THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 Vi>
 
 A 
 
 PARSON'S HOLIDAY; 
 
 BEING AN ACCOUNT OF A 
 
 TOUR IN INDIA, BURMA, AND CEYLON, 
 
 IN THE 
 
 WINTER OF 1882-83. 
 
 BY 
 
 ^V. OSBORN B. ALLEN, 
 
 VICAR OF SHIRBURN, OXON. 
 
 TENBY : 
 F. B. MASON, PRINTER, "OBSERVER" OFFICE. 
 
 1885.
 
 135 
 
 TO THE 
 
 MEMORY OF MY FATHER, 
 
 FORMERLY MEMBER OF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL IN INDIA, 
 
 WHO SPENT HIS LIFE IN DOING GOOD BOTH TO 
 
 ENGLISHMEN AND NATIVES, 
 
 AT HOME AND ABROAD ; 
 
 AND TO THE 
 
 MEMORY OF MY MOTHER, 
 
 WHO WAS HIS WORTHY AND BELOVED HELPMATE, 
 THIS BOOK 
 
 IS DEDICATED.
 
 P E E F A E . 
 
 Family circumstances have delayed the publication 
 of this little book, and it is now more than two years 
 since I made the tour herein described. Yet India 
 changes (in some respects) so slowly, that I venture 
 to think that the delay has not robbed the book of 
 all interest, nor made the whole work out of date. 
 
 I feel that an apology is necessary for adding to 
 the numerous works which have been already written 
 by the chance travellers who have wintered in India. 
 My defence is that, although these works have been 
 full of varied interest, yet none of them have treated 
 the subject quite from my standpoint. The Parson 
 who travels looks at things with a professional eye, 
 and the observations he makes have an interest of 
 their own, especially for his brother-Clergymen. 
 
 A greater apology is necessary to those Indian 
 officials, or residents, or missionaries, who may look 
 into this little work. I will beg them to remember 
 that I cannot hope to have escaped all errors, and 
 that I have probably uttered many crude and ill- 
 considered remarks. They will have patience with 
 one who does not set up for a critic of their life-long 
 labours, and who is aware that he has but skimmed 
 the surface of subjects about which they are past- 
 masters of knowledge. 
 
 Concerning the vexed question of the proper spelling
 
 VI PREFACE. 
 
 of Indian names I have neither tried to be consistent 
 nor over scrupulous. It would be pedantry in me to 
 affect a spelling, which is often unfamiliar to English 
 readers, and which, though nearer no doubt to the 
 Oriental sound, yet would only puzzle those who 
 have no knowledge of Indian pronunciation and 
 nomenclature. I have therefore been content to write 
 "Poena" rather than "Puna," " Lucknow " rather 
 than "Lakhnau," and "Delhi" rather than " Dihli." 
 In nearly all instances I have followed the authority 
 of the distinguished Mr. W. W. Hunter, whose Indian 
 Empire is a store-house of facts and learning. But 
 I fear I have not always been guided by him, nor 
 always been consistent with myself. 
 
 Other books of reference to which I am indebted 
 are Fergusson's Handbook of Architecture^ Rhys 
 David's Buddhism, Oldenberg's Life of Buddha, 
 The Burvian by Shway Yoe, Hinduism by Monier 
 Williams, Sir E. Tennent's Ceylon, and the Handbook 
 to Agra and Lucknow compiled by H. G. Keene, 
 besides various Missionary Reports giving statistics 
 of their several Stations. 
 
 I cannot here attempt to express my thanks to 
 each of those kind hosts and friends, who made my 
 holiday so enjoyable. I will only say to them all that 
 I can never be sufficiently grateful for the constant 
 kindness and unselfish attention which they bestowed 
 on me and my concerns. 
 
 Shirburn, Oxon, 
 April, 1885.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Chapter I. page. 
 
 Introduction, Voyage, Bombay, Towers of Silence, 
 Caves of Elephanta, Poona, Temple of Parvathi, 
 Leprous Hospital, Missionaries, Cowley Fathers, 
 Education, Schools, Breaking-up Day at High 
 
 School . . . . . . . . . . 1-22 
 
 Chapter H. 
 
 Karii Cave, Railway Travelling, Station Life, Baroda, 
 Rajputana, The Clans, Ajmere, Mayo College, The 
 Eurasians, Jeypore, Maharajah's Palace, Ambir, 
 Feudatory States .. .. .. .. 23-41 
 
 Chapter HL 
 
 Delhi, History of the Mogul Empire, Mohammedans in 
 India, Palace, Jumma Musjid, Kntub Minar, Cam- 
 bridge Mission, S. Stephen's College, Agra, Palace, 
 Tombs, Taj Mahal, Futtehpore Sikri, Sekundra . . 42—62 
 
 Chapter IV. 
 
 Cav/npore, The Mutiny, The Massacre, Memorial Well, 
 Lucknow, History of Oudh, Imambara, Residency, 
 Viceroy's Camp, Durbar, Martiniere College, Go- 
 vernment of India, Indian Civil Service . . . . 63—83 
 
 Chapter V. 
 
 Benares, Illumination of Ghats, Idolatry, Manufactures, 
 Journey to Calcutta, Darjeeling, The Himalayas, 
 Tibetan Lamaism, Calcutta, Government House, 
 Buildings, Gardens, Oxford Mission .. .. 84—104 
 
 Chapter VI. 
 
 History of Burma, Rangoon, The Burmese, Buddhism, 
 History and Doctrines of Gautama, Pagodas, Statues, 
 Kioungs, Monks, Offerings, Christianity and Budd- 
 hism compared .. .. .. .. 105—126
 
 viii CONTENTS. 
 
 Chapter VII. 
 
 Missionaries in Burma, Dr. Marks, Christmas Day at 
 Rangoon, Prome, Independent Burma, Nga-pee, 
 Moulmcin, Caves, Timber Yards, Elephants, Pegu, 
 A Difficult Journey, Voyage from Rangoon to 
 Madras, Salt Tax .. .. ,. .. 127-147 
 
 Chapter VIII. 
 
 Madras, Tamils, Native Christians, Bangalore, Native 
 Clergymen, Mysore, Seringapatam, Tipu Saib, Tomb 
 of Hyder Ali, The Deserted Bungalow, Caste Rules, 
 Tanjore, Temples of Southern India, Schwartz, De- 
 cayed Royalty .. .. .. .. 148-167 
 
 Chapter IX.'' 
 
 Trichinopoly, Srirangham, Mission Work, Schools, An 
 Evening Meeting, Madura, Trimul Naik, The 
 Church Establishment, Tinnevelly, History of its 
 Missions, The Effect of the Famine, Statistics . . 168-185 
 
 Chapter X. 
 
 Tinnevelly, Palamcottah, A Drive in a "Bandy," Na- 
 zareth, Sunday in a Native Christian Village, Mission 
 Life, Orphanages, Evangelistic Work, Life of a 
 INIissionary, Sir R. Temple on Missions, Mudalur, 
 Mengnanapuram, A Self-denying Life, " Society 
 Bishops," Tuticorin, Leave India .. .. 186-207 
 
 Chapter XL 
 
 Colombo, Inhabitants of Ceylon, Kandy, Failure of 
 Coffee Shrub, Tooth Temple, Anaradhapura, Da- 
 gobas. Ruins, Sacred Bo Tree, Proposed Annexation 
 to India, Oil Factory, Homeward Voyage, Egypt, 
 Cairo, Ismailya, Block in the Canal, Discoverer of 
 Pithom, Return to England .. .. .. .. 208-225
 
 A PARSON'S HOLIDAY. 
 
 I HAD long had a wish to visit India, and in the autumn 
 of last year (1882) it seemed possible to accomplish 
 my purpose. And thus on the evening of October 4th 
 I found myself in the night train for Dover, hurrying 
 away from London, and intending to be absent from 
 England for a six months' holiday. During these six 
 months I travelled through India, Burma and Ceylon, 
 and though I did not leave the ordinary beaten tracks, 
 yet I think my experiences may interest others. I 
 know that India has become a winter touring ground, 
 that numbers of travellers pass through it every cool 
 season, and that the T. G. (or travelling gent.) is be- 
 coming a common object in every large railway station. 
 I know also that numerous books of travels, expressing 
 more or less superficial opinions, and more or less inac- 
 curate descriptions of people and places, have been 
 already published. I may therefore be asked why I 
 should think it necessary to publish another work, 
 which will probably possess all the faults of its pre- 
 decessors without any countervailing merits of its own. 
 To this I would answer that in spite of all that has 
 been written on the subject there is still a great igno- 
 rance amongst English people of things Indian. The 
 Indian official is too busy to care to take the trouble to 
 put his experiences on record. He has also lived so 
 long amongst Oriental sights and customs, and these 
 things have become so familiar to himself, that he 
 thinks they are equally well known by his countrymen 
 at home. Added to this, he usually spends his life in 
 one part of the country, and never has time or desire 
 to see anything of other parts of India. If he cared to 
 do so, he could enlighten most of us about a hundred
 
 2 A parson's holiday. 
 
 matters of which we are densely ignorant, and yet 
 which make up the Hfe of two hundred milHons of our 
 fellow subjects. But as a rule he maintains silence, 
 and only wonders at the little knowledge possessed, 
 and the quaint mistakes made, by his stay-at-home 
 brother. It therefore seems to fall to the lot of the 
 chance traveller to put on record his crude impressions 
 in the hope that what he says may induce more of his 
 countrymen to take an interest in England's greatest 
 dependency, and if possible to see with their own eyes 
 the wonders of the East. The politician and the pro- 
 fessor, the sportsman and the travelling lady, have 
 already given their experiences of a tour in India to 
 the world. It remains for the parson to add his quota 
 to the general farrago. He cannot hope to have done 
 more than skimmed the surface of the many difficult 
 questions which are constantly arising in India. He 
 knows that his knowledge is very superficial, his 
 opinions very hastily formed, his ideas very crude and 
 undigested. But things that may have been omitted 
 by other writers have perhaps struck him, and aspects 
 of social life and missionary effort, and problems of 
 Church government and educational progress, which 
 other writers overlooked, interested him. He therefore 
 ventures to think that these hasty notes of a winter 
 tour may be not without use even to those who are 
 most experienced in Indian matters. While to those 
 who are less learned in Eastern places and customs, 
 he hopes they may prove somewhat interesting. 
 
 Therefore without further preface or apology I would 
 begin to describe my holiday tour. I need not linger 
 long over the voyage. The Overland Route has been 
 so often described, that it is diliicult to find anything 
 fresh to relate about that. From Calais to Brindisi 
 there was a dusty, tiresome, railway journey, only 
 broken for me at Ancona, where I tried in vain to get 
 on board the P. and O. steamer. It may be as well 
 to warn intending travellers that it is very rarely that 
 these steamers touch at Ancona. The harbour is
 
 THE VOYAGE. 3 
 
 small and badly lighted, and therefore although their 
 contract compels them to touch there "weather per- 
 mitting," yet this clause often affords them an excuse 
 for not doing so. It is better therefore either to join 
 the steamer at Venice, or at Brindisi. I spent a night 
 sitting on the pier at Ancona with a number of Italian 
 sailors, who apparently did without sleep, and passed 
 the time in chaffing each other and laughing at me for 
 expecting any steamer to pick me up. In the morning 
 I was able to go on by train to Brindisi, where on 
 Sunday evening, October 8th, I went on board the 
 steamer which was to carry me to Bombay. From 
 Brindisi to Alexandria we had several Egyptian re- 
 fugees and distinguished officials as our fellow pas- 
 sengers. They were hastening back, now that Egypt 
 w^as once more quiet, and were full of anecdotes of 
 narrow escapes incurred during the days of massacre 
 before the bombardment. On the 12th we sighted the 
 lighthouse at Alexandria, and as we steamed into the 
 harbour everyone was on the look out to see the 
 damage done to the Forts by the bombardment. Ours 
 was the first steamer which had touched at Alexandria, 
 since the beginning of the revolt, and everyone was 
 anxious to land to see the destruction which had been 
 caused by the great fire. The large "Place" in the 
 centre of the European quarter was an utter ruin, the 
 whole of it having been entirely burnt ; but other parts 
 of the city seemed very little injured. The British 
 soldier was in occupation everywhere, making himself 
 thoroughly at home. He apparently made himself 
 understood by talking English in a loud tone of voice, 
 and a free use of signs. We heard one bargaining 
 with a native female fruit seller, and because he did 
 not like what he got, he shouted at her, " Look here ; 
 I say ; not good." And she apparently understood 
 him. From Alexandria our steamer went round to 
 Port Said, and through the Suez Canal, as the railway 
 through Egypt was not yet in working order. The 
 voyage down the Red Sea was the hottest part of my
 
 4 A parson's holiday. 
 
 experiences, the thermometer standing one day at 96". 
 We landed at Aden, and saw the Crater Camp and 
 the Tanks, and wondered at the cindeiy appearance 
 and strong fortifications of this rocky corner of Arabia, 
 We had lovely weather in the Indian Ocean, and passed 
 the days in quiet idleness, reclining in long deck chairs, 
 playing chess, discussing our fellow passengers, and 
 watching the ordinary boardship flirtations. It was 
 a quiet, pleasant time, which seemed to rest everyone, 
 and will be long remembered. But each day the ship's 
 run was anxiously noted, and at last we were in sight 
 of Bombay harbour. Now it seemed that one's real 
 journeying was to begin, and one was really to see the 
 land of which one had heard so much. The landing 
 at the Apollo Bunder was accomplished with a certain 
 amount of trouble, but when my packages were col- 
 lected, I was soon driven through the crowded streets 
 of Bombay to the Byculla Hotel. There the landlord 
 was a Parsee, the bedroom servants Hindus, and the 
 waiters Mahommedans ; there were mosquito curtains 
 on the bed, and verandahs all round the house ; pun- 
 kahs were being pulled, and the smell of sandal wood, 
 mingled with strange cries, came up from the bazaar ; 
 a jackal howled in the distance, and I tried to say a 
 sentence in Hindustani ; and then I really felt that 
 at last I was in India. That first night, when I was 
 alone, with all its fresh new feelings, stands out dis- 
 tinct and memorable. But in the morning there were 
 many new, strange incidents, which kept one's eyes 
 and ears fully employed. There was first the look of 
 the streets ; the throng of natives was very surprising. 
 One did not at first distinguish the different castes -, 
 that experience came later. But the mere mass and 
 crowd of dark-skinned, white-robed, turbaned natives 
 filling the streets, riding on the tramcars, and sitting 
 at the shop doors, showed one how populous the city 
 is. The public buildings are very fine ; and the 
 principal streets are broad and well paved. In the 
 native quarter I got my first sight of a bazaar, and
 
 TOWERS OF SILENCE. 5 
 
 began to learn the different native industries and 
 trades. Besides enjoying the sights of the streets, I 
 was shown the Towers of Silence, which are the 
 Parsees' burial places, and are so well described in 
 Professor Monier Williams's Modern India. We drove 
 to the foot of a hill, and then followed a footpath which 
 led us to a gateway. On ringing at the gate, and 
 showing our order, we were admitted into a large 
 walled enclosure, which seemed to cover the whole 
 summit of the hill, and to be several acres in extent. 
 The views over the harbour and town were very exten- 
 sive and beautiful, and this is one of the prettiest sites 
 in Bombay. The enclosure was laid out with paths 
 and flowering shrubs, and in it there were some groves 
 of tall trees. The place seemed very still and quiet, 
 and at first we saw no signs of any burial place. But 
 soon our guide pointed out to us three low towers, 
 which appeared to be about 40 feet high, and about 
 60 feet in diameter. Round the top of these towers, 
 and on the surrounding trees, there sat quantities of 
 vultures, which were waiting to devour the corpses, 
 which are placed inside the towers. We were not 
 allowed to approach nearer than about 50 yards to 
 the towers, but we were shown a model of a tower in 
 the guide's house, and from that and his descriptions 
 we learned the manner of the Parsee funeral. The 
 friends of the deceased bring the body to the enclosure 
 between the hours of four and six in the evening, and 
 there leave it in the hands of certain members of their 
 religion, who are specially deputed to perform the 
 funeral rites. These caretakers of the dead are the 
 only persons permitted to enter the towers, and have 
 sole charge of the bodies, after they have been brought 
 to the enclosure. At sunset, when no one else is near, 
 the bodies are placed by these officials inside the 
 towers, each one on a separate bier, and there left. 
 No sooner is the door of the tower shut, than the 
 vultures swoop down, and devour the corpses there 
 placed for their delectation. In the morning the
 
 6 A PARSON S HOLIDAY. 
 
 officials again enter the tower, and collect any bones 
 or scraps of clothing that may be left, and these are, 
 I believe, consumed by fire. There is an arrangement 
 made for the drainage of the interior of the tower, and 
 the whole place is kept beautifully clean and neat. 
 The great object of this mode of disposal of the dead 
 is to resolve the corpse as quickly as possible into its 
 component elements, and return these to the earth 
 from whence they were taken. It may sound dis- 
 gusting to a Western mind, but a Parsee would con- 
 sider our mode of leaving the corpse to be slowly 
 destroyed by natural corruption a much more un- 
 healthy and disgusting method, and he would argue 
 that the swoop of the heaven-sent birds is a much less 
 horrible mode of destroying the empty casket of the 
 soul than leaving it to the slower process of the worm 
 and the pit. Certainly in the Towers of Silence, as 
 seen by the casual visitor or the sorrowing survivor, 
 there is nothing to shock the most sensitive spirit, 
 and every praise must be given to the Parsee com- 
 munity for the care they take of the enclosure and its 
 buildings. 
 
 Besides seeing the Towers of Silence, we also visited 
 the Caves of Elephanta. These are situated on an 
 island in the harbour, some six miles from the Apollo 
 Bunder. We hired a steam launch to take us to the 
 place. We landed at a pier built of large stones, and 
 walked for some hundreds of yards up a steep rocky 
 staircase, which led to the caves. We were sur- 
 rounded by a number of the male Inhabitants of the 
 island, who desired to sell us curiosities, such as 
 coloured beetles, butterflies, bright red seeds, nests, 
 &c. They were a dark coloured race, of a lower type 
 than the Bombay native, and very possibly belonged 
 to an earlier aboriginal people. The caves themselves 
 were cut In the perpendicular face of a rocky hill, over- 
 looking the landing place. The great temple is 133 
 feet broad, 130 feet long, and 20 feet high ; the roof is 
 supported by massive pillars, with ornamental capitals,
 
 CAVES OF ELEPHANTA. 7 
 
 which are all cut out of the Hving rock. There is a 
 colossal bust with three heads, opposite the entrance, 
 supposed to represent the Hindu Trinity. There are 
 also several other gigantic figures, but all are much 
 mutilated. Besides the great temple there are some 
 smaller caves and shrines. At one of these, one of 
 the native inhabitants of the island pulled off his turban 
 and worshipped. He did it quite quietly and unobtru- 
 sively, and without any wish to attract attention. It 
 showed that these old-world temples were still used 
 by these primitive islanders. The idol which he wor- 
 shipped was the *' linga," which is the symbol of the 
 creative principle or reproductive power in nature 
 throughout India, and though possibly it was originally 
 chosen by philosophers as the best expression of the 
 great First Cause, yet the less educated worshippers 
 have made it an excuse for immorality, and have 
 turned what might have been originally a high con- 
 ception of the Creator into a sanction for impure and 
 corrupt rites. The Caves of Elephanta are not of 
 great antiquity, and probably were excavated about 
 1000 A.D. 
 
 From Bombay I went by the G. I. P. railway to 
 Poona. The distance is 1 19 miles, and the time taken 
 on the journey is about six hours, but during that time 
 one rises about 2000 feet, and gets the most beautiful 
 views over the country. For after running through a 
 rich flat land for 60 miles, the train begins to ascend 
 the Bhore Ghats, up very steep gradients. The line is 
 magnificently engineered, and the views as the train 
 climbs the hills are grand in the extreme. The rocks 
 glowed red in the light of the setting sun, and the 
 precipices rose nearly perpendicularly, and there were 
 thin waterfalls, which fell and seemed to get lost before 
 they touched the ground. These Ghats run like a wall 
 all down the west coast of India, and when they are 
 surmounted, one reaches a great tableland, which 
 extends nearly to Madras. So steep is this wall of 
 rock, that the Krishna and the Gadaveri, two of the
 
 8 A parson's holiday. 
 
 great rivers of India, which rise on the eastern slope 
 of this watershed, find no outlet to the western sea 
 which is so near to them, but have to traverse hun- 
 dreds of miles, and cross the whole breadth of India 
 before they lose themselves in the Bay of Bengal. 
 The nearness of these hills is also most beneficial to 
 the inhabitants of Bombay, as they can be used as a 
 sanatorium in the hot weather. 
 
 We arrived at Poona after sunset, but as I stopped 
 there ten days I had a good opportunity of seeing the 
 place. Poona is in many ways a typical Indian city 
 and station, and a description of it may serve for many 
 other places in India. Poona then like most other 
 large Indian cities is divided into two parts ; viz. : 
 the native city and the British cantonment. These 
 two parts are quite distinct, and the majority of the 
 English residents rarely, if ever, enter the native 
 quarter. The cantonment contains barracks, parade 
 grounds, churches, and streets of detached bungalows 
 (each in its own compound). Here are the Bund 
 gardens, where the EngHsh people walk and drive of 
 an evening to "eat the air." Here too is the club, the 
 tennis grounds, the council chamber and public build- 
 ings, for Poona is the seat of the Bombay Government 
 during the hot weather, and head-quarters of the 
 Bombay army. The English quarter covers five or six 
 square miles of ground, and in it there are streets of 
 native shops, which sell English goods and also supply 
 all the manifold wants of the Europeans. All this 
 quarter has sprung up within the last 70 years. Poona 
 used to be the capital of the Marhatta power, and the 
 residence of the ruler of the Marhatta confederacy, 
 who was called the Peshwa of Poona. The Peshwa 
 was finally defeated in 181 8 at the battle of Kirki, and 
 in that year his dominions were annexed to the Bom- 
 bay Presidency. Thus the English have not held this 
 place for more than two generations, and the recol- 
 lection of their independence is still fresh in the minds 
 of the natives. These Marhattas are one of the finest
 
 POONA. 9 
 
 races of India, of a light-brown colour, and very active 
 and manly. They fought as our allies in Southern 
 India, in our wars with Tipu Saib, and are much more 
 independent in manner than the natives of Lower 
 Bengal. The native city is still full of memorials 
 of the greatness of the Peshwa, and many of his old 
 palaces are still standing. If we enter this, we at once 
 see the difference between the English cantonment and 
 the native quarter. Here no Europeans live except a 
 community of the Cowley Fathers. The streets are 
 narrow and unpaved, and full of life. The drive 
 through these streets was a most nervous matter, as 
 everyone walked in the middle of the road, and would 
 hardly move out of the way of a carriage, in spite of 
 the shouts raised by the syce who preceded us. Here 
 one saw native life in perfection. The bazaars were 
 crowded with customers, the fountains at the street 
 corners were surrounded with women drawing water in 
 their brass lotas, who carried naked babies astride on 
 their hips. In the tanks men were washing them- 
 selves, there were shops of sweetmeats, and rice, and 
 ^hee, full of flies, the native workers in brass and silver 
 were busy with their tools, the potter's wheel whirred 
 in the sunlight, and the little clay vessels were set out 
 to dry, there was a twang from a cotton bow, a murmur 
 of voices and a glimpse of naked children sitting on 
 the floor as we passed an elementary school, while at 
 the division of the ways there stood some idol shrine 
 or figure of a god, daubed with vermilion paint, and 
 generally surrounded with worshippers. The com- 
 monest idol in the city seemed to be the Ganapati, or 
 elephant headed idol ; he is the god of luck, and 
 typifies cunning or sly cleverness, and is much wor- 
 shipped by traders. The houses were generally of 
 two stories, the ground floor being given up to the 
 shop, while the upper story was carefully shuttered,, 
 and occupied by the women of the household. The 
 shops were mere counters abutting on the street, on 
 which the goods were exposed for sale and on which 
 
 n
 
 lo A parson's holiday. 
 
 the owner often sat crosslegged. Within and behind 
 him there were cupboards, from which he would produce 
 further goods, or sometimes there were rooms in which 
 the loom or the lathe was seen at work. By degrees 
 one learned to distinguish the different castes and 
 trades. The Brahmins seemed lighter coloured than 
 the rest, and more aristocratic looking. Here in 
 the Marhatta country the turbans were specially fine, 
 often of red and gold, with a peculiar shell-shaped fold 
 in the centre, which stood up like a horn on the top of 
 the head On every side and down every street there 
 seemed a crowd of life, the population of Poona being 
 over 1 18,000 people. 
 
 We saw the country round Poona by driving in the 
 early mornings. The most interesting sight near the 
 city is the temple of Parvathi. It is dedicated to the 
 consort of Siva, who is here worshipped under the 
 name of Parvathi, which means " mountaineer." It is 
 a picturesque pile of buildings standing boldly upon a 
 high hill three miles outside the town, and built about 
 150 years ago. There is a silver image of Siva, and 
 others of Vishnu, &c. The Brahmin who showed us 
 over rather mocked at the whole of the worship, but 
 this manner was no doubt partly put on as a compli- 
 ment to us, and in hopes of obtaining money. This he 
 did not get, as the temple is kept up by Government 
 as a show place. From it there was a magnificent 
 view over the country, and we were shown the window 
 through which the Peshvva watched the battle of 
 Kirki, and saw his troops defeated by the English. 
 Another morning I was taken to see an institution set 
 apart for those suffering from black leprosy. This 
 disease did not appear to be infectious, though it was 
 certainly hereditary. The poor creatures were of all 
 ages, even children inheriting the disease. It showed 
 itself in a hardening of the outer skin, which became 
 like leather, a wasting away of the fiesh, and a loss of 
 faculties and also of the limbs. Many were without 
 sight or hearing, — nearly all had some of their toes or
 
 MISSIONARY WORK. II 
 
 fingers rotted away. The joints of the fingers seemed 
 to drop off piecemeal, and one man looked like a 
 walking skeleton, with hardly any flesh, and a thick 
 black leathery hide stretched over his bones. He 
 could neither see nor hear, and hardly speak. The 
 hospital had been founded by a philanthropic Jew. 
 There was no cure for the disease, and the only 
 alleviation possible was to place the sufferers in these 
 •aim-houses, where their wants were supplied, and them- 
 selves taken care of, till death came to release them 
 from their sufferings. 
 
 As soon as the first hunger of sightseeing had been 
 partially satisfied, I began to ask questions about 
 missionary work. One felt one was in an heathen 
 country for the first time in one's life, and one desired 
 to know what progress was being made in converting 
 the natives to Christianity. And at first one got very 
 scant answers. The ordinary official Englishman is 
 too busy with his own work to see much of that of the 
 missionary. Sometimes also he is prejudiced against 
 any attempts to alter the religious feelings of the 
 natives, and will say that the native who becomes a 
 Christian adopts all the vices of the European, while 
 losing the restraints which his former faith imposed 
 upon him. Often also there is some reason for this 
 belief, as the native Christians are not always the best 
 specimens of their race. A certain small number are 
 willing to be converted from very low motives, and 
 these bring discredit on the whole work. Also in 
 former days there was a lack of wisdom shown by 
 certain missionaries, who were ignorant of the religion 
 they meant to overthrow, and thus gained the contempt 
 of the officials, who had lived for many years in the 
 country. Even the chaplains seemed often ignorant 
 of what the missionaries were doing at their own doors. 
 This arises from the chaplain's work being confined to 
 the Europeans dwelling in cantonments, while the mis- 
 sionary works in the native city or in the surrounding 
 villages. Also a chaplain of a large station has plenty
 
 12 A parson's holiday. 
 
 to do, having a large number of English, both civil and 
 military, to visit, while the military hospital and soldiers' 
 school have also to be attended to by him. Probably 
 he also has outlying stations, distant often 30 or 40 
 miles, which he has periodically to visit. All this 
 leaves him but little time to hear much about the mis- 
 sionaries' work. I think the missionaries whom I saw 
 felt a little hurt at the slight interest their own country- 
 men took in their work. But no doubt the work is 
 strengthened by this lack of ofificial patronage. The 
 converts have nothing to gain in a worldly point of 
 view by becoming Christians, and thus the sincerity of 
 their motives is assured. Since also the official rulers 
 of the country have to treat those professing all re- 
 ligions on an equality, it is perhaps wise that there 
 should be no suspicion of any bias on their part. I 
 can only relate what I saw and heard, but certainly I 
 was agreeably surprised at the quantity and quality of 
 the missionary work. After all that I had heard in 
 depreciation of their labours, \ was astonished to find 
 so much knowledge on the part of the missionary, so 
 much wisdom in his methods, and so much solid 
 success attained. It w^ould be an impertinence on my 
 part to praise men wiser and nobler than myself, but 
 I would say to all those (whether in England or in 
 India) who doubt about missionary work. Go and see. 
 Do not be satisfied with hearsay evidence, or current 
 misstatements, or ignorant prejudice, but go down into 
 the native quarter and see the dispensaries, the schools, 
 the orphanages, and the congregations the missionaries 
 have founded, and see if all this does not compare 
 favourably with what is being done in a large London 
 parish. The w^ork seemed to me to be everywhere 
 alive, and the prospect hopeful. There are no doubt 
 careless or unwise missionaries, as there are lazy and 
 ignorant clergymen at home, but I did not meet any, 
 and from what I saw, I was fully convinced of the 
 reality and the progress of mission work. If I try to 
 describe something of what I saw, it may lead others 
 to realize what is being done in this matter.
 
 MISSIONARY METHODS. 13 
 
 Poona is a place where nearly all Christian bodies 
 are at work, and the methods used by all of them are 
 much the same. The main parts of the machinery, 
 by which they work on the natives, are orphanages, 
 schools, dispensaries, and open lectures followed by 
 free discussion. The orphanages take in any found- 
 ling or deserted children, which are sent to them by 
 the magistrates, and these children are brought up as 
 Christians. The schools are generally open to all of 
 any creed. The dispensaries offer medical advice 
 either gratis or for a small fee, and are means by 
 which acquaintance is made with the sick. The 
 lectures have taken the place of street preaching, 
 which has been given up by many missionaries as 
 being a less effective way of appealing to the people. 
 It would be tedious if I was to enumerate all the 
 different institutions I visited. I give general results 
 gathered from several sources. The orphanages seem 
 useful, for they train up a certain number of infants 
 from childhood in Christian principles ; and as these 
 infants are sent to them by Government officials, they 
 seem guarded from the abuse inseparable from all free 
 foundling institutions. The children when fully grown 
 are happily married to children of other Christian 
 orphanages. The sisters of S. Mary's Home (a 
 branch of the Wantage community) told me that 
 they had more applications for wives than they could 
 supply. In the male orphanages the boys are taught 
 trades, such as printing or carpentering, and thus 
 the old reproach that the native Christian was in- 
 clined to loaf and live on the missionaries is being 
 removed. When they marry, they live near the mis- 
 sion house, and a Christian community is gradually 
 formed. Right in the heart of the native city of 
 Poona there is such a community rising round the 
 mission house of the Cowley Fathers. These de- 
 voted men have not been content to live amongst 
 the other Europeans in cantonments, but they have 
 gone down into the midst of the native quarter, and
 
 14 A parson's holiday. 
 
 there live amongst the people. Their house is always 
 open to enquirers, and they receive many visits from 
 natives, more often from curiosity than from a desire 
 to hear about Christianity. Yet these visits often lead 
 to important results, as witness the case of Father 
 Goreh, who was formerly a Brahmin, but is now a 
 Christian and a Cowley Father. He was converted 
 some years ago at Benares, and he himself says that 
 he was in the habit of going to talk to the missionaries 
 for the sake of argument and to improve his English. 
 He now works with the Cowley Fathers at Poona, and 
 is most useful in writing books and tracts, as his know- 
 ledge of Brahminism is perfect. But more useful than 
 any other methods are the schools of the missionaries. 
 These are thrown open to all who are willing to come, 
 and there is no compulsion laid on anyone to become 
 a Christian. The heathen lads gladly avail themselves 
 of this privilege, as they know that they will be taught 
 English at these schools. Their great desire is to 
 learn English, as that opens the way to Government 
 employment. And they know also that they will be 
 better taught by a thorough Englishman than they 
 would be by a native teacher. So they willingly come, 
 although they know that their teacher is of a different 
 religion to themselves, and probably will try to con- 
 vert them. It is in these schools that much of the 
 influence of the missionary is exercised. He does 
 not always try to convert them by compulsory Bible 
 reading or direct dogmatic teaching, for indirect means 
 are often more suitable. Boys naturally look up to 
 the clever and kind European who is instructing them 
 in Western lore, and they are disposed to accept his 
 opinions on all subjects. The very atmosphere of a 
 Christian school and intercourse with a religious-minded 
 man have great influence, even if he does not preach 
 Christianity directly to them. Ideas of Christian 
 morality are insensibly absorbed, and the boy cannot 
 go back to idolatry with his old feelings unshaken. 
 The civilized, clean life of the European with his high
 
 MISSIONARY SCHOOLS. 15 
 
 notions of truthfulness, and duty, and self-sacrifice, 
 must preach an unspoken sermon, and the constant 
 influence of such a mind must have a great effect on 
 the scholars round him. Therefore there seems every 
 reason to make the missionary schools as efficient and 
 successful as possible, and a great part of the mis- 
 sionary's work will lie in educating the young. His 
 school ought to show as good results in the Govern- 
 ment examinations as any other, for this proof of his 
 success will attract more scholars round him. He will 
 consider no time wasted, which is bestowed on secular 
 teaching, for not only does this Western learning sap 
 the old idolatry, but it also acts as a bait by which 
 more of the young are brought under his personal in- 
 fluence. Everyone interested, in education seemed to 
 allow that the new learning had sapped the old idolatry, 
 and that the educated natives are now often Atheists or 
 Materialists, though going occasionally to the Temple 
 services. But this destruction of the old reliction 
 seems a necessary preliminary to the adoption of the 
 new, and though we may regret the general decay of 
 faith, yet there is nothing to regret in the decay of 
 modern Hinduism. In that religion immorality neces- 
 sarily forms a part, and one of the indirect benefits of 
 Christianity is that these licentious practices are now 
 condemned by the public opinion of the higher classes 
 of natives, who are being educated up to a purer standard 
 of morality by their contact with Europeans. It is sad 
 to think that the Agnostic and infidel literature of the 
 West finds a ready sale amongst the English speaking 
 Hindus, but even this is better than the old idolatry with 
 its impure rites, and it may even prove a stepping-stone 
 to higher things. Infidelity amongst the educated 
 classes was no barrier to the spread of Christianity in 
 Greece and Rome, and in India the same sequence of 
 events may be repeated ; and although a certain number 
 of minds may be content for a time with a blank mate- 
 rialism, yet we may hope that they will emerge from that 
 into a purer faith. The chief hope is in the Christian
 
 i6 A parson's holiday. 
 
 schools, and from them, If efhciently conducted, may 
 arise a new generation of Christian natives, able to 
 be the evangelizers of their own countrymen. The 
 reading of Shakspeare or Thackeray, of Burke or 
 Johnson, exercises a Christian influence, and thus the 
 very preparation for a Government examination helps 
 forward indirectly the cause of a higher morality and a 
 purer religion. 
 
 It may be interesting to state what are the various 
 sorts of schools in India. There are first the Govern- 
 ment High Schools, entirely supported by Government 
 funds; these were originally founded as model schools, 
 before any private venture schools had been started. 
 But now in the Bombay Presidency there are several 
 sorts of schools, which have been started privately 
 both by English and native committees, and are aided 
 by Government grants (as in England) subject to in- 
 spection. The highest are the European and Eurasian 
 and English teaching schools, which can earn five 
 rupees on each child for average attendance and 
 perhaps twenty-five rupees for every pass made. The 
 pass grant varies, according to the standard passed, 
 increasing as the standard increases. These schools 
 prepare for matriculation, and teach arithmetic, Euclid, 
 algebra, English history, geography, and one other lan- 
 guage, either Latin, Sanskrit, French or German. These 
 schools are chiefly attended by the Europeans and 
 Eurasians. Then come the Anglo-vernacular schools, 
 which also prepare for matriculation, but the ver- 
 nacular language is taught with greater attention to 
 scholarship. Besides that, English, history, geography, 
 Euclid, algebra, Sanskrit or Latin are taught ; grants 
 would perhaps average about ten rupees a child, but all 
 through the Indian code the grants increase according 
 to the standard passed, which plan might be introduced 
 with advantage into the English code. Geography 
 and history are made compulsory subjects for the 
 higher standards in all schools. Then there are the 
 vernacular schools, which teach arithmetic, reading,
 
 EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 17 
 
 writing and geography in the vernacular. Pupils must 
 have passed in Standard IV. in the vernacular schools 
 before they are permitted to learn English. Each child 
 in these schools would earn about four-and-a-half 
 rupees. Thus there are schools for every grade of 
 society, but attendance is not compulsory anywhere, 
 so all the children are not being educated. Just 
 before I was at Poona the Education Commission 
 appointed by Government had been holding its sit- 
 tings. Everyone interested in schools was examined. 
 Hindus, Parsees, Christians, headmasters, mistresses, 
 college officials, missionaries, and magistrates were 
 all invited to give their opinions. They answered 
 certain questions in writing, and were afterwards 
 examined on their evidence. The chief educational 
 question seems to be whether Government should 
 continue to support some schools entirely. They did 
 so at first for the purpose of encouraging education. 
 They also give grants-in-aid to other schools, subject 
 to inspection. But the missionary, and native private 
 venture, schools say that they cannot compete with the 
 Government schools, which are entirely supported out 
 of Government funds. That it would be fairer if 
 Government now discontinued their own schools, 
 and gave a grant-in-aid to any school which passed 
 the required standards : that the present system dis- 
 courages all sorts of demominational schools, whether 
 Christian or heathen, and that practically the Govern- 
 ment is not neutral to all religions, but encourages 
 Atheism ; for as it cannot teach any religion, it 
 destroys the old religious belief, without putting 
 anything in its place. They would therefore prefer a 
 system of denominational schools aided by grants (as 
 in England), and would have no more schools entirely 
 supported by Government. On the other hand the 
 Government say that they have no guarantee that the 
 schools to which they give grants-in-aid, will be always 
 continued ; that some masters have given up their 
 schools when they had made enough money ; and that 
 
 C
 
 i8 A parson's holiday. 
 
 if they closed their own schools, and only granted aid 
 to private schools, the education of the district might 
 suddenly cease by these schools being shut. There 
 is also no local body fit to be intrusted with the edu- 
 cation of the district, for the municipal bodies are 
 hardly yet capable of taking over schools. There was 
 also a fear amongst the Hindus that if the Govern- 
 ment closed its schools the missionaries would gain 
 an advantage, since they were already in the field. 
 The private native schools are not yet endowed or 
 generally started. There was a general consensus of 
 opinion that primary village vernacular schools should 
 be multiplied, and that masters and mistresses should 
 be trained for them. There seemed to be a general 
 wish that Government should gradually withdraw from 
 giving any education in its own schools, and should 
 rather confine itself to inspecting. But several said 
 that the time for this had hardly come. Probably 
 with the spread of local self-government this will be 
 gradually effected. 
 
 After these rather dry educational questions, it may 
 be interesting to say something about the schools 
 themselves. I had the good fortune to see nearly all 
 the schools in Poona, from the Bishop's high school 
 for English boys down to small orphanages for native 
 infants. I will only mention a few, which had some 
 special points of interest. There was first the Victoria 
 School, which is one of the most interesting in Poona. 
 It is kept by Mr. and Mrs. Surabji and their daughters. 
 He was a Parsee, but was converted to Christianity 
 and ordained a deacon. Mrs. Surabji was a Hindu 
 by birth. Their daughters were helping them, and 
 one had been in England and had been trained at 
 Wantage. The school is specially interesting as one 
 in which natives, and English, and Eurasians, are 
 educated together. Even Hindu girls w^ho are married 
 come to the school. One to whom we spoke was the 
 girl-wife of a man in the service of the Gaekwar of 
 Baroda, and wore the native dress, nose-ring, ear-
 
 SCHOOLS. 19 
 
 rings, and all complete. They had also Moham- 
 medans, Parsees, and Jews, so all sorts and races were 
 there. The wonderful thing is that Hindu girls attend 
 the school. Only a few at present, but still it is a 
 beginning. The children sang Kindergarten songs 
 and were drilled just like a good English school, and 
 we were told that they had done very well in the 
 Government examination. It is one of the first at- 
 tempts at native female education under English 
 forms, with native teachers. Christianity is taught, 
 but the heathen children are not made to answer, 
 though they are present at the lesson given to the 
 Christian children. 
 
 Another interesting experiment was the Government 
 training college for native mistresses. It is kept by 
 Mrs. Mitchell, the widow of a missionary, who has a 
 perfect knowledge of Marhattee. It is entirely secular, 
 and is an attempt to train natives, who are widows or 
 married women, as teachers of native village schools. 
 The young women seemed intelligent and well taught. 
 We saw some beautiful map drawing, and they recited 
 Marhattee poetry. 
 
 The largest school I saw was the Government native 
 high school, which was in the centre of the native city, 
 and was accommodated in an old palace of the Peshwas, 
 with carved wooden pillars and ceilings in the rooms, 
 which are built round a quadrangle, and with narrow 
 stair-cases in the thickness of the walls. The first 
 class was preparing for matriculation, and read a piece 
 of Thackeray, and recited from Shakspeare. The 
 teaching seemed good, but the attempt to learn every- 
 thing seemed to lead to a superficial knowledge and a 
 disposition to rely on primers and condensed abstracts, 
 rather than fuller works. The English spoken was 
 good, grammatical, and well pronounced, and the 
 meaning of English idioms was well explained. This 
 class had lately acted The Merchant of Venice^ and 
 we asked " Portia," who was a married man about 
 nineteen years old, to give us " The quality of mercy.
 
 20 A parson's holiday. 
 
 &c," which he did with great effect and considerable 
 dramatic power. 
 
 I received an invitation from Mr. Kunte, master of 
 the high school, to be present at the breaking up of 
 the school for the Diwali holidays, which I gladly 
 accepted. We arrived about eight o'clock in the 
 morning, and found the whole school assembled, but 
 my brother and I were the only Europeans present. 
 Mr. Kunte received us very cordially, speaking capital 
 English, and full of educational theories, which he was 
 ready to discuss. We had a little talk about the 
 necessity of physical as well as mental training for 
 boys, and we asked about the games his lads played. 
 So he showed us some native gymnastics. The boys 
 stripped naked, except a small waist cloth; their limbs 
 looked hard, muscles well developed, and they were as 
 supple as Greeks. They did some wonderful feats on 
 a vertical pole, swinging themselves round it with their 
 heads downwards, and returning on to their feet with 
 great quickness. Then they showed us some wrest- 
 ling, which is a great national game amongst the 
 Marhattas. They had a sunk sanded arena, into 
 which two equally matched boys jumped. They 
 fenced a little before they grappled, and challenged 
 each other by clapping their own shoulders with re- 
 sounding thwacks. When they caught hold, the 
 object of each was to turn his opponent on to his 
 back, but it was not considered a fair fall unless both 
 shoulders touched the ground. All sorts of dodges 
 were allowed ; there seemed to be no rules as to 
 holding on to any special part of the body, but they 
 fell, and clung, and twisted, and writhed together as 
 quick, and supple, and agile, and slippery, as possible. 
 Both were panting with the exertion, each trying to 
 gain some hold or advantage, till one was conquered. 
 We saw several pairs thus wrestle, and it gave us 
 a good idea of the physical training given at the 
 school. Then came the English lecture with which the 
 headmaster always closed the term, and for which we
 
 BREAKING-UP DAY 21 
 
 were given the chief seats ; it was prefaced by a 
 few words of welcome and compHment to us for at- 
 tending. The title of it was " Machinism," which the 
 lecturer said was an American word. It was very 
 fluent and well expressed. It was intended to answer 
 the question why Englishmen were superior to 
 Hindus. Machinery was specially dwelt upon as the 
 distinguishing point of difference. Yet the lecturer 
 showed that all machines were invented and worked 
 by human means ; that Hindus were as capable as 
 Englishmen of inventing and working ; that though 
 natural advantages as coal and iron were wanting, yet 
 that much could be done by simpler materials and 
 hand labour. He explained how force was generated, 
 increased, transformed, and applied, and he encouraged 
 them all not to be afraid of machinery, but to educate 
 themselves to use and invent it. He did not want his 
 pupils to become only Government officials, but to 
 learn to earn an independent livelihood. There was a 
 strong vein of nationalism and patriotism running 
 through his speech, and also a good moral tone; he 
 specially enforced on them the necessity of truthfulness. 
 At the end of the lecture I said a few words of compli- 
 ment, and then cheers were given for him and for me 
 and we came away. He gave me an English book 
 he had written called The Vicissitudes of Aryan 
 Civilization in India, and we parted with more pretty 
 speeches. It was altogether a most interesting morn- 
 ing, and he was evidently pleased at Englishmen 
 coming to hear him. 
 
 This was nearly my last day at Poona, and I was 
 preparing to start for Rajputana and the North-West 
 Provinces. It had been a capital place to begin the 
 study of modern Indian life, for all classes both of 
 European and native people could there be met. One 
 could see how the two races refused to amalgamate, 
 and yet interacted one on the other. The hope of the 
 future seemed to lie in the spread of Western learning, 
 which would supply what was lacking to the Hindu
 
 22 A PARSON S HOLIDAY. 
 
 character. As one English-speaking native said to me, 
 " If the English were driven out of India to-morrow, 
 I would light sword-in-hand for the retention of the 
 English lani^uacre." He felt that this was the bond 
 which united his race to Western Aryans, and that 
 through English literature his countrymen must gain a 
 higher civilization and a purer morality. All honour then 
 to those, whether missionaries, administrators, or educa- 
 tionalists, who are encouraging the spread of Western 
 learning. We may sometimes be offended by the 
 superficial knowledge and crude ideas of the English- 
 speaking Babu. He may disgust our feelings and 
 shock our taste. He may need to have his faults 
 corrected, and to learn humility, and reticence, and 
 self-control. But with him is bound up the future 
 of India, and his class contains the true elements of 
 progress.
 
 KARLI CAVE. 23 
 
 Chapter II. 
 
 I LEFT Poona on November 6th, 1882, for Rajputana 
 and the North-West. On my way back to Bombay I 
 stopped at KarH station, and walked three miles from 
 there to the famous cave. The walk itself in the 
 early morning was pleasant, and we saw something of 
 agricultural life. The soil seemed rich, and the rice 
 crop was just ripe. In some places the fields were 
 being ploughed, and we noticed how the ploughman 
 
 " Planted both feet upon the leaping share 
 To make the furrow deep." 
 
 Bullocks were chiefly used to drag the plough, but some- 
 times they harnessed the great water buffaloes, who 
 looked savage and ill-tempered. The rice crops were 
 partly injured by locusts, and as we passed through 
 the fields great flights of these insects rose on all sides 
 of us. Their bodies were like grasshoppers, and they 
 had four thin gauzy wings like those of a dragon-fly. We 
 had a steep climb up the side of a hill, and then found 
 ourselves opposite a perpendicular face of rock, in 
 which the great cave had been excavated. This cave 
 had been cut out in Buddhistic times. The date as- 
 signed to it is A.D. 85, when this style was in its greatest 
 purity, and it is considered one of the finest specimens 
 of the rock hewn temples in India. The general plan 
 of the interior reminded one of a Christian church, only 
 every part was hewn out of the living rock instead of 
 being built up of stone. First there was a richly carved 
 screen, full of figures of men and animals. Entering 
 through this, one found oneself in a long nave, with a 
 row of pillars on either side, supporting a semicircular 
 roof made with wooden rafters, like the ribs of a ship. 
 The pillars are set near together, and are richly carved. 
 The deep shadows between them give a mysterious 
 gloom to the side aisles, and an appearance of depth
 
 24 A PARSON'S HOLIDAY. 
 
 which is misleading, as the wall of the natural rock 
 lies close behind the pillars. The whole length of the 
 cave is more than loo feet, and the height about 40 
 feet. It ends in a semicircular apse, and the pillars 
 are carried round the entire circuit of the walls. At 
 the far end is the shrine, but there is no image or other 
 representation of a god. Only a great circular dome- 
 shaped boss of rock, rising more than half-way up to 
 the roof, perfectly smooth and accurately rounded, 
 which originally supported a wooden umbrella, which 
 was the sign of power, and the only symbol of the 
 Divinity permitted in Buddhistic buildings. The only 
 window is one placed high up in the entrance screen, 
 and thus all the light which enters the temple falls on 
 the shrine, while other parts are left in comparative 
 gloom. Evidently the designer of this cave was a 
 master of effect, and understood how to use shadow, 
 and how to concentrate his light on the most important 
 part of his building. These cave temples are found in 
 various parts of the Bombay Presidency, and in Behar 
 and Cuttack in Bengal. No doubt the natural features 
 of the country determined the districts where this 
 mode of excavation should be employed. It could only 
 be practicable where there existed perpendicular faces 
 of rock of sufficient smoothness and homogeneity to en- 
 able the sculptured pillars and figures to be left intact. 
 Any flaw or fault in the rock would spoil the effect of 
 the general design. It is not therefore surprising that 
 these caves are only found in certain parts of India. 
 It has been calculated that it would be less laborious 
 to carve out such a temple than to build one of similar 
 size and of the same material. The labour of removing 
 the tons of rock and leaving the pillars intact would be 
 less toilsome and difficult than the rearing up of these 
 enormous masses and vaulting them over with arched 
 stone roofing. Therefore while we wonder at the skill 
 of these ancient excavators, we may also recognize the 
 fact that they discovered the easiest as well as the 
 most effective way of accomplishing their purpose.
 
 RAILWAY TRAVELLING. 25 
 
 They could never have succeeded In arching over such 
 large spaces with stone, but by using, and enlarging, 
 and embellishing natural caves they succeeded in over- 
 coming all difficulties, and thus left enduring monu- 
 ments of their skill almost indestructible by time. We 
 walked back from the cave to Karli station, and there 
 took the train to Bombay, and on that same evening I 
 left by the mail train for Baroda. The distance is 247 
 miles, and I arrived about 4 a.m. 
 
 Railway travelling in India presents some special 
 features of interest to the English passenger. The 
 carriages are built with double roofs, and overhanging 
 eaves, so that the passengers are protected from the 
 fierce heat of the sun. There are four classes on most 
 Indian lines. The first-class carriages are occupied 
 chleliy by the covenanted civilians, ladies, and the richer 
 native gentry. In the second-class carriages one finds 
 the younger civilians, policemen, railway officials, and 
 Eurasians ; besides native merchants, babus, Parsees 
 and others. The intermediate class (between the 
 second and the third) is used by the poorest English- 
 men. While the cheapest class of all is almost solely 
 used by natives. These form the majority of the pas- 
 sengers. There will be four times as many third class 
 carriages in a train as any other, and every carriage 
 will be quite full. The third-class fares are very low, 
 and the natives have taken very willingly to this mode 
 of conveyance. Pilgrimages are now performed by 
 means of the railway, and when any great feast, or 
 holiday, or sacred anniversary is at hand, special trains 
 have to be run to accommodate the crowds of pas- 
 sengers. Every platform is filled with travellers, the 
 ground outside the station is covered with prostrate 
 forms rolled up in rugs, sleeping on the bare earth, 
 waiting for the train to start, and the noise and con- 
 fusion is appalling. Even on an ordinary day the 
 number of native passengers is very surprising. They 
 do not carry much luggage, generally only a small 
 bundle. The women are loaded with Dangles, having 
 
 D
 
 26 A parson's holiday. 
 
 apparently disposed all their jewelry about their per- 
 sons. And the black-eyed children cling round their 
 mothers, sitting astride on their hips. The station- 
 masters are generally natives, while the guards and 
 engine-drivers are Eurasians. The latter are clothed 
 in white uniforms and wear "sola topees," or pith hats. 
 At every station there are two bhistis, or water carriers, 
 who serve out water gratis to all who ask for it. One 
 of these is a Hindu, and the other is a Mohammedan, 
 and each serves the passengers of his owm faith. 
 The Hindu water carrier is aWays chosen from a high 
 caste, as it would be pollution for a high-caste native 
 to accept water from a low-caste water carrier. The 
 cry of " pani, pani " (water, water) is the first thing 
 one notices at the wayside stations. There are also 
 sellers of bananas, cocoa-nuts, sweetmeats, bread, and 
 rice, who pass up and down the platforms crying their 
 wares. The wants of the Europeans are also well at- 
 tended to, and the trains stop sufhciently long to allow 
 time for meals, while the guard telegraphs on to inform 
 the butler at the next refreshment room how many 
 passengers require breakfast or dinner. The meals are 
 good, and the charges are not excessive. The car- 
 riages are well arranged for night travelling, as the 
 seats are easily converted into shelves or bunks, on 
 which one can lie at full length. There is a lavatory 
 attached to each carriage, where one can wash and 
 brush up, and the guards do not wake one up when 
 asleep with a demand for tickets. The lines are ter- 
 ribly dusty, and one arrives covered with grit, and 
 coal dust, and sand. Fortunately a bath is always 
 quickly ready, and after washing one is more pre- 
 sentable. The hospitality of Indian residents is pro- 
 verbial, and though now hotels are more common, and 
 there is not the same necessity for taking in the casual 
 traveller, yet still their kindness is excessive. I have 
 a great debt of kindness to acknowledge, and I cannot 
 sufificiently express my gratitude to those who laid them- 
 selves out to make my Indian tour pleasant. Indian
 
 STATION LIFE. 
 
 27 
 
 houses seemed to be elastic, and there was ahvays room 
 made somehow for one person more. If the house was 
 full, a tent was pitched in the compound, and one slept 
 under canvas. This was most luxurious, as the fur- 
 niture of an Indian tent would bear comparison with 
 many an English bedroom. There was a thick carpet 
 on the floor, the bed was covered with a bright red 
 rezai, there was a pretty dressing table decked with 
 flowers, and lit with wax candles, a bath tent was 
 attached with plenty of water carried in by the at- 
 tendant bhisti, and outside there marched a sentinel 
 to watch over one's slumbers. The nights at this time 
 of the year (November) were delightfully cool, and I 
 was never visited by snake or scorpion. I was always 
 glad when I heard that my friends had arranged a tent 
 for me. It did not seem a matter for apology, but 
 rather for congratulation. The being awakened in the 
 early morning by the song of birds, the first glimmer 
 of dawn through the tent door, the sounds of drawing 
 water at the well, the early cup of tea brought in by 
 the bearer, and the morning walk before breakfast, are 
 all pleasurable memories. Later on in the day it was 
 unwise to go out, and from eleven o'clock till four one 
 stopped indoors, and read and wrote. But after after- 
 noon tea a drive or a walk, a game of tennis or a spell 
 of sightseeing became possible. The English com- 
 munity in India at the smaller stations is obliged to be 
 friendly. They are necessarily so much thrown to- 
 gether, that they cannot be distant or haughty. They 
 try to discover each other's good points and to ignore 
 as far as possible any faults which may exist. They 
 are either great friends or else deadly enemies, and it 
 is not often that the latter state is reached. The chief 
 difficulty is occupation for the English ladies, as the 
 heat prevents out-of-door work of all kinds. The less 
 educated become gossipy and foolish, caring much for 
 admiration, and spending much time in dressing and 
 visiting. But in most stations there are now good 
 libraries, the magazines and newspapers arrive each
 
 28 A parson's holiday. 
 
 week from England, and it is possible for anyone in 
 India to keep himself abreast of English thought, and 
 to be as cultured and well educated as anyone living 
 in the centre of intellectual life at home. 
 
 My stay at Baroda was made pleasant for me 
 through the kindness of the Resident. The State of 
 Baroda is one of those feudatory states which is 
 governed by a native Prince, with the help and ad- 
 vice of an English Resident, who is appointed by the 
 Viceroy. The Resident does not interfere in the in- 
 ternal government of the state, unless he notices any 
 grave abuses. He is always ready to advise the native 
 ruler, and he has the power of exercising a control 
 over the foreign relationships of the state. The power 
 of life and death is exercised by the native Prince, 
 though the Resident would forbid any extreme act of 
 injustice. Thus the position of a Resident at a native 
 court is one of great responsibility and delicacy. He 
 has to make friends with the ruler, and yet to keep 
 himself free from all palace intrigues. He has to exer- 
 cise a wise oversight, and yet to avoid all fussy inter- 
 ference. He has to know when it is needful to speak, 
 but he does not continually meddle with the small de- 
 tails of internal government. He is in the State, yet not 
 of it, and behind him there is known to be the whole 
 power of the British Empire, though this fact is not 
 flaunted in the face of the native ruler. He must be 
 careful not to offend any native susceptibilities, and 
 he tries to occupy the position of a friendly helper 
 rather than that of a powerful intruder. He makes his 
 favourable opinion a matter to be desired, while his dis- 
 pleasure is proportionately feared. He is able to show 
 his feelings on any subject by his tone and manner, 
 while keeping in reserve the more distinct expressions 
 of praise or blame. He studies to win by every means 
 in his power the confidence of the ruler to whose 
 court he is attached, and yet retains his own inde- 
 pendence of life, so that he can at any time interfere 
 if occasion requires. In the majority of cases years
 
 BARODA. 29 
 
 may elapse without there being any call for the exercise 
 of a Resident's veto, but we need strong men at these 
 posts, who will be able to act with firmness if an emer- 
 gency should arise. In 1874 such an emergency arose 
 in Baroda. An attempt was made to poison the then 
 Resident, and the reigning Prince (here called the 
 Gaekwar), Mulhar Rao, was accused of being privy to 
 the crime. He was put on his trial before a commis- 
 sion consisting of three European and three native 
 gentlemen, and the charge was considered sufficiently 
 proved to call for his deposition. He was therefore 
 removed from the throne, and banished from his 
 dominions. But the English Government refrained 
 from annexing the state, and allowed the widow of 
 Khundar Rao, the preceding Gaekwar, to adopt an 
 heir to the throne, as she had no children of her own. 
 Khundar Rao was the elder brother of Mulhar Rao, 
 and Mulhar was suspected of poisoning him in order to 
 obtain the throne. While the present Gaekwar was 
 a minor the state was governed by a native prime 
 minister. An English tutor was appointed to the 
 young Gaekwar, who has thus been educated in 
 English manners. He was placed on the throne a few 
 years ago, and so far he has proved an excellent 
 Prince. Courteous, industrious, upright and ener- 
 getic. His Highness tries hard to do his duty to- 
 wards his subjects, and is praised by all who know 
 him. He plays lawn tennis, and will mix in English 
 society, though his caste prevents him from eating 
 with Europeans. He has married a daughter of the 
 Rajah of Tanjore, and still reads English with his 
 tutor, though he is now no longer in statu piipillari. 
 The extent of his territory is about 4400 square miles, 
 and the total population over two millions. He has 
 founded a college, where his subjects are well educated, 
 and he is building a large new palace. The city of 
 Baroda is thoroughly native, the streets being very 
 narrow and crowded with people. The Gaekwar pos- 
 sesses some curious gold and silver cannon, and these
 
 30 A parson's holiday. 
 
 when used are dragged by great bullocks, the breed in 
 this part of India being specially fine, of a pale buff 
 colour, and with long slender horns. But the most 
 curious survival of bygone days is the great sanded 
 arena where wild beasts are set to fight for the amuse- 
 ment of the spectators. Elephants and tigers, rhino- 
 ceroses and rams, are matched against each other, and 
 the scene is said to be exciting, though somewhat cruel. 
 The arena is a large rectangular area about 80 yards 
 long by 40 wide, and numbers of English come from 
 Bombay to see the sight, when the beasts are brought 
 out to make sport (?) for the crowd, l^aroda is, I 
 believe, the only native court w^here this custom sur- 
 vives, and it might perhaps be more honoured in the 
 breach than in the observance. 
 
 From Baroda I went north by the Rajputana-Malwa 
 line to Ajmere, which is 367 miles by rail from Baroda, 
 and the capital of a British province, some 50 miles 
 square, which lies in the centre of the Rajput states. 
 These states acknowledged our power as paramount 
 in 1818, and are now feudatory to the British Govern- 
 ment. Their position is peculiar in many ways, and 
 Sir A. Lyall has written an essay on their sociology 
 in his Asiatic Studies. The Rajputs are supposed 
 to have descended from a Scythian people, who 
 invaded India about 57 B.C., but they soon adopted 
 the Hindu religion. At one time they reigned over 
 nearly the whole of Northern India, but they were 
 driven out by the advance of the Mohammedan power. 
 To escape from these fierce invaders, the Rajputs 
 occupied the deserted plains and hill forts of the dis- 
 trict now called Rajputana. Clan by clan they set up 
 for themselves, and refused to bow their necks beneath 
 the yoke of the Moguls. The natural difficulties of the 
 country helped them to retain their independence, 
 and even the most victorious of the Delhi emperors 
 were disinclined to attack these obstinate hiijhlanders. 
 The siege of one of their hill forts was a difficult 
 enterprise, and a victory was sometimes hardly more
 
 THE RAJPUT CLANS. 3 I 
 
 satisfactory than a defeat. For there are instances 
 mentioned that when the Rajput garrison was finally 
 forced to surrender, they clothed themselves in 
 saffron garments, and drunk with the blood of their 
 women, who had immolated themselves rather than be 
 touched by rude hands, they set their fort on fire 
 and then charged down sword in hand on their be- 
 siegers. There was no honour or glory to be obtained 
 by attacking a people who might act like this. The 
 Emperor Akbar tried to conciliate the clans, and inter- 
 married with some of them, but the oldest families still 
 boast that no daughter of their house was ever sent 
 into the harem of the great Mogul. The Rajput clans 
 were formed after the manner of swarms of bees. 
 When the ancestral halls became too strait for the 
 numerous scions of the house, one would go forth with 
 a following of relations and would carve a new home 
 for himself out of' the lands occupied by aboriginal 
 tribes, and build himself a fort which would become 
 the capital of a new state. All the blood relations of 
 the chief would claim a voice in the government of the 
 state. He would be primus inter pares, but they had 
 to be consulted, and their blood was as blue as his. 
 They might even depose him, and appoint another 
 member of the family to be the chief. This original 
 constitution has been modified by time, and since we 
 have overruled the states, the internal government by 
 the whole clan has been superseded. We have recog- 
 nized the chief of the clan as the reigning Prince, and 
 we have called the other members of the clan his 
 nobles. But originally the constitution was less des- 
 potic, and the whole clan claimed to have a voice in 
 the government of the state. The whole of Rajputana 
 is thus subdivided amongst several clans, varying in 
 numbers, and in extent of territory. Before the English 
 Government established a permanent peace, these 
 clans were constantly fighting amongst each other, 
 and the retainers of different chieftains could hardly 
 meet without bloodshed. Even now there are inter-
 
 32 A parson's holiday. 
 
 tribal jealousies, which render Durbars, and other 
 state ceremonials, very difficult matters ; for the ques- 
 tion of precedence of one chieftain over the other is 
 debated as fiercely as it used to be oi old in the 
 Scottish Highlands. 
 
 The peculiar constitution of the Rajput states has 
 led the British Government to try an experiment for 
 the higher education of the young nobles of these an- 
 cient houses. Mayo College, which is to be the Eton 
 of India, has been established just outside the town of 
 Ajmere. Each state in Rajputana is allowed to build a 
 house for its own boys. So in a park near the town 
 there stand a number of detached houses, of different 
 styles yet all most beautifully built, each capable of 
 holding from lo to 20 boys. The lads come at any 
 age from 7 to 18, but no one is admitted unless he 
 belongs to a family whose chief would have a right to 
 a seat in the Viceroy's Durbar. Their physical edu- 
 cation is specially attended to, they are obliged to 
 keep horses, and are taught to ride, and they play at 
 cricket and lawn tennis. They are bound to learn 
 English and Urdu, as these are the two languages of 
 polite intercourse, but the whole object of their training 
 is to make them gentlemen rather than scholars. There 
 are now about 50 boys in the school, and the Principal 
 is helped by two English masters, besides numerous 
 pundits. The diflficulty is to prevent jealousies between 
 scions of different houses and whilom hostile dynasties, 
 and to cut down the retinue which these lads desire to 
 bring with them. Each boy has a separate study, which 
 he is allowed to decorate as he pleases with photographs 
 and pictures. They seemed pleased to show their 
 rooms, and were pleasant spoken, bright faced, clean- 
 looking lads. The discipline seemed excellent. No 
 boy is allowed outside the bounds of the park without 
 leave, and there is a resident care-taker in each house, 
 who is responsible to the Principal for its internal 
 economy. No attempt is made to alter their religion, 
 and an offer lately made by a private individual to build
 
 ADJMERE. 33 
 
 a temple for their use has been accepted. The central 
 building, which is to contain class rooms and lecture 
 halls, is not yet finished. It is being most beautifully 
 built of different coloured marbles, which are found in 
 quarries in the neighbourhood, and the central hall, 
 when finished, will be one of the handsomest rooms in 
 India. The boys trained here are likely to do well. 
 One of the old scholars is the present Rajah of Ulwar, 
 who is highly spoken of, and as time goes on more of 
 the lads will be reigning princes. Certainly the edu- 
 cation they are receiving here is far superior to the 
 old harem training, which was all that they formerly 
 received, and Mayo College is likely to prove its use- 
 fulness in every one of the Rajput states. 
 
 The town of Ajmere is well worth a visit. It stands 
 in a valley encircled by hills, and has its walls and 
 flanking towers still standing. The hill above the 
 town is crowned by a fort, said to have been built by 
 the Emperor Akbar. One side of the town is bounded 
 by a beautiful lake, about five miles in circumference, 
 along the banks of which rise marble palaces and open 
 loggias, with pillared balconies overhanging the water, 
 the waves of which lap with a cool and pleasant sound 
 against the white walls of these luxurious residences. 
 It is in Ajmere that one first begins to realize the 
 greatness of the Mogul Emperors, whose magnificent 
 architectural triumphs are the wonder of Delhi and 
 Agra. For in Ajmere they had their summer resi- 
 dences, and occupied these palaces on the borders of 
 the lake, when the heat became too great to remain in 
 the capital. This also accounts for the strong way 
 in which Ajmere was fortified, for it lay in the midst 
 of the hostile Rajput states, and was ever liable to 
 attack. Here we see remains of the way in which 
 these Mohammedan rulers strove to change the reli- 
 gion of their Hindu subjects. In the midst of Ajmere 
 there rises the Durgah, a marble mosque, built over 
 the silver shrine of a Mohammedan saint, who came 
 to Ajmere in 1235 A.U., and which is considered so 
 
 E
 
 34 A parson's holiday. 
 
 sacred that all men (including Europeans) have to 
 remove their boots before entering in at the gate. 
 But the most interesting building is just outside the 
 walls of the town. Passing through one of the nume- 
 rous fortified gates, and ascending the slope of the 
 Taragarh hill, one comes to the Arhai-din-ka-Jhonpra 
 mosque, so called because it was said to have been 
 built in two-and-a-half days or arhai-din. Here origi- 
 nally stood an old Jain temple, built some 1800 years 
 ago. The Jains were a religious sect, who started con- 
 temporaneously with the Buddhists, and held similar 
 doctrines. The movement was one in opposition to 
 caste distinctions and the power of the Brahmins. 
 When the Mohammedan conqueror saw this building, 
 he desired that it should be made fit for him to wor- 
 ship in. So he ordered a splendid fa9ade to be erected 
 in front of the old temple, and this according to the 
 legend was done in two-and-a-half days. Probably 
 that was the time taken by the Mohammedans to de- 
 face and destroy the images of gods and saints to 
 which they objected. Both the Jain and the Moham- 
 medan work are splendid specimens of their respective 
 styles. The Jain temple consists of some 40 columns 
 tall and slender ; each set of four columns supports a 
 roof made of concentric circles of stone, and these 
 all joined together make a rich and gorgeous canopy. 
 For every edge and fringe of stone is carved with rich 
 patterns and interlaced designs, every pillar is covered 
 with carving, no two being alike, and the figures and 
 ornamentation exist in the richest profusion. The 
 Mohammedan architects, who added a gateway to 
 this temple, have vied with the older builders. Their 
 fa9ade consists of a front of five Saracenic arches, 
 placed as an entrance to the temple, and round each 
 tall arch there are cut Arabic texts from the Koran, 
 superimposed on an underlying lacework pattern in 
 stone, which covers every part of the surface of the 
 facade with ornament. It is the richest piece of 
 stonework carving I have seen,, and the conjunction
 
 THE EURASIAN. 35 
 
 of the two Styles in one building adds greatly to the 
 interest of the place. 
 
 Ajmere is the head-quarters of the Rajputana State 
 Railway. This has caused a number of railway officials 
 to live there, and several workshops have been opened. 
 These give employment to a number of Eurasians, 
 who act as guards and engine-drivers, engineers and 
 fitters. The springing up of this colony has caused 
 the question of church accommodation and the need 
 of a railway chaplain to come to the front. All over 
 India, since the starting of railways, this question has 
 called for solution. In the old days, if the troops and 
 the covenanted civilians were provided with chaplains 
 and churches, the needs of the European population 
 were sufficiently met. But now in all parts of India 
 there are numbers of Englishmen who have come out 
 as planters or merchants, and are unattached to any 
 branch of the Government service There are also a 
 number of English artizans in the Government employ; 
 besides a constantly increasing body of Eurasians, the 
 offspring of English fathers and native mothers. It is 
 impossible to ignore the spiritual or temporal needs 
 of this mixed race. For a long time they were over- 
 looked by the Government chaplains, and did not come 
 into the purview of the missionary. And being thus 
 neglected, and feeling that they were despised by 
 both natives and Europeans, what wonder if some 
 of them did not bear the highest characters. A 
 common saying was that the Eurasian had the faults 
 of both races and the virtues of neither, and hearing 
 himself thus described, he sometimes did his best 
 to justify this bad opinion. With the spread of rail- 
 way w^orks a new profession has been thrown open 
 to him. He makes an admirable guard and engine- 
 driver, as his mixed blood enables him to stand the 
 heat of the climate, while his English parentage gives 
 him more decision and presence of mind in the hour of 
 danger than is possessed by the native of India. And 
 also, since he has thus become a most useful member
 
 ^6 A parson's holiday. 
 
 of the community, his spiritual needs have been more 
 considered. Raihvay churches and raihvay chaplains 
 are now established in all centres of population, and 
 the Eurasian can no longer say "' that no man cares- 
 for his soul." Everyone must rejoice that the Church 
 has thus awoke to the duty she owes to this large 
 section of her members. 
 
 From Ajmere I went by train to Jeypore, 84 miles- 
 further to the northward. This city is the capital of 
 the native state of that name, and is said to be the 
 best managed city under native rule in India. The 
 early history of the state is mixed up with that of 
 Delhi. It was conquered by the Mogul emperors, 
 but regained its independence when the empire began 
 to decline^ in the beginning of the i8th century. The 
 present capital owes much of its beauty to the late 
 Maharajah, who was a very enlightened and well- 
 educated Prince. The town compares favourably with 
 many of those which are under direct British rule. 
 The streets are wide and well paved, lighted with gas- 
 (which is a great rarity in India), and the houses are 
 built in regular lines. The majority are stuccoed over, 
 and painted a strawberry-cream colour, with designs 
 in white paint. The whole city is surrounded by a 
 wall, 20 feet high and 9 feet thick, and the neigh- 
 bouring hills are crowned with forts, which look almost 
 inaccessible. But the late Maharajah did not only 
 care for the defence of his capital ; he also studied to 
 improve it in every way. He founded hospitals, built 
 schools, opened a museum, laid out public gardens, 
 and started a school of art for the improvement of 
 native manufactures. Jeypore is famous for its inlaid 
 arms and shields, its beautiful enamel, only workable 
 on a foundation of the purest gold, and its work in 
 precious stones. All these industries were fostered by 
 this enlightened Prince, whose loss was deplored by all 
 who knew him. He had no children, and the present 
 Maharajah was his adopted son. Unfortunately this- 
 adoption did not take place till near the end of the late
 
 JF.YPORE. 37 
 
 Prince's life, as like many other sovereigns he was 
 somewhat jealous of his successor. The present Maha- 
 rajah being thus kept in ignorance of the fate in store 
 for him, received no education, and was raised from a 
 condition of great poverty to the state cushion. He is, 
 however, willing to listen to the advice of the English 
 Resident at his Court, and he may yet do well. He 
 reigns over two-and-a-half millions of people, his ter- 
 ritory consists of 13,000 square miles, and there are 
 800 nobles of his clan, who look on him as primus 
 inter pares. 
 
 I was curious to see how such a man lived, and 
 I was therefore anxious to see the inside of the 
 Palace. The Court was in mourning on account 
 of the death of the widow of the late Maharajah, so 
 there was no chance of an interview with his Highness. 
 For until the funeral rites were fulfilled, he, as chief 
 mourner, was forced to sit and sleep on the ground, 
 and etiquette forbade him to receive any visitors. 
 He might neither eat sweets nor drink wine, but 
 was obliged to pass the time in seclusion and 
 fasting. But through the kindness of one of the 
 English officials I was shown something cf the interior 
 of the Palace, and thus got a glimpse of native court 
 life. The Palace buildings cover one-seventh of the 
 whole area of the city, and are surrounded by a 
 high wall. Within this wall resides the Maharajah's 
 household. There are streets of houses occupied by 
 numerous retainers, guard-rooms and stables, armouries 
 and barracks, and in the centre of all, in the midst 
 of a great court-yard, there rises a pyramidal pile 
 of buildings, many storied, of irregular outline and 
 no particular design, which is the residence of the 
 Maharajah himself. Round the doors of this building 
 and in all the courts and passages there lounged troops 
 of servants, quantities of idle soldiers, every sort and 
 description of household retainer. It reminded one of 
 a great castle in the Middle Ages, when a nobleman's 
 retinue numbered hundreds of lances and the house-
 
 38 A parson's holiday. 
 
 hold consisted of scores of servants. We passed at 
 first through lew passages into great halls of audience, 
 where the Maharajah could receive numbers of his 
 subjects. The handsomest of these, called the Dewan- 
 i-Khas, was built entirely of white marble. Above on 
 the higher stories there were the more private re- 
 ception rooms, gorgeously decorated with glass and 
 ormolu. On every side there was a lavish display of 
 large mirrors, painted ceilings, old carpets, and deco- 
 rated walls. The taste was often rather barbaric, the 
 brightest colours were most appreciated, and there was 
 often an incongruity visible in the internal decorations. 
 But the amount of money lavished on the furniture 
 and decoration of the building was beyond my compu- 
 tation. As we ascended higher, we reached at last 
 a fiat terrace roof overlooking the gardens of the 
 palace, where there was an open pavilion, giving most 
 extensive views. Behind there was the Zenana, with 
 the private apartments, enclosed by high walls, which 
 could not be overlooked. We were shown the armoury, 
 with a splendid collection of inlaid arms, and a choice 
 assortment of hookahs with wondrous mouthpieces and 
 richly wrought bowls. There was a library also with 
 old illuminated manuscripts full of pictures and rich 
 with gorgeous borders ; they were chiefly Persian 
 poems and ancient chronicles. There were hardly 
 any staircases in the building, but long inclined pas- 
 sages in the thickness of the walls led from one storey 
 to another. The reason of this is that the Maharajah 
 likes to be carried everywhere in a sedan chair : they 
 say he is growing fat for want of exercise, and is in- 
 clined to be lazy. As we descended, we were followed 
 by troops of curious domestics, but were everywhere 
 courteously received, and shown all the wonders of 
 the place. It gave one some insight into the private 
 life of a native ruler. One understood better what 
 was meant bv "palace intrigues," "harem influences," 
 "jealousy of successors," and other terms, which make 
 up the history of many an Eastern state. In such a
 
 A MAHARAJAH'S PALACE. 39 
 
 palace as this, which was hke a town within a town, 
 there would be room for secret crimes, family quar- 
 rels, opposing parties, and rebellious conspiracies. 
 Dynasties might be overthrown, a favourite officer, or 
 a scheming widow, might buy the support of the army, 
 and the unwitting inhabitants of the city or state 
 might suddenly find themselves under a new ruler. 
 All such schemes and plots are impossible now, since 
 the British power has become paramount. These in- 
 dependent princes are no longer capable of rebellion, 
 neither can their rule be overthrown by palace in- 
 trigues. The interior of such a palace is no longer 
 a hotbed of mischief, where villainous schemes are 
 brought to maturity. But the atmosphere of the place 
 helped one to realize what used to happen in bygone 
 days, and it was well worth seeing in order that one's 
 historical sense might be enlightened. 
 
 We made a most interesting expedition to the old 
 town of Ambir, which is about six miles from Jeypore. 
 This city was finally deserted about 60 years ago, 
 because the surrounding hills prevented its expansion. 
 It was a strongly fortified city, and a most suitable 
 site for the capital of the state in ancient days, but it 
 did not prove as satisfactory for modern needs and 
 more peaceful times. Therefore the new town of 
 Jeypore was founded, and the old capital was de- 
 serted. We drove along a well metalled road through 
 an open country, until we came to the foot of a hill, 
 where the carriage stopped, The ascent was too steep 
 for our horses, so we exchanged our conveyance for 
 the back of an elephant. This creature took us the 
 rest of the way, which was about one-and-a-half miles 
 "more. He was slow and uncomfortable, and one was 
 not sorry when the ride came to an end. The way an 
 elephant walks is by moving his two legs on the same 
 side together, and this communicates a see-saw motion 
 to the riders, which is rather like the pitching of a small 
 boat in a chopping sea. As his pace is about two- 
 and-a-half miles an hour, he is not an animal to be
 
 40 A parson's holiday. 
 
 recommended for those who are in a hurry. However 
 an elephant is wonderfully sure-footed, and no other 
 animal could have carried us so safely up the paths 
 we had to go. The first ascent was not very steep, 
 but that carried us over the brow of the hill, which 
 enclosed the valley, in which Ambir is built. As we 
 descended the opposite slope, we had a beautiful view 
 of the whole spot. In the middle was a lake with a 
 island temple, and inhabited by sacred crocodiles. 
 All round this lake rise steep hills, which encircle it 
 in narrow bounds, except on the northern side where 
 there was a narrow defile, which was the only plain 
 entrance to this secluded valley. Half-way up the hill 
 on one side of the lake there rose the white walls of the 
 old palace, protected by watch-towers, and only to be 
 approached by a narrow winding path. And far above 
 that there is a strong fort, built on the highest hill top, 
 with steep scarped sides, and flanking walls, which 
 connected it with the palace. This must have been 
 the final resort of the clan, when the besiegers from 
 Delhi had taken all their other defences. Our elephant 
 carried us safely up the winding path, and through the 
 gates into the palace courtyard There we dismouted, 
 and were shown over the old halls and rooms, which 
 had once been the residence of the Maharajahs of 
 Jeypore. The marble carved work is most beautiful, 
 and in the Zenana quarters there is some pierced 
 screen stonework which is very rich. From the 
 highest battlements we looked sheer down on to the 
 lake below, from the shores of which the walls seemed 
 to rise almost perpendicularly. We could see the 
 dimensions of the whole valley, and could under- 
 stand how impossible it was for a large city to grow 
 up in these narrow limits, and how necessary it was to 
 transfer the capital to a more suitable site. Still it 
 will be a great pity if Ambir is ever allowed to fall 
 into ruins, for its picturesque position must be ad- 
 mired by all who see it. 
 
 This finished my glimpse at the feudatory states,
 
 THE FEUDATORY STATES. 41 
 
 and from Jeypore I travelled on to Delhi. But I had 
 got some idea of the curious position in which these 
 native princes stand to the paramount power. They 
 are supreme in their own dominions, yet are over- 
 shadowed by the British Resident. They are prevented 
 from foreign aggression, yet have full liberty of action 
 within the limits of their states. Nearly two-fifths of 
 the total area of India is within the borders of the 
 native states. The area of feudatory India is 604,590 
 square miles, while that of British India is 880,098 
 square miles. But the population in the native states 
 is only 54 millions, while that in British India is 186 
 millions. Thus the numbers to the square mile living 
 in the territory we administer are nearly three times 
 as many as those living in native states. This 
 arises partly from the fact that we possess the most 
 fertile portions of India, and partly from the greater 
 security enjoyed under our rule. The provinces most 
 recently annexed by us {e. g., Burma) have increased 
 greatly in population since our rule was established. 
 This seems to disprove the opinion, often expressed, 
 that the natives of India prefer a native ruler, and 
 dislike the British system. Certainly statistics seem 
 to prove the opposite, as they show that the mass of 
 the population crowd within our borders, w^hile the 
 native states are under populated. Dr. W. W. Hunter, 
 in his Indian Empire^ expects that, as we enforce 
 good government under the native chiefs of India, 
 there will be a gradual movement of the people into 
 the feudatory states. This will be a satisfactory result, 
 (although some English officials may regard the migra- 
 tion with pain) ; as the population requires to be more 
 equally distributed and relief given to the congested 
 districts. Certainly not the least benefit the British 
 rule has brought to India is the good government 
 exercised not only in British territory, but also in 
 native states, under native rulers, advised by English 
 Residents.
 
 42 A parson's holiday. 
 
 Chapter III. 
 
 From Jeypore to Delhi the raihvay runs through a 
 thinly populated country, the soil being covered with 
 thickets of pampas grass, and peacocks may be seen 
 in the jungle. The villages become more numerous as 
 Delhi itself is approached. That city is interesting in 
 many ways. Founded originally by Hindus, it has 
 been besieged and taken by the successive invaders 
 of India, for several centuries it was the capital of 
 the Mohammedan Empire, and its name will ever be 
 associated with Mutiny reminiscences. Thus, as in 
 Rome, one is continually passing from mediaeval 
 history to modern events ; ancient mosques attract 
 one's attention side by side with the spot where the 
 city gate was blown open and Nicholson fell. The 
 British soldier keeps guard in the fort which the great 
 Mogul erected, and memories of far distant times 
 jostle for recognition with stories of the Empress 
 Durbar in 1877. Thus it is difficult to prevent one- 
 self from being bewildered with the diversity of the 
 sights clamouring for attention. But the main in- 
 terest of Delhi clusters round the great names of the 
 Mogul Emperors, and a short history of these may 
 fitly preface the description of their capital. The 
 first Mohammedan invaders of India were Turkis and 
 Afghans, but these early invaders only established 
 themselves in the Punjab, and their capital city was 
 Ghazni, within the borders of Afghanistan. The Mo- 
 hammedan generals, who acted as provincial rulers in 
 India, gradually made themselves independent, and in 
 1206 Kutub-ud-din, an Indian Viceroy, who had origi- 
 nally been a Turki slave, seized the supreme power 
 and settled in the old city of Delhi, where he built 
 the Minar, which still bears his name. He was the
 
 THE MOGUL EMPIRE. 43 
 
 first of the resident Mohammedan sovereigns of India, 
 About 1300 A.D. wc first hear of invasions by the 
 Moguls, who were a Tartar tribe Hving in Central 
 Asia. The great Mogul invasion was in 1398, when 
 Timur (Tamerlane) swept through the Afghan passes 
 at the head of the united hordes of Tartary, defeated 
 King Mahmud under the walls of Delhi,"* and finally 
 retired again into Central Asia, leaving no traces of his 
 power save desolate cities. After his invasion India 
 was divided among a number of local Mohammedan 
 kings and Hindu princes, and Delhi was no longer the 
 capital of an empire. But in 1526 there was a second 
 Mogul invasion, when Babar founded the dynasty 
 which reigned for three centuries at Delhi, and whose 
 last representative died a British state prisoner in 
 Rangoon in 1862. The greatest of these Mogul 
 emperors was Akbar, who reigned from 1556 to 1605, 
 and was therefore a contemporary of Queen Elizabeth. 
 His empire extended from Afghanistan across all India 
 to Orissa. He removed the capital from Delhi to 
 Agra and built Futtehpore Sikri. His great desire was 
 to conciliate all his subjects. His favourite wife was a 
 Rajput princess, and another is said to have been a 
 Christian. He received the Jesuit Fathers at his 
 Court, and his religion appears to have been of a very 
 eclectic character. Akbar was succeeded by Jehanghir, 
 who reigned from 1605 to 1627. And he in turn was 
 succeeded by his son Shah Jehan, who reigned till 
 1658. This emperor was the great architect of his 
 time, and it is his buildings which are the wonder and 
 delight of all travellers in India. The Taj Mahal, and 
 the Moti Musjid at Agra, arc perhaps the most beautiful 
 buildings in the world, while the palace at Delhi, and 
 the Jumma Musjid, are the great sights of that city. 
 Shah Jehan was succeeded by Aurangzeb, who reigned 
 from 1658 to 1707, but the greatness of the Mogul Em- 
 pire was then on the wane. The Hindus were beginning 
 
 *• Hunter's Indian Empire, p. Z30.
 
 44 • A parson's holiday. 
 
 to rise against their oppressors, and the Marhatta power 
 was already formidable. The Rajputs were also in 
 constant revolt, and thus the great Empire was being 
 overthrown. The later history of the Moguls is one of 
 continual disaster, and steady decline. The Persians, 
 the Afghans, and the Marhattas, each in turn invaded 
 their dominions. The later emperors were mere pup- 
 pets in the hands of victorious generals or ambitious 
 statesmen. Gradually the English built up a new power 
 out of the wreck of the Mogul Empire ; the last de- 
 scendant of Akbar emerged for a moment as a rebel in 
 1857, ^^^ *^''^*^ ^s ^ state prisoner in Rangoon in 1862. 
 So passed away the great Mohammedan Empire in 
 India. Tt had begun to decline before the Marhatta 
 power prior to the advance of the English into Upper 
 India. It has left as its chief relics the magnifi- 
 cent buildings of Agra and Delhi, and a recollec- 
 tion of an Empire consisting of many provinces 
 and many religions, all subject to one paramount 
 power. That empire we have in one sense imitated,, 
 and it was a true instinct which led Lord Lytton 
 to choose Delhi as the place where the Queen 
 of England should be proclaimed Empress of India. 
 There on the historic " ridge," where the British army 
 had been encamped for three long months in 1857^ 
 from whence the final assault had been delivered which 
 once more made us masters over India, there from a 
 spot overlooking the old capital of the Mogul Em- 
 perors, in a Durbar of unparalleled magnificence, at- 
 tended by feudatory princes, and with every sign and 
 token of power, the empire of the English was pro- 
 claimed. But it is to be hoped that we shall take 
 warning as well as example from those old Mogul Em- 
 perors lest we fall as they did. Their weakness arose 
 from the hatred with which they were regarded by 
 their subjects, and this hatred sprang from the in- 
 tolerant and cruel character of their rule. The Hindus 
 were despised and persecuted, and they at last rose 
 and shook off their oppressors. If all the Mogul Em-
 
 THE MOMAMMRDANS OF INDIA. 45 
 
 perors had been as conciliatory and sympathetic as 
 Akbar, their rule might have lasted for a longer time. 
 But their subjects hated them, and when the oppor- 
 tunity offered they cast them off. We have to re- 
 member that we are in India for the good of the 
 natives, that our rule must be for their advantage, or 
 we have no right to remain. Thus and thus only, if 
 we reign in the hearts of the people, can we hope to 
 exist longer than that old Mogul Empire. There are 
 still more than forty millions of Mohammedans in 
 India. Some of these might be able to trace their 
 descent back to the first Mohammedan invaders. But 
 the majority would be descended from those who 
 changed their religion from fear or for gain when that 
 creed was professed by the Mogul Emperors. Many 
 of them have stood aloof and have refused to take 
 service under us. They have been less adaptive than 
 the Hindus, and have been less ready to qualify them- 
 selves for Government employment. They have been 
 less careful to educate their children in English learn- 
 ing, and have thus been outstripped by the nimbler- 
 minded Hindus, who have nearly monopolised the 
 offices given by the Government to natives. Now 
 there is a great stirring amongst the Mohammedans, 
 they are paying more attention to education, and are 
 agitating for equal emplovment with the other natives 
 of India. If they qualify themselves, there will be no 
 objection made on the score of their religion. The 
 Government only desire to obtain the best men, and 
 all creeds are allowed to compete. But it is foolish 
 for the Mohammedans to complain of the number of 
 Hindus employed by Government, when they take no 
 pains to qualify themselves for the offices thrown open 
 to all the natives of India. 
 
 Delhi is a city of over 150,000 inhabitants, and has 
 many objects of interest which could only be properly 
 described in a guide book written for the purpose. I 
 can only hope to mention a few of the sights in this in- 
 teresting city, which specially remain engraved on my
 
 46 A parson's holiday. 
 
 memory. The first thing one notices is the Moham- 
 medan appearance of the city. There are more 
 mosques, fewer Hindu temples, fewer men with caste 
 marks on their foreheads, than elsewhere. And next 
 one notices what a strong place it must have always 
 been, and what a difficult matter the siege of such a 
 fortress was in the days of the Mutiny. The whole 
 city is surrounded by a wall of red granite, hve-and-a- 
 half miles in circuit, and in this wall there are twelve 
 great gates, each strongly fortified. Besides this outer 
 wall of defence there is the inner fort, where the Em- 
 peror's palace stood, which extends for a mile along 
 the river bank, and is also strongly fortified. It seems 
 marvellous that an English army of 8000 men could 
 have ever besieged and stormed such a city and 
 fortress, when defended by 30,000 trained soldiers. 
 In the city itself there is one main street, which all 
 travellers visit, which is called the Chandi Chowk ; it 
 is a mile long, broad, and planted with a double row 
 of trees, and in it are the chief shops, and many 
 public buildings. But the chief interest of Delhi must 
 centre in the fort or palace, where the great Mogul 
 lived and reigned, and in the embellishment of which 
 the whole resources of the empire were lavishly poured 
 forth. Built by Shah Jehan, its glories were for a long 
 time unseen by European eyes. Those who were ad- 
 mitted within its gates only saw a little of its beauty, 
 for the private apartments and women's quarters were 
 kept secret from all prying visitors. In the later days 
 of the empire, when the Emperor existed in name but 
 had no real power, the palace was a sink of iniquity, a 
 home for secret intrigues and dark crimes, a sanc- 
 tuary for evil, where criminals could lie concealed and 
 escape from justice. Now all parts of this palace are 
 thrown open, many of the buildings which formerly 
 crowded the interior have been removed to make room 
 for barracks, and the only parts left standing are those 
 which are intrinsically beautiful. Entering through one 
 of the great gates, one passes through a long vaulted
 
 THE DELHI PALACE. 47 
 
 aisle, like that of a Gothic cathedral, which opens into 
 the central quadrangle within the walls. Here stands 
 the Dewan-i-am, or Hall of Public Audience, open on 
 three sides, supported by numerous red sandstone 
 pillars, and containing a white marble throne, which 
 the Emperor could reach by a door opening out of his 
 private apartments. Beyond this great hall there is 
 the Dewan-i-khas, or Hall of Private Audience. Here 
 Instead of sandstone all is built of white marble beauti- 
 fully polished and enriched with inlaid patterns of gold 
 and precious stones. The richness and gorgeousness 
 of this work defies description. The white marble shines 
 in the light of the Indian sun, and the roof and pillars 
 look almost transparent. The back of this hall over- 
 looks the river Jumna. There are balconies projecting 
 over the riverbed, and one looks down some 60 feet of 
 perpendicular wall, which made this side of the palace 
 quite impregnable. Adjoining the Dewan-i-khas on 
 one side was the seraglio, also of white marble with 
 inlaid designs, and on the other were the baths. 
 These also are of white marble, and in the centre of 
 each room there is a marble bath, sunk in the floor, 
 while all round the room there runs a pattern of colour, 
 made of precious stones, inlaid in the surface of the 
 marble. Near to this stands the Moti Musjid, or Pearl 
 Mosque, a small, but exquisite building, also of white 
 marble, which probably was used by the Emperor's 
 household as their place of worship. It is impossible 
 for me to describe the beauty of these marble halls, 
 overlooking the broad bed of the Jumna, and rich with 
 coloured patterns, and inlaid with gold. All arc now 
 empty and deserted. The English sentry keeps watch 
 at the gate, and one or two chance sightseers are all 
 that are visible. Every care seems taken of the build- 
 ings, and they are so strongly built that there seems 
 no fear of their decay. 
 
 Leaving the palace, and crossing the road one 
 comes opposite to the great Jumma Musjid, or " Eri- 
 day Mosque." This is one of the most striking objects
 
 48 A PARSON'S HOLIDAY. 
 
 in Delhi, its minarets are visible for miles round, and 
 its size and sacredness render it a great resort of 
 worshippers. It was built by Shah Jehan, and it 
 took ten years to complete. It is a typical example 
 of the mode of arrangement of all mosques, and a 
 description of its internal plan may explain the idea of 
 all Mohammedan places of worship. It is built on a 
 fllat raised terrace of red sandstone, which lifts the 
 building high above the street. This terrace or plat- 
 form is reached by three handsome flights of steps, 
 which lead up to three great gateways, one in the 
 centre of each wall. Entering by the eastern gateway, 
 which is more splendid than the others, one finds one- 
 self in a large courtyard or quadrangle open to the sky. 
 In the centre is a marble reservoir for w^ater, used for 
 ablutions bv the worshippers, and round the court-yard 
 there runs an open colonnade, with towers at the 
 angles. The floor is paved with white marble, and 
 the faithful Islamites leave their shoes at the entrance. 
 Opposite the great gate and across the court-yard is 
 the mosque itself. This is a building made of white 
 marble and crowned with three bulbous-shaped domes. 
 Its interior is fully exposed to view, as the arches by 
 which it is entered are very lofty. It is paved with 
 long slabs of white marble bordered with black lines, 
 each beinof about five feet Ions: and two wide. On 
 each of these a worshipper can stand, and go 
 through his devotions. He rises and kneels and pros- 
 trates himself, reciting his own prayers, without taking 
 any notice of the bystanders, absorbed in worship. In 
 the centre of the wall, under the highest dome, is the 
 sacred niche called the kihla^ showing the direction of 
 Mecca. Towards this niche all the worshippers face, 
 so as to direct their prayers towards the sacred city. 
 This is the only necessary part of a mosque. It need 
 have neither roof nor walls, but there must be the 
 kibla indicating the true direction of Mecca. At each 
 corner of the building there is a minaret, made of red 
 sandstone and white marble in alternate vertical stripes,
 
 THE KUTUB MINAR. 49 
 
 from the top of which the muezzin calls to prayers. 
 These minarets are 140 feet high, and the view from 
 the top over the city and fort and surrounding country 
 is well worth seeing. Altogether the mosque is one 
 of the handsomest and largest in India, and its tall 
 minarets and white domes are a principal feature of 
 every view of Delhi. 
 
 All round the present city of Delhi there lie the 
 ruins of former cities, the sites of which have been 
 occupied by successive dynasties and deserted by 
 their successors. General Cunningham says that ''the 
 whole area covered with ruins is not less than forty- 
 five square miles." Thus many excursions may be 
 made to the different tombs, and mosques, and forts, 
 which lie all round modern Delhi. There is one of 
 these excursions which most travellers make, that to 
 the Kutub Minar, and the ruins which surround it. 
 These are situated eleven miles from Delhi, and all 
 along the road there were mounds, and ruins, and 
 tombs. The road lay through a well cultivated 
 plain. The crops seemed ripe for harvest. In 
 some places the oxen were treading out the corn, 
 but in the majority of cases the beasts, which thus 
 threshed the grain, were muzzled, contrary to the 
 Mosaic precept. When we were still at a considerable 
 distance from our goal, we saw the tall shaft of the 
 Minar, tapering upwards, and as we drew nearer, we 
 got some idea of its immense height. It is said to be 
 the tallest column in the world, but its beauty consists 
 rather in its proportion and adornment than in its 
 height. It is built of red sandstone and marble, its 
 surface is deeply fiuted, and it is ornamented by bands 
 of sculptured inscriptions in Arabic letters. The whole 
 height is about 240 feet, and the diameter diminishes 
 gradually. This gives the tower a very slender and 
 graceful appearance. The surface is broken by five 
 balconies, each richly carved, and from each of these 
 a wonderful view is obtained over the surrounding 
 country. What the use of this lofty tower was, is a 
 
 G
 
 50 A parson's holiday. 
 
 matter of discussion. The most probable purpose for 
 which it was built was as a tower of victory, com- 
 memorating the overthrow of the last Hindu Raja of 
 Delhi. It may also have been used as a muezzin's 
 tower, but its original purpose must have been some- 
 thing greater than that. The whole of the surrounding 
 area was full ot architectural interest. There was a 
 mosque built out of the spoils of 27 Hindu temples, 
 and on the carved pillars could still be traced the 
 figures of gods and animals much defaced by the 
 iconoclastic Mohammedans. This mosque is entered 
 through seven gigantic arches, covered with delicate 
 diaper patterns engraved on the stone surface. The 
 conquered Hindus were made to use their art for their 
 new rulers, and thus we see a combination of Moham- 
 medan architecture covered with Hindu designs. One 
 of the adjacent gateways is so richly carved that 
 General Cunningham calls it " the most beautiful 
 specimen of Pathan architecture that I have seen." 
 There are a number of other buildings which it would 
 be wearisome to describe in detail, but the effect of 
 these great masses of stonework and marble, all richly 
 carved, gave one larger ideas of the art and archi- 
 tecture of that early dynasty. Most of these buildings 
 were built at the end of the 12th and the beginning of 
 the 13th centuries by the kings of the Slave Dynasty. 
 
 Delhi is the place where the Cambridge Mission 
 has estabhshed itself, and some account of their work 
 may be interesting. They are by no means the first 
 Christian workers in that city. In 1857 there was a 
 hopeful and promising work going on, an impression 
 being made on converts in high positions, and a 
 flourishing school of 120 boys. Then came the 
 Mutiny and the whole work was apparently de- 
 stroyed, the missionaries were massacred, and few 
 of the native Christians escaped. It was a heavy 
 blow, but the work has now been reorganized. The 
 Church of S. Stephen, so named " in memory of our 
 fallen brethren," was opened in 1868, and is now
 
 THE CAMBRIDGE MISSION. 51 
 
 well filled. The whole city is divided into districts, 
 there are seven primary schools, street preaching is 
 adopted as an effective way of stating Christian truths, 
 and there is a large and important work being done by 
 English ladies who visit the Zenanas. But the great 
 accession to the work took place in 1877, when Cam- 
 bridge resolved to send out some of the best educated 
 of her sons to endeavour to reach the more thoughtful 
 heathen. It was felt that in a large and important 
 city hke Delhi, full of keen-brained and intellectual 
 natives, it needed well-equipped missionaries to repre- 
 sent the truth of Christianity. So for the last five 
 years men of high attainments, who have won a front 
 rank in University contests, well trained in secular 
 learning: as well as full of Christian heroism, have lived 
 and worked in Delhi. Their chief object is high-class 
 education, and latterly they have found an opportunity 
 of enlarging their work. There used to be a Delhi 
 College, which failed, and Government offered the Mis- 
 sion a grant-in-aid if they would undertake the work. 
 Thus the whole of the higher education of the district 
 is in their hands, they have a high school for boys, the 
 first class of which is prepared for matriculation, and 
 those who desire to complete their education are further 
 prepared for University degrees. There are four Univer- 
 sities in India, viz. : Calcutta, Madras, Bombay, and 
 Lahore. They are merely examining bodies, and confer 
 degrees. Students are prepared at the various colleges 
 affiliated to these Universities, of which there are 82 
 scattered throughout India. It may be worth while 
 noticing that throughout India the majority of students 
 are contented with passing the matriculation examina- 
 tion, and but few strive to reach the standards of 
 F.A. (or First Arts), B.A., or M.A. This may arise 
 from the fact that the certificate of having passed the 
 matriculation examination is sufficient qualification for 
 most Government offices, and few have either leisure 
 or desire to work up to the higher degrees. In the ten 
 years ending 1877-8, out of a total for all India of
 
 52 A parson's holiday. 
 
 i8,6io matriculated candidates, only 1665 obtained a 
 B.A. degree, while 296 was the total number who 
 reached the degree of M.A. One of the members of 
 the Cambridge Mission kindly allowed me to accom- 
 pany him to their college. It is called S. Stephen's 
 Colleo;e, and is a laro;e buildinoj with several class- 
 rooms, and a lending library well furnished with 
 books. We arrived in time for the opening exer- 
 cises, which are so arranged as to edify students of 
 all creeds. All the classes gathered together in the 
 central quadrangle, and a passage was read in Urdu 
 translated from the Book of Proverbs in praise of 
 wisdom, and then a prayer (also in Urdu) was said 
 that wisdom might be found, and the work prosper. 
 The prayer was offered in the name of Christ, though 
 the number of Christian boys is at present small. 
 Throughout the school religious teaching is given, 
 Bible facts are taught, and lectures delivered drawing 
 comparisons between different religions. At present 
 the Hindu boys still worship at the idol shrines, and 
 the new learning has not sapped the old idolatry. But 
 it is early times yet to look for any great results, though 
 already some scholars of high attainments have been 
 baptized. The college which is affiliated to the Lahore 
 University is likely to be very popular, as the teachers 
 are men of high University standing, and they give 
 much of their time to teaching. Their pupils seemed 
 well cared for, the discipline was admirable, and the 
 native pundits, who took the lower classes, were in 
 some cases Christians. It is one of the greatest ex- 
 periments yet made in India of high-class teaching 
 on a distinctively Christian basis, carried on by men 
 whose attainments are well authenticated. It has been 
 sometimes made a matter of reproach that the mis- 
 sionaries sent out to convert the heathen have been 
 men of small education and totally unfit to cope with 
 Eastern philosophers. There is a certain amount of 
 truth in this contention, though it is possible to over- 
 estimate the cleverness and subtilty of the Indian
 
 WELL-EDUCATED MISSIONARIES. 53 
 
 mind. No doubt a poorly educated missionary, how- 
 ever useful amongst savages or fetish worshippers, 
 would do but little- good amongst the philosophical 
 Hindus. But these are not so alarming as we are 
 sometimes inclined to imagine. Their minds are 
 quick but superficial, very absorbent of knowledge, 
 but not inclined to originate. And the well-trained 
 Western mind with its slower but surer powers is more 
 than a match for the cleverest and quickest brained 
 Hindu. Certainly the members of the Cambridge 
 Mission do not lie open to the reproach of being unfit 
 to cope with any of the natives. They are men who 
 could have made their mark at home, who were good 
 scholars, fellows of their colleges, educated in all the 
 wisdom of the West. These have been willing to 
 renounce the easier career open to them at home, 
 and have devoted their great gifts to the training and 
 evangelizing of the inhabitants of Delhi. That city 
 presents now but a faint reflection of its past glories, 
 and the ruins of bygone dynasties lie thick on every 
 side. But amongst these memorials of the past there 
 is rising an edifice which may endure for ever. Delhi 
 may henceforth be famous not only because of the 
 Mogul Empire, the long sustained siege, and the 
 Imperial Durbar ; but also because there Christianity 
 attacked cultivated heathenism in one of its strongest 
 fortresses, and prevailed. 
 
 From Delhi on November i8th I went to Agra. 
 This town is specially connected with the name of 
 the Emperor Akbar, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. 
 He was the greatest of the Mogul Emperors, his 
 rule was the most extensive, and his policy the 
 wisest. He did all he could to ingratiate himself 
 with his Hindu subjects, and he employed them 
 as administrators and oflficials under himself. He 
 was by no means a strict Mohammedan, and he 
 offended many of his co-religionists by the willingness 
 with which he listened to the preachers of other creeds. 
 This toleration led him at last to promulgate a new
 
 54 A parson's holiday. 
 
 faith, "based upon natural theology, and comprising 
 the best practices of all known creeds." * How far 
 he was sincere it is difficult to say. The fact of his 
 reigning over subjects of various faiths, all of whom 
 he desired to conciliate, probably made him tolerant 
 from motives of policy as well as from conviction. 
 Certainly the effect of his toleration was to organize 
 his conquests into an Empire, and both Hindus and 
 Mohammedans were treated with an equal impartiality. 
 His revenue system was based on ancient Hindu cus- 
 toms, and was similar to that at present employed by 
 the British Government. It chiefly consisted in a 
 land cess, the produce of each acre being valued, 
 and one-third of the gross produce (or an equivalent 
 money payment) being claimed by Akbar's officers. 
 This is a larger proportion than is now exacted by us, 
 but the custom of taxing the cultivator of the soil is 
 the foundation of our revenue system. All through 
 India the Government is considered to be the owner 
 of the soil, and the land tax is in the nature of a rent- 
 charge paid to the State. During his reign Agra was 
 the capital of the Empire, and he built the great fort 
 which still stands on the right bank of the Jumna, and 
 within which was his palace and extensive quarters 
 occupied by his numerous wives. 
 
 I visited this fort and w^as astonished w4th the mag- 
 nificence and splendour of the old Imperial Palace. 
 Much of the interior is now occupied by the arsenal, 
 and barracks. Cannon stand in rows, and there 
 is every appurtenance of modern warfare within 
 the ancient walls. One of the most touching sights 
 is a tomb surrounded by low railings, which stands 
 in the middle of the court-yard. It is the last 
 resting place of John Russell Colvin, the Lieutenant- 
 Governor of the North-West Provinces at the time 
 of the Mutiny. He and a few officers and their 
 wives, with a few faithful soldiers, were closely be- 
 
 * W. W. Hunter's Indian Empire, p. 239.
 
 AKBAR'S PALACE. 55 
 
 sieged by the rebels in the terrible summer of 1857. 
 Here he succumbed under the weight of care and 
 sickness ; there was no possibility of laying his body 
 in consecrated ground, for the church and cemetery 
 were in the hands of the mutineers. So he was 
 laid in the midst of the fort where he died, and 
 the tomb still stands amidst parked cannon and 
 piles of round shot, a memorial of the time when a 
 few brave men saved Agra from being entirely 
 occupied by rebels. But the great interest of the 
 fort lies in the marble palaces of the Emperor Akbar. 
 One passes through hall after hall, and court after 
 court, each richly inlaid with patterns of various 
 colours and bright with precious stones. " The 
 pavilions overhanging the river are inlaid, within 
 and without, in the rich style of Florentine mosaic. 
 They are precious caskets of marble, glittering all 
 over with jasper, and agate, cornelian, bloodstone and 
 lapis-lazuli, and topped with golden domes. Balus- 
 trades of marble, wrought in open patterns of such 
 rich design that they resemble fringes of lace when 
 seen from below, extend along the edge of the battle- 
 ments." * Besides these there are baths, the walls of 
 which are adorned with thousands of small mirrors, 
 disposed in intricate designs, so that every splash of 
 the fountain was reflected innumerable times, and the 
 light of lamps was flashed back from every part of 
 the surface. Within the women's quarters there is a 
 garden, still full of roses, with fountains and vines. 
 There are also curious underground passages, which 
 led into the houses occupied by Akbar's numerous 
 wives, and at the end of one passage there was once a 
 deep well, now bricked up, down which the unfaithful 
 ones are said to have been thrown. It is impossible 
 to describe the richness of the marble courts, incrusted 
 with gold, and inlaid with precious stones. It only 
 remains to say that the Moti Musjid, or Pearl Mosque, 
 
 * Bayard Taylor.
 
 56 A parson's holiday. 
 
 within the walls of the fort, is said by Fergusson to 
 be by far the most elegant mosque of this age, per- 
 haps indeed of any period of Moslem art. The white 
 marble court-yard, with its stainless domes and perfect 
 proportions, must be seen to be appreciated. 
 
 But it is not only in the fort at Agra that one sees 
 the perfection of Mohammedan art. Take a hired 
 gharri^ and drive over the bridge of boats to the 
 Tomb of Itmad-ud-Dowlah. One gets out at a gate- 
 way which gives one admittance into a beautiful 
 garden. In the midst of the garden rises a white 
 marble building, surmounted by a canopy made of 
 pierced lattice work, also of marble. As the sun shines 
 through the patterns of this pavilion, it looks like the 
 most delicate lace work, and is as pure and perfect as 
 when it was first finished. This tomb was raised in 
 1628 by the wife of the Emperor Jehanghir, in memory 
 of her father, who was a Persian adventurer, and 
 noted for taking bribes. Yet he rests in one of the 
 fairest sepulchres ever built. 
 
 It still remains to notice the greatest wonder of 
 Agra, perhaps one of the most splendid buildings in 
 the world, the Taj Mahal. This is a tomb erected by 
 the Emperor Shah Jehan, in memory of his wife; he 
 himself is also buried there, and no finer mausoleum 
 was ever designed as this last resting place of man 
 and wife. It is built on the banks of the Jumna, some 
 two miles from the fort, and is enclosed in a beautiful 
 garden within a high wall. One enters by a lofty gate- 
 way of sandstone and marble, and then looks down 
 an avenue of dark cypress trees to where the marble 
 domes tower upwards into the blue vault of heaven. 
 The main idea of the structure is an octagonal building 
 covered by a high central dome, surrounded by four 
 smaller ones. This building stands on a terrace of 
 white marble, with a tall and graceful minaret at each 
 corner. There is a mosque on each side of the ter- 
 race, the front of the Taj looks down the central path 
 of the garden towards the principal gateway, and the
 
 THE TAJ MAHAL. 57 
 
 back of the terrace overhangs the river. But the chief 
 wonder is the apparent unsubstantiahty and fairiness 
 of the central structure. Looking at it from the top 
 of the gateway down the vista of dark cypress trees, 
 the effect was Hke that of a scene on the stage. It 
 seemed impossible to localize the building. One 
 could not tell how near or how far off it really was. 
 It seemed to recede or approach as one's fancy sug- 
 gested. It sounds absurd thus to talk of a massive 
 structure over 200 feet high. Yet I think all who 
 have seen the Taj have been struck with this curious 
 effect. An eminent architect told me that the effect 
 was produced by the builder having taken care to kill 
 all shadows. Consequently there was nothing by 
 which one could determine the exact spot on which 
 it rested, and thus the distant view was fairylike, un- 
 substantial, spectacular, scenic. From the gateway 
 the pathway leads by marble tanks of water, which 
 reflect the glories of the building, and as one ap- 
 proached nearer the wonder deepened. For one 
 then saw how rich the details were, how the marble 
 was everywhere inlaid with precious stones and 
 carved in patterns, and yet the taste was so ex- 
 quisite that the majesty of the main design was not 
 spoilt by over elaboration of the separate parts. 
 Then the inside had to be penetrated. On the 
 basement were the real tombs of Shah Jehan and his 
 beloved wife, which are reached by a sloping pas- 
 sage worn smooth by the feet of thousands. Her 
 tomb is in the centre, and his by her side, contrary to 
 the usual custom of Mohammedan rulers, who gene- 
 rally claimed the chief place for themselves. Above 
 on the main floor, under the central dome, inside an 
 octagon screen carved in lace work patterns, there 
 were the cenotaphs. The echo from the dome seemed 
 to me purer and far superior to that in the Baptistery 
 at Pisa, for when the four" notes of a chord were sung 
 they came back mingled in perfect harmony, and the 
 sound lingered long, and at last died away in exquisite 
 
 H
 
 58 A parson's holiday. 
 
 softness. All round the central building there is a 
 marble terrace, so that a clear view can be obtained 
 from all sides. It took a long time to see the whole, 
 for the view from the adjacent minaret was well wcrth 
 seeing, and the neighbouring mosques had to be 
 visited. It is altogether a perfect place. One cannot 
 criticize or object to a single detail, one could not 
 imagine any improvement or suggest any alteration. 
 No corpse rests in a fairer sepulchre. I visited it 
 once by moonlight ; the gardens were nearly deserted, 
 and the dim white light added to the charm of the 
 marble walls and swelling domes. Within all was 
 dark save one dim oil lamp burning over the tombs. 
 The stillness was unbroken by any voice, only the 
 ceaseless chirp of the crickets made the absence of 
 other noises the more noticeable. It was the quietest, 
 most peaceful resting-place possible, and the beauty 
 and charm of the whole structure were perfect. There 
 is, I think, no building in Europe which can be com- 
 pared with the Taj. It surpasses all both in grandeur 
 and symmetry of design and perfect beauty of detail. 
 
 Every visitor to Agra is bound to make an expedi- 
 tion to Futtehpore Sikri. This is the palace which 
 the Emperor Akbar built, and is about 22 miles from 
 Agra. It has been compared to Windsor, and it must 
 have borne much the same relation to the capital, as 
 that castle does to London. It was the country resi- 
 dence of the great Emperor, only such a magnificent 
 residence as only he could have designed and built. 
 The circuit of the walls is seven miles, and within that 
 area there were palaces and zenanas, halls and courts, 
 mosques and stables, pleasure-grounds and caravan- 
 serais, game preserves and hunting lodges, all that 
 could conduce to luxury, and magnificence, and 
 splendour. It would be wearisome if I was to try to 
 enumerate the different buildings. I can only refer 
 the curious to the excellent guide-book written by 
 H. G. Keene, and mention a few of the wonders of 
 the place. The ruins stand on a rocky hill, and the
 
 FUTTEHPORE SIKRI. 59 
 
 material of which they were buih is a red sandstone. 
 This stone is soft enough to be richly carved, yet the 
 grain is so close that these carvings are still clear and 
 sharp, where they have escaped rude and destructive 
 hands. The most striking building within the enceinte 
 is the great mosque, with a marble shrine built over 
 the tomb of a Mohammedan saint, who recommended 
 the Emperor to make Futtehpore his residence. The 
 great gateway which overlooks the town below and is 
 reached by a long flight of steps, is said by Fergusson 
 to be the finest in India. On it are carved several 
 sentences, which show the eclectic character of 
 Akbar's religion. One is thus translated : " Said 
 Jesus, on whom be peace ! The world is a bridge, 
 pass over it but build no house there : he who hopeth 
 for an hour may hope for an eternity : the world is but 
 an hour, spend it in devotion : the rest is unseen." 
 Most of the other buildings are palaces which were 
 built for the numerous wives of the Emperor, and 
 public offices for the despatch of business. One of 
 these palaces is called the house of Miriam, and is 
 said to have been occupied by a Christian wife. It 
 shows traces of a painting said to be a representation 
 of the Annunciation, but too defaced to be clearly 
 made out. The richness of the carving is noticeable 
 in all the buildings. The walls in many of the rooms 
 are covered all over with delicate diaper patterns cut 
 in relief. The cornices and ceilings are also richly 
 carved, and the whole shows a lavishness of ornament 
 and expenditure of labour, which would now be impos- 
 sible. One court-yard has squares of black and white 
 marble laid down in the form of a pacJiisi board, on 
 which a game something similar to backgammon was 
 played with living pieces. From the chief palace a 
 long covered passage extends over the roofs of other 
 buildings, and leads down into the caravanserai ; it 
 was used by the great ladies of the Court, who were 
 enabled by this means to see the merchants display 
 their goods, and perhaps break the monotony of
 
 6o A parson's holiday. 
 
 harem life by engaging in a little bargaining. All 
 these palaces and buildings are now in ruins. The 
 city only had a life of 50 years, as soon after Akbar's 
 death it was deserted. When it was inhabited, it 
 must have seen a wonderful Court life, and its re- 
 mains tell us something of the greatness of this 
 Solomon of the East. 
 
 After seeing Futtehpore Sikri, it is well to go to 
 Sekundra, where Akbar was buried. The mausoleum 
 is about six miles from Agra, and stands in a large 
 enclosure, which has four beautiful gateways. From 
 each of these gateways a grand causeway of hewn 
 stone leads up to the central building, which is above 
 100 feet high. This is built in five stories, the four 
 lower ones being of sandstone, while the highest is of 
 white marble. Here on the summit of the building, 
 there is an enclosed space, open to the sky, sur- 
 rounded by battlements of white marble carved into 
 patterns of great richness and variety, in the centre of 
 which is the marble cenotaph. Near it is a short 
 stone column, on which is said to have been placed 
 the great diamond, or kohinoor ; this was looted by 
 the Persian invader, Nadir Shah ; it was afterwards 
 captured by Runjeet Singh, and finally came into the 
 possession of the Queen. The real tomb of Akbar is 
 in a dark vaulted chamber on the basement story, and 
 here rests the greatest of the Mogul Emperors. 
 
 At Sekundra there is an interesting Christian 
 orphanage and printing establishment, which is one 
 of the oldest missionary institutions in the North- 
 West. It suffered much during the Mutiny, and the 
 machinery was broken and burnt, and the type thrown 
 down wells. But it has revived, and is now doing an 
 excellent work. The children are taught printing and 
 carpentering, the cleverest are prepared for college, 
 and some have been ordained. The printing estab- 
 lishment is located in an old building, said to have 
 been the tomb of Akbar's Christian wife. If the 
 legend is true, this building may be said to be recon-
 
 IDEAS OF EMPIRE. 6l 
 
 secrated by the work at present going on in it. There 
 seems great doubt, however, as to whether the Em- 
 peror ever had a Christian or European wife. The 
 Jesuits certainly visited his Court, and they may have 
 induced some Portugese lady to enter his harem, in 
 the hopes of thus winning him over to Christianity. 
 It would have been a wonderful triumph for them if 
 they could have converted the Great Mogul. 
 
 It has been said that if the English are ever driven 
 out of India, the public buildings they have erected 
 will compare very unfavourably with the marvellous 
 architectural wonders of the Mogul Empire. Men 
 have jokingly remarked that our chief relics would be 
 empty soda-water bottles and hideous barracks, and 
 that these would be the only signs of our departed 
 greatness. How would these contrast with the Kutub 
 Minar or the Taj Mahal ? There is a certain amount 
 of truth in this contention, but there is another side to 
 the picture. The glories of the old Mogul Empire 
 were confined to the palaces and tombs of the rulers ; 
 they did not extend to the subject races. The build- 
 ings are indeed beautiful, but they were erected at a 
 grievous cost. The labour was all forced, and the 
 distress and mortality amongst the work-people were 
 frightful. If the buildings remain as a wonder for 
 ever, we must not forget the mode in which they were 
 erected. Our rule will not be marked by any such 
 selfish expenditure undertaken solely for the glorifi- 
 cation of one man. If we leave any rehcs behind us, 
 they will tell a different tale, viz. : that the rulers cared 
 more for the well-being of their subjects than for their 
 own fame. Future ages may condemn us for the want 
 of taste shown in our buildings, they will not be able 
 to say that the natives were neglected or ill-treated. 
 Such public works as survive will show that the largest 
 sums were spent in improving the communications 
 and insuring the safety of the people. We have dug 
 canals, at the cost of millions of pounds, which save 
 large areas from danger of famine. We have made
 
 62 A parson's holiday. 
 
 roads and railways which open up all parts of the 
 country. Our railway bridges, though not always 
 beautiful as works of art, are yet triumphs of engi- 
 neering skill, and when the New Zealander of the 
 future looks at the broken girders of the enormous 
 structures which now span the Jumna or the Ganges, 
 he will at least confess that the rulers who erected 
 them were not careless of the comfort of their 
 people. It may seem absurd to compare an Iron 
 railway bridge with a pure marble mausoleum like the 
 Taj. Yet these tw^o works aptly express the difference 
 between the English and the Mogul idea of Empire. 
 The glory of the chief ruler was the most Important 
 thing In the old Empire ; the comfort of the ruled 
 is the chief object in the new. The two erections 
 may also serve as examples of the taste of the two 
 Empires, and while we give the palm to the building 
 erected by the Mogul, we must not overlook the 
 greater utility of the less ornate structure. It might 
 be possible to combine something of beauty with 
 an equal amount of serviceableness. Certainly the 
 later public buildings of Bombay and Calcutta are 
 architecturally pleasing as well as useful, and the 
 Public Works Department (so often abused) is begin- 
 ning to be alive to the necessity of showing some taste 
 in Its erections. Certainly If we have to confess that 
 the old Mohammedan rulers surpassed us In the 
 beauty of their residences, we may fairly claim to have 
 improved on their ideas of government, and to have 
 added more than they did to the comfort and well- 
 being and prosperity of the subject race.
 
 THE SEPOY MUTINY. 6^ 
 
 Chapter IV. 
 
 Leaving Agra with its memorials of the Empire of 
 the Moguls, I journeyed on to Cawnpore, which will 
 ever be memorable for its associations with the Sepoy 
 Mutiny in 1857. How suddenly that fearful Mutiny 
 broke out, many still living can remember. Like a 
 thunderclap out of a clear sky, without special warning 
 or apparent cause, the news was suddenly flashed 
 through hidia that the native soldiers at Meerut had 
 revolted, had massacred many Europeans, and had 
 streamed off to Delhi. Similar risings took place 
 throughout the North-West and Oudh, the English 
 officers belonging to the native regiments were gene- 
 rally shot by their own men, and in a few weeks' time 
 nearly the whole of the Bengal army were in arms 
 against us. It is not possible for me to write a history 
 of the Mutiny. That has been done by practised pens. 
 It was a time of awful anxiety, of heroic deeds, of 
 magnificent devotion, of terrible crimes. Each episode 
 of the rising has its own history of suffering and valour. 
 Each station is marked by some special memory of 
 that blood-stained summer. But amongst all the 
 annals of massacre and terror the town of Cawnpore 
 will ever be associated with the worst excesses and 
 blackest atrocities perpetrated at the time. There 
 the treacherous Nana Sahib made his name for ever 
 infamous. He was the adopted heir of the last of the 
 Peshwas, and thus he would have been the hereditary 
 ruler of the Marhattas. At this time he resided at 
 Bithoor, within a few miles of Cawnpore, and nourished 
 a grievance against the British Government, because 
 the pension, which the last Peshwa enjoyed, had not 
 been continued to him. At first when news came of 
 the revolt of the Sepoys, he professed loyalty to the
 
 64 A PARSON'S HOLIDAY. 
 
 English cause ; he was put in charge of the Arsenal 
 and Treasury, and he was told all the plans made by 
 the small English garrison for their own defence. But 
 as soon as the troops mutinied, he put himself at their 
 head, and raised the standard of revolt. Then the 
 small garrison of the English was almost at his mercy. 
 They had withdrawn from the cantonments, and with 
 their women and children they had entrenched them- 
 selves hastily in a small camp outside the town. Here 
 for nineteen days they endured a siege, holding the 
 lines of their defences against overwhelming odds 
 and suffering terrible privations. Then came offers of 
 negotiations, and a treaty was eventually signed which 
 was to insure the safe conduct of the little garrison 
 down the Ganges to Allahabad. Hampered by the 
 number of non-combatants, and short of provisions, 
 the English commander determined to evacuate his 
 position, which would soon have become untenable, 
 and to trust to the promises made by the Nana. 
 In the early morning the little band left the intrench- 
 ments, and, with the women and children in the 
 centre, marched to the river bank, where boats had 
 been provided for their safe conduct down the river. 
 Then followed a treachery which seems almost in- 
 credible. While the party were embarking, a mur- 
 derous fire was opened from both banks of the river, 
 and numbers of the English were there slaughtered. 
 Four only out of the httle band managed to escape to 
 tell the tale. The survivors, who were not shot down 
 at the time, were marched back as prisoners into the 
 town of Cawnpore. The men were immediately shot, 
 the women and children were confined in a large 
 house. Here they remained for nearly three weeks 
 without any comforts or news from the outer world. 
 The fancy fails to picture the condition of this remnant 
 of the once gay society of Cawnpore, who had endured 
 all the trials of the siege, had then been eye-witnesses 
 of the massacre on the river side, and were now close 
 prisoners at the mercy of a pitiless tyrant, who had
 
 THE CAWNPORE MASSACRE. 65 
 
 shown himself as cruel as he was treacherous. Their 
 sufferings were soon brought to an end in a manner 
 which still thrills with horror all who hear of it. The 
 English army under Havelock was advancing nearer 
 and nearer to Cawnpore. The Nana knew that his 
 reign was soon to be over. He determined to do a 
 deed which remains without a parallel in history. He 
 decided to murder in cold blood all these helpless 
 prisoners. Into that house of misery executioners 
 were sent, who literally hacked to death these un- 
 armed and unresisting women and children. The work 
 of slaughter went on for a considerable time, but it is 
 better not to try to fancy what happened within those 
 fast-shut doors. Night fell on the work completed. 
 The Nana is said to have passed the evening with 
 singing and dancing. In the morning orders were 
 given to clear the house, and the bodies were dragged 
 to a well and there cast down. It is feared that some 
 of the poor creatures were still breathing when they 
 were thus hurled down this deep and narrow orifice. 
 When the English troopers rode into the city, the 
 blood-stained floor of the house, and the well with its 
 tangled mass of human limbs, told them the horrors 
 which had happened, and which they were too late to 
 avert. The Cawnpore massacre remains as an atrocity 
 unparalleled in history, and the sufferings thus endured 
 by our fellow-countrymen can never be forgotten. 
 
 It seemed fitting that the sites of such terrible 
 events should be marked by some suitable memorials. 
 In "Wheeler's Entrenchment" as it is called, there 
 has been built the Memorial Church. This is a hand- 
 some structure of red brick, cruciform in shape, with a 
 triforium and clerestory, and a lofty campanile. The 
 walls are covered with memorial tablets, commemo- 
 rating those who died during the Mutiny. Round the 
 altar are to be placed while marble slabs, and on them 
 are to be inscribed the names of all those who died at 
 Cawnpore. The building is one of the handsomest 
 churches in India, and it is a fitting memorial of the 
 
 I
 
 66 A parson's holiday. 
 
 brave men who held the camp so well against over- 
 whelming odds. 
 
 The " Slaughter Ghat," as it is now named, is also 
 pointed out to visitors. 
 
 But the chief sight is the Memorial Well, and here 
 every care has been lavished to beautify the spot 
 where such a terrible deed was done. The ground all 
 round the well is kept as a garden ; about fifty acres 
 have been planted with flowering shrubs, and laid out 
 with broad gravel paths. The grass is constantly 
 watered, and the beds of flowers and shady walks are 
 beautifully cared for. In the centre, over the mouth 
 of the well which was filled up and covered in, there 
 stands a marble statue of an angel holding a palm 
 branch in its hand. Round the pedestal is an in- 
 scription which tells how that " a great number of 
 Christian people, chiefly women and children, were 
 here massacred and thrown — the living with the 
 dead — into the well beneath." Round this figure 
 there is a gothic screen carved in stone, which in- 
 closes the spot where so many hapless people are 
 buried. Over the door of the screen is the text, "These 
 are they which came out of great tribulation." It is 
 impossible to gaze unmoved at such a sad spot, thus 
 marked by such touching words. The whole garden 
 is kept as a sacred place. Carriages are only allowed 
 to proceed at a foot's pace, and no games are per- 
 mitted to be played therein. Natives are also entirely 
 excluded. The time seems now to have come when 
 this embarp^o mio;ht be taken off. It would be more 
 in the spirit of the religion we profess, if forgiveness 
 was now granted to all, and the garden thrown open 
 to the public without any distinction of creed or colour. 
 There would be no fear that such a permission would 
 be abused, and the remains of the dead are not 
 honoured by being thus fenced off from the apparent 
 fear of contamination from the presence of natives. 
 
 It must always be remembered that the Mutiny was 
 in no sense a popular rising or a revolt of the whole
 
 THE PROVINCE OF OUDH. 67 
 
 native population. If it had been, our rule in India 
 would have probably come to an end. But it was 
 almost entirely a military insurrection, confined to the 
 majority of the native soldiers we had trained, and 
 joined by a few bad characters amongst the popula- 
 tion. But the large majority of the natives of India 
 never participated in the rising, many of the native 
 soldiers remained true to our cause, and the relieving 
 armies were largely composed of natives from Madras, 
 Bombay, and the Punjab. It therefore seems unwise 
 to treat the whole native population of India as in any 
 way sympathising with the atrocities perpetrated by 
 the mutineers at Cawnpore. Yet while we forbid them 
 to enter the Memorial Garden, we seem to accuse the 
 whole subject-race of being sharers in the crimes 
 wrought by a few of their nation. It is hardly fair 
 thus to refuse a privilege to all the members of the 
 race because some of their number, twenty-five years 
 ago, committed atrocious crimes. The time has now 
 surely come for forgiveness, and the loyal natives are 
 more likely to feel horror at the crimes wrought by 
 their countrymen, when they see that we do not look 
 upon all as equally guilty. We should appeal to their 
 best feelings, when they saw that we considered the 
 Mutiny as the work of a few misguided and faithless 
 men, and that we did not wish to condemn the whole 
 nation because of the crimes of these few. 
 
 From Cawnpore I travelled to Lucknow, which is 
 also famous for Mutiny reminiscences. But the town 
 itself is interesting in many ways, and has played a 
 part in the later history of India. It is the capital of 
 the Province of Oudh, and is the most populous 
 town in India next to the Presidency capitals, having 
 284,779 inhabitants. 
 
 The Province of Oudh, which is about half the size 
 of England, was a part of the Mogul Empire, which 
 was governed by a Nawab Vizier. About 175^ ^'"'^ 
 Province became practically independent of the Em- 
 peror of Delhi, and the then Vizier became a feudatory
 
 68 A parson's holiday. 
 
 reigning Prince, and the administration became here- 
 ditary in his family. From this date we read of the 
 " Kings of Oudh." Lucknow was made the capital of 
 their "kingdom," and most of the public buildings were 
 built at the end of the last and the beginning of the 
 present century. Under the Governor-Generalships of 
 Clive and Warren Hastings the Nawabs of Oudh were 
 generally friendly to the British, and their dominions 
 were therefore not taken from them, though they were 
 forced to pay large sums to the East Indian Company. 
 Their political position being thus assured, " the rulers 
 of Oudh turned their attention to cock fighting and 
 beast fighting ; to fireworks, dancing girls and cham- 
 pagne ; and they spent the money, in the enjoyment 
 of which their powerful protectors guaranteed them, in 
 building seraglios and in furnishing them with lustres 
 and mirrors, with glass lions and porcelain negroes." * 
 The later history of the Province is one long story of 
 misrule and dissolute living, varied by threats from 
 the British Resident of annexation. The administra- 
 tion of Oudh was disgraceful and the inhabitants were 
 groaning under the most evil government which existed 
 in India. Threats and warnings had no effect in im- 
 proving the state of the Province, and at last Lord 
 Dalhousie in 1856 determined to annex the whole 
 of the King's dominions. This decision has been 
 questioned, and some have traced the cause of the 
 Mutiny (which broke out in the following year) to Lord 
 Dalhousie's policy. They have said that he roused the 
 feelings of the natives against our rule, and that they 
 thought the annnexation of Oudh unjust, as the inde- 
 pendence of the King had been guaranteed by treaty. 
 Certainly Lord Dalhousie never doubted the justice of 
 his policy. He was guided entirely by his desire to 
 do his duty to the inhabitants of Oudh. By a treaty 
 made in 1837 ^^^ -^i^g ^^ Oudh had been warned that 
 systematic oppression would lead to deposition. The 
 
 *■ Keene's Guide to Lucknow., p. 69.
 
 LUC KNOW. 69 
 
 condition of the country had become worse since 
 then. And at last Lord Dalhousie ordered General 
 (afterwards Sir James) Outram to assume the direct 
 administration of Oudh, on the ground that " the 
 British Government would be guilty in the sight of 
 God and man if it were any longer to aid in sustaining 
 by its countenance an administration fraught with 
 suffering to millions." The decree went forth, the 
 King was deposed, and he now lives as a State 
 pensioner in a suburb of Calcutta. Oudh was annexed 
 to the British dominions, and two millions of suffering 
 people must bless the day when they passed under 
 our just rule. 
 
 The chief buildings of Lucknow are the palaces, and 
 seraglios, and hunting lodges, on which the Kings of 
 Oudh wasted the resources of the Province. These 
 are vulgar and poor in design, chiefly made of brick, 
 covered with stucco, and mean in their details. Their 
 only beauty consists in their sky lines, which are some- 
 times quaint, and not without a certain originality and 
 grace. The most fantastic of these is the Chatta 
 Manzal, so called from its being topped with a gilt 
 umbrella CchattaJ. It used to be one of the seraglios 
 of the King, but it is now used as a club house and 
 library by the European residents. Though the mate- 
 rials of which it is made are only brick and stucco, 
 yet its quaint pinnacles and buttresses render it a very 
 original structure, not without architectural beauty. 
 
 The largest of the palaces is the Imambara, which 
 was built in 1784. It is said to have been a famine- 
 reUef work, on which multitudes of the people were 
 glad to labour, the wages being paid at night time so 
 that none might know who had been forced by want 
 to apply for work. This great palace is built round a 
 large quadrangle one side of which is taken up by a 
 great hall 162 feet long and 53 feet wide. This im- 
 mense building is roofed over by a coarse concrete 
 several feet in thickness. This was originally laid on 
 a rude mould of brick, but when it was thoroughly set
 
 70 A parson's holiday. 
 
 and dry the mould was removed and the vaulthig re- 
 mained, covering the entire building. This great hall 
 is at present used as an arsenal, where quantities of 
 cannon are stored. On another side of the court-yard 
 there stands a mosque, which is at present not used 
 for worship. The whole of this palace is garrisoned 
 by English soldiers, and has been converted into a 
 strong fort. There is a talk of razing the fortifications, 
 and restoring the palace to the Mohammedans, so that 
 they may once more use their mosque. I believe the 
 fort is not strategically useful, as it can be com- 
 manded from other heights. We have held it ever 
 since the Mutiny. It seems hard that the Moham- 
 medans should be debarred from worshipping in one 
 of the most famous mosques in Lucknow, and if the 
 fortifications do not add to the strength of the English 
 defences, it would be wiser to restore the place to the 
 inhabitants of the city. 
 
 The chief interest, however, of Lucknow does not lie 
 in the palaces and stuccoed abominations of the Kings 
 of Oudh. They were as poor architects as they were 
 bad rulers. But the main sights of the place are con- 
 nected with the gallant defence made by Sir Henry 
 Lawrence in 1857, ^'""^ ^^^^ relief brought to the little 
 garrison by Havelock and Outram. Every visitor to 
 Lucknow visits the ruins of the Residency, where a 
 small British force resisted for eighty-seven days an 
 army of rebels. Surrounded by foes, having to watch 
 day and night against surprises and attacks, hampered 
 • by the presence of women and children, cannonaded 
 by artillery, and attacked by mines, less than 1000 
 Europeans and 500 faithful natives held out against 
 100,000 assailants. 
 
 " Men will forget what we suffer and not what we do. We can 
 
 fight- 
 But to be soldier all day and be sentinel all thro' the night — 
 Ever the mine and assault, our sallies, their lying alarms. 
 Bugles and drums in the darkness, and shoutings and soundings 
 
 to arms, 
 Ever the labour of fifty that had to be done by five,
 
 DEFENCE OF TME RESIDENCY. 71 
 
 Ever the marvel among us that one should be left alive, 
 Ever the day with its traitorous death from the loopholes around, 
 Ever the night with its coffinless corpse to be laid in the ground, 
 Heat like the mouth of a hell, or a deluge of cataract skies, 
 Stench of old offal decaying, and infinite torment of flies, 
 Thoughts of the breezes of May blowing over an English field, 
 Cholera, scurvy, and fever, the wound that would not be heal'd, 
 Lopping away of the limb by the pitiful — pitiless knife, — 
 Torture and trouble in vain, — for it never could save us a life. 
 Valour of delicate women who tended the hospital bed. 
 Horror of women in travail among the dying and dead, 
 Grief for our perishing children, and never a moment for grief. 
 Toil and ineffable weariness, faltering hopes of relief, 
 Havelock baffled, or beaten, or butcher'd for all that we knew — 
 Then day and night, day and night, coming down on the still- 
 shattered walls 
 Millions of musket-bullets, and thousands of cannon balls — 
 But ever upon the topmost roof our banner of England blew." 
 
 So our great poet describes the terrors of that fierce 
 siege. Sir Henry Lawrence was wounded and died on 
 the third day of the investment. But he had victualled 
 and fortified the palace as far as it was possible, and 
 it was owing to his foresight and careful preparations 
 that the defenders w^ere able to hold out for such a 
 length of time. 
 
 The ruins of the Residency remain in the same 
 condition as it was left by the mutineers. The 
 ground all round has been levelled and laid out as a 
 garden, and within the precincts rise the ruins of the 
 Residency. It was built at the end of the last century, 
 and was a large and commodious house, and attached 
 to it there were other smaller houses, together with a 
 small church and graveyard. The whole was enclosed 
 by a wall, but it is now difficult to trace all the different 
 buildings. The walls are scarred by shot and shell, 
 the rooms are all unroofed, and the whole place is a 
 ruin. For after it was evacuated by Havelock's re- 
 lieving force it was occupied by the mutineers, who 
 blew up certain portions, and were not driven out till 
 the final advance of our troops in March, 1858. But 
 there is still one staircase left standing, which leads 
 up to the watch tower from which " the banner of
 
 72 A parson's holiday. 
 
 England flew" all through those hot months, when the 
 women and children were hidden in the cellars, when 
 there was no water for washing (a terrible privation in 
 such a climate), and when the hospital was as much 
 under fire as the house itself. The hole in the wall 
 which the shell made which killed Sir Henry Lawrence, 
 and the remains of the room in which he died, are still 
 visible. Close by is the cemetery where numbers are 
 buried who died during the long siege. Many of the 
 inscriptions are in memory of women and little children, 
 and are touching in their simplicity. But the simplest 
 and most touching inscription of all is cut on the plain 
 stone slab, which tells that 
 
 " Here lies Henry Lawrence, who tried to do his duty." 
 
 For a long time there was no memorial of those 
 native soldiers who remained faithful to us in spite of 
 threats, and bribes, and every kind of temptation. 
 l)ut Lord Northbrook during his viceroyalty out of his 
 own private purse put up a stone to their honour. 
 
 While I was at Lucknow the whole place was 
 en fete, for the Viceroy was to hold a great Durbar, 
 which was to be attended by all the Talukdars of 
 Oudh. The coming of the Viceroy to a place is no 
 light matter, for his retinue is so enormous that no 
 building could contain the numbers who travel with 
 him. So outside the city, on a bare and open piece 
 of ground, there were arranged a number of tents of all 
 shapes and sizes, enough to form a small town. This 
 was the Viceregal Camp, and was a marvel of canvas- 
 building. In the centre was the great Durbar tent, 
 of bright coloured yellow walls, spread with costly car- 
 pets, and capable of holding several hundred people. 
 Opening from that there were other tents, used as 
 dining or drawing rooms, bedrooms, &c., all of which 
 together made quarters for the Viceroy and his suite. 
 In front of these tents there was a large circular plot 
 of the greenest turf, with a great flagstaff in the centre, 
 and all round this central space there stretched streets
 
 THE VICEROY'S VISIT. 73 
 
 of tents in every direction, which were occupied by 
 members of the Government, aides-de-camp, civiHans, 
 officers, and officials of all sorts. Near to this canvas 
 town there were pitched other camps, occupied by 
 various regiments both of horse and foot, for as a 
 great review was to be held, the place was full of 
 troops. All this magnificent array had sprung up in 
 the midst of a bare and sandy plain. The very turf 
 had been specially laid down for the occasion, a 
 special telegraph wire had been brought to the camp, 
 and the various resident officials had been busy for 
 weeks before, preparing for the Viceroy's visit. He 
 Avas to remain at Lucknow altogether for six days, 
 and when he left, all the tents would be struck and 
 the troops would depart, and the spot return to its 
 original loneliness. 
 
 However, for that week every one was in a state of 
 excitement, and I was glad to have an opportunity of 
 getting a glimpse of the show. The Viceroy .arrived 
 on a Saturday, but the entry into the town was made 
 in private, in consequence of a death having lately 
 occurred in Lady Ripon's family. Sunday was spent 
 in quietness, though as the Churches could not accom- 
 modate all the troops then collected in Lucknow, I 
 was asked to take a camp-service for one regiment. 
 This I was glad to do, and had a very attentive con- 
 gregation, who formed a hollow square, a pile of 
 drums forming the reading desk, and hymns being 
 sung to the accompaniment of the military band. On 
 Monday the Viceregal party made expeditions, and 
 transacted business, and in the evening there was a 
 dinner party, followed by a levee. This was held in 
 the largest tent, and here a long string of the Euro- 
 pean residents of the place passed before the Viceroy 
 and made their bow. Tuesday there was a review 
 of all the troops in the station, and the presentation 
 of new colours to one of the native regiments. This 
 was a very brilliant sight, as the Indian regiments 
 have bright coloured uniforms of red, and green, 
 
 K
 
 74 A parson's holiday. 
 
 and gold, and their turbans look picturesque. One 
 of the English regiments had only just landed from 
 Egypt, and the uniforms of the men looked stained 
 and weather-worn. In the evening the Lieutenant- 
 Governor gave a ball in the club-rooms at the Chatta 
 Manzal. I never saw a gayer sight. The different 
 uniforms lightened up the sombreness of the usual 
 evening attire of the gentlemen, and the rooms were 
 large, well lighted, and beautifully decorated. There 
 was an open air rendezvous on some steps leading 
 down to the river, which was illuminated by Chinese 
 lanterns and was gay with flowers in pots, and here one 
 could escape from the heat of the ball-room into the 
 cloudless glories of an Indian night. But the great event 
 of the week was on Wednesday, when the Viceroy held 
 his Durbar, or levee for native nobility and their re- 
 tainers. The big tents were thrown into one, a throne 
 was set at one end, and a broad central pathway was laid 
 down with scarlet cloth. The Europeans sat on one 
 side, and the natives on the other, and all had to be 
 in their places before the Viceroy arrived. He drove 
 up punctually at 12 o'clock under a salute of twenty- 
 one guns, the troops outside presented arms, the band 
 played " God save the Queen," everyone in the tent 
 stood up, and then there passed up the centre the 
 little knot of men who were the chief rulers of this 
 part of India. Last of all came the Viceroy, dressed 
 ni Court dress, wearing the Garter ribbon, and the 
 Grand Cross of the Star of India. It was a most 
 varieijated and brilliant si^^ht to see this great tent 
 full of people, the uniforms and ladies' dresses filling 
 up one side, while opposite there were the natives, 
 clothed in velvet and satin garments, bright with gold 
 brocade, and with turbans heavy with jewels. When 
 the Viceroy had entered and taken his seat on the 
 throne, the natives (in number about 200) were led 
 up in order and presented. Their rank seemed very 
 strictly defined, and the order of precedence rigidly 
 adhered to. Some of the representatives of the oldest
 
 THE DURBAR, 
 
 75 
 
 families were quite young children, who had just suc- 
 ceeded to their estates. As each was presented, he 
 offered a gold coin in token of fealty, which the 
 Viceroy touched, and then it was retained by the 
 owner. When all had been presented, there was 
 an address to the Viceroy, read by one of the 
 chief nobles. He spoke of the loyalty they felt 
 for the Crown, and thanked the present Viceroy for 
 the interest he had shown in the natives of India, 
 notably by the measures lately introduced for local 
 self-government, and the appointment of the commis- 
 sion on education. The Viceroy read a speech m 
 answer. In it he referred to Sir H. Lawrence, and 
 the epitaph on his tomb, and said how he would try 
 to imitate a man so connected with Oudh. He also 
 gave them some advice about attending to the needs 
 of their tenants, and praised the Chief Commissioner 
 of Oudh, and told them to ask his advice in any diffi- 
 culty. After he had finished his speech, the Foreign 
 Secretary read it out again in Urdu, so that those 
 ignorant of English might know what had been said. 
 Then betel nut and pan were handed round, and the 
 proceedings closed, the Viceroy leaving with salutes, 
 and music, and military parade. 
 
 There seemed to be a curious difficulty as to how 
 the natives were to show their respect. The old way 
 was for a native to take off his shoes when he came 
 into a room, as he could not remove his turban without 
 disgrace. But as Western ideas have spread, the 
 richer natives no longer wear Indian shoes, which are 
 easily slipped off, but wear English patent leather 
 boots. How then is the native to show respect? 
 He cannot easily slip off his English boots, and it 
 would be a disgrace to him to uncover his head. 
 Apparently the difficulty is not solved, and the custom 
 seems to be that when a man wears native shoes he 
 takes them off, while if he has on English-made boots, 
 he need not remove them. Certainly all the natives at 
 the Durbar wore English shoes or boots, which they
 
 76 A parson's holiday. 
 
 did not remove, and thus showed no outward sign 
 of respect, but walked up the central passage over the 
 scarlet cloth with both head and feet covered. As 
 an Englishman always removes his hat, there seems 
 something of an inequality, but it is one of those ab- 
 struse points only to be properly decided by a Court 
 Chamberlain or other State Master of the Ceremonies. 
 The ignorant unofficial person cannot hope to pene- 
 trate such mysteries. 
 
 On the same afternoon the Viceroy distributed 
 the prizes at the Martiniere College. This college 
 was founded by a French adventurer named Claude 
 Martine, who after serving under the Frenchman 
 Lally in Southern India, and afterwards in the Com- 
 pany's army, finally took service under the King of 
 Oudh, and died at Lucknow in the year 1800. He 
 left behind him a large fortune, most of which was 
 bequeathed to the three cities of Calcutta, Lucknow, 
 and Lyons, for the foundation of schools in each. 
 The school at Lucknow is accommodated in a great 
 palace which Martine built, and in the basement of 
 which his body is buried. It is said that he decided 
 on this curious arrangement for fear of the King of 
 Oudh frustrating his charitable intentions, and seizing 
 on his palace. For Martine rightly judged that though 
 an Eastern ruler might not respect the testamentary 
 wishes of a dead man, yet he would hardly violate the 
 sanctity of a tomb. So by ordering that his body 
 should be placed within the walls of his house, he in- 
 sured that the building should not be confiscated by 
 any rapacious ruler. The structure itself is noted as 
 one of the strangest and most fantastic even amongst 
 the bizarre and quaint erections which abound in 
 Lucknow. Greek orders are superimposed one upon 
 another, the sky line is broken by numberless statues, 
 flying buttresses uphold a central tower crowned by a 
 belvedere and a flagstaff, and figures of lions " stand 
 erect holding on to the battlements with one paw while 
 they gesticulate oratorically with the other; all this
 
 MARTINIERE COLLEGE. 77 
 
 makes up an ensemble which is certainly unique and 
 may even be called striking." '•' 
 
 The school, which is located in this curious build- 
 ing, gives a good education to English and Eurasian 
 boys and girls. The boys work for the matricula- 
 tion examination at the Calcutta University, and also 
 strive to enter the Roorki Engineering College. This 
 latter opening has lately been in some measure closed 
 against them, as a new resolution passed by Govern- 
 ment gives the preference to the employment of native 
 engineers rather than Europeans. There are only a 
 few Government posts offered for competition, and 
 these are now almost entirely restricted to natives. 
 Those interested in Eurasian schools feel hurt by this 
 new resolution, and desire that the appointments 
 should be offered for open competition irrespective 
 of race. The point w^as brought forward by the Prin- 
 cipal of the Martiniere College in his opening address 
 to the Viceroy, but Lord Ripon in his reply naturally 
 refrained from touching on such debatable points. 
 He contented himself with saying a few pleasant 
 words to the prizewinners, who came up to receive the 
 books and other rewards which they had gained. He 
 departed amidst hearty cheers from the boys, and 
 without further allusion to these burning questions. 
 There are so few openings in India for Eurasian boys, 
 and they are so liable to become worthless if left unedu- 
 cated, that it is no wonder that all who are interested 
 in their future watch very jealously any curtailment of 
 the offices to which they might be appointed. Still 
 the spread of railway works and the increase of 
 manufactures open out careers for them as overseers 
 and supervisors of native workmen, and their mixed 
 blood enables them to stand the climate better than 
 the pure European. In every way the Eurasian is 
 now being looked after, and if he has any good 
 qualities in him, he ought never to sink into the 
 
 "*Kecnc's Guide lo Lucknoiv.
 
 78 A parson's holiday. 
 
 position of the "poor white trash" known in the 
 American States. 
 
 In the evening of the same day the Viceroy gave 
 an evening party at his Camp, to which both natives 
 and EngHsh were invited. The big tent was full of 
 ladies in bright dresses, officers in uniform, and natives 
 in gorgeous clothes and jewelled turbans. The Viceroy 
 with his A.D.C. moved about amongst his guests, and 
 had a word with the chief nobles and other persons 
 who were introduced to him. 
 
 The Talukdars of Oudh are the territorial magnates 
 of that Province. They are responsible to the Govern- 
 ment for a gross sum payable from their lands, and 
 occupy nearly the position of great English landlords. 
 Previous to the Mutiny they w^ere an uneducated and 
 dissolute class, but the younger generation bear a bet- 
 ter character. Canning College has been founded in 
 Lucknow for their education, and the majority of the 
 younger nobles can speak English. Some appeared 
 over fat and unhealthy in appearance, but others had 
 bright intelligent faces. These Talukdars gave a grand 
 open air evenmg/ele in honour of the Viceroy's visit on 
 the next day to that on which the Durbar was held, in 
 the Kaiser Bagh. This is a great enclosed garden 
 surrounded by rooms originally built as a seraglio, but 
 now used as a caravanserai by the nobles when they 
 come into Lucknow. The whole court-yard was illu- 
 minated with countless oil lamps, arranged in various 
 devices, there was a great display of fireworks, and as 
 the night was still and dark the effect was striking. 
 
 This closed the festivities of the week. The Viceroy 
 proceeded on his way to Calcutta, the great Camp was 
 struck, and Lucknow no doubt soon relapsed into its 
 usual quiet state. But the good effect of such visits 
 it is hard to over estimate. They give the Viceroy 
 an insight into various parts of hidia, they bring him 
 into contact with the notable people of each district, 
 and he can see with his own eyes and hear with his 
 own ears what is being done. People in England for-
 
 ADMINISTRATION OF INDIA. 79 
 
 get the enormous size and the various races which 
 make up what we call India. The territory over which 
 the Viceroy rules is as large as all Europe without 
 Russia. The different races differ amongst themselves 
 as much as Frenchmen and Germans, Spaniards and 
 Englishmen. The conditions of life vary in different 
 parts ; the soil, the requirements, the civilization, the 
 manners and customs alter in every province. No 
 one could legislate for the whole, if he only had know- 
 ledge of a part. What would be useful for one place 
 mi^ht be undesirable in another. Therefore the more 
 the ruler of such an Empire can visit different parts, 
 the more likely he is to gain experience and avoid 
 mistakes. The commonest time of the year for such 
 visits is during the month of November, while the 
 Government is making its periodical move from Simla 
 to Calcutta. All the hot weather it remains in the 
 hills, and from November to March it is located in 
 Calcutta. The distance between the two places is 
 over 1 1 00 miles (about the distance between London 
 and Gibraltar), and the time taken in transferring 
 the paraphernalia of government from one place to 
 another is considerable. During this interval the 
 Viceroy takes the opportunity of visiting some new 
 portion of the Empire, and becoming personally ac- 
 quainted with its needs and requirements. He often 
 holds a levee for the chief inhabitants of the district, 
 and thus can interchange opinions with the residents 
 on the spot. Thus he can gain experience and see 
 how different parts of the extensive dominions which 
 he has to govern are progressing. 
 
 It would take too much space to describe the whole 
 scheme of the government of India, but it may be 
 advisable to state a few facts for the use of those 
 who are very ignorant of the subject. Before 1858 
 the Governor-General was almost an autocrat, respon- 
 sible only to a distant Court of Directors in England, 
 and often forced to act before he could receive 
 either advice or orders from home. In 1858 the
 
 8o A PARSON'S HOLIDAY. 
 
 Crown assumed the direct government of India, the 
 Governor-General was changed into a Viceroy, and all 
 his acts have now to be sanctioned by a Secretary of 
 State in England, who is a Cabinet Minister. This 
 Secretary of State is assisted by a Council, chiefly 
 composed of retired Indian officials, who advise him 
 on all questions which are referred home for decision. 
 Thus the Viceroy in India is not supreme, but all his 
 actions are controlled by a responsible Minister in 
 England. This sometimes leads to delay, and is 
 likely also to hamper at times the policy of the 
 Government in India. It might possibly happen that 
 through a change of parties at home, the Viceroy 
 might find himself no longer able to work in harmony 
 with the Secretary of State. (This indeed happened 
 in 1880, when Lord Lytton resigned simultaneously 
 with the home Government.) But usually matters 
 work smoothly. India remains outside the sphere of 
 party politics at home, and the reference of all ques- 
 tions to a responsible Minister in England prevents 
 hasty legislation, and brings outside public opinion to 
 bear on Indian affairs. This is a good thing in the 
 main, as if India were governed by an irresponsible 
 clique of officials, however excellent, they would be 
 liable to be warped by prejudices, and might fail to 
 reform abuses. Irresponsible power is gcod for no 
 man, and though often it is necessary to refer many 
 small matters home for sanction, yet the constant 
 check thus placed on legislation and expenditure gives 
 time for thought and prevents extravagance. It is 
 said in India that the Viceroy could not appoint an 
 extra servant without sanction from home, and though 
 this is perhaps an exaggeration, yet the careful en- 
 quiry into every item of expenditure must act bene- 
 ficially. 
 
 In India the government is carried on as follows : 
 In grave cases of emergency the Viceroy can act 
 independently, but usually he governs through his 
 Council. This Council is twofold. First there is the
 
 THE COUNCIL. gl" 
 
 Executive Council, consisting of about six official 
 members, which may be compared to the Cabinet at 
 home. Each member of this Council is head of a 
 department, and in this way there are bureaux or port- 
 folios of Foreign Affairs, Finance, Home, War, Law, 
 and Public Works. And next there is the Legislative 
 Council, made up of the members of the Executive 
 Council, "with the addition of the Governor of the 
 Province in which it may be held, and official dele- 
 gates from Madras and Bombay, together with certain 
 nominated members representative of the non-official 
 native and European communities." * This Council 
 meets when required, its debates are public, and it dis- 
 cusses bills and passes measures, which eventually 
 become laws. The debates are said to lack interest. 
 The members often read their speeches, and these 
 state papers, though very valuable, sound dull when 
 compared with the freer parliamentary discussion 
 which takes place at home. Yet a seat in the 
 Council is highly prized, the men who fill these posts 
 are the wisest officials in India, and the amount of 
 work done in each Department is enormous. The table 
 of a Member of Council is covered with papers, boxes 
 full of weighty matters requiring his decision surround 
 his chair, and his office has to provide information on 
 all points connected with the Department he repre- 
 sents. 
 
 Besides this supreme Council there are also provin- 
 cial legislative Councils for the Presidencies of Bombay 
 and Madras, and for the Lieutenant-Governorship of 
 Bengal. The members of these Councils confer on 
 local and provincial matters, and though they cannot 
 legislate independently of the Viceroy, they have large 
 powers in domestic and administrative matters. 
 
 British India is divided into twelve Provinces, the 
 best known of which are Madras, Bombay, Bengal, 
 the Punjab, the North-West Provinces, Burma, and 
 
 *W. W. Hunter's Indian Empire, p. 329.
 
 82 A PARSON'S HOLIDAY. 
 
 Assam. Bombay and Madras are ruled over by a 
 Governor appointed direct from England, and though 
 they are subject to the supreme power of the Viceroy, 
 he seldom interferes with their internal actions. The 
 other Provinces are ruled over by a covenanted civilian, 
 who has won his way upwards from the lowest grade 
 of his profession. He is called either the Lieutenant- 
 Governor or the Chief Commissioner, according to the 
 Province over which he rules. Some of these Pro- 
 vinces are over 100,000 square miles in area, and over 
 these large tracts of country full of people the English 
 civilian practically reigns supreme. All executive 
 power rests in his hands, and the well-being of mil- 
 lions of people is entrusted to him. 
 
 Under him there are several district officers who 
 are responsible for the good order of their districts. 
 The whole of our territory in India is divided into 
 these districts, which vary in size and in population, 
 and are about 240 in number. An average district 
 would be about 60 miles square and would contain 
 about 800,000 people. They might be compared to 
 the larger counties of England. The chief officer of 
 such a district is called a Collector-Magistrate, or a 
 Deputy- Commissioner. It would be impossible to 
 enumerate the variety of work which is expected from 
 a District Officer. He is both a revenue officer, and 
 also a magistrate and judge with large powers. He 
 has to concern himself about poHce and jails, roads 
 and sanitary matters, schools and dispensaries. A 
 great part of the cold weather is spent by him in 
 travelling about his district. His tents are pitched 
 wherever his presence seems desirable, and thus all 
 parts of his charge are visited in turn. Justice is thus 
 brought to the doors of the poor, abuses are enquired 
 into, quarrels arranged, and disputes adjudicated on 
 the spot. There is no village so remote, but it is 
 liable to be visited by the chief official of the district, 
 and this constant supervision insures due care in all 
 his subordinates.
 
 THE CIVIL SERVICE. 8^ 
 
 The career of an Indian civilian is one of the most 
 interesting which can be conceived. He has work 
 enough to satisfy the most gluttonous, he is always 
 engaged in improving the material well-being of his 
 fellow-subjects, and he has scope for all his talents 
 and ability. The work is hard and often distressing, 
 but the training which a young man receives is such 
 as to call out all the good which is in him, and to fit 
 him to orovern others. The life in the districts is often 
 lonely, the climate in the hot weather is most trymg, 
 and the work at times becomes monotonous. But 
 promotion is always expected, and each member of 
 the Civil Service can leave his mark on the district in 
 which he works. English people hardly realize the 
 excellence of the administration which is daily carried 
 on in India by the civilians. Yet the ability, and in- 
 dustry, and rectitude of principle, and doggedness of 
 purpose there exhibited, deserve all praise. There 
 are of course some few incompetent and lazy officials, 
 but the vast majority of our Indian administrators 
 have the real good of the people at heart, and do their 
 best to improve the condition of those committed to 
 their charge. The pomp and glitter of the Viceregal 
 Court must not blind us to the hard work daily done 
 in all ranks of the Government, and we must gladly 
 recognize the upright intentions and general success 
 of the measures promulgated for the benefit of the 
 peoples of India.
 
 84 A PARSON'S HOLIDAY. 
 
 Chapter V. 
 
 I HAD to hasten away from the festivities of Lucknow, 
 as my time seemed but short for all the sights I had 
 still to see. So on the evening of December ist I 
 travelled on to Benares, which is distant about 200 
 miles from Lucknow. Benares is built on the banks 
 of the Ganges, and is considered by the Hindus to be 
 one of the holiest cities in India. In consequence the 
 place is full of temples and shrines, and is a great 
 resort of pilgrims. The population is over 175,000, 
 which makes it the fifth most populous city in India. 
 Like Athens of old, it may be said to be "wholly given 
 to idolatry." The temples number more than 1000, and 
 there are little shrines at the corners of all the streets. 
 The streets are extremely narrow, often only four feet 
 wide, and the houses high. The city is crowded with 
 strangers from all parts of India, and is said to be a 
 great resort of criminals. Certainly in these narrow 
 and crowded quarters anyone might remain for a long 
 time undiscovered, while the constant coming and 
 going of numbers of pilgrims make it impossible for 
 the police to know all the inhabitants. Within the 
 the city the police number about one to every 300 of 
 the population, which is about three-and-a-half times 
 as many as the proportion in London. 
 
 The great feature of Benares is the river-front. Just 
 at this point on the Ganges there is a cliff about 80 
 feet high, and on the slope of this the city is built. 
 For about three miles along the bank there is a con- 
 stant succession of stone palaces and temples, from 
 each of which there are broad stone steps leading 
 down to the brink of the water. These o-reat stair- 
 cases are called "ghats," and are used by the pilgrims 
 as bathing places. At all hours of the day, but espe-
 
 BENARES. 85 
 
 cially in the early morning, these splendid flights of 
 steps are crowded with countless throngs of bathers, 
 who wash themselves in the water, and believe that 
 they thus obtain cleansing from their sins. Men and 
 women walk down the steps, and without unclothing 
 themselves, immerse their bodies in the stream, and 
 then reascend the ghat, having thus accomplished the 
 object of their pilgrimage. These ghats have been 
 built by various Rajahs and Princes of India, and they 
 often lead up to a palace, which is occupied by the 
 owner, when he comes at intervals to bathe in the 
 sacred river. As each palace is built on a different 
 design, and as there are also many splendid temples 
 on the bank, the river-front of Benares is wonderfully 
 picturesque. When the broad flights of steps are 
 thronged with bathers, dressed in bright coloured gar- 
 ments, the scene is one of the most striking to be seen 
 in India. 
 
 During my visit these ghats were illuminated in 
 honour of Lady Ripon, w^ho was staying at Benares. 
 The illumination is done in the simplest way, but the 
 effect is most beautiful. Thousands and thousands of 
 little clay saucers are filled with oil, in which there 
 floats a wick. These saucers are then placed in long 
 lines along every stair of every ghat, and along the 
 balconies, and roofs, and window-sills of the houses. 
 Then when all are lighted the effect is most striking. 
 We went in a boat on the river, so that we might get a 
 good view of the whole illumination. For about two 
 miles along the river-front every cornice, and window, 
 and balcony, and every stair of every ghat was picked 
 out with long lines of little twinkling lights. The night 
 was dark and still, so that there was nothing to mar 
 the full effect of the scene. The thousands of lights 
 enabled one to notice the crowds of spectators, who 
 watched the state barge, which carried Lady Ripon, 
 pass down the long line of lit-up palaces. As this 
 way of illumination necessarily follows the lines of the 
 architecture of the building, it is much more pleasing
 
 86 A parson's holiday. 
 
 and effective than the number of Incongruous and 
 trashy designs which disfigure the streets of London 
 when we attempt any illuminations. Nothing could 
 be prettier than the long steep staircases, every stair 
 of which was studded with lights. The varied outlines 
 of the buildings, and the cliff with its crowded roofs, 
 and the innumerable lights were all reflected in the 
 water, and thus the beauty of the scene was increased 
 by the picturesque character of the site of the city 
 itself. 
 
 The buildings of Benares are not specially fine. 
 The temples appear mean and poor when compared 
 with the beautiful buildings of Delhi and Agra, or with 
 the great structures of Southern India. But they are 
 noticeable from the crowds of worshippers who throng 
 their courts. They are used, and Hinduism is here seen 
 as a living religion. Every shrine and every image in 
 Benares is worshipped and adored. Every temple is 
 crowded with pilgrims, who are there as real worshippers 
 for the purpose of praying to the gods. Amongst these 
 the Golden Temple is one of the most famous. It is 
 a small building, surrounded with houses, and of no 
 great beauty. It gets its name from its domes, which 
 were overlaid with gold by Runjeet Singh. But though 
 its size and architectural pretensions are in no way 
 remarkable, yet one could not help noticing the throngs 
 of worshippers which were constantly passing in and 
 out. The whole of the courts and rooms seemed 
 always full of people. As one left, another took his 
 place, and successive worshippers were praying and 
 prostrating themselves all through the day before the 
 idol shrines. There seemed to be a constant chant of 
 priests, and on all sides one saw fakirs smeared with 
 clay and with long tangled hair, nearly naked and very 
 dirty, who recited prayers all day long. The central 
 idol to which all this worship was addressed was the 
 " lingam," or phallic emblem, said to typify the creative 
 principle, but the cause and apology for every kind of 
 immorality. The reproductive energy of nature was also
 
 THE MONKEY TEMPLE. 87 
 
 symbolized by a great figure of a bull carved in stone 
 about seven feet high. Round the central court under 
 a colonnade many sacred bulls were tethered. These 
 animals used to roam about the streets, and put their 
 noses into every grain shop, and help themselves to 
 anything they could find. They were hardly driven 
 away by the shopkeepers, even when their depredations 
 became excessive, as these temple bulls are considered 
 specially sacred. But a later Government regulation 
 has ordered 'that they should be kept from straying 
 about the streets, so that the traffic may not be im- 
 peded. 
 
 These are not the only animals reverenced in Benares. 
 There is a building, popularly called the Monkey 
 Temple, which is crowded with thousands of these 
 "living deities." They are considered to be sacred, 
 and are fed by everyone who enters the building. 
 The result of this is that they are as bold as possible, 
 and as soon as anyone enters they rush from all parts, 
 expecting the sweetmeats, which are sold on the spot 
 by enterprising salesmen. These monkeys are of a 
 dark orange colour, and are of all ages and sizes. 
 One was pointed out, who was supposed to be the 
 strongest, and to rule over the rest. He certainly 
 seemed ready to exercise his power, and robbed the 
 others whenever he got the chance. The whole pack 
 of them quarrelled, and fought, and bit at each other, 
 and the noise was anything but pleasing. They scram- 
 bled and climbed over the roofs and pinnacles of the 
 building, and scampered over the floors, clinging on 
 all sides to the carved pillars, and ever watching for 
 the offerings made to them by the faithful. The 
 temple itself is dedicated to the goddess Durga, who is 
 venerated as the wife of Siva. Here again the worship 
 paid to her was no perfunctory performance. While 
 we were there, a poor woman, looking very ill, entered 
 and prostrated herself before the figure of the goddess. 
 My native guide, who was a Police Inspector, and 
 could talk English, happened to know this woman.
 
 88 A PARSON'S HOLIDAY. 
 
 She belonged to Calcutta, but had come on this 
 wearisome pilgrimage, and was now engaged in going 
 round all the famous shrines and temples in Benares, 
 having to pay fees at each to the priests, and before 
 every idol she made her prayer for health. When 
 she had visited all the temples, she would return to 
 Calcutta, having spent all that she had, and one fears 
 she would be " nothing bettered but rather grown 
 worse." 
 
 This native Police Inspector was an intelligent per- 
 son ; he had been told off to look after me by my kind 
 host, and he was a most efficient guide. He spoke of 
 coming to England some day, and was most anxious 
 to hear about our manners and customs. His clothes 
 were of English cloth made partly in native fashion, 
 but he wore trousers and English shoes. He was a 
 Hindu by religion, and when we entered the temples 
 belonging to his own faith, he slipped off his shoes. 
 But when we came to the great Mohammedan mosque, 
 which is one of the great sights of Benares, he acted 
 very differently. There, as a Police Inspector, he de- 
 manded to enter with his shoes on. He spoke roughly 
 to the caretaker, and almost insisted on his right to do 
 as he liked. His European clothes seemed to make 
 him partly an Englishman, and he wished to be treated 
 as such. For there was no desire on the part of the 
 caretaker of the mosque to force me to take off my 
 boots. I was to be allowed to enter with covered feet. 
 The "sahibs" always did so. But the Hindustani 
 people were always made to come in barefooted, or 
 not at all. The argument lasted for some time, but at 
 last my guide said that I must go into the mosque by 
 myself, as he would not take off his boots, and they 
 would not allow him to enter without doing so. 
 
 The different w^ay in which this Hindu acted at the 
 two sacred places was no doubt determined by some- 
 thing more than religious feeling. The great mosque 
 at Benares is a standing reminder to them of the fact 
 that they were conquered by the Mohammedans. It
 
 MOSQUE AT BENARES. 89 
 
 was built by the Emperor Aurangzeb on the site of a 
 Hindu temple, and is thus an offence to all who be- 
 long to that religion. The mosque itself is noticeable 
 for its slender minarets, which are 147 feet high. I 
 ascended one of these for the sake of the view. The 
 ascent itself was a little difhcult. The tower was so 
 slender that the steps of the winding staircase were 
 only two feet long, measuring from the wall to the 
 central pillar. Of course the part nearest the wall was 
 the only place wide enough to step upon, and thus one 
 clambered up with difficulty, and it would have been 
 impossible to pass any other person on the staircase. 
 One's elbows touched the stones on each side, and it 
 was almost like ascending the shaft of a tall chimney. 
 But the view from the top was well worth the labour. 
 The whole city lay below, the river could be seen for 
 a long distance, the ghats crowded with bathers, the 
 temples and palaces, the distant country, and the 
 opposite bank, were all spread before one like a map, 
 while round one's head green parrots flew and screamed, 
 who seemed to have their nests in the holes of the 
 masonry. The mosque with its slender minarets is 
 built high above the bank of the river, and is ap- 
 proached by a steep staircase, which makes it a striking 
 object in all views of Benares. 
 
 One of the most curious buildings in the city is the 
 Observatory of Jai Sing. On its flat roof there are 
 several stone astronomical instruments of gigantic size 
 for taking observations. There are the remains of 
 dials, and quadrants, and mural circles, built of stone, 
 most accurately set up, which were used by native 
 astronomers for determining the position of the stars 
 and planets. 
 
 Besides its temples and ghats, Benares is also famous 
 for its manufactures. Its brass work is well known in 
 England, and lacquered toys for children are also 
 exported to the West. But the most expensive handi- 
 craft, which is wrought in the city, is the " kincob " 
 work. This is gold or silver thread woven into silk or 
 
 M
 
 90 A parson's holiday. 
 
 cotton fabrics, making a sort of brocade, which is 
 most rich. The natives admire this work extremely. 
 The thinner " kincob " is used for women's veils and 
 dresses, while the thicker stuffs make trousers and 
 dress pieces for men. The gold and silver thread is 
 made of pure metal, and when the stuff into which it 
 has been woven is worn out, the garment is burnt and 
 the metal carefully saved for future use. The pre- 
 ciousness of the material makes the stuff very ex- 
 pensive, and I was shown some pieces which were 
 worth -^3 a yard! English ladies have not yet learned 
 to use it, though I heard of one Court dress, where 
 the upper skirt was made of this brocade, and was 
 much admired. 
 
 Benares is the centre of popular modern Hinduism. 
 There may be much that is beautiful in the old Vedic 
 hymns and Sanskrit literature of very early times, 
 but there is little that is worth preserving in modern 
 Hinduism, and the degradation and impurity of much 
 of the popular religion is nowhere more noticeable 
 than it is in this city. I may quote here a few sen- 
 tences from the late Rev. M. A. Sherring, who 
 laboured for thirty years in Benares. He writes thus 
 about idolatry: " The nature of the Hindu partakes of 
 the supposed nature of the gods whom he worships. 
 And what is that nature ? According to the traditions 
 handed about amongst the natives, and constantly 
 dwelt upon in their conversation, and referred to in 
 their popular songs — which perhaps would be sufficient 
 proof — yet more especially according to the number- 
 less statements and narratives found in their sacred 
 writings, on which these traditions are based, it is, in 
 many instances, vile and abominable in the last degree. 
 Idolatry is a word denoting all that is wicked in imagi- 
 nation and impure in practice." Certainly the sacred 
 objects of worship exposed in the temples of Benares 
 cannot tend to spiritualize or ennoble the worshippers. 
 They must deaden and deprave all those who come 
 into contact with such a religion.
 
 nARJEEI.ING. 91 
 
 From Benares I had a long railway journey of 475 
 miles to Calcutta. The time taken was about eighteen 
 hours, and the line lay through a very thickly populated 
 country. Every acre seemed cultivated, and the land 
 was occupied in every corner. The population is, I 
 believe, thicker in Lower Bengal than in any other 
 part of India, and in some districts there are 900 
 people to the square mile. I had very little oppor- 
 tunity of seeing Calcutta, as I only stopped long 
 enough for a bath and breakfast, and then drove 
 across the city to take the train for Darjeeling. I had 
 been advised to hasten there as quickly as possible, as 
 the weather in the hills becomes unsettled about the 
 middle of December, and the nights very cold. The 
 great sight of Darjeeling is the view of the snowclad 
 peaks, but later on in the winter these are often ob- 
 scured by rain and mists for days together. It would 
 have been disappointing to arrive at that hill station 
 and find oneself in the clouds. So I was advised to 
 hurry onwards for fear of losing the fine weather. 
 
 The distance from Calcutta to Darjeeling is about 
 350 miles. The first part of the journey lies through a 
 flat and uninteresting country. At sunset we reached 
 the Ganges, which we crossed by a steam ferry, and 
 entered another train, which was waiting. We tra- 
 velled all through the night, and in the early morning 
 found ourselves at the foot of the hills. Then began 
 the great interest of the journey, viz., the climb up 
 the lower slopes of the Himalayas to the plateau 
 on which Darjeeling is built. This is effected by 
 a very narrow gauge railway with extremely powerful 
 engines. The gauge is only two-and-a-half feet, and 
 the carriages are five-and-a-half feet broad, and thus 
 project on each side beyond the wheels. By means 
 of this narrow p;au2e the train is enabled to £ro round 
 very sharp curves, and thus to ascend the hill in steep 
 zifjzaijs. The distance from Silioruri at the foot of the 
 hills to Darjeeling is 48 miles, and this distance is 
 accomplished in eight hours, during which one as-
 
 92 A parson's holiday. 
 
 cends about 7000 feet. It was the most beautiful 
 railway journey I ever took. At first we passed 
 through a broad strip of swampy jungle, called the 
 Terai, at the foot of the hills, which is so malarious 
 and unhealthy that none can live in it, and in many 
 parts it is the home of the tiger and rhinoceros. Then 
 as the ascent began, the hills on each side were seen 
 covered with dense wood and undergrowth. Creepers 
 twined everywhere, often with stems as thick as 
 small trees. Butterflies of gorgeous colours flew about 
 through the undergrowth, and far above one got 
 glimpses of heights still to be ascended. Often we 
 could see the track above our heads round which we 
 were presently to wind, and long distances had to be 
 traversed in the zigzag to win a very small rise in 
 perpendicular height. Often the rail ran alongside the 
 mountain road or pass, which had been used from 
 time immemorial, and then one saw numbers of the 
 hill men, journeying to or from Tibet with strings of 
 small active ponies, laden with merchandise. This 
 was the only method a few years ago, before the rail- 
 way was made, for supplying Darjeeling with stores, 
 and these are still the only merchants who cross the 
 high passes of the Himalayas, and penetrate into the 
 unknown country beyond our northern frontier. Wild 
 looking, dark-faced, wiry men they appeared, and each 
 was armed with a long knife or short sword in a wooden 
 sheath, which could be used either for cutting food or 
 hacking down branches in the jungle, or as a weapon 
 of offence very dangerous at close quarters. 
 
 As we got higher the view over the plains beneath 
 was spread before us like a map. We could look far 
 to the southward, and see the rich flat land with 
 winding streams and cultivated fields shut out from 
 the cold north by 
 
 "The stainless ramps of huge Himala's wall." 
 
 We passed many tea plantations, but at this season of 
 the year there was little to bo done except weeding.
 
 THE HIMALAYAS. 93 
 
 The planters' houses were built on various spurs or 
 level plateaux on the slopes, and although two tea 
 gardens might be in sight of one another, yet the in- 
 tervening valleys were often so deep that a ride from 
 one to the other was a matter of several miles. The 
 tea plants looked like low bushes about one to two feet 
 high, planted in rows like strawberry plants, with broad 
 passages between the rows. As we got higher still we 
 came into the regions of the rhododendron and tree 
 ferns. These last were great spreading plants, and 
 seemed to flourish luxuriantly in the heat and moisture 
 of these hill regions. The reason why the vegetation 
 is everywhere so rich is because the rainfall is so ex- 
 cessive. There are places in Assam where from 30 to 
 40 feet of rain fall every year, and in one year 805 
 inches were measured. This enormous rainfall aided 
 by the intense heat causes all parts of the lower ranges 
 of the hills to be clothed in forest. The very trunks 
 of the trees support other plants, and the branches 
 are everywhere beautified with moss and ferns, sweet 
 tresses of orchid blossoms, and long creepers. Un- 
 luckily our last piece of the ascent was made through 
 clouds. The edge of the ridge on which Darjeeling 
 stands was enveloped in a thick damp mist, and we 
 feared that we should get no view of the distant hills. 
 But it was only a local belt of cloud which hung over 
 the extreme edge of the ridge, and as we ran into 
 Darjeeling Station the sun was shining brightly, and 
 we had a full view of the perpetual snows. 
 
 Darjeeling is a small town built on a ridge, bounded 
 on three sides by valleys which are in places 6000 
 feet deep. The houses are perched at various eleva- 
 tions on the adjacent slopes. The majority of them 
 are detached bungalows, and the owners have built 
 them so as to command the best views. There is 
 a short piece of flat road, but wheeled conveyances 
 are rare, and the majority of Europeans ride, or are 
 carried about in palanquins. One's luggage was car- 
 ried from the station by female porters, who seemed
 
 94 A parson's holiday. 
 
 capable of supporting enormous weights. They car- 
 ried everything on their backs, supporting their load 
 by means of a band, which passed across the fore- 
 head. These hardworking wives of the hill-men 
 seem to do all the work of porterage, and were the 
 chief carriers who brought supplies to the various 
 bungalows. The natives of this part of India are 
 called Bhutias, and are of a Tibeto-Burman stock. 
 They are probably one of the aboriginal races of 
 India, which were overcome by the Aryan immigra- 
 tions. They have a very Chinese caste of features 
 with high cheek bones, and eyes at an angle to the 
 nose, and are dressed in Chinese clothes. They are 
 Buddhists in religion, and seem to have been driven 
 from the lowlands to these hill regions by the stronger 
 Aryan tribes, who invaded India in very early times. 
 
 The territory of Darjeeling was ceded to us by the 
 Rajah of Sikkim and is surrounded by independent 
 territory. Nepal is on the west and Sikkim on the 
 east, while to the north lie the unexplored regions of 
 Tibet. One heard much of the difficulty of pene- 
 trating into the country north of our frontier. The 
 inhabitants of Tibet are most jealous of strangers, no 
 European is allowed to cross the boundary, and the 
 passes through the Himalayas are almost unknown. 
 The wonderful city and monastery of Lhassa which 
 lies only some 200 miles from Darjeeling has (I 
 believe) not been visited by any European in this 
 century. The Jesuit Abbe Hue got there, but nowa- 
 days the danger is greater, and Englishmen are for- 
 bidden to attempt the expedition. At Lhassa the great 
 Lama lives, who is the head of Chinese Buddhism, 
 and who is said to wear always a gold mask so that no 
 eye may see his features. He is supposed to be an 
 incarnation of Buddha, and when he dies, the monks 
 discover some infant, into whom they say the spirit 
 of Buddha has passed, and he becomes the great 
 Lama. This Lamaism is a very low type of Buddhism, 
 and is in many points contrary to the teaching of
 
 THE FRONTIER. 95 
 
 Gautama. It is a great erection of priestly power, for 
 since 141 9 the Dalai Lama has been sole temporal 
 sovereign of Tibet.* But its gorgeous ritual and gross 
 superstitions, its prayer-wheels and powerful hierarchy 
 are all degradations of original Buddhism. The monks 
 and priests have overlaid the spiritual doctrines of 
 Gautama with later inventions, and the purity and 
 beauty of the original teaching has been lost. 
 
 This is, however, not the place to sketch the rise 
 and progress of Buddhism. Only when one was so 
 near the frontier, and comparatively such a short 
 distance from the great cathedral and monastery of 
 Lhassa, one could not help enquiring about the people 
 beyond our northern border. Although Englishmen 
 are forbidden to enter Tibet, yet something is done 
 in the way of exploration. There is a school at Dar- 
 jeeling where natives are trained in surveying and 
 map drawing, and these in the disguise of merchants 
 or traders are able to penetrate into Tibet. They are 
 exposed to great dangers, for if their object was dis- 
 covered they would be murdered, as the inhabitants 
 of Tibet are most fearful of strangers. But these ex- 
 plorers are able to pass our frontier without suspicion, 
 and often bring back most valuable results. One 
 had recently returned after three years' wanderings 
 with most important sketches of the unknown parts of 
 Tibet. Another had been dwelling for some time in 
 Lhassa, and had seen the mysterious abode of the 
 great Lama. But these discoveries are not openly 
 published. The routes are mapped, and the observa- 
 tions stored away in the Indian Intelligence Depart- 
 ment, and thus they will be useful for military or 
 political purposes, if they are ever needed. But the 
 explorers' names are kept secret, as their lives would 
 hardly be safe, and certainly their usefulness would 
 be gone, if they were known to be obtaining such 
 intelligence. 
 
 ■^•' Sec Rhys David's IJiiddhisiii, passim.
 
 96 A PARSON'S HOLIDAY. 
 
 The chief beauty of DarjeeHng hes in the views of 
 the snowy range obtainable from it, and pohtical con- 
 siderations were forgotten in feasting one's eyes on 
 the magnificent prospect spread out before one. The 
 ridge on which the town is buik runs northwards to- 
 wards the snows, but after it has extended for about 
 half-a-mile it terminates abruptly in a steep slope. 
 Thus the end of the ridge forms a sort of bastion 
 from the edge of which one gains an uninterrupted 
 view of Kinchingunga, the second highest mountain 
 in the world. Immediately beneath one's feet there is 
 a steep slope, leading down into a valley, some 6000 
 feet deep. On each side there are similar valleys, 
 the slopes of which are in places covered with tea 
 gardens, but which gradually sink down into far-off 
 depths and rocky ravines, into which the whole of 
 the English and Scotch mountains might be thrown 
 without filling up their vast recesses. On the left 
 hand these valleys are bounded by a range of hills, 
 12,000 feet high, which are from six to twenty miles 
 distant, and which block any further view in that 
 direction. On the right the hills are farther away, 
 and the main range of snowclad heights can be traced 
 for many miles. In front is the great mass of Kin- 
 chingunga itself. It is fifty miles off, yet the clear- 
 ness of the air enables us to trace every ravine, and 
 precipice, and splintered crag. The skyline of the 
 peaks is specially picturesque, and is boldly defined 
 against the blue heavens. The total height is over 
 28,000 feet, the valleys beneath one's feet were some 
 6000 feet deep, and the plateau on which one stood 
 was some 7000 feet above sea level. Thus looking 
 first downwards and then upwards, one could see 
 about 27,000 of perpendicular height. The line of 
 perpetual snow begms at about 18,000 feet. The 
 grandest view I obtained was from the back part of 
 the ridge, from a point called Jalapaher Hill. This 
 hill is some two miles from the station, and about 900 
 feet higher than the town of Darjeeling. From this
 
 THE ETERNAL SNOWS. 97 
 
 point the whole country was spread before one Hke a 
 map, and seldom have I seen a greater portion of the 
 earth's surface at one view. Miles of ridges and 
 valleys seemed to stretch on all sides. At one's 
 feet was the town of Darjeeling, and beyond that 
 there were successive ranges of hills more and more 
 distant, till at last high above all towered the great 
 mass of Kinchingunga, seeming to fill up half the sky 
 with its snows. On the left over another ridge there 
 peeped a little triangle of snow, and this was the peak 
 of Everest, eighty miles away, the highest mountain 
 in the world, which could just be seen over the inter- 
 vening ridge. I heard that the view of Everest from 
 this ridge was grand in the extreme, and many 
 travellers make an expedition to the top of these hills 
 (which are 12,000 feet high) to gain a full view of the 
 giant mountain. I had to be content with the peep I 
 obtained of him from afar, but the second highest 
 mountain satisfied my aspirations of the beautiful. 
 
 Another lovely walk round Birch Hill completed my 
 Darjeeling experiences. The hill itself is clothed with 
 thick vegetation, and the ferns and creepers nourished 
 by the constant trickling streams, which flow down its 
 steep sides, cover the rock with green tracery. The 
 sunset-glow on Kinchingunga lingered long after the 
 valleys were in deep shadow, and as the mists curled 
 up from the lower grounds, and the light faded on 
 the eternal snows, I saw a sight which I can never 
 forget. The summer residence of the Lieutenant- 
 Governor of Bengal is built on Birch Hill, and one of 
 the chief delights of this coveted office must be the 
 possession of a house from which such views can be 
 obtained. This Lieutenant-Governorship is the highest 
 prize of the Civil Service in India, and not the least 
 pleasant part of its tenure is the consideration that 
 every summer can be spent in the pure air and lovely 
 surroundings of the Governor's house at Darjeeling. 
 
 As the light faded I returned to the town. Below 
 in the native quarter I heard a gong beaten in front 
 
 N
 
 98 A PARSON'S HOLIDAY. 
 
 of a Buddhist temple. Each evening this noise was 
 kept up for about an hour, as part of a rehgious 
 worship. This northern or Chinese Buddhism is a low 
 and degraded religion, very different from the more 
 philosophical faith which the followers of Buddha be- 
 lieve elsewhere. Of course even amongst the Tibetan 
 Lamas there are said to be learned and devout monks, 
 who have pried into the secrets of nature, and have dis- 
 covered esoteric doctrines, which are not revealed to 
 the vulgar. These are now being examined by certain 
 Englishmen in India, and the Theosophists of Simla are 
 said to have become possessors of certain mystical and 
 abstruse doctrines, unknown to the uninitiated. But 
 leaving these wonderful doctrines on one side, and 
 speaking only of the Buddhistic faith as held by the 
 common people, one could not find much to praise in 
 the religion professed by the hill tribes at Darjeeling. 
 It was a gain to have left behind the Hindu idols of 
 Lower India, but the superstitions resorted to by the 
 Lepchas and Bhotias were very unspiritual. Praying 
 wheels were in common use amongst them. These 
 are metal drums which revolve on an axis, and which 
 are filled with prayers written on parchment. The 
 worshipper, who causes such a praying wheel to 
 rotate, is considered to have repeated all the prayers 
 which are contained in the drum. As many times 
 as he turns the wheel round, so many times is he 
 supposed to have offered up all the prayers contained 
 in it. Thus he easily gains the credit of being a 
 prayerful person. Others write their prayers on flags 
 or strips of cotton. These are fastened on poles, and 
 left to flutter in the wind, the idea being that as the 
 breeze shakes the flags, so the good of the prayers is 
 set free, and this redounds to the credit of the setter- 
 up of the flags. These and other like superstitions 
 have nothing to do with the pure doctrines of original 
 Buddhism, but are excrescences and abuses which 
 have been invented by the Lamas of Tibet. While 
 such superstitious practices are encouraged and fos-
 
 CALCUTTA. 99 
 
 tered amongst the common people by the priests, the 
 religion can do but little for the spiritual life of its 
 followers. 
 
 From Darjeeling I returned to Calcutta, again seeing 
 the wonderful views of the mountain sides, as the line 
 wound down the slopes. It was after sunset as we 
 passed through the Terai belt at the foot of the hills, 
 and the swarms of fireflies in the long grass of the 
 swamps were most remarkable. Then another long 
 night journey over the plains of Eastern Bengal 
 brought me to Calcutta about noonday. 
 
 Calcutta, though the capital of India and the central 
 seat of the Government, has not much to reward the 
 ardent sightseer. The city is comparatively modern, 
 having been founded in 1686 by the East India Com- 
 pany, who built a factory at this point on the river 
 Hughli, and afterwards defended it by a fort. These 
 factories were houses of trade, where the goods ob- 
 tained from inland were exchanged for the European 
 commodities w^hich the traders brought from across 
 the seas. Round this factory at Calcutta there was 
 gradually formed a town, which has steadily increased 
 in size, and now extends for some considerable dis- 
 tance along both banks of the Hughli, and with its 
 suburbs numbers over 776,000 in population. The 
 chief reason for this great prosperity is the com- 
 manding position which the city occupies. It stands 
 on the bank of a river which is navigable for the 
 largest ships. The Hughli is one of the mouths 
 of the Ganges, and Calcutta is built about eighty 
 miles from the sea. Thus it always could be securely 
 approached, and vessels could discharge or take in 
 their cargoes from lighters laden with goods from the 
 interior, which had been cheaply and safely brought 
 down by the stream of the Ganges. Standing on the 
 edge of the river one sees numbers of large steamers 
 anchored in the stream. The river is tidal and about 
 as wide as the Thames at London Bridore. The 
 
 fc>^ 
 
 steamers for two miles down the river were anchored
 
 lOO A PARSON'S HOLIDAY. 
 
 three and four deep, and the number of large vessels 
 in the river must have been nearly a hundred. 
 
 The city of Calcutta consists of the native quarter, 
 the public buildings, and the houses occupied by the 
 European residents. The streets in the native quarter 
 are generally wide and well paved, though in some of 
 the poorer parts the population is very thickly crowded 
 together and the smells in the hot weather are not 
 very agreeable. The public buildings are fine. The 
 new Law Courts, the Telegraph and Post Offices, and 
 the Town Hall, are handsome structures. Govern- 
 ment House, which is the winter residence of the 
 Viceroy, stands in the midst of the European quarter. 
 It is a large and commodious building, said by Fer- 
 gusson to be copied in design from Keddlestone Hall 
 in Derbyshire, a house built in the latter half of the 
 last century, whose architects were the brothers Adam. 
 Its style is Classical, with large pillars forming a colon- 
 nade which extends round the building. In the centre 
 are the state-rooms under a lofty dome. Connected 
 with this central structure there are four detached 
 wings appropriated to the private apartments, and 
 joined by semicircular galleries to the state-rooms. 
 Thus the Palace is very convenient, as the portion in 
 which the Viceroy and his family, and secretaries re- 
 side is entirely distinct from the reception-rooms and 
 state apartments. At an evening party given by the 
 Viceroy, after a Drawing-Room, I saw these large 
 rooms lighted up and filled with a gay crowd, in 
 which uniforms largely predominated, and the effect 
 was very striking. 
 
 The Cathedral is a less successful building. It was 
 designed under Bishop Wilson, and before the princi- 
 ples of Gothic architecture were properly understood. 
 The result is a poor design, mean in its details, and 
 pretentious without dignity. From a distance the spire 
 has a good effect, but there are neither aisles nor 
 transepts, which causes the interior to look like a large 
 square hall. But though the building itself is thus
 
 THE OXFORD MISSION. lOI 
 
 unlovely, the service was reverently performed, the con- 
 gregation was large, and the choir sang well. Round 
 the walls there were numerous tablets to the memory 
 of those who had succumbed to the unhealthiness of 
 the climate of Calcutta, and of many military men who 
 had died in various parts of India. Amongst these 
 memorial tablets, I noticed the one to Lady Canning, 
 the wife of a former Viceroy, and those to Bishops 
 Wilson, Cotton, and Milman. In one way Calcutta 
 has always been pre-eminent in its Bishops. All have 
 died at their posts. Not one has returned to England 
 to live at ease. After having once put their hands to 
 the plough there has been no looking back. This is 
 a fact which can be said of no other of our foreign 
 dioceses, and the spiritual effect of such unflinching 
 self-denial and perseverance to the end must be felt 
 beneficially by the whole Church in India. 
 
 Missionary work in Calcutta is not neglected, and 
 amongst other efforts the work of the Oxford Mission is 
 noticeable. This is a Brotherhood sent out by the 
 University of Oxford to do for Calcutta what the Cam- 
 bridge Mission is doing for Delhi. Its main idea is to 
 influence and try to convert to Christianity the English- 
 speaking Babu, many of whom are employed in the 
 various Government offices. " Babu" is a title oriven to 
 the educated natives, numbers of whom reside in the 
 city ; many have passed through the Calcutta Univer- 
 sity course, and all understand some English. This 
 large and increasing class have in many instances given 
 up their old idolatrous practices, and are seeking for 
 a purer faith. Amongst them has been started the 
 Brahmo-Somaj, which is an eclectic religion, in which 
 Christ has a place as a human teacher, and whose mem- 
 bers insist on the Unity and the Fatherhood of God. 
 In England it is best known through the preaching of 
 Babu Cheshub Chunder Sen, but in Calcutta several 
 of his co-religionists have parted company from him 
 in consequence of his devising new developments of 
 doctrine, which they think minister rather to his vanity
 
 I02 A parson's holiday. 
 
 than to edification. This Somaj is embraced by many 
 of the more thoui^htful of the Hindus, and the Oxford 
 Mission may do much for them. Besides these there 
 are a large number of EngHsh-speaking natives, who 
 have given up religion altogether. They have learnt 
 the folly of idolatry, but Western literature has also 
 opened to them scores of infidel and agnostic books in 
 which the Christian religion is vilified and ridiculed. 
 These have been greedily devoured by those who desired 
 to break free from all restraints. Students of the Cal- 
 cutta University read Tom Paine and the deistical lite- 
 rature of the last century. They read translations of the 
 latest German and French controversial literature, and 
 the writings of modern sceptics, and the result has 
 been that many of the English-speaking natives of 
 India have no religion at all. They are merely simple 
 Materialists, with one desire to get up in the world and 
 amass wealth. Here again is a large class for whom 
 the Oxford Mission can do much. Their arguments, 
 which are often shallow, can be met and answered by 
 lectures, and discussions, and books, and they may 
 thus be brought back to the knowledge of God. It is 
 not altogether a hopeless task, for no man can be sat- 
 isfied to rest long in blank atheism. He must desire 
 to know something about God and the hereafter. The 
 human instincts are on the side of faith, and thus the 
 Oxford Missionaries find souls desirous of being taught. 
 Their work is too new yet to show great results, but 
 the Community seemed hopeful. Of course many in- 
 quirers come merely to discuss, and argue, and exhibit 
 their learning, and air their English. But there are 
 some who seem more in earnest. In Calcutta there are 
 all sorts and conditions of natives, and the Christian 
 missionary owes a debt to the educated as well as to 
 the uneducated, to the "Greek" as well as to the 
 " barbarian." Certainly if anyone can be called the 
 "Greek" of India, it is the inquiring, quick, subtle, 
 shallow Babu, whose mind is stuffed with undigested 
 knowledge, and who is always desirous to tell or to
 
 CHOWRINGHEE. I03 
 
 hear some new thing. To him also the Gospel has a 
 message ; all honour to those who are trying to inter- 
 pret it and bring it home to him. 
 
 The fashionable part of Calcutta, where the best 
 houses are situated, is called Chowringhee. This is a 
 broad street with houses on one side, and on the other 
 a wide "Maidan," or plain, kept as a recreation ground 
 or park. Here riders find ample galloping ground, 
 volunteers drill, troops exercise, games are played, and 
 walkers lounge. The street is always full of life. On 
 every side is seen the ubiquitous " bhisti," who with 
 his sheepskin full of water on his back lets the stream 
 squirt forth over the road, and thus lays the dust. 
 Carriages pass by drawn by handsome " walers " 
 (which is the name given to horses bred in Australia). 
 Natives in various costumes stare up at the great 
 houses in which the "sahibs" live. While far across 
 the green plain a line of light is reflected from the 
 river, and tall masts mark the place where rows of 
 ships lie anchored in the broad stream. Beyond them 
 are seen the houses in Howrah, which is a crowded 
 suburb on the opposite bank of the Hughli. The 
 prettiest part of this wide plain has been laid out as a 
 public garden. Here in the evening after sunset the 
 English walk to hear the band play, and to breathe the 
 fresh air which blows off the river. The electric light 
 makes the place as light as day, and the big ships lie 
 close to the bank, adding to the picturesqueness of the 
 scene. 
 
 The finest gardens in Calcutta are the Botanical 
 Gardens, which are kept up by Government. Here 
 are wonderful orchid houses, groups of sago palms, a 
 banyan tree (said to be the largest in the world), which 
 with its re-rooted branches covers an acre of ground, 
 and avenues and flowering shrubs of the prettiest 
 kinds. It is like Kew Gardens under a tropical sky and 
 with no danger of frost. The most beautiful plants grow 
 out of doors, and the llowers which have to be carefully 
 cultivated in hothouses at home here grow in profusion.
 
 I04 A parson's holiday. 
 
 On the left bank of the Hughli, in a suburb called 
 Garden Reach, is the palace where the ex-King of 
 Oudh still lives in the enjoyment of a pension of 
 ;,^ 1 20,000 a year. He was deposed in 1856 by Lord 
 Dalhousie, and his dominions annexed. For nearly 
 thirty years the old ruffian has dwelt in luxury. He 
 has collected his family and retainers round him, and 
 spends his time in gathering together a menagerie of 
 wild beasts. This part of Calcutta has been deserted 
 by the richer Europeans, as the quietness and respect- 
 ability of the quarter has not been improved by the 
 patronage bestowed upon it by this dissolute ex- 
 monarch. 
 
 Calcutta compares favourably with many European 
 capitals. Its streets are wide, its trade enormous, its 
 shops well filled, its public buildings fine, and its 
 statues fnii^'cihile dictit) really works of art. The 
 inhabitants comprise representatives of all races. 
 English sailors and Chinese dealers, American tourists 
 and Australian traders, are seen in its streets. Here 
 too is to be found the pleasantest and most cultured 
 English society in India. Here is the centre of gaiety 
 as well as the seat of Government. The English have 
 never received sufficient honour as great founders of 
 cities. But here we can see how within two hundred 
 years has grown up a town which exceeds in popula- 
 tion any other in India, and probably far outnumbers 
 anything ever conceived by the Great Mogul. Starting 
 from the small factory and fort erected by the East 
 India Company for the purposes of trade, there is now 
 a large and well built city of nearly 800,000 inhabi- 
 tants. Calcutta, which Macaulay called " the city of 
 palaces," is a proof of the growth and expansion of 
 England, which is undeniable.
 
 BURMA, 105 
 
 Chapter VI. 
 
 As I had to be in Rangoon by Christmas-Day, I was 
 obhged to cut short my visit to Calcutta, and on the 
 evening of December 13th I went on board the British 
 Indian Company's s.s. Pemba, which was lying in the 
 river ready to start for Burma the following morning, 
 as soon as the English mail arrived. The mosquitoes 
 in the cabins were very bloodthirsty, but by carefully 
 tucking in the curtains round my berth, I had a good 
 night. Calcutta from its nearness to the Hughli is 
 always full of these pests, and on the river itself they 
 are specially numerous and seemed hungry. In the 
 morning we dropped down the river with the tide, and 
 soon were slipping past the palaces at Garden Reach, 
 the ships at anchor, and the last streets and houses 
 of the suburbs of Calcutta. We had a quick run down 
 the 80 miles of the Hughli between fiat and ever- 
 widening banks, and before sunset we were on the 
 open sea of the Bay of Bengal. The distance from 
 Calcutta to Rangoon is 1000 miles, and the voyage 
 takes about three days. 
 
 The following is a short account of the history of 
 Burma and of the way in which it was annexed by the 
 English. Burma lies to the east of the Bay of Bengal, 
 and is bounded by China on the north and by Siam on 
 the east. This great tract of country is peopled by a 
 race of Tibeto-Chinese origin, and has a history of its 
 own reaching back to very early times. There were 
 constant wars in this region, various invaders overran 
 the country both from north and south, and it was 
 divided into several kingdoms. These were consoli- 
 dated into one in the year 1750 by a king called 
 Alompra, who founded his capital at Ava, on the 
 Irrawaddy, and whose decendants still reign in Upper 
 
 o
 
 io6 A parson's holiday. 
 
 Burma. His successors, not satisfied with their own 
 territory, made raids into British India, and finally war 
 was declared in 1824. This first Burmese war made 
 us masters of the Provinces of Arakan and Tennas- 
 serim, w^hich are the districts extending along the sea- 
 coast from India to the Malay Peninsula, excepting 
 the land about Rangoon, at the mouth of the Irra- 
 waddy, which still remained in the possession of the 
 King of Burma. This arrangement lasted till the year 
 1852, when the second Burmese war broke out in con- 
 sequence of the ill-treatment of English merchants at 
 Rangoon, and the refusal by the King of any redress. 
 The war was short and decisive, the Burmese soldiers 
 were no match for the disciplined English and native 
 troops sent against them, and 200 miles of the valley 
 of the Irrawaddy, from Rangoon to Prome, were 
 occupied by the British forces. It was in storming 
 a stockade at Rangoon that Lord Wolseley, then a 
 young lieutenant, first distinguished himself under fire. 
 After this war the province of Pegu, being the district 
 containing the delta of the Irrawaddy, was annexed 
 to the British dominions. Thus British Burma now 
 consists of a strip of land extending along the sea- 
 coast continuously from India to the Malay Peninsula. 
 It contains over 80,000 square miles of territory, and 
 commands all the ports and river-mouths of this region. 
 Its inland border marches with independent Burma and 
 Siam, and our frontier where it crosses the Irrawaddy, 
 is some 200 miles from the sea. Thus the old kingdom 
 of Ava has been driven entirely away from the sea- 
 coast, and all the sea-borne trade is in the hands of 
 the English. The present ruler of Upper Burma, King 
 Theebaw, lives at Mandalay, a town near Ava, which 
 he has made his new capital. 
 
 There are some curious statistics collected by Dr. 
 W. W. Hunter to show how Burma has prospered since 
 its annexation. Since 1852 Rangoon has become ten 
 times as populous, and its trade has quadrupled in 
 value. Other parts of the annexed territory have
 
 RANGOON. 107 
 
 similarly increased, quiet and order have been estab- 
 lished, and the people seem happy and contented. 
 Akyab, which was a poor fishing village when we 
 occupied the province in 1826, has now an annual 
 trade valued at two millions sterling. Thus the com- 
 fort of the people has greatly increased since they have 
 been under our rule. 
 
 On the morning of the third day after leaving Cal- 
 cutta our steamer entered the Rangoon river, one of 
 the mouths of the Irrawaddy, on which the town of 
 Rangoon is built, some 20 miles from the sea. The 
 Irrawaddy, which is about 1000 miles long, rises in 
 the easternmost slopes of the Himalayas, in the un- 
 explored country lying between Assam and China. 
 It flows due south through the whole length of Burma, 
 and falls into the sea through many mouths, which 
 form the great delta of the river. As we steamed up 
 the broad stream, we saw how flat the land was on 
 either side, for all the country round has been made 
 from silt brought down by the river and deposited in 
 the sea. The jungle and growth on either side seemed 
 thick, and much of the land was uncleared, though 
 patches of rice were seen in places. As we drew 
 nearer to Rangoon the great spire of the Golden 
 Pagoda was seen from afar, dominating the town 
 which lies at its foot. Coming still nearer we saw 
 the wharves, houses, and landing stages, with the 
 tower and spire of the Pro-Cathedral, a medium-sized 
 Gothic church of no great architectural merit, built 
 close to the water's edge. The river is nearly a mile 
 wide at this point, and there were many ships lying 
 at anchor in the stream. We were able to go along- 
 side a wharf, and quickly found ourselves on shore. 
 
 Burma is a very interesting country to visit after 
 India. The dissimilarity of the two places and of 
 their inhabitants makes the comparison between them 
 the more instructive. The first thing one notices is 
 the people themselves. Instead of the dark-faced 
 people of India, white-robed, quiet, and submissive,
 
 io8 A parson's holiday. 
 
 we have in Burma a light-coloured, lively race with 
 a Chinese caste of features, and a bold, open, assured 
 manner. They are very fond of bright colours, and 
 the silk handkerchiefs which they tie round their heads 
 are of the most brilliant tints of red and yellow, pink 
 and green. The men wear a silk petticoat of bright 
 colour, fastened round the waist and reaching to the 
 calf of the leg, and above that a loose jacket. The 
 women also wear silk clothes, and are addicted to 
 bright colours. Their feet are bare, but shod with 
 a loose sandal. Their heads are uncovered, and their 
 long hair is tastefully arranged in large masses, and 
 decorated with orchid tresses or other sweet-smelling 
 flowers. There is none of the subjection or almost 
 slavery of the woman common in India, where no 
 respectable lady is ever seen in the streets unveiled. 
 In Burma the women occupy a much freer and more 
 independent position, they keep shops, go out mar- 
 keting, and are as ready to chaffer and bargain as 
 their Western sisters are at home. This fact of the 
 enfranchisement of the women makes a Burmese crowd 
 a much gayer sight than one in India, and when the 
 bright-coloured clothes of both sexes, and the habit 
 of wearing flowers are also remembered, the street 
 scenes in Rangoon are always interesting. 
 
 Besides the Burmese inhabitants of the country there 
 is also a strong contingent of Chinese. These indus- 
 trious and keen-witted people are driving a thriving 
 trade in Rangoon, their shops are well stored, and 
 some of the streets in the town are entirely occupied 
 by them. The sights in these streets were like what 
 one has read about scenes in Canton. The way that 
 elderly and respectable shop-keepers stood at their 
 doors with nothing on but wide trowsers, a pair of 
 spectacles, and a pigtail, and looked out on the world 
 with a smile that was childlike and bland, transported 
 one in thought into the Celestial Empire. Here too 
 one saw their love of children and family life, and 
 the publicity of their domestic arrangements. Whole
 
 INHABITANTS OF RANGOON. I09 
 
 households sat round tables, and drank their tea on 
 the pavement in front of their houses, and the naked 
 little ones ran about screaming with delight, very fat, 
 with their little pigtails standing almost upright, and 
 vibrating with excitement. 
 
 Besides the Chinese colony there is also a very 
 large number of coolies from Southern India, who are 
 tempted to cross the sea by the high rate of wages 
 offered in Rangoon. The Burman considers himself 
 much too great a personage to labour steadily for 
 wages. He is uncertain in his temper, and liable to 
 strike work at a moment's notice. He has not the 
 plodding, quiet, obedient qualities which are required 
 in a day labourer. Thus all the heavy work of loading 
 ships, and carrying cargoes, and working in the rice 
 mills, is done by coolies imported from Southern 
 India. These dark-faced, sad-looking Tamils, work 
 for a few years and then return to their own villages 
 with the money they have earned in Burma. Thus 
 Burmese, Chinese and Tamils jostle each other in the 
 streets of Rangoon, and each race follows its own 
 customs without interfering with those of the others. 
 Sometimes also the crowd is increased by the pre- 
 sence of Karens or Shans from the interior. These 
 are a darker and more savage race, who were probably 
 the original inhabitants of the country, before it was 
 overrun by the Burmese. They wear cloth garments, 
 and seldom stay long in the towns. They inhabit the 
 thick forests and jungles of the interior, clearing scanty 
 patches by burning down the trees, and then sowing 
 their rice amongst the ashes. They are prone to Nat 
 or Devil-worship, but numbers are now Christianized 
 through the labours of both American and English 
 missionaries. 
 
 The English quarter of Rangoon is away from the 
 river on somewhat higher ground. Here the houses 
 of the Europeans stand, each in its own compound. 
 The houses are built entirely of teak wood, as stone 
 is almost unknown. Many are raised on piles, as
 
 no A PARSONS HOLIDAY. 
 
 the rainfall is so excessive, that the lower story is 
 seldom dry enough to be inhabited. The compounds 
 looked very green after the burnt-up plains of India, 
 and were full of tall trees and flowering shrubs. 
 The croton and the coleus filled the garden beds with 
 colour, beautiful creepers gay with flowers covered the 
 porches, and in many houses were seen the flowering 
 orchids attached to pieces of wood and suspended in 
 the air, for which Burma is famous. These flourish 
 well in the heat and damp, and many new sorts have 
 been discovered in the jungles of the interior. 
 
 The English residents in Rangoon consist chiefly 
 of the Government officials, the military officers, and 
 the merchants who have settled there for purposes of 
 trade. The head of the Government is called the 
 Chief Commissioner, who is a civilian appointed from 
 the Bengal Presidency. The chief export of Burma 
 is rice, which is grown in great quantities all through 
 the delta. The part under cultivation has greatly 
 increased since we have had the country, but it is still 
 only a small portion of the entire area. Out of 80,000 
 square miles of our territory only about 90CO are 
 cultivated. This is partly caused by the scantiness 
 of the population, which is a little over three millions. 
 There are also very few roads, most of the land being 
 uncleared. The numerous creeks and river mouths 
 make land travelling in the delta almost impossible, 
 and the ordinary mode of conveyance is by boat. 
 There is one short railway of 164 miles from Rangoon 
 to Prome, but this is the only line which is made at 
 present. The rainfall is enormous, and from May to 
 October the whole delta is under water, and travelling 
 in the interior is almost impossible. The jungle, com- 
 posed of bamboo and thick undergrowth, is difficult 
 of penetration at all times, but during the rains it is 
 impassable. 
 
 The country being so wet, the most profitable crop 
 is rice. The Burman clears a patch of ground on the 
 edge of one of the numerous streams which intersect
 
 THE RICE TRADE. Ill 
 
 the delta, and sows his seed just before the rainy- 
 season commences. When the country is flooded 
 with rain, the rice-plant begins to shoot and grow. 
 It flourishes only where the soil is saturated with rain, 
 and where the water remains on the surface of the 
 ground. The long green stalks shoot up through the 
 water, and grow to a height of between two and three 
 feet, and the grain is ripe when the rainy season is 
 over. When the crop is cut, if it is to be exported to 
 England, it is packed in boats and carried by water to 
 the mill. There are many of these rice mills built 
 along the banks of the river and creek on which 
 Rangoon stands. In the mill the grain (or "paddy" 
 as it is called) goes through three processes. It is first 
 sifted to cleanse it from dirt, then it has its outer husk 
 removed, and lastly the inner envelope round the rice 
 is stripped off. This last process, which leaves the 
 grain quite white and ready for use, is not done to the 
 rice which has to make a long sea voyage, for the 
 white rice would ferment and lose its colour. So 
 generally the inner envelope is left on the grain, and 
 it undergoes this final process in the mills in England. 
 
 Besides the rice trade there is also a large exporta- 
 tion of timber. There are large forests of teak and 
 other valuable trees, which grow in the interior of the 
 country and are under the control of the Government 
 Forest Department. The revenue from this source 
 amounts to over ^j^ 160,000 a year, and thus the forest 
 lands of Burma are a great source of w^ealth. The 
 logs, when cut, are floated down the rivers in large 
 rafts, which are stranded opposite to the saw mills. 
 There they are received by trained elephants, who 
 drag the logs from the river, and take them to the 
 saws, and pile them up in large stacks to await ship- 
 ment to England. 
 
 Besides the great difference both in dress and 
 appearance visible between the Burmese and the 
 people of India, they also differ in their religion. 
 The Burmese are pure Buddhists, and it may be well
 
 112 A PARSON'S HOLIDAY. 
 
 to give a short outline of this widespread religion. 
 The founder of it was a man of royal race called 
 Siddhattha, surnamed Gautama, who was born about 
 the middle of the sixth century B.C., somewhere in 
 the north of Oudh. His early life was spent in 
 quiet luxury, and he had everything that heart could 
 desire. When he was 29 years old he left all, wife and 
 home, riches and luxury, and went forth as a mendi- 
 cant, with shaved head and yellow robe, to live a 
 wandering and ascetic life. For seven years he wan- 
 dered, seeking to find peace for his soul, and listening 
 to the spiritual directions of various teachers. All 
 was of no avail, self-mortification did not bring him 
 deliverance, the goal was not yet reached. But at 
 last, sitting under a tree, which in after ages became a 
 sacred spot, he found illumination, and learnt the 
 secret of happiness, and how deliverance from suffer- 
 ing w^as to be attained. This moment in the life of 
 Gautama is the turning point of his life. From hence- 
 forth he was called "Buddha" or the Enlightened 
 One, and his life was spent in preaching to others the 
 secret which he had discovered. He soon began to 
 convert others to his way of thinking, he gathered 
 round him faithful disciples, and he thus started a 
 religion, which was essentially of a missionary type. 
 He died about the age of eighty, leaving his doctrines 
 to be further propagated by his followers. Gradually 
 the religion grew and spread, until all India was 
 converted to the Buddhistic faith. From India to 
 Ceylon, from Ceylon to Burma, and on to Siam, 
 and Java, and Sumatra, the tidings spread. North- 
 wards and eastwards, to Tibet and China, Buddhist 
 preachers carried their doctrines, till all these countries 
 were converted to this faith. But while it was thus 
 winning its way in other countries, in its native land 
 of India Buddhism lost its power. Brahmanism, with 
 its idol shrines and caste peculiarities, fought long 
 with it for the dominion of India, and ** for the last 
 thousand years Buddhism has been a banished re-
 
 BUDDHISM. 113 
 
 llglon from Its native home." * But though exiled 
 from India it has triumphed in other lands, and it has 
 been calculated that five hundred millions of people, 
 nearly half of the inhabitants of the world, still follow 
 the teaching of Gautama Buddha. 
 
 What then is this religion which has so wonder- 
 fully influenced the world's beliefs? What were the 
 doctrines that Buddha preached ? The keynote of 
 his doctrine was that the earthly life of man was 
 necessarily full of suffering, but that by following the 
 path which he pointed out man could be released 
 from this condition of sorrow. Deliverance from 
 suffering was to be the object of the wise man's 
 efforts. He formulated four sacred truths which treat 
 of suffering, (i.) Earthly life is suffering. (2.) This 
 suffering has a cause ; it springs from a thirst for 
 being, from desire, ambition, and lust. (3.) This 
 suffering can be destroyed by expelling and sepa- 
 rating oneself from all desire. (4.) And the way to 
 expel desire and thus to extinguish suffering is by 
 acting, and speaking, and thinking righteously. From 
 these primary truths spring all the later doctrines of 
 Buddhism, and all its rules of conduct. The object 
 of each man was to deliver himself from existence and 
 to attain Nirvana. What Nirvana exactly means, it is 
 difficult to say. Some have supposed it to mean 
 annihilation, but this doctrine is expressly condemned 
 by Buddhistic writings. Others (amongst them Max 
 Miiller) have maintained that Nirvana is the com- 
 pletion, not the extinction, of being. Oldenberg f 
 holds that exact statements as to the ultimate con- 
 dition of the perfected saint were carefully evaded, 
 and that the question of the future state was pur- 
 posely left doubtful. The object of Buddhism was to 
 teach men how to escape from the suffering of the 
 world. It did not care to enlarge on the future con- 
 dition of those who had escaped. 
 
 * Hunter's Indian Empire, p. 154. \ Life of Buddha, p. 281. 
 
 P
 
 114 A parson's holiday. 
 
 From this idea of life there sprang other doctrines. 
 Suffering is ahvays the penalty of a man's actions 
 either in his present or former state of existence. 
 What he sows, that must he inevitably reap. When 
 he dies, he will have to suffer re-birth in a higher or 
 lower state of existence, according to his merit or 
 demerit in the past. The object being to escape from 
 earthly existence, the more merit a man obtains the 
 nearer he is to attaining Nirvana. From lower to 
 higher conditions of life, through many births and 
 deaths, the man is gradually to extinguish desire and 
 to subdue the cravings of the mind, till at last having 
 become passionless, and complete, and perfected, he 
 will be at peace, absorbed into the Nirvana, as " the 
 dewdrop slips into the shining sea." 
 
 In such a religion as this there was no room for a 
 personal god, no place for sacrifices, no need of 
 temples, no object in prayer. Each man was to be 
 self-delivered. As Gautama Buddha had delivered 
 himself, so each one -was to attain deliverance by 
 following the path he pointed out. Knowledge brings 
 salvation ; man was to work out his own deliverance, 
 unaided and alone. These doctrines are visible in the 
 two striking series of buildings noticeable in every 
 Buddhistic country, viz. : pagodas and monasteries. 
 The pagodas are not temples. They are erections 
 built over some relic, real or supposed, and are con- 
 sidered sacred because of the memorial which they 
 enshrine. The monasteries are places where those, 
 who wish to obtain merit and to hasten their own 
 deliverance, can retire from the world and live in 
 common, devoting themselves to a celibate and 
 ascetic life, and thus subduing in themselves all 
 earthly desires. These pagodas and monasteries are 
 very striking objects in all parts of Burma, and some 
 description of the chief of them will, I hope, be not 
 without interest. 
 
 The great pagoda at Rangoon is called the Shway 
 Dagohn. It is an enormous mass of pyramidal masonry
 
 THE GOLDEN PAGODA. 115 
 
 on a circular foundation, which gradually tapers up- 
 wards in swelling curves of graceful design till it 
 finally comes to a point 321 feet above the terrace on 
 which it stands. The whole of the surface is smooth, 
 and covered with gold leaf, and when the sun shines 
 upon it, this spire piercing upwards towards the sky 
 glitters from afar. I visited this pagoda on several 
 occasions, and always found objects of interest to 
 attract my attention. The structure itself is built on 
 a flat-topped hill, rising steeply above the town, and it 
 has been strongly fortified. Up this hill there are 
 four long flights of steps, one at each cardinal point, 
 covered by a roof or open arcade made of wood, sup- 
 ported by a double row of pillars. The porches, and 
 beams, and roof ridges, and capitals of the pillars are 
 all richly carved with quaint figures of dragons and 
 monsters. Under this colonnade there is alway a 
 crowd of loungers and sightseers, pilgrims and beg- 
 gars. There are little stalls on each side, where you 
 can buy offerings to make at the shrine. Up and 
 down the steps pass throngs of men, women, and 
 children, monks with their shaven heads and yellow 
 robes, and sometimes a nun also shaven but dressed 
 in white, looking old and ugly. When the steps are 
 climbed, one comes to a great square platform or 
 terrace, from which the great mass of the pagoda 
 towers upwards. 
 
 This pagoda is said to have been erected 2000 years 
 ago over some sacred relics. It is fabled to contain 
 eight hairs of Gautama besides a sacred garment 
 which belonged to an earlier Buddha. It is perfectly 
 solid, and thus does not serve as a temple, (for 
 there is no such thing as a temple in Buddhism,) but 
 it only marks a sacred site. The building assumed 
 its present size and form about a century ago.* One 
 of the most curious parts of the structure is its apex. 
 The masonry finishes in a point, but above that is 
 
 * Fergusson, vol. i. p. 52.
 
 Ti6 A parson's holiday. 
 
 placed a metal umbrella-shaped covering made of con- 
 centric rings, looking very light in construction and 
 hung with little bells, and said to be inlaid with jewels. 
 This ornament, which is placed on the top of every 
 Burmese pagoda is called a " H'tee," and is a symbol 
 of sovereignty. At the base of the pagoda there are 
 four shrines, facing the four staircases which lead up 
 to the platform. These shrines are full of statues of 
 Gautama, and the pillars and wood-work within and 
 without are very richly carved. They are not entered 
 by the worshippers, and are not very deep, and the 
 images are very visible from the outside. Here offerings 
 are made, candles are burned, and religious formulae 
 are recited. Every worshipper is expected to make 
 some offering. The poorest bring a handful of flowers 
 or a little rice, or a candle or two. These offerings are 
 deposited before the shrine, and are supposed to earn 
 some merit for the offerer. No one cares what be- 
 comes of the offering when made, but if is eatable it is 
 quickly disposed of, as the platform is frequented by 
 pariah dogs, and fowls, and birds, who are never driven 
 away. The spiritual intention of the offerer is the only 
 important thing. If he has offered it with a pure heart, 
 he has gained merit. What happens to the substance 
 of his offering is of no importance. He has done his 
 part by making it, and for that he will gain his due 
 reward. 
 
 The statues of Gautama are always made in accor- 
 dance with one of three conventional designs. The 
 most usual is a sitting figure, but he is also repre- 
 sented as standing, and as reclining. The face bears 
 always a calm and peaceful expression, the lips full, 
 and the mouth closed. The eyes are large and wide 
 apart ; the head is covered with ringlets which either 
 represent the hair artificially treated, or are meant to 
 represent some form of close-fitting cap. The lobes 
 of the ears are long and touch the shoulders. The 
 body is generally fully clothed, with the right shoulder 
 and arm bare. The legs are crossed and folded close
 
 IMAGES OF GAUTAMA. II7 
 
 under the body in an impossible position, with the sole 
 of the left foot turned upwards. The standing figure 
 sometimes has one hand raised in the attitude of 
 blessing. The most striking feature about all these 
 statues is the peaceful expression which the artists 
 have managed to give to the face of Buddha. In 
 spite of a conventionality of treatment and an igno- 
 rance of anatomy, they yet have stamped on their 
 images a look of calm happiness and untroubled re- 
 pose which is very remarkable. Something in these 
 great sitting figures of Gautama reminded me of the 
 monuments in Egypt, where the same unconquerable 
 quietness seemed to be stamped on the statues of the 
 early kings. The more one looked at these figures, 
 the more the thought grew that here- was a man who 
 had won rest and peace. The expression was one of 
 great dignity, but far removed from all the strife of 
 earth. The great quiet eyes looked forth in happy 
 meditation, and the serenity of the brows, and the 
 peacefulness of the closed lips, spoke of toil over and 
 Nirvana attained. 
 
 What use the Buddhists make of these figures is 
 not clear. Properly in their religion there is no place 
 for prayer. Man is to be his own deliverer. Gautama 
 has shown them how to live, but he is dead and gone 
 into Nirvana. A rigid law governs the universe, and 
 a man's circumstances are the outcome of his past 
 actions. There should be no place for prayer, there 
 certainly ought to be no room for idolatry in such a 
 religion as this. Yet man is almost necessarily a 
 praying creature, and it seemed to be allowed that 
 many of the more ignorant Buddhists did look upon 
 Gautama as a god, and made prayers before his 
 images. Ordinarily the worshippers, who looked very 
 devout, and prostrated themselves to the ground 
 before the shrines, were engaged in reciting religious 
 axioms or repeating the rules of life taught by the 
 founder of their religion. But it is said by those who 
 profess to know, that popularly Gautama is looked
 
 ii8 A parson's holiday. 
 
 upon as a god, and addressed in prayer. The igno- 
 rant require some visible image, and therefore deify 
 the founder of their rehgion. 
 
 But the great pagoda with its four shrines is not 
 the only thing that stands on the terraced platform. 
 Round it on all sides there are numerous detached 
 buildings, great and small, full of images of Gautama. 
 There are also tall masts decorated with tinsel and 
 bells, draped with cloth, and bright with colour. 
 Great bronze bells hang close to the ground, so that 
 they are within the reach of anyone who desires to 
 strike them, and thus the whole platform is crowded 
 with a number of heterogeneous objects, some of 
 which are substantial and others very impermanent. 
 But the reason why these diverse erections have been 
 placed on the platform is the same in every case. 
 The object has been to obtain merit, and by thus 
 accumulating good deeds to shorten the number of 
 existences which have to be endured before Nirvana is 
 reached. Thus many wealthy Burmans have enriched 
 the platform of the Shway Dagohn by images of 
 Gautama. Any worshipper may erect what he likes 
 on the platform ; the richer puts up a permanent 
 structure, the poorer is content with some slighter 
 offering. But there seems no law to prevent anything 
 being erected, and thus the platform has become 
 crowded with these numerous and diverse objects. 
 Even the bells have their use, for it is a meritorious 
 act to strike them, and by so doing the striker in- 
 creases the total of his good deeds. 
 
 The scene on the platform of the great pagoda is 
 thus curious and picturesque in the extreme. The 
 place is free to all, and is at all hours crowded with 
 sightseers and worshippers. All day long there are 
 offerings being made before the shrines, and even far 
 into the night there are worshippers intoning sacred 
 sentences and prostrating themselves before the 
 sacred spot. Pilgrims come from far to visit this 
 holy site. From Ceylon and Madras, from Siam and
 
 MONASTERIES. II9 
 
 Cambodia, from China and Tibet, and other parts of 
 the world, Buddhists come to see the great Golden 
 Pagoda. At eventide the scene is specially inte- 
 resting. The pilgrims are numerous. The shrines 
 are always full of offerings, the smaller buildings 
 clustered round are visited in their turn, the deep 
 notes of the bronze bell rise up on the evening air, 
 the great mass of the pagoda towers up, its golden 
 surface turning red in the light of the setting sun, far 
 away are seen the forests of the delta intersected by 
 the great rivers, and as the sun sinks and the light 
 fades from beneath, the lofty H'tee on the summit of 
 the building glows with the ruddy light and shines out 
 as a beacon visible for many miles. 
 
 There are quantities of other pagodas scattered 
 over the country, some nearly as large as the Shway 
 Dagohn ; indeed the Pegu Pagoda is three feet higher, 
 rising to a height of 324 feet. But every village has 
 its shrine to remind the people of the great teacher. 
 The reason for this multiplication of fanes is obvious. 
 No work of merit is so richly paid as the building of a 
 pagoda. The man who does so is regarded as a saint 
 on earth, and when he dies he obtains the last release. 
 For him there are no more deaths, but he attains the 
 holy rest.* No wonder then that pagodas of all sizes 
 are plentiful in Burma. 
 
 The other specially Buddhistic erection is the 
 monastery, called in Burma a Kioung. The primary 
 idea of Buddhism is that earthly existence is an evil, 
 and therefore the main desire of the orthodox Budd- 
 hist is to escape from it as soon as possible. And the 
 best way of shortening the term of a man's successive 
 existences is to become a holy monk. From the 
 monastery there is but a short step to Nirvana. In 
 consequence of this belief there are a number of 
 monasteries in Burma, where he who wishes to lead 
 the higher life of contemplation and self-denial can 
 
 * The Burmcui, by Shway Yoc, vol. i. p. 184.
 
 I20 A PARSON'S HOLIDAY. 
 
 retire from the world, and live the life of a monk. In 
 Burma nearly every boy enters at least for a short 
 time as a novice. He has his head shaved, and he 
 puts on the yellow robe which is the dress of the 
 religious order. But many of the novices return to 
 the world after a short experience of the monastic life. 
 There is no compulsion placed on them to stay ; a 
 monk may at any moment become a layman. If he 
 feels unable to live the higher life of contemplation 
 and self-denial, if he desires to marry or to amass 
 w^ealth, he may leave the Kioung, put off his yellow 
 robe, suffer his hair to grow, and enter into secular 
 business. He knows that by doing so he is preparing 
 for himself a longer sequence of successive existences, 
 but this fear does not deter multitudes from followino- 
 the secular life. While he is in the world, he is bidden 
 to live according to the precepts of Buddha. And if at 
 any time he becomes disgusted with the outside world, 
 he can retire to the monastery, and be again admitted 
 amongst the " noble order of the yellow robe." 
 
 The Kioungs are very noticeable buildings, and 
 have an architectural character of their own. They 
 are groups of detached houses standing together in an 
 enclosure, shaded generally by large and leafy trees. 
 Each house is the abode of one or more monks, and 
 all are marked by the number of their roofs placed 
 one above the other. These roofs overlap each other, 
 and the eaves, and ridges, and gables, are very richly 
 carved. These roof ridges mark the Kioung, and 
 denote its sacred character. Generally the basement 
 story is open and not used as a living room. Above 
 that is the main part of the house, which is reached 
 by an outside stair-case which opens on to a verandah 
 running round the building. From this covered bal- 
 cony the various rooms open out. Dr. Marks, the 
 well-known S.P.G. missionary in Rangoon, took me to 
 visit one of the houses in a Kioung inhabited by the 
 Prior. As soon as we entered the precincts, we were 
 rushed at by a quantity of pariah dogs, who are
 
 VISIT TO A MONASTERY. I2I 
 
 always loitering about the monastic buildings. They 
 act as watch-dogs at night, and would prevent any 
 stranger from approaching the building unheard. 
 They w^ere large savage-looking beasts, but if well 
 pelted with sticks and stones they did not approach 
 very near, but kept up a continual barking from a 
 distance. Ascending the stair-case of the central 
 building, we found the head monk sitting at the door 
 of the room, chewing betel. He was not an agreeable 
 looking person, as he was old, toothless, and dirty, and 
 his habit of chewing betel made him expectorate a 
 good deal of red saliva. We approached him with great 
 respect, and when we sat down on the floor to talk 
 with him, we were careful to tuck our feet as much 
 out of sight as possible. In Burma it is never polite 
 to sit with the feet obtruded, and in interviews with 
 royalty they should never be exhibited at all. It is 
 said that those EngHshmen who are permitted to have 
 the honour of a conversation with his Majesty King 
 Thebaw at Mandalay undergo severe tortures from 
 the cramped position which it is necessary to assume, 
 Court etiquette requiring them to sit on their feet, and 
 thus conceal them from view. After Dr. Marks had 
 conversed with the Prior, he showed us some of the 
 treasures of the monastery. We saw some beautiful 
 sacred books, made of palm leaves which were 
 lacquered over, and the letters, also of lacquer, were 
 inlaid in different colours. The central room was full 
 of presents, which had been presented to the monks 
 by the faithful laity. Many of these were English 
 goods, such as moderator lamps and hearth-rugs. 
 There were also images of Gautama, and parts of the 
 central room could be partitioned off, thus making 
 sleeping rooms for monks and novices. Within the 
 precincts of the monastery there is always a school 
 for boys, who are taught by the monks. This system 
 of monastic schools covers the whole country, and in 
 consequence nearly every Burmese boy knows how 
 to read and write. Though the education given is 
 

 
 122 A parson's holiday. 
 
 meagre, it is better than nothing, and these monastic 
 schools are attended by all classes of the community. 
 The life of a monk (or " Pohngyee " as he is called 
 in Burma) is spent in contemplation and prayer. His 
 chief work is to learn to recite the sacred books, and 
 to teach them to the pupils who attend the school. 
 He lives solely on the offerings of the laity, and is not 
 allowed to possess any property. His sole garment 
 is a yellow robe, his only chattel a begging bowl. 
 Latterly the monasteries have become possessed of 
 certain goods, which have been presented to them by 
 the laity, but these are not the property of individuals, 
 but belong to the corporate body of monks. Since 
 their only way of obtaining food is by begging, it will 
 be seen that the chief work of the day must be to 
 collect the offerings of the faithful. Each morning 
 about eight o'clock* a long procession of monks sallies 
 forth in Indian file, each bearing a bowl. They wend 
 their way through the principal streets, but they never 
 stop to ask for anything. Their eyes should be fixed 
 steadfastly on the ground, their minds should be full 
 of thoughts of their own unworthiness and of the 
 vileness of all earthly things. For the chief motive of 
 the daily begging round is not (as might be sup- 
 posed) to obtain supplies for the monastery, but to 
 afford an opportunity to the laity to obtain merit by 
 alms-giving. It is not for their own sakes, but for the 
 sake of the givers that the monks thus make their 
 round. Therefore they neither ask for anything, nor 
 utter any word of thanks when something is placed in 
 their bowls. The gifts benefit the giver more than 
 the receiver. To feed a holy monk is to do a mere- 
 torious action. The man or woman who thus gets an 
 opportunity of acquiring merit is the one who ought 
 to be grateful. The monk is merely giving them a 
 chance of showing their obedience to the commands 
 of Buddha. Thus if the bowls are filled before the 
 
 * See The Burman, by Shway Yoe.
 
 MONASTIC LIFE. 123 
 
 round is completed, they are emptied by the roadside. 
 This food is devoured by dogs or birds, and so is not 
 wasted, and thus room is made for more offerings. 
 The opportunity of giving is presented to all, so that 
 none may lose the chance of accumulating merit. 
 Thus the monk does not feel that he is degraded by 
 living on charity. Rather is he a recipient of gifts 
 which do more good to the givers than to himself. 
 
 The daily begging round is not the only way in 
 which the monasteries benefit from the custom of 
 alms-giving. Every Burman considers it a privilege 
 to be allowed to minister to a Pohngyee's wants, and 
 thus the Pohngyees receive numerous gifts. A rich 
 layman at certain seasons of the year will make up a 
 large quantity of useful gifts, and send them with 
 great pomp to the Kioung. He is by no means care- 
 ful to conceal his charitable offerings, " but sounds a 
 trumpet in the streets" that "he may have glory of 
 men." I saw such an offering on its way through the 
 town going to the monastery. First came a band of 
 music, playing discordant tunes, to attract the atten- 
 tion of the bystanders. Then followed a line of 
 coolies bearing gifts. There must have been fifty of 
 them, and they formed quite a long procession. The 
 presents were very various ; plates, lamps, rugs, cloth, 
 cushions, towels, tea cups, crockery, all arranged in 
 pretty erections on bamboo frames, gaily decorated 
 with streamers and iiowers, almost in the shape of 
 Christmas-trees. These were all to be carried to 
 some Kioung for the benefit of the Pohngyees. 
 
 It is difficult to estimate the spiritual effect which a 
 strange religion has on its adherents, and yet some 
 effort ought to be made to guess at the effect which 
 Buddhism produces in Burma. The good points of 
 the religion are evident. It encourages kindliness 
 and humanity, it denounces idolatry, it enforces 
 charity and good works by the strongest motives of 
 self-interest. But with these good points there are 
 other doctrines and practices which are less praise-
 
 124 A PARSON'S HOLIDAY. 
 
 worthy. Buddhism is essentially a pessimistic re- 
 ligion. Its fundamental doctrine is that human life 
 is an evil, from which escape is necessary. Hence 
 the world is looked upon as full of sorrow and suffer- 
 ing where happiness is unattainable. This leads to a 
 contempt for all human affections, and a disinclination 
 to take part in the affairs of life. From this springs 
 the exaltation of the monastic idea, which insists on 
 the superior holiness of the celibate and ascetic life. 
 And this leads to two standards of holiness, one for 
 the monk and the other for the laity, and certain 
 practices are forbidden as sinful in the one, and yet 
 are permitted as harmless in the other. The whole 
 of common life is thus degraded, and its duties are 
 neglected and despised, because those, who are con- 
 sidered the holiest, think it necessary to come out from 
 the world and live apart. Chistianity purifies and 
 sanctifies all human relationships, and earthly duties. 
 In Buddhism the ideal life is lived in the cloister apart 
 from the world. The antagonism between the two 
 religions is fundamental, for while Buddhism looks on 
 earthly existence as an evil, Chistianity bids us use 
 it as a training ground, where we are being educated 
 for something higher. 
 
 The fatalism of Buddhism must not be overlooked. 
 The gods themselves are subject to an unbending 
 law ; the future is determined by the past, and for- 
 giveness is as impossible as a miracle. This teaching 
 has a great charm for many minds. They are glad to 
 hear a stern enforcement of the truth (common to 
 Christianity as well as to Buddhism) that "whatsoever 
 a man soweth, that shall he also reap." But while 
 both religions insist on the doctrine of retribution, and 
 that the consequences of all our actions follow by a 
 necessary law, yet Christianity tells us also of a possi- 
 bility of renewal, and how God Who punishes us also 
 desires that the punishment may lead us nearer to 
 Himself. Buddhism holds out no hope to the sinner, 
 only the revenge of an outraged law falling in merci-
 
 CHRISTIANITY AND BUDDHISM. 125 
 
 less severity on the transgressor. Christianity insists 
 equally on the fact that we have to bear the conse- 
 quences of our own actions, but it also tells us of a 
 loving Father, Who is ever striving to guide and in- 
 fluence the wills of men. In the one religion nothing 
 but the law is insisted upon ; in the other we are 
 bidden to see behind the law the face of God as 
 revealed by Christ. 
 
 There is one more point of difference between 
 Christianity and Buddhism which is noticeable, and 
 that is the way in which each thinks of its founder. 
 Each religion holds up the life of its founder as an 
 example to be followed, each professes to be guided 
 by the doctrines he preached. But Buddhism treats 
 Gautama Buddha as no longer alive ; he once lived, 
 but is now in Nirvana. Christianity on the other 
 hand bids us trust evermore in a living Lord, with 
 Whom each believer has a real communion and in- 
 tercourse. Buddhism leaves each man to be the 
 author of his own deliverance, and offers him an 
 example of conduct and certain rules of life as his 
 only aid on the upward path. The elementary con- 
 ception of Christianity involves a living relation with 
 One " Who died and is alive again." The example 
 of the holiest life and the enunciation of the purest 
 rules of conduct can do but little to restrain the 
 passions and vivify the will. It needs besides a 
 present help from a living Lord, and this is the 
 fundamental doctrine of Christianity. Buddhism has 
 become praciica-lly Atheism, and its closest followers 
 consider that they have won their position by their 
 own exertions. This makes them proud and self- 
 satisfied, inclined to look down on the common 
 people who know not the law. The Christian admits 
 that he owes all his righteousness to the continual 
 presence of his indwelling Lord, and he would be the 
 first to allow that he can only do all things through 
 Christ Who strengtheneth him. 
 
 I have drawn out this comparison between the two
 
 126 A parson's holiday. 
 
 religions, because I found so many Christians living 
 in Buddhistic countries who were to my mind unduly 
 complimentary to Buddhism. They seemed to me to 
 praise it rightly, when they spoke of its teaching of 
 retribution, and how a man's past affects his future 
 life even on earth. They did not seem to me always 
 to remember that this is a part of Christian teaching 
 also. 
 
 They also praised the doctrine of alms-giving, and 
 observed how rightly the followers of Buddha con- 
 sidered the opportunity of giving rather as a privilege 
 to the giver than as a reason for gratitude on the part 
 of the recipient. They did not always remember that 
 this was likewise Christian doctrine, and that our Lord 
 said that it was more blessed to give than to receive. 
 Mixed up with the charity of the Buddhists there is 
 also the doctrine of merit, which to my mind spoils 
 the beauty of the offering, since the giver's main object 
 is the receiving of a reward. 
 
 I think the beauty of Buddha's teaching has also 
 been exaggerated. Undoubtedly he was a wonderful 
 person, far in advance of his countrymen. His in- 
 fluence has also lasted, and his disciples are very 
 numerous. But there were contemporaries of his 
 perhaps equally great, and the beauty of Isaiah's 
 writing seems to me more striking than the passages 
 I have seen translated from the recorded words of 
 Buddha. 
 
 It is possible to admire the good points of Budd- 
 hism without denying the superiority of Christianity. 
 Buddhism was an immense advance on Brahmanism, 
 and gave a death-blow to a large amount of idolatry. 
 But it made its followers proud and self-sufficient, and 
 led directly to practical Atheism. Its best doctrines 
 are, I think, contained in Christianity, and that re- 
 ligion seems to hold up a nobler ideal of life, and also 
 shows its professors the way in which they may reach 
 a higher standard of holiness.
 
 MISSIONS IN BURMA. 127 
 
 Chapter VII. 
 
 In the last chapter I have tried to compare Buddhism 
 with Christianity. The missionaries of the latter reli- 
 gion are trying to exhibit its superiority to the natives of 
 Burma, and I must not omit to mention their efforts and 
 their success. In a country so devoted to education 
 as Burma the missionaries wisely throw much of their 
 strength into school work. The people are accustomed 
 to see their own Pohngyees acting as schoolmasters, 
 they value education, and there is a native school in 
 every village connected with the monastery. Thus 
 the first idea of missions in Burma was educational, 
 and they have borne this character ever since. The 
 missionaries have opened schools in every town and 
 village which they have occupied, and through these 
 schools they have been able to do much to influence 
 the young. With this scheme of evangelization through 
 education the name of the Rev. Dr. Marks, S.P.G. 
 missionary at Rangoon, will ever be connected. Dr. 
 Marks has laboured in Burma for more than twenty 
 years, and his fame as a Christian schoolmaster spread 
 even beyond the bounds of British Burma. In 1863 
 the then King of Burma invited Dr. Marks to come to 
 his capital at Mandalay, and there offered to build a 
 church and school at his own expense, and to send 
 some of his own sons to be educated. The present 
 King Thebaw was one of Dr. Marks's pupils, and for 
 a time the school at Mandalay was in a flourishing 
 condition. A church was built and consecrated, and 
 there seemed every prospect of a permanent mission 
 being established at the capital. But the King's 
 caprice did not last, the school languished, and when 
 King Thebaw came to the throne in 1878, and sig- 
 nalized his accession bv murdering all his relations,
 
 128 A parson's holiday. 
 
 the mission was withdrawn. The original reason for 
 the late King's invitation was chiefly political. He 
 wished to gain credit with the English, and he hoped 
 to induce Dr. Marks to act as his intermediary, and 
 to obtain through him certain concessions from the 
 Government of India. When the late King found that 
 he could not make the missionary his tool, he quickly 
 withdrew his countenance from the school, which he 
 had seemed at one time so ready to favour. 
 
 But though the mission has been forced to withdraw 
 from Independent Burma its work in British Burma is 
 increasing on every side. The school and orphanage 
 which Dr. Marks has founded in Rangoon are the 
 most successful institutions of their kind in the Pro- 
 vince. S. John's College, as it is called, consists of a 
 number of detached buildings, built of teak, standing 
 in a compound. Here are schools and dormitories, 
 residences for the masters, a play-ground for the 
 lads, class-rooms and dining halls, all large and airy, 
 capable of accommodating several hundred boys. In 
 the middle is the chapel, also of teak, bright with 
 colour and handsomely decorated. The school is 
 open to boys of any religion or any nationality. Some 
 come as day boys, others as boarders. The number 
 on the books when I was there was 434, comprising 
 61 Europeans and Anglo-Burmese, 258 Burmese, 72 
 Chinese, and 43 natives of India. Christianity forms 
 a part of the school curriculum. The parents know 
 that this is the case, so if heathens send their children 
 to the school, they do it with their eyes open. A Bible 
 lesson is given each day to the whole school, and there 
 are daily prayers, but the heathen boys only listen 
 without joining in them. The orphanage is confined 
 to boys whose fathers are dead, and these are all 
 baptized. The school is divided into three divisions: 
 the High, the Middle, and the Primary, and in time it 
 is hoped that some of the highest class may pass the 
 matriculation examination of the Calcutta University. 
 It was a pleasant sight to see how the lads played and
 
 A CHRISTMAS-DAY SERVICE. 129 
 
 worked together, the different nationalities apparently 
 in perfect harmony. They all could talk JiJurmese, 
 and all learned English. There was no difficulty in 
 most cases about food or caste prejudices, as all 
 (except the natives of India) were willing to eat to- 
 gether. Boys came as boarders often from long dis- 
 tances, and though at first they were often rough in 
 manner and shy, yet soon the discipline and happy 
 life of the school won them over to quieter manners 
 and friendly relationships with all. Dr. Marks seemed 
 to be known and loved by them all, and his study was 
 always open to those who had requests to make, or 
 questions to ask. About 10 per cent, are converted to 
 Christianity during their school course, but the indirect 
 effect of the teaching they here receive should also be 
 considered. The Christians, who have left school and 
 gone into various occupations, do well ; they are 
 pastorally visited by the missionaries, and many come 
 on Sundays to the school chapel, liking to take part in 
 the services to which they have been accustomed. 
 
 On Christmas-Day I was invited to attend the service 
 in the chapel, and to preach to the congregation. The 
 building consisted of a central nave, with side com- 
 partments which could be shut off with folding doors. 
 The centre was reserved for the Christian congrega- 
 tion, which consisted of the scholars who had been bap- 
 tized, the "old boys" and their wives, and any native 
 Christians who liked to attend. But the side compart- 
 ments, which were not really part of the chapel, were 
 open to all. They served the purpose of side aisles, and 
 their occupants could see and hear all that was going 
 on. These side rooms could also be freely entered from 
 the street outside, so that any passer-by could stand 
 and listen to the service, and leave again at pleasure. 
 Whilst the service was going on, I saw a Pohngyee in 
 his yellow robe and with his head shaved enter, and 
 watch, and listen for a time, but he soon left. The 
 heathen boys belonging to the school sat in these side 
 compartments. The chapel was prettily decorated 
 
 R
 
 130 A parson's holiday. 
 
 with texts, and flowering creepers, the Burmese ladies 
 were dressed in their brightest coloured silks, and 
 everything was in festal attire. The service was fully 
 choral, and in English, except the lessons, which were 
 in Burmese. My sermon was translated sentence by 
 sentence as I delivered it. It was a little difficult 
 at first to compose in detached fragments. Each 
 sentence had as far as possible to be a complete 
 thought, and I had to retain the thread of the dis- 
 course while Dr. Marks was interpreting the last sen- 
 tence. After the sermon was over, the heathen lads 
 were dismissed, the doors opening from the side 
 compartments were shut, and then in the presence 
 of the Christians only the Holy Communion was 
 celebrated. The service was in English, but the 
 words of administration were said in Burmese. 
 Several Chinese Christians communicated, wearing 
 their native dress, and having pigtails reaching below 
 their knees. Altogether it was a most interesting 
 service, and I was glad to have had the opportunity 
 of joining in it. 
 
 After service there were various Christmas gifts to 
 be distributed. The Burmese ladies (wives of old 
 scholars) had brought tarts for the orphans ; every 
 boy got something, and at 4 o'clock in the after- 
 noon they were to have a big Christmas dinner. A 
 sad incident had happened on the previous day, 
 which cast a gloom over the Christmas festivities. 
 While Dr. Marks and the Christian boys had been 
 attending a service at the pro-Cathedral, two of the 
 heathen boys, who had been left behind in the school, 
 had begun quarrelling, and one had stabbed the other 
 with a pocket-knife. Thus while the Christmas ser- 
 vices were going on, one boy was lying in a very 
 critical condition in the hospital, while another was 
 locked up in jail. The fight arose from some boyish 
 quarrel. The Burmans are very irascible and the 
 blow was struck in a moment, and nearly proved 
 fatal. The stabber was a prince of the royal house of
 
 MISSIONS IN BURMA. 131 
 
 Mandalay, who had had to flee from Knig Thebaw, 
 as his father had been filled with gunpowder by the 
 King's orders, and then exploded. 
 
 Besides the mission at Rangoon there are many 
 other centres of work in various parts of Burma. The 
 general feeling amongst those missionaries whom I 
 saw was hopeful : there is none of the difficulty of 
 caste which is found amongst the Hindus in India, 
 but the people are willing to give their confidence to 
 the missionaries, and admit them into their houses. 
 Buddhism, though a difficult religion to combat, has 
 yet points which touch Christianity. It is possible to 
 argue from the basis of a common morality and con- 
 verts are led to own the superiority of Christ to 
 Buddha. The women and children are more easily 
 influenced than those of India, and the future of 
 missions in Burma seemed hopeful. Even amongst 
 the Karens, who are the wild tribes of the interior, much 
 has been done. These people are of a lower type than 
 the Burmese, and profess a system of devil worship. 
 They have responded very warmly to the efforts which 
 have been made for them, and numbers have become 
 Christians. The missions in Burma have seem.ed to 
 take a fresh start since 1877, when the Province was 
 made a separate diocese. The present Bishop of 
 Rangoon, Dr. Strahan, was formerly a missionary in 
 Tinnevelly. He has spiritual jurisdiction over both 
 the Government chaplains and the missionaries, but 
 his sympathies seem specially keen towards those 
 labouring amongst the heathen. He is the first of 
 those sent out from S. Augustine's Missionary College 
 at Canterbury who has been consecrated a Bishop, 
 and all old S. Augustine's boys have rejoiced at his 
 preferment. 
 
 After spending some days at Rangoon, I visited 
 some of the other towns in Burma. I went by 
 rail to Promc, which is up the Irrawaddy 163 miles 
 due north of Rangoon. It is the terminus of the 
 only railway at present completed in Burma. We
 
 132 A parson's holiday. 
 
 mad J the journey by night, and so saw but Httle of 
 the intervening country. It is chiefly jungle, with 
 clearings of cultivated ground round the villages, in 
 which paddy is grown. The soil seemed very rich, 
 and in some of the gardens near Rangoon we saw 
 fields of pine apples growing like potatoes at home. 
 Prome itself is prettily situated on the bank of the 
 Irrawaddy, which here flows underneath a range of 
 low hills which are well wooded, and many of them 
 crowned with small pagodas. From Prome you can 
 steam up the river to Mandalay, King Thebaw's 
 capital, and even to Bhamo, a town on the frontiers 
 of China. Large steamers drawing only four feet of 
 water ascend the river, towing large flats filled with 
 all sorts of merchandise. There is a great traffic 
 with the interior, and the Irrawaddy is the chief 
 means by which the country has been opened up for 
 trade. Mandalay is about 250 miles from Prome, 
 and Bhamo is 200 miles farther up the river. We 
 heard many stories of the cruelty and debaucheries 
 of the King, and how badly he governed the country. 
 He encourages lotteries as a means of raising revenue, 
 and he also grants monopolies to those who will bid 
 the highest sum, or succeed in bribing his ministers. 
 There are Englishmen and Italians who have managed 
 to secure such monopolies by giving presents to the 
 King, and who are thus able to make fortunes at the 
 expense of the people of the country. Every interview 
 with this monarch has to be purchased by presents, 
 and the bribery and corruption in his Court are ex- 
 cessive. His army is composed of a mass of undrilled 
 and badly-armed men, who could be easily overthrown 
 by disciplined troops. Many of the merchants in 
 British Burma desire that the English should annex 
 Thebaw's dominions. They say that the country 
 would pay for annexation, and that the introduction 
 of good government would be a benefit to the in- 
 habitants. Certainly there would be no military 
 difficulty in the operation, and no doubt the dwellers
 
 PROME. 133 
 
 in Upper Burma would share In the prosperity of their 
 brethren within our borders. But apart from the 
 moral question as to our right to annex Thebaw's 
 dominions, there is also the diplomatic consideration, 
 whether it would be wise to let our frontier touch that 
 of China. It would add to the military precautions 
 we have to take, for if we had a strong and thickly 
 populated nation like China on our border, instead of 
 a weak and sparse people as at present, we should 
 require to keep a larger number of troops in the 
 country. There is already a considerable trade with 
 China by means of the Irrawaddy, and it is hoped 
 that better trade routes will soon be discovered. 
 Bhamo is the highest point to w^hich steamers at 
 present ascend, and from there overland roads lead 
 into southern and w^estern China. Many attempts 
 have been made to explore and open out this country, 
 one of the last expeditions being that of Mr. 
 Colquhoun, who has told in his book, Across C/i/ysJ, 
 how he travelled from Canton to Bhamo. 
 
 All this was discussed, as we journeyed to Prome, 
 and stood on the bank of the Irrawaddy. I had 
 neither time nor opportunity to penetrate further into 
 the interior, but I could not help letting my imagi- 
 nation follow the course of the great river, and 
 wish that I could journey up its waters, and see the 
 wonders of Mandalay, and the Chinese frontier at 
 Bhamo. But I had to be satisfied with Prome itself, 
 as the longer journey would have taken several weeks 
 to accomplish. 
 
 The great feature of Prome itself is the pagoda, 
 which is well situated on a high hill. It is not so 
 high as the Shway Dagohn, but the ascent is 
 steeper, and the arcade more richly carved. The 
 view from the platform was most extensive, over a 
 wide expanse of well wooded country, with long reaches 
 of the river to the north and to the south. We walked 
 through the bazaar, which was full of English goods, 
 cottons, and hardware of all sorts. The native manu-
 
 134 A parson's holiday. 
 
 factures were chiefly lacquer and brass work. There 
 were also stalls for fruit and vegetables, and great 
 masses of " nga-pee " or fish-paste. This fish-paste 
 is considered a great delicacy by the Burmese, but it 
 is not pleasing to an Englishman's olfactory nerves. 
 It is composed of more or less decayed fish, pounded 
 into a paste and mixed with salt. This is eaten as a 
 relish with rice, but as the composition is often rather 
 " high," the smell of it is enough for most Europeans. 
 The most delicate is made from pounded prawns, but 
 the commoner sorts are composed of all sorts of fishes 
 mashed together. If a steamer gets to leeward of a 
 boat laden with these delicacies, the passengers hold 
 their noses, and request the captain to proceed as 
 quickly as possible. 
 
 Besides visiting Prome I also went to Moulmein. 
 This is a town near the coast about 150 miles to the 
 south-east of Rangoon. Our steamer was a fast one, 
 and we did the distance in about eleven hours. For 
 the greater part of the day we were out of sight of 
 land, as we had to cross a deep bay, but the last part 
 of the voyage was up the Salween river, on which the 
 town is situated. This part of the trip was most 
 beautiful, as the river banks were clothed with cocoa- 
 nut trees and other palms, and the evening light on 
 the wooded banks was most lovely. Moulmein itself is 
 situated a few miles up the Salween river, which is here 
 about a quarter of a mile wide. The houses are built 
 on piles, and stand amongst groves of cocoa-nut and 
 jack-fruit trees, and look most picturesque from the 
 water. Behind the town, which extends for more than 
 a mile along the river bank, there is a ridge of hills 
 parallel to the river, along which there are numerous 
 pagodas built on the commanding heights ; this ridge 
 made a most beautiful background to the scene, all 
 glowing as it was in the evening light. 
 
 On the next day we had a splendid drive all along 
 this ridge, and I saw some of the prettiest scenery I 
 had seen in my travels. On the other side of the
 
 MOULMEIN. 135 
 
 ridge there is another river called the Atteran, and 
 this joins the Salween just above Moulmein. Thus 
 looking down from the ridge we saw miles of country- 
 well wooded and fertile, we could trace the great 
 rivers winding for miles, and the hills and plains, the 
 woods and waters, made a lovely view. Below us 
 there were great ships lying anchored in the stream, 
 the roofs of the houses peeped out amongst groves of 
 cocoa-nuts, small canoes hollowed out of teak-logs 
 were being paddled about in all directions, and crowds 
 of gaily dressed natives filled all the streets. We 
 noticed some curious limestone rocks which rose up 
 very steeply and abruptly from the plain about five 
 miles distant, and these we visited next morning to 
 see some famous caves. 
 
 These caves are natural recesses in the limestone, 
 and have been made into shrines to hold images of 
 Gautama. The first we entered was quite full of 
 statues, of all sizes and in all positions. Some were 
 only a few feet high, while others were colossal. Some 
 of the reclining figures were 30 to 40 feet in length, 
 made of brick work, covered with plaster, and placed 
 in natural niches in the living rock. Many had been 
 gilded over with gold leaf, and were ornamented with 
 bits of glittering mica and glass. All had, however, 
 been shamefully mutilated, hardly one having escaped 
 the wanton mischief of former visitors. Names had 
 been scribbled everywhere, the heads and hands of 
 the images knocked off, and often whole figures re- 
 moved. There seems no one to take any care of 
 these interesting figures, nor to check the Vandalism 
 of tourists. This first cave is not very deep, but it 
 runs along the face of the rock like a gallery, and is 
 about 60 yards long, 6 yards wide, and about 20 feet 
 high. 
 
 There is a second cave which is much larger, and 
 has been left in its natural state. It is entered by a 
 narrow orifice, and is the abode of countless num- 
 bers of bats, who were awakened and disturbed by
 
 136 A PARSON'S HOLIDAY. 
 
 our entrance. We carried torches, and in certain 
 places we burnt blue lights, to show us the great 
 size of the cavern. It opened out into large and 
 lofty chambers, the roof often being 50 feet above 
 our heads, and there were several passages branching 
 out from the various chambers in different directions. 
 Long stalactites hung from the roof, and formed 
 grotesque pillars, and the fioor was thickly covered 
 with bats' guano. We must have been half-an-hour 
 scrambling about the various passages of this enor- 
 mous cave. 
 
 We visited the great timber yards at Moulmein, 
 where the teak is prepared for exportation. This is 
 one of the chief articles of trade from this port. The 
 trees are cut in Siam by native contractors, and the 
 logs are dragged by trained elephants through the 
 jungle to the nearest stream or water-course. During 
 the rainy season these logs are floated down the 
 streams, and are joined together into large rafts, which 
 finally arrive at Moulmein, where they are bought by 
 the timber merchants. Their yards are built along the 
 side of the river, and here the logs are landed, squared 
 and stacked, ready for shipment to England or else- 
 where. All the heavy work inside the yard is done 
 by trained elephants, and it is their clever labour, 
 which makes the sight so curious and interesting. 
 They drag the logs on to the land, they place them 
 in the saw-shed to be squared, they drag them from 
 thence to the stacking-place, and then stack them up 
 into large rectangular heaps. Several of the elephants 
 were brought out for our inspection, and the docility 
 and sagacity of these great beasts were marvellous. 
 The creature seemed to understand exactly what was 
 required from him. The mahout, who rode on his 
 neck, directed him by voice or touch, and the 
 elephant obeyed each direction as it was given. Even 
 when the mahout purposely dropped the iron hook 
 with which an elephant is driven, the creature picked 
 it off the ground with his trunk, and meekly handed it
 
 ELEPHANTS AT WORK. 137 
 
 back to the man who had thus obtained dominion 
 over him. We saw an elephant pushing large logs 
 along the ground, which weighed between one and 
 two tons ; he seemed to kick them forward with the 
 greatest ease, with a flip of one of his large feet. He 
 also rolled the log over at the word of command, so 
 as to exhibit each side in turn, and then lifted it on to 
 the stack. This last operation was the most curious 
 of all. The elephant knelt down, and got his tusks 
 under the end of the log, which was lying nearest to 
 the stack. Then he put his trunk over it to steady it, 
 and standing up he raised that end on to the pile, 
 which was about six feet high. He then went to the 
 other end of the log and pushed it along first with his 
 trunk, and afterwards (as the end of the log rose up) 
 with his head, till the log lay on the stack exactly 
 square with the others. 
 
 We were told that an untrained elephant cost about 
 1000 rupees, and when trained it was worth about 
 2500. The animal comes to maturity at about 20 
 years old, and can then be worked. It learns to be of 
 some use in a few months, and goes on working as 
 long as it lives. The oldest we saw was about 60, but 
 they live to 75 years. When they first enter the 
 timber yards, they are not quite wild, as they have 
 generally been used by native contractors to haul logs 
 in the forests. They have, however, to be taught to 
 stand the noise of the steam whistle and the saw 
 machinery, but they soon get accustomed to the con- 
 stant whirr and hum of the engines, and by degrees 
 they pick up their finer accomplishments. The com- 
 mon idea that the elephant does not breed in captivity 
 is a vulgar error. Most of the elephants used in the 
 yards are bred by native foresters, who use them for 
 hauling purposes, and then sell them to the timber 
 merchants. It does not pay European firms, or the 
 Government, to breed elephants, as they have to be 
 kept so long before becoming useful. They are there- 
 fore bought from the native foresters, who breed them 
 
 S
 
 138 A PARSON'S HOLIDAY. 
 
 from their herds in the forest, where the young ones 
 pick up a hving at no expense. 
 
 The elephant when working is an expensive animal 
 to feed, for he daily eats 100 bundles of grass and 
 75 lbs. of paddy. A syce or groom is attached to 
 each elephant, and he gives him his food. Their 
 stables are high sheds, which shelter them from the 
 heat and wet, and they are confined by chains put 
 round their feet. The animal is so docile that he will 
 chain himself up at the word of command, passing the 
 links round his foot with his trunk. The chain is then 
 secured with a padlock for fear lest he should be as 
 clever in unloosing himself when he is left alone. 
 Before being tied up for the night each elephant is 
 allowed to enter the river for a bath. This seemed to 
 be much enjoyed, and the huge beasts sank their whole 
 bodies under the water, leaving only the tips of their 
 trunks exposed. The mahouts had to stand upright 
 on their backs, and were then in water up to their 
 knees. This was the treat given to them at the end of 
 the day's work, and seemed to be much appreciated. 
 We were told that the elephants learn to recognize 
 the steam whistle which gives the signal for stopping 
 work and for the mid-day meal ; and there is one old 
 elephant who will no more work after that has sounded, 
 than a farm labourer will go on after the bell has rung. 
 If they want to get extra work out of him, they have to 
 deceive him by ordering the whistle not to be sounded. 
 The mahouts seemed to have the most perfect com- 
 mand over the huge creatures, and made them do 
 whatever they were told. Sometimes an elephant will 
 become dangerous for a time, and then if he is loose, 
 he will " take charge of the yard," for until he is 
 secured, none can enter through the gates. However, 
 they are watched very carefully, and as soon as any 
 dangerous symptoms are seen, the animal is confined 
 and dieted till the fit has passed. The whole timber 
 trade of Burma is made possible by the docility and 
 sagacity of the elephant, for if it were not for him, the
 
 JOURNEY TO PRGU. 1 39 
 
 expense of labour and machinery would absorb all the 
 profits. 
 
 From Moulmein we went back to Rangoon, and 
 from there started on another expedition to Pegu. 
 This city is the old capital of the Talaings. The 
 Talaings and Burmans were the two races who in 
 ancient days divided the country between them. They 
 were both descended from a Tibetan stock, and over- 
 ran the country in successive invasions. In the earliest 
 historical notices of Burma the Talaings held the coast, 
 and the Burmans had the interior of the country. 
 There were constant wars and fightings between the 
 two peoples, until in the last century the Burmans 
 conquered the Talaings and almost exterminated them. 
 There are very few pure Talaings left, and their lan- 
 guage is rapidly dying out, but the two nations have 
 intermingled to some extent. 
 
 Pegu itself is a town about 54 miles from Rangoon 
 up the Pegu river, which is a tributary of the Irra- 
 waddy, and joins it just below Rangoon. We made 
 our expedition in a steam launch, and had rather an 
 exciting journey. We started at 2 p.m., when the tide 
 was nearly at its lowest, and we made good progress 
 up the river as the tide flowed. It was a broad stream, 
 half-a-mile in width, but shallow and full of sand banks. 
 As we travelled up the stream, the throb of our engines 
 was the only sound we heard. It was a desolate-looking 
 river. Now and then we saw a fisherman, watching 
 his nets ; occasionally we passed a few houses scat- 
 tered on the bank, from which the children stared at us. 
 But the greater part of our voyage was between flat 
 banks from which the paddy had been reaped. The 
 water swarmed with fish, and there were quantities of 
 stake and drift-nets set across the current, which were 
 watched by native fishermen in canoes dug out of teak 
 logs. The Burman is very fond of fish of all kinds, 
 and has invented various traps made of bamboo, which 
 are set in the tideways of the rivers. These are on 
 the principle of the English eel basket, into which the
 
 140 A parson's holiday. 
 
 fish can easily enter, but then fail to discover the way 
 out. 
 
 After four hours of this monotonous voyage the sun 
 set, and we were still many miles from Pegu. Our 
 Mohammedan engine-driver said his prayers on the 
 deck-roof of the cabin, undisturbed by the propinquity 
 of those who were unbelievers. There were seven of 
 us altogether in the launch (two English and five 
 natives), and our boat kept puffing onwards, making 
 fair progress up the stream. There was no twilight. 
 The stars rushed out overhead and " with one stride 
 came the dark ; " and there we were, travelling on- 
 wards up the lonely river, with barely light enough to 
 avoid the fishing-boats which we overtook. 
 
 About 8 p.m. the river got shallower, and the tide 
 began to ebb. It was very dark, and there was no 
 possibility of seeing where the deepest channel lay. 
 The result was that we found ourselves constantly 
 running on to sand banks, and were brought up short 
 by sticking in the mud. However there were no rocks 
 or stones, and we always managed to cut through or 
 to back off the obstruction. We must have touched 
 ground some eight or ten times in the next two hours, 
 and we often heeled over a good deal, but fortunately 
 without being swamped. About 10 p.m. we got to the 
 mouth of the canal, which connects the Pegu with the 
 Sattang river. Here we were told that the Pegu river, 
 on which we were, was too shallow for the launch to 
 proceed further, and that it would be wiser for us to 
 steam up the canal about eight miles, and then stop at 
 a village on the bank which would be only seven miles 
 distant by road from Pegu. This we determined to 
 do. So we waited at the mouth of the canal till 
 II p.m., when the moon rose, and then by her light we 
 got through the lock and steamed slowly up the canal, 
 till we reached the village about i a.m. There we 
 found a carriage sent to meet us, and next morning 
 we drove into Pegu. 
 
 The chief sight of this town (which we had found it so
 
 PEGU. 141 
 
 difficult to reach) was the great pagoda, 324 feet high. 
 This is the most lofty one in the province, and is famous 
 for having had a new " H'tee," or umbrella, placed on its 
 apex about a year ago. This H'tee was a very bright 
 one, being made of gilded metal and inlaid with jewels. 
 The successive concentric rings were arranged in a 
 pyramidal form, and the open metal work designs were 
 very light and tasteful. The top was ornamented with a 
 gilt flag, and the whole was hung with bells. We were 
 shown the old H'tee, which had been taken down when 
 the new one was put up, and were surprised at its size. 
 The immense height of the pagoda makes it difficult 
 to realise how large the metal umbrella is, w^hich is 
 fixed on the top. But the remains of the old one 
 enabled us to perceive that the H'tee must be 
 20 feet high, and 12 feet in diameter at the base. To 
 give a new H'tee to a pagoda is a very meritorious 
 action, and gains great religious credit for the donor. 
 The hoisting up of this metal erection to the top of a 
 smooth spire was a great engineering feat, which the 
 Burmans successfully accomplished without European 
 assistance. 
 
 Besides this great pagoda, we were shown a brazen 
 image of Gautama, which stands in a shrine within the 
 precincts of a Kioung or monastery. This image has 
 only been lately set up bv a Burman, who is in Govern- 
 ment employ. A curious scene took place at the 
 casting of the image. When the image was being 
 finished, it was discovered that there was not sufficient 
 molten metal to fill the mould. This was at once 
 announced to the crowds who had assembled to see 
 the sight, and offerings were demanded from those 
 present. Immediately women stripped off their ban- 
 gles and jewels and ornaments, men presented silver 
 coins to be melted down, and thus sufficient metal was 
 obtained by these voluntary offerings to complete the 
 image. All the donors would feel that they had 
 earned merit by their gifts, and had helped to perfect 
 a good action.
 
 142 A PARSOiN'S HOLIDAY. 
 
 While we were at Pegu, we heard many stories of 
 the disturbed condition of the country. All Burma is 
 infested with robbers, but latterly armed bands had 
 been scouring the Pegu district committing robberies 
 on travellers. These " dacoits," as they are called, lie 
 in wait on the river banks for people returning from the 
 towns with the money they had received from the sale 
 of their " paddy." The robbers are generally armed, 
 and the country people have little chance in making 
 any resistance. The thick jungle, which covers most 
 of the country, affords them ample hiding-place, and 
 the police find it very difficult to break up the bands 
 or track them to their lairs. 
 
 We returned to Rangoon by the same route, and had 
 an equally difficult journey. The river seemed full of 
 sand banks, and though the stream was a quarter of a 
 mile wide, the navigable channel was very narrow. 
 Our launch drew only a few feet of water, but yet we 
 touched the ground very often, and we stuck on one 
 bank for nearly four hours. Fortunately we were well 
 provisioned, and the cook produced a capital dinner. 
 Our only contretemps was a sudden heel over of the 
 launch, for as the tide fell the boat suddenly settled 
 down on one side, with the result that our milk jug 
 was upset, some crockery went overboard, and one 
 rifle sank to the bottom and was never recovered. 
 However, when the tide rose, we floated off the bank, 
 and managed to get back into the right channel, and 
 arrived at Rangoon at i a.m. on the morning of 
 January 2nd, 1883. 
 
 This was my last expedition in Burma, and on the 4th 
 I started for Southern India. I was very glad to have 
 had this glimpse of Burma, and I would recommend 
 everyone who is touring in our Eastern possessions 
 not to omit paying a visit to Rangoon. The scenery of 
 Burma looks so luxuriant after the bare plains of Nor- 
 thern India, the people are so bright and interesting, 
 the pagodas so graceful, and the whole aspect of the 
 place so full of tropicial colour and diverse life. The
 
 VOYAGE TO MADRAS. I43 
 
 gaily dressed crowds fill every town with interest, and 
 the thick trees and noble rivers and tangled jungle 
 make the country districts well worth a visit. Here 
 also Buddhism can be studied under one of its most 
 pleasing forms, for it here bears a less superstitious 
 shape than it does either in China or Ceylon. Besides 
 all these points of interest, Burma is especially inte- 
 resting to the politician. Here the " Expansion of 
 England " is still at work, and a province over which 
 we have ruled for less than thirty-five years is seen in 
 the process of being brought into order. When it is 
 remembered for how short a time the English have 
 been masters of the country, everyone must be as- 
 tonished at the signs of prosperity and the rapid 
 progress visible on every side. Much remains to be 
 done, but the amount of good work already accom- 
 plished, and the evident popularity of our rule reflect 
 great credit on the hard-working civilians and officers, 
 who have so well administered the country. 
 
 My voyage back to India was by a line of steamers, 
 plying from Rangoon to Madras. They do not go 
 direct to Madras, but touch on their way at several 
 of the ports on the eastern coast of India. We 
 were four days crossing the Bay of Bengal, and 
 then made the Indian coast at a small place called 
 Calingapatam. These four days were very quiet and 
 uneventful. We had very few European passengers 
 on board, but the fore part of the vessel was crowded 
 with coolies, returning to their Indian homes after 
 having saved money in Burma. These coolies are 
 employed as labourers in the rice factories, and as 
 porters on the wharves, and get higher pay than they 
 do in India. This causes a great movement of labour 
 between India and Burma, as after a few years' labour 
 a coolie can return, having saved a small fortune. We 
 had about 600 coolies on board, bound for the different 
 ports at which we were to touch. One died while we 
 were at sea, and the Captain had to take charge of his 
 effects, and to deliver them to the nearest relations.
 
 144 A parson's holiday. 
 
 Each night after sunset we had a vivid view of the 
 zodiacal hght, which was very brilliant, extending up 
 to the zenith, and shining for many hours. The light 
 is said to proceed from countless myriads of meteoric 
 bodies surrounding the sun, which reflect the sunlight 
 long after the sun itself has sunk below the horizon. 
 
 Calingapatam, where we first cast anchor, seemed a 
 small place as viewed from the sea. It is built along 
 the beach, with no bay or port to give shelter to ships. 
 All along this eastern coast of India there are no good 
 harbours, and a constant surf breaks along the shore, 
 which makes landing difficult even on the calmest 
 days. Our steamer was obliged to anchor a mile from 
 the land, and the passengers and cargo were landed in 
 large Masula boats. These boats are of native make, 
 and are rowed by a dozen or more men, often two or 
 three working at one oar. Besides these large boats, 
 we were also visited by catamarans. These are simply 
 two or three logs tied together, on which one or two 
 nearly naked natives crouch, and paddle themselves 
 through the surf. These rafts carry no cargo, but 
 come out in the roughest weather, and live in any sea. 
 The logs are unsinkable, and the crew have no clothes 
 to get spoilt by the sea. The Masula boats brought 
 out to us hides and rice, which seemed the chief ex- 
 ports of the place. We lay all day long off this port, 
 anchored outside the surf, but exposed to a heavy 
 swell, under a hot sun, and the long roll and heave 
 of the vessel was trying to anyone subject to sea- 
 sickness. In the evening we started for Bimlipatam, 
 our next stopping place, about fifty miles farther down 
 the coast. 
 
 We arrived there about 6 a.m., and I landed in a 
 Masula boat, and had a few hours on shore. The 
 station was small, but prettily situated, being built on 
 the edge of the sea under a high hill. The chief trade 
 of the place was in grain, rice, and oil nuts. The 
 voyage through the surf, both going and returning, 
 was a new experience. As we neared the shore the
 
 THE SALT TAX. 145 
 
 rowers laboured harder at the oars, the steersman kept 
 the boat's head straight, the big waves hfted and 
 bumped us into shallower and shallower water, and at 
 last we grounded on the sandy beach, and were carried 
 in chairs by our bare-legged crew on to dry ground. 
 The wood-work of these boats is tied together with 
 cocoa-nut fibre, and they resist a great amount of 
 knocking about without going to pieces. Where the 
 planks of an English-made boat would be separated, 
 and every nail started, and the boats wrecked, these 
 native-made boats bump about and are none the 
 worse. 
 
 From Bimlipatam we went to Vizagapatam, two 
 hours farther down the coast. Here there is a deep 
 creek running inland, which may become the future 
 port of this part of India. At present there is an 
 awkward bar and sunken rocks, but if these could be 
 removed, the place might be made a harbour of refuge 
 from the destructive cyclones. 
 
 All along this coast there is a large manufacture of 
 salt, made from the sea-water by evaporation. As 
 salt is very heavily taxed, and as the manufacture of 
 salt is a monopoly, this coast has to be very carefully 
 watched to prevent the Government being defrauded 
 by illegitimate manufacture. I heard some interesting 
 statistics on this subject. The salt tax is the only tax 
 which affects the ryot or peasant of India, but when 
 people first hear that this tax is placed on a necessary 
 of life, that it raises the value of the commodity a 
 thousand per cent., and that illicit manufacture is very 
 severely punished, they think that this must be a 
 crying abuse, which ought to be abolished. But fur- 
 ther information often softens the anger of the philan- 
 thropic reformer. This tax brings in seven millions 
 a year to the revenue, and is the only tax paid by 
 the very poor, and it amounts to only cightpencc a 
 head per annum on the whole population. It would 
 be difficult to obtain so large an amount by any 
 better system, and in return for this small contribution 
 
 r
 
 146 A PARSON'S HOLIDAY. 
 
 the natives enjoy perfect security and good govern- 
 ment. This revenue is collected by raising the price 
 of salt to the consumer. The total cost of manu- 
 facture is about 6Jd. a maund [i. e., 827lbs.), and the 
 price charged to the consumer is 5s. a maund, the 
 balance being net profit. The Government at present 
 manufacture most of the salt which is made, but 
 anyone is allowed to make it, provided he obtains the 
 consent of the chief officer of the district, and 
 engages to bring a certain quantity of salt to the 
 Government store. He is paid at a certain fixed rate 
 of a few pence per maund, and this salt is afterwards 
 sold at a greatly enhanced price. The Government 
 hope by degrees to withdraw from the direct manu- 
 facture of salt, and only put a heavy excise duty on 
 the manufactured article. 
 
 The salt is made in large pans near the sea-coast 
 during the hottest months of the year. The ground 
 is excavated, puddled and made watertight, and then 
 shallow stretches of sea-water are admitted, which 
 gradually evaporate, leaving the salt deposited on 
 the ground. It is so easy to do this in a small way 
 all along the coast, that a large staff of preventive 
 officers have to be employed to stop the illicit manu- 
 facture of salt. The duty is so high, and the process 
 of manufacture so simple, that the poor ryot is con- 
 stantly tempted to evade the law. The cost of the 
 staff and Government establishment is about one- 
 eighth of the revenue raised. In a poor country like 
 India it is difficult to pay for the cost of government, 
 and this tax, to which the people are accustomed, 
 seems practically to meet the requirements of an uni- 
 versal, yet not burdensome, impost. The manufacture 
 can only be carried on in the dry weather, as one 
 shower of rain would spoil the whole of the salt in the 
 pans. 
 
 From Vizagapatam we coasted onwards, touching 
 at Coconada and Masulipatam, but the water was so 
 shallow that we were obliged to anchor three miles
 
 VOYAGE TO MADRAS. 147 
 
 from the shore. This prevented us from seeing any- 
 thing of these towns, and we were glad when on the 
 morning of the i ith January we arrived at Madras.
 
 148 A parson's holiday. 
 
 Chapter VIII. 
 
 The Presidency of Madras differs in many respects 
 from the Presidencies of Bengal and Bombay. It has 
 no frontier to guard, no dangerous neighbours to invade 
 it, and no disaffected population to keep in check, 
 and of late years it has had a quiet history. It 
 has thus received scant notice from European poli- 
 ticians, and its affairs are seldom heard of outside its 
 own borders. Its uneventful condition has brought it 
 contempt rather than credit, it has been called " the 
 sleepy Presidency," and civilians in Bengal and 
 Bombay have spoken slightingly of the administra- 
 tion of such a well behaved community. This con- 
 temptuous tone is not deserved. Those who know 
 Madras best, find there points of interest which are 
 absent in the other Presidencies. It is no discredit 
 to the administration, but the reverse, that its annals 
 have been uneventful. Wars and rebeUions, frontier 
 expeditions and scarcely veiled disloyalty are not 
 matters of congratulation. And though the other 
 Presidencies are oftener mentioned in the English 
 newspapers, yet they do not show better signs of 
 progress or more able administrators. 
 
 I found that a soreness existed even amongst the 
 officials, because their affairs were seemingly neglected 
 by the supreme Government, and the feeling that they 
 were unduly put on one side has found expression, I 
 believe, in the Governor's minutes. Certainly the 
 casual traveller finds a number of points of interest in 
 this Presidency, and my stay there was one of the 
 pleasantest parts of my holiday. The temples were 
 more magnificent, the vegetation more tropical, and 
 the English (if possible) kinder than in the other 
 parts of India which I had visited. Above all every
 
 MADRAS. 149 
 
 parson must be interested in noticing the way in which 
 Christianity has been embraced in this Presidency. 
 The numbers of native Christians are larger than in 
 any other part of India, and here there are whole 
 villages inhabited entirely by Christians under the care 
 of native clergymen. Each of these points roused my 
 interest, and will be hereafter touched upon. 
 
 The history of the foundation of Madras may be 
 shortly stated. The first factory was opened there 
 in 1639, under the title of Fort St. George, and for 
 more than a hundred years the growth of this trade 
 depot was uneventful and continuous. But in the i8th 
 century the French and English contended for the 
 mastery of India, and Madras became the prize of the 
 French in 1746. These were the days of Clive and 
 Dupleix, who wrestled together, each for his distant 
 king, who hardly knew how severe was the struggle, or 
 how far-reaching would be the effects, of this contest 
 waged in the far East. Madras was restored to the 
 English in 1 749, by the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, and 
 has never since been taken from us. It was in great 
 danger in 1780, when Hyder Ali of Mysore and his 
 son Tipu defeated the English forces, and ravaged 
 the country up to its very walls. But this was only a 
 short-lived triumph for the native arms, and in the 
 later years of the century the ruler of Mysore was 
 driven back, and Madras became the capital of the 
 Presidency which now bears its name. 
 
 The city itself is built on a most unpropltious site, 
 on the edge of an unquiet sea, and with a sandy 
 waste behind it. Yet it has increased and flourished 
 in spite of natural disadvantages. It now extends for 
 nine miles along the shore, its population is 400,000, 
 and its trade is very great. The chief disadvantage 
 is the want of a harbour, and many efforts have 
 been made to improve the port. Originally there 
 was only an open roadstead, and passengers and 
 cargo had to be landed in open boats through a surf 
 which was heavy in the calmest weather, and almost
 
 150 A PARSON'S HOLIDAY. 
 
 impassable in storms. But a large breakwater and 
 pier were built a few years ago, and the harbour 
 was thus for a time made secure. But this improve- 
 ment did not last long, as Madras was visited by a 
 destructive cyclone, which tore the great coping-stones 
 from their fastenings, and buried them in the sea. 
 The whole breakwater was damaged by the violence 
 of the waves, and though it still gives a partial pro- 
 tection to the harbour, yet the surf beats over it at all 
 points. As we entered the harbour, we could see the 
 ragged condition of this once fine work, and we were 
 astonished at the size and weight of the great stones, 
 which had been dashed from their places by the might 
 of the storm. 
 
 As soon as our steamer came to anchor, we were 
 surrounded by crowds of boats full of nearly naked 
 boatmen, who all vociferously clamoured for our 
 patronage, and made rapid descents on our luggage, 
 which we had to guard from being carried off piece- 
 meal. This arrival at Madras has been described by 
 many travellers, but it never fails to interest the new 
 comer. The boatmen look like animated bronze 
 statues, and every muscle of their strong bodies is 
 brought into play, as they keep their boats from 
 colliding with the steamer, and strive to steer them 
 nearest the gangway. Every one seems to be shout- 
 ing at once, and the whole surface of the water is 
 covered with boats, which press around the steamer, 
 and do their best to cut each other out. As we rowed 
 away from the ship, we looked back and saw the 
 great black hull surrounded by a swarm of little boats, 
 looking like some sea monster surrounded by water- 
 flies. 
 
 The first thing in Madras that strikes the new 
 comer is the appearance of the people. The natives 
 here are quite a different race to the inhabitants of 
 Bombay and Bengal, of a much darker colour, and 
 with a more African type of feature. Their clothes 
 are put on less neatly, their turbans are more care-
 
 THE PEOPLE OF MADRAS. 151 
 
 lessly tied and often forgotten, their hair is allowed to 
 grow, in a long rough mane behind, while the front of 
 the head is shaved up to the crown. All these points 
 of difference arise from their descent. We are here 
 amongst a Dravidian people, who have never been 
 exterminated or driven away by their Aryan con- 
 querors. They may be called one of the Aboriginal 
 races of India, as although there were earlier races 
 who used stone implements, yet their history is en- 
 tirely lost. The first accounts that we possess are of 
 the contest between the Aryans and the dark races 
 whom they found in possession of India. The Aryan 
 or Indo-Germanic stock, " from which the Brahman, 
 the Rajput, and the Englishman alike descend,"* in- 
 vaded India some 3000 years ago, and found it occu- 
 pied by different races. These races were gradually 
 driven southward, many were broken into fragments, 
 and only exist as hill-tribes or in the depths of im- 
 penetrable forests. But the great Dravidian race of 
 the South was never exterminated, and although sub- 
 dued by the higher civilization of the Aryan race, 
 which pressed in amongst them, they were never 
 broken into fragments. They have intermarried with 
 their conquerors and have given their languages to 
 46 millions of people in Southern India. Bishop 
 Caldwell recognizes twelve distinct Dravidian lan- 
 guages, of which Tamil, Telugu, and Kanarese are 
 the chief. 
 
 These languages are apparently more difficult than 
 those of Northern India, and English is more generally 
 spoken by the natives in the Madras Presidency than 
 elsewhere. The English is of a curious kind. The 
 chief part of the verb which has been learnt by the 
 natives is the present participle. Other moods and 
 tenses are neglected, which certainly simplifies the 
 language. Coolies, boatmen, gharri-drivers, and ser- 
 vants, all speak an English which is peculiar to Southern 
 
 * Hunter's hulian Empire, p. 89.
 
 152 A PARSON'S HOLIDAY. 
 
 India. Your personal servant is called your " boy," 
 though he may be a grey-headed individual. The 
 message-bearers called " chuprassies " in Bengal, and 
 " puttiwallahs " in Bombay, are here called "peons," 
 a name surviving from the days of the Portugese 
 dominion. 
 
 The only other fact that need here be mentioned 
 about the natives is the way in which Christianity has 
 increased amongst them. While the percentage of 
 Christians for the whole of India only represents a 
 half per cent, of the total population, it is 6 per cent, 
 in Tinnevelly and Cochin, and it rises to 20 per cent, 
 in the native states of Travancore. Altogether by the 
 census of 1871 there were about one-and-a-half millions 
 of Christians, of which more than a million were 
 Roman Catholics. These figures have been corrected 
 by the census of 1881. From the report of last year 
 we find that the Christians number 1,862,634, of which 
 the Roman Church claims 963,058. 
 
 " The lapse of a few years," continues the writer of the Report, 
 " will, I believe, show a very large accession to the numbers of 
 the various Christian churches. The closest observers are almost 
 unanimous in the opinion that the ground has been already cleared 
 for such a movement, but their views are not so much in accord as 
 to the class from which this accession will be made." 
 
 This testimony is the more interesting as coming 
 
 from a Government official, who would not be unduly 
 
 biassed in favour of missionaries, or over sanguine 
 
 about their success. The increase of the Christian 
 
 population in the province of Madras in the ten years 
 
 1 87 1-8 1 is 165,682, or 30*39 per cent. On this point 
 
 another extract from the Census Report may be given : — 
 
 " Both in actual numbers, and in proportion to the general popu- 
 lation, Madras stands clear away in front of all other provinces, and 
 if the southernmost part of the Presidency be taken, we find that 
 in a compact tract containing 7,213,843 souls, 365,544 or 5,067 per 
 100,000 are Christians. It is in no sectarian spirit that this may 
 be declared wholly a matter for congratulation. There is no 
 enlightened Madras Brahman who does not rejoice equally with 
 the missionaries to see the good work of the latter redeeming the 
 degraded castes of Tinnevelly, and the devil-worshippers of South
 
 MADRAS. 153 
 
 Canara from their debased cults to a purer faith and a higher 
 morality." 
 
 These figures speak for themselves, but I shall 
 be able to describe what I saw amongst the native 
 Christians of Tinnevelly in a future chapter. 
 
 I was but a short time in Madras, and was not able 
 to see all the sights in the city. The public buildings 
 are fine, and built along the sea-shore. They are 
 covered with a beautiful stucco, which has the con- 
 sistency and polish of marble. There is a fine Cathe- 
 dral, in which there is a monument to Bishop Heber. 
 
 A most interesting School of Art has lately been 
 started, where native artists and mechanics are taught 
 to draw, paint, and design, to work In wood and stone, 
 and to make pottery. The object is to enable native 
 manufactures to compete successfully with English 
 goods, and already certain English goods have been 
 beaten out of the market. Inkstands, gallipots, and 
 cells for telegraph batteries are now bought from these 
 works Instead of being imported from England. The 
 pottery we saw was like Doulton ware, and was very 
 artistic. The land of India is so overstocked with 
 labour, that any fresh outlet for the artistic talents or 
 mechanical ingenuity of the native worker must do 
 good. This industrial school is an effort to train 
 native workers, and thus to enable them to earn a 
 living by their own powers. The ruins of magnificent 
 buildings still standing show that once there was a great 
 architectural talent and power amongst the natives of 
 India. This power of designing and constructing large 
 palaces and temples has withered away under the hand 
 of oppression. But now that the native feels himself 
 secure and at peace, it may be possible to educate his 
 artistic faculties, and restore to him this power of archi- 
 tectural Invention. 
 
 From Madras I went by rail to Bangalore, a journey 
 of over 200 miles. It Is a large civil and military 
 station, the head-quarters of the Madras army, and 
 the place where the Chief Commissioner of Mysore 
 
 IJ
 
 154 A PARSON'S HOLIDAY. 
 
 resides. It bears much the same relation to Madras 
 that Poona does to Bombay. The cHmate is cooler, 
 as the town is built on high ground. Next to Madras 
 it is the largest town in the Presidency, and it contains 
 over 142,000 people. The cantonments and bunga- 
 lows are scattered over a large area, and there are 
 European cavalry, infantry, and artillery lines. There 
 are three Government chaplains and four churches, as 
 the area of the town extends over ten square miles. 
 The public gardens are prettily laid out, and there is a 
 small collection of wild beasts. The Chief Commis- 
 sioner, who is also the Resident at Mysore, lives in a 
 large house built in the Classical style with a deep 
 portico supported by tall stone pillars, which acts as a 
 verandah and keeps the house cool. 
 
 I paid a visit to Mr. Ignatius, the native clergyman, 
 who has charge of the native Christians at Bangalore. 
 It was my first sight of a native clergyman, working as 
 in England with charge of a congregation, and the 
 visit was interesting. I found him in a small house 
 close to the little church, where the native Christians 
 collect for worship. He was dressed in native cos- 
 tume, but he spoke English and was well able to carry 
 on a conversation. He gave me much information 
 about his work, and was very pleasant and seemed 
 hard-working and sincere. His congregation consisted 
 chiefly of servants, clerks, and some Sepoy soldiers. 
 The community numbered about 400, the communi- 
 cant's list was about 100, and at great festivals he 
 had an average of about 50 communicants. He had 
 begun work as a catechist in the Tinnevelly District, 
 had been ordained in 1865, and had only lately been 
 transferred to this post. He has a day-school open 
 to both Christian and heathen boys and girls, which is 
 helped by the Rajah of Mysore, and he has also a 
 small boarding-school for girls. There is daily service, 
 and a weekly Celebration, and every sign of earnest and 
 devoted work. He gave me his only chair, and was 
 most courteous, and glad to give every information,.^
 
 A NATIVE CLERGYMAN. 155 
 
 I had been half afraid of intruding upon him, but his 
 manner was so cordial and he seemed so pleased with 
 me for coming, that I was glad that I had visited him. 
 He had a small library of English theological works, 
 and his conversation was that of an educated man. 
 There are already two hundred native clergymen in 
 India, so the time seems to have arrived when it is 
 not presumptuous to think of a native Indian Church 
 occupying the land. This is the object to be attained, 
 when in the words of Bishop Cotton "indigenous 
 Stigands and Lanfrancs will take the place of foreign 
 Theodores and Augustines." Certainly my visit to 
 Mr. Ignatius at Bangalore gave me a fresh and 
 pleasant idea of the possibilities of a native pastorate, 
 for nothing could have been more simple and un- 
 affected, more sincere and earnest, than his manner 
 and conversation. Such native ministers w^ill attract 
 converts, and help forward the quiet work of edifying 
 the Church, for they will know the manner of life and 
 modes of thought of their fellow countrymen, and will 
 speak in a tongue " understanded of the people." 
 
 Mr. Ignatius invited me to come on Sunday morning 
 to an early Celebration at his Church. He said the 
 service would be in Tamil, but it would be a literal 
 translation of the Communion OflBce in our Prayer 
 Book, and so I should be able to follow the prayers. 
 I was pleased to have this opportunity of joining 
 with a native Christian congregation in a common 
 act of worship. The Church was a small simple 
 building, white-washed inside, with a well-arranged 
 chancel. The floor of the nave was covered with 
 matting, but only about one-third of the space had 
 seats ; the rest of the area was left free for those 
 who preferred to sit on the floor. Natives very seldom 
 use seats of any description, and in their own houses 
 they ordinarily sit on the floor. On this account all 
 Churches for natives have large spaces left free. The 
 Christmas decorations were still up in this little Church 
 at Bangalore ; they consisted chiefly of paper wreaths
 
 156 A parson's holiday. 
 
 and simple texts. The congregation at this early 
 service was small, consisting of about ten commu- 
 nicants ; but this number would not be less than the 
 average in many a village in England, numbering 
 about 500 in population. The Sunday on which I was 
 present was no special festival, and this service was 
 the regular weekly Celebration. The percentage of 
 communicants is usually higher in Tinnevelly than it 
 is in England, but this congregation at Bangalore had 
 been for some years neglected, and had only lately 
 begun to revive. 
 
 I was very much struck by the reverent way in 
 which the service was conducted. Mr. Ignatius was 
 all in white, wearing a white cassock under his sur- 
 plice. And when he entered the sanctuary, he slipped 
 off his shoes, and his bare feet were visible under 
 his cassock. This had a most reverent appearance, 
 and was evidently the natural expression of what he 
 thought due to the sacredness of God's House. All 
 natives put off their shoes when they enter the house 
 of a superior. The native clergy in India have kept 
 up the custom in Church, deeming that the place 
 whereon they stand is holy ground. 
 
 From Bangalore I paid a hurried visit to Mysore 
 and Seringapatam. Mysore is a native state contain- 
 ing over 29,000 square miles and with a population 
 of more than five millions of people. Its history is 
 interesting, as its rulers of old often crossed swords 
 with the British. In the latter half of the last cen- 
 tury it was governed by Hyder Ali, a Mohammedan 
 usurper, who had imprisoned the rightful Hindu King, 
 and professed to rule in his name. The English 
 fought several battles against Hyder with varying 
 success, and on one occasion the Mysore cavalry 
 ravaged the country up to the walls of Madras. But 
 Hyder died in 1782, and was succeeded by his son 
 Tipu (or Tippoo), with whom peace was concluded. 
 But there was a second Mysore war in 1792, when 
 Tipu was defeated by Lord Cornwallis. And finally
 
 SIEGE OF SERINGAPATAM. 157 
 
 in 1799 there was a third Mysore war, when Colonel 
 Wellesley besieged and captured the fortress of Serin- 
 gapatam. It is this last war which is the best known, 
 as it resulted in the defeat and death of Tip6. He 
 was a cruel ruler. He offended his Hindu subjects 
 both by trying to compel them to become Moham- 
 medans, and also by taking all power from their 
 rightful Rajah. Many tales are still told of his 
 abominable cruelties and evil debaucheries. He was 
 always plotting against the English ; the French 
 claimed him as their ally, and " Citoyen Tipu," as 
 they called him, was encouraged by them to harass 
 the English settlements. There is now in the Indian 
 Museum in London the figure of a tiger, standing over 
 the body of an English soldier ; it moves by clock- 
 work, and when wound up growls and bites the pros- 
 trate figure. This was brought from Seringapatam, 
 and was one of Tipu's favourite playthings. 
 
 The final destruction of Tipu's forces took place at 
 Seringapatam. This fortress was considered impreg- 
 nable, and was called the Tiger's Den. Tipu had 
 given himself the name of the Tiger, and appeared in 
 coloured stripes of black and yellow. Our troops were 
 commanded by General (afterwards Lord) Harris, and 
 Colonel Wellesley (afterwards the Duke of Wellington) 
 served under him. The siege was quickly over. The 
 walls were breached and the fort stormed. Tipii was 
 discovered, buried under piles of dead, and the whole 
 of the territory of Mysore was ours. It was considered 
 politic not to annex the State, so a descendant of the 
 Hindu Rajahs, whom Hyder Ali had deposed, was 
 placed on the throne. He had no children, but was 
 allowed to adopt a child, who is the present Maharajah. 
 During the minority of the present ruler the State was 
 most ably administered by Sir James Gordon, who not 
 only made himself beloved by all the inhabitants, but 
 also obtained a great and beneficial influence over the 
 mind of the young Maharajah. The training and 
 education of this young ruler has been a great sue-
 
 158 A parson's holiday. 
 
 cess ; he has had the inestimable advantage of con- 
 stant intercourse with a highminded and cultivated 
 English gentleman, and his territory has been handed 
 over to him in perfect order. He was given full power 
 in 1 88 1, and is now independent, but expected to 
 follow the advice of the British Resident at his Court. 
 
 My journey to Mysore was by the State Railway, 
 which connects Mysore with Bangalore, a distance of 
 86 miles. The country was thinly populated, the soil 
 poor, and the rock very near to the surface. Crops of 
 rice, castor oil, grain and sugar cane were being culti- 
 vated, and the cocoa-nut palm grew in large groves. I 
 was told that the nuts from each tree were worth about 
 five rupees a year, so a grove of palms is a valuable 
 possession. There have been some gold discoveries 
 in the Mysore territory, but so far as I heard the 
 ore does not pay for working. Some are still sanguine 
 as to the future of these gold fields, but the majority 
 of the workings have not hitherto been successful. 
 I heard that " if you put in a sovereign, you would 
 get back ten shillings," and the general opinion 
 seemed to be that no great fortunes would be made. 
 
 I arrived at Mysore about 5 p.m., and had time 
 before sunset to climb part of the way up a hill, which 
 is considered sacred, outside the city. This hill is 
 covered with large boulders of rock, and is crowned 
 by a temple. There is a stone staircase up to the 
 summit, which is about 1000 feet high. I had only 
 time to ascend about 600 feet, to a lower plateau, 
 where there is a colossal bull carved out of one 
 immense boulder. This bull is 20 feet high, and 
 25 feet in length, and is a very striking object. The 
 view from this point was very extensive over the plain 
 of Mysore, with the city lying at one's feet. The 
 descent of the hill was by no means easy, as the stone 
 steps were worn so smooth by the feet of generations 
 of pilgrims, that my boots slipped on them, and I was 
 nearly precipitated to the bottom. However the bare- 
 footed " chuprassie," who accompanied me, made me
 
 DEATH OF TIPU SAHIB. 1 59 
 
 lean all my weight on him, and thus we arrived safely 
 at the bottom. 
 
 Next morning I started before sunrise, and drove 
 seven miles to Seringapatam. The great sights there 
 were the fort and city and tombs of Hyder Ali and 
 Tipu Sahib. The fort is built on an island in the 
 river Cauvery, which here divides into two branches, 
 which re-unite lower down. This island is about three 
 miles long, and one mile broad. The fort, which is 
 situated at the northern extremity of this island, was a 
 very strong place, enclosed by double walls and deep 
 moats. The breach was made in the north-west 
 corner, on the side farthest from Madras, and where 
 the attack was least expected. When it was con- 
 sidered practicable, our soldiers crossed the river, and 
 scaled the wall, doing this with a rush in seven 
 minutes. Tipu was slain inside the northern gateway, 
 and his body was discovered under heaps of dead. 
 
 I had the pleasure of being shown over the fort by a 
 native apothecary, who was very intelligent ; he was a 
 Christian, and spoke English. He took great interest 
 in the traditional accounts of Tipu, and had collected 
 a number of stories, which are repeated by his country- 
 men, and may be authentic. One of these attributed 
 the sudden success of the final assault to help given 
 to the English from inside. It is said that Tipu had 
 become hated by his Hindu subjects in consequence 
 of his partiality for Mohammedans. His Prime 
 Minister was a Hindu, whose daughter while bathing 
 was outraged by a Mohammedan soldier. Tipii re- 
 fused to punish the violator, and in consequence 
 the Prime Minister determined to be revenged. 
 He entered into negotiations with the English, ar- 
 ranged the time for the assault, and at that moment 
 weakened the forces which ought to have defended 
 the breach, and thus enabled us to take the city. All 
 the stories and legends about Tipu exhibit him as a 
 cruel, depraved monarch, without pity or toleration 
 for his Hindu subjects, and careless of their rights.
 
 i6o A parson's holiday. 
 
 Inside the fort there are still standing two Hindu 
 temples, and one mosque, but all the palace buildings 
 are in ruins. Outside the fort there is a beautiful little 
 summer palace, where Tipu and his wives used to take 
 their pleasure. This is called the Durria-dowlut, and 
 Colonel Wellesley resided there, when he was in 
 command of the town after the siege. The walls 
 and roofs are decorated with paintings and frescoes, 
 which commemorate a victory gained by Tipu over 
 the English. 
 
 About half-a-mile from this palace stands the 
 mausoleum, where Hyder and Tipu are buried. It is 
 a domed structure of handsome design, with a deep 
 verandah supported by massive black marble columns. 
 The doors are of carved marble and teak inlaid with 
 ivory, and the whole building is richly finished. In the 
 interior there are three tombs made of black marble, 
 and covered with silken cloths. Here rest the remains 
 of Hyder Ali, his wife, and Tipu Sahib. The walls are 
 painted in yellow and black in imitation of a tiger's 
 stripes, and the black marble gives a peculiarly rich 
 sepulchral effect to the whole building. All these 
 relics of the past are now kept up by Government 
 in consequence of an eloquent and striking minute 
 written by Lord Dalhousie, the great Governor-General. 
 He found these buildings neglected and falling into 
 decay, and in consequence he impressed on the 
 Government the necessity of providing for their ade- 
 quate repair, for they were not only memorials of the 
 success of the British arms, and architecturally beau- 
 tiful, but also associated with the early exploits of one 
 who became the Duke of Wellington. 
 
 There is one more building, which is worth a visit, 
 at Seringapatam, and that is the Deserted Bungalow, 
 formerly inhabited by a Colonel Scott. Its history 
 has been well told by the talented author of the ^^ Lays 
 of Indy Colonel Scott was in the employment of the 
 late Maharajah, and resided in this bungalow with his 
 wife and two daughters. In one day he lost all three
 
 THE DESERTED BUNGALOW. l6l 
 
 through cholera. This sad and sudden affliction un- 
 hinged his mind, and he fled from the house, and was 
 never heard of again. Whether he committed suicide 
 or left the country was never known ; but the late 
 Maharajah gave orders that everything in the house 
 should be left exactly as it then was. All this hap- 
 pened some 80 years ago, and since then no one has 
 lived in the house, nor have any repairs or alterations 
 been attempted. The whole place is given up to 
 decay. Fragments of carpets are rotting on the floors, 
 pianos rust and fall to pieces in the rooms, shreds of 
 musquito curtains still hang to the bedsteads, chairs 
 and tables are almost crumbled away, and damp, and 
 dust, and cobwebs, cover everything. 
 
 " The garden about it is tangled and wild, 
 Sad trees sigh close to its eaves, 
 And the dark lithe shapes 
 Of chattering apes 
 Swing in and out of the leaves ; 
 And when night's dank vapours rise grey and foul. 
 The silence is rent by the shrill screech-owl. 
 
 " The windows are shuttered, the doors are shut. 
 And the odour and stain of decay 
 Is on plaster and beam, 
 And the stone steps seem 
 To be ooze-corroding away ; 
 And the air all round is as tinged with the breath 
 Of the felt, though invisible, presence of Death. 
 
 " The mouldering rooms are now as they stood 
 Near eighty years ago : 
 The piano is there, 
 And table and chair. 
 And the carpet rotting slow, 
 And the beds whereon the corpses lay. 
 And the curtains half time-mawed away." 
 
 I never saw a more desolate-looking, deserted, melan- 
 choly spot. The rain has penetrated through the roof, 
 parts of the walls are giving way, the ceilings are 
 falling, and in a few more years there will be only 
 a heap of ruins left to mark the site of this once- 
 pleasant abode on the banks of the Cauvery. 
 
 X
 
 l62 A PARSON'S HOLIDAY. 
 
 "A type of gloom and decay and death, 
 And happiness overcast, 
 Is this bungalow lonely 
 And tenanted only 
 By memories of the past. 
 Peace to the shades of the three who died 
 In that lonely house by the Cauvery's tide ! " 
 
 From Seringapatam I took the train back to Banga- 
 lore, and on this journey I had a curious experience of 
 the rigid way in which the law of "caste" rules the 
 Hindu population of India. I was travelling in a 
 second-class carriage, and in the next compartment 
 there were three natives, only separated from me by a 
 low partition. One of them was a boy suffering from 
 fever, and parched with thirst. They were all high- 
 caste Brahmins from Gujerat, and were on a pilgrimage 
 to the holy places in the South of India. One of the 
 men with this sick lad was an intelligent, courteous 
 person, speaking good English. I could not help 
 being attracted by the moans of the poor lad, and I 
 heard him asking for water. I knew it would be 
 useless to offer my water-bottle to them, as they 
 would not drink from any vessel which I had used. 
 Still as it was a case of emergency, I ventured to 
 make the offer as politely as I could. I was not 
 surprised at its being courteously refused ; but the 
 younger of the two men asked me to call the station 
 master at the next station, and get him to obtain a 
 drink of water for them. He thought as I was an 
 Englishman, my request would be more likely to be 
 attended to. When the train stopped, I called the 
 station master and told him what they wanted. But 
 as soon as he saw them, he shook his head. He ex- 
 plained that he he had no " bhisti " (water-carrier) at 
 that station of high enough caste to give these gentle- 
 men water. They were superior to ordinary people, 
 and though the bhisti at most stations is chosen from 
 a high caste, in order that he may be able to minister 
 to everyone's wants, yet my fellow-travellers were 
 of a higher caste than the bhisti at that station,
 
 CASTE DISTINCTIONS. 163 
 
 and therefore could not have their drinking vessels 
 filled by him without suffering contamination. So 
 we were no further forward, and the poor sick lad 
 had to go on enduring his raging thirst without alle- 
 viation. Yet there was no hint on his part of a wish 
 to break through the rules of his religion, and he 
 seemed ready to endure any suffering rather than 
 do what he felt to be wrong. It was an example of 
 consistency and rectitude, which many a Christian 
 might imitate with advantage. However, at the next 
 station his sufferings were relieved. As soon as we 
 stopped, one of the men got out with his drinking 
 vessel, and soon came back radiant with joy. He 
 explained that he had found a well from which he had 
 drawn the water himself, and as no one else had 
 touched it, this water was lawful for them to drink. 
 So the sick lad got his sufferings relieved, and I learnt 
 a lesson of the heaviness of the yoke which " caste" 
 puts on the necks of the Hindu population. 
 
 From Bangalore I travelled southwards, via Erode 
 and Trichinopoly, to Tanjore. The great sights of 
 the South of India are the enormous temples, which 
 are peculiar to this district. These temples are 
 covered with carving, they often cover several acres 
 of ground, and they are as much superior in size and 
 richness to those in the North of India, as the Cathe- 
 drals of England are to the Parish Churches. 
 
 Hinduism in this part of India is a living religion. 
 There are but few Mohammedans, and nearly all the 
 natives are Hindus. The majority of them belong to 
 the sect which worships Vishnu as the chief god, and 
 their foreheads are slashed with a sort of trident mark, 
 viz.: two perpendicular white lines which are drawn from 
 the roots of the hair to the eyebrows, where they meet 
 in a curve, while between them there is a red mark in 
 the centre of the forehead. This mark is very notice- 
 able, and gives a sinister expression to the face. It 
 represents, I believe, the two footprints of Vishnu, 
 which remind his votaries of his incarnations. These
 
 164 A parson's holiday. 
 
 incarnations of Vishnu are the most popular gods of 
 modern Hinduism. He is worshipped as Krishna 
 all through Southern India, and the story of his 
 adventures, when he took on himself this form, are 
 amongst the best known of all the sacred legends. 
 This desire for a visible, and so to speak human 
 god is universal amongst the mass of the people, 
 who cannot understand difficult doctrines or abstruse 
 philosophy. The Brahmans have invented various 
 legends, which represent Vishnu as taking on him- 
 self different shapes for the purpose of preserving 
 the world when in danger. These legends describe 
 his adventures and various doings. His actions 
 were by no means always seemly, neither can 
 his conduct be always justified. The result is that 
 the mass of the people worship a god, whose life is 
 full of astounding and foolish incidents, and whose 
 actions were sometimes immoral and indecent. No 
 wonder that such a religion has failed to purify its 
 adherents, and that the temples of the god are often 
 centres of immorality and sinks of iniquity. The 
 longing for a visible God and a true Incarnation seems 
 to be an instinct in human nature. 
 
 At Tanjore I first saw one of those enormous tem- 
 ples for which Southern India is famous. It stands 
 in the middle of the city, and its great central mass is 
 seen from afar towering upwards to the height of 
 200 feet. It may be taken as an example of all 
 the temples of Southern India, and a description of 
 its arrangements will serve to explain the design of all 
 these remarkable structures. Fergusson * says that 
 these temples consist almost invariably of the four 
 following parts. The vimana or shrine, containing a 
 cell in which the image of the god or his emblem is 
 placed. This is always square in plan, and sur- 
 mounted by a pyramidal roof of one or more stories. 
 Then the mantapas or porches, which always cover or 
 
 '^Handbook of Architecture, vol. i., p. 88.
 
 TEMPLE AT TANJORE. 165 
 
 precede the door leading to the cell. Thirdly the 
 gate pyramids, or gopuras, leading into the quad- 
 rangular enclosure which surrounds the vimana. And 
 lastly the choultries, or pillared halls, which are used 
 for various purposes. Besides these a temple always 
 contains tanks or wells of water, to be used either for 
 sacred purposes or for the convenience of the priests, 
 dwellings for the various grades of the priesthood, and 
 numerous other buildings. 
 
 This temple at Tanjore Fergusson calls "the 
 most splendid temple in India." Entering through a 
 gateway surmounted by a gopura or lofty gate 
 pyramid, one finds oneself in a large quadrangle 
 paved with stone. Each side of this quadrangle is 
 200 yards long, and all round there runs a colon- 
 nade which forms a cloister. In the centre of the 
 great court rises the vimana, the shrine itself, which 
 is stupendous in size and covered with the richest 
 carvings. Each side of the base of this building 
 measures 82 feet, and it is two stories high ; but upon 
 this structure there rises a pyramidal roof of 14 stories, 
 finishing in a dome-shaped apex, surmounted with a 
 gilt spike. The whole height is 200 feet, and each of 
 the four sides of this lofty structure is covered with 
 carving. There are numerous niches in which figures 
 are placed, and the light and shade are very marked 
 and have a striking effect. The building was erected 
 about 800 years ago, and has been probably repaired 
 at some later date. The porch, or 7nantapa, in this 
 temple is subordinate to the central shrine, and the 
 whole design is more clearly visible than in some 
 other temples. In the great court-yard facing the 
 principal entrance of the shrine there is a colossal bull 
 carved out of one mass of rock, and saturated with 
 oil. It rests upon a platform raised on 12 steps, and 
 is covered with a lofty canopy. In the colonnade 
 round the inside wall of the quadrangle there are 
 various frescoes portraying the incarnations of Vishnu 
 and exploits of heroes ; there are also several idola-
 
 i66 A parson's holiday. 
 
 trous symbols, and indecent paintings. But though all 
 the details will not bear inspection, yet the great size 
 of the central court-yard, the way in which the shrine 
 stands out, and the richness of the carving render 
 this temple quite unique. 
 
 After I had visited the temple I went to a small 
 church in which there was a monument to the Danish 
 missionary, Schwartz, erected in 1798 by the then 
 Maharajah of Tanjore. Schwartz had a wonderful in- 
 fluence over natives, and was much respected by them. 
 He acted as ambassador between Clive and the native 
 princes, and one Rajah on his death-bed appointed 
 the missionary to act as guardian to his infant son. 
 He was revered by all the people of Tanjore, many of 
 whom were converted to Christianity by his means, 
 and when he died in 1798 all classes of the people 
 mourned for him. There is a mission in Tanjore now 
 carried on by the Society for the Propagation of the 
 Gospel, but I had no opportunity of seeing any of the 
 workers in it. The church in which Schwartz's monu- 
 ment is placed is in a disgracefully dirty condition, 
 and is now very seldom, if ever, used for service. 
 The Rajah of Tanjore, who was such an admirer of 
 Schwartz, and who was nearly converted to Christianity, 
 has been succeeded by less respectable rulers, and the 
 present condition of the kingdom is not satisfactory. 
 There is no Rajah at present, the Ranee is pensioned, 
 and an English civilian receives the revenues of the state. 
 
 I visited the Palace, and was shown some of the 
 outer courts and rooms. It was like other princely 
 residences in India, very dirty, very tawdry, and 
 overflowing with idle retainers greedy for rupees. 
 The building covered a very large area, and within its 
 enceinte there were numerous court-yards and pas- 
 sages, barracks and stabling, servant's residences and 
 rooms for crowds of dependents. In one court-yard 
 the royal elephants were picketed, and their trappings, 
 used on great occasions of state, were very magnifi- 
 cent. But mixed up with these really beautiful speci-
 
 NATIVE PRINCES. 167 
 
 mens of native workmanship I was also shown common 
 coloured pictures of the cheapest kind, and beautiful 
 native garments of cloth of gold were kept in cases, 
 which were flanked by vulgar English ornaments and 
 coloured prints. I believe the library holds a really 
 valuable collection of Sanscrit MSS., but these were 
 not shown. The books that I saw were neither beau- 
 tiful nor curious. 
 
 How best to treat the princely families of India is a 
 constantly recurring difhculty. If the ruling member 
 of the house is inclined to be amenable to Western 
 influences, he may become partially Anglicized, and 
 then he takes his position as a great landowner, and 
 the management of his estate may afford him suffi- 
 cient occupation. But if he lives in the same way as 
 did his forefathers, he finds himself in a difficult 
 position. He is a ruler without power, trammelled by 
 law, and prevented from doing what his ancestors 
 did. He sees no career open to him. He will not 
 take to the army as a profession, for he could not 
 brook to be controlled by English officers, and he 
 cannot govern his principality in his own way for 
 all independent power has been taken from him. 
 Many native princes pass an idle, objectless life. 
 They spend their days in smoking, and eating, and 
 dissipation at home, or in paying visits to each other 
 with all the pomp they can command ; they multiply 
 useless retainers, which they think add to their 
 grandeur, and they often waste their resources by ex- 
 travagance and excess. They have been likened to 
 the Barons of the Middle Ages, but their lot is harder, 
 for they have no voice in the government of their 
 country, nor any career open to them. It is hoped 
 that the younger generation may become better edu- 
 cated, and as local government spreads, they may be 
 able to take a share in ordering the affairs of their 
 neighbourhood. But their position is a difficult one, 
 and their future lot is one of the problems which the 
 rulers of India will have to face.
 
 i68 A parson's holiday. 
 
 Chapter IX. 
 
 From Tanjore I travelled to Trichinopoly, where I 
 first saw some of the Mission work of Southern India. 
 Trichinopoly is a large city, containing a population 
 of 76,000 people, and famous for its silver carving and 
 paintings on talc. The most striking feature is the 
 great Rock, which towers up, like a lesser Gibraltar, 
 in the midst of the town. This rock is a great block 
 of gneiss, which rises up to a height of 400 feet. It 
 is quite bare of vegetation, its sides are very steep, 
 and its mass rises up abruptly from the plain. The 
 view of it from a distance is very fine, and this bold 
 rock is seen long before the town is reached. The top 
 of it is crowned with a temple, which is reached by a 
 steep stone staircase covered by a richly carved colon- 
 nade. Above the great temple there is a further as- 
 cent to the extreme apex of the rock, and this has to 
 be made on the smooth surface of the stone without 
 either covering or balustrade. The steep slope of the 
 stone and its slippery condition render this an awkward 
 climb, but the view from the top repays one for the 
 difficulty of the ascent. Beneath one's feet the city 
 lies, laid out like a map, with broad, straight streets 
 and houses embowered in palms. Round the north 
 side of the rock flows the river Cauvery, a broad and 
 swift stream with banks covered with cocoa-nuts and 
 its islands green with feathery trees. About three 
 miles distant are seen the gate pyramids and pin- 
 nacles of the great temple of Srirangham, and far 
 away on all sides extends the great plain covered with 
 paddy, and looking most rich and fertile. The whole 
 of this district is irrigated with water taken from the 
 Cauvery, and the system of trenches and tanks utilizes 
 every drop of the life-giving streams.
 
 TEMPLE OF SRIRANGHAM. 169 
 
 Besides the rock of Trlchinopoly the great temple 
 of Srirangham is well worth a visit. A drive of about 
 three miles brought us to the island on which this 
 wonderful mass of buildings has been erected. Origi- 
 nally there was probably a small shrine over some 
 sacred relic, or idol. But this sanctum sanctorum has 
 been surrounded by successive enclosures with lofty 
 gate pyramids, till the central shrine has been dwarfed 
 and concealed by the magnificent and lofty structures 
 within which it has been enclosed. The plan of the 
 building is square, and the central temple is sur- 
 rounded by seven square court-yards, one within the 
 other. Each of these encircling walls is pierced by 
 four great gateways, one on each side. Thus from 
 whichever side you approach this holy temple you 
 must pass through seven great gateways, until you 
 came to the central shrine. The gate pyramids are 
 very lofty, and covered with carved figures. The 
 outermost are the tallest, and they gradually decrease 
 in size as the innermost shrine is approached. Thus 
 " the inner enclosure being 200 or 300 feet square, the 
 gate pyramid is only 40 or 50 feet broad, and the pas- 
 sage through it 10 or 12 feet wide, and 18 or 20 feet 
 high, while the outer ones, standing in walls 2475 and 
 2880 feet in extent, are 130 feet wide by 100 feet 
 deep, the opening 21 feet 6 inches wide by twice that 
 in height."* This gives the proportions only of the 
 openings in the gopuras, but the height of the whole 
 gopura must be more than 100 feet high, and Fergus- 
 son calls these gateways "the most stupendous 
 buildings of the South of India." The whole of the 
 temple buildings cover half a square mile of ground, 
 and the outer circuit of the walls is more than two 
 miles in circumference. The best view of this mass 
 of buildings is obtained by ascending to the top of one 
 of the gate pyramids. From this point the circuit of 
 the walls can be traced, the diminishing squares of 
 
 *Fergusson, vol. i., p. 92.
 
 lyo A PARSON'S HOLIDAY. 
 
 the court-yards are plainly visible, and the towering 
 masses of the numerous gopuras show where the Hnes 
 of entrance pierce the enclosing walls. As the eye 
 traces these successive diminishing squares, it at last 
 rests on the gilt spike which surmounts the roof of 
 the innermost shrine. This is often the lowest point 
 in the structure, and thus the lowliest thing of all is 
 the sanctum sanctorum of the temple. The same 
 thing is true of the internal arrangements. You pass 
 through magnificent gateways, the jambs of which are 
 formed of single blocks of granite at least 40 feet in 
 length. You cross broad streets full of life and colour, 
 trodden by countless worshippers and gay with stalls 
 where fruit and flowers and various offerings are sold. 
 You pass by wide tanks with stone steps leading 
 down to clear water, and surrounded by colonnades 
 formed of carved pillars. You thread great halls sup- 
 ported by thousands of stone columns, which are 
 carved with all the grotesque richness so typical of 
 Hindu art. And finally you penetrate into a dark 
 and malodorous hall, where the priests check your 
 further advance. And from within there comes a 
 sound of gabbled prayers and high-pitched nasal 
 chanting, with the smell of incense and the ring of 
 bells ; and as you try to pierce the darkness of the 
 dimly lighted shrine, part of a misshapen figure, or a 
 blotch of vermilion colour, is all that is visible. Before 
 this thousands of worshippers are prostrating them- 
 selves at full length in the dust. Here candles are 
 lighted, offerings are made, and the whole worship of 
 the temple service culminates. For this all the lofty 
 gate pyramids and pillared halls have been erected, 
 and the magnificence of the outside architecture is but 
 a screen to the meanness and dirt and darkness of the 
 central shrine. It may truly be said to be typical of 
 the religion. For the more you penetrate into its 
 recesses, the less beauty you find in it. The closer 
 you touch idolatry, the more loathsome it appears, 
 l^e very shrine is a cloak for immorality, the ritual
 
 MISSIONARY WORK. 171 
 
 encourages vice, and the worshippers love darkness 
 rather than Hght because their deeds are evil. 
 
 It was Interesting to turn from these scenes where 
 idolatry was rampant, and learn how a few earnest 
 missionaries were trying to lead these crowds of heathen 
 to a purer faith and a higher life. The work of the 
 Society for the Propagation of the Gospel Mission at 
 Trichinopoly has had many difficulties to contend with, 
 but it is now moving forward in a promising way. The 
 number of Christian clergy and teachers is miserably 
 inadequate to the work. The whole district extends 
 over 21 16 square miles, about the size of the county 
 of Norfolk, and the population is about 800,000. In 
 this large area there are one English and three native 
 clergymen working, besides a few catechists and school 
 teachers. There are altogether 17 Christian congre- 
 gations, numbering 1434 souls. The communicants 
 number 697, nearly one-half of the entire number of 
 Christians. These statistics are taken from a Report 
 given to me by the Rev. J. L. Wyatt, missionary in 
 charge. He himself lives in the town of Trichinopoly, 
 and exercises a general oversight over the whole dis- 
 trict. In those villages where he cannot be present 
 himself, it is the duty of the catechists to conduct 
 services, to instruct (so far as they can) the members 
 of the different congregations, to visit the sick, and 
 to make known the Gospel. This work of the catechist 
 is most useful. He is always a native, and speaks to 
 the people in familiar words and in their own language. 
 He keeps the congregation together, and acts under 
 the superintendence of the English missionary. It is 
 impossible for the English clergyman to visit these out- 
 lying villages very often, as his time is fully occupied 
 by arduous and important work in the large towns. 
 But his hands are strengthened and his work prevented 
 from languishing by the humble and quiet labours of 
 the resident native catechists. These native Christian 
 teachers chiefly come from the district of Tinnevelly, 
 where the training of such humble preachers of the
 
 172 A parson's holiday. 
 
 Gospel has formed a large and useful part of the 
 Christian work done in that part of India. Other 
 portions of the country are now being benefited by 
 their efforts, and a great part of the quiet Christian 
 life in the smaller villages is due to the unobtrusive 
 work of the native catechist. 
 
 The mission work at Trichinopoly, as elsewhere, is 
 largely done through its schools. These schools are 
 of various sizes and of different classes, and range 
 from the most elementary village school up to a high 
 school which prepares its scholars for matriculation at 
 the University of Madras. A few words on these 
 schools will show how large a part of the missionary's 
 time and thoughts is taken up with education, and 
 how useful an instrument it is in the evangelization of 
 the people of India. 
 
 The chief feature of this mission is the great High 
 School under the Society for the Propagation of the 
 Gospel in the town of Trichinopoly. It is a grand insti- 
 tution, the largest school outside the Presidency town 
 of Madras. It had (in 1880) 196 boys on the register. 
 The Principal is a layman, and there are 27 native 
 assistants with him, about one-half of whom are non- 
 Christians. Scriptural instruction is given for one hour 
 daily by the Christian teachers to all the classes. I 
 was unfortunately unable to see this great school at 
 work, as it was holiday time when I was at Trichi- 
 nopoly. But from all I could hear the school is doing 
 good work, it is attended by crowds of heathen boys 
 who desire to receive a good education and to matri- 
 culate at the University, and it is deservedly popular. 
 All over India the desire for an English education is 
 very great, for the knowledge of English opens the 
 way to Government employ ; thus the brightest and 
 most intelligent of the heathen lads flock to the classes 
 and crowd the rooms of the S.P.G. College. They 
 thus come under the influence of Western thought 
 and civilization, and their own superstitions are broken 
 down. Even if for a time the educated natives profess
 
 CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS. I 73 
 
 to be Materialists, and seem to have lost their former 
 faith without obtaining anything in its place, there is 
 no need to despair ; for there is no vitality and no 
 beauty in modern Hinduism, and we may trust that 
 the native, whose old idolatry has been shattered by 
 modern education, although he may pass through a 
 dark phase of doubt and atheism, will not be the loser. 
 It is a gain to have overthrown idolatry, and when the 
 ruins are swept away, something purer, and truer, and 
 more lasting will often be erected in its place. 
 
 The missionary exerts but little direct influence 
 through the classes at the High School. Any evan- 
 gelistic results that can be traced to the teaching 
 there given, spring from the effect produced in- 
 directly by the life and conversation of the Christian 
 teacher on his pupils. But there are in Trichinopoly 
 other schools, which are markedly of a missionary 
 character. There is a large boys' boarding school, a 
 girls' boarding school, a female training institution, 
 and nine girls' and seven boys' day schools. In 
 these various schools there are altogether 489 boys 
 and 449 girls, so nearly 1000 children are under 
 Christian instruction. 
 
 I visited the boys' boarding school, which now gives 
 accommodation to about 50 boarders. This is located 
 in an old District Sessions Court, which, being no 
 longer required by the Government, was offered for 
 sale. Mr. Wyatt advised the Madras Committee of 
 the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel to buy 
 the house, and they did so for a very moderate sum. 
 The buildings are large and commodious, and stand 
 in a good compound of five acres of ground. The 
 school will accommodate about 200 boys, and one 
 large room 40 feet by 24 feet is used as a chapel. 
 Those of the boarders who can afford it, pay some- 
 thing towards their maintenance, and thus they learn 
 to be independent. But the great aim of the insti- 
 tution is, in Mr. Wyatt's words, to " secure boys for 
 the school, of good families, irrespective of the fees
 
 174 A parson's holiday. 
 
 they are able to pay, so that they may obtain a 
 good rehgious education and thereby recommend the 
 Christian religion to the people of their respective 
 villages, and that we may obtain material for our 
 future native agents. Christian boys of the rural 
 villages have no opportunity of receiving a religious 
 education in their homes, and some that have been 
 taken into the school are, as regards religious know- 
 ledge, hardly removed a step from the heathen boys 
 round them ; in fact, they do not know anything like 
 the amount of Scripture that heathen boys know who 
 live in the town and attend Mission Schools." This 
 system of keeping boarding schools under the care of 
 the English missionary has been found to answer very 
 well in Tinnevelly, and it seems likely to have a good 
 effect everywhere, as the personal intercourse between 
 the scholars and the English clergyman is sure to act 
 beneficially. From this intercourse conversions are 
 likely to spring, and the Christian boys in the school 
 influence their heathen companions. Indeed many of 
 the heathen boys are desirous of being baptized, but 
 while they are young they are not admitted to Baptism 
 without their parents' consent. There was an in- 
 teresting case in 1882, when one of these lads was 
 baptized. His father was a heathen, but had in his 
 boyhood attended a mission school. He was induced 
 by some Christian friends to place his son in the 
 boarding school, and occasionally he came to see him. 
 This gave the missionary an opportunity of talking to 
 him about the Christian religion, and the father said 
 he had never forcjotten the lessons he had learned at 
 school when young, but as his wife and many of his 
 friends were opposed to Christianity he remained in 
 heathenism. However, his son soon expressed a wish 
 to be baptized, and persuaded his father to be bap- 
 tized also. This he consented to do, and both son 
 and father were baptized together. The wife still 
 remains in heathenism, but has ceased to express any 
 opposition to Christianity, and there is a hope that she
 
 AN EVENING MEETING. 1 75 
 
 will soon follow the example of her husband and son. 
 This is an instance of the influence exercised over the 
 scholars in the boarding school, and it shows what a 
 distinctly evangelistic agency a good school may be. 
 
 Besides the boys' boarding school there is also a 
 girls' boarding school containing 52 children, and a 
 female training institution for teachers. The latter is 
 a most useful institution, as it supplies teachers for the 
 different day schools in the town and in the various 
 villages. There are besides 24 day schools, for both 
 boys and girls, under the supervision of the missionary, 
 where some 800 children, both Christian and heathen, 
 are under instruction. Some of these are in the out- 
 lying villages and some in the town of Trichinopoly. 
 There ought of course to be many more, and if every 
 village and large town in the district were properly 
 occupied, the schools would be counted by hundreds. 
 There is no better way of influencing for good the 
 rising generation than by efficient Christian schools, 
 and I think those missionaries are very wise, who 
 throw much of their strength into educational work. 
 
 The boarding schools and day schools occupy much 
 of Mr. Wyatt's time, but he does not neglect the more 
 direct evangelistic work, by which he tries to influence 
 the heathen who are dwelling around him. One of the 
 most interesting ways in which this work is attempted 
 is an evening meeting which is held in a school-room 
 twice a week for non-Christians. These meetings are 
 very well attended, and seem to be popular. Mr. 
 Wyatt says that the same faces appear week by week, 
 and the numbers vary from 180 to 300. The mode of 
 procedure is to start with a procession of a few boys, 
 who go singing through the streets to the place of 
 meeting. The Tamils of Southern India are very 
 musical, and there are a number of native tunes which 
 are very popular; to some of these suitable words have 
 been placed, and they are thus made into Christian 
 lyrics. The singing procession soon collects a crowd, 
 and the school is filled with an attentive audience.
 
 176 A parson's holiday. 
 
 Once the procession was interrupted by a little stone- 
 throwing, and once a snake was introduced into 
 the meeting to create an excitement, but the pro- 
 ceedings generally pass off quietly. When the lyric 
 or hymn is finished, there is a short prayer, a portion 
 of Scripture is read, and then there is an address 
 given on some religious topic, such as God, Man, Sin, 
 Worship, Prayer, Christ, or the like. Then anyone is 
 invited to speak, or to ask questions, and after a dis- 
 cussion the meeting closes with more hymns. The 
 proceedings are all in Tamil, and the address is gene- 
 rally given by one of the native clergymen, who are 
 working with Mr. Wyatt. 
 
 I was fortunate enough to be at Trichinopoly on one 
 of the evenings when these meetings are held, and I 
 was thus an eye-witness of the scene. We got to the 
 place after the audience had assembled, and during 
 the delivery of the address. The room was close to 
 the street, and open on all sides to the road, being 
 little more than a large shed supported on wooden 
 pillars, and with a few benches in the centre. It was 
 dimly lighted with a few oil lamps, and was fairly 
 filled with about a hundred people, who came and 
 went as they pleased. At the upper end of the room 
 there was a table, behind which stood a little knot of 
 native Christians, some teachers and choir boys, and 
 the native clergyman. The rest of the room was filled 
 with a heathen crowd, the more regular attendants sat 
 on the benches in the centre, others stood round the 
 pillars half in and half out of the room ; some seemed 
 to have been attracted by curiosity and stayed but a 
 short time, but the majority remained throughout the 
 proceedings. The address, which was delivered by 
 the native clergyman, was of course unintelligible to 
 me, but I was told afterwards that he was comparing 
 Christ with other religious teachers, and showing how 
 far superior were the doctrines He taught to those 
 promulgated by Hindu teachers. The address was 
 extremely fluent, and I was told that its matter was
 
 AN EVENING MEETING. 1 77 
 
 likewise excellent. Certainly he gained the attention 
 of all, and the people listened silently during the whole 
 of the address. Though I could understand no word 
 of what was said, yet I could not help being interested. 
 The bare room open on all sides, the two or three 
 lamps lighting up the speaker, the keen dark faces 
 with heathen signs painted on their foreheads peering 
 out round every pillar, the seats in the centre filled 
 with men who listened with rapt attention, the stream 
 of foreign speech pouring forth in fluent gutturals, the 
 eloquent action of the native preacher who seemed 
 full of his subject, all made a picture which lives in 
 my memory. When the address was over, discussion 
 was invited, and an objection was promptly raised by 
 someone in the room. I was told afterwards what 
 was said. The objector found fault with the preacher 
 for having said that the Hindus worshipped devils, 
 and he said this description of Hinduism was not fair 
 or just. He was patiently heard, and was not allowed 
 to be interrupted, though some of the Christian cate- 
 chists were anxious to do battle with him before he had 
 finished. When he had done, Mr. Wyatt quoted two 
 instances of devil worship which had come under his 
 own observation, and the audience seemed convinced 
 of the justness of the phrase objected to. There is a 
 great deal of low fetishism, underlying popular Hin- 
 duism, prevalent in the country districts, and though 
 the educated men of the town may not approve of it, 
 yet this degraded religion of fear, and this notion of 
 propitiating invisible beings who would do harm if not 
 appeased, is common amongst the unlearned. The 
 audience seemed ready to applaud the points made on 
 either side, and I was much struck with the patience 
 and good sense of the reply. There was no wish to 
 gain a mere dialectic advantage, or to hurt the feelings 
 of an opponent, but the main desire was to win the 
 objector to the side of the truth, and to show him that 
 there had been a justification for the obnoxious phrase. 
 We left the room after this before the proceedings had 
 
 Z
 
 lyS A PARSON'S HOLIDAY. 
 
 quite terminated, but I had seen enough to understand 
 something of the difficulty and yet the hopefulness of 
 evangelistic work. 
 
 From Trichinopoly I went by train to Madura, where 
 there is another of the great temples of Southern 
 India. The area covered by the buildings is hardly so 
 great as that of the great temple at Srirangham, but 
 the carving is much richer. The temple at Madura 
 also stands in the centre of the town, and is therefore 
 fuller of life, and constantly thronged with crowds of 
 people. The great gate pyramids are covered with 
 sculptured figures, and the whole of the front of the 
 gopura is picked out in red, and blue, and green, and 
 gold. The plan of the temple is similar to that at 
 Srirangham, consisting of a small central shrine en- 
 closed by rectangular encircling walls. Between the 
 successive squares of these walls there are broad 
 streets, and in these and in the principal approaches 
 there are bazaars, where every kind of article is ex- 
 hibited for sale. Brass and metal work of all sorts, 
 fruit and flowers, china and glass from England, cloths 
 and silks ; the courts are full of a bargaining, gossip- 
 ing, chaffering crowd who turn the whole temple into 
 a place of merchandise. At intervals the crowd is 
 thrust aside by the advent of one of the trustees of 
 the temple, or a great Rajah goes by with pomp and 
 retinue. Or one of the great temple elephants comes 
 slowly swinging along, bearing water for the shrine, his 
 trunk daubed with vermilion and his head wreathed with 
 flowers. I believe this temple possesses great store of 
 jewels and precious stones, which are said to be of in- 
 calculable value, but I was not fortunate enough to 
 get a sight of the treasure. But the chief thing which 
 render this temple noticeable amongst all its compeers 
 is the richness of the stone carving of the pillars. Hindu 
 art is here at its best, and the figure sculpture is truer to 
 nature than anywhere else. The pillars are carved in 
 very high relief, and are covered with numerous male 
 and female figures placed in attitudes of rapid action.
 
 TRIMUL NAIK'S BUILDINGS. 1 79 
 
 The most striking part of this great temple is the 
 choultry or pillared hall, built by Trimul Naik in 1623. 
 These choultries are common in all temples, and are 
 of various sizes. They are used as halls of ceremony, 
 as places where the car of the god is kept, and as 
 covered colonnades where the dancing girls attached 
 to the temple dance and sing. The one at Madura 
 was built by the King to provide a suitable abode for 
 the god, who is said to have consented to leave his 
 temple for ten days every year and visit the King, 
 if a fit building was provided for his reception. The 
 choultry is certainly a wonderful structure, consisting 
 of a great hall 333 feet long and 81 feet wide, sup- 
 ported by 123 pillars. These pillars are the great 
 feature of the building, as they are all covered with 
 the most elaborate ornamentation. No two of them 
 are alike, they stand about nine feet apart, and the 
 appearance of the hall is that of a forest of stone piers, 
 the diversity and richness of which bewilder the eye. 
 The cost of this great hall is said to have been a 
 million sterling, and it took 22 years to complete. 
 When it is remembered that this pillared hall is only a 
 part of the whole design of the temple, and that there 
 are numerous other corridors and cloisters, gate-pyra- 
 mids and porches, all covered from top to bottom with 
 carvings of all kinds, the amount of labour that has 
 been expended on this great temple is inconceivable. 
 Most of the stone seemed to be a close-grained 
 granite, and the whole has been done by native artists 
 without any help from European designers. The 
 failure in the design is the want of a good coup d'oeil, 
 but the labour of construction and the care bestowed 
 on the stone sculpture are amazing. 
 
 Close alongside the temple are the remains of the 
 Palace of Trimul Naik, which is now being restored 
 by Government. Its great feature is the large Hall of 
 Audience supported by more than 125 columns, which 
 seemed to be about the size of Westminster Hall. 
 The centre of this hall is very spacious and lofty, and
 
 i8o A parson's holiday. 
 
 the columns are arranged in a double and treble 
 cloister, the roof of which must be 50 feet high. 
 When the Prince of Wales visited Madura, he was 
 received in this great hall, and an elephant stood 
 before each pillar. So that the Prince passed up 
 through a double row of these great creatures to the 
 throne set for him at the end of the hall. Besides 
 this great hall there are other smaller halls attached, 
 which are all richly carved, and now used as public 
 offices and judicial courts. Trimul Naik was a con- 
 temporary of the great Moguls, who erected the 
 magnificent buildings at Delhi and Agra. He must 
 have been equally powerful in Southern India, and 
 capable of commanding any amount of labour. 
 
 Another striking sight at Madura is a great tank, 
 about 200 yards square, in which there is a small 
 island on which a carved temple stands. This is an 
 object of pilgrimage at certain seasons, when the 
 waters of the tank are covered with a numerous 
 flotilla of boats. 
 
 Mission work at Madura is chiefly in the hands of 
 an American society, whose schools are highly spoken 
 of, and whose labours are reported to be successful. 
 
 The English Churchmen have built a beautiful little 
 church for their own use, and a chaplain is provided 
 by a Madras society for providing additional clergy 
 in India. The status of the English Church in India 
 is one which is open to criticism. At present chap- 
 lains are provided at the large stations by Govern- 
 ment, and are paid out of Government funds. They 
 are considered to be primarily for the use of the 
 troops, but there are some chaplains which are ap- 
 pointed to civil stations. The question has been raised 
 whether it is justifiable to tax the natives of India to 
 support an ecclesiastical establishment for the use of 
 our soldiers and officials. The cost of this estab- 
 lishment is over ;^20o,ooo a year. The argument in 
 favour of the retention of this charge on the revenues 
 of the country is that it is as much part of our system
 
 THE CHURCH ESTABLISHMENT. l8l 
 
 of administration in India as charges for doctors or 
 pensions. The civiHans expect to have rehgious privi- 
 leges provided for them, just as they expect to have 
 free doctoring and large retiring allowances. It is part 
 of the bargain made with them, when they take service 
 under the Indian Government, and it is one of their 
 privileges which they take into consideration, when 
 they determine to expatriate themselves to India. 
 
 But now the Government is withdrawing chaplains 
 from nearly all civil stations where there are no troops, 
 and the civilians are expected to combine and provide 
 the salary of a clergyman, if they desire his services. 
 Also the planters in many of the tea and coffee dis- 
 tricts pay for their own clergyman. And in every 
 diocese in India there is now a society for the employ- 
 ment of additional clergy, which is supported by 
 voluntary subscriptions, and which provides funds for 
 the salary of a clergyman in places where there are 
 sufficient Europeans to render one necessary. At 
 Madura the resident civilians have built a beautiful 
 Church, and have secured the services of a clergyman. 
 If all civil stations were to act in like manner, English 
 Churchmen would not have to appeal to the Govern- 
 ment to provide them with their religious privileges. 
 The chaplains might then be retained only for the use 
 of the troops, and the Church would be benefited by 
 thus being forced to depend more on voluntary effort. 
 The services of the clergyman would be more appre- 
 ciated when the congregation had learnt that it was 
 their duty to support him, and that "the labourer 
 was worthy of his hire." 
 
 From Madura I travelled southwards into the dis- 
 trict of Tinnevelly. This is the name most often heard 
 at Missionary meetings at home, and when the Christian 
 Missions of India are referred to, it is this district 
 which is generally mentioned. For here may be seen 
 whole villages entirely Christian, built round the 
 Church, and the villagers themselves support a resident 
 clergyman, who is often a native. It is the one part of
 
 i82 A parson's holiday. 
 
 India where Christianity is the religion of a distinct 
 proportion (6 per cent.) of the population. Instead of 
 being professed by a few converts, it is here the faith 
 of thousands, who have been brought up from child- 
 hood within its borders. I had seen many missionaries 
 in various parts of India struggling with the over- 
 whelming masses of heathendom. I was now to see 
 that district where even the most sceptical as to the 
 good done by missionaries must confess that a modi- 
 cum of success has crowned their labours. After 
 having seen the efforts made to evangelize the 
 heathen, it was pleasant to anticipate the sight of 
 Christian villages where temples and idols were un- 
 known. 
 
 The district of Tinnevelly extends from a little 
 south of Madura to Cape Comorin. It is bounded 
 on the east and south by the coastline of India, and 
 on the west by the native States of Travancore and 
 Cochin. The soil is sandy and poor, and the chief 
 wealth of the district comes from the Palmyra palms, 
 which are very numerous. It is a district away from 
 railways. The line from Madras has its terminus at 
 the town of Tinnevelly, but those who desire to pene- 
 trate further into the country must be content with the 
 slow progress and jolting motion of the " bandy " or 
 bullock waggon. The people are quiet and inoffen- 
 sive, originally very ignorant, and prone to devil- 
 worship. They were the aboriginal inhabitants of the 
 land, and had never heartily embraced Hinduism, but 
 preferred to combine with it many of their old super- 
 stitions. 
 
 More than a hundred years ago the district was 
 visited by Schwartz, but it was not till fifty years later 
 that any great effort was made to evangelize this 
 people. From the very first the idea of the mis- 
 sionaries was to found villages entirely Christian, 
 where the tumults and seductions of heathenism 
 should be unknown. This idea has never been lost 
 siijht of, and now it has been realized in numerous
 
 MISSIONS IN TINNEVELLY. 1 83 
 
 instances. In 1841 Mr. Caldwell (now Bishop Cald- 
 well) began his great work, and his name will always 
 be associated with the Tinnevelly Mission. He not 
 only succeeded in adding greatly to the number of 
 Churches, and schools, and clergymen, and catechists 
 in the district, but he started a scheme of local 
 Church government and self-sustentation which has 
 answered admirably. There is a Church council in 
 every district, which the clegyman consults in all 
 matters of local interest, and which assists him in 
 collecting and distributing the offerings made by the 
 congregation. So well has the Church been organized, 
 that nearly every congregation supports its native 
 pastor, and also subscribes largely to spread the 
 Gospel news to the neighbouring heathen villages. 
 These poor Christians of Tinnevelly set an example 
 worth noting by richer congregations in England. 
 
 The rise of the native pastorate is one of the most 
 interesting facts in connection with the Tinnevelly 
 Mission. In 1841 there were in the whole district 
 seven European clergy and only one native. In 1869 
 there were fourteen European and forty-seven native 
 clergymen. This number has since then been largely 
 increased. In 1877 ^ fresh departure was made. 
 The Tinnevelly Missions were put under the joint 
 charge of Dr. Caldwell and Dr. Sargent, who were 
 together consecrated Assistant-Bishops to the Bishop 
 of Madras. Bishop Caldwell was to have charge of 
 the Missions under the Society for the Propagation 
 of the Gospel, while Bishop Sargent was to exercise 
 oversight over the Church Missionary Society's Mis- 
 sions. Thus the district of Tinnevelly has two Bishops 
 resident within its borders, both of whom know the 
 native languages, and are able to foster the growth of 
 the native Church. 
 
 The same year was marked by the terrible famine 
 which devastated all Southern India, and was grie- 
 vously felt in Tinnevelly. The failure of the rain 
 caused loss of crops ; bullocks died and wells dried
 
 184 A PARSON'S HOLIDAY. 
 
 up ; the people looked out on bare fields and no food ; 
 the heavens were brass, and the earth iron; and multi- 
 tudes died before relief could be brought to their 
 doors. Numbers of half-starved, emaciated people, 
 men, and women, and children, crawled to the relief 
 camps, where grain was distributed. Numbers more 
 were found in a dying state by the roadside, and were 
 carried to places where food could be obtained. All 
 England was stirred by the news which was sent 
 home. Large sums were given for the relief of dis- 
 tress, and thousands of lives were saved by the labours 
 of an army of almoners. The after-result in Tinnevelly 
 was most striking. When the heathen saw this flood 
 of charity poured out on them from strangers in a far 
 distant land, they could not but feel grateful to their 
 unknown benefactors. Then followed a desire to know 
 more about this religion, which inculcated such benefi- 
 cent charity. So there was a movement and a stir- 
 ring all through the land, and in 1878 there was a 
 marked desire to hear more about Christianity. Num- 
 bers of villages placed themselves under Christian 
 instruction, and the accessions from heathenism were 
 so marked, that it was rightly called a " harvest of 
 souls." The numbers of those under instruction sud- 
 denly increased from 23,000 to 43,000. And " the 
 principal cause of the movement was undoubtedly the 
 conviction that generally prevailed, that whilst Hin- 
 duism had left the famine-stricken to die, Christianity 
 had stepped in like an angel from heaven, to render 
 them in their distress the sincerest sympathy and the 
 most effectual succour." So Bishop Caldwell writes, 
 and he also notices that in no case was an agreement 
 to become Christians made a condition for the re- 
 ceiving of relief. Indeed the great accession of con- 
 verts took place after the season of famine was over, 
 and when all relief had stopped. The distribution of 
 money and grain during the distress was made without 
 any conditions, and in every place men could obtain 
 relief without changing their religion. Every witness
 
 MISSIONARY STATISTICS. 185 
 
 seems to agree that the movement towards Christianity 
 was quite spontaneous and arose simply from the fact 
 that the hearts of the people had been touched and 
 softened by the extraordinary kindness shown to them 
 in their distress by the Christians of England. 
 
 Since 1878 the tide of accessions to Christianity has 
 continued to flow, and the increase has been regular 
 and unceasing. Probably now the total number of 
 Christians in Tinnevelly under the care of the various 
 societies in connection with the Church of England 
 does not fall short of 100,000. There is of course an 
 immensity more to be done. Missionaries returning 
 home and wishing to interest apathetic audiences are 
 inclined to magnify their success and dwell much on 
 the immense strides which have been made in the last 
 few years. All this is perfectly true, and worthy to 
 be remembered. The increase of the Christian popu- 
 lation in the province of Madras in the ten years 
 1 87 1-8 1 is 165,682, or 30*39 per cent. This is a fact 
 which should make us thankful and hopeful. But we 
 also need to remember how small is the number of 
 Christians when contrasted with the multitude of 
 heathen amongst whom they live. The total numbers 
 for the whole of India are, Hindus about 188 mil- 
 lions, and Mohammedans 50 millions. The number of 
 Christians is only 1,853,426, not much more than a half 
 per cent, of the total population of India. Even in 
 Tinnevelly, where Christians apparently abound in far 
 greater numbers than elsewhere, where there are native 
 Christian villages, and native clergy, and numerous 
 native Churches, even there the Christians number 
 barely 6 per cent, of the population. Thus out of every 
 hundred people in Tinnevelly there are still 94 who 
 worship idols, or profess some false religion. The num- 
 bers in India are so enormous that it is difficult to realize 
 what multitudes of people there are who have never 
 heard a sound of the Gospel message. 
 
 2 A
 
 1 86 A PARSON'S HOLIDAY. 
 
 Chapter X. 
 
 My journey from Madura to Tinnevelly was hot, and 
 tiring, and dusty. I started at 5 a.m., but I did not 
 arrive at my journey's end till noon, and by that 
 time the sun had great power. Although it was the 
 middle of the cold season, being January 20th, yet in 
 these Southern plains the heat is always great, as 
 Tinnevelly is' only nine degrees from the Equator. 
 The platforms on the line were crowded with dark- 
 faced crowds of natives, whose heads were shaved as 
 far as the top of the crown, but their hair was allowed 
 to grow in a long rough mane behind. Sometimes it 
 was tied up in a knot, and covered with a turban, but 
 more often it hung down their backs in an untidy 
 fashion. I was very hungry before I arrived at my 
 destination, as I had neglected to carry a luncheon 
 basket, and refreshment rooms were noticeable by 
 their absence. However, I brought some plantains, and 
 bread, and obtained a draught of the " milk" of the 
 green cocoa-nut. This is a most delicious beverage. 
 The vendor cuts off the top of the nut with a sharp 
 sickle-shaped knife, and then pours the liquor into 
 your glass. It is nearly white in colour, almost clear, 
 and not in the least like milk. Its taste is sweet,»and 
 a drink of it is most refreshing. When the nut ripens 
 this liquor becomes more like milk, but when the nut 
 is in a green state the juice is far nicer to drink. 
 
 I arrived at Tinnevelly Station about noon, and 
 drove from there to Palamcottah, about two miles 
 distant. This was my first experience of a "bandy" 
 or bullock waggon, which is the common conveyance 
 of Southern India. The horse "gharri" of the North 
 gives way to the bullock "bandy," and everyone hires 
 it for long journeys. The "bandy" is a two-wheeled
 
 PALAMCOTTAH. 1 87 
 
 waggon, about six feet long and three feet wide. It 
 is entered from the back^ and the seats can be so 
 arranged as to form a bed. There is a tilt or covering 
 over the top. made of plaited palm leaves, and the 
 driver sits it front. Good bullocks will trot about six 
 miles an hour, but the hack " bandy " does not travel 
 so fast. Indeed on the sandy tracks away from the 
 towns, two miles an hour is the average pace. 
 
 My "bandy" soon brought me to the Church 
 Missionary College at Palamcottah, where I was most 
 kindly received, and arrangements were made for my 
 further journey into the country district. I had been 
 advised to go to the Christian village, of Nazareth, 
 which is twenty-one miles distant from Palamcottah. 
 The only means of reaching this village is by "bandy." 
 During the heat of the day I stopped at Palamcottah, 
 and saw a little of the work going on there. The 
 town is the head-quarters of the Church Missionary 
 Society's Mission ; it is here that Bishop Sargent 
 resides, and here is also a Training College for native 
 catechists and teachers, with a practising school 
 attached. The buildings were plain and substantial, 
 and seemed well fitted for their purpose. The Rev. 
 T. Kember, who is in charge of this college, was most 
 willing to show me everything, and to explain his 
 plans for the spiritual, mental and physical training of 
 the students. The dormitories were built in native 
 fashion, the students slept on mats spread on the 
 f^oor, and in no way were they over-Europeanizcd. 
 They were encouraged to play games, and go in for 
 athletics ; the lecture rooms were large, clean, cool, 
 and well fitted with all kinds of apparatus ; and the 
 course of study seemed everything that could be 
 desired. There is no work which tends more to the 
 edifying of the native Church than this work of 
 training native agents. If India is ever to be entirely 
 evangelized, it must be through her own countrymen. 
 A large supply of native teachers is absolutely neces- 
 sary to the growth of the Church. It is good economy
 
 i88 A parson's holiday. 
 
 to spend much time, and pains, and money, on training 
 picked specimens of the race, who will afterwards be 
 able to teach others. The Missions in Tinnevelly have 
 always been pre-eminent in this branch of the work, 
 and the agents that have been trained in these schools 
 and colleges are now forming the resident clergy and 
 schoolmasters in many Christian villages. The higher 
 the standard held up to the natives who are under 
 instruction, the more will they edify their congrega- 
 tions when they become teachers of others. No pains 
 are too great to be bestowed on those who are to 
 be sent forth, often alone, to bear witness for Christ 
 amongst their heathen neighbours. They have to 
 be taught to be courageous, consistent, pure-minded 
 Christians, not afraid of responsibility, and yet not 
 arrogant and presumptuous. There is need of much 
 wisdom and watchfulness amongst those who try to 
 train the future clergy of India, and on the whole the 
 success has been great. Failures there must be at 
 times. Some fall away from the promise of their 
 youth. But on the whole there is much reason to 
 thank God, and take courage. Those who are sent 
 out from the Training Colleges do hold up a high 
 standard, and often shine like lights amongst those 
 with whom they live. 
 
 There seemed to be no jealousy between the mis- 
 sionaries of the Church Missionary Society and those of 
 the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Tin- 
 nevelly. I certainly was most kindly w^elcomed by the 
 agents of both Societies. Everyone seemed glad to 
 receive a parson from England, and they all did their 
 best to make my stay pleasant and instructive. I was 
 passed on from one to the other, arrangements were 
 made by which I was to see as much as possible in 
 the short time at my disposal, and there was an 
 amount of kindness shown to me which I can never 
 forget nor in any way repay. 
 
 At 4 p.m., when the sun was less powerful, I started 
 in my "bandy" for a drive of twenty-one miles to
 
 NAZARETH. 189 
 
 Nazareth. For the first part of the way there was a 
 good road, which enabled us to make fair progress. 
 The bullocks trotted along at about five miles an 
 hour, and I was not jolted as much as I expected. 
 But soon we had to turn off the main road, and then 
 our progress was not so rapid. The bullocks required 
 many objurgations to induce them to break into a trot 
 at all, and for the latter part of the journey we had to 
 be content to proceed at a walking pace. The sun 
 had long set, and the road seemed endless. The 
 track seemed to get fuller and fuller of ruts, and I 
 was jolted unmercifully. However, about 9 p.m., we 
 saw the lights of a bungalow. The bullocks quickened 
 up into a last attempt at a trot, there were shouts and 
 cries of welcome, and we drew up at the door of a 
 long, low house with a broad verandah, which seemed 
 crowded with kindly faces. My host and his com- 
 panion had everything ready for me, and after supper 
 I was ready to ask questions and to hear as much as 
 possible about Mission work. 
 
 My first experience of Nazareth was quaint enough. 
 Strangers are so seldom seen in these country villages, 
 that the news of my advent had created quite a stir. 
 If I had been an important Church dignitary, instead 
 of a poor country parson, I could not have caused 
 more excitement. These simple villagers look upon 
 England as such a far off and marvellous land, that 
 they feel complimented by a visit paid to them by any 
 European. They thus are ready to pay honour to 
 anyone who comes to them from abroad, however 
 unimportant his real position may be. I found that 
 the choir boys wished to show me a native dance, 
 that the native clergy had heard of my coming and 
 wished to see me, and that I was expected to preach 
 on the morrow, which was Sunday, to the native con- 
 gregation. The estimate that they had formed of one 
 unknown and insignificant personage shows how gladly 
 they would receive visits from better known and more 
 illustrious people. I mention this over-appreciation of
 
 190 A PARSON'S HOLIDAY. 
 
 myself in Nazareth in order that others may visit this 
 interesting village, where they are sure to receive a 
 hearty welcome. 
 
 The choir boys duly appeared, late though it was, 
 and we sat out in the verandah to watch the per- 
 formance. The full glory of a cloudless Indian night 
 was over our heads, and the moon lit up the groups of 
 palm trees and the roofs of the houses round the com- 
 pound. The dance was founded on an old heathen 
 performance, which had been purified and retained by 
 their Christian teachers. Each boy was dressed in a 
 long white robe like a petticoat, while the upper part 
 of his body was bare. Round his head was a large 
 white turban, and in his hand he carried a circular fan 
 made of the inner wood of the palmyra palm. The 
 performance consisted of swaying the body, changing 
 places, stamping feet, and opening, and shutting, and 
 using the punkahs they carried. During the whole 
 time that these movements went on a song was sung, 
 which was taken up by one and another, and joined in 
 by the whole company. Also some of the dancers 
 held short sticks in their hands, which they struck 
 together, and so marked the time of the dance. Their 
 movements were rapid and graceful; the flowing robes, 
 and swaying figures, and interchanged places, and 
 rhythmical chant combined to make a quaint but 
 pleasing performance. Their alterations of posture 
 and position were all done according to rule, the 
 figures seemed complicated, but the combinations they 
 formed were always effective. I was told that the 
 words of the song were extemporized according to 
 the occasion. Often Bible stories, such as lives of 
 patriarchs, were thus recited. I believe the song I 
 heard was partly in my honour, thanking me for having 
 come so far to see them, but my ignorance of the lan- 
 guage prevented me understanding the compliments 
 which were thus paid me. 
 
 Nazareth is a village standing in the midst of a 
 district, comprising 48 square miles. In this district
 
 SUNDAY AT NAZARETH. I9I 
 
 there are 46 separate congregations, 39 schools, and 
 nearly 5000 Christians. The staff of clergymen con- 
 sists of one Englishman and four natives, two of the 
 native clergy being deacons, and two in full orders. 
 In the village of Nazareth there dwell about 1200 
 people, the majority of whom are palmyra-tree culti- 
 vators and small farmers. The Church is a plain 
 oblong structure, capable of holding about 1000 people, 
 when closely packed. As in all native Churches it is 
 not entirely provided with seats, as the bulk of the 
 people prefer to sit on mats spread on the floor. On 
 Sunday there are always five services. Holy Com- 
 munion at 7 a.m. Mattins and sermon at 9.30 a.m. 
 Litany at i p.m. Evensong and sermon at 4 p.m., and 
 again at 7 p.m. The last service is the only one given 
 in English ; all the rest are in Tamil. It will thus be 
 seen that Sunday is a busy day for the missionary at 
 Nazareth. 
 
 The Sunday that I was there was no special Fes- 
 tival, and the numbers present at the services may be 
 taken as a fair average. Indeed there is a custom, 
 general throughout India, of keeping a written record 
 of the numbers present at every service. The clerk 
 or verger counts the congregation, and the numbers 
 are entered in a book kept for that purpose. Thus 
 any great increase or marked falling off is at once 
 detected, and I was able to tell by the back re- 
 cords that what I saw was no exceptional atten- 
 dance. At the early Celebration at 7 a.m. there were 
 about 120 communicants. The total number of com- 
 municants in the district is 1264, more than one 
 quarter of the total Christian population. It w'ill thus 
 be seen that the proportion of communicants is much 
 larger in Tinnevelly than in England, and that the 
 average attendance is greater than it would be in an 
 Eni^lish villaire of the same size. The next service of 
 the day was at 9.30. The choir was surpliced, and 
 marched in procession from the house to the Church. 
 The congregation was very large, the men dressed in
 
 192 A parson's holiday. 
 
 white, sitting on one side, while the women draped In 
 bright coloured cloths sat on the other. Out of this 
 large congregation of about 800 people there were only 
 three of us who were English; the rest were all natives. 
 The service was hearty and bright, the singing was well 
 done, and the Tamil lyrics and hymns set to native 
 tunes were evidently popular. I preached through an 
 interpreter ; one of the native deacons stood by me, 
 and translated my sermon, sentence by sentence, as 
 it was delivered. It was similar to what I had tried 
 to do at Rangoon,* and I found it equally difificult. 
 The quietness and attention of the congregation 
 were very noticeable ; they seemed absolutely motion- 
 less. I did not attend the i o'clock Litany, nor the 
 4 o'clock Evensong, as both of these services were in 
 Tamil. But I went to the 7 o'clock English service, 
 which I had been asked to take throughout. It may 
 sound curious to hear of an entirely English service in 
 an Indian village, but it was originally started by the 
 missionaries for their own satisfaction. They felt it to 
 be refreshing to hear the well-known prayers in their 
 own tongue in a foreign land, and the very sound of 
 the words brought up memories of Sundays spent in 
 the old home across the seas. But now this English 
 service is attended by many native Christians. At 
 Nazareth there are a number of school teachers and 
 catechists who know English, and even some of the 
 schoolboys can follow an English service. So the 
 Church has always a sprinkling of people in it, who 
 join in this (to them) foreign service. 
 
 One of the most pleasing features in these evening 
 services is the breaking up of the congregation. 
 They do not disperse quietly as English people do. 
 But they go home in bands and companies singing in 
 chorus one of their favourite lyrics. Nothing could 
 have sounded prettier than these plaintive strains, 
 dying gradually away in the distance, as the people 
 
 * See page 130.
 
 MISSION LIFE. 193 
 
 departed to their own homes. The moon was up and 
 shed a bright hght over the compound. The night 
 was still and quiet. And under the evening stars 
 these strains in an unknown tongue addressed to the 
 true God brought this strange Sunday in a foreign 
 land to a peaceful close. 
 
 On the next day I saw as much as I could of the 
 ordinary life and work of a missionary in Nazareth. 
 This village can be taken as a specimen of many 
 others, and what I saw and heard in this one place is 
 a sample of what goes on all through Tinnevelly. The 
 rule in all Christian villages is to hold a daily service 
 in the Church at 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. At Nazareth this 
 is no mere perfunctory performance at which but few 
 attend, but there is an average congregation of about 
 150 people, who come as a regular thing to begin and 
 end the day with common prayer. They do it of free 
 will and are under no compulsion. They have nothing 
 to gain or get by this outward show of piety. The 
 missionary is poor, and has no large funds to distri- 
 bute or give away. But it seems to be their custom 
 from a real desire to make their religion a part of their 
 daily life. 
 
 This is true about all their doings. Everything is 
 begun and ended with prayer. For instance on the 
 Monday I was there, the missionary was twice asked 
 to come and offer prayer, first at the commencement of 
 the building of a new house, and next at the beginning 
 of some marriage festivities, which were expected to 
 last several days. Both of these requests were made 
 very simply; there seemed to be no superstitious desire 
 to propitiate an angry Deity, but just a desire to have 
 God's blessing on the work in which they were about 
 to engage. 
 
 Nazareth is of course specially favoured in having 
 always had a hard working English priest resident in it. 
 The former missionaries have been well known men, 
 and the present clergyman (the Rev. A. Margoschis) 
 does not spare himself. He has been at Nazareth for 
 
 2 B
 
 194 A parson's holiday. 
 
 the last ten years, and Is well known by all. He was 
 specially busy during the famine, when numbers of 
 the starving natives were relieved at this village, and 
 there is a large Orphanage now there, which was 
 opened at that time to accommodate the numbers of 
 little children, who were found almost dead by the 
 roadside. These children are now cared for, and 
 educated, and clothed by Christian charity. The 
 orphan boys are taught carpentering, tailoring, and 
 weaving, and the orphan girls learn to make lace. 
 Several of the latter have been married to respectable 
 Christian natives. The care of these Orphanages 
 takes up much of Mr. Margoschis' time. He acts 
 as a father to the whole number of children, and his 
 verandah generally contained one or two little toddlers, 
 who wished to attract his attention and to rummage 
 his pockets for sugar-plums. These small dark babies 
 were very shy at first, but they now look upon him as 
 their best friend. 
 
 Besides the Orphanages there are altogether 39 
 Schools in Nazareth and the district, and they have 
 1453 children on the rolls. There are Boarding 
 Schools for both boys and girls, where many of the 
 children of the richer Christian natives come to be 
 educated. There is also a Middle School, where the 
 scholars are prepared for the Teachers' Certificate 
 Examination, and from this School come most of the 
 village schoolmasters and mistresses of the district, 
 and there are Elementary Schools, which are open to 
 all who like to come. All these Schools are under 
 Government inspection, and whilst I was there, the 
 Inspector was holding his annual examination. As 
 far as I could judge, the children seemed to be doing 
 well. In the previous year the total grants earned 
 amounted to 4384 rupees, which shows the prosperous 
 condition of the Schools. 
 
 The Government Inspector was a native, and a 
 heathen, but he asked to be allowed to attend the 
 evening service in the Church, He only wished to
 
 EVANGELISTIC WORK. I95 
 
 come out of curiosity, but of course he was permitted 
 to enter. There is I believe always a place near the 
 door of native Churches set apart for enquirers. 
 
 The Nazareth Day Schools are open to children of 
 any religion. Many of the lads and young men who 
 have come under Christian influence in the Schools 
 are almost persuaded to become converts, but the 
 knowledge that their own family would excommu- 
 nicate them, and leave them to starve, deters many 
 from taking the final step. In India it requires great 
 moral courage to confess Christ before men. 
 
 One of the most interesting sights at Nazareth is the 
 Hospital and Dispensary. Here all suffering natives 
 are welcome, and they come from long distances to 
 ask for advice and medicine. Mr. Margoschis went 
 through a course at St. George's Hospital, and is a 
 very capable doctor and surgeon. For two hours every 
 day he attends at the Hospital and prescribes for his 
 patients. A fee of one anna (about one penny) is all 
 that is charged, and this fee obtains for each person a 
 course of medicine and advice, as long as it is necessary. 
 On an average over one hundred people are attended 
 to every day. This large number of patients shows 
 how greatly this Hospital is valued. Nothing is more 
 likely to attract heathens to Christianity than this 
 unwearying charity. 
 
 More direct Evangelistic work is also carried on in 
 this district. Every Tuesday some of the Mission 
 Agents go in small bands to the neighbouring towns 
 and villages, and explain the simple truths of the 
 Gospel. A company of three or four men singing 
 native lyrics soon attracts a crowd, and when the 
 people are assembled, there is an opportunity of 
 speaking to them. The agents are strictly ordered 
 not to speak of the Hindu gods in a needlessly offen- 
 sive way. To do so would only defeat the very object 
 in view. 
 
 I had a pleasant evening walk through the village, 
 and heard something of the daily life of the people.
 
 196 A parson's holiday. 
 
 The houses are built of brick and mud, thatched 
 with the leaves of the palmyra palm. This palm 
 forms the chief wealth of the district. It flourishes in 
 deep sand, where nothing else will grow, and supplies 
 the people with nearly everything they require. The 
 timber is used for rafters and beams, the leaves for 
 thatch, the leaf-stalks for fencing and fuel, and the 
 fruit is edible. But the sweet sap, which exudes from 
 the base of the leaves, is the most valuable of its 
 productions. This begins to flow at the latter end 
 of January, and continues to do so until July. All 
 through these months the palmyra climber is very 
 busy, as his work is to climb the trees and collect the 
 sap. He first has to cut a gash in the branch, and 
 then tie a small earthen pot under the leaves, to receive 
 the sap. This he collects and takes home morning 
 and evening, often having to climb forty trees a day. 
 The labour is great, but the yield is large, and the 
 produce valuable. The sap crystallizes into hard 
 lumps, and is sweet, wholesome, and fattening. 
 Children thrive well upon it, and it makes their little 
 bodies shine. Much is exported as a coarse sort of 
 sugar, which can be refined and converted into a 
 marketable article. If the juice is allowed to ferment, 
 it becomes intoxicating, and is then called toddy. 
 
 One of the villagers ascended a palm tree to show 
 me the way in which these trees are climbed. The 
 trunk was perfectly smooth, and the crown of leaves 
 on the top was about fifty feet from the ground. The 
 man tied his ankles together with a strip of cotton, 
 which allowed them to remain about four inches apart. 
 He then grasped the trunk with his arms, clasped his 
 hands together, and holding firmly on to the bark of 
 the tree with the soles of his feet, he lifted himself 
 upwards. By drawing his feet up towards his hands, he 
 was able to reach still higher, and thus by successive 
 "lifts" he ascended the smooth trunk with ease. It re- 
 minded me of the motion of a wooden monkey on a stick 
 which we used to purchase at fairs as a childish toy.
 
 LIFE OF A MISSIONARY. 197 
 
 Most of the village people are poor, and live chiefly 
 on rice. The land is sandy, but if well irrigated, it 
 will grow anything. All along the banks of the river 
 the paddy helds are numerous, but away from the 
 water there is nothing but deep sand, on which the 
 palmyra palm alone grows. 
 
 While the men are busy in the rice fields or col- 
 lecting the sap from the palms, the women do the 
 work of the house, beat out the rice from the husk, 
 cook the meals, and draw water from the wells. The 
 children are sent to school, and when they come 
 home they are employed in gathering sticks and 
 brush-wood for the lire. 
 
 No one who has ever visited such a village as 
 Nazareth can afterwards sneer at the life and work of 
 a missionary. The loneliness and isolation of such a 
 life must be seen to be appreciated. The want of 
 friends like-minded with himself, the constant inter- 
 course with no one but foreigners, the rarity with 
 which any other Englishman is seen, these are neces- 
 sary hardships of his lot. Besides this solitariness, 
 there is the exhausting climate, the danger of fever, 
 often the unhealthiness of the spot in which his life 
 has to be lived. And on him is laid " the care of all 
 the Churches." He has to be ready with advice, 
 reproof, and mediation. He is the universal referee ; 
 the doctor, school-manager, and governor of his little 
 community. The fact of his being an Englishman 
 gives his opinion weight wuth all, and his house has to 
 be open at all times to his dark-skinned neighbours. 
 His time is taken up with a multiplicity of duties. 
 His patients at the Dispensary, his children at the 
 Schools, the catechists and agents whom he is train- 
 ing, the sick, the sorrowful, the dying, all look for his 
 coming and pour out their troubles into his ear. He 
 has to be the dispenser of such little charity as he 
 is entrusted with, to be in constant want of funds, 
 and yet to make his Schools as efficient as possible. 
 It needs good business habits as well as complete self-
 
 198 A parson's holiday. 
 
 denial, and an unwearying faith in the possibiHties of 
 human nature being transformed and sanctified by 
 God's Spirit, to make a true missionary. It is so easy 
 to get depressed and downcast. The Source of true 
 strength needs to be sought, or the man becomes 
 irritable and hopeless, and then his work languishes 
 and fails. 
 
 I may add here a few facts and figures about Indian 
 Missions taken from Sir Richard Temple's Oriental 
 Experiences* So many people repeat without thought 
 the vulgar objections to the work of missionaries, that 
 the testimony of an unbiassed witness, who had ex- 
 ceptional opportunities for judging, may be useful for 
 the purpose of clearing away some common miscon- 
 ceptions. 
 
 He first answers the objection that there is no 
 success obtained by missionaries. Sir R. Temple 
 points out that already there are 390,000 native 
 Christians in India connected with the Church of 
 England, that 100,000 of these are communicants, 
 that there are 300 native clergy, 85 training schools, 
 and 4 normal institutions from which 3000 students 
 are turned out annually. The Schools contain 200,000 
 children, not all of whom are Christians, and there are 
 24 mission printing presses, from which three-quarters 
 of a million of religious books issue annually. All 
 these figures show some result already attained. And 
 this distinguished civilian shows further that the num- 
 ber of native Christians has advanced at the rate of 
 50 per cent, in each decade during the last thirty 
 years. In 1850 the numbers were 92,000; in i860, 
 138,000; in 1870, 230,000; in 1880, 390,000. If the 
 same rate continues during the next thirty years, in 
 1910 there ought to be two million native Christians 
 connected with our Church. These figures are I 
 jhink worth pondering. 
 
 He also meets a further objection that missionaries 
 
 *See pp. 132, 136, 137, 140, 141.
 
 OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. I99 
 
 lead easy lives, and are idle, lazy, and luxurious. He 
 points out that there are but 500 European mission- 
 aries in 493 mission stations. This gives one mission- 
 ary to every 400 scholars, supposing that they were all 
 employed in education. But besides their work in 
 their Schools and their ordinary parochial ministra- 
 tions, there is the arduous labour of evangelization 
 and the difficult work of translating the Bible and other 
 books into 20 vernacular languages. Certainly my own 
 experience of missionaries gave me a remarkable idea 
 of the self-denying and continual labour demanded from 
 every one of them. The hardest worked London 
 curate has an easy life compared with that lived by 
 an earnest missionary, who is overwhelmed with the 
 variety and amount of his work, at which he often 
 labours single-handed and with an overpowering sense 
 of all that he has to leave undone. 
 
 Further, Sir R. Temple speaks of the cost of con- 
 verting the heathen, at which many sneers are levelled. 
 He shows that the total cost of the English Church 
 Missions in India is about ;2^400,ooo, while there are 
 about 400,000 native Christians, and 200,000 scholars, 
 making a total of about 600,000 people under Christian 
 influences. The cost therefore is less than 15 shillings 
 a head per annum ; and he does not see how the same 
 amount of work could be done more cheaply 
 
 He also answers the objection that natives become 
 Christians for the sake of what they can get. He 
 shows that there are but 4500 natives in the service of 
 the missions, and the male converts may be taken as 
 numbering 200,000. Thus out of every 45 native 
 Christians, only one is in service under the mis- 
 sionaries. This then constitutes no great temptation 
 to entice natives to embrace Christianity. That 
 natives become Christians for the sake of gaining 
 a livelihood thereby sounds ridiculous to those who 
 have seen the poverty of the Mission Stations, and 
 the numbers of Christians gathered together in them. 
 If the missionaries were expected to support all their
 
 200 A PARSON'S HOLIDAY. 
 
 converts, they and their native proteges would have 
 been starved long ago. There may have been once 
 some truth in the old sneer of " rice Christians," that 
 being the name given to those who hoped to get 
 something by their change of religion. But the num- 
 bers have now so largely increased that it would be 
 impossible for any missionary to support his flock. 
 As far as I could judge, they were most careful not to 
 pauperize tho people by giving them doles, or teaching 
 them to depend on the gifts of Europeans. They 
 were taught useful trades, such as printing, carpen- 
 tering, or tailoring, and were encouraged to earn their 
 own living. Sometimes a new convert, who is excom- 
 municated by his family and made an outcast, has for 
 a short time to be helped by charity. But he is soon 
 put in the way of earning his own living, and the 
 Christians in Southern India are now so numerous, 
 that they can afford to laugh at the fear of starvation, 
 which was at one time a threat employed by the rela- 
 tions of those who were inclined to become Christians. 
 Indeed instead of the missionary supporting his flock 
 by charitable doles, the opposite is rapidly becoming 
 the case. The native Church is becoming almost 
 self-supporting, and in many instances the congre- 
 gation provides entirely for the stipend of its native 
 pastor. Where there is a European clergyman with a 
 higher salary, the poor natives cannot entirely provide 
 his stipend, but even then they give as they are able, 
 and the Societies' funds at home are to that extent 
 saved, and set free to be employed in other districts 
 where the number of Christians are fewer. As much as 
 ;^20,ooo is subscribed annually from native Christians: 
 this shows that instead of being pauperized by doles, 
 they are receiving in most instances nothing them- 
 selves, and are learning to pay in many places a large 
 proportion of the salaries of their clergy. Thus there 
 is springing up a feeling of healthy independence, 
 which is wisely fostered by all missionaries. 
 
 The common remark that native Christians are
 
 MUDALUR. 20I 
 
 worse than native heathens, that they drink, and lie, 
 and steal, is also I believe a vulgar error. Sometimes 
 it arises from a solitary instance of misbehaviour, 
 which is then taken as typical of the whole com- 
 munity. More often it is a prejudice, which rests on 
 no foundation in fact. The native Christians seemed, 
 as far as I could hear, to be as honest, and faithful, 
 and sober, as Christians at home. They would not 
 compare unfavourably with English villagers, who 
 have been brought up for generations in the faith of 
 Christ. They certainly are far ahead of their heathen 
 neighbours in purity, honesty, peacefulness, and truth. 
 This is now allowed by magistrates and others, who 
 have means of comparison. I think this is the more 
 surprising when we remember how Christ's religion 
 has been sometimes exhibited to the natives of India. 
 The lives of some professing Christians are a dis- 
 grace, but too often these Christians are English 
 people, and not natives of India. 
 
 From Nazareth I travelled on by "bandy" to 
 another village called Mudalur. The road was a 
 mere track in the sand, the distance was about ten 
 miles, and the bullocks took five hours to complete 
 the journey. I travelled by night, and so slept most of 
 the way. The bottom of my " bandy" was filled with 
 straw, on which a mattress was spread, and I was 
 able thus to lie at full length, and rest as I journeyed. 
 Mudalur was the first Christian village founded in 
 Tinnevelly, being a place of refuge in i 797 for a few 
 Christians, who fled thither to escape the persecutions 
 of their heathen neighbours. It then only numbered 
 about 20 people. It now has a population of 1200. 
 It is the centre of a large district 15 miles in circum- 
 ference, containing 23 villages, of which 19 have 
 Christian congregations. In this district there live 
 some 8000 people, of whom more than 6000 are 
 heathen, and here there lives and works one English 
 missionary, the Rev. H. B. Norman. 
 
 Unfortunately in 1877 the Church at Mudalur fell 
 
 2 C
 
 202 A PARSON'S HOLIDAY. 
 
 down, having been built on insecure foundations, 
 and being exposed to very heavy floods. So the 
 only place for holding service when I was there was 
 the School-room, which barely holds 150 people, 
 and is utterly inadequate to the wants of the village. 
 When I arrived, Mr. Norman was absent at an out- 
 station, but the native clergyman asked me to give a 
 short address at the morning service. He seemed 
 to think the people would like to hear a strange 
 preacher, so I spoke as well as I could to those who 
 were present. I mention this to show what interest 
 the people in Tinnevelly take in visitors. They are 
 very fond of hearing sermons, and any strange clergy- 
 man is expected to address them. They were mostly 
 poor village people, scraping a small living from a 
 sandy soil, and very likely oppressed by money lenders. 
 Their clothes were few and poor, and their faces looked 
 thin and careworn, but they came gladly to hear what 
 I could say, and one hoped that they would get some 
 comfort into their hard lives from the good news of the 
 Gospel. 
 
 Every effort was being made to build a new Church 
 at Mudalur, and I saw the beginning of a large and 
 spacious structure which is now completed. This 
 Church will hold 2000 people, and will be one of the 
 handsomest buildings in the whole district. Not long 
 before my visit a friend of Missions visited MudalCir, 
 and attended a moonlight service in the ruins of the 
 old Church. On his return to Madras he sent an 
 account of his visit to the newspapers, in which he 
 said, " Nearly two thousand people assembled for 
 evening prayer and sermon one evening last week, 
 and the eagerness of the people and their devotion 
 was very interesting. I wished that some who almost 
 disbelieve in missions could have seen what I saw." 
 Mr. Norman promised me that if I would stay with 
 him for one more day, and would consent to preach 
 to the people of the district, I should see a congrega- 
 tion which would fill the area of the new Church. It
 
 MENGNANAPUR.'.M. 203 
 
 would have been a wonderful experience to preach to 
 such a gathering, but I could not spare the time. 
 I mention it to show how willing the Christians in 
 Tinnevelly are to come to Church and to hear ser- 
 mons. The people of Mudalur have been most in- 
 terested in the rebuilding of their Church. Though 
 th-ey are poor, yet they have given over £100 in 
 money, and ;^5o more in voluntary labour, which 
 shows how ready they are to do all in their power. 
 The estimated cost of the Church was £1000. 
 
 From Mudalur I went on to another village called 
 Mengnanapuram. This is a station which is worked 
 by the Church Missionary Society, and in it there is 
 the largest Church yet built in Tinnevelly. The red 
 spire of this Church, towering- above the palm-trees, 
 is a landmark from far, and the effect of it rising up 
 amongst such tropical scenery is curious and inte- 
 resting. One so seldom sees Christian architecture 
 in India, that a Church spire in that land looks at 
 present incongruous. But some day one hopes that 
 throughout the length and breadth of the land there 
 will be similar Christian symbols. 
 
 Though the distance from Mudalur to Mengna- 
 napuram w^as but a few miles, yet as tr.c track 
 was over the sandy plain, our progress was very 
 slow, and I arrived dead beat and almost knocked 
 up with the heat. I think the sun had penetrated 
 through the tilt of the "bandy," and had given me a 
 slight stroke. It prevented me seeing as much as I 
 should otherwise have been able to do of Mengnana- 
 puram. This interesting village has been singularly 
 blest in its pastors. The Rev. Mr. Thomas lived here 
 for forty years, and left his mark on the place. His 
 widow and daughter still dwell in the midst of the 
 people whom they have so long cared for, and Mrs. 
 Thomas says that she will never leave the village, in 
 which she has lived so long. Her life has been 
 devoted to missionary work, and her labours have not 
 yet ceased. She manages two large boarding schools
 
 204 A parson's holiday. 
 
 for boys and girls, and is the friend and adviser of all 
 the villagers. There is now no English clergyman 
 resident at Mengnanapuram, but the Church is served 
 by native clergy. Mrs. Thomas is looked up to by 
 all as the mother of the village, and she intends to die 
 w^here she has spent so large a portion of her life. 
 She has seen a whole generation grow up round her, 
 and the head mistress of her school came to her first 
 as a little girl. Her influence for good is inestimable, 
 and her life has been a mode! of self-sacrifice. She 
 sees but few Europeans, as there are none living in 
 the village, and the place is necessarily difficult of 
 access as there are no roads to it, but only tracks over 
 the sand of the Terai. But here she has laboured for 
 years, and she has her reward in the affection and 
 reverence which are given to her by all. The Church 
 is a beautiful structure, completed in memory of Mr. 
 Thomas, and the architecture in the interior is well 
 seen, as there are no seats or pews to interfere with 
 the coup d'ceil. 
 
 From Mengnanapuram I had another slow drag 
 over the sand back to Nazareth. I had no time to 
 visit any of the other Christian villages, which are 
 all interesting. I had a very kind invitation to go 
 to Edeyengoody, which is where Bishop Caldwell re- 
 sides, but I was unable to avail myself of it. Anyone 
 interested in Missions might spend many weeks in 
 Tinnevelly, and thus get a better knowledge of the 
 work which is going on. I had only a glimpse of the 
 work, but I saw enough to understand how hopeful 
 was the prospect in this corner of India. 
 
 The chief alteration, which I should venture to 
 recommend to those in authority, is the abolition of 
 the double Bishopric, At present Bishop Caldwell 
 has charore over the Mission Stations belono:inor to 
 the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, while 
 Bishop Sargent exercises oversight over those be- 
 longing to the Church Missionary Society. Each 
 Society pays its own Bishop, and expects his work to
 
 SOCIETY BISHOPS. 205 
 
 be confined to special stations. Thus the country- 
 is not divided geographically into dioceses, but each 
 Bishop visits the villages where there are Missionaries 
 belonging to his own Society. Often one Bishop may 
 be within a few miles of another village, and yet not 
 be able to confirm the children there, because they 
 are under the charge of the sister Society. Time is 
 wasted, and power lost by this double-barrelled ar- 
 rangement. It is as if in every Diocese in England 
 there was a "High Church" Bishop, and a "Low 
 Church" Bishop, and each was to visit the parishes 
 of his own school of thought. Surely the two great 
 Missionary Societies in England might unite together, 
 and provide between them the salary for one Mis- 
 sionary Bishop, who should be a Suffragan to the 
 Bishop of Madras, and have special charge of native 
 congregations. Then he would visit all villages in 
 Tinnevelly, and be also available to go to any place in 
 the Diocese of Madras, where there were native con- 
 gregations requiring his services. Thus while the 
 Bishop of Madras exercised a general oversight, and 
 specially devoted himself to the English speaking con- 
 gregations, his Suffragan would take charge of native 
 congregations, and be available for the Confirmation 
 of native Christians. One may hope that when vacan- 
 cies occur in the present staff of Bishops, some such 
 re-arrangement may be possible, and both expense be 
 saved, and greater mobility and efficiency be attained. 
 The presence of two Bishops in Tinnevelly has also 
 led to the too sudden withdrawal of English clergy- 
 men. The Bishops have felt that their constant super- 
 vision enables them to place native pastors in charge 
 of large villages, who act under their continual over- 
 sight. This seems to me to be a mistake, for the 
 native clergy arc hardly fit to manage parishes alone, 
 and yet the Bishop is often too far away to enable him 
 to help them with advice. It would seem wiser to 
 leave a few English clergy in charge of the larger 
 stations, who should fulfil the duties of quasi Rural
 
 2o6 A parson's holiday. 
 
 Deans. They could have districts containing several 
 villages under their charge, and be always within 
 reach, if any of the native clergy in the neighbour- 
 hood desired their counsel or reproof. Thus while the 
 parochial clergy were chiefly native, there might be 
 an English clergyman appointed to each group of 
 villages, from whom advice could be sought in any 
 emergency. His presence would be a support to the 
 native clergy, and his regular inspection would keep 
 them up to the ma'-k. 
 
 The whole district of Tinnevelly might well form 
 one Diocese. There is hardly space there for two 
 active Bishops. As it is, the present Bishops seem 
 often to fulfil duties which might be very well dis- 
 charged by Archdeacons or Rural Deans. No doubt 
 the present race of native clergy are hardly able to 
 manage large congregations without some European 
 supervision. They are often afraid of responsibility 
 and dread to offend the richer members of their flocks. 
 But the many small points, which arise in village life, 
 and which require the advice and mediation of an 
 educated European, need not all be referred to the 
 Bishop. A neighbouring English clergyman would 
 settle the matter equally well. 
 
 The double Episcopate and the too sudden with- 
 drawal of English clergymen appear to me the chief 
 dangers, which are likely to retard the success of 
 the Tinnevelly Missions. Otherwise the organization 
 and administration of the native Church seem ad- 
 mirable. Each district possesses a Church Council, 
 consisting of elected and ex-offi-cio members, and these 
 District Councils send representatives to a central Pro- 
 vincial Council, which is under the presidency of the 
 Bishop. The native Christians are really learning to 
 be consistent in conduct, and righteous in their lives, 
 and altogether there is no more hopeful field of mis- 
 sionary labour than Tinnevelly. 
 
 I had .one more evening service at Nazareth and 
 preached once more through an interpreter. Then I
 
 LEAVE INDIA. 207 
 
 had to start for Palamcottah, spending the night in 
 the " bandy," and getting what sleep I could on the 
 road. But before I left Nazareth I received a depu- 
 tation from the headmen of the village, who came to 
 thank me for having come so far to see them, and for 
 the words I had spoken to them. Their courteous 
 words of gratitude were touching and humbling, and I 
 left them with mutual expressions of goodwill, and 
 'earnest promises of continual remembrance, which I 
 for my part have not forgotten. 
 
 From Palamcottah I went by train to Tuticorin, 
 which is one of the ports at which the British India 
 coasting steamers touch, and from there I obtained 
 a passage to Colombo. The steamer anchored about 
 two miles from the shore, and a steam launch con- 
 veyed me on board. Soon we started for Ceylon, and 
 the coast of India faded from my sight. It was the 
 25th January, exactly three months since I first landed 
 at Bombay, and during that time I had visited most of 
 the historic cities of India, and had had a glimpse at 
 all three Presidencies and British Burma. I had 
 travelled through the length and breadth of the land, 
 and had gone from Bombay to Rangoon, and from 
 the Himalayas to Cape Comorin. I had seen Hindus, 
 Mohammedans and Buddhists in their several cities, 
 and had visited their different sacred places. I had 
 made all my railway and steamboat connections, I 
 had carried out all my plans, I had not been laid up 
 with illness for a single day, and I had met with an 
 amount of kindness which can never be forefotten. 
 The whole of my tour had been one unmixed pleasure, 
 and as I left the coast of India behind, I could not 
 but feel thankful for the delightful journey which I 
 had made. My time of holiday-making was drawing 
 to a close. I had still ten days to spend in Ceylon, 
 and then I should have to set my face homewards, 
 and hurry back as fast as steam could take me. But 
 I can only hope that some of my readers may be able 
 to follow my footsteps, and derive as much pleasure 
 from a tour in India as I experienced.
 
 2o8 A PARSON'S HOLIDAY. 
 
 Chapter XI. 
 
 Our voyage from Tuticorln to Colombo only took i8 
 hours, and by 8 o'clock in the morning we were 
 anchored off the coast of Ceylon. Although the 
 distance was only 164 miles, yet the change both in 
 scenery and climate was most surprising. Instead of 
 the sandy wastes and far-stretching plains of India we 
 now saw a shore set thick with cocoa-nut palms and 
 green with the luscious vegetation of the tropics. The 
 land was clothed with verdure to the water's edge, 
 and the feathery crowns of the palm-trees were 
 mirrored in the calm waters of the harbour. The 
 heat was somewhat less, but it seemed more oppres- 
 sive in consequence of the damp that was present 
 in the air. Colombo is blest with a constant even 
 temperature of about 70^^, but it is not a pleasant 
 place of residence, as the dampness of the climate 
 renders exercise almost impossible. The slightest 
 exertion puts one in a bath of perspiration, and this 
 makes the place exhausting and enervating to 
 Europeans. 
 
 But for the traveller coming from the dry climate 
 of India, the change to Ceylon is pleasant enough. 
 For he does not stay in the hot damp atmosphere of 
 the coast, but hurries inland to the heights in the 
 centre of the island, where his eyes are gladdened 
 with the perfection of tropical foliage, and his nerves 
 braced by a dry, warm and delicious air. As we lay 
 anchored in the harbour of Colombo we could see far 
 off blue peaks rising inland, and we were shown one 
 conically-shaped hill, which was said to be the summit 
 of Adam's Peak. 
 
 Colombo is now the most important port in the 
 island, as the P. and O. steamers have given up
 
 CEYLON. 209 
 
 calling at Point de Galle. The harbour is well pro- 
 tected by an extensive breakwater, and within its 
 shelter there is safe anchorage for hundreds of ships. 
 The town is built along the shores of the bay, and 
 from the sea the houses appear surrounded with palm- 
 trees. The population is 120,000, and the town ex- 
 tends for about four miles along the sea-shore. As 
 soon as our steamer anchored, we were surrounded 
 by small boats and catamarans, anxious to take us 
 on shore, and the scenery looked so tempting that 
 we did not delay, but soon set foot on the island of 
 Ceylon. 
 
 The island is a little smaller than Ireland, and has 
 had a varied history. In ancient days there was a 
 strong kingdom in the north of the island, which had 
 wars with varying success with the Malabars of the 
 coast of India. The capital of this kingdom was at 
 Anaradhapura, which was founded about the 5th 
 century B.C., and flourished for about 1500 years. In 
 more modern times Kandy has been the capital of the 
 island, and when the Portuguese came in 1505, they 
 found a strong government ruling in the highlands of 
 the interior, with whom they had frequent encounters. 
 They and their enemies, the Dutch, fought for the 
 possession of the coast line, and at last the Dutch 
 drove out the Portuguese and established themselves 
 at Galle and Colombo. In 1796 the English obtained 
 all the Dutch settlements, and in 1815 they conquered 
 the Kandyan kingdom, and became masters of the 
 whole island. 
 
 The inhabitants of Ceylon are chiefly of two races. 
 The Singalese, who are yellowish-brown, pleasant 
 featured, and effeminate in appearance, and the 
 Tamils, who are dark-skinned immigrants from India. 
 The Singalese are Buddhists, while the Tamils still 
 retain their Hindu religion. The Singalese are the 
 merchants, and landowners, and domestic servants of 
 Ceylon, while the Tamils form the coolie or labourer 
 class. Besides these two races there are also the 
 
 2 D
 
 2IO A PARSON'S HOLIDAY. 
 
 Moormen of the coast, who are said to be Persian in 
 origin, and are Mohammedan in rehgion. They are 
 the pedlars and traders of the island, who do most of 
 the retail business, and are very keen and quick- 
 witted in their bargains. Each of these races has its 
 own peculiar dress, and they are all unmistakable 
 in their appearance. The Singalese are the most 
 curious, as the men grow their hair very long, and 
 anoint it plentifully with cocoa-nut oil. They then 
 part it in the middle, and arrange it in a neat plait or 
 knot behind. On the top of all they place a large 
 tortoise-shell comb, and as both sexes wear petticoats, 
 it is at first difficult to distinguish the beardless men 
 from the women. The long hair and comb give a 
 very comical expression to some faces. Porters and 
 policemen, ticket collectors and waiters, all wear the 
 comb as their only head-dress, and even elderly gen- 
 tlemen with grey whiskers, who have the appearance 
 of well-to-do tradesmen or merchants, stick a comb 
 into their scant locks and put on a petticoat. When 
 this is combined (as it often is) with European coats 
 and trowsers, the effect is decidedly ridiculous to the 
 unaccustomed eye. 
 
 The Tamils looked as hard featured and sad as 
 they did in Southern India. They earn higher wages 
 by thus expatriating themselves, but the coolies have 
 but a hard life in every country. They constitute 
 half the population of Ceylon, as the Singalese are 
 not inclined to do hard work, and refuse to act as 
 common labourers. 
 
 The Moormen shave their heads and wear a high 
 cap made of fine grass plaited in colours, and their 
 faces have a Jewish cast of feature. They are very 
 keen traders, and take in the unwary traveller and 
 fleece him unmercifully. 
 
 I did not stay more than a few hours in the relaxing 
 climate of Colombo, but started as soon as possible for 
 Kandy, which is now the capital of the island. This 
 town is distant about 70 miles from the sea, and is
 
 KANDY. 211 
 
 approached by a railway, which some have called 
 " the most beautiful line in the world." At first 
 we passed through flat lands near the coast, which 
 were overgrown with forests of cocoa-nuts, and rank 
 with the vivid green luxuriance of tropical vegeta- 
 tion. Soon we began to ascend the slopes, and as 
 we climbed upwards we saw the country spread out 
 for miles beneath. Then the hills closed in again 
 on us, and we passed through a gorge in the moun- 
 tains, which was extremely lovely. The setting sun 
 lit up the peaks and forests through which we passed, 
 and the slopes on all sides were clothed with ver- 
 dure. After we had passed through the gorge, the 
 hills receded, and we ran on to the flat plateau, on 
 which the town of Kandy is built. Our journey occu- 
 pied four hours, and during that time we ascended 
 1500 feet. 
 
 Kandy lies in a cup amongst the hills, which sur- 
 round it on all sides. The town is built on the edge 
 of an artificial lake, and the reflections in the water 
 add to the charm and beauty of the place. The 
 Governor has a house in this beautiful spot, and a 
 large number of English reside in or near Kandy. 
 Many of the neighbouring hills have been laid out as 
 coffee plantations, and the houses of the planters are 
 seen far up amongst the trees. All round the town 
 walks have been laid out on the sides of the hills 
 overlooking the lake, and peeps have been opened 
 out through the luxuriant jungle. Overhead tall trees 
 give grateful shade, and on all sides creepers, and 
 flowering shrubs, and thick undergrowth, cover the 
 hills. All sorts of palms flourish and abound ; the 
 cocoa-nut with its feathery crown mingles with the 
 tall and graceful areca and palmyra, while the strange 
 fan-shaped tallipot looks quaint and unlovely. Over 
 the houses roses grow in profusion, and the plumbago 
 and the bouganvillier are common creepers. In the 
 hedge-rows the datura clambers, showing everywhere 
 its large white trumpet-shaped flowers. The luxu-
 
 212 A parson's holiday. 
 
 riance and splendour of the vegetation must strike 
 the most unbotanical traveller. 
 
 But the place where the vegetable kingdom is seen 
 at its best, is in the beautiful Peridenyia Gardens. 
 These are kept up by the Government, and are said 
 to be the most beautiful in the world. They are laid 
 out on the side of a river, and are full of all sorts 
 of rare and beautiful trees. Palms, and ferns, and 
 foliage plants flourished abundantly, and on the 
 banks of the river there were clumps of giant bam- 
 boos 50 feet high. Luxuriant creepers climbed up to 
 great heights, and were covered with blossoms. The 
 taste shown in the arrangement of the Gardens, com- 
 bined with the natural beauty of the spot and the 
 perfection of the soil and climate, renders this one of 
 the most lovely places I saw in my travels. 
 
 The one shrub which has of late years failed to 
 flourish, and which formerly was the most valuable 
 product of Ceylon, is the coffee plant. Twenty years 
 ago every hill-side in the district above Kandy had its 
 plantation, and there seemed no end to the fortunes 
 which might be made by the cultivation of coffee. 
 Then there was a surplus in the revenues of the 
 Island, and the planters were a successful body of 
 men. But latterly all things have changed, and a 
 blight has settled down over the chief industry of the 
 Island. A mysterious disease has attacked the plant, 
 and square miles of shrubs are seen with scarcely a 
 leaf on their branches. The cause of this disease is 
 said by some to be the exhaustion of the soil from 
 over-production ; others attribute it to the excessive 
 manuring of the ground. Certainly the fact is patent 
 enough, whatever may be the cause. A sort of fungus 
 appears on the green leaf and destroys it, as the 
 potato plants are destroyed in England. The coffee 
 shrub itself has the appearance of a laurel, but where 
 the disease attacks the plant, the leaves drop off and 
 the berries do not ripen. Planters are now putting 
 chinchona and cacao plants in their coffee gardens.
 
 THE TOOTH TEMPLE. 213 
 
 Tea is also being cultivated with success, but the 
 days of Ceylon coffee seem to have come to an end. 
 
 At Kandy there is one of the most sacred shrines 
 of the Buddhist faith, popularly called the Tooth 
 Temple, which is built on the edge of the artificial 
 lake. The building itself is a long, low structure, not 
 architecturally beautiful. The relic, which gives the 
 name to the temple, is said to be one of the teeth of 
 Gautama Buddha himself. It is seldom shown, but 
 the box in which it is kept is exhibited, adorned with 
 gold and precious stones. There seems great doubt 
 as to the antiquity of the present relic. History re- 
 lates that the original tooth of Buddha was taken by 
 the Portuguese after their conquest of Kandy. An 
 enormous sum was offered for its ransom, but the Arch- 
 bishop of Goa would not sanction the encouragement of 
 what he considered to be idolatry. So the request of 
 the Kandyan King and his money were refused, and 
 the tooth was rammed into the mouth of a cannon, and 
 fired out to sea, thus being utterly destroyed. How- 
 ever it has in some way been restored to its original 
 home, and the history of its destruction is forgotten, 
 and the present tooth receives all the reverence which 
 could be shown to the most authentic relic of the 
 great Gautama Buddha. Those who have seen the 
 tooth say that it has no appearance of being a human 
 tooth, but is a piece of bone about two inches long, 
 which looks like the tusk of some animal. However 
 the genuineness of the relic is not doubted by any 
 Singalese Buddhist. 
 
 From Kandy I went to Anaradhapura, which was in 
 ancient times the seat of a powerful monarchy and 
 the capital of the Island. The journey was tiring and 
 uncomfortable, but the marvellous ruins I there saw 
 amply repaid me for the difficulty of reaching the 
 spot. I first took the train to Matale, which is about 
 15 miles from Kandy, and from there I journeyed by 
 bullock coach 70 miles further. It was the longest 
 ride I ever took, and we were 18 hours doing the
 
 214 A parson's holiday. 
 
 distance. The conveyance was a sort of open wag- 
 gonette, and we changed bullocks about every lo 
 miles. The animals were small, but trotted along at 
 a fair rate, and the road was excellent. The scenery 
 throughout was most beautiful, our way lying between 
 steep hills covered with the densest forest, and 
 creepers and undergrowth rendered the jungle almost 
 impervious. Here whole herds of wild elephants 
 roam undisturbed, and are absolutely hidden by the 
 thickness of the forest growth. All night we rattled 
 onwards, and I got what sleep I could, disturbed by 
 the objurgations addressed to the bullocks, and the 
 resounding thwacks with which their poor sides were 
 belaboured. By 6 a.m. we arrived at our destination, 
 having left Matale at noon on the previous day. 
 
 Anaradhapura was founded about the 5th century 
 B.C., and was for many centuries the capital of a 
 flourishing kingdom, which waged wars with the 
 neighbouring states on the coast of India. But its 
 chief interest lies in the fact that it is the spot in 
 Ceylon where the most sacred relics of Buddha were 
 placed, or where the oldest dagobas (or pagodas) 
 were erected in his honour. The introduction of 
 Buddhism into Ceylon took place about the year 245 
 B.C. The preacher of the new faith was Mahinda, 
 the son of the great King Asoka, who reigned near 
 Patna, in Lower Bengal, and it is a proof of the 
 missionary character of the Buddhist religion that it 
 could spread so far, so soon after its foundation. The 
 mission to Ceylon was a great success. The reigning 
 King became a zealous adherent of the new religion, 
 and he built the Thuparama Dagoba, which is still 
 one of the glories of the ruined city of Anaradhapura.* 
 Soon after the building of this dagoba other mis- 
 sionaries came from India to Ceylon, and one of them, 
 the sister of Mahinda, brought with her a branch of 
 the sacred Bo Tree then flourishing at Buddha Gaya, 
 
 * See Rhys David's Buddhism, p. 230.
 
 ANARADHAPURA. 215 
 
 which was believed to be the very tree under which 
 Gautama had experienced that mental conflict which 
 is called his attainment of Buddha-hood.* The slip 
 off this sacred tree was planted at Anaradhapura, and 
 took root and grew. It still flourishes, and is now 
 the oldest historical tree in the world. Buddhism 
 continued to increase in Ceylon, and is still the 
 religion of the Singalese nation. Although India 
 has for many centuries deserted the Buddhist faith, 
 yet its missionaries gained converts in other lands, 
 whose descendants still claim Gautama of India as 
 the founder of their religion. Ceylon is like Burma, 
 China, Siam, and Corea. It still clings to that 
 pure rule of life, which took its rise in India, but 
 has been discarded in its native home. For while 
 India has sunk back into idolatry and superstition, 
 and is again bound by the fetters of caste which 
 Gautama broke, Ceylon still holds that purer creed 
 which the missionary labours of Mahinda brought 
 thither in the 3rd century B.C. 
 
 Nothing but ruins mark the site of the once flourish- 
 ing city of Anaradhapura. Indeed until twenty years 
 ago the very ruins were hadly discoverable. Thick 
 jungle had so overgrown the site of this once famous 
 town that the wonders of its remains were entirely 
 unknown. However fortunately Mr. Dickson was 
 appointed some fifteen years ago to be the resident 
 Government Agent at Anaradhapura, and he devoted 
 himself to exploration and was rewarded by many 
 discoveries. The Buddhist monks welcomed him as 
 a friend, and he has had the satisfaction of clearing 
 away the growth of centuries, and bringing again to 
 light many archaeological treasures. Roads have 
 been opened out in all directions, and the ruins are 
 now carefully preserved and can be well seen. 
 
 The most striking features of this ruined city are 
 the dagobas. These are immense mounds of solid 
 
 * See ante p. 112.
 
 2i6 A parson's holiday. 
 
 brickwork, of circular design, raised over some reh 
 They are now overgrown with trees and shrubs, whicl. 
 have found foothold in the crumbling surface of the 
 masonry. The labour expended on these masses of 
 solid building must have been enormous, and the 
 number of bricks in each of the larger dagobas is 
 greater than that used in the construction of an 
 ordinary English county town. The largest dagoba is 
 400 feet in diameter and 236 feet high, and there are 
 two others which nearly equal it in mass and height. 
 The outer surface of the structure is now crumbling 
 away, but no time can affect these enormous masses 
 of solid brickwork. They have stood for over 2000 
 years, and their ruins will continue much as they are 
 now for an indefinite time longer. Whether they con- 
 tain any treasures is a moot point. To drive a tunnel 
 or adit into one of them, in the hope of discovering a 
 central chamber filled with relics, and perhaps sacred 
 writings on metal plates, would be an experiment that 
 every archaeologist would desire to see effected. If 
 carefully performed there would be no danger to the 
 dagoba, and even the monks if wisely handled might 
 make no objection to such an exploration. If anyone 
 could attempt such an interesting investigation it 
 would be Mr. Dickson, who is already well known 
 and trusted by everyone in Ceylon. I wish he would 
 attempt such an exploration, and thus crown the work 
 he has already done for Anaradhapura. 
 
 Besides the great dagobas there are numberless 
 other evidences of the former wealth and importance 
 of this ruined city. Everywhere In the jungle one 
 meets with carved and shaped stones. Under the turf 
 are discovered semicircular slabs richly carved with 
 figures of men and animals. There are numerous 
 fiofures cut in the sides of the stone staircases which 
 lead up to many-pillared halls, which were used as 
 preaching stations. There are bathing ponds made of 
 squared stones arranged in steps, drinking troughs for 
 elephants hollowed out of great blocks of rock, carved
 
 THK no TREE. 217 
 
 pillars in countless profusion, everywhere the remains 
 of a large city which covered an area of many square 
 miles. All these signs of a rich and flourishing civili- 
 zation are now overgrown by the densest jungle, which 
 needs to be constantly cut back lest it should once 
 more cover up what has been already discovered. 
 
 But the most interesting of all the sights of Anarad- 
 hapura is the sacred Bo Tree, the oldest historical 
 tree in the world. Planted originally from a slip 
 brought from the parent trunk by a daughter of King 
 Asoka, it still grows and flourishes, while the sacred 
 tree at Buddha Gaya has, I believe, ceased to exist. 
 It is propped and supported by terraces of brick work, 
 which keep it from splitting. Round it there are 
 several younger Bo Trees, and in their branches a 
 colony of monkeys live and play. The sacred tree 
 is always guarded by a Buddhist monk, and such is 
 the veneration attached to it that even a leaf from it 
 may not be plucked. Sir Emerson Tennent compares 
 its age with that of other famous trees. He says, 
 
 Ages varying from one to four thousand years have been 
 assigned to the Baobabs of Senegal, the Eucalyptus of Tasmania, 
 the Dragon tree of Orotava, the Wellingtonia of California, and the 
 chestnut of Mount Etna. But all these estimates are matter of 
 conjecture ; and such calculations, however ingenious, must be 
 purely inferential : whereas the age of the Bo Tree is matter of 
 record, its conservancy has been an object of solicitude to successive 
 dynasties, and the story of its vicissitudes has been preserved in a 
 series of continuous chronicles, among the most authentic that 
 have been handed down by inankind. Compared with it the Oak 
 of Ellerslie is but a sapling, and the Conqueror's Oak in Windsor 
 Forest barely numbers half its years. The Yew Trees of Fountain's 
 Abbey are believed to have flourished there 1200 years ago; the 
 Olives in the garden of Gethsemane were full grown when the 
 Saracens were expelled from Jerusalem ; and the Cypress of Soma, 
 in Lombardy, is said to have been a tree in the time of Julius 
 Caesar : yet the Bo Tree is older than the oldest of these by a 
 century, and would almost seem to verify the prophecy pronounced 
 when it was planted, that it would flourish and be green for ever.* 
 
 The botanical name of the tree is /icus religtosa, 
 
 * Sir E. Tenncnt's Ceylon, vol. ii., p. 613. 
 
 2 E
 
 2l8 A PARSON'S HOLIDAY. 
 
 and it is allied to the banyan. It is watered by the 
 monks in seasons of drought, and their constant care 
 has enabled it to live so long. 
 
 The ruins of Anaradhapura prove that in ancient 
 times the interior of Ceylon must have been much 
 more thickly populated than it is at present. There 
 seems no reason why the soil should not support many 
 more people than now dwell in the island. What is 
 now thick jungle was once cultivated land, and if the 
 ruined tanks w^ere repaired, and a thorough system of 
 irrigation established, rice and other crops might be 
 profitably raised. The resources of Ceylon have never 
 been fully developed. There are square miles of land 
 overgrown with forest, which might grow crops. But 
 the struggle for existence is not keen, the population 
 is thin, life is easy, and the Singalese take no trouble 
 to increase the productiveness of the country. Coming 
 from India where every patch of fertile soil is so 
 carefully cultivated, the difference between the two 
 countries is very marked. 
 
 Probably the easiest way to develop the resources 
 of Ceylon, and to save its revenues, would be to 
 annex it to the Government of India. The present 
 system of government is wasteful and unnecessarily 
 expensive, and there seems no reason why the Island 
 should not be removed from the care of the Colonial 
 Office and be placed under the India Office, with 
 which its geographical position appears naturally to 
 connect it. Then a Chief Commissioner would be sent 
 from India to rule the Island instead of a more highly 
 paid Governor from England, and the whole adminis- 
 tration would be in subordination to the Governor at 
 Madras. The Chief Commissionership of Ceylon 
 would then be similar to that of Burma, a post held 
 by a rising civilian who would prove in this quasi in- 
 dependent position, whether he was fit for still higher 
 office. The military charges would also be lessened, 
 and the troops in Ceylon would be under the control of 
 the Commander-in-Chief at Madras. Indian civilians
 
 COCOA-NUT OIL FACTORY. 219 
 
 have also learnt how to treat subject races, and half 
 the population of the Island consist of Tamil emi- 
 grants from India. There seems no question that by 
 thus making Ceylon an annexe to Madras, the Island 
 would gain a more eflBcient yet cheaper government. 
 
 At present, however, no such change is likely to be 
 made, for Ceylon is looked upon as one of the prizes 
 of the Colonial Service, and the Governorship is a 
 piece of patronage that the Colonial Secretary would 
 dislike parting with. Still now is the time to ventilate 
 such changes, for Ceylon is suffering from extreme 
 poverty, in consequence of the failure of the coffee 
 plantations, and retrenchment in expenditure is much 
 discussed. Certainly one of the easiest ways of saving 
 money would be this proposed annexation to India. 
 
 I came back from Anaradhapura to Kandy by the 
 same route, again having a long ride of 18 hours in 
 the bullock coach. A few days after I returned from 
 Kandy to Colombo, where I was to take the steamer 
 for England. I had no time to see more of Ceylon, 
 and had to give up visiting the interesting district of 
 Newera Ellia, which is the sanatorium of the Island, 
 lying high up amongst the mountains of the interior. 
 
 While I was waiting for the steamer at Colombo, I 
 was fortunate enough to be taken over a cocoa-nut oil 
 factory, which is one of the most successful manu- 
 factories in the Island. The whole of the low lands of 
 Ceylon are covered with forests of cocoa-nut palms, 
 and these graceful trees form one of the main features 
 of the scenery. The oil is extracted from the inner 
 rind of the nut, and these apparently useless tough 
 envelopes are brought in thousands to the factory by 
 the country people. It takes the rinds of 10,000 nuts 
 to make one cask of oil, and therefore millions of 
 these rinds are used up. They are crushed, and 
 ground, and pressed under hydraulic rams, and the 
 oil is thus squeezed out of them ; it is then placed \w 
 casks, and sent to the Continent, where it is used in 
 the manufacture of soap. After the oil has been
 
 220 A parson's holiday. 
 
 extracted, the refuse of the rinds is made into a sort 
 of cake, and exported to England to be used as food 
 for cattle. The factory is very large, and the sheds 
 and yards cover 12 acres of ground. All the products 
 of Ceylon are here prepared for exportation, and I saw 
 chests of coffee, chinchona, and tea ready for trans- 
 shipment. Thousands of coolies are employed in the 
 works, and it is one of the most flourishing industries 
 in the Island. 
 
 My holiday was now drawing to a close, and on 
 February 7th I left Colombo by a P. and O. steamer. 
 I was very glad to have had this short peep at Ceylon, 
 and I should advise all who make a tour in the East 
 to include it if possible in their route. The scenery 
 is most beautiful, the climate away from the coast is 
 delightful, and the people and buildings are well worth 
 seeing. Its green loveliness, its shore fringed with 
 palms bending over the surf, its hills clothed with 
 forests twined with creepers, its rivers flowing between 
 banks covered with bamboos, its woods bright with 
 many flowering shrubs, its air soft and delicious and 
 heavy with the scent of tropical flowers, its nights 
 spangled with stars and specked with fire-flies, all 
 come back in pleasant memories and make a picture 
 which can never be forgotten. This Island set in the 
 midst of southern seas has a charm of its own, and it 
 is one of the most beautiful possessions of our Colonial 
 Empire. 
 
 My voyage homewards must be quickly passed over. 
 We had a calm passage over the Indian Ocean. In 
 eight days we reached Aden, and in five days more 
 we anchored at Suez. There I left the ship, and went 
 by train to Cairo to see a little of the land of Egypt. 
 I was able to spend a week in Cairo, and I saw a few 
 of the ordinary sights. But my time was too short to 
 get more than a glimpse at the country, and I was 
 only there long enough to feel the peculiar fascination 
 which Egypt always exercises on all who visit it. 
 There is a saying that " he who has once drunk the
 
 P:GYPT. 221 
 
 Nile water ever wants to drink It again," and certainly 
 there is no country which has a stronger attraction for 
 the casual traveller. Even after the beautiful build- 
 ings of India, there was much to charm and delight 
 the eye, and the incredible antiquity of the remains 
 enlarged one's historic sense. To gaze on the Pyra- 
 mids of Gizeh, or to study the sculptures at Sakkhara, 
 and then to realize that these buildings are anterior to 
 the time of Moses, and may even date back to the 
 era of Abraham, gives one a distinct shock, and 
 throws the antiquity of all other buildings into the 
 shade. In the Boulak Museum one is shown the 
 mummied form of the (probable) Pharaoh of the Book 
 of Exodus, together with the richest collection of 
 Egyptian antiquities in the world. If Cairo had shared 
 the fate of Alexandria, and been burnt by Arabi's rebel- 
 lious army, and if the Boulak Museum had perished, 
 the loss to archaeology would have been irreparable. 
 
 Cairo was full of troops, the Citadel was held by 
 our forces, and the bare-legged Highlander was a 
 common sight in the bazaars and streets. The driver 
 of my donkey had many tales to tell about the state 
 of the city, when the Khedive was a prisoner at 
 Alexandria, and when Arabi was raising levies to face 
 the English troops at Tel-el-Kebir. My donkey-man 
 said that he had had to flee to Upper Egypt to escape 
 impressment, but his stories had to be taken with a 
 certain amount of caution, as it was probable that he 
 said whatever he thought would please me. 
 
 Walks through the Bazaars, visits to the principal 
 Mosques, and a look at one of Ismail's numerous 
 Palaces, filled up the short time at my disposal. The 
 extravagance and wastefulness of the late ruler of 
 Egypt are nowhere more evident, than in these large, 
 over-adorned Palaces, full of expensive PVench fur- 
 niture, and gaudily ornamented with gilt mouldings 
 and immense mirrors. While Egypt was ever ap- 
 proaching nearer and nearer to national bankruptcy, 
 and while the poor fellaheen were ground down by an
 
 222 A parson's HOLIDAY. 
 
 intolerable weight of taxation, the late Khedive was 
 wasting the resources of the country in building use- 
 less Palaces, and following the worst fashions of the 
 French Imperial Court. 
 
 There was much talk everywhere of the future of 
 Egypt. Then were the days when Lord Dufferin had 
 just arrived, and when Hicks Pasha's illfated expe- 
 dition was starting for the Soudan. Concerning this 
 last event I heard sharp criticism on the ignorance of 
 some of the European ofhcers, who went forth with no 
 experience of desert w^arfare. Such officers, although 
 called Captains and Lieutenants, were quite ignorant 
 of the ways of the enemy, and were not likely to be of 
 much use in the time of need. At least they died 
 bravely, and victory was hardly possible. Yet at that 
 time no Egyptian minister was prepared to advise the 
 retrocession of the Soudan, and it required a sharp 
 lesson before the Egyptian Government discovered the 
 rottenness of its military condition. 
 
 From Cairo I went by rail to Ismailya, which is the 
 chief town on the Suez Canal, about equidistant from 
 Port Said and Suez. Here I hoped to meet with the 
 steamer, which was to carry me back to England, but 
 I had to endure first a tiresome delay. Two ships 
 had gone aground in the Canal, and the whole traffic 
 of the world was stopped in consequence. Thus I 
 had to spend three days at Ismailya, waiting for my 
 steamer, which could not move until the obstructionists 
 were afloat again. 
 
 I do not recommend any traveller to stay at Is- 
 mailya if he can possibly help it. It is a town, which 
 has sprung up on the edge of Lake Timsah, and it 
 only exists because here are the headquarters of the 
 Canal traffic. All the movements of vessels are ar- 
 ranged by telegraph from the office at this place, and 
 here it is settled what ships are to be given prece- 
 dence, and what ships are to tie up to the bank at the 
 passing stations, so as to make room for their more 
 fortunate rivals. There is a model of the Canal in the
 
 ISMAILYA. 223 
 
 office, and small flags are moved about it, indicating 
 what is the position of the corresponding vessels. 
 The office is in telegraphic communication with signal 
 stations all along the banks of the Canal, and as the 
 vessels pass along their movements are notified to the 
 head office, which gives instructions concerning them. 
 The model is an interesting sight, but when no change is 
 made in it for three days, the traveller, who is anxious 
 to get on, finds his frequent visits to the office tiresome 
 to the officials and unedifying to himself. 
 
 Besides visiting the office of the Canal Company 
 there is but little to do at Ismailya. The town is built 
 between the Desert and the Bitter Lake. There is 
 one hard road out of the town for three miles, leading 
 to a Palace which was erected on the banks of the 
 Canal for the temporary occupation of the Empress of 
 the French, when she came to the opening ceremony. 
 On all other sides of the town the sandy wastes ex- 
 tend for miles. It is probable that some day the head 
 office will be removed to Port Said, and then Ismailya 
 will be of less importance. Its chief title to fame of 
 late years lies in the fact that it formed the base for 
 Lord Wolseley's advance on Cairo in 1882. The lake 
 was then full of transports and ships of War, and 
 the place was full of troops. When I was there, our 
 forces were only represented by a small detachment 
 of soldiers and a gun-boat. 
 
 During my enforced stay at Ismailya, I had the 
 pleasure of meeting M. Naville, the Swiss explorer. 
 He had just been excavating some neighbouring ruins 
 at Tel-el-Mahuta, and had had the satisfaction of 
 proving by the inscriptions he discovered that here 
 was the site of Pithom, the " treasure city," or " store 
 city," mentioned in Exodus as built by the enslaved 
 Israelites for the King of Egypt. He had even dis- 
 covered a great building, unlike any temple or palace, 
 and probably identical with the granary which consti- 
 tuted this place a " treasure city." I wish I had been 
 able to visit the explorations, but it was impossible.
 
 224 ^ PARSON S HOLIDAY. 
 
 On March 2nd the block in the Canal was at last 
 removed, and my steamer ^and 15 others} amved at 
 Ismailya. On the 7th we touched at Malta, on the 
 nth we reached Gibraltar, and on the i5ih March I 
 landed at Pirmouth. We were just in time for the 
 moming express, and so I reached my own parish that 
 ereninsf. Ii was the very day that I had planned to 
 :me, when I had started nearly six months 
 r I had thus kept mj time exactly, and the 
 
 - : r Mi's holiday was over. 
 
 -".elusion I would recommend everyone who has 
 :. r .- -r and money at his disposal to follow my foot- 
 S-ris. Nothing could be more delightful than a 
 boliiay spent in this wav. Such a tour enables one 
 :: ■:- : !~£ia at the very best season of the year. 
 T T T-r is perfect, wet weather is impos'^ible, and 
 is not excessive. The interest of such a trip 
 :- -ied; scenerv. costumes, buildings, people, 
 
 i rerition. The different religions and the 
 
 van with their diverse customs constantly 
 
 e::: 't?:. And in addition to other matters 
 
 - .7: :_ : feel desirous to see something of 
 mission work, and to enquire into the various efforts 
 —'-■-'- -_-=: 'zr.~~ ~ade to instruct and evangelize the 
 
 7 r r Liive Churches, the Schools, and 
 Cc-r^trs ir.d Mission Stations, all overflow with in- 
 tcies:, is:i '''.-': ~r seems too short and the days too 
 few to 5t- it one would like to see. I think 
 
 the reflex action of all this sightseeing on oneself does 
 good. One returns to one's quiet country parish with 
 ideas enlarged and sympathies widened, and with a 
 store of memories and a recollection of unnumbered 
 kindnesses which no time can obliterate nor age 
 deface. 
 
 I have shown that it is possible, without over- 
 stepping the legal hoUday which is permitted to an 
 incumbent, to visit most of the centres of interest in 
 India, and Burma, and Ceylon, and to get at least 
 glimpses of the lives and manners of our feUow-sub-
 
 THE END. 225 
 
 jects in the East. Others may follow my example, 
 and diverge from my route, and discover fresh points 
 of interest, which I overlooked. But no one will ever 
 meet with more kindness, or enjoy a happier holiday, 
 than I did in the winter of 1882-83. 
 
 FINIS.
 
 226 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Administration of India, 81. 
 Agra, Fort, &c., 54. 
 Ajmere, 33. 
 Akbar, 43, 53. 
 Alexandria, 3. 
 Ambir, 39. 
 Anaradhapura, 214. 
 Architecture, Hindu, 169. 
 Arhai-din-ka-Jhonpra, 34. 
 
 Babns, Educated, 102. 
 
 Bandy, 186. 
 
 Bangalore, 153. 
 
 Baroda, 28. 
 
 Benares, 84. 
 
 Bishops in Tinnevelly, 205. 
 
 Bombay, 4. 
 
 Bo Tree, 217. 
 
 Brahmo Soniaj, 102, 
 
 Buddhism, 113. 
 
 compared with Christianity, 
 
 124. 
 
 in Ceylon, 214. 
 
 Burma, History of, 105. 
 Burmese, 108. 
 
 Cairo, 221. 
 Calcutta, 99, 100. 
 Caldwell, Bisliop, 183, 204. 
 Calingapatam. 144. 
 Cambridge Mission, 50. 
 Camp iService, 73. 
 Canning College, 78. 
 Caste rrejiulices, 162. 
 Catecliist, Work of, 171. 
 Cave Temples, 24. 
 Cawnpore Massacre, 64. 
 Ceylon, 208-220. 
 Choultry, 165, 179. 
 Christians, Native, 152, 185, 198. 
 Christmas-Day Services, 129. 
 Civilian, Life of, 83. 
 Clergy, Native, 155, 206. 
 Climbing Palm-tree, 196. 
 Cocoa-nut Factory, 219. 
 Code, Indian, 16. 
 
 Coffee in Ceylon, 212. 
 Colombo, 208. 
 Commissioner, 82. 
 Communicants, Number of, 191. 
 Cowley Fathers, 14. 
 
 Dagoba, 214, 215. 
 Dance, Native, 190. 
 Darjeeling, 91-93. 
 Delhi, 46. 47. 
 Deserted Bungalow, 160. 
 Dickson, Mr., 215. 
 Durbar, Viceroy's, 74. 
 Durria dowlut, 160. 
 
 Educational Problems, 17. 
 Egypt, 220. 
 Elephanta Caves, 6. 
 Elephants at work, 136. 
 English Church in India, 181. 
 Eurasians, 35. 
 
 Evangelistic woi'k, 175, 195. 
 Everest, Mt., 97. 
 Explorers in Tibet, 95. 
 
 Famine in S. India, 183. 
 
 Results of, 184. 
 
 Futtehpore Sikri, 58. 
 
 Gdekwdr, 29. 
 
 Ganapati, 9. 
 
 Gautama Buddha, History of, 112. 
 
 Doctrines of, 113 
 
 Statues of, 116. 
 
 Golden Temple, 86. 
 Gopura, 165. 
 Government in India, 79. 
 
 in Ceylon, 219. 
 
 House, 100. 
 
 Hicks Pasha's Expedition, 222. 
 High Schools, 19, 172. 
 Himalayas, 96. 
 Hinduism, Modern, 90. 
 Htee, 116, 141.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 227 
 
 Hyder AH, 156; 
 
 Ideas of Empire, 61. 
 Ignatius, Rev. Mr., 154. 
 Illumination of Ghats, 85. 
 Imambara, 69. 
 Ismailya, 222. 
 Itmad-ud-Dowlah, 56. 
 
 Jain Temple, 34. 
 Jehanghir, 43. 
 Jeypore, 36. 
 Jumma Musjid, 47. 
 
 Kandy, 211. 
 Karli Cave, 23. 
 Kember, Rev. T., 187. 
 Kinchingunga, 96. 
 Kincob, 89. 
 Kioung, 119. 
 Kutub Minar, 49. 
 
 Lamaism, 94. 
 Lawrence, Henry, 72. 
 Lepers' Hospital, 10. 
 Lhassa, 94. 
 Linga, 7. 
 Locusts, 23. 
 Lucknow, 09, 70. 
 
 Madras, 149, 150. 
 
 Madura, 178. 
 
 Mantapa, 165. 
 
 Mai'goschis, Rev. A., 193-195. 
 
 Marhattds, 8. 
 
 Marks, Rev. Dr., 127. 
 
 Martiniere College, 76. 
 
 Masula Boats, 144. 
 
 Mayo College, 32. 
 
 Memorial Church, 65. 
 
 Mengnanapuram, 203. 
 
 Merit, Doctrine of, 114, 116, 118, 122. 
 
 Missionary Statistics, 185, 199. 
 
 Methods of, 11, 13. 
 
 Objections to, 197. 
 
 Missionaries, 127, 171, 177, 185, 189, 
 
 197. 
 Moguls, Empire of, 43. 
 Mohammedans, 45. 
 Monasteries, 119. 
 Monkey Temple, 87. 
 Moormen, 210. 
 Mos(pie, Arrangement of, 48. 
 Moti Musjid, 55. 
 Moulmein, 134. 
 Mudalur, 201. 
 Mutiny, 6.3, 66. 
 Mysore, 156. 
 
 Nana Sahib. 63. 
 
 Native States, 41. 
 Naville, M., 223. 
 Nazareth, 189, 191, 195. 
 Nga-pee, 1,34. 
 Nirvana, 113. 
 Norman, Rev. H. B., 201. 
 
 Officer, District, 82. 
 
 Orphanage at Nazareth, 194. 
 
 Oudh, History of, 68, 69. 
 
 Oxford Mission, 101. 
 
 Pagodas, Use of, 114. 
 
 Palace, Maharajah's, 37, 166. 
 
 Palamcottah, 187. 
 
 Palms, 196, 211. 
 
 Parvathi, Temple of, 10. 
 
 Pegu, 139. 
 
 Peridenyia Gardens, 212. 
 
 Pithom, Discovery of, 223. 
 
 Pohngyees, 122. 
 
 Poona, 8. 
 
 Prayer Wheels, 98. 
 
 Preaching through Interpreter, 1.30, 
 
 192. 
 Princes, Native, 167. 
 Prome, 131. 
 
 Railway Travelling, 25. 
 Rajputs, 30. 
 Rangoon, 107. 
 Resident, Duties of, 28. 
 " Rice Christians," 200. 
 Rice Trade, 110. 
 
 Salt Tax, 145. 
 
 Sargent, Bishop, 183, 187. 
 
 Schools, 10, 172, 174, 194. 
 
 School of Art, 153. 
 
 Schwartz, 166. 
 
 Sekundra, 60. 
 
 Seringapatam, 159. 
 
 Services at Nazareth, 191, 193. 
 
 Shah .Jehan, 43. 
 
 Shoe Question, 75. 
 
 Shway Dagohn, 114. 
 
 Siugalese, 209. 
 
 Sriranghani, Temple of, 169. 
 
 St. Stephen's College, 52. 
 
 Suez Canal, 223. 
 
 Taj Mahal, 56. 
 
 Talukdars, 78. 
 
 Tamils, 151, 175, 192, 209. 
 
 Tan j ore, 104. 
 
 Tea Plantations, 93. 
 
 Temple, Sir R., on Missions, 198, 199. 
 
 Temple, Arrangements of, 104, 170. 
 
 Tents, 27. 
 
 Thomas, Rcv". Mr. and Mrs,, 203. 
 
 Tibet, 94.
 
 228 INDEX. 
 
 Timber Yards, 136. Victoria School, Poona, 18. 
 
 Tiniievelly, 182, 186-207. Village Life at Nazareth, 196. 
 
 Tipu Sahib, 157, 159, 160. Vimana, 164. 
 
 Tooth Temple, 213. Vishuu, 164. 
 
 Towers of Silence, 5. Vizagapatam, 145. 
 Training College, at Palamcottah, 
 
 rr-}^"' , IPO ,^o Well at Cawnpore, 66. 
 
 Trichinopoly, 168-178. Wrestling, 20 
 
 TXorinrfe.'''- Wyatt,Rev.J.L.,171. 
 
 Viceroy's Camp, 72. Zodiacal Light, 144. 
 
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