Itl 
 
 
 saMS&iastaxia 
 
 !lx^T>^***\~ j * MflKMk
 
 
 A CHRISTIAN HINDOO FAMILY. 
 
 The Wildfc.rds. Frontispiece.
 
 THE 
 
 ALCOVE. 
 
 BY THE AUTHOR OF 
 POKE AND HER SISTERS," "MICHAEL GRAHAM," ETC. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 
 PRESBYTERIAN BOARD OF PUBLICATION, 
 No. 1334 CHESTNUT STREET.
 
 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1872, l>y 
 
 THE TRUSTEES OF TSE 
 
 PRESBYTERIAN BOARD OF PUBLICATION, 
 In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 
 
 WFBTCOTT & THOMSON, 
 Stereotypers, Philada.
 
 Stack 
 Annex 
 
 W 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTEK I. 
 
 MM 
 
 A VISIT TO ZANZIBAR.... 1 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 GRANDMAMMA S ROOM ........................................... SO 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 A SEA- VOYAGE ......................................................... 40 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 MATTERS AND THINGS IN INDIA ................................. 53 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 IN THE CONCAN ........................................................ 75 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 MISSIONARY WORK .............................. .. ................... 94
 
 CONTENTS. 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 PAOB 
 
 A VISIT TO A KAJAH 113 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 THE RUBBER-PUNT 124 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 HINDOO BOYS AND TODDY- WALLAHS 141 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 THE RAINY SEASON 160 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 THE STORY OF GUNGA 181 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 WHITE JESSAMINE 193 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 ELEPHANTA AND SALSETTE 202 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 THE YOUNG BRAHMIN 217 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 JAYAH AND RA.MKOOR.... , 235
 
 CONTENTS. 5 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 A STRANGE JOURNEY ......... ..................................... 248 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 TIIK CAVES OF ELORA ................................................ 272 
 
 < HA1TKK XVIII. 
 THE HEAVENLY IXIIKHITANCE .................................... 2^J 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 PAST AND PRESENT... . ...... ............................. 295
 
 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 A VISIT TO /.A 
 
 o 
 
 HE holidays were nearly over, and it was 
 
 almost school-time again. Christmas pres- 
 - t-nts had begun to be an old story, and 
 
 some of the little people, tired of play, had 
 fairly taken to yawning, while others were really- 
 growing quarrelsome. It was quite time for them 
 to go to work again. 
 
 A girl and boy of ten and twelve sat at a table 
 in a bright, pleasant-looking room, on one of the 
 very last days of December, listlessly turning over 
 the nice presents they had brought out to look at, 
 for the twentieth time, perhaps, and wondered why 
 Minnie s writing-desk, with its pretty paper and 
 violet ink, its ivory-carved pen-handle and all its 
 many conveniences, did not look so attractive as 
 
 usual, while Harry s printing-press (that he had 
 
 7
 
 8 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 actually talked of in his sleep before Christmas) 
 had quite lost its charm. 
 
 There were books and pictures and many other 
 things spread out before them, but Minnie s bright 
 eyes were fixed on a ruby ring that glittered on her 
 finger, while Harry s hands were thrust into his 
 pockets and his mouth was puckered into a 
 whistle. Suddenly he took his eyes from the 
 ceiling, at which he had been staring with all his 
 might, and fixed them upon his sister. He began 
 to look at her from her head to her feet, and then 
 from her feet up again, as though he wished to 
 examine her very carefully. 
 
 Now, Minnie was a very pretty little girl, hand 
 somely dressed in the latest fashion for children, 
 and, unfortunately, she knew all this quite well 
 herself, and prided herself not a little on her nice 
 appearance. So when Harry stared in that way 
 at her neat bronze boots that fitted her so beauti 
 fully, then at the blue poplin dress and pretty 
 white apron, and lastly at the golden hair that 
 had been so carefully crimped by Sarah, the maid, 
 and tied back with a blu-j ribbon, Minnie thought 
 it quite uncomfortable, and asked her brother what 
 he was thinking of. 
 
 " How I d hate to be a girl !" was Harry s an-
 
 A VISIT TO ZANZIBAR. 
 
 swer " dressed up like a peacock, with your Iriir 
 all in a snarl. (Jirls are awful vain ! That s riuht, 
 get mad now ! I knew you would." 
 
 Minnie s checks were very red at this attack, and 
 her eyes were flashing ; she knew that she was vain, 
 and that made her all the more angry. 
 
 "I think boys are perfectly hateful," she began, 
 while Harry hurst out laughing. He loved his sis 
 ter, hut he loved to tease her, and affairs began to 
 look rather stormy. 
 
 lint there was another person in the room who 
 lias not yet been mentioned. She had been per 
 fectly quiet, but had, nevertheless, known all that 
 was going on. This wa- a very pleasant-looking 
 elderly lady lying among the pillows on a lounge 
 near the fire, reading a newspaper. 
 
 .lust at this moment she said in a clear voice, 
 and very regretfully, "The imuum of Muscat is 
 dead !" 
 
 The children both started and turned toward 
 her. They had often played "Queen Dido s dead," 
 but they did not think this was meant for a play. 
 
 " What did you say, grandmamma?" asked 
 Minnie, full of curiosity. " What is eem-aum?" 
 
 " Muskrat,">aid Harry, half to himself; " I know 
 what that is."
 
 10 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 "The imaurn of Muscat, continued grand 
 mamma. " Imaum means ruler. Now, which of 
 you can tell me where Muscat is V" 
 
 Minnie shook her head over it, while Harry 
 said boldly that it was in India. 
 
 " Xo," was the reply ; " let us find it on the map." 
 
 Harry s school-atlas was in the room, and with 
 grandmamma s help Muscat was found to be a 
 city in the south-eastern part of Arabia. 
 
 "There it is," said Harry, quite proudly, "right 
 at the end of the Strait of Ormus, which sepa 
 rates Arabia from Beloochistan. Did you ever see 
 this imaum, grandmamma?" 
 
 "Yes," replied Mrs. Wildford; "I paid him a 
 visit once, and your mamma was with me." 
 
 "Oh !" exclaimed Minnie, whose idea of paying 
 visits was in a carriage with a card-case; "did you 
 go all the way to Arabia, grandmamma, to call 
 upon him ?" 
 
 "No, my dear; I did not see him in Arabia at 
 all ; I saw him at Zanzibar, where his son was 
 governor." 
 
 Harry tried to think where Zanzibar was, for he 
 knew he should be asked presently, but all he 
 could be quite sure of was that it wa t; not in the 
 United States.
 
 A VISIT TO ZAXZIhAR. 11 
 
 " Look on the eastern coast of Africa," said Mrs. 
 Wild ford, and Minnie s sharp eyes soon discovered 
 a very small island close to the shore with a city 
 of the same name. 
 
 " But how did you get way off there, grand- 
 mainma?" she asked. "This isn t India." For 
 she knew that Mrs. Wildford had been living in 
 India, where she spent several years with her hus 
 band in teaching the poor heathen about the blessed 
 Saviour. 
 
 " We were coming home from India," was the 
 reply, " and the captain of the vessel wished to go 
 to Zanzibar to get a cargo of merchandise. We 
 spent a month there, collecting elephants tusks 
 and gum-copal and turtle-shells, and many other 
 things that were brought to this country and sold 
 for a great deal of money." 
 
 "How very strange!" said Minnie, wonderingly, 
 while Harry began to think that a great deal of 
 fun was to be gotten out of grandmamma. Per 
 haps she could tell them all about elephant hunts 
 and thick forests full of queer trees and dreadful 
 snakes, and perhaps she had seen sharks and 
 crocodiles, and, possibly, a gorilla. His eyes looked 
 twice as large at the very thought. 
 
 Minnie was thinking of the beautiful flowers
 
 12 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 and shells and bright-hoed birds that are found in 
 tropical regions, and she wondered if grand 
 mamma wouldn t some day show her the inside of 
 those queer-looking boxes in her room, and espe 
 cially the little India cabinet that stood on a small 
 table near her bed. 
 
 For Mrs. Wildford was almost a stranger in her 
 daughter s family; it was many years since she 
 left India, and the work she had done there made 
 her almost an invalid. When she returned to her 
 native country, she came alone, for her husband 
 died and was buried among the people he had 
 taught so faithfully. When her daughter was mar 
 ried, she went to live with an older sister who 
 needed her care, but she, too, had died lately, and 
 Mrs. Wildford had come to spend the remainder of 
 her life with her children. It took her grandchil 
 dren some time to get acquainted with her, for she 
 had lived many miles away and had seen very lit 
 tle of them, and Harry and Minnie were rather 
 afraid of grandmamma. 
 
 Perhaps they were a little spoiled, and they did 
 not believe that she thought them very good chil 
 dren, but they felt quite sure that grandmamma 
 herself was just as good as it was possible for any 
 one t j be. No one could see Mrs. Wildford s sweet
 
 A F/.v/Y To XAXZIBAR. 13 
 
 smile and her patience in suffering and disappoint 
 ment without feeling, that she was one who lived 
 very close to her Saviour. 
 
 She had given herself in early youth to her 
 Master s work among the heathen in India, and had 
 hoped to spend her life there, but this being denied 
 her, she now cheerfully devoted herself to the little 
 duties that lay around her daily path. Christ s 
 little ones were her especial care, and the two 
 children who brought back the days when her own 
 children clustered around her three of whom 
 were now lying with their father in a foreign grave 
 were especially dear to her. 
 
 "But, grandmamma," said Harry, when the 
 inaj) had been carefully studied, "aren t you going 
 to tell us about Zanzibar, and the elephants, and 
 the old fellow you went to see, and all?" 
 
 " He was not a particularly old fellow, Harry," 
 said Mrs. Wildford, smiling. 
 
 " He was a very great man, was he not, grand 
 mamma?" asked Minnie, with much interest. 
 
 " Yes," replied her grandmother ; " he was a rich 
 man in gold and jewels, but for all that he was 
 poor: he knew nothing of the Saviour. His re 
 ligion taught him that it was right to have a 
 great many wives and to do many other things that
 
 14 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 Christians know to be wrong. But I am goi. g to 
 tell you about Zanzibar and my visit to the imaum. 
 It was about the 1st of January, 184- (" Just this 
 season of the year," whispered Harry), when our 
 vessel stopped at the island of Zanzibar." 
 
 "Was it a pretty place," asked Minnie, "with 
 nice houses and trees ?" 
 
 "No," said Mrs. Wildford; "I did not think it 
 at all pretty; it was very bare-looking, with low, 
 flat-roofed houses built of stones and mud, and 
 walls or fences of the same. There were tall, 
 beautiful cocoanut trees there, and palm and 
 orange trees." 
 
 "Did you have oranges?" asked both children, 
 eagerly. 
 
 "Yes," replied their grandmother; "they were 
 as plentiful as apples are here; but I have not 
 come to that yet. The captain took us there, and 
 got rooms for us at the house of the English con 
 sul. Our sitting-room had very small windows 
 with iron gratings instead of panes of glass. 
 These windows had very deep seats or sills, owing 
 to the thickness of the walls, and your mamma, 
 who" was then about five years old, would stand on 
 the window-sill to look into the street. Her head 
 just about reached the top of the window, so
 
 A VISIT TO ZANZIBAR. 15 
 
 you will know that the windows were quite short. 
 The people of Zanzibar were all dark colored, and 
 many of them were black. The better class were 
 Arabs and the servants were African slave.-. 
 
 " When the fair little golden-haired child aj>- 
 peared at the window, they stood in groups and 
 stared at her; then smiled, showing their unbroken 
 rmvs of large white teeth, and ended by shouting 
 with perfect delight. Ada stayed at the window, 
 looking quite grave and thoughtful, for some time, 
 but at last she ran away abashed, and burying 
 her head in my lap, she sobbed out, l Mamma, 
 mamma! the black people are laughing at me! " 
 
 "Don t it seem funny to think that mamma ever 
 talked in that way," said Minnie, "and that .she 
 \\;i- really a great deal younger than I am now?" 
 
 "Why did they laugh at her?" asked Harry, 
 quite indignantly. 
 
 "Because they knew no better," was the reply, 
 "and a white child was a very odd sight to them. 
 I have seen people in this country who did not know 
 better than to laugh at people for peculiarities that 
 they could not help." 
 
 Harry became very quiet; he was not at all sure 
 that he was free from this charge himself. 
 
 "The people were all very kind to us," con-
 
 16 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 tinued Mrs. Wildford, "and one day the consul, 
 with whom we were staying, told us that we had 
 all been invited to the palace of his Highness the 
 imaura of Muscat, who spent about half of his 
 time at Zanzibar. The American consul and his 
 son had lately arrived, and we all went in a body 
 to accept the invitation. A palanquin had been 
 sent for me and my little Ada, with four servants 
 to carry it." 
 
 " What is a palanquin ?" asked Minnie. 
 
 " I know," said Harry, impatiently ; " it is a 
 little closet that they put you in, and then some 
 men take you up on their shoulders and walk off 
 with you." 
 
 " It is a small carriage," said his grandmother, 
 " on poles instead of wheels. It is made of wood, 
 and there is a two-leaved door in the middle, like 
 a folding-door, with windows at each side, and 
 often at each end. There is a small mattress in 
 side to sit upon, with a brace for the back and 
 shoulders. 
 
 "When your mamma and I got into the palan 
 quin, a crowd of black women rushed out from a 
 house near by and peered through the windows at 
 us, laughing and shouting with pleasure at our 
 white skins. They would have followed us all the
 
 A VISIT TO ZASZ1UAR. 17 
 
 way to the palace, which was two miles off, had 
 not the gentlemen who were with us prevented 
 them. 
 
 " When we reached the palace, we found it not 
 much better than the other houses in Zanzibar, as 
 it was built of the same materials, but it was 
 larger, and in front there was quite a large enclos 
 ure filled with beautiful flowers. There were a 
 few cocoanut trees about the house, but the general 
 look of the place was bare, and it seemed very lit 
 tle like a palace. 
 
 "About halfway to the house we were met by 
 a fine-looking man with an Arab face, an im 
 mensely long beard and a high, pointed turban. 
 His dress was of brown cloth with very wide, 
 flowing sleeves, and his expression was grave and 
 dignified. This was his Highness the imaum of 
 Muscat. 
 
 " I had left the palanquin, and after shaking 
 hands with me and my companions in real Amer 
 ican style, the imaum grasped me firmly by the 
 arm, and taking Ada by the other hand, he led us 
 into the hall of audience." 
 
 "What is that?" asked Harry. 
 
 " What we would call a reoeption-room," was 
 the reply; "a room, or rather hall (for so it was),
 
 18 THE WILDFORDS IS IXDIA. 
 
 where visitors were received. A number of black 
 eunuchs were posted on the verandah as a guard , 
 they were dressed almost entirely in white, which 
 set off their dark skins in strong contrast. They 
 w r ere armed with short spears, and had we not been 
 so politely met by his Highness, they would prob 
 ably have stopped us to learn our errand before 
 allowing us to enter the palace. The hall of audi 
 ence was bare enough, the only handsome things in 
 it being some chandeliers that were probably madt 
 in England." 
 
 " Why, how did they get there?" asked Minnie, 
 in surprise. 
 
 "Just as things from Zanzibar get to other 
 places, my dear child ; they had been carried there 
 by some vessel. Almost the only furniture in thi.s 
 hall of audience consisted of bamboo chairs, of 
 which there was a long row on each side of the 
 wall. Do you know what bamboo is?" 
 
 "I know!" shouted Harry, who feared that 
 grandmamma would tell them before he got a 
 chance to display his knowledge; " it s a cane, and 
 it grows in warm countries, whole jungles full oi 
 it. I ve seen bamboo chairs often." 
 
 "I haven t," said Minnie, in a rather injure-.! 
 tone.
 
 A VISIT TO /A. \7JBAR. 19 
 
 "Yes, you have/ replied her In-other, "only no 
 one told you they were bamboo." 
 
 "It is very much like the seat of this chair," 
 said Mrs. AVildford, pointing to one in the corner, 
 " and as soon as I have an opportunity, Minnie, I 
 will show you a real bamboo chair. Having seated 
 me," she continued, "the imatim placed himself in 
 a corner chair, and the three gentlemen of the parts- 
 were grouped around him, while your mamma was 
 taken on his knee. She sat very quietly for a mo 
 ment or two, and then suddenly looking up in his 
 face, which was very long and quite dark, she gave 
 a scream that echoed through the hall." 
 
 The children both laughed, and Minnie said, 
 " I would have screamed too." 
 
 "Of course you would," replied her brother; 
 "just like a girl! I would have taken right hold 
 of his beard and said, How are you, old fellow?" 
 
 " Then you would have done a very silly and 
 disrespectful thing," said his grandmamma, "and 
 ]>erhaps have gotten the whole party into trouble." 
 
 Harry muttered that he didn t think screaming 
 was very respectful, and Minnie asked what the 
 imanm did when his little visitor screamed so. 
 
 " He put her down very gently," was the reply 
 "and said to the interpreter, She is frightened.
 
 20 THE W1LDFORDS IX INDIA. 
 
 Your mamma ran directly to her mamma for com 
 fort, and became very quiet for the remainder of 
 the visit. We could only talk with his Highness 
 through the interpreter, for he did not understand 
 English nor we Arabic, but I think we managed 
 to say a great deal, considering that it all had to be 
 said over twice." 
 
 "What did you talk about?" asked Harry, 
 eagerly ; " did he tell you about his elephants and 
 things?" 
 
 "No," replied Mrs. Wildford ; "the imaum did 
 not use elephants, but beautiful Arab horses; he 
 told us about them. There are no elephants in 
 Zanzibar." 
 
 "No elephants!" repeated Harry, in great dis 
 gust ; " how could they get elephants tusks, then, to 
 carry back in the ship?" 
 
 " These were brought from the main land/ said 
 his grandmother " from the province of Zangue- 
 bar, where the people are not so thick as they are 
 in the little island of Zanzibar. Elephants cannot 
 be used where there are great crowds of people 
 about, because they are so large and clumsy they 
 would trample the people down, and for this 
 reason they did not have them at Bombay, iu 
 India, where I spent so many years."
 
 A VISIT TO ZANZIBAR. 21 
 
 "Well," said Minnie, " what else did the man 
 talk about besides his horses ?" 
 
 "We were talking of having his people edu 
 cated," said Mrs. Wildford, "and he seemed to 
 think it would be a very good thing, but he was 
 not quite ready to open the way for us to begin. 
 He talked to us also about his shambers." 
 
 "Oh dear!" said Minnie, who began to find 
 Arabic people very perplexing ; " what in the world 
 did he mean ? You may as well tell us, grand 
 mamma, for we shall never guess." 
 
 " I do not expect you to guess," replied her 
 grandmother, laughing; "he meant his gardens. 
 He had fine, large gardens a short distance from 
 the city, where only cloves and nutmegs were 
 grown." 
 
 "I like cloves," said Minnie, " they taste so nice 
 and sharp, but I don t care about nutmegs." 
 
 " I think you care for them in cakes and pud 
 dings," said Harry, " about as much as any one I 
 know of. I never heard that nutmegs were to be 
 handed around like apples." 
 
 " Please go on, grandmamma," said Minnie, who 
 had quite a dread of Harry s attacks. 
 
 "The i man m seemed really anxious to have us 
 see these gardens, and he even sent horses for us
 
 22 THE WILDFOPDS IN INDIA. 
 
 the next day, but I was not able to lide. The 
 gentlemen went, and found the gardens very beau 
 tiful. Do you know how nutmegs grow, Harry?" 
 
 " On a tree, don t they, like acorns?" 
 
 "Xo; they do not grow at all like acorns, for 
 the tree is not nearly so large as the oak, and each 
 nut is wrapped in a soft husk. Mace is found be 
 tween this husk and the outer shell." 
 
 Harry resolved to make a note of this, although 
 he did not think it worth while to say that he had 
 never heard of it before. He was quite an intelli 
 gent boy, and he liked to learn new facts. 
 
 "The clove," continued Mrs. Wildford, "has a 
 very strong leaf that is quite like the mountain 
 laurel. The flower is a delicate blossom of creamy 
 whiteness, with something of the odor that the 
 clove has, and buds, blossoms and fruit are all 
 found together. The slaves gather the cloves care 
 fully as they ripen from day to day, and I think 
 it must be rather pleasant work." 
 
 " What did you do at the palace besides talk ?" 
 asked Minnie, whose curiosity respecting the imaum 
 was not yet satisfied. 
 
 "We were furnished with refreshments," replied 
 the grandmother, "and the servants who brought 
 them to us were dressed with Oriental splendor.
 
 A VISIT TO ZANZIBAR. 2o 
 
 They carried their waiters around to the visitors, 
 but the imaum took nothing himself. These 
 waiters were just japanned tea-trays." 
 
 "Like that one in the nursery?" said Minnie, in 
 a disappointed tone. "Why, I thought they would 
 be gold in a palace; ours are silver." 
 
 "Everything was very plain, indeed, my dear; 
 we had some very black coffee served in a sort of 
 wine-glass placed in a larger one, some American 
 crackers, sherbet, which is a very sweet drink, 
 some little cakes and preserved fruit." 
 
 "I don t think that was anything great," said 
 Harry; "I would have been real mad to have 
 crackers and things I could get here handed to me 
 away off in Zanzibar. Why couldn t the man 
 give you splendid grapes and bananas and oranges 
 and sweetmeats, I should like to know?" 
 
 "I did not ask him," replied his grandmother. 
 " I concluded that the imaum was trying to enter 
 tain us in what he thought was the most agreeable 
 manner. When the servants had carried the re 
 freshments away, the interpreter told me that his 
 Highness invited me and my little daughter to go 
 with him to the apartments where his wives lived. 
 These women are never allowed to appear before 
 men, and the gentlemen of the party were left in
 
 24 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 the hall of audience, while the imaum led the way 
 up some very rickety stairs, and your mamma and 
 I followed him. 
 
 " We came out upon what is called the terrace, 
 which was over the verandah, and railed across the 
 front. There were rooms on both sides of this ter 
 race, and doors and windows opened upon it. The 
 imaum spoke to some one through a window, and 
 then took a key from his pocket and unlocked a 
 door. We followed him to an inner door, where 
 he changed his slippers, and then led the way into 
 an elegant saloon. It was beautifully furnished 
 with lounges and long mirrors, and all sorts of 
 tables, and pretty and curious things brought from 
 all parts of the world. 
 
 "We were soon joined by nine women, who also 
 changed their slippers before they entered the room. 
 They had half masks on their faces, which did not 
 prevent me from seeing that most of them were 
 young and handsome ; every one wore a veil of 
 thick red silk that was thrown back and fell be 
 low the waist. They had also a tunic of flowery 
 silk, very much like a deep sacque, that reached 
 halfway between the knee and ankle, and very full 
 trowsers. Poor things ! although called wives, 
 they were only slaves and could have no wills of
 
 A VISIT TO ZANZIBAR. 25 
 
 their own. They oarne up to me and shook hands, 
 but their faces were turned away, and as soon as 
 they had done this they sat together in a group and 
 began to chatter among themselves. 
 
 "I asked the imaum, in Hindoostani, if lie had 
 any children, and he seemed to understand me, for 
 a bevy of queer-looking little Arabs were called 
 in, but I could not tell the girls from the boys. 
 They stared very hard at my little Ada, but did 
 not offer to touch her, and she, on her part, stared 
 equally hard at them. I tried to attract the chil 
 dren to me, but they only laughed and showed 
 their white teeth, while they hung about their papa 
 with the utmost freedom. He seemed to be quite 
 an affectionate father, and I was glad to see that 
 the children were not afraid of him. 
 
 " When we were about to leave, the imaum threw 
 a shawl of Eastern workmanship over my arm. I 
 could only bow my thanks. A present of this 
 kind was an ordinary piece of politeness to for 
 eign visitors, and the captain of the ship received 
 a like attention, but he was quite displeased that 
 his shawl was not handsomer." 
 
 " Is that the queer-looking shawl that you 
 sometimes have around you, grandmamma?" 
 asked Minnie.
 
 26 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 " Yes, my dear, and when you see it 
 wish you to examine the border carefully. It is 
 all worked by hand, and shows an immense amount 
 of patience." 
 
 " Was that the end of your visit?" asked Harry, 
 who cared very little about the shawl. 
 
 "Very nearly," was the reply, "for almost as 
 soon as we had returned to the hall of audience 
 the imauni spoke a few words to the interpreter, 
 who then said to us, His Highness asks you to 
 excuse him : it is his hour of prayer. It was 
 four o clock, and shaking hands with us again, the 
 imaum went up to the house-top to pray, after the 
 custom of the Mohammedans." 
 
 "Who are the Mohammedans?" asked Harry, 
 eager for fresh information. 
 
 "The followers of Mohammed," replied Mrs. 
 Wildford, "who lived in Arabia more than five 
 hundred years after Christ, and taught people to 
 believe in himself next to God. He made a great 
 many disciples among the people of the East, be 
 cause he permitted them to live easy, selfish lives, 
 and said that it was only necessary for them to 
 obey the Koran (a book which he gave them in 
 place of tho Holy Bible), and they would certainly 
 get to heaven. The Turks are all Mohammedans,
 
 A VISIT TO 7. [\7fRAR. 27 
 
 and so arc the Arabs, Persians and many other 
 Eastern nations." 
 
 "Well," said Harry, reflectively, "the inianm 
 of Muscat must have !>een a queer old fellow. It 
 was so funny, grandmamma, for you to go and see 
 him." 
 
 " Is there anything in what I have told yon of 
 him," asked his grandmother, "that it would he 
 well for us to imitate . " 
 
 Harry ga/ed at the speaker in astonishment, but 
 little Minnie, after some hesitation, ventured the 
 words: " He said his prayers, grandmamma." 
 
 "Yes," replied Mrs. Wildford ; " he was almost 
 a heathen, for he knew nothing of the Saviour, but 
 few Christians, I fear, would leave a party of vis 
 itors as quietly as though it were the most natural 
 thing in the world to perform a duty to God. So 
 that even a Mohammedan imaum can teach us, if 
 we are willing to learn." 
 
 Harry thought rather uncomfortably of many 
 times when he had left his prayers unsaid for very 
 poor reasons, while Minnie began to feel that a 
 Christian child should be more faithful than an 
 untaught Arab. 
 
 Grandmamma wisely said nothing more, for she 
 did not believe in preaching, ano 1 she knew that
 
 28 THE WILD FORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 the children would not forget any part of that visit 
 to Zanzibar. 
 
 Mrs. Bolton, the mother of Harry and Minnie, 
 came into the room while the children were gath 
 ered around their grandmother, and smiled at 
 their eager looks. She was very sweet looking, 
 but she was quite a fashionable lady, and her rich 
 silk dress trailed on the floor as she walked across 
 the room. 
 
 Minnie gazed at her mother with eyes of won 
 derment as she tried to trace the little Ada who 
 had screamed with terror at the dark Arab face so 
 close to her own. 
 
 "Oh, mamma," she exclaimed, "grandmamma 
 has been so delightful ! She has told us lots about 
 you when you were a little girl, and all about 
 Zanzibar and everything." 
 
 " I am afraid my dear mother has gotten herself 
 into trouble," said Mrs. Bolton as she leaned over 
 her ; " these little people are so insatiable they will 
 always be asking for more." 
 
 "You know, my daughter," was the reply, 
 " that if is one of my greatest pleasures to live 
 those days and those scenes over again, and I in 
 tend to give the children a great many accounts 
 yet of my adventures."
 
 A , ISIT TO ZANZIBAR. 
 
 29 
 
 "And elephants, grandmamma!" shouted Harry ; 
 "there must have been elephants somewhere in 
 India." 
 
 Mrs. Wildford smiled as she said, "I brought 
 some curiosities with me from Zanzibar that I must 
 show you when I go to my room." 
 
 The children wondered what they were like, but 
 grandmamma did not tell them. The day had 
 been a very bright one, after all, and the brother 
 and sister quite forgot the little disturbance of the 
 morning.
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 GRANDMAMMA S ROOM. 
 
 found herself very com 
 fortably established in her grandmother s 
 room, with just enough of a cold to pre 
 vent her from going to school, but she 
 was not ill enough to take nauseous doses. She 
 rather liked this kind of illness, for after a few 
 days of school a holiday seemed a very pleasant 
 thing, and she always enjoyed being petted. 
 
 Mrs. Wildford was feeling particularly well this 
 morning, and she had taken her granddaughter to 
 her own room for the express purpose of amusing 
 her. This room had always seemed to the children 
 a charmed spot since grandmamma came to occupy 
 it, but they had been carefully instructed that they 
 were never to go there unless especially invited, 
 and on no account to touch anything except 
 when grandmamma gave them leave. 
 
 Grandmamma loved the sunshine, and had plenty 
 of it in her room, but from other parts of the 
 
 30
 
 GRANDMAMMA * WtnM. 31 
 
 house it was carefully .-hut out with blinds and 
 curtains. Mrs. Wildfowl s blinds were wide open, 
 and the windows were draped only with thin white 
 muslin, but green vines that grew in pots were 
 climbing over the curtains, and Minnie thought this 
 ever so much prettier than blue or red damask. 
 
 The Indian cabinet on the little table was the 
 centre of attraction, because you could not at all 
 see what was in it, but there were beautiful shells 
 on the mantel, and Minnie s eyes were iixed so ad 
 miringly on these that her grandmother took down 
 two or three of the prettiest and placed them in 
 her hands, saying as she did so, " These came from 
 Zanzibar." 
 
 Minnie looked at them with fresh interest, and 
 thought that two or three white ones covered with 
 prickers, as she called them, and having beautiful 
 pink and crimson lips, were the loveliest things 
 she had ever seen. 
 
 "Did you really pick these up from the beach. 
 yourself, grandmamma?" she asked. 
 
 " Xo, my dear," was the reply ; " I was not able 
 when I was at /an/ibar to do any walking or 
 Mooping. These were brought to the door for sale 
 by some of the natives, who took a great many 
 things about in this way."
 
 32 777.7? WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 "There Is a shell store down town/ said Minnie, 
 " hut mamrna says the man asks a great deal for 
 his l-h nigs. 
 
 " I have no doubt that he does/ replied Mrs. 
 Wildford, "for before the shopkeeper gets them 
 they must pass through several hands, and every 
 one gets more than he paid for the shells, the shop 
 keeper probably most of all. I dare say that the 
 people of Zanzibar wondered that visitors should 
 care to carry their shells away with them, and only 
 expected to get what would pay them for the 
 trouble of picking them up. I used to have a very 
 large collection of foreign shells, but I have given 
 a great many away." 
 
 " Why did you do that, grandmamma ?" said 
 Minnie, regretfully. 
 
 " Why did your papa and mamma and other 
 friends give you presents at Christmas, Minnie?" 
 
 "Because I wanted them, I suppose," said the 
 little girl, slowly. 
 
 "It was to give you pleasure, of course," replied 
 the grandmother, "and to give themselves pleasure 
 too, for it is the highest kind of pleasure to make 
 others happy." 
 
 Minnie had not yet discovered that there was 
 anything much nicer than to be made happy one s
 
 GRANDMAMMA S ROOM. 
 
 self, and she wondered if she should ver feel as 
 her grandmother did. 
 
 "Did you bring anything else from Zanzibar 
 besides shells?" she asked, presently. 
 
 "Yes," was the reply; "here is something else; 
 let me see if you can find out what it is." 
 
 "Isn t it a flag?" said Minnie as she turned the 
 curious-looking thing over in her hand. 
 
 " That is what most people call it," said her 
 grandmother, " but it is really a fan." 
 
 The little girl looked very much surprised, as 
 well she might, for the fan had a handle of very 
 light wood about a yard long, and at one end a 
 small square of coarse white muslin was embroid 
 ered with red, green and yellow silk, and finished 
 with a fringe of cocoanut fibres. The muslin was 
 double and worked the same on both sides; it was 
 stiffened with something placed between the two 
 layers. The little square scarcely measured a 
 quarter of a yard, and it was securely fastened to 
 the handle by thin strips of palm leaf. Minnie 
 waved it to and fro with much satisfaction, and 
 found that it answered the purpose of a fan 
 very nicely, but she never could help calling it 
 a flag. 
 
 " What else, grandmamma?" for the bright eyes
 
 34 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 were roving restlessly about in quest of fresh trea 
 sures from Zanzibar. 
 
 Mrs. Wildford took a small bottle from a 
 bracket and asked Minnie what she saw in it. 
 
 " I see a horrible bug!" she replied, with a half 
 scream. "Oh, please take it away, grandmamma; 
 I am afraid of it !" 
 
 "There are two very good reasons," said her 
 grandmother, " why you should not be afraid of it ; 
 one is, that the horrible bug is quite dead, and if this 
 is not sufficient, see how tightly his prison-house is 
 sealed up." 
 
 Minnie began to think that he was not very 
 dangerous, after all, and even ventured to take the 
 bottle in her own hands. She read on the label, 
 " Scorpion, Zanzibar, 184." 
 
 "How did you get it, grandmamma?" was the 
 next question. " Don t scorpions bite awfully?" 
 
 " Their sting is certainly very painful," was the 
 reply. " This is only a baby scorpion, and I came 
 by it in quite an unexpected manner, as I had no 
 intention of bringing one with me. One day, soon 
 after my arrival in America, I was arranging some 
 of my things, and I unfastened two or three fans 
 that were tied together, this one among the number. 
 Suddenly I felt a sharp prick, like running a needle
 
 GRANDMAMMA S ROOM. 35 
 
 into one s finger, and on looking for the cause, I 
 saw this small scorpion running as fast as his legs 
 could carry him. I took him up with my scissors 
 and dropped him into a bottle of alcohol where 
 a locust was already established." 
 
 " Did he eat the locust?" asked Minnie, eagerly. 
 
 "He was too busy to think of feasting," was the 
 reply ; " all his legs and you will see that he has a 
 great many of them were employed in kicking for 
 about five minutes as hard as he could, but he has 
 been still ever since." 
 
 "He was drowned, wasn t he?" asked Minnie; 
 " I m glad he was killed. But it is very queer that 
 he should have been tucked in among these fans. I 
 wonder if a scorpion ever traveled so far before ?" 
 
 " It probably came in the form of an egg," said 
 her grandmother, " and was hatched on the voyage. 
 What is still more remarkable, I found the shell 
 of a spider that the scorpion had evidently eaten 
 close to the spot it ran from. This was its provi 
 sion for the voyage, and it shows us how wonder 
 fully God cares for the meanest of his creatures." 
 
 "But, grandmamma," said Minnie, earnestly, 
 " why should God care for such wicked creatures 
 as scorpions, that do nothing but sting people? I 
 should think he vould want them all to die, in-
 
 36 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 stead of giving them things to eat. I don t mind 
 their eating spiders, though/ she added ; " I think 
 they ought to die too." 
 
 "God has his own wise purposes, my child, in 
 this as in many other things that we cannot under 
 stand. The very wisest of us must not presume to 
 think that we could improve the ordering of God s 
 universe in the smallest particular." 
 
 As Minnie felt sure that she was not wise at all, 
 she became silent, and looked very hard at the 
 scorpion through a small magnifying glass that her 
 grandmother handed her. 
 
 "Why, it looks three times as large as it did be 
 fore!" said she, at length, "and I see its sting at 
 the end of its tail. How I should hate to feel it! 
 It has claws, too, just like a little lobster. Thank 
 you, grandmamma, for showing it to me, but I 
 think I had rather not look at it any more." 
 
 Minnie shuddered a little as she put the scor 
 pion out of sight; she was very glad that such 
 things were not running about in America. 
 
 " Do they get into the houses in Zanzibar," she 
 asked, presently, "or are they only out of doors?" 
 
 " It is quite common to find scorpions there 
 under the mats," replied Mrs. Wildford, "and in 
 the corners of the rooms. Sometimes a person,
 
 GRANDMAMMA S ROOM. 37 
 
 in stepping out of bed, and putting his foot into 
 his boot or slipper, will suddenly feel the sting of 
 a scorpion. They always sting if they are touched, 
 but I have been told that they will crawl harm 
 lessly over you if you remain quiet. I cannot say 
 that I should like to try it." 
 
 "Think of a scorpion in your slipper!" said 
 Minnie, looking almost as wretched as though she 
 expected to find one in her own the next morning. 
 " How I should scream ! But papa really had a 
 cockroach in his boot once," she continued, "and 
 wore it down town all day before he found it 
 out." 
 
 "Did he scream?" asked her grandmother, quite 
 gravely. 
 
 " No, ma am," she replied, a little confused ; 
 " cockroaches don t bite or sting, but they are not 
 pleasant." 
 
 " But, my dear child," said Mrs. Wildford, very 
 kindly, " if we scream at everything that is not 
 pleasant, we shall make a great deal of unnecessary 
 noise in the world." 
 
 " Well," said Minnie, smiling, " I am not going 
 to scream any more, grandmamma, if I can heip 
 it. Harry laughs at me so." 
 
 "Does he?" said Harry, bounding in at this mo-
 
 38 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 ment and giving his sister a kiss. "Oh, grand 
 mamma, I forgot ! I ll go back and knock." 
 
 And back marched Master Harry to give a gentle 
 rap on the outside of the door. 
 
 "I don t think I said, Come in," observed his 
 grandmother as he made his appearance again. 
 
 " Didn t you, ma am ?" said he, rather crest 
 fallen. 
 
 "No, because you didn t give me time, but 
 now I say, Stay in if you wish. But what brings 
 you home so early ?" 
 
 "It s not very early, grandmamma; it is half- 
 past two, and I m off for a splendid skate. 
 Hurrah !" 
 
 "And I ve had no luncheon," said Minnie, 
 plaintively ; " how hungry I must be !" 
 
 Harry laughed at his little sister till she grew 
 quite angry. 
 
 "I know that grandmamma must have been 
 telling you things," said he; "anything about ele 
 phants ?" 
 
 " No," replied Minnie, trying to forget her in 
 juries; "there was a scorpion, though." 
 
 " That begins to sound lively," said Harry, and 
 when Mrs. Wildford brought the bottled reptile 
 out again for his benefit, he called it a gay old
 
 GRANDMAMMAS ROOM. 39 
 
 fellow. His cheeks were bright and his eyes 
 sparkling with the crisp, cold air, and Minnie 
 gazed wistfully after him as he went off with his 
 skates on his shoulder, saying, 
 
 " Let me know when you come to the elephants, 
 grandmamma." 
 
 Mrs. Bolton had gone out to spend the day, 
 and grandmamma and her little visitor had been 
 too much interested to think of the flight of time. 
 But Minnie soon decided that she was very hun 
 gry, and Sarah brought up a nice luncheon that 
 had full justice done it. 
 
 Then grandmamma had her nap to take, and 
 Minnie went off quietly to her mother s dressing- 
 room, where she took up one of her Christmas 
 books and forgot all about the scorpion for two 
 hours at least.
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 A SEA-VOYAGE. 
 
 HERE came a very stormy day, when the 
 
 snow and sleet beat violently against the 
 3 
 
 windows. Minnie was not allowed to go 
 
 out at all, and Harry came directly home 
 from school and proposed to his grandmother that 
 she should be a book of travels. 
 
 " A fellow gets so tired of reading," said he, 
 "and you can t ask questions of the people in 
 books, and when they say queer things, you can t 
 contradict em. Not that I mean to contradict 
 you, grandmamma," he added, hastily, "but you 
 know what I mean." 
 
 Mrs. Wildford smiled, and said that she was not 
 quite sure that she did know, but she believed she 
 understood that Harry wished to hear an account 
 of her travels instead of taking the trouble to read 
 a book on the subject, 
 
 " I know I should like it a great deal better," 
 he replied, "so please begin at the very beginning, 
 
 40
 
 A SKA- VOYAGE. 41 
 
 grandmamma, and toll us all about your going to 
 India and what you did when you got there." 
 
 " I cannot promise you any elephants," said 
 grandmamma, presently. 
 
 "Oh, never mind," replied Harry; "there ll be 
 lots of other things, and I want to hear about the 
 people in India : they re such funny-looking things 
 in pictures." 
 
 " Please do, grandmamma," pleaded Minnie ; " it 
 will be so nice. I don t know a single girl whose 
 grandmother ever went to India." 
 
 As she looked a little lofty at this, Harry 
 hastened to assure her that she had nothing to do 
 with grandmamma s going to India, which, as she 
 was not born until long afterward, Minnie could 
 not deny. 
 
 " "Well, I know it s a nice thing to have ances 
 tors," said she, defiantly, "for I heard one of the 
 large girls at school say so." 
 
 Harry began to laugh, as he generally did when 
 ever Minnie made a mistake, and grandmamma 
 asked what she meant by ancestors. 
 
 " Why, people that do things before you are 
 born, aren t they?" said the little girl, half 
 frightened. 
 
 "All the people that did things before you w-re
 
 42 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 born couldn t be your ancestors, Minnie," replied 
 Mrs. Wildford ; " ancestors are persons of your own 
 family who have lived and died many years ago 
 your great-grandparents, for instance, and even 
 farther back than that; you and Harry are their 
 descendants. Some of these people may have been 
 very bad, but that would be no fault of yours, and 
 if they were good, you could take no credit to your 
 self for their goodness. But what people generally 
 boast of in their ancestors is wealth, fame or rank, 
 and this is probably what Minnie s friend was 
 speaking of. It is a very pleasant thing to be 
 well-born, of good, brave, noble ancestors, but as 
 it does not depend in the least upon ourselves, so 
 it is the very last thing upon which we should 
 pride ourselves." 
 
 " Were our ancestors nice people, grandmamma ?" 
 asked Harry. 
 
 " They were nice people in every sense of the 
 word," replied his grandmamma, "for they were 
 true servants of God : Friend of God was Abra 
 ham s highest title. But we shall not. get to India 
 very soon, I am afraid, by going back to our an 
 cestors; that was not the way I started." 
 
 Harry was about to say, "Drive on, grand 
 mamma," but he restrained himself just in time.
 
 A SEA-VOYAGE 43 
 
 "There are two things," continued Mrs. Wild- 
 ford, " that I want my children to remember when 
 they ask me to give them an account of my life in 
 India. The first is that I did not go there for 
 profit or enjoyment in a worldly point of view. 
 I went there solely to benefit the poor heathen who 
 had lived so long in darkness, and the work of a 
 missionary has very little to do with scenes of en 
 joyment. There are some pleasant things, though, 
 in my Indian experience that I believe you would 
 like to hear about, but then you must remember, 
 too, that I can only tell you of the country as it 
 appeared all those years ago, when your mother 
 was a little girl. Many things have been changed 
 since then, and the knowledge of the gospel is now 
 spread in India almost beyond the hopes of those 
 who worked there then." 
 
 "And will you really begin with going off in 
 the ship, grandmamma?" asked Minnie; " I want 
 so much to hear about your sailing over the ocean 
 so far away. How long did it take you to go to 
 India?" 
 
 " From May until September ; how long is that, 
 Minnie ?" 
 
 " Four long months," replied the little girl. 
 " Did it really take all that time ?"
 
 44 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 "Yes," said her grandmother, "and loLg months 
 they were indeed." 
 
 " Would it take as long as that now to go to 
 India?" asked Harry. 
 
 " No ; it would not take one-third of the time," 
 was the reply. " Travelers now go by what is called 
 the overland route, which means going from here 
 to England first, but keeping on the water nearly 
 all the time. We sailed in what is called a mer 
 chant-vessel, and that goes very slowly." 
 
 "Who were we, grandmamma?" asked Minnie; 
 "you and mamma?" 
 
 " No, my child ; your mamma was not born then. 
 You never saw your grandfather, Minnie, but we 
 were just married then, and we thought it very 
 pleasant to be able to go and do our work to 
 gether." 
 
 Mrs. Wildford stopped for a few moments, and 
 the children thought of the picture in their moth 
 er s room with such a kind expression and deep, 
 loving eyes ; that was all they knew of their grand 
 father. 
 
 "We sailed from New York," continued their 
 grandmother, "on a bright morning in May, 183-; 
 our friends all gathered around us to say good-bye, 
 and most of them never expected to see us again.
 
 A SEA- VOYAGE. 45 
 
 We sailed off into the ocean, and soon lost sight of 
 land altogether. We did not see it again until we 
 reached Bombay, except a very distant glimpse of 
 the island of Madagascar." 
 
 "Here it is," said Harry, who, at his grand 
 mother s request, had brought a map of the world, 
 "away off on the coast of Africa. I don t see 
 what it has to do with going to India." 
 
 "Look a little closer, Harry, and tell me just 
 how I would go from New York, in the United 
 States, to Bombay, in India." 
 
 Harry began tracing his grandmamma down the 
 map in an imaginary ship, but when he came to 
 the equator, Mrs. Wildford stopped him to tell him 
 of the dreadful heat that made some of the passen 
 gers very ill. 
 
 "I was very sea-sick," she continued, "and so 
 ill that your dear grandfather had his hands full in 
 attending to me, but every one was very kind 
 captain and sailors and all. The nights were very 
 beautiful, although I was not able to see many of 
 them ; the skies were very clear and the stars 
 bright and large. The Southern Cross, which we 
 do not see above the tropics, was very distinct, and 
 often, as the ship moved, there would be a pathway 
 of light behind her; this was made by cur ous sea-
 
 46 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 animals that seem halfway between fishes and 
 plants. They are quite transparent, and shine 
 beautifully at night. We sailed on to the Cape of 
 Good Hope (Harry found it on the map), and then 
 came the hardest part of our voyage. Going around 
 the point of land at the southern end of Africa 
 is what sailors call doubling the cape, and the 
 waves seemed resolved to do their worst to prevent 
 us doubling it. The ship often appeared to be 
 standing up on end, and then again it would 
 plunge away down into such a valley of water that 
 getting out of it looked quite impossible. But He 
 who holdeth the waters in the hollow of his hand 
 brought us up again in safety, and we were thank 
 ful to get into calm seas. We doubled the cape 
 without seeing it at all." 
 
 "Didn t you get dreadfully tired of the water, 
 grandmamma?" asked Minnie. 
 
 "Yes, dear; I did get tired of it, but I tried to 
 remember that I did not go for pleasure, and for 
 thirty days at least I was too sea-sick to think 
 much about it. After that I was very busy in 
 learning the Mahratta language; one of the mis 
 sionaries who sailed with us had already spent some 
 years in India, and she was kind enough to teach 
 us during the voyage."
 
 A SEA- VOYAGE. 47 
 
 "Was that the language they spoke in India?" 
 asked Harry. 
 
 " In that part of India/ replied his grandmamma. 
 "Bombay is situated in what is called the Mahratta 
 province, but the dialect of every province is dif 
 ferent. After we had passed the cape a very sad 
 thing occurred. Among the sailors was a boy only 
 two or three years older than you, Harry, and this 
 was his first voyage. One day while sitting in the 
 cabin with some of the other ladies, I felt a sudden 
 trembling of the ship, and the motion was so 
 strange that we all began to think the vessel was 
 sinking. It seemed very dreadful to us to be going 
 down into the depths of the ocean, and we fell on 
 our knees to pray, but the lady who had been to 
 India before told us that the ship was only tacking, 
 which means going back, and she thought some 
 one had fallen overboard. 
 
 " We rushed upon deck to inquire, and soon 
 learned that the lad I spoke of had been sent up 
 into the rigging for some duty, but not being used 
 to it, he missed his footing, and striking his head 
 as he fell against a heavy beam, he sank into the 
 ocean and never rose again. The ship was put 
 back and a boat lowered t<? seek for him, but they 
 found only his cap."
 
 48 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 "Poor boy !" said Minnie, with tears in her eyes 
 while Harry looked very sober. "Do you think 
 he was a good boy, grandmamma?" 
 
 " I am afraid he had not had very good train 
 ing," replied Mrs. Wildford ; " he ran away from 
 his parents to go to sea, and this was the result of 
 his disobedience. I had scarcely spoken to him, 
 for I had not been able to sit up very long, but I 
 gave him a little tract one day, and afterward I saw 
 him reading it very carefully. 
 
 " When I was able to be on deck, and we were 
 not pitching and tossing on a rough sea, your dear 
 grandfather and I would walk up and down, talk 
 ing of what we would do for the heathen and look 
 ing forward with joy to the beginning of our work 
 among them. One day some one said we were 
 making the island of Madagascar, and supposing 
 that this meant to go on shore there, we got our 
 selves in readiness, but we were quite disappointed 
 to find that we went no nearer than to see a dim 
 streak of land in the distance. 
 
 "On we sailed, direct for Bombay, as the captain 
 said, and very soon again we could see nothing 
 before or behind us but the great, deep ocean. 
 Then the captain told us, quite unexpectedly, that 
 in one week we should be in Bombay, and we felt
 
 A SEA-VOYAGE. 49 
 
 so glad to think that the long, tedious voyage was 
 nearly over. 
 
 " The day before we landed boats were rowed 
 up to the ship, and dark-colored men almost naked 
 came on board with fruit to sell. They had 
 oranges, bananas, dates and some other fruits that 
 I did not know the names of and can scarcely re 
 member now, and they looked so strange in their 
 white turbans and no dress but a piece of cloth 
 tied around their waists that we ladie.s ran down 
 again to the cabin, quite to the amusement of the 
 captain and sailors, who were used to such sights. 
 
 "At length we were sailing into the harbor of 
 Bombay, and the band of missionaries knelt to 
 gether in prayer to give thanks for our safe arrival. 
 I gazed eagerly around as we approached the city, 
 but it did not look in the least as I expected. The 
 walls of the houses were of mud, and the houses 
 were low, with flat roofs, and oh, sad sight to a 
 Christian ! the Hindoo temples rose in place of 
 church-spires, where 
 
 The heathen, in his blindness, 
 Bows down to wood nnd stone. " 
 
 " That s from Greenland s icy mountains/ 
 said Minnie. "I know it all, grandmamma."
 
 50 THE WILDFORDK IX INDIA. 
 
 "But you do not know \vho wrote it, I think," 
 said Mrs. Wildford. " It is the famous missionary 
 hymn written by Bishop Heber, the good English 
 missionary who was so much beloved in India. I 
 think, Harry, that you would like some day to read 
 his Journey through India. " 
 
 " Perhaps I should," replied Harry ; " I dare say 
 he saw elephants." 
 
 " I have no doubt he did," said his grandmamma. 
 "But I think it is nearly dinner-time, and it will 
 scarcely do for me to talk any more to-day." 
 
 "Please get yourself off the ship, won t you, 
 grandmamma ?" said Minnie, beseechingly ; " that 
 would be such a good place to stop at, just as the 
 stories do." 
 
 " Yes," replied Mrs. Wildford, " I will get my 
 self off the ship, and into the mission house; it 
 will not take very long to do that. The ship could 
 not go close to the shore, and we had to be lowered 
 into a small boat. A rope and tackle were fast 
 ened to the end of one of the yards of the main 
 mast of the ship, and one lady at a time was 
 fastened in the chair, covered with the flag and 
 then let down by a pulley into the boat. This was 
 not very pleasant, but the sailors who helped ,us 
 down were strong and kind, and we did not feel
 
 A SEA- VOYAGE. 51 
 
 frightened. How do you think \ve got from the 
 shore to the house where we were going ?" 
 
 " Did somebody carry you ?" asked Harry. 
 
 "Yes; four somebodies carried each of us. A 
 crowd of men with palanquins stood there, very 
 much like the hackmen in our American cities ; 
 they chattered at us very earnestly, but we could 
 not understand them. They were probably recom 
 mending their different vehicles. Your grandfather 
 selected the nicest-looking palanquin for me (only 
 one person can ride in a palanquin). I got into it, 
 with his help, and your grandfather got into his 
 palanquin, and the dark, half-dressed men trotted 
 off with us to the mission house. 
 
 " This was very pleasantly situated a little out of 
 the city, with plenty of beautiful flowers and shrubs 
 and trees around it, and the house had quite a com 
 fortable, home look. We were very kindly wel 
 comed by the missionaries who were already at 
 work there, and were shown to a nice room fur 
 nished very much like our rooms at home. The 
 beds were all covered with mosquito-nets, for these 
 pests are thick in India all the year round, and the 
 floors looked very cool and clean with their nice 
 fresh matting. It was nearly tea-time when we 
 arrived, and the meal was quite like an American
 
 52 
 
 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 tea, so that we began to feel very much at home. 
 And now that I am quite off the ship, Minnie, and 
 landed in Bombay, I think I shall stop to get ready 
 for my dinner in New York."
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 MATTERS AND THINGS IN INDIA. 
 T was not long before the children were 
 again established in grandmamma s room, 
 eager to hear what happened to her in 
 Bombay. 
 
 "What did you do first?" asked Harry, "and 
 didn t everything seem very queer?" 
 
 " Yes," said Minnie, " I want to know how 
 people begin to be missionaries. Did you have a 
 crowd of people, and tell them that you had come 
 to teach them ?" 
 
 "No," replied Mrs. Wildford, "not at first; I 
 might have talked to the Hindoos all day without 
 making them understand me. You forget, my 
 dear, that these people knew nothing of English, 
 and that I knew very little of their language. I 
 had to study hard before I could begin to teach, 
 and your grandfather and I would sit at our les 
 sons day after day and laugh at each other s mis 
 takes, while the natives laughed at us both. But 
 your grandfather was quicker at learning the lan- 
 
 53
 
 54 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 guage than I was, and long before I could con 
 verse freely he was preaching to them of the 
 Saviour and winning souls to Christ. I went into 
 the school that was held in the house where we 
 first lodged, to see how the heathen children were 
 taught. It was very different from our schools. 
 The scholars were dark-skinned little girls from 
 six to ten or twelve years old, some with scarcely 
 anything on them in the way of clothing, others 
 with the full dress of the Hindoo women, which 
 always includes a veil in the same piece with the 
 dress, and some with a spot of red paint upon 
 their forehead, the meaning of which you would 
 never guess." 
 
 Harry seemed quite disposed to try, but grand 
 mamma finally had to tell him : 
 
 " It meant that they were married women ; it is 
 a part of the marriage ceremony for the Hindoo 
 bridegroom to paint the bride s forehead in this 
 way. * 
 
 "Why, grandmamma," exclaimed Minnie, in 
 great perplexity, " I thought you said they were 
 little girls only six, or ten, or twelve years old ?" 
 
 " They would have been little girls in America," 
 was the reply, " but in India they were women. 
 A Hindoo father is anxious to marry his daughters
 
 MATTERS AND THINGS IN INDIA. 55 
 
 almost before they can walk ; this is part of his 
 religion. If he gets his daughter married before 
 she is six years old, he is promised the highest 
 place in the Hindoo heaven ; if before seven, the 
 next highest place; but if his daughter remains 
 unmarried until she is ten or twelve, he has the 
 lowest place of all." 
 
 " Only think," said Minnie, whose thoughts 
 seemed to dwell upon this subject, " of a little girl 
 only as old as I, and even younger, being called 
 Mrs., like mamma !" 
 
 This amused Harry very much, and he de 
 clared that Minnie s head was an inch or two 
 higher as she thought that if she were living in 
 India she might be called " Mrs.," like mamma. 
 
 "What did all these married ladies do?" asked 
 Harry ; " were they very quiet and good in school, 
 or did they cut up sometimes ?" 
 
 " They were generally very good," replied his 
 grandmamma, " and they were paid a pice a day 
 for coming to school." 
 
 " Well, that was a funny school," said Minnie, 
 " to pay the scholars for coming to learn ! I 
 thought that the scholars parents always had to 
 pay the teachers." 
 
 "They do, usrdly," said Mrs. Wildford, "but
 
 56 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 it was hard to get the Hindoo children into the 
 schools, and especially the girls. The women 
 there were never taught anything, and could not 
 even read in their own language, and the mission 
 aries were so anxious to teach the poor things that 
 they willingly paid them this trifle for coming to 
 school. A pice is an Indian coin of copper worth 
 about a cent of your money. I will show you 
 one." 
 
 The children pressed eagerly forward to examine 
 the coins which their grandmamma took from one 
 of the drawers in the little cabinet, and found 
 that, with the exception of one, they were very 
 nice and smooth-looking. This rough one was a 
 native Hindoo coin, also called a pice, and just a 
 little less in value than the pice coined in the gov 
 ernment mint. A silver coin about the size of a 
 three-cent piece was marked, " Two Annas," and 
 another, of the same precious metal, bore the 
 stamp, " One Rupee." This was about the size of 
 an American half dollar, and a few cents less in 
 value. There was also a native rupee, as rough- 
 looking as the copper coin, that was found after 
 ward quite in a corner by itself. 
 
 "A dying Hindoo gave me this," said Mrs. 
 Wildford, : many, many years ago, and begged me
 
 MATTERS AND THINGS IN INDIA. 57 
 
 to keep it as long as I lived to remember that I 
 had shown him the way to the Saviour. I think it 
 was all he had." 
 
 Minnie took the rough rupee in her hand again, 
 and felt glad to think that the poor man had now 
 no need of silver or gold in the blessed country 
 where he had gone. 
 
 "Did the children like to come to school?" asked 
 Harry, presently. 
 
 "Yes," was the reply; "they seemed to like it 
 very much, and they took a great deal of pleasure 
 in the singing. Just before school was dismissed 
 they always sang a little hymn in the Mahratta 
 language which said they must not be late at 
 school, and that when they went home they must 
 not quarrel by the way, but must be kind to each 
 other. It also told them to come to school again 
 with clean hands and faces and hair nicely combed. 
 They had combs given to them for their own 
 especial use." 
 
 " How I should like to hear them sing that !" 
 said Minnie. " It must have been so funny." 
 
 Mrs. Wild ford began to sing in a clear, sweet 
 voice, that trembled a little as she thought of 
 the past, the very hymn that the Mahratta chil 
 dren sang in that Bombay school, but to Harry
 
 58 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 and Minnie it seemed very much like nonsense. 
 All that they could make of the first line was, 
 "Gunty wadseetur, apple-yard, gurree," and the 
 remainder was very much in the same style. 
 
 They listened very attentively, and thanked their 
 grandmamma for taking the trouble to sing for 
 them, but they could not help thinking that they 
 would have laughed to hear a roomful of children 
 singing in such a funny way. 
 
 " Those strange Indian words do not seem at all 
 funny to me," said Mrs. Wildford ; " they seem 
 very sweet, and oh what a blessed thought that 
 some of the voices that joined in the simple hymn 
 of the mission school are now singing the song of 
 the redeemed in paradise !" 
 
 The children were quite silent for a time, but 
 presently grandmamma said, "I must tell you 
 about our own little house, for we did not stay 
 long where we were taken at first, in the house 
 occupied by other missionaries. It was not a 
 very large house, but it was quite pleasant and 
 comfortable; it was built of chunam and red 
 brick." 
 
 "What is chunatn ?" asked Harry. "Is it a 
 kind of wood ?" 
 
 " No," was the reply ; " it takes the place of
 
 MATTERS AND THINGS IN INDIA. 59 
 
 mortar, and is made of lime from pounded shells and 
 sand. Our house was square, and it had some very 
 nice rooms in it, but all those on the first floor were 
 used for schoolrooms. We had quite a large gar 
 den with cocoanut and other palm trees in it, and 
 some of the most beautiful flowers I have ever 
 seen. The jessamine seems to grow everywhere in 
 India, and the air was full of its fragrance." 
 
 " But weren t you dreadfully warm in your little 
 house, grandmamma?" asked Minnie; "I have 
 heard mamma say that it is so very hot in India." 
 
 " Yes," said Mrs. Wildford, " we were warm, 
 certainly, but we expected this when we went to 
 India. The rich English people who lived there 
 kept themselves pretty comfortable with tatties and 
 punkahs." 
 
 " Tatties?" repeated Harry, in a bewildered tone. 
 "Why, mamma makes tatties, but I don t see what 
 good that could do." 
 
 "Your mamma makes tatting, my dear, which 
 would do no good at all, as it is only a narrow 
 trimming, but a tattie is a large mat made of 
 sweet-scented grass called kuskos and placed before 
 an open door or window where the wind is strong 
 est. A servant dashes water on the tattie from the 
 outside, and when there is a good wind and the
 
 60 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 servant is faithful to his work, the air of the room 
 is made quite cool and pleasant. But often in 
 India there is no wind at all, and the- bheestie, or 
 water-carrier, is always going to sleep unless he is 
 watched, and then when he stops the room seems 
 warmer than ever." 
 
 "What was the other thing, grandmamma?" 
 said Minnie "punk something." 
 
 "The punkah, Minnie, is an immense fan near 
 the ceiling of the room, which is moved by a cord 
 that goes through the wall to the verandah. The 
 servant who attends to this stands or sits in the 
 verandah and pulls the string." 
 
 " Why didn t you have tatties and punkahs, 
 grandmamma?" asked Minnie, sorrowfully. 
 
 " Because, my dear child, we were missionaries, 
 and could not afford to keep servants enough to at 
 tend to these luxuries. If we had spent our money 
 thus we could not have supported two or three 
 native children in the boarding-school, which it 
 was our pleasure to do. But we kept our doors 
 and windows tightly closed all day, and after a 
 while we began to get used to the heat. When 
 night came, I think a little girl I know would have 
 screamed occasionally had she been there." 
 
 " Tell me abou/ ^t, grandmamma," said Harry,
 
 MATTERS AND THINGS IN INDIA. 61 
 
 quite gleefully. " 1 really hope you saw something 
 dreadful." 
 
 " Nothing more dreadful than bats," replied his 
 grandmother, "and all sorts of bugs and insects 
 that came flying in in swarms as soon as the cocoa- 
 nut-oil lamp was lighted." 
 
 "I think that bats are horrible!" said Minnie, 
 with a shudder. "I had one in my hair once." 
 
 "Didn t he have a good time," laughed Harry, 
 " in all that mop of yours ! It was in the country, 
 grandmamma, and Minnie pranced round just 
 like this, screaming, Go! oo! oof and we could 
 scarcely catch her or the bat either. Oh, it was 
 such fun !" 
 
 Minnie laughed herself, although she looked 
 rather disposed to cry, and grandmamma found it 
 impossible to keep from smiling at Harry s comic 
 mimicry, but she patted the flushed little face very 
 kindly, while Harry kissed the pout from the red 
 lips. 
 
 "I think," said Mrs. Wildford, "that Minnie 
 would not have much hair left if an Indian bat 
 once grasped it, they are such huge creatures, and 
 as all the flying things appeared to think that our 
 lamp had been lighted for their express benefit, we 
 had quite a lively time with them."
 
 62 THE WILDFORDS IN IXDIA 
 
 "What did you do, grandmamma?" asked 
 Minnie, in a tone of dismay at this flying assem 
 blage. 
 
 "We got used to them, my dear; this was all 
 that we could do with a great many things in 
 India." 
 
 " Did you get used to the snakes, too, grand 
 mamma?" said Harry. 
 
 " There were very few of them where I was to 
 get used to," replied Mrs. Wildford. "You prob 
 ably think, as I did before I went to India, that 
 the country is almost carpeted with snakes, but I 
 had been there several years before I saw one." 
 
 " Can t you tell us about the snake-charmers ?" 
 asked Harry, who felt quite disappointed at this 
 account. 
 
 " I can only tell you," was the reply, " that a 
 party of these jugglers once came to us and told 
 us that there were snakes under our house, asking 
 permission to charm them out, but your grand 
 father would not allow it." 
 
 " Why, that was strange," said Minnie ; " did 
 grandpapa want the snakes to stay there?" 
 
 "No, my dear, but these jugglers probably 
 brought the snakes with them, and after perform 
 ing their incantations they would have pretended
 
 MATTERS AND THINGS IN INDIA. 63 
 
 that they came from under our house, and then 
 have demanded money for getting them out." 
 
 " Grandmamma/ said Harry, suddenly, " you 
 did see alligators and crocodiles, didn t you ? I re 
 member reading about the mothers in India throw 
 ing their little children to the crocodiles." 
 
 " That was on the banks of the Ganges, Harry. 
 I am sorry to disappoint you so often, but you must 
 remember that Bombay is on the ocean, and alli 
 gators and crocodiles live in the rivers. Perhaps 
 you would like to hear something about the heathen 
 temples?" 
 
 "Oh yes, indeed!" exclaimed Minnie; " plcnsc 
 tell us how the poor heathen prayed to their gods." 
 
 "We visited a heathen temple soon after our 
 arrival," continued Mrs. Wild ford, "and a number 
 of people came in and brought little offerings, often 
 of rice, which they set down before their god. 
 Would you like to see some of these gods or 
 idols ?" 
 
 The children examined the small brass and clay 
 images which their grandmother placed before tl.em 
 as she said, 
 
 " The idols in the temples were very much larger 
 than these ; such as these were often carried about 
 on men s heads for sale, just as, in this country,
 
 64 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 they carry plaster images. This is only done be 
 fore idols have been consecrated, or the god brought 
 into them by a Brahmin pundit. Until this is done 
 they are not considered sacred, and they are given 
 as toys to children, and used to ornament rooms." 
 
 There was quite a variety of idols; one was 
 sitting cross-legged, with an elephant s head ; one 
 standing with folded hands and the face of an 
 ape, and one with a staff, and something in the 
 other hand that looked like the handle of a 
 drawer. 
 
 "That fellow- is making a face!" said Harry, 
 presently; "he s as ugly as sin." 
 
 " Unfortunately," replied his grandmother, " sin 
 is not always ugly in appearance; it would be 
 better, perhaps, to say that this idol is as hideous 
 as sin really is in the eyes of God. But what do 
 you think of a bit of painted stone for a god, 
 Harry?" 
 
 It was a good-sized pebble painted of a bright 
 vermilion color, and an inscription on it said that 
 it had been consecrated for worship by daubing it 
 with koonkoo. 
 
 " After the ceremony of consecration," said Mrs. 
 Wildford, " the god was supposed to be inside of 
 the stone, and so the poor blind Hindoos wor-
 
 MATTERS AND THINGS IN INDTA. 65 
 
 shiped it. One of their gods is called Siva, one 
 Rama, one Theli, one Doorga, but then they have 
 so many, it would be impossible for me to tell you- 
 the half of them. This idol whose ugliness seems 
 especially to strike you, Harry, is a mendicant 
 priest, or Brahmin who has spent his life in 
 begging, who has bathed in the sacred waters of 
 the Ganges, and now that he is dead, he is wor 
 shiped as a god." 
 
 "Are their temples like our churches, grand 
 mamma?" asked Minnie. 
 
 "No, my dear; they are not at all like them. 
 Here is a picture of the inside of one of their 
 temples or pagodas." 
 
 It was a rough painting on common paper, done 
 in gaudy colors of red, and blue, and yellow, with 
 a globe or ball on the top, and in the centre the 
 figure of a woman with four arms and feet. She 
 was decked with innumerable chains and jewels, 
 and underneath was written : " The Goddess 
 Doorga, wife of Siva, in her temple." 
 
 "And there is the mark on her forehead," said 
 Minnie, who remembered about the little girls in 
 school, " to show that she is somebody s wife. But 
 what are all these people doing in the lower part 
 of the picture, grandmamma? See! there is a
 
 66 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 woman lying on her back, with her hands like 
 little Samuel s in the nursery, and a man has a 
 great bowl of fish on his head, and another woman 
 has a basket of fruit, and some men are blowing 
 trumpets, and every one seems to be making a 
 great noise." 
 
 " They are going to the temple with offerings to 
 the goddess, and the woman on the ground is the 
 wife of some rich Hindoo who is probably praying 
 for a child. She is dragging herself along in that 
 way instead of walking, to please the goddess and 
 make her listen to her prayer. She has hired all 
 the other people to help her. It is very seldom," 
 continued Mrs. Wildford, "that many people are 
 assembled at one time in these temples. Three or 
 four times a day the priests beat their gongs in 
 honor of the idols, and on some festival occasions 
 they light up the buildings and have some very 
 beautiful fireworks. I have sometimes seen the 
 towers of a pagoda ornamented with hangings of 
 gilt paper, tinsel and flowers, while the greatest din 
 imaginable was being made with gongs, bells and 
 musical instruments. When the people go into 
 their temples to pray, they first ring some bells in 
 front of their god to make him hear and let him 
 know that they are speaking to him."
 
 MATTERS AND THINGS IN INDIA. 67 
 
 " Just as mumma rings for Thomas or Sarah," 
 said Harry. 
 
 "It seems very much like it," continued his 
 grandmother, "and then they repeat the name of 
 the god a great many times; one favorite name, 
 Rama, they say so fast that it sounds like Ram ram- 
 ram. Do you remember Elijah, and the false pro 
 phets who called upon Baal from morning until 
 noon, saying, O Baal, hear us ?" 
 
 Mrs. Wildford had opened the Bible at the 
 eighteenth chapter of 1 Kings, and she read : 
 " And they cried aloud, and cut themselves, after 
 their manner, with knives and lancets, till the 
 blood gushed out upon them. : 
 
 "Did they really do that, grandmamma?" asked 
 Minnie, in horror. 
 
 "They did a great many dreadful things, my 
 child," was the reply, " which they supposed would 
 please their gods, but now the blessed light of the 
 gospel has taught many of them better. I have 
 sometimes slept in the court of a heathen temple, 
 Minnie, when I have been traveling in India, for 
 there were no hotels, only rest-houses, as they 
 were called, built by government at every twenty- 
 five miles on the highway. The Hindoos will not 
 allow any one to enter what they call the sacred
 
 68 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 part of their temples, where the idol sits on its 
 throne, but, with my mat to lie upon, I have en 
 joyed a comfortable sleep on the floor." 
 
 " I should think you would have been afraid," 
 said Minnie, shuddering. 
 
 " Of what, my child ? Is not God everywhere ? 
 He is even in a heathen temple, though they see 
 him not, because their eyes are blinded. Slaves 
 are fearful, Minnie, but not those whom Christ has 
 made free." 
 
 Harry went quite to the other extreme, and said 
 that he thought it would be jolly to sleep in a 
 temple, and that he d spend the night in making 
 faces at the hideous-looking idol. Which, as 
 Master Harry always went to sleep as soon as his 
 head touched the pillow, was not at all likely. 
 
 " I wish now to tell you of the different kinds 
 of false religion that we found in India," said Mrs. 
 Wildford, "all of them opposed to the teachings of 
 the gospel. Here is another picture, Harry. Can 
 you tell me what it is ?" 
 
 "Isn t it another temple, grandmamma?" 
 
 "Yes; it is a Mussulman or Mohammedan 
 temple, called a mosque. You will remember that 
 I told you of the followers of the false prophet, 
 Mohammed, and that the imaum of Muscat wos a
 
 MATTERS AND Till. MM IN INDIA. 69 
 
 Mohammedan, with his numerous wi\ f es and his 
 house of prayer. These mosques are generally 
 small in India, but they are often very pretty, and 
 they usually have three little domes on top in place 
 of a steeple. On the left side there is always a 
 small recess where they keep the Koran, or Mo 
 hammedan Bible, and the front of the mosque is 
 ornamented with arabesque, a pattern traced with 
 black and gold. These Mussulmans quite look 
 down upon the Hindoos, and will eat with none 
 but those of their own religion. They are very 
 devout in all its observances, and I have often 
 thought it very beautiful when at sunrise I heard 
 the cry from their mosques for Mohammedans to 
 rise and pray, with the words, Prayer is better 
 than sleep ! prayer is better than sleep ! 
 
 "Were there any other religions in India?" 
 asked Harry. 
 
 "Yes," replied his grandmother; "there were 
 the Parsees, or fire worshipers." 
 
 "Oh, grandmamma," exclaimed Minnie, " what 
 dreadful people ! Did they really throw them 
 selves and their little children into the fire?" 
 
 " No, my dear little granddaughter, they did 
 nothing of the kind; they were really very nice 
 and harmless people. You have often noticed my
 
 70 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 watching the sunset, Minnie ; I love to see the last 
 streaks of pink and gold fade into twilight, and 
 since I have been in India I can never do this 
 without thinking of the poor Parsee who kneels 
 in worship to the declining sun and welcomes the 
 sunrise in the same way. He worships the un 
 known God who thus shows his power in his 
 works, and the zealous spirit of St. Paul would 
 have been moved to say, Whom therefore ye igno- 
 rantly worship, him declare I unto you. " 
 
 "But, grandmamma, I thought you said the 
 Parsees were fire worshipers?" 
 
 " So they are, my child ; they worship light in 
 every form, for it represents to them the invisible 
 God, and they profess to have the sacred fire they 
 brought with them from Persia a thousand years 
 ago still burning in one of their temples. A 
 Parsee servant will never put out a light, and he 
 would, therefore, be somewhat expensive where gas 
 is used, but in India they arrange the cocoanut- 
 oil lamps to burn just the time for which they are 
 wanted, and then they go out of themselves. The 
 Parsee children are often beautiful, and always 
 richly dressed, and the Parsee merchants bear a 
 better character than any of the Indian traders. 
 The Parsee is distinguished from the Hindoo by
 
 MATTERS AM> TIIL\(iS IN INDIA. 71 
 
 his peculiar, flat-looking turban of dark, spotted 
 muslin, unless he is a priest, and then he wears a 
 white one. They do not burn the bodies of the 
 dead, as the Hindoos do, nor bury them, like the 
 Christians, but leave them in an open place to be 
 devoured by vultures and other birds of prey. 
 This is the most revolting practice that I know of 
 the Parsees." 
 
 "Oh, grandmamma," said Minnie, burying her 
 head in her grand mam ma s lap to hide the tears 
 that were trickling down her cheeks, " I am so 
 glad that I live in a Christian country ! When 
 little brother Bennie died, it was in the country, 
 you know, and I remember all about it ; his grave 
 was so pretty, full of green branches and lovely 
 flowers, and when they laid him there, it seemed 
 as if he was only going to sleep for a while. But 
 to be eaten up by those dreadful birds !" 
 
 Harry tried to keep back his tears, because he 
 feared it would not be manly to cry, but he had 
 loved his little brother very tenderly, and he could 
 not bear to see his sister in such distress. Minnie 
 nestled up to the arm that he put around her, and 
 Mrs. Wildford folded both the little ones in a lov 
 ing clasp as she said, 
 
 " The dark places of the earth are indeed full of
 
 72 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 cruelty cruelty to the living and dishonor to the 
 dead and we must not sit idly weeping over them, 
 but do with our might what our hands find to do." 
 
 " Do you think I ought to go and be a mission 
 ary, grandmamma?" asked Minnie, in a terrified 
 tone. 
 
 She felt sure that she would be eaten up, or 
 stung by scorpions, or that something dreadful 
 would be in store for her. 
 
 Grandmamma laughed : 
 
 " Not now, Minnie; I think that you and Harry 
 ought to be home missionaries." 
 
 The children looked very much surprised at this; 
 they did not know of any heathen at home, and 
 Harry had a suspicion that he was not exactly 
 qualified for a teacher. 
 
 "We can be missionaries in a measure," con 
 tinued Mrs. Wildford, " by our daily example, our 
 patience in bearing little crosses, our forbearance 
 under provocation, and then, too, those of us who 
 stay at home can help the missionaries who go by 
 sending them whatever we can spare from our many 
 comforts." 
 
 "Grandmamma," said Minnie, eagerly, "I have 
 ten cents a week to spend ; shall I give it to yon 
 for the missionaries ?"
 
 MATTERS AND THINGS IN INDIA. 73 
 
 " Not all of it, I think," was the reply ; " sup 
 pose you give half of it, and see how well you can 
 do without that ?" 
 
 Minnie was rather disappointed ; she thought it 
 would be so much more generous to give all she 
 had at once. 
 
 "I have five dollars/ said Harry, stoutly. "I 
 mean to give it all to the heathen, grandmamma." 
 
 " You must first ask your mother s permission," 
 replied Mrs. AVildford, "and I would advise you 
 to think it well over, and be quite sure that you 
 will not regret it afterward." 
 
 " Well, grandmamma is funny !" said Harry as 
 the children were going down stairs. "I thought 
 she would like to have all the money we could 
 give her for the missionaries, but I will give my 
 five dollars, for I know that mamma will let me." 
 
 " Yes," Mrs. Bolton said ; "she was quite willing 
 that the children should give whatever they pleased 
 of their own to the missionaries, but they must not 
 fancy that they were giving it to grandmamma, or 
 that grandmamma had urged them to do it, and 
 they must remember, too, that the money once 
 given could not be taken back." 
 
 The children laughed at this idea, and ran off 
 gleefully to collect all their funds.
 
 74 THE WILD FORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 " Sarah," said Minnie, quite importantly, " we are 
 going to give all our money to the heathen, \vho 
 are very wicked, and I think you ought to give 
 some, too. I heard mamma say the other day that 
 you spent too much on ribbons." 
 
 " Well, Miss Minnie," replied Sarah, tossing her 
 head, "the money that I spend is my own, hon 
 estly earned, and I don t see, for my part, why 
 wicked people should have money given em. I d 
 rather spend mine on my back." 
 
 " Dear me !" said Minnie, in a fluster at her 
 failure ; " I don t believe I ve said it right. It s 
 the missionaries who teach the heathen that want 
 the money, and you re real wicked yourself, Sarah, 
 not to help them." 
 
 " I guess your goodness won t last long, miss," 
 replied the girl. "You ll want some candy or 
 oranges, and then you ll wish you had your 
 money." 
 
 Minnie was too indignant to speak, except to tell 
 Sarah that she was " real hateful," which did not 
 look much like beginning her missionary work in 
 a right spirit.
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 IN THE CO A CAN. 
 
 VISIT to grandmamma s room had now 
 come to be a thing of almost daily occur 
 rence with the little Boltons, and Mrs. 
 Wildford enjoyed their eager, animated 
 questions and their evident interest in all that re 
 lated to her missionary life. She did not know but 
 that these two children, if spared, might yet go forth 
 bearing the precious seed of the gospel to heathen 
 lands, in answer to her daily prayer that the Lord 
 of the harvest would send forth laborers into his 
 vineyard. 
 
 So grandmamma was never too busy to attend 
 to them, and never weary of telling them all they 
 wanted to know, and the children felt it quite a 
 satisfaction to be so sure of this. 
 
 "Now, grandmamma," said Minnie, the evening 
 after they had heard about the idols and the false 
 religions, "what comes next?" 
 
 " I do not quite know, little granddaughter, what 
 really comes next : there is so much to tell that it is 
 
 75
 
 76 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 not easy to tell it in regular order; but I think 
 that this evening L will give you an account of 
 our journey to the Concan. This is a province not 
 very far from Bombay ; it lies between the Western 
 Ghauts, a range of mountains, and the Arabian Sea. 
 We went there by water, for Bombay, you may re 
 member my telling you, is on a small island. It is 
 now connected with the main land by a pier, or cause 
 way, but when I was in India, we could go only by 
 water. This journey was not for pleasure, but to 
 further our missionary work ; we went to visit the 
 schools in that part of the country, and to preach 
 to the people whom we could gather by the way. 
 We went in what is called a bundur-boat." 
 
 " What was it like, grandmamma ?" asked the 
 children. 
 
 " It was more like a gondola than anything else," 
 was the reply, " but as this is an Italian boat, and 
 you have never seen one, you will want this ex 
 plained, too. Our boat, then, had one small room, 
 which was given to us, and outside there was an 
 open space for the lascars, or sailors. Part of the 
 time our boat was rowed, and part of the time they 
 used a sail. It only took a few hours to get to 
 Allabag, the place where we were going, but to see 
 our preparations and the things we had to carry
 
 TN THE CONCAN. 77 
 
 with us, you would have supposed that we were 
 moving. We had to take nearly everything we 
 ate, besides clothes to wear and things to sit upon 
 and sleep upon, things to cook with, books to read 
 and all our servants besides. These were only four 
 in number." 
 
 " Only four !" repeated Minnie, with very 
 large eyes ; " why, grandmamma, that is all we 
 keep, and just see how many more there are 
 of us !" 
 
 "Our four," replied her grandmother, smiling at 
 her earnestness, " were just about equal to one good 
 American domestic. In India even the servants 
 are of various castes, or ranks, and one servant 
 will scorn to do tasks that another will willingly 
 perform. This makes it necessary to have a great 
 many of them, even for a small family." 
 
 " Well, grandmamma," said Harry, who was 
 eager for adventures, "you got into this bundle- 
 boat, or whatever it was ; what did you do t\en ?" 
 
 " Bundur-boat, Harry a name given to that 
 peculiar kind of boat which could be hired to go 
 wherever we wished. Our lascars, who were en 
 gaged to remain with us during the entire trip, 
 were Mohammedans, and their dark skins and 
 white turbans formed a strong contrast. I could
 
 78 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 not help thinking that the yards of muslin twisted 
 up into turbans would have been put to better use 
 in covering their almost naked bodies. Our own 
 servants were required to wear the ungrekah, a 
 loose white robe with flowing sleeves, as a condi 
 tion of their entering our service." 
 
 " It must have been awful hot there to wear any 
 thing," said Harry, reflectively. "I guess I should 
 have wanted to kick all my clothes off too, grand 
 mamma." 
 
 " Perhaps, as a witty writer once said, you would 
 have liked to take off your flesh and sit in your 
 bones, Harry, but we could not have recognized 
 you as a respectable member of society. One of 
 the first results of Christian civilization is a decent 
 covering for the body, but these people could not 
 be said to kick their clothes off, as they never had 
 any to put on a custom that is universal among 
 the heathen in warm countries. It was quite 
 amusing for us to watch these sailors at their din 
 ners, which they ate by themselves, for a Moham 
 medan will not eat with any one of a different re 
 ligion." 
 
 "What did they have for dinner, grandmam 
 ma ?" asked Harry. " Do they eat rats and such 
 things?"
 
 7.V THE CONCAN. 79 
 
 " My little boy is thinking of the Chinese," re 
 plied Mrs. Wildford. " Rats would be as great an 
 abomination to the Mussulmans as they would be 
 to us. Their dinner consisted of rice and currie." 
 
 " Is that sweetmeats?" asked Minnie. 
 
 " You would scarcely think so," was the reply, 
 " if you got some of it into your mouth. Currie 
 is a very sharp sauce made of peppers and spices, 
 but the people of India could scarcely make a meal 
 without it, and even the English who go there be 
 come very fond of it. The rice was in one large 
 dish, and the lascars sat cross-legged around it, 
 each with his sauce-boat of currie, and making a 
 hole with his finger in the portion of rice nearest 
 to him, he poured in his currie and ate all around 
 it, using his fingers instead of fork or spoon." 
 
 Minnie was looking very much disgusted, and 
 her grandmother said, "I think you would not 
 have cared to share their feast, Minnie, and I am 
 quite sure that the Mussulmans would not have 
 asked you. We sailed directly across the har 
 bor of Bombay, which is very beautiful, with a 
 view of the Ghauts mountains in the distance, 
 and then we were rowed up an arm of the sea un 
 til we came to the town, or village, of Allabag, 
 that belonged to a part of the Concan. This was
 
 80 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 governed by a rajah and his dewan, or prime 
 minister. When we reached our landing-place, 
 the boat could not go within several yards of the 
 shore, and a stout lascar took me in his arms, while 
 another seized your grandfather, and wading more 
 than knee-deep in the water, they carried us safely 
 to land. We went directly to our bungalow, 
 which the servants soon got in readiness for us, and 
 in a very short time we were settled at housekeep 
 ing in a place we had never seen before." 
 
 " Then the bungalow was the house, wasn t it ?" 
 asked Harry. 
 
 " Yes ; a low Indian house, with a thatched 
 roof, over which flowering vines climbed and made 
 it very pretty. I did not know until after our re 
 turn that the thatched roof and the vines were favor 
 ite nests for a small green snake whose bite is very 
 poisonous. I was fortunate enough never to see or 
 feel one. Our bungalow had a verandah of bam 
 boo all around it, and a bamboo thicket was close 
 to the house. The foliage of the bamboo is very 
 pretty, and forms a sort of bower wherever it grows. 
 There were cocoanut, peepul and betel trees at the 
 back of the house ; the leaves of the peepul are very 
 dark, so that many of these trees together have a 
 gloomy look. The betel is a tall, slender species
 
 iy THE CONCAN. 81 
 
 of palm, with a beautifully white bark, .and the 
 nuts are used by the natives for chewing, as tobacco 
 is with us." 
 
 " Were there banyan trees, too, grandmamma? 
 those large, queer trees that grow with their 
 branches taking root in the ground ? I ve seen 
 pictures of them." 
 
 " Not near our bungalow, Harry, but the banyan 
 tree is quite common in India. I once saw one 
 that covered three acres of ground and formed a 
 grove of itself." 
 
 " How pleasant it must have been to walk in it," 
 said Minnie, " when it was so warm !" 
 
 " It was not a very pleasant place to be in," re 
 plied her grandmother, "because it was not clean. 
 The banyan grove was filled with multitudes of 
 birds who kept it very dirty ; they ate the small 
 figs that grow on the tree, and scattered them all 
 over the ground. Places where birds congregate 
 are never clean, and I had no desire, Minnie, to 
 cool myself off under the banyan tree. It is often 
 hard to tell the original tree from the branches ; 
 sometimes it dies, but there are so many other roots 
 from the branches that it is not missed. Animals 
 frequently eat their outer roots, and sometimes a 
 fence is raised to protect the banyan The Hindoos
 
 82 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 look upon the tree as sacred, and they plant it 
 sometimes when a child is born to them or a great 
 event happens; in that case it is always protected 
 by a fence. We liked our bungalow very much," 
 continued Mrs. Wildford, " for it was pleasantly 
 situated on the seashore, and we had a nice cool 
 breeze. The country around was very pretty, and 
 it seemed much pleasanter than Bombay." 
 
 "Then why didn t you stay there, grandmam 
 ma?" asked Harry. "I would have stayed." 
 
 " Then you would not be fit for a missionary, 
 Harry, if you stayed only where it was most pleas 
 ant. We had been sent to Bombay, and our home 
 and our work were there ; we never thought of 
 changing, but we enjoyed all the pleasant things 
 that came to us in the way of duty. The very 
 evening that we arrived at Allabag, we had a mes 
 sage from the dewan, who, I told you, was tin 
 rajah s prime minister, that he would be pleased to 
 receive a visit from us, and the next morning a 
 palanquin was sent for me and a horse for your 
 grandfather. The dewan s house was built around 
 a court with a fountain in the middle, and there 
 was a fine garden which we had plenty of time to 
 examine, for the great man was a long while making 
 his appearance. A guard of soldiers in white
 
 l.l.KI HA.NT WITH HOWDAH ANI> TRAPPINGS. 
 
 p. S3.
 
 hV THE CONCAN. 83 
 
 dresses, with swords, and shields, suid guns, was 
 stationed near the house, and one of the officers 
 came forward very politely to show us the grounds. 
 And now, Harry," continued his grandmother, 
 * I think you will be pleased, for almost the first 
 things we saw were a number of elephants in a 
 cocoanut grove, fastened with iron chains to the 
 trees. There must have been eight or ten of 
 them." 
 
 " Did they look like the elephants in the menag 
 eries?" asked Harry, with great interest. 
 
 "Very much as one horse looks like another," 
 was the reply, " but we do not see quite so many 
 of them at once in a menagerie. This grove might 
 have been called the dewan s stable, for his ele 
 phants were used in place of horses on state occa 
 sions, and we were told that they had very rich 
 trappings and howdahs." 
 
 " I know what they are," said Harry, eagerly 
 "the little houses on their backs that people 
 sit in. Oh, grandmamma, didn t you get on an 
 elephant?" 
 
 " No, Harry ; I had not the least ambition to be 
 perched up so high, but I can read to you what 
 Bishop Heber says of riding on an elephant; he 
 tried it."
 
 84 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 The children were all attention while Mrs. 
 Wildfbrd read from the "Journey through India:" 
 
 " At Barrackpoor, for the first time, I mounted 
 an elephant, the motion of which I thought far 
 from disagreeable, though very different from that 
 of a horse. As the animal moves both feet on the 
 same side at once, the sensation is like that of being 
 carried on a man s shoulders. A full-grown ele 
 phant carries two persons in the howdah, besides 
 the mohout, or driver, who sits on his neck, and a 
 servant on the crupper behind with an umbrella. 
 I was amused by one peculiarity which I had never 
 before heard of: while the elephant is going on, a 
 man walks by his side, telling him where to tread, 
 bidding him take care ; step out/ warning him that 
 the road is rough, slippery, etc., all which the ani 
 mal is supposed to understand and take his mea 
 sures accordingly. The mohout says nothing, but 
 guides him by pressing his legs to his neck on the 
 side to which he wishes him to turn, urging him 
 forward with the point of a formidable goad, and 
 stopping him by a blow on the forehead with the 
 butt end of the same instrument. 
 
 " The bishop also saw twenty elephants bathing 
 at once," she continued, "and he speaks of the 
 noise they made as like the blowing of a whale."
 
 IN THE CONCAN. 85 
 
 " Were there any more animals in that place, 
 grandmamma?" asked Minnie. 
 
 " Yes, my dear, there were several kinds in dif 
 ferent parts of the grounds." 
 
 " Tigers ?" asked Harry, with fresh interest. 
 
 " No," replied Mrs. Wildford ; " I did not see a 
 tiger all the time that I was in India, and I cannot 
 say that I felt at all unhappy about it. I believe 
 that very few people do see them, except those who 
 go on tiger-hunts. Quite at the other end of the 
 dewan s garden there were a number of monkeys, 
 also fastened with chains. These kept up a great 
 chattering, and looked and acted very much like 
 human beings. There were some beautiful deer, 
 too, in another place, and their large, soft eyes 
 were fixed upon us so long as we remained in sight. 
 Close to the house were large cages in which were 
 many beautiful tropical birds that flew about and 
 seemed disposed to show their fine plumage to the 
 best advantage. These birds had so many bright 
 colors about them that they were more like living 
 rainbows than anything else." 
 
 " Why didn t you bring some of these beautiful 
 birds home with you, grandmamma?" said Minnie; 
 " I should like to have one very much." 
 
 " I had a great many more useful things to bring
 
 86 1HE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 over the ocean," was the reply, " and a bir j that 
 was alive then would not do my little grand 
 daughter much good now. Besides, dear, I did 
 not know ther that I should ever have a little 
 granddaughter. Are you satisfied with my rea 
 sons, Minnie?" 
 
 "She is trying not to laugh," shouted Harry, 
 " but I see the dimples coming ! What a little 
 goose you are, Minnie !" 
 
 Grandmamma looked very lovingly on the little 
 goose as she continued: "When we had looked at 
 all that was to be seen outside, the dewan appeared 
 and led us into the reception-room, that opened on 
 the court, but we did not see much of his house, 
 as he was a Hindoo, and the Hindoos do not like 
 to have strangers in their homes. This dewan was 
 also a Brahmin, or priest, which is the very highest 
 rank among the Hindoos. The Brahmins are some 
 times worshiped as gods, even while living, and 
 when they appear abroad, the poor ignorant people 
 fall down on their knees before them. But the in 
 fluence of Christianity has, in a great measure, de 
 stroyed their power in many parts of India, and a 
 Brahmin of the present day is not at all the high 
 and mighty personage that people thought him when 
 I was in India. The Brahmins and the men of
 
 IN THE CONCAN. 87 
 
 their family, or caste, wear a peculiar cord, called 
 the Brahrainical string; this is made of twisted 
 cotton, and passes around the neck and under the 
 left arm. They are the best educated and most in 
 telligent of the Hindoos, and some of them are very 
 learned. The Brahmin whom we went to see was 
 a tall, fine-looking man, quite light colored for a 
 Hindoo, but he was disfigured by the marks of 
 his god on his forehead." 
 
 " What was that, grandmamma ? Had he cut 
 himself?" 
 
 " No, my child ; he had painted cross-lines on his 
 forehead with such clay as this." 
 
 Mrs. Wildford showed the children what looked 
 like a stick of gray chalk, and then continued : 
 
 " The Jews, you know, wore phylacteries bands 
 of ribbon or linen on which were written words 
 of Scripture; and what is the beautiful verse, 
 Minnie, that you learned last Sunday?" 
 
 The little girl repeated : "And they shall see his 
 face, and his name shall be in their foreheads." 
 
 " This is from the Revelation of St. John," said 
 her grandmother, "and in another chapter the 
 mark of the beast is spoken of. It was this that 
 the poor Brahmin bore, and oh how I wished, as 
 I looked upon him, that the mark of Christ might
 
 88 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA 
 
 be written in its place. When we had entered the 
 square hall that opened upon the court, we sat 
 down on an English sofa, while the dewan placed 
 himself in a large arm-chair near us. The furni 
 ture was all English ; there was nothing Oriental 
 but the court and the fountain and the dewan 
 himself. By this time we could speak the language 
 quite well, and we were very glad to be able to 
 converse with the Hindoo priest. He began by 
 asking us where we lived and what had brought 
 us to India. We described America to him as 
 plainly as we could until he seemed to get some 
 idea of it, and then we told him how we had been 
 sent as missionaries to Bombay to preach to the 
 Hindoos Christ crucified, and to teach the people 
 also many things besides that would be useful for 
 them to know." 
 
 " But didn t he get angry, grandmamma, when 
 he was a priest, and thought so much of his gods, 
 to have you talk about teaching the people another 
 religion ?" 
 
 " No, Harry ; he showed no signs of anger, but 
 heard us very patiently, and seemed quite inter 
 ested in what we said. We spoke the truth with 
 out fear, for we felt that He who was with us was 
 mightier far than all who could be against us, but
 
 7.\ THE CONCAN. 89 
 
 we always endeavored to speak it gently and i-our- 
 teously, and this won for us a hearing instead of 
 rousing anger in those who differed with us. The 
 dewan saw that we were very much in earnest ; he 
 knew that we had left our home and friends and 
 journeyed thousands of miles, not for gain to our 
 selves, like the merchants who went there, but to 
 do what we believed our God required of us, and 
 perhaps the poor man wondered if he could do all 
 this for his god." 
 
 "Was he like the other man, grandmamma, that 
 you went to see when mamma screamed so?" 
 
 " No, Minnie ; he was a much finer-looking man 
 than the imaum of Muscat, and more intelligent. 
 When he asked us what else we had to teach, your 
 grandfather gave him a geography in the Hindos- 
 tanee language, which he read, and with which he 
 seemed very much pleased, and then we told him 
 that I would teach the women how to sew and 
 to make their homes more comfortable. He did 
 not object to this, but asked us what brought 
 us to the rajah s dominions when we had been 
 sent to Bombay. We told him that we came to 
 look at the mission schools there and see how they 
 prospered, and to talk with the people whenever we 
 could get the chance. The dewan smiled, perhaps
 
 90 THE WILL FORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 because we did not try to deceive him in this mat 
 ter, and said that his master, the rajah, would 
 probably send for us. We hoped that he would, 
 for we were quite anxious to see his majesty and as 
 many of the people in authority as possible." 
 
 " I think you were very brave," said Harry. 
 " How did you know but that they would kill you ?" 
 
 "Harry," said his grandmother, "did you ever 
 hear of the old colored man who was preaching on 
 faith, and in explaining it to his hearers said that 
 if he saw in the Bible that God wanted him to 
 jump through a stone wall, he should go right to 
 work and jump at it? Jumping at it, he said, be 
 longed to him, but going through it belonged to 
 God. We were jumping at our stone wall, and 
 like the old colored man, we left the going through 
 it to God. We asked the Brahmin if he would 
 accept one of our Shasters, and he seemed to take 
 with pleasure the Hindostanee Bible that we had 
 brought with the fear that we might have to take 
 it back with us. It was sowing seed, however 
 rocky the soil, and we knew that God, and God 
 alone, could give the increase. Soon after this a 
 servant brought in a small silver dish carefully 
 covered, and taking a very small spoon that came 
 with it, the dewan dipped out a few drops of
 
 ;.v Tin: rnycAX. 91 
 
 attar of roses aud put it on our handkerchiefs. 
 He then took a beautiful silver bottle filled with 
 rose-water and sprinkled us with this through a 
 small hole in the stopper." 
 
 " How very funny !" exclaimed the children ; 
 " what did he do such queer things for, grand 
 mamma?" 
 
 " This was considered a polite attention," re 
 plied Mrs. Wildford, "and quite a mark of re- 
 spect in India. Here is one of the rose-water 
 bottles, with the hole in the stopper for sprinkling ; 
 your mother broke the mate to it when she was a 
 little girl. This, you see, is of very thin blue 
 glass, with an arabesque pattern in gold ; the color 
 is very beautiful when I hold it up to the light. 
 Here is a bottle for attar of roses." 
 
 The children examined with interest what looked 
 like a little tube of thick glass with gilt stars on 
 it and something like quicksilver inside that ran 
 about three-quarters of the length. 
 
 "That," said their grandmother, "is the little 
 vessel that holds the precious attar, and see how 
 carefully the stopper is protected with all this kid. 
 The attar is very powerful, but it will evaporate un 
 less carefully corked. I have had this many years, 
 but you will see that it is quite strcng yet."
 
 92 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 Harry inhaled the attar to its full extent, and 
 then called it " horrid stuff/ while a very slight 
 whiff of it made his delicate little sister feel quite 
 faint. 
 
 "Why do you call it precious, grandmamma ?" 
 asked Minnie; "isn t there plenty of it in India?" 
 
 "No, my dear," was the reply; "it would be 
 necessary to grow nothing but roses there to have 
 it plentiful, and I am sure the poor people would 
 not give up their rice for attar of roses. Shall I 
 tell you something about this attar, and how it is 
 made?" 
 
 " Please do, grandmamma !" was the animated 
 reply. 
 
 "Ghazepoor," continued Mrs. Wildford, "is 
 the rose district of India. I never was there 
 myself; it is a long distance from Bombay, in 
 the northern part of India. It is quite a large 
 town, and in and around it are acres and acres 
 of beautiful roses, which are cultivated solely for 
 the purpose of making attar of roses and rose- 
 water. The rose-water is made by distilling the 
 roses, and then it is put into large jars without 
 any covers and set out in the night air. By morn 
 ing there is a thick oil, just like the creani on milk, 
 which floats on the top and is skimnW carefully
 
 IN THE CONCAN. 93 
 
 off and put by itself. This is the attar, and rose- 
 water that has been skimmed does not bring so 
 high a price as the other. But it is really very 
 good, though a quart of the best could be had, 
 when I was in India, for about twenty-five cents. 
 You can understand why attar should be precious 
 when I tell you that two hundred thousand roses 
 will only make a small quantity of it. This may 
 be called a sinful luxury, when we think how many 
 starving bodies and souls the cost of it would help 
 to feed. The ceremony of perfuming visitors sig 
 nifies that the vi<it is drawing to a close, and we 
 took leave of the dewan with many thanks for his 
 kind permission to go about where we pleased with 
 out fear of being molested."
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 MISSIONARY WORK. 
 
 HERE was a great commotion in the Bol- 
 
 >\ 
 
 ton house, a sound of scampering, laugh 
 
 ing and screaming from the lower regions, 
 and such an excitement generally that Mrs. 
 Bolton went to the head of the stairs and de 
 manded the cause of the disturbance. 
 
 " Oh, mamma," cried Harry, who could scarcely 
 speak for laughing, "do come down here in the 
 dining-room !" 
 
 " Bow wow !" said something. 
 
 " Ugh !" screamed Minnie. 
 
 "He s so cunning! Please come and look at 
 him." 
 
 Very much surprised at such extraordinary 
 sounds, and wondering what fresh piece of mischief 
 Harry had been guilty of, his mother entered the 
 dining-room, to find Minnie standing on a chair 
 with her skirts gathered about her, Harry on his 
 hands and knees, very red in the face, a black 
 
 94
 
 MISSIONARY WORK. 95 
 
 Newfoundland puppy plunging about wi>h very 
 awkward antics, and a dirty-looking boy with his 
 hands in his pockets and his cap far down on his 
 head gazing at the party without a smile. 
 
 " What does all this mean ?" asked Mrs. Bolton 
 as the puppy rushed at her with a fresh bark of 
 welcome. " Where did this dog and this boy 
 come from ?" 
 
 " I m afraid of him," said Minnie, nestling up 
 to her mother. 
 
 " Then go up stairs, daughter," was the reply ; 
 " he certainly will not hurt any one, but he is mak 
 ing a great deal of noise in the house, and I am 
 afraid that he will disturb your grandmother. 
 How came you to bring him here, Harry ?" 
 
 "Why, mamma, I met this boy as I was coming 
 home from school, and when I stopped to look at 
 the dog, he told me that he wanted to sell him. 
 You ll let me keep him here, won t you?" 
 
 " But I cannot give you any money at present to 
 pay for the dog," said his mother. " What does 
 (lie boy ask for him?" 
 
 " Five dollars," replied that individual, promptly, 
 with his keen eyes fixed upon the lady. 
 
 " I am g<ing to pay for him myself, mamma," 
 continued Harrv, eagerly, " with that five dollars
 
 96 THE WILDFOEDS IN INDIA. 
 
 Uncle Harry gave me. Say Yes/ will you, mam 
 ma?" 
 
 " Why, Harry/ replied his mother, " what are 
 you thinking of? You gave your five dollars to 
 the missionaries a week ago. You will remember 
 that I told you to think it well over, but you felt 
 quite sure that you were willing to do without 
 it." 
 
 "Hang the missionaries!" burst from Harry s 
 lips, and then he stood the picture of shame under 
 his mother s reproving gaze. 
 
 The young dog merchant burst into a loud 
 laugh, whistled to the puppy, and both disappeared 
 so quickly that the next moment there was nothing 
 but the wag of a tail in the distance. 
 
 " Harry," said Mrs. Bolton, " how would your 
 grandmother feel to hear what you have said ?" 
 
 " Please don t tell her, mamma," pleaded Harry, 
 fairly crying. "I didn t mean it, indeed I didn t. 
 I had forgotten all about giving my five dollars to 
 the missionaries, and you don t know how I wanted 
 that dog. I was going to call him Wag because 
 ne shakes himself around so funnily, and I meant 
 to teach him ever so many tricks. He can beg 
 beautifully now on his hind paws." 
 
 " I am very sorry that all this has happened," con-
 
 MISSIONARY WORK. 97 
 
 tinued his mother, gravely, " and I scarcely know 
 what is best to do about it. It is no generosity 
 or charity to give all that one has on the impulse 
 of the moment and then want it back again. I 
 have a great mind to return your five dollars, 
 Harry, from my own purse, and forbid your giving 
 anything away for some time to come." 
 
 "Mamma," said Harry, mournfully, "I ll try 
 never to do so again, but it would be so mean to 
 take back the money. Please don t make me; I 
 really don t care so much about Wag, after all." 
 
 Mrs. Bolton sent Harry up stairs for the present, 
 and said that she would decide what it was best to 
 do. 
 
 Mrs. Wild ford told the children that evening 
 that she was quite ready to go on with her visit to 
 Allabag, but it was with a very shamefaced air 
 that Harry took his usual seat. He wondered, if 
 grandmamma should hear of what he said, whether 
 
 she would have him in her room at all. 
 
 
 
 "Did they have schools in that place like the 
 schools in Bombay, grandmamma," asked Minnie, 
 " where the children were taught about the Sa 
 viour?" 
 
 " Yes," was the reply ; " there were two such 
 schools at Allabag, and very pleasant we found it
 
 98 THE WI1 DFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 to visit them and see what progress the scholars 
 made in the word of God. They could say the 
 Lord s Prayer and the Ten Commandments in 
 Mahratta, with many verses of Holy Scripture, 
 and I gathered several of the little girls about me 
 one morning at the end of the verandah, and heard 
 them their lessons and talked to them of the blessed 
 Saviour who loved them and wished them to be 
 his children. The teacher s house, where the 
 school was held, was in one of the busy streets of 
 the town, where people were constantly passing, 
 and soon a wondering crowd of women were gath 
 ered about the verandah, the most of them carry 
 ing burdens of fruit, water, fish or rice. There 
 must have been twenty of them standing there and 
 looking at me in perfect astonishment. Why, 
 why, they exclaimed, at length, she is a wo 
 man ! 
 
 " What did they think you were, grandmamma?" 
 asked Harry, laughing. 
 
 " They could not tell," replied Mrs. Wildford, 
 " for they had never seen a white woman before ; 
 the teachers at Allabag were all men, and they 
 could not understand how a woman should know 
 anything. The poor things had not been allowed 
 to learn, for their schools were only for boys. I
 
 MISS fo.\. Iff} WORK. 99 
 
 began to speak to them in their own language, 
 and their amazement increased. I asked them if 
 they could read. Oh no ! they replied, we can 
 not read ; we are women. It was so jad that they 
 should think this reason enough for their ignorance, 
 and I told them that I could read in Mahratta, 
 though I did not know a word of their language 
 before I came to the country. They could scarcely 
 believe it, and asked me where I lived. I told 
 them that I lived across the ocean, but that I had 
 heard in my distant home how little they knew, 
 and how they worshiped gods of wood and stone 
 and did many foolish and wicked things, and I felt 
 so sorry for them that I left my native land and 
 took that long journey to tell them of the true God 
 who sent his only Son to die for them." 
 
 " What did the poor Hindoo women say, grand 
 mamma?" asked Minnie, who was very much in 
 terested in what she called " beginning to be a mis 
 sionary." 
 
 "They said very little except that they did not 
 know of any of these things : no one had ever told 
 them ; and taking their burdens up again, they 
 called me Madam Sahib/ which meant the wife of 
 the master, and asked me if I would teach them 
 more to-morrow. You may be sure that I
 
 100 THE WILD FORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 consented, and I turned again to my little scholars 
 with a thankful heart that God had given me work 
 to do for him. While I was speaking to the wo 
 men, your dear grandfather had been preaching to 
 a group of men at the other end of the verandah, 
 and their dusky faces were lifted to him with every 
 mark of attention. It was blessed work, we said 
 as we went back to our bungalow, and by God s 
 grace we would only lay it down with our lives." 
 
 A tear fell on Minnie s hand, that lay clasped 
 in her grandmamma s. Only one of the two had 
 been laid to sleep in the land of their adoption, 
 and the other, with shattered health and hopes, 
 waited to join him in that better land where none 
 would go out again for ever. 
 
 " I must tell you," said Mrs. Wildford, pres 
 ently, " of our visit to a native school, which was, 
 of course, quite different from the mission school, 
 for only boys were received there, and the word of 
 God was not taught. This school was in a native 
 hut with a thatched roof, and nothing inside in 
 the way of seats or furniture. The boys sat down 
 on the floor, which was of earth, and the teacher 
 stood before them with a cane to keep them in 
 order. Their books were made of leaves from the 
 palm tree tied together with a string of the same,
 
 MISSIONARY WORK. 101 
 
 and the words were scratched on them with a 
 sharp steel instrument. Their lessons were writ 
 ten in rhyme, and they sang them all in saying 
 them." 
 
 " I d like that," said Harry; " it must have been 
 fun." 
 
 " It made a great noise," continued his grand 
 mamma, " and nearly deafened us while we were 
 trying to catch what they said. These boys seemed 
 to be diligent scholars, but it was very sad to see 
 only boys there. In these days of darkness many 
 of the parents, if asked to send their daughters to 
 school, would have answered, What for? Why 
 should a girl learn to read? We want our women 
 to take care of the house and cook rice for us ; if 
 they get silly notions about reading into their heads, 
 they will not do their work well/ Even the 
 mothers would have joined in this, but there is a 
 great improvement in this matter now, and the 
 light of the gospel has freed many poor women 
 from such slavery. Do you remember that verse 
 of the Bible which says that God giveth wisdom 
 to the simple? There is a custom in these Hindoo 
 schools that Christians might follow to advantage 
 by praying to the true God. Before the boys be 
 gan their lessons they were made to draw a figure
 
 102 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 in the sand, on which they wrote instead of slates 
 or a blackboard, and this figure was the trunk of 
 an elephant. When they had done this, they made 
 a low bow or salaam, and began to pray to the god 
 which this figure represented a monstrosity with 
 the body of a boy and the head of an elephant. 
 This god is called Gunputti or Ganesha, and as he 
 is the god of wisdom, the boys were praying to him 
 to make them wise through the lessons they were 
 to recite that day." 
 
 Harry said that he thought they must have been 
 very silly boys to say their prayers to the trunk of 
 an elephant, and he was quite surprised when his 
 grandmamma told him that they were not half so 
 silly as those boys who had been brought up in the 
 knowledge of the true God, and yet often neglected 
 to pray at all. 
 
 " We kept our bundur-boat with us," continued 
 Mrs. Wildford, " during the fortnight that we spent 
 in the Concan, and making Allabag our head 
 quarters, we \vould often sail or row higher up the 
 arm of the sea on which the town stands to visit 
 other towns and villages. They were very much 
 alike, and almost the same sort of crowd came out 
 to gaze at us at every place. Among these there 
 were always beggars, and a Hindoo boggar is
 
 MISSIONARY WORK. 103 
 
 quite different from anything we see in this 
 country." 
 
 "What is he like, grandmamrna?" 
 
 " Like something so dreadful, Minnie, that it 
 would make you quite sick to look at one. These 
 poor people are subject to a great many terrible 
 diseases, and a Hindoo thus afflicted considers 
 himself set up in business at once. He has no 
 further need of working, but goes about making a 
 show of what we should think he would endeavor 
 to hide. The more disgusting the disease or de 
 formity, the higher the value he sets upon himself, 
 and if people do not choose to give in what he con 
 siders a suitable proportion, he becomes very angry. 
 There are a great many lepers in India you have 
 read in the Bible of that dreadful disease, which 
 always shut the afflicted one out from others of his 
 kind, and which seems peculiar to Eastern countries 
 many blind and many deformed persons, and when 
 ever I saw some of these in the crowd about us, I 
 thought of those blessed lips that, nearly two thou 
 sand years ago, preached to just such as these. 
 Sometimes we would walk from one place to another 
 if the distance were short, and then the people came 
 out to stare at me." 
 
 " But why did they stare at you, grandmamma?"
 
 104 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 asked Minnie. " Was it because they did not 
 think it right for a lady to be walking in the 
 street?" 
 
 " It was because they had never seen a white 
 woman before, and they would really have liked to 
 take hold of me to satisfy their curiosity. In this 
 way I drew a large congregation together for your 
 grandfather to preach to, and I was quite willing 
 to be stared at if by that means we could do the 
 poor people some good. The women peeped out 
 through their veils from the doors of the houses, 
 as Sarah did from her tent when Abraham enter 
 tained the angels, and oh how I wished to go and 
 talk to them of the way of life ! But they were 
 very shy, being of a higher caste than the poor 
 women who listened to me so attentively at Alla- 
 bag, and they only looked upon me from a distance 
 as a great curiosity. The Hindoos, as I have said, 
 would rarely allow us to go into their houses, and 
 once, when we had entered the courtyard of a nice- 
 looking native house to leave some books at the 
 door, the owner came out in a great hurry and re 
 quested us to leave the place; we were polluting 
 it." 
 
 " I wish I had been there," said Harry, indig 
 nantly ; " I would have knocked him down."
 
 MISSIONARY WORK. 105 
 
 " That would not have been exactly the way to 
 make him a Christian," replied his grandmother, 
 smiling. "The poor man knew no better, and in 
 stead of feeling angry, we were sorry for him. Did 
 not the people of Gadara request the Lord Jesus to 
 depart out of their coasts when he had just per 
 formed a miracle of healing? The servant is not 
 above his master, Harry, and none are more con 
 stantly reminded of this than missionaries to the 
 heathen. 
 
 " I will show you where we traveled, Harry," 
 continued Mrs. Wildford, " if you will hand me 
 that little missionary map on the table. You see 
 that here is the Mahratta province in Western In 
 dia, here is Bombay on a very small island in the 
 Arabian Sea close to the shore, and this long strip 
 of land between the sea and the Ghauts mountains 
 is called the Concan. This is where our journey 
 lay, and you will see a number of little rivers com 
 ing out from arms of the sea, some of which we 
 would have to cross to get to the places we wished 
 to visit. But sometimes we went by land, and 
 once I rode two miles on a musti pony." 
 
 " Why, grandmamma !" cried Harry, in amaze 
 ment ; " I never heard of such a thing! How could 
 a pony get musty ?"
 
 106 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 Mrs. Wildford smiled at his surprised face as 
 she said, " Perhaps when I tell you that rausti is 
 the Indian terra for contrary, you will understand 
 it better, and a very contrary animal indeed did 
 my pony prove to be. He displayed the very re 
 verse of a missionary spirit, for he would never go 
 where we wished, and he often turned quite around 
 and insisted upon returning. Then he would come 
 to a stand-still, refusing to move either backward 
 or forward, until the godswallah, the man who 
 went with us to take care of the pony, gave him a 
 beating from behind. We could not help laughing 
 at his antics, although we found them so inconve 
 nient, and it almost seemed as though he under 
 stood this, and, like some children I have seen, tried 
 to show off. The saddle was a remarkable contri 
 vance to American eyes, being made of white cot 
 ton stuffed, and then piled so high with layers of 
 cloth that I was quite perched up in the air. It 
 was a very insecure seat, too, and whenever the 
 pony started suddenly, under the spur of the gods- 
 wallah s beating, I rolled entirely off on the ground. 
 I got quite used to this after a while, and I should 
 not like to say how often it happened in the course 
 of that two miles ride." 
 
 The children laughed heartily at their grand-
 
 MISSIONARY WORK. 107 
 
 mamma s account of the "musty" pony, and they 
 thought Harry s mistake extremely funny. Minnie 
 enjoyed it all the more because it was she who 
 usually made the mistakes and Harry who laughed 
 at them. 
 
 " I do not think I have told you," continued 
 their grandmamma, "of the animals which the 
 Hindoos consider sacred. One of these is the bull, 
 and we often met them grazing about the country, 
 looking as fat and sleek as possible, and helping 
 themselves quite coolly to whatever they happened 
 to fancy. They are very fond of sugar, and one 
 day a young bull put his nose into your grand 
 father s pocket, and discovering some sweetmeats 
 there, had it half devoured before he was found 
 out. Bulls who are left at large in this way are 
 an offering to some god, and no one dares kill or 
 injure them. The cow is also sacred, and is better 
 treated than any other animal in India, probably 
 more for the sake of the milk than for religion. 
 The ape is sacred, too, and even the elephant is 
 sometimes worshiped. As some one nas said ot 
 India, There are gods in the temples, gods beside 
 the highway, gods upon the tops of the hills, gods 
 under the green trees, gods in the house, gods in 
 the field ; the air is full of them, so is the sea, so
 
 108 THE WILDFORDb IN INDIA. 
 
 are all things. The Christian says that God it 
 everywhere, and so does the Hindoo, but in a dif 
 ferent way. His belief that God is everywhere 
 leads him to worship animals because God made 
 them. But notwithstanding this, they are often 
 very cruel to animals, and although they will not 
 allow a bullock to be killed, they will beat and ill- 
 treat the poor beasts until killing them would be a 
 mercy. The Hindoos even have hospitals for ani 
 mals in some parts of India, but these are often 
 very dirty and neglected, and the money given by 
 kind-hearted people to support them is used by the 
 Brahmins who are in charge of these places." 
 
 " I d like to get hold of some of those Brah 
 mins !" exclaimed Harry. 
 
 " We got hold of a few," replied his grand 
 mamma, " but not in your style, Harry. An en 
 tire change of heart is needed before the fruits that 
 a depraved heart brings forth can be destroyed ef 
 fectually, and the right weapon to be used is the 
 sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." 
 
 There was a loud call for " Harry !" and Mrs. 
 Wildford said, " That is your uncle s voice ; there 
 seems to be quite a commotion down stairs." 
 
 Harry s heart beat fast; he heard the call, and 
 also another sound that excited him still more.
 
 MISSIONARY WORK. 109 
 
 Expecting he scarcely knew what, he bounded 
 down three steps at a time, and there stood his 
 Uncle Harry in the hall holding a chain, and at 
 the end of the chain Wag ! 
 
 The dog barked joyously and began a series of 
 delighted gambols at sight of Harry, but that young 
 gentleman greeted his uncle with the unexpected 
 remark: "Oh, Uncle Harry, I don t deserve him." 
 
 " Who said that you did ?" was the reply, " and 
 how do you know that he is for you ?" 
 
 Harry glanced at his mother. Uncle Harry was 
 always so full of his fun that he could scarcely tell 
 whether he was joking or not. 
 
 " It depends altogether upon this lady," con 
 tinued his uncle. " I have had enough of the ras 
 cal this afternoon at the office, where he almost 
 tried to jump over the moon." 
 
 "A rather difficult feat in the day-time, I should 
 think," said Mrs. Bolton. 
 
 "Oh, he is evidently a dog who won t stop at 
 trifles, and for turning somersaults he is quite un 
 rivaled. I bought him for you, Harry, of a little 
 shaver about your own age." 
 
 Harry looked beseechingly, though he said not a 
 word, and after a few moments consideration, Mrs. 
 Bolton consented to receive Wag as a member of
 
 110 >1HE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 the family. Harry thanked her warmly, and also 
 his uncle, who asked him quite comically : 
 
 " Have you been particularly bad, or only gen 
 erally depraved, that you said you didn t deserve 
 him?" 
 
 The boy s head hung down for a moment, and 
 then he frankly told the whole story connected with 
 Wag. 
 
 His uncle laughed immoderately, but Harry could 
 not see anything very funny in it, and presently 
 his mother told him that he could go and show the 
 dog to his grandmamma if she would give him per 
 mission. 
 
 Mrs. Wildford smiled pleasantly as Harry ap 
 peared with his prize, and Wag testified his grati 
 tude by breaking away from his master and bound 
 ing at the lady in a very ferocious style. 
 
 "Come here, sir!" said Harry, sternly, and on 
 his way to obey the order the mischievous puppy 
 stopped to attack Minnie, who had just followed 
 her brother. The little girl behaved quite bravely, 
 and smothered a scream just before it got out. 
 
 "Three cheers for you !" said Harry, gratefully. 
 " He can t hurt you, puss, and if you go to scream 
 ing over him mamma vill send him out of the 
 house."
 
 MISSIONARY VORK. Ill 
 
 Minnie promised to do her best, and she even 
 tried to make a few advances to Wag, but when 
 he bounded toward her, she edged up very closely 
 to her grandmamma. 
 
 " Grandmamma," said Harry, with an effort, " I 
 cannot bear to come in here any more without tell 
 ing you what I said this morning. I forgot that 
 I had given away my five dollars, and I brought 
 the boy here with Wag, and when mamma told me 
 that I had no money, I aid, Hang the mis 
 sionaries ! " 
 
 Mrs. Wildford laughed as she replied : " That 
 is even worse than the Hindoos, Harry, whom you 
 are so fond of condemning. I do not think I would 
 be at all ornamental suspended from a tree ; I am 
 quite sure that I look better where I an)." 
 
 "How horrible!" exclaimed Minnie, with her 
 arms around her grandmamma. " Harry, how 
 could you say such a dreadful thing? I have a 
 great mind not to love you a bit !" 
 
 "Of course I didn t mean grandmamma," re 
 plied Harry, "and I didn t really mean any of 
 them ; I know it was very bad of me, but I feel 
 better since I have told it." 
 
 Mrs. Wildford pressed her lips on the broad, 
 open forehead of the boy, nnd hoped much from
 
 112 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 the spirit of truthfulness that always characterized 
 his actions. 
 
 " Doesn t it seem funny, grandmamma, that 
 Uncle Harry should have met the boy who had 
 Wag ? I really believe that I was meant to have 
 him, after all. And I m so glad that you like to 
 have him in here !" 
 
 Grandmamma was not at all sure that she did 
 like it, but she was so accustomed to consider the 
 pleasure of others before her own that neither 
 Harry nor Minnie would ever have suspected it.
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 A VISIT TO A RAJAH. 
 
 : OW," said Mrs. Wildford, "I will tell you, 
 this afternoon, of our visit to the rajah of 
 Allabag. He lived in the fort, a dismal- 
 looking building almost entirely sur 
 rounded by the sea. There was a sort of bridge 
 or pier at one side that could be crossed at high 
 water, but it would not have been at all dis 
 tinguished for us to walk there, and as his High 
 ness sent a boat, a palanquin and a horse for our 
 accommodation, we concluded to make the most of 
 them." 
 
 " Why, how could you use them all, grand 
 mamma?" asked Minnie. 
 
 " We managed it in this way : the boat took us 
 from our bungalow to the fort a very short sail ; 
 the palanquin was for me to be carried in from the 
 boat, and the horse for your grandfather, who rode 
 beside me into the fort. We had quite a train, con 
 sisting of two or three teachers from the different 
 
 8 113
 
 114 THE WILDFORDs IX INDIA. 
 
 schools, our four servants and the lascars who took 
 us from Bombay, and when we passed through 
 the guard of soldiers who were stationed in front 
 of the fort, they fell back and presented arms." 
 
 "How did they do that, grandmamma?" said 
 Minnie ; " in this way ?" extending her own arms as 
 she spoke. "Now, Harry, you re real mean to 
 laugh ! That isn t as bad as the musty pony." 
 
 " I do not think it is bad at all," said her grand 
 mamma, with an affectionate caress. " I remember 
 that when I was a little girl like you, Minnie, I 
 never could understand what it meant when I read 
 of presenting arms. This does not mean arms 
 that are attached to the body, but the swords, guns 
 or whatever weapons the soldiers carry, and they 
 present them by holding them out as if ready to 
 deliver them to the persons to be honored. This 
 mark of respect is always bestowed upon royal per 
 sonages, and it is considered a great distinction. 
 We rather wondered that poor missionaries were 
 treated with such consideration, and we knew that 
 the example of the rajah would be generally fol 
 lowed by his subjects." 
 
 " Was there any garden there," asked Harry, 
 " with animals and things?" 
 
 "There were things, Harry, but not animals.
 
 A VISIT TO A RAJAH. 115 
 
 The rajah s garden was in the middle of the fort, 
 with a fountain in the centre, and all around the 
 fountain were pots of beautiful tropical plants. 
 Beyond these were carefully-blinded windows, 
 where I thought the women of the zenana were 
 probably peeping out at us. I felt sad to think of 
 these poor prisoners, and I would have been glad 
 to see the building torn down that they might go 
 forth into God s free air and sunlight. We had 
 been taken to the court, but we were soon called 
 into a small room, where the rajah sat on a raised 
 seat of scarlet cloth that was approached by two 
 steps. He was a fat, coarse- look ing man, dressed 
 principally in two shawls, one of which was wound 
 about his waist, and the other hung over his left 
 shoulder. His turban was of crimson silk ; his 
 slippers were scarlet, embroidered with gold, and 
 turned up at the toes, just like this one." 
 
 Minnie thought that the large slipper looked 
 more like a boat than anything else, and Harry 
 considered it very unbecoming in a man to wear 
 such finery. 
 
 " Why didn t he have a crown on his head full 
 of diamonds?" said he. "I thought that kings 
 always wore crowns." 
 
 "Not Eastern kings," replied his grandmother;
 
 116 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 "they prefer turbans, and this king was not rich 
 enough to have a crown of diamonds. He was 
 quite a low-caste rajah, and did not wear the Brah- 
 minical string, so that his rank was inferior to that 
 of his prime minister. His forehead was painted 
 with the marks of his idols, and he had gold hoops 
 in his ears with a diamond in each, but I do not 
 think he wore any other jewels." 
 
 " Ear-rings !" shouted Harry, in contempt. " Oh 
 my ! why didn t he go and be a girl at once?" 
 
 "Poor man !" said Mrs. Wildford, smiling; "I 
 think he dressed himself as well as he knew how. 
 He received us very graciously ; we made our 
 salaam on entering, and though he did not leave 
 his seat, he acknowledged it quite politely. We 
 talked of very much the same things as when we 
 visited the dewan, and the rajah was very attentive 
 when we told him of our country and the long 
 journey we had taken to get to his. He was not 
 so intelligent a man as was his prime minister, but 
 he seemed well disposed, and after we had talked a 
 while he signified his willingness that I should 
 visit the queen and his other wives, and I was very 
 glad to have the opportunity. Your grandfather, 
 of course, was not allowed to accompany me, but 
 our servants went as far as the inner door, where
 
 A VISIT TO A RAJAH. 117 
 
 tney waited, and one of the rajah s officers showed 
 us the way." 
 
 " Did it look like the iraaum of Muscat s place?" 
 asked Harry. 
 
 " Not at all," was the reply ; " the rooms were 
 rather dark and gloomy-looking, for the ceilings 
 were low and the windows small, but they were 
 divided by handsome silk hangings instead of 
 doors, and the walls were covered with mirrors. 
 The queen was very much in the style of the king 
 and not at all handsome, but she was richly dressed, 
 with heavy ear-rings and a nose-ring of jewels, 
 and chains of pearls and other precious stones 
 hanging down on her bosom. There were five or 
 six very pretty women with the queen, and these 
 were also the rajah s wives, but of lower rank. 
 Two or three very handsome children belonging 
 to some of these women were in the room, and the 
 little things were so laden with jewelry and golden 
 embroidery that they looked very uncomfortable. 
 It is a custom of the Hindoos and Parsees to dress 
 their children very expensively, and little girls 
 have sometimes been robbed in the streets of their 
 rich clothing." 
 
 "What kind of slippers did the queen wear, 
 grandmamma?" asked Minnie.
 
 118 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 "Flesh-colored ones, Minnie, which means that 
 she wore none at all, neither she nor the other ladies. 
 Their feet were quite bare, with the exception of 
 toe-rings and anklets. These anklets were of gold 
 and silver, and had little bells on them." 
 
 " With rings on her fingers 
 
 And bells on her toes, 
 She makes music 
 Wherever she goes, " 
 
 said Harry. 
 
 " But the bells were not on their toes," said 
 Minnie, stoutly ; " they were on their ankles. How 
 horrid those rings on their toes must have felt, 
 grandmamma ! Ugh ! it makes me crawl to think 
 of it." 
 
 " Yes," continued Harry, laughing ; "you should 
 hear Sarah, grandmamma, when she is trying to 
 get Minnie bathed and dressed. She comes to 
 mamma s dressing-room about five times with the 
 complaint, Please, ma am, Miss Minnie won t let 
 me touch her toes. " 
 
 " I don t care !" replied Minnie ; " I do hate to 
 have my toes touched, and Sarah tickles me so. 
 But, grandmamma, please tell us more about those 
 funny women. Were they glad to see you ?" 
 
 " They appeared to be, and the queen smiled at
 
 A VISIT TO A RAJAH. 110 
 
 me a great deal, and then laughed outright. I 
 found that they were all amused at my bonnet a 
 thing they had never seen before. Bonnets were 
 worn very large then, and mine was of straw. So 
 I told them just how it was made, and bleached in 
 the sun, and then they asked me if I had been 
 bleached like my bonnet. They could not under 
 stand how I came to be so white." 
 
 " Bleached, indeed !" exclaimed Minnie. " I 
 wish the sun did bleach people instead of making 
 them black ; then I would not have to put on a 
 clumsy great hat every time I run out of the house 
 in summer." 
 
 " Don t you wish you were a boy ?" asked Harry, 
 teasingly. " Mamma lets me get as black I choose ; 
 she says she likes to see a boy with a coat of tan. 
 How tired I should get of trying to look pretty all 
 the time, as girls have to !" 
 
 " Xow," said Mrs. Wildford, who was afraid that 
 this might be carried too far, "suppose we go back 
 to the queen and the other women of the zenana. 
 When I had satisfied them about the bonnet, they 
 examined my dress from head to foot, and thought 
 it very funny that it fitted me so tightly. They 
 asked me how I was able to breathe, although it 
 was really loose for our fashions. I asked them if
 
 120 THE WILD FORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 they would like to learn to read, but all the reply I 
 could get was that they were women. They were 
 quite as much surprised as the women in the street 
 had been to hear me speak their language, and the 
 queen told me that mine must be a strange country. 
 Presently a servant entered bearing a large tray of 
 sweetmeats, which was laid at my feet; this is con 
 sidered a respectful way of presenting a gift in the 
 East." 
 
 "Was it all for you, grandmamma?" 
 
 " Yes," was the reply ; " and I think you would 
 have enjoyed some of it very much, Minnie. There 
 were preserved cocoanut, and mangoes, and guavas, 
 ind something green that looked like citron cut 
 into queer shapes and quite dry. I tasted one of 
 these little cakes, which was all that was expected 
 of me, and then the tray was handed to my servants 
 outside to be carried home for me. Not the tray 
 itself, for that was of solid silver, and the queen 
 had no idea of parting with it." 
 
 "She wasn t a very generous queen," said 
 Harry. 
 
 " Perhaps not," replied his grandmamma, " but 
 I did not at all desire the silver tray. Another 
 offering was soon laid at my feet that was not quite 
 so acceptable as the preserves, but this, too, I was
 
 A VISIT TO A RAJAH. 121 
 
 ibliged to taste to avoid giving oftenoe. It is 
 railed pawn, and is made of little square pieces ,f 
 betel nut mixed with cardamom seeds and other 
 spices wrapped in an aromatic leaf. This n; 
 constantly chewed by the natives, and is said to be 
 not at all bad when one gets used to it, but this I 
 had no idea of doing. Having selected a carda 
 mom seed, with which I felt more at home than I 
 did with the other articles, I put it into my mouth 
 and the queen was quite satisfied. Her Majesty 
 did me the honor of sprinkling me with rose- 
 water, after the manner of the dewan, and also of 
 putting attar on my hands and handkerchief. She 
 did this so thoroughly that I was scented up for a 
 month to come." 
 
 " How very funny !" said Minnie, laughing. 
 "What would mamma s visitors think if sh* 
 should throw cologne-water on them when they 
 came to see her?" 
 
 " It would look as though she didn t think them 
 very clean," observed Harry. 
 
 " The East, Harry, is very different from the 
 West," continued his grandmother, "and many 
 customs will not bear transplanting. The servant 
 then brought in some jessamine flowers threaded 
 on strings, just as children string lilac blossoms ; a
 
 122 THE WILD FORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 necklace of these was placed on my neck and a 
 bracelet on each arm." 
 
 "That was very pretty," said Minnie; "I would 
 have liked that better than the perfuming." 
 
 " The jessamine itself has a very strong per 
 fume," said Mrs. Wildford, "and I did not care to 
 have the flowers quite so near me, but it would 
 have given great offence to take them off. It was 
 now time to take my leave, and I ventured to 
 present the queen with a copy of the gospel in 
 Mahratta and a couple of tracts in the same lan 
 guage. She smiled good-naturedly, and said they 
 were no good ; she could not read. Cannot some 
 one read them to you ? I asked. She laughed at 
 my perseverance, and said yes, her gooroo could. " 
 
 " What s that ?" asked Harry ; " it sounds like a 
 monkey." 
 
 "A gooroo is a teacher and a priest who lives in 
 a family a sort of private chaplain. I hoped that 
 the gooroo not only could read the books to the 
 queen, but would, though I had my doubts of this, 
 and I left the place with no very hopeful feelings 
 I believe that the queen looked upon me as a sort 
 of crazy woman." 
 
 "Where was grandpapa all this time?" said 
 Harry.
 
 A VISIT TO A RAJAH. 123 
 
 "I left him with the rajah," was the reply, "and 
 when I returned, they were evidently waiting for 
 me. They seemed to have exhausted all they had 
 to say to each other, and I think they were both 
 glad to be released. Then came a second perfum 
 ing from the rajah." 
 
 "What! more rose-water?" exclaimed both the 
 children. 
 
 " Yes," said Mrs. Wildford, " and attar too. I 
 thought the rajah really enjoyed the business, per 
 haps because he was to get rid of us so soon. A 
 double quantity of jessamine jewelry was now 
 brought in, and your grandfather was ornamented 
 as well as myself." 
 
 " How funny he must have looked !" said Harry. 
 " Why didn t he snatch them off, grandmamma?" 
 
 " He looked as though he felt oddly," was the 
 reply, " but he was ready to bear a greater cross 
 than a necklace and bracelets of flowers for the 
 chance of furthering his Master s work. We now 
 made our salaams and retired, thankful that we 
 had apparently gained the good-will of those in 
 authority to help us in our work at Allabag." 
 
 Harry rose with great gravity,, and executed a 
 very good salaam himself as he led Minnie off to 
 the nursery for a romp before dinner.
 
 CHAPTER 
 
 THE KUBEER-UNT. 
 
 R ANDMAMMA," said Minnie, " did you 
 ever see those poor women again who stood 
 and listened to you that morning ?" 
 
 " Yes, indeed, my child," was the reply ; 
 "they fell quite into the way of stopping at the 
 verandah as they passed to their work, and many a 
 good preach did I have while they listened eagerly 
 to the old, old story of Jesus and his love. I 
 gave them books, which they received gratefully, 
 although they could not read, but some one might 
 get them who could read, and I have reason to be 
 lieve that the seed sown in this way sprang up and 
 bore fruit abundantly. I think I must tell you of 
 one of your dear grandfather s journeys while we 
 were at Allabag, when I was not with him, and his 
 visit to a queer little village. Would you like to 
 hear it?" 
 
 "Yes, indeed," replied the children; "but why 
 were you not with him, grandmamma?" 
 
 124
 
 THE KU BEER-PUNT. 125 
 
 "I could not always go," said Mrs. Wildford ; 
 "sometimes the journey would be too fatiguing for 
 me, and sometimes I would have a bad headache. 
 This was the trouble on that occasion, and I was 
 lying in the bungalow with a wet cloth on my 
 head, while the Padre Sahib, as they called your 
 grandfather (which means Mr. Priest), was riding 
 from village to village distributing books and 
 preaching the glad tidings of salvation. Toward 
 sunset he was walking his horse slowly along and 
 thinking of all the work he had done during the 
 day, when he spied a little village that was rather 
 out of his road, and as he wished to go to an im 
 portant place not far off, he could not quite make 
 up his mind that it was best to turn out of his way 
 and visit this little hamlet. But he could not seem 
 to get on, and the horse, almost of his own accord, 
 took that direction. It was quite a humble village, 
 and a very still one; not a living soul could be 
 found to give an account of the inhabitants." 
 
 " I guess they were all asleep," said Harry, 
 thinking of fairy tales he had read which sounded 
 like this. 
 
 " You will see," continued his grandmamma. 
 "At length, on the outskirts of the village, your 
 grandfather met a man who was watohing some
 
 126 THE WILDFOEDS IN INDIA. 
 
 cows, and from him he learned that the people (this 
 never means women, in India) had all gone to the 
 house of the patel, or chief man of the place. 
 Your grandfather said that he wished them to be 
 told that he had come a long way to see them, and 
 that he had something to tell them, when the man 
 offered to show him the way to the patel s, that he 
 might go and speak to them there." 
 
 " But, grandmamma," asked Minnie, quite anx 
 iously, " what did they do with the women ?" 
 
 "They kept them shut up in the houses, my 
 child, and they would not have dared to speak to 
 the missionary if they had seen him. Only the 
 lower orders of women are allowed to walk in the 
 streets of India. The women of the upper classes 
 are not even permitted to appear in the houses 
 before many of their own male relatives without the 
 chuddar, or veil, drawn tightly over their faces." 
 
 "Ugh!" said Minnie, who hated veils, even to 
 keep off the sun. " I am glad I m not a Hindoo 
 woman !" 
 
 " You may be glad, indeed," was the reply, 
 "and I hope you will not only be glad, but thank 
 ful to your heavenly Father who has made you a 
 Christian child instead of placing you among the 
 heathen. But to return to your grandfather and
 
 THE KUREER-PUNT 127 
 
 hia guide, as they were walking to the patel s 
 house they came to the temple, aud all the men, 
 about a hundred in number, were just coming out 
 from there. The patel was easily distinguished by 
 his air of importance and the respect paid him by 
 the others, and as the stranger approached him he 
 made his salaam very politely, and asked what he 
 could do for him. 
 
 "Your grandfather replied that he did not want 
 anything except to have a little talk with him, 
 that he had come a long way for this purjxxse, and 
 he thought it could be done best in the open air, 
 for the patel had invited him to his house, but 
 the missionary did not wish to lose the crowd of 
 people, who could see and hear him better where 
 there was more room. 
 
 "The man looked quite pleased to hear that so 
 much trouble had been taken on his account, and 
 your grandfather began his work by asking, joint 
 ing at the same time to the images, What is this? 
 And this? And this? For there were idols out 
 side of the temple as well as in. 
 
 " Those are gods, the patel replied, and he 
 seemed quite proud of saying it. 
 
 " And what are they made of? was the next 
 question.
 
 128 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 "Of stone; and the patel wondered that the 
 strange white man could not see this for himself. 
 
 " And who made them ? 
 
 " Oh, a famous workman who carves splen 
 didly in stone, and who has made very many such 
 things. 
 
 " And you worship them, do you not? 
 
 " Of course they did ; they paid puja to them 
 whenever they wished to be preserved from harm, 
 or wanted rain, or wanted it to stop raining, or 
 \vished for success in business, or to be taken care 
 of on a journey, and many other things. " 
 
 "But what is puja, grandmamma?" asked 
 Harry. " I never heard of such queer people as 
 these Hindoos !" 
 
 " That is their name for worship," said Mrs. 
 Wildford. "Puja is performed by sprinkling an 
 idol with holy water from the Ganges, and placing 
 before it offerings of sweetmeats, rice, flowers and 
 whatever else the person chooses to offer. Certain 
 words are repeated as each article is presented, and 
 if any mistake is made, it has to be all done over 
 again. It is quite a work of time to teach the 
 children to pay puja properly; it is very different 
 from the simple prayers that our Saviour loves to 
 hear from infant lips."
 
 THE KUBEEPrPUNT. 129 
 
 "What did grandpapa say next?" asked Harry. 
 
 " I think he then asked the patel if he were not 
 the chief man of the place. He said that he was ; 
 and he evidently felt very proud of being the head 
 man. 
 
 " And all the other men treat you with a great 
 deal of respect, do they not, and ask your advice 
 about a great many things ? 
 
 " Yes, he said ; < they did. 
 
 "Your grandfather told him that this was very 
 proper, as he was the most important person in the 
 village. But suppose, he continued, that the 
 people should begin to say, We have been paying 
 too much attention to the patel, and we are not 
 going to notice him any more ; here is a piece of 
 stone : we will take that for our chief man, and pay 
 our respects to it instead of the patel. How would 
 you like that? 
 
 " The man gazed at the missionary in great sur 
 prise, and said that he should not like it at all. 
 Now, Harry, can you not tell me what your grand 
 father then told him?" 
 
 "Yes," replied Harry; "I think he talked to 
 him about worshiping God instead of idols, didn t 
 he, grandmamma?" 
 
 " That was just it; he spoke to him of the great
 
 THE WILD FORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 and mighty God who made him and all mankind ; 
 who watched over him all the days of his life ; 
 who gave or withheld the rain, and who alone 
 had power over all things; who crowned him, as 
 the Psalmist says, with loving-kindness and tender 
 mercies, and who has said, Thou shalt worship the 
 Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. 
 And yet he looked down upon ungrateful men whc 
 paid him no respect, but hired men as weak as 
 themselves to make them idols of wood and stone, 
 which they worshiped instead of the great and 
 good God to whom they owed everything they had. 
 What would God think of such men ? Would he 
 be pleased when they treated stones as if they were 
 himself? And would he not punish them? 
 
 "The patel looked very much troubled; no one 
 had ever spoken to him of the truth before, and 
 uow he could make no reply to it. 
 
 " Sahib, said he, after thinking very gravely, 
 what you say is very good, and perhaps your holy 
 books are better than our Shasters. I am not a 
 learned man, and therefore I cannot answer you, 
 but there is a man in the place who could answer 
 you if he were only here. He is a kubeer-punt, 
 but he is a very good man, and he teaches the 
 people what is right. "
 
 THE KUBEEBrPUNT. 131 
 
 "Now, grandmamma," said Minnie, "please 
 tell us what that something-pant is." 
 
 "The kubeer-punts," said Mrs. Wildford, smil 
 ing, "are men who teach a sort of patched-up re 
 ligion which is partly Hindoo, and partly Moham 
 medan, and partly Buddhist in short, a little of 
 everything. They do not worship idols, and they 
 are generally very moral, well-behaved people. 
 The patel spoke of this kubeer-punt with great 
 respect, and your grandfather requested that he 
 might be sent for, as he should like to hear what 
 he had to say. 
 
 " But he cannot come, was the reply ; he is sick. 
 
 "A missionary soon learns the necessity of perse 
 verance, and the Padre Sahib next inquired if he 
 could not go to the man s house. 
 
 "Yes; the patel thought that would do very nicely, 
 and the crowd, who had listened to everything in 
 respectful silence, moved in procession after their 
 head man and the strange visitor. When they 
 reached the house, they called to the kubeer-punt 
 to come out and show himself, as a brother gooroo 
 had traveled a long distance to talk with him. The 
 sick man, who was quite fine-looking, with an in 
 telligent, dignified countenance, appeared in the 
 doorway, and seemed bewildered by the crowd
 
 132 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 around him. He looked sick, but he had evidently 
 not been in bed, and when he saw the stranger, 
 he made his salaam and represented himself to be 
 at his service. 
 
 " Are you able to come outside? asked your 
 grandfather ; I should like to have a little talk 
 with you. I have heard that you are a good and 
 learned man. 
 
 " Very well pleased at this, the kubeer-punt pro 
 duced a mat for his visitor and one for himself, 
 and down they sat by the door, while the crowd 
 stood waiting for the words of wisdom that they 
 expected to hear from two such learned gooroos. 
 
 " I believe, said your grandfather, * that you 
 teach the people here what is their duty, and that 
 you teach them very good things? 
 
 " I try to tell them what is right/ replied the 
 man, humbly. 
 
 " May I ask you to tell me some of the things 
 you teach ? continued the visitor. 
 
 " I tell them, said the kubeer-punt, that they 
 must not lie, or steal, or kill ; that they must not 
 cheat in their business, or harm each other in any 
 other way. 
 
 " That is very good indeed, replied your grand 
 father, and I hope they attend to what you say.
 
 THE KUBEER-PUNT. 133 
 
 " That they do, said the patel, warmly ; this 
 good man has improved us very much. 
 
 " But why are they to keep from doing these 
 things? asked the missionary; what do you 
 promise them as a reward for all this carefulness ? 
 
 " The favor of God, was the reply, and that 
 they shall be happy when they die. 
 
 " But suppose that they should sometimes 
 break these very good rules and be guilty of the 
 very sins they committed before you taught them ; 
 what then ? I dare say, now, turning to the crowd, 
 that some of you do lie and steal occasionally, in 
 spite of the good teachings you have? 
 
 " Oh yes, they said, very smilingly, and with 
 out the least shame. A Hindoo never thinks such 
 sins disgraceful. 
 
 " Why, then, replied the kubeer-punt, if they 
 pronounce a certain word that I give them, their 
 sins will all be burned to ashes. 
 
 " What is that word ? asked your grandfather. 
 
 " I cannot tell you ; it can only be pronounced 
 to those who need it for their sins. It is very 
 sacred. 
 
 " I do not need it, continued the missionary, 
 for I have something better, but if I say the word 
 to you, will you tell me if I am right?
 
 134 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 " The kubeer-punt said that he would. 
 
 " Well, then, your word (which you have taken 
 from the Sanscrit) is Sohum. 
 
 "The man started, and stared at your grand 
 father as though he had been a magician. How 
 did you know ? he asked. 
 
 " * It is the name of the Almighty God/ was the 
 reply, for it means / Am, and you are partly 
 right in saying that this Name will cleanse the 
 people from their sins, but you have not the whole 
 truth. What do you do about those sins that were 
 committed before these people tried to lead better 
 lives? 
 
 " God was merciful, the kubeer-punt said ; l he 
 would forgive these sins. 
 
 " Suppose, then, that a man who had murdered 
 some one was taken before government by the 
 friends of the murdered man, and after government 
 had heard the story it should say, Oh, well, that is 
 bad, to be sure, but he won t do so again. He s a 
 poor fellow, and we know he s sorry ; we ll let him 
 go this time. Suppose that the man even lived for 
 ten years without doing any more harm, would it 
 be just for government to let him go without pun 
 ishment? 
 
 " The kubeer-punt looked very thoughtful, but
 
 THE KUBEER-PUNT. 135 
 
 said, No ; people would not be satisfied unless 
 government punished those who did wrong. 
 
 " If a man stole a large sum of money/ contin 
 ued your grandfather, and spent it all, what 
 should government do then ? 
 
 " Make him pay his own money to the man 
 from whom he stole. 
 
 " But what if he were poor and had no money 
 of his own ? What would be done then ? 
 
 " He must go to prison, was the prompt re- 
 ply." 
 
 " I know !" exclaimed Minnie, with great inter 
 est. "It is in the Bible, grandmamma Put in 
 prison till he should pay the whole debt. " 
 
 "Yes, my dear little girl, it is, and we are com 
 ing to Him who paid the debt for us all. Your 
 grandfather then said to the kubeer-punt, 
 
 " But, perhaps, when the man is about to be 
 taken to prison, some kind friend steps forward and 
 says, I have the money ; take it, and let this man 
 go free. It would then be right to let the man go, 
 would it not? 
 
 " Yes, replied the kubeer-punt, wondering 
 where this was leading him ; it would be right. 
 
 " Now, my friend, said the missionary, this is 
 just where my belief is better than yours: your
 
 136 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 man must go to prison when he has nothing to pay ; 
 your plan is good, as far as it goes, but there is no 
 salvation in it. God so loved the world that he 
 gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believ- 
 eth in him should not perish, but have everlasting 
 life. 
 
 " He preached to him Jesus, the Way, the Truth 
 and the Life, and the man who had taught others 
 now sat humbly at his feet to learn. Your grand 
 father then gave the kubeer-punt the Gospel of St. 
 John, and made him promise that he would read 
 it carefully and think deeply on all that he found 
 in it. ( Then/ said he, ( come to me and tell me 
 just how you feel about it. He mounted his horse 
 again, and the crowd followed him quite a distance 
 with great respect and admiration, for he had 
 spoken such words of wisdom that even the kubeer- 
 punt was not able to answer him." 
 
 "Did grandpapa ever see the man again?" 
 asked Harry. 
 
 " He did, indeed," was the reply ; " in about two 
 weeks the kubeer-punt went to Bombay to find the 
 Padre Sahib and tell him that he could be a kubeer- 
 punt no longer." 
 
 " "Was not grandpapa glad then that he went to 
 the little village ?" asked Minnie.
 
 THE KUBEER-PUNT. 137 
 
 "Both glad and thankful," replied Mrs. Wild- 
 ford. "It was plainly the working of God s prov 
 idence that he turned aside, somewhat against his 
 will, to the lonely hamlet. He took the kubeer- 
 punt with him on his next short journey, and oh 
 ho\v earnestly the man talked to all whom he met 
 of the one subject that seemed to fill his mind ! 
 the atonement of Christ. 
 
 " Sometimes those whom he had once taught dif 
 ferently would say to him, Then you have been 
 deceiving us all along, have you, teaching us false 
 doctrine ? 
 
 " I taught what I believed then/ he replied. 
 1 1 was deceived myself. 
 
 " But how do we know that you are not de 
 ceived now ? would be the next question. 
 
 " Try and see, he would exclaim, while his face 
 became perfectly radiant. I never knew what 
 peace and joy were before. Christ is just the Sa 
 viour that we need ; he does not half save us and 
 leave us to work out the rest, but he saves us 
 wholly now and for ever. 
 
 " He became a most successful preacher to his 
 heathen countrymen, and many souls were gath 
 ered into the heavenly garner through the instru 
 mentality of that one missionary visit.
 
 138 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 " In the morning sow thy seed, and in the even 
 ing withhold not thine hand, for thou canst not tell 
 whether shall prosper that or this. " 
 
 "I wish I could sow some seed," said Minnie, 
 thoughtfully. 
 
 " My little one is sowing ten cents a week," re 
 plied her grandmamma, with a smile. " How does 
 she get along with that ?" 
 
 Minnie s fair skin became quite red as she said 
 with an effort, "Grandmamma, Harry was so good 
 in telling you about Wag that I must tell you 
 about my ten cents. I used to spend it very often 
 in molasses candy, and almost every Saturday now 
 Sarah buys me some candy herself." 
 
 " Then Sarah is not really ( mean/ is she ?" asked 
 Mrs. Wildfbrd, quietly. 
 
 " Oh, grandmamma," exclaimed the little girl, 
 with a burning blush, "she is not mean at all, and 
 I am afraid that I have been very bad to her. I 
 promised Sarah that I would ask you something 
 for her : may she come in sometimes and hear 
 about India?" 
 
 "Certainly she may/ was the reply "just as 
 often as she can find time. Tell Sarah that I shall 
 always be glad to see her. But I think," con 
 tinued Mrs. Wildford, "that I have found a better
 
 THE AT BEER- PUNT. 139 
 
 way of giving for my little missionaries, and that 
 is to earn the money beforehand." 
 
 "Oh, grandmamma," shouted Harry, in great 
 delight, "that will be capital. What do you want 
 me to do for you ?" 
 
 " I can t afford to keep a boy to wait upon me," 
 said his grandmamma, laughing, "and I did not 
 say that you were to earn the money from me. 
 But there are ways in which boys can earn money. 
 I heard of a boy once who had what he called a 
 missionary hen, and all the eggs this hen laid he 
 put aside to sell for the heathen." 
 
 " I like that," said Harry, enthusiastically; "let 
 us each have a missionary hen, Minnie, if mamma 
 gives us leave." 
 
 " I don t believe mine would lay any eggs," re 
 plied his sister, disconsolately. 
 
 Harry caught sight of his father as he was 
 bounding down stairs. 
 
 "Oh, papa," he exclaimed, impetuously, "can t 
 I have a missionary hen?" 
 
 Mr. Bolton had what Harry called his funny 
 look on. 
 
 " I have not the least idea," said he, " where 
 such a fowl could be procured ; indeed, I am quite 
 sure that I never even heard of one before."
 
 140 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 "Well, grandmamma can tell you all about it," 
 replied Harry, who began to be afraid that his 
 father was laughing at him. 
 
 As Mrs. Wildford just then appeared, her son- 
 in-law asked her quite gravely to what particular 
 branch of missionary work these remarkable hens 
 directed their attention. 
 
 " They merely pursue their ordinary employment 
 of laying eggs," was the reply; "the missionary 
 part depends on their owners." 
 
 When Uncle Harry came in, as he frequently 
 did of an evening, the joke was repeated, and poor 
 Harry junior became quite tired of hearing about 
 missionary hens. Mamma soon decided that even 
 a hen of this stamp would not respect her flower- 
 garden, and the poultry plan had to be given up 
 for the present.
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 HINDOO BOYS AND TODDY-WALLAHS. 
 
 jj J ARAH presented herself, sewing in hand, 
 with a smile and a blush, at Mrs. Wild- 
 ford s door the next afternoon, and was 
 evidently very much pleased with her re 
 ception. Perhaps there was rather a superabun 
 dance of ribbons, but she had a bright, pleasant 
 face, and was devoted to the children. 
 
 Wag s black nose next appeared, and grand 
 mamma laughed at the variety of her visitors as 
 she told Harry that she should hold him responsi 
 ble for his dog s behavior. " Wag " was ordered to 
 curl himself into a ball at once, which he did very 
 obediently, and then Harry asked : 
 
 "When grandpapa went about to preach to the 
 heathen in those villages, didn t he ever meet any 
 boys like me?" 
 
 " Not exactly like you," was the reply, " for they 
 were several shades darker, and they did not have 
 much on them in the way of clothes. Sometimes 
 they wore caps like this." 
 
 141
 
 142 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 Mrs. Wildford took down a stiff velvet cap from 
 the hook where it was hanging, and showed the 
 children how it was ornamented with gold embroi 
 dery. 
 
 " What makes it so hard ?" asked Minnie. " I 
 thought that velvet was always soft." 
 
 " It is made on a frame," was the reply ; " there 
 is probably thick pasteboard underneath." 
 
 "And do they wear those warm things out in the 
 hot sun, ma am ?" asked Sarah. 
 
 "Yes; they do not mind the sun as we do, for 
 they have always been used to it. Here is a lighter 
 cap of scarlet cloth." 
 
 " It looks like a fool s cap !" said Harry, con 
 temptuously ; " I wouldn t wear it." 
 
 " Neither would a Hindoo boy," replied his 
 grandmamma, " for this is intended for a girl. It 
 is a bride s cap, and is only worn during the mar 
 riage ceremony." 
 
 Sarah did not think this nearly so pretty for a 
 bride as a white veil and orange blossoms, but "she 
 supposed these ignorant heathen didn t know how 
 to do things properly." 
 
 Mrs. Wildford sighed as she said that this was 
 a very small part of their ignorance. 
 
 " I must tell you, Harry," she continued, " of a
 
 HINDOO BOYS. 143 
 
 little fellow whom your grandfather met while we 
 were at Allabag. He was sitting on a rock by 
 himself whistling." 
 
 "Do Hindoo boys whistle?" asked Minnie, in 
 surprise. 
 
 " Yes," replied her grandmother ; " they are very 
 much like other boys. But what did you expect them 
 to do, my dear ?" 
 
 " I thought," said Minnie, hesitatingly, " that 
 they made dreadful noises like Indians." 
 
 "Oh !" said Harry, laughing ; " she expected them 
 to be giving Indian war-whoops, I suppose." 
 
 " They do make dreadful noises very often," con 
 tinued Mrs. Wildford, "but this little fellow was 
 very harmlessly whistling and watching some sheep 
 that were browsing near. Your grandfather had 
 passed a great many people on the road, and when 
 he came up to the boy, he asked him where all the 
 people were going. The boy stopped whistling 
 and gazed at him in great surprise. 
 
 " Why, don t you know? said he. They re 
 going on a pilgrimage. 
 
 " And what is that? was the next question. 
 
 " Why, don t you know what a pilgrimage is? 
 They are going to a very holy puut w^ere there is 
 a large god made of gold, and when they come
 
 144 THE WILD FORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 back they will be very holy themselves, and may 
 do what they please. 
 
 " Has this god so much power, then? con 
 tinued your grandfather. 
 
 " Oh yes, said the boy ; he is a very rich god ; 
 he is worth forty thousand rupees ; he is made of 
 gold, you know. 
 
 " l But I should think some one would steal him, 
 said the missionary. Do not people try to carry 
 him away ? 
 
 " It would take more than two men to do that, 
 was the reply, and besides, the Brahmins stay 
 with him and watch him all the time. But why 
 do you not go and see him yourself, sahib ? I have 
 told you the truth about him." 
 
 " I do not worship any of your gods, my boy, 
 said your grandfather, kindly ; I come from a far 
 country where the people all worship one God. 
 
 " What is he made of? 
 
 " I cannot tell you what he is made of, for he is 
 a spirit, but he is a great deal richer than this gold 
 god you have told me of. 
 
 " Is he ? said the boy, eagerly ; is he worth 
 eighty thousand rupees, then ? 
 
 " He is worth more than the whole world, was 
 the reply, for he made everything in it this
 
 HINDOO BOYS. 145 
 
 ground, and these trees that you see growing, and 
 you, and me, and all men. My God is very wise, 
 too ; there is nothing that he does not know. He 
 knows your name, though I don t know it, and he 
 knows that I am talking to you now. He sees us 
 all the time/ 
 
 " The boy looked frightened, and glanced about 
 him. He is not here now, said he ; I do not see 
 him at all. My name is Ramoo. Is your god wiser 
 than Gunputti ? 
 
 " This is the god of wisdom, of whom I told you, 
 with the elephant s head. Shall I tell you how this 
 god came to be a boy with an elephant s head ? It 
 is a very silly Hindoo story." 
 
 The children were anxious to hear the silly story, 
 and Sarah looked very much interested. 
 
 " The Brahmins say," continued Mrs. Wildford, 
 " that Vishnu one day went on a journey, and 
 Saraswati, his wife, thought this would be a good 
 time to take a bath. So she made a boy out of 
 clay and gave him life, and told him to stand in 
 the doorway as sentinel, and to let no one come into 
 the house, no matter who it might be. Now, it 
 happened that the first person who wished to come 
 in was Vishnu himself, who had either forgotten 
 something or had changed his mind about taking 
 
 10
 
 146 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 the journey. He was very angry at the obstinate 
 boy who blocked up the doorway, ami would not 
 let him into his own house, and drawing his sword, 
 he cut off his head at one blow. 
 
 "When Saraswati heard the noise, she came run 
 ning to see what was the matter, and there she 
 found her boy, for whom she had begun to feel 
 quite an attachment, without a head, her husband 
 in a rage and the place generally disordered. But 
 Saraswati made such loud lamentations and tore 
 her hair so dreadfully, flinging herself on the 
 ground and trying to beat her brains out (the 
 Hindoo style of mourning), that Vishnu was 
 obliged to compose himself and try to pacify his 
 wife. 
 
 " He told her that, since she thought so much of 
 the boy, he could put his head on again, and he 
 would be just as good as ever, but when he looked 
 around for the head, it could nowhere be found. 
 The body was there, but no head, and as Saraswati 
 threatened to kill herself on the spot if the boy 
 were not brought to life again, Vishnu ordered his 
 servants to go out and bring him the h rst head they 
 could find. 
 
 " Presently they returned with an elephant s head, 
 and Vishnu put this on the boy, who came to life
 
 HINDOO BOYS. 147 
 
 immediately. Saraswati thought even an elephant s 
 head better than none, but she could not help ac 
 knowledging to herself that the boy did look rather 
 oddly, so, to comfort him for his want of beauty, 
 she made him very wise, and ordered the people 
 everywhere to worship him as the god of wisdom. 
 
 "And now," said Mrs. Wildford, "you have the 
 history of a famous Hindoo god who is worshiped 
 throughout India under different names, and, silly 
 as the story is, it is preferable to many stories of 
 their gods, which are not only silly, but vile and 
 disgusting."* 
 
 "And only to think, ma am," said Sarah, "of 
 their worshiping such things !" 
 
 "Aren t you glad, grandmamma," asked Minnie, 
 " that you, and I, and all of us, live in a Christian 
 country where people don t worship idols?" 
 
 Grandmamma looked quite grave as she replied : 
 * There are different kinds of idol-worship, Minnie ; 
 the poor untaught heathen bows down to an image 
 that some man has made of wood or stone, and calls 
 it god, while the Christian often makes an idol of 
 some living object or of his vanity, his love of 
 gain, his pride. Whatever occupies his thoughts 
 
 * There are other stories told to account for the elephant 
 head of Gun mtti, or Ganesha, quite different from this.
 
 148 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 or his affections more than God is his idol. Th( 
 prophet says, Set not up your idols in your hearts, 
 but I am afraid that a great many of us are nol 
 quite free from this kind of idolatry." 
 
 Harry thoughtfully stroked the dog s ears as ht 
 wondered if "Wag" was an idol, while Sarah 
 blushed deeply as her eye fell upon the bright rib 
 bons and nicely-fitting dress that took so much of 
 her time and thoughts, and Minnie concluded tc 
 ask grandmamma, when they were quite alone, if 
 having her hair crimped was making an idol of it. 
 
 " What became of the boy, grandmamma ?" 
 asked Harry. 
 
 " I wish that I could tell you," replied Mrs. 
 Wildford, " but I really do not know. He sat 
 there on the rock that afternoon, kicking his bare 
 feet like any other boy, and looking very shrewd 
 and smiling as he glanced up at your grandfather, 
 but he found it difficult to understand about this 
 strange God who was so much wiser than Gunputti. 
 
 " I wish you d show him to me, said the little 
 Hindoo, wistfully ; don t you carry him about with 
 you? 
 
 " Yes, I do/ replied the missionary, and so do 
 you. He often talks to you when you do not know 
 it.
 
 HINDOO BOYS. 149 
 
 "A pair of great black eyes were staring at him 
 in wonderment, and your grandfather continued: 
 When you do anything wrong, even when no one 
 knows it, does not something inside tell you that it 
 is wrong? 
 
 " Yes, was the reply. 
 
 " Well, that is the voice of this great and 
 powerful God, who is also very kind and loving, 
 and cares tenderly for the little ones like you. He 
 has sent you, Ramoo, a message by me ; shall I tell 
 you what it is ? 
 
 " Oh yes! said the boy, with great animation. 
 
 " Well, then, he says to you, My son, give me 
 thy heart, and he will not be satisfied with you 
 until you obey him. 
 
 " But he cannot have my heart without killing 
 me, replied the poor little heathen, and oh, 
 Padre Sahib, I do not want to die ! 
 
 " I think the poor child almost expected to see 
 your grandfather take out a sharp knife to make 
 an offering of him on the spot, but when his fears 
 were quieted, he listened eagerly to the missionary s 
 story of the loving Saviour who, instead of wish 
 ing him to die, had died himself that he might live 
 for ever. 
 
 " This boy could read, and your grandfather gave
 
 150 THE WILD FORDS IN INDIA 
 
 him some little books, and told him that they would 
 show him how to find the God of whom he had 
 spoken ; it was then time for the missionary to con 
 tinue his journey, but the boy s eyes followed him 
 until he was quite out of sight. 
 
 " I loved to hear his accounts of those days when 
 he had to travel alone, and I watched from the 
 bungalow for his coming, half afraid, often, that 
 something had happened, but God always closed 
 the lion s mouth, and the missionary was wonder 
 fully preserved." 
 
 " I did not know that there were lions in India, 
 grandmamma," said Minnie, innocently. 
 
 " Not real lions, my dear child," was the reply, 
 " but this term is often used to express any kind 
 of danger. King David says in one of the psalms, 
 My soul is among lions, which means that he was 
 surrounded by many spiritual dangers." 
 
 "I like to hear about the Hindoo boys," said 
 Harry ; " did grandpapa meet any more of them ?" 
 
 "Yes," replied his grandmother; " he frequently 
 met them in various ways, but I cannot remember 
 just what he said to them all. He told me, one 
 day, of his meeting a little goorune and holding a 
 conversation with him." 
 
 "But didn t yau say, grandmamma, that a goo-
 
 HINDOO BOYS. 151 
 
 rune was a priest who lived in a family and taught 
 them about religious things?" 
 
 " No, Harry ; I said that a gooroo was a teacher, 
 or private chaplain, hut a goorune is a hoy who 
 sweeps out the temple and works there under the 
 orders of the Brahmins. This little goorune had 
 just finished his work for the day when your 
 grandfather came upon him, and as the boy 
 smiled pleasantly and had a very sweet face, the 
 missionary stopped and asked him where he lived. 
 
 " At home, he said, with mother. 
 
 " And have you a nice, pleasant home, asked 
 your grandfather, and is your mother kind to 
 you? 
 
 " The boy s whole face brightened as he replied 
 that their hut was nicely thatched, so that the 
 rain did not come in, and they had a cocoanut tree 
 close by. 
 
 "A cocoanut tree is almost wealth to people living 
 in those Eastern countries, for they eat the fruit 
 and drink the milk of the nut, and make the hard 
 shell into cups and plates, while the leaves and 
 bark cover their houses, and are made into clothing, 
 and mats, and many useful things. 
 
 " When the little goorune spoke of his mother, 
 the miasionary saw that he was very fond of her.
 
 152 THE W1LDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 " Yes/ he said, she was a very good mother, 
 and although she only got a few pice a day for 
 working for some of the sahibs, she always had 
 rice cooked for him when he went home, and he 
 believed that she would go without herself to give 
 it to him. 
 
 " I hope, continued the missionary, that you 
 are very obedient to this kind mother, and try to 
 do everything that she tells you ? 
 
 " Yes, the boy said ; he did try, for he loved 
 his mother, and she was all he had. 
 
 " Is your father dead, then ? asked the mis 
 sionary. 
 
 " Yes ; he had no father, he said. 
 
 " But you really have one/ continued your 
 grandfather, though you do not know it. 
 
 " The boy shook his head. 
 
 " I saw my father die/ said he, ( and then I saw 
 him burned. My mother was going to be burned, 
 too, but the government peons came and took her 
 off the pile. The Brahmins held me up to light 
 it, and I was very proud of this, for I was only a 
 little fellow then. " 
 
 "Oh, ma am," exclaimed Sarah in horror, "is 
 this really true ? Do they do such dreadful things 
 as burning people like that?"
 
 HINDOO BOYS. 153 
 
 "They burn their dead," replied Mrs. Wild ford, 
 "and before I went to India, and for some time 
 afterward, it was not uncommon for a widow to be 
 burned alive with the dead body of her husband : 
 this was called a suttee; but the English govern 
 ment has succeeded in putting a stop to this crime. 
 It sometimes take place now, but only in a very 
 secret manner, so that it is not known before it is 
 all over." 
 
 " But what did he mean by lighting the fire to 
 burn up his father?" asked Minnie. What a 
 wicked little creature he must have been !" 
 
 " That is judging too hastily," replied her grand 
 mother ; " the poor little fellow had been taught that 
 this was his duty and a mark of respect to his 
 dead father. It is the Hindoo custom for the oldest 
 son to set fire to the burial pile, and it is doubly 
 sad to see a child of tender years held up to per 
 form a task at which every natural feeling should 
 revolt." 
 
 " Did not grandpapa then begin to tell the boy 
 of his heavenly Father?" asked Harry. 
 
 " Yes," was the reply ; " he told him of this lov 
 ing Father who watched over him all the time, and 
 who loved him far more than his earthly father 
 eoul:l have done.
 
 154 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 " But why, then, does he not let me see him? 
 asked the child, who seemed to be of a very affec 
 tionate disposition. 
 
 " You cannot see him now, replied the mission 
 ary, because he wishes you to obey him without 
 seeing him, but he has a beautiful home all ready 
 for you, and if you are an obedient child, he will 
 take you there to live with him, and then you 
 will see him always. But God does not like to 
 have you worship these idols, continued your 
 grandfather, pointing to the hideous images out 
 side of the temple ; it will not do you any good to 
 pray to pieces of wood and stone, and your heavenly 
 Father says that you must pray only to him. 
 
 " But the Brahmins tell me that I must pay 
 puja to Rama, and Kali, and Gunputti, and all 
 the rest of them, replied the boy ; { what, then, am 
 I to do ? 
 
 " Suppose, asked the missionary, that they 
 also told you to leave your dear mother, or to treat 
 her very badly, and to pile up some stones and 
 call that your mother; would you do it? 
 
 " The boy s eyes were full of tears as he said 
 warmly, I would not do it. But, Padre Sahib, 
 he added, they say that the Brahmins cannot teach 
 as what is wrong, they are so good and learned.
 
 HINDOO BOYS. 155 
 
 " Here is something that will teach you better, 
 my poor child, said the missionary, giving him a 
 copy of St. Luke s gospel ; take this home to your 
 mother, and if she cannot read, read it to her. 
 
 "As your grandfather went on his way he heard 
 a great noise and commotion, and looking back, 
 he saw that half a dozen noisy Hindoo boys had 
 sprung out from behind the temple on the little 
 goorune, and were tormenting him with hideous 
 yells for listening to the padre when he talked of 
 the Christians God. They tried to seize his little 
 book, but he held it fast, and running as swiftly 
 as his legs would carry him, he soon got beyond his 
 tormentors, and disappeared in a cocoanut grove. 
 Your grandfather wondered what mission that 
 Mahratta translation of St. Luke s gospel would 
 accomplish ; he had cast it upon the waters, and 
 perhaps it would return to him after many days. 
 The little goorune reminded him of Samuel, and 
 he prayed earnestly that he might be brought to 
 serve the one true God to whom Samuel was given 
 by his pious mother before he was born. 
 
 "And now," said Mrs. Wildford, u I will tell you 
 about the toddy-wallahs, and then I think we 
 must leave Allabag and the Concan, and travel 
 back to Bombay."
 
 156 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 "What are toddy-wallahs?" asked Minnie, look 
 ing very much bewildered ; "are they animals?" 
 
 " They look very much like monkeys," replied 
 her grandmother, laughing at the recollection, "but 
 they are really men, and I will tell you what they 
 do. Can you tell me what toddy is ?" 
 
 " I know," said Harry ; " it s something that 
 makes people drunk." 
 
 " In this country it is made of rum, hot water 
 and sugar," continued Mrs. Wildford, "and it does, 
 as you say, make people drunk. But what would you 
 think if I should tell you that toddy grows in India 
 already made?" 
 
 " I should believe it, of course, if you said it, 
 grandmamma," replied Harry, quite gravely, " but 
 I should think it a very queer story." 
 
 " Well, I do not like to tell queer stories, Harry ^ 
 but this one is really true. There is a kind of 
 palm tree in India called the toddy palm, the sap 
 of which really makes an intoxicating drink, but 
 not until it has been distilled. When this sap is 
 quite fresh, it is very cooling and delightful, and 
 I have often been glad of a draught of it after a 
 long walk or ride in the hot sun. The men who 
 gather the sap are called toddy-wallahs, and very 
 curious-looking objects they are. They wear no
 
 fc 
 
 Toonr WALLAHS. 
 
 p. 157.
 
 HINDOO BOYS. 157 
 
 clothing but the cummer-bund, or waist-cloth, to 
 which a large gourd is tied, and hangs down be 
 hind ; they carry a sort of hooked knife to cut the 
 bark, and, thus equipped, they climb the trees like 
 monkeys, and keep up a very funny kind of sing 
 ing all the time they are at work." 
 
 " What do they do with the gourds ?" asked 
 Minnie. 
 
 " Why, you goosie," cried Harry, " they were 
 to put the sap in." 
 
 "Yes," said Mrs. AVildford, "these gourds were 
 their pitchers. Your dear grandfather often 
 preached to the toddy-wallahs, but when some 
 of them thought of becoming Christians, they 
 were very muoh troubled about keeping Sunday, 
 for the general belief is that if these trees are left 
 for a day after the tapping has begun, the toddy 
 will be spoiled. Some of them concluded to try it, 
 though, and they were delighted to find that they 
 got on quite as well as the others. What is my 
 little Minnie thinking so deeply about?" 
 
 " Why, I was thinking," she replied, timidly, 
 " that grandpapa must have had to scream very 
 loud to preach to those toddy men up in the trees." 
 
 " He did not try it, my dear," replied her grand 
 mother, smiling, * until they were a little nearei
 
 158 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 his own level. They did not remain altogether in 
 the trees, as they were frequently on the ground to 
 empty their gourds into larger vessels, and some 
 times they were squatted in groups eating their 
 dinners. Your grandpapa had too much work for 
 his voice to send it any unnecessary distance. And 
 now that I have told you about the toddy-wallahs, 
 I wonder if any one can tell me where to look for 
 a good seamstress ?" 
 
 Sarah glanced up in surprise, and Minnie 
 nestled close to her grandmamma to hear what else 
 was to be added to this curious question. 
 
 "I have two handkerchiefs that need hemming," 
 continued Mrs. Wildford, "and the money is to go 
 to the missionaries." 
 
 " I wish I could sew," said Harry, regretfully ; 
 " I can t have a missionary hen, nor anything." 
 
 " Do not be discouraged," replied his grand 
 mamma; " if you really have the wish to be useful, 
 the way will be opened after a while. Now, Min 
 nie, what about the handkerchiefs?" 
 
 "Why, grandmamma," said the little girl, re 
 gretting her impatience when Sarah had tried to 
 teach her to use her needle properly, " I don t sew 
 very nicely, you know, but I should like to try, if 
 I may."
 
 HINDOO BOYS. 159 
 
 "Do your best, my child/ said Mrs. Wildford, 
 with a kiss, "and if the handkerchiefs are done 
 entirely by yourself, I will pay you ten cents 
 apiece for them when they are finished." 
 
 Mrs. Bolton pronounced this an exorbitant price, 
 and declared that grandmamma would certainly be 
 ruined, but as Minnie s slow, unpracticed fingers 
 plodded over the task, now picking out what she 
 had done, and now sighing over the soiled appear 
 ance of her work, it seemed to her that a dollar a 
 handkerchief would scarcely pay for the labor and 
 worry. 
 
 But the little girl was gaining more than the 
 missionary money, and grandmamma had thought 
 of this when she proposed the task ; she was gain 
 ing habits of industry and perseverance, and the 
 sweet consciousness of being of some use in the 
 world.
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE RAINY SEASON. 
 
 ERE it s been pouring for two days," said 
 H^H" Harry, discontentedly, "and I can t use 
 my velocipede, nor have any fun in the 
 park with Wag, and it s awful stupid for 
 a boy to be poking round in the house all the 
 time." 
 
 " Well, Harry," said his grandmamma, "I have 
 seen sixty Aprils, and I never yet saw an April 
 without rain. When the sun shines out again, you 
 will see how everything will sprout and shoot up 
 above the ground. It is just the right kind of 
 weather for your radishes." 
 
 Harry s face brightened a little; he was very 
 much interested in a square plot of ground that his 
 father had given him to cultivate, and his first crop 
 was to be radishes. His mother had promised to 
 buy all that he could raise, and he anticipated 
 quite a little fortune for the missionary cause. 
 Still, he was not fully reconciled to the rain, and 
 
 160
 
 THE EAINY SEASON. 161 
 
 as the large drops plashed against the window from 
 which he was gazing on the wet park, he continued 
 fretfully : 
 
 " But it rains all the time when I have holiday : 
 it rained ever so much in Christmas week ; and I 
 know it won t stop for a month !" 
 
 " I think rainy days are nice," said Minnie, who 
 was busy with her handkerchiefs ; " you can get so 
 much work done." 
 
 Harry laughed outright. 
 
 "A whole week hemming two handkerchiefs !" 
 said he, scornfully; "you ll get rich fast." 
 
 "Minnie is doing a great deal more than hem 
 ming two handkerchiefs," replied her grandmamma, 
 kindly, as she glanced at the disturbed little face; 
 " she is learning how to work, and the next hand 
 kerchiefs wil) be easier. But what would you 
 think, Mr. Grumbler, of four months of rain?" 
 
 " Four months ?" repeated Harry " not one clear 
 day in four months?" 
 
 " Not many quite clear days," was the reply. " In 
 Western India the monsoon, or rainy season, begins 
 in May, and it rains some part of almost every day 
 all the time that people here are enjoying the beau 
 tiful summer. And such rain ! It comes down in 
 
 perfect torrents, as if a quantity of pipes were being 
 11
 
 162 THE W1LDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 emptied at once. A second or two will get a 
 person thoroughly drenched if out in the rain in 
 India." 
 
 " They must look like drowned rats," said 
 Harry. 
 
 "They look more like very wet human beings/ 
 was the reply. 
 
 " But don t people get drowned there when 
 they go out to walk after it has rained ?" asked 
 Minnie. 
 
 "No," replied Mrs. Wildford, "for all this 
 water does not remain on the top of the ground. 
 It soaks into the earth, or flows away, just as it 
 does here, and the hot Indian sun dries the ground 
 so soon that in a very little while after one of 
 these drenching showers you would scarcely think 
 it had rained at all. We know, however, that a 
 great deal of water has fallen by looking at the 
 rain-guage." 
 
 " What is that, grandmamma?" asked Harry. 
 
 "It is an instrument for marking the rain, as 
 the thermometer marks the heat or cold and the 
 barometer the weather. By putting it where the 
 water can reach certain marks, it is known how 
 much rain falls on a level during each day ; this is 
 added up at the end of the season, and so they
 
 THE RAINY SEASON. 163 
 
 find out how much rain falls in the course of a 
 year." 
 
 " How much is it, grandmamma?" was the next 
 question. 
 
 " It varies in different parts of India; some por 
 tions of the country have much more rain than 
 others. In Bombay, if all the rain that falls from 
 May till October were on the ground at once, it 
 would make a lake eighty or ninety inches deep. 
 How many feet is that, Harry ?" 
 
 " Twelve inches one foot," said Harry, going 
 over his tables ; " why that would be six or seven 
 feet enough to drown us all." 
 
 " It is still deeper in Calcutta," continued his 
 grandmamma, " which is much farther east than 
 Bombay ; there they have a hundred and eighteen 
 inches of rain in the course of the year, and at the 
 Mahableshwar hills, of which I am going to tell 
 you when I come to my journey there, the year s 
 rain would cover a level place three hundred inches, 
 or twenty-five feet, deep." 
 
 "Oh," said Minnie, "what a dreadful place! I 
 should be afraid of being drowned all the time." 
 
 " But very little of this water falls in one day," 
 replied Mrs. Wild ford ; "an inch in twenty-four 
 hours is considered a very heavy rain. Sometimes,
 
 164 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 however, there is a great deal more than this in a 
 day; in Bombay as much as ten inches has fallen 
 in a day, and then there have been floods which 
 destroyed property and lives." 
 
 "Where does the rain all come from?" asked 
 Minnie; "I never could tell." 
 
 " Why, it comes from the clouds, of course," said 
 Harry, quite importantly; "don t you see it pour 
 ing down now ?" 
 
 " But how does it get into the clouds," con 
 tinued his sister, in great perplexity, " and what 
 keeps it from coming down all the time?" 
 
 "Answer that, if you can, Master Harry," said 
 his grandmamma; "it is very easy to say that the 
 rain comes from the clouds, but how does it get 
 there?" 
 
 Harry looked somewhat confused, and Mrs. 
 Wildford continued : " I am afraid you do not 
 know quite as much as you would have us suppose. 
 The rain comes from the ocean. The water of the 
 ocean evaporates, or rises from it in the form of 
 vapor, and this vapor goes up into the clouds. 
 The great heat in tropical countries makes a great 
 deal of vapor, and as much as twenty feet, of 
 water evaporates from the Indian Ocean every year. 
 The air becomes heavy and wet with all this water,
 
 THE RAINY SEASON. 165 
 
 and during the four months of the rainy season the 
 wind blows from the south-west, and this warm air 
 and its moisture are sent over the land. There it 
 strikes the hills and is cooled so that it holds less 
 water, and down falls the rain. In this way the 
 great amount of water that falls in rain is brought 
 by the wind from the distant ocean ; it comes in 
 the form of vapor, and in this form it travels a 
 long distance." 
 
 "Thank you, grandmamma," said Minnie; "I 
 am so glad that I know something about rain now, 
 and how it gets into the clouds. I can understand 
 now, too, why it is so damp just before it rains : it 
 is because the wet vapor is coming over to us from 
 the ocean." 
 
 " But only think of four months of wet vapor !" 
 exclaimed Harry ; " did you not get very tired of it, 
 grandmamma?" 
 
 "Yes," replied Mrs. Wildford, with a smile, 
 "but I think I told you how I managed with in 
 curable things I made the best of them. One of 
 the worst phases of the rainy season occurs in the 
 oeginning of it; during the first ten days or so all 
 the crawling creatures that ever were seen or heard 
 of seem to come to light, and they become so 
 frightfully active that there is no comfort in being
 
 166 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 in the house, and it is equally uncomfortable to 
 stay out in the rain. Scorpions, centipedes, huge 
 spiders, lizards, cockroaches, beetles " 
 
 "Oh, grandmamma," said Minnie, "I feel them 
 crawling all over me." 
 
 "It s jolly!" exclaimed Harry, in great glee; 
 what fun it must have been to watch em all! 
 Where were they, grandmamma? on the walls?" 
 
 "Sometimes," was the reply, "and sometimes 
 they would run across the floor so quickly that one 
 scarcely saw them before they were gone. I re 
 member a very long centipede that made me a visit 
 when your mother was a baby. Her silver mug, 
 with a little milk in the bottom of it, was left on 
 the table in my dressing-room after she had taken 
 her supper, and when I went to get the cup, I 
 saw the tail of a centipede hanging over the edge. 
 He had gone down, head foremost, after the milk, 
 but he was so long that the cup would not accom 
 modate him. Don t look so frightened, Minnie ; he 
 did not bite me. I called the khitmutgar, or foot 
 man, who, fortunately, happened to be a Mussul 
 man, and he soon despatched him." 
 
 " But what had his being a Mussulman to do 
 with it, grandmamma?" 
 
 "A great deal, my dear, as every one who goes
 
 THE RAINY SEASON. 167 
 
 to India soon discovers. Many of the Hindoo 
 castes will not kill the most obnoxious insect, for it 
 is contrary to their religion, and I have seen my 
 Brahmin pundit, while he was teaching me the 
 language, pick up very objectionable insects that 
 were traveling over his dress and throw them out 
 of the window. His religion would not allow him 
 to kill them, and as he knew that I objected to 
 them, he thought he had done his duty by remov 
 ing them from one place to another. But as ver 
 min of all sorts abound in India, my feelings, as 
 I watched his proceedings, were not very pleasant." 
 
 " Why, grandmamma," said Minnie, quite re 
 proachfully, "you did not tell us anything about 
 your Brahmin pundit. What was he like?" 
 
 " No, indeed !" chimed in Harry ; " please let us 
 hear alx>ut him." 
 
 " I really thought I had spoken of him," said 
 Mrs. Wildford, "I have told you so much, but if 
 you have not heard of my pundit, I must try to 
 make up for the omission. And here comes Sarah 
 just in time to hear the description." 
 
 " But you haven t heard about the rain in India, 
 Sarah," said Minnie, regretfully ; " it is too bad you 
 missed that !" 
 
 " Yes," said Harry, " it was something worth
 
 168 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 hearing, I can tell you, Sarah ; rain in India isn t 
 to be sneezed at regular cats, and dogs, and pitch 
 forks." 
 
 Sarah looked quite bewildered, and Mrs. Wild- 
 ford replied: "I do not recognize my description 
 at all, Harry ; when you were in India, the storms 
 must have been different. I have been speaking, 
 Sarah, of the monsoon, or rainy season in India, 
 which lasts four months, and the rain often comes 
 down with great violence, while the thunder and 
 lightning are very severe. This led to the scor 
 pions, centipedes, spiders, etc., that are particularly 
 lively at the beginning of the rainy season, and 
 from that we went to the Brahmin pundit who 
 taught me the language, and the children now 
 want a description of him. This man was a small, 
 fiery sort of a fellow, with very delicate hands and 
 feet, and quite polished in his manners. He was 
 very bigoted, and full of his importance as a Brah 
 min pundit, which is quite a different thing from 
 being only an ordinary teacher." 
 
 "But I should not think," said Harry, "that 
 such a great man among the Hindoos would have 
 been willing to teach a Christian." 
 
 "The Hindoos," replied his grandmamma, "are 
 very fond of rupees, and most of them will do any-
 
 THE RAINY SEASON. 169 
 
 thing that will not injure their caste for the sake 
 of money. This Brahmin who taught me came 
 from a distant town, and to get to Bombay he had 
 to take a sea-voyage of three or four days; in all 
 that time no food passed his lips. He could not 
 oat while in the ship, he said, because that would 
 not have been allowable for him. When I asked 
 him why, he replied that, on the ship, he could not 
 pay puja to his god, nor bathe himself, which are 
 regular observances before meals, and to omit these 
 would have injured his caste." 
 
 " He must have been hungry when he got to 
 Bombay," said Minnie. 
 
 " He probably was," replied Mrs. Wildford, " but 
 even then, Minnie, he could not have been induced 
 to eat the nice piece of beef that you seemed to en 
 joy so much at dinner to-day." 
 
 " Why, what was the matter then ?" asked 
 Harry, in surprise ; " didn t he get all washed and 
 fixed? I m glad I am not a Brahmin pundit, to 
 have to bathe before every meal ! It comes hard 
 enough on a fellow once a day." 
 
 " Meat was forbidden by the Brahmin s religion," 
 continued his grandmamma, "and as the Hindoos 
 consider the cow and ox sacred animals, they will 
 tremble and turn livid when they pass a stall where
 
 170 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 beef is sold, even spitting on the ground, as though 
 the air contaminated them. One of their strongest 
 terms of abuse is, Beef-eating Christian. But to 
 return to my Brahmin pundit: he always entered and 
 left the room with a very polite salaam, and went 
 at his work in quite a systematic way. He sat at 
 my left hand, so that I could use the other for 
 writing, and we spent two or three busy hours to 
 gether every day. He was a great talker, and 
 sometimes he laughed quite heartily at things that 
 I said to him. I often wondered if he did not 
 think it excessively funny for a man of his great 
 learning to be teaching a woman, and one day I 
 asked him this. 
 
 "He replied, sorrowfully, that it was very dis 
 graceful indeed. 
 
 " What do you think would be less so ? I in 
 quired." 
 
 " Why didn t you order him out of the house, 
 grandmamma ?" said Harry, in quite a state of ex 
 citement; "the impudent fellow! to speak in that 
 way to a lady, and my grandmamma !" 
 
 " I was not your grandmamma then, dear," was 
 the reply, " and I did not even know of the honor 
 in store for me. But seriously, Harry, I did not 
 turn my teache 1 out of the house, because that would
 
 THE RAINY REASON. 171 
 
 have been a very foolish proceeding and a decided 
 hindrance to my learning the language. His feel 
 ing about teaching a woman was not peculiar to 
 himself: it was the feeling of his whole race. I 
 was sorry for him, but I did not get in the least 
 angry ; indeed, he amused me very much, and I 
 had many a good laugh in those study-hours. Your 
 dear grandfather used to say that he felt very much 
 like coming to see what was going on when he 
 heard the laughter; his pundit was quite old, and a 
 very grave, stupid sort of fellow." 
 
 "Did the Brahmin pundit who taught you an 
 swer that question you asked him, grandmamma ?" 
 said Minnie. 
 
 " Yes, my dear ; he answered it in quite an un 
 expected fashion : it would be less disgraceful, he 
 said, for him to take off his turban, throw the end 
 of his purdikah over his head, fasten a bag to his 
 cummer-bund, and taking a pair of cymbals in his 
 hands to strike together and let people know that 
 he was coming, pass thiongh the town as a religious 
 beggar, and gather into his bag the offerings of 
 rice, fruit, etc., that would be given him at almost 
 every house. I see, Minnie, that you wish me to 
 explain what a purdikah is; here is one to speak 
 for itself."
 
 172 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 "Why, it s like Miss Minnie s dress, ma am," 
 said Sarah. 
 
 Yes, the soft India muslin was just the same, for 
 the dress of which Sarah spoke had been a present 
 to the missionary from a converted Brahmin, and 
 the purdikah was nothing more than several yards 
 of this material with a narrow bordering of pink. 
 
 "This purdikah," said Mrs. Wildford, "is 
 thrown gracefully over the left shoulder, as you 
 will see by this photograph, in which are several 
 Brahmins." 
 
 " Hindoos of the highest caste," was printed on 
 the back of the picture ; " Idolaters, as the marks 
 on the forehead show." 
 
 "The Brahmins," continued Mrs. Wildford, 
 "consider the purdikah such a sacred garment that 
 they will not let their wives touch it; they wash it 
 and hang it out themselves." 
 
 " I d like to see em at the ironing of it," said 
 Sarah, rather grimly. 
 
 " I do not think it is ironed," was the reply ; " I 
 believe it is only pulled out as smoothly as possi 
 ble while yet damp." 
 
 "Now tell us about the pundit, grandmamma," 
 said Minnie, who began to fear that they would 
 not hear much of him after all.
 
 THE RAINY SEASON. 173 
 
 " I have not forgotten him, Minnie, and I be 
 lieve I left off at his description of himself as a 
 beggar. When he made me this uncomplimentary 
 reply, I asked him why he did not become a men 
 dicant, then, if it was less disgraceful than teaching 
 me. 
 
 " He shrugged his shoulders in quite a French 
 way as he said that one must live so many Brah 
 mins had been thrown out of employment since the 
 English sirkahs had been in power. The peish- 
 wars, or native sovereigns, used to have the Brah 
 mins about their courts, but their provinces were 
 now so much smaller than they used to be that 
 they could not support so many Brahmins, who 
 were obliged to seek other pursuits. 
 
 "Sometimes I would ask my pundit about his 
 wives and children, and he would answer my ques 
 tions, but I could not be at all sure that he was 
 telling me the truth. If one of his own race had 
 asked him about his family, he would have re 
 sented it as an insult, but he knew that Christians 
 had different customs, and that they were in the 
 habit of asking such questions. I do not know 
 that there is any more to tell you about my Brah 
 min pundit, but I was just going to tell you of a 
 quantity of scoroions that were once brought to
 
 174 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 your grandfather when you asked me about the 
 pundit." 
 
 "Oh, do, grandmamma," said Harry, with great 
 interest; "but what did grandpapa want with a lot 
 of scorpions ?" 
 
 " He did not want a lot of them," was the reply ; 
 " he wanted two specimens of a large black scorpion, 
 different from the ordinary white scorpion, that is 
 found on the outside of houses, and often on trees. 
 He wished to preserve these in alcohol for scientific 
 purposes, and he told one of the boys in school to 
 bring him two of these scorpions, and he would 
 give him six pice. A day or two afterward he was 
 sitting in his study, a one-roomed building off from 
 the house, when he saw quite a procession coming 
 toward him, consisting of the boy who was to get 
 the scorpions, the boy s father and mother, two 
 little brothers and a sister. Each member of the 
 family carried an earthenware jar, which they 
 placed on the ground, while the boy said very 
 gravely, Scorpions, sahib. 
 
 " Your grandfather s mind was full of a very 
 tangled piece of Hindostanee that he had been 
 studying, and for some moments he could not un 
 derstand what all this meant, but when the father 
 of the family ventured to repeat mildly, Scor-
 
 THE RAINY SEASON. 175 
 
 pions. Padre Sahib plenty, big and little, it opened 
 his eyes to the fact that the whole family, who were 
 low caste and very poor, had gone on a regular 
 scorpion hunt under the supposition that if the 
 padre had promised six pice for two of the reptiles, 
 he would be very much delighted with a hundred, 
 and would probably pay them enough to buy rice 
 for the whole season. 
 
 " They were on the point of unfastening all the 
 jars at once and displaying their treasures, but your 
 grandfather forbade this, and declared that he would 
 only take the two he had ordered. These were 
 enormous fellows, and when they were set at lib 
 erty, they scampered across the room like a flash ; 
 their liveliness, however, was soon subdued, and 
 they were captured and safely lodged in a jar, when 
 they were soon drowned in alcohol. The boy got 
 his six pice, but the rest of the family departed in 
 a state of sad resignation, carrying their scorpions 
 with them. When your grandfather told me of 
 this visit, I felt exceedingly glad that the study did 
 not communicate with the house." 
 
 " I should think the scorpions would have stung 
 the people who caught them," said Minnie. 
 
 " They know how to take them up," replied 
 her grandmamma, "to avoid being stung. You
 
 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 thought a bee-sting very bad last summer, little 
 granddaughter, but the sting of a scorpion is so 
 severe that strong, brave men actually cry with 
 the fearful pain, which lasts six or eight hours." 
 
 " I never could go to India !" exclaimed Minnie, 
 vehemently ; " I do hope that no one will ever tell 
 me it is my duty." 
 
 " Perhaps you will tell yourself so some day," 
 replied Mrs. Wildford; "who knows? But now 
 that I have told you of the unpleasant things the 
 rainy season brought us, I must tell you of some 
 thing very sweet the rainy season, after our return 
 from Allabag, brought to me. Here is a picture 
 of it." 
 
 " Why, it s a little baby !" said Minnie, "and it 
 has a cap on. How funny !" 
 
 "Was it mamma?" asked Harry, eagerly. 
 
 "Yes," was the reply; "your mamma was once 
 that baby, my little Ada, and she came to us in 
 the rainy season like a bright, beautiful flower or 
 a gleam of sunshine. Your grandpapa told me 
 how the Hindoo servants greeted him, the morning 
 after she was born, with a very low salaam and 
 sad, sympathizing faces, as they said respectfully 
 that they presented their best condolences to the 
 Padre Sahib."
 
 THE RAINY SEASON. 177 
 
 "Didn t they mean congratulations?" asked 
 Harry. 
 
 "Not at all," replied his grandmamma; "they 
 meant just what they said. The Hindoos con 
 sider it a great misfortune to have a daughter born 
 to them ; if asked how many children he has, a 
 man will reply, One child, and two girls. The 
 cap that amuses you so much in the picture, Min 
 nie, was always worn by children then, and the 
 bare heads that we see on babies now would have 
 been thought very ugly in those days. This cap 
 was beautifully embroidered and trimmed with rich 
 lace ; it was the gift of a kind English lady in 
 Bombay." 
 
 " Did mamma have a nice white nurse to take 
 care of her in India ?" asked Minnie. 
 
 "No," replied her grandmamma; "she had a 
 very funny little black nurse, a girl about four 
 teen years old." 
 
 "A Hindoo girl, grandmamma?" 
 
 " No ; Lilly was a regular negro girl, whom we 
 got from a slave-ship that was captured by the 
 English government just off the coast of Bombay. 
 She was a very faithful little creature, very black 
 and ugly in appearance, and she performed the 
 most curious antics to amuse her iittle charge that 
 12
 
 178 THE WILT) FORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 I ever saw accomplished by any human being. 
 The baby liked the entertainment, though, and 
 would crow with delight whenever Lilly began to 
 twist her eyes and make up her curious faces." 
 
 " Grandmamma," said Minnie, suddenly, " did 
 you not tell me once that this great bowl was an 
 ostrich s egg ?" 
 
 It looked like thick china, and was very pret 
 tily gilded and arranged as a bowl. 
 
 " Yes," replied Mrs. Wildford, with a smile, 
 " but that is a rather sudden jump, Minnie, from 
 your mamma s little black nurse to an ostrich s 
 
 egg-" 
 
 "Well, I just happened to look at it while you 
 were speaking," replied the little girl, "and I have 
 always forgotten to ask you about it." 
 
 " I think," continued her grandmamma, " that 
 you have remembered to ask me about as much as 
 I could possibly tell you in the time. Now, do 
 not prick up your ears, Harry, and expect to hear 
 of an ostrich hunt, for there is nothing of the kind 
 to tell." 
 
 " It is Wag who is pricking up his ears," re 
 plied Harry, laughing. " Just look at him now, 
 grandmamma ; he really thinks you are talking to 
 him."
 
 THE RAINY SEASON. 179 
 
 Having admired Wag sufficiently to satisfy his 
 master, Mrs. Wildford said, as she took up the 
 curious-looking bowl : " Yes, this was once an egg, 
 and you can see how large it must have been, by 
 what is left of it now." 
 
 "And did a bird really lay such an egg as that, 
 ma am ?" asked Sarah, in surprise. " The birds in 
 India must be a great deal larger even than the 
 Shanghais." 
 
 "But the ostrich is not an Indian bird at all," 
 replied Mrs. Wildford ; "it is found only in Africa. 
 The ostrich that laid this egg was kept in a private 
 compound in Bombay as a great curiosity." 
 
 "Compound means garden or grounds, Sarah," 
 said Minnie, quite importantly ; " grandmamma told 
 us all about it." 
 
 "People of wealth in India," continued Mrs. 
 Wildford, " often keep a large collection of foreign 
 animals quite a menagerie, indeed and they are 
 very proud of showing them to strangers." 
 
 "Oh, yes, grandmmatnma," said Harry, "I re 
 member about the dewan s animals at Allabag, 
 where you saw so many elephants. I ll tell you 
 all about that, Sarah, some day ; I guess it s time to 
 kiss the family now, and go to bed." 
 
 " You speak as though kissing the family were
 
 180 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 quite a piece of work," said his grandmamma, and, 
 somehow, Harry did seem to make a piece of work 
 of it with her. 
 
 "Sarah," said Minnie, whose curiosity had been 
 very much excited by some soft, pretty knitting- 
 work that the neat maid was very careful not to get 
 soiled, "are you making something for me?" 
 
 " No, Miss Minnie," was the reply ; " it is not for 
 you." 
 
 " Who is it for, then ?" in a tone of disappoint 
 ment. 
 
 " Well, that is a secret," said Sarah, in some con 
 fusion ; " I don t quite know, myself." 
 
 A little while ago, Minnie would have told the 
 waiting-maid that she was " real hateful " in not 
 gratifying her curiosity, but she had learned to be 
 ashamed of such conduct, and she said nothing 
 more, though wondering very much for whom 
 Sarah could be working, and why she didn t know 
 herself.
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 THE STORY OF GUNQA. 
 
 THINK/ said Mrs. Wildford, when the 
 little party were assembled next day, 
 " that it is quite time for me to give you 
 an account of some of our little Hindoo 
 scholars. There were a number of interesting 
 children among them, and there is one girl in 
 particular of whom I have been thinking a great 
 deal to-day." 
 
 " I am so glad, grandmamma !" exclaimed Min 
 nie ; " I want ever so much to hear about some of 
 the little girls in your school." 
 
 " Girls are not half as nice as boys," observed 
 Harry, " but I suppose that there have to be some 
 girls in the world." 
 
 He glanced mischievously at his sister to see how 
 she liked this, but Minnie would not look at him. 
 
 " This is quite a story," continued their grand 
 mamma, " and I am going to call it 
 
 181
 
 182 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 "GUNGA. 
 
 "This was the name of my heroine; she was 
 named after the sacred river of the Hindoos, the 
 river Ganges. 
 
 " She had a sister about a year younger than her 
 self who was named Tulasi. Most of the Hin 
 doo names have a meaning, and the Tulasi is a 
 sacred shrub bearing small white flowers that have 
 a delicate perfume. This shrub is often raised and 
 carefully tended in boxes that are placed in front 
 of Hindoo dwellings. 
 
 " When these sisters first came to the school, they 
 were about eight and nine years old. They had 
 no mother, and their father, who was quite an old 
 man, was poor and of low caste. He lived in a 
 mean little hut just out of the town, and worked 
 hard for his scanty support. His daughters were 
 married to idols, which means that their father 
 had devoted them to the service of the temple, and 
 when they were older, they would become dan 
 cing-girls. These dancing-girls are the very lowest 
 class of women in India, and they lead very wicked 
 lives. 
 
 "Although these children were so poor, they had 
 silver bracelets on their arms and legs ; indeed, it
 
 THE STORY OF GUNOA. 183 
 
 is quite a puzzle how the poorer classes in India 
 manage to get and keep these ornaments. 
 
 " There was nothing remarkable about these two 
 girls, except that they were mischievous and rather 
 inattentive to their lessons. I felt very much in 
 terested in them, because of the wretched life to 
 which they were doomed as dancing-girls, and I 
 knew that, had it not been for the pice a day that 
 each received for coming to school, their father 
 would have placed them in the temple instead. He 
 was a very superstitious man, and very much afraid 
 of the Brahmins, and I almost feared that every 
 day would be the last the children would spend in 
 school. 
 
 "Gunga was very pretty, with a great deal of 
 spirit in her bright black eyes; she learned her 
 lessons with very little trouble, but when she 
 rattled through so glibly with the Lord s Prayer 
 or verses of Holy Scripture, I scarcely thought 
 that she understood what she said. 
 
 " Two or three years passed on, and Tulasi, who 
 was the more quiet of the two, became sick. The 
 children had always been very affectionate, and 
 Gunga s protecting care toward the sister so little 
 younger than herself was quite touching. I missed 
 the girls from school for several days, and fearing
 
 184 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 that they had at last been placed in the temple, I 
 went to their father s hut to inquire about them. 
 
 " I found the sick child lying on a mat in the open 
 door, while Gunga was cooking her father s rice. 
 
 " Oh, Madam Sahib/ said Tulasi, while her 
 eyes brightened, I have been telling Gunga that 
 you are so good you would come to see me if you 
 knew. 
 
 " And what is the matter with my little girl ? 
 I asked as I sat down beside her. 
 
 " I am sick all over, she replied, and I cough 
 and am tired. 
 
 " I feared at once that the child had consumption, 
 and when your grandfather saw her, he said that 
 this was the case. I bathed her hot brow with 
 some rose-water, and then cooled her hands in the 
 same way. 
 
 " Tulasi seemed very grateful, and whispered : I 
 love you much, Madam Sahib, but who will love 
 poor Gunga when I am gone? 
 
 " Where are you going, Tulasi ? I asked. 
 
 " I don t know/ she replied, a little wildly; I 
 should like to go to the good Lord Jesus that your 
 Shasters teach about, but I would not dare to be a 
 Christian, it would make my father and the Brah 
 mins so angry.
 
 THE STORY OF GUXGA. 185 
 
 " I d dare, said Gnnga, resolutely; I love my 
 father, but I do not care for the Brahmins, and be 
 sides, I shouldn t tell any one that I was a Christian. 
 
 " My heart yearned over the little stray lamb 
 who seemed to be groping for light, and I tried 
 to make her understand how the loving Saviour 
 called the little ones to him and blessed them 
 while he was here on earth. 
 
 " That is very pretty, said Tulasi ; thank you, 
 Madam Sahib. Now I will go to sleep ; and she 
 curled herself on her mat with a contented smile. 
 
 " Bhagoo, the father, soon came in, and I told 
 him that the Padre Sahib, who had studied medi 
 cine, would try to cure his child, if he were willing. 
 He seemed very glad of this; indeed, the Hindoos 
 appear to think that all white people are doctors, 
 and they are very apt to beg the sahibs for medi 
 cine, no matter what their calling may be. 
 
 " Little Tulasi was very tenderly cared for, and 
 although nothing could cure her, she lived for 
 several months after my first visit, to her. Many 
 an hour did I spend beside her mat, for she was 
 too weak to sit up much, and she learned to love 
 the word of God that I read to her and the 
 Christian prayers that were offered in her behalf. 
 
 " I have got him she said, one day, very
 
 186 THE WfLDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 brightly; I feel him in ray heart! The Lord 
 Jesus knows that Tulasi loves him, and he has 
 come down now to stay, with me all the time. 
 Sing for me, Gunga sing some of the pretty hymns 
 that we learned at school. 
 
 " Gunga s voice was very sweet, and she would 
 sing with the tears rolling down her cheeks, for 
 she could not bear the thought that her only sister 
 would soon be taken away from her. 
 
 "Just before Tulasi died she called her father, 
 who seemed very sad at losing her, and asked him 
 to grant her one last request. 
 
 " He promised that he would do whatever she 
 wished. 
 
 " * I am a Christian, said the dying child ; I 
 love the Lord Jesus Christ, who died for me, and 
 I want to be buried with the Christians when I 
 die. You will promise me this, my father? You 
 will not give my body to be burned ? 
 
 " Bhagoo solemnly promised his daughter that 
 everything should be done as she desired, and 
 with a sweet smile of thanks Tulasi sank back on 
 her pillow. I had to leave her then for the night, 
 and before morning her spirit was with the Saviour 
 whom she loved. 
 
 " But. what a sad story reached me of the poor
 
 THE STORY OF OUNGA. 187 
 
 child s last moments! When the hand of death 
 \v;is plainly on her, Bhagoo, instead of keeping his 
 promise, sent for a Brahmin, who came to perform 
 his idolatrous rites over her. In spite of Gunga s 
 tears and entreaties, Tulasi was not even allowed to 
 die in her bed, for according to the Hindoo super 
 stition, a dead body pollutes everything that it 
 touches; she was dragged to the floor, and breathed 
 her last on the hard earth. This was afterward 
 cleansed and purified with cow manure, which the 
 Hindoos always use for such purposes, and the 
 body of poor little Tulasi was taken to the burn 
 ing-ghat." 
 
 " What a wicked man," said Minnie, indig 
 nantly, " when he had promised his daughter that 
 she should be buried like a Christian !" 
 
 "It was the one earthly thing for which Tulasi 
 seemed to care," continued Mrs. Wildford, " but 
 the Hindoos think nothing of breaking a promise, 
 and the Brahmin wanted his funeral fees. So the 
 little wasted body was made ready for burning, 
 and when the pile had been lighted, Gunga was 
 left to watch and keep up the fire and throw the 
 ashes into the river when the fire had done its 
 work." 
 
 " Did they leave poor little Gunga all alone there
 
 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 to see her sister burn up on the funeral pile ?" asked 
 Minnie, shuddering. 
 
 " Yes, my dear little Minnie ; the tender mercies 
 of the wicked are cruel, and it was very cruel to 
 poor Gunga, but you must not forget that it was 
 not really her sister that was burning, only the 
 body she had worn ; God had her spirit, the part 
 that cannot die, in safekeeping. 
 
 " I will let Gunga tell the rest of the story. I 
 did not know how bad it was until she rushed to 
 the school one day in a passion of tears, and told 
 me how they had left her alone late in the after 
 noon by the side of the little river where the burn 
 ing was done. 
 
 " It was dreadful/ said the poor child, to sit 
 there and look at the fire that was burning up my 
 little Tulasi, and it was so still around that I felt 
 afraid. The sun was going down behind the hills, 
 and a great black cloud seemed to hang over 
 everything. I felt more and more afraid ; I 
 thought that I would die, too, and I sat and wept 
 there by the water, for I did not believe that if I 
 died I would go to the Lord Jesus, as Tulasi did : 
 I was not good like her. Then I trembled all 
 over, for Maha Deo came and talked to me. " 
 
 " Was that the wicked Brahmin ?" asked Harry.
 
 THE STORY OF GUNOA. 189 
 
 " No," was the reply ; " Maha Deo means al 
 mighty God, and poor little Gunga s conscience 
 began to accuse her when she thought of death, 
 and this she called God talking to her. 
 
 " Maha Deo told me, said she, Gunga, you 
 have been a bad girl ; you have often lied and 
 stolen, and you have not minded what the Padre 
 and Madam Sahib told you, and you were not al 
 ways kind and patient with Tulasi, and you have 
 such a bad heart that you must die for ever un 
 less you get a new one. You must be a Christian 
 or you will never see Tulasi again. And now, 
 M;ulam Sahib, said she, weeping very bitterly, I 
 want to learn how to live like a Christian ; I can 
 not be a heathen any longer. What can I do to try 
 to live right ? 
 
 The first thing, my dear child/ I replied, is 
 to give your heart fully and entirely to Him who 
 so lovingly asks for it, and then you had better 
 come to us and let this be your home. Here you 
 will be with Christian friends who will care for all 
 your bodily and spiritual wants because you are 
 one of the little ones for whom Christ died. 
 
 "But Gunga sadly refused. 
 
 " You are very kind, Madam Sahib, she re 
 plied, and I would love to come and live with
 
 190 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 you. But I cannot leave my father ; he is an old 
 man now, and has no one but Gunga to cook his 
 rice. I will not tell him that I am a Christian, 
 for that, I believe, would kill him, but I must stay 
 with him as long as he lives. 
 
 " I told Gunga that she was quite right not to 
 leave her old father; she must be faithful and do 
 her duty, however hard, and leave the rest with 
 God. 
 
 "She lingered as though she had something 
 more to say; then looking stealthily around, she 
 whispered hurriedly : 
 
 " Do not tell any one, Madam Sahib ; I did not, 
 throw the ashes into the river, as they bade me, for 
 then the Lord Jesus could not find Tulasi when 
 he comes to call the dead people to life. I dug a 
 hole in the sand and put them there. Tulasi 
 would like this better/ 
 
 " My heart was very full for the poor Hindoo 
 child as I replied : I am glad that you remember 
 the Scripture so well, Gunga, but be assured, my 
 child, that the Lord will find his own again even 
 in the depths of the ocean, for he has told us that 
 the sea shall give up its dead. Live close to him 
 always, and fear not them that can kill the body, 
 and after that have nothing more that they can do,
 
 THE STORY OF OUXOA. 191 
 
 but fear Him who can cast both soul and body into 
 hell. " 
 
 "What became of poor little Gunga, grand 
 mamma?" asked Minnie, anxiously; "did her 
 father kill her?" 
 
 " No," was the reply ; " Bhagoo died in a few 
 mouths after Tulasi s death, and then Gunga came 
 to live at our little mission house. She soon be 
 came useful in the school as a teacher, and after 
 ward she was one of our most faithful Bible- 
 women, reading the word of God for hours at a 
 time to different groups of her countrywomen. 
 She died of cholera a few years after I left India, 
 but it was a most triumphant Christian death." 
 
 " What a lovely story that is !" said Minnie, ad 
 miringly. 
 
 "Indeed, ma am, it s beautiful," said Sarah, with 
 tears in her eyes. 
 
 " 1 like that Gunga," observed Harry, approv 
 ingly ; " she was a girl with some sense in her." 
 
 " We can all be like her in one way, Harry," 
 replied his grandmamma, "and I think you know 
 what it is." 
 
 But Harry only hung his head, and Mrs. Wild- 
 ford continued: "The voice of almighty God 
 that the poor desolate child heard by the river-
 
 192 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 bank is too often stilled in our hearts ; we grieve 
 the Holy Spirit by refusing to listen to his teach 
 ings, putting them aside, perhaps, for a more con 
 venient season. If Gunga had tried to comfort 
 herself, after her sister s death, by thinking no 
 more about it, and had refused to listen to Maha 
 Deo, perhaps he would never have spoken to her 
 again, and she would have lived and died a 
 heathen." 
 
 The children looked very serious at this, and 
 Sarah began to think that these stories about India 
 had more in them than she expected.
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 WHITE JESSAMINE. 
 
 REMEMBER another little girl in our 
 school at Bombay," said grandmamma, 
 " whose story is quite different from Gun- 
 ga s ; her name was Shewanti, or White 
 Jessamine." 
 
 " Oh," said Minnie, " isn t that lovely ? I wish 
 I had been named White Jessamine !" 
 
 " I don t," replied Harry ; " it would have been 
 a great bother to say all that, instead of Minnie." 
 
 "It is too late to talk about that now," said 
 Mrs. Wildford, "and I want you to listen to the 
 story of 
 
 "WHITE JESSAMINE. 
 "A little creature about six years old was 
 brought to the school one day by her mother. She 
 was extremely pretty and winning, with such a 
 bright, mischievous face that she made every one 
 smile who looked at her. Her clothing was very 
 
 light indeed, as it consisted entirely of three brace- 
 is 193
 
 194 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 lets on each arm, two ankle-bands and two or 
 three toe-rings. 
 
 " Her small ladyship was married, as the toe- 
 rings and the daub of red paint on her forehead 
 proclaimed, but she was still in her mother s care, 
 while her boy-husband was going to school from 
 his father s house. 
 
 " Shewanti s mother wished us to take the child 
 as a present ; she did not mind her being made a 
 Christian, she said, for she had not much caste to 
 lose, and she found it very hard to live. We took 
 the little flower thus offered us as God s gift, to be 
 trained for his service, but we told the mother, 
 very much to her delight, that she should not be 
 entirely separated from her child, but that she 
 might come to the mission house and visit her. 
 
 "The first thing we did with White Jessamine 
 was to put some clothes on her, and she was speedily 
 attired in a little tunic and sacque very much like 
 these." 
 
 The children and Sarah examined the odd-look 
 ing little garments of red cotton with great in 
 terest, and Minnie wished that the little Hindoo 
 girl herself were in the clothes now. 
 
 "She is quite a middle-aged woman by this 
 time," replied her grandmamma, "and has several
 
 WHITE JESSAMINE. 195 
 
 children of her own, but then she was one of the 
 dearest little things I ever saw. She was round 
 and dimpled and a perfect sunbeam for smiling; 
 "cute is the only expression that just describes 
 her. 
 
 " White Jessamine soon proved to be a very 
 lively young lady indeed, and committed endless 
 pranks that were never very severely punished. 
 A little shy at first, this soon wore off, and the 
 merry mischief of her nature asserted itself." 
 
 "What did she do, grandmamma?" asked 
 Harry ; " she must have been a jolly little thing 
 for a Hindoo." 
 
 " I can remember one of her freaks distinctly," 
 said Mrs. Wildford, smiling at the recollection ; 
 "the funny little figure seems to rise before me 
 now. She became very fond of the Padre Sahib, 
 would hang about him and get more play out of 
 him than any one else could accomplish, and one 
 day she concluded to be the Padre Sahib herself. 
 She arrayed herself in a complete suit of your 
 grandfather s clothes, which in India were always 
 of white linen, put on a straw hat of his, which 
 came quite over her roguish little face, and with 
 her morsels of feet fairly lost in a pair of his slip 
 pers, she stood in the school-room door and re-
 
 196 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 ceived with the utmost gravity the bursts of laughter 
 which greeted her appearance. 
 
 "She was such a comical figure that the Padre 
 Sahib himself laughed, and then Shewanti fairly 
 danced for joy." 
 
 " I am so glad nobody scolded her/ said Minnie. 
 
 "It was not easy to scold White Jessamine," 
 was the reply, "she was so loving and lovable. 
 I think a very gentle reproof was administered 
 on the impropriety of little girls dressing them 
 selves in gentlemen s clothes and tumbling the 
 Padre Sahib s linen, and she took it enough to 
 heart to try a different prank next time. 
 
 " Shewanti learned with great quickness, and 
 would laugh one moment and cry the next when 
 anything pleased or saddened her in what she was 
 studying. Her mother seemed very happy in the 
 progress she made, and she was quite delighted 
 when she saw Shewanti dressed almost like 
 Madam Sahib. The mother loved to come to the 
 Christian services, but she did not live more than 
 a year or two after we first saw her. She had be 
 come a humble follower of Christ, and she was the 
 first native to whom we had the comfort of giving 
 Christian burial. 
 
 " White Jessamine mourned for her mother with
 
 WHITE JESSAMINE. 197 
 
 a child s passionate grief, but soon the kindness 
 that surrounded her brought back her smiles, and 
 of her own accord she bestowed on me the title of 
 .Mamma Sahib. I loved the child very dearly, 
 and none the less so, I believe, that she seemed so 
 devoted to my little Ada. She would play with 
 her for hours together, and was always ready to 
 give up her own pleasure to amuse the child." 
 
 " Mamma had some funny playmates, hadn t 
 she, grandmamma?" said Minnie. 
 
 " To think of all the queer black people around 
 her!" said Sarah, in great disgust; "didn t they 
 frighten the baby, ma am ?" 
 
 " Not in the least," replied Mrs. Wildford, " be 
 cause she was always used to .them. Had they 
 been suddenly brought before her, it would have 
 been a different thing. Yes, Minnie, your mamma 
 did have what would seem to you very funny 
 playfellows, but I think she was quite as happy 
 with them as you are with yours. Little She- 
 wanti s pranks and roguish, laughing face were 
 very attractive to a baby, and Lilly, her African 
 nurse, was her especial delight. 
 
 " It was very sweet to us to watch the workings 
 of White Jessamine s mind as she gradually grew 
 to be a child of God ; all the earnestness of her
 
 198 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 nature was spent on heavenly things, and often 
 have I seen her with the tears rolling down her 
 cheeks as she studied the sacred narratives of the 
 sufferings of our Lord. 
 
 "Once, when this had been the subject of her 
 lesson, the children were playing blindman s buff, 
 and it came to Shewanti s turn to be blinded. 
 They were about tying the handkerchief over her 
 eyes, when she broke away from them, exclaiming : 
 
 " No ! No ! I cannot ! 
 
 " But why ? they asked ; why will you be so 
 disobliging and spoil our play ? 
 
 " Because, sobbed the child, l they blinded our 
 dear Lord, and I know it isn t right. 
 
 "The children were quite troubled at this, and 
 brought the matter to me. 
 
 " I kissed my little White Jessamine, and told 
 her that, while all tender love and reverence were 
 due to the sufferings of Christ our Saviour, this 
 was carrying the feeling farther than was reason 
 able, and she could do her part in blindman s buff 
 without fear of committing sin in this respect. 
 
 "The April face brightened immediately, and 
 no lighter foot or heart than Shewanti s joined in 
 the play that afternoon. 
 
 " When this little convert first began to under-
 
 WHITE J Ms A MINE. 199 
 
 stand the sinful nature of lying and deception, of 
 which the Hindoos think so little, she could not 
 endure the least deviation from truth, either in 
 herself or others. She got up a little society 
 among the children, which she called the truth- 
 tellers/ and all who told a falsehood or who did 
 not strictly speak the truth were marked in a little 
 book that she kept for that purpose." 
 
 " I hope she wasn t a telltale?" said Harry, with 
 great contempt. 
 
 "No," replied his grandmamma; " White Jessa 
 mine s nature was too noble for that. Her own 
 name was as likely to be marked in this little 
 record as any other, and it was never seen by the 
 teachers. It was quite a check upon the children, 
 who were allowed to see it once a week, but I did 
 not know of it until some years afterward. 
 
 "Of course all the children in our school did 
 not become Christians, and many of those who 
 might have done so in time were taken away by 
 their parents on the first symptoms of such a dis 
 grace, as they called it. Some of those even to 
 whom we gave Christian instruction would revile 
 and oppose the truth among themselves, while 
 those who loved sacred things formed a little band 
 and stole away after night, while the others were
 
 200 THE WILD FORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 sleeping, for prayer and praise. White Jessamine 
 was the prime mover in this; she was one of those 
 bright, active spirits who seem destined to be at 
 the head of everything, whether for mischief or for 
 good. 
 
 " It was some little time before I discovered this 
 habit of the children s ; when I did, I told them 
 that, although their object was a good one, they 
 were really breaking the rules by getting up after 
 they had been sent to bed, and that this was a bad 
 example to others. I gave them a particular hour 
 for their little meeting, and they were very obedient 
 in observing it. 
 
 " These children, you must remember, were older 
 in their characters and thoughts than children of 
 the same age here, and to them the glad tiding? 
 of the gospel were as though some strange people 
 should bring you accounts of a wonderfully beau 
 tiful and glorious country that you had never heard 
 of before, but to which you might go and live there 
 for ever amid its gold and precious stones, and de 
 licious flowers and fruits, if you followed their di 
 rections about getting there. 
 
 "Some other day I will tell you of Shewanti s 
 companions, and of the young Brahmin whom she 
 afterward married. The boy to whom she was
 
 WHITE JESSAMINE. 201 
 
 married when she came to school refused to have 
 her for his wife because she had become a Chris 
 tian, but White Jessamine laughed, and said that 
 she was very glad of it, because she did not wish 
 to be married at all." 
 
 " That is so nice," said Minnie, when her grand 
 mamma had finished; "it seems to me almost the 
 nicest thing you have told us yet, grandmamma." 
 
 " I am very glad to find that you do not get tired 
 of India," said Mrs. Wildford. "And how is it 
 with you, Harry?" 
 
 " Why, grandmamma," replied the boy, frankly, 
 "I did not think I would like it half so much 
 when you said that I need not expect any elephants 
 and things, and I am ever so much obliged to you 
 for letting me come in here." 
 
 "And I m sure I am, ma am," said Sarah, gather 
 ing up her work ; " a lady that can talk as much as 
 you can ain t to be found in every family." 
 
 Mrs. Wildford laughed a little over Sarah s com 
 pliment when she had left the room, but, as it 
 was well meant, she took it as it was intended.
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 ELEPHANT A. AND SALSETTE. 
 
 HE next day, when the children went into 
 their grandmother s room for an Indian 
 talk, as they called it, they found her very 
 busy with some maps and a large marble- 
 covered book that seemed to be full of writing. 
 
 " I have been looking over my journal," said 
 Mrs. Wildford, "and wondering if I could not give 
 you a better idea of Bombay and the surrounding 
 country than I have yet done. It is so entirely 
 different from anything here that I should like, if 
 possible, to make you see it with my eyes. Come 
 here, Harry, and read this little account from the 
 letter of another traveler in India." 
 
 Harry read the following description very nicely : 
 "The various tribes of the countries through 
 which I have passed interested me extremely. 
 Their language, the circumstances of their habita 
 tion, dress and armor, their pastoral and agricul 
 tural way of life, their women grinding at the mill, 
 
 202
 
 ELEPHANTA AND SALSETTE 203 
 
 their cakes baked on the coals, their corn trodden 
 out by oxen, their maidens passing to the well, 
 their travelers lodging in the streets, their tents, 
 their camels, their shields, spears and coats of mail, 
 their Mussulmans with a religion closely copied 
 from that of Moses, their Hindoo tribes worshiping 
 the same abominations with the same rites as the 
 ancient Canaanites, their false prophets swarming 
 in every city and foretelling good or evil as it suits 
 the political views of their employers, their judges 
 sitting in the gate, and their wild Bheels and 
 Thoolies dwelling, like the ancient Amorites, in 
 holes and clefts of the rocks, and coming down 
 with sword and bow to watch the motions or at 
 tack the baggage of the traveler, transported me 
 back three thousand years, and I felt myself a con 
 temporary of Joshua or Samuel." 
 
 "All this," said Mrs. Wildford, "is so true that 
 I had almost the same feeling when I went to 
 India. The more I traveled and saw the customs 
 of the people, the more it seemed as though I had 
 indeed gone back three thousand years, instead of 
 living in the nineteenth century. But before I tell 
 you any more of these travels, which, as I said at 
 first, were not very extensive, after all, I am going 
 to talk of some remarkable places near Bombay.
 
 204 THE WiLDFORDS Zft INDIA. 
 
 Here is a map of the island and the places all 
 around it, and I am going to read you what another 
 traveler said of it many years before I went there : 
 
 " Nothing can he more delightful than the rides 
 and drives in this island. They extend twenty-one 
 miles, and communicate with the neighboring isl 
 and of Salsette by means of a causeway. The 
 prospect is as grand and as beautiful as can be 
 imagined ; the mighty range of the Ghauts towering 
 in the clouds and extending as far as the eye can 
 reach, the bold views on the continent, the diversi 
 fied objects on the island, old ruinous convents and 
 monasteries erected by its former conquerors, the 
 Portuguese, the noble country-houses of the Euro 
 peans, Hindoo pagodas, Mohammedan mosques, the 
 remains of Mahratta forts and buildings, these, 
 with the rural appearance of Hindoo villages, where 
 every patch of ground is richly cultivated or orna 
 mented and interspersed with groves of date and 
 cocoanut trees, afford a prospect of luxuriance 
 and beauty to be met with nowhere but in the 
 Concan. 
 
 " As we turn our eyes toward the sea, we are pre 
 sented with a fine hard beach running on to the 
 high and romantic spot called Malabar point, which 
 promontory is studded with neat villas, while the
 
 ELEPHANT A AND SALSETTE. 205 
 
 city and fort are seen in the background, with the 
 ships securely at anchor in the harbor. 
 
 " Nor must we forget the isthmus called Colaba 
 (probably Cal-ab, or black water) running for 
 about two miles in a straight line from Bombay, 
 from which it is separated at high water. On this 
 small island, which scarcely exceeds a quarter of a 
 mile in breadth, are several good houses and a 
 range of barracks. At its farthest or western end 
 stands a noble signal and lighthouse, from the top 
 of which is a very fine view of the island and adja 
 cent country. " 
 
 " Did you think Bombay a beautiful place, grand 
 mamma?" asked Harry. 
 
 " I did, indeed," was the reply. " It looked to 
 me almost like a second Eden. Of that interesting 
 country it may truly be said, as in the missionary 
 
 hymn, 
 
 Where every prospect pleases, 
 And only man is vile. 
 
 I am going to tell you to-day," continued Mrs. 
 Wildford, "of the visit we made to the Cave of 
 Elephanta." 
 
 "Do elephants really live in caves?" asked Min 
 nie. " I thought they were so large that they had 
 to stay in groves or on the banks of rivers."
 
 206 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 " I never heard of any but stone elephants that 
 were found in eaves/ replied her grandmamma. 
 " Elephanta, or Shapooree, is the name of a small 
 island about two hours sail from Bombay. A 
 great many travelers and parties of pleasure go 
 there to spend the day. They get into a bundur 
 or wharf-boat, of which I told you in my journey 
 to Allabag, and sail or row across the beautiful 
 harbor to the curiously-shaped island, which looks 
 like a double-headed hill rising out of the sea. 
 When we reached the shore, there was a long up 
 hill walk to be taken through a narrow valley that 
 separates the mountains, and I became very tired 
 before we got to the open space that surrounds the 
 rock-hewn temple, for Elephanta is really a cave- 
 temple hewn out of the solid rock no one knows 
 how many thousands of years ago." 
 
 " Oh," said Harry, " that is like the Catacombs 
 of Rome, grandmamma, where the Christians used 
 to worship for fear of the wicked emperors." 
 
 " Not much like the Catacombs, Harry," replied 
 his grandmamma, sadly. " These cave-temples of 
 India (for there are a great many of them in various 
 places) are not underground, but cut in the moun 
 tains, and a great deal of time has been spent in 
 carving the stone pillars "nd the figures of their
 
 ELEPHANT A AND SALSETTE. 207 
 
 gods that are sculptured on the walls. They have 
 not been used as burial-places, like the Catacombs 
 for the Hindoos, you know, burn their dead and 
 instead of telling us, like these humbler temples, 
 of the beautiful faith of the early Christians, they 
 are full of the symbols of idolatry, with all its 
 abominations. 
 
 "The walk, which seemed to me so long because 
 we were ascending the hill, is only about three- 
 quarters of a mile from the landing, and it was 
 really very pretty, being part of the way through 
 woods, and sometimes on the very edge of a preci 
 pice. At the entrance of the temple are immense 
 stone pillars, on which the whole mountain above 
 seems to rest. Wild vines and shrubs grow on the 
 summit of the hill, and hang down, so that the 
 foliage twines over the front of the temple. This 
 is about one hundred and thirty feet long, and the 
 stone columns that support it are arranged so that 
 there are three openings, through which we could 
 look only into darkness." 
 
 " Then you did not see the inside at all ! " said 
 Minnie, in a disappointed tone. " I wanted so 
 much to know about the inside." 
 
 " Do not be too fast, little granddaughter. There 
 are such thing? as torches that are intended espe-
 
 208 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 cially for caves, and with this help you may be 
 sure that we did not leave Elephanta without ex 
 ploring the inside. We found the roof quite flat, 
 and the heavy pillars were in rows all the way 
 back to the end of the cave. On the sides of the 
 walls were immense figures of various Hindoo 
 gods Gunputti with his elephant head ; a god 
 with four faces riding on a bird, and Siva, the 
 head god of India, under different forms. At the 
 very end of the cave, in a large recess, there is a 
 figure of their triad god, much larger than life, with 
 three heads, and in another place is Siva, who wears 
 a necklace of human skulls, and has the dreadful 
 cobra or hooded snake of India close beside him." 
 
 "A real snake?" asked Minnie. 
 
 " No, my child ; this one is of stone, but real 
 snakes are often found in these caves, particularly 
 in the rainy season. We did not see any, however, 
 and I do not think that I once thought of them at 
 Elephanta. This wonderful temple, although of 
 stone, is really in a state of decay ; the heavy rains 
 injure it every year, because, as there is no way of 
 draining off the water, it lies there for a long time. 
 Many of the stone pillars have been worn away 
 from the ground, so that only the tops are left 
 hanging from the roof in a very curious fashion.
 
 ELEPHANTA AND SALSETTE. 209 
 
 On the island of Elephanta, about a quarter of a 
 mile from the landing, there is a huge stone ele 
 phant with an animal on its back that is supposed 
 to have been intended for a tiger. The name of 
 the island is taken from this stone image." 
 
 " Did you go to any of these other places, grand 
 mamma?" asked Harry as he studied the map. 
 
 " Yes," was the reply, " we also visited Salsette, 
 which, as you will see, is another island near Bom 
 bay, and it is a very beautiful one. 
 
 "More caves, too, grandmamma? It says here, 
 Caves of Thanheri. " 
 
 " Yes," replied Mrs. Wildford, " Salsette is full 
 of interest, and as we wished to acquaint ourselves 
 with the condition of the people on the island, we 
 spent three or four days there. There is a narrow 
 causeway from Bombay to Salsette, and over this 
 we drove in a bullock cart, instead of going by 
 water." 
 
 " What is a bullock cart?" asked Minnie. 
 
 " It is a queer-looking vehicle on two wheels, 
 drawn by bullocks or oxen, that in India takes 
 the place of our hacks, or public carriages. Here 
 is a picture of one with the godswallah, or driver." 
 
 The children thought it funny enough, and 
 Sarah pronounced it " heathenish looking." 
 
 14
 
 210 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 "I am sorry to say," continued Mrs. Wildford, 
 " that I startled our godswallah very much during 
 this journey by telling him to go as fast as he 
 could because I was possessed with a devil. I meant 
 to say that I was suffering with hunger, and wished 
 him to drive quickly to the nearest town, but I 
 did not understand the language very well then, 
 and I frequently made mistakes. Your grand 
 father laughed heartily, but the man seemed to 
 think me rather dangerous, and the poor bullocks 
 were indeed driven with a vengeance. 
 
 " Our journey through Salsette was really lovely ; 
 part of the time we were in a valley, and the hills 
 on each side of us were covered with beautiful 
 shrubs, while we passed whole groves of mango 
 and palm trees. But there were very few people 
 to be seen ; at one of the villages, named Gora- 
 bunder, which was only a group of very poor- 
 looking huts, we found that the inhabitants got 
 their living by burning charcoal. They were a 
 caste by themselves with whom other Hindoos 
 would have nothing to do, except to buy their 
 charcoal in a very curious way. The Gorabunder 
 people took it in loads to some particular spot and 
 left it there; the Hindoos carried it away, and left 
 in payment tools of different kinds, rice and
 
 ELEPHANT A AND SALSETTE. 211 
 
 clothes, which the charcoal-burners could not get 
 for themselves. These poor people were very wild 
 and ignorant, and the Hindoos treated them with 
 the utmost contempt. 
 
 "At a place called Toolsey we came upon a large 
 party of friends who had planned this pleasant 
 surprise for us. The place was very pretty, full 
 of fine trees and surrounded by high mountains. 
 Our friends had pitched their tents in one of the 
 groves, for they were out on a picnic, and the 
 white and colored dresses of the Mohammedan, 
 Hindoo and Parsee servants, the five Arab horses 
 tied under the trees, the crowd of bullock carts 
 and native drivers, fires for cooking and the tangled 
 beauty of the jungle, formed a picture that could 
 be found nowhere else." 
 
 " Grandmamma," said Harry, " what is a jungle ? 
 I thought it was a dreadful place where only tigers 
 lived." 
 
 " Tigers do have their lairs in jungles, as a gen 
 eral thing," was the reply, "but every jungle has 
 not tigers in it. This is the common name in 
 India for a thicket of any kind. Tigers were said 
 to be plentiful on the island of Salsette, but we 
 probably frightened them away from our immediate 
 neighborhood, as we did no* even have a distant
 
 212 THE WILD FORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 glimpse of one. There are wildcats and rattle 
 snakes in some parts of America, yet we should 
 be very much surprised to have foreigners ask us 
 how we could live in such a dreadful country, 
 where there were wildcats and rattlesnakes. 
 
 " We found a morning ride through the woods at 
 Salsette perfectly delicious. The air was cool and 
 fresh from a recent shower, and the numerous 
 singing birds made a concert for us all the way. 
 The trees, too, seemed to be full of monkeys, who 
 kept up an incessant chatter and amused us with 
 their pranks. If we had been able to feel that it 
 was right for us to do nothing but. to seek our own 
 happiness, I think we would have pitched our tents 
 for life at Salsette. 
 
 But only he who bears the cross 
 Can hope to wear the glorious crown, 
 
 and the motto of the true Christian is ever On 
 ward. 
 
 " The caves of Thanheri were to be visited before 
 we left the island, and some of our friends went 
 with us to see these wonderful temples. Our road 
 lay through a very dense jungle, from which I al 
 most expected to see a tiger spring upon us, but 
 no such catastrophe happened.
 
 ELEPHANT A A\I> N. 1 L8ETTE. 213 
 
 "Thanheri is quite different from Elephanta. 
 There are a number of caves of various sizes on 
 )oth sides of a high, rocky hill, but these temples 
 have nothing to do with the Hindoo religion. The 
 first inhabitants of India were Buddhists, or wor 
 shipers of Buddha, and many of the caves seem to 
 have been used by monks or hermits who devoted 
 themselves to the service of this god. The largest 
 cave is a temple in the form of a Christian church, 
 but here, alas! the resemblance ends, for an im 
 mense statue of the false god Buddha stands at each 
 side of the entrance. The temple is very beau 
 tiful ; it has rows of finely-carved pillars with 
 lions at the top, and the walls are ornamented with 
 a row of sculptured figures." 
 
 "But who did all this, grandmamma?" asked 
 Harry. 
 
 " That is just what we do not know," was the 
 reply, " because it seems impossible to discover the 
 age of these temples. There is an inscription on 
 one of the stone pillars, but. it is written in a lan 
 guage that no on* can understand ; we only know 
 that it does not honor the true God. The roof of 
 this cave is not flat, like that of Elephanta, but 
 arched, and ornamented in ribs with the close, 
 heavy wood of the teak tree. There is one large
 
 214 THE WILD FORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 room fifty feet long and about twenty wide, and 
 on three sides of this room there is a row of eight- 
 sided pillars. At the extreme end there is a half 
 circle, and in this a dome carved out of the rock. 
 This dome is a symbol of the Buddhist faith, and 
 earlier travelers say that there used to be on the 
 top a large gilt umbrella." 
 
 " What a funny thing for a temple !" said Harry ; 
 " it never rained in there, did it?" 
 
 " The folly of idolatry," said Mrs. Wildford, " is 
 only equaled by its wickedness. There is no sense 
 in the gilt umbrella, nor in the many-headed and 
 many-handed gods that are so often found in these 
 heathen temples. 
 
 " It was pleasant to leave such a place and see 
 how much more beautiful God had made the world 
 outside, and to feel that he had raised a temple to 
 his own honor in the very hills and woods and 
 valleys around us that would outlast the most per 
 fect work of man. The view on top of the hill 
 from which the cave-temples arc cut is particularly 
 beautiful, and I wished that I could have brought 
 away with me a good picture of it. 
 
 " We found the people of Salsette in a very sad 
 condition ; few of them could read, and when we 
 tried to tell them of the one eternal God and
 
 ELEPHANT A AND SALSETTE, 215 
 
 Saviour, their minds could not seem to comprehend 
 it. We might not linger, for we were needed at 
 Bombay, and we left the island with feelings of 
 sorrow that the dwellers in that lovely spot seemed 
 so little better than the beasts that perish." 
 
 " Well," said Minnie, with a sigh, " I wish that 
 I could remember it all, grandmamma, but I don t 
 believe I know now which is Elephanta and which 
 is that other place." 
 
 "Girls are smart!" observed Harry, contempt- 
 ously ; " when you want to think of them, you can 
 recollect that there are elephants in the cave of 
 Elephanta, and tigers at the other place. " 
 
 Minnie was quite bewildered : " Is that right, 
 grandmamma? I didn t remember you saying so." 
 
 "No, my dear, it is not right, and neither is 
 somebody else right. Do not forget, Harry, that 
 you are two years older than your sister, and if 
 you are so much more clever, you should help her, 
 instead of leading her astray." 
 
 Harry was penitent in a moment. 
 
 "Come, Minnie," said he, affectionately "or 
 White Jessamine, if you like that better let s 
 make it up. I won t tell you any more stories, 
 and perhaps I really can help you about the caves 
 when we come to talk them over."
 
 216 THE WILDFO^DS IN INDIA. 
 
 " Grandmamma," said Minnie, when her brothei 
 had gone to his lessons, " I do love Harry very 
 much ; if he does tease me, he is always so good after 
 he has been bad." 
 
 " That," replied her grandmamma, smiling, " was 
 one of White Jessamine s funny sayings. She said 
 she always felt so good after she had been 
 naughty." 
 
 " I want to hear more about her," said Minnie ; 
 " don t you, Sarah ?" 
 
 Sarah replied that she would like it very much, 
 but that she thought everything Mrs. Wildford told 
 them was very nice. 
 
 " I cannot promise you much more about White 
 Jessamine," said grandmamma, " but at our next 
 talk I will tell you about White Jessamine s 
 husband." 
 
 "Oh," exclaimed Minnie, "I am so glad! I 
 want to hear about him ever so much. I hope he 
 was very nice indeed, grandmamma?" 
 
 " We thought so," replied Mrs. Wildford. " But 
 I am going to invite my company to leave me 
 now." 
 
 "One good kiss first," said Minnie, warmly; 
 "you are just the dearest grandmamma that ever 
 lived !"
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 THE YOUNG BRAHMIN. 
 
 I O turn those monkeys out!" said Mr. Bolton 
 as he saw the children making a rush 
 for their grandmamma s room after dinner ; 
 " they must be a perfect nuisance !" 
 
 " I will turn them out as soon as I get tired of 
 them," was the smiling reply, "but just now I 
 cannot do very well without them." 
 
 Harry felt very much elated at this, and grand 
 mamma was quite amused at the air with which 
 he walked into the room. 
 
 " Now," said Minnie, almost before they were 
 seated, " tell us about White Jessamine s husband, 
 please." 
 
 " His name was Ram Ganesha," said Mrs. Wild- 
 ford, "and here is a picture of him in his Hindoo 
 dress, before he became a Christian ; you see that he 
 wears the Brahminical turban and purdikah, and 
 here is the sacerdotal or threefold cord over his left 
 shoulder. This cord is laid aside at baptism." 
 
 " He s a real cross-looking fellow," said Harry. 
 
 217
 
 218 rifK W1LDFORDS IX INDIA. 
 
 "He was not cross-looking," replied his grand 
 mother, " but he was very earnest, and in having 
 his photograph taken, he seems to have been look 
 ing very solemn for fear of spoiling it." 
 
 " I think I should be afraid of him," said 
 Minnie, after studying the picture a while, "he 
 looks as if he knew so much." 
 
 "He was very learned for so young a man," 
 replied Mrs. Wildford. "But I shall begin my 
 story regularly, and call it 
 
 "THE YOUNG BRAHMIN. 
 
 " Your grandfather first became acquainted with 
 Ram Ganesha by employing him as teacher for a 
 school that he superintended a few miles from 
 Bombay." 
 
 " Was he a heathen then?" asked Harry. 
 
 "Yes; he was a very strict Brahmin, and we 
 were as glad to get such teachers as they were to 
 be employed. They brought the children on nicely 
 in their reading, and they were quite willing to 
 teach them the Lord s Prayer and the command 
 ments, and whatever other Scripture lessons we 
 appointed. They said it would do them no harm, 
 and there was really a great deal of good in our 
 Shasters."
 
 THE YOt XG BRAHMIN. 219 
 
 "It seems very funny," said Harry, "to have 
 heathens to teach the children about the Bible." 
 
 "It does seem so, I know," was the reply, "but 
 we had so few Christian teachers that we did just 
 the best we could, and we found our Brahmins 
 perfectly trustworthy. The children had to be 
 first taught to read in their own language, and 
 as Hindoos understood this better, they could teach 
 them better than we could. 
 
 " Ram Ganesha was a great favorite with us ; his 
 manners were very courteous, and his information 
 on general subjects so extensive that your grand 
 father enjoyed a chat with him very much. Of 
 religion he would not speak at all ; whenever the 
 subject was introduced, he would make his salaam 
 just as soon as politeness would let him, or, if 
 obliged to stay, he became rigidly silent. He was 
 said to be an unusually strict Hindoo, and a de 
 voted worshiper of the elephant-headed Gunputti, 
 after whom he was named : Ganesha is only another 
 form of it." 
 
 " What a pity," said Minnie, " when he was 
 so nice !" 
 
 " He came out all right," replied Harry, "didn t 
 he, grandmamma?" 
 
 " I never like to tell the end of ray story at the
 
 220 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 beginning," said Mrs. "Wild ford. " Ram Ganesha 
 gave his pupils a holiday on Wednesday and 
 Saturday afternoons, and on these occasions he 
 was very apt to ride over to Bombay and pay 
 a visit to the missionary s study, to give him an 
 account of matters and things at the school. One 
 afternoon he came, as usual, but he was evidently 
 very much troubled about something; he scarcely 
 spoke a word, and appeared to hear very little that 
 was said to him. 
 
 " Your grandfather supposed that something had 
 happened in the school, and tried to question him 
 about it, but Ram Ganesha said hurriedly that the 
 school was doing well, and then mounted his horse 
 and rode off. The missionary was quite puzzled by 
 this strange conduct, and it was some time before 
 the mystery was cleared up. 
 
 " That you may understand it from the begin 
 ning, I am going to take you to the tank just out 
 side of the city." 
 
 " Isn t that a dark place full of water ?" asked 
 Minnie. 
 
 " It is full of water," replied her grandmamma, 
 " but it is not dark. These tanks are very com 
 mon in India; they are square places dug in the 
 earth and lined with stone or chunam ; the rains
 
 THE YOUNG BRAHMIN. 221 
 
 fill them with water, and men and women come 
 with their pitchers, as Rebecca did to the well. 
 Flights of stone steps lead down into the tank, 
 which is also used to bathe in by the water-loving 
 Hindoos, and flowers and shrubs are often planted 
 around it. It is a favorite resort of the Brahmins 
 and chief men of the city in the cool of the day, 
 and it was at the tank that our young friend Ram 
 Ganesha became so unsettled. It is a very common 
 thing at these gatherings to have a sort of debating- 
 society ; the Hindoos are very fond of argument, 
 and they listen attentively to the most long-winded 
 discussions. Every man has a right to his say, and 
 no one interrupts him until it is finished. 
 
 "On the evening in question a kubeer-punt 
 appeared before the Brahmins and attacked them 
 boldly upon the subject of idolatry. He told them 
 very truly that to be an idolater was utterly un 
 worthy of a reasonable being, and asked them how 
 men of their learning could believe and teach so 
 preposterous a doctrine. 
 
 " He was very bold and very eloquent ; the an 
 swers of the Brahmins were knocked to pieces by 
 him as soon as they were uttered, and that grave 
 atid dignified body were very much scandalized by 
 the proceedings. Ram Ganesha fairly trembled with
 
 222 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 indignation, and could scarcely wait for his elders 
 to finish before he rushed to the rescue. He was 
 quite ashamed of their acquitting themselves so 
 badly before the kubeer-punt, and his blood 
 boiled to avenge the insults heaped upon the gods. 
 
 " The kubeer-punt found him a stronger adver 
 sary than he had yet encountered, and he listened ad 
 miringly to the mingled attack and defence poured 
 upon him by the young Brahmin. He stood his 
 ground, however, and came off victorious; the 
 Brahmins had to acknowledge themselves van 
 quished, as far as words went, and Ram Ganesha 
 took it so much to heart that he could neither eat 
 nor sleep. That man, he thought, must be an 
 swered, and his doctrine annihilated, but how to 
 do it? 
 
 " While thinking deeply over the matter, the 
 simple catechism containing the first principles of 
 Christianity which he taught in the school came 
 into his mind. That would do why not? He 
 would vanquish the kubeer-punt with the Chris 
 tian doctrines ; no matter what weapons were used, 
 so that the blasphemer did not triumph. 
 
 " He proposed it to the Brahmins, and found 
 them quite of his mind ; then he went vigorously 
 to work to siudy Christianity as he had never
 
 THE YOUXO BRAIfMlX 223 
 
 studied it before. He was surprised at it; the 
 more keen and searching the light brought to bear 
 upon it, the more its truth and beauty flashed upon 
 his mind. This is true, he said to himself this 
 is true, and we are all wrong! 
 
 " But the kubeer-punt must be answered : that 
 was the main thing just now ; and an evening 
 having been fixed for a second discussion, the 
 Brahmins were all in their places at the tank, and 
 with them the kubeer-punt. 
 
 " Ram Ganesha was allowed to begin, and he 
 opened the argument in a way that was quite un 
 expected to his adversary. He would not speak, 
 he said, of the holy gods whom the kubeer-punt 
 had reviled : he would let that pass for the pres 
 ent ; he wished to be answered first on some other 
 points. He would show the kubeer-punt that his 
 doctrine was altogether wrong, for if he followed 
 it out consistently, he would end by being a Chris 
 tian. 
 
 " I cannot repeat to you the words that Ram 
 Gimesha used, nor is it necessary to do so ; it is suf 
 ficient to say that he had mastered his subject 
 thoroughly, and the arguments were so well ar 
 ranged that the circle of Brahmins listened in ad 
 miring delight, while the kubeer-punt was utterly
 
 224 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 amazed to be attacked by a Hindoo with weapons 
 from the Christian armory. 
 
 "He could not answer the young Brahmin, and 
 the question was for the first time brought to his 
 mind, Why was he not a Christian ? He would 
 hear more of this new doctrine, and leaving the 
 field to his opponent, he walked thoughtfully home 
 to reflect on what he had heard. 
 
 " Ram Ganesha was flushed with his victory and 
 elated by the compliments and congratulations of 
 his elders; they pronounced him a finished actor, 
 and declared that, if they had not known him, 
 they would have taken him for a Christian. One 
 shrewd old fellow took it upon himself to make 
 the young man a private visit of inspection ; he had 
 his suspicions of Ram Ganesha, who seemed much 
 too well acquainted with the Christian arguments 
 for his own good, but when he charged his young 
 brother with leaving the religion of his fathers, 
 Ram Ganesha carried on the character he had as 
 sumed with the kubeer-punt, and answered so 
 calmly and forcibly that the old Brahmin scarcely 
 knew what to make of him. 
 
 " He repeated matters to the other Brahmins, but 
 they laughed at his suspicions. It was only more 
 of his capital acting, they said ; Ram Ganesha was
 
 THE YOUNG BRAHMIN. 225 
 
 a clever fellow, and he meant to make the most of 
 his joke. 
 
 " Meanwhile, an inward uneasiness gave Ram 
 Ganesha no peace, and he became so grave and ab 
 sent-minded that he scarcely seemed like the same 
 person. He saw that he must make a choice : on 
 the one hand, Christ and heaven; on the other, his 
 parents, his friends, all his hopes of earthly honor 
 and happiness. The vision of St. Paul at Damas 
 cus seemed to open before him, and the tender 
 love of the gentle reproach, Why persecutest me? 
 sank into his heart. It was this heavenly love that 
 haunted him ; it was so different from anything in 
 the Hindoo belief that it filled his thoughts con 
 tinually. 
 
 " During this season of indecision, Ram Ganesha 
 resolved to visit the Padre Sahib and open his 
 heart to him, but when he got there, he could not 
 speak ; he felt that this would be committing him 
 self, and he was not quite ready. He wished that 
 he had never seen the kubeer-punt, who was the 
 cause of all his trouble, for, now that his eyes were 
 opened, he could not put himself back where he 
 was before. 
 
 "At length the struggle was ended ; he pros 
 trated himself before the loving Saviour, with the 
 is
 
 226 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 inquiry, Lord, what will thou have me to do? 
 He had fully counted the cost, and he did not 
 shrink from the sacrifice. He went again to the 
 missionary, whose heart was filled with joy at what 
 seemed to him little short of a miracle. 
 
 " Now, said Ram Ganesha, when he had finished 
 his story, you must direct me, my father, what to 
 do; what is required of me, in the first place, as a 
 Christian ? 
 
 " You can no longer keep your school, replied 
 the missionary, thoughtfully, for your life would 
 not be safe there. You had better come to us for 
 the present that you may keep out of the hands of 
 the Brahmins. 
 
 "For you must know that such is their hatred 
 of native converts they will even kill a person 
 who is supposed to be in danger of becoming a 
 Christian. They think it reasonable enough that 
 people of another nation shall be of what religion 
 they please, but for a man to leave the religion 
 of his forefathers is not to be tolerated for a 
 moment. 
 
 " I will do as you say, Padre Sahib, said Ram 
 Ganesha, after a moment s reflection, but I have 
 always been a dutiful sou ; I must first look upon 
 the faces of my parents for the last time in this
 
 THE YOUNG BRAHMIN. 227 
 
 world. They will, you know, disown me as soon 
 as they find that I am a Christian. 
 
 " But are you not afraid, asked your grand 
 father, that they will keep you with them l>y 
 force, rather than let you disgrace your family by 
 l>ecoming a Christian ? 
 
 " I shall not tell them that I have changed, 
 was the reply; I will see them once more as 
 though nothing had happened, and write to them 
 on my return. 
 
 " But will you deny Christ? continued the 
 missionary, earnestly; occasions will arise to tempt 
 your faith, and I think that, under the circum 
 stances, the visit is an unwise one. 
 
 " I can manage, said Ram Ganesha, confidently, 
 and I mmt see my mother, who loves me very 
 dearly, once more before she dies. 
 
 "The missionary gazed after the young convert 
 with a heavy heart as he rode away ; he feared 
 that he might not see him again alive, or that, 
 under strong temptation, he would return to hea 
 thenism. His parents lived at Ahmednuggur, a 
 <-i(y which you will find here on the map just 
 beyond the Concan, and it would probably be a 
 week before anything was heard of him. 
 
 " The first news from Ram Ganesha was not satis-
 
 228 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 factory. A hurriedly-written note was received, 
 which read : Come quickly, my dear friend, if 
 you think me worth the trouble. I am a prisoner, 
 and see no way of escape unless you help me. 
 
 "Your grandfather did not stop for anything, 
 except to write to a friend at the next town to have 
 a horse ready for him, as his own would need rest by 
 the time that he reached it, and with a hurried fare 
 well to me he set forth on his journey. 
 
 " He found the fresh horse and some very ac 
 ceptable refreshment, and without stopping to rest 
 himself, he pushed on to the next station. It was 
 very warm and the roads were dusty ; the mis 
 sionary s white clothes were quite brown by the 
 time he arrived at the end of his day s journey. 
 
 "He had intended to spend the night at the 
 travelers bungalow, which afforded nothing but 
 a bare shelter, but an English officer in the place 
 who knew him insisted on taking him to his 
 house, where a bath and supper and pleasant 
 society soon revived him. His own horse was 
 sent on here, as he had requested, and early the 
 next morning he started again. 
 
 " When he had gone about three-quarters of the 
 way, a note was handed him from the magistrate 
 of the towr where he had stopped the day before
 
 THE YOUN(* bRAHMIN. 229 
 
 tilling him that the man he sought was there. 
 Back he went, full of hope, and soon had the 
 pleasure of shaking hands with Ram Ganesha, 
 who had a long story to tell. 
 
 " When he got to his father s house at Ahmed- 
 nii"-irur, he found no one there hut his mother: his 
 
 ?5O " " 
 
 father had gone on a journey and his elder brother 
 was out. His mother loaded him with caresses, 
 and then, in the excess of her joy at seeing him so 
 unexpectedly, she prepared him a dinner of the 
 
 best the house afforded. 
 
 " Come, my son/ said she, affectionately, to him ; 
 the food is ready; pay puja (that is, offer religious 
 worship) to Gunputti, and then eat and refresh 
 yourself. 
 
 " Here was a dilemma that Ram Ganesha was not 
 prepared for; he had counted on the presence of 
 his elder brother in his father s absence, and in that 
 case he would not have been called upon to perform 
 puja, as this duty always fell to the eldest male 
 member of the family then present. 
 
 " He scarcely knesv what to do, for he could 
 not bear to give his loving mother such a blow 
 as a confession of his faith would be, and he re 
 plied confusedly : Oh, never mind about puja, 
 mother.
 
 230 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 " Never mind about puja ! Why, my son, are 
 you crazy ? 
 
 " There is no use in it/ he continued, more 
 boldly; Gunputti cannot hear us. 
 
 "While his mother was staring wildly at him 
 his elder brother came in. 
 
 " Do you hear him? she cried; he will not 
 pay puja ! He has been listening to the vile, beef- 
 eating Christians ! 
 
 "His brother looked at him fixedly, and Ram 
 Ganesha braced himself for the worst. 
 
 " Are you a Christian ? was the question he had 
 been expecting. 
 
 " I am, he replied, boldly. The time had come 
 for him to confess or deny Christ, and he remained 
 firm. 
 
 " Have you been baptized and received among 
 the Christians? continued his brother. 
 
 " No, said Ram Ganesha, but I intend this so 
 soon as I return. 
 
 "His brother replied by closing the door upon 
 him and fastening it. They had him now in safe 
 keeping, and so long as he had not been baptized 
 his caste was not lost, and there were yet hopes of 
 him. They would get the Brahmins there, and 
 see what arguments and threats could do to turn
 
 THE YOUNO BRAHMIN. 231 
 
 him from his purjwse, but rather would they lose 
 him by death than have him disgrace his high caste 
 by turning Christian. 
 
 " Poor Ram Gancsha was sorely tried for a young, 
 inexperienced convert, but the Brahmins found 
 nini more than a match for them, as he had the 
 advantage of a thorough knowledge of their re 
 ligion as well as of his own, and when they found 
 that they could do nothing with him in argument, 
 they threatened his life. 
 
 "They left him in a rage, and Ram Ganesha 
 hastily scratched off a few lines to your grand 
 father and a similar note to the English head of 
 native police at Ahmednuggur. Then he watched 
 through the iron grating that in India answers 
 the purpose of a window, for a passing boy to 
 carry his notes. Boys are not difficult to find any 
 where, and Ram Ganesha called to the first one that 
 appeared, offering him two pice to take his letters 
 to the office. The boy, who did not know that he 
 was a prisoner, readily consented, and having done 
 all that he could to help himself, the young Brah 
 min committed his cause to God and awaited the 
 result. 
 
 " This came sooner than he expected in the shape 
 of a file of sepoys, or native soldiers, with the mar-
 
 232 THE WILDFOEDS IN INDIA. 
 
 shal at their head. He knocked at the door, and 
 Ram Ganesha s brother called out from within to 
 ask what he wanted. 
 
 " We want Ram Ganesha. 
 
 " He is not here, was the reply. 
 
 " He is here/ said the marshal, and, moreover, 
 he is a prisoner. Open the door, or I shall break 
 it down/ 
 
 " To refuse any longer was useless, and the door 
 was opened. 
 
 " Now, my good woman/ continued the officer, 
 where is your son, Ram Ganesha ? 
 
 " He is in his room, sick/ replied the mother; 
 he cannot be disturbed. You can have no busi 
 ness with him. 
 
 " Lead me to him at once/ said the marshal, 
 or his door shall be forced. 
 
 "Trembling and powerless, the mother and 
 brother did as they were ordered, and the prisoner 
 saw that release was at hand. 
 
 " Ram Ganesha/ said the marshal, are you kept 
 here against your will ? 
 
 " I am/ was the reply. 
 
 " Do you wish to leave this place ? 
 
 " I do. 
 
 " You are free, then, to go where you please.
 
 THE YOUNO SRAITMIN. 233 
 
 " Ram Ganesha s mother cursed him as he passed 
 out, and his brother scowled fiercely upon him ; he 
 went forth sadly from the home that had become a 
 prison, and his first thought was to get back to his 
 missionary friend at Bombay. The marshal kindly 
 gave him a guard of soldiers to the next station, 
 and there he was told that his kind friend had 
 passed through the place only the day before on 
 his way to him. 
 
 " On the first opportunity, Ram Ganesha con 
 fessed Christ before men, and was received into 
 the Christian Church. The name of Paul was 
 given to him in baptism at his own request, for 
 his conversion seemed to him scarcely less re 
 markable than that of the apostle whose faith 
 and zeal he desired to emulate. 
 
 "His family, feeling that he was now lost to 
 them for ever, sent for Brahmins and friends, and 
 had his funeral rites performed as though he were 
 really dead. His elder brother took the disgrace 
 so much to heart that he renounced all worldly 
 pleasure and comfort, and wandered from place 
 to place as a fakir, or religious devotee. 
 
 "Ram Ganesha, or Paul, as he must now be 
 called, also went from place to place to preach 
 the gospel to his fellow-countrymen, and on one
 
 234 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 of these journeys he found his brother almost 
 stripped of clothing, daubed with ashes and dirt, 
 sitting between two fires, with the burning sun of 
 India beating on his unsheltered head. 
 
 "He would not listen, at first, to Paul s words, 
 and ordered him out of his sight, as one who had 
 brought heavy sorrow upon him, but the Chris 
 tian brother persevered, and the light of the gos 
 pel finally dawned upon that clouded mind. He 
 was washed and clothed and brought to the mis 
 sion house, and Paul s joy over him was shared 
 by all his Christian friends." 
 
 "Well, grandmamma," said Minnie, "Ram Ga- 
 nesha was nice, I think, and I m glad he married 
 White Jessamine. How old was she when she 
 was married ?" 
 
 " About seventeen, I think," was the reply. 
 
 " Did she grow up pretty ?" asked Harry. 
 
 "Very pretty, indeed," said Mrs. Wildford, "and 
 she was such a bright, sunshiny Christian that it 
 was a pleasure to be near her. She was just the 
 right kind of wife for Paul, who was inclined to 
 be grave and reserved, and they did a great deal 
 of good together among the natives."
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 JAY AH AND RAMKOOR. 
 
 jO try and think of some more stories, 
 grandmamma," pleaded Minnie, on the 
 next afternoon ; " I like them so much. 
 Weren t there any nice little girls in the 
 school besides Gunga, and Tulasi, and White 
 Jessamine?" 
 
 "/want to hear about a boy," said Harry. 
 " You had a boy last time," replied his sister ; 
 " Ram Ganesha was a boy." 
 
 "Rather an old boy, I think," said Mrs. Wild- 
 ford, " but I dare say that Harry will be willing to 
 hear about two or three little girls." 
 
 Harry looked very willing indeed, and his 
 grandmamma continued : 
 
 "I cannot tell you a great deal about them, be 
 cause there is not much to tell, and I dare say you 
 will think what there is very sad. Several years 
 after White Jessamine came to us a dear little 
 gii 1 named Jayah was brought into the school." 
 
 235
 
 236 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 " Jair? " repeated Minnie; "isn t that the 
 name of the woman in the Bible who drove a nail 
 into some man s head ?" 
 
 "You are thinking of Jael," replied her grand 
 mamma, "who killed Sisera in this way. The 
 meaning of Jayah is victory. In English our 
 little one s name would have been Victoria, and 
 you will see how she did obtain a victory. 
 
 " Your grandfather was walking one day on the 
 esplanade, which is the smooth part of the beach 
 at Bombay. A beautiful grove of cocoanut trees 
 nearly covers it, and it is a delightful place to walk 
 in. Very handsome bungalows belonging to Eu 
 ropeans are to be seen there in the dry season, but 
 when the terrible monsoon begins to drive the ships 
 about in the harbor and wreck those that are at sea, 
 these pretty houses have to be moved away like so 
 many tents, for very soon there is a deep sheet of 
 water where they stood, and it is not safe to live 
 near the beach while the rainy season lasts. 
 
 " So the bungalows are put away, like our sum 
 mer clothes, for another year, but there are very fine 
 houses farther back, within the fort, and many of 
 them are several stories high, with verandahs and 
 carved pillars at every story. At one end of the 
 esplanade if what is called the black town, also a
 
 V 
 
 & 
 
 
 
 P.VRSKK (jIUL AM) RoBBKI! 
 
 p. 227.
 
 JA YAH AND RAMKOOR. 237 
 
 part of Bombay, but a very disagreeable part, for 
 the streets are so narrow and crowded that it is 
 fearfully hot and dusty. 
 
 "A great many Parsees live near the beach, for 
 they love to worship on the shore at sunrise and 
 sunset, when they often stand at the water s edge 
 praying aloud in a strange language that some people 
 say they do not understand themselves, while others 
 lie down flat in the sand and rub their faces in it. 
 Their temple, where the sacred fire is said to have 
 been preserved through so many thousand years, 
 is in the black town. 
 
 "Your grandfather during his walk heard a 
 child s cry of distress, and hastening to that part 
 of the grove from which it seemed to come, he 
 found a beautiful little Parsee girl very richly 
 dressed struggling in the grasp of a robber, who 
 had torn off some of her ornaments, and was on 
 the point of strangling her to stop her cries. 
 
 " When the gentleman appeared, the thief took 
 to his heels, and your grandfather lifted up the 
 little trembling creature in his arms and carried 
 her to her parents. She had strayed some distance 
 from the house, and if the missionary had not ap 
 peared when he did, it is probable that she never 
 would have returned to it. The child told him
 
 238 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 that her name was Jayah, and put her arms around 
 his neck in the most confiding manner. 
 
 "Your grandfather talked to her of the school 
 and the little girls who were taught there, and 
 asked her if she would not like to come. She 
 said, Yes, that she would come, for her father was 
 a rich man and could do as he pleased. 
 
 "Just as she said this her father and mother 
 appeared, for they had gone out to look for her, 
 and they were very much surprised to see their 
 child in the arms of a stranger. When your 
 grandfather told his story, they were very grateful 
 to him, and Jayah had a great deal to say about 
 the bad man who wanted to choke her. 
 
 " The missionary then spoke of the school, and 
 the child begged that she might be allowed to go. 
 The Parsees were rather frightened at this idea, 
 but they did not wish to appear ungrateful, and 
 finally they consented to place Jayah at the mis 
 sion house for a while, on condition that she 
 should not be taught to worship the God of the 
 Christians. 
 
 " Your grandfather told them that their child 
 would receive the same instruction as the other 
 children, but that no direct means would be used 
 to make her a Christian. With this they seemed
 
 JAY AH AND RAMKOOR. 239 
 
 content, and little Jayah, to her great delight, was 
 brought into the school. 
 
 " White Jessamine, who always loved to pet and 
 protect anything weaker than herself, took the lit 
 tle stranger at once under her own wing, and so 
 won her loving little heart by her kind and unsel 
 fish care that Jayah soon looked up to her as a 
 superior being. Alore than this, White Jessamine 
 talked to her constantly of the dear Lord Jesus 
 whom she was learning to love, and the little 
 Parsee listened in wondering awe. 
 
 " She would hold lovingly in her hand the 
 gospels that she could not read, and drink in every 
 word when White Jessamine told her the wondrous 
 story that has saved so many sinners from despair. 
 
 "Jayah went with her friend when the children 
 stole out of their little beds at night, and she never 
 failed to say the little prayer that White Jessamine 
 taught her. 
 
 " But some of the other pupils whose hearts 
 were not in these things carried to the Parsee 
 father and mother the report that Jayah was meet 
 ing with the Christians, that she worshiped their 
 God and would soon be lost to her parents for 
 ever. They were very angry, and threatened to 
 take her from the school.
 
 240 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 " The child cried herself sick when she heard of 
 this, and said that she would not go away from her 
 dear Padre and Madam Sahib and White Jessamine 
 she would die first. 
 
 " We tried to teach her that this was wrong, and 
 that she must obey her parents if she would please 
 the Lord Jesus. 
 
 " She looked up with a sweet smile, and said, I 
 will do whatever he wants/ but we little thought 
 that she would indeed die ere she left her adopted 
 home. 
 
 " The very next day her parents came for her, 
 but our little Victory lay upon her mat sick unto 
 death. She was in great pain, for she had been 
 seized with cholera, and her mother screamed and 
 tore her hair when she saw her only child beyond 
 the reach of human aid, while the father gazed 
 mournfully on his little Jayah with great tears 
 rolling down his cheeks. 
 
 "But the child was calm in all her sufferings. 
 She lay perfectly still on her mat, and only said, 
 when she saw her parents distress, Do not mourn 
 for me. I love the Lord Jesus Christ, and I am 
 going to be with him always. I am not afraid. 
 T want you to come too. 
 
 "She did not speak again, and presently the
 
 JAY AH AND RAMKOOR. 241 
 
 missionary offered a prayer to Him who giveth 
 us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 
 Little Jayah passed away before it was finished, 
 and there was a smile upon her lips so beautiful 
 that all who saw it felt that she had been rightly 
 named." 
 
 "Grandmamma," said Minnie, with a very un 
 steady voice and something in her eyes that looked 
 like tears, " did you not say that the wicked Par- 
 sees left their dead people to be eaten up by birds 
 and animals?" 
 
 " This is their custom in disposing of their dead, 
 my child, but our dear little Jayah received Chris 
 tian burial. Her parents said that she belonged to 
 us now, and they would not take her away. With 
 many tears, White Jessamine arrayed the little form 
 in a white robe, and a wreath of white flowers was 
 placed upon her head. She was so lovely that we 
 were loth to put her out of our sight, but in India 
 it is so very hot that but little time can be allowed 
 to gaze upon the dead, and feeling that the soul of 
 this little lamb was in the bosom of the good Shep 
 herd, and that she was safe from the troubles of this 
 world, we laid her body in the ground to wait for 
 the resurrection." 
 
 "I don t like their all dying, ma am, said 
 
 16
 
 242 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 Sarah as she wiped her eyes ; " didn t any >f the 
 good ones live?" 
 
 " I have only told you of two that died," re 
 plied Mrs. Wildford, " Tulasi and Jayah, and you 
 must remember that, had they lived, they would 
 have suffered great persecution, and perhaps in 
 the end have renounced their faith. Death is not 
 an accident, Sarah : it comes to us all at one time or 
 another ; and oh what a blessing if it come when 
 we are best prepared !" 
 
 Sarah had given very few serious thoughts to the 
 subject, but after these words she could scarcely 
 get it out of her mind. 
 
 "Any more stories, grandmamma?" said Minnie, 
 wistfully. 
 
 Mrs. Wildford smiled. 
 
 " We had a blind girl named Ramkoor in the 
 school," said she, presently, " and, blind as she was, 
 she was one of our greatest comforts. She was not 
 blind, though, when she came to us, and you will 
 think it very sad when you hear how she became 
 so." 
 
 " Tell us, please," said Minnie, who was still 
 weeping over Jayah. 
 
 " Ramkoor was one of our oldest and finest girls ; 
 she was very intelligent, but quiet and reserved,
 
 JAYAH AND RAMKOOR. 243 
 
 and I thought her almost cold, until I found that 
 she had very deep feelings under that quiet manner. 
 Her family were of very good caste, and her 
 mother, who was violently opposed to Christianity, 
 was extremely unwilling to have her come to the 
 school ; her father, however, had almost become a 
 Christian, and he insisted on placing Ramkoor 
 under our care. 
 
 "I found her, one day, with the tears rolling 
 down her cheeks as she sat by herself reading the 
 nineteenth chapter of St. John s Gospel, the beloved 
 disciple s account of our Lord s suffering and death, 
 and when I clasped her to my heart, she told me 
 all her hopes and fears and struggles. 
 
 " But my mother ! said she, amid her tears ; 
 how can I pacify her anger? She will want to 
 kill me when she hears that I have joined the 
 Christians. 
 
 " I thought this so dreadful a thing to say of her 
 own mother that I quite reproved her for it, but, 
 alas ! the poor child knew the unregenerate heathen 
 nature better than I did. 
 
 " I took upon myself the task of telling Rarn- 
 koor s mother that her daughter wished to become 
 a Christian, and I was surprised at the quiet man 
 ner in which it was received. She was willing,
 
 244 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 she said, ( if it made Ramkoor happy; and en 
 couraged by this, I even ventured to urge her to 
 attend the Christian services herself. 
 
 "I did not quite understand the expression of 
 her face as she thanked me and said that she 
 would think about it, nor did I then know that 
 some one had already told her that Ramkoor de 
 spised the religion of her family. She said that 
 she would come and see her daughter and assure 
 her of her consent, and I went home with a very 
 much lightened heart. 
 
 " My mother has become so kind, said Ram 
 koor, running to me one day with a beaming face. 
 She was in the compound for a few moments just 
 now, and she brought me a present of sweetmeats, 
 which she said I must share with no one, as she 
 made them entirely for me. I do not like to eat them 
 all myself, but my mother would not be denied in 
 what she called her parting present. 
 
 "I was very busy at the time, so we did not 
 think much about it, but the next morning Ram 
 koor was taken violently ill, and your grandfather 
 said at once that the symptoms were those of 
 poison. 
 
 "A horrible suspicion came into my mind as I 
 thought of the sweetmeats, and when your grand-
 
 JAY A If A\f> RAMKOOR. 245 
 
 father had heard my story, ho asked me to bring 
 him what was left of the preserves. He analyzed 
 them, and soon discovered that a powerful poison 
 had been mixed with them. He sadly returned to 
 hi.s patient, and I feared from what he said that 
 Kamkoor must die. 
 
 " He scarcely left her bedside for two days and 
 nights, and at last God answered our prayers. 
 Ramkoor s life was out of danger, but, alas ! the 
 poor child would never look upon this beautiful 
 earth again : the dreadful poison had made her 
 quite blind. It left her very timid and nervous 
 for a long time, and she spent hours in weeping 
 and despondency. 
 
 "It was a long time before Ramkoor could get 
 econciled to her loss of sight, but at length a 
 bright, hopeful Christian spirit was given to her, 
 and the blind girl became the sunbeam of our 
 mission school. She learned to do many things 
 for herself and others, and she said sweetly that as 
 God willed it so she would be patient and wait 
 until she got to heaven to see." 
 
 "And what did that wicked woman do," asked 
 Sarah, " when she found that her daughter aidn t 
 die?" 
 
 "She killed herself by striking her head against
 
 246 THE W1LDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 the stones/ was the reply. "She said that she 
 would not live under such disgrace as Ramkoor 
 had brought upon her, and soon after this her 
 husband came out boldly and openly as a Chris 
 tian." 
 
 "Well," said Harry, "I m glad she did kill 
 herself, but she ought to have been hung." 
 
 "I wish she had lived," said Minnie, "and 
 been a Christian too. Wouldn t that have been 
 better, grandmamma?" 
 
 "Yes, my darling. But God permitted her to 
 die this dreadful death with no hope in it, perhaps, 
 as a warning to others. Unbridled anger is sure 
 to lead us farther than we intend, and this is prob 
 ably the cause of most of the murders that are 
 committed." 
 
 When the children had left the room, Sarah lin 
 gered to speak to Mrs. Wildford. But she seemed 
 to have some difficulty in beginning what she had 
 to say. Her knitting-work, a very soft, pretty 
 shawl of pure white, was quite completed, and she 
 asked very timidly, 
 
 " Would this be of any use, ma am, for the mis 
 sionaries? I wanted to do something ever since 
 Miss Minnie began to talk to me of what you 
 said, though I believe I answered her short at
 
 JAY AH AND RAMKOOR. 247 
 
 first, and I thought I d do something between- 
 whiles, and perhaps you d know of some lady that 
 would like to buy it and have the money go to the 
 missionaries." 
 
 "I do know of a lady who would like it very 
 much," replied Mrs. Wildford. "Your work, 
 Sarah, is beautiful, and I have wanted just such a 
 shawl as this for some time. If you will fix a 
 price upon it, I will become the purchaser." 
 
 But this Sarah could not be persuaded to do. 
 It was not worth much, she said anything that 
 Mrs. Wildford chose to give. The lady finally 
 named a price herself that seemed to the delighted 
 girl almost excessive, but Mrs. Wildford assured 
 her that it was only a fair valuation. 
 
 Sarah departed with a profusion of blushes and 
 thanks, and Mrs. Wildford rejoiced over this un 
 expected fruit from her missionary narratives.
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 A STRANGE JOURNEY. 
 
 ^ RE }ou ready to go with me on a journey 
 to the Mahableshwar hills to-night?" 
 asked grandmamma as the party seated 
 themselves in evident expectation. 
 "I am," replied Harry, "but I haven t the least 
 idea where it is." 
 
 "What is that queer name, grandmamma?" 
 asked Minnie " Marble Oh, I can t say it." 
 
 " Maha blesh war," repeated Mrs. Wildford ; 
 " the queer name means Mighty God. Do you 
 remember my telling you how much water fell dur 
 ing the year at the Mahableshwar hills ?" 
 " Three hundred inches !" shouted Harry. 
 "Yes," replied his grandmamma, "you are right, 
 and therefore such a place would not do to live in 
 during the rainy season. But these hills, which 
 are a part of the Ghauts mountains, have so de 
 lightful a climate in the dry season that invalids 
 frequently go thei e to be refreshed by the cool 
 
 248
 
 A STRANGE JOURNEY. 249 
 
 breezes and pure air, and a worn-out missionary is 
 quite made over by a few weeks stay at Maha- 
 bleshwar. When I was ordered there by the phy 
 sician, I had two little ones to take with ine your 
 mamma, then about a year old, and an older brother 
 who died before we left India. Your grandfather 
 could not go with us, but he had promised to meet 
 us on our return for a visit to the caves of Elora, 
 of which I will tell you when we come to them. 
 
 " I had been kindly invited to stay at the house 
 of some English friends who lived at Mahablesh- 
 war during the dry season, and before we started 
 in the bundur-boat that took us to the station on 
 the continent, letters were written to engage men 
 to meet us at the lauding. From this place we 
 were to be carried up to the mountain in a palan 
 quin, and a set of bearers consisting of twelve men 
 to carry the palanquin, and a mussal, or torch- 
 bearer, who walks before and lights the way. were 
 waiting for us." 
 
 "But, grandmamma," asked Harry, "does it 
 take twelve men to carry one palanquin? I 
 thought you said that four men could carry it." 
 
 "Four can carry it," was the reply, " but in going 
 so great a distance six men carry it at a time, three 
 at each pole, and it is necessary to have twelve men
 
 250 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 to rest each other. When we landed at the wharf, 
 we found the men waiting for us, and your dear 
 grandfather, having established his wife and babies 
 in the palanquin, charged the men to be very care 
 ful of such precious freight, and then took the boat 
 back to Bombay." 
 
 " But weren t you frightened, grandmamma, to be 
 left alone with all these queer men ?" 
 
 " I believe I was, at first, Minnie, but I soon 
 remembered that I had a sovereign Protector/ 
 though unseen, yet for ever at hand. The 
 bearers, too, had good faces, and they were dis 
 posed to be very kind to Madam Sahib and the 
 babahloke." 
 
 " Is that what they called the children ?" asked 
 Harry. 
 
 "Yes," was the reply, "and they gazed curiously 
 at them as they were lifted into the palanquin, and 
 said to each other, How white ! Then six of them 
 took up the palanquin on their shoulders, while the 
 others trudged along beside it, and the mussal 
 lighted his torch and placed himself at the head 
 of the procession." 
 
 " Why, grandmamma," said Minnie, in astonish 
 ment, " was it night when you went off in this 
 funny way ?"
 
 A STRAXGE JOURNEY. 251 
 
 "Yes, my little girl; night was considered the 
 best time for the journey, because we did not have 
 the hot sun then. We started at about five o clock, 
 and did not get to Mahableshwar until three in the 
 morning. And now I want Harry to find the 
 twenty-fifth chapter of St. Matthew and read the 
 parable of the ten virgins." 
 
 Wondering very much what this had to do with 
 his grandmamma s journey, Harry did as he was 
 told. 
 
 "You see there," said Mrs. Wild ford, "that 
 mention is made of taking oil in their vessels 
 to feed their lamps. I have very little doubt, from 
 this description, that the lamps in the parable were 
 torches like the one that was carried before me in 
 going to Mahableshwar. It was made of a long 
 piece of wood with metal at the upper end, and 
 cotton cloth wound about the metal. This cloth 
 was dipped in cocoanut oil, and then lighted. 
 When the light grew dim, fresh oil was poured on 
 the cloth from the vessels. This was done a 
 number of times during the journey." 
 
 "What did the vessels look like?" asked 
 Harry. 
 
 " Very much like the oil-cans we use here," was 
 the reply " such as I have seen in the country for
 
 252 THE WILDFOEDS IN INDIA. 
 
 Kerosene oil. When the men took up the palan 
 quin, they began a curious sort of grunt, while 
 the others sang in cheery tones a sweet Hindoo 
 melody." 
 
 " What did the men grunt for ?" asked Minnie. 
 " Was it because you and mamma and her little 
 brother were so heavy?" 
 
 "No," replied her grandmother, with a smile; 
 "I do not think that our weight troubled them at 
 all : they were used to carrying palanquins with 
 people in them. This grunting was a way they 
 had. It seemed to help them on. 
 
 "I think," continued Mrs. Wildford, "that I 
 never shall forget that night journey up the Ghauts 
 mountains. Although so many years have passed, 
 it seems to me now as fresh as if it had happened 
 last summer. There was the magnificent scenery 
 of the Ghauts, over which the moon poured down 
 her soft, mellow light, and the moon and the stars 
 seem much larger and brighter in India than they 
 do here ; the winding road that looked in some 
 places narrow and dangerous enough ; those wild, 
 half-naked figures around me; the torch, with its 
 scriptural associations; the strange singing in that 
 foreign language that lulled me into a half sleep, 
 from which I would start with the belief that I was
 
 A STRAXGE JOUKXEY. 253 
 
 still dreaming, and through it all the cool, delicious 
 breath of the night air that grew purer and sweeter 
 as we ascended. 
 
 " I kept the palanquin open a great part of the 
 time that I might not lose any view of the scenery, 
 for probably I would not have another such oppor 
 tunity in my lifetime. When we reached the foot 
 of the mountains, there they were towering in huge 
 masses of rock, in some places five thousand feet, 
 above our heads, and as they appeared to stretch 
 away in one unbroken chain, I could not see how 
 we were ever to get up. 
 
 " When we came a little nearer, though, to this 
 wall of stone, I could perceive a narrow opening, 
 and my bearers seemed to know perfectly what 
 they were about, for they made a sudden turn just 
 at the right place, and a fresh four taking the 
 palanquin, they began the ascent with sure feet, and 
 never once slipped or stumbled. I talked with 
 them from time to time, and found them always 
 ready to answer pleasantly. Then I would fall 
 asleep, to be awakened, perhaps, by the gurgling of 
 a waterfall. Some of these cascades in the moun 
 tains glistened in the moonlight like veils of silver 
 lace against the sombre background. 
 
 "So tie night wore on. The children, heavy
 
 254 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 with sleep, never woke nor stirred once. Up we 
 wound along the narrow path to the very top of 
 the mountain, and then I was awakened from a 
 doze by the sudden setting down of the palanquin 
 and an animated dispute among my attendants as 
 to the situation of the house to which I was to be 
 taken. 
 
 " I could not direct them, as I had never been 
 there, and part of the men started off on a run to 
 inquire at the nearest dwelling, while the others 
 remained with me. 
 
 " Now, said I to this group, as I began to 
 think that it was not pleasant to be standing quite 
 still in so wild and lonely a spot, if a tiger should 
 rush out upon us, you would run away and leave 
 me and the children for him to make a meal of? 
 
 " f Oh no, they assured me ; we would on no 
 account leave the madam sahib and the babahloke. 
 If they did such a thing as that, no one would 
 employ them again. " 
 
 "And /should think," said Harry, laughing at 
 this idea, " that if they stayed to be eaten up by a 
 tiger, no one would employ them again either." 
 
 " The same thought entered my mind," replied 
 his grandmamma, "and I was not comforted by 
 these professions half so much as I was by the
 
 A STRANGE JOURNEY. 255 
 
 assurance that there were no tigers there and the 
 knowledge that if there were our torch would 
 frighten them away. 
 
 "At length the scouting-party returned with 
 the report that the house we wanted was only 
 about a quarter of a mile farther on. So with 
 a fresh series of grunts the bearers took our palan 
 quin up and started off again, and it seemed a very 
 short time before we reached the pretty bungalow, 
 where a bright light proclaimed that my friends 
 were watching for me. The men were paid and 
 dismissed, and I was soon resting with great satis 
 faction in a comfortable bed that I did leave until 
 far into the next day. 
 
 "As soon as I could enjoy it I was taken to see 
 a famous ravine which it made me quite di/zy to 
 look at. It was about half a mile in length and 
 nearly a quarter wide, but it was impossible to 
 guess the depth. The rocky sides were almost 
 perpendicular, and here and there a small ill- 
 shapcd tree had forced its way through a crevice 
 in the rock. The bottom of the ravine was full of 
 trees, but it was so deep that they looked like small 
 bushes, and my friends were not willing to go 
 within several yards of the edge of this dreadful 
 precipice."
 
 256 THE WJLDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 "There must have been lots of snakes and things 
 at the bottom." said Harry. 
 
 " Any one who reached the bottom would not 
 be much troubled by anything there," continued 
 Mrs. Wildford, "as no life could possibly be left 
 after that fall. I saw a number of apes with black 
 faces during this drive, and they grinned at us as 
 they sprang from branch to branch in a very ridic 
 ulous manner. The Hindoos consider them sacred, 
 and one of their gods has the face of an ape. 
 
 " I spent five weeks with my kind friends in 
 their mountain retreat, and they were weeks of 
 constant enjoyment. The frequent drives and 
 health-giving air did wonders for me, and I had 
 not felt so well since my arrival in India as when 
 your grandfather came to take me from Maha- 
 bleshwar." 
 
 "Then you went somewhere else, didn t you, 
 grandmamma?" asked Minnie. 
 
 " Yes," was the reply ; " we went to Elora before 
 we returned to Bombay, and having described 
 Elephanta and Thanheri, I will try to give you 
 some more wonderful caves. We had to make the 
 journey there from Ahmednuggur on purpose, but 
 both your grandfather and I needed the change, 
 and we might not ever be so far on the way again.
 
 A STRANGE JOURNEY. 257 
 
 We found plenty of poor creatures on the road to 
 whom we spoke of the way of salvation, and in 
 some cases with great encouragement. We had 
 wished for a long time to meet with some Bhcels, 
 but they are only found among the mountains or 
 in the villages near mountains." 
 
 "Are they like tigers?" asked Minnie. 
 
 " In some respects I am afraid they are," re 
 plied her grandmamma. "They are really human 
 beings, but they are a caste by themselves, and their 
 profession is that of robbers. They live in tribes, 
 each one of which has its chief, and their dwellings 
 are wretched huts that form little villages where 
 few honest people ever venture to go. At night 
 a party of them will sally forth into a town or vil 
 lage, while the inhabitants are sleeping, steal the 
 cattle and whatever else they can lay their hands 
 on, and be off again to the mountain or jungle 
 before any one really knows what has been done. 
 
 " These Bheels are a very curious people, and it 
 is thought they were the earliest inhabitants of 
 India. They think so themselves, and they are in 
 consequence very haughty and independent, caring 
 neither for the Hindoos nor the Europeans. They 
 are often employed as guides through dangerous 
 
 places, for they can bear any amount of fatigue, 
 17
 
 258 THE WILDFOEDS IN INDIA. 
 
 and they know all the mountain-paths and the 
 trackless jungles so well that they never make 
 a mistake. They do not consider it any disgrace 
 to be robbers, and they make no secret of their 
 occupation. 
 
 "The first Bheels whom we saw were sitting 
 under a tree near a poor little village, armed with 
 bows and arrows that looked very sharp and dan 
 gerous. The men wore very little clothing, and 
 they were darker and stronger-looking than any 
 of the other people we had seen in India. 
 
 " Your grandfather went up and spoke to them, 
 and they answered him very civilly. They said 
 that they were thieves, just as they might have 
 said that they were farmers, and added that they 
 were friends of the peishwar or governor of the 
 nearest town. They are very apt to demand 
 tribute or pay-money from travelers, but they said, 
 with a smile, that they did not take any from the 
 Padre Sahibs. 
 
 " But I am very sorry that you take it at all, 
 replied the missionary ; do you not know that it is 
 wrong, as well as disgraceful, to steal? 
 
 "They said that they did not think it could be 
 wrong or they would not have been born in that 
 caste. Why did God place them there where they
 
 1 STRANOE JOURNEY. 259 
 
 must steal it it was wrong to do so? It was their 
 fate to be robbers, and therefore it was not wrong 
 for them. 
 
 "They listened respectfully to all that your 
 grandfather said, but I ana afraid it made very 
 little impression on them. This idea of fatality is 
 one of the hardest things to overcome that the 
 missionary finds in India. It is difficult to con 
 vince these poor people that man is really a free 
 agent. 
 
 " We left the Bheels with sad hearts, and trav 
 eled on through dust and heat as fast as the warm 
 Indian sun would let us. We, in this case, means 
 quite a party. I still had my palanquin and bear 
 ers, while your grandfather had his bullock-cart and 
 godswallah. We had quite a journey before us, 
 and Satara was the first place of any importance 
 at which we stopped. Here we found Christian 
 friends and a flourishing mission and school. 
 
 " Then we went on to Seroor, and I remember 
 this part of the journey as being particularly hard. 
 The roads were very rough, and the palanquin 
 was shaken from side to side. Your mamma did 
 not like it at all, and she cried so much that the 
 bearers seemed quite troubled as to what was to be 
 done with her."
 
 260 THE WtLDFORDS IN 
 
 " They would have thrown her into the river, I 
 suppose ?" said Harry. 
 
 "Scarcely that, I think, but they would have 
 been better satisfied had we stopped to make an 
 offering to one of the gods. We found Seroor 
 quite a pleasant place, with some fine houses and 
 gardens. These belong to the British officers, as it 
 is an English military station, and we received from 
 them a great deal of kind attention. 
 
 " From Seroor we went to Ahmednuggur, and 
 here we spent two or three days. We had mission 
 ary friends here whom we had known in America, 
 and they had kindly promised to take charge of the 
 children while we visited Elora. 
 
 "Ahmednuggur is a strongly-fortified city, and 
 its name means, fortress of Ahmed. It belonged, 
 at one time, to the Mohammedans, and one of 
 their rulers, Ahmed-Nizam-Shah, named it after 
 himself. The Mahrattas took it from the Moham 
 medans, and in 1803 the English, under General 
 Wellesley (afterward the duke of Wellington), 
 took it from the Mahrattas. The fortress and the 
 ditch around it, cost nine lacs of rupees, which is 
 nearly five hundred thousand dollars. 
 
 " The town of Ahmednuggur is rather more than 
 half a mile from the fort, and, like many other
 
 A STRANGE JOURNEY. 261 
 
 Indian towns and villages, it has a natural wall of 
 prickly pear, which grows over five yards lii^-h 
 and is very thick and close. Both stem and leaf 
 are full of long, sharp thorns, and when these are 
 broken off, a liquid flows out that causes severe 
 inflammation where the thorns scratch. So that 
 you see a hedge of prickly pear is a strong protec 
 tion against thieves or enemies of any kind. The 
 goats do not seem to mind it, for we often saw them 
 stretching up on their hind legs to get at the 
 tenderest parts of the plants, which they succeed 
 ed in chewing in spite of the thorns and milk, 
 but all the other animals keep at a respectful 
 distance. 
 
 " The Emperor Arungzebe, the most famous of 
 Indian rulers, died at Ahmednuggur in 1707. He 
 had lived to be an old man of ninety. A mauso 
 leum, or tomb, is shown where the emperor s heart 
 is said to have been placed in an urn ; this mauso 
 leum has a tower at each end, and it is lighted up 
 day and night, while perfumes are kept burning 
 constantly. Twenty-four fakirs, or holy men, 
 watch the lamps and pray for the soul of Arung- 
 jwbe." 
 
 "Does that do him any good, grandmamma? * 
 asked Harry.
 
 262 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 "No, my dear child: prayers for the dead are 
 useless; rather should our time and money be 
 spent in doing good to the living. Arungzebe was 
 a Mohammedan, and this, it seems, is one of their 
 superstitions. 
 
 "After leaving the mausoleum, we went to the 
 feroka-bagh which means the emperor s garden 
 and this we found very beautiful. But the grounds 
 bid been neglected, and the place looked wild and 
 desolate. 
 
 " We were taken all through the fortress, but I 
 do not think a description of the guns and batteries 
 and brass mortars would interest my audience ; I 
 will therefore only say that it is the strongest fort 
 ress in the Deccan, or table-land of India, and that 
 very hard battles must have been fought before it 
 could be taken from any party holding it. 
 
 " We also visited the ruins of a palace that must 
 have been very grand in the days of its glory, and 
 there are still fine paintings in a minaret, or Mo 
 hammedan chapel, that joins it. 
 
 " We saw many other things during our stay that 
 were very interesting to us, not the least of which 
 were the mission church and schools. Our mission 
 ary friends had given us a warm welcome, and they 
 eent us on our way with many kind wishes. We
 
 A STRANGE JOURNEY. 263 
 
 left Ahmednuggur with a very pleasant impression 
 of the place and people. 
 
 "We then passed a number of forljrn villages, 
 where the wretched inhabitants were very much 
 oppressed by their rulers, and their poor little 
 crops of rice were often -ei/ed by the wicked men 
 who went about gathering the taxes. We often 
 saw children gleaning in the rice-fields, and the 
 little creatures would carefully pick tip every scat 
 tered grain, for the rice had been so closely gathered 
 that single grains dropped here and there were 
 generally all that they could find. 
 
 "Sometimes patches of sugar-cane were seen, 
 and cotton and indigo are also raised in India. 
 Immense fields of poppies are found in some 
 regions, very bright and beautiful in coloring, but 
 the intoxicating drug, opium, is made from them, 
 and having seen so much harm done by it, I al 
 ways felt sorry to come upon a field of poppies. 
 
 " We had a very pleasant visit from a Brahmin 
 at our first stopping-place. He was the most agree 
 able specimen of his class that we had yet seen. 
 Very handsome and dignified, his manners were 
 the perfection of courtesy and kindness, and he 
 really seemed unhappy t< find that he could do 
 nothing for us.
 
 264 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 "He spent a couple of hours talking with us 
 and telling us of the wretched condition of his 
 people under the native rulers. They would 
 take/ he said, bitterly, a man s skin from off his 
 back on the least shadow of an excuse, and the 
 people would not cultivate the land beyond what 
 was barely necessary to support their lives, because 
 the peishwar s officers would seize everything they 
 could raise. The British/ he added, were honest 
 people, though they had conquered the country, 
 and they always paid for what they got. 
 
 " The poor Brahmin seemed to think this a very 
 high order of merit indeed. He warned us against 
 the Bheels, who, he said, were very numerous all 
 the way that we must take to Elora. The people 
 in authority, instead of punishing them, often used 
 them against their enemies, and even received a 
 regular tribute from the Bheels, who were in con 
 sequence allowed to rob as they pleased. 
 
 " This was dreadful indeed, and our poor bearers 
 groaned at the very name of Bheel, but we told the 
 Brahmin, to his great surprise, that we were not 
 afraid of them. 
 
 " * Their arrows are poisoned/ said he, sig 
 nificantly. 
 
 " I have a staunch weapon here," replied your
 
 A STRANGE JOURNEY. 265 
 
 grandfather, drawing forth his Mahratta Bible, 
 that I have never known to fail. 
 
 " Yes, said the Brahmin as he turned over 
 the leaves, I have sometimes seen your Shasters, 
 and I know that the) 7 contain much that is good 
 and true, but I do not think the Bheels would 
 listen. 
 
 " Will you listen? asked the missionary, and, 
 like Philip with the eunuch, he opened his mouth 
 and began at the same scripture and preached 
 unto him Jesus. 
 
 "It is very beautiful, all that you fay, replied 
 the Brahmin, but I should not like to leave the 
 religion of my fathers. It is not what it used to 
 be, though, he added, sadly, for many of the 
 Brahmins forget their high calling and only think 
 of what they can get from the people. I have 
 seen them about here even making fires in the 
 temples to cook their food, and they will eat and 
 sleep, sleep and eat, until they are scarcely better 
 than beasts. 
 
 " His fine countenance was overcast with sorrow, 
 for he felt it as deeply as we should feel anv irrev- 
 ence in our Christian temples, and we spared no 
 efforts in that short time to show him the better 
 way. He took the Bible and other books that
 
 266 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 your grandfather offered him with apparent grati 
 tude, and promised to study them carefully. 
 
 "Our Brahmin friend sent his servant the next 
 morning to accompany us out of the village, and 
 on parting with him we asked if there was anything 
 we could do for him. His face brightened as he 
 gave us to understand that he would he perfectly 
 happy if we could give him some medicine." 
 
 " Was he sick ?" asked Harry. 
 
 "He did not appear to be," was the reply, "but 
 he seemed to have a passion for Epsom salts and 
 blue pills." 
 
 " Oh," said Minnie, with a most expressive face, 
 " I wish he could have taken mine for me when I 
 was sick ! Did he like castor oil too?" 
 
 " Nothing came amiss, I believe, in the shape 
 of drugs. I think I have told you that the Hin 
 doos have an unbounded confidence in European 
 remedies, and they look upon those of the Americans 
 in the same light. We were glad that we were able 
 to gratify the man, and having supplied his wants 
 from a portable chest that always accompanied us 
 in our travels, we received his parting salaam and 
 went on our way to Yoka. 
 
 " This was more than a day s journey from our 
 last stopping-place, and when we reached the sta-
 
 A STRANGE JOURNEY. 267 
 
 tion where we were to spend the night, we found 
 that it bore a very bad character for safety. There 
 were Bheels all around, and we were told that 
 several murders had lately been committed by 
 them. 
 
 " There ! exclaimed our men, suddenly depos 
 iting me with the palanquin on the ground ; what 
 are we to do now? Do you see that band of 
 Xeshoda over there? 
 
 " Xeshoda is another name for robbers ; it 
 means a horrid or bad action. 
 
 u We certainly did see them, and they were not 
 at all a pleasant-looking party. There must have 
 been fifty of them, fully armed, and with such wild, 
 fierce faces that I shuddered as I peeped at them 
 from my palanquin. Truly thankful did I feel 
 that the babahloke were safe at Ahmednuggur. 
 
 "Your grandfather got out of the bullock cart, 
 and as the godswallah did not seem disposed to run 
 away, he ordered him to remain where he was, and 
 the bearers all loudly declared their readiness to 
 protect Madam Sahib. They could not very well 
 get away from the Bheels now, and they concluded 
 to make the best of it. 
 
 " But oh, Padre Sahib/ they entreated as they 
 saw the missionary advan ^ing toward the robbers,
 
 268 THE W1LDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 Bible in hand, do not try to talk to these dreadful 
 fellows! They will hang you up by the heels, and 
 your servants all in a row. 
 
 " They broke forth into a series of howls at the 
 prospect, but your grandfather, after whispering a 
 few words of comfort to me, went steadily on. 
 
 "He found the robbers gathered around their 
 chief, who was lounging under a tree directly in 
 the way that we should have to pass. 
 
 " I have a message for you/ said the missionary 
 to the chief; are you willing to hear it? 
 
 "The robber stared at him in surprise, while his 
 men only waited for their ruler s orders to make an 
 attack on the stranger. This was so different from 
 the usual conduct of travelers, who always fled in 
 terror at the sight of Bheels, that the chief felt 
 curious to know what his visitor had to say. Your 
 grandfather stood there under the tree, and read 
 such portions of God s word as he thought best 
 suited to his audience, and no one interrupted him 
 or even stirred during the reading. The chief even 
 told him to go on when he paused to see how his 
 hearers were taking it. He heard an occasional 
 murmur as to the beauty of the Bible narratives, 
 but when he had finished reading, the hardest part 
 of his task was befo"e him ; he must apply those
 
 A STRANGE JOURSEY. 269 
 
 divine precepts to the lives of these wicked men 
 and reason with them on their sins. 
 
 " He spoke with the boldness and zeal of an 
 apostle, and he was listened to respectfully. 
 
 " That is all very good for Europeans/ replied 
 the Bheel, but it will not do for us. We were 
 born in this caste; our fathers and grandfathers 
 were robbers before us, and so will our children 
 and grandchildren be after us. You are a good 
 man, and we will not harm you, but who are all 
 these people with you ? 
 
 " The missionary explained that they were his 
 wife and servants, and the robber said that all 
 should be safe for the time of their stay. 
 
 "The dhak men (our bearers) prostrated them 
 selves before the Padre Sahib, as though he had 
 been a being of another sphere, when they heard 
 of his success, and from that time forth their ven 
 eration for him was very much increased. 
 
 "Our lodgings, that night, in the traveler s rest, 
 were not very comfortable, but we felt that they 
 were safe, for when these robbers once give a 
 promise, they can be implicitly trusted. 
 
 " The chief had sent two of his band to keep 
 guard over us on the outside of the building, and 
 your grandfather, not knowing this, stolt out quietly
 
 270 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 soon after midnight to see if he could find some 
 cool air. As he walked around to the other side 
 of the house he was suddenly seized by a Bheel, 
 who cried out : 
 
 " AVhat business have you here ? 
 
 " Your grandfather tried to explain matters, and 
 there was such a noise that the dhak men sleeping 
 on the verandah were awakened, and the) suc 
 ceeded in making the Bheel understand that he 
 had made quite a mistake. 
 
 " He fell down on the ground and begged your 
 grandfather to put his foot on his neck and kill 
 him. He would not get up until the Padre Sahib 
 fairly ran away into the house, and then it took the 
 other Bheel quite a long time to pacify him." 
 
 " Why, they were first-rate fellows, after all, 
 grandmamma," said Harry, "except their being 
 thieves." 
 
 " This was a slight flaw in their character," re 
 plied his grandmamma. " Poor fellows ! it really 
 seemed as though they were capable of better 
 things. The missionary became a great favorite 
 with them, for the next morning before we started 
 on our journey a Bheel was brought in by his com 
 panions suffering greatly from a gunshot wound in 
 his arm. Your grandfather succeeded in extract-
 
 A STRANGE JOURNEY. 271 
 
 ing the shot, and dressed the wound, so that the 
 man felt comparatively comfortable. He was very 
 grateful, and professed his readiness to do anything 
 for the kind Padre Sahib. The missionary did not 
 lose this opportunity of speaking of the great Phy 
 sician of souls, and it may be that the poor be 
 nighted mind retained some of the truths thus for 
 the first time presented. 
 
 " The robbers seemed almost sorry to part with 
 us, and I was very much amused at their doubtful 
 compliment. One of the band was sent to protect 
 us on our journey and during our stay at Elora 
 from the attacks of other Bheels, and when we con 
 sidered his character and calling, he seemed a very 
 comical sort of protector. 
 
 "The dhak men, however, assured us that we 
 were in luck : a Bheel for a guide was equal to a 
 certificate of our safe arrival ; and they trudged 
 cheerfully on with me and the palanquin, while 
 the Bheel kept up with the bullock cart, A walk 
 of a hundred or even two hundred miles through a 
 thick jungle is nothing to these men ; they 
 to be proof against all sorts of fatigue.
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 THE CAVES OF EL OR A. 
 
 s P en t the next night at Toka, which we 
 found a very nice, clean little town situated 
 on the Godavery River. There we took up 
 our quarters in a fine large house for the 
 accommodation of travelers. It had plenty of 
 covered verandahs, and we were more comfortable 
 than we had been at any place during our journey. 
 " There is a very handsome stone pagoda at 
 Toka, and a long flight of stone steps leading down 
 to the river. 
 
 "The next morning I did not feel well enough 
 to travel, and we were obliged to wait for another 
 day. Having made me as comfortable as possible, 
 your grandfather went out with the Bheel to ex 
 plore the place, and he came very near having an 
 adventure with a tiger." 
 
 " Oh," said Harry, in great excitement, " please 
 tell us all about it, grandmamma." 
 
 "I will tell the tale as it was told to me," re 
 plied Mrs. Wildford, " but do not expect too much 
 272
 
 THE CAVES OF ELORA. 273 
 
 or you will be disappointed. When the missionary 
 and his guide got to the end of the town, they 
 found a crowd of people gathered there, and in 
 answer to their inquiries they were told that there 
 was a tiger in a field not far off. The Bheel said 
 that he was not afraid to go to him and shoot him, 
 and having borrowed a gun from a man, he went 
 to attack the tiger." 
 
 " I should not think any one would have wanted 
 to lend a gun to a thief," said Minnie. 
 
 "They were probably glad to have a tiger killed 
 on any terms," was the reply. " When they came 
 to the field, sure enough, there was a tiger walking 
 across the end of it, and people, women and all, 
 were climbing up into the trees to look at him. 
 They seemed very glad to see the Bheel and his 
 gun, for no one had dared to attack the dangerous 
 animal. 
 
 " The robber got over the wall that fenced off 
 the field from the road, and began to walk toward 
 the tiger. The people were all very much excited 
 now, and watched for the spring that the animal 
 would be sure to make when he saw the Bheel. 
 The man stood still and looked at him for a few 
 moments, flourishing his gun before him, and then 
 walked on. It seemed very daring to go so near 
 
 18
 
 274 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 the tiger, and every one wondered that the anima. 
 did not attack him. 
 
 " Presently the man passed so close to the tiger 
 that he almost brushed against him, but still noth 
 ing came of it. The tiger seemed to be thinking 
 of his own affairs, and in a few moments the Bheel 
 came back to your grandfather laughing. He had 
 discovered that the dangerous animal was stone- 
 blind, and he was, moreover, perfectly tame! 
 
 "He had strayed off from a neighboring com 
 pound, and his owner soon appeared in quest of 
 him. We learned that he was quite a pet in the 
 family, having been captured when very young." 
 
 " I am glad that Wag isn t a tiger," said Min 
 nie as she patted his shaggy back. " I should be 
 afraid of him, even if he was blind." 
 
 " Our next day s journey," continued Mrs. Wild- 
 ford, " was to Shahpoor, which means Place of 
 Xings, but it was the last place in which we 
 would have expected to find such gentlemen. 
 About thirty forlorn little huts composed the 
 town, and the inhabitants came forth to beg of 
 us, suffering from leprosy and other dreadful dis 
 eases, and with scarcely any clothing to cover their 
 nakedness. 
 
 " We had to cross the Godavery River in a
 
 THE CAVES OF ELORA. 2<o 
 
 clumsy boat, and landed in a thick jungle. In 
 going through this we mot parties of Bheels con 
 tinually. Our robber-guide, however, seemed to 
 give us an air of respectability in their eyes, for 
 none of them offered to molest us, but we were not 
 at all sorry to get out of the jungle, which appeared 
 to afford them a favorite residence. 
 
 " The country was quite hilly now, and we found 
 that we were approaching the wonderful mountain 
 that used to be so much frequented as a shrine by 
 faithful Hindoos. Not far from Elora we passed a 
 Mussulman village that had a strong stone wall 
 around it and a number of cultivated fields. A 
 guard of Arabs were stationed at the gateway, and 
 their flowing robes and dignified bearing had quite 
 a picturesque effect. 
 
 " Near Elora the road is very pleasantly shaded 
 by trees, and the pretty little village itself is quite 
 buried in them. It is considered a very holy place, 
 and the inhabitants are mostly of the Brahmin 
 caste. 
 
 " The mountain, with its wonderful temples, is 
 about a mile from the village, and before going on 
 we stopped to rest in a handsome pagoda. It was 
 beautifully situated, and close by was the finest 
 tank we had seen in India. There was a great
 
 276 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 deal of work on it, the stone was so beautifully 
 cut and carved, and the color was of a cheerful 
 blue-gray. 
 
 "Now," continued Mrs. Wildford, "in order to 
 get some idea of the wonders I am about to de 
 scribe to you, you must try to imagine what it 
 would be to take a solid mountain, as the sculptor 
 does a block of marble, and hew it into temples 
 and figures, for this is just what has been done 
 with Elora. 
 
 " As we approached the place we were struck 
 with the stillness all about it; not a human being 
 was visible, and there seemed to be no sound nor 
 sign of life. The scenery is most beautiful and 
 romantic, and those wonderful caves and temples 
 are the monuments of a people whose very nation 
 and age are unknown. 
 
 " There are about a dozen temples altogether that 
 extend over a mile along the mountains, and the 
 largest and finest of these is called Key las, or 
 Paradise. An immense square is cut in the top of 
 the mountain by making a steep valley all around 
 two hundred and fifty feet deep and one hundred 
 and fifty feet wide; above this valley the temple 
 rises to the height of nearly one hundred feet. It 
 appears to be supported by twenty-four gigantic
 
 THE CAVES OF FLORA. 277 
 
 stone elephants, twelve of which are turned to the 
 north and twelve to the south. 
 
 "There are three verandahs, or galleries, on the 
 outside, with stone pillars and immense figures of 
 Hindoo gods. The gateway is very handsome, 
 with small apartments about it, and immediately 
 over the gate is a balcony. On the front of the 
 temple are various sculptured figures and orna 
 ments ; a goddess named Bhoovani on the right, 
 and Gunputti on the left. Bhoovani sits on a 
 lotus and two elephants with their trunks twisted 
 together. 
 
 " Near these figures are two large obelisks, or 
 pillars, beautifully carved, and said to be larger 
 than Cleopatra s Needle in Egypt. These obelisks 
 by themselves would be a great curiosity, but at 
 Elora they merely ornament the front of the 
 temple. 
 
 " Entering the gateway, we came upon several 
 suites of apartments on each side full of sculp 
 tured figures of all the animals and gods and god 
 desses that Hindoo superstition could possibly 
 imagine. The monkey god Hanumau is often 
 seen here, and there is a colossal figure of another 
 god with ten hands. 
 
 " Then we went up by four steps to a large hall
 
 278 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 and smaller temples within the larger ones ; they 
 are connected by small ledges or bridges of rock. 
 After examining these we went up a much longer 
 flight of stairs to the portico; on the top of this 
 portico are the remains of a lion, and inside two 
 figures of sphinxes. 
 
 "By three steps from the portico we went into 
 a small room where a figure of the bull god Nundi 
 is placed. There are passages of rock between some 
 of the rooms up stairs, from which we had a fine 
 view of the country and the village of Elora. 
 
 " Going back to the portico, which is open and 
 supported by pillars, we looked down upon the 
 front of the temple below us, and were lost in 
 wonder at its grand proportions. We found a stone 
 bench here, on which we sat for some time gazing 
 at the lonely grandeur by which we were sur 
 rounded. 
 
 "After a while we were sufficiently rested to 
 mount the four steps that lead to the great hall. 
 On reaching the entrance of this magnificent apart 
 ment, we stood and gazed in silent wonder. 
 
 " Massive pillars beautifully sculptured are 
 placed at equal distances through the entire 
 iength, reaching from the smooth floor of solid 
 rock to the roof of the same material. This
 
 THE CA VES OF ELORA. 279 
 
 granite is all so finely polished that it is difficult 
 to recognize the familiar stone when wrought into 
 such forms of exquisite workmanship. 
 
 "At the entrance to this hall are two huge 
 figures called Chubdars, which means, keepers of 
 silence; they are usually placed with a clul>, or 
 chouree, in their hands, in state-apartments, to en 
 force order and quiet. Only stone ones would be 
 needed at Elora, where the silence may be almost 
 felt. The depth of the hall is over one hundred 
 feet, and there are balconies at the end of it, with 
 stone benches like that in the portico. Several of 
 the principal figures of Hindoo mythology are 
 sculptured here, and figures of sphinxes are carved 
 like those we see in pictures of Egypt. 
 
 " There are immense galleries leading from 
 temple to temple and from one suite of apartments 
 to another; these galleries are all supported by 
 pillars, some of which are round, some square and 
 others eight sided. 
 
 " We spent two full days in examining all these 
 wonders, and we felt then that time enough had 
 not been given to them. We lodged, meanwhile, 
 in the pagoda, and as we took our provisions with 
 us, we managed to get along quite comfortably. 
 Our Bheel guide and protector was a great con-
 
 THE WILDFORDS IN INLIA. 
 
 venience, but it was quite evident that he did not 
 appreciate our enthusiasm about Elora, and when 
 asked what he thought of the great hall, he re 
 marked that it would be a good place to sleep in. 
 
 "The temple that I have been describing is the 
 largest of the group, but we also visited a number 
 of others called Des Avatar, Teen Tal, Do Tal, 
 Visvacarma, Jugnaut, Indra, Jaunwassee, Nilacan- 
 thu, Rama Warra, and I do not know how many 
 more." 
 
 "Oh, grandmamma," said Minnie, who had 
 been very quiet for some time, " how can you 
 remember so many of these dreadful names ?" 
 
 " I could not, I suppose," replied Mrs. Wildford, 
 " if most of them were not the names of Hindoo 
 gods that are very familiar to me. I cannot tell 
 you much of these other temples, but I will try to 
 give you some little idea of them. Teen Tal is a 
 very beautiful temple of three stories with regular 
 flights of stairs as in a large dwelling-house. Like 
 Keylas, it has grand pillars and finely-shaped 
 figures, with galleries, halls and endless sets of 
 rooms. 
 
 "The temple of Visvacarma is quite different 
 from the others in having an arched roof, while 
 the altar at the farther end is a large mass of rock
 
 THE CA VES OF FLORA. 281 
 
 in the form of a half globe. An even row 
 sided pillars extends the entire length of the temple 
 on each side, and a sitting figure is sculptured at 
 the top of each pillar. 
 
 "The temple of Indra, also a magnificent build 
 ing, is in honor of a god from whom the name of 
 India is said to be derived." 
 
 " Does no one know who built these temples, 
 either?" asked Harry. "They weren t always 
 there, were they, grandmamma?" 
 
 "Their origin is quite unknown," replied his 
 grandmother. "The Hindoos have, of course, a 
 foolish story about them, something like this : 
 
 "THE LEGEND OF ELORA. 
 
 "A follower of Brahma, who was a very holy 
 man, had a son named Conroo and a brother who 
 was called Pandoo. These two men were to gov 
 ern the world, but they disputed about their re 
 spective powers. 
 
 " They were told to settle the matter by a game 
 of chance, and Conroo won. Pandoo then re 
 solved to seek some quiet place away from the 
 world to hide himself in, and taking his wife, 
 he started on a journey and came at last to 
 Elora.
 
 282 THE WILDFORDS IN IND*A. 
 
 "After a while he had five sons, and when they 
 were grown, they began to dig caverns to please 
 the god Krishna, and they prayed to the god to 
 grant them a night that would last a whole year, 
 that it might be said that these wonderful caves 
 in which they were building temples were done 
 in a night. 
 
 " When all the temples were finished, day 
 dawned again, and the brothers were sent in dif 
 ferent directions to tell people of the miracle. 
 Multitudes flocked to Elora to gaze upon the work 
 and see the family of Pandoo. 
 
 " The father was soon taken to a better world on 
 account of his piety, and the five brothers reigned 
 supreme over a great part of the world below. 
 All who opposed them found it useless, for they 
 were aided by Krishna, because they had per 
 formed such holy works in his honor." 
 
 "That s just like a fairy tale," said Minnie. 
 
 "Yes. grandmamma," said Harry; "it sounds 
 like Jack s Beanstalk. " 
 
 " It is only a sample of the childish stories that 
 are told of the Hindoo gods," continued Mrs. 
 Wildford, "and we could not help thinking, as we 
 gazed upon these noble works of art, that they de-
 
 THE CA VES OF ELORA. 283 
 
 served a better history than this. Frequent pil 
 grimages, are made to the temples of Elora, and 
 we often met people M ho had come a long distance 
 to pay puja to some favorite idol considered doubly 
 sacred here. Brahmins sometimes take up their 
 residence in a verandah, or gallery, and in one 
 spot we even saw clothes hanging out to dry, which 
 looked very much like the presence of a family 
 near. 
 
 " We had spent two days in constant sight-see 
 ing, and although sorry to leave a place of so 
 much interest, which, in all human probability, I 
 should never see again, I scarcely felt able to do 
 anything but rest after the unwonted fatigue. 
 
 "We traveled slowly, with our Bheel guide and 
 my palanquin and dhak, as before, meeting Avith 
 pilgrims and devotees for several miles after we 
 left Elora. From these people we heard so much 
 of the fortress of Dowlutabad, of which we had 
 had a distant glimpse on the way, that we did not 
 feel willing to leave that part of India without pay 
 ing it a flying visit. It was about fourteen miles 
 out of our way, but this did not seem much when 
 we had already traveled so far. 
 
 " So we went to Dowlutabad, and we felt quite 
 repaid for our trouble. It was the most remark-
 
 284 THE WILDFORDS IN TNDTA. 
 
 able-looking fortress we had ever seen, and this 
 engraving is a very good representation of it." 
 
 "It stood out boldly and grandly, a huge rock 
 with very steep sides, for some distance, and then it 
 rose in a series of terraces to the very top, that was 
 crowned by a handsome building occupied by the 
 killahdor, or governor." 
 
 The children could fully appreciate the beauty 
 of the picture, and Sarah s admiration was un 
 bounded. 
 
 " You will see," continued Mrs. Wildford, " that 
 there is a very strong wall around the fort and an 
 outer one around the town. There is a secret pas 
 sage, which you do not see, that is hewn out of the 
 very heart of the mountain and winds up to the 
 top of the hill. There are trap-doors in this pas 
 sage, and flights of steps lead from them to the 
 outer ditch. These are to be used by those in the 
 fortress if enemies should get into the jassage. 
 
 "The fortress of Dowlutabad has changed 
 owners several times, and Ahmed-S^ah-Nizam, 
 who gave his name to Ahmednuggur, iook it in 
 1633. But it has been for some years jp*wt in pos 
 session of a native ruler. 
 
 "And now, my dear children, grandnian>ma has 
 really talked herself out of breath for
 
 THE CAVES OF ELORA. 285 
 
 wonder how much you will remember :>f what I 
 have told yon ?" 
 
 "I remember ever so much," said Minnie, 
 brightly; "I liked to hear about these caves, 
 grandmamma." 
 
 " The fortress was jolly," said Harry. 
 
 " I did not find it at all so," replied his grand 
 mamma, smiling; "it looked very frowning in 
 deed." 
 
 " Oh, well, you know what I mean, grand 
 mamma; I suppose that Minnie would call it 
 nice. Some day I am going to read about those 
 caves in a great book that papa has in the library." 
 
 Grandmamma thought this a very good plan in 
 deed, and the little party soon dispersed with many 
 expressions of gratitude.
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 THE HEAVENLY INHERITANCE. 
 
 AVE we almost used India up, grand 
 mamma?" asked Minnie, quite sadly, when 
 they were gathered around Mrs. Wildford 
 the next evening. 
 "I cannot promise you a great deal more," was 
 the reply, "but since my narratives have interested 
 you in the subject, I shall hope that you will read 
 the missionary reports for yourselves and see what 
 a great work is going on. But there are some 
 other reports that I should like to hear before 
 I begin. How about the radish crop, and the 
 pocket-handkerchiefs, and doing without sweet 
 things, and all the grand plans that my little 
 friends proposed ?" 
 
 Two banks were speedily opened. Harry pro 
 duced a dollar from his radish-bed, and reported 
 his second crop as in the ground, with two more 
 dollars, the fruit of self-denial, while Minnie had 
 earned fifty cents 1:y sewing, and modestly produced 
 
 286
 
 THE HEAVENLY INHERITANCE. 287 
 
 three dollars which her mother hid given her as 
 an equivalent for cake, preserves and other dainties. 
 
 " Well done ! v said grandmamma, kissing both 
 eager faces. "I call this a very good beginning 
 indeed. I have, besides, Harry s five dollars (Har 
 ry looked rather sheepish at this), and with Sarah s 
 five" 
 
 " Why, Sarah!" interrupted Minnie in astonish 
 ment. "Did you really give five dollars to the 
 missionaries? You told me that you wouldn t give 
 anything?" 
 
 Sarah was in dire confusion. 
 
 "It was really your grandmamma s giving, Miss 
 Minnie: I only knitted a shawl for it; but I m 
 sure I didn t say I wouldn t give anything to the 
 missionaries." 
 
 "Sarah gave her time," said Mrs. Wildford, 
 kindly " the little time that she could really call 
 her own and as she happened to make just the. 
 thing I wanted, in the nicest possible way, I gladly 
 bought it for the missionary cause." 
 
 " Oil, Sarah," whispered Minnie, with her anus 
 around her neck, " I called you mean and hate 
 ful, and I don t know what all, and all the time 
 you were so good." 
 
 " Well, Miss Minnie," was the laughing reply,
 
 288 THE WILDFOEDS IN INDIA. 
 
 " you know I m used to having you scold me, and 
 I d really rather you d do that than to call me 
 good/ for I m not good at all." 
 
 "It is a great deal, my child, to know that," 
 said Mrs. Wildford, encouragingly. " If God has 
 shown you yourself, pray that he will yet show 
 you himself: none who truly come to him are ever 
 cast out. I think I will tell you this evening a 
 story of the heavenly inheritance, which I hope we 
 shall all strive for and obtain. This happened 
 on our homeward journey, and it seemed to us a 
 strange parallel to the case of the man who said 
 to our Lord, Speak to my brother, that he divide 
 the inheritance with me. 
 
 " We returned to Ahmednuggur, where we had 
 left the children, and our Bheel guide left us at the 
 village where he had joined us. Our friends at 
 Ahmednuggur insisted upon keeping us with them 
 for two or three days, to get up our strength after 
 the fatigue of so much sight-seeing, and the day 
 after our arrival there a Hindoo came into the 
 compound and said that he wished to see Padre 
 Sahib B . 
 
 "This was the clergyman at whose house we 
 
 were staying, and when Mr. B went out to 
 
 him, the man told him that he had come to ask his
 
 THE HEAVENLY INHERITANCE. 289 
 
 advice. He had a lawsuit then in the court against 
 his brother, who had not been willing to divide 
 their father s estate with him, and he wished to 
 know how it was best for him to proceed. 
 
 " Families in India are in the habit of living to 
 gether; all the sons bring their wives home, and 
 additions are built to the house as the family in 
 creases. They have everything in common, and 
 live in this way until some quarrel takes place. 
 This had probably been the case with the man who 
 
 came to Mr. B , and leaving his father s house, he 
 
 naturally wished to take with him his share of the 
 property. He belonged to one of the lower castes ; 
 and his father, he said, had been dead for some time. 
 
 " The missionary did not answer his question, 
 but began talking to him of the heavenly inherit 
 ance. 
 
 " There is a piece of property, said he, a great 
 deal more valuable than any your father left, and 
 you may have it for the asking. Get that, and 
 you are rich for eternity, but this world and the 
 fashion of it pass away. 
 
 "The man was, at first, simply astonished that 
 the Padre Sahib should reply to him in such a way 
 as this, but he soon became interested in what he 
 said, and listened eagerly to every word. 
 
 19
 
 290 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 " I ll do it ! said he, I ll get it ! and he rushed 
 suddenly out of the compound, and went off at a 
 quick pace. 
 
 " The next day the Hindoo came again and 
 asked for Mr. B . 
 
 " * I ve done it ! said he, with great satisfaction. 
 
 " What have you done? asked the missionary. 
 
 " Why, I have taken my case out of court. 
 
 " But I did not tell you to do that, remon 
 strated Mr. B , who feared that trouble might 
 
 ensue to the missionaries if they were charged with 
 meddling in such affairs. 
 
 " I do not care for it any longer, was the reply ; 
 my brother may keep all the property now. I 
 want to hear more about the inheritance you told 
 me of yesterday. I want to know how I can get 
 possession of it. 
 
 "Mr. B took the earnest inquirer into his 
 
 study, and pointed him faithfully to the heavenly 
 home where his inheritance was ready for him, to 
 the loving Elder Brother who had redeemed it for 
 him, and to the Father who waited to bestow it. 
 
 "Your grandfather also talked with the man, 
 and he was very much moved by his earnestness, 
 and his literal way of receiving these heavenly 
 truths. He really seemed to hunger and thirst
 
 THE HE. i r/-:.v/.r INHERITANCE. 291 
 
 after righteousness, and the one idea with which he 
 had first come to the missionary appeared to have 
 been put entirely out of his head. 
 
 " \Ve felt so much interested in this new disciple 
 that Mr. B promised to write to us of his pro 
 gress; and we soon heard that he had given up 
 everything and had been received into the mission- 
 house. There was no doubting his perfect sin 
 cerity, and in his case none could forbid water 
 that he should be baptized. 
 
 "Meanwhile, his brother was very much puzzled 
 at his proceedings first, in withdrawing the C:H<- 
 when so much was at stake, and then in leaving all 
 that he had hitherto cared for, to go to the mission 
 aries. He resolved to talk with him, and he pre 
 sented himself in the compound and asked for 
 Sivaji. 
 
 "This was the converted brother, and he listened 
 dreamily while the other began to speak of the in 
 heritance, and to assure him that he did not want 
 it all, only his share of it. 
 
 " But I do not want any/ replied Sivaji; I 
 have something better than that trash, which is not 
 worth dividing. 
 
 " Have you found hidden treasure, then ? 
 asked his brother in surprise.
 
 292 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 " Yes, was the reply ; I have found the pearl 
 of great price; and I am not going to give it up 
 for a paltry rice-field or two, that I cannot take 
 with me when I die. 
 
 " I know what you mean now, said the brother ; 
 you are a Christian. 
 
 u * I am, and as a Christian I care nothing for 
 the things that once seemed to me so large. Keep 
 the inheritance, brother, for I have a much greater 
 one in heaven. You too may have one if you will 
 pay the price for it. 
 
 " Tell me of it, said the other. 
 
 "Sivajiand his brother seated themselves on a 
 wooden bench under some mango trees, and teacher 
 and scholar were both so earnest that they did not 
 
 see Mr. B , who had come behind them and 
 
 listened with tears in his eyes to Sivaji s simple 
 account of his conversion, and the peace and joy he 
 found in believing. 
 
 " ( I must think of this, replied his brother as 
 he turned to leave and made his salaam to the 
 Padre Sahib. I want this inheritance too, and as 
 Sivaji has given up all that he had for it, and is 
 not sorry, but rather glad, there must be something 
 in it. 
 
 " There is everything in it, said Mr. B ;
 
 THE HEAVENLY INHERITANCE. 293 
 
 " life eternal and all things else that God sees fit 
 to add. 
 
 " He gave the man a copy of one of the Gospels, 
 and bade him road it carefully and pray for a teach 
 able spirit. 
 
 "It was not long before Sivaji s brother joined 
 him at the mission-house, and then only one brother 
 was left with the earthly inheritance all to himself. 
 
 He was a very bigoted Hindoo, and had always 
 a heathen argument ready for any Christian who 
 
 ventured to approach him. One day Mr. B 
 
 met him in quite a public place, and the man, who 
 thought this a good opportunity to show his clever 
 ness, called out loudly, 
 
 " See here, Padre Sahib, I am ready to turn 
 Christian just so soon as you can convince me that 
 Christianity is older than the Hindoo religion. 
 
 "The missionary turned around with a smile, 
 and pointing to the ragged and uncleanly garment 
 that could not be said to cover its owner, he replied : 
 And I, rny friend, am willing to put on a ragged 
 shirt just so soon as you can convince me that an 
 old garment is better than a new one. 
 
 "The Hindoo glanced from his tattered robe to 
 the spotless linen of the Padre, while the crowd 
 around them laughed at his discomfiture. He was
 
 294 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 sparing of his rupees, and made his garments last 
 longer than his neighbors . They were quite will 
 ing, therefore, that the Padre Sahib should have 
 the advantage of him. 
 
 "That old shirt in time did its work, and the 
 family of brothers, who had begun by quarreling 
 over an earthly inheritance, were reunited in seek 
 ing a heavenly one." 
 
 " That is a very nice story, ma am," said Sarah, 
 really meaning a great deal more than she said. 
 
 Harry was looking quite serious, and wishing 
 that the heavenly inheritance could seem more real 
 to him, while Minnie was sorrowfully reflecting 
 that this was probably the last story about India.
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 PAST AXD r/tESK\T. 
 
 |OU must think of something more, grand 
 mamma, said Harry, the next evening; 
 "yon didn t really make an end of India, 
 did you ?" 
 
 " Not quite," replied his grandmamma, smiling 
 at all the inquiring faecs, "but as I think you 
 would searcely be satisfied unless I went regularly- 
 through my whole experience as a missionary, and 
 I am not quite equal to that, I shall have to make, 
 this the last of our regular talks for the present. 
 Do not look so miserable, Minnie; there will be 
 plenty to say on India at different times; it is only 
 this regular eotirse of lectures that I propose to 
 abandon." 
 
 "Mamma says that we have worn you out, this 
 winter," said Minnie regretfully as she gazed at 
 her grandmamma, "but I am sure we didn t mean 
 to, and it lias been so nice to come in here." 
 
 " It has Ix-en jolly," said Harry, warmly ; " but 
 
 295
 
 296 THE W1LDPOEDS IN INDIA. 
 
 I forgot grandmamma does not like that word 
 Papa says he means to have a statue made of you 
 as Patience, with us all sitting around you, and my 
 missionary hen in the background. It s a shame 
 that I never got that hen, isn t it, grandmamma?" 
 
 "I am not at all worn out/" said Mrs. Wild- 
 ford in reply, "and I am quite sure that I shall 
 not sit for a statue of Patience. What remains 
 now of my recollections of India is so sad that I 
 can scarcely trust myself to go through those scenes. 
 I spent seven years there with your dear grand 
 father happy, useful years, in spite of toil and 
 care and hardships ; and when I left there it was 
 with my little fatherless child, the only one left 
 me of a band of four. The fierce Indian sun, to 
 which he had been exposed for hours, struck your 
 grandfather down as he was preaching to some 
 men just outside of a pagoda, and he was carried 
 into a heathen temple to die. 
 
 " He went out from me in health, and was 
 brought home breathless ; but his last words, For 
 Christ s sake, came to me as a sweet fragrance from 
 his early tomb. It was a sorrowful school and 
 mission when the news spread that their beloved 
 Padre Sahib would walk among them no more; 
 and the gentle care and tenderness of those Hindoo
 
 PAST AND PRESENT. 297 
 
 men and women and children for me and my 
 little one were more eloquent than words could 
 have been. 
 
 "I meant to labor on alone and train my child 
 in the land of her birth to follow in her lather s 
 footsteps, but I soon broke down under the double 
 burden, and was told that only a life of useless iu- 
 validism was before me in that exhausting climate. 
 Not without many tears and struggles could I bring 
 myself to leave the work I had chosen for life, and 
 tears and prayers followed me to the ship from 
 those whose conversion had been the fruit of our 
 labors in India. 
 
 " When I think of India then and now," con 
 tinued Mrs. Wildford, " it is verv difficult to be 
 lieve that such a wonderful change has taken place. 
 What those who sowed in those early days sowed 
 in tears, later laborers reap with joy. The work 
 is so much easier in every way than it was; mis 
 sionaries are better equipped and better supported 
 than they were, and they know better how to pro 
 tect themselves against the climate. The high- 
 caste women, too, have been reached in those dreary 
 /enanas, and where the gospel once penetrates sin 
 and darkness can no longer find a cover from the 
 light. One of our religious papers said, lately,
 
 298 THE WILDFOEDS IN INDIA. 
 
 that heathenism in India is now only an .ipper 
 crust, soon to be broken by the seething and up 
 heaving of the mass below. The soil has been 
 watered with tears and prayers and precious lives, 
 and God is giving the increase." 
 
 "Is that a letter, grandmamma?" asked Minnie, 
 with great interest, " and are you going to read it 
 to us ?" 
 
 " It is a letter," was t^e reply, " and it is from 
 some one whose story you liked very much indeed. 
 Now can you guess who?" 
 
 "Not White Jessamine?" ventured Minnie, in 
 a state of incredulous rapture. 
 
 " Yes, it is !" shouted Harry ; " I know by grand 
 mamma s face. I wonder if White Jessamine spells 
 any better than I do ?" 
 
 "You may look and see when I have finished 
 reading the letter," said his grandmamma; "my 
 old pupil writes to me once in six months, and 
 keeps me informed of all the changes that take 
 place in the mission. I shall not read her letter 
 regularly through, only parts of it here and there. 
 She begins : 
 
 " MY DEAR MAMMA SAHIB for you must let 
 me call you so still, although so many years have 
 passed since the troublesome little Hindoo girl first
 
 PAST AND PRESENT. 299 
 
 gave yon this name I wish that you wore here, 
 only in spirit, though, for much as I would love to 
 see you again, you must not come to this land to 
 die. It seems to me that, as the years roll on, I 
 feel more and more what ] owe you, my kindest 
 earthly friend, for what you have done for me. My 
 children, in their daily faults and mischievous 
 pranks, bring before me my own childhood and 
 the trouble I must have caused you and the dear 
 Padre Sahib. Especially does your little namesake, 
 now just about the age at which you took me under 
 your fostering care, and a perfect little lump of 
 mischief, remind me of my own freaks and impa 
 tience of control. She does me good, I think, for 
 I have to be patient with her, remembering what I 
 was myself. Only yesterday this small damsel 
 parted her hair on one side, dressed herself in a 
 suit of her brother s clothes and declared her reso 
 lution of being a boy. " 
 
 "Oh, don t you remember, grand mamma?" said 
 Minnie, laughing; "I suppose White Jessamine 
 thought of the time when she put on grandpapa s 
 clothes." 
 
 "She probably did, my dear; it is very amusing 
 that she should have such a funny little edition of 
 herself to deal with. She continues:
 
 300 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 " When I look at my husband, born in the 
 haughty Brahmin caste and married to the daugh 
 ter of a rice-gatherer, I can scarcely believe, some 
 times, that I am not dreaming. Truly has Chris 
 tianity made confusion with all the honored Hindoo 
 prejudices! It would do your heart good to see 
 them cast aside. 
 
 " We work hard, but we love our work, and 
 there is so much of it, because the harvest is so 
 plentiful. There are not enough laborers, and I 
 do not believe that there ever will be, but all our 
 children have been given to the service of the Lord, 
 as the pious Hannah gave Samuel of old, and when 
 we are called away, they must take up our work 
 where we lay it down. 
 
 " On Christmas day we were at the English 
 chapel, and oh what a sight gladdened our eyes! 
 A crowd of converted Hindoo women, dressed in 
 pure white, knelt there in reverent worship of Him 
 who had called them out of darkness into his mar 
 velous light, and as we gazed upon them with glad 
 tears in our eyes, we thought of the great multi 
 tude whom no man could number, who have washed 
 their robes and made them white in the blood of 
 the Lamb. "
 
 PAST AND PRESENT. 301 
 
 "Isn t that lovely?" said Minnie; "did White 
 Jessamine really write all that?" 
 
 "Yes," replied Mrs. Wildford, "and she has 
 written a great deal more, as you may see by all 
 these sheets of paper. I prize her letters very 
 highly ; and now, Master Harry, you may criticise 
 her spelling." 
 
 " Well," said Harry, after glancing over the neat 
 pages, " I guess she knows how to spell, but I don t 
 see how people ever can remember about the two 
 1 s and n s." 
 
 "Oh my !" said Sarah, in an admiring whisper; 
 " what beautiful writing, to be sure!" 
 
 Mrs. Bolton declared that it was like copper 
 plate engraving, and her mother continued, as she 
 glanced lovingly over the letter, 
 
 "I was always rather proud, I think, of White 
 Jessamine s writing, for I taught her myself. It 
 is pretty good for a Hindoo woman." 
 
 "Grandmamma," said Harry, suddenly, "I 
 really wish that a bad boy could be of some use in 
 the world." 
 
 " The very best thing that such members of so 
 ciety can do," was the reply, " is to become good 
 boys as soon as possible. And yet, Harry," con 
 tinued his grandmamma, "India owes a great deal
 
 302 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 at this day to one who was a very bad boy, and 
 who, certainly, could not be called a good man." 
 
 This promised to be exciting, and Harry asked, 
 with interest, "Another story, grandmamma?" 
 
 " Not much of a story," said Mrs. Wildford, 
 "but I wish to tell you a little of Lord Clive, 
 through whose talents, energy and indomitable 
 courage the power of the British in India was so 
 firmly established, and through this power the way 
 opened for Christian missionaries to carry the light 
 of the gospel to that dark land of the East. 
 
 " Lord Clive was born in Shropshire, England, in 
 1725, and as a boy he was so remarkably bad and 
 troublesome that he was a constant torment to his 
 family, and they had but one feeling respecting him, 
 which M-as to get rid of him as soon as possible. 
 He had a very fierce temper, and was for ever in 
 street fights, but in school he was looked upon as 
 little better than a dunce. 
 
 "Nothing was expected of this hopeless boy but 
 disgrace and trouble, and when an opportunity of 
 fered to send him to India, which in those days 
 was like sending him to another world, it was 
 thought to be a most fortunate thing. No one ever 
 expected to see him again, and owing to his con 
 duct, they had very little desire to do so.
 
 PAST AND PRESENT. 303 
 
 "Clive was only about eighteen years old when 
 he left England as a clerk in the service of the 
 East India Company, and he was over a year in 
 getting to Madras, in Southern India. During a 
 war with the French, and afterward with the na 
 tives, our young Englishman entered the army, 
 and by his courage and presence of mind he gained 
 one victory after another. The siege of Arcot and 
 the battle of Plassey are the most famous of these 
 victories. Clive also subdued the native rulers, 
 dethroning one and setting up another as he siw 
 fit. He was accused of cruelty and love of gain, 
 and he does not seem to have been quite free from 
 those charges, but the bad boy had grown to he a 
 much better man than could have been expected, 
 and like most successful men, he had many rivals 
 and enemies who lost no opportunity of injuring 
 him. He governed India firmly and judiciously 
 for a number of years, and when he returned to 
 England, he left the country in a better condition 
 than it had ever been in before. 
 
 " His friends gave him a warm welcome, for he 
 returned with wealth and honors, but he was 
 called upon to answer very serious charges, and he 
 was pursued to the last by jealous enemies. In 
 spite of his brilliant life, Lord dive s death was the
 
 304 THE WILDFORDS IN INDIA. 
 
 saddest that can be imagined that of a suicide 
 and he whose ambition God used as an instrument 
 for the spread of his blessed gospel died himself 
 without a hope in Christ, impiously taking the life 
 that God had given." 
 
 "Poor Lord Clive !" said Minnie, compassion 
 ately ; " I am so sorry that he was not a good man !" 
 
 " I am sorry that he was not a good man as well 
 as a great soldier," said Harry ; " I d like to go and 
 fight, and win battles." 
 
 "And come back dead 1" exclaimed Minnie, in a 
 piteous tone. 
 
 " No, you dear little goosey ! if I were dead, I 
 wouldn t come back at all. How could I ?" 
 
 " I hope that you will both be soldiers," said 
 their grandmamma. 
 
 The children looked at her in surprise. 
 
 "And fight manfully under Christ s banner 
 against all the sins that so often get the better of 
 you. We must first let the light of the gospel 
 shine in our own hearts, for then only shall we be 
 fit to carry it to the dark places, east or west, 
 north or south, where its lifegiving beams have 
 not yet penetrated."
 
 
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