THE SUBLIME 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 Officers at Ifgatpuri. 
 
 |NDIA not only has her beggars, half- 
 naked, half-starved, illiterate people, but 
 also possesses officials, well-clad, well- 
 fed and educated folk. Here we have a picture 
 of the officers at Igatpuri, for you. 
 
 The two men holding canes, sitting in the 
 front row are the magistrate and his assistant, 
 who are the chief officers. The registrar, chief 
 constables, pleaders, municipal secretary and 
 land clerk make up the rest of that row. 
 
 The second is composed of court clerks, 
 and in the third row are the armed police and 
 court peons. 
 
 The learned men of this country, such as 
 seen on the front row, are probably the most 
 difficult class to deal with on religious lines. 
 We wonder not at the statement of Rev. W. T. 
 Walker, who said he had to deal with "men of 
 keen powers of intellect, whose subtle reason- 
 ing made one look at the foundation of one's 
 own faith." 
 
 Passing strange, is it not, that men of this 
 rank should believe in and worship idols? 
 
 48 
 
TO THE -RIDICULOUS 
 But we remember "not many mighty, not many 
 noble are called, but God chose the foolish 
 things of the world, that he might put to shame 
 them that are wise." 
 
 These officers carry on about the same 
 kind of work as those of our homeland. They 
 rank from the lowest to the highest caste, but 
 all intermingle in business. Some of them feel 
 as important over their offices as some other 
 folks we know of, and put on as many "airs" as 
 some of our English officials. 
 
 ' As we neared the courtyard a few days ago 
 we noticed one of these men with a sort of a 
 red silk robe on. We started toward him but 
 how quickly he vanished from our sight! Upon 
 inquiry, we learned that he had just taken a 
 religious bath which rendered him quite pure 
 and holy, according to his views, and as he 
 feared we might come in touch with and in 
 some way pollute him, he hastened away as he 
 did not want to bother with another ablution 
 that morning. 
 
 51 
 
INDIA FROM THE SUBLIME 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 Superstition 
 
 |NE DAY when one of our native preach- 
 ers was in the bazaar, a high-caste Hindu 
 challenged him to make a trip to Ghoti, 
 a village about five miles distant, on a full 
 moonlight or a "full dark" night. The high- 
 caste promised the preacher ten rupees if he 
 accepted and carried out this challenge. 
 
 Let it be understood that the majority of 
 Hindus believe Satan is out on very light or 
 dark nights to injure the kali log (black people); 
 therefore, they believe it dangerous to stroll at 
 length under these conditions. 
 
 The challenge, nevertheless, is accepted 
 with the understanding that the acceptor is to 
 go to Ghoti on the coming night and call on a 
 a certain other Hindu, from whom he is to bring 
 a letter stating the fact that he has made the 
 midnight visit. 
 
 Night came. It was intensely dark, but the 
 preacher lighted his lantern and started on his 
 ten-mile journey. He arrived at Ghoti about 
 midnight, made the required visit and returned 
 
 52 
 
NATIVE PREACHER. 
 
TO THE RIDICULOUS 
 to Igatpuri at three o'clock in the morning. 
 The high-caste was awakened; evidence was 
 given that the challenge had been carried out. 
 The Hindu lost his ten rupees, and the devil 
 failed to catch the preacher of Jesus Christ. 
 
 55 
 
INDIA FROM THE SUBLIME 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 IALKING a short distance from the mis- 
 sion bungalow, we see what is called a 
 "Hindu god." It is a peculiar looking 
 affair for human beings with immortal souls to 
 fall down and worship. 
 
 This god is erected out in an open field 
 where anyone and everyone can inspect it 
 While many go there to worship, the writer 
 went there and stood with sorrow way down 
 deep in his heart. Two texts came to his mind 
 as he watched the worshippers of this stone. 
 The first text was: "I perceive that in all things 
 ye are too superstitious." Acts 17:22. The 
 other was: "Ye worship ye know not what." 
 John 4:22. Thank God, we as Christians know 
 what we worship. We have the glory in our 
 souls. 
 
 If you take a look at the picture, you will 
 not see anything very attractive. The stones 
 around this heap of earth are in a reckless con- 
 dition, the large one in the center being the one 
 that is worshipped. With the inscriptions that 
 it has on its face, it appears more fit for a tomb- 
 
 56 
 
TO THE RIDICULOUS 
 stone than anything else, even though painted 
 a dark red. 
 
 This is a god of no love, no feeling, no life, 
 no power, no hearing, no light, no seeing, no 
 thinking, dumb, earthy, all vanity. They that 
 make them are like unto them. Psa. 115:8. 
 
 What our God does according to John: 
 
 1. He taketh away the sin of the world 
 -1:29. 
 
 2. He saves the world 1:29. 
 
 3. He gives life 6:33. 
 
 4. He gives light 9:5. 
 
 5. He gives glory and makes us one with 
 Him 17:22. 
 
 59 
 
INDIA FROM THE SUBLIME 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 e "Combs. 
 
 |MONG the places frequented by visitors 
 who come to Igatpuri, is the Moham- 
 medans' cemetery. It is quite different 
 from the burning ghat where nothing can be 
 seen after a funeral service except an ash heap. 
 Here we find bodies stored away in tombs. The 
 white monuments over these tombs, which are 
 erected in memory of the departed, give the 
 place a modern aspect. 
 
 These often have an ornamental design, 
 but inscriptions, which go to make up a place 
 of this kind in the homeland, are one of the 
 missing links here. It would be difficult and 
 next to impossible to do any engraving or use 
 the chisel on these stones, for the inner compo- 
 sition is only mud dried or burned in the fire, 
 which is afterwards slightly coated with cement 
 and whitewashed. Of course, during the rains 
 the whitening washes off, but as the cool season 
 is ushered in, they are whitened again. 
 
 As we write, we are reminded again of our 
 Saviour's words, "Whited sepulchres, which 
 
 60 
 
TO THE RIDICULOUS 
 indeed appear beautiful outward, but are full of 
 dead men's bones and all uncleanness." 
 
 On the northwest corner of this plot of land 
 is a native house with three rooms. One room 
 is used for storing implements and tools; an- 
 other, the center room, is for the public to use 
 for drinking, smoking, eating opium or any- 
 thing else, sleeping, and for the purpose of 
 offering special prayers to the devil. The third 
 room is the quarters of two men who wait 
 upon the visitors and give information as to 
 where the dead are buried. Both of them are 
 darweshes and lead what is called a holy life. 
 One is quite old and worships the devil. If a 
 Mohammedan has a demon, he visits this devil 
 worshipper and inquires what he shall do to be 
 relieved. At this request, the old man goes and 
 gets a book, which he has filled with his own 
 handwriting, and reads from it in Hindustani in 
 a sort of a buzzing manner, then tells the in- 
 quirer he can capture the demon for him. 
 
 Of course, the poor, deluded fellow asks 
 what he shall do. The reply is heard, "Bring 
 me some limes (small lemons), some camphor, 
 a stick of incense and some money." 
 
 'Tis brought. The old man burns the 
 camphor and incense, takes a lime in his hand 
 and prays to the devil, after which he passes 
 63 
 
INDIA FROM THE SUBLIME 
 the lime to the inquirer and tells him to take it 
 home and put it in his bed, near the head, and 
 the devil will flee. If this promise comes to 
 pass according to the inquirer's mind, he makes 
 the second gift. 
 
 Some people take brass or copper lockets 
 and have the old man write something on a 
 bit of paper, which they enclose therein. They 
 then string the locket around their necks, with 
 the belief that no evil spirits can harm them. 
 Others, instead of putting the writing in the 
 locket, enclose a bit of pig's hair, believing this 
 to have the same effect in frightening devils 
 away. 
 
 Among the tombs there is a plot where 
 nothing can be seen excepting four old wooden 
 posts, which serve as legs to hold up a covering 
 made of corrugated iron. Under this covering 
 lies the body of a priest, who requested that no 
 tombstone be erected over his grave, and told 
 the people that whosoever might desire any- 
 thing after his death might come to his grave 
 and worship him, and he would grant their 
 desires. 
 
 Under one of the trees you will notice a 
 large jar which contains water. On top is a 
 small cup used in dipping water from the jar 
 and filling the tins that can be seen on the box. 
 
 64 
 
TO THE RIDICULOUS 
 The Mohammedans use these tins of water in 
 washing their mouths, hands and feet after they 
 have buried a body, being very particular to 
 thus purify themselves before entering the 
 house. 
 
 When we visited these grounds, we were 
 welcomed by darweshes, who took great pride 
 as well as care in showing us around. We had 
 just finished our visit when it began to rain, 
 and we were invited to come into the house 
 that center room. A number of people were 
 preparing opium to smoke. Sitting down on a 
 mat which lay on the floor, we began to preach 
 Christ, a Saviour for all. 
 
 They listened well to the Gospel news, but 
 what the outcome of that message will be in the 
 hearts of these opium fiends and devil worship- 
 pers, we know not. We leave that with the 
 many other questions attendant our service for 
 the Master "until the day dawn and shadows 
 flee away." 
 
 65 
 
INDIA FROM THE SUBLIME 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Queen. 
 
 IVERYTHING great and good in Hindu- 
 stan has some traditional origin as does 
 every atrocity and absurdity. One of the 
 famous traditions concerns the late queen of 
 England, viz: why she was so good and kind. 
 It is supposed that in years agone she was a 
 frog, and the story of her transmigration is this: 
 
 A wealthy king and his servants were tiger 
 shooting in the jungles. At camp one day they 
 left a deksha (pan) of milk open, which a cobra 
 espied and crept into, quite concealing his 
 deadly presence. A frog sat near by and be- 
 came much troubled, for she thought of how 
 the king, when he returned weary and thirsty, 
 would go to drink the milk and be attacked by 
 the cobra. 
 
 Pondering how to save the king's life, the 
 happy thought seized her to jump into the milk 
 just as she should see him coming. This, she 
 knew, would end her life, for the frog is con- 
 sidered unclean, and of course, her presence 
 would defile the milk and the king upon seeing 
 
 66 
 
TO THE RIDICULOUS 
 her in it, would angrily dash the milk, herself 
 and all to the ground. 
 
 And so he did, but upon seeing the cobra 
 spring from the bottom of the deksha, he 
 shuddered at the thought of how near death's 
 clutches he had been, and instead of further 
 cursing the frog for what he at first thought a 
 dastardly deed, quite understanding her motive 
 and appreciating her sacrifice of life for him, 
 poured forth blessing upon her, and said she 
 should be a great and good queen, and such she 
 became. 
 
 o 
 
 67 
 
INDIA FROM THE SUBLIME 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 at "3<jatp uri. 
 
 |ERE they come! Who are they? It is the 
 lame, the halt, the sick and the blind. 
 They vary in size as well as age. Some 
 are mere babes facing a life of poverty and 
 misery, while others are in old age and have 
 eked out a mere existence to the present and 
 will until death comes to relieve them. 
 
 How did they become halt, lame and blind? 
 Some were born that way and others were 
 made so by their parents in order to excite 
 sympathy. Being in this condition, some are 
 compelled to carry sticks or crutches, others 
 are crawling on their hands and other parts of 
 their bodies. This is a horrible sight! Surely 
 we have "the poor with us." 
 
 How filthy! Half naked. A soldier's wife 
 just out from England, exclaimed to a mission- 
 ary, "My, how these people dress!" and the 
 missionary responded, "My, how they don't 
 dress!" 
 
 Did you say they had vermin? Yes, and 
 plenty. As they approach, we notice that a 
 couple of them have fallen out of line. One 
 
 68 
 
TO THE RIDICULOUS 
 sits on the ground while the other extricates 
 the live stock from the field of hair. Shortly 
 this execution is ended and these with the rest 
 of the crowd, have entered the mission com- 
 pound. They gather at one corner of the bung- 
 alow and are ready for service. The meeting 
 opens with a song something like this: 
 
 Jai, jai, jai! Masih ki jai, 
 
 Maslub jo hua hai; 
 Be-hadd hai uska p'yar ajib, 
 
 Jai, jai! Masih ki jai. 
 
 In substance they are singing: To Jesus is 
 the victory. He was crucified for us. Surely 
 his love is wonderful. After the song, a mis- 
 sionary offers prayer, and then comes the mes- 
 sage. While that is being given, some seem 
 more inclined to fight than listen; however, the 
 preacher stills his congregation and finishes 
 his discourse. Now questions are asked and 
 answered, and they are dealt with in regard to 
 their souls. 
 
 Lastly, the rice question is on. Not all are 
 given rice only those who are disabled, and 
 they receive one cup each, after which they re- 
 turn to their shelter provided by the towns- 
 people. Some of them have accepted Christ as 
 their Saviour. Others who are able to work 
 have thrown over their caste and labor with 
 their hands, making an honorable living. 
 69 
 
INDIA FROM THE SUBLIME 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 |MONG the twelve villages visited by our 
 mission is Pardevi. It is a small vill- 
 age with, perhaps, not much over fifty 
 inhabitants, and is situated on a large rock on 
 the northeastern slope of one of the peaks of 
 the Western ghats about three miles from the 
 mission. 
 
 Although not far distant, yet on account of 
 its rough and crooked path, it takes as much 
 time and strength to reach it as it does those of 
 a greater distance. There is no wagon road 
 leading to it nothing but a narrow footpath 
 filled with rocks, and during the monsoons that 
 is crossed by numerous rivulets. In some 
 places it is almost perpendicular and so narrow 
 that two persons can hardly pass each other. 
 As we come to the summit of this mountain 
 path, we are invariably ready for a rest, and 
 after taking that, we go down a steep incline 
 and on through what is known as "tiger 
 jungle." 
 
 This jungle is filled with gloom. After one 
 enters he cannot see much of anything but ani- 
 
 70 
 
TO THE RIDICULOUS 
 mals, reptiles, shrubbery and the sky above. 
 The tiger frequents this jungle during the hot 
 season when water is scarce. Only recently a 
 doctor from England shot a tiger in it. The 
 hooded cobra, India's king of snakes, a most 
 venomous viper, has his den here also. We 
 often see him on our journey to and from the 
 village. 
 
 It is generally about eight o'clock in the 
 morning when we arrive at Pardevi. The 
 meetings are opened with song while the na- 
 tives gather. Usually there are about thirty- 
 five at the service. There would be more but 
 usually some are working in the field or caring 
 for the buffaloes. All that attend listen eagerly, 
 as a rule, and ask many questions about our 
 religion. 
 
 The first time we went to this village, we 
 began our meeting near an old wood pile, when 
 an elderly native invited us into an old Hindu 
 temple. The invitation was accepted. We en- 
 tered and found it empty with the exception of 
 a remnant of a stone god. From that first visit, 
 which was many months ago, we have used 
 this temple for Gospel services. 
 
 Pardevi is one of the most receptive villages 
 we are evangelizing. They feel the need of a 
 faith that offers more to man than theirs does. 
 73 
 
INDIA FROM THE SUBLIME 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 Z3l)c Mlistru 
 
 |HE MISTRI, and surely he is a mystery 
 in very fact. We tried to do without him 
 more than once, but like so many other 
 things in this world, he seems to be a necessary 
 evil, at times in India. However, evil or no 
 evil (as unlikely as the latter may be), he is 
 necessary and we must not be ironical. He is 
 to be appreciated, indeed. 
 
 Well, there are mistries and mistries. There 
 are some that when we get them, we can do 
 nothing but dismiss them, and this is not only 
 hard on them but a discount to ourselves as 
 well; for every dismissal weakens our position, 
 and in the morning conference in the bazaar 
 among the servants, none holds so low a place 
 as the sahib (master or gentleman) who has 
 had five cooks in six months. In fact, he who 
 parts with his servants lightly can scarcely re- 
 tain a good servant. Only loafers will come to 
 him and he must pay them a good price. 
 
 But they come some one, always as soon 
 as it is found out the sahib is in need of a 
 mistri. 
 
 74 
 
TO THE RIDICULOUS 
 Here is Rama, a jack of all trades, whom 
 we afterward employed as mallee, dhambar- 
 wallah and most any other kind of a wallah 
 (wallah meaning most anything here) that we 
 needed, for whatsoever we needed on the line of 
 a servant, Rama dressed up for the occasion and 
 appeared before us for the position; always 
 ready for work but never had any, at least, for 
 long at a time even if he should he was ever 
 for finding an easier place. Poor Rama! he 
 was not a tile short in the upper story when it 
 came to lying, stealing, shirking, and so on; in 
 fact, nulli secimdus in all these graces (?) char- 
 acteristic of the Hindu; but to look at him, he 
 was a most unsuspecting creature, whether he 
 appeared as a Hindu, Christian or Moham- 
 medan, for indeed, he was whichever suited his 
 convenience pro tern. 
 
 However, we found we could ill afford to 
 keep him, so along came the prophet-looking 
 old Mohammedan with his whiskers dyed in 
 red, signifying he had made a pilgrimage to 
 Mecca, visited the kaaba stone and paid his 
 rites to Mohammed. He does very well as a 
 cook, but all of a sudden one day he flies into 
 a rage at the bheesti (a Hindu water carrier) 
 which culminates in his chasing him all about 
 the place, with the carving knife, after which 
 77 
 
INDIA FROM THE SUBLIME 
 he ushers himself into the presence of the mis- 
 tress of the house and informs her that he is 
 quite ready to beat every servant on the place, 
 gesticulates in such a manner as to include her 
 ladyship and the sahib also, if his honor re- 
 quired it. 
 
 Of course, he leaves, and a Goanese comes 
 on the scene. This descendant of Goa wears a 
 black coat, with continuations of checked jail 
 cloth, and a hat which he removes at the gate 
 as he enters the compound. He has good chits 
 (recommendations) but despite those, we know 
 that Christmas has a certain fatality for him 
 and then, too, his cardinal vice is cruelty, not 
 the passive Asiatic cruelty either, but that fero- 
 cious brand which generally marks an infusion 
 of European blood. True, it is rather a weak 
 infusion after having filtered through so many 
 generations, but it shows itself in one way and 
 another, especially in the torture of crows and 
 in the killing of chickens by the inches. With 
 all this intelligence, we hardly care to try him, 
 but we do even though he soon disappears. 
 
 Next comes the Madrassee with his spheri- 
 cal turban, and his remarkable command of 
 English. He is supposed to prepare that famous 
 luxury, "Madras curry," and we engage him. 
 
 He appears neat as the average, but that is 
 78 
 
THE BHEESTI 
 
TO THE RIDICULOUS 
 not saying much. His studio is fitted with a 
 few small fire places, and furnished with copper 
 dekshas (pots or pans), a chopper, some tin 
 spoons, a cocoanut shell ladle on the end of a 
 stick, a curry-stone, a rickety table whose undu- 
 lating surface is chopped, hacked and scarred, 
 besmeared, begrimed, and stained with all sorts 
 of juices. On this he minces meat, chops on- 
 ions, raisins, rolls out his pastry and sleeps. He 
 has always to make toast for breakfast, which 
 operation he performs by holding the bread be- 
 tween his great and next great toe, up to the 
 fire to brown. 
 
 He uses many tea towels or dusters as we 
 call them here, but the most common in use is 
 the tail of his shirt, which he always conven- 
 iently wears outside his pantaloons. 
 
 Though he has a table, he persistently 
 washes the dishes on the earthen floor, never 
 using any soap, but a handful of earth or most 
 any kind of dirt now and again during the 
 process. Truly the poet is right w r hen he says: 
 
 "Where ignorance is bliss, 
 'Tis folly to be wise," 
 
 and especially, when we consider the cook- 
 house. To think of the nice looking dishes the 
 average cook can set before one from such a 
 kitchen, makes us marvel. One can never tell 
 
 81 
 
INDIA FROM THE SUBLIME 
 what process the food has gone through before 
 it reaches the table. No matter what gets into 
 it in the way of filth, insects, worms, etc., so 
 long as it can be strained out. 
 
 But before laying the pen down, we must 
 tell you of a certain Englishman who had just 
 found a treasure of a cook. The English are 
 very fond of good coffee, and this particular 
 one was telling his friend about the delicious 
 drink his cook could prepare, and invited him 
 over to sample it. 
 
 He came. The coffee with some biscuits 
 was ordered. After the usual time elapsed, in 
 came the cook with the air of any of his kind. 
 
 The guest tasted the coffee and exclaimed: 
 
 "Fancy! How delicious! Simply superb! 
 How does he make it, pray?" 
 
 The host called the cook, saying, "Boy, tell 
 the gentleman how you prepared the coffee." 
 
 Of course, this touched his vein of pride 
 and he began in his pidgin English: 
 
 "Me takes some water and puts the coffee 
 into it, and me biles and biles it. Then me 
 break one egg into it, and then 'i strain it thro' 
 my master's sock and, and," 
 
 "What?" shouted the Master, "what?" and 
 ere he could go farther, the cook cried out consol- 
 ingly, "O sahib, it was a dirty one, a dirty one." 
 
 82 
 
TO THE RIDICULOUS 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 Iffin6us' incineration (5roun6. 
 
 |N INDIA we have more than one way of 
 disposing of the dead. Some are burned, 
 some are laid on towers to be devoured 
 by vultures, some are buried and some are 
 thrown into deep wells. 
 
 The Hindus burn; yet not all of them. Only 
 the Brahmin (priest caste), banyah (grain deal- 
 ers), deshmuk (warriors), and the Marathi (cop- 
 persmiths, goldsmiths, etc.) are allowed to burn, 
 and that is with the provision that they are mar- 
 ried. This rule stands good regardless of age. 
 Years ago when human sacrifice was in vogue, 
 when a priest died, his wife was burned alive 
 with his corpse. 
 
 You will excuse us if we take a look into 
 the home of a dying Hindu, who, in a few 
 hours will be dead and carried to the burning 
 ghat. It is said that he would not be dying 
 were he not possessed of a demon, and the pro- 
 cess to get rid of the demon is begun. It would 
 be bad, indeed, should he die in demon posses- 
 sion. Instead of sending for a doctor, they 
 summon the devil catcher. 
 
 83 
 
INDIA FROM THE SUBLIME 
 
 He solemnly enters the home and after 
 some deliberation, requests that sweetmeats, 
 chicken, cocoanuts, red cloth, and two or three 
 rupees be put into the basket. This he takes 
 and tosses three or four times in front of the 
 dying man, claiming to have power to persuade 
 the demon to take his departure and go and 
 have a square meal. 
 
 The basket, with its contents, is ordered to 
 be taken to the jungles or wherever the devil 
 catcher may suggest. After an hour or so, he 
 tells some one to go and see if the sweetmeats, 
 etc. are in the basket. They go and invariably 
 the basket is found to be empty. 
 
 During the hour or two that has intervened 
 the devil catcher has employed another of his 
 caste to go and empty the basket. The rela- 
 tives of the dying man, however, are ignorant 
 of this, and seeing the food gone, believe the 
 demon has taken his flight and gone to have a 
 meal, therefore, the afflicted will "die good," 
 as they express it. 
 
 Death comes. The remains are placed on 
 a bamboo carry-all, and by the aid of four men, 
 borne to the place of cremation. 
 
 Wood and oil are taken for the fire. If rel- 
 atives can afford it, oftentimes ghi (a sort of 
 clarified butter) is used with the oil. On top 
 
 84 
 
TO THE RIDICULOUS 
 the pile of wood the corpse is carefully laid. 
 Whatever oil or grease they have is now poured 
 on the heap, and it is ready for the match and 
 flames. Who will start the fire? If the de- 
 parted has left a son, he will do it; if there are 
 two or more sons, it falls to the lot of the eldest. 
 Should there be no sons, the oldest brother per- 
 forms it, and if no brother, then the wife; if no . 
 wife, then the nearest remaining relative. 
 
 At any rate the fire is started. Flames 
 ascend high in the air. This makes quite a 
 sight, especially when it takes place at night. 
 Not long ago, one evening at about nine 
 o'clock, we could see the mentioned flames 
 from our rear mission window. 
 
 Those attending a cremation service are 
 supposed to stay till the head bursts open; then 
 go and wash in a well or river, else perhaps a 
 tank. In Igatpuri they stay the proper time, 
 then rush for the town tank located near the 
 municipal school, and have a bath. 
 
 The relatives must now stay in the house 
 for ten days. After that, the ashes of the corpse 
 are thrown in the river. Hurrah for a big din- 
 ner! As everything demandent on them in con- 
 nection with this death, has been accomplished, 
 they believe they must have a feast or Mahadev 
 (a heathen god) will become angry with them, 
 
 87 
 
INDIA FROM THE SUBLIME 
 and they will never get to the Hindus' heaven, 
 which is commonly supposed to be Nirvana, a 
 state of non-existence. The highest state of be- 
 ing is not to be, they think. 
 
 Every year, the first day after the new 
 moon in August, they gather at the cremation 
 ground and eat chapatties (unleavened cakes or 
 bread), dhal (lintel seed or pulse) and rice in 
 memory of these occasions. 
 
 A striking incident took place with a very 
 stout man who died near us. When his body was 
 taken to be burned, his relatives bought fifteen 
 gallons of kerosene oil and the same amount of 
 hi and used for the fire. The fire became ex- 
 tremely hot; the burning body sat up amid the 
 flames and shortly after, came rolling out 
 toward the bewildered, frightened crowd, for 
 they thought the dead had come to life. At 
 this crisis they took to their heels and left the 
 burning corpse to himself. 
 
 Looking at the picture, on the right hand 
 you will notice a few little white mounds; these 
 are ash heaps of the dead. The large stone 
 work is what we might properly call a combi- 
 nation monument and god. On top can be 
 seen a small, round stone and a reclining bull, 
 which is called Mahadev's Find, and is a very 
 popular idol in India. 
 
 88 
 
TO THE RIDICULOUS 
 This structure was erected by the rich wife 
 of a former chief constable of Igatpuri, in mem- 
 ory of her son and daughter who died of plague 
 in 1899. It is four feet long, three feet and six 
 inches high, three feet and three inches wide. 
 In front of the bull on top are four sacred foot- 
 prints carved in the stone. These are in mem- 
 ory of Bhoud, another heathen god, who, it is 
 said, walked to Ra mesh war, then entered 
 heaven, leaving his footprints on earth. Bhoud 
 is supposed to have power with Mahadev to get 
 the Hindus into their heaven. 
 
 In the center of the largest stone is carved 
 the son's age which is twenty-four years, and 
 the daughter's which is twenty-nine. At the 
 base of this stone are two small ones bearing 
 footprints also. The one on the left hand with 
 larger prints is for the departed son. His name, 
 Annah, is inscribed just back of the footprints. 
 The right hand stone with smaller footprints 
 engraved is for the daughter, having on it her 
 name, Bima. 
 
 But bear with us while we retreat or return 
 to the burning ghat and find what the relatives 
 of the ashes do after ten days indoors, mentioned 
 before. First, we see them burning camphor as 
 incense. Then flour is spread on the ground 
 and left there until the next day, when the rela- 
 
 89 
 
INDIA FROM THE SUBLIME 
 tives return. If they find the footprints of an 
 animal or bird in the flour, they believe the 
 departed soul has gone to live in that creature 
 which left its tracks therein. 
 
 90 
 
TO THE RIDICULOUS 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 itanaljar's 'Granslatlon. 
 
 jANAHAR, a boy nine years of age, who 
 has been an active little worker in one 
 of our Sunday schools, has recently 
 gone to glory- He was taken ill on Thursday 
 night, with a high fever and passed away on 
 the following Saturday. 
 
 The last Sunday he attended Sunday school 
 he seemed extra cheerful and was anxious to 
 quote the golden text of the lesson, which ran 
 thus: "In my father's house are many man- 
 sions, if it were not so I would have told you. I 
 go to prepare a place for you." 
 
 This boy was unusually bright, and truly a 
 worker for Jesus. He was among the first to 
 go out into the streets and gather others into 
 the Sunday school. Less than a day before he 
 passed away he said, "I will take six new boys 
 to Sunday school next Sunday." 
 
 When the news came to the mission that 
 Nanahar had gone, sorrow filled our hearts. 
 We went to his home and there laid the little, 
 lifeless form with nothing but a piece of thin 
 cloth under it, on the damp mud floor. He had 
 
 91 
 
INDIA FROM THE SUBLIME 
 little clothing and no bed. His parents were 
 too poor even to have a lamp that would give 
 light enough so we could see around the room 
 in which he laid. His home was made mostly 
 of mud, and had no windows. Indeed, it was a 
 dark, dismal place. A candle was brought and 
 lit enabling us to see where we were. 
 
 The casket in which the body was after- 
 ward laid, was made of cheap wood and cov- 
 ered with white cloth. A bouquet of white 
 flowers tied with white ribbon, was placed on 
 top of the little form. A short service was held 
 after which the remains were taken and buried, 
 to await the great resurrection. 
 
 We miss him. He is now with Jesus. His 
 translation has given the school a deeper inter- 
 est in heaven. Thank God for open doors in 
 India, to missions, and for the glorious oppor- 
 tunity to reach these children born in heathen- 
 ism, and teach them the way of Jesus Christ 
 our Lord. 
 
TO THE RIDICULOUS 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 |HE DHOBI is the washerman of India. 
 In America we speak of the laundry, a 
 place where clothes are washed, while 
 in India we speak not so much about the place 
 or room as we do about the man who does the 
 work. In Igatpuri we have a number of 
 houses given over to dhobi occupants. The 
 dhobi enjoys living near others of his caste, 
 therefore, where one is others will be found. 
 
 India's washerman has some utensils that 
 Noah left. He uses mud stoves, rough sticks 
 for racks, and any rough stone will do for a 
 washboard. Before we left New York city for 
 India, we purchased a small washboard with 
 hopes of introducing something better than a 
 stone in washing clothes. Our hopes thus far 
 have been blighted, as they are not slow to give 
 us to understand, though it is in a meek, mild 
 way, that what is good enough for their re- 
 nowned ancestors is good enough for them. 
 
 The dhobi commences his wash in a pecul- 
 iar way. He has a brass vessel two feet in 
 
 93 
 
INDIA FROM THE SUBLIME 
 diameter and eight inches deep which is nearly 
 filled with water. Then some soap or khar, a 
 sort of salt mineral, is added to the water, and 
 the vessel placed on the mud stove and securely 
 cemented in with mud. A few sticks are placed 
 across the top of the vessel and the soiled 
 clothes piled upon them, oftentimes reaching as 
 high as five feet. Covered over with many 
 blankets, the fire is started, and in this way the 
 clothes are steamed for about five hours. 
 
 When the steaming process is completed, 
 the clothes are taken to some brook and beaten 
 upon stones. He takes them by one end and 
 bringing them over his head, lets them come 
 down at a rapid rate on the stone thus removing 
 the dirt, which he has taken in hand to eradi- 
 cate from the garment. But the one is so 
 closely mingled with the very fibres of the other 
 the one is impalpable, the other bulky and 
 substantial, and so the torrent of his zealous 
 rage unconsciously turns against the very sub- 
 stance of that which he set himself lovingly to 
 purge and restore to its primitive purity. In- 
 deed, we sometimes find that while he has 
 wrecked the garment, he has overlooked the 
 dirt! Greater and better men have been em- 
 ployed in the same way. 
 
 Such are the consolations of philosophy, 
 94 
 
THE DHOBI 
 
TO THE RIDICULOUS 
 
 "But there was never yet a philosopher 
 Who could endure the toothache patiently," 
 
 so what can we expect from our dhobi even in 
 patient Hindustan? 
 
 Howbeit, let us go on with the wash. The 
 bluing is carried on in the same manner as in 
 America, and the starching as well, though our 
 starch is made from rice. Racks and lines are 
 used in holding the clothes for drying, the latter 
 being so arranged that there is no need of 
 clothes pins which we deem necessary in the 
 homeland. There is a certain twist they give it 
 through which one end of the garment can go, 
 which twist takes the place of pins. 
 
 One day as we were walking through a 
 field near the mission, where several dhobies 
 had lines filled with clothes, it began to rain. 
 We noticed each dhobi run toward his lines, 
 and beginning at one end they ran the length of 
 each, taking every garment as they ran. Since 
 the poet says, 
 
 "The Englishman hustles the Aryan brown, 
 And the Aryan hustles the Englishman down/' 
 
 we would scarcely imagine that land of no am- 
 bition excelling Europeans, much less hustling 
 America, in anything. But this clothes line is 
 certainly better for India than those of western 
 nations would be, for when a heavy storm 
 
 97 
 
INDIA FROM THE SUBLIME 
 comes up during the monsoons, had the dhobi 
 to remove the pins he would never have time to 
 get his clothes in before the rain caught them. 
 
 Well, the dhobi is an interesting personage. 
 Someone has likened him to a puppy rending 
 slippers, a child tearing up his picture books, a 
 mongoose killing twenty chickens to feed one, 
 a free thinker demolishing ancient superstitions, 
 saying lastly: "What are all these but dho- 
 bies in embryo?" and we feel quite the same as 
 this writer evidently does about him, especially 
 as we open up the battered garments he has 
 just brought from his torture chamber, which 
 have been ploughed through with his big char- 
 coal iron, lengthwise, crosswise, slantwise, and 
 every "otherwise" with now and then a 
 glimpse of long black streaks, and spots where 
 glowing cinders have dropped on their tender- 
 est places. 
 
 But we shall not worry over this for per- 
 haps the next time before the damaged articles 
 find their home, they will have gone the rounds 
 and some kind little body will have mended 
 them up nicely, while we content ourselves by 
 wearing a substitute that the same good dhobi 
 has bestowed upon us, because of his having no 
 education to enable him to read the markings 
 or to remember which is which (even though 
 
 98 
 
TO THE RIDICULOUS 
 he has marked most of them himself right in 
 the most conspicuous place, with an everlasting 
 ink.) 
 
 Then the dhobi has a trick of hiring out 
 clothes. You cannot evade the necessity for 
 clean shirt fronts, ill able as your precarious in- 
 come may be to meet it. In this or any other 
 connection the dhobi finds you garments of the 
 best quality at so much an evening, and you 
 are saved all risk and outlay of capital. In this 
 way the wealth of the rich helps the want of the 
 poor, without their feeling it or knowing it 
 (usually) an excellent arrangement, of course. 
 
 A missionary missed some articles of cloth- 
 ing, especially a blouse. She had expected to 
 wear it at a gathering in the village in the 
 evening, but lo, it could not be found when the 
 dhobi brought the clothes. However, she 
 donned another blouse and on her way to the 
 gathering, found a native woman quite well 
 dressed strolling along, and thinking she saw 
 something familiar about the woman, looked 
 closer and found her wearing the missing blouse. 
 
 Well done, undone, ripped, torn, patched 
 salaam. 
 
 99 
 
INDIA FROM THE SUBLIME 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 "tittle 
 
 |Y LITTLE Assuria! Let me show him to 
 you. Only a tiny Hindu child once the 
 pet of the family; but the famine came, 
 that dread famine with no mercy right nor left 
 grasping everything in its reach. Among the 
 other thousands, Assuria's home was stricken 
 and one's heart wreaks with pain as he, be- 
 tween sobs, rehearses the terrible incidents rela- 
 tive to the family. 
 
 Sisters sold for a few pice each, and sent 
 away to be used for immoral purposes. ' Torn 
 from their famishing loved ones, the few pice 
 buys a few more ounces of rice for a day or so 
 more of life; then death clutches the remainder 
 of the family. 
 
 Assuria remembers the last pile of human 
 bones he saw the government servants rake up 
 and burn at that village; and well he should, for 
 his mother, though a Hindu, fond as any 
 mother of her baby boy, was in the burning. 
 
 It is all too dreadful. The bones crackle, 
 sizzle, burn; and he and his elder brother real- 
 izing what it meant to the full, started out in 
 100 
 
TO THE RIDICULOUS 
 search of something to sustain life but for the 
 most part, to steal away from the sound of that 
 horrible fire that stole all there was left of their 
 mother dear. 
 
 Only a few mornings before she had crept 
 around as best she could on hands and knees 
 and picked up grass seeds for their breakfast- 
 none for herself but oh! I must stop talking 
 about her. Imagine the worst it is none too 
 terrible for those famine times. 
 
 For several days these two little famine 
 waifs subsist on the few remaining leaves of 
 the trees and grass seeds that they find now and 
 again, but at last the brother succumbs, and lit- 
 tle Assuria (for I have yet to tell you he was 
 scarce more than five years old) wends his way 
 alone. 
 
 Finally, gnawed with pangs of hunger, fam- 
 ishing of thirst, for there was a famine of water 
 as well as of bread, he begins to eat dirt, earth, 
 anything and lays down to die. 
 
 But we found him. Yes; barely more than 
 a bundle of bones, with the skin drawn down 
 tightly over them; a mass of sores his stomach 
 filled with stones in the last stages of starva- 
 tion feet and limbs swollen, reminding us of 
 a passage in Holy Writ which reads like this: 
 "Forty years didst thou keep them in the wil- 
 
 103 
 
INDIA FROM THE SUBLIME 
 derness, so that their shoes waxed not old and 
 their feet swelled not." 
 
 But Assuria was not one of those fortunate 
 "kept" ones. He had never heard of the One 
 who "keeps." His heathen god was one that 
 destroyed rather than "kept" one that loved a 
 human sacrifice above all other offerings- 
 thirsted always for blood. 
 
 Poor child! How often the first few days 
 yes, weeks, the little lamp of life seemed to 
 be flickering its last, but with careful nursing 
 and a morsel of food now and again (for we 
 gave but little lest we should overfeed him), we 
 brought him back to life. A year passes by, a 
 few months more and he stands at my side, a 
 round, bonny face and big bright eyes that be- 
 spoke sorrow. He was among the number that 
 I never remember seeing smile, though he was 
 one of our best Christians. 
 
 It was next to impossible to keep him from 
 storing away a portion of his food. With his 
 appetite half satisfied, he would steal away to 
 his cot, and tucked down in under the little 
 blanket would be found enough food for a meal 
 or so ahead. He lived ever expectant of 
 famine. His brown eyes often filled up with 
 tears as we remonstrated with him over this 
 habit, and it was one of his greatest griefs 
 104 
 
TO THE RIDICULOUS 
 if one of the boys stole his hidden treasure 
 from the cot. 
 
 In devotional exercises in school, in Sun- 
 day school, church and village meetings he 
 was very attentive, and gave every evidence in 
 daily life of being a Christian. 
 
 One of our pleasures those days was to 
 hear him tell how he turned from idols to serve 
 the living God, and hear him repeat in his 
 native tongue one of his favorite passages 
 which seemed ever to be his thought in sum- 
 ming up what Christ had done for him: "For I 
 was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was 
 thirsty and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, 
 and ye took me in: naked, and ye clothed me." 
 We seemed then to lose sight of the long, 
 tedious, weary hours we had spent in watching 
 and caring for him, and forecaste the time when 
 the Saviour would say something of the same 
 to us when we stand around the great white 
 throne. 
 
 105 
 
INDIA FROM THE SUBLIME 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 |AVE you ever seen a twenty-five pound 
 stone lifted by the eyes? We have. A 
 native juggler came to our door one 
 morning to perform. He says, "Sahib, if you 
 will give me four annas, I'll lift that patthar 
 (stone)," pointing to it, "with my eyes." It was 
 not the lightest load for one to carry to the 
 steps where he stood, but w r e brought it. 
 
 He pulled a strong fish cord frpm his py- 
 jamas, fastened it firmly round the stone, slipped 
 the other end in back of his eyes, secured it 
 there and began slowly, slowly to pull upward. 
 
 We were just about to have him give up 
 the attempt, for fear he would injure his eyes 
 permanently, when, believe me, we saw the 
 stone had been raised a foot from the ground! 
 
 With a triumphant, heroic look gladly 
 enough he let it down again, slowly brought 
 his hands forward (which meanwhile had been 
 folded back of him), removed the cord and 
 pushed his eyes back into the sockets. They 
 were somewhat bloodshot but otherwise quite 
 all right, which was one of the greatest won- 
 106 
 
TO THE RIDICULOUS 
 ders we had yet run across in this half-hatched 
 civilization. 
 
 He earned his four annas (eight cents) in a 
 comparatively short time as that is the average 
 day's wages for a good workman. 
 
 THIS IS ME 
 
 107 
 
INDIA FROM THE SUBLIME 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 at tl 
 
 (RINDING at the mill is no new topic 
 before the world. It has been heard of 
 and seen from thousands of years back 
 up to the present. Sampson experienced it 
 while in the prison at Gaza; Isaiah prophesied it 
 as a judgment to come on the daughters of 
 Babylon and Chaldea; Jesus Christ our Lord 
 has said: "Two women shall be grinding at 
 the mill; the one shall be taken and the other 
 left." 
 
 "Grinding at the mill" has been given over 
 to the women. It makes no difference w r hether 
 the grinding is for the home circle or for the 
 merchants in the bazaar, it is a sort of "Let the 
 women do the work." The masculine sex feel 
 themselves above this particular line of labor. 
 
 Low wages are attached to this as well as 
 all other native employment, especially since 
 women are the employees. In Bombay Presi- 
 dency we pay for grinding at the rate of one 
 cent for two pounds of wheat or corn, one and 
 one-half cents for two pounds of rice, one-half 
 cent for two pounds of dhal Should the grind- 
 108 
 
TO THE RIDICULOUS 
 ers be working by the day, they receive about 
 six cents. 
 
 Grinding stones vary in size. The one in 
 the picture is the average size. Some are made 
 for' one woman to operate, and again some 
 which are used during festivities require as 
 many as fifteen women to turn them. 
 
 Along the streets during the heat of the day 
 the grinders may be seen at work, seemingly 
 not minding the tropical rays of the sun. As 
 the old mills grind, they send forth weird sounds 
 which are often accompanied by minor strains 
 from their human propellers, for indeed, most 
 of India's music is in the minor key. 
 
 Mothers with their babes in their laps grind 
 as well as others. The babes enjoy the "sound 
 of the grinding" (Ecc. 12:4) giving the old mill a 
 look now and then, with a few winks between, 
 and fall asleep as though rocked in a cradle. 
 
 All that some folks see as they gaze at the 
 grinding of the mill is wheat, rice, dhal, etc. 
 Others' attention is drawn to the turning, the 
 peculiar sounds, the operators, the babies, etc., 
 but there are still others of us who notice not 
 only all the above and more, but seem to hear 
 the old mill stones crying out, "Be ye also 
 ready." Matt. 24:44. 
 
 Ill 
 
INDIA FROM THE SUBLIME 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 O16 Sttan's Sacrifice. 
 
 |LL DAY lon^ the people had been coming 
 with their offerings to the goddess Kali. 
 Lambs had been slain by hundreds the 
 best of the flock, without spot or blemish if pos- 
 sible, before this great goddess who demands 
 the sacrifice of blood, for blood she must 
 have, even to the blood from the veins of her 
 devotees. 
 
 The missionary stands rolling it all over in 
 his mind, thinking of what such a faith must 
 mean. He thinks of how many pilgrims have 
 tramped through long, weary journeys, meas- 
 ured their length for hundreds of miles to reach 
 this goddess and appease her anger toward 
 them. 
 
 As he muses there is a jostle and the crowd 
 pushes aside. The air is filled with excitement. 
 The missionary moving toward the path that 
 leads from the temple gate to the idol, stops and 
 looks. The priests, who fall heir to whatever is 
 offered, draw up closer to the idol, greedily 
 watching the object before them. 
 
 It is a pitiful sight. An old man bent with 
 112 
 
HIFWDU FAXIR. 
 
TO THE RIDICULOUS 
 age decrepit, his hands clasped as though 
 holding something very precious, he comes 
 nearer, nearer and nearer the idol. This surely 
 must be a precious offering, thinks the mission- 
 ary, as he sees the benighted old man with 
 slow, feeble step nearing the idol. 
 
 Eyes of all are turned upon the scene. He 
 comes, comes still nearer and finally reaches 
 the altar with tears falling, devotion beaming 
 in his eyes, hands still clasped. He bows, falls 
 on his knees, unclasps his hands, and what 
 should fall out before the idol but his tongue, 
 all covered with blood! He had cut out his 
 tongue yes, his tongue as an offering to this 
 goddess to appease her anger, ever typical of 
 the heathen's offerings to their gods. They 
 offer the very best of whatever they have to 
 offer. If a lamb, the best lamb; if too poor to 
 offer only a flower, it is the best flower. 
 
 The missionary's heart was broken as he 
 saw the disappointed look on the old man's 
 face, after his offering to the goddess. He 
 turned to him, saying: 
 
 "I know you can't speak, but if you have 
 never heard of Jesus Christ, kindly shake your 
 head three times," and with tears still streaming 
 down his face, the old man's head slowly 
 moved from side to side. He had never heard. 
 
 115 
 
FITCHBLJRG, OAKLAND, CAL. 
 
 ROGERS' PRINTING WORKS 
 
 1910 
 
U.C.BERKELEY LIBRARIES